Splendid Isolation

Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

Gun? What Gun?

Crime, Legal Stuff

From his lair deep in the Soviet Republic of Taxachusetts, Reader Mike L. sends me this report:

Christina Sumner of Roanoke said she was shocked and concerned there was a loaded gun left in her rental car.
Sumner rented a car from Enterprise in Roanoke on Feb. 2, and everything seemed normal at first. Then Enterprise called her a day later, telling her there may be a gun in her car.

Well now, this is an interesting situation.  Note the qualifier “may be” in the last sentence;   in other words, Enterprise didn’t actually know there was a gun in the car — or perhaps they did, but wanted to cover their corporate asses.

However, this poses an interesting situation.  What if you’d already found the gun in the car, but told Enterprise that there had to be some mistake:  you could find no gun nor indeed any evidence of a gun in the car? 

Of course, I would be deeply conflicted.  On the one hand:  a “free” gun.  On the other hand, it was just some Europellet delivery vehicle, and therefore of little interest to me, so I wouldn’t mind handing it over.  Also, it being a 9mm means that the erstwhile owner may have been a state or federal official — especially if it was a Glock — and given the latter’s reputation of losing guns, or leaving them in public toilets etc., it wouldn’t surprise me at all that this might be the case.  That might certainly influence any decision between “Oh yeah, here it is, come and collect it”, or “What gun? / Finders keepers, numbnuts”.

But it’s a damn good thing the “missing” gun wasn’t a Les Baer or Kimber 1911 .45ACP…

Talk about temptation.

Discuss, in Comments.

Head & Shoulders

The Gun Thing

Sent to me by Reader Tony H (thankee, squire), an analysis of shotgun brands sold.

Executive summary:  It’s Mossberg (43%), and then all the others.  (Add Legacy, at 24%, and that’s two-thirds of the market.)

I’m rather surprised at Mossberg’s dominance, but no overly so.  The shotgun is the most basic kind of firearm extant and the fact that Mossberg’s budget-priced line dominates the market reflects its commodity positioning.

Me, I’m casting longing eyes at the shotgun I’ve always really wanted, the Mossberg 590 Mariner (~$625 street):

And yes, despite my preference for the 20ga chambering in general, I’d get it in 12ga because nothing says “Fuck Off And Die (FOAD)” like a couple pops of 00 Buck thereof.

Self-defense in its purest, and most basic form.

And Rommel Weeps

Military, Mocking Furriners, The Gun Thing

…even from the grave, after reading this report:

The German army’s accuracy has again been mired in controversy as it was revealed in a classified report the testing for their latest rifle was lowered.

The G95A1 rifle failed to pass trials with military-standard ammunition so the Bundeswehr – the German army – lowered the standards of the test, the report to stated.

The manufacturers of the rifle — Heckler and Koch — were allowed to test it with civilian ammunition and at room temperature rather than in extreme heat and cold.

Their 180,000-strong army is due to be receiving new weapons next year after it was reported that they only had enough ammunition to fight for two days.

On the bright side:  they can’t invade Poland again.  On the gloomy side… well, there’s Russia still on the Ostfront, also again.

One wonders how badly the Bundeswehr would fare by reaching into the back of the old gun closet for:

…and:

Of course, they’d have no ammo for anything other than the MP40 and P38, but hey, lookee here from our friends at PPU:

 

Bet they’d get a fat quantity discount, even though the Serbs might be a little reluctant to sell to them, for fairly obvious reasons.

Oh wait, what’s that you say, Lassie?  After the Great Unpleasantness of the early 1940s, the Germans had to destroy all their old guns?

Never mind.

Yes, I too got a semi just from looking at the StG44, FG42 and MP40.  Why do you ask?

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Griffin & Howe 98 (.250 Savage)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Just as we’ve looked at expensive and indulgent cars in the Sotheby’s catalogue before, here’s the gunny equivalent at Collector’s (right-click to embiggen):

I know, at $7,950, the price is nosebleed-high, just like those half-million-dollar cars we saw.

However, a rifle of this quality cannot be simply dismissed as a pricey gee-gaw.  It’s been created by a master gunsmith for Griffin & Howe, from the world’s best action (Mauser 98).  If your .30-30 lever gun is a Toyota, this rifle is a Bentley R1;  if your field shotgun is a Beretta, this is a Holland.

The comparison cannot be made just by logic.

Are there other guns that could do the job as well as this one?  Certainly.  Would those guns evoke the same feelings of pride and wonder when opening the case?  Not even close.

And by the way, I happen to love the venerable Savage .250-3000 cartridge for its outstanding speed, flat trajectory and devastating effect upon arrival.  Yeah, it’s spendy.

Don’t care, just as I don’t care about the fuel consumption of a 1956 Mercedes 300 SC.

Want.  Both.

Nazzo Fast, Guido

Marketing / Advertising, The Gun Thing

Look, nobody knows better than I that the essence of marketing is to expand demand for a proven product.  But then I see this:

Springfield Armory has refreshed the popular TRP line of professional-level 1911s. The TRP is based on the Springfield Armory Professional 1911, which was originally chosen for use by the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, and now the line has been refreshed to offer six new .45 ACP models with a wide range of new features.
The TRP platforms are specifically designed and built for demanding 1911 enthusiasts. Each pistol begins with a forged frame and slide for strength and durability. Each pair is the hand-selected for slide-to-frame fit and numbered to marry them with their matching components throughout the build process. The result is a premium fit, with refined blending and rock-solid performance.
Providing an additional touch of custom detail, all TRP pistols feature sighting plane serrations along the top of the slide. The result is an attractive touch that offers the shooter an enhanced sight picture and maximum light diffusion. Also on top of the slide is a tritium three-dot sight system for a clear sight picture under any lighting environment.
Springfield Armory chose VZ Grips and their combat-ready Hydra series of grips for the new TRP pistols. The deep relief channels provide aggressive purchase without being overly sharp, while exposing the layers and patterns of the G-10 material. In addition, all TRP pistols feature 20 lines per inch (LPI) checkering on the frame for an enhanced grip with either wet or gloved hands.

And then the kicker:

TRP Classic 5 inch and TRP Classic 4.25 inch have an MSRP of $1,899.
The TRP Rail 5 inch Black, 5 inch Coyote Brown and TRP CC 4.25 inch Black and TRP CC 4.25 inch Coyote Brown have an MSRP of $1,999.

So basically, it’s a budget Nighthawk, except in that baby-shit Coyote Brown — the gunny equivalent of the putty-colored automobile.

I’m sure the Government alphabet-agencies are just going to love them, because WTF they have the budget to afford these things.  So will all those wannabe “operators” because they’re always up for the Latest Thing that all the cool kids have to have.

Me?

Clearly, I’m not in the target market for the TRP.  And that’s fine by me.