Trollop's New Gun, at the Range

Trollop got her new Springfield XD 40 and we were able to shoot it the next day.

The Jarret kung fu grip is not working for her. It took a couple mags before It was better to just let her give up on that crush grip for now, and she will just hold the pistol as is most comfortable for her. Her grip has the weak hand's thumb sticking out in the air. Not ideal, but better than the alternative.

Hers target was top left initial. The holes below the lower left were bleed over from an anticipatory flinch, plus the Kung Fu grip.

Mine are the left 2 circle. I shot 3 out of her XD and did ok, lower left. Top right is a couple mags with my SIG 229. Not ideal, but not bad either.

Unseen is the target the second target that she shot with HER comfortable grip. (She kept that target as a souvenir) Her last few mags were just a bit high, probably anticipation, but much better. Told her just to concentrate on surprise break. Only. Her last bullet was next to the bull. I figure getting her ideal with a good trigger press will get her ahead of the game and better than me. Her recoil anticipation will get lessened with practice.

I'll see if I can get a picture of her second target to post to show her dramatic improvement with a change from orthodox to unorthodox grip styles. Her stance isn't bad. She commented that she sees the flame now, so she is keeping her eyes open, where she might not have, before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aaaaaaand here is a picture of the second target. Top left is her last bunch of shots, using her own grip and concentrating only on trigger pull and a surprise break. Not bad:

Just a bit high. A bit anticipatory.

Pump Up the Jam

Offline, people are telling me my disdain for the possible intimidating effect of the sound from the pump action on a 12 gauge is because I don’t actually HAVE a pump shotgun, and that I am just jealous.

Touche.

And PIFFLE!

I AM jealous. One day I will have a Remington 870…

But my opinion on the shik-SHIK! still stands. Yes it might make a goblin rethink his career choice and flee the scene, but you have to ready if it doesn’t. The hesitation waiting for sound to do its job might be a critical delay. You don’t want to be sitting there with one thumb in your mouth, one in your sphincter, playing ‘Switch,’ if the intruder ups the ante at that point and goes Reaver on you.

Pump It

I overhear a bunch of people here and there talking about home defense. Some people that know guns and are contemplating ideal house defense, or people that might be thinking of getting a gun for protection. A first and only gun. I try to listen and not interject, "Hey! I'm a crazed gun-nut! I can help you select your perfect boomstick! Just ask me! Yeah!" Because that can freak people out and I don't need to be summoned up to Human Resources for a talk. Again.

A lot of them settle on a shotgun as the ideal home defense firearm.

Good. It is very effective in that role.

If you are gonna have only one gun to guard your castle, that's a good one to have.

It's not magic. It doesn't mow down a foyer full of trespasser with evil intent that are busting in at 3 AM. You still have to practice with it, and get used to it and how it functions. Carteach has a whole post about them, and how to deploy a shotgun for defense. And there is lots of other bits of info out there, including shotgun specific defensive training to Harry Homeowner types.

The thing that bugs me is the assume, FURTHER, talisman effect. They want to get a pump shotgun so that when they rack it, and get that distinctive 'shik-SHIK!' sound, it will scare that bad man away.

A HUGE, seven foot tall goblin, hopped up on goofballs, that is there in your house to rape you death, eat your flesh, and sew your skin into his clothing is gonna hear that shik-SHIK! sound, pee his pants, and run home crying for his momma. And so are all his bigger, meaner friends.

It's like a lot of people are relying on the shik-SHIK! to make it so they won't have to hurt anyone, and cause a happy ending to, uh... happen. Their mindset is on that path. And I don't think they've thought through the possibility of what happens after shik-SHIK!, when the sound doesn't work. Or the home invader is deaf. Or they call your bluff and rush you anyway. Or they are zombies and just can't be intimidated away.

Sure shik-SHIK! may work sometimes. But preparing yourself for Plan B is probably a good idea.

For colleagues that do ask for my gun advice, I mention the problem of counting on shik-SHIK! I don't know how many preconceived notions I can penetrate with that warning, though.

I personally don't have to worry about shik-SHIK! because I have a Remington Model 11 for my 12 gauge duties. It's design is the same as the Auto-5. You know who designed THAT semi-auto shotgun, right? Anyway... Semi-auto... so no shik-SHIK! Just:

"Boomboomboomboomboom! Stay offa ma porch! And, no! I don't want a copy of the Watchtower, daggummint!"

or something.

~~~~~~~~

Anyway.

Shik-SHIK! is not the ultimate weapon. Maybe people, including a lot of cops, shouldn't rely on it as such.

[pre-publish-update: Hey, I wrote this on Monday and I just noticed that Gunnuts Radio podcast has self-defense myths for Tuesday night. I wonder if they will mention the shik SHIK? I bet they go over the 'talisman' effect.]

[post-publish-post-podcast-update: Well, they dint.]

April's Fun Show AAR

I went to the Fun Show with Saucy Trollop. While there, she got a call from the gun store saying she could pick up new XD 40 anytime. So that was exciting.

I didn't get much. A handful of .40 ammo. And I DID find a barrel for my Model 11. Happy day. Now I have something non-butchered to go hunting a skeet shooting with, and my problem with a quasi rifled barrel is obviated. The barrel cost quite a bit less than I was willing to pay, so that's a plus. And it's in great shape. So now I have 3. One short, that I keep on the gun, and a good long one and a 'bad' long one. The short one has NO front sight. Bad form, I know. I have to aim at the upper leg of a deer size target to hit it in the thoracic cavity. Or the 'belt buckle' area of a target silhouette to hit the center mass area. It's fine for home defense, and that's why I leave the shot barrel on it. And by short, I mean 18.25 inches. It's not short by ATF standards.

Here is all 3:

The ammo tables were very sparse. Lots of empty bins. Plenty of ARs to be seen. Maybe a little less than usual. HK pistols are in full supply.

The one BIG thing I did was sign up for a Lifetime NRA membership. They had a deal offered, and it got me into the show for free. And a leather jacket is in the offing. There is a payment plan, so I am not a full member yet. I will pay a bit more than the required $25 a quarter to wrap up that issue. Why did I do it? Why, to stop all the bothersome calls to renew, or course. And to cancel out Michael Moore's vote. I'll be paid up in a year, I figure.

Trollop bought a gun rug to keep her new gun in. And a boresnake to clean it, and Break Free. She is buying a safe to store it in, in the house. I'll post about the first range report for the new gun later, I'm sure.

And it gave us the opportunity to return the S&W .44 Magnum MBtGE loaned us. He lives close by to the show.

Before the show, I asked Trollop what her expectations were. This being a new experience for her. She was sure there would be few hipster types or anyone darker than beige. Few women, too. She was a bit surprised at the racial variety, but it did lean heavily white. There was certainly no racial tension. "It's feels like a great, big craft show! But with men! And no beads. Oh, wait, there are some beads." she said when we got there. All the Nazi paraphernalia was mixed in with the general WWII history paraphernalia. So it was apropos. The people there looked middle aged, mostly male, a mix of suburban and country, but they all looked like they had disposable income.

Oddly, there was more than one chihuahua there.

After the show, Trollop said, "There were EXACTLY as many Fashionistas as I expected to see.

I asked, "You saw Fashionistas?!"

"Exactly!" she said.

Spare Mag

The thought never really occured to me except maybe at the back of my mind...

You don't carry the second magazine so you'll have spare bullets. You carry the second magazine so you'll have a spare magazine.

I was carrying (on the rare times I actually have permission to) a spare just instinctively. Now I have a concrete, thought-out, reason.

So what's the second most likely thing to fail after the mag baseplate? Extractor? Cracked slide? Slide stop?

Hell, if the mainspring housing pin breaks on me again that would turn my 1911 into an unwieldy cudgel. You kinda need that mainspring housing to stay in place. But no one I've talked to has ever heard of those pins breaking. Just my luck.

Rifled Buckshot Barrel

Ok, I hadn't thought it THIS bad...

The previous owner of my long shotgun barrel did some amateur gunbutchery. He tried to make it rifled. He failed. Failed to do a good job. There is dents from the grooves visible on the outside of the barrel, and I wouldn't fire it if a real gunsmith didn't say it was ok.

And it worked ok. Slug rounds punch a hole where I am pointing. Well, I shot a few slugs.

I didn't think about the shot spread pattern that Carteach describes...

Hell, I've been HUNTING with this thing.

I better pattern it with a greater seriousness before next season. Crap.

It might not be all that bad. The 'twist' rate is 1:56 or so.

The way I will test it at Clark Brothers, where they allow this, is fire at a huge sheet of butcher paper 50 yards off, and compare them to MBtGE spread pattern on a regular, unaltered (nie fugged up) shottie.

Alternatively, I could hunt with slugs, where allowed.

Gun Nuts Radio

Blackfork has some podcast suggestions for Gunnuts Radio, but he isn't quite there. Almost.



Good foreground lighting for the webcam is a good idea.


But looking down on the camera is fine, like the hosts are doing now. They don't need to look up at it. No need to lord it over us like they were better than us. Like they were demigods. As if they thought they were Democrats.


Breda's fireplace mantle is excellent. Leave it alone, there in the back ground. No flags needed. And Ahab/Caleb's basment has a 1970's pr0n vibe going for it. Mike Cat-Juggling behind Breda is a good idea. I'd pay money to see that. Dancing during the techno at the end of the show would work, and I recommend that. Breda shouldn't be afraid to dress up. I suggest a dominatrix uniform. Maybe a pleather thing, like Trinity, from The Matrix.

Yeah. That would be just fine. Indeed.

Caleb shouldn't cut out the pipes and hats. He should go BIGGER. A ginormous hookah for smoking, and a sultan outfit, with a HUGE Sulieman the Magnifecent turban would do the trick for him.

Yeah, that would be righteous. Some harem girls bringing him libations would work too. So hats and drinks for Our Founder.

Thump

I got a coupla comments from my "Alternate History US Military Round Selection" post.

Tam said...
I need to get you and Dr. Strangegun together in the same room, just to watch y'all geek out. John Moses Browning would be proud. And, yes, that's a compliment. :)

Yay! Tam noticed me. I do need to add Dr Strangegun to my blog roll.

Noah said...
What if you had a bullet with a 1 inch diameter with a flatter trajectory than a .308, and the recoil of a 5.56mm, the penetration of .338 Lapua, but the cycle on the action was very long and therefore very slow?

I don't know if you could make such a beast. Big and fat doesn't lend it self to fast and flat. You'd never get both in the same cartridge, and still be shootable. To get it fast enough would give you a round like a .600 nitro, but BIGGER. And that would recoil a bit more than a 5.56. If you made a round and gun that could shoot that it would be very heavy. And the ammo you'd carry even in you were just lobbing 1 inch bullets would be heavy from the bullet alone.

It's be like a 25mm round. And cycling? Like machine gun? Yikes! I couldn't carry a battle load of 100 25mm in anything other than a wheelbarrow.

But that would be some kinda Thumper. On full auto it would be like grape shot.

Better design it like Metal Storm to save some weight, but with a slow cycle or semi-auto:

I can't think of some other way to make a thumper, but that doesn't mean there isn't some other way to do so.

Cleaning SS

So I have a dirty .44. It's a 629. Stainless steel.

I've heard guy claim they threw their gun in the dishwasher for a cycle to clean it.

Good idea or no?

I know 'Stainless' doesn't mean Stainproof. Or Rustproof, which is what we really care about.

And the springs and the barrel liner might just be a little bit closer to carbon steel, and thus more rustable than the rest of it.

And I KNOW it's a good idea to take the grips off before hand. They'll trap more water in the works at a minimum, ruin wood grips also.

Speaking of water in the works, there is a lot of nooks and crannies inside your typical revolver that you can't exacly get to easily. And those parts are a complete mystery to me. Hate for water to be trapped there for a time, next to spring steel or carbon steel components.

AND there is the whole worry about what you contaminate in the dishwasher that might get on dishes you eat off of. The primer has a lead compound in it. That can't be good unless it all washes away in one cycle.

Ok, seriously... Can it be done? Assume the procedure involves taking the firearm out at the end of the cycle, prompley, and than sprayed down with some oil. Even soak it in a vat of kerosene to get the water out. Would the gun be clean, rust free, and ready to go?

New Shooters

Remember how I said I was going to take my brother, the Commander, his arm-candy Salomon Grundy, and Saucy Trollop out to the range? Well we did it Saturday. Salomon had NO experience shooting. My brother had only shot pellet guns as a kid and such, plus Navy training with a 9mm Beretta. And you know about the Trollop.


Before heading out, we met up at Grundy's house and I set the firearms out for a familiarization, went over safety, that sort of thing. Up for shooting was the .22 conversion kit, the S&W 686 for .38 and .357, the Sig 229 for .40, and the 1911 .45. Oh, and the borrowed S&W 629 for extra masochism. We went over sight picture, grip, stance, and trigger squeeze. I probably could have done better going over sights and squeezing.


The weather was GREAT. Sunny and 80. Not too crowded, even on the rifle side. But we were there for handgun shootin'.


Outdoor ranges are wonderful. Good light, less noise when it can dissipate up, and less concrete to bounce off of. The only disadvantage I can think of is a slight breeze will swing the target about. I wish I live closer to this range.

My brother is the most accurate shooter I've seen. He's practiacally a natural. Better than Chuckles, maybe-even. Clover leafs and single hole work. He drifted left late in the range day, probably from fatigue. (If you look at the targets I circled in orange his groups, and used and arrow to show where he started to drift.) Another reason for a right hander to shift to the left is because of "Lazy Finger" and a repositioning on the finger pad can help that. I need to watch for that now, too, when I am shooting and it ISN'T low and right, it's just right. Lazy finger for me, a lefty.

Here is the first target with all of us jumbled together. I used a BIG shoot and see sticker to keep confidence high, and set the range close. 5 yards, maybe. Remember, it was just to see, not for 'score.'

Salomon Grundy was a rank beginner, as I said. But she was game. She appreciated that we were shooting bullseye style targets. I think a silohette might have been too distracting. I demonstrated every gun and every caliber difference before she had a turn, so she can see how much boom and recoil each had. The 3 in a row of .38, .38+P, and .357 in one cylinder was the best comparison on what each did. And she tried them all. Did very well for a first timer. And she even tried the .44 Magnum a few times.

Her target is the upper right. My brother the 2 left hand side ones, the lower left were some of the last rounds fired by him, upper left is him shooting at 3 separate bulls, top center and bottom. Tight! Trollop had the lower left, and I shot the center. We added some stickers and pasters so that covered some earlier shooting. We pushed the targets out to 7+ yards, too.

Note that Grundy's (upper right) shots are generally in a line from the center up. Lot's of .22 in there, as she preferred that, and darn good shooting. The few holes off the 8 o'clock are when she was shooting the revolver double action.

The .44 Magnum was what Saucy was THERE for. I thought I'd solve her coveting one of her own. It didn't work. She wants one even more now. Most all the holes one her target (lower right) are .44 in diameter. And not bad shooting there, either. She complained of a slight bruising the next day, but nothing she worried about.

I did notice that everyone, the Commander, Grundy, and Trollop all said something like, "My WORD!" after every .44 magnum shot.

I have to admit, it didn't hurt MY hand as much as I remember. I must be getting used to shooty bangy goodness. It's is STILL an event when that thing goes off. My WORD.

The targets that were outside the black were probably mine, and I was aiming off black on purpose so other could keep a relatively proprietary, untained target. I shot ok, if a little distracted by my instructional duties. The only real flaw other than a few 'fliers' from jerking the trigger was dipping in a straight line down from the bullseye when rushing the .44. Also maybe caused by anticipating and breaking my wrist. I believe that. Still good centermass shots, but I was trying to rush the 6 on purpose. Dang, that's a good authoritative pistol, and I actually am surprised I like it better than I did. Do I want one? Naw, my .357 suits me fine. I don't need fresh gun lust, now. $36 a box for ammo is a bit much for serious practice.

Trollop, just having acquired an XD40, tried out my SIG to feel some .40 caliber action, so a dozen or so are those on her lower right target.

A good day. And I made my brother buy the bullets and lunch and beer afterwards. So a VERY good day.

Fun Show this Weekend

So, there is a Gun Show in Chantilly Virginia this weekend.

Besides introducing Saucy Trollop to the glory of vast crowds of gun enthusiasts, what do I need there?

• Followers for M1A mags
• ammo, if there is ammo to be had
• I'd like to SEE an ACOG scope in the flesh... the lack of eye relief concerns me.
• Pocket Hammerless mags are a good score if there
• I may buy some RPGs and hand grenades if the Mexican cartels haven't cleared the place out.
• Remington Model 11 barrel is on the list. Good luck finding of them, too.

Not much on my list.

Am I forgetting something?

Duty

Ugh. Jury duty. I was supposed to have jury duty.

A federal trial. Capital crime.

They sent me a big long questionnaire, 4 months ago. They told me the victim and the defendants name and what the crime was and when. They told me not to look up any further details so as not to cloud my judgement on the manner any further. They told me it would take 6 to 8 weeks out of my life for a trial and then a penalty phase if needed. The questionnaire asked if I belonged to any organizations (like the NRA) what weight I gave to eye witness testimony and DNA evidence. That sort of thing.

They were very serious about this perpetrator.

The guy was on trial for murdering a Dunbar armored car guard making a delivery to a Wells Fargo. The bad guys got a canvas bag with $50k in it, and a 26 year Navy veteran with a family got dead doing his job. Bad guys car-jacked a fresh vehicle when the OTHER guard t-boned their getaway car. A month or two later, at least one guy they thought was a particular bad guy got pinched, and this was his day in court. Because of the heinousness of the crime, and it involving bank money, somehow the Feds got tacked on to the prosecution.

Well, they released me from my obligation this past week, after a few trial postponements, and I don't know why. Either the defendant plead out to avoid the needle, or hung himself in his cell with his shoelaces. I don't know, don't much care. I'd put money on it being the former.

The NRA membership thing might have gotten me disqualified when they sat me down for the serious, in-person voire doire, I imagine.

If not, I toyed with the idea of the plethora of OTHER ways to get out of missing 8 weeks of work for 8 weeks of more boring work. Things like shouting, "Judge! Judge! I got the trots something awful! How about a potty break?!" every 10 minutes. Or "But I just GOTTA know his birthday. If you tell me that ,I'll know if the Moon in his Birth Stars is waxing or waning, and then I'll know if he did it or not. It could save us all a lot of trouble..." Maybe, "Look how close his eyes set together! You can all SEE he did it from that!"

No such luck.

Not good in this economy to go 8 weeks where some other people are covering your real work for you. Either they mess it all up, causing no END to the headache when you return, or they can get it done just fine without you, so maybe they don't need to be paying you all that money to come in 40 hours a week, anyway. If I got fired, I'd like to think I would not go stick up armored cars, no matter how hungry I got.

Range Report April

Before I can go on about this week's range report I should get off my duff and post the previous week's range report.

This was the truncated range session where the Mainspring Housing Pin broke, cutting short my fun.

All 1911 shooting with Remington UMC 230gr FMJ .45 ACP. 7-8 yards.

Here are the targets:

The first mag was the circles ones on the left target. After that I put up the shoot-n-see target and aimed at that bull.

First 7 were not so good, but it tightened up. The right hand side is target 2. Also tight. Tight for me. Still low and right but starting to be just RIGHT on occasion. With a few very decent hits.

I’m getting better, but, just like I am impatient with my trigger pull, I am impatient with my improvement. It’s hard. Being really good at something is rarely easy. And I know for a fact I could do the dry fire practices more. And should. Not just casually, but a regimen. Daily. I haven’t done that.

Tam, serendiptiously, linked to a couple 'low and right' procedural posts. One by Xavier, one by Pistol-Training. Both offer hints to me, and you, on how to work to fix the flaw. Check them out. Especially the 'how to fix it' parts.

I was trying a new procedure. Pick up gun, get the grip, disengage safety, present to target and fire 2, re-engage safety and set the gun down. This broke up my shooting and more closely simulated a self defense situation. LOOSELY simulated. The range won't allow holster work, and I wasn't going for too much speed. But drilling the proper hand grip over and over, and engaging-re-engaging a safety over and over, and 2 to center mass, and breaking up the routine are all good things that are good to reinforce. It's slow reinforcement, but the habits are better than just casually squeezing off a string of shots and going home.

Oh my goodness!

Saucy Trollop bought a gun! On the 16th. She missed Buy a Gun day by 24 hours. Not bad.

She really wants a S&W 629 of some sort, someday. Saving her pennies. But she wanted something now that wasn’t too expensive. I told her the XD fit the bill, or some decent revolver. The gun has a trigger I like, and she agreed when dry firing. It’s a bit more than a Glock, but not too. At least in plain Jane form. And Springfield’s reputation for service after the sale is excellent.

She didn’t know what caliber she wanted, so I told her the choices for the XD were 9mm, .40, and .45, really. The 9mm is cheapest, and good for casual range fun. Which is her purpose for this gun. She’d never fired 9mm, but she had fired .38 special and knew what that felt like. She also fired my .40 Sig, and .45 1911. The recoil was fine with both, and the only reason she wasn’t considering those models was expense, and the fat grip of the Sig was a bit much for her.

The choices, now, in her mind, came down to the a model 10 S&W or a XD-9 or XD-40. I thought that was some sound thinking. She dragged me to 2 different gunstores and I was just riding in her wake, she was a woman on a mission.

First was a store in Glen Burnie that was quite charming. Bart’s Sports World. Nice little store. The guy that helped us was the most pleasant gun dealer I’ve ever had the pleasure of chatting with. The pistol selection was ideal for Trollop’s mission, though. And she wanted to check other price points, too. What interested ME there was the 2 Colt Pocket Hammerless on display. One SHINY chrome. He had a Colt Diamondback .22 that was almost TOO nice. Plus a S&W 617 that I wanted to follow me home. His store had LOTS of higher end shotguns. That seemed to be the specialty.

We ate dinner at Five Guys and she still had a hankering to gun shop. So, we went to the range, OnTarget, next. OnTarget has a huge pistol selection, including a few XDs. Trollop played around with the slides and fondled 9mm and .40. Even the XDM with their very comfy grips. But price was a major factor. No trijicon sights for her. No fancy trigger work. She liked the XD-40 2-tone with a 4-inch barrel most.

So she bought it.

Wow. It happened so fast.

She had to watch the Maryland gun safety video. The state requires you view a 25 minute safety video to on top of other paperworks to purchase a hand gun or Sport Utility Rifle. Plus a lot of state forms to fill out to go along with the form 4473. You may have to watch that safety video to get a bolt action .22, too, I don’t know. I was never required to do so because I had a DD214, which is military discharge paperwork. Still, it was good to watch over Trollop’s shoulder to see what everybody else had to do.

Maryland has a form that looks like the 4473, but it’s theirs. Since Cho’s Virginia Tech massacre they have used a separate medical records release form to check to be sure you aren’t bughouse material. There is a fourth form of some sort… All but the Crazy-Paper are in triplicate and you have to press hard with a ballpoint pen. I sat twiddling my thumbs while she did all these. Then a credit card swipe and BOOM! Come back in 8-10 days.

She will most definitely get a small gun safe for it, first thing. She has a supply of foam plugs for hearing. I’m trying to get her to do better than glasses for eye protection. A boresnake and some breakfree for cleaning and that’s about the extent of her purchases. Maybe a padlock to transport the case to and from the range to be in compliance with MD law. The trigger lock it comes with is fine, but a locked case is more convenient, in my mind.

The safe she is eyeing will hold her new purchase, AND a .44 magnum if she gets one of those, later.

She will settle into gun-ownership. She is not TOO comfortable about keeping ammo in the house. She has no problem with buying ammo before a range day, shooting it up, and taking the gun home with nothing left to shoot. This gun isn’t for immediate self-defense, clearly. Not yet. It’s just for fun. If she had a specific concern she might re-consider. And there is no waiting period for ammo, and now she’ll have a gun. So only anticipated emergencies. That’s fine. Baby steps.

Oh, I almost forgot… The XD-40 has an under-rail for a flashlight. So now I have a Christmas Gift idea…

CCW Live

I almost forgot.

When I went over to Virginia to MBtGE I carried CCW for the first time.

I pocket carried the Pocket Hammerless in my left front jeans pocket. With a pocket holster, shown on the far right:

It felt so ordinary.

It printed a little bit, but I practically forgot it was there, so I didn't call attention to it. It was just to the grocery store. I had to make a beer run because, with regard to beer, MBtGE is not a connoisseur. Some Old Dominion and some Smithwicks were available. And some Killians ~shudder~ for MBtGE.

Now I need to try it with the Sig and an IWB holster.

Spring Failure

Especially in magazines. Springs fail. They stay compressed for a long time and they lose strength or fail to work at all. That's the theory.

Frank James had a problem with his Browning Hi-Power magazines.


And 2A Musing had a problem with a Colt Pocket Hammerless’ magazine, he thinks.


The poor Colt of his has been abused, and the spring is probably rusted and weakened, but I’d try everything else to fix it before worrying my springs had lost their sprung. I don’t envy his project. It sounds like it is difficult to get the floor plate off the magazine and, like him, I’d worry I’d mung it up trying to fix it. Getting a functioning replacement magazine for a 50-100 year old gun is very dear, when you can find them. I have aftermarket magazines with 2 originals, and they are not reliable.

I think the “spring tension is shot” excuse is a catch-all reason that is over used when us amateur gunsmiths run out of ideas. Like the way they blame ball bearings for everything wrong in turbofan aviation maintenance. I trust 2A and Frank more than generic gunnies to diagnose their spring problem, so put them in the “only 25% of ‘spring problems’ are actual spring problems” column. Just an idea of mine. I wonder what sort of stress Frank James had with his to wear them out? 15 years and no good? Hmmm...

Here is an example of a spring ‘problem’ that wasn’t from the Cooper Commentaries:

"Our distinguished family member J.P. Denis of Belgium reports that he discovered an abandoned MP40, together with several magazines, in a building that was being torn down. This piece had been left unattended for 50 years with all magazines in full compression, and they all worked perfectly. I think this is marvelous. When you think of the degree to which our culture depends upon springs, it is good to know that spring construction is so well understood."

Old springs, though, Colonel. Well, springs after a certain date, then springs before a certain date. Good springs can be had today, but I bet some spring makers skimp for cost reasons. I'd hope very few modern reputable gun related industries skimp on springs. My worry is imported after-market stuff from the Far East.

But yes, springs are generally well made and will last.

That said, yours truly has a few replacement springs bought to try to make Chinese M1A magazines function. I know, I know, it’s a fools errand. Can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ears and I should can the crappy magazines and spend my money on real ones. Cuz I probably need more than just springs. I need a decent follower. Might as well get a new floor plate too. By the time I’m done I’ve spent $40 on replacement parts and shipping, and a lot of hours labor, to make $18 mags more like $50 mags. And I still have crappy feed lips on my ‘fixed up’ mags. Call it a learning experience. And I need lots of learnin. LOTS.

So, 2A has a suspected mag spring problem with his fine 1903 Colt. What to do? Before risking the floor plate removal I’d clean the magazine thoroughly with lots of oil. Soak it in kerosene for a few days even. Maybe the inside of the magazine is rough with rust and that is slowing down the follower and acting like a crappy spring.

Next, I’d live right, eat my vegetables, call my Mom every Sunday, and be kind to stray dogs. Whereupon, I’d try to find a spare OEM magazine out there in the world to test and have. I ask a few vendors every time I go to the Gun Show and I have found exactly ONE Colt magazine this way. You gotta live right. Get the karma up.

There are online magazine sellers, too. If you’ve been a good boy or girl you might score one in decent condition. If you do, test it out. Compare. See if it feels the same loading or shooting. I’d worry where I thought there was a spring problem, with failure to strip of a new round to chamber, it is really a slide problem. Or a recoil spring problem where THAT spring is too strong because someone before me swapped it out. Fix for that scenario? Maybe grease up the rails really good. Lube the whole gun. Swap ammo to see if it’s that with lighter loads not cycling the action enough.

Worst case scenario, you'll be out $50+ but have a spare magazine. Spares are good.

And that’s just off the top of my N00bie head. Gunsmiths and Tam would be better resources than little ol’ me.

1908 Colt Pocket Hammerless .380 with magazine:

BAG Day

(Ok, for me it’s Borrow a Gun Day.)

I borrowed something special from My Buddy the Gun Enthiast (MBtGE) so as to show Saucy Trollop what a big boom feels like this weekend. What six inches of big bore power can do to a woman. She loves the big boom, the bigger the better. Nothing makes her happier than to wrap her hands around a big thick piece and seeing what it can do. The rougher it is, the more she likes it.

Shut it!

I know what you people were thinking. You all have filthy minds. For shame!

It’s MBtGE's S&W .44 Magnum. Model 649-2. 6 inch barrel

I don’t know how much Saucy Trollop is gonna like shooting it though, really. Intellectually she likes a firearm that kicks, but… Side by side it’s pretty close in size to my model 686 .357, except for the bore. But I don’t like how hard the .44 kicks ME. But if she likes it, I bet she get’s a similar version for herself someday.

When I’ve fired this gun in the past, despite the significant event the recoil is, it is a very easy to shoot accurately. Until the pain in your hand makes you flinch too much, at least. It should be fun. For a few. And hey, it’s been a while since I played with it. Maybe I’ll like it better now that I have a few thousand more rounds under my belt.

Best part is, my brother, the Commander, is gonna be there at the range with us, with his significant other. Let’s call her Salomon Grundy. While the Commander has shot a pistol a few times for the Navy, he hasn’t shot a wide variety of things, and shooting a few of mine will be a treat for him.

Ms. Grundy has never shot anything before. Nothing. So you all know the procedure for taking a rank beginner, and female at that, at a first time shoot? Right. She shoots first with very little instruction. And she shoots the .44 magnum. Remember to laugh when shenanigans ensue! Try to get it video taped and post the fiasco on YouTube, cuz that will be so COOL! It’s funny when girls get scared by huge recoil!

No, no, no! I’m not doing that, really.

I am converting over the .45 to .22 with the conversion kit. I’m gonna start with that and work her up to .38, then see how she is doing. Always demonstrating first. If she is doing well, and is enjoying it, we’ll progress from there to .40 and .45 and .357. Only then, and only after Saucy Trollop has tried the .44 will that be on offer. No pressure to shoot it, of course. I bet she does fine and at least tries it once. And she’ll do fine that one shot. She and Saucy may surprise me and be mad I didn’t bring a lot more .44 ammo.

Same procedure with my brother in case he is rusty.

I’ve already forwarded for the 4-Rules for them to memorize, and before the range I am going to go over all the guns we are bring in her living room, unloaded, to familiarize them with them in a quiet environment.

As for BAG day, no I am not purchasing anything this time. The SIG P229 DAK SAS I got in December counts toward this years purchase. Maybe next year. I have been window shopping for revolvers, as I’ve mentioned before.

Some cartridge pr0n of the .44 Magnum:

USN

Bed Bunker

Hey! This is interesting.



A gun safe that goes where your box spring goes. A Bed Bunker.



I need a new mattress. I could get this and save money by not having to get a box spring. A $3000+ box spring.




It holds 35 rifles. It has some fire resistance. And it's heavy. I could store all my guns in it and a good bit of the other accoutrement with it, including ammo. Plus important papers and such.

Sure the first place a thief looks is under the mattress, and would problably find this, but good luck making off with it whole. Two sections weigh 650 pounds each.

Beast

Anti-Gun Rant in The Daily Beast Ignores the Facts
By Bob Owens


Who is Bob Owens and does he have a gun blog?

Yes he does, and it's one I should add to my links...

He's Confederate Yankee.