Category Archives: Gun Fun

Gun humor

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Via email from Rolf (and Sneedus Feedus):

Garand458Winchester

Various loadings:

Bullet

Muzzle Velocity

Power Factor

300 gr (19 g)
HP

2,606 ft/s
(794 m/s)

782

350 gr (23 g)
RN

2,557 ft/s
(779 m/s)

895

400 gr (26 g)
FN

2,468 ft/s
(752 m/s)

987

500 gr (32 g)
RN

2,192 ft/s
(668 m/s)

1096

For comparison a fairly typical .300 Winchester Magnum load would be a 190 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2900 fps for a Power Factor of 551. Or compare it to a .308 Winchester with a 168 grain bullet at 2650 fps with a PF of 445.

The semi-auto action of the Garand would help a little but I couldn’t see myself shooting that except under duress.

From a first time Boomershooter

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I made a few minor technical corrections. Other than that this is word for word from an email I received from Brian K. about his first visit to Boomershoot:

“Go ahead, shoot a few rounds!”

A kind offer from the Boomershoot attendee I was spotting for.

His spotter had to cancel last minute, so I had the novel pleasure of walking this gentleman in at 700 yards.

Now he was spotting for me!

“I should start at the 375 yard targets,” I attempted to wimp out.

“I’m already sighted in at 700 yards. Just go for those” he insisted.

Remembering everything Appleseed taught me, I fired my first round at a 7″ explosive target almost a half mile away.

Miss. But less than 10 feet off, so not terrible.

Miss. Miss. Miss. Am I going to hit *anything*?

Miss. Miss. Hit!

700 yards is so far that you can bring your eyes up from your scope, see the detonation, and let out a holler of joy before the sound reaches you.

I scored a few more hits at 700, including a single first round hit.

I learned two things at my first Boomershoot:

  1. I am capable of far more accuracy that I know
  2. I need to practice far more than I do

Thankfully Boomershoot is just three months away and there is still space on the Sunday firing line so you can discover how well you fare vs small explosive pizza boxes at half a mile.

Rounds in the last month & yearly report

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This was a very slow year. I basically stopped shooting in late December because of a work project that was really, really cool. I worked pretty much night and day, including weekends, (except for a week of vacation for our anniversary) until sometime in March. It resulted in a patent application (still pending). Then with the COVID concerns I only went to like two or three matches and not many more trips to the indoor range for practice. Hence, my ammo needs were very modest last year. Then there was the whole primer shortage thing…

I already had a fair amount .40 S&W so I spent a lot of time reloading and brass prepping for rifle ammo.

As you can see in the table below I reloaded 657 rounds of .223 last year and another 88 rounds this month. A good portion of that was using up random types of bullets that had been purchased for load testing and found lacking. They are still good for teaching new shooters at 25 yards or Boomershoot High Intensity type events. It does include a new load for a 55 grain match grade bullet that turned out well.

The 98 rounds of 30-06 were for a Garand someone was receiving as a Christmas present. I wasn’t the gift giver or receiver but since ammo in general and Garand compatible ammo in particular were next to impossible to find I purchased a few clips to add to the ammo I reloaded. I used some 168 grain Sierra Match Kings, Federal Match primers, and Varget powder (Garand load data here) which was all at least 20 years old.

The Garand went to someone who had never owned a gun! But she had expressed a strong liking for the gun saying how much she liked the way it looked and she had apparently shot one before. So… her significant other consulted with me as to what a Garand was (!) and we conspired to find and purchase one for a Christmas gift.

[Update: I’ve been informed that while in high school she drilled with a Garand in Junior ROTC.]

So now she has nearly 100 rounds of ammo for her “new” gun and if the loads work well, and she returns the brass, I could make another 150 rounds or so from components on hand.

Hitting exactly 4,000 rounds of .40 S&W in 2020 was entirely a coincidence. These were all 200 grain Black Bullet International loads. I continued this month with mostly the same load but used up some random 180 grain bullets I found laying around. I have about another 20 primers and a couple of pounds of CFE Pistol powder left. I’ll probably not load much .40 S&W for a while. Of course I’ll need primers but also I have more .40 S&W stacked up than I imagine I will use this year.

This brings my total for the year to only 4,755 rounds. This is the first time since 2014 that I didn’t reload more than 10,000 rounds.

This brings my lifetime total of rounds reloaded to 149,484. I really expected to break 150K last year but it was a special year. But this year, almost for certain, I’ll break 150K.


223 Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1998          160           –          –          –          –            –            –       140        20           –            –            –               – 
1999       1,777           –          –       181      578          25           –          –          –            –         140        653           200
2000            43           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –           43           –            –               – 
2001            47           –          –          –         47           –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
2016          397           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         140        257           –               – 
2017          296           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –            296
2018       4,177        418      180   1,195      300           –            –          –          –            –            –      1,997             87
2019          695           –         60        80      125        216          61      111         –            –            –           42              – 
2020          657           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –         252        215           190
2021            88          88         –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
Total     8,337      506     240 1,456 1,050      241        61     251      20      183      649    2,907        773
30-06 Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1997 180           –          –         40        20          79          41         –          –            –            –            –               – 
1998 150           –          –          –         80           –            –          –          –            –           40           –              30
1999 90          20        70         –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
2003 47           –          –          –         18           –            –          –          –            –            –           29              – 
2016 76           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –           76           –            –               – 
2017 213           –          –          –          –            –            –         65      148           –            –            –               – 
2020 98           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –              98
Total 854        20      70      40     118        79        41      65     148        76        40        29        128
300Savage Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2018            50           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –           50              – 
Total         50        –       –       –       –         –         –       –       –         –         –         50          – 
300WIN Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1999          250           –          –          –          –            –         151        60         –            –           39           –               – 
2000          467          50      127      142         –           57           –          –          –            –           20          60             11
2001          382          25         –          –       185          15          20         –         73           –            –            –              64
2013          499           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –         100           399
2018          212           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –            212
2019          316        167      149         –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
Total     2,126      242     276     142     185        72      171      60      73        –         59      160        686
40SW Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1997            31           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –              31
1998     11,537        570      258      718   1,850     1,812     1,710      402         –            –      1,200        900        2,117
1999       2,795           –       894         –       299        693        506         –          –            –            –            –            403
2000       3,187        795         –          –          –            –      1,095      400      396           –         501           –               – 
2001       2,295           –       300      497      300           –            –    1,198         –            –            –            –               – 
2002          898           –          –          –          –            –            –       198         –         200        300           –            200
2003          602           –       300      302         –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
2004       1,345           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         300        600        445              – 
2005       1,059           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         659        400           –               – 
2006       1,000           –          –          –          –         400           –          –          –            –         200        400              – 
2007       1,136           –          –          –          –            –            –       118      518        300        200           –               – 
2008       2,398           –       300         –          –            –            –       900      399           –         200           –            599
2009       1,702           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         102        300        900           400
2010       1,400           –          –          –          –         100        200      700         –         200           –         200              – 
2011       2,300        300         –       400      100           –         500      500      200           –            –            –            300
2012          399           –       200         –       199           –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
2014          530           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –            530
2015       7,012     1,699   1,630   1,137         –            –            –       547      200        400        100        200        1,099
2016     17,792     2,197      700   1,462      837     1,899     1,999   1,000   1,500     1,000     1,700     1,500        1,998
2017     20,840     3,300      975      525      200     1,899     3,700   2,048   2,644     2,063     1,015     1,699           772
2018     18,105           –          –          –       750     1,699        797   1,193   2,396     3,300     4,069        919        2,982
2019     11,103           –          –          –          –      2,509           –          –          –            –         691     2,117        5,786
2020       4,000           –       307         –          –         104        896      100      806        628     1,159           –               – 
2021       1,003    1,003         –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
Total 114,426    9,821 5,864 5,041 4,535 11,115 11,403 9,304 9,059    9,152 12,635    9,280    17,217
45ACP Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2017 2007           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –         500        1,507
Total 2007        –       –       –       –         –         –       –       –         –         –       500      1,507
9MM Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1996     11,274           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –    10,944        141           189
1997       7,374        300         –          –    1,190        640          65         –       100     1,088        804     1,060        2,127
2015       2,993           –    1,066   1,927         –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
Total    21,641      300 1,066 1,927 1,190      640        65      –      100    1,088 11,748    1,201      2,316
Yearly and Monthly Totals
Year Rounds Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1996     11,274           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –    10,944        141           189
1997       7,585        300         –         40   1,210        719        106         –       100     1,088        804     1,060        2,158
1998     11,847        570      258      718   1,930     1,812     1,710      542        20           –      1,240        900        2,147
1999       4,912          20      964      181      877        718        657        60         –            –         179        653           603
2000       3,697        845      127      142         –           57     1,095      400      396          43        521          60             11
2001       2,724          25      300      497      532          15          20   1,198        73           –            –            –              64
2002          898           –          –          –          –            –            –       198         –         200        300           –            200
2003          649           –       300      302        18           –            –          –          –            –            –           29              – 
2004       1,345           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         300        600        445              – 
2005       1,059           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         659        400           –               – 
2006       1,000           –          –          –          –         400           –          –          –            –         200        400              – 
2007       1,136           –          –          –          –            –            –       118      518        300        200           –               – 
2008       2,398           –       300         –          –            –            –       900      399           –         200           –            599
2009       1,702           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –         102        300        900           400
2010       1,400           –          –          –          –         100        200      700         –         200           –         200              – 
2011       2,300        300         –       400      100           –         500      500      200           –            –            –            300
2012          399           –       200         –       199           –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
2013          499           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –         100           399
2014          530           –          –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –            530
2015     10,005     1,699   2,696   3,064         –            –            –       547      200        400        100        200        1,099
2016     18,265     2,197      700   1,462      837     1,899     1,999   1,000   1,500     1,216     1,957     1,500        1,998
2017     23,356     3,300      975      525      200     1,899     3,700   2,113   2,792     2,063     1,015     2,199        2,575
2018     22,544        418      180   1,195   1,050     1,699        797   1,193   2,396     3,300     4,069     2,966        3,281
2019     12,114        167      209        80      125     2,725          61      111         –            –         691     2,159        5,786
2020       4,755           –       307         –          –         104        896      100      806        628     1,411        215           288
2021       1,091     1,091         –          –          –            –            –          –          –            –            –            –               – 
Grand Totals 149,484 10,932 7,516 8,606 7,078 12,147 11,741 9,680 9,400 10,499 25,131 14,127    22,627

Imagine Boomershoot 2021

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To the best of my knowledge Boomershoot is the last publicly accessible “dynamite shoot” in the country and perhaps the world. For 40 years there were one or two each year in Gateway Colorado. June 8, 2019 was their last one. Cancellation details are here.

There were a few shoots in Missouri back in the 2006 timeframe. But they have been gone for a long time.*

There are some explosives and fireballs at Knob Creek each year. But there aren’t 1,500 or more targets consuming over a ton of explosives.

Via “(no attribution, please)”:

Imagine:

On July 4th 2021, Congress passes the America’s Freedom From Fear Act.

It prohibits all gatherings of 5 or more people when shooting firearms, outside of sanctioned shooting range events and licensed hunting events.

You would now risk jail time if you went to Boomershoot in 2022, and Joe would risk far more jail time to host the event. Boomershoot is toast.

How will you feel about how you spent April 30th to May 2nd 2021, The Last Boomershoot?

There’s still space available.

Don’t wait.

We’ve had a surprising number people sign up this month. There was nothing since at least early April. Then starting on January 3rd.through today there were 11 different positions reserved or people added to existing positions,

There are still 28 positions left and if the weather cooperates I can make space for a couple more. If you are thinking you might need an opportunity to hone your long range rifle skills this is the place and time. The earthshaking, echoing, thunder of a Boomershoot target is most pleasurable feedback I know of for connecting your bullet with a target.

* There is a very sad story to go with this. It’s not really appropriate Internet material but I’d be glad to share if you ask me about it face-to-face sometime.

Quote of the day—Kevin Maxwell

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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.

Rare Breed Triggers FRT – Full Video from RARE BREED TRIGGERS on Vimeo.

Kevin Maxwell
December 2, 2020
[As Greg said in a private post on Facebook:

pretty genius, I doubt it will last long on the market.

If you’re into this type of fun then get them while they last!

FRT is an acronym standing for “Forced Reset Trigger”. And that tells you all you need to know to have your giggle box kicked over.

We live in interesting times.—Joe]

Quote of the day—NRA @NRA

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[Or just have an honest relationship with your spouse and put the gun you want on your wish list.—Joe]

Transparent aluminum

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Interesting. I didn’t know transparent aluminum has been around since 1980. And I always thought it was science fiction in 1986:

Still, it’s very cool stuff. 1.6” (4 cm) can stop a .50 BMG AP round.

Stretched necks

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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:

image

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:

image

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:

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Black Friday sale on Insights Training

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Almost all of my training has been through Insights. I highly recommend them. They are having a sale on their training. Here are the details:

Your mission this weekend: save on training

The more you buy the more you save!

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

Follow this link to Black Friday goodness…

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.
We will be running:
Basic Handgun
General Defensive Handgun
Handgun Fundamentals
Intermediate Defensive Handgun
AR-15 Fundamentals
Home Defense Tactics
Street and Vehicle Tactics
Plus some cool new classes:
Pistol Caliber Carbine
General Purpose Rifle
Battle Rifle
Precision Rifle Prep
IDPA/USPSA Prep
Direct Action – Dynamic Clearing
Urban Operations – Surveillance
and more!

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!

Copyright © 2020 InSights Training Center, All rights reserved.

The primer story

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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.

From Powder Valley, Why Is There a Primer Supply Shortage?

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.

Quote of the day—Chris Metz

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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.

Chris Metz
CEO of Vista Outdoor Inc.
November 5, 2020
Vista Outdoors reports ammunition backlog of over $1B
[We live in interesting times.—Joe]

Ammo matters

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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:

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This is with everything the same except the ammo:

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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:

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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.

Quote of the day—Jim Harris

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I have a couple of cubic yards of ammo, but I’d feel more comfortable with four.

Jim Harris
November 8, 2020
Comment to How’s everybody doing for ammunition? And what’s the full loadout for Pak36? Asking for a friend…
[Unless your stockpiling for your neighborhood, I think the money and time would be better spent on training and practice.

But, still, I rather like what he said.—Joe]

Large pistol primers for sale or trade

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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.

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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.

Microsoft Gun Club member and Boomershooter wrote a novel

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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.

Now he has given us a novel, Raether’s Enzyme (web site here):

Quote of the day—Larry Correia

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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]

IMR 5010, Bofors, Others

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Via email:

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.

Kyle Drill & Kyle Drill Mod 1

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Via daughter Jaime:

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.

Craft Holsters LYNX IWB Review

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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:

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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:

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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:

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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:

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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.

The holster has a 5-year warranty.

The holster is priced at $65 plus $14 shipping.

It is shipping via DHL from Slovakia and you will received the holster in five to six business days. There was no taxes added so at $79 you get a really great value. A similar holster from Milt Sparks is $135. A similar holster from Kramer is $126.50 plus shipping.

Here is a video made by Craft

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.

First pistol match in eight months

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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.