This post delves deep into technical esoterica, so unless you have a specific interest in percussion revolver shooting you may as well move on.
Category Archives: Gun Fun
Quote of the day—Bryce M. Towsley
Don’t get hung up on your gear. You need guns that are reliable and fit well, but that’s it. The next cool rail-mounted gadget will not make you a better shooter. Instead, take that money and buy more ammo for practice. The guy who has burned enough powder so he can hit the target fastest is the guy that will win the match, not the guy who dragged his gun through the gadget catalog.
…
If you practice with bad habits, you will shoot with bad habits. To learn correct technique, take a class from a professional. But if you don’t have the time and money for that, attend some local matches and learn from the top guys there.
Bryce M. Towsley
July 8, 2013
9 Shooting Tips for Better Long-Range Accuracy
[I can’t emphasis this enough. I started out shooting pistol matches with a Ruger P89. I took classes, practiced a couple times a week, and improved enough that I was occasionally winning the local USPSA matches.
On the Microsoft Gun Club email list other people were discussing which $1000 to $2000 gun would be best for the local pistol league match. I came in near the top in those leagues with my $300 Ruger. It wasn’t until I was certain the Ruger was “holding me back” and I had put 30K rounds through it that I decided to upgrade to a better pistol. I immediately saw about an improvement in my match results and dominated in the league matches.
I remember one time after doing quite a bit better than another league shooter he said something to the effect that it was the guns we were shooting that made the difference. He was shooting a compact Glock and I was shooting my STI Eagle. I offered to trade guns and reshoot the course of fire. He agreed. He did about the same as before and I did slightly worse. I still beat him by a significant margin.
The “meatware” is far more important than the hardware in almost all shooting matches. This is particularly important true in pistol matches.
In rifle matches there is a bigger difference in the hardware capabilities at long ranges. While you aren’t going to be making 1000 yard shots on USPSA targets with an SKS I’ll bet on Monte Milanuk (who coaches at Boomershoot each year) with a Savage Model 12 F-T/R chambered in .308 over someone who has invested more money than time into long range shooting.—Joe]
Gold plated guns for sale
SAF is selling 24-Karat Gold-Plated rifles and pistols. The pistols are 1911s:
The rifles are Winchester lever action 30-30s:
Pressure signs
It seems to me that the process of reading pressure signs in your brass and primers, as they tell us in the loading manuals, can be a bit ambiguous. In this instance however it was rather obvious.
Too much pressure?
Quote of the day—J-
Glockheads are heathens, following a false prophet. Real Americans worship at the Church of John Moses Browning.
…
Follow not the unbelievers. Heed not the basement dwellers, mall ninjas, and armchair commandos. Do not anoint thy hip with Kydex and polymer.
J-
May 13, 2015
Comment to The New Austro-American Jihad.
[It’s a very well done rant and rave.
Via email from Michael B.—Joe]
Repeat an Insights class for 30% off
I’ve been thinking about doing this anyway:
Memorial Day Sale May 20-26
Repeat any class June through August and get 30% off! Because once just isn’t enough.
Call Jenna at 888-958-0884 or email info@InSightsTraining.com to sign up. This offer does not include Tactical First Aid or Shooting Leagues and may not be combined with any other discounts. This is for repeat classes — you must have taken the class previously.
Visit InSightsTraining.com and find a class that fits your schedule. Stay safe and we’ll see you in class!
Maybe now is the time to go through one of the classes I took nearly 20 years ago. I’m thinking maybe Intensive Handgun Skills.
Images from Boomershoot 2015
This is my impression of Boomershoot 2015 in images and a few words.
Creating a target rich environment.
The hillside as seen through a 6X scope.
Part of the tree line target area as seen through a 6X scope.
Nearly all of the target areas as seen from a 1.5X scope.
The fireball crew and their work of art. Barron doesn’t actually walk around with a road flare stuck in his ear. See more details here.
On the left Janelle is pregnant. On the right her husband Barron just initiated the fireball.
People inspecting the crater left by the fireball.
Adjusting the artillery for a long distance shot.
It wasn’t really indirect fire.
Appropriate.
Taking a break.
This guy did his prep before he started shooting.
Barb and I patrol the shooting line (photo by Kim).
The two obvious hits are probably outside the active zone anyway. But the target is mostly empty from the rip in the lower right corner.
You’ve got the windage down. Let’s work on elevation.
It’s still a target rich environment at lunch time.
Boomershoot 2016 will be April 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. You know you want to. Start making your plans now.
Road flares and gasoline
The Boomershoot 2015 fireball was very well done and impressive. Here are some of the details of the construction.
There were 15 seven-inch square targets, each containing 800 grams (about 1.8 pounds) of Boomerite arranged as shown below around a 50 pound bag of powdered sugar:
The target in the lower right with the two red dots was facing the audience and shooter. This is the initiating target which propagated the detonation to the rest of the targets.
In the picture below you see 19 gallons of the gasoline/diesel mixture in place on top of the explosives.
The job of the explosives is to lift the gasoline and mix it in the air. Usually we have a ratio of explosives to gasoline of about 1 pounds to 2 gallons up to 1 pound to 1 gallon. This time it is about 1.4 to 1.
In the picture above we have the people that designed and constructed the fireball (left to right: Mike, Matthew, Barron, and Ry) along with the road flares attached with rubber bands to rebar and wooden sticks. One or more of these flares ignited the fuel air mixture.
In Phil’s slow motion video below you will see the ignition start on the side opposite the shooter and propagate to the remainder of the fuel-air mixture.
In this frame capture from Ry’s video you can see the dust propelled into the air some distance from the explosion. I suspect this is from the shock wave traveling through the ground.
In the still picture of mine below you can see pieces of shredded milk jugs which have been propelled beyond the expanding “ball” of fuel and that most of the fuel has been ignited. The flares mounted on the rebar and sticks are entirely engulfed in the fireball.
The following pictures is one of the most interesting fireball photos I have ever seen. Usually it is mushroom shaped or even flattens out more than the picture above. But this ball of fire barely touches the ground and is a decent approximation of a sphere. I’m not sure what the white streamers coming out of the fire are. Perhaps pieces of burning milk jug or lumps of powdered sugar.
Here, a fraction of a second later, we have the ball of fire suspended in air on what is a probably a column of water vapor from the explosives:
Here, another fraction of a second later, we have the fuel still burning high up in the air and forming a smoke ring:
Watch Ry’s video and see the fire roll around in the sky. It’s amazing:
In the picture below, less than a minute after the explosion, we have Barron standing in the middle of the crater he created. But notice there is no fire on the ground. In years past there were patches of burning fuel on the ground. There was none this year. It all went up into the air.
Another thing, as pointed out by Ry this year and last (edited to add: Ry says the first time was 2011 or earlier), is that nearly all of the flares have been extinguished. Ry is the first person I know who has successfully extinguished road flares with gasoline.
Don’t try this at home. Come to Boomershoot 2016 instead.
Barrel extraction
As I reported last month the barrel in my STI Eagle attempted to spontaneously disassemble. I couldn’t get the slide open and figured I would just put the gun on the shelf that way. But Jacob said he was interested in doing a professional metallurgical evaluation of it. So I put some effort into extracting the barrel from the gun.
First I used a punch and drove the slide stop out far enough to get a finishing nail partially under it so that it was exposed:
Then brother Doug used an air powered cutoff tool to cut the slide stop almost in two and then pried the slide stop out:
The slide then easily came off. I then used a hammer (and other tools) to tap on the barrel to remove it from the slide.
The end result is that I was able to discover the barrel split about three fourths of its length:
As I looked at this barrel I remembered something. That flat spot on the bottom of the barrel was not there when it came from the factory. That was machined by an STI gunsmith so that a Recoil Master would fit. This would have weakened the barrel.
Flash Sale on InSights Classes!
Via email from InSights. Highly recommended. I’ve spent thousands on their training over the years. Both for me and my family.
20% Off Selected Classes for the Whole Family
Limited time to sign up — April 29 – May 1, phone orders only:
Get better with your semi-auto and get tuned up for GDH!
May 2, WCA Bellevue
Get the information, skills, and mindset to carry and use a handgun for self defense.
May 9-10 WCA Bellevue
June 13-14 WCA Bellevue
June 20-21 WCA Everett
Keep your firearm in fight-winning condition.
May 12, WCA Bellevue
Build on your USD skills and gain fight-winning techniques against single and multiple attackers.
May 30-31, WCA Everett
If you can’t have your handgun, have your knife. Great jiu-jitsu repellent!
June 6, WCA Everett
Easy to use, easy to carry, legal to have with you nearly everywhere.
June 9, WCA Bellevue
Through games, drills, and discussions, your children will learn how to recognize potential dangers and get to safety.
May 30, Redmond
Limited Time 20% Off Flash Sale — Train and Save!
Call the office and talk to Jenna to register: 888-958-0884.
See you in class!
Quote of the day—Barb L.
Rifles are fun!
Barb L.
April 24, 2015
[This was the first time she had shot a .22 rifle. It was also the first time she shot a scoped, suppressed rifle. And the first time she had shot a rifle from a “bench”. It made it much easier than kneeling and standing like her first rifle experience.—Joe]
New shooter report
Barb’s nephew Jeff wanted to learn to shoot so Barb reserved the training bay at the local indoor range and I brought a bunch of guns and ammo.
I started him out with the safety rules, then grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger prep, squeeze, follow through, and finally dry fire. Once he had that all working pretty good he shot a .22 scoped rifle with a suppresser. Then it was the Ruger 22/45 while sitting, then while standing.
Then it was the .22 revolver:
Then the AR-15. And finally the Ruger P-89 (9mm).
Overheard
My lead and I went to lunch with three representatives from a vendor today. One had spent many years in law enforcement and the other two really enjoy hunting. At lunch we spent a lot of time talking about the outdoors, shooting, hiking, hunting, and climbing mountains.
While returning from lunch and walking through the parking garage:
Vendor Rep: Nice Kydex holster for your flashlight. I suppose <company name> has a policy against fully loaded magazines to put in the slot next to it.
Joe: They just might.
Vendor Rep: But it’s the only holster you have for the flashlight, right?
Joe: That’s right.
It was the law enforcement guy.
I love this job and the people I work with.
USPSA match results
As I posted earlier my participation in a USPSA match today was cut short by catastrophic equipment failure. Even having only completed three and zeroing three stages I still didn’t come in dead last:
MRCPS April Uspsa
4/19/2015
4/19/2015
Match Results – Combined
| Place | Name | Member # | Class | Division | PF | Lady | Mil | Law | For | Match Pts | Match % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helterline, Nick | A24193 | G | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 745.4775 | 100.000 % |
| 2 | Ramberg, Tim | TY70622 | M | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 704.8636 | 94.552 % |
| 3 | Pries, Scott | A57006 | G | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 650.9987 | 87.326 % |
| 4 | Kettels, Tom | L465 | M | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 649.7426 | 87.158 % |
| 5 | Hoang, Vinh | TY55787 | M | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 612.2319 | 82.126 % |
| 6 | Wiley, John | A68387 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 607.1873 | 81.449 % |
| 7 | Hong, Andrew | A83199 | M | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 599.8781 | 80.469 % |
| 8 | Tan, Loke | TY66526 | M | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 598.7592 | 80.319 % |
| 9 | Loo, Bob | L1770 | A | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 594.1050 | 79.695 % |
| 10 | Lee, Yong | FY41528 | G | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 580.5697 | 77.879 % |
| 11 | Kim, Hwansik | A86278 | A | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 539.6461 | 72.389 % |
| 12 | Eap, Sorida | TY76563 | B | OPEN | MAJOR | Y | N | N | N | 532.4589 | 71.425 % |
| 13 | Albero, Joseph | FY37033 | C | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 529.1346 | 70.979 % |
| 14 | LeRoux, Scott | L3253 | M | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 525.3467 | 70.471 % |
| 15 | Tag, Alan | A51215 | G | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 522.1622 | 70.044 % |
| 16 | Shoemaker, Floyd | L2396 | M | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 511.6337 | 68.632 % |
| 17 | Wood, Bruce | TY47022 | A | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 507.5291 | 68.081 % |
| 18 | Huang, Jemy | TY71576 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 491.8023 | 65.971 % |
| 19 | Cotie, Paul | A76039 | M | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 490.3199 | 65.773 % |
| 20 | Dong, James | FY22573 | B | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 484.1667 | 64.947 % |
| 21 | Roberts, Kevin | A66808 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 471.5292 | 63.252 % |
| 22 | Olka, Chris | TY54513 | B | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 470.0700 | 63.056 % |
| 23 | Nevins, Chris | FY75900 | A | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 460.1006 | 61.719 % |
| 24 | Plotnikov, Emanuel | L3050 | M | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 456.4464 | 61.229 % |
| 25 | Munson, Lisa | A8382 | A | SS | MAJOR | Y | N | N | N | 454.2216 | 60.930 % |
| 26 | Galanti, Mike | TY13332 | A | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 446.7189 | 59.924 % |
| 27 | Miller, Tavis | TY71173 | A | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 441.2201 | 59.186 % |
| 28 | Roessel, Steven | A44141 | A | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 439.5921 | 58.968 % |
| 29 | Stockwell, Nicholas | A89438 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 432.0450 | 57.955 % |
| 30 | Leone, Larry | L3001 | A | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 426.6662 | 57.234 % |
| 31 | Noel, Brian | A29646 | G | REV | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 418.1377 | 56.090 % |
| 32 | McNees, Don | A88218 | B | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 415.6461 | 55.756 % |
| 33 | Farrow, Dave | B49 | B | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 410.6384 | 55.084 % |
| 34 | Baleros, Rae | A83018 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 406.8212 | 54.572 % |
| 35 | Mouille, Scott | TY68271 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 402.2876 | 53.964 % |
| 36 | Saslawsky, Mike | TY56783 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 391.1727 | 52.473 % |
| 37 | James, Jason | TY75331 | B | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 382.9065 | 51.364 % |
| 38 | Erickson, Aaron | TY84885 | U | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 374.4335 | 50.227 % |
| 39 | Domingo, Noel | A85786 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 372.3201 | 49.944 % |
| 40 | Galind, Edward | A61323 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 371.2768 | 49.804 % |
| 41 | Brosas, Albert | A54960 | B | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 369.2145 | 49.527 % |
| 42 | Vanlandingham, Greg | A90645 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 360.9470 | 48.418 % |
| 43 | Chiou, Roger | TY71834 | U | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 359.3018 | 48.198 % |
| 44 | Roessel, Gary | A2757 | B | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 358.9575 | 48.151 % |
| 45 | Slaughter, Rustin | A90627 | U | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 354.3652 | 47.535 % |
| 46 | Tomasie, Squire | L1145 | A | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 349.1555 | 46.836 % |
| 47 | Wall, Gary | TY41939 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 348.2757 | 46.718 % |
| 48 | Allen, Craig | TY71465 | B | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 337.3902 | 45.258 % |
| 49 | Breitkreutz, Gale | TY82582 | D | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 336.3473 | 45.118 % |
| 50 | Hodges, Palmer | A80680 | C | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 336.2436 | 45.104 % |
| 51 | Straathof, Greg | A89323 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 331.6126 | 44.483 % |
| 52 | Pajarillo, Mario | A25659 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 328.3804 | 44.050 % |
| 53 | Tsang, Keith | A71578 | B | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 323.8689 | 43.444 % |
| 54 | Hodges, Justin | A80693 | C | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 323.3540 | 43.375 % |
| 55 | Harris, Brad | A54628 | A | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 322.6308 | 43.278 % |
| 56 | Sherman, Tod | TY37515 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 314.2959 | 42.160 % |
| 57 | Boffey, David | PENDING | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 309.3078 | 41.491 % |
| 58 | Mackley, Matt | PENDING | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 307.4944 | 41.248 % |
| 59 | Mortell, Jeff | A86651 | C | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 307.4439 | 41.241 % |
| 60 | Dussault, Kyle | A90234 | U | REV | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 304.4598 | 40.841 % |
| 61 | Shatto, Rollie | TY18977 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 301.6599 | 40.465 % |
| 62 | Clark, Dean | A85321 | C | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 295.1779 | 39.596 % |
| 63 | Harding, Matt | A87093 | C | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 291.0945 | 39.048 % |
| 64 | Millican, Arthur | L3892 | U | OPEN | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 286.3976 | 38.418 % |
| 65 | Tablang, Nelson | A86966 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 278.4613 | 37.353 % |
| 66 | Soraparu, Heather | TY86040 | C | PROD | MINOR | Y | N | N | N | 278.0775 | 37.302 % |
| 67 | Smith, Alex | TY78406 | C | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 276.6623 | 37.112 % |
| 68 | Westrich, Chaun | A78506 | C | REV | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 271.8651 | 36.469 % |
| 69 | Paczosa, Dan 2(SS) | A87261 | U | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 271.1708 | 36.375 % |
| 70 | Kellet, Steve | TY37763 | C | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 270.8322 | 36.330 % |
| 71 | Paczosa, Conner 1(PROD) | A87261 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 262.0480 | 35.152 % |
| 72 | Gross, Brad | A89754 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 250.8192 | 33.645 % |
| 73 | Crow, Don | A85736 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 237.3173 | 31.834 % |
| 74 | Adam, Brandi | A73942 | C | LTD | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 232.1828 | 31.146 % |
| 75 | Fenlin, Jim | A77726 | D | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 212.6674 | 28.528 % |
| 76 | Jensen, John | TY87846 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 211.2494 | 28.337 % |
| 77 | Parisi, Jesse | PENDING | U | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 195.8696 | 26.274 % |
| 78 | Hansen, Susan | A89501 | U | PROD | MINOR | Y | N | N | N | 179.5240 | 24.082 % |
| 79 | Grover, Jason | A86456 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 177.4217 | 23.800 % |
| 80 | Russell, Jim | F79157 | D | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 176.7931 | 23.715 % |
| 81 | Huffman, Joe | TY29386 | B | OPEN | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 147.4298 | 19.777 % |
| 82 | Rowe, Mark | A67862 | D | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 132.3297 | 17.751 % |
| 83 | Bregante, Carlos | TY4508 | C | LTD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 122.8851 | 16.484 % |
| 84 | Tolentino, Ronald | A90654 | U | PROD | MINOR | N | N | N | N | 113.1315 | 15.176 % |
| 85 | (DQ) Soltesz, Bob | PENDING | U | SS | MAJOR | N | N | N | N | 0.0000 | 0.000 % |
For some reason they have me listed as being in Open class instead of Limited. I sent them email asking that they correct the error.
They had a very “interesting” stage where you ran about 15 yards to the first five paper targets then ran about another 15 yards to some more paper targets and around the corner there was a Texas Star and three poppers 31 yards away:
A Texas Star is challenging under most any circumstances but 31 yards is almost obscene. Without going to Idaho I don’t have access to a place where I can shoot targets at 31 yards. This was evident in my performance. It took me several shots to discover I needed to hold at the top edge of the plates to hit them. Many people left some and at least one person left all of the plates as misses.
This was another “interesting” stage. The start position was facing up range with your hands on the X’s:
It was very awkward. And the taller you were the more difficult it was.
The gun is all used up
I went to a USPSA match today and my gun barrel fractured and locked up my gun. This is a cropped version of the picture I tweeted about shortly after the incident:
Robb Allen almost immediately asked the obvious question, “Your own loads or factory?” And of course the answer was they were rounds I had loaded myself. In many situations this would be the end of the story. The shooter had a squib (a round with no or insufficient powder) which resulted in a bullet stuck in the barrel and the next round set off the automatic self-destruct sequence of events. Another way it could have happened was a round got double charged or the wrong powder was used. In any case it is relatively easy and frequent that handloaders blow up their guns through their own carelessness.
But as Ry pointed out the head of the shell casing is still there which probably means there wasn’t an over pressure event involved. I was able to hammer the gun open far enough for the shell casing to drop out and confirmed Ry’s suspicion:
This is a perfectly normal looking piece of brass. Even the primer looks normal so there was no overpressure event involved. I tried putting it in the case gauge and it would only go in about halfway. The chamber of barrel is now, of course, large than spec and the brass expanded just a bit more than normal even though it can’t be seen with the naked eye.
I tried for quite a bit to get the gun open in the hopes that I could remove the barrel but I wasn’t able to get it open any beyond this:
You can’t see it in the photograph but the feed ramp also split.
I finally just closed it up:
I don’t know what the root cause was. I wonder if it wasn’t a timing issue which caused some abnormal stress because I had a broken link with this barrel once before.
Something that is interesting to me is that I had the lugs break on the original STI barrel after about 20,000 rounds and this barrel failed after almost exactly the same number of rounds. I have known the gun was living on borrowed time for nearly six years now so I can’t really complain a lot.
I’m not going to try to get the gun repaired. As Barb, essentially, and Gay_Cynic said, I used the gun up.
Update: I should have said that the shot sounded and felt almost normal to me. The recoil cycle wasn’t quite right but there wasn’t a greater than normal impulse or BOOM!
Case prep
I thought mine was getting complicated and expensive. Actually it’s complete ammunition manufacturing.
The guy giving us the tour obviously isn’t a hand loader, is he?
So anyway; you want a complete home loading facility, it would look something like that. The QA alone is quite an impressive operation.
I’d need a rather larger spare bedroom than the one I currently use for reloading.
Hat tip; Sipsey
Steel Challenge match results
Ry and I went to a Steel Challenge match today. I shot with a centerfire pistol and he shot a .22 Pistol.
I came in fourth out of 30 people which is significantly better than the seventh out of 36 last time with this group. I felt really good about almost all of my shooting this time. Well… except after stage 4 where I had no problems and it confounded almost everyone else in our squad and Taylor said she wasn’t going to hang out me with anymore. I completed it in 19 seconds flat and it took her over 49 seconds.
Ry made a video of me shooting one of the stages. It seems like my draw is really slow but it seems to be on the order of 1.5 seconds so that isn’t too bad.
Another thing of interest is that I was wearing a Boomershoot 2006 shirt and the R.O. said the Latin (Veni, vidi, BOOM!) was perfect.
Here are more detailed results:
| Stage # | SCSA ID | Stage Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ?? | Go Fast |
| 2 | ?? | Star Burst |
| 3 | ?? | Concentrate |
| 4 | ?? | In & Out |
Centerfire Pistol
| Place | Name | Comp | SCSA | Division | Aggregate | Total | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | DQ | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian S | 58 | PROD | 57.71 | 57.71 | 10.40 | 15.62 | 15.48 | 16.21 | Junior | ||
| 2 | Alexander W | 55 | 3362 | OPN | 62.61 | 62.61 | 9.71 | 15.71 | 21.12 | 16.07 | Junior | |
| 3 | Connor P | 60 | A87260 | PROD | 72.30 | 72.30 | 11.00 | 20.43 | 20.04 | 20.83 | Junior | |
| 4 | Joe H | 23 | 3799 | ISP | 74.71 | 74.71 | 12.54 | 20.58 | 22.59 | 19.00 | Senior | |
| 5 | Bob S | 2 | PROD | 78.06 | 78.06 | 13.02 | 20.21 | 22.55 | 22.28 | Senior | ||
| 6 | Euan G | 4 | ISP | 81.87 | 81.87 | 13.85 | 26.14 | 20.99 | 20.89 | |||
| 7 | Jeff K | 15 | PROD | 87.74 | 87.74 | 13.69 | 25.61 | 20.77 | 27.67 | |||
| 8 | Matthew M | 14 | PROD | 88.08 | 88.08 | 13.94 | 24.69 | 25.48 | 23.97 | Military | ||
| 9 | Dan P | 62 | A87261 | ISP | 89.16 | 89.16 | 15.05 | 25.94 | 24.13 | 24.04 | ||
| 10 | Eric W | 63 | 3362 | PROD | 90.28 | 90.28 | 16.24 | 22.62 | 27.87 | 23.55 | ||
| 11 | Lukasz T | 35 | 5956 | ISP | 90.31 | 90.31 | 10.87 | 24.60 | 26.03 | 28.81 | ||
| 12 | Bradley M | 57 | PROD | 96.33 | 96.33 | 13.15 | 23.80 | 29.56 | 29.82 | Junior | ||
| 13 | Lance B | 16 | PROD | 97.86 | 97.86 | 18.22 | 26.53 | 25.52 | 27.59 | |||
| 14 | Tim R | 20 | ISR | 99.84 | 99.84 | 18.85 | 23.81 | 26.24 | 30.94 | |||
| 15 | Earl B | 10 | ISP | 100.32 | 100.32 | 19.27 | 24.08 | 28.13 | 28.84 | |||
| 16 | Don C | 33 | A85736 | PROD | 101.26 | 101.26 | 16.96 | 27.43 | 29.15 | 27.72 | Senior | |
| 17 | Jason F | 24 | PROD | 104.44 | 104.44 | 14.90 | 29.54 | 30.07 | 29.93 | |||
| 18 | Jeffrey K | 39 | A84426 | PROD | 106.46 | 106.46 | 16.19 | 31.00 | 25.14 | 34.13 | Senior | |
| 19 | Jesse P | 28 | PROD | 109.06 | 109.06 | 18.42 | 29.30 | 28.91 | 32.43 | |||
| 20 | Mark B | 3 | OPN | 112.01 | 112.01 | 18.79 | 30.51 | 29.48 | 33.23 | |||
| 21 | Bryce K | 8 | PROD | 114.50 | 114.50 | 18.86 | 26.12 | 30.76 | 38.76 | |||
| 22 | Brad M | 49 | ISP | 119.75 | 119.75 | 16.98 | 39.49 | 34.20 | 29.08 | |||
| 23 | Jason G | 27 | A86456 | PROD | 121.79 | 121.79 | 17.35 | 32.19 | 35.62 | 36.63 | ||
| 24 | Joel F | 7 | PROD | 124.19 | 124.19 | 18.71 | 29.01 | 33.64 | 42.83 | |||
| 25 | Euan G | 9 | PROD | 125.53 | 125.53 | 23.00 | 31.80 | 37.14 | 33.59 | |||
| 26 | Patrick D | 5 | PROD | 155.65 | 155.65 | 17.15 | 40.77 | 49.57 | 48.16 | Military | ||
| 27 | Denny M | 25 | PROD | 164.79 | 164.79 | 27.78 | 50.18 | 38.22 | 48.61 | |||
| 28 | Taylor C | 18 | ISP | 170.22 | 170.22 | 20.46 | 47.90 | 52.83 | 49.03 | Lady | ||
| 29 | Gail C | 19 | PROD | 210.22 | 210.22 | 29.49 | 62.28 | 52.56 | 65.89 | Lady | ||
| 30 | Paul B | 29 | A87020 | PROD | 248.23 | 248.23 | 18.95 | 120.00 | 42.46 | 68.43 | Senior |
.22 Pistol
| Place | Name | Comp | SCSA | Division | Aggregate | Total | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | DQ | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian S | 59 | RFPI | 46.69 | 46.69 | 7.16 | 13.10 | 14.21 | 12.22 | Junior | ||
| 2 | Connor P | 61 | A87260 | RFPI | 47.66 | 47.66 | 7.74 | 12.04 | 14.85 | 13.03 | Junior | |
| 3 | Lukasz T | 34 | 5956 | RFPO | 50.86 | 50.86 | 8.54 | 14.39 | 13.33 | 14.60 | ||
| 4 | Bradley M | 56 | RFPI | 53.63 | 53.63 | 7.28 | 14.55 | 17.20 | 14.60 | Junior | ||
| 5 | Jeff K | 6 | RFPO | 55.02 | 55.02 | 9.39 | 14.23 | 15.63 | 15.77 | |||
| 6 | Stephen D | 1 | RFPO | 56.18 | 56.18 | 9.83 | 16.39 | 13.44 | 16.52 | |||
| 7 | Alexander W | 54 | 3362 | RFPI | 57.27 | 57.27 | 8.91 | 13.97 | 15.88 | 18.51 | Junior | |
| 8 | Cel A | 48 | 4893 | RFPI | 58.49 | 58.49 | 11.97 | 15.46 | 15.82 | 15.24 | ||
| 9 | Lance B | 12 | RFPI | 72.81 | 72.81 | 12.20 | 17.27 | 21.37 | 21.97 | |||
| 10 | Addison L | 52 | RFPI | 73.83 | 73.83 | 9.14 | 20.13 | 26.24 | 18.32 | Junior | ||
| 11 | Earl B | 11 | RFPI | 79.23 | 79.23 | 9.65 | 19.77 | 24.54 | 25.27 | |||
| 12 | Michael M | 50 | RFPI | 93.87 | 93.87 | 17.92 | 26.63 | 23.32 | 26.00 | |||
| 13 | Erik F | 17 | RFPI | 95.71 | 95.71 | 14.51 | 26.51 | 30.53 | 24.16 | |||
| 14 | Denny M | 26 | RFPI | 103.69 | 103.69 | 11.45 | 29.27 | 36.83 | 26.14 | |||
| 15 | Ry J | 21 | TY76202 | RFPO | 112.62 | 112.62 | 18.63 | 24.50 | 34.05 | 35.44 | ||
| 16 | Adrian C | 38 | RFPI | 113.81 | 113.81 | 15.13 | 25.98 | 35.98 | 36.72 | Junior | ||
| 17 | James W | 32 | RFPI | 116.89 | 116.89 | 13.68 | 40.04 | 35.67 | 27.50 | Senior | ||
| 18 | Sara W | 45 | RFPI | 117.25 | 117.25 | 30.42 | 30.62 | 30.36 | 25.85 | Lady, Junior | ||
| 19 | Sabrina W | 43 | RFPI | 125.27 | 125.27 | 19.81 | 37.65 | 36.21 | 31.60 | Lady, Junior | ||
| 20 | Joey M | 47 | RFPI | 143.40 | 143.40 | 44.56 | 42.90 | 26.41 | 29.53 | Junior | ||
| 21 | Ezzy A | 44 | 5478 | RFPI | 153.70 | 153.70 | 21.73 | 42.75 | 44.20 | 45.02 | Lady, Junior | |
| 22 | Isabelle M | 42 | RFPI | 198.93 | 198.93 | 23.24 | 104.72 | 34.68 | 36.29 | Lady, Junior | ||
| 23 | Paul B | 30 | A87020 | RFPI | 228.11 | 228.11 | 18.52 | 120.00 | 52.80 | 36.79 | Senior |
Boomershoot 2015 cups, shirts, hats, thongs, etc.
Get your Boomershoot 2015 swag here.
The image used is this one:
You don’t have to attend Boomershoot to wear Boomershoot stuff or have a cool mug laying around on your desk at work.
Rounds in the last month
Here is an update on the total number of rounds I have reloaded:
223.LOG: 2027 rounds.
3006.LOG: 467 rounds.
300WIN.LOG: 1351 rounds.
40SW.LOG: 38807 rounds.
45.log: 0 rounds.
9MM.LOG: 21636 rounds.
Total: 64288 rounds.
This is a delta of 3064 rounds since last month. This is composed of 1,137 rounds of .40 S&W and 1,927 rounds of 9mm. So far this year I have reloaded 6,859 rounds.
This morning I ran some bullets over the chronograph using the ETR7 powder I got last month. Using the Montana Gold 180 grain JHP and the loads suggested somewhere else I tried 4.5 grains and 4.8 grains with an OAL of 1.135. The results were a little lower velocities than what I expected. All tests were with the muzzle 10 feet from the first screen of the chronograph and an ambient temperature of 32F. The low temperature may have affected the velocities some but I need to be able to make major power factor (165) even when it is cold out.
4.5 grains of ETR7:
Mean Velocity: 861 fps
Standard Deviation: 17.5 fps
Minimum Velocity: 832 fps
Maximum Velocity: 891 fps
Extreme Spread: 59 fps
Power Factor: 155.07
4.8 grains of ETR7:
Mean Velocity: 891 fps
Standard Deviation: 20.6 fps
Minimum Velocity: 864 fps
Maximum Velocity: 935 fps
Extreme Spread: 71 fps
Power Factor: 160.54
The suggested max load is 5.0 grains. But what I need to do is check the primers of the 4.8 grain loads before bumping the load up to the max. And if linear interpolation is valid for this range of loads 5.0 grains isn’t going to get me into major.
Unexpected question
Barb got a new water heater installed recently and one of the installers poked his head in the laundry room to ask Barb to turn on the hot water facet in the kitchen to get the water to drain.
Some time later he asked, “Who here works for Blackwater?”
Barb told him no one, but that I had got a tour through their facility. That wasn’t exactly correct (see also here) but it was close enough.
Apparently he saw the hats hanging up in the laundry room:
