Good Evening, and Happy Monday! There is quite a bit going on in the firearms world which probably deserves a mention. However I try and keep these updates short enough to be read on the can, but long enough to at least be interesting. That is to say we probably will not get to everything going on. Just the highlights.
I have always kind of like the 5.7x28mm cartridge. The concept of a light weight projectile driven to a high velocity is not new, nor is it novel to field such a cartridge in a service pistol. However what is rather unique is that it seems to be a longer lived cartridge then some of the others. The Five SeveN Pistol and the PS-90 were the only two firearms that you could purchase the offering, however in the last few years we have began to see more and more domestic offerings. Most Notably the Ruger 57, and the Keltec P50. With Federal loading 5.7x28mm in their American Eagle line there was a decent source of ammo prior to this most recent ammo scare.
Well, one more development has happened that will likely keep this cartridge alive and well for many years to come. NATO has accepted standardization of the 5.7x28mm. As far as small arms goes, there are not many cartridges that have gain this level of notoriety. The 9x19mm, 7.62x51mm, 5.56x45mm and 12.7x99mm. Providing that it is indeed official, the Wikipedia page has already been updated.
At some point in time this will become a SAAMI cartridge. Especially if current trends continue. Do I think that it has any real terminal ballistics advantage over the current offerings? No, except that a single magazine in a service size pistol such as the FN Five seveN holds 20 rounds plus 1 in the pipe. The pistols I have shot, have been loud, but the recoil was more then manageable. Muzzle energy of most loads place it competitively with 9×19 and 45 ACP. However however it does not seem to perform as well when it comes to terminal ballistics as it’s two larger brothers. Whether this is due the lack of quality bullets or just inherent in the high velocity, light weight bullet, is something I am unsure of.
I would love to see Barnes Bullets offer a 30 or a 45gr projectile designed specifically for the 5.7x28mm. I think the solid copper combined with the high velocity would perform quite well on soft targets. Given the 5.7x28mm still has limited market share in the United States, and it is primarily a military cartridge, the demand is probably not high enough for a company like Barnes to pay much attention, at least not yet. Time will tell.
Among the noise about the ATF’s pending new rule on so called Ghost Guns, the Civilian Marksmanship Program released a new guidance on what ammunition is appropriate for use in M1 Garand and Springfield 1903A3 rifles. There honestly was nothing surprising about it, the guidance given falls inline with what the Garand community by in large would advise. Modern SAAMI loaded ammunition is loaded a bit too hot for these old war horses.
The one thing I wish the CMP would have did a bit better was not to rely on Copper Units of Pressure, (CUP). When they say 50,000CUP, it is not saying 50,000psi. The units of measure are fundamentally different. Few if anyone uses CUP measurements when loading ammunition. I believe only Winchester offers copper disks for CUP testing, suggesting at least someone still uses it for the very few cartridges which do not list a PSI standard under SAAMI guidelines. The CMP should have come out and said, we do not recommend any round loaded to a service pressure of 50,000psi or above. That is 10,000psi less then the current SAAMI MAP, and pretty much guarantees that anyone loading for 1903A3 or Garand wills load to a pressure of 45,000 to 48,000psi. If I get a chance next time I’m over at the CMP range, maybe I’ll ask why CUP over PSI.
As far as my shooting and reloading activities over the last week. I have done some. I am in the process of setting up a reloading room for the company I am employed with. I have to say, we got some benches that I am really impressed with. They are a bit on the pricey side, but they are bullet proof. If I had to pick one work bench to go with for a reloading room, these ones sold by Sam’s Club are the ticket.
My biggest concern with these was if they would be tall enough. I like to have a reloading bench a bit tall, basically counter height. Which for me is about 4 inches or so above my waist. These benches were perfect in height, and even when extended to the full height they are solid benches.
My last big issue this week was with shipping a package of bullets to a friend back in Utah. I shipped UPS, it cost me $50 bucks and when it arrived the package contained two PVC legs with cute little footprints on the bottom. Needless to say, my friend was not amused and I am not amused. How the contents of the package were swapped out, baffles and is upsetting to me. About $300 worth of projectiles are missing and we have nothing to show for it. UPS is investigating, but having been down this road I do not have high hopes they will do anything about it. When UPS has a confirmed delivery, they will wash their hands of the issue. We, as shooters, sometimes take for granted what we know, and when it comes to bullets verses ammunition the public truly does no know the difference.
I had to explain to the manager of the store that shipping copper and lead projectiles was allowed, and did not require any special hazmat licenses. She was very insistent that it did, even after I explained the the projectiles were inert, did not contain any powder, shells or primers, and were simply elemental copper and lead. It was a frustrating conversation. When I shipped the package, I labeled it as “Precision Machined Parts”, because I knew people get excited when you say bullets. The only reason we had the conversation is I had to tell her the contents to explain why a 25lb package should not weigh 1lb when delivered.
In the end I’ll probably refund my buddy the money, and let UPS pay me what ever compensation they will. It will likely be the last time I ship anything UPS though.
One last thing, we reached 100 subscribers over the last week and crossed 50,000 all time views. It’s a small mile stone for the website. We’re still a very small website with a very small corner of the internet. I appreciate everyone for reading, commenting, and emailing me with their thoughts and comments. We’ll keep on keeping on, life has kept me busy and I have not made a lot of progress on bringing new content to the site recently. Stick with it, as I have time, I’ll roll it out.
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.
As always, shoot straight and stay safe!
The Ballistic Assistant