Articles by Herschel Smith

So after watching this video in its entirety, I can only conclude the following: (a) the ATF is crooked and corrupt (but we already knew that), (b) the ATF isn’t spending its time at the Southern border trying to end the trafficking of people, drugs and arms across the border into America, for that would be dangerous for them (but we already knew that), (c) the ATF is full if inept people (but we already knew that), (d) the ATF falsely arrested this individual, (e) the ATF took some very nice firearms (e.g., a Knight’s Armament rifle, other weapons, some suppressors, etc.), (f) the ATF doesn’t want to give them back, (g) the man did nothing wrong, (h) the ATF is so juvenile that they threatened the individual when he called to get his weapons back.

Now for the things I suspect: that nice Knight’s Armament rifle has become somebody’s Christmas present and the man will never see his weapon again – it will magically become “lost.”  That’s the cause of the delay.

This is your tax dollars at work.  Gaze upon the corruption, perfidy, and the repugnant and repulsive picture of a government agency that has become unhinged from morality.

Recoil.

Beretta Holding Group (owner of Beretta, Benelli, Burris, Steiner, and more) announced today their plans to invest $60 million in a state-of-the-art ammunition plant to be located in Savannah, Georgia!

After their recent acquisition of Norma Precision, the Beretta Holding Group now employs over 1,000 people in the USA through Beretta USA, Benelli USA, Burris, Steiner eOptics, and Norma Precision.

Dott. Pietro Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO of Beretta Holding S.A. said:

“I am delighted to announce our commitment to invest $60 million through our newly acquired US ammunition subsidiary, Norma Precision. Together with my Family and Beretta Holding, we are very proud to add ammunition manufacturing to our US presence. That is a very special moment as we can now provide our loyal and dedicated US customers with a full range of locally manufactured premium products spanning from firearms to ammunition and optics, all united under the same Group. We are also supporting the local economic network by creating hundreds of new jobs.”

You were aware that Beretta owned those companies weren’t you, including Benelli?  Now they own Norma Precision.

This is a nice addition to my series on Gun Valley Moves South.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Using the power of the state to punish your enemies isn’t a tactic limited to the beltway.  It happens all the time in small town America.

One commenter suggests this: “I know what happened here, the person who made the complaint had been feeding that deer and getting trail cam pictures of it. That person just happens to be a friend of that DNR officer. This was a jealously case, the person who was feeding the deer was pissed someone else shot his trophy buck and was using the power of the DNR to get the antlers for himself. I’m from WV, hope he sues the crap out of the DNR for public defamation.”

And law enforcement couldn’t be silent about it.  They just had to go and defame his character in front of the world, with no evidence that he did anything they said he did.

This really is an ugly look for local law enforcement, and also for DNR.  Jealousy is always and everywhere a sin, it and can control a man’s heart.

The only thing this guy did wrong is talk to the police.  Never, ever talk to the police.  Let your attorney do your talking for you.

I would love to have this gun, but they’ve priced me out of the market at just over $4000.  I’d also like to have the predecessor to this one, the 686.

Model 686 is no longer in production so it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find them for sale (although some are still out there).  They don’t a bit of upgrading and added $2000 to the price for the 694, making it less appealing that owning a model 686.

The comments in the video seem to prefer the 694 over the Browning.

Shooting Illustrated.

Faster?
Yup. No matter how good the shooter is with a pump. Many big 3-gun matches also have a side match for shotguns. There is usually a low target count, so nobody has to reload. The buzzer goes off and you shoot the targets. No reloading, running, jumping or standing on one leg, and no tricky targets. Just stand there and shoot the shotgun. Pump guns never win. No matter what the guy at the gun shop says, semi-autos are simply faster.

Semi-autos will not shoot all ammo.
That was an issue with that bird gun I mentioned and a few others, but not with most guns today. Today’s best semi-automatic shotguns can digest a wide range of ammo from low-recoil to full-power without a problem. Shotguns with the inertia system pioneered by Benelli, or the multi-port gas systems like Remington used in its guns, will handle all ammo. Most of the newer gas guns will likewise eat any ammo they are fed.

Semi-autos jam.
They pretty much don’t anymore. At least, no more than other firearms. Pumps do, though. I shoot a pump shotgun a lot. (I never said I don’t like them.) When it counts, I will now and then inadvertently short stroke and jam it up.

It’s not just me. I have seen even the very best pump-shotgun shooters in the world short stroke their guns when trying to go fast. The simple fact is that operating a pump shotgun is a human function. When subjected to stress, humans do not beat well-designed machines, because machines are not subject to emotional stress.

I agree with all of these remarks.  I think that a commitment to pump action shotguns over semi-auto shotguns because you believe that semi-auto shotguns are less reliable is based on a false paradigm that may have been correct 50 years ago, but certainly isn’t now.

Specifically, he’s reviewing the latest Savage tactical shotgun, the Renegauge Security.  It appears to want to compete with the Beretta 1301.  I doubt that it can come up to the level of the 1301, but since Savage didn’t send me one to review, I have no way of knowing with certainty.

It’s a nice looking gun, and maybe I’ll get a chance to shoot one some day.

Reuters.

A federal judge has blocked New York from restricting the carrying of guns on private property under a Democratic-backed law adopted following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling that struck down the state’s strict gun permitting regime.

Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge John Sinatra in Buffalo struck down a provision in the law that made it a felony for a licensed gun owner to possess a firearm on any private property unless the property owner allowed it with a sign or by giving express consent.

From the decision.

Property owners indeed have the right to exclude.  But the state may not unilaterally exercise that that right …

We believe in property rights, even against the state.  That certainly includes property owners who do not wish for you to bear arms on their property.  But you see what NY did there, yes?  They exercised that right on behalf of property owners.  In other words, they didn’t respect the rights of property owners to make the decision on their own property.

What NY did runs exactly counter to the notion of property rights, and thus the judge reached the right decision.

It always happens.  When the small Green Beret team was ambushed in Niger, Maj. General Bob Scales escalated his whining about the M4, demanding that it be replaced with a piston AR (a point completely irrelevant to anything that happened in the engagement).  The engagement was poorly planned, ill-conceived, and undermanned.  There was no QRF anywhere near them, the team was too small, they had no light or medium MGs (and certainly no heavy MGs), and I could go on with the failures.

But it’s the gun.  It’s always the gun.  It’s never the stupid Colonels and Generals who plan the missions.  It’s always the gun.  True to form, the reason they fielded the Sig XM5 was to bring battlefield superiority against – wait for it – the PKM.  It’s never the planners who put FOBs in the valleys between mountains and waste time even doing that, allowing the enemy to mass forces and field fighters that outnumber our troops by ten to one.  It’s the gun.  It’s always the gun.

No battle rifle can compete with a crew-served, belt-fed medium MG.  There are always answers to medium MGs, such as: taking the high ground, overwatch, QRF, CAS, using our own medium and heavy MGs, and maybe re-introducing a role for the long-forgotten grenadier (the M203 is not a sufficient replacement for the M79 in terms of range).  These things mean rethinking doctrine, weapons systems, TTPs, and training.  But they don’t want to do that – it’s always the gun.

If you want somewhat increased penetration and distance with the AR platform, I’ve already told you what to do.  Switch uppers to the 6mm ARC.  It’s a simple change, and would be the cheapest and most effective remedy for what is currently really a very small problem.  And in-between remedy for this would be to return the 20″ barrel Eugene Stoner originally designed.

But for whatever reason I cannot fathom, the U.S. Army has some sort of sordid love affair with Sig.  And for whatever reason I cannot understand (unless someone has pictures on active generals in the DoD complex), they always need a new rifle.  So here it is, all 13 lb of it.

This is yet another interesting video from Target Suite.

I do have a personal interest in this issue.  I was previously wondering if having a Marlin Model 336 30-30 and Marlin Model 336 in 35 Remington is redundant.  I also stumbled across this article in American Hunter magazine.

Which is the more useful cartridge? Of the two, which serves the hunter better? Traditionally, the tubular magazines of the popular lever-rifles restricted the cartridges to using round or flat-point bullets, to avoid the possibility of magazine detonation, should a pointed spitzer bullet hit the primer of the cartridge ahead of it in the magazine. The exception to that rule is Hornady’s LeveRevolution ammo line, which uses a pliable tip on a spitzer bullet to afford a much flatter trajectory in both cartridges. With the traditional loads, the .30-30 will drive its 150- and 170-grain bullets to a muzzle velocity of 2400 and 2250 fps respectively, while the .35 Remington launches its 180- and 200-grain bullets at 2100 and 2080 fps. Both generate between 1,800 and 1,900 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy with traditional loads, and the hot-rod LeveRevolution will certainly offer an improvement in ballistic figures, but the advancements are parallel between the two cartridges.

I did find it a bit amusing at about the 6:20 mark.  He should have left the stated value of 35% alone without “correction” in the video.  Comparison of areas would be done by the square of the radius: (0.358)^2 / (0.308)^2 ≈ 1.35.

Please weigh in with comments.  Do readers have a preference for 35 Remington over the 30-30, or vice versa, or none at all?  Then again, fine gentlemen of find upbringing have fine weapons, and there shouldn’t be a problem with a collection where both calibers are a part of it.

Our buddy Andy at Practical Accuracy has some real world data for you.  I think the case is closed, at least for me.

One corollary point is that the only real expert is you after shooting thousands of rounds down range.  Use your own gun, your own tuning, your ammunition, your eyesight, and your optics, and spend time at the range.  There are no two pieces of equipment exactly alike.

Shooting Illustrated.

50-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
Nosler’s 50-grain Ballistic Tip is ideal for varmints and predators up to coyote size. Delivering around 10 inches of penetration, it’s even a good choice for tactical applications if intermediate barriers are not an issue. Federal loads the 55-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip in its Tactical Law Enforcement TRU line. This bullet creates massive, but moderately shallow, tissue destruction, ideal for vermin and self-defense applications. Hodgdon lists a maximum load of 28.5 grains of CFE 223 for a 50-grain bullet with a velocity of 3,500 fps. Nosler, however, lists a 29.0-grain maximum load at 3,379 fps. (This goes to show you that data from different sources do not always agree.) 

60-grain Nosler Partition
This is an excellent bullet for deer and feral hogs, and from a tactical standpoint it performs very well because of its ability to defeat intermediate barriers. In 10-percent ordnance gelatin or Clear Ballistics, you can expect 20 inches of penetration with the bullet’s deformed frontal diameter measuring almost .4 inch. Hodgdon’s maximum recommended charge of 26.7 grains of CFE 223 pushed this bullet to 3,100 fps out of my 22-inch barrel. Precision was not on par with the 50-grain Ballistic Tip, but a five-group average of 1.1 inches is totally sufficient for a load I intend to use inside 200 yards. This bullet does not have a reputation for delivering extreme precision.

70-grain Nosler AccuBond
I’ve killed more big-game animals with AccuBonds than any other bullet, mostly because they deliver an ideal balance of penetration and tissue damage. They also only need to impact at about 1,800 fps for measurable bullet upset. Nosler is the only company offering a factory 70-grain AccuBond load for the .223 Rem., but it can be hard to find. In its latest load manual, Nosler does not list CFE 223 for bullets between 70 and 85 grains, but Hodgdon lists a maximum load of 24.7 grains. With this bullet’s BC of .37, it’s still traveling 2,000 fps at 300 yards. This, combined with the precision it delivered, makes it an ideal multi-purpose load. In tactical applications, the bonding helps with intermediate barriers, and you can expect 17 inches of penetration.

Nosler 77-grain Custom Competition
Because of its light recoil, ringing steel and punching paper are joyous pursuits with the .223 Rem. For that you need a bullet that’s accurate and will fly reasonably flat. Nosler offers a factory load for the .223 Rem. that uses its 77-grain Custom Competition bullet, but it retails for more than $40 per box of 20. It’s advertised at 2,600 fps, and with Hodgdon’s maximum load of 24.3 grains I got 2,680 fps out of my rifle.

“America’s Rifle” isn’t just modular and easy to shoot and maintain.  It’s customizable with ammunition too.  I don’t hand load but I’ve found that just about any bullet type he discusses can be found either at your local store or over an Ammoseek search.  You can find what you want based on your perceived needs.

What I wish they would do now is work on varying the loads and bullet types for the 6mm ARC.  At the moment, Hornady seems to have a lock on that cartridge.  I’d like to see Federal and Nosler get into the game.