Halloween is less than a week away. Our friend, trick-shot ace Kirsten Joy Weiss, did something special for this week, “carving” a pumpkin using her semi-auto Volquartsen .22 LR rifle. Kirsten had to send a lot of rimfire rounds into her orange friend. It turns out the little .22-caliber bullets worked better on exit than entry — Mr. Pumpkin’s posterior side was more impressive than his front. But overall, the effort turned out very well indeed, as you can see. Nice job, Kirsten.
On inspection, Kirsten found that the most impressive Jack ‘O Lantern face appeared on the reverse side of her pumpkin. The “exit wounds” were better than the entry holes.
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They knocked it, tossed it, even hammered with it — but they couldn’t kill a Nightforce NXS. In this remarkable torture test video, past Nightforce Exec Kyle Brown (with help from NF employee Sean Murphy), absolutely brutalizes a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x56mm scope. Brown bangs the NXS on a concrete bench-top, throws it 50 yards downrange, knocks it on a hardwood beam multiple times, and then heaves it back again. We kid you not. To our eternal surprise, the Nightforce scope survives all that abuse and shoots fine. What did Timex once say — “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”?
Video is Continuous — No Tricks
You’ve got to watch this video — it was shot with five cameras and runs with no “time-outs”, cutaways, or video tricks. What you see is what you get. This is one tough NXS. Thank you Kyle Brown and crew for taking the time to prove the durability of Nightforce Optics products.
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Here’s a true “Blast from the Past”, a video featuring our friend Stuart Elliott of Brisbane, Australia. This 2011 video has now racked up nearly 680,000 views, making it probably the most-watched long-range benchrest video ever uploaded to YouTube. The video shows Stuart shooting a 10-shot Heavy Gun string at the Brisbane range, Queensland, Australia, in July 2011. In this example, Stuart elected to “run a condition” with his big, .300 WM Heavy Gun, shooting fast with slight hold-off adjustments as the wind increased during the string. The cartridge is a .300 Winchester Magnum, loaded with moly-coated 190gr Berger VLDs. Stuart has an unusual bolt configuration. After each shot, Stuart removes the bolt completely with his right hand, and then uses the bolt to “shuck” the fired cartridge while loading the new cartridge with his left hand. That sounds awkward, but Stuart makes it all look easy. Stuart runs BRT Shooters Supply, a leading vendor of precision shooting equipment (including March scopes), in Australia and nearby regions.
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Nightforce Optics has just launched its own YouTube channel. It’s worth a visit. You’ll find many informative videos worth watching, including Product Intro videos, Nightforce In Action clips, and the Torture Test video. On the Liked Videos Playlist, you can also watch related product reviews and field tests from Extreme Outer Limits, the 6.5 Guys, and AccurateShooter.com.
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These days, everything is “tactical”. Along with tactical rifles, there are tactical shoes, tactical lunch-boxes, tactical seat-covers, and yes, even tactical bacon. So we guess it’s no surprise that the tactical community now has it’s own pay-to-play talkline, 1-900-TAC-TALK, modeled after those “adult” chatlines where you pay by the minute for a little aural stimulation. With the new Operator Hotline you won’t hear sexy girls talk. Instead the “operators standing by” are, well, “operators” in the tactical sense. For just $3.99 per minute you can talk about tactics, weapons, and gear. On special request, the chat hosts will even work the actions of real weapons. The Operator Hotline claims that all comms are secure so you can reveal your “deepest, most secret tactical fantasies”.
Preview the Operator Hotline in this Video (No Charge)
The Operator Hotline is a pay-per-minute interactive phone service. For just $3.99 per minute you can “talk tactical” with real operators decked out in full tactical gear. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond us. But this new service has proven very popular with young American males.
Tactical Products — Why They Appeal to Men
Tom Clopin, a product designer for a major outdoor company, wasn’t surprised that a fantasy chat-line has been launched, given the fact that tactical products are sold to fulfill macho role-playing fantasies. The designer told us: “You have to understand something. Most products are sold on image not function. Tactical gear is no different. In fact this market is more about costume play and gear fetishism than it is about function or utility. Make something look sort-of milspec, put a bunch a useless loops on it and call it tactical, and it will sell. Selling Molle gear to wannabee operators is just like selling leather chaps to Harley-riding, wannabee land pirates.”
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Werner Mehl of Kurzzeit.com produced a 10-minute video for the 2010 SHOT Show. This amazing video became a huge hit on YouTube, with over 45,600 “likes”. With the 2015 SHOT Show coming up, we thought you’d like another view. This super-slow-motion video has been watched over 10 million times, making it one of the most popular shooting-related videos in history. Employing cameras recording at up to 1,000,000 (one million) frames per second, Mehl’s bullet flight video has been called “astounding”, “mesmerizing”, and a “work of art.” If you haven’t seen it yet, sit back and enjoy!
LINK: Kurzzeit.com Video System and BMC-19/PVM-21 Chronograph
Click the link above to learn more about Werner Mehl and his super-sophisticated camera systems that can record at 1,000,000 frames per second. On the same linked page you can learn about the advanced PVM-21 chronograph (now sold as the BMC-19) designed by Werner. Operating “all-infrared, all the time”, the PVM-21 is the best optical chronograph we have tested for very low light conditions, or very tricky light conditions.
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Want to watch some very cool super-slow-motion videos of projectiles drilling bugholes and blasting through stuff? Then check out these videos from Remington’s R&D Center. We guarantee you’ll be entertained. You’ll find some truly amazing high-speed videography. Many video sequences are captured with ultra-high-speed cameras running hundreds of thousands of frames per second. This allows stunning slow-motion playback.
You’ve no doubt heard the term “tack-driver”. Are there rifles that really drive tacks? Well Remington has given us something just as good — a “nail driver”. In the video below, you can see a bullet “hit the nail on the head”, driving a nail into the target. Very cool indeed…
Driving Tacks — Hitting Nailheads with Bullets (Slow Motion)
Remarkable High-Speed Photography Shows Bullet Performance
You can see some amazing things — bullets busting concrete blocks, smashing through wood, drilling ballistic gelatin, and tearing through skin and gel (so you can see how bullets would perform in game animals). Our favorite sequence shows five shots forming a nice, clustered group — you can actually see the bullets fly into the paper target one after another. Here are some of the video highlights.
Five Shots with .30-06 into Paper (Slow Motion)
Busting Concrete Blocks with Bullets (Slow Motion)
Bullets Penetrate through Skin and Gelatin (Slow Motion)
Dances with Gel (Slow Motion)
Story tip from EdLongRange. We welcome reader submissions.
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Chris Cheng, Top Shot Season 4 Champion, has launched a new weekly series of YouTube webcasts, The Second Scoop. Each week Cheng will provide a timely mix of Second Amendment news, gun-related gear reviews, and marksmanship topics. Cheng’s Second Scoop commentaries offer insight, a bit of humor, and “first looks” at new shooting sports products.
In this Thanksgiving week edition of The Second Scoop, Chris focuses on the Ferguson, Missouri Grand Jury decision which spurred violent riots. Then Chris explains the impact of a court decision on California’s waiting periods for firearm purchases. In his “gear talk” segment, Chris talks about the brand new Taurus Curve, an innovative .380 ACP compact carry gun. With a distinctive curved frame, this little “equalizer” is the first-ever production pistol with integrated LED lights and a targeting laser.
Chris releases a new Second Scoop video each Tuesday. Watch all of Cheng’s Second Scoop webcasts (as well as his gun review videos) on the Top Shot Chris Cheng YouTube Channel.
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Here’s a shocking video showing a massive Kaboom (KB) that literally destroyed an M1 Garand in the hands of a lady shooter. One second she has a classic .30-06 battle rifle in her arms, and the next second she has nothing but a pile of parts. She is fortunate to have survived this incident without apparent serious injury. She may have had a squib (undercharged round) in her prior shot at the 00:12 time-mark. At 00:15 it seems she may have experienced “click no bang” (we can’t tell for sure). The detonation occurs at time-mark 00:25, and is then replayed in slow-motion.
If this Kaboom wasn’t caused by a squib, there might have been a catastrophic failure of the cartridge that failed to fire at 00:15. The shooter herself, posting as ArizonaGirl24 on YouTube, thinks the gun may have fired out of battery. What do you think?
Text accompanying the posting of this video on LiveLeak, states: “A woman, her shooting partner, and their cameraperson are lucky to be alive. Her M1 Garand detonated after she failed to check the barrel for an obstruction due to an apparent squib round….
[After the shot at 00:12] she is obviously aware that something is amiss and seems to check the chamber, but does not unload the rifle to check for the presence of a barrel obstruction.
She raises the rifle and fires it again, causing a catastrophic weapon failure. Parts of the weapon fly in all directions. The video then terminates.”
What happened to the shooter? She reported: “I was very lucky with the outcome. I have lots of splinters and bruising, but nothing broken. My left hand took the brunt of the blow to my wrist and palm of my hand. Still pretty painful, but I will be fine.”
LESSON ONE: If you experience any kind of malfunction, or what appears to be a light-recoiling (or soft-sounding) shot, you should STOP shooting immediately. Clear the firearm and check for barrel obstructions.
LESSON TWO: Always wear ear and eye protection when shooting any firearm, even rimfires.
LESSON THREE: With a semi-auto gun, ensure the bolt is completely in battery after every shot.
LESSON FOUR: When hand-loading check EVERY round for powder charges prior to seating bullets, and weigh your loaded rounds before boxing them. Also check for high primers on EVERY round. If using a progressive press, use a Lock-Out Die that will alert you to any under-loaded cartridge. Be wary of commercial reloads.
Video tip from Mark LaFevers. We welcome reader submissions.
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Here’s an interesting contest from Kahr Firearms Group (Kahr), the makers of Kahr compact carry pistols. To demonstrate the accuracy of its pistols, Kahr invites shooters to showcase their long-range pistol skills in a YouTube Video. There’s some serious prize money up for grabs.in this Long Range Shooting Video Contest. The contest winner receives $5000.00 worth of firearm products and accessories from Kahr, Magnum Research, and/or Auto Ordnance.
Submit Video for a Chance to Win
To enter the contest you need to shoot a Kahr pistol at a distance of at least 100 yards. Video your shooting session, and upload that to YouTube. The person whose YouTube video gets the most views will be named the Grand Prize winnner. The contest period runs November 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 and the winner will be announced on January 6, 2015.
“Our goal of this shooting contest is to dispel the myth that accuracy is sacrificed in exchange for a smaller sized pistol, like that found in our concealed carry product line.” stated Justin Moon, CEO of Kahr Firearms Group.
The Long-Range Shooting Contest video must be original footage running from thirty seconds to three minutes in length. The footage must demonstrate shooting at a target distance of 100-yards (or more), exclusively using a Kahr pistol. CLICK HERE for Contest Rules.
Tech Tip — Pistol Accuracy
What kind of accuracy is possible with a small semi-auto pistol? Rested from a bench, we’ve seen production 1911s shoot inside 2″ at 50 yards. That may be hard to achieve with a Kahr, but who knows? If you are using the standard Kahr iron sights, you may want to use a 6 o’clock hold on a black bullseye. Alternatively, you can make a target with a large, thick horizontal line with a red/orange dot in the center (see sample below) The horizontal line helps you align the top of your front blade with the rear sights for best control over elevation.
Try Custom Hand-loads
If you’re serious about this contest, you should experiment with various custom hand-loads. (As far as we can tell, the contest rules allow custom-loaded ammo.) You may find that you get the best results with cast lead bullets (as opposed to jacketed bullets). Try a variety of load recipes, with a range of velocities (slow, medium, and fast). Some of our pistols like fast loads, while other handguns prefer slow (725-950 fps), subsonic loads.
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Forum member Thomas Haugland from Norway has produced an excellent video that covers practical field shooting skills for hunters. In his video, Thomas (aka ‘Roe’ on Forum and Sierra645 on YouTube) shows how to verify his zeros from bipod and he demonstrates improvised field rests from the prone, kneeling, and sitting positions.
Thomas explains: “In this video I focus on basic marksmanship techniques and making ready for this year’s hunt. As a last check before my hunting season, I got to verify everything for one last time. My trajectory is verified again, the practical precision of the rifle is verified. I also practice making do with the best [improvised] rest possible when an opportunity presents itself. After getting knocked in the face by a 338LM rifle during a previous filming session, I had to go back to basics to stop [flinching]. I include some details from bipod shooting that hopefully some hunters will find useful. Fingers crossed for this years season, good luck!”
Thomas has produced many other quality videos for his Sierra645 YouTube Channel. On his “Langholdsskyting” YouTube Channel, you’ll find 30 more nicely-made videos (in both English and Norwegian) about hunting and precision shooting.
Spectacular Scenery
Below you’ll find a great video by Thomas that demonstrates up/down angle (incline) shooting. This video features some amazing scenery from Norway along with angle estimation sequences and use of the ACI (Angle-Cosine Indicator). Even without the technical tips, this video is well worth watching just to see the jaw-dropping Norwegian scenery! Yes that’s Thomas standing on the top of the peak in the photo (above right).
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Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before — a rimfire tracer bullet split in half on the blade of a machete. This pistol trick shot is performed by 22Plinkster, a young marksman who has posted a number of rimfire trick shot videos on YouTube. This impressive split bullet demonstration was filmed with high-speed cameras. This lets you see the bullet fly onto the machete blade in slow motion, with red tracer particles streaming behind. And then a freeze-frame clearly shows the two bullet halves after they have passed through two balloons. Check it out:
The high-speed camera (which allows super slow-motion playback) was provided by RatedRR studios. The .22 LR tracer ammunition was provided by Piney Mountain Ammunition Company.
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These days, everything is “tactical”. Along with tactical rifles, there are tactical shoes, tactical lunch-boxes, 
Want to watch some very cool super-slow-motion videos of projectiles drilling bugholes and blasting through stuff? Then check out these videos from 
If this Kaboom wasn’t caused by a squib, there might have been a catastrophic failure of the cartridge that failed to fire at 00:15. The shooter herself, posting as 
Forum member Thomas Haugland from Norway has produced an excellent video that covers practical field shooting skills for hunters. In his video, Thomas (aka ‘Roe’ on Forum and 
Thomas has produced many other quality videos for his Sierra645 
