In my legal opinion the Rare Breed Triggers FRT is a perfectly legal, semi-automatic, drop-in trigger. And my opinion is further supported by the opinions of whom I believe to be two of the most significant subject matter experts in the industry.
Long ago and far away (20+ years and 300+ miles) I was just starting to reload rifle rounds. I probably wasn’t using the proper lubrication and I got a 30-06 case stuck in this die:
I concluded it was impossible to get the case out and I went to the local gun shop to see if they had a replacement die I could purchase. The owner of the store, a wise and knowledgeable man, suggested I order a case extraction tool rather than purchase a new die. I did so, but it took far longer for the tool to arrive than I had patience for and I got another die anyway. A neck resizing only die.
When the tool did arrive I was looked at the situation and realized I needed to drill out the primer pocket (drill provided with the tool), tap the resultant hole (tap provided), use a cup like piece of metal with a hole in the “bottom” through which a bolt was screwed into the base of the shell casing, then tighten the bolt to pull the case out of the die. That should work! Except for one problem. The depriming pin and expander ball were inside the case and blocking the drilling and tapping operations. I was unable to remove them from the case up through the top. In fact you can see the broken top of the spindle (is that the correct word for this?) in the picture above from my attempts to unscrew it from the die. I didn’t really need the full length resizing die at the time and left the stuck case in the die.
20+ years later I started to reload 30-06 again and I needed to do full length resizing with some used brass I had purchased a year or so ago. I got out the full length resizing die and discovered the stuck case. Crap. As I shuffled through my die supplies I stumbled across the case removal tool and reevaluated the situation. I really needed to figure out how to get the depriming pin and expander ball out of the case. After way too long I realized something.
In the picture you will see four different knurled sections to the die. The top two are associated with the spindle. I removed these, squirted some case lube into the top of the die, turned the second one upside down so that it didn’t thread itself back into the die main body and tightened it up. It was a hard pull but the expander ball came back up through the case which had been stuck for 20+ years.
I drilled and tapped base of the case and successfully extracted the case with the case extraction tool I had purchased so many years ago. See the case on the left below compared to the normal case in the center:
I expressed my joy and cleverness to Barb, reassembled the die, adjusted it, lubed up a bunch of cases and started resizing them. On about the fourth case I stupidly picked up an lubed case sitting on the bench and got it stuck.
This time it only took about 10 minutes, instead of 20+ years, to get the case out. See the case on the right above.
What I found most interesting was that the stuck cases had necks which were stretched a full 0.150 inches. Previously stuck cases on the left and right compared to a normal case in the center:
1 day $245/day 2 days $240/day 3 days $235/day 4 days $230/day 5 days $225/day 6 days $220/day 7 days $215/day 8 days $210/day 9 days $205/day 10+ days $200/day
Prices go up $25 per day in 2021, but you can save up to $75 per day. With this deal you’re training even cheaper than 2020!
2021 Classes will be posted on the website very soon
We know ammo is going to be an ongoing problem so we will start allowing 22LR for a portion of our mainline classes. We will have .22LR ammo available, .22LR conversion kits, .22LR semi-autos, plus we’re working on an ammo deal to be able to provide 9mm at a reasonable price.
The fine print: Offer ends at end of day Monday, November 30, 2020, and is not valid for “Red Dawn” classes. Training day funds are valid for tuition only and do not include additional equipment or rentals. To use your sale funds for a class, please call the office to register. For more information about all of our classes, visit InSightsTraining.com . To register, go to the website, call us at 425.827.2552 or email us at: info@insightstraining.com. Stay safe and we’ll see you in class!
There are multiple factors contributing to the shortage of primers. I had previously heard or assumed most of them in the following post. But the Remington component to “The Great Primer Shortage of 2020.” was new to me.
Demand, however, is just one part of the story. Disruptions in the supply chain have also made a big impact on the availability of primers. When it comes to ammunition supplies, bullets are easy to manufacture, brass can be re-used, and powder is generally stockpiled by companies (though perhaps not the kind you’re looking for). This leaves primers, which are relatively difficult to make, as the component that causes the bulk of ammo shortages.
In the U.S., only four companies (Winchester, Remington, Federal, and CCI) manufacture primers for civilian use, law enforcement, and the military. Even under perfect circumstances, there’s only so much they can produce at once, and needless to say, circumstances have not been perfect during the pandemic. People getting sick, missing work to take care of their kids, and self-quarantining – from factory workers to delivery drivers, and all throughout the supply chain – caused a lull in manufacturing this spring.
The Remington bankruptcy has had a large impact on the shortage of ammo and primers. With Remington in a state of financial insolvency for the past two years, suppliers were demanding payment upon delivery for products. Remington simply did not have the financial capabilities to have an abundance of raw materials on hand and had to shutter some of their production capacity. Barnes bullets and primers were hit particularly hard in the reloading market. With the recent purchase of Remington by Vista, there is a good chance that Vista will be diverting CCI and Federal primers that would typically go to reloaders to Remington ammunition production. Remington primer production capacity has never been great. The hope would be that Vista will place more emphasis on getting the Remington primer production capacity increased substantially and quickly.
We currently have over a year’s worth of orders for ammunition in excess of $1 billion. With demand far outstripping supply and inventory levels in the channel at all-time lows, we see strong demand continuing, and this metric informs our viewpoint of what a recovery or normalization could look like.
The group below was at 100 yards with some old FMJ ammo found in a magazine using a red dot 1X scope on the cheapest AR upper I could buy:
This is with everything the same except the ammo:
This is the same ammo with a precision rifle using a 14.5 X scope. This is 10 rounds with the last two, and possibly three rounds flying to the right after the wind came up:
It is a handloaded 55 grain match grade bullet. In two rifles with 24” barrels it achieved 3,140 and 3,156 fps at the muzzle with standard deviations of 14.4 and 14.2 fps. With the cheap, short (18”?) barrel it came out of the muzzle at 2,943 fps with a standard deviation of 37.0 fps.
This is a load that works well in three very different rifles. I’m extremely pleased.
I have 1,000 CCI and 2,993 Winchester large pistol primers that, at the current consumption rate, I’ll consume sometime after Donald Trump Jr. finishes his second term.
As primers are essentially impossible to get right now I thought I would sell them to someone that could use them. I’m selling them at the inflated price of $40/1,000 or I’ll trade them for an equal quantity of small pistol primers.
I don’t want to ship them. If you can meet me in the Bellevue area that works. Or I’ll probably be driving to Orofino Idaho sometime in the next couple of weeks. If you can meet me somewhere along the path of Bellevue, Vantage, Colfax, Troy, Kendrick, Cavendish, Lewiston, and Orofino* that would work too.
* No. That not the exact path. But either coming or going I will visit all those towns.
When I first met Sean Flynn he was a member of the Microsoft Gun Club. He has attended many Boomershoots and volunteered many hours to making Boomershoot a great event. I’ve traveled to Olympia with him to attend gun rights rallies. I’ve quoted him on this blog 16 times. He has commented on here many times as well.
We need to wrap this shit up. I’m hoping for a Trump victory mostly so that ammo prices will go back down.
Larry Correia Facebook post on October 12, 2020 [Fair enough.
I would have said you should have stocked up when the prices were reasonable but who would have thought the prices would go this high for this long?—Joe]
From: dj
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 9:44 AM
To: Joe Huffman
Subject: IMR 5010, Bofors, Others
Greetings Joe
A friend of mine is one of the late Bill Steigers’s sons – developer of Bitterroot Bullets in Lewiston, ID. We were going through some of Bill’s leftover reloading supplies recently and came across several (full and partial) 20# canisters of old surplus reloading powder, including IMR 4831, H4831, Red Dot, Bullseye, DCM 4895 and some “flavor” of Bofors. There was also a large (original) box (originally weighed 150#) of IMR 5010. I’d estimate that there are 30-40# remaining in it.
Some of the canisters are unopened. I inspected the ones that were open and all smelled OK, and appeared dry and in otherwise good condition.
Bill’s son isn’t a ‘gun guy’ so I’m helping him out. I’d never be able to use even a small fraction of any of that powder, so I’m reaching out to anyone who might be plugged into a network of reloaders to see if anyone has any interest in any of this stuff.
Thank you.
Dan
Bonners Ferry, ID
If anyone has an interest send me an email (blog@joehuffman.org) and I’ll forward it on to Dan.
It’s a little cheesy and I don’t like the photographer/range-officer being down range. But I do like the concept.
For people that have actually shot in competition seeing what Kyle Rittenhouse accomplished was absolutely incredible. Several moving “targets” closing in from multiple angles, throwing things at you, kicking you in the head, and hitting you in the head with a skateboard is way, way, over the top of any “practical shooting” competition I have ever participated in or heard of.
I recently received an offer from Craft Holsters for a free holster if I did a review of the holster. I know someone with a Ruger SR40 and no holster for it so I asked to receive one for that gun. They promptly shipped the holster from Slovakia and I received it a few days later.
Here are some pictures:
It’s a really nice looking holster. It’s very solidly built and comfortable to wear. The gun fights tight and there was no worry of the gun falling out even if were to be turning somersaults or some other vigorous activity.
At the range I drew and fired probably a dozen times. Three of those times the rear snap popped loose. This allowed the holster to rotate forward increasing the cant to the point I couldn’t easily remove the gun from the holster. I wish they had used directional snaps:
Directional snaps, as seen in the two images above, require that you hook one side of the snap over, then push down on the other side to secure it in place. To unsnap it you must pull up on the side you pushed down when fastening it. It will not unfasten, without breaking, from pressure on the other side. In a holster the nondeliberate forces on the snap always come from the bottom side. Properly installed, the directional snap will prevent the problem I had with it coming unsnapped during the draw.
That said, after some use the friction decreased and I no longer had the problem. Still, I would worry about it happening again at the least opportune time.
One other concern I had was that holster covered up the magazine release. Other holsters I have do not cover it up:
With an exposed magazine release I can take an empty gun, put a full magazine in it, rack a round into the chamber, put the gun in the holster, remove the magazine, and top it of with another round, then put the magazine back in the gun while it is still in the holster.
I thought the covered magazine release prevented me from doing this. It turns out it doesn’t. I can press on the holster over the magazine release and actuate the release just fine. Of course this created a new concern. Could normal wearing of the holster put sufficient pressure on the holster to actuate the release? I tried to make this happen but the area of the holster over the release is in a soft spot below my ribs and above my hip bone where I couldn’t get anywhere near sufficient pressure to actuate the magazine release. I was able to make it happen once during a somewhat contorted draw.
Enough of my whining. Here are some things I really like about the holster.
Each of the two fastening straps can be put in three different positions:
This allows you to change the height and/or the cant of the holster.
The extra layer of leather near the mouth of the holster keeps the mouth open after the gun is drawn such that you can always reholster with one hand and not be wiggling the gun around to work it into the holster. You can keep the muzzle at a proper angle such that you aren’t going to explode a kidney if you manage to do something stupid with your trigger finger during the reholstering process.
You should give this holster serious consideration. You get a good quality holster in the the comfort of leather for a great price. The also have other types of holsters for the Ruger SR40.
I think the last time I shot in a match was last December. Today I participated in an ASI match at the Renton Fish & Game Club. I had practiced Thursday evening and I think once the previous week as well. Before that it was probably a month or so. And before that, maybe sometime in February or March.
It turned out surprisingly well for as little as I have been to the range the last several months. I came in at 10th place out of 52 shooters. I felt I did great on all but two stages. I have to remember to shoot for 100% accuracy. If I push the speed a little bit, like I would in a USPSA match, the penalties are just too high. It’s a constant battle in my mind to make every shot a “down zero” hit.
It is with much regret that we are forced to withdraw from hosting 2020 Berry’s Area 1 Championship. We held on with high hopes and heartfelt dedication that the COVID-19 pandemic would subside and that we would, surely, be in Phase 4 of the current governing Phase Plan and that travel restrictions would have been lifted. We feel it is in everyone’s best interest to hold off until next year. Our Area Director, the Area Section Coordinators and the Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman’s Club Board of Directors, have agreed to allow us to host 2021 Area 1 scheduled for August 4-8. This, of course, would be contingent on the current pandemic situation happening at that time. An alternate venue for 2020 has been established and will be announced by our Area Director. This will be an entirely separate match from the current posted match and will require new registration.
We want to give those intending to participate next year the opportunity to remain registered and maintain their spot in the match scheduled for 2021 at PBRSC. Any PAID participant, who chooses to remain in the match, will be awarded a ticket for entry into a drawing for a Springfield Range Officer Stainless Steel 1911. Those wishing to withdraw will be refunded the full registration fee, minus the Stripe processing fee. Refunds will be handled in as timely fashion as possible. We appreciate all the support from everyone throughout these fluid times and the dedication of everyone who has continued to help us work toward bringing this match together. Our gratitude can not be expressed enough for their loyalty. We wish for everyone to maintain good health and remain safe as we hope that you can join us for Area 1 next year!
Most sincerely, Tessina Hurley Match Director
As I have had near zero practice since January I would have done rather poorly anyway. This will give me the possibility to get my skill level back up closer to where I would like it to be. The problem is that the range is about five minutes from where I work and I used to go to the range several times a week during the lunch break. As I work from home now the range is further away and I find it more difficult to schedule a visit.
I know that several boomershooters use the 6.5 Grendel. I was having problems, and suspect a rough chamber might be the culprit. (Still awaiting a reply from Midway, where I bought the upper, as it’s a MidwayUSA house brand, before I do anything like home gunsmithing). I went looking for a chamber hone that would be right, and could not find one, and saw contradictory info on the web. So I emailed the company (Brush Research) that makes the Flex-Hone chamber hones to ask what the correct one might be. I got this prompt reply this morning. I’m pretty sure that they’d be OK with posting the info on a popular shooting-related web-site such as yours, if you want to post it for any of the Grendel shooters out there who might want to know.
From: Technical <technical@brushresearch.com>
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2020 9:21 AM
Subject: Re: [#479759] New Technical Inquiry Home
Hi Rolf,
Thank you for contacting us regarding chamber hones for your 6.5mm Grendel. We have made these for the Grendel before only they aren’t visible on our website or literature.
You’ll want to order part ID 12809 for 400 grit SC abrasive or part ID 12810 for 800 grit SC abrasive. The following distributors can order this for you in Washington state. Simply contact them and ask them to order up the part ID’s provided:
APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECH
4021 6TH AVE S.
SEATTLE WA 98108
(206) 223-5255
FASTENAL
9320 15TH AVE SOUTH
SEATTLE WA 98108
(206) 762-0297
Let me know if you have any other questions we can assist with.
Regards,
Brush Research Manufacturing Co., Inc.
4642 Floral Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90022
Phone: (323) 261-2193 ext 703
Fax: (323) 268-6587
This is good advice anytime you go to the range and especially when you are shooting on the property of others. Clean up your mess so you can come back next time.
The gun range is not a good first date… if the girl shoots better than the guy.
Ashley Varner @AshNVarner Tweeted on June 7, 2020 [I figured we needed something on the lighter side of the spectrum for today. We will return to our regularly scheduled depressing observations of our current situation tomorrow.
I could see Ashley’s assertion being true in the general case. I would like to think that if my first date with a woman demonstrated she was a much better shooter than me I would have been inclined to propose on the second date.—Joe]
