Category: The Gun Thing

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

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Politics, The Gun Thing

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.

Vítejte, Přátelé*

The Gun Thing

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?)

Quote Of The Day

QOTD, The Gun Thing

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.

BAG Day

The Gun Thing

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.

Another Veteran Passes From View

The Gun Thing

…well, in the opinion of this bloke at NRAHunting, anyway:

No matter what happens tomorrow, next year or even a decade from now, the .30-06 Springfield will be regarded as one of the best centerfire rifle cartridges of all time. Adopted by the U.S. military in 1906, it was originally loaded with a 150-grain bullet, with a muzzle velocity of 2700 fps. With a 100-yard zero it would drop less than 16 inches at 300 yards and deliver 1,435 ft.-lbs. of energy on target.
These were impressive ballistics for 113 years ago, and in reality, they still are. Jeff Cooper thought it adequate for general-purpose rifle work, and it proved more than capable for Stewart Edward White and Theodore Roosevelt in Africa. Since then, it has admirably served soldiers and hunters all over the world.
Even so, the .30-06 is dying. In fact, it has been dying for almost 100 years.

And Richard Mann then fingers the cartridges which are responsible.

I confess myself to be agnostic on the .30-06 cartridge, having grown up instead with its Euro-equivalent, the 8x57mm Mauser.  And I’ve seen the 8×57 likewise eclipsed, but not by newer cartridges which outperform the Kaiser’s cartridge ballistically.  Instead, as for the .30-06, it was replaced by shooters who preferred other, lighter-recoiling cartridges like the 6.5x55mm Swede as well as the “newcomers” like the .308 Win and so on.

And for the record, it may be a while before I shoot the 6.5 Creedmoor:  not because I dislike new cartridges (although I often do), but because the 6.5 Swede still does it all for me and I see little reason to change.

Which, come to think about it, may well be why many of my Readers (who are often as curmudgeonly and conservative as I) will cling bitterly to their trusted .30-06 Springfield rifles.  And I see nothing at all wrong with that.

Scaring The Neighbors

Drive Time, Funny Stuff, The Gun Thing

At my advanced age and concomitantly-advanced skepticism, it’s not often that something has the power to cause roars of laughter of a volume sufficient for the neighbors to call apartment management to check in case I was injured or violently ill or something.  Reader Gwalchmai sent me this article via email, and I would caution you all to read it in a secluded spot, lest your laughter cause similar mayhem.

A (very) brief sample:

For the wilder Microturbo Thrust unit, advertising claimed for the model T-16-A Formula J Thrust Engine an additional 1,980 hp was at your fingertips. In reality a small rocket-thrust engine, once ignited, hot gases were instantaneously unleashed, spinning small turbine blades in the housing, with an optional turbine wheel available to create “spectacular flaming night runs,” according to Turbonique hype. This option was for those needing more sensorial input than the shockwave of 600-psi ignited rocket fuel slammed into a 100,000-rpm Inconel orb—all taking place right behind your head, as you glide an inch or two off the ground.
The snail-looking device, with what looked like a child’s bicycle horn protruding from one end, came with “easy to follow installation and operating instructions.” We assume the operating instructions were basically, “Don’t do it!” As for the bicycle horns, those were aluminum nozzles used by NASA in space. They were just for publicity, and in actual use would have melted in seconds.

And it gets better, when instances of “actual use” are described.

Now, in similar spirit, allow me to show a prototype cartridge I’m working on:  the .750 Kimbo self-defense cartridge* (shown with a .357 Mag cartridge to provide scale):

Manly men only need apply.  Even Ken Barrett took one look and went pale, as did the guys at Magnum Research.  Someone at Taurus apparently committed suicide when they saw the photo, and Smith & Wesson responded in the negative, via their attorneys.  Ruger called it “interesting”, but that’s all.

Only the folks at Bond Arms thought it looked “cool”, and are thinking of including a Derringer thus chambered in their 2020 catalog. Read more