Justin Buist

I finally got around to brining my Thunderbolt in .45 Colt to the range this Sunday. During the move I seem to have lost the tang screws to secure the stock but figured it’d be OK to shoot without them. I’m not proud of it, but I did it.

I only threw 10 rounds of Winchester Cowboy loads (250 grain lead flat nose) through it. I experienced a fair amount of powder coming back and hitting me in the face and became a bit worried early on. On top of that there was a pattern of soot on the spent cartridges that I hadn’t seen in any other firearm before:

Cartridges rotated to show soot pattern.

I asked the friendly folks at THR about this and it was explained as perfectly normal. Makes perfect sense now that I think about it. Given that the .45 Colt has a very sturdy case and a fairly low pressure the case doesn’t expand in the chamber, gases seep around it, out of the action, and blow right back into my face.

Not optimal, but hey, at least I know what I’m dealing with. Suggestions on how to fix this involve selecting, or rolling my own, rounds that’ll create higher chamber pressures than the Cowboy loads I was shooting. Fair enough.

Recoil was negligible, it handled very nicely, but the sights could use some work.

More to come.

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So, how about an update on Casa de la Buist? I’m not so arrogant that I think you actually care, I’m just a little bored right now.

About 3 weeks ago we gave Chuck a stuffed Teddy Bear as a toy. We figured we’d be picking up fluffy bits within a couple of days. Nope! It’s his best buddy now. We named the bear Fred. Considering that we’ve seen this critter tear branches off trees, split 1″x2″ pieces of wood with his jaw, and destroy toys made spefically for dogs I’m guessing he realizes that the thing represents an animal. So much for the viscous pit bull gene theory, eh?

Critter sure does like following me around. I think I mentioned that we’ve see him climb over a 5′6″ high fence before, but if not, well, he has. All because the woman and I were on the other side of it.

A few minutes ago he teamed up with one of the cats and killed a fly in the living room. He ate it. He ate a moth last night too.

This passes for excitement in my life.

Range report coming up.

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Michael Bane reports on a S&W gun lock failure.

This is why internal locks on guns are a bad idea. It’s rare, but they can engage without the user keying the lock.

That’s not a “feature” when you’re talking about a defensive firearm.

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On August 28th the Brady Groups are planning a national protest. In response David Codrea is calling for gun owners to run out and buy some ammo. Or components, or holsters, whatever. Anything.

Sounds easy to me. I’m there.

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