NOT a good day as Commander Zero.

Headed out to the range to do a little shooting. Figured I’d take the FAL and the new SKS for a spin. Its about 25 degrees, Im nice and warm in my Flectar field jacket w/ liner, all is good. Load the SKS, safety off, pull the trigger..

Click.

Try again.

Click.

I thought I had degreased these things pretty well, however, I shot them over the summer and they worked fine. No they dont work so fine. It appears the firing pin channel was full of cosmoline/grease that had the consistency of candle wax due to the cold. Grrrrr. Got the other SKS, the one I keep in the truck for emergencies, and tried it… click. Frak! Ok, stomp home from the range in a foul mood. No one in town carries stoddard solvent….typical. Say screw it and just pulled the trigger group, bolt carrier, bollt assy, dust cover and heaved ’em into a pot of boiling water for a half hour. Then hunted the interweb for bolt disassembly instructions. Pounded the freaking retaining pin out of both bolts, cleaned the firing pin channels out with a q-tip, hosed em out with some carb cleaner and then lubed em lightly with some tetralube. I’m gonna go function test them shortly.

Then, not wanting to be left out, the FAL started acting wierd. It would fire, extract, chamber a round but the hammer wouldnt get cocked from the bolt cycling…wtf??? Remove magazine and work bolt manually, no problem. I suspect this has something to do with the magazine…maybe feed lips bent and theyre rubbing against the bolt retarding its rearward movement. It isnt the adjustable gas system since I havent screwed with it since I shot it in August. Will detail strip, clean and oil the thing and then try some different mags as well as opening up the gas system completely and then slowly closing it to find the optimal setting.

All in all, an utterly craptacular day at the range….but its a good thing I learned about this now and not at a terribly inopportune time.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Okay, just back from a little night testing of the 26.5mm HK flare guns.

First off, be prepared for the smell and fun of black powder. Theres some blackpowder-like fouling in the barrels after a couple rounds and it sure smells like black powder. Of course, water and a paper towel cleans it up nicely.

Recoil is about like a midrange .44 Mag or a good .357 Mag. Not unmanageable by any stretch. The less-than-ergonomic handle probably has a lot to do with it. Flares reach a fair altitude of, Im guessing, several hudnred feet and burn out before hitting the ground. The green ones provided a decent bit of ground illumination but they dont have the hangtime of the parachute flares. In addition to the recoil, there is also a report that would make you glad you wore ear protection.

All in all, Im not disappointed. Fun stuff. Being Commander Zero gets you some fun toys to play with every so often….

Okay, just back from a little night testing of the 26.5mm HK flare guns.

First off, be prepared for the smell and fun of black powder. Theres some blackpowder-like fouling in the barrels after a couple rounds and it sure smells like black powder. Of course, water and a paper towel cleans it up nicely.

Recoil is about like a midrange .44 Mag or a good .357 Mag. Not unmanageable by any stretch. The less-than-ergonomic handle probably has a lot to do with it. Flares reach a fair altitude of, Im guessing, several hudnred feet and burn out before hitting the ground. The green ones provided a decent bit of ground illumination but they dont have the hangtime of the parachute flares. In addition to the recoil, there is also a report that would make you glad you wore ear protection.

All in all, Im not disappointed. Fun stuff. Being Commander Zero gets you some fun toys to play with every so often….

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, the German Flectar parkas arrived this morning. Three size “L” for myself (giving me a total of four sets) and one size “S” for the girlfriend. European sizing tends to be different from American sizing. Europeans tend to be small people so a size “L” to a European would come out as an “M” to us Americans. However, it seems to make sense that the outfit selling the parkas (Sportsmans Guide) would offer them in the American sizing system to avoid confusion. This appears to be the case. I’m 5′9″, 200# with about a 46R and the L works fine. Good lovin’ for $20. I’ll vaccuum seal one of them, stuff it in a cardboard box and keep it in the truck. One will get the same treatment and get put with the grab-n-go gear in the bunker and the third will go into storage.
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Also picked up the Mr Heater Buddy. (Read about it here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/commander_zero/38929.html ) It was on sale at Sportsmans Warehouse and I wanted something convenient and portable. Runs off of the 1# bottles so its pretty convenient. CostCo sometimes has 6-packs of the bottles on sale and Ive a couple dozen on hand in the bunker. I’ll get a few more just to play it safe. Still need to get the extra kerosene heater though. I want an extra kero heater so I can keep my basement above freezing in case of a power outage in the winter and thus keep my pipes from freezing.
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I am hoping my 26.5mm flares for my HK flare pistol arrive today. If so, mmmmmmmm….testing, testing, testing!!!! With photos, of course.

Well, the German Flectar parkas arrived this morning. Three size “L” for myself (giving me a total of four sets) and one size “S” for the girlfriend. European sizing tends to be different from American sizing. Europeans tend to be small people so a size “L” to a European would come out as an “M” to us Americans. However, it seems to make sense that the outfit selling the parkas (Sportsmans Guide) would offer them in the American sizing system to avoid confusion. This appears to be the case. I’m 5’9″, 200# with about a 46R and the L works fine. Good lovin’ for $20. I’ll vaccuum seal one of them, stuff it in a cardboard box and keep it in the truck. One will get the same treatment and get put with the grab-n-go gear in the bunker and the third will go into storage.
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Also picked up the Mr Heater Buddy. (Read about it here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/commander_zero/38929.html ) It was on sale at Sportsmans Warehouse and I wanted something convenient and portable. Runs off of the 1# bottles so its pretty convenient. CostCo sometimes has 6-packs of the bottles on sale and Ive a couple dozen on hand in the bunker. I’ll get a few more just to play it safe. Still need to get the extra kerosene heater though. I want an extra kero heater so I can keep my basement above freezing in case of a power outage in the winter and thus keep my pipes from freezing.
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I am hoping my 26.5mm flares for my HK flare pistol arrive today. If so, mmmmmmmm….testing, testing, testing!!!! With photos, of course.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, as it turns out eBay has an auction going on for the exact scope I want…Dragunov reticle and everything. MSRP is $700, dealer (as best I can tell) is $600. Bidding on this one starts at $299. I’m bidding $400 on it and hoping that will do the trick. I was originally going to hold off on getting rings since I wasnt sure if I was going to get a scope with a 1″ or 30mm tube but, after giving it some thought, Im going to get a set of rings for each in case at a later date I wish/need to swap scopes for some reason. Half of me is hoping I lose the auction since I really cant afford this scope right now but another part of me doesnt want my nice new shiny expensive rifle to sit in the closet all winter without getting a chance to be shot.

Well, as it turns out eBay has an auction going on for the exact scope I want…Dragunov reticle and everything. MSRP is $700, dealer (as best I can tell) is $600. Bidding on this one starts at $299. I’m bidding $400 on it and hoping that will do the trick. I was originally going to hold off on getting rings since I wasnt sure if I was going to get a scope with a 1″ or 30mm tube but, after giving it some thought, Im going to get a set of rings for each in case at a later date I wish/need to swap scopes for some reason. Half of me is hoping I lose the auction since I really cant afford this scope right now but another part of me doesnt want my nice new shiny expensive rifle to sit in the closet all winter without getting a chance to be shot.

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, shoot….for used Steyr-manufactured 20-rd FAL mags at five bucks each wouldnt *you* have ordered fifteen of them too?

I will have 27 magazines for my FAL. Close..but not close enough.

DSA Inc
847-277-7258
Part #117U

When, oh when, are the freakin’ AR15 mags gonna be as cheap as the FAL/HK mags are thse days?!!??!

Well, shoot….for used Steyr-manufactured 20-rd FAL mags at five bucks each wouldnt *you* have ordered fifteen of them too?

I will have 27 magazines for my FAL. Close..but not close enough.

DSA Inc
847-277-7258
Part #117U

When, oh when, are the freakin’ AR15 mags gonna be as cheap as the FAL/HK mags are thse days?!!??!

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, Ive given it much thought and care and although Im not 100% on the matter, it looks like Im going to go with the IOR 2.5-10×42mm scope with the Dragunov style reticle. Of course, the trick now is to come up with the $600 its going to take to buy the bloody thing. Sadly, it wont end there…then I’ll need a good case, cleaning kit, sling, bipod, etc, etc. If I start saving now, and dont stumble across a cheaper one on ebay, I might be able to afford a scope around, oh, March.
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Sportsmans Guide got back in some of the German Flectar parkas with liner that I am a BIG fan of. And, check it out kids, theyre a mere $20, And they beat the US field jacket combo on so many levels. You really should trust me on this..get one. I’ve worn mine in some mighty cold Montana evenings and its warm, comfy, roomy and just a great piece of gear. And only twenty bucks! I ordered three more. Most of the time, the Western European surplus (esp. the ‘Aryan’ countries like Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway) have much better milsurp than the US stuff. By the way, the Flectar pattern really does a nice job of camo…
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I received some Blackhawk gear the other day. Some of it I like, some I don’t. (I dont like the fact that ALL of it was made in VietNam). I like the Tactical Tailor stuff as well as theg ear made by Kifaru and a few other smaller US outfits. Anyway, I’ll be posting a review of some of the Blackhawk gear later.
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I’ve 2 15-gallon water drums that need to be cleaned and filled. I need to work on that over the next day or two. Also have another SKS that needs degreasing. If youre going to get an SKS (and why wouldnt you???) definitely hold out for the Yugo SKS. A fine example of an inexpensive but high quality weapon. The SKS is not my first choice to run out the door with, but its cheap enough that its my first choice for what to leave in a truck, hidden in the rafters of a cabin, buried in cache or handed out to underequipped party guests. And ammo is less than ten cents a round. How can you beat that? Only thing even comparable in terms of price is a 10/22 and I’d much rather punch holes with the 7.62×39 than the .22 LR.
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I should take advantage of the relative quiet of winter to start working on replenishing my ammo stores. Shot off alot of 9mm, .45 and .223 this year and I need to sit down in front of the reloading press and crank out some replacement ammo.
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By the way, speaking of camo…Ive a set of the German winter camo. You know, the reversible stuff that goes from solid white to white with pine splotches…not bad. WIll try to get some pics up later in the season.