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Boomershoot
So Smart it Had to Come From The Government - Quote of the Day Edition
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 07:32So the bottom line is that if I remove the doors from the shed I can store 18,000 pounds of explosives. If I put the doors on I can only store 50 pounds.
It doesn't have to make sense. It's just a government rule.
Joe Huffman - It's a Government Rule! It doesn't have to make sense.
[So when Joe first told me about this, a while ago, I sat there dumbfounded for 30 minutes trying to reason why. Joe misspoke with an extra 0 on the doors off number when he told me, but if the closest habitable area was another 50 feet away he would have been correct.
For those who have never been to the Taj, the outer building is your standard garden style storage shed. The walls and doors are about 1/16th of an inch thick, if that, and are just aluminum. Prey tell, what in the name of Zeus's butthole is an extra 16th inch of aluminum going to do between a 50lbs detonation and a 18500lbs detonation. About the only thing I can think of is in the former they might still be solid, in the latter they shall be rendered to their molecular components.
Remember this though whenever someone says there should be a law, a rule, or the government should have the power to do "X". They may be well intentioned but eventually well intentioned is lost and what we are left with is a steaming pile of bull dung that we have no choice but to deal with. Also remember most of those who argue for rules and regulations aren't going to have to deal with the idiocy to begin with.
I'm also working on a followup to this, lets just say as of yesterday the clock is still ticking. -B]
Hey, It Still Goes Boom
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sat, 02/18/2012 - 18:47Steel match was early this month which worked out well for Joe. We shot the match this morning, I did decently well and came in middle of the pack. Got some tips from one of the shooters which helped and I’m going to incorporate it into my practice. I had been fairly lucky thus far but I had a failure to go boom today. Did an immediate action drill. I thought the round extracted but it didn’t or I had a double feed because the slide didn’t go home. I promptly locked the slide, dropped/ripped the mag out, dropped the slide and racked it again, inserted a new mag, racked and reengaged. That obviously was my throwaway string for that stage. Compared to the other runs though that only added 10 seconds, it felt like an eternity, I know with practice I can get that time down but for the failure I had I can’t complain with how I handled it.
After the steel match we headed out to the Boomershoot site. We had some storage experiments to conduct. We get out to the road for Mecca and there’s still a lot of snow on the ground. We start to walk on it and we both arrive at the same conclusion, we would probably make it driving out there but we probably wouldn’t make the return trip successfully. We decide to head over to the entrance for the berm since that’s closer to the Taj, our final destination. The snow felt like it wasn’t going to be too bad so we began our hike sans snowshoes that we forgot at Joe’s house anyway.
And…. boom goes the boomerite.
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sun, 02/05/2012 - 21:28So Joe and I started off this morning with heading out for the Action Pistol match in Moscow. I have no clue how I did. I think I did reasonably well. I’m obviously a little more rusty than I’d like to be, especially when it comes to steel which there was a lot of today. I screwed the pooch a few times but recovered. I didn’t shoot a single no shoot, shot every last piece of steel, and I don’t believe I had any misses either.
After that we headed out to the Boomershoot site.
If you remember about a month ago, Joe and I started investigating a problem with the Boomerite. Through our testing we discovered the KClO3 was the wrong size, which was confirmed by Ry. Joe got a blender and we were going to confirm we could grind the current KClO3 two weeks ago. Mother nature intervened and stopped our trek 10 yards in.
Today we planned ahead, more specifically remembered half way to the range, and brought the snowshoes this time. That was a good thing for me, Joe escaped by without them. The crust buckled under me about every 3rd or 4th step. After 100 yards I just put them on and trudged on, I remember doing this stuff while I was active in Scouts and going like gang busters. Sitting behind a desk is killing me.
But I made it. We quickly made up the first batch of explosives. This made two 7 inch targets and then we went out to test them.
We were showered in dirt. Hopefully Joe will post the video he took. Both of them went bang just as we expected and wanted. Now 2 isn’t the largest sample size, and my stat teacher would kill me for thinking it’s statistically relevant, though we had a second experiment. It is worth noting, during the previous test we had a 100% failure rate with this rifle and ammunition. Now we had 2 detonations with the new mix with the same rifle and ammo as previously used.
We mixed up a second batch using what we had already blended. Filled the boxes without using baggies. Again both detonated, eventually. The 4th target took two shots because there was “technical miss”. Let’s just say I shot a Delta instead of an Alpha. So, that’s 4 for 4 with the blended KClO3 mix.
So we don’t need the baggies, possibly. There’s some other experimentation that needs to be done. Joe had a previous experiment along these lines, however we had trouble getting to them previously. Due to the longer storage it confirmed one of my concerns.
The ethylene glycol absorbs out of the mixture and into the cardboard. This could affect the sensitivity of the target. There is a second issue that will have to be tested as well. When filling boxes in this manner we wrap them with Saran wrap. My concern is that this is not nearly as solid of a vapor barrier as the Ziploc baggies. Further testing is required.
The sun was setting and Joe and I needed to get the hell out of dodge. The temperature was dropping pretty fast, we had to hike back out, and there was a minor issue with the vehicle that needed to be fixed before heading home.
Joe lit the older targets on fire and we began our hike back out. We headed over to his brothers place, Joe set me up with the necessary tools for the job and went into visit his parents. He came back out to a fixed rear hatch. No longer do you have to do the weird bump game to get the latch mechanism to work. At some point the latch shifted and was no longer lifting the lock enough. I popped the shaft out of its clamp and moved the clamp further down. Joe kept testing it and I said, “Let’s not tempt fate and have it get stuck open again.”
Got back to Moscow, had dinner with Joe and his family since he was already running late and needed to save some time. IT’s been a long, yet productive day.
*As an aside, all the pictures above were with my new phone. The bottom one was cropped heavily since I was so far from Joe.
Update: Here's the video from Joe and his report.
Boomerite Testing Continued
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 12:29The alternative post title is "In Which I Don't Think Things Completely Through".
Saturday I went out with Joe and did some Boomerite testing to try and get to the root of a detonation problem. Here's the video from the testing. I was slightly mistaken in that there was one other target that kind of popped, but it was still nothing like we normally see.
Yes, I do something not so bright, but not nearly a full Ry. Joe and Ry did some work the other night and it in fact does appear there is a size difference. It hasn't been determined to be the cause. It would explain half the targets from 2011 not working as well.
Sometimes making things go boom is hard to do!
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sat, 01/07/2012 - 23:01So I went out to help Joe with some testing today. Last weekend there were some problems with boomers and testing needed be done to figure out the exact cause of the failures.
Joe and I stopped by the Taj and picked up some equipment however Joe forgot the keys to the magazine and we had to leave the targets that were stored to test how they react over time.
Once over at Mecca we began to mix explosives. I noticed but didn’t think anything of it that the dust from the bin of KClO3 was less than usual. Our first experiment was 4 control targets using our standard production methods and baggies with 8 other targets using different packaging methods. We laid out the first 6 targets. Two of each. Loaded up with 62 grain JHP and started on the right.
Bang, dead center, nothing. Move to the next one.
Bang slightly off, bang it’s low, bang it’s high, bang dead center, nothing.
Bang dead center, nothing.
Bang dead center, nothing. Now at this point we’re moving on to the normal production control targets.
Bang dead center…. Nothing. I’m thinking, “what the hell is going on!”
Bang dead center, again nothing.
At this point Joe and I inspect the targets, they didn’t even begin to detonate. We talk and think well maybe the ethylene glycol absorbed moisture, the bottle is almost empty. We also realize it’s pretty cold and maybe that’s a problem.
The Season for Giving
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Fri, 12/02/2011 - 18:16
Linoge is putting on a raffle with great prizes and the funds going to a great cause.
For those who have never discovered Soldiers’ Angels, they do a lot to help support troops. Not only do they help support troops in the field through the soldier adoption program but also have programs to help those who need it the most, our wounded warriors.
Every year at Boomershoot Joe there is a dinner. At the dinner is a raffle with the purpose of supporting Project Valor-IT of Soldier’s Angels.
Why do we raise money for Project Valor-IT? Well when the soldier and affected family moves from being an abstract face, to being a family you know and personally spend lots of time around, the good they do takes on a whole new level of meaning. Seriously, click that link fellow gun bloggers. They helped the family of one of our own and if that’s not a good enough reason to dig in your pocket and help I don’t know what is.
I know times are tight for many of us. Things are still exceptionally tight around my house from the last unemployment stint. For every 5 bucks sent to Soldiers’ Angels you get a raffle ticket. Instead of putting that extra gift under the tree this year, you can put something under someone else’s who could really use it. There is no way to loose in this raffle.
There are other projects and ways you can donate if you’re interested. It doesn’t just have to be a monetary donation*. The Minutemom I know is working on blankets when she has time.
*Talk to Linoge first with regards to the raffle, I’m talking in general.
Mecca Is Growing with the Quote of the Day
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 18:23Joe, Ry, Caleb, and I all headed out to the Boomershoot site today to do some work on Mecca.
Normally I take pictures, but this time posting them falls upon Ry as I didn't take a single one.
It was productive, we assembled the new tables. Drilled the holes for the input feed for the solar panel and WiFi. Mounted the solar charge controller and the transfer switch. Mounted the pole for the WiFi and started getting the brackets put together for the solar panel. Joe has decided to mount the panel in a couple weeks. I'll need to head out with him with some of my tools so I can take care of re-crimping his Ethernet cable.
Overall it wasn't a bad day other than by the end it was freezing cold since the first solid winter storm of the season is rolling in. We actually left at a perfect time given we arrive in Moscow with snow accumulating and visibility becoming limited.
Our day started however with one of Ry's famous statements:
Joe: Want me to get out and check the field?
Ry: Yeah you probably should, (drives out on to the field without stopping all the way up to Mecca)
It's on video:
We didn't get stuck, though it did get a bit hairy at the end though it still wasn't much of a problem. Expect pictures and video hopefully in the near future.
Let There be Light
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sun, 09/25/2011 - 14:10For those who have worked manufacturing explosives at Boomershoot. You already know how miserable the elements can make that situation. Even at the end of April, snow and sleet are not unheard of, high winds are common, and it can make manufacturing just down right miserable.
Well yesterday we took delivery of the new manufacturing facility and put it in place.
Joe oversaw the delivery of the container. It took us a bit of figuring out of how to get it in place so we could finish leveling it properly. After the containers was put in it’s temporary location we headed to town for lunch. We had some other business to take care of in tow (which I’m sure Joe will explain later). Let’s just say yesterday murphy’s law was in full force.
Friday Gun Porn–(07/29/2011)
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 20:30Now Washington Legal.
Some would complain about the modifications that make operating the slide easier, given I know the owner I don’t blame him for doing it one bit. It’s not about looking pretty, it’s about being FUNCTIONAL.
Friday Gun Porn–07/21/2011
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 03:30
Dave does have some very sweet toys.
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