Category: The Gun Thing

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

Background To The Range Report

Gun/Ammo Tests, The Gun Thing

A Longtime Loyal Reader (also a good friend who’s broken bread in my house) had occasion to, and I quote, “Replace a light bulb in my #3 gun safe.”

This necessitated emptying the thing of the guns stored therein, which required the assistance of his Son&Heir.

Then (and I quote again):  “I realized that I had about four CZ 75s tucked in the back that I’d forgotten about.  I bought them during the Obama years when there was all that talk about gun confiscation and mag-size regulation, then forgotten about them since.”

And then came the part which made me choke on my morning gin:  “Would you like one?”

Feebly I protested that I’d love one, but being one of the Poor Of The Parish, I couldn’t afford it, no matter the cost.  “Never mind all that,” was the airy response, “I need to make space in the safe.  What’s the address of your FFL?”

So I picked the 75 up yesterday, and raced off to the range to make its acquaintance.  What follows is the range report.

I should point out that when I divested myself of the Browning High Power early last year, I also divested myself of all my remaining 9mm ammo, donating it to Doc Russia because, “Oh hell, I’m never going to need all that again.”

Foolish man, right?  Anyway, I picked up two boxes of self-defense hollowpoint 9mm at the Merchant Of Death’s place, because I have decided that I’m only going to shoot what I carry.  So on with the show…

Range Report: CZ 75 (“Pre -B”) — 9x19mm Para

Gun/Ammo Tests, The Gun Thing

The CZ 75 has been made in several configurations, the earliest being the “Pre -B” (story here) and one of these was what was given to me and which I took to the range.

My Kind Benefactor had the temerity to apologize for the wear on the finish — like that has ever been a concern of mine — but even the guys at the Merchant Of Death, hardened gunnies though they are, were oohing and aahing over the thing, playing with it and trying out the trigger.

I’ll talk a little bit more about the gun itself later, but let me set the scene for the workout.  I made several decisions before the gun even arrived:

  • I’m only ever going to shoot heavy hollowpoints out of the thing, and never the cheap 115gr FMJ ammo because I despise it.
  • So I chose SIG’s Elite JHP 147-gr offering:
      …because that was the cheapest ammo of those specs I could find.

There are a couple of issues with the CZ pre-B 75 guns, but only one of which might be problematic (for me), and that is that their magazines are not compatible with those used in the later CZ 75 B models (and their sub-variants).  I discovered that the pre-B mags are like hen’s teeth, but this is not a concern for me because I intend to carry the 75 as a backup piece, its 15-round mag replacing the S&W 637’s 5-round cylinder.

Anyway, so this is the background to the workout below.  I only had two boxes (all I could afford at the moment), and I had to hold back 15 rounds for the carry mag, so all I had was 25 rounds to play with.  So instead of blasting away (as is my wont), I had to go all South African Army and watch my ammo count carefully.  Here’s how it went, at 7 yards (20-odd feet) distance:

The double-action trigger pull on the CZ 75 is okay, a tad stiff — more like a WWII P-38 than (say) a Glock — but it doesn’t really matter because as a self-defense piece, and not being constrained by department policy, I’m going to carry it cocked and locked like my 1911 so I don’t have to think about it:  safety off, and away we go.

The single-action pull is lovely:  a smooth take-up but no stop before the bang, which for this 1911/BHP user is going to take a little more work.  It did catch me unawares a couple of times during the session, to be sure, with a couple of annoying flyers, but no matter because MOAR PRACTICE oh boy.

I had intended to do a side-by-side with the 1911, but by the time I caught myself, I only had four rounds left.  Never mind, thinks I, let’s just do four rounds of the 9mm, and four rounds of the 1911 carry ammo:


(This is all I carry and shoot these days in my 1911, because heavier .45 boolets (e.g. 230gr FMJ) do a number on my aged wrists after a few mags thereof, and these soft-shooting Normas are both accurate and deadly — “MHP” stands for “monolithic hollow point”, whatever that means.)

Here’s the 4-round comparison, aimed at the “head” portion of the target:

All were fired in what I call “aimed-rapid”, i.e. bang [beat] bang [beat] etc., and the left-hand hole in the .45 group contains two shots, as it happens, the first two I fired.  (Many thousands of practice rounds helps with this kind of thing.)

I noted that I’m shooting the 75 a fraction high after the first shot, something I’ll be watching in future practice sessions.  (The first shot in the above target is the bottom-left hole.)

The grouping is… acceptable — for me anyway.

This SIG ammo is about 58c/pull, the Norma about 50c.

The difference between the two guns in felt recoil is almost imperceptible.  The 75 is surprisingly hefty and tames whatever recoil the heavier 9mm rounds generate.  In terms of size, it almost fits in my 1911’s holsters, but for the larger trigger guard.

Speaking of which, this is one way you can tell the immediate difference between the CZ 75 and the CZ 75 B:

 
Note too the bobbed hammer of the later B;  those two features and the incompatible mags (grrrrr) are the major apparent differences between the two.

As for me:  I now carry a 1911 with 24 rounds (three mags) of .45 ACP, and a backup CZ 75 with 15 rounds of Europellet in its single magazine.

That should work.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: FN-49 (8x57mm Mauser)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

If ever you’ve wanted to own a WWII-era battle rifle but were put off by the cost of the M1 Garand, the Russian SVT-40 and the German G.41 or G.43, allow me to suggest a decent alternative, the Belgian FN-49, as offered by Collectors in its “Egyptian” variant.

Why choose a gun that was obsolete almost as soon as it began production?

Let’s start off with the fact that it was designed by Dieudonné Saive, the man who refined the John Moses Browning High Power pistol.  He began work on the design just before Belgium was invaded in WWII by you-know-who, and only got to finish it in the late 1940s.  So you know the gun is going to work well.

Secondly, it uses stripper clips rather than a detachable magazine, which means that replacement / additional mag costs are zero because 8mm clips are cheap and readily available.

Thirdly, it shoots the manly 7.92x57mm (a.k.a. 8mm Mauser) cartridge.  (Those wanting less recoil should opt for the Venezuelan contract model, which shoots the 7x57mm cartridge.  I lost mine in the Great Canoeing Accident On The Brazos, but I can attest to its greatness.)

Finally, it is a joy to shoot:  smooth operation, reliable feeding (even when chambering the rimmed 7×57), manageable recoil and excellent accuracy.  (One caveat:  the older single-piece firing pin is prone to breaking, and when it does, you’ll get the occasional double-fire slamfire which is irritating not to mention dangerous.  When you buy yours, have the seller affirm that it’s been fitted with a two-piece firing pin.)

Yes, it’s a heavy gun, just like the Garand and G.41, but that’s why the recoil is bearable.

If you already own a Mauser K98 boltie (as every rifleman should), why then, you’ll have an adequate supply of ammo, won’t you?

And if you have rifles chambered in .30-06 Springfield, then you should get the “Belgian” contract FN-49, which are thus chambered. (If you want to read more about it, go here or here.)

Sheesh… as I write this, I can sense that I’m talking myself into wanting this lovely rifle.

You could do worse, a lot worse, than having the FN-49 as your SHTF rifle.

Being Prepared

The Gun Thing

Excellent news from Israel, in the matter of self-defense:

An Israeli news anchor has carried a gun live on air while presenting from the studio amid fear of another Hamas attack.

Lital Shemesh, a presenter for right-wing Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, was pictured on Tuesday sitting behind her anchor desk with a gun tucked into the waistband of her trousers.

Makes sense, of course, because if Channel 14 is indeed a “right-wing” news outlet*, then they would be a likely target of Hamas terrorist scum.

Also, she seems to be quite a cutie:

…and therefore would be a target-within-a-target for terrorists’ swinging dicks — so she damn well should be armed in the event of some Muzzy reindeer games.

Good for her, refusing to be a victim.

*Given the source of the report (a Brit newspaper), “right-wing” would translate as “center-left” in American terminology, i.e. not screamingly-socialist like most TV stations and other media in the West.

Vulcan’s Worthy Descendant

The Gun Thing

Among the small (and it should be said, wealthy) group of gun aficionados, the name Duane Wiebe is well known, and justifiably so.  Here’s a brief auto-bio of the man — but it must be said, his real bio is in the long guns he has crafted over the past three decades or so.  Here are a couple-three, at Steve Barnett’s place (right-click to embiggen):

Argentine Mauser in .375 H&H Magnum

And to the question, “Can an old Mauser handle the .375 H&H?” the answer is a smack upside the head and an “Of course it can, you silly person!”

Here’s another DW special:

Mauser G33/40 in 6.5x55mm Swede

…and if that doesn’t get your drool flowing and trigger-finger itching, then we can’t be friends.

Okay, for those who want something more American and in a more modern chambering [sigh] :

Winchester pre-war Model 70 in .300 Win Mag:

…with Winchester’s typical swept-back Mod 70 bolt.

Okay, none of the above are inexpensive (see the links), because they are each one of a kind, crafted by an expert who not only knows guns, but loves them.

With a decent lottery win, I could find at least two more (along with all three of the above) Wiebe rifles I’d want to buy, and that’s only at Barnett’s.

I don’t just appreciate craftsmen, I venerate them.  And Duane Wiebe is all that, and more.

Perennial Complaint

Hunting, The Gun Thing

I’ve often bitched about the high cost of .22 Mag / .22 WMR ammo before — and yes, I know it’s all driven by its (non-)popularity, which drives its price up.

And yes, I’ve also been an ardent supporter of the rimfire cartridge (not that it’s helped at all) because it just adds a little extra reach to the .22 LR:  the Long Rifle bullet just flat-out runs out of steam past 50 yards, whereas its magnum counterpart is still providing some oomph at 75 yards and further.

“Okay Kim, but you’re only getting about 25% more performance, so you should expect to pay more.”

I know, and I accept that.  I would even be prepared to pay double the cost of .22 LR for the added performance of the .22 WMR.  But it’s not that, not even close to it.

Right now, premium .22 LR (but not target, which is a lot more expensive) is going for about (say) 7-8 cents per round.

WMR?  Here’s Eric’s Christmas sale price:


…which, while an excellent deal, still works out to 32 cents per round, or over four times the cost of .22 LR.  And that’s just not worth it, as much as my trigger finger tries to persuade me to throw the old MasterCard at the thing*.

So my much-loved Marlin SSV is going to have to remain idle for a while longer… [sigh]

* The Hornady V-Max, by the way, is absolutely wonderful, and will easily reduce even a fox or coyote to a bag of fur and bones at up to 75 yards.  The stuff I have on hand cost me a ton (more than 32 cents each, more like 50), but it has been an excellent and consistent performer.