Nikon is jumping into the AR market with both feet. The new M-223 scope line offers classic Nikon quality, built into scopes (six models in all) specifically designed for the trajectory of the .223 Rem/5.56 NATO round with a 55-grain polymer-tipped bullet, the new BDC 600 reticle offers shooters unique open-circle aiming points and hash marks from 100 to 600 yards.
But the really cool thing is the matching scope mount. The M-223 mount is a lightweight, aluminum mount that clamps to a flattop receiver and is custom engineered to provide optimum height and eye relief for the Nikon M-223 series of scopes. Of course it can also be used with a variety of other optics with 1-inch O.D. tubes.
Nice features include a cantilever that extends 2 inches forward of the receiver to accommodate long eye relief scopes and three steel crossbolts on the full-length clamping bar to secure the mount to any MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny receiver rail. The mount also has built-in 20 MOA elevation to aid in accurate, long-range shooting past 600 yards without exceeding your scope’s elevation adjustment.
This looks like the perfect package for AR shooters who love to run scopes.
Choose Your Tactical Gear Wisely
Gun Digest Book of the Tactical Rifle
Retail: $26.99 Your price: $18.53 You save: $8.46 (31%)
In Gun Digest® Book of the Tactical Rifle, expert Patrick Sweeney today’s hottest tactical rifles through their paces. It’s a fun and fact-filled exploration of high-volume shooting at its finest.
From AKs to M14s, from AUGs to SCARS, Pat gives practical, real-world advice on tactical rifles from around the world. It’s a great go-to book for shooters, collectors and hobbyists in fact, for anyone with an interest in tactical rifles and their uses.
It pays to try before you buy! So let Pat Sweeney try them out for you in Gun Digest® Book of the Tactical Rifle!
Here is a look at both the front and back of the new Bianchi Suppression.
You know that toting a concealed carry handgun, especially one in a concealed carry holster that rides close to your body, in the heat of the summer can become a sweaty proposition.
The new Model 135 Suppression holster from Bianchi features an inside-the-waistband design that is all about concealibility and comfort.
Concealibility is obtained by the holster sitting low enough that the thickest part of the weapon lies directly underneath the belt, helping to obscure its shape.
Meanwhile, two shirt-tuckable C-clips grasp the belt and, taking as little real estate as possible, give the appearance of an empty belt. The gun cant is optimized to put the grip into the kidney area of the back, minimizing any visible printing. Comfort is enhanced with a body-facing holster liner composed of soft foam covered with an anti-microbial mesh coating to reduce bacteria growth and odor.
The 135 Suppression is part of the new Allusion line of holsters from Bianchi. All of them are designed to fit 1.5 inch belts and are available inn full-grain leather, plain finish, tan or black.
And the Suppression sells for about $75. For that money you get a good looking, properly fitted holster that will stand up to tons of abuse AND won't get all stinky during the summer months. Who could ask for more?
The Glock NY-1 trigger increases trigger pull to around 5.5 pounds when used with the 3.5# connector. Despite the heavier pull, accuracy was still excellent at 7 paces.
This $2 dollar upgrade to a Glock New York Trigger can improve safety with no discernible change in accuracy. It's an upgrade many law enforcement agencies have adopted, and you can too.
You might be a New Yorker if … your dog whizzes on the Johnny Pump and your deli man calls you “Boss.”
Actually, aside from these well-worn colloquialisms, The Big Apple has produced two things I genuinely do like: New York Vanilla … and the New York-1 (NY-1) Glock trigger.
A stock Glock comes from the factory with a 5-pound trigger pull. And being a rifle guy, I tend to think about accuracy in terms of lighter trigger weights. That’s correct for precision rifle doctrine, but heresy for combat handgunning.
Massad Ayoob, in the Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry, advocates the New York trigger for the Glock. It increases the trigger pull from 5 to 8 pounds. In fact, the New York-2 (NY-2) trigger gives you an even heftier 11-pound pull. The part costs about $2 and installs in minutes.
Just for the record, if I had my way, Glock parts would be for sale at the local convenience store, right next to the fresh doughnuts, warm burritos … hot dog roller and Nightcrawlers. But for the time being you can pick them up from Brownell's and Midway USA.
Note that if you use the 3.5# connector — and hone that connector to smooth out surface inconsistencies — you can get the trigger pull back down to around 5.5 pounds. This is the route I went.
Ayoob gives two reasons to install the heavier New York trigger in your Glock: One is to lessen the chance of an accidental discharge under stress; the other is to demonstrate to a jury or prosecutor following a defensive gun use that yours is not a gun with a “hair trigger.” The idea is, don’t give an anti-gun prosecutor the “frail hook on which to hang the flimsy case.”
The Glock New York trigger costs just $2 and installs in just minutes. It increases trigger pull weight and changes the pull force orientation to give a double action revolver feel.
“Accidental discharges, sometimes with tragic and fatal results, have been clearly and convincingly related to very light trigger pulls over the years by countless police departments,” writes Ayoob. “NYPD now mandates a nearly twelve-pound (NY-2 or ‘New York Plus’) trigger module in all Glock pistols carried by members of their service.”
For the same reasons the New York State Police use the NY-1, yielding a 7.75-8 pound pull, he notes.
Yet, while my Gen3 Glock 22 is a real tack-driver with a light trigger, I fretted night and day over whether I could hit the broad side of a barn with the NY-1 on board. Could I?
Think of Your Glock as a Revolver
One thing the New York trigger group gives you, in addition to a heavier pull, is a double action revolver feel. It transfers the resistance into a vertical orientation as opposed to a horizontal one. For this reason it’s often installed to help revolver shooters transition to the Glock. To me, it feels like my Smith & Wesson Model 629, with a long “roll through” — almost as if a cylinder is rotating.
“Anyone who tells you it’s impossible to shoot well with these guns, doesn’t know how to shoot,” Ayoob states. “I’ve won IDPA matches with Glock and XD pistols in the above pull weights, and for three years running won the NH Police Association annual state shoot with a Glock 22 that had a New York trigger, shooting against some who had put 3.5 pound pulls in their guns before the match.”
Should you install a New York trigger in your Glock?
While initially apprehensive, today’s range session made a believer out of me. It took about 7 shots to get used to the new trigger feel. After that we were chuggin’ right along. And the gun was just as fast and just as accurate as the old, ultra-light trigger.
My conclusion? No more hair trigger for me. By focusing on the fundamentals of good defensive pistol shooting technique (solid stance, high grip, crush grip, sight picture and trigger pull) one can be just as accurate with a stout trigger as with a light one.
Besides firearms auctions that cater to private gun collectors and vintage gun aficionados, there are other firearms auctions happening regularly around the country. They are sponsored by sportsmen conservation groups and guns are sometimes auctioned off as a fund raising tool. There is a new twist on that and it's the concept of the “benefit gun.” In an article in the La Crosse Tribune, reporter Chris Hubbach tells the story of a a bolt-action Remington 721 that has raised $40,00. It works like this: get the winning bid on the gun and then later donate back to another auction when someone is in need. Since 2005, the gun has been auctioned numerous times, twelve plaques accompany the gun and the temporary owners record their history of acquiring the rifle. It's a positive story about firearms and this auction fund raising model could be used to support any good cause. Read the complete story here.
The 721 was introduced in 1948 and discontinued in 1962 with approximately 118,000 manufactured. It was offered in the following calibers: .264, .270, .280, .30-06 and 300 H&H. According to the Standard Catalog of Firearms, the 721 is valued at $450 for one in excellent condition and $125 for one in poor condition.
Merle (Mike) Walker, the designer of the Remington 721
In the 1982 edition of the Gun Digest annual, author Stuart Otteson reviews the pros and cons of the gun in “Remington's 721–722: THE STORY OF A SUCCESS.”
It seems like the gun was a hit in its day and was the forerunner to the great Model 700:
“An opportune juxtaposition of a good rifle, low retail price, and booming post-war demand for high power hunting rifles brought an acceptance and sales volume that took even Remington by surprise. Favorable articles and evaluations began pouring in so fast that the Marketing Department compiled a 23-page booklet entitled “What The Experts Say About the New Remington Models 721 & 722 Big Game Rifles.” It contained twenty write-ups, which appeared in print during the first four months of 1948, ranging all the way from a brief announcement in the New York Times, to an exhaustive dual evaluation in The American Rifleman by the esteemed team of Julian Hatcher and Al Barr.”
“The first full year's production (1949) was approximately 42,000 rifles, and that was more a manufacturing limitation than anything else, because for the first couple years the factory was working day and night and Remington was selling everything they could ship from Ilion. Sales in 1950 topped 50,000.
But the rifle's engineering virtues could sustain this level of sales only so long. Very plain and unexciting lines limited its ultimate sales potential.
While it certainly wasn't ugly, neither could anyone ever accuse it of winning any beauty contests against the Model 70, or even the many custom-built Mausers, Springfields, and Enfields, for that matter. In 1951 sales began to cool off, thereafter settling down into the 30,000 range, although there were one or two more 50,000-rifle years.
In 1962 the Remington Model 700 came into being, superseding the 721 and 722. At the same time sales began to take off, climbing back into the 50,000 to 60,000 category in the first year of production. They have been on the rise ever since, eventually surpassing 100,000 per year and making the Model 700 (which is really still just a prettied up 721/722) easily the best bolt-action seller in the world, today pursued seriously only by Ruger's Model 77.”
Among svelte .22 rimfire rifles is Browning’s T-Bolt, here in .22 WMR. A 40-grain bullet at 2,000 fps.
Gun Digest contributor Wayne van Zwoll explains why the .22 rifle deserves its place in gun history.
Far from the most powerful, the .22 Long Rifle is arguably the most useful cartridge of all time.
It dates to 1857, when Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson came up with a rimfire round while working on a lever-action rifle. That primitive Volcanic rifle would evolve into the Henry, the foundation of Winchester’s 19th century dynasty.
Meanwhile, Smith and Wesson would turn to another firearms venture. Their rimfire cartridge endured 30 years of development. Its progeny, the .22 Long Rifle, arrived in 1887, courtesy the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company. A black-powder cartridge with 5 grains driving a 40-grain bullet, it evolved later to take smokeless powder in a case with a crimp clutching the heeled bullet.
Wayne fired this 10-shot 100-yard knot in competition with a Remington 37, Ely .22 LR Match ammo.
Remington claimed the first modern high-speed load in l930. Current .22 ammo includes friskier offerings, but they’re all sinfully pleasant to shoot. Feeding a .22 costs so much less than stoking a centerfire; you can almost keep Junior in college with the difference.
My love affair with .22 started on a fence rail, where I shot barn rats with a Remington 121 and .22 Shorts. Squinting into that J4 Weaver was like looking through dishwater.
I trained with iron sights on a Remington 40X .22 match rifle, then sold my soul for an Anschutz 1413 to join a University smallbore team. Eley Match ammunition nipped one hole at 50 meters. I won a state prone title, and then foolishly sold that rifle.
The scope, a Redfield 3200, sat next on a McMillan-barreled Remington 37. It snared a second state title. By the time targets got too fuzzy in iron-sight stages, hunting-weight .22s had filled a gun rack in my office.
Cooper, Kimber and Weatherby bolt guns joined the Marlin 39s, an autoloading T/C and a Remington 121 that’s as fetching as the rat rifle of my youth. A Ruger and a Savage in .22WMR, and a Cooper in .17 HMR offer more reach. The Cooper is obscenely accurate.
I should have kept the Browning BLR and Winchester 9422 that left for more responsible owners – and the 52 Winchester with 10x Fecker my wife used to thin ground squirrels near an Oregon farmstead.
I’m obliged to keep the Winchester 75 Sporter, an inheritance on Alice’s side. “It’s mine,” she says.
It’s fashionable in some circles to scoff at the .22 Long Rifle, as if it were OK for kids but not for real riflemen. Well, some real accomplished shooters have used .22s.
From left: .22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR, .17 HMR, .17 Mach 2. The popular .22 Long Rifle dates to 1887.
Phoebe Ann Moses was one. Born in a log cabin in Darke County, Ohio, she showed early talent with rifles when she started killing quail on the wing with a .22.
At a local turkey shoot she beat not just the local boys, but visiting sharpshooter Frank Butler. She was 15. Frank married her within the year.
She joined his traveling show under the stage name Annie Oakley, shooting tossed glass balls. Petite at 100 pounds, Annie had the endurance to hit 943 of 1,000. She’d cut one ragged hole in a playing card with 25 shots from a .22 rifle – in 25 seconds.
Rimfire drills help you hit with deer rifles. Here Wayne pesters sodpoodles with Browning’s BL-22.
Once she shot a cigarette from the lips of a German crown prince. After he became Kaiser Wilhelm II and Europe entered the Great War, Annie allowed that with a flinch she might have altered world history.
Not long thereafter, a lanky Texan named Ad Topperwein began entertaining. He left audiences agape by shooting aerial targets as small as a steel washer. When the washer showed no reaction to a shot, Ad would turn to the crowd and deadpan that the bullet went through the hole.
Hecklers jeered – until Ad stuck a postage stamp over the washer, tossed it again and perforated the stamp with a .22 bullet. In 1894 he shattered 955 of 1,000 air-borne 2 ¼-inch disks.
Dissatisfied, he repeated, busting 987 and 989. It was said Ad could hit the bullet of a tossed .32-20 cartridge without tearing the case. In 1907 at San Antonio’s fairgrounds, he uncrated 10 Winchester 1903 self-loading .22s, tens of thousands of rounds of ammo and as many wooden blocks.
He endured 120 hours of firing before calling a halt. He’d fired at 72,500 blocks and missed nine. His longest run of hits: 14,500 straight!
The .22 Short once common at booths on the “midways” of state fairs is about gone. Winchester’s 1890 pump rifle, then a staple in shooting galleries, has become collectible. The mild BB and CB (Bullet Breech and Conical Bullet) Cap cartridges peddled as pest ammo in those days have faded away, too.
The .22 Long, with a 29-grain Short bullet in a Long Rifle case, never caught on. But the Long Rifle steams ahead, as popular as ever. The best target loads can deliver half-minute accuracy. High-velocity hunting bullets give you 90-yard point-blank range with a 75-yard zero. Bullets strike about an inch high at 50 and 3 inches low at 100.
I once shot a crow at a paced 145 yards. It must have been the bird’s day to die, as I was shooting a lightweight lever rifle with iron sights.
Kleberg County, Texas — Could you hit a moving target while perched in a hovering helicopter from several hundred yards away? That's the question some of the nation's top precision marksmen came to answer recently in the Rifles Only Bushnell Brawl, which took place April 5-7, 2012.
Held for three days at the Rifles Only range near Ricardo, the competition was action-packed and involved both rifle and pistol disciplines. Shot scenarios spanned the gamut from point-blank muzzle to 1,000 yards. “It goes way beyond High Power and takes it into the action realm,” said Chris Cerino of reality T.V. fame who was on hand to shoot the event.
The Colt LE6940P is a modular carbine featuring an articulating link piston (ALP) operating system. It offers shooters a highly accurate, lightweight and easy-to-clean AR-platform rifle with an extended lifespan.
Colt Defense has modified its one-piece monolithic upper receiver into the LE6940P — a piston operated AR. This modular carbine has an articulating link piston (ALP) operating system and offers shooters a highly accurate, lightweight and easy-to-clean AR-platform rifle with an extended lifespan.
“The new LE6940P puts to use a new, improved version of a piston system that Colt originally pioneered for the US Army,” said David Ridley, Vice President of Colt Defense LLC, “Now, any civilian shooter or law enforcement professional has the opportunity to shoot using this superior piston-operated AR.”
The advanced piston carbine (APC) is a lightweight, highly accurate alternative to the traditional direct gas impingement system found in most ARs. The LE6940P's piston system is said to reduce inherent stress in the piston stroke by allowing for deflection and thermal expansion. As a result, accuracy improves and the weapon’s lifespan is extended, says Colt.
Measuring 35 inches with the stock extended and weighing just over six and a half pounds, the LE6940P was designed to be lightweight — a handy feature sure to help reduce shooter fatigue. A one-piece monolithic upper receiver gives ease in assembling parts, disassembling and cleaning. The 5.56mm, magazine-fed carbine has a semi-automatic rate of fire with 700 to 950 rounds per minute. Chambered in .223 Rem (5.56 x 45 NATO), this rifle has an effective range distance of 600 meters.
A continuous rail from the rear of the upper receiver to the front sight provides repeatability for mounting optical systems, not found with most aftermarket rail systems. In order to enhance the shooters’ versatility in both close quarters and long range, Colt has also incorporated a back up iron sight (BUIS) and a folding front sight.
As promised, here is my take on winning a gunfight.
Use any cover you can find. Get to cover and stay there unless you need and can find better cover.
The primary goal, for you as an honest citizen carrying a concealed handgun, is to not get shot. Getting shot greatly reduces your ability to stop the threat. Yes it is true that some people can keep fighting through a hit with a pistol round. There is an old saying out there: What does a guy do after getting shot with a pistol? The same thing he was doing before he got shot with a pistol.
Use that wisdom to remind yourself to keep shooting the bad guy until the threat is neutralized… but no more. Now back to the main goal.
Focus on conflict avoidance if at all possible. I'm not telling you to run away or vacate places you have a right to be, but think about the horrific aftermath of even a justifiable shooting. If you can avoid the conflict, do so. In some cases it might be better that you move to a position of safety and become a good witness. If you can't do that, well, movement is your friend. The sequence should be clear in your head and drilled into your training regimen: Move! Draw. Engage. If the rules at your range do not let you train this way, find a new range. Too many people, and you see this all the time with officer-involved shootings, fight their way to the 7-yard line and die there. Get to cover. Do not break cover unless you are going directly to better cover. If you are responsible for the safety of others, like your children or a spouse, direct them to cover (forcefully if need be) and order them to stay behind the cover. Then fight from cover.
The reality is most gunfights don't last long enough for you to get to cover. Remember, three shots, three seconds, three yards? Well, then movement toward cover is the next best thing. Get off the line. Get out of the way. Move first! Make yourself a more difficult target in order to engage from a position of tactical advantage. If you stand still, there is much greater chance that you will have holes poked in places that don't really need holes.
So… I really only care about your concealed carry holster if you can get to it while you are moving. I really only care about your concealed carry handgun if you can draw and ACCURATELY fire while you move to cover. If you can't do so, well, wait until you get to cover to shoot because you are responsible for every round you fire.
So there you have it. As far as I'm concerned, the primary goal is to stay alive. You do that by first insuring you don't get shot.
Recommended gun books for those who carry concealed handguns:
Gun Digest is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews and practical how-to instructions. With your subscription, you’ll also learn about threats to your Second Amendment rights.
Crimson Trace will co-sponsor an unusual shooting event, July 16 to 18 of this year, a fast-paced 3-gun match shot entirely at night, near Bend, Oregon. Organizers will provide full-auto firearms, thermal imaging equipment and state of the art night vision gear to all the competitors on several of the eight challenging stages.
Many of the country's top 3-gun competitors have already signed up for the match, citing the additional challenge of competing in darkness as a big factor.
“All the top guys have years of experience running and gunning in daytime conditions, but there are very few who've competed at this kind of level at night,” said Iain Harrison, media relations manager for Crimson Trace, and 3-gunner himself. “It's going to be fascinating to see who comes out on top, and with what equipment.”
Sponsors include Nike, Leatherman, Danner, PWS, Blade-Tech and Warne, in addition to Crimson Trace. Crimson Trace will also offer a $3,000 check to the eventual winner—and will double that amount if their products are used on all three of the competitor's guns.
Retail: $24.99 Your price: $16.15 You save: $8.84 (35%)
In Combat Shooting with Massad Ayoob, author Massad Ayoob shares his perspective on the importance of competition as training, as well as the concept of “stress fire.”
This might be the distance of a rapid encounter, but this is not how you want to engage in a gunfight.
There seems to be raging debate in the concealed carry crowd about gunfights. First of all, does everyone understand that real gunfights are not like you see in the movies? Do you get the whole three rounds, three seconds, three yards dynamic? Things happen quickly. You have to move, draw your concealed carry handgun from a holster, engage, deal with police, witnesses, EMS. Let's face it there is a lot going on.
But I ask this hoping to get a response. What is the goal? Is your goal to shoot the other guy? Or is your goal to not get shot? So tell me how you win a gunfight. Do you shoot the other guy or do you make sure you don't get shot? Let's hear it.
In the world of carrying handguns, a number of phrases have evolved to describe exactly what reason or method a handgun is carried in a particular way. There is “open carry” which is simply to carry a sidearm in plain sight. There is “concealed carry” which is self-explanatory. There is “constitutional carry” where a person is not restricted by law or permit to carry a firearm. There is the concept of “home carry” where a person carries the handgun around their home at all times because they want to be ready for a possible home invasion. “Backyard carry” is another one. That is for rabid raccoons and off-leash pit bulls. Related to that is “barbecue carry” which is to open carry a very fancy looking sidearm to a social gathering like a barbecue for the sole purpose of showing it off. There is also “church carry” where a person carries a firearm in a place of worship since a violent scenario could just as well happen there. There is also “bath carry” for those that think they might be attacked while in the shower like in the movie Psycho. They keep their handgun in plastic baggies. Likewise there is “swim carry” for self-defense options at the beach against man-eating sharks or armed sand-kicking bullies. There is also “sex carry,” usually done with an ankle holster since a belt or shoulder holster could get in the way of the lovemaking gymnastics. This type of carry is smart for those that fool around with other people's spouses and want to be prepared when the scorned other half barges into the love nest with a loaded shotgun.
Adding to this lexicon is “vintage carry.” It will be first coined in print in the upcoming May 21, 2012 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine. In his Collector's Corner column, Phillip Peterson defines vintage carry as using older handguns for concealed carry. He writes, “One of my favorite vintage carry guns is the Colt Model 1903 Hammerless Pistol. Designed by firearms genius John Browning it was introduced in 1903. This single-action, semi-automatic pistol was known to Colt as a Model M .32ACPbut was marketed as the Model 1903 Hammerless. It is chambered for the .32 automatic / 7.65mm cartridge. It has a 3 ¾-inch barrel. The dimensions of the gun are 6 ¾ inches long, 4 ½ inches high and one-inch wide at the grips. It has both a grip safety and a manual safety. The magazine holds eight rounds and is marked “CAL. .32 COLT” on the base. The magazines usually have what is called a two-tone blue finish. The top section is bare white metal with the rest being blued. The gun weighs 26 ounces with a loaded magazine.”
He continues, “Colt made the Model 1903 Hammerless from 1903 to 1945. There were over 570,000 Colt 1903s made during that span.”
So the Colt that Mr. Peterson carries, depending on when it was manufactured, could be around century to over a half-century old. Imagine that. And he trusts the firearm enough to use it to defend himself in a dangerous encounter. And if it is mechanically sound, dependable and accurate, why not? I know of plenty of people that carry modern Glocks, Kimbers, Kel-Tecs, and other modern pistols but rarely have I met someone that carries what would be classified as a “vintage” handgun being used for concealed carry use.
It is an interesting concept in today's new-is-better world. And maybe the older handgun is already combat-proven. The Colt Model 1903 that Mr. Peterson writes about were given to agents of the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, and also to US military officers during and after WWII.
The vintage carry challenge: if you were to carry a pre-WWII handgun for concealed carry, what would it be?
After paging through the Standard Catalog of Handguns, the Collector's and Price and Reference Guide (763 pages), I realized that the pre-WWII requirement really knocks out many of the handguns in existence and limits of the pool of sidearms to choose from (unless you want to carry around a flintlock pistol). After some perusal, I decided on a Smith & Wesson .32 Automatic pistol. Only 957 were manufactured between 1924 and 1936. Seems like it would fit the bill.
For 2012, Nikon has expanded its precision AR optics line with the introduction of the new P-223 series. Built specifically for the .223 cartridge, the P-223 line is available in 3-9×40 and 3×32 Carbine models, each with Spot On™ optimized BDC AR-specific reticles.
Nikon has really sweetened the deal on these all-new P-223 scopes right out of the gate by also including them in its MOUNT ‘EM UP Promotion. This limited time offer earns the P-223 purchaser a new P-Series AR mount—regularly priced at $49.95—to take home at the time of sale.
Even if you have your heart set on the new P-22 AR rimfire scope or a scope from the flagship M-223, line, worry not—these scopes are also included in the promotion—which runs through April 22, 2012.
Long, heavy, sleek bullets at 2,950 fps make the .338 Lapua the choice of many long-range snipers.
Bullets travel in arcs. You knew that. Actually, they’re parabolic arcs. A bullet drops faster as it goes farther.
Well, not really. Gravity determines how fast a bullet drops, and its force doesn’t change over the course of a bullet’s flight. But the arc does get steeper at distance. Why?
Gravity's Effect on Bullet Trajectory
Consider the bullet not as a rocket but as a fragment driven by an explosion. This spinning shard exiting the muzzle at, say, 3,000 feet per second (fps) hurtles headlong into a dam of air that resists penetration. When you swim, you feel resistance. It’s more palpable when you cannonball off the high-dive or take a spill behind the ski-boat.
Target knobs calibrated to specific bullet trajectories let you “click” to known distance and hold center.
Air isn’t as thick as water, but you’ll feel it when you reach outside an automobile window. At 60 miles per hour, that car is traveling 88 fps. A bullet at 3,000 fps is moving 34 times as fast. The headwind it meets is 34 times stronger than what you feel against your hand at highway speed.
Because a bullet has no rocket, it begins to decelerate as soon as the powder’s thrust loses out to air resistance on its nose and air friction on its sides. At the same time, gravity starts hauling the bullet to earth. Clearing the muzzle, that bullet starts to drop immediately, at an accelerating rate of 32.16 feet per second.
But few bullets stay aloft for a full second. A 7mm magnum bullet started at 3,150 fps reaches a deer 250 yards off in a quarter-second; given deceleration that brings average velocity to 3,000 fps. During that quarter-second, the bullet drops three feet (not eight feet, as gravity pulls it faster and farther the last quarter-second than the first).
If your line of sight were parallel to line of bore, the bullet would strike three feet low. A slower bullet drops the same distance in the same interval. It just doesn’t go as far. Say your .308 bullet clocks an average 2,400 fps over its first 200 yards. Instead of landing three feet low at 250 yards, it prints three feet low at 200.
The slower a bullet goes the less ground it covers per unit of time. Because a bullet decelerates, it gives gravity more time per unit of distance at the far end of its arc. That’s why the arc is steeper there. If you dropped a bullet from your fingers next to a rifle just as a bullet was fired horizontally from that rifle, the two bullets would come to earth at very nearly the same time.
Seeing a bullet’s arc is a distinct advantage in learning about trajectory. That’s why machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons are fed tracer bullets. Drift and deceleration show up in tracer paths. Air gunners trained during World War II were often started with BB guns that made trajectory visible.
Distance's Effect on Bullet Trajectory
The author allowed a minute of wind to nail this gong at 480 yards with a GreyBull rifle, .243 VLD bullets.
Distance lays a heavy hand on bullets. A .30-06 zeroed at 200 with 180-grain Partitions at 2,700 fps puts them 50 inches low at 500 yards, 400 inches low at 1,000 (double the range, but eight times the drop).
A .300 Winchester launching the same bullet at 2,960 gives up 43 inches at 500 and 352 at 1,000. While speed flattens arc, the rate of deceleration matters, too. A heavy bullet started slower than a lightweight bullet of the same shape and diameter drops more steeply at modest ranges. Farther out, a heavy bullet can actually pass its lighter counterpart. Its momentum is greater. It has a higher ballistic coefficient and a lower rate of deceleration. So drop at very long range is less with the heavy bullet.
Many shooters have been bamboozled into thinking a bullet rises above line of bore during flight. Nope. The misunderstanding results from trajectory illustrations that aren’t carefully drawn. Sight-line is not parallel to bore-line, but at a slight converging angle. Sight-line dips below bore-line and the bullet’s arc. Sight-line never meets bore-line again, as both are straight. They cross once and forever diverge. A bullet travels above sight-line at midrange because the sight-line tilts down through the trajectory. Later, the bullet drops below sight-line.
Temperature's Effect on Bullet Trajectory
Shooting at game, closer is always better. But long-range practice makes all shots afield easier.
Temperature affects trajectory. Warm air is thinner than cold, so your bullet meets less resistance on a warm day, just as an airplane gets less lift on a warm day. But the effect of extreme heat or cold on bullet placement has little to do with the influence of air temperature on flight. Figure no more than half a minute of elevation for every 100-degree change in temperature.
A bigger change caused by temperature results from its influence on breech pressure. Pre-heated powder generates higher pressure. A chilly day can make the cartridge perform sluggishly. Tests run by Art Alphin (A-Square) with a .30-06 showed that at 40 degrees a charge of 51 grains RL-15 generated 54,600 psi to push 180-grain Nosler Ballistic Tips at 2,675 fps.
That rifle and load registered 59,900 psi and 2,739 fps with the air temperature at 120 degrees. Cartridges left on a hot dashboard in a safari vehicle can get much warmer than the rifle and cause higher pressures than the thermometer suggests. Rule of thumb: three fps for every degree of temperature change.
Altitude's Effect on Bullets
Altitude also influences bullet flight. The higher you go, the thinner the air and the less resistance it offers. But as you climb to thinner air, temperatures usually drop. So elevation and temperature changes can cancel each other. In the mountains, air resistance can be greater because of the cold and less because of the elevation.
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This Glock Gen3 in Flat Dark Earth is offered by Lipsey's. There are also Gen4 Glocks in the same color.
Looking for a Flat Dark Earth Glock in Gen3 or Gen4? Now you can get one, thanks to Lipsey's. If you're into the all-business look of a two-tone Glock, here is where to look.
A Glock is no 1911 in the looks department. Unless you're into that eastern-European industrial look. But some believe a tan or Flat Dark Earth Glock is one of the best-looking handguns one can own. I happen to be of that opinion myself.
And up until now, the only choice was to look on the used market for one of the few remaining Glock Gen3 guns that were offered in the company's “OD” color, or to take the plunge and spray the thing with Duracoat.
However, firearm distributor Lipsey's has announced a third option: GLOCK Pistols featuring Flat Dark Earth frames. Nine different models will be offered, including the Generation 3 Model 17, 19, 22, and 23, as well as the Generation 4 Model 17, 19, 21, 22, and 23.
This will mark the first time that any GLOCK Generation 4 pistols are offered in a different frame color.
“GLOCK set the standards by which all other polymer pistols are judged. The addition of our exclusive Flat Dark Earth models gives the consumer a choice other than all black,” said Lipsey's buyer Brett Frey.
I asked Jason Cloessner, also of Lipsey's, where in the world these were coming from.
“These are straight from Glock,” Cloessner told Gun Digest. “We have been working on this project for some time. Glock made some Gen 3 22's for a certain Special Forces Unit in the past, but in very limited numbers. These are the first FDE guns offered commercially and for sure the first “non-black” Gen 4 guns.
“Just a side note, the Gen 4 extra backstraps are FDE too on all the guns except for the G21.”
To see Lipsey's full line of Flat Dark Earth Glocks click here.
Marines were recently issued a new directive concerning what gear and weapons they can use for their annual marksmanship qualifications.
According to The Marine Corps Times, a Marine administrative message, released on March 12, 2012, noted that, “Only individual rifles, their designated optics, and pistols that are current Marine Corps programs of record are authorized for use” during qualifications. “Marines will continue the use of approved modular weapon attachments and authorized modifications. The intent is to ensure Marines train with the weapon system with which they will fight.”
The Times reported that, “Pistols authorized this year include the 9mm M9 and M9A1, and the .45-caliber M45. The Corps also authorized the use of the M16A4 rifle, M4 carbine, M4A1 Close Quarters Battle Weapon, and M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR), each of which will be used with their respective standard optics.”
There was some questions about allowing the new IAR into this year's qualifications.
“The free-floating barrel on the weapon makes it more accurate than the M16A4 and M4, but marksmanship officials observed the advantage was minimal, resulting on average in a five-point increase in a Marine’s score on the range. Additionally, only automatic riflemen assigned the M27 will use it during quals, and they'll compete for promotion against personnel in their own military occupational specialty.”
“The topic of fairness comes up every time we do something different or introduce an improvement to marksmanship,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy Dankonich, a range officer involved in the study. “If you look at what five points on the rifle range does on a cutting score in terms of eligibility for promotion, you're better off doing one or two more pullups on your [Physical Fitness Test]. The fairness issue is essentially moot.”
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