Be very, verrry quiet…

…I’m hunting heffalumps. Or wabbits. Subsonic birdshot would work rather better on them.

 

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Drones in Nashville, success!

Earlier, I asked how to learn all about drones. Today, I met with Snap Roll Media and it was a very friendly event. Looks like we will be striving to be mutually helpful. And my cat might gain airborne overwatch for his prowls outside.

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Pay Attention!

 

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The night is young, but we have enough NVG batteries

YHM Black Diamond carbine, Aimpoint CompM4ATN NVM14 night vision monocular. Quite an accurate combination

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All in a day’s fun

Alexis proved herself a competent gun safety instructor.

The SVD 7.62×54 rifle was fun, but the optic on top is no Trijicon…

And then there’s the wait to load up the SAW and get to hammering the targets…

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Do people have fun at anti-gun ranges?

 

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Shooting, The Most Inclusive Sport: new on AllOutdoor

What other physical sports can boast the inclusiveness of shooting matches?

Posted in interesting people, pistol, rifle, training, weapon | Tagged | 1 Comment

Are machine guns really that hard to control?

So many on our side of the gun control fight have despaired of ever getting automatic weapons deregulated to pre-1934 state that they make excuses for the enemy. “Automatics are uncontrollable anyway”, they way. “A waste of ammunition”. It’s a view born of ignorance, as automatic arms have a definite defensive use. There’s a reason why military, police and bodyguards to rulers usually try to get that capability.

A shotgun is less accurate than a rifle, but both have their uses. The same is true of submachine and machine guns, automatic rifles and personal defense weapons. Our experience is mostly limited to very slight familiarity with obsolete designs, as only pre-1986 machine guns are available to individuals. It’s like riding a bicycle — take a few minutes to learn on a basic level, a few weeks to get proficient, and provides a lifetime of utility.

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Amie’s “Evie Jones and the Spirit Stalker” is on sale for only 99 cents.

It’s a Kindle Countdown Deal, so it’s $0.99 for 3 days and $1.99 for 3 days. Annotation:

As Halloween nears, the spirits will rise…

Evie Jones is a lawyer, not an investigator, but when a young co-ed at her new job asks for help investigating a ghostly stalker, Evie can’t say no. The spirit’s strength and the magical imbalances grow as Halloween nears and natural disasters shake the Salt Lake Valley.

When the girl is attacked, Evie must trust the help of a new love interest to stop the spirit before Halloween hits. If only her hormones would let her work without clouding her mind!

If you like competently written urban fantasy, give it a try.

 

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Wireless noise-cancelling headset recommendation needed

I am looking for a headset for the following:

  • Talking on the phone hands-free (needs a microphone option)
  • Listening to to music or watching movies on a plane
  • Listening to music from desktop at home

I looked at Samsung Level Over, but preferred batteries would be AA or AAA, not built in and non-replaceable. Suggestions?

Posted in advice requested | Tagged | 4 Comments

Who in or near Nashville has a Steyr AUG?

I have some spare parts I’d like to give away.

(Update: parts committed.)

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Competitive 10-22 shooter

Aiming a 10-22 in a Blackhawk stock. Tandemkross magazine bumper floorplates make reloading easier.

Halley, one of the Chamberlains — a family with both parents and all three kids competing in rimfire steel challenge. They all prefer open sights to optics.

Leaning out to fire around an obstacle.

And the typical result of her efforts:

At 2015 NSSF World Steel Challenge. The rest of the family also won top spots.

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“Green” bullets.

The point of 25ACP is to allow really tiny defensive guns. Plus side, they can be hidden anywhere. Minus side, not much stopping power — the wound track is similar to a pencil being pushed through, and that if it doesn’t ricochet off skull bones — and not a great aimed range when using pistols small enough to justify the caliber.

While I can reliably hit a torso target at 25 yards with Baby Brownings, it’s not a weapon for distance. Typical use happens up close, and all considerations are secondary before reliability.

Enter monolithic, lathe turned copper bullets loaded into turned (rather than drawn) cases. These are extremely uniform in dimensions, smooth and should feed and extract better than jacketed lead with drawn cases. Machined cases stand up to repeated reloading a lot better, too. Being less dense than jacketed lead, copper gives slightly higher velocity at the cost of lower performance at longer distances. For 25ACP, looks like a viable trade-off.

The Taurus pistol shown above is really too large for 25ACP. In that size, 32ACP is viable. Further, while the discontinued metal-framed version has a decent trigger, the polymer-framed variant has one the worst triggers I’ve encountered. It is too heavy and too sharp to fire without pain, and I couldn’t finish the magazine. So don’t use that model for self-defense. If you use 25ACP, Baby Browning variants, Beretta Jetfire and other models, or maybe a Seecamp would make more sense.

I have no idea where OATH got the 800fps listed on the box. In my tests, it reached 960fps from a 2″ Baby Browning barrel. It’s possible that the production load is slower, but it’s unlikely to be below 900fps minimum. The reason for this load is not any great ballistic feats but maximized reliability in tiny guns. At $29 for 50 rounds from OATH store, they cost the same as Winchester or Remington loads, more than PPU, Fiocchi or Federal. Given the reliability advantage, they might be worth the slight premium.

 

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Extended use report on Kel-Tec RDB: new on AllOutdoor

The first eight months (including pre-production) with the new .223 bullpup

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“We Investigate Zebras”, a new story by Amie Gibbons

we investigate zebras cover small

When hearing hoofbeats, most people assume horses, not zebras. Amie’s heroine has to at least consider the black and white stripes being a factor in her somewhat quirky investigative world.

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Fun size buckshot

They may be short, but it’ still buckshot at 1200fps. Not much recoil to speak of. Numerous reviews mentioning use in a KSG (in my experience, each tube holds 12 shells, one review mentions 11). Now to actually find these shells and also mini slugs in stock somewhere!

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Classic sports have military roots.

Running, wrestling, fencing, archery and javelin all stem from military training. So does biathlon. Could skeet and trap shooting similarly evolve under the martial influences of riot control needs into a more socially oriented sport?

 

Home alone? No problem.

 

(Spelling fixed in the top poster.)

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A family that shoots together

These three youngsters, along with their parents, are among the top competitive steel shooters in the US. I had a great time doing photos of this cohesive and accomplished family.

 

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World Steel Challenge photos

I still have several memory sticks given to me at the end of the Ft.Smith event by various people. Most of them are without an associated name or address. If you gave me a memory stick for the photos, please message email me your name and address as a reminder.

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Back from Florida

New friends.

Old friends.

Warm weather, much work and even more fun. And I am glad to be home at last.

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