Category Archives: Weapons

Weapons

SIG’s Latest

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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”.

Weapons

Enough Politics, Let’s talk Guns!

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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.

Weapons

How to Invest in Guns

5 Comments

Many questions arise on the subject of investing in firearms.  Look guys, I’m not going to tell you what guns you should and shouldn’t buy.  I’m not a Stock Broker or Financial Adviser.  And I can’t tell you what a good buy is because Gun Values hinge very heavily on the Gun’s Condition.  Condition is everything Make, Model, Year, and Condition.  Condition is like Mileage on a Car since there is no Odometer or such in a gun.  In a gun, every little mark, scuff, blemish, scratch and ding subtracts from a gun’s Value.

Let’s talk about this more…

Continue reading How to Invest in Guns →

Weapons

Fiscal Responsiblity

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Saving and Investing are the trademarks of fiscal responsiblity.
Buying a gun is investing.  Gun values do go up, unlike stocks which have greater risks.  Like the Facebook stocks.  And guns offers better percentages without bank fees over savings accounts.
So by definition, buying guns is being fiscally responsible.

Weapons

I can’t understand this.

22 Comments

Last week I did something I probably shouldn’t have… Okay, I know that’s a list that goes all the way to the floor, but I’m talking about one particular thing.

I pulled a Beretta M9 out of the case and really looked at it again.  I felt it.  Cycled it.  Stripped it down and examined it closely.  Now, the Big Beretta is nothing new to me… I’ve owned two of them but they never really inspired me or made me feel all that interested in them.  I got them just because.

Now, looking at this Beretta… Feels good in the hand.  Big and Curvy and Sexy… It’s been growing on me.

Here’s the odd thing.  I’d want it in 9mm.  I’d pretty much just keep it stock save for Slipstreaming.  Because really they are fine just like that.  Huh.  I don’t know why I’d even want the thing.  I prefer SIG and Glock… Single Actions over Doubles.  But I am digging the M9 right now.  I just don’t know why.

Weapons

It’s growing on me

5 Comments

This is not a Prop from the set of STARGATE.  This is not Admiral Adama’s sniper rifle.  This is not a mock up for the new HALO game.  It’s the TC Dimension hunting rifle.

It’s “Wash Your Eyes Out With Bleach” ugly.  The option of swapping barrels means nothing to me… So why do I like it?

Well, as stupidly hideous as the damn thing looks… it feels awesome when you bring the gun up to your shoulder.  And the trigger… honestly, it’s one of the best “Hunting” triggers I’ve ever felt on a gun intended for actual hunting.  It has some weight to it… but there is no movement and it breaks as crisp as any gunwriter metaphor can equate.  It’s not a Bench Rest Trigger… but you don’t want that on a Field Gun.  Too many people think they do… and those people are terribly wrong.  You want a trigger that has a touch of deliberate intent, and then breaks exactly at the moment you want it to.  Like this trigger.  The height of the comb is perfect for when you mount any reasonable scope.  This allows a good consistent cheek weld, consistent aim through the scope… and combine with that trigger… this is going to let you make those once in a life time shots all the time.

Weapons

The SIG ACP arrived.

2 Comments

Unfortunately the adapter clamp wasn’t in the kit, so I can use it yet.  But within moments of the ACP’s arrival, and my mentioning of this… SIG already has it on the way.
First impressions:
Yeah, its cool.  If fact, I am not sure that SIG is going to get this unit back.  I may have to buy it from them.

Crusader, Weapons

I like my AR again.

16 Comments

My AR has been bugging the hell out of me.  The thing was heavy as hell.  No, seriously, we’re talking at AR-15 Carbine that weighed more than a Springfield M1A National Match or a SOCOM II.  It just weighed a friggen ton.

Here’s what it looks like now.

Much better.

The parts I took off were really not all that heavy to be honest.  The Surefire Rails, Weapon Light Mount and Light, the Rail Covers, Tango Down VFG, and the VLTOR Stock.  It’s just that the MOE stuff with a Pistol type Weapon Light are much lighter.  The problem though really stems from the fact that my AR has Rhinemetal 120mm barrel on it off an M1 Abrams.  Or so it feels like that.  Even stripped, it was still a touch heavier than an M1A Standard Synthetic.   My Take Offs on a normal gun would be just fine.  But that’s not the AR I have.  Mine is a freaking Tank.

Anyone want the goodies I took off the gun?

Not shown is the VLTOR stock.

The Surefire Rails are “Mid-Length”, not Carbine or Rifle.  Who wants to make an offer on the parts?  I take Cash in Person or PayPal and I’ll ship it to you.  I’d like to start the bidding at a hundred bucks.

Weapons

Mark Your Calendars

4 Comments

Saturday, August 25th, is Basin Sports Factory Range Day.
This isn’t a Gun Show, It’s a Gun Try.
Come out and try a bunch of new guns!
No rental fees, range fees… You only buy the ammo for what you want to try out.
Don’t miss this!

Crusader, Weapons

Tactical Semi-Auto Shotguns.

17 Comments

I have a great fondness for the Gauge.  And when it comes to The Gauge, I am a firmly in the House of Remington and consider the 870 to be where it’s at.

I’ve considered and examined and have fired all the Semi Autos out there.  The M4 is certainly the Mercedes Benz of the class.  However at it’s price… a Thousand Dollars more than most everything else, is it worth it?  Man, I don’t know.  It’s cool… but I am not sure its a Grand More of Cool.

You know what gun I keep coming back to?  The 1187.  Reason?  I like the position of the Bolt Release.  To unleash that bolt on a Tactical Reload, it’s center bottom, easy to get to and faster than a tiny little button that everyone has positioned in the worst possible place.  A small button with no geographic reference point on the gun… just alone in the field of the receiver some place where your hand can get struck by the charging handle if you don’t get it out of the way.  Every semi auto in current production that feeds from a Tube does this and they are all wrong… all save for the Remington 1187.

I believe this to be a key advantage.  Because regardless of how many shells your tube gets stuffed with, its going to go dry and you are going to have to do a fast tactical reload.  I think this is a winning position.    Not only that, but the 1187 can run the same iron sights that you can on the 870, making it scary accurate with slugs.

This is why my pick on the Semi-Auto Shotgun for fighting… the 1187.  For impressing other guys, the M4 remains just fine.