Category Archives: Gun Fun

Shooting Lingo – Group Size

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This sort of thing appears with some regularity on the forums, product reviews, etc., so I can only assume there is a significant number of people who don’t quite understand how a shot group on a target is measured.  What I recently read on an ammo review is that, since the bullet is x diameter, your group size cannot be less than x.

That’s not how it works. (Boomershooters bear with me, I’m pretty sure you all know this)  For the size of your group on the target, you’re measuring the center-to-center distance between hits.  If your holes were clean enough to allow such precise measurements, it is in theory possible to have half-inch diameter bullets and a group size of a hundredth of an inch or less.  You could just as well, theoretically, have an eighteen inch Navy ship’s gun that shoots a group of 1″ (all rounds through the same hole, to within one inch of center).  Actually getting a gun and several projectiles to do that is of course another matter, but it wouldn’t violate the simple theory of taking a distance measurement on your target.

This isn’t rocket science.  Well, maybe some aspects of shooting are in fact rocket science, but measuring the distance between centers of a few holes isn’t complicated, and has nothing to do with the diameter of the holes.  Any carpenter, machinist or cabinet maker, etc. knows this, and it is often learned by farm mechanics in early childhood.

Boomershoot 2010 to be on T.V.

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As others have noted Michael Bane has announced he and his film crew will be attending Boomershoot 2010. I’ve known about it since mid-October when he sent me an email that said, in part:

I want to give you a heads up…I would like to film Boomershoot 2010, if it works for you. It would either be for my flagship, SHOOTING GALLERY, or for a new show I have in the works under the working title of AMERICA SHOOTS! You’d rather have it be AMERICA SHOOTS! because it will be hosted by the hysterically funny an spectacularly beautiful Katie Rowe, a professional stuntwoman and obsessive shooter.

Again, if it works for you, I’d like to put together some live coverage on DOWN RANGE (www.downrange.tv).

I held back on announcing it because I wanted to the plans to be a little more firm.

I don’t know his exact schedule yet but I’m hoping he will cover the target making on Saturday too.

Shooting Fun

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I’ve had an 1858 Remington New Model Army revolver for a while, but was never able to get decent accuracy from it.  Maybe it was the wrong grip fit for my hands.  Maybe it was the extra weight and maybe it was the very long creep in the trigger.  Don’t know, but it had been sitting for a long time, such that the grease was getting stiff, so I took it out alone for some exercise yesterday.

I’d been experimenting with bird shot loads in handguns because I’m interested in handgun trap shooting.  Turns out the rifling pretty well renders that a losing proposition (I could get a spare barrel for the 1851 Colt repro, and ream out the rifling. we’ll see).  Anyway, I ended up with a selection of fiber wads and cards for the .44 Remington, and since my current charge of 28 grains 3F Goex takes up little room in the chambers, and since everyone says the projectile should be close to the forcing cone for best accuracy, I added a quarter inch fiber wad on top of the powder, with a felt wad on top of that.

Now the revolver shoots OK.  Don’t know if it was the extra spacing, or that I’d been handling the gun a lot more, but I was able to match my long standing 25 yard grouping (previously held by the 1851 Colt) several times that day, with this gun.  It may not be anything to brag about, but it’s better than I’ve done with any automatic so far.  That’s 25 yards, standing, two hands, unsupported.  I’m sure there are people who can do a whole lot better, but as the saying goes, “This is my group. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”

That’s the way it went several times– four shots in a decent group, with one flier.  It didn’t matter whether the group was fired from one cylinder, the other cylinder, or a combination of the two.  I shot a smaller group that day, but this one gives me hope that those four in the middle better represent the gun’s potential.

There was zero wind that day, such that when I was all done, there was a layer of white smoke that covered the whole 5 to 7 acre range.  Cool.  It also means that you have to learn to aim through a cloud of smoke.

Several shooter have written about this other phenomenon; I found myself contentedly driving under the speed limit on the way home, which is something I practically never do.  I’m usually irritated by people who drive under the limit, the lot of serene bastards.  It seems that shooting can have a pronounced relaxing effect that can last for several hours after the fact.

Boomershoot article in Motorcyclist magazine

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Via email from veteran Boomershooter (he was at the FIRST Boomershoot in 1998) Steve M. and the author of the article, Jack Lewis, I found out the March 2010 issue of Motorcyclist magazine has an article about a trip to Boomershoot 2009 from the Seattle area on a motorcycle with a sidecar–a 2WD Ural Safari.

It includes a lot of photos (by Shasta Wilson) and is a great story. It includes typical Boomershoot experiences like:

Bundling Pretty Wife into fuzzy blankets, I tossed two cased rifles across her chest and we were off.

“Don’t worry, ” I bellowed, “It won’t rain in the mountains!”

It didn’t rain. It snowed.

I bought out the entire supply of the issue at the newsstand in the lobby of the Crossroads Mall in Bellevue, WA and they said they are unlikely to get any more in. The Barnes and Noble next door only had a couple of February issues when I checked on Sunday evening but if you check there now they might have one.

The article starts on page 70.

Decreasing the time to draw your gun

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Via email from co-worker Chet.

Although I haven’t heard any trainers directly address this it has been hinted at by some:

Scientists discovered that people move faster when reacting to something than when they perform “planned actions”.

In an experimental “duel”, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they studied the speed of these two types of movement.

…

Pairs of participants were put in a button-pressing competition with each other. Each was secretly given instructions of how long to wait before pushing a row of buttons.

“There was no ‘go’ signal,” said Dr Andrew Welchman from the University of Birmingham, who led the research.

“All they had to go by was either their own intention to move or a reaction to their opponent – just like in the gunslingers legend.”

Those who reacted to their opponent were on average 21 milliseconds faster than those who initiated the movement.

During one or more of the classes I took from Insights Greg Hamilton told the students to “use your startle reflex” when the buzzer goes off to decrease your draw time. It works.

You can actually see it other shooters. New shooters take a lot longer to start moving their hand toward the gun and it moves slower when it does move. Tell them to use their “startle reflex” and after a few repetitions you will see their hands jerk into motion and reduce the amount of time required to get their gun deployed.

Apparently we have different pathways in the brain and we can consciously reroute the signals to decrease the time.

This strengthens the wisdom taught in NRA Personal Protection courses about “drawing a line”. The students are told they must have a mental threshold past which they will take some sort of action. It might be something like “the door opens” when someone is trying to break into your safe room. Or “they come around the corner of the counter” when the bad guy is advancing at you with a knife. You are reacting to something the bad guy did. In addition to increasing the speed of your response to a threat you are less likely to suffer from a “boiled frog” situation where the situation escalates and you keep postponing your response because “it’s not that bad” yet.

Update: See also the Scientific American podcast via Say Uncle.

Looking for a gun related job?

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Are you out of work and looking for a job. Would something gun related make it more fun to go to work each day?

The Brady Campaign is looking for someone.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and its legislative and grassroots affiliate, the Brady Campaign and its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is the nation’s largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence. We are devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities. We are searching for spring interns to assist us in our Research and Messaging and Marketing Departments.

Interns with the Research Department choose a specific research project to complete during the course of the internship in addition to pitching in on administrative tasks related to research, public affairs, or fund-raising.
Examples of research projects include summarizing research for our website and for our monthly Brady Research Update, short reports (2-3 pages) that are part of our Gun Laws Make A Difference series, e. g. explaining the impacts of gun control laws in California, New York City, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada and other projects.

Oh, there is something you should know–it’s an unpaid position. I guess working to infringe a specific enumerated right and risking prosecution for violation of 18 USC 241 doesn’t pay as well as working toward preserving and enhancing that right.

But you could have some fun with it. Check out the projects you could work on. I have some pointers to help you get started. There is even a picture of a Glasgow Smile you can use.

Two Boomershoot 2010 positions to open up

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I have cancellations for two positions at Boomershoot 2010. Both positions are on the Berm and will open tomorrow evening, January 26, at 6:00 PM PST (the same time as Gun Nuts Radio comes on).

The pictures for these positions may exaggerate the view of part of the tree-line (375 yards away). I extended the berm further to the left to make each position a little wider. I didn’t notice it at that time but the view of the targets on the right is obstructed. I should have made the extension a little higher. You will be able to see about 1/3 of the tree-line targets and all of the hillside.

To sign up for a position visit http://entry.boomershoot.org/ tomorrow evening.

Update: Lots of changes are happening. Existing entrants have requesting positions swaps. I had another cancellation. A .50 caliber position is going to be dedicated to hourly use. Position #31 may be available as well as one Berm position.

Geeks and guns

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I almost made the alt-text from XKCDs comic this morning (hover your mouse over the picture at that link) the QOTD.

Here is the comic itself:

[The Geeks With Guns website is here.]

New shooter report

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I had been putting Ian off all week. Last week I told him Monday evening should work. I had forgotten about the previously made plans to have dinner with James and Kelsey.

I didn’t even offer Tuesday because that was the evening Barb was showing up from Idaho.

Tentative plans were made for Wednesday but those were scrapped when some tentative plans for dinner with some friends I expected to fall through didn’t.

Thursday I loaded up my car with over a thousand rounds of ammo, three handguns, a rifle, and some other gear. I parked off across the street (Microsoft doesn’t allow guns on campus) and that evening Ian and I went to Wades where I have a lifetime membership.

I went over the NRA three safety rules and he asked some questions about the NRA. The answers amounted to a brief history of the NRA. and NRA-ILA.

As he filled out the new shooter paperwork I paid the guest fee and purchased a USPSA practice target.

I started him out on a Ruger Mark II at about three yards:

Then an Olympic Arms AR-15 at seven yards:

Then S&W .22 revolver at three yards:

Then my STI Eagle 5.2 chambered in .40 S&W at three yards:

This is his single action revolver results (the double action results were just as good):

But he did well with .40 S&W too (the smaller holes are from the AR-15 at seven yards):

This is at seven yards with the .40 S&W:

We picked up the brass and as we drove to his bus stop I explained the economics and custom load benefits of reloading. It was during the drive he said the words I made my QOTD.

Another day, another oppressed minority from another country liberated (see also representatives from China, Canada, India, and Taiwan).

Quote of the day–Ian

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I’ve been America three weeks and I’ve shot four different guns. This is so cool!

Ian
January 21, 2010
[Ian is from Toronto and is an intern at Microsoft. He said the above after going to the range, touching, and shooting a gun for the first time. Freedom is very cool.

Pictures to follow.–Joe]

New FFL in Pullman Washington

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Pullman Washington is just over the border from Moscow Idaho. Moscow has numerous stores that sell guns and used to have a few dedicated gun shops. It’s down to one gun shop now but Pullman has zero stores that sell guns and only for a year or two had a gun shop. Who, Kevin I. says, “the city fathers chase him out”.

This makes it a bit of a hassle for Pullman and surrounding residents to buy a handgun. It is illegal to go next door to Moscow and directly buy a handgun from someone in Moscow. You need to transfer the gun across state lines via a FFL. In this case it means a trip to Spokane–75 miles away. Just one more stupid infringement on our specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms.

But that recently changed. We now have a FFL in Pullman again.

Palouse Operational Supply is now in town and FFL transfer are only $25.00 ($20.00 for law enforcement, fire, and military). They also provide quotes on whatever toy and accessory you have an interest in and promise “You won’t find a better deal, period!” for some manufactures.

Quote of the day–Tam

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Five gets you ten his new company has nothing to do with fruity “LDA” triggers.

It must have been physically painful to have been contractually obligated to pimp those things.

Tam
January 21, 2010
Comment to Todd Jarrett Leaving ParaOrdnance.
[Similar, but far less succinct and articulate, thoughts went through my head when I read the news.–Joe]

Proposed mini-match at Boomershoot 2010

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A recent email from RivrDog contained the following:

The Rivrdog/Rockett Boomershoot camp (camped at #75/76) issues the following Challenge to those coming to this year’s Boomershoot, INSTRUCTORS INCLUDED!

  1. Pick any off-the-shelf HUNTING rifle out of your safe (or buy one, except no Fifties at this end of the range). Custom rifles OK, if they are custom HUNTING rifles. I’ll have a scale, your rifle needs to weigh less than 10# to qualify, or you need to prove you actually tote that 17# monstrosity in the field and not just shoot it off a bench (photo of you with the elk and heavy rifle will do). I’ll be firing a WIN70, myself.
  2. Put any glass on it you desire.
  3. Load/buy any ammo for it you desire (that doesn’t conflict with Joe’s rulz).
  4. On Field Fire days/hours (Friday and Saturday), come on down to the Rivrdog/Rockett camp and use MY shooting table & rifle rests. The rests are elevation adjustable front and sandbag rear. Coordinate your rifle -moving to be legal during cease-fires.
  5. Bring your spotter or go solo.
  6. Fire 10 rounds, slow fire, at the right-end steel ON THE 380-YARD BERM. Number of hits on it is your score.

Winner receives a (new, sealed!) bottle of 12-year old Scotch, my choice (which guarantees it’s quality!). As in war, no second place prizes. My guess is that it will take no less than a 9 to win, so put in some practice time. You likely will be shooting against some professionals. The steel will be about 2 MOA, if it’s like last year. I may bring a 1 MOA steel for tiebreakers. Award ceremony after Field Fire/Cleanup on Saturday. I will take photos during the contest.

If I had the time that day I would show up with my 17.5 pound Spud Gun that I used the one and only season I went hunting (and got a deer). It can do this at 200 yards and hitting 2 MOA (about 8″) at 375 yards is pretty easy if the wind isn’t bad. I’d do it just to be pushing the envelope on the rules and winning, not because I’m interested in a bottle of Scotch. I’ve never tasted the stuff and am not particularly interested in trying. Besides I have two bottles of the stuff on the shelves (Xenia, you still have that one bottle, right?) given to me by friends that I haven’t touched.

If you happen to think of some nifty addition to the proposal suggest it to RivrDog. This is his baby.

I’ll probably get around to emailing this to all the participants sometime this weekend.

Pistols with Rifle Receivers

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I guess I’ll call them “PRRs” or “RRPs” (Rifle Receiver Pistols).  A few of us made comments over at at Say Uncle about the use of such pistols.  There was the assertion that Blackwater personnel have been using AK pistols out of vehicles.  I don’t get it.  Here’s my last comment;

A cut down, folding stock carbine I can see (AKS-74U et al) but I have yet to understand the allure of the “pistol” version (no shoulder stock at all).

“They became very common with Blackwater in Iraq.”

You’re not referring to a folder rather than a pistol?

Stateside, I see the rifle receiver pistol as a political creation (if it has a shoulder stock it falls under the NFA [as a short barreled rifle, or SBR]) rather than something that arose for a particular application.  Otherwise we’d be seeing handguns more along the lines of an Automag with 30 round mags, and/or the Tech 9 or some iteration thereof would be popular, which it isn’t.

There must be something I don’t understand.  Is it all about suppressive fire?  But in that case what’s wrong with having a folding stock on there just in case you want to, you know, aim, or something?

Can anyone fill me in on the particulars?  Why an AK pistol, AR pistol, etc., other than the fact that the stocked version comes with the NFA hassles and tax for civilians?  I mean; why are such pistols desired for defense and/or in combat?  Or are they?

Busy day

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Even though I haven’t gotten out of bed yet (aren’t laptops great!) and have already made a couple of blog posts I have a very busy day ahead of me. In addition to the usual things like attending to hygiene, food, and clothing I need to make up a couple hundred rounds of .40 S&W and head out to the range for a USPSA action pistol match. After that I have to return to Redmond to help The Borg conquer the galaxy.

I turned off Captcha on the comments to help some people that were having problems with it. If you see a bunch of spam comments start showing up don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of them by tomorrow morning.

Update: The pistol match went fairly well. I messed up a reload on one stage or else I might have actually won. I came in second instead:

Place Name USPSA Class Division PF Age Points Stg %
1 H., KW L2847 B Limited 10 Major Senior 313.6755 100.00%
2 H., JOE TY29386 B Limited Major 288.3225 91.92%
3 P., TY A56401 B Limited Major 278.8331 88.89%
4 M., ADAM A42720 M Limited Major 275.2926 87.76%
5 B., MIKE A39993 A Limited 10 Major 262.8004 83.78%
6 I., KEVIN L2544 B Limited Major 235.1292 74.96%
7 W., DON TY25213 A Limited Major Senior 211.9319 67.56%
8 W., ROGER U Limited 10 Major Senior 196.7338 62.72%
9 Revo, Roger U Revolver Major Senior 187.4962 59.77%
10 R., NICHOLAS A57321 D Production Minor Junior 169.0668 53.90%
11 Gr., John A65903 U Limited Major 147.6443 47.07%
12 D., Jerry U Limited 10 Major Senior 99.7761 31.81%
13 M., Bill U Limited Major 87.8599 28.01%

 
One of the most interesting stages was called “If it had been 1911”. This was to simulate 9/11. Here is a picture:

We started sitting in the chair and had to stay within the box. There is a Pepper Popper on the left in the shadow of a no shoot which activates a swinging target coming out from behind the stack of barrels on the right (simulates a hijacker come out of the bathroom).

I got 50 points (out of 55 possible–an 11 round stage) in 8.31 seconds for a hit factor of 6.0168. Pretty good, I figure, for almost all head shots except for the mover. Especially with all the hostages to avoid.

That white stuff on the ground? That is snow. SOME wimps stop shooting outdoors in the winter–but not at our range in North Central Idaho.

Survival list

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Via email from MD Creekmore I received a link to this list of survival related materials. It all seems to be pretty straight forward and obvious stuff. I found the headings on the “Survival Guns” list somewhat amusing:

I work at Wal-Mart Arsenal
  1. Mosin Nagant 91 rifle
  2. Single Shot .12 gauge
  3. Smith&Wesson model 10
The Government Welfare Arsenal
  1. Short Magazine Lee-Enfield
  2. Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge pump
  3. Smith&Wesson model 10
  4. Ruger 10/22
I have a full time Job Arsenal
  1. Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle or AR-15
  2. Mossberg 500 12 Gauge
  3. Glock Model 19
  4. Ruger 10/22
Two Jobs and Maxed Credit Card Arsenal
  1. Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle or AR-15
  2. Remington 870 express with spare riot barrel
  3. Glock 19
  4. Ruger 10/22
  5. Winchester Model 70 in .308 Win.
  6. Taurus CIA Model 850 .38 SPL. Revolver
And Finally the Yuppie Survival Arsenal
  1. L1A1 Rifle chambered in .308 Winchester
  2. Remington Model 7 bolt action chambered in .223
  3. Winchester Model 70 in 308 Win.
  4. Remington 870 express with spare riot gun barrel
  5. Colt 1911 A1 .45 ACP
  6. Taurus CIA Model 850 .38 SPL. Revolver
  7. Savage Model 24F .223 Remington over 12 gauge (if you can find one used)
  8. Ruger 10/22

I do question the need for both a revolver and a semi-auto pistol when both perform essentially the same in terminal ballistics, range, concealability, portability, and availability of ammo.

Also of possible interest is that if you are in the Seattle or Moscow Idaho area I can get you wheat, lentils, and split peas in large quantities cheaper than you can find it almost anywhere else. People attending Boomershoot can arrange for pick up at that time as well. Send me an email with the commodities and quantities you are interested in. The smallest unit I’m interested dealing in would be 50 pounds of any one item.

Product Manager needed for firearms

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Via the WA CCW email list I found out a firearms related company in Greensboro North Carolina is looking for a new PM:

As a strategic leader within the organization, the Director of Product Management is required to manage and insure the profitability and competitive positioning of firearms products within the assigned category in the commercial sporting goods market, and to act as a steward to insure the long-term effectiveness of firearms products by performing the following duties personally or through subordinate supervisors. This position is responsible for understanding the target market and keeping the product line competitive on both price and features with key responsibility for the profitability of the product line. The ability to develop and produce strategic planning documents is required. Must be able to understand financial reporting and prepare and explain financial analysis to measure project performance. Must be able to prepare and deliver presentation materials to senior level management. Must have a solid understanding and grasp of technical concepts as they relate to product design and manufacturing. Requires 30%-40% domestic travel and some international travel may be required.

I wonder who it is. Para-USA is in Pineville NC but they are 100 miles away and doesn’t have the position listed on their website.

Another STI repair

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A couple months ago I mentioned a had a problem with two new magazines dropping out of my STI. Today I finally got around to fixing it.

I had measured the magazines and found they were 0.020″ narrower than the magazines that worked. It had to be the magazine release. So I bought a new magazine release (on the left below) and compared it to the old one (on the right).

Near the top of the picture compare the width of the material for the little “ledge”. The old one is much narrower. That is what engages the magazine. The old one is worn enough that it does not fully engage the magazine.

I replaced the release, took the gun and magazines to the range and put a couple hundred rounds through the gun without any problems other than one of my old magazines failing to lock the slide back on the last round. Yeah, I know the magazine followers are worn out. I’ll order some new ones and replace them soon. But that is a minor problem compared to the magazines falling out on the first shot.

I’ll do more field testing at the steel match tomorrow but I fully expect the magazine drop problem is fixed now.

I like guns

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From Joe D. on the Lewiston Pistol Club discussion email list:

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone.

Boomershoot 2010 Precision Rifle Clinic

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Details on the Boomershoot 2010 Precision Rifle Clinic are now available. You don’t have to participate in the main event to get coaching and shoot in the clinic.

The clinic fills up every year and Gene has lots of repeat attendees so you know people are getting their money’s worth.

Sign up and learn how to turn money and time into earth shaking noise and smoke.

As a side note, Boomershoot statistics are here. Probably most interesting is that there are 110 participants and we have 11 bloggers-exactly 10%.

We will be having a blogger/media day again on Thursday April 22nd.