.308 vs. 7.62x51mm

Apparently the maximum cartridge headspaces are the same, but the chamber headspace is different.  According to one article (apparently by SayUncle, on an early team blog with Eric S. Raymond, Smallest Minority, and others):

Chamber Headspace
	7.62x51mm	.308 Winchester
Go	1.6355"	1.630"
No-Go	-	1.634"
Field	1.6455"	1.638"

Cartridge Headspace
	7.62x51mm	.308 Winchester
Minimum	1.630"	1.627"
Maximum	1.633"	1.633"
Average	1.6315"	1.630"

SAAMI has a .308 Win spec up on their site.  It would seem to indicate that the min/max dimensions for .308 are 1.630"-1.640" chamber and 1.627"-1.634" cartridge, slightly different from the above, although there have been revisions of the standard.  I'm still looking to see if the NATO standards are available.

According to an old rec.guns post by Bartbob: "New cases typically end up with a fired-case headspace dimension of about .001-inch shorter than the chamber's actual headspace."  So if using fired brass to estimate chamber headspace, add 0.001" to the mic'ed dimension.

As an aside, TM 9-1005-223-10 is the M14 operator's manual.

M14 Info (ChiComs & Mags)

Rifle Company's forums have some info that I should troll through.  One thread on M14s:

One very nice thing about the Polys (& Norincos) is that geometry/dimension wise, the receivers are pretty much spec with USGI receivers. Unfortunately, with the Springfield made receivers that may be a hit or miss proposition. If one is planning on scoping their rifle, one might be better off with the Chinese made receivers. There are too many horror stories floating around about SAI receivers not being in spec, and needing a specially machined mount to work. Smith Enterprises supposedly has a special setup for measuring this. Plus, the bolt holes for the mounts are often miss machined/drilled/tapped on the SAI receivers.
The major "problem" areas for the Chinese receivers are:
#1. Sight knobs may be soft. Easy fix. Garand kobs work, and aren't very expensive. Note, all Chinese made knobs are marked WCE.
#2. Trigger/hammer may be soft. Easy fix. Again, Garand parts work, and aren't very expensive. Chinese made hammers and triggers are unmarked, while USGI hammers and triggers are stamped with letters and numbers(triggers may be iffy).
#3. Op rod spring may be a bit small and soft. Very easy fix. Replace with USGI spring.
#4. Stock is soft and ugly. Easy fix. Replace with USGI stock. Though there needs to be a slight mod to the stock to the shorter Chinese connector lock pin to stay in place.
#5. Bolt may need replacing. Most difficult fix. Hopwever, just replacing the bolt with a USGI bolt fixes any headspace issues. Often, it requires very little work other than a bit of lapping.
None of these fixes is expensive, and most can be done by the person with little or no experience.
At a good enough price, and I could easily talk myself into another Chinese rifle...............not that I need one. Unfortunately, the price keeps going up, since more and more people are finding out how good a bargain they are.

Another good one is a post on the differences between Chinese and USGI parts.

There's also a post regarding how to tell USGI mags from fakes.

Spring Link Dump!!

Some of these have been in my reader for a while.

Email from the Koch Institute regarding the Kochs' dispute with Cato: At first I was highly disappointed at the notice of the "takeover bid", but to be honest, I wasn't even aware of the history that Cato was originally the Charles Koch Foundation.  Now I'm not sure what to think.  It seems to be a trend that some of these advocacy organizations turn out to be driven primarily by the egos of their executives, e.g. Wayne LaPierre at the NRA.

So it turns out that extreme liberals don't really understand their opponents positions on the issues.  Surprise, surprise.  I've found empirically that they tend to not spend the time to educate themselves, preferring to wallow in their own poorly-formed, ill-considered ideology.  The study referred to is interesting.

From WSJ:

• Gardening tips for beginners.  I have dirt and seeds.  Now what?
• The end of the sophisticated playboy era.  The nouveau rich don't know how to live.
• How to tell when it's just another fight, and when it's over.  One can always make it work—it just depends on how much one is willing to sacrifice.  If both people are willing to sacrifice, that's a relationship that will survive.

Regarding the Trayvon Martin case:

• Thomas Sowell's Race and Rhetoric and some more commentary on "race hustlers".  Headline from the early '90s: "White-Black Disparity in Income Narrowed in 80’s, Census Shows"—what happened since the Reagan Era?
• John Lott's opinion on the relevance of Stand Your Ground to the case, and follow-up piece on Fox.

An opinion on the use of the term "gun culture": I disagree, because the extreme left has made this a culture war.  Nonetheless, it's an interesting point.

Federer Lindor Commercial

While the wife watching the Sony-Ericsson Open, we saw the Lindt commercial with Federer.  I fly fairly regularly and have grown to despise the TSA, but that's some funny stuff.  The 30-second version is on YouTube, as well as an extended version (which is even better).  There's even a behind the scenes video!

PTR Commentary

My remarks on a link to an article posted by SayUncle:

I like mine: from sandbags I was getting 3" at 200yds (1.5 MOA) with old Australian surplus using a Hensoldt 4x scope (with temps in the 30s, so I was probably getting a cold-bore shot every string...). The recoil is heavier than an AR-15, but you get used to it. Especially if you put the wide handguard and Magpul PRS stock on there, which makes it really heavy!

Downsides to the HK91-style rifle are two: it beats the hell out of brass, and it doesn't have a last round hold open. The former is only an issue if you reload (which is why I only feed mine surplus). The latter is a serious demerit, IMO, as I'm not going to stick tracers in for my last couple rounds. Still, as Boston T. Party opines in his "Gun Bible", it'll pretty much always work, which is what you want in an SHTF rifle.

CDNN has the best price on the gun. RTG has good prices on surplus accessories; buy new at HKParts if you're rich ;-)

I still despise CTD, though....

Stripper Clips

An old post by Mr. Vanderboegh has convinced me that I need to load ammo on stripper clips, keep the clips in bandoleers, and stow the bandoleers in .30-cal ammo cans.  I may need to find myself some .223 stripper clips....

ChiCom M14s

So I'm back to wrestling with whether or not to get a Chinese M14.  Obviously, I'm not enamored with the fact that it's Chinese-made, considering that they're our main political and economic opponent.  However, I'm hesitant to pay $1500+ for a cast receiver.  According to BTP, SA has had some trouble with their cast receivers (it's unclear if that's fixed or not) and while he mentioned the Chinese forged receivers, he said that they were soft and need heat-treating to bring the hardness up.

As a result, I was reading forums and came across this one on Calguns:

Ever wonder where Springfield Armory Inc gets its "investment cast" commercial parts?...Answer: Wayne Machine Inc. Where is Wayne Machine Inc located???...Answer: Taiwan.
http://waynemachine.com.tw/

If you think your buying a full fledged American built, American made, American parts rifle....think again buddy. ;)

Another source notes that small parts come from China, whereas the receivers are Canadian, and yet another forum actually references a business info page that mentions SA.  So...that kind of eliminates the "buy American" argument, since I can't afford an LRBArms M14SA.  Yet.

In the past, I've bought Chinese products where I couldn't get equivalent features in a U.S.-made product.  Of course I could get an LRBArms gun, but we're talking 3x the price.  Now I'm more of the opinion that I buy something cheap first, figure out what I want, and then spend the big bucks to get it.  Practicality before ideology?

There were a couple M14 gunsmiths mentioned on the forums:

• Warbird Custom Guns - bolt conversion with refinish, $200; rebarrel $75 (plus barrel, of course)
• Arrington Accuracy Works - no prices listed, but one forum mentioned them as doing heat-treat/bolt service

And then there's Smith Enterprise, but I have a feeling I can't afford to have them do the work--if I could, I might as well go the LRB route!

In a Christian Science Monitor article about America's "gun culture", reference is made to an essay that suggests that with the 2A, the notion of civic engagement implies that people ought to "participate in . . . law enforcement and defense of liberty":

The pro-gun movement has been expanding ever since, aided in part by favorable legal rulings and writings. In 1989, Mr. Levinson, the Texas law professor, wrote a notable essay in the Yale Law Review in which he suggested that citizen participation in government might extend to the Second Amendment.

Levinson looked specifically at whether "ordinary citizens [should] participate in the process of law enforcement and defense of liberty rather than rely on professionalized peacekeepers, whether we call them standing armies or police." Gun rights activists consider it a hinge moment in the gun debate, since it marked one of the first such dissections of the Second Amendment by a liberal legal scholar.

That's quite a notion, especially for a liberal scholar (as the article notes).  Sounds right to me—there haven't always been so many professional LEOs running around.  The essay, entitled The Embarrassing Second Amendment, is available online.

RDIAS

For some reason, I got the urge to read about registered drop-in auto sears (RDIASes).  I'd love to own a machinegun (although in my crummy state I can only own C&R MGs) and a RDIAS seems like a good option.  Being drop-in, it can be moved to another lower receiver, as being the registered part, it's not limited to one lower.  Plus, an RDIAS works with .22LR conversions, so one could burn through 1k rounds for less than $50.

Well, Google turned up a few interesting hits:

• Quarterbore's DIAS page, with great pictures (the toolbox case for AR-15s is cool too!)
• A discussion of RDIAS vs. RLL vs. RR on Arfcom
• An Ohio gunsmith who works on NFA weapons and can fix damaged RRs

Ah, I wish I were rich and lived in a state that didn't suck from the perspective of gun laws.  Maybe it's time to move, or buy some land in a neighboring state....

rec.guns AAR from 2000

Sharp as a Marble linked to a recap of an old rec.guns post on The Smallest Minority, where a pawn shop owner ended up shooting a guy, who'd stabbed him with a sword, with a .25 ACP.  Pretty crazy stuff.  Better to have a gun than no gun—but I'd still rather be carrying an ACP two-tenths bigger in diameter.

Self-Defense

An old friend (who happens to have become a Democrat) messaged me the following link on Facebook: What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)

From those details, it doesn't sound like the shooting was justified.  Permit-to-carry holders, in MN anyway, are required to retreat (unless in one's home).  Chasing down a suspect isn't acceptable, also because it doesn't demonstrate a reluctance to participate in a confrontation.  Neither is shooting someone who doesn't exhibit immediate intent to inflict great bodily harm or death.

It's hard to tell from the news who the victim is.  The novel Bonfire of the Vanities comes to mind.  (Where the outraged community and leaders twist the facts to make one of the perps out to be a victim.)

I also came across a forum thread on Minnesota Carry where a permit-holder shot a guy who'd robbed another woman, and according to some accounts was pistol-whipping her, after he was fired upon.  Again, it's hard to tell from the news, but it sounds like the bad guy was really a baddie, as he was a felon who had been freed on a catch-and-release program.  (A felon possessing a firearm is also illegal.)  The guy's mother and sister claimed injustice, but they too have criminal records: the mother for drug possession and the sister for receiving stolen property.

The really fucked up thing is that the judge, Toddrick Barnette, who released the dead perp, is the same asshole who stuck the late MN gun-rights icon Joel Rosenberg with $100k bail after Joel was arrested on a technicality (apparently there was an unused courtroom in the building that allowed them to claim he carried in a prohibited place).  Hmm.  I'm guessing the judge is a Democrat.

Aguila Colibri

Aguila Colibri is a brand of "quiet" .22LR cartridge, a light bullet propelled by only the primer.  I'd considered these for indoor use, but the lead in the primers would be an issue.  Comments on forums seem to indicate that penetration is an issue, especially at practical distances.  Sounds like a Super Colibri out of an 18" barrel is the best of the two for velocity and penetration without excessive noise.

Homebrew Explosives

From a GRE post by Kurt Hofmann, I followed a link to this great archive of homebrew explosives information.  One reason to get a place in the middle of nowhere is so that one can try some of this stuff out without having the po-po knock on your door....

HDDs Gone By

old gold: Some information on HDDs gone by from the Land Down Under.

Wikipedia has a list of defunct HDD manufacturers, as well.

Metal Spigots

Most gravity-pressure water filters have plastic spigots, which sucks.  There are a couple sources for metal spigots that I've found online, but one of them is only in Europe.  The commercial dispenser spigot manufacturer is Tomlinson.  Unfortunately, the type with a watch glass is still a plastic body.  I suppose the other alternative would be to have a machinist make one to spec.

The Purpose of Armed Citizenry

Another post by Vanderboegh worth rereading.

HDD Industry Consolidation

• Rumors from The Register circa 2012.02.08 regarding Toshiba as the buyer of Desktop drive assets from WD/HGST.
• Verification of the rumors via WD's press release dated 2012.02.28, with additional information that WD will have to acquire Toshiba's Thailand plant in exchange.
• Article on China approving the WD acquisition with conditions on 2012.03.02, similar to the EU's objections.  (A translation of the article was made internal to HGST; the linked article has a rougher translation.)
• The FTC issued a proposed order to accept the WD acquisition with divestiture of 3.5" assets on 2012.03.05, apparently in response to China's approval.  However, it appears that there's an open period for comments for 30 days, implying the approval hasn't been given yet.

Drones over the U.S.

The AP has an article about the use of drones over U.S. soil.  Sounds like a good impetus for the technically savvy to start building anti-drone drones for a hobby.

わらしべ長者

話のなかで谷口さんが使って、説明してくれた、わらしべ長者。

Silver

I don't even remember where I found this, but I came across an article claiming that in the afternoon on 2012.02.24, major dumping of silver contracts occurred.  I've not been able to verify this claim from a reputable source, however.  It's not clear where to get charts with that kind of detail.  Perhaps the silver ETFs' volumes would reflect this?

In trying to locate a source, I found a page noting gold-to-silver ratios (GSR).  The strategy noted is quite interesting: look at the average ratio, and when it's less than 1 sigma low convert silver to gold, and when greater than 1 sigma high convert gold to silver, with the idea to play the ratio to increase holdings.  Perhaps I should try this with paper holdings to make conversions easier.

Link Dump

Some links that have been sitting in my tabs since last November....

• An opinion piece regarding the decision to bomb Japan in WWII.
• Detail on presidential candidate spending.
• How to browse securely on public WiFi.
• An opinion piece on why Ron Paul can't win; I don't agree, but the perceptions about his foreign policy seem to be a real issue with people who would otherwise support him.
• Harvey Golub's response to Obama's and Buffet's tax the "rich" stupidity.
• The "Jews in the Attic" Test for public policy.  (This one is actually very important, even though it sounds silly or perhaps even racist.  It's not either of those.)
• Supposed Libertarian Bob Barr is a dickhead, I mean, is anti-gun.
• The Secret Panel that can put Americans on a kill list.
• Democrats introduce a bill to seal up Obama's presidential records?!  No shame at all.
• Are we losing the grassroots vote to anti-gunners?
• "Learned Hand" is a screwed up name for anyone, must less a judge.  He should've had a son and named him "Hired".  He was mentioned in an intro to law book I was reading.  Sounds like he has some innovative ideas, but from his Wikipedia bio, he sounds like a statist.

Blades & Spray

I was looking for information on whether pepper spray is legal in Japan or not.  According to Wikipedia Japan (「日本の法規制」の下に「所持や販売は特に規制されていない。」という）, there isn't really a legal restriction to selling or carrying it.

As far as blades go, a 2009 article from a military-related news site claims that double-edged blades greater than 2.2 inches and single-edged blades greater than 6 inches are prohibited.  The article words this as "possession", as in ownership, not just carrying.  And it's not legal to carry a knife for defense purposes.  In that regard, it makes sense to have pepper spray.

What's not clear is if pepper spray with tear gas, i.e. the "3-in-1" sprays, are legal in Japan.  Obviously that's more effective since some bad guys develop an immunity to pepper spray.

Can't Wait, Eh?

So the President is using his executive powers to get around Congress?  He's supposed to carry out the laws made by Congress, not to act on his own.  I'm curious what the actual mechanism is.  These aren't all Executive Orders. How are these being funded?

I dunno, to me it smacks of treason.

Stacy Schiff

Listening to MPR Mid-Morning on my way in to work, they had an interview with the author of a new book on Cleopatra.  I never had much interest, but the author sounded pretty cool.  She had a funny but not overstated sense of humor and quoted E.B. White regarding how she manages to stay objective: "strong curiosity, weak affiliation".  I also identified with her comment about her poor recollection that serves to further remove her biases, which is an interesting way to think about that attribute in a positive way.

You know, I'd be so much more inclined to donate to MPR if there wasn't such liberal bias in a lot of their content.  Kerri Miller certainly slants that way when talking about the need for government to "help", but randomly tuning in over lunch yesterday there were antagonistic pricks spouting off liberal rhetoric that made me think "screw these bastards, they can get their funding from FedGov if they think that way".

My commentary on Robb Allen's blog post on top 5 guns to own if price were no object:

1. Anzio Ironworks mag-fed 20mm rifle with suppressor: the coolest two-stamp gun around...the only way it could be cooler is if it were semi-auto!
2. Solothurn S-18/1000 20mm rifle: classic
3. Browning M2: well, make it four of 'em in an anti-aircraft mount
4. MP5SD: the 2nd coolest two-stamp gun; well, if you had a Fleming auto sear then you could just get a clone HK91 and a clone MP5SD and swap the sear between the two...
5. McBros 95 chambered in .950 JDJ: just because it's a monster and would break you in half if you tried to shoot it from the shoulder

The AA12 is a close 6th place, but you really need the little mini grenades to push that into the top 5.

By the way, Robb, I'd favor a Ferret-50 or ALS over a Tactilite, because you should have a firing pin safety to prevent OOBD. (Tactilite doesn't have a cam, only a spring. Supposedly ALS fixed their bolt after the reported OOBD.) A Barret M82A1 (NOT the A2--I don't care if the A1's 5 ft long, having a .50 going off on your cheek is not cool) or AR-50 would be even better.

FFLs in Rochester

By chance, I found a list of FFLs in Minnesota, by way of Google linking to the ATF website.  Actually, the search result was for October 2011, but by substituting January 2012 I got the latest list.

See, this is a big part of why I don't have a Type 01 FFL yet.  If my licensed premises were my home address, then it'd be listed for any random miscreant to find.  While ostensibly an FFL would be well-armed, that still means a higher likelihood of being accosted when least expecting it.  Plus, the ATF has free reign to search licensed premises, which, if one's house, frees them from a need for a search warrant.  Not like the government pays attention to those anymore, anyway....

Escape

For some reason, I thought Jimmy Buffet sang this song, but it's a guy I've never heard of, Rupert Holmes.

Don't Carpe Diem

A week or so ago, E.L. posted a link on Facebook to this article by a "mommy blogger" about how people always tell her to enjoy every moment of dealing with her young kids rather than agonizing over every little thing that goes wrong.  Raising kids is a pain in the ass, there's no way around that.  Some people have the right temperament for it, though, to let go and not let it bug them.  Yeah, I'm not one of those people.  But at least I'm not the mom...that'd suck!

Yet another wrinkle

The whole Berkey thing has a long, sordid history with many different associations.  Originally there appears to have been Jones, Watts, and Doulton making pottery in 1815 and eventually granular carbon filters.  Watts bowed out, leaving Doulton & Co. in 1853.  It looks like Doulton predominantly used carbon.  The next step forward appears to be the Chamberland filter (also known as the Pasteur type) in 1884, which used a porcelain tube as the filter medium, but required water under pressure.  In 1891, the Berkefeld filter was developed in Germany, which established the current form of the gravity filter: an upper chamber contains raw water, which passes through a ceramic filter into the lower chamber.  The Berkefeld filter is an extension of the Chamberland filter in that it uses gravity to generate the water pressure.  The unique elements are the use of diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr in German) as the filter media and the use of an upper and lower chamber structure.  The Berkefeld Filter Co. was separate from Doulton & Co.  In 1972, Doulton was acquired by Pearson & Son Ltd., which purchased Fairey Holdings in 1980.  In 1985 the company became Fairey Industrial Ceramics Ltd. (FICL), and acquired the rights to the Berkefeld and Sterasyl trademarks.  (It's unclear where the name "Sterasyl" came from, since Berkefeld was already using diatomaceous earth.)  FICL separated from Pearson group in 1986 and went public in 1988 as Fairey Group PLC.  Rolls Royce bought FICL from Fairey Group in 2003, spinning off the filtration division and others, which ostensibly retained the FICL name.

That much can be gleaned from Doulton USA's history of Doulton with a smattering of Wikipedia details.  However, there have been a number of companies affiliated with Doulton/Berkey, and their relationship isn't always clear.

• Royal Doulton is what remains of the original parent company after the 1972 buyout by Pearson Group.  Along the way they were bought by Waterford Wedgwood, which went into receivership in 2009.
• Fairey Industrial Ceramics Ltd. owns the trademarks Doulton, used independently of Royal Doulton, and British Berkefeld, though not "Berkey".  They still manufacture the Doulton "candle" filter elements, Sterasyl, etc., and license some trademarks to New Millennium Concepts Ltd. in North America.
• New Millennium Concepts Ltd. owns the trademark to the Berkey name and expanded the lineup of gravity filter systems to several sizes.  (According to one site, the stainless steel systems are manufactured in India.)  They also produce the Black Berkey filter elements, which have an unknown pedigree.  The claims made by NMCL exceed the claims of FICL with regard to capability of the Super Sterasyl filters.  For example, only the Super Sterasyl ATC media is rated for lead removal, but NMCL claims that the Black Berkey elements are comparable.  NMCL has been the British Berkefeld master distributor in North America since 1998.
• Doulton USA sells the Doulton candles, but worth noting is that they aren't related to FICL or Royal Doulton either!  The bottom of their website notes that Doulton USA is a unit of Eco Systems International LLC, which also sells AquaCera filters.
• Ceramic Filters Company Inc. manufactures AquaCera filters, which are often sold as lower-cost substitutes for Doulton filters.  According to their website, they were the agent, importer, and distributor for Doulton and British Berkefeld in 1989.  Apparently NMCL won the master distributor rights, but apparently CFC still sells the Doulton systems.

That's a long, sordid history with lots of players.  It's not surprising that people get confused about what is what in the world of Berkefeld.

For anyone reading this, after my personal experience with NMCL, my suggestion would be to make your own filter unit out of two food-grade buckets and use the Doulton elements.  While I have yet to get any to test, those have the most history behind them.  We know relatively little about the Black Berkey elements, and while they do improve water taste, they have an alarming rate of failure (3 of 4 elements that I have failed), for which NMCL didn't issue a recall, and there are shady business practices with regard to claims of laboratory testing (source).  Should comparable performance be required, get the Super Sterasyl ATC candles, which supposedly handle lead and organics.  St. Paul Mercantile has an excellent FAQ on the Doulton filters, including a link on how to build one's own bucket filter.

I think that for my SHTF water filter, I may have to go with a Sawyer.  And I may get a Katadyn Pocket just for good measure.

Edit [2012.02.03]: Except that I've read that some viruses get down to 0.004 micron, so the Sawyer may not be sufficient....  Also, the "candle" terminology comes from the French "bougie", used in other medical contexts.  Lastly, gravityfilter.com is pretty cheap.

Leptospirosis & Water Purifiers

So I continued reading up on water filters.  Apparently there's a nasty bacteria, Leptospirosis, that is 0.1 micron in size, which is smaller than the absolute pore size of most water filters.  Doulton's ceramic filters are 0.9 micron, and Katadyn Pocket is 0.2 micron.  Only one filter I found is purifier-grade, which is the Sawyer Point Zero Two, claiming a 0.02 micron pore width.  I'm currently searching for more information on purifiers.

Apparently Leptospirosis can be killed by several methods, including boiling, UV sterilization, or the addition of iodine or chlorine (in concentrations as for a swimming pool).  Of course a bacteriologically uncertain water source should be treated.

Also, on REI's website is an interesting article on water treatment for international travel. They don't mention the Sawyer, but they do refer to several limited-life filters that I had looked at previously.  My take on it is that suspect water should be pre-treated chemically then run through a filter.  Water from a reasonable source (no virii or bacteria < 1 micron) ought to be ok with a filter and not a purifier.  Still, the Sawyer Point Zero Two would be nice to have.