A Note to Retailers (nothing to do with guns)

Your textiles suck.  No, really.  It used to be when I bought a shirt, or a towel, or whatever the product; it lasted.  Usually it lasted until it just plum wore out.  Not so anymore.  I just bought my first grader a Transformer school backpack at Kohl's, which is a store I've never had an issue with before.  It lasted 1 day of school then the zipper broke.  It just wouldn't zip close, so on his second day of school he had paperwork falling out.  Same with his lunchbox I bought at Wal-mart.  The zipper broke the first day.  I bought some shoes made by a company called Jumping Beans (also at Kohl's) which I've never heard of.  They looked decent, and cost about $30.  Those lasted exactly 1.5 weeks, and the stitching where the tongue connects to the shoe is ripped, and the rubber is separating at the toe.  I don't even buy towels and shirts from Wal-mart.  The towels last 2-3 washings and they start to fray.  Shirts last a month and the buttons fall off.

It seems that anymore the stitching on cloths just doesn't last.  If it does, the buttons fall off and/or zippers break.  Which has only reinforced my belief that you usually get what you pay for.  If I buy Nike, Addidas, New Balance, etc they last until my kids out grow them.  All 3 of them.  I hand the shoes down through 3 boys, and they last.  I can pay $10-15 for cheap shoes that last a month (or Jumping Bean which costs $30 and lasts 1.5 weeks), or I can buy a name brand shoe (at the outlet for $20-40) that lasts through 3 boys.  It's the same with other cloths.  Jeans and Shirts from no-name companies only last a couple months of washing and they are so ratty and faded they get relegated to play cloths.  It's a no brainer for me.  I think in the end you end up paying the same.  You have to buy 4 or 5 of the cheap cloths to make up for 1 good article of clothing.

Sorry to say, but certain countries seem to be making crap stuff.  India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, they all seem to be pretty decent, most of the time.  But China.  They make crap, because they know we'll buy it.  I'm trying not to, but it's a struggle.  If I have 2 choices, china, and made somewhere else, I will buy the made some where else.  Retailers are part to blame.  Kohl's: you're a nice department store, but you're sullying up your name.  Stope buying crap.  Wal-mart: I've been through with you for years.  You buy and sell crap textiles.  Basically you have disposable cloths.

However I have to say I think most of the blame must fall on us consumers.  By consuming cheap crap from China, you're going to get what you pay for: Crap.  Stop buying it.  It takes looking at a label and shopping around, but start doing so.  Start mentioning to store managers and associates that you came in to buy a shirt, but all you found was Chinese-made crap.  Hold them accountable, and be accountable yourself.

Obama Bumper Sticker Removal Kit (featuring. Brad Stine)

I love this video -- Hilarious!

Spec Ops Brand Gear

Last week around Wednesday or Thursday I sent an email to Spec Ops gear telling them about my Youtube channel, and the articles I've written for AR Guns & Hunting magazine, and told them there are a couple of their products I'm interested in trying and reviewing for my Youtube channel.  So, Friday morning I hop on my computer to check emails, and there was a reply.  Whenever I see reply's to gear queries I always get a bit giddy, because usually if they reply it's because they are interested in you reviewing their stuff.  

So, I click on the message, and it's from the Director of Marketing.  He starts with telling me he's checking out my videos and has read my articles.  Then he tells me they're starting a new website, and how would I like to be a guest blogger?  IN EXCHANGE FOR GEAR.  Woooohooooo!  Do you ever feel like you've struck gold.  I love Spec Ops gear -- it's great stuff.  Durable, looks great, tough as nails, works great, and priced well -- so the average Lcpl Grunt can afford it.  They make practical, well thought out stuff.

This is a marriage made in heaven.  Robb's writing + outstanding gear.  It doesn't get any better than this.

SOG Knives

You know I'm a big fan of the Gunny. I'm also a big fan of SOG knives. So it only fitting that they come together:

It also just so happens, the gents at SOG were so kind as to send me a couple of their awesome knives: The Trident Desert Cam, and the Aegis Digi-Cam.  Both have the SAT (SOG Assisted Technology), which means they open fast.  I'm in the process of using them for EDC, to get a better feel, so I can do my youtube review.  So far, I'm REALLY liking them.  They're sharper than Condi Rice and built like brick poop-house.

M1895 7.62 Nagant Revolver

I've owned this thing for almost a year now, and just shot it for the first time last week.  The gun cost me $79, and the only place around here that carries ammo for it had it for $49 per box -- that's almost as much as the gun!.  That's almost $1 per round.  The gun shows had boxes for $35, but that's still too much.  I ended up finding ammo for it, as I've previously posted, for $21 per box.  THAT'S much better!  It shot pretty nice -- it was pretty accurate at 15 yards.  The recoil on it felt like I was shooting my Ruger MkIII .22, but it did have much more muzzle blast.

As you cock the hammer, the cylinder moves up to press against the barrel, and the way the cartridge is, the case forms a tight seal with the barrel, so all the gas goes out the front of the barrel, which explains the muzzle blast.  This makes it the only revolver in the world that can be silenced with a suppressor.  It also makes it REALLY easy to clean!

The Nagant was designed by a Belgian, adopted by the Russian military in the 1895 and carried until, I believe, WWII.  At that time it was mostly phased out by the Tokarev semi-auto.  You'll recognize the name Nagant, as it was developed by the same guy, Leon Nagant, who co-developed the Mosin-Nagant rifle that was the issue rifle for the Russian and Soviet Armies for the first half of the 20th century.

Ruger LC9: First Shots Down Range

I got in the Ruger LC9 today.  What a sweet little gun.  I put 150 rounds down range and not one hiccup.  I'll tell you though, if you're looking for a sweet shooting handgun that you can spend all day at the range shooting, the LC9 is NOT the gun for you.  It is not a beginner's gun, not your wife's first gun, and it is not a gun you buy to get your kid into shooting.  It's got some feisty-ness to it.  It's a self-defense gun, plain and simple, and is not "smooth shooting."  I fired 150 rounds in about 10 minutes, and my hand and forearm were ringing.

I love it, though.  I can't wait to take it out more.  I Shot Winchester USA, UMC, and Wolf ammo out of it.

The 2 day pointless "cool off period" wait

The LC9 came in today from Ruger for me to test and do a review on.  So, I had to fill out all the paperwork, and now wait 48 hours.  Just so I have a couple of days to "cool off" and not go out and shoot someone.  WTF is the point?  I can understand if someone is a first time gun buyer.  HOWEVER, I am not, I have quite a few firearms in my safe.  If I REALLY wanted to go out and shoot someone, I would grab one of those, NOT go to Cabela's to buy a new one.  So what's the point?  Just another stupid handgun law that means nothing and does nothing but make bureaucrats feel good about themselves.  What a pointless waist.  Sorry for the rant

WROL/SHTF: Choosing the Right Self-Defense Weapon

I've become interested in the WROL (Without Rule Of Law) and SHTF (S%!t Hits The Fan) topics, and there's quite a bit on the internet.  For those that don't know, someone who takes an active and serious role in preparing for such catastrophes -- be it man made or natural disaster -- are called "preppers."  I'm learning that a prepper has taken things a bit further than someone who is a survivalist.  I'm not sure, but I think the term "prepper" is fairly new. It's a pretty interesting world, and I've been watching a lot of Youtube videos on the topic.  I've always been someone who mentally prepares for something like that happening, and I know I have most of the gear/food stores/ammo to survive, but a prepper takes it a step further and actually stages the gear for easy/quick access.

One of the topics, and the topic that I want to touch on, is the choice in firearms to choose as your WROL/SHTF weapon.  Of course, you have the guys who are all about the AK, and "It's the best weapon ever because you can do anything to it, and it will work, and the 7.62x39 Soviet round is the best as a man stopper"  And those that have the big revolvers in .357 because that's the most reliable handgun, in a great caliber.  And of course you see a lot of guys who choose 1911s, and Glocks in .40 S&W.

I agree that the AK is the best choice if you're looking for something indestructible, and the revolver is the most reliable choice.  And I'm certainly not going to argue the effectiveness of any of the above mentioned rounds.  HOWEVER (draws long breath), I am going to argue that those choices are a bit misguided.  In my humble opinion, you shouldn't choose your weapon by brand or model, but by caliber.  Of course, if you don't own a lot of guns, you have no choice to use what you have.  But, if you do have a choice, your order of importance in picking out a weapon should be, 1. caliber, 2. reliability/durability.

In choosing calibers, there's really only a few choices.  In handguns, the number one choice is 9mm.  In rifles, .223/5.56.  If you want a high powered rifle, .308/7.62.  You could argue until your blue in the face about the effectiveness of these caliber choices, but it doesn't matter.  Is the 9mm the most effective pistol round?  No.  Is the .223/5.56 the most effective rifle round? No.  But I will tell you this: a handgun that you have in 9mm, with ammo, is more effective than a .40 S&W Glock without ammo.  And no matter how many thousands of rounds you can store up before WROL/SHTF, depending on the circumstances, you do not know how long WROL/SHTF will last, and you will eventually run out of ammo, or become permanently separated from your ammo.  So you will have to scavenge.  And since 9mm and 5.56 are our military standards, as well as the standards of the entire Western world, you will always be able to find those rounds.  If you lived in Russia, the 7.62x39 would be the best choice, but you don't, so it's not.

Sure, the chances of WROL/SHTF lasting more than a few weeks, or months is low -- like New Orleans after Katrina, but if you're a prepper, you need to prare for WCS (Worst-Case Scenario).  I would say, probably worst case scenario is Somalia.  A complete and utter collapse of government -- a true anarchy.  Or perhaps Rwanda-type situations are even worse, when there is genocide.  My point is that in those situations, especially Somalia, there has been WROL for over a decade.  Even if you had 10,000 rounds, in that amount of time, you would have either ran out, or perhaps been separated from your ammo.  So, you definitely need a caliber that you can readily scrounge up.  And the 9mm and 5.56 you'll be able to find on or near any military base.  You'll also find it on bodies of military personal that you stumble upon, or even in abandoned military vehicles.

For handguns, I would say seconds are the .40 S&W, and the .45 ACP.  A majority of law enforcement agencies/departments use the .40, some use the .45 (and also the .45 was our previous military standard -- and it's the most popular handgun cartridge in our country -- so there's a lot of that around.)

In sum, while there are better choices for self-defense, there is no better choice for availability.  As the saying goes, Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.  And in talking about WROL/SHTF that could potentially last for an extended period of time, resupply will be crucial.

Slow Day

Not a lot going on in the realm of shooting.  For my birthday, my wife got me four 1-hour sessions at a local indoor range, so I'm looking forward to using those.  For the most part I don't mind the cold weather when I'm shooting, but the last week was brutal with -15 degree days and such.  That's a little too cold.  I've actually been wanting to take her shooting, so that might be a great opportunity to take her and she can be indoors and warm.

Otherwise, I'm trying to patiently wait for the Ruger LC9 to get here.  It shipped Wed, so I'm thinking Mon or Tue it should be here.  I'm looking forward to givin' 'er a whirl.

Later

My 1911 video

I had to post this video -- I think it's my best production of a video yet.  Check it out:

Ammo!!!!!

The ammo I ordered from Aim Surplus came today.  Commie stuff.  Have I ever told you how much I love getting new ammunition?

This is the primary reason I ordered ammo, the 7.62 Nagant.  The revolver cost me $79.  Ammo for it around here is hard to find, and when you do, they want $50 per box.  I can't see paying almost as much for a box as I did for the gun.  Aim Surplus has it for $22 per box.

This stuff here sells for $20-25 per box around here.  That's crazy.  You can get a surplus can of 1000 rounds for around $80.  Of course, that's corrosive stuff, but you get my point.  Aim had this for $16 per box.

Last is a couple of different types of 9x18 Makarov ammo.  Once again, the stuff around here is $20-25 per box.  I got this for $9 for the FJM and $11 for the Hollow Point.  The stuff around here is nice brass case stuff.  I don't need that -- it's a Makarov -- the steel case will do just fine.  That's what it's designed for.

The HP stuff:

Take a look at this pic, tell me what you notice:

To me, Russian ammo is so interesting (and we've already established that I'm a gun geek).  Actually, their whole mentality towards manufacturing is interesting to me, and ammo/guns is just a microcosm of their whole manufacturing industry.  Their stuff is manufactured so crudely, yet it works.  The ammo on the left is manufactured by BarnauL, and is their Silver Bear line of ammo.  You see how NOT-uniform their Hollow Points are?  And this wasn't handpicked as the worse, these were random rounds pulled from the box -- there were worse in their than this.  The lead is smeared on some, the copper malformed on others.  The stuff on the right is Hornady .380 ammo.  It's almost perfect.

As I said, yes, I do realize I am a nerd.

BTW, check out aimsurplus.com

Marine's open new Combined Arms Training Facility

This is incredible. I would have loved to have trained there during my 3 years at the Stumps.

What's In My Pocket.

In my pocket: this is a pretty typical day for me.  Wallet & money clip (with $11). Cabelas's gun shaped bottle opener (still in my pocket from the Super Bowl, I normally carry it on my keychain), lip balm, Fisher Space Pen, Gerber Evo folding knife.  And of course an iPhone 3GS with a Case-Mate.

The lip balm is Cocoa Butter, made by Cococare.  It's the best there is, and I'm an expert -- my lips are addicted to lip balm.  Yes, that can happen.  The Fisher Space Pen is the bomb.  I've had it for 3 years on the same tube of ink.  I love that it's compact, no way it can open in your pocket (and get ink all over), yet it is full size when you put it together.  The Gerber -- I've had that for over 3 years, too.  I would have had it longer, but this one is a replacement for the Evo that got stolen from me in an armed robbery.

Shopping Cart Disaster

MST3k says: Packers win the Super Bowl!

Funny video. I love the line, "Why don't you all just go back to your drinking." He must know us up here.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to be honest -- there were three times this year when I wrote my team off.  The first was Grant and Finley going down.  The second was Barnet and Matthews going down. (Matthews fortunately only missed one game).  The third was when we got beat by Detroit and Rodgers went down.  Then our second string QB went on to almost beat the Patriots, and I though, "You know, we might be OK."  The rest is history, and we are now S.B. champs.  I could not be happier for Aaron Rodgers, who handled the whole "Brett Farve" thing with nothing but class.

Congrats to the G.B. Packers.  You DESERVE this.

Second, I HAVE to give props to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I know this was a tough loss, and I know what it's like, after we got beat by Denver in '97, but let me tell you, you are NOTHING BUT CLASS.  Under Cower, and now Tomlin, you have ALWAYS been nothing but class.  Even though you didn't get #7 tonight, you will eventually.  And you have already earned your way into one of the best, and classiest organizations of all time.

Beretta 87 Cheetah

Check out my new video.  I upgraded to the iMovie2011, and in the process added music to my video intro.

The Gunny

Just by saying that, you all know who I'm talking about.  If you don't, "Why don't you chuck on over to mambi-pampi land, you Jack-Wagon!"  R. Lee Ermey.  Do a search for him in Youtube, and judging from the video comments, there are few people more admired than him.  He's one of my favorite people.  One of my Marine buddies has shot with him at the Camp Perry matches -- lucky guy.  I have never met him, but it's become a tradition that when fans meet him, they ask him to berate them.  How frickin' cool would that be.

Here's a of vid (it's the Gunny, so yes, there is some cussing involved.  Do not watch if you're a child, or your ears are sensitive to explicit language):

9 mil

I have recently come to the conclusion that I do not own enough 9mm handguns. In fact, I only own one. It's a good one --  a Beretta 92FS -- but it's only one.  I blame my "lack of 9mm" revelation on Ruger and their announcement of the LC9. VERY drool-worthy. 

There are a couple of classics I'd like to add.  I've always loved the lines on the CZ 75, especially one in stainless.  Then there's the FN/Browning Hi-Power. This is the handgun, not the 1911, that John M. Browning felt was his masterpiece.  Most of the rest of the world agreed with him.   Here, many are biased against cartridges named after metrics.  More on that later.  I was recently tempted by a good deal on a Walther P1. I love the milsurp stuff.  Mostly because you can get high quality hardware at a great price.  Speaking of milsurp 9mm, who wouldn't want to own a Luger, if you could afford one. 

One the newer 9 mils that is tops on my list is the FN FNP-9.   I've wanted one for quite awhile now. I'm a HUGE FN-Herstal fan.  Also, in keeping with my recent convert to a Ruger fan, I’d also like to get my hands on an SR9.  I saw a pretty sweet one up at Cabelas with an O.D. Green lower receiver.  Also sweet is the price: under $500.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about Ruger.

Back to the metrics.  I’m wondering if the 9mm had been named .356 Luger, I wonder if it would have faired better in America.  That has a ring to it.  But why is that?  I think it has to do with in the 80s when the government was trying to incorporate the metric system into the US.  I remember, we were supposed to be a dual system for awhile, and the standard system would eventually go away and we would just use metrics.  Except we never got that far.  I guess a lot of people felt it was the Europeans trying to impose their way on us, and we had already told the them a couple of centuries ago that they’re not going to push us around.  It’s weird to, because in the military we use a lot of metrics.  Meters, clicks (1000 m/ 1 km), kilometers, etc.  I can see the benefits to both systems.

One last thing, is it just the military, or do civilians call it the “9 mil” instead of “9mm.”?  I don’t think I’ve ever heard a civilian call it that.

Semper Fi

Snow!!!

No shooting today.  Yesterday I spent the day prepping for the storm, and today unburying from it.  We got quite a bit.  Actually, we didn't really get that much snow, maybe a foot or so, but it drifted really bad.  I had a drift outside my front door that reached up to my chest.  Same in the back yard.  The ol' John Deere snow thrower got a workout today.

Then halfway through clearing my driveway, the village idiot -- 3 houses down -- decides to drive her little 2 wheel drive car down the street to get lord knows where (everything was closed).  Since the plows hadn't been through yet, the bottom of her car was lower than the snow.  She ended up getting stuck right in front of my house.  So half the men on my street showed up to get her out, since the plows wouldn't be able to get through with her car in the middle of the road.  After half an hour, we finally got her out.  I have no idea what was going through her mind that she could drive out.

 My snow thrower handled the snow like the horse that it is until I did the back sidewalk and hit the dog chain (actually a wire).  Stripped both shear bolts, through the auger axle off, and made the belt jump.  Then of course the snowplows came through and buried the entrance in a 4 foot high wall of snow. Thankfully my neighbor came over with his snow thrower and helped me out.  What a great guy.  So, after making a run to the local J. Deere dealer, I got some more shear bolts and got her up and running for round 2, whenever that hits.  Now tonight and tomorrow is supposed to be -20 to -30, so no more snow for awhile.

Never a dull moment.  I did manage to pick up Mac OS X Snow Leopard today, so I can upgrade my video editing for my Youtube channel (youtube.com/762x51n8o).  I'll probably trek out to the range tomorrow to see if there is anything even sticking above the snow.  If they didn't have a "no explosive target" policy, I would take my reactive Star Target out to clear some snow for them.



Peace out and GO PACKERS!!

Zombies!!!!!!!

I LOVE zombies.  Who doesn't (If Halle Berry were to become a zombie, I would be the first to get in a inter-mortem relationship with her).  And I am fully prepared for the zombie apocalypse.  For handguns, I've alway been part of the "when taking on zombies, more is better" crowd.  So my choices are my high cap guns.

Handguns are extremely important -- you'll most likely find that in order to refresh supplies of food and ammo, you'll need to move into urban built-up areas.  This means you'll be in close quarters situations as  you clear rooms of buildings to seek supplies.

The first handgun I grab is the one I own with the highest capacity: the FN Five-seveN.  It holds 20 round per mag, and I have 3 mags.  That's 60 rounds of high velocity death.  It's also very accurate for head shots, and low recoil for placing multiple shots when confronted with a hoard.

The second handgun I grab is my Beretta 92FS.  Fifteen rounds per mag, and I have over a dozen mags.  The most important thing about this gun is that in a zombie apocalypse, the 9mm NATO round can be found anywhere and everywhere throughout the world -- it's the most popular handgun cartridge in the world, and probably 3/4ths the worlds militaries use it.

The third handgun I grab is a compact -- either my Ruger LCP, or as a second choice, my Walther PPK.  It will be necessary to have something hidden as backup -- especially for other survivors that might try to take your supplies.  These small guns, especially the LCP, you can just throw in your pocket holster, toss it in your pocket, and forget.

Of course, your primary weapon will be a rifle.  You'll get more use out of this than anything, fortunately the choices are obvious.

The first rifle I grab is my BCM4, a civilian model of the M4 used by our military.  It shoots .223/5.56 NATO, the second most prolific rifle round in the world, used by half the militaries.  One mag holds 30 rounds, and I have over 30 magazines.  The M4 is a carbine, so it's short and maneuverable in cramped quarters, and has the accuracy to reach out to 300 yards, which is about the max effective range of the 5.56 round in an 18" barrel.  I know this rifle better than any other, since I've lived with it, slept with it, eaten with it, and bathed with it.

The second rifle is for when I need more oomph, or for some AT&T ("reach out and touch someone").  The rifle I choose is a toss-up between two, but the caliber is the same: 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester).  For this I would choose either my FN FNAR 7.62, or my Remington R-25.  The FNAR is an ultra-accurate tactical rifle designed for snipers, based off the Browning BAR hunting rifle.  The Remington R-25 is based off the original Armalite AR-10 platform, which is called the SR-25/110 platform.  I would lean towards the FNAR, because it is more accurate, but the R-25 would have easier to find magazines if I would need to find them.  Also, I only own one FNAR magazine (20 rounds), since they're $90 per piece, but I own 5  magazines for my R-25 (one 20 round, and four 5 round).  

Last, but not least I would grab a shotgun, just because you never know when you might need one. I only own one, and it's a Mossberg 500 Turkey gun.  I would most likely saw off the barrel to make it more compact.

That's it.  What do you have for Zombie invasion?

Oh, and one last thing, this is the ammo I want:

Mossberg 42MB

Kind of not the greatest of weekends.  I left with a buddy to go out to western Wisconsin to another buddies farm for some squirrel hunting and shooting fun.  But got called back early because my father had to go to the ER.  He's OK, and doing better now, but will be in the hospital for the week.

So obviously my mind is on other things, but since this is a gun blog, the topic that popped into my head first was a .22, the Mossberg 42MB.  This was the first rifle I ever hunted with.  It was his, a military surplus firearm.  I remember, he didn't have a magazine for it, so we searched high and low for one, and it being the 80s, Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet.  And, being a small, farming town of 1012 people in rural Wisconsin, there wasn't a bustling Gun market, either.  He ended up finding the magazine through Gun Parts Corp (formerly Numrich).  The shipped the magazine, along with Catalog #13a, which I still have.  The magazine didn't feed perfectly, but it was better than single shot.

I took that rifle hunting many times and carried it proudly.  I would like to say many a squirrel fell to that rifle, but I lacked the patience to be a good squirrel hunter, and the rifle's accuracy far surpassed my hunting abilities.

In 1990 I left for the Marine Corps, and my thoughts returned to that old rifle several times.  However, when home on leave I never was home during hunting season, and I never shot the rifle.  When you're used to shooting M16A2s with 3-round burst, and M249 SAWs, M60s, Mk19s, M2 .50 Cals, etc, you don't know how to appreciate a rifle like the 42MB.

Fast forward to 2009, and my old man, age 79 decides to give me his rifle, since he can't really shoot it anymore, and hadn't shot it in over a decade.  I can't even tell you how it felt to have that old war horse in my hands again.  And now by a man who could appreciate the rifle, not he teenager who held it before.  It hadn't been cleaned probably since I left for the Marines, so it needed some work.  And some of the worn parts needed replaced.  So I stripped it apart, replaced some worn/broken parts, thanks again to Gun Parts, Corp, which is now apparently using Numrich in its name again.  So I got her cleaned up, fixed up and took her to the range.  That stubborn old magazine still didn't work well.  So I looked in the catalog again, and saw there were two models of magazines made, depending on the date of the rifle.  So, I forked over $40 (ugghhh) and got the proper one, and feeds like a champ now.  The neat thing about it, you can shoot .22 LR, .22 L, and even .22 Short out of it.

I enjoy shooting it.  Now that I've had formal marksmanship training, that thing will shoot a zit off a fly's arse at 100  yards.  I've always had an appreciation for peep sights -- I think all kids should learn to shoot on a peep before they get a scope.

Anyway, that's a little trip down memory lane, and if you don't have a Mossberg 42MB, look one up, it shoots great.  The last I looked, in 2009, you could get one pretty cheap, for under $150.  And, being a military surplus gun, you can find tons of parts for it.

Enfield MkIII*

I've wanted to add an Enfield to my collection for years.  I've found a lot of No. 4's, which are OK, but I really like the looks of the No.1's.  Therefore I've been holding out.  Yesterday I think I found my gun, though.  I've just been trying to find out more info on it -- the gents at milsurpafterhours.com have been great in helping me.  The one I'm looking at was made in 1918, which makes it a MkIII*.  If you don't know anything about British guns, the * means something.  That's one or more minor changes to a firearm that do not justify a new model name.  That has to make for a strange exchange between troops.  "He Nigel, could you hand me that Number one mark three asterisks?"

I didn't know this, but originally the Enfields were not called No.1 MkIII, they were just MkIII, because there wasn't a No.2 out yet, so no need to call it a No.1.  Kind of like how WWI was just the Great War until WWII came out, then they went back and renamed the Great War, WWI.  So, first there was the MkIII.  Then they made a couple of minor changes, and called the new one the MkIII*.  Then shortly thereafter, they decided to call the new ones No.1 MkIII*, therefore making the previosly made MkIII*'s into No.1 MkIII*.  Or at least that is how it was explained to me.  If anyone else out there knows different, don't be afraid to let me know.  So the one I found was originally a MkIII*, but was renamed the No.1 MkIII*.  Also known as the SMLE (Short Magazine-fed Lee-Enfield), or Smelly.  A lot of Mosin-Nagant Russian rifle collectors call that rifle the "Turd," and that was made in the same time frame, so I definitely see a trend.  Smelly and Turd.

Anyway, on the one I found the crown looks great, the bore looks really good, and overall it looks like it's in great condition.  Maybe too good -- it could have had an arsenal refinish at some point.  I'm going to continue to learn about this particular rifle, and will hoping to be adding it to my collection.

John M. Browning

A few years ago, during the last presidential election cycle, I got into a discussion with a very good friend of mine.  He said if Mitt Romney were to get the Republican nomination, he would never vote for him because he was Mormon, and to him the Mormon Church is like a cult.  I quickly replied, "You know, one of the greatest Americans ever is a mormon."  He immediately queried back, "Who?!"  His voice was a mixture of curiosity, disbelief, and shock.  He was at a complete loss as to what great American could be a Mormon.  "John Moses Browning." I told him.  His immediate response was, "Yes, you are right, I hadn't thought of that."

If you're a gun fanatic like myself, you would have to be living under a rock or fighting in Iraq (or fighting in Afghanistan or elsewhere -- thank you for protecting us) to not know that 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the US military adopting John Moses Browning's masterpiece, the Government Model, better know by it's military designation, the M1911.  To put this in perspective, when Browning designed this handgun the horse was still the primary mode of transportation for many, if not most Americans.  He didn't have the luxury of the computer like firearm designers do today.

Browning designed handguns, shotguns and machine guns have fought in every war, battle and skirmish since WWI.  The 1911 was just phased out of military service in 1985, but continues to see use in the military to this day.  The M2 .50 cal machine gun still fights to this day, and if the troops had their way, it would fight another 100 years.  If not for J.M. Browning, I'd venture to say we would have probably had to rely on the weaponry of foreign countries, and during times of world war, there wouldn't have been enough to go around to all the allied countries, which would have greatly impeded our fighting.  Not to mention, most of the other weaponry was inferior to Browning designs.

Due to this, I believe that without the weapons designed by Browning, our military would have not been as well armed as it is/was, meaning wars would have turned out differently, and it's quite possible we would not be a free country (possibly German territory x2), and we would certainly not be the world power that we are.

This all leads me to the point: John Moses Browning deserves to be categorized as one of the greatest Americans ever.  Perhaps not at the level of our founding fathers and Lincoln, but a step or two below.  Certainly greater than Kennedy.  I would most likely put him at the level of Theodore Roosevelt.  But he will never get his due because he designed firearms, and academia is the ones who sit around and discuss such issues as "greatness," and to much of academia guns are bad.

Maybe this 100 year anniversary of the military adopting the 1911 will renew America's interest in John M. Browning.  The admiration has always been there within the firearms community, but it should go beyond that.  There should be a national monument to the great man, I believe.

.22LR vs 9mm vs .45ACP

Here's a hypothetical:

A .22LR is 36 grains, so it takes roughly 3 .22LR to equal 1 9mm 115gr round, and roughly 6 to equal a .45ACP 230gr round.

Given this, I have three questions:
1. Setting aside -- for a moment -- velocity and penetration, which wound channel would prove more lethal: 1x .45ACP, 2x 9mm, or 6x .22LR?

2.  Now including velocity and penetration, in the real world, which of those 3 would prove more lethal?


3.  Of the three scenarios, if you had to choose one to defend yourself, which would you choose: one .45ACP, two 9mm, or six .22LR?

Gun perv

This weekend I went down to IL to visit family.  This side of my family isn't much into guns.  I think most of them are afraid of guns, and maybe even anti-gun.  So, of course, I didn't have any of my guns.  Whenever I'm away from my guns for more than a day or two, I find myself missing them. I guess I'm a gun fanatic.  I just like to be around guns, even if they are tucked away in a safe.  And it's not even a personal defense issue -- it's not like I don't feel secure or safe.  I just like guns.  I like at home, when if I get the urge -- which happens often throughout the day -- I can go to my safe, pull out a gun, and fondle it.  I know, sounds kind of weird.  I'm sure I'm not alone in this.  There's just something about feeling a gun in my  hand.  I'm sure it harkens back to my Marine days, when I carried a gun.  You get used to be around them.  (And yes, I did use the word GUN, who some seem to think is taboo, because weapon could mean a knife, and I can't just say RIFLE, because I carried a rifle, handgun, and machine gun at various times).

Ammunition

I was meandering through Gander Mountain the other day and happened upon their "end of season clearance ammo" table.  I think I found some pretty good deals.  I picked up 3x Winchester 124gr 9mm NATO FMJ for $13, 2x Fiocchi 115gr 9mm Luger FMJ for $13, 1x Fiocchi 142 gr .357 Mag FMJTC for $18, and 1x Sliver Bear 185 7.62x54R FMJ for $8 (I remember when this stuff was $4).  For all this I paid $95 and some-aught cents.

I don't know if it's just me, but while I really enjoy loading my own stuff, I also get a weird satisfaction from buying it too.  It hurts the wallet, now don't get me wrong.  But I love ammunition off the shelf.  I don't know what it is -- if it's the weight of the box, the sound of the cartridges when the box jiggles, if it's all the shiny-ness (I don't like the correct spelling of shininess, I like it better my way, it emphasizes the "shiny" better than "shini"), or who knows what.  Am I weird, or does anyone else feel this way (I'm going to talk as if I have an actual audience, until I do have an actual audience.  Hey, you gotta "fake it 'til you make it).  haha

Super Bowl bound!!!!!!!!!

'nuff said.

.22 Ying & Yang

I've went a little .22 crazy the past couple of years.  I've been spending all of my "allowance" on guns, so I haven't had as much to spend on ammo.  So, I've been trying to maximize my shooting time by supplementing my "real gun" shooting, with .22s.  I'll keep it just to handguns for this post.  I started off in '09 getting a Browning Buckmark.  Sweet handgun, and I loved shooting it.  Then my dad gave me his Hi-Standard Dura-matic.  This gun is sentimental to me, because first off it's his, second because it was the first gun that I ever shot.  In 2010 I got a Ruger MkIII, which I had been lusting after for awhile.  At the same time my wife bought her first gun -- a Beretta 87 Cheetah.  Yesterday I shot her Cheetah for the first time.  Meowwwww!!!!  It shoots sweet.  It feels exactly like a M9, but without the recoil and smaller, of course.

Anyone have a favorite .22 handgun?

Packer's D needs to keep it in perspective

I've been a Packer fan all my life.  I bleed Green & Gold.  I hope we slaughter the bears this Sunday for the NFC championship and a trip to the Big Bowl.  But I've been hearing a little too much talk about the D talking how great they are.  Let me say, I think they've been playing outstanding.  Matthews is a monster, and one of my new favorite players.  Woodson ranks in the top 5 of my favorite Packers EVER.  Williams has been playing on a whole new level.  But I have to say, if the Packers fielded any other offense than the one that they do (that scores 49 points in a game), the Packers lose that game.  They gave up 14 points to the Falcons, and lets not forget that the Falcons were marching down field at will at the end of the quarter, and if not for William's pick, the game would have been a very different game.  I've watched too many teams march down the field too easily against the Packer's D.  As a whole, I think the Packer's D bends WAY too easily, it's just that they have 2 of the best players in the NFL to make up for it, in Matthews and Woodson, plus an emerging star in Williams.  I do think the D is very talented, and their are plenty of other players stepping up and making big plays, I just think they need to be a little more consistent.  They make a lot of big plays, but if you take away the big plays, they are kind of not that great.  They also give away some pretty big plays.  They need more consistency.

All I'm saying, if the Pack can their D playing were it should be, they would have the best D in the league.



Go Pack!  Destroy the Bears.

Ruger 180

It's hard for me to fathom that if you would have asked me just one short year ago, I would say, "I'm not really a Ruger guy."  I did own a Ruger 10/22 that my dad gave me, but that was it.  Then I bought the LCP when it came out.  I was really impressed.  Then by happenstance my wife bought me a book, "Ruger and His Guns."  Ruger has an interesting story -- I was fascinated.  Then I started to crave a Mark I, II, or III.  So I bought a Mark III.  By then I was hooked on Ruger.  Now last week I just bought a GP161.  Now I'm a huge fan of Ruger.  Just last week, after I bought the new .357, I was thinking, "I would really like to get something more in 9mm, I only have a Beretta in 9mm.  Hmmm...look at that SR9, that looks nice."  Low and behold, the next day, viola, look what Ruger has done now...the LC9.

I have to give Ruger a lot of credit, they have truly become innovators in the last couple of years.  The SR-556, then the LCP and LCR  They weren't the first with a micro-compact .380 on the market, but theirs was the best (and well marketed) when it came out and it's because of them that this market has taken off.  I can guarantee you that within the year, everyone and their brother will have a single stack 9mm on the market.  And always, Ruger will have the best price (I was surprised at the low MSRP for the LC9).  Sig will be charging $900 for a similar gun that is "better."  Keep an eye out in coming weeks for a in depth review on my Youtube Channel:  762x51n8o.  


What are your thoughts on Ruger, and do you have a favorite model?

ComBloc Handguns

I love handguns from former Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc counties.  For one, I've always found the USSR fascinating.  Maybe I'm even a little nostalgic for it, being I grew up in the 80s.  Second, I love the commie craftsmanship.  It's neat how their stuff is never as refined as western weaponry, yet it functions just as well, sometimes even better.  And in the case of a lot of the Czechoslovakian stuff, the craftsmanship is extremely good.  Last, I love their price -- you can normally get them on the cheap.  I got my Russian Makarov for around $300 (the Russian ones are priced a little bit more than some of the others), and my CZ-52 for $160.  Next I want a CZ-82, which I know is around $200.  The priciest one I'll have is when I can finally track down a Soviet Tokarev (TT-33).  The one I want is the non-import originals with no safety.  I've seen them for anywhere between $450-600.

So, yeah, to me there's just something cool about shooting commie guns -- especially the ugly CZ-52.

I'm curious, what's your favorite ComBloc handgun -- I'd love to hear.

Hello

Welcome to my new blog.  All about guns.