Ammunition, Predators
and Zombies

Hearing about a new ammo introduction is something of an occupational hazard, so when something comes along that is intriguing, it’s good to take a closer look.

Steinel Ammunition recently announced a new defensive load designed for use in 9mm subcompact pistols called the Subcompact Carry Solid Copper Hollow Point (SCHP). Launched from a 3-inch barrel this cartridge pushes a 124-grain at 960 fps, and when it hits, the copper hollow point bullet opens up to 0.706-inch — which ain’t too shabby.

And when fired from a 4.7-inch barrel, the projectile reportedly leaves the muzzle at 1,050 fps and can open up to 0.857-inch. Translation: That’s going to hurt.

The Maker Solid Copper Hollow Point bullet is seated in Starline nickel-plated brass case and propelled by Hodgdon powder. Sparking it off is a CCI primer.

When the bullets contact a barrier, they open wide with six petals that look capable of creating plenty of tissue damage, and for a fight-stopping projectile, that’s exactly what you want.

Now, if someone can talk these guys into introducing a load in .45 ACP, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10mm or .38 Super load. You reading, Steinel?

For more info: www.steinelammo.com, Ph. 330.840.7086

Hornady ‘Zombies in the Heartland’ Match

A round like the SCHP might come in handy against a zombie, and competitive shooters can test their ability at Hornady’s annual “Zombies in the Heartland” 3-gun match, currently scheduled for May 29-31 at Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Neb.

The match annually draws some 400 shooters and typically sells out fast. And to prove you can’t keep a good corpse down, this match is in its ninth year, which says something about the event, facility and maybe life after death itself.

Participants will shoot using handguns, rifles and shotguns, or with a pistol-caliber carbine and shotgun in the PCC division, as they compete through 10 stages and five “side-match” stages. And new this year, reactive targets developed specifically for this match. Some break, some fall over and others just move.

If you’ve never killed a zombie, consider registering for this match. But, be warned, you can’t kill a zombie — they’re already dead. Haven’t you learned anything from watching all those grisly movies and television shows?

General registration opened late last month.

At the time of this writing, no updates have been made if the match will be postponed or canceled due to COVID-19.

For more info: www.zombiesintheheartland.com

New 10mm FMJ Load from CCI

When the 10mm Auto cartridge was first introduced, some insisted it was the semi-auto answer to the .41 Magnum — a contention this correspondent didn’t entirely dispel, but didn’t fully adopt, either.

The 10mm has earned its place among shooters, and now there’s a new load from CCI’s Blazer Brass certain to find its own niche. It features a 180-grain FMJ bullet ostensibly designed for training, but one suspects it will find its way into some competitions, and it just might see a few miles on the trail.

Being a handloader, the fact that this load comes in a reloadable brass case is a plus. Blazer packages this ammunition in affordable 50-round boxes so it actually encourages 10mm owners to shoot more often.

http://media.vistaoutdoor.com/p/CC/1265.aspx

Years ago, while driving down a logging road with a pal, a bobcat jumped out of the brush right in front of us in an attempt to pounce on a grouse. So, any notion that these critters won’t interact with humans doesn’t hold much water with yours truly.

The Diamondback, according to everybody I know and some folks I don’t, is essentially a beefed-up Detective Special with a full underlug vent rib barrel designed to resemble the Python. It’s not supposed to be used with +P ammunition, so I don’t.

I’ve built a couple of holsters for the revolver and carry spare cartridges in HKS speedloaders or a 6-round belt slide carrier.

With my particular load, that little sixgun is capable of hitting chunks of broken clay disks at 25 yards, using a two-hand hold. And against coyotes, bobcats and similar-sized troublemakers, the .38 Special is no slouch.

Remedial Math

During a recent Democratic debate, nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden made the incredulous claim that “150 million” people have been killed with firearms since 2007.

Gaffe-prone Biden is famous for such bloopers, so we did a little homework, consulting the annual FBI Uniform Crime Reports to dig up the facts. And the facts suggest Joe needs a calculator.

Here we go, by the numbers: 2007 – 10,086; 2008 – 9,484; 2009 – 9,146; 2010 – 8,775 and 2011 – 8583, for a total of 46,074 shooting victims.

In 2016, the FBI apparently updated its data for the years 2012-2016. In 2012, the estimated body count was 8,897 and the next year saw 8,454 lives lost. In 2014, there were 8,312 gun-related homicides, and in 2015 the number went up to 9,778. There was a big bounce in 2016 to 11,004.

In 2017, there were 10,982 criminal fatalities and in 2018, the number dropped to 10,265. Grand total for all of those years was 113,766. That’s a sad figure, but a small fraction of Biden’s alleged 150 million.

For the record, his campaign quickly asserted Biden actually mean to say 150,000, but that is still more alleged homicides than the real number.

What does this mean? It’s going to be an interesting seven-plus months until the November election.