Did you know that the Continetal Congress voted to declare independence on July 2nd? This was a big vote, these folk's vote was treason. Treason wasn't any safer then than it is now.
So why do we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day? That was the day they ratified Jefferson's Declaration and sent it off to the king.
Yellow journalism isn't new either. British papers used three full columns to talk about British General Howe kicking our ass off Bunker Hill, but only three inches were devoted to the Delaration and those three inches were satire.
Jefferson's original Declaration was a bit longer than the one Congress ratified. Each change they made cut Jefferson like a knife. The lesson? Never write a document that is going to be reviewed by a committee. I think this is still good advice.
Washington wasn't a very good military man when he was appointed Commander and Chief. Fortunately he knew it and the British were very arrogant. Otherwise we'd probably still be a British colony.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Montana Grand Lodge AF&AM
I went to Grand Lodge this week. It was the first time I've gone and I went because as the JW, I've now got a vote and a obligation to spend it wisely. Several interesting things were brought up this year by various GMs and guest speakers.
1. The level of rhetoric has never been higher. And the level of respect for the person on the other side of the debate has never been lower.
2. More and more, nobody is looking at the larger picture. All politics might be local, but the effects of local actions are not confined.
3. Consequences are often hidden until long after the decisions have been made.
4. Nobler thoughts and well considered actions might just save the world.
I hope that I and my fellow countrymen are up to the task because the end game is never pretty and rarely worth the cost.
1. The level of rhetoric has never been higher. And the level of respect for the person on the other side of the debate has never been lower.
2. More and more, nobody is looking at the larger picture. All politics might be local, but the effects of local actions are not confined.
3. Consequences are often hidden until long after the decisions have been made.
4. Nobler thoughts and well considered actions might just save the world.
I hope that I and my fellow countrymen are up to the task because the end game is never pretty and rarely worth the cost.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday Night Practice
Went to practice on Monday night. There is something of a debate at the range these days. The silhouette shooters, action pistol guys, and cowboy action guys have done a great job dividing the range up among themselves so they can all play their respective games. But now the range is making some changes. First, a berm on the west side of the pistol range. Handy, right now if you were driving to the rifle range and a ND happened on the pistol range there is a very real possibility that there would be damage to your car or worse. All the berms need to get taller as well. All this costs money and moving and adding berms changes the way the pistol bays will get used. After listening to two hours of debate last night I've come to a couple of conclusions, old guys don't like change and young guys don't think about others unless forced. As for the berms, it's still up in the air except for adding the west berm.
Pistol practice went pretty well. On my last run of the night, I ran the course in 15.71 with three misses. Without those misses it would have been the highest score of the night. With the misses, it came in third.
The P226 is getting more and more comfortable. I've got my loads figured out and the trigger is starting to disappear from my conscious control. When I don't have to think about the trigger press, that leaves more attention for sight alignment, ammunition management, and moving through the course. As for the trigger, I try to take some time every month and make sure that my fundamentals are strong so even though I'm not thinking about the trigger, my trigger finger is still 'Doing it Right."
Pistol practice went pretty well. On my last run of the night, I ran the course in 15.71 with three misses. Without those misses it would have been the highest score of the night. With the misses, it came in third.
The P226 is getting more and more comfortable. I've got my loads figured out and the trigger is starting to disappear from my conscious control. When I don't have to think about the trigger press, that leaves more attention for sight alignment, ammunition management, and moving through the course. As for the trigger, I try to take some time every month and make sure that my fundamentals are strong so even though I'm not thinking about the trigger, my trigger finger is still 'Doing it Right."
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Boolit frustrations
Well I cast a bunch of bullets today. Casting is certainly cheaper than buying bullets and much cheaper than buying ammo. But like all things in life there are tradeoffs.
1. Time. I cast a batch this afternoon. I started the melting pot at 1:30 pm. I shut it down after casting a full load of lead at 2:45. Then I lubed all the bullets and sized them while they were still wet. It's messier that way, but I hate waiting. They all went in the dryer at 3:40 pm. I haven't counted this batch but I expect it's somewhere between 3 and 4 hundred bullets. That may seem like a lot but I'll have to do it all again before the end of July.
2. Consistency. I use scrap lead. Now the mold I'm using supposedly drops 124gr bullets with pure lead. This latest batch I cast dropped them at 118gr. The load before that was 115gr. The one before that 113gr. These weights tell me I'm proabably getting closer to a pure lead alloy. That also means the bullets will be softer. There are a couple of ways I can deal with this. I could stop using scrape lead and buy or make good alloys. Expensive. I could buy ready made bullets. Also expensive.
I choose to deal with it by being very careful in my load development. First I test the hardness. Even at 118gr they should be plenty hard enough for any minor load I care to use. First I'll try my last load, 4.2gr of titegroup seated out pretty long. This is under the max load for 124gr rounds and the worst thing it will do is lead up the barrel. Accuracy is the next problem. If the load is too hot, it'll strip off in the rifling and tumble. If the load is to light it will fail to fully expand into the grooves and cause the same problem. Titegroup has a narrow range of acceptable pressures so it's doubly hard to control. Changes as small as .2 grains will seperate the upper limit from the lower with a given lead bullet.
Off to the test bench.
1. Time. I cast a batch this afternoon. I started the melting pot at 1:30 pm. I shut it down after casting a full load of lead at 2:45. Then I lubed all the bullets and sized them while they were still wet. It's messier that way, but I hate waiting. They all went in the dryer at 3:40 pm. I haven't counted this batch but I expect it's somewhere between 3 and 4 hundred bullets. That may seem like a lot but I'll have to do it all again before the end of July.
2. Consistency. I use scrap lead. Now the mold I'm using supposedly drops 124gr bullets with pure lead. This latest batch I cast dropped them at 118gr. The load before that was 115gr. The one before that 113gr. These weights tell me I'm proabably getting closer to a pure lead alloy. That also means the bullets will be softer. There are a couple of ways I can deal with this. I could stop using scrape lead and buy or make good alloys. Expensive. I could buy ready made bullets. Also expensive.
I choose to deal with it by being very careful in my load development. First I test the hardness. Even at 118gr they should be plenty hard enough for any minor load I care to use. First I'll try my last load, 4.2gr of titegroup seated out pretty long. This is under the max load for 124gr rounds and the worst thing it will do is lead up the barrel. Accuracy is the next problem. If the load is too hot, it'll strip off in the rifling and tumble. If the load is to light it will fail to fully expand into the grooves and cause the same problem. Titegroup has a narrow range of acceptable pressures so it's doubly hard to control. Changes as small as .2 grains will seperate the upper limit from the lower with a given lead bullet.
Off to the test bench.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Match Results
I felt like a shot pretty well today. However, lots of really good shooters showed up as well. I shot about 35% as well as the top shooters who were there (who were really dang good). That makes me a solidly D class shooter. That's the bad news.
The good news is, it's pretty easy to get improvement on that. Simply improving my reload speed by 0.5 seconds would probably get me into the C class.
Things to work on in dry fire-
Reloads
press out
double taps
Things to work on at the range-
Accuracy - C zone hits really hurt.
Focus- I need to be able to call my shots. It's the only way to know if you should take another shot at that target.
The good news is, it's pretty easy to get improvement on that. Simply improving my reload speed by 0.5 seconds would probably get me into the C class.
Things to work on in dry fire-
Reloads
press out
double taps
Things to work on at the range-
Accuracy - C zone hits really hurt.
Focus- I need to be able to call my shots. It's the only way to know if you should take another shot at that target.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Pistol Match Tomorrow!
Went to the range tonight to chrono all my various loads and help set up for the match tomorrow. All the rounds made power factor, which is awesome. When I load I aim for 135 pf. 125 is minimum but give yourself some room. It would suck to show up at a match and fail equipment check.
The bad news was, I was one of only a few that showed up for set up. Setting up for a match is a pain in the butt. Everything has to be measured and most of the stuff is made out of steel. Steel is heavy and my back and shoulders are telling me all about it. Advil for me tonight.
The bad news was, I was one of only a few that showed up for set up. Setting up for a match is a pain in the butt. Everything has to be measured and most of the stuff is made out of steel. Steel is heavy and my back and shoulders are telling me all about it. Advil for me tonight.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Local Match
I've got a USPSA match this weekend. I didn't think I was going to go because we had a family camping trip planned. Unfortunately the snow level is still at about 7000 feet and our proposed hike was going to take us up to 10k. A great recipe for an adventure, not so much for a family camping trip.
The stages for this match look like fun. A couple of them will start with the gun on a table unloaded. I've never done a stage wear I didn't start from the holster. Hopefully it won't mess me up to much. I've been thinking about ammo all day. Do I go with factory ammo? Do I use the lead rounds that I used for steel last week? Do a finally bite the bullet (so to speak) and work up a new load using Titegroup?
Well, the Titegroup option is out, the match is tomorrow and that doesn't leave me enough time for testing. I think I'll build some with Titegroup tonight and work with them during the Monday night practice.
The leads performed well last week and I do have 300 of them on hand. I'll probably run these as primary and have a 100 or so factory rounds in case I have problems.
Incidently the reason I want to work with Titegroup is the economy. Titegroup is under $20 a pound and a charge for 9mm is like 5 grains or less. That means at least 1500 rounds per pound. That's a pretty dang good price per bullet. The downsides? It's a very small charge so you risk a double charge. It's also a very tight range from minimum charge to maximum charge. Typically less than half a grain. There is no margin for error. I think I'll do dinner and then do some slow and steady loading while weight each charge.
The stages for this match look like fun. A couple of them will start with the gun on a table unloaded. I've never done a stage wear I didn't start from the holster. Hopefully it won't mess me up to much. I've been thinking about ammo all day. Do I go with factory ammo? Do I use the lead rounds that I used for steel last week? Do a finally bite the bullet (so to speak) and work up a new load using Titegroup?
Well, the Titegroup option is out, the match is tomorrow and that doesn't leave me enough time for testing. I think I'll build some with Titegroup tonight and work with them during the Monday night practice.
The leads performed well last week and I do have 300 of them on hand. I'll probably run these as primary and have a 100 or so factory rounds in case I have problems.
Incidently the reason I want to work with Titegroup is the economy. Titegroup is under $20 a pound and a charge for 9mm is like 5 grains or less. That means at least 1500 rounds per pound. That's a pretty dang good price per bullet. The downsides? It's a very small charge so you risk a double charge. It's also a very tight range from minimum charge to maximum charge. Typically less than half a grain. There is no margin for error. I think I'll do dinner and then do some slow and steady loading while weight each charge.
BTC
Got a letter from the oldest kid. He's at basic training. Sounds like he's had some ups and downs in his first week.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Powerfactor Show
I want to give a shoutout to a podcast that I've been listening to lately.
The Powerfactor Show
They may not be the prettiest people I've ever met, but the level of knowledge is incredible. These guys know the shooting sports and know how to explain it. If you are serious about action pistol shooting or you want to get serious, these are the guys you should be listening to. It's way more fun than reading the rule book.
The Powerfactor Show
They may not be the prettiest people I've ever met, but the level of knowledge is incredible. These guys know the shooting sports and know how to explain it. If you are serious about action pistol shooting or you want to get serious, these are the guys you should be listening to. It's way more fun than reading the rule book.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Match Results
Came in third in production division and thirteenth overall. I'm not super happy with my results. But I don't have many rounds down range with this gun. POA/POI now appears to be on top of the front sight as opposed to right in front of it the last time I shot it. Loads shot today were 147gr lead flatpoints over 5.0gr of HS-6, 1.149 OAL. I'll have to check it against my usual practice load.
Steel Challenge Match today
Next weekend is camping with the family, and the weekend after that is Grand Lodge. And the weekend after that is Imperial. Last shooting I get to do for a while. Hope the kids don't get bored.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
How I became a gunnie
I was raised by my mom. No guns, no hunting, no Boy Scouts. Nothing. Complete mama's boy. I'm sure you're all surprised that I got beat up on in school.
After I moved out, I went with a friend to the local BLM land and shot his shotgun and Ruger Vaqero .44 mag revolver. What a monster gun. I don't recommend anybody every pick that as a first gun to shoot. Damn thing nearly broke my wrist!
A couple of months later I bought my first pistol. A Ruger P95 that had just come out that year. The first and as far as I know only gun to ever have an all plastic frame. Glocks have little metal inserts in the rails as does every other plastic gun that I've taken apart. It's a tank and was probably a bad choice. My hands are small and I had a lot of trouble keeping a good grip on the gun. About that same time I picked up a Mauser '98 chambers in .308 and a Marlin Model 60. Those were my guns for about 10 years. I shot on occasion but never seriously.
Then I had kids. Now kids are funny things. They'll change your life. All of a sudden there were creatures that depended on me 100% for safety, food, and shelter. I had food and shelter pretty well figured out. But safety? I was, in my opinion, lacking. I got serious about self defense. I got my carry permit, added a shotgun and a mini 9mm to the arsenal. I got a range membership and started toshoot regularly. I started my 'box o'holsters.' Once I got comfortable with my guns, carry became a daily activity.
About two years ago my Mauser started having trouble with the safety. The hammer would drop when you took the safety off. It was time for a new gun. What to get? Well, I didn't want a bolt gun. This is a new century after all and I didn't want an AR. To easy. I ended up with an FNAR. An ugly gun, most people will agree. But it shoots far better than I ever will. I always laugh when people talk about mediocre accuracy. If you can shoot off hand or even prone and outshoot the gun, you should be on a team doing it for a living.
So now I had a 'hunting rifle' that could also double as a serious apocalypse gun. The bug had a good grip on me now. A Sig P239 that was just too good a deal joined the fold. Another PF9 was added when the first one needed to go back to the factory. Then an SD9, which is a good gun, but not for me. It was rapidly traded off for a Sig P226, which may very well be the last pistol I buy for a very long time.
I also added a Rock River AR to the stable. It's a cheater gun. It just amazes me just how much gun you can get for so reasonable a price. Easy to shoot, dead nuts reliable, and accurate to a fault.
So there you have it. The making of this gunnie.
Adding a ping back to Jennifer, since she started this one.
After I moved out, I went with a friend to the local BLM land and shot his shotgun and Ruger Vaqero .44 mag revolver. What a monster gun. I don't recommend anybody every pick that as a first gun to shoot. Damn thing nearly broke my wrist!
A couple of months later I bought my first pistol. A Ruger P95 that had just come out that year. The first and as far as I know only gun to ever have an all plastic frame. Glocks have little metal inserts in the rails as does every other plastic gun that I've taken apart. It's a tank and was probably a bad choice. My hands are small and I had a lot of trouble keeping a good grip on the gun. About that same time I picked up a Mauser '98 chambers in .308 and a Marlin Model 60. Those were my guns for about 10 years. I shot on occasion but never seriously.
Then I had kids. Now kids are funny things. They'll change your life. All of a sudden there were creatures that depended on me 100% for safety, food, and shelter. I had food and shelter pretty well figured out. But safety? I was, in my opinion, lacking. I got serious about self defense. I got my carry permit, added a shotgun and a mini 9mm to the arsenal. I got a range membership and started toshoot regularly. I started my 'box o'holsters.' Once I got comfortable with my guns, carry became a daily activity.
About two years ago my Mauser started having trouble with the safety. The hammer would drop when you took the safety off. It was time for a new gun. What to get? Well, I didn't want a bolt gun. This is a new century after all and I didn't want an AR. To easy. I ended up with an FNAR. An ugly gun, most people will agree. But it shoots far better than I ever will. I always laugh when people talk about mediocre accuracy. If you can shoot off hand or even prone and outshoot the gun, you should be on a team doing it for a living.
So now I had a 'hunting rifle' that could also double as a serious apocalypse gun. The bug had a good grip on me now. A Sig P239 that was just too good a deal joined the fold. Another PF9 was added when the first one needed to go back to the factory. Then an SD9, which is a good gun, but not for me. It was rapidly traded off for a Sig P226, which may very well be the last pistol I buy for a very long time.
I also added a Rock River AR to the stable. It's a cheater gun. It just amazes me just how much gun you can get for so reasonable a price. Easy to shoot, dead nuts reliable, and accurate to a fault.
So there you have it. The making of this gunnie.
Adding a ping back to Jennifer, since she started this one.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Condition 3 carry
Wow, what a pretentious phrase! Condition 3 means carrying your firearm without a bullet in the chamber but with a full magazine. This is perfectly viable as long as you have both hands free. Imagine a case where you end up in a scuffle and are holding off your attacker with one hand. You can draw your firearm, but how are you going to shoot it? Some fancy maneuver where you catch the rear sight on your holster and rack the slide one handed? It could work, maybe. Lots of people practice it for when one of their arms in injured Condition 3 is great for people that are not ready to have a loaded gun on their belt. Either because they don't trust their holster yet or mentally they just need more time.
The biggest proponent of condition 3 carry? The military. Their threat environment is very different than a civilain or a police officer. Let's review:
1. In a base.
2. With armed soldiers on the wall.
3. Overhead air support.
4. Lots of noncombat speciality people running around that are supposed to have a gun but probably haven't shot one since basic training.
Loaded firearms in this environment just don't make sense. The guys on the wall are going to take the immediate threat giving the rest of the base lots of time to arm up. In short the threat of somebody mishandling a firearm is a far more likely than the threat of getting into an fire fight.
Of course if I had a rifle platoon taking care of my perimeter security I wouldn't need a loaded gun either.
The biggest proponent of condition 3 carry? The military. Their threat environment is very different than a civilain or a police officer. Let's review:
1. In a base.
2. With armed soldiers on the wall.
3. Overhead air support.
4. Lots of noncombat speciality people running around that are supposed to have a gun but probably haven't shot one since basic training.
Loaded firearms in this environment just don't make sense. The guys on the wall are going to take the immediate threat giving the rest of the base lots of time to arm up. In short the threat of somebody mishandling a firearm is a far more likely than the threat of getting into an fire fight.
Of course if I had a rifle platoon taking care of my perimeter security I wouldn't need a loaded gun either.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Steel Challenge
There is a Steel Challenge match next weekend. TOWMBO is going to be out of town, perhaps the boys and I can sneak out and I can shoot this one.
Day Camp 2011 p2
First day of Cub Scout Day Camp is complete. I taught six groups of 12-14 kids the basic of map and compass use. No wonder I'm tired. Missed pistol practice last night. With a match coming this weekend, I'm bummed about that. Had some torandoes move through the area last night, glad I missed that.
*Political Statements Ahead*
I believe in global warming.
There, I said it. When reading on the internet, you're going to have a hard time finding a gun blogger that thinks that global warming is real.
I guess I should state that global warming is just a catch phrase for 'the climate is changing.' The gulf stream is not running like it has since we started keeping track of it. Winters in the interior are getting colder and the summers are getting warmer. We have seen above average rainfall for the past several years after receiving very little for the last twenty.
Now, what should we do about it is a completely different question. First you have to start with the premise that we can do something about it. Nobody has convinced me of that. I do know that 'carbon credits' and other methods of taxing energy usage don't make a lot of sense. This kind of thing actually hurts innovation by forcing the private sector to spend money on taxes to current usage instead of investing that money on increasing efficiency and energy savings. Solar, wind, and other energy sources are more expensive that gas, coal, and natural gas.
This will not always be so. When gas rises through six dollars a gallon and stays there, other forms of energy will step in to compete. It won't be the good old days, but it will be more efficient.
And that is what change really is.
Until a new energy source comes along to truly compete with fossil fuels, do yourself a favor and work on conservation. Insulate that house and drive less in a smaller car. These things will save you money now and in whatever the future brings.
*Political Statements Ahead*
I believe in global warming.
There, I said it. When reading on the internet, you're going to have a hard time finding a gun blogger that thinks that global warming is real.
I guess I should state that global warming is just a catch phrase for 'the climate is changing.' The gulf stream is not running like it has since we started keeping track of it. Winters in the interior are getting colder and the summers are getting warmer. We have seen above average rainfall for the past several years after receiving very little for the last twenty.
Now, what should we do about it is a completely different question. First you have to start with the premise that we can do something about it. Nobody has convinced me of that. I do know that 'carbon credits' and other methods of taxing energy usage don't make a lot of sense. This kind of thing actually hurts innovation by forcing the private sector to spend money on taxes to current usage instead of investing that money on increasing efficiency and energy savings. Solar, wind, and other energy sources are more expensive that gas, coal, and natural gas.
This will not always be so. When gas rises through six dollars a gallon and stays there, other forms of energy will step in to compete. It won't be the good old days, but it will be more efficient.
And that is what change really is.
Until a new energy source comes along to truly compete with fossil fuels, do yourself a favor and work on conservation. Insulate that house and drive less in a smaller car. These things will save you money now and in whatever the future brings.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Summer
Summer has come to Montana with a vengeance. It's hot and that means the snow is melting. Grab your sandbags people. It's coming.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Proud
Tomorrow my oldest son goes to Basic Training. It's been a time for being with family and friends. It will be nine weeks and a lifetime before I see him again. I wish that I could go back and do everything again. Some changes maybe, but mostly I'd like to go back and do it again. Good times and bad, he's my son and I can hardly wait to see the man he is becoming.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Open Carry
So, around the intertubes. People are talking about an open carry day. I like open carry, it's more comfortable, it hopefully desensitizes people to guns, and if done right, it promotes gun owners and normal, friendly people.
I won't be participating this year. I believe that if I am going to open carry, I need a retention holster. Something with a thumb break, or a hidden button device. And it shouldn't be black or menacing.
None of my holsters fit those requirements. The Serpa is a good holster. Which is good, but it's also used by a local PD and I don't want people to think I'm a cop. It's also black. With a black gun. Not the impression I want to make.
Maybe next year, with a pretty gun in a nice brown holster. Hopefully with some nice tooling so as to show off instead of looking menacing.
I won't be participating this year. I believe that if I am going to open carry, I need a retention holster. Something with a thumb break, or a hidden button device. And it shouldn't be black or menacing.
None of my holsters fit those requirements. The Serpa is a good holster. Which is good, but it's also used by a local PD and I don't want people to think I'm a cop. It's also black. With a black gun. Not the impression I want to make.
Maybe next year, with a pretty gun in a nice brown holster. Hopefully with some nice tooling so as to show off instead of looking menacing.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Why can't they be white?
Or at least eggshell? TOWMBO wants to paint the living room. I can't say that I really mind. The current yellowish beige sucks. But why do the walls need color? If you paint them white, everything goes with them! You can accessorize all you want because nothing will clash. Plus it'll brighten the room better than anything else. But no, it has to have color. I'm living in a green house and soon my living room will be green as well. ugh.
I wanted to spend the night at the range and post some good data on some of the handloads I'm using. But instead I got to cook dinner for the family and listen to completely irrational chatter about paint color. Maybe tomorrow.
I wanted to spend the night at the range and post some good data on some of the handloads I'm using. But instead I got to cook dinner for the family and listen to completely irrational chatter about paint color. Maybe tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)