West Virginia:

The veteran officer was using a Glock 21 .45 caliber pistol with out of country ammunition at a shooting range outside of Moundsville, [Chief Deputy Kevin] Cecil said.

It’s believed the ammunition was bad, causing the receiver to blow apart in the sergeant’s hand.

Ouch. Link sent by a reader.

This month’s 24 Hour Campfire newsletter article by John Barsness looks at this topic:

Avid handloaders sometimes talk about cartridge “efficiency,” but few try to define that efficiency.

Over at Murdoc Online: Well, they’ve obviously not been shooting many poodles lately

Story via Steve.

Earlier this month in Philadelphia:

A southwest Philadelphia police district was evacuated after the man brought in a 105 mm projectile for a howitzer.

Police say the 53-year-old man got the shell in 1977 from a friend who was a Marine and kept it in a storage facility since then, and decided to turn it in for safety reasons.

The police say it was a live shell.

So says Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, about the new California law requiring a thumb print and a driver’s license to purchase firearm ammunition while Gun stores are preparing for ammo restrictions

The most important piece of the new law, which has already drawn the ire of the National Rifle Association and some Republican lawmakers, is a requirement that anyone purchasing handgun ammunition provide his or her name, address, phone number and thumbprint. Gun stores will have to keep those records – which also include the type, brand and amount of ammunition sold to customers – and allow police to go through them.

This won’t stop anyone from buying ammo. All it will do is provide an after-the-fact paper trail for someone to follow if necessary. So make sure that everyone realizes that this can do nothing whatsoever to prevent any crimes.

Let’s say that a determined killer needs ammo for his illegal hand gun. He goes to Wal-Mart, shows his ID and gives a thumb print, buys his ammo, and kills ten people. Later, the police can track the purchase down and find out that he bought two boxes of ammunition.

Wow. That’s going to take a bite out of crime.

“The bad guys always seem to get what they need, but we keep making it harder and harder for law-abiding citizens,” [Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills] said of the new law, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law last week. The statute takes effect Feb. 1, 2011.

All this can do to help is to make sure that government officials can track down law-abiding individuals if it wants to.

Firearms Industry Remains Critical of Governor Following Press Conference on Ammunition Bill

Facing his lowest approval ratings (27 percent) in his six years as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) today attempted to mitigate fall-out from his decision to sign into law legislation (AB 962) he vetoed just five years earlier establishing ammunition registration in the Golden State. The governor claimed his flip-flopping on the issue was based on public safety, a far cry from his veto statement in 2004 when he called such burdensome regulations “simply unworkable” and of “no public benefit.”

The California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry – have remained highly critical of the governor’s acquiescence to the gun-control lobby, using his own statistics against him.

NSSF has estimated that AB 962 would cost California at least $2.92 million annually in lost sales taxes and $629,000 in increased operating costs for state agencies. Lost retail sales in California were estimated at $35.7 million.

This will no doubt drive some retailers out of business. Hopefully, many of them will migrate to states that are more American in their outlook on freedom, privacy, and common sense.

Brass-cased FMJ but corrosive. Only $10 shipping.

At GunsAndHunting.com:

• .50 BMG Ammo
• .50 BMG Recoil Reduction
• .50 BMG BORS

9mm ball wins, but it takes extra innings.

Zel Custom's Tactilite .50 BMG

Press release:

Zel Custom Mfg. Releases Tactilite in .416 Barrett
Converts your standard AR rifle into a .416 Barrett bolt-action, is CA-legal

ODESSA, FL (August 9, 2009) – Due on the success of the Tacilite .50 BMG, Zel Custom Manufacturing has released, today, a new line of Tactilite that convert a standard AR-15 into a .416 Barrett bolt-action rifle.

The Tactilite, a complete upper assembly that allows a user to quickly convert an AR-15 rifle into a precision single-shot, bolt-action rifle, chambered in either .50 BMG or .416 Barrett, has been a big hit for Zel Custom. Since its release in June 2009, the Tactilite has been enthusiastically received by the shooting community and have caused sales to skyrocket for the new company.

“From casual shooters to the professional user to even the on-line gaming community, the Tactilite .50 BMG has received an incredibly positive response. Now, we’re proud to offer a version chambered in .416 Barrett, to meet the needs of both the California market and those who want to use this incredible new chambering,” said Michael Brendzel, president of Zel Custom Mfg. “The .416 Barrett is more powerful than the .50 BMG out to 1000 yards. We expect a lot of exciting news around this chambering in the coming years.”

The image is that of a .50 BMG model, but it is externally identical to the .416 Barrett model.

I’ve not shot the .416 Barrett, but I’m thinking that this offering is a great move for a couple of reasons. First, of course, is the California restriction on the .50 BMG. Secondly, the .416 Barrett could be a good option for delivering heavy power without needing to go all the way up to a .50 BMG.

UPDATE: Was in a hurry and forgot to link to Zel Custom’s Tactilite site.