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]
Had a helluva time zeroing it at 25m, and at 100m it was all over the place. And some of the holes on the paper looked wrong…some of them were kind of…oblong. He’d bought some really cheap ammo online, so we were suspecting something was amiss with the ammo. Perhaps reloads sold as factory made. Then we got back to my place, he pulled the upper off, looked down the barrel, said it looked kind of funny. So I looked down the barrel. Then I quickly took my AR apart so I could look down it’s barrel. Then down his barrel again. Then mine, then his.
HIS HAS NO RIFLING. It’s a fucking AR15 *smoothbore*.
The targets are from 25 meters. The one on the left is the smooth bore. The one on the right is a normal rifle.
I’m sure the “rifle” owner is far less amused than I am.
I received an email last night regarding the USPSA Area 1 Championship:
2020 Berrys Bullets Area 1 Championship
It is with much regret that we are forced to delay Area 1. Many efforts were made to continue as planned, however current governing COVID protocols prohibit us from moving forward as planned. We are working diligently to postpone with the hope to continue the last week of August. We will confirm dates as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Refunds for withdrawals will be extended until 30 days prior to match start date, which we hope for a start date of August 26th. We will keep everyone posted on any updates as they become available. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time and everyone on the Area 1 team look forward to seeing everyone in the near future.
Kind regards,
Tessina Hurley
Match Director
2020 Berry’s Area 1 Championship
I’m not surprised. Barb and were talking a couple hours before I got the email, “How are they going to do that with the current restrictions? How do they know the restrictions will be lifted so they can hold the event?”
Hurley and her staff were probably asking themselves similar questions yesterday.
I”m fine with that. It gives me more time to practice and get back to something approaching my normal skill level.
As I posted yesterday the indexer return spring (item 22) on my Dillon XL650 reloading press broke. Here is a picture of the two pieces:
From looking at the larger piece with the naked eye I originally thought it might have been worn then broke. After I found the second piece and looked at them closely and together I decided it probably was a defective spring.
If someone has a different opinion I’m willing to listen.
I haven’t done any reloading since February. I was working very long hours and finally got that project done earlier this month. And with the COVID-19 thing I didn’t really want to go to the range anyway, so why spend the time reloading ammo I wasn’t going to shoot for a while? When I received the email saying the Area 1 Championship, which I had signed up for last year, was still on I decided it was time to start practicing and reloading.
Today I started reloading some 200 grain bullets in .40 S&W. I only completed round 104 when the indexer return spring broke on my Dillon XL650 press. It sort of looked like I should consider it a consumable and I ordered five of them. At $1.99 (plus $8.49 shipping) I decided to order five so I could quickly replace it when the next one dies.
After ordering I thought about it some more and realized I had never lubricated the spring. If I had it might have lasted longer (I had only reloaded 21,584 rounds when it died).
No matter. I’ll have spares and maybe they will last longer too.
This brings my lifetime reloaded ammunition totals to:
It’s been months since I did any shooting. As you can see there are dust bunnies on both sights and around the ejection port of my carry (and competition) gun:
I took it apart and cleaned the internals too.
I reserved an entire shooting bay at the range for just myself and will attempt to put some holes in paper later this week.
My USPSA Range Officer certification expires on June 30th. I took the test today to recertify and passed:
Shortly after I started the test I received the following email:
2020 Berrys Bullets Area 1 Championship
Area 1 WILL CONTINUE AS SCHEDULED! There will be some protocols in place to help ensure current governing social distancing guidelines. The most notable, for competitors, will be assigned schedules for gate entry and walk through opportunity. Competitors will receive a future email with the assigned schedules and printable gate entry pass that corresponds with schedule. We are asking that competitors limit guests to one guest per competitor. We are looking forward to forward to seeing everyone and there are still rooms available at the following match hotels, which have graciously extended the cut off date to June 19th…
I signed up for the Area 1 Championship several months ago but due to working extremely long hours at work for several months, combined with the Corona virus lockdown, I haven’t practiced since about the first week of January. I’m going to have to remedy that in a big way or else plan on an extremely dismal performance if I participate in the Area 1 Championship Match.
I was given a free holster by Craft Holsters on the condition I review it on my blog. I received it several weeks ago but I was extremely busy at work (new invention disclosure came out of it and was sent to the patent attorneys just yesterday). I had looked at it some but didn’t actually try using it until yesterday.
I ordered the holster for a STI 1911 5”. I was thinking this would work with my STI DVC Limited. It didn’t. The magazine release button would catch on the holster. Pushing the leather aside and putting the gun the rest of the way into the holster wasn’t really an option. The magazine release button received a lot of pressure and would release the magazine while the gun was in the holster. I concluded this was a bug and not a feature.
I tried my Gun Blog 45 in the holster. The rear sight would catch on the holster as it was inserted. Okay, well, the Gun Blog 45 isn’t really a 1911 anyway.
I borrowed a true 1911. This combination worked. Pictures:
The angle is a little more than I am used to with my usual holster but it worked just fine for me.
I am a little concerned about the mouth of the holster and the potential for collapse. This is not an inside the waistband holster so it doesn’t get much pressure on it. But it was much more flexible than I am used to.
It could be that if the holster was intended for a true 1911 the fit would be more snug. Craft Holsters sent me a “break-in kit” so I’m pretty sure they expected it would be a snug fit. But with the given holster and gun tested the gun would fall out when the holster was turned upside down. It was a little more snug when on my belt but it expect that after some wear if I were to do a forward roll the gun would fall out. And possibly even just running and jumping would jeopardize control of the gun. But, again, this holster was intended for a different style of 1911. A true 1911 holster might have eliminated this complaint.
On a positive note, the price is $59. This is about half what I would normally pay for an IWB holster for my STI. Also, it is nice looking and comfortable.
The FGC-9 enables everyday people all around the world to build a 9mm semi-automatic firearm, from start to finish, using a 3D printer and commonly available, unregulated materials. It’s specifically designed to be accessible to folks with minimal gun building experience, and avoids using parts commonly or easily restricted by law in the US and Europe. Anyone can build it, and no one can stop it.
In case there was any doubt about the political ideology here, you should know that the ‘FGC’ in the ‘FGC-9’ stands for “fuck gun control”.
The title claims “Ultimate in Old School Social Distancing”. While carrying a rifle down the sidewalk with an extended bayonet would grant you greater social distancing for a few minutes I expect the distance would be considerably shortened by the end of your walk as the police stopped by to have a chat with you.
Also, I expect an experienced Boomershooter could maintain something much closer to “ultimate” distancing than someone using a bayonet to keep the distance.
We have many clients who work in law enforcement or in the private security sector. These individuals must maintain
firearms proficiency for their personal safety and to meet professional certification requirements. We have other clients who don’t fall into the above categories but have personal circumstances which make firearms proficiency a priority for them.
Additionally, many families perceive an increased need for all members to have familiarity with defensive firearms. It is especially important that these new or less experienced shooters have the opportunity to learn and practice safe firearms handling skills in a controlled environment.
Federal guidelines recognize the above issues and have designated firearms retailers and ranges as essential critical infrastructure.
Our opinion is that each individual should have the opportunity to make an assessment of their personal risk factors and act according to that assessment.
What are we doing to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission?
Traveling alone in your vehicle does not increase your risk or the risk to anyone else. The risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased most significantly by close interpersonal contact.
Upon arrival, clients are asked to maintain 6’ or more of distance while waiting to approach the check-in-counter one client at a time (unless in a group of two who already share close social distancing.)
Clients are assigned shooting lanes one person per booth. (The only exception is that two family members who already share close social distancing may share a booth.)
Once on the range shooters are separated from each other by over six feet of space and two partitions (we leave an empty booth between each shooter.)
The ventilation system on the range provides constant air flow away from the shooters.
Upon exiting the range all clients are directed to wash their hands in the bathrooms located in the range lobby.
All surfaces that people contact are cleaned multiple times during each day.
Going to a shooting range is not the best choice for all persons at this particular time. It is however an essential activity for some people and an activity which can be engaged in without significant risk of exposure to COVID-19.
The range will be open Thursday through Sunday, 10am to 8pm until further notice.
