Just got back from Vacation

Sorry for the lack of posting. I took a week vacation and just returned. Spent a few days in Denver and another couple in Chicago. Also got to take the Amtrak 48 train from Chicago back to Buffalo- which was a super fun experience.

I'm not a train enthusiast, but I have seriously been trying to come up with reasonably priced alternatives to flying. As such, this vacation involved a good bit of railroading.

First, for purely awesome and vacationing purposes, I took the Cog rail up pike's peak in Colorado. We were cleared for 12k of ascent, and couldn't finish the last 3 or so miles of the track, where Pike's Peak crests at over 14,000 feet above sea level.

At left is a nice view out of the window on the way up.

On the way down, the train stops at about 10,000 feet so you can meander around for a short while and take pictures. At right is your humble blogger and his partner in crime.

Cog rails are particularly cool because they can climb steep inclines. Sometimes called rack rails, they can climb (according to wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt) 48% grades. That means for every 10 ft you travel forward, a cog rail could also handle a 4.8 ft incline in the same distance.

If that is true or not- I have no idea. I do know the conductor said our trip had several 25% grades, which is still an impressively steep climb when you are going up it.

The view back up Pike's was impressive, and the whole journey was very cool. If ever in Colorado consider this as a fun side trip.

Most of my time was spent in Denver, aside from the Pike's Peak side trip, and the Boulder side trip.

Boulder CO, for those who have never been there, smells like hippy. I am not unfamiliar with the hippy, and have spent much time around their close urban cousin- the hipster. However, the stench of hippy is a pungent one that really impacted my ability to enjoy Boulder.  People at this point will probably think me offensive and anti-liberal. I am not the first (I am fairly certain) and am definitely not the second. When I say it smelled in Boulder like hippy, I mean there was an actual musk in the air that I could not escape that was a combination of:
Marijuana
Incense
Body Odor
Begging

What does begging smell like? I'm not really sure  I could pinpoint it- but Boulder and Chicago were both full of it and it truly stunk (puns! everybody loves them!).

It was sad to see such a beautiful area (both Chicago and Boulder are gorgeous) tainted by something like pan-handling.

I make no judgements on how best to help get people off the streets and back in to housing where they can be productive members of society who have jobs and pay taxes. I'm not sure if either major political party in the US actually has a meaningful solution for the problem either- but it is certainly one that needs addressing.

Chicago has some of the most beautiful outdoor art in the world, and it is extremely accessible to pedestrian traffic.  It was great meeting up with old friends and seeing some beautiful places and artworks.  The outdoor performance hall, the face wall, the cloud gate ('the bean'), the Drake hotel, the museum of modern art, and a multitude of other wonderful little side journeys are all worth exploring. I'll only touch on a few here- but Chicago is actually an amazing place to spend a few days. After living in NYC for over half a decade, I thought I had built up a healthy dislike of major metro life. However, Chi-town was a great place, and with a little political revision, could be amazing.

Going to the cloud gate during the day is a great trip that puts you in the heart of much of the public art in Chicago. Going at night however, is a much more enjoyable experience.

the crowds are significantly lessened, and the view of the skyline is actually much more impressive in the dark.

The Drake hotel is located about a 30 minutes walk away from the bean, or a 10 dollar cab ride North. It was the bar which served the second drink in Chicago after Prohibition ended, and is truly an amazing place to see.  The cocktails are good (but pricey) and the atmosphere is pretty awesome.

I would recommend the Manhattan if going there- but I'm a bourbon guy.

 

The Drake hotel food and booze 

Finally a rare photo of me. I tend to keep my face off this blog not because I desire anonymity, but because frankly- no one gives a shit what I look like. 

Taking the train back to NYS from Chicago was a fantastic experience. The train was on time, and extremely comfortable.  The train ran from 9:30 pm to 9:15am arriving a few minutes behind schedule, but nothing too egregious (17 minutes to be exact). The cars had tons of leg room, good width, comfortable seats, and perhaps most importantly - No TSA workers.   The overnight train was a very cool trip that made me realize that anything in the 500-1000 mile range, I actually think I prefer the rails to flying and certainly to driving.

Thats all for now- range day coming up with some more CZ75b SA talk and maybe a new surprise if I can swing it in time.

I've been getting hateful comments lately

Obviously, they are all from anonymous cowards -  I just deleted a few and will continue to delete them. I may put comment moderation on for a while well I deal with this new threat from an unknown group of asshats.

Cajun Gunworks Hammer Kit 3 installation

To finish off my CZ-75b SA I ordered a cajun gunworks hammer kit 3.  The shipping was prompt and the order complete. Cajun gunworks was easy to work with through the entire process with prompt responses to emails before and after the sale.

Installing this kit is actually pretty easy, and I would caution my fellow at-home gunsmiths in only two areas. First, when reusing the strut and 3-pin, it requires A LOT of force to remove the pin from the old hammer. I would go so far as to say an uncomfortable amount of force, with a hammer, to free the pin. It took me literally twenty minutes of progressively more forceful hammer swings to remove mine.

Second, when reassembling the safety, remember to push in the detents in or they will give you a bugger of a time getting everything back together. Otherwise, the CZ 75b is really not a tricky gun to disassemble. I would put it as no more complex than working on the Ruger Mk II or III series of guns. Sure you might need to take a minute to learn a quirk or two, but really it is a simple and robust machine. 

Start by gathering up a few tools and then field strip your gun as you normally would, but also remove your grip panels.  The tools I used were:

field strip + grip panel removal

 1 Hammer (12 oz)
 1 small Philips head screwdriver
 1 small flat head screwdriver
 1 drift punch from Cajun Gun Works
 1 small container of lubricant
 1 small container of lock-tite.

Use your Philips head screwdriver to remove the grips in addition to your standard field stripping. Leave the slide assembled, as you have no need to go in there throughout this process.

Second, tap out the pin holding in the hammer spring and flat spring. Then bow the flat spring while pushing in on the plunger (just freed by the pin removal) and unhook it from the plunger assembly. Now remove the spring and plunger, and leave the flat spring free and unhooked.

flat spring freed, plunger and hammer spring being removed

At this point we can remove the safety levers, and to do so you need only pull up on the small exposed spring in the sear assembly, while wiggling out your safety levers. I started with the safety lever on the left side.

Once you have the safety levers removed (as seen below) the sear assembly can be removed. It will rock out of place and should be left intact, unless you feel like disassembling it. I did, but it really isn't necessary. Be mindful as there are some springs under tension in there that would love to get lost in some dark recess of your work room.

 Now that you have your safeties and sear assembly removed, flip the pistol over so it is laying on the right side while the muzzle end is pointing away from you. Behind the safeties you will see a small pin holding in a plunger that can be pushed up with a small flathead screwdriver or the drift punch. Push it up all the way and then remove the pin by tapping it from the right side (muzzle facing away) to the left. This will free up the hammer and strut.

sear assembly

 Here is the stock sear assembly. There is a small pin that holds the guts together. I recommend orienting your sear assembly to match mine in the picture. Then push the pin towards the top of the monitor, but do not fully remove it. You can then remove the sear and the sear spring, while leaving the rest of the assembly intact.

Insert your new adjustable sear and put the sear spring back in place then put the pin back by tapping it from top (as oriented in the photo at right) to bottom.

replacement hammer and sear prior to mounting

Remember to use the bottom hole on the replacement hammer, as I think the top hole is used for the Omega trigger system? Frankly I'm not sure. Mount the new hammer on the strut and begin reassembling the pistol. Things will go back together pretty easy, and if someone were to use a bigger hammer than I did (a 16oz would probably be perfect, or a small dead-fall hammer) as well as paying attention to the safety detents, this project could probably be completed in 30-40 minutes.

Without knowing those things, the project took me just a bit over an hour going at a leisurely pace.

The trigger is much lighter and more crisp than the factory trigger, though the reset is still much longer than that of a 1911. However, I would consider the trigger 'excellent' and would urge people to try this kit without hesitation. The only thing I would do differently would be to also install a new trigger with pre-travel adjustment while doing this project, as it wouldn't add much to the time and effort of the work, but would definitely give an even better user/trigger interaction.

The total kit, with shipping and punch, was under 140 bucks. If a person were to also order a pre-post travel adjustable trigger from CZ-custom at the same time, they could go from a pretty good stock trigger to an excellent one in about an hour with well under 200 bucks invested.

Even without the pre-post travel adjustment, this is still one of the nicest triggers I have worked with.  I would definitely recommend it for any CZ shooter.

improving the self

Every person from time-to-time has to take an honest look at themselves and decide if they are content with what they see. I freely admit that throughout my life I have been malcontent with parts of my self concept; be they physical traits or other. My most recent foray into making a me I am more proud of being has to do with being more well-rounded with my recreational reading.

As such, I have recently started reading books by George Washington Sears, Edwin Abbot Abbot, Mark Twain, & Rudyard Kipling to name a few.

This post isn't an attempt to throw down a scholarly cock-measuring contest, but rather to point out a super awesome resource. Maybe I am late to the wagon on this, but all of these authors, and thousands more are saved online for free through things like the Gutenberg project and amazon's classics. If any of you have an E-reader, or don't mind reading from a computer screen- download the free apps necessary to get copies of these books.

Never before in my life would I have thought to buy Jane Austin books, but ya know what? For free, I'll wander my way through Persuasion. Frankly, this post has nothing to do with gun stuff or outdoor gear of any kind- but it is still pretty cool to sit down with an interesting book and read some impressively scripted and eloquent pros.  I suspect many of my readers have much in common with me- all 3 of you, so I'm hoping that maybe you folks will enjoy this stuff as well.

If you are looking for some awesome free reading, check some of the following resources, or find others.

http://www.gutenberg.org/
http://books.google.com/
http://www.amazon.com

cz75b SA update

Another range day, another 100 rounds of trouble-free awesomeness. A fellow grad-student and myself went out to the range yesterday and had a great time. The cz75b in 40 is really a kitten to shoot. Today was a mix of more PMC-Bronze and my own personal reloads with 155 gr LTC over a charge of unique (sometimes reddot) cruising along with mild-mid loads. The American Classic II and the ruger Mk II were also along for the ride, but the cz stole the show.

here is the first few mags at 20 yards with the cz on a fresh target (warmed up a bit with the 1911 beforehand):

CZ75b SA laying it down

For me, that is pretty good shooting at 20 yards. Many people can do much better, but I was actually pretty happy with this target.  There was little point in shooting at 10 yards as the gun just eats out the center if you do your part.

The more I shoot the cz, the more I want to mess with the trigger. I contacted the guys at cajungunworks and ordered some parts, so we will see how that goes. The sights on the cz really aren't bad, though I do still think the GID paint is a bit odd.

After trigger parts, this gun will climb into the mid 600 dollar range, at which point I think it will be about done. Out of the box, it can be found in the mid to high 500s (mine was 570 otd) and is a heck of a deal. The trigger really isn't bad, but for anyone who shoots 1911s often and enjoys tinkering with the trigger on their guns, a bit of tuning will be necessary.

I am really becoming a believer in the cz75 platform, and suspect one in 9mm or a kadet kit in 22 may also join the ranks of my collection. I am trying to resist the urge to fondle a 97b, as I already have three 45s (having just gotten down from 4) and find it hard to justify ANOTHER gun in that caliber. Especially considering I find it hard to keep 45acp ammo stocked on my loading bench as it is.

If I see a 75b in 9mm for 400 or less (including clones) it'll probably happen when I get my tax return. This gun has totally won me over, and I suspect I might be moving still further away from the striker-fired polymer frame 9mm / 40sw market.

CZ 75B SA in 40S

Marginal pics in this post. I'm getting a new camera soon so hopefully we should see a marked upswing in the quality of photographs on this blog. In addition, my GF is actually going to teach me how to take a decent photo as well, so improvements will be had all around.

the joys of metal

The CZ 75B SA was not actually my first choice. Instead, I had wanted an EAA elite Match in 40sw. The EAA is based on the CZ design, but departs slightly in execution. However, I could not find a distributor that had stocking 10 round 40 caliber mags, which means that the gun effectively cannot be had in NYS. I could have went with a 45 caliber version, but if I couldn't ever secure the NYS legal mags, I could never go to the caliber I actually had wanted.

I had desired a full size 40 SW handgun to fill a gap in my collection. My previous 40 caliber handgun was a midsized G23. The gun had served me well, but the midsize frame in general does little for me. I sold it, along with my Colt Commander and Kel-Tec p11 for lack of use.  The Glock was a bit of a surprise sell. I had originally thought of selling one of my Ruger Security Sixes, but couldn't bring myself to do it. The glock on the other hand, moved on easily.

For me, the mid-size gun is too much of a compromise. Not as easy to carry as a compact, not as nice to shoot as a full-size gun. As such, they always existed in my collection in a form of purgatory. I neither was drawn to them nor repulsed- and as a result they received virtually no attention. After ruminating a bit on the whole problem of a good 40 caliber gun (without the EAA as a choice), I decided to go with the original platform the EAA was based on. I also decided to stay with the single action (SA) format, as I am quite used to thumb safeties and am willing to sacrifice a touch of speed for my first shot to have a better,  more consistent trigger pull on every shot.

Ambi-Safety

As soon as I held the gun I knew I had made a good decision. The gun feels solid in the hand, and the polycoat finish appears very durable.  As is the case with the entire CZ 75 lineup, the frame and slide work on an internal rail system - which I did not find difficult to manipulate even with my large hands. Some have difficulty with this format as it removes a significant amount of area you can grasp while working the slide, but such was not the case for me.

internal rails

The gun points naturally and has functional (though somewhat cheesy) three-dot sights. Instead of the standard white we see on so many guns today, CZ elected to go with a glow-in-the-dark (GID) paint that does absorb and push out a fair amount of light. My issue with the GID paint on sights is that once in the holster, the sights quickly lose their charge and do not glow. Maybe in a low light situation people give the sights a quick blast of light from a flashlight (which does work) but it does seem silly to me. In any event, my sights were well regulated for windage and fairly close for elevation upon firing.

I suspect that my preferred weight in the 40 (155-165 gr) is a bit lighter than what is used to test these guns (180gr I would think) which causes my POI to be just below my POA at 15 yards. As to ergonomics, the 75 feels phenomenal in the hand, and is approximately the same size & weight as a Government Sized 1911. My gun has fed, fired, and ejected everything with ease, despite me trying to induce a bit of jamming.

To test the gun, I took it straight to the range with an assortment of different ammo. I did zero prep to the gun. I did not clean it upon purchase, I did not add lubricant of any kind, nor did I fluff and buff any parts of the firearm. I simply started loading mags and getting ready to throw some lead.

Barrel uses a linkless system

I have only fired about 130 rounds so far, with the majority being my own 40 caliber Lead Truncated Cone (LTC) 155 gr design from a group buy I ran over at castboolits. I fired about 75 of these guys, and all fed, fired, and ejected smoothly (as is expected, if a gun struggles with an in spec TC, it will struggle with anything). Next up was some PMC Bronze 180gr FMJRNFP ammo I purchased along with the gun.

I generally avoid factory ammo, but on new guns I like to be certain of what the gun will digest, so I splurged for a couple boxes. The gun digested a full box with no issues, and no discernible differences in recoil or functionality. Finally I ran a single mag of 155gr Federal Hydra-shoks through the gun, as they are what I have the most of for JHP in the 40sw at my disposal. I'll probably be moving away from the Hydra-shok soon, as it is getting more and more difficult to find the 50 round boxes of this ammo by me locally, and I hate purchasing the smaller boxes because I always feel like you get screwed on the per unit cost. I'll probably switch to a fiocchi load, as I have had good luck with them in the past and they are pretty reasonable as far as price goes.

The shooting was as good as I can do with any gun, and the trigger pull was pretty good- not 1911 good mind you- but very shootable. I much prefer it to any striker-fired gun I have ever used. I may putter around with the trigger at some point and get one that is adjustable for both pre and post travel, as well as have the hammer and fire controls worked on by someone.

The gun carries well and has left me very impressed. I paid 570 OTD for mine, and it comes with a fairly decent case and 2 mags. For what it is, I would give this gun a definite buy. It has one of the better triggers for guns in its class I have ever used, and for those in non-ban states standard capacity mags hold 12, with 14 round mags being readily available from Mec-Gar.  I suspect I will be buying more CZ products in the future, as this one has left me extremely satisfied.