Shooting Wire

NEWS

Field & Stream and Hunting Heritage Trust Partner to Gather and Auction "50 Best Guns"

Field & Stream magazine and the Hunting Heritage Trust have announced a project to gather and auction examples of "The 50 Best Guns Ever Made" in support of the nation's hunting and shooting sports heritage.

Gun Talk Radio Adds Front Range Station

Tom Gresham's Gun Talk Radio has added another station to its national lineup of affiliates. Beginning June 14th, KZNT 1460 AM in Colorado Springs, Colorado will join the list of Gun Talk radio stations.

Beretta Team Shooter Diane Sorantino Wins 2008 Masters Cup

Beretta Team shooter Diane Sorantino took top honors at the 2008 Masters Cup in Pennsville, New Jersey. An NCSA Team USA Sporting & F.I.T.A.S.C. Qualifier, the Masters Cup is considered among the most prestigious shoots of the year.

AOM 150 Paratrooper Model Carbine Re-Introduced

The AOM 150 Paratrooper Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine is a .30 caliber rifle with a walnut stock and folding buttstock. It is also a durable, lightweight and nostalgic option for anyone who's a fan of the M1-Carbine first introduced in World War II.

SIG SAUER Converts Shooters With .22LR Rimfire Conversion Kit

SIG SAUER expands its line of accessories to include their new .22LR Rimfire Conversion Kit, saving ammunition costs while still honing shooting skills and familiarizing operators with their SIG SAUER pistol.

NEW 30-06 M1 Garand Match Ammunition from Hornady

Hornady announces a new addition to their Match ammunition line - a purpose built 30-06 match load specifically designed for the M1 Garand. Loaded with a 168 gr A-MAX™ bullet that launches at 2,710 feet per second, the carefully designed medium burn propellants protect the rifle's intricate gas port system, allowing safe and accurate firing of the M1 rifle, and meet all Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) guidelines.

Interservice Pistol Championships Get Underway Today

Bragging rights, along with plaques and marksmanship badges will be on the line through June 13 at the 49th annual Interservice Pistol Championships at the Phillips and Parks Ranges of Fort Benning. Any member of the Armed Services - active duty, reserve, National Guard and cadets are invited to participate. The National Rifle Association's Warm-Up matches June 7 and 8 are open to both military and civilian shooters.

SunBuster Supports Tennessee SCTP State Championships

SunBuster® traveled to Nashville, Tennessee this past week to support Tennessee's SCTP State Championship that included 1142 participating student athletes aged 9 - 18 years, shooting Skeet, Sporting Clays, Junior and High School Trap at the Tennessee Clay Target Complex.

New Features Launched on Uberti Website!

Uberti's award-winning website has been enhanced with new on-line features and exciting new products. Now you can view faster streaming videos, award-winning commercials and improved search features to find the most extensive selection of authentic Uberti firearms and accessories available.

FEATURE

High-Tech For A Low-Tech Purpose

I openly confess that I'm not the best at taking care of firearms. Sure, I clean them after heavy usage, keep the light coating of oil on them (most of the time) and use the latest and greatest cleaning and lubricating technologies. But I'm not the greatest practitioner of gun care when I'm actually in the field.

Yesterday, for example, I returned from a range session soaking wet , dehydrated and absolutely convinced that I couldn't go another day in the 94 degree heat. Since I have at least one more session scheduled for today, it was another idle grip. I will be there tomorrow.

For the first time in a long time, however, I put my rifle back in my car without the slightest concern that it would suffer unnecessarily from having been flung around by a person who was losing fluids like a leaky radiator. I wiped it off, shot a little lube into the bolt assembly, but that was about it. That sort of care, in a heat and humidity-ridden area like Alabama, is daring the corrosion gods to come do their thing on your firearms.

But I'm not concerned - at least not this time. Ordinarily, I'd be in the garage whining about the fact I'd neglected my weapon- again. Tonight, however, I'm using the same protection the military uses to protect their weapons in the most extreme conditions around the world.

At the NRA Show, I was fortunate enough to get an Envelop rifle case.

For those of you who don't know Envelop, they're a line of very nice rifle cases that are civilian product derivatives of a technology that Shield Technologies developed for the military.

That echnology is used to protect the Navy's topside equipment (including their artillery and small arms) in tropical marine environments - the perfect incubators for corrosion, combining heat, moisture and salt (the same miracle ingredients used in sweat in Alabama - and liberally applied to my rifle earlier today). More than 13,000 military guns in all branches of the service are protected today by Envelop covers.

Envelop call it "Disruptive Technology". I call it scientific magic.

The basis of the protection is a five layer composition in each case. An exterior shell is made of a tough, flexible waterproof fabric "permeable only to water vapor" - in other words, it lets moisture evaporate from the inside of the case, but keeps the water flowing only one way- out.

A second shock protection layer of nylon honeycombed underneath provides shape retention -a nd shock protection. Under it, a third layer of corrosion inhibitors "condition the microenvironment beneath the cover" to, you guessed it, prevent corrosion on the metal surfaces of your gun.

From there, an "Absorbent Inner Matrix" of super absorbent material stores water , passing it back to the environment, again through the outer shell. It also slightly reduces the humidity beneath the gun cover, preventing condensation.

The way Envelop's Doug Evans demonstrated how it worked was pretty simple. He took a bottle of water and poured it on a piece of "Absorbent Inner Matrix" about the size of my hand. As absorbed all the water - he slapped it down on the table top. It didn't splatter water everywhere- in fact, I didn't see water go anywhere. To me, that's high-technology or terrific misdirection. Since he repeated it, I don't think it was magic.

Deluxe Yukon - protection with style

Finally, an Inner Wicking Layer contacts the gun's metal surfaces with a fabric that literally wicks water off the metal surfaces.

In short, imagine a gun case that protects your firearm from corrosion the same way protective strips in a silver chest prevent tarnish. Combine that with today's high-tech performance shoes or boots that simultaneously wick moisture away from your feet and allow you to expel heat , keeping your feet comfortable and drier, despite the weather conditions.

In other words, great stuff to protect your firearm.

My gun's going back in the field tomorrow, so it's stuffed inside my Envelop carrying case. When I'm done tomorrow, I'll bring the gun home, give it a quick cleaning, then slide it into an Envelop sleeve that's designed for storing firearms in that same corrosion inhibiting environment inside my safe.

This kind of technology isn't inexpensive. The MSRP on the 46" Deluxe Yukon Case I'm using (shown above) is $229, but the line includes other cases ranging from a $45 pistol rug to the $229 deluxe Yukon. The protective gun sleeves (like you'd use in your safe) have a MSRP of $39/each or three for $99.

None of the cases look or feel cheap -they're sturdily built, solidly sewn and riveted and might be just the case for the father on your list who takes his firearms out into all sorts of weather conditions.

You can learn more about Envelop cases at www.envelopcases.com

Get out in the weather this weekend and introduce someone to shooting.

--Jim Shepherd