The AR pattern carbine in .300 Blackout was pretty easy to resist, although the more I see about that cartridge, the more I like it. But coming home with a new $1300 rifle would likely cause "words" from my lovely spouse. No no big deal passing it up.
Passing up the $250 Krag - yeah, that was hard. Someone had "improved" it, shortening the barrel and the stock, and so its collector's value was gone. However, it would shoot just like it ever did, and everyone needs a 100 year old rifle, don't they? Sigh. Maybe some day.
But it was all in all a successful outing. I picked up some .303 Brit for the Dallas blog shoot, so now I have going on a couple hundred that I can reload which might almost be enough. I picked up a sling mount for #2 Son's Ruger 10/22 for the Appleseed shoot, and a web sling to go with it. Nobody had military style iron sights for it, so I'll have to order that online.
And I scored some pre-ban AR magazines. Dallas Blog Shoot attendees, bring your pre-ban mags to enter the blogshoot raffle. We'll send the mags up to our brothers and sisters stuck behind enemy lines in the People's Republic of Massachusetts.
#2 Son got a t-shirt, but no knife. Life's a drag when you're 16.
But he and I had lunch at the Big Chicken, and drove with the top down on the Jeep. All in all, a good day, even if I have to spread some more mulch.
Ask Wally about .300 blk carbines, I bet he can beat that price! it's a neat cartridge. no .308, but neat!
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to get that .300 BLK Handi-Rifle that showed up at the last shot show. Just looks slick.
ReplyDelete'Course, then I'd need a suppressor...
...there's a Dallas Blogshoot? *drool* How does one find out about these things??
ReplyDeleteKirk, details are here:
ReplyDeletehttp://borepatch.blogspot.com/2012/03/dallas-area-blogshoot-lock-and-load-for.html
If you're in the area, stop by.
Aw, turdburgers! We're down in Houston that weekend. Trust me, we'd rather be poking large-caliber holes into inanimate objects that making this trip, which will (most likely) be one of those "saying last goodbyes to the wife's Grandma" trips. Those always suck.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next time 'round (har har...sorry, the puns are bad, and frequent) we'll make it to one of these bloggy things.
www.lowryplace.blogspot.com
.300 BLK does seem like a neat cartridge, but until there are a lot more ammo manufacturers I'm not gonna play.
ReplyDeleteThe .300 blackout looks kind of cool. Bridging the gap between a full battle rifle (.308) and the current high-velocity varmint round in 5.56.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a stringent 5.56 opponent - they have their place and they do well when used in that capacity. But I refuse to accept that it is a general purpose military round, or that any such thing as a general purpose round exists or should exist.
Here is what I mean. Take a look at your typical front-line WWII unit. You had squad leaders carrying sub-sonic bullet hoses (thompson sub guns) that were great for clearing a building. Then, you had other guys carrying a full-power battle round that was great for fighting out in the open. Then, you had guys carrying a mid-level assault type round (30 carbine) that granted needed improvement, but was still filling that need. SO at any given time, you had someone who had the right tool for the job.
I watched the Hurt Locker and saw those guys clearing buildings with 5.56 M4s and thought "that is just stupid".
I know the logistics of having multiple rounds in the field is the reason that we went to a GP round like we did. But I don't think that is the right choice. I'm of the opinion that a unit that specializes in building clearing ought to be carrying a subsonic boulder launcher of the full-auto type - .458 socom, 300 blackout in 220 grain... even a .45 sub gun would be better than a 5.56 for that type of work, for a lot of reasons. YOur "fight in the open" infantry can still carry the 5.56 or a 300 blackout in a smaller, faster bullet or .308 or whatever. But to try and be "everything for every situation" with one round and one round only isn't the way to go. If we could figure out the logistics in WWII, I'd think we could still do so today.
.303 British doesn't reload many times, at least not in my guns. Incipient head separations. Max of 2 reloads per case, typical.
ReplyDeleteMax of 3 handloads in new cases.
3 rounds per case is about it, including the initial loading. Be sure to have a case extractor handy, too. You will need it.