Not just the guns, but all the stuff that goes with them
For those of you who haven’t been to Oleg Volk’s website in a while, please remedy that situation immediately.
Like me, Oleg’s an immigrant-citizen, and like me, he hates almost every gun law; unlike me, he has an incredible feel for classy photography, especially in terms of gun themes:
I’ve known Oleg for over fifteen years, and he’s a good man. Go there and support him.
This pic at C.W.’s blog got me thinking.
It makes me smile, too.
I have written before that men like to be in control of machinery — that many men, very much including myself, prefer stick shifts to automatic gearboxes, bolt-action rifles over semi-automatic rifles, ditto revolvers over pistols and so on.
Where we do use the auto / semi-auto doodads, it’s for practical reasons only, like buying a car with an automatic gearbox when having to navigate stop-start traffic on a daily basis, or needing the greater firepower in a pistol’s fifteen-round magazine compared to a revolver cylinder’s six, to give but two examples. But those are simply reasons of practicality, while our enduring fondness for being in control — i.e. working the action of a thing — can be found in the fact that the auto/semi-auto versions haven’t replaced the manual versions completely.
When it comes to rifles, men of the manual-operation persuasion are blessed in that we have several types of operation to choose from: bolt action, lever action and pump action are all there, and all are still popular, hence our reaction to the pic above.
As Longtime Readers will know, I have an abiding love for all three of the above, and have fired countless rounds through all of them. Don’t ask me to pick my favorite type, but I have to say, when it comes to pure fun, it takes a lot to beat an open field filled with old tin cans, fruit and suchlike, a pump-action rimfire rifle and a couple thousand rounds of .22 ammo. I know, it takes a while to reload the tube magazine, but that also allows the barrel to cool, which is no small thing. So let’s look at a few choices among the latter.
Browning Model 90 / Winchester Model 62 are the originals, and are still available today. The fact that these old guns (discontinued in 1959) in good condition can fetch well over a grand at gun shows today is testament to their popularity.
But are they that popular? Recent events seem to prove otherwise. Of all the gunmakers extant, Henry is the only one which continues to make old-style pump-action rimfire rifles:
It’s a beautiful little rifle — that octagonal barrel! — but I think Henry does us gunnies a real disservice by pricing them so high. I mean, if Marlin and Ruger can make semi-auto rimfire rifles which retail for less than $150, why do Henry pump rimfires typically cost close to $500 for an action which is much less complex?
I would love to own one of these rifles, most of all because it shoots .22 WMR as well as .22 LR and I can think of few better varmint-whackers than a magnum pump action, but at that nearly-$500 sticker? Sorry.
Actually, I do know why Henry pump rifles are priced so high: they have no competition. Which brings me to my next gripe.
I don’t understand why Taurus discontinued manufacture of their Model 62 knock-offs, either. (I know, they’ll say “no demand”, but they continue to make other guns which hardly sell at all — the Judge revolver in .45-70 Govt comes to mind, for some reason — so I don’t buy the excuse.)
My Taurus stainless-steel carbine model is beyond beautiful, and as I’ve said before, when I take friends shooting with this little thing, I have to take at least a brick of .22 ammo with me, so much do people enjoy shooting it. (Hell, I always carry over a hundred rounds in its case, just to make sure I don’t commit the cardinal sin of .22 ammo shortage at the range.)
Finally, we have a sorta-pump (in that it has a pump action, but doesn’t have an exposed hammer), the sleek, beautiful (and expensive, at around $600!!! new) Remington 572 Fieldmaster:
Look, I’ve fired the 572 dozens of times and sent many a hundred rounds downrange through its 21″ barrel, and if someone gave me one I’d never sell it — but I’d trade it in a heartbeat for a rifle with an exposed hammer. Like the Taurus Mod 62 long-barreled model:
It all has to do with that “manual operation” thing — and the more parts you can control, the better. De-cocking is easy with an exposed hammer, impossible with the Remington’s hidden one.
Anyway, let me end by saying that if you don’t have a pump-action rimfire rifle, you’re missing out on a whole lot of fun. You know what to do.
From Socialist President-Wannabe #257 comes this cheery little opinion:
Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg wants more gun control, and says policies like universal background checks and making it tougher to obtain assault-style rifles don’t infringe on Second Amendment rights.
“The biggest thing I can tell you about some of these weapons that I trained on and saw and carried is that there are some weapons that have absolutely no place in our neighborhoods in America in peacetime,” Buttigieg, a U.S. Navy Reserve veteran who served in Afghanistan, told a full house at Somerville Theatre on Tuesday.
The South Bend, Ind., mayor said, “We need to make it harder to obtain assault rifles. We need to have red flag laws that disarm domestic abusers. We need to establish universal background checks.”
But his ideas were, “not anti-Second Amendment, because every right and every freedom in the Constitution comes with responsibilities” he said, adding the right to bear arms “does not entitle you to … other weapons of war.”
So… “there are some weapons that have absolutely no place in our neighborhoods”, are there? Which ones, specifically, do you have in mind, my little Socialist politico?
Because if you’re talking hand-grenades, RPGs or Claymore mines, then I might concede the point. Everything else? Go fuck yourself.
As for “the right to bear arms does not entitle you to … other weapons of war”: well, I hate to break it to you, my little Indiana Mussolini, but way back when the Second Amendment was being debated, this little thought appeared:
“Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American … the unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.” — Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, February 20, 1789
And speaking of the federal government bringing the power of the sword nukes to the party (this applies especially to your butt-buddy-in-crime, Eric Swallwell), Coxe added this afterthought a few months later, in the same publication:
“As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.” — June 18, 1789
“Private arms” means not only hunting rifles and sporting shotguns, but mean and nasty assault rifles like AR-15s and AK-47s, i.e. those other terrible implements of the soldier. To protect us from you, and Swallwell, and all the others of your ilk when you start stepping on our Constitutional rights.
We’re not Venezuelans, and we’re not going to let you turn us into them.
Now fuck off back to South Bend, and disappear into your well-deserved obscurity.
Oooooh I love this development (via Insty, thankee as always):
CZ-USA, the U.S.-based affiliate of Czech firearms manufacturer Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod (CZUB), announced today plans to locate their North American Headquarters and build a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. CZ-USA plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. CZ products are considered some of the highest-quality firearms in defense, competition and sport shooting around the world.
Indeed they are. I’ve owned several CZ / Brno guns in my life, and the only thing I can say is that I’ve regretted selling (because: poverty) every single one of them. In fact, here’s my list of Four CZ Guns I Would Own In A Heartbeat (in no specific order):
CZ 550 Safari / 602 Brno (.375 H&H)
It is quite probably the most popular dangerous game rifle in Africa. Arrive at any safari camp with one of these bad boys, and the guide / PH will nod his head approvingly. Back in a previous life, I used a borrowed 602 (chambered in .458 Win Mag) on a large lion, with astonishing results. (As the saying goes: “The .458 Winchester Magnum: delivering pain in equal amounts at both ends of the rifle!”) More recently, the Cape buffalo head which fills most of a wall in Doc Russia’s den came from a beast taken with his .375 H&H 550.
CZ 550/557 Lux (any caliber):
I prefer the “hogsback” stock over the straight “American” style, but regardless of stock, the 557 (old: 550) is quite possibly the greatest rifle to be had anywhere for the price, and the single-set trigger (4lb pull to 3.5 ounces, with just a single forward push on the trigger) is beyond reproach. My 550 was chambered in 6.5x55mm Swedish, I sold it to a Reader because poverty, and I’ve regretted it ever since. (However, he tells me that he’s taken many, many deer with it since, so I don’t feel too bad.) What I love most about this rifle is that you can pick pretty much your favorite chambering (even the new 6.5 Creed!), and CZ makes it.
CZ 75B (9mm/.40S&W)
I have spoken before of my respect for this wonderful pistol, so no more need be said.
CZ 455/457 (rimfire)
Sure, you can get a better .22 rifle than the 457 (old: 455), but you’d have to spend a lot more $$$. As a 455 owner once put it to me: “If you can’t one-hole a brick of .22 with this gun, you’re the one at fault.”
And now a bonus:
Brno ZKM 611 (.22 Win Mag)
This was made by Brno before CZ bought them. CZ doesn’t make the little 611 takedown rifle anymore [sob] , and that’s a pity, because it is the only rifle I’ve ever picked up and shouldered where it immediately felt like it was an extension of my arm. Want, even second-hand.
The 611 has been replaced by the CZ 512 semi-auto , which also comes chambered in .22 Win Mag (as well as .22 LR):
Of all the CZ guns on this list, the little 512 is the only one I’ve never fired. I’m reliably told that the 512 is an improvement. Hmmm… have to say, I prefer the 611’s looks.
So welcome, my friends* at Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod (CZ-UB). Sorry you ended up in Little Rock instead of in my state, but hey… we’re almost neighbors (in Texas-distance terms, barely a couple 6-packs up Interstate 30), so expect a visit as soon as you open your doors. (One question, though: why did CZ-USA move out of Kansas City?)
From the Knuckledragger, commenting on this article:
“I don’t buy into that horseshit about how we should spend the equivalent of our rifle’s value on an optic. I’m sorry, but save your money and invest it in a decent trigger instead. A quality trigger will improve your shooting much more than a fancy big name optic.”
I sorta-agree, with a couple of qualifications.
Don’t buy a $1,900 rifle and put a $49.99 scope on it.
In the same vein, don’t buy an old $200 mil-surp rifle and add $$$$$ Night Force glass.
What you’re getting with a very good scope is not just better optics, but reliability. Those $49.99 red-dot sights from CheaperThanDirt are not going to work as well, or last as long as a Trijicon. However (as with all things), once you get past a certain quality standard, incremental quality comes at enormous cost.
And if you’re buying an expensive rifle, you’d better get a superior trigger for your money. If you start off with a cheap rifle and add a Timney trigger, pretty soon you’ll discover that your barrel is sub-optimal — and by the time you’ve added that, plus a free-floating stock arrangement, you’ll end up with Washington’s axe. (Don’t ask me how I know this.)
This, by the way, is why I love CZ rifles so much: excellent reliability, a decent barrel and (most often) a single-set trigger, all for less than a grand. Ditto the even-cheaper Savage rifles, ever since they started putting the fine Accu-Trigger into their rifles.
All that said, my policy is always to match three things when putting together a shooting platform: rifle, scope, and intended use/frequency. If all you’re going to do is plink away at a range every other month, you’re not going to need a $5,000 rifle/scope combination. If you’re going to engage in long-distance competition shooting, spend as much or more than you can afford on both the rifle and scope. My Mauser M12 / Minox scope combination was bought with a Scottish deer stalk in mind (bad visibility, horrible terrain, 200+ yard shots), hence the scope’s illuminated reticle and ruggedness of the Mauser action. I could have spent a lot more on a hunting setup, but given my skill level (adequate), budget (don’t ask), and likely frequency of Scottish deerstalking (annual, at best), I “settled” for the M12 / Minox.
(More on the Mauser in a later post, by the way.)
Now, if you want to shoot rimfire ammo very accurately all the time (and you should), the CZ 452 topped with Leupold glass will do you very well — I would humbly suggest that getting an Anschutz with Swarovski glass may be overkill, unless you want to move on to competition shooting later. My own rimfire setup, for example, is a Marlin 880SQ (~$280) topped with a Nikon scope (~$300).
Hell, I’ve spent more time working out what ammo works best in the 880 (CCI Mini-Max 40gr FMJ), and those who have seen me shoot with this setup will attest that while I’m no world-beater, I certainly don’t disgrace myself. Given how often I go plinking (not as often as I’d like aaarrrrgh), it’s all I need. YMMV.
Sorry, this post has turned into something much longer than a Quote Of The Day, but it’s on a topic about which I have a little experience. Your comments, as always, are welcome.
Today is April 15th, which the Feddle Gummint refers to as “Tax Deadline Day”, but which Real Murkins refer to as “Buy-A-Gun Day” (hence the title of this post).
I haven’t made up my mind yet, but it’ll be something small and concealable, with no paper trail. (And therefore will not appear on these pages, sorry.) I invite my Readers Of Similar Persuasion to do the same.
Feel free, however, to be like the guy who embraced the concept fully*:
But if you feel that you have enough guns (okay, you can all stop laughing now), feel free to lay in some canned goods instead:
(That’s not Ye Olde Ammoe Locquer, by the way, but it’s not far off.)
*My only quibble: way too much plastic in there.