The Smallest Minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. – Ayn Rand
Today’s hunt was successful:
So any suggestions on where I can get good magazines for it?
According to the serial number, my example was manufactured in 1973. It is blued, it is beautiful, it still has the magazine disconnect, and the trigger pull is heavy but not creepy, with a clean break. The sights are rudimentary. I think this will be going to Cylinder & Slide for some work.
After I get the M14.
Another Trip to the Range
No new loads for the Encore yet, but I wanted to shoot the Remington 700 some more. When I went to the Gunblogger Rendezvous last October, David of Random Nuclear Strikes gave me some of his Black Hills 175 grain .308 Sierra MatchKing commercial ammo, and I wanted to test it out as a baseline against my handloads. It was another trip to the Casa Grande range to make use of their 300 yard facility. Here’s an average group using the Black Hills stuff:
By my calibrated eyeball, Mk. I, that’s about 4″ CTC.
Here’s my 175 grain SMK handload:
The bottom most hole is two holes touching. I’d put that group at a hair under 2″.
Here’s my 155 grain Lapua Scenar load (typical) with me throwing a flyer (also typical):
What you can’t see there is that this group is about 5″ higher than the point of aim, which means it’s hauling ass compared to the 175 grain SMK load. Now, if I could just stop throwing flyers . . .
I think I need some more of those bullets.
(Sorry about the crappy quality. These were taken with my cellphone camera.)
I did a tour of the local funshops yesterday looking for either a good example of a Browning Hi Power, or an EAA Witness Match in 9mm Europellet, but no joy. Murphy’s did have a Hi Power, but it was the double-action version with a de-cocker, not the single-action or (my personal preference) the SFS, so I passed. It was the only Hi Power I found. Murphy’s had the only Witness I found, either, but it was chambered in .38 Super. Several of the other shops were closed. Apparently there’s a gun show going on at the fairgrounds.
I am not a fan of gun shows. It’s a personal thing.
Oh well, I did find one very interesting place that had a firearm I’d not actually previously seen “in the flesh” as it were:
A .44 AutoMag.
I don’t have that kind of cash laying around, nor do I know enough about them to be able to tell if it’s a particularly nice (or trashed) example, but I have to say that the urge to whip out the plastic and make installment payments on a gorgeous hunk of stainless steel nearly overwhelmed me there for a second or two.
Also, for about a millisecond, I considered picking up a Glock 17. So many Glock afficionados have been turned to JMB’s (PBUH) finest handgun design in the last year that I thought, just maybe, I should give the plastic-fantastic a try, but I retained my willpower and moved away from the bright light.
So, no .44 AutoMag, and no 9mm Wünderpistol either. Maybe next weekend.
Oh, and just a reminder: I’m scheduled to be on Charles Heller’s (no relation to Dick Heller, so far as I know) radio show, America Armed & Free next Sunday at 1:00PM Mountain Standard time. You can listen to the show by streaming audio here during your pre-game party. We’ll be discussing gunblogging.
I’d blame it on work, but I received a nice email from reader Steve Vaujin on Tuesday about the topic, and I’m only now addressing it. I know all of you are already aware, but here it is again:
Address Gun Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent. – Found on inauguration day at http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/urban_policy/
So much for believing in the Second Amendment.
“Closing the gun show loophole” means “Ending private-party sales. All sales must go through an FFL.” This will, of course, get the support of many of the (remaining) FFLs. And it will be the first step to an eventual national registration system.
“Making guns in this country childproof.” All 300 million of them? Will this be like “childproof caps” that only children can actually open? Or does it mean “won’t go bang at all“?
“…support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.” Now, if you’re an optimist, you read this as “making the expiration permanent,” but we all know better than that. No, this means a new, IMPROVED “Assault Weapons Ban.” One that will, you know, actually ban something.
Oh, and “addressing gun violence in cities” – where it’s largely committed by and committed upon a tiny, easily identifiable demographic, but instead the .gov wants to put in place sweeping, highly restrictive laws that will affect everyone but that demographic.
The philosophy cannot be wrong! Do it again, only HARDER!
Well, there’s a great big hole in my collection that I need to fill. I’m not a fan of the 9mm Europellet, but I have been waiting and looking for a nice custom Browning Hi-Power to fill that niche – a 13-round capacity model, with a bunch of spare magazines. When I take newbies out to shoot, the lack of a 9mm has presented a problem as I work them up from .22LR to .45 Colt. (Hmm . . . And now .260 Remington?) I think this weekend I will go shopping for an EAA Witness in 9mm, and all the spare magazines they have in stock.
Who knows, maybe I’ll stumble across that Browning!
(*Sigh* – I was looking forward to at least a few more years before the .gov finally got around to passing enough laws to make me a willing felon . . .)
Sorry for the delay. Family stuff and then the drive back up to Wickenburg interfered. Plus, I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning, so this will be short.
I drove up to the Casa Grande public range this morning after getting a late start. I did, however, remember this time to bring both range bags, so I had my spotting scope, chronograph, and laser rangefinder with me. I set up my target frame at a measured 28 yards downrange and proceeded to put ten rounds on target through the chrono getting the scope adjusted. The last four rounds went into one hole, as expected. I don’t have the data sheet in front of me, but IIRC, the average velocity was 2360fps with an extreme spread of 60fps and a standard deviation of just over 20. I was shooting Lapua Scenar 139 grain BTHP bullets seated out to an overall length of 2.880″ over 36.0 grains of Varget, touched off by CCI 250 large rifle magnum primers. (USE THIS LOAD DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK – I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU BLOW UP YOUR GUN BASED ON DATA YOU GOT OFF A BLOG AND DIDN’T CROSS-CHECK WITH OTHER SOURCES.)
I was amazed at the lightness of the recoil (and no, I’m not kidding!) That muzzle brake WORKS. Oh, the pistol jumps a bit, and it is also LOUD AS HELL, but it doesn’t kick. I wore muffs and plugs, and I was sitting behind it. I’m pretty sure I drove off some other shooters who were off to my left. (I was on the right end of the range.)
Because of the pressures of time (I had a family commitment in the very early afternoon) I was only able to put another 15 rounds through the pistol this morning. One very impressive thing, at least to me, was that I strung five shots horizontally right along the zero elevation line of my target at a measured 300 yards. The pistol needs some trigger adjustment for sure – I’m blaming that shot string on me, though. That group ran just over four inches wide.
I settled down for the last five-shot string and got another four-inch group in the standard cover-with-palm pattern. I’m certain that this specific load will shoot better than that if I do my part properly. I was seeing a little bit of primer flattening, so I think my next loads will drop by about a half-grain, and I want to see just how far out I can seat those very long bullets before they touch the rifling. I also want to try the 120 grain Scenars to see how they perform, but their ballistic coefficient is not as good as the 139’s. I also want to take this pistol to the Tucson Rifle Club and try it out on the 500 meter rifle silhouette range to see if I have enough elevation in the scope to reach out that far without putting more offset in the rings.
This is going to be a very fun pistol!
At last year’s Gunblogger’s Rendezvous, David of Random Nuclear Strikes attended and brought with him his Boomershoot pistol – a Thompson/Center Encore chambered in .308 Winchester. He also brought with him as handouts a reprint of an American Handgunner article from 1995 about Don Bower and his long-range pistols. Entitled “Ultimate Handgun Accuracy: 1½” Groups at ¼ Mile,” it certainly piqued my interest! (The piece is available at the link.)
I shot David’s pistol at the Palomino Valley Gun Club, whacking the 400 yard gong with ease.
Had to have one.
So to “celebrate” Obama’s victory, one of the things I bought in November was a T/C Encore frame. Then I ordered a custom Bullberry .260 Remington barrel. Finally I bought a Burris 3-12X pistol scope, Burris Signature Zee rings, a set of offset inserts for the rings, a Pachmayr grip, a Harris bipod, 200 pieces of Remington .260 brass, and some ammo boxes. (Bullets, powder and primers I’ve already got.) The last of the parts arrived this week.
I haven’t got everything adjusted yet, nor all the screws tightened down, but here’s what she looks like:
You can’t see it, but the action is open on that last photo. Yes, I know the scope is canted. I still have to get everything adjusted just right, but I wanted to post photos, dammit! Oh, that spirit level is the 1″ unit that Ninth Stage sent me, along with the 30mm unit for my Remington 700 5R.
I also wanted to say something nice about a vendor. I buy a lot of stuff from MidwayUSA, and their prices and performance have been uniformly good. But we gunnies are cheap frugal bastards, and price is important to us. When I went looking for rings for the Remington 700 5R, Midway was out of stock, Brownell’s didn’t carry what I wanted, and they were nowhere to be found locally. A little Google searching brought me to Optics Planet. They had what I wanted, in stock, and at a good price – even better when there was no freight charge.
When I went shopping for that Burris 3-12X pistol scope, as always the first place I went looking was SWFA.com. They usually have the lowest prices, and I’ve never had a problem with anything I’ve gotten from them. However, at the time I was looking, Midway was having a sale on the very Burris scope I was looking for, and it was less than SWFA. Unfortunately, neither of them had the Burris Signature Zee rings I wanted, so off to Optics Planet I went and while I was there I checked on the scope as well.
They had it, and it was less than Midway’s sale price. Plus free shipping. They also had the rings and the offset inserts for them. (I’ve got +20MOA of offset in the back ring.)
I ordered 200 pieces of brass, four 50-round ammo boxes, and the Pachmayr grip from Midway the same night I placed the order for the Burris scope and rings. I got the scope and rings first.
I’m not denigrating Brownells, Midway or SWFA at all, they’re all great vendors. But if you’re looking for some glass or some rings, check out Optics Planet. You might be glad you did.
Anyway, when I go to Boomershoot this year, I’m taking both the 700 5R and this pistol. Hopefully I can get some ammo loaded tonight and make a trip to the range dark and early tomorrow morning!
Brick & Mortar SUCCESS
This afternoon I went to my favorite local gunshop, Murphy’s Guns & Gunsmithing, the place where at least one salesman knows me by name. After my experience at Caveman’s Warehouse, I wondered how things’d be there. I loaded some .45ACP yesterday and discovered to my shock that my stock of large pistol primers was a lot lower than I’d thought. Caveman’s Warehouse was completely out.
Murphy’s had ’em.
However, there was an interesting sign tacked up on the primer shelf that advised that customers were limited to 1,000 primers total, due to demand. That was OK with me, because I bought exactly 1,000 Winchester WLP primers. I also found on the shelf an RCBS two-die set for the .260 Remington, which I need for my new Bullberry Encore barrel. Drooling over Perusing the stock of firearms, I found that Murphy’s now has in stock the EAA Witness Match in both .38 Super and 10mm Auto. I’d very much like to have either one of those. Interestingly enough, the 10mm version is about $100 cheaper than the .38 Super.
As has been the case every time I’ve been in Murphy’s, there have been six or more salespeople behind the counter, and almost every one of them has been busy with a customer, a firearm, and a Form 4473. As Dave, the salesman-who-knows-me-by-name put it, “apparently the entire population of Tucson won the lottery.” And it’s been like this ever since November 5.
I’m waiting for Murphy’s to take the massive profits brought about by the Obamessiah and put in a three-level parking garage out in front. It’s damned near impossible to find a parking place there. Ever.
Brick & Mortar FAIL
I received a gift card for the local Caveman’s Warehouse for Christmas, so I went in to see what I could pick up. The barrel for my T/C Encore came today, so I thought I’d maybe get some .260 Remington brass, perhaps some loaded ammo for a baseline comparison, maybe a pound of powder.
I wish I’d brought a camera.
The shelves are empty. Well, not completely, but I think there’s about six pounds of powder, total (what’s left is shotgun powder), about 10% of the normal stock of bullets (what’s left is premium hunting bullets), about 5% of the normal stock of brass (.204 Ruger, anyone?), and it appears that Caveman’s doesn’t stock .260 Remington loaded ammunition of any flavor to begin with.
The firearm section has a wall of pegs on which hang the majority of the handguns they have for sale, and there are usually a dozen or so in the glass display cases.
About half of the pegs are bare, and there’s two (2) revolvers in the display cases.
I asked one of the sales guys about when they might be restocking. He didn’t know. They get whatever’s on the truck when it arrives. He asked if I was familiar with MidwayUSA.
Hell, I’m on a first-name basis with Larry Potterfield. Maybe next year I’ll have to insist that I be given Midway gift certificates.
Tomorrow Caveman’s is having a big sale.
I wonder what the hell they think they’re gonna sell? Well, shotguns. They’ve got a lot of shotguns left.
Quote of the Day
Now, most tactically-aware gunnies will be quick to tell you that the .38 Special is towards the low-end of the so-called “stopping power” spectrum. Matter-of-fact, most would tell you that .358 inches; 158 grains and 900 feet per second is the bare minimum.
Thing is, that old gentleman shoots a minimum of 200 rounds out of that pistol every month. He plinks dirt clods and charcoal briquettes with it; he hunts jackrabbits on his oil lease and turtles in his stock tank with it; he’s taught his children, grandchildren and multiple acquaintances to shoot with it; and he shoots in several formal and informal matches each year with it.
That pistol is a part of him. He puts it on each morning, and takes it off each evening. The bluing has etched away from the thousands of draws from leather he’s practiced; and the grips are worn to match his hands.
If the eco-friendly fertilizer hits the rotating, oscillating, vector-flow cooling unit that .38 is not going to be sitting useless in a gun cabinet: it’s going to be where it’s been for the past several decades — because he carries it.
He’s not going to flinch, he’s not going to fumble his draw or muff his shot; and each round is going to go exactly where he wants it to — because he practices with it.
That, Gentle Readers, is stopping power. – Lawdog, Meditations on Stopping Power
