TheIdahoanShow

This video shows how I powder coated an AR-15 lower that I made from an in-th-white <80% receiver. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still retains a frontier spirit of self-reliance.  As host of TheIdahoanShow on […]

I had some worn-out ANSI-approved Steel-toed work boots that I decided to try shooting before I threw them away. This video documents the test and the results. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still retains a […]

This video is an account of my experiences with the .350 Legend cartridge, from first picking up a Stoner upper chambered for it to the point of finally getting handloads to run reliably, which proved to be a more difficult undertaking than I expected. That said, I still think this cartridge has a lot of […]

This video documents an experiment I conducted to determine if a 3/8″ thick AR500 steel target was up to stopping 7mm Rem mag rounds. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still retains a frontier spirit of […]

I’ve seen a lot of other people mud-test various semi-autos, which usually results in serious malfunctions. In this video, I mud-tested a couple of revolvers to see if they would be any less susceptible to dirt than automatics. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some […]

Here is my review of an Armalite AR-15 or “M-15″ as they called it at the time, A4 pattern, TN model (20” stainless target barrel). I’ve had this gun for over ten years and have put a lot of rounds through it, so I have a good basis of experience to review it, although I’m […]

This video is from a project debriefing discussing development of the “Standard Pattern” muzzleloader by Atomic Rifling & Creative Operations LLC. It provides some “insider” perspective on certain features of the design, as well as on the general process of developing a new rifle. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be […]

Flat springs are frequently required in gunsmithing and gun-building projects. While this short video doesn’t get into the specific gunsmithing applications, it does provide an overview of one method of making custom flat springs out of readily-available steel strapping. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than […]

This is a video I made about a prototype muzzleloader that I designed to answer the historically significant question of how a muzzleloader could be optimized for cavalry service. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still […]

In this video, I present the two styles of homemade steel targets that I have used, and talk about how I built them and how they worked. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still retains a […]

This is an educational video that I made about ricochets and spalling and the science behind these phenomena. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still retains a frontier spirit of self-reliance.  As host of TheIdahoanShow on […]

This was a test I filmed a while back, comparing the accuracy of one of my home-built muzzleloaders with a Knight inline muzzleloader. Admittedly, I just selected a load at random for this test, so as a measure of accuracy for the two rifles it is not necessarily comprehensive. However, the results were still rather […]

As a follow-up to my oval-choke experiment, I tried making a shotgun barrel that tapers from a circular cross-section to a cross-shaped bore at the muzzle, as documented in this video. It didn’t end up working very well, but it was still an interesting experiment. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to […]

In this video, I made a 12-gauge barrel out of plumbing pipe and flattened one end of the pipe slightly to see if an elliptical barrel would produce an oval pattern. At the time I thought this was a new idea, although I’ve since found references to oval chokes being produced commercially. Nevertheless, it was […]

I made this video mostly to address a couple of recurring comments I was getting on YouTube with regards to my earlier video about muzzleloader overload testing. However, I suppose this discussion of air-gaps and double-charging could still be of some interest on its own merit. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states […]

In this video, I experimented with making a 12-gauge shotgun barrel out of EMT conduit. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim this is a good material for making barrels out of in general, but it worked well enough to be something worth considering as an improvised or expedient barrel. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of […]

This video provides a summary of a series of experiments that I conducted in order to gain a better understanding of what kinds of scrap materials might realistically provide some level of ballistic protection. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, […]

In this video, I proposed to partner with a manufacturing firm in order to develop a more budget-friendly competitor to the Laugo Alien race-built pistol. This might be an impossible long-shot, but I figure there’s no harm in pitching the idea. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more […]

I used to think that the “fast draw” was mostly just a notion from the lore of the Olde West, but my thinking on the subject has changed in recent years. I made this video to explain the change in my reasoning and the reason for the ongoing tactical relevance of the fast draw. TheIdahoanShowIdaho […]

One of the most frustrating parts of reloading is when the rim tears off a case, leaving the case stuck in the sizing die. When it happens, this problem is usually attributed to inadequate lubrication of the case. I have used a number of case lube products for sizing brass over the years, but recently […]

In this video, I subjected a prototype muzzleloader to a series of overload scenarios to see what would happen and determine the margin of safety on the recommended loads. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US states to be settled and, more so than some parts of the US, the culture of Idaho still […]

In this video, I shot a group with a Remington 700 rifle chambered in 25-06, then re-crowned the rifle on my lathe and shot another group with the same ammo to see if changing from the rounded shorter crown to a flat recessed target crown would have any affect on accuracy. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of […]

This video documents my experiments with making shotgun slugs by compacting “loess” clay in a hydraulic press, mixed with a little powder coating powder to act as a binder. The slugs didn’t end up working very well, but it was an interesting experiment, and it is possible that something like this might find certain niche […]

In this video, I present and discuss a large rotary tumbler that I built using mostly salvage materials that I was able to get free or very cheaply. Although the video focusses on the tumbler design and doesn’t really go into its uses, tumblers like this have a variety of applications in reloading, ranging from […]