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.

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.

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. . .

TI25 10/22 Mags Down To $17.99

Tactical Innovations has reduced the price of their adjustable polycarbonate 25-round magazines to $17.99.  They might have been up as high as $40 soon after the elections.  The one I've been testing has been flawless.

If you're interested in color-anodized 10/22 trigger housings, triggers, and mag releases, they've got those too.

They are also offering free shipping on orders over $150.

FREE SHIPPING TERMS
Free shipping offer applies to online orders with combined products totaling $150 or more excluding shipping and taxes. Free shipping offer does not apply to FFL restricted items (firearms) as well as heavy or oversize items which would require additional freight charges. Free shipping carrier and service will be selected by Tactical Innovations based on package weight, package size and shipping distance. Customer reserves the right to designate carrier and service at customer's expense.

DSG Arms New Website Sale

To promote their new website, DSG Arms is offering a $10 credit if you update your account, by creating a new password.  Here is the link to create a new password for your existing account.

Get $10 off on any merchandise order of $150 or more between now and 6/30/2010 for trying our new site. Use the discount code: 20100524 when you checkout. Watch for the 'Add a Promotional Code' box after choosing your address and shipping. Enter the code 20100524 and click the right arrow icon to apply your discount before completing your order..

The coupon code may work, even for new customers.  The e-mail they sent me doesn't really say.

Crime Rate Still On The Decline - CCRKBA.ORG

Although the gun ban lobby is still crying that guns cause crime, and we need more gun laws, the FBI numbers are out from 2009.  Violent crime rates fell again, despite the continuation of high rates of gun sales and concealed carry permit applications, following the 2008 elections.

Alan Gottleib of CCRKBA.ORG reports that:

. . . the murder rate fell last year 7.2 percent in larger cities. Robbery declined more than 8 percent and forcible rape was down 3.1 percent. It might just be that criminals are less likely to attack someone out of fear their intended victim is armed. Robbers might be discouraged by the growing potential that the clerk behind the counter is willing to fight back. Maybe would-be rapists are deterred by the possibility that they might get shot.

For many years, anti-gunners made all kinds of wild predictions that higher rates of gun ownership and the expansion of shall-issue carry permits would leave neighborhoods awash in blood. The data proves otherwise. America should turn its back on the gun prohibition lobby and their insidious policy of victim disarmament.

 You can read the rest of the article here.

Benjamin Marauder Pre-Charged Pneumatic Air Rifle

My Marauder (without barrel band, which I'll explain), Hill Pump, and a selection on pellets it likes.

I think I should start with the box the rifle comes in.  The box is glossy, and pretty classy, with pictures and a list of the rifle’s features.  They stapled the damn thing closed, which I could have lived without, and this lead to me ripping the box trying to get at the rifle.  I don’t have plans on selling mine though.

The rifle was held in the box with open cell foam blocks.  There was an instruction manual, degassing too and instructions, magazine and instructions in the box also, but I have them stashed in another location.  Sorry!

 Bottom of the box shows the rifle's features, and Crosman accessories for their PCP airguns.

The Marauder weighs about 8 pounds, and felt a bit light to me, at least until I put the heavy 10-40x scope on top.  Walking the field target course, it starts to feel pretty heavy.  It does hang pretty steady on the target though.  Still not as bad as the B21 springer (Chinese RWS side-lever clone), that weighed about 9 and a half pounds without a scope. 

The Stock
I could live without the cheekrest on the right side of the stock, but otherwise, I don’t think the stock is as bad as some have opined.  It’s got a matte finish, which I can see offending those who like their stocks mirror polished, but I don’t mind it at all.  I found a few small. . . lumps, in the finish, and a dent in the top rear of the cheekpiece that’s about a quarter inch in diameter and about an eighth inch deep.

The stock fits me (6 foot, 2 inches), pretty well.  It’s a half inch, maybe an inch, too short, but not short enough to be uncomfortable.  The rifle is meant to be scoped so the cheekrest is appropriately high, though somehow sort of uncomfortable.  The cheekrest feels like it’s too far to the left, for this right-handed shooter.

The ventilated buttpad is at about the right height   I’ve heard complaints about the grip being too large, but it places the pad of my index finger on trigger, where I feel that it should be, so I’m not complaining.  Although I’d prefer an adjustable buttstock and cheekrest, and a vertical grip or AR-15 pistol grip, I find the rifle to be much more ergonomic that I had expected.  They seem to have put some effort into getting the ergonomics right, at least for a tallish American.

I was hoping that it wouldn’t be like the Crosman 2289 Backpacker (discontinued; basically a 2250, but a pumper rather than CO2 powered).  The buttpad of the 2289 was several inches too high, and what would be the cheekpiece was more than an inch too low for use with a scope.

The stock comes with sling swivel studs.  The studs only cost a couple dollars each, retail price, but are usually not included with factory rifles or aftermarket stocks.  So the end user ends up paying a gunsmith $20 or so to get them installed, or pays about $30 to purchase a kit for installing swivel studs.  No worries with the Marauder though.

The Magazine
The Marauder is a repeater.  I didn’t think I really needed a magazine-fed air rifle, but when I started shooting in the basement, I remembered that it’s rather difficult to load a rifle when I’m sitting on the stairs.  I could put the pellet tin to my left, on the next higher step, but I’m right-handed, so that really doesn’t work well.  With the magazine, I can just rack the bolt, and keep shooting.

The magazine is pretty simple, but surprisingly difficult to load without first reading the instructions.  With a little practice, it’s not hard to do though, and after you get the first pellet loaded, you no longer have to fight the magazine spring, which is nice.

To load the magazine, involves three steps.

1. With the clear cover facing you, rotate the cover about 15 degrees short of a full turn clockwise.  This preloads the magazine spring.
2. While still holding the cover in position, insert a pellet into the 1st position through the slot in the cover, while holding a finger over the hole in the back, or perhaps I should say front end of the magazine.  Once the first pellet is in place, you can release your hold on the clear cover.  The spring tension of the rotor will hold the 1st pellet in place against the body of the magazine.
3. You can now rotate the clear magazine cover counterclockwise and place pellets in positions 10 through 2 in the rotor through the slot in the cover, and then snap the cover back into position.

It’s fairly simple, but fairly unconventional for someone used to loading box magazines for a firearm from the top.  I had to follow the instructions a two or three time before I caught on.

The magazine will stop you from closing the bolt when there are no more pellets left.  This is to keep you from dry firing when you really want to put a hole in something.

I’m told the Marauder magazine is very similar to the Theoben magazines.  The price of spare Benjamin magazines runs from $9.95-$20 depending on the source.  You can also get a single-shot tray that fits in place of the magazine, and the price is about the same as what the magazines go for.

The Trigger
Out of the box, my Marauder had a first stage of about 1 pound, and a second stage of about a pound and a half.  The first stage was fairly long.  The second stage had a little creep, although the sear engagement appeared to be pretty small.

The trigger reach is somewhat adjustable, by turning the screw at the rear of the trigger housing.  Adjusting the trigger reach with the adjustment screw, you can change the sear engagement, so be careful.  As I said while discussing the stock, I found the trigger reach pretty good right out of the box.

The screw at the front on the trigger housing adjusts the trigger return spring.  Inside the trigger housing, is another spring that serves the same purpose, and it’s not adjustable.  If you leave that internal spring in place, you really don’t need the screw and spring at the front of the trigger housing.  You cannot really use the rifle without either of these trigger return springs though, because the trigger will remain to the rear, and not reset, and the rifle won’t cock again without pushing the trigger forward manually.  I found this out accidentally, having tried the trigger as is, making an adjustment, and then removing the non-adjustable “lawyer spring.”  Without some tension on the front trigger return spring, and no internal return spring, the trigger pull was really too light to be even remotely predictable anyway.

Avv604's Trigger Lightening Post on Meandering Blog - Details on removing the "Lawyer Spring."

The trigger housing, by the way, is not sealed, and I was able to remove the cover without any prying.  There are no tamper-resistant screws involved.  All the adjustment screws have Allen sockets, as do the screws that hold the trigger group onto the rifle action, and the screws that hold the trigger group together.

The trigger group is a tight unit with machined steel parts.  There is very little "slop" in the fit of any of the parts.

I did a little tuning, without the lawyer spring, and I think I got the trigger down to a safe 2nd stage weight of less than 10 ounces, with very little creep.  I have a trigger gage, but I’m not going to bother measuring it until I’m finished tuning.  I think I can get it a little bit lighter, and reduce the creep a little bit more.

I wish that I could get something similar to the Marauder trigger for an AR-15 target rifle.

Cleaning the Barrel
At first, I thought the flyers I was getting with the heavy Premier pellets was from less than stellar shooting (ahem), or a sitting position on the basement stairs that wasn’t so stable.  Those might have been part of it, but I figured that I should try cleaning the bore.  Reading some of the forums, I was finding reports of dirty barrels on Marauders that just came out of the box.  Sure enough, I put about 20 patches through the bore before I got a patch to come out clean.  The first few patches had smudges that were nearly black.  I had only fired about 180 rounds at that point, probably less, and the bore should not have been that dirty.

But here is where the story gets a bit. . . interesting.  To clean the bore, you sort of have to take the rifle apart.  To get a pull-through rod into the bore I had to remove the bolt.  There’s an Allen-head screw that holds the bolt in the breech.  That’s pretty easy to remove; there’s a slot in the side of the breech where you can access this screw when the bolt’s closed.  I had been warned (those forums again) that you can damage the bolt it you don’t back out the screw that’s on the top rear of the breech.  That screw controls the spring pressure on the ball detent that holds the bolt closed.  To get at that screw, I had to remove the scope, and move the B-Square Weaver adapter forward.

Bore was probably quite dirty before I even shot anything.

But wait, there’s more.  If you try to push or pull a patch through the bore without removing the shroud or the baffles, the patches will get hung up on the baffles.  So I removed the whole shroud, just to see what was going on in there.  You could also unscrew the muzzle end cap and pull out the baffles, just make sure to take note of the order of the baffles and the o-ring.  You could also try putting a drinking straw through the baffles from the muzzle end of the shroud.

Having to do all that, just to clean the bore, sucked.  It’s almost like having to remove all the suspension from a car to unbolt wheels from the backside, if you need to change or rotate tires.  Cleaning the barrel should be a pretty regular maintenance task, and it shouldn’t be so complicated. 

The Barrel Shroud
The shroud is surprisingly effective.  The report from the muzzle end is pretty much non-existent.  Pretty much all you hear when shooting is the PING of the hammer hitting the valve, and maybe the smack of the pellet hitting the target.

The shroud on my Marauder was touching the bottom of the barrel band, which probably isn’t really good, although it still shot pretty well.  Tim McMurray at Mac1Airguns has reported on one of the airgun forums that Crosman is now shipping all Marauders with the slightly larger band that they were putting on the .25cal models.  I learned that the barrel probably does touch the inside of the shroud from taking the shroud off to clean the barrel, which means that as the pressure changes in the air chamber as I shoot, it may have some impact on where the muzzle is pointing in relation to the scope.  There is a pretty simple solution to the problem, which is just to remove the barrel band altogether.

Overall Impression
I am really impressed with this pre-charged adult airgun that you can get for about $413 shipped at the moment, maybe less if you can catch them in stock at Midway, and find a coupon at RetailMeNot.  The Benjamin PCP rifles are competing with European models that cost nearly twice as much, and in some cases are matching the performance of rifles that cost more than double.

The trigger, without the lawyer spring, is NIIIIICE, after a little adjustment of the 2nd stage screw.  The stock is much better engineered than I had expected, and the sling swivel studs are a nice touch.

If you are used to Crosman's cheaper air rifles, this rifle is really nothing like that.  Except for the magazine, the baffles in the shroud, and the polymer bushings in the trigger group, there's really no plastic to be found.  For the most part, everything fits together very well.

The shroud touching the barrel band is a bit of a disappointment, although I might be able to talk Crosman into sending me one of the ones they were using on the .25cal models.  Having to take the scope off, remove a screw and bushing, and loosen another screw to clean the barrel will continue to make cleaning the bore rather tedious.

I’ll write some more about the Marauder at a later date after I get to spend some more time with it.  I’ve still got 3 different types of JSB pellets, and the Beeman field target pellets to test yet.  Eventually, I’ll get my Pact timer returned, and have it working with the sky screens as a chronograph, and I’ll be able to say how fast it shoots with various pellets, and how many useful shots it will get from a charge, and I might try adjusting fill pressure and velocity.

Airguns of Arizona - Looks like they have Marauders in stock for $399.00.
Crosman Airguns Official Website - .177 Marauder Page
Greg Davis Forum - Probably the #1 tuner of Marauder air rifles right now.  Check link for information on tuning, along with some things you can do yourself.
MarauderAirRifle.com - Some good information in the forum.

Hawaii Passed Gun Owner Protection Laws?

Got an e-mail from the Second Amendment Foundation that Hawaii passed two laws to protect gun owners recently.  One prohibits siezure of firearms in the event of a disaster; a law that came about after the mess in New Orleans after the hurricane.  The other is a "Castle Doctrine" law.

I'm a bit shocked, as Hawaii certainly isn't the most gun friendly state in the country, with discretionary carry permits, and, IIRC, a state "assault weapon" ban.

It would be nice if Sam Rohrer would get elected as governor in Pennsylvania, and my state could get some of these laws along with one that would make it illegal for an employer to fire an employee with a legal firearm locked inside their car on company property.  We are presently ruled over by "Fast Eddie" Rendel, who ranks up there with NYC Major Bloomberg in the list of anti-gun politicians.

3-Gun TV Show Coming to VS Network

FNH USA (Fabrique National.  You know.  The PS90, SCAR, FiveseveN people) are sponsoring a show to air on the Versus TV Network.  It's a 3-Gun competition show.  The show is scheduled to begin in July of this year.

From what I'm reading in America's First Freedom, the show sounds a lot like the Front Sight Challenge show that aired on Versus a few years ago, but at least it will bring a shooting TV show to those (like me) who can't get The Outdoor Channel.

UPDATE, 8/7/10:  Don't know what happened, but the show is on The Sportsman's Channel, or something like that, not Versus.

Brownells to Help American Cancer Society

For every Shoot Like A Girl gun case product sold though Brownells, they are donating 10% of the purchase price to the American Cancer Society to help fight breast cancer.

The Shoot Like A Girl cases are made in the USA from pink 1000-denier Cordura nylon, and there are cases available for pistols, scoped rifles, and M4 carbines.

Maybe not a bad idea for a Mother's day gift, if you've managed to get your mom or the mother of your child out to the range.


Brownells Shoot Like A Girl line

Cheaper Than Dirt! Buy-A-Gun Feature

Many of you may know of Cheaper Than Dirt! from their firearm accessory catalogs, or at least their magazine ads.  The CTD website has a new Buy-A-Gun feature to help people find guns that may be hard to find.  If you click the "FFL Dealers" link on the right side of the page, you'll be prompted to enter you zip code, and then the website will generate a map of your area, showing the locations of nearby dealers, with addresses and phone numbers.

Also in the links along the right side of the page are links to databases of gunshows, gunsmiths, firearms training classes, shooting ranges, hunting guides, and a link to "Blue Book of Gun Values."  A few other websites have hosted this type of information, but sadly a lot of them have folded.  Hopefully CTD won't do anything stupid and go out of business.

Direct Link to Cheaper Than Dirt! Buy-A-Gun Page.

Bar-Sto is Moving Out of Commifornia

Bar-Sto Precision Machine, is a company in California that makes pistol barrels, and does gunsmithing work on 1911/2011 pistols, 870 shotguns, Glocks, Springfield XDs, and AR rifles.  It looks like they are also making a metal memory-groove type grip safety for Springfield XD pistols.

Irv Stone, current owner of Bar-Sto credits the tax situation in California as the motivation for the move.  There's no mention of the gun laws in Cali, but I imagine that's a part of it too.

According to the "Views and Reviews" column in the June 2010 issue of American Rifleman, the move is scheduled to take place sometime in the first half of 2010.

Concealed Carry Poll - Connecticut Courant

Link to Connecticut Courant poll on concealed carry.

Should Connecticut Allow Open Carrying Of Guns?
Should Connecticut continue to allow people to carry permitted handguns openly?

• Yes. We allow people to own guns after going through a screening process, so why not let them have their holstered guns in plain sight?

• No. When a private citizen walks into a public place with a handgun visible for all to see, it can create a sense of fear or intimidation -- or something worse.

• Not sure

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-poll-open-carry-handguns-0417,0,5186935,post.poll

April 19th, Day of "The Shot Heard 'Round The World"

I just turned April 19th, here on the east coast, about an hour ago.  April 19th is the anniversary of "The Shot Heard 'Round The World," the event usually credited with starting the American Revolution.

The British Army were ordered to collect and destroy firearms and other supplies stored by the militia in Concord, Mass.  Long story short, the Militia fought back, and defeated three companies of British Army regulars at Concord, and then some.

The "Shot Heard 'Round the World," was fired in Lexington, though the exact story is unknown, with both sides having coming up with different version of what happened.

Most would agree that when the British regulars came into Lexington, on the morning of April 19, 1775, Lexington militiamen, who had been warned of what the Brits were coming to do, came out of a local tavern into the common to watch the regulars, along with a few dozen other locals.

The leader of the militia was Captain John Parker.  Below is what he swore to after the fight:

I ... ordered our Militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with said Regular Troops (if they should approach) unless they should insult or molest us; and, upon their sudden Approach, I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire:—Immediately said Troops made their appearance and rushed furiously, fired upon, and killed eight of our Party without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.

The leader of the British regulars was Lieutenant William Sutherland.  Sutherland reportedly called out, "lay down your arms, you damned rebels!"

Well, they certainly didn't, and someone fired a shot, and all hell broke loose.

Wikipedia - "The Shot Heard 'Round The World"
Wikipedia - The Battles of Lexington and Concord

"Odd Angry Shot: Pause and Remember the 19th of April, 1775," Guns Magazine, April 2010, by John Connor.

Connor writes:

Historians tell us only about 3 percent of colonials actively fought as patriots in the Revolution, supported by about 1/3 of the population.  One-third sat it out, remaining neutral.  Another 1/3 were British loyalists, and in fact, toward the end of the war, more loyalists were fighting for King George and revolutionaries were fighting for their new nation.  Against all odds, the 3-percenters prevailed.
Sometimes great deeds are done by the few, the committed.  This 19th of April, let us remember those few, those brave, those 3-percenters.

More on Three Percenters

Not All AR Parts ARe Created Equal

They look pretty much the same don't they?  I didn't think there was a difference.  I haven't used my Model 1 upper in a few years, I guess.  Not fully trusting the charging handle, I put it in the Kuehl rimfire upper, and used the charging handle I got from the rimfire upper with a 5.56mm LMT upper.

The Kuehl uppers use a Jonathan Arthur Ceiner rimfire conversion kit with the chamber adapter milled off, and a custom made rimfire barrel.  Just by the way.

If you look a little closer, you can see that the channel on the underside, for the gas key, is shorter on the Model 1 charging handle.  The rimfire conversion kit ran through two 27-round mags with the Model 1 charging handle before the rimfire bolt raised enough of a burr to stop the bolt from cycling.

Upon closer inspection, the locking tab is also bent.  Not sure when that happened, or if it came that way.

Closer, side-view, of the burr that brought my shooting session with the rimfire upper to a screeching halt.

Bushmaster ACR Review on AR15.com

Link to thread, ACR Observations.

Some new information and detail photos.  Interesting.


Another thread, by Ghetto.  Link is to page 5, where he actually gets the rifle, the first 5 pages are pretty worthless.


This is Post #250!!

UPDATE, 9/18/2010: ShooterReview comparison tests of Bushmaser ACR Basic, Robinson Arms XCR, and an Rock River Arms M4

Virtual Arsenal on Mythbusters

This week's episode of Mythbusters features a pretty wide assortment of firearms as they test the myth of bulletproofing a car with phonebooks.  It's worth checking the TV listings for repeats of this episode, I'm sure it'll be on a few times this weekend, and maybe next Wednesday.  They pretty much go all out to finally stop the SUV, and deflate the blow-up dolls (yes, really) on the inside.

They also use more explosives to test the movie myth that diving underwater will save you from being injured by an explosion.

Oh, and Kari's back (and still cute after having her baby)!  I believe this is the episode that the photo of Kari with a .50BMG rifle came from, which you may remember if you follow The Firearm Blog.

Current Status of Gun Ownership In D.C.

Again from John R. Lott, from this FoxNews article, A Gun Ban By Any Other Name...

Lott tells the story of a D.C. man, a reporter, who spent $558.69 just in fees to get approved to buy a handgun.  Besides the fees, he spent nearly 16 hours on the process, made 4 trips to the police department, went through two background checks, was fingerprinted, took a five-hour class, and had to take a written test.


Part of the Heller decision was that the D.C. laws that required all firearms to be kept unloaded and locked was deemed to be unconstitutional.  Lott says, in his blog post about the article, "that D.C. law now requires that gun owners (primarily those owning long guns) only have to store their guns locked and unloaded if minors might have access to them."

I'm afraid to make any assumptions about what Lott said in the blog post, so I will just quote him as saying, "Despite the costs, about a thousand people may have gotten handgun permits. That is only about 0.2 percent of adults living in D.C."

MSNBC Concealed Weapons Poll

Link to MSNBC Newsvine Poll

How safe do you feel knowing there are people around legally carrying concealed guns?

• Very safe: If a crime is committed or a threat of violence made, they’ve got the means to respond.
• In danger: These people could be trigger-happy yahoos or stumblebums whose weapon might go off by accident.
• Not sure: How would we know? Wouldn’t it depend on the state laws involved and circumstances?

Thanks to John R. Lott, one the best gun control researchers, for posting the link.

My New Blog

Suburban's Other Stuff

This site has become so specialized, I kind of hate to post random stuff here.  The new blog is someplace I can put political stuff, and post about cars, TV, music, stupid celebrity stuff, and whatever else pops up.

Best. . . Para TTR. . . Article. . . Ever 8P

I was trying to get a subscription to American Rifleman online, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do it.  I did however discover a couple NRA publications that I didn't know existed.  One of them is Shooting Illustrated.

Getting to the point, Shooting Illustrated has an online article discussing the Para USA's TTR (Tactical Target Rifle).  You may remember, essentially the same rifle, being marketed as the Z-M Weapons LR-300.

The Shooting Illustrated article talks about the Delayed Gas Impingement action of the TTR, something I've never heard described.  There is a long gas block with a U-shaped channel.  The channel increases the distance for the propellant gasses to travel before having an effect on the bolt.  This increases the time between the firing pin hitting the primer, and the moment that the recoil impulse of the cycling action has any effect on the shooter.

Also news to me, is some discussion of the beefed up charging handle, and taller upper receiver.

Although I've read this part before, I'll repeat it for you, in case you haven't heard it before.  The Z-M Weapons/Para TTR bolt carriers have a much longer bolt carrier key than that of an AR-15.  The gas tube makes contact with the gas key out under the handguard, rather than inside the action, which keeps the action cleaner and cooler.

I'd really like to get my hands on a PARA TTR upper.  Although I'm not sure that this is the greatest thing ever, it's certainly an interesting path to take with the AR-15 platform.

Oh, and by the way, the Para TTR was the winner of the Golden Bullseye Award in the rifle category by Shooting Illustrated.

Para Ordnance Official Website
Direct Link To TTR Page on Para Ordnance Website

New Midway Coupon From GlockTalk

New Midway coupon from GlockTalk in my e-mail today

To receive your Savings:
1. Place in-stock products in your shopping cart totaling $50 for $10 off - Use Promotion Code 1038104
Enter the promotion code in the box entitled "Promotion Code" on the shopping cart page.
2.     You will see the discount on the Confirmation page before placing your order.
3.     Remember, this promotion code is valid for orders placed on MidwayUSA.com.
4.     Limited to one per Customer and one promotion code per retail order.
5.     Offer cannot be combined with Birthday or Special Pricing.
6.     Offer valid for retail Customers only.
7.     Offer not valid on MidwayUSA Gift Certificates and Nightforce products.
8.     Hurry, offer starts at 12:00 AM CT March 8, 2010 and ends at 11:59 PM CT March 21, 2010.

Lightly edited, to look right on the page.  Emphasis mine

Update, 3/8/10

LaserMax UniMax (red)
I had it out on the M&P the last couple times I went out to the pistol range.  I carefully sighted it in the first time out, and by the time I took it back out again, I was shooting about 4" to the right.  I lost the teeny-tiny Allen wrench that came in the plastic box with the laser somehow, and I have to resort to using the teeny-tinier Allen wrench that was stored in the battery compartment of the laser.  I also discovered, by the way, that the teeny-tiny Phillips screw that holds the battery compartment door on is not captured, and very easily disappears into dark carpet.

Millet DMS 1-4X Scope and ADM Recon-X Scope Mount

Although I would not particularly recommend the scope mount for a military or defense rifle, because it takes a little more time and coordination to remove than a Larue mount, it is getting the job done.  I've put it on and taken it back off several times, and it's still holding a good zero.

The Millet scope is very clear, although it is of much lower power than scopes I normally use.  Although I haven't measured it, it struck me that the objective lens of this 30mm scope seems to be a good bit larger than the objective lens of many 1" scopes.  As I said about the scope mount, the combo is holding a good zero.  Although the reticle and lower power don't really help to produce great benchrest groups, it's certainly adequate.  I've shot several groups less than 1.5" at 100 yards, if you throw out a couple stray shots that were most likely due to the "nut behind the butt."  The lighted reticle is not bright enough for use in daylight, which seem to bother some people, but the reticle is quite clear without the lighting.  The scope does seem to have about an inch of parallax at 100 yards.

Loading Rifle Ammo

The sub-1.5" groups I mentioned were shot with my 16" LMT M4 upper, and my reloads.  I could just about put bullets into a 2" 10-ring all day long with good bullets.  I've loaded a lot of pistol ammo, but just started loading rifle ammo.  The transition has not been an entirely smooth one, as I've primed brass a couple times, forgetting to trim the brass to length first.

The Midway Dogtown 55gr Spitzer bullets are shooting just about as well as the Sierra MatchKing and Nosler Custom Competition bullets.  The Midway bullets have flat bases though, and won't fit in the mouth of the brass, which makes loading with them more tedious.  They are a lot less expensive than the match bullets though.
Information on loading rifle ammo in load books is a little lacking in detail, and I spent several hours doing research before I started pulling the press handle.  I'm still taking notes.

I learned pretty quick that my idea of a "light spray" of Hornady One-Shot case lube must be different than Hornady's idea of a "light spray."  Removing stuck bottleneck cases from sizing dies sucks.  I have the RCBS tools for removing stuck brass, but it doesn't help much when the decapper rod/expander button are still in the case and won't let you drill all the way through the case head.

I've mostly been loading .233Rem, but have done some .308Win.  The .308Win ammo has not been performing as well from my AR-10, but that rifle currently lacks a free-float tube, and I'm unsure of the scope riser that I bought cheap at a gun show a couple years ago.  At least I now know that the AR-10 is capable of shooting better than 6" groups, like what I was getting with the crap surplus ammo.  The AR-10 seems to have developed an ejection problem.  The problem being that it doesn't eject.  The round fires, and the bolt carrier goes back, and the empty brass stays in the ejection port.  The ejector seems to be fine, I'm not sure what the problem is.


More detailed reviews will follow later, but I wanted to get something posted for you all to read for now.

Paper For Sighting In

Perhaps you've had trouble sighting in.  Your first shots aren't on the target, and there's so many holes in the backer, that you just don't know where your shots landed.  You have someone spot for you, but they only see dust kick up from somewhere behind your target.

You need to cover that backer with something, right?  But what?

As it turns out, there is an inexpensive solution readily available.  I found tissue paper at the Rite Aid next to the wrapping paper and gift bags.  For about $3, I got 24 sheets about 2 feet square, which is enough for me to sight in probably 8 times, using several sheets at once to cover the backer.  .22 caliber bullet holes with the soot rings aren't too hard to spot through a spotting scope at 100 yards on the white tissue paper.

If it rains, then you're on your own. =D

Cabela's/Berry's Tumber Review

For a little while, very little while, I cleaned brass with soap and water, dryed in the oven, and polished by hand with steel wool.  That got old really quick, and I ended up with a few splinters of brass or steel wool in my fingers.

Of the tumblers that were getting good reviews, the Cabela's model and the Berry's were two of the cheapest.  With the exception of external appearances, the two are really the same.  Berry's makes the tumbler for Cabela's.


I believe that the instructions that came with the Cabela's tumbler said to fill it 2/3 with media, and then load in the cases.  The cases seem to come out cleanest and nicely polished when the tumbler is completely filled, and the motor doesn't seem to mind the full load.  You don't have to fill it, obviously, but that's how I get the best results.

I run the tumbler 3 hours with a timer.  Once-fired brass, if not too badly tarnished, comes out nice and clean.  I probably don't need to tumble the once-fired brass from the indoor range the full three hours, and should probably cut that back in the future.  The cases I reload with TiteGroup powder sometimes get scorched, and the tumbler doesn't remove that burn mark.  I don't think that much of anything would remove the burn marks.

I store my cases in 1 Gallon Zip-Loc type bags, and the tumbler will hold about a half gallon worth of brass when filled 2/3 with tumbling media. 

Although I'm not sure when I received it, I ordered it on 2/5/2007, and it's still going, knock on wood.  When I first got it, I didn't have a whole lot of brass, and I was doing a lot of small batches, so I've got a good number of hours on the unit.

Capacity (approximate):

900 9mm casings
550 .45ACP
500 .38SPL
450 .223REM or .357Magnum

Tumbling Tips

You can get big bags of KayTee brand crushed walnut shell at some PetSmart stores sold as bird litter.  It is much cheaper than the stuff sold by reloading suppliers.  I add in some paste brass polish that I picked up from the dollar store, but I hear that NuFinish car polish works well also.

When/if you add liquid or paste polish to your tumbling media, run the tumbler for about 30 minutes without any brass.  If you put in the polish and the brass at the same time, all the polish will end up caked into a few pieces of brass.  It's not good, trust me on this.  If you were tumbling bottlenecked rifle cases, you might have to throw out the pieces with polish and tumbling media stuck in them.

Get yourself a dust mask.  The tumbling media will pick up lead from the primers in the cases, and you don't want to breathe that in.  Besides the lead, dumping the media into a sifter will generate a lot of dust that you'll choke on anyway.

Run your tumbler outside or in your garage where any lead that might get out of it won't contaminate your living space.  The motor in the tumbler can get hot, so don't put it on anything that might melt or ignite, like nylon carpeting or newspaper.

Cabela's Website - It's the model 400 tumbler.  Check RetailMeNot for coupons.
Berry's Mfg. Website - Model 400 tumbler.

WARNING: Vibratory tumblers have been known to attract graboids.  Use at your own risk.

Midway Coupon Code, Expires 10/21/10

From GlockTalk:

Place $50 or more of in-stock products in your shopping cart. Enter Promotion Code 105028104 in the box entitled 'Promotion Code' on the Shopping Cart page.
You will see the discount on the Confirmation page before placing your order.
Remember, this promotion code is valid for orders placed on MidwayUSA.com.
Limited to one per Customer and one promotion code per retail order.
Offer cannot be combined with Birthday or Special Pricing.
Offer not valid on MidwayUSA Gift Certificates and Nightforce products.
Hurry, offer ends at 11:59 PM CT February 21, 2010.

Zel Custom Tactilite T1 .50 BMG Upper Recall

 

From Zel Custom Website:

Recall Notice - Potential for Very Serious Injury. If you have a Tactilite T1 .50 BMG with a bell-shaped handle with 3/16" threading and a roller, there is the potential for out of battery detonation.  If you have a unit that fits this description, regardless of whether you have fired it safely in the past, we ask that you contact us immediately to arrange for replacement components.  We are not aware of any incident of an out of battery detonation or any injury. However, we have been able to make this happen in our shop and out of caution we ask that customers contact us immediately to arrange for free replacement components.

Armalite AR-10 Mag Sale

The Official Armalite Website
Direct Link To Magazine Sale Prices

5 pack of 20-round AR-10 mags - $150
10 pack of 20-round AR-10 mags - $275
I've never seen Armalite AR-10 mags for less than $45!  They have other magazine capacities available on sale too.

New GSG-5 Rimfires

You may have heard that American Tactical Imports was given a cease and desist notice by Heckler & Koch, because their GSG-5 line looked too much like their MP-5s.  To get around this, ATI has changed up the GSG-5 guns a little bit.  The new guns, a whole range of pistols and carbines, will be called GSG-522.

The ring around the front sight is replaced with vertical "ears," the rear sight has open slots instead of apertures, the magazine release was made wider, a Picatinny rail was added to the top of the receiver, the pistol grip was given a stippled texture like a Glock RTF frame, and a sling attachment loop was added to the front of the trigger guard.  Appearance-wise, the "cocking tube," charging handle, and selector switch have changed.

Christopher at ATI says that parts from the original GSG-5 will be available to those who want more of an MP-5 clone, but that the manufacturers, distributors, and dealers can't sell them that way.

Also new is a 110 round drum magazine!

You can read a little more about the new GSG guns, and see all the pictures, in this AR-15.com Forum thread.

40 Reasons For Gun Control

I'm pretty sure that I've read it before, but here it is.

40 Reasons For Gun Control, from The Kentuky Coalition to Carry Concealed.

I'll add it to the Links page in a minute.

More Guns, Less Crime In Wash. D.C., 2009

Besides the panic buying after the election in November '09, residents of Washington D.C. were going to gun shops for the first time, after the Supreme Court's ruling in D.C. vs Heller, that the disctrict could not reject all requests for handgun permits, and require that all other firearms be unloaded, locked up, and disassembled, so that they would be useless if needed for self defense.

(Supreme Court Ruling in PDF Format)

Washington's crime rate had risen in 2007, while crime rates fell in most cities across the country.  The Washington Post reports that, "The District is on track to have fewer killings than in any year since 1964."  The ban that was repealed after the Supreme Court decision, went into effect in 1976, by the way.  The Post credits faster reporting of crime via cell phones, better police relations in the community, and higher homicide closure rates for the decrease of crime in the city and surrounding areas, but I find it dubious at best that this turn around all happened between 2007 and 2009.

The gun ban lobby once again predicted bloody battles in the streets, but the police in the nation's capital report a 23% drop in homicides in 2009.  As the Supreme Court case was being heard, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty had said, "Whatever right the Second Amendment guarantees, it does not require the district to stand by while its citizens die."  Shorty after the Supreme Court ruling, Mayor Fenty said, for the record, “I’m disappointed in the Court’s ruling and believe introducing more handguns into the District will mean more handgun violence.”


Second Amendment supporters knew better, though.  It's not hard to find similar cases where crime fell as gun control laws were lifted.

(this post was inspired by the "Gun News Ticker" in the January 2010 edition of The Gottleib-Tartaro Report, a 2nd Amendment Foundation publication)

Bushmaster Dropped a Bomb at SHOT Show!

Bushmaster has released the ACR rifles for sale.  Don't get too excited yet, though.  There's a catch.

Link to The Firearms Blog  Bushmaster ACR post.

Link to official Bushmaster site, ACR Launch page.

The basic model has a single top rail, and a fixed stock (yes, confirmed, fixed non-folding stock).  Retail price, $2,685.

The "Enhanced" model has a 3-rail handguard (in addition to the "monolithic" top rail), and the collapsable folding stock.  Retail price, $3,061!!!

Crap, dude!?!  What happened to $1,500!?!  I had expected that they'd sell for about that price for the first few months, but I expected the dealers and distributors would reap most of the profit, by marking up over the retail price.  I don't know how much room there's gonna be to mark up the price.

Bushmaster is pretty well known for poorly assembled rifles (check this out).  For those prices, these damn things had better be perfect.

Barrels are 1:9" twist, which limits you to bullets that weigh 69 grains or less (depending on the precision of the rifling twist to spec).  Not a good idea.  Many serious shooters prefer 1:7" twist for shooting 77 grain bullets including the U.S. Mk262 load.

EDIT: 1:7" twist barrels will be available.  It is unknown, at least to me at this point, whether it will be an extra cost upgrade, a no-extra-cost option, or a separate accessory barrel.  (Thanks for the reminder, Drew)


Barrels are hammer-forged with an "innovative coating," FWIW.  Not chrome lined.

Disappointing to say the least!

The Robinson Armament XCR is looking a lot better.  I've seen them at gun shows for about half the price of the basic model ACR, with most of the same features.  The FN SCAR is also quite expensive, but now available in black, by the way. (NOTE: SCAR article in the new issue of Guns Magazine, and may be available online already)

I'm thinking I'll upgrade a couple of my AR-15 uppers, and wait this one out.


Also from The Firearm Blog, Colt is releasing a civilian version of the Sub Compact Weapon (SCW), an AR-15 based, folding-stock rifle.  Full details unknown at this time.

Endine AR-Restor Carbine Hydraulic Buffer

Packaging, left.  Hydraulic buffer, center.  Standard carbine buffer on right.

With the buffer installed with a 9mm upper, the rifle had a weird double recoil impulse.  It was sort of a ka-chunk effect.  Since it didn’t have any noticeable effect on performance, I went back to using the RRA 9mm buffer.

Shooting .223Rem ammo, I didn’t really notice the double recoil, but it still didn’t seem to have any noticeable effect on recoil control.  My 16” LMT M4 upper ran okay with it installed, but the 10.5” LMT upper was hanging up.  The 10.5” upper only ran well with a carbine buffer; I had the same problems with the “H buffer” though.

The 10.5” upper was run on full-auto.  Again, I still didn’t see any really noticeable increase in control.  Rate of fire didn’t seem to be slowed down much, although I didn’t try to measure it.

None of the uppers I tried with the Endine buffer would consistently lock open after the last round.  I tried the buffer in another lower, and got the same results.

My suggestion would be to skip the Endine buffer, and run the heaviest mechanical buffer that will still allow your rifle to function properly.  You can just about buy a carbine buffer, an "H buffer," an "H2 buffer," and a 3-pack of buffer springs for the price of the Endine buffer.

The 10.5” upper showed an obvious preference for the standard carbine buffer.  My 16” LMT upper will run on the carbine buffer, but seems to run a little better with the “H buffer.”  Some rifles will run with the “H2 buffer,” but I personally haven’t come across one yet.  When running a 9mm, you should run one of the 9mm buffers, but an H2, or H3 buffer might work.

Just as an FYI, buffers are marked in the center.  Standard carbine buffers will have no markings.  Heavy buffers will be marked with an "H," "H1" (same as the "H", but markings vary by manufacturer), "H2," or "H3."  The "H3" buffer I ordered for an AR-10.  I don't think my 9mm buffer is marked, but it's black instead of the usual yellow zinc color.

M&P 9 Pro Is Back From S&W

Aha!!  My M&P will now eject brass without pissing me off!  Similar to my 1911, except for the vigor of the throw, the brass is going out at around 4 to 5 o'clock, rather than 5 to 7 o'clock like it was doing before.

A note that followed the pistol home read:

REPAIRED: BARREL MODIFICATION

REPAIRED: REPLACE EXTRACTOR

REPAIRED: INSPECTED/TESTED & PASSED

I'm not sure what they did with the barrel.  It looks the same to me, with no obvious signs of modification.

I did have one rather odd malfunction while testing it after I got it back.  I pulled, and pulled, and pulled on the trigger, and it didn't fire.  The striker wasn't cocked?  I went to rack the slide and it was sticky, but with a sharp tug I got the round out of the chamber.  I loaded the round back into the mag, and continued shooting until the pistol was empty.  I didn't think to look at the round that it hung up on.  Hopefully there was just a burr on the brass casing that was holding the slide out of battery, keeping it from firing.  I dunno.  If it happens again, I'll note it.

Reading through the Pistol-Training.com blog's M&P torture test posts, it looks like Todd had a similar problem, with the trigger not resetting.  Weird.

I plan on taking a couple carbines out next time I go shooting, so it may be almost a month before I get to shoot the M&P again.  I have an LMT upper that didn't pass with a headspace GO gage, but seems to work with a carbine buffer, if not the "H" buffer.  The tech guy at LMT said the headspace is supposed to be tight, although it seems strange that it wouldn't pass with the GO gage.  I dunno, I'll have to see if it breaks in a bit or just functions anyway.

2010 Glock Annual Magazine Is Out

Time for the Glock Annual Magazine.

GlockTalk Glock Annual Magazine thread.

Team Glock Glock Annual Magazine Request Page.

New Year's Resolutions

Put pictures in more of the posts. (I'm getting better!)
Set-up some kind of light box so that my photos look better.
Post more reviews this year. (Tapco G2 trigger, Green Eyes and Black Rifles book, fiction books, more optics)
Cover things I learn as I get more into loading rifle ammo.
Keep the Articles and Reviews pages updated. (I'm a little behind)
Post links to manufacturer's websites, and other relevant links.

John Farnham on "Convenient Fantasy"

You're probably not as safe as you think you are.

I've been reading through John Farnham's Quips from the Defense Training website.  The following is from his quip entitled, "Convenient Fantasy."

When you are not continually equipped and prepared for an instant, precise, and lethal counterattack, any "safety" you're imagining is a convenient fantasy. Like cheap insurance, it all works just fine- until you have a claim! Enjoy it while you can.

I suggest that you read the quip.  It will only take you 40 seconds or so.



Oh, and Merry Christmas!

TangoDown Stubby QD Vertical Foregrip

 

TDI/CAA K-Grip and TangoDown Shorty Grip

The TangoDown Shorty VFG is interesting in that it’s not round, or symmetrical.  Some thought was put into making it ergonomic.  The length of the grip is just long enough to get my whole hand around, but it’s not really designed for you to put your thumb around the back of the grip.  The stubby grips are really for people who put their weak-hand thumb pointing forward on the weak-hand side of the carbine.

Bottom View Of Grip Showing Teardrop Shape

Weak-Hand Thumb Forward VFG Grip

The o-ring-sealed compartment in the grip is just large enough to hold 2 CR123 lithium batteries, while still being sealed watertight by the o-ring.

The quick-detach mechanism is made by American Defense Manufacturing.  To remove the grip, you push in the release button and flip the lever out ninety degrees.  You can then pivot the grip off the rail without sliding it off the end of the rail.

I think the QD lever is worth the small increase in price over the standard TangoDown VFGs.  I can remove the grip to get the carbine into a rifle case, if necessary, or just to shed weight.  I can also swap it over to other firearms quickly, without tools or removing rail covers.  It’s also compatible with a wider variety of non-spec rails than the standard VFGs.

I like the QD lever of the Larue products a little better than the ADM lever, but the ADM lever is quicker and easier to adjust.  The Larue locking mechanism is more positive.  It’s possible to only partially press the button of the ADM lever, which won’t allow you to move the lever.  However, adjusting the Larue lever required a wrench and some trial-and-error.  The ADM is quick and easy to adjust by turning the screwhead opposite the lever.  The ADM clamping system is less likely to mar your rails than the steel tab of the Larue locking lever that actually holds the mount or VFG to the rail.  The big tab on the bottom of the steel Larue lever bears directly on the rail.

Larue QD Lever Mechanism Compared To ADM QD

ADM QD Clamp Adjustment Screw

Standard Larue Locking Lever, Showing Adjustment Mechanism

I’m not going to get into testing durability.  TangoDown grips have been around for a while, and have taken some serious abuse by military and civilian users.

Midwest Industries T12 Handguard

Before - Pretty Basic M4, Aimpoint is a very new addition

After, along with some other upgrades

Instruction Sheet

Midwest Industries (MI) is now making one-piece float tubes, in addition to their two-piece, no-gunsmithing, float tubes.  The one-piece tubes use an aluminum barrel nut rather than the steel G.I.-type barrel nut, which saves some weight.  The handguard itself requires less material than a two-piece float tube, saving a little more weight.  The one-piece tubes are also cheaper than the two-piece tubes, at about $155 vs.$228 for the 12" versions.

I was afraid that if I bought one of those $300+ handguards then I’d be afraid to really use it.  That, and I’m too cheap to drop that kind of cash, when I can get almost the same thing for about half the price.  I went with the rifle-length handguard on a 16” barrel because the rail I had bolted to the bottom of the plastic M4 handguard was proving to be too short.  I was pleasantly surprised with the MI Low-Profile rear sight, so I gave MI a shot with the railed float tube.

I’m liking the rifle-length handguard on the carbine upper.  I think I have more muzzle control with the vertical grip mounted farther out from the receiver (like Kyle Lamb says).  The extra length gives more freedom in bracing the rifle against hard cover without the barrel touching anything.  It gives a longer sight radius too, obviously.  It was worth the extra 2 and half ounces (15.4oz., rather than 12.9oz.), over the 10” handguard, I think.  Weight of the 12” Daniel Defense Lite tube (currently $332 at Bravo Company), by the way, is listed at 14oz.  The 12” Lightweight YHM tube (currently $139.95 at Bravo Company) weighs 14.75oz.  Price of the MI T12 at Bravo Company is currently $155, to give you a little bit of a comparison.

The handguard comes with the required Allen wrench for installation, a small vial of threadlocker, and a decent instruction sheet.  It doesn’t come with a spanner wrench for the locknut.  I might have bought a spanner wrench, but there wasn’t any available when I bought the handguard, so I just put the blade of a screwdriver in the slot of the locknut and tapped it with a hammer.  With the help of the threadlocker, the locknut is holding tight, and somewhat to my surprise, the screwdriver didn’t leave a mark on the ring.

Installation on an already assembled upper will require removing any muzzle device present, the gas tube, the front sight tower or gasblock, and finally the delta ring assembly or barrel nut.

Tools required:
1/16” pin punch for the gas tube roll pin
3/32” pin punch for the front sight tower pins (if present)
Hammer – claw hammer at minimum, those front sight tower pins can be tough to start moving
Grease – for removing and reinstalling front sight tower or gas block, and rust preventive on the barrel and steel parts covered by the tube
Degreaser – for cleaning MI barrel nut, lock nut, and anti-rotation screw before applying threadlocker
½” wrench, or large crescent wrench for muzzle device (if present)
Some sort of barrel nut wrench (should be under $25)
Vise
Upper receiver block (Model 1 Sales action block is about $35)
Torque wrench for reassembly (31 foot-pounds minimum, up to 80 foot-pounds is desirable to break-in the threads of the barrel nut, per the TM)
MI lock nut spanner, or hammer and flat blade screwdriver

I removed the sling swivel from the front sight tower, and shaved it into a low-profile gas block which required more tools – drill and 1/8” drill bit, Dremel rotary tool, cut-off wheel, stone grinding bit, files, and black BBQ spray paint.  I don't trust the set-screw type gas blocks, and didn’t want to spend $50+ for a clamp-on gas block.

Don’t forget to order another crush washer for the muzzle device if you want/need to use one.  They aren’t reusable (yeah, I tried; not enough friction to hold the flash hider on).  I think the peel washers are reusable, but I don’t like them, so I’m really not sure.

Anti-Rotation Pin Screws Into The Tube, Locking It In Place In Relation To The Barrel Nut

The handguard has an anti-rotation screw, very similar to the ones used with YHM tubes, except that it has a socket head rather than a slotted head.  The barrel nut also is very similar to the YHM nut.

The only issue that I’ve had with fitting things to the handguard was with the Vltor Scout Light mount.  The scout mount fit, but the rails on the handguard seem to be oversized, and the mount would not clamp the flashlight solidly in place without a little shim that I cut from a soda can.  The scout mount worked fine on the rail of a flattop upper, so it’s not the Vltor mount that’s the problem.

The Yankee Hill front sight, MI sling mount, Larue QD scope mount, and Tangodown Quick-Detach Vertical Foregrip all fit fine.

The only real complaint I have about the MI handguard, is the finish.  MI advertises that all their stuff is hard anodized, but I’m finding that it scratches really easily.  I was finding scratches before I even really used the rifle.  Not a big deal, but it might be if you really want a pretty “safe queen.”  The matte black coating on the Larue Beverage Entry Tool has held up to opening many “adult beverages,” so if you want a tube with a tough finish, you might want to give a Larue tube a try.

Non-spec rails aside, the handguard is okay.  It works with many accessories, but not all of them.  My newer YHM Lightweight hanguard seems to be made to the proper spec, and has worked with everything I've tried on it so far.

EDIT, 6/30/2010: It seems that MI customer service is pretty aweful.  Check MarylandShooter's site for more details.

EDIT, 9/28/2010:  When I went to check the locking ring on the handguard with the YHM spanner wrench, the nut was pretty loose.  It might have been okay, but the wrench does seem to allow more torque on the nut.

Yankee Hill QDS Folding Front Sight

Why the M4-type ears, instead of the HK-type wings that wrap around the front sight? The same reason Chuck Taylor warned about the rings around HK front sights, and why Noveske was psyched when Troy released their M4-type front sight. The front sight is not necessarily centered in the ring, or semicircular wings, and in a snap-shot scenario, you might try to center the ring or wings in the rear sight, rather than the front sight itself. This would result in a bullet going somewhere you hadn’t intended.

When I first started fiddling with the sight, I was a little concerned. The button was stiff, and the sight was harder to deploy than I would have liked. After playing with the switch-sightblade (yeah, I know, sorry) for a little while, it loosened up, and it’s now quite acceptable.

You push the button on the side, it flips up, and locks in place. I'm a little afraid that a hard knock might do some damage, since it locks when unfolded, even though it doesn't need to lock since it's spring loaded. Maybe I'll take it apart and fix it so that it doesn't lock open someday.

I unscrewed the A2 front sight that came with the sight, and installed the Trijicon front sight with tritium insert that I had in the standard A-frame front sight base (that I hacked off). I got the carbine sighted in pretty quickly. The front sight isn’t hanging far above the wings, and I didn’t have to make any significant adjustments to the rear sight.

The sight comes with the required Allen wrench for mounting the sight, and it clamped onto my Midwest Industries handguard with no issues.

Although I would prefer a sight that doesn't lock when deployed, it does lock when folded, which I did want, and I wasn't thrilled with the wings or locking designs of many of the competing flip-up front sights. I took a bit of a gamble on the Yankee Hill sight, and it paid off. Next time I need a clamp-on front sight, I think I’ll be buying another one of these.

Midway Coupon Codes for December

Looks like there's currently two valid coupon codes for $10 off orders over $50. Codes are 1050119 and 50129. Dunno when they expire though.

Update, 12/5/09

GunBlast has a review of American Tactical Imports (ATI) T-14 .410 AR-15 Shotgun Upper, which I mentioned back in July. It looks like Mr. Quinn was using the 13-round magazine, so they must be available somewhere in the U.S.

Also from GunBlast, a review of the Taurus TCP .380 pocket pistol, which I mentioned back in July. I kind of forgot about that pistol. I still don't think I've ever seen one in person. Unlike some other similar pistols, the Taurus locks open after the last round, and the pistol reviewed had a trigger pull that measured around 4 pounds (compared to the usual trigger pull of around 8 pounds). This one might be interesting.

I gave up trying to fix the M&P, and had the shop send it back to S&W for warranty work.

Got another Millet DMS-1 Scope from Midway to replace the dented one. As soon as I can get my hands on a American Defense Manufacturing Recon-X scope mount, I'll get to testing the scope and mount. I made sort of an interesting observation while fiddling with it, that with the power ring set to 1x, the scope actually seems to make things look smaller. True 1x seems to be somewhere between the 1x and 1.5x markings on the power ring.

I still have a couple or few reviews to post. Should have them put up by next weekend.

Midwest Industries MCTAR-08HD Front Sling Swivel

MI Part: MCTAR-08HD

I went with the heavy-duty MI quick-detach sling mount over the others after reading the Military Morons review which stated that the heavy-duty model had stops that keep the sling from twisting. The mount itself has stops that limit the sling swivel from making more than a quarter turn. I like this feature a lot, and I wish all QD sling sockets had this feature.

The mount is a fairly simple device. There are two pieces held together with an Allen-head socket screw. It works on my MI railed tube, obviously, which has rails that are a little oversized, but it also fits true 1913 Picatinny spec rails.

The only thing I feel the need to warn you about is that the screw will probably scratch the finish on the rail you mount it to. The screw threads left marks on my handguard. It’s not a big deal to me. The handguard wasn’t expensive, and the marks are covered with either accessories or ladder rail covers. If you were trying to sell an expensive firearm with integral rails, it might become an issue though.

Vltor Scout Light Mount

I had been using a Streamlight TLR-1 light on the carbine, but I’m seeing a lot of shooters using Surefire Nitrolon flashlights, usually with some kind of LED upgrade. I tried it out, and I can see several advantages in this method. Some of the LED upgrade bulbs are really bright, and the push-button switches are simpler than the switch on the TLR-1.

A lot of said shooters are using the Viking Tactics light mount. I didn’t think that was what I wanted, as it requires a tool to remove it from the rail, and I wanted something that I could ditch quickly if the flashlight should fail, or if I just didn’t need it. The Vltor mount has a nut that can be unscrewed with only bare hands.

That nut that secures the mount, by the way, is secured to the stud, so that it can’t be completely unscrewed and lost. I wish this was done more often.

The problem with the mount is that it doesn’t work well with rails that aren’t to Picatinny spec. The Midwest Industries rails are a little larger than true Pic-spec, and the mount wouldn’t hold the flashlight securely. The instruction sheet that came with the mount says something about using a set-screw to hold the flashlight in position if the mount in used with non-spec rails, but there was no set-screw included, and there’s no threaded hole for one in the mount. My sort of half-assed solution was to cut a shim from an aluminum can to get the mount to work on my Midwest Industries handguard. I’ve got a couple spare shims stored in the rubber plug of the MIAD pistol grip.