Crusader, Weapons

Can’t leave well enough alone

18 Comments

The 870 Tactical got stripped… then Cerakoted Gun Metal Grey.

The funny thing about this, was that I did it Saturday night… Sunday morning I woke up late.  So I jumped into the shower, threw on some clothes, ran out to the Crusader Coating Laboratory and grabbed the gun.  Inside, I just slapped all the parts together and we ran out to the Gun Show.  Just before the show starts, I pick up the shotgun again and rack it.  JAM.  WTF?  I look into the action and I see Magazine Spring.  What?  AAahahhh… I forgot the Magazine Follower.  Ran back to Crusader HQ, there’s the follower sitting right on the work bench.   I need a new follower though… I don’t like the cheap plastic one that comes stock in the Remingtons.  Brownells offers a Stainless one that looks pretty good.  I might do that one.

Also, that “Tactical Choke” as Remington calls it.  It’s a breaching choke.  Designed not for shooting – but for Breaching.  I’m going to pop in an Improved Cylinder choke.  Maybe a Modified.  Maybe one of those extended ones.  I like those.

Here’s the deal.  HOW THE HELL DO YOU REALLY IMPROVE SOMETHING THAT IS FREAKING AWESOME AS IT IS?  Crusader is doing it… A killer action job that makes the 870 just stupid slick…. but what else does it really need?  What parts can we put on them (or the Mossberg) that is going to actually give you a tangible benefit that makes the weapon more effective and the user more efficient with it?  There isn’t a lot.  Oh, there’s tons of options for you… catalogs full of stuff.  But what really works?  Not much.  But my mission is to find it.

Uprising

Uprising UK is now out for the Kindle

13 Comments

Uprising: UK.  My second “Winning the Zombie Apocalypse” book (in a series of four) is now available for the Amazon Kindle.

I really like Uprising: UK.  I think it’s an improvement over the USA which felt more rushed.  I’ve already got it on my Kindle Reader on my Smart Phone.   No formatting errors this time!  Booyah!   Get your copy now and I’ll sign your Kindle at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in SLC this weekend.

Crusader, Uncategorized

Gun Show

12 Comments

Crusader business is going to be the priority… But I’m going to be on the prowl for a couple items:
Glock, in 10mm.
S&W 4″-5″, .44 mag.
My Rock River is going up for sale… So Joe can build me a Crusader.  And maybe something else.  But I want a handgun I can hunt with.  I don’t need a .460, but a 5″ would be slick.
Also, bringing out a few copies of Uprising USA, for sale and autographs.

Gear

A failure of oil or logic?

59 Comments

Got this in the email tonight.

From: Joe M.
Date: Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Subject: I was afraid you’d say that

The background is, I bought my XDm 9mm N.I.B. on September 1st of this year. I only used Slipstream on the slide rails. I’ve fired 660 absolutely flawless rounds through it and the factory fired 1 that I assume was also fine.  Then I decided to use Slipstream to lubricate almost everything in the slide. I used less than a drop and I applied it with an artists paint brush that is very small.  It leaves a line the size of a fine point pen, so Slipstream was not over applied.

The next day I loaded up a 19 round magazine and went out to shoot. I fired 7 rounds and before I pulled the trigger again I noticed the slide hadn’t moved to battery.  There was a round jammed in the chamber and the slide was locked up tight.  No clearing procedure worked.  After an hour I was able to free the slide and get the round out.  The attached pictures are of the jammed round.

I scrubbed every atom of Slipstream out of my weapon that was humanly possible to remove.  I applied M-Pro 7 LPX which, with the exception of the slide rails, was the only form of lubrication on the weapon for the flawless 660 rounds.  I have subsequently fired 75 rounds, using only M-Pro 7 LPX, without any further problems at all.

The facts of my experience indicate your product is crap.  I bought your oil and grease combo. I considered using them on a rusty old lawnmower I have, but I decided the best use for your products is to put them in the trash.

Have you got anything to say for yourself?

Joe M.

What do I have to say for myself?  I think you didn’t use enough Slipstream.  Here’s the deal… you used a very tiny amount of Slipstream… one applied in such a way as to almost insure that none of the Slipstream Particles really got into your gun and you only had a tiny bit of the carrier oil, which is of a similar composition to your beloved MPRO7.   To say that Slipstream is what caused this jam is a complete failure of logic.  You didn’t use enough to be either good or bad.  You had a bad round.  Simple as that.  To get what you described we would have to use Super Glue as our carrier oil, and other folks – pretty much everyone that used it – would have the same results.  Not a really good way to promote a lubricant, eh?  Go get your Slipstream, and apply it the way we suggested.  Shake it up, and pour it on generously.   Sorry you had a bad round of Ammunition, but we don’t make Ammunition.  I suggest you take this issue up with whoever did.

Slipstream is being used by US Forces all around the world.  Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan… Army Infantry, Marine Infantry, Airforce EOD, Navy mechanics…   and thousands of shooters around the country.   And you think oil is what caused your NIB XD 9mm to lock up like it was glued.  Uh huh.

Guys, is it at all possible in any way shape or form that a tiny amount of oil, any oil, applied in the manner indicated, could have caused this?  Or do you think it could possibly be a bad round of ammunition?  Which is more likely?

Weapons

Armchair Quarterbacking: SIG SAUER

25 Comments

SIG has always been one of my favorite gun companies.  I’ve said before that SIG is one of the three gun makers that I would bet my life on out of the box.  Their handguns on the 22X series are world class.  The P220 has been called “The Thinking Man’s .45.”  And for good reason.  It’s extremely accurate and reliable… a personal favorite as is the 228 and 229 pistols.  I tend to equate SIG as being the Mercedes Benz of the handgun world.  SIG’s 550 series of rifles is also top notch.  Yet SIG is not without its flaws.  What SIG makes themselves is generally pretty dang good… What SIG doesn’t make is where the problems lay.  All except the P250 pistol.

The SIG P250 is an interesting idea that’s poorly executed.  I’m not really a fan and I don’t think I’d actually buy one.  Ever.  But that’s just me.

The SIG Mosquito is also problematic.  It too is a good idea that has less than stellar execution.  It looks good, feels good… and just doesn’t quite work as any SIG should.

SIG’s name branded accessories… their holster, lights, laser combos… they just don’t quite work well enough to really warrant the SIG names.  See,  a long time ago Winchester whored out their name onto a lot of cheap Chinese made crap.  SIG has evidently done the same.  The SIG holster is a rather poor Serpa knockoff.  Their lights either fail or burn through batteries too quickly.

If I were SIG’s CEO, Chairman, Ultimate and Final Decision Maker… Here’s what I’d do:

1.  Discontinue the P250 and write it off as a loss.  All remaining P250’s would be given to the NRA’s Training program.  All of them.  Or maybe to the SIG employees who want one.  Write them all off for tax purposes.

2. The 2022 pistol needs a bit of work.  It seems like an unfinished product.  Such as the way the takedown pin sticks out a bit too far and the slide lock lever feels a bit too… chinsey

3. All the cheap items with the SIG name… they are all done.  Gone.  Instead of cheap crap… contract with those that actually make good products.  Or just not bother with them at all, because those items are not in SIG’s mission.  Simple as that.  SIG makes fine weapons and SIG needs to concentrate on just that.

4.  SIG needs to make a tactical shotgun to complete their line up.

5.  Drop the Mosquito and bring back the Trailside.

6.  Concentrate on Quality Control… above all else… quality.

Optics

Scope Dance.

2 Comments

I just did the Scope Dance.  Normally I give my buddy Fenris hell for always moving his scopes around… and now here I did it.

I pulled my EOtech off my M4, my Bushnell Holosight off (one of) my 870 Tactical, and my Lucid HD7 of my Sterling.  I never liked the thing on the Sterling and only put it on there for further accuracy testing.

So now the Bushnell Holosight is now on the Sterling because it’s the lowest mounting optic of it’s type.  The Lucid is on the M4 because I like the precision accuracy I got out of that combination when I was testing the Lucid… and that EOtech is now on the 870 Tactical.    I really like the way these guns are set up now.  I was going to Scope Dance a few more guns, to shake up the combinations but these are the 3 guns that needed it and it all worked out flawlessly and are probably the ideal options out of what I have in inventory.

The only gun that is still needing a better optic on it, is Killswitch, my Savage 93R17 HB.  The optic that’s on it now is the Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7×32.  I need to go up to at least a 4-12 on that sucker.  It can reach farther, with more precision than this 2-7 can deliver.  Great scope for what it is.  But P-Dogs are small and a bit more magnification would be a boon.

Food

My Tasty Scottish Balls

5 Comments

Using modern sausage skins and not the traditional Scottish sheep stomach, small bite sized Haggis about the size of Chicken Nuggets.  Boiled then pan fried or grilled like a Bratwurst to put a crispy golden brown crust on it, or deep fry them.  Serve them on a bed of mash.  Pop the whole little haggis in your mouth… it would be delicious.  You’d love my tasty Scottish balls in your mouth.

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