Category: The Gun Thing

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

More Bastardy From California

Gummint, Rights, Surveillance Society, The Gun Thing

I thought this nonsense had been declared illegal:

Several major credit card companies have decided to move forward with a plan to track purchases made at gun retailers in California, CBS News reported Monday.

American Express, Visa, and Mastercard will implement a new merchant code for firearm and ammunition retailers, allowing banks to track “suspicious” purchases to comply with a new California law.

As I’ve said before, whenever government needs a BJ, corporations have absolutely no problem falling to their knees.

Fuckers.

Cash.  Gun shows/estate sales.  Individual purchases.  (I don’t know how any of this would help CA residents, as they appear to be doomed, gun-wise.)

Update:  Seems like Idaho has the right idea, though.

Combo Guns

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Among members of the gun fraternity, “combo” / “drilling” guns (multiple-barreled rifle/shotguns) have never been as popular Over Here as they are in Yurp.  Here’s an example of one, the Merkel 961L as seen at Steve Barnett’s Luxury Death Dealers’ Emporium:

This one’s a little different from the norm in that it features two side-by-side 8x57mm JRS (rimmed) rifle barrels over a single 20ga shotgun barrel as opposed to vice-versa, but the concept is the same.  And let it be known that I have absolutely no problem with a pairing of 8mm Mauser with 20ga, no sir not me.

For those who would prefer something a little more manly, here’s a Merkel 96K, with two 12ga barrels over the wonderful 9.3×74R chambering.

Here’s the thing.  Combo guns have always had a devoted following amongst big game hunters of previous generations (much less so nowadays), but I have to tell you that in no way shape or form would today’s hunter be undergunned out there in the bush with either of the above.

Yes, they are heavy, but at around 8lbs unloaded they compare well with, say a modern single-barreled Steyr rifle in .300 WinMag which weighs about the same or even more.

But as examples of the gunmaker’s art, little can compare to the majestic drillings, and certainly not the pedestrian rifles such as the Steyr.

If I were offered one of the above two, it would take me hours to decide between two rifles/one shotgun or two shotguns/one rifle.  (I already have one or two single-barreled rifles, as any ful kno.)

Assuming I were able to go into the African bushveldt again, I’d probably pick the 12ga/9.3x47mm pairing if hunting anything dangerous, but the 8x57mm/20ga for smaller game.

By the way, the price differential ($19,000 for the 961L vs. $9,000 for the 96R) reflects the greater precision work required to register two rifle barrels vs. two shotgun barrels.

I love both, for obvious reasons:  hogsback wooden stocks, exquisite workmanship, manly chamberings… I need to stop now.

Head & Shoulders

The Gun Thing

Sent to me by Reader Tony H (thankee, squire), an analysis of shotgun brands sold.

Executive summary:  It’s Mossberg (43%), and then all the others.  (Add Legacy, at 24%, and that’s two-thirds of the market.)

I’m rather surprised at Mossberg’s dominance, but no overly so.  The shotgun is the most basic kind of firearm extant and the fact that Mossberg’s budget-priced line dominates the market reflects its commodity positioning.

Me, I’m casting longing eyes at the shotgun I’ve always really wanted, the Mossberg 590 Mariner (~$625 street):

And yes, despite my preference for the 20ga chambering in general, I’d get it in 12ga because nothing says “Fuck Off And Die (FOAD)” like a couple pops of 00 Buck thereof.

Self-defense in its purest, and most basic form.

And Rommel Weeps

Military, Mocking Furriners, The Gun Thing

…even from the grave, after reading this report:

The German army’s accuracy has again been mired in controversy as it was revealed in a classified report the testing for their latest rifle was lowered.

The G95A1 rifle failed to pass trials with military-standard ammunition so the Bundeswehr – the German army – lowered the standards of the test, the report to stated.

The manufacturers of the rifle — Heckler and Koch — were allowed to test it with civilian ammunition and at room temperature rather than in extreme heat and cold.

Their 180,000-strong army is due to be receiving new weapons next year after it was reported that they only had enough ammunition to fight for two days.

On the bright side:  they can’t invade Poland again.  On the gloomy side… well, there’s Russia still on the Ostfront, also again.

One wonders how badly the Bundeswehr would fare by reaching into the back of the old gun closet for:

…and:

Of course, they’d have no ammo for anything other than the MP40 and P38, but hey, lookee here from our friends at PPU:

 

Bet they’d get a fat quantity discount, even though the Serbs might be a little reluctant to sell to them, for fairly obvious reasons.

Oh wait, what’s that you say, Lassie?  After the Great Unpleasantness of the early 1940s, the Germans had to destroy all their old guns?

Never mind.

Yes, I too got a semi just from looking at the StG44, FG42 and MP40.  Why do you ask?

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Griffin & Howe 98 (.250 Savage)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Just as we’ve looked at expensive and indulgent cars in the Sotheby’s catalogue before, here’s the gunny equivalent at Collector’s (right-click to embiggen):

I know, at $7,950, the price is nosebleed-high, just like those half-million-dollar cars we saw.

However, a rifle of this quality cannot be simply dismissed as a pricey gee-gaw.  It’s been created by a master gunsmith for Griffin & Howe, from the world’s best action (Mauser 98).  If your .30-30 lever gun is a Toyota, this rifle is a Bentley R1;  if your field shotgun is a Beretta, this is a Holland.

The comparison cannot be made just by logic.

Are there other guns that could do the job as well as this one?  Certainly.  Would those guns evoke the same feelings of pride and wonder when opening the case?  Not even close.

And by the way, I happen to love the venerable Savage .250-3000 cartridge for its outstanding speed, flat trajectory and devastating effect upon arrival.  Yeah, it’s spendy.

Don’t care, just as I don’t care about the fuel consumption of a 1956 Mercedes 300 SC.

Want.  Both.