Christmas 2006 - New Products
Two New AR 15 Rounds from GBA A small but insignificant firearms company, with corporate office located just south of the border, GBA (“Grandes Bolas Armas”) is now producing AR uppers in two chambers; a medium caliber .338″ and a heavier .458″. GBA cartridges operate at a relatively low MAP […] [Read More]
Handgun Selection for Self Defense
When it comes to handguns for self defense, I have been the proverbial blank slate. I’ve owned a good number of single and double action revolvers and various autoloaders for recreational purposes, and some more specialized single shot handguns specifically for hunting or handload development, but not much in the […] [Read More]
Thanksgiving 2006 - Notes to Myself
My wife and I will be spending this Thanksgiving in Austin, Texas where our youngest of our three sons and family live, and where our eldest son and wife are expecting their first child; a little girl, our fifth grandchild. After raising three sons we learned a lot from observing […] [Read More]
And Yet I Still Handload... A Retrospective
The story is basically me looking back over the past few years and wondering what the heck was I thinking, and how many times did I guess wrong, and how many times did I change my mind about equipment and process. I actually opened some of the cabinet doors in […] [Read More]
A Visit to the Land of Oz
If you aren’t aware, Real Guns now resides in Maine; 3000 miles and a never too far cry from California. It was a move of necessity, if we were to maintain and contribute to a positive firearms presence and not have our efforts narrowed by political interference. This is our […] [Read More]
New Products - 2005
S&W .22 Invertonator Like most of you, not a days go by that I don’t find myself feeling the void left by the departure of the .22 RemingtonJet. Those slumping shoulders, and that near .22 rim fire performance, held the potential for a true classic cartridge. The 22 Jet was […] [Read More]
Cheap Shooters & Russian Revenge
Sometimes I long for the good old days, when wars were cold and the only enemy of consequence, in the words of Dr. Strangelove’s Maj. T.J. ‘King’ Kong, was those darn Rooskies. I have a hunch there is a little Russian revenge behind the availability of the Model 1895 Nagant […] [Read More]
The 17-357 RG - Real Guns Project Cartridge - Finished Good golly, a 3,300 FPS handgun!
It was a little chilly at the range, and a little overcast and the 17-357 RG prototype was a little uncooperative, but all and all, the combination performed admirably. The combination was able to push a 20 grain bullet over 3,300 fps and a 25 grain bullet at slightly over […] [Read More]
The 17-357 RG - Real Guns Project Cartridge Part VI When things go terribly wrong...
I arrived at a point in the project were things didn’t work and the problems and correctives actions were not obvious. I had to decide if all would end up in a box at the back of a shop cabinet or if I had enough retained enthusiasm to see it […] [Read More]
The 17-357 RG - Real Guns Project Cartridge Part V And the other half, the T/C version
Before moving on to the cartridge and load development phase of this project, I wanted to cover the converted T/C Contender, a firearm I believe is optimal for the 17-357 RG. The barrel began life as a 357 Magnum chamber, a configuration which is of no practical consequence, as the […] [Read More]