Monthly Archives: September 2016

Automotive

2016 Triumph Thruxton R 1200

6 Comments

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Yesterday I had the opportunity to ride a brand new Triumph Thruxton R 1200.
This bike was absolutely amazing in it’s composure and balance. It didn’t care what gear I was in… you could lug it… you could wind it out. Six speed transmission and the engine couldn’t care less…. Riding position is a bit leaned forward, but not enough that your holding yourself up by the wrists… It’s almost a Standard. Very comfortable.
It’s so much better than the old Bonny engine, which was an 865… and fine for… the 80’s… I guess.  It was fine before… but somehow just a little lacking.  Now, the new 1200 engine – which looks and feels weight wise like the same engine as before… is just so much BETTER at everything.  Better top end.  Better torque.  Better power delivery from idle to redline… it’s just all completely better.

Having not ridden in some time, I was kinda nervous. But once I threw a leg over and grabbed those Clip Ons… it just felt RIGHT.
The bike didn’t feel like it was in a hurry to go fast – but it was. It cornered easily like you had already done that a thousand times.  The handling was very neutral, with no drama.  It turned in well, with no feeling of sluggishness or twitchiness.  It stayed remarkably stable through the curve and powering out passed the apex.
The suspension was a very nice balance between comfort and road feel… You felt everything, but nothing hurt your spine or your gentleman’s nuggets.  The seat feels both firm and comfortable as well, and you could easily spend enough time in the saddle to run from a full tank to vapor.
The bike was just a very pleasant, willing, and spirited companion.

EDIT:  About a Month Later:
It’s been awhile since I rode it about a month ago now… And I’ve ridden pretty much everything else in between then and now. So I wanted to revisit the “Thruster”.

I am pleased to say that the Thruxton R has remained my favorite Sport Bike. The Bike is just hands down a pleasurable experience. The big bore engine makes effortless power, which translates into effortless motion. For a Twin, the Thruster is exceptionally smooth. And it’s extremely well behaved. In Rain Mode and Road Mode, the Thruster is the perfect gentleman. In Sport Mode, it gets straight up Dashing.  It can keep up with most every other sport bike on the market save for the 200 horse power Ground Rockets. But it’s not trying to be a Race Replica… It’s only trying to be just what it is… a well built classic sport bike that can have fun carving canyons, and while doing so, it will be more relaxed, comfortable, and composed… It’s the Nicest of Sporting Motorbikes you will ever throw a leg over.
I just love this thing. Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing to do to it to make it better.

Weapons

Ruger’s American Compact

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Ruger just officially announce the American Compact.  Here is the Press Release:

New Compact Addition to the Ruger American Pistol Line
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the addition of the Ruger American Pistol® Compact model.  This new model is chambered in 9mm Luger and is available in both Manual Safety and Pro model configurations. Originally introduced in December 2015, the feature-rich Ruger American Pistol was designed with the latest U.S. Military standards in mind and was tested in the harshest environments to ensure the rugged reliability consumers have come to expect from Ruger.

Ruger polled law enforcement and military trainers throughout the country to select the form, function and features of the Ruger American Pistol.  The resultant pistol combines a recoil-reducing barrel cam (which better spreads recoil over time) with a low-mass slide, low center of gravity and a low-bore axis to provide better balance, less felt recoil and less muzzle flip than comparable pistols.  The Ruger American Pistol also features a pre-tensioned striker system, which allows for a short takeup trigger with positive reset, and a modular wrap-around grip system that adjusts palm swell and trigger reach to fit a wide range of hand sizes. 

With a 3.55” barrel, overall dimensions of 6.65” long, 4.48” high and a weight of 28.75 ounces with an empty magazine, the Ruger American Pistol Compact model shares all of the features and rugged reliability of the duty-size gun in a smaller, lighter, more concealable package. It ships in a hard case with small, medium and large replaceable grip modules and two nickel-Teflon® plated steel magazines (one 17-round extended magazine and one 12-round compact magazine). 

The American-made Ruger American Pistol is built on a rigid, one-piece, precision-machined, black nitrided, stainless steel chassis with integral frame rails and fire control housing. Additional features include genuine Novak® LoMount Carry three-dot sights, a stainless steel slide with non-reflective, black nitride finish, a one-piece, high-performance, glass-filled nylon grip frame and a mil-standard 1913 accessory rail.   

For more information on the Ruger American Pistol Compact model, or to learn more about the extensive line of award-winning Ruger® firearms, visit Ruger.com or Facebook.com/Ruger. A full line of duty and concealment holsters, replacement sights and rail-mount accessories for the Ruger American Pistol are available through ShopRuger.com or your local independent retailer of Ruger firearms.
Here are the released pics:

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It looks good!  Looks like Ruger’s taken a Home Run, and just cleared the bases with it.   *Golf Claps*  Well done, Ruger.  Well done.

Weapons

KRISS VECTOR 10MM

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Yes, Kriss brought out the Vector in 10mm.  And I don’t care.
I LOVE the 10mm cartridge.  The fact that there’s a new 10mm Carbine on the market, makes me happy.  But I don’t want it.

Yes, it looks like it shoots well.  However I find the Vector to be distasteful.  The overall weapon system is far too bulky, and I find the weapon to be awkward on top of that.

During the heady days of Crusader Weaponry, one came into the shop and Joe was working on refinishing it.  The weapon is excessively complicated, and everything pins through and into a sub-chassis that I feel is too delicate.

During my time as Retail Manager for Blackstone Shooting Sports, a customer wanted to look at the fixed stock version of one of the Vectors we had.  He tried to fold the stock… and of course, broke it.  Vector gave me hell trying to replace the part, insisting that I pay for a new one.  I was finally able to get the part replaced under warranty, but it left a bad taste in my mouth for the company.   It’s worth noting that the customer looked like a pasty white Urkel and did not have a lot of power to apply to the stock to get it to break so easily, and he didn’t even try.   It broke far too easily.  So if you want a Vector Carbine, get the folder version, not the fixed stock version.

Honestly, I don’t care if the Vector fired phased plasma in the 40 watt range.  I wont have one.   Being overly complicated, delicate and fragile, being awkward and bulky and is as attractive as George Soros and Diane Feinstein’s Love Child… I have a whole SHOT Industry worth of better options to spend my money on.

If you have one, and you like it – that’s the great thing about the Industry now – There are a great many choices.  But for me, Kriss Vector isn’t one of them.

Weapons

Ruger Mark IV .22 Rimfire pistol

16 Comments

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Ruger Perfects Rimfire – Again: Introducing the One-Button Takedown Mark IV

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is excited to announce the latest development in the Mark Series line of pistols – the Ruger® Mark IV™. Ruger has long set the standard for reliable, affordable and accurate .22 LR handguns, beginning with the introduction of the Standard Pistol in 1949. Since then, the Standard Pistol has undergone a series of enhancements with the development of the Mark I, Mark II™ and then the Mark III™ in 2005.

While the heavily redesigned Mark IV maintains the same classic outward appearance as the Mark III, it incorporates a significant improvement customers will love – a simple, one-button takedown for quick and easy field-stripping. A recessed button in the back of the frame allows the upper receiver to tilt up and off of the grip frame without the use of tools. The bolt simply slides out of the receiver and the barrel can be properly cleaned from chamber to muzzle.

“We are thrilled to be introducing what we consider to be a monumental improvement to this iconic pistol that has been with Ruger from the start,” said Ruger President and COO Chris Killoy. “This one-button takedown alleviates the headache that our Mark III owners are all too familiar with and we anticipate the Mark IV pistols being some of the cleanest rimfires at the range,” Killoy concluded.

Other significant improvements include a one-piece grip frame that is precision CNC-machined from a solid piece of stainless steel or aluminum; an ambidextrous manual safety and a redesigned bolt stop for more ergonomic operation. The magazine drops free on release for faster reloads and a redesigned magazine disconnect safety prevents discharge when the magazine has been removed.  Internal improvements include changes to the hammer, sear, bolt and firing pin for smoother, more reliable feeding.   

Specific features vary by model, but the legendary, one-piece barreled receiver and internal cylindrical bolt construction remain the same. The robust design ensures permanent sight-to-barrel alignment and higher accuracy potential than conventional moving-slide designs. The Mark IV is compatible with a variety of Mark III aftermarket accessories including sights, scope bases and magazines. 

The American-made Mark IV pistol ships with two 10-round magazines.    

For more information on the Ruger Mark IV or to learn more about the extensive line of award-winning Ruger firearms, visit Ruger.com or Facebook.com/Ruger. To find accessories for the Mark IV and other Ruger firearms, visit ShopRuger.com or your local independent retailer of Ruger firearms.

This looks like it solves Ruger’s #1 problem since the Mk I pistol… the stupid take down.  I also like that the thumb safety is a lever instead of a sliding button.  Ruger is really starting to make sense in what they are putting out.   Now if they could just fix the stupid bolt release on the 10/22.
Also – that Hunter is DEAD SEXY.

Gear

LUCID HD7: Buy Again?

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lucidhd7g3_0433webLucid has given me a couple HD7 Red Dot units.  An original first generation unit, and then later a third generation unit.  I’ve also purchased three other Gen3’s… One as a gift and the two others for my own use.   None of these units have had any problems.   And I still have one of the Gen3’s.   It’s the one Jason gave me.  It will continue to be used on one of my family’s AR’s until it goes belly up.  Which I don’t see happening any time soon.

I’ve sold a lot of Lucid optics to other guys, and have friends that have bought a lot of them as well.  Unfortunately Lucid has fall out of favor with them due to one issue or anther.  Which is odd to me, because none of mine had ever given me a bit of trouble.  My last HD7 still works great, every time, and battery life has been outstanding.  3 weeks ago, I changed the battery in my HD7 Gen3, and realized that that was the first time I had ever had to change the battery in it.  After 4 YEARS of service.   That’s AimPoint level stuff right there.  That’s impressive.

The question though… Would I buy another HD7?

Continue reading LUCID HD7: Buy Again? →

Weapons

AR PISTOL PROJECT, “KAHLAN” Update.

4 Comments

I’m just having fun with this thing… But the more I mess around with it, the more I like it.   I think this one is going to be hanging around for awhile.   20160910_164123

I decided to go two tone.  Because I just love two tone.  And I had a can of Rust-Oleum laying around.  And I was bored.  But I like the results.  I rolled a sheet of paper and slipped that over the barrel, under the guards, to give better contrast.     Once it fully cures out, the resulting finish will look a lot more matte.  Takes about a week for Rust-Oleum to cure.
As much as I wanted to use the Magpul Pro sights – they remain pretty dang expensive.  So I had these MBUS sights laying around. Okay, I didn’t even know I had them… found them in a box in my closet. BINGO!  But they will do just fine… and they look nice.
Also, when it comes to FDE, the Magpul’s darker tone of FDE is bloody perfect.   That should become the standard of FDE.  All FDE should be Magpul’s.
Now, I could just leave it as it is at this point.  But really… It does need a few things.  Such as a good micro red dot.  And something to keep my hand from slipping in front of the muzzle.

Weapons

Fixed Bladed EDC.

10 Comments

One of the things I always have with me, is a small fixed bladed knife. Sure, I always have one or two folders with me as well… But I like having a small fixed blade on me.   Here’s the three I usually rotate though, depending on what the day has planned.

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Left to Right:
Benchmade’s Adamas Push Dagger.
Benchmade’s SOCP Dagger.
Ka-Bar’s Becker Necker.
Reason for these three is the light weight, small profile.  I never wear them around the neck, but they do well in a Boot or on the Belt.  Or other places one might hide a little knife.  The SOCP though, sometimes I’ll clip it to the front of the shirt like a pen.   Just easy that way, and quite fast to use.

The Necker has a nice usable shape.   I use it quite often for regular cutting tasks.  Cooking Prep and such.  It is one of my favorite all time knives.  I like the bottle opener too. Quite handy.   This one has a lot of utility while the others are strictly defensive tools.

The Adamas is an interesting bit of kit.  The chisel grind makes it not so useful for normal cutting tasks… but the double edge blade is wicked sharp.  For it’s purpose, it is scary effective.

The SOCP is the cool guy blade.  The point is like a needle.  The blade… not so sharp.  It’s not supposed to be.  This one is all about the deep puncture, with little other utility.   This is a rip cord type tool.  You pull it when there is no other option.    I know a lot of guys like to modify their SOCPs… but I’ve not done so yet.  I may in the future though.  Were I to do so… I think I’d strip the coating off it, bevel some edges, and acid etch the steel to give it some more character.    Of all the three, this is the one that comes with me most often.

 

Training

Your Gun is Useless

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That cool 2000 dollar rifle you bought.  Useless.  That pistol you bought that was all the rage on the internet… Useless.  What you bought is a very expensive Safe Ornament.

No matter how good that gun is… It’s as useless as tits on a warthog. Unless you have spare magazines for it.  Ammunition for it.  A ready kit to carry loaded magazines.   And unless you have trained with it.

There’s a reason that the Army and the Marines drill their people on Disassembly and Reassembly.   Do you know how to strip that new weapon down, and reassemble it?   Can you do that in the dark?  Do you even know your weapon?

I know a couple guys that have bought very nice, high quality arms… and they’ve done nothing with other than to remove it from the box and put it in the safe…. and they brag about having it.   Dude, you don’t have anything.   You don’t even own a Cartridge for it… you have nothing.

Take that gun out… Get to know it.   Train with it.

ADDENDUM:  I’m not talking about Collector guns, Collectors, or guns bought as investments.  So Investors and Collectors – don’t get your panties in a twist, this wasn’t about you.

Weapons

AR Pistol Project, “Kahlan”.

9 Comments

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Built for me by a friend off an Anderson lower, and sports an 7.5″ Barrel, M.I. Handguard, Noveske KX5 Flaming Pig, Ergo Grip, Shockwave Blade Wrist Brace.
The Lucid will be replaced with something smaller and lighter so it can be returned to it’s normal home on a different AR.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the little AR.  It’s been proven to be an absolute tack driver.  I’ve not shot it yet with this muzzle device, so we’ll have to wait and see how she shoots now.  Same barrel, but different Barrel Nut, Different Muzzle Device, and different hand guards can all make significant differences.  I still need Iron Sights, and I’m going to need an AFG or some hand stops of some sort.

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Should a hand slip forward of the guard… That could be trouble.  So that will have to be prevented.  But I do like the snub-nosed look.
I want the MagPul Pro flip up sights on here, because not only are they great, but they are very compact.  I don’t want a lot of stuff on this piece.  I want it simple, but effective.  So everything will be as minimal as possible.