Ray
"Any war that requires the draft is not worth fighting.
Any state that requires the draft is not worth fighting for."
-- Edwin J. Pole II
# I watched Ray last night, Jamie Foxx' rendition of the life of Ray Charles Robinson. Recommended.
# lunde at The High Road - Wild West Guns' new S&W .500 Magnum Lever Action - some nice photos taken at the SHOT show and more info and a Flyer containing prices (110KB Microsoft Word document) from Wildalaska. They're going to start working on a 460 S&W Magnum version, which he thinks will get 2600 fps with a 200 grain bullet (3002 foot pounds). They're getting "1800 fps plus with a 440 grain bullet in the 50" (3165 foot pounds). For comparison, Buffalo Bore gets 1925 fps (3537 foot pounds) from their 430 grain magnum .45-70 load. Preliminary pricing is $1500 for wood laminate stock, $1800 for synthetic. $400 more for the take-down version.
# Douglas F. Newman at The Libertarian Enterprise - Just What Does "Tyranny's End" Really Mean? - "Phsycian heal thyself," says Mr. Newman to a USA Today headline on Bushnev's state of the empire address. [tle]
# John Farnam's Quips - 29Jan05: 2005 SHOT Show - a report on the first day of the SHOT show, and a bit of bad news: [farnamsquips]
Several friends told me the 6.8mm military round is now a dead issue. Barrett is still making and shipping rifles to a number of special units, and the round has seen good service in Afghanistan. Everyone likes it, but the Pentagon wants to stay with the 223 for the immediate future. Mainline units will not see the 6.8mm any time soon.
# John Farnam's Quips - 01Feb05: More from the SHOT Show - a little more on Mr. Farnam's abbreviated show visit, with some better news: [farnamsquips]
Good friend, Alex Robinson, at Robinson Arms had his new XCR on display. This is the rifle the Pentagon should go with! Aluminum and steel, it is light, short, modular, versatile. I'll have a copy for testing shortly. I love my RA-96, but this is a leap forward. Available currently in 223 and 6.8mm; 308 later in the year. The plastic XM8 is a contender too. It is cheap to manufacture, because of its extensive use of plastic parts. However, the plastic used has a low melting point. When the rifle gets hot, parts will soften and deform. Replacing those parts with a higher melting point plastic or aluminum will drive up the cost. The XCR is superior in my opinion.
Alex believes, even though the Pentagon has no current plans for system-wide conversion to the 6.8mm cartridge, the civilian market alone will keep this caliber alive and well. Most manufacturers will be offering versions of their rifles in this chambering, if they haven't already.