Wednesday, May 30, 2007
S&W Troubles
As promised, we made it out to the range last week. I only brought 1911s. It was a good day and we got some work done as far as sighting.
The Smith (aka S&W SW1911PD) started locking the slide after every shot. The old man shot in without a hitch. The conclusion was that I like touching guys butts and that I was riding the frame with the slide, i.e. making me a likely John Edwards voter.
As I sat down to clean the gun on Friday night, some shit popped off. The staked plunger tube had shorn off of the frame. The reason it worked for the old man is because he doesn't shoot with his thumb on the safety. I however, apply pressure which apparently locks the slide back once your plunger tube is no longer a part on your gun.
Needless to say, it is a new gun and I don't want to screw around with it, as much shit as I have on my plate. I contacted S&W and they sent me a UPS label. Vague on time, but I'm reserving judgment.
It is still a beautiful gun and I want it back as quick as possible. I use this as my back-up carry gun and I don't like it being out of the house or not on my persons.
Will report back on the S&W treatment.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
M-40
The rifle I referenced in the previous post, is an M-40 Marine Sniper rifle. Remington did a limited run of about a thousand, (not that there are that many originals.) It was weird, in that they didn't advertise this, even on their website's "Special Edition" spot.
The Old Man found one. It is .308, with a huge barrel, and a steel butt-plate. The box it came in is probably a collector's item and we tried to stay true to the spirit by mounting a Zeiss 3-9x scope (with Army mils, but you can't have everything.)
Hopefully, trial run should be tomorrow, unless there are 25 mph crosswinds. No point in sighting in those conditions.
Regardless, I'm shooting something tomorrow.
The Old Man found one. It is .308, with a huge barrel, and a steel butt-plate. The box it came in is probably a collector's item and we tried to stay true to the spirit by mounting a Zeiss 3-9x scope (with Army mils, but you can't have everything.)
Hopefully, trial run should be tomorrow, unless there are 25 mph crosswinds. No point in sighting in those conditions.
Regardless, I'm shooting something tomorrow.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Scope Mounting
I planned on making this a multiple post feature, but it didn't work out that way. New computer and I took a lot of pictures that were formated. This is what remains.
Here is the picture of the rifle in the rough. It is a bull barrel bolt, chambered in .308. This is, apparently, what Scout-snipers carried in the Vietnam war. I will attest that the barrel makes it inconvenient to shoot off-hand or even from a braced position. It is so fucking heavy, I don't think one could shoot it from anything but a rested position.
The barrel is like nothing I've ever seen. It is huge, unwieldy and demands a rest.
Originally, the point of this series was to show people that you don't have to waste the money to 
take your rifle and scope to a gunsmith. Depending on who your gunsmith is, you will probably do a better job.
take your rifle and scope to a gunsmith. Depending on who your gunsmith is, you will probably do a better job.
Pictured are alignment rings. These allow you to verify that your rings are matched to the diameter of the scope. I hoped to picture lapping tools and a piece by piece progression of the mount and rings.
Final pictures and range report will follow.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Range Report w/ Sights Bitch
We made it out on Thursday. Good day all around, but before I get into details I need to bitch.
I brought out the Carry Gun (that's what it is called, it is actually a Colt XSE) and I intended to do a 300 round workout. I wasn't working on marksmanship, I was working on handling. Well 3 magazines into it, the fucking back sight came loose. No I didn't have the right Allen wrench and no I couldn't improvise; so it was useless to shoot it.
I'm not limiting it to the Colt, although I've yet to own a Colt that came out of the box with reliable sights. It seems most companies don't really give a shit about sights, at least on a civilian level. We've beat pins, loc-tited screws, and stippled dovetails. We've corrected most of them, but anything purchased in the last year is subject to scrutiny. The kind of scrutiny where one might question if you would bet your life on this gun.
It pisses me off that the civilian market is held in such contempt. Yes, we are not a big government contract and, yes, a lot of us wouldn't recognize the flaw if we owned the gun for 30 years. But some of us actually try to educate ourselves and know we're not hitting shit because the manufacterer refused to pay due attention to sight quality and installation (I'm especially talking about Colt.)
As such, I shot the carry for about 10 minutes. After that I shot my Glock 17 which worked the same way it always does. Reliable, but not a lot of fun to shoot.
My Old Man brought out the Model 29 and the Model 25-2; both of which were a lot of fun. The 25 was basically sighted in and he practiced double action shots, the idea being that a short, depressed man in sunglasses is not going to give you time to cock the fucking thing. His groups were good enough for me. Last time, it was about a 4 or 5" group at 12 yards. That should do the trick.
Also, I've taken to shooting at steel, whether the practice is rifle or pistol. I set up an 8" gong at 20 yards or so, and just practiced presentation and mostly reloads. Of course I was pissed off about the Carry sight, but blowing through 10 Glock magazines is a bit of a salve.
Finally, I scored the Carry sight when I sighted it in. As such, it was a matter of loc-titeing(?) the set screw into it. Hopefully that does the trick.
In other news, I bought the same gun Xavier did (the SW1911PD) and performed a lesser review than he puts out. I still don't understand the pinned extractor, but then I'm old school.
I brought out the Carry Gun (that's what it is called, it is actually a Colt XSE) and I intended to do a 300 round workout. I wasn't working on marksmanship, I was working on handling. Well 3 magazines into it, the fucking back sight came loose. No I didn't have the right Allen wrench and no I couldn't improvise; so it was useless to shoot it.
I'm not limiting it to the Colt, although I've yet to own a Colt that came out of the box with reliable sights. It seems most companies don't really give a shit about sights, at least on a civilian level. We've beat pins, loc-tited screws, and stippled dovetails. We've corrected most of them, but anything purchased in the last year is subject to scrutiny. The kind of scrutiny where one might question if you would bet your life on this gun.
It pisses me off that the civilian market is held in such contempt. Yes, we are not a big government contract and, yes, a lot of us wouldn't recognize the flaw if we owned the gun for 30 years. But some of us actually try to educate ourselves and know we're not hitting shit because the manufacterer refused to pay due attention to sight quality and installation (I'm especially talking about Colt.)
As such, I shot the carry for about 10 minutes. After that I shot my Glock 17 which worked the same way it always does. Reliable, but not a lot of fun to shoot.
My Old Man brought out the Model 29 and the Model 25-2; both of which were a lot of fun. The 25 was basically sighted in and he practiced double action shots, the idea being that a short, depressed man in sunglasses is not going to give you time to cock the fucking thing. His groups were good enough for me. Last time, it was about a 4 or 5" group at 12 yards. That should do the trick.
Also, I've taken to shooting at steel, whether the practice is rifle or pistol. I set up an 8" gong at 20 yards or so, and just practiced presentation and mostly reloads. Of course I was pissed off about the Carry sight, but blowing through 10 Glock magazines is a bit of a salve.
Finally, I scored the Carry sight when I sighted it in. As such, it was a matter of loc-titeing(?) the set screw into it. Hopefully that does the trick.
In other news, I bought the same gun Xavier did (the SW1911PD) and performed a lesser review than he puts out. I still don't understand the pinned extractor, but then I'm old school.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
S&W Model 25-2
The April Buy a Gun Month was still in full force up until the 30th. The most recent handgun purchase was a 70's production (verified by serial number) with a claw hammer and chambered in .45 ACP.
Tomorrow is range day and we will be giving this guy a shot. The Old Man scored hollow-points and moon clips. VTech had a bit of an effect on the old guy. This is the official office gun.
As always, it's got the nice thumb rest for you right-handers. I anticipate the recoil to be less than a 1911, given the size of the frame.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
.30 Carbine Order
We got our CMP Carbine orders out yesterday, via FedEx. They arrived in Alabama today. What I didn't anticipate was the mad rush on the shit that would occur the absolute first day they were for sale. CMP posted a picture of their first day of orders.
We (mostly the Old Man) have bought a lot of guns this month. Pics and details will follow.
And Boomershoot happened last weekend and, as I've been in attendance for the last two years, it pains me that I wasn't able to make it. I hope everybody had as much fun and learned as much shit as I did.
We (mostly the Old Man) have bought a lot of guns this month. Pics and details will follow.
And Boomershoot happened last weekend and, as I've been in attendance for the last two years, it pains me that I wasn't able to make it. I hope everybody had as much fun and learned as much shit as I did.
