Lapua just dropped a bombshell — multiple bombshells, in fact. Lapua just announced that it will be producing .221 Fireball brass and .50 BMG brass starting early 2014. This will be the first truly match-grade brass ever offered for the .221 Fireball. That’s great news for varminters, who can use Lapua’s new .221 Fireball brass “as is” or neck it down to .20 Vartarg or 17 Fireball. Tactical shooters can also use the .221 Fireball brass to make the .300 Whisper and 300 Blackout sub-sonic cartridges. At the other end of the spectrum, ultra-long-range shooters now have a new ultra-premium brass source for the mighty .50 BMG. This is potentially a “game-changer” for fifty-cal shooters who have had to “make do” with military surplus brass for the most part. Lapua says the new brass, both .50 BMG and .221 Fireball, should be in the USA by early April, 2014. Sorry, no pricing info is yet available.
Here is the Lapua Product Announcement for .221 Fireball and .50 BMG Brass:
New 180-Grain and 150-Grain 7mm Scenar-L Bullets
The other big news from Lapua is the release of two new 7mm (.284 caliber) Scenar-L target bullets. Recognizing the popularity of 7mm cartridges among F-Class Open Division shooters, Lapua will offer a high-BC, 180-grain bullet. As part of the “L” series, this new 180-grainer bullet should exhibit extreme consistency in base-to-ogive measurements and bullet weight. We expect this new 180gr projectile to be extremely accurate in the .284 Winchester, .284 Shehane, 7mm WSM, and 7mm RSAUM — popular chamberings for F-Class and long-range benchrest shooters. No BC information has been released yet, but we expect the BC number to be quite high, giving this bullet great wind-bucking capability. In addition to the new 180gr 7mm Scenar-L, Lapua will offer a new 150gr 7mm bullet. This is optimized for medium range competition in Silhouette and Across-the-Course competition. It should offer great accuracy, but with less felt recoil than its 180-grain bigger brother.
In our Shooters’ Forum thread about Portable Shooting Benches, Forum member John H. of New Mexico (aka “Skratch”) showed off a nicely-crafted mobile shooting bench that he can haul with his ATV. This trailer-mounted, movable bench is built on a central tubular spine that also serves as the tongue for the trailer, which attaches to a standard hitch. The bench offers two (2) shooting positions so it works for both left-handed and right-handed shooters.
Up front, for storage, a surplus .50-Cal ammo can is secured to the trailer frame. The V-shaped middle section of the wood benchtop looks to be reinforced with a metal stiffener frame on the underside. The front section of the bench is supported by twin tubular uprights attached to the box-section axle housing. The two wooden bench-style seats (on left and right) ride on a cross-tube. At the ends of that cross-tube are adjustable legs for additional support.
Great Rig for New Mexico Varmint Hunting
There are plenty of great varmint hunting areas in Skratch’s home state of New Mexico — you’ll find some huge prairie dog fields there. But to get the best results on a varmint-hunting field session, you need a solid shooting station that can be easily hauled to new locations as needed. It looks like John (aka “Scratch”) has come up with an outstanding “War Wagon” for his New Mexico varmint safaris.
Varmint Bullets Starting at $7.85 per Hundred
If you’re looking for decent, very affordable .22-caliber bullets for varmint hunting, multi-gun matches, and fun shooting, check out the Varmint Nightmare X-Treme Bullets from Midsouth Shooters Supply. Sourced from an undisclosed premium bullet manufacturer, these .22-Cal Varmint Nightmare X-Treme bullets are proven performers. These bullets are offered in cannelured softpoint ($40.12), premium softpoint (no cannelure, $44.19) and hollowpoint ($46.59) versions in 500-count bulk packs. You can even buy the cannelured softpoint in jumbo 2000-count boxes for $157.05 (that works out to just $7.85 per hundred). Also on sale are 500-ct boxes of .204-caliber and 17-caliber Varmint Nightmare X-treme Bullets. Look no further if you need a good quality, low-cost bullet for a high-round-count varmint expedition.
Varmint Nightmare Bullets Field-Tested by GunsAmerica.com GunsAmerica.com recently tested Midsouth’s 55gr Varmint Nightmare bullets in a scoped AR-15 rifle, and concluded they work great. Loaded into Hornady brass with Hodgdon CFE-223 powder and CCI 5.56 primers, these inexpensive 55gr Varmint Nightmare bullets grouped consistently under an inch at 100 yards with “an off-the-shelf Rock River AR with no special bells and whistles.”
The GunsAmerica.com Blog reports: “Half price bullets for an AR-15 is a dream come true for many shooters. But is cheaper inferior? That is exactly our question as we take a look at the half-priced bulk purchase .223 ‘Varmint Nightmare’ bullets from Midsouth Shooters Supply. If you look at the prices of ‘name brand’ bullets for the AR-15, they run about $130-$170 per thousand. Varmint Nightmare bullets go for as low as $157 per two thousand, and even in the lowest quantity of 500 bullets, that box costs only $46.59 at Midsouth. We haven’t been able to test these half-price bullets on game, but the accuracy is great and they seem to be extremely consistent. For popping crows or prairie dogs for an afternoon, clanging steel for 3-Gun, or just heading out to the range … these bullets seem to be a great buy.”
At Media Day, held prior to SHOT Show 2011, we had the chance to try out the D.O.A. Tactical Shooting Bench. The sturdy D.O.A. bench, selected by Media Day organizers, is also used by military organizations, including the USMC, the U.S. Army Sniper Training Schools, and the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). These benches are made in Utah by D.O.A. Tactical, a USMC Veteran-owned company. During Media Day, the D.O.A. benches provided a solid base for our limited shooting sessions. They seemed well-built and solid. D.O.A. portable benches start at $475.00 (less shipping), but prices are slated to increase on February 1, 2011. To place an order before the price hikes, contact D.O.A. at (760) 953-9067.
The video below shows how quickly and easily a D.O.A. bench can be assembled and deployed.
Are you looking for a stable and affordable shooting bench for your next varmint safari? Well, why not build your own? Clemdog, a talented wood-worker and avid varmint-hunter, has designed a sturdy, portable bench you can build for $75.00 in materials. The bench is made from plywood attached to Rugged Buddy sawhorse legs which fold open and engage securely with patented snap-locks. These tubular steel legs cost about $60.00 per set. Clemdog’s bench can also be built with banquet table legs. These are cheaper, but heavier (and some extra assembly work is required).
Clemdog Shows How to Build Your Own Bench
Clemdog has created a nice video that shows, step-by-step, how to build his portable shooting bench. Clemdog writes: “I am amazed at the number of shooting tables on the market today. I’ve seen them in catalogs at prices ranging from $75 to almost $500. While I’m sure it’s a pleasure to shoot from one of the high-end benches, I wouldn’t want to drop the cash on one, nor would I want to assemble and disassemble one each time I repositioned. The vast majority of the lower-end tables or benches are so rickety that it would be difficult to shoot accurately from them. If you have a saw and a drill, or can borrow one, here’s how you can make your own portable shooting and reloading bench for [about $75.00].” Just watch the video below:
Instructions for Table Fabrication
Clemdog says: “Start with a 3/4″ plywood panel, available at Home Depot or other lumber yards for about $15. Pay a few bucks more for a birch or other nice veneer, it will look fantastic if you varnish the table. The panels come 48″ x 24″. You will also need some wood glue, and about 15 #10 wood screws, about 1-1/4″ long. Check out my video on how to build the bench using a set of folding Rugged Buddy 34″ sawhorse legs. If you opt for standard banquet table legs, you will need about 20″ of scrap 2×4 and four to six 3″ lag bolts with washers and nuts to bolt the 2x4s to the table top.”
At the end of his video, Clemdog offers some sound advice: “Don’t buy a crappy bench, or spend hundreds of dollars on a bench. Build your own. It will be a fun project and it will last you for years.” For more info, visit Clemdog’s personal webpage, which also hosts a series of reloading videos.
Varmint Bullets Starting at $7.85 per Hundred
