Category: The Gun Thing

Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them

Boomershoot Rifle Option

Boomershoot, The Gun Thing

******************UPDATE:  I ordered the Howa**********************

As my Loyal Readers all know, our Boomershoot CZ 557 rifle was most foully stolen from my house during the Great Flood Catastrophe Of 2021.  (I say “our” because I was simply holding it for whoever the raffle winner might be.)

I have been waiting patiently to replace the damn thing, but I despair.  I’m on about six gun outlets’ waiting list, but time is getting tight and if I want to take it up to Boomershoot 2022 to see if it’s fit for purpose, I need to get one of similar quality — PROVIDED that none of the current (and I have to say, most patient) ticketholders object.

The one I’m looking at as a replacement for the CZ 557 is this one:

It’s the Howa Chassis Rifle (HCR), chambered in .308 Win/7.62x51mm NATO (here’s a review which should tell you everything you need to know about it).

I found one, it’s in stock, black as pictured, and the dealer is holding it for me.  All I need is ticketholder approval and it will be on its way to me tomorrow.

Responses in Comments, ASAP please.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: S&W Mod 648 (.22 Win Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Being out of touch, as always, I failed to notice that S&W have (once again) re-released their lovely little Model 648 — only this time, it has an 8-round cylinder:

I just love the look of this piece;  a nice heavy barrel and underlug on a K-frame Smith?  Be still, my beating heart.

But it had better be a strong heart.

Longtime Readers will be aware that I am a huge fan of the .22 Mag (.22 Win Mag/WMR) cartridge, and all things being equal I would be on the hunt for one of these new 8-shooters toot sweet, so to speak.

But seriously — and I have bitched and moaned about this before — the cost of .22 Mag ammo is just foul.  When .22 LR has come down to around 10 cents per pop, its big brother stays stubbornly around 36 cents, which just sucks.  Even back in the Good Times (1999 – 2005), it was still relatively pricey, but even so, I recall paying about 15 cents per (about double that of Min-Mag .22 LR from CCI) on a bulk purchase;  and thank goodness it was a bulk purchase (5,000 rounds), because I’m still shooting ammo from that and earlier purchases.  I haven’t had the nerve (or wallet) to buy any more since then.

That kind of price just takes the ammo — and the guns which shoot them — right out of the plinking / fun shooting, and relegates it to varmint hunting.  And by the way, if I were to go varminting now, I could shoot .223 Rem ammo at 32 cent a squeeze, and save 4 cents a time over .22 Mag.  Total suckage.

And I know all about the cost/demand curve, and a pox on it:  because it’s taking this lovely revolver right off my wish list.

Droolworthy

The Gun Thing

Shooting the William Powell Sovereign.

Here’s the gun under discussion:

I like Jonny Carter — it’s nice to see a youngin getting into the gun thing, and he is quite knowledgeable about shotguns.  More to the point, he loves shotguns and it shows in every video he puts out.  (Sadly, he is of the over/under persuasion, rather than a devotee of the proper side-by-side experience, but nobody’s perfect.)

About the gun itself:  unlike their other guns of the past, the Sovereign is made in Italy’s F. Rizzini factory — but for those who think that this is somehow a Bad Thing, let me point out that a typical handmade Rizzini side-by-side of similar specs can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $nosebleed.  So a Sovereign costing about $6,000 off-the-shelf is not a bad deal in terms of the cost : quality curve, the difference being that they are production-line guns as opposed to handmade.

Another point:  Brit shotgunners are not allowed to shoot lead shot, and as bismuth and such are too expensive, they’ve been forced into using steel shot — and for the older generations of shotguns not proofed for steel, this means eventual destruction of the barrels.  (Mr. Free Market gloomily foretells the demise of the British-made premium shotgun, for this reason.)  Which is why the Sovereign’s claim of “shooting into the future” should resonate, and rightly so.

If I had the $$$, I’d get one in a heartbeat.

Sorta-Comeback

The Gun Thing

So I got this news via Ammo.com (see sidebar for link):

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. Reintroduces the Marlin 1895 SBL Lever-Action Rifle

“We are excited to officially flip the switch and let our customers know that Marlin is back,” said Ruger President and CEO, Chris Killoy. “Since the move of over 100 truckloads of equipment and inventory back in November 2020, our engineering team took the 1895 through a complete design and production review focused on achieving the highest quality, accuracy, and performance standards. The end result is a quality rifle, produced using modern manufacturing methods, that consumers will be sure to enjoy and proud to own.”

This first model is just the beginning of the reintroduction of the Marlin brand and illustrates the improved manufacturing processes that deliver reliable, attractive firearms. These processes will result in the introduction of additional Marlin models, calibers and variations over the coming years.

All well and good.  Then comes this little sting in the tail:

Due to the anticipated strong demand and the limited quantity of Ruger-made Marlin lever-action rifles, Ruger encourages retailers to contact their distributors for availability and advises consumers not to leave deposits with retailers that do not have confirmed shipments.

Translation:  “We’re going to make these fantastic rifles again, but just not quite as many so that we can keep prices artificially high.”

And I bet they’re going to disfigure those “RM” Marlin rifles with that stupid and unnecessary Ruger warning that “guns are dangerous” (right-click to embiggen):

It’s enough to make you sick.

Not Even That

The Gun Thing

From Glenn, speaking about the latest offering from SIG:

I Do Like SIGs But This Seems More About Bling

Exactly.  They’ve discovered a market — the gadget-obsessed gun owner — and they’re milking it for all it’s worth.  And good luck to them, say I.

I don’t care for SIGs, because for some reason, I’ve never found a full-sized model that fits my hand as well as a 1911 or Browning High Power.  (And before you start making suggestions that all I need to do is try this model or that model, and all will be peace and love and kittens;  don’t bother, because I have.)

I fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the only non-1911 SIG I’d care to own is the venerable P210:

 

And the fact that I’d like to have one even though it’s chambered for the detestable 9mm Europellet should say it all.

Branch Line

Old Fartism, Resistance, The Gun Thing

Running off at a tangent from yesterday’s train of thought (about simpler cars), I need to add the following.

As Longtime Readers know well, I’ve always preferred simple, reliable guns such as  Mausers and AK-47s:

…over the vajazzled option-heavy tricked-up “operator” guns that all the cool kids are buying these days.

So needless to say, when the Great Day Of The Barricades finally comes, you’ll most likely find me lying dead on the ground with an AK-47 clutched in my cold dead hands, with a cherry-red barrel, smoking handguard and an absolute shit ton of slowly-cooling brass lying around me.

Next to me will be some amateur “operator” also dead on the ground, clutching his Mattel gun with lights, cameras, red-dot sights etc., but only half a mag of brass lying next to his corpse, because that was all he managed to get off before his supergun malfunctioned.

I’m not saying that this is the way I’d prefer to draw my last breath, of course, but under extreme circumstances (like this:  45% of Democrats want the unvaccinated sent to internment camps), it’s certainly better than the alternative:

or:

Just sayin’.