Guns and such – Page 45 – Splendid Isolation

Clarification

November 23, 2022 Kim du Toit Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Some of you may have read the above article and gone “Huh?” at my choice of chambering (9.3x62mm) for the Mauser. A brief explanation follows.

As I’ve grown older, the thought of owning a whole bunch of different rifles (modern, not oldies) has palled somewhat, to the extent where I think I would prefer one astoundingly-good rifle in a do-it-all chambering. So why choose the 9.3mm Mauser?

It’s more powerful than the .30-06 Springfield and has less recoil than the .375H&H Magnum. Also, it’s old, having been developed back in 1905. So it could take pretty much anything I’d need to kill, certainly in the U.S., and just about anything I cared to shoot in Africa, were I ever to find myself back there. The premium hunting ammo (Federal Woodleigh 286gr) is horrendously expensive (over $4 per pull); but of course Prvi Partizan, bless their little Balkan socks, make it for about $1.25 each so practice is not as expensive as one might think.

Here’s a quick comparison:

…and then with the mighty .375 H&H:

Here’s the thing: the 9.3mm Mauser isn’t as powerful as the H&H. But that reduction in power comes with about 25% less owie to the shoulder — and lest we forget, the 9.3 was used to hunt all sorts of African game (including elephant) in the decade or so before the H&H came to the party.

I like the idea of it.

Gun Smoke

November 22, 2022 Kim du Toit Military, The Gun Thing

…as in, blowing smoke up our ass. Here’s a breathless little piece which, after careful reading, sounds like the kind of scam you would expect from a Nigerian con man:

Has the next generation rifle already arrived?

My immediate take is: no. Not even close. Not when you see puffery like this:

The Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) efforts have resulted in multiple, unique 6.8 mm cartridge designs. Each of the companies involved has tried to develop a solution to the Army’s reported desire to penetrate modern, peer-level body armor far beyond close-combat ranges. The selections of SIG Sauer’s 6.8×51 mm hybrid-case ammunition, XM5 carbine and XM250 light machine gun as solutions have been met with both fanfare and skepticism. While the velocities that are reported for the 6.8×51 mm, and its .277 SIG Fury commercial counterpart, seem to generate the most excitement, this cartridge’s projectile energy is likely to be the main driver of the DOD’s interest.

According to SIG’s published numbers, its hybrid steel-and-brass cartridge case allows chamber pressures to reach a whopping 80,000 psi. Subsequently, its 150-grain projectile is reported to leave a 16-inch barrel at 2,830 fps with 2,667 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy. Running those numbers through a ballistic program shows that SIG’s loads should fly flatter and hit much harder than anything used in current battle rifle and light machine gun designs, including 7.62 NATO/.308 Win. loads, out past 1,000 meters.

Long experience in examining the .dotmil’s record in tinkering around with this issue makes me think they’re still in the “oh what if” and “wouldn’t it be nice if” stages — wishful thinking, in other words — and even so there’s this little warning sign:

Pushing a bullet faster so that it will fly flatter and hit harder is one thing. Doing it without rapidly burning out barrels or prematurely wearing out other parts has proven difficult with several past attempts to achieve game-changing muzzle velocities.

Yeah, that bastard Newton enters the fray again. But all is well:

One bit of reassurance on barrel wear concerns comes from a reliable source within SIG, who told me the special material technology used in their 6.8 barrels can hold up to this high pressure cartridge.

Oh, well then we don’t have anything to worry about, do we? Manufacturers never lie about this kind of thing, especially when there’s a multi-billion dollar military contract dangling in the wind.

No doubt, their “special material techology” will be super-inexpensive too, cheaper than the current steel even.

Just think: if the US Army had adopted the superb .280 British (actually 7.2x43mm, or .284 in Murkin) cartridge back in the late 1940s, we’d still be fielding it — but no, we had to go to the 7.62×51 which was oops too powerful and then over-correcting with the .223 which was oops too underpowered. Ever since then, the Army has been fucking around trying to find ammo’s Holy Grail — and I have to say that based on what I can see, the 6.8x51mm isn’t going to The One. (FFS: .277 SIG “Fury”? Better ammo through marketing?)

It’s like watching a kid with learning issues trying to fit the multi-shaped sticks into the proper slots:

So, to answer the headline’s question, the answer is…

Idiots.

Crossing America — 2022

November 19, 2022 Kim du Toit Guy Stuff, The Gun Thing

Time to play this game again, as many people have written to ask for it.

The Challenge: You have the opportunity to go back in time, arriving on the east coast of North America circa 1650 in the early spring, and your goal is to cross the North American continent, taking as much time as you need. When / if you reach the Pacific coastline, you’ll be transported back to the present day. Your equipment for this journey will be as follows (taken back in the time capsule with you):

— enough provisions for the first five days’ travel
— a backpack containing some clothing essentials
— a winter coat, raincoat and boots
— waterproof sleeping bag
— an axe
— a couple of knives, and a small sharpening stone
— a box of 1,000 “strike anywhere” waterproof matches
— a portable water filtration system
— a set of topographic maps of North America
— binoculars and a compass
— a current U.S. Army First Aid kit
— ONE long gun (shotgun or rifle) and 300 rounds of ammo (but no scope; and no interchangeable-barrel rifles like a Thompson Center Encore or Blaser; drillings are acceptable, but you still only get 300 rounds of ammo, total)
— ONE handgun (and 200 rounds)
— ONE rimfire gun (either a rifle or handgun, with 500 rounds).

Once there, you’ll be given a horse, a mule and a dog or two — but apart from that, you’re on your own. Remember you’ll be traveling through deep woods, open prairie, desert and mountains. You may encounter hostile Indian tribes and dangerous animals en route, which should be considered when you answer the following questions (and only these):

1. What long gun would you take back in time with you?
2. What handgun?
3. What rimfire gun?

Unlike previous surveys, I’m not going to tabulate the answers; just have at it in Comments. Reasons need not be given, as the choices will pretty much speak for themselves. If you must justify your choices, keep it short (as I have with mine).

Oh, and one last thing: you can’t keep your previous choices of firearm; you must find new ones. So in my case, for example, I can’t pick the 1896 Swedish Mauser / CZ Safari Magnum and Ruger Redhawk .357 revolver / Springfield 1911 from the last couple of times — so my own new choices for this year are below the fold. Read more

Ummm No

November 16, 2022 Kim du Toit Anti-Gun Nannies, Marxists, The Gun Thing

It seems as though some of the Terminally-Deluded think that Beto O’Rourke won the Texas governor’s election, given their list of gun control legislation to be proposed in the 2023 Texas legislative session:

House Bill 22, House Bill 106, House Bill 284 & House Bill 324 requiring the REPORTING OF LAWFUL SALES of certain firearms and magazines to state and/or local law enforcement — not gonna happen
House Bill 76 CRIMINALIZING the failure of a victim of gun theft to report having his or her firearms stolen — are you kidding me?
House Bill 88 & House Bill 447 further TAXING the sale of firearms and/or ammunition and firearm accessories — higher taxes? in Texas?
House Bill 110, House Bill 146 & House Bill 308 BANNING private firearm transfers at gun shows — LOL no
House Bill 123 & House Bill 136 red flag GUN CONFISCATION legislation requiring surrender of firearms without due process — nope
House Bill 129 & House Bill 565 RAISING THE MINIMUM AGE for purchase of semi-automatic rifles — not a chance
House Bill 155 & House Bill 236 BANNING private firearm transfers between certain family members and friends, requiring FFLs to process these transactions that would include federal paperwork for government approval at an undetermined fee — stomach’s starting to hurt, here
House Bill 197 BANNING the sale or transfer and possession of standard capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds — was that a unicorn I just saw?
House Bill 179, House Bill 216 & House Bill 244 RESTRICTING long gun open carry, with limited exceptions — maybe in hospitals… nah, not even
House Bill 298 establishes a 3-day WAITING PERIOD for firearm sales — like in California?
Senate Bill 32 BANNING the sale or possession of commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms — we do not live on the Planet Manhattan.

Maybe in New York / Illinois / California / Connecticut / Massachusetts or hellholes of similar foulness would these silly dreams get more than an airy laugh or disbelieving looks from the elected politicians.

Not in Texas. They’ll be taken out and shot in the back of the neck. I wish we could do the same to the fuckheads who have created this list, but apparently there’s some stupid law against it. I’ll call my TX House Rep and Senator, and see if they can get that changed.

That amendment would have a greater likelihood of passing than the above list.

And Just In Time For National Ammo Day

November 15, 2022 Kim du Toit The Gun Thing

…comes this news, also via CW:

Ammo maker announces Georgia factory, hiring spree for hundreds of jobs

In July, Italian gun maker Beretta bought Norma Precision and other ammunition makers from RUAG International, a company owned by the Swiss government, for an undisclosed price. Norma Precision had already announced that it was moving its headquarters to Georgia, setting up a factory in the Savannah suburb of Garden City.

Norma said 88 current employees in Georgia would be offered transfers. Employees will make an average of $57,000 a year, said company spokesperson Rose de Vries.

Last year, Norma Precision said it imported more than 400 containers of ammunition from factories in Europe, while also delivering more than 30 million cartridges of ammunition made in the U.S. De Vries said Norma would also export ammunition from the Georgia plant.

My only knock against Norma ammo has always been its cost. If that were taken out of the equation, and somebody were to tell me I could only shoot Norma rifle ammo for the rest of my life, I’d be perfectly happy to do so. Hell, I’d be ecstatic.

Reminder: National Ammo Day is on November 19th. You all know what to do.

Evolution

November 10, 2022 Kim du Toit Drive Time, Gratuitous Chick Pics, Gratuitous Gun Pics, Old Fartism

In my innocence, I always imagined that evolution was a Good Thing, in that v.2.0 would always be an improved version of v.1.9.9, and so on. (Of course, that belief has been massively degraded by having to deal with software companies, but that’s for another time.)

I understand, therefore, that evolution is not necessarily an improvement, but by and large it has proven to be so — a 2021 Corvette is a much better car than its 1961 ancestor, at least mechanically speaking. As for its shape? I’ll let you decide:

Regardless of the shape change (ugh), I think we can agree that the 2021 model performs much better than the 1961 model, mechanically speaking, because let’s be honest, engine technology, materials and things like suspension- and brake technology are better now than they were sixty years ago. And even the modern shape is no doubt far more efficient in terms of air management than the older one, so at least there’s that.

Now let’s talk about guns. Here we have a situation where the technology has hardly changed at all, materials have improved somewhat, but (say) a .22 pistol’s operation and efficiency have stayed pretty much the same.

So sixty-odd years ago we had .22 pistols that looked like the High Standard and Beretta:

…which, I think we can all agree, did an excellent job of putting the boolet into its intended destination. Modern pistols, of course, do just as good a job of that — pistols like the FN and SIG: