Archive for the 'Guns' Category

Outdoor Life.

During the 10mm vs .44 Mag. test, none of us were looking forward to running the S&W 329 PD with the Hornady 240-grain JHP loads I had brought along. But while our hands were fresh we shot the revolver first.  According to Hornady’s data, the XTP bullets from a 7.5-inch barrel clock at 1350 fps and generate 971 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. And I can vouch that you feel every one of the foot-pounds when you pull the 329’s trigger. (I’m glad I didn’t bring the 305-grain hardcast bullets I normally carry in the revolver, which step out at 1,325 fps with 1,189 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.)

Not only was the muzzle flip difficult to control, but running the revolver quickly was painful as hell. And quickly was a relative term. Our average run on the five-target array was 5.5 seconds with a -1.3 accuracy score. (Meaning we missed an average of 1.3 targets during the drill.) Interestingly, one of the misses was an edge hit that failed to knock over the steel popper, which drove home our collective observation of how difficult the revolver was to control while going for vital hits.

Well no wonder.  They were shooting a Scandium frame wheel gun.  I also don’t understand why they were shooting JHPs.  No one would carry JHP for bear defense.

We all shot the 10mm Autos much better, despite the fact that the webs of our shooting hands were swollen and bruised after running the .44. We alternated through the pistols, running them in no particular order, but recording our impressions after each run. For ammo we ran 180-grain JHPs from Federal and Hornady loaded to similar velocities. Published data gives speeds of 1,275 fps and a muzzle energy of 650 foot-pounds.

So what?  I confess that I just don’t get this fascination with 10mm guns for the bush.

I can push 230 grain 450 SMC (Short Magnum Cartridge) bullets at 1150 FPS, and Buffalo Bore +P .45ACP almost that fast.  I don’t consider those rounds difficult to shoot at all.

If you wanted to take a step up for semiautomatic handguns, you could buy a new barrel (with compensator and new spring) and shoot the 460 Rowland and have all the advantages of the rapid reload.

But to each his own

I like what he’s done.

Once again the greatest bear and firearms researcher in the world helps us with new data.  I’ll let you go to Dean’s article for the scoop, but I’ll lift this out.

Of these 20 cases, 15 involve a single, known, pistol caliber. Here are the current numbers of cases for those calibers:

• 9mm – seven documented cases, all successful
• .38 Special –  four documented cases, three successful, one failure
• .357 magnum – nine documented cases, eight successful, one failure
• .40 S&W  – five documented cases, all successful
• 10mm – six documented cases, all successful
• .44 magnum – 37 documented cases, all successful
• .45 Long Colt – 2 cases, successful, this includes the .45 Colt/.410 revolver.

Caliber seems far less important than the willingness to use the firearm and kill the bear.

These were all newly found cases.  I’m surprised to find no .45ACP in the list.

But it isn’t clear to me what Dean’s list means.  This totals to 70 cases, not the 20 new ones he listed.

“The Collector” again.

I left a comment.  Awesome range, but does the ventilation system include charcoal adsorbers and HEPA filters to remove the lead and copper before discharge (there are other things to consider, but these are just two)?

From reader Ned.  That’s fine shooting in my book.

BLUF: He likes it.

He obviously likes the Holosun.

It’s Chinese.  We all know that.  It’s also less expensive than the Trijicon RMR.

If Trijicon wants to compete against a product just as good and less expensive, they’re going to have to do it by coming down on price.  I hope someone who works for Trijicon is reading this.

It’s just that simple.  Yea, you can make the claim that you don’t want to fund business in China.  That’s all well and good.  But every unnecessary penny you spend now will affect your future wealth or the wealth of your children’s children.

So Americans can get their righteous indignation on, but when it comes to spending wealth, the case becomes much more complex.  God has expectations for what we do with our wealth.  So go ahead and play that balancing act – you know that’s what’s going on. And I don’t mind pointing it out.

American Hunter.

The shooters tested the rifle out as follows.

That’s an accurate gun for MSRP of $1045.  Not a single 3-round group over 1 MOA.

I am posting this in the spirit of keeping you informed of the current firearms on the market and how they’re testing, as well as what they cost.  This looks like a good deal.

But then there is the old issue over these pages of desiring something with classic, elegant wooden furniture.  It would make a better heirloom, but be much heavier to carry.

From an engineer’s perspective (I am one), why would any manufacturer make and distribute plastic optic mounting plates?  That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Who all does that? They should be ashamed of themselves. And their engineers should be ridiculed.

They didn’t really get to the main question.  Lever actions, why you need one.  Well, they’re cool.  We all learned on them.  They can take cartridges that you can’t really put into an AR without an awful lot of weight.  The recoil of a .30-30 is highly manageable and tame, and the recoil of a .45-70 isn’t much worse than a 12-gauge shotgun, which isn’t that bad.  It’s something I operate rather than a machine.

This is for starters.  Besides, lever actions are cool.  Additionally, lever actions are cool. Finally, to my last point, lever actions are cool.

I thought the line in the middle of the video was amusing.  Park ranger to dude – if you’re in the middle of the bush and a grizzly turns on you and you have a .357 magnum, use the gun on yourself.