Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

…And For This One

Lies and Untruths, Military, Numbers & Statistics

Talking about the Huns fiddling with the numbers when the results aren’t to their liking:

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 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.

The classified report read: ‘Current testing by the army in laboratory conditions shows that the weapon doesn’t meet army standards when loaded with combat ammunition.

‘The army requires an assault rifle that is sufficiently accurate under real conditions with its combat ammunition.’

The rifle was ordered to replace the G36 – also made by Heckler and Koch – which was dropped after it was found to become inaccurate after sustained firing. 

The G36’s inconsistency was down to a plastic channel that support the barrel would become soft when the gun heats in a quick succession of firing. 

The fault was first discovered when German soldiers serving in Afghanistan complained their guns were not shooting straight after a bout of heavy fire. 

As we all know, when the facts are uncomfortable and/or do not conform to the theory, they must be changed.  (I don’t know how that sounds in German, but I bet it’s lovely.)  Also:

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.

However, the new gun’s accuracy is up to scratch according to Germany’s elite KSK troops who have been equipped with the G95A1. [as long as you only shoot it indoors — K.]

 A 2015 survey of German soldiers found that only 8 per cent of Bundeswehr soldiers trusted their weapons.

Somewhere out there, Paul Mauser is spinning in his grave.

I bet they’d even do better with one of these instead…

Looks like it’s not just German cars that are starting to suck.

 

Out Of Your Element

Hunting

Whenever someone asks me what it’s like to hunt in Africa, I’m kind of at a loss for words.

The African bushveldt, you see, is pretty difficult to hunt.  Here’s a representative sample:

It’s pretty dense — not tropical jungle, though as much densely covered, and visibility is often measured in feet rather than in yards.

To give you an idea of what this means:  from a standing start, a lion can cover 100 yards in about 3.5 seconds.  Typical visibility in lion country:  about 100 feet, as above.  (Do the math.)

And death is everywhere, the minute you leave the relative safety of your Land Rover or hunting camp.  It could be a mamba, a scorpion, a Cape buffalo, or any number of things with teeth and claws, for whom a human is kinda like a marshmallow:  can’t run that fast, no tough hide, no horns or whatever to protect itself, and laughably slow reflexes and crap hearing by comparison to the typical prey animal.

Like this leopard:

Now you know.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Brno Mod 22F (8x57mm)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Long Time Readers will know of my fondness for full-stocked rifles like the SMLE.  Try this beauty on for size, at Steve Barnett’s Very Very Bad Place:

Okay, it looks beautiful, and the chambering is of course excellent — the 8mm Mauser cartridge is adequate for almost any purpose, like its Murkin .30-06 counterpart — but I have a couple of reservations about the Mannlicher flat or “butter-knife” bolt handle.

You see, it’s lovely to look at and of course it works very well;  but after more than half a dozen shots, that sharp edge starts to hurt your hand.  Granted, in the hunting activity, you seldom have to shoot more than a couple of times in a row — unless things are going very, very wrong — but I must say I prefer a regular rounded bolt handle like this one to the butterknife above:

But would I shy away from the Brno (later named CZ) if offered?  Hell, no.

And this little short-barreled carbine would be extremely handy in the field.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: MAC 1911 JSOC (.45 ACP)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, Gun/Ammo Tests

Evil Reader John C. sent me a link to the 1,000-round test of this lovely budget 1911:

Okay, it’s a 1911 so I’m going to like it, and it comes with all sorts of standard stuff like a titanium trigger, ambi-safety, adjustable rear sight and (yes!) a brass bead front sight.  My only quibble is this unnecessary protuberance on the grip safety…
…but I’ve griped about it often enough so I won’t repeat it here.

Most of all, I like the price point (around $750 street) which, considering the effects of Bidenflation (don’t get me started) is quite acceptable.

And the tester likes it fine, but they always do, don’t they?  Certainly, though, the MAC came through the 1,000-round test without any major issues, which is more than you can say about a lot of the budget guns on the market nowadays.

And it looks like a proper 1911, none of that front-of-slide serration nonsense that all the cool kids seem to demand.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: Pre-64 Winchester Mod 70 (.300 H&H Mag)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

I’m often asked, when at a meeting of the local Beer ‘N Treason chapter while we watch a luckless hippie turning gently on a spit:  “Kim, what’s it all about with this ‘Pre-64 Winchester rifle’ thing?  What’s so special about 1964, and why are these rifles so popular?”

At the risk of boring my Readers (who doubtless know all about this stuff), let me explain.

After 1964, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company changed their manufacturing methodology for their bolt-action rifles.  [insert anti-beancounter tirade here]  In the words of Scott Weber:

“Winchester went to stamped checkering on the gun stocks instead of hand checkering. Plastic replaced metal in some components, and a lesser grade of bluing was used on the rifle’s actions and barrels.  None of that changed the basic function and accuracy of the Model 70s, but the downgrades in craftsmanship angered many customers, and Model 70s made after 1964 don’t carry the same value as pre-’64s.”

As I recall, the actions were likewise changed, from forged- to cast steel.  While there is no appreciable change in efficacy, when working the bolt action there is a distinct change in the action’s sound from the pre-64 rifles to their post-64 successors.  The change in sound is likewise noticeable in other rifle generation changes, e.g. the Swiss K11 to the K31:  the cast steel makes a clacking sound, while the forged action rings. (No prizes for guessing which one I prefer.)

Anyway, what brought all this on was this rifle, newly-arrived at Merchant Of Death Steve Barnett:

Now let’s talk a little about the chambering of the above beauty.  The .300 H&H Magnum is often compared to the older (and much more common, certainly in the Mod 70) .30-06 Springfield, but the H&H is actually more powerful.  Frank Barnes gives the following data, using a common 190gr. bullet:

Muzzle velocity (fps)
.30-06 : 2,700
.300 H&H : 3,000

Muzzle energy (ft-lbs)
.30-06 : 3,076
.300 H&H : 3,798

I’ve used the .300 H&H myself back in the day, and its effect on thin-skinned game like warthog and impala is, to put it mildly, impressive.

Where the .30-06 excels, of course, is in the old “Bubba’s Bait & Tackle” test (especially in the U.S.).  If you forgot your ammo at home, any ammo store will have .30-06 on the shelf, probably with a choice of manufacturer.  (Actually, I think it’s against the law in some states not to carry any.) The .300 H&H?  Not so much — in fact, unless there’s a large chain store like Cabela’s in the offing, you can pretty much forget about finding it anywhere.

And the price difference reflects that availability:  .30-06 runs about $1.50 per round, whereas the .300 H&H will set you back $5 (!!!).

Not that this is too important, in hunting terms, because you’re not going to blast off hundreds of rounds, either way.

But if your other rifle is an old M1 Garand…

Note:  this post was supposed to appear yesterday, but Mr. Fumblefingers cocked up the date.  Mea maxima culo.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: SKS (7.62x39mm)

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

I see that Othias and Mae have broken the shackles of the Great War and moved on to more “modern” times, specifically in terms of the SKS semi-auto carbine (and yes, I know that “SKS” means “semi-auto carbine system” in Russki #Redundancy).

Let it be known that I lovelovelove this little piece of Commieness, almost as much as I do (ex-) Commieskater Katerina Witt.  In fact, keeping the comparison to guns only, I prefer it to the AK-47.  I’ve owned both — and therefore, surprise surprise, fired both, a lot — and I enjoy shooting the SKS more than I do the AK.

I know, I know:  the SKS holds only ten rounds in its mag, whereas the AK can hold a zillion, whatever.  I find reloading the SKS with a stripper clip more pleasant than reloading a 20- or 30-round magazine (even with a guide and several stripper clips), and I would venture to suggest that firing, say, 100 rounds (ten SKS clips) works out to about the same time as it takes me to fire five AK mags.  (Why only the 20-round mag, Kim?  Because you can’t shoot a 30-round mag from prone without some contortion involved.)

And I don’t subscribe to the “spray ‘n pray” fire doctrine so beloved of AR-15 shooters, both by training and by inclination.  You want suppressing fire, ask a machine-gunner to do it for you.

The SKS, being a more solidly-built firearm than the AK, also dampens the already-low recoil of the 7.62x39mm Commie cartridge, which means I can shoot off more rounds before Ye Olde Shouldyrre starts to ache.

Given my druthers, therefore, I would much rather keep the handy little SKS under the bed for, um, social work than the much-clumsier AK. There:  I’ve said it.

If I were asked to perform some militia activity, e.g. guard duty (I’m too old for patrols and such), it would be the SKS slung on my shoulder and not the AK-47, had I any say in the matter.

I also like the attached bayonet of the SKS because it’s a lot easier to pop it open than to fiddle around with a scabbard on my waist to get the sticker onto any rifle, and not just the AK.

So there it is:  it’s a fine gun, even allowing for the fact that its origins are Communist.  They’re available in the West, so said origins can be ignored.

And here’s another piece of Communist finery whose origins can be ignored: