Day 4 of 4, 45 Caliber and Leg Match

Before

Little things:

• John occasionally brings sweets -- donuts, cupcakes, etc. -- but won't touch them himself until the match is over;
• Younger shooters (that's younger than 50 or so) are more passionate in their frustration and can become borderline reckless if their handguns jam more than once -- keep an eye on them;
• Renold usually has a tune going in his head as do I and, passing close to each other on the way out to the targets or back, we hum aloud to compare notes, but adopting his tune doesn't help me shoot as well as he does;
• Most of the High Masters have a lot of upper-body strength, often from childhood, but there are significant exceptions so it's not a requirement for that level of performance, just a help;
• Couldn't see a double on someone's otherwise excellent target one day, scored it as a miss, didn't change my story when the shooter pointed out a slightly elongated hole, he challenged it (for a buck), the jury agreed with him, then I re-scored it but possibly gave him too much thereby apparently compounding my faults -- like a shot in the five ring, "it happens," and all you can do is move on;
• The conscious mind can only think one thought at a time but Bullseye requires a skilled coordination of observations and actions -- it can be a long road for those who insist on "figuring it out" because that path forces no more than one step at a time;
• I feel an odd tension around Bill -- we're too much alike, perhaps, even though we appear to be quite different;
• Bob will move up and out of Sharpshooter land after today -- good, because he's shooting Master-level scores which sure knocked me out of the run for one of those new pistols, the prizes for this competition;
• I'll need 90+alibi rounds of wad for the 45 competition today, plus 30+alibi of ball for Service Pistol team and another 30+alibi of ball for the Leg Match;
• I lightly cleaned the wad gun last night so it's ready; and
• Yes, my shoulder and grip are both tired but no more so than yesterday or the day before -- I'm ready.

Let today's matches begin!

After

I won't have the complete scores for a day or two but, at this point, I know how I did, and it was "extremely well" on this last day.

Here are my scores across all four days of this annual event:

Service Pistol	681-9	75.7%
22 Caliber	823-15	91.4%
Center Fire	773-12	85.8%
45 Caliber	811-17	90.1%
2700 Aggregate	2407-44	89.1%
3600 Aggregate	3088-53	85.7%
22 Team	unk.	unk.
CF Team	264-2	88.0%
45 Team	275-8	91.7%
Service Pistol Team	220-1	73.3%
EIC Leg Match	252-4	84.0%
Everything	4099-68 *	85.4% *

* will increase slightly with 22 Team score

After four days of shooting a 900 plus one or two NMCs in each day, my technique has settled down considerably.

Significantly, in both of those final NMCs, I think my performance was just about the same but for the Leg Match, I had changed to some ammunition given to me many, many months ago by John Zurek. This change seems to show the gift ammunition flying substantially better than what I had used just moments before.

About this gift ammo John Zurek had said, "Save this for a Leg Match. It's really good stuff."

And I've had it sitting in the supply cabinet for, what, maybe a year now? A while back, I tested a scant 10 rounds in the Ransom Rest and they printed within a 1.5" circle at 50 yards. Oh yeah, that's good stuff!

So today, I used another 30 of those rounds for the Leg Match.

As I released each shot, I called it and then looked in the scope. The truth of John's words looked back at me because practically every shot was on call. And while it's true I still messed up a couple of them, when the Leg Match was done I had a very respectable score.

With that, I also learned that the ball ammunition I had been using in the Service Pistol matches, both individual and team competitions, simply did not get along with my ball gun. At least some of the blame for the dismal Service Pistol scores goes to the ammunition / gun mix. They just don't get along.

I have ten rounds of the "good stuff" left and I'll have to figure out what to do with them. Certainly I'll be measuring them with calipers every possible way I can think of. And ultimately, they'll probably get fired from the Ransom Rest again but this time with a chrony in front and then a virgin target way out at 50 yards. Whatever I get from all that will be both my starting point and my goal in developing a ball load.

Yes, there's a lot to be done.

But looking back at the last four days, it's been absolutely wonderful.

• I shot some really good targets in a major competition with 60+ shooters.
• I renewed acquaintances with shooters from California and Colorado, and made new friends with others from as far away as New York state.
• From the preliminary numbers, it would appear I placed very well within the Sharpshooter ranks -- I think I came in second in that (my) classification.
• I had quite a few very good trigger releases and have a very good idea what that should feel like, and a very good idea of how to make it happen more often than not. In other words, my "shot plan" has received some careful honing and is working substantially better than before.
• I learned that I need to develop, not buy, a ball load that flies well from my ball gun. (The "White Box" ammunition John Zurek gave me as a gift is over twenty years old and is no longer being made. I have only those ten precious rounds left from which to begin my efforts.)
• I had a really fantastic time!

Here are today's pictures. (Click for bigger versions.)

John Zurek Visits Don Plante's Tailgate Store

Corps Camraderie

Marines

Fresh Target

Jeannie Verifies Her Score

Jams Didn't Fluster This Marine

On To The Next Target

Meeting of the Minds

Enjoying the Day

Move 'Em In

Renold Schilke Scores a Target

Parent Spectators

Spouse Spectators

Ron Scores a Target

Quick Repair

View from the Tower

On Break

Day 3 of 4, Center Fire

Before

Today and tomorrow are the days in which my concentration -- and repetition -- need to be at their best. I will do the same things as yesterday but with a more challenging gun.

Today we shoot the individual Center Fire matches in the morning, and then the team Center Fire and team 45 matches after lunch.

Many shooters use the same gun for Center Fire and 45 for economic reasons. I'm no exception. My wad gun started life as a Springfield Armory Mil-Spec but has then been "matured" with a carefully fitted Kart competition barrel, trigger job, slide to rail adjustments and a red dot sight. The resulting race horse shoots extremely well when fed and handled correctly and, especially for the latter, that's today's challenge.

My ball gun will go along for the ride today for two reasons. First, it's my backup in case the wadder becomes disabled in some way. Secondly, the trigger has to be weighed and, if it passes, the gun tagged before the EIC Leg Match tomorrow. The Marine gunsmith who makes that determination is available today (and tomorrow).

Yesterday in the 22 matches I succeeded in finding the precise finger placement that resulted in neither a left nor right "flick" of the barrel when the hammer was released from the sear. Simultaneously, I had many successes in maintaining a solid but unbiasing and unchanging grip so that, again, as the hammer was released from the sear, my grip was still pressing squarely with no rotating pressure that would have "flicked" the barrel left or right, nor up and down for that matter.

In addition, well after I had assumed my 90 degree stance and brought the pistol up and then settled down into the aiming area and took up the slack on the trigger, I then focused my attention on the dot, started the trigger and then patiently "watched" the wobble and, when it lessened as it always does and the dot was deep in the aiming area, the shot broke and I mentally noted the dot's "o'clock" position on the target but immediately returned the dot to the center of the aiming area and held for several more seconds. I then lowered the gun and verified through the spotting scope the new hole in the target where I had placed the shot. And on the few occasions where it was not where I'd called it, I analyzed what I had done wrong -- finger too deep into the trigger pushing the hole left, rushed the shot to "get it over with" rather than simply observing the process as it developed before my eye, etc. -- and re-rehearsed my shot plan so I'd return to it on the next shot.

Today and tomorrow, I simply have to do that again, and again, and again.

The shorter barrel of the wad gun (5 inch) as compared to my 22 (S&W Model 41 with the 7 inch barrel) means that those "flicks" will be all the more sensitive to my attentions today.

I will, therefore, need to be most diligent in my concentrations.

Today's mantra, since my body follows this shot process almost completely without conscious guidance, will simply be

Ohhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... [Bang!]

After

I was wrong.

The number one lesson in Bullseye is pressuring or moving your trigger finger straight to the rear ... and not changing your grip pressure while doing so.

I broke that rule big time today and paid the price.

My Slow Fire scores were 80-0 (started good, went downhill), then 64-0 (hideous) and 67-0 with that three point rise due to finally, on the last shot, figuring out how to move only my trigger finger to break the shot.

But, well, the good news is that I did eventually figure it out. Every target from there on, the Timed and Rapid Fire targets in the NMC and their own matches, were all in the 90s including a 97-3 in Rapid Fire.

So, by the time the Center Fire segment was over, I was ready to shoot Slow Fire -- Oops, too late!

I finished with 773-12, well shy of the 810 mark that would bump me up into Expert category I've been eyeing on the horizon. And it is unlikely I'll recover enough points tomorrow to bring my average up to that level for the 2700.

And to be honest, with the "oops" that butchered most of this morning's Slow Fire targets, it seems clear this Sharpshooter still has a lot to learn.

But it wasn't too late for some measure of redemption because after lunch we shot team Center Fire and team 45 NMCs. With the trigger issue figured out, I was ready and since my scores could make or break those of the team, the pressure was on.

In the Center Fire team, one round of my ammo wasn't up to snuff; it was the fifth round in the first string and it failed to fire, probably with a high primer -- I've been getting one of those about every 200 rounds. In the alibi, I only partially regained my concentration and ended up trading my initial three tens and an X for four eights. That brought my score down eight points on that target!

But regardless of that, I was pleased because the Slow Fire targets in both team competitions placed me in good stead with my teammates. I had done my part fine.

Toward the team total in Center Fire, I contributed 264-2.

And for the team in 45, I added a couple to those lost eight and ended with 275-8.

As before, here are some pictures from today. (Click them for larger images.)

Squadding Chart

Another Day

Lots of Stuff

Tony "Stat Man" Silva

John Zurek, Jim Henderson, Adam Sokolowski (Left to Right)

Art Pimentel Watches an Alibi (I shot with Art at the Sunnyvale Club)

Chock Full O' Marines

Day 2 of 4, 22 Caliber

Before

The Plan

• 6:00AM Up: One cup of regular coffee while surfing the net and reading the newspaper (online).
• 6:30AM Breakfast: oatmeal with a pat of butter, one hard-boiled egg with pepper, a small can of low sodium V-8 juice.
• 7:00AM Shower and dress for cool weather, lined bluejeans same as yesterday, fresh but similar thick cotton shirt, sweater with jacket on top.
• 7:20AM Pack gun box with primary (S&W Model 41) and backup (Ruger Mk III) 22 pistols with their respective ammunitions (CCI Standard Velocity in the plastic box and Federal Gold Medal Match 711B) in sufficient quantity for the 900 and the follow-up team competitions plus enough for alibi strings (120 + 30 rounds). Also take a small can of the low sodium V-8 juice.
• Switch to Northrop Grumman baseball cap for today. (I wore the Bill O'Reilly "No Spin" cap yesterday.)
• 7:30AM Drive to range in rush hour traffic.
• 8:30AM First shot.
• Before the NMC: Drink the V-8.
• Lunch: Probably a nearby Subway with some of the other shooters.
• 1:30PM 22 team competition NMC.
• Approximately 2:30PM Done. Record scores and head home.

After

Friday the 13th didn't bother very many today. The weather was gorgeous, there was practically no wind, and by midday, most had shed their jackets and sweaters.

Scoring Targets (Click picture for larger image)

Starting at 8:30AM, two relays totalling almost 60 shooters shot the 22 caliber 900 before lunch. And beginning at 1:15PM, nine (9) teams completely filled the line for the team 22.

I was with one of the home club teams in the afternoon and shot 277-5, one point better than my individual NMC this morning with 276-5 but the morning also included my best ever Slow Fire, 94-2.

Also in the morning but in the second relay where I helped out along the line, one of the groups of military had reliability problems with their armory-issued S&W 41s and I'm quite certain every Timed and Rapid fire target had an alibi, often with three or four shooters from their ranks.

After the NMC but before starting the Timed match, they described their problems which boiled down to not enough "oomph" to reliably extract the spent round, clear it from the gun, pick up the next round cleanly and seat it fully into the chamber.

"Maybe some ammunition with a little more pizzazz would help," someone said.

"Try oiling the top round so it seals better in the chamber and gives a stronger blow back," another suggested.

While the last of the NMC targets was scored, shooters from the first relay offered up ammunition and cans of oil to the afflicted shooters and, although these measures didn't cure 100% of the problems, the alibi strings and number of shooters in each was significantly reduced.

My score?

Why, thank you for asking. I shot an 823-15. Not bad, not bad at all.

Here are some more pictures. Click any image for a larger version.

Targets in the Early AM Shade

Slow Fire

"Where's that 10th hole?"

Right Side

Left Side

Relaxing While the Second Relay Shoots

Cleaning Before 22 Team Matches

Day 1 of 4, Service Pistol 900

Before

The Desert Midwinter competition for 2009 Conventional Pistol begins today with a 900 for service pistols.

Last night I gave the ball gun a light cleaning but didn't touch the previously fouled barrel. It should, therefore, be ready to go, and repeatedly so, starting with today's very first shot.

My shoulder feels mostly better but a distant ache remains from Tuesday evening when I fired that same pistol and ammunition in an International 600 as warm-up (for me) and fouling (for the pistol) for today. Tuesday was a calculated risk because I needed the refresher on iron sights and that lighter gun as compared to the wadder with its red dot that I've been shooting. And "refresh" it did because today's challenge is going to be in consistently moving the trigger straight back in Timed and Rapid Fire. (Tuesday's Duelling Fire was humbling in this regard.)

The International Center Fire is at 8:30AM this morning but I'm skipping that and focusing my attentions only on the Conventional program.

Service Pistol starts immediately after that, around 10:00 or 10:30. Accordingly, I will leave the house at 9:00AM for the 30-45 minute drive. That means I need to pack the gun box at 8:45AM.

Weather is predicted to be in the low 50s, partly cloudy but no rain, and with a light wind from the south-southwest. The range is shielded from that direction by a mountain so we'll have some air movement but nothing strong enough to push an outstretched hand. I think I'll wear my lined pants and a thick cotton shirt with the lighter jacket, but take a sweater to insert if it feels chillier than expected.

I'll be shooting the Aguila ball ammo I fired on Tuesday night. It chrono'd at an average muzzle velocity of 908.1 ft/sec at almost this same temperature. That's very close to the stated ideal of 920. In my tests a week ago, I measured a minimum velocity of 890.7 and a maximum of 929.6 over 20 rounds; an admirably tight range that is beyond my current ability to make on my own. And the standard deviation from one round to the next comes out at 10.1, again much better than I can make on my own. I'm confident this ammo will fly in a consistent manner from muzzle to target.

But it kicks hard and, with the "Zins grip" I've been using for several months with the heel of the backstrap tucked into the thinnest part of the V notch across the palm of my hand, I'll feel each shot all the way up into the shoulder. If my calculated gamble fails, I'll know it by the end of the National Match Course.

But as is true with the ball gun with its Kart barrel and fitting by Dave Salyer, this ammunition also "shoots" better than I do. What the target says will be what I did. If the shoulder holds up, I'll do well. If it doesn't, well, it's up to me now.

Time for breakfast. I'll have a full serving of Coach's Oats (whole grain oatmeal) with a pat of butter (and no sugar!), a boiled egg with lots of pepper, and a small can of the Low Sodium V-8 juice. And, yes, for those who ask, I have my one cup of coffee in front of me now. I'll also take another small can of Low Sodium V-8 for a last minute dose of nutrients a few minutes before we shoot. After that, a bottle of water from the refrigerator in the pistol office will suffice for the match.

Today's mantra will be, "Front sight, straight back, front sight, straight back," and then, "be quiet and let your body shoot; it knows how."

After

Compared to the wad gun and the 22, both of which have red dots which increase the overall mass, the ball gun is a lightweight. Couple that with the full-strength ball ammunition and the gun becomes a real challenge.

My first two Slow Fire targets were pretty bad with one or two shots completely outside the scoring rings. By the third, I figured out I had my trigger finger in way too deep and was pushing the shots off the target to the left. Although still not very good, at least the final Slow Fire had all ten shots in the scoring rings.

Timed Fire in the National Match Course had some promise. Although not great at 88-1, it was notable for two reasons. First, it had a decent looking "cloud" of 45 caliber holes.

But when I looked through the scope after the second string, there were too many holes. Someone had cross-fired onto my target!

Too Many Holes!

I was shooting 45 caliber ball whereas the cross-fired shots were 9mm and the gentleman scoring my target easily identified four of the five erroneous shots. The fifth, however, was not so easy so he dropped the one worst shot on the target and tallied my score, 88-1.

But looking at the photograph, I now suspect that the 3 o'clock ten might be the fifth 9mm hole which would have reduced my score to 84-1. But at the time, well, neither of us could tell for sure so it was scored as 88-1.

The cross-firing shooter was apologetic but, hey, we've all done it myself included. So we moved on to the next target.

My best target of the day was the first Rapid Fire at 91-4 and, as if I didn't know better, I mentally congratulated myself saying, "You've got it licked, dude!" And that, of course, caused me to relax, lose my concentration, and shoot a dismal 65-1 on the last Rapid Fire.

Rule One in this sport: Never congratulate yourself.

Or is it: Focus on the front sight.

But then again, maybe it is: Pressure the trigger straight back.

(Too many Rule Ones!)

I finished the Service Pistol 900 with a 681-6, not very good but, then again, I learned where to put my finger on the trigger, I had a couple of good targets in Timed and Rapid, and even my Slow Fire scores were headed in the right direction.

This is progress!

Jim "The Kid" Henderson and "The Old Man" (Me) (Click picture for larger image)

After packing things away, I cornered the gentleman you see to the right and asked if he'd let me get a picture of the two of us together. I said I wanted something to hang on the wall so I'd know who I had to beat. Steve Reiter was nearby and I asked him to click the shutter. James said, "Don't jerk it, Steve," but even with that, Reiter still had a "failure to fire" (the shutter) and we had to try again.

Tomorrow morning is the 22 match. For today's Service Pistol the line was full (35 shooters) and two had to wait for the second relay. I glanced at the squadding chart for tomorrow to see which relay I'm in and it looks like they're both very close to full. I shoot early in the first relay with first shot at 8:30AM.

And I'll have to remember that dainty little 22 has a much lighter trigger than the service pistol I was shooting today.

But it'll be "straight back" again tomorrow.

10s and Xs!

Hot Stuff!

In the chronographing of various ammunitions and guns a few days ago I recorded the following five-shot string:

1	830.7
2	917.1
3	932.0
4	954.6
5	905.5

Notice anything interesting?

Well yes, the velocities are relatively low. The ammunition was RWS Subsonic and the gun was a Smith & Wesson Model 41 with the seven (7) inch barrel, but that's not what caught my eye.

Let me add that, before the fifth and final shot, there was a delay of almost a minute. And it was relatively chilly that morning with temperature in the mid-50s, rainy at times, misty when not, and with a gusty wind that quickly drew away body heat.

What you may notice is what I did, that as the string progressed, the velocities went up and up. Then, on the last shot where I delayed before firing, the velocity dropped back down again.

I think these changes are due to the temperature of the ammunition, starting with a cold gun and chamber but with each successive shot warmed in the chamber from the heat left from the previous shot. And when I delayed before the last shot, the gun quickly cooled in the misty, breezy conditions to account for the reduced velocity of the last shot.

When shooting in competition, many have commented that their ammunition seems to be rather temperature sensitive. This comes to my mind when my Smith & Wesson 41 doesn't cycle the next round properly. Be it a failure to extract, a stove pipe or the next round getting stuck halfway into the chamber, it seems that when the ammunition is cold these types of failures seem to be more common.

So on cold days I load the magazines for the next target and tuck them under my jacket and arm while scoring the previous target. That way, when I'm ready to shoot the next target, the ammo and magazine are nice and warm.

And I've often wondered, just how much difference is this making?

And from that, just how sensitive is my 41 to changes in velocity?

Since the above data suggested I was seeing this very effect that day, I devised a small experiment on the spot to try and quantify it.

Here's the plan I created. It consists of two parts.

I would fire two groups of ten shots each, the first with a cold gun, ammunition and magazine for each shot, and the second where each was warm.

For the cold group, I would lay the pistol -- the 41 -- on the table along with the magazine and, spread out nearby, the ten rounds with lots of space inbetween. I would then wait a full minute to let everything cool.

I would then load one round into the magazine, ready the gun and fire, remove the magazine and lay them both back on the table. I would then note the velocity on the chrony's display, look at the clock and finally wait sixty (60) seconds before repeating this "load and fire one shot" process.

Next, I would fire the warm group.

For the warm group, I would prepare and then hold a single magazine with ten (10) rounds along with another magazine with five (5) rounds under my arm for ten minutes (while shooting the cold string). The five round string would, hopefully, warm the gun for the following ten round string where I would record the "warm" velocities.

Following that plan, here are the "cold" and "warm" results I recorded:

	Cold	Warm
1	888.5	900.9
2	898.9	943.3
3	881.7	913.4
4	889.2	951.8
5	931.4	942.9
6	900.9	922.4
7	859.1	927.1
8	884.2	937.8
9	886.6	n.a.
10	n.a.	n.a.
Minimum	859.1	900.9
Average	891.2	930.0
Maximum	931.4	951.8
Spread	72.3	50.9
Std.Dev.	19.3	17.2

(The "n.a." values occurred in the middle of the strings when a particularly dark cloud blocked the sun and the chrony displayed "Err 2" meaning the second sensor had not recorded the passage of the bullet.)

Clearly, this shows that the warm ammunition in a warm magazine that is fired from a warmed chamber is not only faster by about 5%, but that is also is slightly more consistent in velocity (standard deviation of 17.2 versus the cold's 19.3).

I am presuming, of course, that higher velocity means the recoil force will be larger and that, at least in my case, that difference accounts for the more reliable cycling with the warmer ammo.

Also "of course", how this translates into accuracy on the target is a different matter. But in my quest to find ammunition and gun combinations that are both reliable and accurate, the former is a lot easier to determine.

And here we can see that temperature is significant.

Here, we can see a 5% change in muzzle velocity solely due to that one factor.

And in my quest for "reliable and accurate", what this really does is widen, not narrow, my search.

Now that I know that ammunition that doesn't have enough oomph to cycle the slide when cold may, if treated to some body heat, "warm" to the occasion, I also know that more brands of ammunition may work in my 41.

A little warmth and care can work wonders.

Hug a bullet today!

22 Ammo Chrono Tests

I chrono'd some 22 ammunition in two guns today. Specifically, I wanted to understand why one gun likes CCI Standard Velocity but jams on Federal Gold Medal Match 711B, and the second gun does the opposite.

Here are the raw results:

Velocity (ft/sec)

	S&W 41	S&W 41	Ruger III	Ruger III
	CCI SV	Fed 711B	CCI SV	Fed 711B
1	944.7	993.9	915.1	935.1
2	949.1	1001.0	858.3	927.1
3	970.4	1004.0	889.2	955.7
4	989.0	1018.0	911.2	904.0
5	949.2	1021.0	898.6	900.7
6	949.0	971.8	920.5	929.3
7	963.9	1017.0	921.5	904.7
8	965.9	1009.0	n.a.	975.5
9	947.1	1022.0	n.a.	966.0
10	n.a.	1044.0	n.a.	964.2
Min.	944.7	971.8	858.3	900.7
Avg.	958.7	1010.2	902.1	936.2
Max.	989.0	1044.0	921.5	975.5
Var.	44.3	72.2	63.2	74.8
S.D.	14.8	19.4	22.6	27.9

First, the Smith & Wesson Model 41 likes CCI Standard Velocity as many owners know. This is the ammunition recommended by Smith & Wesson. And as you can see from the above data, when the Federal Gold Medal Match 711B ammunition is fired through that gun, the muzzle velocity averages about 50 ft/sec faster (958.7 CCI SV versus 1010.2 for Federal 711B).

And conversely, my Ruger Mk III prefers the Federal ammunition but jams on the CCI. Again, comparing the muzzle velocities in that gun, the CCI is about 35 ft/sec slower (902.1 versus 936.2). Ruger suggests using standard to higher velocity ammunition in this gun and my observed reliability versus the muzzle velocities seem to bear this out.

Note the final "S.D." (Standard Deviation) row. It is generally thought that a lower Standard Deviation will result in less variation from shot to shot in terms of reliability of function.

This data suggests that, in each gun, the CCI Standard Velocity ammunition has less variation in muzzle velocity from shot to shot. But in the Ruger, that lower variability is obviated by the lesser reliability.

Another interesting effect is barrel length. The S&W has a seven inch (7") barrel whereas the Ruger's is five and a half inches (5.5") long. That extra inch and a half appears to impart an additional 50 ft/sec to the CCI bullet, and even more with the Federal, another 75 ft/sec. (Ammunition manufacturers measure muzzle velocities in a 21" rifle barrel hence their even greater published velocities.)

But does that extra 5% muzzle velocity help? Does the bullet fly straighter? Is it deflected less by the wind? Does the spinning bullet maintain its stable flight longer because of it?

This data also suggests that the pressure curve of the CCI ammunition is possibly sharper and an increase in barrel length imparts less additional velocity than the possibly slower powder -- producing a broader pressure curve, perhaps -- of the Federal ammunition where a longer barrel is able to use that extended pressure buildup.

Imagining an even longer barrel, we might even surmise that the burn rate and pressure curve in a short barrel might result in muzzle velocities that are challenging to infer from manufacturer's measured velocities from 21" barrels. Longer barrels do result in high muzzle velocities, this is true, but the data gathered here suggests that the Federal would continue to lengthen its lead in velocity over the CCI. And that in turn suggests that if there is a magic "feet per inch" velocity for a given gun, then the only way to find it is to try brands of ammunition that suggest they might fall in the appropriate range.

Ultimately of course, the real question is which ammunition is both reliable and accurate in each respective gun.

I have reliable ammunition for each gun and, from the measured differences in muzzle velocity and the effect that has on recoil and, therefore, the strength of the recoil spring in each of these two guns, I think I understand what's happening.

And it's probably true that the S&W Model 41 would shoot with similar reliability with just about any brand of ammunition with similar characteristics to CCI Standard Velocity. And for the Ruger, the extra oomph in the Federal Gold Medal Match 711B sets the mark when shopping for ammunition for that gun.

That'll have to wait for another day.

 

Oh, one additional note.

I also tested some of the paper boxed CCI Standard Velocity and, lo and behold, it resulted in significantly different muzzle velocities from the plastic boxed CCI Standard Velocity (whose results appear above). In a nutshell, the paper boxed ammunition was an average of 60 ft/sec faster than that in the plastic box, and was therefore even "hotter" in the S&W 41 than the Federal Gold Medal Match 711B.

Although not tested, this suggests that the paper boxed CCI Standard Velocity ammunition might be a viable candidate for testing in the Ruger which prefers these higher velocities whereas the S&W 41 prefers the plastic boxed ammo.

So the next time the grocery clerk asks if you prefer paper or plastic, the answer just might be, "Ruger or Smith?"

Colorado Contradictions

Early Morning, Spring Thaw

"Boulder, Colorado."

There, in two words, you have the opposites.

I think of Colorado as a "good place" for guns and shooting sports. Several Bullseye shooters -- very good shooters I will add -- live there and support local competitions. And some of these same folks travel down to Phoenix a couple of times per year for the big competitions we desert dwellers run when the weather is pleasant in Arizona and unpleasant elsewhere. (The Desert Mid-Winter competition for conventional pistol starts in a little more than a week, February 12-15, 2009. See http://www.desertmidwinter.com/ for the details. And the International variant starts a day earlier, on the 11th.)

But my work has me in Boulder this week and, unlike the rest of the state, this pocket of liberalism seems completely divorced of gunnies.

As I travel around, I seek out the handgun fans. In my official role as company spokeman, however, I can't include any overt mention of guns. But, in less official moments such as over lunch or while hiking up and down the halls on break, family life, lawn care and "what do you do for fun?" are all fair game.

So, over the course of a couple of hours, I can usually ferret out the shooters in the crowd. Invariably it seems, there are almost always a couple of closet-gunnies even in no-no places such as Chicago, Philadelphia and even Long Island.

But not so in Boulder Colorado. This week's "batch" doesn't seem to have anyone willing to step up to the bar, or firing line.

I can only conclude that, in my small sampling of the city's residents, the Berkenstock-crowd has won and the guns are gone from the hands of legal owners.

So, I'll do my job this week. I'll teach class, give them the benefit of my experience, and show myself plain and simple as a straight-forward guy.

And they'll know I shoot handguns at paper targets for fun and perhaps they'll realize that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Hopefully they will think, "Ed does it and he seems normal enough."

And perhaps they'll remember one of my comments and continue, "And he knows a guy who will probably be on the US Olympic team in 2012 who will shoot in the Olympic competition in London England and, perhaps, bring home a gold medal for the sport."

"Maybe," they'll think, "guns aren't inherently evil. It's what you do with them that matters."

Sometimes little steps, subtle comments and small nudges work better than thundering and pounding.

For dinner tonight, I'm planning to go to a sushi bar downtown along the pedestrian mall -- you can get a "sampler" of five Sakes from their 25 or so brands. And there's a Berkenstock store a couple of doors down. Maybe I should treat myself to a pair and wear them back in Phoenix to the Desert Midwinter competition?

Kampai!