Bianchi Cup/shooting

Calculating lead on moving targets

Posted on by Caleb

One of the most challenging stages of the Bianchi Cup for newcomers to the sport is the Mover – I wrote about the Mover extensively last year in my run up to the match. One of the biggest concerns people have about the mover is “how much” is enough lead at what distances. Thankfully, all the distances in Bianchi Cup are known quantities, so it’s easy to calculate the approximate amount of lead you’ll need, as long as you know the velocity of your round.

The target on the mover is a standard NRA AP-1 target, which on the mover will travel 60 feet in 6 seconds, meaning it has a lateral speed of 10 feet per second. The dimensions of an AP-1 target are a 4 inch x-ring, an 8 inch 10 ring, and a 12 inch 8 ring with the rest of the target being the 5 ring (see image link). I’m going to run these calculations assuming that your bullet’s speed is 850 fps, which is fast enough to make the power factor using 158 grain (for .38s) or 147 grain (for 9mm and Super). If your bullet is going 850 feet per second, it will cover the 10 yards to the target in 0.035 seconds. In that 0.035 seconds, the target will have moved 0.35 feet, or 4.2 inches. That means at the 10 yard stage, you’ll need to hold in the area between the 10 ring and the 8 round to “aim” for the x-ring.

A couple of caveats before I get into the longer ranges: these are approximate amounts of hold. I’m not taking into account the bullet’s loss of velocity over distance, nor am I taking into account the angular distance between shooter and target when the Mover is at an angle to the shooter. Because of other uncontrolled variables such as recoil, wind, and shooter error, the goal of this post is to provide the shooter with a “point of aim” when they’re engaging the Mover at Bianchi Cup. Each measurement is a link to a picture of the point of aim.

  • 10 yards – Bullet flight time: 0.035 seconds. Amount of lead: 4.2 inches
  • 15 yards – Bullet flight time: 0.053 seconds. Amount of lead: 6.4 inches
  • 20 yards – Bullet flight time: 0.071 seconds. Amount of lead: 8.5 inches
  • 25 yards – Bullet flight time: 0.088 seconds. Amount of lead: 10.6 inches

Savvy shooters just noticed that at 850 FPS you’re going to be holding off the paper at 25 yards, which could present a problem in “hold” since you’ve lost your concrete aiming point. One of the best tricks I’ve heard for this is to hold the width of your front sight off the target at 25 yards.

In the linked images, the “hold points” are only on one side of the target – when it’s moving from right to left, use the ones in the links. When the target is going from left to right, hold on the other side of the target in the same spot. To decrease the amount of lead necessary, use a faster projectile. At 25 yards, upping your bullet speed to 1100 FPS decreases the amount of lead to 8 inches, which means that you’re again holding “on the paper”. A 115 grain bullet at 1100 FPS makes power factor and covers the 25 yards 0.068 seconds, which is noticeably faster than the projectile at 850 fps.

The purpose of this is give yourself an idea of where to hold on the target during the Mover. The rest is up to you as a shooter to have smooth follow through and clean trigger pulls!

news

Threat to ammo supply

Posted on by Caleb

From our friends at NSSF:

Threat to Ammunition Availability – Action Needed
As demand for ammunition continues to outpace supply, it is critically important that an amendment authored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to a seemingly obscure hazardous material bill (HR 4016) be attached to the legislation during consideration on the House floor.  When the bill passed out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Graves secured a commitment from Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to allow a vote on this amendment.   The amendment being pushed by Graves will help protect the shipment of materials necessary for the manufacturing of ammunition. Without the Graves Amendment, the rate of production will slip, perhaps precipitously. In-turn, decreased production of ammunition will lead to decreased availability. This will lead to an increase in ammunition prices directly affecting consumers. Given the current high demand for ammunition, passage of the Graves Amendment should be considered critical to gun owners, law enforcement and the military.   Floor action on the bill is anticipated within the next three weeks.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry – is encouraging all hunters and sportsmen to contact Rep. Oberstar and urge him to support the Graves Amendment. Chairman Oberstar intends to bring HR 4016 to the floor prior to the end of the session (most likely between Dec. 8 and 22), so time is of the essence.

Congressman Oberstar can be reached at: (202) 225-6211


Uncategorized

Gun Nuts Tonight!

Posted on by Caleb

We have got a good show for you tonight, a trinity of tantalizing topics for your enjoyment will be the focus of Gun Nuts Radio tonight at 9pm Eastern time.  Here’s the breakdown for tonight’s show:

  1. The police shootings in Seattle, and the absolute failure of our justice system that allowed this to happen.
  2. The upcoming charity auction sponsored by Gun Nuts Media, DPMS, Leupold and Crimson Trace, with the proceeds benefiting Honored American Veterans Afield.
  3. The concealed carry database being published by a local Indiana paper, and what we can do to prevent this from happening in your state.

That’s all going down tonight on Gun Nuts Radio, live at 9pm Eastern!  We’ll be airing at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts, and we’d love for you to take part in the discussion by calling in live to the show at 347-539-5436 – join us tonight!

ammo

Winchester offers new .410 ammo for personal defense

Posted on by Caleb

Coming in March 2010 from Winchester will be their new Supreme Elite PDX1 line of defensive ammo, which will feature multiple projectile loads in .410 and 12 gauge.  From the press release:

Highly effective in both shotguns and 410 compatible handguns, the PDX1 in 410 gauge features a distinctive black hull and black oxide high-base head and combines three plated Defense Disc™ projectiles and 12 pellets of plated BB shot. The result is the ideal personal protection load for short range engagement with the performance needed to stop threats. This load is also suitable for varmint hunting and pest control. Designed for use in the Taurus Judge, this new personal defense round provides maximum protection at close range.

If you’re wondering what a “Defense Disc” projectile is like I was, don’t worry, Winchester was kind enough to provide us with a picture of the new round.

but it looks so coooooool

I’ll be interested to try this out once it hits shelves in March; I’ve got a couple of “defensive” .410 shotguns in the house that are currently loaded with more traditional buckshot.

No promotional consideration or compensation of any type was provided by Winchester.

news

The danger of databases

Posted on by Caleb

As mentioned yesterday, the promised carry permit database is up at the Herald Times Online, which I won’t link to for fear of contamination.  As has been mentioned by the Herald Times’ own editorial staff, the database does not contain names or street address, which I guess is nice of them to not publish my name on the internet.

Sadly though, the list isn’t exactly benign.  It works by going to the list and inputting a street name, county, or city; then you can see how many people on your street have concealed carry permits.  There are a couple of major issues I have with this:

  1. The HTO is implying that you can use this database to find out how “safe” your street is, the negative implication being that carry permit holders are dangerous lunatics that need to be tracked ala sex offenders.
  2. Mrs. Ahab, who hails from rural Indiana originally, pointed out to me that there are plenty of streets that only have one or two houses on them.
  3. A prison guard in Ohio was tracked down by a former inmate in Ohio using a similar list.

Now, the HTO is clinging to their lie that the database doesn’t expose permit holders to any kind of risk.  It should be pretty obvious to anyone with a pair of brain cells to rub together why that’s plainly not true – it exposes “pink card” holders not only to criminal activity but to potential discrimination from hostile coworkers or employers, as well as a host of other issues.

Unfortunately, we’re probably not going to win this fight with impassioned appeals to the HTO about the right to privacy, as I’ve heard from several sources that they’re as hard core a bunch of leftists as you’ll find in Indiana.  Our best recourse is to contact your state legislator and ask them to sponsor laws making these kinds of shenanigans illegal.  And once again for fun, here are the direct lines to the “leadership” (and I use that term loosely) for the Herald Times Online:

Scott Schurz, Sunday Hoosier Times/Editor-in-Chief
812-331-4250

E. Mayer Maloney Jr., Publisher
(812) 331-4251

Bob Zaltsberg, Editor
(812) 331-4364

Be polite!

Hoosier

Here we go again

Posted on by Caleb

I mentioned two weeks ago that some reporter from the local Bloomington, IN paper was going to run some hit pieces on concealed carry holders in the state of Indiana.  I was not wrong, as the pieces were published today.  I’d link to them, but the Herald Times online wants you to pay 5 bucks to see the pieces, and that’s not worth your money, trust me.  I actually did pay the five bucks for the subscription so I could read them, and they’re generally unremarkable.  The first article is your standard “OMFG PEOPLE AROUND YOU HAVE GUNS!!!111”, and the second article is a cutting edge and up date piece on how people are buying guns because of Obama.  I have a helpful tip for Michael Malik, the author of these two pieces about “timeliness”: if USA Today has already published multiple articles on a specific topic, such as people buying guns because of Obama, you are officially “behind the curve”.  In fact, you’re so far behind the curve that it’s kind of sad.

Be that as it may, as I said the two articles themselves are nothing special or remarkable, it’s pretty much the “same old same old” that we see every now and again as some hack writer tries to use “guns R scaaaawwwy” to make his bones.

However, there is an interesting tidbit buried at the bottom of the article:

This week, HeraldTimesOnline.com will launch its new gun permit database. You’ll be able to search gun permit records by county, city or town and street.

Also, reporter Michael Malik will answer your questions about his gun permit series and the new database in a live Q&A at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The HeraldTimesOnline legally obtained a copy of the list of “pink card” holders; it’s public record so that’s all well and good.  However, they have decided in their infinite editorial wisdom to post your private data (name, address, everything you gave the Indiana State Police) in a searchable database.  This is what you call “not classy”.  I would even go so far as to call it “irresponsible and reprehensible”, but it’s also par for the course with the media.  So here’s what we can do about it.

  • Log in for the live chat tomorrow morning at 11am and let your voice be heard.
  • Here are the email addresses and phone numbers of the “important” people at the Herald Times:

Scott Schurz, Sunday Hoosier Times/Editor-in-Chief
812-331-4250

E. Mayer Maloney Jr., Publisher
(812) 331-4251

Bob Zaltsberg, Editor
(812) 331-4364

  • I’m thinking that those people listed above should have lots and lots of courteous and polite yet very strong worded phone calls and emails about the irresponsible nature of publishing the handgun carry permit database.
  • If you’re a subscriber to the HT, I’d suggest informing everyone that you speak to that you’ll be canceling your subscription as well.
  • Finally, if you’re one of my estimable Hoosier readers, forward this post to everyone you know in Indiana.  This won’t work if we don’t get a lot of traction on it.

As a reminder, what the Herald Times is doing is not illegal, although it’s a pretty scummy trick, it’s not illegal.  As such, we need to keep it polite and keep it classy when we’re calling and writing to people.

ammo

Muzzle velocity and stopping power

Posted on by Caleb

I’ve had two posts in the last couple of weeks regarding ammo selection for self-defense, one on the .38 Super for self defense, and the other denigrating the 10mm.  We also did an episode of Gun Nuts Radio that focused on terminal ballistic performance.  Out of all of this, one of the comments that will usually show up at least 10 times is where someone touting the .357 Sig or the 10mm will point and wave and stamp their feet about how much more muzzle velocity their part cartridge has.  Stop it.  I have linked to this image so many times that I’ve lost count, but here it is again.  Now, we’re not talking about hunting rounds here, because I’m not a hunter, so I’m going to confine this discussion solely to defensive ammo for two legged badguys.

Look at that graph.  See how every single round penetrates more than 12 inches and expands to roughly 0.50-0.60 inches?  The 9mm, the .40, the .357 McSilly, the .45 ACP all do exactly the same thing.  They all have a permanent wound cavity that is virtually indistinguishable from one round to the next.  So all that extra 100 FPS you’re getting the .357 McSilly or the 10mm isn’t actually going to make a difference in terminal ballistic performance.  When you’re thinking about touting a pistol cartridge because it’s a “better stopper” because of all the muzzle velocity/kinetic energy/magic it produces, remember this from the definitive resource on handgun wounding:

Kinetic energy does not wound.  Temporary cavity does not wound.  The much discussed “shock” of a bullet impact is a fable and “knock down power” is a myth.

If you want to carry the .357 Sig or the 10mm or some other boutique cartridge, that’s fine.  I’m certainly not going to stop you from running out and buying a Springfield XD in .45 GAP.  But don’t fool yourself into thinking that your bullet is going to do something special in terms of damage to the target.  If you’re using a modern, “service type” hollow point load, guess what – it’s going to penetrate 12+ inches and reliably expand regardless of whether it’s a 9mm, a .40, a .38 Special, a .357 Sig, a .45 ACP, or a 10mm.

Uncategorized

60 grain .22 LR ammo

Posted on by Caleb

Steve at the Firearm Blog posits a question from a reader about 60 grain .22 LR ammo, the only loading of which I’m aware of is the Aguila SniperSubSonic load.  I’ve actually done a lot of shooting with this load through various platforms, and while it’s a neat idea it’s not really practical when compared to standard .22 LR ammo.  The biggest problem with the 60 grain stuff is that you need a special barrel for it – the twist rate to stabilize the heavy and long 60 grain rounds need to be 1:9 as opposed to the slower twist in most .22 LR barrels.

Another problem that you run in to with the Aguila when shooting it from a Ruger 10/22 is the bolt opening prematurely.  The round is so heavy that when you fire it, unless you have a heavy charging handle made out of tungsten to add some weight to the bolt, it can open before the powder is finished burning, creating a disconcerting “flintlock” effect from the chamber of the rifle.

I like the Aguila stuff, and shot it extensively out of my Walther P22 for a while, as for whatever reason the P22 really liked it.  That being said, it’s sadly confined to “novelty” and “niche” markets because of the amount of modification that you have to do to a factory rifle to get it to run right.  Plus, it costs more than regular .22 LR ammo, so if you’ve really got your heart set on overpaying for rimfire ammo, just buy a .22 Magnum instead.