Mike's spot

not much to report

2012-01-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Ordered some magpul gear for an AR, and haven't had much time to do gun stuff lately. Looks like I'll be getting a dog. I'm adopting (at least temporarily) my brother's pitbull. He is working two jobs and doesn't have time to spend with the little guy. Have been jammed with work lately so blogging will continue to be light for another few days.

Update

2012-01-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

CZ-75b SA in 40sw at gunshop?
check.
Custom leather from SCT leather ordered?
check.
Spare magazines ordered?
check.
Metric boatload of ammo ready to go?
check.

time to pick it up 140 miles away in the next few days?
fuck.

After I get some rounds down range, I may consider changing out the factory 3-dot sights, but not without at least a few hundred rounds down the tube.

FIGHT SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T14:42:00.002-05:00

we the gun community, are under constant attack from legislation that is at best, written by incompetents and at worst, a completely malicious attack on freedom. It is no mistake that the first two amendments to the Constitution address the right to free speech and self defense.

http://sopastrike.com/

CProducts 1911 magazine update (LCJ wholesalers)

2012-01-16T16:08:00.002-05:00

in May of 2011, I reviewed 3 cproduct 1911 mags I had purchased during a sale at LCJ wholesalers. The price on these mags is currently 9.95- a two dollar increase from when I purchased them. The finish I had previously thought to be park'd appears now to be a flat phosphate style finish.

Since May of last year, I have continued to use these mags for range and hunting use (as was intended). A few things have changed in that time, so I wanted to offer up a rejoinder to the internet gods so that the quality of these mags can be saved for posterity.

First, the magazines have always been 'so-so' when it came to locking back the slide on most of my 1911 style guns. Well, such is not the case anymore. These mags are now completely consistent insofar as they will not lock bag the slide at all on any 1911 I have tried them in.

They continue to feed well and I have not had problems with FTF, FTE, or any other 3 letter acronym for screw-up, but I still have no better an opinion of them now than I did before.

I will say this- they are not worth 10 bucks each. Absolutely not. 8 was about as high as I would go on these, and frankly I think they should have been in the 5 or 6 dollar range like the old DPMS 7 rounders (which also are not that bad actually).

For the money they cost now- I have to say the CProducts / LCJ wholesaler 1911 mag has moved into the DO NOT BUY category. I may drop in some metalform followers and springs into a few of the bodies to see if I can improve their function, but seriously, if they cost more than 6 bucks- leave em on the table.

It pains me to say it as CProduct rifle mags I think are actually pretty solid. I rebuilt a few NYS pre-bans with CProduct parts with no issues. Their 9mm AR mags also always seemed solidly made. They just totally did not meet expectations though for a really affordable and quality mag in the 1911 platform.

Random bar musings.

2012-01-16T12:11:00.000-05:00

I found a bag of diabetic testing supplies this weekend with no name or contact info. It took me about 45 minutes to find the person in the bar who lost it.

This is a good lesson for anyone- if you have specific medical needs and are tethered to some form of medication-please leave at least a contact number on the supplies in case they are lost. I understand an individual's reservations about leaving address information on things of this nature, but I very easily could have not found the woman who lost her testing kit and she would have been out money and testing supplies for at least a brief time.

mossberg 695

2012-01-11T23:41:00.004-05:00

Almost two years ago, I mentioned that my father enjoys hunting with a mossberg 695 bolt action 12 gauge shotgun. That still holds true, but I think we've had this gun long enough to have some opinions on it that are based on actual experience in the field.

my pop- cleaning up the 695's bore with a wire brush

we acquired this gun used, and bought it off a friend for 100 bucks and a box of 40sw reloads. Not exactly high-dollar, especially considering it came with a bushnell banner scope.

Well the scope as it turns out, had some issues and was sent back to Bushnell this year for some repair. Now on ring duty is a very nice 15 year old Leupold 3-9. As we had to remount the scope, zeroing was in order.

First let us talk about the negatives of this gun. Chief among them in my opinion, is the magazine. It is quite prone to rimlock on the 12 gauge cartridges if care is not taken while loading up the 2 shot mag. I personally think it is easier to only load 1 in the chamber and 1 in the mag to avoid the problem entirely, so owners could use that as a possible solution if they are experiencing similar issues.

Second, the trigger needs work. We sent ours to bill springfield at http://www.triggerwork.net/index.html and frankly it was completely worth the money. With return shipping, the trigger job ran right around 70 dollars. As we had the leupold sitting around collecting dust, this gun still has under 200 bucks invested into from our end, and has laid up 5 deer to date.

still cleaning. . .

This gun, shooting good slugs (in our case, the ever popular lightfield 2 3/4in slug) will pull an honest 2.5 minute 5 shot group at 100 yards. if you are willing to take a 3 shot group, it'll get you in the 1.5-2 minute range, cloverleafing rounds readily. However, I have never had this gun hold that level of accuracy for a full 5 shots. Maybe it is heat sensitive? frankly I'm not sure- but for a shotgun that cheap, I'll take a sub 3 inch group at 100 yards any day.

I do not shoot 10 shots because lightfields run about 12 bucks a box, and I want to cry every time we pull the trigger at $2.40. The gods were kind today though, and we were able to get it completely zero'd in 2 boxes. Not bad considering the last 3 were for group- so 7 slugs for adjustment. There is no doubt that the gun is a shooter, but it is not without quirks. in addition to the above issues, the gun also kicks like a mule (much like most mossbergs in my experience). Some might describe this feature as 'packable' meaning the gun carries well over distance because it is so light. I would describe it as 'abusive'- because eventually you have to shoot the damn thing, and I'd rather carry an extra pound of stock weight to keep me from wanting to flinch whenever I stare it this gun too hard.

However, it does the job it is meant to do, and does it well. the recoil isn't too abusive in NE hunting garb, and it puts rounds where you point it. Also because it is so cheap, you really don't care how ugly the gun ends up.

As for me? I'll stick to the handguns for deer thank-you-very-much. Unless this 20 gauge Encore experiment wows me, I suspect handguns will still rule the day for my woods wandering adventures.

Oh- as an afterthought- a big bonus of this gun is the bolt action itself. It is very easy to bore sight the gun by looking straight through the barrel from the rear, and focusing on a distant target. I had an 8.5x11 in piece of paper at 100 yards that I bore sighted with, and that put me on the paper (same size) at 50 yards, which then put us on at 100. All said, it was two shots at 50 for confirming bore sight and gross adjustment, then five shots at 100 for fine adjustment, then a final three for confirmation of group.

If you have any optics mounted and you have the ability to look through the barrel from the breach, practice your bore sighting and you will save BOXES of ammunition and a significant (but much less measurable) amount of frustration.

cz 75b SA in 40s&w

2012-01-10T19:03:00.001-05:00

It's what happens next.

Mossberg 500 V Remington 870 A battle of Titans

2012-01-09T03:13:00.001-05:00

Since writing about the 870, I have really been struggling internally with which of my pump shotguns I prefer. How does one create a meaningful criteria with which to compare these to colossi ? (I had no idea colossus pluralized like that by the way, though I guess it makes sense as it is a Greek root)

I think I have developed the beginnings of such a rating system. We shall compare the Remington and the Mossberg in 5 important areas. Reliability however- will not be one of them. These guns have proven their mettle to me on the range and in situations of neglect. Neither gun has had any shortcomings with the positive feeding, firing, and ejecting of any and all ammunition which can be safely loaded into it.These comparisons are fairly informal in their execution, but this is not to say that they are not, informative. I'm a pretty average shooter as far as ability is concerned, and I suspect what works for me will hold true for a great number of gun owners. Take this experiment for what it is- a point of consideration, not an axiom of truth from here to eternity.

The titans clash

Thus our criteria will center of the following:
1- Ergonomics
2- speed on the slide
3- speed on the reload
4- transitions between targets
5- maneuverability

First- ergonomics. Though a bit suggestive, I think the mossberg is a better handling gun. It is slightly lighter than the 870- saving a full 4 oz in reported weight from manufacturer's websites with comparable barrels. The safety is ambidextrous on the 500, and and is easily manipulated with either thumb. The length of pull between the guns is comparable, and shooters should be confident knowing that if one of these two shotguns fits them well with the standard stock, they will have little issue with fit switching to the other manufacturer. The feel of the slides is basically a wash between these guns, as both come stock with a full-length pump which can be easily changed out.
overall, slight advantage goes to the Mossberg- so score after round one is:

Mossberg 1 Remington 0

the bolts of the matter. . and a cyclops joke

Area two for evaluation was slide speed. The ability to quickly manipulate the pump on these shotguns and get back on target for a follow-up shot is paramount for a working defensive gun. At left, you can see the difference in bolt construction between the two firearms, and here the remington offers a far superior action for speed and getting shots on target. Maybe it is because I shot 870s for more of my life than the 500, but the speed at which I can fire accurate shots at close range with the 870 is noticeably quicker than what I can do with the 500. The smoother cycling of the pump on the remington gun allows me tighter control of the gun while under manipulation gives me better results.

Not much else to debate on this point. The mossberg action isn't bad- but it is not in the class of the 870.

Mossberg 1 Remington 1

The speed of reload, meaning not the manipulation of the slide but rather the replacement of spent shells in the chamber or tube, is an important element to consider when choosing a fairly low capacity defensive arm. Though the mossberg has a slight capacity advantage with a total round count of 6 as opposed to the remington's max count of 5, the availability of tube extensions makes the point of ammo in the gun 'moot' in my book.

close-up of pumps

While I went to basement, picked a sturdy looking wall, and started cycling shells. I tried feeding overhand and underhand directly into the chamber, and found the mossberg had a slightly more forgiving chamber that allows for less than perfect manipulation to get the shells in the chamber. Loading up the tube the clear victor hear was mossberg, which does not have the addition of a loading gate like the 870. Loading in both the chamber and the tube was, for me, quicker in the mossberg.

Mossberg 2 Remington 1

Transitioning between targets required actual range time, and that occurred in some horrendous weather- so no photos. sliding between targets and getting rounds into them - was best done with the remington. I suspect the smoother slide manipulation accounted for much of the difference in speed between the guns. Targets were approximately 3 ft apart and were 8.5x11inch pieces of paper.

Mossberg 2 Remington 2

two-headed Cerberus? these Greek puns working?

Finally we come to maneuverability. The slightly shorter barrel, and slightly lighter overall weight of the mossberg, made it the preferred gun in my little maneuvering test (AKA attempting to through my house room-to-room with each gun and comparing which one was easier to handle). Not the most formal test- but definitely a practical one.

That brings the final score to:

Mossberg 3 Remington 2

However, that assumes that each of these categories counts equally to every owner. Some people might find the faster transitions and smoother (quicker) shooting of the remington to outweigh the superior ergonomics, maneuvering, and reloading of the mossberg. For me, I think I will stick with the Mossberg as the primary defensive shotgun by my bedside. I have grown rather attached to it since purchasing it- and am comfortable with how it operates. I personally do not think the slight increase in speed and transitions is worth switching from the 500 to the 870.

Scylla and Charybdis, or trigger guard and safety close up

All in all, both are great guns- but for my purposes, the 500 is the better defensive choice. The 870, in my not so humble opinion, is a better hunting gun (especially for birds) where the added weight can help soak up some recoil, and transitioning between birds can be the difference between a nice double or triple, and a meager meal in the camp pot.

When it comes to keeping a gun at the ready for whatever scenario might come up while at home though- I like a lighter, easier to maneuver gun which can still put rounds where I point it- even if faster options exist.

A family that shoots together, is pretty awesome.

2012-01-07T21:06:00.003-05:00

I thinned the herd a bit in my gun collection. I sold my Colt Commander, my Kel-Tec p11, and my Glock 23. They were all good guns- but I had run my course with them. I took them out of the safe infrequently, and when I did I derived little pleasure in shooting or carrying them. I got an oodle of credit at my local gunshop, and will be using it to get a few new toys to play with and review.

Right now, they are trying to track my down a NY compliant EAA witness elite match- if that doesn't work, I suspect I might go with a CZ SP-01 in 40sw. Also on the confirmed list is a 20 gauge encore barrel for hunting season- could be fun and I am excited to give it a try.

Those however, are not the topic of today's post. Today, I got to shoot with not one, but two (aka 100%) of my parents. Rare are the days when we all have time to go together, so I enjoy them

My mom, being awesome. It is genetic.

immensely when they occur. My brother is now actively working on his NYS pistol permit application, so in less than a year- we could truly be having funday gundays at the range as a complete family unit.

My parents are far more interested in shooting from a self defense perspective, with my father also having heavy interest in shooting for hunting purposes. I am generally the only one who views shooting as a sport unto itself. As such, I tend to get much more range time than either of them, so today I focused more on the role of photographer than shooter (though both happened in good amounts).

let that steel ring.

I always encourage my mom to warm up with my 22 caliber Ruger pistol. My old mark II has seen a lot of rounds, and continues to be an amazing performer. I think i may change the recoil spring at some point, as I couldn't begin to count the bricks this thing has fired. It has to be over 75 by now, and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if it were closer to 100. I remember during my undergrad while home on summer break shooting 2-3 bricks per week.

I had a custom steel target put together by a forum member on THR.org a while ago, and it has made my range time not only more fun- but also more productive. having a reacting steel target that you can put out at any range (greater than 50 ft- NEVER shoot steel close up for defensive work) has really made a positive impact on my shooting. Also having a target that auto-resets like my autopopper has provided a level of awesomely fun feedback that paper targets never will be able to provide.

Mom and Dad, loading up

Both of my parents shoot well for their intended purpose. My mother outshoots my father with handguns by a small margin - but my dad claims a mulligan on account of cataracts. I think he is trying to make excuses, but such is life :). Both of them ring the steel at will between 50 and 60 ft, but things get a bit dicier out at the 75-100 ft range.

My mom had fair success with the 22 pistol and the 50 yard steel- but could not repeat the success with any other firearm shot on this particular outing.

close-up of my steel

After some 22 warm up, my mom moved on to my K-frame m10 and eventually onto her smith 637. The J frame is a handful for most shooters, and she did not linger long with the small pocket rocket- and did much of her range work with the larger guns.

She fired about a box through her Ruger LCP as well- and the gun continues to perform well. The gun probably has about 600 rounds through it, and the slide has worked in considerably, making it much easier for my mom to manipulate the slide.

My dad stuck with his preferred carry gun, which is a (formally mine) cz82. The cz is a great gun and I really have nothing bad to say about it. Always reliable, despite a good bit of neglect on my father's part, the gun shoots well and has a good trigger- putting rounds exactly where you point it.

Mom and Dad, 'winning' as charlie sheen would say

I stuck to the 22 and the k-frame for much of my shooting early in the day- but turned to my Citadel CS officer's sized 1911 for my defensive shooting practice. I remain a huge fan of this gun, and went a full 5 for 5 on the 50 yard steel, which for a 3.5 inch barreled gun with me shooting, is pretty good. I find I carry this gun a lot- but shoot it less frequently than my government sized 1911s. Normally this would concern me, but whenever I do put rounds through the CS- it performs very well and makes me look much more talented than I am in the accuracy department.

All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with people I love very much, participating in an activity I enjoy more than any other hobby I have ever participated in. It is really tough to complain about much when you get to spend a great day shooting with family- so I'll end simply by saying- life is pretty good :)

Remington 870 Express Mag, the gun remington makes well

2012-01-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well, after pointing out Remington's miserable failure called the R1, I lucked into an 870 with a 20 inch slug barrel and 3 inch frame. It a karmic kick to the junk for slandering a crappy product and then supporting that same company with my hard earned dollars, but such is life. A nice shotgun for a good price is a hard thing to pass up- so on to: ANOTHER HOME DEFENSE SHOTGUN LOAD OUT!

The plan

I have talked about how I like to put together defensive shotguns before, but to recap- the defensive shotgun to me must have 4 elements:
1- it must be reliable
2- it must be cheap
3- it must pattern well with defensive ammo
4- seriously, it must be cheap.

Every gun that will be put into a defensive role must cycle and fire with great dependability- this is not a ground breaking concept. When we need a gun to protect ourselves and our loved ones, we do not want to be wondering if the gun will function.

The gun must also shoot your defensive load in a way that presents a reasonable sight picture. A little deviation on single bead guns is to be expected as one switches from load to load; however, a person needs to know when the sights are lined up- the payload will go where it is supposed to.

Finally, the gun must be cheap. Why must it be cheap? because I don't have a lot of money- and with the amount of shotguns on the used market in the US, a person does not need to spend a lot to get a great value.

buckshot, slugs, and shotguns - the perfect mix of manliness

I started this gun with the idea that it would serve as a supplement to my Mossberg 500. As such, I purchased an Uncle Mike's shell caddy for the buttstock. It was promptly stolen by my father, who put it on his hunting 870. Heavy is the danger of living in a home where everyone is a gun owner. Accessories, ammo, guns, and all sorts of things get consumed and commandeered by any one of several family members. I will eventually pick up a replacement for this gun- though I refuse to drive back to the store right now.

the 870 has one of the smoothest bargain priced actions available (IMHO)

This shotgun, as are all 870s I have ever used, was boringly reliable. I quickly shot through slugs, buckshot, and birdshot without any jams, misfeeds, or misfortunes of any kind.

I did have one interesting thing happen though with birdshot. While shooting some federal bulk pack / value pack birdshot, I noticed while policing up my empties that several hulls had completely split along the length of the shell. Reloaders should note that these cheap shells might not be a great choice for securing hulls for reloading purposes. It only happened to 2 hulls out of the whole box of 25, but it is enough to be annoying for the volume shotshell reloader.

I have always thought that the action on the remington 870 was superior to that of the mossberg 500 as far as 'feel' while cycling is concerned, however as far as functionality goes- I think it is a total wash between them. I prefer the doorless loading gate and centralized safety of the mossberg over the remington, but the remington has a smoother trigger and a hefty feel to help absorb recoil that beats out the mossberg. These guns really match up well, and I suspect I will have to compare them outright at some point to see if I can really come up with a preference and justification for one over the other.

bringing the booms

When it comes to ammunition selection, I have a stringent process whereby I compare loads in an extremely complex manner, taking notes and performing a number of intricate tests. The entire process is far to difficult to explain here- but a brief paraphrase might go something like this:

buy cheapest defensive load available.
shoot it.
if it works, buy more and call it good.

note the slight variation in length on these 2 3/4 inch shells

With handguns, I actually care and do try to pick good loads based on expansion, feeding, and other real variables- but with shotguns. . . not so much. If I can stuff it in the tube and it will come out the other end at an appropriate time and go to the place I point it with a reasonable margin of error, I'm generally okay with it.

I use 00 buckshot, and have had good luck with it for my informal 'blowing up water jug' tests. I have shot a lot of the S&B stuff (pictured on the right side of the photo at left) but recently picked up some federal for a good price(center of photo at left). It also blows up water jugs in a satisfactory manner, and can be had in boxes of 25 for between 15-20 dollars. I also tend to keep a few slugs on hand, and will choose anything that shoots a good group at 50 yards and costs less than a buck a shot (left of photo at left).

In rereading this post so far, I realize that I sound like a really cheap bastard- so allow me to explain. I truly believe that it is better to own a less costly gun, shooting less costly ammunition more frequently than it is to own a nicer gun, shooting nicer ammunition only occasionally. My guns get shot and they get shot often. I don't baby the finish, I don't always clean them as soon as I am done, and I like to shoot in volume. As such, my guns get scratched and scarred quite often- and digest large quantities of ammo. That is why I am always price conscious.

gun cleaned, and ready to go with some ammo

I keep a variety of loads available on the stock of the gun because I believe the defensive shotgun is not limited to just home invasion / burglar type scenarios. The home defense shotgun is the gun you grab to dispatch wounded deer, aggressive coyotes, curious skunks that are playing too close to your pets or children, rabid animals, or any other of a multitude of not that unlikely occurrences. The defensive shotgun must be kept handy- and gets use as woodchuck eradication in the garden, or crow elimination in the back tree.

Yes the gun has to be ready to defend hearth and home from the aggressive human predator, but it can be pressed into service for deer hunting or bird hunting as well. As such, the defensive shotgun must wear many hats - and it does so very well.

My family has always had an affinity for the 870- and has made good use of them for all of the above scenarios. the 4+1 capacity of the gun does put it at a slight disadvantage to other shotguns in its class, but honestly- capacity isn't a big focus of mine with these type of guns.

note the stolen shell caddy on the top 870.

My mossberg cost me about 185 bucks when all was said and done. This gun cost me 190 (195 once I replace the shell carrier). Single barrel and double barrel shotguns are also viable home defense options- but by me, they are less popular. That means that while I was looking at the used gun rack today at my local shop, a used NEF shotgun in 20 gauge was going for 175. To me, for another 10-20 dollars I would much rather have a reliable pump gun not just because they hold more ammo- but because I really think they hold more value.

It would be a hard sell indeed for me to spend nearly 200 dollars on a used NEF shotgun. That is not to say they aren't nice- but just that I think that is a very high amount for what you are getting. Conversely, a pump gun can do anything that a single-shot gun can, and much more. to pass up that additional flexibility for 10 or 20 dollars seems a bit foolish.

All in all, for under 200 bucks I think I got a fine deal. I don't know if the 870 will totally eclipse my mossberg 500 for defensive duty, but having options is always nice.

The gun I will NEVER own: Remington R1911

2011-12-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

I generally refrain from flaming guns outright- especially when I haven't had a chance to personally put them through the ringer. However, while at the gun shop today, I saw my third Remington R1911 that I have had a chance to inspect and field strip with a fair level of scrutiny.

All I can say is that the thing looks like a total piece of shit.

The first one I inspected was shortly after they came out. There was a noticeable gap between the slide and the rails on the right side of the frame that opened up an angled channel into the back of the gun. I gave it a pass as I assumed QC slipped while they were trying to meet demand

The second one I inspected had grip panels so misshapen, that you could actually see the gap into the magazine well from the back of the gun. Grip panels aren't a big deal I thought- Hell people rag on RIA and Metroarms all the time for grips, and I like both of them just fine.

The third had a trigger that had a quarter inch gap along the top side of the frame, again had screwed up grips (bad cuts by the grip safety) and looked like it had been checkered by an autistic cat who mistook the panel for a scratching post. At this point I gave up on them.

I have never shot an R1911, but if anyone out there is a happy owner who has one of these guns in spec- PLEASE comment- I have not seen one and it pains me that a company that makes such phenomenal rifles and shotguns, who knows darn well how to make a 1911, has not been able to put one within 50 miles of me.

I did see a nice essex 45 that had been built up, (I assume) sometime in the early 1980s. A fairly faithful A1, the 1911 had only non-GI sights to distinguish it from a true US Mil style gun. Price was reasonable at 400+tax.

Rant off.

Cav Arms receiver

2011-12-28T22:52:00.000-05:00

Had a nice day today-The weather was a balmy 26 degrees F with a slight chance of precipitation (only 3 or 4 inches so far!). With that being said, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to work out the cav arms receiver some more with a 223 upper on it. This receiver has been working out well- and I am starting to really like it. I currently have it equipped with a standard buffer tube spring and an H2 buffer. For an upper, I have a Del-Ton ultra-light 223 16 inch carbine length. Even with the reddot, the gun weighs in at 6. lbs 7 oz. With a 20 round mag, I'm running at right around 7 lbs- not at all a bad deal for such a potent little package.

remember sun screen. Target marked with Yellow Circle

The receiver worked well with my leather gloves, and I had plenty of room in the trigger guard without feeling like I would have a negligent discharge at any second. The target today was a highly visible steel plate at 300M.I marked it with a yellow circle in the picture at left, just to make it 'jump out' a bit more for the readers at home.

Hits were not as consistent as I would like- as it was difficult to spot the misses with all the snow. I was fairly pleased though for cheap irons and a zero magnification reddot optic.

I will note that I had an issue today I had never considered when putting this gun together. The snow hit the front of the reddot, and obscured my view of the irons. Whenever I had thought of reddots failing, I always just imagined the battery dying or losing zero at a bad time. Never had I thought about material coating the lens in such a way as to make the view opaque.

covered in the miracle of Christmas. . .

It certainly gave me something to think about. I don't use the dot often on this gun,instead focusing on the irons. I might pull the dot off and save it for another project. Removal of the rings and the trophy dot would put the gun in the high 5 lb, to barely 6 lb range- which is mighty tempting. I doubt I would change the rear sight. Though cheap, I like having the elevation and windage drums (ala A2 style rear sights) instead of just windage, as is more common among flip up rears on many ARs.

This rifle is really becoming my 'go-to' shooter for range visits. When it had the E.A. lower, I liked it. However, the feel of the grip frame and trigger in the Cav is really appealing to me- and it has proven to be a completely reliable package so far. The only maintainence I run on this gun is:

Every 550 bulk pack of 22lr I run through the conversion kit- I try to shoot at least 1 mag of 223. oil liberally when dry. That's it. No deep cleaning, no scrubbing, no bore snake. Just shoot it, and when concerned about dirt, shoot it in a bigger caliber.

Took another new shooter to the range

2011-12-28T00:31:00.004-05:00

My buddy Jeff had never fired a gun- today, after talking about it for nearly 10 years we finally made it happen. Jeff is an old friend from HS, and we've stayed in touch since then. He is now an engineer living in a marginal (read: shitty and crime-ridden) part of town.

my usual introduction gun- the Ruger Mk II

Now seemed like the time to really make an effort to get him acquainted with firearms and their safe handling.

We focused on handguns, with only 1 long gun on the scene today. I didn't want to overload him with too much information, and he expressed his interests as being primarily in pistols anyway.

As per my prior positive results, I start new shooters off with a 22 LR handgun after a thorough safety talk. Jeff enjoyed shooting the little Ruger, and showed some aptitude with it. By the end of the day, groups at 10 yards could be covered with the bottom rim of a coffee mug. I was very pleased with that level of performance from a new shooter after only a few hours of exposure to firearms.

After that, Jeff tried my S&W Model 10, a Glock 17, a Glock 23, and my American Classic 1911. He did his best work with the g23 in 40SW, and thought it might be an ideal option for his needs. Once he had tried every handgun I had brought along, I stood back and let him choose what he wanted to shoot more of.

I fear that too often when introducing new shooters to our sport that we [the gun community] - in an attempt to genuinely share knowledge and be friendly - come across too strongly with opinions on defensive firearms. If Jeff had selected the 22 lr handgun, then I would have supported that decision. I believe comfort is paramount to power when it comes to encouraging responsible gun ownership amongst new shooters. A gun that is comfortable to shoot, will be shot more. Proficiency will be the natural result of that progression. Overgunning a new shooter only inhibits their chance of developing strong fundamentals and shooting ability. As is fairly obvious from the above description, I don't bring pocket guns on first time range visits.

In my opinion, they have no purpose in the arsenal of any casual non gun owning novice (I know this sounds weird but hang in there, I realize non gun owners don't own guns). I will hedge my bets here though and say that I believe that for me when it comes to preliminary introductions to guns. If a new shooter decides to purchase a compact gun as their first purchase- that is their decision. However, as long as they are 'borrowing' their shooty goodness from my arsenal - I strongly urge them away from the small stuff until they have some experience and comfort with the bigger, more forgiving models. Larger guns are inherently more forgiving. They have a longer sight radius, often with more comfortable grips, and additional weight to help absorb recoil. I have always been a proponent of giving a new shooter the heaviest gun they can comfortably maneuver, in the smallest caliber I can access, to allow them a comfortable, gentle familiarization period.

At the end of the visit, we fired a good bit through my 9mm AR- which is running like a top. That gun is singly responsible for the huge decrease in my 9mm ammo stores. It feeds anything I stuff in it (and I have shot some ridiculous ammo through it- including some home brew stuff with reddot and a 148 gr LSWCHP which I will not share data for). That gun continues to prove itself as accurate and reliable- while being an unbelievable amount of fun.

All in all- another great day at the range. Jeff is currently in the pistol permit process, and will probably impulse buy a long gun shortly. Our other range buddy for the day, Justin- is also navigating his way (slowly) through the convoluted NYS pistol permit process. Though he is a fairly longtime gun owner, his interest in handguns has only recently gained enough intensity to make him willing to jump through the hoops.

Final thoughts:

1- when bringing new shooters to the range, I cannot overstate the value of a 22lr firearm.
2- don't be pushy with gun and caliber selection as to what the shooter should 'try next'
3- do try to encourage only full sized options up front. the more forgiving elements of the full sized gun will make the experience better for everyone.
4- bring a lot of ammo. Shooting stuff is always pretty awesome.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T13:42:00.002-05:00

Reindeer, not playing reindeer games.

A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to old forge NY. I took the Adirondack rail with my girlfriend and had a great time. In the spirit of Christmas, I figured I would post a few pics from that trip as a way to wish everyone happy holidays.

Traveling by rail is something I haven't had much opportunity to do. Subways and urban settings had made up all of my train experiences prior to this trip, and I must say I really enjoyed the locomotive atmosphere. A dining car, comfortable seats, adequate leg room, all combined to form a very pleasant trip. The views were spectacular, and the environment was friendly.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

Lowes Home Improvement fail

2011-12-21T14:57:00.000-05:00

Lowes has a long history of being anti-gun- despite having a policy which states:

Dear XXXX

Thank you for giving Lowe’s an opportunity to respond to your concerns regarding our policy on firearms in our stores.

Lowe’s abides by federal, state, and local laws regarding firearms, and will continue to do so. Our first and foremost concern is for the safety of our customers. However, we take all comments and concerns from our customers seriously. We are considerate of all customers, and take no position regarding federal, state, and local laws governing the right to carry firearms.

If Lowe’s can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call 1-866-900-4650 Ext. 1 or email execustservice@lowes.com. You may also contact us by mailing your correspondence to 1605 Curtis Bridge Road Mail Code CON8, Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697.

Thank you,

Jamie
Lowe’s Executive Support

Name redacted for privacy, H/T to Opencarry.org for the correspondence . On top of that, they are hipocritical enough to still want the gun community's dollars, by selling. . . . Gun safes.

That is a big strike in my book. Places that don't respect the second amendment I avoid. Throw in not respecting the First Amendment, and I will actively work to not give you my money.

I generally don't discuss religion. I begrudge no man's decision on religion or the lack there of. It is a choice for each individual to make. I do dislike egregious stereotyping on any topic, including religion. Lowes, after being pressured by Florida Family Association, pulled ads on an apparently 'controversial' show about Muslims in America.

Let me sum up the FFA for you: anti-muslim, anti-gay, anti-'smut' (with a generous definition of porn), and anti-hilarious, (the ffa is petitioning Comedy Central to stop development on a spin off representation of Jesus Christ from South Park), and anti-sexual education / safe sex practices.

Religion is not my sword to die on. I'll be honest. However, Anti-gay, anti-religious freedom, anti-porn, and anti-humor, and anti-education (sexual or other) all combined- makes for some craziness that I do not support. Lowes, in taking advice from the FFA, is just stupid.

Don't advertise on a show you disagree with in premise. Don't advertise on a show you think is a poor financial investment. Don't advertise for any actual reason you want. However, listening to a group of people who can work themselves into pant-shitting-hysterics over things like who you pray to or who you sleep with in your private life, is just not smart.

With all that being said, I'm disappointed in Lowes. Worse than being bigoted, Lowes seems to be fairly spineless and will do whatever the mean people who write angry letters say- regardless of what is actually right.

I like Home Depot better anyway.

Day at the range

2011-12-18T23:03:00.000-05:00

A couple friends from Buffalo came into town today for some shenanigans and shooting. Buddy 1 just got his pistol permit and bought the below 10-5 K frame (excellent taste).

not my K-Frame

His 10-5 is in excellent condition. Whereas mine has significant wear and a bit of patina on the back strap, the bluing on his fared quite well over the years.

I believe he paid under 300 OTD, and the gun came with an old holster, Tyler T-grip, and 1 box of 158gr LSWCHP ammo. Sounded like a pretty solid deal in my opinion.

Buddy 2 is a Greek with dual citizenship, also in my graduate program. He had never shot before so we took him out to enjoy some range time. We shot 22s, both 10-5s, my AR with 22 conversion kit, and a couple 45s, and generally had an awesome day.

If you haven't made it to the range lately, try to get a trip in. I'm convinced shooting is good for your health, as I have yet to find a better way to relieve stress from the grind of life.

reloading steel

2011-12-17T21:42:00.002-05:00

On par with 9mm vs 45acp, AK vs AR, Lead and poly rifled bores, and glock vs 1911, is the venerable debate on the reloading of steel cases. Many reloaders and shooters won't fire steel cased ammo at all, let alone reload it. However more and more manufacturers are entering the steel cased

wolf 45acp and 223 steel cases

market (even Hornady), and the metals market in general has been quite volatile. Being able to separate facts from Internet fiction could become paramount in maintaining an adequate brass supply for shooting.

It seems pistol shooters are slightly less reluctant to take the plunge into toying with steel cases, partially (I suspect) due to the US military issuing steel cased 45acp during WWII. However, many rifle users remain reluctant.

I've experimented with 223 and 45acp wolf steel casings to see how they fair in the reloading world. I've learned a little, and shot a lot - and hope this might help other people do the same. In discussing the 223 casings first, know up front that not all wolf 223 is boxer primed. Much of it has been (and I suspect always will be) berdan primed. I can say that as of 2006-07 when I first started trying to reload steel, that both were available, and I never did figure out if there was a way to distinguish which was which from factory packaging.

all reloaded and ready to go

I have noticed three major points in reloading steel for rifle rounds (specifically 223) as opposed to brass. First- their is a slight increase in the amount of effort necessary to process the case. Both the resizing and chamferring of the case mouth requires slightly more effort with steel.

Second, they do not last as long as brass. I have never had case head separation while reloading wolf 223 steel, but I have had cracked necks. The maximum number of reloads I have ever gotten from a wolf steel rifle case in 223 was 5. I lost the nerve to load them after that, or the case mouth just was no longer suitable for shooting.

Finally, the third thing I have learned about steel is quite obvious, you have to dry them fairly quickly after shooting or they will rust on you. After a tumble, you will notice the steel feels extremely smooth, and is actually quite nice to work with.

checking for boxer or berdan primer is as easy as looking down

As far as the longevity of the pistol cases is concerned, I have never bothered to keep count. I lose them or just don't bother with the record keeping on the lower pressure stuff like 45acp. I can say I have yet to notice a crack in any of my 45 steel- but that could be as much a function of turnover as it is vitality on the casings' part.

As far as the feel of the steel for reloading pistols, I never have had to chamfer or debur a steel case in 45acp. I just treat them like brass and run them through dies (carbide lee dies). They hold bullets firmly, require no crimp modification, and don't seem to have any issues with primer pockets working loose quicker than any other casing.

fired wolf 45acp with factory primer

As far as loading data is concerned, All of my loads with steel (and brass for that matter) are published load data in 45acp and 223. The cases have had no issues with unique and reddot in 45acp, nor have the rifle cases in 223 had problems with 846T, IMR4473, or Win748.

I enjoy having a fair amount of steel around because I really don't care if I lose it / don't recover it. In that regard it is great for ranges or shooting situations where high grass, snow, or terrain makes losing empties the norm.

I also have found that people object far less to you picking up their empty steel casings as opposed to their brass ones. This goes for both ranges and individuals, who even if they don't reload, might scrap their brass to recover some of the cost of shooting.

Also, it was just nice to investigate something myself instead of blindly taking the word of others who are just repeating things they have heard. I've cycled through hundreds of steel 223 at this point, and probably just as many 45acp. I know that is not nearly an exhaustive number, but it is enough for me to know that this is a viable resource I can use to keep myself shooting.

lets be honest, steel also looks badass when it is loaded

We in the gun community participate in a sport that is fiscally tied very closely to the price of gas, metals, and politics. Variation in any of those markets can have large and negative impacts on the ability of the shooter to do what he or she enjoys best- shooting. laying into a supply of cheap steel cased ammo, and knowing that it may be able to at least in part provide you some return beyond its initial firing can be very handy information indeed the next time wolf 223 goes to 7 dollars a box.

Take this information for what it is worth- I am not advocating you go out and hotrod some shitty steel casings you find, but I am saying that I have played with them for a few years now, and have no issues to report when proper care and loading techniques are used.

carry on and shoot well.

Thinning the herd

2011-12-16T02:52:00.004-05:00

I'm contemplating selling a few guns to make room for some new and exciting toys.

Short list of things to go:
1- 150 prefix Ruger Security Six- I have two of these, and the shorter barrel one just doesn't see much use.

2- Kel-tec P11. Great gun! I have nothing against it, other than I rarely carry it. I find when I go for a small gun, I prefer my J-frame Smith. The rest of the time, I prefer a larger 45 auto or 4inch 38spl.

3- Colt LW Commander 1911. I lusted after this gun for a while- but once I got it, and then an officers model- it splits the baby too much for my taste. It isn't as forgiving as shooting a Government size for accuracy, nor is it as comfortable as an officers size for carry.

All are good guns, and really I have nothing against any of them- They just aren't getting the amount of use I think they deserve, nor are they giving me the satisfaction I demand in a piece that is going to be in my collection for the long term.

I know some people say 'never sell a gun' but frankly, I've bought and sold many- and I have yet to regret it. My collection will never be without a 1911 style gun, or a Ruger SS for that matter, however- the redundancy and variation in these models is just not what I want right now.

I'll probably get the slide refinished on the Colt before I put it up on the block, as it is a little rough right now and I don't feel comfortable letting it go as is. Once that is sorted though- I'll be moving it right along.

Colt Official Police Vs Smith and Wesson M10

2011-12-13T18:50:00.001-05:00

The set up

Not too long ago, you could find a revolver in the holster of most every police officer in the United States. Chief among those revolvers for many years was the Smith and Wesson K frame (model 10) and the Colt Official Police, built on the I Frame. These two powerhouses dominated the law enforcement market - and competed directly against one another.

What was the result of all that competition? Which gun excelled in what areas? Was one of them a clear winner? Well, I don't know how conclusively I can say which one is better- but I did spend a while comparing these fine revolvers, and I certainly have some opinions on which one performs more to my liking. What follows is a simple series of comparisons I conducted comparing how the guns shoot in single and double action, how they compare on target transitions, and finally, how they group with a variety of common weight 38 special ammo.

The Guns

First off, there are some significant limitations in this little adventure. The colt has aftermarket grips (the factory stocks were far too small for my hands) and the guns are really not of the same vintage. The colt was made in the mid 1950s, and the 10-5 smith in the 70s. Over 20 years separates these guns, and that time difference manifests in several ways.

With those restrictions in mind- I'll say right up front that this was a heck of a lot of fun to compile.

I started the day off by warming up with my Ruger mk II just to get a feel for some trigger time again. All shooting was done at 10 yards on the large Birchwood Casey shooting circles ( 3 inch diameter). Shooting was all unsupported and fairly quick. No more than a second or two between shots. All targets were shot with a 6 o'clock hold.

These are working guns that were meant to be in holsters protecting life and limb- though they may be capable of target accuracy, I am not. So I really just focused on what an average shooter can do with each gun in what I think are reasonable circumstances.

First up was the smith M 10-5. This gun feels good in the hand, and has a larger cylinder gap than my Colt OP. The Smith also has far more forgiving chambers- gleefully accepting rounds that the Colt simply would not let drop into the chambers.

Those factors right off the bat gave the smith a bit of a leg up in my mind. It has a lot of qualities that make it a far more forgiving and user friendly gun.

I started the test with 6 rounds of slow fire single action shooting at 10 yards. Ammunition was 200 gr LRN 38 special +P ammo, reloaded by yours truly. This load mimics some of the older 200 gr 38 special police ammo in power and function.

The smith did not disappoint. The group was 1 ragged hole 1.5 inches above POA and 1-1.5 inches to the right. I nearly called it a day right here- as I suspected that would be one of the better groups I fired during the entire outing.

The Colt did fairly well (shot in lower right off target was existing on target backer) grouping high with no discernible left or right favor. The group was not nearly as nice as the smith- but still very functional.

At this point, I tentatively will give the single action leg up to the smith. I found the break on both guns to be very good, but I did prefer the feel of the Smith and Wesson.

Next up, I tried the guns at the same distance on fresh targets double action. Interesting fact- I suck at shooting double action and desperately need more practice at it.

The colt put the rounds generally high and to the left for me, but I did manage to put 1 round low and right- just to completely destroy any insight I might have as to what I should work on, aside form just sucking less.

Not to be outdone- I sucked equally as much with the smith, but this time grouped consistently low and right.

How is that for useful target analysis? You either shoot high left, or low right. Maybe if I hold them both at the same time, I can hit something near where I placed the target, and I can cancel out whatever messed up habits I am developing.

Well the results were so bad, I decided to call a mulligan for myself and shoot the drill again.

On the second time around, the smith provided me with a slightly more respectable target, placing all 6 rounds either on or nicking the target circle.

Group 2 of double action fire went much better for the colt as well, which did group better for me in double action.

Overall, I give the feel of the double action pull to the colt. I found it to be more predictable and generally smoother than the smith.

Next up I tried some target transitions. I set two targets about 18 inches apart, and fired 1 round at each target alternating between them in double action.

First up was the Model 10. I have no idea where the third round on the right target went, but I was pretty pleased with the results of this little drill. Switching quickly between targets and firing double action actually yielded groups, and even scored a solid hit on the right target.

The colt did perform better, but we have already established I prefer the double action pull on the Official Police to that of the model 10. Grouping on the left target was all on the target circle, and

even though they were high on the right target circle, the grouping was quite tight.

At this point I was fairly undecided on the guns. The smith had a better single action pull, and grouped better for me. The colt consistently won the double action game, but never seemed to have the same grouping potential as the smith.

It seemed as though this was going to be an even match.

Next I tried each gun with a 148 gr LSWC load, fairly common in target shooting. The smith grouped low right and had a bit of vertical stringing. Shooting was done in single action for this drill with both guns.

The colt strung slightly horizontally, and was also a touch low. Grouping slightly favored the colt for this weight ammo.

The final test of the day was going to be the most common ammo available for the 38 special- 158 gr LSWC. This ammo, in varying forms (158 gr LSWCHP, +P, +P+, etc) was a go to police round for many years- and is still my preferred 38 special carry round (158 gr LSWCHP +P)

The smith continued to group slightly right for me, and POI was right on for POA. The grouping was fairly tight, and was probably right at 2 inches.

The colt shot just above POA with a 158gr load, and had no discernible left or right favor. The group was slightly smaller than the model 10, but not by a large amount.

If I had to pick only one- it would be the smith and wesson. I mainly shoot single action with my revolvers (as is evident from my marginal groupings) and I preferred the less finicky nature of the m10 to the OP. The larger sights were also easier on my eyes, though I am not convinced that one sight picture over the other helps with accuracy.

The guns will generally fit in the same holsters, and any difference in weight between them is completely unnoticed by me. I do prefer how the smith has a captured guide rod, and I also prefer smith and wesson's design to push the cylinder release toward the muzzle instead of colt's method of pulling the release toward the rear.

Prices on the guns are fairly comparable, with the total cost of both of them coming in at well under 400 bucks. A shooter would do well to own either, and I would say that every handgunner needs at least 1 four inch 38 special gun in their collection.

If you can only buy one, I would say go get a smith. If however, you had a bit of extra cash- owning both is a pretty sweet deal too.

CVA Accura makes meat

2011-12-11T18:44:00.001-05:00

Muzzleloader season starts tomorrow by me, but I took mine out today all the same. About 15 minutes before dark a nice doe presented herself at 70 yards to my left (South of where I was setup). I brought my Accura to my shoulder and squeezed off the shot free-hand. The doe flopped over with a clean pass through mid way up the front shoulders. The doe was definitely the largest bodied deer I have ever harvested, and probably weighed between 160-165 lbs live weight. I know people take monster 200+ lb deer in the northeast, but I certainly don't see many of them.When I walked up to the doe, she was still alive, though completely incapacitated. I dispatched her with one shot through the head from a pistol.

As that isn't much of a story (despite being really exciting for me) I'll give a review of gear and what I would change.

First the load: I used 100gr of loose Triple 7 powder and a 250 gr TC shockwave. The load shoots well and has plenty of knockdown power.

Second the knife: This is the third deer I have dressed out with my mora 440 sporter knife- and it has held an edge well. If I were buying it again, I would buy one with an Orange handle instead of black, so it would be easier to find when I put it down.

Third the Flashlight: Still carrying a solarforce L2 with a Cree XP-G emitter. Light is bright, and I have no complaints about it. I keep a single 1850 stick battery in there and I never have problems with it.

Sidearm: Springfield armory mil-spec loaded with 230gr winchester white box PD JHP. This load has performed well in the past, and gave a clean pass through on her head for a finishing shot. Slug was not recovered so I cannot comment on expansion- though judging from the exit wound, I don't believe it opened up much. Magazine was a C-products 8 round mag. Not the greatest, but functional and it was loaded up with the ammo I wanted to carry.

Camo was all scent lock gear, and ontop of it all I wore a harness from Hunter Safety Systems.

Tree stand was some no-name ladder stand I couldn't say anything exceptional about one way or the other.

That is everything. I try not to carry too much stuff when I am out in the woods. Throw in a cellphone and a couple zip ties to attach tags to animals, and some latex gloves for gutting and you have my entire 'kit'. Hopefully, I'll put at least 1 or 2 more in the freezer before the close of season- as this was only the second day I have been out this year. Dad has put up 2 in the freezer so far, and if we can get 4 or 5 total we'll be well set for meat for the upcoming year.

Another Virginia Tech Shooting

2011-12-08T16:16:00.001-05:00

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/12/virginia-tech-shooting-dead-police-officer.html

still looking for the shooter. I have nothing to say about this other than it is heart-breaking.

If you believe in a God, pray for them.

EDC

2011-12-04T15:44:00.001-05:00

Saw this video on Youtube and almost cried laughing (h/t to Everyday Carry). It is a very tongue-in-cheek remake of 'Hand in My Pocket' by Alanis Morissette.

general update

2011-11-27T19:27:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was nice, and also uneventful. I changed out the Cav Arms receiver on the 9mm AR for an older Essential Arms one- the Cav does much better with standard 223 mags, and the 9mm sten mags work great in the EA- so that switch is probably permanent.

biggest problem now is keeping enough 9mm ammo on hand and having enough small pistol primers around. It is dangerously easy to blow through several hundred rounds at the range with this thing in a giddy blur.

For those more concerned with rationing ammo, I would recommend NOT having 10 magazines, and definitely NOT trying to hunt down more NYS compliant ones all the time. . .

EAA Witness Match

2011-11-20T21:30:00.001-05:00

Trying to track one of these down in 40sw. If anyone has a lead let me know. I need the dealer to either supply a 10 round mag or ship without a mag.

Joe's Magazine Mania Update

2011-11-13T13:21:00.001-05:00

A while back I purchased a 5 pack of mags from Joe's Magazine Mania. My initial impressions were positive, but I thought the price was a bit high. Now that I have had a few months to put them through their paces, I wanted to give some more thoughts on them.

They have had no issues in my commander or full sized government guns feeding:
200gr LSWC
230gr LRN
230gr RN FMJ
215gr LRNFP
230gr Hornady TAP
230gr Federal Hydrashock

I haven't shot much of the 'good stuff' through these (Hornady and Federal) because it is so damn expensive, but everything runs well. I have not tried these mags in my officer sized 1911 either- so I cannot comment on how they feed across frame sizes in the smaller 1911s.

feed lips

The lips appear to be of a tapered hybrid design, and are a winning combination. The follower is steel, uses a split follower sans feed bump. For an awesome analysis of 1911 mags and how they work, see here.

The witness holes on the mag are cleanly cut and well aligned. The bodies are highly polished inside and out, and the follower and springs seem to be of quality construction materials.

However, the base pads leave something to be desired. Though they are all quite functional and comfortable, but they are poorly fit and of inconsistent shape and dimension. Below is a very typical example of how my base plates line up on the mag. Definitely minus a point for poor fitting.

base pads fail

Aside from my disappointment in how the baseplates fit, the performance on these magazines has been excellent. None of my mags have more than about 100 rounds through them- but no issues have crept up yet and I have put them into my carry mag rotation.

My other preferred mag is the ACT 8 round mag- which looks like this (top magazine pictured). I own about 5 or 6 ACT mags and like them very much. However, my biggest gripe with them is their wide base pads. The additional width of the ACT pad prevents me from carrying them in some of my mag carriers.

These mags avoid that issue. The pads are slim and stack well in any carrier that places mags one on-top-of-the-other, instead of side-by-side.

view of witness holes on a loaded mag

As a final observation, the mags have sufficient internal length to run all of my ammo- much of which I leave a bit on the long side. Some 1911 mags seem to have shorter usable body length than others when it comes to cartridge OAL, but that has not been my experience with these.

Overall, I still consider these mags a win. Their performance has been top notch- and though the execution of some of the details leaves something to be desired, they still form a very functional mag. I maintain the 15 dollar price is a bit high- though if you could get these for 12 or 13 a mag, I would say BUY without any hesitation whatsoever.

Range Day

2011-11-11T17:38:00.001-05:00

Had a chance to go burn some ammo today. Was mainly playing with the new cav arms lower seen here paired with my 9mm Oly style upper. The magwell on the cav is a touch large for my converted sten mags- but aside from the rattle no issues were noted. I'll see if the lower works better with 223 or 22lr mags- and if so I'll switch it to a dedicated lower for a different upper and bring over a traditional receiver for the 9mm.

Also got a chance to run some ammo through my Smith 36, American Classic II, and Glock 17. No issues from any of them. Really nothing to report other than an awesome day outside shooting fun guns.

Happy Veterans Day!

ruminations on brawling

2011-11-07T12:32:00.001-05:00

Ah the fist fight. The less interesting, less skillful, stupid, inbred-cousin of pugilism. People do it all the time- and thankfully, it is a universally painful prospect. This is a good thing- as stupid people who enjoy fighting others over asinine disputes by definition, have to walk away harmed.

This past weekend, I encountered one such asshole. A drunken twenty-something year old male had an argument in the bar I work at. Apparently, someone had offended him dearly (without even talking to him) and he wanted to settle it 'like men'.

However, I am getting ahead of myself. First, allow me to describe our aggressor. He stood about 5 foot 10 inches tall, 220-230 lbs with an established beer belly, was balding, white, and I suspect he also has never been accused of outsmarting anyone.

The disagreement started when the above person, whom by his own assessment was something akin to Don Juan, tried to seduce a woman with such enticing lines as 'you're fucking hot.' A friend of the young woman came over (male) and suggested they go to the other side of the bar.

The friend and the girl were actually quite reasonable. Don Juan however, would not hear of it. He challenged the friend to a fight, then and there. A few of our newer bouncing staff then escorted D.J. out - or started to anyway. D.J. sucker punched the other male in the back of the head after he turned to walk away.

At this point, I saw what was happening and left the entrance of the bar. I grabbed D.J., who fought with all the vigor never going to the gym and spending a drunken life near cardiac arrest can muster, and carried him outside. At this point, he squared off with me to brawl.

I do not fight. If a bouncer is punching people in the face (or anywhere for that matter) someone either better be in serious danger of getting their head kicked in, or he should probably be getting assessed on whether or not he should be fired.

So when D.J. charged me, with a wide, movie-like right hook, I was annoyed. I caught his hand and took him to the ground. Then D.J. tried to gouge my eye out with his free hand, cause he is tough- and tough guys fight hard. . .

Thankfully, D.J. was not athletic, not long limbed, not in anyway competent, and not able to put me in danger. As we sat in the street, with me pinning him to the ground- we both had time to reflect about the events that just transpired.

He swore revenge, I said I was good at paperwork. As he was driven away in the police cruiser, I couldn't help but wonder how a person, whom I doubt ever won fights, found the motivation to start them.

Moral of the story- Don't be an asshole. Don't treat people like shit. Don't sucker punch. Don't fist fight for no reason. Mainly though- don't be an asshole.

the guy who was sucker punched was ok. The guy who attacked us was less okay. He also went to jail. And sat there all Sunday and probably didn't get to see the judge until Monday. And had to use his shoes (without laces) as a pillow. And ate mystery meat sandwiches in the holding center. And will have to go to court.

Occupy Buffalo goes commercial

2011-11-03T13:09:00.003-04:00

I have refrained from commenting on the Occupy/99% protests that are going on.

I believe firmly in the right for people to peacefully assemble and protest for change in their government.

the First Amendment clearly states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

However, today I had to LOL. The Occupy Buffalo has been going on for a while now, but today was the first time I saw someone actively exploiting the occupy camp for flagrant capitalism.

In front of a small cafe, I saw a sign that said 'Occupy Sweetness' 7pm Tonight Free Beer

I have spent some time trying to get a handle on what my local occupy wants fixed in our community. I must admit, the messages are conflicting at best. Standing next to the 'stop police brutality' signs are the 'thank you Buffalo PD & FD!' people. Next to them are the ambiguous "we ARE the 99%!". There are a smattering of other slogans as well, but I didn't catch them all.

Some people are upset, and I think the diversity in their signs is telling. They are frustrated and are unsure why- and cannot form a cohesive message.

I have been told the lack of work is troubling to many people. . . That I take a bit of issue with. I have 3 jobs and am a full time PhD student. There is no shortage of work in my locale- there is a shortage of high-paying jobs. In times of economic crisis people have to swallow their pride and take what work is available. Every weekend, while working at the bar, I have to clean up vomit. Not pretty, but I am not proud and I need the money.

The one thing that bothers me most about people bitching about no work is that some of them feel they are above certain jobs. I have actually heard people say 'well I have a masters! I have a BA! I have a BS! etc etc'

Look- I want to be challenged at work too. I want to be cognitively pushed to the limits and paid accordingly. However- I will not go jobless while I search for that opportunity.

I believe the US would be smart to re-industrialize and make heavy infrastructure investments. I would love to see us creating more tangible products. I would love to see us creating useful high-speed rail for transcontinental travel so I could avoid TSA. However, I do not think people sleeping by town hall are the way to get these matters addressed.

If you want to fix a problem, vote, bust ass, and work for it. Protesting might be part of it- but if that is all a person does, then they really don't want anything to break the status quo.

I am not against my local 99% protestors. They haven't created some of the issues that have crept up in other places (Check out anothergunblog for a much better accounting of 99% stuff- Mike W has been on the ball with it). However I am suggesting that if people really want to fix what is going on- especially with the economy- refusing to work is not the smartest solution I have ever heard put forth. . .

Best Costumes this year

2011-10-30T20:24:00.000-04:00

in no particular order, the best costumes scene while working at the bar this Halloween were:
1- Black Swan
2- Steve Jobs
3- Angry Birds
4- Keith Stone
5- Tyrone Biggums

hope everyone had a safe weekend and enjoys the holiday tomorrow

CMMG please make me a new conversion kit

2011-10-28T15:48:00.003-04:00

I have never been one to have my finger on the pulse of the gun market. I never have prior knowledge, nor do I pretend to be a marketing genius.

However- I think there is a large gap in the handgun market for a quality 1911 conversion kit that isn't excessively priced (marvel & kimber), associated with marginal customer support (ceiner), out of production (colt) and could really rival the remaining competition (advantage arms). I think CMMG could make that kit.

Will it happen? Who knows. I've pestered them via email but the response, though cordial and from the engineering dept, could neither confirm nor deny any plans for such a kit.

Here's to hoping this happens.

lacking in news

2011-10-25T10:32:00.003-04:00

Just got back from a conference this weekend, and have another one coming up.Finally got out to sight in the hunting pistol for this season and it is GTG. Also starting my new copy of Larry Correia's book, Dead Six. If anyone out there in the gun community doesn't read Larry's stuff yet- do yourself a favor and pick up a few of his books. He currently has 3 series out- Monster Hunter, Grimnoir Chronicles, and Dead Six.

CRKT Edgie

2011-10-13T15:07:00.002-04:00

Recently, I mentioned my disappointment with the CRKT Edgie. The knife is a great concept- has a sharpener in the blade and is a nice, usable size, with a quality slip joint.

However, the blade on my Edgie was not holding up well, despite it seeing only light usage.

I contacted CRKT and explained my dissatisfaction- they asked me to send it in to see what they could do.

Mailing in the knife didn't bother me much- the postage was right around $2.50. I wasn't sure what to expect from CRKT, though my previous interactions with their warranty department have been positive, I wasn't sure just how many times I could have good interactions with the company.

To their credit, they promptly sent me a brand new knife, free of charge.

I haven't had this knife long, but I am interested to see how it will hold up.

The whole process has me very conflicted about CRKT. On the one hand, their prices are what I would consider fair, and their customer service is quite excellent- However, it seems near every product of theirs I own I need to consult with their CS department at some point.

Anyway, I'm going to give them a tentative thumbs up- Any issue I had they always made right, I just wish I didn't have 2 issues in a row.

The knife is light, carries well, and comes with a great factory edge. The sharpener in the handle does seem to work and keep the knife in good, usable condition.

The slip joint does not seem flimsy, nor do I worry that it will close on me during use. Though I will say CRKT does clearly state this knife is not meant for heavy duty tasks. The grip panels are comfortable and the knife has a good heft in the hand.

The blade is honed only on one side, which does seem to give it a great edge. This is seen most often on eastern style blades, and I am glad to see it become more common in the states.

The knife lacks any kind of sharp point- which I am glad for. Pushing on the tip of a slip joint is a great way to end up with your friends opening your bottles for you.

I guess time will tell how this second Edgie holds up. I would give it a buy- but only if the price were exceptionally good- say in the 20 dollar or less range.

Cav Arms Rides Again

2011-10-06T16:19:00.001-04:00

Recently I purchased a Calvary Arms stripped lower receiver. These lowers are cheap, and mine is from the Cav Aid drive in 2008.

getting ready to assemble

I picked up a double star LPK and it seems well made. Better than some I've used, not as good as others. I would rank it between a Del-ton kit and a LMT kit. Castings are good with no noticeable voids, and everything went together very easily.

In fact, this cav arms lower was far and away the easiest lower I have ever assembled. I've built over half a dozen stripped lowers now, and I must say this was the fastest and easiest assembly of any of them. So early on I'm already liking this setup.

As a result of how Cav produced their lowers (past tense, they are not actively producing receivers at the time of this writing) You end up with a lot of extra parts at the end of your assembly. The push pins, grip, trigger guard, and associated springs and screws are all superfluous to the project.

left overs

The lower is very light, and I feared that it might make a fully assembled rifle feel front heavy. However, after mounting a 16inch 9mm upper, this fear seemed unfounded.

The gun points quick and does not feel like it is 'nose heavy'. The buttstock is a little shorter than I am used to- being of the A1 style length as opposed to the (now) more common A2 style buttstock length. However, the shorter LOP does not seem to be negatively influencing my ability to quickly shoulder the rifle.

The grip is not a standard A1 or A2 style, and is of a fairly proprietary design. However it is comfortable, and many shooters put a hogue handall jr on the frame to add a layer of comfort.

I doubt I will add one to my build, as I find the grip fairly comfortable and surprisingly non-slip for what appears visually to be a smooth plastic surface. How that opinion will change as I shoot it with sweaty hands, anyone could guess- but for right now, I am pleased.

The trigger guard does not feel crampt, but I am not sure if it is as large as on standard cast or billet style receivers.If a shooter uses gloves at the range, I would definitely try to feel out the cav arms receiver before I dropped money on one.

ready to rock and roll

Assembly was super easy, and the only modification I had to make (aside from omitting a few pieces and inserting a few others from the top as opposed to the bottom of the receiver) was trimming 2 coils off of the safety spring. Cav makes mention of this on their assembly instructions (still available on their website) though I am not sure if it is absolutely mandatory. The safety is easier to use post trimming (I tried it both ways) but it wasn't prohibitive before hand.

I will say that the safety does not respond in the same way on the cav receiver as a safety does on a standard aluminum receiver. It is a softer, squishier engagement and disengagement as opposed to the more positive click on a metal receiver.

All in all, I like the Cav a lot- though I am worried about issues with the receiver now that the company is not able to service them. Allegedly, the Cav receiver will someday make a comeback after they get their BATFE issues squared away. In the meantime though, our lifetime warranties were killed by a now partially defunct company.

The previous owner said he had over 3k in rounds through this receiver, and I must say it does not look much worse for the wear as a result of firing that many rounds. To be on the safe side, I did order a heavier buffer to help the cav live through the abuse a 9mm upper can dish out. Some people run buffers as heavy as H3 or H4s, but I am going to settle for an H2 buffer for the meantime, until I can scrape up something with a bit more mass to it.

Final thoughts- I give the cav a tentative buy, assuming it holds up to the abuse I can give it. If the company can start servicing and producing these lowers again or in the next couple years, I would recommend them without hesitation.

A cheap and super light receiver that goes together easily and can be fixed with bondo or epoxy is a no-brainer. Throw in a lifetime warranty with reasonable rates- and they almost cross over into that 'must buy' category.

If I see any more of these for sale cheap, I might be just tempted enough to stock up on a few. Not having to buy a stock, buffer tube, and grip is a nice way to save a few bucks; and I don't think they look to bad as a fully assembled rifle either.

Cav Arms Lower

2011-09-24T20:36:00.001-04:00

have one on order. used, found on AR15.com for dirt cheap. Will post pics upon arrival.

stay tuned. . . .

Custom holster from SCT leather

2011-09-19T11:01:00.005-04:00

The topic of today's post is 1 of the 3 custom leather holsters I've purchased from Steven Tapia, owner of SCT leather. The first pair of holsters I ordered from Steven were for my 1911s (no big surprise there to my readers) and are extremely comfortable and well made. However, I want to talk about a much more custom job that he undertook for me.

Those who are in the gun game side of shooting will quickly recognize this set up as a speed holster. It generally is, but with a few tweaks to meet my needs. Anyone who knows me understands that I have a weird affinity for two things in the gun world: 1911s and Ruger Security Sixes.

This upcoming hunting season, the Ruger will be getting its first at bat with an optic as my primary hunting handgun.

However, finding a reasonable holster solution for revolvers + optics that fit on your belt can be daunting. Couple that with my strong preference for leather, and you can be caught in a conundrum.

At this point, I sent Steven an email and asked what his thoughts were. How can I get my SS into the woods in both a safe and convenient way?

note the double stitch on the belt loop

Steven ruminated on it and suggested a speed holster design that had the top strap of leather removed with sufficient clearance to allow for my scope mount (photo here). Sadly, I don't have the SS with me to show you how well it fits in this holster, so the Model 10 is doing a stand in- but I can say it is darn near perfect!

Steven reinforced this holster in all the right places to keep it snug against the body. The double stitching on the belt loop, the partially reinforced snap, even the front sight channel. All of which had just a little extra care put into their execution that come from a leather worker who knows what makes the difference between a good holster and an exceptional holster.

SCT Leather's Logo

SCT was always available by email, giving me updates along the way and responding to my questions while all of my holsters were in process.

When I ordered my first holster, Steven suggested that if I would like, he can combine a few holsters into one package to save shipping. At the time, I just didn't have the cash to add another onto the order. As I thought about it though, and I saw the prices for the second 1911 holster I wanted, I quickly broke down and contacted Steven again. Even though my other holster was well underway, he busted hump to get them both completed quickly and got them in the same package despite my indecisiveness.

I waited a long time to write this post. Not because I was lazy or unsure of the quality of SCT- but because I wanted to disprove any nay-sayers. I have had the 1911 holsters of Steven's for a year, and this holster for

sight channel and optic cutout

just about 3 months. I have worn them all in that time quite a bit. Universally they hold close to the body and are trim.

Leather workers, in an effort to gain rigidity can sometimes allow their holsters to become 'thick'. Such is not the case with SCT leather. I have an IWB 1911 holster that is plenty rigid and still doesn't necessitate me buying bigger pants.

The options SCT provides, the quality of service, and the quality of product are awesome. I give Steven's leather work a total buy, and he will continue to get my business. As a matter of fact, now that Ruger has released the SP101 in 22lr, that could very well be the next project I send his way (once I track one down). I cut a lot out of of this post so it didn't sound too much like an advertisement. I didn't talk about how Steven gave me advice on how to fix my girlfriend's leather jacket that had been ruined by water (which his advice saved), nor did I brag about his great pricing (not excessively anyway).

This post still came out extremely positive, and that is simply because he makes damn good holsters.

Pocket dump- what I want to change

2011-09-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

Since I usually carry my bag with me, I have really been pairing down my on person carry. I wanted to do a quick run through of the items and talk about what is working and what is not. The photos are a bit dark, as my office has pretty crappy lighting on campus.

Group photo

On my person I carry:
-my wallet (with a couple alcohol wipes and bandages)
-my keys with small squeeze light, jump drive, and bottle opener
-Streamlight stylus pro
-CRKT edgie
-rechargable lighter
-small pad and pen.

No gun because I am on campus 5 days a week. I'm pretty sure the university will get in a huffy about my knife as well- but I use knives as tools- not weapons; and I am not going to go about my day without an instrument sharp enough to cut something other than butter.

The Stylus pro was so awesome, I had to take it out of my bag and switch it to on body carry. It is just fantastic To have around. I swapped it out for my Fenix MC10. Seriously- this little light has a very usable pocket clip, a good beam, and is just too handy of a size not to have around. At 20 bucks, I'd buy this light again, all day long. It is far and away the best pen light I have ever used.

I usually have my Lamy Safari as well (I loved it so much I bought a spare)- but I just ran out of ink in it and didn't have any spare cartridges kicking around- so for now its back to plain ol' ball point pens.

One of my favorite aspects of the Stylus is that it has momentary on and a forward click tail cap. For whatever reason, I find this to be an extremely handy feature on a light- and try to equip most of my lights to work in this manner. The battery life also seems to be good- and the fact that the pro uses common AAA batteries is nice on the wallet- even though the rest of my lights use rechargeable cells.

The CRKT Edgie has been a bit of a disappointment. It is a great concept- A nice slip joint with a sharpener built right into the handle to keep the knife reasonably sharp. However- I find the blade is of marginal quality- and am actually thinking about sending it in for repair.

The blade on my edgie is actually getting a bit wavy, and it really just isn't up to the standards of what I think it should be. I recently ordered a spyderco tenacious, but that doesn't lessen the bite of this knife's shortcomings. Maybe mine was an exception to the rule- but I was not pleased. It is a shame too because I generally like CRKT products very much. They just didn't execute on this one as well as they could have.

The final item is an old Imco Triplex lighter that was made in Austria. I like how small it is (especially when compared to a zippo) and it seems to hold fluid well- definitely better than some of my other refillables. It is also quite durable, which makes me more fond of it than I am of a little bic disposable.

Even though I'm not a smoker, my partner is- so it is nice to have a lighter for her when she forgets one. Also it is just handy little thing to have around- especially considering I have been known to have a cigar now and again as of late.

All in all- I'd recommend the streamlight in a heartbeat- but could not do the same with the CRKT edgie. Unless you need this knife for some really light tasks, or just like the concept- it just is not the best design out there.

Condor Molle Pouch Review

2011-09-01T19:03:00.000-04:00

Condor Molle pouches are probably about the cheapest you will find. Ranging in price from around 10-20 or so dollars, I figured I would outfit my new bag with some pouches to give them a test for their usefulness, and to help get my stuff organized. After shipping I got all 4 bags for about 55 bucks.

The four pouches I went with are:
The admin pouch
pocket pouch with American flag
rip away EMT pouch
standard EMT pouch

My pack (standard molle backpack- sometimes called a 3-day assault pack) had just enough real estate on which to mount all four bags. The straps wove easily onto the pack, and the snaps all seem pretty durable.

all four pouches, full of organized awesome

I will say right upfront the most useful pouches are the rip-away EMT bag (lower left) and the pocket bag with American flag (upper right). The interior layout on those pouches made them extremely handy, and I find that I put most of my 'most used' things into one or the other.

The regular EMT pouch (lower right) I basically just use as a large single pocket bag.

The admin pouch would be great if I carried a lot of small folded paper, but instead I find it holds a couple pens, a flashlight, a knife, and a poncho. A cool looking pouch for sure- but not nearly as handy as some of the others (at least not as handy to me).

outside of flag pouch

Above, you can see a close up of the outside of the American flag pouch. There is a mesh pocket on the outside, which unless you have very thin items is not particularly useful. The American flag is Velcro and is detachable.

Inside of flag pouch

The main benefit of this pouch however is twofold. First, it is a handy size that holds a good amount of gear. Secondly, it has internal dividers which
actually make a good amount of sense to how I want my bag laid out.

This pouch contains a Lamy Safari (f) fountain pen, a Stanley pen screwdriver, lighter, laser pointer, dry erase markers, p38 can opener, duct tape & paracord (wrapped around a business card inside plastic pocket) and a streamlight stylus pro on the internal lanyard.

The stylus pro is a fantastic little light, and for under 20 bucks, I give it a big thumbs up. It has a forward clicky with touch on, and is surprisingly bright. All of this fits neatly in the pouch in an organized way that isn't so packed with stuff I can't grab anything. the pouch doesn't bulge excessively, and probably still has room for more gear if I felt inclined to add it.

The admin pouch is far less glamorous. Two pens for quick notes, a Solarforce L2 with fresh batteries, an older spyderco folder, a cheap poncho, and a couple glow sticks fills this pouch with as much stuff as I really want to put in it. There is still room in there- but I don't like stuffing pouches full to the point that I sacrifice organization for capacity. This is an everyday commuter bag- not an end of the world bag.

I keep glow sticks handy for 2 reasons: One- every year I have been at university since 2003, there has been a power outage for anywhere from 15 minutes to a day or so. Be it luck (or lack there of) I have always found myself in a windowless portion of a building during these times. As a courtesy, I drop a glowstick by an exit stairwell on my way out, as emergency lighting is often less than useful (or doesn't work at all).

The other, more important reason is bike commuting. Since moving, I have basically moved away from my car for all my transportation needs except grocery shopping. Even though I have lights and reflectors on my bike, in bad weather I pop a stick and hang it on my bag to give me more visibility. I'd rather ride around and look like a dork than get smacked by a car while peddling home.

my hammock is rated to 400 lbs. don't judge me.

The standard EMT pouch is really just for fun. I keep stuff in here that is by in large not necessary for day to day activity, but I left it on for the photos of the bag just so people got a feeling for how the pouches take up space.

This is my camping pouch. Inside I keep:
My Hammock
A small roll of toliet paper
A medium sized ace bandage
30 ft of paracord to tie off my hammock.

This pouch doesn't usually stay on the bag unless I'm going on a trip where I might be out overnight. If so, this pouch plus a small tarp is all I need to set up a really comfy little shelter for general 3 season use. I find that I sleep better in a hammock as opposed to on the ground, and with a tarp tied overhead, stay just as dry as I would if I were in a tent. Add a bug net and a person has a really comfortable camping set up that weighs around 2.5 lbs.

EMT section 1

Inside the large rip away EMT bag I keep a butt-load of stuff. The bag opens into 3 sections, each of which contain different items. The top section contains sanitary wipes, saline solution (for cleaning scrapes), antacids, a multi-tool, and a basic first aid kit with gauze, bandages, and triple antibiotic ointment.

The multitool is a leatherman supertool , and I must say it is pretty sweet to use. It feels much sturdier than my old gerber suspension.

Also in this pouch is a small pill coffin with some OTC stuff like aspirin or allergy medication.

EMT section 2

The middle pouch has some medical tape, a self adhesive wrap, and a few gauze pads. Tons of room left here for more gear, but nothing which I feel I need.

EMT section 3

The final section contains some baby powder, rolled gauze (instead of pads), deodorant, chap stick, and sunscreen. Obviously, my first aid kit is geared towards little bumps and bruises from day-to-day activities. I basically want to be able to clean myself up if I go over the handlebars.

The EMT bag is quite thick as I have packed it- and it would probably annoy some. However, despite being bulky, none of these pouches seem to throw off the balance of the bag, or are prohibitive in storing the bag away anywhere.

If I could only buy 2, it would be the flag bag and the EMT rip away bag. if I could have a 3rd, I would choose the standard EMT dump style bag. The admin pouch to me is the least useful, but for its price (I think it was 8 or 9 bucks) - I'm very satisfied.

All in all, I rate the condor pouches as a solid buy for anyone who wants a cheap way to stay organized. I went with all black on black as to not look too militant- and people think the pouches look kinda 'cool'.

This setup, with all 4 pouches on the bag, would make for a great 2 or 3 day hiking bag. There is plenty of storage for a change or 2 of clothes, some water bottles on the outside, and a bit of food. Also this bag is pretty reasonably priced, with models ranging from 50-100 dollars. Which, though expensive, is no more than a northface or other comparable bag.

Final thoughts- Condor pouches are a buy.

update

2011-08-30T23:19:00.000-04:00

New laptop is in my possession, all items repurchased from my previous theft, and I am back in action. Expect a fairly in depth review of my new EDC. It is good to be back.

Crossman C41 review

2011-08-21T17:24:00.001-04:00

When I was younger, I enjoyed many different air rifles and CO2 pistols. However, as I grew old enough to use real firearms, I drifted away from airgunning almost entirely. Over the past year, I have slowly been getting back into airguns, and I have enjoyed this immensely.

I was hesitant to buy a CO2 powered pistol. I really didn't want to deal with the cost of 12g CO2 cartridges, nor did I want to deal with drop-offs in power while shooting these guns. That being said, I still gave the Crossman C41 a try.

I ordered from Pyramyd Air, and was pleased with the price and service. They seem to be the biggest show in town, and I suspect they are the Midwayusa of the airgunning community. As I still don't have my camera situation sorted, all pics are liberated from the Pyramyd Air website, and I give them all credit.

First the feel. The gun is a Walther P38 clone, and has a non-reciprocating but freely moving slide. It is constructed of metal (no idea what kind, though for the price, I could guess). The grip slides open to reveal a compartment for the CO2 cartridge and the bb magazine has a European style heal release.

The grip slides open freely, but is not problematic while shooting the little plinker. The finger grooves are subtle, and I find myself fairly indifferent on them. The trigger pull is long and on the spongy side, but is not 'bad' - and for a budget CO2 gun, its actually fairly good and shootable.

The accuracy of the gun is good to about 30 ft, After that, the BBs tend to drift fairly inconsistently in any direction- my guess is that the drift is a byproduct of the non-rifled barrel. The sights are fixed, but well regulated within the gun's intended range.

The safety on the left side of the slide is nonfunctional, and the actual safety is on the right side ahead of the trigger guard.

as far as efficiency is concerned, I get about 80-85 shots out of a 12g CO2 cartridge in warm weather shooting slowly. This is at short distance, and I am not concerned with 'maximum power'. Those who use this gun as a close up small game getter (which I suspect it might actually be able to do- at least for small pest control) might be better served to change CO2 cartridges after 60 or so BBs. As per the C41's instructions, I place one drop of non-petroleum based lubricant on the top of the CO2 canister before charging the pistol to keep the seals lubricated.

I am not sure how fast the air leaks out of the 12g, but I have left the gun loaded for 2 or 3 days at a time with no ill effects in performance. I ordered the gun, the oil, 1500 BBs, and 25 CO2 cartridges for 80 bucks before shipping. Pyramyd always has discounts and promotions, and a person can almost always bet on taking 10% off their total, and occasionally get free shipping as well.

All said and done, I have about 75 bucks invested in a really fun little shooter that is great practice, and with proper safety precautions, could even be used indoors. Overall, I would rate this as a good investment. The gun is rated for 495 FPS, which I suspect to be 'generous' but the BBs are moving right along with a good amount of force. Charging the gun with the grip screw is not bad, and even with my largish hands I find I get virtually no CO2 leakage. I think crossman hit a winner with this one.

Tolerance

2011-08-12T11:01:00.001-04:00

I was recently contacted by a group in response to my brief post on the Oslo shootings. Their goal is to preach acceptance and tolerance towards different groups of Americans- specifically Muslim Americans.

As a Gun Owner, we represent a group that takes a lot of flack for our beliefs. People try to espouse false anecdote as fact against us, and generally twist and distort words in dishonest ways to make our position seem evil.

Truthfully, this happens quite often to Muslims in America. I think it is not at all a bad show of solidarity for more groups who are victimized for their believes to stand together.

I have long been a supporter of the LGBTQ community, and also think religious tolerance is something that we need to push forward at home. Working in an academic setting it is easy to forget that many issues afflict a number of Americans that the Ivory Towers hide away.

Though I do not know much about the group, I do not think their message is a bad one. I would like to know where their funding comes from- and I could not ascertain that outside of them being registered as a 403C not for profit entity.

Anyway, here is their video:

click

I will also tell a brief story here about the Buffalo Gun Center, and why I will not give them any business (as it is relevant). I had a good friend walk into the BGC with 2 friends from his collegiate football team. My friend was white- his 2 friends were not. They had no criminal records, were students in good standing, did not do drugs, and did not live on campus. Yet when they went to purchase a firearm, the Buffalo Gun Center refused them.

That would be fine- I support the right of private business to refuse service to anyone at their discretion. However their reasoning put up warning flags. Despite trying to purchase a long gun- and all parties being over the age of 18 and American born, thet BGC demanded they provide a hunting license to finalize the sale. They went so far as to say it was law in NYS and they could not sell a gun without it.

My white friend went back, one week later in a polo shirt, and was promptly helped and told he could purchase the same gun that previously he was 'unqualified' for.

That kind of bigotry is why I boycott that store. If you don't want to sell to someone because you think their motive is not honest, then I will support your decision heartily. However, this was not the case. The BGC saw a white kid and a couple o' niggas and didn't want to sell them a gun, cause they didn't like their color.

If they really believed them to be criminals, they should have filed a report with the local pd giving descriptions with as much information as possible about their 'perceived intent' to harm others. But this was not done- and it was not done because they knew they were just people, but ones they did not like.

Do not let the hatred of a few spoil the quality of the bunch, and treat people decently. I know this post is a bit off topic for many of mine- as I try to leave politics out of this blog because really, who gives a crap what I think?- however, sometimes things boil to the surface for me.

Joe's 1911 Mag Mania

2011-08-10T17:43:00.000-04:00

I ordered a 5 pack of mags from Joe's and finally got to play with them a bit. Total cost was 75 bucks delivered, which for 5 mags made them a bit pricey. The 10 packs work out to be cheaper per unit- more so if the individual doing the ordering is not a NYS resident and can avoid the sales tax.

At 15 bucks per- I have high expectations. Some might call that cheap for a good 1911 magazine, but I am more fickle and frugal than most.

I cannot determine who made these mags by looking at them. Rumors abound as to who is manufacturing for Joe's mag mania, but frankly I cannot say with any more confidence than the forums who is the producer.

I can say I ordered the 8 round stainless mags with bumper pads, and they were delivered promptly. They are also fantastic as far as fit, and loading are concerned. I cycled them through my 3 1911s which take full size mags (didn't get a chance to cycle through the officer's sized 1911) and they seem like real winners.

Overall, I am pleased. Range testing is necessary before I give my final seal of approval, but I am going to give them a tentative 'thumbs up'.

Smith and Wesson Model 10- the gun that finally came to be

2011-08-03T00:29:00.003-04:00

Allow me to start with an apology- both for the lack of content as of late and quality (or lack there of) of the photos in this post. Between moving, working, and being looted- My life is pretty disjointed right now. I don't know if my camera is packed up or stolen, and I was forced to use a borrowed camera (of modest quality) to take the pictures for this post.

deep and brooding artistic photo

Long ago, I tried to buy a smith and wesson model 10 with no success. The promised gun, which was supposed to arrive in March 2009 never materialized. Money was refunded, and I put it out of mind.

However I have always browsed the old Model 10s when in shops, waiting for an opportunity to purchase one if a good price came along.

Just 2 days ago, the opportunity finally came into being. After taking a friend to the pistol permit office to pick up his application, I suggested we stop by a shop on the way which I had never visited called Johnson's Country Store. The shop is only a few miles from the permit office in Niagara County; and is a nice little shop that has guns, archery equipment, outdoor apparel, and sundries.

The store has a fantastic collection of used revolvers, ranging from old H&R 900 22lr revolvers, to target smith and wesson m15s (I think- didn't see that one out of the case), to a number of model 10s and other treasures of shooty goodness.

This model 10-5 caught my eye. Condition was aesthetically good and mechanically excellent with a cylinder gap that is the tightest I have seen on any revolver I own. I would grade the bluing in the high 80s, if one cares about such things.

Being new to the shop, I prepared to haggle with some reservation. The staff was cordial, but I had no rapport with them- and didn't expect much in the way of a discount.

The gun was marked for 219+tax. I tested the water:

Me: Do you have any room to haggle on this?

The clerk: Yea- I can do 199+ tax, cash or credit.

I thought for a moment to see if I could get 199 OTD, but that seemed a bit much. 215 dollars later and the bill of sale was finalized. I consider the extra 16 dollars not only fair for a smith in this condition in my market, but hopefully a good start on building a strong relationship for future deals.

Though difficult to make out- the gun is a 10-5 with a pinned pencil barrel (non-recessed chambers) with what I think are factory target grips. No marring of any screw heads nor significant turn lines are present. The gun is of the fixed sight variety, and has a pleasingly visible front sight of adequate thickness.

The double action on the gun is smooth, and I do believe I prefer it to my Colt Official Police - however I plan to do an in depth side-by-side comparison at some point in the future to truly decide which of these two fantastic old 38s will win my favor :-D

sights

The gun carries well, is light in the hand, and quick to point (as all quality 4inch 38 specials are in this frame size- in my not so humble opinion). The later model 10s can allegedly handle 38 special +P with no ill effects (or so I am told by the interwebz) we shall see if prolonged use has any negative consequences to this gun.

I have not yet had a chance to fire this gun- but I should (hopefully) very soon. I have been playing phone tag with the insurance company about my claim (I recommend renters insurance highly- it covers vandalism in your vehicle as well), and am moving this week. Things should settle down thereafter before the new school year- and a range day would be a nice change of pace.


barrel profile- above

It is hard to ascertain the value of a gun before firing it- but barring any catastrophic issues- 215 bucks for a solid shooting 38 k-frame is a price I am more than happy to pay. The Johnson's staff was good and their used gun prices seemed very reasonable. I did not get a look at the prices they had on the new stuff.

ready to rock n' roll

I will say I thought their ammo prices were the high side of fair, but still not gouging. I will definitely recommend them over buffalo gun center- whom I have come to dislike more and more as time goes by. I am at the point now where I will not purchase anything from them (I bought one gun there- and have purchased some accessories / ammo). That is a topic for another post though.

I have said it before, and I will say it again; a quality 4 inch 38 special or 357 magnum wheel gun is a versatile and pleasurable addition to any gun owner's collection. With prices slowly climbing up as the days where these guns occupied duty holsters the country over grow more and more distant, now is not a bad time to pick up a nice shooter. All-in-all, I am very pleased with this deal so far.

Car just got broken into

2011-07-27T14:01:00.000-04:00

Dear Whomever broke into my car-

First, go fuck yourself.

Also, best of luck cracking any of my passwords. I rock alpha-numeric-and special characters. The total value of the items stolen is approximately 850 bucks. I have filed a report and if you are caught I will pursue charges to the fullest extent of the law; and I promise I will do as much as I can to see you have a miserable experience in county.

Hoping you contract a painful illness,

Mike

PS- bold move going all the way up a driveway. I hope you are a drug addict who is about to get a tainted score of meth.

Condolences to Norway

2011-07-23T03:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/world/europe/23oslo.html

My deepest condolences to the people of Norway after a horrific shooting. A man pretending to be a police officer then cutting down over 80 persons is a tragedy that is virtually unparalleled the world over. My heart goes out to all those affected by the terrible crime.

Ruger Single-Ten

2011-07-04T19:23:00.000-04:00

Ruger has recently announced a bit of a revamping on their single six series of guns- the Ruger Single-Ten. Gun blast has a brief write-up on it, and I think it is going on my 'gotta have' list.

I have been thinking about adding a second 22 to the stable, and this might just be the ticket to scratching that itch.

Happy Independence day

2011-07-04T11:25:00.000-04:00

Enjoy a safe and happy holiday.

sparse few days coming up

2011-06-26T23:16:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a wedding of a close friend, and have to move into a new apartment tomorrow. I apologize now for the spartan content.

I have been shooting a bit lately, and have been getting some pretty good groups out of my CMMG kit in my Del-Ton AR15. Nothing crazy- hovering just over an inch for a 10 shot group at 25 yards, but not bad for just a simple reddot co-witnessed through the irons.

I owe that carbine a proper write up- In current form (which I suspect will not change much) it wears (once again) a bushnell reddot, the same irons that were on it in the CMMG link, and a magpul front end. The gun is a light, fast handling, accurate carbine that I find myself grabbing more and more- especially now that 22lr is an option in it.

Maybe after things settle down a bit.

Strange days we live in

2011-06-21T02:13:00.000-04:00

It is a fairly rare occurrence for me to just drop in a youtube video. Even more so to drop in one that is so non sequitur; however, this is so beyond me I am compelled to publicly say 'WTF'

Animatronic cat ears that respond to your mood by scanning your head for something or other. Wow.

Thanks to my buddy Andy for unearthing this . . . . stuff.

Dad Day

2011-06-19T13:35:00.000-04:00

Took my pop out to breakfast today. Hope all my readers have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Here's a picture of me and the man himself from a while ago:

NC Star Tactical 4 Reticle Sight Review

2011-06-10T15:02:00.000-04:00

The fine folks at Mounting Solutions Plus sent me this NCstar to review. As it came to me under some of my favorite circumstances (Free) I wanted to like it. Sadly, even for the low low cost of nothing, I am disappointed.

That being said (and any suspense of the review being removed) The shipping from MSP was fast and well packaged- I don't blame them that the optic took a dump so easily.

picture before my hopes and dreams were crushed

The goods, fresh from the box

the optic shipped in a fairly nice box, with a pretty good wrench included. Also in the box was a spare battery, a nice little screwdriver, and a cover for the glass on the optic. Despite having heard so many questionable things about NC Star, I was actually really surprised at how well the packaging and accessories were put together.

The gun for this test for a 4 inch Ruger Security Six which I recently had refinished. The ammo was 158gr LSWC over a medium charge of 820pd surplus powder- making for a moderate 357 magnum load that a person could shoot comfortably in fair quantity.

The ammo, lookin' all purdy

The optic felt decently made (boy was I later surprised) and had adequate brightness settings, even in the fairly bright summer sun I went out to attempt shooting in.

The mount was stable, and the reticle views were fairly crisp. Even distortion at the corners of the glass didn't seem too bad.

Before moving over to the 25 yard bay- I went to the 10 yard bay just to make sure I was 'on the paper'. I figured a cylinder or two here, and we could do some serious reviewing. I knew this combination would be a bit of a torture test for this optic, but I thought if it could last through a full day of shooting 100+ 357 magnum loads, then it would probably hold up just fine in the long haul.

never did make it to this 25 yard bay

I fired the first cylinder, and the shots were stringing vertically. I assumed the error lied with the operator, and went to reload for cylinder 2. After 2 shots, the optic shorted out. A couple taps and it came back on. Another 2 shots and it gave up the ghost completely. The glass also was now falling out. The NC Star made it for a grand total of 10 shots, dying a fairly expedited death all along the way.

The performance of the optic was so bad, that I found it to be hilarious. Prior to shooting, I did take some reticle pictures as best I could for those interested. I didn't bother taking a picture of the single dot, because hey- if you can't imagine a single red dot, then this optic probably isn't for you anyway.

cross hairs w/ circle

circle and dot

plain cross hairs

I'd be a liar if I said I recommended this optic for anything centerfire. Ironically, NCstar has a lifetime warranty - so I am going to send it to them and see what they do. If I get another functional one back, I'll throw it on a 22 and see how it does. If that kills it (again), I do have a pellet gun for testing as well. . . .

This optic retails for about 60 bucks- which in the optics world is chump change. However, a lot of people don't have 60 dollars to just throw away on something that lasts for less than 5 minutes. shame on NCstar for having such a shotty optic.

as it stands, save your pennies folks. This one isn't worth the packaging.

9mm AR

2011-06-07T15:32:00.000-04:00

Do forgive the pics- it was very bright out and I couldn't see the screen on my camera very well.

Finally- totally assembled, fired, and sighted in. The 9mm AR springs to life!

The gun has an Olympic Arms 9mm A2 style 16inch upper and rides on a DSArms blemished lower with LMT internals and a Del-Ton A2 style stock. Truly a frankengun like no other.

The gun runs on converted sten mags (NYS compliant- a big bonus of the Oly style build) and of the three I own one of them is a picky bitch.

To test the gun, 2 loads were run. First, factory magtech 115gr FMJ. The magtech FMJs fed in all three of my magazines without a hitch in the 100 rounds fired. No problems with ejection, feeding, cycling, or firing were noted.

However, when I switched to my plinking load- 124gr LRN over a moderate charge of Unique, one magazine kept sputtering on feeding. I suspect, that with so many different manufacturers of Sten type magazines, I may have one that does not like the OAL of my preferred plinking ammo. I marked the mag and will tinker with it as time and ammunition allow.

I have found that the Oly style bolt prevents reliable hold open by the standard bolt catch on my rifle. I am not sure if that is par for all Oly kits- but it seems that the bolt, in conjunction with my standard buffer and spring, are too heavy for the regular bolt catch to reliably engage and lock the bolt open.

This is of little consequence to me- the gun is only a plinker. However persons considering an off-caliber AR as a serious defensive rifle take note.

The magazines are heavy- especially when fully loaded. They are also long enough to prevent easy shooting from a benched position. Many people cut down sten mags to make a 10 round 'bench' variation that allows for easier, stable shooting. I doubt I will go that route as I have already invested as much as I am willing to for this project. After shipping, tax, transfer, all parts, etc- this gun cost just over 680 dollars to build. I wasn't thrilled with my upper+mags price, but these uppers do hold value well. The detail oriented among you will notice I neutered this upper to be NYS compliant- sawing off the bayonet lug myself prior to mating the upper and lower together.

I never could confirm from a reputable legal source, but I always was under the impression that as soon as you mate the two parts together in NYS, you commit a felony if the upper is not totally ban compliant.

Anyhoo, overall- the gun is fun. loading the mags is a great workout (get some kind of thumb saving device or you will go insane / treat them like 25 round mags) and shooting A2 style iron sights is a riot. I was plinking shotgun hulls at 20-25 yards easily with the gun, as I was more concerned with function than with accuracy. I have a carry handle mount that I will eventually put on and some kind of optic so that I can shoot for groups.

Recoil is non-existent, and despite the massive mashing together of so many different parts, the gun seems to run well. We will see how it holds up to different hollow points and bullet profiles as time goes on.

CProducts 1911 magazines

2011-05-31T18:38:00.000-04:00

the test guns (colt commander, citadel officers, springfield mil-spec)

Lately, I haven't had much real substance to post- my reviews were few and far between, and my content was of a fairly cursory nature. Finally, I can put up something with a little more meat on it! CProducts, now LCJ wholesale, makers of AR15 mags and other rifle magazines, recently ventured into the pistol magazine market with some 1911 style 8 rounders. The magazines got very mixed reviews on AR15.com in testing, and went through a few revisions.

Recently, they went on sale for about 8 dollars each, so I picked up 3 to test out for myself. What follows will be the initial impressions and testing of these magazines in a variety of 1911s.

the mags

The magazines are of a flat, almost parkarized finish. it scratches fairly easily and in my opinion, is not nearly as nice as the finish on ACT-Mags or those of other manufacturers. The witness holes are clearly marked and easy to see. The followers are of a 'sled' type design and are plastic- they remind me of Wilson 47D followers in appearance, though I suspect the legs on these followers are shorter than those in wilson mags.

The tubes are a bit shorter than all of my other 8 rounders, protruding ever so slightly from the magazine well. This slighlty shorter tube may contribute to the extra force which is required to seat a fully loaded magazine on a closed chamber. The basepads detach easily exposing the spring and follower for cleaning, and are plastic. They actually felt pretty nice and the magazines did pull free from all of my mag carriers.

To test the mags, I took a variety of ammo consisting of both factory and reloaded 45acp offerings and 3 different handguns- my Mil-Spec, my Commander, and my Officers. The ammunition was:

H&G 68s loaded up

230 gr Fiocchi JHP (a proven round in all 3 guns)
230 gr PMC Brass FMJ
200gr H&G68 LSWC (reloaded)
240gr Lee Truncated Cone Lead (reloaded)

mag protrusion in officers

I wanted to test these mags in an officers sized gun, because I have found that if a mag will bobble, it will do so first on the shorter framed 1911s.
At left, you can see the mag protrusion from an officers sized gun, which is actually fairly minimal.

First up in the gun were the 200gr LSWCs. 8 rounds loaded and fired without issue, but the magazine failed to lock the slide back on this gun. I attributed it (possibly) to ammunition, but I suspected the followers might not be of such a design as to reliably engage the slide catch every time.

Next up were the commander and the government sized guns with the same ammo. no jams, but failure to lock the slide open on the government, but not on the commander. This perplexed me. I would have thought the 5 inch gun would have been the easiest for the magazine to engage the catch on, but such was not the case.

I ran another couple magazines full through each gun, rotating mags around but sticking with the 200gr LSWC (I had the most of it). The mags would occasionally lock back the government, always lock back the commander, and never lock back the officers.

I wondered if maybe the extra weight on the recoil spring in the officers was contributing to the issue? It is hard to say. Hand cycling further seemed to support my initial findings as the mags would not lock the mag catch back on the officers (at least under the conditions I tried in).

240gr LTC

Next up for test was the 240 gr Lee lead TC. I load this bullet on a stout charge of unique- and it is a full power 45acp load. The geometry of the round has also always proven to be a reliable feeder. I figured if the 200gr loads were anemic and skewing results, this would certainly put things back into perspective.

Sadly, there were no changes from the 200 gr loads. The 5inch gun still would not reliably lock back, the commander always locked back, and the officers never locked back. Again, I experienced no jams of any kind with this round. I figured it was time to try something a bit more difficult.

Fiocchi 230 gr JHP

The fiocchi JHP (standard pressure) in 45acp is a 230gr bullet that has always fed well in my guns. However, I wanted to see if it would still feed well from these mags. The test ammo was the remaining rounds I had from my 45acp test, which came from ammoforsale.com. The ammo fed, fired, and functioned in all guns, only locking back the commander. The other guns have previously locked back with this ammo- so this issue was really starting to confuse the heck out of me. There appeared to be no consistency in how these mags acted with regards to slide lock.

PMC Brass 230gr FMJ

I figured ending with the 230gr FMJ would be easy, but again, I was wrong. The only jam of the day came while firing some PMC Brass 230gr FMJ ammo (which sadly was not free like the fiocchi was). The jam is pictured below.

oh nos!

Were the rounds light? eh, I don't know. They fed, fired, and cycled the other 2 1911s fine, and only hung up in the one gun I thought would have the easiest time with them- the 5 inch government model 1911.

teh suk

I don't know what caused the jam. I went back and fired another mag through the mil-spec and it didn't seem like it was a dirt issue (the subsequent mag cycled and fired fine)- but to say the least I am perplexed.

Overall, the good about these mags:
price- 7.95 per for an 8 round 1911 magazine isn't bad
witness holes- well done and functional
feeding- aside from the above hiccup (which is an ejection issue not a feeding one) the mags worked well in all 3 guns tested with a variety of ammo.

the bad:
they don't lock back the slide consistently, and they are hard as heck to seat on a closed chamber.

overall recommendation:

I find I am fairly indifferent on these mags. For the price, the aren't bad- but they certainly weren't an amazing deal either. I'll continue to use them as either hunting mags or range mags- but will stick to the ACTs for carry. Pick up a few if the above issues aren't deal breakers for you. The feeding on them was quite good- and I was surprised they worked as well as they did in the officers sized gun.

biking

2011-05-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

long ago (almost 2 years to be exact) I made one passing mention of me buying a bike. I never mention it on this blog because I'm not as competent at bike wrenching as I am with guns; so I don't feel like I have as much of a leg to stand on when it comes to commenting on performance and reviews.

Well, after two years of faithful commuting service and logging at least 2k miles, I took my bike in for a major tune up. It is a Trek 4300 series mountain bike with a soft front end (lockable). My chain and rear cassette were fairly shot. while throwing the bike on the rack, the rear derailleur also gave up the ghost (thankfully that is a warranty part because he broke it).

new brake pads, cables, cassette, chain, and tune up after tax ran me just south of 150. I don't think that is a terrible return on investment for the bike. In the future, I'll probably try to slowly start doing more of the work myself- but this happened a bit unexpectedly and I wanted to get the bike back fixed properly as soon as possible.

The majority of my short distance travel from mid April through September (10-15 miles round trip) is done on bicycle, and the gas savings are substantial. From a casual bicyclist's perspective, I'd recommend them to anyone- just make sure you have good lights on it and a good helmet. Reflectors are NOT enough to keep you safe. Also- if drivers are not courtesy in respecting bike lanes, ride right in the lane. Though it may be more annoying to vehicles, I have found it as a safer alternative for city driving where riding on the sidewalks is dangerous to pedestrians and could lead to a citation.

Ode to the creepy bar patron

2011-05-20T14:11:00.003-04:00

Oh creepy bar patron, why must you smell of pee?
your obviously not homeless, that is apparent to me.
You have money to burn, but I shall deny the passage of thee~
For your mannerisms are silly, you are disturbing to we.

You walked your wheelchair passed last night in a flash,
talking of crosby, stills, young, and then Nash!
You regailed to me a tail of great woe,
where you were soon parted, away from your dough.

You had your own beer, open container laws be damned!
your jibba-jabba logic would baffle the man!
you would kick all our assess! we'd be tossed all asunder!
your baffling thought patterns, gave cause to great wonder.

When you tried to look up a young women's dress,
I told you your best course, was to quickly egress.
you tried to refuse, what do I know? you called!
you would buy this place! you said, you would own it all!

A visit from a crusier, all adorned with bright lights,
was enough to make you think, maybe you weren't in the right.
I didn't press charges, so heed my good warning-
if I see you again, you'll be in lockup till morning.

If only there was but one of you last evening-
my night would have settled, with few problems a' teaming;
but crazy car guy you see- was also out wandering~
who assured us his bentley, would soon come a' calling.

there was 'next' guy and frat boys, all feeling quite pompous
with racism so strong it could bring forth a catawampus
but I am grateful that you all went stumbling home at the close
where you could all continue your drinking in quiet repose

so your departure was wonderful, your not at all missed by me
though I do sorely hope- you wash off that pee.

knife sharpening

2011-05-15T18:06:00.001-04:00

Well many ways exist to sharpen knives- in a pinch a cheap set of preset ceramics and an old coffee cup can get a very serviceable age on most knives that haven't been overly abused for about 5 bucks. for bad gouges in the blade, you'll have to work them over properly on some stones.

If you are anything like me- your kitchenware is a leviathan of mismatched cutlery spanning both decades and continents of manufacture. Many of these knives can be brought up to functional levels. I am no master sharpener, but I can get my knives to pop hairs off my arm, and that is about as much as I can ask of any blade.

For a knife that is in fairly decent shape, I start with the hand sharpener and give light passes until the edge starts to form. Then I simply switch to hand honing on the bottom of a wet coffee cup (aka the cheapest bare ceramic you will ever find). Takes me 10 minutes per knife often, but that is as much because I'm a poor sharpener as anything. Just keep your angles consistent and most anyone can put an ok edge on a knife.

Sadly, this hodgepodge, kept at moderate sharpness by yours truly, is better than what many people have to cook with. A number of friends who have come over and helped cook always comment that my knives cut well. . . I feel bad as that means they have never experienced cutting with a quality, highly sharpened blade.

Practice on a cheap yardsale knife, and you'll be surprised at how quickly you can learn to put an edge on a knife. I prefer to freehand on stones, but sometimes using preset sticks is just quicker for small jobs. I keep a pack of post-its handy to test how the blade is coming along. I know paper dulls knives quickly, but its an easy and quick assessment of how the blade is taking the edge.

semester end

2011-05-06T10:14:00.000-04:00

posting will continue to be light until after next week. I'm pulling together my dissertation proposal, closing out the grade books for two classes, and finishing up my coursework (for the last time ever! yay course complete!)

I am also getting ready to move to a new apartment, which I have yet to find. . . .

In other news- I just received my pre-ordered copy of Larry Correia's new book- Hard Magic- The Grimnoir Chronicles

I've only read the first hundred or so pages (which is available for free on his website I think) in order to refresh myself with the story- and it is very enjoyable. For those not in the know- Larry is the author of the Monster Hunter International Series as well- a recommended fiction read to anyone who likes guns and monsters.

Fenix MC10 update

2011-05-03T23:42:00.002-04:00

Brief update: Fenix MC10 is a total buy. great little light that has good throw, a usable diffuser, and is compact enough to actually carry.

Fenix MC10

2011-04-29T10:24:00.000-04:00

image stolen from fenix website

Ordered a FenixMC10 from steepandcheap.com- hasn't arrived yet but I suspect it'll be a nice little tilting angle light. The light is basically a nicer version of the Z1 I've previously mentioned (click) on my flashlight post. Using a simple AA light instead of the CR123 cell, the output is greatly diminished (the MC10 claims 120 lumens OTF, as opposed the the claimed [and probably exaggerated] 280 of the Z1). However, the tilting head and durability of Fenix made me give it a try.

I got it for 32 bucks shipped from steepandcheap- a bit under regular net prices, which seem to hover right around 40 dollars. Might make for a nice little pocket lamp. Time will tell.

Opinel- the mora of folding knives

2011-04-22T18:12:00.000-04:00

The weather is finally breaking so I could get outside for a few photos. I've been rotating 2 Opinel number 8 knives in my carry rotation for about 5 weeks. The one with the light handle marked INOX is the stainless version, while the darker handle is the carbon blade.

The Opinel design is to say the least, classic. The style dates back to the 1890s from the Savoie region of France.The locking mechanism consists of a simple twisting ring which can either secure the blade open or closed. It is a rather simple (although slower) design that seems to be very sturdy.

Wood and steel types vary greatly, so the potential buyer would be wise to investigate their options and decide which size and part combination would best suite their needs. For me, the standard number 8 was a reasonable size to fit into the hand but still carry nicely in a regular pocket.

Here you can see a closeup of the locking ring on my stainless Opinel. The knives come from the factory with a quality edge and seemed nicely finished. However, the locking mechanism on my stainless knife is significantly more difficult to operate than the one on the carbon blade.

This was a significant factor in my growing preference for the carbon blade. The knives after shipping cost about 10 or 11 dollars each. I ordered mine from opiknife.com. Shipping was quick and arrived packaged in a small USPS mailing envelop.

The blades have been holding an edge much better than other 10 dollar pocket knives (not that it is a high standard they were up against) and I really enjoy how light and smooth the are for everyday carry. When I compared them to the Mora in the title- I did so for good reason. These knives represent a quality knife for a fair price.

These knives are actually the same size (both number 8s) but the stainless appears larger just from the positioning.

The carbon blade is prone to tarnishing, though mine has not shown any signs of this yet with proper care. These knives are not quick to deploy, but are a pleasure to use. They have a convex blade- and as previously mentioned, are quite sharp.

Overall, I would recommend these for a low priced locking folder for everyday carry. It is definitely more of a utility blade than it is any kind of defensive knife- but seeing as how I don't know how to deploy a knife with any skill whatsoever as a defensive tool, this is of little concern to me.

If you are in need of a good (but slow) utility knife that is more compact than a mora but of similar quality- pick a few of these up. I prefer the carbon blade- mine is easier to manipulate and I prefer the aesthetics more, but either is a great choice.

Security six- from visual fail to glam

2011-04-13T16:25:00.001-04:00

Got my security six back from the shop today. It went from this:

to this!:

Total investment: 430 dollars- 175 for the gun, 25 for new wood grips from Ruger, 230 for reblue, drill & tap, and mount. Will eventually put a little reflex / halo style optic on there- but no rush. I'm particularly pleased with how the trigger and hammer came out!

9mm AR- we are getting there.

2011-04-06T15:17:00.000-04:00

The ongoing 9mm AR saga continues.

Here is the lower built up with an LMT LPK and a Del-ton A2 stock assembly. Both bought used on the AR15.com classifieds. Total investment now sits at 190 dollars. Deal struck for the upper brings the total build in at 685 w/ 3 NY legal pre-ban Olympic style mags included (that do not require the mag adapter).

The build cost more than I hoped for. I had another deal pending for an OLY style upper with more mags for less money- but it fell through. That would have been for a flat top too. Deal I ended up with is an A2 style.

The LMT lower parts kit went together smoothly with the DSArms blem'd lower. No issues in any of the function and safety checks performed. Forgive the crappy pics- I was in a hurry and wanted to get these up. I didn't realize how bad they were until I uploaded them.

I'm pretty excited for this build to come together. I guess under 700 for an off caliber AR isn't bad- but I still would have preferred it closer to 600 than 700. I lucked out and the upper I found had a comp installed on it and not a flash suppressor - so the only thing I may have to do before I mate the halves together is saw off the bayo lug if one is on there. I couldn't tell from the photos.

The trigger pull on the stock LMT kit isn't bad- very crisp- but a bit heavier than other stock triggers I have felt on ARs. I may send it off to get worked on at some point, but it is certainly not a priority. The LPK was very well made, and I must say the parts felt like they were quality.

So far, so good. we'll see how this project finishes out. I am now on the hunt (again) for a stripped lower receiver. A friend is getting married and wanted an AR 15. I will try to build him out a lower similar to this one for his wedding present. If anyone knows of the current good deals on stripped lowers, (under 70 shipped preferably) shoot me an email or post.

bouncing stories, pt IV

2011-03-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

Saw an attempted hit and run last night. Female (drunk) driving an overloaded white Pontiac (had 7 or 8 people, I forget which) hit a drunk pedestrian crossing the street by the bar I work at. None were patrons at our bar. Girl was going fast enough that her front windshield didn't just spider-web, but actually got blown into the car on the driver's side. I was walking a few people off our parking lot for a verbal argument when I heard the impact. Turned to see the car continuing on (fairly slowly) but not stopping. Myself and a few police officers ran over. The police were trying to get the girl to stop who was refusing to acknowledge the commands. . . till they tried to break out her window. Then she got more compliant. After all the people were removed from the car, they started collaborating in a way that the bothered the police enough to separate them instantly.

Ran over to check on the kid in the street, who had some terrible friends who were about to start moving him. More police were arriving at this point and I started getting people to give the kid, and the first responders space to work. Some smart-ass kid came up and confidently said 'I got this' with only a bit of a stagger in his step. I told him to get back, to which he replied 'I'm pre-med, outta the way'.

Little side note on pre-med. Know what it stands for? NOT A FUCKING DOCTOR. Being pre-med is like being pre-pregnant. it doesn't bring a lot of qualifications to the table, and doesn't really empower you to talk about things that an actual doctor can speak on.

Kid was conscious, seemed to have feeling in all bits and pieces, and was boarded and taken to the hospital. Current status unknown by me.

Upon walking back to the bar, it was interesting how much the story had changed. People informed me that a kid, just minding his own business, was hit by a police car and is going to be arrested so the cops can cover it up.

WOW.

I couldn't believe the minding his own business part actually happened. I always thought that was just a joke police used to describe stupid people doing stupid things.

Anyway, moral of the story is- if you drive drunk, you are a huge asshole. Epic. Enormous. Asshole.

If you walk across a street, look both ways. This is the third person I've seen get smacked by a car in as many years. 2 I actually saw. This one, I didn't see the actual impact. First 2 didn't bother to even look before walking into traffic, and I suspect this one was more of the same.

Just be careful. I don't understand why people drive drunk- but I do think they are terrible people. Avoid terrible people by looking both ways. Also, don't lie and make up stories. Why people built a narrative about a police cover up I'll never understand.

This stuff is really starting to bother me. I hate seeing people senselessly getting injured.

9mm AR

2011-03-19T14:49:00.000-04:00

Well this build has taken a dramatic turn.

was originally putting together a colt style AR in 9mm- ended up with a heck of a deal on an Olympic style with mags. Will be selling the colt mag block shortly. Should be constructed in the next 3-4 weeks.

Learn from my stupid. Negligent Discharges happen

2011-03-16T22:26:00.001-04:00

Tonight, I had my first Negligent Discharge. After cleaning my CMMG conversion kit for my AR-15, I reinstalled the kit into my carbine. I do not own any 22 snap caps- so I cycled a live round to insure it was feeding properly. I then dropped the mag, cycled the bolt a few times (which I thought ejected the round) and dropped the hammer with the gun pointed toward the floor.

And promptly shot my basement floor.

I failed to visually inspect the chamber to insure the weapon was unloaded. Thankfully, no one was hurt (aside from my pride).

Always ALWAYS ALWAYS visually inspect the chamber!

No matter how many times you cycle the bolt, INSPECT THE CHAMBER!

If I had done so (as any person should) I would not feel like a fucking idiot.

Here's to hoping no one else is as stupid as I am. I have linked this post to my #1 rule of firearm safety on the sidebar. Maybe while I learn some humility others can gain from my mistake.

Thankfully I had the gun pointed in a safe direction.

CRKT Tabor Spare Tool

2011-03-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

The CRKT Spare Tool was a recent acquisition of mine. Over these last few weeks, I've gotten a feel for the tool, and not surprisingly- I have an opinion on it. First, for 20 bucks- I thought it looked like a great mini-widgie bar. I was really excited to get this tool in and play with it.

Once it arrived, I promptly lost it- within a week of owning it. The belt clip is held on with some buffered chicago screws- which came off the body of the holster. Thus, I lost a spare tool somewhere throughout my daily activities. To say the least, I was peeved. I emailed CRKT and explained the situation and they sent me another as a warranty replacement. I threw that on my belt, and after checking it a day later- I realized the screws were loosening up on this one as well. Plus one to CRKT customer service, no points awarded to the carrying mechanism on the tool.

I decided the clip attachment is utter shit, and abandoned it entirely. Once I removed the belt clip, I simply turned it into a neck knife with some cordage.

as a neck knife- the spare tool carries fairly well- though the sharp edges do poke on occasion. I'd recommend an undershirt for anyone considering carrying the tool this way.

As far as construction of the main tool- it is all done well. The blade is of a usable length and came from the factory with a good working edge. The holster body locks the tool up securely with a positive click, and the driving bit actually seems practical (use caution to not cut yourself when using the bit- CRKT recommends leaving the knife in its sheath for this).

rasp and driver

All in all, I like the tool- but it isn't as great as I was hoping for. It is a solid product (as is most of my CRKT stuff)- but a bit of rounding on the edges of the bottle opener and pry bar would have gone a long way to making this tool more user friendly.

Some of the features, like the ruler in both metric and standard is nice- but probably will never be used. The tool can strip cable, act as a straight edge, open a bottle, pry, and cut. That is all I could ever ask of it. I don't really care about the bit driving feature, as I keep small screwdrivers in my bag for that task.

The tool is long enough to fill my largish sized hands fairly well- but I wouldn't complain if the tool was half an inch longer either.

The finger knock was a nice touch (not sure what its proper name is) but it allows you to index quickly and safely on the tool without visual assistance so you know where your cutting surface is.

For 20 bucks, I give the tool a resounding eh. if you use a pry bar often, you probably carry a larger one or a dedicated pry. the cutting edge is useful, but a pocket knife is better. The bottle opener is functional (tested it out a bit ;) ) but still not entirely comfortable.

The tool compromises on a lot of different aspects to give you functionality. For that it should be applauded- but it is that compromising structure that also will make you damn the spare tool. It does no one job particularly well- other than it is fairly small and can be pressed into a number of different jobs with reasonable expectations of it being able to complete them. For 20 bucks, I say buy it and throw it in your bag or glove box. When you need it, you'll be glad you have it. It is compact and light weight, in addition to not being overly expensive. If it cost any more than 20 dollars though- I'd be hesitant to recommend it.

CProducts

2011-03-07T23:33:00.001-05:00

CProducts, makers of high cap magazines, ban compliant magazines, and general awesome; is currently redoing their webpage at http://www.cproductsllc.com/ . Couple that with the fact that 44mag.com also just got in a shipment of new CProducts stuff, and I think something good is in the works. No idea what- but my spider sense is tingling.

Above is a cproducts 10 round AR 9mm mag. Note that it looks like it should be bigger. Sadly, in NYS- unless I get the UZI mags reliably converted, the above will be what my to be built AR will run. For 15 bucks a pop with free shipping though- I'm not complaining.

I do wish it was these guys:

Or even these:

But alas, NYS is full of the fail.

UPDATE 3/20/2011:

Cproducts seems to be in a change of ownership and there are some rumblings on ARFcom. Be aware and stay alert until things settle down.

9mm AR build continued

2011-02-28T21:11:00.000-05:00

Things slowly progress for the 9mm AR build - I have secured a source for some NYS legal UZI 32 round mags for a good price (9-10 a pop before shipping) and will be doing a full write up on modding them for AR use when they arrive. Get excited, it involves good ol' fashioned dremel work.

Purchased some Harbor Freight goodies to go with the build (like a dremel aka rotary tool because I couldn't afford the name brand version)

I'm going to go with the Palmetto State Armory LPK / stock set- but I need to figure out if I need to permanently pin the stock before I mount it to the receiver or if I can fix it in position after I mount it up. Silly law- but one I'll abide by.

I think I may have this trigger also 'springfielded' as I am still so thrilled by my last trigger job from Bill.

As for the upper, I need to see if ADCO can set me up with a post-ban configuration upper.

I'm torn on going with an A2 style upper or a flattop. Any suggestions?

DSA receiver project - 9mm AR here I come

2011-02-19T18:01:00.000-05:00

A while back I bought this:

DSA Blem receiver

it was a cheap receiver that after transfer only ran me 90 bucks. It has been sitting in my safe for sometime now, unused.

Then I found one of these for 55 bucks shipped:

a 9mm mag block from CProducts.

It'll take me sometime to finish piecing this gun together (mainly because of cost) but I suspect a Palmetto State Armory Lower build kit (where I'll then have to pin the stock)

and an RRA 9mm upper will eventually come my way to round out this build. I'll probably run UZI mags, as they are easy to convert and my only legal high cap option in NYS.

Cheap Champion Spinner Target

2011-02-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

CCI is having a promotion for their 22lr ammo. Buy any 2 boxes of their shells and you can get a spinner target for the cost of shipping. The link for the promo is here. I was originally turned on to it by THR.org. The target's retail is about 11 bucks on the Champion homepage, so depending on which ammo you buy your basically getting the target for 3 or 4 bucks.

I purchased two 100 round packs of mini-mags @ 5.99 each from my local Gander Mt. For the promo you need your original receipt, the UPC (located on the bottom, you can see where I cut mine out in the below picture) 3.95 for postage, and a copy of the coupon filled out.

CCI said 4-6 weeks processing. I just dropped my order in the mail today, and the offer is good until May 2011 or while supplies last. If you shoot CCI anyway, its probably worth getting the target. If not- it might not be worth going out of your way looking for the ammo. However, they did say any CCI product, so if any of you guys like Blazer bulk, that would also probably count.

380 Ruger LCP Shootout!

2011-02-07T15:46:00.001-05:00

Grab a coffee and settle in, this is going to be a long post.

Ruger LCP with Crimson Trace Laser Grips, ready to go to work

Ammoforsale.com has given me an opportunity to review some more ammo- this time in 380 acp. The gun will be the ever-so-popular Ruger LCP. My example has about 250 rounds through it, most of which were either 95gr LRN reloads or 95gr FMJ factory ball. We will test the penetration, expansion, operation, and accuracy of 3 popular 380 hollowpoints. There will be a clear victor in a number of categories, and an overall recommendation at the end.

golden saber 102gr magtech 85gr fiocchi 90gr

I've talked about it a number of times before- when selecting a carry ammo for your gun, you need to account for a number of different factors. Your ammo:

must be affordable
must feed well in the weapon
must be reliable
must be adequately powered
must expand on impact with soft targets

Just like in my review of Fiocchi's 230gr JHP, we will test penetration and expansion via water jugs, and accuracy tests will be at 5 paces (5 yards). At the range, it was 15 degrees (F), with windchill it felt like it was 1 (F) according to the weather channel. The water from the jugs froze to the table after they were shot- so it was pretty bitter out.

That being said, all three brands (Fiocchi, Magtech, Remington) fired and cycled flawlessly in the LCP. No special prep was done to the gun, no additional oil added, no extra grease on the rails. Just loaded it up, and it ran like a top.

test gun and ammo

Point one of my ammo review- Affordability. At the time of this writing, Fiocchi 90gr JHP in 380 ACP costs less than 20 bucks for a box of 50. Thats pretty reasonable. Heck when 380 was scarce a year ago, you couldn't find 95gr ball for that price. The magtech, which comes in a box of 20 runs about the same price- 18 bucks. This is about my limit for carry ammo. I am not one who likes to get into the dollar or more per shot range. Finally, remington Golden Sabers. They run about 23 bucks for a box of 25. Again, a bit pricey- but they are a very popular 380 load, running the heaviest at 102 gr.

ammo ready to go

As for feeding and reliability, all the rounds fed, fired, and ejected flawlessly. I have no complaints or gripes about any of them in that regard. I didn't notice any real difference in recoil either- I know thats a pretty subjective statement, but all of the brands were really pretty easy to control and get follow up shots with.

no rounds felt underpowered or anemic in anyway- and all felt consistent shot to shot.

In looking at the business end of the hollowpoints, you can see that the magtech has the largest cavity, followed by the fiocchi, and with remington in third.
If your gun is a bit pickier about ammo than my LCP, you might want to try the Golden Sabers and the Fiocchi, as I suspect their profile will be slightly more forgiving than the magtech's wide and deep hollow point.

Power was measured via water jug penetration. Unlike last time, where the 2.5 gallon jugs were used in conjunction with 1 gallon jugs, only 1 gallon jugs were used for this test. My logic behind that decision was that the 380 wouldn't have the same penetrative power as previous tests, so this would be a more efficient way of using the jugs and measuring expansion.

jug carnage

Well heck if I wasn't way wrong. First up was the Remington Golden Saber. I lined up four 1 gallon jugs and fired 2 rounds. Both of which fully penetrated all four jugs. I was amazed. The holes in the jugs suggested there was little to no expansion, but that was a lot of water for these rounds to traverse. Anyone who says you need FMJ to get adequate penetration in a 380 is simply mistaken!

With no rounds recovered from the Remington, I have little to speak about with regards to its expansion, though I suspect there wasn't much at all.

Next, I tried the Fiocchi. I again lined up four 1 jugs, and again fired two rounds. This time, 1 round fully penetrated the four jugs, and 1 round came to rest in the fourth jug. The round had deformed slightly (pics to follow) but had not expanded much either.

fiocchi hollow point recovered from jug four

The final round for the expansion test was the Magtech. I had a good feeling about the magtech. It was the lightest round, and had the most prominent hollow point of all 3 rounds tested.

I again loaded up 2 rounds, and fired them into a row of four 1 gallon jugs. The magtech surprised me. It had the shallowest penetration, stopping in the third jug, but also had nearly perfect expansion on both rounds (see below).

Magtech gettin' the job done

recovered bullets

To say the least, I was impressed by the magtech's performance. Now I understand that water jugs are not ballistics gelatin, but nearly three 1 gallon jugs of water is on par with the penetration I found in 45acp loadings. That is more than enough for me.

Any time a round is over penetrating your target, you are wasting energy. Energy that now is a liability against you, in case it hits innocent bystanders in a lethal defensive shooting.

The final test was accuracy. 5 rounds at 5 paces in roughly 5 or 6 seconds. I wanted to keep a brisk firing cadence as the LCP and the 380 are not target guns, they are defensive tools. Extremely slow, untimed fire would not give a reasonable proxy for how this gun and ammunition is intended to be used. As such, 3 paper plate bad guys with 2 inch orange target centers were hung up at 5 yards. I loaded 5 rounds into the magazine and fired all 5 rounds with about a 1 second gap between them. The results were interesting

M for magtech, F for Fiocchi, R for remington.

The first group was the magtech, then the remington, and I finished with the fiocchi. I probably should have shot it magtech, fiocchi, then remington, as that was the order in which I hung the targets, but it just didn't work out that way. POA was a 6 o'clock hold on the orange target center for all ammunition. At such a close distance, I expected little variation between the different brands of ammo, and again I was wrong.

I did warm up before the target shooting by firing 40 rounds of 22lr through my Ruger mk II. I thought this would make for a more fair comparison, so I wasn't just 'warming up' as I fired the rounds for score, only to have my rusty shooting influencing the results.

The magtech shot well. I pulled 1 round, but you can see that the point of impact and point of aim are actually quite close to each other at this range. The group wasn't great, but it was respectable for such quick firing with such a small gun.

Next up was the remington. the remington shot slightly left and a touch low for me. Not sure if it was shooter induced or maybe the gun just didn't like the golden saber as much, but it fired the largest group of the three brands of ammo tested.

Again, the group isn't terrible, but its not one to hang on the refrigerator either. I was beginning to get down on myself for the lousy shooting- knowing it was probably a result of my lack of range time lately.

I loaded up the fiocchi without being sure what to expect. I feared my poor shooting would make the accuracy testing intelligible, and largely pointless for people to draw conclusions from. However, the fiocchi made me look more presentable, turning in the best groups of the day.

I was a bit surprised at how well the fiocchi shot actually. The POI was slightly below the POA, but not very much.

Though only the magtech expanded, I am not really ready to write off the fiocchi and the golden saber. in a small gun, adequate penetration is as important (if not more so) than reliable expansion. If your round opens up but stops shy of vital organs, the only thing it has accomplished is making very gory, but superficial wounds.

I said there would be a clear winner in this post, and there is. The magtech 85gr JHP is now my 380 acp ammo of choice. I thought it was adequately powered and expanded admirably in testing. If for some reason, I couldn't get the magtech, I would carry the fiocchi 90gr JHP. It was the best shooting ammo and although it was inconclusive as to whether or not the round had adequate expansion; I feel that if the round isn't going to open, I at least want to place it with confidence where it needs to go. Also the fact that the fiocchi was reasonable enough in price that you could actually practice with it helps as well.

The remington surprised me, and not in a good way. I know a lot of people really like the golden saber hollow point. I love them in 45acp- but in 380, I just wasn't feeling the love. I would carry the golden saber though if I was in a situation that demanded reliable penetration. The remington proved it had the horse power to go deep- and if a person was bumming around the woods with nothing but a 380, than I think the 102 gr Golden Saber would be a solid choice.

All in all, I was surprised and pleased by the findings of today's little test. I was very pleased that all the ammo was so reliable in such crummy weather, and that the Ruger LCP ran like a top, despite it hovering around 0 degrees F.

Mossberg 500 - home defense and the shotgun

2011-02-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned it briefly before- but my mossberg 500 just hasn't seen much blog love since I got it just over a year ago. The delay in review has had a number of benefits- I've learned a lot about the shotgun through practicing with it- and I gotta say, it has probably been one of the best sub 200 dollar investments I've made.

The 12 ga is a great all around gun- for sport or defense

I have had the opportunity to run a variety of buck, slug, and birdshot through it- and feel confident talking about the setup and what I would recommend. First off- what I've shot in it. I started writing up a list of all of the loads I tried in this gun- but realized it was a waste of time. If I could cram it into the tube on the mossberg, it fed, fired, and cycled fine without exception.

12 ga 00 buck- slugs would be reversed to easily identify

My gun has a very plain setup. An enlarged trijicon bead on the front of the 18.5 inch barrel, and a 5 round uncle mike shell holder on the back. The shell holder is secured in place with a small incision allowing the sling swivel to poke through- then sealing the edges of the incision with clear nail polish. This method has held for the entire time I've had the gun, and no loss of function in the holder has been noted despite being constantly loaded and unloaded at the range, and being left fully loaded on nightstand duty.

I keep the gun loaded up with 5 rounds of whatever buckshot I have around (Currently sellior and bellot 12 pellet 2 3/4in 00 buck) with the safety off on an empty chamber. This is the method that works for me and that I prefer. This setup might not be for everyone.

12 pellet 00 buck, 9 pellet 00 buck, 3in slug

My mossberg will fit 5 rounds of 3 inch shells in the tube- at right, notice the space differences of several brands of shells. At top is an up and coming load I prefer- the S&B 12 pellet 00 buck. It is very affordable, and shoots well in my gun. The pattern is much improved by the extra 3 pellets, and the additional recoil is fairly negligible. These are a great option for guns that might not fit 5 rounds of a 3inch shell, but still have an extra 1/8- 1/4 of an inch in the tube when filled with 5 rounds of 2 3/4 inch shells. Note the close up of how the rounds stack up below. The 3 inch shell really doesn't need tons more space to fit in the tube, and the 12 pellet buck is only marginally larger than 9 pellet buck.

approximation of the end of a 5 round column of different rounds

I'm not sure I would have invested in the trijicon bead if it weren't already mounted on the used barrel I purchased for the gun. Though it does glow and make night time target acquisition easier- I'm just not sold on it being worth the price tag.

glow in the dark trijicon bead

Your millage may vary- but if I were building this gun on a budget and didn't luck into the G-I-T-D bead, I wouldn't bother. You are better off (in my opinion) with extra ammo and range time.

The 18.5 in barrel is great for swinging the gun around and quickly acquiring and switching from target to target. Prior to this gun- the only experience I had with such short tubes was on my 870 slug gun with rifle sights. I would whole heartily recommend anyone seriously looking at a shotgun for defensive purposes consider getting a shorter barrel. the 24 inch field barrels are just too long to maneuver quickly.

some other nice features on the 500 are the ambidextrous safety and the door-less loading gate.

I don't use the safety on the gun much- but I do admit that its location and utilization of the thumb for activation is both simple and convenient. The red insert is easily seen at a glance without turning the weapon on its side- allowing for both a visual and tactile confirmation of the position of the safety switch. I didn't bother upgrading from the plastic trigger housing and safety selector like many people do- but metal factory parts are available- and I believe are stock options on the 590 model.

The 500's door-less loading gate is really quite nice for someone coming from the remington 870 platform. dropping a shell directly into the tube and pressing it home with the thumb is a bit easier if done repeatedly on the mossberg.

buckshot ready to be fed into the magazine tube

I have found that loading from the gun right-side-up and upside-down positions to be quick and easy on the mossberg, and have never had an issue where debris fouled the function of the gun entering from the bottom port.

I am sure it could happen- but really my experience has been that the addition of a door on a pump shotgun does not really bring a lot of benefit to the table.

The mossberg has a pair of heavy claw type extractors that securely hold onto the shell and forcefully help to expel spent cartridges from the chamber after firing.

B.A.M.F. extractor.

Overall- if you can find a 500 for cheap- buy it. They are great guns which though a bit heavy on the recoil, shoot reliably and well under most any circumstance a person could expose them to. The feel of the action on the 500 as compared to the 870 during cycling is not as smooth as the remington- but its not terrible either. It can be manipulated quickly and follow up shots can be brought to bear as quickly as I can manipulate any pump action shotgun.

Don't overlook a nice used 500 for a quality shotgun that can serve as a home defense, hunting, or limited sporting gun. A few barrels (often had very cheaply on the used market) can really make this a versatile gun that can accomplish most any task a person puts before it.

AB-962 unconstitutional- California legislature fail, constitutional win

2011-01-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

Just received this email from Cheaperthandirt:

First off- yay for a lorem ipsum reference. Next, yay for our friends in California not getting bogged down with yet another stupid, unethical, unconstitutional law.

Happy MLK Jr day

2011-01-17T15:33:00.001-05:00

Remember people who fought for what the believed in before us. Let us work to keep this country a place where people are free voice concerns and petition the government to recognize the rights of the citizenry.

What to look for while upgrading your 1911: A brief comparison of different configurations

2011-01-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

When considering a 1911 pistol, a person has to choose from a plethora of unique configurations to suit their individual needs. 1911s can be had in a variety of calibers from 22lr to 50GI and everything in between. Also, though we say 1911 as an all encompassing term, really most guns out now are closer to 1911A1s in configuration - even if they have had a few tweaks from the original design. For our purposes, this post will only consider 45acp variants and will not get into comparing the 1911 and the 1911A1 too much. With this, I hope to help a newer shooter or a person who is simply new to the 1911 make some choices that will hopefully allow them to get the most out of their purchase.

To help you choose which 1911 is for you, first decide what role you want the gun to fulfill. This initial decision will influence two primary characteristics of your gun buying adventure- frame size and material.

Officer, Commander, Government, Government

1911s are offered in a number of frame sizes: 3inch micro, 3.5 inch officer, 4 inch carry, 4.25 inch commander, 5 inch government, and 6+inch long slide. (naming conventions vary)

Frame materials are generally divided into all steel construction and alloy (lightweight) materials. The alloy frames (see colt commander at left) are lighter and easier to carry, but aren't as durable as their all steel counterparts. This is not to say that the frames will wear out from normal use quickly. That hasn't been my experience at all. It does mean that additional care needs to be taken when working on the gun because it is easier to damage the softer metal.

Once you have decided which frame size suits your needs, you need to consider what finish you want on that material and frame. If a person could only own a single 1911, I would probably suggest a stainless steel Government (5 inch) full sized gun. They have a long, easy to use sight radius, are dependable with a wide variety of ammunition, have great parts and spring availability, easy to maintain, and have readily available magazines.

For a carry gun or hunting gun, I prefer a stainless finish. Hot blue and parkarization are also options, though I have found them to be less durable and slightly more work to maintain. Stainless deals with the elements and sweat better; in addition to wiping clean with a rag. The downside is that stainless comes with a higher price tag- often times adding a hundred dollars or more to the MSRP.

brushed nickel, stainless, blued, stainless

picking a frame size and material dictates which areas the gun will excel- whether it be as a carry gun, a hunting firearm, a bedside gun, or a range / competition gun. As your intuition probably already told you, the bigger the gun is the harder it is to carry. The trade-off being that larger guns gain a bit more velocity, and are easier to shoot- both with respect to recoil and accuracy. Smaller guns carry better, are lighter, but take more work to keep those groups small and your times low.

Another great reason to like the 1911 platform is that parts interchange fairly well between the different frame sizes. Magazines from the full sized / commander length guns are identical, and often will run fine in officers sized guns (though they will protrude below the mag well). Grip screws, grip bushings, hammers, sights, magazine releases, triggers, slide releases, thumb safeties, grip safeties, sears, disconnectors, and other parts are generally interchangeable. This means that for the most part, only the MSH (mainspring housing) barrel, slide, frame, barrel bushing, recoil plug, recoil guide, and recoil spring are proprietary to that particular sized gun (this is not a complete list).

Now before you go swapping parts between guns without a care in the world, you do need to check if your gun is a series 70 or series 80 style 1911. I won't get into the differences here- but it will change the compatibility of some parts. Also, 1911s often require a bit of handfitting to get them to work at their best when adding new parts. Though your parts may be interchangeable persay, it does not mean they will be a drop in fit.

citadel, colt, american classic, springfield armory

In looking at my 1911s, its pretty obvious I like a few characteristics regardless of frame size. I like long triggers, beaver tail grip safeties, none spur type hammers, and double diamond checkered grips (usually in wood- the commander is in experimentation mode right now).

Notice in the photo (at left) that there is some variation in the thumb safeties. The only extended thumb safety I have is on the American Classic- but I find that I am starting to prefer it. It adds no difficulty to carrying the gun, but does make manipulation of the thumb safety far easier as it gives more of your thumb room to apply leverage on the lever, making for smoother feeling operation.

As for extended slide release/stop- I'm fairly indifferent on them. The American Classic has one, and I find it does little for me. it might be more beneficial for those people who have smaller hands and don't like operating the slide stop with their off shooting hand, or left handed shooters.

Also, the trigger pull on all of my 1911s is nearly identical. They all have the same sized trigger with a similar break and pull weight (4-4.5 lbs). No matter which gun I grab, the break of the trigger feels the same to me. Some people make a big deal out of this, but I just think it is more convenient to be able to pick up any one of a number of guns and know that it will fire in a way which you like.

note the variation in the ejection ports

Another place in 1911s where you will see some variation is in the ejection port. Generally, unless you are buying a true GI or GI clone gun- the ejection port will be 'lowered and flared'. This just means that the ejection port on the slide where the brass comes out has been slightly enlarged and carved to some extent to be a bit easier on brass. Some people might also say this contributes to reliability- but I wouldn't know about that. You can see in the above photo that each manufacturer represented does it a bit differently- and they all work equally well in my experience. None of my guns choke for lack of positive ejection, and none of them are particularly harsh on my brass.

close up of ejection ports

at left, you can see a clearer close up of the ejection ports and barrel hoods on the different guns. You can also see the variation in slide serrations.

The slide serrations help you grip and manipulate the slide when racking the gun. some are angled, some are straight, and some (like on the American Classic) are on the front and rear of the gun. None of them, in my experience - makes a significant difference from any other. Choose whichever you think are the most attractive.

Below is a shot of different grip safeties. Note that half of mine have memory pads and half do not (the bumps on the black grip safeties). My take on Grip safeties is this: so long as I'm not getting hammer bite (which I used to get in spades with the milspec- not a range day went by without blood), I don't care. bumps or no bumps, they all shoot fine when I grab the pistol with a normal firing grip. I have never had to adjust, add pressure, or otherwise modify how I held a 1911 to disengage the grip safety. As with slide serrations, I would say pick which ever you think is pretty.

grip safeties

When considering sighting options on 1911s, the choices are basically limitless. From left to right displayed are: adjustable Bomars, 3 dot, tritium, and low profile novak style sights. These represent a fraction of the options a person has to choose from when checking out sighting styles. As for preferences, you have to ask the same question to yourself that you asked during frame selection. What is this gun for? Defensive carry guns might be well suited for the low profile novaks which don't snag on holsters, or the tritium night sights. Standard range 1911s or occasional carry pieces might go with a regular 3 dot style set up. Target or hunting guns might get the adjustable sights. At the end of the day, pick a sighting style that enables you to shoot accurately and at a pace which matches the intent of the firearm. Front sight options have a similar

front and rear sights

amount of variability. My front sights, if not equipped with a dot or a night sight insert, are painted bright green (parrot green actually). This helps me pick them up faster against a dark background. If I were a more serious target work shooter, I probably wouldn't have done this- but as a hobbyist who isn't concerned with bulls-eye work; I think it was a good decision. From this angle, it is difficult to see the manner in which the sights are attached to the slide. However, sight setups can be mounted in a variety of ways. It pays to know what method of attachment was used on your gun if you ever choose to upgrade or change the way you aim the gun.

mil-spec american classic colt commander citadel officers

When choosing a mainspring housing, a person (not surprisingly at this point) has a number of choices. The primary being flat or arched, and checkered or non. The Mil-spec above has an arched mainspring housing, whereas the rest of the guns have flat. The colt has a checkered mainspring housing, whereas the others do not. For a target gun- I feel like the arched mainspring housing gives me a more solid firing grip on my 1911. For carry guns, I prefer the flat. Try both and see what feels more natural for you- but the arched mainspring housing didn't allow me as smooth of a draw as the flat one did. As for checkering, I've tried it, and though I think it adds a little bit of extra grip to the gun while firing, I do not feel like it is a significant difference.

short GI style, a full length guide rod, & bushingless

as for bushing styles- All work fairly well. On full size guns, I like the original GI-style bushing. A GI style bushing with a 16 lb recoil spring handles nearly all of my shooting needs. The commander has a FLGR from EGW, as well as an EGW fitted bushing (the springfield also has an EGW bushing). The only reason I went with the FLGR was it allowed me to use a flat coil spring as opposed to a standard recoil spring. This is a longer life spring, and I thought it might help keep the frame on my commander from getting too beat up. Officers sized guns (furthest right on photo at left) often have 'bushingless' designs. It is not limited to this frame size, but it is definitely more prominent on the smaller 1911s. Mine has proven to be 100% reliable, though as the guns get smaller, be aware you may have to change recoil springs more frequently. My general rule of thumb for recoil springs is: Government sized 1911s get a new 16 lb recoil spring every 1500 ish rounds, commanders with standard recoil springs get 20 lb springs every 1000-1250 rounds (i push the flat recoil spring a good bit further) and Officer sized guns get 24 lb springs every 900-1000 rounds. This is just a rule of thumb, and probably a bit conservative on round count- so take it for what its worth.

This was a brief introduction that didn't even touch on grip options, ambidextrous safeties, trigger lengths, bobbed frames, internal v external extractors, 1911 hybrid designs like those from para-ord, wide body 1911s, or non-45acp guns. Hopefully though- it is helpful to people who really want a bare-bone basics to understanding what might work for them when choosing a new 1911 style firearm.

Tuff Strips

2011-01-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

Derek of the packing rat recently did a write up on his experience with tuff strips. I thought they had great potential for concealed carry- but also thought they might have some other practical gunny applications as well. I ordered up a few sets (all in the 6 round variety) to accommodate 38/357 mag, 44 mag, and 270 win. I also ordered some in orange and some in black (44s were the orange guys) to see if the quality was perceptibly different based on coloration.

I figured the orange might make it easy to see if I dropped these things in the woods. I am always a fan of carrying spare ammunition on gun / close by. Most of the bolt rifles and shotguns I use most have butt stock cuffs on them offering up spare ammo when needed. I remember an occasion no more than a few years ago where my dad grabbed my 270 to help dispatch a wounded animal at our local farm. His first few shots went wide (the coyote was still mobile, and would not allow for the hunters to close the distance), and the spare ammo on the side of the gun was necessary to dispatch the wounded yote.

Despite their utility, cuffs on the stock of the rifle are not a perfect solution. they tend to lose elasticity over time, and can be abrasive against the face. (side note: I keep my cuffs stable by cutting a small hole in them and placing the rear swing swivel through it- this prevents the cuff from sliding). When handgun hunting, I carry a spare leather dump pouch which holds six rounds on my belt. Though effective, this is an imperfect system that, even with practice, can still be fumbled- dumping live (and potentially needed) rounds out of reach. A more secure system of containing the rounds was worth investigating.

Tuff's ships free on orders over 25 bucks, and my total came out to 25.47- so a nice perk there. I wanted the tuff strips for three areas: Concealed carry (38/357 strips) hunting (44mag) and rifle shooting (270win).

loaded up and ready to go

Loading the tuff strips is fairly straight forward, and I found it was most easily accomplished by putting a slight backward bend on the strip before inserting the cartridge.

Initial tests showed no difference between colors or sizes as far as durability went- though the 270 strips were slightly more difficult to load. I'm not sure if that was a function of the longer cartridge, the heavier material, or both- but it is worth pointing out.

test loading from the strips proved to be very simple. I did have a harder time with the 270 winchester strips, but that might be a result of the different feed style of a bolt action rifle as opposed to a revolver or single shot handgun.

close up of the 38/357 strip loaded with 158gr LSWC in 38spl +p

Loading into a Colt Official Police and a SW model 36 J frame proved easy, though it was a bit tighter to get the J-frame loaded up. Many people will know this trick, but for those who haven't heard it, I'll share. When loading small framed revolvers from speed strips, sometimes its better to underload the revolver, only putting in 4 out of 5 cartridges. This allows you to put 2 in at a time, and just roll past the empty chamber during follow up firing. This is a significantly quicker way to reload an empty J frame sized gun.

Setting up the strips for such a load looks like this:

4 ready to go

A speed strip with four rounds does feel a bit funny in my pocket- so test it out before you commit to it. The strips feel well made. They feel firm in the hand, but not brittle- and I suspect as long as they are not abused to badly, they will last for many loading and unloading cycles.

158gr LSWC 38spl +p from Georgia Arms

Other things I observed: when placing the rounds into the strips, you may have to rotate the cartridges slightly to get them to seat flat in the strip. Also, the strips seem to have a bit of memory to them, so if you bend them a large amount in loading, the rounds will appear to 'fan out' while the strip is at rest.

rounds not fully seated

This isn't a deal breaker- but I did think it was worth bringing up.Overall, I am pretty pleased with the little strips. Loading for revolvers is quicker than from a dump pouch (which I had previously been using). In addition, reloading the encore and single shots is actually a good bit quicker now. I just rock in a new shell and am ready to go.

Switching to strips for a single shot I think is probably most worthwhile of the tuff strips potential applications. by keeping all the spare ammo connected, I was able to save a lot of motion in my reloading process, making it much more efficient.

Previously, I would have to open the pouch, push the flap out of the way, grab a single cartridge, load, then close the breach. Now, I just grab the strip, rock a new cartridge into the chamber, and close the breach. Grabbing the entire strip instead a singular cartridge also requires far less fine motor control, so it can be done more quickly.

note the slight fanning of the 270 win rounds

Overall, I would give these a buy for a handgunner. Especially if you are a hunter. Their utility in the rifle world (outside of single shots) has yet to be determined. That being said, for 8 bucks, they are worth a shot if you are looking for a way to carry ammo without it rattling around that is still secure, but small enough to not necessitate carrying the whole box with you.

oh security six, what shall I do with you?

2011-01-11T19:19:00.000-05:00

I may not be beautiful, but I shoot beautifully

A while back, I picked up a security six which I affectionately refer to as a 'besse'. A bit rough on the eyes, but dependable and sturdy. I even mentioned refinishing it. . . a year ago. Both Mike W and Brigid weighed in, giving sound advice. Well I finally had money together for the project and was going to go with Mahovsky's, but on a whim I asked my Buffalo gun dealer if he knew anyone who did local bluing. He said he did, and he trusted the guy enough to do work on his own guns- So I nervously asked how much. "120 should cover the whole shebang" he said- no shipping necessary.

lots of guns my age show this much wear. . .

Frankly- this sounds a bit too good to be true. That isn't a lot of money for a quality reblue job- at all. especially since it allegedly includes disassembly and stripping. We will see how bad this goes, but I figured it was worth trying. Worst case scenario- the gun won't come out uglier than it is now, and I'll have learned a valuable lesson which I can share with all 7 of my readers.

As the old saying goes: when it rains, it pours. I saw a post on ruger forum mentioning that Ruger.com had Security Six wood grips on clearance (here- not sure how long the link will last, post 151 prefix grips I assume). for 25 bucks (shipped) I figured I might be able to turn this old War horse into something.

The bluing job I requested was for a more matte / sedate look. I wanted an even, but non-reflective surface. Frankly- I did the guy a favor as I probably saved him hours of hand polishing. What I am envisioning is a near park'd looking finish- but done with hot bluing. It should make for a nice practical hunting finish. The wood grips were totally unnecessary- but I can't help that I prefer the feel and look of wood.

Very recently, and perhaps most dangerously- I've been considering my hunting situation. Though I have harvested deer with the encore in 7mm-08 and 44 mag, and I have the redhawk prepped for next season, I haven't been feeling the love for my pistol setup yet. It has been going through near constant revisions for years now- despite being successful. Something about it just doesn't feel 'right' yet. Frankly- I would like to hunt with irons in a lighter gun. However, I lack the self confidence to humanely harvest game with such a setup.

Notice the wear on the trigger and hammer

I'm thinking the revamped Security Six might be the solution. The Encore and the Redhawk both just feel front heavy to me. Maybe its the barrel length, maybe its the scope setup, maybe its both- but something has to give.

I'm going to ask my dealer what it costs to have the Ruger drilled and tapped for a short section of rail on which I will mount a small reflex sight. I know it will look blasphemous- but I may have to walk the road anyway. Right now, I have 175 into the gun for initial purchase, 25 for the grips, 120 for the bluing, + ? for the drill and tap. The optic I am considering is the Primary Arms Micro Green Reflex for 75 bucks. This gun has slowly turned into a small money pit, but it still costs less than even my cheapest 1911, and has been a lot of fun.

Jared Lee Loughner, meet Ayn Rand.

2011-01-09T18:55:00.004-05:00

My heart and sympathies for all the people affected by the Arizona Murders perpetrated by Jared Lee Loughner. Lyger Lyger has a more eloquent write up here than I will, and I'm sure as time passes more bloggers (walls of the city) will touch on this subject. In the mean time- allow me to vent:

Jared Lee Loughner, coward and murderer, fancies himself as a literary critic and martyr. It appears he has suggested in his Youtube ramblings that the US Government is trying to implement mind control over the general populus via controlling grammar.

You. Douche. Bag.

Not only did you murder and maim, but now you are ripping off the story line of Ayn Rand's Anthem (which happens to be one of my more favorite Rand works). Ad hominem that you piece of shit.

added:

Upon further reflection and trying to see how people are reacting to this- I'm a bit saddened to see where fault is being attributed. People are blaming guns, the mainstream media, the shooter (thankfully some people are getting it right) right wing politics, left wing politics, fictional stories / books, etc.

Let me give everyone a hint here- Crazy people- they do crazy stuff. The only person at direct fault here is Jared Lee. Lets talk about how to stop this in the future. First, people who feel 'this can't happen here'- It can happen here. It can happen anywhere. That mentality that evil cannot touch you in your life and neighborhood, in your family and home- creates an environment that can enable this.

Jared was estranged. He was crazy. he was not allowed to enlist in the military for drugs, he had run ins with the local sheriff, he had made casual comments about abortion baby suicide bombers, he had said crazy stuff on youtube and in real life- he reached out to the physical and digital masses and preached his crazy-talk for the world.

And apparently no one got the hint. In retrospect it seems so clear that we all say 'how did anyone miss that?' But it happens- and it could happen again. If you see or know someone who is troubled (or totally insane) don't just observe passively- move proactively and call local authorities who can get the person the care they need to not hurt themselves or others.

Bill Springfield trigger job update

2011-01-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

A while back, I spoke about trigger jobs here and of Bill Springfield. Now, after I've had some time to play with the fruit of Bill's labor, I feel I can offer up some opinions. First however, a brief primer:

The AR-15 trigger is comprised of three primary components- The disconnector, the hammer, and the trigger itself. The combination and modification of these parts create a variety of different pull styles which any user can easily get on his or her gun with little more than a few minutes of their time and a punch to remove some pins (as well as some expensive aftermarket parts). In addition to these primary parts, a few springs also influence the feel of the trigger pull.

The single stage and two stage trigger is a bit confusing to people new to the gun community; as it really doesn't sound that different from single and double action. Both reference the trigger in some way, but mean very different things.

The single stage trigger pull is a trigger pull has less take up than a two stage trigger, which feels as though two things are happening- the take up (or prep) and the let off. A single stage feels as though you just press the trigger, with very little movement, and the gun is fired.

This is not to be confused with single and double action- which refer to the processes which the trigger is performing. A single action trigger performs one function- to manipulate the firing mechanism (often the sear hammer interface) to fire the gun. A double action trigger performs this function, in addition some preparatory action- cocking the hammer. A single action trigger can only release the hammer- a double action trigger can prep and release the hammer.

Now we have a really rudimentary understanding of some definitions. Why go through all that?

To talk about the AR-15 trigger work Bill Springfield of TriggerWork.com performed on some a hammer + disconnector + trigger I sent him. In addition to working on the AR-15 parts I sent in, Bill did some work on a terrible mossberg 695 trigger.

First- the AR. As was mentioned in my earlier post, the cost of the AR trigger job was about 45 bucks (return shipping included). Considering this utilized stock parts, this is far and away the cheapest trigger work (outside of doing it yourself) I have ever seen for the AR-15 platform. That 45 bucks bought me a speed hammer modification and a 4.5 lb trigger job, down from the stock 6 or 7 lb pull I was working with originally on my Del-Ton 16in Carbine.

The trigger reset and let off are extremely short- Vastly improved over any stock AR trigger I have ever fired. Comparing the Springfield job to my Bushmaster 2 stage trigger, I prefer the work that Bill did. There is a very predictable let off, and it is pretty easy to get this trigger running fast and accurate. So far, including 223 and 22lr through the gun, I've fired over 300 rounds. Upon cleaning and inspection of the trigger parts- no peening or unnatural wear was noticed. As time goes on, We'll see if this trigger holds up. However- as of now I would not hesitate to recommend this as a viable and affordable trigger option. As I sit here, I am contemplating what else to send bill in addition to my 10/22 trigger assembly and another stock AR-15 trigger group.

Correspondence with Bill with quick and helpful ( the disconnector in my kit did need about 5 minutes of stoning to get it running properly). Which brings me to my next point- AR 15s are made by everyone and their sister company these days- and variance between receivers and lower parts kits do exist. My kit did need some final stoning, which once the problem was identified- took 5 minutes. Emails to Bill during this process were quick and helpful- and the man stands by his product. I suspect it was variation in the parts I was using between my lower receiver manufacturer and my lower parts kit that caused the problem as opposed to an issue in the work itself.

I base that on the quality of the trigger kit once it was properly fitted and installed, and also in how the mossberg 695 came out. I don't have a trigger pull gauge, but the mossberg trigger was the heaviest trigger on any gun we owned. It wasn't particularly long- it just took a lot of force to get it to break. Now, it feels more along what I prefer in a trigger- 4-5ish lbs, with a clean, crisp break.

So far- Triggerwork.com is a buy for AR15s and bolt action long guns. If and when I get more work done, I'll throw up another post on how the work comes out. I'll also keep future posts updated on how well the trigger jobs last. As a warning, when sending in parts for work- send in the best quality parts you can afford. This is important because many good trigger jobs performed on parts of low quality can over time grow dangerous. Improperly heat treated parts, or parts that were only surface hardened, can create dangerous situations when taken out of their stock configuration. The parts I sent in were from a DPMS LPK. I would suspect any major manufacturer's kit would be fine- whether it be CMMG, DPMS, Bushmaster, Armalite, Colt, RRA, etc.

That being said, it doesn't hurt to have a bit of emery paper and a fine stone on hand in case your kit, like mine, needs a bit of final stoning. If anyone else has experience with these trigger jobs- feel free to comment and let me know your experience. I suspect mine was the exception and not the rule in regards to final fitting.

Ruger Redhawk in 44 mag

2011-01-04T12:52:00.001-05:00

Ah hunting season. This past year saw me take a nice doe with a 44mag encore. As much as I like the gun, I do enjoy having a follow up shot. After I dropped my doe this past season, A nice young buck walked into view. If I had the potential for a follow up, I may have had a nice double to post about.

some while back (with some strong pleading from my older brother)I lucked into a used 44 redhawk in stainless with a 7.5 in tube. The gun sat without optic for a long time, and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Frankly, the only reason I bought it was because my brother thought it was so cool, and he would come to the range and shoot it with me on occasion.

After the 7mm-08 encore barrel sat completely unused this season, I decided to pilfer the scope on it for use on the Ruger. I had to remove the rear sight blade for clearance purposes of the optic, but now I have a nice Burris variable pistol scope mounted with a great low-to-bore setup.

I didn't get a chance to do much with it besides sight it in- but (not surprisingly) the gun is a great shooter with the same load I put through the encore. 25 yard rested groups were just ragged holes, and the stock trigger on the redhawk is actually very nice.

I paid 425 used for the gun, and received a cheap uncle mike's holster and half a box of ammo with it. I've tried some hogue monogrips, but frankly I just prefer the stock wood. I feel it just fits my hand better and is much more attractive.

The gun feels a bit front heavy, and did so even before I mounted the scope on it. However, it does shoot well and is manageable to tout afield and shoot offhand. I'm not sure which gun I prefer to shoot freehand yet (either the redhawk or the encore).

Time will tell if this will become a preferred hunting setup, and at this point its honestly a toss up.

Book recommendation: Monster Hunter Vendetta

2011-01-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

Just finished reading Larry Correia's second book in the Monster Hunter trilogy- Vendetta.

Larry is a Moderator over at THR.org, lover of sci-fi, and general gun aficionado. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys monster themed science fiction with a splash of solid gunny goodness.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T01:04:00.000-05:00

Auld Lang Syne

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
on Old long syne.

On Old long syne my Jo,
in Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
on Old long syne.

My Heart is ravisht with delight,
when thee I think upon;
All Grief and Sorrow takes the flight,
and speedily is gone;
The bright resemblance of thy Face,
so fills this, Heart of mine;
That Force nor Fate can me displease,
for Old long syne.

On Old long syne my Jo,
in Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
on Old long syne.

Since thoughts of thee doth banish grief,
when from thee I am gone;
will not thy presence yield relief,
to this sad Heart of mine:
Why doth thy presence me defeat,
with excellence divine?
Especially when I reflect
on Old long syne

On Old long syne my Jo,
in Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
on Old long syne.

CMMG AR15 22 conversion kit

2010-12-26T15:22:00.002-05:00

kit activates dust cover just like a standard AR-15 Bolt

For Christmas, I received a CMMG AR15 stainless 22 lr conversion kit (older version sans forward assist feature). Today, I took it to the range and put 300 rounds of Federal Bulk Pack ammo through it to see how it would hold up. Here are my initial thoughts on the kit:

Bolt installed, side view

I installed the kit in a home-built del-ton 16inch light carbine with an essential arms lower receiver. I also installed my Bill Springfield 4.5 lb trigger in this gun, which is awesome (~~review forthcoming~~ link).

Installation is simple- just replace your factory AR-15 bolt with the CMMG conversion bolt. I went with the stainless kit, as I had heard people have had less issues getting them to run correctly. The offer my gift came from was a CDNN special that included the bolt and 1 10-round magazine for 149.99 with free shipping. That deal has since expired, but they do still have stainless kits with a high capacity magazine going for the same price (shipping might be 5 bucks now- you'll have to check).

For those who don't want the stainless, Botach tactical has the park'd version on sale for 99.95 here with no magazine. I've never ordered from botach, but I've heard some people have had problems with them, while others have had great service. You'll have to decide for yourself where to order from- but deals on this kits are readily available from a number of retailers. Anyway, The rifle received no special prep of any kind. it was cleaned last time I shot it, and that was it.

I threw some oil on the rails of the kit, and a little on the chamber area, and installed the CMMG bolt as per the instructions. As previously mentioned, The ammo used for this range outing was Wal-Mart Federal Bulk pack- 36 gr hp in the red box. Not the fancier champion blue box stuff- that isn't available locally by me. The first installation was a little tight, but thumb pressure was enough to push it into place.

bottom view of kit installed

In addition to the 1 gray CMMG 10 round magazine, I received 3 black dog machine magazines. The CMMG grey 10 rounders look like a straight bodied 20 round AR-15 magazine, where as the BDM look like a curved 20 rounder.

Off I went to the range. In all 300 rounds fired, I had ZERO malfunctions. No failures to feed, fire, or extract. No jams of any kind. After I had fired the 300 rounds, I replaced the CMMG bolt with the factory bolt and ran 5 rounds of 223 to clear out the gas system. The included instructions said to remove the bolt and clean thoroughly every 500 rounds, but I figured 300 was still a fair sum.

When I broke the rifle down and pulled the bolt- there was a fair amount of carbon build up inside. The kit wiped clean with just a rag (Yay for stainless!) and the fouling from the 22 ammo was also removed easily with a bit of hoppes 9 , some elbow grease, and a can of compressed air. Reinstalling was even easier than the initial installation, and the whole process took me less than 10 minutes to break down, clean, and put back together.

The fit and finish of the kit is very good. Operation is smooth, and there was no sluggish feeding throughout the entire course of fire. Accuracy seemed good- It was a bit cold (20 degrees F) so my fingers were numb, but shooting free hand I was able to ring the NRA rimfire steel easily at 25 and 50 yards. I may have to throw an optic on here and really see what the kit can do- but that will have to wait for better weather.

Here you can see a few close ups of the kit to see the machine work:

side of kit

side of kit, reverse

All in all, I'm a big fan. Time will tell as to the longevity, durability, and accuracy of the CMMG- but I suspect it will not disappoint. I do wish a few things were different, most of which seem to have been addressed in the newer version, the 22 evolution from CMMG- though it is much more expensive.

close up

The newer version incorporates functionality back into your bolt hold-open, as well as returning functionality to the forward assist. All of which would be nice if using this kit as an AR15 training unit. For a fun plinker however, they aren't really necessary.

I had no occasion to test live round extraction (aka I forgot to try it)- so I can't comment on the feature right now- though CMMG claims it has been improved in the new version.

High capacity magazines for those people who live in states that no longer have restrictions would probably make this kit even more epic, especially with quality 50 round drum mags now available.

close up of extractor

Though both CMMG and BDM magazines fed perfectly, the BDMs were much easier to insert and extract. I took a piece of emery paper to the CMMG mag in order to make it insert more easily. I found the tabs were a touch oversized and there was still some flashing around the seems. A few minutes of rubbing did greatly improve the CMMG mag's fit to my receiver, and I suspect it will loosen up further with use.

close up, front of bolt

The only place where machining / welding was obvious was on the rear of the kit, shown below installed in the AR. This however, had no impact on function.

rear of bolt, installed in AR-15

All in all, these kits are a total BUY. I don't know if the park'd version is as reliable as the stainless, but I'm sure with a bit of break-in it would probably run fine. If you can spare the extra few bucks though, I would definitely go with the stainless. It looks great, cleans easy, and my kit ran perfect from the moment it was installed.

Comparing this to other complete 22 AR-15 style rifles on the market today (like the Colt or S&W) I prefer the drop in kit. Those other guns just didn't feel as well made to me. Here you have a cost effective option that allows you to shoot your AR-15 more cheaply without the cost of an entirely new gun. I have been seeing a lot of people who are going with dedicated uppers- which are probably very nice. However, the conversion bolt option allows you to keep the same optic/light/accessory setup you already have on your AR and shoot more affordable 22lr ammo, without having to pay for a whole new upper (which can rival the price of a new gun). CMMG had great foresight when they designed this kit to run on bulk pack ammo- as to me, even buying Mini-mags is a bit much for 22lr shooting. If anyone has an AR15, and is trying to figure out a cheaper way to get it out to the range or in the field for some small game hunting- Look into a good 22lr conversion kit.

Oh Christmas

2010-12-25T02:10:00.000-05:00

Below is a now somewhat dated gun owner's rendition on 'twas the night before Christmas' The earliest I remember seeing this was on glocktalk a few years ago, though I'm sure its been making the rounds since probably 2005. Anyway, enjoy some lighthearted fun.

Twas the night before Christmas,
cold, dark and foreboding,
I sat at the work bench,
quite busy reloading.

The empties from autumn were polished so clear
for primers and powder and bullets from Speer
and Hornady´s soft-points, and Nosler´s Partitions
(my bench Ain’t no place for brand
name omissions!).

All sat in their boxes, right next to the
press with dies from Pacific, and RCBS,
when all of a sudden there came such a jolt,
I grabbed for my Benelli and whipped out my Colt.

As I spilled Hodgdon's powder all over the shelf,
I scrambled for cover, just to protect myself.

From up on the rooftop, came hoofbeats and snorting
like the noise out of L'il Rock from Clinton's cavorting!

I eased off the safety to press-check my
auto with 230-talons I'll knock 'em all blotto.

Were these rogue federal agents sent by Schumer and Reno ?
Or a staggering Ted Kennedy, in bad need of vino?

My question was answered with a knock, and some sneezing,
"It's Santa, you moron, lemme in there, I'm freezing!"

I flipped off the dead-bolt and threw the door wide
to find St. Nick a shivering, Rudolph by his side.
He eyeballed my A.K. with a nod of approval
"You're all set," he said, "for dirtball removal."

"But this is no raid, we're not here to harm you
nor persecute, prosecute, nor even disarm you."
"Instead," said dear Santa, "I needed to borrow
your .357 'till day after tomorrow."

"It's okay," he assured me, with a hint of frustration,
"I'm enrolled in the National Rifle Association."

He showed me his card, 'twas a Life Member rating,
"I've had this since me and the missus were dating!"

"And you see, Dave, ol' buddy, I've gotten real nervous
since Feinstein was elected with a promise to serve us.

So henceforth as I'm out there, my presents a stackin',
I want to assure you, I'm legally packin'',
and my gift for you this year should give you a hoot
I've told the Supreme Court to give Brady the boot!

Now, Rudy and I must be on our way,"
he said as he climbed back in his sleigh.
With the reins in his hand and my Colt in his pocket,
he jingled the sleighbells and was off like a rocket.

With a pair of speedloaders and ammo to spare,
I knew he'd be safe, he was loaded for bear!

As he faded from view, I could still hear him calling
"From D.C., where 'P.C.' is already falling.
To bad guys in L.A. , Detroit and Atlanta ,
"I'm licensed to carry, don't go messin' with Santa!"