Speedloader for S&W 617

Let's see how this works out with my .22 revolver...

I bought a 10 round speed loader for my model 617 revolver.  To my knowledge only the one guy Dave Skrzela makes them, gearing toward the gun competition market, and he doesn't turn them out in very high volume.  Their availability seems limited based on how often they are actually on a web store for sale.


I got them for convenience.  I have no current plans to compete.  But you never know.  It'd be a fun gun to do competitions with.  And I already have it, duh.  I won't have to buy a 625 or anything for that class.  I don't want to shoot against Miculek.

Also... these speedloaders?  Good for zombies.

Healthcare is a RIGHT!

Hmmm...

Evidence of MIM

Look at some of the closeups of this entry level Remington1911.

I may be wrong but the pebbly looking areas on the parts and frame might be evidence of MIM parts.  On the thumb safety you can even see where a burr was ground off (the straight scratches) but other sections of the safety look they were 'cast'.  I'd think the rough sandy look to the metal's surface would be from the finish if there wasn't this evidence of machining too.

The frame itself looks pebbly, too.  If given the chance I'd prefer a forged slide and frame.  But how can you even tell on some guns with a lot of machining to smooth them out and a thick duracoat what have you hiding the evidence?  Is my parkerized Springfield MIM framed?  Dunno.  I kinda doubt the Colt is, but I don't know for sure.

The pistol is priced at entry-level... uh... levels, and you gotta expect a good bit of cheaper to manufacture Metal Injection Molding components and less finish work to the surfaces.  

Night Of the Comet

Daddy would have gotten us Uzis....




An iconic 80's movie. Night of the Comet. If you are of a certain age, and your parents got premium cable, you've this movie a bajillion times back then. Along with Red Dawn (WOLVERINES) and Dreamscape. The rotation was heavy.

Now, see, unless I had some hard data I'd have stuck with a MAC10 over the Uzi. At least in the original formulation with integral silencer. Something to hold onto and make the thing a bit more controllable. I'd have used the wire shoulder stock too. But yes, as is, the bare bones Uzi might have been preferable.

When is same "unless I had some hard data" I'd want to know the actual failure rate of the MAC10 vs whatever. Were the FTF we see in the clip typical? Was that due to substandard magazines or something else? Note it was near the end of the stick, when the spring is at full extension and getting weaker. Just a guess.

I like the authority of a .45, and the MAC10 came in that caliber, but for machine pistol work I prefer the controlability of the 9mm. Based on personal experience shooting full auto, at least. But going up against cosmic dust disease zombies like the ones in this movie, and given a wide selection, I'd eschew rock and roll all together, and recommend you do too, except for in some narrow situations. Like defending a tight door way where you have non-headshot zombies clustered together and you need to "repel boarders."

Zed Psychiatrist

Obsession with zombies?  Like it's not a real thing?  It's not real until one bites you on the butt, Doc.

Colt New Agent

Intriguing!

Colt New Agent.

I'm a sucker for CCW guns.  .45, no snag, single stack, DA style goodness in a compact package.  I don't know if this is for me, but it's good to see it out there.

Who knows how well it performs, reliability wise.  Shorter can sometimes mean 'jammy' with .45 1911ish styles, from what I hear.  Also, note the sights.  Their ain't none.  Just a trench.  Colonel Cooper would look at that and have a heart attack.  I look forward to reading performance reviews, anyway.  

Golly

This has been making the rounds on the gunblogosphere.  Gosh it's a feel good video of the month.  I respect the heck out of WWII veterans and how capable they still are.




A salute and a tip of the hat and a raise of the glass to Private Ted Gundy, USArmy Steely Eyed Sniper from the ETO.

National Review

Another mention of gun laws on National Review. Kudos to columnists Derb and VerBruggen

At this rate I'll have to stop calling them Metrocons.  They are rarely ignoring the issue, their standard Modus Operandi these days.  And it exposes a known problem with the otherwise politically attractive-yo-conservatives NJ Guv...  Christie remains an Metrocon.  A bit more rhetorical support he didn't intend to act on wasn't even in the offing. If President, I fear he'd go wobbly if a pro-rights bill landed on his desk to sign.

Golly, there are precious few libertarian-conservatives in the campaign pipeline that are acceptable to me. Palin is about it, right now, but only if she can devastate her formidable negatives that make her unelectable to people that aren't me.

Speaking Of

Speaking of thumbs-forward grip.

Something I've noticed about my own grip...

Now I'm a slow head.  I can learn a thing but it takes a while to stick.  For a while when I use a thumbs forward every shot would disrupt the grip and I'd have to resent.  That support hand thumb would fall out of position with the recoil and I'd have to refind the position.  I don't have to do it anymore.  Now the thumb is right where it was before the shot.  I consider this a good thing.  And about time.

Thumbs Forward Grip

[I had this queued up to go in February and never published it...  but I am desperate for fodder.  Not sure where I was going with this, though.]

The Thumbs Forward Grip.  Prolly been around a while, but I first learned about when all those bloggers went to the Todd Jarrett Camp at Blackwater!.

This changes everything for a right hander using 2 hands.  Where, with one hand firing, reaching the buttons you need to reach on a 1911 is difficult for some, putting the support hand up there in a thumbs forward grip and all the fiddly bits become accessible if you want.  If you are the type that releases the slide via the slide release lever, it's there is where your thumb is, and you can reach that mag release easily too ifn you wanna.  

Of course, for lefties, these bits (mag and slide release) have always been available to our longer finger, even shooting one handed.  A righty needs the correct length thumb, and not all shooters are issued this.  A lefty's only real disadvantage is with a 1911 with a non ambidextrous thumb safety.  And you can work the safety one handed with practice, anyway. 

I've thought about getting a left handed 1911.  Port shooting the empties off to the left, mag release and slide release on the other side...  But I've trained out the issues a lefty has, and like the advantages I get, anyway.  I don't wanna muck things up relearning stuff.

The same goes for a lefty revolver.  Or anything but a Smith operating system on my revolver (sorry Colt). 

No, the only real advantage I could get from any lefty specific gun is a lefty bolt action rifle.

Great...

Something ELSE to worry about.

Keep yer stinkin' paws offa me ya damn dirty ape!

Small Gunblog Meet.

One of the good things about meeting up with other shooters is the opportunity to try different guns.

And it was no different this time.

Attendees included OldNFO, Newbius, MBtGE, his Boy, and Bus Error caught up with is after the shooting for lunch and NRA Museum walkthrough.

The interesting guns I liked playing with mostly came from OldNFO.  He has some eclectic bang sticks.  A tiny 'red dot' style optic on his FN 45 Tactical was interesting.  Such a cute little sight.  Put that dot on a paster (for me at least) and you are guaranteed to get a hole pretty close to that paster.  Which is superb for me.  He had a heavy slide Tim(Jim?) Clark 1911 that was a bit jammy.  It's a match gun, with the extra heavy slide, and he was shooting 180 grain .45s through it.  I blame that for the stove pipes.  It's grip is as textured as a coarse carpenter rasp.  Boy howdy I'd hate to run 500 rounds through that gun.  He had a Colt Python with hands down the BEST DAO trigger I've ever had the pleasure to shoot.  I didn't know a trigger could be that pleasant. The creme de la creme was a Cylinder and Slide Officer sized 1911 that I SO wanted to steal.  Oh my what a nice 1911.  I even shot it well. 

Newbius had an XD, and a S&W 1917.  Those are the revolvers that take .45 ACP in moon clips.

MBtGE had his suppressed Ruger MkIII that I love to play with whenever available.  And he was testing aftermarket magazines in his Filipino Officer sized 1911.  Not a jam this time, where he'd have expected at least one.

Most of my personal shooting was through my new Commander, but the Sig229 and Gov't 1911 came along for some exercise.  No failures, and marginally better marksmanship.  And because I was in Virginia I could use my snubbie, pulling it from the pocket holster and getting my practice in, then putting it back in the pocket.  That sounds ordinary, but that's a huge novelty for us living in Maryland.  One day...

PSA

Commenter Arthur came up with a tip I want to share on main page.

"When I do something that requires manipulation several small parts and springs at once, I put the whole mess inside a big ziplock bag.

Unless you're really unlucky and the springs shoot out of the bag opening past your wrists it can prevent an hour of parts hunting.

If you ever try removing the mag catch from your Sig you should definitely try the bag deal. The small plunger that locks the catch into the frame can go supersonic when it flies out."

A great idea if, like me, you sometimes have a part go SPROING in you basement workshop with all the wood shaving an all the flotsam and jetsam a shop invariably has.

Extractor Tension

Extractor tension on my 1911?  Great, another thing I have to worry about that I just learned about now.

Well, it's not that upsetting.  I haven't had to worry about it because apparently it's fine in my 2 1911s, and I didn't monkey with them apart from cleaning or replace them.

I would think this would be an issue with ALL firearms...  Glock or 1911 or etc.

Now, I'm not having any problems now, and I know symptoms of extractor problems manifest in jams you never had before, FTE types, the dreaded Double Feed.  But is there anyway I can adjust a new extractor spring my ownself, and how would I learn how to do that?

Historic Revisionism

I think I've spotted some revisionism, but I'm going to ask the old timers that read this if they remember events in the way I got the impression of it going down.

The modern take in the media I've seen lately is chants of "Hey, Hey, LBJ!  How many kids you killed today?" is a reference to the 'kids' in the form of an 18 year old American conscript, dying in Viet Nam.  Sorta dovetails with modern sentiment insisting on respecting and supporting the troops.

But that's not what I remember.  That wasn't what I came away from the recollections in school and otherwise in the 70s and 80s.  My impression is those chanters DIDN'T support or respect conscripts that acquiesced to service and went war when their country called.  They hated soldiers, those protesters.  When they worried about kids LBJ was 'killing' they were worried about Vietnamese kids.  They called the soldier "Baby Killers" after all.  But in the end, turning against their fellow citizens that were just doing their duty and obeying the law was a losing proposition for the protesters, PR-wise.  And now they change their tune and rewrite history.

Or am I off base?  LBJ was killing American men young enough to be kids, or LBJ was killing Vietnamese children?

Zombie? Oh THAT kind.

-

Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain

Don't Forget

NRA Range on the 20th.

Speed Strips fail?

Well, of course they do.  I just hadn't thought of that and what I should do when it does.

Bianchi makes speed strips.  A company called Tuff does, too, and here they are in action:






I have only tried the Bianchi, and they hold the rounds pretty firmly, so I couldn't imagine they would come loose from the strip in my pocket.  It just never occurred to me.  But I should test that.  Nothing wrong with carrying bullets and no gun in your pocket in Maryland, so guess what I will try?  Yes I will go CCA.  Conceal Carry Ammo.  See if wear and tear in the pocket all day doesn't jar a round loose.

Also, the thing is made of rubber.  EVENTUALLY that rubber will crack and I'll need to replace the strip.  But testing that?  That'll just have to pan out on its own over time, and I'll keep replacements available.

Series 80 disassemble

My Colt Commander is a Series 80.  This is my first of such a model so the firing pin block is a new thing to me. 

Now I don't need to do this now, but I will someday.  Someday I will want to remove the pin and extractor for cleaning in there.  So I wanted to explore what I'll have to do differently with that little spring loaded button added. 

For the older style, you depress the exposed button of the firing pin and slide off the little plate dealy (firing pin stop, apparently).  Wear eye protection.  The pin JUMPS out of there.  And the extractor just slides right out.

Ok, the difference with the series 80 plunger, is that you must engage the button of the plunger before trying to push in the firing pin in to the remove the firing pin stop.  Then, going by that link:

"Cover the Firing Pin opening with your thumb, and press the Firing Pin Lock Plunger again, to release the Firing Pin. This action will allow the Firing Pin to move back against the pressure of the Firing Pin Spring. Remove the Firing Pin together with its Spring. Pushing the Firing Pin Lock Plunger inwards, pull the extractor slightly backwards. You must pull it enough, so that the Firing Pin Lock Plunger can be freely removed from the bottom of the slide. "

Easy enough.  Apparently, the Plunger is keyed a bit to the extractor.  Good.  It sounds like the series 80 system is well thought out to maybe keep things from sproinging all over the place. 

Seems almost intuitive, and not nearly as hard as I thought. 

One day I'll be brave enough to take one of these down so that the disconnector and sear are in one hand and the frame is in another.  Of course, to be fully successful, I have to get them back IN the frame properly, too.

Beard

So one of my co-workers, The Beard, whom I half convinced to buy his first gatt, is seriously considering adding to the battery.

He is going for a Mossberg 590.  In my opinion, a decent shottie at a decent vaule.  He is thinking skeet/trap/clay for funsies and home defense. 

His first gun was a Ruger Mk III.  His main squeeze has a 3" S&W .357.   So a rifle would get his household up to the "3-Gun System plus a .22".  And he knows how to run an AR thanks to DoD. 

Good, good.  It's all going according to the Plan. 

So proud... ~sniff~

Going back over the last 4 years, I sure got a buncha n00bies to try shooting and buy a heater.  Have YOU done anthing to spread the gun culture?  To normalize and de-mystify?  It's probably better for our human rights than in October going up to folks and saying, "PyhLEEEEEASE vote for McCain!"  Politicians will sell you out to the bad guys if you ever take your eyes off them.  But a rights movement...  that's harder to foil

Taxes

Huh.  My expected tax refund is within $15 of the cost of my recent firearms purchase.  Kismet.

Gun Cleaning Solvent

What ELSE have you used your gun cleaning solvent on besides firearms?

Well, since the aerosol can has the little tube, just like WD-40, sometime I turn to it in the perfumed can of kerosene's place.  So far it has helped a LOT in two areas.  The deadbolt on the door and a sticky bearing on 55+ year old clothes drier.

Unlocking the deadbolt was taking a lot of force.  I was worried it was going to twist the key off.  Normally, I'd turn to graphite for such a thing, but the tiniest spritzch of RemOil made it as good as new.  Now I can hardly tell it HAS engaged the bolt, it's so smooth.

My ancient clothes drier has a separate motor for the blower.  One turns the the drum, the other is connected to a wheel and runs off a pencil thick round rubber belt.  Well, the blower bearing was sticking causing the belt to slip and make a GAWDAWFUL squeak.  I had to remove the belt and wheel to get the little straw of the solvent can in there, and it took a few applications, but it seems to be fixed now.  Or working, I guess.

I'm thinking this method is better than just WD-40, as gun solvent stays oily a bit longer, thus coating better.  

So, hooray for firearms accoutrement.  Is there nothing they can't do? 

Have you ever fixed something with Hoppes or Break-Free or what have you?

Ouch

This Google logo hurts my eyes almost as much as white text on a black background web site.

.

Hobby 1911

Tam and Caleb discussed 1911s, and Tam linked to a dude she respect named Hilton Yam (what a great name) and I was able to read it after copy/pasting it off of a black background web page with white letters.  My eyes cross just thinking about that style/theme.  

The gist of it is, there are, what we are called in the oldtool user and collector market, Gentleman Grade 1911s, and Workman Grade 1911s. 

100 years ago when you bought a plane or a chisel or a saw or a drill there were tiers in quality.  Some guys worked in a bank and wanted to putter in their house on small projects and wanted tools.  These tools were often sold in sets by companies like Hammercher Schlemmer and look nice, can do the job, but...  They might not be the best tools really.  Often these tools were prettified, too.  Nice scrollwork.  Or they were smaller than fullsize, or they were just crep.

Then there were tools used by men that had to make their living from them.  They had to work and last day in and day out.  No scrimping on quality and the price, while not stratospheric object d'art prices, were a little dear.

You see it today.  You $69 Makita drill is hobbiest grade.  Your $269 DeWalt drill is contractor grade.  Guess which one can go 8 hours a day for a year without the bearings going bad?

Same applies to 1911s on the market today.  Like I said, gist.

I like 1911s.  I wish I was a better shooter.  I am also a n00b when it came to and comes to purchasing 1911s.  Notice the title of the blog.  It practically screams n00b.  But instinctively I wanted something a bit better than hobbiest grade guns.  And I paid a little more for this.

Now I didn't have Hilton Yam's (again, LOVE the name) buying guide/advice when I went to go get a 1911.  But my instincts served me well.

The first 1911 I got was a parkerized Springfield Loaded, Government.  Not exactly in the center of the Venn Diagram for recommended duty grade gun, but pretty close.  And I also modified it to change one or two features to make it more reliable that Mr. Yam also suggests are desirable qualities.  Like a short GI style guide rod insteal of full length.  I could go further and get a stronger recoil spring, but, why mess with what I have.  I have no idea if the plunger tube is staked properly, if the extractor is MIM and not tensioned correctly, or what have you.  I doubt it is, really.   So, close. 

The second 1911 is that Colt Series 80 style Combat Commander.  This is the 1911 I'd carry for social purposes when I carry a 1911.  Someday.  Maryland willing.  Until then, it's the Sig P229 and a S&W 640.  But the model I have is... not on Hilton's list.  Well, it is Commander sized.  That takes it off of a police gunbelt and into a IWB holster.  Still, it's brethren are highly thought of.  I also modified this pistol for greater reliability.  Better slide release, short guide rod, metal mainspring housing.  And I did these things without munging up the gun with fumbly home gunsmithing shennanigans.  I'm going to count on the extractor spring being installed right, the plunger tube staked right, etc.

Why?  Because even if I carry it constantly and practice bi-weekly (my average) it will take a long decade pluse to get to top end of pessimistic max round count.  Because I sort of AM a hobbiest with this thing, and my most active.  I'm no cop or soldier, after all.

Mr. Yam's money quote:

The 1911 is an aficionado's weapon, and still has a place in the modern arsenal for those who are dedicated to it. With proper setup and maintenance, the 1911 can serve you like no other weapon.

That's why I am hesitant to carry it.

[Oh, for the record, 1 mechanical failure that wasn't caused by the shooter in the Springfield that took the gun out of service.  The pin that holds in the mainspring housing failed.  Might be from my ham handed removal of it prior.  Easily have 1000 rounds through the gun.  The Commander is new and has 200 rounds so far, with not even a hiccup so far, but too soon to judge.  Neither has had a FTF, FTE, Stovepipe, or Double Feed.  I've had 2 failures in the Sig in over 1000 rounds.  A nasty Stovepipe that split the brass halfway down and one round with too much setback that jammed partway into the chamber and did not want to be cleared.  Tap-Rack-Bang couldn't help in any of these 3 failures.]

Archie's Grandson

So, I'v talked about my crotchety old neighbor, the WWII vet, named "Archie."  Archie has a daughter my age and she has 2 sons.  One son is a gun nut like us.  But he's only 8 or so.


When he comes to visit I go over and do a show and tell with any firearms he hasn't seen before, plus the proper way to handle them.  He recites the 4 rules, and their are no bullets about, naturally.  Well, luckily, I still have 2 of the Trollop's pistols over here, plus my new acquisition, so this should be a treat today. 

Now he's young and there is plenty of time to convince him, but... His favorite variety of pistol is flavors of 1911s.  Good man.

Oh, the show n tell involved a S&W 629, XD40, Commander, S&W 640, and 1911 Gummint.

On the Calendar

So, Breda and MBtGE have gotten me roped into goin to Pittburgh* for the NRA convention at the end of April.  (4/28-5/1) 

And MBtGE also has a little NRA shoot open to bloggers and friends thereof scheduled for the 20th February.  So locals, be there or kindly be square.

It's a busy social season.


* [Oh that's not a typo.  Someone from that Pennsylvania city kept calling a hospital in Baltimore John Hopkin's, so I call his town Pittburgh.  There are also a LOT of Steelers football fans in my office, and they are, hands down, some of the most obnoxious fans I've encountered.  Normally Washington area Dallas Cowboys fans are the problem, but not where I work.  So Pittburgh it is.]

PDB?

Hey, what happened to Papa Delta Bravo?

Old Style

Manners

I agree with Breda and her sensible advice about manners while exercising your open carry rights.  Being annoying, or scary, to people that don't think about rights much is a good way to inspire reactionary action in the political arena and voter's booth with a majority of people that otherwise wouldn't care.   It's a way to win the battle, but lose the war.  And over something critical like individual rights.

Does it suck we have to walk on eggshells among the straights so as not to offend over something that should be almost as natural as breathing?  Yes.  Most certainly.  Should we be unfailing nice about it anyway?  Yes.  Especially since our side is winning.  Gracious in victory.  3 and a half yards every time you snap and run the ball is a surer means to victory than one risky hail-Mary pass on first down.

Oh, and:



PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!  WOOOO!!!

Traffic

Hey, thanks everyone.  For some reason my average traffic is up well above 300 visits a day recently.  Part of it is a couple of links from big bloggers getting me introduced to a wider audience, and part of it is me not posting in Morse Engima code.

Ice Auger*

Someone at work asked me, "I never go ice fishing.  Why would I ever want to buy a gas powered Ice Auger?"

For the zombies.  Duh. 

*Which is different from an Ice Augur.  That's the Snowmageddon weathermen.

Scarcity

Has anyone beside me noticed that ammo isn't exactly back up to the levels it was from 2007 yet?  Why is it taking so long?  Oh it's lots better than it was, but there are still wide gaps in my selection that I haven't grown accustomed to.  .45 Hyrda-Shoks are nowhere to be found.

Also, I'm noticing fewer and fewer canned good in the store lately.  I haven't seen corned beef in any store for a couple month.  A bunch of canned fish type varieties are absent, too.  When do we panic?  When Spaghetti-O's and Chicken Noodle stop getting reliably stocked?  I don't like this.

Thin Gruel

My queued up blog post ideas are thin on the ground...

I had some good fodder when I woke up but I didn’t jot down notes.  Now those thoughts have evaporated like spilt beer on an DC street in August. 

When I intend to go to the range I have decisions to make.  I have to decide what gun or guns to bring, and how to improve my woefully inadequate shooting skills.

Obviously, selecting a likely CCW gun is high on the priority list.  Not that I can do much CCW here.  If I carried every day the carry piece would and should get 75% of the target time, at least.  But no, I can mix up the selection in Maryland.

Right now the favorite is the new Colt Commander, natch.

Ok.   Now the more important bit.  How do I improve my shooting.  Well the big obvious thing is working on the surprise break trigger pull.  Which is surprisingly hard to do.  I think this next time I will also try to shift my trigger finger placement so the face of the trigger is closer to the tip.  It’s an SA gun, I want to get SA performance, and you don’t need much finger to work it.  And since I pull it low and right, maybe my supporting Right Hand will be placed so as to push a bit up and left.  Maybe I can counteract the flaw that way.  I think this means of correction is a shot in the dark, so to speak, but it doesn’t hurt to try the theory out.

The Revolt of the Zombies

"T-Bolt!  The Zombies are revolting!"

"Of course they're revolting.  All that rotting flesh and bits hanging off...  Put me off my lunch."

No, no.  The 1936 movie The Revolt Of The Zombies if what I'm talking about.  A Christmas gift DVD for an early Drive-In Theater gem.  

They refer to the World War.  I wondered which one (didn't know the year yet.  dang Roman numerals...) but when they referred to the Austro Hungarian front...  Ahh.  The Great War.  Almost as good as the Super Duper Extra Fantastic War.  You know the one.  Good times.

Anyway, these are Cambodian zombies.  Angkor Wat to be specific (good job on the matt paintings in the studio).  They even used some Asian actors for this one.  Well, extras.  The speaking part Cambodians were the usual robed up make-up wearing Caucasians with fake Southeast Asia language skills.  There have been lots of RoMERO missions to that part of the world, too.

Zombie make good soldiers if you doll them up in uniforms and convince them to hold rifles with fixed bayonets.  Of course I've never seen actual zombies made up in such a way, but this was 75 years ago.

It plods like a typical 1930's movie, with the usual love-bird set up.  The story involves an imported Cambondian Priest helping the French kill some Austrians with zombies that he controls with his mind.  Civilized man decides that zombies are TOO horrible (though effective) to use as a weapon.  Before they can get the secret from the Cambodian, he is murdered by some other Asian character.  The principles go on an expedition to re-discover the secret for making a zombie.  The smart guy is a bit milquetoast and get's cuckolded by his wife and his best friend, which he accepts initially.  Eventually he get's a bit peeved to be used so horribly right when he figures out the magic smoke plus ESP trick.  Bad timing for the world, a new minted megalomaniac with a desire for revenge and now tremendous power is his alone!  But how to stop him?!

Anyway, yada yada yada... Bela Legosi's eyes are used as a special effect. No, not as a prop to be eaten.

Slim Grips

So I got me new Slim Grips for VZ Grips.  I went with basic black and the smoothest grips they offer.  

I was worried they’d be TOO smooth, and be kinda of slippy.  That seems to be an unfounded worry.

So with new slim grips you need special slim bushings.  I’d never changes those out before, but it was easy as pie.  They are just screws.

So new grips, new slim bushing, new slim screws and black loctite and…. Wait a second!  The trigger pull seems to have gone from 2.5 to 6 pounds!  Ok, ok, think on this.  Ask gunblogger conspiracy… They recommend swapping back to the old grips and see if something is riding on the trigger linkage.  I am hesitant to do this, but, I don’t see any other way.

Well when I take off the right grip I find the trigger squeeze is back to normal.  A HA!  The grip was keeping the thumb safety up just a hair.  This was what was making the trigger pull seem very heavy.  The safety was riding the sear or whatnot.  Bad bad.  But an easy fix if you happen to own a belt sander and light touch.  And I do.  I took a hair off the top edge of the grip and then re-attached it.  The trigger pull is golden.  I think I’ll try contacting the manufacturer with this information.  It doesn’t reflect poorly on them or their specs for the ambi slim grip for a Colt Commander, certainly, as it is a simple correction for the user, but they might want to know about it anyway.  I won’t hesitate to buy more grips from them, my ownself.

Ain’t it attractive?

.

It felt slimmer than the XD by a hair before, maybe.  It is slimmer than an XD definitely now.  We shall see how it shoots.  No better I’ll wager.  The accuracy problems are in the wetware, not the hardware.  These are good grips but they’re not magic.

Criminalizing Zombies

Good! 

It should be illegal to create a zombie.  The hazard to the entire world is so dire. 

Happy 100th

Happy 100th birthday Mr. President.

I did like Reagan back in the day.  Not perfect, but more than good enough.

Money Money Money

On of my commenters in the previous post brings up a good point.

You hear the anti-civil-rights protesters expound out of their propaganda organs that the NRA is opposed to a 30 round magazine ban because they are in the thrall of the Magazine Industrial Cartels or whatnot.  Big-Mag economic interests force the NRA's marching orders to keep lucrative magazine sales up, and Big-Mag has the pull of an Exxon or a 1960s GM.

But magazines cost about the same if they hold 30 rounds or 10.  So if you want to shoot 30 rounds you'd have to buy 2 more magazines...

You'd THINK in this case that Big-Mag robber barons would be all for making all magazine 3 rounds or so.  The volume sales would be tremendous for the bottom line and shareholder equity!

But it's not like that, is it?  The magazine makers aren't the NRA's bread and butter.  Nor are the gun makers, or after market gunsmith parts makers, or what have you.  Yes the NRA is well supported financially by its membership.  People like me, not so much industry.  But the big reason the NRA is so powerful is because it, and by extension its members, are right.

So what if they were exclusively funded by the industry, leaving them open for class-warfare critiques by socialists?  It wouldn't make striving for the civil rights of Americans any less right.  Class-warfare is a red herring, in more than once sense of the word RED.

DeLisle Repro

I Still Want.

Hmmm

This appears to have all the features I am looking for in an AR.  And only $900 MSRP.  So what's wrong with Stag Arms?

Range Day Success

So I went to the range.  Accompanying me were 2 of Trollop’s guns and my new Commander.  I needed to test the Strain Screw adjustment on the big ol .44, and I wanted to see how I did with 2 boxes or so of ammo through an XD .40 and if that gun truly suited me, and also to get some more ammo through the 1911 to see if it would jam. 

It was a success all around.

The .44 I shot exclusively single action, because that’s the way it would most likely light strike the primer.  Wow, what a pounder.  Not one hiccup, though.  After shooting the .44, I had the bonus of thinking the recoil of the .40 and .45 feeling like a .22, so it was good anti-flinch training. So, fixed.

The XD .40 has a mush trigger that I don’t like.  Sort of like Glocks do.   But that doesn’t seem to matter, the shot all fall in the middle, consistently and everything.  It truly does seem I should never have gotten a 1911 or a SIG, but gotten an XD and a spare and the revolvers and been done with it. Why of why can I shoot this gun well, but am hopeless with a Glock?  And middling with everything else? It doesn't make any sense.

The 1911 was… ok.  No jams, certainly, so that is the big success.  I really want to pop for a lot of expensive hollow point ammo and run that through it.  My usual flaw for semi-autos I have is the left-handers bane, low and right.  (You righties with similar problems are low and left.)  I may be tightening it toward the vertical center line, which is good, but I’m still low.   So minor success in shooting skill improvement.

Wrist break?  Anticipation?  Flinch?  But why?  Especially after that .44 work.  6 out of the cannon, then 7 gentle ones out of the .45.  It was lovely.  So why the unlovely target?  I’m a glutton for punishment, continuing to work on improving my 1911 shooting.  And now you know a big reason why I don’t like to carry the CCW.   I shoot DA revolvers better than the 1911.


Here is the first target.  One cylinder of .44 top left, 2 rounds top right, XD on the bottom left, 1911 on the bottom right:

Same story with the second target.  A little wild on the .44.  It's a boomer and kicks almost as much as Breda's Bersa:

And the 3rd.  Except the top left is the final 3 mags from the XD, when I am getting tired.  I even put pasters where I knew the .45 would hit, lower right.      It's grouping up, and moving toward the center as you see.  The XD is low and right like everything else I shoot semi-auto, but a lot LESS low and right.  The .44 is getting better concentration on the top left:

I need to learn how to be a better photographer, too.

Night of the Little Dead

Oh, THIS zombie movie could be absolutely awesome.  I'll try to find it to review.

Harry Brown

I saw Harry Brown on DVD.  It’s basically Death Wish or Gran Turino, but set in London.  Michael Caine is Harry.  Some ‘yobs’ have taken over a large section of the apartment block for their nefarious activities, and they harass the locals.  Harry’s buddy is done in by the street punks and Harry, ex-Royal Marine that he is, and recent widower, figures he has nothing left to lose, he might as well avenge his dead friend.

So he does.

Now this is England, so the availability of firearms is limited, and Harry Brown has to go to some pretty shady criminal characters to buy guns.  Too shady, actually, and Harry ends up executing them before getting around to going after the intended perpetrators.  The guns the bad guys have are a Glock and a SIG P226 that both appear to be 9mm.  There is also a snubby the character calls a Model 36 S&W, 5-shot .38 special.  There is also some old WWII looking German P38 thing that is used as a crack pipe as well as a gun.  Since he killed the bad guys, Harry takes all 4 and apparently eschews actually using the crack-gun, but does use the other 3.   More gun info on the movie, here.     

This movie is revenge fantasy.  None of the violence done by “the good guys” starts as defensive.  It’s all initiated by the good guy.  He’s hunting DOWN the bad guys, once confirmed in their identity and culpability, and ending their existence right there.  Fine, to satisfy the movie viewer’s internal need for justice meted out vigilante style, but that’s not why I, and others, carry here in the real world.  Like Mr. Miaggi says to the Karate Kid, Daniel-san Macchio, “Aha... here are the Two Rules of Miyagi-Ryu Karate. Rule Number One: ‘Karate for defense only.’ Rule Number Two: ‘First learn Rule Number One.’

CCW for defense only.  Beside, if you need to go on offense, you’ll take your rifle.


Keep an eye on that in movies.  How often are weapons used in justifiable defense?  It's a big reason guns get a bad rap from it's portrayal in Hollywood and its subsidiaries.  The bad guys use guns for offense, the good guys use guns for offense.  And only cops and solider use guns for offense in a justifiable way in the movies. 

Hmmmm, need to think on this more.  Movies where justifiable defense ONLY is used by the good guys that don't wear a badge or a uniform.  I will need to wrack my brain to come up with examples... There has to be examples, right?

   

What's a libertarian to do?

I still take some glee that the Maryland Dem machine is looking into the poor performance of our local quasi gummint electric utility's performance...

First, you should know, Maryland is RUN by Democrats.  When a Republican get’s elected he’s from the rural portions of the state.  The more populated portions are either urban Democrats, or suburban types that work in a ‘company town.’    And the local industry isn’t cars like Detroit, isn’t steel like Pittburg, it’s Gummint.

So the local pols are inspired and secure in their position.  The GOP only wins with blind luck.  And when we DO get a GOP person elected they are not Rand Paul types.  More like Olympia Snow or Bob Dole.  If we’re lucky.

Anyhoo, since that microburst thunderstorm last summer folks have noticed that out local electric utility has been performing under par in restoring service.  And every time since that storm if the wind picks up to over 10 mph, or the sky even LOOKS like it might rain, half the county is plunged into darkness.  And it then take a good long time to get back online.   This snowstorm last week is the latest case in point.

Well, the good local constituents have complained about this to their local pols.  And pols, being pols, are sticking their noses in.    Because they believe there is no problem that can’t be solved by application of an over reaching political process, in their eyes.  And they are thinking of fining Pepco if they don’t improve. 

But the thing is… I kinda want them to do this.  It’s no fun living in an area with less electrical service availability than Baghdad.   And I kinda wish they’d maybe propose an amendment to punish data service delivery the same way.  My cable company, Comcast, has been just as lousy for the past 4 months, after 10 years of worry free hi-speed internet.  They want me to take time off work to greet a technician, when I’ve explained to them the drop occur at primetime 5-9 PM, and that I’m not the only one on the street that notices this.  It’s clearly THEIR stuff not staying up to snuff with the traffic.  And if I have to take time out of MY busy day, sacrificing MY work hours and work time off to let a technician into MY home… He isn’t going to have a Comcast patch on his shirt.  It’ll be the competitor. 

So yeah, it’ll be some schadenfruede if the local pols hammer those incompetent moron chowderheads and slamming them with fines!

Except, they’ll pass those fines onto the customer.  And they’ll use this fine revenue to expand their political base making their already entrenched selves sorta set in reinforced concrete…   Not very libertarian of me, rooting for such heavy handed gummint remedies.

But then again, these organizations, power and cable, have already been granted special favors.  They are almost a monopoly, created by these self same politician decades ago.  They are resistant to my threats of abandoning them for competition in the form of the cable company, and totally immune when it comes to Pepco.  So yeah, the gummint stepping in is sorta appropo.  THEY created this mess, let’s let them have a hand in correcting it.  And spread the blame and rancor their way.  And say "See?  You shouldna been stickn' a fork in the outlet in the first place, Smoky Jim."    

strain screw

So I was thinking I HAD to high to a gunsmith to get the light strikes of the ex's .44 worked on.  But Farmer Frank said 'try the strain screw'

Waelly, waelly, waell!  Another hint and a simple thumbly user modified solution I can test.  I love the internet.  A while back someone 'fixed' the feed thingummy on my 1894C by telling me to tighten a particular screw.

Of course, Farmer Franks just said Strain Screw.  But that was enough.  A cursory check on Google got me here, and all the details are filled in.  It's just a screw on the bottom front of the metal frame the grip is mounted on.  It pushes on the spring, either less or more, depending on where you turn it.  I tightened it up, and we'll see what happens.  Now I just have to test it.  Probably today.

I've noticed that about the .44s I've seen and shot.  The serious recoil seems to rattle screws loose readily.

[Update:  Hey, the gun now works.  Surprise, surprise.]