Category: Gratuitous Gun Pics

Reaching Out In Silence

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

My old pal, the late Airboss once said (pace  the old AT&T ad) that everyone should own at least one rifle that can “reach out and touch” someone.

Here’s my candidate, which has the added benefit of almost utter silence with the proper add-on, the CVA Scout, chambered in the .300 Blackout:

Yes, it’s a single-shot rifle (but that means it’s both quiet and cheap — nothing wrong with that little scenario).  Also, I would venture to suggest that if you do your part, a quick reload should be entirely unnecessary.

In fact, it’s difficult to imagine a better gun for pig-hunting, where the sound of the shot from a regular rifle makes the other pigs scatter like flies.  With silence comes an excellent chance for a further pop, or three…

I also like that the Scout can also come with a short barrel (ribbed  threaded for your pleasure).

I have also said in the past that hunting with a single-shot rifle is not o be sneered at, because nothing concentrates the mind better than knowing that one shot is all you’ll get.  And I’m all over that one, with my own peerless Browning High Wall:

…but I must say that the CVA does make the old trigger-finger itch a little, because of its utter stripped-down utility and scope-ready rail (which the Browning does not have).

Worth some consideration, yes?

An Old Favorite

Gratuitous Gun Pics

What with one thing and another, I haven’t been keeping up with the adventures of Othias and Mae’s C&Rsenal, so when I stumbled on this one talking about an old friend, I opened the video toot sweet, and you should too.

Let it be known — as I’ve said several times before — that I have always loved the Commie SKS, and Othias is definitely on my side on this one.

I know, I know:  the thing has been (unfairly) overshadowed by its successor, the AK-47.

And yes, the SKS holds only 10 rounds in its semi-concealed mag compared to 20-30 in the AK’s banana-like appendage.  Don’t care.  Also, the AK can be modified as above (albeit with some difficulty), while the SKS cannot (not even ULTiMAK makes the proper rail mounts).  Don’t care about that either.

The fact is that the SKS is actually a better design, and is way more comfortable to shoot than the AK.  I have owned both, fired literally thousands of rounds through each, and on this I will accept no argument.

Of course, I don’t own either of them ever since that tragic accident on the Brazos River all those years ago;  but lemme tell you, watching Mae and Othias shoot and fondle the SKS respectively made me itch in all the wrong places.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Pietta King Trio

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Loyal Reader Mike S. (thankee) sends me this lovely pic of a gun (or a pic of a lovely gun, whatever):

Note the extra cylinders.  These will be explained later.  But first, a close-up:

I don’t care who you are, that’s a purty lil’ thang right there, yessirree.

“But Kim… what’s it chambered in?”

According to the article Reader Mike so thoughtfully provided:

A close copy clone of a Colt Single Action Army (SAA), the King Trio comes with three cylinders, making it capable of shooting four different cartridges, earning King status on versatility for six-shooters.

And the boolets?

First up is the .38 Super. The .38 Super came out in the late 1920s and is a favorite cartridge for Mexicans. Being illegal to own firearms capable of shooting cartridges of war like 9mm and .45 ACP, the .38 Super is a popular choice by having the power to take care of business in the famous 1911 platform.  Having a cylinder for .38 Super adds to the versatility of the King Trio revolver while upping the cool factor by 10!

Next is the .357 Magnum/.38 Special cylinder. Who doesn’t love the power of the .357 Magnum? Capable of taking deer-sized game, as well as being a proven one-shot man stopper, the .357 may be our most balanced and practical cartridge for everyday chores.

That .38 Special can be fired in the same cylinder, making it doubly good!  Usually abundant and cheaper than most ammunition, the mild loads are great for practice, small game and teaching youth how to shoot without all the nasty muzzle-blast the .357 Magnum is known for.

Lastly, we have the 9mm. For plain plinking fun and varmints, the 9mm is hard to beat.

As any fule kno, I’m not a huge fan of the last-mentioned.  But the ammo is cheaper than almost anything except .22 LR, and I bet it’s great fun to shoot those teeny lil’ Europellets out of a honking big revolver like the Trio.

Can you say “Governor’s BBQ Gun”, children?

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Mauser HSc (.32 ACP/7.65mm Browning)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

The HSc was Mauser’s answer to Walther’s PP model in the same chambering, and it’s a pretty little thing, made very much in the Art Deco style of the time:

Like many of the .32 ACP guns, I’ve actually owned one of these, and while it’s a joy to shoot — far nicer than the PP, by the way, which can cut your hand up — it’s not really a “pocket” pistol like its many competitors, in that it’s surprisingly heavy despite its diminutive size.  (Carried in a pants pocket, it’ll make your trousers sag alarmingly — ask me how I know this — which is not true of the others.)

I’ve spoken before of my fondness for the .32 ACP cartridge, and it should be known that I’ve owned a large number of guns thus chambered, and fired almost all of them.

I once owned a Mauser HSc, and I very much regret selling it (but not the Walther), because it was a peach to shoot:  accurate, smooth and in my hands, absolutely reliable without a single stoppage (despite that semi-rimmed design, which can cause feeding problems, I never experienced any with the HSc).  Other people think so too, as whenever one appears at Collectors Firearms, for example, it seldom lasts long before being gobbled up.

The biggest problem with owning the HSc (like many of its cousins) is that the magazines are made of unobtanium, and if you can find one, it’s going to put a big hole in your wallet.  Upon reflection, however, I don’t happen to think that it’s a problem because a .32 ACP pistol isn’t going to be your primary carry piece anyway.

But every time you take it to the range, you’ll remember why you enjoy shooting it so much.  And that is not something you can say about many guns.

Amen To That

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

SOTI, Chris Cypert talks approvingly about revolvers as self-defense weapons:

I set out to learn all I could about revolvers, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to use them effectively for self-defense. Did I learn that revolvers are obsolete relics of the previous century? That’s what I expected, but instead I learned that revolvers are still more than sufficient for self-defense and can even be the optimal tool in certain contexts. Let’s examine the strengths of revolvers for armed citizens and self-defense.

And then he goes on to list all of them.

As most Readers know, I keep a S&W Mod 65 next to the bed — my “bedside” gun — because in any kind of bad situation, a revolver is like a fork:  you pick it up, and it works.

No scrabbling for a safety, no racking of a slide, none of that.  You get it in your hand and pull the trigger… bang!  and it’s all over.  (Okay, bang! bang! bang!  etc. as the need arises.)

It’s that instinctive action that makes me do the above.  Gawd knows that I have practiced for countless hours with my 1911, and its operation is by now about as automatic and instinctive as I could possibly get it.  And it’s the reason I keep it under the revolver… as a backup, because I do believe that by the time I’ve emptied the Model 65’s cylinder, I’ll be awake enough to grab and operate my 1911 (which is always kept cocked and locked anyway), should I need more than six shots.

This is my way, and if yours is different, that’s fine — whatever works for you, works for you.

But just as Cypert learned about the excellence of the revolver as a self-defense piece, maybe my argument will help you, and perhaps at a time of the direst emergency.

Think about it.

Wood & Blued Steel

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Reader Mike L. stumbled on an excellent post at Reddit which featured this vision of gunny loveliness:

If that doesn’t make your morning, let me tell you:  it sure did mine.

The guy’s thoughts are pretty much mine as well:

While there’s nothing wrong with ARs (I own a few myself) I’ve always been intrigued by the sheer variety of firearms and am way more attracted to fine walnut and blued steel then most “tactical” arms.

The guns pictured are a newly-acquired Ruger No 1 338 Win Mag I found for stupid cheap and an old Smith and Wesson 19-3.

I dunno about the .338 Win Mag — it’s not my favorite large caliber, and that might have stopped me from getting this particular No. 1 — but as it’s not going to be a gun that I would shoot often, that’s probably not important.  (Now had it been chambered in .300 Win Mag, .300 H&H Mag or .375 H&H Mag…)

Right-click to embiggen.  It makes a nice wallpaper pic.