Category: Uncategorized

Good Monday Evening! I am happy to report that I actually got some stuff done on the website this week, and not only that I got out to the range. One of the great lies about working in the shooting industry is that you get to shoot all the time. Well, sometimes you do, but it’s no the type of shooting any of us would consider helpful. Before we get into what I did at the range, let’s talk about what we updated the website with.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was working on a book review for Ammunition Making by George E. Frost. I have finally finished the review. You can read the review as well as get some sample pictures of what is contained in the book. The link for that is here Thoughts on Ammunition Making by George E. Frost. Unfortunately, this book has been out of print for some time and it is scarce. Scarcity has driven up the price and I have seen copies listed at $300 to $600. Keep an eye out for it at used book stores, or online use book shops. Sometimes you can sneak in and get a deal when the seller does not know what gem they have.

This weekend I had the pleasure of shooting in a 3×600 match at the Civilian Marksmanship Range in Talladega Alabama. What a treat that was. We had a tropical storm moving in on us and it rained the whole time we were shooting but surprisingly very little wind. This range will spoil you with the electronic targets, you get nearly instant feedback on your hits, and can dial in the sights without walking downrange or the use need of an optic.

This means the equipment you need to bring to the range is pretty darn limited. Basically, it comprises of yourself, your rifle, some ammo, and a pair of shooting glasses/ear pro. Honestly, I find this to be a huge blessing as one of the hurdles for me is having to bring a truckload of equipment. Spotting scopes, shooting mats, targets, staple gun, logbook, spotting scope stand, and depending on what I am doing, a chronograph. Somedays I feel like I spend very little time shooting and most of my time, setting up, taking down, or walking back and forth between the targets. The system at the CMP range is not new to me, most commercial ballistics labs with a testing tunnel have some sort of electronic target. however having it on a covered outdoor range, to where we were able to shoot all morning long without getting wet, is sweet.

The other guys at the match were shooting mostly service rifles with some guys shooting F-Class. We had one guy shooting his Palma rifle. I was the only one shooting traditional iron sights, from an M1A in 308 Win. I know I can catch some flak for not shooting an AR-15, but honestly, my passion for the M1A runs deep. It is a rifle I really enjoy shooting. I am not a competitive shooter, but I like to test myself, and shooting this rifle at 600 yards was a real test of my skills. The 3×600 is shot prone, 20 rounds per course of fire with two sighters, you have 2 minutes to shoot the sighters and make any corrections to your sight, and then you have 20 minutes to shoot 20 shots. My first round was basically 20 sighters, just trying to shake the rust off and get the rifle dialed in.

Once I was dialed in, it was more or less an exercise in endurance. Typically my first ten shots did a lot better than my second ten. The sling I have on my rifle is a Les Tam, and I got the sling to use for this type of shooting, I am still learning how to use it properly. I knew going into it that I was not going to score very well. The guys at the match all competed nationally, the scores that won the match were all in the 590’s with 30 or more Xs. They had proper service rifles with 4.5 power optics, shooting jackets, shooting mats, optics, and probably about $500 of other assorted gear. Not to mention hundreds of hours of practice time under their belts. I am ok with that, I kind of like the simple challenge of what I can do with my rifle, in what you might call an “everyday” dress and wear.

I look forward to the next match, I may not shoot next month, but I hope to shoot a bit more regularly. I will probably try and bring some other rifles to the match. I need to work on a load for my Lee Enfield, and I would like to get some more trigger time on that historic rifle especially at distances. Someday I’ll build or buy an M1 Garand and I am sure I will bring that to the range frequently. There was a time shooting competitively that really appealed to me, but that time has somewhat faded. I just like to shoot to improve myself, and buying a shooting jacket, or having $1000’s of dollars of gear to tote around, is not really appealing to me.

As far as industry news goes, there is not much that has caught my eye this past week. The ATF nomination keeps getting put off, if you have not called your senator then please take the time to do so and oppose David Chipman. Also, head over to the ATF’s website and write a thoughtful comment on opposing the two new regulations that are being proposed and at in comment periods. Namely the redefining of what constitutes a Firearm, and what is allowed when it comes to an arm brace. Both of those reinterpretations of existing laws really have the potential to upset a large portion of the industry. Combine that with the confirmation of David Chipman who has openly worked for the Anti-gun lobby, and we have a nasty situation brewing that can really have long-term ramifications for the industry.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has been using the Amazon Affiliate link. It’s a small program that helps out small websites like this to offset some of the costs of registering and upkeep. I do not make any money from this site, in fact, it costs money to run. I do it because it is a passion. There are other affiliate programs I would love to be a part of but the traffic to the site is not quite large enough to qualify for enrollment. We will just keep on keeping on, but thanks to everyone who takes the time to use our links to buy stuff, I do appreciate it.

I anticipate the I will be doing an update on the burn rate chart in the next few weeks. I have a couple of emails requesting a printable copy. Hold tight, I want to get you a copy of the new stuff. I’ll send you a version when that is completed. Just heads up, the update will likely be adding another column which is going to make it a bit harder to print. If there are powders you are not interested in, what may be best is for me to hide those columns so they do not have an impact on the overall text on the chart. Let me know in advance and I can alter it for you.

As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Here we are halfway through June and so far in 2021, it seems like we cannot go a week without some sort of major announcement, or new law change in the firearms community. This time we get to look at a new proposed change by the ATF in regards to how it will classify firearms that use an AR brace.

Now, I have probably made it somewhat known that I am not a huge fan of pistol braces in general. Personally, it is worth it to me to pay $200 and get a stamp to put proper stock on a firearm. When I do an AR build I likely will have $800+ into it, and while it is silly to have to pay $200 to mount a $50 piece of plastic, I figure it in as a cost. Overall the larger stock fits me better, and it is generally more comfortable to shoot. I have also objected to the fact the widespread use of the brace as a “wink, and nod” circumvention of current NFA laws does more harm to the initial purpose of the brace. Mainly to allow veterans and shooters with a disability to stabilize and shoot an AR pistol build. As I stated in December, when a proposed rule change was brought out by the ATF, the harm this does to those with legitimate disabilities is the true story, not curtailing rights for the average shooter.

Well, as we know they retracted the initial rule change. Many in the firearms community celebrated this as a win. I was far more sanguine about it. I saw it more as a political ploy, that the Biden Administration would resubmit the proposed rule in some form or fashion to claim they were making good on campaign promises. We did not have to wait long for that to happen. On June 7th, 2021 the ATF announced their proposed rule change for Pistol braces. This is a completely different document than what we saw in December. In some ways, it is a bit more lenient as it allows the majority of pistol braces to be kept in circulation so long as the build they are placed stay within certain criteria. The full proposal can be read here.

The rule change boils down to this; firearms WITH a pistol brace will be subjected to a point system in order to determine if they are a legitimate use of a pistol brace or if they are an SBR. The ATF provides examples of the forms as part of the rule change that gives an overview of what the criteria are. I have included the forms below. They include items such as, does the firearm have a forward grip stop, or does it have flip-up rifle style sights. The firearm must also weigh between 64 to 120 ounces.

It is important to note that a total of 4 points or more indicate the pistol is an SBR. If we look at some of these examples, they can be pretty subjective, and you can see how someone really gets into trouble pretty quickly. If anything that ATF has at least finally provided the firearm community with a really good illustration as to how absurd and ridiculous Short Barrel Rifle laws are. While the ATF bills these builds as being particularly deadly, anyone who is familiar with them knows the opposite is true. In nearly every case a shooter is better off with a 16in barrel rifle and a proper stock than a 10.5in pistol build with a “pistol brace”.

The thing that is the most troubling to me, is how many shooters will get themselves in trouble accidentally. Firearm laws are already somewhat confusing. SBR and SBS laws are excellent examples of this. The illustration to the right is meant to be both comical and true. It really is that nuanced and this point system is not going to help, as you can have a perfectly legal pistol build and then decide to swap out sights, and have an illegal SBR. Do not put it past the ATF or any other Federal Agency from looking a social media pictures of people firing their “Pistol Builds” and using that as evidence against them. I do believe this law will end up getting otherwise law-abiding people into trouble. Unfortunately, as with any other firearm, the law is backed by felony charges.

Still it is important to note this only applies to pistols with pistol braces. A lot of false reporting has happened to say this will kill red dots on pistols, and that does not appear to be true. As egregious as this proposed rule changed is, we have to be honest in how we report it. The chances the ATF will back down this time are pretty slim, still it is worth leaving a well thought out and well worded comment. As with what most of the Biden led ATF is doing, we will need to fight this in the courts.

While back I mentioned that the Civilian Marksmanship Program put out a letter about the proposed pressure of 30-06 Springfield rounds to be a fire in the M1 Garand and 1903A3 rifles. They had stated that anything with pressures greater than 50,000 CUP was too high for these old warhorses. At the time I was displeased that they would use Copper Units of Pressure since that unit of measure has been retired for 20+ years. No ammunition manufacturer is using CUP to measure pressure in 30-06 ammunition. I reasoned that they should at least limit pressure to the 50,000psi that is specified in the Mil-Spec for M2 ball ammunition.

Well I was recently working on a project with 30-06 doing a bit of load development and happened to run across the SAAMI spec. While CUP is not longer in use, SAAMI maintains the record for these loads. Please pay attention to the bullet weights and velocities in the following section.

The keen eye will notice something. The velocities for a Maximum Average Pressure of 50,000CUP or 60,000psi are exactly the same for any given bullet weight. Since velocity is a product of pressure, it can be reasonably asserted that the peak pressure is identical. This is confusing, to say the least, if the CMP recommendation is suppose to be a “Softer load” then this comparison would refute that. They again would be better off publishing 50,000psi maximum that the M2 Ball load is spec’d out at.

Anyone who is familiar with CUP versus PSI will know that there is not a direct comparison that can be made between CUP and PSI as you are effectively measuring two different things. CUP measures the Area Under the Pressure/Time Curve, while transducers measure a true Pressure/Time curve. However how CUP has been treated by SAAMI is highly variable, if you flip through the SAAMI catalog you will find some CUP pressures appear to be identical to the peak pressure in PSI. Other times the CUP will be a little lower. The easiest place to see this is in the Rifle Cartridge Catalog where I lay it out. With that said if CMP was trying to provide a spec for softer ammunition, I think they have missed the boat.

I do believe the CMP has a point, even if they have not communicated it well. A service pressure of 60,000psi or 50,00 CUP may very well be a bit much for these antique firearms and you are better offloading down a bit. However, there is not much in the way of 30-06 loads published at 50,000 PSI. Stick to the min loads, and I think you will probably accomplish the same thing.

Well this has been a decent update. This week I do hope to carve out some time to do a Burn Rate Chart update. I came across some information on some Russian powders that I have not seen before and wanted to add those to the spread sheet. I am also planning on hammering out a couple book reviews so look for those to be posted this week.

As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good evening, after a bit of a hiatus here is a proper weekly update. I per the usual I have been very busy mostly between work and family. It is all good things, but it sometimes means I am not able to update the site as often as I would like. Before we get into some of the updates, we need to pause for a moment and recognize the anniversary of D-day which was yesterday, June 6th, 1944. It is worth noting that on, June 7th, 1944 the success of the D-day landings was definitely not clear, and while the allied troops pushed inland it was not without great sacrifice.

We refer to those who served during World War 2 as the Greatest Generation. I have often wondered what prepared these men to face the guns of the Third Reich, and the Imperialist Japanese? We are a mere seventy-seven years removed from this time. While it was before I was a twinkle in my father’s eye, it is a drop in the bucket compared to human existence. I look around today, the men in the photo above, they were barely 18, some were younger, fresh from high school. On their shoulders were the hopes and dreams of a nation, and many of them paid with their lives. A debt that we can never hope to repay, a debt that can only be honored by the way we live our lives.

There has been something lost, these men had, a certain grit and an unbreakable will that we have lost. It is troubling to me, that my children will never know a World War 2 veteran. Members of this, the Greatest Generation, will have long been laid to rest by the time my children come of age. We are fortunate to have so many records and testimonies given by these men. I hope we have all taken a moment to pause and reflect on those who have served, who continue to serve, and who will serve.

I realize this next part is a bit of a 180 in tone and tenor of the update. So pause here….

A friend of mine shared with me the fact that a mutual acquaintance of ours got busted for purchasing a Solvent Trap and a lightning Link from Wish.com. This is one of those facepalm moments. For those who are not familiar with Wish.com, it is probably for the best. Basically, it is an overstock site that sells stuff direct from China, for what seems like outrageously low prices. It is probably the biggest scam out there. It does not take much of a search on your favorite web browser to see the outright stupid stuff that is sold on this site. Now, with that said, I have bought a few things from Wish.com. Small electronic-type stuff and a few computer fans or whatnot. I have not really been burned by it, but I also did not buy the $300 item selling for $19.99.

Where some gun owners have gotten themselves in trouble is buying firearm parts from Wish.com. You can purchase Solvent Traps, you can purchase items that are downright illegal to own. There was a time, early on when the ATF was not keen on this, but that time has long since passed. Typically one of two things happens when you buy a Solvent Trap from Wish.com or another similar site.

1. You get an empty box that has a letter to the effect “This item was confiscated at customs as was an illegal item”
2. You get a visit from your local ATF agent.

Unfortunately for our mutual acquaintance, he got the latter option. That visit came with confiscation of all of his firearms. He is not allowed to touch a firearm, discuss firearms, or really associate with folks who have firearms. Undoubtedly this is going to come with some hard time in club fed, fines, and he will be a lifelong felon and unable to legally purchase or own a firearm.

This should be a hard reminder to every one of us that every firearm law on the books is backed by a felony. Are there a few minor infractions that may result in a misdemeanor, maybe, but they are ones you and I could probably count on one hand. I get frustrated by the ridiculousness of firearms laws on a semi-monthly basis. Something rubs me the wrong way, but at the same time, I really enjoy my hobby and my profession. I do not have an interest in crossing that line. That is usually the reason I tend not to like items like Solvent Traps, Bumps Stocks, or Braces. They are riding that edge of legality, and too many people are woefully ignorant of basic firearm laws let alone the nuance of Short Barrels Rifles, or Suppressors.

Another interesting thing I am starting to see more and more issues with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. I realize there may be some bias here, and I may be more sensitive to the idea of lost packages as a whole. Some are just simple things like batteries, but others are very expensive things like a couple of SPAS 12 Shotguns that recently got lost. I had DHL deliver half of a $15k drone to an address in Las Vegas back in August. As for my incident with the bullets, UPS refunded me the cost of shipping, plus the insured value. In total, we lost about $200 in the deal.

I am thinking the shipping industry as a whole is not particularly reliable right now. I hate purchasing extra insurance but I recently had an Oehler 43 box shipped back to me. They asked me how much I wanted to insure it for, given it is no longer made and would cost about $8300 for a replacement Oehler 83. I insured the box for $5,000. I figure if FedEx screws it up they can pay 3/4 the cost for a new Oehler 83 and I figure that will be a bit of a win.

We are going to end on a happy note. If you are even remotely plugged into the firearms news, no doubt you have already heard of the recent decision coming out of California. The judge ruled California’s 30 year old Assualt Weapons Ban unconstitutional. This was the same judge who ruled the magazine ban unconstitutional in 2017, resulting in a 72-hour airlift of 30 rounds magazines into the State before a stay was granted.

There are a few neat things about this case. The first is, that the whole case was built on several Supreme Court rulings that have happened in the last two decades. Namely the Heller v. DC case and the Mcdonald v. Chicago. I am probably butchering the summery of this this, but the Heller case established that if a Firearm was in common use, then it fell under Second Amendment Protections, and the McDonald Case established that the 2nd Amendment applied to the States and the Federal Government. Previously to the McDonald case, the common practice was to lay out the phony argument that the States could choose to ignore the 2nd Amendment and only the Federal government was bound by it.

This court decision built on those two cases, and basically stated that the AR-15 passed the Heller test, and by doing so fell under 2nd Amendment Protections as outlined by the McDonald case. If there is one take away here, there are legal guys out there on our side, who are playing some pretty slick games of chess. We can get frustrated by the time, money and effort that goes into what should be a universally recognized Right, but progress is being made and we need to recognize it when it happens.

This win really puts California in an interesting position. They will appeal this to the 9th Circuit Court. Unlike the magazine ruling, the ruling did not strike out the laws, meaning no “AR Airlift”, but it has a lot of folks who are on the far left up in arms. When the 9th Circuit hears the case, they have two options, they can either rule in favor of California, which sets up an appeal to the Supreme Court, or they can rule in favor of SAF and FPC who are arguing the case and California will need to deal with the fallout. The 9th Circuit coming out with a favorable ruling becomes the basis for challenging laws in other jurisdictions, basically it opens doors and if two circuit courts have competing rulings it increases the chances the Supreme Court will take up some future case.

If it goes to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court rules that the law is unconstitutional, then that ruling becomes binding to states like New York, and New Jersey. This means legal challenges there are basically certain, and the judges will have to choose to follow the Supreme Court precedent or ignore it. This has happened with the Heller decision where judges have outright ignored the ruling, typically this means more legal processes and eventually another case will make it’s way to the Supreme Court which could further solidify the ruling.

There is a catch if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Assualt Weapons ban, then it will make it difficult to challenge any bans in the future, and basically embolden the anti-gun factions. With the current makeup of the court, it is likely we would get a favorable ruling, but legal processes taketime. One strategy that is often used, is to stall cases. There are various ways this can be done, by either party, to try and wait for a more favorable court make up. Its unlikely we will see it here as I doubt we will see a significant change the make up of the Court in the next three years, but who knows.

Generally, though, this is a step in the right direction. It is also why I am a big advocate for the Second Amendment Foundation, they have made a lot of progress where other organizations just have not. If you have not checked them out, kick them a few bucks, it is the one organization that seems to be really fighting the good fight.

Generally, though, this is a step in the right direction. It is also why I am a big advocate for the Second Amendment Foundation, they have made a lot of progress where other organizations just have not. If you have not checked them out, kick them a few bucks, it is the one organization that seems to be really fighting the good fight. If you would like a somewhat interesting read, the ruling can be found here.

As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Hard to believe we are nearly halfway through this year. Few more weeks and we will hit the summer solstice. I did not post last week because I was away at training to learn some new CAM software. Programming CNC machines, pretty neat stuff. This week has been quite busy, so this post will be short.

I have gotten a few emails, I need to respond to. If you are waiting on a response, you are not forgotten. I will work on getting them taken care of in the next few days, I do like to take the time to give good responses to an email, so it can take me a bit of time to respond. For that, I apologize. As I said, this would be short, but I wanted to get something out to let people know I am still alive and kicking.

As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

It is Monday again, and this time I have at least one good update to give. I have been doing a bit of reading and wanted to share a book I came across that I think a lot of guys who enjoy reloading might get a kit out of. Ammunition Making was written by George E Frost, and published in 1990 with a second printing in 1992. This book covers pretty much everything to do with the manufacture of ammunition. Bullets, brass, primers, and even powder. It also goes in-depth into crosssections of tooling, some dimensional drawings, and testing procedures. I have not come across another book like it.

It was originally published by the NRA and is now out of print. Amazon has a copy for about $320 and the description says it is in so-so shape. If you miss out on this copy keep an eye out for copies at used book stores or on eBay. It is well worth the addition to your library. I have not finished reading it, when I do I will write a formal review of the book and post it to the website. This is one book, I would like to see a third printing on, and I think it would do well especially with the number of new ammunition companies and resurgence in interest in handloading. Lots of guys like to get into the details of how things are made and this book is not short on those details.

I’ve got several books on my shelf that I have been meaning to read. As I get through them I’ll write up more reviews. I have several of Brian Litz’s books that deserve a review, they are fairly dry reads so it might take a bit for me to get through.

It seems like the last few months have been busy ones for the 2A community. Just the last few weeks there have been ATF proposed rule changes, a favorable Supreme Court ruling that was announced today, and a no so favorable ruling on the NRA bankruptcy proceedings. Combined with the 50 BMG SLAP ammo, there is just plenty of stuff to talk about but it’s hard to figure out everyone has value in.

A few weeks ago I talked about the 50BMG SLAP incident that was made public by Kentucky Ballistics. There has been a lot of speculative videos made about what happened. In fact, it seems like everyone who had a YouTube channel remotely connected to firearms did a video on it. To me, most of that has been noise, what has interested me is the response that Mark Serbu has put up.

As a firearms manufacturer, he has been put in a difficult position. He has made thousands of these firearms without incident, and now this one, highly publicized incident, threatens the reputation of not only the RN-50 design but of his company. He has a fine line to walk and I do sympathize. In the most recent video he posted, he went through some of the math regarding chamber pressures required to shear the threads and the locking tabs. The pressures they estimated were in excess of 160,000psi. For reference, the service pressure for 50 BMG is 55,000 the TM 43-0001-27 lists the proof pressure as 65,000psi.

50 BMG is not a SAAMI Cartridge, so SAAMI does not publish load data for that round. Ammunition specs, mainly pressure velocity and other “at a glance” type information can be found in the Army Ammunition Data Sheets Small Caliber Ammunition TM 43-00001-27. It is an interesting reference for someone who is a bit of an ammo geek.

Now, it should be stated that manufacturing mistakes do happen. Stuff can get improperly heat-treated, but honestly, I think that is not the case here. The mounting evidence really is starting to suggest that it was an ammunition issue, and more likely than not, the ammunition was counterfeit. Mark Serbu points this out in his video here. As a community, this should pose some serious questions about military surplus rounds. Especially ammunition that is “Exotic” stuff that is sold for a premium due to the unique nature. Incendiary rounds, SLAP rounds, Black Tip, or Green Tip. All of this has limited practical use beyond the uniqueness and novelty of it but can command a price that is often far and above premium ammunition. We just do not know the source, and if someone is selling counterfeit rounds to make a quick buck, it means the people buying up this stuff are unknowing participants in a game of Russian roulette.

If you are into that sort of thing, the only thing I can tell you is to only buy pull-downs handload your own, or collect the loaded rounds but do not shoot them. Honestly, I would love to add a SLAP round, some Blacktip, and other so-called “Exotic” ammunition to my collection of cartridges. However at this point, I will not be shooting any of it, not unless I load it myself and I know for sure, what the powder and charge weight is.

The last thing I want to push back against Mr. Serbu a bit. My point of contention is how the rifle failed. No one is going to design a rifle to withstand 160,000psi. These pressures are well above the failure point of the brass cartridge itself. SAAMI lists the maximum service pressure for Brass Cartridge cases at 65,000psi, which means proof pressures are well into the high 70,000 range. For this reason, we will not see a brass cartridge case approved for a service pressure above 65,000psi. The SIG 277 Fury is a notable exception as it is a multipiece stainless steel cartridge case, and it can get away with the higher pressures.

However, if we stick our new product designer hat on for a minute and look at risk and liability, we want to make sure our product is safe, and should it fail, it will fail in a manner that will minimize risk to the shooter. Engineering teams often conduct a study called a Failure Mode Effect Analysis or FMEA. This is an in-depth look at what all could possibly go wrong, and should it go wrong what the failure mode would be and what the effects may be. Sometimes the results of these studies alter the designs so they fail-safe, meaning that there are designed weak points where a failure is designed to occur in order to prevent a much larger failure that could harm an individual. For example, if there was a bore obstruction and the shooter fired a round, perhaps the locking lugs will shear off and the bolt will open, but there is a third “safety” lug that will prevent the bolt from opening completely allowing the gas to vent.

I do not think the design of the RN-50 is a weak design. In fact, I think it is a very strong design. So strong, that in order for it to fail, the action had to literally come apart sending shrapnel back at the shooter. The FMEA process is hard to do, because you have to balance the design of an object, with the cost to produce, and the liability a company is willing to assume. You are constantly playing a game of “What if” and sometimes the scenarios that are proposed seem preposterous outlining a very specific set of events that have to happen in order for that particular failure to occur. However sometimes life is stranger than fiction, and things happen that no engineer could possibly dream up.

Point in case, the recent gas shortage, people were filling up Tupperware containers, trash bags, and other less than ideal containers full of gasoline. More than one car ended up on fire. Some people figured out that diesel and gasoline are not interchangeable fuels, and a Prius does not sport a true multifuel engine. I’m just saying, engineers try and protect people from their own stupidity but there are limits…

Bottom line, I sympathize with Mr. Serbu, he’s got his company’s reputation and the firearms reputation on the line. If he was to admit he made an unsafe firearm, he would open himself up to so many lawsuits that it would bankrupt him. He has no choice but to defend the design, and honestly, I think he’s been pretty open and honest about it. Maybe he’ll take a look at this and make some design changes that will make what is reportedly an excellent rifle into an even better one.

The last point I wanted to make was a follow-up to the conversation regarding ATF’s proposed rule change. 2021R-05 is in public comment. It is worth your time to go over and make a comment. Generally, it is best to write out your own comment. The form letters and emails you see are often glossed over, and they do not receive much attention. Taking the time to write out your thoughts and opinions in a calm and articulate way will have a greater effect. With that said, I do not think a letter campaign is going to change the final rule one bit. Read the rules, they are very specific on what can and cannot be said, as well as what information needs to be included in order for the comment to be accepted.

The forces at play here have to do the public comment by law, but at this point, it is a formality. They will go through the process because if they do not, the judge will rule that the rule change is invalid due to the process being ignored. Our time is better spent petitioning our Senators and our Representatives. We should also be throwing our support behind organizations like the 2nd Amendment Foundation. The only way we are likely to make a meaningful change, on the Federal level, over the next four years is through the judicial system.

I do not like this on principle, as the judicial system is often abused, making law from the bench which short circuits the legislative process. This is not how the founding fathers intended the judicial system to function. With that said, the laws that we are challenging go against individual Rights, and while there is a fine line between judicial activism and fair judicial judgment. I do feel that this falls in the realm of the latter, but I am not wholly insensitive to counterarguments, and I would rather see action taken through the legislative process.

As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Last week was a busy week in the firearms community. Namely, the ATF dropped a 115-page document outlining their proposed changes to firearm definitions. This has caused a lot of commotion, some of it justified some of it a bit overblown. Since may potentially have an impact on our lives, discussing this proposed rule change will be pretty much the topic this week.

First off, here is the link to the document summary. From here you can go and read the full document. Yes, it is 115 pages, it covers a lot of information that is in legalese, which can be dry and hard to understand at times. However, unless you plan on looking up every reference and cross-referencing it, it reads a bit more like 60 pages. Still, a chunk of text to read, but that is where everyone should begin. The reason is simple, there are a lot of claims that are being made that either misrepresent or purposely mislead what this document seems to be actually saying. So take the time to read it for yourself and inoculate yourself against some of the BS coming from guys who make money off sensationalism.

What does it do?

Well, first off, it makes it clear what is considered a firearm and what is not. This is something that has been in the courts. The ATF obviously disagrees with recent court rulings that would make AR-15 lower receivers, striker-fired pistol receivers, FAL receivers, and other “Multipiece” firearm designs which do not neatly fit the 1968 Gun Control Act definition of a Firearm. Our side rightly points out the inconsistency here, and that under current rules, an AR-15 receiver technically is not a firearm, the ATF proposed rule change will change the definition to basically make clear to the Courts that at least one component of a multipiece firearm must bear a serial number and is defined as the transferable item.

Some people claim that this means that AR Uppers or Glock Slides are now going to be serialized and will also require a 4473. However, I do not think this is the intent, as at the end of the document (pages 86 thru 88) provide what parts of the firearm will be considered the receiver and require a serial number. None of the examples are different from what we are already used to. In fact, this may be, a bit of good news for some firearm makers. For example, those who make bolt action upper receivers that mount on AR-15 lower. The ATF sent a cease and desist to some companies, including a company in Utah claiming that they were making and selling a firearm. Clearing up this definition could allow these manufacturers to sell bolt action uppers without the requirement for a 4473.

It also provides manufacturers of suppressors some leniency when dealing with suppressor parts. Since a baffle, or a wipe, is considered a suppressor part, it is tightly controlled. However many of us will rightly ask, when does an O-Ring cease to be an O-Ring and instead becomes a suppressor wipe? The ATF does not seem to answer this, but they do seem to say that baffles and other internal components will not require individual serialization, or the transfer of parts during the manufacturing process from one company to another (for example, Nickle plating an internal component such as a baffle by a third party). This cuts down on the paperwork and tracking requirements for both parties. Does not do anything for people who privately own and would like to get parts to repair their own suppressor.

Defines what a Privately Made Firearm (PMF) is, and how it is to be handled. Honestly, this section is not clear to me. The way I understand it is that firearms made by an individual, and are for individual use are still legal. If I want to take a file to a piece of round stock and carve out my own receiver I can do that. However, if I wish to later sell that firearm, then I cannot do it unless it has a serial number, date of manufacture, and place of manufacture. These engravings must be done by a licensed gunsmith. If there are PMF’s in a gun store inventory then they must either be marked or be destroyed. So the bottom line is, if we want to turn out our own firearms, we are still legal to do so, but if we want to sell it, it has to be serialized and put “on record” by a gunsmith.

Here is what we get into the crux of the bill. The so-called “Ghost Gun” portion. The issue at hand here, is when does a firearm become a firearm? The ATF is basically expanding the definition that they can call just about anything, up to including a block of aluminum a receiver if they think it is too easy for a nefarious individual to turn it into something that can go “Bang”. Honestly, reading the wording, I was very surprised by how purposely vague it was.

I think this is going to have the intended effect of killing 80% of receivers, and receiver kits. Honestly, it may kill a lot of the important demilled kits. Like the kit, I purchased to build my own VZ-58. This is a real bummer for me because I really enjoy these kits and when I have a bit of time and money, my hope was to pick another one up and build it out. Of all the text that was in this document, this is what was probably the most constitutionally fraught, and is very likely where we will see the strongest court challenge.

I am not 100% up on the record-keeping requirements of FFL dealers but this proposed rule looks to be extending the requirements from 10 years to 20 years. Which, I can only imagine the burden that will be for some FFL’s who have high volumes of sales. That just seems completely arduous, and maybe even a bit punitive.

What are my overall thoughts on it? Quite frankly, for the average firearm owner, and even the above-average firearm owner, this is going to have very little effect. It will go mostly unnoticed, and I suspect the ATF intended it that way. They are not stupid, they know if they rock the boat too much they will get a Supreme Court ruling that goes against them, or they will motivate legislative action that will undue their administrative changes. What we should take away from it, it is an example of incrementalism. The slow erosion of freedoms that to directly impacts the free exercise of a constitutional Right.

The ATF wrote several long pages about how they are defending these rules changes, citing precedence and FBI data on ghost guns. It is important to remember when reading this you are getting only one side of the argument. Unfortunately, the data they cite does show that several thousand “Privately Made Firearms” are being recovered at crime scenes and the trend is on the upward climb. Which poses a question to us, what alternative solutions do we propose to reverse this trend, or do are we willing to argue that in the interest of the free exercise of a constitutional right that we must be willing to tolerate some level of illicit behavior. Personally, I find myself more drawn to the latter argument, but it is a harder argument to sell to the general public, regardless, I believe it to be the right one.

Anyway, as you read over the proposed rule change, let me know if presented a fair assessment. Again, I am not trying to be sensational in anything I present, just trying to understand it and understand its potential impacts on both my industry and my hobby.

Anyway, as you read over the proposed rule change, let me know if presented a fair assessment. Again, I am not trying to be sensational in anything I present, just trying to understand it and understand its potential impacts on both my industry and my hobby. This is a single topic post this week, since it a long one, I keep it to that. I’ve got some more stuff I’d like to share but I will save it for next 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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Evening, Morning, Afternoon, what ever it may be where you are reading this. It’s Monday again and time for a bit of an update. This past week has been a busy one, but somewhat productive. I managed to get a Bullseye Camera system working after significant tinkering. The root cause seemed to be a low battery.

The battery was charged enough to power the router but would not power the camera. The LiPo battery pack had sat in a state of discharge for who knows how long before I had inherited it, which is never good for LiPo batteries. I think it took a solid week before it hit full charge, which given the age is not surprising but it also probably means I likely did not have the right wall adapter. I need to look up and see what kind of wall adapter the manufacturer recommends for the LiPo pack.

This particular model is the sight in model, and has a range somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 to 200 yards. Honestly for the majority of my needs right now, this fits the bill. I played with a long range version and was quite impressed with it back in 2016. The company has since come out with some very nice systems, but I suspect the age of video based target systems is short lived. The electronic targets are coming down in price and it would not surprise me to see electronic targets in the neighborhood of 200 to 300 dollars within the decade. There is a high likelihood that I will be using this when I finally get out to the range to finish siting in the VZ-58.

The other industry news is the video posted by Kentucky Ballistics. If you have not had a chance to watch it, here is the link. I have see and few of his videos. It is not a channel I actively follow, and most of his content, honestly, is a bit “clickbaitish”. It is sometimes cool to see new guns, but the novelty of how different cartridges and rifles perform on various objects has worn off. Just not my cup of tea. The video is worth talking about because things went wrong, very wrong. He was testing 50 BMG SLAP ammunition, and the rifle came apart in the process nearly killing him.

SLAP, stands for Saboted Light Armor Penetrator. The round was developed in the 80’s to accelerate .30 caliber 355gr tungsten penetrator to nearly 4,000 feet per second. They did this by using a plastic sabot, which is discarded shortly after the projectile leaves the bore. This round, or a derivative of it, is still in production by Winchester. A variation on this round is the SLAP-T which is a tracer.

This ammunition is designed primarily for armor penetration’s and it was quite effective at it. Reportedly it is able to penetrate up to 1.3 inches of AR500 at 500 meters, and .90 inches at 1000 meters. All of this it accomplishes at a service pressure of 55,000psi. Based on the data I can find, the powder used was WC 856. Based on what information I have been able to find, this powder is faster burning then US 869, but does not have a commercial canister equivalent. Powder for typical 50 BMG ball ammunition is WC 860.

I have read many theories as to what could have caused this. Some say the chamber has to be of a special cut, and it will only work in machine gun, such as the Browning M2. However I have not found any technical specs or references which outline how this chamber is different. I have also found mention that the plastic sabot may have melted and stuck to the inside of the chamber creating a “stuck round”. Sounds a little plausible, but not completely convincing.

Usually the reason SLAP rounds are not recommended for general rifles is due to the fact the muzzle break has a tendency to catch on the muzzle break. This can screw up a clean release, resulting in a flier at best, or the sabot can get caught in the muzzle break and split the break on the next shot at worse. Some 50 BMG rifles also sport a special chamber cut to allow for bore rider bullets, and that could cause high chamber pressures. However it is unlikely either of those things were responsible for the way this gun catastrophically failed. A custom chamber is not something that the rifle maker, Serbu Firearms, Inc even offers for their RN-50 rifle, and a caught sabot is more likely to damage the muzzle break then cause the breech to fail as the pressures at the muzzle are far, far lower then they are at chamber.

Another point on why I doubt it is a chamber cut issue. The military knows that sometimes life does not go as planned. If things go sideways and you run out of M8 Ball, and all you have is a can of M903 linked with M962 (50 BMG SLAP and SLAPT-T), but no Browning M2 to fire it in, are we saying that it cannot be used under any circumstance? That trying to chamber an fire this round in a Barrett M107 will cause such a catastrophic failure as to risk life and limb of the soldiers using it? It kind of find it implausible that this has not be considered and the design of the ammunition makes allowances for it, but I suppose possible.

So what is my theory? Well, two things stand out to me, 1st Kentucky Ballistics reportely paid $100 per round. Which is insane, given the cost to produce is likely only $20 to $25 dollars a round. However given there is not a lot of it that makes it to the civilian market, the exotic nature of the ammunition is likely the driving factor in cost. This disparity between cost to produce and the potential sale cost makes me wonder if someone was not cranking these things out in their garage and selling them as military surplus rounds. If you think I am a bit off the deep end, let me give an example.

Several years ago, Remington caught wind of some guys selling off QC rejected ammunition. These stuff was sent to be scrapped, but it was making its way on to the market. There was hell to pay, I believe people went to prison over it. That only reason Remington caught word of it, was from a police officer who bought some of this reject and went to Remington to ask questions. If there is a quick buck to be made, someone is likely to try and make it. That is my sinister theory.

My less than sinister theory is that this ammo was subjected to abuse. US-869, the slower burning cousin to the WC 856 is not a particular temperature stable powder. If these rounds were left to bake in the sun, in the hot Iraqi desert, and made their way around the world a few times, before landing themselves in a military surplus store. It is not too far fetched that powder may not perform like brand new US 856, when powders are heated and cooled, sometimes the pressure they generate still remains elevated, indicated that the heat induced a permanent change to the powder burn characteristics.

I believe this is both the simplest theory and the hardest one to prove. Unless you can get ahold of that exact lot of ammunition, and test it with modern testing equipment, (which no one will want to risk destroying at a tune of $3000 for a transducer and $10,000 dollars for a UR) we likely will not find out. With that said, the fall out from this is likely real for Serbu Firearms Inc. with this being a potential stain on their rifle. I think it is prudent not to blame the rifle for the failure because the pressures generated were undoubetly way beyond proof pressures.

However it is fair to fault the firearm in the way that it failed. I am not saying a Barrett M99 or a Bushmaster 50 would have handled it better, but they may not have failed in the same manner that would risk life and limb of the shooter. The type of action that us being used on the Serbu, is a very strong action, but the idea that the action can fail in the manner directing that amount of force towards the shooter, does make someone pause. Given the two things that caused the major life-threatening injuries was a “Locking Lug” shearing off becoming a projectile and the threaded breech plug being shot backwards. An enclosed action likely would have contained a significant portion of the debris. Good thing he was wearing safety glasses, he better frame them and point to them every time a new shooter steps on his range.

We as handloaders and shooters to take an opportunity to learn from this. I hope none of this seems like I am being critical of Kentucky Ballistics. From everything he said, and presented I cannot find one thing he did, that I would have done differently, given the circumstances. What it does do for me is reinforce one point. The exotic ammo, whether it be, military surplus projectiles, or loaded rounds, are not really worth messing with. There is not enough load data, nor can we trace how that ammunition might be have been handled and by whom. My rifles, and my life is a bit too expensive to chance it for kicks and giggles. In almost all circumstances it presents more of a liability then it is worth. This is coming from someone who is giddy when they walk into a military surplus store.

I briefly wondered, for a moment given the violent nature of the failure, if Kentucky Ballistics had gotten ahold of a product of Eldest Son, a covert operation run back in Vietnam that purposely introduced rounds which were laden with an high explosive and would detonate when the soldier tried to fire it. This was done to sow doubt in the both the quality of the rifles and the ammunition. It is a very interesting, and not well known operation. However the dates of the SLAP ammunition development and adoption introduction, combined with the fact it’s a US round, make this impossible.

The last little update I have, is the UPS Saga continues but we seem to be making progress. After having to explain, for the second time, the difference between projectiles and live ammunition, it seems as those UPS is processing the claim. I will likely find the outcome of that in the next few days, I am very much hoping it is a full reimbursement of the value of the property lost. I would have much rather had the bullets delivered and not gone through this mess, but if I can come away with no money lost, I’ll take it as a small victory.

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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Evening, and Happy Monday! There is quite a bit going on in the firearms world which probably deserves a mention. However I try and keep these updates short enough to be read on the can, but long enough to at least be interesting. That is to say we probably will not get to everything going on. Just the highlights.

I have always kind of like the 5.7x28mm cartridge. The concept of a light weight projectile driven to a high velocity is not new, nor is it novel to field such a cartridge in a service pistol. However what is rather unique is that it seems to be a longer lived cartridge then some of the others. The Five SeveN Pistol and the PS-90 were the only two firearms that you could purchase the offering, however in the last few years we have began to see more and more domestic offerings. Most Notably the Ruger 57, and the Keltec P50. With Federal loading 5.7x28mm in their American Eagle line there was a decent source of ammo prior to this most recent ammo scare.

Well, one more development has happened that will likely keep this cartridge alive and well for many years to come. NATO has accepted standardization of the 5.7x28mm. As far as small arms goes, there are not many cartridges that have gain this level of notoriety. The 9x19mm, 7.62x51mm, 5.56x45mm and 12.7x99mm. Providing that it is indeed official, the Wikipedia page has already been updated.

At some point in time this will become a SAAMI cartridge. Especially if current trends continue. Do I think that it has any real terminal ballistics advantage over the current offerings? No, except that a single magazine in a service size pistol such as the FN Five seveN holds 20 rounds plus 1 in the pipe. The pistols I have shot, have been loud, but the recoil was more then manageable. Muzzle energy of most loads place it competitively with 9×19 and 45 ACP. However however it does not seem to perform as well when it comes to terminal ballistics as it’s two larger brothers. Whether this is due the lack of quality bullets or just inherent in the high velocity, light weight bullet, is something I am unsure of.

I would love to see Barnes Bullets offer a 30 or a 45gr projectile designed specifically for the 5.7x28mm. I think the solid copper combined with the high velocity would perform quite well on soft targets. Given the 5.7x28mm still has limited market share in the United States, and it is primarily a military cartridge, the demand is probably not high enough for a company like Barnes to pay much attention, at least not yet. Time will tell.

Among the noise about the ATF’s pending new rule on so called Ghost Guns, the Civilian Marksmanship Program released a new guidance on what ammunition is appropriate for use in M1 Garand and Springfield 1903A3 rifles. There honestly was nothing surprising about it, the guidance given falls inline with what the Garand community by in large would advise. Modern SAAMI loaded ammunition is loaded a bit too hot for these old war horses.

The one thing I wish the CMP would have did a bit better was not to rely on Copper Units of Pressure, (CUP). When they say 50,000CUP, it is not saying 50,000psi. The units of measure are fundamentally different. Few if anyone uses CUP measurements when loading ammunition. I believe only Winchester offers copper disks for CUP testing, suggesting at least someone still uses it for the very few cartridges which do not list a PSI standard under SAAMI guidelines. The CMP should have come out and said, we do not recommend any round loaded to a service pressure of 50,000psi or above. That is 10,000psi less then the current SAAMI MAP, and pretty much guarantees that anyone loading for 1903A3 or Garand wills load to a pressure of 45,000 to 48,000psi. If I get a chance next time I’m over at the CMP range, maybe I’ll ask why CUP over PSI.

As far as my shooting and reloading activities over the last week. I have done some. I am in the process of setting up a reloading room for the company I am employed with. I have to say, we got some benches that I am really impressed with. They are a bit on the pricey side, but they are bullet proof. If I had to pick one work bench to go with for a reloading room, these ones sold by Sam’s Club are the ticket.

My biggest concern with these was if they would be tall enough. I like to have a reloading bench a bit tall, basically counter height. Which for me is about 4 inches or so above my waist. These benches were perfect in height, and even when extended to the full height they are solid benches.

My last big issue this week was with shipping a package of bullets to a friend back in Utah. I shipped UPS, it cost me $50 bucks and when it arrived the package contained two PVC legs with cute little footprints on the bottom. Needless to say, my friend was not amused and I am not amused. How the contents of the package were swapped out, baffles and is upsetting to me. About $300 worth of projectiles are missing and we have nothing to show for it. UPS is investigating, but having been down this road I do not have high hopes they will do anything about it. When UPS has a confirmed delivery, they will wash their hands of the issue. We, as shooters, sometimes take for granted what we know, and when it comes to bullets verses ammunition the public truly does no know the difference.

I had to explain to the manager of the store that shipping copper and lead projectiles was allowed, and did not require any special hazmat licenses. She was very insistent that it did, even after I explained the the projectiles were inert, did not contain any powder, shells or primers, and were simply elemental copper and lead. It was a frustrating conversation. When I shipped the package, I labeled it as “Precision Machined Parts”, because I knew people get excited when you say bullets. The only reason we had the conversation is I had to tell her the contents to explain why a 25lb package should not weigh 1lb when delivered.

In the end I’ll probably refund my buddy the money, and let UPS pay me what ever compensation they will. It will likely be the last time I ship anything UPS though.

One last thing, we reached 100 subscribers over the last week and crossed 50,000 all time views. It’s a small mile stone for the website. We’re still a very small website with a very small corner of the internet. I appreciate everyone for reading, commenting, and emailing me with their thoughts and comments. We’ll keep on keeping on, life has kept me busy and I have not made a lot of progress on bringing new content to the site recently. Stick with it, as I have time, I’ll roll it out.

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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Monday Evening, another new week, another update. This past week has been a news filled week unfortunately a lot of it quite troubling. As much as many of us wish we could live isolated from the rest of the world, that just seems not possible. I am not much for conspiracy theories, I have a few friends who get big into them, but honestly, I find the theories to be somewhat maddening. With that said it is hard to deny there is a feeling, or a sense that the trajectory we are headed on, whatever that may be, may come to an apex at some time. I do not know what that may be, what that might entail, or even when the tension we feel in the United States will pop. It is just a feeling I have, and I know others who feel the same way. Troubling.

I do not have any meaningful updates on the website to report this week. Which usually means I will provide a bit of thoughts on the current events. The one thing that really got my attention was the Daunte Wright case which happened on April 11th, 2021 and has since exploded into the latest controversy regarding a ledge police bias. I do not wish to dive into the conversation over the particulars of the case, only to wish for all of us to learn a bit from this.

We must recognize that muscle memory is real and can have real negative consequences. I do not believe there is any reason to suspect this officer was incompetent, and I have not been presented with any evidence to suggest she was deliberately trying to do anything but carry out her prerogative as police officer. People will point out how a taser is different in many ways over a pistol evidence would seem to indicate that it is different enough as a google search turns up three similar events in the last five years. It is easy to pick it up and note the differences when you are calm, it becomes a whole different scenario when you have adrenaline pumping and the situation is high stress, the differences are clearly not enough.

As an individual who carries concealed daily, what can I learn from this? She obviously acted on muscle memory. I do not know about the particulars of the training she went through, but the consequences of her actions, seem to suggest perhaps she practice her pistol draw more often and more frequently than her taser draw. Remember, in a stressful situation we do not rise to the level of our training, often we fall to the lowest most practiced aspects where the muscle memory is strongest. If we train to draw and shoot right away, if encountered with a scenario where we need to draw, we are highly likely to press that trigger right away right or wrong. Therefore, it is important to draw, assess, and then shoot only if it is prudent. This means we also train to draw, assess and then holster.

I am not a certified firearms instructor, and I have not been in a situation where I have needed to use a firearm, though I have attended a few training classes. I have been my experience that every teacher presents and emphasizes different aspects to the drills. Yes, there are instances where you must draw and fire as quickly as possible, and there is the saying “You must be ready to fire a pistol if you draw it, anything else is brandishing.”  I think had the officer paused for just a moment, she might have realized the mistake she was about to make. I realize that is easy for me to type, but I do believe it is a failure in training.  

If it is a case that this was a failure in training, then that should alarm us. We all like to believe that police are trained to be next level shooters. However, that is just not the case. The pistol is only an exceedingly small part of what police are trained on, and in many instances, requirements are to pass a once per year qualifier. Police training costs money, and as we know from paying for training classes, it is not cheap. Ammunition, time away from work, paying for training and range time. This costs money. Whenever there is police shooting, justified or not, there is a very vocal outcry that police need to be defunded. This may mean police departments budgets are cut. This leaves departments understaffed, but the long-term impact of this means the shoestring training they have is going to be threadbare. These types of events are destined to become more, not less, common. It is quite troubling.

This is a tragedy; Daunte Wright was not a saint. Not by a long shot, he was a criminal, he had a felony warrant. The police were doing their job by confronting and arresting this man. The way media spins it, the narrative that this was an innocent man pulled over and killed for a minor traffic violation is false. An officer made a mistake, she discharged her firearm negligently, causing the death of a man, a criminal, but a man, nonetheless. Both of their lives are irreversibly changed, two families are shattered, and that is the unspoken tragedy that no one will talk about.

Not much else I have to say on that. On a more positive note, and if you are a history buff, you will appreciate this. An Amicus Brief was filed by the Firearms Policy Coalition to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 5th, 2021. This really details the history of repeating arms and how these arms were not only known by the Founding Fathers but were likely handled by the members of the First Continental Congress in consideration of fielding them during the Revolutionary War. The brief is a dry read but worth it and should be something everyone who is interested in Firearms Right’s gives a glance at. The link can be found here: FPC Amicus Brief April 5th, 2021

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.

As always, shoot straight and stay safe!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Monday! We are almost halfway through April. The older I get the faster time seems to move. It is a weird experience. The length of a second has remained unchanged but I feel like there are less of them in a day. There are quite a few things to talk about, unfortunately not much to report regarding the website. The family and I are still settling, still getting things unpacked and organized and that takes a good portion of my free time. That and the kids are getting to be more and more of a handful.

The big news is obviously the Biden’s Administration’s announcement of new executive orders. I will be honest, none of them surprised me all that much. I was more surprised that there was not an announcement about the State Department cracking down on ammunition importations. That still may be coming, who knows.

What I found to be more frustrating than the Executive Orders, (like I said I was not surprised by any of them), was what was said in the announcement of these orders. Particularly that “No Amendment to the Constitution is Absolute” and that “From the very beginning, you couldn’t own any weapon you wanted to own. From the very beginning the Second Amendment existed, certain people weren’t allowed to have weapons.” Of all the half-truths and outright lies that were told these two bothered me the most. They cut to the very core of the Constitution and what the Amendments to the Constitution represent.

If we can pick and choose what Amendments are “Absolute” and which ones are simply “Eh, we will follow it when it’s politically convenient”, then the idea of Rights is completely eroded. After all, President Biden surely would not be so indifferent if he was referring to the 13th Amendment which abolished Slavery, or the 14th Amendment which granted those free slaves’ citizenship, and extended the protection of life, liberty, and property.

Furthermore, we know that many of the early gun control laws, which were passed in the early days would surely be found to be Unconstitutional in every court today. These laws prohibited slaves from owning firearms, these are the people Biden is referencing, by saying that “From the very beginning the Second Amendment existed, certain people weren’t allowed to have weapons.”

Cannons were largely considered some of the premier weapons of the day. In the days when the 2nd Amendment was ratified it was not uncommon for private citizens to own warships with a dozen or more cannons. It was also not uncommon for the United States Government to give commissions to Private Citizens, or Private entities, known as Letter of Marque, in order to hunt those considered enemies of the State. For a time, an industry was built around this notion and were even have a word for captains and crews who engaged in such practices, Privateers.

Repeating rifles were also invented and known to most if not all of those who signed the Constitution. Repeating rifles, the precursor to modern Semi-automatic rifles, had magazines exceeding 10 rounds, some up to 22 rounds or more. I do not expect the general public to be well educated or well versed in any of this. However, I do have a misguided expectation that my leaders, particularly the President, to be better at making arguments on behalf of why we should allow Government to infringe on our Rights. This is not to say that I would agree, with any one point, but rather to say, that the serious nature of the discussion deserves well thought out, and articulated arguments on both sides. This is something of an art that is lost.

The good news is much of this is expected to be noise. It is unlikely we will see significant legislation pass the Senate unless the Senate changes the rules to allow a pure 51 vote majority to pass a bill of this nature. Something that seems unlikely to happen, despite the noise being made about it. We are looking at another month before we see proposed rule changes on these “Ghost Guns” and “Braces” both, I suspect, will have significant legal challenges as we are seeing with the Bump Stock ban. After all, what authority does the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms must change 80% to 60%? I suspect none, it is something that must be done legislatively and while they can try, I suspect the courts will say it is an overreach.

In other firearm news, Alliant has announced a new powder. Reloder TS15.5 is supposed to be a Temperature Stable version of Reloder 15. It also has a slightly slower burn rate that places it in-between Reloder 16 and Reloder 15. It will be a while before I’ll get my hands on it, but it does mean I am likely due to update the burn rate chart to include it. Reloder 16 is one of my favorite powders for 6.5 Creedmoor, especially when loading 140gr. Very temperature stable, even if it can be a bit tricky sometimes to get it to flow neatly into that tiny case neck. If Reloder TS15.5 is anything like its slower sister, it will likely be an excellent powder.

Load data avialible indicates this is likely going to be a good powder for rifle loads that tend to like the slower powders but do not quite reach into the magnum burn speed. This includes cartridges like the 22-250, 243 Win and the 30-06. There is of course some overlap, and it will be a suitable powder for 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6mm Creedmoor. If you are looking to move a heavier 77 or 85gr pill in 223 Remington, and have used Varget in the past, this may be a powder to look into. This extruded powder is made in Sweden, so which means it is highly likely that it is a Bofors powder.

One last thing, there are not a ton of people who get this email, but I think we are up to 95 subscribers. Who knows how many people read my weekly musings, but of those who do, I’d be interested in hearing what features you like in a reloading press? For right now, I am most interested in single stage presses. Do you think one company does it better than the others, and why do you think that? I would be interested in your feedback as I do a bit of market research. If you have some thoughts you would like to share, email me at Jay@theballisticassistant.com.

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.

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The Ballistic Assistant