Category: The Gun Thing

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

Great-Uncle Jimmy

The Gun Thing

Your great-uncle Jimmy was a lifelong lover of Smith & Wesson revolvers, but when he passed away, he left his entire collection to his sons.  However, in order to spread the goodness, he sent Collector’s Firearms a gift card in the amount of $2,000 in your name,  with the proviso that it could only be spent on a S&W revolver.

So feel free to peruse the lists  (old and modern) thereof, and tell me in Comments which one (or ones) you’d buy, and why.

Me, I’m partial to this old M&P, at $1,495:

The pre-war Target Models are wonderfully accurate, and while I’m not especially partial to the pearl grips, it would make a fine Governor’s BBQ gun.

A very close second would be this Model 624, at $1,395:

Not quite beautiful enough to be a BBQ gun, but damn close.  (And amazingly, .44 Special ammo is not as expensive as it used to be — or maybe it’s just that the other calibers have caught up with it.)

Bad Idea

The Gun Thing

I carry guns all the time, but I never carry openly, except at the range.  In fact, I’m kind of paranoid about letting anyone know I’m carrying, even acquaintances.  (All my friends know that I’m carrying, just as I know they are, and we seldom if ever even talk about it.)

I’m not interested in “making people comfortable about seeing guns in public” for the simple reason that some of those people will want to take my gun away from me.  Not going to happen.

Here’s someone who agrees with me, and has some good reasons behind his position.  I agree with all of them.

You may or may not agree with me, but argument is pointless because I’m not going to change my mind about it.

Carry On

Politics, The Gun Thing

Looks like Alabama has joined the ranks of the “Constitution Carry” states, thus closing off a revenue stream to various county sheriffs, boo-hoo.

As has Ohio — well done, everyone.  That makes 23 states who agree with the Second Amendment’s “keep and bear arms” provision.

Georgia is likewise poised to the same, their House Bill now with the Senate for “reconciliation” with their own (already passed) bill, thence to the GeorgiaGov’s desk for his (promised) signature.  Get it done, kids, let’s make it 24.

What makes it all the better is the socialists’ response:

Lever Monstrosity

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Reader John C sends me a pic (with all sorts of apologies) and a plaintive cry of “How can anyone do that to a lever gun?”

Strangely enough, I don’t think it’s completely horrible, especially given the times we live in.  If you take away the lever action and replace it with a bolt action, it becomes a simple “chassis” rifle, e.g.

Is it ugly?  Oh hell yes, and I’ve made my feelings clear about this plastic nonsense on many an occasion.

If we are going to level criticism at the chassis lever rifle (CLR), it would be this:  note that while the CLR has a bipod, it’s fitted with a red-dot sight and not with a scope — and for good reason, because at its heart, the primary terrain of the lever rifle is in the deep woods, where a scope is more often than not counterproductive in that it can limit the shooter’s field of vision.

The second criticism is this:  removing the standard wood stock and adding a bipod and chassis must add weight to the rifle, which therefore takes away the lever rifle’s most important features:  its lightness and handiness.

All that said, I don’t have a problem with adding a bipod to a lever rifle;  there are times when I, for one, would have found it quite useful — i.e. when faced with a 100-plus yard shot across a clearing in the woods.

(As an aside, if you do a search for “lever rifle with bipod”, there are precious few pics thereof, which might mean something.)

Lastly, I would suggest that unless the bipod is extended quite substantially (as in the above pic), the downward drop of the lever will slam on the ground and prevent the action from cycling properly.  Shooting from prone, therefore, would be awkward.

Also, I quite like the idea of adding a red dot sight to a lever rifle, although it compromises the clean, classic shape of the thing.

So yes, the chassis lever rifle is as ugly as Nancy Pelosi with a hangover, and definitely falls foul of the maxim that “even if you can do something, there’s no reason why you should“.  Frankly, though, I think its impracticality is more of a reason why it should be ignored with extreme prejudice.

Just… Not My Style

The Gun Thing

Friend and Reader Drew K sent me an email last week (appropos of my range report on the Howa HCR) which contained this:

One of ProMag’s first big projects was a replacement “precision” stock for the M1a.
Had a retired NGMU (National Guard Marksmanship Unit) armorer do a demonstration shoot, published in the old Shotgun News, of what just replacing the standard wood stock with ours would accomplish:  Improvement by 1/2″ at 100yds.

That same stock is now available for the Howa. Check it out.

Well, I did.

I’m sorry, Drew, but those don’t do anything for me.  I know they’re accurate, and improve a rifle’s accuracy and so on.

But here’s the thing.  I never could shoot that accurately anyway, and I don’t do competitive shooting anymore, so an improvement of 1/2″ at 100 yards wouldn’t mean much.

More to the point, I think those stocks are pig-ugly.  Conceptually, they look like some engineer made a robot of a woman:

…and said “See?  It’s a functional improvement over a normal woman.”

No, it isn’t.

So ask me again which one I prefer, between this:

…and this:

Or this:

…and this:

Or even this:

  …and this: 

I’m sorry;  what was the question, again?  I seem to have lost the thread.

Range Report: Howa HCR (.308 Win) & Meopta Optika6

Boomershoot, Gun/Ammo Tests, The Gun Thing

Here’s this year’s Boomershoot rifle — headed towards one lucky Reader after the event:  the Howa HCR 1500 (.308 Win), topped with the Meopta Optika6 3-18x50mm glass.

So postponing my Breakfast Gin, I hie’d me off to the range.

Some background:  I popped the scope on last night without boresighting it — just bolted it on, and trusted to luck and the several craftsmen who had built this rig.

Here’s the gun’s very first target (point of aim was the black diamond, at 100 yards):

Explanation:  Shot #1 was actually an accidental discharge because the trigger caught me by surprise (despite having dry-fired it a dozen times the night before).  Anyway, I cursed a little, and then took some care and touched off the next 9 shots (#2-#10).  I should remind everyone that all these came from an unsighted scope and a cold virgin barrel.

So I adjusted the scope, and of course Stupid Kim can’t tell right from left, hence the appearance of #11 and #12 way off to the right.  So I said some Bad Words again, and clicked back to the original setting (#13), then adjusted the reticle to the left this time, and a tad upwards (#14-#16).

The target was starting to look a little cluttered, so I put up a new target, sent it out and popped off the last four boolets in the box — but alas, at this point the barrel was hot — way too hot, because I was getting excited — and the group opened up with the last two shots.

Lesson learned:  in future, only five shots at a time before letting the barrel cool properly.

Still, I was moderately pleased.  I came home and gave myself a reward:

Some additional thoughts:

Holy crap but this Howa is a sweet gun.  (Here’s a pro’s take.)  Everything works as advertised, BUT:  the stupid plastic adjustable stock is a little loose, and I can’t get it tight.  (Wouldn’t have happened with a proper wood stock, of course, but these are the times we live in.)  Still, I’d prefer a regular-style stock over this “chassis” thing… even a plastic one like the Hogue:

There is apparently little difference between this gun and the Weatherby Vanguard as they’re made in the same factory. No prizes for guessing which one I’d like.

Okay, enough about the gun.

The Meopta scope is likewise a gem.  Crisp, clear sights (I forgot the battery, so no illuminated reticle, but it didn’t matter), and the clicks are positive and accurate.

Ammo was the excellent PMC Bronze 147gr FMJ/boat-tail.  I’m not going to try anything else, for obvious reasons.

The entire rig cost a tad under $1,500 — and I have to tell you all, I would have to spend a LOT more to get even marginally better results than I did, because it’s far more accurate than I can shoot it.

In Mae’s words, if war were declared, I’d take this rig off to battle, without hesitation.