Category Archives: Firearms

These are our BOOM STICKS!!!!

Signs of Hot Reloads

by Woodsbum

Because I ran some ladder tests and worked up some reloading information for my 45-70 that I was going to post on Wednesday, I felt that it would be prudent to post information regarding the signs of hot reloads and excessive pressure.

The following video covers this quite nicely and has some really good examples of extremes to look for.

Here is another video that goes over pressure and how to evaluate hand loads.

This video discusses how to take listed reloading data and check to ensure you have not exceeded the maximum powder charge.

PMR 30

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by Woodsbum

By luck and good fortune I ended up getting a Kel-Tec PMR 30. This pistol is a full frame, ultralight weight pistol in .22 WMR. The magazines hold 30 rounds a piece and total weight of the pistol and 2 full magazines is around 1.5 lbs. Unfortunately, this pistol is very difficult to find for Kel-Tec production cannot keep up with demand as of yet.

I picked up this pistol as a lightweight way to carry protection while backpacking. Although the PMR 30 only comes in .22 WMR, it does make up for the lack of stopping power with lots of firepower via those 30 round magazines. Stopping a bear, cougar, drugged out thru-hiker, or rabid squirrel might cause you to use all available rounds considering the calibre so it definitely isn’t really for truly stopping a dangerous critter. I look at it more as both a deterrent and way to get small game while on the trail. This little guy will work perfectly for small game, signalling if I am injured (3 quick shots), and even piece of mind that I have a way to defend myself from a distance.

Normally, I shoot off anywhere from 300-500 rounds out of a new firearm before I get to feeling confident in it’s capabilities. Due to weather and time commitments I was only able to shoot off about 200 in my PMR 30 this last weekend. I will report the following observations, however:

I found that you have to be really careful when loading the magazines. If you get just a little off the spring will bind and make it almost impossible to fully load the magazine.
The magazine spring is VERY tight. It actually felt best when only loaded with about 25 rounds. It functioned flawlessly with 25 rounds loaded where as it actually stove piped with more than 25 loaded.
It is very accurate, shoots quite smoothly, and the trigger feels really nice for a stock firearm at this price.
Plinking with this pistol can become quite addictive and fairly expensive compared to .22 lr. I pick up bricks of several hundred .22 lr for about the same price as 100 .22 WMR.

If I was to give a thumbs up or down on this product, I would definitely give it a thumbs up. The fact that there is nothing on the market that is comparable being ignored and just speaking directly from the functionality, fit and form it really is a nice firearm. Kel-Tec makes a fine firearm and does a great job in their designs. Many traditionalist gun enthusiasts tend to bash their designs. There is no wood furniture on any of their product lines. They use a lot of polymer. The way that their actions work is also less than traditional on many of their product lines. When looking at the PMR as it sits and not comparing it to anything else, it does just fine and is quite likeable.

PMR 30

As you can see from the picture above there are also little cutouts in the magazine to show you how many rounds you have left. Each cutout equals 5 rounds. The safety is ambidextrous and is easy to click off with either left or right handed grip.

One of the nicest features are the sights. The front sight is a fibre insert that comes in 3 colors; red, green and white. There is a tool that you use to slip the front sight fibre out and slide a new one in. Also included in the box is a very interesting trigger lock mechanism. It comes with an odd key that I have yet to totally figure out. Supposedly it goes over the trigger and guard in some fashion and then locks. All this is included in a nice case with the foam cutout in the shape of the pistol and magazine.

At an MSRP around the mid $400’s, I feel that this pistol is really a decent deal. I purchased mine for $368, which was a great deal considering it was new in box. The shop actually took it out of the shipping container and broke the seal on the Kel-Tec box right in front of me to inventory it before selling it to me.

Now that I have owned 2 Kel-Tec firearms and shot several others, I will say that I am quite impressed with their product line. Purchasing one of their firearms without having handled it would not cause me the least bit of anxiety. Also knowing that they refuse to build their company via debt also impresses me. They could have received loans and build their new plant to increase production by financing via debt, but they did not. Until they had the capital to pay cash for their expansion Kel-Tec just maxed out production via 3 shifts a day and ran 7 days a week. In today’s volatile political climate with regard to firearms, they did not want to potentially put the entire company at risk. Even though it has made it where they cannot match demand for the product, they have done what they could to get their guns into the hands of consumers.

Coupling the fiscal responsibility that this company shows with the innovative designs and high quality, I really am a fan of Kel-Tec firearms. Even more so, I am a fan of this full sized pistol that gives me 60 rounds of .22 WMR in only a 1.5 lb package.

Backwards Bullets

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by Woodsbum

For years our family has used hollow based wad cutters pressed in backwards as a defensive pistol round. Many people try to “poo-poo” this as ineffective and a novelty load that has no place in today’s world of firearms. I ran across this video that really shows the effectiveness of inverting a bullet as a defensive load. The creator of the video does not call it a “defensive load,” but that is how I perceive this being used.

Interestingly enough, in this video you will see the creator use a normal .308 bullet and not some hollow base, cast bullet for demonstration. I would think that the hollow based, cast type bullets would definitely end up damaging the target much more.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Now that I am set up as well as I am for reloading again I will do a few posts on my own loads and creations in the future. Keep checking back.

Bullet Yaw

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by Woodsbum

I got into a discussion the other day about bullet yaw and how people tend to forget this very important effect on accuracy. For some reason a lot of Rifle Range Commandos think that their 100 yard shot and accuracy will automatically translate into the ability to shoot at distance and that any long range inconsistencies MUST be because the “shooter can’t shoot.” There is just so much emphasis spent on tactics and CQB training that any engagement 200 yards or more is lost. This truly is a sad thing because 200 yards is really not that far to shoot.

One factor that seems to be completely overlooked is bullet yaw. Imagine a perfectly thrown football. The axis of the spin bisects the end point perfectly in the middle and the ball travels in a direct line. Now imagine if you taped several quarters on it to cause the balance to be off a bit. The ball’s flight would resemble a wounded duck as well as the the actual path that the ball traveled being modified. Think about the old “spit ball” in baseball. Additional weight would be added to one side of the ball before being thrown to create an unpredictable flight path.

To put this into a “firearms” type perspective, I give you the following example. Everyone that has been around guns knows about the tumbling effect of the .303 British. The way that the bullet almost tumbles in flight, enters the target sideways, and even seems to almost have a curved flight at times is and extreme example. This article here explains bullet yaw quite well and even has some really good graphics. The following picture helps to illustrate the way that a bullet may travel if is not spinning perfectly.

Because the yaw has not had time to truly affect the flight path at shorter ranges, an incorrectly weighted bullet may not seem to have problems until the distance stretches out past 150 yards. The farther the bullet travels, the more factors associated with the bullet’s trajectory will become apparent. This explains why most long range shooters spend the extra money on premium bullets and reload their own cartridges. It takes out a lot of the variables that mass production ammunition battle during the manufacturing process.

Here is a good video that shows how yaw affects a bullet’s flight.

In conclusion, I really want people to realize that the yaw can really modify the bullet’s path over distance. Take some time and study ALL aspects of how a firearm functions, ammunition works and how bullet paths are established. You should not just focus on one portion of this hobby. Just because someone shoots .25″ groups at 25 yards from the prone position with their $5000 sniper rifle doesn’t mean that they can use that exact same setup to push out past 1000 yards. There are just too many factors in play to make those sorts of assumptions. What it all comes down to is quite simple. Practice and test out your equipment BEFORE you need it and ensure that it will perform properly at whatever range you want to claim yourself to be effective at.

Pittman Robertson Act

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by Woodsbum

With the amount of hate posts I see on FB concerning hunting due to the dentist harvesting a lion, I find it completely asinine. Due to a lack of education among the general population, people somehow think that all conservation programs are funded by some “Money Fairy” or by income taxes. It truly is a shame that these “do-gooders” don’t think or research a subject before they start protesting.

To help educate people a little bit about the source of funding with regard to conservation and wildlife programs, I have put together this post on one huge contributor.

The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (Pittman-Robertson Act) took an already existing 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition, gave control over to the Secretary of the Interior, and had it redistributed to the states based upon various factors which include number of hunters. This money must only be used by the State’s fish and game department. Any use of the money must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Such projects such as research, surveys, wildlife management, habitat, land acquisition for hunting and leasing of land are all acceptable uses of these funds. To break it down simply, it must be used for conservation and wildlife management programs.

A years progressed additional taxes upon handguns and archery equipment were also included in the Act with half of that money going to education and training programs.

Since adoption of this Act over 2 billion dollars in funds were collected in the first 50 years. States are required to match the Act’s funding at a 25% State/75% P-R fund ratio. The states matched over 500 million in the first 50 years of the Act. These funds were mainly through hunting license sales.

Although hunters, firearms users, and archery enthusiasts pay for almost all the conservation programs in America recent estimates show that over 70% of the people using the benefits of these programs are not hunters nor do they contribute via taxes or licenses. Some areas these figures are as high as 95%.

Here is a short video about this Act and the benefits we have seen from this program.

As you can see from the video and any research you might have done on your own, this act is almost single handedly responsible for the conservation and preservation of wildlife resources that we have today. If it was not for this Act we would not be able to enjoy the animals we see in nature nor would be be able to responsibly harvest these animals for personal consumption.

For those that do not hunt, buy guns/ammunition or purchase archery equipment: The next time you see someone that makes a firearm/archery/hunting license purchase treat them with the respect that they deserve. You may even want to quit being a freeloader and make some of those type purchases yourself if you enjoy seeing the natural beauty of America and love all the wildlife that it holds.

For those of you who do contribute through your purchases: Keep it up and since these freeloading “do-gooders” would never thank you I will…. Even though my wife thinks my purchasing single handedly funds our Fish and Wildlife Regional Office I know the $1k’s I spend annually are only a drop in the bucket……