Category Archives: Weapons
Remington’s Versa Max
I am a huge Remington 870 fan/fanatic. I will not apologize for that. Most of my shotguns are 870 Tacticals in some form or another. It’s a weapon that goes from concept to finished product execution, very well. No, it’s not perfect. But it’s very good. Almost excellent in fact.
Yet take that same gun and simply make it Semi-Auto… as in the 1100… and the gun somehow loses something. The 1187 is a bit better… but still. It’s just not right. When we have other Automatics out on the market, the Self-Loading Remingtons just fall short. I don’t know anyone who actually has a Benelli Super Black Eagle II and says “Naw, I like my 1100 better.” That guy is just not there… or he is being dishonest with himself.
Now let’s look at Remington’s latest and greatest… the Versa Max. It’s a good shotgun. It’s gas system is fairly clever. At if it had come out 10 years ago, it would have been crowned Best in Class. Unfortunately Benelli came out with their Vinci and Super Vinci, and Browning has their Maxus. Compared to the Maxus, the Versa Max is like a 73 year old Jane Fonda. Appealing to a few, but well past it’s prime for someone who just isn’t that popular or worthy of praise. Okay, that’s harsh. But true. The Versa Max feels too heavy. It also feels slow. And the stock? I tell you what, I’d rather have an 1187 than a Versa Max just because of the stock. It looks and feels cheap. Yet the Versa Max isn’t a cheap gun. It’s priced in league with the Maxus, which cycles fast, handles fast, and feels good in the hand. You would have to be a complete nutter, or an ex-pro-footballer with a sponsorship to handle a Browning Maxus and say “No, I’d rather have that brand new 10 year old Remington gun.” Seriously, unless you are Remington Freak… and every gun company has their bevets… just buy the 1100 and you’ll not miss a thing and pay only half the price for an overweight semi-auto 12 gauge.
Crusader Sterling with Optics Mount
This is one of our Crusader Sterling Carbines. Mine, actually. Caliber is 9mm. This is a semi auto version of the classic Sterling SMG used by Brit Commandos in hostile actions after WWII. The Crusader version has perminant lubrication treatment, and is built with careful parts selection and refitting and finishing of those parts, making these the smoothest Sterlings I’ve ever handled.
We have an Optics Mount now, standard Picatinny, to mount pretty much any optic you want. In this video is a Bushnell Trophy T that we just put on there for testing. It’s a more solid mounting than what is typically put on a .300 RUM hunting rifle, so it’s going to stand up to pretty much anything a 9mm Buzz Gun can dish out. These mounts will be available with futur Sterling orders as a cost added option, or as a stand alone product to order.
This unit, being a prototype, is left in the raw and unfinished. Standard orders will ship flat black. If you order yours with a Sterling finished in another color, it will be duracoated or cerakoted in that color.
The shot group at the end of the clip shows a 25 yard group with bulk reloaded ammo.
For more information contact Joe via the web form at CrusaderWeaponry.com
WeTheArmed.com
Colt’s Double Eagle
I was interested in getting a Chiappa Rhino
Let me say this again… I was interested in getting a Chiappa Rhino revolver with the 4″ barrel.
But not anymore. They really turned me off. Its not that I care a wit about the RFID scare or if it’s a concern or not… that’s not the point. The tone they took on the issue is insulting to anyone that has a concern. It’s much like those that questioned the President’s birth certificate and just calling them “Birthers”. Slinging an insult instead of addressing a legitimate concern. I’ll have to pass on a new Chiappa. This is too bad… because it’s a rather neat gun. But I can live without it.
Maybe a used one… eventually. But I wouldn’t give them any of my money now.
More thoughts on the Tactical Lever Action
I’ve had many questions about why I picked the Rossi M92 over other rifles such as the Legacy Puma, the Marlin options, or Henry, or Uberti… etc. My selection of the Rossi example is by no means disparaging the others. They are all quite good Arms and if you have one, then it’s going to serve you well. Before I made my choice, I studied the Level Action platform very carefully, to include going through history books and talking to old cowboys (we still actually have those around here) and talking to new cowboys – The Cowboy Action Shooters. (We have a lot more of those around here) What I didn’t do was search internet gun forums past 3 minutes… because most of those were “Well, I use this so this is the best… no, I’ve not even seen any others, but this is the best because I have it.”
I selected the 92 design because of two things.
Rossi M92
Let me tell you, guys. I had a day from hell. Today just flat out sucked every which way… So I had to change the karma. Nothing works better than doing the New Gun Thing. .44 Mag is more money than .357 Mag, but I can reload pretty affordably. I like this gun. I’m happy with it. Hmm… the rest of the day sucked too… but every time some bullshit happened, I just thought, “I have a .44 Mag 92”, and that made me feel much better.
The next Tactical Lever Action Rifle
I am dead set on making another tactical lever action rifle. I think I’ve mentioned before that I am going to use a Winchester 92 type platform and I’ve settled on the Rossi example of the breed. I’m thinking 16 inches on the barrel and a scout mount for a low set red dot.
This Caliber Conundrum has me flummoxed. .44 Mag or .357 Mag. I’ve been leaning to the .357 Magnum… However as of late, I am now leaning to the .44 Magnum. Ammunition for the .44 is more expensive, but handloading for it is easy enough. I think I’m going to do a .44 mag. Out of a 16″ barrel .44 tends to gain all it’s going to get and past that it seems to go down hill.
.270 Redding Broadsword
Looking for “That Edge” for my own custom build on a Crusader Broadsword. One caliber came up that had me thinking “Hmmm”. See, I’m looking for a configuration for a Hunting Broadsword… that can be legitimately used for hunting North American Big Game that will give good performance across the board with good bullet selections for the widest array of game animals… and it not be .308 Winchester.
The .270 Redding. An improvement over the standard .270-08 Wildcat. In an AR this would be solid. See, you can get 3000 FPS out of a Short Action, in this case, out of an AR… which is only 60 FPS slower than the same bullet out of a .270 Winchester rifle.
LOADING DATA .270 REDDING SPEER 130 GR GRAND SLAM BULLET Powder Start Velocity Maximum Velocity N-150 45.0 grs. 2,923 fps 47.0 grs. 3,053 fps
Mild recoil, good trajectory, good terminal ballistics… This gives us a much better trajectory thanks to it being faster than the 7mm-08 that would normally be the go-to choice for me.
The Utah Gathering and Training with Mas
On July 30th, at the Provo City Range (The one up the road to Squah Peak in Provo Canyon) Members of WeTheArmed.com and Friends will be gathering for a day of Shooting and Socializing. We will be shooting in the morning, then a break for lunch at a yet to be determined location, then back to the range for some more shooting. Every Member of WTA is Welcome to come on out.
Then in September, Crusader Weaponry was officially invited to attend the Ayoob Group’s MAG-40 Class in Salt Lake Sept 14-17. This course is hosted by The Gun Dudes, and in attendance will be Daniel Shaw of Gunfighter Caste. This is going to be an EPIC week of training. Crusader will be there to show off some of Crusader’s Wares, Slipstream, and to have an awesome time with awesome people.