Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

Interesting Thought

The Gun Thing

Getting rid of the revolver:

While I’m typically kitted out with a capable 9mm, on some occasions I’ve run errands with little more than a .38 snubbie in a jacket or coat pocket. And I used to carry one in the console of my car for my “extra” piece.

Not any more, and I’ll tell you why: it surely seems like a sole attacker today is the exception, not the rule.

All sensible arguments.  I have to admit to subconsciously feeling the same way every time I run over to the booze store or 7-11 with only my S&W 637 on my hip, even though I have two speedloaders handy, and can reload reasonably quickly.

Admittedly, the above condition accounts for maybe 10% of my trips away from the house;  for the rest, it’s the 1911 with two spare mags.  But I’m thinking that “90%” should become “all the time”, because if I’m caught inside a store during a flash mob looting spree, even only eight shots of .45 ACP beats five rounds of .38+P, and reloading another eight is far quicker than reloading another five — not to mention the “New York reload” option of just drawing the backup 637 instead of reloading another mag into the 1911…

Choices, choices…

Corollary thought:  unless you live in the boonies, the old Swiss K31 or Mosin carbine is not going to cut it as a trunk gun.   During a situation of mob violence in a suburban / urban setting, it looks as though it’s SKS time…

Prestige

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Mr. Free Market points me at this wondrous gun:

…and its review.

Typically, one uses this thing to hunt birds with names beginning with the letter “p” (partridge, pheasant, parrot) in locales such as this:

However, it should be said that the Prestige costs somewhat more than $11,000 — and if I review its characteristics against my shotgun preferences (other than price):

  • side-by-side barrels:  nope (O/U)
  • double trigger:  nope (single)
  • straight “English” buttstock:  nope (pistol grip)
  • splinter forestock:  nope (heavy full)
  • weighs no more than 6.5 lbs:  nope (8+ lbs)

…it fails miserably, on all counts.

Now had he sent me a similar review on this gun, I might have been more drawn to the idea of spending about two-thirds of my annual SocSec income [eyecross]  on a bespoke shotgun.

As you can see, the Sovereign model retails for about half the Prestige, and has ALL my desired features (other than price).

One more time:  shotgun barrels should be side by side like a man and his dog, and not over and under like a man and his mistress.

Sue Them Out Of Existence

Anti-Gun Nannies, The Gun Thing

…Ford, that is, after the Waukesha incident where (according to the NYT) an SUV killed several people in a Christmas parade.

Ford is clearly responsible for the criminal misuse of its product. Yes, the company is selling a legal product through legal means, but it is ultimately Ford’s duty and moral obligation to ensure that criminals or those with potential future criminal intent are not able to acquire its products, whether through a Ford dealership, a used car dealer, a private party sale, or even by theft.

Silly, is it?  Change “Ford” to “Remington” or “Colt”, and “car” to “gun” — and this is precisely what the media and Left are advocating.

Evil bastards.

Ah, Texas

Anti-Gun Nannies, Marketing / Advertising, The Gun Thing

Here’s one guaranteed to make the GFW Brigade have fits:

The owner of a Texas gun store and shooting range is holding a “not guilty sale” after Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges last Friday.

The Saddle River Range in Conroe sent a text message to customers about the “Pre-Black Friday clearance sale” which started Saturday and will last through Thanksgiving.

My favorite part?

“We would like to clear up some confusion, the post states. “We are celebrating the life that Kyle Rittenhouse now gets to live because he was able to defend himself without being penalized for it. This is a big win for the Second Amendment and cause for celebration. For those of you who think we are celebrating “the death of innocent people”, we apologize that you didn’t take the time to gather and evaluate the actual facts from the case.”

Brilliant.  And thankee Reader Mike S who sent it to me.

Gratuitous Gun Pic – FN Mauser 24/30 (7x57mm)

Gratuitous Gun Pics

It occurs to me that we haven’t had a decent pic of a gun on this here website in ages, so without any more to-do, here goes:

Like the similar-but-not-identical Czech Model 1924, the Mauser 24/30 rifle was made for the Venezuelan army by Belgium’s Fabrique National, and not by Mauser (the Germans having been banned from making weapons for being Very Naughty Boys between 1914 and 1918).

I’m not going to go on about the gun’s history — between Othias, Mae and Ian McCollum, the topic has been extensively covered — but what I am going to go on about is the rifle itself, and its cartridge.

I happened upon one of these beauties at a local gun parlor, and were it not for the fact that I had only the budget to buy Daughter her carry piece, I would have walked away with two guns that day — a not-uncommon occurrence during Times Of Plenty back then.

If you can find one in  minty condition, this is not a rifle to be left on the rack.  The action is (duh) Mauser 98, the chambering is for one of my favorite cartridges, and were I to see that same one right now, I would sell a child or something to get it.   Here’s a comparison of like cartridges:

…and you can see that the 7x57mm is different from all the rest in that it has a long, thin bullet which provides excellent penetration.  This, lest we forget, is the same cartridge which kicked the .30-40 Krag’s ass during the Spanish-American War, and pushed the U.S. Army towards the .30-06 Springfield as a replacement.

I like the 7×57 because its recoil is relatively light, although I will also concede that it’s not the flattest-shooting cartridge past 200 yards.

But for an all-purpose rifle that can handle most small- to medium game and errrr two-legged targets with the same effect, you could do worse — a lot worse — than have one of these in your safe.