Author Archives: D.E. Watters

I hope everyone has dodged the Krampus and the Yule Cat for another year. I decided to take a break from the ammunition data dumps today to show a post-WW2 build from A.E. Berdon that recently sold online. Don’t you wish you had found this under your Christmas tree or in your stocking this morning?Continue reading “A.E. Berdon Post-War Custom”

Here is a blast from the past – the 1991-vintage Electro Prismatic Collimator (EPC) Sub-Miniature Red Dot Sight from Ring Sights. The EPC was based upon Ring Sights’ basic solid-glass LC-7 optic, the forerunner of the LC-14 used on the FN P90. The EPC’s Planar Doublet Reflector (PDR) was made 8 mm square with aContinue reading “Retro Sub-Miniature Red Dot Sight -The EPC”

Hornady first started to advertise their eXtreme Terminal Performance (XTP) projectile in 1990. It appears to have been an evolution of their 1988-vintage Rapid eXpansion Tip (RXT) line. Their goal was 1.5x diameter expansion at a wide range of velocities. If you look closely at their advertisement, you’ll note that they did not use theContinue reading “Hornady XTP Family Data Dump”

We covered Nylon-coated projectiles yesterday, so how about Teflon-coated projectiles today? The major ammunition manufacturers had been offering metal-piercing loads in .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and .45 Auto since the 1920s. Western Cartridge Co. dubbed their loads as simply “Metal Piercing.” Peters Cartridge marketed their version as “Highway Patrolman” loads. Remington used the catchy nameContinue reading “KTW Data Dump”

Today’s ammunition data dump has a tangential relationship with the Second Chance Combat Shoot, as one of the designers was a frequent competitor. John C. “Jack” Robbins worked at the US Air Force’s Armament Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. His then 13-year old son, John, even won the 1977 match! Mas AyoobContinue reading “The USAF “Super Bullet””

In the comments on yesterday’s article on the PMC Starfire, Shawn requested a data dump on the Winchester Silvertip. The Silvertip handgun projectile was designed in reaction to Winchester-Western products’ poor showing in the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) testing of the 1970s. While greatly derided now in light of modern test protocols from theContinue reading “Winchester Silvertip Data Dump”

No one will officially admit what the “HST” stands for. Is it “Hydra Shok Two” or is really just a meaningless set of three letters? The initial patent applications were filed in November 2000, and Federal’s Douglas W. Carr and Lawrence P. Head received US Patent #6,805,057 in October 2004. By that point, Federal hadContinue reading “Federal HST Data Dump”

The following is an early 1990s interview with Chip McCormick (Shooting Star Magazines and CMC) by Johnny Rowland. It is basically an ad for the CMC EDM hammer and sear, but there are a couple of interesting bits. At one point, you can see a prototype for what became the Mitchell Alpha, designed by JimContinue reading “Vintage Chip McCormick Interview – Early 1990s”

Since I mentioned Pin Shooting the other day in the Kaswer Pin Grabber article, I thought that I would share this video from the 1986 Second Chance match. The origin story of Second Chance Body Armor and the pin shoot is a bizarre one. On the evening of June 17, 1969, Davis was delivering pizzasContinue reading “Second Chance Combat Shoot – 1986”

Since we are on a Second Chance Body Armor kick, I thought I’d circle back to a gimmick round sponsored by Richard Davis – the Thunderzap. Available in .38 Special and .45 Auto, the Thunderzap was a lightweight, hyper-velocity hollowpoint made from 100% fluorocarbon resin. Contrary to popular belief, the round was not designed byContinue reading “Thunderzap Data Dump”