Shooters Blinking (Flinching) on Q.I.;

This segment from British TV show 'Q.I.' reminded me of something:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTKT4_-2Mcg

- The reaction to flinch & blink when we experience a loud noise (plus maybe a blast of high pressure gas) is instinctive and should not really be unexpected.

- I recently had an eye examination for new glasses and one part involved a 'puff' of air directed into each eye to check for internal pressure. Everyone must surely respond by blinking - but the test equipment measures and records the eyes pressure before the eye lid descends.

A percentage of target shooters have probably trained themselves not to blink as they fire - but I'd say that most shooters close their eyes momentarily. "Shooting well is simple - it's just not easy."

Again - it's no HEADLINE that US figures record around 80% of shots fired by police miss their intended targets. You have under-trained personnel - under stress - trying to precisely direct a small hard object from the end of a barrel through the air at a mobile target - while being assaulted by loud noise, recoil, muzzle blast, and possibly muzzle flash.. all while likely themselves being subjected to a violent attack.

I'm mystified how so many movie 'black-hats' fall over while the "Good Guys" re-holster their Colts and walk away.

Some of These Guys Are Wearing The Wrong Color Hats:

Way back when - I read that I should watch my pistol front sight on firing to see if it rises to the right or to the left (resulting from a poor grip) - or does it do the 'right thing' and move straight up & down.

 - Up till that time - I had never seen my front sight do ANYTHING when I shot.

When trying to help new shooters - girls often do better than the guys because they listen - whereas most real men have already seen the movies and know how it's done (blame testosterone).

 - But all new shooters should start with small calibers - preferably in a single shot rifle. - There can be no better way to turn-off your lady from shooting than to hand her a 'MAGNUM' and have a good laugh at her flinch reaction.. No surprise that she'd close her eyes tight before ever shooting again.

Now I'm obviously not telling a defensive shooter who is in fear of their life from a deranged murderer to slowly breath out before focusing carefully on the fore-sight to ensure that there is an equal gap either side and confirm that the top surface is perfectly aligned.. Americans Do it Fast & Do it Right eh.

- Some things in modern life work-out very well - like dried foods storing well long term and being light to carry - whereas canned food needs an opener, - is heavy, dents, rusts and the labels come-off.

So - Some unnatural skills need training and repetitive practice to achieve.

- It is a blinking nuisance eh.

Marty K.

India's Defense Forces Rifle - & Our Choices:

The selection of a main issue Rifle in India is proving to be complex. Recent reports claim that the locally built Escalibur 5.56 mm will be issued - while the long-term replacement process's continue.

The Excalibur is supposed to be an improved version of the INSAS rifle (Indian Small Arms System) firing 5.56×45 mm ammunition. It has full-automatic capability (the INSAS fires a three-round burst).

India's Defense Forces have been using an additional 100,000 AKM rifles in 7.62x39mm since 1990-1992. - The INSAS design is a "mix & match" design "based on" the Kalashnikov design but in NATO 5.56x45mm caliber.

The Excalibur barrel is shorter by 4 mm, has a side folding butt stock and features a Picatinny** rail that allows a range of weapon sights and accessories to be fitted on the rifle.

 Rifle Factory Ishapore is said to need at least eight months to incorporate design changes suggested by the ARDE - and to produce field prototypes of what they are calling the ‘Modified INSAS Rifle’ (MIR). - Hopefully this 'indigenous' Excalibur design will select the best features of other designs and incorporate them successfully.

Changes after trials include an improved polycarbonate magazine to replace an earlier magazine found to be prone to failure from cracking.

**  "Picatinny"  is the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, USA - where this design of accessory attachment rail was tested and set as a military standard .. Mil-STD-1913 (dated February 1995).

The New Zealand DF have recently changed our general purpose rifle from the worn-out Steyr AUG Bullpups to the CQB16 from US supplier Lewis Machine & Tool - reportedly buying some 8,800 rifles.

It seems that capability to fit various optical sighting options is a critical factor (- along with mix'n'match compatibility with the US forces supply system.)

NZDF CQB16.
Lewis Machine & Tool

While the Indian authorities appear to be grappling with an additional caliber choice (AK or NATO?) - We Kiwis decided to go away from the advanced (NATO caliber) Steyr AUG Bullpup rifle design and have regressed to an M16 style "American Black Rifle".

 - Meanwhile our Australian friends across the ditch (Tasman Sea) opted to update to a locally developed iteration of the Steyr AUG made by Thales Australia.

Australia's Choice: Thales F90 (EF88)

- With constant technical progress (eg. caseless ammo) being investigated - It is not easy to wisely spend so much taxpayers money .. when the wrong decision can seriously harm the countries security and the lives of valued service personnel.

 - However, I get the impression that NZs serving warriors are happy with the new 5.56mm LM&T 'Black Rifle' choice.

Marty K.

The Sporting Shooters Association NZ - and The Real Wool:

TV NZ says that 83% of New Zealanders want tougher gun laws.

Would you join the NRA if you lived in America?

New Zealand Shooters: Please Join SSANZ

www.sportingshooters.nz

SPORTING SHOOTERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND

Membership Enquiries:

09 436 4065

E.Mail: oilyrag@xtra.co.nz

- If you can't bother to join an organisation (for only $20) that represents you - don't be surprised when new Laws cost you personally thousands of dollars to keep your guns.

_____________

Well I'm the first to admit that I'm getting older and tend to stick with the familiar - but I reckon that woolen clothing and blankets really are 'better' than plastic 'fleece'.. Baaah!

Cotton is definitely Cooling  - & Wool is Warming .. but polyethelene terepthalate??

- Testing seems to suggest that they are similar in insulation value - both when wet or dry - but I reckon our local winds seem to rip the heat away easier from 'fleece' than from the sheep's back-hair.

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/fleece-vs-wool-insulation.html

New Zealands winds are very lazy - They'll go straight through you rather than go around.

The synthetic stuff dries quicker than t'other so it may chill you more while drying - but the real swinger for me is that WOOL is naturally flame-retardant and won't burn you. - Woolen clothing will char, stink and go-out - But fleece 'sticks like sh*t to a blanket'  as it melts.

"Polar Fleece" is generally made from re-cycled soda bottles that are Polyethelene Terepthalate - an oil based polyester - a petroleum derivative. It makes static electricity (as does wool) and when laundered it generates micro-plastics into the waste water.

Re-cycling is good for sure (But glass soda bottles would be better) - but are you going to dress your kids in fleecy plastic rompers and blankets that might harm them?

Smelly Old WOOL SwannDri Bush Shirt

 - Strong Enough to Carry that Porker by Itself When Wet.

Yes I know that coarse wool can be scratchy - but 'Merino' wool is fine and soft.

New Zealand Merino Sheep Look Plenty Warm Despite The Snow.

Here in NZ - I buy socks and 'tops' made from merino wool blended with possum fur (a natural hollow fiber) - and it's so cosy on a frosty pistol range.

Fits Like a Glock In a Sock.

There may still be some black powder shooters who stamp-out their own wool felt wads to use between the powder and the ball.

Wool - You pays your money and makes your choices eh.

Marty K.

Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox - A Handy Pistol:

Introduced in 1996 - I'd like to say that the 3032 Tomcat is a great little pistol - except that they had a major problem with the frames cracking above the trigger guard area on early production of the blued models.

Beretta fixed this issue by increasing the thickness of this section of the frame - and the freshly introduced 'INOX' stainless model has been free of this failure.

Inox Model Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP 

I think that the open-top slide and 'Tip-Up' action of the very short .32 ACP barrel (2.4") is the most noteworthy and useful feature of this subcompact design:

Beretta 'Made in USA'

Operating that 'release latch' above the rear of the trigger - frees the barrel to spring-up - exposing the chamber so that a round can be inserted (chambered) without having to manually pull open the slide against the frame mounted recoil springs. - This is a feature that might be very special to anyone having a strength problem in their hands.

The 'INOX' model uses an aluminum frame color anodized to match the stainless steel finish of the slide and barrel.

- It is a simple hammer fired 'blow-back' action that operates reliably without any extractor - the empty cases being 'blown out' of the chamber by residual pressure. The trigger action is DA / SA while the magazine holds seven rounds .. plus the eighth round that is chambered into the barrel by hand.

Although some online folk complain that the Tomcat is heavy at 14 ounces empty - and wide for a sub-compact - it is a small pistol - so small that most shooters will only get a two finger grip on the butt with their pinkie curled under.

Sootch00 does a good job of shooting & reviewing the Tomcat and showing you how that barrel springs up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGkbnV_OyY0

Marty K.

P.S: On reflection - I guess that a small framed revolver in perhaps .32" (327 Federal Magnum?) - .38" or .22" caliber might also suit strength and function impaired shooters in a similar fashion. The only remaining limiting factor would then be the required trigger pressure.

6 Shot Ruger LCR 327 Federal Magnum.

- Can Also Fire 32 ACP

M.K.

After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24075745

Gun Digest 2017 & NZ Labour Day:

Today being the fourth Monday in October is Labour Day here in New Zealand - a Public holiday making it a three-Day Weekend - that is generally reckoned to herald the end of Winter and to be soon enough to get-out into the garden and plant-up the vegetables.

- Well I started this years 'backyard Supermarket' weeks ago - which is just as well 'cos today is grey, cool and too wet outside for gardening - so instead I've been looking through the latest 71st edition Gun Digest instead.

Some excellent articles - so I won't 'do a 1911' and tell you how wonderful it is as long as you correct all its faults - except to note that the catalog section at the back seems to have been hurriedly thrown together by the computer-savvy office junior with some photos appearing on a different page to the entry - or even  totally AWOL.

One story piece compares the velocity performance of various projectile coatings - with surprising results - molybdenum disulfide, copper plated, and polymer coated - with cast, swagged and FMJ pills.

The fastest pills from the experimental measurements were CAST .. followed by polymer-coated, - then Moly-coated, - Swaged,  - FMJ - and last (slowest) .. the Plated projectiles.

- A Spread over a significant variation of nearly 100 foot per second velocity range.

Another story about the 327 Federal Magnum tells the history of .32" developments with the various cartridges that have evolved over the last 138 years since the .32 S&W was introduced and focuses on the very same model SP101 Ruger that I'm STILL waiting for.

- I looked through the Catalog section for Auto-loader Handguns and was pleased to record that five different makers list pistols in .32 caliber - including the clever** Beretta Tomcat with its "tip-up" barrel. ** It is a different and useful design - BUT there is a big problem with frame cracking on early blued guns that the later 'Inox' stainless models seem to have fixed.

Marty K.

Glock Rim-Fire - High Cap Mags.- (Or even in .32"?)

I own an Advantage Arms .22 conversion kit for my G 17 - it also fits & works OK on 'Cutter's' .40" S&W caliber Glock.

I have to tell you that this good looking conversion works very well when clean and lubricated and when using decent ammunition that suits the pistol. - I also need to say that when the gun is dirty and feeling neglected - and if it is being force-fed "El-Cheapo" brand long-rifle rounds - it will choke about every other pull of the trigger - just like some other .22" pistols I've owned.

I would guess that this level of performance would NOT be acceptable to Glock Ges engineers.

If Glock were ever to work on the development of a rim-fire firearm - their first decision might need to be - do we build a 'Practice gun' that would simulate shooting a G19 sized gun perhaps, - or do you develop a pistol that is built down-sized to match the small .22 Long Rifle cartridges compact dimensions? - or maybe why not explore both alternatives together.

- Could it be time for their Germanic engineers to be really brave and design a completely new pattern of 'Glock' that is totally reliable in all flavors of the .22 Long Rifle cartridge (and maybe the .32 ACP** too)? - Could be that it is time that someone designs a box magazine that works perfectly with more than ten rim-fire rounds - how about a twenty round double stack .22 R/F magazine for a pistol? - I know they'd be banned anywhere the place name begins with 'C'.. but the small rim-fire rounds might have been designed for a high capacity pack (except for those 'sticky-out' rims).

 - Kel-Tec seems to have warp-jumped forward successfully with the PMR-30 thirty round .22" WMR rimmed cartridges - by using a stub divider wall to keep the two rows of rimmed rounds apart in the magazine body below the feed lips. - However the .22 Magnum is around a third longer than the one inch .22 L/R round and it may be more stable.

Kel-Tec PMR-30 - A Successful THIRTY ROUND 
Double Stack Rim-Fire Magazine

Let's hear it for Kel-Tec.

- So it may be possible to do something similar for the shorter .22 rim-fire caliber.. indeed it is rumored that Kel-Tec are working on it.

- Another decision required is - do you opt for a fixed barrel blow-back design which is generally capable of good accuracy - or do you attempt to make a .22" function and look like a center-fire gun?

Ruger Mk.IV Fixed Barrel With Blow-back Bolt.

- Distinctively a "Two-Two"-With Quick'n'Easy Take-down.

Maybe 'Austrian Sporting Arms' has already answered the design issue with their ISSC M22 pistol (G19 sized) that provides a 'Nearly-a-Glock' in .22" R/F. These guns seem to function well when using high-velocity ammo and they use a fixed barrel with the recoil spring wound around the barrel.

Austrian Sporting Arms ISSC M22

 -Early Guns Were Near Enough to Get Sued By Glock.

ISSC build their current models with several deliberate changes to the Glockish looks - plus they come with manual safeties fitted. ISSC also chooses to build these pistols with an external hammer.

http://www.handgunsmag.com/reviews/review-issc-m22/

Gunblast has a positive review here:

http://www.gunblast.com/ISSC-M22.htm

- Now, if ISSC Handels GmbH were to make a double-stack high capacity 20 round .22 L/R rim-fire magazine - there is after-all plenty room enough in the average sized pistol grip.

Marty K.

**  Now there's a thought .. How about Glock considering a .32 GAMP ?   A new extended, strengthened case, maybe 7.65x22mm - high pressure versatile 32 caliber auto-pistol cartridge might prove to be a winning formula with a large-capacity magazine that might be both soft recoiling when wanted - and a full-power 'Magnum' cartridge when loaded for high velocity.

It could be a hand-loaders dream with so many 30 Caliber (.312"/.313") rifle bullets in use.

- Let's hear it for a 32 Glock Auto Magnum Pistol.

M.K.
After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24075745

Jerry-Lee Lewis Was Armed On Stage:

Which wild man of Rock'n'Roll is this then?

"But underneath the chemicals was a plain streak of ornery, with bright flashes of outright crazy. He began to collect guns, nickel plated .357s and even machine guns, carried them with him in the touring cars, on private planes, and even took pocket guns onstage, a habit that would continue for years and years.

"I'd go on stage an, pull my pistol out, set it on the piano," he says. There were threats, and rumors of threats, and they still had to fight their way out of the best joints they played , - and he used that trick with the microphone stand again and again - from the Midwest to Atlanta.

He had learned to take the microphone off the stand and fling it out like a rock on the end of a rope - at a rude fan or a drunk, holding onto one end of the cord ..."

Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1960s . - Booze, Pills, Girls, Guns, & Rock and Roll!

"Hey Jerry Lee, Myra's (his thirteen year old third wife) in the next room." And I said "Well she'll have to wait her turn."

Myra - Jerry's 13 Year Old Wife

 - And Second Cousin

The words frenetic energy were written 100% for him - try listening to this live recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxh9XIiVUAE

Jerry Lee With Two Of His Loves.

The book 'Jerry Lee Lewis. His Own Story' by Rick Bragg is full of the real stuff of Rock and Roll - written by an author I really rated already - for his books telling about his own childhood and family down in the Deep South, Louisiana and the Appalachians.

"Lost pills and empty casings mixed in the shag pile carpeting. He carried a pocket pistol pretty much all the time now - pearl handled automatics, dependable snub-nosed .38s and over-and-under .22 derringers.."

Talk about "politically incorrect"! - A different place and a different time.

Marty K.