Long Range | Western Shooter

Reduced 308 Cast Bullet Loads for Long Range Practice

In the early 1900’s it was common to do a lot of what was referred to as Gallery Practice. This is shooting on a short range, usually indoors, with reduced loads out of the exact same rifle that is going to be shot at long range. Townsend Whelen who was captain of the US Army Infantry Rifle Team during this same time period talks about this type of practice in a pamphlet he wrote for the military called Suggestions to Military Rifleman. These loads were often loaded with cast bullets and fast pistol powder. The range they were shot at was generally 50 yards.

To practice I use a light cast bullet load with 13 grains of 2400 in a 308 case and a bullet cast out of a Lee 173 grain mold. Commercial Cast bullets such as those from The Oregon Trail Bullet Company can also be used if the shooter doesn’t have the means to cast his own.

It is important that the long range shooter becomes as Continue reading Reduced 308 Cast Bullet Loads for Long Range Practice

Shooting Off a Bipod

There is a lot of talk on the Internet about proper bipod technique; but, I have never found anything definitive. Some use a hard hold, while some use free recoil, and others use something in between. I shoot F/TR class in NRA high-power matches. In these matches you shoot strings of 15 to 20 rounds at a 1 minute of angle ten ring and a ½ minute of angle X-ring. I have found it is very hard to be consistent over this many shots.

Since there has been no definitive article that I have found on proper bipod hold I decided to do my own testing. Continue reading Shooting Off a Bipod

WesternShooter’s David Kynoch Wins NRA Regional F Class Match

Deep Creek Range in Missoula, Montana was the location for the NRA Regional Long Range F Class Championships held the 24-26 of September 2010. Montana, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and several other states all had shooters in attendance. Shooters competed at 800, 900, and 1000 yards over a 3 day period shooting at a target with an X ring of only 5 inches.

Western Shooter’s, David Kynoch, won the F-TR division with an aggregate of 1057-28x. That score put him 12 points ahead of 2nd place. It should also be noted that, Bob Evens , took 5th place in the same F-TR division and broke a long Continue reading WesternShooter’s David Kynoch Wins NRA Regional F Class Match

Sinclair F Class Bipod

The Sinclair F Class bipod has been around for a couple of years. Last year Sinclair made a few changes and updated a few things on the Bipod. This review will cover the latest model.

The Sinclair F-TR Bipod is made of aluminum. The bipod legs are adjustable independently for height and the bipod has Continue reading Sinclair F Class Bipod

M. Werks, LLC F/TR Bipod Review

The first time I spoke with Jeff at M. Werks, LLC I called to ask him about his bipod conversion that worked with a Versa Pod mount. He told me that he was no longer producing it. I was disappointed. The options for F/TR style bipods are limited and if you have a budget, even more limited. We agreed while talking that there was potential demand for a good F/TR style bipod. A few weeks after our talk Jeff called me and told me he was working on a complete bipod system. That was the begining of the M. Werks F/TR Bipod. Continue reading M. Werks, LLC F/TR Bipod Review

Lapua Palma .308 Win – Small Primer Pocket

While I was at the 2010 SHOT Show, I had the oppurtunity to stop at the Lapua booth. We discussed a few different things but the most interesting was the introduction of a new .308 match case called the Lapua Palma .308 Win. The new case is identical to Lapua’s .308 match brass except for the primer pocket. The primer pocket in the Lapua .308 Palma will be a small rifle primer pocket. Lapua told me that during testing they were able to get Extreme Spreads (ES) much lower than with cases that had the large rifle primer pocket.

Lapua .308 Palm Brass — LEFT: Lapua .308 Win. Match Case RIGHT: Lapua Palma .308 Win. The flash hole is considerably smaller and will require a smaller decapping pin.

Continue reading Lapua Palma .308 Win – Small Primer Pocket