Shooting Times 2015 03

Micro .380 ACP pistols bring an unequaled level of safety, dependability and

performance to concealed carry. Small and light, they blend Kimber quality with

superior 1911 ergonomics and simple operation. Mild .380 ACP recoil and a

smooth single-action trigger pull make them a pleasure to shoot, even for those

with small hands. Frames machined from the finest aluminum ensure several

lifetimes of service. Each includes a 6-round magazine, and an extended 7-round

magazine is available as an accessory. Four models cover any concealed carry

application. Visit a Kimber Master Dealer and see for yourself.

Light. Compact. Powerful.

The Kimber Micro .380 ACP.

The new Micro CDP (LG) and Micro Carry Stainless (right)

.380 ACP pistols weigh just 13.4 ounces. A 2.75-inch barrel

makes them easy to carry and conceal.

Micro pistols have a stainless steel barrel for

superior resistance to moisture. Steel sights

are mounted in dovetails machined into the

slide for strength.

1911-inspired controls include a serrated

thumb safety plus a checkered slide release

lever and magazine release button for safe,

positive and fast operation.

All Micro models feature a single action

trigger with a smooth and consistent

7-pound pull that builds conf dence and

increases accuracy.

kimberamerica.com

(888) 243-4522

W H AT A L L G U N S S H O U L D B E

2014, Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved. Information and specif cations are for reference only and subject to change without notice.

Kimber of ers nearly 200 purpose-built pistols and rif es to meet any need.MADE IN AMERICA

2 SHOOTING TIMES MAY 2015

MAY 2015 VOLUME 56, ISSUE 4

Compact and ComfortableThe new FNS Compact pistols are designed for concealed carry and shooter comfort.By Joel J. Hutchcroft

.338 Lapua at 500 YardsThis super-accurate sniper rifle round can be excellent big-game hunting medicine.By Layne Simpson

The Right Long-Range RiflescopeHere are the best options in scopes designed specifically for long-range accuracy.By Joseph von Benedikt

Purpose-Built Long-Range BulletsThese Barnes, Berger, and Nosler bullets are made for long-range hunting.By Joseph von Benedikt

Quick ShotRedding Micrometer Adjusting Profile Crimp DiesThese new profile crimp dies feature micrometer-style adjustment heads.By Jake Edmondson

Quick ShotMeopta MeoStar 15X56 HD BinocularThe high-power MeoStar HD binoc-ular offers spectacular image clarity.By Jake Edmondson

Quick ShotMTM Case-Gard Concealed Carry CaseThis ammo can/gun case provides a discreet way to transport handguns.By Jake Edmondson

26

36

50

60

66

68

70COVER PHOTO BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ

A .338 TackdriverProducing 1/2-MOA accuracy and 1.5 tons of force, Hornadys new .338 Lapua match load in Christensen Armss TFM Carbon rifle is long range ready.Joel J. Hutchcroft

44

Featuring legendary XTP hollow point bullets, these loads are designed for target shooting, hunting and self-defense applications.

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8 Readers Speak OutA bona fide .22 sporter put together with wood and blued steel, North American Arms Mini-Revolver, and more

10 New Guns & GearLaserLyte Score Tyme trainer target, ATI TactLite AR stock, Safariland GLS Pro-Fit holster, and FN Expert marksmanship train-ing system

12 Ask the ExpertsHandloading tips and load data sources for .32 ACP, shooting other cartridges in .357 Maximum revolvers

14 The ShootistT.B. Janney 12-gauge SxSJoel J. Hutchcroft

16 The BallisticianThe .50 Action ExpressAllan Jones

18 The ReloaderHandloading the .26 NoslerLane Pearce

22 The GunsmithNew Take on an Old ChoreReid Coffield

72 The Last RoundThe Return of the KingBart Skelton

SHOOTERS UPDATE

SHOOTERS GALLERY

SHOOTERS SHOWCASE

facebook.com/ShootingTimesMag twitter.com/ShootingTimesUSshootingtimes.com

CONTENTS MAY 2015 VOLUME 56, ISSUE 4An InterMedia Outdoors Publication

PUBLISHERChris Agnes

EDITORIALEDITOR IN CHIEF Joel J. Hutchcroft

ART DIRECTORLuke M. Bouris

GROUP ART DIRECTORDavid A. Kleckner

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERMichael Anschuetz

COPY EDITORMichael Brecklin

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Reid Coffield GUNSMITHING Frank W. James SHOOTING Allan Jones BALLISTICS Lane Pearce RELOADING Layne Simpson FIELD Bart Skelton HANDGUNS Joseph von Benedikt HUNTING

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Shooting Times (ISSN 0038-8084) is published monthly with a bimonthly issue in Dec/Jan by InterMedia Outdoors, Inc. 1040 6th Ave., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10018-3703. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices.

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Readers Speak Out Illustration: mstanley13 - fotolia.comNew Guns & Gear Illustration: Oleksandr Moroz - fotolia.comAsk the Experts Illustration: rukanoga - fotolia.com

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AIRING ON THE SPORTSMAN CHANNEL MONDAYS @ 8 P.M. ET AND TUESDAYS @ 5 P.M. ET

HOT New Ammo for 2015Whats new on the ammo shelf this year? See these hot new ammunition offerings for 2015.shootingtimes.com/ammo-2015

Terrific TEN: 10mm Auto Then & NowDecades since its creation, the 10mm Auto continues to thrive. Learn how the 10mm has evolved through the years.shootingtimes.com/terrific-10

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CONTENTS MAY 2015 VOLUME 56, ISSUE 4

First Week of AprilRock Island Armory is known for its 1911 .45s, but new for 2015 is a slick, compact .380 pistol thats nicknamed the Baby Rock. Check out the first look in this G&A TV exclusive. Hornady has yet another new handgun load featured in this weeks show, and a new stainless .45 1911 is pro-filed for those shooters who are looking to buy their first 1911 or for shooters who think you can never own enough 1911s.

Second Week of AprilKicking off this weeks show is a profile of Hornadys totally new line of American Gunner handgun ammo. We also take a good look at a new/old Model 1911, as a legendary name reissues a his-torically correct 1911 that was a household name during the World War II era. This episode wraps up with mixing and matching several Beretta M9 pistols by interchanging parts.

Third Week of AprilWe continue to keep our viewers informed on new firearms this week as we check out Springfields new XD Mod.2 pistol, Rugers new AR-556 rifle, and SIGs highly anticipated 10mm P220 pistol. Also this week, Tom Beckstrand welcomes Greg Stubbe to the range as the two U.S. Army veter-ans talk about their combat experiences and how a certain pistol played a major role.

Fourth Week of AprilNew and cutting-edge optics always have a place on Guns & Ammo TV, and this week we take a look at a new offering from Leupold. S&W is back in the news with more new guns from its Performance Center, and we showcase some of the unbelievable workmanship being done by those able crafts-men. We close out the episode taking a look at Berettas 100 years of producing semiauto pistols.

2015 Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. 012715RUGER.COM/NEWPRODUCTS

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Gunsite Scout Rifle in 5.56 NATO 5.56 NATO/223 REM

SR1911 Lightweight Commander- Style 45 AUTO

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Ruger 22/45 Lite with Blue Anodized Ventilated Barrel 22 LR

LCRx with 3-Inch Barrel and Adjustable Sight 38 SPL +P

GP100 Match Champion with Adjustable Sight 357 MAG

LCR in 9mm 9MM LUGER

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Ruger American Rifle Left-Handed 22-250 REM, 223 REM, 243 WIN, 270 WIN,

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SHOOTERS UPDATEREADERS SPEAK OUT NEW GUNS & GEAR ASK THE EXPERTS

I WAS GLAD TO SEE MR. HUTCHCROFTS EVALUATION OF THE NEW .22 TCMsporter in Februarys Shooting Times. Yes, its a real bona fide sporting .22 put together with wood and blued steel. We see more than enough sporter imitations made of synthetics and aluminum and steel thrown in for the barrel. That is, if you can see the barrel, hobbled with assorted devices from scopes to lasers to flashlights all stacked on a Picatinny base that looks like the ratchet off a pickup trucks jack.Now that you know how I feel about ARs, lets talk about the .22 TCM.

This is a new one on me, and I, for one, would love to get my hands on it. Ive gone through numerous .22s in my 72 years, shooting everything from squirrels to coyotes, and have yet to find a .22 that beats my .218 Bee Winchester Model 43.I know new calibers are developed almost daily, but maybe its

time to stop and see that the .22 field is finally saturated.A brief comment on Hutchcrofts suggestion on a carbine in .22

TCM: I think if one was brought out that was like the old Inland .30-caliber M1 Carbine, it would be a hit from the start.I love reading Shooting Times magazine and will keep them in my

collection after Ive substantially slimmed down my magazine subscriptions.William GilmoreVia e-mail

Interested in the 9mmIm becoming an addicted fan of Shooting Times and Joel J. Hutch-

crofts articles. The December 2014 article 9mm 3 Ways was great, especially on the Taurus 905 revolver. Im curious about the cylinder chamber and throat dimensions and proof specs. I agree on the prefer-ence for improved sights on the 905.

However, I question the statement about new defense ammo developed specifi-cally for citizens. It seems to me that law enforcement agencies have been advo-cating strongly for such ammo for Light Carry department personnel (where full-size duty pistols are not required or desired). I doubt that FBI performance cri-teria were intended for citizens personal protection. Certainly, some of this ammo isnt suitable for law enforcement, but a great portion of it is, and many law enforce-ment departments cant afford the more expensive top-grade ammo. We citizens may be reaping the spoils of the research and testingand why not, taxpayers are paying for it! The problem is, this ammo is not yet widely available.Keith RoehrPrairie Creek, IN

Little Guns Deserve RespectNorth American Arms has advertised its

Mini-Revolver as the gun to carry when you cant carry a gun. Recovering from knee replacement surgery, I find this is so true. Wearing only workout pants for the past

few weeks, I have learned the value of these little guns. The waistband isnt strong enough to carry anything heavier. Even my LCR is too big and heavy. For me in my present situation, the positives outweigh

the negatives. The model I carry is the folding grip. This gives me a full-size grip and will clip inside my waistband and not pull my pants down to my knees.These little guns deserve more respect

and coverage than they get. With practice they are more accurate than they are given credit for. I can consistently hit an alumi-num can out to about 15 yards.Phil WittePhoenix, AZ

The centerfire .22 TCM cartridge from Armscor USA pushes a 40-grain JHP to a muzzle velocity of 2,800 fps out of the 22-inch barrel of Rock Island Armorys TCM rifle.

E-MAIL LETTERS TO [email protected]

400

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100

0

50 100 150 200

RANGE (YD)

EFFECTIVE ENERGY (FT-LBS)

ENERGY VS. RANGE

0

-5

-10

-15

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50 100 150 200

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INCHES

TRAJECTORY VS. RANGE

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10 SHOOTING TIMES MAY 2015 COMPILED BY MICHAEL BRECKLIN


THE NEW SCORE TYME LASER TRAINER TARGET HAS DOUBLEthe target area of LaserLytes original Laser Training Target. Made of high-impact ABS polymer and measuring 13x8.75x1.5 inches, it features a three-digit LED display timer, three timer speeds, and score keeper. Shots are scored from four to 10 points, and shot placement is shown by 147 LED lights. Its powered by three AAA batteries and works with any of Laser-Lytes Laser Training Cartridges, Trigger Tyme pistols, and the LT-PRO.MSRP: $349.95laserlyte.com

Safariland Model 578 GLS Pro-Fit HolsterSafarilands Model 578 GLS Pro-Fit holster

fits more than 60 handguns and is customiz-able for fit. The low-cut, compact holster uses Safarilands Grip Locking System technology.The injection-molded paddle design rides

close to the body for concealment while providing easy access for a quick draw, and an injection-molded belt loop is adjustable for cant. The holster body is constructed of SafariSeven, a lightweight, state-of-the-art nylon. Finishes are plain black and flat dark earth brown.MSRP: $55safariland.com

ATI TactLite AR-15 StockAdvanced Technology Internationals TactLite lightweight AR-15 stock

features a constant inner diameter throughout the length of the stock. This proprietary design reduces any movement of the buffer tube in the stock system.The six-position adjustable stock weighs just 5.85 ounces and is designed

to be snag-free. Additional features include a new, slim version of ATIs Scor-pion Recoil Pad and a QD sling mount and slot for military strap fasteners.MSRP: $59.99atigunstocks.com

FN Expert Marksmanship Training SystemThe FN Expert marksmanship training system can be mounted to any

mil-std 1913 rail surface or attached directly to a barrel without interfer-ing with optics or accessories. The FN Expert works dry-fire, live fire drills, with blanks, or with a CO2 pneumatic recoil simulator.Software depicts point of aim and rifle movement during aiming and trig-

gering stages. Shot trace measures position of the rifle, aim point, breath control, and trigger control, and this information is delivered wirelessly to a tablet computer, allowing real-time shot correction.MSRP: Not available at presstime.fnhusa.com

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Q: IN YOUR COLUMN ON THE .357 MAXIMUM, I WAS INTERESTED INknowing if other ammo could be fired in this gun. For example, can I shoot .38 S&W Special, .38 Special + P, and .357 Magnum? I inherited a .357 Maximum Ruger Blackhawk from my brothers estate and have not shot it since the barrel erosion problem was made known. Would less-powerful rounds be acceptable?Robert TurnerGreenwood, AR

A:All standard .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo may be fired in the .357 Maximum Ruger Blackhawk. However, the accuracy may not be up to your standards with some loads, especially 110- and 125-grain .357 Magnum ammo and the 148-grain SWC .38 Special. Some shooters report getting severe keyholing with some .38 Special loadings.Joel J. HutchcroftEditor in Chief

Load Data for .32 ACP?

Q: I recently purchased a Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless at a gun show. As with all my guns, I reload for each cali-ber. I picked up a set of Redding dies at a local shop. The problem Im having is find-ing reloading data for the .32 ACP. The new Hornady manual lists only one bullet weightthe 60-grain XTP. The 1978 version of the Lyman Pistol & Revolver Handbook lists three different bullets: 71-grain Rem-ington MC, 77-grain Cast, and 84-grain Cast. The Hornady book states that bullet diam-eters are 0.312; Lyman lists 0.311. At the local shop, I purchased a box of Missouri Bullet Co. 78-grain RNFP bullets, but they have a diameter of 0.313.Is the 0.313 bullet too tight for the bore

of this 100-year-old gun? Does Lane Pearce have any load data for this venerable old cartridge?David J. CebrickVia e-mail

A: I have limited experience with the .32 ACP in a Kel-Tec pistol and a 1910 Mauser; however, the 1903 Colt pistol, if in good mechanical condition, is a robust plat-form for the rather anemic pistol round. That is to say, youd have to really try crazy loads to damage it. I checked the 43rd and 44th edition of Lymans reloading manual and found recipes for a 71-grain FMC bullet and 75- to 77-grain cast bullets. Lyman noted that the groove diameters in these pistols may vary from 0.309 to 0.312.Since you have cast lead bullets that are 0.313 diameter, I suggest you do

two things. First, assemble two or three dummy rounds with your bullets, seating them to the maxi-mum overall length. Be sure to flare the case adequately so the bullet

will not shave lead as its seated. Also, after the bullet is seated, be sure to fully remove the flare with the seater die or a separate taper crimp die. Make sure the overall length doesnt grow when the bullet is taper crimped or it wont fit or feed from the magazine properly. Then try to


E-MAIL QUESTIONS TO [email protected]

manually feed and eject the rounds in the pistol. If youve made three good rounds (sized properly, not too long, crimp removed, etc.) and they wont function through the gun reliably, then the 0.313-diameter bullet has probably enlarged the case diameter too much. You might try making a couple more dummy rounds with the bullets seated up to 0.010 inch deeper (no more than that!) and try again.However, if they seem to work okay,

then do the following. Disassemble the gun, remove the barrel, and take one of the 0.313-diameter lead bullets and drop it into the chamber, nose first. Place the muzzle on a wood block to protect it from damage, position a wooden or brass dowel on the bul-lets base, and drive the bullet through the bore (as gently as possible) with a hammer. Be careful not to damage the bullet as it exits the muzzle. Do this three or four times with new bullets. Measure the diameter as accurately as possible with a precision micrometer. If you dont have access to this tool, use your reloading calipers and mea-sure each bullet several times to be sure of the readings. Hopefully, youll get a number closer to 0.312 than 0.309. You can also get an empirical sense of the bullet-to-bore fit by how difficult it is to force the bullet through the barrel. Assuming the bore diameter is not min-imum (0.309), it should be safe to use the starting load data.Bullseye, Red Dot, and Unique are

good powder choices, and the Lyman manual you mentioned has the data. The Hornady 60-grain XTP bullet is also a good one, and Magtech offers 71-grain FMJ and JHP bullets. Ive loaded the JHPs using 77-grain cast bullet data. Use starting load data first and work up. I recommend that you chronograph your handloads and dont push them to maximum limit.Lane PearceReloading Editor


SHOOTERS GALLERYTHE SHOOTIST THE BALLISTICIAN THE RELOADER THE GUNSMITH

This Belgian-made T.B. Janney double-barreled 12-gauge shot-

gun with external hammers was

built sometime between 1893 and 1914. It

belonged to the authors paternal

grandfather.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ

VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT GUNMAKER T.B.Janney, but thats the name stamped on the side of this old shotgun. What is known is that T.B. Janney was a Belgian gunmaker that thrived from 1890 to 1914, and many T.B. Janney shotguns were imported into the United States during that period.

MechanicalsThe 12-gauge Janney shotgun is a con-

ventional-looking side-by-side double with external hammers and twin triggers. The double 29-inch barrels attach to the receiver via two locking recesses in the bottom of the receiver, and the top rib has Fine Damascus Belgium engraved on it. The fixed chokes are Improved Modified and Modified according to my choke gauge.

A few words about how Damascus barrels were made is in order. True Damascus barrels were made by winding wire made from old iron horseshoe nails and broken steel files and coach springs and weld-ing the coiled wire together. The resulting pattern on the outside of the barrels was distinctive. Fake

Damascus barrels were often made by twisting thin wire on top of iron tubing and welding or soldering the wire strands together. Some fake Damascus bar-rels used inferior steel rods that werent even twisted together. Usually, those barrels did not exhibit the

distinctive true Damascus pattern. The barrels on the T.B. Janney shotgun featured here do

not have the classic Damascus pattern, so I have to conclude that the Fine Damascus marking on the top was a marketing ploy.

Underneath the forearm, the barrels have Belgian proofmarks. The familiar crown over

encircled letters ELG with a star under them I believe indicate the gun was made after 1893.

ProvenanceThis shotgun belonged to my Grandpa Herb, my

dads dad. Unfortunately, he passed away almost 35 years ago, and we dont know how he acquired the gun. My dad doesnt remember Grandpa shooting the gun much. However, Dad took the old double gun to an area gun dealer and had it checked out

MAY 2015 SHOOTING TIMES 15

MANUFACTURER T.B. JanneyTYPE Side-by-side shotgun

GAUGE 12BARRELS 29 in.

OVERALL LENGTH 45.5 in.WEIGHT, EMPTY 8.0 lbs.

STOCKS Checkered walnut

LENGTH OF PULL 14.25 in. (forward trigger), 13.25 in. (rear trigger)

FINISH Plum brownSIGHTS Bead front

TRIGGER2.0-lb. pull, forward trigger (as tested); 1.0-lb., rear trigger (as tested)

SAFETY None

T.B. JANNEY SXS

many years ago. It was safe enough to shoot, so Dad fired it, but only a time or two.

This gun is the only one we still have in the family that Grandpa Herb owned, so it has sentimental value to me. Its obviously not in the best condition.

RangetimeIm old school when it comes to Damascus and fake

Damascus barrels. Ive been taught that they should never be trusted with smokeless powder shotshells because of the higher pressures those shells generate compared to shotshells loaded with blackpowder. Other wingshooters believe that Damascus barrels made after the turn of the centuryones that are in tip-top con-ditionwere made to respect the higher pressures of smokeless shells. Anyone with a shotgun with Damas-cus barrels should never shoot the gun without having it first checked out by a competent gunsmith.

I played it safe and used blackpowder loads in Grandpas shotgun, and I only fired the right-side barrel because the left-side hammer and trigger mal-function. The load I used consisted of 56 grains of FFg blackpowder gently pushing 1 ounce of No. 8 shot. Although 2-inch shells will fit in the chambers, to be completely safe, I used 2-inch shells.

Grandpas shotgun needs a lot of work to make it 100 percent functional, and I plan to get it back into full shooting condition. If I can repair the left-side hammer and trigger, I may have some full-length subgauge tubes made for the gun. That way I could shoot modern smokeless shells in it without any worry because the receiver is good and stout.

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The .50 Action Express car-tridge was

designed by Evan Whildin

Jr. in the 1980s for use in MRI Desert Eagle

semiautomatic pistols. It deliv-

ers magnum performance in an auto pistol.


THE BRAINCHILD OF EVAN WHILDIN JR. FORAction Arms Ltd., the .50 Action Express was intended from Day One for the massive Magnum Research Desert Eagle pistol. Whildins original efforts were with Israeli Military Industries (IMI) who worked up his concept, made prototype pistols, and started on ammo. The case was all new, with a noticeable body taper and a rebated rim that fit the Desert Eagles .44 Magnum breechface.

Magnum Research, IMI, and CCI/Speer reached an agreement that IMI would make cases and CCI/Speer would take on the final development of the cartridge, create bullets, load ammo for Magnum Research under the Samson brand and Speers Lawman ammo line, and take the cartridge to SAAMI for standardization.

Changes Came FastThe Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading 9th

Edition alludes to some of the early changes. As Hor-nady points out, the original bullet diameter was set at 0.510 inch. Prototype ammo used 350-grain .50-110 Winchester rifle bullets, probably from Barnes. The first pistols imported had barrels with conven-tional rifling.

BATFE must approve new import models so they will avoid being declared a destructive device. The firearms barrel must capture a tapered steel plug that

swells to 0.500 inch in its middle. With the conven-tional rifling in prototype .50 AE pistols, the plug politely stuck. Thats a pass. The next prototypes imported had polygonal rifling, and the difference between maximum and minimum bore diameters is much less than with conventional rifling. When the second pair of prototypes was tested, the test

plug sailed completely through the barrel like you know what through a goose. Thats a big fail.

To achieve compliance, Magnum Research and IMI reduced the diameter of the polyg-onal barrels enough to pass the BATFE test.

They told Speer that the new barrel required a 0.495-inch bullet. Speer said, Let us determine

the right bullet for your barrels. Extensive testing showed a 0.500-inch bullet was the winning diameter.

Reducing the bullet diameter by 0.010 inch meant that the case had to change. Rather than do a major retooling, IMI made the decision to give the case more body taper, allowing the mouth to accommodate the smaller bullets. This was easily done at the end of the case-making operations as the case was already getting a small amount of taper even with the larger bullet.

Case taper could be considered a disadvantage for a high-powered handgun cartridge, but given the pres-sure levels and the action type, this was not a problem. I think the taper actually helps feeding in the Desert Eagle. In fact, Ive never had a failure to feed.

LEAD PHOTO BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ


The Desert Eagle was already chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, so Speer set the pressure to the same level: 36,000 psi. The target velocity was 1,400 fps from a Desert Eagle with a 6-inch barrel. Speer developed a 325-grain Uni-Cor bonded JHP with a cavity volume adjusted for high handgun velocities. The SAAMI official cartridge drawing has an issue date of June 3, 1992. With a sign-off from all par-ties, ammo started being produced. Speer initially loaded the .50 AE on small-capacity loading equip-ment because everyone anticipated modest sales. Soon demand increased, and the .50 AE was shifted to higher-capacity load lines to keep up with orders.

When attending writer events over the next couple of years, I shot the .50 AE a lot and witnessed how others handled it. The pistol and cartridge proved to be quite accurate, even on targets set way out to 240 yards. Keeping the big bullets on a target the size of a whitetails torso at that distance was common.

As the new pistols and ammo reached handgun hunters, the field reports we began getting were all positive. The carefully chosen hollowpoint cavity design allowed excellent expansion combined with

deep penetrationmaybe a bit much for lighter game. One hunter reported he stopped a blacktail deer with one shot at just over 100 yards and found it with a big exit wound. He then saw another blacktail down 80 yards from the first. Care to guess where he found his bullet? A 300-grain Gold Dot at 1,500 fps was added for lighter game.

Freedom Arms then introduced a .50 AE revolver. From the 7.5-inch barrel, the .50 AE produced slightly higher velocities on average than the shorter Desert Eagle barrel and was every bit as accurate.

Eventually, other ammomakers began offering the .50 AE. Today, it remains an effective hunting car-tridge with the accuracy, power, and penetration required to cleanly take game up to the size of elk and moose using a semiautomatic pistol.

MRI Desert EagleHollywood loves the big Magnum Research Desert Eagle auto pistol. It has starred in at least 37 major films, and that doesnt count numerous TV appearances.


Handloading the high-stepping

.26 Nosler was a bit tricky, but the author achieved

sub-MOA accuracy and velocities in

the 3,200 to 3,400 fps range with sev-

eral of his loads.

ONE OF LAST MONTHS COVER STORIES UNVEILEDthe brand-new .28 Nosler, which is that firms second foray in developing a new cartridge. Its based on the .26 Nosler, which was introduced just one year ago. While some load data for the .26 Nosler is available on Noslers website and the new 2015 edition of the Hodgdon Annual Manual has an article on the car-tridge, Ive been developing handloads for it over the last several months. Its been a good challenge.

The .26 Noslers primary performance objective is to launch medium-weight, high-ballistic- coeffeicient, 6.5mm hunting bullets at extreme velocities. To achieve that goal, Nosler necked down and modified the 7mm Remington Ultra Mag case so that the new round would fit in a .30-06-size action. The voluminous case capacity was essentially maintained (approximately 93 grains of water) and is nearly 20 percent greater than that of the .264 Winchester Magnum.

The ComponentsI obtained 50 pieces of fully prepped Nosler brass

and 100 each of Noslers 129-grain AccuBond Long Range, 125-grain Partition, 130-grain AccuBond, and 140-grain Ballistic Tip bullets. I also rounded up Hor-nady 120-grain GMX, 129-grain SST, and 140-grain SST bullets and Barnes 130-grain TSX bullets.

Then I checked my powder magazine for suitable propellants. The typical slow burners like H4831, IMR 4831, IMR 7828, Reloder 25, Accurate Magpro,

etc., are all too fast to safely stoke the .26 Noslers huge case. Other, really slow-burn-rate powders like IMR 5010, Hodgdon 870, and Accurate 8700 are no longer offered.

Not to worry. I had Hodgdon US869 and Retumbo in the powder magazine and soon reclaimed an ade-quate supply of VihtaVuori 20N29 from a friend who had helped me with another handloading project. I purchased Reloder 33 and Ramshot Magnum from a

local dealer to round out my stock of propellants. Federal Large Rifle Magnum Match primers

always reliably ignite the largest propellant charges, so I chose them.By the time I had everything rounded up, both

Nosler and Hodgdon had published load data for a limited selection of bullets.

The ResultsThe average weight of the preprepped Nosler cases

was 264.2 grains. Initially, they all measured 2.575 inches nominally. After each resizing cycle, I measured five to 10 pieces and determined they stretched an aver-age of 0.003 inch. Maximum case length is 2.590 inches, so I had to trim them about every fourth loading cycle.

I also determined the maximum cartridge overall length (COL) for each of the component bullets. The Nosler Model 48 rifles chamber leade allowed seat-ing them all close to the 3.340-inch limit. However, the accompanying chart also reflects that Barnes rec-ommends installing its monolithic TSX bullets so the



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AMMUNITION (TYPE) (GRS.) PRIMER (IN.) (FPS) (FPS) (IN.)

Nosler Model 48 Patriot, 26-in. BarrelHornady 120-gr. GMX US869 88.0 Fed. 215 3.360 3386 9 0.73Nosler 125-gr. Partition Reloder 33 79.0 Fed. 215 3.330 3349 17 0.87Nosler 125-gr. Partition Retumbo 75.0 Fed. 215 3.330 3365 17 0.60Nosler 125-gr. Partition VV N570 79.0 Fed. 215 3.330 3423 11 0.91Hornady 129-gr. SST US869 88.0 Fed. 215 3.360 3251 10 1.38Nosler 129-gr. ABLR Reloder 33 84.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3279 24 1.45Nosler 129-gr. ABLR US869 89.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3256 21 1.09Barnes 130-gr. TSX Reloder 33 79.0 Fed. 215 3.290 3356 17 0.75Barnes 130-gr. TSX Ramshot Magnum 79.0 Fed. 215 3.290 3328 7 0.88Barnes 130-gr. TSX US869 86.0 Fed. 215 3.290 3349 12 1.08Nosler 130-gr. AccuBond Reloder 33 83.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3397 14 0.94Nosler 130-gr. AccuBond Reloder 33 83.5 Fed. 215 3.310 3427 14 0.58Nosler 130-gr. AccuBond Retumbo 74.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3329 10 0.72Nosler 130-gr. AccuBond VV N570 78.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3388 21 0.86Hornady 140-gr. SST US869 86.0 Fed. 215 3.360 3180 14 1.00Nosler 140-gr. Ballistic Tip VV 20N29 86.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3228 18 0.61Nosler 140-gr. Ballistic Tip US869 86.0 Fed. 215 3.310 3274 8 0.68

NOTES: Accuracy is the average of at least three, three-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. Velocity is the average of 10 rounds measured eight feet from the guns muzzle.All load data should be used with caution. Always start with reduced loads first and make sure they are safe in each of your guns before proceeding to the

high test loads listed. Since Shooting Times has no control over your choice of components, guns, or actual loadings, neither Shooting Times nor the various firearms and components manufacturers assume any responsibility for the use of this data.

.26 NOSLER HANDLOADS

POWDER

ogive is at least 0.050 off the lands. Because the .26 Noslers MAP (maximum average pressure) is 65,000 psi, the case allowable material limits are fully utilized. So I seated the bullets out as long as possible to avoid increasing chamber pressures.

I loaded 25 pieces of Nosler brass 12 times and annealed them after the third and ninth cycles. I lost one case due to a partially split neck after nine cycles, so I actually fired 297 handloads and 40 rounds of fac-tory ammo.

Barring an obvious failure (e.g., split neck, incipient or actual case head separation, etc.), I empirically judge remaining case life by how tight the primers feel when seating them in the primer pockets. By that imprecise but apparently practical assessment, the remaining cases are still fully usable.

As you can see in the accompanying chart, the results include several satisfactory recipes. After shooting a few groups of the better .26 Nosler test loads at 200 yards, I confirmed an occasionally reoccurring trait Id experienced with my other Nosler Model 48 rifle thats chambered for .270 WSM. For some reason, one round out of three doubles or even triples the group size.

I have a few proven sub-MOA recipes to load if I get the opportunity to shoot at something other than paper. The best single group fired was with 86 grains of US869 behind Noslers 140-grain Ballistic Tip, and it measured 0.19 inch. Velocity was pushing 3,300 fps.

A word of caution: The loads shown in my chart performed safely in my rifle; however, I urge you to confirm your load data with an industry source before using this information. Loading significantly over-bore large cartridges like the .26 Nosler with greatly reduced propellant charges can cause an unexpected chamber pressure excursion. Charge weights should not be reduced more than 5 percent below the recom-mended maximum.

7mm RUMThe .26 Nosler is based off of the 7mm Remington Ultra Mag, which was introduced by Remington in 2001. The 7mm RUM was necked down from the .300 RUM, whose parent case is the .404 Jeffery.

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Recent innova-tions that help make cleaning guns less of a

chore are Rem-ingtons rubber Rem Squeeg-E pull-through

tips and Ram-Rodzs oversize cotton-tipped

cleaning swabs.



WHEN I OPENED MY SHOP AFTER COMPLETINGgunsmithing school, I was sure Id be spending my days making complicated and involved repairs, res-torations, and upgrades to all sorts of unique and interesting firearms.

Boy, was I wrong!I soon discovered the majority of my time

was spent simply cleaning ordinary shot-guns, rifles, and handguns. Sure, I saw lots of broken or damaged firearms, but I also had a lot more that simply needed cleaning.

That might seem incredible to Shooting Times read-ers, but you have a greater interest in and knowledge about firearms than the average gun owner. For lots of folks, firearms are just tools and as such might get no more care or maintenance than their yard or gar-dening equipment. (Some Ive seen were so filthy they actually looked like they were used as garden tools!)

The bottom line is Ive cleaned thousands of guns over the years, and frankly, its a task I just dont enjoy. Anything thatll make the task faster and easier is something I find very darn appealing!

Ill bet most of us clean our firearms pretty much the same way our grandfathers did. We run a phosphor bronze brush down the bore to knock loose fouling followed by a series of patches with various bore sol-

vents to clean out the gunk. We then run a few dry patches to remove the solvent. Some folks

finish up with a lightly oiled patch to provide rust protection for the chamber and bore. While the solvents and oils might change,

the basic process remains the same. For the most part, its slow, messy, and time-consuming.

Fortunately, a few innovations over the years have made it faster and easier. Whenever something like that appears on the market, you can bet Im very inter-ested in it.

RamRodzRamRodz cleaning swabs are some of the more

recent new products Ive had a chance to use. They look like Q-tips on steroids, but theres more to em than meets the eye. These swabs are available in five bore sizes: .22, .38/9mm, .40, .45, and .50. In addition,

The bamboo shaft of the RamRodz swab is surprisingly flexible, and that can be helpful in many cleaning situations.

a smaller general-purpose swab is offered for cleaning other areas of a gun. I really like the 8-inch-long, thick, heavy-duty bamboo shank. Bamboo is very strong yet surprisingly flexible. Unlike ordinary Q-tips, and many similar wood or paper shank swabs, these wont easily break or snap. The RamRodz swabs are espe-cially helpful when cleaning handguns, and theyre so much easier and faster to use than traditional patches.

Speaking of swabs, another new kid on the block also deserves some attention. The RamRodz swabs use cotton, but the folks at Bore-tips have taken a different approach. The Bore-tips swabs come in six rifle and pistol caliber sizes as well as 12 and 20 gauges and .410 Bore sizes. The unique aspect of the prod-uct is the use of lint-free plastic foam on a threaded plastic shank. Theyre kinda like a foam bore brush. The foam is very absorbent and makes an ideal car-rier for various solvents and oils.

As far as Im concerned, the icing on the cake is that the foam tips can be reused time after time. Tradi-tional patches are usually a one-time deal. You run em through the bore and then drop em in the trash. Not so with Bore-tips. These little devils can be washed

and reused! All you have to do is apply mineral spirits to the swab, squeeze out the dirty liquid (dirt, carbon fouling, oil), let it dry, and its ready to use again. (If you dont want to use mineral spirits, you can use regu-lar dishwashing detergent in water.) Given reasonable care, they should last through an awful lot of clean-ing. I have yet to wear out the ones Ive been using.

Rem Squeeg-EJust as theres no one perfect or universally accepted

way to clean firearms, there are also lots of different approaches as to the equipment you can use. Reming-ton recently offered the 32-piece Universal Gun Care System. This kit comes complete with a heavy-duty range bag large enough to carry extra ammo or other

shooting supplies. Included in the kit are a bottle of Rem Oil and Rem All In Bore Cleaner. There are also 10 different bronze bore bushes as well as 10 different sizes of Rem Squeeg-E bore swabs, along with a large cleaning mat, nylon and brass bristle hand brushes, three flexible plastic-coated wire cables, and a spe-cially designed T-handle for these cables. All in all, the Remington kit is wonderfully compact and complete.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the kit is the Rem Squeeg-E tip assort-ment. The idea behind the rubber tips is to eliminate the use of traditional cloth patches. Each Squeeg-E tip has five inte-gral rubber disks. As the Squeeg-E is pulled through the bore, the individual disks compress to match the lands and grooves in the barrel. This effectively pulls any crud or fouling loosened by the brush and solvent out of the barrel. Just as a common squeegee works on windows or floors, these tips pull the fouling contaminated solvent from the bore smoothly and easily.

Be prepared to catch the dirty solvent as its pulled from the bore. The Squeeg-E is extremely effective and does a heck of a job in getting it all out, and if youre not careful you can end up with a nice glob of it on the floor! My only criticism regards the length of the brushes and the Squeeg-E. I havent been able to use em on some revolvers as they wont fit in the opening in the frame behind the barrel because they are a bit too long. I havent had any similar problems with rifles, shot-guns, and pistols.

Theres no magic method to effort-lessly and quickly clean a gun. It still takes time, but these new products can cer-tainly help make this job faster and less of a chore. And that gives us more time for shooting!

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Remingtons Squeeg-E pull-through bore tips have five rubber disks that pick up fouling from the bore much like a regular squeegee.

26 SHOOTING TIMES MAY 2015 PHOTOS BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ

WHENEVER A NEW HANDGUN MODELcomes on the market, some of the first questions that pop up about it have to do with what accessories are available for it. So lets get that out of the way.

The new FNS Compact pistols have three-slot accessory rails on their frames, so lights and lasers from

Crimson Trace, LaserLyte, LaserMax, SureFire, and other companies will fit. In fact, I used a Crimson Trace Rail-Master laser during my shooting sessions with the FNS Compacts that I fired for this report.

As for holsters, Galco, Blackhawk, Safariland, and Uncle Mikes, have leather and nylon holsters for these pistols. They also have magazine pouches.

FormLike its full-size brother (and the Longslide version, too),

the FNS Compact is a polymer-framed, striker-fired autoload-ing pistol. Like other pistols of the ilk, it utilizes replaceable steel slide rails inserted into the polymer frame. The mech-anism is recoil-operated and works as follows: When the trigger is pressed fully to the rear, the striker is released and

contacts the primer of a loaded cartridge. The recoil force causes the slide to move rearward, extracting and ejecting the fired cartridge case. The slide then returns forward by force of the recoil spring, picking up a fresh cartridge from the magazine and inserting it into the chamber. If the maga-zine is empty, the slide stays open after the last cartridge has been fired.

The FNS Compact disassembles easily. Simply remove the magazine and clear the chamber. Double- and triple-

check to make certain the chamber is clear! Pull the slide all the way back and lock it back with the slide stop. Rotate the takedown lever 90 degrees

clockwise. While maintaining a firm hold on the slide, release the slide and

dry-fire the pistol. Push the barrel/slide/recoil spring assembly off the front of the frame as one piece. The recoil spring assembly and the barrel can then be separated. Thats all there is to it. To reassemble, just slip the barrel/slide/recoil-spring assembly onto the frame and rotate the takedown lever counter-clockwise into its original position.


COMPACT AND COMFORTABLE

The magazines are just as easy to disassemble. Simply push in the baseplate retainer through the opening on the bottom of the baseplate and slide the baseplate off the magazine body. Remove the baseplate retainer, spring, and follower. Its fast and easy.

Shooting Times received two of the very first FNS Com-pacts to come off the production line. One is chambered for .40 S&W; the other is 9mm. Both are the two-tone versions, but the model is also offered in all-black finish.

Both FNS Compact pistols that ST received are 6.7 inches in length, 1.35 inches in width, and 5.2 inches in height. They weigh from 23 to 26 ounces with the standard empty maga-zines inserted, depending on the caliber.

They both came with two standard magazines and one extra magazine with higher capacity. With the higher-capacity magazines fully loaded and inserted, the guns weigh 32 and 35 ounces according to my digital scale. Standard magazine capacity is 12 rounds in 9mm and 10 rounds in .40 S&W. The higher-capacity magazines hold 17 and 14 rounds respectively, and they use grip exten-sion sleeves to provide a full-length gripping surface. If youre wondering what the heights are with the extended magazines inserted, those dimensions are 5.6 inches for both guns.

Both sample FNS Compacts came to us with low-profile white-dot sights dovetailed into the slides. The rear sights have two white dots, and the front sights have one, slightly larger dot on them. The faces of the rear sights are serrated horizon-tally, and the notches are not your typical square shape. Theyre actually U-shaped.

Ive been shooting other defensive pistols recently that have notches that are not square with only a single dot on the rear sight, and Im starting to prefer those setups. One in particular that I really like also has a U-shaped rear notch with one tri-tium dot on the rear and one tritium dot on the front sight, and that guns front sight mates up really quickly with the U-shaped notch. Stacking the two dots and getting the front dot on the target seems a lot faster than trying to line up three dots hori-zontally. I havent timed it, but it sure feels faster. That said, I do like the FNS Compacts U-shaped rear notches, and their front dots do mate nicely with the U-shaped rear notches, but

Id prefer single dots below the notches instead of the two dots that flank them.

Barrel lengths for the FNS Compacts are 3.6 inches, which allow sight radii of 5.6 inches. Generally, a small increase in sight radius will mean significantly better

accuracy. The longer the sight radius, the easier it is to see any wobble in your hold. You cant correct a wobble

if you cant see it, and with a shorter sight radius you might not be able to see a wobble even though its there. For com-parisons sake, the sight radius of a standard 5-inch-barreled Model 1911 is in the neighborhood of 7.0 inches. As youll see later on, I was able to shoot the FNS Compacts quite well even with their shorter sight radii, so in this case, it doesnt seem to negatively affect the Compacts shootability.

Both sample FNS Compacts have textured grips that are integral to the polymer frames. And the FNS Compacts come with interchangeable backstraps in two shapes (flat and arched).

The striker-fired FNS Compact features a polymer frame with replaceable steel slide rails and a 3.6-inch barrel. The FNS Compact comes with standard-capac-ity and high-capacity magazines. The magazines have polished bodies, low-friction followers, and remov-able polymer baseplates.


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Both pistols came from the factory with the arched backstraps installed. Grip circumference for both sample pistols is 6.25 inches (with the arched backstraps), and the distance from the triggers to the backstraps is 2.6 inches.

Both of our FNS Compacts have front and rear slide ser-rationsnine on each side up front and 12 at the rear. The pistols have ambidextrous slide stops and magazine releases. The takedown levers are located on the left sides. The con-trols are streamlined so as not to snag when carrying concealed or drawing, but they are not so streamlined as to make them hard to operate.

The pistols utilize what FNH USA calls the Trigger Safety. Its similar to other hinged trigger setups with a lever on the backside of the lower fingerpiece that must engage the upper

portion of the trigger in order for the trigger assembly to be squeezed fully to the rear.

The FNS Compacts we received do not have manual thumb safeties; however, pistols will be available with that type of safety. Our samples do not have a magazine safety, either, so they can fire a loaded round in the chamber even with the mag-azines removed. I know a lot of handgunners who prefer that type of operation. If youre in a life-and-death situation and your magazine somehow gets ejected, being able to fire the round in the chamber while inserting a fresh magazine could be a very good thing.

The FNS Compacts come in hard plastic cases along with operators manuals, cable-style padlocks, the extra backstraps, and the extra magazines.

The sights are dovetailed into the slide and consist of a U-shaped rear with two white dots and a single-dot front sight. The front dot is slightly larger than the rear dots. The FNS Compact has what FNH USA calls the Trigger Safety. Its a hinged trigger setup similar to other striker-fired pistol mechanisms.


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COMPACT AND COMFORTABLE

FunctionDuring my offhand drills and accuracy shooting from the

bench, I found the FNS Compacts to be very comfortable to shoot. Grip, balance, and pointability were superior. I could get a full grip on the pistols even when using the standard maga-zines because their baseplates have finger extensions.

Trigger pulls were good for this type of trigger. On both pistols, take-up was long, but firm and consistent. Letoff was crisp, averaging 7.5 pounds for both guns, according to my trigger-pull scale.

As for accuracy, the accompanying chart shows the averages for five, five-shot groups fired with five factory loads in each caliber from a sandbag benchrest at 25 yards. Overall average

25-YD.VEL. E.S. S.D. ACC.

AMMUNITION (FPS) (FPS) (FPS) (IN.)

9mmFederal 105-gr. Guard Dog 1199 19 9 3.88Hornady 115-gr. Critical Defense 1054 17 8 3.50HPR 124-gr. JHP 930 27 10 3.75Remington 124-gr. BJHP 1088 44 19 3.63Winchester 147-gr. JHP 968 85 31 3.95

.40 S&WFederal 135-gr. Guard Dog 1080 49 19 3.66Hornady 155-gr. XTP 1101 28 9 3.13SIG SAUER 165-gr. V-Crown JHP 985 31 11 3.29Remington 165-gr. Golden Saber 880 38 17 3.37Winchester 180-gr. PDX1 998 22 8 2.88

NOTES: Accuracy is the average of five, five-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured 12 feet from the guns muzzles.

FNS COMPACT ACCURACY

MANUFACTURER FNH USA fnhusa.com

TYPE Striker-fired autoloaderCALIBER 9mm, .40 S&W

MAGAZINE CAPACITY 12 or 17 rounds (9mm), 10 or 14 rounds (.40 S&W)

BARREL LENGTH 3.6 in.OVERALL LENGTH 6.7 in.

WIDTH 1.35 in.HEIGHT 5.2 in.

WEIGHT, EMPTY 23.4 oz. (9mm), 25.8 oz. (.40 S&W)GRIPS Integral to polymer frame

FINISH Satin stainless slide, black polymer frame (as tested); matte black

SIGHTS Fixed, low-profile, three-dot system

TRIGGER 7.5-lb. pull (as tested)SAFETY Trigger safetyMSRP $599

FNS COMPACT

for the five .40 S&W loads was 3.27 inches. Overall average accuracy for the 9mm ammo was 3.74 inches.

The most fun part of my shooting session was shooting both FNS Compacts on my swinging steel target and a couple of highly visible bouncing, tumbling-type targets from Birch-wood Casey. Engaging the 4-inch-wide steel plate and the 6-inch-diameter advanced material Hex Ball and Jack tar-gets at various distances, from every angle I could think of, was really fun, especially with the 9mm pistol and its 17-round magazine. Double-taps on the steel plate were easy to make with both pistols.

Not long ago, during a friendly informal competition, I learned that Im a competent shooter when the stage calls for shooting at close-range targets while standing still or kneeling. Where I need a lot more practice is shooting when advancing on a target or backing away from the target. So I practiced a few of those drills with the FNS Compacts, shooting on Birchwood Casey Dirty Bird splatter targets. All Ill say about that is the pistols functioned perfectly, but I still need a lot more practice.

By the way, during the offhand drills, I switched out the arched backstraps and installed the flat ones to see how they felt in live-fire action. I found that I prefer the arched back-straps on these guns. I generally favor a flat mainspring housing

on my Model 1911s, but the arched backstraps for these striker-fired pistols definitely fit my hand better.

The 9mm and .40 S&W FNS Compacts are accurate, com-fortable to shoot, and point instinctively. If I were going to pick one over the other, Id take the .40 S&W model just because Ive always been a big fan of that cartridge.

The polymer grip frame is textured and features interchangeable back-straps. Two shapes (flat and arched) are included.

MAY 2015 SHOOTING TIMES 37LEAD PHOTO BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ

THE .338 LAPUAS STORY BEGINS IN 1981when the U.S. Marines requested that a design team headed by Jerry Haskins at Research Armament Industries (RAI) of Jacksonville, Arkansas, develop a super-accurate sniper rifle with an effective range exceeding 1,000 meters. Haskins and his crew eventu-ally came up with a bolt-action rifle in

two variations: one in .300 Winchester Magnum, the other capable of handling the .50 BMG.

The .300 Win. Mag. proved incapable of meet-ing some of the military requirements, so a search for a cartridge with more downrange authority than it but with less recoil than the .50 BMG ended with the .416 Rigby case shortened a couple of millimeters and necked down to .338 caliber. It was initially known as the .338/416 in America and the 8.58x71mm in Europe.

Special 250-grain bullets of high ballistic coefficient were developed for it, first by Hornady and a bit later in 1984 by Lapua. Soon thereafter, a .338-caliber RAI rifle using the Lapua Scenar bullet won the 1,000-yard Navy Rifle competition in Quantico, Virginia. Despite that, the U.S. military purchased

about 125 of the rifles in .50 BMG, and as a result, the .338-caliber cartridge languished for a while.

Lapua had invested considerably in the development of the cartridge and so decided to proceed with its refine-ment. Increasing the hardness and wall thickness of the

case along with beefing up its web section allowed it to easily handle chamber pressures more than 30 percent

higher over the original case. Overall case length was shortened ever so slightly, and the dimension from case head to shoul-der was decreased just enough to prevent the original .338/416 cartridge from chambering. And so it was that in 1987 an idea originally conceived in America was transformed into an even better mousetrap by a Finnish company. It was named the .338 Lapua Magnum8.6x70mm in its latest metric designation. New boattail hollowpoint versions of the match-grade Scenar bullet weighing 250 and 300 grains were introduced in 1996.


BULLET 500-YD.FREETRAVEL VEL. ACC.

BULLET (TYPE) (GRS.) (IN.) (FPS) (IN.) MOA

Custom Remington Model 700, 26-in. Barrel, Steiner GS3 3-15X 50mmBarnes 280-gr. LRX IMR 7828SSC 80.0 0.050 2775 2.96 0.59Barnes 280-gr. LRX IMR 7828SSC 80.0 0.060 ---- 4.61 0.92Barnes 280-gr. LRX IMR 7828SSC 80.0 0.070 ---- 5.37 1.07Barnes 280-gr. LRX IMR 7828SSC 80.0 0.080 2759 2.03 0.41Barnes 280-gr. LRX IMR 7828SSC 80.0 0.090 ---- 3.10 0.62Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.050 ---- 7.65 1.53Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.060 ---- 6.24 1.25Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.070 ---- 5.63 1.13Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.080 ---- 8.85 1.77Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.090 2812 2.39 0.48Barnes 280-gr. LRX MagPro 89.0 0.100 ---- 6.18 1.24

NOTES: Accuracy is the average of five, three-shot groups fired from a benchrest. Velocity is the average of 10 or more rounds measured 12 feet from the guns muzzle. To save wear on the rifles bore, only the three most accurate loads were chronographed. Lapua cases and Federal GM215M primers were used in all handloads. Maximum overall cartridge length for the magazine of the test rifle is 3.740 inches.All powder charges were maximum or close to it in the test rifle and may generate excessive pressures in other rifles. All load data should be used with cau-

tion. Always start with reduced loads first and make sure they are safe in each of your guns before proceeding to the high test loads listed. Since Shooting Times has no control over your choice of components, guns, or actual loadings, neither Shooting Times nor the various firearms and components manufac-turers assume any responsibility for the use of this data.

.338 LAPUA MAGNUM BIG-GAME HANDLOADS

POWDER

They were eventually joined by other types of bullets, includ-ing armor-piercing and incendiary.

Some of the first rifles built were on actions made by Sako, but a British-owned company called Accuracy International eventually became the primary manufacturer of heavy sniper rifles cham-bered for .338 Lapua. Other companies, such as Heym, Erma, McMillan, Savage, Remington, Barrett, ArmaLite, Sako, Steyr, Surgeon, and Proof Research, eventually hopped aboard the band-wagon. And because the .338 Lapua was originally designed for long-distance deployment by military forces, rifles built around it are usually quite heavy and of the tactical or sniper type.

I first shot a rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum in 2006 during a visit to the Lapua factory in Finland. It was a C14 Timberwolf Medium Range Sniper Weapon System built by the Canadian firm PGW Defence Technologies Inc. (formerly Prairie Gun Works). It was adopted as a sniper rifle by the Canadian Land Force Command in 2005, and a couple of the rifles had ended up in the hands of Lapua officials.

We had two types of Lapua ammunitionone type was loaded with 300-grain Scenar match bullets for punching paper, the other was loaded with bullets of the same weight designed to defeat armor. Most fun of all was shooting 12x12-inch Armox steel plates said to have been torched from a Russian armored troop carrier. There was some wind, but its velocity remained fairly constant throughout the day, and it mostly came from one direction. Once the rifle was dialed in at 500 meters, not a single miss was recorded. I dont recall the exact thickness of the plates, but the armor-piercing bullets punched nice, round holes through them.

.338 LAPUA AT 500 YARDS

During a visit to the Lapua factory in 2006, the author used a tactical rifle built by PGW Defence Technologies Inc. in .338 Lapua to shoot 12x12-inch Armox steel plates at 500 meters. Armor-piercing bullets punched right through and delivered decent groups as well.

Big-game hunters eventually discov-ered the .338 Lapua, and in response to the demand, Kenny Jarrett and other builders of custom rifles began offering hunting-weight rifles chambered for it. Factory rifles light enough to carry afield have also become available, with the CZ 550 Badlands, Savage Long Range Hunter, Weatherby Mark V, and the new-for-2015 Christensen Arms TFM being a few. (For a close look at the new TFM, check out Joel Hutchcrofts article beginning on page 44 of this magazine.)

The fact that 17 companies (accord-ing to my count) now offer loaded .338 Lapua ammunition is indicative of its growing popularity. Most of the ammo is loaded with 250- and 300-grain match bullets in full metal jacket or hollow-point form.

The cream of the crop in match ammo is Lapua and Remington loaded with Lapua Scenar bullets; Black Hills, Fed-eral, and Norma loaded with Sierra MatchKing bullets; Hornady Custom and new-for-2015 Match offerings loaded with Hornady match bullets; and ABM loaded with Berger bullets. Interestingly enough, the Remington ammo I have is in the familiar green box but is loaded in Lapua cases. Only a few options with bullets designed specifi-cally for use on big game are offered, but that will surely change as more hunting-weight rifles become available.

The Jarrett-built custom Model 700 in .338 Lapua used for this report proved to be capable of putting three Barnes 280-grain LRX bullets inside 1/2 MOA all the way out to 500 yards. The bullet is a great choice for hunting big game with the .338 Lapua.

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On the RangeFor the shooting portion of this report, I put together hand-

loads using Lapua cases and RCBS dies. Uniform ignition of the large powder charges used call for a magnum primer, and there is none better than the Federal 215 in its standard or Gold Medal Match variations. (Data listed in most reload-ing manuals specify that primer.)

The test rifle I used was built by Kenny Jarrett in the 1980s around a blueprinted Remington Model 700 action. That was back when the original Model 700 trigger could be tuned to a reliable 30-ounce break with no detectable creep or overtravel. The synthetic stock is a McMillan, which is all Jarrett used in those days. Originally chambered for a .30-caliber wildcat, it

New .338 Lapua Ammo for 2015THINGS ARE REALLY HAPPENING ON THE .338 LAPUA FACTORY-LOADEDammunition scene. Three of the big ammo companies have announced new .338 Lapua offerings for 2015. Most of them are match loads.Hornady now has a 285-grain match loading that is loaded with the

companys tipped A-Max bullet. Its muzzle velocity is rated at 2,745 fps; muzzle energy is rated at 4,768 ft-lbs; and the bullets BC is listed at .778. You can see how it performed in the Christensen Arms TFM Carbon rifle in the report elsewhere in this issue.

Barnes has a new-for-2015 .338 Lapua match load that carries its 300-grain OTM bullet (BC: .768) and also a new 280-grain VOR-TX hunting load (BC: .667). Muzzle velocities of both loads are rated at 2,600 fps, and muzzle energies are 4,504 and 4,204 ft-lbs respectively.

The new .338 Lapua loading from Federal is part of the economical Amer-ican Eagle line and is loaded with a 250-grain JSP bullet. Muzzle velocity is factory-rated at 2,875 fps; muzzle energy is said to be 4,588 ft-lbs; and the bullets BC is specced at .431.

Joel J. Hutchcroft


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consistently shot inside 1/2 MOA with several big-game bullets and proved to be serious elk medicine through the years.

The rim diameter of the wildcat case for which the rifle was chambered is the same as for .338 Lapua Magnum, making it easy for Jarrett to switch calibers with one of his stainless-steel barrels. Fairly heavy, as it should be on a big-game rifle chambered for the big cartridge, the barrel measures 0.690 inch at the muzzle, is 26 inches long, and is of the exact same contour as the one it replaced. Its rifling twist rate of 1:10 inches is standard for the .338 Lapua and quick enough to stabilize commonly used bullets weighing up to 300 grains. The .30-caliber barrel it replaced still has plenty of accuracy life left, and switch-ing back and forth between the two takes me only a few minutes.

Wearing a Steiner GS3 3-15X 50mm scope, the outfit weighs 10.25 pounds. That along with Jarretts extremely efficient muzzle brake makes it quite tolerable to shoot. Prior to receiving the rebarreled rifle, I already had three criteria for a bullet for it. It had to be designed for use on big game, it had to weigh upwards of 300 grains, and it had to be capable of shooting inside half an inch at 100 yards. As it turned out, the new Barnes 280-grain LRX qualified in all three categories.

I accuracy tested the Jarrett rifle at 500 yards over a Sinclair International rest up front and a rabbit-ear sandbag at the rear. Preliminary testing had revealed that the powders delivering the best combination of accuracy and velocity were IMR 7828SSC and MagPro with the Barnes bullet.

The various monolithic bullets made by Barnes usually deliver their best accu-racy when required to freetravel 0.050 inch or more prior to engaging the rifling. With that in mind, I prepared 15-round batches of ammo, each batch loaded with bulletseating depth varying in 0.010-inch increments for freetravel ranging from 0.050 to 0.100 inch. Bulletseating depth and bullet comparator tools from Sin-clair International were used.

These two powders are excellent choices for use in .338 Lapua big-game handloads, and the Federal GM215M primer does a great job of uniformly igniting heavy charges of them.

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The accuracy testing took place over several days, mostly during early morning hours before mirage had built up enough to make the crosshairs wiggle all over the target. Conditions ranged from no wind to very light breezes, mostly in the same direction. Wind indicators told me when to send bullets down-range and when to stay off the trigger. Five groups were fired with each batch of ammo at 500 yards. Jarrett and I both con-sider the shooting of more than three shots per group with

a big-game rifle that is capable of consistently keeping them inside 1/2 MOA a waste of ammunition and barrel accuracy life, so three shots per group it was during my tests.

As illustrated in the accuracy results chart on page 38, taking the time to determine the optimum amount of bullet freetravel for a particular rifle and bullet combination can pay big dividends in long-range accuracy. When shooting IMR 7828SSC and the Barnes bullet, I could have stopped at 0.050 inch of jump and had a load more than accurate enough for use on big game standing as far away as I care to shoot, but by continuing on, a second and even more accurate sweet spot was uncovered at 0.080 inch. The fact that optimum bullet freetravel can vary with different powders is illustrated by the Barnes bullet delivering its best accuracy with MagPro at 0.090 inch of jump.

The few groups fired at 100 yards with the Barnes bullet have been equally impressive. Smallest and largest measure 0.146 and 0.377 inch respectively for an average of 0.251 inch. Not at all bad for a rifle light enough to tote up the steep-est elk mountain. To merely say that I am impressed with the .338 Lapua is rather an understatement. It delivers a serious punch downrange from possibly the strongest shoulder-fired cartridge case available, and its accuracy from a super-accu-rate rifle is second to none.


CARTRIDGE DRAWING COURTESY OF NOSLER INC.

MAY 2015 SHOOTING TIMES 45PHOTOS BY MICHAEL ANSCHUETZ

ONE AND A HALF TONS OF ENERGY IS,well, a lot. The 285-grain A-Max bullet in Hornadys new .338 Lapua match load generates 4,768 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, which is darn close to 1.5 tons of force. Like I said, thats a lot. At 500 yards, the bullet still carries almost 3,000 ft-lbs of energy.

Ive been shooting the new match factory ammo in a new-for-2015 Christensen Arms TFM Carbon bolt-action rifle. As we announced in the February 2015 issue of Shooting Times, the TFM Carbon rifle features a carbon-fiber barrel, a stainless-steel action, a fluted bolt, a Timney trigger, and a tactical-style stock. Its very nice.

FeaturesTFM stands for Tactical Force Multiplier. Christensen Arms

offers the model with the carbon-fiber barrel and also with an all-steel barrel. The carbon-fiber-barreled rifle weighs 7.1 pounds, unloaded, whereas the all-steel-barreled rifle weighs 9.3 pounds. The model is offered in .223 Remington, .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum. Barrel lengths are either 24 or 26 inches, depend-ing upon the caliber.

MANUFACTURER Christensen Arms christensenarms.com

TYPE Bolt-action repeaterCALIBER .338 Lapua (as tested)

MAGAZINE CAPACITY 5 roundsBARREL 26 in.; rifling: 1:10 twist

OVERALL LENGTH VariableWEIGHT, EMPTY 7.1 lbs.

STOCK Carbon fiberLENGTH OF PULL Adjustable

FINISH NitrideSIGHTS None

TRIGGER 3.25-lb. pull (as tested)SAFETY Two positionMSRP $4,725 (base), $5,040 (as tested)

TFM CARBON

Speaking of the barrel, the carbon-fiber barrel is really some-thing. Obviously, it has a steel liner. Christensen calls it a select, match-grade barrel, and its manufactured in-house from 416R stainless steel.

The steel liner is turned to a proprietary contour and then wound in carbon fiber as only Christensen Arms can do. Their


A .338 TACKDRIVER

process has been patented, perfected, and refined over the 20 years that theyve been making carbon-fiber barrels. In the case of the .338 Lapua TFM Carbon I fired for this report, the bar-rels length is 26 inches, and the outside diameter just behind the muzzle cap is 0.91 inch. The rifles muzzle is threaded and accepts a removable, 2-inch-long muzzle brake with eight rows of four holes (32 holes total). Twist rate of the bore is one turn in 10 inches.

According to Christensen, some of the benefits of its car-bon-fiber barrel system are lighter weight with the accuracy of a target bull barrel; increased stiffness (three times stiffer than a steel barrel of equal weight), which helps reduce flex and accuracy-robbing harmonics; better heat dissipation (dissi-pates heat from the stainless-steel liner 300 percent faster than steel); and zero thermal expansion coefficients, which leads to shot-after-shot consistency.

Back in the mid-1990s Christensen began building rifles by using other manufacturers actions, but today, the company

makes its own action. In fact, Christensen machines the 17-4 stainless-steel action from a billet. The Christensen action went through seven iterations to arrive at its present form, and it features an integral Picatinny rail on top. The safety is a two-position affair. The bolt has a plunger ejector, an M16-style extractor, and dual locking lugs. Its body is spiral fluted, and the bolt knob is oversize.

The TFMs detachable box magazine is made by Accurate-Mag, and capacity is five rounds of .338 Lapua ammo. Theres a paddle-style magazine release at the front of the trigger

Christensen machines the action from a billet of stainless steel, and it incorporates an integral Picatinny rail. The safety is a two-position unit, and the magazine release is a paddle-style lever located at the front of the trigger guard. The Tier One carbon-fiber stock is adjustable for length of pull and comb height. The metal magazine is made by Accurate-Mag, and capacity is five rounds of .338 Lapua ammo. The fluted bolt features an oversize knob, an M16-style extractor, and a plunger-type ejector.


guard, and it can be accessed from inside the trigger guard as well as from below the trigger guard. Its easy and positive to operate.

As I said earlier, the trigger for the TFM is made by Timney, and its set to factory specifications. Our sample rifles trigger pull measured 3.25 pounds according to my trigger-pull scale. I measured it five times and averaged those figures. In total, there were only 4 ounces of variation over those measurements. Id say thats darn consistent.

The action is pillar bedded into Chris-tensens own Tier One carbon-fiber tactical stock. Being made of carbon fiber, the stock weighs just 2.3 pounds. Length of pull and comb height can be adjusted via dials that are embedded in the stock. The stocks vertical grip has palmswells on both sides, and the wide fore-end has a 4-inch section of Picatinny rail attached to the underside. The recoil pad is made by Limbsaver.

PerformanceThe TFM Carbon comes with a 1/2-

MOA accuracy guarantee with appropriate ammunition, and I test-fired our sample with three factory loads, all of which are target loads. In addition to the new-for-2015 Hornady 285-grain A-Max load, I fired some old Black Hills match ammo loaded with Lapua 250-grain Scenar bul-lets and also Hornadys 250-grain BTHP match loading. The new Hornady 285-grain match ammo averaged 2,702 fps, measured 12 feet from the muzzle. The loading is factory-rated at 2,745 fps, and my results were in line with that, con-sidering that they were obtained in a production rifle. The Black Hills load is not offered any more (the company now

The TFM Carbon in .338 Lapua comes with a 26-inch carbon-fiber barrel. Twist rate is 1:10, and the muzzle is threaded to accept a muzzle brake.

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A .338 TACKDRIVER

has 250- and 300-grain Sierra MatchKing loadings instead), but the Scenar-bullet ammo averaged 2,886 fps out of the TFM Carbon. The other Hornady load, the 250-grain BTHP, is rated at 2,900 fps, and it averaged 2,844 fps measured 12 feet from the TFM Carbons 26-inch barrel.

As for accuracy, the 285-grain A-Max load was the most accurate during my shooting sessions. It averaged 2.06 inches for three, three-shot groups at 500 yards. The Black Hills load averaged 2.69 at that range, and the 250-grain BTHP Hornady ammo averaged 3.00 inches. I should mention that I used a Nightforce ATACR 5-25X 56mm riflescope with the firms MOAR 20-MOA reticle for

the shooting. ATACR stands for Advanced Tactical Riflescope, and it features a 34mm maintube and fully multicoated ED

glass. All I can say is its an incredible scope.For anyone interested in how much the .338 Lapuas

bullets drop at 500 yards, I offer the following. With the rifle sighted-in dead on at 200 yards, the 285-grain A-Max drops 41.25 inches. The 250-grain bullets drop

about 37 inches at that distance.I have to say that shooting this relatively lightweight

.338 Lapua Magnum rifle was not uncomfortable in terms of felt recoil, especially with the muzzle brake attached, even though the ammunition produces recoil in the neighborhood

of 50 ft-lbs. For anyone who wants to gauge that amount of recoil, its about three times what a 150-grain .30-06 loading produces in an 8-pound rifle.

Im lucky in that I can shoot out to 500 yards on my home shooting range, and I did just that with the three loads detailed in the chart. At that distance, from a portable shoot-ing bench, the TFMs overall average was 2.58 inches. That equates to 0.52 MOA. And thats as close to Christensens 1/2-MOA accuracy guarantee as Im likely to get.

500-YD.VEL. E.S. S.D. ACC.

AMMUNITION (FPS) (FPS) (FPS) (IN.) MOA

.338 LapuaBlack Hills 250-gr. Scenar 2886 44 19 2.69 0.54Hornady 250-gr. BTHP 2844 31 12 3.00 0.60Hornady 285-gr. A-Max 2702 17 8 2.06 0.41

NOTES: Accuracy is the average of three, three-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured 12 feet from the guns muzzle.

TFM CARBON ACCURACY

Made

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