A reader from Australia sent the following e-mail to us as a follow-up to our general article on “Case Cleaning”.  I thought there were some good points worth sharing with the other readers and Ken was kind enough to give us permission to share his findings. Thanks Ken for providing the input!

Bill

To: Support@sinclairintl.com

Subject: Re: The Reloading Press – November 2009

“Some useful information about using an ultrasonic cleaner to clean cases.

I have been Ultra Sonic cleaning cases for over 10 years and here are a few of my tips.

The most efective cleaner is one that uses a ultrasonic frequency around the 40 kilohertz ( cycles per second) It must have a capacity of 1 liter (1/4 gallon) for cleaning 20 cases or larger. One with a timer and adjustable heater is even better. Avoid small jewlery / eye glass cleaners as they don’t have enough power to clean cases.

Use water from the hot tap around 60 C ( 140 F).

The most cost efective additive to assist in cleaning is Tartaric acid commonly known as cream of tartar used in the kitchen for baking cakes ( dont use baking powder as it also contains bi carb soda and this neutralises the tartaric acid when added to water ). Cream of tartar is available from your local supermarket at around $1.00 for a small tin 50g/2 oz, this will clean at least 1000 cases

Use a level teaspoon of Tartaric acid to each litre ( 2 pints) of water, replace the water when you cant see the cases in the water any more.

After cleaning, rinse the cases in rain water, melted snow or condensate from your air-conditioner.

Rinsing in tap water that contains clorine will discolor the cases.

I blow dry the cases with compressed air from a small air compressor and then place then on a paper covered metal tray in the oven after the sunday roast has finished cooking utilizing the residual heat in the oven. You can use any warm place you have available.

Note that some primers leave a residue inside the case will not be removed by ultrasonic cleaner. Early Winchester primers were notorius for leaving a glass like residue around the flash hole. For this reason I always use CCI primers as they don’t cause this problem.

If you ultra sonic clean cases that have been fired numerous times and resized befor U/S cleaning you may well have to resize the neck again as you will remove the build up of ash inside the neck and the neck will be over size. If you U/S clean each time you reload then this doesn’t happen.

To prove that the U/S cleaner is working properly fill it with water turn it on and hold a strip of alumimum wrap foil in the water for a minute then hold the foil up to the light and if the cleaner is working properly you will see a pattern of small holes punched in the foil.”

Regards

Ken L

Australia

Here’s wishing you and your family an early Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you have received the 2009 Sinclair Christmas catalog that was recently mailed. If not, you should be receiving it in the next few days.

I spent some time at my own reloading bench this weekend organizing and planning my reloading for this winter. I took advantage of the time and cycled several batches of brass through my tumbler in preparation for reloading. I briefly experimented with an ultrasonic cleaner to clean some pretty dirty 308 Winchester brass because I had read a little bit on the internet about some reloaders using them to clean their brass. I was impressed mainly how well it cleaned the inside of the case but the case necks didn’t clean up to my satisfaction. I will continue to experiment with some different cleaning solutions and possibly a different ultrasonic unit to see if I can get some better results. I thought the process was a little more complicated than compared to what I am used to with the tumbler. Feel free to chime in your thoughts if you have had success with an ultrasonic cleaner.

We are starting to see a few primers arrive on our dock. Wolf primers are slowly making their way to our doors each month. We do expect to see a decent amount of Wolf large rifle primers in the next couple of weeks. Remington and Winchester primers are trickling in but no word yet on delivery of Federal primers. Easiest way to check inventory status on primers is to check out our website (look under Components & Ammunition).

Keep warm, enjoy Thanksgiving next week, and give thanks to our soldiers overseas who are doing without while protecting our freedoms.

Good Shooting,

Bill Gravatt
President – Sinclair International, Inc.

Editor’s Note: As we continue to develop our “Reloading Press” newsletter we want to focus some of our articles on subjects that will be of use to beginning reloaders. This article focuses on cleaning your brass after firing. We welcome any contribution on this basic subject that you would like to make. This task is one that many reloaders have developed their own “perfect” process.

After firing your brass, the first task is to clean the cartridges. Residue from firing collects on the outside of the case. Some residue may be present along the body but most of it is concentrated in the neck and shoulder area. Heavy residue on the case body is an indication that the neck is not sealing fast enough or not sealing properly. Improper sealing can be due to a light powder charge or powder with an incorrect burning rate.

There are several reasons to clean your cases. One reason is to keep the debris and grit from building up in your dies and decreasing their life. Cleaning your cases also avoids scratching or galling the brass in the dies. The accumulation of debris in the interior of the cases can flake off and potentially contaminate your load. Also, you don’t want to put dirty cases back in your chamber after you just finished cleaning the chamber! Finally, cleaning the cases allows you to inspect them easily and spot any potential problems. There are several alternative methods for cleaning cases; most of them are relatively simple.

Tumbling

The most common method of cleaning a large batch of cases is to use a case tumbler. Tumblers work exceptionally well and require no complicated procedures to use them. Your cases will clean up faster and better if they are cleaned as soon as possible after firing because the carbon soot left on the cases will take a set over time and become harder and harder to remove. When you return from the range, dump the fired brass in your tumbler as soon as you can. To achieve the best results, change your media periodically. Media additives can be used to rejuvenate media and to help control the dusty film left on the cases. Some handloaders tumble their brass with a treated media first and then tumble them for a shorter time in a batch of untreated media to remove the polishing residue. A good brass/media separator like the RCBS Separator makes short work of removing most of the media from the interior of the cases. I use tumblers on most of my high volume brass and recently have preferred to use treated walnut hull media. Treated corn cob also works well and is not quite as aggressive as the walnut hull media.

I prefer to keep my cases separated into cartridge boxes of 50 or 100 for lot number control, accessibility, and ease in carrying. Even though I may have several boxes of brass that are from the same lot, once they go into a box they will stay with their companion cases for the rest of their useful life. Therefore, when I tumble brass I may only tumble 50 or a 100 at a time, even though my tumbler capacity is 300 to 400 cases.

If you de-prime your cases in a separate de-priming operation prior to cleaning them, make sure you carefully inspect the cases after they have been tumbled. Some of your cases will have the flash holes plugged with finer media granules. These will have to be picked out with a dental pick or paper clip or blown out with compressed air. I prefer to tumble my cases with the spent primers left in and rarely have media stick in the flash hole.

If the necks of your cases (inside and out) are not clean enough for your liking, follow up with any of the hand cleaning methods detailed below.

The most common complaints about tumbling are the noise, the dust, and the polishing rouge left on the cases. For me it is a lot less labor intensive and the least expensive with the exception of cleaning cases by hand.

Besides the traditional corn cob and walnut hull media, other reloaders have experimented with everything from kitty litter, small ceramic media, plastic beads, etc.

Chemically Cleaning

Another case cleaning process that some handloaders favor is to use a chemical cleaner such as Iosso Case Cleaner. Cases are placed in a mesh bag and then immersed into a container of cleaning solution. The cases are allowed to soak for a short time and are then rinsed off with hot water and left to air dry. This procedure works well and is fast except for the dry time. The cases come out “squeaky” clean but not as highly polished as a tumbler will produce. The plus side is that they won’t have any residue that you get from the polishing rouge found in some of the treated media. If you want a cleaner “looking” appearance, throw the cases into a tumbler of untreated media after they dry. It will only take a few minutes to polish them up a bit. Iosso is a cleaner that is environmentally friendly; when it becomes too dirty it can be disposed of in a household sink. Birchwood Casey also makes a brass cleaning solution but I haven’t had a chance to use it.

Hand Cleaning

Cleaning cases by hand has one major benefit; you can easily inspect the cases while you are handling them. If you are going to hand clean your cases, begin with the inside of the case neck. Insert the appropriate size case neck cleaning brush into the case neck, retract it and then tap out any loosened residue. Most case neck cleaning brushes can be chucked into a power drill and used under low RPMs or use the Sinclair Neck Brush Adapter in a power screwdriver. If you are using a brush by hand, the spiral twist in the brush will normally work well by simply pushing the brush straight in and pulling it back out.

The outside of the case, especially the case neck, can be cleaned with all types of products. We commonly use a chunk of “0000” steel wool. The steel wool leaves very little or no residue on the outside of the case. Another product reloaders will use is Nevr-Dull ™, a “wadding” impregnated with a cleaning compound that works very well in cleaning cases. We sell it or you can sometimes find it at your local hardware stores. Nevr-Dull ™ does leave a little residue on the cases, but the cases can be easily wiped clean with a paper towel. Krazy Kloth is another commercial brass cleaning product that works well for removing stubborn powder residue. It is a reusable cloth impregnated with a cleaning compound.

Ultrasonic Cleaning

Cleaning cases in an ultrasonic cleaner is a favorite of a few shooters. There are several ultrasonic cleaners on the market with enough capacity to do enough cases. You can spend under $100 on ultrasonic cleaners from places like Harbor Freight or several hundred dollars on larger and higher quality models. Cleaning solutions vary from vinegar/soap/water mixtures to specific solutions designed specifically for carbon and brass.

I personally have tried using an ultrasonic cleaner and it seemed like a lot of work to me. I just had a small unit and experimented with some different cleaners. By the time I cleaned them, rinsed them, and then let them dry I was ready to go back to just chucking them in the tumbler and walking away. The plus side to the cases that I cleaned using the ultrasonic cleaner is that the cases were clean inside and out. I did like not having to wipe off cleaning rouge residue from the tumbling media.

I have inserted a link to a more in-depth article written by one of the Brownells staff who is a reloader. The article regards his experimentation and methodology in using a handgun ultrasonic cleaner to clean brass. Click here to read the article.

Bill Gravatt
President – Sinclair International, Inc.

Editor’s Note: This is the third and last installment on cleaning from our technical staff. We asked three (3) of the Technicians on our staff to describe the cleaning procedure that they follow. The last installment is presented by Rod Green.

I started varmint shooting close to 50 years ago and just recently got hooked on F-Class competition within the last few years. To me it brings the best of both long range prone varmint hunting and bench rest shooting all into one sport plus you don’t have to wait around in a bean field or the hot prairie for targets to pop up. But whether it’s in the field or on the line, at the end of the day, there’s one last job to do…That’s right, Clean Your Rifle!

Now, with so many products to choose from, and the list is constantly growing, it can get a bit confusing on what to use. Over the years I’ve tried most of them, and I must admit they will all do the job they were designed for; some just work faster than others. And with the advent of borescopes, the shooter can actually track his or her progress and pick the cleaners that are working best in their barrel. In recent times, I have searched for products that are both fast and also barrel and user friendly. Currently, I am very impressed with the Bore Tech line of solvents and have been using Eliminator, exclusively, in all my rifles.

Just prior to the F-Class Nationals, my boss handed me two sample bottles of Bore Tech’s latest cleaners to test out. The first one was C/4 Carbon Remover and the second was Cu+2 Copper Remover. If these two worked anything like the Eliminator, I had a combo of fast and friendly solvents to get the job done and no better place to find out then four days of shooting at Camp Butner, N.C.

Before I get started on my cleaning regiment, let me state that whether I’m at the range, in the field, or on the line, I don’t clean my rifles til the smoke clears, at the end of the day. This can mean that somewhere between 66 and 250+ rounds will exit the muzzle. Also, all my rifles whether they are custom or factory, get cleaned in the same manner. The only difference is the solvent-soak time. Most factory barrels need a little more time to let the cleaner do its thing than do match grade custom barrels.

 Cleaning equipment I recommend besides solvent:

 1)      Cleaning cradle of some sort to hold your rifle securely

2)      Bore guide with solvent port (keeps the solvent off you and helps eliminate waste)

3)      Stock boot to keep solvent off of stock

4)      Splatter Box or MuzzleMate to contain solvent spray if cleaning indoors

5)      One piece cleaning rods (Quantity 2), one with a pierce type jag and one with a nylon brush

6)      Correct size double napped cotton cleaning patches

7)      Sinclair Action Cleaning Tool Kit

8)      Any good gun oil (Butch’s, TM, Montana X-Treme, etc.)

My Procedure

STEP 1: Run 3-4 wet patches of Bore Tech Carbon Remover down bore. You might want to stab them off center at first, gradually moving to the middle of patch as the bore gets cleaner. Patches will be black.

STEP 2: Using rod with nylon brush, wet brush with Bore Tech Carbon Remover and brush down and back 10 times or 20 strokes. Re-wet brush and repeat. Let barrel soak for 10-15 min.

STEP 3: Repeat STEPS 1 & 2

STEP 4: Run two wet patches down the bore followed by two dry patches

STEP 5: Switch to Bore Tech Copper Remover and repeat the process in Steps 1&2 and then dry the bore out completely with 2 to 3 dry patches.

STEP 6: After both Carbon and Copper applications are complete, I run 3 wet patches of Bore Tech Eliminator down the bore and let the solvent work for approximately 5 minutes. I then follow with one dry patch. This patch should come out streak free and maybe a faint blue (solvent reaction with jag). If I see any streaking I repeat STEP 2 using Bore Tech Eliminator and alternate wet and dry patches until the streaking is gone. Usually, 3 to 5 patches and we are squeaky clean.

STEP 7: I then run one oil patch down the bore, swab the chamber, and then clean the action and bolt (body, lugs, and face) and I’m good to go again!

In conclusion, I found both the Bore Tech Carbon and Copper Removers to be very effective at doing their intended jobs. Also, like the Eliminator, there is no rank odor and they can be used in the confines of home while watching Monday Night Football with no complaints from the peanut gallery! So, if you are looking for a new product that works and is not harmful to you or your rifle, give the new Bore Tech solvents a try. I know I’ll be getting some more.

 Happy Shooting!

Rod Green

Sales Tech Sinclair International

Team Sinclair’s Mason Parker; Junior FT-R Champion

This past season Sinclair International has sponsored Junior shooter, Mason Parker, a high school senior from Huntsville, Alabama.  Mason has been very successful and focused in shooting competitively in NRA F-Class and Service Rifle matches.  He holds multiple national records, and titles.  His results show that he is a very talented marksman that will continue to excel at the sport.   

Recently, Mason sent us an email reporting on his most recent accomplishments.  Here is what he wrote:  “On November 7-8, 2009, shooting off the Sinclair F-Class Bi-pod with my .308, I was able to finish as the Alabama Junior Mid-Range (300, 500, 600 yd) Champion.   During this match, I was also fortunate enough to set two National records; a new 300 yard 20 shot Junior F-T/R record, and a new 600 yard 20 shot Junior F-T/R record!!!  Your F-Class Bi-pod is rock solid!!!  I think that there is no better F-Class bipod in the world!!” 

In addition, below are Mason’s 2009 accomplishments, as you will see he is not only a stellar F-Classer, he is also skilled on the Service Rifle as well:

-2009 National Junior Champion F-Class – F-T/R

-National Record Holder Junior F-TR (1000 yd) – 2 National Records

-National Record Holder Junior F-TR National Match Aggregate – 1 National Record

-National Record Holder Junior F-TR (mid range) – 6 National Records

-National Record Holder Junior F-Open (mid range) – 3 National Records

-2009 Alabama 1000 yd F-Class (F-FTR) Junior Champion

-2009 Alabama Mid-Range Junior Champion

-2009 Regional Mid-Range F-Class (F-TR) Junior Champion

-2009 Regional Mid-Range F-Class (Open) Junior Champion

-2009 Alabama State Junior Service Rifle Champion

I had the opportunity to meet Mason in person at the US F-Class Nationals at Camp Butner this past October, where he earned top Junior in FT-R.  Mason is a very friendly and energetic young man, and I was very impressed with his skill and drive to achieve higher feats in the future.  We expect great things from him both in the shooting world and as a person.  We are very proud to have him represent Sinclair International both on and off the firing line.

Mason is a fine example of the future of competitive shooting and we hope youth shooting continues to grow and expand regardless of the discipline. More young men like Mason or young women will help continue the long heritage of shooting as a sport in the United States and around the world. 

Pete Petros
Call Center/Sales Supervisor
Sinclair

This month wraps up the competitive shooting season for most of us at Sinclair’s. We have a Halloween match at the end of the month that ends the 2009 season for the NRA Long-Range and F-Class shooters in our company. Several members of our staff are avid hunters and hunting preparation is quickly becoming a priority among them as the seasons begin to open.

As we approach the colder season (in parts of the world), this is a good time to go through your firearms and make sure that they are clean and well oiled for protection during the winter months. A colder climate doesn’t necessarily mean an end to shooting for a lot of us by any means. We look forward to those clear, sunny winter days to get out of the house and do some practice shooting. We are also fortunate in our area to have some high schools where we can do regular smallbore shooting, a great trap/skeet range that has winter leagues, and a few indoor ranges for the handgun shooters. Winter is also a great time to do some quality practice by dry firing. Check out our selection of snap caps from Harbour Arms or A-Zoom by Lyman.

I am busy myself wrapping up outdoor chores while looking forward to getting into my shop to tackle some winter projects and take inventory of what I need in the way of supplies for next year. I need to get caught up on some of my own reloading. With two kids away at college, the assistance I get with reloading chores consists of my dogs looking up once in awhile from their nap to give me a look of encouragement.

The Sinclair Christmas catalog will be mailing out the first week of November so keep an eye out for it. Remember our easy to use website and helpful, friendly sales staff makes it fun for you (or your family) to Christmas shop with Sinclair International. 

Good Shooting,

Bill Gravatt
President – Sinclair International, Inc.

Hello Fellow Shooters,

I sometimes talk to shooters about “across the course” shooting and I take for granted that everybody know what this type of shooting is. I was asked to write a few lines and give those of you not familiar with it a crash course in “across the course” shooting.

Other names for “across the course” shooting are NRA High Power, National Match course, and Regional match course.

Conventional High Power is a match as follows:

1^st course of fire – 200 yards offhand or standing with 2 sighters and 20 shots for record. Single shot loading is utilized. Time allowed is 22 minutes. Total points possible are 200-20X.

 2^nd course of fire – 200 yard rapid fire sitting with 2 sighters and 2 separate strings of 10 shots. Time allowed is 60 seconds for each 10 shot string. Fired from the sitting position. There are a total of 20 rounds shot for record. Match rifles load 5 rounds and require a reload of 5 rounds in each string. Service Rifles are loaded with 2 rounds in the first magazine and require a magazine change with 8 rounds in the second magazine. Total points possible are 200-20X. Scores are presented to the shooter after each string of 10.

3^rd course of fire – 300 yards rapid prone with 2 sighters and 20 shots for record (2 strings of 10). You are allowed 70 seconds for each 10-shot string.  This course is shot from the prone position but the procedures are the same as in rapid sitting. Again, total points possible are 200-20X.
(There was a rule change last year that allows you to remain in position after your sighter shots – you used to have to return to a standing position prior to the start of rapid fire.

4^th course of fire – 600 yards slow fire prone with 2 sighters and 20 rounds for record.  Time allowed is 22 minutes with 200-20X maximum total points. Scoring and shot location is done after each shot.

This type of shooting is done at rifle ranges which have target carriers that allow the target to be raised and lowered by other shooters protected behind a berm (referred to as the “pits”). During slow fire courses the targets are lowered, scored with shot position marked, and raised after each shot. The same procedure is provided for sighters. During rapid fire courses the target is raised to start the time and then pulled or lowered at the completion of the allowed time period. Scores are sent up after each string.

Many ranges around the country may not have a 600 yard range and may only have a 100 or maximum of 200 yards. Reduced targets are used on these ranges with the aiming black and scoring rings reduced in size proportionally for the 200, 300,& 600 yard courses of fire. This compensates for the reduction in firing distance.

Another part of High Power Competitions can include Mid-Range Prone matches.

These can be shot at 300 yards, 500 yards, & 600 yards. The matches are 2 sighters and 15 rounds for record in 17 min or 2 sighters and 20 shots for record in 22 min. All of these matches are shot from the prone position using iron sights. Some ranges will hold 3 matches that are all at 600 yards and open the field to allow F-Class shooters to participate.

 I hope this helps other shooters understand “across the course” or High Power competition if they weren’t already familiar with it. This is a very simplistic explantation. If you want more information, I recommend you get a copy of the NRA Rule Book that explains all the rules including the courses of fire, scoring, and firearm requirements. It also explains the different classifications that shooters hold – Marksman, Sharpshooter, Expert, Master, and High Master.

I originally began High Power with the hopes it would help me shoot better in the field. I enjoy varmint and big game hunting and learning to shoot from different positions was a big help.

Ron Dague

Reloading Technician
Sinclair International

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment on cleaning from our technical staff. We asked three (3) of the Technicians on our staff to describe the cleaning procedure that they follow. This month’s installment is presented by Phil Hoham.

I shoot both 3-Gun and NRA Long-Range so there is no way I have time to clean during a match. In addition, the round counts through these rifles are rather high. My long-range rifles see a minimum of 45 to 60 rounds for score plus 6 or more sighters. 3-gun rifles, depending on the stages, may see 50-100 rounds per match. The 1911 .45 will also see the same round counts during a 3-gun match.

Lets start with the long-range rifles first. For my 6BR,6.5X47 Lapua and .308 Palma rifles I start by running 5-6 loose patches wet with Bore Tech Eliminator down the bore and let it soak while I clean the bolt and action. After finishing with the bolt and action, I like to run 5-6 additional loose patches with Bore Tech Eliminator to push out the fouling the first application has loosened. If I am not in a hurry to get the rifle clean, I will let it soak overnight and run some more wet patches through the bore the next morning. Next, I wet-brush the barrel using a bronze bore brush, then wet-patch the residue out, using more of the Bore Tech Eliminator. The last step is dry patching out the bore with the patch center punched so a tight fit in the bore is achieved. What I look for after the first couple of patches is a blue or a black stripe on the patches. If I see a blue (copper) stripe I will finish dry patching the barrel and then run a few wet loose patches of Montana Extreme 50 BMG Copper Killer down the bore and let it soak awhile. For a black stripe (carbon or powder) I use the TM Solutions solvent with a bronze bore brush. I repeat either technique till the blue or black is gone.

For my AR-15 used in 3-Gun matches, I follow the same steps used in my long-range rifles.

Since the .45 is fed mostly lead reloads, Montana Extreme Cowboy Blend and a bronze brush are used to get the lead and powder fouling out. All of the solvents used are safe to leave in either stainless or chrome moly steel barrels for extended periods of time.

The bore oil used in all my rifles and shotguns is the TM Gun Oil. It stays put and prevents any rust. The bolt greases are TM Ultra Bolt Grease for the bolt actions and Mil-Comm TW-25B Lubricant for the AR-15 and 1911. For bolt action triggers, I use Ronsonol Lighter Fluid to clean and lubricate. The general theme for all my cleaning is that I let the solvent do the work and not my right arm and rotator cuff.

Phil Hoham
Reloading Technician

Competitors in the 2009 United States F-Class Nationals were greeted by dry weather and mild temperatures for the event held at Camp Butner, North Carolina.  Situated in the pine forests north of Durham off I-85, Camp Butner is primarily a National Guard training site, but the host of the event, North State Shooting Club uses the 1000 yard range as its home turf.  It is a beautiful but very challenging range for all competitors with shooting berms at every 100 yards or so creating some challenging conditions with wind swirls and vertical lift.

Over 140 Shooters from across the United States, Canada, and Europe travelled to Camp Butner to compete in the 3-Day event consisting of both individual and team matches. Individuals shot three 15 shot strings for record per day (Day 1, 600 yards/Days 2 & 3 1000 yds each).  The team matches featured 4 – man shooting teams plus coaches and consisted of 20 rounds at both 600 and 1000 yards.

A view down range at the 2009 F-Class Nationals

The challenging conditions with the constant wind shifts and occasional gusts did not seem to bother the top shooters.  Charles Ballard (1328-62X ) edged Jim Murphy (1327-59X) in the open class by one point to take the crown.  In the F-T/R Class, veteran Danny Biggs posted a score of 1288-38X to win top honors edging Jeff Rorer ‘s agg of 1284-34X. 

The team competition was held each day after individual matches were completed.  These were long days of shooting for those who took part in both the individual matches and the team matches.  Both in the 600 yard and 1000 yard open class team matches, the “Sierra Spindle Shooters”, (Shawn Ahrens, Brett Solomon, Jeff Traylor, and Jeff Cochrane) took the open crown with a 794-44X at 600 yards, and 791-30X at 1000 yards.

In the F-T/R  class “Team Sinclair”,(Brad Sauve, Jeff Rorer, Derek Rodgers, and Paul Phillips),  who are the reigning champs and National record holders,  raised the bar winning both the 600 and 1000 yard events while breaking their own records at both distances!  Shooting their .308’s off of Sinclair F-Class Bipods, they totaled 784-40X at 600, and 774-20X at 100 yards.  All of us at Sinclair are very proud of them. We look forward to more great results and wins from “Team Sinclair”!

Gold Medal Team - Team Sinclair

 In addition to the top finishing shooters and teams, there were also other categories recognized.  Top Seniors were Danny Biggs in F-T/R and Jim Murphy in Open.  Top Women were Michelle Gallagher in F-T/R and Karin Liebetrau in Open.  Top Juniors were Mason Parker in F-T/R and Ruth Chiappinelli in Open.  Over $15,000 dollars in merchandise was awarded to all of the top shooters.  A real surprise to the Juniors was the awards of new stocks, actions, and barrels to start off a new rifle project!

The North State Shooting Club who hosted and ran the event did an excellent job and were extremely hospitable. This club hosts a mix of all disciplines of shooting events year round and is truly a class act.  Each evening, prior to the awards, North State Shooting Club sponsored home style North Carolina dinners that were a huge hit with the shooters.  Fried chicken, Pulled BBQ pork and the sides were all excellent, and were great after a long day of shooting. For more information on North State Shooting Club go to www.northstateshootingclub.com.

Two shooters from our sales staff made the trip to Camp Butner and competed in the Open Class.  Rod Green, a reloading technician, and Pete Petros, Call Center Supervisor, shot their first U.S. F-Class Nationals at this event.  Both finished in the middle the pack and had a great time while meeting fellow shooters, old and new friends, and putting faces on familiar voices (over the phone).  They set up a Sinclair product and information table along with Harbour Arms Precision (supplier of our new match rifle snap caps).  After shooting they were able to show some of our new products and a select few of our old favorites to those who wanted to learn more about precision reloading for accuracy.   

Pete Petros & Rod Green manning the tent at the 2009 F-Class Nationals

We look forward to being part of the next U.S. F-Class Nationals next March in Sacramento, California.  When more details emerge on the next event we will be one of the first to let you know here on the “Reloading Press”.  Until then good shooting!

Pete Petros
Sinclair, Intl.

 **F-Class competition is one of the fastest growing long range disciplines today.  Originating in Canada, it was first started as a “fun” class. The “fore father” of this class was Mr. George Farquharson.   He came up with the idea of F-Class to aid himself and other veteran shooters to continue competing with their fellow high power counterparts who shoot prone with iron sights and a sling.  F-Classers replaced the iron sights with a scope and replaced the sling with the option of using either a front bi-pod or a bench rest.  Farquharson and others convinced the Canadian NRA (DCRA) to approve the idea and it became official in the 1990’s.

This idea became very popular with all types and ages of shooters and quickly spread throughout Europe, South Africa, the Pacific and the United States.  As it grew in popularity in the U.S., the NRA officially accepted it and today F-Class has thousands of shooters worldwide. 

F-Class shooters shoot on targets that are half the size of the targets used by traditional high power shooters.  Both classes in F-Class use the same target.  The categories are F-T/R and F-Open Class.  F-T/R is shot either with the .223 Remington or the .308 Winchester cartridge off of a bi-pod and rear bag or monopod.  F-Open is open to any caliber cartridge up to .35 cal, and is shot off of a bench rest with a rear bag.  Both categories have separate rules regarding rifle total weights, rests, etc.  To read these rules, and find out more on NRA F-Class, you can find them on http://www.nrahq.org/compete/rules/rul_hpr_06.pdf.

One of our readers from Italy asked a question regarding the most recent article on cleaning by one of our technicians. In the article, the tech is reviewing his procedure for brushing using a bronze bore brush and TM Solution. He mentions following up with Bore Tech Eliminator but didn’t specify about how he applied it to the bore. The reader thought we should clarify the procedure about using a nylon brush with Bore Tech Eliminator.

You definitely should use a nylon bore brush or patches with that particular cleaning solution. The manufacturer recommends it and so do we. It is pretty hard on brushes plus gives you some false copper presence indication from the brush bristle residue. Thanks Mr. A for asking the question so we can clarify that. Bore Tech Eliminator is a very good product!

Thanks,

Bill Gravatt