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 19 February 2008 O.K. – lots of stuff going on, so I decided to do something simple Top row from left to right: Colibri, Sub Sonic Sniper, shot shell, standard long rifle hollowpoint Bottom row: .22 magnum shot shell, .22 magnum hollowpoint This is by no means a comprehensive collection of all the different types of .22 ammo that’s available on the market – it’s just what they were able to find on the shelf up at Ace Hardware in Overton. Colibri ammo is very quiet and low velocity – there’s no gunpowder, only the primer to push the bullet. Great for beginners or for when you want to be quiet. The Sub Sonic Sniper ammo is meant for hunting. It’s a very heavy bullet which is why it’s slow enough to be sub sonic, but this also means it hits hard. .22 shot shells are useful for taking care of pests at short range. If you can’t get away from a rattlesnake, this will keep him away from you. It will also work on rodents, scorpions, and any other small pests at very short range – out to about 10 yards. The .22 long rifle hollow point is very versatile in its own right. Good for hunting small game like squirrels and similar size mammals, it is also a great round for target shooting, plinking, and all around fun. The .22 magnum is basically a .22 Long Rifle that’s been given the Tim “Toolman” Taylor MORE POWER treatment. The shot shells and hollow points are just like the Long Rifle, but more power. This makes the .22 magnum good for longer range shots or slightly bigger animals. .22 magnum is also a bit pricier – about the same price as 9mm pistol ammo. I like trying new things and having fun – so far the Heritage Rough Rider .22 and its versatility with different ammo has been a blast  While it may look like an old cowboy shootin’ iron, the Heritage Rough Rider .22 is a bit different – in more ways than you’d think. Sure, it’s chambered for the .22 long rifle and .22 magnum cartridges which weren’t around in the old west. It also has an alloy frame (at least mine does – some are steel frame) and adjustable sights (some come more old fashioned with fixed sights). The item I’m going to focus on here is the manual safety which I’ve only ever seen on one other single action revolver – the Cimarron Plinkerton. A nice review of the Plinkerton by Jeff Quinn can be found at Gunblast.com. The two “safeties” in the old west were keeping your finger off the trigger and carrying the pistol with only five rounds in the cylinder so that the hammer could rest on an empty chamber. I understand that these manual safeties are probably required in today’s society as lawyer repellant, but I would be just as happy if they weren’t there.  Heritage Rough Rider .22 - Safety On  Heritage Rough Rider .22 - Safety Off Have a look at the two pictures. The item in the blue circle is the firing pin, the green circle surrounds the safety lever, and the hammer block portion of the safety can be found in the red circle. Before I go any further, I’d like to say that while it’s nice to have a mechanical safety on a firearm nobody should ever rely on their firearm’s manual safety as a primary means of keeping the gun from damaging things it shouldn’t. Following the four basic rules of firearms safety is the best way of ensuring that we and everyone around us are safe. Any firearm can damage property. Any firearm can kill. For a more extensive lecture on firearms safety, please see my previous post. Back to the pictues and the quirks of the Heritage Rough Rider The revolver is on safe in the top picture. The safety lever is in the up position which rotates the hammer block into position to do its job as described by its name. If you were to pull the hammer back and pull the trigger, the hammer would hit the hammer block which would prevent it from striking the firing pin and setting the round off. In the second picture, the safety lever has been rotated toward the user which has caused a red dot to be visible and the flat part of the hammer block now faces towards the hammer. With the hammer block now flush with its surroundings, the hammer can hit the firing pin. Mechanical safety or no, Heritage recommends that you never carry one of their single action revolvers with a live round under the hammer because if something happens and that hammer or something else hits that firing pin, the round will likely go off. Instead of this, they recommend the time tested and proven safety measure of leaving an empty chamber under the hammer when carrying the gun. To accomplish this, you open the loading gate, pull the hammer back to half cock, load one round, skip the next chamber and load the remaining four chambers. Once done, pull the hammer back to full cock and let it down GENTLY on the hammer block of the safety. With an empty chamber under the hammer, there is no chance of an accidental discharge if the gun were to fall or be struck on the hammer and it cannot fire until the hammer has been pulled back fully and cocked which brings a live cartridge inline with the firing pin. Even an empty chamber under the hammer, we want to be careful letting the hammer down. Dry firing is basically just like shooting the gun without any ammo in the chamber which is what we’d be doing if we slip or just pull the trigger. Dry firing not a good idea for center fire guns as it puts undue stress on the firing pin since it does not have a primer to crush and cushion the impact. Dry firing centerfire firearms can be done safely with dummy ammo like A-Zoom snap caps which protect the firing pin. Refraining from dry firing is even more important with rimfire guns like the Rough Rider .22 as the firing pin won’t have the rim of a cartridge to crush, but instead will hit the hard steel of the side of the chamber to impact. Over time, the chamber will suffer as will the firing pin. If I ever dry fire my rimfire firearms, I make sure to use a spent shell casing so that the firing pin has something to land on that won’t hurt it. It’s probably not a good idea to dry fire the gun with the safety on either as I don’t think the hammer’s meant to take repeated blows on that area of the part. Of course, if we’re just loading up the smoke wagon so we can shoot it right away (like plinking full, unopened cans of carbonated beverages in the desert) we can load up all six and have at it Modern sixguns can be safely carried with a round under the hammer due to the invention of transfer bars and hammer blocks. Both of these innovations rely on the trigger being pulled to allow the gun to fire. Hammer blocks prevent the firing pin from striking the primer of the round and move out of the way of the firing pin when the trigger is pulled. If Transfer bars are kind of the opposite of the hammer block. If the hammer were to fall without the trigger being pulled, the firing pin would hit the hammer block and would not strike the primer. With a transfer bar, the hammer rests on the frame of the firearm when down. When the trigger is pulled, the transfer bar moves between the hammer and the firing pin so that the force of the hammer striking the transfer bar is transferred to the firing pin to fire the round. In this case, a hammer falling without the trigger being pulled would strike the frame of the gun and the firing pin would not be touched. So in conclusion, I think a manual safety’s not really necessary on a single action. In my ever so humble opinion it’s redundant as the pistol requires manual cocking of the hammer before each shot and it should be carried with an empty chamber under the hammer no matter what. I like the simplicity of an old sixgun and have no problem knowing that it’s ready to go anytime. I also like the looks without the manual safety better. That said, if it’s there, I’ll use it – it makes no sense not to. I’d also say that the depreciation in the looks department is OK considering I only paid $200 for the gun and it does everything I want it to  18 February 2009 - Distant Snow Shower Nothing too fancy tonight, just something I thought was interesting The weather where I was standing was in the mid 50s or so and sunny just about everywhere, but it was snowing on a mountain top just a short distance away Yep, I was the one. That would be the first one to miss the picture of the day. And for that lapse, I apologize to all my loyal readers. I do have to say that I managed to get my first good sound sleep in months last night, so I don’t feel quite as bad about it as I might There will be a picture of the day today I was writing up the post which will fill the space after this one very shortly when I thought I should include a few words about firearms safety. After reviewing my scribblings, I figured it would probably be better to make a post just for this subject. These are the most basic rules for firearms safety – the four rules you will hear everyone talk about at shooting ranges, gun stores, training classes, and gun shows among others. The four rules are these: 1) ALWAYS TREAT EVERY FIREARM AS IF IT WERE LOADED Some people say that rule number one is to know the condition of your firearm at all times, while others would say that it doesn’t matter what anyone knows – the gun is ALWAYS loaded. The basic idea is to never let yourself or others become complacent and start thinking “It’s not loaded.” That’s a recipe for disaster. I’ve lost count of the number of stories of people who have had a gun fire when they did not intend it to who say that “I didn’t think it was loaded.” There are times when you will need to verify for yourself that a firearm is not loaded and then treat it as such. Times like when you’re cleaning it come to mind. Just don’t EVER get complacent! 2) NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY or ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION Notice that there’s nothing about intent in those statements. Even after you’ve verified for yourself that a firearm is not loaded, rule number two still applies. If you follow rule number two, a failure to follow rule number one or rule number three will result in embarrassment, hearing loss, and possibly soiled undergarments. It will not result in a trip to the hospital or the morgue. 3) KNOW YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEHIND IT Don’t shoot something if you don’t know what it is – that would violate rule two for starters. Know exactly what you want to hit and know what you might hit if you miss or if your bullet goes through it and continues on. You wouldn’t put up a paper target in your living room window and start blasting away with an AK-47, right? Sure you know your target, but you also know that your bullets will go right through it, into your neighbor’s house, out the other side of your neighbor’s house – you get the idea. Likewise, you wouldn’t do the same thing even if you had a two foot steel cube to shoot at. What if you missed? Yes, its an absurd oversimplification, but it gets the point across. 4) KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET AND YOU ARE READY TO FIRE or KEEP YOUR BOOGER HOOK OFF THE BANG SWITCH Firearms are inanimate objects. I can load up all my guns, chamber a round in each, switch the manual safeties to the “FIRE” position, cock the actions, and they will patiently wait for me to return. They won’t go hunting on their own. They won’t mysteriously just “go off.” They won’t do anything until I pick them up and put my finger on the trigger. Once I’ve done that, I still have to apply a couple of pounds of pressure, but you get the idea. If your finger’s not on the trigger, the gun won’t do a darn thing except look pretty. Some people switch the places of rules three and four, but I don’t think it matters because they’re all equally important. Following these four basic rules will ensure nobody gets shot and nothing gets damaged that shouldn’t. I’d like to add my own fifth rule: KNOW YOUR FIREARM. KNOW HOW IT WORKS, WHAT TYPE OF AMMUNITION IT TAKES, AND HOW TO SAFELY LOAD AND UNLOAD IT. BE FAMILIAR WITH ITS MECHANICAL SAFETY DEVICES AND WITH ALL THE CONTROLS ON THE FIREARM. If you’ve only ever dealt with a single action revolver, you won’t be very familiar with a semi-automatic pistol. Know how to unlock and swing out the cylinder on a revolver, how to remove a magazine from a semi-auto pistol, and how to verify that they’re unloaded. Know how to chamber a round, how to eject a round, and how to operate the safety. Know what the sight picture is supposed to look like and how the trigger should feel. This all helps eliminate safety risks. I cannot recommend professional training highly enough. Dad was California Highway Patrol for 31+ years – he taught me handguns. Boy Scouts taught me rifles and shotguns. All of them stressed the same basic safety rules, but they went farther and showed me the best ways to employ the tool in my hands. A competent instructor can save you hours of hassle and lots of money in ammunition by coaching you about how you can improve. You had professional instruction before driving a car, right? So why would you do anything different when it comes to firearms? In closing, I’d like to say stay safe, have fun, and shoot straight Pictures from back in SoCal… Click on the pics for full size in a new window  San Diego Panorama - 9 July 2003 - Click for 7MB File  On Coronado looking north towards a carrier  American Flag and Carrier - A sight I miss... Dad was kind enough to email me some pictures of Mom’s Valentine’s Day bouquet  Mom's Bouquet I think the growers did a great job on choosing the flowers  16 February 2008 Yes, I know it’s not the greatest picture in the world, but I had to do something really quickly and with a minimal amount of editing as I’ve managed to get out of bed for a short while today. Credit for the presence of a tiki bar in our place goes to Cindy who found this one in Big Lots for about $10 a few years back  15 February 2009 - En route to Overton So last night I drove on up to the small town of Overton, Nevada with intentions to purchase a new item for my personal armory. One minor problem – I got there about 10 minutes too late for the background check. The phone line doesn’t take new calls after 1745 hours. No, I was not thrilled  15 February 2009 - Heritage Rough Rider .22 Yep, I’d made my decision and in the end it was the Heritage Rough Rider that won me over on the merits  15 February 2009 - Heritage Rough Rider .22 - Looking down the sights I debated the question of fixed sights vs. adjustable sights for quite some time. The fixed sights look right. They’re what are supposed to be on the gun. The problem was that they just don’t hold a candle to the adjustable sights when it comes time to pull the trigger. I finally came to the conclusion that I was buying this gun first and foremost to shoot so I would deal with the adjustable sights.  15 February 2009 - Heritage Rough Rider .22 revolver with the hammer at half cock and the loading gate open - ready to load, unload, or dump empty cartridges after firing She sure does shoot P.S. – Apologies for the lateness of this post – I was home today, sick in bed and asleep for most of it.  14 February 2009 Nope, an old relic of a tank is not what most people consider an image that they would associate with Valentine’s Day. I found this tank quite a while back in Overton, NV but had never stopped to look at it. I admit, there were brief thoughts about how I could get one in driving and firing condition, but I wondered what the real story was behind why this tank is here in a small town in southern Nevada. I figured it was probably a memorial, but I didn’t know what it was a memorial to. I figured it would make a good post for my picture of the day, so I stopped and got a few pictures and read the plaques that so many drive by every day without really thinking like I’d done before myself.  Memorial Plaque Getting out and looking answered the question of what the tank is there for. It is a memorial to all who have served the U.S. military over the years.  Memorial Plaque I don’t know if this is a list of people who belong to this organization or if these are people who’ve been lost. They could be people who helped to make this memorial happen. My thoughts went to all those who’ve served and sacrificed for the rest of us and those who continue to do so today. This includes not only those who’ve fallen or who serve or have served on the front lines, but also those who have been left behind by a fallen hero or who have endured or continue to endure through the absence of their loved ones while they were away. Here’s a Valentine from me to all of them along with my most sincere and humble thanks. |
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Here we have all the different types of ammunition I currently own for my new revolver.
I figured I’d go ahead and get the paperwork out of the way and just go back today to pick my item up today. With visions of something new and fun in my head and snow capped mountains on my left, I proceeded up the I-15, transitioned to survace roads, and made my way to my favorite hardware store – Ace Hardware. You see, this Ace carries a different type of “hardware” than most – it’s also a gun shop 
Sorry for no pictures of the cans I decimated – more pictures of shooting will be posted at a later date. I just LOVE this new gun