In going to see a concert last night, I had to do something I don’t care to do.
Guns
Strange dream
I had the strangest dream last night. Of course I don’t remember all of it, but I remember a few things.
I was hunting, sorta. I recall being up on something, like a platform or a deck (like a wooden deck you’d have off the back of your house). I think foo.c was there. I know I had my M1A in my hands. Hogs were all around, on the ground below the deck, fair easy to get a shot off. I recall looking through the scope but not being able to see anything… it’d be blurry, or I couldn’t get a bead on a hog. But then when I would get one, I’d pull the trigger and nothing would happen. I’d rack the bolt and a round would eject, new round chamber, pull the trigger again, still nothing. Eject that round. I’d look at the ejected cartridge and the bullet would be all deformed. Like a oozing blob of copper and lead. Very strange. Then I’d try to chamber a round by hand, and I do remember being gentle in releasing the bolt so as not to cause a slam-fire. Then I was able to get a shot off, but I don’t recall if I actually hit anything.
There were certainly other bits and pieces to the dream, but it’s interesting how the brain works and how this is telling of what’s on my mind:
- I’m thinking about the hunt. I’m excited about it.
- I know I’m going to take my M1A.
- I can’t see through the scope. I think this is indicative of the cheek weld. The stock provides a perfect cheek weld if you’re using iron sights, but put a scope on there and now you need to raise the comb. I’ve just ordered one of Karsten’s adjustable cheek rests and am waiting for it to be delivered.
- The smooshed rounds I think stem back to the ammo selection issue. Thinking about how soft-points are bad. I’ve picked up some Federal Premium Vital-Shok P308H (.308 Win Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet) which should feed just fine but I haven’t had a chance to fire it yet so I don’t know how it will perform. I’m guessing it’ll be just fine.
Dreams are always interesting things.
Regrouping for next time
JR has an entry covering the state of some gun legislation in Texas, including the concealed carry on campus bills.
He’s right about the need to inform, because I do believe a large reason for the bills not happening was massive amounts of misinformation, just like he points out in his article.
So to begin with that, let me remind folks of what it takes to obtain a CHL in Texas.
And also note that this isn’t just about college students, but the employees of the college as well.
The gun is civilization
I hadn’t read the original essay before, but because of this then this I was directed to this original essay.
I thought about what relevant snippet was worth quoting. Thing is, the whole thing is worth quoting. Hopefully Marko Kloos won’t be too upset by this, especially since I’m giving him proper credit (not this Major Caudill, who didn’t write this) and I’m not Ted Nugent nor writing some commercial book. I’m only doing this so I can add my own thoughts to his. I have quoted his essay in its entirety, just broken up so I can comment/respond:
Another round of testing
Went to Houston today for another round of testing towards my 2nd degree black belt.
Today was not my day.
Less lethal ammo for home defense? No.
James Rummel points to a posting about a “21st Century Tacti-cool coach gun“. All I can say is the gun makers must be out of ideas… like Hollywood, we’ll just take some old concept, add some modern twists, and viola! It’s just not for me. This is what’s for me.
But what I wanted to point out was some entries from the comments on TFB’s article.
As a home defense tool, you can load your shotgun with less than lethal ammunition (like rubber pellets or home loaded salt cartridges). It’s still rather effective to stop an agressor, you avoid overpenetration, you leave the recoil at bay, and your agressor can’t know if your gun is loaded with wildboar hunting slugshot or self-defense ammo, so as a non-verbal mean of communication, the two wide mouthes of your gun are very effective.
It beats one, two or ten Tasers everynight. And even if it doesn’t work, reloading with Brenneke cartridge is pretty fast, even in degraded conditions, thanks to the big size and weight of the cartridge and hole of the chamber.
“As a home defense tool, you can load your shotgun with less than lethal ammunition (like rubber pellets or home loaded salt cartridges).”
When is using a firearm for defense legal? When one truly thinks that they need to defend their life, or the life of another innocent person.
I’m curious as to what you are going to say to the judge after you shoot up a home invader with rock salt. “Yes, I deliberately loaded my gun with a load designed to maim and cause extreme pain instead of reliably stopping a violent criminal assault. That way I could shoot the perp with the scarring, disfiguring ammunition if I wasn’t sure that I needed to use lethal force, and then reload to kill them with the effective rounds if I needed to. My plan is on the Internet for all to see!”
Let us know how that turns out for you.
If you’re a cop, I can see a case for less-lethal ammunition (e.g. crowd control). If you’re a private citizen defending your home, your self, your loved ones, when/if the time comes that you must resort to use of a firearm, then it’s time to use a firearm in all of it’s capacity. You don’t use weak rounds, you don’t bluff, you don’t count on weak tactics (even the best competitive shotgun shooters are slow on the reload because reloading a shotgun is slow; add in the context if your life being on the line and your reloading skills will be a lot worse). But hey, it’s your life. Value it however you wish.
If you do wish to use a shotgun for home defense, I would recommend reduced-recoil buckshot. For the ranges involved in home-defense (typically up to 25 yards, but your house may be different), reduced-recoil is good because it does kick you less which allows for faster follow-up shots. Plus if one of your residents is of smaller stature, it’s more controllable for them. Buckshot is demonstrated to be most effective (visit this link and scroll down). If you’re using a 12 gauge, use 00 buck (some say #1). If you’re using a 20 gauge, #3 or #4 is about the largest you can get. I’d also recommend some sort of “side-saddle” to carry additional ammo, and in that side-saddle you might want to put a few slugs in case you have to take longer shots.
KR Training May 2009 Newsletter
The May 2009 KR Training newsletter is now available.
Even if you’re not a local and think the newsletter may not be useful to you, check it out. There’s some interesting stuff from Rangemaster, a Citizine magazine article co-authored by Karl on basic handgun safety, and some really cool slow-motion videos designed to help you understand the technique of “shot-calling”.
If you are local, you want to check out the class schedule. Karl has added a LOT of classes to the schedule. I’m trying to figure out which I’m going to assist with and which I’m going to take. Just so many goodies!
Ruger SR-556
The wondering is over.
The Ruger SR-556. A gas piston AR-style rifle.
I think my prediction was fairly spot-on. Not just to say that it’s an AR, but that it’d be something that breaks the Ruger “political” mold. I would say that this certainly does that. Not just because it’s an evil black rifle, but it comes standard with 3 30-round PMAGs. So much for Ruger’s history on magazine capacity. 🙂
From a preliminary look, it seems like they did a lot of the right things. Made it a carbine, 6-position stock, flat-top, full length rails with rail guards, standard with Troy flip up sights, chrome-lined (even the bolt carrier), chambered for 5.56, mil-spec stuff, 1:9 twist. This is made to be a fighting rifle. Top notch stuff going into it. The main unknown is the gas system as piston-based AR’s haven’t been all that successful. But we’ll see.
Will I rush out and buy one? Probably not (especially at that price). I’ve already got a few AR’s and this Ruger one doesn’t offer me much over what I have. If I’m going to be spending money on purchasing more firearms, there are other things I’d like to get before getting more AR-styled guns. Would I love to shoot one? You bet! I also would be happy to accept one as a gift from any of my generous readers. 🙂
What I think is cool about this is seeing Ruger making it. Given their past controversies, it’s great to see them moving beyond it. Ruger makes solid firearms, but many people say “yeah they make good stuff, but I won’t buy one” referring back to the past politics. Well, if this doesn’t convince folks that Ruger is moving beyond that, then well… those people will just never be convinced. Good for Ruger!
Ammo for an M1A
From Steve over at The Firearm Blog, Federal is making ammo specifically for M1 and M1A/M14’s.
Looks like it’s intended to be a target/match round. Now if they could just do the same for a hunting round!
The thing is, while a Springfield M1A may be chambered in .308 Win / 7.62x51mm NATO, it can’t use just any .308/7.62×51 ammo. I found a posting at The M14 Firing Line forum that states what Springfield themselves says about ammo for use in an M1A. Note that the following is based upon the forum posting; I haven’t confirmed if it actually is from Springfield. What’s written is basically what’s in there and not from me; anything that’s my comment will be noted. NB: this list is obsolete. Scroll down to the 20 October 2009 update for updated information.
- For best accuracy, 168 grain Federal Match or Black Hills
- Any factory .308 Winchester ammo made to SAAMI spec is usable.
- Any military surplus 7.62x51mm NATO (as long as it’s manufactured to NATO specs) is usable.
- [Hsoi: All “7.62” is not the same. You want 7.62x51mm NATO, not 7.62x39mm (like you’d fire out of an AK) or 7.62×54 (like you’d fire out of a Mosin-Nagant)]
- [Hsoi: XM80 is your 7.62x51mm NATO 149 grain FMJ, so it works]
- [Hsoi: XM118 is your 7.62x51mm NATO 175 grain HP, intended for longer range; it should work]
- Any grain from 147 to 180 is usable.
- 168 grain is recommended for best accuracy
- Use FMJ, HP, or “ballistic tip” type rounds [Hsoi: i.e. plastic tiped bullets; note that the term “Ballistic Tip” is a registered trademark of Nosler, so it shouldn’t be used as a generic term for “plastic tipped” bullets]
- Avoid soft points. The lead can shave and wind up down in the action and jam it up.
- You can not use .308 Magnum
- Hornady Light Magnum can be OK for short-term use, but certainly not a steady diet. The 110 grain may not be enough gases to cycle the action. [Hsoi: Hornady themselves says to not use these rounds in semi-auto and/or gas-operated firearms; IMHO, I wouldn’t use them in my M1A.]
- Avoid steel-cased ammo (not necessarily SAAMI spec)
- Avoid Hornady TAP [Hsoi: not sure why this]
- Avoid Cavim ammo as it’s not very accurate and varies in size
- For hunting
- Winchester Silver Tip is OK to use [Hsoi: I’m not sure if they differentiate between Winchester Super-X Silvertip and Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertip, and/or if it matters. The Silvertip is an aluminum cap whereas the Ballstic Silvertip is a polycarbonate tip. Don’t know if it matters, and it probably doesn’t.]
- Hornady Ballistic Tip [Hsoi: technically Nosler makes Ballistic Tip, as it’s their registered trademark. Are they meaning A-Max or V-Max? I don’t know, but you get the idea.]
- Winchester Failsafe [Hsoi: Winchester doesn’t make this any more, replacing with the XP3 line.]
- 168 grain for deer
- 175 grain for moose
- Moly coated bullets are OK to use but when you start to use them you must stay with them. You will have to clean the gas port more often. SAI does not recommend. If you do use them, it will gum up fast, and you’ll have to clean often and clean well.
- Tracer and armor piercing ammo is OK, as long as it’s NATO spec.
- Frangible ammo is too light, won’t work.
There’s a few other things in the posting, but it’s a bit redundant. Their terms are a bit informal so it’s difficult to know exactly what’s what, especially regarding hunting ammo. The key thing seems to be that you can NOT use anything with an exposed soft point. The reason is any exposed lead will shave off, get down into the action, and jam things up. I have read of people using exposed soft points in their M1A’s “without any problem” but one round may not a problem make.
Updated 20 Oct 2009: Prompted by this thread at m14tfl.com, I contacted Springfield Armory for further information. For historical purposes I opted to NOT change the above list but instead reprint SAI’s email here.
Springfield Armory: Recommended ammo for our rifles that are chambered for .308
Any commercially produced, new .308 ammunition that meets the following requirements:
- Is a 110 grain to 180 grain bullet
- Is a full metal jacket (FMJ), hollow point (HP or BTHP), or ballistic tip type bullet.
- Do not use soft point (SP) bullets.
- Do not use “light magnum” type ammo.
- We do not recommend the use of any steel case ammo.
- We do not recommend the use of any cast bullets.
You can also use surplus 7.62×51 ammo that meets the following requirements:
- Is clean and from sealed containers.
- is NATO spec. It will have a NATO spec mark on the case head and/or on the packaging that looks like a plus sign inside of a circle.
- Avoid using surplus ammo that is “loose” or “bulk”.
- We do not recommend the use of any steel case ammo.
To get the most in accuracy we recommend:
- Federal Match or Black Hills match 168 or 175 grain.
- Hornady Match / custom 168 grain or Hornady TAP 110 or 168 grain.
I am seeking clarification on a few points and will update this when/if I receive that clarification.
Updated 11 November 2009: I guess my emails to SAI went to /dev/null, so I contacted them again about clarifications. I finally got a response. Here’s a rundown:
- I asked why not soft points
- The response was as I had thought, that lead can shave and gum up the action.
- I asked why not surplus, or ammo that is “loose” or “bulk”
- The response is just because it could be of questionable status. So my personal feeling is, if you know the story behind the loose or bulk or surplus ammo, go ahead and use it (hey, it’s your gun… if you blow it up it’s your fault). If you have any doubts about the ammo, don’t use it.
- I asked why not “light magnum” (thinking it may not cycle the action), and also asked why not steel case (thinking it may not be SAAMI spec, it may be hard on the extractor).
- The response was “to be perfectly frank, we don’t recommend those types of ammo because they don’t work well in our M1A’s.”
- I asked why not cast bullets, but didn’t get a specific response to that question. My guess is it’s the same as why not soft points.
So there you go. Hopefully this puts things to rest regarding what ammo you can and cannot use out of a Springfield Armory M1A. Of course in the end, it’s your gun so you can do what you want with it. Just remember that it’s your choice as to what you do (you’re the one that put the cartridge in the chamber and pressed the trigger), so you are responsible for whatever happens good or bad.
Happy shooting.
LB430 update
I travel to Nebraska on occasion, so seeing the passage of LB 430 is welcome. Joe has the details.
What I’m looking for is reciprocity. Texas honors Nebraska’s license, it’ll be nice for Nebraska to honor Texas’.
Update: LB 430 isn’t law yet. It’s passed out of the legislature and is headed to the Governor’s desk for his signature, which I’m pretty sure he’ll sign.
Stuff From Hsoi 