Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

Tight Times

The Gun Thing

No, I’m not referring to that Girl Scout Parking Lot Incident of 1975 (and she looked way older than 15, anyway), I’m talking about the Great Ammo Shortage Of 2020.

Right now, there’s no end in sight to this tight market.
“We’ve been talking with major manufacturers, for example, Magtech, which is one of the big ammo producers in the country. They’re telling us that they are on backorder throughout the rest of the year, throughout the rest of 2020,” Phelps said.

FFS, if Magtech ammo is in short supply, we’re all doomed.  But to continue:

Usually, that only applies to personal protection ammo, but right now, even hunting ammunition could be impacted.
“Usually shotgun shells are around, they’re plentiful, but we had another manufacturer telling us it’s the parts to make the ammunition … the primers are on a one-year backorder,” Phelps said.

Here’s the kicker:

South Dakota Game Fish and Parks says they’re not too worried about the ammo shortage impacting this year’s hunting season because most hunters are already well-stocked.

As should be all experienced shooters.  Personally, I start getting “shortage fear” when I’m down to my last 1,000 rounds (in any caliber except .22 LR, when it’s 10,000), so right now  I can afford to wait awhile till the shortage eases, as I think I have enough to last me a couple of years (lifetimes, according to the Son&Heir, who usually has to help me move the stuff from one house to another).

And they said National Ammo Day was a foolish invention…

Looks like it’s going to be a little more difficult to get that 100 round-minimum this year.  I can’t decide whether that’s a Good- or Bad Thing.

Recommendation

The Gun Thing

Longtime Reader And Total Gun Nut PatrickS was all butthurt that I didn’t include any of his works on my bookshelf backdrop — although, as I pointed out to him in my email replay, I didn’t even include one of my own books on the list.

That said, Patrick’s stuff has been a constant companion of mine over the past decade or so, and it requires a HUGE endorsement from this website, so get the hell over and buy a couple (ignore the first listing, that’s some other guy).

And Patrick:  if you have an old paperback copy of the 1911 book lying around somewhere… (the Son&Heir stole mine).

Probably Not

Bucket List, The Gun Thing

I’m sure that there are many people who would jump at the chance to own “the world’s most powerful handgun:

…I’m just not one of them.  Especially at $1.75 every time I squeeze the trigger.

Frankly, for that much money, I’d rather have two Ruger Super Blackhawks, in the more-manageable .44 Rem  Mag:

 

That falls under “not under-gunned” in the dictionary.

Tangential thought:  as any fule kno, I’m in favor of guns, whatever their caliber, action, or any of that.  And of course, I’m not a fan of the “Who really needs a gun like this?” question, as “Because it’s there” is good enough for me and should be good enough for anyone.

That said:  I just can’t get my head around the extra-large-caliber handguns like the above, or the Freedom Arms in .475 Linebaugh:

…or the Magnum Research BFR in .45-70 Govt, to give but two further examples.

I mean, they’re great as oddities or conversation pieces;  but I just can’t see myself ever carrying one out to hunt with.  Can anyone ‘splain to me why this should replace a rifle out in the field?

Maybe it’s just because I can’t see why anyone would want to go hunting with a handgun when there’s a perfectly good rifle for the job, e.g. a Marlin Guide Gun (which I want, very badly btw):…but I’m willing to learn.  Feel free to enlighten me.

Not That Bad

Gratuitous Gun Pics, Gun/Ammo Tests

Via Insty (thankee Squire), I see that our favorite shooting rag has a piece about a new Bond Arms Derringer:

Speaking personally, I think it’s pig-ugly;  but no doubt someone will soon be telling me how matte is the new black, or something, and all the cool kids are carrying it.  Whatever.  I like ’em shiny (and without that sissy trigger guard):

But anyway, it was Insty’s comment which got my attention:

IT’S BASICALLY A .45 DERRINGER, SO I EXPECT IT TO KICK

That has not been my experience (remember that I am an infamous recoil wussy).  I’ve had two of these beauties in my time — in .45 Long Colt /.410ga, and in .38 Spec/.357 Mag — and I didn’t find the recoil in any of the four chamberings to be too unpleasant.  Here’s why.

I think that the teeny lil’ barrel helps.  Basically, it seems to me that before the burning powder can get up to full oomph in the chamber, the boolet has already left the building, so to speak.  Even .410 slugs were stout, but quite manageable — especially when you remember that Derringers are “halitosis-range” guns, in that even if the scumbag doesn’t immediately die from the boolet, the muzzle flash should set his fucking clothes on fire to complete the carnage.  And forget the loss of muzzle velocity from the tiny barrel — at 4″ distance from the target, it’s very much a moot point.

I wouldn’t want to let off hundreds of rounds of serious centerfire ammo in a single session at the range with a Bond Arms Derringer, mind — half a dozen would do just fine, thank you — but frankly, even a dozen-odd rounds of .45 ACP wouldn’t be too much of an imposition on one’s shooting hand.

What I’ve always liked about the Bond Arms guns is that they are heavy, baby — which means if you hold it in your hand and give someone a swift smack on the side of the head with it, he is going to go down.

Manly guns.  I love ’em.

Old Rifle, Old Cartridge… Heaven

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

As everyone knows, I love Old Gunny Stuff — and a good-looking pre-WWII hunting rifle in a proven chambering pretty much checks all my boxes.  Here’s a Savage 99 in .250-3000 (.250 Savage) at Collectors:

As I’ve also said before, I am not a fan of the 99 when it’s chambered in a larger caliber like .303 Savage, .308 Win and so on, because of the stiff recoil.  But a nice quarter-incher like the .250 Savage?  And in a handy little carbine?  (And did I also say before how much I love the Savage’s slick lever action and box magazine which can hold pointy spitzer boolets, unlike the WinMar lever guns with their tube mags?)

The age of rifles doesn’t bother me at all, provided that they’ve been reasonably well-looked after:  I’ve owned many pre-WWII rifles, and honestly, I’ve loved pretty much every single one of them:  Swiss K-11, Swedish 1896 Mausers, SMLE and Enfield No.4s, Mosin-Nagants, gawd knows how many Mauser 98s, and so on.  The one rifle of this genre that got away, by the way, also gives me the deepest regret at its loss:  a pre-WWI Winchester 94 in .32 Win Special (as I recall, made in 1910), which I bought from a dear friend who a year later demanded I sell it back to him because he was missing it too much.  Now I miss that rifle, still.  Here’s one, also from Collectors.

Were it not for their respective price tags — which reflect how many people love these rifles as much as I do — I’d buy them both in a heartbeat.

So yeah:  old rifles and old cartridges don’t frighten me, and they shouldn’t frighten anyone.  These fine old ladies are flat-out wonderful and gorgeous, their cartridges are just as effective as any modern cartridge, and everyone should own at least one.

Touch history, folks, while you still can.  You can thank me later.

Kim’s Back Yard

Real Estate

Following yesterday’s post which mocked the British ideal of “dream garden”, here are my own (ranked) top ten desirable backyard features:

1. four-bay 25-yard air-conditioned indoor pistol range
2. 100-yard rifle range with back stop and shaded shooting benches
3. sporting clays area, with six or more stations
4. six-car garage
5. climate-controlled storage shed for ammo and sundry shooting supplies (maybe backing off one of the ranges) with a decent reloading setup inside
6. outdoor kitchen with both charcoal- and gas grills, including a bar counter
7. woodworking shop, e.g. Norm Abrams’s “New Yankee Workshop”
8. swimming pool
9. surrounding the entire back yard with a couple extra corners thrown in, a go-kart track which could accommodate grownup cars e.g. a Caterham 500
10. Guest house where my friends could stay for their (probably weekly) play dates.

Okay, the race track is possibly something of an overreach, but not necessarily.

As for the “garden” idea… meh.  Patio or deck with pool and BBQ grill, no lawn.  Pots with artificial flowers.