Guy Neill

I don't presently recall that detail, but it would not be uncommon back when full length rods were not as common. Guy

Hi, Mike!! I don't recall Buck having done a weak hand reload. The instance I recall was a weak hand clearing of a smokestack. He kept the muzzle pointed downrange, tossing the gun up to catch it with his hand over the slide and thumb under the grip safety. After wiping the smokestaqk with the one hand, he then again tossed the gun up and re-acquired his shooting grip. He made it look easy, but it is obviously something that could easily see the gun on the ground. It was impressive, though. Guy

If it's anything like last year, it will be hot and humid. Drink lots of water - and if you can have a portable air conditioned booth, that would be good! The hill gets old. Many like a wagon or such, though this year they are allowing golf carts. That may indiocate there will be no tractor pulling a trailer as was sometimes available in the past. Of course, most of the time it didn't meet your schedule anyway. Thus, be ready for the hill. A chair or umbrella may be good. There are bleachers at some of the ranges, so the chair may not be necessary, but the shade of an umbrella can be good. Snacks to your preference. They do serve lunch at S&W Hall, or there is a Wendy's about ten minutes away. Guy

Hey, Vince - I'm old and feeble minded. I'm not quite envisioning the behind the knees weak hand reload. How is it accompliushed? Is this simply turning sideways, gun hand side downrange, squatting with the gun muzzle downrange and the grip pointing to the rear (lateral to the 180º)? Of course, old ,fat guys like me hate to squat. Getting up again is not pretty. What is the fourth technique? Wouldn't the armpit technique be invalid if the reason the strong hand could not be used was that the entire strong arm was incapacitated? I would also expect some care needs be exercised to avoid sweeping when placing the gun in the armpit. Thanks. Guy

In the early days we dropped the magazine, then turned the gun over (upside down), keeping the muzzle pointed downrange. We then clamped it between our knees, upside down and muzzle downrange, then got the magazine and seated it, then resumed grip on the gun and got back to shooting. This kept the muzzle downrange. Just be certain you don't slam the magazine in hard enough to overcome your clamp with your knees. We were in a somewhat semi-squatting or half kneeling position to keep the gun muzzle downrange. The knees were bent at somewhat less than 90º. Guy

Many (most?) of the early metallic cartridges used heeled bullets, as still seen in the 22 Long Rifle cartridge. Note the outer diameter of the 38 Special case or, perhaps better, the 38 Colt cartridges or such. The case diameter is 0.3780" for the 38 Special. A heeled bullet would have that same OD for the portion of the bullet outrside the case, with a smaller diameter to fit inside the case (the heel). When the change was made to inside lubricated bullets (non-heeled), the diameter was reduced to the diameter that, previously, only the heeled portion measured. Thus, the "38" became a "35" in reality, but the cartridge designation stayed the same. Today's cartridges are as affected by marketing as much as ballistics and diameters. And some areas get crowded, such as the 22's. Thus, a 221 Fireball still uses a 0.224" bullet, as does a 225 Winchester, among many others. The British consider the 303 as a thirty caliber as they commonly use the actual bore diameter (smaller portion of the rifling). Thus, while the bullets may measure 0.311", subtracting the 0.004" or so of rifling groove depth (-0.008") gives a bore diameter of 0.303" - effectively thirty caliber. Similarly, our 0.308" bullets, a groove diameter dimension, have (relatively) true 0.300" bores. This is not to try to imply that all cartridges had these considerations, but that does cover some of the history of how things became so confused. It's sort of like the term "45 Long Colt". There is no official recognition of this name. It is the "45 Colt". I can easily see how the "Long Colt" term came about in specualtion. Since the Army used the 45 Schofield in both the S&W and Colt guns, and since it was shorter than the 45 Colt, I envision the typical cowhand (shooter, gunfighter, whatever) entering the general store and asking for some 45 revolver cartridges - the long Colt ones. Others may see or document it differently. Guy

Be certain the knife edges are sharp and clean - also the V's they rest in. Guy

I believe it was the January 2003 issue of Front Sight that I reviewed the Levitation belt system. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll try to condense it into something that will fit here. In general, it eliminated the belt edge, adding comfort. Gear clamps to the tubes instead of having the belt go through a loop in the gear hanger. I went in thinking it would simply be "another" belt. But I like it enough that it has become my preferred over the older Safariland belt system. Guy

I believe you can get just the Levitation hanger from Safariland. This allows converting an older 012 to the Levitation if you choose to. Whether or not the Ghost will mount to the hanger I don't know. Guy

According to the mailer I received, the Steel Safari is June 5-7. Fee deadline is May 20. Side matches include the 22 Field Rifle and Long Distance events. Guy

Yes, 1:10" is faster than 1:12". It is describing one revolution of the bullet in 10" or 12", going through the barrel. This sets the rpm for the bullet once it exits the barrel. The VLS is generally a very good gun. Mine is a 1:12" (to my knowledge) and the faster twists are a recent change in deference to the heavier. longer bullets more commonly avaialble. I'm certain the gun will do well enough, but you may find some bullet restrictions with respect to the lighter bullets and the rpm's. Guy

The longer the bullet, the faster it must be spun to stabilize it. Most twists are selected to stabilize the commonly available bullet lengths (weights), such as 1:10" for .30. The variety of twists in the 223 comes from the military and the boat tail bullets (they add length). For many years the standard twist for centerfire .22's was 1:14". Thus, the faster the twist rate, the longer (heavier) bullets you can shoot. Since few are shooting bullets long enough to need the fast twists, other than military surplus, the trend to fast twist barrels for varmint guns is actually limiting thier use for varmints since many of the varmint bullets cannot withstand the fast rpm's that result. The military 55gr BT resulted in the 1:12" commonly seen in 223's. The longer and heavier bullets subsequently adopted by the military has continued to drive the twist rate for the 223 faster. Still, that is what is currently available. It only means that bullet selection may be somewhat limited, leaning to the heavier end. Guy

Gene has likely left for the SHOT Show this week, but try to call him next week at 775-246-7662. Guy

I've not talked to any of them other than Don Golembieski lately. Don is serious about it. Todd Jarrett had told me he was going to do some, but I haven't talked to him lately to know if he is. Mickey Fowler was looking at it and, I understand, Bruce Piatt wanted to do more. Some of the others may be doing some, but not that I've heard of at present. Guy

I'm obviously doing something wrong with this test as I cannot activate the grip safety when I remove my strong hand to allow releasing the trigger. What am I missing here? For me, the palm of the support hand is centered on the fingernails of the strong hand. The heel of the hand (portion just in front of the wrist) is what contacts the grip panel. Strong thumb is on the safety, and the support thumb just under, both pointing with the barrel. I'm generally trying to maximize the amount of contact with the gun. This is not fully in line with modern thinking as I still have my support index finger on the trigger guard. I've never gotten comfortable with the wrist rotated to have the support fingers all under the trigger guard. Guy (Edited by Guy Neill at 9:39 pm on Feb. 10, 2003)

Some of the Rapid+Action participants are continuing and being active in the Rapid Fire doctrine. I have not heard of any actually making the team as such. There are two spots on the team. I have been told that the potential of the action shooters coming in has spurred the existing team members to new personal bests. Guy

There are a number of variables that cannot be determined until the course is viewed. What is the size, configuration and weight of the key? Where is the key drum with resxpect to the three windows? How much time does it take the key to operate the window? Many plans can be evolved, but until the actual course is seen, no plan can be finalized. It would seem that a more free style approach would be to not dictate the order of engagement and let the shoot do it as he pleases. Of course, this may mean the course layout would have to be modified to prevent the shooter from "advancing to the rear" - again, dependent on the variables listed above. Another means may be to separate the key window to an extent that there would be no advantage to going to it first. Guy

I've found the Weaver See-Thru rings work pretty well on my flat top AR. They cramp directly to the rail, so there is no separate mount needed. The See-Thru aspect is only to elevate the scope as thee are no iron sights on the gun. Guy

You don't want oil dripping out of the action, but a light coat along the raceways the bolt lugs slide along while bolt is being retracted - as much as a corrosion protection as a lube for motion of the bolt. When the bolt binds, is it only when you first try to retract, or somewhere along the length? Guy

You can send photoes to me at Guy.Neill@atk.com. That is my work email, so I will not see anything there until tomorrow. Priemrs do not tell the entire story, as it will vary with primer cups and guns. If the only difficulty is withdrawing the bolt, it suggests the gun or lubrication, or dirt and debris more than loads. Loads giving too much pressure should show signs such as hard to lift bolts, enlarged primer pockets or ejector marks on the casing. Any chance of cartridges in the magazine bearing against the bottom of the bolt to interfere with it moving? Guy

Yes, the same Gene as in Houston years ago. Guy

Given that there is no excessive effort on initial lift of the bolt, and you have not seen any ejector marks on the case head, and have not reported primer flow or cratering, it would seem that the straight back binding of the bolt would not be an indication of pressure. It may be well to try another powder just to see how it acts, or go with more of the 220gr loads that have worked well. Guy

Okay, you are saying that the initial lift on the bolt is not a problem? That is the point that is normally considered "sticky" - during the bolt lift. If the stickiness is when pulling back on the bolt, I would term that binding instead of sticking. Trim length on the 300 Ultra is listed as 2.840". That is 0.010" less than maximum. Most case necks will be about 0.012" to 0.014" - measured with a standard caliper - not as accurate as with a tubing mike, but comparable if done consistently. The bullet diameter plus twice the neck thickness compared to the chamber neck diameter should see the chamber neck still be larger by a few thousandths. Maximum cartridge neck diameter is given as 0.344" (which seems large as it would mean a case neck thickness of 0.018"). A binding bolt, however, is a different beast and can be a combination of the fit of the bolt in the bolt raceway and operator manipulation. Guy

Have you ruled out all the items previously discussed? This would include the bullet contacting the lands, excessive headspace, tight case neck/chamber neck, uneven locking lugs as Patrick said, or case length too long. Since you said earlier that the 220gr loads were working okay, it would suggest the excessive headspace is not the real culprit, nor tight necks. Still, it would be well to check both. Uneven lug bearing may be obvious by inspecting the bolt and looking at any rub marks on the lugs. Are you seeing any marks on the case head from the ejector? Guy

I learned today that Irv Stone of Barsto died December 30. His son, Irv Stone III has been runing the Barsto operation for many years now, so nothing changes with regard to the business. Irv Jr was a stalwart in the 1911 industry. Guy