Rifle Gunpowder: Ball vs. Stick

When it comes to reloading rifle ammunition, the first choice to be made is whether to use stick or ball gunpowder. (Handgun ammunition is nearly always ball powder as we generally don't reload for long range pistol accuracy.) What follows is my own opinion, based on my decades of reloading rifle ammunition.

Why Two Kinds?

There are actually more than two kinds of gunpowder shapes, but stick and ball are the most common and effective for reloading. These powders have different burn characteristics due to varying compositions and grain sizes. 

• Stick powder, aka extruded powder, has larger rodlike grains. Think of how a spaghetti noodle is made, but chopped very short. Because of its surface to volume ratio, it needs fewer burn retardants to produce a smooth pressure curve. 
• Ball powder is made up of small, roundish grains whose volume are easily measured. Ball powder has more surface area that stick powder, so to mitigate its faster rate of combustion, powder manufacturers vary the amount of burn retardants to make the powder's pressure curve suit its final application. For an AR-15 this includes a maximum chamber pressure and a maximum and minimum gas port pressure. 

Image found on Reddit

Cost

When I started reloading decades ago, the cost difference between stick and ball powders for use in rifles was fairly close. However, current market conditions have made ball powders the “economy” option. For instance, an 8 lb jug of Winchester StaBall 6.5 Precision Rifle Smokeless Powder is currently $323 at Powder Valley Outdoors, while stick powder costs hundreds of dollars more: Shooter’s World 4350 costs $510 and IMR 4350 costs $462. This is primarily because of exchange rates and import costs. Ball powders are manufactured in the United States by the St. Marks factory in Florida, as well as around the world, such as Ramshot TAC from Belgium. 

However, stick powders aren’t manufactured in the United States at this time. The IMR line of powders comes from Valleyfield in Canada, and Shooter’s World Powders comes from Lovex in Europe. Other European powder companies include Norma, Vihtavuori, and more, and the Hodgdon Extreme line comes from ADI in Australia. 

This means that prices on stick powders will always fluctuate quite a bit with exchange rates between the Dollar and the Euro or the Australian Dollar, but only some ball powders will feel the impact of exchange rates. Exchange rates aside, the cost increases due to “supply and demand” seems to hit all powders equally. 

Accuracy

While ball powders are generally more cost-effective, stick powders tend to be slightly more accurate. The accuracy improvement isn’t  enough to matter for hunting, but may be just enough to score a few more points at shooting competitions.

For hunting, you want a rifle that will consistently place five shots under two inches at 100, and ball powders can easily achieve this with a standard workup. I know that a two Minutes Of Accuracy rifle and ammo combination sounds pretty lousy here in these days of “Sub-MOA Guarantee!” written right on the box holding your new rifle, but hunting bullets are designed for controlled expansion to provide good terminal performance, whereas match bullets are designed to make nice round holes in paper. In other words, they’re just built differently, so it’s useless to compare their performance. If your rifle can hit two MOA all day long with your hunting load, then you can make a “boiler room shot” on a deer out to 300 yards with confidence. 

Temperature Stability

Stick powders will generally be more temperature stable, meaning they exhibit less velocity shift with ambient temperature changes than ball powders. 6.5 StaBall is advertised as temperature stable, but in testing I found that it had significantly more velocity shift than Hodgdon’s H4350. However, 6.5 StaBall is more temperature stable than Reloader 15, a stick powder used in match ammunition, including M118LR sniper ammunition for the Department of Defense.

Final Recommendations

If you’re just starting in reloading, I recommend beginning with an economical ball powder as it’s easier to use with powder measures to get consistent charges. I’d be very surprised if you didn’t end up with a load that can consistently put five shots under 1.5 MOA after a normal load workup.

The time to spend the money on a premium stick powder is when you start winning competitions and still want to get better, or you’re going on that “hunt of a lifetime” in Africa or Alaska where you want your ammunition to perform more consistently across wild temperature swings.

Shuffle Steering

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography.

Used with permission.

When I was a member of Sheriff's Explorers in high school, I was taught shuffle steering. I picked it up pretty quickly and have been using it all my life. 

Put simply, shuffle steering (also called push-pull steering) is a method of holding the steering wheel such that your hands never cross the 12:00 and 6:00 positions on the wheel. I was taught that this allowed you to retain control of the vehicle because both hands were on the wheel at all times, but another reason to use it is to prevent you from striking yourself with your hand or arm should the airbag deploy. 

Let's say I need to make a right turn. Using shuffle steering, the technique would look like this:

1. My hands start at 3 and 9 (or 10 and 2, or 8 and 4, depending on the steering wheel configuration). 
2. As I begin the turn, my left hand grips the wheel, turning it until the hand reaches the 12:00 position. 
3. My right hand remains loose, allowing the wheel to move smoothly through it but able to grasp it for control when needed. 
4. As my left hand reaches the 12:00 position, my right hand slides up the wheel to meet it. 
5. At 12:00, my hands "hand off" steering, and now my right grips the wheel and pulls it down, with the left hand loose and allowing the wheel to traverse through it. 
6. If the turn is sharp and my right hand will cross the 6:00 line, my left hand slides down to receive the "hand off" and continue the turn. 
7. When the turn is complete, loosen both hands to allow the wheels to return to a neutral position. This is known as the "caster effect", and it's the same principle that makes the front wheels of grocery carts point ahead when you're pushing them. 
8. Your hands should now be at your  3 and 9 (or whatever your home position is). 

It may sound complicated, but it's not hard to learn and it's super easy to use. This professional driving instructor will show you how it's done:

I've found this technique very useful when driving though the high winds and wet roads of Florida's summer storms. I have no experience driving on snow and ice, although I assume it would be just as effective there. 

The best way to prepare for an accident is to prevent one from happening in the first place, and maintaining control while preventing injury is a great way to do that. 

Drive safely, and don't forget to shuffle. 

Portable Propane Heaters

Winter camping can be miserable, and I’ve winter camped in Washington State in the snow and the wet and the cold as a Boy Scout. Now I’m camping in Georgia year-round with my son’s Trail Life Troop, and “below freezing in Georgia” is just as miserable as “below freezing in Washington.”

There are two schools of thought among the adults who provide some level of safety for our troop. One is “I need to be able to carry all my kit long distance,” and the other is “What the heck, I own a truck, and I’ll carry my gear from the truck to the campsite.” The first group doesn’t use any artificial heat sources, and the second group does. At the last campout, the second group was more comfortable than the first group because they had bigger, roomier tents. In two of those tents were Mr. Heater Portable Buddy Heaters, and I got to enjoy them simply by being there.

https://amzn.to/4hJdxY7

In Use

First observation: even the smallest Mr. Heater product is plenty for a tent that a single person can pack. The advertisement says “up to 225 square feet” which I think is a bit generous for most tents, but in a well-insulated room or small cabin it would make sense.

Second: plan to use one 1lb bottle of propane per night, or six hours of burn time. You can get an adapter to use any size of propane bottle you want if you need more than six hours of heat production. 

Note: while commercial locations won’t refill most 1lb propane bottles, you can buy adapters to refill them yourself.  This is obviously discouraged by single-use propane vendors, but there are  refillable bottles on the market.

Pros and Cons

A Mr. Heater is a bit of a luxury item for camping in Georgia or Washington, even in the winter time. But as a survival/resiliency prep it has a few things going for it. 

1. If you have a gas grill and adapter hose, or a few 1lb propane bottles on hand, you have a safe indoor heating in a pinch. 
2. A heat source can be used to heat food. One YouTuber I watch routinely opens canned food and gently heats it using his Mr. Heater in the depth of Canadian winter, and toasting frankfurters or marshmallows is very similar to using a campfire.

Is it perfect? No, not really.

1. It takes up space when not in use. Not much, but some.
2. Unlike a rocket stove or Solo Stove or Kelly Kettle, it uses a fossil fuel that may or may not be easy to get in an emergency. If you live in an apartment where wood or twigs aren’t plentiful, that might be a positive rather than a negative.
3. It’s big enough that I wouldn’t bother keeping one in a full size van unless the van had been converted into a small camper. In a large camper, a Mr. Heater makes quite a bit of sense.

Should You Get One?

I’m not in a hurry to go out and buy a Mr. Heater of my own, but if I see a good sale I’ll probably snag one. They run very quietly, and in an elevated deer stand in the winter where I sit still for hours on end, it might be really nice to not feel the cold so deep in my bones.

Also, don’t underestimate the value of the “nice to haves” in a situation where you have to rely on your preps and not public infrastructure. The little luxuries can make all the difference between a miserable experience and a merely inconvenient experience.

Hammock Camping

I’m not getting any younger, and the ground isn’t getting any softer. Several of the fellow Dads in my son’s Trail Life Troop are avid backpackers, and they all recommend hammock camping. Some camping hammocks are mini-shelter solutions in themselves, some even with snuggly sleeping bags built in for cold weather... but not the ones I bought at Harbor Freight. I purchased two of these hammocks, one at the full price of $19.99 for my son, and one for myself when it was on sale for $14.99.

https://www.harborfreight.com/parachute-hammock-with-adjustable-tree-straps-57399.html

Bottom Line: It Works

It is a hammock. It is actually a very well-designed hammock for what it is: two nylon straps to wrap around trees, two steel carabiners, and a hammock with its own storage bag sewn in.

What It Lacks

Any sort of built-in coverage or bug screening, or any sort of thermal insulation. This means that when I slept in it for the last few nights of sub-freezing weather (I woke up with frost inside my bivy cover on my outer sleeping bag), I had to adapt my sleeping system a little bit.

To keep from freezing in the freezing weather, I put my close-cell foam sleeping pad inside an Army surplus bivy cover, and used both the winter and summer bags for the modular sleep system and a woobie to fill in the air gaps and Hot Hands brand hand and toe warmers to make me toasty. The Hot Hands warmers weren’t strictly necessary, but they definitely helped me get comfortable faster when the temperature was below freezing.

My Plan to Hammock Camp in the Rain

1. Bring 550 cord, bungie cords, ground stakes, and a tarp. 
2. String the 550 Cord over my hammock using the same trees I attached the hammock to, and make a rain cover. 
3. I wouldn’t recommend any tarp smaller than 8x10 feet, although the “Amazon’s Choice” recommendation for a hammock rain fly looks really tempting.

How to Overcome Bugs 

Other than chemical repellents, there aren’t many options. But for only a few dollars more, why not just buy a hammock with a bug screen built in?

https://amzn.to/4haOtJN

Complete Side Note and War Story

I once served with a bit of a character who had done some bounty hunting prior to his life in the Army. His team used a full-size van as part of their stakeout platform, and had modified the interior with hard points in the front and back to attach a hammock so one member of the team could get some sleep while the others observed, and the hammock could get stuffed away into nearly no space quickly (something an inflatable mattress couldn’t do). Having slept in a Ford Econoline van before, I’m positive the hammock provided an upgrade to the floor. If your preps include a van-sized vehicle, that might be an option for you.

I'm a Hammock Camping Convert

I still have to pack a sleeping pad in the winter time, but between the weight of the hammock and a rain fly, I’m saving weight and space over a tent. 

Is this something you absolutely need in your preps? Probably not, but it did provide me much better sleep than any other option I’ve tried, including some very expensive inflatable sleeping pads.

Physical vs. Cultural Infrastructure

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography.

Used with permission.

If you expect the unexpected, then by definition it's no longer unexpected. Which is another way to say that people in North Florida were taken completely by surprise when it started snowing yesterday. And not just little flakes that melted when they hit the ground; no, some places had up to ten inches of snow! I don't know what you Northerners consider a significant amount of snowfall, but I think that "distressingly close to a foot deep" qualifies. 

As you would expect, the snow has had dramatic effects on the Sunshine State. Our capital city Tallahassee shut down yesterday, and our biggest northern city Jacksonville closed multiple bridges due to ice. There's also concern that warmer weather today has caused the snow to melt, which will then freeze over and make road conditions dangerous. 

This is Florida's Superstorm Sandy. Back in 2012, Sandy was a category 1 hurricane that hit New York City during a high tide, and NYC wasn't prepared to handle that kind of weather. If Sandy had hit anywhere in Florida with the same strength and tide level, Floridians would have shrugged it off. By the same token, New Yorkers would have shrugged off 10 inches of snow, but it's crippling us. This is because both events exploited a gap in both physical and cultural infrastructure. 

You already know what physical infrastructure is: the tools, supplies, and people in place to address a problem. In Florida's case, those would be snowplows, sand trucks (with sand), and people skilled in driving those vehicles in snowy conditions. We have plenty of sand, but not much of the others; I only just today learned that Florida owns 11 snowplows. I don't know how many snowplows are needed to clear a metro area of 500k (Pensacola) to 2 million (Jacksonville), but I have a feeling that 11 isn't enough. If we need more than that, we'll need to get them from Georgia and Alabama, and that's assuming they can spare the people and trucks to help us.

 

Cultural infrastructure, or at least how I use the term, is the problem-solving knowledge and experience that the population as a whole possesses. For example, Floridians know how to drive in nearly whiteout levels of rain, because we're regularly hit by rainstorms for half the year. If you live here long enough, you acquire that skill, as well as skills on preparing for hurricanes and how to make it through them. That's part of our cultural infrastructure, but driving through snow and ice categorically isn't. While we may have some snowbirds who used to drive in the winter up north, those skills have likely atrophied. They're also more likely to be further south, like Central Florida (where I am) or beyond. If it snows there, the entire state will shut down and I'm going to start looking for signs of other Biblical plagues. 

So how do you prepare for the unexpected? As much as I'd love to suggest that everyone have preps for every single situation, that's unrealistic in terms of time, space, and money. Considering how rare snowfall in Florida is, preparing for it expends resources that are best spent elsewhere. Instead, the answer is a repeat of advice that I and others have given elsewhere:

1. Plan for the most likely events instead of black swans so that your preps give you the most benefit. 
2. Cultivate friendships, or at least working acquaintanceships, with people who have useful skills and knowledge that you lack so you can help each other out in emergency situations. 
3. Try to keep an open mind and stay adaptable. Flexibility of thought is always better than complacency that can lead to panic. I do this by imagining scenarios and then role-playing them as realistically as possible, but there may be ways that work better for you, such as a script or flowchart. 

You can't change a state's physical infrastructure, but you can contribute to its cultural infrastructure by practicing those three tips.

Stay prepped, or get wrecked. The choice, as always, is yours.

Product Review: GOAT-15 Helium .22LR Rifle

In previous posts I've talked about gun safety and properly introducing children to firearms. Both topics are intertwined with using the right tools: firearms that are not only functionally safe, but also of appropriate size and weight for smaller shooters.

While attending the GOA GOALS Expo last year, I got to meet Caelinn, Alex, and Braxton of Mountain Billy Gun Labs. They were more than willing to spend some time talking about their product with me. In the short time I was able to handle this firearm, I was quite intrigued.

Following the expo I reached out to them about getting one of their .22 long rifle GOAT-15 Helium mini AR-15s for testing and evaluation. After the usual communications and assurances, they sent one to my local FFL.

Caelin, Alex, and Braxton at GOA GOALS

Description and Specifications

The GOAT-15 is 28 inches long with the stock collapsed and 31 inches long with the stock fully extended. 

Size comparison

The buffer tube has seven positions, enabling it to fit a variety of shooters.

Smaller, but traditional AR-style stock adjustments

The 16" barrel is rifled 1 turn in 16 with a right hand twist. The muzzle is threaded with standard 1/2-28 threads and comes with a thread protector for when another muzzle attachment isn't in use.

The rifle weighs a featherlight 2.75 pounds unloaded. Adding a Swampfox Liberator green dot optic increases that weight to only 3.2 pounds.

Weight with and without optic

Mountain Billy Gun labs contracted with MagPul on the one piece upper receiver and hand guard. The fore end has standard M-Lok slots for accessory attachment on the sides and bottom, and a full length Picatinny rail on top.

M-Lok handguard with Picatinny rail

The GOAT-15 comes with two magazines, one that holds a single round for training purposes and another that holds five. Ten round magazines are now available as well. If the GOAT-15 product line takes off like I hope it does, maybe Pro-Mag will make a drum for it.

Five round and single round magazines

Other than the M-Lok slots, Picatinny rail, and muzzle threads, no parts on the GOAT-15 are interchangeable with standard AR-pattern rifles or accessories. All other parts are proprietary.

In accordance with BATFE regulations, the serial number is located on a metal plate inset into the right side of the magazine well.

The full Billy

Handling and Shooting

The GOAT-15 Helium is on the compact side for me, but it's a good fit for smaller-statured shooters. My 5'2" tall wife and a 5' tall friend were both comfortable shouldering the rifle with the stock fully extended. Two taller friends and I found that it required a somewhat cramped hold, but we were able to manage with no real issues.

All controls are of the standard and familiar AR pattern, with one exception:  the safety lock, a unique feature of this rifle.

From their website:

Safety was so important, we developed and patented a new tamper resistant safety switch that requires strength and dexterity to release, adding a level of safety found on no other firearm, of any size.

The safety lock is a knurled knob on the right side of the receiver where the boss of the safety lever cross pin is located. In normal use, it can be completely ignored and doesn't interfere with operation of the safety lever in any way. To activate, the knob is pulled out slightly and rotated 180 degrees. This locks the safety in the safe position, rendering the rifle inoperative until the knob is rotated back. If desired, the safety lock can be removed. 

GOAT-15 Lower Receiver

When I talked with Caelinn, Alex, and Braxton at the GOALS Expo, they mentioned the future possibility of a safety lever that could be put in place of the safety lock. This would allow for full ambidextrous operation of the safety. However, that's not a priority at the moment. 

If I were to describe my experience shooting the GOAT-15, the first word that comes to mind is fun. 22s are nearly always fun to shoot, and the GOAT-15 takes that to the next level. It's small and light, while still maintaining the negligible recoil of a 22. It's also quite accurate: shooting from ten yards freehand, anything other than one-hole five-shot groups were the exception.

Shell casings ejected in the four o'clock direction and landed about 10 feet away in a relatively contained area. When the last round is fired, the bolt locks open as with any standard AR platform firearm.

The only issue encountered was on the second day of shooting. We were several hundred rounds in, and the rifle suffered a series of failures to feed. As many people know, 22 rimfire is pretty dirty ammo, and firearm function being affected by a build-up from the externally lubricated bullets and combustion residue is not uncommon. An examination of the rifle revealed a ridge of gunk had accumulated on the feed ramp; a quick scrub with a nylon bristle brush through the ejection port cleared this up and we were back in business.

The rifle was tested with Federal and Winchester 36 grain copper plated hollow points, as well as a mix-and-match of other brands from my leftovers bin. Other than the fouling issue I just mentioned, the GOAT-15 handled them all without a hiccup.

For amusement value, a few of the testers tried shooting it like a pistol, with a one- or two-hand grip. Although a bit muzzle-heavy when shot in this manner, it was manageable, but group size suffered as would be expected.

A passable but unwieldy handgun

Internals

Disassembling the GOAT-15 for cleaning or maintenance is only slightly different from standard AR-patter rifles. While the upper and lower are still connected by takedown and pivot pins, they're not retained by detents. They're also not pushout, instead having a hex socket on one side and a flat slot on the other, which necessitates two tools to unscrew one end of the pin from the other. This process takes a little getting used to, but it isn't complicated. I do recommend securing the rifle before attempting disassembly.

After the pins are removed and the receiver halves separated, remaining teardown is consistent with most ARs. The bolt and charging handle slide out the back of the upper receiver, and that's it. The rifle is field stripped.

Bolt and Charging Handle

When I looked down into the fire control pocket, I would have believed I was seeing a standard AR if I didn't have a sense of scale.

All the internal components look like what we expect to see, just smaller.

Fire Control Group, Hammer up and Down

Packing and Accessories

The GOAT-15 Helium comes packed with foam spacers in a sturdy cardboard box. In addition to the rifle, it also contains two magazines (one-round, and five-round), the federally mandated lock, a manual, and a sticker.

The GOAT-15 in its pen

The MSRP of the GOAT-15 Helium is $470 for the rifle and $23 for the 10-round magazines. In my opinion, this is a remarkably good price.

Mountain Billy has also recently released the ATOM pistol and H2 SBR versions of the GOAT-15, at MSRPs of $480 and $490 respectively. The SBR price does not include the $200 National Firearms Act tax stamp fee.

Summary

At the end of the T&E period, I was so impressed with the GOAT-15 Helium that I talked to Mountain Billy Gun Labs about purchasing their test rifle. They agreed, so I'm now the keeper of this lovely firearm. I foresee it getting plenty of use, both by me and by every friend whose hands I can get it into.

Whether for training new shooters, outfitting a smaller statured shooter, or just as a fun plinker, I highly recommend any of the GOAT-15 variants.

As you might guess, I give it a ten out of ten.

Have fun, and safe shooting.

The Game is a Foot

Humans are bilaterally symmetrical bipeds. As such, we're designed to spend a lot of time on our feet. Unfortunately, Americans generally don't do enough of this. Both extremes of these circumstances can lead to a variety of health issues, specifically foot problems. Thankfully, in addition to balancing our activity levels, we also live in a time where a number of products are available to help maintain foot health.

Keep Your Feet Clean & Dry

I keep packets of baby wipes in my car, as well as my toiletry kit for travel. These can be used to clean any part of my body, not just my feet. A similar product called Dude Wipes is also available.

https://amzn.to/40rxJYA

When our feet are wet, they are more susceptible to fungal growth (such as athlete's foot) as well as abrasion injuries, so keeping them dry is in our best interests. Microfiber towels are remarkably absorbent, and have a variety of other uses aside from their drying power.

https://amzn.to/4hafoF9

Talcum powder is a finely ground and extremely soft mineral that absorbs both moisture and (to some degree) odors. It can be applied directly to the feet (especially between the toes) and sprinkled inside shoes to help keep our feet dry. Many types of commercially available talc-free powders are blended with anti-bacterial medications as well.

Wear a Clean Pair of Wool Socks

For colder weather, or situations where we might not be able to change them regularly, merino wool (or other wicking material) socks are recommended. For those with circulatory issues, compression socks can help reduce blood pooling in our feet, a condition that can lead to increased mobility issues, neuropathy, and foot pain. Spare socks should always be part of our Bug-Out, Get-Home, or any other travel supplies.

Protect Against Injuries

A good pair of insoles will cushion our feet against shocks while simultaneously supporting our arches. Regardless of the type purchased, they should be replaced every three to six months.

https://amzn.to/4h89m7P

If we do suffer an abrasion injury to our feet (whether due to poor fitting shoes, moisture, or some other cause) it needs to be dealt with quickly so as not to become debilitating. A product called Moleskin is available, both as adhesive sheets and as little donuts for use on blisters.

https://amzn.to/40uoPsn

Finally, keeping our toenails trimmed is important for comfort as well as health. When wearing closed toe shoes, long toenails can impinge against the shoe, frequently leading to pain on even a relatively short walk. Bacteria can also find a cozy home under untrimmed nails.

https://amzn.to/4h7KI78

For those with other health related foot problems, such as diabetes, please seek out the care of a licensed podiatrist.

Foot Note

While not everyone is able to toe the line, this is a subject that touches our sole.