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October 24th, 2015
At the recent IBS 600-Yard Nationals, the 6mm Dasher cartridge was the most popular chambering for both Light Guns and Heavy Guns. The Dasher, a 40° improved version of the 6mmBR Norma case, can definitely shoot — no question about that. But the Dasher has one less-than-ideal feature — its very short neck. This makes it more problematic to shoot a wide variety of bullet types — short bullets as well as long. In addition, the short neck makes it harder to “chase the lands” over time.
For those folks who like the performance of the 6mm Dasher, but prefer a longer neck, there is an excellent alternative — the 6mm BRDX. This wildcat shares the 40° shoulder of the Dasher and has nearly the same capacity. Like the Dasher, the 6 BRDX can drive 100-107gr bullets to the same 3000-3050 FPS accuracy node. But the 6 BRDX has a longer neck than the Dasher. Depending on your “blow length”, the 6 BRDX will typically give you about .030″ to .035″ more usable neck length. That may not sound like much, but it is very useful if you have a longish (.110″+) freebore and you still want to shoot shorter bullets in the lands for some applications.
Your editor has a 6mm BRDX and I really like it. The neck is long enough to let me shoot 90-grainers loaded into the lands as well as 105-grainers. Fire-forming is pretty easy. I just load very long (so there is a firm jam) and shoot with 30.0 grains of Varget and a 100+ grain bullet. With a Brux barrel, my BRDX easily shoots quarter-MOA, with some 100-yard groups in the ones in calm conditions. This is with a Stiller Viper Action, and Shehane ST-1000 stock bedded by Tom Meredith.
6mm BRDX Reamer, Dies, and Hydro-Forming Service
It’s not difficult to set up a rifle to run the 6 BRDX. Dave Kiff’s Pacific Tool & Gauge has the reamer (just tell him the freebore you want). Whidden Gunworks offers excellent BRDX sizing and seating dies. And if you don’t like fire-forming, give Darrell Jones of DJsbrass.com a call. Darrell can hydro-form 6 BRDX brass and even turn the necks to your specs. Darrell’s hydro-forming service saves you time and preserves precious barrel life.
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June 5th, 2014
Whidden Gunworks offers a nicely-engineered “bolt-on” front plate that will enhance the bench-rested accuracy of any rifle with an accessory rail on the forearm.
 The Whidden Track Plate fits securely in the forearm accessory rail on prone, cross-the-course, and Palma rifles. These guns typically have a narrow and/or rounded fore-end so they rock and wobble when used with a front pedestal rest. The TrackPlate cures that. Once installed it provides a rock-solid, 2.9″-wide platform that mates perfectly with a benchrest-type front sandbag. This gives sling-shooters maximum stability when testing loads or zeroing their sights or scope. Plus you can now shoot F-Class competitively with a prone gun.
The Track Plate is light-weight, has catamaran-style runners to aid tracking and prevent rocking, and can be easily stowed in a range bag. The machined aluminum Track Plate fits BOTH Anschutz-style and American-style recessed forearm rails.
The Track Plate is available from Whidden Gunworks for $40.99 or from Champion’s Choice for $40.00 (item W29P). Plate designer (and National LR Rifle Champion) John Whidden says: “The Plate is great for any rifle with a rail whether it ís smallbore, centerfire, or an air gun. Now you can try F-Class with your favorite prone rifle: the Plate has a perfect low-drag finish for riding a rest or sandbags and is competition legal in all dimensions.”
Front Bag-Rider for AR-15s from EGW
Similar to the Whidden Track Plate is a 3″-wide Delrin bag-rider from Evolution Gun Works (EGW). This was developed expressly to fit the fore-ends of AR15-type rifles with round float tubes. The EGW front bag-rider attaches to a front sling swivel stud anchor. That allows it to mount as easily as a Harris bipod — no rail needed! Just unscrew the swivel stud, put the front bag-rider in place and attach one hex-head machine screw. The front bag-rider is contoured to match the handguard profile so it fits securely with no wobble. Overall, it is a slick system. Front and rear bag-riders can be attached in a couple of minutes. The Delrin blocks slide easily in the bags and make the gun ultra-stable. The gun tracks straight back. The front bag-rider comes in two (2) variants, a $39.99 radiused version (item 32141) that attaches via swivel stud, and a $49.99 version (item 32143) that mounts via a Picatinny-style rail.
EGW AR Front Bag-Rider System
EGW Picatinny Rail-Attached Front Bag-Rider
EGW Rear Bag-Rider for AR Buttstocks
EGW also offers a REAR bag-rider that attaches via the sling swivel anchor. The EGW AR Rear Bag-Rider accessory (item 32142), designed to work with A2-style buttstocks, sells separately for $39.99. This rear bag-rider provides a longer, straight “keel” that works very well in rear sandbags, giving the rifle more stability, and improving the tracking.
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October 2nd, 2009
John Whidden, our correspondent at Camp Butner, NC, provided an early report after the 600-yard stage at the 2009 F-class Nationals. Charles Ballard is leading F-Open while Danny Biggs is leading F-TR class. Ballard is the reigning 2008 F-Class Open Nat’l Champion.
Whidden reports: “After the 600-yard stage, the top three spots in F-Open are held by Charles Ballard 449-29X, Don Nagel 448-22X, and Robert Bock 447-28X.” We’ve learned that, in F-TR, after today’s 1000 yard phase, Danny Biggs is in front with an aggregate score of 866-31X, followed by Jeff Rorer with a 864-28X, and Darrell Buell with a 859-18X.
“Classic Butner” Conditions at Nationals
Whidden tells us that “Classic Butner” conditions (as described by F-Open shooter Tom Guercio) are prevailing: “Early in the day there was a switching headwind that turned around into a switching tailwind by the end of the day. Winds were relatively light, but changes came quickly making it easy to have shots in the 9 Ring.”
Whidden adds: “The match ran smoothly but shooting three 15-shot strings plus a team match made for a long day. The schedule is the same for tomorrow. Everything today was fired form the 600-yard line. The remainder of the match will be from 1000 yards. Weather was cool in the morning and warmed up very comfortably near mid day. Tomorrow the forecast predicts winds increasing to 15 mph with gusts to 25 mph, so I suspect that we will see changes on the scoreboard.”
We also asked John Whidden if Whidden Gunworks has any new products in the works. John reports: “We have new angles available for our pointing dies. Bryan Litz has helped us develop two new dies to better match the shape of a number of different bullets. These dies are available as an accessory for those who already own our Pointing Die System or we can supply a Pointing Die System with any of the three dies.”
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August 19th, 2009
SPC Sherri Gallagher (of the USAMU) triumphed in the Tompkins Trophy Match, earning the title of 2009 NRA Long Range Champion. Gallagher shot a 1245-62X score, a new National Record, topping former champion John Whidden (1239-61X) by six points. Fellow USAMU shooter SFC Lance Dement finished third, with 1238-67X. Proving that accuracy runs in the family, Sherri’s sister Michelle Gallagher finished in fourth place with a 1238-65X, and Sherri’s step-father Mid Tompkins was the High Grand Senior with a 1230-58X.
L to R: John Whidden, SPC Sherri Gallagher, SFC Lance Dement. Photo courtesy NRABlog.com.
Miller Edges Litz on X-Count in Palma Match
The Palma Individual Trophy Match was hotly contested, going right down to the wire. Larry Miller (448-25X) eventually emerged the winner, edging Bryan Litz (448-23X) by two Xs. Bryan has written articles for this website and he is the author of the important new book, Applied Balllistics for Long Range Shooting.
In Team Competition, John Whidden’s Southeast Rifle Club won the Herrick Trophy Team Match, beating the USAMU Praslick Team by just one point, 791-30X to 790-41X. Sherri Gallagher also shot with the Praslick USAMU team, which was the winner of the Roumanian Trophy Match with a 793-42X Team score.
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August 17th, 2009
The NRA Long Range High Power Championships at Camp Perry, Ohio, will be ending soon and it looks like the match will go down to the wire. Sherri Gallager is leading by four points, with a half-dozen shooters, including former LR Champion John Whidden, well within striking distance. The championship could eventually be decided by X-count, or even with a shoot-off. Gallagher already went through one shoot-off with David Tubb in the Coast Artillery Trophy Match. Both shot perfect 100s, but Tubb shot 8 Xs to edge Gallagher by one X. Here are current standings in the Long-Range Championship:
Sherri Gallagher – 799-37X
Jon Howell – 795-41X
Justin Skaret – 795-37X
Lance Dement – 793-42X
Tyrel Cooper – 793-42X
John Whidden – 793-35X
Here is video shot from the Long Range Competition over the weekend:
LATE-BREAKING NEWS: The Roumanian Team Trophy was won by the USAMU Praslick Team, with a four-person score of 793-42X. The team is coached by Emil Praslick, and the shooters are SGT Tyrel Cooper (198-10X), SFC Lance Dement (199-12X), SPC Sherri Gallager (198-9X), and SGT Brandon Green (198-11X). John Whidden’s Southeast Rifle Club, coached by Carl Kovalchik, finished second with a 782-29X team score. Congrats to all shooters, and especially the victorious USAMU squad.
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