MacBook Pro Upgrades

Three years ago I bought my wife a 13" MacBook Pro (mid-2012, MacBook Pro 9,2). For the time it was an excellent system, with an i5 CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB hard drive. However, she's been complaining lately that it runs slowly.

I checked it out yesterday morning and sure enough, it felt sluggish, even more so than my mid-2009 MBP with a Core 2 Duo CPU. However, my machine has 8 GB of RAM and, most importantly, an SSD. It was time to upgrade her laptop.

Based on my experience upgrading several older Macs and PCs, a solid state drive (SSD) is the single best performance-enhancing hardware upgrade for an older machine. SSD's have vastly better read/write times than spinning disk. In laptops, SSDs also improve battery life because they draw less electricity.

My plan was to first cleanup the hard disk, then upgrade the OS on the machine, clone the hard disk to an SSD, then upgrade the hardware.

To clean up the disk I ran OnyX. Next, I upgraded the machine from Yosemite to El Capitan. In my experience, Yosemite was a real turd, giving me a lot of grief on my work machine. When I was stuck with it I had a lot of instability issues that I didn't have with earlier versions of OS X. El Capitan seems to have fixed that.

While the upgrade to El Capitan was proceeding, I went to microcenter.com and ordered a few items for in-store pickup to complete the upgrade:

• An 8 GB RAM kit from Crucial
• A Crucial 480 GB BX200 SSD
• An external enclosure for the OEM hard disk, so that it can be repurposed as a Time Machine drive.
• A Kingwin USB 3.0-to-SATA or IDE adapter. I have an older adapter that supports USB 2.0, but since USB 3.0 is becoming more common (and is supported on my wife's laptop), I felt it was due for a replacement.

(The links go to Amazon. I bought them from my local Microcenter because I wanted to get this done in one day.)

I installed the RAM first and fired up the machine. It still felt a little slow so as expected, the spinning disk was the main reason.

To clone the OEM disk to the new SSD I downloaded and installed SuperDuper, which I have used previously to clone Mac disks. My wife had less than 150 GB used on her disk, but even using a USB 3.0 interface, cloning it took one hour and 16 minutes.

The physical swap was straightforward, although I had to grab my precision screwdriver set with Torx bits, because Apple used T6 screws to hold the hard disk in place.

The machine performs much, much better now. Cold boots are much faster and applications launch with very little lag. My wife should get several more years out of it.

Shot the Samick Sage A Little More Today

This morning I took my daughter to go see Star Wars Episode VII. No spoilers, just go see it. It's awesome. After lunch I took the Samick Sage out back for a little shooting.

It continues to impress, especially with how fast it shoots my 600 spine, 6.4 grains/inch carbon arrows.

The bow is noisy, though. Most of the noise seems to come from the limb pockets, where each limb is  held in an aluminum tray to the riser. I've read where this can be quieted down by lining them with moleskin.

After I was done shooting I added two nocking points to the string. This setup is like how my Samick SLB II longbow came. When shooting, you nock the arrows between the two points.

My daughter hasn't shot the bow yet but I hope to remedy that by next weekend.

Samick Sage Recurve Bow -- Initial Impressions

My 11 year old daughter was ready to move up to a "real" bow from her kid's bows. After doing a good bit of research, I bought her a Samick Sage 62" long takedown recurve with a set of 25# draw limbs.

Ever since getting back into archery about four years ago, the Samick Sage has the been the bow that I've seen recommended the most for beginners. It's reasonably priced at $139 and available in a wide range of draw weights. Additionally, since it uses ILF limbs, one can easily buy additional sets of limbs for a heavier or lighter pull. The limbs are laminated, with a maple core and fiberglass on the back and belly. The limbs are Fast-Flight string capable.

Each limb attaches to the riser with a single bolt, with a large knurled head. The bolts and the inserts they screw into are finished with a matte blue, and came bone dry. A couple of these parts had signs of surface rust. I wiped down the bolts and placed a drop of Tri-Flow on each before assembling the bow.

The riser is made from laminated wood with a radiused shelf. It has inserts for a stabilizer, bow quiver, and plunger rest.

I bought the Sage from Archery Pros on Amazon. They included a Hoyt/Easton stick-on arrow rest. This afternoon I strung the bow, marked a temporary nocking point on the string using some dental floss, and took it out back for its first shots.

At first I used several fiberglass youth arrows my daughter had. Half are rated at up to a 30# bow, while the others are for up to 40# bows. They flew quite well from the Sage, although shooting conditions weren't good due to wind gusts.

I then tried the Easton 600 spine carbon arrows I've been shooting in my Chinese takedown recurve. They also shot well from the Sage. The arrows had no problems sticking in my bag target from about 40 feet. The carbons fitted with Saunders bludgeon heads flew well, too.

The Sage draws very smoothly with no stacking at my draw length of about 26 - 27". There's a bit of twang on release, but string silencers will take care of that.

Even though it was very windy during my first range session, I shot the bow well. It's very smooth on draw and release. It's very tempting for me to buy a second one with 40# limbs and a Fast Flight string for myself.

As we get more chances to shoot the Samick Sage, I'll post follow ups.

Backyard Archery Plinking

Shooting arrows at a regular target is a lot of fun, but sometimes it's nice to mix it up. Previously, we've used plastic cups, balloons, and small cardboard boxes as alternate targets. This morning I cut up the cardboard tube that my last batch of Chinese bamboo arrows came in, and set them up downrange.

Last week I placed an order with 3Rivers Archery for several items, including a half dozen 125 grain Saunders screw-in bludgeon points. (Also available on Amazon here.) They are made of a hard rubber with a flat point, with several small cones protruding from the face. They have a metal core with a protruding threaded stud to screw into standard arrow inserts. I used them with my Easton carbon arrows and shot them from my 45 pound takedown recurve.

The bludgeon points are designed for shooting small game or stump shooting. The latter is basically wandering around in the woods shooting at targets of opportunity such as stumps, clumps of dirt, pine cones, etc. It's a great way to improve your field shooting skills.

Since I don't have woods on my property, cardboard tubes about the size of a Guiness pub can are a decent substitute. The arrows make a nice loud pop with a solid hit, and frequently the impaled tubes bounce around dramatically with a good hit.

I'm sold on the Saunders bludgeon points. They fly the same as my 125 grain bullet points, but prevent arrows from snaking under the grass. They do penetrate foam broadhead targets a few inches however, making a big hole in the process. They bounced off my bag target.

If you're shooting wooden arrows without inserts, 3Rivers has "Bunny Buster" small game blunts that slip over the end of your arrow.

Please note that these are not suitable for LARP use. A headshot with one of these from the 45 pound bow I was shooting today would result in a concussion or death. I wouldn't want to take a hit from one of these even from a 25 pound bow.

Receive My Second Batch of Bamboo Arrows

Today I received the second batch of bamboo arrows that I ordered from Chinese eBay seller arrowmaker2013. I ordered a full dozen this time. The appear to be identical to the first batch of 6, and shoot to the same POI at 40 feet (the longest distance I feel comfortable shooting at in my yard).

Brightly colored fletching would help me find them when I miss my target. I may raid my wife's makeup drawer to see if she has some really loud nail polish, and use it to paint the shaft from behind the feathers back to the nock.

There's a lot of cheap crap made in China, but you can get pretty darn good traditional archery equipment from there at modest cost, if you're willing to wait a little while for delivery.

Shot the Chinese Recurve Some More Today

I worked from home today and shot the new recurve bow some more during my lunch break.

I also tried the bamboo arrows that I got for my 50# Manchu bow in it. They are heavier and stiffer than the 600 spine carbons I've been shooting in the new bow, and it showed. They fly noticeably slower and POI is to the right. I'll stick with the carbons in this bow.

The grip needs a little work to better fit my hand. There's a spot that rubs the top of my right thumb when I shoot, that gets annoying. It should a few minutes with a file or rasp, and then I can touch it up with some tung oil.

But overall, it continues to impress.

Lever Action Carbines for Defense

Recently I was able to get some shooting in over a friend's house (he lives in the country). One of the guns I shot was my Rossi 92 lever action in .357 Magnum. It's a replica of the Winchester 1892, designed by John Moses Browning. Shooting the R92 got me to thinking about the practical application of this 19th Century design in late 2015, especially in light of current events.

Those of us who live in free states have unfettered access to modern defensive rifles like AR-15s, with full capacity magazines. However, if you live in a ban state such as New York, unless you're willing to break the law, no more standard capacity magazines will be available. If you're just now looking to get a defensive rifle, modern semiautos and acessories may be limited in availability.

In my opinion, a lever action is a viable alternative, even though the basic design is a century and a half old. If we're looking at a rifle for defense against bad guys (as opposed to dangerous animals) the ones to look at are those which fire handgun cartridges. Although there are several other options, if buying a levergun for social purposes I suggest that you choose one in .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .45 Colt. These are currently the most common such cartridges and are easy to reload for.

Of these three, my first pick is the .357 Magnum. Ammunition is widely available at less cost than .44 Magnum or .45 Colt, it provides effective terminal ballistics, and recoil is mild.

From rifle length barrels, magnum revolver cartridges get a big performance boost. For example, a .357 Magnum 158 grain bullet that leaves a 4" revolver barrel at about 1250 FPS will probably be doing at least 1700 - 1800 FPS from a 20" carbine. .357 loads with 125 grain bullets can exceed 2,000 FPS from a rifle! The muzzle energy of a .357 Magnum round fired from a rifle can be double that of the same load fired from a handgun.

Compared with a shotgun, lever action carbines have less recoil, smaller and lighter ammo, and greater magazine capacity (generally speaking).

Currently, the Rossi 92 is probably the most commonly available pistol caliber levergun. The Marlin 1894 is still around, but 1894s in .357 seem to scarce as hen's teeth. There are also Winchester 1894s in .357, .44, and .45 available on the used gun market, if you can find one.

Some features that I like about the Rossi 92 include:

• The 20" barreled models hold 10 cartridges in the under barrel magazine. The 16" models hold 8, while the 24" rifles hold 12 rounds.
• In the 20" barreled version, it weighs in at about 5 pounds. Even my 11 year old daughter is able to shoulder it.
• The .357 Magnum carbines have very mild recoil, even with full power loads. I've single loaded .38 wadcutters, which recoil like and sound like a .22 when fired from the 20" barreled carbine. This is great for familiarization firing for new shooters, and can also be used for small game.
• The design includes a built-in gunlock incorporated into the hammer. It is unobtrusive and is locked/unlocked with a key included with the rifle. If you want to secure a loaded rifle outside of a safe, it's one of the better solutions I've seen. IMO, it's safer than gun locks that go in the trigger guard.
• Rossi 92s are reasonably priced and readily available, although you might need to order one through a local FFL or from an online retailer. 
• While my rifle is blued steel, Rossi also makes the 92 in stainless steel. If you need a rifle for a boat or other humid environment this is definitely a big plus.

Some things I don't care for:

• There are some rough edges inside the loading gate that I need to debur. They can chew on your fingers when loading the magazine.
• Several years ago Rossi added a manual safety on top of the bolt to John Browning's original design. It feels cheap and cheezy. I removed mine and replaced it with a plug from Steve's Gunz. The gun still has the original half cock on the hammer.
• The magazine follower is a cheap piece of plastic. I replaced mine with a steel follower from Steve's Gunz.
• The finish on the wood was not only bland, but it didn't seal the wood well, either. I gave it a couple coats of Watco Danish Oil to better protect the stocks. Boiled linseed oil, tung oil, or a sprayed on polyurethane would also work well.
• Browning's design does not lend itself to easy takedown. The good thing is that takedown is rarely required. Marlins are much better in this regard.

Steve's Gunz has a good DVD on slicking up the Rossi 92s.

As an aside, Rossi's quality control can sometimes be a little spotty. Years ago I had an 1892 Short Rifle in .357 made by Rossi for EMF. It had a 20" octagonal barrel, crescent buttplate, and no barrel band around the forearm. It was a beautiful rifle but when I first got it, it gave me extraction problems. Rossi had me send it in and they fixed it, but this was a hassle. At some point I traded it off but I do regret that.

The pistol caliber lever actions give you a light, fast handling rifle that fires an effective cartridge, can be operated quickly, and especially in .357 and .45 Colt, has mild recoil. It's worth a look for home or property defense if you can't have a modern rifle.

Hanukkah, Jihad, and Gun Control

Tonight Hanukkah begins, in which we celebrate not just the miracle of the one night's worth of oil lasting for eight, but also the triumph of the Maccabees over their pagan Seleucid Greek oppressors.

Today, Jews in the West face a threat far more dangerous than the ancient Greeks, namely Muslim Jihad. After the events of the past few weeks -- the terrorist attacks in Paris, France and San Bernardino, California, only those Jews with their heads in the sand can feel safe from this threat.

The United States has historically been the safest place for Jews but with the Obama administration, this safety is being compromised every day. In his quest to "fundamentally transform" the US,  he is not merely failing to protect our borders, he is actively importing radical Muslims from the Middle East. As we saw with Paris and San Bernardino, it's not just fighting age males (who make up the bulk of the refugees) that we need to worry about. Indeed, many of their women are just as committed to Jihad as their men. These people are steeped in a culture in which they are taught from early childhood to hate Jews. They don't lose that by crossing a national border.

Jihad presents an existential threat to the West. Its adherents demand submission (which is indeed the meaning of "Islam") and do not differentiate between military and civilian targets. There is no compromise with a foe who believes that we must submit or die.

Although the US is not the only Western country which allows its citizens to be armed, it has the most robust gun culture. Jewish Americans should learn to embrace it. In doing so, they will find that many of its members are also staunch supporters of Israel.

I would remind you that "turn the other cheek" is not a Jewish concept. Western Jews must cast off their shtetl mentality and be willing to defend themselves with force, for Jihad may visit at any time, without warning. American Jews must get training, arm themselves, and get a license to carry so they can be armed at all times.

Jewish Americans also need to stop supporting politicians who actively work to make us more vulnerable. Even before the blood dried in California, Obama called for more gun control. His water carriers in the media, notably the New York Times, echoed this call, including for actual confiscation of those weapons most suited to home defense. Presidential candidate Martin O'Malley called for gun control via executive fiat, including confiscation. Hillary Clinton doubled down on her calls for gun control. So did Bernie Sanders (someone who I am ashamed to note comes from a Jewish background).

Thankfully, the American people have as a whole soundly rejected the idea that gun control = crime control. This past Black Friday broke all previous records for gun purchases, based on the number of background checks performed. It is past time that Jewish Americans get more in tune with their countrymen and arm themselves for defense, since it's been repeatedly demonstrated that the state cannot do it for them.

Jihad presents the greatest threat to the survival of the Jewish People since Nazi Germany. If we are serious when we say, "Never Again!," we'll need more than words to secure our survival. Jews must be armed and willing to fight for our freedom and our lives.


For my 2004 and 2010 Hanukkah posts, click here and here, respectively.

Chinese Takedown Recurve Bow

Continuing with my archery theme, I present for you consideration this 45 lb. draw takedown recurve bow that I bought from China Archery Supplies. It is their "Yellow Diamond" takedown recurve.  I ordered it on November 20th and it was delivered last night. (Actually, DHL dropped it off 4 houses down the block. Thankfully an honest neighbor brought it to me this afternoon.)

I decided to get this bow instead of something like the more easily available Samick Sage, because I was intrigued with the idea of a takedown bow that has limbs styled after a traditional Asian bow. In my experience with my Toth Magyar bow and my Manchu bow, the siyahs almost give you a let-off when you draw.

The bow came nicely packed in bubble wrap in a small box, along with the string and an Allen wrench to attach/detach the limbs.

As you can see in the closeups above, each limb is held on with two bolts with brass washers. There are threaded brass inserts that the bolts screw into, along with one on the back of the riser for a stabilizer or fishing reel, and two on the left for a quiver.

The riser and siyahs are some kind of lightweight wood, while the limbs are fiberglass covered with faux yellow snakeskin. It's kinda pimptastic but should be a decent natural camo.

I've been fighting off a cold the past couple of days but got out back today to get some fresh air. I'd shot my Samick SLB-II longbow and my Manchu bow earlier in the day so my arms were a bit tired, but after my neighbor brought me the new bow I had to give it a try. After assembling and stringing it I used my bow square to find a nocking point 3/8" above level to start with.

The arrows I used were some Beman 600 spine carbons that I'd bought awhile ago from 3Rivers, and they turned out to be a good match. I put about two dozen shots through it and was able to keep most of them on my small foam block target at about 12 yards. I'll probably set the nocking point on the string at 1/2" above level, since at 3/8" I got some porpoising.

The bow slings the carbon arrows at a pretty good clip and should make for a nice informal target shooting and field bow. As a takedown, it can fit into a nice small package, so it'll make a good choice to take car camping. At 45# it's powerful enough to take a deer with a sharp broadhead placed in the right spot.

I'll post more about it after I shoot it some more.

More Archery

I was able to get some shooting with my Mongol bow in every day over my Thanksgiving break. Yesterday I took my daughters out to a friend's place to shoot our bows. My friend and I did a little walking around and decided to take a few shots from about 12 - 15 yards at the woodpile he has out near his fire pit.

The arrows from his 38 pound target bow just bounced off the wood. That was not the case with the arrows shot from my 50 pound bow.

The one on the left buried itself pretty well, while the one on the right slid between a couple logs, blew through a half-rotten log about 3" in diameter, and then stuck in another log behind it. Thankfully, I was able to wiggle both out fairly easily and neither was damaged.

This bow continues to impress me as a great value, as do the bamboo arrows. With the string silencers I installed over the weekend, the bow is very quiet and still shoots fast. The bamboo arrows fly well and are rugged. I put them into the dirt several times yesterday but they remain in good condition. I have another dozen on order. Eventually, I'd like to build some with proper hunting broad heads.

Shooting my Mongol Bow with Bamboo Arrows

Back in 2012 I bought this late Mongol, Manchu-influenced horsebow from "handmadebow" on eBay. It draws 50# @ 28". The riser and siyahs (limb tips) are wood while the limbs are leather-covered fiberglass.

I've posted pictures of this bow before but these came out better.

Closeup of the riser. As you can see, it has no arrow shelf. You shoot off the hand with this bow.

The top siyah, which is rigid. Essentially, Asiatic bows like this one are static recurves. The small block of wood on the belly side of the siyah is a string bridge, and helps to give the arrow an extra little pop.

About 2 weeks ago, I ordered a half dozen bamboo arrows from another Chinese eBay seller, "arrowmaker2013." They are 28" long and I asked the seller to send arrows spined for a 45 to 50# bow. I don't know if he did any special selection or not, but they fly very well from my bow.

The arrows are well made and straight. They have some kind of varnish or shellac finish and are nice and smooth.

You can get these arrows with field points or bullet points, but I went for the 150 grain "broadheads," which have three edges. They are very pointy but the edges are dull, which is fine for target shooting.

These points should work well on small game. Or zombies. ;)

The feather fletching is glued on and also secured at the leading edge with thread. The self nocks are reinforced with thread. The thread goes up to the back of the fletching but is just decorative at that point.

I've been wanting to try bamboo arrows for awhile now. Some people refer to them as "nature's carbon fiber." They fly very well from this bow, at least as good as my Port Orford Cedar shafts from 3Rivers Archery. At about 12 yards, this is how far they penetrate into my block target:

Not shabby at all, IMO. Remember, this target is designed to stop broadhead-tipped arrows shot from a modern compound bow like my Quest Rogue. I have no doubt that properly placed arrow with a sharp broached fired from the Mongol bow would shoot through a deer's chest cavity at up to 20 - 25 yards.

Edit 11/26/15:

I shot the bow this morning after adding Mountain Man Beaver Ball fur silencers to the string. Since the bow normally gets unstrung after each session, I used some artificial sinew to secure each end of the silencers, which are just narrow strips of leather tanned with the fur on, that you wrap into and around the string. They got rid of the twang and now it's silent.

Aside from shooting the bamboo arrows, I also shot some POC cedars tipped with bodkins. It shoots both types well, but so I have a larger quantity of a matched set, I ordered another dozen of the bamboo arrows today.

Networking Lab Experiments

Today I went out and got a table to get my rack of Cisco gear off the floor. I first went to Lowe's and bought a 5 foot long folding table but it turned out to be a little too long, so I returned it. I wound up getting a Husky portable workbench at Home Depot. It seems quite sturdy and I'll probably get a good amount of use from it, and not just to hold up old networking gear.

(There's a mirror on the wall behind the Cisco gear, courtesy of our house's original owners. It'll be replaced with drywall when we redo the room.)

The power strip that everything is plugged into came from Lowe's this morning. It's their Utilitech house brand and has two USB ports for charging devices. I should be able to power a Raspberry Pi off it.

I was working on switch configuration, including VLANs, so I wanted to have more than one computer so I could verify connectivity between hosts was working (or not working, depending on how things were setup). So, I dragged out my old MSI Wind netbook, running Windows 7.

Well, something is hosed up with the networking on it so I decided to dual boot it with Lubuntu Linux. Nowadays my work with Windows is infrequent enough that fixing issues is more of a PITA than it should be, so I figured that Linux would be less trouble.

All my config work was performed using the MacBook Pro, accessing the switch through ZOC and a console cable.

Some Hands-On Cisco Troubleshooting Today

Today I got to put into practice at work some of the stuff I've been reading up on. I was configuring the integrated lights-out management ports on some HP DL360 servers, but could not access them over the network. The network engineer I work with gave me access to the Cisco 4948 switch that the servers are connected to, and I experimented with port speed and duplex settings to no avail.

I pulled up the running config and noticed that the VLAN trunk port from the switch back to the Juniper MX480 router we're using was misconfigured. The original port config looked like this in part:

interface TenGigabitEthernet1/49
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 100-103
 switchport mode trunk

It should have looked like this:

interface TenGigabitEthernet1/49
 switchport trunk allowed vlan 100-104
 switchport mode trunk

Difference in bold.

In other words, van 104, which carries the iLO traffic, wasn't being trunked back to the router, so it wasn't accessible from anywhere else on the network. As soon as I added vlan 104 to the trunk port I was able to ping the iLO ports from outside that vlan.

I have to say, I feel pretty good about myself for catching that.

Cisco Lab

The equipment I ordered to use in my CCNA studies arrived yesterday. As expected, the switches and routers show some wear but overall, they look to be in good shape. The 12U rack is new and went together without too much trouble. It came with a bag of 8x32 rack screws.

I mounted the three Catalyst 2950 switches at the bottom. Incidentally, the auction description said that they would be 24-port switches, but as you can see from the picture, I was shipped 48-port units. I suspect that's what the seller had handy.

Because of how Cisco designed the 1841 router case, I mounted them backwards in the rack so that I have easy access to the ports. I decided to leave 1U between them for routing the power cords. I still have room for a couple more devices such as a server or a 1U power strip.

ASSuming I get the CCNA, if I go on towards my CCNP I'll probably replace at least one of the 2950s with a Layer 3 switch that can route traffic between VLANs. That's a little while down the road, however.

I plan to fire up everything after work tomorrow.

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

One of the challenges of a career in IT is keeping up to date and learning new skills. For the past 14 months or so, I've managed the primary lab/data center at my employer's corporate HQ, but have relied upon a couple other guys to handle the network. I'd like to take over the network, which mostly runs on Cisco equipment. So, I decided it's time to get my CCNA certification as a way to get my feet wet.

For texts, I went with Wendell Odom's CCNA Routing and Switching 200-120 Official Certification Library. Additionally, the Free CCNA Workbook site has a variety of lab exercises to do.

Although I'll be able to work on real equipment I felt it would be prudent to learn on gear completely separate from my lab network. My first step was to download and install the GNS3 router emulator on my laptop. I was able to find some usable Cisco images by exercising my Google-fu.

But I also wanted physical hardware to bang on. eBay is full of used Cisco gear. This post on Reddit was helpful in deciding what to buy (and what to avoid). Using that, I ordered a kit off eBay containing three Catalyst 2950 switches and three 1841 routers, plus various cables and T1 WICs, and a desktop rack.

One thing you need when working on initial device configuration and sometimes for troubleshooting is a console cable. Most laptops no longer have a serial port, so I and my coworkers have been relying on USB-to-RS232 adapters, mostly the Keyspan USA-19HS. However, I recently found FTDI chipset based USB-to console cables and got one of them. So far, it's been working fine in OS X Yosemite and El Capitan.

The Framers of the Constitution Accepted Private Ownership of Fully Armed Warships

One of the canards trotted out by anti-gunners after every mass shooting is that the Framers could not have envisioned the power of modern weaponry, so that the Second Amendment does not protect civilian ownership of "assault weapons." All you need to refute that argument is that the Framers did indeed accept the private ownership of military weapons is to point out Article One, Section Eight, Clause Ten of the Constitution:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
...
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Emphasis added.

So what is a Letter of Marque and Reprisal? Essentially, it was a government license to attack, capture, and sell enemy ships. The letter of marque is what distinguished a privateer from a pirate. In order to do that, you need an armed ship yourself. Letters of marque weren't issued to US Navy ships, they were issued to the private owners ships who would outfit them for privateering, including naval artillery.

In the 18th and 19th Centuries, an armed warship was the closest thing extant to a weapon of mass destruction. And we haven't discussed the private ownership of artillery on land or inland waterways, which was common through the 19th Century. E.g., flat boat-mounted swivel guns used by fur traders in the West.

So can we agree that the Second Amendment does protect the right to own military weaponry, just as the First Amendment protects your right to spout uninformed bullshit on the Internet?

Free Book Download from Sparks 31

I've been following Sparks 31's blog for awhile now, and bought his book Communications for 3%ers and Survivalists. He's decided to make the full text of that book and his other tome, The Modern Survivalist available as one PDF, for free.

https://sparks31.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/free-book-download/

It's worth a gander.

Shot My Cabela's Traditional Hawken Today

The last couple of times I've gone shooting it's involved charcoal burning and I've really been enjoying it. So, today I hit the range with my Cabela's Traditional Hawken, which I haven't shot in awhile. The rifle was made by Investarms in Italy, and is basically the same thing as a Lyman Trade Rifle with the addition of a cap box on the stock, double set triggers, and availability in lefty persuasion, which mine is. Checking the Cabela's website, it looks like they now carry a similar rifle made by Pedersoli, but not the same one I bought several years ago.

My load today was a .490 round ball, pillow ticking for a patch lubed with T/C Bore Butter, and 80 grains by volume of 2Fg Goex black powder. My rifle is a caplock, and I used CCI Number 11 caps.

I put around 20 shots through the gun. In the past I've alway wiped between shots: 2 sides of a wet patch followed by both sides of a dry patch. Today I decided to try just one side of a wet patch followed by one side of a dry patch. The wet patches were cut from T-shirt material that I'd moistened with water ahead of time and kept in a Ziploc bag. The dry patches were flannel patches sold as gun cleaning patches. This combo worked well to keep the fouling in check and I was able to load the gun easily, and allowed me to get more rounds downrange in less time.

I did experience one failure to fire. After about 10 shots the cap failed to set off the main charge. I tried a second cap but no dice. Thinking I'd dry balled, I removed the nipple and used my flintlock priming flask to dribble some 3Fg down into the bolster, put the nipple back in, and capped the gun. When I shot it, it recoiled the just like there was a full powder charge. The patent breech must have gotten really fouled, which was a first for me with this gun. (This is an example of why having a flintlock priming flask can be handy, even if you're shooting a percussion rifle.)

I shot OK today, nothing to write home about. All shots were offhand and I kept them in about a 6" group at 50 yards. I made my last shot count -- at an 8" gong which I hit squarely.

After I got home I finished cleaning the rifle by dismounting the barrel and putting the end in a bucket of hot water with a drop or two of dishwashing soap, then pumped the water through for a few minutes. This was followed up with some dry patches, then I sprayed WD-40 down the bore to make sure it was dry, wiped that out, then left it with a coat of FP-10. Petroleum-based lubes don't belong in a black powder gun's bore when you're shooting, but they are good to protect it in storage. I don't buy into "seasoning" muzzleloader bores. They are steel, not cast iron. As long as you get the petroleum products out before you load, you're good to go.

One thing I'm not happy with on this rifle are the sights. The front is a plain bead, which I could live with. However, the rear sight is awful. It's adjustable for windage and elevation but there is some slop in both the windage and elevation. Worse, the rear blade is shaped like a shallow "V" express sight. I am going to replace them with a Lyman set from Track of the Wolf that includes a fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear, also with fiber optics. Far from traditional, but now that I'm in my late 40s seeing plain metal sights isn't getting any easier.

After dinner tonight I removed the rear sight. This involved removing the elevation screw, driving out the roll pin on which the sight leaf pivots, then removing the two screws that attach the base to the barrel. One of the screws stripped so I had to drill it out and use a screw extractor. I used my mill for this. Here is how I used the drill chuck to apply downward pressure on the screw extractor held in a tap wrench.

I ordered the replacement sight set along with several other items from Track, and expect to get them towards the end of next week.

TNW Suomi SBR

Back in April I e-filed a Form 1 to turn my TNW Firearms M-31SA Suomi into a short barreled rifle. BATFE approved the Form 1 on July 19th, but never emailed it to me. I logged into atfonline.gov last week, and lo and behold, it was sitting there in approved status.

Friday night I engraved the receiver and then cut the barrel to 12.4”. I used a hacksaw to cut it off a little on the long side, then put the barrel in my lathe where I faced and crowned it. The Suomi barrel is about 19.5mm in diameter, so it just fit through my lathe’s 20mm spindle bore.

Before:

 

After:

I touched up the muzzle with some Birchwood-Casey cold blue, and it’s a pretty close match to the TNW phosphate finish.

Aside from looking correct, it now balances much better. It’s not nearly as muzzle heavy and actually handles pretty well, even though it’s heavy.

I was going to shoot it today but about 2/3s of the way to the range I realized that I had forgotten my range badge and key. Hopefully I’ll be able to put some rounds downrange through it next weekend.

Ted Cash Capper

One of the challenges of using a caplock muzzleloader in the field is finding a convenient way to carry your percussion caps. If you keep them in the original tin you need to handle individual caps every time you load. This risks dropping the small caps and spilling the tin.

Shortly after percussion caps came into use in the 19th Century, people developed cappers, which hold a number of caps. They can be as simple as a piece of stiff leather with holes punched in them to hold the caps, or can be elaborate spring-powered affairs.

This brass capper by Ted Cash Mfg. is simple and holds up to 75 caps.

In the picture above you can see a cap ready to be placed on a gun’s nipple. To get it into that position you press the L-shaped button sticking out the bottom.

To open it, slide the catch on the lid down so it disengages from the pin. This allows you to put in up to 75 caps and shows the simple mechanism.

I’m planning to keep this one in the Finnish gas mask bag that I’m setting up as a hunting pouch to go with my Euroarms Magnum Cape Gun. It’ll also be useful with my Cabela’s Traditional Hawken and Thompson-Center Renegade.

Note that this style capper cannot be used with percussion revolvers because it can’t fit into the nipple recesses in the back of the cylinder. An inline capper or other capper made for revolvers would be required. E.g., this one.

The workmanship is very nice on this capper, with a nice polish. I’m planning to let it develop a natural, non-glare patina. You can find them at various black powder suppliers or on eBay, which is where I bought mine.