Only Three Inches? - BOOM

 What measures around three inches - can be very active and weighs roughly one pound?

Clue: This small lump detonates at 6,900 meters per second velocity - so in 6 micro seconds it would yield 315 BILLION WATTS of energy ..

A microsecond is ONE MILLIONTH of a second:

That would be a tennis ball sized, half a kilo of TNT .. TriNitroToluene

- I'm not going anywhere near that stuff ..

a related Nitroglycerin .. Useful when you need it ..

It's chemistry folks.

But 'Black Powder' might be interesting and useable eh

- Well the Chinese, back in the Seventh Century, thought it was interesting stuff, and they have worked with it for years.

I guess we are talking "Rocket Science" here eh. The energy comes from the pressure of expanding HOT Gasses produced when the compound is ignited or detonated .. something like a car engine eh.

Making this stuff could be self limiting eh - Imagine if this was the qualifying test to become a voter .. and that you had to produce and safely explode a pound of Black-Powder solo on a test range before being registered on the Electoral Role to chose politicians. - Population control by natural selection and 'democracy' might work better. 

- Yorkshire man Guy Fawkes thought it would be useful too.

Now - the reason gunpowder dates back so early into ancient days of the 7th century is that it is a fairly simple mixture of simple stuff. - Charcoal came from Trees, Nitrate crystals came from Bat Caves & Dung Heaps, and Sulfur came from Volcanos & Blow-holes as Brimstone.

The more recently made HIGH EXPLOSIVES that our politicians delight in throwing at ordinary folk are the works of DEVILS. - All that violence, - while hypocritically banning us from owning guns for self defense or for wild harvesting free food.

You really have to be evil bastards to dedicate your existance to designing long-chain molecules and subatomic nuclear reactions specifically built to bulk evaporate and disintegrate other peoples mothers and children.

Personally I would reintroduce individual Capital Punishment to a considered range of offenders.

_______________

- "Smokeless Powders" started as modified nitrocellulose developed from 'Gun Cotton' - and they make less smoke because when ignited they produce much more gas than gun powder can, and less solid residues. The first smokeless powders were single based but then double base and triple base powders followed, while current offerings are full of additives and clever formulations.

It is accepted that the simple 75:15:10 gun powder mixture is made around 50% more dense & powerful by being compressed and granulated.

The earliest type of propellant, dry mixed black powder - NOT compressed or consolidated - is known as 'Serpentine Powder'. 

Link to "Repeater handgonne Part 1: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoYunM-z19A

Link to "Repeater handgonne Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRm2LZty-oU

- You gotta be clever eh ..

Current regulations are very expensive, troublesome and both REPRESSIVE and OPRESSIVE.

To get your F.Lic. now you have to rebuild your home into a hardened fortress with two strongrooms or approved built-in safes - one for guns and one for ammunition - while registering all of your lawfully owned tools. Most sworn Police officers would be unable to meet the requirements - yet they are required to carry guns to shoot offenders in public areas as needed.

It's not only firearms regulations to deal with .. but also DANGEROUS GOODS, INSURANCE, STORAGE, COURIER, & TRANSPORT rules - while finding hunting properties is more difficult.

Back in the 80's and 90's New Zealands Gun Laws were very sensible and we 'Fit & Proper Persons' were proud to have been approved, and thought of ourselves as being on-side with the police .. almost as auxiliary officers. Those little red book licences were affordable but highly valued.

If you have an urge to know everything - I'd point you towards this superb paperback book ..

History eh.

Marty K.

Working 'ON' or Working 'WITH' Guns:

My content is being removed from multiple sites & censored by Facebook. - For eight years I have attempted to write positively about lawful gun ownership .. 1,661 online posts so far.

I am being shut down and shut-up.

We can no longer buy imported U S  GUN MAGAZINES such as Guns & Ammo in New Zealand ..

If you wish me to try to continue - please SHARE and repost my pieces - otherwise it will end.

____________________

I like to try fix and improve rusty old antique pistols bought cheaply. - I have read about the issues and I am trying my best to not eff-up anything that I get my hands on.

I have watched Youtube videos of morons restoring various guns by sand-blasting them and "polishing" them using belt sanders .. cold-bluing the now scrap metal over the new scratchings before cutting-out replacement grips from firewood covered in polyurathane varnish - while videoing the whole disasterous 'assault & battery' for public show .. expecting comments to praise their workmanship.

I wonder - Could my local crash repair shop .. SandBlast & Buff this up &

get it CHROME PLATED ?? ( JOKE ) .

I've even watched a U S "professional Restoration business" take a big old Webley revolver .. grind-off every surface back to new metal before 're-finishing' it on a buffing wheel and 're-blueing' the whole machine a deep, chemical black before proudly rotating it before the camera to display the skills they offer to the shooting world.

Naturally there are 'variables' and different circumstances to consider. - A rusted old "Two-Two" being repaired and prettied-up for on-going rabbit control & harvesting, is different to a 100 year old historic Webley .. or different again from a 18th Century antique Flintlock arm - hand built with fine engraving.

To be frank - I'm personally not so worried much about DOLLAR VALUES - I've never had money & it's too late now .. but I am more interested in looking after and conserving and improving what there is in my hands. This stuff may be UNIQUE and worth cherishing eh. I believe one "essential" here is to stop all ongoing active rusting.

- Now looking at the next image - it is clear that there (someone) has been 'refinishing' and destroying much patina & original finish, of what might have been, if more cherished over the centuries, a fine antique. 

- I confess.

That is such a pretty old thing ..

.. But, - what you cannot see here is how bad this lovely old lady was before I started to scrape off lumps of encrusted rusty carbuncles and pustules of active corrosion from it's hard metal surfaces .. I truly thought that barrel was SCRAP junk ..

My pics don't really show how rotten & awful this wreckage was .. Yeah lousy photography.

Maybe I've somewhat improved a rusty relic by excising and killing the rot ? - perhaps I've made it worse and destroyed all of it's value .. dunno.

I've been working on it for weeks off'n'on using Swiss files, wee diamond files, 'P2000' waterproof abrasive paper mounted on flat backing-support .. using a small 'pick' to clean /scrape corrosion out of pitting. - I may attempt even more "restoration" in coming times.

I like it now - whereas it made me want to cry seeing it's putrid, dissolving condition ..

_____________

I would NEVER  dream of touching any antique pistol that is in an honest unbuggered state of preservation. - I understand patina and history - these qualities are precisely why old stuff is appreciated and valued.

Meanwhile I can afford to buy cheap 'junk' pocket pistols and have some fun trying to improve em eh.

_____________

I read recently that the handmade SCREWS found in antique gun actions are sometimes called "Nails" and tried to research WHY?

- It may be because the earliest screws were actually hand crafted from square iron nail stock from rolling mills, just as were the handmade nails of the period ..

Marty K.

P.S. If you like old guns & stuff - this linked site has great posts ..

http://www.cablesfarm.co.uk/repair-and-restoration-what-should-i-do/

Gun Lubricants - 'Rip-Offs' & "Marketing Spin"

 Planet EARTH is a busy sort of place with lots of people coming & going all the time .. Our NZ Police Commissioner Costerlot has just resigned. - The PM's Senior Press Secretary has also resigned ..

Irreplaceable?

Lots of stuff  we are sold is presented to seem wonderfully pleasing - when in fact - it is exactly the same stuff we've already got in the kitchen at a quarter of the price.

WE pay for the extra costs of that lying advertising every time we BUY that item.

Now I fully 'get' that referring people to my old copy is a bit of a cheat - but the facts are FACTS ..

- Firing guns does make them Gritty and DIRTY with residues that impede proper function and can be CORROSIVE - so we have to clean and lubricate them.

Fact 1/-  HOT WATER poured over the mechanism and down the barrels CLEANS & REMOVES most of the crap .. it leaves the metal hot and this quickly dries any water.

- if you use some dish washing liquid in that water and scrub it around, that will be even BETTER.

Then - ANY lubricant oils and light grease applied to a clean gun will help prevent corrosion while smoothing the gun's function.

- You don't need high temperature resistance or miracle "advanced" additives. - CANOLA OIL from the grocery department is very good for lubrication ..

IT'S CHEAP

And has a long history as a MARINE & STEAM Lubricant.

GUN LUBE OR CANOLA OIL .. Link:

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2020/03/gun-lube-or-canola-oil.html

_______________

- Next thing is BALLISTOL .. It is a useful, multi-purpose, fluid to use on firearms. - But it smells odd and the containers it comes in, cost more than the product inside. - BALLISTOL is a mix of medical Liquid Paraffin - detergent - alcohol, - and water.  Water comes out of pipes FREE.

WHAT IS BALLISTOL? Link:

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2023/08/ballistol-what-is-it.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFa0PNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSm4lbhB0HPkJH0vqGKt44GvI-9Adk2z7k3Q2eR86M2aNIrwrPTGLUUyNQ_aem_nOiIkKKpwBgy1bEFJ2zBvA

The "good" stuff you buy can be tested and certainly works - but do you really want to give your hard earned money to Business Corporations who pay psychologists to influence & bend your mind?

These CORPORATIONS also donate money (that WE have given them) to political leaders to influence the policies and taxes imposed on us as citizen workers.

That's Life eh

Marty K.

'HAZARD' Caseless Boolits 4 Blackpowder .

- Interesting stuff comes along on-line from time to time eh

The HAZARD POWDER Company of Enfield Connecticut was founded 1835 along the Scantic River - and manufactured waterproof cartridges between 1861-1864 for blackpowder revolvers such as the Colts & Remington Army and Navy revolvers. - This was the American Civil War era.

'Hazard' was one of the Top Three gunpowder manufacturers at that time.

Modern Homemade "Waterproof" Black Powder Loads:

When I was shooting ROA Blackpowder I did experiment making Paper Cartridges and they worked fine except the nitrated cigarette papers I used left bits of unburned charred paper in the bottom of the chambers that had to be picked out before re-loading for the next shots. - I reckon properly home NITRATED paper using a saturated solution would have worked better. - Caseless balls would be even betterer as there is NO paper to worry about eh.

This process is a simple one but fiddly to manage - basically what you do is - mix your Black-Powder with a little Dextrin powder - moisten the mix with a small amount of water and scoop it into a shaped open topped cavity and press it down using a ram to PRESS & solidify - and put aside in a sunny dry window for 24 hours to dry - then GLUE together with the conical or ball of choice. (- IF you sadly are located in a high rainfall - high Humidity - grey, cold, mouldy, slimey, damp & overcrowded hole like the Poms .. you would need a drying cabinet or electric dehydrator ..)

Six or seven per cent of DEXTRIN moist-mixed and compressed to shape is great .. bearing in mind that some of the alternative coloured 'Blackpowders' and rocket fuels comprise Dextrin as their main fuel.

Links to informative VIDEOS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyoPmklwv-Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64cgJQOLAc

Now U S based Mr Crossen does NOT accept overseas orders so we poor Kiwis will have to make our own moulds to compress and shape the antique propellants into the needed loads & calibers as required - shouldn't be a problem using a drill followed by a carbide burr, stone or reamer to shape - and polish eh.

Start off with two aluminium flat bars clamped together in your vise .. drill to depth along the 'split-line' - I plan to clamp the halves together with bolts .. open-up to shape with a taper reamer or burr - and you'll be able to press the mixture down no worries .. use a waxy mould release to ease extraction of the compressed forms ready to glue-on the 'antique' spheres or conicals .. The shape of the powder 'charge' can be tapered, round, flat, or pointed bottom (as drilled), as long as it will load & fit into your chambers eh.

I would intend to use a compression 'pusher' with a rounded bottom shape in a re-loading press - to form them to accept and glue-on forty-four caliber BALLS.

No wucking furries eh.

Or .. READ ALL ABOUT IT here ...

https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/306/306763-Hazard-Cartridge-trimed-for-printig.pdf

Mr Crossen has a YouTube page with lots of clever videos ..

https://www.youtube.com/@crossencartridge6403/videos

Marty K.

REMINGTON New Model Army "1858" 1863 Original:

Well I bought this antique original Remington - or "won" it as trademe likes to say .. and it landed on my doorstep on the second day of NZ Spring - after I likely - as usual, paid too much for it. - I plea temporary insanity again.

Original Remington New Model Army 44 caliber Percussion Revolver.

It's a big lump compared to a Birmingham made Pocket Pistol in the same .44 caliber

It is an early (April 1863) production gun in un-interfered 'honest' condition - holster worn at the muzzle & showing plenty of single letter inspector's stamps .. 1x R, 5x P, and 5x W. I maybe detect faint signs of a Military acceptance 'cartouche' on the L.H. wood grip - AND it has four sets of MATCHING SERIAL NUMBERS 204** - including on the back face of the CYLINDER ... That is a rarity I read - likely indicating hand fitting.

Remnants of a Two Line Patent Date & Address with 'NEW MODEL' included remain on top of the 8 inch octagonal barrel. 

T'other Side ..

Well I'm pleased with it anyway .. but at 1.55 kg unloaded - it is a heavy lump ..

In my typical way I've ordered the book from Abe Books in USA after buying the antique.

- So I will confirm eventually whether I've bought badly or well .. I did check-out overseas auction sale prices for various condition guns and while it wasn't cheap .. it was here in NZ & available.

As received - all six Chambers and the Barrel bore were very furry-dusty, that indicates some time has passed just laying about on shelves - not surprising as the vendor is a private museum & he says he bought it at auction ex Tallahassee Florida - the only Confederate Capital East of the Mississippi not to surrender to Union forces. 

- My excuse for snapping-it-up is that you don't see many original antique Remington revolvers on offer down here in New Zealand .. while plenty of Italian reproductions come-up for registered use by licensed shooters and collectors - our Police regulations certainly are distorting the market prices.

The cap nipples look original & OK condition while everything mechanical seems to function in a businesslike way.

I did get my cleaning kit open and had a close look into it's tubes after a short 'Wash & Brush-up' - and the bored metal looks free from heavy pitting & "OK" .. better in fact than any other of the antique smoke poles I have ..

Bore "OK" ish - Modified Front Sight - and 'Holster Worn' Muzzle 

Chambers aren't too potty

- Been Carried & Cared About

Gawd but it's a great big heavy lump of a thing - I'll have to get down to the gym - I have previously owned a used Italian made Uberti replica of this marque pistol which was more dinged & worn than this 161 year old Civil War era original.

Here's a LINK to a good article with great photos - about shooting an original 'New Model Army' ..

https://svartkrutt.net/articles/vis.php?id=50

Ah Yes .. THE book is superbly researched & excellent regarding historical ordnance transactions - for example I have gleaned that my Florida Remington may have been of a lot sold as surplus from the Pensacola Naval Base, in 1873, for $2.50 each (naturally it also may not have been).

Marty K.

Press - Police - & Black-Powder Parlor Pistols:

"We removed some content or messages .. your Post" - so I've altered the title ..

Most public 'news' services - the bloody  'Presstitutes' - seem to be ignoring how close the world stands to a nuclear war catastrophe right now .. naturally it might not happen .. But imagine how terrified the academic members of Gun Control New Zealand will be if they discover that they are now survivors alone and unarmed on a remote undefendable island with no oil - no power - no survival tools & no takeaway food. - Neither New Zealand's English King or Maori Queen will be offering any help when stuff gets a bit basic ..

___________

- Most experts state that between 1860-63 - around 200 of these 'Derringer' type "Parlour Pistols" were sold by Remington .. 

These wee guns were bored .177" (4.5 mm) caliber and fired a lead ball driven ONLY by the gasses produced from a copper Percussion Cap.

Note: - I spent time researching WHY the .177" is generally the smallest gun bore and how & when it came to be so - but there's absolute confusion .. I GIVE UP.

Reproductions of this antique design are available from that excellent Italian manufacturer Pedersoli that may be bought and shot for sport in USA and other countries having a sane approach to guns and their use. - they are small with an overall length just over 12 cm. (4.75 inches) - What we are talking about here is 'CAP GUNS' that every kid used to run around bomb sites & gardens pretending to be a cowboy, back in the day when we had fun outdoors instead of ruining our eyesight & mental health by staring at a screen ..

After dinner entertainment used to be civilized in the olden days with targets hung before heavy curtain material or mounted in front of an unused brick lined fireplace .. not too noisy or smokey when shot with no black powder propellant,-  the tiny lead balls would manage velocities of around 300 feet per second - but some online correspondents have added a few grains of the mixture behind their projectile to hop them up, with some loss of accuracy while claiming up to 800 ft/sec velocities.

It likely would be a total waste of time to even think about importing these reproduction Cap Guns into New Zealand under our current Police State Rules - as for example they are demanding that fully licenced & Endorsed Target Pistol shooters must join an approved & separate 'Soft Air Club' before they can buy a plastic pellet gun.

Criminal Gangs are out of control while making huge profits dealing in illegal drugs and guns .. so our Police respond by oppressing and restricting the most law abiding section of NZ Society .. Licensed Firearms owners ..

https://americanhandgunner.com/handguns/palor-pistol-perfection/

However .. elsewhere it would be an easy conversion to fit a .177" sleeve (caliber converter) into a 'Pocket Pistol' such as a Liegi Pedersoli or even a clapped-out original barrel - for some harmless indoor fun ..

The U S importers would likely be pleased to supply a spare barrel in exchange for a few dollars cash.

- All you'd then need is an old air rifle, hacksaw and access to a lathe to generate your own Parlour Pistol.

https://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/parlor_pistol/parlor_pistol.html

_______________

A Question of Law:

New Zealand Police Service heirarchy are on the record for stating that a genuine old 'gun' built before the end of 1898 - not capable of firing a 'self contained cartridge' and not being a copy or reproduction, may be owned as an "Antique" but not loaded and not shot.

Now - earlier this year I bought a large antique Flintlock Pistol  (one of two 'Ottoman Empire antiques) that was loaded - from an antique dealer who in his turn, got the gun from a "deceased estate" - and subsequently I wrote about it ..

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2024/04/working-on-ottoman-flintlock.html

No criminal offence has been charged - nor should there be - by NZ Police Service.

- Are you having a laugh? 

- Is 'NZ Firearms Law an Ass'? - Don't answer that ..

I seriously suggest that the path towards logical and effective Firearms Legislation here would be to require ALL Serving Police officers to obtain and maintain their New Zealand endorsed Firearms Licence under exactly the same conditions and regulations imposed by them on other law abiding citizens.

Marty K.

Multi Ball Pistol Loads? - Get wadded ..

Way back in time - before lawful New Zealand shooters came under fire from a punitive regime bent on BANNING GUNS .. I developed and had fun shooting DUPLEX LOADS in a couple of my pistols.

- As part of the "new" - long prepared - restrictions that were passed through parliament under eager haste - a rule was introduced banning ammunition from having multiple projectiles .. because this might be intended to defeat ballistic vests. - So I could no longer pass my tool to a shooting mate and watch the fun after firing five shots at a new paper target and counting TEN HOLES.

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2018/10/first-ever-recorded-firearm.html

I'm unsure as to whether NZ Police Heirarchy have heard of SHOT SHELLS .. but there you go - they are banned.

The two loads that I had fun with were my 10mm Glock 20 using 2 cast truncated cone projectiles loaded into the brass case 'back-to-back' .. and the second "Duplex" was for my Ruger 327 Magnum revolver where I worked-up a load using a light weight bullet PLUS a caliber sized round lead ball loaded in tandem.

Both of these (327 Mag and 10mm Auto) cartridges are great for tandem-duplex loads as they are longer cases than average - as also would be the 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum.

My initial idea was inspired by BOWLING PIN MATCHES - where the ideal 'Pin' caliber seemed to be that 'Slow Slug' .45" acp which was ideal for pushing bowling pins off the table - while my 10mm Glock splintered pins and left the shattered pins spinning around in any direction other than back & off.

My two 10mm cast lead "plates" with a light charge of powder did the trick by making "snake eyes" on target while sticking inside the pin's plastic coat to deliver a nice rearwards shove. 'BRILLIANT' I thought and I then declared this load to be perfect for IPSC 'double taps' onto the cardboard but a spoilsport IPSC Director (Thanks JD mate) said he would simply weigh each pill and declare them to be disqualified as underweight.

A couple of years back I had a laugh by asking our Club President did he think that the Police Service BAN on 'Duplex' ammunition would mean that any MUZZLE LOADER shooter who absent mindedly shoved a second ball down his smokepole barrel or into a revolver's chamber would be guilty of TREASON & the retained death penalty .. He did get a bit red in the face at my question.

ANYWAY .. I've been thinking again, - and my inspiration is that many shooters use a WAD to seperate the charge of propellant from the projectile. This WAD can be made from a variety of materials not restricted to polymer, - cardboard, - wool felt .. dry lubed or greased .. or even screwed-up paper, cotton moistened with spit, or animal skin, fabric wrapping etc.

- Where does any set of Service limitations dictate that a wad may not be made of a metal foil such as LEAD - or what thickness or shape the wad may not exceed - or again - must a wad be placed before or behind a projectile?

Just saying - but "LEAD SINKER FISHING STRIP SOFT ROLL" is offered for sale by Chinese Company AliExpress in various widths and thicknesses that can be cut to size and rolled to shape - Just saying eh. - but how many "wads" might an enthusiast punch-out from a roll of soft lead? - If lubrication is a high priority you might stick a card wad to each leaden disc and grease it for placement away from the powder but next to the ball. A 'composite wad'. - Is there any limit to what you might or might not do with malleable lead pushed out from the muzzle of a black powder charcoal burner?

Might somebody roll about and encase something in lead ? - What effect might a small 'can' of lead filled with plasticine modeling clay have on a softish target? - Who knows - not me 'cos I'm too old & past-it

Blackie Thomas is a black powder cheapskate developing his lubed wads on video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFb-UgewX8Q

INDEPENDANCE DAY ..

- Have you heard of a 'HAMMER SWAGE' ? .. For sure many projectiles commercially are made from chopped lead wire that is fed into a swaging machine to be pressed into a cavity forming the nose & tail shapes. - Shooters can use a much simplified version of this technique to cure a mismatch or shortages 

.. Imagine that you need some .36 inch projectiles but what you have in the shed are .44" caliber. - find a nice lump of steel and drill a hole through it of the right size - find or make an old bolt to fit the hole and use it as a punch to hammer your .44" balls through the hole and Voila and miraculously you now have .36" sized bullets.

Butt t  .. what if you've got .36 inch balls when you fancy a handful of .44" caliber pills? - Get out that drill and make your .44" caliber sized hole and another well fitting old bolt - drop each 36" in and give it a healthy whack with the hammer & bolt against something hard and I bet you've now got a load of light-weight fourtyfours. You could even load them two at a time .. Useful Link:

https://svartkrutt.net/articles/vis.php?id=32

There you go,

Have Fun .. Life IS good eh,

Marty K.