The Gun Blogs

Magnum Research wants to know if you want a .22 plinker in 15 + 1 capacity.

So, let them know!

Via Kim.

Rules of Gun fighting

1 Have a gun.
2 Bring your friends who have guns.
3 If it’s worth shooting, it’s worth shooting again, and again, etc.
4 Only hits count. Front Sight Squeeze; Repeat as necessary
5 Any hits count for something.
6 If they are throwing mortars at you, shoot them! (see rule #3).
7 If you can see them you can shoot them; So do it ( personal experince)!!!
8 Proximity negates skill.
9 Always Cheat.
10 If not shooting you should be communicating, reloading and/or moving.
11 Someday, Someone may kill you with your own gun, but they will have to beat you to death with it because; it will be empty.
12 Have a plan.
13 Have a back up plan because the main plan will fail.
14 Flank them, don’t get flanked.
15 Be aggressive.
16 The faster you finish the fight the less chance you have of getting shot.
17 Tactical reload, as soon as possible.
18 Be polite, be paranoid.
19 The only things that matter are you living and them dying.
20 Bullets go through walls
21 Bring extra ammo.
22 Women and children can and will shoot you. Trust NO One!
23 If you do get shot, shoot back, relax, and don’t panic.

This is not original to me, just figured that I would share, pass it along, some I have added from personal experience, but again I am not the first person to say this. Add some of your own, and we can try and get the 50 best or something. So comment and I will edit the list to include good ones.

SO they come out with a new gun and they tout how it is so safe and one of those "safe" features is a loaded chamber indicator. This really annoys me, I mean what really does this do? Have we all forgoten that all guns are to be treated as loaded? If someone (IE not a "gun" person") picks up this gun that does not know the "All guns are loaded" rule, do you really expect them to know what a loaded chamber inticator is, and how to use it?
As for the gun savey population, they should know that the gun is loaded, or at least how to properly check the weapon. Now If you where to say to me that it is for "operators" to be able to feel instantly if their weapons are loaded, well missy let me tell you that I an't gonna belive some little tab to tell me if I have a weapon ready to go into leathel combat. First off those little things can get a little grit on them and then they stay "loaded" all the time. So if the indicator says that there is a round in the chamber does that mean I still have to check it before going out to check something going bumb in the night>?
I belive that it was said that somethings are brilant soultions to non-exitent proplem. This fits in that cadogery. Some Airforces did something simular, in that they painted a false cockpit on the underside of the aircraft. well it seemed like a great idea, until people had an ephiny and said "hey if they are close enough to see it, then they are close enough to not be fooled by it.
As far as gun safety, its really easy. Most Americans memorize many many numbers, phrases, and such in their lives. How had then is it for a persom to learn a few very simplE rules about gun handeling,
1 EVERY GUN IS LOADED!!!!!
2 DO NOT POINT A GUN AT ANYTHING YOU DO NOT WISH TO KILL/DESTROY!!
3 WHEN BEING HANDED A FIRARM FROM SOMEONE ELSE, YOU FIRST CHECK THAT THE WEAPON IS UNLOADED.
So I belive that if a person cannot learn, and abide by those rules, they should be taken to a group home where they help those with limited mental assets.

New Sig 556 rifle review
AHH.
I brought home a new baby. A brand new Sig 556 rifle. Forward grip, stream light tactical light, HALO sight. What a wonderful piece of engineering! I have as of yet not done any formal accuracy testing, but during the basic sight in session, the rifle was easy to shoot, minimal recoil, very steady, and shot well. At 25yds it was easy to shoot overlapping groups from offhanded. With its thin barrel the rifle does heat up, however unlike an AR-15 none of the heat is felt by the user because of the well vented large handguard‘s. This first sight-in session was at night and I was very impressed about the lack of an overwhelming muzzle flash. the basic M-16 flash suppresser works very well indeed.
I suppose the last time I fired an M-16 style flash hider at night, I was in a small house in Mosul, with other things on my mind! Overall the I am very impressed by the weapon, if I was to compare the Sig 556 to anything I would have to say that it handles like an M249 SAW. The pistol grip even feels close! The piston system does an excellent job of reducing recoil, and to me it is more comfortable to shoot than my AR-15.
As for reliability testing I was again impressed. Normally when I had acquired semi-automatic rifles they might hick-up in the first few rounds. Not the Sig; Insert Magazine, rack bolt, pull trigger, repeat as needed. Of the 7 mags I used in the first shoot (30 rounders) not a single problem. Simply pull trigger, and repeat as necessary. That is what a tactical rifle is suppose to do.
Since that first play time I have exercised the rifle at 200 yards and I was having little difficulty hitting paper plates at that distance. Another 500 rounds and still not one malfunction. Playing with the rifle more I believe that it is slightly heavier than I would normally choose, but not to the point of being unmanageable. I am also calculating the weight based on end-user, IE what shooters actually put on these types of weapons.
I don’t think that I will stop using my AR-15, but I do think that this is a better rifle. I also don’t think that it will become as popular as the ar, if only because of the price. There is always room in the gun cabinet for new types of weapons, and cool new gadgets. The Sig will not supplant the AR in the regular sense of the word but I do believe that the gas-piston system will become a prominent feature in future combat rifles.

This is what I think.

Hi there I'm an Australian and I'm new to the USA and Handguns.I have only started shooting Handguns seriously about 8 months ago I have joined the NRA as I want to help all shooters as I do not want the people here in the USA to go thru what has happened in Australia at the hands of the anti-gunners. Back home only the criminals have handguns

The_Duke

On the outside the LDA model of 1911 pistol looks much like the other numerous variants of 1911 handguns. However in looking at the internals it is not a traditional 1911 in the slightest.
The hammer is comprised of two parts, an internal cam (70) and a traditional external hammer (72). The internal cam is attached to the hammer strut (62) which stores the energy of the mainspring (56). The sear (42) is connected to both the hammer which captures the face (108) within a notch (112) until it is pulled clear allowing the pistol to fire. The sear also holds the internal cocked cam until released. The sear is physically contained within the hammer while holding the internal cam from rotating. While this simulates the hammer being cocked from an internal point of view, externally the hammer is in the resting state.

To fire the pistol the trigger is pulled which rotates the hammer until it trips the internal cam. The internal cam then releases its energy into the external hammer which impacts the firing pin. The slides recoil pulls the hammer rearward cocking the internal cam and the external hammer returns to its resting position.
While the external safeties look the same as the traditional 1911 they function in a unique manner. The grip safety articulates a lever that locks into the rear of the external hammer. Once depressed the lever moves clear of the external hammer allowing the external hammer to move freely. The thumb safety locks into the external hammer and internal cam rendering the firing mechanism inoperable.

Thus, we have a pistol which provides the accuracy advantages of a single action pistol with the advantages of a double action pistol. While the trigger pull is reported to be long it is steady and light.

From a safety standpoint you get the best of both worlds without the negatives of either. The internal cam with the stored energy of the mainspring never comes into contact with the firing pin. The external hammer, which is exposed to the greatest chance of colliding with external forces is not only always in the down position, but contains none of the stored energy of the mainspring.

www.gunshopping.blogspot.com

Checking out this story from the Philly area, I read the following:

The Turkish-made handgun, which can be used as both an automatic and semiautomatic weapon, was found on the floor of the SUV along with a bottle of liquor, Lewandowski said. The gun cannot be sold in the United States because it can be used in an automatic mode, he said.

(emphasis mine)

Any idea what this could be?

Hey guys we have lowered our prices even more so come check us out again.

We now have photos for our products as requested.

Prices dropped anywhere from 10-30% and with our flat rate shipping of $25.00 we are without a doubt the Cheapest place online to purchase your firearms.

www.actionpawn.net

A take on what the proposed (now-dead) assault weapon ban SB.43 would have meant in Maryland.

[crossposted from my new blog at http://outdoorlogic.blogspot.com]

Not that we're really suprised by the folks in the Chicago area, but I found this on Icarry.org.
It's a new county ordinance expanding the ban on various so-called "assualt weapons" and features of assualt weapons"
Here's the text with a few of them highlighted with my comments:

ARTICLE VI. ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN
Section 6-1 Definitions.
As used in Article VI of this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the following meaning:
(a) "Assault weapon means:
(1) A semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a large capacity magazine detachable or otherwise and one or more of the following:
(A) Only a pistol grip without a stock attached;
(B) Any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

No more railed forearms and verticle grips. and, could the mag well and mag on an AR-15 fit this? Well, looks like they ban all ARs anyway at the bottom, regardless of features.

(C) A folding, telescoping or thumbhole stock;
(D) A shroud attached to the barrel, or that partially or completely encircles the barrel, allowing the bearer to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel; or

Isn't this what the foreard grip on an AR-15 is?

(E) A muzzle brake or muzzle compensator;

It's not just flash hiders anymore, any muzzle brake..it's out, even on your semi deer rifle

(2) A semiautomatic pistol or any semi-automatic rifle that has a fixed magazine, that has the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition;

(3) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has one or more of the following:

(A) Any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;
(B) A folding, telescoping or thumbhole stock;
(C) A shroud attached to the barrel, or that partially or completely encircles the barrel, allowing the bearer to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel;
(D) A muzzle brake or muzzle compensator; or

There goes any of the compensated pistols from Glock, Sig, etc. Almost all Open guns from IPSC

(E) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol grip.

There goes all of those fancy target .22 pistols...yea, they're a meanace to society

(4) A semiautomatic shotgun that has one or more of the following:

(A) Only a pistol grip without a stock attached;
(B) Any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

Does this mean the forward grip on all semi-auto shotguns? what qualifies as "protruding"

(C) A folding, telescoping or thumbhole stock;
(D) A fixed magazine capacity in excess of 5 rounds; or

No more "home defense" shotguns for y'all with the longer tube, even without a pistol grip stock etc.

(E) An ability to accept a detachable magazine;

(5) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
(6) Conversion kit, part or combination of parts, from which an assault weapon can be assembled if those parts are in the possession or under the control of the same person;
(7) Shall include, but not be limited to, the assault weapons models identified as follows:

(A) The following rifles or copies or duplicates thereof:
(i) AK, AKM, AKS, AK-47, AK-74, ARM, MAK90, Misr, NHM 90, NHM 91, SA 85, SA 93, VEPR;
(ii) AR-10;
(iii) AR-15, Bushmaster XM15, Armalite M15, or Olympic Arms PCR;
(iv) AR70;
(v) Calico Liberty;
(vi) Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle or Dragunov SVU;
(vii) Fabrique National FN/FAL, FN/LAR, or FNC;
(viii) Hi-Point Carbine;
(ix) HK-91, HK-93, HK-94, or HK-PSG-1;
(x) Kel-Tec Sub Rifle;
(xi) Saiga;
(xii) SAR-8, SAR-4800;
(xiii) SKS with detachable magazine;
(xiv) SLG 95;
(xv) SLR 95 or 96;
(xvi) Steyr AUG;
(xvii) Sturm, Ruger Mini-14;

Yes, now even the Mini-14 is banned. What was that about them not coming for your hunting rifle?

(xviii) Tavor;
(xix) Thompson 1927, Thompson M1, or Thompson 1927 Commando; or
(xx) Uzi, Galil and Uzi Sporter, Galil Sporter, or Galil Sniper Rifle (Galatz).
(B) The following pistols or copies or duplicates thereof:
(i) Calico M-110;
(ii) MAC-10, MAC-11, or MPA3;
(iii) Olympic Arms OA;
(iv) TEC-9, TEC-DC9, TEC-22 Scorpion, or AB-10; or
(v) Uzi.
(C) The following shotguns or copies or duplicates thereof:
(i) Armscor 30 BG;
(ii) SPAS 12 or LAW 12;
(iii) Striker 12; or
(iv) Streetsweeper.

A Classic Pistol in 45 ACP for Defense and Competition

Ten years ago, when I first started thinking about self-defense, I was advised by a former Marine to "...get yourself a good .45." Since I did not know anything about handguns, I went to the experts: the gun magazines. Several "productive" hours were spent in the reading various publications and I ran across an article by Massad Ayoob. He wrote about the reliability of the Sig Sauer P220 and that it was a great handgun for self-defense. After reading some articles about "problem .45's", I decided that was the gun for me. Several days later I was the owner of a Sig Sauer P220, sight unseen. This is certainly something I would never do now, but ignorance is bliss. I needed a gun to acquire a concealed carry permit.

Sig Sauer P220

In my quest for ever more efficient defensive handguns, I sold that gun within two years. I have since purchased three P220s, with the previous two being recent examples with the new grips and minor design changes. I was never satisfied with the newer version of the P220 due to larger grip panels and heavier double action trigger pull. Recently, I found a "gray box" P220 made around 1998 (according to the receipt I found in the manual). This is the same version as my original P220 with the nice checkered grips.

Sig Sauer P220 in a Milt Sparks VM-2 horsehide holster and 7 round magazine.

The Sig Sauer P220 is a full sized duty pistol. There are certainly smaller handguns that are more suited to concealed carry. Given my experiments in concealed carry with numerous handguns, why would I go back to a large weapon such as the P220? The answer is performance. I have found the P220 to be a high performance pistol. It has certain features that are not readily apparent without thousands of rounds of experience with the gun.

Sig Sauer engineers incorporated many underappreciated features in their pistol. There are no sharp edges on the gun to cut fingers. Experienced shooters appreciate this feature; one does not need to pay for the services of a gunsmith to dehorn and refinish the firearm. The sights are not the trendy "no snag" Novak type. Instead, the rear sight has a nearly vertical front. This facilitates one handed reloads by providing a surface to work against a belt or shoe. The checkered grips provide a positive grip. Proper sight alignment is assisted by a good grip angle. The magazine well is beveled for quick reloading. Another feature is very strong ejection of spent brass (it is thrown far). The barrel has traditional rifling and a supported chamber. Reloading for the P220 is easy and lead or cast bullets may be used. Finally, the trigger guard is extended for use with gloves.

The P220 shoots really well, even though it features a long, heavy double action trigger. I purchased this used firearm partly because the trigger is broken in. Many people have difficultly shooting Sig Sauer pistols due to the long trigger pull on the first shot. Once the hammer is fully cocked, most people have no trouble with the Sig Sauer trigger. Several instructors I have trained with talked about "throwing away the first shot" due to the trigger weight. However, a broken in trigger can be easy to shoot, if the correct technique is used. I have found that tightening the support hand around the primary hand helps keep the front sight steady. Additionally, sight alignment can be maintained if the shooter places the center of the trigger in the center of the pad of the trigger finger. Extra attention to a clean pull straight back will help increase accuracy.

It is possible to shoot the P220 very quickly. Sig Sauer made this gun in such a way that recovery from recoil is easy. The trigger reset on the single action is short. The second and subsequent shots require far less pressure. Once, I was able to hit five steel targets in 3.13 seconds...a personal best! With practice, anyone should be able to get better performance.

There are several perceived deficiencies with this gun. First, obviously, is the heavy double action trigger. Second, the limited capacity of the magazine may be a problem in this age of high capacity 45 ACP pistols. A single stack magazine of only seven or eight rounds may be at a "disadvantage" when put next to a Glock 21 or Springfield Armory XD 45 magazine. The overall size of this pistol does not promote concealed carry. It is smaller than the Glock 21 or XD 45, but still requires skill to carry well.

Sig Sauer P220 and Glock 19

When compared to the Glock 19, you can see that the P220 is larger than the Glock 19. It is approximately 1/4" longer in the slide. The grip is about 1/2 inch longer and does not angle upward. This small difference results in a higher profile that can only be mitigated by forward cant in a good holster. The Milt Sparks VM-2 is a great holster for the P220 and offers enough forward cant for discrete carry.

Sig Sauer P220 compared to the Glock 19

Cleaning and maintenance of the P220 is simple. The gun has a lever on the left side to take the slide off the gun. It breaks down into four parts: the slide, barrel, recoil spring, and guide rod. Cleaning the weapon involves scrubbing down each of these parts and wiping the frame.

Sig Sauer P220 Slide Assembly

Sig Sauer P220 Frame

The Sig P220 is a high quality pistol chambered in 45 ACP. It is an excellent gun for practical competitions and defense. With proper equipment, it is suitable for concealed carry. Field stripping and maintenance is easy. Though it is a large framed semi-automatic pistol, the single stack magazine (and narrow grip) fit most hands. With a bit of practice, almost any shooter can accurately shoot the gun. In all, if you are considering purchasing a gun by Sig Sauer, I highly recommend you try the P220.

Note: Migrating some entries from the Shooters' Carnival over to this site since no one posts at the carnival any more. Sorry if it's a re-run.

I finally managed to get the new and improved WASR-10 out to the range. Here's the post on some of the mods I made with before and after photos. But, for you folks too lazy to click, my AK set up is Romanian WASR-10, which you can learn everything about it by clicking here. Seriously, the guy's page is full of general info and how-to info that proved invaluable to me when doing my modifications. The modifications I've made have been to add this folding stock by Tapco; the Ultimak scout rail and mount to allow co-witnessing the iron sights of the AK with the red dot scope (see previous posts here and here); and a Tacpoint red dot sight (everything you ever wanted to know about the Tacpoint - good and bad - is here).

Here's the WASR in it's afterglow.

The magazine feeding problems I had mentioned before were nonexistent. On the advice of Robert, I used a Dremel to shave off part of the rear of the magazine well and the mag release. No problems at all. This also fixed the jamming issues. Not a single malfunction in about 150 rounds. So, how'd it shoot:

The target on the left was me sighting it in at 25 yards. Two in the same hole was good enough for me. The target on the right is a ten round group at 50 yards as fast as I can fire and seriously aim. Never got it out to 100 yards because the range was pretty full (odd for a Tuesday). It's about what I expected from an AK and what I expected from Wolf ammo. This is not a minute of angle rig, more like minute of goblin.

And what does the WASR look like compared to Mr. Blasty:

They get along OK but Mr. Blasty is still my favorite.

At some time in the (hopefully) near future I plan on getting a new pistol, so I'm looking for suggestions.

It needs to have the following features:

• Full size
• Minimum capacity 12+1
• Minimum caliber 9mm +P
• Stainless
• Under $500 if possible

I prefer wheelguns, but I also know the ability to fire off 12/14/16 rounds without reloading is a Good Thing.

I had a S&W Model 6906 once upon a time. I really liked it, but traded it to my Dad for his service revolver. He was talking about swapping it for an automatic, and I just couldn't let what I considered an heirloom go. So, I got the revolver, he got the 6906, and all was well...then he promptly traded it for a .38 snubbie. Boy, I have to admit, I didn't see THAT coming.

Anyway, the 6906 is no longer in production, and I'm sure there's better out there for the money.

So, what should it be?

Well, I finally took the next step in the transmogrification of my Yugo SKS. I purchased the Tech-Sight TS200.

Installation was a breeze. The only difficult part was removing the takedown latch from the rear of the receiver. It has a retaining pin that is pressed into the shaft. I couldn't get it out so I used my dremel tool to grind it off. I still have the latch and could probably drill out the old pin and press in a replacement if I ever decide to go back to the original configuration.

The other alternative if the latch turns out not to be re-usable is just to use a small bolt and nut versus a latch. After trying it out this afternoon though, I doubt that I'll be wanting to take the Tech Sight off any time soon.

I also had to relieve a little wood from the port side. At the very top of the stock where the receiver extends out, the angle of the wood was different between the left and right sides. The right side was a little lower to allow for the takedown lever. I simply filed the left side down to match the right and the Tech-Sight fit perfectly.

It looks a little odd but not horribly so. I think that, after I get done applying all the mods that I have in mind the unusual rear sight will be one of the less glaringly incorrect features.

I left the Williams Firesight front sight on to see if it would work with the Tech Sight. The firesight still seems to be a bit too tall but it seems more borderline with the Tech Sight than with the Williams Rear peep site.

I think it will work but I won't really find out until I get her to an actual rifle range. The Atlantic Fleet Rifle and Pistol Match is coming up next week so I'll be pretty busy. I doubt that I'll get to Pungo for at least two weeks.

Anyway, I took it to the 25 yard indoor range at Camp Allen Marine Corps Base nearby. The sight installed per the instructions, I bottomed out the range adjustment and centered the windage according to my calibrated eyeball.

Here is a picture of the first four shots.

Note the nice clean target with no pasties on it.

I've really got to patent this calibrated eyeball thing...who needs a boresight laser?

Seriously though. Any bets on whether I'll ever be able to do that again in my LIFE?

I started out with the Tech Sight bottomed all the way out and the point of impact at 25 yards was still about two inches above point of aim.

If my guesstimates are correct, that should put me about 4 inches high at 100 yards and 1 inch high at 200. That's workable for a battle zero but I'll have to actually shoot it at those ranges to see if I'm anywhere near correct. If it doesn't work out, I can always put the original front sight back on. I REALLY like the firesight front though. I hope I can make it work.

This is an overall shot of the lane. As you can see, I really don't have a good bench rest here. The backstop can handle rifles here (up to and including .50 BMG) but the lanes are obviously designed for handguns.

I included this just to make a point: the groups were pretty tight considering. I have no doubt I can keep them within 1 to 2 MOA from a bench rest at 100 yards considering how I did with this sight setup overall.

This is my last four shots. I called the flier. It wasn't really a flinch so much as a simple wobble. As soon as it went BANG! I knew the shot was off. I know, I know...a miss isn't any less of a miss because you called it...I was just trying to make the point that the flier wasn't the fault of the rifle, it was strictly operator error.

Assuming that performance at 100 and 200 yards doesn't bring any surprises, I'd say I'm pretty darned happy with the iron sights in this configuration.

The only thing I didn't think to try was take the sight off (required for stripping and cleaning) and put it back on to make sure the zero stays true. I'll try that at the rifle range as well.

The only real complaint I have is that, with the limited eye relief due to the sight being on the rear of the receiver, the aperture could stand to be a little smaller. I obviously didn't have any real problem with it and perhaps I'll just get used to it, but it seems that the aperture is a bit too big for true accuracy (of course, the SKS is not designed for accuracy anyway so this may be a stupid gripe...it was just something that I noticed).

In any case, I'd say that the Tech Sights rear sight, whether paired with the Williams firesight front or the stock front post sight, is well worth the $60 investment at this point. I'll be able to make a more firm recommendation in a couple of weeks when I get a chance to try it out at longer ranges.

Related Posts:

SKS resources
Williams Firesight: Range Report
Williams Firesight: Installation
Troubleshooting and Repairs
First Range Report
The Purchase

Cross Posted on Captain of a Crew of One