We have been quite busy in on the homestead trying to get things moved from Texas, so I neglected to write an update last week. This week’s update is also going to be short. I am still alive and all is well, just quite busy getting the family settled and I have not had much time to myself.
A few things of note. There were a few companies that did some awesome April Fool’s Gag’s. So if you would like a laugh, here’s a couple gags.
Hornady’s Production Update
Hornady’s New 7.6 Creedmoor (Fully Compatible with both 308 Win and 7.62×51 chambers)
Toi be fair, I believe this was published last year as an Accurate Shooter Gag, but it’s still funny.
Accurate Shooter Reported on the New PRS Sonic Tactical Series of Competition
That was just a taste, there was quite a few April Fool gags by the industry poking fun at different aspect of the shooting sports. If you see something worth sharing, send it to me, I can always use a smile.
As a side note, there are a few more rumors of US based companies moving forward with plans to construct primer factories. It seems these facilities may be operational, at least on a limited basis within a year. We will see, it is definitely some welcome news. I do not know any names nor have I spoken to anyone with direct knowledge, but if I was to place a sizable bet on a company, it would be Sig Sauer. They employ more then a few people who spent time working at Remington’s Lonoke facility, and with the trouble that Remington has had it would not surprise me if they picked up some more talent within the last year. With Sig Sauer producing their own ammunition, including bullets, and likely limited runs of brass, undoubtedly they will want to add primer production to have better control over their destiny.
Will we ever see a Sig primer on the reloading market? Who knows, but if they began to produce their own primer, it would undoubtedly relieve some of the demand on the domestic market. (This assumes they source their primers domestically, it is not at all unreasonable to source primed brass from European companies, many US based companies do that, and with Sig being a European based company they make not source things from the US market)
Speaking of components. I have had two emails asking if I sold powders. To be fair they were both from different people of the same company. Unfortunately, I am not in the selling business, and I really cannot be as it would place me in a conflict of interest as I work within the industry. I appreciate the outreach but there is little I can do to help in that regard.
As I said it would be a short update, a bit longer then I thought it would be but nevertheless short. 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, stay safe and shoot straight!
It is that time of the week again. Life seems to be cruising by at a breakneck pace. We are settling into the home here in Alabama. We survived our first tornado warning, which was exciting, ok not really. Had there not been such a hubbub made about it, it is likely we would not have known any warning was in place. Still it is a different experience, a different part of the country that I have never been in before, and I have been surprised a bit.
A holster like this should have some sort of retention, or should be worn under a jacker. I realize this is an advertisement for the holster, but far to often to I see people who open carry a holster with no retention and I think it’s a mistake.
For example, I have been out here for about five or six weeks now. I have seen at least a half a dozen or more people open carrying. It seems more commonplace here in Alabama then it was in Utah. Now, open carrying does not bother me, however I do notice it, being the firearm nerd that I am. What has bothered me has been the poor quality of holsters and sometimes the complete lack of retention devices on the pistols. Listen, if you want to open carry you are free to do so, but with the ever-increasing scrutiny that firearms owners are under, part of me wishes the people doing the open carrying would at least be a better representation of firearm owners. Not saying that Uncle Mike holsters and white tank tops do not have a place, but they do not leave the best first impression.
With everything that I have been up to in getting the family settled in, I have not gone live with any website updates this week. There are things I am working on, namely the powder catalog, but I am not quite to the point I feel comfortable going live with those changes. Keep looking for it to be updated but realize it might be a bit. This next weekend we will be making one, and probably the last major haul from Texas. Got to move the rest of me and my family’s junk, unfortunately for the immediate term it is moving from one storage unit to another.
As I am writing this, more news is coming out in respect to another recent shooting in Boulder Colorado. No doubt conspiracy theories will continue to populate about the timing and the validity of these shootings. I do not subscribe to the idea that there is someone, or some people who orchestrate this nonsense on a grand scale in order to ram through a political agenda. Rather I honestly believe there are some sick individuals out there, and in a country with 300+ Million people, there can be 10 million odds of such an event in any given year and we would end up with 30 potential events.
This painting by Jon McNaughton has often captured many of my feelings in regards to crisis accelerating the trampling of Individual Liberties. He has many other painting that speak to liberty minded that I enjoy and it worth checking out if you have the time.
Given these things tend to happen in clusters, one shooting seems to breed another, sadly it is not unusual to have a few of these events within a few weeks or months of each other. The great travesty is the lack of attention that is paid towards the mental and moral decay of the individual that leads to these types of atrocities. They are not unique to the United States, similar type events happen worldwide. Unfortunately, it would seem no government or political party seems interested in answering the hard questions of what drives the individual to commit these acts of evil, rather they focus on the tools, driving legislation that shifts the power from the people to the government. Thus, creating an endless cycle that feeds off the resulting contention, dividing the nation rather then healing it. I find it all deeply troubling.
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.
Good Monday Evening! All is well here and I’ve been busy with a few different things. We have a few updates to the website to go over and some thoughts on current events. I’ve updated the powder burn rate chart, you can find the updated chart here. Updates include the addition of N568 and some previously missed Bofor’s powders. I also did some linking of powder equivalencies which had not been previously verified, and I tweaked a few powders burn rate ranking to fall more in line with the data. It’s a living document, and I do not claim it to be 100% perfect, but no powder burn rate chart is.
Remember burn rates are variable by nature and when loaded to different service pressures in different cartridges powders may behave a bit differently. Lot to lot variation also can play with relative burn speed. Remember a Burn Rate chart is simply a quick reference guide and is never the primary means for load development. If you would like a printer friendly version, pleas email me and I will see what I can do.
With the ammo craze we likely will not see much done with this cartridge until things settle down but I have my eye on it.
I’ve finally finished adding the new SAAMI approved cartridge’s to the SAAMI Rifle Cartridge Catalog. These include cartridges such as the 6mm ARC, 277 SIG Fury and the Nosler series of cartridges. I’m also working on adding the SAAMI standard test barrel length as part of the description. There are only a few rifles barrels that have P/V barrel lengths that are not 24in. Notably the 277 Sig Fury, and the 300 AAC Blackout, however pistol barrel lengths are all over the place. This is one thing I find myself looking up from time to time to compare ballistics and load data. If it’s handy for me to have it in one place, I suspect there’s someone else out there who will find it helpful. As with many of the projects on this site it is a work in progress.
I’ll be working on some stuff this week, likely the powder catalog. Lot’s to do there to get that flushed out to where it needs to be. I’ve got a couple other irons in the fire with some other websites I’ve been working on rolling out. We will see what things I am able to get done.
As many of you are aware, two gun control bills passed in the House over the last week. H.R 8 which outlaws private sales and creates a national registry and HR 1446 which may extend a “Delay” from three days to indefinitely. There is a lot of commotion over these two bills, but most people in the industry are not expecting it to make it past the Senate, and while a vote may be held, current Senate rules require a 60 vote majority. No one is saying it cannot happen, only that it is unlikely to happen.
While these bills are concerning to me, what I am more troubled over is how some in our community have taken upon themselves to slander/harass those who own firearms but support one or both of these bills. In an age where we have at least a dozen different ways to communicate electronically, we have forgotten how to have a conversation. We cannot talk civilly, even to those who are sympathetic but my not agree in every detail. Somehow we have become blind to the fact that when we use the terms “Fudd”, “Butters” or “Boomers” we shutdown and destroy any hope of having a meaningful conversation. In fact we are more likely to force those, most likely to be our allies, to the other side, who are all too willing to welcome gun owners if only to paint with a broad brush by saying “See, even gun owners agree with us.”
The stakes are high, to preserve our Rights, we have to bat a 1000. We have to win every legislative battle, every court case, every single time. Most importantly we have to win the public opinion battle. To do that, we cannot afford to alienate even one potential ally. If all you know how to do is shout “Molon Labe” in internet forums and chat rooms, then might I suggest you shut up, sit down, and pick up a book. Learn to have a conversation longer then what can fit on a bumper sticker. You are not doing the firearms community any favors, in fact you are doing us a lot of harm. Better yet, chip in $20 bucks to the Second Amendment Foundation.
If it was not for the contributions of Ben Franklin and John Adams, George Washington would not have had the arms to fight the revolution. Remember war is a costly endeavor in both blood and money.
When wars are fought, regardless if they are cultural or physical, it takes money. We often forget that when General George Washington needed money for arms, Ben Franklin and John Adams turned to the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish Government. By the time the war was won the new country was $2 Million dollars in debt. In today’s dollars that is a mere $60.4 Million. Last year there was an estimated 8 million new firearm owners, if each one chipped in $8 bucks, that would pay for a lot of legal expenses. If we could get America’s 100 Million gun owners to chip in $8 bucks, we’d have this war won for a spell. This is all to I have to say, enough talk, let’s go to work.
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.
Only took five months but for the first time since leaving Utah we are starting to get to some sense of normality. The Alabama weather is taking a bit of getting used to, but so far it has been survivable, still does not seem natural to be having 70- and 80-degree days in March. There are a few things that I am realizing about the Southeastern US. First, culturally it is quite different then the Western States, and secondly, I am really beginning to rethink what I should be doing with my Long-Range Rifle.
You can make a reasonable argument then when I went out and bought my Barrett MRAD in 338 Lapua Magnum, I was really kind of boxing myself in. Naturally, being as stubborn as a horse, I probably would not have listened to you. That was almost 6 or 7 years ago, and I have since had some added experienced in both the shooting sports and the industry.
Southern Utah, a few months before I got the tax stamp approved on the suppressor. You can’t see it but the steel is 700 yards, and there was room to keep moving back to get 1000+ yards. It really is a Long Range Shooters paradise.
When I was single, investing almost $2 a round in a handload did not seem to be that bad and being able to ring steel pretty darn reliably out past 1000 yards was exciting. Fast forward, married with two kids, a shoestring budget, and suddenly having a $5k rifle, with a $2k optic and a $2k suppressor, that costs $2 bucks a round handloaded, seems kind of stupid. Especially when you move to a state where the longest practical shot at the local range is 600 yards.
With a barrel swap kit for the MRAD is coming in at somewhere between $1,300 to $1,600. I am left with an interesting problem. You can buy a heck of a rifle for $1300, namely a Ruger Precision Rifle, or can build a Rem 700 clone for something less that that. I am not sure exactly what I am going to do, but it has been something on my mind. Unfortunately, it seems like my MRAD may become something of a safe queen, a relic of a time when I lacked the wisdom, it would pain me to sell it, but I am almost as equally as pained to drop another chunk of money into a kit when I could get a rifle just as good for equal or less…but then of course then we’d need another optic…. buy a mouse a cookie…maybe $1300 is not so bad after all…
Enough about my own problems, (I may do a dedicated write up on getting into long range shooting, what I wish I had known before dropping a ton of money) lets get into the fun stuff.
With a new power will come an update to the burn rate chart. Not this week but soon…
There a few new things on the market that were announced around Shot Show that I am just beginning to appreciate, first Vihtavouri introduced a new powder Vihtavuori N568. They indicate the burn rate to be a wedge between N570 and N565 which means this powder is likely going to be another good powder to test for 338 Lapua Magnum, or for cartridges which are both overbore, and long. The 300 PRC, 6.5 PRC, 300 RUM, and likely the 7mm RUM. It will actually be interesting to see if this powder is just a better metering version of the N570. I did do some testing with N570 in 338 Lapua Magnum with 300gr SMK’s and found it to be an excellent powder with the exception of how bulky and difficult it was to meter. You were basically relegated to using an auto dispenser as I could not get it to meter at all through a Harrell’s Precision thrower.
I am going to freely admit, the more I have gotten into handloading, the more I have become a press and die snob. I started with almost all Lee Precision Equipment and have since really gained an appreciated for Redding Dies and especially their T-7 press. It is not necessarily that the rounds you make are that much more precise, it is the fit and finish of the equipment that just give for a better overall experience. I have never gotten the same warm an fuzzy feeling when looking at Lyman products, as I have Redding, Dillon and L.E Wilson, and that may be because I’m just not a huge fan of the color orange in general… seriously…it’s between that and brown as my least favorite color.
A micrometer adjustable crimping die? Not something I am used to seeing, not something I consider game changing, but it is something different, and I very much appreciate the overall look and feel of the dies. For us quasi engineering nerds…it would be nice to know what stainless steel they are turning these from….it’s a wild guess but I bet its 304
With that said, the Lyman Stainless Steel Pro Dies, have kind of grabbed my attention. One of the things that has driven me nuts about moving from the dry arid environment of Utah into the hot humid south is how quickly every die, and reloading press I own developed a light layer of rust just from sitting in storage for a day. Some of this is no doubt from the widespread use of 12L14 or other leaded steels in some components of the dies. This is a soft free machining steel that is great for automated production and can be case hardened. A lot of reloading dies used 12L14 or similar steels, the down side is they rust, quicker then an O1 or similar type tool steel. Seeing a die made from stainless, is not new, L.E Wilson has been doing it for some time, but it is appreciated. Given that most of our wives relic our hobby to areas where climate control does not exist, a garage, a basement, under a rock…
I have not laid hands on one of these dies yet. When I do I’ll give my thoughts, but I do like the concept of a micrometer adjustment on the crimping die, even though I would be hard press to find a situation where I would use it in my handloading routine. What they do not currently offer, but what I could get behind, is a micrometer adjustable flaring die. I do like to give my rifle brass a hint of a flare, just to complement the chamfer prior to seating the bullet. I could see where a micrometer head on a flaring die would let me obsess over one more step, which probably does not actually impact down range performance, but makes me smile anyhow. (I do bring the flare in with a crimping die, but it does not crimp, just corrects the case mouth as to not snag on feeding).
Ok, I just got finished saying how I liked the new Lyman products, but a spring loaded decapping die?….when I first read it I thought maybe it would prevent you breaking a decapping pin on Berdan primed cases, but nope, just applies spring pressure to the spend primer to ensure positive ejection. This seems more like a solution in search of a problem.
The last thing of note is Nosler’s Reloading Guide, this is the #9th addition. I have not flipped through it, so I cannot give it a proper review. Even with a lot of online data being published I do like to have dead tree versions of load manuals to flip through. If you do a lot of handloading for Nosler bullets or would like to get some load data for the Nosler 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and 33 this may be a good book to add on the shelf.
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.
Welcome to March! It’s been a busy past week. I was hoping to have more updates and content on the site but it just has not panned out. We did get the family moved from Texas. It was a bit of a blitz, drove over Friday, got in early morning Saturday. Loaded up the vehicles and drove back all day Sunday. I figure I spent 28 hours total on the road during the span of 72 hours. We are all in one place again, but the new home looks like a disaster zone…such is moving.
Anyway, the little bit I did do on the site was to upload an email conversation I had over the summer. I’ve pulled some information that would identify the sender, but everything else was left untouched. I do value the conversations I have with subscribers, and will do everything I can to protect your privacy. If you’d like to read the conversation you can find it here: [7-15-2020] Ballistic QC Equipment
Some brief comments on the primer shortage we are seeing. I do not know how many people are aware of the details of Remington’s bankruptcy. Remington was essentially broken up and sold off in pieces to the highest bidder. During this process all cashflow was stopped, meaning the purchase of raw materials could not take place. Effectively Remington was completely shutdown, and who knows what state the plant was left in during shutdown. Only recently has cash flow restarted and operations are beginning to resume.
Why is this important? Well, Remington’s Lonoke Arkansas facility represents roughly 1/3 of the industries production of primers. Primers cannot be built over night, there are some aspects of primer construction where the primer’s have to age, or more accurately, dry out for a period of time. I seem to remember it was about 30 days, but it could be longer. All this means that if Remington restarted operations and was in full production by tomorrow, it would likely mean we would not see Remington primers on the shelf for at least 60 to 90 days.
With that said, I do not know what the Remington restart looks like. I do know not all processes can simply resume at the flip of the switch. Even when they do resume there is typically a ramp up period. New employees need to be trained, processes need to reach a steady state, and Remington is likely going to dedicate it’s primer production to satisfy it’s own needs for ammunition prior to selling to the handloading market. All of this is to say, even with Remington back in operations we are likely not to see a reprieve in the primer shortage for many months.
In the mean time companies that sourced Remington primers for their own manufacture of ammunition, have had to go elsewhere. This combined with a year of political unrest, about 8 million new firearms owners, a flipped election, and the fact everyone who cannot find ammo is suddenly jumping into reloading, has created the perfect storm of market conditions where no one gets primers. If this seems like a soft rebuttal of some of the conspiracy theories going around, it is.
It will take a bit, but we will see things get back to normal, in the meantime, it’s really frustrating for a lot of folks. Especially those whose livelihoods depend on the slim margin of profit made on ammunition sales. It’s a hard market right now.
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.
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)
It is not very often you can open a laptop and make any meaningful type of fix to it. It was either this, or I spend a few hundred dollars giving it to the “Geek Squad”. The arrow is pointing to the cable that seemed to have been the culprit.
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.
Excellent Photo Jeff! Thanks for sharing it with us. I’ll have this photo and the photo of Norma 1010 posted with the powder for future reference.
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.
I am publishing this update from a hotel room here in Alabama. I drove over last night avoiding most of the ice storms that hit eastern Texas. Did not avoid it all, but missed probably 80% of it. Even then I pulled one guy from a ditch and did a wellness check on another gal who spun into a guardrail. As someone who grew up in the northern climates, I really was quite shocked to see how bad the roads really got given how little precipitation was actually received. I guess I’ll stop complaining about snow removal, or sometimes the lack there of, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah…..
Anyhow while I am house hunting for the family, I suspect I’ll have a good deal of time in the evenings to get some work done on a the website. So be looking for updates, likely corrections, additions or completions of existing content that I have not had the time to get to. I’ll be sure to have those highlights next update. While I did not have the time this past week I’ll be getting a book review in this week.
In firearms news…
Since I hail from Utah, I do pay attention to what is going on in that state. It was good to see that the constitutional carry bill finally passed and was signed into law by Governor Cox. My understanding is that it will go into effect on May 5th, 2021. Utah will continue to offer a license, which will be of important to those traveling to states which recognize Utah’s permits. A full listing of States that recognize Utah’s Concealed Firearms Permit (CFP) can be found here.
Also, CZ Firearms is reportedly in the process of purchasing Colt. Time will tell if this is a good or bad thing for Colt, but Colt has turned things around. It was only a few years ago that there was serious talk this company might go completely under.
Sticking with the theme of acquisitions. Ammo, Inc the company that is probably most well known for tracers that are not half pyrotechnic, half bullet is buying Gun Broker. Again, time will tell if this is a over all good thing for Gun Broker, but I suspect it will be as Ammo, Inc seems to be doing well.
There are some rumors that one of the firearm manufacturers, I do not know which, may be building a new primer facility. To be fair, every time we see an ammo crunch a rumor like this seems to pop up. Having toured a facility that makes primers, I can attest it is no small feat. Here you are legitimately handling explosives that are sensitive, by design, to being crushed or shocked. The Remington Lonoke staff have a few stories of what can go wrong, and what the aftermath looks like. I do not see a new primer facility being built, and producing primers within the next two years. I suspect it will be towards the end of Q3 2023 or late 2024 before we see anything, assuming that this rumor pans out.
Lastly, I would be a bit amiss if I did not at least touch on what President Biden rolled out over the weekend. The “Guntube” channels, and the those who focus on firearm politics are likely to make quite a bit of noise about it. Some may feel it justified given the potential consequences, but at the end of the day, I think it does little to further our cause. I believe that amidst what seems to be unmitigated chaos, it is the calm and collected mind that has power. As we discuss with our neighbors, our friends, our country man, lets put an emphasis on discussion, not with the intent to change minds, but rather with the intent to foster conversation and an exchange of ideas. It is an art that we have lost as a civilization, and unless we make an effort to relearn it, we will always be at each others throats.
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 (Yes, they are back online now.) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
Thanks for subscribing and Stay Safe (and Sane) out there!
Its been a busy week this week, but unfortunately not for the webpage. As a heads up the next two weeks promise to be quite busy. This week I’ll likely be on the road a fair bit, heading to Alabama to try and get housing nailed down for the family, and then headed back to Texas to help the rest of the family finish up the move. If all goes well, I’ll be writing the next update from Alabama. So there is likely not to be any new content in the next week.
We did sneak in a book review for this week. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation on how rifling is formed on the inside of a barrel, this book is an excellent read. It is fairly technical, so it’s best not to read this too close to bed time.
Clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon.com. However at the time of this update the book is unavailable for purchase. I have provided an alternative link in the write up for the book.
You can read my thoughts on the book here: Thoughts On: Rifling Machines and Methods. This is another book that I believe could really benefit if the photo’s were printed in color rather the black and white. That is not to diminish the read, just something I would be willing to pay a premium for. With that said there are plenty of drawings and cross sections of some of the cutters used which I found to be informative. As someone who would like to rifle a few barrels of my own, this is a book I am happy to have gotten my hands on.
On reviewing the SAAMI page, I noticed a new cartridge was snuck in. The 429 Desert Eagle. The SAAMI approved drawing has been included below. I’ll be adding this to the pistol cartridge catalog in the near future. It looks like SAAMI has approved a 46,000psi service pressure or MAP for this cartridge.
The 50 AE served as the parent cartridge, and while this cartridge was introduced in 2018, it did not gain SAAMI approval until Jan 2021.
Some may compare this cartridge to the 440 Cor-bon which was a similarly 50 AE based case. However the service pressure for the the 429 DE is much higher, and you should not chamber and fire the 429 DE in a 440 Cor-bon, even though it is reportedly possible to do so. Having fired a 50 AE Desert Eagle, I am curious as to what this new cartridge has to offer, perhaps I’ll do a bit of digging and will present the results in a future write up.
Speaking of the Desert Eagle, if you have not fired one and have the opportunity to do so, I encourage it. They are a unique and large pistol, which makes for a fun and different shooting experience. In terms of practicality, I do not have much use for them outside of it being a safe queen and something to be enjoyed on special occasions. However there is a dedicated following, and it has become something of a pop icon being featured in many movies, books and video games.
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 (if they ever get back online, I hear maybe today?) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
The older I get the faster the years seem to go by. Not sure if this is because life just gets busier, or because my perspective of time seems to change. I.E, the older we get the shorter a day becomes, relative to the total amount of time we have lived. I saw that now, but there are still days and hours that seem to drag on. This is the long way of saying another week has past, and we are through the month of January in what seems like record time.
This past week and the next few weeks following are promising to be quite busy for myself and my family. We are once again on the move, this time to Alabama. This will hopefully be the second to last move we have as a family for some time. We will be moving into an apartment to allow us to find a house and property in the area that fits our needs. This also comes with a career change yet again, which will be a return to my passions which include CAD design/drafting, teaching, and of course the shooting sports.
As we make this transition, I’ll do my best to try and keep adding to the content on the website. There are some things that remain a work in progress. Of course, there was something if an informal 2021 SHOT Show, and manufacturers have been announcing new products, including some in the reloading category. I still have some work to do to finish what I feel are the highlights of these new releases. In the meantime, I have completed another book review
Clicking on the picture will take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of this book. A portion of the sale will go to supporting this website at no cost to you.
One of the reasons I wanted to start the Library section of the webpage was to highlight books which are lesser known but are of considerable value. Modern Exterior Ballistics is one of those books. It is an expensive book, it comes in hardcover, and it is written as an academic reference. Therefore, unless you are really interested in learning the math and theories behind ballistic trajectory, you may not see the value in this book. You can read my full thoughts and review of the book here: Thoughts On: Modern Exterior Ballistics
In keeping with the SAAMI cartridge catalog, I have finished and publish the SAAMI Rifle Cartridge Catalog . This includes all of the currently recognized SAAMI Rifle Cartridges except for the ones released in September 2020. I need to add these newer cartridges and will come on a future update. As with the other catalogs, important specs such as Service Pressure (SAAMI MAP), Max COAL, Min COAL, Max Case Length and Trim to Length are listed. I have also included the bullet diameter’s, which I did not do for the pistol, rimfire or shotgun catalog but may go back and update those. Again, these catalogs are intended to be a quick reference for people looking for information on a cartridge and not wanting to dig through the SAAMI Manuals.
In other news, a new Firearm Control Bill has been introduced into the house. HR127 or “Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act”. The introduction of this and other Firearm Control measures should not surprise anyone. There are a lot of people making a lot of hay over something that happens every new session of congress. With that said there are some highlights that make this bill pretty terrible, and some new things that I have not seen in previous bills;
Ban the possession of ammunition that is .50 Caliber or greater,
Ban magazines that can hold more then 10 rounds,
a requirement for registration and licensing of all firearms,
This includes different licensing categories for different classes of firearms
Licensing requirement would include a mandatory 24hr safety class and a phycological evaluation.
Only license holders may possess and purchase ammunition (At least that’s how it reads to me)
A requirement to pay a yearly $800 liability insurance fee to the AG.
The Bill is not clear on what, if any, grandfather measures are included, if it had them I missed them on my read through.
Those are the highlights I took away from reading through the bill. I am pretty sure there are others who can better inform us of some of the particular legal requirements and implications that are hidden in the legalese. While I stand firmly against everything in this bill, I do not think it does us much good to claim the sky is falling around the banning of magazines, or registration requirements, those argument will fall on deaf ears. Personally, I believe the best argument against this bill is the disparaging effect it will have on those looking to exercise their Rights and are part of the middle class and below. Which statistically is overwhelming minority populations.
The $800 yearly insurance requirement is only the beginning of the costs, once we figure in the cost of a 24hr (read a 3 day safety class, which means 3 days of missed work) and the cost of a psych evaluation, we are easily talking about an investment of $2,000 or more, before purchasing the firearm and ammunition. This will disproportionally affect low income populations, acting in effect as a “Poll Tax” requiring fee’s in order to exercise a Constitutional Right. On it’s face this requirement, I believe is unconstitutional, that is before we get into the debate over the 2nd Amendment and what arms or accessories may be legislatively regulated.
In the divided world we live in, I firmly believe that we must focus on messaging more then any other time. These battles can be won in the hearts and minds of our neighbors, but it will take an adjustment in how we discuss Rights, and how that impacts individuals who are less fortunate. Simply backing ourselves into a preverbal corner and crying ” Do Not Tread On Me, or Come and Take it” adds little or no value to the conversation and further rises the temperature. In many instances it makes people more resolute in their views for or against us.
Undoubtedly we will see more bills like this over the next four years. Even if they die in committee the same elements will be copied and paste into the next effort, with a different title and perhaps different sponsors. The pressure we must apply, needs to be applied with both a measure of patience and consistency, not a quick knee jerk response that is promoted by eye catching headlines or inflammatory YouTube videos. This kind of teaching is something our community can be very good at within our own families, but are not as astute at performing outside of our homes. The other side, by nature, is quite good at messaging and education even when we find the things being taught to be disagreeable.
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 (if they ever get back online) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
This last week has been a busy one for me. I have not been able to put a lot of time into the website. I do not have a book review to post for this week. It was something I wanted to do but we just ran out of time to get it finished. With that said we did go live with the SAAMI Shotshell Cartridge Catalog.
As someone who has only dabbled with shot shell reloading this was a fun catalog to put together. Shot shell cartridges have very low pressure compared to most other metallic cartridges. Faster burning powders, and powders with higher nitroglycerin contents are typical for powders specific for shot shell cartridges. These powders often cross over to many pistol calibers but not all powders that are suited for use in shotgun loads are good for pistol loads.
Much of this is due to the differences in service pressures, where shotgun powders are designed to burn optimally at 11,000 to 14,000psi, many pistol cartridges have a service pressures of 35,000psi. These differences can result in dangerous pressure spikes, and inconsistent loads. This is to say, a that pound of Green Dot sitting on the shelf is tempting to try in a pistol load, but it is not recommended.
I have accepted a new job in Alabama, which means we have one more move in us before we hit a long term home. Hopefully once there we can restart on some of the project’s we’ve been working on. The limbo that I’ve been in during the last few months has been difficult. These next few weeks promise to keep me pretty busy, but I’ll try and continue to make progress on keeping the site up to date.
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 (if they ever get back online) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
