The smell of Rifle smoke in the morning. MMMMmmmm!!!!!!!!

Ah!!!! I love the smell of Hoppe's #9 in the afternoon. Going to the range is, for me, something of a therapy session. Hoppe's is something akin to aroma therapy. And the two combined really do a number on my mental state.(for the better obviously. LOL I am sure that there are some Libtards out there that would be highly concerned about that statement.)
So With the last week or so of CONgressional BS I needed some recoil therapy in the worst way. I had a great excuse too. I had made a new rear Aperture sight for the PSL that needed tried out. I have a gaggle of pictures of the process from the foam mold to the finshed product but I am only going to post the end result as they are large files. Dial up be warned.

Here is the sight as it is mounted now. I did quite a bit of measuring and calculating angles, thread pitch, Detent arrangements, etc etc. I also did a lot of double checks and made the foam casting three times before I was satisfied with it. I used a primitive Charcoal furnace to melt the aluminum. The green sand was made from fine sand, Diatomaceous earth and used motoroil. It smoked quite a bit but the casting was nearly perfect. It could have been even better if I had let the melt get a bit hotter, but I am not complaining at this point.(in all actuality, I am stoked. More on that in a moment)
So here is the end product from two angles. It isn't pretty but it doesn't need to look like DaVinci designed it so long as it works.



And Oh Boy does it work. I started at the 50 yard line to sight in as I hadn't a clue how "off" this sight was. My boresighter took a dump and is about 3 degrees off (and has since been used only as a toy to bug the squirrels with) so I was Figuratively shooting from the hip first shot.
And surprise, surprise, I was on paper first string. 3 rounds 4" low right. I had to go smoke I was so Excited. All of that painstaking work, math, scraping, sanding, etc, PAID OFF!

I went ahead and Zeroed there, Set the scope back up and verified its Zero was still in. Then I headed to the 100.

Below is the 100 yard result. Open sights, Homemade Aperture ONLY. (I put the scope back in the bag.) This is a 12" target at 100yards, 20 rounds. Only three fliers off black.(and those are all on me, not the rifle or ammo.)Everything is on Paper.



This rifle has just became much more versatile for me. I have always prefered Iron sights to scopes: I guess its the Marine Corps training for me. Dunno. But its a fact that I do prefer it AND I tend to shoot just as well (up to 400 yards) with Iron as I do with a scope.(My rapid fire with iron is actually more accurate than with a scope)



I will be back on to post observations and thoughts about what I have been hearing from the District of Criminals today. But for now, its Time for Diogenes to do a little celebrating for all the hard work he put into that little bit of metal that worked so well.

Back from the range. :D

Oh man, I forgot how good a 1911 feels in the hand. Everything lines up just right. The controls are right where you want 'em, no silly multiple safeties to worry about. Point, safety, squeeze, BANG! Gotta love it.

Even with my hands shaking at first(too much coffee this morning), Three shots right where I wanted them. Rapid fire with no hitches. Magazines slam home, slide drops, and you are rolling.

John Moses Browning did it right, what else is there to say about the 1911. Glock ain't got a thing on this pistol. :D Enough heft to take the recoil out of it without being overbearing, slimmer than the plastic guns and the lines are just, well, Sexy is the closest word to describe it. Kind of like the lines on a well built Italian sports car are sexy.

Ok, nuff Gun PrOn from me.

She ran through 100 rounds like no ones business and all the way out to 25 yards everything was in the black other than a couple of flyers and those were strictly due to me. $400 EXTREMELY well spent. I have a keeper.

1911 is home. Range next.

Funny thing about that too. I actually was put into Delay status on my NICS check. Rather floored all of us at the shop. I started Joking that Janet Napolitano was catching up to all of us 'bad boys'. I left and went to help my sister out and got the call that all was clear when I pulled into her driveway.

NOW.

Had some people asking what I picked up so here goes.

This link has many better picks than my cheap-o camera could take and it is of the same model. I am a cheap bastard in one sense so I carefully shop around. I had made plans to spend double what I did but after seeing this pistol and getting to play with it a bit, I was sold. We did a quick check of some of the parts while at the store and this unit is spot on to a Colt GI in measurements of things like the extractor,barrel bushing, and firing pin. Aftermarket parts won't be a problem like they would if I had bought a Taurus.

For $400 out the door, I have a Deluxe Model 1911 with several of the higher end bells and whistles. The Skeleton trigger that is adjustable, skeleton hammer, Walnut grips(not plastic or rubber like some) Several of the tuning tricks already done.(throated chamber, Beveled extractor, polished feedramp)

I am really itching to get to a range now. If I hadn't been delayed I would have already gone but having to make a return trip put too much time into today. It can wait till tomorrow. I will post about that then, but I think it will be a blast, pun intended.

China's Market just opened up

and the price of gold started climbing. Over $6 an ounce in less than 1 hour and it is still climbing.

What do they know that our press isn't telling us?

Side note, I am still up but I am heading to bed. Still antsy though. Snow is coming down pretty good and the streets around here are slicker than snot, but the 4 wheel drive on my truck is working perfectly. Yay me.


Will post more tomorrow. Have to pick up the 1911 then I am helping out at my sisters for a bit. Going to try and talk her into going to the range and get some recoil and gunsmoke therapy.

Clear skys, quiet out, D.C. is sleeping.

Over at Western Rifle Shooters Association is a post that leaves me chilled.
At the same time though, new music for me to enjoy(new to me anyway) and I have been an admirer of Mark Knopfler for years.

Been doing some of that recently.

One thing that I did get to do over Christmas at my dads was stretch out the PSL.
One fine rifle. I had a tinge of doubt on the accuracy seeing how the receiver is of stamped steel similar to the AK. We took her and the SKS up in the hills to a mine reclamation for some range time. Very impressed. My Dad and my cousin were too. Of course my dad wasn't at all impressed with the SKS. LOL He likes something that can reach out (IE the PSL) and the SKS was a toy to him. He nick named it the Pea shooter on the way down.

Still, shooting across from one ridge line to the other, the PSL did VERY well. My cousin ranged it at 372 yards. The target was a Large block of soft sandstone with a dark surface about 12" across. After 10 rounds, there was a lighter surface remaining. The Steel core rounds are pretty impressive. I took a couple of Pics but with my camera all you can see is a ridge with some rocks on it.
Luckily for me, the scope mount is proprietary to the Rifle. Both my dad and cousin really liked the set up of the scope with its built in Range finder. Its a bit busy when you first look through it, but once you get the hang of it, becomes quite intuitive. It is calibrated in Meters but that turns into a simple conversion in your head. Bullet drop is already calculated in for a 150gr bullet so dialing in is fast. If it were mounted with Rings, They would have done everything they could to talk me out of it.

All in all, was a good Christmas this year. No major drama, other than the .GOV being what it is. Got to get some quality time with my dad whom I don't see nearly often enough. Managed to completely hurt myself on some damned fine Hill Folk Cooking(more than enough to feed a platoon for three days, and it kept coming) including some homegrown Ham, not that stuff you get in the store. Can't wait to get back there again.(hopefully to stay soon)

Range day after post.

Rifles are cleaned and put up. Magazines reloaded and stored. Hands don't smell like powder or gun oil. Time for the post report.

First up. Romanian PSL

I have some Soft point ammo from when I had the Mosin. I don't want it to go to waste so I figured I would try it (against recommendations) and see how it does.

I was very impressed. Little change in the recoil aspect and WOW are those things tight. The wind was a factor today and while I shouldn't give that as an excuse, if you have ever been in Ohio you know how quickly wind can change direction. I was trying to stay on it with the dials but gave up and started using Kentucky windage. Still, if you look closely at that pattern, you will count 4 holes. Just amazing for cheap ammo.

Next was 5 rounds of the Chech Milsurp that I have. I was spacing these out about 20 minutes apart for the barrel to cool down. I wanted as close to a cold gun as possible, just to see what I can expect out of what ammo. Here is the result of that.(again, the wind sucked or blew I should say.)


The Next 15 rounds were the Chech Milsurp and I wanted to see how bad if at all this barrel strings shots. These were fired about 10 seconds apart in strings of 5. In between strings I waited a full minute.
Sadly that is about what I expected from the way I have seen this barrel whip around in slow motion video. The drop was from the barrel being warm and you can see the way the rounds spread out laterally (and yes there are more holes there but I was flipping the target board over between runs. All were recorded after sessions.)

One thing about this rifle that irks me though it shouldn't is the metric aspect. One click is 10cm at 100m. that boils down to about 3 1/2 inches at 100 yards. I am constantly doing this calculation in my head (and one reason why I gave up trying to adjust the windage). I would really like to get her out to a longer range to see what she can do but that just isn't doable here. (I will stop whining about that now. ) Once I started using Kentucky windage though I started hitting closer to center more consistently. I always have been more of an instinctive shooter (one reason I prefer iron sights.) and with the graduations on the reticle its pretty easy to do on the fly. (one tickmark for 4 inches is much easier than 3.5)

I didn't take any pics of the shooting that I did with the SKS since I was really only shooting her to have fun. Still, a 12" target at 100yards and everything was in the black. She is running a Techsites, rear aperture with a narrow front post. The rear aperture opens the sight picture up 10" from the original sights so in comparison she is quite accurate to other SKS's that I have shot. This is a rifle I would happily take hunting so long as I didn't have to shoot over 100 yards with her. She hits hard enough at that distance to take down a blackbear and recoil is mild enough that follow ups are a breeze. Hollowpoint ammo is pretty easy to acquire for this gun too(I have 500 rounds of it now).

Maybe one day. (need somewhere to store the meat first.)

Back in the Game.

I find it amazing that something so simple as a double shot of vodka mixed with some of my Dad's honey, a super hot shower and a good nights rest and I am back up and running today.

Don't have a clue what hit me but it wasn't good. I didn't have any cold symptoms at all. No sinus drainage, no phlegm in the lungs. Just PAIN.

Seriously, it felt like I had been in a knock down drag out the night before. I haven't felt like that since I was in a bar fight while in the Philippines.

Since I hadn't anything else to do, I took the SKS to the range today. I haven't had her out in several months and felt like having some fun. She is a blast to shoot. It far too easy to put a hundred rounds downrange with that rifle. I did get in some quality practice with my offhand position(standing for those that don't know). I don't care how good you are, that position is NOT easy. I was able to hit paper. That at this point is pretty good in my eyes. I need to get back out and start walking more, get back in some shape that I have slipped on. I may not be overweight but I am not in the greatest shape either. I noticed after a few rounds that my heartbeat was really making a difference in shot placement. My breathing was all off too. The good thing about using the SKS for this, I am familiar enough with her(like an extension of my arm) that I know its not the rifle: Any stray rounds are on me completely.

Well time to clean the old girl, get the smell of gunpowder out of my nose(even though I like that smell) and maybe take a walk. I may call the kid and have her go with too. She needs to get out more. (evil dad grin)

day at home.

Boss is in court today trying to get some nasty people out of one of his apartments. (and by nasty I mean NASTY, bedbug nasty kind of people. Ick!) So we are 'taking the day off'. HA! Like Diogenes ever just sits around.(well sometimes but pretty frikin rare)
Started off the day by putting new shoes on the beastie. Now have a parking brake again. Kinda let that one slide while I was messing with the axles and what not. Was really starting to weigh on my mind though.

So I ended up doing some sitting in front of the PC and messing with VLC and my clips from the range. Using slow motion I was able to diagnose an issue that I wasn't aware of while shooting the 'Dragunov'. A flinch. Nothing to be ashamed of, I know. It is something that I want to correct though. Now I think this one is because I am adjusting to having 1) A scope and 2) that funky eye relief cover on the scope. I have read that others have had issues adjusting to this style of scope and while watching in the slow motion you can see me flinch right as the eye cover hits my face. Its not like this piece can do any harm but getting anything right in the eye socket will make people flinch. I may have to video myself more if only to record my shooting so that I can fix little issues like this. Another tool to use to better myself. (guess I am gonna have to get over being camera shy eh?) It was interesting to note how little the rifle actually rises in recoil though. Much faster recoveries are possible with recoil that manageable. Way cool.

Range trip.

Went again today to the range to finish what I started yesterday. LOL When I get there I realize that my camera is still attached to the PC from uploading Pix. So no pictures for you today.

I did get the final Sight in done on the 'Dragunov' and am quite pleased with the results of that. I won't say I was hitting any clover leafs at 100yds but I did shoot out the center of the target with only 10 rounds. That pretty much means that I am going to hit what I am shooting at. So long as the calibration of the scope is spot on, I would be comfortable going longer ranges with this rifle. Unfortunately I haven't any long range courses nearby available to me to use. Laters I will but till then I know that if I need it this rifle will do the job.

I also took the Marlin 60 with me to set the scope on that one. If you have never shot a .22 semi-auto rifle, You should. These things are fun to shoot, cheap to feed, and did I mention fun? The scope I put on it came from my Air rifle that I have that I never use that much. Its great for running off vermin in the neighborhood but I wouldn't want to bet my life on it. Its a damned fine gun for squirrel but slow follow up as its a break barrel model. The .22 in comparison seems closer to full auto in follow up. As fast as you pull the trigger is as fast as the rounds leave the barrel. I sighted in at 25yds for the .22 and in one magazine had shot the center out of the target completely. I was able to stick my thumb through the hole left behind. Way more fun than I should have been allowed to have on a Thursday morning by myself. LOL Squirrels be warned, I's packin heat!

One thing I do on a daily basis is listen to talk radio. On the way to the range I was listening to Glenn Beck and on the way home Limbaugh.
The level of fascism continues to grow it seems. The last couple of weeks I have been laying off the talk radio as I was starting to get more than a little depressed at the shape of things. The stuff they were talking about is stuff that while it Doesn't concern me directly the implications down the road scare the living hell out of me. I don't want to fight in a war but the way things are looking that seems the only way that we are going to get out of this mess. Bill Whittle of 3XE had the idea, instead of bailing out all of the companies and enacting more legislation why not as a nation pay each of the members of the DC group $1 million to Just Resign. No questions, or pursuit of legal issues: Just go away. Then we hold our own elections for new faces. Nice pipe dream but I don't ever see it happening. The fact that we could get a fresh start for less than a billion dollars would be nice but we are too deep into it now. They started this mess and the whole party has to play the tune until its finished. I only hope we are still around to witness the resurrection of America.

Range report (partially RTWT)

Early morning call to get to the range before everybody and their dog showed up. First time out with the 'Dragunov' and I was feeling my oats this morning. New rifles always make me a bit giddy at first. That initial break in where you and the rifle get to know each other in ways that can't be explained in words. LOL

Well at 9 A.M. I didn't get a whole lot of shooting done. Fact of the matter is that I didn't get much shooting done before 10:30. The sun was climbing over the berm and we couldn't see our targets AT ALL until it had gained some altitude. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay much past 11 A.M. since I had promised my kid that I would watch Granbehbie while she went to school today.

Still I did get in some good shoot time. I started on the 100yd line and realized in about 5 rounds that I needed to move things to the 50 to get on paper. The scope was that far off. I didn't want to blow alot of rounds down range without a spotter. Cease fire and move my dope to the 50 yd range.


Here is where I used the Iron sights to get on paper to align the scope and at least get close.


Here are the first 10 rounds with the scope. You can see where I was walking the impact down from where it was hitting about 5" high and left. I ended up getting it in the 9 ring then moved to the 100 yard line.

Here is what I came up with there. I am not going to say much about it as at first I am not even sure I was on paper. I didn't get to dial it in all the way here as I ran out of time and had to pack it up. I will return soon and get this beastie dialed in the way I like. Having seen the grouping at 50 I KNOW I can make this rifle dance to my tune out to some Seriously long distances.


Now I don't normally post stupid (IMO) videos of myself but I had a request for a video of me shooting. I don't normally do video and don't even have a video editor on my PC so its rough. For those that don't know. I am VERY camera shy. I don't have that vanity in my life so any video of me is going to be quite short and you may not even see that much of me at all.



Political Front.

Not much that I want to cover here though I do want to show my motivating force against the forces of Socialism and those that would like to see the United States to become the Communist Republic of America.

I can't think of a better reason to fight for the Constitution and what this country is SUPPOSED to be.

Laying low. watching the cash flow (away)

Not really that bad this week but I am buying a rifle that is a bit pricey for me so I am laying low to stretch the cash out some. I had planned on doing work on the truck this weekend but the rain has pretty much dashed those plans onto the rocks. I still need to finish getting the axles pulled off the old one and I have a feeling that I am going to be taking a day off this week to make that happen. The winter weather is coming on fast this year. I don't want to get caught in the snow with slipping axles.

Been doing research into the Dragunov styled rifles the last couple of days. Watched a Youtube of a guy shooting one and have to say that I am impressed at how much recoil is absorbed by the cycle spring on this type or rifle; very little muzzle climb in comparison to the Mosin Nagant. No takers yet on the Mosin Nagant either. I may end up having to sell it at a store or take it to a gun show and take a loss on it. I have thought of keeping it but I just can't get around 'not needing three rifles'. I won't give up the SKS since she is just too utilitarian for the environment I live in. I don't really need the Dragunov either but I do want a competition rifle and the SKS just won't reach out to the distances I need for that and the Mosin is limited by the magazine and bolt along with hardware that I can install on her. The only upside of the Mosin is heavier bullets. The Dragunov doesn't like the heavier grained bullets in the soft point class(that I would want to use for animals like deer or larger). I started looking into reloading so that I can get the bullets I want for this rifle. If I start that I will seriously consider going down to one rifle. Till then the SKS stays and I have my hollow points for hunting with that. I don't ever see me shooting anything past 150 yards while in the Appalachians though. Too much cover so no need for the 'big guns' like a dragunov. Now if I move out west or to Texas; well, we will have to see. I would like to get the Dragunov out in the desert to stretch out and see what I could do with it. LOL I am such a shooter geek.

On the Political Front I am going to keep my thoughts to myself for a bit. Too many things have happened, been said, contradicted, etc, etc, for me to be comfortable with the directions we are headed. To wit, I have a friend that is in the same boat and has offered a direction to head if things get really funky. Its greatly appreciated too.

Will someone PLEASE keep me away from the gunshops!?!?

Long story but here is how it started. I had made a comment to someone that if I could find one of these I would happily sell off my rifles.

Well I took my landlord to the range yesterday for his first lesson in handguns. (He did rather well but that's a different story) and the place we went had one. New in the box with all of the toys and gadgets that go with them. And for about $100 less than I have been finding them for on the net. Well after much self torture last night and feeble willful resistance today I broke down and went to the store and put money down on it today.

SOOO!!!!!!! without further Ado.

This,,,, is for sale. I have a scope and mount for her and I can supply a shot record for her for those that want to see the accuracy of her. She is no slouch for certain even if she is nearly 70 years old. I have done Trigger work on her and bedded the stock and that tightened up the grouping a lot. So With all of that I am asking $200 for her. If you are local I can make arrangements. If you are out of state I will have to figure something out. I have an FFL I can go through for that but I would figure the cost of going through that would raise the price far higher than she is worth.

Range trip report.

Back from the range and all the boomsticks are cleaned and restacked. I did something a little different today and took the Beeman R-1 with me to verify it was still zeroed in: it was and even at 50 yards it gives a pretty solid wack to the paper. Fun to shoot and cheap to feed. Always a good combination.

Mosin Nagant 91/59 (Trisha): Went to verify that the scope was holding zero and only shot 10 rounds through her. When I arrived at the range I shot 2 rounds through the scope. I was on paper but not at all happy with the results. I am thinking that I need to reconsider my design for the scope mount. (or get a more expensive scope which is NOT in the cards right now.) SO the next 8 shots were over iron sights. I guess I am just an intuitive shooter. When using Iron I hold a better group than I ever do with a scope. Thats not to say that I can shoot clover patterns but I figure that an 4" group at 100 yards with Iron, beats a 6" group at 100 yards with a scope. I went ahead and pulled the scope mount off while at the range. I won't need it for any hunting that I intend to do around here: maybe if I make it out west or to Texas, lol.

1954 SKS (Gloria): What can I say about Gloria? She is that girl next door that is always there ready to go when you need her. The new firing pin spring did the trick and it seemed she was faster on the recovery than normal. Not one light strike and she cycled through 100 rounds like it was just another day in the park. At 100 yards she is holding that 4" pattern to the point that after about 50 rounds there was this ragged hole in the target that you could see light through. I shifted over to the back up and did the same thing there. Old but reliable. To bad her range is limited to 300 yards. After that the rounds about fall out of the sky. Still using iron sights for her and I have NO INTENTIONS of changing that set up since it works so damned well.

Newbie gun. Phoenix HP22A Compact handgun. Shooting .22LR: Now this little Saturday night special impressed the hell out of me. 25 yard range, cycled about 100 rounds through her and every single round was in the black Rapid fire with this little gun is about as much fun as you can have with your pants on. Again cheap to feed and reliable. This is gonna be the 'fun gun' since 100 rounds of .22LR is running about $7 a box right now. Not much to look at but fits pretty nicely in the hand(even my big hands though the pinky is kinda waving in the wind)well balanced and the sights just fall on the target when pointing down range. This is the way I like my handguns to be. Glocks just don't do what this little gun did right out of the box. The only other guns that Have felt like this are the M&P.40, Colt 1911A1, and pretty much every HighPoint that I have shot. (the exception to the HP's was the .380 and I would imagine that it just wasn't set up right since it is based on the 9mm frame.)


All in all a good day. I do so like shooting the SKS though. Very manageable recoil, reliable when properly maintained, Rugged as hell and VERY cheap to feed in comparison to some of the 'popular' guns that show up at the range.

Sunday Update: Mosin Nagant and range trip

Well I had mentioned that I was thinking of making a mount for the scope. Here is the result of that cobbling. I had the Picatinny rail and some rather unobvious parts. Add together an inkling of Machining knowledge and a good pair of digital calipers and you end up with this mess. lol



I really wish I had a better camera. I would like to get some close ups of the action with the bolt open and how the whole set up lines up on the Receiver.

SO,,, How did I do you ask? Considering I do not have a work shop nor a good work bench(I mounted a vise on my desk LOL)I think I did quite well. I took it to the range today to sight it in and from 100yards I did have to makes some adjustments. I had to bring the scope up about 15 clicks(1/4MOA per click) and right 4 clicks to get on paper after that it was pretty straight forward.

fact of the matter is I am still not a scope guy. It was nice to see some really tight groups out of a 70 year old Military Rifle but I think that I will go back to iron sites. Hunting here in the hills of Ohio(which I wouldn't be able to use this rifle for) and in Kentucky I probably wouldn't be making any shots over 100 yards anyway. If I were to go shoot at Camp Perry I would be using Iron any way so,,,,

Still it was a fun project and I learned some things in the process.

Silver tipped Bulgarian ammo is Corrosive and hella accurate in comparison to the Russian stuff I had been shooting.(kinda figured the corrosive part but you can Really SMELL the difference on this stuff. almost burns you nose when the wind is in your face)

The Muzzle brake on the SKS rocks. I know that the SKS doesn't have much recoil to begin with but this made the little rifle much more responsive. Without a recorded comparison I am going off of my experiences but it seemed to me that I was able to acquire my targets faster since there was less muzzle climb (like near zero!) It looks a bit funny on the end of the barrel but I think that I can get used to it. Heck its not like I actually look at it while I am shooting and I am sure that the deer or zombies will really care if I am shooting them with or without a funny looking rifle. lol

Update: I pulled the whole assembly apart and cleaned and painted the machined parts flat black. I will be taking it back to the range for further testing. Was quite impressed at how well it all stayed tight even with over thirty rounds through her in sighting in.(I really needed a spotter for the initial sight in) All in all not too bad of a job for a 'sporterized' rifle (IMHO)

Saturday Range trip.

Not posting any pics with this post since they were all destroyed by the torrential downpour that brought the trip to an abrupt end. I did take every fire arm I owned though and managed to get in some good shooting up to that point.

The new .40cal did well. It's a cheapy Hi-point but I am not a gun snob so that doesn't bother me. Its shoots. I can hold it in the black at 25 yards on a 12" target and it doesn't jam (I have found that this one does NOT like the squared off rounds like Hydrashok's or Winchester BEB. If the round has a rounded bullet this gun will feed reliably all day long) For the personal protection rounds I am using the Winchester SXZ-P and for range time, any Winchester White box other than the BEB rounds.

After reading Hermits post on the SKS the other day I felt compelled to take the Russians out for a run too. Not much shooting as I am trying to be frugal with the Ammo at this point. I put 40 rounds through the SKS and 14 through the 91/59. The Mosin will really get up and beat on you with that steel buttplate so 14 rounds pretty much did me in at that point. I know when to quit and my shoulder said so on the 14th round. LOL

I really like the 7.6254R round. Great performance at a reasonable cost. My only wish is for a larger range to really see what this rifle is capable of. I would like to get involved in a CMP match at least once (more for the perks of getting a real M-1 or M-14 through the CMP program.) I haven't really been able to open up at that 100 yard line and the longer ranges in the area are getting rather hard to get to or even get in with "knowing someone". Ah well. Maybe when I make my move I can go out to one of the abandoned strip mines and set up a little bit of range that way. Will see.

Belated range report.

Long story short (to start) I love the Guys at the gunshop I frequent. Better customer service couldn't be had.

I ended up returning the M-44 today after work. When at the range I was unable to get that rifle to hold any form of a group. Double and triple checked to make sure that the sights weren't loose, put it in a bench rest for 5 rounds to verify that it wasn't bad form on my part, every single problem solving trick that Myself and a couple of other guys could come up with.
When I came home I went ahead and made a lead casting of the bore to at least get some idea of where we were sitting before I condemned this rifle. Using a micrometer there was less than .001" difference between lands and grooves. Not being one to stop there I took a round from stock and removed the bullet and forced it through the barrel to inspect the rifling directly on a round.

There weren't any.

I took my findings to the shop today and other than refilling out the paperwork they exchanged it for me. We sat around scratching our heads over this one since 'by sight' the barrel looks pristine. The Micrometers don't lie though. That was one worn out rifle. We took an 1891/59 that was on the shelf and made a casting of its bore and compared the two. HUGE difference! .005" more than the casting I had made from the M-44.(I brought home that particular rifle too. Will take it out this weekend.)

I am just glad that I didn't have to pay the "caveat emptor" tax today.
To Mike and Don. Kudos. You have a customer for as long as I live in the area.

Lesson learned, Visuals are not always the truth. Micrometers don't lie and your eyes might.

Stiff and sore.

I guess I am not the young buck that I still think of myself as. Spent 6 days on the jobsite this week and now I am feeling a little beat up. LOL Well its like anything else in this world. It can only make you stronger if it doesn't kill you.

Today at the range I was much happier with the new firing pin and spring set up. I wasn't so happy about my performance but considering how I feel after this week I am not one bit surprised that I shot fairly crappy. No pics but I would say about 50% in the black and all of it on paper.

Had a couple of light strikes that failed to fire. This is easily curable with the old hammer spring. I didn't need it with the old firing pin spring but the new ones are quite heavy in comparison. These old Berden primed cartridges are hard. I sometimes fear using the U.S. made ammo since the primers tend to be quite a bit softer.

I have shot some Remington SP out of this rifle before and it tends to be quite a bit hotter in the load than the Milsurp stuff. It may be age or it may also be that newer powders have more power. I dunno. If the cases were reloadable I would consider reloading and working up a charge I like. The other side of the coin is that this is a rather "cheap" military rifle that was intended for getting rounds down range and not for laser style accuracy. She is more the middle ground between a bolt action and an AK. She's no sniper rifle by anymeans. LOL I sure try to squeeze as much out of her as possible though.

Marksmanship

The Hermit has a post on a book that I haven't read since 1990 when I was on float to Kuwait. Excellent read for those that did and those that didn't/haven't served.

One of the points in the book talks about time on the rifle range. This is a key point to being a Marine. They don't fail you for not shooting expert but they strongly encourage it. The one thing that was noted then (in the book) and was noted in 88 while I was in BootCamp was that the southerners and the 'hillbillies' were more often than not(by a large margin) the ones that took expert.
Why? I think its more that we are more comfortable around firearms than most. We grew up with them and for many of us our first big gift was a firearm of some sort. My first 'gun' was a daisy BB gun and it only grew from there.

Even today I keep either a pump pellet gun or break barrel pellet gun around. They are my 'trainers' for helping teach the basics to new shooters and they reinforce proper habits on veteran shooters. Some may prefer the .22 for this but not me. The pellet 'hangs' in the barrel longer on an air rifle and forces you to hold position steadier for your follow up.

For those that would like a refresher on the basics HERE are some links to an old Army training film. They cover the basics of position, site picture, windage and elevation adjustments, proper shooting technique, calling your shot, and Proper sling usage. (I go back and forth on the sling but tend to use a 'hasty sling' since it does help, especially in the higher powered rifles.) One other advantage of using air rifles for training is in locations. Most cities will frown upon firearms usage in the city limits. With an air rifle you can set up a decent backstop and shoot out to 25 yards and not get looked at funny(well not by the police anyway). 25 yards is fine for getting the basics down and learning to get 'zeroed'. The real training comes in play at the 300 and 500 lines but if you don't learn enough at the 25 you are wasting time and ammo on the others.

An excellent Air rifle for Plinking and Critter control is this one. You can sometimes find them at Wallie world for the same price. Dual caliber .177 and .22 so practice can be cheap and still have the ability to use this on critter control. I use the .177 for target practice as the bullet travel is comparable to a regular rifle and the .177 is dirt cheap. The .22 is powerful enough to take larger game in hunting if you use the right pellets. I haven't personally tried it but one person claims to have killed beaver with this pellet. Pictures say a lot and his are no exception. Cheap practice is still good practice so long as you practice the right things. THE BASICS. This is a great way to stay on top of good shooting and with the right purchases you can get some High quality shooting in for under $200. (side note: For those, Like me, that prefer Iron sights; there is a peep sight for this rifle available that is similar to that on an M1)

One thing I found 'funny' today about that post is that I was looking at a new (well new to me) Long range rifle today. I have been bouncing around on some and keep looking at some of the Communist bloc rifles. (only because of budget not desire) I am looking at this and this. Now I am partial to Semi-automatic and always have been. Both rifles use the same ammo and it is comparable to the .30-06 in range and power(and has the benefit of being available AND relatively cheap) All of this is going to have to wait till I am working again but I can plan now.

Disclaimer. I do not have any affiliation with any of the links posted other than knowing quality products on a budget. I do heartily reccomend them through experiance though.

Range report. (stupid Diogenes)

Well when I came too this morning it was not to a coffee maker or an alarm clock. It was to the crack of thunder. Lovely. NO range trip for now.

Well of course I checked email and read my daily's and surfed the job sites and Craigslist. That took about an hour or so and still RAIN Grrr.

Back to bed. (the only advantage to being unemployed.)

Awoke a couple of hours later to


CLEAR SKIES WOOT!

On to the range.

Cold range not a person in sight on any of them. Range master is taking a nap in the office. DOUBLE WOOT!

Set up my targets and fire off 20 of the wolf black box to warm up the barrel and get her a little fouled. I have found that this rifle likes to be dirty and won't shoot for squat without carbon in the barrel.
First 20 are kinda scattered about but all about 6 inches above center. I expected that and I am trying to get the POI 3.5" above POA at 100m. Thats my Zero for 250m
Ok. Now its time to see if things tighten up.
10 rounds with the Czech ammo.

WTF! 8" target and only 3 on paper and nothing showing a problem (like breathing or trigger jerk.) Now is when I realize that I was stupid. I only brought 10 rounds of each and nothing more. Now I have to move on no matter what.

10 rounds Hungarian.

better. But now everything is to the Right of center and sitting about a 6" pattern.
Grr. Make no changes and move on.

10 rounds of Wolf.
WTF! now I am back on center and high. at least that much is being consistent.

10 rounds Winchester SP

first three rounds. Look down range and don't see anything on the target.

Luckily I am still the only one on the range so I just put a clip in the carrier and walk down to see what the heck is going on.

The target is centered on a 2'X 3' backboard. The three rounds I shot are right on the upper edge of the board and within 1/4" of each other. That's 16" high on center. Seeing the placement I know that this is not me but a setting somewhere on the rifle. Just for giggles I return and shoot dead center bottom of Board. Three rounds.

Dead center of target.

I start to look over the rifle to make sure that nothing is loose or came out of adjustment. Nothing out of whack. Since I mainly shoot the cheap stuff I leave the settings alone and fire off the last 4 rounds.(still kicking myself over that one) By this time there are a couple of guys unloading gear and setting up so I just pull my targets.

I didn't take pics this time since I not only failed to take spare ammo to recheck myself; I also forgot the camera. The targets tear to much removing them from the back board so no pics there either.

Looking on the net it seems that there is a difference of only 2 grains in bullet weight between the milsurp stuff and the Winchester 122v124 but there is also a difference of 2 grains in powder. The Winchester is most definitely hotter. AND newer. the milsurp stuff I have is about 30 years old. It still shoots but it definitely has lost some 'ummph'

After seeing the difference that newer ammo makes to the equation I am seriously considering reloading in the future. Even though I had to give it some Tennessee windage to get on center with the new ammo the pattern was amazing. 7 rounds in the red center and not touching the edges. If I had more of it I would have been able to shoot the center out of that target. Sadly this is not a good time to be considering reloading as a hobby since it has become so much harder to find the components. While I was packing up one of the guys there asked if I had seen any large rifle primers in the stores.

The other aspect of that is I would rather reload something with a more standard case. Like .30-06 or .308 the 7.62X39 case is a bear for primers and bullets.(.310) I do like the way it shoots but I think if I am going to reload I want something that has a little more Range to it.

NOTE: Having seen what the New ammo can do I am perfectly happy with this rifle for hunting. Especially in the midwest were I Highly doubt that I will be making 100+yard shots. Maybe out west there would be a need to upgrade but not here.

Range Trip

Since my last range trip I made a couple of modifications to the SKS. I recrowned the barrel since I noticed that the end was slightly deformed when My Neighbor knocked it off its hanger. I noticed that it had changed in windage but hadn't equated it to any damage to the barrel.
The other modification was in the firing pin though that shouldn't effect the ballistics of the rounds. This mod is only to insure that I don't experience the notorious slam fire that the SKS is known for. I added a spring to the pin also to insure that it returns to nuetral position each time. Sorry, no picks since my camera completely sucks on close up picks. You wouldn't have been able to see anything meaningful anyway.

Goals for this trip. Insure that the rifle is functioning correctly first and foremost.
Second is to shoot 10-20 rounds of each type of Ammo that I have and compare the results. The reason behind this: to determine what type of ammo I will prefer.
I have available Hungarian Milsurp. Czechoslovakian Milsurp and Russian Wolf black box. I Can get any of the three fairly easily though the source comes and goes at times. I know that the Wolf ammo is not the greatest and I hope to prove that the actual milsurp stuff is better even though some of it is nearly as old as the rifle itself.(haven't yet had a Dud round that wasn't caused by me changing things in the rifle. lol )

So off to bed with me so that I can get an early start and get my shooting in before the range gets busy.