Author: Kim du Toit

Post-Worthy

Deep Thoughts

From Comments comes this thoughtful piece by Lo-o-o-ngtime Reader GMC70:

So – we have to consider how to live in a nation where, at least at this point, national politics is rigged and, if the Senate falls Democratic, is possibly rigged in perpetuity. One way is to ignore national politics, live in your local area, and get on with life. In a society where individual freedom used to be valued, it is going to be hard to get used to the idea that ideas can lawfully be suppressed. But we’re rapidly entering that age.
Another possible consideration, depending on the state you live in, is simply secession. If you’d asked me a decade ago, or even less, about that, I’d have laughed.

I’m no longer laughing.

Finally we all have to consider where our individual red lines are. What is the red line which will change you from law-abiding citizen to outlaw? I know where a couple of mine are: I will not register firearms (if, of course, I actually had any). At that point I will be an outlaw. I will not comply.
I will not give up my religious practices. Period. Nor will I tolerate any regulation on my church’s practices, decisions, or doctrine. And yes, that one’s coming, too.
If our red line is crossed, what will we do? I’m getting older, and the older I get, the less the threat of prison means to me. I have no desire to go to prison, but I will not compromise or give in certain areas.
And I will not go quietly into the cattle cars some on the left have planned for me and those like me.

What he said.  Only with more cursing.

Auto-Ordering

Technology

Here’s a good one:

“When she went off my brother knew it had happened and came to me to check. I was in stitches but then I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, £107? I need to cancel this as quickly as I can’.”

Read it all for the full disaster.  Some conclusions:

  1. Don’t watch Borat movies (good advice for all time).
  2. When I say “Alexa, order me 5,000 rounds of 7.62×39”  and Amazon fills the order, I might actually think of allowing one of the poxy things in my house.  Or not.

WTF are “fleshlights”? #DuckDuckGo

Whoa… nevermind.

Enough Gun?

Gun/Ammo Tests, The Gun Thing

In Comments about the .375 H&H cartridge, Fergie asks:

I wonder why the venerable .45-70 isn’t on the table for him?  North American bison are heavyweights too, and .45-70 will handle them with aplomb even at range.  I wouldn’t hesitate if offered a decent shot at that critter – a properly stoked cartridge with a hard cast 500 grain round nose from an elegant 1885 single shot would end the hunt nicely.

I’ve thought about that a lot myself (not owning a rifle chambered in .375 H&H, but owning the aforesaid 1885 High Wall rifle in .45-70 Govt).

I remember looking at the situation back when I was thinking of joining Mr. Free Market and Doc Russia on a South African safari, and basically I was told that the PH wouldn’t let you hunt Cape buffalo with the .45-70 Govt because it’s too underpowered.  I bridled a little at that, and went looking around.

Here’s what the stats say about Buffalo Bore .45-70 Govt “Magnum” offerings:

Mono-Metal Flatnose:  380 gr.  @ 2,075 fps / muzzle energy 3,632 ft-lbs
LBT-LFN:  430 gr. @ 1,925 fps / muzzle energy 3,537 ft-lbs
FMJ-Flatnose:  500 gr.  @ 1,625 fps / muzzle energy 2,931 ft-lbs

Compare that to Buffalo Bore’s own .375 H&H Mag offering, which they call “Supercharged”:

SUPERCHARGED: 300 gr. Barnes TSX @ 2,550 fps / muzzle energy 4,330 ft lbs

Here’s the critical part, though.  Most PHs recommend that the bullet arrives with no less than 3,000 ft-lbs at 100 yards.

At 100 yards, the .375 H&H  Hornady DGS 300gr lands at 3,292 .  The Buffalo Bore .45-70 Govt (or any manufacturer’s, for that matter)?  Anywhere from 2,500 – 2,700 ft-lbs.  Not nearly enough;  those big, heavy ol’ boolets lose velocity too quickly.

More telling is the bullet’s ballistic coefficient (BC) / sectional density (SD) or, for a better definition, penetration power.  (The higher the BC / SD, the better the penetration.)

At about 2,500 fps (which is at about 175 yards), the .375 H&H 300gr bullet has a BC of 480, and its SD is 305 (480/305).

At 1,900 fps (which is at the muzzle), the  .45-70 Govt 300gr bullet  has a BC of 185 and an SD of 204 (185/204).

In other words:  if you were to shoot a Cape buffalo with the hottest-possible .45-70 Govt cartridge, you’d pretty much have to be in halitosis range to get the same result as you’d get with a .375 H&H cartridge at 100-150 yards.

And as Longtime Friend Combat Controller succinctly put it when we were discussing the topic last night:  “If the .45-70 worked in Africa, they’d be using it.  They don’t.”

Yup.  In any safari camp, when you un-case your .375 H&H rifle, the PH will nod in approval.  And especially so when it’s a CZ 550 Safari, a.k.a. the Brno 602.

Quote Of The Day

Elections, QOTD

From Stephen Green:

“The only states that couldn’t seem to count their ballots on time, the only states where the allegedly dead rise to vote, the only states where turnout in places apparently exceeded the number of registered voters, the only states reported by whistleblowers for ignoring their own laws on accepting mail-in ballots, the only states that keep finding substantial numbers of new ballots, the only states with reports of substantial numbers of destroyed or lost ballots, the only states where we see reports of thousands upon thousands of ballots that are marked only for Joe Biden and no other candidates in any other race…
…all of these things are happening only in states where the outcome was ever in doubt.”

Strange, isn’t it?  Also, a reminder to read this, and put it into context.