Ammo Spam, round up

Over at WallsOfTheCity, Linoge wrote a short piece a few days back hypothesizing that several ammunition storefronts (LuckyGunner.com, BulkAmmo.com, GunsForSale.com, and Ammo.net), were actually one and the same. He had some pretty solid information but nothing that conclusively proved it.

Today, he has posted information that proves it.

Now, I can't hate a business for marketing. I can understand why they would do something like this - if customer service over at Site A pisses off a customer it's entirely possible that they will now buy from Site B, which is the same company with a different front end. It gives multiple possible end locations for a search on a generic term, increasing their likelihood of being the click-through. On the flip side, it also provides for some brand dilution - there is only one MidwayUSA, only one Brownell's, and they have long-standing name recognition.

What it's really coming down to is Search Engine Optimization. I don't even necessarily dislike them for this. If LuckyGunner can build some good relations with the bloggers for the cost of a few boxes of ammo and get some linkage out of it, that's marketing. Nothing more, nothing less.

And truth be told, I wouldn't be upset about this at all except for one thing...

Last fall, I got some spam from BulkAmmo. And I posted about it. They had asked for free links "just because", essentially. A few days later, they sent the same request, and I ignored the email but posted another blog entry. Spam is spam; the delete key is easy, and BulkAmmo went on my "don't do business with them" list.

Now I've found out that all the above companies are one and the same, and I'm pretty angry. I'm feeling like I was taken advantage of. LuckyGunner was making some good inroads with the blogging community, and I have a feeling they may have burned a lot of those bridges.

My last post was a review of ammo that they provided - and it has the links back to them that I agreed to. You'll notice that their name isn't linked anywhere in this post. There's a reason for that. I sold a link to Sportsman's Guide last winter - it's over there in the sidebar - and that was a clear and honest trade. They paid me, I put up a link worded how they wanted it, for a set period of time. Easy.

LuckyGunner.com, BulkAmmo.com, Ammo.net, and GunsForSale.com have tried to sidestep this process. I've made a decision based on this:

http://zercool.blogspot.com, http://www.zercool.com, "Plumbum et Circenses", etc, will no longer take advertising of any kind. I'll still do product reviews, but it's going to be on products that I buy with my own money. When the sidebar link I sold expires, it's not going back up.

I'm blogging because I enjoy it, because I like spewing my thoughts to a small corner of the internet, and oddly enough, because at least a few of you seem to enjoy reading what I write. Somehow I'd slipped away from that. The ammo review I just posted has been stressing me out more than I realized, and having it done feels like a weight is off my shoulders.

I may not get to review the shiny goodness of lasers and lights that Jay enjoys, or the new hardware that others get to play with - or at least not for free - but I'm okay with that. I'm doing this for me, not you.

Ammo Review: .223

Back at the NRA Annual Meeting in May, LuckyGunner hosted a nice little cocktail reception for a bunch of us on Thursday evening. One of their guys chatted with me a bit and asked if I could do some ammo reviews at some point. Free ammo? You bet.

They got a list of calibers I'd be interested in reviewing and a few weeks later I had a box of three different .223 loads sitting on my front porch. There was one box each of Remington UMC 55gr MC, PMC Bronze 55gr FMJBT, and Sellier&Bellot 55gr JSPBT.

Life got busy for a while (in truth, it's still busy), but I finally had a confluence of time, weather, and health sufficient to get to the range to take care of this.

I added a box of my own plinking ammo - American Eagle (Federal) 55gr FMJBT - just for comparison's sake.

All testing was done with my AR-pattern rifle, which is a 20" A2, stainless 1/8" HBAR, with a (tight) .223 chamber, with a rough battle zero (0-300 with no adjustment). I used a front rest only and shot from the bench. It was approximately 11am, temps were in the upper 70s, and wind was varying 5-to-15mph, gusting slightly higher, from about 10-11 o'clock.

I started by running one short magazine (5 rounds) of 45gr JHP at 25m to check zero and foul the barrel. This was the result:

Two inches low (8MOA) from center and 1/2" left (2MOA), 3MOA group. As a battle zero, this is quite acceptable and the group met my standards. (Which are low, but I do have them!)

Following that, I ran five rounds from each box through, at a rifleman's cadence, and allowed a few minutes between each group for the barrel to cool. This was how things came out (again, 25m):

Aim points were the *outside* corners of the large black square, and groups are located accordingly.

Top right: American Eagle, 4MOA left, 12MOA low, 7MOA group.

Top left: PMC Bronze, center windage, 6MOA low, 6MOA group.

Bottom left: Sellier & Bellot, center windage, 4MOA low, 5MOA group.

Bottom right: Remington UMC, 4MOA left, 4MOA low, 4MOA group.

I *should* have made a windage adjustment to my sights and gone about 3-4MOA right, but chose to not fiddle with it.

From there, I moved the target back to 100m and swapped to shoot'n'see targets (which are something of a misnomer, cuz I can't see hits at 100m). I shot ten rounds at each target, at cadence.

Top right: American Eagle, 3MOA left, 1MOA high, 6MOA group. (Possible breathing issue, the group is 3MOA wide and 6MOA tall.)

Top left: PMC Bronze, 2MOA left, zero elevation, 4MOA group.

Bottom left: Sellier & Bellot, 2.5MOA left, 2MOA high, 6MOA group. (Again, possible breathing issue?)

Bottom right: Remington UMC, 4MOA left, 3MOA high, 4MOA group.

From *there*, I had five rounds of each type left and decided to stretch out a little bit. My club has an 18" steel at the far end of the range - 250m and slightly uphill. It's visible in the top left corner of this picture:

I found that my front sight (a KNS hooded reticle) completely obscures the plate at 250m, but good hits were entirely possible by simply making sure the target was hidden.

American Eagle: 2/5

PMC Bronze: 3/5

Sellier & Bellot: 1/5

Remington UMC: 2/5

There were no failures of any kind from any of the ammo - good feeding, ejection, and ignition on everything. If there were going to be issues, this would be the rifle to show them. It's ripped the rim off steel-cased stuff more than once (requiring a dammit stick to remove the spent case) and has blown primers when I unintentionally put in a magazine of 5.56x45.

There were a few things of note, aside from the shooting characteristics. Remington tends to wildly over-package their ammo, in a rack that holds each round separate and immobile. Probably overkill for plinking ammo, but the racks are great if you handload precision rounds and want to keep them from rattling around. S&B and Federal both use a small plastic divider to keep rounds lined up, which works well but may allow minor contact between cartridges.

PMC doesn't use any divider, which results in things like this, which is what I saw when I opened the box:

19 rounds. Where's 20? Buried sideways between the rows of bullets.

Of particular note on the Sellier & Bellot: the box is labelled .223, but the brass is headstamped 5.56x45.

I decided to shoot the ammo anyway, and checked the brass for pressure signs after the first few rounds. The primers appeared to be on the verge of cratering, but otherwise there were no signs of issues - no blown primer, no pierced primer, nothing.

I pulled out a few pieces of the S&B brass and a couple pieces of known .223 when I got home and checked water capacity; they were all within a tenth or two of 30gr water capacity. I can only assume the brass isn't stamped properly and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

As far as accuracy goes, any of these would be perfectly acceptable as a plinking or practice round, with a slight nod to the Remington UMC or PMC Bronze. There is some question about the effectiveness of lighter rounds (namely, the 45gr I started with) in higher-twist-rate barrels. At least at the 25m I started at, that doesn't appear to be an issue - although some would argue that a 1/8" rate is not a faster rate.

Your best bet for finding a good practice ammo, of course, is to buy a few boxes and test it out.

Weighty matters

One of the prime issues with concealed carry is striking the fine balance between "bring enough gun" and "so much gun I don't bring it". In other words, enough power to be a realistic defensive firearm, but light enough that you will carry it always.

"Carry your gun - it's a lighter burden than regret."

Without descending into caliber wars, I choose not to carry anything smaller than a .38 at this point. For a while it was a .380, but the Bersa got to be uncomfortable (godawful pointy beavertail on that thing) and has been sent on down the road, to be replaced by a S&W 642 in .38Spl.

Last night in conversation with Weer'dBeard I mentioned carrying the new 4053. He grumbled about it being an overly heavy brick. This from a guy who carries a Commander-size 1911 - admittedly in Scandium, but still a serious gun. (There, ya happy, weer'd?)

I got to thinking about just what we choose to carry around on a daily basis, so tossed all my possible carry guns on a scale with a full load of ammo. The results were interesting!

My default carry piece, a S&W 642 .38Spl, with five rounds of Federal Hydrashock 129gr +P: 1lb 0.9oz




The new carry piece (when a holster arrives), a S&W 242 .38Spl, with seven rounds of WWB 125gr +P: 1lb 6.2oz




My first carry (not often!), a steel-frame Government 1911 .45ACP, with 7+1 of WWB 230gr JHP: 2lb 13.6oz




What's on my belt right now, a S&W 4053 .40S&W, with 8+1 of WWB 180gr JHP: 2lb 2.5oz




And while I could carry this one, it's unlikely I often will. A S&W 5946 9mm, with 15+1 of WWB 115gr JHP: 2lb 12.1oz




Now, anything you choose to carry, you should be carrying a reload for it. Not because you expect to need those shots, but (A) you might, and (B) malfunctions happen. Magazines fail at the worst possible moment (and in the middle of an IDPA stage is NOT the worst possible moment). Slap-rack-bang doesn't work, you better be ready to drop mag and slam home a fresh one.

So what's got the lightest reload?

Well, it should be obvious: six rounds of .38Spl on a speed strip. 2.9oz.


For a bit more than double the weight, you can carry eight more rounds of .40, at 7.5oz, or seven rounds of .45 for 7.6oz.




And at the top end, tipping the scale to 8.9oz, is 15 rounds of 9mm:


So how much are you really going to be carrying around? Lighter than regret, but some of these are heavy burdens:

642 with a reload (+1): 1lb 3.8oz
242 with a reload (-1): 1lb 9.1oz
4053 with a reload: 2lb 10.0oz
5946 with a reload: 3lb 5.0oz
1911 with a reload: 3lb 5.2oz

Doesn't sound like a lot, does it? Think about it hanging off your hip for 10-14 hours a day. There's a reason a lot of police officers have long-term back problems, and it's not just spending too much time in a patrol car.

So how much gun is enough gun? That's for you to decide on your own. You'll learn to dress around the gun you carry, though. Here are the four calibers in question:

9mm, .38Spl, .40S&W, .45ACP

Each of those is a perfectly acceptable choice as a defensive round. I would trust my life to any of them. Above all, shot placement matters though - so hie thee to a range and throw some lead!



Off topic, for you haters:






Yes. That is what you think it is. An Aimpoint on a HiPoint.

Edit: In his link love, Jay mentions including holster weight in the overall weight. He makes a good point. There are two reasons I didn't.

First and foremost: I've only got proper holsters for the 1911 and the 642. Leather is on the way for the other three, but t'ain't heah yet. It pains me to admit it, but the 4053 is riding in a cheap-ass Uncle Mike's IWB sleeve* right now.

Second: carry method is an intensely personal choice, and what kind of holster you wear will determine weight. E.g., a simple leather "yaqui slide" arrangement, for nearly any gun, will only weigh an ounce or two. A leather retention high-ride OWB holster for a 1911 could weigh north of a half-pound. Kydex or other plastic holsters are yet another variation.

Magazine pouches tend to be on the light side, but truth be told, I just drop a spare magazine or a speed strip in a front pocket. Your gun might be well-concealed, but nothing screams "I'm carrying!" like a magazine or two sticking up from your belt.

* - people rip on the generic Uncle Mike's stuff as worthless. I disagree. It's *inexpensive*, but their $10 IWB sleeves work just fine. I won't call them classy, but they are functional. Not everyone can afford a purty leather rig... which I think may be the topic of tonight's blog post.

Panic! Hysteria! Doom!

Or it could just be pandering and a lack of fact-checking.

A friend sent me a link to a "news" story today, entitled "Army OKs Hollow-Point Bullets" and the tag line, "The Pentagon's new plan to stop shootings on bases: Give MPs lethal handgun ammo that's banned for use in wars."

Without even clicking through the link, my first reaction was, "What, they issue blanks now?"

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NON-LETHAL HANDGUN BULLET.

Let me repeat, in case you didn't catch it the first time:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NON-LETHAL HANDGUN BULLET.

I took a deep breath and clicked through to the article. It's roughly what I expected based on the tag line. Misinformation, mistakes, and hysteria.

"These rounds [...] feature a small depression cut into the slug's nose, usually filled with notched steel."

Not exactly. Yes, there is a cavity or depression in the nose - hence the name "hollow point" - but it is not filled with notched anything. The metal seen inside is generally lead or some alloy thereof, and the metal around the lead is copper. Steel is very unusual in bullets because it tends to damage steel barrels rather quickly. No modern ammo made in the US is going to have a steel jacket.

"their kinetic energy is lower"

Sorry, no. A 115gr 9mm slug at 1200fps has the same energy regardless of bullet shape. (And actually, the 115gr JHPs stuffed in my S&W are about 60fps faster than the 115gr FMJs I use for practice.) What a hollowpoint will do is shed that energy much faster in its target - and expand in the process. A wider wound channel and more energy deposited in the target generally leads to faster incapacitation.

"[A]s Norman Siegel of the New York Civil Liberties Union asked in '98: What about when an innocent bystander—or another police officer—is what the bullet hits directly?"

Shooters learn, early on, that they are responsible for the final resting place of each and every bullet that leaves the muzzle of their gun. Police officers and MP/SP are no different. If that bullet hits something other than the intended target, they are liable for it.

"It's also not obvious to me that hollow-point bullets would have made much difference when Sgt. John Russell killed five soldiers last May on Baghdad's Camp Liberty"

Red herring. Camp Liberty is in a foreign country AND a combat zone, this directive only applies to Army installations *in the US*. The military won't issue HP ammo in a combat zone to begin with due to the Hague Conventions; usage of HP ammo in foreign countries would depend on agreements established with the host government.

In the comments, this winner:
"I can't understand why they made a choice based on what would fuck people up more."

They made that choice because when the decision to use lethal force has been reached, the goal is to STOP the threat as quickly as possible. If the same goal can be achieved with two or three shots of JHP instead of a magazine full of FMJ ammo, that is undeniably a faster stop. Fewer rounds in the air also means fewer chances of a bystander being struck.

There is a reason that nearly every police agency in the US is using hollowpoints, and nearly every person who carries their own handgun loads it with hollowpoints: THEY WORK.

Oh, and one last time, in case you missed it before:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NON-LETHAL HANDGUN BULLET.

(The original article can be found here, in the Army Times.)

Ammo "deal"

When I first started buying ammo in case lots, this would've been most of the way to a case of good brass (reloadable) ammo... or a high price for what it is. However, now, it's about the best you'll find:

Cabela's has a sale on Tula Arsenal (Russian made) .223 and 7.62x39 steel case ammo. $3.99/box of 20, or $199.50/1000. Add coupon code "5FLATMAY" at checkout for $5 shipping on orders over $150.

Also worth noting is the same ammo available in bulk packs with two of Cabela's "dry box" storage boxes for $15 more per 1000.

Tula is roughly equivalent to Wolf in quality (same factory). It goes bang, but it's dirty and may stick in tight chambers. If you're feeding an AK- or SKS-pattern rifle, this stuff is fine. An AR is anyone's guess and usually rifle-specific. My DCM A2 setup doesn't like steel-cased ammo, but I'm hoping that when I've finished an M4gery it'll have a loose enough tolerance to do well. I've seen several ARs that eat this stuff just fine. Mini-14s and Mini-30s tend to be loose enough to handle this stuff just fine as well.

Failing that, $4/box makes it perfectly good trade fodder or ammo-of-last-resort.

Morning Miscellany

Stopped at the Mart of Wal on the way home from work this morning. Initially it was for a can of spray paint (marking tools prior to a work party at the range this weekend), but decided to check the ammo cabinets while I was there.

I've been through a few times in the past couple weeks, and either the supply and demand curves have crossed again, or the price-point has risen just enough to keep some on the shelves. Every time I've been there, there's been .25, .32, 9mm, .40, .44Mag, .45, .223, and bulk .22LR. I've managed to leave it there until today. A box of .44Mag ($33) and two bricks of Federal .22 ($19/ea) came home with me. I was sorely tempted to buy a couple boxes of RWS 124gr 9mm ($13) or one of the value-packs of 115gr WWB ($23) - but then I remembered how much 9mm is on the shelf at home and managed to leave it there. If I need more this year, I'll look for a good price on Wolf or similar.

About a mile from home I crested a small rise in the road and saw a couple small furry somethings (cat-size) playing on the side of the road a bit ahead. Right size for cats but moving wrong. Too tall for woodchucks and they don't move in threes. Slowed down, got closer. It was beautiful red fox and two kits! They ducked into the deep grass along the road as I pulled past them, but one of the kits stopped and looked back at me as I drove by. Pretty animals...

Minor update

Life continues apace. Two weeks ago MrsZ and I spent a late morning enjoying trigger time and general camaraderie with a fellow Appleseeder. I tried out my new handload for .45s and was pleased - 6.0gr T/B/230grLRN. Zeroed my Winchester 94; it's now handily minute-of-deer at 100yd and would be fine to 150. Toyed with the .17 rifle and pistol - can't get the pistol to hold a consistent zero and think that may be a sights issue. I have a pistol scope for it, now I need to get a rail and rings. I also got to enjoy his Marlin .45-70 levergun, which was an absolute hoot to shoot and has bumped up my desire list a bit.

Last weekend we made brief appearances at the local Appleseed, and actually managed to fit in some shooting - it helped to have a surplus of instructors for once. My Savage MkII is having feeding issues, and a thorough scrubbing is in order soon - and possibly some new magazines. I'll be coughing up for the stainless magazines next time around, as the ones I have are well-coated with rust freckles. MrsZ's 10/22 is having ejection issues, and beyond a thorough scrubbing it may require some parts replacement - particularly the extractor/ejector.

On the home front, we acquired a new grill last weekend, and I put it together Tuesday. It is ... large. Very large. Half-gas, half-charcoal, side burner, and there is an optional side-smoker that I will likely get at some point. Almost three hours to put together at an admittedly leisurely pace. Hamburgers and grilled veggies on the gas side came out beautifully, although proper grill implements are in order so I don't drop *quite* so many bits through the grate. Today I did a rack and a half of pork ribs on the charcoal side, and tried the "water smoker" method. I'm not displeased, although there is some tweaking to do. We rubbed the ribs with Dinosaur BBQ's "Foreplay" dry rub and some brown sugar last night and stuck 'em back in the fridge overnight.

I got up at 10 this morning and started the grill, put a shallow pan of beer on one side and the coals on the other, and the ribs over the beer. Closed off the dampers and started smokin' ... An hour later I remembered that I had pruned the apple trees a few weeks ago, and decided to improve on the smoke. I poked through the brush pile and found a promising apple branch, cut out a nice-size chunk, peeled it, cut it into chunks, and added it to the coals when I added more charcoal. Around 12:30 I basted one side of the ribs with Dino's Sensuous Slatherin' Sauce, cooked another 15 minutes, flipped, basted that side, cooked another 15, then pulled the ribs and covered them up...

I just finished my rack of ribs. Not too bad at all. The temperature was a little high (pushed 300 or 350 a couple times) so the edges dried out some, but the flavor was good. The side-smoker is a definite must-have to keep the temperature down some.

We got a love note from our homeowner's insurance company Monday - they are canceling our policy in 30 days because of "unacceptable risk". I called the agent for details and they told me it was because of the un-sided garage. Nevermind that the garage has been bare for over a year... and that they told us when they wrote the policy that it wasn't an issue. We did some calling around and cursing, and I placed an order for lumber yesterday - nearly 1500 board-feet of rough white pine, in order to do board and batten siding. That should be delivered Tuesday or Wednesday, at which point I'll start getting siding up as quickly as possible. Most of the lumber will be pretty green, so it'll weather and dry over the winter and then we'll seal/stain it in the springtime.

Somehow, shooting has taken a back seat to home ownership. This is ... frustrating.

Side note: Shotgun ammo prices have started to decline slightly. I went through Walmart the other day and the 100-round value packs of Remington trap loads were marked down from 24-something to 21-ish. Small, but noteworthy. ... Of course, I can't tell you the last time I shot trap. I should find the nearest range with open trap and go shoot some; it's a good way to relax on a Sunday morning.

New boomers tried

Spent a couple hours this morning on trigger time with a nearby gunny and fellow Appleseeder. Tossed several guns in the truck and a bag of ammo and headed off.

We spent some time getting my S&W 647 zeroed at 25m (got it close, not great)... then tried and zeroed my new-to-me Win94. It's shooting minute-of-deer at 100yd which is all I need from it. Trigger still sucks - I'm hoping some shooting or dry-firing will smooth that out. Might need to get some snap caps.

Re-zeroed my Savage MkII... it had been adjusted for 100yd shooting, and I brought it back to 25m.

Brought out the Savage 93 and worked the kinks out. Had it happily zeroed at 25m and then it fell from its position leaning in the corner and the zero went bye-bye. I was unpleased. Re-zeroed. It is now 1/2" low at 25m and dead-on at 100yd - just about perfect for squirrels and other small game.

MrsZ re-zeroed her 10/22 to 25m as well.

Played with the MkIII 22/45, the 1911, the Bersa ... tried a Springfield XD9 ... and spiffiest of all, a Marlin .45-70. It didn't kick like I thought it would. Stiff, but really not any worse than a 12ga with a slug. Definitely worth consideration.

Side note, I tried my latest batch of handloads for the 1911. Trying a new powder, RamShot TrueBlue. Not bad. I'll be loading up a couple boxes of that for competition.

Epic ... Just Epic

As previously mentioned, I was heading up to NH for the Second-ish Annual Northeast Bloggershoot.

I got up Saturday morning and loaded the truck (after re-locating the pile o' gear I had set aside the morning before, and MrsZ had helpfully put back into appropriate places), then headed for Major Caudill's place. The first part of the drive was fine - some minor construction on I88, but nothing serious. Just north of Albany, the confusion began.

Mapquest directions had me taking an exit off I87 towards Bennington and taking the scenic tour across southern Vermont. TomTom wanted me to continue north on I87 for another 40 miles. I followed the Mapquest version, and wound my way up and down across Vermont, most of the time stuck behind tourists and other slow drivers who were busy taking in the scenery - there doesn't seem to be an interstate that goes East-West across VT, or at least not in a convenient spot. I eventually made it on to I91 and then I89 and arrived at Marko's just in time for dinner with his lovely wife and two sweet kids.

After dinner we moseyed into town for a cup of coffee and his postponed Dadcation, gassed up his people-mover, and I grabbed a couple sundries I'd forgotten in my packing haste (toothbrush is a good thing). Back to Castle Frostbite, and bed. I had been assured that a 2- and 4-year-old would negate the need for an alarm clock, so I didn't set one - and was awoken the next morning by Marko knocking on the door... Seems the kids decided to sleep in too.

A quick breakfast (waffles from scratch!), and we transferred my pile o' hardware to Marko's van, and headed towards the range. Picked up another shooter along the way, and off to DoubleTrouble's SooperSekrit range...

We arrived around 11:45, and made introductions as necessary. Some folks (I'm looking at you, JayG) needed no introduction. Quite a group - and a wildly impressive collection of hardware. C&R galore, black rifles galore, bottom-feeders, wheelguns, leverguns, single-shots ... rifles, pistols, shotguns, NFA ... Oh yes, my friends, there were rifles with a giggle-switch, and pistols and rifles with suppressors, and a short-barreled shotgun... bayonets hither and yon, on rifles, on shotguns, on pistols... and on an Uzi. Yes, a REAL Uzi. Short-barrel, full-auto, folding stock.

And ALL of this hardware is 100% legal where we were - in NH.

Several folks tried the hardware I'd brought along, I tried many other pieces of hardware (NAA Mini - that's a hoot!) and got to shoot the full-auto AR. Fun - VERY fun - but I could never afford to feed one even if I could own it here in NY. Owning a full-auto gun - of any kind - and shooting it semi-auto only is like (to quote Marko) owning a Porsche and driving it at exactly 55mph all the time. What's the point?

There was an unofficial BOOM contest - which was handily won by the Ruger Super Alaskan in .454 Casull. Holy wrist-wrench... but surprisingly manageable for what it was. Still, stiff. I didn't get a chance to shoot the Snubbie From Hell, but I expect there will be another opportunity sometime.

After burning ammo for several hours, completely demolishing the Pikachu (see the other AARs for that tidbit) and several Zeds, and enjoying some great time with awesome folks, we loaded up Marko's mover again, and headed back to Castle Frostbite. Once there, I swapped my hardware and ammo back into my truck and headed back to the southwest. I left his place in a light rain around 7:30. It rained all the way across Vermont - and this time I tried the TomTom directions just for variety. It took me out across Vermont, through Woodstock, Rutland, and I picked up I87 in Glens Falls or thereabouts. It rained the whole damn time - and those mountains in Vermont only make it darker. I stopped in Rutland for a quick bite and gas and kept on moving...

Sometime after 11 I made it through Cobleskill and was getting sleepy; I found the next rest area and pulled off just before midnight. No late-night adventures in this one, unlike the trip to Rochester earlier this year, but I dozed for a couple hours with a Condition-1 1911 in very easy reach. About 1:15 or 1:30 I woke up, tried to sleep some more, and finally gave up around 2. One last trip to the bog, and off I went for home. The roads are nearly empty at that hour on a Monday morning, and I made good time; cruise set around 75 and rocked and rolled. Got a cursory inspection from a trooper somewhere along the way; I noticed a car pacing me in the left lane and eight or ten car-lengths back, then noticed the inside-the-headlight front marker lights ... notched two off the cruise and waited, sure enough, the blue'n'gold CVPI went tooling on by. He took the next exit and I put the two back on the cruise and kept going. Cross-country for the last seventy miles, and rolled in the driveway just after 4am.

I can't begin to explain how much fun I had on this trip, and how great it was to put faces along with names and meet some new folks.

The official list of attendees:
JayG from MArooned
Bruce from No Looking Backwards
Doubletrouble from Rattail Bastard and Mrs. doubletrouble
Weer'd Beard from Weer'd World Arrrr
Lissa from Looking for Lissa
Borepatch from Bore Patch and #2 son
David from Fighting for Liberty
JD from Tekmage's Blog
Marko from The Munchkin Wrangler
TOTWTYTR from Too Old To Work, Too Young To Retire
zeeke42 from Young and Crotchety
Commenter Wally
Mopar and Mrs. Mopar
Scotaku from Scotaku in America
Paul from State Line Guns
Commenter Andrew, his mother Barbara, and his son Matthew (the youngest shooter!)
Meataxe from Men are not Potatoes
Commenter stickman
Commenter Libertyman
Zercool from Panum et Circenses... et Plumbum

All of you, welcome to the blogroll!

I took a few pictures, and a minute or two of video (before the battery died on the camcorder), but they all have far more stuff up than I could. Oh, and all of you - feel free to post pictures of me and/or my hardware if you like. And if there are any pictures of me, I'd love to have a copy if you don't mind!

If I have a moment tomorrow I'll try to post a picture of the pile o' stuff I brought - goodness knows I brought WAY too much ammo.

In Preparation

I have been invited to the 2009 Northeast Bloggershoot. I managed to finagle the time off work to actually attend, and MrsZ decided to stay home to study.

I'll be driving up Saturday morning after doing the last-minute truck loading (guns will be the last thing loaded, for obvious reasons), and have been offered bed space from none other than The Munchkin Wrangler. Hopefully I'll arrive at their place at a reasonable time; construction in New Yawk is anyone's guess.

Sunday morning, we'll likely be carpooling together with another shooter (Libertyman?) and heading down to the range, with what I expect will be enough firepower for a small infantry (platoon) action.

Actually AT the range will be enough boom to arm a small village... including, I am told, some full auto and possibly some silenced items. Goodies like these are *illegal* in my home state of New Yawk... the only NFA items I could possibly buy are those classified as "Any Other Weapons" - which includes, notably, the Serbu Super Shorty. High on my list of WANT - with the 870 receiver, as I am a diehard BigGreen Shotgun guy. Yes, it's an expensive toy. However, I digress.

I've been eyeing the safe contents and debating which arms to pack and bring along, as well as seeing what the other folks are bringing. I've narrowed my selections down to five long guns and five handguns, and probably a whole bunch of ammo. I may have to stop by the local big-box sports store for an extra gun case - down to one soft case and one hard case, and that's not enough.

I'm excited. VERY.

Also need to remember the camera and the video camera... there's going to be a lot of photo-worthy stuff on this trip!

Gun Nuttery

... or, How To Make Sarah Brady Cry.

JayG recently wrote a post about "you might be a gun nut if..."

High on my list is this:
- if it's gun related and makes you giggle or Sarah Brady cry, you're probably a gun nut.

MrsZ and I have been packing and moving to our new house recently, and today I cleaned out the ammo closet and cabinets and shelf and loaded it into the truck.

Things like this:



Make Sarah Brady cry.

Admittedly, I have a smaller truck, and it's not filling up the WHOLE bed... but in those crates and ammo cans, neatly labelled, are Winchester 9mm, Wolf 9mm, 12ga galore of various flavors, and a fair pile of 20ga as well. And some .270Win. And more than a few bricks of .22LR.

In the front seat is a crate o' reloading stuff - brass, powder, and bullets. Primers (a large box full) have already been relocated.

In the back seat are three shotguns, a rifle, a muzzleloader, and an evil-looking assault bow (Oneida Black Eagle, also known as the Uncle Ted Special).

Oh, and a magic blue briefcase of joy on the front seat (a S&W box - currently empty, but I have things to put in it).

And a gun vault full of .45 goodness.

Rolling doom, baby, rolling dooooooom!


Side note: ran through the Mart of Wal last night for some home sundries. Stopped by the ammo counter on a whim. They had, no kidding, WWB .45, .40, 9mm, and bricks of Winchester HV .22. MrsZ said I had to leave it all there.

Gun Porn!

I finally had a moment to snap a few pictures of the latest acquisitions. I'm in some hot water, but it was worth it. (As always, click to embiggen.)

First:
Winchester Model 1894 .30-30. There are multiple flavors of these out there. "Pre-1964" is considered the most desirable and commands a price premium. "Post-64" is still a nice rifle, but due to less expensive manufacturing techniques, isn't as sought-after... and last is versions with a cross-bolt safety. This version is a post-64, pre-safety. The bluing is in fair condition - there are a few speckles of rust here and there and it's thinned out a little on the receiver. The bore is shiny and smooth - *no* visible throat damage or erosion. The classic "carried lots, shot little". Only one picture because time was short:




Second, and perhaps more interesting:
Smith & Wesson 647 .17HMR. I've already discussed the model at length, so on to the porn!









For the record - that's a Government 1911A1. The 647's barrel alone is as long as the entire 1911.

A cartridge comparison, .45ACP 230gr JHP next to a 17gr V-Max .17HMR.



No range report yet - time has been at a premium as we prepare for a move. Hopefully Saturday morning I'll have some free time at the match to run a couple cylinders through.

(I know, Oleg I am not ... I'm way out of practice too.)

Appleseed - New Bremen

This weekend was our third Appleseed this year. This time in New Breman (Bremen?) NY - a speed trap about 30 miles from Watertown NY, and about 90 minutes from Syracuse NY. We'd shot there last fall and had a great time on a nice if somewhat simple facility.

I spent Friday packing the truck and getting things ready so we could leave when MrsZ got home from work. Rifles - check. Ammo - check. Tent - check. Sleeping bags - check. Air mattress - check. Food - check. Etc etc. MrsZ got home around 4:45, we tossed the last few things in the truck, took a shower, and headed out the door. One stop for ice and gas, and we arrived at the range around 8:30. Set up the tent and scooted back into town to grab some fast food for dinner. Came back and talked with the other instructors for a bit, then crawled into bed and passed out.

I woke up to the sound of something snuffling around the edges of the tent while it was still early - light, but early. One hand reached for my glasses while the other went for the (holstered condition 3) 1911 - this is the edge of the Adirondacks and legitimate bear country. No food in the tent, of course, but who knows what may get attention from a critter. As I sat up in bed whatever it was snorted and gallumphed off into the woods. I laid down to sleep again and the whippoorwills in the trees started in. So much for a restful night...

I got up and got dressed, started the coffee (camp percolator on a propane stove on the tailgate), and started nosing around looking for tracks. Found ... nothing. Damp sandy soil showed my boot prints easily, and I expected anything heavier than a squirrel should make decent impressions. Nothing. Hm. *shrug*

Drank coffee and watched the world lighten up in the mist, other shooters and instructors stirring and rising, and went in for breakfast.

We ended up with six shooters on the line for the weekend - four individuals and a father-son pair. Six instructors. Can you say "lots of individual attention"? Scores were all over to begin with, then we got folks settled down and zeroed and started going through the instruction. By the end of Saturday we'd knocked out about 380 rounds and one rifleman.

Sunday morning we got going again, and kept up the grind. By 2pm we'd punched out another rifleman, and about 500 more rounds. Yeah, that's right, 880 rounds in two days. It's a northeast thing. We wrapped up the "official" instruction at that point and swapped to full-distance. Checked zeros on the 25m line for the centerfires, and then moved folks over to 300/375yd. Seeing people makes consistent hits - just awesome. Wrapped up, packed up, and headed for home.

I've got to do some paperwork in the coming week, and they're going to take away my orange hat (Instructor in Training) and give me a red hat (Instructor). Eep.

Side note: I brought out my AR for some work at 25m initially to check zero, and had a nasty little malfunction. Cruising along and it suddenly stopped working - bolt locked halfway open. Looked and there was a round that wasn't feeding. Slammed the FA a couple times, no change. Worked the charging handle, no change. Looked closer, and sure enough, there was already a chambered (live) round... fidgeted out the half-fed case (now bent too far to feed), run the bolt forward - won't extract. Extractor looks ok, but try a couple more times. No joy. Pop the takedown pin - rifle won't take down.

Popped the pivot pin and yanked the upper off... round still stuck in the chamber. Grabbed a dammit stick, dropped that, and the live round dropped right out without a fuss. Put the bolt assembly back in, but it won't seat. Examine bolt closely. Looks fine. Locking lugs on chamber look fine ... wait - what's that shiny spot? A bit of quick work with a Leatherman tool and out popped ... a blown primer. Dug through my pile of brass to confirm, and sure enough, there was the primerless case.

I've heard of blown primers. Never seen one on my own equipment. The standard place for them to lodge is in the trigger assembly or charging handle slot. This one was waaaaay up there and was not obvious until serious close inspection - and the rifle was completely non-functional. Ammo was Federal XM193BK (bulk packaged instead of 20-round boxes). Crimped primers, LC09 brass, 55gr FMJ. I have the case and primer and will send it along to Federal for their information... in the slight hopes they might send me a box of love. :-)

After clearing that, rifle went through two mags without issue - although it needs to be hosed out. Trigger was full of grit and crud.

A shooty evening...

I took yesterday off of work. It was nice out, I had things I wanted to get done around the house, and maybe just maybe spend some time with MrsZ. I finished my various projects, showered off, and we debated evening plans. Called a few friends, and none of them were available.

MrsZ finally said, "Well, how about going shooting? I still haven't tried your new pistols, and the new trigger is in my rifle."

I liked this idea. I threw together range gear while she made sandwiches. Headed out and plinked away for nearly two hours... MrsZ was mostly shooting her 10/22, which I had just installed a Volquartsen hammer in. It's now an insanely-light trigger, if a hair soft. I didn't feel like bothering with a sling, so I slapped the bipod on my Savage MkII and burned some ammo with that.

MrsZ had yet to try my Thunder380, S&W 21-4, and my 22/45. It was starting to get dark, so we switched to pistols at 7yd. A couple magazines through the 22/45, then a magazine though the Bersa. She did quite well with both. Didn't get around to the 21-4, sadly. The fireball from a 22/45 at dusk is pretty cool; the fireball from the Bersa is downright nifty... should've brought the AR for sampling. *g*

I also had the opportunity to try the .22CB Shorts in my Savage and the 22/45. It was absolutely eerie shooting them in the rifle. I pulled the trigger on the first one, heard *click*, and then saw the puff of dirt. No report. I asked MrsZ if it had actually gone "bang". She said yes, so I cycled the action and pulled out one of my earplugs ... sure enough, it went bang, with about as much zip as the little plastic-ring cap guns I used to play with. Nifty! Tried in the 22/45 and they're a fair bit louder, but still much quieter than any .22LR I've used. Not enough oomph to cycle the action.

I should see if I can find some of the Aguila 60gr subsonics, and some .22CB Longs as well. I'm intrigued by quiet!

Side note: the 22/45 is a hell of a nice gun to shoot. Mine has a great trigger, which seems to be abnormal, and while the sights aren't great, they're tolerable. Nice plinker. It's manual of arms is very similar to the 1911 I shoot competition with, so it's good for practice in that regard. However - there is a big difference. When the slide lock backs on an empty mag, my usual practice with the 1911 is to drop the mag, then gently lower the slide by hand. I tried to do that with the 22/45 last night. It doesn't have a slide, only the rear bolt... so I promptly dropped the extractor at full speed into the fleshy part of my left-hand middle finger. It bled. I cursed. I won't make that mistake again. :)

Search term round-up

Aside from a brief Tamalanche early after installing Sitemeter, a normal day here has been ... slow. That's likely due to not updating daily. I do get a fairly regular stream of hits from google searches, though, and a la the Munchkin Wrangler, I'll post a few highlights.


small rifle primers

The little round thing in the back of a centerfire cartridge that's struck by the firing pin and ignites your gunpowder. There are at least eight different sizes - small and large rifle and pistol, and magnum/non-magnum variants of each. Small rifle primers are used, in particular, in .223Rem/5.56NATO, which is pretty rare these days. If you have primers, count yourself lucky. PowderValley claims they have backorders for 50,000,000 primers, and they're not the only ones.


kns hooded front sight match approved

I'd suggest checking the rules of the particular match you are entering, as NRA Highpower has different rules from Benchrest and Smallbore and so on.


a2 rear sight jpg 0-2

I don't have pictures of them, but try the Google image search. Or look at an AR - the flip-up rear aperture with the larger hole (0.200" diameter) is the 0-2, and is conveniently labeled as such. It's not a precision aperture, but is designed for limited visibility and moving targets. It also has a different zero from the small aperture.


wolf 223 stuck

A frequent issue, particularly with tight chambers. Older Wolf ammo, along with some of the various "Bear" ammo, is lacquer-coated. At higher rates of fire, the chamber gets hot enough to melt this lacquer and effectively glue a round in place. Clear your rifle, remove the bolt if possible, and CAREFULLY tap the round out with a brass rod from the muzzle end. Use acetone to clean your chamber and dissolve the lacquer, then a chamber brush and normal cleaning procedures... and then stop shooting crap ammo in a good rifle. Save the Wolf for the Mini14 and .223 AKs.


hooded cross hair front sight for 22 rifle

Swap your crap Ruger factory sights for a set of Tech-Sights, and the front sight tower accepts all standard AR front posts, including the KNS hooded crosshair.


walmart pistol primers

Walmart doesn't have store-branded gun anything. Not ammo, not primers, not nothing. Some Walmarts apparently do sell reloading components, but I've never seen it.


kns with rra 2 stage trigger

Well, KNS doesn't make lowers. If you mean KNS anti-rotational pins with a RRA trigger, it should work fine. The pins are standard diameter, as are the triggers. The pins just look fancy and mean you need one more tool in order to disassemble your rifle if something breaks.


5.56 a2 rifle insert notes lesson 6

I see you're in the UK. Naughty, naughty! I'm not sure where you're inserting that A2, or why you need notes, but apparently you've made it to lesson 6, and that takes some dedication. Keep practicing and you'll get there!


And that concludes the highlights of this set of search terms...

Great White Hunter

New York's spring turkey season runs for the month of May. The regs are pretty simple: shotgun only, birdshot only, bearded birds only, and must be out of the woods by noon (so the turkeys have some uninterrupted time to make little turkeys).

Turkey hunting, is, in fact, what brought me into the world of hunting and guns in a big way. I'll take this tangent and then get back to the original point of the post.

I grew up in a relatively gun-free household. Dad didn't own guns, but claims to be a pretty good shot. He grew up in Scouting (Eagle), was Scoutmaster for the base's troop while posted in Alaska for the Army, and shot "expert" during basic. He's certainly not anti-gun, they just weren't part of life as I grew up. I earned my "riflery" merit badge at scout camp when I was 13 or so, and finally convinced my parents to get me a BB gun. It arrived that Christmas - a Crosman Classic 2100 air rifle. I set up a "range" in the back acreage with a couple of straw bales. Tin cans, here I come... That pellet rifle and I tromped a lot of miles through our back woods and fields, plinked a lot of random targets, and may have been responsible for some minor property damage here and there.

I went to college and the air rifle stayed home, falling into disuse and neglect. After being out of school for a bit, I finally decided to buy a rifle. A .22 seemed like a good bet... so I went to my local Kmart (hush, I didn't know better) and picked up a Remington 597. A friend at work offered the use of some undeveloped land he owned as a makeshift range, and again, I was death upon tin cans and paper... but mostly in a trigger-happy sort of way. Brick after brick of Thunderbolt .22 disappeared down the bore of that rifle.

A friend invited me to a shoot at some point, and I went (of course). I can't remember everything I tried at that shoot, but my world was suddenly expanded from .22s. (Short list of highlights: M1 Garand, Glock 9mm, .44Mag revolver.) ... but I didn't buy anything new, not having a place to shoot or many friends into the shooting sports.

Fast forward a couple years. I joined the local volunteer fire department and slowly got to know folks there. One of them, at some point, mentioned turkey hunting that weekend. I nabbed him a bit later and said, "Gee ... um ... I've never hunted before, but I've always wanted to. Could I go with you sometime?" He took me turkey hunting the next morning, and while we didn't take any birds that day, I was hooked. I picked up a Remington 870 that summer, took my hunter safety class in early fall, and killed my first deer on my birthday that year.

Since then, my collection of guns has grown considerably, my interests in the shooting sports have widened and deepened, and I still cherish every moment in the woods.

(Hiatus for dinner. Story TBC.)

...Continued...

Dinner was good. Met parents at greasy spoon.

On to the hunt!

I've been out in the woods less this turkey season than ever before - my work schedule has made the 4am alarm clock a near-impossibility if I expect to be functional at all for job. Still, I've been out a half-dozen times. Talked to my hunting buddy last night and confirmed for today. He says arrive at 4:45. OK. Got up, dressed, headed out the door with a pistol on my hip and a shotgun over my shoulder. Two miles short of his place, the skies opened. Half a mile from his place, my cell rings. "Where are ya?" "Pulling in your driveway in about thirty seconds." "Oh ... ok."

We discussed after I arrived, and decided to sit tight for fifteen minutes and see if the rain would let up. It did. Picked a spot, headed out. Set up decoys, called, heard and saw nothing for an hour. Decided to walk and call - which the DEC hunter safety class says isn't safe, but we do anyway because there shouldn't be anyone else in these woods. Nothing, after picking our way through brush and the Fire Swamp. Poked our heads into a field... and there, across the way, was a flock of eight turkeys. At least two in strut, a hen or two, and several jakes.

We quick sat down and started calling. I was out front as the "shooter" and could see the birds - and they weren't moving. Just puttering around in the grass, picking bugs and worms and strutting. After fifteen minutes of this, we decided to get aggressive. We backed out into the next field and scooted down the hedgerow between. I picked a promising spot and snuck through, and found I was still sixty yards too far up the hedge. Backed out, moved a bit further down, and crawled through again. Better spot. Set up my little seat and started calling - and realized quickly that these birds were fat and happy and henned up, and weren't going to go looking for what they already had in front of them... so I got more aggressive. There was a gopher mound fifty yards into the field, directly between me and the birds. I quietly shucked off my turkey vest, keys, phone, assorted pocket junk, calls, and pistol... and started belly-crawling towards the mound.

Now, keep in mind that this hayfield had been cut and baled in the past couple days... but it had just poured an hour ago. I was damp as soon as I laid down, and soaked to the skin within ten feet. I kept crawling and peeking up occasionally. I finally made it to this mound and started making gentle purrs. Pretty quick, a hen separated from the group and made a beeline for me. I was hoping the toms would follow ... but no such luck. This damn hen walked right up to the mound, within fifteen feet of my muzzle, walked back and forth a few times, and then went back to the flock saying, "purt purt purt"...

I waited. One of the jakes stuck his head up and started walking towards me, then made a u-turn and the group started moving towards the woods. Hell, it's now or never! I raised my barrel, placed the bead on the big tom, clicked off the safety ... squeeeeeeze the trigger... BOOM ... and they all ran off. Hell, it was a hail-mary long shot anyways, probably 55-60 yards, but today was my last day for turkey season.

I stood up, walked back to the hedge, collected my things, and went in for coffee.


In other news, after dinner, I decided to take time to swing through WallyWorld and check on .22. Ammo cabinet was looking as bare as usual ... but wait... what's that? In the shadows? There was no one around, so I walked behind the counter to look closer. Not one, not two or three ... but SIX BOXES of Winchester HV bulk!

I nearly began gibbering there and then. I found someone to open the cabinet, bought all six boxes, and celebrated in my success. He mentioned they'd gotten a case or two of the Federal, but it had already sold out. So be it. I'll take what I can get right now.

So it came home with me ... oh yes, it did...


And a box of CB Shorts, just to try out.

Range results

Took the AR (I need to name this rifle) to the range today. My range is a friend's cornfield and open whenever I feel like shooting. No fancy berms, benches, target stands or hangers... just a nice hillside.

I hung a bullseye at a roughly paced 25m (see above range notes), put out my mat, slung up and got prone. Checked NPOA and felt good, moved the rear aperture to 8/3+1, and squeezed off five rounds.

The result is this:


I marked the shots, although it's somewhat washed out. The far right shot was a called flier, the other four were pretty much spot on, but a touch high. I turned the front sight up two clicks and tried again, but didn't take the time to check NPOA. See the results? Yuck.

Shot a couple Appleseed Redcoat and Classification AQT targets... I cleaned the 100, 200, and 300m targets comfortably. The 400 ... ain't there. It just doesn't appear for me through the aperture, because it's green on beige and I'm partly colorblind to greens. Too much is obscured even by that .010" crosshair front aperture for me to find the right blur.

(All shots were Federal XM193BK 55gr FMJ.)

I've a feeling I'd actually do better with a full-distance 400m target... but we shall see next month when I go to New Breman (Bremen).

50-ish rounds and zero ammo-related failures; a couple magazine problems prevented the first round from feeding properly. I'm hoping they break in better. (C-Products aluminum 10-round.)

A slow build-up

After the disaster with the Wolf ammo in my new AR, I started the search for brass .223 at a (relatively) decent price. I picked up some PMC and UMC locally as mentioned before, but kept looking.

Finally, I found a store online (LTDammo.com) that had stock of Federal XM193BK. $400/1000. I checked one other place (PalmettoStateArmory.com) who also had stock of the XM193 ($380/1000) and of PMC Bronze ($77/200). I did some waffling and debating, and finally asked the wife if she would have a cow if I spent a chunk on ammo right before we apply for a mortgage. She sighed and told me to go ahead - and to use her credit card to do it! *boggle*

By the time I placed the order, PSA had sold out of the XM193 and PMC. I sighed and coughed up the extra twenty bucks for it from LTD. Order placed and confirmed the afternoon of 5/11. Shipped 5/13. Arrived (as usual) fifteen minutes after I left for work on Saturday (FedEx Home Delivery works on Saturdays but not Mondays).

XM193BK is bulk-packed XM193. Loose packed. Arfcom has had some reports of damaged cartridges in the bulk pack. I made a quick sample check when I got home and found no more than a few minor dings in a couple cartridges, certainly nothing I'd worry about chambering and firing.

Yesterday a range trip was not an option. Today the weather looks good (albeit slightly chilly) and I may head out to check function and zero with the XM193...