Range Report: Eye-Talian SAA Clone

I still have all my fingers and eyeballs.  That's always a worry when you are playing with an inexpensive  Magnum-class handgun.  After teddybearing this around the house for a couple of days, I had some initial impressions:

Trigger was nice, not up to a tuned S&W, but serviceable. 
Lockup was solid
Sights were better than I expected, after seeing original Colt-style sights on some guns.
The fit and finish... well, that's where you save money on this gun.  The matte finish is- well, a finish.  The grips stood proud of the metal in several places, and the brass grip frame needs attention.
Handling of the SAA style gun is very nice.  My only other single action was a .44Mag Ruger Super Blackhawk, and that thing handled like a brick.  This thing is graceful.

Not to jump too far ahead, but I want to let you know this-  It shoots a lot better than you would expect for a sub-$400 thumbbuster.

I did a quick run to the range during lunch today, and ran a few cylinder loads of mixed bag .38 Spl and .357 Mag through the gun.  No failures, except ones cause by my own ineptness with the platform- more on that in the narrative.

$600 used versus $350 new

 First six shots in .38 Spl fired at 5 yards offhand, just to make sure it works.

It's an absolute puff ball to shoot with .38Spl

 Now a cylinder full of Magnums to see if that will work

Same POI at close range.

Now we have my human error induced failure.  On the 3rd .357 Mag shot, the hammer and cylinder locked up when I tried to draw to full cock.  All sorts of dirty words were floating about in my head as I inspected the gun and noticed the problem.  The base pin of the cylinder had come loose in recoil.  It took some fidgeting, but I realized the problem was pilot error pretty quick.  If you look closely at the pic, you will see two notches in the base pin.  Those need to be clocked to face the 6-o'clock position.  That got it to lock in place, and no more failures!

Should'a read them 'structions.

So, I ran a few more loads though the hogleg, and it was accurate and easy to shoot.  I understand now all the talk of the 'pointability' of the SAA, and why the design has been so timeless.  It's classy.  It points like it knows what to do.  It is a pain in the ass to reload.  Wait, that's not a plus....

Anyway, I need to take it back to the range and file the front sight down to make it hit somewhere in the vicinity of where I'm aiming.  This last picture is of the last 6 round group I fired offhand at 15 yards.  It's hitting well over a foot low and just a hair to the left. 

If I was aiming COM, I'd hit the right nut

To recap- Should you buy one of these?  If you need a single action in your collection and don't have the money for a Cimarron, get yourself to the nearest Cabelas and pick one up.  They are on sale right now, and a heck of a deal for a good little plinker.  Is it a faithful and artistic rendition of Sam Colt's masterpiece?  No.  The finish is wrong, and it has some safety crap added to get by the asinine ATF import regulations.  Is it a low-cost shooter that will introduce you to the world of single actions without requiring a second mortgage?  Yep.  I like it so far.  Look forward to shooting it more and really getting to learn the platform.

By the way, I am thinking of antiquing the finish like Boge Quinn did over on Gunblast.com.  That just looks cool

It's a Trap..pist ale!

Dave said it first.

Gun Porn- Pietta SAA Clone

Realized a few days ago that I do not have a single action revolver in my collection.


I know, right?  What red blooded 'Merican does not have a thumbbuster in the stable?   The Ghost of John Wayne would have to be looking down on me and shaking his head in disgust.

So I set out to rectify that situation.  Of course my first thoughts were to go after the goofy gun affliction again and get a Schofield or a Remington clone... then I saw what those were priced at these days, and decided to go with an SAA clone.

Shopped around some, and found that Cabelas down the street carries a great budget Eye-Talian SAA clone.  Online reviews were great, so, afetr shopping some local shops and getting that quizzical dog look from the counter guys when I asked for single actions...

Wait.. you mean an AR-15, right?

I went down to Cabelas, stood in line for way too long to buy something that I could see on the shelf right frigging there, and bought myself a .357 Magnum Pietta 1873 clone of the Colt Single Action Army.

So, 'nuff with these words n' stuff.  Y'all came here to see pichers of a hogleg, right?

Luckily I had the belt and gunbucket holster on hand already 

The sudden benefits of 'non-standard' chamberings

My brother pointed this out to me last night as we talked about guns. He just returned from a multi state car trip where he was (as a side benefit) stopping at random gunstores in the middle of nowhere and picking up ammo. He pointed out that if he had a lot of 'non-standard' calibers, he could still feed his guns.

9mm Para, 22LR, .357Mag, 223/5.56, 308, 45ACP, .30-06 were all gone. Things like 10mm, 9mmMak, 7.62x25, .243Win, .454Casull, 7mm-08, etc.. were instock and plentiful.

We always assumed that having guns in 'standard' chamberings meant we would be able to get ammo anywhere, any time. How many times have we heard, and said, that it is a better choice to get a standard caliber so you can get ammo in any gun store or gas station on the planet? Now, you probably have a better chance of finding 7.62Nagant on the shelves before you find 9mmPara.

I think it might be a good time to look at the used market, and buy a gun in a non-standard caliber that someone is panic selling to buy an AR-15 at 3x it's regular cost

Like you and me, only better

While the DC Police decided to not charge David Gregory for willfully violating DC's draconian gun laws....

Now we have a regular guy that will probably be charged for using a gun to shoot a pitt bull that was mauling an eleven year old boy

Remember your place, subjects! Those laws are for the little people!

Sorry for the sparse posting

It's been a crazy time at work, and this whole insanity with the Great Panic of 2012/13 going on... well, time is thin.

Here is an example of the gun stuff that's been happening in my little world:
So far, this week, I have sourced ammo for 3 coworkers, set up one co-worker to buy an AR off of a buddy, helped my Aunt buy a .357 Mag (via text... and the dumbass at Academy sold her a box of 357SIG ammo with it), had one co-worker call me at home at 9:30PM to guide through an AR purchase, and just helped my boss and a coworker through the difference between a Colt 6920 and a Colt 6940 and decide which one to buy. 

 Plus, I have a 4 year old that has gone insane with loving Star Wars, with never seeing a movie.  So that is bringing out my inner geek as I deal with all the fun stuff, while not giving away too much of the movies.

Anyway, to bide the time, here are some random food and gun pics I had floating on the phone

Bought it for the name, and it wasn't half bad

Prime freaking rib. Damn straight it was tasty

bought this off dvor.com while IN the hunting blind, cursing the fact that I had no holster

Darth Vader in a row boat.  Your argument is invalid.

You don't NEED.....

man, that one really gets the point across.

H/T to Gun Free Zone

23 Executive Actions from Obama

So, our Speech-maker in chief has come out with his 'plan' on 'gun violence.'  23 actions that will do nothing to solve any problem, but may create more problems for the Govt to solve!

Here they are, copied from here: LINK

1. Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system
How will this help?
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
In other words, force doctors to report confidential health info to the Government for tracking.  Wife having bad PMS that makes her angry?  The Govt wants to know.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
Do those incentives come from the barrel of a gun, or are they handing out more of the money we don't have?
4. Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
Will he add a category for  people who knowingly give guns to mexican drug cartels?  Probably not, because we would have to disarm the BATFE
5. Propose rule-making to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
Depriving people of property without due process of law?  
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
They know how.  This is just bullshit busywork.
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.
We have one of those.  It's called the NRA.
8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes
Great, I need more useless cable locks lying around my house.
9. Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
Why?  When the cops recover a jammed Lorcin with no serial number next to the body of Sumdood, it's pretty safe to say it's stolen. 
10. Release a Department of Justice report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
Again- Why?  What will that do to end violence?
11. Nominate a new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
'Bout time.  While you are at it, why not pass a budget?
12. Provide law enforcement, first-responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
 You mean, they have not had that?  Seems like that is a fail on your part that it takes 26 dead in a school to get the training out there.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
Not violent crime- GUN crime.  In other words, more hammering FFLs for paperwork errors, arresting CHL holders for accidentally crossing magical gun free force-fields,  and ruining peoples lives for bad measurements.
14. Issue a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
How about just violence?  It does not matter if Mortimer bashes in his ex-wifes head with a hammer, just as long as he don't just up and shoot her.
15. Direct the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun-safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
Invest in vaporware?   No.  As soon as they make an ATM as reliable as a Kalashnikov, I'll think about putting an ATM in my Kalashnikov. 
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors from asking their patients about guns in their homes.
And I can still reply by asking the Doc how much money is in his bank account.  Damn right that's none of EITHER of our business. 
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
Again- They Know.  Another example of 'what you do instead of something'
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school-resource officers.
Wasn't the NRA made fun of for suggesting this?
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
 How about let the good guys carry there?  When the shooting starts it will be good to know that the cops will have a plan when they get there in 10-20 minutes, in the mean time, let the good guys shoot back
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
Finally!  They realized that the problem is caused by a lack of funding for a bloated inefficient government bureaucracy 
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
ObamaCare will save us!
22. Commit to finalizing mental-health parity regulations.
"I'll totally have this done next month.  Pinkie swear."
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan on mental health.
Having an idiot and a mouthbreather talk 'bout it for a while.  I guess that's as effective as having Biden count the jellybeans in the jar again.

Not as bad as we expected, but still pretty stupid. 

James Yeager is the Guy Fieri of the gun culture

Mi2Tall whipped out that gem in conversation today.  Tam said he was the Honey Boo Boo of the gun industry as well, but I like Mi2Tall's assertion better.  Why?  because I refuse to believe that anyone likes and admires Honey Boo Boo.  I feel people watch that shi... uh, show like a trainwreck.  Abject horror and fascination.

Fieri, on the other hand has people that actually look up to him.  People that rally want to 'ride the Guy Express to flavortown'.  He is a douche in shitty sunglasses and frosted tips.

ALL I AM IS MARKETING!!!!

In case you have not been following the Saga of Yeager, here it is in a nutshell:
-James Yeager is a natural born tool that comes back from a being a contractor in the sandbox and starts a firearms training school
-Some controversy starts about Yeager's service
-Yeager starts making training videos with cameramen downrange
-Yeager makes a whole bunch of videos online that are completely mock-worthy
-And he gets his panties in a wad when people mock them
-Then he challenges people to a duel
-Now he makes a series of videos that says he will shoot gun grabbers.
-... and he gets his concealed carry license yanked for being a public menace

Would you trust this guy?  Not me.

Yeager is a tool. He has done damage to our cause. 

Lawdog says it soooo much better than I could

20 Questions with a Gun-Ban'r

This is a good read. 

Regulate Guns like we do Cars? Sure.. read this first

I propose instead, we regulate cars the way we regulate guns.  Let's start...

Click the link.  It's a great refutation of 'guns are unregulated'

Last weekend- it was the last weekend of Buck Season

Went out hunting at the lease in the hill country

My brother and I went out to see if we could take out some more of the really crappy bucks that we have out there.  I'll get some pics from the game cameras up soon, but there are some seriously messed up genetics on this patch of land.  Just some goofy racks.

So, I obviously took the DPMS AR-10, and my brother took his.   I also had finally had 10 spare minutes to get to the range and sight in the newly scoped Ruger SRH in .454 Casull

And got some decent results

'bout an inch and a half at 75 yards?  That'll do.

Only thing missing?  Deer.

So, out we went, to pactice some Odocoileus virginianus eugenics!  While hunting, it got really cold.  Well, really cold for central Texas- which is what y'all in the north call 'long-sleeve-shirt weather'.  Down to 27 degrees on Sunday morning.  My brother got a doe and one of the old, spike bucks...

I however...

Just got really cold.

City of Austin is up to it's usual level of stupid

So, a report comes out that 35% of violent crime is caused by the blessed homeless.

So, the City Council decides that the best thing to do to make Austin safer is to ban Gun Shows.


What a bunch of mouth breathing morons.