Greetings

Post here once you join, and tell us about yourself so we have a clue who we are talking to.
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This sub forum is for new menbers to announce themselves. Try not to create long threads here -- this is just for you to tell us who you are, and for us to say welcome. There are other forums to actually discuss real tech-science things here, and ask questions on. The idea hopefully is to have enough forums and subforums that nothing sci-tech related will be off-topic, there will be a place for it. If I missed something -- let me know, and I'll fix that.

Greetings

Postby Fredd Bergman » Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:10 pm

Howdy.

I live at Canyon Lake, TX, raised in San Antonio. I'm 53, and a nursing student, my education underwritten by the VA. I'm a professional firearms trainer and consultant. Produced some outdoor documentary television in the '90s, and have been an audio tech, and feature/news writer for print and web. I've had an interesting run. I joined up here to read and learn. In the military I repaired Chaparral missile systems and was trained to repair FAAR radar systems.

I tend to type in all lower case when carrying on informally. Due to a couple strokes, my left hand doesn't work particularly well, and the "a" and "e" keys stick on my main laptop. So cut me some slack if my spelling skips some letters.

DD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A1VTy2dLqk
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Re: Greetings

Postby Doug Coulter » Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:30 pm

Welcome to the board! We don't have much gun stuff here (yet) but we've got a lotta gun guys and also aviators here. I started a reloading series on my youtube channel but got pulled away from that for awhile, so it's not very satisfying. I'd intended to take it all the way to everything I did to win long range matches...

DaveK and I teach the CCW course here in VA, so...we kinda do that stuff. Although at least in our case, it's paper targets almost exclusively.
If the bear family that almost broke down my door last night returns, a fast .308 semi auto (AR-10) might be a workout on the real thing soon, but I'd rather not have to (and I hear that bear hunting from 5 foot range isn't the safest thing one can do - even with a .50 bmg). I just don't want to run into trouble in my own yard...or have my windows busted out. A big bear could do that just by leaning on the windowsill, as one did last night. Didn't break the window, as it was one of the cubs. Momma is in the 500lb class, though. Her leaning on my walls shakes things off the shelves.

Find good stuff to post, and the mods will elevate you to full member. We're wanting to "write the book" on how guys who are good at stuff, do that stuff. The playpen forum is a good place, but be warned that the content goes away like magic if no interest gets attracted for 10 days...saving us all work.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Greetings

Postby Fredd Bergman » Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:54 pm

Cool, Doug.

Yeh, best to bag the bear outside arm's distance. I'll do what I can to bring some good firearms conversations to the table. I deal in a bit of it. But I'm mostly here to learn. I'm an NRA Senior Training Counselor and Chief Range Safety Officer, and defense training director for a 501c3 firearms training charity. I've competed formally at long-range, and some at mid-range. I've had some great mentors. I also host a facebook group--private group--with some very interesting members.

Thanks for the welcome.

DD
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Re: Greetings

Postby Donovan Ready » Sat Sep 23, 2017 5:00 pm

Hey, Canyon Lake. Jonestown here... We have no bears around here, but I live right at the edge of a wildlife preserve, and a few folks around here have had to deal with a cougar every so often.

At this place, everyone goes armed. And it scares the mailman sometimes. :mrgreen:
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Re: Greetings

Postby Fredd Bergman » Sat Sep 23, 2017 5:01 pm

mailman needs a gun for christmas.
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Re: Greetings

Postby Doug Coulter » Sat Sep 23, 2017 5:21 pm

Some years ago my mail-lady brought me *ammo* for Easter...this place is *very* cool for gun people. Now as to how she knew what type to get...good question - no one here told her that I know of.

Now I have a retired physicist for a mailman, and we're pretty good friends. He uses any excuse to come on in if he's got a package for me and talk physics or philosophy trash a little bit. Now that Amazon uses the USPS for whatever they can, that's fairly often. I'll have to get him into training...

He's not scared, more like amazed at some of the gear, targets, trophies (rifle stuff, I stink at handguns compared to anyone "good", but can still amaze the teenagers).
A city boy retired to the country, so we cut him some slack...
I'm lucky to have enough space to have a front yard and back yard ranges. Very helpful when tuning guns and ammo. I don't really compete anymore, but I do try to keep my chops up.
And the tannerite is just plain fun now and then.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Greetings

Postby Fredd Bergman » Sat Sep 23, 2017 5:32 pm

donovan, there might be more bears than you expect--and there's certainly more coming. here's a piece i wrote for kerrville daily times, back in about '03. i was their outdoor writer for more than a year.

http://effective-defense.com/freedom/2akerrbear.html
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Re: Greetings

Postby Donovan Ready » Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:13 pm

Maybe I should buy a .357, and leave my compact 9 in the house. :lol:
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Re: Greetings

Postby Doug Coulter » Sun Sep 24, 2017 9:13 am

While it could be argued that many humans have thick skulls too, I've heard that .38 special-class things (which yeah, includes even full size 9's) will bounce off a bear skull, and might as well be a bb gun for a hog, which I hear you guys have down there. By the time you've got enough barrel on a .357 to get any good out of it (4.5" at least) - you might as well have something a little better than that (I traded mine off, I'd rather have a heavier bullet and more push than sting in the recoil, but then I like my .45 ACP in a CZ97b full size pistol - if I don't have to carry it far). At handgun ranges I'd definitely want enough barrel to hit where I want, fast, with enough to produce unconsciousness pretty much instantly, if not death, in any animal big enough to hurt me. The older I become, the more fragile...I can't run faster than the bear OR the other guy, anymore. I'm not real confident in even my carbon-15 in .223 with m855 being good enough...it'll make holes fer sure.

The only accurate 9 that's seen range time here was a S&W M&P for what that's worth - while a little lighter than a .45 full size, it's not even as concealable - it's a big piece. The rest were "minute of water heater" even at self defense ranges, or were jam factories. I'm sure YMMV - we have had one, count it, good AK-47 here (Czech) and many many of them that stank terribly, the exception proving the rule that they kinda suck. Maybe we've just had terrible luck with the other 50 or so 9's that have come through. :lol:

Edit - yes, I know the difference between a 9 and an AK (or really, an SKS). It's just that due to real world experience on what comes to visit, I'm not fond of either one especially.
There has been one other 9mm that was pretty good - a Glock, but one the owner had replaced the barrel in with something aftermarket and better.
Maybe I'm spoiled by the fact that any of my handguns will reliably ring the steel at 100 yds in fairly rapid fire - despite the fact that compared to a real competitor in any of the action stuff, or any bullseye guy, I may as well just sit it out.

I kinda went with .38's for that class of thing, as with those I have extreme accuracy with my cast bullet loads. The one I carry isn't fun to shoot (stings similar to a .357) but is light, compact (it's a Ti ultralight), and I worked up a special load that gets some OK performance out of a snubby - no small thing. +P loads for that sometimes clocked as low as 350 fps! That extra slow burning powder has no place in a snubby with a light bullet - it's only burned a little before the thing is gone (if it even exits the barrel). Big bang and big flash but otherwise a joke. Chrono your gun/ammo, you might be surprised how crappy it actually is.

The good load for a .38 snubby (and my target load for the big ones) is more like a wadcutter in the 148 gr range, all the way down flush in the brass (that much extra effective barrel length), and 2.5 to 2.8 gr Bullseye - those you can get a reliable 700+ fps out of. It hurts, but in a self-defense mode, you wouldn't care. But then, there's practice...and then you have to kind of make yourself do it. The heavy bullet, with the extra "barrel" of the case length before hitting the cylinder gap (and long enough to plug that for awhile) gets the good out of the powder, unlike light bullet/slow powder +P loads. The latter I worry about jamming in the barrel! With a lead bullet the basic friction is less and there's a lot less danger of that as well. But on a bear or a hog? I kinda doubt that's effective.

Sneakers would be a better investment.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.
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Re: Greetings

Postby Fredd Bergman » Tue Sep 26, 2017 10:16 pm

I've seen a .375h&h mag skid off a hog's head. knocked the ole sow down, and the hunter put another one in her. i've grown up around these hogs, and i'd (and have) feel comfortable walking with a 9mm or .45. they will attack, but it's rare. 12-guage over the shoulder is the antidote.
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