Ruger takes on the micro-compact market with the affordable Max-9.
Offering greater capacity in a smaller package, it's of little surprise the micro-compact has proven so popular. Though, the rate at which companies have embraced the pintsized pistols. Fresh options appear, but not exactly at a breakneck pace—more like a steady drumbeat.
The latest to throw their hat into this growing niche is Ruger with its Max-9 micro 9mm. While it falls in line size-wise with others in its class and comes with the extras shooters have come to expect, it does differentiate itself from most of the competition in one decisive factor—capacity. While it doesn’t beat all, its 12-round magazine puts the Ruger Max-9 near the top in ultra-concealable pistol firepower. Along the way, it also delivers a fairly shootable package.
To this end, it’s the extended-capacity magazine that’s to thank for the Max-9’s manageability. Adding enough height to the grip, even shooter with large mitts generally can get their entire hand on the gun. Not quite so with the 10-round flush fit, which leaves the pinky dangling, but that’s to be expected. Additionally, Ruger does a solid job texturing the grip with a very positive pebble surface on the side panels and front and back straps that allots a strong purchase, but not at the expense of comfort.
As to the tale of the pistol’s tape, it measures 6-inches long, 1 inch in width, boasts a 3.2-inch barrel and weighs in at 18.4 ounces unloaded. By most people’s standards, that’s fairly compact, enough to stay undercover in light summer garb, but without having to compromise firepower.
Commonplace with most new pistols hitting the market—competitive and defensive alike—the Ruger Max-9 is optics ready. The striker-fired’s slide is cut to accept Shield SMS2, RMS, RMS2, RMSw, SMS, SMSc, and RMSc, Holosun 507k and 407k, Swampfox Sentinel, Crimson Trace 1500 Series, Sightmark Mini-Shot A-Spec M3, Hex Wasp, Sig Romeo-0, and Jpoint MRD micro red dot sights micro red-dots. It also features a day/night front sight and drift-adjustable rear that co-witness with Shield- or JPoint-pattern sights.
The Max-9 comes in three variants, including a 12+1 variant with external manual safety, a 10+1 model version with manual safety, and a 12+1 pistol without a manual safety. It features rugged construction thanks to a through-hardened alloy steel slide, a one-piece, precision-machined fire control chassis, and a glass-filled nylon grip frame. As to price, the Ruger Max-9 has an MSRP of $499 regardless of the model.
Don't let the small package fool you, the M&P Shield Plus has plenty of firepower on tap.
When it comes to concealed carry pistols, the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield has fostered a fairly dedicated following. No surprise. The striker-fired, polymer-frame handgun is among the most reliable, concealed and affordable options to come down the pike. That ticks off a lot of boxes.
Now, it’s set to get even better. Smith & Wesson recently introduced the newest addition to the line—the M&P Shield Plus. As its name suggests, the 9mm offers a bit more than previous iterations, in particular enhanced capacity in a micro-compact package. And, boy howdy, does it offer quite a bit of firepower for its class of handgun, feeding off a 13-round magazine.
As to its size, the Shield Plus comes in at a very manageable 6.1-inches in length, 1.1-inches in width and 20-ounces in weight, which should prove conducive with deep carry, even in light garb. The 3.1-inch barreled gun also boasts several features that make it quite shootable, including a flat-faced trigger with a tactile and audible reset, enhanced grip texturing for a positive handle and high visibility three-dot sights.
Wait, aren’t all guns going optic-ready nowadays? Quite right and so is the Shield Plus, but Smith & Wesson offers this model through its well-regarded Performance center. Available with a Crimson Trace model with optics cuts, though the gunmaker does not specify the compatibility of the slide cut. There are some clues, given the PC Shield Plus is available with a 4 MOA Crimson Trace micro red-dot, though the particular model goes unnamed.
Smith & Wesson offers options with and without a manual safety on its standard and PC models. As for price, the stand Shield Plus runs $553 and the Performance Center option with red-dot $896.
M&P 9 SHIELD PLUS Specs Caliber: 9mm Luger Capacity: 10+1, 13+1 Length: 6.1″ Front Sight: White Dot Rear Sight: White 2-Dot Action: Striker Fire Grip: Polymer Barrel Material: Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish Slide Material: Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish Frame Material: Polymer Slide Finish: Matte Black Frame Finish: Matte Black Barrel Length: 3.1” (7.9 cm) Weight: 20.2 oz.
Performance Center M&P 9 SHIELD PLUS Specs Caliber: 9mm Luger Capacity: 13+1 Optics: Red/Green Dot Length 7″ Front Sight: Fiber Optic Green Rear Sight: Fiber Optic Red Action: Striker Fire Grip: Polymer Barrel Material: Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish Slide Material: Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish Frame Material: Polymer Slide Finish: Matte Black Frame Finish: Matte Black Barrel Length: 4″ (10.2 cm) Weight: 22.6 oz.
For more information on the Shield Plus, please visit smith-wesson.com.
Looking for a new iron or piece of kit to enhance the one you already own? Check out these seven new bits of guns and gear to grow your firearms wish list.
Nelson Precision 44X Aluminum Slide for Glock 44 Pistols
A longtime coming, the Glock 44 was one of the Austrian gunmaker’s most significant releases in recent years. Though, even among diehard fans, the .22 LR pistols did have nits to pick, primarily with the hybrid polymer-steel slide (done for proper weight in the blowback pistol). Rejoice! There’s hope in rectifying this with parts manufacturer Nelson Precision introducing an aluminum slide upgrade. Milled to proper weight specs, it runs like a dream on the Glock 44, while creating a more rugged and versatile pistol—the slide is optic-ready, compatible with Trijicon RMR and SRO red-dot sights. Playing nice with OEM G44 slide parts, this is an upgrade you don’t want to miss for your G44. MSRP: $220
Beretta Model 21A Bobcat Covert
Harking back to Beretta’s earliest pocket pistols, the Model 21 is steeped in nostalgia—and now in modern adaptability. Yup, the classy aluminum-framed Bobcat is available suppressor-ready in the aptly named Covert. Boasting standard .22 LR 1/2×28 thread pattern on its muzzle, the pistol is compatible with nearly any rimfire can. When not suppressed, the threads are protected with a knurled cap. Cutting a dashing profile, the 7+1-capacity Bobcat Covert is outfitted with checkered walnut grips and a rich matte black Burniton finish. It’s still every bit a pocket pistol, weighing in at just under 12 ounces. Able to mount a suppressor, the Bobcat Covert is now a first-class range companion. MSRP: $529
Mossberg Blaze-47 Adjustable
As affordable as it is fun, the Blaze-47 has been the go-to rimfire AK for some time … and it’s recently gotten better. Now it’s set up as the perfect tactical plinker, no matter who’s behind the trigger. As its name implies, the Adjustable model comes outfitted with a six-position adjustable stock, the kind commonly found on AR-style rifles. Sure enough, this breaks from the traditional AK template, but it arguably makes the .22 LR more useful and potentially more accurate. From there, the new Blaze gets familiar with a 16.5-inch barrel, 25-round magazine and fully adjustable sights. But bet on the Adjustable providing a much more comfortable fit. MSRP: $368
CCI Maxi-Mag Clean-22 Segmented Hollow Point 22 WMR
Reducing fouling and leading, CCI Clean-22 is nothing new. But what it’s being chambered for and the type of bullet is being topped with is. Maxi-Mag Clean-22 Segmented Hollow Point 22 WMR gives shooters of the magnum rimfire a dynamite hunting option, proven to over-perform traditional hollow-points. As the name suggests, the bullets are segmented, designed to break in three equal parts, thus creating three equal wound channels. The effects are devastating on small game, almost guaranteeing a hit on vitals. Loaded to leave the muzzle at 1,875 fps, the ammo also tends to extend a firearms range. MSRP: $18.99, box of 50
Wiland USA MLCS-11 Chassis for Ruger 10/22 Rifles
Requiring all the skill of a long-range marksman, just scaled down and done on the cheap, NRL22 competitions have swept the nation. While any old .22 LR and proper optics will do, if you’re serious about gunning down gold, a few upgrades are in order. Enter Wiland USA and the MLCS-11. The South Carolina manufacturer whipped up a lightweight chassis nearly guaranteed to milk the utmost accuracy Ruger 10/22. More than anything, Wiland provides an absolute rock-solid foundation, thanks to a rigid CNC-machined aluminum body and carbon buttplate and handguard. But the manufacturer also ups its flexibility, making the chassis compatible with ambidextrous charging and shootability with the buttstock perfectly aligned with the bore. It’ll take your 10/22 to new levels. MSRP: $350
Kriss Vector 22-CRB
Like something out of Star Wars, the Vector is about as unique as hens’ teeth in the world of pistol-caliber carbines. Now, make that rimfires. The innovative firearms manufacturer recently introduced the Vector 22-CRB rimfire to its catalog, giving shooters all the cutting-edge technology found in its big-dog gun, but in an affordable shooter. Aside from its absolute one-of-a-kind aesthetics, the gun also features several enhancements. Free-floated barrel, six-position stock, low-profile flip sights and threaded barrel (1/2×28 pattern) all kick the gun’s game up a notch in accuracy and ease of use. Add in Kriss’ 30-round magazines and Aluminum M-Lok handguard and you’ve got a little something shapable to your needs. MSRP: $649.99
Meopta Optika5 2-10x42mm RF
It’s difficult to stress exactly how important the role quality glass plays in consistent accuracy. Have the right scope and the world is your bull’s-eye. If you live to own the bull’s-eye with your rimfire, you should be paying attention to Meopta USA. Part of the company’s new premium 1-inch tube Optika5 series, the 2-10x42mm RF is the ideal scope to keep you on target. Featuring MeoBright lens coatings for optimal light transmission and MeoDrop hydrophobic water-repellant coating, the optic ensures a bright and clear image no matter the conditions. Shooters have the choice of traditional plex and MOA Z-Plus reticle, with ¼-MOA adjustment increments. Plus, the Optika5 line is built field tough, constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum. MSRP: $349.99
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More than just yanking your heater from its hanger, pistol presentation requires executing some well-timed movement. Here are the basics.
Putting it all together. It’s not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, but with work perfecting your pistol presentation gives you a decided advantage in a self-defense situation. You’ll have your pistol at the ready and get on target more quickly by hashing away this fundamental.
In thumbnail, for those unfamiliar with the term, presentation involves all the movements from draw to building a sight picture. And it’s more than yanking your heater from its hanger. Ideally, it facilitates a fundamental grip on the pistol, puts the trigger finger in position for action and navigates the gun on target. It happens in a split second when done correctly, but getting to that point without any hitches takes time.
Jamey Caldwell, an instructor at 1-Minute Out and former special operator, breaks down all the movements to a perfect pistol presentation. Something to keep in mind, and Caldwell points out, not your every movement will not mirror his. Given carry position, holster, body type and skill level there is variance to each of these movements. That said, armed citizens should start by sticking closely to Caldwell’s model of pistol presentation, then adapt the minutia as their skills improve.
Above all, especially given the number of movements involved, shooters shouldn’t expect a crisp draw to sight picture overnight. Like all facets of concealed carry, pistol presentation takes time and effort to perfect. It’s up to you to practice them until they’re honed to a razor’s edge.
For more videos from Panteao Productions, please visit panteao.com.
This article is an excerpt from The ABCs of Reloading, 10th Edition by Phil Massaro, on sale at GunDigestStore.com.
Reloading dies are the cartridge-specific tools used for resizing, flaring, bullet seating, and crimping. They’re screwed into the top of the reloading press and set at specific depths to give the exacting dimensions needed for proper functioning ammunition.
Most basic bottleneck rifle die sets will come with two dies: a full-length resizer and a seater. The full-length resizing die forms the entire cartridge, from base to mouth, to the acceptable SAAMI- or CIP-approved dimensions. The bullet seating die serves two purposes: It seats the bullet in the case to a specific depth, and it can be adjusted to roll the case mouth into the bullet’s crimping groove or cannelure, producing what is called a roll crimp. The roll crimp is desirable in the hard-kicking magnum rifle and pistol cartridges and is necessary on any straight-walled case that doesn’t headspace off the case mouth.
Straight-walled cartridge die sets also typically come with a flaring die, which opens up the case mouth like a bell to allow the bullet to be seated in the case without crumpling the case walls.
The wide selection of reloading dies can be dizzying. I’m not sure there is one brand or type I’m married to as, during my reloading career, I’ve probably used ones from nearly every manufacturer at one point in time or another. That includes defunct brands such as Herter’s, Pacific, and several custom-made ones. Among these, I’ve only had one defective set; the company is no longer in business, but the .300 H&H cases I was trying to resize wouldn’t function in the gun no matter what I did.
Redding Dies
I try to buy the best dies I can afford, and sitting at the top of my list are those from Redding. Redding Reloading, from my home state of New York, has long been famous for producing products with exceptionally tight tolerances. Redding’s high-end dies are no exception, though costly.
Redding offers various levels of dies, and even the lower-priced standard sets are a worthy purchase. The components are very precisely made, and the surfaces are polished to a mirror finish. It’s been my experience that Redding dies are polished so well that extra attention needs to be paid to the proper application of lubricant to avoid case sticking. The Redding Elite die set includes the Type S Bushing full-length resizing die, which extends brass life by reducing the necks only as much as is needed before drawing it over the expander ball. That set also includes bushing neck-sizing dies. Redding’s micrometer-adjustable Competition seating die allows you to make quick, accurate, and predictable adjustments to the seating depth. These die sets are expensive, but the results make the price well worth it.
Redding’s Premium dies sets feature a standard full-length seating die, with a carbide expander ball and bullet seating micrometer. Redding builds its standard dies to the same tight specifications as its premium line, but it’s the small things that you’ll appreciate. The lock rings are blued, knurled steel and the set screw rests against a small lead shot instead of against the die body, so nothing gets scratched. I could spend the rest of my reloading days happily using Redding dies.
RCBS Dies
There were times, especially as a younger man, when a set of Redding dies were simply out of my financial reach. RCBS dies were the best I could do, and they were a smart purchase. The standard RCBS dies aren’t full of bells and whistles but are simple affairs that get the job done. I’ve loaded a lot of ammo on RCBS dies and continue to use them to this day.
RCBS basic sets have lock rings with wrench flats, and the seater plugs and decapping rods are held in place by small hex nuts. There are knurled rings at the top of the die bodies to grip when screwing the die into the press. Were I on a tight budget, I’d still look to the RCBS die sets to get the job done. They offer a full line of rifle and pistol dies and taper crimps, plus titanium carbide pistol dies that require no lubrication on the cases.
While the standard RCBS die set is probably the benchmark in the reloading world, RCBS has stepped up its game as of late. Its MatchMaster die sets are on par with the Redding stuff. Micrometer-adjustable seating dies with a window cutout in the body to drop the bullet onto the case mouth, full-length bushing resizing dies that will extend brass life — RCBS has met the demands of the modern reloader’s needs.
Hornady has a well-earned reputation for producing quality reloading products, and its reloading dies have some unique features that many prefer. I like Hornady’s Custom Grade dies, which include the New Dimension sizing and seating dies. Both use a knurled, split lock ring with two flats, so you can use an adjustable wrench if necessary. What’s more, the lock ring tightens via an Allen-head screw, which tightens the ring around the die body (rather than against the die threads). The sizing die features wrench flats as well, and both have knurled bodies for a positive grip when screwing the dies into the press body. The sizing die has an elliptical expander ball, which aids in the smooth sizing of your cases. The Zip Spindle makes large and small adjustments simple. The finely threaded spindle makes precise adjustments, yet increased pressure on the rod will move the spindle up or down for rough adjustments.
The seating die included in the set is not cartridge specific; instead, Hornady produces them for the entire range of each caliber. Hornady uses an inline bullet seating system, including a floating bullet alignment sleeve, to enhance concentricity. You can set the seating die for a roll crimp or taper crimp (depending on which model you purchase), and some sets include various seater plugs. Hornady provides a pair of extra decapping pins in the die box, which come in very handy should you break one.
The American Series dies from Hornady are more affordable and are constructed of hardened steel, polished to a smooth finish. The dies come with a shellholder of appropriate size, and Hornady includes basic reloading data. The three-die sets for straight-walled cases feature a resizing die with a titanium nitride resizing ring to eliminate the need for case lubricant. The American series is available in five standard rifle cartridges and four different dual-purpose handgun cartridges.
The Match Grade Hornady die sets include a bushing resizing die. Bushings are not included and are sold separately. The Microjust seating die in this set has the same features as the Custom Grade New Dimension seating die, but with a micrometer adjustment on its top, in .001-inch increments.
Hornady can also make you a set of custom dies, based on the chamber reamer drawing used for your rifle or derived from spent cases fired in your gun. Custom dies are an excellent option for those wildcatters who enjoy shooting their creations. It’s a costly process, but if you have an obscure or vintage firearm for which dies are nearly impossible to obtain, Hornady’s customization service can mean the difference between a functioning gun and a wall-hanger.
Hornady also offers the option of using its Lock-n-Load bushings with its presses, which locks the dies into the press with a simple turn, saving you the time spent screwing and unscrewing dies.
Lyman Dies
Lyman has long made excellent reloading dies and continues to do so. They are constructed of hardened, heat-treated steel, with the pistol cartridge dies featuring tungsten carbide sizing rings. Lyman’s three-die rifle sets give you flexibility. Lyman includes a full-length resizing die and a neck sizing die, along with a seating die. These die sets also include the appropriate shellholder and an Allen key to set the lock ring. (Lyman lock rings look remarkably like the RCBS lock ring.) The resizing dies use a threaded rod to hold the decapping pin and expander ball, locked in place via a small hex nut at the top of the die body. The Lyman seating die features a knurled seating plug, locking down with a small hex nut.
The Lyman dies’ replaceable decapping pins screw onto a one-piece rod and these slide into the expander ball. While the Lyman dies are relatively simple and lack the bells and whistles of some of the more complex models, they represent an excellent value to the beginning reloader. The simple design allows you to set up dies quickly and easily, ready to make top-performing ammo for a lifetime.
Lyman’s Premium Carbide 4 Die sets offer the traditional trio of resizing, flaring, and seating dies in a carbide setup that doesn’t require case lube. A taper crimp die is the fourth in the set.
Lee Dies
My first reloading experiences were with Lee products, as my Dad had a three-hole Lee turret press and a set of Lee dies for his .308 Winchester. Lee uses steel bodies with aluminum lock rings held in place with a rubber O-ring. These dies are a great value even if they don’t have other brands’ more expensive features. Though I much prefer a die body with a lock ring that won’t move, I’ve made a bunch of ammo using Lee equipment, resulting in some impressive accuracy from my guns.
Lee includes a shellholder with its die sets, and a plastic scoop of proper volume, as well as a chart depicting load data for the spectrum of bullets used in the chosen cartridge.
In Lee’s straight-walled cartridge three-die sets, the flaring die is a ‘Powder-Thru’ design, so you can insert a powder funnel in the top of the die to charge cases. The company’s Factory Crimp Die has a place of honor among many reloaders, as it operates differently than the standard roll or taper crimps. The die creates a segmented crimp of the end of the case mouth and is safe to use even with bullets lacking a cannelure. It’s very popular among reloaders, even those who prefer the more expensive brands. The theory is that the crimp created by this die equalizes the pressure needed to get the bullet moving from the case to the barrel, and therefore helps to equalize velocities.
I’ve used a Lee Factory Crimp Die with good results in the past and will continue to do so. I feel this particular product is the best in the Lee lineup. Many reloaders appreciate the price advantage of the Lee dies. Still, I usually lean toward the RCBS stuff for a budget-friendly choice, though every reloader should try the Factory Crimp.
Incredible light and able to fold to nearly half its size, the Pedersoli Black Widow aims for a spot in your backpack.
Perhaps more now than at any other time in recent years people are more conscious of preparedness. Be it for self-defense in the form of a concealed carry pistol or backcountry survival with a light-and-right takedown rifle, a slew of folks have seen the light when it comes to emergency arms. Davide Pedersoli wants in on it.
Pedersoli … you mean the group with all the throwback guns of the Old West? One and the same, though now the Italian gunmaker has turned their attention to a more contemporary arm in the form of the Black Widow Single-Shot Rimfire Rifle. Quite a break from its usual wares, the space-aged plinker offers one of the lightest and most compact long-gun options presently available. Though, convenience comes at a cost. The breech-loading .22 LR has an MSRP of roughly $400 (this is converted from Euros, so unofficial), which comes in above many of its American-made competitors.
As for what you get for the money, extreme lightweight. The Pedersoli Black Widow tips the scales at a meager 3.3 pounds, which makes it akin to a brick of ammo for the rifle. Much of the weight savings is thanks to a skeletonized polymer stock and a wisp of a fore-end, which gives the hammer-fired rifle gaunt good looks. Size-wise, the 36-inch gun folds down at its receiver into roughly a 19-inch triangular package, small enough to fit into a modestly sized backpack.
The stainless-steel barreled .22 LR has several intriguing features aside from its unassuming size and weight. First and foremost, the Black Widow’s rather pronounced pistol grip. Given the svelteness of the rifle, the feature should maximize control and could prove useful in steading it on long holds. Though, the function of extended beavertail above the grip proves somewhat a mystery—is it an enhancement or just styling?
Anyhow, the interior of the stock has holes to store extra rounds and the removable fore-end is outfitted with a small section of Picatinny Rail. Additionally, the muzzle is threaded for the addition of a suppressor and action is drilled and tapped for mounting a dedicated ½ ” scope rail. Though the rifle comes with iron sights, so is ready-to-shoot out of the box. Pedersoli expects to begin shipping the rifle sometime in July 2021.
Despite its sound in ballistics, the .221 Fireball lacked in popularity.
What You Need To Know About The .221 Fireball:
It was introduced early in 1963 for the Remington XP-100 bolt-action pistol.
The parent case is a shortened version of the .222 Remington.
Its high velocity produces muzzle energy greater than the .357 Magnum.
Despite the caliber designation, .224 inch is the proper bullet diameter.
Historical Notes
The .221 Remington Fireball cartridge was introduced early in 1963 for the Remington XP-100 bolt-action, a single-shot pistol based on a shortened, lightened 700 series rifle action. The pistol had a streamlined nylon-plastic stock, ventilated barrel rib and adjustable sights. This was the first handgun made by Remington since its pocket automatics were discontinued back in 1935. The Thompson/Center Contender was also available in .221 Remington for a time, but no longer. Remington was the only source for .221 Fireball ammunition, and it’s still available.
General Comments
The .221 Fireball follows the modern design in .22-caliber high-velocity pistol cartridges for small game and varmint hunting at long range. The rimless case is a shortened version of the .222 Remington. The cartridge is well adapted to rifles, as well as pistols. The bullet is designed for quick expansion on small animals and is very deadly at all practical ranges.
The XP-100 pistol has a 10-inch barrel and is intended for use with a riflescope. It’s capable of sub-MOA 100-yard groups when fitted with a scope and fired from a rest. It’s much more powerful than the older .22 Remington Jet used in the S&W .22 WMR revolver. Muzzle energy of the .221 Fireball is greater than the .357 Magnum. Despite the caliber designation, .224 inch is the proper bullet diameter. The .221 Fireball was chambered in the Remington Model 700 Classic rifle on a limited-run basis in the late 2000s.
Why the choice of cartridge means so much in the long-range game.
I was lying prone in the Oregon desert, having just broken the trigger of the Ruger rifle and watching the vapor trail of the Hornady A-Tip bullet through the Leupold Mark 5 riflescope, when the air in front of the target started to distort, and I saw the impact on the left quarter of the steel plate 1,500 yards away. In spite of the three aforementioned pieces of excellent gear, my mind wandered to the cartridge—one of the first of the revisionist cartridges, the 6.5 Creedmoor.
Now, before you turn the page, this article is not focused on the Creedmoor; instead, it’s about the concept it embraces. We’ve discovered that the high-BC bullets, which retain their energy so well at longer ranges, are key to hitting a target at extremely long ranges and that the biggest, most voluminous cartridges might not play such an important role.
But, the cartridge must have the proper geometry to harbor those long bullets that do the job so well. I used the phrase, “revisionist cartridge,” earlier. By that, I mean those newer designs that have sacrificed case length and/or capacity to allow the room in the magazine to be occupied by bullet length.
From Cartridge to Cartridge
For years, the .308 Winchester was the darling of the target community. It’s a great cartridge, capable of fantastic accuracy, and makes a wonderful hunting cartridge. It’s mild in the recoil department and, with match-grade bullets in the 155- to 190-grain range, it still makes a good choice out to 1,000 yards or so. Now, to me (at the time a kid in the Northeast who considered a 200-yard shot a “country mile” because of a lack of opportunity to shoot that far), a 1,000-yard shot might as well have been trying to reach the moon. Therefore, a .308 Winchester did everything I needed it to.
But, that wasn’t to last for long.
I took an interest in 6.5mm cartridges when a friend asked for some help zeroing his 6.5×55 Swede. It turned out he had some loose bases. Even so, during the process, I found I really enjoyed the way it shot; and, delving into the paper ballistics, I saw some impressive numbers.
The mighty .338 Lapua Magnum, based on the .416 Rigby case, is shown here with the 300-grain Nosler AccuBond and Sierra MatchKings.
Going farther down the “rabbit hole,” I began spending time with, and loading for, the .260 Remington and .264 Winchester Magnum. I realized why the bore diameter was so popular globally and wondered why it had such a weak following in the States.
About a decade later, the Creedmoor began to take off—years after its 2007 release—and it took a bit to understand why the shooting community would opt for the shorter cartridge when the .260 Remington fit just fine in the short-action rifles. The great BC game was strongly underway, and it took off like wildfire. In the early 2000s, the .260 Remington had a strong following, giving a trajectory on par with the .300 Winchester Magnum.
However, the 6.5 Creedmoor’s capability of loading higher-BC bullets saw the “younger” cartridge begin to take off by the beginning of the next decade. And, make no mistake about it: There’s no more blend of accuracy, availability and affordability than the 6.5 Creedmoor. It no longer matters whether you love to hate it or hate to love it; the Creedmoor is the biggest bang for the buck in the long-range shooting market.
Long-Range Shooting For Everyone
Distances to the target increased, and a new market was born, because everyone was suddenly shooting long range.
The .338 Lapua was a popular choice, but with the big, Rigby-based case came a whole lot of recoil and cost. Nevertheless, it worked very well, with the long, 300-grain bullets giving solid performance at long ranges. Eventually, the .338-inch bullets grew in length—but not necessarily in weight—as the designs saw the ogive increase to the point at which that bullet couldn’t be seated in the Lapua case without grossly exceeding the magazine capacity.
The 6.5 PRC from Hornady: It’s a short, squat and accurate cartridge that’s at home on the shooting range, as well as in the hunting fields.
Enter the .338 Norma Magnum, which uses a shortened Lapua case to best utilize that magazine length and allowing the long Sierra 300-grain bullet to be properly seated on the shank and not on the ogive. It’s a wonderfully accurate cartridge (in fact, I came in second in a shooting competition in Germany with it, printing a four-shot group measuring 1¾ inches at 500 meters); and, if you’re a fan of the .338-inch bore diameter, the .338 Norma deserves an audience.
The .300 Winchester Magnum—long a popular choice among snipers and precision shooters—suffers from the “too-long-for-magazine” syndrome. Developed as a hunting cartridge in 1963, the .300 Winchester has a hard time properly seating those high-BC, 30-caliber bullets in a standard long-action magazine, especially the older ones. With a proper throat, you can single-feed the .300 Winchester.
Nevertheless, I think you see the issue I’m describing: Many of the cartridges we know and love just can’t handle the longer, heavier bullets that perform so well—not to mention the fact that lately, so many people are frowning at belted magnums. No matter. I find the .300 Winchester Magnum to be among the finest hunting cartridges.
And now—the Hornady .300 PRC. This new, .30-caliber magnum is based on the .375 Ruger case, necked down to .308 inch with optimum taper and a 30-degree shoulder. The design of the case uses the 0.532-inch diameter of the H&H belted magnum, but without the belt. The case length is 2.58 inches—shorter than the .300 Winchester—but the overall length is 3.700 inches, and there are available magazines that’ll allow a cartridge of that length to be used in a long-action rifle.
So, why not simply use the .300 Winchester Magnum if the cartridge’s overall length can be extended?
Federal’s Gold Medal Match ammunition, with the 130-grain Berger Hybrid bullet.
Well, Hornady engineered the .300 PRC to have some unique features in an effort to enhance accuracy for long-range shooting. The shoulder/neck joint is set to be at the precise spot where a 225-grain Hornady bullet’s shank meets its boat tail when seated to the proper dimension in the PRC case. Keeping the bullet in the neck portion of the cartridge, along with minimal free bore in the design of the chamber, definitely enhances accuracy, and shooters are finding that there’s a definite advantage to the .300 PRC design. It seems to be economical to build, and the results at the range are excellent. Driving a 225-grain bullet with a G1 of .777 and a G7 of 0.391 to a muzzle velocity of 2,810 fps, the .300 PRC isn’t going anywhere.
6.5mm Cartridges
The 6.5mm cartridges have expanded beyond the ever-popular Creedmoor to include some highly efficient and accurate designs. Hornady also has a 6.5 in its PRC line that’s designed for competition and is considered the Creedmoor’s “big brother.”
Bettering the Creedmoor’s velocity by more than 250 fps, the 6.5 PRC is based on the .300 Ruger Compact Magnum (which, itself, is based on the .375 Ruger) and runs smoothly in a short-action rifle. It’s accurate, flat shooting, easy on the shoulder and a better long-range performer than the now-standard Creedmoor—even if the recoil is sharper … but still manageable. Like the .300 PRC, it uses a standard, 0.532-inch (H&H Magnum) bolt face. And while I’m not overly fond of the short, squat cartridges, the 6.5 PRC is a great choice for both the target range and the hunting field.
I’ve long been a fan of the 6.5-284 Norma, because this cartridge delivers my personal favorite blend of trajectory, energy and accuracy as both a hunting and a target cartridge. It’s just the old .284 Winchester necked down to hold 6.5mm bullets. And, although it’s usually housed in a short-action rifle, I like the additional flexibility of a long-action rifle, simply because there are so many very-low-drag bullets available to the handloader. The 6.5-284 Norma can, when pushed hard, match the velocity of the 6.5 PRC, and it shines on the target range.
Weatherby must be of a similar mindset, because its new 6.5 Weatherby RPM (Rebated Precision Magnum) is an elongated 6.5-284 that’s designed to give flat trajectories, high retained energy and great wind deflection values in a lightweight rifle. To see Weatherby make its first venture away from a double-radius shoulder in a cartridge with no belt says something about the effectiveness of this design.
The classic .300 Winchester Magnum with the high-BC, 230-grain Berger Match Hybrid OTM bullet.
The 6.5 RPM launches a 140-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of between 2,975 and 3,075 fps—just a bit ahead of the 6.5-284 Norma and on par with the 6.5 PRC. I really like this Weatherby cartridge as a hunting choice, although I’d wager that it’ll show up in target cartridge circles before very long.
Get On Target With Long-Range Shooting:
Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
Looking at the performance/cost ratio, we find that the 6.5 Creedmoor pushing a 140-grain bullet at 2,700 fps and with ammo topped with a decent bullet (and there’s plenty to choose from) costs between $25 and $35 per box of 20.
Bump up to the 6.5 PRC, and you’ll see a jump in muzzle velocity to 2,960 fps; and while that velocity increase certainly flattens out trajectory (at 1,500 yards, you’ll need 18.6 mils of elevation for the Creedmoor, as compared with 15 mils for the PRC), the PRC ammo runs between $40 and $55 per box of 20. The 6.5 Weatherby RPM will run between $50 and $65 per box and, if you want to take full advantage of the 6.5-284 Norma case (pushing a 140-grain bullet to 2,875 fps, as custom loaded by Nosler), you can plan on spending as much as $80 per box of 20.
Am I trying to intentionally make a case for choosing the Creedmoor? No, because I really enjoy hunting with the others. Nevertheless, a weekend at the target range would put a dent in my wallet for sure.
The 6mms are surely doing their best to get noticed among this crowd. The 6mm Creedmoor, 6XC and 6mm Dasher all give very good long-range performance with less recoil than their 6.5mm siblings, so if you’re into timed shooting competitions, this feature might appeal to you.
To give an idea of where the 6mm Creedmoor sits in comparison to the 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 PRC: When using a 108-grain Hornady ELD Match bullet, at a muzzle velocity of 2,960 fps (this seems to be a popular velocity and is common to the .300 Win. Mag. with 180s, the 6.5 PRC with 140s and the 6mm Creedmoor), that 1,500-yard target will require 17.4 mils of elevation (in the middle of the two 6.5s). The wind deflection value for the lighter bullet in the 6mm is greater than either of the 6.5s (3.7 mils for the 6mm CM versus 3.4 mils and 3 mils, respectively), but the reduced recoil might make for an equal trade.
Pricing? The 6mm Creedmoor ammo is on par with the 6.5 Creedmoor ammo—it runs between $25 and $35 per box. The other 6mms are certainly more expensive, and the range of choices is diminished.
What we’re looking at is a wide range of cartridges with which we can effectively and efficiently send a bullet one helluva long way. Even the best deal on a chassis gun can quickly be negated by an ammo bill that equals Nicaragua’s Gross National Product, so depending on how far down the rabbit hole you’ve gone in the long-range game, it might sometimes warrant seeking out the proper balance of cost-effectiveness, downrange performance and economical sense, especially if handloading is off the menu.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2020 Long-Range Shooting issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
ELR Rimfire requires the same skill set as centerfire 2-mile shooting … but at yardages most gun nuts have close to home.
Everyone needs a buddy like Chad.
A.J. Stewart, a 34-year-old industrial technician from Mobile, Alabama, had dropped three .22 LR shots onto a steel target at 825 yards—and into a group about the size of a dip can. Now, with a ridiculous 120 mils of elevation doped into his rig, he sent it to 1,000.
But, it wasn’t going well.
The splashes looked to land in front of the 30×30-inch steel square, so Stewart spun up more elevation.
As challenging as centerfire 2-mile, ELR Rimfire is accessible to more shooters.
“With .22 LR, at that distance, to get it to travel another 5 yards, you need a whole mil of elevation,” Stewart told me. “That’s how steep the bullet is coming down. One meter of elevation for 5 meters of distance.”
He went to 122, 123, 124, 125. Still, no hits.
“Aw, hell!” said his friend and shooting partner, Chad Long, “I’ll go down there.”
Extreme long-range shooting (or ELR)—as with King of 2 Mile events, at which teams of centerfire shooters send .50 BMGs and their derivatives beyond 3,500 yards—makes regular use of forward observers. Chad Long knew this. He took his truck to 1,000 yards and got safe behind some heavy construction debris.
Stewart shot, and Long radioed back. “You’re 35 feet or so behind the target.” Through the spotting scope, Stewart and his team saw the splashes under the steel target, not in front of it, as they first thought.
Stewart walked down the elevation. When he got to 113 mils, he shot and waited. A full 5.5 seconds later, the 40-grain, lead round-nose connected. A few seconds after that, prone on his shooting mat, Stewart heard a faint, but distinct, ding. “That,” he told me, “was the best sound in the world!”
The author puts the Vudoo on paper at 50, 100 and 200 yards. This real-world dope, coupled with an accurate muzzle velocity, made connecting at 500 yards possible.
Stewart shot again.
“Hit,” Long radioed back. “Hit. Hit.” Four in a row. They’d solved the 1,000-yard .22 LR puzzle.
Stewart wasn’t the first guy to repeatedly connect at 1,000 yards with a .22 LR, but on that day, he joined a very small club of ELR rimfire shooters.
Yet, as rifle builders, ammo makers and optics engineers continue to push the bounds of distance, that club’s only getting bigger.
Do You Vudoo?
I’ve never seen someone squirrel hunt at 1,000 yards, you might be thinking. Well, you could be missing the point of ELR. Like its centerfire brother, ELR rimfire shooting is the “Space X” of long-range precision—a program and a practice operating on the outer edge of “possible.” Advances learned in ELR inevitably trickle backward—as we’ve seen in the last 10 years with the rush of modern high-BC bullets, bipod systems, and range-finding and wind-reading technology. Many of those ideas were first “proofed” by long-range fanatics at unreasonable distances.
If any one company is responsible for this kind of proof-of-concept work in the ELR rimfire space, it’s Vudoo Gunworks of St. George, Utah. Mike Bush, the director of engineering at Savage Arms, had been converting Remington 40x actions to repeaters for a small crew of diehard marksmen on an Internet forum. Bush couldn’t keep up with the demand. As a result, along with industry veterans Jay Phillips, and Paul and Jill Parrott, he started Vudoo (the name comes from an old saying of the Parrotts: that the difference between an MOA rifle and a ½ MOA barn-burner was always “a little bit of magic, a little bit of voodoo”).
The first “group” at 500 yards measures 13.5 inches.
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—and movies about them, such as American Sniper—interest in precision shooting over the last 15 years surged here, on the home front, as well as around the world. Recreational sharpshooters soon realized they could train with a low-recoil, low-cost .22 LR that still required all the sniper math and wind-reading needed to hit a long way off, but at a shorter distance. Rather than find a place to shoot at distances of 1,000, 1,500 or 2,000 yards, they could do it all at 400-, 500- and 600-yard ranges.
As more and more shooters tried out .22 LRs at longer and longer ranges, they took their problems and solutions online to forums such Snipers Hide, where the small-bore rifle-of-choice morphed from Bush’s 40x conversions to the Vudoo Gunworks V-22 action—the first custom rimfire action to use a Remington 700 footprint. With a Vudoo, shooters could build an exact replica of its ELR or PRS rifle—same chassis, trigger, bases, rings and optic with an AICS-patterned magazine—but in .22 LR.
The success of Vudoo and the expanding ELR rimfire market has inspired a boom in full-sized Remington 700-footprint .22 rifles. Bergara released the B-14-R late last year. The RimX action from Zermatt Arms debuted at SHOT Show in January, as did the Ultimatum Precision Deuce, as well as a .22 LR conversion kit from Curtis Customs. Elite barrel makers such as Proof Research and Lilja Precision rolled out uber-accurate tubes for swap-barrel rimfire actions such as the CZ 455/457 and Ruger Precision.
Add all of this together, and there’s never been so many options in insanely accurate precision rimfire rifles—rifles capable of pushing a little, 40-grain hunk of lead farther, and with repeatable accuracy—than most people thought possible even five and 10 years ago.
Get On Target With Long-Range Shooting:
Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
When shooting a .22 LR between 300 and 1,000 yards, the rifle is just one piece of the system. Equally important is high-quality match ammunition that gets along with the rifle’s chamber and barrel—ammunition made nine times out of 10 by Eley or Lapua.
The new Zermatt RimX with a 16.5-inch PROOF barrel. With fewer than 100 rounds down the pipe, it connected easily at 500 yards. Note the Vortex Strike Eagle. It’s maybe the best scope option around for ELR rimfire when considering price versus performance.
With match ammunition that runs just below the speed of sound (Lapua is advertised at 1,073 fps), the 40-grain bullet doesn’t pass through the transonic barrier, which adds a level of instability at longer ranges. This is why high-velocity ammo often doesn’t maintain a good level of accuracy at extreme distances. Knowing which one of the few high-quality match loads a rifle likes is an exercise in trial and error that requires a chronograph.
Vudoo has smartly cut out much of the guesswork, because all its chambers are cut to Lapua dimensions (my RimX with a 16-inch Proof barrel seems to be “ammo-agnostic,” shooting Lapua and Eley equally well. My Bergara is leaning toward Lapua).
At the chronograph, muzzle velocity is important, because you’ll need that figure for long-range ballistic-solving. However, extreme spread or standard deviation—the spread in feet per second (fps) between the fastest and slowest muzzle velocity in a string—is absolutely critical.
Standard deviation is “the number-one limitation for extreme long-range shooting with rimfire,” Geoff Esterline, director of marketing for Lapua, Berger and Vihtavuori within the United States, told me. “We often have production lots of Lapua with single-digit SDs. The challenge becomes identifying a lot that’ll reliably offer consistent ignition through your firearm platform.”
The second major ballistic factor is wind. But, for the sake of this example, we’ll assume an ELR shooter has a good handling on wind-reading.
Figuring the wind was the hardest part—thanks to the layout of this hilltop. At the rifle, it blew between 5 and 10 mph at 90 degrees. After the hedgerow at the 300-yard mark, the wind switched around to between 180 and 270 degrees.
To illustrate the importance of low SDs and mild wind on ELR rimfire shooting, let’s use the Weapon Employment Zone Analysis calculator (AppliedBallisticsLLC.com). It calculates a “hit probability” based on various shooting conditions.
Using Lapua bullet dimensions and their advertised BC of .172, along with no wind and an SD of 10 fps in a ½ MOA rifle, the hit probability at 500 yards is 74.4 percent. With a 2.5 mph wind and an SD of 15, that drops way off to 12.2 percent. At 4 mph and a 20 fps SD, it’s 1.6 percent. Most non-match, mid-tier subsonic .22 LR ammo has an SD between 20 and 80 fps. (If that doesn’t tell you why premium ammo is important, I recommend you take up Steel Challenge.)
Lapua says its Center-X, Midas+ and X-Act ammunition will produce a single-digit SD. That might be true on average, but every rifle ignition system and ammo combination is different.
A.J. Stewart sees single-digit SDs in his Vudoo with X-Act and a range between 10 and 20 fps with Midas+ and into the 30s with Center-X (this is the reason he makes 800-plus-yard attempts with X-Act only). I’ve seen single-digit strings with Center-X in my Vudoo and RimX rifles, with the occasional oddball shot in the 20s or 30s.
At 50 yards, an SD in the 20s can still make a “one-ragged-hole”-sized group: five shots touching in a tight cloverleaf. So, only group-shooting a .22 LR at 50 or 100 yards to determine the best ammo can be deceiving if the goal is to eventually shoot at much longer ranges—at which SD will have a significant effect.
Chronographing lots of ammunition—that is, lots of lots of ammunition—is the best way to determine the best ammo-to-rifle fit. If that sounds daunting, you can send your rifle to Lapua Performance to have the testing done for you for $50. Ten-shot strings are recorded at 50 and 100 meters—right down to the best-performing lot number—and the data is e-mailed directly to you.
Dave Sweet spots and calls holds for his son, Mikey. ELR Rimfire is truly a discipline for any shooter.
In Lapua’s case, Center-X, Midas+ and X-Act all comprise the same case, primer, powder and bullet. What box those rounds end up packaged in is determined by how that lot tests off the production line: The most consistent, lowest-SD lots become X-Act. But, thanks to the weird science of rimfire, some rifles might shoot Center-X better than X-Act. Sending a rifle to get tested will identify this and could save you a bundle of time and money down the road.
You Can’t Hit What You Can’t Dope
Rifle and ammunition figured out, how do you get enough mils or MOA into your rig to connect at 300- to 1,000-plus yards? As with long-range centerfire shooting, the optics platform starts with a canted Picatinny rail.
Most 30mm scopes have around 18 mils of total elevation adjustment, whereas 34mm tubes hover around 30 mils. But, if the scope is zeroed at the center of its elevation adjustment, you’ll only have half that total figure in come-ups—9 and 15 mils, respectively. To bottom out the scope so the zero is at the low range of adjustment, it takes a canted rail—typically, between a 30 and 60 MOA rail with 30mm and 34mm optics.
The distance at which you zero the rifle also matters. If you plan to shoot NRL22 events with your ELR setup, a 50-yard zero is smart, because it’ll allow you to hold dead-nuts from 10 yards to 55 or 60 yards and spin up for anything farther (with a 34mm Athlon Ares ETR, I’ve been able to get a 50-yard zero with 35 MOA of cant in my rail and rings). However, if it’s a dedicated ELR rifle, a 100-yard zero makes more sense and lets you get more distance from your setup.
With a 34mm scope (such as the new and very excellent Strike Eagle from Vortex), 60 MOA of cant is the way to go for a dedicated ELR build. Nightforce makes one, as does Sphur, with a one-piece base-and-rings system. Burris Extreme Tactical Rings, which come with plastic MOA shims, are another way to add even more cant. With 10 mils in the reticle, plus some additional holdover, these platforms will make optics packages capable of the roughly 42 mils required to connect with a .22 LR at 600 yards. With lots of cant, a good 34mm scope and using all of the reticle, 600 yards is about the limit to which most .22 LR rigs can be pushed without specialized equipment.
To get enough dope to connect after 600 yards requires a unique device—the Charlie TARAC from tacomHQ. A little black box that connects to the scope’s objective lens or forward of the scope via a Pic rail, the Charlie optically adds elevation up to an additional 250 mils. This device works very much like a periscope—using mirrors to shift the point of aim higher, reflecting light, so the target image stays bright and optically centered in the scope. It’s what Stewart used to make his 1,000-yard .22 LR shot and what the likes of Paul Phillips and company use at centerfire King of 2 Mile events to send .416 Barret rounds well past 3,500 yards.
A Charlie TARAC and 1,000-yard hits with a .22 LR comprise a rarified pursuit of extreme ELR enthusiasts, but what they’re learning is actively informing rifle, ammo and optic designs. For the rest of us mortals, a difficult, but very possible, ELR .22 LR shot is something closer to 500 yards.
All Together Now
To test this all out, I took two rifles to buddy Dave Sweet’s 500-yard range at Spray & Pray Coatings in western New York. Sweet shoots a Vudoo and had just mounted a new Vortex Strike Eagle. I brought a Vudoo with an 18-inch ACE barrel in a JP APAC chassis, 20 MOA rail, Athlon Conus BTR scope, a RimX with a 16-inch PROOF barrel, 30 MOA rail and Strike Eagle scope in a Grayboe Ridgeback. Both rifles had Timney HIT triggers set around 1 pound. We had previous dope on all the rifles to 200 yards; and, very quickly—within fewer than five shots—all the guns rang steel at 326 yards shooting Lapua Center-X.
We jumped back to 500 yards as the wind picked up. The contour of our hilltop range made for a 90-degree wind at 5 mph, gusting to about 10 or 12. However, at the target pit through a hedgerow in the field, the wind switched to head-on, with gusts spinning around between 180 and 270 degrees. After 20 rounds of grossly overcorrecting for wind, I held 1 mil, and Sweet spotted the impact in the bank just over the top of the plate. My elevation was off a good bit, too.
With centerfire rifles, it’s possible to true your ballistic software by tweaking the muzzle velocity or the BC. With rimfire, this often doesn’t work.
A.J. Stewart’s 1,000-yard .22 LR rig: a Vudoo V-22 action, 22-inch MTU contoured ACE barrel, Cadex Defense chassis, Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56mm scope with a rail-mounted Charlie TARAC and GSL suppressor. Note: His first 1,000-yard hits were made with a much-less-expensive Athlon Ares ETR optic.
Stewart recommended a BC of .132 for all Lapua ammunition, which I used. It put me at 29 mils for the 503 yards we were shooting.
Kestrel recommends using the DropCal function to calculate ELR rimfire shots; that is, input real-world dope at various distances and let the Applied Ballistics software compute farther-out targets based on those known variables. I did this with my 100-, 200- and 326-yard data and arrived at the “magic number” for this Vudoo/Center-X combination at 503 yards: 27 mils. I spun 20 mils up and held 7 with the reticle, with 1 mil for wind.
Ding!
We heard the shot connect, loud and clear. Then, another. Ding! Ding! Ding! We started at 9:30 in the morning. By lunchtime, all the rifles were printing groups on steel, even in the crazy wind. Sweet’s 10-year-old son Mikey was soon making reliable hits at 500 too.
I texted Stewart, who’s provided me with lots of ideas and advice along the way.
“Nice!” he wrote back. “So, when you gonna try at 1,000?”
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2020 Long-Range Shooting issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Pistol marksmanship is built from the ground up. Get on target by learning the basics of the proper shooting stance.
Much like a boxer wouldn’t throw a punch standing straight up, you shouldn’t pull the trigger locked linearly above your feet. Proper shooting stance—what some might call a “fighting stance”—is foundational to controlling your handgun, quickly acquiring your target and moving to another if the situation calls for it.
Instructor with 1-Minute Out and former Special Mission Unit Sargent Major Jamey Caldwell covers the basics of getting in position to deftly wield your pistol. Much like athletics, the key points involve getting your legs under you and your weight somewhat forward. This puts you in a position to “receive the blow” from recoil, mitigating it and quacking the pace to the next shot. As Caldwell points out, this is primarily achieved by putting flex at the knee and breaking at the waist.
Additionally, the position puts you at the ready to pivot. With weight above the balls of your feet, pivoting becomes more intuitive, without losing balance or control over your firearm.
Now, how Caldwell’s shooting stance isn’t a hard and fast model. Every shooter is different, from height, weight and skill level, thus each person must tinker around to find the perfect stance. However, what the instructor provides are foundational concepts that figure into every shooting stance, thus provides a good base to work from.
Spend time even before getting to the range working on your shooting stance, finding a natural position, facilitates rapid movement and puts your body weight behind your handgun. You’ll find it will go a long way in improving your recoil management and shot-to-shot accuracy.
For more videos from Panteao Productions, please visit panteao.com.
Look no further for a PCC Build. The Aero EPC-9 makes it nearly one-stop for all your components.
Swelling like a cresting wave, the pistol caliber carbine market has grown immensely over the past couple of years. Parts to cobble one together, not quite so much. Yeah, they're out there, but given the niche is defined by idiosyncratic designs AR-parts makers have played coy with the niche. Until now.
Giving PCC builds an enormous boost, AR parts powerhouse Aero Precision recently unleashed the EPC-9 (Enhanced Pistol Caliber). Though it might sound like a complete gun, it’s not. Instead its components system from barrel to buttstock allowing builders to tinker their perfect PCC from the ground up. And, boy howdy, does Aero ever give shooters options.
At present, the company is in its initial phase of the launch, unsurprisingly focused on the most popular chambering of pistol caliber carbines—the 9mm. Technically, the EPC-9 lower is compatible with .40 S&W, but all the other components—BCG, barrels, and complete uppers are all designed for Parabellum. However, Aero gives shooters plenty of reasons to keep tabs in the future with a “Coming Soon” .45 ACP/10mm lower displayed on its website. It’s a sure bet the manufacturer plans to release a full spectrum of support components for the other calibers as time wears on.
On tap right now for 9mm EPC-9, 5.5-, 8.3-, 11- and 16-inch barrels, complete uppers with the same barrel lengths, Atlas handguards and internals. As to some of the EPC's finer points, it features the very desirable bolt hold open and Glock-magazine compatibility. As expected, it utilizes a straight-blowback operating system, which is standard for PCCs. Additionally, Aero has added some nice touches, such as an upper tension screw to eliminate any rattle between upper and lower, flared magazine well and an integrated trigger guard.
As to price, it all comes down to what you buy from Aero, but the EPC-9 receiver set has an MSRP of $269.99.
Do you know when you have gone too far hot-rodding your reloads? Here are some of the telltale signs you're pushing your luck with cartridge pressure.
What Are Excessive Cartridge Pressure Signs?:
Difficult Case Extraction
Flattened Primer
Raised Crater Where The Firing Pin Strikes The Primer
Shiny Spot On The Case Head
This article is an excerpt from The ABCs of Reloading, 10th Edition by Phil Massaro, on sale at GunDigestStore.com.
What are the pressure signs you need to recognize? How do you know when your load is too hot and you need to back it down?
Several signs can be seen or felt on the fired cartridge. The first indicator is a difficult case extraction. Whether it’s a revolver that requires additional effort to get the cases from the cylinder or a bolt-action rifle with a bolt that is difficult to lift, an overly expanded case is a telltale sign. A semi-automatic firearm may fail to cycle the action or extract the cartridge at all, or a lever-action may lock up completely. No matter the gun, if a cartridge is stuck in the chamber or is challenging to extract, that should be the first sign of trouble.
The spent primer can tell you much about what’s going on inside the cartridge. Become familiar with how a primer looks when newly installed, properly seated, and fired at normal pressures. It should have a clean mark from the firing pin. The edges of the spent primer, where it contacts the edge of the case’s primer pocket, should have the same curved appearance when you installed it. If the primer seems to have a sharp, square edge along the primer pocket, or it seems distorted in any way, that is an immediate sign of high pressure. (Many reloaders refer to this as a ‘flattened primer.’) Also, look at the firing pin mark: if the dimple made by the pin has a raised crater on its edges, this is an example of the pressure blowing the metal in the primer backward and around the firing pin. It’s highly indicative of excessive pressure.
These 6.5 Creedmoor cases show shiny extractor marks, flattened primers, and cratered firing pin marks — all are indicative of excess pressure.
If you see a bright, shiny spot on the case head where the extractor sits, this is another sign that the pressure is too high for the cartridge/rifle combination. I’ve also seen excessive pressure blow the primer entirely out of the case and have found the cup and anvil of the primer down in the rifle’s magazine.
However, lest you should fear the handloaded cartridge, I have seen all of these symptoms in factory ammunition and on more than one occasion. Some shooters like to stuff +P ammunition in older revolvers, and the result can be a cracked cylinder, rendering an otherwise perfectly good handgun useless. I’ve also seen people push a classic, century-old lever-action rifle to the brink with the faster, modern ammunition such as Hornady’s LEVERevolution. Both the +P handgun ammo and Hornady’s great lever gun cartridges have their place, so long as you understand the pressures they generate and use them in the appropriate firearms.
You’ll need to recognize the pressure and velocity limits of the cartridge you’re loading. My first bolt-action big game rifle was a Ruger Model 77 MKII chambered in .308 Winchester and was a Christmas gift from my Dad, Ol’ Grumpy Pants. He shoots .308 Winchester, so we started handloading for the pair of rifles and had success. It was quite a good feeling to take deer with the ammunition we’d created together, and that rifle and cartridge were responsible for my journey into reloading.
The IMR Enduron line was engineered to minimize temperature change’s effects on the powder’s performance.
I began experimenting with all sorts of loads for that rifle. Some were middle-of-the-road recipes that the .308 likes and others pushed the limits, as I was essentially trying to beat .30-06 velocities from the much smaller case. With my cartridges demonstrating all of the symptoms I described above, Grumpy Pants gave me that look of parental disappointment, and I knew I’d be hearing about it. “Why don’t you use that rifle for what it was designed for and just go deer hunting? If you want a .300 Magnum, go buy one, but stop torturing that rifle.” He was right.
There was no point in generating those high pressures in that rifle, and once I came back to the realm of sanity, the groups went back to the sub-MOA size they had been, primers and cases appeared as they should, and I still enjoy that rifle to this day. The point is that even though you can control the parameters of your ammo, wringing every last bit of velocity out of the cartridge at the cost of high pressures is a poor tradeoff.
Modeled after the Glock 19, the Lone Wolf LTD brings some welcome upgrades to the table.
If you know Glocks, chances are you’re familiar with Lone Wolf Distributors. You know, the aftermarket parts company—a good ones at that. If it hadn’t hit your radar, Lone Wolf has branched out from barrel upgrades and custom slides for the polymer wonders. Now the Idaho concern is a full-fledged gunmaker.
It all started in late 2020 with the novice-shooter angled Guardian Pistol that came bundled with training classes. Now the manufacturer has turned to something for the bit more seasoned armed citizen. Meet the Lone Wolf Lightweight Tactical Defensive (LTD).
The company hasn’t strayed too far from its knowledge base, given the polymer-framed 9mm is most certainly a Glock clone. However, the Lone Wolf LTD isn’t a 1-to-1 Glock knockoff with a few shined up parts here and there by any stretch of the imagination. The company poured its upgrade know-how into making a fairly striking and unique pistol in its own right, one positively fit for everyday carry.
Living up to its name, the Lone Wolf LTD comes in at a featherweight 19 ounces without a magazine, extremely light for a 4-inch barreled pistol. Side by side to its Glock inspiration—the G19—it’s an entire 11-ounces lighter, making a much more manageable gun to carry for long stretches. A quick scan of the gun and it's simple to decern how Long Wolf achieved the weight savings, with the LTD boasting extensive cuts on the sides of the slide. In addition to removing heft, Lone Wolf touts the machining also helps reduce felt recoil, given there’s less mass thrusting reward. But the reduced weight of the pistol likely makes up for that.
The slide has been further enhanced with ample cocking serrations fore and aft, making the LTD more intuitive to manipulate. Additionally, Lone Wolf rounds all edges and corners, ensuring the pistol won’t snag on the draw.
There are some more nuanced features to the Lone Wolf LTD, particularly in the frame. In particular, the tang has a more pronounced radius permitting a higher grip than possible on a Glock, not only facilitating a solid handle on the gun, but also lowering its bore axis relative to the shooter's hand and arm. Additionally, the company amply undercuts the trigger guard. Both features give the big-handed shooter more real estate to work. Then at the bottom, Lone Wolf runs a low-profile mag well—not a common sight on self-defense guns. Similar in concept to competitive pistols, this accelerates the reloading process and clears the flesh at the butt of the hand from getting pinched.
Other notables on the Lone Wolf LTD include a 6.5-pound trigger break, choice of gray or black frame, black or silver finished slide, stainless steel guide rod and Glock magazine compatibility. As for how it measures up against the origin G19 in price, the pistol holds its own with an MSRP of $699.
What's a legacy skill? Simply the foundational methods of precision shooting. Master them and you'll have a leg up in the long-range game.
In terms of training, we talk about “legacy skills” all the time. To me, legacy skills are the tools that enhance the shooter’s overall proficiency while not being dependent on gear. In other words: You’re solving your precision rifle problem without having to dip into your wallet.
It boils down to training and mindset. Do you invest in a ballistic calculator for your latest smartphone, or will a data book work?
Reticle Ranging
One example from a sniper’s standpoint is reticle ranging. Reticle ranging is a legacy skill because it’s:
Slow in a game where speed wins
Limited in its maximum effective range
Subjective in execution
Results will vary with conditions
It’s a perishable skill set
Today, the military uses tools to help when reticle ranging is necessary. Its members practice “rapid target engagements” with their system that translate directly to their reticle. It’s different from my days in the Marine Corps, but it accomplishes the same thing; it just cuts out a few steps.
Reticle ranging is subject to light, angle, target size and color. There’s a host of variables that can skew the results, so we have to practice. It’s a perishable skill that requires sustainment training. When you need it, you want it to be there, so practice is the only choice. The formulas are all over the Internet, but honestly, you use them to create a “cheat sheet.” They’re not for in the field, because they’re too slow. The idea that you can break out a calculator under stress or time is a non-starter. We adapt and practice to speed up the process.
Slings
Slings are another area we consider a legacy skill. It’s one thing to sling up a 7-pound rifle with a 3-9x scope. It’s an entirely different process to shoot an 18-pound Accuracy International with a sling under time with any kind of success. The amount of training necessary would be self-defeating: Our precision rifles have to be supported. Can it be done? Absolutely. But it’s wildly inconsistent without training.
Ask yourself this: Do I want to stand up in the middle of a field and set up a sling? For me? No. I look at things such as cover and concealment, so my first consideration is rifle support.
While re-reading an older article I wrote, I spoke passionately about carrying a tripod. Legacy skills mean I have a tool in my toolbox when all else fails; I have a plan, along with the ability to execute. My skills are up the task without outside influence. It’s not a dollar issue; it’s one of time and training.
Precision shooters need to manage a lot of information. Consider your data book your shooter’s “bible.”
Sling shooting is beneficial when practiced. But understand the time it takes to build the position and adjust the natural point of aim. I know for a fact that I can deploy a bag or tripod faster. The question becomes, What happens when I don’t have my backpack or tripod?
We shot off of packs in the Marines, because we didn’t have bipods. Slings were necessary for both general qualifying and sniping. A sling can do more than just hold the rifle on your shoulder—but, you have to train.
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Ballistic apps/solvers are all the rage. We see new owners buying apps before they even hit the range or own a rifle. Because these apps reside on our phone, many look at them as if they were games—as opposed to the military-grade tools they actually are.
We’ve lost an essential connection to our data by depending on apps. We remember more when we write things down instead of inputting it into the phone. Defaulting to a smartphone to manage all your ballistic calculations creates a “dope disconnect.”
Back in the day, we all had to memorize phone numbers; this was pretty easy, because we manually inputted them every time. Today, we tap the icon or pick a name out of a list, and the phone does the rest.
Our data books are a shooter’s “bible.” We used to have one for every rifle we owned. We were meticulous about monitoring everything— from round count to range details. In fact, I have a retired data book with more information from places such as Gunsite that are still valid today. None of them can be found in any of my apps. It’s more than dope: The targets are plotted out and have yet to be moved.
Data books are crucial for analysis, damage control and barrel conditioning. It’s beyond just serving as a dope book. Fill your data book with any number of true statements, and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish. I love the variety of pages we have (thanks to people such as Tony at Impact Data Books!). To this day, I still use a data book—despite owning every, single ballistic app on the market. In fact, I’d break out a data book before I’d open my phone on the firing line.
Positional Shooting
There’s a long list of legacy skills out there; some of them are discipline-specific.
Modern conveniences and old-school methodology can work hand-in-hand. The author uses a Kestrel on the firing line, but he’s also manually recording the data.
One area that’s easy and combines multiple legacy skills is positional shooting. Today, we try to support the rifle off props. Practicing positions with a sling accomplish two things: You learn to manage the fundamentals from alternate positions, and you can work slings and body positions to stabilize the shots.
Working positions is only limited by time. You don’t need a barricade or a tank trap. You can do it in an empty field. Follow the crawl. Walk and then run the model, making sure your execution is perfect. Take the time to analyze and fine-tune each step of the process. It’s not so much when you’re sitting slung up; it’s more about getting into and out of the position quickly and effectively.
For instance, in a NASCAR race, the problem isn’t the straightaway—it’s the turns (where do you enter each turn, and where do you get back on the gas?).
It’s about being a well-rounded marksman. We have plenty of shortcuts in our lives. Look at your shooting as if it were a martial art and master the craft before turning to the tips and tricks. Those will come later.
I want to “own” everything in front of me out to 600 meters, 800 meters, 1,000 yards! Whatever the case, practice makes perfect.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Its first foray into 3-dot sights, the new XS R3D Sights design is well-thought-out and easy to see in any light.
For the past 20 years or so, almost every one of my defensive handguns has had its sights replaced with XS Sights. As far as XS Sights are concerned, R3D presumably stands for “Radio Active 3 Dot.” The R3D sights are the first 3-dot sights the company has offered.
I’ve never been a huge fan of 3-dot sights. The front sight is the one that deserves your focus; and, with many 3-dot sight systems, all three dots are the same size. This could—at least theoretically—lead to confusion.
Currently, XS is offering its R3D sights for a variety of Glock, Sig Sauer, Springfield, FN and Smith & Wesson handguns.
To test these new sights, I installed them on my son’s Gen-4 Glock 19, which was already wearing a set of Trijicon HD XR night sights. But, before making the switch, he and I both fired several practical drills so we’d have a baseline of performance for comparison with the new XS Sights.
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After a good bit of range time, I don’t think “dot confusion” is a realistic concern with the R3D sights. This is partly because the front R3D sight has the common tritium vial but is surrounded by a large circle of photoluminescent material. It’s extremely visible; you’d have to be blind not to see it. It very effectively serves its purpose of attracting your eye to it as soon as the handgun enters your field of vision. It’s also partly because the two dots on the rear sight are very small. During all daylight and moderately low-light shooting, I never noticed the rear dots. The only time they got any attention was when it was nearly dark, and then, they were more of a confirmation of the rear sight than an actual tool to help me put a sight picture together.
Another aspect of these sights we both really liked was that the rear notch is 15 percent wider than the front sight. This allows for enough light on both sides of the front sight to make sight alignment fast. Due to presbyopia, I (ideally) need to wear prescription shooting glasses for the best accuracy with a handgun. This notch and front sight size relationship allowed me to shoot well, even without the aid of corrective lenses.
Comparison Testing
How did the XS R3D sights compare to the Trijicon HD XR sights?
The goal of the exercise was not to discover which sight was best; it was only to see if the new XS Sights could perform as well (I don’t know how many shooters and how many rounds would have to be fired in order to make a definitive claim that one sight is better than the other). Based on the drills we fired, both sights performed about the same. I shot infinitesimally better with the XS Sights, and my son’s performance was practically identical with either sight.
We both did agree we liked the smaller rear dots on the R3D sights. In addition, the R3D rear sight has a slight overhang that, combined with the anti-reflective lens vials on the two rear dots, reduces the glare on the face of the rear sight in brightly lit conditions. There’s also some science at work with the front sight: It’s what XS calls “Ember Glow Technology.”
The tritium vial or lamp in the front sights charges the colored dot that surrounds it. This makes the front sight much brighter than the rear and helps direct your focus on the front sight—where it needs to be.
XS R3D Options
The R3D sights from XS are available with a green or orange front sight and retail for $109.99. Currently, XS is offering its R3D sights for a variety of Glock, Sig Sauer, Springfield, FN and Smith & Wesson handguns. They come with a punch and LocTite for self-installation, but I’d suggest you get a gunsmith to do this for you. Also, in addition to XS’s no-questions-asked warranty and world-class customer service, if a customer tries one the R3D night sights and is not completely satisfied, XS will swap them out for a different model or, if the sight is purchased directly from the company or participating partners, it’ll even offer a refund.
Lights out at long range, the .224 Valkyrie might leave some wanting at more pedestrian distances.
When it comes to long-range shooting, what cartridge do you turn to? For the everyman, maybe the 6.5 Creedmoor. For the competitor, perhaps 6mm Dasher. For the independently wealthy, possibly the .375 CheyTac. For the AR-15 owner … that’s where things get interesting.
For many years, owners of America’s favorite rifle were stuck when it came to reaching out with the eminently flexible firearm. That’s surprising given that for more than a half-century the AR-15 has been nearly all things to all shooters. But it took the better part of the rifle’s rise for a dedicated cartridge meant to put copper-jacketed lead on target at the horizon to come about. Of course, here we’re alluding to the new(ish) .224 Valkyrie.
The .224 Valkyrie has earned its place in the pantheon of AR-15 cartridges.
While the cartridge has yet to achieve the notoriety of some of its AR-15 cohorts—5.56 NATO and 300 Blackout especially. The ballistically talented .22-caliber has still carved out a solid and respectable niche in the world of semi-auto rifles. When it comes to downrange performance, without having to jump up to the AR-10, there are few other cartridges that hold a candle to the .224 Valkyrie. That said, it’s not for everybody.
Valkyrie Takes Flight
Wait a tick … what do you mean the cartridge isn’t for every shooter? Don’t take it the wrong way. If you can’t live without a .224 Valkyrie in your arsenal, don’t let anything hold you back—especially digital ink. However, if you’re wary about how and what you lay your hard-earned cash down on, then you might need to consider a few things about the cartridge.
A good place to start, as always, is the beginning.
Federal Ammunition introduced the .224 Valkyrie in 2018 with great fanfare and a bold promise: supersonic performance out to 1,300 yards. They weren’t the first to soup up the good old .224 caliber—the year previous to the Valkyrie hitting the scene Nosler unveiled its blistering hot Nosler 22. But how Federal aimed to reach its goals varied substantially from its competitor. Whereas the Nosler 22 achieves its goals through pure brute force—larger case capacity—the .224 Valkyrie is more nuanced. The case capacity offers a modest improvement over the tried-and-true 5.56/.223, but the secret sauce is bullet weight. A ceiling around 90-grains, the .224 Valkyrie offered up longer and sleeker bullets, with those high-value ballistic coefficients (BC) that buck air resistance and wind drift. Again, nothing new.
Given the .224 Valkyrie's parent case is the 6.8 SPC, it does require a bolt upgrade to function in an AR.
Daring handloaders have upped their projectile’s weight for years, but in the case of the .223 Remington and the AR-15 it typically came at a cost. In particular, maximizing a power charge generally meant incompatibility with standard AR magazines, due to increased case overall length. Conversely, if the bullet was seated deeper in the case powder was displaced, resulting in less velocity. Not exactly what shooters signed up for with the platform.
Federal had an elegant solution, keeping specs in line with the rifle, without compromising capacity. Enter the 6.8 SPC. The child of the old, rimless .30-30 (the .30 Remington) had already shown a smooth operator out of the AR-15, requiring minimal modification from the mil-spec formula. Federal just continued to neck the case down to hold a .224-diameter bullet to produce a cartridge that functioned in the platform and sent its rounds way downrange.
Even better, the cartridge required little muddling with the AR itself to make the jump. A bolt upgrade to handle the .224 Valkyrie's .422-inch case head and a new set of mags specific to the rotund cartridge were in order. Other than that it was off to the races.
SAAMI chamber diagram of the .224 Valkyrie.
For their efforts to embrace the new long flier how were shooters repaid? From Federal’s initially ballyhoo with performance that rivaled the 6.5 Creedmoor. There didn't stretch the truth about it either. From a 24-inch barrel, with a 90-grain bullet moving 2,700 fps at the muzzle, the Valkyrie easily reaches 1,300-yard supersonic making it a legitimate long-range threat. But like all things in life, to achieve those results there are tradeoffs.
If you were paying attention to the above numbers, you might have caught a little something odd. Barrel length. Whichever way you slice it, a 24-inch barrel on an AR-15 is mighty long. But to get the Valkyrie singing, plenty of bore is required. Even a small deviation has consequences. An example.
Take 24-inch barrel and 18-inch barrel rifles shooting the same .224 Valkyrie load, in this case Hornaday’s 88-grain Match round topped with its excellent ELD bullet (.545 BC G1). From the longer barrel, the bullet leaves the muzzle at around 2,675 fps and the shorter somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,555 fps. As expected, the extra 125 fps out of the 24-inch barrel shoots much flatter. With a 100-yard zero, the two are nearly neck and neck at 500-yards, but by 1,000 yards the 24-inch barreled rifle drops somewhere around 60-inches less than its compatriot. Additionally, the 18-inch barrel goes sub-sonic at 1,200 yards, while the 24-inch barrel nearly makes it to 1,300 yards.
Trajectory comparison at 1,500 yards of the .224 Valkyrie shot from 24- and 18-inch barreled rifles.
To be sure, there is some hair-splitting in this comparison. Nevertheless, for those who take weight and wieldiness of a rifle into account, it’s worth keeping in mind. Plus, there’s a little matter of where the .224 Valkyrie falls out at pedestrian ranges, especially for those who might apply the cartridge to more than shooting a country mile. Let’s parse that out with another example.
Match the same Hornady load as before against the 5.56 NATO 62-grain M855 Green Tip (.305 BC G1, roughly). Here we’ll launch the 5.56 from a 16-inch carbine, which pushes the bullet out around 2,946 fps and the Valkyrie from the 24-inch barrel, with its previous performance standards. It goes without saying, the .224 Valkyrie outperforms at long-range, expected given the lighter 5.56 goes sub-sonic at 800 yards. Before then, we observe something interesting. The 5.56 has a marginally flatter trajectory than its heavier compatriot at intermediate ranges. It’s only surpassed by the Valkyrie beyond the 400-yard mark and tracks the heavier bullet’s trajectory closely until 500 yards. Salient, especially since the 5.56 accomplishes this feat from a rifle boasting a barrel 8-inches shorter and presumably much lighter than the Valkyrie gun.
Trajectory comparison of the 5.56 and .224 Valkyrie at 500 yards.
For dedicated long-range shooters, the concern about barrel length probably falls on deaf ears. For many, large rifles are not an issue and, given the extra weight, are perhaps desirable in ensuring accurate follow-up shots on the quick. But for a hunter who has to shimmy up to a tree during deer season or hump more than a mile to a coyote stand—both of which won’t likely take a shot over 400 yards—the extra burden becomes questionable.
Who’s It For?
Federal cooked up the .224 Valkyrie as a long-range option fit to compete against some of the most popular precision cartridges on the market. All in all, the cartridge hits this nail on the head. The AR-15 shooter looking to compete in the Precision Rifle Series gas-gun section or reach out to the rifle’s limits would do well investing in a complete build or an upper.
To learn your limits you have to stretch things out. For example when it comes to long distance shooting you won’t know what you can do unless you reach your limit. This lets you know what you can do, which creates confidence, and with time your skills improve too.
More practical-minded shooters might have to give the cartridge more thought. The .224 Valkyrie is a lights-out hunter and more than capable of owning middle ranges. But shooters must realize the cartridge mirrors more common AR-15 cartridges in those roles—at least in respect to trajectory—and does so from a much larger rifle. All in all, expect most .224 Valkyrie rifles and uppers to boast 18-plus-inch barrels—the majority greater than 20 inches.
There's also a little matter of ammunition costs. Certainly, 2021 (when this article was written) has seen inflated ammunition costs, no matter the cartridge. In saner times, however, the 5.56 can be shot for penny's on the dollar, while the .224 Valkyrie will command more than $1 per trigger pull with anything but the lightest range ammo.
Parting Shot
The .224 Valkyrie rounded out the AR-15, legitimately getting it on par with other popular long-range platforms. But like everything pertaining to guns (and life) getting the most out of the specialist required tradeoffs—some of them not in line with every shooter. Similar to any other gun or cartridge conversation, only you can evaluate if those tradeoffs make sense.
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