| Author | Message | ||
     Shoggin |
I could resemble that remark  | ||
| Rick_a |
Optics, both red dots and magnified, have gotten a lot better in the last few decades. In red dots, battery life can be measured in years instead of hours on the better types, and a medium grade optic surpasses the high end stuff of years past for features and light transmission...though a really good piece of glass is just as expensive today. Getting rid of that last little bit of distortion, aberration, and image tint is still an expensive affair. We all have different ideas on the perfect carbine. The wife's is not too far from what the InRange guys came up with. Mine is tacticool circa the year 2000, and my kids is going to be 2000's era SOCOM operator.  20171207_095533 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr  20180209_170420 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr | ||
| Zac4mac |
Rick Just found out why you’ve never heard of the Marlin. Aaron said it started as a black-powder only gun that got converted. Then he found out several of these that got converted would blow out the right side with modern loads, so it’s a “mantelpiece” now... Z | ||
| Rick_a |
Sounds about right  | ||
| Aesquire |
Because of New York legal reasons, I'm jealous as heck of your builds. I like free floated barrels, but both your front hand guards look very user friendly. I really don't like the quad rail hand saws, after actually trying one. I don't Hate them, just think it's a faddish, bad design. I also quietly mock choppers covered in spikes to look dangerous. I think they succeed. Just not the way the builder intended, I suspect. Or did they want to look like a suicidal loon? | ||
| Aesquire |
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R3FDLiWMUTc Serious Gun Geek Technical discussion! Twist rates. My Bushmaster Varminter, designed to shoot 55-62 grain bullets, had a 1/9 twist and a 22" barrel. Meant for small rodents up to coyote. The Bushmaster Predator, was nearly The same rifle, but with 1/8 twist, and a 20" barrel. Meant for coyote and sheep, designed for 62-77 grain bullets. ( shorter barrel for weight and moving through brush. The Varmninter was assumed to be used in a more stationary, overwatch mode ) The long barrel was for maximum terminal effect at long range. The wee .224" /5.56 mm bullets are velocity sensitive more than a bigger bullet. But all bullets designed to expand are velocity dependent. If you want expansion at slower speeds ( long range, after it's slowed, being the same as a lower powered cartridge up close ) you make the jacket of the bullet thinner, add skives, ( notches in the jacket ) & add polymer tips. ( the "modern" solution...... Dating back to the 1950's with Remington bronze tip bullets  ) The trouble is, a too light bullet, going very fast, may expand too fast at close range. I've witnessed this on a Brown bear, where 30-30 fast expanding soft points expanded in the first 5 inches and never penetrated the chest cavity. At all. That was one really angry bear! Fortunately, they also had a .30-06 with tough bullets and that worked. ( two full tube magazines of worse than useless hits! ) So, while a super fast Weatherby Magnum should use tough bullets to prevent too quick expansion, they also need to work at long range. A very challenging problem for bullet designers. The Good news is American bullet makers include really smart folk, and modern bullets, if you pick the right ones, actually WILL let you keep & eat the cake. And it's not a lie! I've also witnessed too light bullets vaporize out of a Predator with 1/8 twist. A commercial load with a cute name like critter grenade. Pop, pop, pop, "why aren't I hitting the target?" Just puffs of grey powder about 20 yards out. The centrifugal force just exceeded the structural strength of the bullet. | ||
| Aesquire |
Btw, the critter grenade ( don't recall the actual brand ) worked fine in my 1/9 twist barrel. Vaporizer of oranges. I swapped the Predator owner a partial box of Black Hills 62 grain OTM for his partial box of "grenades". He was ASTOUNDED by the performance of the Black Hills ammo in his gun. He nearly freaked when I told him they were the cheaper once reloaded version. I unreservedly recommend Black Hills ammo. Also Hornady. Zero issues, ever. And Federal Gold Match. I've seen very few rifles that didn't improve with Gold Match, and those few loved Black Hills OTM. Every gun is an individual, and has it's own preferences. | ||
| Gregtonn |
I unreservedly recommend Black Hills ammo. The majority of ammo used by the Ruger factories to test fire weapons is Black Hills. It's good stuff. Good caliber for coyotes and even hogs is 6.5 Grendel. The best part is you can use an AR-15 lower. I recommend magazines design specifically for the Grendel round. G | ||
| Rick_a |
The bottom gun, mine, has a free float tube under the handguards. It's my way of having it all...the look of a handguard yet free floated. Quad rails have their place...either having a really short handguard or mounting a lot of stuff makes them practical. With polymer or rubber covers they also insulate from heat well. The only downsides are bulk and weight. It works well for this weirdo, the Obama gun.  20180125_085842 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr I'm thinking of switching gears and going .338LM in a lightweight chassis stock instead of an AR in 308. I kinda miss having a big boomer and don't miss the weight of the 50BMG's I used to have. 338LM seems like a good middle middle ground that can still bust stuff up at range a bit.  | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.hogueinc.com/1911-govt-g10-magrip-kit- checkered-flat-mainspring-black-gray-g-mascus Just read about the new Crimson Trace laser equipped version of the above in the July '18 Guns & Ammo magazine. I don't like the bulk and weight of metal mag well funnels. They just add to concealment issues. But I love a smooth reload, and have had the bottom of the magazine opening rounded and smoothed on carry guns. Rather easy to do at home on plastic frames, but no less nerve wracking than taking a file to a 1911. This seems like a nice compromise between bulk & utility. G10, fiberglass composite, is certainly strong enough for the job, where pretty walnut is not. The laser is the straw that breaks the back of my resistance to opening my wallet.  I really am evangelical on lasers. Ironically, my baptism was with a Remington 870, and at a small gun club where, it being right before deer season, almost everyone on the range was sighting in with their chosen slugs. When a hack like me can make cloverleaf holes at fifty yards, repeatedly, with three different loads, ( different zero was required, nothing magic ) I had an epiphany. When I repeated that accuracy, with a fresh target, from the hip? Jehovah's witnesses have nothing on my enthusiasm that day. The rest of the guys began by mocking my enthusiasm, my comment that "the heck with deer hunting, this is for your home!" And then duplicated the consistency at 20 odd yards with buck shot? Then I let a few others try? I had converts. Nothing is perfect. But I can't think of a better force multiplier,and a laser is one of the few accessories that not only improves your hit chance, it improves the odds you won't need to shoot through quiet intimidation. Maybe a Glock bayonet? | ||
| Hootowl |
"It works well for this weirdo, the Obama gun" What is an Obama gun? | ||
| Rick_a |
An Obama gun occurs when one has had an AR-15 as an informal target gun for a decade and a half and years of incessant messaging stating that "nobody needs an AR-15" or "just buy a shotgun" by political hacks and assorted morons happens. I put it together amidst the 2012 Obama panic when people finally realized just how much Obama supports the 2nd Amendment. Anyway, after that I've been assembling AR-15's on the regular for various uses and in various configurations because it's easy and they're cool. As it was, during that trying time AR rifles and parts were next to impossible to get. I spent a week staying up half the night to take advantage of retailers that were still selling parts at normal prices while inventories would often update new stock before disappearing by the next afternoon. Anyway, that one will always be the Obama gun, bred to be the ultimate stockless non-NFA CQB tool, because of political tools. | ||
| Rick_a |
I've got a LaserGrip on a J frame. It's the grip itself I really like. It's thin but absorbs recoil well and is quite comfortable. The laser makes for slightly faster and slightly more accurate work, but it's no epiphany. I also have a Streamlight light/laser combo on my nightstand gun. It makes sense there as the added bulk is not a problem and the added weight is actually advantageous as it's on an alloy framed .40. | ||
| Aesquire |
The epiphany was that in poor light where the sights might be hard to see, or in an awkward position where you just can't get behind the sights. It was the shooting from the hip with nearly the same accuracy, near dusk, that drove that home. The early laser/light was useless in broad daylight. Just a heavy lump out there on the barrel. ( First Gen LaserMax, literally a solid billet of aluminum milled to shape. Mount & all, one chunk. If I took it off and threw it at you, you could convince a Judge it was a lethal weapon. Not as bright as today's lasers, and pitiful compared to today's lights. ) And Lasers Are The Space Age! Not to knock other "new" optics. The Nuclear Era is well represented by Tritium, ( formerly Radium ) sights, and reflex sights are tied directly to aviation. ( and photography ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflector_sight I'm astonished by the size and battery life improvements in just a few years, and the durability! truly Aerospace tech now, and I just decided to get one! Let's see what is left in the gun safe without glass on it? ( Meaning other than the 10/22. & 870, Collection getting small here ) Winchester SuperX, Winchester 94, Stevens .22 gallery pump. Um. The Stevens has a cracked stock, heirloom, It's blasphemy to drill the old '94 for a Holosight, so the NWTF SuperX wins! Good excuse to hit the range to break clays and punch holes. | ||
| Rick_a |
I'd fix the Stevens with some brass screws and glue. All of my guns but one, if optically sighted, have irons as backup. Things that run on batteries have a bad habit of being dead when you need them. | ||
| Aesquire |
I took it to Turnbull, and a full restoration would be far more than any rational cost. They'd be happy to do the work but minimum four figures to pretty up a gun that probably sold new for Five dollars is a bit over the top. And they told me so. I could just buy a stock blank & get to whittling. https://www.turnbullrestoration.com Before Turnbull, the wisdom was do not ruin an old gun's value by putting the wrong kind of finish, and carelessly obliterate historic markings with over polishing. Much better an authentic, ugly, beat up closet item than a typical abomination of modern, streaky cold bluing. Then, after decades of painstaking research, Doug Turnbull has discovered the secrets of proprietary color case hardening variations of classic guns. A process that literally is placing the metal part in a steel box full of crushed bone, then baking it in a very hot oven. ( like telling you to heat flour & stuff to get pastry ) Every manufacturer had their own, secret, recipe. And the results are visually stunning, and brand specific! A Fox shotgun's colors were very different than a Winchester or any one else. Different blues, reds, color balance & depth. Both process variation and pre treatment polish make huge differences in the final product. Suddenly, you could have that old Parker look like new, and actually increase it's value. Because the restoration was Right in molecular detail of lost arts. They'd be happy to put Fox colors on your old Trench gun But they WILL tell you that it's not authentic and will ruin the value as a collector item. They also made the most gorgeous AR rifles in the world, with case hardening and premium walnut. https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/turnbull-t ar-40-rifle-sold-out/ The AR project was no joke... a serious commentary on gun fashion & propaganda. Puncture Black Rifle Hysteria with classical metallurgy and workmanship. Tell me that's a scary "weapon of war". ( & they were real, accurate, hunting tools that were proudly used to gather venison for the table ) Browse their site for some lovely pictures. I'm lucky they are right down the road from me. The small showroom has racks of 1866, 1873, etc. lever guns, and they didn't look that good when made in New Haven. Pictures really don't capture the colors and detail work. | ||
| Aesquire |
Rick, why a .338? A .308 will do 80%+ of the range, and ammo is much more available. If it's just for the sturm und drang, that's a good answer, really. River has a .22 chassis gun target rifle now. The "chassis gun" look is a very "Terminator" style movement. The esthetic of pure function. | ||
| Rick_a |
I'm quite familiar with Turnbull. Ford's refinishing is supposed to do some amazing refinishing and restoration as well. We had a family come in to the shop with a cache of English doubles, drillings, and combination guns. The owner had passed, and his young kin had taken it upon themselves to have them all refinished in an unremarkable rust blue. They all had their value essentially ruined. The family members were quite proud of their work. It's likely the worst atrocity I've ever seen in refinishing.  This is my only attempt at stock repair/refinishing. Some people have felt compelled to deride my efforts, though it is exactly what I wanted.  It's a custom 12" barreled "magnum" air rifle. It's a shame real guns are subject to goofy NFA restrictions and regulations (aka infringements). On the bolt action rifle I want something accurate that lobs a lot of lead in a normal rifle size. I find the chassis guns quite ergonomic while having that minimalist aesthetic...at least with the lightweight chassis systems. I've had a 308 bolt gun and grew tired of it quickly. I've had a couple single shot big fifties and they're a bit much. A 338 seems like a perfect compromise. After shooting some factory loads, I'd be almost exclusively reloading for it. S&B has some relatively affordable ammo for them as well. My PSL is essentially an 800 yard rifle and is a lot of fun to shoot. I need something big and stupid. With a Savage 110 long range hunter as a base it's possible to have a relatively affordable complete chassis gun. | ||
| Aesquire |
Good reasons. Answers my question well. Chassis guns. So ugly and lacking in style. I like them, it's a "screw tradition, function first, last, and only." From an engineering oriented view, it's a remove all that's not needed, and re think what is, approach. Like putting fuel in a hollow frame, that's a straight line load path from steering head to swing and pivot.... But wrapped around the engine. And it's hard to beat the Savage for accuracy and reliability. In Aerospace the real elegance isn't in a F-35. It's in a modern flex wing hang glider. Over 40 years of refinement, the lightest, strongest structure, in one of the most complex wing shapes, literally, in history, a swept wing, tailless, flying wing, with in flight variable geometry ( like an F-14, but far less obvious, as the wing sweep difference is only a few degrees ) wing warping....... With features like "bell shaped lift distribution curve" , dynamic pitch stability, damping curves........ Did you know they stick each new design on a boom over a pickup truck and measure pitch response, then try to break it? Going down a runway at 75 miles an hour? Sometimes the blown 454 pickup gets lifted well off the ground. Look at the pics for a moment. https://www.willswing.com/hang-gliders/t2c/ Every curve, nut, bolt, stitch, is there for a reason. It's pretty because it just seduce the air with it's curves, and support the pilot's weight to fighter jet G loads. 7 minimum. A chassis gun is still in early days. Here is a mature technology wood stock. https://www.boydsgunstocks.com/gunstocks/barracuda -ruger-10-22-3z2681w22zz In the years that ugly chassis will be thought normal. And I bet it gets prettier too. | ||
| Rick_a |
I actually thought that carbon chassis stock was gorgeous...though I'd paint the forend black. People have been building "tube guns" for decades, designed for multi-position bolt gun competition. It's just finally becoming somewhat mainstream. The real tubeguns are cool. The receivers are permanently bonded to the chassis for rigidity. 300 WM would make more sense...it can be loaded down to 30-06 levels or dialed up to approach the lower 338 levels with heavy for caliber, high BC projectiles. The ability for penetration is pretty similar as well...there's just not a 300 WM rifle out there I really like. The Savage 110 in the 338 long range hunter version has a perfect balance and feel. If it feels right, it is right. Hang gliders seem to have been figured out aerodynamically long ago...they just keep getting stronger and more refined. The kid's bolt gun has a laminate stock. It is solid, rigid, and looks good...arguably superior to the best natural wood...it's just a bit heavy.  20170710_074336(2) (1) by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr My 10/22 which received a fancy barrel and trigger parts right off, took this alloy chassis stock to really settle down accuracy wise. I tried the original stock for a while, then a synthetic thumbhole...and this one finally did it.  20130927_132119 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I love the 10/22 platform. You really can make just about any weird thing you want out of them. I technically love the little rotary magazines but they are easy to foul up. Take them apart to clean the garbage out and then spend $99 in .22LR trying to get the spring tension just right. (Then it's dirty again!!) | ||
| Aesquire |
I've cursed aftermarket and stock 10/22 magazines for decades, then they finally "perfected" a factory mag, then they were made illegal in this State. Yeah, hang gliders hit the sweet spot aerodynamic shape years ago, and it's been fractions of a percent improvement ever since. Except at the top competition level, a 12 year old model is just as capable as this years. We've also gone from over a dozen manufacturers in the U.S. to just 2, and one is primarily a Trike powered airplane builder. The same trend world wide. There have been refinements, the best hardware is much slicker today, but also more limited. The best foreign makers often give the option of using the Wills Wing control bar. It's just the best shape that has the extrusion dies developed and in production. Like Remington offering Hogue grips, or Magpul furniture. And companies X, Y & Z all use Magpul on their premium model. It's ironic that Clinton and Obama through their policies have such a boost to AR sales, that we have such a huge variety of parts and options. ARs are close to mature, technically, and utterly dominate competition. | ||
| Rick_a |
Quite true. The kids rifle is a bit more of a classic and classier.  20170207_084250 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr The wife likes the "international" (Mannlicher) style guns. I'll get her one, one of these years.  I've been pretty lucky on figuring out how much to tension 10/22 magazines. The trick is to maintain tension on the last round. If there's enough to reliably maintain spring tension on the last one, the rest will feed just fine. I've cleaned and re-wound them a few times over the years.
I'm sure I've said it before, but I miss the days when nobody cared about them. Before that it was Tec-9's, streetsweepers, "Saturday night specials," Black Talons, and "cop killer" bullets that were the great evils. Now people ignore handguns as long as they don't use "high capacity feeding devices" and cops are considered public enemy #1 by the "woke" among us. It's funny the untold fortunes that've gone into programs intent on replacing M4's and M16's only to be abandoned in favor of essentially making them more modular. Karl of "InRangeTV" has been using a modernized AK-74 in 5.45mm with limited success. By all appearances it seems to be a bit of a handicap despite being rather comparable in theory. AR vs AK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhp-ZZxz71o ...And a chick shooting a bunch of classic and historic firearms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7emUP4SiV74&t | ||
| Aesquire |
The problem with 5.54 x 39 is apparently that the ammo imported here is crap. Tula, especially is inconsistent in every way except it does go off. That's from a Q&A video from the In Range channel. Good tip on 10/22 magazines. Thanks. My Sister's rifle is a stock, iron sight, 10/22, and she practices fundamental marksmanship with it quite successfully. Loves it. ( I now have to go clean her mags...... I've just been buying her new ones for her birthday, for years ) | ||
| Rick_a |
I use TulAmmo and Wolf for testing purposes. It's dirty, smells weird, and can have excessive flash...but it has always worked. | ||
| Aesquire |
My experience with Wolf is it shoots. Where is a different matter, but it does go off. | ||
| Rick_a |
For so-called battle rifle accuracy it's fine. They do have better grades, like the military classic and gold lines. | ||
| Aesquire |
I've had days with a Buddy and his Mauser and a crate of surplus ammo that made going bang a lottery win. Wolf has been reliable in ignition for me. Accuracy has been so-so, but that's compared to American premium ammo at a LOT more per box. Tula.... goes off too. Light loads, heavy loads, nearly squib... Good for plinking at close range, but useless for zeroing a scope. I wonder if we get the reject military ammo? | ||
| Rick_a |
Doubtful. I've seen Vietnam era TOW missles break wires and fly unguided over a mountain range towards civilization. A young NCO was discharged with a medical disability due to a faulty MK19 round that burst in a receiver, destroying much of the musculature in one of his legs, nearly costing him a limb, and nearly killing him due to loss of blood. Two M16's blew up due to grossly overpressured ammo in my presence. One during rifle quals while I was in the pits (the sound is quite distinctive and it paused qualifications for a bit), and one blew up right next to me fragging the young corpsman's face and forearm with bits of aluminum and brass. The burst rifle had the appearance of the characteristic AR-15 kaboom, with the side of the receiver blown out, bolt stuck partially unlocked with a split carrier, swollen magazine with the bottom blown out, and a slightly swollen magazine well. He was dazed, and a little cut up, but fine. If he was not a BCD wearer, I'm not sure he would have faired as well. So while I was in, bad ammo and ordinance was dealt with by shooting it out. I myself had a SMAW rocket bounce off the ground unexploded. I felt it was quite a gyp as it was the only live shot I ever got with one. Unexploded ordinance was left in place in impact areas until the time somebody needs to traverse the area. I had a young machine gunner pickup an M203 HE projectile on one such occasion, and was none too impressed. So, ammo is either rejected at the manufacturer or by the supply chain...which I would assume is mainly looking for physical damage and mainly concerned with accountability. | ||
| Ourdee |
I blew the grips off 3 M-203s in one day. You are supposed to clean them every so often. I didn't have time or kit. Not everything arms at the correct distance either. |
