Some .38 Special Chronograph Results

Today I took several .38 handloads up to the range, along with my Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk chambered for .357 Magnum, and my S&W Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiece, chambered for .38 Special. Here are the results:

All strings below are 10 shots.

From a Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk .357 with 4-5/8" barrel:

.38 Special
21 grains Swiss 3Fg black powder
Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain LRNFP with BP lube
Mixed brass
Servicios Aventuras primers

MV 845.5 FPS
250.9 Ft-lbs.
ES 61
Max 881 FPS
Min 820 FPS
SD 16.7

.38 Special
21 grains Schuetzen 3Fg black powder
Missouri Bullet Company 158 grain LRNFP with BP lube
Mixed brass
Servicios Aventuras primers

MV 655.9 FPS (Weak sauce)
151.2 Ft-lbs.
ES 94.7
Max 712.9 FPS
Min 618.2 FPS
SD 27.8

From a Smith & Wesson Model 15-3 Combat Masterpiece with a 4" barrel:

.38 Special
Lee TL158-SWC, 158 grains
4.7 grains of Unique
Mixed brass
Servicios Aventuras primers

MV 842.5 FPS
249.8 Ft-lbs.
ES 162
Max 906.1 FPS
Min 744.1 (WTF?)
SD 47.8

.38 Special
Lee TL158-SWC, 158 grains
4.4 grains BE-86
Mixed brass
Servicios Aventuras primers

821.1 FPS
236.6 Ft.-lbs.
ES 42.8
Max 842.8
Min 800
SD 14

The BP load with Swiss would be decent for defense. This is probably comparable to the original black powder .38 Special round in muzzle velocity, with the same weight bullte. In contrast the Schuetzen load is so slow it performs closer to the weaker .38 Smith & Wesson round.

I crunched the numbers on the Unique load after dropping the low shot. It gave an average muzzle velocity of  853.5 FPS for 256 Ft.-lbs. of energy. Bumped up to 5.0 grains it averages 925.4 FPS and 301.2 Ft.lbs. of energy. That's a very solid woods or defense load.

The load with BE-86 exceeds most standard pressure 158 grain .38 Special loads in performance. Not bad at all. With a couple extra tenths of a grain it could probably exceed 900 FPS and give .38 +P levels of performance.

Wild Bill Hickok vs. Major Frank North Drill

Hat tip to Gary Hughes for bringing this "Wild Bill Hickok vs. Major Frank North" drill to my attention.

From The American Mercury, October 1937:

"Did you ever see Wild Bill Hickok shoot?"

"Many times."

"Was he pretty good?"

"Yes. But Frank was better.

Even Bill said so."

"Just how well could they shoot?"

You put up a letter envelope ten paces away, and if you could keep all six shots in the envelope you were counted good. One of the sbots had to be in the stamp which was pasted on the back of the en-velope, in the center."

"How big were the envelopes?"

"Five inches square. And the stamp an inch square."

Course of fire:

• 10 yards
• Primary hand ONLY
• Six shots
• All must hit within the 5" square
• One must hit the center stamp, 1" square
• No time limit

I shot it today with three of my pistols. I passed easily with the Ruger 50th Anniversary Blackhawk, shooting my .38 Special black powder handloads.

I did not pass this test shooting two of my double action revolvers: my S&W Model 432UC .32 H&R Mag and my S&W Model 15-3 shooting .38 Specials. Shooting double action with only one hand I have a tendency to push the point of impact to the right, which caused shots to lands outside the 5" square. While I can nail these targets shooting two-handed, I need to work on my one-handed double action shooting.

I actually did better with the 432UC J-Frame than the Model 15 K-Frame, but I shot the Model 15 last and had already done a fair amount of shooting by that point. I.e., I was tired.

Give it a try. You may find it more challenging than you think.

Link to the target: https://thetacticalprofessor.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hickok-v-north-stamp.pdf

Edit: Most likely this is the Major Frank North referred to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_North 

Traded Into a Zouave Today

Today I took another trip up to Dixon's and wound up trading my Pedersoli Brown Bess carbine for a Euroarms Remington 1863 Contract Rifle, AKA Zouave. Although about 12,000 of these were made by Remington during the Civil War, it's unlikely that any of them saw service. They are called Zouaves nowadays because somewhere along the line someone thought they were made for Union Zouave units. Regardless of whether they were ever used in service, they are a relatively handy example of a rifle musket.

It goes perfectly with the Zouave flask I just picked up. :)

This one bears a date code of AP, which translates to 1986. The stock shows some dings but the metal is in great shape and the bore is excellent. It's a .58 caliber and was intended to shoot Minie balls on top of 60 grains of powder. Back in the 1970s my father had a Zoli Zouave and got best accuracy with patched round balls. From what I can find, the Euroarms Zouaves have a 1:66 twist so I suspect that it, too will shoot better with a PRB. In any case, I have a couple of suitable ball sizes and some Minies to try.

The front sight appears to be a taller replacement intended for competition use. It'll give me plenty of metal in case I need to file it down to raise the POI.

Something I thought was interesting is that it lists a maximum powder charge on the barrel, but it's in drams. 3-1/2 to be exact. That translates to 95.7 grains, probably more than I'll ever shoot.

The nipple unscrewed easily but the flash hole looks a bit enlarged. I put in an order with Track of the Wolf for 2 spares and few other odds and ends.

The ramrod is made from brass and has male threads on the end. Along with the gun I got a Treso adapter that allows me to use standard 10-32 accessories. Naturally, I found that I already had one when I got home; I'd bought it to use with the Bess I traded in today. Oh well, 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

The stock is one of the blandest pieces of wood I've seen on a gun. I may strip it, stain it darker, and finish it with BLO. I think it has some kind of polyurethane on it now.

Assuming it shoots well it's a definite candidate to use during PA's early muzzleloader antlerless deer season, which allows caplocks. (We have a flintlock-only season after Christmas.) A .562 or .570 patched round ball should be very effective on Pennsylvania whitetail.

Tomorrow I'll be shooting a woods walk and using my plains rifle, so I won't get to shoot this rifle until next week at the earliest.

Saturday Night Range Report

Last night I hit the range with Dad and put some more rounds through the Ruger SR22 along with my CZ P-09.

I put around 75 Remington Golden Bullet hollow points, 100 Golden Bullet solids, and about 60 Federal 550 bulk pack hollow points through the Ruger. The gun didn't have any malfunctions that weren't related to ammo. To wit:

--Four of the Golden Bullets required a second hit to ignite.
--Three of the Federals required second hits.
--One of the Golden Bullet cases split and needed to be pushed out with a cleaning rod.

This batch of Golden Bullets seems especially bad. Previous range trips in which I've shot a couple hundred rounds of it had no more than one misfire per trip.

That's the most problems I've ever experienced in one range session with .22 ammo. When folks point to the unreliability of rimfire ammo as one reason .22s aren't suitable for defense (ballistics aside), this is what they're referring to.

In contrast, I've experienced exactly one misfire with CCI .22 rimfire ammo, among thousands fired.

The Remingtons seemed loaded hotter than the Federals, something I've noticed before. They also spit a lot more -- after virtually every shot I felt unburned powder granules on my face. I won't be using it when teaching my daughter to shoot.

I continue to be pleased with the Ruger SR22. The SA trigger is smoothing out, although the DA pull remains long, heavy, and has a lot of creep.

My round count through the CZ was much lower. I ran one 50-round box of Speer 124 grain Gold Dot JHPs through it as a function check. My dad also put 30 rounds of Fiocchi 9mm 115 grain ball through it. As expected, it worked fine. The pistol has over 500 rounds through it so far without any issues.

Dad brought his S&W Model 67 with some .38 Special 158 grain LSWC handloads and his S&W SW9VE, aka the "Smegma." The SW9VE is an economy gun but gets a bad rap because it isn't as refined as the M&P. Dad's has been trouble free for over 1,000 rounds.

Barnett Recruit Recurve Crossbow

The Barnett Recruit Recurve crossbow that I ordered from Amazon came today. Intended quarry include deer, feral cats, and zombies.

Just kidding about the cats.

I went with a recurve crossbow because I wanted a simpler, more user-serviceable design.

The kit included the bow, 3 hex wrenches, red/green dot sight, quiver, 3 Easton XX75 bolts with 100 grain field points, a spare bolt retaining spring, and a tube of string wax the size of a Chapstick. I also ordered 2 x 5 packs of carbon bolts w/100 grain field tips, along with a rope cocking device (RCD) and extra string wax. The RCD and extra wax were shipped separately and got delayed. (I think they are using USPS for the second package. Grrrrr.)

The draw weight is 150 lbs. with a 12.5" power stroke and I'm just able to cock it without the RCD as long as I wear gloves, so I took 3 shots after I put it together. Point of aim was the bullseye on the deer's chest in the pic below. The trigger isn't bad; Barnett advertises it at 3.5 pounds. The distance to target was ~10 yards. I'll zero the sight after I get the RCD. There's a fair amount of vibration when it's shot so I'm glad that I used blue Loctite on the screws when I assembled it.

"Muzzle" velocity is supposed to be ~245 FPS. The minimum weight bolt you can shoot is 340 grains but Barnett recommends a 400 grain bolt (including the point). The fiberglass prod came strung, which greatly eased assembly. I need to pick up a stringer and a spare string.

The crossbow only weighs about 5 pounds as you see it above, a lot less than the compound xbows I've held. The width is around 27" so it doesn't feel cumbersome. It has studs for QD sling swivels and the LOP is adjustable. It has an "anti dryfire" safety. Unless there's a bolt loaded you cannot disengage the safety. I need to figure out a way to make the safety quieter because it's kind of screechy (metal rubbing on metal).

Barnett recommends that you wax the string serving and flight rails every 5 or 6 shots to reduce wear, and to wax the whole string when white fuzz appears.

My initial impressions of this crossbow are good. We'll really see how it shoots once I get the cocking device and get the chance to wring it out.

Edit 4/22/15 to add:

The package with my extra string wax and rope cocking device arrived this evening and I was able to take a few more shots with the crossbow. The RCD makes a huge difference in cocking the bow. I will probably shorten the RCD a little, to make it a little easier to use with this setup.

One more accessory I'm going to see if I can find is a small stock pack that I can strap to the buttstock. I'd use it to store the RCD, a tube of wax, and hex wrenches on the bow.

Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle

One type of rifle missing from my arsenal has been a centerfire bolt action with a proper southpaw bolt for deer hunting and informal target practice. I have a slew of military surplus bolt actions, but of course the bolt is on the wrong side for me. My club has an annual World War II-themed practical rifle match in which I usually shoot my 1944 Fazakerly No.4 Mk.I, with which I can hold my own against the Garand shooters, but reaching over the top to work the bolt gets tiring after awhile.

Therefore, back on March 5th I ordered a left handed Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle from Bud’s Gun Shop, specifically the stainless model 6821 with an 18.7” barrel. It finally arrived at my FFL yesterday so this morning I played hooky from work to go pick it up, then took it to the range.

To me the Ruger GSR is sorta a 21st Century No.5 Mk.I Jungle Carbine -- a short, full power bolt action rifle with a detachable mag, and a flash hider. Additionally, it has a threaded muzzle to allow you to attach your choice of flash hider, muzzle brake, or suppressor.

I have a No.5 Mk.I (a real one, not a converted No.4) and while the concept was great, the execution was horrible. The stock design is an absolute abomination. I don't know what kind of dope the designers were smoking, but the recoil pad acts as a recoil enhancement pad, because its dimensions are smaller than the wood part of the buttstock. The No.5 handles superbly but recoil is vicious.

The Ruger’s workmanship is good and the checkering on the laminated wood stock is well done. I like the look of the stock and while it won't be quite as rugged and weatherproof as one made of plastic, it'll do for my needs and is much better than a wood stock in that regard.

The rifle came with a single 10 round metal magazine, a thread protector for the muzzle for if you want to remove the factory flash hider, two extra spacers for the stock, a set of Ruger scope rings to fit the receiver's integral bases, and a gun lock. Along with the rifle I'd ordered one each of Ruger's 5 and 10 round polymer mags. Here it is with all three magazines and still wearing the factory rail and rear sight:

In the pic, the rifle is also wearing the M-1907 sling I used on my Garand, when I shot Service Rifle back in the ‘90s.

The bolt is still a bit stiff and will never be as smooth as a Lee-Enfield, but it's nice to have it on the left side. Unusually for a Ruger, the trigger pull out of the box was quite good. I'm guessing it's about 4 pounds with no creep.

Close up of the factory rear sight and rail:

Close up of the right side of the receiver with the XS rail mounted, showing the XS ghost ring BUIS:

The stainless barrel is medium weight with a step, reminiscent of military Mauser barrels. The rifling twist is 1 in 10 inches, and from what I've read in several online reviews it tends to shoot heavier bullets (e.g., 168 to 175 grain) best.

The Gunsite Scout doesn't quite meet Jeff Cooper's criteria for a scout rifle. It's a little overweight and a few inches too long. It's also missing the ability to load using stripper clips, but makes up for that IMHO by using detachable box magazines. Regardless of whether it fits Cooper's definition, the Gunsite Scout is a very handy rifle and I wouldn't want it any lighter. (As an aside, I'm not sold on the scout rifle concept, particularly the intermediate eye relief scope. I found a good critique here.)

Before taking the GSR to the range I brought it home, snugged up all the screws, and ran a couple patches through the bore.

The factory iron sights are very serviceable and the first 10 shots through the gun were with the OEM rear sight in place. However, I'm going to mount a scope in the conventional position over the receiver, so after shooting 10 rounds, I replaced the factory rail and rear sight with an XS Sight Systems rail meant for the GSR. It has a ghost ring peep sight built in, so you don't lose the BUIS functionality of the Ruger rear sight.

I got the sight on the XS rail zeroed at 100 yards and managed to whack a torso-sized gong a few times at 200 yards (all shooting from the bench with my elbows supported. I think one of my friends has my Hoppe's rifle rest).

In total, I put 40 rounds of 7.62 NATO M-80 Ball through the rifle today. With temps in the the upper 30s, 20 to 30 MPH gusts, and a crappy rest, I was doing good to keep them in the 8 ring on an SR-1 target.

Recoil is brisk but nowhere near as bad as a No.5 Jungle Carbine. The Ruger recoil pad is pretty good. I like the ability to change the length of pull by adding or removing spacers. Since I'm short, I removed the spacer installed by the factory. Ruger provides with the rifle an Allen wrench that fits the two screws holding on the recoil pad and spacers.

After trying the three different magazines, I like the 5 round polymer mag best. The 10s stick out too far, especially the metal mag. I'll pick up another 5 rounder. Ruger also sells a 3 round polymer mag that is almost flush-fit. The polymer mags are easier to load than the metal magazine and seem to feed more smoothly.

Here’s the GSR with the 5 round magazine after I installed the XS rail:

It will be getting a scope in quickly detachable rings shortly, and I'll be getting setup to handload .308, especially some reduced loads for less recoil. My father gave me a box of several hundred (at least) .308 150 grain FMJ flat base bullets originally intended for a Garand, but I also plan to try some heavier cast bullet loads.

The scope I’m planning to eventually get is a Burris Fullfield 1-4x TAC-30 in QD mounts. I have on one of my AR-15s and I’m very pleased with it. Light transmission is good, the glass is clear, adjustment clicks are precise, and the reticle is illuminated. The 4x max magnification is plenty for my needs. Plus, it’s $299 on Amazon Prime. (As an aside, why are the only scout scopes with illuminated reticles a $600 Leupold and a cheapy from NcStar? WTF? It’s 2015 fer crissakes.)

Some folks have criticized the GSR as not meeting the strict definition of a Scout Rifle as propounded by Jeff Cooper. For example, it’s a little too long, a little too heavy, and can’t be loaded with stripper clips. However, whether it meets Jeff Cooper’s definition of a scout rifle doesn’t matter for me. In fact, given Cooper’s description of a scout, one may wonder if the whole idea isn’t based on some kind of romantic fantasy of the role of a rifleman.

The likelihood of me emulating Sir Richard Burton or Daniel Boone is minimal. Regardless if the scout as envisioned by Cooper a real thing, the GSR is a compact, easy handling, and powerful rifle suitable for putting lead on target out to reasonable hunting or defense ranges. It would serve well riding in the gun rack of a ranch truck, as a hunting rifle in deep woods, or a patrol rifle for a game warden or wilderness cop.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the Ruger Gunsite Scout after one range trip. Once I get a scope on it I'm looking forward to finding out what loads it likes, and hopefully taking a deer with it this Fall.

Suomi in the Rain

This month’s Practical Rifle match at my club was shot on the 50 yard range so I decided to shoot my TNW M-31SA Suomi. As a pistol caliber carbine, the Suomi is best suited to 100 yards and under.

The course of fire was three magazines of 5 rounds each from behind 5 different barricades. The first barricade was a picket fence. The toughest stage required a very low prone that had me canting the rifle to the left so I could shoot under the barricade. The one stage each strong side and weak side, and finally, one through a window.

The coat is a German surplus Sympatex (similar to Gore-Tex) rain coat, which is about the best deal available in a breathable membrane rain coat. At $30 or less it’s a steal. I bought it several years ago specifically for shooting in matches where I’d be getting muddy. I’ve also used it when camping and hunting. My hat is an old REI Explorer, which is similar to a Tilly Hat. I treated it with Tectron waterproofing spray this week and it kept my head dry in today’s light rain.

To carry my 36 round sticks mags I used a French MAT-49 pouch that I bought from Keepshooting.com.

The targets were IDPA targets with yellow duct tape on them to simulate the spine and brain. Only hits on the tape counted, because they represented zombies. ;)

We had some drizzle early on and then it started a light steady rain towards the end of the match. My groups were good but the gun shoots several inches high at 50 yards so my score was only OK. It was a lot of fun though.

The ammo I used was Brown Bear 9mm 115 grain FMJ. The Suomi eats it like candy. Zero malfs except for when I charged the gun for the first time a live round ejected. I've had that happen with the same magazine previously so it needs some tweaking. I didn't use it for the rest of the match and had no more issues other than that it's awkward to cock left handed, which slowed down my reloads.

I had a friend shoot some video with my iPhone on my final stage.

Reviving an H&R Model 1900 Shotgun, Part 2

Both the metal and wood of the H&R Model 1900 that I bought last weekend were pretty grungy. The metal had a mix of grease, dirt, patina, and rust. The forearm wood had been cleaned but the buttstock was nasty, with a couple splits in the wrist.

I started cleaning up the metal first. I used Kroil, steel wool, and paper towels to clean off the active rust while leaving most of the patina. Here’s the action, showing the patent date stamps above the pivot pin, which had been completely obscured.

(If you right-click on the photos you can then view them full size in another tab.)

The top of the barrel at the breech:

The choke is probably a full choke.

The wood was filthy. I took this pic to show the contrast between uncleaned wood (the wrist) and cleaned wood (the butt).

To clean the wood I used steel wool wet with lacquer thinner, and periodically wiped off the resulting slurry with paper towels. Except for the cracked wrist it’s perfectly sound. I flushed the cracks out with lacquer thinner then let the stock dry in the sun. I then flooded the cracks with superglue.

The only way to know if the glue is enough to prevent further cracking is to shoot it. If not, I’ll wrap it with wire like you see on a lot of old guns.

After the superglue dried I gave the stock three coats of dark walnut tint Watco Danish Oil. It came out pretty nice, IMO.

After cleaning up the barrel I hit it with some Birchwood Casey cold blueing solution. I applied several coats and let it sit for a couple hours. The white scratches that were on the barrel are now gone, and it has an overall brownish patina.

The cleaned and refinished gun looks good now. It doesn’t look new. It looks like a well used, old gun, rather than a neglected, filthy old gun. It should have some life it in yet.

Reviving an H&R Model 1900 Shotgun, Part 1

Last weekend I bought this H&R Model 1900 shotgun from the neighbor of a friend. I paid $60, which considering the gun’s condition, was probably too much. However, the neighbor is a widow selling off some of her late husband’s guns, so I don’t really care in this instance.

It’s a single shot 12 gauge. After getting it home I identified it as a Model 1900, which places the date of manufacture between 1901 and 1915. It was probably made with a 2.5” chamber but I measured it at 2.75”, so it’s likely that it was lengthened by a gunsmith. This was a fairly common operation after 2.75” shells became popular.

The Model 1900 was made with either an extractor or an ejector, and a twist steel or plain steel barrel. This one has a plain steel barrel and extractor. If it had a twist steel barrel I’d relegate it wallhanger status, but this one is mechanically sound so I feel comfortable shooting it with low brass loads or Aguila mini-shells.

In my online research I found this scan of an old catalog:

When this shotgun it came into my possession it was covered in about a century’s worth of rust, dirt, and dried up grease. Also, the barrel looked like someone had taken a Scotchbrite pad to it in an effort to clean it up, but never got around to finishing it. However, it is mechanically sound and locks up tightly.

Unlike other top break single shots I’ve seen, the way you take it down into two pieces is by removing the barrel pivot pin.

Open the action, lift the toggle, rotate it 90 degrees, and then you can pull it out. Now, you can separate the barrel and forearm from the frame.

I put a few shots through it last weekend and the choked barrel throws a pretty decent pattern at 15 yards, centered on your point of aim.

The gun cleaned up OK, which I’ll detail in Part 2.

Which One of these Rifles is an Assault Weapon?

Identify which of these rifles is an assault weapon, according to anti-gunners:

Has to be the second one, right, because it has a pistol grip stock and a “banana clip?”

In fact, both pictures are of the very the same rifle, taken about 10 minutes apart. It’s a Ruger 10/22 Carbine that I bought about 10 years ago. For the second picture I added a Butler Creek folding stock that I got from Amazon (eligible for Amazon Prime, yay!), and a 25 round magazine in place of the 10 round mag the 10/22 normally comes with. It shoots the common-as-dirt .22 Long Rifle cartridge.

Ruger has been making the 10/22 since 1964. Over five million have been made since then, making it one of the most popular sporting rifles in history. It’s well suited to informal target shooting and small game hunting. The majority of them were sold to American shooters, and since they basically don’t wear out, the vast majority of those remain in circulation. (Or “on the streets,” if you are a gun banner.)

The bullets fired by the rifle as configured in the second picture are no more deadly than those in pic #1. The only functional differences between the rifle as shown in both pics is that with the folder it can be stored in a smaller space, and you can fire 2.5 times as many cartridges without reloading. Reloading takes only a couple of seconds even with the 10 round mags, so while gun banners like to make hay over “high capacity” magazines, against defenseless targets like schoolkids confined in a “gun free” zone, the difference is virtually nonexistent.

Likewise, millions of 25+ round magazines have been sold by Butler Creek, Eagle, MWG and other third party manufacturers since at least the 1980s. Ruger got on the 25 round mag bandwagon a few years ago, and that’s what is shown in pic #2.

The only tool I needed to change the sporting carbine in the first pic to the deadly assault rifle in the second picture was a screwdriver.

The point of this post is that “assault weapons” as defined by gun banners are not functionally different from “sporting” rifles as manufactured and sold in the millions for about a century. Artificial definitions of banned or permissible arms created by people with little to no firearms knowledge don’t make us safer.  Tackling the root causes of crime, whether they be mental illness or outright evil is harder but is key in actually making us safer. So is allowing potential victims the right to fight back.

Ruger LCP .380 Pistol

In a few of my recent posts I have discussed why it is important for Americans (especially Jews) to keep and bear arms. I also posted a link to a thread on Arfcom, "Street Robberies and You." Last week I picked up a new pistol which will help me follow my own advice, a Ruger LCP.

Ruger's LCP (Light Carry Pistol) is one of several recent micro-sized semiauto pistol designs to reach the market. It's in many ways a copy of the Kel-Tec P3AT. The Taurus TCP, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380, and Diamondback DB380 are all in the same class. The specs for the Ruger are:

• Caliber: .380 ACP
• Capacity: 6 in the magazine plus 1 in the chamber
• Length: 5.16"
• Width: 0.82"
• Height: 3.6"
• Weight: 9.4 oz for the standard model, 9.9 oz for the model with a LaserMax LASER* sight.
• Sights: Fixed, machined integral with the slide.
• Finish: Blued

I bought the LCP-LM, which is the one with the LaserMax sight.  MSRP is $443 but I was able to get it for $399 including tax. Here’s a quick picture of my pistol:

The LCP comes in a cardboard box with one magazine, an extended magazine floorplate, a gun lock, pistol rug, fired case, LaserMax flyer and adjustment wrench, and an owner's manual.

As can be seen in this picture, the Ruger is tiny. The silver object is a standard Zippo lighter which I included for scale. I have small hands and can get only two fingers on the grip. I installed the extended floorplate even before I took the gun to the range, because at under 10 oz. unloaded I want the extra purchase that it provides. Even so, I can get only two fingers onto the grip.

I went with the LASER for a couple reasons. First, even though this is a belly gun the need to use aimed fire could arise. The LCP's sights are tiny and won't be very visible in poor lighting. Second, statistically, most defensive gun usages are resolved without shots fired. Once a bad guy knows his intended victim is ready to resist with a gun, he usually finds that he needs to be elsewhere post-haste. The LASER can enhance the deterrent effect of a gun, and if shots do need to be fired, will help in putting them on target.

The placement of the LASER's ambidextrous switch works very well for me. When holding the gun with my index finger off the trigger, indexed on the frame, the tip is right on the switch. I can immediately press it to turn on the LASER, without shifting my firing grip.

I do wish Ruger included a second magazine with the gun. A leading cause of malfunctions with semiauto pistols is defective or dirty magazines. So, the same night I brought the LCP home I ordered another mag with the extended floorplate from MidwayUSA, along with a couple of boxes of CCI Blazer .380 ACP Full Metal Jacket ammunition.

A word about defensive ammo choice for the LCP: The .380 ACP cartridge is on the low end of acceptable defensive cartridges. Bullets are generally light and if hollow points are used, you may not get enough penetration to reach an assailant's vitals and incapacitate him. So, I plan to carry it with FMJ ammo, which will reliably penetrate at least 12" in ballistic gelatin.

Many folks will just chuck a gun like the LCP in their pocket and go on their way. Although I'm currently packing the Ruger that way, I've ordered a DeSantis Superfly pocket holster to keep the gun consistently oriented, and to keep the LASER from being switched on accidentally. If you choose to pocket carry without a holster, be sure to not put anything else in the same pocket as the gun. You don't want anything getting into the trigger guard that might cause the gun to discharge, or prevent you from firing it, e.g., something getting lodged behind the trigger.

Yesterday I took the Ruger to the range and put a box of Federal American Eagle .380 ACP FMJ through it. I had one failure to go into battery in the first magazine but after that it ran perfectly. Putting only 50 rounds through a semiauto gun to "prove" it is generally deemed to be insufficient, but the light weight of these micro-.380s comes with a price: brutal recoil. You don't shoot one of these for fun, unless you're a masochist. Not only does it whack your hand, there's some trigger slap and sometimes the recoil drives the inside of the bottom of the triggerguard into your finger.

Anyway, using the the minimalist iron sights the Ruger LCP is surprisingly accurate. It will pretty easily hold the center ring of an IDPA target at 15 yards until your hand starts getting beat up. I turned on the LASER and was able to see it on the white target from 15 yards, but in this outing didn't shoot with it on.

Up until fairly recently, if you wanted a posket pistol this size you were limited to guns chambered for .22 Short, .22 Long Rifle, or .25 ACP. With the advent of the micro-.380s starting with Kel-Tec's P3AT you can now get a similarly sized pistol that chambers are much more effective cartridge. This makes it easier for more Americans to be armed for self-defense, which is a win in my book.

 

* I capitalize "LASER" because properly, it is an acronym meaning Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

Street Robberies and You

Over on Survival and Emergency Preparedness I've posted about a current thread on Arfcom, "Street Robberies and You - The Basics." This thread started out by "BurnedOutLEO" is one of the very best essays I've read on dealing with violent criminals.

Go read it.

LRGC 5th Annual Kalashnikov Match

This morning I participated in Langhorne Rod & Gun Club's 5th Annual Kalashnikov match. The match is open to shooters with "capitalist rifles" ;) but is meant primarily for AK shooters. For example, due to the AK's stock sights, most targets are kept to 100 yards to less, although we did shoot at torso-sized steel plates from 200 yards from behind a barricade.

I shot my Century Arms Vz-2008 (Vz-58 clone) which for the purposes of the match was classed with the AKs. I came in 2nd overall in points, and won the final stage, which is shooting at a piece of wood lath at 25 yards, with the goal of cutting it in half. As winner of that bonus stage, I won $30, which covered my match fee, gas, and tolls, with some money to spare.

I bought the Vz-2008 a few years ago. The first time I took it to the range I had nothing but problems. It seems that when it Century's subcontractors parkerized it the finish was too thick, so I got constant jams and stuck cases. I took the rifle home, degreased it and put Flitz on the bearing surfaces, then worked the action about 50 - 100 times to polish the insides. The next time out it had some malfunctions, but once I got approximately to the 200 round mark it started functioning well. I've put about 600 rounds through it since then with no malfunctions at all.

My Vz-2008 is basically stock. I did wrap the metal folding stock with paracord to protect my cheek, since it has the cross section of an I-beam, and put a Russian-style recoil pad on the butt to increase the very short LOP. I also replaced the incorrect and basically useless AK-style slant muzzle brake Century installed with a Czech military-style muzzle brake from CNC Warrior. The Czech-style brake is noisy but very effective at taming muzzle flip. The rifle has a milled receiver but weighs about as much as an AK with a stamped receiver (~6.4 pounds) empty. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on the Vz-58 here.

AIUI, semiauto Vz-58s have become pretty popular up in Canada since they are less restricted than AKs.

As one of the top two shooters I got an invite to LRGC's annual invitational practical rifle match in April.

All in all, a pretty nice Saturday.

After Rethinking Gun Control, Next Steps

In my last post I discussed Jared Silverman’s article, Rethinking Gun Control. I wanted to follow up on that with some recommendations on what a new Jewish American gun owner might want to buy after getting some training.

In my opinion, the most versatile gun that one can own for defense is a handgun, for the simple reason that it can pull double duty as both a home defense weapon and one that can be kept with you when you’re out and about. A gun is like a fire extinguisher, it’s only useful if you have one available (and know how to use it, of course).

Luckily for the modern American gun owner there is a wide choice of handguns available for self defense. For new shooters, I recommend buying one with the following characteristics:

1. Semiautomatic
2. Firing the 9mm Luger/Parabellum/NATO cartridge
3. Made of stainless steel or have a good rust-resistant finish

Semiautomatic pistols are those which fire one bullet per pull of the trigger and which are fed from a detachable magazine which holds the ammunition (with the exception of some antique designs we won’t consider here). Common examples of modern semiautomatic pistols are the Glock 17 and 19, Springfield Armory XD-9, and the Smth & Wesson Military & Police 9. All of these have plastic frames with metal parts made of either stainless steel or finished with an anti-corrosion treatment.

I’m recommending a semiauto as opposed to a revolver because they are easier for new shooters to fire accurately, plus they hold more ammunition, which would be important if dealing with a group of assailants. They are also easier to maintain, and modern designs handle abuse and neglect better than revolvers.

I recommend choosing a pistol which fires 9mm ammunition because the 9mm is widely available, affordable, effective, and does not recoil very much, so it’s easier for new shooters to become proficient with.

The stainless or rust-resistant finish is important because it reduces (but does not eliminate!) the amount of maintenance the owner must perform.

Don’t rush into buying a self defense pistol. It’s an investment of several hundred dollars, so if at all possible, try to handle a variety of guns and see which one feels most comfortable in your hands. If possible, go to a range where you can rent and shoot them to see which one you like best.

For example, the pistols I mentioned above are all high quality, reliable designs. However, I’ve found that Glock don’t fit my hand well (which is a shame because they are extremely reliable and relatively inexpensive). When I decided I wanted a modern, polymer-framed semiauto pistol I shot my father’s Smith & Wesson M&P-9, and then handled one side by side with a Springfield XD-9, an example of which I’d fired before. After handling the S&W and the Springfield next to each other I decided to buy the Springfield because it felt just a little bit better in my hands. I’ve been very pleased with it.

After you’ve chosen what gun to buy, then you should lay in a good supply of ammo and get training. Over on The High Road, we use the expression “BA/UU/R,” which stands for Buy Ammo, Use Up, Repeat.

Part of the training you need to take is making yourself familiar with the laws in your jurisdiction regarding the use of deadly force.

LRGC Third Annual Red, White and Blue December

Yesterday I participated in the 3rd annual Red, White and Blue December match at Langhorne Rod & Gun Club.  This is the annual Kalashnikov match run by LRGC.

This year was a bit different from the prior two events.  First, participation was limited to 33 pre-registered shooters, run in three strings.  Second, there was no pistol component, it was rifle-only.  Finally, each shooter ran the course individually, rather than having everyone shoot at the same time.  The match director described the event ahead of time as, "Reflections on a gentle Summertime in Grozny."

Due to really foul weather* and a half flooded range, the planned course of fire had to be changed up a bit.  Anyway, it was as follows:

1. Four steel targets from 200 yards, maximum of 15 shots.  Each steel target was about 2/3 the size of a human torso.
2. Advance to a plywood cutout of a car, neutralize two IDPA targets from urban prone under the car.
3. Advance to another car and neutralize 3 IDPA targets while avoiding a no-shoot target.
4. Advance to a Bianchi Barrier (basically a big rectangle barricade), hit two steel, and neutralize 3 IDPA targets.  Avoid a no-shoot.
5. Advance to barrel and neutralize 3 IDPA targets while avoiding a no-shoot.
6. Advance to a car, neutralize 3 IDPA targets and hit two steel.
7. Hit two small swinging targets about the size of a cantaloupe while advancing.

When advancing from one stage to the next the rifle had to be placed on safe.  At the end of the course it was cleared and placed down while range officers scored targets.

The temperature was in the 40s and it rained all day.  Also, we'd gotten about a foot of snow about a week ago so everything was soaked.  To stay dry I wore my Mountain Hardware Exposure parka, a ball cap, a pair of German surplus rain pants, and Merril Waterproof boots.  I also had a pair of Mechanix work gloves which became soaked rather quickly.

All my foul weather gear performed exceptionally. Except for my hands I'd remained totally dry and warm until I had to advance to position #4, when I found myself in a foot-deep mixture of water and slush.  At that point my nice waterproof boots became buckets.  The second half of the course (stages 4 through 7) was covered in from 8" to 12" of this slop.

The steel targets took one hit apiece to neutralize, while the cardboard IDPA targets.  These required two kill zone hits to neutralize, so I put at least 3 shots into each.  The final targets in stage 7 required one hit apiece to neutralize.

By the time I got to stage #7 my rifle was shaking all over the place so hitting targets the size of melons was not easy, even though the range was about 10 yards.  I really need to get into better shape.

I shot my Century Arms M70AB2T Yugoslavian underfolder AK, fed with Combloc steel mags and one Tapco plastic mag (which came with the rifle).  Ammo was from an older lot of Wolf Military Classic 7.62x39 with lacquered cases.  In the 292 seconds it took me to run the course I went through almost 3 full mags.  The rifle ran like a champ.  It's very smooth shooting and the extra pound or so compared with Romanian stamped AKs helps to reduce recoil and muzzle flip.  I've only had the Yugo for a couple months but it's become one of my favorite rifles.

Shooting a rifle while on the move, in poor conditions, and against the clock is a lot different than on a nice sunny day on a square range.  As you move and your heart races it's harder to keep your rounds on target.  There were also a couple times when I had to wait a fraction of a second for my sight picture to clear from the smoke from oil burning off or steam from the water hitting my rifle.  Unconventional shooting positions like urban prone (where you're laying down and the rifle is almost on its side) are not conducive to the most accurate shooting, either.

Likewise, when your gear is not merely wet but soaked it's harder to run.  Thankfully, the plastic Century furniture provided a secure grip even when wet.  Being a Russian designed rifle, the AK was designed for use in crappy weather when you're wearing gloves, with a nice big selector and charging handle.

To carry my magazines I used a Hungarian surplus AK mag pouch.  I'd prepared my magazines ahead of time with paracord loops to aide me in pulling them out.  I'd also tied a Maxpedition Rolly Polly dump pouch to the strap of the mag pouch but it flopped around too much and I wound up dropping the mags, which is OK in competion but not so good if you're in a fight.  Next time I'll work out something better.  (I'd planned to have it on a belt but said belt wouldn't fit around me while I was wearing a fleece jacket and waterproof shell.  I forgot to check this out ahead of time.)

I wound up finishing in the middle of the pack.  I had problems hitting the steel from 200 yards do to never having fired this rifle at that distance before.  After using up about 10 rounds of the maximum 15 for that stage, I decided to just take the time penalty for the misses and move to stage #2.

All in all, it was another kick-ass event at LRGC and more good hands-on time with my rifle.


*The LRGC Practical Rifle crew holds their events no matter how bad the weather is, unless the conditions are actually hazardous.  E.g., lightning.

Adapt and Improvise

When law abiding people are subjected to oppressive gun laws which make it difficult to obtain weapons, accessories, and ammo, they improvise.  Over at the Firearm Blog there are a couple of posts describing how a gun enthusiast in Nigeria is making the best of a bad situation.

According to the first post, Nigeria's gun control laws are very strict and civilians are pretty much limited to shotguns.  Unfortunately, Emmanuel was only able to obtain a Turkish made shotgun with a pistol grip stock, sans butt stock.  Pistol grip only (AKA "PGO") shotguns have very limited use.  Compared with a shotgun having a conventional stock, a PGO shotgun is much harder to shoot well.  Improvising with a piece of steel rod and a walking stick, Emmanuel made a butt stock so that he can more effectively use his shotgun.

In the second post, Emmanuel recounts how the only ammunition available is birdshot.  Birdshot is fine for birds and small game but a poor choice for self defense.  It doesn't offer enough penetration to reliably reach vital organs and stop a determined aggressor.

Once again, Emmauel improvised.  Using a metal plate, a nut and a bolt, to make a mold, he extracts the birdshot from shells, melts them, and casts his own slugs.

Go check out the links, they are worth your time.

Back to the Old Grind and a Range Report

Back to the old grind.  Yesterday was my first day of work since December 23rd, and it was hard getting up at 0610.  I'm not complaining, since I'm grateful to have a job in this economy.

Since my last post about the LRGC Kalashnikov Match (at which I did lousy because my rifle's sights were off), I spent time with the family, made it to the range a couple of times, and picked up a new toy.

The new toy is a Century Arms VZ-2008 Sporter, a semiauto clone of the Czechoslovakian assault VZ-58 rifle.  It bears a superficial resemblance to the AK, but there are no interchangeable parts.  Aside from having some technical difficulties with it when I brought it to the range Sunday, I'm going to hold off on posting about it, since I've pitched an article on it to a gun magazine.

My goal on the first range trip was to break in a new-to-me SAR-1 which I got from my dad.  The last time he'd shot it he experienced several malfunctions due to the fire control group (hammer, trigger, and disconnector).  He ordered a Tapco G2 FCG to replace the factory parts, but had never gotten around to installing it.  He also ordered an "L" shaped trigger and hammer pin retaining spring, which I used in lieu of the factory Shepherd's Hook.  The "L" spring is a lot easier to remove and install.

Tapco makes some good stuff and some bad.  The G2 FCG is one of their good products, this was third one I've installed in an AK.  It provides a light trigger pull with minimal creep, and little to no trigger slap.  (Trigger slap is when the action resets, pushing the trigger back forward, slapping your finger in the process.  This can be painful, especially in cold weather.  It's common on AKs.)

I ran a couple hundred rounds through the SAR-1 without any problems.  I needed to do some minor sight adjustments to zero the iron sights.  With the Wolf Military Classic FMJ ammo I was shooting, I was able to keep most shots within the black of an SR-1 target at 100 yards when shooting from a solid rest.  This is about as good as I can do with an AK and open sights.

After getting the SAR-1, I ordered a set of K-Var plastic handguards with a heat shield, and a Polish Tantal folding stock.  The wood furniture which came with the rifle looks good but the handguard heats up quickly in rapid fire.  I want a folding stock for storage and transport.  Unfortunately, I received the handguards but not the folding stock, because the merchant's online inventory wasn't updated before I put in my order, and by the time I did so it was out of stock.  so for now I have mismatched furniture on the gun.  So yesterday I ordered an East German folder from WhatACountry.com.  Once I get that squared away the next thing I want to do is get the muzzle threaded and install either a muzzle brake or flash hider.

Something else I acquired over vacation was a three pack of Finnish Valmet M62 magazines, which fit other AKs in 7.62x39.  They all fit fine in my SAR-1 but a couple are snug in my MAK-90.  I ran about 300 rounds through them with no problems, and posted a report on a couple of boards.  One reply from a Finn indicated that the OD mags, such as those I received, were for trials and can bulge when left loaded.  Graphite colored M62 mags are good to go, however.  In any event they seem to be good range mags and a neat collectible.

Red, White & Blue December at LRGC

Another great practical rifle match at Langhorne Rod & Gun Club today.  The theme today was Kalashnikovs.  Most participants shot one AK variant or another.  I saw a couple Bulgarian Arsenal AKs (including mine), several Yugos (fixed stocks, folders and RPKs), a Norinco underfolder, a custom AK-105 clone, and a Saiga converted into an AK-104 clone, and some Romanian rifles.  There were also a few AR-15s and one Chicom SKS which took AK magazines.  There were a few shooters in the "war horse" class, with Garands, an SVT-40, and one Swiss K-31 Schmidt-Rubin.

The course of fire included:

1. From about 10 yards, 20 rounds in two double taps.  Then 3 magazines of 3, followed by a transition to pistol with 10 rounds.
2. From 200 yards, 3 magazines of 10 from prone.
3. From 100 yards, 3 magazines of 10 from standing, kneeling, and prone.
4. From 100 yards, one mag with 30 rounds to get 9 hits on 3 steel targets.

Part of the crowd:



The firing line:




Some of the hardware:



As always, the crew at Langhorne put on a fun, safe shoot.

Edit:  I forgot to mention that I met Sebastian of Snowflakes In Hell.  He's posted his impressions of the event here, with some pics, including a couple of yours truly.

ZOMG!

How I spent last Saturday:



I put up some of my own pics here , and a couple of crappy low-resolution videos taken with my Blackberry here .

Langhorne Rod and Gun Club put on yet another fun and safe shoot.

Weekend Update

Saturday morning I went over to my MIL's condo to work on her old XP PC.  I built it for her a few years ago using one of the PCs Wal-Mart was selling w/o an OS.  I give it a tuneup about once a year and generally it's been OK for her light use.  However, recently it became unusable.

The box has a 900 MHz Duron CPU and 256 MB of RAM.  Not bad for when I built it but obviously considered slow by current standards.  Anyway, I saw that she'd let Windows Update install IE7.  Even though she uses Firefox, just having IE7 on it caused the machine to slow to a crawl.  I uninstalled it, cleaned up the registry and got rid of a lot of junk with Crap Cleaner, and got it to the point where it's usable.

The other problem she'll have soon is lack of disk space.  The box has a 10 GB drive with only a couple gig free.

At this point I don't feel that it's cost effective to sink any money into the PC.  I'm considering getting her a cheap laptop, possible a refurbished Dell Latitude from somewhere like eCost.com, and moving her over to that.  One nice thing about a laptop would be that instead of me having to schelp to her condo if it needs attention, she can bring it to me.  We'll see.

Yesterday I was able to get out to the range for a couple of hours.  I ran about 80 rounds of .45 ACP through my Springfield M1911 without a bobble.  I'm confident now that the functioning issues I had a little while ago were magazine-induced.  The last time I had the gun out I identified the bad mag and junked it.  I currently have one 7 round Springfield factory mag, four Chip McCormick 8 round Shooting Star mags, and two 10 round CMC Power-Mags.  (I generally use the latter in my Marlin Camp Carbine because I don't like how the pistol feels with the extra-capacity magazine.)  I need to pick up some more of the 8 round Shooting Stars.

After using up all my .45 ACP I went to the 75 yard range and put about 40 rounds through my 1944 Fazakerly No.4 Mk.I Lee-Enfield.  I bought this rifle back around 1985 or '86 and shot it quite a bit through the early '90s.  I haven't shot it much lately and decided it would be fun to give it a workout.  Watching some videos of Lee-Enfield rapid fire on Youtube whetted my appetite.  E.g., this one .

The .303 I show was a mix of my last 3 rounds of HXP Greek surplus, some Sellier & Bellot, and some 1981 Winchester.  It wasn't a problem to keep all my shots inside the black of an SR-1 target from 75 yards, from the bench, shooting pretty rapidly.  I was able to hold the 10 ring if I shot slow fire.  I used to be able to keep them all in the black from 100 yards offhand, slow fire, but I'm out of practice.  Need to fix that.