Articles by Herschel Smith

Shooting Sports USA:

From the standpoint of interior ballistics, the ideal match rifle bullet would be a bore-diameter, homogeneous cylinder with flat ends perfectly square to its body. Such a bullet would be cheap, easy to manufacture and have maximum bearing surface for superior accuracy.

From the standpoint of exterior ballistics, an efficient match rifle bullet would have a high length-to-diameter ration; a sharp, drag-reducing point; and a tapered base (boattail). Such a bullet would offer high retained velocity, flat trajectory and minimum wind drift.

From the standpoint of terminal ballistics, the ideal match rifle bullet would offer a center of gravity displaced toward the base, a jacket with no sidewall variations and a core with no weight variation. Such a bullet would offer consistent, reliable, sub-minute-of-angle (MOA) accuracy from lot to lot.

These requirements pull match rifle bullet designers in different, often mutually exclusive, directions. As a result, all match rifle bullets are a compromise—none are perfect.

I think it might have been clearer if the author had said “from the standpoint of gyroscopic stability, the ideal rifle bullet would be a bore-diameter, homogeneous cylinder with flat ends perfectly square to its body.”

But overall, this is an informative article and worthy of a little time.

Shooting Illustrated:

For those who may not know, the .327 Fed. Mag. operates at pressures around 45,000 psi as opposed to 17,000 to 20,000 psi of the .38 Spl. The resulting upgrade in performance is enormous with .327 Fed. Mag. ammo providing 1,400 fps using the lighter bullets and more than 1,100 fps with the heavier weights. The other bonus is the Ruger LCR .327 Fed. Mag. holds six rounds rather than the usual five typical of small-frame revolvers.

I was about to say that this article is misleading and quoting chamber pressures in a pistol rather than a revolver, but I’m wrong.  These velocities are associated with a 3.5″ wheel gun barrel length.  I see that the 5.5″ barrels are getting more than 1600 FPS muzzle velocity.

This is impressive.  How did I miss this hot little cartridge?  As I said, it’s really difficult to keep up with the cartridges nowadays.

Tampa Bay Times:

Ron DeSantis told a gun rights advocacy group that people should not need a permit to openly carry a firearm in public, according to the group’s lawyer and a release sent out by the organization this week.

Eric Friday, the general counsel for Florida Carry, said he met with DeSantis in Kissimmee while the Congressman was there for the Republican “Sunshine Summit” in June, which featured a debate between DeSantis and his rival in the governor’s race, Adam Putnam, as well as prominent speeches from prominent Republicans like Ben Carson.

DeSantis’ position was originally touted in a roundup earlier this week of various lawmakers’ stances on gun issues based on conversations they had with the group.

[ … ]

“What Congressman DeSantis said is he doesn’t understand why you need a license to exercise a fundamental right in the first place,” Friday said in an interview with the Times/Herald. “He did not make a commitment to support open carry or unlicensed carry. He didn’t say he would he would push for it in the Legislature (if elected governor).”

“We were very pleased with his answers and very pleased to hear him express support,” Friday added.

If he’s merely throwing scraps from the master’s table and refuses to push for this or say he supports open carry, then why is Friday pleased with DeSantis?

Am I missing something here?

And as for our God-given right of open carry, how is this proceeding in the other more liberal states in the country, like California, Hawaii and South Carolina?

South Carolina?

He’s fortunate he didn’t kill someone.

David Codrea:

ATF was “not allowed to physically examine the interior of the weapons” recovered from the Las Vegas shooter’s hotel room, a new Freedom of Information Act production by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reveals. The baffling revelation appears on page 335 of a response sent to attorney Stephen Stamboulieh as part of an ongoing production of documents responding to his FOIA request.

[ … ]

“ATF did not disclose that they had not examined the firearms prior to promulgating the rule,” firearms designer and Historic Arms, LLC President Len Savage notes. “And now that the comment period is closed should they go forward with this rule under the Administrative Procedure Act that information can not be used in a court challenge because it was not submitted prior to closing of comments.

“DOJ is manipulating the APA to make sure that information will NOT be used to shoot down the rule,” Savage concludes.

I’m not a lawyer, but the pretext for this entire rule making was the alleged use of bump stocks in the Las Vegas shooting.  The intentional inclusion of material false information in the federal record is felony perjury.  Government agents should be as liable to that fact as any others.

Continuing with a follow-up.

“Today, we filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation over a Mandalay Bay FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request that the FBI denied,” Stamboulieh Law, PLLC announced in a Thursday media advisory.

Firearms designer and Historic Arms, LLC President Len Savage is the plaintiff in the complaint that charges “Defendant FBI is unlawfully withholding records requested by Plaintiff pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552.” As reported by this column in April:

The FBI has responded. They claim they have no way of knowing how many “bump stocks” have been used in crimes and the FOIA law doesn’t require them to be responsive.

Do you see what’s happening here?  Agents of the ATF promulgated the rule on bump stocks.  A different federal agency, the FBI, refused them access to the guns in that Las Vegas hotel room, and now claims that none of this is their responsibility.  The finger always points in the other direction, doesn’t it?

It is said that FBI agents are having to record their conversations with potential criminals because juries don’t believe them any more.

They deserve it.  They’ve asked for everything that’s happening to them.  Secrecy is the enemy of good and honest government.  Truth be told, there are very few things that there is any moral reason for holding back from the American people.  Operations security in a time of war is the only example that comes to mind.

I don’t know.  That’s a damn good question.

RALEIGH – A police officer stopped an SUV, which had been reported stolen, at a busy Southeast Raleigh intersection after 4 p.m. Monday.

The Supreme Court decision in Tennessee versus Garner was handed down for situations just such as this, where there is a presumed crime, but no trial and no conviction.

Under these circumstances, the SCOTUS said that shooting and killing someone – even a fleeing inmate – bypasses the right of due process, and so LEOs cannot discharge weapons unless their life is in danger (just like you and me).

Of course, no district attorney is going to bring charges against a LEO since they are all on the same side, rendering the SCOTUS decision meaningless.  So LEOs are just like you and me, only better.

The price point rather speaks for itself, and this is a very positive review.  Quick.  Take a look before some snowflake objects and the Bolsheviks at Google remove the video.

Again.

Guns were drawn, even on small children, when Chicago officers raided a family’s home. Dave Savini is investigating why this happened and how this family will never be the same.

“One guy said you better shut the F up if you know any better,” said Peter Mendez.

Peter was 9 when the trauma began. It was dinner time when Chicago police busted his front door open, invading his family’s home.

“Assault rifles, maybe like a few pistols,” Peter recalled.

His little brother Jack was by his side that night shaking with fear. Savini also spoke with Jack.

Savini: “They pointed a gun at your Dad and your Mom?”
Jack: “Yeah”
Savini: “and then did they point a gun at your brother?”
Jack nodded yes.
Savini: “What was it like when that gun was pointed at you?”
Peter: “It was like my life just flashed before my eyes.”

Mom and Dad say cops screamed profanities at the family as they tore the house apart and ordered them all to the floor at gunpoint.

Savini: “You never thought a police officer would do that to you?”
Peter: “No.”

“I could hear my babies screaming, ‘Don’t shoot my Dad. Don’t kill my Dad. Leave my Dad alone. What did my Dad do?’” said Peter’s father, Gilbert Mendez.

Peter’s dad Gilbert Mendez says his family did nothing wrong and what’s even worse the police had no right to even be there because they were raiding the wrong home and now the Mendez’s say police are trying to cover it up.

The CBS 2 investigators found officers from the 11th district used a search warrant filled with mistakes, even the judge’s printed name as required by police order is missing.

In fact, police tell CBS2 they don’t even have their own copy of the warrant or any record the warrant even exists.

I guess it got their rocks off to point guns at little kids.  And the imperative ” … you better shut the F up if you know any better” makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.  What is that – gibberish or “Pig Latin”?

The worst thing of all is that no cops got shot.  Cops getting shot pulling idiotic stunts like this might bring an end to violations of the fourth amendment to the constitution.

Sierra Match King 5.56X45 77 grain rounds being pushed by Midway.

Sierra MatchKing bullets have very thin jackets and are held to exacting tolerances in diameter and weight. These Hollow Point Boat Tail bullets have a small meplat to produce a higher ballistic coefficient.

Federal Syntech Ammunition.

Syntech is Federal’s proprietary Total Synthetic Jacket polymer bullet jacket, intended to reduce metal-on-metal contact, reduce fouling, and extend barrel life.

Well, it sure looks different enough!

Shooting Illustrated:

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI), which, among many other tasks, creates and publishes industry standards for safety, reliability and interchangeability for the firearm industry, accepted two new Hornady-designed cartridges. Chamber and cartridge drawings for the 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge (6.5 PRC) and .300 PRC are already availableon the organization’s website.

I had heretofore seen very little on the 6.5 PRC, but I had seen at least some analysis of it.  It has become difficult to keep up with the cartridges.

Outdoor Hub:

I am a big fan of compact carbines and a companion pistol that can share the same caliber of ammo and magazine. What a great approach for a survival/hunting package. Some folks may not realize that Kel-Tec offers what I consider to be a great duo of guns in the 22 WMR (Winchester Magnum Rimfire); the CMR-30 and its companion the Kel-Tec PMR-30 pistol also in 22 Magnum. Aside from survival and hunting applications either of these two guns have practicality in defensive and target shooting uses. Additionally the 22 magnum cartridge has been time tested for hunting small to medium size game (there has also been more than just a few deer taken with the 22 magnum). Most outdoorsmen are acutely aware of the 22 WMR and its inherent accuracy. When you consider this compact carbine and a its companion pistol has magazine capacities of 30 rounds each and total weight for the two combined is about 5 lbs., well its makes any survivalist sit up and take notice.

Yea, I’m a fan of that concept too.  But given my review of the PMR-30, which problems have not yet been remedied by a new magazine design based on Aluminum rather than polymer (among other possible fixes), I’d think a better combination would be the FN 5.7 and the CMMG Mk57.