The Axe, a test

I posted some pictures in the past of a fighting axe I made. I've used it off & on for trimming branches cut down in the yard, but never thought to treat it as a test. Then today, while I was pruning the trees(again) and cutting up the branches to stack, I remembered a: I have a camera and b: this would be interesting to actually check out. I had been snipping off stuff up to about 3/4" with short chops, not a lot of force, so I decided to measure some stuff and try some things.

First, this is the implement in question:



The head is a fraction shy of 7" long, the edge is 4 3/4"(following the curve), and it weighs about 1.25lbs. I'm guessing weight, I don't have a scale. The haft is oak, 36" from butt to bottom of the eye.

I took a couple of branches and propped them upright. Figure a full swing as being one you'd use with a timber axe to cut wood; one hand at the butt, one near the head, swing it up or sideways and then into the target, one hand sliding down to meet the other to amplify the swing of shoulders and upper body. This was made with one hand at the butt, the other about 2/3's up, making about a 1/2 distance chop with the hands staying in place:

This is elm, measured at 1.25".

Next was a piece 1.5" thick with just about a full-distance swing with hands same as before:

Both of these were a single cut. I've read that a sapling or branch of 1" diameter is roughly equivalent to cutting a human arm or leg bone, which means that either cut could neatly amputate an arm, and would come damn close to taking a leg off in one swing.

When they dug up graves at the Battle of Hastings site, among other things found were a body that had been cut in two at hip-level, the forensics people said by a single stroke. Some of the Saxons, the housecarls(most trusted warriors) of the chieftains in particular used axes with an edge up to a foot long, weighing several pounds, on a five- or six-foot haft. In the hands of a trained fighter, I have no doubt a single stroke could do it.

I've cut through 1" branches with single swings with a sword with no trouble, too. No wonder battles were so bloody.

Oh, while I was doing this my security team was doing some research of their own. Notice the apprentice testing tooth penetration, while the supervisor -er, supervises.

Further thought on disaster guns

A comment on my last post on this brought up shotguns, which for some reason I neglected to mention. Happily, others did not forget this(American Drumslinger here).

Big oversight. Two of the reasons a shotgun is recommended as a self-defense weapon are a: it's easier to hit accurately with a longarm than a handgun and b: NO handgun ever made can equal the close-range stopping power of a shotgun. Period.

Another reason often mentioned is sound effect. Just about anyone who might enter your home or business with ill intent will know what it means when they hear the sound of a pump or semi-auto shotgun being charged, and it often makes bad guys decide to leave very quickly.

I think I passed over them before mainly because I had in mind the reports from NO about idiots potting shots at people from rooftops and windows. Generally speaking, a rifle is a better weapon as the range stretches out, allowing accurate fire at greater distances. I say generally because a shotgun(especially with a rifled barrel) and slugs that agree with it can be amazingly accurate to 100-150 yards. If I could choose only one arm to have in case of a disaster like this, good chance it'd be a shotgun. With a mix of buckshot and slugs available, you can take on literally anything out to the aforementioned range- including, if you live in a place where they are, bears and moose if you're stuck in the boonies or they come into town.

There are two problems with a shotgun; recoil and weight. A 12 guage with buckshot or slugs has what some people have described as 'brutal' recoil, and in a lightweight arm it can be nasty. It makes practice more difficult for some folks. You can reduce this by using a 20 guage instead of 12. At home-defense ranges the bad guy won't know the difference, and recoil is significantly less, making it more comfortable to shoot(making practice in good times and accurate repeat shots in bad times easier). Weight is more of a problem. Not in the weapon, in the ammo. No way around it, if you're carrying sufficient ammo for the possibility of having to fight off a gang of looters, shotgun shells are heavy and take up more space than rifle/handgun ammo.

Price is a good factor with them. You can pick up a good quality pump for less than $200 in some cases, and if the barrel is too long it's easy to have cut down; a gunsmith or a gunny friend who knows the procedure can take care of it. And some/I think I've seen Mossberg put out this out/ can be had with a short slug barrel and a longer bird barrel as a set, fast and easy to change.

Overall, the shotgun has a definate place in this. If the comments about recoil above scare you, I apologize, that's not the aim. Recoil sensitivity varies a lot with people(I know grown men who don't like .45's for that reason, and small women who aren't bothered by it), so try it out; it may not bother you at all. If it does a bit, there are options, like adding a high-quality recoil pad or, as I mentioned before with the Benelli Nova, a recoil absorber that fits in the butt.

So don't forget the shotgun as you weigh your options.

St. Penn's Bogus Navigational Journey; I can't pass this up!

If you haven't already heard about this, Sean Penn decided to heroically rescue people from New Orleans. In a small boat. Including "...with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer". Wearing "what appeared to be a white flak jacket". And almost sank.

This was so funny I almost choked laughing, and that was before I read Steve's take on it. And then, praise be, at Little Green Football he's got links to PICTURES!

It's just bloody wonderful. Idiot kisser of dictator ass goes for a big photo op and almost drowns himself. Of course, there's so much pollution in the water right now it's a shame to add more...

And if you're wondering: hell no, I don't think he seriously intended to rescue people. If he did, he'd have had a bigger boat and left his entourage back home. Including the damn photographer, whose presence is one of the big giveaways as to the real intent. If he actually DID believe he was going to accomplish something with that mess, then he's too stupid to be out in public without a keeper. Which he probably is, from past evidence.

In any case, go read and enjoy.

Another thought on disaster guns

The posts I linked to earlier (here) had a number of good suggestions, both in the articles and in the comments. I thought I'd add two things here.

A tube-magazine rifle, like a lever- or some pump-actions, has two problems: they're slower than many others to load/reload, and more difficult to unload. But if that's not a problem for you, there's two good possibilities to consider. First, a lever-rifle in a pistol cartridge, like .45 Colt, .44-40 or .357 Magnum. If you have a pistol in any of these cartridges, you can use the same ammo for both pistol and rifle. And if you have problems with handguns, for instance living someplace like Chicago, these can somewhat take the place of one. Jeff Cooper once wrote of a man who lived in Chicago and showed up at Gunsite for a training class with a Winchester Trapper, a lever-action in .45 Colt. Since he couldn't have a handgun he'd taken this rifle, which has a 16-inch barrel, cut the stock down to the minimum overall length, and used that as his home defense weapon. Cooper said it worked out pretty well. This can also help out if you live in a place where an eeeevill assault weapon, like an SKS or AR-15, could cause you problems; few places will cause you heartache over a cowboy rifle like this.
The same could be said for a new rifle out, the Taurus Thunderbolt(reviewed here). It's a remake of the old Colt Lightning. From the report it's fast, accurate and reliable.

Another thing in their favor is power. All these cartridges have good reputations as fight-stoppers in handguns; add in the velocity you get from that 16-inch barrel, and you've got a serious boost in power, enough to make them able to give accurate fire out to 100 yards or a bit beyond.

One more thing. A .357 Mag chambered rifle can also fire .38 Special ammo, so you can use less expensive .38s for practice, and if stuck somewhere and you need to whack small game, use a .38 instead of the magnum.

The other thought was, if you have a problem with noise/recoil/whatever and just cannot deal with a powerful centerfire rifle or pistol, consider a .22. Not exactly the ideal cartridge for self-defence, but it has the following going for it:
Quiet, compared to just about any centerfire.
Virtually no recoil.
Inexpensive.
This last in important because if you trust in a .22 for your defense armament, you need to be able to hit where you aim, and make multiple hits(especially at close range); you don't have enough power to trust in 'close enough'. .22 ammo is CHEAP. Match grade can run as high or higher than some centerfire, but good-quality stuff can be had for anywhere from less than a dollar to two dollars for a box of 50. You can find what gives the best result in your firearms, buy it by the brick(500 rounds) and shoot a lot for not much money, which both increases your skill level and is fun.
And a good .22 rifle or handgun can be downright cheap compared to a lot of other firearms. A Ruger Mark II or 22/45 can be had for less than $300 new, same for the Browning Buckmark. Add a half-dozen spare magazines and go to the range. And there are a number of revolvers that are also very affordable. In rifles a slide-action or semi-auto can be had for less than $300, often less than $200. For instance, a Ruger 10-22 will run about $150-175 new, maybe less for a good used. Get a bunch of spare magazines, and you can deliver accurate fire as fast as you can aim and shoot for as long as the magazines hold out. And the fact is, you're not liable to need than many. If you need them, though, they're right there in your pocket or bag.

Just some thoughts I thought I'd throw out. Or in. Or whatever.

Gun show weekend!

And for a change, I was able to go.

I almost hate going to these things at times, because at a good show there's so much stuff you'd like to buy! Guns and ammo and cleaning stuff and knives and slings and reloading gear, and so on. This was a pretty good show, so a lot of drooling was done. Yes, I mopped up after myself.

Lots of surplus rifles, Enfields and Mausers and SKS and AK-47 clones; commercial and military pistols and rifles; knives; not as much cleaning stuff as usual. Some clothing, belts, lots of holsters of various types. And lots and lots of ammo. Ammo for almost everything.

This was a sort of family affair, too. My dad came in for it, and since my son was off work, he came along. Dad found some stuff he wanted/needed, I did, and my son found something he wanted. In the kids case a soft-air gun(I think his roommate has an annoying cat).

So a good time was had by all. Only things I was actually looking for that they didn't have was some case lube for reloading, and I need a bullet mold to throw a .38-caliber bullet of 200 grains. No luck on either of those.
But overall, quite nice.

Disaster guns

Mr. Completely linked to an article at Confederate Yankee here, on the subject. Nice piece of work, that also ties in with something Kim took time to post.

One of the things that comes to mind in this is that preparing for trouble doesn't have to cost a fortune. Canned/dried food is fairly cheap, so is bottled water. A good first-aid kit isn't too bad. And good guns for the subject don't cost a fortune.

I was at a gun show today/more later/ and among other things saw that you can buy a 59/66 SKS for $125 plus tax. 500 rounds of Wolf or other ammo can be had for $45-$55. Handguns are going to be higher for a good one, but a good-condition used .38 or .357 Mag revolver can be had for between $200-$300; some good semi-autos aren't much higher. And practice ammo for many handguns can run as low as $4 to $9/box; good defense ammo will cost more, of course. Shotguns? You can find a decent pump for anywhere from $150 up, depending on brand/features, and ammo for it- unless you're getting the gold-plated slug ammo- isn't bad. Thankfully, with modern ammo a cleaning kit can be very basic and do the job(note: a t-shirt you don't wear makes good cleaning patches).

I've known some people who flat would not take preparing for something like this seriously, because it scared them to think about it. It's not, after all, a pleasant subject. But it's one that needs to be considered.

If I ever get married again and need rings,

I think I'll go here. I've seen this method used to make knife guards and pommels, but never seen it in rings before. Absolutely beautiful work.

New Orleans(in particular) and the storm

Was over at Hog on Ice, reading Steve's 'Bush is Satan' post. It pretty much covers the insanity of blaming the President for the mess.

I wasn't going to post anything on this, until I heard the pissing and moaning rant of the Mayor of New Orleans the other day. This is the idiot who left buses sitting to be flooded instead of using them to evacuate people, who waited until, what, 24 hour before the storm hit to make the evacuation mandatory? And then either didn't have or didn't follow plans? And now he whines that the President and/or the Governor need to get off their ass and DO SOMETHING?

And the governor... She has control of the National Guard, and should have had them standing by, instead of waiting until things were bloody out of hand to send in armed troops to take care of the looting. And where was she in the planning/evacuation stage before the damn storm hit?

I was allowing for being stunned at the level of damage, but this crap has no excuse. They both should be kicked in the ass for mismanaging the evacuation and the response.

And the New Orleans cops who were taking part in the looting? They should be in jail. There's a movie called 'The Big Easy' about police corruption in NO; it appears it was more of a documentary than a drama, from what's coming out.

God, what a mess.

Go over to Alphecca

Partly on general principles; he keeps track of a lot of political news where it deals with firearms ownership, like here. And he's testing a .50 BMG rifle. And generally comes up with lots of good stuff to read.

General whatever

This past while has been interesting, which in the old Chinese curse is not necessarily a good thing.

That bitch Katrina really messed up three states. God knows how long it'll actually take to drain New Orleans, especially with the worst of the damned gangs and looters shooting at rescue people. If someone's getting food, diapers, etc. from a store for their family or someone in need, I don't care; if someone's hijacking supply trucks, robbing pharmacies and so forth, I hereby wish the cops and Guard and Army happy live-fire practice. As to private citazens, Michelle Malkin has tracked some cases, and links to, amonng others, Clayton Cramer's Self-Defense blog here.

There are a lot of charities asking for money; giving is a good idea, just check to make sure it's a group that actually uses the money for the purpose. This is why I don't give to the Red Cross; after the mess that happened after 9/11 and other information that came out, I don't trust that group. I gave to Mercy Corps; from what I understand at least 90% of the money they get goes where it's needed.

On to other things...

Kim du Toit is quitting regular blogging, dammit. I'm not bitching at him, I very much understand the reason why. I'm just going to miss my daily dose of uplifting discussion("...more worthy topics, such as whether John McCain should be impaled on a stake or simply hanged.")

Steve finally got his broadband back; happily before he went into withdrawal from his lack of midget porn- er, high-speed access. He's not watching much news; neither am I, I saw enough footage of bodies piled and floating after the tsunami.

Yeah, the cost of gas sucks. What sucks even more is knowing that, among the reasons it's so bad are A: enviroweenies have hissy-fits at the idea of drilling for oil, B: hypocrites like the Kennedys and their butt-monkey friends in Martha's Vineyard demand alternative energy sources, but when someone suggests putting up a wind farm that'll make bumps on the horizon of their view, they scream bloody murder and derail it, C: the same alternate-energy jackasses have purple kittens with pink spots at the mention of 'nuclear power', D: various people who scream they pay too much for fuel and heating oil bitch and scream when an oil company wants to build a new refinery to keep up with demand; and so on.

A motorcycle is nice for various reasons, but ever try to carry a 40-lb. bag of dog food on one?

A truck has drawbacks, but ever try to fit 150-lbs. of coal, or a forge and anvil, in a Prius? I didn't think so.(or a thousand pounds of topsoil, etc.)

I took my daughter to dinner tonight. Two good things about barbeque: how it tastes, and the leftovers you make the dogs happy with.

A friend of mine found a Webley target revolver in .455 Webley caliber a while back. I had a chance to shoot it, and it's downright nice. He got a good price on this one because it needs some work; I'd like to find one like it. It handled very nicely; you wouldn't expect that to look at the damn thing, it's huge.

I've got more limbs I need to trim in the back yard, not to mention helping the friend with the maple. Yuck.

I think that about covers it for now.

Range day

And a good day it was. A little hot, but a nice breeze, mostly right up the range toward the firing line.

Main thing I had to try out was a Mosin-Nagant Model 38

If you're not familiar with the family, a Russian officer name Mosin took a magazine design by Nagant- the same man who designed the 1895 Nagant revolver- and used it to complete his design for what became the mainstay of the Russian and then Soviet army for many years, the Model 1891. Standard type for the time, with a loooong barrel, and- unique to this rifle I believe- a long bayonet that was not issued with a scabbard; unless you would be spending a lot of time indoors, you were supposed to keep it fixed at all times. This rifle had a hexagonal receiver and the sight was calibrated in a Russian measurement called the arshin, about .71 meter. Then in 1930 the rifle was modified, mainly in two ways; the receiver was changed to round for ease of manufacture, and the sights were changed, the front becoming a hooded post and the rear being calibrated in meters. This was known as the (surprise!) model 91/30. Then, they decided that the long barrel was not needed for infantry use for range or power, and a shorter barrel would be easier to carry/use, and they cut the 29" barrel down to 20"(no, these are not exact measurements, if you're worried about to-the-fraction numbers, go look it up). The model 38 did not have an issue bayonet from what I understand; in 1944 the design was changed to included a permanent mount on the barrel that held a swiveling bayonet.

All used the 7.62x54R cartridge. In European standards, the bullet diameter(7.62mm), the length of the case(54mm) and the 'R' meant rimmed. It's roughly comparable to the .30-06 in power, and widely available in surplus and commercial ammo ranging from 150 grain bullets up to 200. Most of the surplus stuff is corrosive primed, so clean accordingly. I was using 150 grain Czech silvertip.

One of the things you'll notice is the short bolt handle. That means that if you have a sticky case in the chamber, you may have to swat it upward with the heel of your hand. It's a cock-on-opening design, so you're pushing against both the mainspring and the sticky case when this happens. A lot of the surplus ammo is steel-cased and laquer-coated, so when it gets hot in firing the laquer can stick to the chamber walls. The sniper rifles made of the 91 and 91/30 had and longer, turned-down handle.

Front sight is a hooded post, rear has a wide U notch. And in standard European fashion when you have the sight set at 100 meters, it's actually sighted for 300, meaning it hits high at 100; about 6" in this case. I'm not going to quote group size, because with the rear notch I had trouble keeping a solid sight picture. I had also run off without my front and rear sandbags, so I'll just say it kept them in a 6" circle at 100. This is one of the times I wish I had a lot of free cash, on rifles like this I'd buy a scout-scope mount that replaces the rear sight and stick a scope on it to test ammo and accuracy. One thing that did help was the trigger. Pulls on these rifles range from pretty good to downright awful; this one was pretty good, just a little creep that wasn't really noticeable when shooting.

One thing you might expect from a barrel shortened this much is an impressive amount of noise, and you'd be right to. It gives a serious boom, and I'm told the fireball at the muzzle is real impressive in dim light.

Overall, it's a pretty good rifle. The bore was nice & shiny, with strong rifling; it wasn't perfect, but for a rifle made in 1943 it's not bad. The exterior finish is a bit rough, mainly on the receiver. Again, for made in the Soviet Union in the middle of WWII, not bad. It would make a good car rifle to keep handy just in case, and I imagine the model 45 would be equally so(and it has a bayonet to scare the GFWs). Ammo is inexpensive(remember about the corrosive priming unless you buy commercial stuff), so you can shoot it a lot without costing a fortune.

The other thing I want to mention is a really handy devise: the Muzzle Mate

It's a plastic bottle with removeable ends. One end has a hole and a padded clamp; stick the muzzle in and clamp it on. Now when a brush comes out the end and sprays solvent, the bottle catches it, and it catches the oily, dirty patches that fall off the end of the cleaning rod. It works nicely, and I wish I'd bought one a long time ago. Someone used to make an adapter that stuck on the barrel and held a coke bottle, but I haven't seen one of those in a while. In any case, this is an accessory I can wholeheartedly recommend.