Category: The Gun Thing

Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Ruger GP100 (.357 Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

As I was browsing through my daily fare of (gun) porn, I stumbled across this beauty:

I used to own a GP100:

For some reason, the grips (as pictured above) didn’t seem to fit my hand properly, and then there was that Ruger trigger — although in mitigation, I was comparing that pull to my Colt Python’s — and the barrel was too short for .357 Mag shooting comfort, so I ended up selling it to buy something else.

All that said, if I look at the stainless model in the first pic, with its Hogue grips and 6″ barrel… hmmm, how much would a Ruger trigger job cost?

Thousands of people love and shoot the GP100, so who am I to argue with them?

And the final comment:  I eventually ended up shooting the Python to pieces;  I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have done the same with any GP100, using the same number of rounds.

Clueless Moron

Anti-Gun Nannies, Gummint, The Gun Thing

President Braindead issued his latest piece of stupidity a few days ago, and of course hilarity followed soon after:

President Joe Biden told NowThis News during a Sunday interview that he is pushing to limit gun owners to having no more than “eight bullets in a round.”

I know, I know;  it’s just another bit of Biden Droolspeak, and of course it’s laughable.

What’s really laughable is that an 8-round magazine capacity restriction (for that is what the First Moron is actually talking about) won’t ever pass into law, and even if it did, it’s unenforceable.

Or maybe Ol’ Stumbles really wants to turn few score million gun owners into de facto  criminals (which frankly, given the Socialists’ penchant for controlling the population, is not that far-fetched).

Roll on, Election Day 2022.

Plinking Silliness

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

When you read a “Top 10 Plinking Rifles” article and it finishes with a .50 BMG Barrett monster, you know you’ve just been insulted.  Even the five suggestions before the Barrett offering are just plain silly.

Let me try to rebut this nonsense by offering my suggestions for plinking fun, and each of the rifles I offer up will yield all-day enjoyment.  And no, only people with too much money or lust for reloading should plink with anything other than .22 LR, because regardless of how “cheaply” you can get .223 or 9mm, not much beats the “seven-cent solution” (nowadays, nine cents sigh ) for both cost and time savings.

I’m going to group the guns by action type, to make it simpler, and to limit the guns to those I’ve actually fired myself.

Pump-Action Rifles

Right now I’m going to issue a gunny jihad  against Winchester, Remington and Taurus for discontinuing production of their pump-action .22 rifles. Why?

BECAUSE PUMP-ACTION PLINKING IS MORE FUN THAN ANY OTHER KIND.

There, I’ve said it.

Only Henry gives us any hope for the future, with their charmingly-named (but excellent) H1003:

…and it’s too spendy.  However, if you think that’s $$$pendy, try buying an original Winchester 61/62/62A “gallery” gun.

I want one so badly I’d sell off a body part… wait, I think most of my extraneous body parts have been promised severally to intimate activities involving Nigella, Salma and Carol.  Oh well.

But to wrench myself unwillingly back onto the topic, Taurus deserves an especial Size 12 Army Boot up their corporate ass for ending production of their Model 62 line:

…and, as Loyal Readers know, my little Taurus 62 stainless carbine with 18″ barrel was taken in the Great Gun Theft of 2021.

Now THAT was plinking ecstasy, let alone fun.  Grrr grrrr grrrrr….

 

Semi-Auto Rifles

Not going to argue with the Ruger 10/22, although I’m also partial to the Marlin 60 and Winchester 63 / Taurus clones and the venerable Remington 552 Speedmaster, myself.  If you’re in love with the AR-15 genus (I’m not, especially), then the S&W MP-15 will do just fine.  These are my choices in this group, in no specific order because I love shooting all of them. Stock- and metal type are irrelevant — it’s the action and fun quotient that are important.

Ruger 10/22

Marlin 60

Winchester 63 / Taurus 63 Remington Speedmaster

There are others, like the Mossberg Plinkster, Savage Mark II, Rem Nylon 66 and so on, and all would do just fine.  However, if like me you have crap eyesight, then the 10/22 or Mossberg 702 get the nod because mounting a scope thereon is a no-gunsmith operation:

 

Lever-Action Rifles

Marlin and Winchester (again) are both targets for a gunny jihad, as neither makes lever actions in .22 anymore.  A pox on them.  And once again, Henry comes to our rescue with their “Classic” model.

And considering that Henry claims to have sold over a million of them in the past couple decades, WinMar have no defense under the “But nobody buys them anymore!” excuse.

 

Bolt-Action Rifles

There are so many brands and variants thereof in this category that I couldn’t be bothered listing that many of them. Also, bolt-action .22 rifles are more at home with the “single hole” kind of shooting, as opposed to the “minute of Coke can” activity.  So I’m going to leave off the precision guns like the CZ 457 or Anschutz models, and concentrate on those which can be tossed in the trunk and not cause suicide of the owner when scratched etc.

These are the ones I’ve personally had the most fun / best results with:

Marlin 81TS

…which is essentially a bolt-action version of the semi-auto Model 60.  The Son&Heir has one of these, and using this inexpensive little gun he can compete with many scoped-rifle shooters with expensive rifles.

Savage MkII F

There are hundreds of old, no-longer-made bolt-action .22 rifles (e.g. Marlin 25).  Most people in my age group have a couple of these knocking around, and swear by them — and I’m not going to argue because at the end of the day, plinking is all about FUN.

By the way, if Savage were to bring out their straight-pull Impulse line in .22 LR, I’d be at the head of the buyers’ line — but alas, these seemed to be aimed at the Serious Shooter and not dilettante plinkers like me.

I’m starting to bore myself, so let me wrap this up.

Kim’s Top 5 Plinking Rifles (in order):

  1. Henry pump action (but preferably a Taurus 62, of course)
  2. Ruger 10/22
  3. Winchester 63 / Taurus 63
  4. Marlin 81TS
  5. Mossberg 702

I would humbly suggest that in the “junkyard rat”, “backyard cans” or even “range spinner” scenarios, all the above are supreme.

Your opinions may vary, and I have no doubt that I’ll see those opinions in Comments.

A Question Of Equipment

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Okay, so you’re faced with this situation:

Furious drivers have blasted police after two eco zealots ascended two 275ft masts and are dangling over the M25, causing Dartford Bridge to close for more than 17 hours today but no officers have been sent to fetch them down due to ‘safety’ concerns.

Police said the operation was ‘complex’ due to the height at which the protestors are currently situated, adding it would take time to get them down.

Like most of my Readers, I’m positive that getting these little shits down shouldn’t take any time at all, with the proper equipment.

I’m thinking a decent shotgun with 28-30″ barrels, such as something sidelock-y from Abbiatico & Salvinelli, would do the trick:

…or, if you’re of the Over And Under persuasion, their Excalibur model:

…but I confess that I’m a little stumped as to the best gauge (12 or 20?) and ammo choice:  bird shot or buck shot?  (e.g. would 12ga 1oz #7.5 be good, or better to go with 20ga ¾oz #7.5 for its higher velocity?)

The reason I’m unsure is that 275 feet up is quite a distance — much higher than your typical driven bird flies, and at the same time, the humans are much bigger targets requiring a beefier cartridge.

So:  what are your suggestions for the ammo, O My Readers?

OR:

Do we just say “the hell with it” and go with a good old sniper rifle, e.g. this Dragunov PSL in 7.62x54R:

…or if we want to stay British, this Lee-Enfield Mk4 No.1 (T) in .303:

While I like the shotgun option (for the challenge), that Mk4 makes one of my digits itch, oh yes it does.

While we may disagree as to the best equipment for this particular job, I think we can all agree that potting eco-zealots (suspended, running, stationary or all three) should be an Olympic sport.

Proper Load

The Gun Thing

As Longtime Readers know full well, I’ve never been a fan of the NATO 9mm Europellet in its 115gr FMJ configuration.  I think it’s puny and ineffective, and my only personal experience in its application was seeing a man shot seven times with that load, and surviving the encounter (long story, irrelevant to this discussion).

My only other experience with seeing the effect of a gunshot wound up close and personal was at a morgue (also a long story, not that interesting) where the pathologist showed me the result of a single .45 ACP Silvertip bullet on the deceased’s internal organs — “hamburger” would be the best description.

As a result, I’ve always preferred the latter over the former — real world situations, so to speak.

The other day I was browsing among the assortment of 9mm pistols out there from which I’m going to have to make my choice as a replacement for the Browning High Power, which is destined for Daughter’s next birthday present.  Of course, knowing me as y’all do, it should come as no surprise that the leading contender is the excellent CZ 75 B, in its original configuration:

CZ claims that it is the greatest handgun ever made, and while we might all quibble over the manufacturer’s obvious puffery, I would certainly have no problem with its appearance in the top 5 of all 9mm pistols, and nor would anyone else, I think.

One of the stipulations I would make in buying any 9mm pistol, though, is that it could handle a “heavy” 9mm bullet.  This would rule out any of the smaller- or pocket pistols like the SIG 365, Springfield Hellcat and so on — you know what I mean.  I need a large frame to handle the heavier recoil meted out by what I would consider to be the best choice for a 9mm stopper, the Winchester Silvertip 147gr:

I know that there are similar loads to the Silvertip — the Winchester Ranger comes to mind, also in 147gr — but once again, I’ve seen what the Silvertip has done to an actual human being (as opposed to ballistic gel or putty), so I’m pretty sure that it would be a good choice.  Current prices for the Silvertip are about a buck a round, so about the same as any other decent self-defense load extant.

With this gun, loaded with this cartridge, I would feel almost as adequately armed as with my 1911 loaded with 185gr JHP.  For practice (and only practice) there’s the El Cheapo 115gr ammo.

Feel free, as always, to discuss the issue in Comments.