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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

Absolutely no expansion in ballistic gel, and it did not yaw until so far it would have exited most animals. The reason is, like other Herters ammunition, it uses a thick steel jacket on the bullet that is simply too strong to allow fragmentation and expansion.
  • This week's Woodpile Report. Ol' Remus spends some time in this post discussing the lack of basic, ground breaking scientific theories or new technologies. And it is true that we have a lot of mature or nearly mature technologies, and that physicists have been slow on giving us any new theories on which to base future technologies. As to the former, we've reached a stage where much of our technological development is refining what came before. But such refinement! You can't compare the electronic computers of the 1950s to the computers of today. As for the lack of physicists to come up with ground breaking new theories, the major problem is that jobs and tenure come from toeing the line, not striking off in new directions.
  • "Precision AR-15 CAD Files for 3D Printing Released Via Twitter In Defiance Of New Jersey Threats"--The Truth About Guns.  (See also this post at Loose Rounds). IvanTheTroll12 worked with Defense Distributed to improve the original defense distributed plans for the AR, and put together CAD plans for every piece on the AR rifle. And, in a big middle finger to New Jersey authorities, the CAD plans were uploaded to the Internet. You can download them from this link. Just a warning: the zipped file is over 200 megabytes.
  • "Small arms influx into Nigeria… Y-man’s perspective…"--The Firearm Blog. Since private firearms ownership is all but banned in Nigeria, there is a robust black market in smuggling in and selling weapons. While weapons such as the AK remain popular, recent seizures of smuggled arms indicate an increased preference for shotguns. The author suggests that this reflects a growing demand for self-defense weapons.
  • U.S. imports in the future? "Saudi Arabia to Receive First AK-103s Soon"--The Firearm Blog. The interesting part of this article is not that the Saudis will begin receiving shipments of AK-103s, but that they will be manufacturing them under license in Saudi Arabia, including manufacturing for export to other countries.
  • "Ballot measures: the new battle for gun rights"--Gun Nuts Media. Caleb explains:
            Ballot measures are a form of direct democracy, while they come in several flavors, what they allow is for the citizens to create a new law (or repeal an existing law) by voting directly for or against. All 50 states allow some type of ballot measure, and almost half allow ballot initiatives, which are placed on the ballot by citizens or groups that get enough signatures to put a matter to a popular vote. Ballot measures are also incredibly dangerous for gun rights. The danger in a ballot measure is that since it is voted up or down directly, they’re incredibly susceptible to message manipulation.
             Look no further than the “success” of three anti-gun ballot initiatives in my home state of Washington to understand the blueprint. Take an extremely complicated issue, distill it down to a 30-second soundbite, and get it on the ballot. Make sure your messaging is such that any dissent would involve a nuanced understanding of current gun laws or something technical, and boom you’ve got a ballot measure that stands a good chance of passing. Washington was a test run for ballot measures in other states.
      • FG A course powder suited for small cannons and large-caliber rifles from about .58 caliber on up.
      • 1½ FG A high-grade Swiss powder used for match shooting.
      • FFG Used for muzzle-loading rifles from .45 to .58 especially with mini or maxi balls. This powder can also be used for patched round balls.
      • FFFG Used for cap-and-ball revolvers, cartridge handguns and small-caliber rifles. This powder can also be used for blanks and shotgun loads.
      • FFFFG This is a very fine powder whose primary use is priming a flintlock. It can also be used for blanks and in small derringers.
               It comes in a bag of round, white beads. The beads are placed in hot water for a short amount of time until they become translucent. Once translucent, the Shape Lock becomes similar to a clear putty. I find it incredibly easy to make jigs for various firearm components out of this material.
                 One example I can think of that I have used over and over again is a front sight base jig. Brownells sells a FSB jig, but if you read the reviews many people comment how it doesn’t work when they have free float rail X, Y, or Z installed. Solution? Shape Lock.
                   If you are unhappy with the outcome of the mold, the shape can be recycled into a new shape simply by placing it in hot water again. This lets you recycle the shape lock for years.
                    The completed jig will be a perfect fit for your project and if you are wrenching on your AR at home, this product will help tremendously. I have used it for a jig to hold the rear sight assembly while I install the windage roll pin as well as well as numerous other small projects.
                I have a wooden block with a shallow groove and in which I drilled some holes to act as something similar to a Wheeler Bench Block, but I cannot tell you how many times I have resorted to using a roll of masking tap to prop up a barrel or receiver while I tap a pin into place because the block was not quite the right thickness or shape. But these are poor substitutes because they don't necessarily match the shape you need to fully support the firearm--something especially critical if you are trying to use a hydraulic press to seat a pin that is off center or otherwise will tend to twist the firearm or part.
                          There would be too many variables and too many people with opinions. There would not be any way to enforce the rules that were established before the crisis, so this means at the first sign of trouble, the group would likely dissolve. The point is you will be once again alone with your family when the SHTF and you may be surrounded by unprepared friends and neighbors, so now what.
                           Now you have to deal with neighbors, others in the neighborhood, and possibly even friends that did not see the need to prepare and some may have even scoffed at the idea of becoming a Prepper, but now things have changed. They will need help, and some of your so-called friends may not bother asking, they may just try to take what they need by any means possible.
                      So now I’m angry. Now I’m finished trying to reason with you. So now I, a guy who was ambivalent about guns just a few years ago, want to take your guns away. All of them. I want to take them all and melt them down and shape them into a giant sphere and then push it at you so you have to run away from it like Indiana Jones for the rest of your lives. I want Ted Nugent to roam the halls of his gunless house, sighing wearily until he dies. I want to end this thing once and for all, so that all of you who have prioritized the sale of guns over the lives of children have to sit quietly and think about what you’ve done. God help me, I want to take all of your guns out of your hands, by myself, right now.
                      "[Y]ou who have prioritized the sale of guns over the lives of children"? Really? Coming from those that prioritize a woman's convenience over the life of a baby? Who have destroyed the nuclear family? Those who believe "[w]hat’s a few school shootings compared to pumping your child full of SSRI’s to make him a manageable zombie instead of a kid?
                             The author of the Esquire article ended his article with what he probably believed was an olive branch, pleading "let’s meet in the middle."  David Codrea responded to the Esquire article, stating, in no uncertain terms, that "[w]e have no interest in meeting you or any other useful idiot apparatchik so that you can incrementally infringe rights you have no claim to. We know the end game and we’re ceding no ground from which to launch the next  incursion. That would make as much sense as throwing a scrap of flesh to a circling pack of hyenas and expecting it to sate them and persuade them to be on their way." Here, here.

                               India says it launched air strikes against militants in Pakistani territory, in a major escalation of tensions between the two countries.
                                 The government said strikes targeted a training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group in Balakot.
                                  Pakistan said its jets had forced back the Indian planes and denied there were any casualties.
                                    Relations between the two countries have been strained since an attack on Indian troops earlier this month.
                              At a special conference in St. Louis this week, convened specifically to address divisions over LGBT issues, members voted to toughen prohibitions on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy. This was a surprise: The denomination’s bishops, its top clergy, pushed hard for a resolution that would have allowed local congregations, conferences, and clergy to make their own choices about conducting same-sex marriages and ordaining LGBT pastors. This proposal, called the One Church Plan, was designed to keep the denomination together. Methodist delegates rejected their recommendations, instead choosing the so-called Traditional Plan that affirmed the denomination’s teachings against homosexuality.
                              The article notes that progressive congregations may seek to leave the United Methodist Church over this matter, but risk losing property or money. 
                              “A continuation of the current upward trend in the atmosphere’s CO2 concentration is essential for securing future food security. Any efforts to slow it because of the risks of predicted climate changes must also consider the risks of limiting its benefits to agricultural, nature and humanity,” said the report.
                              • "You've Come a Long Way, Baby — or Have You?"--Michael Walsh at PJ Media discusses the court decision that opens the way to women being drafted. Of course, the attempts to integrate women and promote women within the military has been a disaster, Walsh writes, with particular emphasis on the 2017 collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a Japanese cargo vessel. Walsh observes:
                                        What started the push for women in the military and then later (something they assured us would never happen) in combat was the profoundly anti-female "feminist" notion that the Platonic Form of a woman is a man: a gorgeous 120-pound kick-ass lethal weapon that can take out a score of hombres with practically her bare hands, and then look great that evening in a cocktail dress, high heels, and a diamond choker. Nobody really believes in such a creature, of course, but such is the power of the Narrative (what ought to be) over human nature (what really is) that Hollywood has swallowed the fantasy whole; then again, fantasy is Hollywood's stock-in-trade.
                                          The "feminist" war is not with men, but with God. And yet we will go on indulging this fantasy until it becomes impossible to maintain, in which case it will quickly become a luxury we can no longer afford. As long as we have women playing at being soldiers while the U.S. plays at being at war in such places as Afghanistan (17 years and counting), not wishing to lose but not wishing to win, either. Grant, Sherman, or Patton would have disposed of our famously cowardly foes in the Middle East in a few horrifically punitive yet dispositive months with nary a woman at arms among them. This is not to denigrate the fighting abilities of our troops, nor their courage, commitment, or patriotism. No doubt some women have fought valiantly, and yes, the Israeli girls do their part; still, war is not a woman's game, and never has been.

                                  1 comment:

                                  1. I read this as a meme:
                                    "Trump should declare as transgender for a day so he can be the first female president."

                                    Related: women in the draft.

                                    I've run the thought experiment from time to time - what if you looked at what was considered virtue 100 years ago, or 200 years ago . . . or 1000 years ago. I imagine most of it (not all!) would be unchanging, except for the last 100 years.

                                    Maybe there's a post in there . . .

                                    ReplyDelete