Good Monday Evening! All is well here and I’ve been busy with a few different things. We have a few updates to the website to go over and some thoughts on current events. I’ve updated the powder burn rate chart, you can find the updated chart here. Updates include the addition of N568 and some previously missed Bofor’s powders. I also did some linking of powder equivalencies which had not been previously verified, and I tweaked a few powders burn rate ranking to fall more in line with the data. It’s a living document, and I do not claim it to be 100% perfect, but no powder burn rate chart is.
Remember burn rates are variable by nature and when loaded to different service pressures in different cartridges powders may behave a bit differently. Lot to lot variation also can play with relative burn speed. Remember a Burn Rate chart is simply a quick reference guide and is never the primary means for load development. If you would like a printer friendly version, pleas email me and I will see what I can do.
I’ve finally finished adding the new SAAMI approved cartridge’s to the SAAMI Rifle Cartridge Catalog. These include cartridges such as the 6mm ARC, 277 SIG Fury and the Nosler series of cartridges. I’m also working on adding the SAAMI standard test barrel length as part of the description. There are only a few rifles barrels that have P/V barrel lengths that are not 24in. Notably the 277 Sig Fury, and the 300 AAC Blackout, however pistol barrel lengths are all over the place. This is one thing I find myself looking up from time to time to compare ballistics and load data. If it’s handy for me to have it in one place, I suspect there’s someone else out there who will find it helpful. As with many of the projects on this site it is a work in progress.
I’ll be working on some stuff this week, likely the powder catalog. Lot’s to do there to get that flushed out to where it needs to be. I’ve got a couple other irons in the fire with some other websites I’ve been working on rolling out. We will see what things I am able to get done.
As many of you are aware, two gun control bills passed in the House over the last week. H.R 8 which outlaws private sales and creates a national registry and HR 1446 which may extend a “Delay” from three days to indefinitely. There is a lot of commotion over these two bills, but most people in the industry are not expecting it to make it past the Senate, and while a vote may be held, current Senate rules require a 60 vote majority. No one is saying it cannot happen, only that it is unlikely to happen.
While these bills are concerning to me, what I am more troubled over is how some in our community have taken upon themselves to slander/harass those who own firearms but support one or both of these bills. In an age where we have at least a dozen different ways to communicate electronically, we have forgotten how to have a conversation. We cannot talk civilly, even to those who are sympathetic but my not agree in every detail. Somehow we have become blind to the fact that when we use the terms “Fudd”, “Butters” or “Boomers” we shutdown and destroy any hope of having a meaningful conversation. In fact we are more likely to force those, most likely to be our allies, to the other side, who are all too willing to welcome gun owners if only to paint with a broad brush by saying “See, even gun owners agree with us.”
The stakes are high, to preserve our Rights, we have to bat a 1000. We have to win every legislative battle, every court case, every single time. Most importantly we have to win the public opinion battle. To do that, we cannot afford to alienate even one potential ally. If all you know how to do is shout “Molon Labe” in internet forums and chat rooms, then might I suggest you shut up, sit down, and pick up a book. Learn to have a conversation longer then what can fit on a bumper sticker. You are not doing the firearms community any favors, in fact you are doing us a lot of harm. Better yet, chip in $20 bucks to the Second Amendment Foundation.
When wars are fought, regardless if they are cultural or physical, it takes money. We often forget that when General George Washington needed money for arms, Ben Franklin and John Adams turned to the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish Government. By the time the war was won the new country was $2 Million dollars in debt. In today’s dollars that is a mere $60.4 Million. Last year there was an estimated 8 million new firearm owners, if each one chipped in $8 bucks, that would pay for a lot of legal expenses. If we could get America’s 100 Million gun owners to chip in $8 bucks, we’d have this war won for a spell. This is all to I have to say, enough talk, let’s go to work.
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.
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The Ballistic Assistant