Tag Archives: Shotgun

Weapons

Magpul’s 870.

16 Comments

I’m pretty much a fan of Magpul and everything they have been trying to do.  They have made some very good stuff.
Now they have turned their attention to the classic and undying Remington 870 Shotgun.   I’m not sure if I’m on board with it.

At first, I thought it looked cool… But then as I looked at it, I started thinking that the Cadillac CTS-V styling just doesn’t work on the 870. I look at the 870 and feel that it’s more organic and the Magpul stuff is just too synthetic.  The stock looks like its too large and possibly heavy.  Awkward.  I don’t like the grip angle either.  It seems… I don’t know… off.   The MOE treatment is cool up front, but I would have hoped for a more CTR set up at the buttstock instead of what they got going on.

Crusader, Weapons

Crusader Installment Plan.

17 Comments

Just a little something for all of you guys to remember. Crusader has a Layaway Plan.  An Installment plan… It’s non-refundable, but it is transferable to other Crusader products if you change your mind before any special parts are ordered/made/customized.
It’s real simple.  You pay into it, take the time you need, pay as you can. When the payment towards your weapon of choice reaches a certain point, your build gets started and you have 90 days to pay the rest off and have your weapon shipped to your FFL.
Configure your weapon how you want and start making your payments. In tough economic times, it’s a heck of a lot easier than paying it all in one lump sum.

Crusader, Training

Working on 2012 Crusader Training

14 Comments

For the 2012 Crusader Weaponry Training Schedule, I am thinking I want to break up the general “Tactical Carbine” courses.  What do you guys think about having platform focused classes?  AR, AK, Lever, and Bolt. Other platforms could come to the AR or AK course depending on the similarities.  (This also means I need a good AK and we’ll have to develop a Crusader Kalash Package)

We’re also going to go into greater focus on the Shotgun.  More work on actual slug accuracy, and use of them for barrier penetration. Advanced Shotgunning.

I’m also thinking about offering Force on Force, Patrol Techniques, Assault and Ambush. Mounted and Dismounted.  Firing from Vehicles, Moving and Stationary.   We will also use Guest Instructors.  These classes will have some more stringent requirements, meaning that we will only let in students that mean certain requirements.  Citizens of US or strong Allied Nations, clean background.   We are not going to train anyone if we have any doubt about their character or intent.

 

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.

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.

Weapons

The gunfight is going to happen. Bring it.

32 Comments

You know it’s coming. Grab your long gun and your side arm. I think I had that question four or five times today talking to different people. Not zombies, not monster hunting, but a simple good old fashioned gunfight. What will you bring to the fight? And don’t say “Friends with Guns.” Just you. High Noon.
In all seriousness, if I know a gunfight is going to happen, I’m bringing one of my 870 Tacticals… most likely my old Police Gun. It’s slick as hell, being all Slipstreamed and running as reliable as the Sun Rise. It’s going to be loaded with Federal Premium FC 00 Buck. My pistol is going to be my Glock 23 in .40, loaded up with Winchester PDX1’s.
Why? Because they are SIMPLE and they are RELIABLE. Above all, they are going to deliver my violent will when and where I need it. No bells and whistles and tricks to remember. They are potent enough, with enough firepower on tap to end a hostile encounter – and to win that encounter.
I was thinking about my Crusader tuned AR… Gun’s not a problem. But my optic runs on batteries. Will they fail me? I don’t know. My Shotgun’s sights wont. I was tempted to say my Springer GI – because I can hit with it very well. But I like hollow points and I just don’t know for an absolutely certainty that that old 1911 is going to run my PDX1’s as flawlessly as I require. My Glock does, and I have more in the gun with one mag than my 1911 has with two, and that is an advantage.
I trust my Glock. I trust my 870. I trust them with my life. Hype, popularity, online smack talk… I don’t have time for that. It’s about Trust. Also, if I have to go Mele… I’m bringing a baseball bat, a heavy wooden one. A Louisville Slugger. Just saying.

Training, Uncategorized, Weapons

Zombie Survival

3 Comments

With the CDC warning of Zombies, and the Zombie Survival Discussion Panel that’s going to happen Friday Night at ConDuit with Larry Correia, Mike Kupari, and my brother Zack… I thought I’d preemptively put out my opinion on the subject.  Luckily, I found that my good friend Terry has made my argument for me in language so clear and concise as to command acquiescence and affirmation.

Weapons

Looking at Browning

9 Comments

Looking at the Browning Catalog, I have some thoughts.

First.  The Micro Midas X-Bolt Rifle… Why is it not available in .223?  You have the .308 family of short action cartridges and the .22-250… but why not a .223 and a .204 option?  I think the .223 especially is an oversight.  For bringing up young shooters, .223 is ideal.  I know Browning’s reasons for only using the bigger rounds… I don’t need to hear them again… but they are wrong. Continue reading Looking at Browning →

Uncategorized, Weapons

More Trolley Square Trauma

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The subject of the Trolley Square Shooting is back in the news.  Back in 2007 there was a shooting spree at the Trolley Square Mall in SLC.  I remember that day clearly.  I was going to take my Son to Trolley Square so we could buy a gift for Mrs. Ogre from her favorite little store there at Trolley Square.  We were about to head out when I mentioned my destination to a co-worker. That co-worker said “That store isn’t there anymore.”   Had we left then instead of going to a Plan B… my Son and I would have been there at Trolley Square, and I would have parked where I always parked, going in that entrance I always go there.   We would have been right there in the center of the shooting.

Continue reading More Trolley Square Trauma →