Damn, that was brutal. Representative Trey Gowdy absolutely gutted James Comey today durnng Comey's "coversation" on Capitol Hill.
Comey's judgement on Hillary's intent lies in tatters. Intent, you see, is hard to prove in that people rarely trumpet their intent. Intent must be proved through actions, and surmised by activities. Gowdy absolutely eviscerates Comey's argument, then goes on to tell Comey that he has established an horrific precedent that will ring across American jurisprudence for years.
Comey has just exposed a double standard in the American system, where a private in the Army who mishandles classified information will be punished, while Hillary Clinton will not.
The only honorable thing for Comey to do at this point is to resign.
Thursday, July 07, 2016
The .243 Winchester
Yesterday afternoon, after loading a bunch of .38 Special, I was taking stock of my ammo supply and realized that I was just about out of .243 Winchester. That, simply, will not do. So, I dropped a double-handful of brass into the tumbler and let it tumble for a couple of hours.
In the years after WWII, a handloader, cartridge designer, and writer named Warren Page started tinkering with a case that later became the .308 Winchester. He necked it down to 6mm and called it the .240 Page Pooper. Being a writer, he wrote about it, and Winchester saw the potential of the round. They standardized it in 1955, and it took off like a rocket.
Touted as a multi-purpose caliber, it suffered for a while simply because of bullet design at the time. It's hard to make a bullet that will go 3000 fps and hang together when it hits meat and bone. It took the bullet designers a while to catch up, but over the past 30 years they've made some dramatic strides in bullet design. Folks like Hornady, Speer, Nosler and the like have spent a lot of time and effort making sure that their bullets hold up to the speed and impact that the modern powders put those bullets into.
I bought my first .243 rifle in 2004. I picked it up on a whim, literally at Wal-Mart on a year end clearance. The price was too good to walk past. It's a Savage Model 10 with the tupperware stock, and picked it up, actually to hunt with for a couple of years, and keep in my battery to give to a grandkid when he got old enough to hunt.
I played with the rifle a bit, and shot a variety of factory ammo through it. What I liked about it was the moderate recoil and the inherent accuracy of the caliber. I've got a target in my files, a composite target where I plotted the groups from several factory loads, several handloads, and several bullet weights. At a hundred yards, they all fell in to under four inches. It didn't matter what I put in that rifle, I knew that it was going to fall into that four inch circle.Now, a four inch group isn't anything to brag about, but this group has about 100 shots with a variety of ammo, factory and home-rolled.
Late in 2008, I was surfing about, looking for information and came upon a reference that said I should try Alliant'sReloder 22 with a 100 grain bullet. So, I loaded a few, using Hornady's 100 grain flat based softpoint bullet. (Note, I don't see it in the catalog this morning. They must have quit making it.) When I took that particular load to the range and set up a target, I was surprised later when I looked through the spotting scope.
I knew then that I'd found the load for that rifle. A month or so later, I was back at the range, with my chronograph and put that load across the screens. When I first looked at the display, I thought i had an error, so I reset and tried again. Great Jumping Jehosephat! I'm getting better than 3100 fps from that load. With small SDs and ES. That load is everything a rifleman could want. Fast, accurate, flat shooting, what else could you want?
The next year, I took that rifle to the deer stand, late in December. I wanted to make meat with it and just about 9:00 in the morning, a nice little meat buck presented himself at what I later measured as 150 yards. He was across a creek from my deer stand, standing in on a clear pipeline, in three-quarter profile. I put the crosshairs on the point of his shoulder, and let fly. He hit the ground, so I watched him for a minute, finished my cup of coffee, then climbed down out of the stand.
He must have heard me as I crossed the creek, because when I got to the spot where I had shot him, he wasn't there. I could see blood, lots of it, and as I looked toward the tree line, I saw that he's piled up at the edge of the woods. Well, okay. Thirty steps later, I had collected him. Later, at the camp, I autopsied him. The bullet had entered at the point of the shoulder, gotten into the chest cavity, and absolutely destroyed both lungs. Fair enough. I didn't recover the bullet, although I found bits of jacket in the lungs.
In 2014, I gave that rifle to a grandkid, as I've done to each of my grandkids when the time was right. He was old enough then to handle a centerfire rifle, and I thought that the .243 would serve him well.
It's enough rifle, in a caliber that should take him into adulthood and beyond. The .243 Winchester isn't a kid's caliber, it's probably one of the best all around calibers for game in the continental US. With the right bullet (and today, the bullet manufacturers are making much better bullets than even the Hornady's I used to take that deer eight years ago), it's perfectly suitable for any medium game in the US. The rifles are light, the recoil is moderate, the caliber is accurate, and the ammo is better than anything available 20 years ago. The .243 Winchester is a great choice for just about anyone.
In the years after WWII, a handloader, cartridge designer, and writer named Warren Page started tinkering with a case that later became the .308 Winchester. He necked it down to 6mm and called it the .240 Page Pooper. Being a writer, he wrote about it, and Winchester saw the potential of the round. They standardized it in 1955, and it took off like a rocket.
Touted as a multi-purpose caliber, it suffered for a while simply because of bullet design at the time. It's hard to make a bullet that will go 3000 fps and hang together when it hits meat and bone. It took the bullet designers a while to catch up, but over the past 30 years they've made some dramatic strides in bullet design. Folks like Hornady, Speer, Nosler and the like have spent a lot of time and effort making sure that their bullets hold up to the speed and impact that the modern powders put those bullets into.
I bought my first .243 rifle in 2004. I picked it up on a whim, literally at Wal-Mart on a year end clearance. The price was too good to walk past. It's a Savage Model 10 with the tupperware stock, and picked it up, actually to hunt with for a couple of years, and keep in my battery to give to a grandkid when he got old enough to hunt.
I played with the rifle a bit, and shot a variety of factory ammo through it. What I liked about it was the moderate recoil and the inherent accuracy of the caliber. I've got a target in my files, a composite target where I plotted the groups from several factory loads, several handloads, and several bullet weights. At a hundred yards, they all fell in to under four inches. It didn't matter what I put in that rifle, I knew that it was going to fall into that four inch circle.Now, a four inch group isn't anything to brag about, but this group has about 100 shots with a variety of ammo, factory and home-rolled.
Late in 2008, I was surfing about, looking for information and came upon a reference that said I should try Alliant'sReloder 22 with a 100 grain bullet. So, I loaded a few, using Hornady's 100 grain flat based softpoint bullet. (Note, I don't see it in the catalog this morning. They must have quit making it.) When I took that particular load to the range and set up a target, I was surprised later when I looked through the spotting scope.
I knew then that I'd found the load for that rifle. A month or so later, I was back at the range, with my chronograph and put that load across the screens. When I first looked at the display, I thought i had an error, so I reset and tried again. Great Jumping Jehosephat! I'm getting better than 3100 fps from that load. With small SDs and ES. That load is everything a rifleman could want. Fast, accurate, flat shooting, what else could you want?
The next year, I took that rifle to the deer stand, late in December. I wanted to make meat with it and just about 9:00 in the morning, a nice little meat buck presented himself at what I later measured as 150 yards. He was across a creek from my deer stand, standing in on a clear pipeline, in three-quarter profile. I put the crosshairs on the point of his shoulder, and let fly. He hit the ground, so I watched him for a minute, finished my cup of coffee, then climbed down out of the stand.
He must have heard me as I crossed the creek, because when I got to the spot where I had shot him, he wasn't there. I could see blood, lots of it, and as I looked toward the tree line, I saw that he's piled up at the edge of the woods. Well, okay. Thirty steps later, I had collected him. Later, at the camp, I autopsied him. The bullet had entered at the point of the shoulder, gotten into the chest cavity, and absolutely destroyed both lungs. Fair enough. I didn't recover the bullet, although I found bits of jacket in the lungs.
In 2014, I gave that rifle to a grandkid, as I've done to each of my grandkids when the time was right. He was old enough then to handle a centerfire rifle, and I thought that the .243 would serve him well.
It's enough rifle, in a caliber that should take him into adulthood and beyond. The .243 Winchester isn't a kid's caliber, it's probably one of the best all around calibers for game in the continental US. With the right bullet (and today, the bullet manufacturers are making much better bullets than even the Hornady's I used to take that deer eight years ago), it's perfectly suitable for any medium game in the US. The rifles are light, the recoil is moderate, the caliber is accurate, and the ammo is better than anything available 20 years ago. The .243 Winchester is a great choice for just about anyone.
Wednesday, July 06, 2016
The Effects of Moving Air on a Powder Scale
I was out in the shop today to reload some .38 Special. Being a cautious reloader, I wanted to verify my charge weights before I began cranking out ammo, so I set up my Hornady scale to verify the weight of powder that my measure was throwing.
The scale was hard to zero, and I finally realized that a fan across the shop was effecting the balance beam. Those gentle air currents were playing hob with my scale, as this video documents.
Of course, I turned the fan off, verified my weights, then turned the fan back on to load the ammo.
But, even advanced reloaders can benefit from reviewing the basics.
The scale was hard to zero, and I finally realized that a fan across the shop was effecting the balance beam. Those gentle air currents were playing hob with my scale, as this video documents.
Of course, I turned the fan off, verified my weights, then turned the fan back on to load the ammo.
But, even advanced reloaders can benefit from reviewing the basics.
Comey's Self-Flagellation
Prior to 10:00 am yesterday, I had a great deal of respect for FBI Director James Comey. His reputation was excellent, he had been a prosecutor and a lawman, and was appointed by President Obama to fill a 10-year non-repeating term as the Director. By all accounts, he was a straight-shooter, and with what little I knew about the case, my time in the Army working with classified information, and his reputation as as a non-partisan, I thought that any reasonable review of the evidence would show that Hillary Clinton violated all or part of 18USC793, which deals with how we gather, transmit or handle classified information.
James Comey has disgraced the badge and his office. Before yesterday I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now I hold him in utter contempt. He has upheld the notion that the law is arbitrary and capricious, and that the high-and-mighty are not to be held accountable in the criminal courts.
In short, he was telling us that if we want to defeat Hillary, we'll have to do it at the polls, because the law will shield her. She is above the law.
If I ever have the opportunity, I'll spit on Comey's shoes.
Indeed, by the middle of his conference, I felt that he was laying out the case, how they had found classified information on her personal email chains, how that information was classified at the time it was sent or received, how any reasonable person should know that the information was classified, and how in more than several cases, the classification header was attached to the document.
I was stunned when he made the recommendation that no charges would be filed. After laying out the case in excruciating detail, he couldn't find the courage to charge her? That's incredible.
But, I was flabbergasted with his closing. Let's go to the transcript, shall we, so that I can be precise.
To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.Really, Jim? If somebody else does it, they'll face consequences? You gave Hillary a walk after laying out a clear and convincing case.
James Comey has disgraced the badge and his office. Before yesterday I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Now I hold him in utter contempt. He has upheld the notion that the law is arbitrary and capricious, and that the high-and-mighty are not to be held accountable in the criminal courts.
In short, he was telling us that if we want to defeat Hillary, we'll have to do it at the polls, because the law will shield her. She is above the law.
If I ever have the opportunity, I'll spit on Comey's shoes.
Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Verily, Truth
A buddy sent me this one to share.
I have been happy in my life. I love my family deeply and my wife completely, but there have been very few times I was as happy as when I was running a belt fed weapon.
I have been happy in my life. I love my family deeply and my wife completely, but there have been very few times I was as happy as when I was running a belt fed weapon.
Monday, July 04, 2016
July 4th Range Time
Because it's July 4th, the second son and I thought it appropriate to slip off to our super-secret range at an undisclosed location to let the rifles bark and roar. We're celebrating independence by improving our rifle skills.
Looking downrange at a central Louisiana high line. There's nothing down there for miles, just gently rolling terrain. Can't see the targets? Let me circle them for you.
See inside that circle? There are three gongs, suspended from a cut down swingset frame. You can click on the photo to enlage it. We estimated that the gongs were a bit over 150 yards from the firing line. There are two nine-inch gongs and one six inch gongs hanging from the cross bar.
First up was my Scout rifle. It's still fairly new to us, and that forward mounted scope is interesting, although I have to admit that the more I use it, the more I'm convinced that Colonel Cooper was right. I've only shot the rifle a half dozen times, but it is very easy to shoot. The scope on it is a Burris scout, and it's a fine sighting device, once you get used to it being so far forward.
Next up was Son's Savage 11 FV. I gave it to him about 15 years ago.
He wanted a 7mm Remington Magnum, and he wanted a heavy barrel for long-range accuracy. Savage at that time catalogued a 7mm Rem Mag in their carmint line, so I ordered one for him. It's his go-to rifle for serious work whacking things and he's very good with that rifle.
When he drops his head to the stock, something is going to take a 140 grain Nosler bullet. You can count on it. We've mounted the rifle with a scope that most people sneer at. It's a Simmons Whitetail Classic, and most people are put off by the price point. Don't be, it's a whole lot better scoe than the retail price would indicate. He was looking at a barbed wire fence this morning, over 600 yards dowrange and was able to see the barbs on the fence glinting in the sunlight. Oh, look, Midway USA has it on sale this morning.
Last, but certainly not least, is an old Ruger Model 77 in .25-06.
I bought that rifle just after the turn of the century. I had wanted to try the .25-06 for several decades, and I walked into a pawn shop one day, and they had it on the shelf, used, with an old Tasco scope. All I did to the rifle was clean it, buy a set of dies, and start reloading for it. We've got three of that caliber in the family now, two Rugers and a Savage. They all shoot the same load, with Reloder 22 powder and a 117 grain spitzer bullet, it will put a whacking on just about anything that needs to be whacked. We haven't done anything to that particular rifle but clean it, it still wears the same old cheap Tasco scope that it wore in the pawn shop. However, those old Tasco scopes are really better than a lot of people give them credit for. It's a hunting scope for a hunting rifle, and out to about 300 yards, gives plenty of light and detail. Since we first adjusted that scope to the load 15 years ago, it's held zero the whole time. You can't ask for more than that from a rifle scope.
Each of the rifles barked, in turn across the high line, and when the temps got up into the low 90s, we decided to come on in. A very enjoyable morning with my son and some favorite rifles. It's hard to top that for the Fourth of July.
Next up was Son's Savage 11 FV. I gave it to him about 15 years ago.
Last, but certainly not least, is an old Ruger Model 77 in .25-06.
I bought that rifle just after the turn of the century. I had wanted to try the .25-06 for several decades, and I walked into a pawn shop one day, and they had it on the shelf, used, with an old Tasco scope. All I did to the rifle was clean it, buy a set of dies, and start reloading for it. We've got three of that caliber in the family now, two Rugers and a Savage. They all shoot the same load, with Reloder 22 powder and a 117 grain spitzer bullet, it will put a whacking on just about anything that needs to be whacked. We haven't done anything to that particular rifle but clean it, it still wears the same old cheap Tasco scope that it wore in the pawn shop. However, those old Tasco scopes are really better than a lot of people give them credit for. It's a hunting scope for a hunting rifle, and out to about 300 yards, gives plenty of light and detail. Since we first adjusted that scope to the load 15 years ago, it's held zero the whole time. You can't ask for more than that from a rifle scope.
Each of the rifles barked, in turn across the high line, and when the temps got up into the low 90s, we decided to come on in. A very enjoyable morning with my son and some favorite rifles. It's hard to top that for the Fourth of July.
Sunday, July 03, 2016
Meat, Bread
In about a half hour, I'm going to light the grill. Mine is an old fashioned, charcoal fired grill, and the menu for lunch will be simple. Meat, bread. There will be condiments if you insist, but as regular readers know, PawPaw and Milady cook a big lunch on Sunday and we feed everyone who walks through the door. Because this weekend is the July 4th celebration, the menu today will feature beef. Burgers and Hot Dogs, the classic American backyard fare.
Some things simply shouldn't he tinkered with.
As a nice palate cleanser, I give you the clip from Parks and Recreation, where Ron and Chris have a burger cook-off.
Happy Fourth, Everyone.
Some things simply shouldn't he tinkered with.
As a nice palate cleanser, I give you the clip from Parks and Recreation, where Ron and Chris have a burger cook-off.
Happy Fourth, Everyone.
Unabashedly American
I ran into the video from my as-yet-unmet friend, Clay Higgins of St. Landry parish in Louisiana. It's unabashedly American, and I like the message he sends.
It's a good message for this Fourth of July Weekend. Let Freedom Ring!
It's a good message for this Fourth of July Weekend. Let Freedom Ring!
Saturday, July 02, 2016
Independence Day
Historically, Independence Day in the US is July 4th, which will be Monday, but a report that I'm seeing at Hot Air might give us all reason to celebrate. If not this week, then certainly by the third week of July. It might become possible for US politics to move forward without Hillary Clinton. Their source report comes from ABC NEws
Ed Morrisey gives us a good wrap-up of why the timing is so important that this investigation be finished.
This July 4th might be the most auspicious for our Republic since Lee turned south after Gettysburg.
.Hillary Clinton could be interviewed by the FBI in the coming days as part of an investigation into the former secretary of state and her staff's use of private email to conduct official U.S. State Department business, according to a source familiar with the U.S. Department of Justice's investigationWell, well. It looks like the FBI is finally getting ready to wrap up its investigation. I was beginning to think that this might get swept under the rug, and it might still yet, but it makes the not-so-secret meeting between Bill Clinton and AG Lynch that much more interesting. It looks like strong forces are coming into play in the weeks before the Democratic National Convention slated to be held on July 25th.
Ed Morrisey gives us a good wrap-up of why the timing is so important that this investigation be finished.
It’s ABC that reports that the motivation to move now comes from a desire to wrap up the probe before the conventions. That detail is also curious. If the FBI doesn’t think a criminal referral involving Hillary will be forthcoming, then the timing really doesn’t matter; Democrats could hold their convention as planned without any changes. If the FBI thinks that there is a good chance of a criminal referral, however, then the timing becomes extremely important, to Democrats and to the nation as a whole. The convention is the last opportunity Democrats have to replace Hillary as the nominee in an organized and orderly manner.We'll recall that Hillary's IT guy has already been interviewed by the FBI, and in a seperate deposition last month, took the 5th, 125 times during a deposition with Judicial Watch.
This July 4th might be the most auspicious for our Republic since Lee turned south after Gettysburg.
Saturday!
It's the Fourth of July Weekend, and I'll be playing all weekend. Don't know what I'll be doing, but I intend to get out and enjoy it. My advice to each of you?
I'll check in occasionally, but don't expect much.
I'll check in occasionally, but don't expect much.
Friday, July 01, 2016
Armed Citizens vs Mass Murderers
It seems that Say Uncle is keeping a list of times that an armed citizen stopped a mass shooting. It's a very cool list and goes on for a while.
Click over if you're tired of the piss-poor news in other media.
Hat Tip to Say Uncle!
Click over if you're tired of the piss-poor news in other media.
Hat Tip to Say Uncle!
BTB on TV
BTB is the Big Thicket Bushwackers, a club that I've shot with often and consider them all friends. They had a local TV station out to highlight the sport, and here is one of the segments.
This is great stuff and highlights the club and the sport in a very postitive light.
Well Done, Bushwackers! I'll see y'all on the line, later this year.
The Big Thicket Bushwackers Facebook page is under the link.
My home club, the Thorn Valley Shootist Society is here.
This is great stuff and highlights the club and the sport in a very postitive light.
Well Done, Bushwackers! I'll see y'all on the line, later this year.
The Big Thicket Bushwackers Facebook page is under the link.
My home club, the Thorn Valley Shootist Society is here.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Trade-Offs
Sometimes we make trade-offs when we're reloading.
Yesterday, after my bullet-casting post, I went outside to the bench and realized that I had no liquid Alox. So, I went inside and made an order to the White Label Lube Company. They're a great outfit and make wonderful lube, but they're a small outfit, so I don't expect it in the next week. I couldn't lube the bullets, so I cast about for alternatives.
Luckily, today, I had to cross the river into Alexandria, and they've got a big-box store there that sells a limited amount of reloading supplies. I stopped in there to see what was available. I wasn't looking for premium jacketed hollow point bullets and they had a goodly supply of those, but I noticed a box, forlorn at the end of the shelf. Hornady's magnificent Frontier lead bullets. They're swaged from dead-soft lead and lubed with something that looks like talcum, but if you don't push them too hard, they do just fine. They're good looking bullets. I've shot a bunch of them over the years.
I've used them before and they do just fine, but a 300 count box comes in the door at about $30.00, so they're a dime apiece. And there's the benefit to bullet casting.
That bag of bullets on the left cost me 0 cents apiece. The ones on the right cost me 10 cents apiece. Believe me, after amortizing that casting pot and that bullet mold, I'm well into zero cost. The lead was scrounged. So, let's look at the cost effectiveness of reloading. Realize I've been doing this for 20 years, so my equipment amortization cost is well past the full depreciation stage, even if you're a CPA, there is really no cost left to amortize. It's fully depreciated.
So, let's do some math. For my reloads with cast bullets, I figure I'm using 2 cents worth of powder and four cents worth of primers. My lube might cost me a penny, so my reloads come in at 7 cents each. A box of 50 cost me $3.50.
If I use Mr. Hornady's bullets (and they're really good bullets), then I still have that 2 cents worth of powder, and that four cent primer, but the bullet costs me a full dime. That's 16 cents apiece, or $8.00 for a box of 50.
If I want to buy ammo, about the cheapest I can find is UltraMax ammo, which comes in the door at about 32 cents a round, or $16.00 for a box of 50, if you can find it.
There is no telling how much money my reloading bench has saved me over the years. I recommend it to every serious shooter. Next week, I'll load those Hornady's into .38 special brass and put them in the stock until my lube comes in.
Now, I see that it's happy hour, so Milady wants an apertif. If you'll excuse me.
Yesterday, after my bullet-casting post, I went outside to the bench and realized that I had no liquid Alox. So, I went inside and made an order to the White Label Lube Company. They're a great outfit and make wonderful lube, but they're a small outfit, so I don't expect it in the next week. I couldn't lube the bullets, so I cast about for alternatives.
Luckily, today, I had to cross the river into Alexandria, and they've got a big-box store there that sells a limited amount of reloading supplies. I stopped in there to see what was available. I wasn't looking for premium jacketed hollow point bullets and they had a goodly supply of those, but I noticed a box, forlorn at the end of the shelf. Hornady's magnificent Frontier lead bullets. They're swaged from dead-soft lead and lubed with something that looks like talcum, but if you don't push them too hard, they do just fine. They're good looking bullets. I've shot a bunch of them over the years.
That bag of bullets on the left cost me 0 cents apiece. The ones on the right cost me 10 cents apiece. Believe me, after amortizing that casting pot and that bullet mold, I'm well into zero cost. The lead was scrounged. So, let's look at the cost effectiveness of reloading. Realize I've been doing this for 20 years, so my equipment amortization cost is well past the full depreciation stage, even if you're a CPA, there is really no cost left to amortize. It's fully depreciated.
So, let's do some math. For my reloads with cast bullets, I figure I'm using 2 cents worth of powder and four cents worth of primers. My lube might cost me a penny, so my reloads come in at 7 cents each. A box of 50 cost me $3.50.
If I use Mr. Hornady's bullets (and they're really good bullets), then I still have that 2 cents worth of powder, and that four cent primer, but the bullet costs me a full dime. That's 16 cents apiece, or $8.00 for a box of 50.
If I want to buy ammo, about the cheapest I can find is UltraMax ammo, which comes in the door at about 32 cents a round, or $16.00 for a box of 50, if you can find it.
There is no telling how much money my reloading bench has saved me over the years. I recommend it to every serious shooter. Next week, I'll load those Hornady's into .38 special brass and put them in the stock until my lube comes in.
Now, I see that it's happy hour, so Milady wants an apertif. If you'll excuse me.
Dog Days
It's hot out there. The dawg and I finished our errands and chores this morning, and it's now mid-afternoon and the sun is white hot out there.While I was surfing around, I heard a strange snoring noise, so I peeked around the corner into the washroom
Yeah, he's out like a light. Taking a well-earned nap. You know, that's not a bad idea.
Yeah, he's out like a light. Taking a well-earned nap. You know, that's not a bad idea.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
The TL358-158 SWC
This morning after posting the .38 Special post below, I went out to my bench and realized that I was out of the bullet that I prefer in that cartridge, Lee's TL358-158 SWC. It's a 358 diameter, 158 grain semi-wadcutter and it is the bees knees for the .38 Special.
So, after a few chores, and making a lunch-time sandwich for myself and the dawg, I took the pot down and put some scrap lead in it.
My pot is an old Lee Production Pot IV. Lee still makes the darned things, even though mine is 20 years old and has cast thousands upon thousands of lead bullets. If I ever need another one, I'll spend the extra $10 and get the bigger pot. Mine holds 10 pounds of metal, but I normally only fill it to about 8 lbs.
The very first bullet mold I ever bought was one of Dick Lee's tumble lube molds, the TL358-158SWC. You can still buy it from lots of places. Mine is the little 2-cavity mold and if I ever decide to get another, it will be one of his bigger 6-cavity molds, but in the mean time, the little 2-cavity mold has been making bullets for over 20 years, and still throws a pretty bullet.
I cranked up the pot just before one o'clock today and let it heat for half an hour before I even approached it. Fluxed the lead, then started casting. For handgun bullets I don't worry so much about bullet harness. These things are going to be shot at about 750 fps, so hard bullets aren't necessary. Even if I decide to load some in .357 magnum cases, I won't push them much above 1300 fps, so hard bullets really aren't necessary. I generally use whatever scrap is available. Today, it was a bunch of old sprues from earlier casting sessions, and added a little dead soft lead that I had scrounged from roof flashings.
The secret to bullet casting is to be in a well ventilated area (in my case, the garage), wear eye protection, and have no distractions. You'll establish a rhythm and before long, you'll realize you've got a pile of bullets. I stopped halfway through to see about the dawg, refill the pot, and get a glass of ice water indoors. In a few minutes I was back ourside in the heat, with that rhythm until the pot was almost empty. So, I unplugged it, dropped the sprues back into the melt, and cleaned up my work area. After the bullets were cool emough to handle, I put them in a quart zipper bag and weighed them on my household scale. About 5.75 lbs of nice, clean bullets. I estimate a few over 250, based on weight.
That's a pretty good pile of bullets for an hour's casting and a 2-cavity mold. Later this afternoon after the pot cools, I'll put it away and lube the bullets in Alox. After they dry overnight, I'll store them for a future reloading session.
So, after a few chores, and making a lunch-time sandwich for myself and the dawg, I took the pot down and put some scrap lead in it.
 |
| Lee Production Pot IV |
The very first bullet mold I ever bought was one of Dick Lee's tumble lube molds, the TL358-158SWC. You can still buy it from lots of places. Mine is the little 2-cavity mold and if I ever decide to get another, it will be one of his bigger 6-cavity molds, but in the mean time, the little 2-cavity mold has been making bullets for over 20 years, and still throws a pretty bullet.
I cranked up the pot just before one o'clock today and let it heat for half an hour before I even approached it. Fluxed the lead, then started casting. For handgun bullets I don't worry so much about bullet harness. These things are going to be shot at about 750 fps, so hard bullets aren't necessary. Even if I decide to load some in .357 magnum cases, I won't push them much above 1300 fps, so hard bullets really aren't necessary. I generally use whatever scrap is available. Today, it was a bunch of old sprues from earlier casting sessions, and added a little dead soft lead that I had scrounged from roof flashings.
The secret to bullet casting is to be in a well ventilated area (in my case, the garage), wear eye protection, and have no distractions. You'll establish a rhythm and before long, you'll realize you've got a pile of bullets. I stopped halfway through to see about the dawg, refill the pot, and get a glass of ice water indoors. In a few minutes I was back ourside in the heat, with that rhythm until the pot was almost empty. So, I unplugged it, dropped the sprues back into the melt, and cleaned up my work area. After the bullets were cool emough to handle, I put them in a quart zipper bag and weighed them on my household scale. About 5.75 lbs of nice, clean bullets. I estimate a few over 250, based on weight.
That's a pretty good pile of bullets for an hour's casting and a 2-cavity mold. Later this afternoon after the pot cools, I'll put it away and lube the bullets in Alox. After they dry overnight, I'll store them for a future reloading session.
The .38 Special
Rivrdog asked a question in comments, and I realized that it's been a while since I talked about the .38 Special. So, let's answer his question.
My love affair with the .38 Special began in 1981 when I bought my first duty revolver, a Ruger Security Six. I had just hired on as a cop with the State of Louisiana, and I had to provide my own revolver. The state specified Smith and Wesson, Colt, or Ruger, in .38 Special or .357 magnum. I walked into a pawn shop on Bolton Avenue, in Alexandria and saw a blued Ruger in the case. I bought it for $200.00 and walked out the door. That began my infatuation with Ruger revolvers, the .38 Special, and pawn shops.
It wasn't long after that, I decided to take up reloading, and the .38 Special was the very first cartridge I reloaded. There were no internets back in those days, so I relied on printed media. At that time, the standard target load for the .38 Special was 2.7 grains of Bullseye under a 148 grain double-ended wadcutter bullet. It quickly became my go-to load for paper punching and shot exquisitely in every revolver I ever used it in. That particular load is so standard that if you google it right now, you'll get over 50K hits. That standard load gives me 650 fps and is a powder-puff. Gentle recoil, marvelous accuracy, and gentle on the gun. If you want to see the inherent accuracy in any revolver, use that load. If the gun doesn't shoot it, there's something wrong with the revolver.
During those days, I lived on a hobby farm with my wife and kids. We had ten acres that sat up against a huge national forest, so I had plenty of room to wander about. I normally carried that revolver with me on my wanderings. In a year or so, I had started bullet casting, and the first mold I bought was for the .38 Special. Again, relying on printed media, and being on a budget, I sent off an order to Dick Lee for one of his new-fangled aluminum molds. It cane with handles already attached and cost me less than $20.00. Specifically named the TL358-158 SWC, you can still buy it from MidwayUSA today, for $21.99. It throws a 158 grain semi-wadcutter and is a tumble lube design, which means that you don't have to own a lubri-sizer. Simply tumble it in liquid Alox and load it into your case.
After I had cast and lubed a coffee-can full of those things, I tarted looking for a suitable powder charge. After just a little experimentation, I settled on 4.3 grains of Unique and anybody's standard primer. I later found that that load (standard primer, 4.3 grains Unique, 158 SWC) gave me 750 fps and very good accuracy. It became my go-to load for general plinking, small game, or varmint removal and over the years it has proved very versatile. It's taught all four of my children (and those grandkids old enough to run a revolver) to shoot, and it's become my standard load, to the point that I keep them in ziplock bags, labeled .38 Standard. There is no reason for additional labeling. It's been my standard load for over 30 years and when the kids are sorting my belongings following my funeral (which I hope is many years hence), the'll know exactly what it is. They load it themselves at their benches these days.
That same load, under a Speer 158 grain hollowpoint works wonderfully if you want a hollowpoint bullet. It also works great with any of a variety of jacketed bullets.
For target work or general revolver shooting, those two loads are PawPaw's standard. They're all I need in the .38 Special.
My love affair with the .38 Special began in 1981 when I bought my first duty revolver, a Ruger Security Six. I had just hired on as a cop with the State of Louisiana, and I had to provide my own revolver. The state specified Smith and Wesson, Colt, or Ruger, in .38 Special or .357 magnum. I walked into a pawn shop on Bolton Avenue, in Alexandria and saw a blued Ruger in the case. I bought it for $200.00 and walked out the door. That began my infatuation with Ruger revolvers, the .38 Special, and pawn shops.
It wasn't long after that, I decided to take up reloading, and the .38 Special was the very first cartridge I reloaded. There were no internets back in those days, so I relied on printed media. At that time, the standard target load for the .38 Special was 2.7 grains of Bullseye under a 148 grain double-ended wadcutter bullet. It quickly became my go-to load for paper punching and shot exquisitely in every revolver I ever used it in. That particular load is so standard that if you google it right now, you'll get over 50K hits. That standard load gives me 650 fps and is a powder-puff. Gentle recoil, marvelous accuracy, and gentle on the gun. If you want to see the inherent accuracy in any revolver, use that load. If the gun doesn't shoot it, there's something wrong with the revolver.
During those days, I lived on a hobby farm with my wife and kids. We had ten acres that sat up against a huge national forest, so I had plenty of room to wander about. I normally carried that revolver with me on my wanderings. In a year or so, I had started bullet casting, and the first mold I bought was for the .38 Special. Again, relying on printed media, and being on a budget, I sent off an order to Dick Lee for one of his new-fangled aluminum molds. It cane with handles already attached and cost me less than $20.00. Specifically named the TL358-158 SWC, you can still buy it from MidwayUSA today, for $21.99. It throws a 158 grain semi-wadcutter and is a tumble lube design, which means that you don't have to own a lubri-sizer. Simply tumble it in liquid Alox and load it into your case.
After I had cast and lubed a coffee-can full of those things, I tarted looking for a suitable powder charge. After just a little experimentation, I settled on 4.3 grains of Unique and anybody's standard primer. I later found that that load (standard primer, 4.3 grains Unique, 158 SWC) gave me 750 fps and very good accuracy. It became my go-to load for general plinking, small game, or varmint removal and over the years it has proved very versatile. It's taught all four of my children (and those grandkids old enough to run a revolver) to shoot, and it's become my standard load, to the point that I keep them in ziplock bags, labeled .38 Standard. There is no reason for additional labeling. It's been my standard load for over 30 years and when the kids are sorting my belongings following my funeral (which I hope is many years hence), the'll know exactly what it is. They load it themselves at their benches these days.
That same load, under a Speer 158 grain hollowpoint works wonderfully if you want a hollowpoint bullet. It also works great with any of a variety of jacketed bullets.
For target work or general revolver shooting, those two loads are PawPaw's standard. They're all I need in the .38 Special.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Let's Not Be Hypocritical
Joe Huffman makes a pretty good point:
If she (and most of the Democrats who recently staged their little temper tantrum), wants to ban gunss, then she should tell her Secret Service staff to disarm. If she doesn't like automatic weapons, tell her staff to leave them at the office. If she doesn't like semi-autos, she should tell her protectors to leave them behind.
As a matter of fact, I'd support a national law that required politicians to rely on the same armament that is generally available to the general population in the jurisdiction at the time. Further, to legislate penalties for having armaments that are illegal in a particular jurisdiction to be the same as if a private citizen were caught with that armament or accouterment. Let the politicians figure it out.
Fair is fair, after all, and we don't need officials who don't follow the same laws that the general public follows.
If she (and most of the Democrats who recently staged their little temper tantrum), wants to ban gunss, then she should tell her Secret Service staff to disarm. If she doesn't like automatic weapons, tell her staff to leave them at the office. If she doesn't like semi-autos, she should tell her protectors to leave them behind.
As a matter of fact, I'd support a national law that required politicians to rely on the same armament that is generally available to the general population in the jurisdiction at the time. Further, to legislate penalties for having armaments that are illegal in a particular jurisdiction to be the same as if a private citizen were caught with that armament or accouterment. Let the politicians figure it out.
Fair is fair, after all, and we don't need officials who don't follow the same laws that the general public follows.
Wax Bullet Data
I learned during my Castbullet days, that there was nothing like data. We could speculate all we wanted, but until we actually measured something, we had no real idea of that we were talking about. That wisdom holds true for handloading, where we measure everything. It also holds true for the wax bullet games, where we don't really control much about our ammunition.
You see, we shoot wax bullets powdered by shotgun primers. We certainly can't control the charge, we're reliant completely on the quality control of the primer manufacturer. We don't generally cast our own bullets, mainly because the various manufacturers keep it inexpensive enough that it's easier to buy the bullets than to make them at home. And, we're not really seeking extreme accuracy, but our hits are counted on the basis of time.
At sanctioned shoots, we control nothing about out ammo; it's supplied by the host and we have to trust that the loader knows his craft. So far, it's proved adequate.
But, there are still things we wonder about, so there are still things we can measure. This morning, I determined to find out some things about my ammo, the ammo I make myself at the house, so I set up my chronograph to find out a few things.
For the record, the temps were 84F, winds negligible, the pressure was 30.02 and humidity was 75%. My range is 122 feet above sea level. It was a standard, Louisiana summer morning.
My ammo was CFDA brass, Deadeye Easy-Loader bullets, and Rio 209 shotgun primers. All velocities were measure across a Shooting Chrony Alpha Master chronograph. Both at the muzzle and at 20 feet. I wanted to see how the velocity dropped off as the bullet approached the target.
The revolvers were both Ruger Vaqueros, one with a 4.62" barrel and one with a 7" barrel.
Below is the data. Please forgive my puny table-making skills.
You see, we shoot wax bullets powdered by shotgun primers. We certainly can't control the charge, we're reliant completely on the quality control of the primer manufacturer. We don't generally cast our own bullets, mainly because the various manufacturers keep it inexpensive enough that it's easier to buy the bullets than to make them at home. And, we're not really seeking extreme accuracy, but our hits are counted on the basis of time.
At sanctioned shoots, we control nothing about out ammo; it's supplied by the host and we have to trust that the loader knows his craft. So far, it's proved adequate.
But, there are still things we wonder about, so there are still things we can measure. This morning, I determined to find out some things about my ammo, the ammo I make myself at the house, so I set up my chronograph to find out a few things.
For the record, the temps were 84F, winds negligible, the pressure was 30.02 and humidity was 75%. My range is 122 feet above sea level. It was a standard, Louisiana summer morning.
My ammo was CFDA brass, Deadeye Easy-Loader bullets, and Rio 209 shotgun primers. All velocities were measure across a Shooting Chrony Alpha Master chronograph. Both at the muzzle and at 20 feet. I wanted to see how the velocity dropped off as the bullet approached the target.
The revolvers were both Ruger Vaqueros, one with a 4.62" barrel and one with a 7" barrel.
Below is the data. Please forgive my puny table-making skills.
Short Gun Long Gun Muzzle 20 feet Muzzle 20 feet
Hi 754.7 586.1 754.2 568.7
Lo 695.0 520.1 597.9 513.1
Avg 729.7 559.8 686.8 555.7
ES 59.7 66.0 156.3 55.6
StDev 17.7 21.6 52.3 19.7
Fairly interesting results. I believe that I had one "short charge" primer. The vast majority of my muzzle velocities were well above 650 fps. But, there's that one LO for the long gun at 597.9 fps. It's an outlier and skewed my AVG, ES, and StDev for that sting. If you look at the two 20-foot AVG between the short gun and the long gun, you'll see that they're within 4 fps of each other. Not much difference in velocity at all, but that little wax pill has lost a lot of velocity between the muzzle and the target, 21 feet away.
If you look at the Hi's between the short gun and the long gun, you'll see that they're within a half fps. You'd think that the long gun and the short gun would have a significant difference show up between the barrel lengths, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I'll have to ponder this some more.
Benghazi
I was pretty sure I knew what had happened in Benghazi, when Ambassador Stevens and his security staff were under attack. Simply, Hillary let him swing in the wind, then lied to the American people about it.
Twitchy is reporting that the House Committee will release their report today, and they've gotten a look at part of it. The conclusions are damning.
Hillary couldn't make up her mind, and the mission degenerated into an obscene clusterfark. Then, she lied about it to the American people. This is just one more example of her unfitness to be the Commander in Chief. But, in the end, this probably won't change anything. Her supporters are by-and-large, so low-information that they will never hear of this.
Her supporters don't care. Hillary Clinton should be wearing prison orange, for one of several derelictions concerning her tenure at Secretary of State. Her activities on several different incidents border on treason and certainly fall into the realm of gross malfeasance.
The problem is that her supporters just don't care.
Twitchy is reporting that the House Committee will release their report today, and they've gotten a look at part of it. The conclusions are damning.
According to NBC News, the rescue mission never got off the ground because State Department officials were arguing if the Marines should wear uniforms or not:What? Marines secure embassies, that's common knowledge. It should come as no surprise, anywhere int he world, to have Marines on a State Department site. But, it gets worse.
The Marines allegedly changed in and out of their uniforms 4 times as the debate — and the assault on the compound — raged on:What? When the time comes to launch, it shouldn't matter if they're in dress blues, full battle-rattle, or bluejeans and tennis shoes. A fight is a "come as you are" affair and when it's time to launch you go with what you've got.
Hillary couldn't make up her mind, and the mission degenerated into an obscene clusterfark. Then, she lied about it to the American people. This is just one more example of her unfitness to be the Commander in Chief. But, in the end, this probably won't change anything. Her supporters are by-and-large, so low-information that they will never hear of this.
Her supporters don't care. Hillary Clinton should be wearing prison orange, for one of several derelictions concerning her tenure at Secretary of State. Her activities on several different incidents border on treason and certainly fall into the realm of gross malfeasance.
The problem is that her supporters just don't care.
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