Attention All Sports Clays Enthusiasts!

Hello Sporting Clays Enthusiasts, the spring sporting clays season is around the corner, and we thought we would bring up some good points about the importance of strip cleaning your shotgun.

What we have found over the years is that when shotguns have been shot all year and then stored away for the winter, all the dirt, grime, and powder residue from shooting builds up, drains, and works its way into the actions, and settles in the important working parts of the shotgun - whether its a double barrel or auto loader. For those of you that store them in soft cases with barrel up or broken down in a take down case the warmth of your home causes the powder residue to become more liquid. It drains into the working parts of the gun, such as inertia blocks of an Over/Under, which stops the movement of the inertia block to set the second barrel for the second shot on doubles. As for auto loaders, and the way they are built the problem can happen - and much faster - given the fact that the action is more open and the trigger group is more susceptible to drainage, not to mention the gas system of most auto loaders. 

When this occurs and the Guns are brought out into the cold spring air this mixer of dirt and grime coagulates, or in lay-mans terms solidifies around the working parts that it settled on over the winter, creating the problem mentioned earlier. 

Here are some things to do before the season for a more enjoyable time at the clays course:

• Get your shotgun strip cleaned before the season starts for a positive function of the gun.
• Don't oil a gun too much. Over oiling will create this problem faster.
• Use quality lubricants on your Firearm.
• Use grease on the hinge pins, not oil. Oil can drain off. Grease is a better lubricant and seals dirt out of the hinge points ( its not metal on metal that wears metal its the dirt in between).
• ALWAYS clean ALL working parts of a NEW firearm. Manufactures coat guns with a protective coating that when fired repeatedly heats up and becomes a glue, which can bind the Firearm locking system and make it hard to open.

Bring your gun to a professional shop to strip clean the firearm for your season opener.    

        

Keep your powder dry,
Jim Kromka
Kromka Sporting Adventures LLC.
WEB: kromkasportingadventures.com
Mobile: (862) 812-3846
The Art & Science Behind the Shot

Differences Between the 223 Caliber and 5.56 Caliber.

There has been a lot of question and confusion about the 223 cal and 5.56 cal. Many have asked me, "Jim, are they the same?" and "Are they interchangeable?" 

The answer is YES they are, but in some guns. 

The outside dimensions of the cartridge are exactly the same! But the inside dimensions are not. 

The 5.56 is the military loading for the round. It develops a faster and slightly harder hitting projectile. It also develops 20,000 psi more chamber pressure, which results in more stretching and expanding of the case as the bullet leaves it. The 5.56 case is thicker than the 223 to accommodate for the stretching, (better known as fire forming). Again, the outside dimensions are the same but the inside dimensions are not.

The 223 and 5.56 are interchangeable in all AR platforms and military style rifles. The reason is that these style rifles are reamed out at the feed ramp, throat and chamber. This is done for reliable function in combat or rapid fire. When it comes to bolt actions this is not the case! Bolt actions are designed for accuracy, and therefore require much tighter machining and tolerances. 

You wouldn't see bolt actions chambered for 5.56; they are chambered for 223. If a 5.56 is loaded and fired from a bolt action in 223 the result can be a jam, or in some cases (as it has been known to do), the extractor claw can wear or break off. So the rules are simple!

• 223 and 5.56 in semi-auto military style rifles are safe and functional!
• Bolt actions chambered for 223 should never be chambered with 5.56!

I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion and also helps you avoid any potential problems.

Thanks again.

Jim Kromka

kromkasportingadventures.com

Great Tips From A Fellow Pro.

This article was originally written by Dave Campbell and originally appeared in "American Rifleman" in April, 2011. It is well written and worth reading, digesting and using!

4/4/2011

It happens to every shooter, whether competitive, tactical or hunter. You hit a slump and start missing targets you know you should have hit. Perhaps you are relatively new to shooting and are still developing your skills but have hit a plateau. Or maybe you are attempting to broaden your skill base with ambitions of being the next winner of "Top Shot."The good news is that there is always hope for improvement. The bad news is that there really aren't any shortcuts. It takes ammo-lots of ammo-sent downrange, under discipline, to make a superior shooter. Here are five simple sure-fire ways to improve your shooting.

1. Slow Down
Everybody wants to shoot fast-faster than the other guy. But speed always sacrifices accuracy. If your groups look more like an improved-cylinder pattern from a shotgun, the best thing to do is slow down. Focus on sight picture and trigger control. Once your groups shrink back into an acceptable range, then, and only then, should you start to pick up the pace. Several years ago at event hosted by Springfield Armory on a rainy San Diego day, Rob Leatham gave a bunch of us gun scribes some pointers on how to improve our pistol shooting. One in particular stuck with me, and I regularly make it a part of my practice regimen. It is as applicable to a rifle as it is a handgun.

Put up a blank target-no bullseye or aiming point-at close range. If you're working with a handgun, start at 5 yards; rifles can start at 25 yards. Hold center of mass and fire one round. Now, taking as much time as you need, shoot the remainder of the magazine without enlarging the first bullet hole. Tough? You bet! Impossible? Theoretically, no, but the exercise focuses on the basics of shooting: sight picture, breath control and trigger control. This is aslow-fire drill. What this does is reinforce proper muscle memory for accurate shooting. When you are shooting one ragged hole at 5 yards, move back to 10 yards-50 yards for rifles-and repeat. This is also a great drill for curing a flinch.

2. Dry Fire
Plain and simple: There is no substitute for dry-fire practice. It really saves on the amount of ammo you send downrange. The downside is that it is excruciatingly boring. Nonetheless, dry-fire practice is as valuable as live-fire practice in terms of learning and polishing trigger control vis-?-vis sight picture.Dry firing can be done at home. First and foremost, you must make absolutely sure that there is no ammunition in the firearm before engaging in dry-fire practice. Many instructors insist that all ammunition be removed from the room where the practice is conducted-not a bad idea. You can put up a dummy target on a wall across the room or pick something small-a light switch, for example-as an aiming point. Make every "shot" count. There is no recoil or noise to contend with, so your focus should, again, be on the basics.3. Get Off the Bench
Rifle shooters often become wedded to the shooting bench because it makes it so much easier to shoot tiny groups. That's fine for sighting in or load development, but if you want to become a good rifle shot you'll need to be able to shoot from a variety of positions.

If you carry shooting sticks, by all means spend some time using them at various heights on the range. Learn to deploy them quickly so that when the time comes to use them on a nervous buck, you are able to concentrate on shooting instead of figuring out how to set them up.

Practice from all the field positions: prone, sitting, kneeling, squatting and off-hand. Whether rifle or handgun, determine your maximum effective range from a given position. Be brutally honest in your evaluation. That knowledge is extremely valuable when making a shoot/don't shoot decision.

4. Vary Your Training Routine
It can be easy to get into a rut. Shoot this drill, then that one, finish up with another one and head home. Do that and you'll be trained to shoot this, that and another, but when presented with something outside your comfort zone you may just fall apart. Look at the results of some of the "Top Shot" episodes where world-class shooters in a particular discipline look like amateurs in another.

Generally, I break practice sessions into three different stages: basic shooting skills, skills that I have learned fairly well and those skills that are difficult, new or very advanced. The basics take up about 20 percent of the practice session. Its purpose is to reinforce basic skills and provide a confidence base. Roughly 60 percent of the session is dedicated to honing and maintaining the overall base of shooting skills. Then I finish up with practicing advanced or new skills that are more difficult.

Within that framework, however, I vary the exercises so that they do not become boring. Sometimes I'll shoot paper; other times I'll shoot reactive targets. One of the best assets you can have is a shooting partner. He or she can provide variety in training scenarios as well as some inherent competition.

5. Know When to Shut it Down
There are times when it just isn't happening. You may be fatigued from work, your mind may wander toward other non-shooting challenges, or maybe you'd just rather be at the beach. In any case, if your focus is not on shooting, you are wasting ammunition and developing bad habits that will have to be fixed later.

Recently I started to force a range session with my Sharps replica rifle. My enthusiasm to get out and shoot after a long, cold winter and to get the hang of its vernier sight got the better of me. It was nice and warm at the house, but at the range the wind was blowing 25 mph. My first shot was good; the second off a bit. The third shot sealed the deal for me. It was 10 inches off the mark, and I started shivering. So I put it all away and postponed the session.

I wish I could tell you to take a pill, buy a gadget or sing "Kumbaya," and your shooting performance will improve, but it's just not possible. But if you try any or all of these tips and practice with due diligence, I can guarantee that you will see improvement.