Haloscan is barfing

You might have noticed, no comments are showing up on any threads. It looks like haloscan is screwing up for a bunch of people, and there doesnt seem to be anything I can do about it but wait.

Good news is, I have a copy of all the comments. THey arent lost, I can still see them in my admin interface, you jsut cant get to them from the main page.

I'm hoping they fix it soon. I don't mind a free service going down eveyr once in a while, but I'm a pro memeber. I actually paid for the privilige of not having ads, and to get a 10,000 word limit. It's kind of irritating when paid services dump like this.

UPDATE:Haloscan fixed the problem (mostly). Seems a server went down for about an hour, knocking a bunch of folks out. Not sure what's up with the message count, but at least the comments are back. Oh and reader AceGarp left a comment that was accidentally deleted, sorry about that.

Airplanes and Women

Ok, so I was thinking about the piloting thing, and all of a sudden my friend forwards me this old joke:

Airplanes can kill you quickly; a woman takes her time.

Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.

Airplanes don't get mad if you 'touch and go.'

Airplanes don't object to a preflight inspection.

Airplanes come with manuals to explain their operation.

Airplanes have strict weight and balance limits.

Airplanes can be flown any time of the month.

Airplanes don't come with in-laws.

Airplanes don't care about how many other airplanes you have flown.

Airplanes and pilots both arrive at the same time.

Airplanes don't mind if you like to look at other airplanes.

Airplanes don't mind if you buy airplane magazines.

Airplanes expect to be tied down.

Airplanes don't comment on your piloting skills.

Airplanes don't try and make you crash and burn.

Airplanes don't whine unless something is really wrong.  

However, when airplanes suddenly go quiet, just like women, it's a bad thing.

And thus, I ruin my social life even further, but hey, it's funny.

I have GOT to get me one of THESE!

It's a 7.62x39 chambered, AK magazine converted, synthetic stocked Enfield Jungle Carbine. I can think of no better, handier, more rugged, cheaper to shoot, general purpose boltie than this.

And for you more traditionalist types there are other versions, like this original style tanker carbine:

Or this beautiful sporter, with a custom walnut stock:

And then theres this ugly but useful little bugger here:

I'm definitely thinking a synthetic carbine with a 16" barrel, and some decent peep sights. If you kept it all synthetic, a pistol grip and folding stock 16" version might be a great truck gun without being as ugly as the frankenstein beast jsut above (that wood front half and black back half jsut looks wrong, plus the full length barrel is completely out of proportion).

Some may ack "why bother, when you can already get a boltie in more effective calibers".

Well theres a few reasons:

1. I love the enfield action, but I dont care for .303 british.

2. I don't own any other .303 guns, and I don't plan to, but 7.62 russian? oh yeah. It's the ideal companion piece to this:

3. 7.62 russian is CHEAP.

4. AK mags. It will take the 10 rounder single stack, and can take the doublestacks with modificatiation. Theres just something useful about sharing your ammo, and your mags with your assault rifle (I want a Kel-Tec SU-16 for the same reason)

5. It just looks really cool, AND is highly functional at the same time. Can't beat that with a stick.

HT: The Mad Ogre

UPDATE: Reader Brad Tyler writes "I like my 7.62mm NATO FR-8 for the same job. Not as smooth an action as a Lee-Enfield but I can shoot cheap, accurate and powerful .308 instead of 7.62x39."

Oh you mean like this Brad?

These are newbuilt .308's using M14 mags(and I have a lot of both of those things, though never enough). The only problem with it is that it's a hell of a lot more expensive than the surplus rebuilds from Specialty Arms.

What are Your Useful Skills

Today sems to be just chock full of posts inspired by the Nation of Riflemen (as many of my posts often are), where reader 1991a1 asks "Any other tradesmen or experts out there willing to offer their tricks of the trade".

Basically he was aksing folks whet their useful skills and experience amounted to, and I thought it was an interesting topic, because my interests and experience are all over the damn map. When people ask me what I'm into, I usually say "everything".

As a 12 year old my first job was as a professional office cleaner for one of my uncles (I have 16 aunts and uncles; Irish family). There are actually a lot of things to learn to do the job well, and a lot of basic tricks to do the job quickly without injuring your knees and back.

Next I worked in an antique furniture restoration and refinishing shop where I learned carpentry, cabinetmaking, and finishing. I also learned some luthiery, and shipwright skills (I built or repaired, and finished or refinished a couple of guitars. I helped build a 32 foot wooden ocean sloop with my uncle, and I built and restored a few small wooden boats, a small aluminum boat, and small fiberglass boat), and of course I had to move a lot of expensive furniture.

Then I worked in a small custom bicycle factory where I learned to weld and fabricate metal. This would also be the first time I deliberately violated ATF regulations (gee, it's really amazing what you can do with the materials in a bicycle factory, and some manuals from palladin press).

I've been flying since I was 13, and I got my private pilots license on my 17th birthday. I'm also a licensed amateur radio operator (KB1DXJ), an International Radiotelephone Operator (all pilots are), and a High Frequency Radiotelephone Operator (all pilots who fly trans oceanic flights have to be).

My mother was not enthusiastic about my flying... not in the least actually (she's deathly afraid of airplanes, she flys, but she gets... mental). I'd been cooking since I was a little kid (during one of her bouts with cancer I tought myself how to cook, at around age seven), and I was pretty damend good at it. Well I wanted to be a pilot, and she wanted me to be a chef, so we compromised. She would help pay for my flying lessons, if I would take professional cooking classes, so I did both.

I headed into the Air force, and went to college for aerospace engineering.

I also had side jobs as a nursing assistant in a nursing home, an oil change and brake job mechanic, a security and audio installer, a convenience store and gas station clerk, and an autoparts store manager.

Since the Air force and college I have worked as a body guard, a driver, various physical security work, a self defense instructor, and I also played semi-pro football (not a useful skil that, but fun). Unfortunately I aggravated a training injury a few years ago, and I can't really do that work anymore.

My primary job since the re-injury of my knees has been as a security consultant, for both physical security, and electronic and information security (computers, networks, and communication systems, policy and procedure, and investigation and forensics). In connection with that, I design and implement high performance and/or large scale networked computing architectures.

I also develop training and educational materials for security (both kinds), and during the dot com boom I used to write for some technology and internet magazines and websites (the only one still around that I was a regular contributor to is techrepublic)

I've used all of these skills in my hobbies.

I have always built lots of stuff out of wood, metal, and leather as a hobby.

I've been into the martial arts since I was 5, and I've collected swords and knives since I was 13. I have other hobbies like the SCA, shooting, and R/C cars, boats, and aircraft.

I build some of my own furniture, I do chess sets, I've made bondage and fetish gear, I've made LOTS of armor.

I've done some gunsmithing, and made some siege weapons, bows, crossbows, catapaults (and other weapons of the type, ballista, mangonel etc...). I've also done some amateur bladesmithy (a blacksmith trained me on the forge while I was in college after some creative begging), and some bladecrafting with premade blanks.

I'm a transportation nut, and I've built or co-built boats, cars, airplanes, motorcycles, and Karts. I've done a LOT of tuning stuff on cars and bikes.

I also make little electronic gadgets and I've built a couple of robots.

I play guitar (badly), and I sing, (pretty damned well), mostly classic rock, blues, and soul; also some folk and Irish, and of course filk (an SCA pre-requisite). I was in a showband varying in size from 8-16 members depending on the week, and the gig, and we had some fun. I was the lead singer, and we did a lot of blues and soul classics, a couple of classic rock hits, and even a few hard rock and metal tunes, rearranged for our guys to have fun with (I do a mean set of AC/DC).

This is why I say my interests are pretty much everything. A lot of these things Im barely a journeyman at, but I'm an odd sort of fellah. When I get interested or involved in something, theres jsut some drive in me that forces me to gecome an expert at it or to absorb as much info I can, or to be the best I can. It's amazing how much of that crap is still floating around.

Of all the things I've done, the only one I wouldnt feel confident doing again without retraining is the medical work. You jsut dont mess around with peoples lives. That said, I still remember a hell of a lot of it, which helps when I'm dealing with my mothers illness, and especially in dealing with doctors, nuses, and recalcitrant peristaltic IV pumps thatmy mother keeps fouling and that the nurses dont have time to fix.

I should also mention that I'm an insomniac with eidetic memory, which is NOT photographic memory. True photographic memory is total retention with total instant recall. I have the total retention part, but I have something called highly associative recall. Its not instant or total, but it's still pretty damned useful.

I also read like a maniac, and obsessively watch history, science, and trivia shows (I love the 70, 80s, 90s etc..), and the hitler channels (history, discovery, military, biography etc...), so I have a truly vast store of useless knowledge in my head.

Fun stuff eh? How about you post your lsit on your own blog, trackback to me, and/or leave the permalink in comments, and spread the meme.

The Ultimate Road Trip - Part 2

So, given the challenge proposed in "The Ultimate Road Trip - Part 1" is successfully completed, and you are transported back to the present day on the west coast, Joe in PNG (a really nice missionary bloke stuck in Papua New Guinea) has another proposition:

Having completed the arduous task of crossing America in the mid-17th century, you now get to go back across present day America in style, all expenses paid with all the time you want to take.
So,

-What car (or motorcycle) would you take?

-Who would you take as a traveling companion?

Having done this trip more times than I can count (usually Arizona to Boston, but I've done SF to Boston, SF to NYC, SF to Orlando, and Boston to LA a couple times as well), I can tell you, it can be a hell drive, or a fun one.

I once did the 2748 road miles from Prescott, AZ to Boston in 54 hours, for an average speed of 51mph. I've also taken 12 days to do it.

I'll take the second option if given the choice.

The best way of crossing the country to my mind would be a piper malibu, but he did specify a road vehicle.

The best road vehicle for a long trip where you can't stop at motels or hotels, is a semi-compact or mid-size SUV (like a chevy trailblazer). They get decent mileage, have big gas tanks, enough space for you to stick everything you need to go non-stop with, and most importantly they have enough space to sack out in the back. Oh and if you kit one out, you can have some fun off roading, and maybe stick a couple of quads or dirtbikes on a trailer.

Thats fine if you feel like camping out, but Joes question involved all expenses paid. To me, that means decent hotels nights, and some time to see the sights, and have some fun.

The best long distance highway cruiser where you can actually stop when you feel like it, is a BMW M5 (though the E55AMG is a close second). The M5 is almost universally recognized as the greatest sports sedan in the world, and is quite literally designed to cruise all day at 155mph. It's a frikken balst to drive, and it has plenty of room for you, your companion, and all the stuff you could want on the trip (including long guns, and plenty of ammo).

That being, said, if I were limited to a road vehicle, and had all the time I wanted to make the trip, I'd take a brand new aluminum CSX 4000, which is modern production Shelby Cobra, with state of the art brakes, suspension and amenities. One of the fun bits about the CSX is that you can choose any powerplant you want, and I'd go with a supercharged Dove aluminum 427, pumping out about 700hp, which in a 2400lb car gives you a 0-60 of under 4 seconds, and a 10 second 1/4 mile.

For this trip I'd fit the thing out with a multiband ham rig (KB1DXJ here), a CB, a valentine one, a Sirius sattelite radio and MP3 jukebox, a semirigid soft top with glass rear window, slide up windows instead of the usual roll down side curtains, a le mans trunk lid (which gives a lot more cargo room), and a tail trunk (doubling the cargo room). I'd also build a thermoelectric cooler into the center console (for a couple of genuine cold ones).

Next to me would be my best friend of 21 years, Jim. He's never been west of the misissipi, or anywhere south of D.C. except florida, and I think he needs his horizons broadened.

In the trunk would be a case of good whiskey, a couple of broken down AR's. a couple of folding stock shotguns, and half a case of ammo for each; leaving us with just enough room in the trunk and tailpack for the soft top, and our clothes.


So, on to the details of the Ultimate Cross Country Road trip....

Okay we'll start at San Diego, and then start to make the PCH run, stopping in 'Bu for a couple hours (hit the pier), then up to Santa Barbara for the night.

From Santa Barbara take the PCH straight up into Monterey. it's one of the best drives in this country. Overnight in monterey, and then up to great america for the day, and then drive up to SF late night.

First weekend, we party in San Francisco, then make the run over to Yosemtie, which needs at least three days.

The last day in Yosemite, we drive up to tahoe. Stop for one night in tahoe, and then the next day and night in Reno; then it's on to vegas, a night there, and then we flip over to the canyon for a day and a night.

From the canyon, we hit Zion and overnight there, then make the run up I-15 through Utah, into Wyoming and Yellowstone. Take 3 days in yellowstone, then take the small roads through wyoming, and down to steamboat, and overnight there (some incredibly gorgeous driving there)

After the overnight in steamboat, take the back roads down into vail, the up through the Eisenhower and down into Denver, then Co. Springs for the next overnight.

Head down tje 25 to QQ, and pick up the 40, then over to Amarillo for dinner at "The Big Texan". Let's see if Jimmy can eat the 72 ouncer (I've done it twice).

Next day we head over to OKC, then down to Badlands tactical for the week long SWAT/Sniper course (I've done gunsite, and Thunder Ranch moved to Oregon).

Head down to Dallas, visit friends and do some shoointg (oh did I forget to mention, we'll be doing some shooting all along the way), then head down to Austin for a night of Blues and BBQ, and head over to Corpus Christi in the morning, and take the night to party a bit, but not too late so we can get up early to start the gulf coast run up to NoLA

I think it goes without saying, this will occaison a few days stop to party, then we resume the gulf coast run, all the way down to key west which should take two good days.

Key west needs at least three days, maybe five just to chill out.

From the keys we cruise up to Daytona for an overnight, and up to Savannah for the next night, then cruise on up to Myrtle Beach for another overnight, then on to DC, taking the long way around, crossing the chesapeake twice, including through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, and then through Annapolis.

I hate DC, but it has some great stuff to see at the Smithsonian, especially the national air and space museum.

From D.C. it's a straight shot up to Atlantic city, and that needs a good solid two days to enjoy.

We run up from AC to Boston (about 8 hours), and party in the old home town for a weekend.

Finally we run up to Mt. Washington on a tuesday through thursday (to avoid the tourists). Actually we'll stay at one of the places on Lake Winnepesaukee overnight, then get up early, and get to the Mt. Washington auto road so we can be first in line, ahead of all the idiots in minivans.

If you havent driven it, it's one of the most fun drives in the world... unless you get stuck behind an idiot in a van.

I've done every segment of this trip at one time or another (though not at once) and let me tell you, it's worth every second. I figure the whole thing would take between a six weeks and two months depending on just exactly how mch fun we stopped to have along the way. If I had the cash, and the time, I guarantee you I would be doin it.

The Ultimate Road Trip - Part 1

So, the Imperial Firearms Advisor, Kim Du Toit, has put up the "Crossing America" challenge again (he did it last year as well).

The basic premise is this:

You have the opportunity to go back in time, arriving on the east coast of North America circa 1650, and your goal is to cross the North American continent, taking as much time as you need. When/if you reach the Pacific coastline, you’ll be transported back to the present day.

Your equipment for this journey will be as follows (taken back in the time capsule with you):

-- enough gold to buy provisions for the first five days’ travel
-- a small backpack containing some clothing essentials
-- a winter coat, raincoat and boots
-- waterproof sleeping bag
-- an axe
-- a box of 1,000 “strike anywhere” waterproof matches
-- a modern topological map of North America, binoculars and a compass
-- and a U.S. Army First Aid kit.

Weapons:
-- ONE long gun (and 800 rounds, but no scope)
-- ONE handgun (and 1,000 rounds)
-- TWO knives.

Once there, you’ll be given a horse, a mule and a dog—and apart from that, you’re on your own. Remember you’ll be traveling through deep woods, open prairie, desert and mountains. You may encounter hostile Indian tribes and dangerous animals en route, which should be considered when you answer the following questions (and only these):

1. What long gun would you take back in time with you?
2. What handgun?
3. Which two knives?

So heres my answer:

Long gun: Marlin 1894ss in .44mag with a gold inlay outlined tritium front dot, a reciever mounted tritium outlined ghost ring, and a tang mounted fold down peep site (the first for defense at close range, the second for hunting and long ranges. I believe the 1894 has an all coil spring action. If not I'd find one with an all coil spring action made of stainless.

Handgun: Ruger Redhawk 5.5" in .44mag. Tough, stainless, and no leaf springs. I'd need a custom grip on it though. I hate the stock redhawk grip.

Obviously the advantage of the two weapons sharing caliber is too big to give up, because it's pretty much 100% that one will break or be lost before the trip is over.

The biggest problem here is maintaing the firearms without tools. The fact is, if you expect the weapons to live, you'll need at least one phillips and one slot screwdriver. You will also need a brass brush and a soft bristle brush. If you are allowed a small cleaning, spares (one of each screw, extractor, firing pin, roll pins or retnetion pins, clips and springs), and maintenance kit for your weapons and your pack you may make it all the way with all three intact and fuctional. If you aren't, count on all three to fail during your trip (probably the lever gun first).

Actually if I could, before I left I would take all the screws in all my gear and replace them with square drive screws, then use the weakest loctite on them, and safety wire or cotter pin any that could be. I figure I could get away with 3 screw sizes total, and if necessary manufacture the screwdrivers locally.

Knife one: Swamp Rat Camp Tramp. I originally chose the Cold steel Recon Scout, because t's big enough without being too big, but the Camp Tramp is about the same size, about the same quality, and has tougher handle material. I'd actually prefer to have a Busse Combat, but they are semi-out of business (only doing a few hundred knives a year), and focusing on Swamp Rat.

Knife Two: Gerber multipro with toolkit. I had originally not wanted to go with a toolkit knife, instead choosing a Dozier professional skinner in D2, but as I pointed out, the problem of maintenance is going to be one of the biggest issues you will have to deal with, and the toolkit is too big an advantage to discard.

Kim also mentioned an axe specifically, and any one of the finnish or swedish medium axes would be good. Something larger than a hatchet but smaller than a felling axe. An axe like this is good for small trees and hand work, as well as light woodworking and manufacturing field expedient structures.

For a dog, personally I'd go for either a rottie or a german shepherd, trained as a working dog (track, kill, attack, and defend). There are hardier breeds, but I get along well with both of those, they train well, and they are tough and smart enough to survive, and to hunt on their own (the only thing I'd worry about was adequate diet for them).

But... But... this is nowhere NEAR enough detail for geeks like me...

You knew I wasn't going to stop there didnt you? I mean this is me, the guy who can turn just about any subject into 5000 words; theres only 760 words up there, I'll have to do better than that.

There's a hell of a lot of stuff you will absolutely need to purchase or build once you get back to 1650 to get across the country successfully, while still keeping it to one horse and one mule.
What you buy, and how you store it, are HIGHLY dependent on your load carrying capacity, which means your horses and wagons.

Remember you'll need to winter at least once and likely twice, and you'll need to build at least one boat (barge or raft really) large enough to carry everything you are bringing with you (when you cross the mississippi), unless you want to head into northern Iowa or Minnesota in the middle of your first winter (which is where the river becomes fordable, or easily bridgeable). I personally would take the southern route, and just build a boat. I've done it before, and it's not actually all that hard, especially since you're only going a mile with it.

Assuming I could do so, the first thing I'd buy or build would be a mule cart with two very large, wide rawhide bound wheels (possibly solid, non spoke wheels for strength) with iron over rawhide rims. This would increase my mules capacity from around 350lbs to around 1000 lbs (including the cart which weighs about 250lbs), and it can go almost anywhere a mule can. Personally I'd go for one of the floatable designs. Oh and those wheels are important. Straight Iron over wood will have a tendency to brake in rough terrain. If the wheels are rawhide bound, and theres a rawhide buffer between the Iron rim and the wooden wheel, the wheel is a bit more flexible, and a LOT more resilient.

If instead of a mule and a horse I could get either two good mules, or two good sized work horses that were both saddle and harness broken, I'd go for a floatable 4 wheeled wagon, which would give me up to about ton of carrying capacity (for long distances without injury to the horses. Over shorter distances a horse cart can carry a surprisingly huge weight).

Assuming wagons or carts aren't allowed or available, all of the supplies I list here except for maybe all the the water I'd want to take, maybe all the alcohol I'd want, and the portable forge (more on that below), can easily be squeezed in at around 450lbs. This is really the max long distance load for a single mule (for shorter distances mules have been known to carry up to 700lbs).

Rmember, 1 gallon of water is 8 lbs, and I want to have at least two growlers (5 gallon barrels), or better, two frikins (9 or 10 gallon barrels depending on whether you are using U.S. or U.K. measurement). Raw alcohol weighs around 7lbs per gallon, and I'd also like at least a firkin, and preferably two available.

I would of course carry myself, and my personal gear and whatever else could be comfortably carried on my horse, but I'm a pretty big guy. Even after a few months of living in the wilderness I'll still be 265 (at 265 I'm positively skinny), so the horse isn't going to carry much more than myself +50-75lbs, and I'll be walking as much as possible to save the horse.

Combine the items we get rid of if we have no wagons, and the capacity of the horse, and this will give us the extra capacity for 5-10 gallons of water, a couple weeks worth of food, and our ammo and modern gear.

Some might say that wagons are unrealistic because there isnt enough cleared area for them to roll through, but this sitn actually true. There are actually enough rivers, valleys, and clear areas that I can get narrow wagons or carts with large wheels through all the way to the plains states. The wagons would definitely have to go by the board by the time you reach the western mountains, but by then your suplies are going do be pretty low anyway.

On the subejct of horse and mules; as I said, if I were stuck with the horse and mule, I'd load them down with supplies and mostly walk, but I'd only lightly load the horse. The fact is horses just aren't all that hardy, and if I don't have a vet and a farrier handy I don't want to depend on the horse that much. At that point it'd be even better if it were two mules since a mule is much tougher, and can carry more for a long distance than most horses.

Of course if I could get something like a Shire, or Percheron or two it would be a different story. In that case, bring it on baby. A single shire averages 16-17 hands at the withers, weighs well over 2000lbs, can pull a 5000 lb wagon, and can carry around 1000 lbs on it's back for short ditsances, and at least 6-700 over distance. I've seen one carry three normal sized adults without breaking a sweat. They are also one of the oldest draft breeds, so it may be possible to find them, or horses like them, though probably not as large as today. A pair of them would be very nice thank you.

Of course they also eat an AMAZING amount, and drink even more, but there are always trade offs to these things.

If as I suggest above, two of us could pair up, that would give us four animals. I would still choose four draft horses, if I could get them, or mules if I couldnt. I'd use two of them at a time to pull the wagon, and keep the other two walking, and lightly laden. Primarlily I'd just use them to carry more food and water, and of course to rotate out the teams to keep them fresh.

At a sustainable walking rate, I figure 7-10 miles a day is an average for when you arent actually climbing a mountain or stting out the weather (counting the plains states which are almost half the total distance, that should be doable). The total walking distance is probably 3500-4500 miles including detours etc... and at the projected pace, it's a 2 year trip (winters).

So now that we know how we're going to carry the supplies, what are those supplies going to be?

Like I said, there are a HELL of a lot of supplies necessary to get yourself, two draft animals, and a dog across the continent.

Expendables (non food):

First, you WILL die without salt. You must have large amounts of salt on a long journey both as a nutrient, and for preservation. In that same vein, good luck trying to find pepper, but if you can, buy as much as you can get.

You should also buy as much raw high proof alcohol as you can conveniently carry. Use it for tradegoods, as an antiseptic, as fuel, as a cleaning agent and solvent, really for everything.

Some fuel oil would be VERY useful. Whale oil would be common, white oil (kind of like kerosene) is also available but hideously expesive. Naptha might also be available depending on where you start, but it is both rare, and expensive. You should also grab some refined mineral oil, and some turpentine if you can get them (again, they are around, but they are rare and very expensive).

Soap would be useful but it's pretty easy to make once you kill some game (ground limestone, ash, and rendered fat).

Candles are the same as soap, once you have some animals killed you can render tallow. Was will be very rare (bee keeping wasnt that big yet) and you can probably collect small amounts of wax and pitch locally for sealing and the like.

Speaking of beekeeping, try and get as much sugar as you can, and believe me it won't be much. You MAY be able to find some honey, but as I said, beekeeping doesnt become a major proposition in north america for another 150 years.

At this time most sugar is from apples, beets, and other fruit or vegetable sources, or from molasses, which had started to be imported from Barbados.

Oh, one interesting thing aboout molasses, it removes rust; No seriously, it does (unlike the urban semi-legend about Coke, which WILL remove rust, but not much more effectively scrubbing with water).

Kegs: You will need water tight carrying capability which means kegs. You'll be using them for oil, water, alcohol, smoke meat, jsut about anything that needs to be kept dry, or moist.

Horsehoes: Your horses aren't going to go very far in rough terrain shoeless. Or they will, but it will be very slow with frequent stops when they pull up lame. This of course creates additional requirements filled below in the tool section.

Tools and hardware: You will need hoops, nails, pegs, brass and iron (or steel if you can get it) wire, rope, tongs, pliers, nippers, a couple of different sized hammers, an awl, a few different files, a couple of chisels, a small saw and a large saw, a draw knife, an adze, a plane, a small and a large brass brush, a small and a large wire brush, a small and a large bristle brush, a felling axe, sharpening stones, some oil, and finally a portable forge with bellows and anvil.

Other than the forge and anvil, that's only about 75 lbs of tools, but the forge and anvil together are going to weigh about 100 lbs. Some of these could be eliminated if you had no wagon or cart, but I'd rather have them all.

Other Domestic supplies: For cooking you'll need at least two pots (one large, one small), I personally would want a seperate coffeepot, two frying pans (one large one small), and a dutch oven would be nice (it could serve as your large pot), along with a large wash tub (which everything is packed in), and two buckets. For prep and eating you'd need a pair of tongs, a spatula, a large and a small fork, a large and a small spoon, a plate, a cups, a mug, and a bowl, preferably all made from steel if you can get them.

You will want some candles as mentioned above, and if possible a lantern (and oil). Lighting is critical, especially during the winter when you will hole up in a location with as little natural light as possible (because light means drafts).

Continuing, you'll need some heavy needles, various thread, twine, rawhide lacing, leather strapping, some sheet leather, some heavy and some fine cloth. Basically you need enough supplies to make two large tents, two large tarps and ground cloths, some horse packs, and two suits of clothes, two sets of moccasins, and two sets of soft boots, for when your starting sets wear out.

Kim mentions a U.S. army first aid kit, bu that one it isn't very good. I'd take my rescue pack (which is a small backpack, not much bigger than a standard kit), and load it even more than it already is with various broad spectrum anti-biotics, sulfanilamide, disinfectants, ointments, maxi pads(take up less space than compression bandages), and painkillers... Lots and lots of painkillers

Finally I personally wouldnt do this without at least five honking big books (possibly in multiple volumes) that I would have to take from the future with me.

1. A guide to the edible, poisonous, dangerous, and useful plants and animals of North America
2. A complete history, geography, and atlas of the united states with as much detail as possible
3. A one volume complete unabridged works of William Shakespeare
4. A one volume complete unabridged works of Mark Twain
5. A one volume complete unabridged works of Robert Heinlein (yes, it exists, and it's huge)
   

Oh and a harmonica. Gotta have some real music, and I don't think a guitar would last long.

If it were possible to take one luxury item, it would be a PDA, with a few mem cards (the size of a postage stamp each) completely loaded with useful or entertaining ebooks (a 1 gig card can hold up to 2000 or so), a few mem cards loaded with music , and a solar charger for it (I actually have one and it works great).

Ok, but can it really be done?

First things first, I am in fact a bona fide U.S. Air Force certified expert on surviving in the wilderness with only the contents of a load bearing vest, and a knife. Really, this can be done, though it isn't fun and obviously you aren't getting far on just the vest alone.

Realistically, I think it would be impossible to do this alone. I figure that pairing up with other people and pooling your transportation and supplies is about the only way to make sure one of you lives.

These are just wild ass guesses, but they feel about right to me (I've been through a couple of modern wilderness survival courses, military and civilian), I'd say it's about a 10% shot of doing it on your own at worst, and 25% at best.

The odds are just too great against you as a single individual being able to travel, feed yourself and your animals, defend yourself, and not suffer an incapacitating injury or go mad.

For every Jim Bridger there had to have been at least 10 nobodies who got et.

The more folks you have, the more you can spread the workload, the more resources you have, and the less the felled game will go to waste.

I figure a 2 person team gives you a 50% shot, and 4 gives you a 75% shot, 85% if it's only one person who has to make it all the way and not everyone.

No matter what you do, I doubt it would ever go much above 85% because of four things: The rocky mountains, disease, hostile natives, and the fact that nature is a stone ass bitch.

I'd say that the odds of everyone surviving go up until you hit around 8, then they plateau til something like 15 and go down from there. In any group bigger than about 15 out in the woods for two years I figure at least one person has a major accident, at least one person gets a fatal disease, and at least one person gets et or shot.

And of course that assumes no-one in the party goes on a killing rampage of madness or anything like that (which is actually a big assumption).

I tell ya though, if I could, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The Carnival of the New

The new blog showcase "The Carnival of the New" is up over at Snoozebutton dreams

I happen to be in it.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Ballistics

NOTE: This is updated from the original post to include some new and revised numbers, and a bit more detail in some sections. Oh and I spell checked it. The damn spell check took over an hour because bloggers spell checker is incredibly stupid - which is why I never use it.

Lets talk about ballistics, and numbers. In particular I want to talk about alternative chamberings to the big 3 (9mm, .45, and .40s&w) in service and defensive auto pistols, the numbers they push out, and specifically how the external ballistics relate to terminal ballistics.

First I want to talk about a couple "super calibers", the .357SIG, the 10mm, the .45 super, the .460 Rowland and a couple of others. The commonality between them is that they are all near the limit of what an automatic pistol of reasonable size and weight can chamber.

I specifically recommended that we adopt a sidearm capable of chambering .45 super in "The Right weapon for the Job" and "Getting Down to Specifics", because a .45super chambered weapon can also chamber .45 acp, and because it offers excellent performance against soft body armor at short range with hard penetrator loads.

I have five .45's (of the six that I own) that are rated for .45 super. I don't bother with it because it doesn't seem to give me enough advantage over my +p acp in the barrel lengths I shoot, but I load high performance hollowpoints or frangibles. In a military application where we are limited to hardball, or penetrator loads; or with ANY load in a carbine or SMG; the difference in stopping power could be huge.

I figure the .45 super is the most sensible up-powered option for a .45 frame, and more importantly to my current thinking, for a pistol caliber carbine or SMG.

Just for versatility, I really like convertible firearms; in addition to my two .45 supers, up until a month ago when I sold it, I had a SIG P229 in .40. One of the best thing about that gun; a simple barrel and spring change, and its now a .357.

Of course the starting point for the .357 SIG, was the .40 s&w, and that in turn was based on the the 10mm auto. Unfortunately most people found full powered 10mm a bit unwieldy in most of the weapons chambered for it, so the .40 S&W was developed by cutting the length, reducing the charge, and lightening the bullet (basically its a compromise cartridge, with a standard .40 performing about the same as a +p 9mm, and a +p .40 performing a bit better than a standard pressure .45acp).

I really like the 10mm as a cartridge. Its a powerful and efficient design, that allows for more cartridges in the same space as the .45 acp, and can be comfortably downloaded to the same power levels as the .45, or comfortably uploaded into .41 magnum territory.

I have a 1911, and had Glock 21, either of which could be converted to 10mm with an upper change (slide, barrel, springs) and some new magazines, as the G21 and G20 use the exact same frame, and the 10mm OAL is within range to feed properly in a ramped 1911. 10mm is also very well proven in SMGs and carbines, and is in fact the most powerful chambering currently offered in the MP5 platform.

The wildcard of the group I listed above is the .460 Rowland. The only thing I know about this caliber is the numbers, which are pretty impressive, and that it will feed in a standard 1911 frame, and is a bit shorter than a .45 win mag.

Some would also include the .400 cor-bon, but honestly I just don't find it interesting. It seems to offer no advantage over the .45 super, and very little over .357 sig. 10mm and .460 on the other hand, are both serious magnum level calibers (or can be when loaded properly).

Here's some numbers from Winchester, Federal, Cor-bon, Black Hills, Triton, Doubletap, and Buffalo Bore who offer a full range from low pressure practice loads, to about the hottest factory loaded ammo you can generally buy in most places (that said, there are .41, .44, and 10mm loads at up to 50% over the standard factory energy numbers listed here - only doubletap and buffalo bore load close to maximum for those calibers).

All numbers are from either 4.5-5" automatics and 4" revolvers to be comparable. Typical magnum revolvers gain or lose appx. 50fps per inch of barrel length. Most auto pistols gain or lose somewhat less, because they are generally loaded with faster burning powders.

So here's the baseline, a +p .45 acp

45 ACP +P Factory Ballistics
165 grain at 1250fps 573ftlbs
185 grain at 1150fps 543ftlbs
200 grain at 1050fps 490ftlbs
230 grain at 950fps 461ftlbs

And a couple of magnums and common revolver chamberings etc... for comparison. The very heavy factory loads here are from Buffalobore or Doubletap, who offer the hottest ammo on the market. Most of it exceeds max SAAMI spec, but it is all definitely safe, at least in modern well constructed guns.

.45 COLT
200 grain at 1100fps 537ftlbs (Standard pressure. There are loads with twice this energy or more)

.357 Magnum
110 grain at 1500fps 555ftlbs
125 grain at 1400fps 544ftlbs
125 grain at 1600fps 710ftlbs (max pressure load)
140 grain at 1300fps 525ftlbs
158 grain at 1400fps 688ftlbs
158 grain at 1500fps 790ftlbs (over max spec but still safe)
170 grain at 1425fps 765ftlbs
180 grain at 1400fps 785ftlbs

(switching to a 6" barreled hunting revolver will add appx. 100fps to these numbers)

.41 MAG
170 grain at 1275fps 614ftlbs
170 grain at 1650fps 1030ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)
230 grain at 1450fps 1075ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)
265 grain at 1350fps 1075ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)

.44 MAG
240 grain at 1260fps 848 ftlbs
240 grain at 1350fps 971 ftlbs
240 grain at 1450fps 1120ftlbs (Doubletap +p+ load)
250 grain at 1450fps 1170ftlbs (Doubletap +p+ load)
270 grain at 1450fps 1260ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)
300 grain at 1150fps 879 ftlbs
300 grain at 1300fps 1125ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)
305 grain at 1325fps 1190ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy load)
320 grain at 1250fps 1110ftlbs (Doubletap +p+ load)
340 grain at 1400fps 1480ftlbs (Buffalobore heavy +p+)

.45 WIN MAG
200 grain at 1450fps 934ftlbs

Finally here's the calibers we're interested in:

.357 SIG factory loads
115 grain at 1560fps 621ftlbs
115 grain at 1650fps 695ftlbs (I think this load is over max spec, but safe)
125 grain at 1350fps 506ftlbs (the default standard spec load)
125 grain at 1480fps 608ftlbs (max spec pressure load)
125 grain at 1525fps 645ftlbs
135 grain at 1320fps 522ftlbs
145 grain at 1180fps 448ftlbs
145 grain at 1250fps 503ftlbs
147 grain at 1350fps 595ftlbs
147 grain at 1050fps 360ftlbs (this is a heavy compressed tungsten subsonic frangible for use in aircraft)

10mm (in theory the full power loads, but they seem light)
135 grain at 1400fps 588ftlbs
150 grain at 1325fps 585ftlbs
165 grain at 1250fps 573ftlbs
170 grain at 1360fps 698ftlbs
180 grain at 1220fps 595ftlbs
200 grain at 1200fps 639ftlbs

.45 Super
165 grain at 1,400 fps 718ftlbs
185 grain at 1,300 fps 694ftlbs
200 grain at 1,200 fps 639ftlbs
230 grain at 1,100 fps 618ftlbs

450 SMC
165 grain at 1,450fps 770ftlbs
230 grain at 1,150fps 675ftlbs

.40 Super
135 grain at 1,800 fps 971ftlbs
165 grain at 1,600 fps 938ftlbs
200 grain at 1,300 fps 750ftlbs

460 Rowland
185 grain at 1,550fps 987ftlbs
200 grain at 1,450fps 934ftlbs
230 grain at 1,340fps 917ftlbs

.400 Cor-Bon
135 grain at 1450fps 630ftlbs
150 grain at 1350fps 607ftlbs
160 grain at 1200fps 543ftlbs
165 grain at 1300fps 619ftlbs

.38 Casull
124 grain at 1,800fps 892ftlbs
147 grain at 1,650fps 889ftlbs

One thing is certain, most of the loads listed are pretty potent, and even the "weakest" of the high performance calibers have better numbers than the strongest of the standard pressure .45 ACPs (400-450 ftlbs depending on load) and most of the +p's.

It surprised me that the 10mm and .45 super loads were so close. I thought for sure that the 10mm would be loaded much heavier, but at right around 700ftlbs, both max energy loads I listed are supposed to be max pressure loads (meaning you cant load them to be more powerful without exceeding the spec - more on this later).

The .460 Rowland, as I said before, is pretty impressive, at least according to the numbers. There's some serious energy in those cases; and from what I understand the .460 is basically a slightly shortened and downloaded .45 win mag, so that's not surprising.

It also surprised me how much energy the .38 Casull and .40 super are, in theory, delivering; but the fact is, at those 16-1800fps velocities, those lightweight bullets will probably be disintegrating on impact.

Also, it's kind of pathetic how mild the standard factory .41 and .44 magnum loads are. I've listed heavy .44 loads at over 1200ftlbs here, and .41 loads at over 1000ftlbs. These lower level loads are far below the peaks loadings that have been offered in the past, but major ammunition companies are wimping out on liability. They really just don't want someone blowing their gun up and suing them.

More on that: It seems that the 10mm loads listed are a bit watered down, and there are hotter commercial loads available, but not from the majors because they are all apparently exceeding, or at least bumping real hard on the max SAAMI spec.

Winchester offers a 175gr load at 1290 fps and about 650ft/lbf, and that's about the highest energy full weight load (there are some ultra lightweight 10mm's loading 125gr and 135gr bullets which are loaded to insane velocities) that the major manufacturers are pushing out.

Small companies like Doubletap Ammo, and Buffalo Bore are going a little hotter, and apparently exceeding SAAMI specs. That doesn't mean they aren't safe, (SAAMI is full of pansie asses) just that the SAAMI spec is low. The same could be said of the .45 super (the only one of the other uprated calibers that is a SAAMI standardized offering); and of the .357SIG. The manufacturers of .357 SIG pistols are already going to SAAMI with a much higher pressure spec than initially adopted because the pistols and the cartridge can be uprated by as much as 20% over the current "max" spec loads without any excessive pressure issues.

Hunting around online, I found a chart listing these 10mm loadings. According to the site, all are over SAAMI max pressure specs, but still appeared to be safe in a G20.

165 grains at 1400 fps 718 ftlbs
150 grains at 1476 fps 726 ftlbs
220 grains at 1335 fps 792 ftlbs (yipes)

Here's the loadings Doubletap is offering.

135grains at 1600 fps 767 ftlbs
155grains at 1475 fps 750 ftlbs
165grains at 1425 fps 744 ftlbs
180grains at 1330 fps 707 ftlbs
200grains at 1270 fps 715 ftlbs

On the extreme end, some lunatic worked up the following:

13.4 gr blue dot, 155gr Hornady XTP at 1618 fps 900ftlbs

which is heading into .44 magnum territory, but which apparently produces no signs of excessive pressure from a Glock 20 (which because it is the most common 10mm pistol in public hands, has become the standard testing pistol for the caliber).

The original "proof" load for the 10mm (which is supposed to be the maximum load used to test the gun to see if it will blow up) was 170gr at 1400fps and 740 ftlbs (though it never actually hit 1400 from a real gun, that number was from a pressure barrel ), which was the load that SAAMI set their original max by backing down 10% from.

That's plenty stout for any human target, through a car door and heavy clothing, which is why the FBI loved it (by the numbers anyway).

Personally would think 13.4gr of blue dot behind a 155gr from an unsupported, and relatively loose chamber (in a G20) would be pretty close to suicidal, but the guy says that after testing to max pressure, it's what he backed off to, to the point where there were no signs of excess pressure. Also he was using a 24lb recoil spring, a tungsten guide rod, and a titanium firing pin.

In that same realm of slightly insane loads, here's a fun load out from a 5" .45 super

255 grains at 1180 fps 788 ftlbs

That is by far the heaviest load I've seen for .45 super, and I don't think I'd want to push that far, but there are a bunch of loads right around 700ftlbs that I would be comfortable with.

What's real fun though; is when you scale up from a 5" barreled pistol, into a 10-12" barreled SMG, or a 16" barreled carbine. From a 16" barrel, that same 255gr load is pushing 1650 fps and 1540ftlbs. The 185gr max velocity load listed above, will clock in at 1940fps and 1545 ftlbs.

Okay so I've been throwing around a lot of numbers, but what exactly are they, and what do they mean?

First, they were derived from the standard energy calculations:

Energy = Mass in grains * (velocity in fps)e2/450400

Here's an online calculator

http://www.cruffler.com/BallisticCalculators/BallisticCalculator.shtml

Unfortunately, while muzzle energy is easy to calculate (as are retained energy, and momentum), they don't necessarily mean very much. They are just numbers.

You would think that given the amount of raw data available, someone would be able to write a computer simulation of terminal ballistics that had relevance to killing power, and more importantly to stopping power, but we still haven't figured that one out.

An aside: Not only is muzzle energy not a useful measure of stopping power, but muzzle energy isn't even a reliable indicator of recoil, because there are quite a few factors determining how much recoil is felt. Just off the top of my head, the weight of the bullet, the composition of the powder, the hold (or mount), the grip or stock shape and material, the total energy, the speed of the recoil impulse, the length of the barrel and the weight of the gun all are major factors in felt recoil.

As an example of how these factors interact, the 500 s&w is the heaviest recoiling standard pistol cartridge out there, even at the almost 5 lb weight of the gun. Out of a 7 lb carbine, the same cartridges recoil is comparatively mild.

Historically the .357 magnum is the best manstopper out of a carry pistol, but its energy levels are a lot lower than some other calibers with worse stopping records. Penetration, bullet construction, expansion etc... are all important considerations.

These things are just too complicated for anything other than real world experience, and maybe high end computer modeling. Of course the problem with that is, you have to have good data, and know how to weight each factor etc... and we just don't know how to weight things.

The best numbers we have are from Marshall and Sanow, and while their methods were sound by actuarial standards, they certainly weren't scientifically sound.

My personal favorite numbers only solution is that preferred by the mad ogre (a reader of this site)...

Defensive Power Factor

Bullet Weight in Grains, Times Caliber, Times Velocity, Divided by 1000 = Defensive Power Factor or DPF for short.

For 9mm and such you of course use its actual measured Caliber .355 or what ever your bullet is actually sized at. 10mm is .40 cal etc.

Example:
A 230 grain .45 load: 230*.45= 103.5 *900/1000 = DPF 93.15

It has no real scientific basis, but it generally ranks loads known to perform well, in about the same the same order as the real world data.

Actually, I really badly need to qualify that statement. I said it would rank loads in about the same order as real world data; this is only true when the velocities are close to each other.

Let me calc out some examples to show what I mean:

Calculating the DPF of the superhot 10mm load listed above comes out like this:

200gr * .40 caliber * 1778fps /1000 = DPF 142.4, 1404ftlbs

The .30 carbine come out like this:

110gr * .30 caliber * 1990fps /1000 = DPF 65.67, 967 ftlbs

Okay that looks like it's probably pretty close to the real world effectiveness of the two by comparison.

Where things get interesting is when velocity differences are more than a few hundred FPS.

MadOgre suggests scaling rifles by 100 instead of 1000, but that's not really all that useful. There's no scientific justification for the arbitrary scaling factor, and even from rifle to rifle its not that useful. The problem is that energy is an exponential function of velocity. When there are relatively small differences in velocity the disparity is relatively small, but when you are talking about 1000+ fps differences in velocity, the energy differences are pretty huge.

Lets take the standard M193 5.56 NATO, and M80 7.62 loads as an example:

55gr * .223 caliber * 3250fps/1000 = DPF 39.8, 1289 ftlbs

147gr * .30 caliber * 2700fps/1000 = DPF 119.07, 2380ftlbs

I don't think anyone would argue that the .30 carbine was 50% more effective than the 5.56 NATO, as the DPF would indicate, nor would I argue that the 5.56 was 50% more effective than the .30 carbine.

I also wouldn't try to argue the 7.62 NATO was 3 times as effective as the 5.56. I might, say twice as effective, but not 3 times, and no-one on the planet would say that a 10mm carbine would be 20% more effective than a 7.62 NATO as the DPF would indicate.

Oh and you might note that 9mm pistol rounds at 147 grains are a little over 1/3 the velocity of the 7.62 nato, at about 1/6th the energy; and I'd still rather be shot in a vital area with 3 or even 6 147gr 9mm pistol bullets than one single 7.62 rifle bullet.

Sooooo, how do we deal with the disparity?

Okay here goes.

Neither muzzle energy or the DPF listed above have any useful proportionality across great velocity differences. They either weight caliber too high, or they rate velocity too high.

So let's factor both energy AND caliber. Since energy already takes into account mass and velocity, adding caliber covers all the ballistically significant factors (other than bullet construction).

We'll call it the WAG Power Factor, or WPF for short.

The loads for comparison are as follows:

9mm: 147gr .355 caliber at 1050fps = DPF 54.8, ftlbs 360, WPF 127.8
9mm+p: 124gr .355 caliber at 1250fps = DPF 55.02, ftlbs 430.17 WPF 152.7
.45ACP: 230gr .45 caliber at 800fps = DPF 82.8, ftlbs 338, WPF 152.1
.45+p: 165gr .45 caliber at 1250fps = DPF 92.81, ftlbs 573, WPF 257.85
10mm: 170gr .40 caliber at 1350fps = DPF 91.8, ftlbs 698, WPF 279.2

Jump to carbine and rifles here

.30cb: 110gr .30 caliber at 1990fps = DPF 65.67, ftlbs 967, WPF 290.1
10mm: 200gr .40 caliber at 1778fps = DPF 142.4, ftlbs 1404, WPF 561.6
5.56n: 55gr .223 caliber at 3250fps = DPF 39.8, ftlbs 1289, WPF 386.7
7.62n: 147gr .30 caliber at 2700fps = DPF 119.07, ftlbs 2380, WPF 714

Hmm, looking at those numbers, I get the feeling that it might actually be semi-useful. The proportionality might not be quite right, but based on my own experience the order of effectiveness comes out the same as the WPF lists.

Guess it's not a totally Wild Ass Guess, just mostly.

An online associate of mine know as Toad (don't ask) responded to this idea with this:

Hmm, my $0.01 on this is that the caliber should have a non-linear effect, since the frontal area goes up by the square as does the energy. Simplifying I get this for approximate areas. A = Pi (D/2)squared

5.6mm - 24.3 square mm (.22)
7.6mm - 45.4 square mm (.30)
9.0mm - 63.6 square mm (.356)
10.0mm - 78.5 square mm (.40)
11.4mm - 102.1 square mm (.45)
12.7mm - 126.7 square mm (.50)

Between 5.6 and 7.6 the area increases by about 87%

Between 9mm and .45 the area increases by about 64%

That would dramatically increase the weight of caliber in the equation.

Lets look at the example of the standard .45. 10mm, 5.56, 10mm carbine and 7.62 NATO:

.45acp WPF 152.1
10mm WPF 279.2
10mm carbine WPF 561.6
5.56 NATO WPF 386.7
7.62 NATO WPF 714

If we change our criteria from caliber to surface area we get the following:

.45acp 34510
10mm 54793
10mm carbine 110214
5.56 NATO 31323
7.62 NATO 108052

It would seem the surface area numbers weight caliber too highly, putting the standard .45acp as more powerful than the 5.56, and the 10mm carbine load as more powerful than the 7.62 NATO.

By these same numbers a .454 Casull would be more powerful than the 300 win mag.

Toad came back with...

Yes it would, but anecdotal evidence seems to weigh bullet diameter a little higher that the straight diameter formula. To a certain extent a larger bullet of the same weight and velocity is going to transfer energy and make a bigger hole than smaller one. Of course a .22 bullet that weighed 230 grains would probably tumble through like a buzz saw. If not an increase by area for a factor then perhaps an a linear add to the bullet diameter. Say just Pi times diameter?
(Notice folks I'm trying to get Chris to do all the hard work on this)

Hell I don't mind. I do numbers like this in my head for fun, and it's nice to exercise the engineering and math degrees every once in a while.

There's a reason why I'm an insomniac.

There's a huge logical hole in Toads suggestion there. All the results would still be proportional.

Okay lets run the numbers again as an example.

45 acp would go from 34510 to 478, which is 3.14 times my original WPF number of 152.1

7.62 NATO would go from 108052 to 2242 which is 3.14 times my original WPF number of 714

Clearly the size hole made is important, and yes there are substantial differences in area vs caliber proportionality.

Some maxims:

• Killing power increases as the velocity of bullets of the same caliber and mass increases.
• Killing power increases as the mass of bullets increases at the same caliber and velocity.
• Killing power increases as diameter increases at the same mass and velocity.

So there are three independent factors which will increase killing power.

Leaving out bullet construction and shot placement here, and assuming a bullet doesn't fail catastrophically, how do we figure out what is the most important. How do we weight them?

We know that bullet energy is a real measurement of power derived from mass and velocity, but that it is not directly indicative of killing power.

A higher velocity load at the same mass and caliber will have significantly higher in killing power (I.E. .38spl vs .357 magnum).

A higher mass load at the same velocity and caliber will increase killing power, but not all that much unless the animal is extremely heavily structured. The heavier the animal, and the more penetration required, the more important mass becomes. Lets assume we are talking about a human.

A higher caliber load, at the same mass and velocity (thus the same energy), will have more killing power than the higher mass load, but its non deterministic in relation to the higher velocity load.

So mass would seem to be the least important factor, but how do you rank the others?

Well if we take a look at the .454 and the .500 S&W, and we load both to the same mass and velocity, the .454 would have more killing power due to it's higher sectional density, rather than the .500 with its higher caliber, though the differences would be pretty small.

That would seem to indicate velocity is more important than mass, however it requires a larger proportional change in velocity vs caliber to produce a proportional change in killing power I.E. a 25% increase in caliber at the same mass and velocity will produce more killing power than a 25% increase in velocity in the same caliber and mass.

Oh and to physics folks, yes I know that momentum and impulse are more relevant, but most gunnies aren't used to talking in those terms, besides which momentum is a derived dimesnion from velocity and mass anyway.

That means the curves cross, possibly at multiple points, and cant be figured with simple arithmetic, though we may be able to estimate it.

I'm just not sure how to do that, and neither is anyone else, though it will never keep us from trying (and then from writing, or bitching about it at the range, and in gun shops and hunting camps).

It's none of OUR DAMNED BUSINESS

Flame on guys, I'm going to piss some of y'all off, but here goes.

To all of you out there who are saying that we have a moral obligation to "save terry":

It's none of our god damned business, and we should stop acting like it is.

Point one, the law is clear, and has repeatedly sided with Michael Schaivo. He has the legal right to do this under every law associated with the matter.

Point two, no law can be made, no subpoena can be issued, no executive order can be signed that will "save" this woman. Congress has no authority, the president has no authority, republicans have no authority, the governor of florida has no authority over this womans life.

If you want the government to do something you are opening the door to them controlling your life in the same way. "Saving Terry" by some trick of the law would be completely unconstitutional, and any attempt to legitimize it would be a constitutional disaster.

If you advocate laws such as this you are a traitor, because passing un-Constitutional law is traitorous. Even if you do advocate such laws, and they are passed, they would not legally be able to "save terry", because ex-post-facto laws are generally not constitutional (never in criminal cases, sometimes in civil). The decision has already been made, and unless the federal courts can somehow come up with some jsutification for claiming jurisdiction and then take it up to the supreme court and over turn that decision finally, the decision based on earlier law would apply.

Point three, it's not "all about the money". Do you know how much money is left? About $50k. Michael Schaivo was offered first 1 million, then 2, then 4 million to sign over his rights to the parents and go away. He didnt take it. Some say that's because he didnt want public opinion against him, but you might have noticed, PUBLIC OPINION IS ALREADY CRUCIFYING HIM.

If hes such a scumbag out for the money, do you think he would have even cared what the public thought?

Not only that, but over 4 million has been spent "fighting for terrys life" according to estimates I heard today.

Point four, she's dead, she's been dead for 15 years. She's meat. It's a lie to say the tests haven't been performed, they have been. If you say "she needs more tests" you are just justifying your own pre-existing conclusion. She has been given various involuntary response tests, which she sometimes passes, sometimes fails. She has never yet had a proven voluntary response. She was given a swallow test a few months ago. THe parents said that if she failed the test they would stop fighting. She failed the test. Instead of giving up they rationalized it by saying "well shes had the tube down there for years, of course she cant swallow, if she jsut had time and therapy I'm sure she'd be able to". No amount of therapy is going to help this woman.

None.

She's dead.

And you don't care, because you dont think she should "be killed" anyway.

Her parents are suffering from a grief delusion, and have been for 15 years. All you are doing is strengthening and enabling their delusion. She's never going to wake up. She's never going to speak, or walk, or eat, or drink without machines.

Oh sure theres a chance, it's something like 20 million to one, but theres always a chance.

Even if I grant that she's not dead (and I dont) then she is living quite possibly the most horrible nightmare I can imagine, an active living brain trapped in a non responsive body. Personally I'd hope someone would blow my brains out first.

To all you libertarians out there saying "the state shouldnt have the powert to kill her", it doesnt and it isnt, the decision if Michaels, and she's been dead for 15 years. Not only that, but do you really want to give the govrenment the right to decide to stop you?

I don't care what kind of romantic notions you've attached to this womans life, or what right to life cause you are promoting, because that's really what youre fighting for, and not Terrys "life".

"Terrys supporters" arent supporting terry, they are supporting their cause, or their own weak sensibilities.

Terrys life doesn't matter to you. You dont know the woman. You have no stake in her life. You would not be hurt by this womans death, nor will you be helped by her living. There will be no emotional, personal, or financial impact to you, unless the outcome effects your cause in some way. Terry is nothing but a symbol to you. You have no right to even have any input on this decision.

Neither does George Bush

Neither does Jeb Bush

Neither does congress

Neither does the senate

Neither does Bo Gritz (and people should really think twice about holding this guy up as an example of anything except a white supremacist separatist fanatic hatemongering publicity hound. He may have earned those medals, but hes been nothing but a disgrace since).

She's dead, and you are using her as a horse for your cause.

Now, your cause may be just, and right, and good, I dont care. You have no right to use this woman, or what's left of her, for your cause.

It's none of our god damned business. It's none of the governments god damned business. According to the law, it's nobodies business but Michael Schaivo.

Oaths

"I, Christopher Byrne, having been appointed a 2d Lt. in the United States Air Force do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, SO HELP ME GOD."

I took that oath almost nine years ago, and the enlisted mans oath two years before that; and though I don't wear the uniform anymore, I have not renounced that oath. I consider it to still be in force (and so does the government by the way, if I recieve a lawful order from my properly constituted chain of command, I am still legally required to obey it.)

I repeat it to myself on the 4th of July, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day.

It means something; something more than I can ever explain.

The framers pledged "their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor", and I have pledged no less.

If you haven't taken the oath, I don't think you can understand; It is both a heavy weight, and a sturdy frame. When you take the oath, if you really understand it, you know it means you have accepted a duty, more important than any other you have taken before, to protect those around you; even more than that, you have taken on a duty to protect our principles, and our way of life. It also means that you know, truly know with absolute certainty, what you should do when presented with certain very critical questions.

"...I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."

All enemies foreign and domestic...

That passage is there for a reason; The framers of our government, who first set forth this oath in 1778, knew that there would be challenges both from within, and from without.

I believe that in these days, we face a greater challenge from within, than we have faced since April, 1861.

The people who have become the establishment of the state, have taken upon themselves more and more of those powers, rights, and priviliges reserved for the states; and for the people; and they are reaching for more every single day.

They have taken upon themselves the power to limit, or to abrogate those rights protected by the constitution.

They have taken upon themselves the power to limit, or to abrogate those rights inherent to us as men.

And we have let them.

It is my duty to support and defend the constitution of the united states, and I have failed in that duty.

If you are reading this, it's very likely you have failed as well.

Every elected official in the federal government has taken a similar oath.
Every federal law enforcement officer has taken a similar oath.
Most state governors have taken a similar oath
Most elected officials in state governments have taken a similar oath.
Most Police officers have taken a similar oath.
Many appointed officials of federal and state governments have taken a similar oath.
Many officials of state and local governments have taken a similar oath.

They have failed their duty, and they have forfeited their honor.

We have all failed, because we have allowed our government to supersede our nation, and our constitution. We have failed because we are not doing everything in our power to reverse these transgressions. We have failed beacuse we have supported, and promoted these transgressions when they serve our own petty interests.

We have failed because we have known what had to be done, and we have not done it.

We have failed, because we are weak, because we are human, and because we have not stood together in our duty.

We have failed in our duty, and in failing we have forfeited our honor.

We have forfeited our honor, because our friends, and our neighbors, and our families all accepted that it was allowable to do so.

We have forfeited our honor because it was easy, and our duty was hard.

I wish to have my honor back.

I wish to do my duty.

I am weak, but I will be strong.

I am alone, but I will not be alone long.

We are weak, but we will be strong.

Let me say this again, loud and clear:

WE WILL BE STRONG

WE WILL DO OUR DUTY

WE WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION
AGAINST ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC

Getting Down To Specifics

In "The Right Weapon for the Job" I laid out some general ideas for the future of invidual small arms selection and training. Well, I seem to have had some decent response to the post, but folks seem to want to get into more specifics, i.e. what rifle, what pistol etc...

I wanted to mostly stay away from that in the general posting, but I thought I'd go into it here.

So, I laid out the need for the following

1. A medium machine gun
   
2. A light machine gun
3. A battle rifle
4. An assault rifle and assault carbine
5. A Sub-machine gun
6. A Short barreled shotgun
7. A Sidearm

We already have a weapon in each of these slots, as follows

1. FN-MAG/M240 (medium machine gun)
   
2. FN-MINI/M249 (light machine gun)
3. Springfield Armory M14 (battle rifle)
4. FN and Colt (and others) M16 and M4 (assault rifle and assault carbine)
5. HK MP5 (Sub-machine gun)
6. Mossberg 590 (shotgun, though not short barreled)
7. Beretta M92FS/M9 (Sidearm)

In the first piece I talked about selecting all the components from a single manufacturer, and I think this is both a good idea, and easy to do with HK (and to a lesser extent with FN, who is already our primary supplier of assault rifles). They provide each element covered here, and in most cases they are at or near the top of that market.

The all HK solution would look a little something like this

1. MG3 or MG21 (medium machine gun)
   
2. MG43/MG4, MG36, or MG23 (light machine gun)
3. G3 or SG1 (battle rifle)
   
4. HK33, 53, G36, or XM-8 (assault rifle and assault carbine)
5. HK MP5/10 or UMP45 (Sub-machine gun)
6. Fabarm FP6 (shotgun)
7. HK USP Compact or Tactical (Sidearm)

I don't think all of these are necessarily the ideal choices, for one thing the Mossberg 590 in a short barreled configuration is a GREAT shotgun, and I wouldn't change it. I rather like the M240 medium machine gun, though it is a bit heavy, and the HK solution here is sub optimal.

I also see little reason to stop using the M14, but if we wanted to single source, and to keep to one operating system and ergonomic configuration, the G3 and it's variants are great rifles.

For the LMG, assault rifle, SMG, and sidearm elements however, I think HK offers either the best, or at least one of the best options, especially if the current 5.56 weapons were chambered in the more effective 6.5 or 6.8 alternatives.

I'm especially a fan of the MG4, and all indications show the XM-8 to be a decent rifle.

The MP5 can be chambered in 10mm and .40 cal (the MP5/10 and the MP5/40), which means it could be chambered in .357 sig with no re-engineering. If the basic design can handle 10mm, it can certainly be chambered in .45 super. Moving to the UMP .45, it is already capable of handling .45 super.

I want to go a little deeper into the assault rifle and sidearm discussions:

(I'm'na put on my asbestos pajamas here for a sec).

I'm honestly not sure what is more controversial, the pistol, or the assault rifle. Of course those that are most vehemently against our current choices are mostly advocating moving back to the 1911, and the M14 (or even the M1 garand). To those people... just go away, I'm going to piss you off too much and probably just ignore your comments anyway. Its 2005 not 1945 or 1955. The days of your youth are gone, and just because it worked for grandpa doesnt make it the best choice today. That doesn't mean it doesnt work, lord knows more bad guys have been killed with m1's and 1911's than any other weapons, just that there are better choices available today.

First, the pistol...

Let me say first, I am a big fan of the 1911 pistol. I own two of them, I typically shoot 200-500 rounds per week through them, and I carry one on a regular basis. The 1911 is the finest auto pistol ever devised.

That said, we are never going to go back to a 1911 for our service pistol, and I don't think we should. Even in commander form, the 1911 is heavier and longer than it needs to be. It is a large pistol (in both length, and height, though it is nicely thin) for it's caliber and barrel length by modern pistol standards. More importantly, it's a single action pistol, which is not the right choice for a military sidearm today.

I think we need an SA/DA, DAO, or safe-action type pistol. I prefer one with a safety, though that's not absolutely necessary, and I personally want a safety, or a safety and a decocker, not just a decocker. It should have either a polymer or alloy frame (for weight and corrosion resistance), and I'd prefer a stainless slide, though with the right finish it isn't absolutely necessary.

As to caliber; I noted in the other piece, I think we should move to .357sig, 10mm, or .45 super, and I prefer the .45 super because you can also chamber .45acp. I choose these three, because they are the best options in auto pistos for stopping power and the ability to penetrate soft body armor (with hot loaded penetrator cored hardball), while still being controllable in a leightweight, and reasonably sized package for daily carry.

SIG, HK, Glock, Kahr, and Ruger all make suitable pistols that are, or could be, chambered for these rounds, and offer these features(as do others, but I don't consider them strong competitors).

Of all of them, I personally think the HK USP compact, or the USP tactical are the best options available (I happen to own a USP compact, which I love). The USP is already chambered for .45 super; like the Glock, it is part of a full range of weapon configurations from more than full sized, to compact, with the same ergonomic configuration; it can be fully ambidextrous if desired; it has a three position safety (safe, fire, and decock), a decent trigger, and it is easily suppressed. Like most other pistols in this class, the only thing I dont like, is the slide is a bit bulky, and could be a bit thinner.

I just sold my SIG p229, and I miss it greatly. I love the SIG's in general, and they already make excellent pistols in .357sig (obviously). I would love to see SIG make a .45 the same height as the p220, (which is a bit thick in the grip, and a bit bulky for some), but the length of the p245. The 220 is a bit long, the 245 is a bit stubby in the grip, and in the ideal world, both could be 1/4" thinner. Basically I'd like a .45acp p229 only a bit thinner. The only think I don't like about SIG's in general, is the decock only operation; as I've said, I prefer having the option of a safety, especially in a non DAO pistol.

A lot of folks would suggest the G21 (or the G20), but I don't think it's a good service pistol option. I own one, I like it, but it's not right for everyone. I like having the safety option, Glock triggers are pretty bad out of the box, and it's quite thick and unwieldy. I have very large hands, and STILL the G21 isn't a very comfortable gun to hold and carry. All that said, if Glock made a single stack (or narrow double stack), commander sized .45, capable of handling .45 super, with an 8-10 round capacity (like the USP compact), I would say it was a great choice as a new military sidearm (and I'd buy it for myself in a heartbeat).

I don't personally care for Rugers offerings in this class. The Ruger designs just dont feel great to me, and their quality is inconsistent.

While I like Kahrs, and in fact my EDC piece is a Kahr K9 (which I got REALLY cheap or I would have taken the K40), they don't offer a suitable service pistol yet. I love how thin, and how light they are (without being too light for the caliber); they are very well made guns, and they have decently smooth and reasonably light triggers (though they have a long trigger pull).

I make the same statement about Kahr's as I do about Glock: If they made a single stack (or narrow doublestack), commander sized .45, capable of handling .45 super, with an 8-10 round capacity, I would happily choose it for a new military sidearm, and I would happily buy one myself.

On to the assault rifle...

The assault rifle picture is a bit simpler, because there are fewer options, and there has been a lot of recent developement in this area.

Basically, the major options today are as follows:

1. Keep the AR platform, but rechamber it in a more effective caliber
2. Keep the AR platform, rechamber it, and convert it to an op-rod system
3. Move to the HK XM-8 system, and rechamber it
   
4. Move to the FN SCAR, and rechamber it
   
5. Move to the Robinson Armaments XCR, and rechamber it
   

Of all these options, obviously the easiest and least expensive is the basic rechambering, to either 6.5 grendel, or more likely to 6.8spc. Let's just assume for now that the 6.8 becomes the new default chambering. The 5.56n is just inadequate as an assault rifle chambering, and the U.S. will never issue weapons in 7.62x39.

We could easily rechamber the AR for 6.8 with a bolt, carrier, barrel, and spring change (and probably a different gas port diameter), and it would be a far more effective rifle; but I have said before in "The Myth of AR unreliability" that while the direct gas system of the AR isn't as big a problem as some believe, it isn't the ideal. If we are going to have a significant modification or upgrade of our service arm, it would make sense to move away from direct gas, and convert to an op-rod or tappet system as with Armstech or Kurts guns. This would allow us to maintain our current base of knowledge and training with the AR platform, retain our accessories, and greatly reduce our transition costs, because almost all the parts of the current rifle system could be retained.

Despite all the reasoning above, I don't think either of those options are likely. For political reasons, I think it more likely we will simply adopt an entirely new rifle.

The advantage of the three new rifle platforms above, is that they are all modular systems. Two of the three are directly convertible to multiple calibers, and all three can be converted from assault carbine, to assault rifle, to battle rifle, and to LMG configurations with various parts changes.

Recently FN's FNC based Special Operations Rifle has been selected for the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) program. Covered reasonably well here at world guns, it looks like a decent piece. It is apparent however that the FN was selected over the Robinson XCR for entirely political reasons.

The Robinson Armaments XCR is actually a very similar concept to the FN, convertible calibers, modular system etc... hell, they even look a lot alike, but the XCR has more of the features I would consider "ideal" for an assault rifle system (check the FAQ here). Robinson is also the only U.S. manufacturer to offer a reasonable entry for a new assault rifle; yes the others have U.S. manufacturing facilities, but Robinson is an actual American company.

More important than any of that however, is that from all testing reports it is the better weapon, but Robinson is a small manufacturer and they couldn't offer the same purchasing perks as FN. FN has the advatage of being the current primary military rifle contractor, and they could both offer better terms on the new rifle, and penalize us on existing contracts for the M16, which apparently they did.

According to some reports FN has held up some M16 and M249 rebuild contract fulfilment while their products were under evaluation, and back channel threatened other slowdowns if their products werent selected. I wont link them here because, firstly I don't know how trustworthy the reports are (though I trust the sources), and second, because the people who've said this could get in trouble.

The current frontrunner in the XM/M program, to replace our current issue assault rifle, is the HK XM-8

Again, it is a modular system, designed to be convertible between basic assault rifle, assault carbine, battle rifle, marksmans rifle, an almost SMG, and squad automatic weapon configurations. There've been a hell of a lot of articles written about this gun lately, so I'm not going to go into it deeply, Ill just point you to the writeup from world guns. Also, I'll say I think it's a decent rifle, and it's accessories are great, but I also think it's a bit gadgety. I don't really believe one rifle can cover every need, and HK is trying to sell the system that way.

Of all these options, I think the XCR is the best weapon; in fact I plan on buying one, with the 5.56, 6.8, and 7.62 kits for it when they become available some time later this year. That doesn't mean it's the best rifle to issue to our armed forces however. While I think RobArm could have supplied enough rifles for the SCAR contract, I don think they would be a good company to provide the general issue rifle. They really are jsut too small, and they know it, which is why they didnt put an entry in.

Realistically, I think we should keep the AR, convert it to a gas tappet/op-rod system, and rechamber it for 6.8; but like I said above, I don't think that's going to happen. I think we are going to choose the XM8, and HOPE that our selection people have the balls to chamber it in 6.8.

Carnival of Cordite #5

The next Carnival of Cordite is up over at Technogypsy

http://www.technogypsy.net/March2005.htm#Cordite5

I've got two posts in there, and for some reason the picture from a third.

St. Patricks Day

Nations

I love my country and my country
my states and my counties
of purple mountains and four green fields
of pigskin and patriot games
of Stars and stripes and green and white
of micks and taigs
of my mother and my father
One world and another

I am a genuine Irish American. Not some guy who's grandmother on my mothers fathers side stopped in limerick on the way over from france.

I’m born to an Irish father and American mother, lived in Ireland for years, and moved there permanently after I got out of the AF. I only came back to the U.S. a couple years ago because my mom was sick (still is, but she's stable).

While in theory Ireland’s most important holiday is St. Patricks day, other than the UNGODLY HORDES OF AMERICAN TOURISTS, it’s not really that big a deal; unless of course you’re uber catholic; in which case, the day sucks for you anyway, especially if you have bad knees.

Everybody gets off of work and school, and it's a big family day for a lot of folks, maybe the best comparison would be to American Thanksgiving, but that's not really right either... maybe like thanksgiving combined with memorial day.

A couple of things about the Irish though:

1.We don't punch people for not wearing green, but wearing orange today IS profoundly offensive to about 5 million people (and only half of them live in Ireland); though most of them don't make a big deal about it. Unless you live in Boston, or in the Shankill road, in which case you deserve the beating you are going to recieve just for being such a muppet.

2. Between a quarter and half of those people don't drink anything but sacramental wine.

3. Potatoes ARE still a big part of the Irish diet, a part of most every meal, but most of the potatoes arent actually grown in Ireland

4. We don't eat corned beef and cabbage. Thats a welsh thing that became associated with the Irish in America, because corned beef lasted longer before going off, and was cheaper than high quality beef. The Irish in America (and in Ireland) were historically pretty poor, they ate whatever they could.

5. We do eat boiled bacon or boiled pork shoulder and cabbage; also potatoes and parsnips or turnips. Or at least the Irish as a whole do, I hate cabbage, and I hate turnips.

6. Yes, in general Irish food sucks. The Irish have this amazing ability to take wonderful fresh meat, cheese, and produce, and produce bland, mushy, greasy, flavorless crap.Irish breads and baked good on the other hand, are fucking incredible.

7. Ireland is a VERY small country. It's about the same size as Indiana, and of the 4 million or so people living there, more thna half live within 30 miles of Dublin. Guess what though; Half of all Irish born live outside of Ireland. We are as much a diaspora as jews.

8. Yes, just about everyone in Ireland say "fuck" jsut about all the time. Little grannies say fuck, 9 year olds say fuck, priests say fuck (hell it was the central joke of "Father Ted"). Fuck is like fucking punctuation. Also fucking popular are shite and arse.

9. Guiness sucks everywhere but Ireland. The futher away you get from Dublin, the worse it is. Guiness doesn't travel well. Everywhere else in the world guiness is pasteurized, has preservatives added, and is nitrogen boosted. It's just not on.

10. Brilliant!

My basic thought on Paddys day goes something like this…

St Patricks day: When everyones an Irishman, and EVERY Irishman gets pissed.

Oh, and speaking thereof, Ireland is great for the various euphemisms for drunkenness. My favorites? Arsed, Knackered, and Langered.

Now in honor of all the phony Irish assholes, and real Irish scumbags singing "The Men Behind the Wire" and "The boys of the old Brigade" in bars all over Ireland, Boston, New York, and Chicago...

FUCK YOU!!!!

The Patriot Game

Written by Dominic Behan following the death of 19-year-old Fergan O'Hanlon
during an IRA attack on Brookeborough barracks in 1957

Come all you young rebels, and list while I sing,
For the love of one's country is a terrible thing.
It banishes fear with the speed of a flame,
And it makes us all part of the patriot game.

My name is O'Hanlon, and I'm just gone sixteen.
My home is in Monaghan, where I was weaned.,
I learned all my life cruel England to blame,
And so I'm a part of the patriot game.

It's barely two years since I wandered away
With the local battalion of the bold IRA,
I'd read of our heroes, and I wanted the same
To play out my part in the patriot game.

This island of ours has for long been half free.
Six counties are under John Bull's tyranny.
So I gave up my Bible, to drill and to train
To play my own part in the patriot game.

And now as I lie here, my body all holes
I think of those traitors who bargained and sold.
I wish that my rifle had given the same
To those quislings who sold out the patriot game.