Moving into the second day of the Long-Range National Championships, five shooters are clustered at the front with equal scores of 598 points. Leading the way, based on X-count, is our friend and Forum member John Whidden (598-36X). Just three Xs back with 598-33X is Bryan Litz, Berger’s Chief Bullet Designer and Ballistician. We’re pleased to see Forum member John Friguglietti, aka Mudcat, ranked fourth. Among the top ten, in the preliminary standings, are shooters from international squads. It’s good to see foreign competitors on the firing line at Perry this year.
It’s no surprise that John Whidden is leading the way. He’s won the Long Range Championship before, and he finished in second place last year. In the past John has campaigned a .243 Winchester in the Long-Range Nationals. This chambering has a reputation for short barrel life, but as John explained: “When the National Championship’s at stake, I can afford to use a fresh barrel for the match. If the .243 offers the right combination of accuracy, low recoil, and performance in the wind, I’m not that concerned about barrel life.”
In a masterful piece of Madison Avenue magic, BMW portrays its M5 “super-sedan” as the four-wheeled equivalent of a speeding bullet. In this clever, CGI-enhanced marketing video, an M5 is “shot” from a giant barrel. It then speeds across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards a giant bullseye — just like a bullet heading toward a target. Along its path, the M5 shatters a giant apple, and then slices through three giant water balloons. Far-fetched? Yes. But the illusion is superbly-crafted, making for two very compelling minutes of movie-making.
Watch BMW Video
Measuring the BMW M5 in Bullet Terms
How does the M5 measure up compared to real bullets shot from real rifles? With a 66.9″ body width, the BMW M5 is a 1700mm projectile. When we convert the M5’s rather porky 4350-pound curb weight* to grains, we find the M5 weighs an astonishing 30,450,000 grains. (Yes that’s 30.45 MILLION). The M5’s electronically-governed top speed is 155 mph. That equates to 277.33 fps — pretty slow by ballistics standards. A typical hunting projectile flies ten times as fast. And even a 9mm handgun bullet travels four times as fast.
M5 ‘Knock-Down’ Power More Than Adequate for Big Game
When it comes to knock-down power, a speeding M5 beats even a 50 BMG bullet hands down. At 500 yards, a 750gr A-Max fired from a 50 BMG has about 8625 foot/lbs of retained energy (this assumes 2700 fps MV).
By contrast, with a terminal velocity of 277.33 fps, the 4350-lb BMW delivers 5.199 Million foot/lbs of retained energy. We think that’s more that enough “hitting power” to cope with any size North American game. But there are certainly some “Zombie” Hunters who might still wish for more power.
How about trajectory? Well we can’t answer that one for you. Last time we checked, Bryan Litz had not calculated the G1 or G7 BC for a BMW M5, so we can’t figure the car’s come-ups using JBM Ballistics. Still, we’re sure that, if BMW gave Bryan an M5 to play with, he’d be happy to spend a few months gathering “data”. But we do suspect it might be a bit challenging to get a 4350-lb sport sedan to fly through the sky-screens of Bryan’s chronographs.
*BMW M5 curb weight based on Car & Driver Report and 7000 grains per pound conversion.
The Remington-Bushmaster 2012 Long Range Regional Championship was held at Reade Range in Fallen Timbers, Pennsylvania on June 1, 2, and 3. We had a great turn out of over 60 shooters. Half of these shooters showed up on Friday to participate in the practice and team match. The weather had other plans for the shooters though and the second half of the team match was rained out.
Saturday started off sunny, but cool and windy, with 62 shooters registering in Sling (43), F-TR (7) and F-Open (12). Pit service was provided by the Boy Scouts, and had a rocky start. With the help of some shooter volunteers, pit operations smoothed out throughout the day and the first three 1000-yard Matches ran without incident. The wind pretty much held a steady 2 MOA left throughout the day, and some high scores were fired.
After the Saturday matches were finished and daily scores posted, Bryan Litz conducted a wind clinic, and then the Reade Range Staff provided a wonderful meal of ca-bobs, salads, fresh fruit and beverages. Then came the prize raffle. Over 50 prizes were raffled off, including a Vortex Spotting Scope, gift certificates, and other merchandise items worth over $6000.
Sunday morning started off overcast and the same wind as the day before. Conditions remained constant and the pits ran smoother than ever with more volunteers helping the scout troops. Rain was forecasted to start at 3:00 pm so the shooters were eager to move through the matches and beat the rain. Mission accomplished, as a cease fire was called just before 3:00 pm, ending the last match. Scores were quickly figured and awards were promptly given. Bryan Litz, of Applied Ballistics LLC, announced the winners of each individual match, Tom Ferraro announced the aggregate match winners, and finally Ken Roxburgh presented the winners with guns on behalf of Remington-Bushmaster. The rain showed up as the final name was announced.
Bryan Litz remarked: “We would like to thank everyone who participated in this match and all of those who helped make it a great weekend. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again next year!”
Final Scores:
Sling Class
F-TR
F-Open
1st: Bryan Litz 1194-70
1st: James Crofts 1141-27
1st: Don Nagel 1172-41
2nd: Trevor Hengehold 1190-65
2nd: Brad Sauve 1134-25
2nd: Bob Woodward 1169-49
3rd: Jon Howell 1188-60
3rd: William Litz 1122-19
3rd: Jim Murphy 1159-38
Gun Winners by Gun Class:
High Palma: Bill Bowers 1180-43
Any/Iron: Bryan Litz 598-36
Any/Any: Jon Howell (pictured) 597-35
Jr. Any/Iron: Tommy Ferraro 557-12
Jr. Any/Any: Joe Hendricks Jr. 571-14
High Grand Senior: David Brantner 1164-42
High Senior: Gerry Sanders 1179-47
High F-TR: James Crofts 1141-27
High F-Open: Don Nagel 1172-41
Bryan Litz has just released AB Mobile, a new, state-of-the-art Ballistics App for Android OS devices. (An iOS version for iPhones/iPads is in the works, but ETA is not yet set.) For those familiar with the Shooter App for Android and iOS, the $29.95 AB Mobile App is basically an extended/advanced version of Shooter. AB Mobile was coded by the same programmer, and uses the same solver, but this new AB App has an enhanced interface, plus many additional features that extend capabilities beyond any ballistics App currently on the market. In the video below, Bryan explains the features of the AB Mobile App and shows how to navigate through the various function screens.
Accounts for all major and minor trajectory variables
Built-in library of Litz-measured G1 and G7 Ballistic Coefficients for popular bullets.
Access weather data and latitude from GPS or Kestrel via blue-tooth link.
Web-sync feature stores rifle/ammo libraries online for quick retrieval.
Features custom drag curves for specific bullets as in-app purchases ($1.99).
Displays single shot solution in HUD view or Reticle view.
Displays multi-shot solution in Reticle view, table, and graph.
Custom Ballistic Calibration Based on Observed Drops
In addition, Applied Ballistics’ AB Mobile App offers Ballistic Calibration, so you can enter your observed drop at range and the program will calibrate your muzzle velocity, projectile drag (BC), and drop scaling over various segments of the trajectory. This is great for tactical shooters who need highly accurate drop tables for unknown distance matches. For those without access to chronographs, Ballistic Calibration also give you a fairly reliable MV baseline.
Berger Bullets has released a new, 250-grain .338 caliber Hybrid OTM Tactical bullet. This is a slippery projectile, with an impressive .349 G7-model Ballistic Coefficient (.682 G1 BC). This new bullet gives Berger TWO heavyweight .338-cal bullets in its line-up — Berger already offered a 300gr OTM Tactical Hybrid with a .419 G7 BC, and a whopping .818 G1 BC. Berger tells us: “The .338-Cal 250gr and 300gr Hybrid OTM Tactical bullets were optimized for use in the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge, but will work great in other cartridges as well.”
The new .338 cal, 250gr Hybrid was designed by Bryan Litz. The new 250-grainer’s Hybrid design blends a tangent ogive with a secant ogive. These blended shapes yield outstanding ballistic performance, yet the blended Hybrid design is normally less “finicky” about seating depth position than are secant-ogive, VLD-style bullets. Hence less load tuning should be required with the Hybrids compared to VLD designs. According to Bryan, these thick-jacket OTM Tactical bullets have been optimized for specific cartridges. They should be successful at either magazine-feedable lengths or loaded long for single-shot firing situations, which can allow for more powder capacity and higher velocities.
.338 Cal Hybrids for Long-Range Hunting?
While Berger officially says that the new 250gr Hybrid and its larger 300gr cousin are “not recommended for hunting”, large .338-caliber bullets with similar construction, such as the Sierra 300gr Match King, have been used successfully by long-range hunters for many years. One experienced hunting guide told us: “This combination of bullet diameter and bullet weight has proven to be a very effective on elk and other large game.” Berger’s 250gr and 300gr OTM Hybrids offer a higher BC option than other bullets in this caliber and weight ranges. Berger does plan, in the future, to offer .338 caliber 250-grain and 300-grain Hybrid Hunting bullets.
Loaded Ammo with new .338 Hybrids Available from Bryan Litz
Bryan Litz’s ammunition business, Applied Ballistics Munitions, now offers loaded .338-caliber ammo for two cartridges: .338 Edge and .338 Lapua Magnum. This ammo (for both cartridge types) is offered with your choice of either the 300gr OTM Hybrid or the new 250gr and 300gr OTM hybrid. If you’re not familiar with the .338 Edge, this is a 300 Remington Ultra Magnum necked-up for the .338 bullet. The .338 Edge has become popular with long-range hunters.
Story tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions
If you’re looking for a great start for your summer, mark your calendars for June 1, 2, and 3 and plan to shoot the 2012 Remington-Bushmaster Long Range Regional at the Reade Range in central Pennsylvania. June in the Appalachian Mountains is a beautiful time and place. The Reade range is a first class facility and terrific place to shoot. The Regional tournament is open to conventional (sling), and F-class shooters (both F-TR and F-Open). Firing will begin on Friday, June 1st with a 4-man team match. Saturday is 3×1000 any/iron match followed by a wind clinic by Bryan Litz. The match concludes on Sunday with 3×1000 any/any matches and awards presentations where a meal will be provided by the range. Several Military teams are expected to be in attendance and pit service is being arranged (so shooters probably won’t have to pull targets, but this is still being worked out).
CLICK “PLAY” to HEAR Bryan Litz TALK about LR Regional Match Course of Fire and PRIZES:
As if the fun of competitive shooting isn’t enticing enough, this match is heavily sponsored with some terrific prizes. Awards for the winners include: Remington rifles, Championship medals, and $1000 in cash awards. In addition to awards, the prize table will be presented as door prizes. So far over 18 sponsors have pledged product prizes totaling over $6,000 in value.
Remington-Bushmaster Arms is the primary sponsor of the match. Applied Ballistics, LLC is promoting the match and you can see a full list of the match sponsors and prizes on the Applied Ballistics homepage, AppliedBallisticsllc.com. Sponsor donations are greatly appreciated. If you have a business in the firearms industry and would like to support the shooting sports by donating to this match, please contact Bryan Litz at: bryan.litz [at] appliedballisticsllc.com .
Berger Bullets has released a new 6mm (.243 caliber) bullet for short-range (100-300 yards) benchrest applications. The new bullet (shown below right), is called the “6mm BR Column”. This name does not mean the bullet is designed just for the 6mm BR cartridge. Rather it is designed for all 6mm short-range benchrest (BR) rifles, most of which are 6 PPCs (for group shooting at least). The “Column” in the name comes from the fact that Berger has optimized the height of the lead core column inside the bullet. Testing revealed that bullets which had very uniform core column heights shot more accurately and were also easier to tune. Does the new “Column” bullet work? Well, noted benchrest shooter Lou Murdica has already used them to win a Two Gun Agg in Florida against “big name” competition. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait long to try these bullets out — Berger says the new 6mm BR ‘Column’ projectiles will be available in mid-March, 2012. Call Berger at (714) 447-5422 to order.
Bullet Characteristics — Accurate and Easy to Tune
Berger’s Ballistician and lead bullet designer Bryan Litz says this new ‘Column’ bullet should be less sensitive to seating depth: “We worked very hard to produce a bullet that has a wider ‘tuning window’ for peak accuracy. This means there may be several seating depths where it shoots well. We also expect that it can shoot well at different speed nodes, but this will be dependent on your barrel.” The estimated G1 BC for these bullets is 0.277. The meplat is 0.062″, typical of benchrest bullets in this weight class. There is a small pressure ring in the bullet. Recommended twist rate is 1:13.5″ but the bullet should stabilize in a 1:14″ twist-rate barrel.
Berger’s Eric Stecker tells us: “There have been benchrest bullets in the past which were well-known for achieving consistently small groups over a wide tune range in many rifles and loads. One example of this was the Euber bullet. The seemingly ‘magical’ performance of these bullets has been attributed to special dies, stars aligning, owl feathers, or some other unknown influence. However, Bryan Litz has found that there are specific mass balance and aerodynamic properties which allow a bullet to mitigate dispersion and shoot precisely over a wide range of imperfect launch dynamics.”
Dispersion Mitigation in Bullet Design — Bryan Litz Explains The science of dispersion-mitigating bullets is understood, but until now, no one has ever deliberately designed a bullet that has these specific attributes. There have been other bullets which have accidentally achieved the partial effect and the resulting bullets became very well known. Three key things are required to develop an effective dispersion-mitigating bullet:
1. The knowledge required to design a dispersion mitigating bullet.
2. A bullet-maker with the ability to fabricate the design precisely.
3. The means by which to test the bullets extensively to determine optimal configuration.
Berger’s 6mm ‘Column’ bullet is specifically designed to mitigate the component of dispersion related to alignment. Variables related to bullet/bore axis alignment include tight necks, turning necks, bullet jump, chamber concentricity, powder charge, and so on. These are all variables which will be less critical for the new Berger 6mm ‘Column’ bullet.
To be realistic, these new bullets only mitigate dispersion effects related to axis alignment, NOT aiming error, wind deflection, or poor shooting.
Four Years of Prototype Testing Yields Superior Bullet Design
Using his knowledge of design factors that mitigate (reduce) dispersion, Berger’s bullet designer Bryan Litz went to work creating a bullet design that had a wide, forgiving tune range. This means that the bullet shoots well with a wide variety of loads and seating depths. Bryan came up with three different shapes. Then for each of these three bullet profiles, Berger tested three different core column heights to identify the truly optimal design. Over the next four years, Lou Murdica shot thousands of test rounds in the data capture phase of the project. When testing concluded, one bullet proved to be head and shoulders above the others in its ability to shoot well at the widest variety of loads and seating depths.
The prototype bullet design that shot best in Berger’s tests has entered production as the new Berger 6mm BR ‘Column’. You’ll notice that there is no listed weight. Berger doesn’t list weight because Berger learned that the bullet’s mass is not as important as the overall balance of the bullet, which is achieved with a specific internal lead column height. Due to slight variations in copper and lead material batches, one lot may weigh 64.8 gr while another lot might weigh 65.1 grains or 64.6 grains. Berger says: “So long as the column of lead is the correct height to achieve the desired balance” the bullets should perform, no matter what the average weight of a given lot of ‘Column’ bullets may be. That said, when loading for a match, you’ll want to load all your ammo with bullets from the same lot.
Berger is now accepting orders for the new 6mm BR ‘Column’ bullets. The first lots should be available around March 16, 2012. Call Berger at (714) 447-5422 for pricing info or to place an order.
Along with showcasing his books, match ammo, and other products, Bryan Litz’s Applied Ballistics website offers detailed Bullet Data Profiles for popular match projectiles. These profiles provide accurate bullet dimensions, stability factors (based on barrel twist rates), plus sophisticated multi-value BC tables that provide field-tested BCs across a wide velocity spectrum. Using these tables, you can select a G1 or G7 BC that closely matches a bullet’s actual muzzle velocity fired from your gun. Choosing the right BC for a bullet’s known MV from your rifle provides a more accurate ballistics solution — which translates to more first-round hits on the target.
New 6mm Bullet Data Profiles
Bryan recently added two new 6mm Bullet Profiles to his website: Sierra’s 107gr MatchKing, and Hornady’s 105gr A-Max.
Sierra 107gr MatchKing, HPBT
Sierra’s 107gr MatchKing has been used reliably in many medium- to high-capacity 6mm chamberings for many years. At 107 grains, this bullet is heavy enough to have a respectably-high BC while not being excessively long. This bullet is the ‘middle brother’ in the heavy end of Sierra’s 6mm target bullet line-up. The 95gr and the 115gr bullets have essentially the same nose and tail, and almost identical form factors as a result. The only difference being the weight which is taken up in the bearing surface. This bullet is comfortably stable in a 1:8″ twist in all but the worse case conditions, and even then the stability factor is still 1.33 which would result in acceptably accurate flight.
Hornady 105gr A-Max, PTBT
The 105gr Hornady A-Max is a very well-designed bullet with good performance. The plastic tip (PT) promotes a little higher and more consist BC compared to standard match bullet meplats while the 2.71-caliber long tangent ogive produces a low drag profile and good accuracy over a wide range of seating depths. The experimentally determined average G1 BC of 0.492 varies from 0.515 at 3000 fps down to 0.454 at 1500 fps. The G7 BC is a much better match for this bullet. Application-wise, this bullet was designed to be a match bullet, but has found favor with hunters as well due to the relatively thin forward jacket promoting good expansion.
Bryan’s Ballistics Book Offers Hundreds of Bullet Data Profiles
Bryan currently offers ten (10) detailed bullet profiles on his website — you can access these for free. If you want information on scores of other projectiles, you’ll find 236 other Bullet Data Profiles in Bryan’s definitive book, Applied Ballistics for Long-Range Shooting.
Applied Ballistics LLC, Bryan Litz’s company, has started producing new .300 Winchester Magnum loaded ammunition, supplementing the ultra-accurate .308 Winchester ammo that Applied Ballistics rolled out in 2010. The new .300 Win Mag ammo is featured on Bryan’s new dedicated webpage for ammo sales.
The new .300 Win Mag ammo is loaded with Berger’s LRBT 185gr “Juggernaut” bullet. This high-BC bullet, combined with an impressive 3155 fps muzzle velocity (from 28″ barrel), gives the new Applied Ballistics ammo superior performance compared to other commercial .300 WM ammo offerings. Take a look at the chart below:
Exclusive AccurateShooter.com Offer — Get $5.00 Off Each Box of .300 WM Ammo
To promote the new .300 Win Mag ammo, Bryan is offering a special discount to AccurateShooter.com members. When shopping on Bryan’s Ammo website, if you order .300 Win Mag ammo, use Coupon Code ASDC on check-out. That Code will save purchasers $5.00 per box on any quantity of .300 Win Mag ammo. The Coupon Code, valid through November 30, 2011, is good for one purchase per customer.
Recently, Berger released two new .30 caliber Hybrid Target bullets, a 215-grainer and a 230-grainer. With this new pair of projectiles, Berger now offers .30 Cal Hybrids in weights of 155 gr, 168 gr, 185 gr, 200 gr, 215 gr, and 230 grains. These bullets use a Hybrid nose designed by Bryan Litz to optimize long-range performance and enhance “tunability”. The Hybrid nose starts with a tangent shape and transitions into a secant shape. This allows these bullets to be much less seating-depth sensitive (than the VLD) while at the same time the secant portion reduces drag (for a higher BC). Berger’s Eric Stecker: “It is my understanding that each of these [new Hybrid] bullets has the highest BC of any bullets in their weight class. Combine this with being easier to tune and what you get is six new projectiles that raise the performance bar for .30 cal rifles.”
Berger Rolled Out 11 New Bullet Designs in 2011
This has been a busy year for Berger Bullets. It has introduced eleven (11) all-new projectile designs. In addition, Berger re-labeled two of its popular bullets. Here’s a summary of the new offerings:
6mm 105 gr Hybrid Target
.30 cal 155 gr Hybrid Target
.30 cal 168 gr Hybrid Target
.30 cal 185 gr Juggernaut Target (Name change — this was formerly called the 185 gr Long Range BT.)
.30 cal 185 gr Hybrid Target
.30 cal 200 gr Hybrid Target
.30 cal 215 gr Hybrid Target
.30 Cal 230 gr Hybrid Target
.22 Cal 77 gr OTM Tactical (Name change — this is the same bullet as the .22 cal 77 gr BT Target, but it’s new to the Tactical line).
.30 Cal 175 gr OTM Tactical (designed for .308 Win to be a transonic-stable option.)
.30 Cal 185 gr Juggernaut OTM Tactical (designed as a transonic-stable option for the 300 Win Mag.)
.30 Cal 230 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical (designed as a supersonic option for the 300 Win Mag.)
.338 Cal 300 gr Hybrid OTM Tactical (this is the redesigned Gen 2 version.)
Moving into the second day of the Long-Range National Championships, five shooters are clustered at the front with equal scores of 598 points. Leading the way, based on X-count, is our friend and Forum member John Whidden (598-36X). Just three Xs back with 598-33X is Bryan Litz, Berger’s Chief Bullet Designer and Ballistician. We’re pleased to see Forum member John Friguglietti, aka Mudcat, ranked fourth. Among the top ten, in the preliminary standings, are shooters from international squads. It’s good to see foreign competitors on the firing line at Perry this year.
M5 ‘Knock-Down’ Power More Than Adequate for Big Game
Saturday started off sunny, but cool and windy, with 62 shooters registering in Sling (43), F-TR (7) and F-Open (12). Pit service was provided by the Boy Scouts, and had a rocky start. With the help of some shooter volunteers, pit operations smoothed out throughout the day and the first three 1000-yard Matches ran without incident. The wind pretty much held a steady 2 MOA left throughout the day, and some high scores were fired.
Bryan Litz has just released 
.338 Cal Hybrids for Long-Range Hunting?
You can visit the 
The science of dispersion-mitigating bullets is understood, but until now, no one has ever deliberately designed a bullet that has these specific attributes. There have been other bullets which have accidentally achieved the partial effect and the resulting bullets became very well known. Three key things are required to develop an effective dispersion-mitigating bullet:
Four Years of Prototype Testing
Recently, 
