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April 18th, 2010
 Texan Erik Cortina (aka X3MHunter in our Forum) showcased some great marksmanship recently. Competing at Houston’s Bayou Rifle Club, Erik shot a spectacular 600-49X to break the Rifle Club’s 300-yard F-Class Open division record of 599-32X. Erik smashed the Bayou record, raising the point count to a perfect 600 with 17 more Xs than before. Erik reports: “Conditions were calm, about 65 degrees with about a 1-3 mile wind from right to left. I would say they were almost perfect conditions. I was there at the right place at the right time!” Eric’s three strings, in order, were: 200-17X, 200-16X, and 200-16X. That’s consistency! In setting the new record, Erik demonstrated how accurate the 6.5 x 47 Lapua cartridge can be. (Note: There is no official NRA 3x20x300-yard F-Open Record at this time. The NRA currently logs only an individual 20-shot 300-yard F-Open record, which was set by Shiriz Balolia, with a perfect 200-20X).
We know many of our readers have built, or plan to build, a 6.5×47 Lapua match rifle. The question often arises: “What powder should I shoot and what weight bullet?” We normally advise people to start with bullets in the 120-130 grain-range with a powder such as Varget or Reloder 15. However, the unique properties of Reloder 17 offers a “heavy bullet solution.” In the hands of Asst. Editor Jason Baney, our AccurateShooter.com 6.5×47 Lapua test rifle shot the 140gr Bergers very accurately using Reloder 17. In fact, Jason’s most accurate 200-yard load was with the 140s and RL17.
 Erik Cortina also found that the 6.5×47 cartridge can work superbly with 140 grain-class bullets. Erik shot the 139gr Lapua Scenar bullets (jammed .020″ in the lands) with a stout load of Reloder 17 (more than 40 grains). Erik was able to drive the 139gr Scenars well over 2900 fps with the small 6.5×47 case. Erik tells us: “I developed this load doing a ladder test at 500 yards. This might be a very hot load in most rifles but mine is throated specifically for the 139 Scenars since I didn’t plan on shooting anything else. This load does not show pressure signs on my rifle.” Erik got great accuracy with minimal brass prep: “The Lapua 6.5×47 brass is great. After uniforming the primer pockets, I tried to weight sort but only found .3 grains variance on 300 pieces of brass, so I just loaded the brass and went shooting.”
Rifle Components and Smithing
Erik’s rifle features a Lawton 7500 RBRP left-eject action, mated to a 1:8″-twist, 28″ Krieger barrel. The barrel was chambered for a no-turn 6.5×47. The stock is a Richard Franklin Low Rider made by West Custom Rifles. The rifle was smithed by Mark Pharr of Tumbleweeds Custom Rifles.
January 26th, 2010
The AccurateShooter.com Shooters’ Forum hit a major milestone on January 23, 2010, logging our 10,000th registered Forum member. Matt G. from Castalia, Ohio is now officially “Member10K” in our Forum. In recognition of Matt’s milestone membership, Matt will receive a pack of prizes including an official “limited edition” AccurateShooter.com T-shirt, a box of Berger bullets, a box of Lapua cartridge brass, and a Gift Certificate good at Grafs.com.
 Matt tells us: “I am just getting into precision shooting, actually built my first rifle over the winter! Well, still working on it as I am about to order up a Russo stock. But, this is a new hobby I am just getting into along with a couple other buddies of mine. We are going to try out the 300-yard matches at our local conservation club this year. I was just searching for some neck-turning and case annealing info, and came across the AccurateShooter.com website. I just finished reading the case annealing write-up on the site and decided to register.”
Well, Matt picked the right time to visit the site and register. Over the past few days we added many other new Forum Members, bringing the total, as of 1/26/2010, to 10,114. We wish to thank ALL our Forum members, both the old guard and the newcomers, for participating in our site.
Shooters’ Forum Offers Active Discussions and FREE Classifieds
Our Shooters’ Forum, launched in 2004, is a great resource where you can find answers to your reloading and gunsmithing questions. As well we offer FREE Forum classifieds for registered members. The Forum Classifieds sections are a great place to sell your guns and gear quickly, with zero transaction fees. And for buyers, you’ll find outstanding deals on everything from dies and bullets to complete rifles.
January 25th, 2010
Lapua arguably has the best line of match-grade cartridge brass you can buy in the USA. And now Lapua has made its brass even better. Starting this month, when you purchase 100 pieces of Lapua brass, your cases will arrive in a handsome blue plastic box. Snapped in place under the box lid is a rectangular plastic grid that fits in the bottom of the box. Pop the grid loose and slide it into the box. Side supports molded into the lower section hold the grid in place.
Voila, instant Ammo Box! Each grid contains holes for fifty (50) loaded rounds or empty cases. The convertible plastic container/ammo box is a great idea that Lapua executed very nicely. Now you have even more motivation to purchase your cartridge brass from Lapua.
Brass delivered in the blue convertible blue plastic boxes has already started to arrive. We confirmed with Powder Valley that its most recent shipments of Lapua brass have arrived in the blue plastic boxes. Note, however, that pre-existing inventories of Lapua brass, from Powder Valley and other vendors, will continue to ship in cardboard boxes until the older supplies are exhausted.
January 20th, 2010
 At the request of AccurateShooter.com, respected Benchrest ace Lou Murdica tested the brand new, early production Norma 6PPC brass. Lou shot 30 cases (both turned and unturned) over the past few days, and he endorses the Norma brass without hesitation. Lou says “the Norma PPC brass is great brass. Without a doubt this will be highly competitive brass in the short-range benchrest group”. Lou did observe that the necks on the Norma brass were slightly thinner than on Lapua 220 Russian brass, but that really doesn’t matter. With a slight neck turn, Lou declares, “the Norma PPC brass is as good as any out there.”
Lou said, based on his testing, the Norma brass holds pressure well, and the accuracy is outstanding. Lou shot five 5-round groups, as in a match course of fire, and his largest group was “around 0.148″ at 100 yards.
If you’re a short-range benchrester, definitely watch this video and listen to Lou. He thinks this new Norma brass will “change the game”. Note — Lou said most PPC shooters can shoot the Norma cases with no change in their powder recipes. So you won’t lose any velocity using Norma’s new brass. Lou was very impressed with Norma’s new offering, enough so that he declared: “I would go right for the Norma right now if I could put a bunch in my hand.”
December 23rd, 2009
 At the current Biathlon World Cup event in Slovenia, American Tim Burke earned the yellow bib signifying that he is the current leader in the Biathlon World Cup. This is the first time an American has EVER been the overall leader in this prestigious Biathlon series. Tim now ranks among the elite biathletes who could win Gold at the upcoming Vanouver Olympic games. Tim Burke is a remarkable athlete who has overcome serious medical issues: “It wasn’t at all an easy way for me. But I think those down times were important as well for taking step by step forward to where I am now. I had a major hip surgery in 2002 and I wasn’t sure if I would continue to be a biathlete after that and [mononucleosis] took me out the whole 2004 season.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the U.S. Biathlon team at biathlon.teamusa.org
Before Slovenia, Tim Burke made history twice at the previous World Cup event in Ostersund, Sweden. His silver medal performance in the 20km Individual competition tied the best World Cup finish ever for a U.S. Biathlete and Tim followed that performance by capturing the bronze medal in the Men’s 10km sprint event. Burke’s bronze medal marked the first time a U.S. Biathlete has ever reached the podium in the sprint competition — and the first time that Americans have won silver and bronze medals in the same competition.
In the major World Cup competition leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Team USA has gained world attention. The U.S. Biathlon team has been called the most improved team in the world by Olympic and Biathlon experts. Michael Dixon, Eurosport TV Biathlon Commentator, reports: “The United States Biathlon Team is the most improved in the world. It won’t be long before a moment of brilliance brings them to the podium for their first Olympic medal.” The YouTube slideshow below shows the USA Biathlon Team in action. NOTE: If you’re at work, you may want to turn down the speaker volume before playback.
“Biathlon is a sport that captivates and fascinates nearly all who see it”, commented Max Cobb, Executive Director of the U.S. Biathlon Association. “The world-class Biathlete attempts to combine the physically demanding sport of cross-country skiing with the intense precision of rifle marksmanship. The opposing disciplines collide with unique drama at the shooting range. With hearts pounding nearly three times a second, athletes struggle to control their breathing as they attempt to hold their rifles steady and squeeze off a successful shot, knowing that each shot, and the number of seconds it takes to make it, will determine who stands on the podium.”
December 7th, 2009
Adam Braverman of Nammo-Lapua just confirmed that Lapua, at the behest of the U.S. Palma team, has been quietly developing a NEW version of the .308 Winchester cartridge that has a small BR-style primer pocket. That’s right, this is no joke. Lapua has crafted small primer pocket .308 Winchester brass that will be introduced at SHOT Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 19-22).
The new .308 variant is identical to Lapua’s current .308 match brass with the exception of the primer pocket. The brass will be head-stamped “.308 Win Lapua Palma”.
FLASH HOLES: The flash-hole size for the current pre-production .308 Lapua Palma brass is 1.5mm (.059″), the same as Lapua 6mmBR and 220 Russian brass. Lapua spokesmen were not certain if the flash hole size will change for the regular production brass. Note: if you have a Redding .308 die, you can ask Redding for a smaller decapping rod tip (.057″) to use with the new brass.
Tests Reveal Better ES and SD with Small Primers
Initial tests of the small primer pocket .308 by U.S. Palma team members have been very promising. The small primer pocket case seems to have advantages in both accuracy and the ability to handle high-pressure loads. However, the primary improvement found with the smaller primer is reduced ES and SD. Palma Team members have found that, with almost every brand of primer tested (small vs. large), the smaller version has yielded reduced Extreme Spread and Standard Deviation. This pays dividends in 1000-yard shooting. Also, some testers believe that small primers are more consistent and require less sorting — and that there are more varieties of small primers that seem to work really well in the .308 case. Moreover, the small primer types are more uniform, from lot to lot, than are large primers, according to some testers. More info will follow later today.
December 5th, 2009
 We have confirmed that Lapua will produce and distribute 22-250 cartridge brass starting in early 2010. The official product release will be at SHOT Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 19-22). We don’t have production samples yet, but there are about 1000 pieces of brass in the hands of testers in the United States at this time. This stuff is for real — CLICK THIS LINK for PHOTOS.
 One of the folks lucky enough to get his hands on the new Lapua 22-250 brass is writer/shooter Steven Boelter, author of the Rifleman’s Guide to Rimfire Ammunition. Steven has measured and inspected the new brass and he says it appears to be “on a par, quality-wise, with Lapua’s 220 Russian and 6BR brass”, which is saying a lot. Steve adds that: “[what I have] is in fact part of a pre-production run, and the main stuff will be ready for second quarter, 2010″. Steven is working on an article for Precision Shooting magazine that will include exact dimensions for the new brass, as well as initial load testing results. An exact release date for Steven’s article has not yet been set, but Boelter hopes the story will come out in January or February.
Boelter can’t say much more about the brass prior to publication of the article. But we can confirm that it has a large primer pocket, standard 22-250 rim size, and it is annealed like other premium Lapua brass. Steven has posted a couple photos of the brass on the Saubier.com web site.
We’re always excited when Lapua decides to expand its line of cartridge brass. For 22-250 shooters, who will now have a new ultra-high-quality brass option, the news of Lapua 22-250 brass must be like an early Christmas present.
Link to Lapua 22-250 Brass Photo
Above is a QuickDESIGN diagram of the 22-250 Remington cartridge based on CIP Metrics converted to English units. This is NOT the official print for the new Lapua 22-250 brass, which may vary slightly in dimensions. We suggest you get the actual production brass in hand before ordering new chamber reamers or dies.
July 9th, 2009
 Large quantities of Lapua brass, for most of the popular cartridge types, have recently arrived at many vendors including Bruno Shooters Supply, Graf & Sons, and MidwayUSA.
Bruno’s has almost all types of Lapua brass in stock and here are some sample prices: 6mmBR brass for $63.00/100; .308 Win for $55.00/100; 220 Russian for $74.00/100; 6.5×47 for $85.00/100. Note — if you’re thinking about building a tactical rifle, the 6.5×55 brass is just $55 per hundred (same price as .308 Win, but much cheaper than 6.5×47).
Bruno’s also has received large supplies of Berger 6mm 105gr VLD bullets. These have been out of stock for several months. Call (623) 587-7641 for pricing.
Grafs.com has Lapua 6mmBR brass for $69.59/100, 220 Russian for $79.99/100, and 6.5×47 brass for $91.99/100, but those prices include shipping. Grafs has most other varieties of Lapua brass in stock, including 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 243 Win, 6.5×55, 6.5-284, .308 Win, and 338 Lapua Mag.
July 7th, 2009
 In order to provide more content for our site visitors, we are soliciting reader submissions for Gun of the Week (GOTW) articles and technical articles. Even if you’ve never had a story published before, if you have a good idea, we can work with you to put your article online. We can provide an outline and photo/video advice.
Thanks to Nammo Lapua, if you supply a story that we publish, you’ll receive two (2) 100-ct boxes of Lapua brass. In addition, you’ll get an AccurateShooter.com staff T-shirt, two (2) 100-ct boxes of match bullets (your choice of brand), plus other “goodies”.
For a GOTW story, we like to focus on a rifle that: 1) has performed well in competition; OR, 2) displays interesting technical features or components; OR, 3) exhibits outstanding design or craftsmanship. The subject gun can be a match rifle, or it can be a hunting, tactical, or sporting rifle that has some exceptional qualities (such as exhibition-grade wood), or newsworthy technical features (such as a carbon-wrapped barrel). We are also interested in stories about innovative loads or cartridges. For a technical article we are looking for gear reviews, or a story that describes an important reloading process, or important aspect of gunsmithing. For example, we have done technical articles on brass prep, on pillar bedding, and on stock painting.
Lapua Brass and Special Benefits for Writers
If you submit an article that we publish online, you will receive two (2) boxes of Lapua cartridge brass (retail value up to $170.00 — choice subject to availability), an exclusive AccurateShooter.com staff T-shirt, two (2) boxes of match bullets (your choice, .204 to .30 calibers), plus additional benefits to be named later.
For a Gun of the Week story we need a minimum of 1500 words, and we will generally run 8-12 photos, plus one or two short videos (1-2 minutes per video). Good digital photos are essential — we won’t run any story unless sharp, quality digital photos are available.
To submit an idea for a Gun of the Week article, please supply a 100-word summary, and two sharp digital photos, 800×600 pixels or larger. Send your story ideas and digital photos to: mailbox@6mmBR.com. Please put the words “STORY SUBMISSION” in the subject line of your email. Note: if you submit an article, but we determine not to publish it, you won’t get the brass, bullets, or T-shirt. Also, we reserve the right to limit this program to regular reader/contributors (as opposed to manufacturers and professional gun-builders).
June 1st, 2009
Many Forum members are putting together their first custom or semi-custom precision rifle this season. These folks often ask us, “What kind of accuracy can I expect from my first 6mmBR?” Of course there are no guarantees, but a 6BR with a good custom barrel, good chambering job, and a nice bag-riding stock should be able to shoot well under half-MOA (1/2″ at 100 yards), maybe even approach quarter-MOA. Forum member Eric (aka Exercion) provided this interesting report on his new 6BR:
Love at First Group by Eric
Well, I took my new stick to the range for the first time today. It features a Savage single shot target action in RBLP configuration, 28″ Broughton 5C barrel, Sharp Shooter Supply Dogtracker stock with adjustable buttplate, and Nightforce scope.
 Now, I have never owned a 6mmBR before, but from reading here and seeing them in action I decided to build one. Its main purpose in life is mid-range F-Class shooting, mainly at 600 yards, and if the winds are favorable, at 1,000. (I already have a 6.5 for “normal” conditions.) I am most grateful for all the info here, and especially the load data. I picked Reloder 15 under the 107gr SMKs for my first loads, starting at 29.0 grains, and proceeding in half grain increments to 30.0 grains. Jumped the bullets 0.015″. Ran the Lapua brass through the neck-sizer bushing die, and was concerned at the force needed to pull the expander button through the virgin brass necks but figured this was a once per case deal to round them out for initial loading. When I measured the runout on the loaded rounds, I was appalled as they had more wobble than anything I personally loaded before, but I kept reminding myself that this was the fireform/chronograph/scope and gun trial stage.
Three Shots in 0.335″ Edge to Edge
So off to the range this morning. No wind here at the house, so life was good … until I got to the range and the wind started to blow. So I set up everything, leveled the gun in the bags, leveled the scope to the gun, made sure the bore was in the center of the chronograph and bore-sighted. First couple of rounds were off to the right, so I moved the scope over 5 MOA and fired another shot, hit paper with it, so I shot 2 more and stopped because I couldn’t tell what was happening. A walk down to the hundred yard berm revealed a nice hole that measures 0.335″ at its absolute widest edge to edge! That’s the smallest 3-shot group I’ve ever fired with anything. I am so in love!
SDs Improve with Heavier Charge and Run-out Disappears
I kept going ’til I worked my way through my first 100 rounds.Given the conditions, I was more interested in the chrony numbers than group, (though 20-shot strings yielded nice quarter-sized holes) and found that as my charges got heavier the SD was coming down (the 30 grain load gave me an SD of 9). I can’t wait to see what will happen with some load tinkering, as well as bullet trials (have Bergers, Hornady A-Maxs, and Lapua Scenars waiting for the next trip). Also, as I had hoped, fire-forming “cured” the run-out problem. I ran the fired but un-sized cases over my concentricity tool and saw less than 0.001 runout on the necks now.
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