Welcome!

As noted there to the right, this blog is intended to be a discussion forum primarily concerned with the ‘nuts & bolts’ of how we did our testing and the results we obtained, not a general gun discussion forum.  As such, you’ll find a number of posts already created pertaining to each of the different calibers, as well as some general topics – just go to the appropriate entry and pose a question or comment, then you can follow the discussion either by visiting the blog or subscribing to the RSS feed.  If a discussion thread gets too long, or takes a turn which warrants further attention on its own, we’ll create a new post and shift things over to it.

We reserve the right to moderate comments – to keep them on-topic, and to keep things ‘family friendly’ – but will take a fairly light hand insofar as possible.  Your cooperation on this is appreciated.

If you need to contact any of us directly, you can do so via this email address:

Jim Downey: jimd@ballisticsbytheinch.com

So, welcome – and jump in!

Some thoughts about chronographs …

I got the following question, and it was on a topic I’ve been thinking about for a while. I thought I’d share the question and my response.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to upgrade my chronograph. Any recommendations?

Actually, that’s a good question. What I have to say is just my personal opinion, and does not constitute any kind of formal endorsement/review by BBTI.

We’ve used about a dozen different chronos over the series of tests. I’ve been pretty impressed with how consistent the different brands are one to another when compared head-to-head or in checking calibration with my Python and ball ammo from one lot over the years. So in that sense, most of the modestly-priced units seem to be of comparable quality.

Where you start to see some differences is in actually getting data – whether or not lighting is a problem, how much space they need, etc. For most people just using them casually, this wouldn’t be a big deal. When you’re doing 6,000+ shots checking for the cylinder gap effect, it can drive you nuts. Of the moderately priced units (actually, on the high end), this is one we’ve had good luck with: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/773378/ced-millennium-2-chronograph-system

Personally, I have a Chrony Gamma I like ( http://www.midwayusa.com/product/331656/shooting-chrony-gamma-master-chronograph-with-ballistic-chrony-printer ) for most of my casual use checking reloads and whatnot. But that was one of the ones we had problems with now and again (and why it’s now my personal unit).

A couple weeks ago we did the .22WMR series of tests, and had a lot of chrono problems. We thought this might be the case, since the .22mag is one of the smallest bullets going the fastest – presenting the biggest challenge for the optical sensors used on a chronograph. Particularly since as you chop the barrel you are always changing the ‘sight picture’ (even though there aren’t actually sights…) and introducing changes to the barrel crown and suchlike. Meaning that you can’t trust that you’ll get the bullet over the sweet spot for the optical sensors.

So as a backup Jim K had a new high-end Oehler unit: http://www.oehler-research.com/model35.html  Very nice, more complicated than it needs to be, and about 3x the price of most other units on the market.

We even had problems with that.

Bottom line, I think most of the moderate priced units ($100 – $200) are about the same in terms of quality. I never use the printer on mine, and we don’t bother to set up a printer when we do our tests – it’s just one more thing to go wrong. But some people love ‘em. If you can, take a look at some of the units, see what features appeal to you, what reviews say, whether the unit seems well constructed. Then make your best bet.

Ammo shortage? What ammo shortage??

Oh — THAT — ammo shortage.

Yeah, the beginning of January I wrote that we were finally moving forward with the testing of polygonal vs. traditional rifling; the so-called “Glock Tests“, and outlined how we were planning on conducting a bit of an experiment in asking for suggested ammo loads to include in the tests, and then seeing what kind of support there was for a slate of different choices by allowing pledges to help purchase ammo.

But, as someone who wrote me put it: where did we think we were going to *find* any such ammo?

Initially, I thought that the shortage we were seeing would be a fairly temporary problem, and that by the time spring rolled around we’d be able to locate sufficient quantities for our testing (we need about 350 rounds of each type).

Yeah, so much for that idea. Now you know why I don’t play the stock market or bet on races.

The ammo shortage has just continued to deepen. It’s to the point where people are having a hard time finding enough of any kind of ammo just to keep in practice with a trip to the range once or twice a month.  I’m damned glad I reload my practice ammo, and have a decent store of most components.

But that doesn’t do a damned thing for our testing. The whole idea is to test factory ammo, not some cobbled-together handload version of factory ammo.

So we’re putting off the “Glock Tests” again, until the situation gets better. Keep an eye here and elsewhere for news about when this will change.

One good bit of news, however: we already had a decent selection and sufficient quantity of each ammo type to do the .22WMR (.22Magnum) tests.  So we’re going to go ahead and do that sequence of tests here this spring — sometime soon!

Sorry for the bad news, everyone — really. These tests have been delayed several times for one (good) reason or another, and we’re just as frustrated by that as everyone else.  But when ammo supplies start to become more available, we’ll be sure to try and get them done as soon as we can.

Cheers!

Jim Downey

Now, about those “Glock” tests…

As mentioned previously, for some time we’ve been planning on doing a series of inch-by-inch chop tests on the Glock-style polygonal barrels  (Glock was unable to supply 18″ barrels, so we’ll be using 6 grove poly and 6 land traditional barrels from Lothar Walther).  We’ve run into a number of unexpected delays, but now have the barrels we need, and are planning on doing the series of tests sometime later this year, hopefully in spring/early summer. For testing purposes, we’ll be conducting traditional ‘land & groove’ barrels in the same calibers at the same time, so that we have direct head-to-head comparisons. Because we’re expecting a fairly subtle difference in performance, we’re going to do 10 (ten) shots for each inch of barrel for both style barrels. And to keep the scope of the project manageable, we’re only going to test two cartridges/calibers: 9mm (9×19) and .45 ACP.

In order to do the tests this way, we’ll need a minimum of 340 rounds of each ammo to test. Add in “real world guns” and allowing for errors/glitches which mean extra shots, we’re planning on getting 400 rounds of each ammo to be tested. Figure an average of about $1 per round for premium self-defense ammunition, and we’re looking at about $400 for each ammo selected for testing. There are some specific ammunition types/loads we’ve tested previously that we want to revisit for comparison purposes, but our selection is hardly comprehensive — time and money are limited.

So we’d like to try an experiment: do Kickstarter-style crowdfunding to see what ammunition types/loads people want to have us test. This will allow two things:

1. To let people help support the project by offsetting our costs.
2. To help us find new ammunition types/loads.

Now, Kickstarter itself isn’t firearm-friendly. And that’s OK — we can do this on our own, just using our own site. What we’ll do is put up a list of different ammo types/loads, and solicit donations targeted for each during a specific time frame. When pledges are made, we’ll keep a running tally total for each ammo, and once it crosses a certain threshold, then that specific type/load will be added to our testing list.

But first we need to create our list of ammo. So, for the next two weeks, either add a comment to this blog post or send an email to info@ballisticsbytheinch.com with one specific 9mm ammunition type/load you would like to see us test. Please, just one type/load per comment or email, and just five or six such entries per person. I’m going to have to collate these myself, so help make it a little easier on me. Just sending in a selected ammo doesn’t obligate you to support that ammo with $ in the second phase of this test, but it’s probably a good idea to only recommend ammo you would be willing to actually support, and ones you think you can get others to support. And remember, keep your recommendations limited to factory mass-produced ammo; handloads or artisanal ammo which the average person doesn’t have access to will not be selected for inclusion in the tests. Also: we’re only accepting recommendations and donations from individuals, not ammo manufacturers.

You can see all the 9mm ammo we’ve tested previously here: 9mm Luger Results.

As I said, this is an experiment. If it works for selecting 9mm ammo to test, we may extend it to the .45 ACP tests, and then see about using a similar approach for other testing. We hope that this will be a way we can expand our research and make it more responsive to what data the firearms-enthusiast community wants to see. You can help by sending in your suggestions, but in also spreading the word on the different forums/blogs where our data may be used.

Thanks, everyone, for your ongoing interest and support!

Jim Downey

275,510

That’s how many visitors we had to BBTI in the last year. And the number has been rising steadily — last month it was averaging 873 a day (total of 27,055) where in October of 2011 it was 456 (total of 14,144). So far this month it has been 945 a day on average.

As it happens, soon the company which we host the site on is going to switch the available analytical software, so such comparisons are likely to change again (as they did when we completely revamped the site a year ago), but that is not a big deal. We know we’re getting significant traffic, we know we’re getting cited a lot, we know we’re getting support from those who find our site useful — that’s all that matters. On the last point, I want to thank everyone who has donated $$$ to the site over the last year — you’ve managed to cover the out-of-pocket costs of hosting the site, and that is very much appreciated.

In terms of citations, here’s the top ten list of referrers over the last year (excluding search engines):

1. en.wikipedia.org
2. thefiringline.com
3. www.defensivecarry.com
4. www.guns.com
5. mouseguns.com
6. www.thefirearmblog.com
7. www.reddit.com
8. www.ar15.com
9. www.thehighroad.org
10. www.thetruthaboutguns.com

And of course tons of other places large & small have used us to educate, to start & settle arguments, to help people make informed decisions about their firearms & ammo choices. That was our goal when we set out on this project, and it is very rewarding to have seen it succeed so grandly over the last four years.

Things have been fairly quiet this year in terms of testing, though that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped our research. As I noted in August we have a whole series planned to look at how the Glock polygonal barrels perform in inch-by-inch chop tests, but a combination of delays on getting the barrels and our individual schedules have moved those tests from this year to next. But look forward to hearing more about them in the new year!

Thanks to one & all — and particularly to my Good Lady Wife who does all our web-work — from the BBTI team.

Jim Downey

 

Last chance.

So, we have a new winner! Kyle won the all-leather IWB of unknown make.

The next, and final, holster in our drawing is very much a known brand: a High Noon Holsters “Skin Tite” model leather OWB. This is a right-handed almost new holster which has a $54.95 value (plus shipping).

This particular holster is marked for a Steyr M. But just about any medium-large semi will fit (though the retention snap may not be in the perfect position). Interestingly, both a full-size 1911 and my Ruger Mark I fit perfectly (with the barrel protruding out the bottom).

Rules are the same as previously:

So, here’s the deal: make any kind of contribution to the Kickstarter (as little as $1.00 – I won’t mind), and enter into this drawing for a holster. Please note that this is *IN ADDITION* to the other rewards there on the Kickstarter – all perfectly good and valuable rewards. Then just come here and leave a comment, or post it on the BBTI Facebook page, or send me a Tweet. I’ll enter your name into a completely separate drawing. And next Wednesday after the Kickstarter is over I’ll select a name and send that person this holster is up for grabs.

If you’ve already contributed to the Kickstarter, just let me know and your name will go in the hat for this drawing.

Last chance – get your entries in and help me out with making the Kickstarter a success! Thanks!

Jim Downey

Up next …

… in my holster give-away is a very sweet all leather IWB of unknown make. It’s non-molded, and should accommodate almost any semi from medium to full size. Here are some pix of it with my Steyr M357:

 

 

 

But I also checked to see whether the following would fit:

• Full-sized 1911 (fits fine, barrel protrudes about 2″ out bottom)
• Steyr S9 (fits fine, much like the M357)
• Springfield EMP (rides low, but secure)
• J-frame S&W revolver (same as EMP)

Smaller semi-automatics and derringers do fit, but sit so far down inside the holster that they are difficult to retrieve.

Same rules as previously:

So, here’s the deal: make any kind of contribution to the Kickstarter (as little as $1.00 – I won’t mind), and enter into a drawing for a holster. Please note that this is *IN ADDITION* to the other rewards there on the Kickstarter – all perfectly good and valuable rewards. Then just come here and leave a comment, or post it on the BBTI Facebook page, or send me a Tweet. I’ll enter your name into a completely separate drawing. And each week or so while the Kickstarter is going I’ll select a name and send that person whichever holster is up for grabs. Each winner’s name will go back into the hat for the next drawing, so you have multiple chances to win (meaning that the sooner you enter, the better for you).

If you’ve already contributed to the Kickstarter, just let me know and your name will go in the hat for the first drawing (and subsequent ones).

I will draw a winner next Friday, Oct 12.

And here’s a heads-up: the final drawing will occur on Wednesday, Oct. 17, — the day after the Kickstarter ends. And that item will be a High Noon Skin Tite holster. Remember – you just need to “enter” once, and you will automatically be added to both drawings. So, what are you waiting for? Go register!

 

Jim Downey

 

 

The $1 freebie – PLUS!

So, I have another free promotional day running on my novel Communion of Dreams today. All the info about it is in this blog post: the $1 freebie.

That’s all well and good. But as noted previously, I am offering BBTI fans a little something extra:

That’s a pair of Versacarry holsters with a paperback copy of the book. These are both for .380/9mm/.357 Sig barrel guns, and are the “small” and “medium” sizes.

If you’re not familiar with the Versacarry, here’s a good review by one of the other Guns.com writers. I’ve tested these two holsters, and found them to be an interesting and potentially useful minimalist IWB holster.

But as I noted previously, I’m not a fan of IWB. So I’m giving both of these Versacarry holsters away. Same rules as last time:

So, here’s the deal: make any kind of contribution to the Kickstarter (as little as $1.00 – I won’t mind), and enter into a drawing for a holster. Please note that this is *IN ADDITION* to the other rewards there on the Kickstarter – all perfectly good and valuable rewards. Then just come here and leave a comment, or post it on the BBTI Facebook page, or send me a Tweet. I’ll enter your name into a completely separate drawing. And each week or so while the Kickstarter is going I’ll select a name and send that person whichever holster is up for grabs. Each winner’s name will go back into the hat for the next drawing, so you have multiple chances to win (meaning that the sooner you enter, the better for you).

If you’ve already contributed to the Kickstarter, just let me know and your name will go in the hat for the first drawing (and subsequent ones).

So, what are you waiting for? Go register!

I’ll draw a name from those submitted on Friday, Oct. 5th.

Jim Downey

Take a chance on a holster.

I haven’t mentioned it here yet, but last weekend I launched a Kickstarter project to support my next novel:

St. Cybi’s Well – a prequel to Communion of Dreams by Jim Downey

Prequel to the popular novel Communion of Dreams. Get an early release download or a hand-bound copy in your choice of cover material.

So, *why* am I mentioning it here now?

Well, yesterday I got an unexpected box in the mail. Sometime a few weeks back I contributed a few bucks to a firearms-related website, and was entered into a drawing for various goodies. I never win these things, but participate just to be supportive of groups I like. Anyway, as you might have guessed, I actually won something for a change. This is what the box contained:

Here’s the holster with my Springfield EMP in it:

This is a perfectly nice holster, made by Woodenleather.com.  It’s marked as being for an “L-frame” S & W revolver with a 2.5″ barrel, but as you can see it isn’t molded specifically for that, and seems suitable for IWB use with a range of medium-to-small guns. I also tried my Steyr S9 and M357 guns, which fit perfectly, and smaller guns such as a Bond Arms derringer would also work, but ride deeper in it. A full-size 1911 and my Colt Python both fit fine, but the barrel protrudes out the end.

Now, the thing is, while this is a mighty fine holster, it’s made to be either used IWB or OWB left-handed. Note the position of the clip in the second image above. To me, it’s useless (or almost so). As I was thinking of how to find a new home for it, I also got to thinking about several other holsters of varying quality I have which I have wound up with but which I never use and I had another idea: use them for a promotion for the Kickstarter.

So, here’s the deal: make any kind of contribution to the Kickstarter (as little as $1.00 – I won’t mind), and enter into a drawing for a holster. Please note that this is *IN ADDITION* to the other rewards there on the Kickstarter – all perfectly good and valuable rewards. Then just come here and leave a comment, or post it on the BBTI Facebook page, or send me a Tweet. I’ll enter your name into a completely separate drawing. And each week or so while the Kickstarter is going I’ll select a name and send that person whichever holster is up for grabs. Each winner’s name will go back into the hat for the next drawing, so you have multiple chances to win (meaning that the sooner you enter, the better for you).

If you’ve already contributed to the Kickstarter, just let me know and your name will go in the hat for the first drawing (and subsequent ones).

So, what are you waiting for? Go – get entered!

Jim Downey

And once again…

…I am reminded of how happy I am to not have to deal with the public day in and day out.

As I said two months ago:

People really will always find something to bitch about, won’t they? Even if it is free & unencumbered research data that they can’t get elsewhere.

This time I got a complaint from someone about our having excluded a particular make of handgun. No “Hey, thanks for the data, I wonder why you haven’t tested This Brand?” Or “I love the site, but is there a reason why you’ve not included This Brand?” Just an email with the header “WHY NO GLOCKS TESTED?” Yeah, all caps. Nothing else other than the question repeated in the body.

I actually get some variation of this  question just about every week. Let me rephrase that: at least every week. Which is why that question is at the top of the FAQ on the BBTI site.

I responded, as I usually do, with that link and some variation of: “we didn’t include them because we hate them” (which is joking off of what the FAQ says). Usually this takes care of the issue.

But sometimes people either don’t go look at the FAQ, or are too dense/sarcasm-impaired to “get” my response. That was the case with the current querent. After a couple more exchanged emails I finally convinced him that we don’t actually hate Glocks.

But the truth is, we *have* intentionally excluded Glocks so far. As I told my querent in my final email:

There are a lot of different factors which go into the selection of the guns we include in our tests. Glocks have a different barrel structure, so comparing them with the ‘standard’ rifling tends to skew results. For this reason we’ve so far avoided including them.

I say “so far” because we’re presently in the process of finalizing a test sequence where we do the formal inch-by-inch chop tests on Glock polygonal barrels. It’s taken us two years to be able to get the necessary 18″ blanks to do this properly. Having that data will allow us to do head-to-head comparisons with the ‘standard’ rifling results, and so give everyone data which actually is useful rather than just anecdotal. And yes, as part of that sequence we will be testing actual Glocks in different calibers and with different barrel lengths. We hope to be able to conduct these tests yet this fall, but are waiting on the gunsmithing work to be done.

This isn’t actually “news” – I hinted at it in June on the BBTI Facebook page (which you should “Like” if you’re on FB, so you see these things sooner), but it is the first I’ve mentioned it here or on any forums.

Anyway, yeah, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with the public on a daily basis any longer. My blood pressure problems would be a lot worse than they actually are.

Jim Downey

Blimey.

Blimey. Just got the following email:

Someone directed me to this page from your site: http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

Now, I appreciate what you are doing, but how you are presenting it is not very helpful.

What a useless page that is. Hey, look, columns of unlabeled numbers! How exciting!

Is that velocity? Muzzle Energy? Momentum? Power factor? Drop over distance? What are the units?

It’s labeled at the top as “.357 Mag Results”. Why not “.357 Mag Muzzle Energy in ft-lbs”?

My response? This: “Sorry to disappoint you. We’ll be happy to completely refund your money.”

The guy wrote back, protesting that he meant it as “constructive criticism.” And then went on to protest that he *still* didn’t know what the data represented (in spite of the fact that it is listed on the Y-axis of every ammo graph and indicated elsewhere on the site).

Sigh. I wrote back the following:

From the homepage of the site, and also referred to in multiple locations elsewhere on the site: “Since we first launched BBTI three years ago, it has become a primary reference tool for firearms enthusiasts of all stripes and from around the globe. Our initial research data covered the relationship between barrel length and velocity for some 13 common handgun calibers/cartridges.”

But you’re absolutely correct, we didn’t spell out that the numbers were velocity in feet-per-second (the standard velocity measurement in the US). We’ll correct that to make it more explicit. The funny thing is that you are the very first person in 3.5 years to not understand that this was what was indicated. Probably because you came at it from someone else’s link direct to that one results page. At least that’s the most charitable conclusion I can come to.

And that, dear friends is why now each caliber/cartridge page now says .22 Results in fps. (or whatever the caliber/cartridge is). Never let it be said that we won’t go the e x t r a inch for the dimwitted and deliberately dense.

People really will always find something to bitch about, won’t they? Even if it is free & unencumbered research data that they can’t get elsewhere.

Blimey.

Jim Downey

(Cross posted to my personal blog.)

Great new resource.

The folks over at LuckyGunner.com have started a blog, and the first post up is some really solid data from their testing of the differences between 5.56 NATO and .223 Remmington. From the post:

The differences between .223 Remington and 5.56mm NATO have been hashed out many times on the internet. Unfortunately, many of the “facts” that are often thrown around are simply what someone has heard from someone else, leading to a lot of misinformation being accepted as gospel.

In order to create this article, I temporarily set aside all of my previous knowledge and opinions while several months’ worth of new research and experimentation on the topic was undertaken. In addition, extensive discussions with gunsmiths, ballisticians, and laboratory technicians were conducted.

My findings, and the opinions of many experts in the industry who deal with the topic every day, were not exactly what some might expect. In fact, many of them had already discovered what I am reporting, although my research was conducted independently.

It’s a long, and really solid piece of research. If this is going to be typical of their stuff (and I think it will be — I know one of the guys involved with this, and respect his intelligence & commitment a lot), then this will be one hell of a great resource for those of us who are looking for good information that we can trust.

Check it out!

Jim Downey

June? Already?

Yeah, seems to be. So here’s the numbers & info for the last month, plus a little look ahead:

We had 19,937 visitors to the BBTI homepage in May. We’ve added a number of additional review links to the list of Real World Guns. Followers for both Twitter and Facebook have also seen a nice uptick this last month.

Back in March I reported on how Google Adsense had screwed us over. Well, after looking at a number of options and being realistic about what kind of revenue advertising could generate, we’ve pretty much decided to just give up on advertising — with one small exception for now: you’ll note that some of the BBTI pages have a small ad promotion my novel. It is proving to be very popular, and the reviews for it have been quite positive — check it out. Of course, we’re still happy to accept donations to help offset expenses associated with BBTI — and thanks to those who have donated!

Happy & safe shooting, everyone!

Jim Downey

…bring May flowers.

Well – I see that I didn’t post stats last month for March. Sorry about that – a combination of being busy promoting my novel as well as getting together with some of the other BBTI guys to do some fun shooting (and to try out a .460 Rowland conversion kit for a Glock 21!).

So, first things first: March had a total of 21,499 visitors, and April had 19,918 visitors. Just a bit of a slow period there.

Next, remember that we’re now linking from the BBTI page on Real World Guns to reviews of said guns I’ve written for Guns.com. There are usually a couple new each week, so check back often!

And here is the first of some additional reviews from my shooting expedition the beginning of April: Wise Lite Arms Sterling 9mm. Coming weeks should see more than a dozen other reviews of handguns and PCCs (pistol caliber carbines).

A quick note that things with my novel have been going great, and so far some 14,000 people have downloaded the Kindle edition. If you enjoy my reviews and articles, then you may want to check out the book – it’s been getting a lot of really good discussion and reviews.

Now linked to reviews.

Good afternoon!

Just wanted to let folks know that we’ve updated the BBTI “Real World Guns” page to include links to all the reviews I’ve done of those guns for Guns.com (where I am a writer). Currently that includes over 40 different reviews, and we’ll be adding more periodically as they run at Guns.com.

This is convenient for two reasons: it gives everyone a chance to see and learn about the guns we’ve used, and it gathers together in one place a lot of my reviews for reference. Of course, you can also just check my profile on Guns.com if you want to see *all* of my reviews and articles.

Cheers!

Jim Downey

Wherein Google Adsense screws us royally.

My Good Lady Wife, who does all the grunt work to run the BBTI website, just heard from Google Adsense that they have denied our appeal.

What appeal? Well, last month was the first full month for us to be running the Google Ads in order to help offset the time and cost of having BBTI free for everyone to use. Initially, it looked like it was going to be a reasonably good thing, generating an estimated $120 for the entire month. Then, after the month was over, Google Adsense said that actual earnings was just $24. When my wife asked why the discrepancy, Google Adsense came back with the answer that they had determined that we had somehow engaged in “invalid click activity” (i.e.: fraud) and that not only were they not going to answer the discrepancy, but that they were closing our Google Adsense account and refunding the $24 to the advertisers.

Oh, and they refused to say what “invalid click activity” they had detected.

My wife appealed the decision, of course, since we have a very solid track record of how many people visit the site, and all the estimates were in accord with what we’ve seen over the years. All she got back from Google Adsense was that they were rejecting the appeal and that it sucks to be us.

I can’t begin to express how annoying this is. As I’ve noted here over the last three years, we run thousands upon thousands upon thousands of visitors a month, and the site has become a standard reference for firearms enthusiasts around the world. I don’t know if Google Adsense is just anti-gun, or what, but it really feels like they have screwed us over.

And the accusation that we have engaged in something tantamount to fraud is just insulting.

We’ve pulled the ads from the site, of course. What we’ll do next remains to be seen.

But let this be a cautionary tale about working with Google Adsense.

Jim Downey

Pretty remarkable.

So, there was this little promotional event yesterday. And a newspaper article.

And things went a little nuts.

If you know me via Facebook or Twitter, you have some idea. For those who don’t, or want to know the final tally: altogether 5,277 people took advantage of the freed Kindle edition promotion. And there were even some regular sales of both the Kindle and paperback editions.

5,277. That’s pretty remarkable. And puts to total number of the finished version of the book out there over 6,000. That’s in about 6 weeks time – and amounts to the average number of people who downloaded the earlier PDF versions of the book in an entire year.

Yeah, I call that success. Stunning, actually.

I’m a bit exhausted by the whole thing, to be honest. Almost like a hangover. So I’ll probably take a break for a day or two, concentrate on getting other things done which I neglected in preparation for the promotion.

But I wanted to let everyone know the results – and to say Thank You to everyone! Oh, and to ask – if you got the book yesterday, and read it, and enjoy it – to please tell your friends, go and rate or like or even review the book on Amazon and anywhere else.

Thanks again.

Jim Downey

Cross posted from my personal blog.

A little cross-promotion:

just letting people know that my science fiction novel, Communion of Dreams, is available for free download today in the Kindle store. You don’t even need a Kindle – there are free emulators for just about every computer/tablet/mobile device. There’s a link to a newspaper review and a lot more info over on my personal blog, if you’re interested.

Jim Downey

One day doesn’t make *that* much of a difference . . .

Got the stats for February, and they’re good. Very good. Some 22,258 visitors. Which is just about only 400 fewer visitors than our huge numbers in December, when we re-launched the site. More importantly, that’s almost a 50% improvement over what we did in February 2011 (15,802). Granted, last month had an extra day, but that only added 738 visitors to the total.

Thanks, everyone!

And just an FYI: this Sunday the Kindle edition of my science fiction novel will be available for free download. You don’t even need to own a Kindle to get it for free. Full info here. Help spread the word!

Jim Downey

Go forth and edit!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that there’s a new page up on Wikipedia about BBTI. If you see any edits that need to be done, as per usual with Wikipedia, please just make them. In particular, linking to other articles about BBTI or to other pages on Wikipedia would help to make the page that much more useful for anyone who goes to it.

Thanks!

Jim Downey

New feature!

Thanks to some excellent work from S. W. McPherson, there’s a new feature on the BBTI website: the ability to directly compare the performance curves for each ammunition brand/loading to the next for all the Cylinder Gap test data! This is an Excel application which will allow you to mix & match different performance curves as you see fit. You can find the Comparison Chart for the Gap Test Data on the “Raw Data” page.

This is a really great tool I think that many people will find very useful. And we owe S. W. McPherson a huge debt of gratitude for tackling this technical problem and coming up with an elegant solution. Check it out!

Jim Downey