Yesterday we featured nine major Black Friday Sales from leading vendors. With those sale programs you can save hundreds of dollars on firearms, gun safes, optics, reloading tools, ammo and more. Here are ten more Black Friday specials, many of which run through end of day on December 2, 2024, Cyber Monday. Benchrest and F-Class shooters check out the deals at Bullet Central and Precision Reloading. PRS/NRL shooters will like the MDT Black Friday sale, while hunters will find many great deals at Cabela’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Sportsman’s Warehouse Black Friday Sale — Save Up to 60%
Sportsman’s Warehouse is running a major Black Friday Sale for just two days — 11/29/24 and 11/30/24. There are major savings on optics, firearms, ammo, hunting clothing, tents, outdoor supplies and more. Check out some of the best deals we found above, but there are hundreds of other bargains. If you need a new hunting rifle, this is a good time to buy.
Bullet Central Black Friday Sale
The Black Friday Sale at Bullet Central runs from Wednesday 11/27/2024 through Saturday 11/30/24. This is a great sale — there are significant savings on custom actions, stocks/chassis systems, pre-fit barrels, reloading dies, and optics.Top Deals include 25% Off Vortex products, 20% Off Bix’N Andy triggers, and 10% Off all actions. NOTE: We are not sure if the discounts have already been applied automatically to the listed prices. You should check with Bullet Central.
Precision Reloading is running a notable Black Friday Sale with a 12% discount on nearly the entire selection of products. Use CODE SAVE12 to get 12% off orders of $49.00 or more. Click Here to see popular sale items including powder, primers, ammunition, cartridge brass, and reloading tools.
MDT Black Friday Sale — 10% to 40% Savings on Everything
MDT Sporting Goods (MDT) is a major player in the tactical and precision rifle segments. MDT makes high quality chassis systems, buttstocks, bipods, grips, brakes, and other accessories. This Black Friday Sale is MDT’s only major discount program of the year. Grab big 10-40% savings now while you can.
Cabela’s Black Friday Deals — Savings Up to 50%
Cabela’s has been running an extended Black Friday Week Sale. There are major discounts on optics, hunting gear, tripods, gun safes and more. One super deal is the Garmin Instinct Solar GPS Smartwatch, a great accessory for hunters and hikers in the backcountry. This is now just $199.98, a $200.01 discount off the normal $399.99 list price.
Primary Arms — Huge Black Friday Sale — 25% to 35% Savings
Black Friday for Black Rifles — that’s a key theme for the Primary Arms Black Friday Sale. Enjoy major savings on uppers, lowers, barrels, triggers, rails and handguards. In addition, there are 15% discounts on optics and suppressors are discounted.
MidwayUSA — Cyber Week Sale Discounts on Optics and Gear
MidwayUSA runs a major 8-day-long “Cyber Week” sale from 11/25/2024 through 12/2/2024 at 11:59 pm. Every day since Monday 11/25 there have been new deals. Some of the best bargains are featured in the graphic above. Bargains include 28-60% off Vortex optics, 50% off SIG Rangefinders, 33% off Tripod combos, and 76% off Browning sleeping bags. MidwayUSA is also running a Cyber Sweepstakes Contest with $1000 worth of prize gift certificates.
Big Black Friday Sale at H&H — Every Firearm on Sale
H&H Shooting Sports is running a massive Black Friday sale with every firearm in the store discounted. Direct price cuts range from $25 to $95 on new guns plus all used firearms are discounted 15%. Along with the gun deals, H&H is running a Black Friday Sale on Liberty Safes. These Black Friday discounts are in effect through 11:59 pm on Sunday December 1, 2024.
The Safe Keeper Black Friday Sale — Two Days Only — Save $100s
Need a new gun safe? This is a great opportunity to save big bucks on a quality Liberty, Superior, Browning, or Champion gun safe from The Safe Keeper. Many sizes are available with discounts up to $1000.00. But don’t hesitate — this sale runs for two days only, ending at 11:59 pm on November 30, 2024.
BONUS: Black Friday Give-Away Contest at Midsouth
Here’s chance to win big this weekend. Midsouth is running a noteworthy Black Friday Give-Away Contest now through Monday 12/2/2024. Midsouth will draw 13 Lucky WINNERS to win a Hornady Ammo Plant, Hornady AP Progressive Press, a Frankford Arsenal F1 Reloading Press, or a many other shooting and reloading items. All totaled there are 13 Prize Packs. You can visit every day for another chance to enter and win. Note: No purchase is necessary. You must be 21+ to enter and dealers are excluded.
Close-up of the Tri-Way Trimmer with clear plastic chip guard removed.
Giraud Tool offers a case trimmer/chamferer device that works with a power drill (or other power source). Giraud’s patented Tri-Way Trimmer is a self-contained unit powered by your drill or motor. Using a sharp carbide blade it will trim your cases to length, deburr, and cut both inside and outside chamfers — all in one pass. That’s pretty impressive for a $120.00 tool that fits in the palm of your hand.
Product Features
1. Fully adjustable for cartridge length (and depth of chamfer).
2. Carbide blade cuts a 15° inside case mouth chamfer and 45° outside chamfer.
3. Case holder supported by sealed ball bearing raceway.
4. Tool includes removable, transparent plastic chip guard.
5. Tool can work in any orientation (vertical, horizontal, or any angle).
The Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer is designed to be powered by a portable hand drill, drill press, or other dedicated rotating power source. The tool indexes off the shoulder of your cases, but the blade adjusts so that cartridge overall length (COAL) can be controlled with precision. Constructed out of 6061-T6 aluminum and 303 stainless steel, the Tri Way tool should last a lifetime. Note: This tool is not universal. The Tri Way is dedicated to a single cartridge and “related” cartridges with similar body dimensions. Thus you need a specific tool for each cartridge family. For example, the .308 Win tool will also trim .243 Win, .260 Rem, and 7mm-08.
Cartridge Sizes Available for Giraud Tri Way Trimmer:
.223 Remington (Also trims .17 Remington, .204 Ruger, .222 Remington, .222 Remington Magnum)
7.62 x 39mm (Russian)
.300 Blackout (Also trims .17 Rem Fireball, .20 Vartarg, .221 Fireball)
.308 Winchester (Also trims .243 Winchester, .260 Remington, 7mm-08)
.30-06 Springfield (Also trims .25-06, .270 Winchester, .280 Remington)
.300 Winchester Mag (Also trims Also trims .264 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum)
Product Tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
This is a grim tale. A man almost lost the use of his right hand, and did suffer terrible injuries to his fingers. All because he picked the wrong bottle of powder off the shelf. We have run this story before, and we will continue to run it every year, as a caution to our readers. This mistake is easy to make, but the consequences can be dire. Always, always double-check your powder labels before you start the hand-loading process. If you don’t, you may not have a hand to load with next time…
Similar Labels, Disasterous Consequences
The shooter, Denny K., was assembling some rounds for his brand new 7mm-08 Savage hunting rifle. He thought he was loading with Hodgdon Varget. Instead he had filled his powder measure with Hodgdon TiteGroup, a fast-burning pistol powder. The labels are similar, so the mistake is understandable. But the results were devastating. Here’s what 41 grains of TiteGroup can do in a 7mm-08:
Posting on the Firing Line, in a thread entitled “Lucky to Be Alive”, Denny writes:
“This is the hardest post to post. I know if I had read it a week ago my comment would have been: ‘You have no business reloading’. I had everything perfect, except pouring the wrong powder in the powder measure. I type this slowly with my left hand, embarrassed but … possibly saving someone else a tragedy or, like me, a long drive to the Emergency Room and surgery to save my finger.”
The Still-Sealed Bottle of Varget
Denny did not initially comprehend exactly why the kaboom happened. He thought maybe his new Savage rifle was at fault. Then, on his return home, he discovered something…
Denny wrote: “The seven-hour period it took to go to ER, transport to Trauma Center and surgery made me think it was a Savage rifle issue. Brand new rifle, new brass, triple-checked loading data. The next day I was humbled when I realized the Varget powder was still sealed.
I knew what powder to use. I thought [Varget] was what I used. Not until the following day did I realize the Varget was still sealed.”
At that point, Denny realized what caused the accident — “operator error”. He knew he had to warn others about using the wrong powder: “I knew I needed to share my mistake, even though it is embarrassing, just to remind people. I’ve been reloading for 30 years…”
Editor’s Comment: Denny was not a novice reloader. His experience demonstrates that this kind of mistake can be made by any hand-loader, even one with decades of experience. Be safe guys, take your time when you load your ammo. Remove powders from measures after your loading sessions (pistol powders can look very similar to rifle powders). And by all means CHECK the LABEL on the jug. As the TiteGroup label says: “A little goes a long way.”
It’s not a bad idea to separate your pistol powders from your rifle powders, or perhaps even load for pistol in a separate part of your workshop.
Happy Thanksgiving folks. Major gun and optics makers, tool crafters, and large outdoor gear vendors are offering great bargains for Black Friday week. Expect discounts from 10% to 30% on a wide range of quality products.
While some sales are set for Friday, November 24th only, most of the featured Black Friday Sales have already started. And some of these promotions run through Cyber Monday (12/2/2024). Find other sales at Gun.Deals.
Most of the showcased vendors offer discounts on a large inventory selection — in some cases, everything in stock is discounted 10%, 15%, 20% or more. For other sellers, only specific items are on sale, so we’ve identified those particular deals. In addition to the ten sellers showcased below, Brownells is offering big Discount Code savings on nearly all products. Get 15% OFF your Brownells orders with Code BF15.
Come back tomorrow for Part Two of our Black Friday Sales Showcase!
Optics Planet Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales
Area419 Black Friday Sale and Specials
Guns.com Black Friday Sale with Early Access
Amazon Black Friday Featured Sales
Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore Black Friday Sales
Powder Valley Outdoors Cyber Week Deals (Available Now)
Ammunition Depot Black Friday Specials — Major Discounts
Silencer Central Black Friday Buy One Get One Free Special
Today is Thanksgiving, aka “Turkey Day”, a time to enjoy an annual get-together with family and friends. To mark this occasion we offer a collection of interesting videos about turkey hunting plus a FREE Turkey target. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
GetZoneHunting.com has a vast video library for hunters, with hundreds of helpful videos on all types of hunting. In time for spring turkey season, GetZoneHunting offers a big collection of turkey hunting videos: At the Ranch – Turkey. On that page you’ll find 13 turkey hunting “how-to” videos. Here are links to five GetZone Turkey Hunting videos with valuable information from skilled, experienced hunters.
At the Ranch Turkey Hunting Videos
At the Ranch – Turkey offers solid advice for turkey hunters. These five videos will help you better understand turkey behavior and have success on your hunt. Click any photo to watch the particular video on the GetZone website. (Work Warning — When each GetZone video opens, it may immediately launch an annoying commercial with loud AUDIO!). There are eight more turkey hunting videos on GetZone’s Turkey Hunting HQ Page.
At the Ranch: Shot Placement for Turkeys — CLICK PHOTO to Watch Video
At the Ranch: Turkey Hunting Essentials — CLICK PHOTO to Watch Video
At the Ranch: The Difference Between a Jake and a Tom — CLICK PHOTO to Watch Video
At the Ranch: Early vs. Late Spring Turkey Hunt — CLICK PHOTO to Watch Video
At the Ranch: How to Plan a Turkey Hunt — CLICK PHOTO to Watch Video
Free Printable Turkey Target from AccurateShooter.com
As a special bonus for our readers, here is a free, printable Turkey Target, so you can practice for your turkey hunting adventure, This special Turkey Bullseye Target was created by our friend and Forum member Pascal (aka “DesertFrog”). CLICK HERE for FREE Turkey Target.
Caldwell Brass Retriever
Tired of bending over or kneeling down to retrieve your fired cartridge brass? For older shooters (including this Editor) getting down on the ground to pick up brass is tough on the lower back and knees. Here’s a product that makes brass retrieval quick, easy, and pain-free. The Caldwell Brass Retriever works quite well with a little practice, once you apply the correct pressure. While it won’t always grab every fired case, it will capture nearly all, and that can really make the job go much faster.
One owner praises this as a “very good tool” that is “a lot easier on my back.” While it can work on grass, gravel, and hard-packed earth, the unit works best on smooth, hard surfaces. Currently priced at $47.46 on Amazon, it is an affordable tool.
Caldwell states: “Spend less time bending over and picking up brass at the range and more time shooting. The Caldwell® Brass Retriever picks up brass, saving your back and time. The Brass Retriever can pick up rifle and pistol brass quickly and efficiently. The retriever comes complete with a roll cage separator that allows you to dump the collected brass into a bucket quickly. It is collapsible as well, making it convenient to transport. The retriever’s handle expands from 28″ up to 57″ tall.”
Brass Retriever Owner Reviews
Here are Amazon reviews from actual purchasers. It’s clear the device is not perfect and can miss a case or two. However, the Brass Retriever does grab the vast majority of brass on the ground, sized .223 Rem or larger diameter. This will save time and reduces stress on your back and joints:
“This thing … does a terrific job of collecting the brass from a standing posture quickly and efficiently. It helps to have the cases on a smooth surface like concrete or dirt without a lot of vegetation. But we used it on open desert yesterday and it collected nearly every case with a single pass. It’s now a permanent piece of gear in the stuff we take when target or ground squirrel shooting.” — Hans H.
“This WILL save your back. The only drawback is you can’t overload it with brass. After couple dozen pieces (or less) it will start dropping brass while you’re attempting to collect others. That’s the limitation (one of them). There is a short learning curve (15 min.) in which you’ll learn how much brass is too much And how you need to orientate the wires to pick up the brass. It doesn’t do as well on gravel or high grass as it does on a smooth, firm surface. Even with its limitations, it’s a keeper. Just empty every dozen or so pieces and it works very well.” — Jeff M.
Specialized Tool for .22 LR Brass
NOTE: The Caldwell Brass Retriever is designed primarily to recover reloadable rifle and pistol brass, with case diameters as fat as .223 Rem or larger. Some people state it can be used for smaller .22 LR cartridges too, but there is a much better product for that.
The UniqueTek Rimfire Brass Wizard is optimized for picking up .22 LR rimfire cases. It has a smaller basket with wires spaced closer together. It can also pick up pistol and rifle cartridge brass but will hold fewer cases than the original Brass Wizard or the Caldwell Brass Retriever. The Brass Wizard “Rimfire” The Brass Wizard “Rimfire” comes standard with the telescoping handle and includes a”Dumper” accessory.
The 2025 NRA National High Power Rifle, Smallbore Rifle, and Precision Pistol Championships — the NRA National Matches — will be held at multiple locations across the USA. This marks a notable change from recent years when NRA rifle and pistol championships were held at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. After discussion with representatives from each discipline, the NRA has determined that in 2025, these NRA National Matches will take place at multiple locations in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
The 2025 NRA National Matches kick off with the National High Power Rifle Across the Course (XTC) Championships at Winnequah Gun Club in Lodi, Wisconsin, June 1-7, 2025 (see below).
After that, the Nat’l High Power Mid-Range Championships will be conducted at Oklahoma City Gun Club in Arcadia, Oklahoma, June 4-8, 2025, followed by the Nat’l High Power Long-Range Championships at Alliance Rifle Club in Malvern, Ohio, July 2-6, 2025. The Nat’l Precision Pistol Championships will be at the Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio, July 6-10, 2025, and the National Matches will conclude with the Nat’l Smallbore Rifle Championships, also at the Cardinal Shooting Center, July 20-27, 2025.
Here Are the Dates and Locations for the 2025 NRA National Matches.
NRA National High Power Across the Course Championships
Winnequah Gun Club — Lodi, Wisconsin Dates: June 1-7, 2025
Registration links and official match program: coming soon winnequahgunclub.org
NRA National High Power Mid-Range Championships
Oklahoma City Gun Club — Arcadia, Oklahoma Dates: June 4-8, 2025
Registration links and official match program: coming soon okcgunclub.org
NRA National High Power Long-Range Championships
Alliance Rifle Club — Malvern, Ohio Dates: July 2-6, 2025
Registration links and official match program: coming soon alliancerifleclub.org
NRA National Precision Pistol Championships
Cardinal Shooting Center — Marengo, Ohio Dates: July 6-10, 2025
Registration links and official match program: coming soon thecardinalcenter.com
NRA National Smallbore Championships
Cardinal Shooting Center — Marengo, Ohio Dates: July 20-27, 2025
Registration links and official match program: coming soon thecardinalcenter.com
2025 NRA National Matches Calendar
Here is the 2025 NRA National Matches Calendar showing major championship events and dates. Different events are indicated by various colors: Red for High Power Across the Course, Yellow for High Power Mid-Range, Green for High Power Long-Range, Dark Red for Smallbore and Blue for Pistol. Click the Calendar to ZOOM for easier reading.
Rifleshooter.com does some great original research — providing “hard data” you can’t find anywhere else. Here are the eye-opening results of Rifleshooter.com’s 6.5 Creedmoor barrel cut-down test. You may be surprised at the results. Read on…
What do you get when you cut a 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered barrel down to just over 16 inches? A lot more velocity than you might think. Our friends at Rifleshooter.com conducted a remarkable barrel cut-down test with 6.5 Creedmoor test rifle, shortening the barrel from 27 to 16.1 inches in one-inch increments. Surprisingly, with a 142gr Sierra MK, the total velocity loss (as measured with a Magnetospeed) was just 158 FPS, an average of 14.4 FPS per inch of barrel length. With the lighter 120gr A-Max bullet, the total velocity loss was 233 FPS, or 21.8 FPS average loss per inch of barrel.
Test Procedure
Five (5) rounds of each type of cartridge were fired at each barrel length and the velocity data was recorded with a MagnetoSpeed V3 barrel-mounted chronograph. The rifle was then cleared and the barrel was cut back one inch at a time from 27″ to just over 16″. NOTE: During this winter test, the air temperature was a very chilly 23° F. One would expect higher velocities across the board had the outside temperature been higher.
The photo below shows how the barrel was cut down, inch-by-inch, using a rotary saw. The barrel was pre-scored at inch intervals. As the main purpose of the test was to measure velocity (not accuracy) the testers did not attempt to create perfect crowns.
6.5 Creedmoor vs. Other Mid-Sized 6.5mm Cartridges
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a very popular cartridge with the tactical and PRS crowd. This mid-size cartridge offers good ballistics, with less recoil than a .308 Winchester. There’s an excellent selection of 6.5mm bullets, and many good powder choices for this cartridge. When compared to the very accurate 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge, the 6.5 Creedmoor offers similar performance with less expensive brass. For a tactical shooter who must sometimes leave brass on the ground, brass cost is a factor to consider. Here’s a selection of various 6.5mm mid-sized cartridges. Left to right are: 6.5 Grendel, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6.5 Creedmoor with 120gr A-Max, 6.5 Creedmoor with 142gr Sierra MK, and .260 Remington.
When asked to compare the 6.5 Creedmoor to the 6.5×47 Lapua, Rifleshooter.com’s editor stated: “If you don’t hand load, or are new to precision rifle shooting, get a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you shoot a lot, reload, have more disposable income, and like more esoteric cartridges, get a 6.5×47 Lapua. I am a big fan of the 6.5×47 Lapua. In my personal experience, the 6.5×47 Lapua seems to be slightly more accurate than the 6.5 Creedmoor. I attribute this to the quality of Lapua brass.” Now that Lapua offers 6.5 Creedmoor brass with small primer pockets, the 6.5 Creedmoor is even more attractive.
The creator of Rifleshooter.com also operates a Custom Rifle Building enterprise and gun shop in Long Island, New York: 782 Custom Guns Ltd.. He tells us: “We offer an unparalleled level of gunsmith machine shop services in the Long Island region. From precision rifles (USMC M40A3/A5/A6 XM3 clones) to customized Remington 870 and Mossberg 590 shotguns, and customized 1911s, chances are if you can dream it, we can build it!”
Ask 10 shooters about barrel cleaning and you’ll get 10 different opinions. This reflects that fact that different fouling problems demand different solutions. For example, solvents that work well for copper may not be the best for hard carbon (and vice-versa). To come up with the right solution, first you must understand the nature of the fouling in your barrel.
John Krieger Interview with AccurateShooter at SHOT Show:
The debate about the proper care of a match barrel is a hot one, spiked with folklore and old wives’ tales, Lohman said. He and his staff set out to set the record straight: “We tried to interject some science into the discussion of cleaning a match barrel,” he explained. In his article, Lohman writes:
Why worry about a little barrel fouling when the throat is subjected to a brutal 5,600° F volcano at 55,000 PSI? To investigate these and other questions about taking care of a match barrel, we spoke with a dozen experts and share their knowledge in this first of a series of articles.
After listening to folks who shoot, build barrels or manufacture cleaning solvents for a living, we concluded that even the experts each have their own unique recommendations on how to care for a match barrel. But they all agree on one thing — the gun will tell you what it likes best. Because the life expectancy of a match barrel is about 1,500 to 2,500 rounds, the objectives of cleaning one should include: preserve accuracy, slow the erosion, and remove fouling — all without damaging the gun. This article doesn’t claim that one cleaning method is better than the next. Rather, we set out to interject a little science into the discussion and to share some lessons learned from experts in the field.
For more Shooting Sports USA articles, visit www.ssusa.org.
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Around the country major shooting sports retailers will be offering significant savings on a wide variety of products — from reloading dies to complete, high-end rifles. Some of the major players, such as Brownells, Bud’s Gun Shop, and Palmetto State Armory, have already started their “Black Friday Week” sale, with discounts up to 35% on some products. With Brownells Use Promo Code 15BF to save 15% sitewide — plus you can also get FREE Shipping with $49+ orders.
Gun.Deals has also found some great Black Friday Week bargains from Amazon, as well as major online shops such as KYGUNCO, LockedandLoaded, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and more. We feature a dozen of these hot deals in the table below. Click any box to find the deal on the seller’s website. NOTE: These deals may expire quickly, so you should check often on the Gun.Deals Black Friday Specials Page.
Happy Thanksgiving folks. Major gun and optics makers, tool crafters, and large outdoor gear vendors are offering great bargains for Black Friday week. Expect discounts from 10% to 30% on a wide range of quality products.
