Monthly Archives: April 2006

Long day

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Ry and I were out the door of my house in Moscow by 7:30 AM then traveled the hour to the Boomershoot range and made about 45 pounds of reactive targets by 11:00.  We tested them with .223 and .50 BMG ball ammo.  With the .223 we got detonation 50% of the time at 460 yards which figures out to about 1700 fps.  On the .50 BMG there have been problems in the past.  Smaller calibers were popping them off just fine but the .50 in ball wouldn’t.  No problem today — at least at 460 yards.  We also tested some steel targets with the .223 (no damage at 460 yards with VMAX bullets).  Targets six weeks old detonated from 20 yards away with a .223 (last year targets just a four weeks old wouldn’t detonated with a .223).  Just as we were leaving some guy drives up, walks up to the driver side of the Jeep as we are pulling out on the road and asks, “Are you going to be doing that next weekend?”  “No.”  “Good!” and he walked off.    It will be four weeks before we detonate about 1000 pounds (in one and two pound increments) instead of just fifty pounds.  Oh well.  He’ll find out soon enough.  I dropped Ry off at his van, parked at Microsoft, about 12:20 AM.  And now I’m ready for bed at 1:20 AM…

Pictures of Barb’s Jeep later.  I got a comment of “Been four-wheeling, huh?” when we stopped for a bathroom break in Ellensburg.  I didn’t know mud covered Jeeps attracted the attention of pretty college-age girls… I’ll have to keep that in mind for the next time Barb is out of town.

Update: Ry has a couple posts up here and here about our adventures this weekend.  And here is the picture of Barb’s Jeep after we got back from the Boomershoot range:

Quote of the day–Jeff Cooper

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We note with amazement that Bill Clinton has had the chutzpah to pose as a devotee of Theodore Roosevelt. For a draft dodger to presume to align himself with the hero of San Juan Hill is possibly the crowning impertinence of the 20th century.

As it has been mentioned, the Clinton administration may be quaintly characterized as “the evil of two lessers.”

Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries
Vol. 4, No. 11
September 1996

Recalculating the numbers

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On February 15 I posted about some tests I did with the new Boomerite mix.  At 630 yards the targets didn’t detonate with with .223 ammo I was using.  I was using muzzle velocity numbers from several years ago for the same brand of ammo in the same gun but I didn’t trust the numbers because the point of impact was lower than I expected.  I measured the muzzle velocity again and found the MV was 135 slower than my previous numbers.

Using the new MV I recalculated the target velocities of my tests in February.  My best estimate is the target velocity was 1182 fps.  Too slow to expect detonation.

Assuming the weather holds Ry and I will redo the tests tomorrow to find out if 1500 fps .223 bullets will detonate the targets.  1500 fps is the expected velocity of my .223 bullets at about 550 yards under Boomershoot conditions.

Our first child to marry

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They couldn’t just wait any longer.  Xenia and John got married.  Details and pictures are in Xenia’s Live Journal post.  Here is one of the pictures:


The ring is the one I gave Barb (which she wore for about a week)

Update: If you click on the link to Xenia’s LJ and follow it to the bottom of the page you will see it’s–April Fools Day!

Quote of the day–Greg Hamilton

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I saw an ex-marine buddy of mine back down two Seattle Seahawks in a bar once — scariest thing I have ever seen.  This guy is only about 5’8″, the Seahawks just towered over him.  Things escalated to the point where they said, “We are going to mop the floor with you and what do you think you are going to do about it?”  The ex-marine eyes are just as black as death and he said, “I don’t know, but we’ll find out if you try.”

This was the perfect thing to say.  It didn’t challenge them, and it wasn’t submission (although submission and running might have been a good way out for most people).  It drew a line for them and told them there WOULD be a response if they stepped over it.  His body language made it clear that he would respond.  The Seahawks backed down — they didn’t feel a need to find out what the response might be.

Greg Hamilton (paraphrased)
Self Defense Instructor
February 5, 1997