Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

Belated Recognition

Gratuitous Gun Pics, Gun/Ammo Tests, The Gun Thing

I have to say that I have not been remiss in not talking about Othias and Mae at C&Rsenal before, simply because I only recently discovered this outstanding EeeewwChoob channel.

That said, an impossibly-long amount of watching has since followed — I probably spend about two hours a day watching this pair talking about, and shooting, the old rifles that I love so much.  Between Othias’s historical background on the guns’ development and manufacture, and Mae’s well-informed opinions on the guns’ actual operation, it’s just about a perfect show for an old gun geek like myself.  And when they’re talking about a gun which I own, I feel an irresistible urge to get it out of the safe and work the action while I’m watching.  (I won’t even talk about the irresistible urge to go to the range afterwards.)

Between this show and Ian McCollum’s Forgotten Weapons series, there is a veritable encyclopedia of information about guns — so much so that from now on, I’m not going to do any lengthy exposition on the guns I feature in my Gratuitous Gun pics, but simply hand them over to one or the other of these two channels where they are covered.  (If I do a range report, however, I’ll put my two cents into the mix.)

Damn, I love this gun thing.

Blood Sports

Friends and Family, Hunting, Travels

As the searing North Texas summer temperatures have begun to slide into glorious fall cool, I received these pics from Mr. Free Market, currently experiencing the usual Scottish weather for this time of year:

Not that it’s stopped him from doing the usual…

Doc Russia’s also Over There, but no reports of his activities.  (He’s probably sleeping outside in the rain, because USMC.)

As much as I enjoy being in Britishland, that weather is best endured by sitting in a warm pub with a roaring fire on the background:

…and with the usual fare at hand:

That’s my idea of roughing it.  I’m too old for all that running around in the rain–freezing my nuts off–falling over screwing up my knee–without ever seeing a deer nonsense.

“So There I Was…”

The Gun Thing, Travels

…up in El Dorado, Kansas — just me, Reader JimW and a whole bunch of other Old Pharttes who love old rifles and such:

…plus boatloads of ammo for said old beauties, so that new shooters and old ones alike could shoot away to their hearts’ (and pockets’) content.

Which I did.

The event is actually a fundraiser for the local WWII museum (which, sadly, I didn’t get a chance to go to, but will visit next year).  The fundraising works as follows:  you pay $2 per round, all proceeds of which go to the museum.  I should point out that all the ammo provided comes from Reader Jim’s personal ammo locker, and the guns from his gun safe, so I hereby anoint this man a National Treasure.

Next year, I will be repeating the trip, and will bring along the Son&Heir.  Let’s make it a Nation of Riflemen event, shall we?  I urge everyone who can possibly make it to mark it in your calendar for around this time next year (Jim will supply the date when it’s finalized).

I need to meet more of you guys in the flesh — let’s face it, we’re all getting older and time is passing by — and this seems to be as good a reason as any, and better than most.

Having done the drive up from Plano (6 hours), I can attest that it’s not too bad from Texas provided that you do as I did on the way back, and avoid I-35 like the plague.  (U.S. Routes 377, 177 and 77 take you almost to the front gate of the range.)  I drove because I took a couple-three of my old ladies (K98k, SMLE and M1 Carbine) in case there weren’t enough guns, but as it turns out, they weren’t needed.

My advice, therefore, if your drive is too long or you’d rather fly, is to fly in to Wichita (ICT) on the Friday, rent a car and drive the half-hour to El Dorado.  There are plenty of hotels available, so accommodation shouldn’t be a problem.  You don’t need to bring any guns (unless you want to), so the flying thing should be limited to the usual PITA nonsense from the TSA goons at the airport.

And let’s have some kind of NoR dinner at one of the local BBQ places in El Dorado after the event — I tried two whilst up there, and both were good.

Watch this space…

Oh, I Almost Forgot

The Gun Thing

I’ve always had a yen for the WWI/WWII Italian Carcano M38 (6.5x52mm, a.k.a. 6.52 Carc), because as I’ve wandered through this life, trying all sorts of different guns, the Carcano somehow eluded me.  Specifically, I was interested in the later model with the folding pig-sticker, i.e. the Carcano Moschetto Modello 91/38 Cavalleria (Cavalry Carbine*):

(*The Italians didn’t have any cavalry;  what they did have were ceremonial mounted troops, but they were issued the earlier short M38 with the folding blade bayonet.  Got all that?  It’s more confusing than Ferrari nomenclature.)

Anyway, National Treasure (and Fiend) JimW persuaded me to pop off a few rounds through one of his Carcanos, and after the first shot my eyebrows disappeared unto my hairline, my mouth dropped open and well, I haven’t experienced such gun lust in the last twenty years of shooting.  Of course, the owner had no intention of parting with this wonderful little rifle, but I put my considerable negotiating skills to work, adding pleas, blandishments and in the end, a fat bribe and a swap of one of my own rifles (no details necessary).  And I bought a couple boxes of ammo from him too.

Say hello to Miss Sophia, y’all.

The bayonet isn’t bent out of true, by the way;  that’s how they were issued.  The design probably comes from Alfa Romeo or Maserati.

So, to business.  The Carcano uses an en bloc six-round stripper clip like the Garand, except that when the last round is chambered, the empty clip falls down through the hole in the mag well.  Sounds strange, and it is, but it works.  Many criticisms of the Carcano’s bolt action have been leveled:  gritty, hard, etc. but I have to say that while it’s no Lee-Enfield nor even a Mauser 98, it’s no Mosin-Nagant either;  and coupled with the mild recoil of the little 6.5mm boolet and a smooth two-stage 4lb trigger, it’s an absolute pleasure to shoot.

And on the latter topic, let us all sing hymns of praise to Prvi Partizan who, for a bunch of ex-Commies, have their shit together and make all sorts of cool calibers for gun geeks such as myself — including the 6.5mm Carcano:

And there’s quite a bit available online, so as soon as I’ve ordered a half-dozen clips, the ammo will be next in line.

Ooooh I love shooting a new gun — not so much an out-of-the box gun, but one I haven’t shot much before.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the range.  Oh, and I have new glasses, so my sight picture has improved quite drastically.

My Choice

The Gun Thing

After Sunday’s post about sub-machine guns, I guess I’d better reveal my choice:

French MAT 49

I’ve fired most of the others (especially the Uzi while in the army, and the MP40 — actually, an MP-38, but whatever) but never got a chance with the MAT-49.

However, after watching this range report, I picked it over the others.

  • slow-ish rate of fire (~600 rpm), so it’s easier to squeeze off singles or double-taps
  • solidly made and reliable
  • easily stowed without having to take the mag out
  • and it looks the bee’s knees when the mag is swung into battery:

 

WANT

In the hands of an untrained shooter, a slow rate of fire is preferable to that of, say, the Suomi, S&W 76 or MP-40 because it’s more easily controlled.  That’s why the French never bothered with a selector switch.  (Anyone who’s ever fired an M3 Grease Gun, which has a similarly-low rpm and no selector switch, will know what I’m talking about.)  I also like the front grip, because as any fule kno, one way to make a magazine malfunction is to hold it while shooting.

The reason I picked the 9mm cartridge over the .45 ACP et al. was that the Europellet is the most common caliber among subbies, thus yielding a wider choice.

And yes, I’d happily go to war with any of the choices I listed — so there are no wrong answers, in my book.

Seems like this was a popular “conundrum”-type post, so expect more as time goes by.