Good Monday Evening! It’s been a busy week, and I’ve been productive but not as productive as I would have hoped. I spent the majority of the week trying to figure out what was troubling my laptop. It is always something. I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon digging into the guts of the laptop to try and figure out what was going on. Turns out, I think I narrowed it down to a bad flat cable, and so far the hotel expedient fix has held, letting me write this update this evening. (I tried replacing the hard drive, did not work)
We added a few new loads to the Load Data Base courtesy of Jeff H. All of these loads made use of the long obsolete Norma 2020 & Norma 1010 powders. With very little load data out there, Jeff reach out to me a few months ago to try and get more information of where the burn speed may be and how to proceed using this powder for something other then fertilizer. He developed a few cast loads for his Sig 365 using this powder.
I appreciate him braving the cold and providing us the data. He also provided some pictures of the powder, and the canisters. I really appreciate the effort that went into this. Thanks Jeff!
I have finally gotten around to adding a conversation to the Mail Bag. I launched it with the intention of getting a bunch of previous emails uploaded to it, but got side tracked. We’ll get some of those previous emails posted but for now here is a email we got this week. [2-16-2021] Printable Burn Rate Chart. Thanks Larry for subscribing and for the email! There are a few emails I’ve been wanting to get posted but just have not gotten to it.
I has been a pretty interesting week, for those who are wondering I did find an rental unit for the family. We’ll be moving the family over next weekend. So the chaos is not completely over yet. However there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With that said, it is probably for the best I am not actively loading ammunition, the component shortage is really quite astonishing.
This is especially true when you realize how localized it is. Component manufacturers sell all over the world, and if we cross the border into Canada, the shelves are stocked. Woe be to the fool who gets caught trying to cross the border with it.
The good news is not all the ammunition out there is sold out. Snap caps along with 357 Sig, and 45 GAP is still reportedly on the shelves. I am waiting on someone to post a YouTube about using snap caps in the place of primers.
I have seen videos of people using the heads of strike anywhere matches to “Recharge” spent primers. This is truly an act of desperation, but at the same some of these alternative “Primers” are kind of fun learn about. Given that I know that primers consist of a myriad of elements including primary and secondary explosives, sensitizers and friction modifiers. This imbues the primer with a near 100% reliability, given that the right sequence of events is initiated. Undoubtedly, the homemade solutions will be as variable as the compounds that are used to recharge them. It’s up to you to decided how desperate you are for a few primers, but if you do it, let us know. I’d be curious on your load details and results.
That is all I have for this week. As always if you are looking to get in touch, best way is to send me an email jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
Thanks for subscribing and Stay Safe out there!
The Ballistic Assistant