Change Of Season, Change Of Mood

We’ve had our first cool days here in north Texas — not the cold snap of a week ago, but that gentle cool of autumn.  So I had to change the wallpaper on Ye Olde Laptoppe, from this:

…to this:

Unlike the earlier pic, I know where this one is (because I took the pic myself;  open in new tab or window to embiggen, feel free to copy).

It’s just outside Belfast, Maine, looking out over the Passagassawakeag River (yeah, I know;  stupid Indian name, they could have just called it the “Belfast River”, but noooo).

I wish we had mist here in the Dallas area… or decent rivers, for that matter.

Kim’s Black Friday Half-Dozen – Rifles

Collectors Firearms is publicizing their Black Friday Sale, and I thought I’d shuffle over to the Curio & Relic (C&R) department to see which caught my fancy.  (Not that I can afford any of them, of course, but the 20% discounts being offered make these rifles at least reachable for anyone with a few hundred buck or so to spare.)  Links in description.

Mosin M44 Trunk Gun

Schmidt-Rubin K31 (with bayonet)

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk1

Brno Mauser K98k

Remington ’03-A3

Venezuela Mauser K98k

And a bonus:  Schmidt-Rubin K11
…because its forged action just sounds better than the K31’s cast action.

Honorable mention:  Chilean Banner Mauser, which looks lovely but is still priced too high, even with the discount.

Anyway, they’re all worth a look.


All the pistols, with the possible exception of the Colt 1903, are too damn spendy.  Collectors only.

News Roundup

Starting off with a little good news, for a change:


...although as a Texan, I’m a little unclear about this “gun permits” concept.

From the SPORTS DESK:


...keyword:  Australian.  Also:


...and if you guessed the keyword as “South Africa”, you would be correct.

From the First World Problems Dept.:


...Israeli citizens were not available for comment.

Speaking of which, in the Glueball Jewhate section:


...while invisible to the fuzz were the 300 protesters chanting “Kill All Jew Bastards!”

In the OMG We Didn’t Expect Consequences For Our Jew Hate section (no links):


...

From the Dept. of Health:


...also noted by Captain Obvious.

Time for some SEX NEWS:


the bracelet was what gave her away, the filthy animal.


...for the teenage trifecta.  Also, keyword:  Idaho.


...keyword:  Belgium.


...keyword:  New Zealand.  And she looks pretty much as you’d suspect she would.

Speaking of ugly women, some Broken Promises:


...yeah, she said that when GWB was elected, and didn’t.  Unfortunately.

And now:  INSIGNIFICA!!!

 

...and all for nothing, as Bernstein was a terrible conductor.

...relax, kids:  it’s only gonorrhea.

#Penicillin.

Finally, some TOTTY NEWS:


...close, but no cigar.

And in earlier times:

One last item:

Nice way to end this.

Utility Over Beauty?

In my Saturday post of Favorite Things (Part 1), Reader JC comments:

“With your well-known love for God’s Own Pistol, I’m surprised a custom 1911 was not on your list.”

Well, yes.  Except that I addressed the issue the previous week in my post about the Ed Brown 1911.

I dunno.  Maybe it’s that I regard a 1911 the same way as I do about a Land Rover Defender or a Toyota Hi-Lux pickup:  they are so utilitarian that fancying them up seems kinda pointless.

I wouldn’t add diamonds to a watch for the same reason, unless it was a present for a woman (because most women have an undeniable attraction for sparklies).

I love luxury, don’t get me wrong:  I am not a Puritan or neo-Amish type.  But as with all things, luxury has its place, and utilitarian tools ain’t one of them.

Here’s another example of what I’m talking about.

I would prefer an Estwing hammer over a bog-standard Lowes-type budget-rack hammer, any day of the week.

But would I gild the Estwing’s metal?  Of course not.  (I might, however, be seduced into buying an Estwing with a leather grip because ooooh.)

You see where I’m going with this?

Sometimes quality has a point to where improvement is not really worth it — especially if said improvement has a 4x multiple over the original, e.g. an Ed Brown 1911 over a Springfield 1911, or a Porsche 911S over a Porsche Cayman S.

And if the original product, so to speak, isn’t total shit and is already far up the quality curve, that’s always something to take into account.

Quote Of The Day

From RedState:

Sunday night, Austrian school economist Javier Milei gave a figurative and political curb-stomping to incumbent Argentine President Sergio Massa, beating him by ten percentage points. Not only did Milei win, but he did it in an election in which judges did not arbitrarily change laws and without huge, unexplained tranches of ballots, with 99% marked for the favorite candidate of the political class being discovered after the polls closed.

It kinda sucks when one of the exemplars of the “banana republic” concept does the democracy thing more honestly than that beacon of freedom and democracy, the U.S. of A.

It may not last, of course:  the odds are good that the defeated party will just send in the tanks — I mean, the National Guard.

We’d never do something like that, of course.

Cartridge Comparison

From Rifleshooter magazine comes this even-handed look at the two “sevens”:  the 7x57mm Mauser, and the 7mm-08 Rem.  I’ve shot plenty of both, and agree with everything Scott Rupp says.

However, I’m always going to come down on the side of the 7×57, and those who know me will know quite well why.  As Rupp summarizes:

7×57

Hits

    • History, history, history
    • Case taper produces excellent feeding
    • Uniqueness counts

Misses

    • Not a short action, not really a long action
    • Can’t match the 7mm-08’s ballistics
    • Ammo, gun availability are poor

Actually, the last is true only if you’re looking for new rifles (although Mauser, unsurprisingly, offers it in their M98 line, but it’s nosebleed-spendy).

If you don’t care about that “new” requirement — and for someone who loves the “history, history, history”  thing it’s a feature, not a bug — there’s always the mil-surp market and its “re-stocked” tributary (like this example) which offer many choices.  (I have a special affection for the Oviedo rifles, as I took my very first deer with one.)  By the way, CZ used to offer the 7x57mm in its now-discontinued 550 line, so there’s always a chance you’ll find one in the second-hand market, if you’re alert — when one does occasionally appear for sale it disappears quickly, so clearly I’m not the only one who loves the old cartridge.

Then there’s the “customized” sector, exemplified by offerings such as this one at Steve Barnett:

Expect to pay a lot for a customized rifle at the hands of, say, Gary Goudy, but it’s all good.  (I lie awake dreaming about this one, by the way:  it’s a lottery rifle.)

Finally, unless you’re picky about such things, there’s nothing wrong with the old green-box Remington PSP 7×57 cartridge:  it works well on any deer, as I can personally attest, and its only disadvantage is scarcity and therefore price.  But it’s a hunting cartridge, so you’re not going to shoot off thousands of rounds anyway — although both Prvi Partizan (PPU) and Sellior & Bellot also offer it, usually for less than a buck per round.  (Remington’s Pointed Soft Point is at least double that.)

As for the 7mm-08?  I like it just fine — in fact, given my druthers, I’d choose this cartridge over the .308 Win — and as Rupp points out, new rifles chambered thusly are all over the place.  The shorter action helps, and the recoil is very manageable.  Here’s the Sako 101 Classic, for starters:

…which would make just about any gun-lover’s short list.  And, of course, there’s the Savage 110 for the cheapskate budget-conscious shooter:


…which I would be quite happy to take on any hunt.

My, how I do ramble on.  Here’s the summary.

History vs. modern.  The choice is yours, and neither is a bad one.