New "Law Enforcement Only" Glock 17 mags from CDNN Investments for $14.99. Direct Link to LE Glock 17 Mags. These are, of course, completely legal for those in free states with no magazine limits. Good deal, but I already have, well I don't know exactly, but more than 20 of 'em.
CDNN also has new Glock 22 mags for $18.99 each. IIRC, you can get them from Natchez Shooters Supply for about the same price. AIM Surplus has used G22 mags for $14.95.
I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but the cheaper Korean Glock mags don't always drop free, and they jam up with hollowpoints if they are loaded on the long side. The same hollowpoint ammo runs just fine through factory Glock, Kahr, Berretta, and S&W M&P mags. I have a bunch, but won't buy any more.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
$1.75 Solution to a 9mm AR-15 Problem
I was just about to order a Spike's 9mm buffer, but did a quick search first. It would seem that someone on the AR15.com message boards discovered that 7 quarters dropped into the buffer tube, before installing the recoil spring and buffer, make a perfect buffer spacer.
I have an RRA 9mm buffer, but it is standard 5.56mm length. The 9mm bolts don't need to travel as far back as a .223Rem/5.56mm bolt carrier, and they're heavier. What happens is the 9mm bolt gets a good running start at the bolt catch. The bolt catches take a beating. I had a Model 1 bolt catch in the lower I first ran the 9mm upper on, and the catch quickly got bent to the point that I had to replace it.
You can get longer 9mm buffers from Spike's, Hahn, or Slash, but they aren't cheap. Spike's also makes a buffer spacer, for people like me who already have an acceptable short buffer, but it's still nearly $30 shipped, for a small piece of machined aluminum who's sole purpose is to take up a little space in the buffer tube.
Sure enough, the American 25¢ piece fit right in both Commercial and Mil-Spec carbine buffer tubes. Although I haven't tried the quarter trick live-fire yet, it should work just like the Spike's 9mm Buffer spacer. The quarters won't fit inside the coils of a buffer spring, so I have no reason to doubt those who swear it works very well, and there's really nothing to lose.
UPDATE, 9/12/2010: Tried it out. Seems to work well. Put 4 30-Round mags, and a 20-Round mag through my RRA 9mm upper, with Hahn mag block and RRA 9mm buffer, without any issues. I have, on a couple occasions, had stovepipe jams with this set-up without the quarters, but no problems today. I was running hollowpoints too.
It seems like I could get another quarter or maybe two more into the buffer tube, and still be able to lock the bolt to the rear.
I have an RRA 9mm buffer, but it is standard 5.56mm length. The 9mm bolts don't need to travel as far back as a .223Rem/5.56mm bolt carrier, and they're heavier. What happens is the 9mm bolt gets a good running start at the bolt catch. The bolt catches take a beating. I had a Model 1 bolt catch in the lower I first ran the 9mm upper on, and the catch quickly got bent to the point that I had to replace it.
You can get longer 9mm buffers from Spike's, Hahn, or Slash, but they aren't cheap. Spike's also makes a buffer spacer, for people like me who already have an acceptable short buffer, but it's still nearly $30 shipped, for a small piece of machined aluminum who's sole purpose is to take up a little space in the buffer tube.
Sure enough, the American 25¢ piece fit right in both Commercial and Mil-Spec carbine buffer tubes. Although I haven't tried the quarter trick live-fire yet, it should work just like the Spike's 9mm Buffer spacer. The quarters won't fit inside the coils of a buffer spring, so I have no reason to doubt those who swear it works very well, and there's really nothing to lose.
UPDATE, 9/12/2010: Tried it out. Seems to work well. Put 4 30-Round mags, and a 20-Round mag through my RRA 9mm upper, with Hahn mag block and RRA 9mm buffer, without any issues. I have, on a couple occasions, had stovepipe jams with this set-up without the quarters, but no problems today. I was running hollowpoints too.
It seems like I could get another quarter or maybe two more into the buffer tube, and still be able to lock the bolt to the rear.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Minisniping
Minisniping started as a game for air rifles, but there's no reason you can't do it with rimfires, or even centerfire rifles. The way it's done in the article, you sit a 9mm shell casing on a lump of clay 35 yards out from your shooting bench, and pick them off with your adult airgun of choice.
The price of ammo has gone up a lot since 1984, when the article was printed in Guns & Ammo, and even 9mm brass gets sold, so I wouldn't use 9mm brass, but you may be able to come up with steel 9x18 casings or something else entirely to use as targets.
Many of the newer centerfire rifles will shoot 1 inch groups at a hundred yards. Try putting some low-brass 12 gauge shells out, and try picking those off.
Maybe something like the Rimfire Tactical Precision Match is more your cup of tea. Put some steel targets out far enough for it to be a real challenge. Make up some terrorist/hostage targets (if your range rules allow). There are some more fun targets on the 6mmBR website to play with.
It summer, get out there and shoot. Make it fun. Dust off your imagination.
The price of ammo has gone up a lot since 1984, when the article was printed in Guns & Ammo, and even 9mm brass gets sold, so I wouldn't use 9mm brass, but you may be able to come up with steel 9x18 casings or something else entirely to use as targets.
Many of the newer centerfire rifles will shoot 1 inch groups at a hundred yards. Try putting some low-brass 12 gauge shells out, and try picking those off.
Maybe something like the Rimfire Tactical Precision Match is more your cup of tea. Put some steel targets out far enough for it to be a real challenge. Make up some terrorist/hostage targets (if your range rules allow). There are some more fun targets on the 6mmBR website to play with.
It summer, get out there and shoot. Make it fun. Dust off your imagination.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Man Uses Pistol For Protection in National Park
John R. Lott post on the Denali National Park shooting
LA Times Blog post on the shooting
You may have heard that a law passed this year allowing those allowing those permitted by state law, to carry firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. It didn't take very long before the law paid off, not that I'm not surprised. . .
A backpacker hiking in Denali National Park in Alaska drew a .45caliber pistol, and fired "about 9 rounds," at a bear that charged the woman he was hiking with. The bear retreated, and was later found, dead.
LA Times Blog post on the shooting
You may have heard that a law passed this year allowing those allowing those permitted by state law, to carry firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. It didn't take very long before the law paid off, not that I'm not surprised. . .
A backpacker hiking in Denali National Park in Alaska drew a .45caliber pistol, and fired "about 9 rounds," at a bear that charged the woman he was hiking with. The bear retreated, and was later found, dead.
Shooting Rampage in England. Bobbies Unarmed and Helpless To Stop It!!!
John R. Lott on shooting
BBC news story on Derrick Bird shootings in Cumbria
An unarmed police officer hears shots, and goes to investigate. He got into a passing car and followed the suspect, who had gotten into a taxi. The first Bobby was joined by two other unarmed officers, who joined chase in a police van.
The suspect, Derrick Bird, killed 12 and wounded 11, on a shooting spree in Cumbria, before finally eating a bullet. The police, not having any firearms, couldn't do much more than watch, and try to give aid to the victims. It's not their fault. It's the ridiculous idea that's spread through the U.K., that there's something wrong with self-defense, or the defense of others, particularly with a firearm. That they haven't figured out that it's not working, is rather sickening. We need to be sure not to let this happen here.
BBC news story on Derrick Bird shootings in Cumbria
An unarmed police officer hears shots, and goes to investigate. He got into a passing car and followed the suspect, who had gotten into a taxi. The first Bobby was joined by two other unarmed officers, who joined chase in a police van.
The suspect, Derrick Bird, killed 12 and wounded 11, on a shooting spree in Cumbria, before finally eating a bullet. The police, not having any firearms, couldn't do much more than watch, and try to give aid to the victims. It's not their fault. It's the ridiculous idea that's spread through the U.K., that there's something wrong with self-defense, or the defense of others, particularly with a firearm. That they haven't figured out that it's not working, is rather sickening. We need to be sure not to let this happen here.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Benjamin Marauder Pre-Charged Pneumatic Air Rifle, Part 2
Marauder Review Part 1 - Now With Pictures!
Accuracy
I was able to eliminate JSB Exact, and JSB Exact Heavy pellets just from 10 yard testing. The Heavies shot ½ inch groups at 10 yards. The regular JSB Exacts were strung out about two and a half inches across the target. Crosman Premier Hollow Points shot pretty well, mostly, but one spun off to the left about six inches, and one went almost a foot high, and missed the pellet trap entirely!
It looks like my factory tuned Marauder does not really like any of the lighter pellets. Although the Beeman FTS and JSB Exact Express pellets showed promise at 10 yards, the 25 yard groups were both over two inches. I believe both pellets are around 8 grains, and the Crosman Hollow Points are 7.9 grains.
I had reported on the MarauderAirRifle forum that my rifle preferred Beeman Kodiac Pellets (10.6 grains) over the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum pellets (10.5 grains). I had done most of the testing with these two pellets at 10 yards, with the barrel band in place. At 25 yards, without the barrel band, the groups showed something else.
Those are 10-shot groups. I feel 10-shot groups give a more realistic picture of how a gun will shoot than lucky 3-shot or 5-shot groups. I knew I had made a mistake in calling the Kodiacs the favorite when I shot the first 5 heavy Premiers at 25 yards. They all went into one tiny bughole. The next 5 opened up the group a little, but the end results are still pretty good. My American dime measures just a little under 0.7” in diameter, and it will easily cover both of the 10-shot, 25 yard groups shot with the heavy Premier domes.
I feel less dumb for having bought two tins of the Premiers, and only one of the Kodiacs. I did spend a good bit of time washing, and swabbing bits of lead flakes out of the Premiers though. The Kodiacs didn’t really need the cleaning, and although I’ve inspected more of the Kodiacs, while goofing around the field target course, I’ve found much fewer with imperfections and none with any lead flashing.
Pressurizing the Marauder
The protective cap is removed to show the Foster male quick-disconnect coupler. The manual is very specific about using the Foster #12FS female coupler to charge the rifle. This is the same type of coupler used to charge late-model Daystate and BAM pre-charged air rifles, among others.
The Marauder can be charged with compressed air or CO2. Out-of-the-box the Marauder is set up or a 2500psi charge of compressed air. To get it to run on CO2, you would need to purge any compressed air in the tube, by using the (included) depressurizing tool. To charge with CO2 also requires a fill adapter to use with a paintball tank. Using CO2 also requires a 2000psi pressure tune.
The Marauder is one of few PCP airguns that can be set up to run on a charge pressure from 2000 to 3000 psi. There are adjustments for hammer stroke length, and hammer spring preload. The velocity can be adjusted by turning the valve metering screw, which is on the right side of rifle, above the trigger group, and hidden below the top edge of the stock.
Shooting at 50 yards, I noticed that the rifle gets really sensitive to fill pressure. You can see from this group that the group strung out vertically, and strangely, to the left, as the pressure went down.
I guess I really only get about 20 good shots from a full 2500 psi charge. The gauge built into the rifle just about matches the gauge on my Hill pump. Recharging after 20 shots takes about 45 strokes of the pump, and the pump really doesn't get very warm. If you aren't shooting at longer distances, you can squeeze out 10 more shots, and then it takes about 80 pump-strokes to refill, and you should probably stop after 60 strokes to let the pump cool off a little bit.
Trigger (Continued)
I degassed the rifle, and finished tuning the trigger. I backed out the return spring screw again, and turned it back in until it just barely reset the trigger. Then I adjusted the 2nd stage, to remove most of the creep.
The trigger pull was very light, but I would sometimes miss the 2nd stage, and the gun would go off before I was really ready for it. Turning in the return spring screw maybe a sixth of a turn more fixed it.
You want to know what the trigger pull weight is? Hold onto your hats folks. The first-stage pull is right around 3 ounces, and the second-stage trips at 3.5-3.7. Ray, of the A-Team had reported that his trigger, “is set at 2.4 ounces for the first stage and breaks at 3.3 ounces.” I figured some gunsmith at Crosman had slicked up the trigger for him, or worked some other magic, but now I’m thinking it may just be a matter of personal preferences in setting the trigger, or maybe it’s just a minor difference in trigger pull gauges.
And on that bombshell. . .
Accuracy
I was able to eliminate JSB Exact, and JSB Exact Heavy pellets just from 10 yard testing. The Heavies shot ½ inch groups at 10 yards. The regular JSB Exacts were strung out about two and a half inches across the target. Crosman Premier Hollow Points shot pretty well, mostly, but one spun off to the left about six inches, and one went almost a foot high, and missed the pellet trap entirely!
It looks like my factory tuned Marauder does not really like any of the lighter pellets. Although the Beeman FTS and JSB Exact Express pellets showed promise at 10 yards, the 25 yard groups were both over two inches. I believe both pellets are around 8 grains, and the Crosman Hollow Points are 7.9 grains.
I had reported on the MarauderAirRifle forum that my rifle preferred Beeman Kodiac Pellets (10.6 grains) over the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum pellets (10.5 grains). I had done most of the testing with these two pellets at 10 yards, with the barrel band in place. At 25 yards, without the barrel band, the groups showed something else.
25 Yard Groups - Kodiac Match Pellets - 0.868" and 0.74" center-to-center
Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum Pellets - 0.445" and .430" center-to-center
50 Yard Group, different day, Crosman UltraMag - 0.9" C.T.C.
Those are 10-shot groups. I feel 10-shot groups give a more realistic picture of how a gun will shoot than lucky 3-shot or 5-shot groups. I knew I had made a mistake in calling the Kodiacs the favorite when I shot the first 5 heavy Premiers at 25 yards. They all went into one tiny bughole. The next 5 opened up the group a little, but the end results are still pretty good. My American dime measures just a little under 0.7” in diameter, and it will easily cover both of the 10-shot, 25 yard groups shot with the heavy Premier domes.
I feel less dumb for having bought two tins of the Premiers, and only one of the Kodiacs. I did spend a good bit of time washing, and swabbing bits of lead flakes out of the Premiers though. The Kodiacs didn’t really need the cleaning, and although I’ve inspected more of the Kodiacs, while goofing around the field target course, I’ve found much fewer with imperfections and none with any lead flashing.
Pressurizing the Marauder
The protective cap is removed to show the Foster male quick-disconnect coupler. The manual is very specific about using the Foster #12FS female coupler to charge the rifle. This is the same type of coupler used to charge late-model Daystate and BAM pre-charged air rifles, among others.
The Marauder can be charged with compressed air or CO2. Out-of-the-box the Marauder is set up or a 2500psi charge of compressed air. To get it to run on CO2, you would need to purge any compressed air in the tube, by using the (included) depressurizing tool. To charge with CO2 also requires a fill adapter to use with a paintball tank. Using CO2 also requires a 2000psi pressure tune.
The Marauder is one of few PCP airguns that can be set up to run on a charge pressure from 2000 to 3000 psi. There are adjustments for hammer stroke length, and hammer spring preload. The velocity can be adjusted by turning the valve metering screw, which is on the right side of rifle, above the trigger group, and hidden below the top edge of the stock.
I guess I really only get about 20 good shots from a full 2500 psi charge. The gauge built into the rifle just about matches the gauge on my Hill pump. Recharging after 20 shots takes about 45 strokes of the pump, and the pump really doesn't get very warm. If you aren't shooting at longer distances, you can squeeze out 10 more shots, and then it takes about 80 pump-strokes to refill, and you should probably stop after 60 strokes to let the pump cool off a little bit.
Trigger (Continued)
I degassed the rifle, and finished tuning the trigger. I backed out the return spring screw again, and turned it back in until it just barely reset the trigger. Then I adjusted the 2nd stage, to remove most of the creep.
The trigger pull was very light, but I would sometimes miss the 2nd stage, and the gun would go off before I was really ready for it. Turning in the return spring screw maybe a sixth of a turn more fixed it.
You want to know what the trigger pull weight is? Hold onto your hats folks. The first-stage pull is right around 3 ounces, and the second-stage trips at 3.5-3.7. Ray, of the A-Team had reported that his trigger, “is set at 2.4 ounces for the first stage and breaks at 3.3 ounces.” I figured some gunsmith at Crosman had slicked up the trigger for him, or worked some other magic, but now I’m thinking it may just be a matter of personal preferences in setting the trigger, or maybe it’s just a minor difference in trigger pull gauges.
And on that bombshell. . .
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