There are quite a few priming tools on the market, coming in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. Our friend, Gavin, over at Ultimate Reloader took a closer look at the Lee Auto Bench Priming Tool, from the setup, to the functionality, and gives his overview of this new take on a bench standard.
“Could this be the alternative to hand priming that I’ve been looking for when I don’t choose to prime on-press?” You can read Gavin’s full write up on the Ultimate Reloader blog HERE.
Bushnell’s new AK Optics 1-4X 24mm Riflescope and AK Optics 1x25mm Red Dot are a pair of sighting solutions designed specifically with the legendary AK-47 platform in mind.
The AK Optics 1x25mm Red Dot has a 3-MOA dot reticle with an Amber-Bright high-contrast lens coating that enhances detail and suppresses lens flare.
The AK Optics 1-4X 24mm Riflescope highlights targets with an illuminated 7.62×39 BDC reticle. It features 11 brightness levels packaged in a 30mm-diameter, one-piece aircraft aluminum tube.
CAMP PERRY, Ohio – The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is pleased to introduce 10 innovative electronic targets available for Open Public Shooting at Camp Perry. Rifle and pistol marksmen will now have the chance to fire towards the future of competitive shooting from the place that has been a pinnacle of marksmanship for over 100 years. Whether experienced or just beginning, the ground-breaking targets are designed with the ability to enhance skills and excite spectators of all ages.
From Aug. 29 to Nov. 7, 2016, Petrarca Range will be open to the public on Mondays, where only a small fee of $10/hour ($25 for 3 hours) will be required to fire upon some of the most advanced marksmanship technology available today. Visitors must provide his or her own firearms and ammo as well as any other accompanying equipment. Eye and ear protection is also strongly encouraged while firing or observing.
Similar to the targets used at CMP’s Talladega Marksmanship Park in Alabama, the 10 state-of-the-art outdoor electronic targets on Petrarca Range (located on the historic grounds of Camp Perry) are capable of adapting to rifle, pistol and smallbore shooting. During Open Public, CMP staff members will be on hand to answer questions and to ensure safety on the range.
Rifle targets are located at the 100-yard line, but the changing of the target faces and the use of reduced target definitions allow shooters to practice for longer distances as well. Pistol targets are mounted in portable carriers that are constructed to be set up at 25 or 50 yards. The rifle targets are wireless, while the pistol targets are hardwired. Target technology is provided by Kongsberg Target Systems (KTS), with equipment marketed by CMP Targets.
For an even more comfortable experience, sound deadening material has been added to the interior ceiling of the Petrarca firing line structure along with a dividing wall to create a more controlled environment. New doors and lighting have also been installed to the structure, and berm work has been constructed downrange.
KTS Electronic Targets work through the power of acoustics – “hearing” the shot and accurately determining its location. With extensive use by ranges in 30 nations for over 20 years by Kongsberg Target Systems and even more experience received in-house by the CMP, the accuracy of these electronic targets is unlike anything else in the United States.
Come out with a friend, as a family or even by yourself! All are welcome to Petrarca Range at Camp Perry. For more information on Open Public Shooting, visit the Petrarca Range page on the CMP website at http://thecmp.org/competitions/cmp-targets-at-petrarca-range/.
About Camp Perry:
Camp Perry, a National Guard training facility open to the public for swimming, fishing, camping and viewing year-round, is located on the shores of Lake Erie, only six miles west of Port Clinton on State Route 2. The entrance is marked by its signature stone towers and checkered water towers standing in the distance.
About the CMP:
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a national organization dedicated to training and educating U.S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and air guns through gun safety training, marksmanship training and competitions. The CMP is a federally chartered 501(c)(3) corporation that places its highest priority on serving youth through gun safety and marksmanship activities that encourage personal growth and build life skills.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
Apple has announced that the next update to its emoji catalog would style the “gun” icon as a toy, rather than a pistol, reports the Washington Post. The emoji is really a revolver not a pistol.
New Yorkers Against Gun Violence has been pushing for the emoji switch by waging a high-profile PR campaign called #DisarmTheiPhone, in an attempt to bring awareness to the toll of criminal violence involving firearms by urging Apple to remove all gun related emojis.
The organization succeeded in its social-media symbolic effort. Apple has succumbed to the social pressure of villainizing an object rather than focusing on the fact that people are responsible for their actions.
The narrative is that guns are bad, no matter the depiction or context. What we hear so little about is how more effort could be focused to make real progress in the fight against keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.
So, even though it’s the easy thing to do, it’s sad to see companies like Apple get caught up in silly social media ploys.
Do you think such “disarming” ploys make any difference in the real world?
Hornady has announced the launch of the new Hornady 4DOF (Four Degrees of Freedom) Ballistic Calculator.
The Hornady 4DOF calculator provides trajectory solutions based on projectile Drag Coefficient (not ballistic coefficient) along with the exact physical modelling of the projectile and its mass and aerodynamic properties. Additionally, it is the first publicly available program that will correctly calculate the vertical shift a bullet experiences as it encounters a crosswind—referred to as aerodynamic jump.
According to the company, the use of drag coefficients, correct projectile dynamics, aerodynamic jump and spin drift enable the Hornady 4DOF ballistic calculator to be the most accurate commercially available trajectory program available, even at extreme ranges.
“Current ballistic calculators provide 3 degrees of freedom in their approach; windage, elevation and range, but treat the projectile as an inanimate lump flying through the air,” said Dave Emary, Hornady Chief Ballistician. “This program incorporates the projectile’s movement in the standard 3 degrees but also adds its movement about its center of gravity and subsequent angle relative to its line of flight, which is the 4th degree of freedom.”
Using Doppler radar, Hornady engineers have calculated exact drag versus velocity curves for each bullet in the 4DOF calculator library. Combined with the physical attributes of the projectiles, the 4DOF calculator is simply more accurate for long-range hits than using BC based systems or custom drag curves based off of limited data collection points.
“This calculator doesn’t utilize BC’s (Ballistic Coefficients) like other calculators,” added Jayden Quinlan, Hornady Ballistics Engineer. “Why compare the flight of your bullet to a standard G1 or G7 projectile when you can use your own projectile as the standard?”
The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) recently launched a new $3 million TV ad buy making the case that Hillary Clinton is an out of touch, hypocritical politician who would leave the American people defenseless.
This ad helps highlight the fact that the right of law-abiding Americans to keep a firearm in their homes for self-protection is on the ballot in this presidential election. The ad, titled “Defenseless”, began airing this month on national cable as well as local broadcast stations in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada and North Carolina. It is the third installment in a series of ads by the NRA-PVF.
“Hillary Clinton has supported the concept of confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens. Despite what she says to try and get elected, she would stack the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices who would overturn our fundamental right of self-protection. So it is not an understatement to say that the future of American freedom is at stake in November,” said Chris W. Cox, chairman of NRA’s Political Victory Fund.
In a candid moment, Hillary Clinton told an audience of supporters that “The Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment, and I’m going to make that case every chance I get.” She was referring to the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the Court held that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.
The ad highlights the hypocrisy of Hillary Clinton’s views on the Second Amendment and reveals her as a political elitist who is out of touch with the American people.
“The choice to own a firearm doesn’t belong to the government — it is an individual freedom,” continued Cox. “So it is too important to be subject to one set of rules for political elites like Hillary Clinton, and a different set for the rest of us.”
The following is a specially-adapted excerpt from the forthcoming book “Top Grade Ammo” by Zediker Publishing. BuyZedikerBooks.com for more.
by Glen Zediker
We talked about rifle barrel throat erosion last time, in descriptive terms. Short course: It’s the area just ahead of the case neck area in a rifle chamber that bears the majority of the “flame cutting” effect of burning propellant gases. The wear in this area determines the accurate life of a barrel. The greatest detractor from accuracy is the roughness that results from the deteriorating steel surface. Of course, the throat is advancing, getting longer, at the same time. After time, the “jump” or gap the bullet has to leap before engaging the lands plays its part in poor on-target performance.
I’ve always followed a “scheduled” replacement plan on barrels, determined, of course, after much experimentation and many measurements. That’s for competition rifles. For others, I have a more-or-less “shoot it until it doesn’t shoot well” approach.
If you chronograph frequently enough, and are using the same load, you’ll see velocities drop as more rounds go through the barrel. This is because of the lengthening throat: more room for expanding gases, lower pressure, lower velocity. I know a few who gauge barrel replacements based around chronograph readings, and the resultant propellant charge adjustment necessary to maintain “new barrel” bullet speed. The general consensus, for a round with approximately .308 Win. case capacity, is 2.0gr. So when it takes another 2 grains of propellant to restore original velocity, that one’s done.
Here are a few more ideas on barrel life, and also a few thoughts on how to keep a barrel shooting better longer.
Last time I made a statement that I should have qualified more, but space is always such a concern in these articles. It was respecting the idea of pulling a barrel, cutting some off its chamber-end, and then rechambering it. This overwrites the eroded area, well most of it. That can only be done for a bolt-action rifle. I said that worked well for chromemoly barrels but not for stainless steel barrels, and the difference is in the “machine-ability” of the steels. It is possible to set back a stainless barrel, but it’s tough to have a
“chatterless” cut result. A little more usually needs to be removed to get good results with stainless, and this, of course, is making the barrel overall that much shorter. Certainly: you have to plan on a set-back at original barrel installation, and that means include enough extra length to compromise. Usually it takes a minimum of 1 inch to get a worthwhile result with chromemoly.
So what can reduce the effects or severity of erosion, which is only to say prolong the life of the barrel? Reasonable does of propellant behind lighter-weight bullets, that’s one. Another is that flat-base bullets do result in less cutting than boat-tails. Flat-base bullets “obturate” more quickly. Obturate means to “block,” but here it means to close a hole, which is a barrel bore, which means to seal it. The angled tail on a conventional boat-tails creates a sort of “nozzle” effect, directing gases to the steel surface. Can’t much be done about that, though, because when we need boat-tails we need them. However! A relatively obscure but well-proven boat-tail design does increase barrel life, and also tends to shoot better though a worn throat. A “rebated” boat-tail has a 90-degree step down from the bullet shank (body) to the tail. It steps down before the boat-tail taper is formed. These obturate fully and quickly. It is common for competitive .308 shooters to switch from the popular Sierra 190gr MatchKing to a Lapua 185 rebated boat-tail when accuracy starts to fall off due to throat wear. Sure enough, the Lapua brings it back for a couple hundred more rounds.
Some propellants burn lower temperatures than others. Some double-based propellants claim this, and, true, if you can be happy with the performance of one, it can extend barrel life a few hundred extra rounds. WW 748 is one of those propellants and my experience with it is that the claims are true. It’s not night-and-day, but there’s a difference. Research to find others.
Coated bullets don’t have any influence on throat erosion, but they tend to perform better though a rough throat. Boron-nitride is the only bullet coating I can recommend. I use it. Do an extra-good job cleaning the throat area in a wearing barrel. Copper and other residues tend to collect more as the steel gets rougher and rougher.
Uncommon design, but very effective, all around: DTAC 6mm 115gr RBT (rebated boat-tail). The step-down to the tail mimics a flat-base in its capacity to seal the bore. It’s a sort of “best of both worlds” design.
Make sure you’re not eroding the throat yourself! Use a cleaning rod guide and wipe down the rod each pass through. No kidding. Poor cleaning technique can kill a barrel prematurely because a flexing, gritty rod works about the same as a round file. The guide helps reduce rod flexing.
Abrasive treatments are “controversial” to say the least. The author uses a product intermittently that no doubt removes more metal from the eroded area, but it also smoothes it over. Nothing can reverse or stop erosion; all we can do is find ways to reduce its evil influence. Again, experience is that it’s the roughness, not the lengthening, that demonizes an eroding throat. Keeping the deteriorating area smoother makes a bullet move better through it. This product is “FinalFinish” from Superior Shooting Systems, available in varying formats. The author shoots two or three of the finest grit through the tube every 200 rounds or so. He has seen some impressive “restorations” result.
Suffield, Connecticut-based Stevens has recently introduced three new shotgun products to its extensive line of affordable scatterguns: the semi-automatic 12-gauge S1200, the 12-Gauge Model 320 Waterfowl Camo Pump Shotgun, and 28-Gauge and 410-bore chamberings of its 555 over-under shotguns.
The S1200 is the company’s first semi-automatic shotgun. It features an inertia-driven self-loading action with a walnut, camouflage synthetic, or all-weather matte black synthetic stock. The 6.6-pound S1200 has a 3-inch chamber, rotating bolt and is offered with a 26- or 28-inch vent-rib barrel that accepts the Beretta Mobilchoke system. Five versions, starting at $573 and ranging up to $685, will be offered.
The Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo 320 series 12-gauge pump shotgun offers dual slide bars, a rotary bolt, synthetic stock, vent rib barrel and a five-round capacity. It features interchangeable chokes, green fiber optic front sight and is available in both standard length-of-pull and compact versions. Two models priced at $273 MSRP will be available.
The 555 has a scaled-to-gauge lightweight aluminum receiver. The receiver employs a steel insert that reinforces the breech to maximize strength while keeping weight down.
Standard features include a Turkish walnut stock and forend, shell extractors, a tang-mounted manual safety, a chrome-lined barrel, and a single, selective, mechanical trigger. The shotgun also includes 5 interchangeable choke tubes. Part No. 22166 is the 28 gauge model with a 3-inch chamber, MSRP $692; the 22166 is the .410 Bore, also with a 3-inch chamber, MSRP $692.
Though it seems like an esoteric matter that doesn’t affect most gun owners, a July 22 U.S. Department of State – Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) “guidance” memo purportedly means to clarify who is required under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to register as a “manufacturer” of “defense articles.” In reality, the “guidance” from DDTC looks more like an effort to potentially put hundreds or thousands of gunsmiths out of business because they can’t afford to pay the high annual $2,250 registration fee.
Simply put, the DDTC’s stance would force small manufacturers to pay $2,250 annually to register when they are not utilizing the DDTC export licensing system to export products.
The term “manufacture” as used in the AECA and ITAR is its ordinary dictionary definition. Clearly, many of the activities DDTC claims require registration constitutes gun smithing and is not manufacturing under any reasonable dictionary definition of the term. DDTC’s position is similar to claiming an auto mechanic who fixes your car is a car manufacturer. From the ATF, here’s their clarification of gunsmithing vs. manufacturing.
The law covers firearms and ammunition products (U.S. Munitions List Categories I – III), and, registration would be required even if the manufacturer does not export any firearms or firearms parts, and even if the manufacturer makes only component parts.
DDTC asserts that the guidance merely restates existing DDTC policy and interpretation of the AECA and ITAR manufacturer registration requirement.
To date, the Obama Administration has refused to publish and implement the regulatory changes necessary to transfer for export licensing of commercial and sporting firearms and ammunition products to the Department of Commerce from the Department of State.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, announced that Smith & Wesson has joined NSSF’s #GUNVOTE Chairman’s Club with a $500,000 contribution to the association’s critical voter registration and education campaign. This is the largest contribution the #GUNVOTE campaign has received to date.
“Smith & Wesson has set the bar high with this unprecedented half-million dollar contribution to our #GUNVOTE campaign,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “It is exactly that kind of commitment that will help ensure that our history and our rights will remain intact not just for us today.”
James Debney, CEO of Smith & Wesson, said, “We are honored to support this effort on behalf of our employees and especially the law-abiding firearm owners of Massachusetts, who have so recently been denied their fundamental rights through arbitrary government action that threatens to turn lawful gun owners and dealers into criminals. To stop this from happening elsewhere, it is imperative that citizens across our nation are informed and knowledgeable about their rights, their candidates and the importance of their vote in this critical election year.”
NSSF’s #GUNVOTE — www.gunvote.org — is a voter registration and education platform for use by firearms industry manufacturers, wholesaler distributors, retailers, ranges and media members that helps gun owners, hunters and target shooters to register to vote, to become informed on where the candidates in 2016 stand on gun control and conservation issues, and encourages them on election day, armed with the facts, to #GUNVOTE so they do not risk their rights.
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