Good Lord

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

I'm just about to leave for work, and the windchill outside right now is -20C. Methinks I'm getting to the age where warmer climes are called for...

[rob love]

Thats a gift from us here in Manitoba. We were tired of it anyway.

When we get up and it's only -20, thats a good day cause the car will start without a problem. Right now it's -8....were in to a heat wave, expecting to hit 0 today.

We had a shooting match last Sunday, and it started at -30, but warmed up to -27, so we were fine.

[sapper740]

Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
I'm just about to leave for work, and the windchill outside right now is -20C. Methinks I'm getting to the age where warmer climes are called for...

Brrrrrr! T'ain't fit fer man nor beast! Jefe, I don't do cold anymore! Not that it doesn't get cold in Texas...it does. A few times a year a cold front blows through courtesy of Canada and the temp dips into the 20's F., but at least we know in a few days that it'll warm up again.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally posted by rob love
Thats a gift from us here in Manitoba. We were tired of it anyway.

When we get up and it's only -20, thats a good day cause the car will start without a problem. Right now it's -8....were in to a heat wave, expecting to hit 0 today.

We had a shooting match last Sunday, and it started at -30, but warmed up to -27, so we were fine.

Rob...

You take me back to my shooting days in Prince Albert..
My buddy and I were doing tons of hand loading and barrel burning and the neetest thing I think I saw since the pigs ate granny was the muzzle blast effects from a fool with a 7MM Magnum with obviously over loaded loads ..
We were on the sillouette range and firing at the 500 Meter ram and it was around -30...When the fool touched that sucker off ,the muzzle blast and visible shock wave was frightening,and we were behind him...The frost and snow would fly in a cloud from the muzzle blast..
I wish I had a movie camera ..
I tried the same thing with my old BSA .30-'06 packing the case full of 4895 and cramming the Speer boattail down tight...
I used the BSA because I was sure I couldn't blow it up,'cause I fired it with a string and a few yards of distance first..
It was built with a reciever like a Ma Deuce...
Anyway I couldn't get the same blast effect but did get the effect of wandering rounds...
The velocity was so high that there was no spin on the round coming out of the barrel and at 500 meters aim point would dig furrows in the range anywhere from 100-400 meters out and 10-30 feet off center aim point..
Normally with 48.5 grains 4895 at 300 meters and a 168 grain Speer boattail I could cover three rounds with my thumbnail..so I don't think it was me..
Anyway I do miss the fun ...
Thanks for mentioning it...

[rob love]

Here is a shot (courtesy of matt tallman) of some of us shooting the larger bore stuff at the match. This was the anti tank demonstration....a .50 converted boys, a .55 boys, and a PTRD shooting at a piece of armour plate off a bren gun carrier.

[sapper740]

Originally posted by Alex Blair
Rob...


I tried the same thing with my old BSA .30-'06 packing the case full of 4895 and cramming the Speer boattail down tight...
Anyway I couldn't get the same blast effect but did get the effect of wandering rounds...

" Alex, a not uncommon occurence when reloading with extruded grain type powders. If the load is compressed when seating the bullet many of the granules break exposing the nitrocellulose. With no deterent coating at the break, you get varying burning rates and therefore varying pressures. Remember, modern powders are progressive which means as pressure increases so does the burning rate."



The velocity was so high that there was no spin on the round coming out of the barrel and at 500 meters aim point would dig furrows in the range anywhere from 100-400 meters out and 10-30 feet off center aim point..



"Alex, there's no way your bullets left the barrel without spin, unless you were firing them in a smoothbore. Even with the worst copper and powder fouling, you will still have substantial spin on the bullet. Did you chrono your loads? A possibility, however slim, is that you received a bad bunch of bullets and they were shedding their jackets after leaving the muzzle, but even a really hot load in an '06 with and 168 gr. bullets would be hard pressed to exceed 3200 fps. You say you were attempting to mimic the muzzle blast of the other shooter's 7mm Rem. Mag. Any chance you were flinching? It's not uncommon. I flinch when I shoot really hot loads, and I load beyond what the manuals say by moving up in 1/2 gr. increments and watch for pressure signs. It's not the recoil, it's the muzzle blast."



Normally with 48.5 grains 4895 at 300 meters and a 168 grain Speer boattail I could cover three rounds with my thumbnail..so I don't think it was me..
Anyway I do miss the fun ...
Thanks for mentioning it...

Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
I'm just about to leave for work, and the windchill outside right now is -20C. Methinks I'm getting to the age where warmer climes are called for...

Oooo, er, missis.

That nice Mr. Blair has sent me 200 quid to help keep warm this winter owing to my advancing years, and the County Council Parking Dept (?) is sending a form for my bus pass. . . . . . .

R.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Sapper...
No cronograph..
but for what ever reason and I don't think it was flinch but may have been but those rounds would not fly straight..I may have flinched at one or two but I fired a half dozen and I know I didn't flinch that many times..
I backed the loads down and my shooting went back to normal.
As for shedding jackets ,for my mini I used 55 grain brass jacketed hollow points and Ball C*2 powder...
The brass jackets were from expended .22 casings and reformed and filled with lead..
When the .223 round was formed it left segment lines from the hollow to the base ,maybe 8 lines where the brass folded as it tapered to the hollow point..
With fairly low velocity loads they were accurate and devastating to critters that needed killing,but with higher velocity loads would explode and disintigrate in mid flight...
I found this out on some uploads that I fired and it appeared that I missed and I could see no dust or debree from where the round should have hit and I could not believe that I had missed..This happened a couple of times in the first handfull of rounds..
So I set up a typical hand gun target ,around 8"x8" and fired at it from about 50 yds...
JEEZ...!!! No Hole...!!
As I approached the target it looked a little funny and I found out why....In the paper was stuck little pieces of brass and lead..like bird shot...
I didn't load them up as hot after that and they turned out to be a great little varmint and critter round...annoying pests of all kinds,if you get my drift....
Still got that hatefull neighbour that wants to get rid of your wonderful truck..??

It's -3 Celcius right now, 100% humidity, expected to hit -8, says weather online. Better than the -27 a few days or so ago

Your turn you TORONTONIANS!!!

Warm and Toasty Ma Yappy sipping her Tim Horton's and enjoying a

[rob love]

Wait, I forgot....a -20 windchill in southern Ontario; add 3" of snow and you will have to call the army (again).

It's now -2 here. I've been outside in my shirt, jeans, running shoes, and no gloves splitting wood in preperation for the cold days.

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all - we had 39C up here in the Hills today whilst on the plains it reached 42C (108F). So not only are we having a drought but an early Summer heat wave. Had to drink extra medicinal beer today to compensate. Bugger.
Bob

[sapper740]

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
Hi all - we had 39C up here in the Hills today whilst on the plains it reached 42C (108F). So not only are we having a drought but an early Summer heat wave. Had to drink extra medicinal beer today to compensate. Bugger.
Bob

Ah yes, where would we be if not for medicinal beer! I like to take medicinal Brandy with me when I go skiing...you know, in case of chilblains or what-not. I also take a bottle of medicinal Drambuie and a bottle of medicinal Scotch with me to reenactments. You never know when one might step on a rusty nail.
The forecast high for N. Texas this weekend is 69F, which is nearly 21C for the Fahrenheit-challenged. Not bad for late Fall!

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
Hi all - we had 39C up here in the Hills today whilst on the plains it reached 42C (108F). So not only are we having a drought but an early Summer heat wave. Had to drink extra medicinal beer today to compensate. Bugger.
Bob

Ouch. You folks are getting what we went through this past summer. Wish I could "halve" our temps and trade "half" with you folks. I'd also send lotsa rain for that awful drought if I could! We're currently -5 celcius, feels like -10, 100% humidity, says local weather right now. It's also foggy out and the naked tree branches are all frosted.

Ma Yappy

Hi,

Very interesting to watch the tree out the window behind my computer area. The frost is building even more on the branches, like many little spikes growing. Think of some rose bush branches and those "spikey" growths, or a kiwi fruit, only ice-white, and just as dense. Amazing image to see! Especially curious is that they are all spiking UPWARDS from the upper sides of the branches. Ain't nature amazing?

Ma Yappy snug and warm inside with a comforter to snuggle in!

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally posted by Vets Dottir
Hi,

Very interesting to watch the tree out the window behind my computer area. The frost is building even more on the branches, like many little spikes growing. Think of some rose bush branches and those "spikey" growths, or a kiwi fruit, only ice-white, and just as dense. Amazing image to see! Especially curious is that they are all spiking UPWARDS from the upper sides of the branches. Ain't nature amazing?

Ma Yappy snug and warm inside with a comforter to snuggle in!

Is that anything like entertaining oneself by watching grass grow?

Sorta-Kinda

I found a photo online that looks like the trees i see when I look out my window ...