Recent content by goon

If it truly is antique 45 Schofield ammo found in a barn, it’s probably worth a bit to collectors. It should be safe to shoot in any 45 Colt handgun, but… 1. It might be loaded with black powder. This would require pretty thorough cleaning. 2. Being stored in a barn with swings in temperature...

I’ve thought about this lately - because I don’t want to have to replace all my guns as I age. There’s also the chance that you might be injured and need to tone things down as you recover. I think the light weight and mild recoil of 5.56 will make an AR carbine a good choice. As noted a 9mm...

Man, that’s an idiotic prank to pull on someone these days. It’s a good way to get yourself shot through a door. People are scared and tuned up anymore.

Along with wills and estate records, we know that many men did show up for militia service during the F&I War without weapons. Many households would have had a gun, but maybe they didn’t have two guns in the household. I think the gun community over-romanticizes guns and the founders. You...

I’d say if you only have birdshot and the BBB load, use the larger shot size until you can get some 000 buck. The Federal 2.5” and 3” 000 are plated with copper and kept all the pellets in a hand size pattern for me at 15 - 20 yards. I have notifications set to swoop in and buy a bunch of the...

I like his style. He’s pretty thorough and presented a lot of useful info for anyone curious about shotguns.

I don’t know of tests for BBB. I wouldn’t want to get shot with it, but it probably wouldn’t get the 12” to 18” in ballistic gel that’s generally considered necessary to hit a vital organ. I saw a video of a guy testing .410 Federal 2.5” 000 on a 12” block of gel, and pellets zipped right...

I just decided after studying it that the F&I War was a very historically significant event. It was a global conflict at the time that involved the two most powerful empires of the era, and it set the conditions for the American Revolution. I started calling it the Seven Years War after I...

I believe it was around 1754, but it’s been about fifteen years since I read that. I used to have a lot of interest in the Seven Years War, and spent some time in libraries looking up primary sources. I still have a copy of Crucible of War and a copy of Of Sorts for Provincials around somewhere.

As far as a prepping or fun shooting rifle, the SKS had some things going for it. They were reasonably accurate, mostly reliable, and cheap. You didn’t need extra magazines or even stripper clips to make them work. I shot them better than I could shoot the AK’s in circulation back then. But for...

Not necessarily. A lot of the game in settled areas had been hunted out, and a lot of the arable land was under cultivation. Market hunters did go out on the fringes and bring meat in for sale. Definitely, some people still did own guns and hunt. But you’d just as likely eat food that was raised...

Many magazines overseas literally are pre-ban. They might have been in military inventories for decades, then imported to the US. All the FAL and AK mags I’ve owned were pre-ban, as were many Browning hi-power and SIG mags. Many of them were also in excellent condition, sometimes still in the...

One way I think of it is if you don’t have a .50 caliber ammo can stored for every caliber you really rely on, you should try to get that now. Put aside an entire can of 5.56, 9mm, whatever - and don’t touch it. This is your emergency fund. It’s quite a bit to use up even during a riot. I’d...

I’d buy some now if you think you’ll want or need it. If you’re planning to buy a new Glock or a new Ruger Marlin during the upcoming year… buy some ammo to go with it now.

I’d call my knowledge of shotguns and shotshells just slightly above an amateur, but is it possible they went smaller than true #1 buck because it stacks a little better inside the shell? Or maybe it has just enough free movement for all the pellets to fully separate from the wad in flight. I...