Guns
Busting Stereotypes
I’m in Austin, Texas. I’m leaving the local indoor gun range. What do I see parked next to my car?
A Volvo. Stationwagon at that.
A Darwin fish.
A rainbow bumper sticker.
The desire for self-protection runs strong through many people.
Zeroing in the Wilson 6.8 SPC upper
Took the new 6.8 to the local indoor range to get her zeroed.
I’m shooting Silver State Armory’s 6.8 SPC 85 grain Barnes TSX tactical load. The rifle is a Wilson Combat 6.8 upper (and all their “factory” trimmings), on a Bushmaster lower, with a Rock River Arms 2-stage match trigger. Magazines are C Products 10 round. Scope is a Burris Fulfield II 3-9x40mm on one if their P.E.P.R. mounts.
Allow me to interpret (click on the picture if you want to see a larger version).
I started at 25 yards just to get something on paper, ensuring the scope wasn’t too far out of adjustment. Moved to 50 yards and got things roughly zeroed. Then obtained a new target, which you see above, and sent it out to 100 yards. Starting in the center, the high shot was the first shot. My friend Charles said if you were zeroed at 50 yards you’d be 1.5″ high at 100 yards and that seemed to be the case (given the rough 50 yard zero I had). Adjusted and got the lower shot. Adjusted more and got the almost dead-center shot.
The lower left grouping is then shooting at 100 yards. It’s a 3 shot group. While not the best group, I blame that on operator error. All shots went where my eyes said they went.
The lower right grouping is shooting at 50 yards. If I zero at 100 yards, I want to know where impact will be at 50 and 25 so I can know what sort of holdover I’ll need. So that is a 3-shot group at 50 yards. Looks to be about 0.5″ below point of aim, and I can live with that.
The upper right grouping is at 25 yards. That is a 4-shot group. Looks to be about 1.5″ below point of aim.
I’m pleased. This combination of ammo and rifle is quite accurate. Certainly it will do whatever job I ask of it. And we now have evidence… if I fail to bag that deer or that hog, it’s my fault… can’t blame the equipment. 🙂
My Friend takes AT-4
My friend Ron drove up to the area to take KR Training’s AT-4 Pistol Skills Development class this past weekend. Here’s his review of the class.
I wish I could have been there but I had a prior engagement this weekend.
Looks like Ron had a good time and got a lot out of the class. I like his final take on the whole thing:
I’d also recommend it to any gun owner I know. You learn how true Jeff Cooper’s saying “Having a gun doesn’t mean you are armed.” is. If you can’t hit stuff in a class like this I shudder to think how much you will miss when you life depends on it.
A Comparison
From left to right: .223 Rem, 6.8 SPC, .308 Win
More specifically:
- On the left is a .223 Remington caliber rifle round. It’s a Federal P223S, which is using a 55 grain Barnes TSX bullet (.224″ diameter). Published factory data has a muzzle velocity of 3200 fps, muzzle energy of 1250 ft-lbs.
- In the center is a 6.8 Remington SPC caliber rifle round. It’s from Silver State Armory using a 85 grain Barnes TSX bullet (.277″ diameter). Published factory data lists a muzzle velocity of 3030 fps (not sure if that’s for the commercial or tactical load, but the above is a tactical load), and that calculates out to a muzzle energy of 1733 ft-lbs.
- On the right is a .308 Winchester caliber rifle round. It’s a Federal P308H, which uses a 165 grain Barnes TSX bullet (.308″ diameter). Published factory data lists a muzzle velocity of 2650 fps and a muzzle energy of 2573 ft-lbs.
Yes, I like Barnes bullets. 🙂
I wouldn’t say any one of these is necessarily better than the other. I would say that each has a place and role.
NE getting better
I have family in Nebraska. I have family in Omaha. Omaha has a terrible gang problem. Consequently, in a well-intended by misguided effort, Omaha has some pretty gun-unfriendly laws on the books. The sorts of laws that do nothing to stop the gang violence but do a lot to cripple the law-abiding citizens.
A few years ago Nebraska put concealed handguns on the law books. I think the specifics of the law are still a bit strenuous, but progress is progress. And it’s obvious (based on what I’m posting about) that efforts are being made to improve things.
Still, one problem remained: Omaha’s laws and ordinances. It still made things ridiculous for law-abiding citizens, including permit holders.
Thankfully LB-817 is about to be sent to Gov. Dave Heineman’s desk for his signature. LB-817 improves things in a lot of ways, especially clearing the air regarding preemption.
Wilson Combat 6.8 SPC Upper, with pictures
Regular readers know I am interested in the 6.8 Remington SPC round. I won’t rehash why I’m interested in this round, because this post is to say I’ve taken the next step.
I purchased an upper. 🙂
I wasn’t planning on purchasing a Wilson Combat 6.8 upper, but the opportunity was there so I jumped on it. I know Wilson Combat makes high quality stuff. A buddy of mine has a complete Wilson 6.8 rifle and it’s sweet. There were a lot of things I liked about it. You can check out the specs yourself. It’s top-notch. Yes, I was originally planning to go with Bison Armory, but I got a deal on the Wilson plus the Wilson was here and now instead of waiting a few weeks. This is not a slam on Bison at all. The only reason I went with the Wilson was because I knew it was top-quality, it was immediate gratification, and I got a sweet deal on the price.
Here’s the rifle, all mounted up:
So again, this is a Bushmaster 5.56 lower with the Wilson 6.8 upper on it. The scope is a Burris Fulfield II with a PEPR mount. Originally the scope was mounted on the Bushmaster upper, but I transferred it. The original Bushmaster upper is on top.
A closeup of the receivers:
The marriage of 5.56 and 6.8. 🙂
I should note. The trigger in here is a Rock River Arms 2-Stage Match trigger.
Here’s a closeup of the back-end of the rail.
I really like this rail. I like how the back-end of the side rails are smooth. As well, there are no sharp edges anywhere on this rail. It’s very comfortable to hold in your hand.
One gripe? Look at the back end of the top rail. You can see how the rail and the top of the upper receiver don’t perfectly mate so the rail is not continuous. Minor nit, but it’s there.
Low profile gas block. The rail is carbine-length but the gas system is mid-length. I am happy with the mid-length gas system, but I must admit a carbine length rail isn’t what I want. I’d prefer a longer rail, maybe even rifle length. Why? More rail out front to put things. For instance, bipod or front sights; mostly the front sights, for that extended sight radius. However, I can live with this at carbine length. This is not going to be a fighting gun, it’s primarily a hunting rifle. Thus do I really need BUIS? No, not really. So I’ll be alright. Besides, it’s a rail… easy to change if I really want to.
Notice as well the Wilson flash hider. Never experienced one. I’ll be curious to see how well it works.
A shot of the bolt carrier assembly. According to the Wilson site it’s a LMT enhanced bolt and carrier with NP3 coating. It does feel slick. I’ll still oil it tho.
Anyway, there she is.
I have magazines on the way, and ammo. Starting out with some factory ammo from Silver State Armory, and then I’ll collect the brass and eventually reload. I hear the forthcoming Barnes 95 grain TTSX are going to be awesome. Once I get the ammo and magazines in, I’ll get the scope zeroed. I hope to take her hog hunting soon. 🙂
The Heavy. Shooting.
A UK band called The Heavy came out to KR Training back at SXSW 2008.
Here’s a video of the experience. That is Karl Rehn instructing things.
I like the uh… “reactive” targets at the end of the shoot. 😉
See, that’s the thing….
People say there’s no use in having guns. Why would we need guns? We’re not going to have a war here. We’re not going to see the end of the world and societal collapse.
Well, maybe … maybe not.
But ugly things can and do happen.
Take a look at the 1992 riots in Los Angeles. Voters screamed for mandatory waiting periods to obtain guns. Then the riots broke out. People wanted guns to defend themselves… but that pesky waiting period. Doesn’t do you much good. Of course, you could have planned ahead…. yes we don’t expect things like riots to happen, but they do and are usually unplanned and won’t show up on your social calendar. So you just have to be prepared.
Then look at New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina.
And today, we have Chile post-earthquake:
My neighbors and I were all without firearms. That is something I regret. My opinion of those things has changed overnight, believe me. Fortunately, a nearby department building was full of army families and they would start shooting at anyone moving in the street during curfew (18:00 to 12:00 for the first days of curfew). Maybe they were shooting in the air, but the people roving in the street always changed direction after that, so it was enough.
Yeah, we don’t want these things to happen. But you know the old expression… shit happens.
Be prepared.
Yeah life would be better if such things didn’t happen and if we didn’t have to take such measures. But those who deny the existence of predatory scum in this world are lying to themselves.
85 or 110? 95 of course
So… the 85 grain Barnes TSX or the 110 Barnes TSX?
Well, SSA has the 85 grain on sale, and ultimately I ought to be handloading these. 68forums.com reports either work great on feral hogs. I think I’d rather go with the 110 grain but again, the 85 grain are on sale right now so why not. Something about 3000 fps makes me giggle. 🙂
Of course, what we really want are the 95 grain TTSX, which Barnes is finishing up but hasn’t put to market yet. But testing reports from people like Bill Wilson are very positive. So methinks use the 85 grains now, collect the brass, then handload the 95 grain TTSX down the line.
Yes yes.
So why all this talk of 6.8 SPC ammo? Oh… I dunno.
Stuff From Hsoi 