The Gun Thing – Page 21 – Splendid Isolation

Well, Yes Of Course

March 25, 2025 Kim du Toit Gratuitous Gun Pics

C.W. has this to say:

Can’t say I disagree.

All your basic needs — carry piece and bedside gun — taken care of. Now you can buy other guns, for fun.

Now let’s talk about what Teh Laydeez need… tomorrow.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Rossi Lever Rifle (.357 Mag)

March 12, 2025 Kim du Toit Gratuitous Gun Pics

Yesterday’s post about underrated guns made me scratch my head a little, until I remembered the Rossi family of pistol-caliber lever rifles. Here’s the R92, in .357 Mag:

What you get for (ATOW) around $700 new is a lovely trigger and very reasonable accuracy. Longtime Buddy Combat Controller has one of these, has popped dozens of wild pigs with it, and swears by its reliability and performance. It’s his go-to brush gun.

The R92 is also offered in .44-40 and .454 Casull. The latter makes my shoulder ache just thinking about it. Lever rifles are not really geared for heavy or powerful cartridges.

Is the finish as good as, say, a Winchester of the same ilk? No; that extra money you pay for the Winchester gets you that — from memory, the Rossi may have a few rough edges here and there, because at the end of it all, you get what you pay for. But what you do get, as CC can attest, is a silky-smooth action right out of the box — better, in my opinion, than its Marlin 1894 competition.

The hammer-blocks safety catch is pretty simple too, although lever-rifle purists will find it annoying:

I would suggest, however, that for a knockaround brush gun, cosmetics ain’t that important — spend the extra $1,000 for a Cimarron or Uberti if that’s important to you. What is important is the trigger, the action, reliability and accuracy, and Rossi has the first three completely covered. What about accuracy? You’ll need to get the longer-barreled (20″ rather than 16″) model, I think, but anywhere under 75 yards — which is where the .357 Mag works best — it’ll drop pretty much anything the rifle’s pointed at, regardless of barrel length, as long as the shooter does his job properly.

Rossi also makes the R92 in .44 Mag and .45 Colt, if you’re looking for something a little meatier. But for my money, the .357 Mag will work just fine. Regardless of caliber, though, you’ll have a “companion” piece for your Colt, Ruger or S&W revolver in whatever of the three recommended chamberings.

You do have one of these already, right?

Underrated Guns

March 11, 2025 Kim du Toit Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Looking back for something else in my archives, I stumbled across this 2020 article about underrated guns. I’ll spare you the details (follow the link if you’re interested), but the guns are pictured below:

I have no experience with the R22, but it’s a T/C, looks nice and uses 10/22 mags, so how bad can it be?
I’m not a fan of the Savage Apex line, because I had a terrible experience with one once, because that skinny little barrel starts to whip after more than a few rounds. But it’s a decent budget hunting rifle. I honestly prefer the 110 Hunter line — more expensive, to be sure, but I think a better rifle altogether. I’ll always suggest the 110 for a starter rifle, because at any price, it’s wonderfully accurate, and their adjustable Accu-Trigger is the bee’s knees.
If I were looking for a “mid-price” 1911, I’d go with one of the Springfields purely because of long experience with my GI model.
I carried a Charter Arms Bulldog (.44 Spec) for years, until I got my 1911. Nothing wrong with it — I think I’d take the Undercover over one of the Rossi or Taurus cheapies, to be honest.
I like the Bersa Thunder, and if I were restricted to the .380 ACP, it would probably be my first choice too.
Not a fan of the Tomcat, even though I love most Beretta handguns. I think it’s the .32 ACP chambering that puts me off, although his rationale for the piece is quite acceptable. I’d certainly take it over any of the teeny pocket pistols out there, just for the reliability factor.

The article got me thinking about the topic, so in days to come I’ll put up my half-dozen choices of underrated guns, just for the hell of it. Try to contain yer anticipation.

LOL Of The Day

March 10, 2025 Kim du Toit Funny Stuff, The Gun Thing

Once more with feeling from the Comment section at Knuckledragger’s:

That’s also sorta true with chastising people who use “bullets” when they mean “cartridges”. Yes I know, the bullet is really the part that leaves the casing and comes out of the naughty end of the gun (oops I mean barrel), but saying “I’m outta cartridges!” just doesn’t have the same ring as “I need more fuggin’ bullets!”

I’d rather just chastise someone for not having enough ammo.

Also: far be it for me to say this, but we really shouldn’t be guided by anything the Army says, because their fuckup rate in all things is phenomenal. And that’s true of any army.

Technical Thuggery

March 5, 2025 Kim du Toit Government Thugs, The Gun Thing

Well, when I saw this headline, I thought “Wow, this must be pretty bad, considering their history.”

One of the worst things ATF has ever done

And it was.

Not one of the guns or gun parts the ATF seized from former sailor Patrick Tate Adamiak was illegal. Not a single gun or gun part required any additional paperwork beyond a Form 4473, and most didn’t even require that. Adamiak was always extremely careful and did absolutely nothing wrong.

Every single item that the ATF seized from Adamiak’s home is still sold to anyone who wants one. Most don’t even require an FFL for the transfer since they’re not even firearms but are instead legal gun parts.

So, why is Adamiak serving 20 years in a federal prison?

Good question. Here’s why:

(ATF Agent) Bodell’s incredible deceptions have become almost legendary. He actually turned toys into firearms and legal semi-autos into machineguns.

- Bodell inserted a real STEN action and a real STEN barrel into Adamiak’s toy STEN submachinegun and got it to fire one round, even though the toy’s receiver wouldn’t accept a real STEN magazine. Bodell actually classified the toy, which are very popular, as a machine gun.

- Bodell fired five of Adamiak’s very expensive and extremely collectible legal semi-autos, which fire from an open bolt. All the ATF technician could achieve was semi-auto fire, but that didn’t stop him. He classified all five highly sought after firearms as machine guns.

- Bodell ruled that several receivers that had been cut in half were actually machine guns. The same receivers are still legally sold online and do not require an FFL or any paperwork.

- Bodell actually rebuilt three inert RPGs, which had holes drilled into their receivers and were stripped of internal parts. ATF’s “expert” added parts from real RPGs until they would fire a single subcaliber 7.62x39mm round. As a result, he classified the RPGs as destructive devices.

So the ATF took Adamiak’s toys, turned them (partially) into (sorta) weapons, and had him sent to jail. For 20 years.

Somebody explain to me why this cocksucker Bodell shouldn’t be swinging from a lamp post? And ditto the fucking judge who allowed this bullshit to be taken as “evidence”?

Note to President Trump: Pardon Adamiak yourself, and have Kash Patel take action against Bodell, just prior to closing down the entire ATF. If you don’t, then why did we elect you?

New Arrival

February 21, 2025 Kim du Toit The Gun Thing

This is either good news, or terrible news.

Oy. As if we didn’t already have enough Merchants Of Death around these parts; now I’ll have to resist the lure of one of my all-time favorite Merchants Of Death, right next door to the Galleria Mall off the corner of the LBJ and Dallas North Tollway.