Russian Captured Kar 98K

Here's a couple pictures of a great pick for any rifle entusiasts...A Mauser Kar 98k that was captured by the Soviets during WW2.

Aside from any historical value, what attracts me is that the rifle is cheap. Actually, less than half the price of an unaltered German Kar 98k. The Russians refinished the wood in a crude kind of varnish, and assembled the rifle from a mized batch of parts, with electropenciled serial numbers on the bolt and elsewhere. Overall, it does remove some attractiveness, but it's still a Kar 98k and a German made one at that.

Their job of rebluing is actually quite nice too. A great hot-dip blue job, which is dark and handsome.

This particular one coded S/243, denoting that it was made in the Mauser Borsigwalde factory, and dated 1937. The bore has a little frost from having used corrosive ammo but on the whole is very good. The strong points of the design are well shown. I picked up a stash of both Equadorian and Romanian ammo, and a goodly supply of FN AP and Tracer. So far, it likes both, and is a pretty accurate shooter. Careful grouping usually stays under 3 inches, and with the limitations of Mauser sights, thats just fine for me. 8mm Mauser ammo is a pretty hot number too, pushing a 196 grain .323 caliber ball at 2550 fps or a 150 grain ball at 2900.

Cheap surplus ammo abounds, a great hunting rifle with some rockin stopping power. Tough as nails to boot. For $325, a righteous buy.

New Gun Time!

YAY!

While I was gone workin in some of the armpit of Canada, I naturally saved up enough bread to buy tons of new guns!

Among them, a Mossberg 500 Persuader, a Winchester Model 70 Classic in 30-06 Springfield, a Mauser Kar 98k that was captured by the Soviets and an H&R Buffalo Classic in 45/70 Government! (And a Norinco 1911 on the way, but more on that another day).

Here's some pics of the Buffalo Classic. It sports some beautiful wood, a 32" barrel for a nice long sight radius, and a Williams sight set featuring a rear aprerture and a front sight with 8 interchangable inserts.

Quite an accurate rifle. It's capable of sub 2" at 100 meters with this monkey pulling the trigger, which happens to be wonderfully light and crisp. Extraordinary stopping power and on game effectivness too!

Finallly back! With good news and bad

Whoa, was that ever a hiatus!

Happy to say after one hell of a summer and a great fall, Canadian Shooter is up and running again.
And in my first new post, I bring us Holiday tidings...Both good and bad.

The good news is we have theUN monkey off of our backs for the time being. For those who aren't in the know, the UN has mandated that all newly produced firearms need to be stamped with their country of origin, and this stamping must comply with how the UN says it is to be done. So far the countries who have signed on to this bill are a collection of either third world dictatorships or jokes. Including this one.

The magic date (Dec. 7, 2007...How is that for another day of infamy?) was fast approaching, and the US gun manufacturing companies had almost all given a "no" to stamping their guns.

Think about that for a sec. No new US guns. No military surplus firearms entering the country. What would that do to our shooting industry? Most likey cripple it overnight, and spike the prices of guns already in the country dramatically.

The UN actually has the nerve to tell us that this is to help end conflicts like those in Africa. Right. Because in a world with over 22,000,000 AK-47s out there and where tin pot republics can buy fighter jets and gunship helicopters for what I make in a year, Africa would be sooo much safer, and there would be no more child soldiers and conflict diamonds, and we could all sing "koumbaya" if my guns have a special UN stamp on them.

Right. Don't piss a global gun control scheme and socialist engineering of society down my back and tell me it's raining. This is the same UN which has said there is no international right to armed self defense. You know, if I were paranoid, I might actually see them doing something like standing by and letting an African genocide take place, with policies like that!

Oh, wait....They did. I am so happy we have the Third World Debating Club to tell us how to run our country.

End sarcasm now....We dodged a huge bullet, even if D-Day was only postponed to December, 2009. Two more glorious, gun filled years for all of us and more time to slay this dragon.

And the bad news....

Our Quebec "Representatives" the FTQ have taken it upon themselves to speak for all of us before the Government again, saying proudly that they would support removing military style firearms and certain pistols from the hands of law abiding gun owners.

Whiskey...Tango...Foxtrot....Over?

Here...watch it straight from the horse's mouth...their president. Video is in French.

http://diffusion.assnat.qc.ca/video/ci/ci200710171645.wmv

Wow, there you have it. Why do the represent us? Because the Govt says they are the only organization that does! Coincidentally they are also the only organization that receives funding from Charest's Govt. Go figure.

Now I would hope this guy is scared to answer the phone and that his inbox has been spammed to hell in back, but I forgot the large part of Canadian gun owners who are content with the thought of being cuddled and sweet talked after the prison style butt reaming is done, don't I?

So here is what I did. I found every e-mail for every gun store and shooting club in Quebec I could get my grubby little hands on (Sadly this barely breaks one hundred...It's 2007 guys, get yourselves online!) and started mass mailing them the video clip. Hopefully they spread it around. Some signs in stores and shooting clubs would also be greatly appreciated.

Way to go, FTQ. With "friends" like you, we don't need enemies! Vidkun Quisling would be VERY proud.

If anyone else out there values their rights whatsoever, here's their contact info. Let 'em have it!!!

fqt@fqtir.qc.ca

ppaquette@fqtir.qc.ca

Canada legal STEN?

Yeah, supposed to be! Word is, STENs are back, have been approved as Restricted class, and are registered!

Trick is, you have to buy an unfinished semi auto only reciever and an old parts kit.

But it's certainly doable.

This sounds like a job for Joel!

For those of ya who ain't familiar with it, the STEN was an economical British designed 9mm submachine gun from the Second World War. Made largely of sheet metal stampings, they were effective and very cheap and fast to produce.

Not the best lookin SMG ever, but they work.

Unsafe muzzle loaders?

Hey all,

I read this and cringed.

I am not sure how, if this is in fact the case, some retailers are allowed to pull off such a horrible marketing malpractice.

These are comments by Randy Wakeman, taken from the Chuck Hawks website.

"As scrutiny of the muzzleloading market quickly reveals, there are no muzzleloading standards. There are no standards for metal, bore-size, testing, or much of anything. SAAMI and the CIP have clear standards for rimfires, pistols, shotguns, as well as rifles, but it is a brave new world when you look at muzzleloaders. It is quite a mess, and has been for a long time. The term "Magnum Muzzleloader" means nothing specific at all, it's just another meaningless marketing label.

So, how do we know what a muzzleloader of reasonable build quality should do? Good question, as the manufacturers have still failed to set minimum standards or otherwise control themselves. Companies that are, in my opinion, sleazy and smarmy like "CVA" and "Traditions" can make muzzleloading a lousy to place to be.

Pressure information has long been available, as evidenced in the LYMAN Black Powder Handbook & Loading Manual written by Sam Fadala. Lyman Ballistic Laboratories data has been above reproach for decades. If you check pages 172-177 of the second edition of the Lyman book, you will quickly obtain a grasp of what muzzleloading pressures may be. You'll see that 120 grains by volume of Pyrodex RS pushing a 240 grain Hornady sabot can develop 29,900 PSI. You'll find many, many loads developing well over 25,000 PSI peak pressure. A three pellet load can develop 29,000 PSI peak pressure, as shown by Lyman. That still isn't the top pressure loads that are published; some are well above 30,000 PSI with 120 grains of Pyrodex. Loose powder loads heavier than 120 grains by volume of Pyrodex are not touched upon, though heavier loads and hotter propellants than Pyrodex are in common use.

Based on all this, the "Question" becomes obvious. If an inline muzzleloading manufacturer refuses to tell you in writing that their rifles have been designed and tested to withstand a constant diet of 30,000 PSI peak pressure loads safely, their guns should not be sold, much less used.

This is such a basic, common-sense question that no inline muzzleloading manufacturer should have any problem answering it without hesitation. If they can't, they are richly deserving of all the scorn and condemnation that we can lavish on them. It is bad metallurgy and lack of testing that keeps 911 busy for some unfortunate victims year after year."


And more....


"
It is a sad fact that many muzzleloaders produced today with Spanish barrels are marked with a pressure rating of 700 kp/cm? clearly stamped on the barrels. Relying on the ignorance of the muzzleloading community, aren't they are the most popular barrels sold in the USA today? The dirty secret is that the proof rating above is converted to psi by the following formula: kp/cm? x 14.22 = psi. Directly put, these barrels are factory marked to a maximum pressure of 9954 psi.

It is also well documented that so-called magnum loads, for example 150 grains of Pyrodex pushing a 260 grain saboted projectile can easily develop pressures exceeding 20,000 psi. Much more moderate charges of 100 grains of Pyrodex pushing the same 260 grain saboted bullet can easily develop pressures in the 13,000-14,000 range. In fact, the original Pyrodex pellet patent states this quite clearly, to name only one document.

Do these soft, low-pressure barrels have any business being fired with loads that create more than twice the stamped barrels pressure rating? Does this create an unnecessary risk both to the shooter, and to those around him? Will it likely take death or dismemberment and the resultant lawsuits for this to change?

Some may think my barrel safety questions inappropriate. Why would any manufacturer market borderline or untested product? Why would Enron steal money from its employees, why would Morton-Thiokol okay space shuttle O-ring systems their engineers had severe reservations about? Must it take a "60 Minutes" expose or loss of life to change or improve things?

Would anyone in their right mind reload a smokeless cartridge to twice the SAAMI specifications? Don't today's muzzleloading companies actively promote similar practices? Who is more stupid, the people that ignore pressure ratings on barrels or the companies that tell you it is somehow "okay" to fire charges in barrels that have never been individually tested to take such pressures?

Call me dense, but what smokeless powder firearms manufacturer directs you to set off any single load in any single gun at near proof pressure in any barrel under any circumstances, much less exceed it? Yet, some muzzleloading companies, apparently, do it all the time. Wouldn't a lot of people like to know what that might have to do with their gun, and what pressure their gun is really proofed for? Pressure limits are no secret in SAAMI / smokeless-land; in muzzleloading, they apparently are!

Hodgdon Powder Co. has long warned that either 100 grains Pyrodex pellets in .50 caliber or 100 grains Triple Seven pellets in .50 caliber is the MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE LOAD. When muzzleloading manufacturers deviate from the propellant maker's warnings, the burden is on them to prove its safety.

Are they dangerous? I don't know. Have they ever been shown to be safe with high-octane loads? How does a modern shooter know what his gun is capable of? Shouldn't modern muzzleloaders be proved safe prior to sale? Isn't this a reasonable question for any gun owner to ask?

I think it most certainly is.

Addendum:

There are two basic types of "proof." "Provisional" proof that applies generally to barrels in the early stages of manufacture, to prevent the maker from continuing work on defective tubes. Definitive proof applies to all arms and is effected "in the white" or in the finished state.

Inspection of many Traditions and CVA guns will clearly show the Spanish House of Eibar definitive black powder proof mark. Likely you will also see the ammunition inspection proof mark as well. A pressure stamping on the barrel, typically 700KP/CM2, will follow this. That pressure is expressed in "kiloponds / cm2." The equivalent in PSI is approx. 9957 PSI.

It is well documented that 150 grain Pyrodex pellet loads pushing 250 to 300 grain saboted projectiles can exceed 2.5 X that pressure, often upwards of 25,000 - 27,000 PSI. These are common loads, not "unusual" loads. Not just the original Pyrodex patent, but many readily available independent sources such as Lyman's.

There is no evidence to show that these barrels are tested stateside in any way, and there is evidence to show that they are not, as in imported muzzleloaders arriving here a day or so after clearing customs.

If there is further testing beyond what is clearly stamped on the barrels, it is unknown--and not reflected on the original substandard proof embossed on those barrels. Nor is there any supplementary proof to indicate that this is being done.

The simple question, posed again and again, is have those guns been proofed or tested to 20,000 PSI, 25,000 PSI, or 30,000 PSI? If so, who is doing the testing, and what guns are being tested? Why are there no marks to indicate a "tested" barrel from an untested one? What specific loads are they tested with? Are they tested with pellets at all? What metal is used in these soft, extruded barrels? How do I know that my gun has been tested beyond the internationally respected house of Eibar stamp?

What reasonable assurances can be provided to a customer so he knows his individual gun has been tested?

Somehow, a terse phone call from a manufacturer that says these proofs are "not really proof marks" or "just a manufacturing mark" or "minimum pressures" or "it is ALL hogwash-- just follow the manual" seems ill-prepared, clumsy, and insufficient.

Traditions and CVA / BPI have been aware of these questions for some time. They have been unable to answer or fully address them. (Unless you think that Traditions calling me "anti-Second Amendment" or CVA starting a "Randy, you are out of your mind" thread on their forum should be construed as an answer to these questions.)

I don't know what testing there is, with what, by who, and why the Eibar Proof marks remain far, far too low. The public response from Traditions and CVA / BPI has been non-existent. If they can address these issues fully, and put the matter to rest, why haven't they? Traditions and CVA/Winchester Muzzleloading/BPI have been asked again and again why a customer should consider their recommended loads as safe, when they defy the clear barrel proofs, C. I. P. maximum service pressures, and Hodgdon Powder's own maximum load warnings.

With a mess like this, it is clear that the Black Powder Industry desperately needs an overseeing body like SAMMI. Though SAMMI participation is voluntary, it has made the firearms industry a better place by setting the rules. Only those with self-destructive proclivities would knowingly break powder manufacturer's reloading rules. Yet, if you are a muzzleloader, you are a reloader.

The educated consumers can decide for themselves what chances they may or may not be taking. As to if they are tested or safe with "their loads," I cannot possibly say either way. I wish I could say that I believe these guns to be well-tested and proven safe.

The best I can offer remains "I don't know."


Shameful.

High Speed Photography

Hey all!

I decided to play with high speed photography tonight...And with my Tokarev. So why not combine the two? Off to the range!

Here's some pics taken within one second, showing the result of a hit from 7.62x25mm on a 2 litre bottle full of water.

The bottle exhibits a clean hole on entry and a slit on exit where pressure cracked the bottle in a straight, clean seam.

That means the military 85 grain steel cased ball does not expand, nor dump energy into the target the way a deadlier hollow point will.

But look at that spray! And in the last picture, you can see how much water is "bleeding" out of the bottle as it falls, becaus of gravity alone.

Nope, the pistol round of a Russian soldier in the "Great Patriotic War" wasn't as deadly as the hollow point, larger caliber rounds our police and we as civilians use today...But nothing to laugh at! And that's from a pistol, not an SMG. If Fritz caught that round in major blood vessels, he was down for the count. A well aimed shot would be all she wrote. Chalk one up for the Motherland.

CTV's Paula Todd: Gun owner "Freakish"

Hey all.

Does anyone else here remember Wayne Chiang? Simply because he had posted pictures of himself with firearms, he was mistaken for being the Virginia Tech shooter.

Well, Wayne was invited to do a CTV interview to speak about Virginia Tech...Instead, he was ambushed on air and insulted off air.

Here is what Wayne has to say about the affair...


"Hey all, thanks for all the support! It means so much to me. The interview with Paula Todd was aired live on Wednesday April 18, 2007. I was supposed to talk about my experience at Virginia Tech, but ultimately ended up blindly walking into a firearms debate/ambush. That's why I look so retarded answering the questions.

The second video with the comments were off-air. CTV was nice enough to send me a copy of the interview and someone let the off-air portions slip through. After watching all the off-air parts, it was interesting to see how she personally greeted all her guests, except for me. She talks to at least seven other people and tells them the topic of discussion before hand. For me, I just ended up on camera talking at a wall to someone I couldn't see or ever heard of before. I suppose this must be the new tactic these news networks use...

Paula Todd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QSC4RqdMII
Paula Todd #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U69ABffO-Y

The other piece of infamy is the picture mixup debacle. This one is just absurd and needs no explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQtdxPl4Ew8"


Hmmm....wait...since I posted this one...something new has developed...

Wayne received this...


"

---

Dear Member:

This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by CTV Inc. claiming that this material is infringing:

CTV Paula Todd Thinks Gun Owners Are FREAKISH: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U69ABffO-Y)
Please Note: Repeat incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your account and all videos uploaded to that account. In order to avoid future strikes against your account, please delete any videos to which you do not own the rights, and refrain from uploading additional videos that infringe on the copyrights of others. For more information about YouTube's copyright policy, please read the "Copyright Tips" guide: http://www.youtube.com/t/howto_copyright."

Oh.

Okay.

So it's all well and good for terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah to post their propaganda which actually recruits children to be suicide bombers...But we can't have Wayne posting HIS CTV video! That's crazy talk!

MG34

Hey guys,

Sorry no posts lately but I had a BLAST this weekend and just pulled in from O-town on Tuesday...Shot in two competitions on Saturday, but I'll talk more about that in another post.

I gotta mention first and foremost that I was lucky enough to get a chance to take a spin on a German MG34.

For those of ya who aren't familiar with it, the MG34 was the first modern universal machine gun. At 12kg, it was much lighter than most other MGs around the world, and could be used for virtually any role.

Nazi Germany began producing them in 1934, and it was used from a bipod, as this one was, in the light machine gun role, with a tripod for a general purpose machine gun, and also in tanks and aircraft.

It had a blistering rate of fire, although not as high as the later MG-42, and fired the powerful 8mm Mauser round. Typically a 199 grain bullet at 2600 feet per second.

It operates by the recoil of the barrel being blown straight back and pushing the bolt to the rear with a massive recoil spring in the buttstock bringing the bolt back into battery. The nose cap at the muzzle end of the rifle uses the gas from firing to assist in this.

It is effective to 1200 yards at least in aimed fire and 2000 yards or more in the indirect fire role, to simply batter an area with ammo.

Recoil was very mild, although this version was only semi automatic, it was quite accurate. Hitting a 10" target with slow fire was a breeze. When you really open her up as fast as you can fire her though, it tends to spray an area. Doesn't kick hard, but you can't keep the sights on target very well either. It pelts the immediate area with ammo. You should see this thing chew up a berm. It's unreal. 8 men firing rifles at the same time was the only thing that even came close to how much damage this thing was doing.

I can say this...our boys who charged these guns in places like Juno beach had some big, BIG brass ones!

Here's me giving it a go.

Pictures for Red Collar

Now we all know our bro Red Collar is a huge fan of M14 rifles. I've talked with him a lot about how they work inside, etc so I figured I'd post some pics to show him exactly what the heck is going on.

So..Here's a course on the inner workings of an M14 or M1A rifle!



First picture: Here's the M14 stripped down for cleaning in the field. Not a detailed clean, but just what ya have to worry about. On top is the rifle, removed from it's wood stock by unlatching the trigger guard and pulling out the firing mechanism. Underneath the rifle is the operating rod (Op Rod), the op rod spring, and spring guide. When assembled, the end of the spring pointed left goes over the guide, and the end to the right goes inside the op rod tube.


Second picture: Slightly right of the middle of this picture is the gas cylinder, underneath the barrel. If you look closely, you'll see the gas piston sticking out a few inches to the rear of the gas cylinder. Normally it is inside, and it is only exposed about .25 of an inch. On the bottom left is the front of the op rod. When assembled, it sits almost flushly against the gas cylinder, resting on that .25 inch of gas piston.

On firing the rifle, hot gas from the propellant race down the barrel and some are diverted into the gas cylinder. They hit the gas cylinder and force it rearward into the exposed position above with great force. The gas piston in turn smacks the op rod on the face, driving the op rod back, and compressing the op rod spring. The op rod takes the bolt with it all the way to the rear of the receiver, which ejects the empty casing. As it hits the end of it's travel, the op rod spring pulls the op rod and bolt forward again, chambering a fresh cartridge and cocking the hammer of the rifle. The gas piston is smacked by the op rod and driven back into hiding inside the gas cylinder.


Third picture: Here is the assembled rifle. You can see the face of the op rod is against the gas piston, which is back inside the gas cylinder where it belongs, and that the op rod spring is in position, with most of it actually inserted into the op rod. The firing controls are also shown. They are the trigger, hammer, and safety of the rifle. You can also see the trigger guard has been pulled open. That's all that is neccessary to remove the rifle from the stock. No screws, no tools.


Fourth picture: Here's the top of the rifle. You can see here where the front of the bolt's bottom lug (right hand actually) fits into the op rod to link the bolt and op rod together. When the gas piston slams the op rod rearward, it brings the bolt with it, camming and tilting the two locking lugs out of their grooves in the receiver and unlocking and opening the action when gas and pressure levels are safe.

Well, there's a basic course on the internal parts and operation of the M14...Hope it wasn't too boring!

If anyone wants more detailed explaination or to see more pics, just let me know!

M14 Rifle

Hey all,

Just came home from a session with the M14! I was finally able to pick her up from the shop on Thursday night, but today was my first day off from work.

Overall, I gotta say...this is a CRAZY deal for $499. A real 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifle, available in Canada, even for shooters on a budget. Or even cheap bastards like me. What's not to love?

Well...It does have a few shortcomings. The Chu wood stock is not as good looking or durable as US walnut, but you can exchange that for $100. 5 round magazines suck hard, but such is Canadian law. And the sights are not as robust as US models, but you can just drop in a set from a Garand or a US made M1A or M14 rifle, they just fit right in.

Bear in mind a US rifle is $1900 and you can see why there's a couple cut corners here.

Now the good news...its actually closer to the old US Military M14 rifle than the Springfields we buy for $2k dollars! A forged receiver, as opposed to cast, a one piece firing pin, tighter gas system, and flash hiders already bored out to National Match specifications. Can't go wrong.

I'm actually VERY surprised by the accuracy of this rifle. In the last two pictures, you get an idea of the sight picture, and there's a group I shot today. Four rounds into two inches, from standing supported, with Remington hunting ammo. Not too shabby for an eyeball and iron sights huh?

7.62x51mm NATO, which most of us know as 308 Winchester, is a very powerful rifle round. It can shoot accurately from an M14 to 500 meters if the shooter does their part, defeat cover which would laugh at a C-7 or M-16 rifle, and is plenty enough gun for even moose hunting. Cheap surplus ammunition is still available in Canada to shoot holes in targets other than your wallet.

The sights on this rifle (as well as the Garand) have to be the BEST that mankind ever devised. Sharp and crystal clear, easy to see, and fully adjustible.

One click of the dial moves your bullet strike one inch per each one hundred yards you are shooting. Thus:

1 click at 100 yards is one inch
1 click at 200 yards is two inches
1 click at 300 yards is three inches
1 click at 400 yards is four inches

and so on.

So lets say our rifle is zeroed for 200 yards and we want to shoot something 400 yards away. My data book shows a 147 grain FMJ boat tail round dropping 22.3 inches, or almost two feet, at that range. So, one click being four inches at 400 yards, you need simply 6 clicks of elevation to put yourself at 24", and your shot would hit 2 inches high on target.

Pretty simple eh?

Ergonomics are very good. Not AR-15 good, but it's very comfy. Heavier than say, a 30-30 lever action rifle, but no heavier than a scoped bolt action. And the weight does soak up some recoil and allow you to get back on target faster.

Seriously...at this price everyone should buy at least one.

Here's some pics...As usual, click for the big version!

No 1 Mk III* SMLE

Here's the .303 Enfield I was tellin everyone about! A 1942 made Bristish rifle, with an 18" sword style bayonet!

Heavy rifle, but it soaks up the recoil very nicely...and the fastest firing bolt action rifle there ever was. A 10 round detachable magazine helps that out too, and it's decently powerful. The strength is pretty much between 30-30 Winchester and 303 British, so it's a fine hunting rifle aside from all the history of it!

The soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force were able to fire these rifles so quickly and accurately that German soldiers thought they were under machine gun fire.

Sights are very nice for an open notch and post and well protected. It shoots 5 shots into a group slightly less than 4 inches wide in my less than skilled hands.

Which really ain't so bad. Gotta figure then, at 500 meters, that would be an 18" group...well enough to hit a human sized target, which is what it was made to do.

End result? Fine piece of our history...powerful and accurate battle rifle, looks great on display, effective for hunting...And isn't that bayonet awesome?

Sorry no new posts lately

Hey gang,

sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I know you guys are around a lot, but I've been workin 10 hour days at a lumber yard...Suffice to say, a cold beer and sleep are more on my mind than watchin the blog!

Gonna be done soon though until June...So to everyone here, thanks for your continued patience and visiting the site.

In other news....My Tokarev took a dump on me!!!

Turns out when it is actually fired, the magazines fall out. Cause looks like it is the magazine catch. Ain't long enough to actually enter the slot cut out of the magazines. Without it in place, the magazine just kind of rests on it. Nothin makes ya look cool like ammo falling at your feet whenever your pistol is fired!

Marstar's customer service rocks though, I gotta say. Called a tech, explained the problem, and they told me to go right ahead and remove that part from the pistol and mail it in to them. They are gonna replace it for free.

So...Downtime for the pistol until I get my new mag catch. Shame...She was sooo fun to shoot!!

But there's still light at the end of the tunnel. Bright light.

I picked up a WW1 vintage all original 303 British SMLE rifle with bayonet...Pics and update soon! I love the Lee Enfields and that 18" blade is SCARY!

Put a down payment on a Norinco M14 as well...$499 at the local store. Never would have thought I would find one there!

Hopefully that comes home too. I'll have info, pics and review for you all ASAP.

Supposedly, the extra high rings I need to mount my scope on my Mauser Sniper are also in. I am going to snag them this weekend when I go put more money down on my M14...

So...lots to look forward to! Stay tuned.

Until then I stay in the lumber business :(

RCMP still using Gestapo tactics on gun owners

Here's something I found this morning...

Why are these tactics needed? Because a guy is a legal gun owner? What indication is there he would try to harm an LEO? Why not just call him and ask him to come down to the station?

You know what? If he doesn't come down, THEN you know he's probably a felon.

Read this guys...and do something about it.

Next time, it could be you.

EVERYONE MUST KNOW



LAST MONDAY, APRIL 16TH, 4 AM, NEAR THE HAMLET OF CRAIGMYLE, SOUTHWEST OF HANNA AB. JOHN REW, AGE 50, WAS AWAKENED TO THE SOUND OF A S.W.A.T. SMOKE GRENADE SMASHING THROUGH HIS BEDROOM WINDOW.

HE WAS THROWN FACEDOWN ON THE FLOOR AND HANDCUFFED INSTANTLY AFTERWARD, AS A SECOND SMOKE GRENADE EXPLODED THROUGH HIS TV STAND IN THE LIVING ROOM, BURNING A HOLE IN THE FLOOR.

THE DRUMHELLER RCMP, CALGARY S.W.A.T., RED DEER S.W.A.T. HAD COME FOR ALL HIS FIREARMS, IN PARTICULAR HIS REGISTERED PROHIBS AND RESTRICTEDS. YES! REGISTERED!

ALTHOUGH THEIR SEARCH WARRANT DID NOT INCLUDE ANY RESIDENCES, JOHN AGREED TO LEAD THEM ACROSS THE FARMYARD TO HIS 80 YEAR OLD MOTHER’S HOUSE. HER BASEMENT CONTAINS JOHN’S STORAGE FACILITY.

JOHN’S MOTHER, BETTY, ALLOWED THEM ENTRY AND WAS DETAINED FOR HER CO-OPERATIVE EFFORTS. THE MASKED, BODY ARMOURED, ASSAULT RIFLE EQUIPPED THUGS GOT WHAT THEY CAME FOR.

JOHN WAS HAULED AWAY, STILL IN HANDCUFFS, JOHN’S ALLEGED CRIME: ALLOWING HIS F.A.C/P.A.L TO EXPIRE, HIS VARIOUS CRIMINAL CHARGES ALL STEM FROM THAT. (ADOLPH WOULD BE PROUD)

2:30 THAT AFTERNOON JOHN WAS RELEASED, PROMISING TO APPEAR IN DRUMHELLER COURT 10AM MAY 25TH, 2007.

THE BROWNSHIRTS SHUT DOWN HIS OILFIELD BUSINESS FOR THE DAY, TURNING HIS 20 EMPLOYEES AWAY AT THE GATE. HIS SISTER WAS NOT ALLOWED ENTRY TO TEND TO BETTY.

IRONICALLY, THE NEXT DAY, APRIL 17TH, OUR GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED AN EXTENSION OF THE LONG GUN REGISTRY “AMNESTY” FOR ANOTHER YEAR.

WILL THIS HELP JOHN AND HIS FAMILY? WE MUST CONSIDER OURSELVES JOHN’S FIREARMS FAMILY MEMBERS. I STAND UP FOR MY FAMILY, DO YOU? ELECTION TIME IS COMING NOW IS OUR TIME TO BE HEARD. DON’T FALL MUTE NOW. FURTHER INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE THE FORTITUDE TO UTILIZE IT.

Virginia Tech

I've just seen what happened at Virginia Tech today...31 people killed, and supposedly the deadliest shooting in US history.

This post isn't about guns or gun control or anything political. It's not the time. I feel physically sick.

HOW? How can someone dehumanize other people to that extent???

I just hope the death toll has stopped now...and that no one else needs to be hurt.

Backdoor ban on handguns

Well if you can't ban the guns...Ban the ammo! This is one of the stupidest ideas I have ever heard. Once again, proof positive that they don't care about crime, they never thought the laws they proposed years ago would be "good enough", that they will scare people into anything to gain votes and that they DO NOT want the public owning firearms...Period!

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"Resolution:
Restricting the Sale and Possession
of Handgun Ammunition

"That, in the opinion of this House, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services should request the Chief Firearms Officer to conduct a study to identify ways of better regulating ammunition which includes consideration of additional mechanisms to further restrict and/or ban the sale and possession of ammunition for hand guns and to share relevant findings with Federal and Provincial/Territorial partners."


Media Release:

Duguid Proposes Restrictions on Possession and Sale of Handgun Ammunition

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 -- Brad Duguid, MPP Scarborough Centre, is introducing a Private Member’s Resolution in the Ontario Legislature on Thursday, March 29, 2007, calling on the Ontario Government to direct the Chief Firearms Officer to report on alternatives to restrict and limit the possession and sale of handgun ammunition.

“Unless someone is in law enforcement, there are few legitimate reasons for anyone to be in the possession of handgun ammunition. If the Government of Ontario moves forward with a ban on the unauthorized possession of handgun ammunition, the police will have another tool at their disposal to address the problem of guns and gangs in our community.” Duguid said.

Duguid’s Resolution would have the Chief Firearms Officer conduct a study to identify ways of better regulating ammunition including consideration of additional mechanisms to further restrict and/or ban the sale and possession of ammunition for hand guns.

In addition, the Chief Firearms Officer could consider alternatives to ensure that ballistic tests are taken and recorded from shells of all handguns. As well, there could be consideration of mandatory record keeping by retailers of all ammunition purchases.

“You can’t fire a handgun without a bullet. Today, if police come across a criminal or gang member in possession of handgun ammunition (having already dumped the handgun) there is nothing they can do but let him go. They can’t even confiscate the ammunition knowing that it may well be used in a shooting any time in the future. That’s simply not right and needs to be addressed.”

Duguid’s resolution has the support of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.

-30-

For more information contact Brad Duguid, MPP directly at cell 416-993-5195.


Backgrounder:

Current laws regarding possession of handgun ammunition:
Ammunition Regulation Act, 1994 (Selected Sections)
Restriction re purchase of ammunition
2. (1) No person shall purchase ammunition unless the person is at least 18 years old and at the time of purchase presents valid identification that has his or her photograph and age or date of birth or other valid identification prescribed by regulation. 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (1).
Same
(2) Despite subsection (1), a person under 18 years old may purchase ammunition if he or she presents at the time of purchase the valid identification required under subsection (1) and a valid permit issued to him or her under subsection 110 (6) of the Criminal Code (Canada). 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (2).
Same
(3) Despite subsection (1), a person 16 or 17 years old may purchase ammunition if he or she presents at the time of purchase the valid identification required under subsection (1) and a valid permit issued to him or her under subsection 110 (7) of the Criminal Code (Canada). 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (3).
Improper documentation
(4) No person shall present, for the purpose of purchasing ammunition, identification or a permit other than that which was lawfully issued to him or her. 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (4).
Offence
(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1), except as permitted by subsection (2) or (3), is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $5,000;
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $10,000. 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (5).


Same
(6) A person who contravenes subsection (4) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $10,000. 1994, c. 20, s. 2 (6).
Restriction re sale of ammunition
3. (1) No person shall knowingly sell or provide ammunition to any person unless that person produces documentation as required under subsection 2 (1), (2) or (3). 1994, c. 20, s. 3 (1).
Same
(2) Despite subsection (1), a person may provide ammunition to a person who is 12 years old or over and under 16 years old if that person holds a permit issued to him or her under subsection 110 (7) of the Criminal Code (Canada). 1994, c. 20, s. 3 (2).
Record keeping
4. (1) A person who holds a permit issued under subsection 110 (5) of the Criminal Code (Canada) to carry on a business described in subparagraph 105 (2) (b) (i) of that Act shall keep a record of the following information for all ammunition sales:
1. The date and time of the purchase.
2. The name, age and address of the purchaser.
3. The type of identification and permit produced and their serial numbers.
4. The calibre and quantity of ammunition purchased. 1994, c. 20, s. 4 (1).
Inspection of records
(2) The chief provincial firearms officer for Ontario, designated under the Criminal Code (Canada), or any person authorized by him or her for the purposes of this section, may conduct an inspection of the records required to be kept under subsection (1). 1994, c. 20, s. 4 (2).






Overall Number of Homicides, Gun Related Homicides, and Shooting Incidents, Toronto, 2004-2007
In 2006, there were 29 gun related homicides in Toronto, a 45% decrease from 2005. The number of gun related homicides spiked in 2005 (from 27 in 2004 to 53 in 2005) and returned close to the 2004 level in 2006. In 2006, 42% of homicides were gun related. The overall number of homicides decreased from 80 in 2005 to 69 in 2006. In 2007 YTD1 there were 7 homicides in Toronto, 4 of which (57%) were gun related.

Number of Gun Related Homicides, Toronto, 2004-2007
Year 2004 2005 2006 2005 YTD1 2006 YTD1 20072YTD1
Total number of homicides 64 80 69 12 9 7
Total number of gun related homicides 27 53 29 7 2 4
Percentage of gun related homicides out of Total number of homicides 42% 66% 42% 58% 22% 57%
Sources: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada & Corporate Planning, Corporate Services, Toronto Police Service





Number of Shooting Incidents3, Toronto, 2005-2007
Year 2005 2006 2005 YTD1 2006 YTD1 20072 YTD1
Shooting Incidents 249 207 29 31 21
Total number of victims as a result of shooting incidents 344 292 35 43 26*
Shooting Victim Injury Level
Number of deaths as a result of shooting incident 53 29 7 2 4
Number of victims that sustained injuries as a result of shooting incident 179 173 15 24 17
Number of victims with no injuries as a result of shooting incident 89 71 7 16 5
Unknown4 23 19 6 1 0
Sources: Toronto Police Service, 680 News, City news, Toronto Star
* There was one shooting incident that occurred on February 15, 2007, however, information on the number of victims, if any, is pending.
1 Year-to-date as of March 4.
2 Data is subject to change due to incidents that have been investigated and deemed to be unfounded, or reclassification of an offence subsequent to further investigation.
3 2005 and 2006 data is based on report date, that is, the date the victim reported the shooting incident to the police. All incidents involving police officers discharging firearm in the line of duty and incidents where victims shot themselves are excluded.
4 Prepared by: Corporate Evaluation and Analysis, Corrections and Community Safety Policy Branch, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Updated on March 5, 2007 10:46 AM The extent of injuries to the victim could not be determined.

Cost of Handgun ammunition and where it can be purchased today:

See Package.


Purpose of Resolution:

Consider ways to restrict the possession of handgun ammunition to those who require it to fulfill their duties such as law enforcement officials. While the resolution leaves open the consideration of other alternatives, it is intended to consider outlawing the possession of handgun ammunition outside of an approved gun range. Handgun ammunition could only be available for purchase and use at an approved gun range.

This proposal would have the affect of banning the sale of handgun ammunition from retail outlets. It would consider ways to make it illegal to acquire through mail or other means handgun ammunition other than at approved gun ranges.

Further, this proposal would consider the viability of requiring all handguns bought, sold, manufactured, possessed or discharged in a firing range within the Province of Ontario to have on file a ballistics sample of the shell casing discharged from every handgun. This data base of ballistics samples could provide police with leads as they trace the ownership of the weapon. It could also assist in providing evidence to aid in the prosecution of handgun offences."

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People, this has nothing to do with "crime guns" or "sporting purposes" or "handguns" at all. Gun ownership itself is under attack and will stay under attack. If you care AT ALL about gun rights, or your rights in general, let your MPP know about this and how you feel! Or take 10 minutes to write a short editorial.

It DOES make a difference.

Excellent essay on the cost of gun control

Nope, I didn't write this...But the guy who did is certainly switched on!




My Fellow Canadian ~

I once read an excellent Isaac Asimov non-fiction essay on really big numbers. Humans are in general really bad at understanding big numbers. Because of my math / science / engineering background, I'm maybe a bit better than average, but I'm no Asimov. I have though learned a few ways to help me better understand big numbers, so that I can better deal with them when I need to. This essay shows how some of those methods work.

The initial Government of Canada estimate for the gun registry database system was $1 million. Technically, I think that's probably a bit low. Based on my on three decades of work in the field of distributed multi-user database transaction processing systems like the registry, and on some systems I'm currently working on which are of that type, I think $3 million would have been a better estimate.

If someone from the Government of Canada can provide me with a simple accounting showing some component of the system that I've missed, I'd be more than happy to adjust my analysis of the situation to take that data into account. My current analysis is based on the numbers I have collected from the public media over the last few years.

Given how important it is for state monopolies to serve citizens to the highest possible ethical standard, let's throw in a factor of three-ish over my base estimate and call it $10 million, to be as careful as possible.

Now, say you had such a $10 million contract with some customers. And then, say you spent three times that: $30 million. Does it occur to you that your customers (in this case, we citizens) might be, oh, shall we say, somewhat angry? Ok, let's say it's another factor of three: $90 million. How are your customers doing now? Fine. Let's throw in another factor of three, so we're now up to $270 million. How angry are your customers now? In more primitive times than we live in, would you still be alive? But wait, there's more. How much would we pay for another factor of three? Oh, about $810 million. Say, that's interesting, the gun registry database system has, according to the CBC, cost $750 million.

It didn't cost 3 times as much. Or 3 times 3 times as much. Or 3 times 3 times 3 times as much. It cost 3 times 3 times 3 times 3 times as much.

That's like planning to have two children, and ending up with 162 (two times three to the power of four). Now stop. Think about that number, 162 children. It's unimaginable that you could legitimately have 162 children, in any way whatsoever. Likewise, there is no way I can come up with to imagine how the registry database project could legitimately cost $750 million, whatsoever.

Never mind that it is to me unfathomable that it could take eight years to develop the registry database, and never mind that according to the CBC it doesn't actually work; $750 million divided by eight years is about $250,000 per day. That's right, they spent what should have been, at its most extreme, a $10 million budget for the entire project, they spent that much every 40 days, for eight years.

Here's another way to look at it. The database system has cost about 750 / 8 = $94 million per year, for eight years. Loaded full-time staff costs in this field are about $100,000 per year. That means the development of this system employed 940 full-time staff per year for eight years. How the hell can a database fundamentally designed to store and retrieve 7 million gun records distributed across 3 million person records take 7,500 man-years to develop? What is this, the Pyramid of Cheops?

(Actually, the CBC's total cost figure of $2 billion for the entire gun registry "file" amounts to about $685,000 per day, which means they spent the entire initially estimated budget of $2 million, again according to the CBC, every three days, for eight years straight. That's 20,000 man-years, to register 7 million guns. But what do I know, I'm just a software guy, I'll stick to the database system.)

Corporations get sued for cost overruns on the order of tens of percent. Assuming my careful $10 million estimate is reasonable, the registry database is not 10 % over. It's not 100 % over. It's not 1,000 % over. It's 7,500 % over.

It's not 10 times less than the standard we citizens are held to, under threat of criminal prosecution. It's not 100 times less. The state's standard of performance for itself is 750 times less than the standard it holds us to. Who the hell, exactly, do these people think they are, and why the hell shouldn't we smite them?

Ok, I'll tell you what. Section 380 of the Criminal Code of Canada calls for jail for up to 10 years for fraud over $5,000. Applying the 750 factor apparently used by State Canada, let's just say that any politician or civil servant that is guilty of fraud over $5,000 should go to jail for 7,500 years.

That's starting to sound like a big enough number for me.

Layton back in the saddle of stupidity

As if pushing for negotiations with the Taliban wasn't stupid enough...

"Ban semi-automatics, NDP leader urges PM

Montreal - The federal government should ban private ownership of semi automatic rifles such as the one Kimveer Gill used at Dawson College, NDP leader Jack Layton says.

"The answer to gun violence is not to end the gun registry - it's to ensure that assault weapons do not end up on city streets," Mr. Layton told a receptive audience during an event organized by the Dawson Committee for Gun Control.

Canada's firearms legislation, which includes restrictions on some guns and mandatory registration of others, is an effective tool in maintaining public safety, Mr. Layton said. There have been 300 fewer gun deaths a year in Canada since the gun rules were adopted in 1995, he noted.

Mr. Latyon urged the audience to press Prime Minister Stephen Harper to maintain and further tighten gun laws.

THE MONTREAL GAZETTE"


Hoo boy.

If anyone has any idea how a registry could have helped prevent this tragedty, please let me know! His guns were registered, it still happened. So...What would losing the registry do to make people safer?

I also like his reference to all semi automatic firearms as "assault rifles"....I guess my semi automatic 22 long rifle is an "assault rifle" now.

Sure, "assault rifles" exist...What are they, by definition? A rifle with FULLY AUTOMATIC capability (okay, that just scrapped his arguement right there) using a bullet stronger than that of a pistol, but weaker than a conventional rifle round.

Is the C-7 variant of the M-16 used by the Canadian Forces an assault rifle? Yeah. Is an M-16 variant owned by a citizen, with a magazine holding 5 whole rounds an assault rifle? If scooters are used in races, does that equate them to a bike like a Ninja?

His statistics about how we've had 300 fewer gun deaths per YEAR since 1995 is similary screwy. Don't just take my word for it though, let's have a look.

According to my Dept. of Justice handbook, which was issued to me during my course to own Restricted class firearms, 81% of "gun deaths" are suicides.

So less guns means less suicides?

Not quite. According to Statistics Canada, deaths by hanging have nearly doubled since (you guessed it, 1995.)

4% of deaths are accidental, and sadly usually involve children. For every retard who leaves a loaded firearm near children, there's a retard who locks a baby in their car, answers the phone while giving their baby a bath, or does not supervise their children as they play near a swimming pool.

Too bad we can't ban "stupid".

The remaining 15% are homicides.

Let's look at our homicide rate... Statistics Canada says it has dropped dramatically since 2005. Does that mean it's because of gun control? Um...not really. Our entire homicide rate dropped!

"

There were 172 homicides committed with a firearm in 2004, 11 more than in 2003 and 20 more than in 2002. However, the 2004 total was still slightly below the average of 176 homicides involving firearms over the past decade.

During the past 10 years, the proportion of homicides involving a firearm has remained fairly stable, ranging from 26% to 34%. In 2004, the proportion was 28%. In contrast, in the United States, two-thirds of all homicide victims were killed with a firearm in 2003, more than double the proportion seen in Canada.

Over the past decade, the highest rates of firearm homicides have been reported in British Columbia and Quebec. However, in 2004, Manitoba recorded 13 homicides committed with a firearm, giving it the highest provincial rate for that year.

Beginning in 2001, handguns have consistently accounted for about two-thirds of all firearm-related homicides in Canada. Last year was no exception, as 65% of firearm homicides were committed with a handgun.

Over the years, the primary method used to commit homicide has varied between stabbings and shootings. With 63 more than in 2003, the most common method used last year was stabbings, accounting for one-third of all homicides. Beatings accounted for 22% and strangulation/suffocation for a further 10%."

Wow...

Guns only account for 28%-34% of our homicides? We need knife control!

Isn't it reassuring that Canadians would rather beat you to death or stab you?

It gets even better though!

"

Mental illness a factor in many homicides

A new detailed profile of the relationship, motivation and location of all 2004 homicides revealed that 70 victims were killed by someone that police believed was suffering from mental illness. The majority of these homicides were committed against family members.

There were 33 victims killed during a robbery, two-thirds of which occurred in the victim's residence. Half of those victims killed in their own home were over the age of 60.

In addition, over half of victims and almost three-quarters of accused persons had consumed alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the homicide. There were also 20 victims killed as a result of an argument originating in a bar"

Gosh...75% of the killers were consuming alcohol and/or drugs at the time they killed someone!

We need to ban drugs! Oh wait...They did. It sure made them harder to find, didn't it!

So what do you figure the odds are then, that these killers were already criminals, and thus barred from owning guns in the first place?

Well...

OF 5,194 TOTAL HOMICIDES BETWEEN 1997 & 2005

• 118 (2.27%) were committed with a registered gun;
• 63 (1.21%) were committed with a firearm registered to the accused murderer;
• 111 (2.14%) were committed by a person that held a valid firearms licence.

OF 1,572 FIREARMS HOMICIDES BETWEEN 1997 & 2005

• 118 (7.51%) were committed with a registered firearm;
• 63 (4.01%) were committed with a firearms registered to the accused murderer;
• 111 (7.06%) were committed by a person that held a valid firearms licence.

OF THE TWO-MILLION LICENCED GUN OWNERS IN CANADA

• 111 (0.00555%) Used their firearm to murder someone

Unfortunately, women are often the victim of a violent crime, and the anti gun side of the fence loves trying to play that up. Also unfortunately, Stats Can has this to say.

(1)	On snapshot day, one-fifth of all shelters referred 221 women and 112 children elsewhere. About two-thirds of these shelters reported referring women and children elsewhere because the shelter was full (See report #1 below),
(2)	Eight in 10 abused women in shelters were there to escape a current or former spouse/common law partner (See report #2 below).

Aren't we glad we spent that 1.4 BILLION dollars on the gun registry now?

People ask me very often "Why do politicians think banning guns will make us safer, then?"

The answer is, they don't! They know it won't do anything! BUT...It does bring in LOTS of votes from the uninformed.

Long Range Tactical Rifle

Here's something I thought everyone might like to see: I recently finished my first custom sniper rifle build. This one has gone through lots of stages in the past two years, but finally ended up nailed down, albeit much differently than I had in mind from the start! It was originally going to be a wood stocked target gun, but it ended up a tactical rifle...And a great one at that!

Here's the specs:

Caliber: 30-06 Springfield
Action: FN Mauser 98, 1952 production
Barrel: Douglas Air Gauged Premium 26", 1-12" twist, No 7 contour
Bolt: VZ-24 Czech Mauser 98 with forged bent lever and tactical knob
Stock: Bell and Carlson tactical
Optics: Bushnell 4200 Elite 4-16x40mm with adjustible objective and Weaver QD rings
Finish: Walter Birdsong's Black T spray on coating and parkerizing

Lessons learned: Shoulda went with a 1-10" twist on the barrel (one complete turn of the grooves every 10 inches) to stabilize rounds heavier than the 175 grain range.

Special thanks:

Fritz Matti of Matti Fine Arms: Thanks for all the lessons, my friend. Benoit, if you are out there too, you're the man.

Mike Rescigno of Tac Ops: Mike put the awesome texture and paint on that stock for me, installed the bolt knob, and had Walter Birdsong apply his Black T finish, which is simply the best firearms finish I have ever seen anywhere. Big words, but true nonetheless. Mike's shop, Tac Ops, deals with 450 Law and Military organizations across North America, and makes the best tactical sniper rifles in the world. I'd put that claim up against anything else out there.

Mark Lammers of LOSOK Custom Arms: Mark is a police officer/sniper and owner of a custom rifle building company. I really couldn't have gotten this done without his help.

Mel Ewing of Sniper Central: Thanks for the info, advice, and smokin' price on optics, old bud.

Tokarev!

Hi gang!

My Type 54 pistol finally came in!

For those who ain't come across one yet, it is a Chinese copy of the Russian TT-33 Tokarev sidearm of the "Great Patriotic War"...And my impression of it so far is that it's the AK-47 of the pistol world.

You can kinda see from the pictures that it looks at least a little inspired from Browning guns, but there are some very Russian features. For one, the hammer assembly gets yanked out in one easy piece. For another, instead of having the feed lips positioned on it's magazine, they are machined permanantly into the breach of the pistol! So, damaged mags don't matter. It'll still feed like a champ.

Caliber is the venerable old 7.62x25mm Tokarev round. The only problem is, I can't afford it! The ammo is dirt cheap, but the dealer will only ship in bulk...Sooo, until I feel like throwing down $275 on pistol ammo or the local store comes through for me, I ain't gonna be shooting this piece.

I can still tell ya my impressions though. Skinny grip, and the angle is a little slanted, so it points higher than natural, but to me it feels pretty comfy in my hands. The sights are pure combat sights. Adjustible windage on the rear, fixed front sight. So you can adjust for left to right, but not up and down.

Then again, for sights designed to kill Germanski Soldat at close range, they must have worked just fine. For practical work of picking up on the centre of a human target at pistol fighting ranges of point blank to 12 yards, they are fast enough to pick up on for low end combat sights.

Trigger pull is a little gritty, but not bad at all for a Chinese arm.

The only safety on the pistol is a half cock notch on the hammer, so I would recommend against carrying this one with a round in the spout. If you practice though, you can chamber one right quickly as you draw it, which is how the Russians and later Chinese always managed.

It's dead easy to field strip and clean, and the parts as well as how they work together are very easy to figure out.

All in all, a very respectable adversary...and welcome addition to any collection!

As usual, here are the pics...click em to enlarge!

Man had right to defend home, family

SARASOTA -- John Coffin won't spend any more time in jail for beating up
two sheriff's deputies inside his house, striking one in the head with a
Taser gun he took from the other.

Circuit Judge Rick De Furia said at Coffin's trial Tuesday that he doesn't
condone the violence against the deputies. But Coffin, 56, had a right to
defend his family and property because the deputies had no right to be in
Coffin's house in the first place, De Furia said.

"Law enforcement was responsible for the chain of events here," De Furia
said. "I think in situations like this, officers become so frustrated they go
beyond what the law allows them to do."

The fight started when Coffin heard his wife screaming in pain, went into
the garage and saw two deputies arresting her on the floor. The deputies
were trying to serve Coffin with civil papers that had been given five days
earlier.

They had entered the garage even though they did not have a
search warrant or arrest warrant. And they arrested Coffin's wife, Cynthia,
50, on obstruction charges even though she had no obligation to follow
their orders to bring her husband outside.

"The most critical is the fact the officers broke the law by stopping the
garage door from going down," and then entering the garage, De Furia said.

A jury was picked for the trial Monday. But the judge granted a motion by
Coffin's attorneys, Derek Byrd and Brett McIntosh, and acquitted John Coffin
on five of six felony charges Tuesday morning. Coffin pleaded no contest to
the remaining charge of taking a Taser gun from one of the deputies during
the fight.

Before handing down the sentence, De Furia asked how long Coffin spent in
jail after his initial arrest. "You spent eight days in the Sarasota County
jail," De Furia said. "That's your sentence. No probation."

Relatives applauded, and Coffin walked out of the courthouse with only a
$358 bill for court costs. The sentence surprised even defense attorneys,
who had suggested De Furia sentence Coffin to probation.

Prosecutors had asked for more than a year of prison time because of
"the totality of the case" and the injuries to deputies James Lutz and
Stacy Ferris, whose name is now Stacy Brandau.

The two deputies testified about their injuries Tuesday -- three blows to the
head with the butt of the Taser gun knocked Lutz unconscious.

"I just ask that he doesn't get away with this," Brandau told the judge.

Assistant State Attorney Jeff Young told the judge the case "could have
been over in five seconds" if the Coffins "had simply come out and cooperated."

"That is a man who took it upon himself to beat up two police officers,"
Young said.

De Furia said that while he believed the deputies' mistakes were not
intentional, the Coffins had every right to lock doors, try to close their
garage door and not cooperate.

"What took place in the house was unfortunate," De Furia said, "but
Mr. Coffin ... had a right to resist."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Those of you guys who know me probably know I am pro cop. In fact, I am willing to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and say it was a mistake or misunderstanding. I wasn't there, and I can't judge them.

You have to admit though, seeing a pair of deputies assault your wife in your own home has to get you fired up. Given that what the deputies were doing was illegal, I am happy the verdict of this case was in favour of Mr. Coffin.

As much as we need police giving us the service that they do, we need checks and balances. Whenever you have people in positions of authority over others, that authority is going to be abused, be it purposeful or not.

Another trouble point as of late has been the serving of "no knock" warrants in which officers breach entry into a house in the middle of the night or early morning. I support this tactic when it is needed, like if a suspect has a likelyhood of harming the officers. Lately though, it's been used on a very shaky basis, sometimes on faulty information and upon the wrong house.

If you put yourself in the position of a man or woman who is woken up at 4 AM to several men breaking down their front door and rushing into their home, you can see there's precious little time to figure out what is going on or what to do about it.

Hey all!

Finally got around to testing the terminal effects of the M1 Carbine. Unfortunately I don't have any FMJ military style ammo yet, but I thought it would be cool to see what it did with SP ammo in a self defense kinda role.

For our volunteer baddie I soaked some small pieces of printer paper in water for an hour and then firmly packed a hostile coffee can with it, until it was full to the top. Then I covered it with eight layers of denim to simulate clothing.

The results were a little surprising. I was expecting six, maybe eight inches of penetration, and to recover the bullet.

It exited the can. I only fired on it from 50 feet though, which is still a respectable self defense range, but I am lookin forward to trying some farther shots when the chance arises.

I fired two rounds at it, the first looking to strike rather high, so I compensated and fired the next one lower. It still hit high enough on the can.

Here's the thing. I am not sure if the first round popped the back end of the can open, because I didn't see it happen, and the can hardly reacted. It looks that way though. On the second hit, the lid of the can popped right off, paper spilled out, and blew out the back end of the can. It looked pretty nasty.

Here's the pics. Click on em to enlarge.



Our entry wound up there, along with the thickness of denim I used in the test.


There's a side view of our tango, with the full effect of the bulging and flap that blew open


Exit wound is about 1 inch in diameter.


The wound channel in the can. it is just shy of two inches in width and runs the length of the can.


There's a round, some of the paper showing denim that was blown into the can, and a piece of the jacket. Since blue jeans isn't a natual occurance in the human body, the surgeons would have some fun removing that. The copper piece of jacket says the round expanded violently, which explains the pressure signs and wound channel. It's impressive that it retained enough weight to completely penetrate the can!

Well...There's a quick and dirty non-scientific test if ever there was one. It sure doesn't look like using the 30 Carbine in combat is anything to worry about, with SP ammo anyway!

The Carbine is here!

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've had a ton to do, and I've been neglecting the old blog. I know we have some new readers, so I'll be trying to keep the place interesting.

My M1 Carbine showed up today, so that's what I'll talk about. It doesn't hurt that I LOVE it. Great little gun. Light, handy, and easy to get on target fast.

The .30 Carbine round is a snappy little sucker, but it sure isn't a rifle's recoil. Getting back on track after the first shot is easy as pie.

Accuracy is very decent from a 60+ year old warhorse. I fired a few rounds this evening at mixed ranges from 30 to 100 yards, and scored plenty of hits. The little round seems potent when it impacts as well, with soft point ammo at least.

It's surprising just how compact the weapon is, at not even 36" long and weighing about 5.5 lbs.

The sights are a rear aperture and front post protected by two wings. The aperture slides front and back, with notches for 100, 200, 250, and 300 yards. It is also adjustible for windage.

So far my only complaint is that the sights are hard to pick up on in lower light...Happens with all apertures, but this one takes a little less than say, the Garand.

Anyway...Here's the pics!





The little carbine next to her big sister, the M1 Garand rifle.



Ammo comparison, from left to right: .30 Carbine, 7.62x39mm (SKS, AK-47, Etc) and 5.56x45mm Nato (M-16, Etc)

Ruger 10/22 "Tommy Gun"

Something I found on the CGN board...This was done in the US. It's a Ruger 10/22 with real Thompson parts grafted onto it. I don't know the details, but it would be Canada legal...

And I want one!!!

M1 Carbine for self defensive use

Since I mentioned that I scored an M1 Carbine in yesterday's post, I figured I would talk a bit about that tonight. For anyone not familiar with it, the M1 Carbine was a .30 caliber rifle firing a pistol like cartridge, feeding from a 15 round magazine, and it was meant to be issued to soldiers who couldn't work with the cumbersome M1, like truckers, artillery crews, officers, etc.


The carbine saw widespread use in the Second World War, the Korean War and early in the Vietnam war. It was very popular among paratroopers for it's light size. Along the way though, it attracted somewhat of a negative reputation, both justly and unjustly.

The first problem was a lack of stopping power. With .30 caliber ball ammo it fired a 110 grain FMJ at almost 2,000 FPS. With no expansion, it tended to overpenetrate. The bullet tumbled of course, and that would have caused a great deal of damage. The problem was, it would only begin to tumble after penetrating 20 cm (9 inches) of gelatin, or in this case, enemy soldier. By then it had probably already exited the enemy and kept on trucking. This became especially well known in Korea, when it was said that the round could not penetrate the thick down filled coats worn by Chinese infantrymen, or it penetrated without enough power to knock them down.

The second problem also became evident in Korea. The rifle had problems working reliably in the frozen climate there.

I've read firsthand accounts of veterans claiming to have seen down blowing out the back of a Chinese soldier's coat as he was shooting him, so I don't think penetration would be a problem, even if the round had slowed down to 1400-1500 FPS. The 7.62x25mm Tokarev pistol round at the same velocity is a fearsome penetrator and shreds Class II armour without a hitch. But if the round lacked killing power, then it would have exited the body of the enemy without dealing a lethal blow anyway, so I think the penetration myth is false.

One reason for the reduced stopping power and decreased reliability of the gun might be that ammo in stores from the Second World War had been loaded weaker because of the tropical climate in the Pacific Theater. This coupled with the cold in Korea could really be enough to slow down the round, and not give the weapon the power it needed to cycle the action properly.

So why do I think the M1 Carbine would be very effective for defensive use? It's rather simple.

No one says we need to use ball ammo. We can load it with whatever we wish.

Given soft point rounds, the bullet inflicts a very nasty wound. It mushrooms to .56-65 of an inch and makes a very large temporary cavity. Some pistols might do more, but they are not as easy to use as accurately, under stress...They are slower to aim, and slower to produce follow up shots.

A full sized rifle has the same problem, as does a shotgun. The rifle also suffers from overpenetrating. Rounds will go through the bad guy, through your house and God only knows where after that. The shotgun, loaded with buckshot, severly hampers your effectiveness at ranges past 25-30 yards or in making any shot where accuracy might be a factor.

The sights on the carbine are a very fast to focus aperture set, and the rifle has very little recoil, letting you fire multiple shots into the same target quicker than with heavier recoiling rounds.

I think an AR-15 would be about ideal, but if you don't have one, or you would like a piece of history, I think the M1 Carbine is fine for the job!



Here's the carbine firing a round into water jugs, in an image taken from the Box O' Truth website...I wouldn't want that going on inside my torso!

Well, at least someone finds me interesting...

Too bad it's the Government!

I knew it had to happen sooner or later I suppose. I think I have been red-flagged by Big Brother as a "person of interest".

I bought a non-restricted M1 Carbine (barrel lengthened a whole half inch to comply) and I tried to complete the transfer today. Usually this is really easy. Call, give my personal info, and the gun is mine.

Today they told me it had to be sent to the Surete (Quebec provincial police) for approval before it could be transferred, and they informed the gentleman I bought it from not to give it to me.

How did this come about? Well here's my theory.

In late November I sent off some money to buy a Tokarev pistol. The company I bought it from went on a month long vacation in mid December before my purchase was processed. Now, as of around Christmas a new law started being implimented. They wanna see proof of membership of a gun club before you can even take restricted firearms home now.

So, when the company went back to work in January, I ended up kinda screwed. The Surete called me wanting to know where my proof of membership was...I didn't know I would need to be a member of a gun club to buy the pistol. Why not? Because that was never a rule!

So the club I shoot at as a guest hasn't replied to my letters and I end up shafted, and shell out $130 to get a membership elsewhere. I get my card today, so I am a full fledged member.

Hopefully I can straighten this out tomorrow.

I'll tell everyone something right now though. In Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and many more cities in Canada, criminals are buying unregistered illegal guns from other criminals. So when some kid ends up getting shot by some druggie, we can all remember they spent all this time looking into me and other gun owners with no criminal record, and over $1,000,000,000 has been spent to keep law abiding people in check.

Long live the Garand!

A poem I found that I would like to share with everyone.

Do you wonder why that rifle

Is hanging in my den?

You know I rarely take it down

But I touch it now and then.

It’s rather slow and heavy

By standards of today

But not too many years ago

It swept the rest away.

It’s held its own in battles

Through snow, or rain, or sun

And I had one just like it,

This treasured old M-1.

It went ashore at Bougainville

In Nineteen Forty-Three.

It stormed the beach at Tarawa

Through a bullet-riddled sea.

Saipan knew its strident bark,

Kwajelein, its sting.

The rocky caves of Peleliu

Resounded with its ring.

It climbed the hill on Iwo

With men who wouldn’t stop

And left our nation’s banner

Flying on the top.

It poked its nose in Pusan,

Screamed an angry roar

And took the First Division

From Chosin Reservoir.

Well, time moves on

And things improve

With rifles and with men,

And that is why the two of us

Are sitting in my den.

But sometimes on a winter night,

While thinking of my Corps,

I know that if the bugle blew

We’d be a team once more.

Type 97 to be imported this summer?

It's looking that way!

Some dealers have been talking about it on the CGN Forum and while it is not a sure thing yet it does sound promising!

The Type 97 is an export version of the PLA's current issue infantry rifle, the QBB-95, only chambered in 5.56x45mm. You can read more about them here and here. Supposedly, the rifle has already seen it's first action, with the Chinese contingent in Haiti.

It does look crude, but it's the only bullpup in town, and it's going to be priced to compete with other 5.56mm restricted class rifles, at hopefuly $600-$800 bucks. Half the price of an AR, and just maybe we can get a non-restricted version too...there is a longer barreled DMR version.