Tag Archives: Shooting

Bushmaster BA50, .50 BMG Rifle.

This has become my favorite .50 BMG rifle. Okay, I know the audio cuts out… but watch.
My impression is that this is the best production .50BMG on the market. Great action, very accurate, and it’s the softest shooting .50 BMG out there. I’ve shot a number of other big fifties, and this is the softest shooting of all of them.

I like everything about this gun… save for one thing. The trigger pull is not good… But I think it’s going to be able to wear in just fine. Regardless… I think this one to buy. More accurate than an M107, softer shooting too. And it’s half the price. And you can shoot it just as fast with some practice.
Crusader Weaponry could really take one of these to the next level.

WeTheArmed Gathering

I’ll update this with more information when I get back home. Let’s just say that if you didn’t make it out to this… you missed a very good time. Photos, Vid Clips, and the Run Down will come.
Tsunami for a Sushi Feast, Shooting, Los Hermonos for some Mexican food, shooting, beer-brats cooked by T-Man himself… and Jessi’s optic mount for the Sterling worked FLAWLESSLY. To those that made it down – I had an amazing time that I’ll never forget and I thank each and every one of you guys for being there.

The Starship from Arizona arrived!

I arrived in Casa La Sting in SLC Friday afternoon. Rode the Magna from Ogre Ranch with the Sterling riding in the saddle bag, sticking out and gathering some attention from a Deputy, but he didn’t pull me over. Just went eyes wide. When I came into the Wasatch Front, I went through Provo Canyon… had a great run… so I ran it again.  Awesome. Provo Canyon on a bike is better than in a Sports Car. Just saying. The Arizona Contingent arrived in “The Starship”, Terry’s slick Chevy truck. Which cruised at about 90MPH most of the way. It earned the title Starship with that cruise!

That night we all went to a joint called “Tsunami”.  We feasted on Sushi till everyone was stuffed to the gills.  I’ve never stuffed myself on Sushi like this before.  If you go there, the Executive Suite and the Sunshine rolls are my favorites.

We had a full range.

The Provo Range is a nice place, I have to admit.  It’s up on the side of the mountain and is just beautiful.    We had a good turnout.  Putting faces to names was great.  We’ve got some amazing members of WeTheArmed.com.  Special thanks to Norseman for putting this together.  This was his idea and he’s a Range Officer at the Provo Range…. Norse was the consumate RO this day.  He watched everyone like a hawk and we had no problems through both range sessions.

Steve trying out the optic mounted Sterling

Terry lent me the use of his Bushnell Trophy T red dot optic.  Jesse fabricated the mounting system and with Terry’s optic, we were able to test out the concept.  It worked.  In fact, it worked much better than I had anticipated.

The Sterling's accuracy is shocking.

That’s a 15 round group at about 25 yards.  Oh, and I shot this group left handed.   Yeah.  My right eye isn’t all that great anymore, and I’ve been doing a lot better left handed.

After the first range session, we went to Los Hermonos for lunch.  Mexican food and shooting just goes together.  We stopped by Gunnies in Orem for some more ammunition and went back to the range.   Norseman is a big time revolver guy… and I made sure he had all the time he wanted with the little North American Arms Range top-break.   I almost had him trading me one of his Siaga 12’s for it!  But Norse doesn’t part with his guns, so as much as he wanted it… he made no deal.  Oh well.  I’d have had a hell of a time getting an S-12 home!

After the shooting in the afternoon, we went to Steve’s place and Terry gave us all a lesson in grilling Brats and how to boil those brats properly in beer with peppers and onions.    The food was delicious.  I had a Food Coma going on, I ate so much this weekend.  During the evening’s munching, Marshal Dodge broke out this video on his smart phone – the “I just effing shot myself – the musical.”  I linked it below.  When he showed this vid – we were dying from laughter.  Good food, friends, and laughter… this is what it’s all about.   Unfortunately that bloody musing was stuck in our heads… thanks to Marshal’s lovely wife who reminded us of it every time we seemed to have forgotten it.   Evil.

Special thanks to Steve for letting The AZ Crew and I crash at his place.  Even more thanks to his lovely bride for not just putting up with us, but for being the best Hostess in the world.

The WTA Gathering

I’m getting ready to ride. I found some .45ACP and I can fit it in my saddle bags… I can’t bring much gun stuff on a bike, but the shooting is the least important thing for me. Funny that I should say that, no? I’ll bring what I can.
Saturday, at the Provo Range, the one up Squaw Peak in Provo Canyon, we’re having our Gathering. If you can, show up. We’ll be there in the morning, then take a break from noon till 4, then we’ll be back shooting unless something else really cool pops up and we change plans. You never know… so you best come out in the morning!
I’m looking forward to this a great deal. I can’t say how much.

Novice Shooters and Big Guns

We see many videos like this on YouTube.  Here’s another one.
 

The people on this range are very lucky. Someone could have killed right there. Having this happen with a revolver is unusual. Granted. But there was a case years ago in Virginia where the novice shooter was trying a Desert Eagle and the gun gun recoiled up, pointed at the instructor behind her, and fired again… killing the instructor.
Let me be clear… this isn’t funny. Giving a novice shooter an overpowered gun for whatever reason isn’t funny. It’s serious, because bad things can happen and you can take someone interested in shooting and make them all the sudden not interested in shooting. So forget the Macho “This is my gun and you can’t handle it” bravado and stuff it. If you have a novice shooter that wants to try it, prepare them, make sure they use a good stance and they have a good grip. And only load 1 round. Just one. If they want to try it again, load another one. Once they get the handle on it, then you can let them roll off a whole mag or cylinder full.

Beware the Serpa

I used to be a fan of the Serpa holster. However, the more and more I used them the more problems I had. I don’t recommend them to anyone and suggest just about anything else over the Serpa. A brown paper sack is preferable in my opinion.

Problems I’ve personally seen:
1. Failure to depress lock mechanism completely, which results in the pistol not releasing during a quick draw.
2. The gun being jerked out of the hand somehow, resulting in a draw stroke that ends with the gun being tossed away from the shooter.
3. The lock failing and ending up with the gun being stuck in the holster.

A quick look at “Tactical .22” rifles.

For some reason, this segment of the shooting community has exploded. Because evidently classic .22 shooting just isn’t cool enough anymore. You have guns like the Ruger 10/22, the Marlin Model 60, the Marlin 39A Lever Action, or something simple like one of the excellent CZ bolt actions…. but no… they are not “TACTICAL”. Let me tell you, the Lever Action was Tactical before the word was invented. Because if “Black with Rails” means Tactical then I guess it’s not. If Tactical means it can be applied with tactics, or if it’s user friendly and provides actual utility in different situations, then absolutely. Well, some folks think it’s all about the AmTracks… so we have to roll with as many rails as possible to be even more tactical. I mean, hell, we have Rails for our Rails because no one is making a gun with enough rails so we have to add more. Anyways, the rifles. Let’s take a quick look.

Continue reading A quick look at “Tactical .22” rifles.

Mossberg 930 SPX, lets get critical.

At the gunshop I work at, we got in more of the Mossberg 930 SPX tactical shotguns.  Even though they have had a huge surge in popularity, they are the same price as they were before.  About 600 bucks.  They have improved the SPX slightly.  For one, they gave the SPX a larger bolt handle, which is a large improvement.  They they screwed in a Sling Swivel Stud so you can put on a sling.  Thanks, that’s a nice touch… but it’s not enough.   I have some complaints about the SPX that I’d like to see Mossberg take a good hard look.

I sell these things for a living, that’s what I do.  And a lot of the serious shooters out there just can’t take Mossberg’s semi auto seriously, and will buy a gun that’s 400 bucks more money.  Why is that and what can be done to fix it?

1.  The forward handguard feels loose.  It doesn’t feel solid and secure.  This gives the whole gun a cheeper, lesser quality feeling.  I know the gun is good, but when the handguard is shifting around, it’s hard to convince someone that’s it’s okay.  A tactical shotgun should be as solid as a Louisville Slugger.   Mossberg just hasn’t got this yet.

2.  This new aftermarket sling swivel stud looks like someone just screwed it on before they took a lunch break.  That just screams chinsey.  A simple bracket like what Wilson Combat sells would work perfectly, look cool, and would be easier and better to use for those who use shotguns for serious purposes… like… who you’re selling the SPX to.

3.  It doesn’t come with a mount for a pistol light.  The addition of a simple bracket around the mag-tube and barrel that puts a short rail up front would go a long way.  Instead you (Mossberg) are forcing your customers to go buy that part from someone else.  You make that part and you sell that part.

4.  No chokes.  What makes a Shotgun so great is it’s versatility.  With removable chokes, an operator can tune his gun and load in together for whatever situation.  This is one of the main reasons I sell tactical shotguns that are 400 bucks more.   Serious shooters want to be able to use the right shell for the job, and if they don’t have the ability to change out a choke tube, then that’s a handicap.  A big one.

If Mossberg does these few things… the 930 SPX can be transformed from a “Great gun for The Money” into a World Class gun for Serious Shooters.

 

.338 Lapua is so super awesome!

We hear a lot of questions about the .338 Lapua cartridge.  It get’s almost religious-like hushed tones when most guys talk about it.  It gets so much attention, even out here in the Uintah Basin, that when people around here talk about a .338, they are talking about the Lapua round.

Let’s take a look at the most common .338’s here in my neck of the woods.

.338 Win Mag, .338 Lapua, .338-378 Weatherby

Continue reading .338 Lapua is so super awesome!

Marlin’s looking good again?

We got in a couple new Marlins from the factory.   One of them is a big loop Guide Gun.  Guys, I have to tell you… it looks good.  None of the shoddy fitting like in the past.  None of the shabby wood like in the past.  Everything on it looks and feels good.  Like a Marlin should.  And this isn’t just one shippment.  The last one looked good too, so this isn’t a fluke event.

Now, don’t hold me to it, and don’t hold your breath…. but I’m hopeful that Marlin has fixed their QC issues and is now making good guns again.