What new products are out this year?

[Engrbill]

Jackie

A lot of things have come about in the past couple of years.
I think we finally have the scope thing fixed, whether it be with a locked scope and external adjustable mounts, or the March. Either will allow you to be worry free about a problem that has plagued Benchrest for decades.
You know what I think of tuners. About the only thing I can say about my own design is it works, and is user friendly. I have won a few aggs using it.
From what Dave Kiff has told me, the .269 neck has really caught on. While it is no better accuracy wise, it sure makes neck turning a breeze.
Figuring out how to make the various 00 Radius bullets shoot with 133. I get at least one call a week asking, I just give them the old, "Jam them untill the marks are twice as long as they are wide, put lots of 133 in, and go from there". From the responses I get, this is the hot ticket, especially with a Krieger 13.5 twist.
One thing on the horizon is Henslers Electronic Flags. I can personally attest to how well this contraption does in really heavy conditions. Most who say it is all smoke and mirrows have not had to shoot against it. The Wiesdorn Flag rotation will be using it in conjunction with the regular flags in Phoenix.
I think Benchrest is a ever evolving sport. Many who say 'you all shoot the same thing' are ignorant of the little things that individules do to improve the agging capability of the combination. Little things like matching the throat and freebore to an individule bullet, or matching a given bullet to a certain twist.
That, and the fact that we have a very healthy supply market. Everything from Actions, Stocks, Brass, Powder, and of course, Bullets, as allowed more shooters than ever to explore the Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy........jackie

Having shot against Hensler's electronic flags, how do they work? What is the principal he bases them on and how many does he use? Engineers need to know. ---- Bill

 

[jackie schmidt]

Bill

The system uses a series of Strain Gages that are connected to a line. The line is what the wind catches. The strain gages are set at even intervals along the yardage.
Each strain gage is asigned a value, and it's voltage that it feeds the unit is a representation of how much the string is bending the gage.
All of the voltages are received by a unit on the bench, which gives the shooter a corolation of all the values. This average is expressed in number on a analog readout.
If set right, the system can recognize what the entire yardages wind is doing to the bullet.
This is a simple explanation. The whole system is surprisingly simple.
In lighter conditions, it does not seem to be any better, maybe even not as good as, regular flags. It is when things get nasty, especially when the wind turns to the 90 degree, that it comes on strong. It will pick up surges and let ups remarkably well.
One drawback is you have to have a Rifle that is tuned to the nth degree. The system does not recognize angle, and a hard push straight away or straight at you will show a nuetral.
This up coming Nationals will be a big test for it. There are some pretty good shooters on that Rotation.......jackie

 

[Engrbill]

Thanks for the heads up

The system uses a series of Strain Gages that are connected to a line. The line is what the wind catches. The strain gages are set at even intervals along the yardage.
Each strain gage is asigned a value, and it's voltage that it feeds the unit is a representation of how much the string is bending the gage.
All of the voltages are received by a unit on the bench, which gives the shooter a corolation of all the values. This average is expressed in number on a analog readout.
If set right, the system can recognize what the entire yardages wind is doing to the bullet.
This is a simple explanation. The whole system is surprisingly simple.
In lighter conditions, it does not seem to be any better, maybe even not as good as, regular flags. It is when things get nasty, especially when the wind turns to the 90 degree, that it comes on strong. It will pick up surges and let ups remarkably well.
One drawback is you have to have a Rifle that is tuned to the nth degree. The system does not recognize angle, and a hard push straight away or straight at you will show a nuetral.
This up coming Nationals will be a big test for it. There are some pretty good shooters on that Rotation.......jackie

\

Thanks Jackie. In the 70's there were similar systems based on a wigwag mounted on a trimpot shaft. three were used to divide the range into 3rds. The near one had 3 batteries... the middle had 2... and the far flag had 1. All three were wired together and they were summed to a current meter on the bench. There have been many other variations over the years. but none seem to have lasted long. It's good to see we have innovators still trying new things. ----Bill

 

[Chuck Bogardus]

Daves Superfeet Rawk.

'lectric wind flags

You know, this gizmo could be used to really improve some folks' accuracy. How big a charge does it administer to the seating area when the shooter does something stupid?