The State of New York is going to pass the Micro Stamping requirement. They do not believe you would actually move out over handguns stamping as they are a smaller portion of your business.
Well, here is the thing… your customers are not going to want stamped guns. Its bullshit science, easily removed or worn off, its a useless requirement. But is going to do this regardless. NY thinks you guys are blustering.
The stigma of rolling over and doing the stamps is going to hurt you worse than just pistol sales. I sell a lot of rifles, tons of Remingtons. I can easily see the customer base turn against you, even here where you are hugely popular.
Look at S&W and the Department of Urban Housing Agreement. S&W almost didn’t survive that, and they are still suffering from it today.
You guys need to move to a state where you would be cherished, appreciated for who you are.
Come to Utah.
A state that has one the highest guns per capita than anywhere else. Not only come to Utah… but come out to Vernal, Utah. We have the highest per capita in the State.
Just saying…. why live where you are not wanted? Live where you would be loved!
Besides… Utah was built by people leaving New York. Its like a tradition.
Category Archives: Weapons
The Caracal
It’s kind of like a cross between a Walther P99 and a Steyr M series. But the Caracal is better than both. I like it. A lot. I loved shooting it at the MAG-40 class, as Zak from Lone Wolf was kind enough to let me shoot it.
I’ve been thinking about thinking about the Caracal a lot since then. I want one.
1911 failures
Three 1911’s in class. All three are having problems on the third day.
Rob Pincus was right.
The One Rifle.
On YouTube I watched a video by a fellow named James Yeager about how there is no such thing as One Rifle for everything. He calls it a myth.
I call Bullshit on that.
History is full of instances where a man has just one rifle and did everything with it, just fine. Survived to tell the tale. James Yeager is free to express his own opinions, but he is not free to his own Facts. US History, be it Frontier History, Western Expansion, Wild West, Military History… what ever kind of history you want to call it. Only in our Modern Email Era do we enjoy having more than one rifle for different purposes.
In this Modern Era, the late Colonel Jeff Cooper considered a One Rifle concept and called it the “Scout”. His Scout Rifle Concept is a proven winner. Steyr manufactured their Scout with Jeff’s blessing and assistance. And it pretty much did what was promised. Now Ruger and Savage are making Factory Scout Rifles with pretty good success.
Any one of these would make for a fine “One Rifle” solution.
Historically, the One Rifle has been a Winchester Lever Action in .30-30, .32 Special or the like. Today a good solid and smooth cycling Lever Action is truly a thing of joy. There are few things you can’t do with a .30-30. I’ve even killed an Elk with one at 200 yards, and I’m sure I’m not the only person in history to have done so.
Today’s Rifleman though is packing an AR. The Black Rifle has gone mainstream… and for many new shooters, the AR is The One. The AR-15 might be kind of light for a One Rifle, but an AR-10 type rifle gives you some considerable advantages in terminal performance on big game.
After some consideration, I’m thinking a new One Rifle is more than doable. Let’s do that AR platform in .308. Let’s hit it with a light weight, 16″ True Polygonal Rifled Barrel, and let’s give it some lightweight furniture with an adjustable stock. Simple, Clean, and effective in most any situation. Give it an adjustable 1-4 power optic. Give it a tough finish, resistant to abrasion and corrosion.
Contact CrusaderWeaponry.com to order you a Crusader One Rifle.
The SIG ACP
SIG sent me one of their ACP units. This Video gives some of my impressions. On YouTube there was one comment worth note.
“For that weight you could get a Kel-Tec Sub 2000…and WAY MORE ACCURACY AND VELOCITY.”
Probably one of the most astute observations ever made on YouTube. He has a good point. However the ACP remains much more compact. The SUB2000 is about the same size when folded, and that makes it easy to pack around, but then when deployed, it’s pretty much as long as a standard carbine. The ACP remains the same size packing and engaging. It also uses a gun that you are familiar with… one of your own pistols… With a Trigger Pull that is far superior to the KT’s. And as far as I know, you can’t get the SUB 2000 in .357 SIG, 10mm, .45 Auto, .400 Corbon, .45 Super, .460 Roland… or any of the myriad of other cartridges you can rock and roll with in the ACP.
When I brought the ACP to work, the general consensus was that while it is “Cool” it’s actual usefulness remains limited… because it doesn’t have a Shoulder Stock. Now, you can jump through the hoops and get your Class III Approval and get a Shoulder Stock for your SIG ACP… Then you have an actual Pistol Caliber SBR… Fullfilling the promise of SIG’s name the “Adaptive Carbine Platform”. With out it… Shooting from the Sling is helpful and does stabilize the shot, it’s no where nearly as solid as a simple shoulder stock.
Also, for you Gaming Nerds out there, we’ve come up with a D20 Rule for you guys. For every 2 Inches of Rails your gun has, you get a +1 to your Hit and Damage. So the SIG ACP will give you about a +5 to your basic gun. IRL, the ACP is just making your gun bigger, more uncomfortable, heavier, and less convenient to carry because I’ve yet to see anyone make a Holster for this beast.
Like I said before, in the video… The SIG ACP does has it’s applications. I also mentioned that it would be cool for riding a Motorcycle. I’ve proved that theory TRUE. I rode into town on my ZX-11 (Knees doing slightly better and I’m on some really good painkillers) with the SIG ACP, as shown, slung. Packing a Handgun, I would have to either open my jacket to get to the Shoulder Rig or get up under my jacket to get to a pistol in a Belt Holster. The ACP, slung at the side allows for rather easy engagement as all I had to do was reach down, grab it, and bring it up to target. Not that I actually tried aiming it while on a moving motorcycle… I don’t live THAT far out in the boonies. In the video I mentioned my KTM and rolling the ACP up in the mountains. Uh… that would be a poor choice. The ACP bouncing around banging it’s sharp edges on you. Not fun.
Overall, I like it and it has it’s place, but I am going to send this thing back to SIG.
Packing the M9
Last weekend I ended up with my friend Mike Kupari’s old Beretta 92FS. This is the same gun that the US Army just bought another 100,000 of. I’ve been packing it since I got it, which is about the same time Beretta made the announcement.
The Beretta is a huge pistol for 9mm. The grip frame is massive and the magazine capacity is less than it should be for a gun of this size. Only 15 rounds when other guns with smaller grips are able to pack in 18 or so. But this isn’t a big deal to me. The gun has a lot of character. It’s easy to shoot well with. And it’s not too heavy. It carries well enough in the good Pancake style holster I have for it. But it can print thanks to the Beretta’s slide mounted safety.
Overall, I really like it. I do prefer packing a full sized handgun, or a Mid Size, compared to the popular Sub-Compact options.
100,000 More Beretta M9’s for the Army
Beretta has announced that the US Army is set for the M9 for another 5 years and has ordered another hundred thousand M9 handguns.
So there you go… No new Army handgun for some time to come. Sorry guys.
Of course, the M9 isn’t all that bad, when running off of good Beretta made magazines. It’s full sized frame makes it controllable, confidence inspiring, and it’s both accurate and reliable… again, when running off factory mags and not after market. Of course, my problem isn’t the gun, but the chosen caliber. Maybe we can get an upgrade kit and make them all .40’s at least? No? Oh well. The 9mm has done a good job with what it’s had to deal with. The problem though is that the US Military has to use FMJ ammunition, where as we can run good JHP’s if we like. If the Military could use some good old Hollow Points, then I think the complaints about stopping power would diminish greatly.
If not HP’s, then how about EFMJ’s? Expanding Full Metal Jackets. They look like regular Ball ammo but expand on impact.
Trunk Monkeys
I’m concerned about Trunk Monkeys right now. The term comes from the funny videos on YouTube, just go there and look it up. It’s amusing. But what’s not so funny is the job of Rear Security and the guys that have to pull this slot. They are called “Trunk Monkeys”. This is not an easy job to pull if you get tasked for it. Reason being, you get told to be the Trunk Monkey, you jump into the back on an SUV and it’s pretty much up to you to make the best of it.
You can see these Trunk Monkeys are in the back with gear, tools, an unsecured spare tire… No safety, no protection. These Trunk Monkeys are hanging it out on the line more than anyone else in the detail.
This is one of the most famous Trunk Monkey photos out there, as this one is US Secret Service. I’m not giving anything away as this one has been out there for years now.
Now, of the Trunk Monkey is lucky, he’ll at least have a seat or something. But again, very little protection for the Agent in the back.
This guy has a seat and a weapon mount to help him do his job better. Maybe a seatbelt, and some upgraded body armor…. but again, the protection is minimum his movement in the vehicle is minimum. The fronts of the vehicles are protected with bullet resistant glass. The backs? Not so much, and especially not if the rear window is opened.
I’d like to see an armor plate on that weapon mount. Something to help deflect some incoming fire.. I’d like to see a swiveling seat on a slider so the Trunk Monkey and can move side to side to better engage and avoid threats.
SIG’s Latest
I’m thinking George Lucas must have joined SIG’s board of directors. Check this out.
That my friends, is a SIG P228. I used to have one. I liked it. So did other guys. But not enough to keep SIG making it. SIG discontinued it for many years. Then they brought it back, briefly, with the addition of a rail. Then they discontinued it again.
Now they are bringing it back with the Military Designation M11-A1. To the Milspec Guys, the A1 designation means it’s all revamped to the newest standards. And now some gun dudes (Not THE Gun Dudes) are getting all mushy about it. “It’s a completely different pistol!” They say. Oh for the love… No, it isn’t. It’s a bloody P228! If I take my wife’s Ford Explorer, scoot the seat back, and spray A1 on the back with Krylon, this doesn’t make it a completely different vehicle, it’s still a Ford Explorer. And this M11A1 is still a P228… The same gun everyone ignored for the last 20 years. But now all the sudden because it’s being sold under it’s Military Designation, it’s somehow better. It’s just a 228. And that’s a good thing. The P228 is one my favorite handguns… It handles better than a 229, lighter too. It’s a great gun. But the way some guys are jizzing their pants about this is just crazy. Where were you guys 20 years ago when SIG dropped the 228? Because the M-11 has been around since 1989, used by the Military since then… and SIG still had to discontinue it because you guys were not buying it.
Hey SIG, just go ahead and Drop the “P” Designation of your pistols and make it “M”.
Enough Politics, Let’s talk Guns!
As mentioned before, I had a little range time this morning. All the Gun Counter Guys met at the range at the Crack of Dawn. Sunrise just coming up, it was a beautiful day at the Buckskin Hills Range. We did a little shooting with the Springfield Armory Rep.
Shot an XDM, the XDS, the MC Operator, and the EMP 9mm… I had little interest in the other pistols. The XDM’s are what they are, just fine pistols and I like them for what they are but they are just not for me. The M I tried is a variant with a fiber optic front sight and an open topped slide. It shot very well, as I expected, just like all the other M’s. And regular XD’s I’ve owned. No failures. The accuracy was very good.
The XDS, Springfield’s new subcompact, single stack .45, is an interesting pistol. It also shot very well, was accurate and while snappy, was controllable. It is a great little defensive tool. I wanted to like it, but I just didn’t. Here’s why – and why I’m not hot on all of the XDM’s… it’s the Texture. They feel slippery in my hand. I could probably buy an M, the 3.8 Compact, as that remains my favorite of the group… but I would have to rework the grip. So I guess my hangup is one that is rather easily fixed. If you have an M, you certainly have a fine sidearm. If you are looking for a pistol, absolutely take a look at the XDM’s. The S, isn’t for everyone. It’s for guys that want that subcompact .45… but don’t trust a Sub-Compact 1911. It’s one of the very few sub-compact .45’s that I would have any confidence in. I’d have to work the grip of course, but as good as it shoots, it’s certainly a good for it’s intended purpose of CCW.
Here’s one that surprised me though… the EMP 9mm. I shot one before, in .40 and I was “Meh” about it. But the 9mm version is somehow different. It blew me away. It shot exceptionally well. Very accurate. It did give me one tiny hang up… a failure to go into battery. A quick smack on the back of the slide did the job and the gun fired and cycled just fine and it never gave me a hang up after that. What this gun needed was to be cleaned and oiled. It was bone dry and filthy from the Basin Sports Factory Range Day last week. Some Slipstream Styx would make it run like a sewing machine. The recoil was… not even there. Impressive little gun, and a great CCW option.
My favorite Springfield handgun though… the one I kept coming back to… The 1911 MC Operator. As you guys know, I’ve said that the top Production 1911’s are SIG’s, Springfields, and Dan Wessons. I would put STI in there as well, but those are more Semi-Custom like Wilson, Nighthawk, and Les Baer. And I admit I need to get to know STI better, I’ve only fired a grand total of 3 STI pistols, and each one was a custom gun from them, Larry Correia’s Cheater Heater, and two full blown race guns. Wait. Where was I? Ah… the MC Operator. I hate to say this… but I liked it better than my TRP. Yeah, I said that. The TRP is Springfield’s Flagship Badass 1911. But I just like the MC Operator more. It feels better in the hand since it doesn’t have the aggressive “Wood Chipper” checkering for one thing. It’s also just a more humble, Get it Done and Let’s Go Home vibe to it. Reliability was great… not a single hiccup of any sort. Accuracy was the best out of all the handguns… Let me clarify that. My ability to be accurate with this pistol far surpassed the other handguns I fired today. The EMP was accurate, but I had to concentrate more with it. With the MC Operator, accuracy was effortless from the very first round I fired. And it felt GOOD in the hand. Not just holding it, but it felt good firing it. Not all handguns feel good during the firing cycle… This one does. It’s the Winner of the Day for the Pistols.
Rifles. Well, you guys know Springfield has only one line of Rifles and those are the M1A’s. Springfield just has a few variants of that platform. I love the classic standard wood stocked M1A for it’s look and feel. What a great gun. Shooting that thing gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart. Everything about the M1A… it’s awesome. It’s a part of Americana, like a Ford Mustang, Classic Rock, and a Coke. Metal and Wood. It’s beautiful. You can’t Not love it. If you don’t love it, just go away…. I don’t even want to know you… You would have to be like one of those guys that don’t like Dogs or Bacon or Firefly.
The one that made me grin like a 14 year old who just found a Playboy…. The SOCOM 16. See, I shot the SOCOM II before and yeah, it’s cool. But it’s like Cool that’s Trying Too Hard. It’s the one with all the Rails and the extra six pounds of heft and discomfort. The SOCOM 16 is more unassuming. Oh, don’t get me wrong… it’s a Thug. It’s the Snubnosed, lightweight, easy to handle M1A. Where as the standard M1A’s are full length Battle Rifles, the Sweet 16 is chopped down stealthy street fighter. I like them before compared to the II’s when looking at them in the store. But I had expected them to kick a lot more being so much lighter. They don’t. It’s surprisingly soft shooting. Something about it is… addicting. I really like it. This is the .308 for a Door Kicker. It’s very cool how short it is, while still being perfectly legal. It feels like a Sawed Off, and it kicks less than the full sized. If I got one of these Sweet 16’s, I’d have Gundoc (Joe at Crusader Weaponry) work his M14 Magic on it… because he’s a wizard with the M14/M1A’s. I’d have him slick it up, trigger job, and Cerakote all the exterior metal a nice Dark Grey… that would contrast nicely with the black stocks. That’s it. That’s all I’d do. I’d just keep it simple. Slick, Sexy, Simple. Man… I want that now.
I have some Video I’ll post up this weekend.