Wouldn’t it be interesting if a major manufacturer of tactical rifles turned its attention to the long-range competition game, specifically F-Class? Well, that is happening. Last year Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO) rolled out a patriotic Stars and Stripes F-TR rifle, and this year APO has created an impressive new F-Open rifle. APO’s new F-Open rifle is based on the SABER Modular Rifle Chassis System (MRCS), as fitted a new front end. APO’s F-Open rifle features a long, aluminum fore-end with a 3 inch-wide bag-rider section. This provides excellent stability on the bags and offers a “long wheelbase” for improved tracking. At the rear, APO provides a metal bag-rider that runs fore-and-aft under the cheekpiece.
CNC-machined from billet aluminum alloy, the fore-end on APO’s F-Open rig features a three-inch wide Catamaran design (with twin “rails” on the underside). This long fore-end can be custom weight-balanced to meet the F-Open class 10kg weight limit. APO’s new F-Open rifle also boasts a rear Bag Rider that replaces the butt hook found on APO’s tactical rigs. The rear buttstock section features adjustable length of pull (via spacer), adjustable cheek piece, and adjustable drop for the Limbsaver®-equipped buttplate.
The SABER F-Open 6.5-284 Competition Rifle is built around APO’s octagonal SABER® LX receiver, which can be supplied with a detachable magazine or single-shot target block. APO’s bolt action receivers take advantage of a unique interlocking design in the Center Chassis Section that provides additional holding strength on both right and left hand models. The trigger is a two-stage, adjustable Tubb T7T trigger set to 1.0-1.5 pounds pull. The barrel is a button-rifled, stainless 4R Heavy Palma contour from MullerWorks. Customers can elect barrel lengths up to 30 inches.
Rifle Available as a Complete Package
The complete 6.5-284 F-Open Competition Rifle package includes a Leupold VX-6 7-42x56mm rifle scope. The base weight of the F-Open MRCS chassis (by itself) is 6.25 pounds and it can be weight-adjusted as desired by the shooter. The SABER F-Open Competition Series MRCS will be available in popular Cerakote finishes as well as hard-anodized colors. “We wanted to build a solid F-Open rifle that a shooter could take right into competition and be competitive”, says Matthew Peterson, Ashbury’s Product Development Coordinator.
Ashbury will showcase its new SABER F-Open competition rifle (chambered in 6.5-284 Winchester) at SHOT Show Booth #31407. To learn more about Ashbury Precision Ordnance’s line of rifle chassis systems, precision rifles, and long range shooting accessories, visit the Ashbury Web Portal.
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Our friends Ed and Steve, aka the 6.5 Guys, were prolific last week in Las Vegas, visiting dozens of vendors at SHOT Show. Here are Ed and Steve’s video reports for Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO), Vortex Optics, and Thunderbeast Arms. (If you’re thinking about buying a suppressor definitely check out the new Ultra series from Thunderbeast, featured in the third video below). You can see more SHOT Show videos by Ed and Steve at 6.5Guys.com.
Ashbury Precision Ordnance
Here Precision Rifle Series (PRS) Competitor Melissa Gilliland talks about the modular chassis systems offered by Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO). With adjustable buttplate, cheekpiece, and grip, these systems can be adapted for a variety of shooting disciplines. APO even offers a modular chassis for Savage barreled actions. Melissa shoots a tricked-out 6.5 Creedmoor rig with a Titanium APO action.
New Precision Rifle from APO
SABRE Chassis System for Savage Actions
Vortex Optics
Vortex continues to grab a larger share of the tactical and long-range hunting markets. This video features the Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56mm and 3-18x50mm scopes. These Gen II Razors feature apochromatic objective lenses, rugged 34mm single-piece aluminum main tubes, and versatile 6X zoom range. Both MOA-based and Milrad-based reticles are offered. Vortex scopes have large, user-friendly controls, and a good feature set for the price.
Thunder Beast Arms
Thunder Beast Arms’s suppressors, built by shooters for shooters, are tough yet light. Thunder Beast developed a strong following for its titanium cans that offered excellent performance with light weight. In this video, Thunder Beast unveils its new “Ultra” series of suppressors. Compared to Thunder Beast’s previous CB-series suppressors (of like size), these Ultras are 4 to 5 ounces lighter, yet provide 4 to 5 decibels of additional noise reduction. That represents a major gain in suppressor performance.
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Leica just released an inline power-booster (1.8X Extender) for its APO-Televid spotting scopes. Brilliant! That’s a great accessory we would like to other spotting scope makers offer as well. Hopefully we’ll see the other major brands — Kowa, Nightforce, Nikon, Pentax, Swarovski, Vortex, Zeiss — follow Leica’s lead.
With Leica’s new 1.8X Extender combined with the 25-50X eyepiece, the effective magnification range is 45-90X. That’s right — you can boost the high-end magnification from 50X all the way to 90X. In good viewing conditions (with a solid tripod), we have found you really can use 80+ power or higher on a spotting scope to resolve very small bullet holes at long range. With its 1.8X Extender in place, Leica now offers the greatest magnification of any premium spotting scope. According to the German company: “Leica is the world’s only manufacturer in the premium spotting scope segment to offer such an additional eyepiece for an existing angled spotting scope and such extreme magnification.”
The optical system of the 1.8X Extender consists of a two-lens achromat that mounts securely with an integrated bayonet mount locking mechanism. With the simple push of a button and a quick turn of the wrist, the Extender 1.8x can be quickly and securely mounted between the APO-Televid angled spotting scope and the eyepiece. (NOTE: the 1.8X Extender only works on Leica’s angled spotting scopes — there is no straight version). Leica designed the new 1.8X Extender to be optically, mechanically, and ergonomically matched with the APO-Televid spotting scopes to work flawlessly as a modular kit. MSRP for the 1.8X Extender is $449.00.
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Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO) has introduced a new line of modular SABRE chassis systems for Savage model 10 and 110 rifles. These chassis systems are completely modular, upgradeable, and reconfigurable. Sporter models start at $995.00. APO President Morris Petersen explains: “Our customers said ‘Hey, you need to build a line for Savages’. So we built a series of SABREs for Savage [short action and long action rifles]. We have a composite version (Sporter), the Super-Sport Alloy, and the Carbon Fiber version. They are all fully adjustable (as all of the SABRE Platforms are) so they can fit any type of shooter.” New model calibers include .308 Win, .300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua Mag in Sporter Composite and Quattro Alloy series with 5-round and 10-round AICS-type magazines.
New Savage SABRE Chassis System (SVS-A3, MOD-1 Alloy Series SuperSport)
APO has been selling the Savage SVL-A2 MOD-1 for the 110 BA for nearly 2 years. The new Savage 10 and 110 models will begin deliveries to APO dealers in the Spring of 2014. Sporter models will come first, followed by the Alloy Series.
APO Showcases the New SABRE Chassis Line for Savage 10 and 110 Rifles
Shooting with APO During Media Day at the Range
Media Day at the Boulder Pistol and Rifle Club was busy all day long. The APO crew let reporters test drive three precision rifles: an ASW .338 Lapua Magnum, a custom M700 .300 Win Mag, and the new Savage 10 FCP/SVS-A3. The winds kicked up quickly and reached 25 mph at times. But everyone still had fun.
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At the NRA Show in Houston, Ashbury Precision Ordnance (“APO”) will spotlight the new long-action SABER-FORSST Sporter Chassis. For hunters and recreational shooters, the SABER Composite Series Sporter is a “drop in, torque down and shoot upgrade” for long-action rifles with 1.200″ to 1.300″ barrel shank diameters. The SABER Sporter chassis features adjustable shoulder stock and carbon-reinforced fore-end (with traditional sporter shaping and twin swivel studs). You can install your barreled action in the SABER Sporter chassis in minutes using simple tools. No gunsmithing or bedding is required. All metal surfaces are coated for durability.
Rugged and Fully Adjustable
The SABER Sporter long-action chassis weighs just 5.25 lbs including the box mag, adjustable buttstock, Limbsaver® recoil pad, and ERGO® Sure Grip. This chassis offers full adjustability — length of pull (LOP), cheek-rest height, buttpad position, and even grip-to-trigger distance. APO says this is a very versatile stock, suitable for both hunting and field applications: “The Sporter is a comfortable, low-recoil rifle chassis impervious to all weather conditions and shoots comfortably off-hand, supported, or from a bipod”. APO’s SABER Sporter is offered in four colors for these action types: Rem700 SA and LA; McMillan G30 SA and LA; Surgeon RSR, 591, 1086, 1581.
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Nightforce Optics will unveil new products at the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits this upcoming Friday. The big news is an 82mm spotting scope — the first-ever spotter from Nightforce. We knew Nightforce was planning an important product launch, but frankly this announcement caught us by surprise — Nightforce has always been a riflescope company. This is new territory. Why is Nightforce rolling out a high-magnification spotting scope now? Kyle Brown, Nightforce’s Director of Sales and Marketing, explains: “Our customers have asked for many years when we would introduce a spotting scope. The answer was, ‘at a time when we could produce a spotting scope equivalent in performance and quality to Nightforce riflescopes.’ That time is now.”
The new TS-82™ Xtreme Hi-Def™ spotting scope features a large 82mm objective, plus high-quality, European-made APO Fluorite Glass. The “street price”, including a 20-70X eyepiece, should be $2522.00 ($2600 MSRP). Shown above is the straight-body version, but the TS-82 will also be offered with an angled body for the same price ($2522.00 including 20-70X eyepiece). Nightforce promises that, by the end of 2013, an optional wide-angle 30-60X eyepiece will be available. In addition, Nightforce plans to offer an accessory mount for attaching a red dot sight or a laser rangefinder. This is good news for long-range hunters — you can locate your target through the spotter and then instantly range distance-to-target with an LRF aligned precisely with the spotting scope lens. Nightforce will also offer a handy iPhone accessory mount for digiscoping.
At the NRA Meeting in Houston, Nightforce will also introduce a new, side-focus 2.5-10x42mm NXS riflescope. For years, the Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm NXS Compact has been a popular optic. The new Nightforce 2.5-10x42mm NXS Compact, with its larger objective, should be more effective in low light. Yet the scope is still fairly light-weight (19 oz.–20.5 oz.) and compact (11.9 inches in length). Expect “street price” to be around $1740.00.
The notable feature of the new 2.5-10x42mm NXS is its side parallax adjustment (25 yards to infinity). It’s unusual to find side parallax control on an optic with 10X max magnification. The new 2.5×10 also incorporates red or green reticle illumination with adjustable intensity settings. Six different reticles are available, including the new IHR™ (International Hunting Reticle). The 2.5-10x42mm is offered with .250 MOA Hi-Speed™ or .1 Mil-Radian adjustments on exposed turrets, or, alternately, enclosed (capped) turrets with .250 MOA clicks. For more information, visit NightforceOptics.com
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At the recent Int’l Sniper Competition Awards Ceremony at Ft. Benning, GA, Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO) unveiled a modular rifle chassis customized for the Army Sniper Association (ASA). These specially-engraved APO SABER-FORSST Chassis Systems will be sold exclusively through the Army Sniper Association. Proceeds from chassis sales will help benefit Sniper Association activities. Bob Mahar, President of the Army Sniper Association, explains: “The [Association’s] partnership with Ashbury will help us grow the Sniper Association, contribute to the Silent Warrior Memorial construction and commit additional funding to the SSG. Eric Caban Fallen Sniper Fund.” Ashbury Precision also recently raffled off two SABER Enhanced Factory Rifles to raise money for the Fallen Sniper fund.
Ashbury Precision Ordnance Chassis System (Turn Audio volume down at work.)
The customized SABER modular rifle chassis designed for the Army Sniper Association is based on APO’s very popular MOD-0 chassis platform with the addition of important features:
Hand-Tool Adjustable (HTA) Folding Stock with Limbsaver Recoil Pad.
ERGO Hand Grip with adjustable Grip to Trigger Distance.
DBM with Ambidextrous Magazine Release.
SuperSport Tactical Alloy Fore-End with Bipod Stud.
12″ Picatinny Side Accessory Rails and 8 Sling Swivel Attachment Points.
“We have configured the Army Sniper Association’s Modular Rifle Chassis around the two most popular rifles around”, says Morris Peterson, President of Ashbury Int’l Group. These are “the Remington short action and long action[.] Now shooters can make their existing or new Remington bolt-action rifles functionally modular and more comfortable to shoot accurately.” For those shooters with an M24-styled rifle based on a Rem M700 long action, but chambered for the .308 Win cartridge, APO has just introduced the RLA-A3 option offering a 5-round or 10-round detachable magazine. A wide range of SABER modular rifle chassis accessories are available from Ashbury Precision Ordnance.
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Meopta is not a well-known name in the North American market, but we predict that may change in the near future. Meopta, a leading optics maker in the Czech Republic, makes optical components for many of the most respected “big name” companies in the business. With Meopta’s introduction of its 75mm APO (apochromatic) spotting scope, Meopta has served notice that it can build a scope that rivals far more expensive optics. We tried one out at the NRA meeting in Phoenix, and we’re very impressed from what we could see. The image is very sharp. Eye relief with a 20-60 zoom eyepiece is good. We liked the large full-diameter focus ring in the center of the scope body. Swarovski uses a similar central focus ring on its ATS line of scopes, and we’ve always found this to be a user-friendly design.
The Meopta 75mm APO spotting scope retails for up to $1449.00 at various online optics and camera houses. However, at the NRA Convention, Alex Roy of EuroOptic.com offered a spectacular offer to AccurateShooter.com readers. For a limited time, while supplies last, EuroOptic.com will sell the Meopta 75mm APO complete with 20-60X zoom eyepiece for just $1175.00, including a free compact tripod. That’s a true bargain. This is a very nice spotting scope that compares well to other European and Japanese spotting scopes costing much, much more. From what we can tell, the Meopta is also the most economical option for folks seeking a 72mm+ objective and APO glass. Watch the video below for more details of this special offer. NOTE: The offer is limited to stock in hand. (Don’t complain to us if you procrastinate and miss out on this bargain.)
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Every year, the high-end Spotting Scopes from the major optics-makers seem to get bigger, better, and, unfortunately, more expensive. Leica rolled out its new flagship spotting scope, a black-bodied 82mm Televid with APO glass. A smaller version with a 65mm front objective will also be available in Spring 2009. These babies are expensive — the 82mm (body only, no eyepiece), carries a $3,195.00 MSRP, while the 65mm (body only, no eyepiece) retails for $2,295.00.
What justifies the high price is Leica’s superb APO (apochromatic) glass. This is formulated to give enhanced light transmission with less chromatic aberration. Other manufacturers offer “ED”, “HD” or “LD” low-dispersion glass, but the Leica APO glass is probably about as good as it gets. (Both the new 65mm and the 82mm are offered at a lower price with HD flouride glass, with APO lenses an extra-cost upgrade.) Leica claims the optical performance of the new spotting scopes is significantly better than the preceding models. The High Definition (HD) versions use specialized glass in a newly designed lens arrangement for improved clarity and contrast.
Jason checked out the new 82mm Televid with angled body. It was fitted with a 25-50x Wide Angle eyepiece. Jason noted the eyepiece offered good eye relief, and the clarity and sharpness was outstanding. The scope is fairly compact (front to rear) for an 80mm-class optic. Is the 82mm APO Televid better than the Big Zeiss or Swarovski (or the new ED-glass Kowa)? Only field tests can reveal that. “You’d have to get the Leica 82mm in the field with a couple other premium spotters with low dispersion glass and see how they perform side by side.” The Leica Televid 82 and Televid 65 spotting scopes are both available with straight or angled eyepiece housing, with either HD or APO glass.
Leice also announced that, for 2009, it will offer HD (High Definition) lenses in its popular Geovid Laser-Range-Finding Binoculars. MSRP on the HD Geovids starts at $2395.00.
Leica just released an inline power-booster (1.8X Extender) for its APO-Televid spotting scopes. Brilliant! That’s a great accessory we would like to other spotting scope makers offer as well. Hopefully we’ll see the other major brands — Kowa, Nightforce, Nikon, Pentax, Swarovski, Vortex, Zeiss — follow Leica’s lead.
Rugged and Fully Adjustable
Every year, the high-end Spotting Scopes from the major optics-makers seem to get bigger, better, and, unfortunately, more expensive. 
