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

The universe provides…

SpaBoy showed up a few minutes before closing and asked if I wanted to buy a rifle. He’s had some money problems since he got divorced and lost his spa dealership. Iasked if the rifle had a acope on it, figuring Id keep the scope if it was any good. He goes back to his car and comes back with a Savage 110 in .300 Win Mag with a Leupold VariX-II 3×9 on it. Okay, not THE scope I want but at least it’ll get me out to the range over the winter while I save my pennies for the scope I really want. Told Him I’d take the gun off his hands.

Dealer on that scope new is $275.

Bought the scope and the gun for $250.

Now i just gotta dump the .300 Win Mag and recoup my money.

And pick up rings tomorrow and maybe, maybe, maybe get to shoot the CZ this weekend after all.

The universe provides…

SpaBoy showed up a few minutes before closing and asked if I wanted to buy a rifle. He’s had some money problems since he got divorced and lost his spa dealership. Iasked if the rifle had a acope on it, figuring Id keep the scope if it was any good. He goes back to his car and comes back with a Savage 110 in .300 Win Mag with a Leupold VariX-II 3×9 on it. Okay, not THE scope I want but at least it’ll get me out to the range over the winter while I save my pennies for the scope I really want. Told Him I’d take the gun off his hands.

Dealer on that scope new is $275.

Bought the scope and the gun for $250.

Now i just gotta dump the .300 Win Mag and recoup my money.

And pick up rings tomorrow and maybe, maybe, maybe get to shoot the CZ this weekend after all.

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

So I took the SKS’ out again last night. Mucho better. I had one failure to fire out of thirty rounds. I believe it was due, not to the firing pin/bolt having coagulated grease, but rather to the trigger group still having gobs of grease enmeshed in the springs that drive the hammer and such. Simple solution – I’ll pull the trigger groups, boil them, then pour the boiling water and some dish soap into a coffee can, shake well, rinse, oil and all should be well.

Someone commented that the SKS seemed trouble prone and that their AR never hiccupped. First of all, this is the only trouble Ive had with the SKS and the only reason Im having it is because the guts of the gun are caked in cosmoline. Take an AR15 and dunk it in a vat of melted cosmoline, let it dry, and then try degreasing it…let me know how it shoots then. Or if it shoots. Once all the grease is out of this thing it should be back to the 110% reliability rate that these things are famous for.
=====
FAL seems back to normal. I cleaned everything, lightly oiled it and went to the range. I opened up the gas port to the point it would short stroke and then started closing it off until it fired reliably. Fired another 20 rounds through it after that point without a problem, so Im going to leave the gas regulator at that setting. However, Im going to see about swapping the gas regulator ring for one with some numbers on it to make it easier to keep track of what setting it is on. Also order a small spanner for the adjustments…easy enough to order since:
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The 15 FAL mags I ordered from DSA arrived today. They also included, at no charge, extra magazine springs. w00t. More importantly, there was a catalog in there so I can order up the little geegaws I want for the FAL. The mags, by the way, were $5 ea. and seem in good shape. Definitely used. About 1/2 of them look a bit tired but they should work fine…no dents or anything. Worth $5 ea? Oh yeah. I now have 27 mags for the FAL…a few more and I’ll call it good.
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In non-gun news, I went up to CostCo and purchased their MagLite combo pack. 3-cell ‘D’ MagLite, 2-cell ‘AA’ MiniMag and Duracell batteries for each light all in a package for $19.99. (GREAT Christmas gift, by the way) Picked up several and crossed them off my Enormous List O’ Things To Buy. Still need to pick up spare bulbs and filters, though.

So I took the SKS’ out again last night. Mucho better. I had one failure to fire out of thirty rounds. I believe it was due, not to the firing pin/bolt having coagulated grease, but rather to the trigger group still having gobs of grease enmeshed in the springs that drive the hammer and such. Simple solution – I’ll pull the trigger groups, boil them, then pour the boiling water and some dish soap into a coffee can, shake well, rinse, oil and all should be well.

Someone commented that the SKS seemed trouble prone and that their AR never hiccupped. First of all, this is the only trouble Ive had with the SKS and the only reason Im having it is because the guts of the gun are caked in cosmoline. Take an AR15 and dunk it in a vat of melted cosmoline, let it dry, and then try degreasing it…let me know how it shoots then. Or if it shoots. Once all the grease is out of this thing it should be back to the 110% reliability rate that these things are famous for.
=====
FAL seems back to normal. I cleaned everything, lightly oiled it and went to the range. I opened up the gas port to the point it would short stroke and then started closing it off until it fired reliably. Fired another 20 rounds through it after that point without a problem, so Im going to leave the gas regulator at that setting. However, Im going to see about swapping the gas regulator ring for one with some numbers on it to make it easier to keep track of what setting it is on. Also order a small spanner for the adjustments…easy enough to order since:
=====
The 15 FAL mags I ordered from DSA arrived today. They also included, at no charge, extra magazine springs. w00t. More importantly, there was a catalog in there so I can order up the little geegaws I want for the FAL. The mags, by the way, were $5 ea. and seem in good shape. Definitely used. About 1/2 of them look a bit tired but they should work fine…no dents or anything. Worth $5 ea? Oh yeah. I now have 27 mags for the FAL…a few more and I’ll call it good.
=====
In non-gun news, I went up to CostCo and purchased their MagLite combo pack. 3-cell ‘D’ MagLite, 2-cell ‘AA’ MiniMag and Duracell batteries for each light all in a package for $19.99. (GREAT Christmas gift, by the way) Picked up several and crossed them off my Enormous List O’ Things To Buy. Still need to pick up spare bulbs and filters, though.
=====
I know Ive beaten this topic to death but I just gotta say that with some of the colder weather we’ve been having lately, I absolutely <3 my Flectar parka w/ liner. Comfy, warm and tactical yet practical. And it was only twenty bucks!! These be good lovin' mon! ===== Rings for the CZ550 should be here in a few days. Still no closer to optics. Grrrrr.

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

Ok, degreased the SKS’ and took them out again last night. Slightly better results. But stil not 100%. Trudged back home and really got serious about things. Am leaving one SKS out overnight to get it nice and cold, the other is in the house at room temperature. Will take both out later today to test for function. In the meantime, gotta tear down the FAL and see whats going on.

Ok, degreased the SKS’ and took them out again last night. Slightly better results. But stil not 100%. Trudged back home and really got serious about things. Am leaving one SKS out overnight to get it nice and cold, the other is in the house at room temperature. Will take both out later today to test for function. In the meantime, gotta tear down the FAL and see whats going on.

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

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.

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….