Twenty-Two Palooza

This weekend I got to the range with a few .22 pistols:

• Ruger 22/45 Lite
• Ruger SR22
• High Standard R-100 Sentinel

I'd recently remounted a Bushnell TRS-25 red dot sight on the 22/45 and it needed to be zeroed. It wasn't too far off at 7 yards so zeroing it didn't take long. However, my plan is to do the final sighting in at 25 yards. The piece ran flawlessly through a mix of CCI Mini Mags, Federal Game Shocks, and Remington Golden Bullets.

Next up was the SR22. The last time I shot it I had a few rounds which required more than one hit on the rim to go off. That's not terribly unusual with .22 rimfire ammo but the SR22 seemed to be a bit more prone to it, so I gave it as thorough a cleaning as possible with removing the breech block from the slide. Unfortunately, I had a few rounds which required more than one hit, both Federal and Remington. From what I can tell, the SR22 would benefit with a slightly stronger hammer spring.

Finally, I put a few different types of .22LR through the High Standard that I bought a week previously. These included Aguila Super Extra and CCI, both standard velocity, Remington Viper Hyper Velocity, and Remington Golden Bullets. 

Except for the final cylinder, I shot the Sentinel single action. It whacks the case rims with authority and I had no failures to fire. It seemed to give slightly better accuracy with the standard velocity ammunition.

I only put 9 rounds (one cylinder-full) of Vipers through the H-S. After a few shots the gun became more difficult to cock as the cylinder rotated. I think what happened is that on one round brass flowed back and was dragging. When I went to eject the empties it required a lot of force, unlike the other types of ammo. So, no more Vipers for that gun.

I really wish someone could design a small framed double action .22 revolver that would be reliable without a ridiculously heavy DA trigger pull. My medium-framed S&W Model 18 has a tolerable DA pull but if someone was able to come up with something smaller that reliably ignited rimfire ammo and had a similar DA, they'd have a real winner. And no, the Ruger LCP ain't it.

As an aside, I've had positive experiences with Remington Golden Bullet .22 ammo manufactured in the past 6 or 7 years. Overall in my experience, CCI has been the most reliable .22 rimfire ammo, but in the 5 years or so prior to their bankruptcy, Remington really improved the quality of their .22 ammo. I hope that now that Remington ammo is back in production the quality will be high.

My Remington 550-1 and Nylon 77 rifles both shoot Golden Bullets really well. Also, they are loaded noticeably hotter than CCI Mini Mags. I haven't shot any game with them but a friend gave up on GB hollow points for squirrels because they are too destructive. To paraphrase, "They blow the guts out."

Today I spent a little time playing with my Beretta Model 71 "Jaguar," and found a used factory 10 round magazine on eBay for the Model 73, 74, 76, and 101. These fit the 71 but stick out a bit from the butt. The price was about $70 but for a real Beretta mag it should be worth it. While I had the gun out I painted the front sight with a bright green. I've been doing this on many of my pistols because it makes the sight much easier to see.

High Standard Sentinel R-101 .22 Revolver

Back in the 1940s through the 1980s, High Standard was well known for their excellent semiautomatic .22 pistols. Many serious bullseye shooters favored High Standard autoloaders.

Less well known were their revolvers, introduced in 1955. Rather than going into their history here, I encourage you to read this nice article by Ed Buffaloe. After reading that and another article on RevolverGuy.com, I decided to get one for myself.

As I started my search I ran across numerous blog and forum posts about the Sentinels, the vast majority of which were very positive. Among other well known shooters, Skeeter Skelton, Mas Ayoob, Elmer Keith, and Chic Gaylord liked and spoke highly of them.

Hickok45 has a video about the Revelation Model 99 that belonged to his father. It's simply a rebranded High Standard.

Revelation was a house brand of the old Western Auto store chain. They resold guns from several makers under this brand name. Sears did the same thing with the J.C. Higgins and Ted Williams brands.

Last week I found a 1950s-vintage Sentinel R-101 on Gunbroker at a gun store in NJ. I waited until the end of the auction and was able to get it for the asking price. After I called the dealer to arrange payment he overnighted it to my local FFL, where I picked it up yesterday morning.

I photographed it next to my K-Frame S&W Model 18-3 for scale.

The steel 3" barrel and cylinder, and the aluminum alloy frame of my revolver are nickel plated. The plating remains almost entirely intact.

Looking it over I could tell that it had been barely, if ever fired. There was no powder or lead fouling on the gun and the front of the cylinder lacked the telltale black marks of a gun shot with lead bullets. The cylinder has no endshake and locks up tight. Timing is perfect.

The rear sight was damaged at some point, with the right corner being chipped. This doesn't affect usage but I may replace it anyway.

Upon getting it home I dismounted the cylinder and grip, then hosed out the action with Rem Oil and compressed air, then relubed it with G-96 CLP.

This video on YouTube details basic takedown of the Sentinels and really shows the clever nature of their design.

Further disassembly isn't needed unless it's to replace a part. The action is held together with pins, so it can be challenging to reassemble. In other words, don't, unless you really need to do so.

I put around 60 rounds through it last night at an indoor range at 10 and 7 yards, shooting Federal Game Shock high velocity .22 LR 36 grain hollowpoints. The single action trigger pull is excellent, probably breaking at no more than 4 lbs., with no creep. The double action pull is another story. As expected it's heavy, probably about 14 lbs. but at least it's smooth. As I understand it not much can be done about the DA pull without affecting the SA pull. I regard this as a single action revolver with emergency double action capability.

Groups with the Federal ammo were nothing to brag about. .22s in general can be very finicky as to what ammo they'll shoot well so I plan to try it with a variety from my stash.

It also shot about 1" to 2" high. Numrich Arms has replacement front sights, one of which I may order and modify in my milling machine to take a taller blade. I'd like to see point of aim and point of impact coincide at 10 yards.

According to a scan of an owner's manual that I found here, they were factory sighted for 50 feet, although they don't specify the type of ammo used.

The revolver functioned perfectly, delivering good hammer strikes to the case rims. Unlike a friend's Ruger LCR in .22 LR, it does not seem prone to being easily short-stroked, which will cause a misfire.

Before I fired the High Standard I put 70 shots through my S&W Model 18-3, also in .22 LR. The Smith is a higher quality gun but the cylinder holds 6, compared with 9 in the HS. It also has tighter chambers than the HS, so even though the Sentinel holds half again as many rounds, ejecting spent brass from the Model 18 requires more effort.

The Sentinel is just a little smaller than a S&W K-Frame but it's noticeably lighter due to the alloy frame. I tried it out in a Pacific Canvas and Leather shoulder holster made for S&W Victory Models. It's a little loose but it fits and the strap will hold it securely in place.

As noted at the beginning of this post, the High Standard revolvers were generally well thought of by some experienced handgunners as well as many others. Last year, Diamondback Firearms introduced the Sidekick, which is a Western-styled DA/SA revolver like the old High Standard Double Nine. In fact, the Sidekick appears to be based very closely on the High Standards and has the advantage of shipping with two cylinders, one for .22 LR and the other for .22 Magnum.

I expect this High Standard Sentinel to make a nice little gun for plinking and woods bumming.

New Stocks for a S&W Model 10-5

Continuing a theme from previous posts, today I installed these Uncle Mike's rubber Combat Grips on a pencil barreled S&W Model 10-5 .38 Special revolver. The piece previously had a set of Pachmayr Gripper Pros on it. The new grips fit my hand better.

Uncle Mike's no longer makes these grips, which for awhile came standard on several Smith & Wesson revolvers. I found this set on eBay.

Yeah, pretty as a mud fence, but comfy.

New Stocks for my S&W Model 18-3

I recently posted about putting new target stocks on my S&W Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiece .38. I also have an example of the Model 15's understudy, the Model 18, chambered for .22 Long Rifle.

For years, I've had a set of Uncle Mike's Boot Grips on the Model 18. They are functional but not aesthetically pleasing. About a week and a half ago I found that Herrett's Stocks had some smooth Honduran rosewood target stocks for sale on their eBay store, so I ordered a set.

What an improvement.

They look about a million times better than black rubber and fit my hands well. I took the gun to the range last night and it was a joy to shoot with them.

K-Frame Grip Adaptor on an Uberti Bisley

Last week I was on the BK Grips web site and saw his comment stating that his K-Frame adaptors may fit Colt Bisleys. I decided to give it a try and order one. I figured if it doesn't fit I can always put it on a K-Frame.

A few days later I was rummaging around the midden and ran across a Pachmayr K-Frame adaptor that I'd known I had but didn't remember where I put it. (Doesn't it always work that way?) I had to give it a try on the Bisley, and hot damn, it fits!

Last night I took the Bisley to an indoor range. I was pleased to see that augmenting the grip did not change the point of impact, nor did it make the gun uncomfortable shoot. I'll be leaving this grip adaptor on the gun.

When the USPS deigns to deliver the adaptor I'll put it on my S&W Model 1905, 4th Change Target Model.

Range Trip Today

I got to the range today with my Keltec RDB 17 rifle and Ruger GP-100 revolver.

I've had the RDB for about 4 years. It’s a neat rifle in that it’s an almost fully ambidextrous bullpup semiauto chambered for 5.56mm. Some of the early production RDBs had teething troubles but mine was made after they were worked out. I have at least 500 rounds through it with no malfunctions.

Anyway, I put a new scope on it this week and wanted to zero it. The scope is a Primary Arms SLx 2.5x compact. For a defensive rifle 2.5x with a wide field of view is very fast on target at close range while still providing a little magnification for distances out to a couple hundred yards. Since it’s a prismatic optic, I am able to see the the reticle clearly even though I have astigmatism. The reticles in most red dot sights are not perfectly clear for me due to that.

The scope has a range finding reticle usable out to 600 yards. I doubt I’ll shoot this rifle any further than 250. The instructions say to zero at 50 to get a point blank range of 300 yards.

Even though it was daylight I used the reticle illumination feature because I was shooting at black targets. The illumination lights up the reticle in red, so it had nice contrast with the targets.

My initial impressions of the scope are favorable. It has clear glass, tactile clicks on the adjustments, and a nice reticle. One thing I failed to do beforehand (and I should know better) was to tighten and Loctite the two screws that hold the scope to its base. Naturally, they loosened up after about 40 rounds. I had to dismount the scope, Loctite and tighten the screws, and remount it on the rifle. Luckily, I had both Loctite and the correct tools in my range bag. I was able to rezero the scope in 6 shots (two 3-shot groups).

After finishing up with the Keltec I went to the 25 yard line and put 50 .38 wadcutters through the GP-100. I recently replaced the trigger and hammer springs with reduced power springs from Wolff so I needed to verify it was working properly. I used my handloads of a Hornady 148 grain HBWC on top of 3.0 grains of Bullseye sparked with a CCI small pistol primer. CCI primer cups tend to be harder than other makers’, so if it reliably ignited them I know the gun is dependable. All 50 rounds went off as expected.

I was pleased to see a fellow club member teaching a couple younger guys who were out for their first time shooting. (By “younger” I mean teens or early 20s.) They were shooting a suppressed S&W M&P .22 pistol. The guy instructing was a Russian Jewish immigrant and it’s always good to see a fellow MoT at the range, especially when he’s introducing new shooters to the sport, and especially with an NFA item.

New Stocks for my S&W Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiecet

One of the perks of having a father who is a S&W revolver aficionado but prefers Hogue grips, and who lives around the corner, is that he has a drawer full of OEM S&W revolver stocks. I was at my folks’ tonight for dinner and grabbed a set of K-Frame target stocks with the speedloader cut.

They show a good bit of finish wear but structurally they are solid. I previously had a set of Pachmayr Gripper Pro rubber stocks on the gun. Even with the exposed backstrap they were a little large for my small hands. The wood grips fit me better.

Before asking Dad if he had any of these gathering dust I looked on eBay and holy crap. Grips in this condition would probably bring over $100. NIB examples are closer to $180 now.

This Model 15 was the first good centerfire handgun I ever bought, and will be the last to go. It’s what I learned to be a competent pistol shot with. About 25 years ago I was at the range with Walt Rauch and he put a cylinder through it. As he handed the gun back to me he said, “Yup, the K-Frame is G-d’s gift to handgunners.”

SwissQlip Pocket Clip for Swiss Army Knives

Over the years, I've owned several multitools from Gerber, Leatherman, and Victorinox. However, for my needs I've found that a Swiss Army Knife is far more useful and easier to carry.

For my needs, a SAK is also more useful than a pocket knife that's just a knife. I  use the other tools on a SAK as much or more than the cutting blade.

I've carried several SAKs, starting with a Victorinox Pioneer that I bought around 1981 for $13 at Herter's Cutlery at the King of Prussia Mall. (This was the first knife I bought and I still have it.)

One thing I haven't cared for is how SAKs eventually wear a hole in my pants pocket. I've found a couple solutions to that.

The first is attaching the knife via its keyring to a short lanyard looped around a belt loop. I made the lanyard just long enough to hold the knife vertically in my pocket. The lanyard has a plastic clip that allows me to easily detach and reattach the knife to it. Naturally, this requires the use of both hands but the SAK needs that to open any of the blades or tools anyway.

More recently I discovered the SwissQlip, an add-on pocket clip for most 91mm SAKs. (Check the list of supported SAKs at the link.) It attaches to the knife using the keyring's mounting hole, after you remove the ring.

I installed one on a Victorinox Fieldmaster. Small screws like the SwissQlip's attachment screw often have a tendency to loosen, so I put a drop of blue Loctite on it before screwing it in.

I've been carrying the Fieldmaster fitted with the SwissQlip now for a couple months and it works well, with a couple caveats.

First, it does block easy access to the tweezers. To get the tweezers out you need to use the toothpick to pry it up to the point where you can grab it.

Second, it also blocks access to the package hook unless you use something else like a small screwdriver to pry it open. This I don't care about since I have never used the package hook on any of my SAKs.

I'm willing to put up with these two things because overall the SwissQlip makes the SAK easier to carry. It's held securely to my pocket and has just the right amount of tension to keep it in place while still remaining easy to reinsert into my pocket.

I haven't found that the SwissQlip gets in the way when using the knife.

At $20 it's not exactly cheap but it is well made and functional. It's a worthwhile addition to a SAK.

Shoulder Holster for the Cimarron Model P

I ordered this shoulder holster for my Cimarron Model P last week from an Etsy shop. I was originally planning to get something from El Paso Saddlery but their lead time is months and this was worth a shot for something more readily available, and for under $100. (I have no affiliation with the seller.)

The reason I wanted a shoulder holster is that due to my body type, belt holsters tend to drag my pants down. (That's a fancy way of saying I have a beer gut and no butt.)

It came in today and for the money I’m quite pleased. The ammo holder was a separate item. It’s intended to be worn on a belt but I’m planning to keep it on the shoulder strap, similar to how the WW2-style shoulder holster for my Victory Model was setup. The .44-40 rounds are very tight in the cartridge loops, so I’m going to leave the rounds in there to see if the leather stretches a little. I may put some neatsfoot oil on them.

The shoulder strap has holes punched in it for length adjustment, and it's secured with a Chicago screw. I’m going to add a second one to keep the excess from flapping and for extra security. I’ll give the whole thing a coat of Snow Seal or Montana Pitch Blend leather dressing. The fit of the gun in the holster is very snug. It carries vertically and there’s a hammer loop for additional security.

Maker's mark stamped on the back:

I might add a leather loop to secure the bottom of the holster to my belt to ensure that the rig stays in place when I draw.

This should work out well for use in the woods.

Cimarron Model P Old Model .44 WCF

A couple weeks ago I ordered a Cimarron (Uberti) Model P in .44-40 with a 5.5” barrel. It arrived at my local FFL and we did the transfer yesterday.

I strongly considered getting a 4-3/4” barrel, but decided on the 5.5” barrel because of my presbyopia. For me the front sight is a bit easier to see on the longer barrel, especially if I’m shooting indoors under florescent lighting.

My new gun has the “black powder” or “old model” frame, which requires the use of a screwdriver to remove the cylinder. Uberti thoughtfully includes a spare base pin retaining screw. I would have preferred a Pre-War frame with the more familiar spring loaded base pin catch but nobody had them in stock.

I should note that this gun has the original Colt-style lockwork. The only safety is the two-position base pin, and you hear four clicks when you cock the hammer.

The Uberti Bisley in .44 WCF that I got last year is a great shooter, but I find that it’s easier to quickly get a good firing hold on the SAA-style plowhandle grip than with the Bisley grip. What would be really cool would be one of these with a Bisley hammer, which is lower so it’s easier to recock the hammer.

I’m already well stocked with loaded ammo and components for .44-40, so the availability or lack thereof of ammo at gun shops not a concern.

Before shooting any gun that's new to me I field strip, clean, and lubricate it. New guns come with an anti-corrosion coating but it's usually not a good lube, and in any event, you want the bore clean. Aside from that I painted the front sight with some high-visibility green paint. Not very 19th Century, I know.

I was able to shoot the new revolver last night, and I'm extremely pleased.

The action is very smooth with a great trigger pull. I haven’t put it on a trigger scale yet but I’m guessing it’s about 3 - 3.5 lbs. and crisp. The one-piece walnut grip doesn’t have the typical red color Uberti puts on many of their guns, and fits my hand perfectly. (I have small hands so I’ve always like the 1851-Navy type grip, which is found on the Model P.)

At least on the indoor range under florescent lighting, the gun shoots a little low for me when fired with two hands. However, if I shoot with one hand it hits dead-on. Windage is perfect. I shot .44 WCF handloads consisting of a 200 grain RNFP soft cast bullet from cowboybullets.com on top of 8.3 grains of Unique. I want to try it also with some lighter loads, e.g., 7.0 - 8.0 grains of either Unique or Universal. I’ll also try it with black powder.

(I also got to shoot a Colt King Cobra. Nice gun but the DA sucks compared to S&W DA revolvers. I'll stick with my K-Frames.)

There's one thing I'm not happy with, and that's the typically soft screws that Uberti uses on their firearms. Thankfully, they were not so tight that I couldn't get them out (a problem I've experience on other Ubertis), but some show slot deformation even before I touched them. IOW, they came that way from the factory. So, once I get confirmation that it's in stock, I'll be ordering a complete set of correctly hardened screws from VTI Gunparts.

Aside from recreational shooting this will see service as a woods gun. So, I need to get a suitable holster. I’ll probably order a M-1942 Tanker holster from El Paso Saddlery. Based on my prior experience with a Tanker holster for other guns it should be comfortable.

Nice Looking .44-40 Bullet

A couple weeks ago I placed an order for 500 .430" 215 grain RNFP bullets from Matt's Bullets. They arrived today.

L - R in the pics below: Matt’s .430 215 grain RNFP, Accurate Molds 43-215C 219 grain RNFP, Desperado Cowboy Bullets 200 grain RNFP.

You can see that the bullet from Matt's has a shorter ogive with a wider meplat than the 43-215C. This may improve performance on game.

The lube on the Matt's bullet is Carnauba Red. This works great with smokeless powder but as far as I know isn't suitable for black powder. The 43-215C is lubed with my homebrew 50/50 beeswax/mutton tallow mix. It's outstanding for black powder and smokeless (at least at mild velocities). The DCB bullet on the right appears to be cast from a Magma mold commonly used by commercial casters. It supposedly has a black powder compatible lube, but it doesn't carry enough of it for use in a rifle.

All three bullets are soft, around 11 - 12 BHN. This allows them to bump up and fill the bore on my guns as long as they aren't sized too small. They don't cause leading in my guns with my loads.

I loaded 50 of the Matt's bullets in virgin Starline .44 WCF brass on top of 8.3 grains of Alliant Unique tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing how they shoot.

Assuming they shoot well, I will probably reach out to Matt to see if I can purchase a batch as-cast, with no lube and not sized. I'll then size them to .430" and lube them with SPG so I can shoot them on top of black powder. It would be nice to have a commercial alternative to the AM 43-215C that I can load on top of BP, for when I don't feel like casting to replenish my supply.

Been on a .44-40 Loading Binge

Last week I took stock of my .44-40 ammo stash and decided that it was lower than I wanted. I have plenty of components, so I got to work. Since Thursday, I put together 250 rounds:

• 100 full power black powder loads (Accurate 43-215C bullet on top of 2.2cc of Scheutzen 3Fg)
• 50 .44 Henry rimfire-equivalent loads (same bullet but 1.9cc of powder, with a 1/8" thick nitro card in between to take up the air space)
• 100 smokeless loads (200 grain RNFP from Desperado Cowboy Bullets on top of 8.3 grains of Alliant Unique)

The smokeless loads should push the 200 grain bullet north of 1,200 FPS from a 24" rifle, a bit less from a 20" carbine, and somewhere in the 900s from a revolver.

I also put together 3 functioning dummies in Starline cases with the DCB bullets sized to .430" (as they came from DCB). Previously, I'd sized them to .429". They feed and chamber just fine in all my .44 WCF guns so that's one less step I need to take with the second box of these bullets I have. I'm hoping that they'll give better accuracy as well. Groups in the rifles have been mediocre although my Uberty Bisley shot them well.

After wrapping up I ordered a 500 count box of 215 grain .430" RNFP bullets from Matt's Bullets. The design looks very similar to the Accurate Molds 43-215C so I am hoping they shoot as well. Unfortunately, they are lubed with Carnauba Red. This is an outstanding bullet lube for smokeless powder but it's not suited for black powder AFAIK. So, they'll be reserved for loading on top of Unique, Reloder 7, IMR-4227, or Herco if I can find a pound at a reasonable price.

Loading the 150 black powder rounds mostly depleted my stash of 43-215Cs, so it'll be time to cast soon. After I cast a bunch I am planning to borrow my brother's RCBS Lube-A-Matic to size them at .430" and lube them with SPG, which should be quicker than pan lubing them.

First Range Trip with the Interarms 65

Yesterday I got the Interarms 65 to my club for the first time  and tried a few different loads at 50 yards from the bench.

The first was a 200 grain RNFP from Desperado Cowboy Bullets on top of 8.5 grains of Unique. Accuracy was poor. I'll have to try both lighter and heavier charges to see if I can get them to group. Or, it might be that the rifle simply doesn't like the DCB bullet.

I ran a couple patches wet with Ballistol followed by a couple dry patches through the bore before proceeding.

Next up was my .44 Henry rimfire-equivalent load. This is 1.9cc of 3Fg black powder, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast from an Accurate Molds 43-15C mold. This gave pretty good accuracy. The flier was my fault.

Finally, I shot some of my full power .44 WCF: 2.2cc of 3Fg Swiss BP, no wad or card, and the same 43-215C bullet. Accuracy was on par with the Henry-equivalent load, with noticeably more smoke, noise, and recoil.

I put 30 rounds loaded with black powder through the rifle. I cleaned it before leaving the range using patches wet with a Ballistol/water mix (mostly water). The 5th patch came out clean. Because .44 WCF brass seals the chamber so well, no fouling got back into the action.

Between working the action at home and shooting it, plus the internal work we did, the action is slicking up nicely.

I might have to take this into the woods this Fall.

D4 Guns Lever Wrap Kit

Lever action rifles function best when you work the action authoritatively. Some more so than others, for example my Interarms 65 (a rebadged Rossi 92) really needs to be worked like it owes you money. That can be hard on your fingers, so something that cowboy actions shooters have created is a lever wrap made from leather (or paracord if you want a more tacticool look).

So, the other day I ordered a D4 Guns Lever Wrap Kit. it includes materials for doing two levers, so I wound up putting one on the Interarms and the second on my Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle.

The included instructions are OK but D4 Guns has an excellent video on how to do the stitching, which I recommend. Click here.

Here are a couple views of the Interarms Rossi:

And the 1873:

One downside is that they aren't easily removed in case they get wet. You'd have to cut the stitching and redo it. The thread is artificial sinew, like this stuff.

Interarms Model 65 (AKA Rossi 92) .44-40 Carbine

Back in May I picked up an Interarms Model 65 carbine in .44-40. It's simply a rebadged Rossi 92, which is a replica of the Winchester 1892.

The blueing is nicely done and a deep, blue-black. The wood has a dark stain that I like better than the light color of more recently produced Rossis. Wood-metal fit is acceptable.

The exterior condition and the bore are excellent, however the action was rough. This rifle was probably made in the early 1990s, long before Rossi bought new CNC machinery. Not much of attention was paid to the internal fit.

One nice touch is that a prior owner installed studs for quick detach sling swivels. They will come in handy. I ordered a Hunter Company #220-1 1" carrying strap for it. I have one on my Cabela's Hawken and like the simple design.

As typical of Rossi 92s it was oversprung. I installed reduced power springs for the hammer and ejector from Steve's Gunz.

Disassembly wasn't difficult with the assistance of documents found online and a couple YouTube videos. Reassembly, on the other hand, was a BITCH. This past weekend I enlisted the assistance of my friend N. who aside from being a shooter, is a mechanical engineer by training and generally the handiest guy I know.

Aside from fiddling to get it reassembled, we also had to debur the ejector and ejector collar. The action is much smoother than it was when I got it but to feed properly you need to work it like it owes you money. I think as it gets shot more it'll get even smoother. Since I work from home I've been leaving it out and cycling the action several times when I take breaks during the day. I've already noticed that the carrier is working better. (The action is well lubricated with oil and white lithium grease in spots.)

After we got it back together we ran 31 rounds of my black powder, .44 Henry-equivalent handloads through it shooting at a gong. That load is 1.9cc or ~28 grains of 3Fg BP, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast in an Accurate Molds 43-215C, all in a Starline case. Primers were CCI.

With the reduced power ejector spring the cases cleared the rifle easily but landed near my feet, instead of being launched several yards. The reduced power spring also make fully closing the action easier.

I'd forgotten to bring a bottle of moose milk with me so I just ran a patch with some Ballistol on it through the bore while still at N.'s, then finished cleaning it at home. I first wet brushed the bore and then after about 8 patches they came out clean. There was zero black powder fouling in the action because the thin .44-40 brass seals the chamber so well.

I'm planning to bench the rifle and see how it does at 50 and 100 yards. Because the 1892 and replicas have very strong actions, I might load up some +P loads (taking care to keep them out of my other rifles). I'm not going to get too crazy because at about 5.5 lbs. with a steel buttplate, anything much hotter than a standard .44-40 load is going to suck to shoot. (I did not particularly enjoy shooting my Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with full power loads, and eventually sold it off.)

Rossi currently sells the 92 chambered for .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. You can sometimes find them in .44-40; I found this one on Gunbroker and had it shipped to a local FFL for transfer.

Due to the simpler and easier to maintain design, if I was limited to one I might prefer a Winchester 1873 over the 1892 for a long-term survival rifle. But there's nothing handier than an 1892 carbine and it's a still very viable choice especially since the Rossis are much less expensive than the Uberti or Winchester 1873s.

Biden's Speech Today

 Key points from President Potato Head's speech this afternoon:

-We were never there for nation building. (Bullshit. That was a clear aim from the get go. IMO that was always a mistake but let's not deny history.)

-"I opposed The Surge."

-Trump's Fault!!!!111!!!

-Threw allies under the bus.

-Threw Obama under the bus.

-Terrorism world-wide, so if we leave Afghanistan it's no biggie. (Hey fuckstick, how about that WIDE OPEN southern border?)

-Human rights must be the center of US foreign policy (but our policy will be toothless).

-The Taliban doesn't have an air force. (Yo dumbass, you just gave them one!)

-Failed to address all the equipment we left behind, from M4 Carbines to Hummers and drones, which now are in the Taliban's hands.

-This is not in our national interest. On this point I mostly agree, Afghanistan is an uncivilized shithole. That said, there was no planning for an orderly withdrawal that secured our assets and allies.

-"The buck stops with me." (But the current situation is everyone else's fault.)

-No questions, not even anything vetted ahead time.

Now he's going back to Camp David.

~~~~~~~~~

We did the same thing in Afghanistan that we did in Vietnam in the 1970s: We pulled our air support for indigenous ground forces, after which they shortly collapsed.

I'd be nervous if I was in Taiwan now.

What a disgrace.

1975 vs. 2021

1975 - US evacuates its embassy in Saigon.

2021 - US evacuates its embassy in Kabul.

1975 - We are at the mercy of OPEC.

2021 - We are at the mercy of OPEC.

1975 - Inflation.

2021 - Inflation.

1975 - The Bee Gees are popular.

2021 - The Foo Fighters (!?!?) release a Bee Gees cover album.

1975 - A year before a peanut farmer wins the White House.

2021 - The resident of the White House has the mental acuity of a peanut.

1975 - Communists fought the establishment.

2021 - Communists are the establishment.

Fuck.

More Black Powder Shotgun Shell Loading

The shotguns that I shoot the most lately are a Remington Rolling Block single shot that was converted from a Swedish military rifle, and a Baikal MP-310 over-under. The Remington is a 20 gauge with a 2.5" chamber while the Baikal has 12 gauge 3" chambers.

Most of the ammo I've been shooting has been black powder handloads with fiber wads in Magtech all brass shells. The Remington is a BP-era gun but of course the Baikal is proofed for smokeless. The main reason for using fiber wads is because my shooting has been on a friend's property and he doesn't want a bunch of plastic wads littering his field when we shoot clays.

One reason I like loading BP shells is that it's simpler. I don't need to worry about specific wad/powder charge/hull/shot load combinations. I prepare "square loads" using an equal volume of powder and shot, as is done with muzzleloading smoothbores. In 20 gauge that means using a Lee 4.3cc dipper to give me ~62 grains of powder and 7/8 oz. of shot. I have also used that for 12 gauge, which gives a light kicking load that will still bust clays if I do my part.

Pyrodex can be loaded similarly.

Cleanup is a bit more involved with BP than smokeless, but because you're dealing with a smoothbore is not onerous. I use a nylon bore brush wet with water to break up the fouling, then sweep it out using a cotton flannel patch using the brush as the jag.

If you use Pyrodex, be advised the fouling is actually more corrosive than BP fouling, so be extra careful when cleaning.

One way to speed cleanup is after say, 25 rounds of BP loads, is to shoot a smokeless trap load through the barrel. This blasts out almost all of the BP fouling.

If you're wondering how removable choke threads might be fouled, in my experience it's not a problem. AAMOF, tonight I pulled the choke tubes from my Baikal over a week after having put 50 BP rounds through it. The choke tube threads had been generously lubricated with white lithium grease. There was no sign of corrosion, and indeed no sign of fouling on the threads.

Naturally, if you run BP or Pyrodex shells through a gas operated gun, you're looking at a complete teardown afterwards. For break open guns or even pumps, cleaning isn't bad. I imaging that bolt action shotguns wouldn't present problems when cleaning afterwards, either.

To load the shells I use the "nail and dowel" method as described by Mike Beliveau in this YouTube video. It's not fast but I can do stages in batches and I'm not blasting through hundreds of rounds.

Rather than the method of priming by driving the case down onto the primer, I also have two antique tools for repriming, one for each gauge. I've found that they work better for seating No.209 primers in modern hulls than they do seating large pistol primers in the Magtech cases. The Magtech brass seems to have tight primer pockets. That's OK, IMO, because it means they'll take longer to expand and become useless.

The antique priming tools were purchased via eBay. 12 gauge tools are pretty common but the 20 gauge are less so. I had to setup a search with automated email notifications to finally get ahold of one.

Anyway, I have a brick of Winchester 209 primers and about a hundred Remington 20 gauge empties, so yesterday I decided to trim them to length so they'll chamber in the Rolling Block, and prime them.

That was easier said than done. I trimmed them using a pipe cutter with the case slipped over a dowel for support, but it's not really sharp enough, so I had to finish each case with my Swiss Army Knife.

So last night I placed an order with Ballistic Products, Inc. for their Trim Doctor tools, which is designed to easily cut plastic shotgun hulls using a utility knife blade as the cutter. This should work better than the pipe cutter.

While I was giving BPI some money, I also ordered a bag of 500 Federal once-fired 12 gauge hulls, and suitable wads and cards for reloading both 12 and 20 gauge plastic hulls with BP and non-plastic wads. (Plastic hulls have a smaller inside diameter than the Magtech hulls so I need different wads.)

Black powder loads are hard on plastic hulls so I'm expecting to get only 1 or maybe 2 shots per hull. That's fine because using them means I don't need to worry about rinsing and tumbling them, unlike the all brass cases.

If you like black powder and you like shotguns, combining the two is fun and easy.

Mini Tool Kits

 This is an informative thread on Arfcom about mini tool kits that might give you some ideas.

This video by Brett at SurvivalComms is in a similar vein but focused more on commo:

Cycling Again

 I've been back on the bike. Actually, two bikes.

Full post over on Survival and Emergency Preparedness.