Movie Review: El Mariachi

Since Robert Rodriguez' Machette just opened (I think), and I just rewatched his first feature length film, I guess this is a good time to post a review of this movie that few have even heard of.

El Mariachi is the first film in the Rodriguez Mariachi trilogy, with Desperado being the 2nd, and Once Upon A Time In Mexico the third. It doesn't look like there's a Mariachi character in Machette, though I haven't seen it yet. The Wikipedia entry says El Mariachi was intended for the Mexican video market (it was filmed in Spanish), and never shown in theaters in the U.S., as far as I can tell.

El Mariachi was filmed in Mexico, with unknown actors, for only $7000, which I didn't know until doing a little research for the review. There's not a lot in the way of special effects, aside from some blank guns and the singing scenes being overdubbed, but I didn't notice any bad acting from the cast. I would not have guessed that the movie only cost $7000 to make.

Summary

The mariachi (who's never named) walks into town with nothing more than the clothes on his back and a guitar. He stops into a bar, looking for work, and orders a soda, but this bar already has a musician. The bar's musician is dozing in the corner. With a whistle from the bartender, the house musician quickly sets up a synthesizer and plays for El Mariachi, flashes a smug look at the wandering musician, and then just as quickly goes back to dozing.

Our mariachi pays for his soda and moves on to the next bar in town.

The man, who you see at the very beginning of the move breaking out of jail, walks into the bar just as the mariachi is walking out. He asks if the men sitting around in the bar are Moco’s men, which they are, and proceeds to wipe out everyone in the bar, except for the bartender.

The movie cuts back to out mariachi sitting down at bar #2, and he orders another soda. The bartender, a woman, gives him a hard time about ordering a soft drink. The mariachi explains that he’s a singer and that he doesn’t want to harm his voice, and tells her that he’s looking for work. She explains that she can’t afford to pay him, and he more or less storms out, depressed and upset, having struck out again.

The mariachi continues on to a cheap motel. The hotel manager tips off the local drug dealer (Maurice, a.k.a. Moco), that a man dressed in black, carrying a guitar case has just checked it. The man Moco is looking for is Azul, the one who broke out of jail and killed 6 of his men in the bar.

The mariachi, caught up in a case of mistaken identity, runs out of the motel, into the streets of town, and manages to evade the hit squad, and kills four of them in the process. I'm not sure how the musician learned how to handle a MAC-10 so well, but whatever.

Not knowing where else to go, I suppose, not knowing anyone else in town, he ducks into bar #2, and explains what just happened. The bartender, who identifies herself as Domino, takes pity on him, and has him hide out in her room upstairs. It’s not long before one of Moco’s men comes in and asks about a man in black, with a guitar case full of weapons. Domino tells the man that she doesn’t know anything about the guy in black, and he leaves. So then, she goes upstairs and gets the mariachi by the balls, literally, until she discovers that what he has in the guitar case is. . . really a guitar.

Domino explains to the mariachi that the bar was a given to her by Moco. Moco’s been trying to buy her love for quite a while.

So now everybody’s on the same page. . . except for Moco’s men, who don’t really know what Azul looks like. Only Moco himself has seen Azul. Between the 6 men killed by Azul in the bar shooting, and the 4 that the mariachi killed in self-defense in the streets of town, Moco is now down 10 men. Moco doesn't know know the mariachi is in town, and assumes that it's Azul who killed all 10.

There’s another run in, between Moco’s men and the mariachi in the town. Azul grabs Domino, who the mariachi has fallen in love with, and takes her at gunpoint to Moco’s hacienda, trying to get the money he’s owed. I’m not going to spoil the movie for you and spell out the 2nd half of the plot.

Desperado and Once Upon A Time In Mexico do refer back to parts of El Mariachi.

Conclusion

If you like super-happy fairy tale endings, you will be disappointed. Personally, I like the ending.

So, for a very-low-budget made-for-video movie, it's definitely not bad. If you really liked Desperado and/or Once Upon A Time In Mexcio, this movie will give you the backstory on the main character.

The action is mostly limited to a couple of scenes, and they're not anything like the lobby scenes of The Matrix or Terminator 2. It's a lot more like No Country For Old Men.

There are a few sort of silly moments. The hotel manager and the synthesizer musician move in fast-motion for comic effect, sort of like a scene out of a episode of The Benny Hill Show.

With the exception of the musician's uncanny knack for self-defense, it's a good movie and worth picking up. The version I watched was dubbed in English, but the ones I see for sale now are only in Spanish with English subtitles, which I know some will argue is actually better. Either way, if you can find a copy of the movie on DVD for less than $10 (there's many showing in Amazon's Marketplace), I'd say it's worth buying. You can also buy the Mariachi trilogy as a set.

Thank You Precision Reflex, Inc. (PRI)

A couple weekends ago I broke a couple pins off the PRI AR-15 barrel nut wrench I was using. It's about as tough a tool as the application allows, but the barrel nut of the 9mm RRA upper was being really stubborn. I used the e-mail form on the PRI website, asking for a couple replacement pins, and the next day I had an e-mail from Tony Holdren at PRI. I sent him a few pictures of the broken wrench and he said to send it in, and they'd replace it. So I sent it Priority Mail last Tuesday, and had a new one back via UPS this Wednesday. I've had the barrel nut soaking with Kroil for a while. Wish me luck.

Novel Review: Steven Hunter’s Point Of Impact

Okay, so I’m a bit late to the Steven Hunter party. It looks like Point Of Impact was first published in 1993. I realize now that I’ve got some catching up to do.

You may have seen the movie Shooter (2007). Mark Wahlberg (a.k.a. Marky Mark, I’m sure he’d love the reference) is a sniper who gets framed for taking a shot at the U.S. president. I had seen the movie, but pretty much had forgotten all about it.

The high point of the movie, I vaguely remember. The main character, Bob Lee Swagger, the sniper, cuts down the man who really took the shot at the president, and then mows down a squad of shooters sent by the organization that framed him, aided somewhat by the FBI agent that believes he’s innocent. It’s maybe 12 minutes of shoot-em-up without much in the way of catch-phrases or billion dollar special effects, and it wasn’t enough to make a big impact at the box office. I don’t want to say that this is a minor part of the book, but the kicker in the novel is the surprise ending, which they did put into the movie. In the movie it only fizzles, and falls flat.

Let’s not get hung up on the mediocre movie though.

The novel starts out with Bob Lee waiting for a monster buck, near his home in the Oichita mountains in Arkansas. Bob Lee lives alone in the woods with his dozen or so rifles, a 1911, and a few thousand rounds of ammo, and has very little contact with anyone. He goes into town to pick up his mail, and to buy food now and then, but for the most part he just keeps to himself up in the mountains with his dog.

A few chapters in, you’re introduced to the villain, Col. William A. Bruce (retired), a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, who is played by Danny Glover in the movie. Col. Bruce needs a shooter, a real killer. He kicks some names around with his cronies. He rejects the suggestion of Carl Hitchcock (an obvious reference to Carlos Hathcock), because he’s made too much money selling books, and giving speeches at Soldier of Fortune conventions and whatever. Bruce wants “Bob the Nailer.” Bob Lee racked up 80-something confirmed kills as a Marine Sniper in Vietnam, with a few dozen more that couldn’t be confirmed. Pardon me, make that “The ‘Nam.”

Bruce goes up the Bob Lee’s place, along with Jack “Payne-O” Payne. Payne does the dirty work for Bruce, and he comes along to Bob’s place as a bodyguard. . . with a short barreled shotgun under his coat.

Bruce gets Bob Lee to come out to Maryland to do some shooting. He’s conviced Bob that he’s representing an ammo brand called Accutech. He gives some cock-and-bull story about using lasers to make the world’s best rifle ammo. Really what they are doing is laying the framework of a frame-up. They boost Bob’s ego, and then reveal that they’re tied up with Secret Service, and they have information that the Russian that shot Bob in the hip, and killed his spotter, has been hired by terrorists, and is planning on taking a shot at the President of the United States.

So Bob scouts some of the locations that the President will be visiting, and it seems that there is only one obvious choice. Col. Bruce talks Bob into sitting behind a spotting scope the day of the President’s speech, the day that the assassination is to take place. The trap is sprung, and Bob gets shot a couple times, but escapes. They set it up like Bob took the shot, and was shot by a police officer as he was making his escape. As Bob crashes out of the house, he practically lands on Nick Memphis, FBI agent, working with Secret Service. Bob takes Nick's Smith & Wesson 1076 10mm, and his government-owned car.

Nick had been in charge of going through the “Charlies,” random whackos, people who wrote letters to the government with too many exclamation points, people who just barely made it onto the radar of the Secret Service. Allegedly, Bob Lee had sent such a letter, and made it into the “Charlies.” Having been a former FBI sniper, Nick knew of “Bob the Nailer,” and didn’t consider him a real threat, and decided not to bump him up into the “Bravo” or “Alpha” groups.

So now it looks like Bob took a shot at the President, and took Nick’s service piece and car in the process. Nick is in hell, career-wise.


I may have gotten some of the details a little wrong, but that's mostly how it goes.  If I tell you the rest, it will spoil the book for you, so I’m going to end the summary there.

I highly recommend this book. I wasn’t real sure if I would enjoy it at the start. I guess I’m kind of out of my “sniper phase,” but there is a lot of “gun culture” written into the book, besides the sniper stuff. After the shooting, you get to read the newspaper articles as Bob Lee reads them. I got a kick out the inane comments about the “telescopic-powered assault rifle.” Real pro-gun-ban newspaper articles are sometimes that bad.

The book is about 500 pages, and they’re pretty long pages too, but I never thought, “oh, just get on with it already, dammit.” Although I guess I really knew how it would end about half way through, you don’t find out how it happens until like the last 30 pages. There’s a big hint near the beginning, but after a few hundred pages I had pretty much forgotten about it.

If you’re a reader, and you have the time, pick up a copy. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Making Kydex Holsters

This is my first posting to come out of a request.

This is a follow-up on the Custom Pocket Holster post.

I guess the first thing I should do is start with a disclaimer.  If you are going to be forming a holster around an actual firearm, check to make sure it's unloaded three times before you start doing anything.  Be really really sure it's unloaded, and periodically check to make sure it's still unloaded.  We don't want anyone getting shot by an allegedly unloaded pistol.

If you have a blue gun, or a red gun, a resin movie prop gun, or a metal stand-in of the type typically used for making holsters, obviously use that instead of a real firearm.  However, I expect that most who read this, are just normal shooters, who aren't going to go and spend $50 for a solid plastic gun to make one or two holsters.  In case I haven't made it perfectly clear yet, if you are going to be using a real firearm to form a holster around, make sure it's completely unloaded first.


Kydex is a pretty forgiving material to work with.  If you make a mistake, you can heat it back up and reshape it.  One of the only ways you can really go wrong is to cut a piece too small, although you may be able to use that piece later for something else.  If you get too agressive with a heat gun you might manage to scorch or really melt the material.

Kydex is also a very inexpensive material.  At present, you can get a 12x24” sheet of black Kydex for about $15 shipped, which should be enough to make two dropped and offset race holsters for full-size pistols, possibly 3, 4, or maybe even more concealment holsters, depending on the design.

I bought my Kydex and Concealex from Knifekits.com.  They have expanded their line of sheath and holster supplies to include metal belt clips, snaps and setting tools, a wider selection of rivets and setting tools, leather material and supplies, new colors and camo pattern Kydex, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

.060” thick Kydex is easier to shape, but Kydex is pretty brittle, and all the holsters and belt loops I’ve ever had, made of .06” Kydex have broken or cracked.  The pocket holster for the Kahr is made of .09” thick sheet, and has been beaten pretty badly, but it's still intact.  I made belt loops for the SuperTuck from .09” sheet folded over, and they’ve been hanging in for a couple years now.  I don't have any experience with .08" Concealex or Kydex, or .125" Kydex.  The 1/8" Kydex might do the trick for belt loops, but wasn't available when I ordered material.

There are a few different ways to form Kydex.  I just use a heat gun to soften the sheet, and then I bend and form it as necessary.  You may have seen vacuum forming on Mythbusters, that works with Kydex too, but I haven't bothered with making a vacuum forming set-up myself.  I've heard of people using the oven, or a toaster oven to warm up the Kydex, and then they quickly try to form it before it cools down and sets.  I have not tried the oven method yet, but I can see how it might have some advantages.

If you use the heat gun or oven methods, you'll need some kind of "Kydex press."  You can order a nice, photo-friendly press from knifekits.com or elsewhere for about $85, but I made mine from some MDF I had left over from another project, and a couple layers of foam cut from a sleeping pad.

The top layer of foam is a little scorched, and the cut of the MDF isn't pretty, but it gets the job done.

You may have no choice but to hand-form sometimes.  The Kydex press doesn't really do curves, unless you make some kind of buck to insert into the press with the hot material.

You'll need something to use as a heat sheild to just work small areas of your holster.  I used a piece of aluminum flashing, but a scrap of plywood or something would work too.

I think I had cut the notch in the heat shield to rework the channel necessary for the slide lock lever.

I have used popsicle sticks taped to the pistol to form slots in the Kydex for the slide lock lever, and other controls.  If you don't have any handy, you can find them labeled as craft sticks at Michael's or maybe WalMart.  The wood slats, purchased from the hobby section of WalMart, I cut to make a stand-in belt to make belt loops.  It's not pictured here, because I threw it away, but I once use the handle of a plastic spoon at one point for forming Kydex.  Use your imagination.

Here is some hardware used to make the tension adjustment on the pocket holster for the Kahr.  On top is a tee-nut (may alse be called a t-nut).  On the bottom is a finish washer.  On the right is a rubber bushing, which goes between the layers of the holster.  On the left is a flathead Phillips 8-32 machine screw.

Except for the rubber bushing, this is the same type of hardware used to secure the belt loops to a Crossbreed SuperTuck holster.  Crossbreed seems to have used a rubber washer cut from rubber sheeting to use as a spacer between the leather backing, and the belt loop.

The finish washers I was able to find at Home Depot.  The tee-nuts and screws I ordered from MSC Direct, but they may be cheaper from McMaster Carr, although, if you need a heat gun, it's probably cheaper at MSC.  If you are buying a heat gun, try to get one with the attachments for focusing the flow of hot air.  It you can't get a heat gun with the attachments for a resonable price, you can get them from WalMart in the paint section for under $25 probably, or maybe from PepBoys.


More Holster-Making Links, in no particular order:
FreeIdaho - Scroll down the index on the left until you get to "Holster 1".
Engnath.com Sheath Page - It's about making knife and sword sheaths, but there's some useful information that can be applied to making holsters.
F1Design.us, Vacuum Forming an IWB Holster - Alternate method of making Kydex Holsters.

Update, 8/1/2010

I found the website for the self-defense shows on Spike.  So I updated that post.  I also added descriptions of the shows.

Uploaded pictures of Heinie sights and LPA adjustable sights for Glock, and added them to my update post from July 18th.

August free shipping (for orders over $199) promotion code for DSG Arms = AUGSHIP

Custom Pocket Holster

I had been carrying my Kahr PM9 in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster with an old Blue Cross card epoxied on at the bottom to give it some ridgity.  Well the card broke into several pieces and the holster returned to a floppy, and now very ugly mess.  So I made my own Kydex pocket holster from Kydex.  Here it is:

I made it so that the Kydex covers the mag release, sights, and, of course, the trigger.  The muzzle end is folded over, to try to protect the pistol from pocket lint as much as possible.

I sized it specifically to fit Wrangler jeans pockets, but it seems to fit in most anything else.  Some pocket holsters are made too small, and the pistol ends up sideways, or eventually upside down.  I didn't leave it any room to rotate.

I've been using this holster for a few months and it's working out well.  It took a few tries to get it just right, but the Kydex can be reshaped without any negative effects, and it wasn't that hard.  All in, with the heat gun, materials, foam and MDF to make the Kydex press, I still have less money in the holster than what it would have cost me to have someone else make it.

.223 Remington to .22 Pellet Conversion

Here's something I haven't seen before.  The Sportsman's Guide has a .223 Remington to .22 pellet conversion shell.  It looks like a brass shell casing, but you put a 209 shotshell primer in one end, and a .22 pellet in the other, turning your .223 Remington rifle into a pellet gun.

Pretty neat.

Midway Coupon Codes From AR-15.com

From AR15.com e-mail newsletter

To receive your Savings:

1. Place in-stock products in your shopping cart totaling:
   $50 for $10 off - Use Promotion Code 171510
   $500 for $50 off - Use Promotion Code 271510
   $1000 for $100 off - Use Promotion Code 371510
   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 in-stock products, one per Customer and one promotion code per retail order.
5. Excludes Gift Certificates and Nightforce products, Sale priced products and Clearance products.
6. Offer valid for retail Customers only.
7. Offer cannot be combined with Birthday or Special Pricing.
8. Hurry, offer starts at 12:00 AM CT July 15, 2010
   and ends at 11:59 PM CT July 31, 2010.

What I've Been Up To

I got some sights in from Richard Heinie on, er, Wednesday or Thursday, I think.  I got a tall front sight for my Glock 21, which was shooting high.  I also ordered a Ledge rear sight with tritium for the Glock 19, which I bought a couple years ago, but have mostly ignored, except for shooting 1200 odd rounds through it.  The old front sight from the 21 went onto the 19.  The 21 is now shooting to point of aim, and I'm ready to carry the 19.  The 19 will also likely go along for a carbine training class at some point in the future.

I also ordered a tritium sight set for the Kahr PM9, hoping it would fix my problem of hitting high with that pistol.  It didn't.  The pistol still shot 9 inches high (!) at 50 feet.  I can bring it down a bit by filing the rear sight, but probably not enough.

Heinie night sights for Kahr pistols

My Kahr With New Heinie Sights, and Custom Pocket Holster

I shot a Ruger Rimfire Match earlier today at Delaware County Field & Stream.  Although I didn't shoot all that well with the AA Glock conversion pistol, I did pretty good with the 10/22, and it was fun.  The same range is running rimfire pistol plate shoots on Wednesday nights, but I work nights and haven't been able to go.  I now have a legitimate purpose for the 10/22 that I've used to burn through 25-round mags of cheap bulk ammo.  See. . . I can shoot a rifle offhand. . . I just need 40 M.O.A. targets!   :-P 

UPDATE, 8/1/2010:  Looks like I took second in unlimited class somehow, placing just behind the gentleman who set up the shoot.  Don't quite know how that happened.

Oh, and my AA Glock conversion upper is now sporting LPA adjustable sights.  The rear sight holds a zero pretty well.  Although the front sight is much taller than the Glock front sight, and may cause holster clearance issues, I like these a lot better than the plastic Glock sights.  I can now see light between the edges of the rear notch and the sides of the front sight now.  Another issue may be the hinge pin of the rear sight, which is a cheap roll pin.  I've heard several stories of broken hinge pins in Bomar-type sights, and I don't imagine that roll pin will hold up to very many major .40S&W loads.  I'll post more on these sometime later.

LPA adjustable Glock sight set


AA Rimfire Slide with LPA Sights

LPA Adjustable Glock Sight

UPDATE, 11/20/11: The LPA sights are still doing well.  I don't recall ever adjusting the sights, after the initial adjustment just after installing them.  I'm quite impressed, and would buy another set in a heartbeat, if I needed them.

A quick shopping note:  DSG Arms is selling 5 PMags with 150 rounds of Fiocchi 62gr ammo for $109.  I've got lots of AR mags, and I'm reloading .223.  If not for that, I'd probably jump on this deal.  Scroll a bit down this page for a free shipping code I posted recently if you're buying.

I updated the Spike Network shooting/self-defense show post.

Tapco U.S.-Made SKS Bolt

I just discovered this item in the Midway Gunsmithing catalog.  Tapco is making, or at least contracting, replacement SKS bolts.  The bolts are cut so that detachable magazines can be removed with the bolt in battery, which you can't do with origional equipment bolts.  The bolt also has a spring-loaded firing pin to prevent slam fires.  Even better, the bolt is made in the U.S., and counts as a compliance part if you need that, due to a "non-sporting" configuration.

Although my Chinese SKS is a pre-ban, I'd like to get one for use with the detachable Tapco mags, and for the spring-loaded firing pin.  I'll probably pick one up from Midway at some point in the future.  Cutting away the ridges for removing magazines isn't that hard, but I don't want to modify the Chinese bolt, because the rifle is worth decent money in ulaltered condition.  New communist bolts are nearly as expensive from Numrich.

EDIT: Er, on second thought, the reviews on the Midway product page are not completely good.  The price of a Chinese SKS bolt seems to have gone down significantly since the last time I checked also.

PMag Coupler = 50 or 60 Round AR-15 Magazine

California Competition Works has developed a PMag coupler.  It's made of anodized 6061 aluminum.  You remove the baseplates and lockplates from your two Magpul AR-15 magazine and connect them together with the coupler, using the 30-coil magazine spring included with the coupler.  You can use two 30-round magazines (which would be bloody long), or you can use a 30-round magazine and a 20-round magazine.

Although a little on the expensive side, it would definately make for a fun outing with an AR, and it would probably be good for 3-Gun matches.

EDIT, 7/20/2010: I've just remembered that 11 round magazines aren't legal in California, much less 50 or 60 round mags.  I wonder how they do their engineering and T&E.  Drive to Nevada?

also edittedd for speelng

Shooting/RKBA Shows on Spike Next Saturday

I was checking out what's on next week, and I happened to notice some new shows on the Spike network next week.

Sat, July 17th, 10 a.m. EST
Practical Tactical

Sat, July 17th, 10 a.m. EST
Conceal + Carry = Survive

Before those is Because Lives Depend On It, at 9:30 a.m., but the name of the show and the description given by the Comcast Cable DVR is vague, and I'm not really sure what it's about.  I can't find anything about these shows on the Spike network Website.

UPDATE, 7/18/2010: Conceal + Carry = Survive now called Concealed & Carry School.  Because Lives Depend On It is a self-defense show, and, so far, is the only one to feature a significant amount of shooting.  Although the shows are pretty short, I like the content so far.  I think they are showing shooters, and those concerned with self-defense in a positive way.

UPDATE, 8/1/2010: Found the website.  http://www.dontbeavictimtv.com/

Because Lives Depend On It is a tactics show.  This weekend they had Larry Vickers on to show how to work with a pistol and weapon-mounted or hand-held flashlight.  Last week they did drills with 9mm, .45ACP, and .40S&W pistols, and discussed the pros and cons of these calibers for defense.  This show seems to have the most shooting.

Practical Tactical seems to revolve mostly around home defense.  Last weekend they focused on a hi-tech home with a lot of panic room features.  This week they brought in K-9 professionals to talk about the use of a dog for home defense.

Concealed & Carry School is about what it sounds like.  Mostly it is interviews with people that are going to the school.  Why they went, how they felt about it, what they are getting out of it.

UPDATE, 8/21/2010:  Another show added last week, I think.  It's called What If.  Last week it covered the shooting at the Holocost Museum in Washington, D.C..  This week it was a shooting at a restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown.  The show suggests things you might do if you mind yourself in these kinds of situations.

"CRANE" Extractor O-rings for AR-15/M-16 - $9/100

I was recently reading an article about direct gas impingement AR-15s and reliability.  The author was stressing the need for good springs, and a proper buffer.  It reminded me that I should post about extractor o-rings.

You might have noticed the D-Fender extractor inserts or "CRANE" extractor o-ring upgrades available for AR-15 rifles in Brownells catalogs or wherever.  You can use a pretty ordinary o-ring and get the same effect.

What you want, specifically is:

Viton AS568A Aerospace Standard ID Number: 006 Inside Diameter: 0.125 In. Thickness: 1/16 Outside Diameter: 0.250 In.

That's that description from MSC Direct*, where I bought mine for $8.48 (in November 2009) for a bag of a 100.  The part number from MSC is 09265067.  McMaster Carr has them even cheaper, part number 9464k11, but I needed a 1 1/2" die stock, and MSC had those a lot cheaper.

The D-Fender and "CRANE" o-rings will probably cost you $3 or more each from a gun shop.

Installing the o-ring is pretty simple:

1. Remove the bolt from the bolt carrier.
2. If the bolt isn't clean, then clean it. :-)
3. There are two pins in the bolt, one is solid, the other is a hollow roll pin.  The solid one is the one that holds in the extractor.  Push in on the extractor, and push out the solid pin.  It should not resist too much, and no hammer should be required.  The roll pin holds in the ejector and spring, leave that one alone, it is harder to remove and replace, and if you're not careful when removing the punch from the bolt, the ejector and spring may fly across the room, and you may never find them again.
4. The extractor spring should be captured in a hole in the extractor.  In the middle of the spring there should be a little rubber insert.  If the spring is broken, get another one.  If the insert is missing, or crumbled, get a new one.  All you need to do to install the o-ring is to roll it over the extractor spring, and seat it up against the extractor.
5. Reassemble the rifle and test fire.  Make sure it still works.  Just in case.

You're supposed to remove, clean, and inspect the extractor each time you clean an AR-15 type rifle, but I've noticed that some of the instruction manuals have this step out from the cleaning procedure.


On a somewhat related note, I'm also told that a #41 O-Ring over the front takedown lug of the upper receiver will help keep your upper and lower receivers from rattling together if there is a sloppy fit.

* - MSC runs a lot of coupon deals, check retailmenot.com for coupon codes if you're going to order.

DSG Arms Free Shipping Coupon Code

DSG Arms is offering Free UPS Ground Shipping on all orders over $99 for the month of July. Use promotional code FREEUPS99. Apply this promo code in your shopping cart as you check out at dsgarms.com

They've got Fiocchi .223Rem for $339/1000 rounds.


Sorry folks, that's kinda all I got for now.

Happy Independence Day!

Some Glock Mags Cheap

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.

$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.

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.

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.

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.

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. . .