Winchester 22 long rifle ammunition recall

heard about this recall some time ago, but only recently realized I had not posted it on the blog.

Back in late June, Winchester announced they were voluntarily recalling certain .22 long rifle ammunition they had manufactured due to a design defect.

Quoting from the recall notice...

"Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling several lots of rimfire ammunition:

SUPER-X® HIGH VELOCITY (Symbol X22LR) and POWER-POINT® (Symbol X22LRPP)

Lot Numbers containing Letters: XN, YA, YB or YC

Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lots of SUPER-X HIGH VELOCITY (X22LR) and POWER-POINT (X22LRPP) 22 Long Rifle rimfire ammunition may contain double powder charges. Double powder charge weight ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter to a risk of personal injury and/or death when fired.

DO NOT USE WINCHESTER SUPER-X HIGH VELOCITY (X22LR) or POWER-POINT (X22LRPP) 22 Long Rifle RIMFIRE AMMUNITION WITH LOT NUMBERS CONTAINING LETTERS XN, YA, YB or YC. The ammunition Lot Number is imprinted (stamped without ink) on the outside of the right tuck flap of the 50-round box."

Even though this is old news, there are still hundreds of boxes of ammunition still in circulation or in someone's ammo box out there, and it never hurts to cross-check all ammunition for something this serious.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE RECALL NOTE ON WINCHESTER'S WEBSITE.

On the website, there is an illustration on where to look on the Winchester ammunition box to determine what lot number it was a part of.

All other ammunition manufactured from Winchester is not affected by this recall.

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The electron is faster than the sword

Too many times I've heard people in public say they can't believe how things are going in government. Why certain people who work in government can't do this or do that, look at all those idiots on the TV, and man, they have just about had enough!

I have noticed these same people who go on and on that they have just about had enough are never quite ready to do anything... but they're thinking about it really hard!

So, today, how about taking that first step?

Click this sentence to locate and write your representative.

Click this sentence to locate and write your senator.

Even if you have nothing to say right now at this moment, click on those links now, and when they open in a new window, bookmark them for when you do.

Think about it. How many emails do you send a day? How long does it take you to type out an email?

Composing one more email isn't going to break your daily schedule.

When you have something on your mind concerning a matter the federal government needs to take action on, when you read in the newspaper or see on the evening news something that needs serious attention, or if you see something in the general government process that bothers you, write!

If certain political parties can talk to animated snowmen as part of a debate on who should be in charge of one third of the United States government, a well written, intelligently composed email from a real human being ought to be worth something!

And if you really want to make in impact, write a letter on paper. Yes, an old fashioned letter in an envelope with a stamp attached. A handwritten letter still carries more weight because you invested a great deal of time in the process. Penmanship counts, though. No chicken scratch.

What to write about? My favorites are gun control. Federal Deficits. Social Security. Finding out a individual's outlook and/or view on the war. Questions about their general views on "hot button" topics.

Even if everyone just writes one letter, that's one more step forward each time. Progress means never standing still.

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Ammo Basics: Jacketed and Hollowpoint

Another difference in ammunition is whether the bullet in the cartridge is a jacketed or hollowpoint variety. All ammunition can be sub-divided among one of these two categories. Although both are very popular, each kind has its own specific specialty.

Both hollow point and full metal jacket ammunition is sold all the time at all hunting and firearm stores. Both kinds feed reliably through the firearm they are designed for, and both generally have a similar "kick" in the firearm when discharged. So what is the big difference between the two?



Full Metal Jacket bullets mean the bullet on top of the cartridge is completely covered in a metal case. Basically a solid piece of metal, the Full Metal Jacket bullet is not meant to expand in any way when it strikes a target.


The following photo is a closeup of a .40 caliber round of ammunition with a full metal jacket bullet and a .38 special caliber round of ammunition with a full metal jacket bullet.


Although they look different from one another and come on different sized cartridges, both are designated as full metal jacket bullets.

When a full metal jacket bullet strikes a target, by its design, it attempts to pass straight through the target and continue on. For thick or large targets, or for targets located behind an obstruction, Full Metal Jacket ammunition would be the kind of bullet you want to use. But Full Metal Jacket ammunition, although fantastic for penetration of targets, does not do the same kind of damage to a target as hollow point bullets do.


A hollow point bullet has a open tip at the end. Some varieties have a small cavity, other types have a deep indentation, and other kinds have additional components inside the opening. The purpose of all these is to cause the bullet to expand when it reaches the target.


A hollow point, when it reaches a soft target, will flatten out and expand. This is due to fluid entering the hollow point tip and pressing the walls of the bullet outward. This fluid entry also causes the bullet to spin and tumble as it moves through the target. Usually the bullet takes a mushroom shape when it expands, and causes considerably more damage as it moves through the target in its wider form. The initial expansion of the bullet also transfers the overall energy of the discharged bullet throughout the target.

Hollow points do not have as large a risk of ricocheting as full metal jacket ammunition, but do not tend to penetrate as much as full metal jacket ammunition does. These are both due to the design of the bullet. Since they expand immediately on fluid impact, they are less likely to proceed completely through their intended target.


There are sub-varieties of hollow point and full metal jacket ammunition, but I will review them in later blog entries. There are also many passionate discussions on the merits of hollow point versus full metal jacket ammunition on their respective effectiveness on stopping assorted targets. That is also for another blog entry.

No matter the type of bullet, there is absolutely no substitute for practice. Practice hitting your target, and make your hits consistent in critical areas at the target range. No fancy ammunition will ever be able to do that for you.

A bit of trivia: The Hague Convention has banned hollow point bullets (expanding or fragmenting) in all warfare situations and all declared wars... ideally to stop the suffering of soldiers in combat. But hollow point bullets are the favorite of police and private citizens worldwide for the massive damage they can cause to a target and also for their reduced risk of over-penetration.

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The big migration from huntersmark.com

This is just a migration of all my blog posts from Huntersmark.com to blogspot over the course of the next week month.

I'm going to tweak the dates to show them as they were originally posted in sequence as they appeared in the original website, remove entries that refer to events that have expired, and adjust for the blogspot layout design, but all other content and entries will remain the same. Its the huntersmark.com website, but without the storefront.

If you want to visit the store, just go to huntersmark.com. We are still in the process of opening to the public, but can special order most firearms and can make transfers throughout the country.

Comments and discussion welcome!

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Ammo Basics: Centerfire and Rimfire

Although there are hundreds of different types of ammunition cartridges available, all ammunition can be divided into one of two categories. This blog entry will briefly discuss the differences in centerfire and rimfire ammunition cartridges.

Although there are many different kinds and calibers available, they can all be broken down into one of two main categories. Centerfire or Rimfire. There is a massive difference between the two. The first kind of ammunition I am going to talk about is the rimfire cartridge. The sample rimfire cartridge pictured below is a .22 Remington.


The rimfire is designed to have the all priming compound inside the bottom curved base of the cartridge. The firing pin of the weapon that uses this ammunition has to strike the entire bottom of the cartridge to discharge the bullet. Once the base is struck with sufficient force, all the priming at the base of the cartridge will detonate, causing the main powder inside the cartridge to ignite, and then the cartridge will discharge the bullet. All this happens in a few nanoseconds.


The second kind of ammunition cartridge is the centerfire cartridge. Centerfire cartridges are different from rimfire cartridges because of where the priming compound is located. Looking at the photo below, you can see there is an inner circle on the base of these cartridges. This inner circle contains the primer for the centerfire cartridge.


The firearm that uses the centerfire kind of cartridge only needs to strike the center of the base, and not impact the entire bottom of the cartridge. Usually, this is accomplished with a small pin-like protrusion at the end of the hammer of the firearm. Once the center is struck with sufficient force by a pin-like hammer, the primer will detonate, causing the main powder inside the cartridge to ignite, thereby discharging the bullet.


In the following photo you can see a shotgun shell has the same centerfire design as the previous handgun cartridges had. As a matter of fact, it functions on the exact same concept as the previous cartridges.


So why the design difference? Centerfire cartridges, by the way of their design, are much stronger, and can accommodate more internal pressure all around. More powerful internal resistance mean higher possible pressure and velocities can be put on these kinds of cartridges. As a result, bigger bullets can be discharged with a centerfire design than what is possible with a rimfire design. Virtually all modern firearms use centerfire cartridges. Only the .22 caliber ammunition series retains the rimfire design.


Another big difference in the design is their re-usability. When rimfire cartridges are discharged, the hammer of the firearm usually damages the base of the cartridge, and the primer is completely obliterated. This makes most rimfire cartridges useless after their initial discharge. However centerfire cartridges can be re-used by simply replacing the dented center primer, reloading the cartridge with gunpowder, and capping the top with a bullet. There are specific machines that are sold just for this purpose.


Re-loading centerfire ammunition is economical, as you can purchase gunpowder and bullets separately. Re-loading centerfire ammunition also allows for custom-tuned and designed ammunition as the individual sees fit. Have you ever noticed there are always nicely collected buckets of empty cartridges at the target range?


Its because someone who works there is keeping all of them to reload later! Reloaded centerfire ammunition used to be a better deal than buying from the stores, but with certain department stores purchasing ammunition by the warehouse full and offering them at steep discounts, this is no longer the case.

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Ammunition as explosives followup

This last Monday, July 9th, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) extended the comment period for their latest round of brilliant stupidity... classifying ammunition as explosives. (Mentioned before in this weblog entry.)

Officially known as Docket No. OSHA-2007- 0032, this proposal will quickly become a very big problem if it is not shut down before the mainstream media gets wind of it. I can already see the people who have never handled a firearm, let alone seen a real one, come out in a big ignorant celebrity studded show of support. After all, a .22 rimfire and a block of C-4 both go "bang", right? Just at different volumes!

I am still convinced this is an attempt at backdoor regulation of ammunition and, by proxy, firearms. I have yet to see the round of ammunition that can level a building, destroy a tank, or take down a wall of reinforced concrete and brick. That is what explosives do. Explosives are volatile, very temperamental, and must be handled with extreme care. Ammunition needs to be pointed at something to destroy it. Explosives work in a wide area and do not work on a direct linear path.

Another big difference between ammunition and explosives? Time. Old ammunition can be packed tightly in a box and left alone for years and never discharge. Old ammunition can be shipped anywhere in the world with a civilian carrier service and never discharge a single round. Old ammunition can be picked up casually and tossed into a jacket pocket with dozens of similar rounds and never discharge. Try any of those things with sticks of old dynamite.

The only time ammunition discharges by itself is when it is on fire. But everything tends to discharge when on fire. Passenger cars, cans of Cheez Whiz, deodorant, aerosol cans... if its under pressure, or has flammable contents sealed inside of it, its an explosive device when heated enough.

OSHA knows all of these things. So why the new regulation after all this time?

According to the main opposition link at

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3151&issue= ,

you can submit comments on Docket No. OSHA-2007- 0032 by any of the following methods:

• Electronically: You may submit comments and attachments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions on-line for making electronic submissions.

• Fax: If your comments, including attachments, do not exceed 10 pages, you may fax them to the OSHA Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.

• Mail, hand delivery, express mail, messenger or courier service: You must submit three copies of your comments and attachments to:

OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032
U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625
200 Constitution Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20210

telephone (202) 693-2350 (OSHA"s TTY number is (877) 889-5627).

Please take a moment and let these bozos people at OSHA know what you think. Even though the comment period now ends on September 10, 2007, the more people that voice their opposition now, the better the chances this thing will be shut down early.

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Project ChildSafe and free locks

Project ChildSafe is a website that says it is "The Nation's Largest Firearm Safety Education Program". What caught my attention about the website are the safety kits they are distributing for free.

According to the website, each of the "firearms safety kits include a safety brochure that covers a variety of options for firearms storage and a free cable-style gun lock."

A free gun lock. That's great!

When you are on the Project ChildSafe website, clicking on the state you live in will show you where you can pick up one of these free safety kits or where to request a kit from. The kits contain instructions on how to use the gun lock as well as basic safety rules and guidelines for handling a firearm.

The website is located at http://www.projectchildsafe.org/

Take a moment to see how to secure your firearm if you have not done so already!

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Ammunition as explosives?

In another fit of ignorance, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has come up with a proposal to completely re-classify ammunition... as explosives.

Quoting from the NRA's website, "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed new rules that would have a dramatic effect on the storage and transportation of ammunition and handloading components such as primers or black and smokeless powder. The proposed rule indiscriminately treats ammunition, powder and primers as “explosives.”"

The proposal continues to stipulate a prohibition on "delivery drivers from leaving explosives unattended—which would make it impossible for delivery services such as UPS to deliver ammunition or gun powder" and also "require evacuation of all “facilities containing explosives”—even your local Wal-Mart—during any electrical storm."

I am personally opposed to any kind of backdoor regulation, which to me is what this proposal seems to be designed for. There are no specifics in what needs to be regulated in this proposal, and no reasons why there needs to be a change in the existing laws governing ammunition and powder sales. So why make this a law?

Mandating the evacuation of facilities containing explosives is a great way to kill off any ammunition sales at any major retailer too. No manager of any store is going to stock ammunition if it means they have to close their entire store during a electrical storm. And no major retailer is going to want to face the wrath of the federal government if they accidentally disobey the law a few times.

And what would happen to those people who keep a box of ammunition at home for their firearms? Are they going to be classified as the same kind of people who have access things like C-4 or hand grenades? There is a slight difference between them!

You can see the whole article and proposal at

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3145

The NRA has a link to the OSHA website and how and where to comment on this proposal. Even if you put in a simple one paragraph comment to OSHA, they need to know there is no need for this proposal to become law, and even less of a need for proposals like this in the future.

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