Holiday Greetings to Our Readers
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our readers and especially our 19,630+ Forum Members. This marks our eighth Christmas “in business”, and the site is growing faster than ever. AccurateShooter.com (and 6mmBR.com) are now accessed by over 120,000 unique users every week. Part of the reason for that success is the hard work of our volunteer helpers.

Unsung Heroes Deserve Recognition
I want to acknowledge some guys who have really helped out the site. Number one is JayChris, our IT guy — he keeps the servers running smoothly. Thanks also go to Jeff Williams, our new “Answerman” who fields miscellaneous questions from our readers. We have a great place to test rifles thanks to our good buddy (and designated trigger-puller) Joe Friedrich. I also want to recognize our regular contributors, including German Salazar, Jason Baney, Robert Whitley, Mark LaFevers, and Vince Bottomley. And special thanks to EdLongRange who supplies story leads for the Daily Bulletin. These guys (and many others) have all contributed much time and effort.

For those planning to shoot at Camp Perry this summer, we’ve assembled some valuable resources to help with your planning.

LINKS:
2012 National Matches Start Page (NRA website)
Camp Perry 2012 Home Page
Lodging Info and Rates at Camp Perry Lodging Center
Directions to Camp Perry (Port Clinton, Ohio)
National Matches Calendar 2012

You’ll also find some valuable tips from a current Camp Perry Thread in our Shooters Forum. Those who have attended in years past offer advice on lodging options:

Q: I was told the 4-person huts are very primitive. Are they really that bad?

A: FDShuster replied: “Yes, they really are that bad. Nothing more than a plywood, particle board “shelter” sitting on a concrete slab. Sitting out in the middle of an open field, in July and August, the temps in the huts will be very high. Plug-in electric outlets are available, so some bring a portable window air conditioner. If you would be able to reserve one of the newer units it would be closer to that of a motel room, a big jump up from a tent, and a whole ‘nuther world from the huts. My last times [at Camp Perry], I reserved an off-post motel room. Made the whole trip much more enjoyable, and I was actually able to sleep at night”.

RonD added: “The huts were made to house German WW II POWs. Take a sheet of plywood 1/2 or 3/4″ the size of the military bunks, or you’ll be sleeping on the floor( spring sag). I took a sleeping bag that I placed on top of the mattress, and put my sheets inside. Take your own pillow. You’ll need screw-in fuses for the outside exposed fuse block. Take 15-20-25-30 amp so you’ll have a variety. There is one light bulb in the center of the ceiling. Take a few spare bulbs. I took a box fan, cooler, card table, clothes line and clothes hangars, duct tape.”

Q: What about staying in the Modules or the Barracks?

A: The newer Modules, we’re told, are not available this summer. But the modern Barracks provide a good alternative. KenO writes: “They built new Barracks recently, and some of the shooters stayed in them last year and said they were real nice. Four beds to a room, and air conditioned. Same price as the huts.” KenO added: “I’ve stayed in the huts many times, but since they built the RV park, I have been staying there.”

CMP No Longer Issuing Ammo at CMP Matches
The CMP will no longer issue ammunition to competitors for the Garand, Springfield, As-Issued Garand, Carbine or any other CMP matches. This includes the National Matches and all Regional Games Events (Eastern/Western Games, Oklahoma Games, Georgia Games, etc.). Competitors may purchase ammunition at the match or bring their own. Ammunition will be for sale at all CMP National Matches at a special discounted match price. For the 2012 National Rimfire Sporter Match, Lapua will donate 50 rounds of .22LR ammunition to every competitor.

This year, according to VHA President Jeff Rheborg, the Jamboree has been cancelled for financial reasons. In addition, “all shooting events will be suspended for the 2012 shooting year at the VHA range”. On Friday, May 4th, Jeff issued this statement:

RE: 2012 Shooting Events

I hope this letter finds you enjoying the spring weather many are having. With much regret, all shooting events will be suspended for the 2012 shooting year at the VHA Range. With the uncontrollable events of last year and the financial loss we incurred, we feel the overall cost of repairing, maintaining and preparing for these events is not financially viable for this year. The foundation of VHA is stable; we feel it necessary to protect it in this uncertain economy. If you were registered for the 2011 Jamboree your refund will be forthcoming.

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause. Thank you for your continued support!

Jeff Rheborg

In the new Creedmoor Catalog, we found some cool products you guys may not have seen before. Of course this is just a small sample of the thousands of items in the current catalog.

Malcolm Hi-Lux M73G2 Rifle Scope
Item HL-M73G21, $399.95
Modern repro vintage-style scope ideal for Vintage Sniper Rifle Matches. If you shoot a 1903 Springfield or old Mauser in the sniper matches this is just what you need. Fine cross-hair reticle with multi-coated lenses. The M73G2 features internal 1/2-MOA per click elevation and windage adjustment, with 60 clicks (30 MOA) per full turn. Total adjustment for both Elevation and Windage is 50 MOA each, i.e, 25 MOA up and down and 25 MOA left and right from the reticle’s centered position.

Blank Eyepiece
Item C1038, $6.95
This semi-opaque eye-shield clips on your shooting eyewear on either right or left side. This allows you to shoot with both eyes open, reducing eyestrain and fatigue. For cross-dominant shooters who don’t want to hold their rifle or pistol with their weak-side hand, this device can be very helpful.

Holland’s Scope Level
Item HOL-LEVEL, $49.95
There are many leveling devices on the market, but we think this is one of the best designs yet (when mounted properly). The T-6 aluminum alloy level fits on your scope tube, with the bubble level set to the side for easy viewing when in firing position. The unit, offered in 1 inch, 30mm, and 34mm sizes, can be flipped so you can place the bubble on either the right side or left side. This unit is easier to see with your left eye than levels mounting in the center of the scope.

The Score Keeper and Pit Puller (by Jim Owens)
Item JOSKPP, $11.95 (Book on CD/DVD)
Can you explain the 11 Hit Rule, the Excessive Hits Rule, the Insufficient Hits Rule, and what to do for a withdrawn target? If not, and you compete in High Power matches, you need this DVD. This useful resource can help match directors and score keepers, and it is an effective training tool for new pit workers. The DVD features over 300 color slides and shows scoring situations from both the Pit Puller’s POV and the Score Keeper’s POV.

Anschütz Shaker Pellet Box
Item AHG-1001, $19.95
With this handy item airgun shooters can sort, count and arrange pellets. This is the best set-up for holding 100 match pellets in rows, and protected from damage. (It’s easy to ding the tails of pellets, which can really harm accuracy.) To quickly fill the box, just pour some pellets into the box, press down on the side tabs, and shake gently back and forth. If you sort pellets by weight (or other criteria), you can also place the pellets individually.

125gr and 220gr (subsonic) Options in .300 Whisper
The second is the .300 Whisper. This cartridge is the brainchild of JD Jones of SSK and has been around a long time as a proven wildcat cartridge. This versatile 30-caliber cartridge is designed primarily for use in M4/M16/AR-15 family of rifles and allows for use of a wide weight range of projectiles. Initial Black Hills loads for this cartridge are a 125 grain load that essentially duplicates 7.62×39 ballistics, but with far superior accuracy, plus a 220 grain Sierra MatchKing at subsonic velocity.

New 69gr SMK load in .223 Rem for AR15s
For use in AR15s with 1:9″ twist barrels, Black Hills’s customers have asked Black Hills to provide factory ammo loaded Sierra’s highly accurate 69gr MatchKing. In response to customer demand, for 2012 Black Hills will be offering the 69gr SMK loaded to 5.56mm pressures and velocities in military specification brass. In this new ammo, Black Hills has utilized modern temperature-stable, flash-suppressed propellant.

We think the RCBS Swager certainly rivals Dillon’s Super Swage 600 which performs the same task. The Dillon employs a vertical (up/down) lever, while the new RCBS Swager uses a horizontal lever arm, with a nice cushioned handle. MSRP on the RCBS Swager is $106.00 compared to $100.95 for the Dillon Super Swage. Either tool will pay for itself by allowing you to reload inexpensive milsurp brass.

RCBS Adds Universal Shell-Holder to Trim Pro
RCBS has also updated its popular Trim Pro® case trimmer with the addition of a spring-loaded universal shell holder. This has spring-loaded jaws that can hold anything from a 17 Fireball case up to the large magnums. No more fiddling around with cartridge-specific shell-holders — you just snap your cases (of any size) in and out of the spring-loaded jaws. The system works well and the jaws hold cases securely during the trimming process. Again, watch the video to see the system in action.

Pistol Bullet-Feeder Kit
Last but not least, RCBS has released an inexpensive, gravity-fed bullet feeding system. Much cheaper and simpler than a motor-driven feeder, this system, which combines a tube with a special die, reliably drops pistol bullets, one by one, as you operate your progressive press. Importantly, this manual bullet-feeder works with jacketed, plated, cast or swaged lead bullets. (Some other bullet feeders cannot handle lead bullets). This device should be a major time-saver for those who load a lot of pistol rounds.

This Editor was sufficiently impressed with the gravity-fed bullet feeder that I ordered one for my own RCBS Pro 2000 Progressive. Note, however, the RCBS feeders work on Dillon and Hornady presses also — these Bullet Feeder Kits are designed to be used with ANY 7/8″-14 threaded progressive press. Each clear tube holds 20-25 bullets depending on weight and profile. Two bullet tubes are included with each unit. Extra bullet tubes sold separately. MSRP is just $36.00.

RCBS 2012 Rebate — $10 Off $50.00 Order
RCBS has a “Get Green” Rebate Offer that runs through December 31, 2012. When you purchase $50.00 of any RCBS product, you qualify for a $10.00 mail-in rebate. Then, earn a bonus $5.00 mail-in rebate when you purchase one of the following: 5 sleeves of Federal Premium or CCI primers, 1 pound of Alliant Powder, 1 box of Speer Bullets, 1 bag of Federal Premium brass. There is also a $50.00 Rebate on a purchase of $300.00 worth of RCBS Products.

CLICK HERE for RCBS 2012 Rebate Form

Nosler® has blended the accuracy of its Custom Competition™ bullet jackets with its own ultra-precise lead-alloy cores to create a match bullet design that should rival other premium bullets. These new Custom Comp bullets have a very small meplat for increased aerodynamic efficiency and a long boat tail for good BC and reduced drag.

Nosler Match Grade™ Ammunition
Nosler offer some new varieties of match ammo for 2012, and Nosler has re-packaged its Match Grade™ ammunition for 2012. All Nosler® Match Grade™ ammunition will now be sold in a black box. Here are the new-for-2012 cartridge/bullet combinations:

For existing Weatherby rifle owners, Weatherby now offers a Detachable Box Magazine (DBM) retro-fit kit. This $89.00 kit combines a 3-round DBM with new plastic floorplate and trigger housing. Weatherby says the DBM Kit saves 1/4 lb. of weight as compared to hinged bottom metal. The DBM system will release mags at the push of a button. This kit is currently available for .25-06 Rem., .270 Win. and .30-06 Springfield Weatherby rifles. It also fits many Howa 1500 actions, including S&W and Mossberg Howa 1500 varients.

Today, Savage Arms will post previews of its new 2012 product line-up throughout the day, starting at noon Eastern Time. Items will be posted one-by-one. For the “first looks” at new Savage guns, go to Savage’s official Facebook Page, http://www.facebook.com/savagearms. We will publish the new product descriptions here, as they are revealed.

NEW Item Five: Model 11/111 Lady Hunter
The New Model 11/111 Lady Hunter has a female-friendly geometry that features a shorter length of pull, higher comb, shorter reach from pistol grip to trigger, slimmer fore-end and lighter front-end weight.

NEW Item Four: Left-Hand Model 220 Slug Gun
For southpaws, Savage had added a left-hand model 220 20 gauge Slug Gun. Suggested retail is $549.00. This seemed to stir quite a bit of interest among Savage’s Facebook fans.

NEW Item Three: “Rascal” Compact Bolt-Action Rifle for Kids – Just $174
Savage says: “You’ve seen other micro-sized guns but not one like this. It is safer (manual safety, accutrigger and can be unloaded without pulling the trigger). It’s easier to use (feed ramp, cocks on bolt lift) and it’s more accurate — given its accutrigger and adjustable peep sights. The “Rascal” will be available in several colors, to be determined later. Suggested retail is a mere $174.00.

NEW ITEM Two: Stevens Model 320 Shotgun
This is the new Stevens Model 320 Security Pump. It features a pistol grip stock, rotary bolt and Ghost Ring sights. Suggested retail is $260. Whoa — at that price, Savage is going to sell a ton of these if it proves reliable. People will be jazzed by the pistol grip stock and Ghost Rings. If you want a standard stock (which is actually more ergonomic for many folks), Stevens offers that as well (lower photo).

Click Images to Zoom

NEW ITEM One: Trophy Hunter XP Packages
These come with a 3-9×40 Nikon BDC scope, which is a considerable upgrade over previous packages we have offered. These scopes are compatible with Nikon’s proprietary Spot-On ballistic software. We anticipate actual sales prices to be $499.00 to $599.00 for the blue/syn, $549.00 to $649.00 for blue/wood and $599.00 to $699.00 for stainless/synthetic.

Right now Savage is being very tight-lipped about the new product line. However, Savage posted a teaser showing a gun case marked “Classified” — challenging Facebook readers to guess what might be unveiled next week. So far, reader guesses include:

• An AR-type gun in .223 Rem AND 7.62×39.
• A big boomer in .408 Cheytac, .416 Barrett or 50 BMG.
• A single-shot Model 12 Target rifle in 6.5×47 LAPUA.
• A Mini-14 type rifle in 6.5 Grendel.
• A “Zombie Zapper” for use with Hornady’s Zombie Max ammo.
• A lightweight survival-type .22 LR rifle.
• A 300 AAC Blackout bolt-gun.
• A 17 Hornet Varminter.

What do you guys think? We suspect the “Classified” rifle will be a bolt gun with rails and a detachable magazine, possibly with a collapsible stock. Consumer interest in “tactical”-style rifles is very high right now. We can expect Savage to deliver something that caters to market demand.