Website Updates 10-12-2020

Good Monday Evening!

2020 has proven to be a crazy year, and as you know I have not been spared. A broken ankle, a job change, a move, and now a second move. Yes, just as I was getting settled in, we received some bad news. My wife’s father is not doing so well, so we have decided to move closer to her parents to help care for him.

This will be quite the move for us. We are currently located in Cedar City, Utah. We’ll be moving to someplace in eastern Texas. This means we have to downsize quite a bit. Since we want to be down there for the holidays, the timeline is a bit compressed. Obviously this is not something I planned on or was expecting but the last week has been a whirlwind.

All of this means I will be slow providing any sort of updates until after I can get everyone moved. If loads are submitted I’ll make sure they get uploaded to the spreadsheet promptly, however there won’t be much else I can do.

As always, you can reach out to me at jayandrew338@gmail.com. If you want to submit a load the submission form is here. You can check me out on Instagram here, or you can join the conversation on our Facebook page.

Stay safe and good luck to all those hunters!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 10-5-2020

It’s the first Monday in October!

I fully admit my two favorite seasons are spring and fall. Temperatures are usually pretty moderate which makes it a perfect time for some casting. Unfortunately I’m not sure I’m going to get much of that done this fall. Not with all the unpacking and organizing of the garage.

The big update this week, is really a small update. A friend of mine sent me the results for his deer and elk load. If you are wanting to know how IMR 4166 performs with a 165gr Nosler Partition out of a Ruger American Predator Rifle chambered in 308 Win, the load is in the database. The barrel length was 18in, and he reported it consistently shooting some very tight groups.

In other news I scored a calibration weight set. This weight set isn’t quite complete, but it is miles ahead of my current weight set. So I am glad to add it to my collection. Weight sets like these are good additions to the reloading bench as it allows you the check your scales. The weights that come with the scales are not always the highest quality. While this set is missing a few of it’s weights it will be fine for my use.

This is an expensive set, unfortunately it’s missing a few standards, perhaps I’ll order them to fill in the gaps, or I’ll leave it be. The lab was getting rid of it as they didn’t have the paper work to certify the standards.

In industry news, there are several ammunition manufacturers reporting backorders out to May 2021. With one small manufacturer in Arizona reporting more then $80 Million in back orders. If there was ever a time to be glad you were a hand loader, now might be it. Though, I know components are tricky to find right now, still, at least you have some ability to adapt to the market, try some new powders, or perhaps try your hand at casting.

Depending on how the election goes, we might not see a return to normal for sometime. It took probably a year to 18 months before inventory came back after the 2012 rush. Even then prices were never quite back where people were used to prior to the rush. It will be interesting to see if the industry is repeating the same mistake it made in 2016. In the months leading up to the 2016 election wholesalers stocked their warehouses anticipating a Hillary win. Instead Trump won, and the bottom fell out of the market overnight.

I wouldn’t say they were giving away ammunition, but it resulted in a market correction. A lot of small Mom and Pop shops that were making AR-15 parts with their garage CNC operations disappeared post election. The industry had treated the Obama bubble as the new normal, and well, it wasn’t. Things in the ammo world are hopping right now, and if things keep going the way they are at my current job, I might start looking to get back in. We will see.

That is the update for this week. If you’d like to submit your loads, please check out the Load Submission Form here. If you’d like to share pictures of your trophy buck, email them here, jayandrew338@gmail.com. If you want to see what I’m up to, I try and post my unfiltered life to Instagram. Lastly, if you want to join the conversation, you can look us up on Facebook.

Thanks for subscribing, stay safe out there, and good luck on the hunts!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 9-28-2020

Well this past week has been a crazy one but with some good developments.

First off, I know most hunting seasons have either started or are starting. So I wish everyone a safe and bountiful hunt. I know many people who’ve been using this social distancing and isolation as an excuse to develop new hunting loads. I look forward to hearing how they performed in the field.

Secondly, the big firearms news of the week is Remington companies being sold off as part of the bankruptcy. When it comes to ammunition, the most interesting news is Remington Ammunition being acquired by Vista Outdoors, and Barnes Bullets being acquired by Sierra Bullets. Since I’ve been somewhat close to the fire on both organizations, I am curious to see how this affects both companies long term.

Barnes Bullets is most well known for their TSX and TTSX line of copper solid bullets. To my knowledge Sierra Bullets never came out with a copper solid, further more Sierra does not manufacture it’s own ammunition. Barnes Bullets does both. While Barnes used Sierra bullets in a few of it’s loads, it more often used the Match Burner bullets. It will be interesting to see if Sierra allows the Match Burner to continue as it directly competes with Sierra Match King line of bullets. I’m not saying they’ll kill the brand any time soon, but I’ve seen it happen before.

One of the bummer things to come out of this for Barnes is that it looks like they had bid to be their own company. Basically purchasing themselves from Remington, I’m not sure if it was to be an employee owned, but I do know that many Barnes employees had wanted to be employee owned business.

The purchase of Remington Ammunition by ATK can only be a good thing for the company. I’ve been to the Lonoke Arkansas facility a few times. Much of the equipment has been rebuilt many times over, and the plant is in need of an manufacturing update. Remington had attempted to do this, but had only updated their 9mm manufacturing line, and it was not without it’s own issues.

The last bit of news is the progress I’ve made on the garage. Ever bit closer, honestly I feel bad not devoting more time to the website, but in a way getting that taken care of will allow me to produce the content that I’ve been wanting to all along. So bare with me a bit longer and we’ll get things sorted.

Of course there is the impending Supreme Court battle, but I’ll stay out of that…

If you’d like to submit a load to the database, download the form here. Regardless of what I am doing when I receive the email, I will review the entry and will add it to the database right away. No new loads this week, but there will be some soon.

As always you can reach me at jayandrew338@gmail.com. I enjoy the emails and feedback I receive and will always respond as best I can. Alternatively you can follow us on Facebook, or Instagram to see what we are up to.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 9-21-2020

Good Monday Evening!

I have been working diligently to get my garage converted over to a handloading and bullet making workspace. This involves a lot of unpacking, organizing, and sorting through boxes of tools, components, and miscellaneous junk. I have posted pictures of the progress on the websites Instagram page.

Much of the time I would normally spend on the website, or it’s associated projects, has been spent trying to get things set up. Admittedly I am somewhat slow as I can be particular about how my tools are organized. For this reason I have not made much progress on some of the CAD work I was working on earlier. We’ll come back around to that soon enough.

In the meantime I’ve been working on a workbench for the new space. I’ve contemplated purchasing one ready made, but I also enjoy building these types of things even if I’m not much of a wood worker. I’ve been working through the design on Solid Works.

This bench is 8ft long, and will provide the space needed for my 3 presses along with a little bit of space left over for a work area.

It really doesn’t take much of a bench to reload on. Actually you don’t need a bench at all. I’ve mounted my Lee Classic press on the top of a 4×4 post with a makeshift base. I’ve also repurposed some inexpensive desks. For the most part the forces required for loading are low, and while you can certainty break apart a flimsy desk I found its usually sufficient for reloading.

Swaging is another story. The large +70lb press needs a sturdy workbench to support it. While most of the forces of swaging are contained within the press, you have a longer lever and can stress a bench more then a standard reloading press, especially when drawing down jackets. Still, the bench as designed, is likely overkill. I’m still working through it, and given that I plan it to be a free standing bench, I.E not attached to the wall I’m reluctant to put a backing on it.

For those who are interested in the drone project, there has not been much of an update on that for sometime. However I got my hands on an Aeromao Talon. This was purchased by the company I am working for to conduct aerial surveying and mapping. There has been some issues, and it uses the Mission Planner software. I do plan on doing a write up detailing my impressions of this more budget fix wing mapping solution. The package we bought was still $15k, but it is not the $25k the Ebee mapping solution was.

That is pretty much all I have for this week. As I work to get the garage set up for reloading I’ll continue to post updates on the Instagram page. If you’d like to join the discussion you can check out our Facebook page. Of course if you have comments, questions, or suggestions please feel free to email me at jayandrew338@gmail.com.

We do not have any updates to the load database this week, if you have an entry you’d like to submit please fill out the submission form located here.

As always, Stay Safe and Have Fun!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Update 9-14-2020

Good Monday Evening,

I’ll start off by saying there was no updates over the past two weeks. I’ve been quite busy unpacking, organizing tool boxes, cleaning up the work space in an effort to settle into the new place. Last week was Labor Day and we spent much of the holiday in South Eastern Utah admiring the landscape there. As such I did not send out an update letter.

Of course the world moves along despite me taking a vacation. Industry news of note, Remington is reportedly selling some of it’s companies including Barnes Bullets, which is located in Mona, Utah. Barnes Bullets is most well know for introducing the TSX and TTSX copper monolithic bullets which expand and nearly always retain 100% of it’s weight. Barnes was the crown jewel of Remington’s Ammunition business. When Barnes was acquired by Remington, it was largely left alone, which is likely the primary reason quality never suffered. Unfortunately this was not true of other companies that Remington acquired.

Western Powders announced a recall which I have included below.

Accurate Powders Recall Notice

Recalls are expensive, when I was working in the industry, a recall announcement cost the company on average of $1 Million dollars. So if Western is announcing a recall there is probably a good reason for it. Check you lot numbers if you use this power. I will likely be working on a catalog of reloading component recalls in the near future. This recall and many others will be posted there.

One last interesting piece of news I ran across today. The military apparently shot down a cruise missile with at 155mm Howitzer. Of course pictures of a salty old Sergeant calling out Kentucky windage immediately comes to mind, but that is quickly overshadowed by the many variables and complexity of the math required to pull off such a shot with any sort of repeatability.

The reported velocity of the round was Mach 5 or roughly 5,750fps. the rounds are hyper velocity projectiles which are light weight and are guided, I.E capable of making course corrections mid flight. Of course I want more details, like chamber pressure, and barrel life. Those are not forth coming.

The maximum theoretical velocity of a bullet is ~6,000fps. So 5,750fps is approaching what can be realistically achieved with the current generation chemical propellants. It is something of a remarkable feat in marksmanship, even if it’s a computer doing the work.

That is it for the updates this week. I do not have any updates to the Load Database this week. If you do some testing and want to share the results, download the submission form and email them to me at jayandrew338@gmail.com. If you’d like to see my progress on unpacking my garage and setting up my workspace, go to our Instagram page. If you want to join the conversation, you can always check us out on Facebook.

Thanks a bunch for Subscribing and Stay Safe Out there!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 8-31-2020

Last day of August, 8 months down before we can close out 2020. Hopefully we are not jumping out of a frying pan and into the fire…

This week has been a busy one. I got a few emails regarding the load database, made some changes to the submission form based on the feedback I received. Thank you everyone who contributed.

Over the last week I’ve put together 43 entries into the log. Much of it is data that I generated over the last several years, some of it was from a contributor who did some testing with 338 Lapua Magnum. We have nearly identical rifles, and we’ve compared notes from time to time.

The log is now live and anyone can download and view it here. We have to start somewhere and the log as it sits has loads from about the full range of the burn chart, and is a good example of what I’m looking for data wise. I know not everyone is going to have all the information regarding lot numbers, or stock numbers, but give what you can. As long as there’s no glaring gaps in the data submitted it will be included in the database.

The Mueller Action as it sits today. Note the barrel stub is actually a tool for setting up the breach block.

I have continued to make progress on reviewing and modeling the Mueller Action. As I’ve modeled things I have come across some holes in the prints where dimensions are missing. The author also mentions he used the prints as templates, but the publisher scaled down the drawings so this would be near impossible unless you got creative. I’ve tried to be creative, as Solid Works has tools for importing and scaling images, but it’s not always and exact process.

When I publish the prints, the parts that are used as a template will be offered at a 1:1 scale to allow for the creation of a template. I have found this to be an accurate method so long as they are not scaled during printing. I have used this method in the past, and when it comes to creating complex curves, it’s hard to beat.

At the rate I’m going I expect to have the prints generated sometime around the end of September. This is a relaxing project, done in the evenings when I’m sick of trying to unpack the garage. You’ll never realize exactly how much reloading and shooting equipment you have until it takes up one whole corner of a two car garage.

That is the weekly update, I hope everyone is staying safe out there. Thanks for subscribing and as always if you want to join the conversation you can check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or shoot me an email at jayandrew338@gmail.com.

Stay Safe and Have Fun!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 8-24-2020

Good Monday Evening.

We are going to roll out a new database, that will require input from a lot of people to make it worth while. Let me explain.

Load data that is published by Hodgdon, Sierra, Barnes, Western Powders, and the other big manufacturers is typically the results of testing under SAAMI guidelines. The test barrels are manufactured to SAAMI minimum chamber dimensions, and are calibrated with SAAMI Standard ammunition prior to each round of testing. Most rifle barrels are a standard 24in and pistol barrels come in various lengths.

Few rifles today have barrels that are 24 inches, and pistol barrel lengths rarely seem to match up with what the SAAMI test length is. In addition there are gaps in the data, where Barnes may decide to test Powder A, B, and C for a certain load, Sierra may test A, C and D. The reasons for this often come down to the cost of generating the data. When I was working in the industry it was estimated to cost $1.3 Million to produce a new revision to an existing loading Manuel.

Powder Distributors and Bullet Manufactures only test a narrow range of powders that they think will work best for the given load. With new powders and cartridges coming out on a yearly basis companies can’t release updates fast enough. Which is why many companies have gone to releasing the information online rather then printing costly revision of dead tree load manuals.

Part of this website is dedicated to providing a resource for hand loaders, both the hobby level guys and the professionals. With the widespread availability of chronographs, we live in a time where most serious hand loaders have a chronograph, magneto speed, or a Lab Radar. Collectively hand loaders generate more data on load performance then any individual lab. While hand loaders sporadically share data, I haven’t yet found a source that compiles test results from hand loaders into a searchable database. That is what I aim to create.

The link for the page is here: Load Database

If you would like to submit your pet loads the form is on the website, fill it out and email it to myself at Jayandrew338@gmail.com. Once we get 50 loads, we will go live with the database. This is a work in progress as I get input from everyone we will change inputs or try and make things easier/faster. There are a few drop down menus that allow you to make a selection instead of having to type in the data. Data will be presented in a downloadable excel spreadsheet which will be locked for editing, however if we can grow the database we will try and offer both the excel table but also figure out some embedded website database. Any way, let’s see where this goes.

We have made progress on the action design we teased last week. For those who guessed, it is a single shot, falling block action published in The Home Shop Machinist magazine in the 90’s. The series was written by the creator Walter B. Mueller, and thus has been dubbed the Mueller Rifle Action.

This is a section view of the action as it currently sits. There are a few errors I made in the falling breech block that I need to correct, but we are nearly finished with the modeling of the base action and the breech block.

So far I have found these prints to be mostly complete, with a few dimensions left to builder discretion. Given it was published in a magazine, they cut the prints down to a couple of views and made the grievous sin of trying to fit to many dimensions into one view (Ok, it’s something I hate, not a grievous sin). So I hope to correct some of that in the redrawn prints. I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book as Mr. Mueller does an excellent job of laying out some of the math behind the design. Anyone curious in calculating the forces and the resulting minimum material thicknesses required would find this read of interest.

You can pick it up a copy of this print on Amazon.com for about $20 sans tax. Of course I will reference his work in the print, and he gives build details that my print will not.

I think that is all this week. I am still working on flushing out some powder information to add to the burn rate chart. As soon as I get it updated I will release the new version.

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by in the last week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions please email me at jayandrew338@gmail.com. You can also find me at our Facebook Page, and our Instagram page. Looking forward to seeing some load data!

Thanks and Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 8-17-2020

Good Monday Evening,

We are busy settling into the new home, with that comes quite a bit of unpacking and set up. This does not mean that I’ve been completely lax in keeping up on the website. I am working on some updates for the Powder Burn Rate Chart. This is in the response to a two different emails I received in regards to Midwest Powders. We want to maintain a complete listing of powders, so when gaps appear, I appreciate the help in pointing them out.

We are also working on putting together a new set of drawings for a single shot rifle. These will be free for download, along next to the AR-15 lower receiver prints. I have something of a hobby of taking hand drawn or published prints, modeling them in CAD checking for completeness, and then generating prints. I have been disappointed to find many of the prints published in books to be lacking in details, however so far this print has been quite good. Here’s the rendering of the receiver.

This is a single shot rifle, the plans are available online, I have found the book to have some great information and will publish more details when the design is completed and can publish the complete set of plans.

When I hit a roadblock sometimes I try and work through the design, but often times the prints are so vague or incomplete I feel uncomfortable continuing with the project. A notable example of this is The .50‑Caliber Rifle Construction Manual written by Bill Holmes. The trigger and bolt assembly is quite lacking in detail, and if someone has an example and would be willing to share some dimensions I’d be interested in getting more info. I think the design would be well adapted to utilize an AR lower style fire control group, as has been done more recently.

My modeling of Bill Holmes 50 BMG rifle based on his design, the fire control group and bolt left a lot to the imagination which is why I have not published a fill set of prints. The Optic and Rail were my own additions, and changes were made to the fire control group and bolt as the prints were very unclear.

As always, credit goes to the original designer. My goal is not to take credit or diminish their work in any way, rather to make their work more accessible. Because of this I do not feel comfortable charging for the work I do, and I actively encourage others to used the published plans in companionship with the authored work.

Thanks again to everyone who sent me an email this week, I appreciate the feedback. For those who are interested in the MP 350, the website lists is as having a very similar burn rate to Accurate 1680, which is a St. Marks ball powder in common use and is pretty much the go to powder for 300 Blackout Subsonic loads. This powder would likely be a good choice for 300 Blackout if the burn rate is similar to A1680.

While they list the OEM equivalent as WC 842, there is some mixed information out there on what WC 842 is, some sources are claiming it is similar in burn rate to CFE 223 or H335. I do not have it listed on my burn rate chart as it was not a powder listed by St Marks when I assembled the chart. This means it was likely unavailable for purchase by an OEM manufacturer of ammunition, the likely reasoning is that it is out of production. I deem obsolesce likely as there are references to this powder being sold as a surplus powder 10+ years ago.

Based on the Information that Midwest Powders is presenting, DO NOT USE CFE 223 OR H335 LOAD DATA FOR WC 842!!!

There is quite a bit of difference in burn rates between A1680 (WC 680) and CFE 223(SMP 746) and H335 (WC 844). Just because the numbers are so close (WC 844 vs WC 842), doesn’t mean the burn rate is. Personally I think if a powder distributor is going to sell powder they should give a few example loads….the fact they are saying to use 10% below the MINIMUM load for WC 842 makes me wonder….then there’s the fact load data for WC 842 is not readily accessible…the more I dig into this the less comfortable I feel about it based on the information that’s being presented.

Accurate 1680 is an excellent powder in 300 Blackout as it produces a lot of gas for cycling a rifle. It also does it at a fairly low pressure, at around half of SAAMI MAP for 300 Blackout. The powder is slow enough, and a 220gr OTM bullet takes up so much case capacity, that you are very unlikely to blow up a gun using A1680 in 300 Blackout. If you try MP 350 in 300 Blackout subsonic load, and the gun cycles and the bullet velocity is roughly 1100fps, then you know A1680 is likely a correct approximation of burn speed. I can count on one hand the number of powders that does this and they all fall within a very narrow burn rate window. (By the way, H322 falls outside the window)

And if it doesn’t…then it’ll make fine but expensive fertilizer. With that said, A1680 is a fine powder used in a lot of magnum loads, and light rifle loads that are loaded to SAAMI MAP, and while my “smell test” might verify it’s suitability for use in 300 Blackout subsonic loads, it still might be different enough that you’ll want to take reasonable precautions when working with it in loads that develop pressures closer to the SAAMI MAP of a cartridge.

I really cannot say more on this except how this powder is being sold, without example load data, really bothers me. I get it, not everyone has a ballistics lab at their disposal, but at least give us what the pull down roads were. I.E. Cartridge, bullet weight, and mean powder recovery weight. 300 Blackout supersonic and subsonic loads are in military circulation, it’s not a lot when compared to 5.56x45mm but they are out there. I am working on trying to get a bit more information on both MP 350 and WC 842, so there may be some updates to the story, but for now that’s what I’ve got.

I think I’ve beaten the dead horse on this. To the guys who asked me about it a few days ago, I’ve had a few more days to think on it. It’s one of those things that gnawed at me. I’ve done some more research, and this is what I have so far. I’ll continue to work on this.

Thanks again to everyone who has subscribe. If you have comments, complaints or suggestions email them to jayandrew338@gmail.com. You can also check us out on Facebook or drop us a like over at Instagram.

Stay Safe Out There!

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 8-10-2020

Good Monday Evening,

We stay away from politics on this website, mainly because that is one area where there is more opinion then there is fact. We like to stick to facts, with a few opinions. However the news recently begs for a bit of comment. I have had more then a few people ask me about my thoughts on the New York Attorney General filing to dissolve the National Rifle Association.

My feelings on this are mixed. There have been lots of rumors and news swirling around the gun industry about the NRA for sometime. So much so that Wayne LaPierre has likely done more damage to the NRA by not stepping down, then he has by trying to dispel the myths. Again this is my opinion, and it probably stinks, but I believe that the NRA under Mr. LaPierre’s is suffering from self inflicted wounds.

This opinion does come with a footnote. The NY AG openly stated she would go after the NRA and it’s allies when she was elected. Even if the NRA had a pristine record, she would have found something, it was her mission. This is nothing new. The NRA has long been the punching bag of the political elite. So much so it is difficult to determine if the threat is legitimate or if it is platitudes spoken to appease a political base.

With that said, NRA isn’t blameless here. Having enemies is nothing new, but the accused behavior of the NRA is akin to leaving the kid’s bedroom window unlocked with hopes the burglars won’t notice. If anything, the threat of legal action should have prompted the NRA to do everything by the book, as a defense against possible lawsuits of this nature. The accusations here range from Mr. LaPierre pocketing money directly, to NRA Board Members getting contracts through personal businesses and profiting from the NRA.

Prominent members of the Firearms community have spoken out about this, most notably Tom Gresham of Gun Talk. These charges are not surprising to many of us. What is a bit surprising is the move to dissolve the organization rather then to go after the individuals who misused the money, and abused their positions for personal gain.

So why are my feelings mixed? Why am I not calling on people to circle the wagons and defend the NRA at all costs? Well, because I am not so sure the NRA is the best vehicle to achieve our goals as a firearm community. Yes, it is the most visible, but has when you look at dollars spent, what has been our return on investment? The NRA has largely been on the sidelines on many of the more recent legal battles. Other organizations, most notably Second Amendment Foundation, has championed many of the legal battles and make no mistake, the legal battles are what shape firearm regulations.

Name one piece of legislation that the NRA championed in the last ten years? It really has not. The Eddie Eagle Program was one of it’s most important programs, but politically it’s a not starter. No school that I am aware of would ever think of hosting a firearm safety class taught by the NRA. Its really sad, that firearms ownership and responsibility have become so politicized that a firearm safety class is taboo. The NRA has largely failed to adapt to the changing political climate. Even it’s training classes, such as becoming a NRA Instructor, has become somewhat meaningless in the firearm’s community.

With that said what good is the NRA? Perhaps it is the public face of firearms owner, that serves as a politically convenient punching bag for those in opposition to firearm’s ownership. I, for one, wished it would be so much more. While it frustrates me to see such an iconic organization be taken down by it’s own malpractice, I remain hopeful that from the ashes of the NRA a new phoenix will rise. Whether it be the rebirth of the NRA under new leadership, or the shift in power from the NRA to SAF or one of the other gun rights group, we, as firearm owners need to be united under a banner.

All of this likely seems quite harsh. It stems from my high expectations of a group that largely gives a unified voice in defending the Rights of all Americans. To be clear, and I am less then enthused by the blatant political abuse of power by the NY AG. But there will always be people trying to tear down 2A organizations, it is up to the organization to make sure we do not give them an opening, and it is up to us to hold the organizations that represent us accountable.

I am now stepping off my soapbox.

We got moved over to the new house. I am anxiously trying to get the family settled so I can begin setting up the shop. There is a lot to be done and it seems there is never enough hours in the day. It has been a busy past week with trying to get everything moved that there was not any major updates to the website.

I appreciate everyone stopping by, and checking us out. We are growing, slowly but surely and I look forward to expanding out the content. If you have any ideas, thoughts or suggestions shoot them over to me at jayandrew338@gmail.com, leave a comment on our Facebook page, or check out some of the images over at Instagram.

That’s all for this week, stay safe out there.

The Ballistic Assistant

Website Updates 8-3-2020

Hard to believe we are already into August. With everything going on, this year is flying by at a speed that seems surreal. We didn’t do a website update last week in favor of finishing up a write up. This write up is a follow up to an email I received a couple weeks ago. The question posed was what tools are used to conduct quality control. Hopefully this write up provides a good overview of what you can find on a manufacturers floor.

Quality Control Tools for Ammunition

I think many people would be surprised that many of the tools hobbyists use, are the go to tools of most of your major manufacturers. Sometimes the tools are scaled up, or specialized, to more efficiently handle volume, but they are not as crazy as some people might think. The one exception to this is equipment to measure pressure. While the most dedicated hobbyists will have strain gauges to measure pressure, I am not aware of anyone who tests via piezo transducer.

There’s a lot of trouble finding ammunition. One of my fellow employee’s recently bought a Sig 320 and a Sig 365XL. He’s numbered among the many new gun owners of late. He’s been shopping for 9mm, and when he find’s it, he buys what he can. Prices right now are pretty outrageous. Given the tenor of the world, and ramping up of this election cycle, we are not expecting to see an end to this circus any time soon.

For those who do not mind buying ammunition online, Ammo Seek is a good website to use. The website automatically searches the four corners of the inter webs to find ammunition listings. Usually you can find something in stock, and if you are lucky, reasonably priced. I do not know the folks who run the website, nor are they affiliated with this website. Just one of the tricks I picked up when it came to looking for competitive samples during our last ammo shortage.

Ammo Seek isn’t just a tool for loaded ammunition. They also do reloading components. I know primers are harder to find than hen’s teeth. I did a quick search and they have listings for primers, mostly 209 shotgun primers but a few small pistol and some rifle primers. Unfortunately ordering offline usually means you are stuck with the HAZMAT fee. I hate the HAZMAT fee deal, the only why I’ll drink that bitter cup is to order in bulk, which I can’t always afford to do.

A friend of mine commented the other day, that a bad day shooting was still better then a good day at work. My first thought, and immediate reply was, “Unless your bad day of shooting involved chambering a 300Blk in a 223 Rem Chamber, then it’s about sixes”. Of course we all know it that’s not true, we’d rather endure a bad day at work then a catastrophic day on the range.

That’s all I have for this week, I hope everyone stays safe out there. As always if you have questions, comments, or ideas shoot me an email at jayandrew338@gmail.com, check out our Facebook page, or scroll through the pictures on Instagram.

Thanks for Stopping By,

The Ballistic Assistant