Archive for the 'Guns' Category

This is a great discussion.

Shooting Illustrated.

It’s not quick to load. Its range is miniscule. It’s not very accurate. It’s difficult to master and it kicks like hell. Even so, the shotgun is universally feared and respected.

Why? Because when it’s in trained hands, it is unlikely to miss. Its bowling-ball-size swath of destruction allows more leeway for error than a single bullet. And, when those .33-caliber, solid-lead balls smash into something at close range, there’s not much short of a world-class trauma team that can repair such damage. Dangerous men who tangle with dangerous men for a living know this, and if the other team has brought a shotgun to the fight, it commands all the attention of a rattlesnake in the outhouse. More than 100 years ago, in the Great War, Winchester’s 1897 pump-action shotgun was so devastating on the battlefield, our enemies petitioned to have it banned.

Academically, the shotgun’s power is easily defined. The standard, nine-pellet, 00-buckshot load features a collective 1.21-ounce payload that’s fired at 1,200 fps to produce roughly 1,700 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy and 30 ft.-lbs. of free-recoil energy. Or, you can choose a 3-inch, 12-pellet magnum load fired at 1,425 fps to produce 3,295 ft.-lbs. of energy—if you are prepared for its 55 ft.-lbs. of recoil that will soon wind up on your cheek and shoulder. Either way, it’s vastly favorable to be on the butt end of that punch rather than the muzzle.

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Yet, the shotgun’s power shouldn’t be overhyped, even by so-called experts such as this writer who have a vested interest in the arm’s worth, for it is irresponsible and dishonest to do so. Fact is, the combat shotgun is a specialized tool—requiring extensive training and practice—for certain close-range scenarios, but it shouldn’t be the end-all choice in arms for everything. After 35 yards it’s not great, and after 75 it’s terrible regardless of the load. If your hands are untrained, you’re better off with a rifle. The shotgun is heavy, takes an eternity to load compared to a detachable-magazine-fed firearm and mastering it so its pattern strikes where the shooter looks, without the use of sights, takes years to accomplish.

Some of this seems to me to be a dated viewpoint.  We’ve already shown that with the right choke, 00 buck can be put inside a five inch group at 50 yards.  By way of information, the choke used in that video the URL embeds is now available and I have one.  I have not used it yet.

Also, shooting the Beretta A400 with its gas operation and kickoff stock recoil control, I’d have to remark that it doesn’t feel much different than shooting an AR, and I could hunt Quail with it all day with ease and comfort.  And I’m not sure it’s correct or even wise to say that if you can’t shoot a shotgun accurately your “better off with a rifle.”

I do know that 00 buck will travel through walls like handgun or even rifle rounds, and that the discerning shooting will consider other loads for homes in neighborhoods like Turkey shot (#4 or #5).  Finally, I’m not sure it’s correct to focus on the difficulty of reloading when magazine tube extensions can give you seven rounds.

NRA Women.

Ruger has re-introduced the Marlin Model 1894 Classic chambered in .44 Rem Mag. The Model 1894 Classic retains the traditional characteristics that made this a truly iconic rifle.

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The Ruger-made 1894 Classic is marked “Mayodan, NC,” bears an “RM” or Ruger-made serial number prefix, and features the red and white “bullseye” in the stock.

Additional models in different calibers and configurations will be released throughout the coming year. Due to the anticipated strong demand and the limited quantity of Ruger-made Marlin lever-action rifles, Ruger encourages retailers to contact their distributors for availability and advises consumers not to leave deposits with retailers that do not have confirmed shipments.

Why they announced this in Women’s NRA I don’t know – all men should want a Marlin .44 magnum.  However, what could be better than his and hers Marlin 1894s and a date at the range?  And what excuse could be better than that to buy a couple of them?  “I did this for us, dear.  I promise.  I love you that much!  I wanted you to have your very own Marlin.  Let’s head to the range and that evening a nice dinner date to your favorite steakhouse!”

BLUF: Both eyes open.

Frankly, the other option never even occurred to me.  You lose your depth and movement perception without both eyes open, and you need both to shotgun.

I was just looking at lever action rifle optics tonight.  Scopes are just expensive, almost no matter what type, brand or power.  For lever action guns I’m looking towards the low power end of things (1X4, 1X9, etc.).

However, I confess I had never heard of the 7-30 Waters before.  I’ll be darned if you can find them anywhere (the guns, that is).  I’d certainly be interested given the ballistics of the cartridge.

He has a nice lever action rifle collection.  He’s obviously spent some time and money on that collection.

While I have carried a .44 magnum before, I’ve advocated use of the .45 handgun all along for big predator defense.  But not just shooting any ammunition.  First, watch this video by Chuke’s Outdoor Adventures, where he advocates use of the HK USP 45 because it can handle 45 Super, then I’ll comment on the .45 Super versus the 450 SMC.

Just to make sure what I’m telling is correct, I’ll check one of several boxes of 450 SMC I’ve got.  Yep, checking the box of Double Tap ammo, it says 230 grains, 1130 FPS (5″ barrel).  I shoot it with a 1911, but with a 22# spring rather than the customary 16# or 18# spring.

Here is the magic.

In the late 1980s, gunwriter Dean Grennell took .451 Detonics Mag. brass and trimmed it to the same overall length as the .45 ACP cartridge case, thus creating the .45 Super. Grennell wrote an article for the February 1988 issue of Gun World Magazine, discussing his new version of the .45 ACP, which was capable of pushing a 185-grain bullet to 1,300 fps. In the August 1988 issue of Gun World Magazine, a second article about the .45 Super—written by Tom Ferguson—appeared. Ferguson was interested in Grennell’s concept cartridge, but he wanted to take things a step further. He took a handful of .451 Detonics Mag. brass and a 1911 pistol to Ace Hindman of Ace Custom 45s. Hindman came up with the idea of heavier springs in the 1911 to make it more suited to the higher-pressure cartridge.

In 1994, Fernando Coelho—owner of Triton Cartridge—reached out to Garey Hindman, Ace’s son, who was still converting 1911s and even some Smith & Wesson Model 4506 pistols to accommodate the.45 Super. The problem with the cartridge was a lack of suitable brass. Coelho had recently started Triton Cartridge and felt that with his background in load development, coupled with actual in-house pressure testing, he would be able to come up with reliable, factory-loaded, .45 Super ammunition. A deal was struck and Coelho reached out to Starline Brass to get the ball rolling. The folks at Starline worked with Coelho to establish correct internal case-wall dimensions, web-area thickness and overall hardness of the cartridge case.

But, just like the .300 BLK found fame because of its name, the.45 Super—as a commercial cartridge—was doomed because of what it was called. You see, when Ace Hindman passed away, his son trademarked “.45 Super.” When Triton made factory-loaded .45 Super ammo, Garey Hindman would get a royalty, which was something a bit unusual in the ammunition business. Because of this, no major firearm or ammunition manufacturer would offer .45 Super guns or ammunition. There was also the concern that a shooter might load and fire .45 Super ammo in a vintage .45 ACP revolver or an old 1911 and get an unpleasant surprise.

All this led to the birth of the .450 SMC. Coelho was fed up with the inherent issues of the .45 ACP/.45 Super cartridge case and the damage being done to the potential growth of the .45 Super. One of the case problems was primer flow; you could experiment with different brands of primers and powder, but most of the time primers would flow back around the tip of the firing pin. The solution: switch to a small-primer pocket and utilize a small-rifle primer. Coelho reached out to Starline again, asking the company to make .45 Super brass with a small-primer pocket. That solved the primer-flow problem and Triton Cartridge soon began offering factory-loaded .450 SMC ammunition. It was loaded to a maximum average pressure (MAP) of 32,000 psi, which is slightly higher than .45 Super pressures, but still less than the 37,500 psi pressure of the 10 mm. The new name—.450 SMC—solved the trade-mark problem, and Triton had two loads: a 165-grain bullet at 1,450 fps and a 230-grain bullet at 1,150 fps.

When Triton went out of business in 2003, it looked like the .450 SMC was doomed. But, another new ammunition company stepped up to offer one of the most potent and practical magnum-category, .45-caliber, defensive-handgun cartridges ever created. Mike McNett of DoubleTap Ammunition recognized the usefulness of the .450 SMC and his Cedar City, UT-based company now offers six .450 SMC loads.

Comparatively speaking, the hottest factory 185-grain .45 ACP load you can buy will generate only about 1,140 fps, and the fastest 230-grain offering only about 1,000 fps. Essentially, what you get with the .450 SMC are 10 mm velocities with a .45-caliber instead of a .40-caliber bullet.

Of course, since no one is manufacturing .450 SMC handguns, what you’re probably wondering is what you have to do to shoot .450 SMC in your .45 ACP. Well, a .450 SMC cartridge can be fired in any .45 ACP handgun. However—and this is a big however—it should only be fired in full-size .45 ACP handguns that have a +P rating. (A 20- to 22-pound recoil spring in your favorite 5-inch 1911, or a 21- to 23-pound spring in a Glock.)

Given the primer problems with the 45 Super, the 450 SMC is the clear winner in this contest.

As I’ve told the 10mm guys before, you can shoot your smaller bullets at over 1100 FPS, or you can shoot 230 grain bullets at over 1100 FPS.  Take your pick.

As for the HK pistol, the advantage would be that its magazine is double-stack and holds 12 rounds.  The 1911 I shoot holds 8 rounds.  Here is the upshot of the 1911 design – with a Wilson Combat or Chip Mccormick Speed Mag, you can increase the magazine capacity to 10 rounds.  The downside is that you have to get used to the bit of additional interference with the extended magazine.

The downside of the large bore revolver cartridges such as the .44 magnum is that the punch from a short barrel handgun (I consider 5″ to be short) is rather painful, especially when using something like Buffalo Bore loads.  Pain when defending your life is irrelevant, but it’s not irrelevant on the practice range.

In any case, I consider 450 SMC to be a legitimate big predator defense round.  If you want to use the HK or a Glock pistol for that purpose, that’s user preference.

F&S.

Before getting into how to buy a suppressor, you need to understand the difference in types of ownership. You can own a suppressor either as an individual or as a trust. As an individual owner, you can use the suppressor and you can let others use the suppressor, but you must be with anyone else anytime they have the suppressor or are using it. If you don’t have any friends—and some of you don’t, I’ve seen your Facebook profiles—individual ownership is fine. Well, except when you die, because then your estate is left in possession of an unregistered NFA item. That’s a problem for whoever executes your will.

If you purchase a suppressor as a trust, any co-trustee can be in procession of and use the suppressor just as you would. Also, if you’re smart enough to designate a “beneficiary” then that person simply assumes the trust when you go to the great shooting range in the sky.

The article goes on to explain the relative ease of filling out paperwork these days.  Around here I know there are FFLs with kiosks which assist the buyer, and there are ways to get assistance with setting up trusts.  Every gun show has cards for lawyers in the area who want to charge money for setting up firearms trusts.

Do any readers own suppressors, and if so, what have you fund to be the best way to purchase and own them?

I find it difficult to dump that much money into something when that something could be a relatively nice firearm instead, and with use of electronic hearing protection, the noise problem goes away (for the most part, except for interference with your cheek weld).

One in .44 Magnum please.  As soon as possible please.  I’ll buy one. Ruger, are you listening?

Just several days ago we were discussing how to get the most distance out of your tactical shotgun, and the corollary issue of how to get the best pattern.

Little did I know this was going to come out on that very issue.  These results are very impressive.

Here’s the catch.  The choke is currently not available.  I’ve written Kick’s Industries to ascertain when it will become available.  I’ll let you know what they respond.

I carried a .44 Magnum when hiking in the Tetons several weeks ago.  Color me still a bit skeptical on use of the 10mm for bear defense.  I guess the advantage is capacity, but only that.

I don’t have a .454 Casull or I would carry that.

Here is a news report of the attack.