BarryinIN

The match director let me use my suppressed 77//22 in silhouette. He shouldn't, but he did. I guess with the heavy Anschutzs and 20 or 40x scopes, I'm not exactly gaining an advantage on them. Indiana let us use suppressors to hunt starting last hunting season. Nobody did anything evil that I heard about, despite predictions of treachery. Just yesterday, IN DNR decided against allowing "high powered rifles" for deer. We can use some handgun caliber rifles (basically .357 Mag through .454 Casull, although some short bottleneck cases like the .458 SOCOM and some WSSM wildcats make it). Being allowed any rifle at all is fairly new- maybe ten years or so The reasoning against regular rifle calibers is they travel too far. Yet, we can hunt coyotes, fox, groundhogs, etc with anything. OK then.

Yay. That looks nice.

It's here. I've read conflicting reports on eye relief with this scope. I tried it un mounted and didn't see a problem, but when holding it in the hands, it's easy to move the scope without knowing it. This will be one of the first things I check after its mounted. Thats down the list of priorities right now. I have a carbine class this weekend and have ammo to load and guns to clean.

Passed the 5,000 round mark today. I was on pace to get there long ago, but got sidetracked. Anyway- Still happy.

Nice. I've wanted a S&W 17 for almost 40 years now and a 617 since they came out. The closest I came was owning a 17 for a day. (Bought at a pawn shop...first cylinderful split every case...returned...he found what I expected, that some genius rechambered it to .22 Magnum.). Sad, sad story. Sniff. That 617 with the old small grips should fit pretty small hands if they need it. If you need them and can't find a set, let me know.

SWFA came out with a new 1-4X scope last November. It's a different scope than the 1-4X they had, and at $399, costs half as much. http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-1-4x24-Tactical-30mm-Riflescope-P78365.aspx It has an illuminated reticle, though the reticle is a different design (that I like better) than their other 1-4X. They ran a Black Friday special for $299, and that was too much for me to resist. I've been happy with the SWFA 10X scope I've used on different rifles. This new scope looked at least as good, and maybe more useful. The sale proved to be a popular deal, and they were sold out by the time I gave in and ordered on the last day of the sale. Backordered. That was Dec 1. I got my shipping notice yesterday. I'll let you know what I think when it gets here and I give it some use. I think it will go on a Colt AR (6920).

We should get a tax deduction for buying them. Saving hearing-related health costs, you see. Being able to buy them is a blessing and a curse. I don't know anyone who has bought just one. It's a slippery slope. You start looking at every potential new gun purchase and asking yourself how it will be with a suppressor.

I kid you not... Shooting a .22 this morning. Heard a POP instead of a BANG. Smoke came out of every gap in the gun. I look in the ejection port and I see this: Twice in one week.

From Liberty Cans (suppressors): $10 here: http://libertycans.net/product/key-chain/

All I got was a very mild powder peppering on my left hand due to my hand being by the LH ejection port after releasing the charging handle. Thinking and remembering it later, I was present when an M1A had an out of battery discharge (but didn't actually see it happen) and have seen the results of a few with ARs. All of those guns had really obvious damage. This Beretta did not. Granted, I'm unfamiliar with the Beretta and may not recognize when pieces are broken or missing, but nothing was obvious. The owner is new to the rifle couldn't find anything except that small piece of mystery metal floating around. I'm not saying the Beretta is stronger or safer in this regard. I'm saying situations can differ in these events. I think part of what helped here was that the cartridge fired WELL before being fully chambered. The barrel design uses a barrel extension with locking lug collar similar an AR, and the blown case head was stuck out at least 1/8" from this extension. Enough of the case body was unsupported that it had ballooned out to fill the lug area before bursting. That no doubt lowered the pressure a lot by delaying the big boom. And this is why we keep the muzzle not just downrange, but pointed at a backstop.

I shot one today. More on that careful choice of words later. A buddy bought one recently and showed up with it when I crawled out to the range today. I thought they felt awkward before, but this one felt fine. I think the forend has changed. I was curious how they did the switch from RH to LH ejection. It's pretty simple once you can see it all. The extractors are self-sprung. They are in T-slots machined into the bolt so they can slide fore and aft in the bolt. (Not to work as extractors, but to work or not work according to RH/LH). They are held in normal position by a coil spring on each. You can push them forward from behind the bolt. Whichever position the LH/RH selector is in, it will contact one extractor when the bolt moves back. That stops the extractor and the bolt continues on for that last 1/8-1/4 inch of travel. That more or less disengages the extractor on that side. With a central ejector, that lets the case pivot out in the selected direction. It works simply enough, but it's hard to say how it will hold up. I would be most concerned about it being unable to eject a case until that last bit of bolt travel and how easily the travel could be fouled by a problem with either extractor. Anyway...He offered to let me shoot it, and I accepted as usual. I locked the bolt open, planted my straight trigger finger outside and above the trigger area, pointed it downrange, seated a mag, released the bolt, andBANG!Hot stuff peppers my left hand, ammo and magazine parts fall to my feet, and poop was expelled by the two of us. Out of battery discharge (OBD). I am 98% sure it was his handloaded ammo. I found several high primers in the ammo I picked up. We did find one loose piece of metal upon disassembly. It looked like it could have made a fine firing pin. I'm obviously not familiar with the internals of these, but couldn't find a place where it could have broken from. I'm guessing it was left behind in manufacturing. Still, those primers were seated high. It is nice to know the upper receiver didn't blow apart. I haven't witnessed it happening, but have seen one AR upper that was peeled open by an OBD. I wouldn't have gotten the light peppering if not for the LH ejection port and the charging handle being located right there. So there. I've now fired one. I've yet to pull the trigger though.

I have a Ruger Bearcat, which works fairly well for this. It's one of the older ones with an aluminum alloy frame, so it doesn't weigh hardly anything. That light weight helps some people a lot. People tend to shoot too fast, so the single action helps naturally slow things down a bit also. If if you can find one, a used S&W 34 or 63 would be nice. That's the J-frame six-shot .22 with adjustable sights. Either of these have small enough grips to work with kids. With the S&W, progressively larger grips can be used as they grow.

http://www.ruger.com/products/mini14TacticalRifle/models.html Ruger Mini-14 Tactical Rifle Now Available in 300 AAC Blackout April 22, 2015 Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce that the Mini-14® Tactical rifle is now available in 300 AAC Blackout. This newest version of the Mini-14 rifle features an optimized gas port that reliably cycles with both supersonic ammunition and subsonic ammunition when a sound suppressor is installed. The rifle weighs approximately 6.75 lbs., features a 16.1", 5/8"-24 threaded barrel with a 1:7 twist rate, and is supplied with two, twenty-round detachable box magazines. "This is an exciting addition to the Mini-14 rifle line," said Ruger CEO Mike Fifer. "The ability to run the wide range of ammunition available, from suppressed subsonics to unsuppressed supersonics, broadens the versatility of the timeless Mini-14 rifle. With its solid reputation for reliability, the new Mini-14 Tactical rifle is an obvious choice for those who want an autoloading rifle chambered in the 300 AAC Blackout," he added. The Mini-14's cold hammer-forged, medium contour, alloy steel barrel and receiver feature a matte black oxide finish. The 16.1", 5/8"-24 threaded barrel comes with a Ruger® flash suppressor, which can be removed to attach sound suppressors or other threaded barrel accessories. The rifle's stock is made of a rugged and durable glass-reinforced nylon. The two, twenty-round steel magazines provided with the rifle are laser engraved to clearly identify the rifle's chambering.

It looks like there was more going on this year. I've seen mention of extracurricular shooting events off-site that didn't happen last year. Also, there were some exhibitors that weren't at last year's show. I have clearance to go again next year. It's only about a two hour drive.

2015 Annual Meetings in Nashville. Expected attendance: 70,000 Actual attendance: 78,695. Second highest ever. Moms Demand Action opposition rally: approx 150, including children and pets.

I've not seen or heard any substantiated figures, but my guess is the $5,000 number is, if anything, low. The unsubstantiated number I've seen is $8,000 msrp. My honest guess would be somewhere in the middle. Call it $6,500 msrp, and real world price of maybe $5,500 or so. If if anyone really wants one, I'd start buying links now. The 5.56 links are not as plentiful as .30/7.62, and priced accordingly.

Nice

In my excitement, I missed they aded an entire series, the AccuPower line. It's basically the AccuPoint scopes using battery illumination instead of tritium and fiber optic. Some different reticle choices, including at least one BDC. And they are cheaper than AccuPoints.

They're killing me. I have two TR24 1-4x AccuPoints and love them. Topping out at 6x might be nice at times, however. Many have been asking for a 1-6x version of their AccuPoints for years. Last year at the NRA show, I asked them about that. He pointed to the VCOG and said that's the 1-6. Well it's another year, and they have a 1-6x AccuPoint out: the TR25. Its available with more reticle choices than they've had in any AccuPoint model has had before. It it looks like it will run around $400 over the 1-4x, so anywhere from 1200 and up real world price. That's about what 1-6xs with illum run. The other new AccuPoint is the 2.5-12x42 TR26. That retails for around $1400, so I'd expect around $1100 "street price". https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product3.php?pid=TR25-C-200090 https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product3.php?pid=TR26-C-200110

Or, the Sarah Brady Memorial gun. No word on price, but I'd guess it's at least $500 or so. Times ten. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/04/foghorn/breaking-fnh-usa-releases-new-guns-including-semi-auto-m249-m4-m16/ The NRA ought to give one away with each life membership sold during the show. Wouldn't that be...interesting?

Well, ok, new to Remington. I guess nothing is new. I have the book "Automatic Arms" by Melvin Johnson (Johnson rifle). After reading about a quarter of it, I decided there haven't been any truly new firearm designs since about 1925. That book is back in print BTW.

New design, not an altered R51. The RM380. http://empty-cases.com/blog/remingtons-rm-380/

That is disappointing, and it's not even mine.

The rumors for the single stack nine are getting stronger. At least they are coming from places like holster makers and not "some guy". Maybe it will happen after all. We even have dimensions posted out there. http://concealednation.org/2015/03/introducing-the-glock-43-glocks-very-first-single-stack-9mm/ It looks like it's a little larger than a Kahr P9. And slightly heavier. And holds one less round. Not that any of that will slow sales. The story is Glock waited until after SHOT for the announcment because they wanted to have a few million ready to ship. This made me remember that Glock used to just ship guns then talk later. My local shop had the G26 and G27 months before they were actually announced. Things seemed to have reversed.

Glock is making a big fuss over this with a countdown clock to a live web TV announcement. It's probably nothing. New grip texture. Accessory barrels. Narrowing the rear sight white outline by .001". I can almost guarantee its not the single stack 9mm or carbine unicorn guns people have predicted from them since about the First World War. But if anyone is already shaking with anticipation: http://glock.yourbrandlive.com/?utm_sour...=g43live-social