Sep 2006
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Russian tank found in a...LAKE?
Friday, September 29, 2006 Filed in:
Friday
Surprise!, Completely
irrelevant
Back in the summer of 1944, the
Germans and Russians were fighting over a small strip of land in
Estonia. The Germans managed to capture one of the Russian T34/76A
tanks, and apparently needed it badly - as it was pressed into
their service and painted with German army insignia.
As the Germans organized yet another retreat, the tank was driven into a lake, presumably to keep it from once again being used against them. There it lay for 56 years, until one Igor Shedunov organized a crew to drag it back out into the light.
Buried in the cold waters under a 3-meter thick layer of peat, the tank was phenomenally well preserved. According to the story on the group's website, the engine was able to be started after relatively minor repairs!
Great story and pictures. Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
As the Germans organized yet another retreat, the tank was driven into a lake, presumably to keep it from once again being used against them. There it lay for 56 years, until one Igor Shedunov organized a crew to drag it back out into the light.
Buried in the cold waters under a 3-meter thick layer of peat, the tank was phenomenally well preserved. According to the story on the group's website, the engine was able to be started after relatively minor repairs!
Great story and pictures. Check it out.
-=[ Grant ]=-
|
Let's talk about triggers...
I had an interesting email
recently. The writer said that he'd contacted a number of gunsmiths
to inquire about action work. In every case, he said, all he could
get out of them was "we can make it lighter." Occasionally I'll get
an inquiry from the other side of this phenomenon - someone whose
only question is "how light can you make it?" Why this fixation on
pull weight? I believe it's because people just haven't been
properly educated!
If you've read my essay on "What makes a good trigger?", you already know about the factors that go into a quality action job. (If you haven't read it, go ahead and do so now; I'll wait.)
Back already? OK!
When having action work done, there are three competing performance criteria: weight, reliability, and return.
Weight is self explanatory, and is what most people relate to. I've covered this in the article referenced above, so I won't go into more explanation - except to say that weight isn't the only thing you should consider, and if that's all your gunsmith can talk about you might want to re-think having him work on your gun!
The second performance criteria is reliability. When I speak of reliability, I mean the expectation that the gun will ignite primers from all common ammunition 100% of the time in both single and double action. That means even the hardest primers being made (currently CCI Magnum primers) will light off every time that the hammer falls; anything else is less reliable. A gun that fires off Federal primers all the time, Winchester most of the time, and CCI Magnums about half the time isn't reliable; it may be acceptable for the use that the gun will be put to, but it is not reliable. (As it turns out, the more reliable the ignition, the more accurate the gun will be. There are a number of reasons for this, which I'll go into in a later article.)
Finally, there is return, or the action of the trigger resetting itself. In the article I referenced above, I talked about the qualities of trigger return - but there is more to consider. One way of lightening the overall pull weight of the action is to reduce the spring tension that powers the trigger return. This can introduce a couple of undesired side effects; first, the return spring tension can be so low that the trigger "sticks" and doesn't return (most prevalent on guns where the quality of the trigger return, in terms of smoothness, isn't understood or is ignored.)
The second side effect is that the return speed is lowered. This results in the shooter being able to "outrun" the trigger, shooting faster than the trigger will reset itself. This can cause premature cycling of the cylinder (the cylinder rotating without the hammer being cocked and dropped) or action locking (requiring the shooter to stop his/her pull, let the action reset, and then restarting the pull - most common on Rugers.) In a competition, these side effects can lose points - in a self-defense scenario, they might cause you to lose something more precious!
Here's the "kicker": when getting action work done, you get to choose any two of the three performance criteria, but not all three. For instance, if you want light pull weight and good reliability, you're going to sacrifice return. If you want light pull and good return, you're going to sacrifice reliability. If you want reliability and fast trigger reset, you're going to have to learn to deal with heavier pull weights!
There is no free lunch, and there isn't a gunsmith in the world who can repeal the laws of physics; you get any 2, but not all 3 in the same gun. You have to make the decision as to what is best for your intended use!
Let me illustrate: I am starting work on a Ruger SP-101 that is to be shot by an older lady. She only shoots reloads that her husband makes for her, and only at the range (this is not a defensive or competition piece.)
The primary concern is ease of cocking the gun in single action; it won't be used in double action at all. So, the criteria that is important in this case is action weight; we don't care all that much about return (other than it actually do so - the speed isn't a consideration), and since the fellow can load the ammunition to shoot in this specific gun (he will use whatever primers necessary to make the gun run), reliability is not a concern. This is a great example of tuning the action to fit the use!
For a defensive gun, reliability is the first consideration, with return second. For a competition gun, say for ICORE or USPSA (or even IDPA), the speed of the action reset is paramount - followed by a light pull weight. The competitor will usually select or reload ammunition to suit the gun, which makes reliability (in the sense that I use the term) less a concern.
If all a gunsmith can talk about is how light he can make the action, he's ignoring fully two-thirds of of action performance. This is a two-way street, though - its not just gunsmiths who don't understand this stuff! Shooters raised on the typical gun rag articles never learn about this either, because all most writers know how to discuss is pull weight.
When I get an inquiry from someone whose only question is "how light", I try to educate him or her to make more informed choices. I hope I've been able to do that here!
-=[ Grant ]=-
If you've read my essay on "What makes a good trigger?", you already know about the factors that go into a quality action job. (If you haven't read it, go ahead and do so now; I'll wait.)
Back already? OK!
When having action work done, there are three competing performance criteria: weight, reliability, and return.
Weight is self explanatory, and is what most people relate to. I've covered this in the article referenced above, so I won't go into more explanation - except to say that weight isn't the only thing you should consider, and if that's all your gunsmith can talk about you might want to re-think having him work on your gun!
The second performance criteria is reliability. When I speak of reliability, I mean the expectation that the gun will ignite primers from all common ammunition 100% of the time in both single and double action. That means even the hardest primers being made (currently CCI Magnum primers) will light off every time that the hammer falls; anything else is less reliable. A gun that fires off Federal primers all the time, Winchester most of the time, and CCI Magnums about half the time isn't reliable; it may be acceptable for the use that the gun will be put to, but it is not reliable. (As it turns out, the more reliable the ignition, the more accurate the gun will be. There are a number of reasons for this, which I'll go into in a later article.)
Finally, there is return, or the action of the trigger resetting itself. In the article I referenced above, I talked about the qualities of trigger return - but there is more to consider. One way of lightening the overall pull weight of the action is to reduce the spring tension that powers the trigger return. This can introduce a couple of undesired side effects; first, the return spring tension can be so low that the trigger "sticks" and doesn't return (most prevalent on guns where the quality of the trigger return, in terms of smoothness, isn't understood or is ignored.)
The second side effect is that the return speed is lowered. This results in the shooter being able to "outrun" the trigger, shooting faster than the trigger will reset itself. This can cause premature cycling of the cylinder (the cylinder rotating without the hammer being cocked and dropped) or action locking (requiring the shooter to stop his/her pull, let the action reset, and then restarting the pull - most common on Rugers.) In a competition, these side effects can lose points - in a self-defense scenario, they might cause you to lose something more precious!
Here's the "kicker": when getting action work done, you get to choose any two of the three performance criteria, but not all three. For instance, if you want light pull weight and good reliability, you're going to sacrifice return. If you want light pull and good return, you're going to sacrifice reliability. If you want reliability and fast trigger reset, you're going to have to learn to deal with heavier pull weights!
There is no free lunch, and there isn't a gunsmith in the world who can repeal the laws of physics; you get any 2, but not all 3 in the same gun. You have to make the decision as to what is best for your intended use!
Let me illustrate: I am starting work on a Ruger SP-101 that is to be shot by an older lady. She only shoots reloads that her husband makes for her, and only at the range (this is not a defensive or competition piece.)
The primary concern is ease of cocking the gun in single action; it won't be used in double action at all. So, the criteria that is important in this case is action weight; we don't care all that much about return (other than it actually do so - the speed isn't a consideration), and since the fellow can load the ammunition to shoot in this specific gun (he will use whatever primers necessary to make the gun run), reliability is not a concern. This is a great example of tuning the action to fit the use!
For a defensive gun, reliability is the first consideration, with return second. For a competition gun, say for ICORE or USPSA (or even IDPA), the speed of the action reset is paramount - followed by a light pull weight. The competitor will usually select or reload ammunition to suit the gun, which makes reliability (in the sense that I use the term) less a concern.
If all a gunsmith can talk about is how light he can make the action, he's ignoring fully two-thirds of of action performance. This is a two-way street, though - its not just gunsmiths who don't understand this stuff! Shooters raised on the typical gun rag articles never learn about this either, because all most writers know how to discuss is pull weight.
When I get an inquiry from someone whose only question is "how light", I try to educate him or her to make more informed choices. I hope I've been able to do that here!
-=[ Grant ]=-
California arresting law-abiding gun owners
Monday, September 25, 2006 Filed in:
Political
Action, Current Events
I hate to keep harping on
Californians, but come on people - a sunny climate really can't be
worth these continuing assaults on your constitutional liberties,
can it? Are you really so fond of your upwardly mobile lifestyles
that you're willing to voluntarily surrender your freedoms by
continuing to live there?
Read about the latest raids here.
-=[ Grant ]=-
Read about the latest raids here.
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Captured Lightning
In the late 1700s, Professor Georg
Christoph Lichtenberg noticed some interesting patterns forming on
the dusty surface of a charged plate. He showed the unusual works
of natural art to his students and peers, and through time they
have become known as Lichtenberg Patterns. The same patterns can
sometimes be seen on the skin of people who have been struck by
lightning.
Formed as the result of high voltage discharges on, or within, insulating materials, Lichtenberg Patterns can today be captured permanently by discharging the output of a linear accelerator into a Lucite block. The resulting three dimensional fern-like patterns are strangely fascinating!
This website shows and explains the process. Very cool!
And you thought science was boring!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Formed as the result of high voltage discharges on, or within, insulating materials, Lichtenberg Patterns can today be captured permanently by discharging the output of a linear accelerator into a Lucite block. The resulting three dimensional fern-like patterns are strangely fascinating!
This website shows and explains the process. Very cool!
And you thought science was boring!
-=[ Grant ]=-
How they deal with hijackers in Lake Wobegon
I'm not a fan of Garrison Keillor;
personally, I just never got his appeal, in the same way I never
understood why people thought Seinfeld was funny. Guess I'm just
humor impaired.
Nevertheless, I recently ran across this piece that he wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, on airline security. He's got a funny bit about allowing people to carry guns on board, and I have to agree with his final question:
-=[ Grant ]=-
Nevertheless, I recently ran across this piece that he wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, on airline security. He's got a funny bit about allowing people to carry guns on board, and I have to agree with his final question:
The way to stop terrorists on planes is to encourage passengers to bring loaded firearms aboard: guys in orange vests sitting in exit rows with deer rifles on their laps, ladies with Mr. Colt in their purses, kids with peashooters. Somebody wake up the NRA. Does the Second Amendment say ''The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed except on commercial airliners''? Where is the right wing when you really need them?
-=[ Grant ]=-
Have you downloaded GUN FACTS yet?
Monday, September 18, 2006 Filed in:
Political
Action, Other resources
If you haven't, remedy that
situation right now!
Gun Facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control. It is intended as a reference guide for anyone interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment.
Divided into chapters based on gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, etc.), finding information is quick and easy. Each chapter lists common gun control myths, then lists a number of documented and cited facts that directly dispute the gun control claim. Thus when a neighbor, editor, or politician repeats some slogan propagated by gun control advocacy groups, you can quickly find that myth and set them straight!
This is an absolute must-have, folks!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Gun Facts is a free e-book that debunks common myths about gun control. It is intended as a reference guide for anyone interested in restoring honesty to the debate about guns, crime, and the 2nd Amendment.
Divided into chapters based on gun control topics (assault weapons, ballistic finger printing, firearm availability, etc.), finding information is quick and easy. Each chapter lists common gun control myths, then lists a number of documented and cited facts that directly dispute the gun control claim. Thus when a neighbor, editor, or politician repeats some slogan propagated by gun control advocacy groups, you can quickly find that myth and set them straight!
This is an absolute must-have, folks!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Ever wondered about cartoon speech balloons?
Friday, September 15, 2006 Filed in:
Friday
Surprise!, Completely
irrelevant
We're used to having little
"balloons" tethered to our favorite cartoon characters that show us
what the character is thinking or saying. Cartoons have been around
longer than those balloons, though, and this site shows you the evolution of the now ubiquitous
balloons.
OK, I admit - it's pretty useless information, but aren't you glad someone, somewhere, made up an entire web page on the topic? Amaze your friends with your knowledge of 19th century cartooning! (Or not...)
-=[ Grant ]=-
OK, I admit - it's pretty useless information, but aren't you glad someone, somewhere, made up an entire web page on the topic? Amaze your friends with your knowledge of 19th century cartooning! (Or not...)
-=[ Grant ]=-
Brits prove - AGAIN - that gun laws don't work
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Filed
in: Political
Action, Current Events
A tip of the Revolver Liberation
Alliance ball cap (now available here) to Tamara K., who blogged
this CNN story over at the View From The Porch.
So, let's see if I've got this straight: the British police, enforcers of some of the toughest gun laws in the world, busted a gun running operation whose pipeline originated in New Jersey - home of some of the toughest gun laws in the United States? What's wrong with this picture? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count...
(Oh, and a fat raspberry to Associated Press, who just had to point out the American flag hanging over the porch at the offending house in Britain - a "large" flag, as the article made sure to mention. That, people, is what we call a "cheap shot.")
-=[ Grant ]=-
So, let's see if I've got this straight: the British police, enforcers of some of the toughest gun laws in the world, busted a gun running operation whose pipeline originated in New Jersey - home of some of the toughest gun laws in the United States? What's wrong with this picture? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count...
(Oh, and a fat raspberry to Associated Press, who just had to point out the American flag hanging over the porch at the offending house in Britain - a "large" flag, as the article made sure to mention. That, people, is what we call a "cheap shot.")
-=[ Grant ]=-
The latest Colt scuttlebutt
Monday, September 11, 2006 Filed in:
Revolvers, Shooting
industry
The Shooting Gallery has this to say:
-=[ Grant ]=-
One thing is for sure: Colt is looking for a sugar daddy.
According to Jim Shepherd of "The Shooting Wire" (unfortunately, an article available only to subscribers and not available as an independent Internet link), one possible buyer of Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC might have been STI:
"Other stories, including the sale of Colt, have dragged on longer than the Florida elections. Today, there's still no definitive resolution to the saga. An arbitrarily high valuation of the civilian side of the business ended that outright sale option in the Colt soap opera.
STI, the company that was ready to buy the civilian operation, has moved on, announcing upcoming production of a single-action revolver called the Texican. It will be aimed at the upper echelon cowboy action competitors, following the same model that has made STI's "race guns" major players in practical shooting.
With a highly successful, manufacturing-oriented business model, STI may, indeed, make a dent in the cowboy market - especially if STI contributes bonus money to cowboy action the way it has in practical shooting. The Texican may find its way into the holsters of the new generation of single-action shooters, despite the fact SASS has continually shied away from the idea of "win money" and sponsorships. STI's move into cowboy action may lead to the recognition that professional shooters exist in cowboy action."
-=[ Grant ]=-
The famous Revolver Liberation Alliance t-shirts are available again!
Friday, September 08, 2006 Filed in:
What's
New!, Accessories
Imagine my amazement...
A few years back, I made up some t-shirts that had a picture of a 1911 with a stovepipe stoppage, and the legend "The west wasn't won...with a jammed-up gun!" I also invented the fictitious organization "Revolver Liberation Alliance" to take "responsibility" for the shirts. (And you wondered where my blog's name came from!)
I made up a few of them, and sent one to Massad Ayoob, one to Jerry Miculek, kept one for myself, and gave the remaining few to some revolver shooters that braved to shoot in our club matches. They really got the "goat" of the local autoloader owners!
Fast-forward a half-decade or so, and I start getting emails from around the country about those shirts! It took me a while to find out where they heard of the things, and it turns out that someone (*cough*Massad Ayoob*cough*) mentioned his in an article. Apparently he struck a chord with revolver owners, because they started asking me for the shirts!
So, in order to accommodate the requests, I've made them available at my CafePress store. Click here to see and order the shirt.
Buy one for yourself, a spare in case it gets dirty, and then go out and annoy flatgun shooters everywhere!
-=[ Grant ]=-
A few years back, I made up some t-shirts that had a picture of a 1911 with a stovepipe stoppage, and the legend "The west wasn't won...with a jammed-up gun!" I also invented the fictitious organization "Revolver Liberation Alliance" to take "responsibility" for the shirts. (And you wondered where my blog's name came from!)
I made up a few of them, and sent one to Massad Ayoob, one to Jerry Miculek, kept one for myself, and gave the remaining few to some revolver shooters that braved to shoot in our club matches. They really got the "goat" of the local autoloader owners!
Fast-forward a half-decade or so, and I start getting emails from around the country about those shirts! It took me a while to find out where they heard of the things, and it turns out that someone (*cough*Massad Ayoob*cough*) mentioned his in an article. Apparently he struck a chord with revolver owners, because they started asking me for the shirts!
So, in order to accommodate the requests, I've made them available at my CafePress store. Click here to see and order the shirt.
Buy one for yourself, a spare in case it gets dirty, and then go out and annoy flatgun shooters everywhere!
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Will we finally be able to buy a flying car?
I've always wanted a flying car,
and every few years I get my hopes up only to have them dashed by
more vaporware. Will this be the one that finally makes
it?
-=[ Grant ]=-
The Transition is designed for jumps of 100 to 500 miles. It will carry two people and luggage on a single tank of premium unleaded gas. It will also come with an electric calculator (to help fine-tune weight distribution), airbags, aerodynamic bumpers and, of course, a navigation unit with a global positioning system.
-=[ Grant ]=-
I found another great gun blog!
I recently stumbled across
The Ten
Ring, a
great firearms blog by Denise and Bill. They describe it as "A blog
by two self-described gun nuts. One who started as a liberal and
the other who started as a conservative. We helped each other grow
and thrive over the past nine years."
You've got to start by reading their eight-part series "On Being A Gun Nut." It's some of the best prose I've ever read about firearms ownership. Part VII, about being a female gun nut, is particularly good. Don't miss it!
-=[ Grant ]=-
You've got to start by reading their eight-part series "On Being A Gun Nut." It's some of the best prose I've ever read about firearms ownership. Part VII, about being a female gun nut, is particularly good. Don't miss it!
-=[ Grant ]=-
Thoughts on the death of Steve Irwin
Tuesday, September 05, 2006 Filed in:
Current
Events, Personal
opinions
In case you missed it, Steve
"Crocodile Hunter" Irwin died this weekend after taking a stingray
barb to the chest. He was a man who engendered strong opinions from
all who saw him. Loud, brash, seemingly without fear, he was
certainly a unique personality on television.
What I find intriguing about his death is that he died the way that he said he wanted to (albeit not from a croc):
He died doing what he loved, and that is - to me at least - far preferable to wasting away in a bed in a care facility. Having witnessed such a death, I don't wish it on anyone, least of all me! I hope to go the way Irwin did, a death as large as his life.
I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes, ideals to which I aspire:
-=[ Grant ]=-
What I find intriguing about his death is that he died the way that he said he wanted to (albeit not from a croc):
"Even if a big old alligator is chewing me up I want to go down and go, 'Crikey!' just before I die. That would be the ultimate for me."
He died doing what he loved, and that is - to me at least - far preferable to wasting away in a bed in a care facility. Having witnessed such a death, I don't wish it on anyone, least of all me! I hope to go the way Irwin did, a death as large as his life.
I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes, ideals to which I aspire:
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, But rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming WOW --- WHAT A RIDE!!!" - Author Unknown
"You gotta be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?" - Bernadette Peters
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs
-=[ Grant ]=-
The Second Amendment Carnival
Here's another great firearms link
carnival: from the Free Constitution blog comes the fourth
installment of the Second Amendment Carnival. Check it out - lots of great
links!
-=[ Grant ]=-
-=[ Grant ]=-
FRIDAY SURPRISE: Oregon, where everything's deeper
Friday, September 01, 2006 Filed in:
Friday
Surprise!, Completely
irrelevant
If you've never visited our great
state, you owe it to yourself to come out and have a looksee. We
have some of the best Pacific coastline available, and - unlike our
neighbors to the south - the entire coastline is public property
and accessible to all. We have the gorgeous Willamette Valley,
which was one of the chief destinations for people coming over on
the Oregon Trail. In fact, there are lots of places in the eastern
part of the state where you can still see the wagon ruts!
(Speaking of eastern Oregon, what you may not know is that Oregon is nearly 2/3 desert!)
The point of this little travelogue, though, is to sing the praises of our favorite inland body of water: Crater Lake. Formed from the collapsed Mount Mazama, it is the deepest lake in the United States - 1,943 feet deep, to be precise! It is the deepest blue that you can imagine, and is one of the most picturesque lakes extant.
There is a large moss that grows on the bottom of the lake, which is itself the subject of some study. There is a project underway to study the organism, and you can see the latest video of the project here. (For more background on the lake, visit the official Crater Lake website.)
Crater Lake isn't the only deep thing in the state, however - we also boast the deepest river canyon in North America, Hell's Canyon. It sits along the border of Oregon and Idaho, and is considerably deeper than the Grand Canyon. Breathtaking! Visit the Hell's Canyon website.
Of course, there are many more natural attractions and historical sites to visit in our great state. Please visit and enjoy all that Oregon has to offer!
-=[ Grant ]=-
(Speaking of eastern Oregon, what you may not know is that Oregon is nearly 2/3 desert!)
The point of this little travelogue, though, is to sing the praises of our favorite inland body of water: Crater Lake. Formed from the collapsed Mount Mazama, it is the deepest lake in the United States - 1,943 feet deep, to be precise! It is the deepest blue that you can imagine, and is one of the most picturesque lakes extant.
There is a large moss that grows on the bottom of the lake, which is itself the subject of some study. There is a project underway to study the organism, and you can see the latest video of the project here. (For more background on the lake, visit the official Crater Lake website.)
Crater Lake isn't the only deep thing in the state, however - we also boast the deepest river canyon in North America, Hell's Canyon. It sits along the border of Oregon and Idaho, and is considerably deeper than the Grand Canyon. Breathtaking! Visit the Hell's Canyon website.
Of course, there are many more natural attractions and historical sites to visit in our great state. Please visit and enjoy all that Oregon has to offer!
-=[ Grant ]=-
California: on the leading edge of gun prohibition - again
The California Senate has passed a bill
that requires
"microstamping", which imprints each fired case with a unique
identifier from gun in which it was fired.
As usual, Tamara K. at The View From The Porch has a great analysis of the situation. Check it out.
I hate to sound harsh, but how long are all you California gun owners going to put up with these kinds of gun control plans? Haven't you figured out that they just don't want you in their state?
-=[ Grant ]=-
As usual, Tamara K. at The View From The Porch has a great analysis of the situation. Check it out.
I hate to sound harsh, but how long are all you California gun owners going to put up with these kinds of gun control plans? Haven't you figured out that they just don't want you in their state?
-=[ Grant ]=-