Category: The Gun Thing

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

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Remington 742 Woodmaster (.30-06)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

It has been a long time since I last fired a Woodmaster, but I remember saying then — and I repeat now — that if ever there was a rifle built to sidestep the stupid “assault rifle” hysteria, then this would be it, in the very manly .30-06 Springfield chambering:

And there’s even one costing a little less, that doesn’t include a scope.  Best of all is that these two rifles were made back when Remington still cared about quality.

Here’s the thing.  All gunny goodness involves compromise — sometimes lots of compromises — and in this case, the major compromise is, of course, that teeny 5-round magazine.  That’s more than adequate for hunting, but in a more, shall we say antisocial environment, not so much.

I would suggest that five rounds of .30-06 should pretty much end any dispute, but then again I’m of the “make every shot count” school and not in the “spray and pray” camp.

And, of course, this little honey would serve just as well as a hunting rifle — something you can’t necessarily say about the latest plastic fantastic Mattel offering — so there’s that.  Also, the listed Collectors price of $700 isn’t too horrible, either.

And the 742 has exquisite, flowing lines which allow for a proper fondling and stroking, compared to the Mattel’s sharp corners and unfeeling plastic.

Needless to say, I’m just an old-fashioned gun lover who prefers the old over the new, and wood & blued steel over plastic & anodized.  So sneer at me if you will, but that’s my position and I’m unlikely to change it.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: J. Rigby Matched Pair (12ga)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

I don’t know why I do this to myself.  Every damn week I go over to Steve Barnett’s website, look at the new listings and am constantly reminded why I hate being poor.

Take the latest such horror, this Rigby Rising Bite pair (right-click to embiggen):

 

I know, the sticker shock ($29 grand or so) is severe — as it always is with Rigby’s guns — but have mercy that’s a lovely pair.

In fact, I want that pair more than Paige Spirinac‘s… and I don’t even shoot 12ga.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Henry Homesteader (9mm)

The Gun Thing

As pointed out to me by Mr. Free Market, this new rifle from Henry (SHOT Show video) has me a little twitchy (in its most positive sense):

Most interesting is that they can handle both Henry magazines and Glock ones as well (with a mag converter)   — although like most Henry rifles, it’s going to be kinda spendy (just under a grand MSRP).

I love the concept of “ranch” rifles:  handy short-barreled little things that increase the power of pistol cartridges with a longer barrel, and this one in no exception, especially as it resembles a Winchester 1907, has a wood stock and not that black plastic rubbish.  (I loved the Marlin Camp carbine for all those reasons, but it just wasn’t robust enough — the Henry, though, looks like a different proposition altogether.)

If Henry ever produces one chambered in .45 ACP that accepts 1911 mags, I’ll sell one of my other rifles to get one.  And that’s a promise.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Oviedo Mauser (7x57mm)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Time was, the role of “truck” or “trunk” gun could safely be delegated to that old Mosin M44 that you picked up at a garage sale for $30.  Time was.

Nowadays, even the skunkiest Mosins can only be had for $500 or more (!!!).

So then, if these are the times we live in, allow me to offer an alternative to a rifle which needs a mallet to work the bolt.

Such as the very handy and practical 1895 Oviedo Mauser, which has a much smoother bolt, and which shoots the 7mm Mauser cartridge (which will not dislocate your shoulder like the Mosin’s 7.62x54mmR).

I actually owned one of these, once upon a time, and I can’t remember why I got rid of it.  Stupid me.

Anyway, one rumor I do need to dispel about this lovely little carbine is that the metal used is inferior to modern steel, and which therefore makes it “weak”.

It’s completely untrue.  The steel is every bit as fit for purpose than any other, as Chuck Hawks wrote many years ago.

I’d have one of these excellent little carbines in the trunk of my car any day of the week.  It’s just too bad that today’s gun prices have made the whole concept unworkable.

Rifle Conundrum

Boomershoot

So having taken care of my carry gun problem, I turn now to the Boomershoot 2023 ULD situation.  Unfortunately, this leads me to another fork in the road.

But first, let me take care of the easy stuff.

Rifle type (bench vs. hunting):  Almost everyone said they had the “hunting” thing taken care of.  What they wanted was a bench-type rifle.  Check.

Caliber:  a vast majority of ticket holders wanted the thing in .308 Win, and almost nobody wanted .30-06 or 6.5 Creedmoor.  Also check.

Readers who recall my experiences with the Howa HCR 1500 from last year may recall that I loved the rifle.  (Cliff Notes:  more accurate than anyone (let alone I) could shoot it, outstanding trigger — just about the perfect rifle at that price point, or indeed at almost any price point.)

So just for the hell of it, I looked at doing the Howa again, and found this situation:

And here’s where the problem comes in.  The two rifles pictures have the same silky bolt action, the same astounding trigger, and the same hammer-forged heavy barrel — in other words, mechanically they are identical.

Where they differ, of course, is in the stock setup — the Hogue is free-floated but not “chassis” based, whereas the Oryx is a true bench rifle.  (As pictured, the Hogue weighs in at about 8lbs, whereas the Oryx weighs just over 10lbs — the latter being irrelevant as it’s being fired from a bench, and heavier weight is actually a positive attribute.)

That $270 price difference, however, sticks in my craw.  (Oh, and the Hogue is available immediately, but the Oryx is on backorder at five different outlets, where I’ve put myself on a notification list, just in case.)

What say you, O My Readers?

Fixed

Guy Stuff, The Gun Thing

Several people wrote to me — close to a dozen, in fact — all offering help in replacing the broken extractor from my battered but much-loved Inland M1 Carbine, and to all those people, please accept my sincerest thanks.

However, Longtime Reader Hank T. not only offered to replace the busted part, but to show me in person how simple a job it is — ha! — provided that one has the proper little G.I. tool which acts as a third hand.  As he lives less than an hour from my apartment, that meant not having to send parts to different parts of the Lower 48.  So yesterday I went over to his place, handed over said broken carbine, and within a half-hour the whole thing had been stripped, cleaned lubed and oh yes had received a new extractor.  It works!

I’m bending the truth a little here in describing the above as a half-hour job, because while the operation itself only  took about half an hour, I spent close to three hours in his workshop because he has all sorts of wonderful bangsticks in his possession.  And you know what that means, right?  I had to hold, and caress, and work the actions of said guns one by one because I’m a gun molester lover and the easiest way to make me purr is to hand me a beautiful gun with an exhortation to “just try that trigger”.

Drooling, lots of drooling, followed.  But clearly my orgasmic cries had disturbed Hank’s darling wife, who came to the workshop to see what all the fuss was about, and that added an hour onto the whole thing because a) she’s a darling and b) she has traveled to many of the places I have, so much experience-swapping took place.

I love to spend time with my Readers on a one-to-one basis, because while you’ve heard many of my stories and adventures on this back porch, I haven’t heard your stories and adventures, and I drink that stuff like I would a fine single malt.

And when I get a renewed gun out of it, as I did here, it’s all the finer.  I am the world’s worst gunsmith because I’m not mechanically-minded (rather the opposite), and I have no patience with inanimate objects — not your best qualities for a gunsmith, I think we can all agree — so I far prefer to hand my problem over to someone who knows what he’s doing and (as in this case) has the proper tools for the job.

So many thanks, Hank, and yes I absolutely want to spend some time at the range with you.  Let me know when you’re free.