DDDDDDrop the Bass! (Calculating Bullet Drop)
A bullet’s path is not a straight line. I know most of you are saying “well, duh”. I think it’s safe to say that we all know a bullet will eventually hit the ground however the details concerning path of a fired bullet is not considered by most outside of the standard “know your target and what’s behind it” safety commandment. You know who does consider the path a bullet follows in great detail? Rifle shooters.
When you’re dealing with only a few yards, the drop of a bullet is negligible. Start traversing distances longer than 100 yards and bullet drop becomes a big deal. When you’re looking at shots near 1 mile, it’s not so much shooting the target as it is lobbing a bullet towards the target. The question is, how much do you lob said bullet? If only there was some way to know exactly or at least estimate how much you’re going to have to aim above the target so you can hopefully get that first shot on target.
The good news is, there is a way. The bad news is it involves some maths. Feel free to run screaming. I won’t blame you. As the great Jimmy Buffett once wrote: “Math Suks”. For those of you who wish to journey with me on a trigonometric adventure of algebraic bliss, buckle up.
First off, you’re going to need a bit of information before you start. The main one is going to be the muzzle velocity of the bullet. How do you figure that? Well, you could go spend some money on an chronograph and spend a great deal of time testing various ammo, recording the velocities and then averaging them and keeping them in a special journal. Personally, that sounds about as exciting to me as a root canal. The easier thing to do is to look up the ballistic information from your ammo’s manufacturer. All the major ones make the information available on their websites.
Then you’re going to need to know the bullet’s weight. This should be displayed prominently on the box/bag/case the ammo came in. It’ll usually say something like “[some number] grains”. Then, once you have all that information, plus a few standard items, you can plug the numbers into the following equation:
Bullet height H = Hi + V*sinΘ*t – ½g*t²
where
- V = muzzle velocity
- Θ = angle above horizontal of the initial velocity
- Hi = Initial height
- t = time after firing, seconds
- g = gravitational acceleration
Now, this is going to give you a range of values that you can then plot out on a graph and…uhm…at least I think that’s what happens. Hang on…
Ok, I don’t have a graphing calculator on me. Uhm. Oh wait, my smartphone might have…nope. Alright, you know what? As much as I love science and neat looking equations and stuff, there’s no real point to doing it this way. There are countless ballistics calculators that do all the grunt work for you and you just have to plug in a couple of easily obtained information. No maths necessary.
One of my favorite online calculators is over at Hornady. There’s also numerous apps available for your phone that can make the calculations as well. So let’s back up a bit and go through this way.
First off, one of the things that confused the heck out of me when I first saw a ballistics chart was how it showed the bullet travelling upwards first then eventually dropping. My brain, having studied physics and such for so long, said “that doesn’t look right”. You see, bullets start to drop the moment they leave the barrel. Gravity: it’s not just a good idea, it’s the law. Now, the velocity of the bullet lessens the effect on gravity but it certainly doesn’t reverse the effect and cause the bullet to rise. What causes that is the difference in height between the barrel and the (properly zeroed) scope. So it’s going to rise up to the point that the scope is zeroed then start to fall as would be expected. Essentially, you’re kind of lobbing the bullet towards your target instead of that laser straight shot we all envision.
So to use one of those calculators, you’re still going to need to know a few things before you start. There is, of course, the bullet grain and velocity. As stated before, this information is readily available online. Depending on the calculator, you might also need to know the “ballistic coefficient”. This is the ability of the round to overcome air resistance and, thanks to differences in bullet shape, is different for each bullet. Again, most manufacturers provide this number on their websites and sometimes the ammo boxes and it will be a number between 0.001 and 1.0. The last number we’ll need is the distance between the scope/sights and the barrel.
Plug those numbers into the calculator and you should be greeted with a table of numbers. Every calculator displays things a bit differently but ultimately, here is the information you’re going to find most valuable. At the range your scope is zeroed to, it’s going to have a 0 for the trajectory. This means that if your scope is zeroed at 100 yards, barring crosswind and such, your point of aim will be the point of impact. There is no bullet drop. Starting at regular intervals after that point, you’re going to see a negative trajectory. For example, say at 200 yards it shows a -4.2 for the trajectory. That means the bullet is going to drop 4.2 inches at that point. Eventually, you’re going to see a number that’s larger than you are tall. Unless you’re shooting off a cliff, that’s where the bullet is going to hit the ground.
Some calculators, like the Hornady calculator I mentioned, even shows you what adjustments you’ll have to make on your scope in order to get that “point of aim/point of impact” goodness at distances. I ran a .308 Win round through it using the ballistics data from the manufacturer. Let’s say I’m shooting at a target at 700 yards. According to the calculator, I would have make a 20.6 MOA adjustment to my scope in order to put the bullet on target. Knowing that number and how many “clicks” on your scope equates to 1 MOA, you can then set the scope accordingly. Handy information to be sure!
Keep in mind, the accuracy of the basic calculations is based off of certain “ideal” constants. Most calculators also have an advanced mode where you can enter in information like wind, altitude, temperature, and barometric pressure to really nail down some near exact numbers. The thing to ultimately remember is that these calculations, even if you enter all the information necessary, are still a “best case scenario”. They give you a starting point. It’s a relatively accurate starting point, mind you, but it’s still just a starting point. You still have to do your part. Nothing beats getting out there and shooting with this information so you can learn how your gun works compared to the calculations. In order words: get out there and practice.
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Free For All Friday 10-17-2014: 22LR Carry Guns, Silencers and Home Defense.
Halloween is coming up. This has got to be one of my favorite holidays. We nerds tend to go all out on Halloween as well. Heck, we’ll look for any excuse to dress up in costume. Usually it’s comic conventions or what have you. Regardless, we go a bit crazy. There will be pictures. As the Fourth Doctor once said “There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” Words to live by.
What is your opinion on a .22lr concealed carry gun? I want to get my wife a gun to carry but she struggles shooting a 9mm due to wrist injuries. I had said something to a friend about this and he thinks a .22lr is not enough power. He says at least a 380. What is your take on this? Thanks. -Chad M.
When it comes to this site, I try not to just regurgitate information from other sources. I test and research everything I do and adjust previous advice given whenever the need arises. In this case, I have to kinda go with the mainstream but not really…sort of. Some will say that the .22LR is useless for personal protection and that an attacker will just shrug it off if they get shot with it. Strange how no one saying that will ever volunteer to stand downrange and get shot with a .22LR so they can “just shrug it off” and prove their point. The fact of the matter is, there are countless examples of criminals shrugging off .45 ACPs and .357 Magnums and there are also countless stories of people getting dropped from a single .22LR round. That being said, a .22LR isn’t exactly an ideal round for personal defense. It’s one of those “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” type of scenarios. When it comes to defense with pistols, it’s all about shot placement, sure. A larger round is just going to increase your chances of doing the necessary damage if you put your shots in the right place. The big thing with .22LR isn’t so much its potential to do damage as it is their reliability in general. Rimfires, by their nature, are not very reliable designs and I wouldn’t want to bet my life on them.
I personally wouldn’t want to carry anything less than a .380 if for no other reason than they are inherently more reliable than a rimfire based round. For the recoil sensitive (which I very much am), if you go with a slightly heavier designed gun (like a SIG P238 or Colt Mustang), the recoil is negligible. Keep in mind, we’re talking about a pocket pistol here. Even the heaviest pocket pistol I’ve come across (Walther PPK) are still lighter than the vast majority of compact pistols and shouldn’t be an issue.
I had a friend ask me a question about suppressors this past weekend. Went something like “I am looking at buying my first suppressor, what can you tell me about using one can for multiple calibers?” -Chris’s Friend
With the prices and hoops you have to jump through, it makes sense to get the most bang for your buck. It is possible to use suppressors on multiple calibers and a lot of companies are even making modular suppressors that can be reconfigured for multiple calibers. The modular ones are, as you would expect, even more expensive and they are still limited as to what calibers they can be configured for. Your friend didn’t specify pistol or rifle but I’m going to quickly touch on both. In that realm of pistols, nothing suppresses like a .45 ACP. It’s already a subsonic round so you can pop a can on your gun and shoot anything though it. For smaller rounds, you’ll need to look for the subsonic versions to get the least bang for your buck (see what I did there?). You can put a .45 ACP suppressor on a 9mm pistol and still get some noise reduction but it won’t ever be as good as a purpose built 9mm suppressor. Putting a 9mm suppressor on a .45 will cause a problem that involves the words “catastrophic” and “failure” in that order. Also, don’t put a pistol suppressor on a rifle. The differences in pressure will also cause a big problem as well. The cheapest (legal) option if you have a bunch of guns to outfit are the serialized Oil Filter adapters from Cadiz Gun Works. These allow you to attach an automotive oil filter to your gun and they work just as well as the fancy suppressors. They’re under $100 but you’ll still have to pay the $200 federal tax stamp. The downside is that you might look a bit ridiculous with a FRAM filter at the end of your gun. Don’t forget that, regardless of which suppressor you go with, you’ll need to also get a threaded barrel and likely raised sights. Suppressors are large and can block the sights. Then again, you can always get decent at point shooting instead.
Currently I own a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun but am starting to feel like maybe I need to expand my choices against uninvited visitors. So what’s the next step? It looks like many rifles fire .223 or other caliber ammunition that one doesn’t often see in a pistol. My long ago experience firing a .45 revolver suggests that the recoil makes the safest place to be (at least to start with) right in front of me. So, what’s the logical progression (pistol, rifle, both) to increase my options, and what’s the importance of number of shots per option , the ability to share ammunition, and minimizing the likelihood of my acquisition(s) getting stolen? -Mark
Ask any military member and they’re likely to tell you that they were always taught that a pistol is what you use to get to your rifle. We can talk calibers all day long but a pistol isn’t going to do as much as a rifle or shotgun. The fact that you already have a shotgun means you’re off to a good start. Frankly, you could stick with just that and be well defended. Nothing wrong with wanting options, however. With that, I’d move to an AR-15 chambered in 5.56. For home defense, a shorter barrel is a better option for maneuverability reasons. Recent rulings by the BATF have stated that they’re perfectly fine with people shouldering AR-15 Pistols so there’s a really short option for you that doesn’t require jumping through the paperwork hoops for an SBR (“short barreled rifle” which requires a tax stamp). The 5.56 caliber will allow you to use both 5.56 and .223 rounds which increases your ammo availability. Even though both rounds are the same size, the 5.56 is a hotter round and can cause issues (those “catastrophic” and “failure” words again) when fired from a rifle chambered in .223. You can fire .223 from a 5.56 rifle all day long, however. That size is also a good size for defense as it’s not likely to wind up punching into the neighbor’s house. The .308 and 7.62 battle rifles and carbines have some serious penetration and could wind up going through an intruder, then your wall, then your neighbor’s wall and sometimes that neighbor’s neighbor’s wall. Likely? No. Possible? Very much so. Frankly, I wouldn’t want the liability.
Don’t rule out pistols though. There’s one BIG thing you can do with a pistol that you can’t do with a rifle or shotgun: tuck it in your belt (by way of an appropriate holster) then go shopping. I don’t want to get into an open carry discussion but there are just far more places you can carry a concealed pistol than a rifle or shotgun on your shoulder if not for legal reasons than just for convenience, really.
Thanks for the questions!
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Free For All Friday 10-10-2014: Revolvers and stuff.
I was doing some thinking. That’s rarely a good thing but still. At the moment, I only have the budget for one big gun convention a year. For the last couple years the SHOT Show has been my show of choice. There were some things that bothered me a bit about it, however. It wasn’t the fact that it was in Vegas. Unlike most other people in my particular niche, I adore Vegas. It was more of the timing of the vendors. Here is one of the largest media events in the world and they don’t really reveal much. It seems that more stuff gets announced and unveiled at the NRA Annual Meeting each year than at SHOT. With that in mind, I’ve decided to give that show a chance instead. If it turns out to be a bust, I’ll head back to SHOT the following year but, considering the focus of this site, the workshops and such at NRAAM concerning firearm safety and training are much closer to the purview of this site’s subject matter.
“I read in several of your reviews that you are tired of reviewing revolvers cause you just pull the trigger and bang. But like I said before I’m new to handguns and looking to get one to carry now. Right now I have a .22 revolver and just use it for target shooting. But can you tell me what you think about the Beretta M9 and the Ruger LCR9mm? I do like revolvers because mine is so easy to clean, but for a carry gun I would like to go with a 9mm. From all that I have read there isn’t a lot of recoil and ammo is cheap. Maybe in the future I would look at a .38 special.” -Rob H.
Yep, revolvers are boring to review. There’s no spark. There’s no drama. They’re like the humble computer nerd of the gun world. Yes, they’ve got a lot of money, will worship their girlfriend and be 100% faithful to them but for some reason women still tend to lean towards the guys on probation with borderline psychopathic tendencies. Same thing here. Now, in relationships that stinks but in the gun world, that’s not exactly a bad thing. You want something dependable to defend yourself with. For reviews…well…like I said: boring. Let’s face it, they don’t typically put people that look like me on magazine covers and centerfolds.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, revolvers aren’t exactly any more dependable in the long run than a semi-auto pistol. Both can suffer failures. The difference being that failures on a revolver are almost always classified as “catastrophic”. On the other hand, revolvers are much more forgiving for bad technique and less than stellar maintenance. It truly is a “six in one, half a dozen in the other” type of scenario. For every strength one has, there are also weaknesses that the other doesn’t have. Revolver vs semi will be an argument raging to the end of time.
Personally, I love the Beretta M9 (or 92). Ask anyone in the military and they’ll likely tell you that there’s no better gun to qualify with. They are solid, fun, dependable and accurate as heck thanks to that 5 inch barrel. The only reason I don’t have one is because money and the fact that I already have a large number of 9mm pistols and justifying another one to Mrs. Noob would be near impossible at the moment.
Concerning the LCR, I like the LCR as a carry pistol. Full disclosure, however, I ultimately traded my LCR .38SP in for an LC9 semi. You specifically mentioned the LCR 9mm. Keep in mind this is my personal opinion but something in my brain just doesn’t like the idea of putting typically semi-auto calibers into a revolver. At the same time, with the exception of the .44 Magnum Desert Eagle, I’m not too sold on stereotypical revolver calibers in semi-autos.
One thing to keep in mind is that most specifically designed carry guns, regardless of caliber, are going to have far more felt recoil than their larger cousins. It’s just the nature of physics. If you have a Beretta M9 firing 9mm and a Ruger LC9 (also in 9mm), the Beretta is going to be a very comfortable shoot while the LC9 is going to be snappy and, frankly, a bit on the painful side. Same thing with the ultralight revolvers. Whether you put 9mm or .38 Special in them, they’re going to have some punch. That’s why I prefer semi-autos for carry. I hate recoil and I don’t mind carrying a heavier gun in order to tame it a bit.
Your mileage may vary.
Thanks for the questions!
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How Fluid Is Your Plan?
I have to apologize but the best way I can think of to start this article is with a quote from the Tenth Doctor: “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly….timey-wimey…stuff.”
What he’s basically saying is that reality isn’t always an A + B = C type of flow. The tiniest factors can influence things which makes outcomes rarely predictable. As a result, your life and plans should never follow an A + B = C type of response.
Let me change gears for a moment. This will all come back around, don’t worry. Just bear with me. I have a friend who has decided to become a “prepper”. He’s hoarding food and supplies and is building himself a bunker. He’s got a seed bank and all kinds of water purification devices and more. According to him, he’ll be ready for anything. So my first question to him was “what if you have to leave?” You see, his entire plan was based off of Disaster + Bunker = Safe. I pointed out to him that Mayport was a major target for nuclear attack. If some country decides to push a button, NE Florida would be lit up and the fallout would certainly reach to his place. His bunker wasn’t good for radiation and, although I’m not up to date on the effect of radiation on crops, I don’t know if I would trust eating food grown in conditions that required a radiation suit in order to harvest (if they’d even grow at all). Long story short: in all his planning he never once considered having to leave his fortress.
The same has to go for your defense plans. Is there more than one entrance to your house? What if you’re in your yard? What if they’re already in your house when you get home? What if your go to gun just doesn’t work?
As I said above, reality is wibbly wobbly. There is no possible way to come up with a single plan that can account specifically for every possible factor. The trick…and I’m not saying there is a trick but if there was it would be to try and come up with a master plan that is fluid in its execution. Try to figure out the most likely factors and then make sure it can adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
One of my big heroes, Alton Brown, had a philosophy when it came to kitchen goods: no unitaskers. If it can only be used for 1 single purpose, it had no business being in his kitchen. The only exception was a fire extinguisher, mind you. A similar philosophy would be a good start when it comes to survival supplies as well as defense. For example, shotguns are good for home defense as well as hunting and the same goes for certain semi-auto rifles. Storing all your guns in your bedroom may be convenient but it’s also an “eggs in one basket”. Storing guns all around your house in strategic locations, via small safes, is a tactically better option.
The same can go for concealed carry/personal defense options…kind of. Not so much versatility in the items themselves but in your EDC in general. Carrying a pistol is all well and good but do you really want that to be your only option? What if the threat is bad but in that grey area between “bad situation” and “my life was in danger”? Recent events have shown that things can get muddied very quickly. Carrying something as simple as pepper spray along with your pistol doubles your defense options and can potentially save you legal troubles after the fact.
One of the best things you can do is to test your plans. I’m not saying pay someone to break into your house or set fire to your neighborhood. I mean try to find holes in it. Don’t assume that “so and so will never happen”. Don’t rule out odd options either like “what if they’re dressed head to toe in super advanced bullet proof armor?” If you find a hole in your plan, look to see how things can be adapted to fill that hole.
In the end, it’s survival of the fittest out there. That doesn’t always mean those who can bench press a Volkswagen and run 30 mile marathons. Mental fitness, creativity and the ability to adapt are, by far, the most valuable assets you can have.
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Free For All Friday 10-3-2014: Rifle Caliber and a duck…
Only one question this week and I’m exhausted for various reasons so I don’t really have anything clever or insightful with which to start off this week’s post. With that being said, here’s a joke: A duck goes into a furniture store and says ‘got any duck food?’ The guy at the counter says, ‘sorry, we don’t sell duck food’. The little duck walks out. The next day, same duck, same guy. ‘Got any duck food?’ ‘Sorry little duck, I told you yesterday, no duck food here.’ The duck walks out. Next day, again, ‘got any duck food?’ The guy says ‘No! we don’t sell duck food! and if you come in here again I’m gonna nail your feet to the floor!’ The duck walks out. next day, duck walks in. ‘Got any nails? ‘ The guy says ‘what?… no’. Then the duck says ‘Got any duck food?’
On to the question!
“I own a .223 caliber S&W MP 15 and a Browning Medallion 300 Win Mag. I would like to know what is a rifle that would be somewhere in the middle for mostly Deer and Coyote, some say .270 some say 7mm and so on. I’m currently looking at a Winchester model 70 ultimate shadow hunter ss either in a 243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 270 Win, 308 Win or a 270 WSM. what do you suggest or should i be considering a different caliber?” -Ed W.
You’re in luck! For coyote, you can actually use your .223 for hunting them. If you don’t care about the pelt (or leaving recognizable parts in general) then the .300 Win Mag will work as well. For deer, the .300 will also work but it’s a little too much for that application. It would be much better suited for bear or elk. If it were my money, I’d be looking at the .308 Winchester. The .308 is kind of a Swiss Army knife round in that you can use it for most anything. It’s always great to go with a .308!
Thanks for the questions!
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Grow Your Brain With Guns!
We spend countless amounts of money getting in shape. We spend hours at the gym grunting and sweating. We eat foods like kale and tofu. All of this so that we live longer with the added bonus of attracting a mate. With all this health junk we do, when was the last time you did push-ups with your brain? I mean, what does it matter that you can bench press a car if your mind goes? Believe it or not, exercising your brain is just as important and, frankly, far easier than exercising your body.
There are a lot of mental exercises you can do to sharpen alertness and concentration. These usually involve a computer and such but, as it turns out, shooting actually exercises a lot of those things as well. Granted, it depends on the kind of shooting but there are some things you can do at the range to give your brain a boost.
First off, skeet shooting is probably one of the best shooting sports for your brain. Let’s take a look at the process. Your brain has to find the clay, focus on it and then figure out its trajectory. Then, it has to process the angle of the gun based off of the feedback from your hands and arms (remember, looking at the gun is bad when you’re shooting clays). These are the mental equivalent of cardio. It doesn’t really build muscle but it keeps things healthy. You burn a bunch mental calories so that you have that Oreo Cookie without guilt, metaphorically speaking of course. Keep in mind, no amount of mental conditioning will let you get through the Twilight movies with no lasting effects.
But what if you want giant, sexy biceps on your mind? You’re going to have to spend some time with the free weights. Believe it or not (or believe it because it’s true), learning new things is a great way to improve your mind. Now, going out and reading a book on quantum physics is never a bad thing but learning a new motor skill will actually create new neural pathways inside your brain. So learning to shoot a rifle or learning to shoot 3 gun will do wonders. What if I told you, however, that there’s an even easier thing you can do?
Learn to shoot with your other hand. That’s it. Studies have shown that learning to do things with your weak hand has an amazing number of benefits. First off, they’ve found it causes an overall increase in creativity. Because the right side of the brain is what handles our creative side, using your left hand can actually stimulates that part of the brain. According to the studies, it also works for people who are already left handed due to the fact that both sides of the brain are activated when using a non-dominant hand as opposed to only having one side working overtime when you use your dominant hand.
The benefits go beyond that, however. Getting proficient with the opposite hand actually increases the size of the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres. We’re talking a physical increase in size here. There are some experts that believe this increase in communication between the hemispheres can actually lead to increases in intelligence.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that using your weak hand to shoot will make you smarter. I’ll leave that to actual scientists. What I will say is that using your weak hand to do tasks has surprising benefits and you can exercise that part beyond just shooting. Try brushing your teeth with your opposite hand or forget convention and switch which hand you use for the fork and knife. Your brain will thank you. Remember: Smart is the new sexy. Work out that brain!
Image used courtesy of Wikipedia
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Free For All Friday 9-26-2014: Ankles, Gun Fit and Shooting with a Cane…
I worked for a couple of Dot-Bombs back in the day. For those not familiar with the term, there was a big industry growth in the 90’s where tech and internet companies were given absurd amounts of investment money to come out with stupid websites that never had important words like “profit” appear in their business plans. A large percentage of these “dot-coms” went belly up in hilarious ways which earned the name “dot-bomb”. Once such company I worked for was one of the first completely online banks. It had no branches or ATMs and was about 10 years too early. Even those who were knowledgeable about the internet at the time didn’t trust the internet (and the smart people today still don’t) and didn’t like the idea of putting all their money in with a digital bank.
Anyway, you know that phrase “just enough knowledge to be dangerous”? This place had an amazing in-house datacenter (the “datacenter” is where all the servers sit). They spared no expense and this thing was so well put together that they should have taken a photo, framed it and sold it as a work of art. As such, anytime any of the reps wanted to impress potential investors, they would give them a tour of the datacenter because even to an untrained person, it was that spectacular. Now, one day while I was there, the VP of marketing was giving a tour to some bigwigs who showed up in a Bentley. At some point prior to this tour, who knows how long ago, this VP was either told or overheard at network administrator talking about “hot swap drives”. A hot swappable drive means that, after going through a certain (and very specific) process, a failed drive can be removed and replaced without powering down the server or losing the data. In an attempt to impress these Bentley driving checkbooks, the VP said something to the effect of “and you can even remove the drives while the computer is running” and before anyone could stop him, yanked the main drive out of the most important server in the room.
Now, a while back I spoke of disaster planning and how there comes a point where you have to stop because there’s no way to plan for every eventuality. In this case, no one ever figured that someone would just yank the main drive out of the most important server in the room. Keep in mind, there are quite a few steps one must do before one can “safely” remove a hot swappable drive. Failure to do so can have disastrous and permanently damaging results to the drive and the server itself. The network went down. It went down hard. The website flat out stopped. Everyone in the office stopped being able to work. The main server was fried. Network alarms were going off left and right and the beeper (yes, beepers) on every netadmins’ belt was flashing with the code “911” as even the automated notification system knew the apocalypse had just happened. Due to some events there were also hilarious in hindsight, there were no spare parts available (genius management decision of “let’s either sell off or repurpose these spare parts sitting around because it’s a waste of money to not use them). All in all, it was well over 12 hours before the minimal skeleton of the network came back online and a couple of days before it was back to 100%. The 40+ year old VP wasn’t fired but he left the CEO’s office crying that day and there were only 4 people who were ever allowed to be inside the datacenter ever again. Even the CEO barred himself from being able to enter, as a precaution. The IT budget was also doubled to implement a failover site in another state so that if this place got flattened the site wouldn’t go down. Why do I tell this story? Because I think it’s hilarious and there are multiple lessons to be learned from it. Someday I’ll tell you the story about when the know it all manager spilled his coffee on a $200,000+ stack of servers. Fun times.
Oh wait, it’s Friday. There are questions…
I want to get an ankle holster for my derringer. What do you recommend. I pocket carry my primary gun. -Fred S.
Full disclosure: I would never recommend ankle carry or a derringer for your primary defense. The “something is better than nothing” rule always applies, of course, but neither of those two options are idea for your main defense choice. As a backup to use in case your main gun breaks? That’s a whole other story. Brand-wise, Galco makes some of the best ankle holsters out there and you can get them for a variety of guns. I’ve seen them for sale at Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops and, of course, online.
How to tell if a firearm ‘fits’ or not. -Kurt S.
First and foremost, comfort is key. Can you grip is securely? Can you reach the controls without having to twist your hand into some crazy configuration (a small amount of adjustment of grip to reach the controls is perfectly fine)? Gun companies spend a lot of money on ergonomics and such so many guns are going to feel good. The difference in hand size and shape, however, means that some guns are going to feel noticeably better in your hand. Finally, take a look at the gun’s natural point. Having a gun whose aim matches up with your body’s aim is a huge advantage. We did an article on just this subject a while back. Check it out here for more details.
Got any advice for concealed carry while physically disabled? My wife recently had her second surgery to correct a broken foot from 9 years ago. Neither surgery helped much and she is now forced to walk with a cane, which seems like a major obstacle for CC. Any suggestions? -Mike H.
The good news is, requiring a cane isn’t the end of the world. The bad news is, it’s going to require a bit more work. In the interest of conserving text, I’m going to continue under the assumption that your wife (or anyone else reading this with a similar problem) is right handed. If you’re left handed, just reverse the stuff. The first requirement is that you get proficient with shooting one handed. That’s not as hard as it sounds. You won’t be able to fire as quickly, mind you, but with a little work you’ll quickly build up the strength to deal with it. Having a lighter gun or one with a smaller round (which means less recoil) makes a big difference in accuracy here. That’s the first bit of practice you’ll need.
Secondly, doctors recommend you use a cane on the same side as the good leg. With that in mind, if you’re right handed and you’ve hurt your right leg, that’s not as much of an issue as your left hand will be the one holding the cane. If that’s the case, simply learning to draw and fire one handed is your only worry. If, on the other hand, you are right handed and you’ve hurt your left leg, things get a bit funkier. This means that your strong hand is going to be occupied holding the cane. Now you’re going to have to shoot with your weak hand. The bright side is, this isn’t nearly as bad as you would expect. Pretend you’re learning from the first time again and start off slowly then work your way up. Let your body and mind get comfortable with the new configuration. After a couple of hours, you should be arguably comfortable. After a couple more range trips, you should be at your normal skill. Then it’s time to start drawing and firing with your weak hand. It goes without saying that dry fire practice is infinitely beneficial in this situation and will only help you get that comfort level faster.
Also, it helps to seek out guns that are ambidextrous friendly. Some guns have full time ambi-controls and others let you swap the location most (if not all) of your controls.
Thanks for the questions!
So do you have a question burning in your mind? We answer them every Friday so send them in! It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s arguably gun related we want to hear it! Head over to our Facebook or Twitter or Contact Page and send them in. See you next Friday!
Image licensed under GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons
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Rifle Cartridge Explanation: Clearing the Waters and then Muddying them Up
I think people fail to appreciate how easy it is to buy handgun ammo. I’m not referring to ammo inventory levels, mind you, I’m talking about picking out the right ammo for your gun. If you have a .45ACP pistol, you go out and buy a box of .45ACP ammo. At the same time, with few exceptions, it’s easy to tell the size of the round by the caliber alone. A .45 is bigger than a .40 and that’s bigger than a .380 and so on. Sometimes there can be a little confusion with the ammo that uses the metric system (hello, 9mm) but beyond that, it’s pretty straightforward. Things get a bit odd in the terms of shotgun ammo as the smaller the gauge, the bigger the round but it’s an easy rule of thumb to remember. When it comes to rifle ammo, however, It’s like they’re just trolling us.
You’ve got 5.56 which is what your average AR-15 uses but that’s the same size as a .223 but the two aren’t exactly interchangeable because 5.56 is a hotter round so you can use .223 in a 5.56 but not the other way around. You’ve got the .308 Winchester which is almost the same as the 7.62×51 round but not exactly the same but still interchangeable but not exactly interchangeable. The 7.62×51 is nothing like the 7.62x54R or the or the 7.62×39 rounds.
In fact, there are so many different ways of describing a rifle cartridge that, even though there are a couple of rules of thumb, there are so many exceptions to the rule that it’s kind of pointless. It’s the firearm equivalent of “I before E except after C”. They don’t even really teach that in schools anymore because there are more exceptions to that rule than there are words that adhere to it.
Let’s try to narrow it down a bit.
Imperial Sizing
This is exactly like handgun ammo in that’s it’s the width of the bullet in inches. So a .308 bullet is .308 inches in diameter or just over a quarter of an inch. These are the easiest sizes to picture in your mind, at least in terms of the bullets themselves. Imperial sizes, unfortunately, feel the need to muddy up the relatively uncomplicated waters. More on that in a moment.
Metric Sizes
Things get a bit funkier when you start dealing with the metric style. In the grand scheme of things, much like the metric system in general, it’s actually a much easier way to measure and describe cartridges. Let’s look at the 7.62×51 round. First off, the name isn’t a multiplication equation. Believe it or not, I heard a clerk at a store tell this to a buyer once. I’ll never forget it when I heard him say “you just multiply the numbers together and that’s the size of the bullet”. I noped the heck out of that store with haste. Here’s the way it works. The thing before the “x” is the diameter of the bullet itself in millimeters. In this case, the bullet is 7.62mm across. The stuff behind the “x” is the length of the casing, in this case (case…get it?) it’s 51mm long. So I can quickly see that a 7.62×51 round has the same size bullet but longer case than the 7.62×39 round. Boom, done. Crystal clear.
Everything Else
Then you have stuff like the .30-06. It’s named that because it’s a .30 caliber round that was introduced in 1906. Some of these are just…you just have to go with it.
Now Let’s Screw Up a Good Thing
Remember how I said that the imperial system muddies the waters? A better term would be “shot themselves in the foot”. Some say it’s marketing but, personally, I think it’s partially due to ego as well. That’s why we have things like the .308 Winchester and the .308 Marlin Express or the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .338 Lapua Magnum. None of those are compatible with each other. At the same time, based on the name alone, you would never know that the .308 Winchester has a slightly longer case than the .308 Marlin unless you spent some time on Wikipedia or compared the two side by side in the store. With all the Winchesters, Marlins, Savage, Remingtons, Swifts, Fireballs, Hornets, Krag, Springfields, Blackouts and SOCOMS that follow imperial rounds, it’s a wonder why more people don’t say “forget it, I’m buying a shotgun”.
So the Official Gun Noob Rule of Thumb Is…
There are a large number of rifle cartridges that are interchangeable. There are also many that are interchangeable with very specific rules. Finally, there are an absurd about that are so similarly named that you would swear they’re interchangeable but they’re dangerously not in any way, shape or form. So the best thing to do is stick with the size that is stamped on the side of your rifle and don’t swap things out unless you are 1000% certain you can. Doing otherwise can cause severe injury to yourself and others nearby.
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Free For All Friday 9-19-2014: Conversions, Cleaning and Youths…arrrr
Ahoy! Well, today be Talk Like a Pirate Day. It’s one o’ me absolute favorite internet created holidays. Why? Because I get t’ annoy t’ heck out o’ me mateys and family. In other news, it looks like t’ NSSF be startin’ their promotion for SHOT Show 2015 and I’m as excited as can be! I’m used to t’ craziness at this point and can really enjoy t’ show. It’ll be interestin’ t’ see how it turns out this time. I’ve got some predictions for it already but that’s a different article. On t’ t’ questions ye scurvy dogs! Yaharr!
[What is the] cost versus application to convert a 1911 Colt from 9mm over to a 45acp? -Billy H.
While there are numerous decent .22LR conversions, moving to 9mm is an entirely different story. The problem with moving a 1911 from .45 to 9mm isn’t just a matter of swapping a barrel, magazine and possibly slide then calling it a day due to the different size requirements of the internals (like ramps and such). There are kits available, mind you, but the reviews I’ve seen on them are typically a bit dubious at best. I don’t want to sound like one of “those guys” but this is one of the cases where getting a 1911 that was built from the ground up to handle 9mm would be a better choice. There are quite a few good ones that run right about the same price or slightly more than your average conversion kit. Personally, all things being equal, I’d rather have the purpose built item than one where the functionality was shoe-horned in.
How soon after a range session would you recommend cleaning the guns? Is it best to do it right away? Or will the “I’ll get to it when I get to it” attitude make things more difficult? -Mike H.
I always jump on the cleaning as soon as I get home. I’ve talked about it before but that tendency is really just my borderline insane need to have shiny guns. I don’t like fingerprints on my gun. Dirty, nasty fingerprints. I think I’ll clean them again when I get home tonight. Sorry, Gollumed myself a bit there. That’s right, I’ve turned Gollum into a verb. Anyway, the best advice I can give on it is this: Make sure you clean and lube your guns before you would actually need to use them. I think that’s a good rule of thumb. Keep in mind that the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to clean.
I have a nephew (he’s like a son) who loves his bb gun and is always begging me to take him shooting. I’d like to take him to a range and have him try a small 22 rifle (with the proper safeties as always), but I don’t know if he is old enough. What’s your opinion on when to really bring your kids into the gun world? -JD
This is a sensitive subject to many. Personally, I’m all for removing the mystery and stigma of guns early on. The problem is, there’s not clear cut answer. I wish there was a hard guideline like “At exactly 2 minutes past their 8th birthday they are perfectly ready for the responsibility”. Actually, raising kids would be so much easier if we had those kinds of schedules for everything, wouldn’t it? Some big document that lists stuff like “At exactly 4 years, 6 hours and 27 minutes they will start using the toilet on their own.” Right now all we have is driving a car at 16 and getting thrown out of the house at 18 and possibly bailing them out of jail after their 21st birthday celebration.
But I digress. In this case, it really comes down to the point where you realistically feel the child is ready. I don’t have kids myself but I can use the annoying neighborhood kids who live around me as an example. One boy that lives nearby, about a year ago I wouldn’t have trusted him with a nerf gun, much less a live one. Now, in just over a year he has noticeably matured to the point that I think he could easily handle the responsibility now. His older sister, on the other hand, I would have been more than comfortable putting her on the range quite a few years ago as she has always been remarkably responsible and behaved for her age. The kid across the street who thinks it’s fun to run head first into walls and cars? I would never let him even hear the word “gun” in any context.
So it all comes down to your gut feeling. If you think the kid is ready, then by all means go for it. Be realistic, though. You’re starting him out with a .22LR rifle and that’s perfect. A .22LR gun is the absolute best gun to start any kid out with. Try and make it as fun as possible for them. You can even go so far as to make the safety rules and stuff a bit of a game. Good luck!
Thanks for the questions!
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Gear Review: Versacarry Holsters
From the cars we drive, the television we watch to the internet that you’re using to read this article, some of the greatest inventions of our time have come from some person saying “forget the status quo, let’s rethink this.” At the same time, some of the worst and dangerous inventions have also come from that same line of thinking. When it comes to reviews, I try to be as diplomatic as humanly possible. I honestly don’t like publishing bad reviews. At the same time, when I find something that I feel is fundamentally dangerous, I feel the need to warn people.
Today, I’m talking about the Versacarry “holster”.
On the surface, it seems like a neat idea. Take advantage of the features present in every gun to rethink the holster as we know it. What you get is a holster that goes into the gun rather than around it. They’re inexpensive and work based off the caliber and size of the gun instead of the shape itself.
I originally picked one up at Academy Sports thinking “well, it’s inexpensive and different. Could make for a neat review at GN…”. While I’ve come to learn that there have been quite a few, I hadn’t read any reviews of it at the time and until well after I tested it so as not to sway my thoughts on the matter.
If you’re not familiar with the device, it’s a small strip of plastic that curves around the top to clip to a belt then, at the bottom, it has a spike that you insert into the barrel of your gun and that’s what really holds it in place. There’s also a plastic shield that is attached on the side to protect the trigger.
While I mentioned a couple of good things about it earlier, I feel I should mention the rest of the positives about it. Setup is easy. You just decide which side on which you want to carry it then attach the trigger shield accordingly. Once everything is in place, it is comfortable enough which is notable as I’ve only ever found a couple of holsters that I could truly call “comfortable”. It can also be used in just about any position including appendix carry.
As far as the bad, well, it outweighs the good in my opinion. For starters, the very design of the gun means you are creating an obstruction in the barrel. If you’re wondering why that’s bad, do a Google search for “gun barrel obstruction”. It’s not pretty. If there is a negligent discharge… which if you follow all the safety commandments there won’t be but if there is, instead of the bullet going through some fatty tissue in a path travelling away from you, you will instead have shrapnel flying away perpendicular to the gun and into your soft, squishy interior.
There’s also the issue of the retention rod breaking off. Now, Versacarry claims that this is a non-issue as their rods are sized “0.015 under the barrel”. As tight as the fit is in the unit I tested, I can’t honestly say I buy that. After a lot of use it might wear down but as much as I test it, that fit was still VERY tight in my gun to the point I typically had to force it in. Drawing was difficult as a result and, even though I’m using a high quality gun belt, the holster came off with the gun more often than I’m comfortable with. While retention is important in a holster, this was a bit too much retention. If the fit wasn’t so tight, I’m not sure how there would be much in the way of retention at all which gives it a whole different set of problems. If that retention rod sticks into the barrel, boom. No thank you.
I did say the holster was “comfortable enough” but that really depends on the gun you’re using. With my Glock 19, it was fine. When I tried it with my FNS-9, the stippling on the gun and texture of the handle rubbed me raw. This is because the entirety of the gun sits against you. The aggressive texture on the FNS-9 was enough to actually cause an issue through the underwear I had on. I’ve never run into that issue with traditional holsters. At the most a bit of the handle bothers me with those.
Finally, the trigger shield doesn’t exactly give me much comfort. It really seems to be there to protect the trigger when you’re putting it on. Oh, side note: you’re not able to re-holster a gun with the Versacarry. They expect you to remove the holster, attach it to your gun then put it back into your waistband. Anyway, as you jostle around, things can happen. The trigger is completely exposed. There’s another danger point for me.
In the end, the Versacarry is a neat solution in search of a problem. It gives absolutely no advantages over a traditional holster and adds several significant and potentially deadly disadvantages. I file these in the same category that I put the Uncle Mike’s holsters: save your money and get something better. There are lots of much better options out there. They are more expensive, mind you, but you definitely get what you pay for.
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