Archive for the 'Guns' Category

Chris does a good job of explaining why it works for him.  If it works for the person, that’s all that matters.

The boys at Survival Dispatch test their shotguns, and some slugs.

BLUF: Slugs will penetrate five layers of 3/4″ plywood.  I guess that’s why they’re so impressive against large predators.  Buck shot can be more accurate than you think at 50 yards with the right choke.  Buck shot doesn’t penetrate like slugs, and don’t have the same risk of over-penetration.

And I’ve said before the same thing he did.  Given one choice of a survival gun, I’d choose a shotgun.  Anything from squirrel to bear, with the right choice of ammunition.

Field & Stream.

At my gun club’s range the other day, one of the other members let me shoot a couple of his straight-wall deer rifles. He told me that before he found the right bullets, he had lost a couple of well-hit deer. I was sympathetic, because losing a deer hurts, but part of me thought That never happened with slugs. Maybe the shotgun slug deserves another chance before it lumbers off to extinction.

Extinction definitely seems to be where deer slugs are headed. My local store, located in the middle of good Iowa deer country, used to sell as many scoped 20-gauge Remington 1100 packages as they could put together before deer season. Now, it’s hard to find a slug gun in the rack there, but there are plenty of .45-70 lever actions, ARs in .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster, and a few bolt-action rifles, too.

I get it. Rifles are cool in a way that slug guns aren’t. Shotguns are bulky and heavy, and they can kick hard with slugs. They aren’t as accurate as rifles are, either. On the plus side, at real-world whitetail hunting ranges, slugs make big holes in deer. Often they make one hole going in and another on the way out. The blood trails are short and easy to follow.

Back when I started deer hunting in the early 80s, everyone ganged up and drove woodlots. Deer drives often result in shots at walking and running deer. I saw deer shot in some creative places, and learned that while it’s possible to hit a deer with a slug without killing it, it’s not an easy thing to do. I could never manage to do it.

[ … ]

As deer hunting became a bigger deal, and a bigger business, gun and ammo makers spent a lot of time making slugs shoot more accurately. Rifled barrels and slugs encased in plastic sabots came along in the late 80s and early 90s, and after twenty years or so of constant R&D and improvement, slug guns could shoot 1-2 inch groups at 100 yards. Even I could shoot a group I could cover with my hand at 200 yards with the right gun and ammo (Ithaca Deerslayer III, Winchester XP3), although for shooting at deer under any but ideal conditions, 150 yards is a better maximum range for sabots and rifled shotguns.

While it’s true that sabot slugs aren’t as big around as full-bore slugs, they’re still big. Most 12 gauge slugs are loaded with .50 caliber bullets. Even 20 gauges have .45 caliber bullets, and in my experience with them, they expand impressively.

Well, I think shotguns are pretty cool too.  With the thin barrel I don’t find shotguns heavy unless it’s a very long barrel (like duck, goose or upland bird gun), and in that case, hunt with a tactical shotgun.  I watched a guy use a Benelli M4 and put slugs on a fist size target at 100 yards.  Of course, his shoulder was bruised at the end of the day.

BLUF: Just carry a gun like you’re supposed to.

After watching this, it’s no wonder that Remington went belly up, since the best rifles are being produced in Riihimaki, Finland.

Reviewed at Gunblast.  I learn something every day.  I didn’t know about this pistol, and if you can find one, the price is certainly right.

I always thought the .22LR to be a weak cartridge, and believe the 22 magnum to be just about right for that bullet.

But maybe because manufacturers know it’s not going to be used for long range shooting, the quality is subpar compared to centerfire ammunition.

He’s taken on a tough one.  And good grief – he’s got a Night Force scope on that gun.

Via reader Ned.

Dark Storm Industries moves South.

Dark Storm is a federally licensed firearms manufacturer currently located in New York. The project is expected to create 50 new jobs with an average annual salary of $50,000 and a capital investment of approximately $3.2 million. Products manufactured by the company are shipped across the United States.

“The Space Coast’s diversified manufacturing base is a major reason why we weathered the pandemic and continue to build on our strengths,” said Lynda Weatherman, EDC president and CEO.

“The EDC welcomes Dark Storm and their contributions to our economy, and I want to say how proud I am of the team we were able to put together to attract this growth-oriented company to the Space Coast.”

Founded in 2013, Dark Storm Industries developed the DS-15 line of rifles to meet the changing regulatory environment in states like New York and California.  Dark Storm products are available from leading firearms retailers and distributors nationwide.

“The combination of economics and a friendlier political environment made the decision to build our new headquarters and manufacturing plant in Florida an easy one,” said Edward Newman, Dark Storms co-owner.

“We are excited to join a growing number of gun manufacturers on the Space Coast and look forward to our new facility allowing us to both increase our production capacity as well as develop new and exciting products.”

The facility is expected to create an additional 20 indirect jobs and 17 induced jobs. The combined net new annual wages from all jobs are estimated to be more than $ 4.4 million with a contribution to GDP greater than $9.6 million and a 10-year economic impact in excess of $95 million.

Okay then.  Welcome.  You’ll have to compete with PSA, Daniel Defense, and a host of other manufacturers in the South, so focus on quality and price point.

Prior:

Gun Valley Moves South

Gun Valley Moves South Part 2

Here are some interesting articles on the 6.8 SPC: [1] (in which our own Georgiaboy61 figures prominently in the comments), [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], and [7].

Points.  Some discussions focus on the 6.8 SPC and 6.8 SPC II, stating that most rifles released today chambered for this round are for the 6.8 SPC II, even though that’s not the SAAMI spec round.

Next, it’s my understanding that a 6.8 SPC upper receiver can be coupled with any milspec AR-15 lower receiver.

Finally, within 100 – 200 yards, it appears to be fairly well established that this is a fine round for whitetail deer (perhaps not mule deer).

Comments and observations on this round, and/or any of the points above?  It seems that this would be a fine option for deer hunting without purchase of a new complete rifle.