Gun Thread: Day After Christmas Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

So! It's the day after Christmas, or as our Canadian and UK friends call it, Boxing Day. Gotta say, given a choice betwixt Christmas and Boxing Day, Weasel is going with Christmas every time. Anyhoo, if you're joining us from somewhere where Boxing Day is a thing, I hope you had lots of fun on your, um, holiday. For the rest of us, how was your Christmas? Get any cool gun and shooting stuff? Did you give any cool gun and shooting stuff? Giving is never as much fun as receiving, but some people like it. Or so I've heard.

With that, let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Homework Review
Last week we had a little homework assignment to complete for this week. In case you missed it, here 'tis:

Math? I Was Told There Would Be No Math!!

You were lied to. There will be math.

So this week I have an assignment for you. A homework problem to study over Christmas break, if you will. I have always said shooting is mostly a big math problem, and this will give you an idea what I am talking about.

The assignment is to watch the video and come prepared next week to discuss how you would apply the covered concepts to shooting. This might be a tough one because you have to think a little beyond the material as presented and apply the concepts to certain shooting situations.

Here are the questions I'd like you to answer:
- Which of the concepts presented are relevant to shooting?
- What shooting problem can you solve using the concept?
- How would you apply the concept to solve the problem?

Good luck!

Did you watch the video? Hmmm? Anyone have any ideas? I'll wait an hour or so for discussion and then will post the answers here around 8pm eastern time.

And here are the answers!
Cosine! The cosine of an angle is your friend when computing high-angle firing solutions! The same methodology used in the video to approximate the Newtons of force apportioned to the X and Y axis of a right triangle can be used to estimate distance expressed in yards or meters or cubits or whatever. If the hypotenuse of a right angle represents the straight line distance to a target, the opposite side then represents the gravity distance for the shot, or the distance where gravity is affecting the flight of the bullet.

Considerations for High-Angle Shooting
When shooting at an angle greater than about 10 - 15 degrees, you must correct the firing solution for the difference between the straight line range to target and the gravity distance to target. Uncorrected, high angle shots will always impact high whether shooting uphill or downhill. This is because the gravity distance in an angled shot will always be less than the sight distance.

Using an Angle/Cosine Indicator or ACI
Angle/Cosine indicators (example HERE) work when mounted next to the riflescope, by indicating the angle and/or cosine of the angle by means of a level and index marks. The shooter then multiplies the cosine as an adjustment to the straight line distance firing solution for an adjusted gravity distance solution, in MOA or Mils.

Other, and arguably more accurate, options exist for correcting a firing solution for angled shots; for example, input the observed angle into a ballistic computer or use a prepared slope chart. I am generally not a big fan of relying on electronics in computing firing solutions, but they sometimes do have their place. The angle cosine methodology is not perfect at very high angles (beyond about 60 degrees) or very long distances (beyond several hundred yards), but does provide a reliable estimate and field expedient solution.

For further reading, articles that do a good job explaining what I am talking about HERE, HERE and HERE

It's a Joyous Christmas Miracle!
Welp, the whole dang WeaselFamily piled into the truck on Thursday for the 5 hour drive from Northern Virginia to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, arriving in record bad time some 26 hours later. What happened? A flat tire a couple hours into the trip happened. Although typically not a show-stopper, apparently King Kong had put the lug nuts on the wheel and I couldn't get them loose. Helpful VDOT Roadside Assistance Guy #1 couldn't get them loose either. AAA guy couldn't get them loose, and neither could VDOT Roadside Assistance Guy #2, but he was driving a tow truck and did manage to tow us from the shoulder of the interstate in a bad area into a much worse really seriously bad, depths of Hell section of the 'hood, in Newport News. Fortunately, the amazingly helpful and cool Virginia State Trooper who had stopped on the side of the road originally came back when called and we had a very nice chat waiting for a tow truck to take us to a repair shop. Long story short, we ended up staying the night at a hotel in a much better neighborhood, the truck was fixed the next morning, and we made it to our destination late but safe and sound. Christmas adventure: check!

Q: Weasel, why are you telling us your stupid Christmas story?
A: Calm yourself! I'm getting to it!

So we have talked before about how to handle a police stop when carrying, and it was interesting how this played out. I was in the driver's seat getting ready to call AAA when the State Trooper rolled up so I had my driver's license and concealed weapons permit ready as he approached the door. When he saw them in my hand he said he didn't need to look at them. Huh? So much for my often rehearsed little opening statement about being a CWP holder and being armed. Weasel wuz robbed!

Later, as we were waiting in the 'hood, the Trooper very candidly mentioned how we had gone from a bad neighborhood to worse, and that he'd hang out with us until the tow truck came. Knowing my CWP status was linked to the truck's plates, I acknowledged that I was armed but didn't want get into a gunfight right before Christmas in front of WeaselWoman, WD and FSJ. His response? He laughed and said he'd be surprised if anyone in the area wasn't armed! Grrrrreat. We spent the rest of the time pleasantly talking guns and ammo and shooting.

Anyhoo, here is a video from Massad Ayoob with some ideas for conducting yourself if you're stopped while carrying.

I'm guessing my experience was atypical. Although not required in Virginia, it has always been my intention to acknowledge I'm carrying to a policeman, but the circumstances in this case weren't exactly how I'd envisioned them. I've always sort of imagined that by being up-front, I might get some sort of reciprocal consideration from the cop, as Mas Ayoob even mentions in the video.

How about all y'all?

A few weeks ago I was singing the praises of the Charter Arms Undercoverette, a compact revolver that is almost exactly the same size and weight as a standard .38 Special snubbie but which is chambered in the hard-to-find .32 H&R Magnum. This generally forgotten caliber allows room for an extra chamber in the cylinder (six rounds instead of five in .38), has mild recoil and yet is ballistically superior to standard .38 Special or .380 ACP ammunition loads.

One can also fire .32 Smith and Wesson long through it, which is really mild, and I think is a great option for people with weaker grip strength or who don't like the way pocket .38s and .380s tend to jump around. Such folks might gravitate to a .22 LR or .25 ACP pistol but .32 Long has twice the energy of either, making it far more effective in the self-defense role.

Let's go look at the targets. First up, we have three targets from a quick range session a month ago. As you can see, the Taurus 85 had the best group, but I've been using it for 16 years so it's not exactly fair to compare it to something I'm still breaking in.

Taurus 85 in .38 Special

Next up, we can compare .32 Magnum and .32 Long. Not bad groups, certainly satisfactory for self-defense at maximum range, but I was hitting a little low.

.32 Long

.32 Magnum

.32 Long with elevation

Like many snubbies, the Undercoverette has fixed sights, so what I needed to do was figure out the proper sight picture for this particular weapon. The next target - which was done in blustery conditions while looking nearly into the sun - looks pretty bad, but I wasn't trying to build a group, just nail down the proper elevation. Once I started to strike the red, that was good enough.

All of which is to say that but for the crippling shortage of .32 Magnum, I think I would make the switch to it.

Until then, the Undercoverette will remain a practice tool, something I can use to ease the pressure on my stocks of .38 Special. I will also use it to teach novice shooters who are ready to move up from .22 LR.

Very nice job, AHL! I am a big fan of the .38 caliber and keep hearing good things about the .32 caliber. Great report. Thank you!

Speaking of calibers, how about that wacky 9mm? There are a lot more than the trusty old 9mm Parabellum.

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Well these look interesting! Another Bahia Maduro from Cigars International. Based on my experience with the Bahia line, these are worth a try at around $3 each.

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA
Bud's Gun Shop

Our pal Fungus Boy sends us this weeks funny.

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That's it for this week - have you been to the range?

posted by Weasel at 07:00 PM

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