It was an
idea that was long overdue. So what am I talking about? Color filters for
scopes. Anyone who has had anything more than a casual interest in
photography has known about the advantages of color filters on your camera
to enhance a photo. Well, color filters can also enhance the image in a
rifle or pistol scope as well, but no one had thought to make them in the
appropriate size. Additionally, a lot of scopes aren’t threaded on the end
to accept screw on accessories anyway. However, all that’s changed.
Leupold
has begun to thread all of its scopes now and is offering a complete line
of screw on accessories under the “Alumina” name. The most interesting of
these is a really nice set of color filters. There are three filters in
the kit i.e. a yellow-orange, a bronze (kind of a pale brownish orange),
and a light blue. All are designed to increase contrast under a wide
variety of conditions. In fact, Leupold refers to them as being an
“Intensifier Kit”.
|
 |
|
"Leupold's Intensifier Kit is designed to increase contrast in
difficult lighting conditions." |
|
It was an
idea that was long overdue. So what am I talking about? Color filters for
scopes. Anyone who has had anything more than a casual interest in
photography has known about the advantages of color filters on your camera
to enhance a photo. Well, color filters can also enhance the image in a
rifle or pistol scope as well, but no one had thought to make them in the
appropriate size. Additionally, a lot of scopes aren’t threaded on the end
to accept screw on accessories anyway. However, all that’s changed.
Leupold
has begun to thread all of its scopes now and is offering a complete line
of screw on accessories under the “Alumina” name. The most interesting of
these is a really nice set of color filters. There are three filters in
the kit i.e. a yellow-orange, a bronze (kind of a pale brownish orange),
and a light blue. All are designed to increase contrast under a wide
variety of conditions. In fact, Leupold refers to them as being an
“Intensifier Kit”.
While
some may regard them as being accessories, I would regard them as almost
being necessities. Why? Because we shoot silhouettes and hunt under an
immense variety of light conditions. Of course yellow is the color you
naturally go to when you have overcast conditions. But there’s different
kinds of overcast. Ever get in a situation where it was overcast and yet
there was a lot of glare going on at the same time? Sure you have. It’s
not that uncommon. That’s when you use the yellow-orange
filter. Additionally, if it’s brilliantly bright and sunny and things are
looking washed out and you want to increase contrast, again the
yellow-orange filter is exactly what you need. This is a very typical
situation in the sandy, rocky West.
Do you
ever hunt when there’s snow on the ground? In many, many parts of the
country that goes without saying. On a sunny winter day, snow glare can be
really a serious problem. Try the bronze filter. Besides increasing
contrast, it will also substantially cut the glare and the harsh intensity
of all that reflected light. The blue filter can also work well in those
conditions, although I would try the bronze first. The blue is kind of a
light to medium-light tint. As such, it works well as a general purpose
contrast enhancer in many, many situations. If I wanted to leave just one
filter on a scope most of the time, the blue would probably be my choice.
Additionally, the blue can be screwed right on top of either of the other
two filters for even greater image enhancement.
In
addition to these three filters, Leupold also offers a standard yellow
filter but not as part of the kit. This is another all purpose color that
is probably best in really dark overcast situations. It also works really
well in hazy conditions and even in light fog. If I were hunting or
shooting silhouettes in Oregon, Washington, some parts of Alaska, the
Southeast, or anywhere else where fog and ground haze are common, man I’d
have a yellow filter on my scope no matter what.
What’s really
neat about the filter kit is that they all screw together to form a
compact little stack. Leupold also furnishes what looks like a couple of
metal lens caps which then screw on the top and bottom of the stack to
make a very nifty package in which the filter surfaces are now completely
protected. The stack is only about 1” high, so it easily fits in a jacket
or shirt pocket, so it’s easy to carry around. The Leupold logo in bronze
on one of the caps completes the the visual impression that this is a
piece of very nice gear that any serious shooter would have to own. I know
I’m going to get a lot of use out of my filter kit, but if you don’t want
to buy the three filter kit, each color can be purchased separately. Just
as a note, if your older Leupold scope isn’t threaded for accessories,
don’t let that stop you. They have a custom shop service that for a
reasonable fee, that will do the job.
In addition to
the filters, there are other Leupold accessories that you can use to give
your scope more capabilities. For instance - sunshades. Every scope needs
a sunshade. 2.5 and 4 inch shades are now available. There’s also
screw-on “RainCote” covers. These are clear glass screw-on covers that are
permanently treated to sheet off rain. Other lens coatings make rain bead
up on the lens, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because the water
droplets will block your view. With this one, the rain just slides
right off. There’s also flip up METAL lens covers.
As you know, I’m a fan
of flip up covers, but metal flip ups have never been available. Hope to
review these and other goodies very soon in the future. Cool stuff. Check
it out in the Leupold catalog. You can request one by going to
(leupold.com).
7th Edition
ABC’s of Reloading
This is one
of those “must have” books for everyone who reloads. Published by Gun Digest,
it literally covers reloading from A to Z. No matter whether you’re a novice
reloader, or have been doing it for 20 plus years, believe me, you’ll learn
something new. Consisting of two hundred and eighty-eight pages and
thirty-four chapters, it covers reloading for almost every shooting sport out
there - including handgun silhouette. It also gets into the nitty, gritty,
details of bullets, primers, cases, and powder. I found the chapter on cases
to be particularly interesting, especially the discussion on headspace, and
case failures. Case failures in particular were discussed in great detail and
covered longitudinal splits, circumferential splits, head separations,
stretched primer pockets, and swollen case heads. Whew! That’s a lot of stuff
that can go wrong, and each of these symptoms is telling us something
different.
The use of a
chronograph was also particularly interesting. As you know, quite a few
silhouette shooters use a chronograph in the load development process. What’s
the best indicator of shot to shot consistency - extreme spread or standard
deviation? If a gun is having a mechanical problem, can a chronograph help
you diagnosis the situation? Very interesting stuff.
Anyway, this
very fascinating book retails for only $21.99, and if you buy it over the
internet at Barnes & Noble,
it is discounted down to around $17. It’s a great bargain and a very
interesting and helpful read.
IHMSA in
1994
I was
cleaning out my desk and ran across a survey that I conducted at the 94
Internationals in Ft. Stockton. The information was very interesting then and
it still is. Here are a just few quotes “Survey results show the average
IHMSA member to be male, 44.5 years of age and has been shooting handgun
silhouette 6.4 years... 89% have contacted a government representative
within the last year. Sixty-two percent stated that their participation in
IHMSA competition was not affected by economic conditions and thirty-eight
percent said it was. Previous surveys have established that the average IHMSA
member owns 25 firearms of all varieties. This particular survey established
that of those 25 firearms, 9.7 are silhouette hand guns.“
Here
is some of the other data that was developed:
-
Average # of big bore
matches attended per year -12
-
Average # of small bore
matches attended per year -12
-
Average # of guns shot per
big bore & small bore match - 3
-
Most popular 22 unlimited
gun - Anschutz Exemplar
-
Most popular 22 production
gun - Browning Buckmark
-
Most popular 22 revolver -
Freedom Arms
-
Most popular BB Unlimited
gun - XP-100 7 BR
-
Most popular BB production
gun - Thompson Center 7 TCU
-
Most popular BB revolver -
Freedom Arms 357 (26%) 44 Mag (23%)
-
Most popular powders -
AA2015 (20%), H322 (14%), H4895 (13%)
Competitors
were also encouraged to add comments on any subject at the bottom of the
survey. “Their comments clearly indicate that they are not happy with the
sight systems and general overall quality of some commonly used production and
revolver class firearms. A full 50% of the respondents stated a desire for
better sights. Barrel and chamber quality were also cited as prime areas that
need attention. Female shooters complained that the grips offered with
silhouette guns did not fit their hands. Lastly, 25% of the shooters stated
that the firearms manufacturers would not listen to their comments and
suggestions.”
The survey
also identified the most popular ammo used in each of the 22 events and all of
the most popular reloading components used in all the big bore events. The
demographic and product information generated by the survey was a gold mine
that could have been used for a wide variety of purposes, including marketing
IHMSA to industry. On my own, I did send copies of the survey to several
industry members for their information and several manufacturers found it to
be very useful. However, for some reason the information was never used by
IHMSA. Never the less, looking at the survey results today gives us a close
look at the IHMSA of old in which the 7 TCU still reigned supreme and
Winchester Super X was the most popular 22 ammo.
|
|
