Category: Tacticool

December 17, 2024 – Are You Ambidextrous?

December 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Every once in a while, you have to throwback to some good old days. I am not sure when I actually started this endeavor but I am sure that I have been air rifle shooting daily for over a year now. Recently, I have started doing it left handed. It is not that I have mastered right handed shooting but I have been curious if one, I can do it and two is there a difference between the two.

One thing that I have noticed is that my vision is different in each eye. My left eye seems to be blurrier than my right when I look through the scope. I have always known that I have a stigmatism, but it is minor and I never even noticed when using both eyes. Trying to see a one inch circle in questionable lighting, it does show up.

You would think that means I probably shoot better right handed right? I do, kind of. I recently shot sitting down with my body resting against the door frame. This was one of the best groups I have ever made. When I tried it left handed, it was indistinguishable from not having a body rest. However, when shooting from a chair, I actually shoot better left handed than right handed.

My theory is that over the years, I have developed bad habits right handed that I don’t have left handed. I try to practice all the right techniques with posture, stance and breathing. With that, I am getting to the point that I can see how the shot went as it hits. That doesn’t make my groups any better however. Clearly like golf, maybe to improve I really need a coach?

This group pictured is left handed, standing. Said another way, this is the result of not supporting anything while shooting. I didn’t actually measure it but I would say that it is at least double and more like triple the size of my normal sitting groups.

I haven’t done it much but standing is probably the one position that I want the most proficiency. This is the most likely situation in practical shooting. Walking along, there is a deer/elk/rabbit/squirrel. On my hunting rifle, I use my sling for extra stability when I can. This situation I am talking about is completely unaided. Master this and master all other positions.

Another surprise was that the point of impact changes depending on whether I was shooting right or left handed. I know that most people will never do what I am doing so it is probably a moot point but the principle is always the same. Sight in the scope the way you are going to shoot.

I have on my range goals to shoot handguns left handed. Of the times I have tried it, I was very bad. I have no where near the strength in my left arm so it ends up wobbling all over the place. As a result, my groups are terrible. Handguns are dubious enough to shoot good groups without support, add the inability to things steady and you know there is some work to do.

I am definitely right eye dominant and right handed. I should be shooting right handed for optimum results. It is not just for kicks to shoot weak handed, the reason to be able to do it is if you lose the ability to use your preferred hand, for whatever reason. That is more self defense kind of talk but if you never try, you never know and surely you wont do well the first time.

End Your Programming Routine: When I was in middle school, I figured I could bat left handed, so I did. I actually hit the ball better that way. I have occasionally decided to write left handed. It definitely is not as good as my right, but I think it is a function of practice. It seems like shooting is no different (for me).

November 17, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

November 17, 2022 /

I am a long time listener of GunTalk. One of the things that Tom Gresham says is that the first thing he does is replace the trigger in a rifle. He says that a good trigger is necessary for good accuracy.

I personally have never had an issue with the trigger on my Remington rifle. It is a little stiff, but otherwise I have felt that it is consistent. However, there was a long standing recall for faulty triggers and that got me thinking. Now that Remington is defunct, the old recall is no longer active. Given the question, I decided to try and upgrade the trigger to a Timney Trigger.

The truth is, I did it because I wanted to try it. I wanted to see if it makes me more accurate. It doesn’t hurt that it is potentially safer as well. Now, I need to resist the urge to replace all of my triggers before I get any realistic data points. At $150, it is a luxury item. I only paid $350 for the entire rifle about ten years ago anyway.

The process is pretty simple. There are two pins right above the trigger in the action. Once out, the trigger unit slides right out. The unit installs in the reverse order. If you are careful about how you do this, then this is a five minute job. I took the entire pin out which also removed the bolt release mechanism. This caused me to have to fiddle with it for twenty minutes to get the springs in the right place and put back together.

I have not shot it, nor do I have plans anytime soon. Part of me thought that I should wait out until hunting season is over just in case I get a wild hair to buy an elk tag. The realistic part of me says that I didn’t do it when I wasn’t working, why would I do it now? I have a standing invitation from my neighbors to go out with them. The season is only a week and I would have to take time off to do it. I really want to, but this is not the year. So, I changed the trigger.

I guess hunting is one of my toolbox fallacies. I always seem to be finding excuses to not do it. We are too busy, the weather is too warm, I don’t have any vacation, etc. I suspect that next year we will get our deer tags drawn. It has been three years since we did. Unless I physically cannot go, I am going next year. It might be one of the last years my dad can go, he is getting into his mid-seventies now and if we have to wait three years, he will be almost eighty the next draw.

On my dry firing, The trigger breaks a lot lighter. According to the documentation, the Timney Hunter model is supposed to be set at three pounds. From what I have read, a trigger that is too light for hunting might be a problem when wearing gloves. A heavier trigger prevents premature discharge because you cant feel as well with gloves on. I guess I have never hunted with gloves on, so I don’t think this will be a problem.

This particular rifle, I have only fired around thirty rounds out of. I haven’t shot it enough to have enough brass to reload. So, now with the new trigger it gives me an excuse to really give this rifle some exercise. It seems like something I should do anyway. So, I look at spending some quality time with this rifle in preparation for possibly the last hunt with my dad.

End Your Programming Routine: I probably should be more glass half full about this. There is no reason I can’t go with him on over the counter tags in future years. But, I guess none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I just look at him slowing down and hobbling around a lot more. My trigger isn’t the reason I didn’t go hunting this season but it motivates me to look forward and setting plans for next year.

November 10, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

November 10, 2022 /

Admittedly, it has been three weeks since I went to the range and got this data. On that day, the temperature was 87 degrees. It was the farewell to summer for sure because we are finally back to normal, Oregon weather. For the uninitiated, temperature is important when gathering range data because this is about measuring results of a chemical reaction.

The warmer the outdoor temperature, the more likely the reaction happens faster. This ultimately translates to velocity. This is what leads to the rabbit hole of reloading. It is possible to develop cold and warm weather loads. For today, I am going to ignore the fact that it was warm but I will keep the data point for some other day. I do have to say, my measurements were higher than I expected by quite a bit.

This is using a 158 grain jacketed hollow point by Speer and Alliant Power Pistol powder. The grid shows velocity by powder charge.

7.7gr7.9gr8.1gr8.3gr8.5gr
114241436143514591432
214201419143014371515
314071407142214641458
413661460144014551531
513751385142814911472
613671395140614741424
714191420145714281430
813541368139114481437
913461365142714591474
1013881473146814291493
Mean13871414143114551467
3 Sigma2633201834
Energy675701719743755

Now, that is some tight data. Everything did what it was supposed to do. I base that opinion on the standard deviation numbers. Surprisingly, published velocity is is only 1078 fps. My variations from this recipe include a Winchester Small Pistol Magnum primer instead of CCI 500. I also used a standard Speer jacketed hollow point instead of a Speer Gold Dot hollow point. This was also measured from a rifle with a 16″ barrel, not 10″. So, these are some variables that could possibly make a difference.

It could also be me or my equipment. I was organizing data over the last weekend and I noted in my reloading book that my electronic balance was reading 20% more than the mechanical balance. It is very possible that these are overcharged. I really need a third source to check my equipment. Nevertheless, I am much more pleased with this combination over the last one.

I will summarize last month’s findings here: same bullet, same primer, Universal powder. The published velocity for that load was 1100 fps. I used the same rifle. I would say that this one underperformed.

5.8gr5.9gr6.0gr6.2gr6.3gr
Mean9499329259431055

Before we declare a winner, velocity is not the end all measurement. There is also accuracy. The truth is, I haven’t even bothered to test this yet. My rifle is not sighted in and I haven’t even tried at this point. But, where I go from here is that I repeat this test on the rifle range and try to shoot groups. I can ignore velocity because I have enough data to tell me that the change is very small between starting and ending. This is the process of developing a custom load for your firearm.

What I can say from this experiment is that I have some ‘low velocity’ bullets that are not supposed to exceed 875 fps and it looks like the Power Pistol powder is not a good choice for that bullet. But, Universal probably is. The low velocity bullets are softer and exceeding the recommended velocity will cause the lead to accumulate inside the barrel.

Don’t forget that measuring velocity from a pistol should be quite a bit less than a rifle. So, it is possible to have loads that are too fast in a rifle but fine in a handgun. Aren’t you glad you just buy ammunition and live in bliss?

End Your Programming Routine: In this time of ammunition shortage which is even worse for reloading components, I have heard some advice. We probably won’t get our choice of what we want, so we just need to work with what is available. I have no hesitation substituting primer brands or bullets as long as you heed the fundamentals.

November 3, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

November 3, 2022 /

Now that I broke the seal on my hunting rifle with a new trigger, I got to thinking about another old rifle I have. It is a Remington 722 which is the precursor model to the 700 which puts it likely manufactured in the 1950’s. My dad bought it for my first hunting season, so I would have been 12 years old.

I was hunting with it 20 years ago or so and the swivel came off. I lost it on the gravel so I took it into a local gunsmith. He said that the original part could not be sourced. When I got the rifle back, the gunsmith said that I was lucky. Whoever cut the stock down was lucky that the remaining wood holding the back swivel in hadn’t already split. He moved both the front and back swivels.

My dad cut off some portion of the rear stock so that it was easier for a twelve year old to shoot. He also added a thick recoil pad as the original rubber was pretty cracked up. I have been thinking about giving that old rifle some new life with a upgraded, adult sized stock and a new trigger as well.

Gun fit makes a huge difference in the ability to be accurate. More so than that, it makes a night and day difference in handling recoil as well. I have a youth sized 20 gauge shotgun that just punishes me because it is light and the length of pull is is about 2 inches too short. I wouldn’t let my kids shoot it because it gives terrible bruising to me.

Length of pull is the distance between the trigger and the end of the butt plate. The theory is that the more precise the fit, the better the shooter will be. As I was pricing out a new stock, there was five choices for length. That got me thinking about what length of pull on my other firearms. So, I did an experiment and took some measurements.

Here is what I found measuring various firearms I have.

  1. 14 1/2″
  2. 14″
  3. 12 3/4″
  4. 14 3/4″
  5. 13″
  6. 13 1/2″
  7. 13 3/4″

To my surprise, the cut down rifle is only half an inch shorter than my non-cut down rifle. The truth is, I really don’t need to do anything and it doesn’t feel awkwardly short or give me a recoil beat-down. In my head, I thought that the stock was cut down and so I need to fix that. But, even more surprising is that measurements are all over the map.

Here is another secret about length of pull. Depending on what you are doing, your length of pull can change. What do you mean you say? If you are all kitted up in rain gear and bulk out in the field, that adds girth to the gun fit. So, shooting in the summer with a t-shirt versus hunting elk in the snow is going to make a difference on how much distance is between the butt pad and the trigger.

For working firearms, length of pull is going to be a compromise between optimum seasonal use. Now that I know what I know, I am not sure that I am as worried about the stock being cut down as I was before I started this investigation. Maybe, I will just leave it alone. On the other hand, I have always wanted to build a custom-ish rifle.

End Your Programming Routine: In my opinion, length of pull is more critical with shotgun sports. You tend to shoot much more so you are more prone to recoil and consistency because you are moving and shooting. That being said, a stock that is significantly too short or long is also a problem. Fine gun stores, gunsmiths or shooting instructors can properly measure you for a definitive answer. Maybe I should shell out the money to get a proper measurement instead of guessing and wondering?

October 27, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 27, 2022 /

Things aren’t always as they seem. I have switched pellets from Gamo to Crossman, most recently to use up a partial container. I sighted in my rifle and then I went on with my day. A couple of days later, I was shooting offhand and I saw that my group was terrible. I had been shooting offhand with the Gamo pellets within a 2 inch group, sometimes even within a quarter.

I am shooting offhand on purpose. This is training for hunting. Sure, if you can have a rest, then it is better, but most deer I have shot have been without any sort of rest. So, this is finding the scope, trigger control and breathing.

At first, I thought it was the pellets, so I shot on a rest again and I was getting quarter sized groups. Then I thought it was possibly my eye sight. The group above had one group (of five) with my glasses off and one group of five with my glasses on. They were not great so I decided to try this experiment again with deliberateness.

This time, whether glasses on or glasses off, the group was all together, so I decided to look deeper. I noticed that the scope had slid all the way back on the rings. When I went to loosen the hex screws, they were already loose.

I have heard that airguns are hell on scopes. Just this week, I also tightened up the metal to the stock. Now, the scope was loose. I am happy to say that things are back where they should be. This is the first ever recoil induced failure I have ever observed.

I am one of those fix it once, right kind of people. So far, I have only just re-set and tightened everything up. But without doing something different, this is going to happen again, so maybe I ought to use some blue Loctite.

End Your Programming Routine: As I said at the beginning, things aren’t always what they seem. I still believe that there is some more variability in the Crossman pellets. They do not seat tightly and my groups are more open than what I have been shooting with the Gamo pellets. That being said, my first clue should have been the adhesive pad backing out from under the scope mount. I didn’t know why that was happening, but now it seems like it was the scope moving.

October 20, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 20, 2022 /

I am going to opine about the past for a minute. There used to to be a local sporting goods chain called G.I. Joes. To me, this was fantasy land. They had auto parts, electronics (including music), Ticketmaster franchise, army surplus, stick and ball gear and a full marine department. In some ways, this is probably why they went out of business. When the children of the founder wanted to retire, the business was sold to an equity group that quickly ran it into the ground (2009). Dick’s bought the name and you probably know how I feel about that.

They had a going out of business sale. I was in China on business when it started and by the time I got back, most remaining things were 50% off and certainly all of the best stuff was picked over. I did find a Nikon pack that contained a scope, range finder and a coupon for a free fleece jacket, which I bought for $150. I still use all three of those things, so I suppose I did OK.

Enough of that… first I will talk about what is old. My Nikon rangefinder was a pretty simple (to operate) device. Press the button and laser goes out to a pointed distance and measures as long at the distance is less than 1000 yards. You can change between meters and yards and there and the results are displayed on a black LCD readout. It cant be too close either, the distance needs to be longer than 10 yards.

Last week at Trap, we saw a coyote out at some distance. My Nikon is the one I carry in my range bag so I got it out to measure the range. I couldn’t get a distance on it. So, I don’t know if the battery is week, my angle was bad or it is actually farther than 1000 yards. Things have gotten a whole lot more sophisticated in the last 13 years.

My new Leupold rangefinder has a lot going on. First note that it is significantly smaller. The output LED is red instead of black; I assume this is for low light use. It claims that it can read reflective surfaces out to 1400 yards and game out to 1000 yards. But that is not all. This one is also usable for bow hunting, so short range measuring is much improved over my older Nikon.

There are multiple modes: TBR stands for True Ballistic Range. Remember your Pythagorean theorem? On any sort of angle, we are looking at the hypotenuse, not the actual distance. So there is some sort of level sensor inside to compensate for angle (if using that mode). One of the use cases is to take a measurement at the top of a tree to determine the actual height. You can then assess whether it is a risk of the tree damaging something if it were to fall.

And there is more. Using a preset of ballistic groups, the rangefinder will calculate your holdover on targets at distance. Your target is 400 yards, you are sighted in for 200, how many inches do you need to aim higher to make the shot. This also takes the angle into consideration. There is some minimal amount of wind compensation if desired. There is even more, but I worry about needing to read the manual before each use, so I think I will set it up and let it be at least during hunting season.

I have never worried too much about range. The truth is, I have never seen an animal and had my rangefinder handy. I have always figured, if my rangefinder can’t measure it, I am likely way too far away. I mostly use it to gauge distances when I am sitting anyway. I know that if I see something between X and me, then I am good, otherwise I am going to have to get closer.

End Your Programming Routine: This is like having a new car. At first, you think I am going to use this for special occasions. But then, you remember that you like working air conditioning and better fuel mileage plus it is parked in a better spot for that quick run to the store. For now, it is going in my hunting pack but it very well may find my way into my range bag after the season is over.

October 13, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 13, 2022 /

Have you ever heard the history of the metallurgy of the penny? I am not going to cover that specifically you can look it up but in 1982 the penny was changed from 95% copper to 5% zinc to 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. The entire purpose was that the cost of copper was worth more than a penny. I will join this to the rest of the topic later.

One of the things I typically do at the range is pick-up what is called range brass. This is brass that other people have left of the ground. Technically, we are all supposed to do our best to clean-up after ourselves. Some people do not. I usually take a look around and if there is something useable, I pick it up. I always pick-up more than I take and the rest goes into the recycling bin. More on this later too.

A word of warning, ultra cautious shooters warn that this is a potentially dangerous activity. We do not know the history of the brass and it could be ‘wild catted’ or out of specification in some manner. My take on it is that these are shooters that are just lazy. They shoot and then they leave. If you are not willing to pick up your brass, I highly doubt that you are going to reload, let alone wildcat. I suppose that you can tell I feel like the risk is very minimal.

Some people take this pursuit to a different level. They pick up and take all brass, whereas I only take brass for calibers that I own. They will clean and resell brass at places like gun shows. Sometimes, they do some sort of hobby reloading business and reload the brass. The fact of the matter is that the gun club does the exact same thing. They sort through the recycling bin by caliber and resell in the pro-shop at a good rate.

For rimfire cartridges and damaged casings, these can be sold for scrap. The going rate is $1.75/lb. It doesn’t take long for this to really add up to some real money. The gun club donates all of that money to youth shooting sports that use the facility for practice and events. The truth is anyone can do this too.

This was my haul last trip. There are almost 400 rounds of .223 Remington/5.56 NATO in there. I am seeing $5/lb for straight off the ground brass to $50/250 for cleaned and prepped brass. I guess what I am saying is that it is worth the effort to pick it up. Within the mix I have crushed cases, crushed necks and some really difficult primers to remove. So not every case is usable, but that is OK because I don’t have anything invested into them anyway.

The US military picks up range brass too. Some of that is sold back into the marketplace as ‘once fired’ brass. This is a lot of what you find if you are looking for anything that is not new. People buy it off of surplus sites and then count it, rebrand it, etc. A lot of it is also shredded and sold for scrap. But you can see how much more valuable the cartridge cases are based on the paragraph above.

I think is worth mentioning that not all cartridge cases are brass. They can also be made of steel or aluminum and now plastic has just been introduced into the market. None of those can be reloaded, so I just throw those into the recycle bin. All metals have a scrap price, so they are still worth money.

End Your Programming Routine: I am waiting for my replacement rods to come from Lyman. I have bent several of them messing with .223. I also broke one pin and bent the heck out of another on my Lee Universal depriming die. I am hoping that this is just me learning to feel how to do it, but if I can get powder and primers, I can make ammunition much cheaper than I can purchase it retail. But, since I don’t have a load worked up yet, I will just do the case prep waiting for the consumer market to catch up with inventory.

October 6, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

October 6, 2022 /

It turns out that an air rifle needs more lubrication than once every forty years. I purchased some a few weeks ago to attempt to ressurect my Daisy 840. Looking at the problem more carefully, I definitely have a seal problem. I noticed while I was messing around that the cylinder was not holding air. Within two minutes, the air chamber was empty.

My initial impression was that things were fine. When I got the rifle from my parents about ten years ago, it was still charged to my surprise (big firearms violation on me?). It was probably set at my parents house for 20 years unused so it is hard to say who left it loaded but it wouldn’t surprise me if I did.

Of course, I haven’t messed with it much at all since I decided to upgrade to the Crossman Legacy 1000. Only when I was doing my velocity testing and I got extremely erratic behavior did I start to wonder if I had a problem.

It is pretty simple to figure out where to put the oil. Where it say “Oil Here” seems like the right place. As to how much, I really don’t know but a good rule of thumb in firearms is that you can always add more, don’t get carried away. Not only are you wasting lubricant with too much but it often causes more dirt and grime to collect on the surfaces that the oil touches.

Those of of you that are not familiar, not all oil is the same. The tube on the left is the general purpose lubrication that I used on my Daisy. The oil on the right is a special type of oil for spring and pneumatic guns. It turns out that you are supposed to add 1 or two drops every 500 rounds into air chamber. Supposedly, I need a third oil that is for my Crossman Legacy.

To date, I have not been able to save the Daisy. The truth is, I don’t know that it will come back. My brief looking is that these Daisy parts are obsolete. So, it very well may be that the seals are damaged beyond repair. I am hoping that if the oil sits a little bit of time on the seals that they will re-swell to work again. So far, it has only been a week but no dice.

End Your Programming Routine: It might be too little, to late for the old Daisy. I kind of hope not but it really has become obsolete in my fleet. To be sure, I am going to pay more attention to my newer air rifles, hence why I bought the different lubrication products. This represents about $10 of care, I think that it is money well spent.

September 29, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

September 29, 2022 /

Rolling around to another Thursday, today I am going to finish off the conversation that I started last week on the ballistics of my reloads for .357 magnum. This was my first trip to the range with my chronograph. Look at all the junk I have to take, I am thinking of getting a larger range bag since mine is chronically full.

Since I provided the raw data last week, I am going to skip entering it this week. But, below I am going to provide the calculations from that data. What I can tell from the data is that charge weight makes very little difference in velocity unless it is the highest charge,

I think that it is worth pointing out a couple of things. Given the choice of charges and based on this data, I would choose the smallest load of 5.8 grains just based on performance. This actually ignores one variable that I didn’t test and that is accuracy. It is possible that one of the four charges is more accurate than the other three. The truth is, that would be the true choice. So, I will have to test that in the future.

5.8gr5.9gr6.0gr6.2gr6.3gr
Velocity9499329259431055
3 sigma327284161131168
Energy316305300312391

What I didn’t get was close to the published velocity. The data suggested that I should get 1050-1150 fps. It could be because I substituted components. I really don’t think so, but it is possible.

Now, theirs was measured on a 10″ barrel. However, I had a 16″ barrel and would expect to get similar to better velocity. To show what a difference barrel length makes, I also shot some factory .38 special on my range trip.

2″16″
17841031
27511094
37731131
47881131
57621154
67831159
77621143
87781143
97761113
Average7731122
3 sigma35117
Energy172363

What is the difference between .357 magnum and .38 special besides case length? It is pressure of cartridge during ignition 35,000 vs. 17,000 psi respectively. What I didn’t say with this data is the bullet is slightly lighter at 130 grains. Granted, this is a lighter bullet but the equalizer number is the energy.

Looking at the energy of 363 ft*lbs for .38 special versus 391 ft*lbs for .357 magnum I would deem this load as inadequate. Energy and velocity are not everything there is something to be said for accuracy as well. At least on the surface, I am definitely not getting the full potential of .357 magnum with this load combination.

If you remember a pound of powder is 7000 grains. And if I loaded 100 rounds averaging about 6 grains each for 600 grains I still have 90% of a pound left. It is good enough to make plinking rounds but given the choice, I would look for another powder.

End Your Programming Routine: I have done this exercise with several different powders and bullet weights. So, expect more of this in the future. Given our current state of reloading component shortages, it is unlikely that I am going to readily find a replacement to try any time soon. Of course, I am going to focus on what I currently have to get the most information on what I have on hand. I found the process enlightening, I hope that you did.

September 22, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

September 22, 2022 /

If you listened to my podcast on Monday, then you got a sneak preview to what I was going to talk about today. After all of these years, I am finally getting around to testing some of my reloads. I needed/wanted some validation data before I resumed doing any further reloading.

Now, I don’t know if you have been aware of what has been going on the last couple of years but in case you have been in a hole, reloading components are really hard to find. Fortunately for me, I loaded this ammunition in 2017. The challenging part is that replacing it is going to be challenging with the lack of components. Listening to Gun Talk the other day, I heard that some powders won’t even be made for another year. Good luck finding primers too. Fortunately, I have some of both.

What was my setup? Well, here is my source for my loads, the Hodgdon website.

My starting point is the second line, but I included the first line for comparison. I can’t possibly inform all the nuances of reloading today but you should know pushing a lead bullet too fast can cause barrel fouling. I interchange bullets sort of willy-nilly as long as we are talking about the same type bullet construction. My rule is as long as the weight is the same and it is copper jacketed, it should be safe to load with published data. If using lead bullets, make sure you are not using jacketed load data to start with until you have some idea of what you are doing.

Not everything is perfect. The cases I used were mixed head stamp instead of Winchester, the bullet I used was a Speer 158gr hollow point instead of a Hornady XTP (also a jacketed hollow point) but the powder was Hodgdon Universal and the primers were Winchester.

I have another secret, I also mix and match primer brands with starting point loads. This is not an endorsed reloading best practice. You can find tables ranking primer ignition and granted, I am not an expert but we are in a time when you have to work with what you can get. My best guess is that you might effect accuracy or not be able to duplicate published data but I really have my doubts that changing primer brands is actually dangerous.

The way I initially choose my starting point loads was to cross compare powders that work across multiple cartridges. I also look at multiple sources, availability and so on and pick a direction. I literally wrote down a list of powders that would work and went to the store to see what they had. Lest you think that you can buy this stuff online – you can. But it has to ship under a specific HazMat banner so it costs quite a bit more for small quantities. Purchasing local is almost always the best deal, but again this is a matter of getting it or not.

I load 100 cartridges at a time. So in this case, I loaded 20 – 5.8 grains, 20 – 5.9 grains, 20 – 6.0 grains, 20 – 6.2 grains and 20 – 6.3 grains. I fired all of them and measured the velocity. I am working on my 1000 round trigger job concept and my rifle is not even sighted in so I just shot for velocity measurement.

There are two other variables to consider. One is the barrel length. Mine was fired out of a Rossi 92, 16 inch barrel. In theory, this should give the highest possible velocity compared to a shorter barrel. You can see the published load used a ten inch barrel. The other is the outside temperature. This day was a smoky 80 degrees. In theory, the warmer the outside temperature, the more velocity you are going to get. It has to do with the theory of reaction, gas/pressure etc. You don’t want any more science today.

Without further adieu, here is the raw data.

Since I have given you all of the tools to calculate the results, you can go ahead of me if you like. I am going to save the analysis for next week and I will let you in on a secret, I am withholding some information that will be helpful on my overall prognosis. Nevertheless, what is presented is the basic starting point looking at the data.

You did listen to my podcast on Monday didn’t you? You will see that I have some values highlighted in red Those to me are the outliers. You will also notice that I have some blanks, those were the results of missing the chronograph. Since you listened, you know my theory and how I am going to handle them next week. I will give you this week to catch up and listen to the podcast.

End Your Programming Routine: This is the culmination of years of kind of stumbling around in the dark. My next planned range trip I have a very similar exercise planned with a different powder. As a scientist, I can only make educated decisions with data. I don’t know how far I can actually take this given today’s shortages but I will probably have enough data to decide to keep looking at components or work on dialing the current ones in.