This is one I have to share. I'm not too sure about the quality of the extractor spring, but everything else sounds good, and it's going to be really hard to beat this, comparing apples to apples. Just be forewarned that PSA is not the fastest to ship, so it might take more than a week before you get your order.
Make sure that your AK won't fire if you flip the safety up too high. If the safety isn't notched properly, it will trip the disconnector and release the hammer.
CDNN Investments is selling Glock factory magazines for $19.99 each. Take your pick of standard-capacity or 10-round mags. I haven't seen that in a while. You might also find some used magazines for $14.99.
Gun company Beretta is tone deaf when it comes to calls for restrictions on powerful guns sold in the United States. It must be the chance to make money.
Now, this is a short article on the Beretta ARX100, which isn't terribly powerful, no matter how you configure it. And yes, they make money selling guns. Duh.
And maybe most important of all, the ARX100 is reasonably priced at $1,950, which does not include bullets.
Oh, my! Only $1950! I think I have that stuck between the seat cushions in my car.
Most of the rest of the article is regurgitated from Beretta's press release.
Almost everyone recommends dry fire practice, but there may be dangerous bad habits ingrained from the practice, particularly when you cock a pistol or rifle with your finger on the trigger to practice resetting the trigger. Have you just trained yourself to leave your finger on the trigger when your gun goes "click" instead of "BANG"?
I have a bunch of these, both 15 and 17 round 9mm magazines. Initially, there were some that were not dropping free when empty, but they have "broken in" and now do drop free from multiple pistols. I've been in the habit of always taking a Korean mag along when I take a Glock out for some practice, which is pretty often.
Loading the 15-round magazines, along with a couple of Glock factory magazines, I noticed that Korean magazines were noticeably easier to load. Although I haven't used the Korean magazines all that much, the springs had compressed a bit, and were just a little bit longer than the mag tube. To the credit of the Koreans, the mags actually never failed. Regardless, I replaced the Korean springs with Wolff extra power springs, and the Korean magazines soldier on.
All the magazine springs have some use on them.
The KCI spring wire diameter is 0.045". The Glock magazine spring wire diameter is 0.051". The Wolff magazine spring wire diameter is 0.048", but is obviously a much longer spring. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I think you can see that the Korean spring is smaller.
The 17-round magazines don't seem to have this problem, or at least it hasn't manifested yet.
The Korean magazines are significantly cheaper than Glock factory magazines, but consider the added expense of the replacement spring before you buy. Centerfire Systems sells the Korean mags for $8 and $13 each, and I wouldn't pay very much more than that. Brownells sells 3-packs of Wolff magazine springs for $18, IIRC.
And yes, I'm sure that that is the right Wolff spring for that magazine, and yes, I can still get 15 rounds into that magazine.
Lancer AWM AR-15 Magazine
I've been trying out one of the opaque black 30-round Advanced Warfare Magazines for a little while. I was just about to add it to my SHTF stash. This weekend I was shooting one my carbines, and when I inserted the AWM magazine into the rifle, I noticed that a round popped loose into the action. Although it struck me as odd, I cleared it, and continued on. I came home, loaded the magazine back up, and tried that a few more times. I tried downloading the magazine 1, 2, and 3 rounds. When inserting the magazine "with vigor," but not abusively hard, I was able to duplicate the failure over and over again. Dropping the magazine from two and a half to three feet onto a carpeted floor will also release a round about half the time.
I think I bought 3 of these. I don't think I'll buy any more.
Oh, one of my older Lancer L5 magazines does it too. D'oh!
Although I cannot recommend Lancers either, I loved the translucency, but found that they tend to "waterfountain" a round or three when slapped in authoritatively on a bolt-locked-back condition. I experienced this with 30rd Lancer L5's and the later 20rd AWM's. I roll only Colt or OKay USGI 20rd & 30rd aluminum mags now. I'm still hoping one day for a translucent mag that doesn't do this. Someone indicated on another thread they have tested the new HK translucent mags for this and they are GTG in that respect, but I haven't tried them yet. I understand AUG mags do this too in a bolt-locked-back condition. Must be something about the polymer to make a translucent mag, even with metal reinforced lips like the Lancers.
CAA MAG17 AR-15 Magazine
The last couple of times I took this magazine out, I had bolt-over-base malfunctions. This is with two different brands of ammunition. Never had this happen before with this rifle.
I had it happen twice within about 12 rounds with Wolf Gold .223 Remington, 55 grain FMJ. I unloaded the magazine, and loaded the remaining rounds into another magazine, and continued shooting without issue. Went through 4 other different magazines (that day), without issue. It's hard to draw any conclusion, other than that the CAA magazine is the problem.
The CAA MAG17 also will not firmly lock into the ACR. The notch for the magazine catch is a little small, and I guess the ACR mag catch is a little larger than that of an AR-15 or M-16/M4.
Fortunately, I only bought one of these. I like the features of the MAG17, but I'd rather have magazines that don't induce malfunctions.
This is a rifle with a 16" barrel. No problem in most states.
This is a pistol. No problem in most states, as long as you're 21 and don't attach a vertical foregrip.
This is still a pistol, even if you shoulder it, according to ATF Tech branch. No worries.
Whoa there!! This is an SBR. Purchase or manufacture hindered by red tape.
The pistol with the SigTac arm brace is essentially the same size, with the same upper, as the Short Barreled Rifle, but the SBR requires a permission slip just because it has a proper rifle stock.
You can buy a rifle at 18 years old, but you have to be 21 to buy a handgun. Why? Because handguns are more deadly? In most cases, no, handguns aren't more deadly. It must be because pistols are more concealable.
So why is it that an SBR, which is larger than a pistol, but smaller than a "normal rifle," require fingerprinting, a chief law enforcement officer sign-off, a $200 tax, registration, and a 10 to 12 month wait to get the approval to take possession or build it?
In most states, you can go into a gun shop, or maybe a sporting goods store, and walk out the same day with either a tiny palm-sized pistol, or a long rifle, but something in between the two is taboo and quite heavily restricted? It doesn't even matter if it's a single-shot or semi-automatic. A H&R Handi-Rifle with a 15" barrel would be restricted basically the same as a machinegun, which is ridiculous.
The restriction on putting a vertical foregrip on a pistol seems to be just entirely arbitrary. "They" don't want you to spray fire, and don't seem to want you to carefully aim either. If you can own a pistol, then you can own a rifle, so what friggin' difference does it make if you hold a pistol with both hands?
Law, law, everywhere a law. Do this, don't do that. Can't you read the law?
It doesn't really make much sense, does it?
How about if we change the laws to require that you need to be 21 to buy a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16", or a shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18", and just repeal all of the other nonsensical garbage?
feinstein is at it again. This time, she's not trying to pass legislation. No, that hasn't been working. She is trying to get support to get BATFE to halt the importation of more "non-sporting" guns. I guess the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the semi-auto import ban of 1989 weren't enough for her.
This is her "wish list" with my comments in red:
Prohibit importation of all semi-automatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm’s magazine well. - To ban military-style firearms that aren't military firearms, which seems very contradictory. This would stop the importation of the Century WASR-10 rifles and Draco pistols.
Prohibit semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. - I guess seeking to preemptively ban work-around guns with welded-in magazines and 20-round Mauser Broomhandle replicas?
Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm.
Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts. - No more AK parts-guns, wiping out 922(r) compliance, although I don't see how this is enforceable without a new law. How can anyone tell whether the AK I built in my basement was built last night, or 10 years ago. Without registration, you can't tell.
Prohibit the use of a “thumbhole” stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle. - Closing a "loophole" in the 1989 ban. Naturally, they wouldn't have written in the "loophole" if they could get it to pass without it. At any rate, classification of an assault rifle depends on the firing mechanism and selector switch, and really has nothing to do with the stock.
Prohibit the importation of "assault pistols," in addition to "assault rifles." - I have no idea what this is about. The importation of assault rifles was part of the 1968 ban, and I don't think there is a definition of "assault pistol," at least in federal law.
Basically this would affect all AKs except for the Century Arms Centurion 39, which is entirely made in America. Once the supply of parts kits and sporterized AKs already in the country dry up, Krebs Custom, Red Jacket and other builders would have nothing left to build with. It would also affect the building of semi-only STEN guns, and PPSH pistols, and a whole lot of others.
Of course, this attempt hinges on the 2nd Amendment not protecting non-sporting firearms, and the Supreme Court has already stated with their U.S. v. Miller and D.C. v. Heller decisions that the 2nd doesn't only protect firearms for sporting-uses.
A while back, I bought a Pigsticker compensator from Palmetto State Armory, and put it on a 10.5" barrel. Although it seemed to work fine, the muzzle flash was ridiculous. (Original Post)
Yesterday, I swapped the comp over to my 16" Spike's Tactical 5.45x39mm upper, and today I took it out to do some shooting. Unfortunately, all is still not well. The comp shoved the muzzle down hard and to the left. I also couldn't get the tip of my pull-through cleaning rod out through the end of the comp. No flash that I noticed, though.
The Rainer XTC did fare much better. While I had the barrel vice blocks out, I put the XTC on my LMT 16" M4gery Although there is a bit of concussion, there was no tuning fork "ting," and not too much muzzle lift. Unfortunately, I had another Tula steel shell case get stuck hard in the chamber, cutting short that shooting session. Even if I had a cleaning rod, it took a half dozen hard hits with a dead-blow hammer to remove it.
No, I didn't type the title for the post with a stutter. Southern Gun Company of Cornwall, England developed an AR-15 style 9mm rifle that locks the bolt back with every shot. The shooter can then release the bolt with a lever put in place where the safety lever would normally be. It probably sounds more awkward than it is in practice. Check out the video of the SGC Unicorn rifle in action.
There shouldn't be a need for these shenanigans, but there are, regardless. I find this solution to an unnecessary problem to be brilliant. If I were stuck living behind enemy lines in a ban state, I would be
trying to do something like this over a "featureless" build, or a
bullet-button, or a fixed magazine, or any of that other nonsense.
Beats having to manually operate the bolt like a bolt-action rifle, which is what U.K. shooters have been doing with AR rifles.
Rainier Arms sent me a notification that they got in the barrel that I wanted. Surfing through their site, while I was there, I found the XTC compensator in the sale pages. The sale price is $56-something, but when you use coupon code "2014" it becomes $39.99, which I found hard to resist. The shipping isn't bad either, I only paid like $8 for the barrel, handguard, gas tube and compensator.
One NYC resident sent a copy of their letter to The Blaze, which reads:
Immediately surrender your rifle and/or shotgun to your local police precinct, and notify this office of the invoice number. The firearm may be sold or permanently removed from the City of New York thereafter. Permanently remove your rifle and/or shotgun from New York City.
If you follow the Military Arms Channel website, The Bang Switch, you'll remember the Illinois Confiscation article that ran a little while ago. State residents may have their guns seized, and be charged with a crime if they allow their Firearm Owner Identification Cards to expire.
The Liberty Digest posted an article about California gun confiscation squads. The state of California has set up an Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). According to the article, California is bypassing 5th and 14th amendment protections against the seizure of property without due process of law, by sending the Armed Prohibited Persons System gun confiscation squad after people whom the state welfare system has declared "a danger to himself or others." But wait, there's more! Funding for the APPS comes from firearm purchase fees. So some of the California residents purchasing firearms, may be funding their own disarmament.
The Liberty Digest article also discusses confiscations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Following the passage of "The SAFE Act" in New York State, Big Brother got busy pretty quickly grabbing up the guns. Of course nobody was reporting on it very much, until they managed to collect them from the wrong guy and a judge made them give them back.
. . . and because it's sort of related, here's a poem.
Do You Want My Gun
By Dr. Gene Howard c. 1992
Do you want my gun, or do you want my life
Do you want my gun, or do you want my wife.
Do you want my gun, or do you want mt store.
Do you want my gun, or much, much more.
What is it you really want, I must ask myself,
For it is one of the few freedoms we have left.
Maybe it’s something more political you seek,
But cannot accomplish unless we become weak.
I think of Hitler, Lenin, Stalin and the rest,
Fooling the people into thinking they knew best
They traded their arms for hoes and wooden staves
And they traded their freedom and wound up slaves.
For when people can no longer defend their rights,
Their days become filled with sleepless nights,
And soon their fears become much, much more
When the secret police knock on their door.
They took them from their family,and their home,
And without a trial locked them up alone.
No visitors, no place that they could go appeal
For they were politically incorrect to party zeal.
Today the majority of us are not politically correct,
And what do the liberals want us to put in check?
That’s right, our guns, they want us to turn them in,
For as long as we have them socialism cannot win.
Each day our liberal government denies our rights,
As they put GOD fearing people in their sights,
So i will keep my gun, and use if if I must
To defend my inherited right to say, “In God We Trust”
For the very foundation of this great land of ours
Is now being threatened, and it it may only be hours,
Till GOD is completely removed from every part,
And this country is stripped of its very heart.
For today freedom of religion is no longer a right,
But a battle ground for which we must fight.
So if you ask me for my gun, the answer is NO!
Try to take it, and if there’s a hell, you’ll know.
Keep your eyes and ears open people!
5th Amendment
[N]or shall any person . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law . . . .
14th Amendment
[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law . . . .
Lone Wolf Advertisement, image saved from a gun blog
BLING!!
I've seen a lot of 1911 pistols, where the back of slide, ejector, extractor, rear sight, front sight, and the top of slide are serrated to prevent glare. . . and then there's this. Lone Wolf Distributors is taking the opposite approach, and is Titanium Nitride plating Glock slides. The cost for refinishing a slide is $105. You can get them to do sights for you too, if you want.
Sights too!!
Titanium Nitride coating does actually make sense for some firearm parts, and offers many of same benefits of Nickel Boron coating, as made famous by FailZero. However, and it's a big however, Titanium Nitride coating a pistol slide and/or sights, is probably not a good idea, unless perhaps you are a drug dealer, and you surround yourself with a dozen well-armed thugs at all times.
Sorry, LWD, for beating up on you, but this is kind of goofy, at best.
Todd at pistol-training.com does these 50,000 round pistol tests. His latest one is a Springfield Custom Shop 9mm 1911. Having gone through 53,000 rounds now, the first 1/3 of the rifling in the barrel has worn away. The pistol was clamped into a Ransom rest for an accuracy test.
A 10-shot group was fired, with Federal match ammo, at 35 yards. The group measured 2.04", which is better than most pistols will shoot new, out of the box, at 25 yards.
I suppose that is a testament to the accuracy you can get out of a 1911 with a hand-fitted barrel.
They're kind of expensive rifles, but good rifles aren't cheap, and these are good rifles. When you add in the free EoTech sight, it's a pretty darn good deal.
DSG is pretty good for aluminum AR magazines and other gear, if you're like me and don't really need another AR, take advantage of the free shipping offer. Coupon code "NOFREIGHT4YOU"
I'm going to post these videos, because there are still a lot of people who don't know who Trayvon really was, or what happened the night of the shooting.
The unedited audio from the call to the police by Zimmerman. No opinion presented, just the recording.
Trayvon was out for snacks, right? Maybe not.
Longer video by philosopher Stephan Molyneux. Trayvon was 17, over 5' 9", maybe 6' 2", 170 pounds, a football player, and a street fighter (by Trayvon's own personal account), not a 12-year old boy, as the news portrayed him. Zimmerman racist? - Probably not.
I'm not going to say that Zimmerman didn't make any mistakes that night, but it seems fairly obvious that a lot of information was intentionally suppressed by media and other public figures, in order to make the whole thing into something that it wasn't, a case of murdered for being black in public. Although discrimination may have been an element, it just isn't that simple. I believe that far too many people have based their opinions on the Zimmerman shooting on incomplete information.
Just this weekend, I've been called a bitch and a "dumb ass" (sic) for trying to explain to people that Zimmerman acted in self-defense after being attacked. The irony of the lack of politeness apparently lost on these people.
One individual said that he'd punch someone in the face if he was followed, too, seemingly having learned absolutely nothing from the whole event. If you haven't read Ayoob's In The Gravest Extreme yet, time may be of the essence.
I may take flak for this, but it is my blog, and I'm entitled to post my own opinion. I'm backing it up with information that seems to me to be accurate and trustworthy.
I realized that I had a collection of reviews, and just maybe some wisdom to share. I hope to keep the information as unbiased as humanly possible.
Why do I bother writing all this stuff? When I buy something, I want it to work the way I want it to. I hope that what goes around, comes around, and that I'll find the reviews or advice that I need when I go looking for information.
The items reviewed on the blog are, almost without exception, purchased or rented by myself, with real money.
I am also kind of hoping that maybe someone in the right position may see some glimmer of genious in my ramblings, and help get me a paying gig at a gun magazine or website.
I hope that some of this nonsense in the blog is helpful to someone.
Don't be afraid to post comments!
About Me
Some of you may wonder what the deal with the nickname is.It’s short for Suburban Commando, a nick I picked up in high school.A few companions that were a little left of center though it was quite funny, I accepted it out of spite.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit of a Glocker.I really can’t have nice things, so the basic black pistols work just fine for me.
I’ve also shot rimfire benchrest.I even managed to win a local match.My best score to date was shot with a completely rebuilt Ruger 10/22 with a KID trigger and barrel, although my Remington 40XRBR is more consistant.
I started shooting rimfire benchrest in 2004, I think.I got into action pistol competitions in 2006.
