Articles by Herschel Smith

Really?

WAILUKU — With the defense citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision confirming that the right to carry handguns for self-defense extends outside the home, a judge dismissed firearms charges Wednesday against a Paia man who said he had a gun for self-protection when he was arrested on a trespassing charge.

“The way the Supreme Court has interpreted the Second Amendment has caused all of us — criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges — to rethink our gun laws,” said Deputy Public Defender Ben Lowenthal, who represents Christopher L. Wilson. “I hope that prosecutors, when charging these cases, are mindful of this interpretation of the Second Amendment.”

If he was trespassing, he should be charged as such.  But the judge made the right call.  In this source we learn that the prosecutor initially argued that the defendant lacked standing to argue that Bruen protected him.  I think they’ve got it backwards.

The defendant isn’t involved in a lawsuit against the state.  He was charged by the state.  His lack of attempt to obtain a permit is precisely the point in question.  In other words, saying that he lacks standing to argue Bruen begs the question because it presupposes the consequent.

I wish lawyers took classes in logic.

Every once in a while, reddit/Firearms has a good question come up.  It isn’t often, but sometimes one will catch my eye.

Can they be cleaned or are they disposable?  Just asking so I don’t wind up buying mops every time my 22 or shotgun turns those fibers black.

To which he gets this reply.

I reuse mine. I just hose it down with canned gun cleaner or non-chlorinated brake clean.

I like bore mops and use them heavily when cleaning.  They’re far more efficient than running a patch through the bore 1800 times.

However, I would suspect that repeated application of a solvent to clean the mop would begin to disintegrate the mop fibers.

AllOutdoor.

Before accuracy testing, I swapped out the 16-pound factory recoil spring for an 18.5-pound extra power recoil spring and extra-power firing pin spring. Those +P loads from BuffaloBore are pretty hot and can take a toll on a standard recoil spring.

There were no malfunctions of any type in all my shooting. Accuracy testing was from 25 yards over the hood of my SUV, with the gun resting on a sleeping bag. In all, I probably fired more than 300 rounds in my testing. Group size ranged from 2 to 3 inches, depending on the ammo and my abilities that day. I got the best overall accuracy from the Buffalo Bore 200-grain JHP +P load, which is fast becoming a favorite of mine.

The MC Operator retails for close to $1400.00. Is it worth it? To me it is. It’s as close to a custom 1911 as you’ll find in a non-custom model. They are hard to find, so expect to pay close to retail if you find one in a gun shop.

Over the years, I’ve owned some custom 1911s from big name custom builders and I’ve built more than my share of custom 1911s myself, but none impressed me more than the MC Operator did. Yeah, you can pay more for a custom gun or another brand of 1911 with the same or similar features, but I don’t think you’d be getting more gun for your money.

I’ve heard through the grapevine that it actually is a custom gun, i.e., that SA sends this model out to a contracted 1911 builder to be fitted.  But I wouldn’t be able to prove that.

The picture at AllOutdoors is a dated model.  The one advertised over their web site looks like this (with updated grips).

I would have probably put a 22# spring in it to handle +P loads.  The only thing it needs is a slide cut for an optic.

SA is always welcome to send this gun for our review.

Pat always seems to have some fun shooting.  He’s sporting the Henry Long Ranger in .223 (they also make this model in at least 6.5 Creedmoor, and maybe others).

Although I confess I don’t understand why, if the rifle was zeroed at 50 yards, it would be shooting 1.5″ high at 100 yards.  It should be right on at 100 yards, while if it had been zeroed at 25 yards, it should be on at 200 – 250 yards.

Shooting Illustrated.

It’s true that the best 9 mm loads are equal in performance to many .45 ACP loads. However, if recovered-bullet diameter and penetration mean what we think they do, the best 9 mm loads are not the equal of the best .45 ACP loads. Regarding capacity, a first-grader can see a 9 mm pistol holds more ammo, but most civilian self-defense shootings are resolved with between one and eight shots. So, capacity might not be all that important after all. But what about shootability? Are 9 mm pistols that much easier to shoot more accurately and faster? To find that out, I conducted a test to get to the bottom of the 9mm vs .45 ACP debate.

[ … ]

The 6.32-cubic-inch crush cavity delivered by the Federal 230-grain +P HST load is impressive, but it comes with a cost, and that cost is an uncomfortable shooting experience and an increase in the time it takes to fire multiple shots. Measuring recoil can be subjective, but more never helps you shoot better. Everyone will have different limits, but at some point, you must decide if the terminal performance you gain is worth the reduction in shootability that comes with it.

What the information from this test—and the massive spreadsheet created to digest it—might do best is to explain why most law enforcement agencies have gone back to the 9 mm. With the best 9 mm loads, you get terminal performance similar to standard .45 ACP loads out of a gun that holds more ammunition and is easier to shoot fast and accurately. But, what this also shows is that with a .45 ACP, you can select a lesser-recoiling load and shoot nearly as fast and accurately as you can with a 9 mm pistol, while delivering similar terminal performance. If you do that, the only thing you’re giving up with the .45 is capacity.

This is an odd article by Richard Mann.  He spends most of his effort testing and discussing ordinary .45 ACP rounds, but frankly I’ve never seen PD .45 ACP rounds.  They are all +P ammunition.  Furthermore, jacketed ball rounds for dangerous game defense are certainly all +P, and some are +P+ (such as with Double Tap 450 SMC, Underwood and Buffalo Bore).

He admits as much in both the front and end of the article, and yet states that the only thing you give up by selecting the .45 ACP is capacity.  So he admits that the .45 ACP +P has more effect than the 9mm, and then discusses giving something up to carry it (like capacity).

I think this article needed an editor.

But there’s one more thing missing in this analysis beyond “recoil,” however that is felt.  The 9mm is a higher pressure round (35,000 psi chamber pressure) compared to the 45 ACP (customarily 25,000 psi, but admittedly higher with +P+ ammunition).  There is simply a difference in feel, some call it a push versus snappiness.  I would liken it to the difference between shooting the 30-30 and 5.56mm (the former being at42,000 psi, whereas the later is 62,000 psi).

For me the bottom line is purchase and practice with both.  Use whatever you feel the best shooting in the circumstance.  But I’d never liken the performance of the 9mm with 45 ACP +P+ for dangerous game.

For dangerous game, carry a big bore cartridge.

Outdoor Life.

There are some interesting takeaways from the above chart. First, the .350 Legend is by far the lightest projectile on the list at 150 grains, and it has a higher muzzle velocity than any of the others. The two 12-gauge slugs both produce 700 ft.-lb. more energy at the muzzle than the .350 Legend and 240 to nearly 400 ft./lb. more than the .45/70.

However, the ballistic advantage changes at the 200-yard mark. The .350 now has more energy than the 1-ounce rifled slug from Federal and the .45/70 impacts with more energy than any other load on the list. The .350 also shoots flatter than the slugs. At 200 yards, the .350 drops only 7.6 inches when zeroed at 100 yards. The Hornady 12-gauge sabot slug drops just under a foot at 200 yards when zeroed at 100, about the same as the .45/70. Hornady’s 20-gauge Custom Lite slug drops over 18 inches, and the 1-ounce lead 12-gauge rifled slug drops more than 2 feet at 200 yards.

As you can see from the chart, the 12-gauge slugs and .45/70 produce substantially more recoil than the .350 Legend, though Hornady’s Custom Lite 20-gauge projectile produces only slightly more recoil than the .350 Legend.

I’m not sure I’d try to take game at 200 yards with either a straight walled cartridge or a shotgun, so I’m not sure the 350 Legend ever really gives an advantage.

I see plenty of both straight walled cartridges and slug ammunition around, although slugs still seem to dominate where I am (not in a straight wall state).

Most of the guys who shoot 350 Legend seem to have problems with accuracy because of the choice of 9mm bullets they have to load.

Source.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) – South Carolina joined 24 other states demanding banks and credit card companies stop tracking, or monitoring, firearms purchased using credit cards.

The coalition alerted the chief executive officers of three major credit card companies that the recent adoption of the Merchant Category Code for the processing of firearms purchases from gun stores is “potentially a violation of consumer protection and antitrust laws.”

In the letter to the CEOs of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa, the attorneys general say the monitoring and tracking of firearms purchases creates a “list of gun buyers” and creates the obvious risk that law-abiding consumers’ information will be obtained and misused by those who oppose Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.

“Why would banks and credit card companies need a separate code to process gun purchases, if not to possibly track and monitor people who buy them?” Wilson asked.

The following states joined: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, West Virginia.

To read the letter, click here.

I like the SC AG.  In other decisions as well he’s been in the 2A corner.  But I’d like to see more states sign on.  Where is Florida?  Where is Idaho?  Where is Nebraska?

North Carolina isn’t on the list because of the communist AG.

This all may be a bit overdone in my opinion.  Drop a BCG in and run the gun.  If you have problems, note that and get another BCG.  Well made guns will work right.

I like Battle Arms Development BCGs and Radian Raptor charging handles.  The two taken together make the parts feel like glass.

But not all BCGs are created equal.

GOA.

Here are the TEN gun control provisions hidden in the FY 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill:

1. Massive ATF Budget Increase to Facilitate Biden’s Pistol Ban
2. Gun Registration Funding
3. Gun Confiscation Law Funding
4. Financial Benefits for Families of Deceased ATF Agents Killed or Injured on the Job while Enforcing Gun Control
5. Ammunition Background Check Study
6. Gun Control Research, Unbound by the Dickey Amendment
7. Anti-gun Community Violence Interventions
8. “Domestic Violence Firearms Lethality Reduction Initiative”
9. “Violent Anti-Government Ideology” Research
10. Gun Control Earmarks

You know they want to know who is buying ammunition and what sort.  Don’t bother trying to control the guns, they say.  Control the supply of ammunition.

Here is the full take down of the garbage in the bill.

If I’m not mistaken, he was having a little bit of sticking with those 45-70 rounds.  Maybe it was just the ammo and he needed the Hornady Leverevolution ammo.  Or maybe it was just that the action needs to be smoothed out from use.  Or maybe it’s just Henry rifles.  His other rifle didn’t seem to have that problem, nor did the Henry 44 magnum I shot have that problem.