Bite The Bullet

Old handgunners like to stretch their shooting dollars, especially when bullets are in short supply and inflation makes them pretty pricey when they are available.

So I recently took delivery of a supply of .410-caliber, 200-grain lead semi-wadcutters and learned something right out of the gate. Loading data for that particular bullet in the .41 Magnum is not easily found; two suggested loads are listed in the Hodgdon’s Annual Manual on Page 158 for the cast lead flat-point, one using Titegroup and the other using Clays. I gleaned a bit more information from a reliable source regarding Alliant 2400.

Now, step up to lead pills weighing 215 grains or more and there are lots of suggestions. The poor 200-grainer seems to get a cold shoulder. So my next move will be to get a supply of the heavier projectiles and continue my experimentation.

I do not cast my own bullets. Never had the talent or the time, and since there are a handful of companies doing this with years of experience, I’ll bow to their expertise.

My effort so far has yielded the following: Hard cast lead semi-wads are accurate, they’re fun to shoot and so far they’re not leading up my barrels. When I inquired about reloading LSWC bullets on a popular forum to which I subscribe, it became immediately obvious these guys like Unique powder for shooting lead, and they were eager to share information about bullets of different weights. (That’s sort of the nature of Internet forums. Handloaders are a genuinely helpful and cordial bunch, but maybe they don’t always pay close attention to details in the original question.)

Frankly, this was a deliberate distraction from the kind of stuff I’m usually pursuing, and while my experimentation continues — more details will come later — now’s a good time to look at the good, bad and a little off-plumb.

Gun Control Failure

The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a public speech by a guy who built his own gun — one of several, it turned out — left the gun prohibition lobby suffering from lockjaw. After all, Japan is one of those countries where gun ownership is very restricted; just what anti-gunners want for this country.

But Abe’s murder demonstrated that strict gun policies don’t stop people determined to cause mayhem. Various news agencies showed images of the alleged murder weapon. It featured two steel tubes heavily taped to a board, to which was also attached a crude grip and a firing mechanism that appeared to be battery operated.

According to Reuters, the suspect is 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, described as “a loner who did not reply when spoken to,” according to his neighbors. He lived on the eighth floor of an apartment building, and he allegedly believed Abe had some connection to an unidentified religious group to which his mother had made a large donation resulting in her bankruptcy.

The spin machine didn’t skip a beat. MoneyControl.com quoted a fellow identified as Daniel Foote, a professor at the University of Tokyo, who asserted, “This actually shows the extent that Japan gun laws are working.”

Not to pop Prof. Foote’s bubble, but the exact opposite is true. Japanese gun laws did not prevent this murder. The suspect built his own gun, proving that when manufactured firearms are not available, the determined criminal will manufacture his own. The former prime minister is just as dead.

Washington is the smallest state in the West. It also boasts the highest number of resident concealed pistol licenses of any western state outside of Texas.

Last month, the state department of licensing reported an astonishing spike in the number of active CPLs: 11,292 licenses were issued during the month of June, second only to the 13,000-plus issued in April 2013. More than half of those new licenses were in two counties: King (Seattle) and Pierce (Tacoma), a pair of politically blue jurisdictions, which have suffered skyrocketing violent crime.

There are now more than 655,700 active CPLs in Washington, a new record.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms — coincidentally based in King County — took notice and issued a statement infuriating to the gun control crowd.

“Violent crime in Pierce and King counties, combined with a reduction in police manpower has obviously resulted in a predictable public reaction,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “People will protect themselves and their families, and they’re taking that responsibility seriously. These sensible law-abiding citizens realize they are their own first responders.

“The surge in violent crime is undeniable proof of the total failure of gun control in Washington,” he added. “Since the billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobby started financing extremist ballot measures in 2014, and anti-gun Seattle-area lawmakers began pushing their gun control agenda in the Legislature, Washington murders have gone up, not down. Voters fooled by slick campaign promises are evidently changing their minds.”

Last month, United Parcel Service found itself in the middle of a flap over reports the shipping company had changed its policy and notified at least one Florida retailer — Ghost Firearms — it was terminating the company’s account on the grounds the company “may be violating applicable laws concerning the shipment of “ghost guns” to unauthorized locations.”

In a letter to Ghost Firearms of Daytona Beach, UPS stated, “In light of our concern, UPS has determined that it will cancel your account, effective immediately.” A few lines later, the letter warned, “Please note that any package found in the UPS system determined to have been tendered by GHOST FIREARMS may be seized and destroyed.”

While the story was reported almost entirely by the firearms media, it did get a little general media exposure.

So-called “ghost guns” have become the latest bogeyman of the gun control lobby. The term is an invention of anti-gunners seeking to demonize a centuries-old tradition of making one’s own firearms. The main complaint is that homemade firearms built with kits or acquired components have no serial number, making them impossible to trace. The absence of a serial number doesn’t make a firearm more lethal or accurate. Many guns manufactured during the first half of the 20th Century and even before had no serial numbers. I’ve seen several examples.

UPS has posted special procedures for shipping firearms:

UPS accepts packages containing firearms (as defined by Title 18, Chapter 44, and Title 26, Chapter 53 of the United States Code) for shipment only in the following cases:

• Between licensed importers, licensed manufacturers, licensed dealers, and licensed collectors (as defined in Title 18, Chapter 44 of the United States Code), and government agencies
• Where not otherwise prohibited by federal, state or local law:
• from an individual to a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector
• from a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to an individual.

The shipper must comply with and must ensure that each shipment containing firearms complies with all federal, state and local laws applicable to the shipper, recipient, and package, including, without limitation, age restrictions.

Prohibited Firearms Shipments

UPS does not accept automatic weapons, including machine guns, for shipment, either domestically or internationally.

UPS does not accept firearms (including handguns) and firearm parts for shipment internationally.

UPS does not accept firearms (including handguns) and firearm parts for shipment domestically unless (1) such shipments are in full compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, including, without limitation, age restrictions; (2) such firearms, including any partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver (as defined by 27 CFR § 478.12) have been identified and bear a serial number in a manner that complies with federal law; and (3) such firearm parts within a package cannot be assembled to form a firearm.

Any item that meets the definition of a firearm (including firearm mufflers or silencers) or a “frame” or “receiver” under federal law (including any partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver as defined by 27 CFR § 478.12) must be identified and bear a serial number in satisfaction of the requirements for identifying such items under federal law, including 27 CFR § 478.92 and/or 27 CFR § 479.102, regardless of whether any such items are otherwise exempt from or not subject to identification requirements under applicable law. This prohibition applies even before the effective date of 27 CFR § 478.12.

Packing and Labeling Requirements for Firearms

All firearms must be shipped in new corrugated packaging that meets the UPS Single Wall Box Strength Guidelines.

All firearms must be packaged in accordance with UPS Packaging Guideline Specifications.

Ammunition must be shipped separately from packages that contain firearms (including handguns).

Packages containing handguns must be separated from other packages tendered to UPS for delivery.

The shipper must use Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required and Direct Delivery Only services for each package containing a firearm, including a handgun or a firearm suppressor, and affix a UPS label requesting an adult signature upon delivery.

The labeling and outer box markings on all firearms shipments must not identify the contents as containing a firearm. Labeling, including the shipper’s and consignee’s abbreviated names on the shipping label or air shipping document, must be non-descriptive.

UPS Services for Your Firearm Shipment

UPS Express Critical™ Service and UPS Returns® Services are not available for packages containing firearms.

Handguns, as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 921, will be accepted for transportation only via UPS Next Day Air Services, specifically:

• UPS Next Day Air® Early
• UPS Next Day Air®
• UPS Next Day Air Saver®

Getting Your Firearm Shipment to UPS

Firearms (including handguns) may be shipped only through a UPS Scheduled Pickup Account using various UPS pickup services, or through a UPS Customer Center (counters at UPS operational facilities).

Note: Firearms (including handguns) are not accepted for shipment via UPS Drop Boxes or UPS On-Call Pickup®, and may not be tendered to or dropped off at locations of The UPS Store®, any third party retailer, or any UPS Access Point™ location.

When you are shipping a package that contains a handgun, you must verbally notify the UPS driver or UPS Customer Center clerk.

See the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service – United States and the UPS Rate and Service Guide in effect at the time of shipping (“UPS Terms”) for information regarding firearm and ammunition shipments.

Less of Moore?

Back on July 4, anti-gun filmmaker Michael Moore declared he had had enough of the United States … sort of.

“I cannot in good conscience continue to receive the privileges of ‘full citizenship’ in this land when all of its women and girls have now been, by Court decree, declared official second-class citizens with no rights to their own bodies and conscripted to a life of Forced Birth should they fall pregnant and not want to be,” Moore wrote.

Uh, but he also admitted a little problem, according to Fox News. He has no intention of leaving the country. Remember all those people who threatened to leave the country if Donald Trump won in 2016? They’re still poking around, too.

Evidently, righteous anger and indignation cease to exist beyond the comforts of one’s home in the good old USA.

Moore is the same gent who recently proposed repealing the Second Amendment and replacing it with this: “The inalienable right of a free people to be kept safe from gun violence and the fear thereof must not be infringed and shall be protected by the Congress and the States. This Amendment thus repeals and replaces the Second Amendment.

“Congress shall regulate all ammunition, capacity of ammunition, the storage of guns, gun locks, gun sights, body armor and the sale and distribution of such items. No weapons of any kind whose sole intention is the premeditated elimination of human life are considered legal. Congress may create future restrictions as this amendment specifically does not grant any American the ‘right’ to own any weapon.”

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