Month: December 2020

This is the last website update for 2020. Thankfully, 2020 is almost over. It has been a year for the record books, and I do not think anyone has been spared. We have had our fair share of challenges. However we had made a lot of progress on the website in the past year, adding more content, working on making it a bit more useful as a resource. We’ve also had some great conversations with people. I am working on formatting them to add to the mail bag session.

As for our library, we wrote up a review on an old classic. This book is one that should be in everyone’s library, as a reference on how it used to be done, and in some places still done. Thoughts On: Advance Gunsmithing

We also did some updates to the powder burn rate chart. Expect to get a few more updates in the future. Somehow I missed a lot of the new IMR pistol and Shotgun powders introduced in 2017, those have been added in there proper positions. Powder Burn Rate Chart Update 12-22-2020

One thing that has bothered me since I launched the site was the powder catalog. I intended for it to be one thing, but realized that I may have bit off a bit more then I could chew. So I rethought the approach and began to rework it. There is quite a bit of work that goes into the catalog, we are approaching 600 powders on the burn rate chart, and each one will need an entry at some point.

We are starting with the faster burning Pistol and Shotgun Powders. This is still a work in progress, given the complexity of it, we wanted to get to a point where we could go live, and continue to work on it. Here’s where we are at so far. Pistol and Shotgun Powder Catalog

In doing the research for the Pistol and Shotgun Powder Catalog I found a new online resource which I’ve included in the resource section of the site. This site has some great images of powder and the canisters they come in. I expect to use them more in the future. In the mean time, take a moment to check it out, you won’t be disappointed. National Center for Forensic Science Powder Database .

We have also kicked off a new page, with the hopes you’ll get to know us a bit better through the cartridges that interest us. Here’s the new page Favorite Cartridge’s and Cartridge’s of Interest . I plan on doing a write up on each of the cartridges, going on an in-depth exploration and discussion on each one. We kicked it off with this one 30mmx173 Write Up.

In firearm news the ATF has pulled down the request for comments on the pistol braces. The firearms community is celebrating it as a win, that the 48,000 comments resulted in the ATF backing down. This celebration bothers me a bit as that is not how I am reading this at all.

Gun control is often called the “third rail” in American politics. Rightfully so, it’s a charged issue for both proponents and opponents of the issue. Opponents are looking to score a political win and will use such wins to raise money and clout. I suspect there are a few things happening here, none of them have to do with the pushback the firearms community mustered.

• The incoming administration asked the ATF to hold off, with plans to reintroduced the ban sans the $200 amnesty as an executive order. Much how the bumps tock ban was handled. This would be an easy win for the Biden administration and they can hold it out as a totem to supporters to say “See we stood up to the gun lobby”
• The ban will show up in a new Assaults Weapons Ban push. Executive orders (EO) last as long as the administration is in power, a new administration can reverse any EO, including an EO on bump stock bans. So codifying it in legislation means that the only way it can be removed is through future amendments to the bill. Again, it’s unlikely we will see any sort of amnesty or “Understanding” and “Good Faith” as was being proposed by the ATF.
• Someone caught on that offering to waive a $200 tax stamp is going to cost a lot of money. Think about it, if 100,000 people decide they want to take the ATF up on it’s offer, register their pistol brace equipped firearms as SBR’s that will result in a $20,000,000 loss to the ATF. If the ATF proposes the amnesty and then backs off of it when it enacts the guidelines, then they can expect to spend close to that in lawsuits. It placed the ATF in a no win situation. (If this route is offered, please consider putting a proper stock on the firearm and turn it into a true SBR. I think you’ll be much happier then continuing to use a pistol brace)

So yes, while people are celebrating the fact that ATF has pulled the proposed rule. I am less optimistic. This may make me a geek, but when I read the news the ATF was rescinding their proposed rule change the following meme captured my immediate thoughts.

The next time we do a formal website update we will be in 2021. I suspect many will celebrate the end of 2020, as it has been a rough year for everyone who participated. We will see what 2021 holds, whether or not things begin to return to 2019 levels of lunacy, or if we end up at some weird “New normal”. We will see if things like, the COVID vaccine can weather virus mutations, how many EO’s are enacted that further restrict Rights, what kind of backwards logic legislators try to cram down our throats, and whether or not the GOP can hold the senate.

Either way, we will keep on, keeping on. There is plenty of work to do on the website, plenty of infomation out there to collate, research, organize and present, and hopefully at some point we will get the site to where it is a halfway decent resource for the firearms community.

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, MeWe, and Reddit If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Monday Evening! We have had a busy week for the website. I have spent a lot of time behind the computer working on a few different things. When I took a break, I usually took a break to work on something website related. So first thing is first, we are rolling out a new resource The Ballistic Library .

This is my library of books that I have sitting on the shelf. I have collected them over the years and have read through them. Sometimes they are quite good and sometimes they are not as good as I would have liked. Either way, there they sit. This library will hopefully help people looking to build their own libraries. I am working on writing reviews for each entry, so you will know what you are getting. The first three reviews I’ve linked below.

Thoughts On: .50 Caliber Construction Manuel

Thoughts On: British 303 Do Everything Manuel

Thoughts On: Backyard Ballistics

The library is also a means to help support the site. Clicking on the links will take you to Amazon, where if you make a purchase, we will get a percentage at no extra cost to yourself. In the future we would like to build affiliate programs with Brownell’s, Natchez and Midway USA, so we can all keep the money within the firearms community, however we are still too small of a site to qualify. All in good time.

The second feature I’ve added is a commentary or opinion page. There is a lot that happens in the firearms world. New guns, new ammo, and an ever changing political landscape. Sometimes something bugs me, and I just need to get my opinion out there or want to highlight something I think is of particular importance. Often times these “Commentaries” are not related specifically to a project, or fit neatly into a category. So for this I have created Jay’s Commentary.

The first entry into Jay’s Commentary is a piece I wrote called What’s the Deal With Pistol Braces? Personally I do not agree with the stance that is being taken by many in the industry. I do not think it helps us at all to make this issue the hill we die on, as some seem to be willing to do. Not when we have a possible assault weapons ban on the horizon, and especially not when we are the ones who more or less abused what was suppose to be an aid to our wounded vets. Let’s focus on solving the real problem, the NFA, not quibble over poorly devised work arounds that pistol braces have come to represent.

I know that’s going to be a stick in some people’s craw that I am not jumping on board with both feet, but my position has not changed from when the issue was with bump stocks. People openly flaunted the law, openly discussed purchasing pistol braces as a means to get around the NFA. What did they expect to happen? As I said real victims here are the vets who benefitted from the legitimate use of these braces.

The new making the rounds that I really wanted to highlight was a new firearm rumored release coming from Kel-Tec. It appears they may have been planning a SHOT Show 2021 release of a new pistol referred to as the P50. The only teaser image I have seen is shown below.

Besides this image which has been reported on by many sites, there is little be found in the way of information. What surely must be a very front heavy pistol it will be interesting to see how practical this thing is. Kel-Tec has always made some interesting firearms, and I have not heard much bad about them, except to say they seem to have supply issues, meaning they cannot build them fast enough. As a company that’s not always a bad problem to have.

Given this is probably the third or forth US Firearm to be commercially manufactured to fire the 5.7x28mm it will be interesting to see if there is a company that will submit it to for standardization. It remains a CIP cartridge, and CIP standards are likely being followed by those who manufacture for it. Since a special lacquer is applied to the outside of the case in order to aid in feeding, it would be interesting to see how SAAMI incorporates this in the standard. CIP makes no mention of the coating, SAAMI may follow suit…we will see.

By the way here are some cartridges that have recently submitted to SAAMI which are of note (The full list can be found here);

• SIG 277 Fury – SAAMI MAP of 80,000psi – 135gr@3000fps from 16in Barrel
  • Special notes on the drawing advise that cartridge case and firearm must be of special design to handle the high pressure.
• 12 Gauge 1 3/4 Shot Shells – SAAMI MAP of 11,500psi – 1oz slug @1200fps from 30in barrel
  • Introduces a new chamber, which may mean we’ll see some “short” action shotguns?
• 6.8 Western – SAAMI MAP of 65,000psi – 175gr @2840fps from 24in Barrel
  • Looks to be a new short action cartridge.
• 6.5 Weatherby Rebated Precision Magnum – 140gr@3,075fps from 24in barrel
  • Curious as to why Weatherby went with a rebated rim?

That is all I have for this 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, MeWe, and Reddit If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant

We are halfway through December and about two weeks left of 2020. 2020 has been both the longest and shortest decade of my life. It seems like this year has both dragged on and blazed by at the same time. Sad to say, it does not look like 2021 is shaping up to be much of a better, at least not as far as the firearms community is concerned.

The news that has been breaking over the weekend concerning the ATF’s raids on Polymer 80 has many of us concerned as to what the future might hold for 80% firearm receivers. From everything I have read, what seems to have the ATF’s ire is the kit being offered by Polymer 80 which included not just an 80% pistol frame, but also the jigs, tools, and parts needed to complete the pistol.

The frustrating part of this is the fact that the law has long been that the part considered a firearm, the frame or receiver, is the only part that requires a background check. Every other component in that kit can be purchased online/over the counter without any sort of paper work. If the frame or receiver is unfinished, or deemed to need at least 20% more work to finish it, then it is lawful to purchase it without filling out a 4473. The precedent that the ATF is trying to set is that “A kit” of parts and tools, accompanying a 80% firearm is essentially the same as a 81% firearm and should be treated the same. We know it’s only these kits, as that the only thing they’ve targeted, the rest of the Polymer 80 inventory is on sale right now.

The ATF is going so far as to request customer records, and then tracking down customers who have purchased these kits and demanding forfeiture in lieu of a obtaining a warrant and searching a homeowners house. If I was someone who had purchased on of these kits, and the ATF came up to my door demanding I hand it over or they will get a warrant to tear through my house, I would be inclined to turn it over. I completely understand where owners are coming from.

I strongly suspect we can see more of these shenanigan’s from the ATF over the next few years. Unfortunately there are lawyers who take definitions and laws which seem pretty clear to you and I, but argue to form these legal grey area’s. All it takes is one court case and a willing judge to redefine a that serves to only burden the law abiding. The frustrating part is it can take years and large amounts of $$$ for cases like these to work their way through the legal system. It’s all politically motivated garbage, that just further infuriate those in the firearms community.

If I was to guess what we are going to see in the next four years, here is my list.

1. ATF redefining a pistol brace to a stock, and classifying any weapon with a pistol brace an illegal SBR. (Before you think I’m going a bit far, look at what they did with Bump stocks…)
2. Reinterpreting the definition of pistol in order to limit the importation of firearms which currently fall under the “Pistol” version of long arms. This would include weapons like the CZ Scorpion EVO, AR-15 variants, and PCC pistol configurations.
3. Another hard look at M855 ammunition, that has long enjoyed a sporting exemption. This came under fire back in 2015/2016 but ultimately retain its exemption.
4. A further slow down in NFA transfers. Current wait times for paper transfers are around 9 to 12 months, while electronic transfers typically take 1 to 2 months. It would not at all surprise me to see the ATF change it’s rules on individual ownership and trusts to further burden the process.
5. A hard look at the definition of 80% and homemade firearms. This includes 3D Printing or sharing of CAD models, and prints online.

I also anticipate we will see at least one or two more big pushes for a so called “Assault” Weapons Ban (AWB) in the first two years of a Biden/Harris administration. Two years from now, are elections which are projected to be favorable to the GOP. If this election was any indication, we are likely to see the House flip Red, which will help (not totally prevent) any sort of AWB from being enacted. If the GOP retains the Senate in January, we may stand a better chance at preventing an AWB, but I would not bet a dime on it. There are two many GOP senators which are pretty tepid on firearms.

From all indications should an AWB come to the floor in the House, it will far more reaching and more restrictive then the 1994 bill that expired in 2004. While many in the firearms community will cast their hopes to the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, this is not the sure bulwark some believe it to be. If the Bills that have been submitted in the past are any indication, we can expect pretty much every semi-automatic rifle, most shotguns and a good deal of pistols to be affected by this change. It is unclear to me at this time if there is any grandfather provisions for existing firearms.

Biden has already announced his support for $200 tax stamp on firearms that fall under these arbitrary Assault Weapon definitions and are in current circulation. Further more he wants to enact a tax stamp on each magazine that holds over 10 rounds. Ten mags, that is $2,000 dollars, in tax stamps. I think I tallied it up, and I was well over $10,000 in tax stamps for what I owned should this legislation go through. My collection is not all that big compared to many I know. Do not lie to yourself, they know full well the impact of this legislation will create a financial burden so large for most firearm owners, that firearm owners will opt to destroy their mags, hide them, or turn them in. Which ever you do, it has the same effect, removing these magazines out of circulation.

Unfortunately it is hard to talk about firearms and stay completely out of politics because the two have become so intertwined, to the point what is legal one year, can turn you into a felon in the next year if you are not paying attention. Being involved with organizations like the Gun Owners of America, or the 2nd Amendment Foundation is about the only way to keep tabs on what’s going on.

As far as other news goes, I have been quite busy with trying to find some work. Both of my consulting contracts have fallen through, one permanently the other one has just been delayed. In the mean time we’ve still got bills to pay and lives to live and all that takes a bit of money. So I’ve become a full time job seeker, at least until things pick back up again. That has once again put a bit of a delay on some of my other projects. We’ll continue to work on them as we have time and post updates here.

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, MeWe, and Reddit If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.

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Stay Safe Out There

The Ballistic Assistant

Good Monday Evening!

I was reviewing some of the draft write ups I had been working on and realized I did not publish the first sight in attempt on the VZ-58. I have since corrected that issue, the write up is now live and can be accessed at the following link.

VZ-58: Accuracy Expectation and Sight In (1st Attempt)

For me the big news actually comes from a sister site my wife and I have been working on. We have been wanting to set up a business offering freeze dried goods for sometime. However we now just pulled the trigger on it and the site went live this past Friday. We approach freeze drying a bit differently, where we do not freeze dry meals, but all of the ingredients so you can make your own meals. It’s a new site, we’re still working through proofing and setting things but it is live and we’ve been processing orders. You can check out the site here.

The Southeast Homestead

As far as firearms news, it’s been fairly quite over the last week, I have not seen any big announcements or new releases. I’ve been busy helping my wife with the site so I have not had time for much else. Weather wise it rained a good part of last week so even in the little free time I had I was not able to get out to test fly the drone. It’ll all happen in good time.

Just a short update for this 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, MeWe, and Reddit If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.

Thanks for being a Subscriber!

Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant