The New Car

It's plain-jane.

But, it's official.  The Boy has selected a back-seat guardian from Build-A-Bear.  I'm not sure the character's name is from "Turning Red" but he has dubbed it "Orange Cat".

It Depends On If There's Bar-B-Que

Which .45 ACP is better?

With the small magazines, the SIG gives up one round to the S&W.

With the large magazines, the SIG gives up two.

The S&W is 0.2 lb. lighter at 2 lb. than the 2.2 lb. SIG with the smaller mags.

They are the same 2.2 lb. when you have 10 shots in the S&W and 8 in the SIG.

The M&P 45C shoots a bit tighter and to the point of aim for me.

The P220 is definitely prettier.

For everyday carry; I'm going to keep packing the S&W.

When I get invited to a BBQ, if open carry is allowed, I'm going to show off the more expensive and attractive SIG.

Soulless plastic is objectively better.

Fuck Mittens

 

I will say it again.

The election of Donald Trump was a symptom not a cause.

The "MAGA world" doesn't care about Donald.  It cares about America and not selling the place out to other nations for peanuts.

We're completely aware that Mittens isn't one of use and actively works at cross purposes to our desires.

We want the freedoms and liberties promised by The Constitution as our birthright.

Cradle to grave welfare from an oligarchy is not part of that promise.

Subversive

Something The Lovely Harvey has not realized about getting the PPV is it's a complete, running, driveline which can be slipped under anything that actually looks cool.

We make a payment to ourselves every month and before too long we've got the money to get a '49 Styleline shell to drop on top of the PPV's mechanicals.

This is the core of hot-rodding.

The Forgotten American Mauser

Everyone forgets the M1917 when talking about US Mauser clones.

It's got a similar genesis as the M1903, "Wow, that 7x57mm Mauser sure was keen!  Let's copy it to replace our current rifle.  But let's change the cartridge... And the... And the..."

The Brits made a lot more changes than we did when copying the Mauser action, but that's what they were doing when making the Pattern 1913.  That became the Pattern 1914 when they decided it wasn't prudent to switch calibers in mid-war (ask Italy and Japan about this and they would agree), but did want more rifles please.  NOW, please.

Once their emergency needs were met, we realized that we didn't have near enough of our primary rifle to be in a war as well.  So the Pattern 14 gets made in .30-06 and viola! M1917.

It's got controlled feeding:

And it takes stripper clips.

Fun fact: Because the magazine well on the P.14 was made to accept five rounds of rimmed .303 British ammo, it can accept six rounds of .30-06, plus one in the chamber.

Brave

FuzzyGeff sends word that the folks who make the Brave browser also have a search engine.

This finely crafted link should detect what browser you're using and tell you how to set your default engine to Brave's.

A Decision Has Been Made

The Lovely Harvey hates it, but it's what you get when you veto too often.

There's just nothing out there that's cool looking and doesn't cost so much I cannot make repairs let alone changes.

The cars which are ready to go, are stratospheric in price.

So I am going for a Camaro SS in Malibu clothing.

A "Chevy" Caprice PPV.

It's really a Holden WM Statesman with some small changes for the US police market.

Except for being entirely and completely bland in the styling department, it checks all the boxes.

V-8, rear drive... safety equipment out the wazoo.

Plus!  Available at a price that leaves room for modifications.  Like changing to a Pontiac G8 console and shifter. 

Something that's kind of cool is recognizing people from the old Impala SS forum on the New Caprice forum.

Fuck Fuck You

 Duck Duck Go has joined the Ministry of Truth.

Old Guns

One of the reasons I packed a S&W Model 59 all fall and most of winter was because you're not going to get that from a Gun Writer™ or any current issue of a Gun Magazine.

Why?

Because the secondary market is real.

There are lots of guns that are still perfectly acceptable for carry that have not been manufactured in years, if not decades.

There are many older versions of current production guns that fit this niche as well.

It is OK to carry an old gun!

You don't need to replace them with the newest hottestness (totally a real word).

What there is an utter dearth of in the Gun Writer™ scribblings is specific holster recommendations.

While guns are expensive, the gun makers are kind of willing to send writers samples.

I don't recall much more than "There are things called holsters, you should get one." from the Gun Writers™.  One specific Gun Writer spent over 400 words saying that!  I guess if you're being paid by the word, you use more of them.

I have a box of holsters around here, but I tend to three kinds.  Two of which were contraindicated by space constraints of The Precious and since that car is dead and gone and will not be replaced...  I should go back to trying the others again.

Horse Pistol

What makes a pistol a horse pistol?

I toss the term about quite a bit, but have I ever really made an objective definition?

The original term is for a large, muzzle loading, pistol that was holstered on the saddle rather than the person.  Saddle pistol is a synonym.  They were typically larger than average in both size and caliber.

The first time I applied it, though, I was talking about the Beretta M9.

The M9 is a very large gun for what it is and what it does.

But it's not that much larger than most other 9mm's.

It feels big.  Larger than it is.  A bit awkward and ungainly.

The SIG P220 doesn't feel like a horse pistol to me, nor does the M1911A1.  The CZ 97B sure does.

 

A Desert Eagle is definitely a horse pistol.  So are N-Frames and Anacondas.

I think it's a bit subjective, but I'm still working on being objective about it.

P220 Range Test

Took my P220 to the range.  Picked up another 8-round magazine for it too.

The first time I've been shooting since I slammed The Precious into the tree.

When you don't use your on-hand for much for a month and a half, you do lose some fine control, and that affects your shooting.

100 rounds later...

I'm a bit wild.

It tends to fire low unless I take a LOT of time to line up the shot.  Since the tritium is completely dead, I think I will get some replacement sights and will consider a shorter front sight.

I am fighting my glasses again too.  I'd managed to overcome that and lack of practice has atrophied the skill learned already.

Looks like more range time is needed.

With a fresh target I tried some Mozambique drills.  I was getting heart, heart throat instead of heart, heart, brain.  That's from fighting the glasses, I've encountered this problem before.

By the end of the 100 rounds it was quite dirty and the slide was noticeably slow when chambering the first round from the magazine.  Only one malfunction and that was me not making sure the magazine was fully seated when I did a "start with the chamber loaded, hammer down" drill.

At the end of the day, I prefer the M&P 45C to the P210 and I'm not even giving up capacity to carry a smaller gun.

The wood stock hits painfully on the second joint of my thumb, but that's not really an issue until about 40 rounds in.  If I were to carry it like I carry my other full-size pistols, in a Miami Classic, there would only be 25 rounds with me.  29 with the M&P 45C...

I Say Again

Read the little paragraph where you're making a comment.

If your comment disappeared without a trace, it's because you did something I mentioned in that paragraph.

The most common reason that your comment did not get posted is you're making an anonymous comment and you didn't include your name at the end.

For example:

McThag, you've got the best blog ever and I eagerly await every update.

Will not be approved.

McThag, I disagree with everything you said and feel that your parents were likely never married.

- G. Random Commenter.

Will be.

This way I can reply to G.R. Commenter by name and try to better make my point or to show that my parents were, indeed, married at the time of my conception.

Armies Travel On Their Stomachs

And logistics is how you keep that stomach full.

But, as Stalin once said, "Black humor is like food.  Not everyone gets it."

That's because the Russians are bad at logistics.

A paraphrase from a German field marshal, "They've destroyed our rail system, how do the Americans plan on supplying their troops if they manage to invade?"  And a bit later, "Who put that road there and where did all these fucking trucks come from?"

There won't be a redball express from Russia because they can't.

Things keep getting more and more interesting and I'm sick of living in interesting times.

1991 Germany VS 2010 New Hampshire

Like most pistols that stay in production long enough the P220 has changed a bit over the years.

So, I took some pictures!  Thanks once again to The Chomps Collection for the loan of the newer gun.

The newer gun appears to have abandoned the heavy-gauge sheet metal construction for the slide.

The Lovely Harvey finds the plastic stocks more comfortable and less "slippy".  She continued to think so even after I mansplained the existence of textures on the 2010 model that she was already aware of.

She prefers the looks of the wood.  It's hard to argue with that!

$100! They're Not Even Leather!

Wooden stocks for a P220 are $85 to $150 depending on what kind of wood you want them made from, with an average around $100.

I wondered why until I took a set off.

That's some pretty elaborate relieving to get them to fit.  Even with CNC I'll bet it's time consuming.

I Am Not Made Of Steel

If you mark a German made .45 ACP SIG P220 down as far as you did, I am going to buy it.

So there!

I don't think it came with the wooden stocks originally.  They're dated April 19, 2007 and the serial of the gun traces to 1991.

The tritium in the sights is LONG dead.

I got a blue 7-rounder and a stainless 8-rounder; but no box, paperwork or gun-lock.  Though I am certain I would have gotten that lock if I'd only requested it.

The double action trigger is a comfortable and smooth 11 lb.  Single action a crisp and consistent 4 lb.

Now I just need to wait for The Boy to get to school and hit the range to see how it shoots.  Assuming I can find some .45 ACP.  One of those ammo boxes must have some in it.  Too lazy to check right now and I'm still not supposed to be moving them around anyways.

Trickling Out

For the people who're saying the Russians sent their B-Team in and are holding the Category A troops in reserve in case they successfully trigger NATO...

We're starting to learn which units were sent.

Not the back-up teams.

Compared To A Real Mauser

Though, maybe not an actual, real Mauser...

It shows all the earmarks of originally being an FN made Venezuelan contract gun it's a Golden State Arms Santa Fe Deluxe Mauser.

At any rate, it does show the similarity to the M1903A3.

Controlled round feeding.

Because it's converted from a military rifle, there's a stripper clip guide, assuming you want to remove the scope to use it.

The bolts are very similar:

The Santa Fe gun has an aftermarket safety so that you can mount a scope.

The NSA Is Fookin' Listenin'!

 We were talking about this with Willard this very evening!

It, in turn was mentioned by The Chieftan's Q&A.

30-06 Comparisons Continue

We're continuing the comparison from this post by adding a Winchester pre-64 Model 70 and a definitely post-64 Model 670.

All three guns came with iron sights.  Of note, though, is while the Model 70 comes ready for scope mounting from the factory, that stock is dropped for the irons.  The 670 has a raised comb that makes you really have to scrunch your cheeks to get down on the irons.

I've compared the 54 to the 70 before.

The pre-64 Model 70's bolt is so very similar to the 54 that they nearly interchange.  As such, it's a controlled round feed design.

Neither gun can be fed from stripper clips.

The 670 is an even more de-contented version of the post-64 Model 70.  As such, it is a push-feed.

What does that mean?

Controlled feed means that the round pops up into the bolt face with the extractor already in the groove.  It is held, and controlled by the bolt and the extractor all the way into the chamber.  You can chamber a round with the gun upside down.

Push-feed doesn't control the round until the cartridge case's shoulder hits the chamber and the extractor clicks over the rim as the bolt is closed.  If you try to chamber a round upside down, the round will fall out of the action.

But you can see how many fewer parts and machine operations are needed to make a push-feed bolt here:

Fewer parts and operations make a gun less costly to make and thus make it more affordable.

Gun writers hated this change to make the Model 70 more competitive with the Remington Model 700, which is also a push-feed design.  I've compared the pre-64 70 to the 670 before too.

The Day The Unbearable Lightness Went Out

Guinness for strength.  Jameson for courage.

 

It has been ten years since Lex crossed the threshold.

It does not seem that long.

Today I really feel like I need the courage more than the strength.

We miss you, Lex!

Sure Doesn't Look Like It

Is the Russian Air Force Actually Capable of Complex Air Operations?

I remember that the Soviet Mig-27 pilots were pretty shit-hot in the way back days before Gorby admitted defeat.

That was then...

It makes me recall something I've thought of before.

Combat experience is ephemeral.

Think about it.

The US went from fighting, and winning, a global scale war to being unable to stop North Korea from taking over all but Pusan just under five years later.

What happened to all that institutional knowledge?  Why was it forgotten so quickly?

The good news, for South Korea anyways, our way of doing things allowed the knowledge to be recreated and recovered fairly quickly.

It's a system that requires some dedicated core cadre of professional, career, NCO's and officers.  They carry the torch to the fire and at least know the theory of what they're trying to do and have read that it used to work.

The Russian system consists entirely of short-timers below middle management officers.  There's no core cadre to carry the flame, so everything they learn is lost as soon as the soldiers who know it leave the service.  The career officers are far more focused on their career than war fighting, because war fighting just doesn't come up all that often.

Oh and conscription is inferior to an all volunteer force unless you just want a wall of cannon fodder.

Vietnam was where we learned that hard lesson.  We weren't getting the level of performance from our Army we wanted because the troops were short timers from day one and we rotated individuals in and out rather than units.  And many other mistakes we don't tend to make any more.  There's books on this.

Books that, apparently, have never been translated into Russian.

Nothing says that they won't learn on the job and quickly; but they're starting behind the curve and the Ukrainians are inside their OODA loop.

God Must Love It

If nature abhors a vacuum, why is there so much of it?

Likewise, noting that how much of the universe consists of nothing, God didn't really make all that much percentage wise.

Welcome!

Three people from Finland have visited this humble blog in the past day!

This is the first time I've noticed visitors from Finland, even with all the Finnish Mosin content.

Welcome!

For The Grand Daughter Fleetwood

 

Stolen From Irish

FREEDOM!

Though it's hardly a comprehensive listing...

We Have So Many New Houses Around Here

It reminds me of:

Faster Than I Can Type

The 12 year old Verizon stuff has been removed and brand new Frontier shit has been added.

It's quick.

Tests about 50% rated speed while watching a video from YouTube and Sling in the living room.

As Similar As Different

The Winchester Model 54 and Remington M1903A3 have a lot in common and many differences.

 

They look quite different with one being a full-stock military battle rifle, the other being a sporting gun.  Both are in God's Own .30-06.

Both have controlled round feeding.

L: M190A3 R: Model 54

Model 54:

M1903A3:

Both have 5+1 capacities and can be loaded from stripper clips.

Model 54:

M1903A3:

Both guns are clearly influenced by Mauser.  The M1903 to the point of having to pay for patent infringement to the losers of a war.

The bolts are different.  The ejector locations are not the same and there's no safety lug on the Winchester.  The safeties work the same, but the Winchester has a shorter throw thanks to an aftermarket upgrade to clear a third-party scope that's no longer present.

Weighty Decision

Let's be honest with ourselves.

Many of us aren't in peak physical condition, like every gun writer clearly must be.

Why do I say this?

Because of how stylish appendix inside waistband carry is.

It just doesn't work with a big ol' gut hanging out over your belt, does it?

Happily there's lots of other options, but they don't get much press, do they?

It's Complicated

My opinion of law enforcement is complicated.

On one hand there are admirable people doing a job that needs done in an exemplary manner.

These are the people who run to the sound of conflict and make peace without exceeding their mandate or trampling on their fellow citizen's rights.

There's not much one can say beyond, "Good job!  More of this, I hope you're promoted to leadership."

I do not support the defunding of the police.

On the other hand are the bullies.  They are why I demand a reformation of the police.

The empty uniforms that demand respect because they're wearing it.

The person will advocate for and enforce laws which are patently unconstitutional.

The person who's interactions with the public make the public distrust the cops as a whole.

For professional law enforcement to work in a constitutional republic where The People are the sovereign entity, the relationship must be... MUST BE! a partnership.

Sir Robert Peel put it very eloquently, “The Police are the Public; the Public are the Police. The Police are paid to give full time attention to duties that are incumbent upon every citizen in the interest of community welfare and existence.” 

The police I hate are the ones who think that they, exclusively, are the arbiters of the duties incumbent.  They believe that the public has no role to play in the interest of community welfare and existence.  Despite the fact that THE PUBLIC is the community entire.

This inversion is something which should enrage you as a member of the public.

The police, as a whole, look to their own interests first and the interest of the community is a tertiary, at best, concern.

One need only look at their opposition to any expansion of gun rights over the past fifty years.

Officer, you want me to respect you and be on your side when someone calls you a pig, you're going to have to be on my side when the community's interests conflict with your desires.

Your desires are supposed to be secondary to the interests of the community.

Look to why they call you a pig rather than the fact they did.  Fix that if you can.  Punishing someone for saying it is forbidden by the constitution because when you put on that uniform YOU ARE THE STATE and not an individual.

In short, learn your place.

You are subservient to the community and the citizens, not the other way around.

303 Day

A 106 year old rifle for three oh three day.

Or is that three* oh three* day?

Found The Problem

The Lovely Harvey's job consists mainly of teleconferences.

Because she splits between her mom's and here, it's imperative that the internet be robust.

Ours has been spotty and I have finally exhausted all of the possibilities that it's on my end.

Frontier did all their remote testing and discovered that my router is the culprit.

Ever since Frontier bought out Verizon FIOS in my area I was officially a 50/50 mbps customer, but was throttled by the legacy Verizon router, that has just become unreliable, to 25/25.

They offered me a new one.  But that would make it the fourth router of this model I've had since they took over.

If I upgrade my speed I will cease being a legacy customer and actually get the speeds promised.

For a net $5 more a month I can get 500/500 speeds.

They get here Saturday to do the upgrade.

Cowboy Stew

4 Slices bacon, chopped
2x 12oz packages of kielbasa, sliced 1/2” thick
1 lb. Hamburger
1 white onion, diced
2-3 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbsp flour
1-1/2 tsp chili powder
1x 14.5 oz. Can petite diced tomatoes
2x 16 oz. Baked beans
1x 7 oz. Can chopped green chiles, undrained.
1x 15 oz. Can sweet corn, undrained.
2 large russet potatoes, chopped into 1/2” cubes.
1 cup water.
Parsley for appearance
Salt and pepper to taste.

Crisp bacon, set aside.
Brown kielbasa in bacon grease, set aside.
Brown burger with onion, add garlic at end.
Add salt, pepper, flour and chili powder.  Stir and cook 1 min.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

I change the baked beans to Bush's medium chili beans and skip the extra water and parsley.

It's verra nice!

Hans? Polen? Ja?

 

 German is an amazingly concise language at times...

"Hey there, Hans, wanna get the lads together, arm up and invade Poland?" translates, accurately to, "Hans, Polen, Ja?"

Losing Hearts And Minds

There was a story that came across the transom when I still had my real-name Facebook account.

It seems that a cop noticed that the customer name section of his receipt said, "PIG," when picking up his lunch.

Said cop complained to the Fraternal Order of Police and they called up the business owner who fired the employee on the register.

I commented at my real-name Facebook account that sure was going to win the person who already hates cops over.

A meatspace friend (who works at the next county over's sheriff's department) excoriated me that I never had to worry that my food would be fucked with because of how I was dressed.  And besides the person who did the PIG was prolly someone who got arrested for "didndunuffin" and was nursing that grudge for being busted.

OK.

Folks who knew me back when might remember that I was third generation biker.  I was also a punker in the midwest in the late '80's.

I am certain my food order was adulterated more than once because of how I looked.

The difference is that the cops did not care, or if they did they supported the people who'd spit in my sandwich.

I've never been a "day person" and when you look different at 0300 you get extra attention from law enforcement.

I've been amazingly law abiding since I separated from The Army, and I DO hold a fucking grudge against law enforcement for all the time I spent waiting for them to discover there was no crime to associate with me.  I was literally not doing anything when I was selected by law enforcement for attention.

But!

Siccing the FOP on a burger flipper to get them fired is exactly the wrong thing to do if you want that person to stop writing "PIG" on receipts.  Even if they were holding a grudge from an earlier conviction, getting them fired will not ease that resentment.

Good work, officer unfriendly and your multi-million dollar bully organization.

You've cemented the hate and it might provoke a stronger response than an insult later.

Law enforcement needs a much thicker skin than they display of late.

I have not even touched on the idea that an agent of The State has demanded the speech of a citizen be restricted because it hurt their precious feelings.

Officer, you could go find a job doing something productive.  Something where generations of assholes and bullies haven't created a general resentment from people who want nothing more than be left alone to be odd.

Paging Technomad

Reader and meatspace friend Technomad is a fan of autogyros and Stanley Steamers.

The Stanley was actually quite influential, just not on the world of cars...

Enjoy the vid!

Good News

Better that it'd never gotten to this point, but...

It appears that at the end of the proceedings, there will still be a National Rifle Association.

It also appears that Wayne La Pierre and cronies will be getting the bulk of the punishment, or at least they've shifted to be the main focus of what's going on.

As it should be.

They're the assholes that fucked the place up, they should be the ones who're punished for it.

Better and more detailed analysis here and here.

I was genuinely shocked that the charges that New York brought had merit.

That shock has grown to outrage at the people responsible for shepherding the organization for the benefit of the members, including my life membership holding ass.

BEBoG Finally Tally

I got reminded of the WWSD v BEBoG aspect that never got accounted.

James Reeves of TFB reminded me by doing a review of the Civil Defense Rifle version.

For the record, it's $1,699.99 for the WWSD, $1,249.95 for the CDR and $585.91 for BEBoG.

He's getting 2" or so at 100 yards.

What a coincidence!

That's what I'm getting with a PSA upper.

Admittedly, I had to retorque the barrel-nut, but that's cheap and easy.

I am having a bit of trouble seeing what I get for the extra $668.04 on the CDR, especially since I can make a complete spare gun for the difference.

Connectivity Problem

I'm getting internet in dribs and drabs last few days.

The ice cream is still free, there's just not as much flowing out from my keyboard.

I think it's just my house, the 'Rents and Marv appear to be unaffected.

Chrome works a bit better than Firefox, which doesn't help on the Ubuntu machine.

Until the issue disappears as suddenly as it appeared, you're definitely getting what you're paying for here.