Go Vote! Do your duty!

Vote for freedom.

Oh, damnit.

I don't need this.

But I REALLY, REALLY want it.

In .44Mag.  Or .300BLK.

Lucky Gunner finds some old crap ammo and tests it.

I laugh at this, because I bought a brick (500 rounds) back in 1990 or 1991.  My results were WORSE than what Lucky Gunner got.  I had about a 50% failure rate in a rifle. 

But I had a great training in clearing jams on a Marlin Model 60!  Even to this day when I go shooting with 45er, I'll mention "Remember that old russian 'Junior' .22 ammo..."

Link!


H/T to Say Uncle

Gun Pr0n- Primary Arms red dot and Mossberg MVP

I hinted* that I had something new a few days ago.  I finally had some time to get the camera out when there was still good light and get a few shots.  But before I get to the new one, I wanted to show a new config on one of my Truck Guns.

Back at Christmas, a family member gave me a Primary Arms Micro Dot.  I did not have a host for it, so I started hunting for a mount for my AK Pistol "Trainwreck".  I took a leap of faith and bought the Strike Industries Rear AK Sight Rail 2.  I finally got it all mounted up, sighted in, and ready to roll.  Here she is:

The sight mount gives a "Lower 1/3 Cowitness"

There were a few reports online about the mount being less than solid.  I've only run about 60 rounds through it so far, but it is holding.  The red dot is just what I have come to expect from Primary Arms.   Solid, clear, bright, and user friendly.  I look forward to getting this out to the range and do some real work with it and test it out.  I have high hopes for this combo.

Now, on to the new gun.

I have come to the realization over the last few months that I am a 'gun hipster'.  I like the oddball guns.  Pump action deer rifles?  Yes, please!  Single shots?  The more the merrier! Pistol caliber carbines, and rifle caliber pistols?  Heck, yeah!

So, when Mossberg came out with the MVP- I had to have one.  In case you have not seen this gun before, this is a bolt action rifle that fires 5.56/.223, and feeds from standard AR-15 magazines.  Why, that's just goofy enough to be right in my wheelhouse!

So I bought one a few weeks back.

This is a really cool design.  Light, handy, fast... and hopefully accurate.  I took it to the range and ran a few mags through it, but mostly it was a function test.  I don't have an optic for it- yet.  I have something special on backorder for it, but for now it's just running the excellent Williams foresight front and adjustable rear

No photo adjustments on this one.  The front sight is really that bright

The magazine release is oddly placed, yet very usable

It wears a birdcage flash hider, which will be unscrewed when I get my next suppressor

The rifle fed well from PMAGS, GI Aluminum, and pretty much everything... except the factory 10 round mag.  That one worked great with brass, but hung up on steel case.  

Oh, it also has one of the trigger-dingies that seem to be all the rage.  It's an adjustable "LBA" trigger.  It came out of the box pretty good, so I did not mess with it... yet

Factory 10 round magazine

What makes the MVP work is a bolt with a special little drop down jaw at the bottom that will reach into the mag, scoop up a round, and fold back into the bolt as it chambers the round.  Pretty slick, and works pretty well.  The bolt requires a little slop into it to be able to feed from a wide range of mags.  That makes it a little slow and 'bindy' when running it hard.  I'm hoping that gets smoother as it slicks up with wear.  Here is the jaw 'thingie' on the bolt face:

After taking a look at that, I could not resist the following:

Expect a full range report once the optic comes in!

Dear, Mr. Metcalf- STOP TALKING!

There is an old saying:

When you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, the first thing to do is STOP DIGGING.

Dick Metcalf really needs to get that saying set as his screen saver.  That way, before he starts typing he gets a good reminder to 'never miss an opportunity to shut up.'

Background- the last issue of Guns and Ammo (G&A) had a back page editorial where Mr. Metcalf took a page from the Brady Campaign and said that the 2nd Amendment (2ndA) had wording in it that allowed for Govt restrictions to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA).  He ignored lots of readings, rulings, and scholarship on the 2ndA that clearly said "Nuh-Uh", then went to back up his ramblings with "I taught this stuff once," and "but we regulate cars..."  His idiocy got picked up by gun control zealots, and used against the RKBA

Anyway- he got himself "Recoil-ed" and "Zumbo-ed."  He and the Editor of G&A got fired.

Mr. Metcalf, instead of taking a clue from Jim Zumbo, and go on a public "mea culpa" tour, and rehab his image....  Well, he decided to "Step on his Metcalf" again and show that not only does he not understand the 2ndA, but also shows a startling lack of knowledge on the FIRST Amendment!

Direct quote from Dick Metcalf's response on "The Shooting Wire":

...then I fear for the future of our industry, and for our Cause. Do not 2nd Amendment adherents also believe in Freedom of Speech?

 Dick... if I may call you 'Dick'... Here is the thing- You have the freedom of speech.  So do I.  When you wrote your (last) column, you were free to do so.

When I, as a long time customer, requested that G&A (Intermedia Outdoors) take you to the woodshed and spank you like a red-headed stepchild,  I was free to do that as well. 

However, since YOU are a negative on the balance sheet (overhead), and I am a positive (revenue) AND I was joined by a whole bunch of others from the revenue column....  you got canned. 

Freedom of speech does not mean you have freedom from the repercussions.  You (hopefully inadvertently) aided and abetted to enemy.  Make no mistake, the anti-RKBA forces are the enemy, and as Michael Bane states so eloquently:

...people who would happily load us into boxcars and send us east! We need to say no to the people who destroy our heritage, spit on the Constitution and unleash their thugs.

 Now, PLEASE stop talking.  Step away from the keyboard.  Go take that 16 hour class (to carry a gun) that you are so happy to have in Illinois,  do some introspection and navel-gazing.  Think if you want to come back to The People of The Gun and work toward more freedom, or if you want to polish your FOID-colored chains and continue down the path to bondage.

Smith Enterprise, Inc. (SEI) M14 Barstock Receiver

It seems that Smith Ent. likes to sue people for posting bad reviews of their products online.

So, I just wanted to add my little part to the Google search fiasco and say:

DON'T BUY FROM SMITH ENTERPRISE.  THEY SUE PEOPLE FOR POSTING BAD REVIEWS ONLINE

What a bunch of jerks

Obama can't get Gun Control past congress, so he screws with gun owners and collectors by banning reimportation of M1 Carbines and M1 Garands from Korea, and now by making those of us with Class 3 stuff jump through MORE hoops before we can get more stuff.

What an asshole.  This is PURELY punitive.  There is no reason to do this for crime.  I dare ANYONE on to come up with any sort of stat that shows any significant crime caused by CMP garands and Carbines or legally owned 'Class 3' weapons.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/29/obama-announces-new-gun-control-measures-targets-military-surplus-imports/

Gun stuff

I have been seriously lacking in the gun stuff on the blog as of late.  Why?  Well, ammo is expensive, time is short, and I am busy as hell with the day job.

I need to get to the range.  I cant afford it right now.  I REALLY want to fire a big boomer, and if I can load up some .454 ammo, MAYBE I'll sneak to the range in the next few days.

You want a BOOM?  You can't handle the BOOM!

Anywho... so here is some cool stuff about guns that was on the blogs this morning:

Grant Cunningham linked to Forgotten Weapons (a site that trips my oddball gun trigger) about another Automatic revolver that is just freaking cool:

 The Firearms Blog linked to another cool 'hidden safe':

Crown Royal?  A Glock?  Pfft... how positively 1992.

Range Trip

Took some time on Friday to run out to the range and get some much needed trigger time in.  Decided to take a few guns.  The Makarov, The ARP, Marlin Camp Carbine in 45ACP, Kimber Pro Carry, and the CZ-82.

Guns!

Since I posted info on the Makarov, and Brigid said a friend was looking at one, I decided to try and film my Makarov while shooting to get some feel for the operation and recoil.

Do you know how hard it is to shoot a DA/SA gun one handed, while  aiming through the camera on an iPhone?  It is harder than it seems...  That's why I'm pretty damn happy with the group I got while shooting:

I also tried filming through the Primary Arms red-dot on the Camp Carbine.  It was slightly easier, but still an exercise very similar to patting your head while rubbing your stomach.

Everything ran great.  The testing continues on the ARP.  So far, no failures, and I can hit a basketball sized group offhand at 60 yards.

Good time at the range. 

Central Texas CHL Holder assists police and stops suspect from entering a Middle School

LINK

"After witnessing a man become violent and evade Kerrville Police, Kerrville businessman Ronnie Bock was not going to take a chance on the suspect being able to enter Hal Peterson Middle School.
"He was running and screaming and heading toward the middle school," Bock said. "I didn't really think of anything else except I was not going to let him get into that school. He wasn't going to get near those children."
Bock, whose business is located directly across the street from HPMS, ran across the street with his licensed handgun and ordered the suspect to stop and get down on the ground.
The suspect complied and KPD officers took him into custody."

This is how school security should work.   Normal, everyday citizens and vigilance. 

New Leather Gear- El Paso Saddlery Crossdraw and Cartridge Slide

While strolling through the Fun Show  I was surprised to see one of my favorite holster companies, El Paso Saddlery, had a booth.  I stopped just to tell the guy there that I was a customer and I love their leatherwork.

Turns out that the guy at the booth was Robert Taylor, Director of Sales for El Paso Saddlery.  I struck up a nice conversation with him, and mentioned that I had been carrying in one of their rigs for years.

You can tell the age of the photo from the vintage cell phone

I also have a nice crossdraw rig for an S&W 686 with the cartridge belt...  I don't have a good pic of that whole rig, but here is a crop without all the identifying stuff

I use that rig when woods bumming out on the lease.  Carrying that with a full load of cartridges in the loops and the Marlin .357, I'll good for anything.   Why cross draw?  Because I usually have a rifle slung on the other side, and this keeps the wheelgun from banging into the long gun.

I mentioned to Robert that I just bought an SAA clone, and would love to get a holster for that.  Well, we talked for a bit, and he made me a great deal for the holster and a 12 round cartridge slide.

I walked out with a beautiful #44 Outfit crossdraw holster and slide that I was totally not planning on buying.  I am so happy with this purchase.  I had to do a picture for this post, but I was running out of light.  So this is adjusted a bit.

Damn straight.

The craftsmanship of this, and all of my EP Saddlery holsters, is just... perfect.  Beautiful leather, perfect stitching, and that leather SMELL.  If you need a holster, these guys should be on your list.  They have been making holsters since 1889, and they have it down pat.  For concealed carry, the Street Combat holster I have pictured above allows me to carry a freaking N-Frame Smith and Wesson under an untucked polo shirt.  It is a well thought out and useful bit of gear.  They cost money, but they are worth it.

 Oh, and over the weekend, I started the antiquing process on the Pietta SAA clone.  Spent about half an hour with a scotchbrite pad.  Here is the 'before' pic:

Dark, matte black.  Cheap, but not... nice

...and the 'in process' pic

Getting better!

I'll do a couple more treatments like that, and make it look old.

This pic just looked good, had to include it.

Game Cam Self Portrait

This is the definition of overkill

This past weekend, 45er delivered me my game camera from the hunting lease.  I started going through the pics just to see what as on there, and came across a pic of me walking past the camera at the end of the morning hunt.

Yep... 3 guns on frame.  The DPMS AR-10 for long range shots, the Ruger Super Redhawk .454 for close work, and the EAA 10mm.  Why the 10mm?  Well, just in case.

Thought it was funny.  This is what happens when a 'hardware geek' goes hunting. 

A REALLY good point

A buddy just sent that in email, and I thought it needed to be here.

This is why I like the Makarov

Well, ONE of the reasons.

The Mak has a lot of strikes against it.  Tiny sights, DA/SA trigger, a Decocker, grip angle is like the horrid Gen 1 S&W Autos, a heel-clip magazine release, and it fires a somewhat anemic cartridge.

But here is what it has- Reliability.  Affordability.  It's easy to work on, and available.  I have recommended Makarovs for years as a good choice for a low budget defensive automatic.  Are there better choices?  Sure.  Is it better than most at it's pricepoint?  Yes.  As a matter of fact, I find it is probably the best at it's price. 

If someone is on a Hi-Point budget, send them to a Makarov.   Looking at a Bersa- suggest this as an option.  Cheaper, and 9mmMak ammo is a LOT more available than .380 right now.  If they are looking at a Taurus of any stripe- DEFINITELY send them toward the Mak. 

I watched that video today and thought I'd share.  Good stuff.

Quick range report- Kahr CW9

Finally had the time and spare rounds to take That Wife's new carry gun to the range for a quick function test.  No surprises... well, no surprises from the gun.  I have my own Kahr (MK9), and knew what to expect.

with a nice High Noon holster

 I spared 100 rounds out of my stockpil... uh, INVENTORY, ran a target out to 7 yards, and ran it every way I could to see if it would fail.  Fast, slow, two handed, on hand, weak hand, limp wristed... it just ran like a top.  No stoppages of any kind.

 The test is not done.  Next will be the wife running it to make sure it works for HER.  Also, running it with whatever kind of hollow point ammo I can find.

 I did do a slowfire group at 7 yards, offhand.  It is an accurate pistol.  Threw the first 2 rounds low, but that could have been the nut behind the trigger.

And here is the one surprise-

That there is a Federal American Eagle 115 grain Full Metal Fuckup

It's either excited or cold.  Not sure which.

Rednecking up a Reloading press

One of the reasons I've been bugging 45er to get back into rolling his own ammo is because I have been spending the last few weekends getting my workbench/ reloading bench up to snuff.  

I'm 90% of the way setting up the progressive press, but decided I should have a single stage press for doing low volume loading and rifle loads.  So, instead of buying a new press, I just rednecked up a mount for my old standby Lee Hand Press:

I'll test this out tomorrow and see how it works like this.

I don't care if it's S&W making it...

It's still a dumb idea.

a .410 revolver is dumb.  It was tried before with the MIL Thunder Five, and it was a market failure.  So, Taurus copies it a few years ago with the idiotic Judge.  They put some serious (and misleading) marketing behind it and prove PT Barnum right.

S&W sees a lot of dollars going to a dubious concept, so they pull a 'Me Too'.  They tweak it to run with .45ACP as well as .410 and .45Colt.  But what they end up with is still just a copy of a copy of a market failure.

And the naming of these things... The Judge and The Governor?  Seriously?

For Unca' Joe Effing Biden

If you have not been paying attention, our national shame, Joe Biden, went out and opened his slobbering cake-hole and stuck his whole foot in his mouth.

"Oh, " you say, "It must be a day that ends in 'y'"

Right.  Except Ol' Slo-Mo Joe went out and in one statement where he was a patronizing sexist pig towards women, advocated breaking THREE of the sacred 'Four Rules', and told us to commit what would be a felony in all 50 states.

That has to be a record, even for one as adept in screwing things up.  What did he say?  Here, listen to that smarmy sphincter say it himself:

So, let's break that down:
"You little women don't need no AR-15.  It's just to complicated with all them switches, triggers, dials and stuff.  You need something simple because you are just too mentally incapable of understanding the complex workings of a 60 year old design..."
"Make sure to fire wildly at strange noises with no idea what the target or backstop is."
"The best idea is to make sure an aggressor knows that now your gun is empty."

Mr Biden, please keep your advice to things you actually know, like hairplugs and creepily fondling women in public.  Let the adults talk about adult issues like self defense.

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.