Welcome to March! It’s been a busy past week. I was hoping to have more updates and content on the site but it just has not panned out. We did get the family moved from Texas. It was a bit of a blitz, drove over Friday, got in early morning Saturday. Loaded up the vehicles and drove back all day Sunday. I figure I spent 28 hours total on the road during the span of 72 hours. We are all in one place again, but the new home looks like a disaster zone…such is moving.
Anyway, the little bit I did do on the site was to upload an email conversation I had over the summer. I’ve pulled some information that would identify the sender, but everything else was left untouched. I do value the conversations I have with subscribers, and will do everything I can to protect your privacy. If you’d like to read the conversation you can find it here: [7-15-2020] Ballistic QC Equipment
Some brief comments on the primer shortage we are seeing. I do not know how many people are aware of the details of Remington’s bankruptcy. Remington was essentially broken up and sold off in pieces to the highest bidder. During this process all cashflow was stopped, meaning the purchase of raw materials could not take place. Effectively Remington was completely shutdown, and who knows what state the plant was left in during shutdown. Only recently has cash flow restarted and operations are beginning to resume.
Why is this important? Well, Remington’s Lonoke Arkansas facility represents roughly 1/3 of the industries production of primers. Primers cannot be built over night, there are some aspects of primer construction where the primer’s have to age, or more accurately, dry out for a period of time. I seem to remember it was about 30 days, but it could be longer. All this means that if Remington restarted operations and was in full production by tomorrow, it would likely mean we would not see Remington primers on the shelf for at least 60 to 90 days.
With that said, I do not know what the Remington restart looks like. I do know not all processes can simply resume at the flip of the switch. Even when they do resume there is typically a ramp up period. New employees need to be trained, processes need to reach a steady state, and Remington is likely going to dedicate it’s primer production to satisfy it’s own needs for ammunition prior to selling to the handloading market. All of this is to say, even with Remington back in operations we are likely not to see a reprieve in the primer shortage for many months.
In the mean time companies that sourced Remington primers for their own manufacture of ammunition, have had to go elsewhere. This combined with a year of political unrest, about 8 million new firearms owners, a flipped election, and the fact everyone who cannot find ammo is suddenly jumping into reloading, has created the perfect storm of market conditions where no one gets primers. If this seems like a soft rebuttal of some of the conspiracy theories going around, it is.
It will take a bit, but we will see things get back to normal, in the meantime, it’s really frustrating for a lot of folks. Especially those whose livelihoods depend on the slim margin of profit made on ammunition sales. It’s a hard market right now.
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, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
Good Monday Evening! It’s been a busy week, and I’ve been productive but not as productive as I would have hoped. I spent the majority of the week trying to figure out what was troubling my laptop. It is always something. I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon digging into the guts of the laptop to try and figure out what was going on. Turns out, I think I narrowed it down to a bad flat cable, and so far the hotel expedient fix has held, letting me write this update this evening. (I tried replacing the hard drive, did not work)
It is not very often you can open a laptop and make any meaningful type of fix to it. It was either this, or I spend a few hundred dollars giving it to the “Geek Squad”. The arrow is pointing to the cable that seemed to have been the culprit.
We added a few new loads to the Load Data Base courtesy of Jeff H. All of these loads made use of the long obsolete Norma 2020 & Norma 1010 powders. With very little load data out there, Jeff reach out to me a few months ago to try and get more information of where the burn speed may be and how to proceed using this powder for something other then fertilizer. He developed a few cast loads for his Sig 365 using this powder.
Excellent Photo Jeff! Thanks for sharing it with us. I’ll have this photo and the photo of Norma 1010 posted with the powder for future reference.
I appreciate him braving the cold and providing us the data. He also provided some pictures of the powder, and the canisters. I really appreciate the effort that went into this. Thanks Jeff!
I have finally gotten around to adding a conversation to the Mail Bag. I launched it with the intention of getting a bunch of previous emails uploaded to it, but got side tracked. We’ll get some of those previous emails posted but for now here is a email we got this week. [2-16-2021] Printable Burn Rate Chart. Thanks Larry for subscribing and for the email! There are a few emails I’ve been wanting to get posted but just have not gotten to it.
I has been a pretty interesting week, for those who are wondering I did find an rental unit for the family. We’ll be moving the family over next weekend. So the chaos is not completely over yet. However there is a light at the end of the tunnel. With that said, it is probably for the best I am not actively loading ammunition, the component shortage is really quite astonishing.
This is especially true when you realize how localized it is. Component manufacturers sell all over the world, and if we cross the border into Canada, the shelves are stocked. Woe be to the fool who gets caught trying to cross the border with it.
The good news is not all the ammunition out there is sold out. Snap caps along with 357 Sig, and 45 GAP is still reportedly on the shelves. I am waiting on someone to post a YouTube about using snap caps in the place of primers.
I have seen videos of people using the heads of strike anywhere matches to “Recharge” spent primers. This is truly an act of desperation, but at the same some of these alternative “Primers” are kind of fun learn about. Given that I know that primers consist of a myriad of elements including primary and secondary explosives, sensitizers and friction modifiers. This imbues the primer with a near 100% reliability, given that the right sequence of events is initiated. Undoubtedly, the homemade solutions will be as variable as the compounds that are used to recharge them. It’s up to you to decided how desperate you are for a few primers, but if you do it, let us know. I’d be curious on your load details and results.
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, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
I am publishing this update from a hotel room here in Alabama. I drove over last night avoiding most of the ice storms that hit eastern Texas. Did not avoid it all, but missed probably 80% of it. Even then I pulled one guy from a ditch and did a wellness check on another gal who spun into a guardrail. As someone who grew up in the northern climates, I really was quite shocked to see how bad the roads really got given how little precipitation was actually received. I guess I’ll stop complaining about snow removal, or sometimes the lack there of, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah…..
Anyhow while I am house hunting for the family, I suspect I’ll have a good deal of time in the evenings to get some work done on a the website. So be looking for updates, likely corrections, additions or completions of existing content that I have not had the time to get to. I’ll be sure to have those highlights next update. While I did not have the time this past week I’ll be getting a book review in this week.
In firearms news…
Since I hail from Utah, I do pay attention to what is going on in that state. It was good to see that the constitutional carry bill finally passed and was signed into law by Governor Cox. My understanding is that it will go into effect on May 5th, 2021. Utah will continue to offer a license, which will be of important to those traveling to states which recognize Utah’s permits. A full listing of States that recognize Utah’s Concealed Firearms Permit (CFP) can be found here.
Also, CZ Firearms is reportedly in the process of purchasing Colt. Time will tell if this is a good or bad thing for Colt, but Colt has turned things around. It was only a few years ago that there was serious talk this company might go completely under.
Sticking with the theme of acquisitions. Ammo, Inc the company that is probably most well known for tracers that are not half pyrotechnic, half bullet is buying Gun Broker. Again, time will tell if this is a over all good thing for Gun Broker, but I suspect it will be as Ammo, Inc seems to be doing well.
There are some rumors that one of the firearm manufacturers, I do not know which, may be building a new primer facility. To be fair, every time we see an ammo crunch a rumor like this seems to pop up. Having toured a facility that makes primers, I can attest it is no small feat. Here you are legitimately handling explosives that are sensitive, by design, to being crushed or shocked. The Remington Lonoke staff have a few stories of what can go wrong, and what the aftermath looks like. I do not see a new primer facility being built, and producing primers within the next two years. I suspect it will be towards the end of Q3 2023 or late 2024 before we see anything, assuming that this rumor pans out.
Lastly, I would be a bit amiss if I did not at least touch on what President Biden rolled out over the weekend. The “Guntube” channels, and the those who focus on firearm politics are likely to make quite a bit of noise about it. Some may feel it justified given the potential consequences, but at the end of the day, I think it does little to further our cause. I believe that amidst what seems to be unmitigated chaos, it is the calm and collected mind that has power. As we discuss with our neighbors, our friends, our country man, lets put an emphasis on discussion, not with the intent to change minds, but rather with the intent to foster conversation and an exchange of ideas. It is an art that we have lost as a civilization, and unless we make an effort to relearn it, we will always be at each others throats.
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 (Yes, they are back online now.) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
Thanks for subscribing and Stay Safe (and Sane) out there!
Its been a busy week this week, but unfortunately not for the webpage. As a heads up the next two weeks promise to be quite busy. This week I’ll likely be on the road a fair bit, heading to Alabama to try and get housing nailed down for the family, and then headed back to Texas to help the rest of the family finish up the move. If all goes well, I’ll be writing the next update from Alabama. So there is likely not to be any new content in the next week.
We did sneak in a book review for this week. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation on how rifling is formed on the inside of a barrel, this book is an excellent read. It is fairly technical, so it’s best not to read this too close to bed time.
Clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon.com. However at the time of this update the book is unavailable for purchase. I have provided an alternative link in the write up for the book.
You can read my thoughts on the book here: Thoughts On: Rifling Machines and Methods. This is another book that I believe could really benefit if the photo’s were printed in color rather the black and white. That is not to diminish the read, just something I would be willing to pay a premium for. With that said there are plenty of drawings and cross sections of some of the cutters used which I found to be informative. As someone who would like to rifle a few barrels of my own, this is a book I am happy to have gotten my hands on.
On reviewing the SAAMI page, I noticed a new cartridge was snuck in. The 429 Desert Eagle. The SAAMI approved drawing has been included below. I’ll be adding this to the pistol cartridge catalog in the near future. It looks like SAAMI has approved a 46,000psi service pressure or MAP for this cartridge.
The 50 AE served as the parent cartridge, and while this cartridge was introduced in 2018, it did not gain SAAMI approval until Jan 2021.
Some may compare this cartridge to the 440 Cor-bon which was a similarly 50 AE based case. However the service pressure for the the 429 DE is much higher, and you should not chamber and fire the 429 DE in a 440 Cor-bon, even though it is reportedly possible to do so. Having fired a 50 AE Desert Eagle, I am curious as to what this new cartridge has to offer, perhaps I’ll do a bit of digging and will present the results in a future write up.
Speaking of the Desert Eagle, if you have not fired one and have the opportunity to do so, I encourage it. They are a unique and large pistol, which makes for a fun and different shooting experience. In terms of practicality, I do not have much use for them outside of it being a safe queen and something to be enjoyed on special occasions. However there is a dedicated following, and it has become something of a pop icon being featured in many movies, books and video games.
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 (if they ever get back online, I hear maybe today?) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
The older I get the faster the years seem to go by. Not sure if this is because life just gets busier, or because my perspective of time seems to change. I.E, the older we get the shorter a day becomes, relative to the total amount of time we have lived. I saw that now, but there are still days and hours that seem to drag on. This is the long way of saying another week has past, and we are through the month of January in what seems like record time.
This past week and the next few weeks following are promising to be quite busy for myself and my family. We are once again on the move, this time to Alabama. This will hopefully be the second to last move we have as a family for some time. We will be moving into an apartment to allow us to find a house and property in the area that fits our needs. This also comes with a career change yet again, which will be a return to my passions which include CAD design/drafting, teaching, and of course the shooting sports.
As we make this transition, I’ll do my best to try and keep adding to the content on the website. There are some things that remain a work in progress. Of course, there was something if an informal 2021 SHOT Show, and manufacturers have been announcing new products, including some in the reloading category. I still have some work to do to finish what I feel are the highlights of these new releases. In the meantime, I have completed another book review
Clicking on the picture will take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of this book. A portion of the sale will go to supporting this website at no cost to you.
One of the reasons I wanted to start the Library section of the webpage was to highlight books which are lesser known but are of considerable value. Modern Exterior Ballistics is one of those books. It is an expensive book, it comes in hardcover, and it is written as an academic reference. Therefore, unless you are really interested in learning the math and theories behind ballistic trajectory, you may not see the value in this book. You can read my full thoughts and review of the book here: Thoughts On: Modern Exterior Ballistics
In keeping with the SAAMI cartridge catalog, I have finished and publish the SAAMI Rifle Cartridge Catalog . This includes all of the currently recognized SAAMI Rifle Cartridges except for the ones released in September 2020. I need to add these newer cartridges and will come on a future update. As with the other catalogs, important specs such as Service Pressure (SAAMI MAP), Max COAL, Min COAL, Max Case Length and Trim to Length are listed. I have also included the bullet diameter’s, which I did not do for the pistol, rimfire or shotgun catalog but may go back and update those. Again, these catalogs are intended to be a quick reference for people looking for information on a cartridge and not wanting to dig through the SAAMI Manuals.
In other news, a new Firearm Control Bill has been introduced into the house. HR127 or “Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act”. The introduction of this and other Firearm Control measures should not surprise anyone. There are a lot of people making a lot of hay over something that happens every new session of congress. With that said there are some highlights that make this bill pretty terrible, and some new things that I have not seen in previous bills;
Ban the possession of ammunition that is .50 Caliber or greater,
Ban magazines that can hold more then 10 rounds,
a requirement for registration and licensing of all firearms,
This includes different licensing categories for different classes of firearms
Licensing requirement would include a mandatory 24hr safety class and a phycological evaluation.
Only license holders may possess and purchase ammunition (At least that’s how it reads to me)
A requirement to pay a yearly $800 liability insurance fee to the AG.
The Bill is not clear on what, if any, grandfather measures are included, if it had them I missed them on my read through.
Those are the highlights I took away from reading through the bill. I am pretty sure there are others who can better inform us of some of the particular legal requirements and implications that are hidden in the legalese. While I stand firmly against everything in this bill, I do not think it does us much good to claim the sky is falling around the banning of magazines, or registration requirements, those argument will fall on deaf ears. Personally, I believe the best argument against this bill is the disparaging effect it will have on those looking to exercise their Rights and are part of the middle class and below. Which statistically is overwhelming minority populations.
The $800 yearly insurance requirement is only the beginning of the costs, once we figure in the cost of a 24hr (read a 3 day safety class, which means 3 days of missed work) and the cost of a psych evaluation, we are easily talking about an investment of $2,000 or more, before purchasing the firearm and ammunition. This will disproportionally affect low income populations, acting in effect as a “Poll Tax” requiring fee’s in order to exercise a Constitutional Right. On it’s face this requirement, I believe is unconstitutional, that is before we get into the debate over the 2nd Amendment and what arms or accessories may be legislatively regulated.
In the divided world we live in, I firmly believe that we must focus on messaging more then any other time. These battles can be won in the hearts and minds of our neighbors, but it will take an adjustment in how we discuss Rights, and how that impacts individuals who are less fortunate. Simply backing ourselves into a preverbal corner and crying ” Do Not Tread On Me, or Come and Take it” adds little or no value to the conversation and further rises the temperature. In many instances it makes people more resolute in their views for or against us.
Undoubtedly we will see more bills like this over the next four years. Even if they die in committee the same elements will be copied and paste into the next effort, with a different title and perhaps different sponsors. The pressure we must apply, needs to be applied with both a measure of patience and consistency, not a quick knee jerk response that is promoted by eye catching headlines or inflammatory YouTube videos. This kind of teaching is something our community can be very good at within our own families, but are not as astute at performing outside of our homes. The other side, by nature, is quite good at messaging and education even when we find the things being taught to be disagreeable.
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 (if they ever get back online) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
This last week has been a busy one for me. I have not been able to put a lot of time into the website. I do not have a book review to post for this week. It was something I wanted to do but we just ran out of time to get it finished. With that said we did go live with the SAAMI Shotshell Cartridge Catalog.
As someone who has only dabbled with shot shell reloading this was a fun catalog to put together. Shot shell cartridges have very low pressure compared to most other metallic cartridges. Faster burning powders, and powders with higher nitroglycerin contents are typical for powders specific for shot shell cartridges. These powders often cross over to many pistol calibers but not all powders that are suited for use in shotgun loads are good for pistol loads.
Much of this is due to the differences in service pressures, where shotgun powders are designed to burn optimally at 11,000 to 14,000psi, many pistol cartridges have a service pressures of 35,000psi. These differences can result in dangerous pressure spikes, and inconsistent loads. This is to say, a that pound of Green Dot sitting on the shelf is tempting to try in a pistol load, but it is not recommended.
I have accepted a new job in Alabama, which means we have one more move in us before we hit a long term home. Hopefully once there we can restart on some of the project’s we’ve been working on. The limbo that I’ve been in during the last few months has been difficult. These next few weeks promise to keep me pretty busy, but I’ll try and continue to make progress on keeping the site up to date.
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 (if they ever get back online) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
Good Monday morning! I hope everyone has had a good weekend; we had an interesting one. Unfortunately, interesting does not mean I got out to the shooting range. I hope to do that sometimes soon, it has been too long, and I need some trigger time. For this week we have a few website highlights that we have rolled out. First of the weekly book review.
Click on the photo to be taken to Amazon to purchase. A portion of the proceeds will go to helping support the website.
I really enjoyed Gunsmithing Modern Firearms for two reasons, the first being I can relate to the author. I am a left-handed shooter, who grew up in Vermont, and has a hobby that often exceeds my wallet. Secondly, he is not afraid to say, “I wrote this at the time, but looking back at it, here’s how I would have done it differently.” The book itself if well put together, and has many gems for people who do things on a shoestring budget, but want to do it right. I really appreciated the book and do recommended it for the budding gunsmith. You can read my full review here. Thoughts On: Gunsmithing Modern Firearms.
In keeping with the project I started on the SAAMI Pistol Cartridge Catalog, I have rolled out the SAAMI Rimfire Cartridge Catalog . Doing this project has really served two purposes, the first being to provide a slightly easier way to look up SAAMI Standards on cartridges. The second reason is to review the cartridges out there that have gain SAAMI recognition. It is not to say these are the only “Safe” or useful cartridges out there. Rather it is what the firearms industry has put into the money and effort to standardize which cartridges. Some of the pressures surprised me, frankly, I thought rimfire cartridges pressure wise were closer to shotgun pressures then modern pistol cartridges.
The last major update for this week is a write up on the 45 ACP cartridge. This is one of my favorite cartridges to load and shoot for. Not because I have any outdated notions of its ability to stop threats, rather I find it more pleasant to shoot then some of the other more modern cartridges out there. I am a big believer of carrying and practicing with a firearm that you enjoy shooting with, and in a cartridge, you enjoy shooting. For me, the 45 ACP has found that niche. If you would like to read my write up on the cartridges you can read it here: 45 ACP
With the website updates out of the way I wanted to take a moment to comment on some of the interesting news coming out of the firearms industry over the last few days. The first most notable event is the National Rifle Association has filed for bankruptcy. The NRA has committed that it will still honor all its memberships and it will still send out the monthly magazines. While I do not proport to be an expert in bankruptcy law, or for that matter finance, there are a few things I have learned about it being part of a couple companies that have gone bankrupt.
The first being, its bankruptcy is very often a good thing for a company, especially one that has been mismanaged and saddled with inordinate amounts of debt due to mismanagement. It does not seem like this is the case with the NRA. Rather it would seem it is a political or strategic move to restructure the organization and, in some way, facilitate its move to Texas. There is little doubt that some of this is in response to the investigation being conducted by the New York Attorney General into the NRA’s financial dealings.
If you have been following me for any length of time you will know I am not a huge fan of the leadership of the NRA. I think they are as crooked as crooked can be.
While some bankruptcies may lead to a restructuring of an organization, I would be surprised if that were the case in this instance. Perhaps I am being a bit cynical when I say that I believe this is a purely an attempt by the NRA to shake off some of the lawsuits and legal action being taken against them rather than to produce a change in leadership that would heal the fractured organization. Time will tell in terms of what will ultimately happen to America’s oldest civil rights organization.
Another thing that caught my eye was Winchester’s announcement of price increases for ammunition. Which started making rounds again despite the letter being dated in August 2020. They were not just increasing the price of future orders, but retroactively increasing prices for orders which had been placed but had yet to be fulfilled. Understandably this left a lot of consumers agitated.
While we are picking on Winchester for a letter dated in August 2020, we can expect similar market influences to increase ammunition prices across all the major brands.
While I think Winchester should honor sales made prior the increase in price announcements, I am not as alarmed by the increase. As we know, ammunition is largely made of metal, three primary metals are used in most of the ammunition manufactured, copper, zinc and lead. Well, I happen to be somewhat keen on the copper market as I worked for a time at a copper mine, and I do still consult for them. I know when the price of copper is high, business is likely to be good, and when it is low, less so. Right now, the price of copper is high. Excitingly so, at least for me.
Copper is a volatile commodity and there is no telling how long these high prices could last. We could see it drop next month, or it may be a year before the prices drop. A Copper Operation pictured to the left is where I continue to consult for and has been shutdown in part due to low copper price. The restart of this facility will produce at least a hundred jobs to a community that is severely lacking.
The last few weeks it has not been unusual to see copper hit $3.60/lb or higher. Last year this time, copper was below $2.70/lb. So, in the last few months we have seen copper price jump by almost 30%, which means the brass (70% of which is copper) and copper jackets all just cost at least that much more to make. It is good for the mining industry, but of course it depresses the ammunition industry.
While it is quite normal to see small increases in ammunition cost, especially when it comes to market inflation or increase market demand, Winchester’s increase seems to be more a response to an unplanned for increase in material cost, combine with high demand. The profit margin on ammunition is slim, it does not take much of an increase to wipe away that margin. The troubling thing with Winchesters approach is that it will likely set the price market wide. Smaller manufacturers look to larger manufacturers when it comes to price setting to be competitive. If Winchester can get away with a 10% or 30% increase on some product lines, then a smaller manufacturer is likely to try and increase prices as well.
Due to the political climate, it is likely we will continue to see the price and demand remain high. This is somewhat a uniquely United States issue, as those north of us, or those across the pond do not see ammunition and component shortages on the scale that we witness here. Undoubtedly, we will see the emergence of a new “bubble” where manufacturers begin to get used to selling everything they can possibly make. Especially if the Biden/Harris Administration are elected to a second term. With the unpredictable nature of politics and the resulting market fluctuations it is unlikely that we will see significant expansion in the production of primers or powders to respond to market demand. Too many people in the industry are still sore from the 2016 – 2017 market crash the industry experienced and are not too keen for a repeat.
Alternative case technologies like the one produced by Shell Shock Technologies may be poised to increase market share should copper prices remain high.
What we are likely to see is the continued mainstreaming of alternate cartridge case material. This maybe the polymer cases that companies like True Velocity, Nammo, and PCP have been marketing. Or it could be steel, aluminum or, composite three-piece cartridge cases that SIG, and Shell Shock Technologies produce. I suspect it in the coming years this marketplace will become more and more competitive, especially if the cost of copper remains high. This is especially true if alternative case technology gets adopted by the US Military, as what gets adopted by the military usually receives a significant boost into being a commercial success.
Regardless of what happens we have had an interesting start to the year and the next four years are going shaping up to be quite interesting. 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 (if they ever get back online) Facebook, Instagram, MeWe, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database the instructions are here.
What a week it has been. My goodness, I for one was hoping 2021 would settle things down a bit, but alas it seems there is a few more parting shots to be had. I have been sorely tempted to do some form of write up on my thoughts on what took place over the last week but have not been able to find the right words. I will leave it at this, as an ardent supporter of the Constitution, I do not believe the individuals responsible for the sacking of the Capital were justified in doing so, and I believe what they did will ultimately be used as the impetus for further curtailing of civil liberties. This is deeply troubling to me. Enough said.
For our book highlight of the week, we have The ABC’s of Reloading. I own a copy of the 8th Edition and have written my thoughts based on that, there is a 9th Edition available. I do not know how the two editions differ but either way, it is a worth adding to your library. Especially if you are looking at getting into reloading for the first time. You can check out the write up here: Thoughts On -The ABC’s of Reloading
Clicking on the photo will take you to Amazon.com to purchase the book. A small portion of the sale will help support the site at no cost to you.
As I was doing some research for the 303 British write up, I stumbled on CartridgeCollectors.net. There is some good information here on wildcat, obsolete and rare cartridges. This includes images and information regarding headstamps. In doing some exploring on the website, I found a link to CartridgeCollectors.org which is a membership site dedicated to the collecting of ammunition and cartridges, however much of the information requires a subscription to access.
We have added a new reference to the site, this is the SAAMI Pistol Cartridge Catalog. Here we list out the Pistol Cartridges Recognized by SAAMI, provide the SAAMI Print, and a quick summery for each cartridge. The aim of this is to make it an easy reference. I plan on doing something similar for Rifles, Shotguns and Rimfire in the future. We may expand on these catalogs in the future.
The last piece of content we added to the site was a write up regarding the 303 British. This storied cartridge makes my list of favorite cartridges. I was introduced to this cartridge when I bought my first rifle and have developed a fondness for it. You can read my thoughts on it here: 303 British.
We have continued to make some progress on finishing up the Pistol & Shotgun Smokeless Catalog. I have a bit more to do in order to get things completely wrapped up, I’ll continue to work on it, and hope to have it completely finished before the end of the month.
That is all I for the updates 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.
Happy New Year! Honestly, I’m what they call a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to holidays. I did not stay up to midnight, or do anything special. Went to bed the usual time and woke up the next day as per the usual. The only difference to me was having to remember to write 2021 on everything. We have been working on bringing new content to the website, here’s some of what went live last week.
If you are like me and are a fan of military surplus rifles, you may appreciate this book. I bought this book as I wanted to get a better understanding on what I could do to tighten up the groups on my Lee Enfield. I found it to be extremely helpful with some idea’s that I would never had thought of on my own. You can read my full thoughts on the book here. Thoughts On: The 2012 Complete Book on Lee Enfield Accurizing
Clicking on this picture will take you to Amazon to purchase the book. A small percentage of the sale will help to support the website.
We continue work on the Shotgun & Pistol Powder Catalog it’s not quite 100% where I want it before moving on to the Magnum Pistol Powder Catalog, if you have not checked it out please do. In the future we will be adding individual entries that will have additional information such as densities and pictures of the grain. We just want to get the majority of the powders listed.
I continue to do write ups on some of my favorite cartridge. This week we’ve taken a look at the 338 Spectre, a proprietary cartridge that is supported primarily by Southern Ballistic Research (SBR). I’ve done a bit of work with it, built an AR chambered in it, done some initial load work ups, but am not done playing with it yet. It’s a fun cartridge that offers a bit more versatility then some wildcat cartridge’s out there.
In keeping with the cartridge highlights, I have set up a page regarding some of my Favorite Firearms and Firearms of Interest. The rules are the same, if I own and enjoy shooting it, it becomes a Favorite Firearm, (Some guns I own, are more of a “meh” and do not make the list) if I’m interested in the firearm but do not own it, it’s a firearm of interest. I do a fair amount of research into the firearms I own, and the ones I’m interested in. So this is an opportunity for me to share it with everyone, who may have similar interests.
That is all I for the updates 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.
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
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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.
If you’ve been looking for a 30mmx173 print, I’ve managed to put one together for you viewing pleasure. Clink on the image to download the PDF.
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.
Yes, in my free time I’ve been known to play a few sessions of “Among Us”
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.
Alec Guinness knew what was up, this is true of sand people, internet trolls, and Shannon Watts
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.
