Letters from Readers

Now is The Time to Speak Up

 Dear Editor,

I began to shoot competitively in 1957. My first long- range match was at Camp Perry shooting with the Army Rifle and Pistol Team. In 1959, I joined the NRA and had a subscription to the American Rifleman magazine and could not wait to get the next issue, like I do now with the Black Powder Cartridge News.

The NRA was the “voice of the shooters” for many years; an organization you could count on that did a lot of good to protect the Second Amendment and all aspects of the shooting sports we love and enjoy. However, all that changed and was going backward, not forward. The shooters who supported the NRA with their dues, donations, and participation were left behind. 

The old NRA has now been exposed and there is a new NRA rising up out of the ashes, with new leadership and new Board members who really care about you, the shooter. It will take a while to regain the confidence of those who once supported the NRA, but the new leadership and their staff are working very hard to make the NRA great again. 

One of the NRA’s new Board members is Hal Massingill from Pueblo, Colorado. Hal is a retired Sergeant Major in the US Army’s Special Forces. I have known Hal for over 60 years and he is “all fired-up” working with the new Board to restore the NRA to its original commitment to protect the Constitution and promote civilian marksmanship. He has an unwavering passion to do all he can to bring back respect and dignity to our sport. I asked Hal if it would be OK to give out his email address so that shooters like you can have a voice; share an opinion or a suggestion of what you would like to see the new NRA do. Also, to let him know of any bad decisions the old NRA made that you feel affected our sport in a negative way and should be corrected. Hal is also on the Board for the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico, and is a graduate of the prestigious Trinidad State College Gunsmithing School. Hal said he would appreciate all the help he can get to understand the will of the shooters and he will pass this information on to the various committees dealing with the subject of your comments.

I know most people who read this magazine are black powder shooters, but Hal will welcome comments from any shooting discipline. His email address is hmass18z@msn.com.

My hope is that shooters who have left the NRA will return to support the new leadership so that when you leave your guns to your children and grandchildren they will be in good hands. Now is the time to speak up. 

Ed Decker

Maryville, Tennessee

.22 Rimfire Ammunition - Ballistic Statistics vs Accuracy

 Dear Editor,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to Bob Glodt for his outstanding article .22 Rimfire Ammunition Ballistic Statistics Verses Accuracy in the Summer issue, #130 of the BPC News. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Bob spent an enormous amount of time researching this article, a fair amount of capital buying ammunition, and obvious wear and tear on rifles and equipment when shooting this amount of ammunition in a systematic manner to arrive at a substantiated conclusion! Our old friend “Murphy” isn’t about to pass up an opportunity to raise his head and throw wrench into the monkey works. Good job, Bob…my hat is off to you!

I especially liked that he defined his objective right off the bat, “I want to make it clear that this article is intended to be a general discussion on the ballistics and accuracy potential of .22 rimfire ammunition shot from my silhouette rifles.” Furthermore, he summarized his conclusion in the final paragraph. I know I am “old school”, but it is quite refreshing to read a correctly written analytical report. I learned a long time ago that “any road will take you somewhere.”

One aspect of the article that I truly enjoyed had nothing to do with .22 rimfire ammunition. In his own words, “It all started with a Daisy Model 25 pump action air rifle.” Wow… flashback to 65 years ago! My uncle had a Daisy Model 25 air rifle, and one day after shooting the Daisy at my Grandma’s house, I was taking it back downstairs to be cleaned and put away. Her house had a set of stairs leading down to a cement landing, on a cement floor. I for some reason decided to use the Daisy as a crutch, and it was significantly longer than necessary for a well-fitted crutch. The fulcrum affect took over and launched me headfirst down the stairs, onto the landing, with the final resting place on the cement floor. I am not sure how long I was out, but when I came to, I am sure one of my cousins was trying to administer the “Last Rites.”

I truly enjoyed the article and can’t wait for the one on lot testing! 

Best, 

Lon E. Morris

Roberts, Montana