Poll...

Tomorrow I should go to the range, but I don't know what pistol to bring.

Suggestions? You all know what pistols I have. Heck everyone does, practically, as the gummint has a pistol registry where I live. In case you're new here...

1. 1911 pattern
2. .22 revolver
3. .357 revolver
4. .357 snub revolver
5. SIG P229
6. 1903/8 Colt Pocket Hammerless

QOTD

Quote of the day from Tam:

In sum total, what you [hippie] people did was drive someplace where there wasn't a problem, complain about something you don't fully understand, get in the way of people who may actually be performing a function, and then do nothing, en masse, except hope that someone else notices your little snit and makes it all better.

My god, if there's a more perfect metaphor for the modern progressive movement, I've never seen it.

It's almost O'Rourkian

Shoulder

Shoulder holsters are expensive. And out fashion so there are few options. And expensive

because of all the leather involved, among other things.

But I want to try one with my pistols. When I borrowed MBtGE's .44 it was amazing how well that big hog leg disappeared because of the shoulder holster I carried it with.

So I am looking for a halfway decent one that won't break the bank. And I prefer it hold the pistol muzzle down instead of back toward the poor bastard following behind me.

This might be my best bet. DeSantis

Hey, it looks like it isn't model specific. That's helpful for to try a few different pistols. Custom fit to a specific model is better, but beggars shant be choosers for a mere experiment. As it is, it is expensive.

This sort of thing ends in tears, is my guess. If there is one thing I've learned with this hobby is that if you try to save a buck and get something ALMOST as good you end up being disappointed. Especially with holsters. Better off just popping for the good or better stuff if you are serious. Or have a very low threshold of acceptability. A holster that doesn't work for you will sit in a drawer taking up space forever.

Anyway, THAT is why I hesitate.

Sowell

I mentioned that Thomas Sowell had a piece on the McDonald case in my previous post. I was a bit disappointed, mainly because of my great esteem for the man.

He fell into the trap of: “If the end of gun control leads to a bloodbath of runaway shootings, then the Second Amendment can be repealed, just as other constitutional amendments have been repealed. Laws exist for people, not people for laws.”

I don’t think he thinks there will be a bloodbath, but I am troubled he thinks the right is repealable. Sure sure, you can convince a goodly enough proportion of voters to repeal any of the Bill of Rights or Amendments that have to do with rights. We can repeal the 19th Amendment, for instance, and make women stay home on election day. The law will be changed but women's right to vote is still there. That right is just violated by the law at that point. The law will be wrong.

The 2nd Amendment can be repealed, and people can agree that you don’t have a right to defend yourself and prosecute you if you dare to, but… You still have that inalienable right. Like your right to life, liberty, and property. A person has to deprive someone else of their rights, generally, to be deprived of their own inalienable rights. (Well, in an ideal world they do.) Take another man's property and be prepared to be denied your own liberty. Take, or threaten, a life, and your right to life may be forfeit.

It’s hairsplitting and a pub argument, but… It still sticks in my craw.

McDonald Case

Well the case came down. And I've read it. I don't have too much to add.

It's a win, and about what I expected. Sunday night was not the time to make wishes on dandelions and shooting stars on how the scope of the case would run. We pretty much knew from the telegraphed thinking displayed at Oral Arguments. But it was good to make it official.

The right to keep and bear arms applies to the states.

It's not the end of the journey. There are many more cases in the future to flesh out the whole thing. But it's a BIG step in this trek. And it makes it harder to step back.

What cases could come down the pike now? McDonald and Heller are specific in their recognition of self defense in the home, but they purposely leave open a begged question, "definitely in the home and probably elsewhere... " The elsewhere is the question to be solidified. The previous cases recognize that there are some sensitive places where guns can be prohibited, like schools and gummint buildings. Somewhere between my house and court house there is a line. Can I defend myself, family, and property outside my home? In the yard? 4 blocks away? THAT will have to get hashed out sometime soon.

Hey, look, the Metrocons at National Review are, of course, mentioning McDonald. They might not be the best with the 2nd Amendment, but they never ignore it on the big stuff. Even New York CCW owner Sean Hannity mentoioned it. (I leave work at 3PM when his show starts. I make a game of listening to him until he utters the word 'literally', then switch to NPR. I usually switch within 3 minutes. He overuses the word a bit...) And hey, one of my favorite columnists alive today, Thomas Sowell, also wrote something positive. Good.

What does McDonald mean for Maryland? I don't know. Maybe this will give some impetus to pro-gun legislators. Maybe the State wants to fight it tooth and nail but would rather not spend the money on costly litigation and will roll over for that reason. Or maybe they will retrench. At least this is no momentum in the wrong direction.

Oh, and I'm doing crotch-thrusts in the air in Chicago's direction. I assume that a few of you are doing that, too.

Prevailed!

The 2nd is incorporated by the 14th. Woot!

updated: Due process applies, not P&I (tho Justice Thomas likes P&I, officially). Vote was 5-4. Alito writing for majority. Opinion here.

Top 10 meme

From JayG, but he got it from on down the line.

"Tell me your ten best reasons life is good... I issue it as a challenge."

1. No one is shooting at me, RIGHT NOW. And few are trying to kill me by other means.
   
2. I have access to AC and 21st Century Dentistry. Heck, I’ll settle for mid 20th Century dentistry.
   
3. The incredible self control I have to refrain from killing other people with my bear hands. (There’s a tip for the 2nd Admendment enthusiast. If you ever DO snap and go on a killing spree, don’t use a gun. It’ll just help our political enemies. I’d like to see what the Brady’s will say when Sumdood kills 9 people using a feather duster as a bludgeon while a Sig 229 sits unused in his IWB holster, 12 + 12 rounds of loaded magazines. Explain THAT, VPC! (Seriously, don’t go on a killing spree.))
   
4. Speed Cameras that people over compensate for, slowing down to 30mph in a 55 zone to avoid a ticket. Wonderful. Those blood vessels in my eyes and brain need pressure testing and now I don’t have to worry about that.
   
5. Mosquitos. Yeah, more of them. Add poison ivy to that category.
   
6. Intoxicating beverages, fatty foods, and strumpets-for-money are cheap and plentiful.
   
7. The job I do to make my money to feed, clothe, and shelter myself doesn’t involve stoop labor in a flooded paddy.
   
8. I forget what 8 was for.
   
9. Sporting events in this country have yet to truly discover the vuvuzela. (Actually I just like saying and typing vuvuzela.)
   
10. My government isn’t too afraid of its citizens… but it is a LITTLE bit. Much better compared to many other nations.

Reload Redux

I toyed with the IDEA of reloading in the past. Many things stopped me.

I’d want to do it relatively right, and I don’t need another equipment intensive hobby.

I hear nightmares about kabooms, (gun exploding in your hand), particularly with .308 semi-autos. My attention to detail isn’t that great, and you NEED good attention to detail when reloading, or you seriously risk a kaboom. I never want my own kaboom. Guns are expensive. And I like keeping all my fingers.

Re-loading shotgun shells isn’t very cost effective to buying new, but it might be the best ability to have in year 20 of a post-apocalyptic colander-helmet world. If it was cost effective I’d reload shotgun shells already.

If I reloaded, I’d want to cast my own bullets. To my head, that is a big part of the fun and advantage of rolling your own bullets. But I hear about all the issues with leaded barrels from residue the cast bullet leaves behind.

The ammo shortage of the past 2 years has also been a bit of a reloading component shortage too. Not a good time to start up the hobby. You might easily build up a lifetime supply of casings to last you through TEOTWAWKI, but a lot of primers is a hazard. And there is very little way to make your own. A person could figure out how to make a casing, the powder, and the projectile, but the primer is the hardest thing for an Omega Man to make and make safely.

But Box O Truth got me thinking again. He goes through a little bullet casting tutorial. Hmmm…

If I got JUST a setup to do .38/.357… As I have 3 firearms that shoot that, and they are on the beefy side. Would they survive a double charge? Perhaps. But maybe if I tailored the load where the powder would prevent the bullet from even seating in the press if it was a double charge, then I wouldn’t have to worry. It’s a lot easier to recapture revolver brass… Hmmmm…

It sure would be nice to develop the skill.

But even then, it sure seems complicated. You can’t just use lead wheel weights, melt them on the stove and pour into the molds. You need (need? well, maybe more of a should for this stuff) flux to get the dross out, you need other metals like antimony and tin to maybe harden the lead further, and you need lubricant. It’s making what seemed simple gets kinda complicated already…

Hey, does anyone know is the micro grooves on the Marlin 1894C will be ok with LUBRICATED home-cast lead bullets? The company warns against all-lead bullets for fear of fouling the special rifling, and to use at least semi-jacketed stuff, but maybe box-o-truth style lubricant addresses this issue?

Top Shot ARs

Crap! It's not on Hulu! No ep4! That does it! I'm never watching it again and I'm boycotting all the sponsors. Scroo YOU History Channel. You've sucked since the Nostradamus marathon of 2003. I'd rather watch the hobo on the off ramp pretend to be lame and beg for loose change. DEAD to me.

Buddy Progress

My buddy Frozen showed me a target he shot with his newish bolt action Remington 700 in .308. A cloverleaf group or 5 about 3 inches above the bullseye right on the centerline. The range? 200 yards. Yowza. No buyer’s remorse there.

And My Buddy the Gun Enthusiast finally got himself an AR. Well, AR 15. He had an AR10. It’s a DPMS flattop. Before interacting with me he was all about 9mm Glocks and Ruger Mini-14s. I influenced him enough in my travails for him to re-evaluate his own inventory, and since I started this blog he has been wooed over to getting more .308 and .45 sized boomsticks. This new AR is to have a real AR. Plus the price was right and the wallet was fat.



One issue. MBtGE has lots of Mini-14 mags, and they, at first glance, look very much like regular ‘ol AR15 mags. But the two are NOT interchangeable. To not confuse matters in low light and in a hurry, he is going to purchase nothing but Magpul mags for the new rifle. A good plan, methinks.

No Range

I didn't hit the range this week. Just wasn't feelin it. Plus it was 100 degrees on Thursday.

are Undead...

There is this guy, Bill Shakespeare. He wrote a buncha stuff. A few years back. One of his bestsellers is a little thing called Hamlet.

There are 2 minor characters in Hamlet, courtiers named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. A more modern writer’s imagination was sparked by the back story these two may have lived and a pretty decent 1966 play and 1990 movie was the result: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Check it out.

Well, there is a spinoff of THAT spinoff. One that reaches my niche interests . Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead. The movie. I gotta catch this one when it comes out on DVD…

All that’s left to be made to beat this horse right into the ground is a pr0n spinoff now.

.22 Do pt Two

I was reading Carteach's review of a Glock-type .22 trainer and remembered something...

I only had one malf with the Ciener, a failure to eject, or stove-pipe, that whole range session I disussed a coupla posts down.

"Well, T-Bolt, that's probably because you used premium ammo."

Is American Eagle bulk .22 considered premium?

"You probably lubed it up just right, then."

I dunno. It had some solvent on the internals from the last cleaning I did months ago. Maybe too much. I used no grease this time, but have in the past. And the frame was kinda still dirty from the last .45 ACP range session.

"You are living right, brushing and flossing twice a day and helping old ladies across the street, and THAT's why your .22 is working well?"

That has to be it.

I WAS only loading the mags with 10 rounds. They hold... more. Not sure how many more. They say they are supposed to hold 15, but it seems like a few more might fit in there sometimes. And I haven't paid attention to that top end capacity. But sometimes when I fill mags to the rafters they can have feed issues. I was loading to 10 because the revolver holds 10, and I didn't want the pistols to get jealous of each other. Yeah, I just anthropomorphised right there. See that? Uh huh. Go ahead and put wiener jokes in the comments, Hippy Gun-Banner. I'll treat your views with the same seriousness I did with that anthropomorphicacationtion. Nigh none.

10 is really just a nice round number when the boxes have 50 rounds in them. The numbers work out in the end. Only in the back of my mind was I thinking, "And 10 rounds only might make it jam less..."

So, did I luck out and find a bulk ammo that just so happens works well with my conversion kit? Perhaps. The kit isn't THAT bad with any bulk ammo. Just lucky I guess. But I've always been lucky with my gun and gun accessory acquisitions so far.

XD vs Glock

People that shoot a lot and try a Glock like the Glock and shoot it well.

People new to shooting and try an XD prefer the XD over a Glock.

As the neophytes get more experienced do they switch preferences? How the heck should I know? The original 2 assertions were anecdotal (read: out of my butt...) anyway. Do you get where I am going? "So you say you've been shooting all your life and have tried everything and are buying your first polymer? Glock, right?" and I am. But take a person to a range to try a few things including a Glock and an XD and they end up shooting the XD better and liking it otherwise.

And, since I am my favorite anecdotal evidence, I must be still a neophyte. I like the XD.

Has anyone else noticed something similar? The exact opposite?

Discuss...

.22 Do

I took.22 pistols to the range this last time.

Because of the snubbie entering the rotation I have become more interested in shooting Double Action. Well the 2 guns was my Springfield 1911 with a .22 conversion kit on top, and the S&W 617. The 1911 is SA only, but you can choose either SA or DA for the revolver, naturally.

So I have 2 targets for you. The first is both SA:

Notice the grouping regions. The revolver target on the left is a bit high and right. While the 1911 on the right shoots in that familiar-for-me low right area. Hmm. I notice when I am 'on' with SA revolver it hits the centerline, and high. I think I need to hold the aimpoint a little lower. Or adjust the sights down a click.

Now on this target all the left hand targets are Double Action revolver glory, and the group opens up some, as you'd expect:


For the cost conscious, I went through 150 rounds of .22. I am a member of the range so no charge for a session there, and I am getting my money's worth going weekly of late. I bought the paper targets a couple years back as a bulk purchase from MidwayUSA and there are still a lot left. I have to staple a piece of cardboard to attach the target to the trolley, but the cost of 4 staples is negligible. Especially when you swipe staples from work... The most expensive item I used for the hour at the range was probably the 4 self-stick Shoot N See splatter targets. Heh.

Zombies and Policy Wonks

Probably right. If the Level 4 Zombie outbreak were to happen today, Rahm Emmanuel would just use the crisis to expand some unrelated socialistic government overreach while there would be simultaneous evidence of government incompetence in actually dealing with the problem in the areas the gov't is actually tasked to address.



"Zombie in the Southwest? What we need are more tariffs on goods imported from Spain and Micronesia and more direct subsidies for Union members."



But at least serious policy thinkers are addressing the scenarios and studying the issue. A level 4 is NO joke.

Taking the Metro to the Airport

When I travelled to Florida, I did not bring my firearm for many reasons. One of those reasons was I was taking the subway from my home to the airport in Virginia, but would pass through the District of Columbia.

I may have been protected by the FOPA of 1986 (firearm owner protection act). Specifically the Safe Passage Provision. As long as it looks like I am going THROUGH DC with a case locked gun I am fine, as far as the Fed law is concerned, no matter WHAT DC laws are. DC get's legally trumped.

Still... It might make legal cover, but I'd hate to try to explain the finer points of the law to a DC cop. My assumption would be that despite being completely in the right, any interaction with law enforcement involving a firearm locked away in my luggage would amount to a huge hassle in the best case scenario.

TS

I do like Top Shot. With it and weekly range day I have 2 pieces of blog fodder for the week...

VJ Day

Thought this was neat.

VJ Day, Honolulu Hawaii, August 14, 1945 from Richard Sullivan on Vimeo.

Longbow Top Shot

Archie loved this episode.

The weapon they are shooting is a 40 pound draw longbow. 100 yards?

And I hadn't noticed what first prize is before this episode. $100,000. Not shabby.

Spoilers to follow...

JJ on Blue Team is a natural and shoots well.

Red Team Bill versus Kelly TV drama has heated up because Kelly is a dumbass. I'm sure that sort of unforced interpersonal error will fade with a little more seasoning and maturity. But I did something like that myself as a younger man. Some how the subject of Canada came up at work while the CEO was standing there, and I, jokingly but stupidly, blurted out, "Canadians? Nothing but a nation of drunks and hockey players." The CEO said, "My WIFE is from Canada." At which point I responded with, "Really, sir? What position does she play?" Yeah. And never march into the boss's office, pick up the picture on the desk and say, "Is this your family? Oh, BOY, your spouse is ugly. And your kids look retarded." Not a good career move. Trust me. I don't put booze in my morning coffee anymore, tho. (and no disrespect to Canadians. really. Slapshot is my favorite movie. Lorne Greene is my favorite Adama.)

And Red team loses the initial challenge again and goes to elimination round.

And there is Peter (and most of the rest of the team) versus Brad drama, too. More interpersonal friction, I think. Wow. Get to the shooting, less of the manufactured stuff. But History channel is the TV expert and know their audience. Not me. But the Red Team has gone beyond selecting elimination challenge people based on shooting skills to selecting via their frictions. And Bill recognizes that.

And the Elimination Challenge is a Crossbow! Scoped and everything. With William Tell style apple targets. Cool.

And next week? AR15s...

New to the blogroll

I read this blog review this week, and it illustrated my thinking about why I chose to go ahead and get the snubbie .38 vis a newer .380 or a carryable Colt Pocket Hammerless


I read the original article in the American Rifleman, too, and back then it had cemented my decision, based on what I read between the lines in the reviews, but the decision was already made.

The issue: Jovian Thunderbolt wanted a pistol he could conceal in his pocket. That lead to a choice between two pieces of hardware. A .380 semi-auto of some sort, or a snub nosed .38 revolver. I already had a holsterable CCW, but even that was too easily ‘made’ in some wardrobe necessities.

But MBtGE carries a .380, and had reported drawing his carry gun at the range to test it after collecting a month of pocket lint. And it failed. Chocked on debris. He wasn’t pleased.

To add insult to injury, the magazine review of 9 semi-autos all had little quibbles of failure to feed or failure to whatever, and that was WITHOUT lint, presumably. The Luckygunner (Mollenhour) blog goes over these issues and is not pleased either.


All these data points simply reinforced my prejudices. MY prejudices. What works for you may be entirely different, but this is the balance I struck for my pocket carry circumstances.


The concern over the slightly extra bulk a revolver presents faded into the background when reliability earns such high marks. Can a revolver fail or get gummed up on detritus? Yes. Certainly. But it is less likely. Especially compared to the plethora of decent .380s on the market now.

Plus, you know me. With one exception I prefer my guns to 70 years of design testing in the field. A Kel Tec may be great, but the Colt Pocket Hammerless has been out there for 102-108 years. Revolvers even longer.

[I know, I know… there are things in the guts of my revolver that weren’t there 70 years ago. And the basic OS of the Kel Tec may be identical to something with a 100 year old cache. Leave me my illusions on some things… Hey, though, at this rate I can get an AR in 2025 or 2030 at the latest.]

Survivalist Blog

M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated by LuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

Archie's images

I got some pictures from Archie's. Here is his lighthouse:

The little one is a .50 BMG. The big one is most probably a 40mm.

And here is his archery stuff:

He made the bows. Fiberglass and bubinga or zebrawood. The pins and awards are there too. The certificate on the right is his Robin Hood Award.

Something occurred to me

Earlier this year the Governor of Maryland actually signed a watered down castle doctrine law. SB 411. It granted some immunities from damages when force, including deadly force, is reasonable under the circumstances to repel an attack, to the home owner/resident justifiably defending themselves in their own home. It’s not nearly as good as Texas’, but this is Maryland and beggars can’t be choosers. It took years to pass, but pass it they did and it goes into effect on Oct 1 2010.

But… One thing I overlooked… This is a concession, for the first time I believe, that modern liberal Maryland granted/recognized/accepted its citizens have a right to self defense. There might be other statutes that grant this that I am unaware of. I am certainly no lawyer. But this one certainly cedes such.

It’s a foot in the door. Grant this in people’s homes and you can be backed into a corner that people have a right to defend themselves outside their homes. Add that argument to the pile of “Why do cops, cash business owners, and friends of the Governor get to defend themselves, but I can’t? Is their skin particularly more precious than mine? Are they just better people than me and my neighbors when we are outside? You’ve ceded self-defense isn’t a privilege in the home, why are you still treating it as a privilege outside the home?”

It’s not the end, but it moves the ball the correct direction down the field. And it can be built upon.


The momentum for Maryland is toward Texas, not toward gelded England. Which is very good because we'd been headed toward England for a long time

vlog, Hickok45

I like this guy. Saw him on Firearm blog.



He's not so much a blogger, as a vlogger. Video blog. And he is really good. Has a great radio DJ voice. Articulate. He has the right amount of crotchetiness for a public-face gunnie ( just a hint... you need a hint. perky is RIGHT out, unless you are of the distaff persuasion. even then) He's a very good shot. And he seems pretty knowledgeable (he's been doing this shooty stuff as long as I've been alive...). And I COVET that backyard range. Very nice. Well, I have a lot of videos to watch, it seems. Days worth. 200 + videos

You! Check out Hickok45

Acceptable Restriction

I saw this on Day Of Our Trailers.


It’s a poll by the Chicago Tribune. They want suggestions as to the best way to restrict rights listed in the Constitution after the city loses the Supreme Court case about them limiting the rights listed in the Constitution. They think they are going to lose the case, and need a scheme that might pass Constitutional muster until a court case about THAT one wends its way up the appeals process. That makes me feel good, when even the cheerleaders think their team will lose.

One of the items up for bid on this auction of tyranny is, “No big clips for those weapons”. On this I am wholly in agreement. Definitely. No one needs a big clip. They should be banned. That 43 round clip you use in your Garand? VERBOTEN! Those two sleeves of bullets you shove into your Mk4 Enfield? Those 2 clips of 97 .303 rounds? NEIN! You have to restrict yourself to two 5 round clips there for a total of 10 in the rifle. Not 194 rounds. That’s the way of the DEVIL. And whenever I tried a 43 rounder in my Garand, I found that accuracy dropped off considerably anyway. (though the hardest part was shoving that monster in there!) I stick to 8 rounders now. I can see allowing 10 for your museum quality .276 Pedersen Garand. That’s fine, too, I guess.

So, yes Chicago, ban those big clips. You have my support. No restriction on magazines. If you keep people from reading magazines then that is a 1st Amendment violation. You are a newspaper, you should KNOW THAT.

Survivalist

Cool survivalist remote property storage!

Archie's First Yacht

When Archie got back home to DC it took a little time to muster him out of the Navy, so the Navy had Archie guarding the USS Sequoia. Harry Truman’s (among other Chief Executive's) yacht. Archie was armed with a 1911, but he had no magazine for the pistol. On purpose, apparently. Good thing, too, as Archie spent a bit of time sneaking the President’s booze. Archie was always a small boat man, and this was a thrill for him. He volunteered for PT boats, but got into a little trouble before they sent him out, and the Navy stuck him on a Victory ship delivering Marines. He went on to own 3 cabin cruisers in his life. He sank 3 boats, but only one was his. That one off of Thomas Point Lighthouse. Long story.

His final boat was a 42' Chris Crafter Commodore. Pre-fiberglass.

The Heurich brewery, maker of Senate beer, was also down there near where Archie guarded. Where the Kennedy Center is today. He managed to sneak into there, too, giving him the opportunity to tamper with the valves, spraying his buddy with a firehose of beer.

I'm glad I wasn't a drinker of Senate beer back in the 40's. Not with Archie on the loose. Such shenannigans. 10 years later, the brewery was closed. It lost it's reputation for quality. I hope it wasn't one bad batch in 1945...

Not much gun content here, is there? Well Archie isn't a gun nut. His game was archery and he was darn good at it. He showed me some of his targets. A few dozen holes in a tuna can size circle shot at 10 yards or so. Maybe one or two 'flyers' a quarter inch outside the circle. I MIGHT be able to perform as well with a pistol at a similar range, but it would have to be the .22 shot single action. But Archie shot a 20,000 more arrows than I have shot bullets, and could practice every day. He thinks modern archers are wusses with their compound bows and their trigger releases. But Archie is crotchety that way. He once scored a 507 out of 560 in competition. Then quit to work on his boat. He's looking forward to the TopShot longbow episode...

Terlet

I've lived in this house 11 years. Tonite was the first time I bobbled the toothbrush and... it landed in the terlet.

Did you know that the toothbrush was invented in West Virginia? If it was invented anywhere else they'd call it a teethbrush.*

Good bye old teethbrush.

[* My apologies to West Virginians. It was not a heartfelt insult. I have nothing but respect for your state. It is just that in this region WVa is the state people pick on in their jokes referring to what are considered 'backwards hayseed bumpkins'. I don't really consider you that. I am sure other states have different combinations. In Iowa the joke would be about Nebraskans. In Massachusetts, it's people from New Hampshire. Southern Ohio to Kentucky. Nevada to those backwards hicks in the state of California. In England, the Welsh have only recently discovered indoor plumbing, so I'm told. So no offense meant to West Virginia. In fact, if I ever quit Maryland for more genteel digs, I'd relocate to the great state of West Virginia.]

Education

Saysuncle linked to a gun poll that had these 2 questions:


~~~~


TABLE 6
PERSONS ON FBI TERRORIST WATCH LIST
"Do you think persons listed on the FBI's "terrorist watch list", or suspected terrorists should be allowed to buy guns in the United States?"

Base: All adults

Total %

Yes 2
No 92
Not at all sure 6


~~~~


TABLE 7
AMERICAN CITIZENS ON FBI TERRORIST WATCH LIST
"Do you think American citizens listed on the FBI's "terrorist watch list", or suspected terrorists should be allowed to buy guns in the United States?"

Base: All adults

Total %

Yes 5
No 87
Not at all sure 7


One in ten! One in ten would deny Ted Kennedy (his name turned up on the list at one time) the right to purchase a firearm when alive. There were plenty of reasons not to like Ted, but there was absolutely no reason to deny him 2nd Amendment protections. I don’t think people in American fully understand the ramifications of the secret, bureaucratically arbitrary, outside of due process, terrorist watch list. I think, perhaps, people think that we shouldn’t sell guns to terrorists. I agree. But the watch list is imperfect on purpose to cast a wide net and not let potential evil doers slip by. But, like a wide net catches a lot of innocent porpoises when you are fishing for tuna, the watch list can deny rights to innocent upstanding Americans. It's not just terrorists in that net.

I think the gun community has educate people a little better on this issue and its hazards.

Other than those 2 troublesome items the rest of the poll shows an improvement in attitudes toward firearms ownership/use rights

Cat In A Box

So someone (forget which) on my blog roll linked to this article about the so-called gun show loophole in Minnesota. As I’m reading it (a pretty fair treatment) the reporter, a neophyte shooter, is learning how to shoot a .22 and calls the pistol a Browning Buckback. I say to myself, “Ah, an honest mistake, I think. He probably means a Buckmark. That’s ok. I used to misspell Leupold all the time.”

Then another thought spring to mind, “Ya know, gunnies on the internet are such sticklers for accuracy to the point of being annoyingly so. And they can’t let something like that slide. I bet if I read the 23 comments at least one of them won’t be able to resist pointing out the error. It’s like putting an empty cardboard box in a room with a cat. Eventually that cat will have to sit in the box. We just can't help ourselves.”

Yup. 6th comment.

SILENT!

Rule to live by: Don't get a good portion of your gun knowledge from your experience playing video games. Or second hand from your buddies who got their dope from those selfsame video games. Or Sumdood. Mr. Sumdood is almost as clueless as video games knowledge centers. Almost.

Heck, I've been doing this blog thing, with people correcting me when I get a detail wrong (thank you, please keep it up) and lots of research on the intartubes and from those old fashioned things called books, daily, for 3 years or so and I am still a novice. I have but scratched the surface of firearm understanding. (it still says NEW Jovian Thunderbolt, notice?)

Archie's Batteries

How did Archie get his hands on these pieces of ordinance and other items? Well he wasn’t a smoker, and he was an electricians mate that had to go all over the ship to repair things, and for this he was entrusted with key access. Probably not the smartest idea, as Archie was only in the service because he got caught siphoning gas out of neighborhood cars and the judge gave him a choice between the military or jail. (there was rationing, and a 17 year old has GOT to be able to spend time with the ladies in his car...) Even then, Archie did spend some time in the brig…

So with keys, and the ability to bribe people with cigarettes, Archie pretty much owned the ship.
The hundreds of Marines aboard didn’t like the sailors much. Many were veterans of Tarawa, so they earned their surliness. And the unwetted Marines took their cues from the vets. If Archie tried to start a conversation with a Marine he was usually met with a “Get the hell away from me, Swabbie!” One salty Marine spent a lot of time on the forecastle watching the water. It took a while, but he warmed up. This Gunnery Sergeant wanted to know what Archie kept crawling in and out of HIS Higgins boats, or LCVPs.

“I gotta check on the battery” said Archie

“Why?!” demanded the gruff Marine.

“Well when you want to go from the beach back to the ship you do want the engine to start, don’t ya?”

“...You just keep doing whatever it is you need to do, and if any Marine gives you any trouble just come to me.”

So Archie was able to talk to this one Marine on occasion thereafter. Archie eventually noticed something funny hanging around this Marine’s neck. It was a little leather bag. After awhile he worked up the gumption to ask him what that was all about. The Gunny told him that he yanked the teeth out of dead Japanese, and when he got time he bashed them up with a rifle butt on a rock to get the gold fillings out, and he kept those fillings in the leather bag, “and do you want to see?”

“Oh, no. No no no. That’s ok.”

But it was this Marine that let Archie handle a M3 Greasegun. He is still fascinated with the Greasegun. How inexpensive it was, and that it was made by GM's headlight division. Archie is a car guy, and car stuff and how things are made fascinates him.

Leave Barry Alone!

Ok, he’s not my mostest favortest president evah, but this goes too far.

Folks are critizing the Pres for ONLY meeting TODAY, on day 58 of the oil spill, with BP execs. And then only for 20 minutes

And then he had a lunch meeting with VP Joe Biden for 75 minutes.

C’mon! Layoff 0bama. Of COURSE he met with Biden that long. Biden is 3 times the screwup that BP execs are… Sheesh.

Idjits

Just because you're rich doesn't mean you aren't an idiot.

Warren and Bill are trying to give away their money. They are also trying to give away other rich guy's money. Like half their billions, each.

Here's a thought... You two sound like you might have residual business acumen... Instead of peeing away your billions, buying soup and shoes and aspirin for poor people at best, funding parasites and neo-socialists at worst, why not plow that money into a business you start up? Make productive use of it. Grow the economy. Give that poor person, and his friends and neighbors, a job instead of soup. ADD more value to the globe instead of just shuffling static money about innefficiently.

$500 million employs a lot of shoe-buying, aspirin-popping people and can make/grow/service a lot things

Archie’s Boolits

So ‘Archie’ my crotchety neighbor was asking me about the something called the .500 magnum. What the deal was. I told him it was a hunting or anti-bear revolver made by S&W that was just a bit more boomy than the .44 magnum. He managed to put together that the diameter of the bullet was the same as the .50 BMG he was more familiar with, but the cartridge was a bit smaller. S&W might have just wanted to have bragging rights of the ‘biggest production revolver’ back under their belt.

Why is Archie familiar with the .50 BMG? Well he was stationed on a Victory ship in WWII and he wanted to take up souvenirs. He has a couple .50s. And some 20mm and a 3 inch shell. He turned the 20mm’s into salt and pepper shakers and the shell is done up as a light house and sits on top of his cabinet hifi.

He really wanted one of the 5 inch shells, but he couldn’t figure out a way to steal it. You see, he wanted the whole thing. He probably could have gotten the brass casing, as after firing off a few dozen shells the ‘deck apes’ (his words) just pushed them over the side. This shocked Archie, at all the waste.

But, like I said, Archie wanted more than just the casing. So he got live rounds and removed the projectile and dumped the propellant. This was most difficult with the 3 inch shell, as the propellant was reminiscent of plaster of paris. To get this out he had to immerse the shell in a bucket of water and dig it all out with a spoon. Guys would come up behind him while he did this on the forecastle, and say, “Hey Archie what are you doing in that buck-OHMYGOD YOU’RE GONNA GET US ALL KILLED!” as they ran away from him. When the propellant was out he went up to a Gunner’s Mate when most of the officers were ashore on liberty and bribed him a few packs of smokes to put his souvenir into the cannon and fire off the primer. The primer alone was very loud.

When he tells me this story, and others like it, I always wonder how he saw his 25th birthday, much less his 80th.

But the lighthouse is handsome. He has a little 15 watt bulb in the place where the proximity fuse and charge used to be, and he turned ‘brickwork’ on the brass to make it look more lighthousey. Wait, maybe it's a 40mm shell? I'll have to check on top the hifi. Same difference, in the end. If it had gone off in that bucket...

Top Shot Zipline

I saw the second Top Shot. Beretta 9mm competition.

The show definitely tried to get a diverse section of shooter types. There are Jacks of All Trade shooters that do everything, and some very specialized top shooters, so some competitors were comfortable with the rifle last show, and are less so with pistols this show.

I wonder if anyone is experienced with the atlatl? If they even HAVE an atlatl battle...

Tubes! They had to shoot down terlet paper tubes!!! I would've sucked at this challenge, were I there.

~spoilers~

The red team got to pick a blue team member to sit out. They chose Blake. And he appeared to be a very good pistol shot.

Brad was supposedly the best pistol shot on red, but he struggled a bit in practice, being a big Glock loyalist. But it's a poor craftsman that blames his tools. Keep in mind I could practice 10000 rounds with a lemon squeezer and Brad would come in cold and kick MY ass, I'm sure.

Caleb has shot twice in competition in two episodes, I think, and hit both times... He'll get rusty if he keeps doing so well.

The weakest guy on blue was a historic rifle specialist (Jim?) and wasn't very confident in his ability with this weapon. But he still got it in 2, and blue takes the day. The rest of the blue team did well on first shot hits and few more reds missed so they were a decent showing, but not good enough.

Then came the elimination challenge.

Brad, the Glock pistol guy, and Frank the retired cop. Frank missed twice, but was enthusiastic before elimination selection to be one of the two, to sort of redeem himself.

Both guys didn't like the Beretta.

But I like what Matt Burkett, the trainer , was showing with the grip. Shooting arm bent elbow. New School. Intriguing.

Zip line shooting? You GOT to be kidding me! Amazing. And hulu didn't break for commercial right as one competitor was going down. That looked like it would be fun if there was no competitive pressure.

Long bow next week.

Gunbloggers

Is anyone else's Gunbloggers not working?

June Sig Work

So I just took the SIG P229 SAS DAK to the range. (The K part stands for Kellerman. As in Double Action Kellerman. I did not know that.) I am almost through the ammo can of Georgia Arms ammo.

Here is my standard cold shoot target with just one magazine at 7-8 yards:

Could be better, but not half bad. At least all 12 are on the paper and in the vicinity of the center.

I wanted to try some other things. Like this one:

The target on the left is one shot at a time. The target on the right is double taps. You can see the spread opening up, noticeably.

And here is something I rarely do:

That's 50+ feet. And there are 12 holes. If it was a full sized silhouette they'd all be one the silhouette. What made me do that? I was remembering the Mumbai shooting, where a photographer snapped a picture of 2 terrists with AKs with NO magazines in the rifle. If the photographer was shooting bullets instead of pictures, and was at my relatively low skill level, he could have ended that part of the massacre right there. It wouldn't have saved the day, but it would have saved someone's day.

Summertime

And the Carry Ain’t Easy...

Upon acquiring the snubbie I finally had a proper carrying pocket pistol. And I took to carrying it whenever allowed. Most of the time, that meant in my house, unless I went to Virginia. I am vulnerable in public in Maryland, but in the unlikely event something happened at home I’d have a means at hand. When I showered it was within reach on a shelf, and when I was in bed it was on the nightstand. The rest of the time it was in a holster in my pants or jeans pocket. I got into a proper habit and hardly noticed it was there. I was very satisfied with the arrangement. And practicing at home I thought would be valuable for more natural look when I can carry in public. Mission accomplished.

But now, it is summer. And I am wearing shorts. About half my shorts have a pocket either too small or nonexistent. And with just elastic to hold them up they wouldn’t work even if the pocket was big enough. Unsatisfactory. I am falling out of the habit of having the snubbie in arms reach.
I really need short pants WITH a belt to do this properly. Garments of this variety in my home number exactly 2. And one of these is kinda small in the pocket department. Usable, but not ideal.

So now I am trying to think of something for around the house when the proper short pants are in the laundry. Hmmm, maybe a necklace holster.

Thunderwear type holster would be a bit too intrusive, I think, and defeat the ease and convenience of a pocket pistol around the house. At least for my situation.

I saw this at a gunshow a few times, and maybe it would work. I don’t know what I’d put in the pager holder as I have no cellphone of my own. If I still smoked it could hold cigarettes, maybe.

Another remedy is buying more shorts that are appropriate. And there are lots to choose from. Even some of those tactical pants that are all the rage lately on the gun blogs.

Things I didn’t know

I’ve learned a lot of stuff about shooting since seriously taking up the hobby. Some things I sorta knew about and just got into the nitty gritty detail. Some things I had never considered and was totally ignorant of until stumbling across them. This post is about that latter subject.

Gilding: When you use copper jacketed bullets, that copper smears off on the inside of the barrel. It looks golden, sorta, after you’ve cleaned all the dirt away. This gilding is another form of fouling, and you need something beside regular gun cleaning solvent to get it out of there.

Setback: Sometimes, the action of chambering a semi-auto round will push the bullet deeper into the case. This rarely happens with properly made ammunition. Unless you keep chambering the same round over and over. Eventually, the feed ramp might succeed in jamming that bullet back. And this can be bad as it can mess up the bullets headspace in the chamber or compress the powder and somehow cause over pressure, leading to a very bad event.

Also: All those M1As I saw in gun shops were not surplus rifles and were never machine guns. I didn’t covet them because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of buying an M14.

What else? People besides Colt make the 1911. 1911’s were obsolete weapons that really had no customer base since the military stopped using them in the mid-80s. Except maybe to collectors. Not to actual shooters on a daily basis. Or so I assumed. Wrongly.

Runnin' on Empty

I am low on fodder again. But I’ve been more picky as I’ve matured as a blogger. For instance I didn’t comment on the British Shootings, or the justifiable Chicago shootings and how the gun owners aren’t being prosecuted despite running afoul of localized possession prohibitions. I’ve not explored laws passed or vetoed in other state beside Maryland…

I need to go rifle shooting. For practice, and something to write about.

Maybe I need to make a troll through the gunstores again. To get inspiration on gun types and see what is happening with retail ammo supply now and if it is back to 2007 levels yet.

I got another WWII vet in the neighborhood that is getting on in years that I am friendly with (Not Archie, the crotchety neighbor with a hankering for M3 Greaseguns). And he is a lifetime NRA member. I am seeing if he is interested in maybe parting some of the long guns in his collection. He has a son, but he’s in prison, so if he dies it’s not like he can get his hands on the family heirlooms. He isn’t ready to sell yet. Which I can understand. If I was his age I’d hesitant to part with old friends. It’s not like I have much room in the safe, anyway. If he said “here just take all 2 dozen lever guns and over-unders” as a gift I’d not know what to do with them all. (And I don’t even know what he has. ) Then again, I should ALWAYS have that kind of problem...

I do know that he won't have a closet full of WWII vintage .45s, and Luger war trophies, and what not. From his chats it sounds like he has about what I have, he just got his versions 40+ years earlier than I did. A few pistols, a few more long guns. I don't even know if I'd want to deal with the hassle of pistol transfers.

Any other ideas for fodder?

I wish I could think up a fresh gunblog meme.

First...

First Tam's FEMA train depot, now this:




Silly UN. I would have stored the vans in an old dirigible hangar.

But they are smart in one way. That base has extensive docks and train tracks for moving those vehicles around, and a still functioning airstrip. Plus a really cool radio controlled car race track! And a seafood packaging plant.

But the guy is right. Where you can't see the vans because of the trees, you can't see the vans because of the empty train cars blocking Google Streetview. Is that Twilight Zone music I hear?

After Skeet

After skeet shooting, where I had that issue with the bolt sticking forward and not ejecting the spent shell, we did some pistol practice, and I had my snubbie in my pocket all day...

I might as well.

I was in Virginia, after all. A civilized state with regards to personal defense.

Here are the targets:

Half normal low and right, half tighter low and right. I prefer tighter. But I am going on the assumption that more DA work should translate to better SA work. Practice practice.

(Oh and mom sent me a Boy Scout quilted bed spread. Yes, I was an Eagle Scout. A member of an elite paramilitary organization. Good thing my father isn't the town mayor. With a shepherd such as him...)

Top Shot

So I saw Top Shot on Hulu. Probably less commercials that way, and it's not on after my beddy-bye time.

~spoiler follows~

So the red team had issues with the rifle right out of the gate, with Ian [correction: Mike] missing 30 or so shots with the 03. Dunno why, as he is supposedly experienced, but it still could have been nerves. He may have shot a lot of competition, but this might be the first time he knew he'd shoot a competition on the TeeVee for all the world.

Had I been on the red team, and when it came to voting for someone off to the elimination challenge, I would not have voted for him.

That's because I would have voted for the second person that was chosen for the elimination challenge: Kelly. He was young, but very experienced with rifles. I think another competitor brought up that there might not be any other long range rifle work on the show, so Kelly might have been weak on other episodes when they had to shoot other stuff. That said, I had a good feeling he could also beat Ian [correction: Mike] in the challenge and it would be a good way for the kid to earn his bones. He talked a big game, but I sensed he was a bit intimidated being the least experienced there. How? Because he kept saying he wasn't intimidate by being the least experienced there. Over and over. But me voting for him wouldn't reflect on him otherwise. Unless I lived there and found the boy was lactose intolerant and excessively flatulent. Seriously, every time he was in that house he was shoving dairy down his gullet. If that made him gassy... I'd vote against him every time.

So it turned out my first and second my choices were the ones picked and the kid won. Good on him. But if you poot in the kitchen again, kid...

Now If I was selected to compete... Well, let's say I'd hope for the M14 at 50 yards if I wanted to contribute. Though I might get lucky shooting it 100 yards. Plus I'd do best at the mud pit obstacle before hand. If I had to guess I'd think everyone in that house could kick my ass in my strongest event.


Beretta next week. Caleb will do well I bet. They had to shoot what looks like lightbulbs down terlet paper tubes. You've seen my targets, right? Yeah, I'd have to be lucky to get past week 2, were I there. I don't group terlet paper tube size groups except maybe with a .22.

Evolution of the Zombie

Here.

For an independent breakdown of the different types of zombies. From Pre-History to Shamblors to Sprinters.

Dealie

Maybe my vast horde of loyal followers (all 3 of you) can help me out with an answer to this question. What is the deal with that 1 inch skinny section near the muzzle of AR barrels? The little dealie up there?

It’s beyond the gas system, so it isn’t part of that. It’s not like any other part of a bayonet lug that I ever saw or heard of. It didn’t show up on older M16s, so it is a relatively new development. It’s not ubiquitous, and I see it mostly on M4s and M4geries, but it is pretty common. Heck, maybe it’s ONLY on M4 types.

I just can’t fathom its purpose on my own.


Why?

Moment In History

On the cover of Guns Magazine this month 50 years ago is a soldier with the brand new in service M14 rifle. The first thing in the magazine, just inside the cover, is an ad for Armalite's survival rifle, but there is also a blurb about some new lightweight rifle called the AR-10.



And time marches on...

Later there is the cover article showing this neat new MG on a titanium tripod. It's an M60.

Metrocon Goldberg File

One of my favorite columnists is Jonah Goldberg, who is a Metrocon and writes for that Metrocon rag I quasi-rail against. One of his regular columns is called the Goldberg File, and is now only available if you signup to be emailed a copy. Here is a quote from one a few weeks ago.

"Defending Liberty, Fighting Zombies

But since we're on the theme of irrationality, one of the things I appreciate most about having an office at the American Enterprise Institute these days is that it is supremely defensible against zombie attack (NR's DC offices: not so much). The elevators can be turned off. There are thick, steel-gated fire doors on the stairs that block intruders from going up without a key. There are any number of locking or easily barricaded steel doors. There's a well-stocked kitchen and excellent roof access for helicopter evac, etc.

I still think a really well-stocked boat would be the best spot for long-term zombie avoidance, but if the zombie attack came on suddenly, you could do a lot worse than hunkering down at AEI. And, when the zombie menace finally abated, AEI could serve as the new provisional government (Brookings would have become a viscera buffet almost overnight. I can totally see E. J. Dionne leaving one of the emergency doors open just in case the gang from SEIU needed a place to hide.) "

And, from the Corner, his review, (and prepatory thoughts after,) of Zombieland:

It's good he's thinking through the worst case scenario, and addressing it with halfway decent strategems.

Note, very little gun content in his fight against zombies. Holing up in the proper bunker is a good idea, but he has no plan B if his perimeter is breached.

And that's ok. As long as he isn't hostile to the 2nd Amendment, and I don't remember him ever being so, he, and other metrocons are still not the enemy. He has an excuse or two. He is an urban/sub-urban type, mostly, and a good part of that in NY NY. His wife is a lawyer. He LIVES in the District of Columbia, fer criminy. Never served in the Military. What chance did he have to shoot in his life?

Just don't bring up his yearly car trips to Alaska to visit in-laws. And that's personal bidness and he may just as easily carry a S&W .500 for Brown Bear encounters and has never mentioned it for privacy purposes.

Heck, I may BE Jonah Goldberg and just use New Jovian Thunderbolt as a nom de plume so I can write about my shooting hobby and not scare my more staid journalist colleagues. [Don't believe a word he says! -The Couch.]

Wo ist Rom?

Rom ist auf dem Tiber-Fluss

Borepatch has been on a expository tear of late. Go read his take on the parallels of the descent of Rome into the so-called Dark Ages with the 'Progressive' movement of today. I was intrigued. "It is said that history is written by the winners; the history of Rome was written by the losers."

Protip: If you find yourself living in new 'Fall of Rome,' (except now it might be called the 'Crisis of the Progressive Agenda,') you want to be a Barbarian.

Shotgun Woes

A minor woe. Remember my complaint that my semi-auto shotgun was not cycling and it failed to eject the spent case while hunting deer in the cold? Well I went skeet shooting on Memorial Day, and it was 90 degrees then, and it still fails, after extra lubrication.

So what is happening? The bolts sticks in the forward position. Clark Bros has a gunsmith on site, so after having to manually work the bolt for a string of 5 clays I trotted on back to the building. They flipped around a ring on the spring tube and sent me back. From that point on it only failed to cycle about half the time. But it still failed. MBtGE has his own Remington Model 11 and had no issues.

Now you know why I am reluctant to use this as a house gun.

So after a half frustrating skeet section I took that bad boy home to see what I could see on cleanup. When you close the bold with no shell in the chamber it still feels like it wants to stay stuck. You have to work that bold like you mean it to get it loose. The fact that it stick with no shell present probably means my chamber isn’t fouled or too tight and the shell is just standing pat and refusing to be removed in action.

The stickiness FEELS like it is by the extractor. This guy had a pretty robust extractor that fits into a groove on the barrel, AND there was shmutz on this area… So I brushed and cleaned that really well and put some grease on the area, as well as in the rails the bolt rides in… Still sticks.

Now, there is something else I can fiddle with. The Model 11/Auto-5 types are adjustable to shoot with lighter loads. I could back that down a bit.

Anyone have any other ideas before I get serious with the professional gunsmith?


[I’ve always said that a shotgun is a horrible anti-zombie weapon. You know what is a worse anti-zombie weapon? A shotgun that DOESN’T WORK RELIABLY!]

M14 Scope

Some of you pay attention. You notice that every now and then I contemplate an optics system to go with my M1A.

But an M1A is not the most conducive to optics mounts.

So I lean for a fore rail ahead of the receiver and some sort of red dot scope. If I wanted to, I could swap off the Leupold Scout scope with its 16 inches of eye relief from where it now sits on the Garand.

But I am intirgued by ACOG and other Trijicon type sighting systems. Particularly the Accupoint. Why? The tritium illumination of the reticle and the fiber optic assist of same give these a good reputation in low light. And 4x magnification is more than enough for me. If I want to shoot 800 yards away I'll get 10x+. But, these Trijicon scopes have much shorter eye relief distances, and all the receiver mounts on the M14s out there are less than ideal.


Well maybe not this one. From Basset Machine. It's supposed to return to zero better than other options, and it has clearance for the iron sights to co-witness. Another data point for me to consider.


That mount isn't TOO expensive, either. I don't have to buy the $1000 scope now...

Metrocons Surprise

Could it be I spoke too soon that National Review rarely had gun rights on their radar? John Lott had another article posted on NRO discussing Daley's failings and Chicago's gun control failures.

Police Revolvers

So, most police departments have graduated from revolvers to semi-automatics. That's fine. That doesn't mean there aren't entirely effective revolvers out there that will do just fine for Johnny Law. 6 shots of .38+P is still just dandy for most of the rare occasions cops need it. Cops don't shoot people for a living. They aren't soldiers. When they do need to shoot they need their sidearm to be dead reliable. And revolvers are pretty much that.

Semi-autos are, too, for the most part. But if I was a cop, and hadn't taken my pistol out of the holster on my belt for a year, then all of a sudden needed it... I, personally, would have more confidence if that crumb collecting leather pocket that bounced on my hip for 4 seasons contained a revolver.

Another mark against revolvers? Price. Manufacturing processes have driven the cost of plastic semi-autos right down.

One mark NOT against the revolver? At least not anymore? Capacity. Not when there is an 8 shot .357 available from Smith and Wesson. The R8 It even has a light rail. 8 shots with a speedloader reload and you are comparable to the semi-auto toters as long as your requirement isn't 14 round magazine emptying panic shots.
I wonder if any law enforcement entities have adopted the R8?

Points against it are the $1400 price tag and... the little zit trigger-lock on the frame.

I wonder how many law enforcement entities would sit still for a failure point like that little zit, no matter how remote the chance?

But, I do kinda wish I had gotten a 627 instead of my 686. The regret isn't THAT high. I won't do anything about it, for instance.

And how about THIS for a snubbie! Phew! Another $1400 revolver. That probably throws a huge dragon flame out of that half inch barrel.

More Range

Ok, that was interesting.

I am now through the .38 Special ammo I had accumulated for range work, and am working on my .38+P blasting ammo. I load +P hyrdroshoks right now for CCW carry, I thought it a good idea to get a lot of practice with cheaper +P range ammo. The brand is Lawman. And I don’t know if it is me or the ammo (probably the former) but my results with the snubbie aren’t as good as they were a couple weeks ago with Federal .38.

First off, this Lawman stuff is jacketed and the powder is clean burning. Noticeably so. Instead of being black with carbon the inside of a spent case is almost as shiny as the outside. I like that.

Being +P, the pistol jumps in my hand a bit more than with regular .38. I noticed that I get better shots if I don’t let my finger slide across the trigger face anymore, and just park the edge of the joint on the trigger. But it took 40 shots to realize this. But this is why we practice. To learn the foibles and idiosyncrasies of the shooter and the individual gun. In the .38 targets I got better as range time progressed.

It was the opposite with my SIG. With all the DA and weekly practice my shots with the SIG were very decent (for me) from the git go, increasing my confidence in the pistol. Accuracy only fell off when my concentration lagged and I tired and I was rushing the shots.

Oh, and .38 +P feels much snappier in the recoil department than the .40.

On to the targets. The left side is .40, the right side is .38 +P. Range is 21-25 feet. This is my traditional cold first target:

The .38 is marked with only one in the black. The shot on the left from the .38? Would that have hit an attacker? I need to be better. I only have 5 shots, I should make them all count. Lots more of the .40 on target.

Here is the second set:

See what I mean? That .38 is way to spread compared to last week. And only 2 shots from the Double Action only SIG .40 were off the 8 inch diameter shoot n' see target. Unacceptable for the .38, but I can rely on my .40 performance. That is, if I froze my skill in time to this moment.

And target #3:



Here is where I finally figured out a better trigger finger position for the revolver. The revolver jumped less on follow through and the group tightened up to a more acceptable accuracy. The Sig still isn't too bad but you can see the later shots starting to drift off as I lost concentration.


~~~

And hey, look. JayG is in a similar boat as me. .22 works good, but we anticipate too much with heavier calibers. And practice seems to help us both.