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November 28th, 2014
 Got a gunsafe with an electronic keypad? Is the battery more than a year old? Then you should replace it right away. Don’t procrastinate!
Here’s an important reminder for readers who have digital keypad entry systems on their gun safes. If you have a safe with an electronic keypad, you should replace the battery every year as a precautionary measure.
Here’s a true story. I have one safe with a Sargent & Greenleaf (S&G) keypad. Last December, I went to get into the safe. Punched in the combination, but all I got was a rapid “beep, beep, beep, beep” after I finished the last combination entry. I tried again to ensure I entered the combination correctly (I did). But again, the locking system responded with multiple rapid beeps indicating something was wrong. And the safe would not open. Now I was worried….
I popped out the battery holder (which slides in from the bottom of the keypad housing on the door). I removed the battery and tested it with a volt-meter. The year-old Duracell 9v only registered 6.1 volts.
Low voltage was the problem. I went down to the store and got a couple new 9V batteries. I tested the new batteries and both measured 9.4 volts output. I slipped one of the new 9V batteries into the keypad housing, punched in the combination and everything worked OK again. Eureka.
Most electronic locks for safes WILL “remember” the combination for a period of time even when the battery is low (and the keypad’s “brain” should retain the combination when you remove the battery for replacement). However, a dead battery, or extended periods of low voltage can give you problems. Don’t rely on wishful thinking…
If the battery on your safe is more than a year old, or if it is not giving you the right voltage, replace it today!
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My Sargent & Greenleaf (S&G) keypad takes one (1) 9v battery. The version below takes two. Note how the battery compartment slides in from the bottom:
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November 28th, 2014
 Here’s a simple, easy-to-understand offer that will save you twenty bucks. Right now MidwayUSA is offering twenty dollars ($20.00) off orders of $100.00 or more. To knock $20.00 off your next MidwayUSA order simply use Promo Code 14BLKFRI during check-out. MidwayUSA’s $20 savings offer is good now through 11:59 pm Central Time on December 1, 2014.
Though this is a pretty straight-forward promotion, there is some fine print. The offer only applies to “regularly priced, in-stock products without quantity limits.” To get your $20.00 savings, enter “14BLKFRI” into the box labeled “Promotion Code” on the MidwayUSA Shopping Cart page. If you typed in the Code correctly, you should see the discount applied on the Confirmation page near the end of the checkout.
We want to remind our readers that this is a limited-time offer. This MidwayUSA Promo Code 14BLKFRI expires after 11:59 pm on December 1, 2014.
November 27th, 2014
Readers know Jim Borden as a Hall of Fame shooter and the owner of Borden Accuracy/Borden Rifles. Jim won 10 IBS National Championships, set 10 IBS world records, and was inducted into the Benchrest Hall of Fame in 1996. But Jim is not just a great shooter. This highly-trained engineer is very much a Renaissance man. He is as skilled with cameras as he is with benchrest rifles.
 Jim is a talented outdoor photographer who has compiled an impressive portfolio of wildlife and landscape photographs. For our Thanksgiving-day edition of the Daily Bulletin we are featuring some of Jim’s favorite nature images. We hope readers enjoy them as much as shooters prize Borden’s Rimrock benchrest and Rimrock hunting actions.
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, in a hunting household and hunting community, Jim learned about shooting at a very early age. He started hunting at the age of nine with his father and grandfather. His grandfather had an avid interest in photography while they were on hunts and Jim became interested as well. Jim began using SLR cameras in the 1970s, often carrying cameras on his hunts. As the years passed, Jim became more interested in “shooting” the animals with a camera versus a gun. Jim converted from film to digital in 2006 and in 2007 Jim’s wife Joan started accompanying Jim on the photo safaris. Jim has a particular passion for elk, moose, and eagles and Jim also enjoys scenic photography. Jim and Joan both shoot Nikon professional equipment. Their photographs can be viewed at www.BordenPhotography.com. You’ll also find Jim’s images (along with photography tips) on his JandJB Wildlife Photography Blog.
All in the Family
Jim’s grandfather was a gunsmith who taught Jim the trade when Jim was very young. Jim’s father and grandfather ran a country business that included an auto repair shop, welding, a small lathe, and a forge. Jim earned a degree in Mechanical engineering at Penn State University. For 23 years he worked for Procter and Gamble (P&G) as an engineer and as an engineering manager/project manager.
 Borden Rifles — A Success Story
Borden Accuracy/Borden Rifles has been a source for precision benchrest and hunting rifles for many years. Jim started doing his own gunsmithing while competing in benchrest and high power silhouette matches. Jim launched his business in 1987, working nights and weekends while still employed at P&G. The business became full-time in 1995 with Jim and his wife Joan doing the work. The business was expanded in 1999 with the construction of the new Springville, PA facility and the addition of sons Jim Jr. and John to the staff. Son-in-law John Mecca came onboard in January 2000.
Jim and company began making Rimrock benchrest and Rimrock hunting actions in 2001. They added Borden Alpine and Timberline actions in 2006. These actions are made in an advanced manufacturing facility which has three CNC vertical Machining centers, three CNC lathes, three manual lathes, a manual knee mill, a surface grinder, a cylindrical grinder and wire EDM machine. To learn more, visit BordenRifles.com, call 570-965-2505, or send email to info [at] bordenrifles.com.
November 27th, 2014
Chris Cheng, Top Shot Season 4 Champion, has launched a new weekly series of YouTube webcasts, The Second Scoop. Each week Cheng will provide a timely mix of Second Amendment news, gun-related gear reviews, and marksmanship topics. Cheng’s Second Scoop commentaries offer insight, a bit of humor, and “first looks” at new shooting sports products.
In this Thanksgiving week edition of The Second Scoop, Chris focuses on the Ferguson, Missouri Grand Jury decision which spurred violent riots. Then Chris explains the impact of a court decision on California’s waiting periods for firearm purchases. In his “gear talk” segment, Chris talks about the brand new Taurus Curve, an innovative .380 ACP compact carry gun. With a distinctive curved frame, this little “equalizer” is the first-ever production pistol with integrated LED lights and a targeting laser.
Chris releases a new Second Scoop video each Tuesday. Watch all of Cheng’s Second Scoop webcasts (as well as his gun review videos) on the Top Shot Chris Cheng YouTube Channel.
November 27th, 2014
OK, you’re feelin’ fat and happy after the traditional Thanksgiving Day feast and you need to kill some time. Sure you could rake the leaves or wash the dishes, but why not have some mindless fun targeting turkeys with this online video game? Be forewarned, this Turkey Shoot Game starts pretty easy, but those gobblers get sneakier as you move up in levels. Also — you can take your time and still get through the first five levels, just try to avoid misses.
For more fun, use the up/down and left/right keys on your keyboard to move around the 3D forest and sneak up on the gobblers hiding behind the bushes. Have fun, and enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
November 26th, 2014
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One of our Forum members asked us the question: “Does anybody make a good range box with cradles for cleaning at the bench?” The answer is yes — the MTM model RBMC Range Box offers slide-in plastic cradles that provide a reasonably sturdy platform for a quick clean when you’re done shooting. The RBMC box also offers plenty of storage for jags, brushes, solvents, ammo boxes and other miscellaneous gear you need for the range.
Among the many range boxes available, the MTM model RBMC Range Box leads the pack in terms of versatility. It is rugged, it has plenty of storage space, plus it doubles as a handy cleaning station. This Editor has used the MTM Range Box to clean rifles and as a “range expedient” rifle holder when adjusting scopes and tensioning action screws. It’s a good product that does the job and stands up to rough handling. |
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Fitted Cleaning Cradles
The key feature setting MTM’s RBMC apart from most range boxes is the rubber-coated cradle system. Wide enough to fit a 3″-wide fore-arm, the cradles slide into vertical slots on either end of the box. This allows your range box to serve as a stable maintenance station. The RBMC is really pretty stable in this role, and the cradles won’t mark your stock. The cradles even feature slots on each side to hold your cleaning rods when not in use. The MTM Range Box is secure enough to stay in place when you’re brushing the barrel. However, if you’re working on a carpeted bench top, you may want to keep one hand on the box when running a cleaning rod through the bore, just to ensure the box doesn’t slide.
Versatile Upper Tray with Dividers
The MTM Range Box has two major components — the box base (with cradles), and a large upper tray with hinged top and carry handle. This large upper tray clamps securely to the bottom unit for transport. The top tray has a long section that holds cleaning rod guides, long brushes, grease syringes and the like. There are two, clear-plastic fitted divider trays. These will hold your patches and jags, plus comparators, ring wrenches, and other small tools.
 What Might Be Improved
Though we really like the MTM Range Box, it’s not perfect. First, we wish the box was a bit deeper, to have added carrying capacity. The dimensions of the MTM Range Box are: 25″ long x 11.5″ wide x 8.75″ high. We’d like to see it 12″ high/deep to allow larger solvent bottles to stand upright and to provide more space to carry tools and shooting muffs. However, it is deep enough to hold the large 100-round MTM cartridge boxes that are popular with many shooters (see photo at left).
The cradles are very nicely designed, and will hold your rifle securely without marking the stock. However, we’ve found that sometimes the rear cradle grips the gun so well that the cradle slides out as you lift the gun up. This is not a big deal, but it does demand a little extra attention when you’ve finished cleaning. We really like the twin clear plastic dividers that fit into the large removable top-tray, but we wish the dividers had individual hinged tops. This would keep patches and small parts more secure.
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The MTM Range Box costs about $46.00 at most vendors. The MTM Shooting Range Box RBMC-11 (green version) is on sale now for $35.68 at Amazon.com, with FREE shipping. The red RBMC-30 version (shown below) costs slightly more, and may currently be hard to find.
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November 26th, 2014
Black Friday is just around the corner. That means big holiday season promotions are about to kick off. Many vendors will be offering significant savings, and/or free shipping on firearms accessories, gun stocks, reloading gear, bullets and more. Here are some of the upcoming Black Friday offerings we’ve found. Warm up your credit cards and get ready for some very cool deals.
Graf & Sons — Free Lapua T-Shirt with Lapua Brass, Bullets, or Centerfire Ammo.
Midsouth Shooters Supply — Big Discounts — Prices Announced 11/27/2014 at 10:00 PM CT.
EuroOptic.com — Big Savings on Nightforce, Leica, Vortex, Steiner and other Major Brands.
NOSLER — FREE Shipping and FREE Nosler Hat at Shop.Nosler.com
November 26th, 2014
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. What better way to celebrate the occasion than to blast away at some bearded gobblers (of the paper variety). Here’s our festive Turkey Day target, ready for some family fun. This special Turkey Bullseye Target was created by our friend and Forum member Pascal (aka “DesertFrog”). CLICK HERE for FREE Turkey Target.
Get Turkey and Other Critters
For your convenience, we’ve packaged the Turkey Target along with five (5) other varmint/animal-themed targets. These are all offered in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format for easy printing.
CLICK HERE to download all SIX targets in .Zip archive.
November 25th, 2014
 F-Open shooter Kenny Adams has enjoyed a spectacular 2013-14 season. Over the past 12 months “King Kenny” enjoyed a string of successes that established Adams as the man to beat in the ultra-competitive F-Open ranks. After finishing second at the 2013 F-Class Nationals, Kenny won the 2013 World Championship. He then won a series of regional matches heading into the 2014 National Championship. There he finished on the podium with a 3rd Place finish in the individual competition. He then earned gold as a member of the winning 4-man F-Open squad, Team Grizzly. We don’t think any other F-Open pilot has put together a stronger season.
Kenny attributes his success to great team-mates, great equipment, and great ammo. He’s a huge fan of Berger’s 7mm hybrid bullets: “The [Berger] 7mm 180 hybrids have made load testing much easier, and needless to say, raised my scores considerably!” Kenny also gave credit to his gunsmith: “I want to thank my gunsmith, Stick Starks from S&S — he got me going in this thing in the right direction four and a half years ago. Working with Stick has probably shaved a couple of YEARS off my learning curve.” Kenny’s world-championship rifle features a Panda F-Class action, Krieger barrel, and a Robertson F-Class stock. Kenny likes this combo so much he actually owns four complete red rifles with similar configurations. Check them out:
Kenny pushes those 180gr hybrids with the 7mm Remington SAUM (RSAUM) cartridge. A “new-generation” magnum, the RSAUM resembles a 6mm BR Norma on steroids. It has the same short, fat appearance, just scaled up — way up. This gives the 7mm RSAU the capacity to drive the big Berger 180-grainers at optimal velocities. The image below shows the older Berger 180gr VLD. Kenny shoots the newer 180gr Hybrid. They are both very, very accurate.
 Banner Year for King Kenny
Pictured above is Kenny Adams holding his 1st Place Plaque from the 2013 F-Class World Championship. To the right, Ken (with fellow Team Grizzly members) is pictured at the 2014 F-Class Nationals accepting the Berger Trophy for the First Place F-Open 4-Man Team.
Below are Kenny Adams’s major shooting accomplishments from the past 12 months:
2013 – F-Class Nationals – 2nd Place F-Open.
2013 – F-Class World Championship – 1st Place F-Open.
2013 – Christmas Match in Florida – 1st Place F-Open.
2014 – Southwest Nationals – 1st Place F-Open 4-Man Team Grizzly (Set National record).
2014 – Orange Blossom Regional – 1st Place F-Open.
2014 – Sinclair East Coast Fullbore Nationals – 1st Place F-Open and set new Fullbore national record.
2014 – Mid West Palma – 1st Place F-Open 1200-yard match and set 1200-yard record.
2014 – F-Class Nationals – 3rd Place F-Open.
2014 – F-Class Nationals – 1st Place F-Open 4-Man Team Grizzly.
Kenny’s World-Beating 7mm RSAUM Load
For his 7mm RSAUMs Kenny loads Hodgdon H4350 powder and Federal 215m primers into Nosler or Norma RSAUM brass. In the RSAUM he runs Berger 180gr Hybrid bullets seated “just touching” the lands. Kenny is very precise with his charge weights. Using a Sartorius Magnetic Force Restoration scale, Kenny tries to hold his powder charges to within 1-2 kernels charge-weight consistency.
When you get it all correct, when every phase of the reloading process has been carried out perfectly, then you have rounds that can set records and win world titles. So what does championship-grade ammo look like? Take a look at the photo above. This is the 7mm RSAUM ammunition used by Kenny Adams at the 2014 Berger Southwest Nationals (SWN). Kenny is the 2013 F-Class World Champion.
November 24th, 2014
If you’ve been looking for a premium quality stock for a new gun project, now’s the time to buy. McMillan is offering exceptional deals now through November 30, 2014. As part of a pre-Black Friday promotion, prices have been slashed by as much as $342 on many of McMillan’s most popular stocks, including the A5 for Rem 700 Long action. Along with big savings on the purchase price of stocks, you can even get FREE ground shipping with Promo Code “DOORBUSTER”.
Shown below are some of the items originally on sale — but there were other discounted stocks in McMillan’s Online Store. You can find some awesome deals this week — but be advised that the Doorbuster sale prices are for a limited time. Also the free shipping offer expires November 30, 2014. In addition, these sale items are “Limited inventory — While supplies last”. There will be no rain checks, and shipping charges on previous orders will not be reimbursed.
SALE tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
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