The Brown Truck Delivered

As did the purple one. And the white one too.

The package tracking app on my phone had me rushing home on Tuesday.

I took advantage of sales over the holiday weekend to stock up on ammunition and cigars. There was also a beer sample delivered that's queued up for a future review. Having everything show up on the same day was like a mini-Christmas. Also in the pile by the door was a portable propane heater to extend the back porch smoking season.

If anyone needs me, I'll be over here enjoying the fruits of online shopping.

Five O'Clock Friday: A Near Perfect Store

Add beer and we're good.

Hope you find good shopping this weekend.

Terror Alert: It's an Ammo Horde

"Nearby homes evacuated after 75 rounds of ammunition found underneath house" is the alarming headline.

The San Antonio Police Department's Bomb Squad was called to a Southwest Side neighborhood Saturday after dozens of rounds of ammunition were found underneath a home.

The ammunition was discovered on the 7900 block of Dempsey Drive, near Old Pearsall Road and Southwest Military Drive, around 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

Neighboring homes were evacuated for three hours so the "bomb squad" could do their job.

Really? In Texas? I've probably lost more than that in the washing machine.

Chronograph Troubles

Several years ago I picked up Chrony Alpha Master chronograph. Even though I don’t reload my own ammo, I thought it would be good to get an idea of power factor of the commercial ammo I buy. (Like brewing my own beer, reloading ammo is something I consider another hobby, neither of which I have much interest doing at this time.) Good intentions aside, the chronograph sat in my garage, unused.

Last weekend I went online to find the user manual and took the chronograph to the range to try it out. I set up the unit in front of a target at the berm and sat myself in a chair at about the 10 foot recommended distance.

I tested with two different guns, the SIG P239 and P226. Two different commercial ammo brands were put fired through both guns, Federal American Eagle 9mm 124 grain and Freedom Munitions 9mm 135 grain. I have previously recorded data for the American Eagle ammo through the P226 from several USPSA matches to use for comparison.

Starting out with the compact gun I was somewhat shocked by the readings, which were lower than the manufacturers’ claims. The readings were also quite varied, by as much as 50 fps between the high and low readings. Then I switched to the P226. Again, the numbers were inconsistent. But the most surprising finding was that the Chrony was giving readings that were 50 - 80 fps lower for the American Eagle ammo than the previous results from the match chronographs.

It could be that I am not conducting the testing correctly, or perhaps the equipment is not working as expected. I do have another sanctioned match coming up where I can get some more comparison data. I’ll try again with the Chrony unit in the future as well.

Despite not getting what I can consider reliable data, the testing did give an opportunity to get out to the range, even if for a short while. And that’s always a good thing.

Ammo Review - Winchester USA Forged

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Ammo To Go, asking if I'd be interested in doing an ammo review. They offered to send some Winchester USA Forged ammo, a product with which I was not familiar. Checking out the description online, I learned this was a new steel-cased ammo with conventional brass jacketed lead core (FMJ) bullets, that is intended to be a budget option for shooters.

This also put me in a quandary. I haven't and don't shoot steel cased ammo. The Tula/Wolf steel ammo we typically see is Russian-made and of dubious quality in my opinion, and that of others as well. (I also recycle my brass casings to help with the shooting budget.) However, the Winchester ammo is American-made, from a respected company, and made with what seem to be quality components. And this offer from Ammo To Go was cost-free way to learn about it.

Ammo To Go sent along 300 rounds of 115 grain 9mm USA Forged ammo, and they included a few boxes of the familiar Winchester "White Box" 9mm for comparison. Colleen and I took the ammo out to the range over the weekend to try it out. We brought along a variety guns in which to trial the ammo; a SIG Sauer P226, a SIG Sauer P239, and the Smith & Wesson Shield.

Let the testing begin

The first thing we noticed, while loading magazines, was that the coating on the steel cases rubs off quite readily, and our fingers we coated in black in short order. I believe this to be typical of steel-cased ammo. I've loaded some dirty "traditional" ammo in the past, but this exceeded anything in my prior experience. When being cleaned later, the guns seemed extra dirty, but the cleaning was no more difficult than that done after any range outing.

But our real interest was in the shooting. We started out by firing a magazine's worth out of each weapon, simply to see how the ammo fired. Since we experienced no failures or malfunctions of any type, we loaded up more magazines and started shooting our typical range routines. We did most of the shooting from about seven yards, and could see no variation from the groups we typically experience in practice. Shooting into an IDPA target from 15 yards gave me 7 hits in the -0 zone, with three just outside -- again about par for me.

I shot some of the White Box ammo to see if I noticed any difference between the two. I had an impression in my mind that the USA Forged ammo was ever so slightly softer shooting. However, when I loaded a magazine with alternating rounds, I was hard pressed to note any difference in either recoil or accuracy.

No issues there

We did not use a chronograph, shoot from a rest, or into ballistic gel or phone books for this review. Our intent was to shoot like we would at any range outing, and note our experiences. Other than the dirt on our hands, this outing no different than any other. The Winchester USA Forged ammo shot reliably and without any issues. I prefer a heavier bullet for competition, but this is a perfectly acceptable option for practice and "recreational" shooting. Searching for the steel cases in the range gravel was a bit of a challenge admittedly.

As I am sure most will agree, ammunition supplies will likely become more restricted and more expensive in the near future. Because of that I regularly purchase ammo in bulk, to stock the secret bunker, and as a hedge towards future issues. With that regular purchase routine, fluctuations in prices and stock are very apparent to me. As such I keep a watchful eye for options and price breaks, and have list of manufacturers and suppliers I check regularly. Although perhaps not my first pick, in a shortage I'd be willing to purchase the Winchester USA Forged ammo in order to keep my own "stash" full. Options are good to have, especially if you don't mind cleaning your guns.


Notice: The ammo reviewed in this post was provided at no charge by Ammo to Go. The content of the review was written with no compensation or influence from them or Winchester. The only benefit derived by the writer was a fun afternoon at the range with his wife.

Didn't Empty My Pockets After Shooting

Received this text from my dear wife...

Oops. Sorry honey, I thought I emptied my pockets. Love you!

And it was a quality round too.

Ammo Vending Machine

I thought the idea of a free beer vending machine was a great idea, but I'm liking this machine's offerings even better. It's at a range in Beaver Falls, PA.

But of guns or ammo are involved, you can be sure someone objects. Amazingly, it's some members of the club who have their knickers in a twist over this innovation.

A vending machine operated by a candidate for Beaver County Sheriff that distributes firearms ammunition is raising some eyebrows. The machine is installed inside of the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club, offering both rifle and handgun ammunition and operating in the same fashion as vending machines commonly used to sell snack foods.

The Beaver Countian received several tips from members of the Beaver Valley Rifle & Pistol Club (BVRPC), located next to Brady’s Run Park in Brighton Township, who said they have concerns about the appropriateness of using a vending machine to sell firearms ammunition. This publication was provided with several photos taken of the machine by the members.

The club’s vending machine is operated by Master Ammo Company, a small ammunition manufacturing business owned by Sam Piccinini, a Rochester Township patrolman and Republican candidate for Beaver County Sheriff.

Members of the club who are under 21 must be accompanied by an adult when they are at the club, so there doesn't appear to be an issue with those under 21 getting unsupervised access to dangerous pistol ammo. When I first heard about this, I thought the objections were coming from the hoplophobes in the public. Sounds like another case of the "I'm a gun owner, but..." rhetoric we hear so much from the anti-2nd amendment politicians. I don't understand how the objecting members can rationalize allowing young adults in the club, but at the same time objecting to their access to ammunition.

Lost & Found: Anti-Tank Missiles

Some people have all the luck. I felt lucky when I found a box of 9mm ammo I had forgotten about. These folks in Leesburg found anti-tank missiles in their shed.

No word on who lost them.

Meanwhile across the pond: This U.K. couple is so shook up they are ready to move out of their home after finding some corroded ammo their pond.

Practicing During the Ammo Shortage

If there's an "upside" to the ammo shortage, it's that it forces me to put in more efficient practice sessions. I know that I should have a plan in mind when hitting the range, but it doesn't always happen. Face it, shooting is fun, and it's easy to spend time "playing." Recently, I've forced myself to have specific drills in mind before arriving at the range. The upcoming VA/MD Section match is also inspiring some focused practice time.

A couple weeks ago I hit the range with 200 rounds in hand, and spent the entire session using a timer to practice a quick, reactive draw followed by two shots on target. I did this from 7, 10, 15, and 20 yards. My main points of concentration was a smooth trigger pull without losing sight focus. I paid a lot of attention to the difference in timing and acceptable sight picture at the various distances.
Goal: Better stage starts and accurate first shot.

Another recent drill was a shorter, 100 round session. Despite the low round count, I felt there were great benefits. I set up two targets and a steel plate. The first few magazines were used working on hitting the plate from the draw at 20 yards. I still need to do more work but I was very happy with the hits that day. The rest of the practice was spent transitioning between the two paper and the steel target from about 12 yards, which is a good median distance.
Goal: Accurate hits when moving between targets; on both the exit and arrival targets. And more confidence on steel.

Last week I had planned a session to work on movement, but the range was muddy and under water in places. So I again set up the two USPSA targets and a low 8”steel and found "high ground" at about 15 yards. The drill was run starting with a timer, putting two on each paper and finishing with one on steel. I did 30 iterations, firing a total of 150 rounds. It was an exercise in slowing to hit the steel. I had to concentrate on making that last hit. I purposefully went extra fast on paper to emphasize the change in focus needed for the steel. The holes in the paper reflected that; about a third of the hits were in the C zone.
Goal: Adjusting speed to reflect target size and better target transitions.

All of these sessions were low round count and were done in 30 minutes or so. They were fun and, hopefully, beneficial.

And yes, sometimes we still just play.

Silver Bullets

I haven't seen any werewolves in these parts lately, but these silver bullets are intriguing nonetheless.

The Northwest Territorial Mint offers Silver Bullion in 1 ounce .45 ACP "bullets." These bullets aren't actually live ammunition, but are investment-grade .999-fine silver. Larger calibers such as .50 BMG available as well. Be sure to watch the interesting video at the link on the making of the bullets.

Note: This post is not meant to be an investment recommendation, nor am I in any way affiliated with the seller. I just find this to be an interesting object of desire.

HT to zercool.

Real Bullet Bottle Openers

Face it, beer bottle openers made from ammunition are a natural fit for Musings Over a Pint. So when the folks at RealBullet.com offered to send along some samples of their product, I was happy to open a couple beers with Real Bullet bottle openers to try them out.

The 50 Caliber Bottle Opener is made with a .50 BMG casing and bullet. This large opener makes quick work of opening a bottle with its hand-sized leverage. The .308 Bottle Opener does double duty as a keychain. I always keep a bottle opener hooked to my keys — just in case. I like the conversation starter aspect of these bullet bottle openers, so I think I'll add the .308 to my keyring. I just need to remember to remove it if I have the misfortune to get on an airplane!

Real Bullet also make bullet necklaces in a number of calibers, if you're a jewelry wearer. (Sorry guys, I posted this a little late for Mother's Day shopping.) There's also a 50 caliber pen available that might be just the thing for your range bag.

Note: I received the two bottle openers as review samples. No compensation was received for this post.

Practice Session

As noted in my previous match report, I seemed to have succumbed to some sloppy shooting recently. In the rush of competition I was not staying focused on the sights completely through the trigger press. As noted also, I was going to fix that issue. So after work recently I headed out to the range for a short practice session. (Gotta love the longer daylight hours!)

Setting up a lone USPSA target at 25 yards, I put 75 rounds downrange. After each shot I decocked the trigger, so all the shots were from the long double action pull. I didn't take a lot of time waiting for a perfect sight picture; pausing only long enough to get the sights back on an acceptable sight picture to call it in the A zone.

I started out a little low and left. That's from jerking the trigger and is the issue what I wanted to fix. It didn't take long to get myself focused in again and the shots started finding the center of the target. I was happy with what I got done in this practice session. I only expended 75 precious rounds, and every one of them was shot with a specific purpose in mind, making use of limited ammo resources. And it was still fun.

Package Misdirected

The package was shipped to me from Greenville, MS on March 20. I finally arrived here in Fredericksburg, VA on April 2. Here's the route it took according to UPS tracking: Greenville, MS → Memphis, TN → Roanoke, VA → Portland, OR → Laurel, MD → Fredericksburg, VA.

Interestingly, there was no scan of the package when it left Roanake, nor was is scanned when it arrived in Portland. It was off the grid until it departed Portland. The box was a little worse for wear, and in fact was torn open with the contents exposed. Fortunately none of the precious metals inside went missing.

Trigger Time, Finally

I hadn't bothered to unload the target stands and other supplies from my vehicle after the unsuccessful range trip earlier in the week. So, when Friday morning arrived sunny and warm, I grabbed the gun and ammo and headed out to see if I'd have better luck on a weekday morning. Sure enough, the park was empty; just me and the geese on the pond. For the first time since the Quantico match, I was able to get in some live fire practice.

A good portion of my range time this day was spent working on my draw and first shot. I set up at about 10 yards and repeatedly drew, using a timer, and fired one shot. At the start of the practice, I noticed I was repeatedly hitting the same pasted holes in the C zone, just out of the lower left corner of the A. Putting some extra attention on keeping focus on the front sight through the shot helped with that.

I also set up one target as a barricade and practiced shooting from both sides with the targets placed so I needed to make an extreme lean to see them. I often struggle in matches with similar setups, but rarely think to practice that situation. I also put some time into strong and weak hand only shooting. The upcoming match at Fredericksburg is a classifier match, so it's a good bet that one-handed shooting will be prominently featured.

Of course, all this mostly one or two shot practice, left me itching for the fun of just letting loose with some fast shooting. So I finished up with some 10 round Bill Drills, shooting as quickly, but controlled, as possible. It's fun sure, but it's a valid training tool too!

My brief and solitary trip to the range was a great way to start off my three day Easter break. It was good to finally shoot, and to get outside to enjoy some actual Spring-like weather. And if that fun morning wasn't enough of a treat, when we arrived home from the Good Friday service at church that afternoon, I found a delivery of long backordered ammunition sitting on my porch! It really was a "good" Friday.

About That Ammo Shortage

I'm long overdue for some range time. Between a busy schedule and inclement weather, the opportunity for live fire practice has been nonexistent. However, Sunday afternoon I found time to load up the car and head over to the range. Despite Spring "officially" arriving, it was cold outside. A rain and snow storm was approaching, and there's a widely reported ammunition shortage, so there would be no problem getting on a range. Right? Wrong!

As pulled up to the gate I heard rapid fire of something large caliber coming from the rifle range. In addition I could see several cars at one of the pistol bays. Okay, I thought, looks like I'll use the small, and often muddy, pistol bay. No sooner did I unlock the gate when I heard the crack of a .22 from that range. Pulling through the gate I could see a bunch of cars parked at this bay as well. I drove through the park and saw the waiting lines at each bay and came to the disappointing conclusion that there would be no shooting for me today. Interestingly, there was no one using the shotgun range, despite shotgun ammo being in plentiful supply. (Note to self; always pack the shotgun heading to the range.) As I exited the gate, there was a long line of cars still streaming in.

I've been answering a lot of questions recently regarding ammo sources and availability. Fortunately I've had fair success in finding reasonably priced pistol ammunition, and in building my stock. Nonetheless, I was still shocked by range attendance on Sunday.

In summary,
It was quite cool outside.
A rain and snow storm was approaching.
There's that widely reported ammunition scarcity.
And still the ranges were filled beyond capacity.

It just goes to show, those who desire to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights are a dedicated, and resourceful, lot.

Cheaper Than (Gold Bearing) Dirt?

I was doing my morning Internet ammo scavenger hunt when I came across this gem:

Cheaper Than Dirt earned the ire of many shooters when they pulled online gun sales and raised their prices manyfold in the wake of the Newtown shooting. I bid them farewell based on their new ammo pricing structure alone. However, I am a firm believer in capitalism, so it's their right to sell for what they want, and for what they can get.

People are free to spend their money as they wish. It's that "can get" part of the equation that really irks me. I'm still buying ammo, and I spend a lot of time looking for it. However, I refuse to pay such exorbitant prices. And I hold those who do partially responsible for the ridiculous prices. $1.09 per round for 9mm target ammo is pushing the envelope, even in today's market, in my opinion. I've long held that if people would stop buying products promoted via spam email, the spammers would stop sending it. The same thing applies here.

I'm going to check back on this link in the coming days. I really hope I don't see a sold out message anytime soon. (And yes, with some diligence, you can still buy 9mm ammo for less than $20 for a box of 50.)

UPDATE: In the 24 hours since I wrote this post, Cheaper Than Dirt has RAISED the price by $5.00, to $59.59. (New screenshot)

Which Might Be More Useful?

This product is real: 

This one is not (yet):

Those Ammo Hoarding Feds

From Overheard in DC:

Don't mess with Feds 

During the afternoon commute from the Navy Yard on a northbound Green line train:

A mixed group of federal employees gets on the train, continuing the conversation about how hard it is to find inexpensive ammunition these days, what with everyone buying out the stores' supplies these days, etc. 

The nicely-dressed woman in the group says "it wouldn't be a problem if you idiots packed your own damn ammo."

Is the ammo hoarding by DHS creating tension on the metro?

Shades of Brown at the Range

I made it over the range for a while last weekend. It was a sunny, but still cool afternoon. Despite the relatively nice weather, I didn't expect a long wait to shoot. It seems to me that folks are shooting less, and holding on to what ammo they have available. The small pistol bay was open when I arrived so I set up a couple of USPSA targets in the dappled shade of the leafless trees. The berm dirt pile was recently refreshed and the dirt blended well with the targets and the trees in the background.

I had packed just 100 rounds so that I was not tempted to go through a large quantity of ammo. Rationing and wise usage are the keys to getting through the current scarcity. I know that if I have the rounds with me, I'll shoot them. I began stocking up for this season's matches before the shortage turned extreme, so I'm in pretty good shape for at least the start of the local USPSA season but still mustn't be frivolous. Gone are the days of blowing through 200-300 rounds in an afternoon at the range.

Most of the shooting I did was from about the 10 yard line. The majority of time was spent working on target transitions; shooting both the lower and upper A zones, both while standing still and on the move.

My solitude was briefly interrupted when another club member come up to talk. We chatted a bit about ammo supplies and prices. I noticed he had a bucket in hand, and eventually he wandered over to where my brass lay, and remarked "You don't want your brass, right?" Well, as a matter of fact, I do. Move along friend.

I noticed during my visit that work is progressing on the long-awaited third pistol range. That's a welcome sign. I am sure the current ammo supply shortage will turn around eventually and the ranges will once again be crowded with happy shooters so more space will be a good thing.

As I emptied my last box of ammo, I noticed I did have a couple of partial boxes in my range bag, so I gave in and shot just a little more. I was having a good session, so extending my session was certainly justified.

Hitting the Range While It's "Warm"

It's been a few weeks since we were able to get out to the range for a little ballistic therapy. I think the last time I did any shooting was at the Steve Anderson class. I am ashamed to admit that I even skipped an opportunity to shoot a couple weeks ago when the temperature climbed to a mere 21°. Cold has never stopped us before but that time I cried "Uncle" and stayed indoors.

This week we were joined by friend "Checkered Flag" for a short range session. We've had a spell of extremely cold weather recently, so when the temperature rose to a balmy 48°, I expected the outdoor range would be very crowded. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire park was empty when we arrived. Perhaps the ammo shortage is affecting folks' plans to shoot. In our case it did indeed affect how long we stayed and how we practiced.

We set up these colorful paper targets to give lots of options. We started out doing a bit of shooting on the move. Instead of the typical movement forward or backwards, and left or right, we concentrated on oblique movement. Aiming for the center zone, we moved forward and back, at an angle, repeating in all directions. With all the stationary dry fire I've been doing recently, it was good to refresh a bit with some movement typical of what I'll encounter in USPSA matches.

Next we moved onto one of our favorite drills, color shot calling. Colleen was the "caller" and she would call out a series of 2-4 colors; "red blue" or "yellow blue yellow" for example. We would draw and put one shot on each as directed. There was no time limit but we would shoot as fast as we could get an acceptable sight picture.

After one of our breaks to reload magazines, I suggested we try some long distance shooting. This time to used the lower black squares and shot from the 25 yard line. This was the first time I've done any long-distance shooting since I put new sights on my gun and I was pleased with the results.

We ended the day with everyone doing some free shooting on their own. I decided to work on strong hand and weak hand-only shooting for a bit.

Soon we were all looking at empty ammo boxes. I had purposely brought only a limited number of rounds. Despite firing less than 200 shots, I was very happy to get in a good, if short, practice. It was more of a refresher session than learning anything new. We made good use of the time and limited ammo, but fun the fun certainly wasn't limited!