Ammo Review Follow Up - USA Ammo 9mm 115 grain FMJ

About a month ago, the cool discount site GearHog had a deal to buy $100 worth of USA Ammo product for $50. Given my previous good success with USA Ammo, I jumped on the deal.

Well, so did about 1,999 other people, so much so that, even though I placed my order for 500 rounds of 9mm as soon as my coupon was valid, it took over 2 weeks for it to ship. During that time I called USA Ammo to check up on my order, and talked with Terri there. She confirmed that they were indeed extremely busy, thanks to the coupon deal. I suppose it's a good problem to have.

One of the things that concerned me, being an engineer by training, was the possibility of quality control issues at the USA Ammo factory because of the increased pressure to make orders to meet the demand. So, I naturally wanted to be sure the ammo I would receive was consistent and of good quality

When my ammo arrived, I immediately found one difference from my previous order. Before, the ammo came in 50 round bulk boxes, but this shipment was packaged in 50 round trays inside boxes, just like other brands of ammo. I don't know if this was a conscious change on their part in response to customer feedback, but in my mind this would be better for the ammo, since it prevents damage from rounds impacting each other.

Otherwise, the ammo was the same as my previous order. I still had a few rounds left, and the new order was a shiny and clean as the older rounds.

As a quick QC check, I selected the first box in my shipment and the last box, and selected 5 rounds at random from each box. I then used a caliper to measure overall length, and I found that all the rounds I tested were the same, within my measurement capability. None of the rounds caused me to have to move my caliper.

Not being a reloader, I don't have any scales to be able to weigh the cartridges. Sorry. Maybe I should get a scale.

As a final test, I shot about 150 rounds of the new ammo this past weekend, and, despite my dismal performance, the ammo performed flawlessly. I didn't do any accuracy testing on this batch, but neither did I notice any flier rounds that weren't attributable to a really crappy shooter on the pistol.

So, in review, despite being slammed with demand following their popular campaign on GearHog, the quality of product delivered by USA Ammo did not deteriorate as far as I could tell. I am pleased by this, because it tells me that this company is serious about what they are doing.

And it pleases me because I still have another coupon, and I'm ordering another 500 rounds today.






FTC Disclaimer: If you click through to GearHog from the link above, or from the link in the right column, and you buy something, I get a commission. This deal is available to anyone who wants to sign up for it at GearHog. I did not receive any additional consideration from GearHog.

I bought all the USA Ammo used in this post, and performed all the testing myself. There has been no influence or contact in any way from USA Ammo.

My Quest for C Class

Last fall, Caleb Giddings at Gun Nuts started a series of posts, which aired on Michael Bane's Down Range TV, called The Quest for Master Class. I thought they were informative and a good insight into what it takes to work hard to be the best.

I've never been threat to make Master in any of the groups I shoot with. While I did win a couple of matches a few years ago, recently I have been content to place in the middle of the pack. In fact, in GSSF, I've come in at the top third the last match I shot, and I have steadily improved for a few years.

But I've never come in last in a match. Until now.

This past weekend, I came in dead last in the Production division at a USPSA match.

Let this be a lesson to you, dear reader. You cannot cruise in any sport.

I admit, I did not practice at all since my last USPSA match. Yes, I had a couple of visits to the range, and I even shot my USPSA pistol. But I didn't practice. Practice is doing something inherent to the sport that will build muscle memory, or ingrain a concept. Just shooting is not practice. Shooting while paying attention to sight alignment, or trigger reset, or with my arms bent simulating a difficult stance is practice. I didn't do any of that.

When I saw the scores, I was surprised. There have been times in my life when I didn't practice much, and still did better. But I guess times have changed, and the competition is better. And let's face it, I'm older.

One thing is for sure, though - I am embarrassed, so much so that I considered not even blogging about it. I thought, if anything, I could use the impetus of this failure, this feeling, to drive me to improve. Then, in a few months, after I work my ass off and finish in the top half of a match, I can blog about the time I came in dead last, and used it to drive me to improve.

But I also know myself. It would be so easy just to stay where I am, not say anything, and not improve, if I'm not accountable to anyone.

But if I share this, then I'm officially on the hook, as it were. I know there are people who read this, and I can rely on them for feedback, either for ideas and encouragement, or not to read any more, which is feedback in itself.

So, starting today, look for a post at least once a week about My Quest for C Class. Because, officially, I can't get any worse.

Bacon and Boomsticks

Here's an idea:

On September 11, 2011, mark the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by eating pork and shooting all your guns. Take pictures and video, then send them to the website Bacon and Boomsticks!

Personally, it will be bacon for breakfast while I smoke a Boston butt and some pork ribs.

Then I will shoot in the afternoon.

Give it a look.

Movies at My House

My followers on Twitter can attest that my movie watching habits can be strange, especially when it comes to movies like Tombstone or Blazing Saddles. All I can say is, if you think my Twitter feed gets strange, you should be at my house when the movie is on.

We were watching Saving Private Ryan last night, and my son (he prefers to be called the Dauphin) was in rare form.

I should explain that his career goal is to become a military historian. I think it all started when we visited a lot of the museums and memorials in the Washington DC area a couple of years ago. In any case, it fits his personality, because he has always been interested the history of battles and wars, not just the what happened, but the why. He just started high school, but he already knows where he's going and what he plans to study.

He started going on about the M1 Carbine again, and how the ammunition for it was merely an illusion, an urban legend, meant to scare the Nazis. Like Patton's inflated tanks in England before D-Day.

++++

More Dauphinisms:

The bazooka was devised as a way to let German tank crews know where the best American troops were located.

"Here, stand up. You be a Panzer tank. Now, I'll be a bazooka team." He tapped me lightly on the shoulder, then he said, quietly, "Hey, Panzer, we're over here! Here we are!"

++++

When Jeremy Davies came on the screen as the translator Corporal Upham, he said, "You know why Faraday is so nervous? He's worried that Benjamin Linus is going to show up."

He once pointed out that John Locke was mayor of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881, pointing at the screen and saying "Damn you, JJ Abrams."

++++

His name for the Sherman tank: The Suckie.

It has nothing to do with his Southern heritage.

++++

He promises to develop his own translation of the Edith Piaf song playing on the Victrola. I can't wait.

++++

His college plans - research the best American History professors in Georgia, and get his BA with them.

Masters at Oxford. Research in Moscow, Paris, and Tokyo.

PhD at Georgetown.

"If you're going to get a PhD in American Military History, go where it's all kept."

He eventually wants to be Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. At least he doesn't aim low.

++++

The current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution is Dr. Wayne Clough. As a fellow graduate of Georgia Tech, I plan to write and ask for a short visit with him, when our family returns to DC next summer. It never hurts to ask.

++++

Since he will be 44 at the centennial of World War II, he is planning to be at the centennial events at Pearl Harbor, Stalingrad, Normandy, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. I would love to be there with him.

I hope they'll let me take my Mosin Nagant to Stalingrad. That would make one hell of a rifle match. The Vasilly Zaitsev Prize.

++++

When he shot an AR-15 for the first time a couple of weeks ago, he fell in love. He's as much the reason I want to build one as my own desire.

I pointed out that after high school, the US Government would give him one to shoot as much as he wanted. All he had to do was sign up for at least 2 years' service. He wasn't keen on that idea.

I have since broached the idea of ROTC in college. That way, he would come out as a Reserve Officer, and get first hand knowledge of military operations.

Plus, as an officer with a US History degree who wanted to be a military historian, he would probably be invited to speak with a lot of the real players in American military history.

He's considering it.

Glock Reliability Upgrades

My Lottery List

My recent post on my gun wish list has inspired quite a bit of discussion around the watercooler and around the campfire. Naturally, people have share their own wish lists with me, and some have told me about guns they've shot and that they think I should own.

My son's major contribution, beyond his total disdain for the .30Cal M1 Carbine round, has mostly been in the form of "Hey, but what about this gun? Wouldn't that be neat to have?"

The problem, of course, is that a 14 year old has little concept of the limits of a household budget, beyond his own wheeler-dealing of used video games at the local Gamestop. I try to explain that I don't have enough money to own and buy ammo for all the guns he thinks are neat.

But I have to admit that, budget aside, it turns out that I do have another list in my head of guns I would like to own if money were no object.

You will note there are no old curios on my list, no Mambus, no Walkers. Yes, I think my Mosin Nagant is neat to shoot, but if I hadn't gotten such a good deal on mine, I doubt if I would own one.

So, in the spirit of GoalSetting^TM I present my list of Guns I Would Love To Own When I Win The Lottery.

1. FNH PS90

With a 50 round magazine, fully ambidextrous controls, and super badass appearance, this tops my list.

2. Kriss Vector

I got to shoot one of these at the Lucky Gunner Blogger Shoot in May.

A full auto, suppressed, .45ACP machine gun that uses Glock magazines. Because of how the internals work, the action itself helps reduce recoil, so that it is really one sweet shooting machine.

Here's a video I shot of John at No Lawyers Only Guns And Money shooting one. Enjoy.



3. Barrett M107A1

This is the semi-auto version.

For all the utility of easily concealable machine guns, I may need a nice stand-off weapon, for those times when I want to keep the threat at least 1,000 meters away.

4. Glock 18

This Glock 18 belonged to Saddam Hussein. It now resides in George W. Bush's office in Crawford, Texas.

What can I say? May as well.

Here's a video of me shooting one at the Blogger Shoot. It went too fast.




Look for more of this list from time to time.

Of course, I welcome your additions to the list. I have an open mind, and when I win the lottery, I don't want to miss one.

I've Been Blacklisted

After some back and forth about a boycott of anti-gun blogs, there has appeared a Black List of gun blogs. If nothing else, it is a rather comprehensive list of gun blogs available.

On the other hand, if Big Brother decides to infringe on our First Amendment rights as a prelude to trampling the others, this makes their job easier.


Meh. Molon labe.

What Do You Mean, I Don't Have to Register?

Twice in the last month, I've talked to gun newbies who seem shocked and concerned to find out that the guns they legally own do not have to be registered. When I explain that Georgia, and indeed most of the United States, does not require gun registration, nor does it require gun owners to be licensed or registered, they look at me like I'm a radical liar. In fact, Georgia only requires a license if you plan to carry the gun concealed or open outside of your home, business, or automobile.

In both cases, the people even went so far as to ask me why Georgia doesn't require guns to be registered. Sorry, fellows, I can't disprove a negative, all I could do is turn the tables a little.

Why would you want guns registered? To keep track of them.

Why do you want to keep track of them? To keep them out of the hands of criminals.

That won't work. Criminals are perfectly fine with robbing and murdering you. Why would they pay attention to gun registration laws if they don't pay attention to any other laws? They're criminals! So I'll ask again,

Why do you want to keep track of them? I don't know . . .

Here is why, from our cousins down under: gun registration always leads to confiscation, even from law abiding people.

The weapons were held legally by registered gun owners, but police intelligence revealed 20 had "connections to family or associates who were persons of interest to the Acer Taskforce team".

Officers simultaneously hit 21 properties at 8am to ensure the licence holders were complying with all conditions.

A total of 21 guns - including 15 shotguns and ammunition for an AK47 rife - were seized.

The raids came after two men - one being convicted criminal Omar Taha - were shot dead at CBD Smash Repairs in Florence St, Brunswick, on Thursday afternoon.

A third man, Ali Kassab, 25, is believed to have been shot in the arm and leg and is receiving treatment at the Royal Melbourne Hospital while under arrest and with a police guard.

All three men were known to police and it is believed the shooting happened because of a $50,000 debt.

Emphasis mine.

Notice that police seized legally held guns, from people not involved in the crimes in any way, because a bunch of criminals shot each other up over a debt. But shootings aren't supposed to happen in Australia, so they looked at their gun registration list, and found some "connections" "to persons of interest," and went and grabbed the guns. Mission Accomplished, the world is now safe. It was that easy.

Few gun rights issues get me as worked up as registration. My two friends know that now. I'm sending them a copy of this so they know why.


H/T Days of our Trailers: Registration Leads To Confiscation....Always

I Get No Respect

It's a heck of a way to find out who reads your blog.

We got in the car to make a quick run to Dairy Queen last night, and my 14 year old son started digging on me.

"An M1 Carbine? Really, Dad?"

"What?"

"You want an ancient gun that uses imaginary ammo? Come on! They had to make up ammo for that thing, and it still sucks. The only target the M1 Carbine is good for is Nazi zombies." He was laughing at me.

I tried to make my case. "Hey, the M1 Carbine filled an important hole in the US inventory. It was easy to shoot and . . ."

"For cooks, Dad. They issued it to cooks." He was still laughing.

"Come on, it's just a wish list."

"Then wish for a real gun. Something in .308. A FAL or a G3 or a SCAR Heavy."

Okay, his main weapons experience is in Call of Duty and Fallout, but thanks to some obliging people at the local gun store, he has handled all 3 of these, even if he's never shot them.

The FN FAL was and is the main battle rifle of the western world. The WikiPedia page for the FAL has more flags on it than Pinehurst. And the 7.62mm NATO round has proven itself as the round of choice by fighters all over the world.

The boy has a point.

So, as the NFL says, after further review, please amend my list . . .

5. FN FAL

I could buy 4 of these what a SCAR Heavy would run. Easy choice.

And when the zombies come, if they're riding grizzly bears, I'm good.



Wait. Imaginary ammo?

My Wish List

A few years ago, the company I worked for brought in a training consultant who taught us about goal setting, or as I imagined him saying it, GoalSetting. One thing he presented that stood out to me was a study that looked at the goal setting habits of a group of people. He claimed that only 3% of people actually write down their goals, but those who do have a higher net worth than then other 97% combined. I don't know if this is true, but I've made it a habit to write down my goals in most areas, like home projects.

JP at the Eyes Never Closed blog and the Empty Mags Podcast recently waxed about his gun wish list, and it got me to thinking about my list. Like most shooters, I've had this vague list in my head of guns I would like to own, but it occurred to me that my list wasn't written down. So, with this post, I plan to remedy that oversight.

My list is a little less eclectic than JP's, but he told me that he has another list that is "more attainable and not as crazy." Well, call me boring, but, with thanks and a hat tip to JP, and in the hope that I can indeed increase my odds of actually owning these guns, here is my list, in the rough order of desire.

1. AR-15

My plan is to build my own, starting with a stripped lower. I recently stripped and rebuilt a friend's AR so that part isn't a concern any more.

I suspect, however, that this choice will also move me into the world of ammunition reloading. That's not a bad thing, though.

2. M-1 Garand

I live about 2 hours from the Anniston CMP Armory, so I could drive over and select my own M-1 from their inventory. As a GSSF member, I qualify.

3. AK-47

Image courtesy of WarriorTalk News


I go back and for on whether this is number 3 or number 1. Since I already own an SKS, an AK would be an easy addition from an ammo standpoint. I would have to see what was available at the time to decide whether I want an original Kalashnikov or a modern Saiga.

4. Glock 35

Courtesy of 3gun.se

Here the idea is to build an Open gun for USPSA. This presumes I have already moved into the ammo reloading business, since this is a new caliber for me. It also means about double the cost for add-ons.

5. M-1 Carbine

I shot one at the Blogger Shoot in May, and it was a lot of fun. Again, I could get one from Anniston easily.

6. A pair of Ruger Vaqueros

These and the two below are for my desired entry into SASS, Cowboy Action Shooting. That opens a whole other can of worms that I will be happy to fish with. It also means I definitely have to get into reloading, unless I hit the PowerBall.

I would probably get them, and the Winchester clone, in .357 Magnum.

7. Lever Action Winchester Clone

This goes with the Vaqueros for SASS, although I could also hunt with it if I had to. (Keep telling myself that . . . )

8. Coach Gun

I've looked at the Norinco imports and they seem quite servicable, and they're cheap. This one has use in a home defense mode, beyond that of SASS.




Yes, there are probably more. Some are a less attainable and a little crazy. I'll talk about those at a later date.

Changes in Attitudes

I was putting away my Glock last evening, after my wife and son and I got home from a quick trip out to pick up a few things, and the routine of it struck me. Carrying a gun has become an every day thing for me now. I don’t leave the house without one, and unless I am prohibited by law or some other circumstance, like I’m going to the beach, I am carrying it concealed. But I must confess, it hasn’t always been that way.

I bought my first gun in 1992, but I didn’t start carrying it. After a while I bought a fanny pack, and I would put the fanny pack bedside the seat in the car with me, just about everywhere I drove.

We lived in small towns, and I guess I never felt like I needed to carry it. I had a concealed carry permit everywhere we lived, but unless we visited a big city or a high crime area, I didn’t feel like I needed to carry. I guess I was either clairvoyant or ignorant or both.

So, when we moved back to the Atlanta area 10 years ago, one of the first things I did was get a carry permit. I carried it a little more than I did before, probably because I felt like the areas were less safe, Again, I took the gun with me in the car most places, but I didn’t carry it very much.

Looking back, I also realize I never felt 100% comfortable carrying a loaded gun. Now, I know there are some who don’t carry with a round in the chamber, and those who don’t trust the Glock without an external safety. I am not one of those groups. But I was always aware, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

Then came September 11, 2001, and my perception of personal safety changed. And so did my behavior.

Less than a week afterward I bought my first concealed carry holster, a leather belt holster for my Glock 17. And I started carrying it.

I bought a Glock 26, and a IWB holster, so I could carry in the warmer weather. Later, as things allowed, I added more Glocks and more holsters, widening my options.

Along the way, I got more and more comfortable carrying. Now it is a way of life for me. I want to say I don't give it a second thought, but that wouldn't be true. Because my sense of awareness changed on September 11, too, I am rarely unaware of the gun on my hip. But I don't have a knot in my chest either. I am relaxed.

I carry a gun whenever I can carry, not whenever I think I might need it, because I don’t know when I’ll need it. I dress to allow carry, not the other way around. And when I can’t carry a gun on me for legal reasons, I have one as close as I can have it.

What caused this attitude change? Probably the change I went through, along with the rest of the country, following September 11. Before, I thought I had some sense of when and where I was safe. I know now that that was self delusion. I was just lucky. Now I’m a little more prepared.

Transformation

Don’t get me wrong. My base Ruger 10/22, Steve Rogers, was fun enough. I loved shooting it.

But even my son complained about two things – how hard the blade sights were to use, and how many times it would jam up with failures to extract.

One thing about fixing a problem is that sometimes you forget you had the problem, and that’s true here. So, I thought I would say bit about them, one last time.

Adding a variable 2 to 6 power scope fixed the sight issue, and will be fine from 30 yards or so, out to 200 or so. For closer in, I plan to borrow a page from 3-gun shooters and add a 45 degree Weaver mount off the front rail, and install a red dot or reflex sight.

If I had to go to iron sights, I think I would install a military style ring rear sight and bladed front sight. In fact, I may do that on a bias on the right side of the gun, and forego the red dots.

For the second problem, I replaced the stamped Ruger factory extractor with a machined titanium extractor, and the difference is extraordinary. Exactly zero failures to extract. I had to remind my son yesterday about how much this change had meant.

I sometimes have extractor problems with the Buck Mark pistol, so I’m also looking to replace the extractor on it.

Overall, the transformation from Steve Rogers to the Super Soldier was profound. With the heavy target barrel there is almost no recoil, and with a T-6 stock and vertical foregrip, what recoil is there is extremely manageable.

Now, add a bipod, and some red, white, and blue Krylon, and Captain America will be complete.

Thoughts on Long Range Shooting

The sign is misleading. Yes, we were shooting on a part of the range that had targets at 25 yards, but we weren't shooting at them, we were shooting at the berm, 100 yards away.


I had the chance to spend the day at the range with my son and my brother-in-law last week. When we arrived at the range, there were a half dozen or so other groups there shooting, and we had to wait for a lull in the action - a cold range - so we could go put our targets out to shoot. Normally, we use zombie targets and bullseye targets at 25 yards or closer.

But since we got impatient, I took out my reborn Ruger 10/22 and started shooting at targets on the berm, 100 yards away. Using some pieces of paper, I was able to dial in the scope within a few shots, and soon we were making those pieces of paper dance.

Soon, we broke out the AR-15, and found out that it was already sighted for 100 yards, and we made the paper dance with 5.56x45. My son's grin as he made shot after shot at 100 yards was a big as his face.

Then, out came the Browning Buck Mark with the Tasco red dot sight. Within a few shots, I was able to adjust the sight on it to hit the paper at 100 yards. My brother-in-law Mike, the new shooter, thought this was very cool. He was right.

I was able even to get good long range shots with my Glocks, once I tried it, and held over the right amount.

After a while, the range went silent, and we put out the zombies and bullseyes at the 25 yard target holders. Then, on a whim, we put out a few clay pigeons out on the berm.

Then we started shooting the zombies, but, after a few minutes, we went back to shooting the long shots. On the 10/22 I dialed the scope out to 6x, and I was able to break clay pretty consistently. Even the AR-15 and SKS made good hits. We chased pieces of paper all over the berm.

For most of my shooting "career," the long distance shot has been a mystery. Frankly, sometimes even a 25 yard shot is a mystery. I know why - bad shooting fundamentals. Near perfect sight alignment and trigger control are essential. And I know why I haven't been able to improve these - I don't practice them enough.

So, a day of fun - discovering that I, and a first time new shooter for that matter, can make 100 yard shots with a .22LR pistol - had led me to a commitment to practice the long shot more. One range near me has a 300 yard rifle range with steel targets. I see a lot of ringing steel in my future.

Lord knows, my USPSA and GSSF scores will improve, without the Mikes on the 25 yard targets. Plus, I suspect my shooting will be even more fun, because I know that when I improve on the long shots, those shorter shots will be a lot more fun, too.

A Family Find

I had originally written this post as a straightforward review of an old pistol that my brother-in-law Mike inherited from his father. But, like a lot of things in life, it is turning out to be something more.

Mike came over the other day, and he and I and my son went to the shooting range for Mike's very first shooting session. To say he enjoyed himself would be an understatement.

When he arrived, though, he handed me an old paper bag, and said "Here's something I'd like you to take a look at."

In the bag, in a worn leather holster, adorned in a few places with my late father-in-law's name, was a Beretta Model 1935 pistol, chambered in 7.65mm, or .32ACP. My curiosity was piqued. After a quick visit to Youtube, I took it to the work bench and took it down, and except for some rust on the spare magazine, it isn't in bad shape at all.

My late father-in-law was in the US Air Force during the Korean War, but spent his time in Europe. This wasn't unusual, given that the prevailing suspicion at the time was that the Korean assault was merely a feint by the USSR and China, in prelude to an attack on Europe.

While there, he acquired the Beretta pistol from a European officer, by means of which neither my brother-in-law nor my wife are aware.

Being the Family Gun Guy, Mike brought it to me for a couple of reasons. First, he wanted to see what kind of shape it was in - could he still shoot it, and if so, would it make a good defense gun?

My inspection showed that the gun is in good shape. Some of the bluing is worn in the pbvious places, like where the barrel cycles and where the hammer falls. But none of the surfaces show undue wear, and there is no corrosion or rust on the barrel, chamber, or rails. A few shots of Gun Scrub and a nylon brush cleaned the workings, and a light oiling and wipe down made it look very nice indeed. If I had the time, I think I would look at replacing the springs, just to be sure, but I think the gun is safe to shoot.

Second, he was worried. Since my father-in-law had brought it back from Europe, Mike was concerned that the gun wasn't licensed. There, I was able to allay his fears.

Fortunately for us, Georgia does not require registration or licensing of guns. And, after questioning him, it was clear to me that Mike had nothing in his past or his record that would prevent him from owning the gun. All was cool.

As an aside, I am continually frustrated by people I meet who are convinced that all guns are registered, or should be registered. Moreover, when I tell them that very few states require registration, or licensing of shooters, they don't believe me. This is why I encourage everyone who shoots to join the NRA, SAF, and other gun rights organizations.

So, back to our story, we packed up, and headed to the range. On the way, we stopped by our local favorite gun store to buy some ammo.

Yikes. It turns out that .32ACP was selling for $40 a box. (I've since found it on line for half that.) Mike decided to hold off on shooting it. Instead, he shot everything else I brought to the range, and fell in love with my .22LR Browning Buck Mark.

The next day, Mike came by the house, and he was still talking about our range trip. He asked me to look into selling the Beretta and getting him a Buck Mark or other .22LR pistol. He's obviously smitten, and I have gained another range buddy. I can't blame him. $20 for 500 rounds of .22LR beats $20 for 50 any day.

So now begins my quest to trade or sell this quaint Italian masterpiece. Give a holler if you have some leads.

Ammo Review - CCI 9mm Shotshells

At the suggestion of a Twitter follower, @EnBloc, I set out to perform a scientific test of CCI 9mm shotshells, for protection against snakes and other small varmints in the woods. I planned to measure shot patterns at normal snake distances, and, as a final test, to shoot a tube sock filled with sand to show its real power.






That is, until a three foot long Canebrake Rattlesnake surprised us the other day at the range.

So, I decided to use another scientifically rigorous method. I shot that snake in the face.


Video courtesy of @RKBArms

As you can see, the shotshell was quite effective. In my opinion, one shot would have sufficed, but a follow-up shot was administered, just to be sure.

The 9mm CCI Shotshell contains number 12 shot, and claims to shoot at 1450 feet per second. However, at only 298 foot-pounds, the recoil from the round was not enough to cycle my Glock 17, so I had to cycle the slide myself. This is important to know in case the first shot is not as effective as this one was.

I had always wondered if these loads were effective. Now I know.

A Day at the Range

There are trips to the range, and then there are Trips To The Range. Today's trip was the latter.

My son Joey and I took my brother-in-law Mike to the range for his first shooting outing, and we met a fellow Twitter feller, Michael, a.k.a. @RKBArms.

It was a first for a lot of things: Mike's first time shooting; Joey's first time shooting an AR-15; the first time we shot the reincarnated version of my Ruger 10/22, Captain America; and my first time to meet and shoot with Michael. It would not be a boring day.

Captain America

What can I say? The gun is sweet. With the heavy barrel, there is almost no recoil. I was able to get the scope set on the side to side axis in my shop, so it was just a matter of dialing in the elevation at the range, and soon it was shooting just about spot on at 100 yards, or whatever distance it was to the dirt berm at the end of the range. There were several tin cans, pieces of cardboard, and clay pigeons on the berm, and we made them dance at will all day.

I wasn't able to shoot it for a group measurement, since I found it hard to keep steady when I supported it by the foregrip. I need to add a bipod, or bring a chair and a sand bag.

Bucky

Complementing the 10/22, I brought the Buck Mark pistol, outfitted with my Tasco Red Dot sight. A couple of turns at it was spot on at the berm, too. My brother-in-law fell in love with Bucky, and I think he's going to get one.

AR-15

Back when I went to the Blogger Shoot, I had borrowed a friend's AR-15, which lasted all of 4 rounds before it TARFU'd on me. I finally bought the parts to fix it, and took it to the range with us.

I got to shoot about 10 rounds from it. My son then commandeered it and shot all the rest of the ammo. He wants one, bad. Okay, time for Project 3, I suppose.

Shotgun

I also took my newly refinished Mossberg 500 along, and shot about 10 rounds through it. I like the recoil pad that Hogue included with the overmolded stock. I'm going to try to go shoot some trap this week with it, so look for another report.

I also shot Michael's shotgun, a Maverick 88 with an 18 inch barrel. Nice.

Here's Michael with his shotgun.

Pistols

I also took Bruce my Glock 17 and the Duke, my Glock 21, and shot quite a bit through them. It was a good demonstration for my brother-in-law, to compare them to the .22LR of the Buck Mark.

My son shot a lot with the Glock 17, and I took the opportunity to try to talk him into his first competition, the GSSF Match at Conyers in September. We'll see.

Michael also compared my Glock 17 to his Glock 19.

Other Stuff

In the middle of our shooting, up walks a small flock of 6 wild turkeys. They were completely -unfazed by all the shooting, but when my brother-in-law tried to call them over, the ran off into the woods.

We also saw a cheap semi-auto pistol whose slide completed cracked, all the way around, about an inch in front of the ejection port. The person shooting it said he had borrowed it from a friend, and that it was cheap, cheap. I guess so.

Ammo Test

Look for another blog post soon about this, with video.




All in all, a very nice trip to the range for us all.

From Steve Rogers to Captain America

A few years back, I won $200 in a sales contest right before Christmas, and I used it to buy a bare bones 10/22 on Christmas Eve. At the time, I named the gun Paul after my boss. Earlier this year, I bought a Browning Buck Mark .22LR pistol that I named Bucky, and it just made sense to start calling the 10/22 Captain America.

The problem was, Captain America wasn't special. It was still bare bones. Yes, it was fun to shoot, and I had proved that about 2,000 times. But it wasn't an Avenger by any stretch.

In fact, it was more like 90 pound Steve Rogers.

So, I decided to start my own Super Soldier program*.

I started by disassembling the 10/22. This can be done with a screwdriver and a punch. In fact, my Glock Armorer tool just worked just fine. For my modifications, I needed the receiver, the trigger group, the bolt assembly, and the bolt handle, guide rod, and recoil spring assembly.

Actually, this photo is a little deceiving, as it shows the parts after about 20 minutes of cleaning. I had shot about 2,300 rounds through the gun without cleaning the bolt or the receiver. The bolt assembly was completely black.

For my first modification I swapped out the factory extractor with a Power Custom Sharp Claw Titanium Extractor. The factory extractor is a stamped metal piece, and I could see the Power Custom replacement has a sharper profile and a cleaner face. This new piece should eliminate the periodic failures to extract that I have seen.

I also changed out the bolt release with a Volquartsen Automatic Bolt Release. One of the things found annoying about the 10/22 was that to release the bolt, you had to press up on the bottom of the bolt release, while pulling back on the bolt handle, and holding your mouth a certain way, and reciting a Druid chant. Okay, the last two weren't really necessary, but they didn't seem to hurt.

This Volquartsen piece is designed so that you just pull back on the bolt handle, let it go, and the bolt releases. Just like a regular rifle. Gee.

Next, I removed the factory barrel. The barrel is held in place by a barrel retainer and two hex head screws. Removing the screws, the barrel slides out. Actually, since my gun had 2,300 rounds through it, I had to put the barrel in a vise (protecting it with a rubber insert) and pound the receiver with a rubber mallet to get it to let go.

I then scrubber out the receiver and made sure it was ready for a new barrel.

Then, out came the new hardware.

The barrel I chose was a Shooter's Ridge bull barrel, that I bought at the gun show last weekend, and a Tapco T-6 stock I bought off of Amazon.

The barrel is installed in the reverse of how the old one was removed, but without the pounding and cussing. Slide the barrel into the receiver and line up the ridge for retainer with the retainer lip. Much easier.

Install the retainer using the two hex head bolts.

Install the bolt, then the trigger group.

The Tapco stock takes a little assembly. The pistol grip is bolted on, and the stock is installed using two screws and bolts. Tapco includes two stock tubes, one slanted if your're planning to use iron sights, and one straight if you're going to use optics. I used the straight one.

Finally the barrel and receiver are installed using the take down screw from the original stock.

A hand guard is installed over the barrel, too.

It's important to know that the barrel for a Ruger 10/22 should not be free floated, but should be supported on the stock per the manufacturer's instructions. This has to do with barrel harmonics of the .22LR, and a free floated barrel will not be as accurate on a 10/22 as it would on a larger caliber rifle.

Finally, I installed a 2-6 x 28mm scope I had from a previous project, using some Weaver rings I had.

The final rifle is considerably heavier than the original, but is well balanced. The stock angle makes for an easy pointing gun, and set at 2x, the scope should do well even for close-in work.

Having said that, I am contemplating installing a 45 degree offset Weaver rail on the front rails, and installing a reflex or red dot sight for close-in shooting.

But, even without the red dot, at last, Captain America is ready to go fight the Nazis, or zombies, or whatever comes our way.

Tomorrow, the range!






* I'm not going to explain the history of Captain America. If none of these things - Bucky, Steve Rogers, the Super Soldier program - make sense to you, do some research.

Be Prepared, Part 7 - First Aid for the Range

I am taking a week of vacation next week, staying around the house to get some projects done, and planning a couple of range days. This got me thinking about the things in my range bag, and naturally, my First Aid Kit came to mind.

One of the best things I learned in Boy Scouts was First Aid. After taking countless first aid, CPR, and first responder training courses in my 26 years in the chemical industry, I have come to realize how really good the Boy Scout first aid training was.

Early in my career as an engineer, I was a little frustrated at how shallow the first aid training at our plant was. We learned nothing about splints, or tourniquets, or treating shock. But I soon came to realize the reason for the depth of training. In Boy Scouts, injured victims are extremely vulnerable out in the wilderness. There, your job in a medical emergency is to keep the victim alive until you can get back to civilization, and then to the hospital. In industry, all you have to do is keep the victim alive until the paramedics arrive. The time difference is extreme.

An injury at the shooting range is closer to the first situation than the second. Unless you're at an indoor range in the city, chances are you are way out in the boonies, where it would take a paramedic crew a half hour to get to you, provided you could call them. I don't know about you, but I don't get a cell signal at the WMA where I take my son and the Posse to shoot for $5 a carload.

This means you need to be able to keep an injured person alive for at least 30 minutes, maybe longer, and for that, the normal car first aid kit won't do. You need some kind of trauma kit that, at the least, helps you deal with a gunshot wound.

Fortunately, the state of the art in emergency medical care has advanced a lot since the Spanish American War when I was in the Boy Scouts. Compression bandages, clotting compound, and tactical tourniquets have all been developed since then, and you should have them in your bag.

Now, I'm not going to go into all that you should have in your bag. Bob Owens of Shooting Illustrated did an excellent job of that recently, and I can't improve on his report. What I can do is tell you - have a first aid kit in your range bag.

In my bag, in addition to what Bob lists, though, I also have some regular adhesive bandages and a roll of first aid tape, because not all the injuries will be gunshot wounds. Fortunately, in my years shooting I've had to treat a lot of cuts and blisters, but no bullet holes.

Once you get a kit, get training. If nothing else, take the Red Cross Basic First Aid course, and make sure and ask the instructor to cover how to treat gun shot wounds at the gun range. While you're at it, take a CPR course, and stay certified. You can find the American Red Cross in your phone book, or (if you're like me and you throw that useless thing in the recycle bin as soon as it hits your driveway) you can look them up online.

The clotting agent and compression bandage makers all have videos on their websites, too. Watch them often, and know how to use them.

Above all, be prepared. Preparation means you stay cool, if and when an emergency happens.

GeorgiaCarry.org Annual Convention

GeorgiaCarry.org, the premier voice for the Second Amendment in Georgia, will be holding its third annual convention this weekend, at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel near the Galleria in Smyrna, and I will be there.

If you're going to be at the convention, email me or send me a Twitter message and we'll get together.

The deadline for buying tickets was last weekend, so if you don't already have your tickets, you'll have to wait until next year. But, GeorgiaCarry members can still attend the "Meet the Board" session from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon. Just show your membership card.

Convention attendees can also enjoy a light breakfast, coffee, and a morning at the Sandy Springs Gun Club and Range , from 9:00 AM to noon, for just $5. Just bring your convention badge. A map to the range can be found here.

Product Review - M.A.D.S. from M2 Corporation

You're armed with your Glock pistol, or a 1911, and you're attacked. But, because of the situation, you can't shoot. Maybe what's behind your target prohibits you from shooting - remember Rule 4? But you're close enough to use the gun as a striking weapon. If only you had something built in that would make this something more than the classic pistol whipping.

The Magazine Auxiliary Defense System, or M.A.D.S., from M2 Corporation, is a replacement floor plate for the Glock magazine. It features a pair of aggressively crenelated fins that protrude from the baseplate, and is designed to give the gun owner a back-up means of self defense, when circumstances keep him or her from shooting.

I received a couple of M.A.D.S. floor plates from Michael Wogelius, CEO of M2, to test, one for the Glock, and one set for a 1911. Since I only have Glocks, I'm probably going to give the other set to a friend with a 1911.

The floor plate easily replaces the normal floor plate on a FML or Gen4 Glock magazine. First, remove the old floor plate, using a Glock Armorer tool, or a punch - insert the tool through the hole in the bottom of the floor plate, disengaging the magazine insert from the hole in the floor plate. Leverage the floor plate toward the curved edge of the magazine. The floor plate will slide off of the underlying magazine insert and off the end of the magazine body. Be careful - the magazine spring is under a lot of tension, and it will come out.

Then, re-compress the magazine spring back into the magazine body, and follow it with the magazine insert. Then install the new M.A.D.S. floor plate in place of the old one.

It's that easy.

M2 points out that the installed M.A.D.S. floor plate also acts as a way to grasp the bottom of the magazine in inclement weather, even with gloves on. I tried it using gloves and I had no problem.

The only problem I had was when I tried install the floor plate on an older, NFML magazine. Apparently the NFML magazine bodies are just a little shorter than the FML, and the M.A.D.S. floor plate was a little too thick to seat the magazine the first time. I had to press fairly hard to get it to seat. My recommendation, therefore, would be for users not to use this on NFML magazines, to prevent inadvertently losing your magazine because it wasn't latched in place. (I know, because the first time I tried it, the magazine fell on the floor. Not good.)

Also, the Glock floor plates only fit the smaller frame Glock magazines, not the .45ACP or 10mm magazines. I don't know if M2 has plans to introduce those, but I know there are a lot of folks with these larger guns who might be interested.

As with any defense technique, the M.A.D.S. system would take training and practice to use effectively. My concern would be that I would inadvertently put my finger on the trigger if I used my pistol as a striking weapon. But in trained hands, there is no arguing that a blow connected by a M.A.D.S. floor plate would definitely leave a mark, both physically and psychologically.

For further information, contact M2 Corporation at www.m2corporation.com.

The M.A.D.S. kit (gun, magazine, and armorer tool not included)

The M.A.D.S. floor plate installed. Wicked.







FTC Disclaimer: I was approached by M2 Corporation through LinkedIn and offered a free M.A.D.S. system, in exchange for a review, and photos of it on my gun. I received no other compensation, and the views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Project Update

A couple of months ago I talked about some upcoming projects that I wanted to do, and how I would decide the order to do them. The order turned out to be to refurbish my Mossberg 500, then build a new AR-15, then upgrade my Ruger 10/22.

Since then I have completed the Mossberg refurbish. I plan to go shoot it next week and report on the results.

However, a number of factors have led me to revise the order of the other 2. First is the fact that building the AR would have cost more money than I have available at this time, in essence stalling both remaining projects until I have saved up enough. Adding to this is the fact that the AR will add another caliber of ammunition to my inventory, relatively expensive ammunition.

So this led me to reconsider my rankings, and move the 10/22 rebuild up. In fact, all the parts are on order, and should be in hand by the weekend. This means that, barring a family emergency or zombie apocalypse, I should be able to complete the project, and take my 10/22 to the range next week.

So, given my earlier post about the rigorous method I used to rank my projects, how do I justify the change?

It turns out that the Utility factor has a lot more involved in it than just how much I would shoot the gun in a perfect world. I didn't really consider the cost of ammo, which was a mistake.

And, it reminds me that rankings are fluid, and can change. And, it reminds me that, when it all comes down to it, as Captain Barbosa once pointed out, the rankings are really more like guidelines.

+++

Yes, I could reload my own .223, but that is, in essence, another project. It is on my list, but not very high, I admit.

+++

On a semi-related note, as I've related before, I name my guns, and my son and I almost always refer to them by name. The 10/22 was named originally Captain America, to complement Bucky, the Buck Mark. Since then, we've both taken to calling the 10/22 in its current configuration Steve Rogers. (If you are unaware of the correlation, Google it. Sorry, Carson's Law.)

So now, here comes the Super Soldier project.

Movie Rule of Thumb 3: A Man Has Got to Know His Limitations

Source: Magnum Force.



Lesson: pretty self-explanatory. Every person needs to know their limitations. Either you will find them out through life experience or training or self-examination, or you will have your limitations demonstrated to you, perhaps fatally.

This was the first Rule that came full blown from just one line in a movie. Harry Callahan used it to mock the bad cop Briggs, who had once used the line to try to tell Harry that he was outmatched.

This rule has many applications. For instance, there are physical limits to how much activity we can endure, or how well we can shoot, or how much money we can spend. There are also limits to what we are willing to do, for a number of reasons. There are moral limits to what a person is willing to do, too.

For me, this means I have to train so I know what I’m capable of doing physically. Many people think that when the time comes, they will “rise to the occasion.” But experience shows that we will actually regress to our level of training. So we must always be advancing our ability through training and practice.

It also means I need to have well thought out rules of engagement, that lay out what I will do in certain situations. No one should wait until an encounter to decide how they will act. This is especially true of self defense situations.

More on rules of engagement later.

The Great American Gun Show

One of the singularly American experiences is the Gun Show. This past Sunday I attended the RK Gun Shows show at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia.

There were easily a couple of hundred vendors at the show, which made it among the largest I've attended at the Cobb Civic Center. This is a relatively small venue, so the shows there will nevre reach the size they would at the Farmer's Market, or the South Atlanta Expo Center. But, this show limits vendors to guns and gun related stuff, and that makes a difference. The show was well attended, too, with the aisles full of shoppers, as well as people filling out for 4473's for purchases.

Gun shows run the gamut. There are shows that almost exclusively guns and gun related vendors, like BDU's and survival guides. Then there are shows that allow just about anyone in, including jewelry and all the "As Seen On TV" stuff. This show was more toward the first end, and I enjoyed it. Yes, there were Airsoft guns and a lot of imported pocket knives, and there was at least one vendor selling all non-lethal personal protection wares, like pepper spray and tasers.

I usually don't think much about what I'm seeing at guns shows. I've been going so long that I can easily size up a vendor, and decide to move on or to stay and look. But today I made it a point to try to classify the vendors. Here's what I saw.

At one end is the Collector. He has a wide variety of older weapons, usually handguns, and they are not in the best shape. They are all displayed behind a glass case. He also has several boxes of older ammo to match. The prices on these guns are rather high. Knowing nothing about the antique firearm market, I don't know if they're priced right or not. I look, but I never ask about them. Move along.

Next is the Serious Collector. I used to work with such an individual. He collected high end over and under shotguns. $10,000 shotguns. It was what he knew, and it was what he dealt in. And he moved a lot of them, maybe a dozen in a week. He had them displayed on very nice racks on his table. You could ask to hold one, and he had no problem with it, even though he knew from my Glock hat that I had no intention of spending $10,000 on a shotgun. (I liked to go see this man the Monday after a show, because he would frequently take other guns in on trade, and he would let me shoot them, before he traded them away again, for another $10,000 shotgun.)

There is the Hobbyist Collector. His table is full of an interesting variety of guns, from old police .38's to 1911's, to Winchesters to SKS's. There are no Japanese Nambu's or Spencer carbines. He sells what he collects, and he collects what he shoots. He has a booth at the show so he can mix with the other dealers, and get a great deal on his next gun.

There is the Small Gun Shop. He has a store, and he brings a few popular guns to the show. He also installs sights and does gunsmithing, because that's how he got into the gun selling business. I used to know a fellow like this, and I worked a few gun shows with him. I bought a .22 Buck Mark from him once, and it was one of the best experiences I ever had. The gun worked flawlessly, and it shot exactly where the sights pointed. Sadly, I had to sell it, and now that my fortunes have turned, I've replaced the Buck Mark, but this one just doesn't shoot like that first one.

There is the AR shop. They carry everything from stripped lowers to fully assembled guns, with parts from every make you can think of. They also sell a range of assembled uppers, from 10 inch carbines to full stainless target barrels. And they carry slings, and sights, and stocks.

There is the Large Gun Shop. One is a guns store, and one is a pawn shop. This store has 6 tables spanning 2 aisles. They have 2 or 3 of every model Glock and Smith and Springfield, and they have HK's and Rugers and just about every gun you've ever heard of. And they have a section of small .380's and .25's from companies you've never heard of. Their prices are good, and in fact, they're better at the show than they will be on Monday back at the store. And they are selling a lot of guns.

There's the holster table, with a row of blue guns, and a rack full of leather. Some of them sell brand names, the ones you see in the magazines. Others sell brands you've never heard of. Those are very good holsters, though - I know, because I own some of each, and the no names hold up just as well as the brand names.

Then there are the ammo vendors, and these run the spectrum, too. On one end are the companies that load there own, and sell by the 50 round plastic pouch, or the 1,000 round ammo can. If you look, you can find any kind of ammo you want, from light weight FMJ to full power +P hollow points. I've shot this kind of ammo, and it wasn't bad.

There are the ammo vendors that sell name brand ammo by the box or by the case. Their prices are not bad, and they have plenty of it.

Then you run into the ammo vendor who has the same ammo, and $3 a box more than anyone else. But, in wonderful Capitalist style, he's not selling. I'm not sure he knows it though, because he's not reducing his price.

There are the ammo vendors that sell odd boxes of strange ammo. East bloc surplus 7.62x54R hunting ammo. Stuff in boxes that look like they've been in the warehouse where they took the Ark at the end of Raiders. And, in between, are boxes of Blazer aluminum cased .38 special, for twice the price of the table two aisles over. I guess they figure if you finally find that one box of .45-120 Govt, you'll pay what they want for the other.

There are the tables full of Chinese optics and Weaver rails and vertical foregrips. The optics are cheap, $50 for a reflex scope that runs $400 with a name brand on it. One day I'll buy one and see if it holds up. I know the $8 foregrips do just fine.

There are the tables of bumper stickers and Army survival manuals and amateur James Bond stuff, all with the proper disclaimers.

And then there are the tee shirts. They used to all be about "Peace Through Victory." Today, they're all about zombies. Zombie Disposal Squad, Zombie Response Team. Signs showing "This Way to the Zombie Shelter."

There are the knife tables, with no name imported folders, Bowie knives, scimitars, and Claymores. There are the tables with sharpening stones and crossed ceramic sticks. Which do work, by the way.

There are the Gun Rights tables. GeorgiaCarry is here, and the NRA. At some shows, the BATFE has a table, reminding you not to lie for the other guy. They aren't here today. I guess they have a thing against hypocrisy.

And there are the Jackpot tables, the ones who sell 1911 parts and cleaning swabs and dental tools, and magazines and springs and followers. And ruck sacks and canteens. And rifle barrels. Heavy target barrels for Ruger 10/22's. At prices that are lower than catalogs or the interwebz. And don't charge sales tax. Bingo.

So, today, I looked, and I talked to people, and I shopped. And I bought a 10/22 barrel, and some single point slings, that will work just fine on my SKS and my 10/22 and my son's Airsofts.

It was a good show.