Sooooo…..that happened:I’d like to thank the /wallstreetbets autists who made this purchase possible by driving up AMC and and putting my ten 5$ calls through the roof. Got out just as it started to slide back. Better to be lucky than good.
The part that drives me nuts is that I cannot order up a 10″ barrel for the Uzi until the SBR paperwork goes through…and this suppressor will not work with anything except a 10″ barrel. So….gotta wait. But, that’ll give me time to hunt down some subsonic 9mm.
Well, if you’re gonna have an Uzi (or two), you’re gonna need mags….right?
Fifty oughtta be a good start. And I’ve a few other accessories for the new acquisition that have started trickling in.
This was a 50-mag package from Atlantic Firearms. These are 25-rd mags and, thoguh used, they appear to be in pretty good shape. I need to thoroughly examine each one closely, but so far they all look good.
There’s a nationally famous gun collector who lives a couple miles from me…Hayes Otoupalik. Hayes has stuff that when you look it up in a reference book it will say “Twelve known to exist” and Hayes will have four of them…he’s that kind of level of collector. Once, a million years ago, I asked him how he manages to find such good deals. He said something that always stuck with me. He said, “When you’ve been doing this long enough, you dont have to go looking for the deals…the good deals come looking for you.” And he was 100% correct.
Todays deal that I wasn’t looking for but came looking or me:
It’s a Vector Uzi with mag purse, a dozen magazines, sight tool, mag loader, wooden stock, sling, extra foregrip, and a few other bells and whistles. Previous owner cerokoted it desert tan. The punchline: $1000.
The Uzi is a heavy gun. In a world of polymer 9mm PCC’s this thing is a chunkyboy. But….its a proven design that is, literally, bomb-proof. This package of goodies could get stuffed in a 40mm ammo can, tucked away for twenty years, and when it finally sees the light of day again it would still be a somewhat viable choice for running-and-gunning through a zombie apocalypse.
Very tempted to do the paperwork and SBR it. Might just have to go that route. That 16″ barrel is just ten shades of derp.
I had mentioned a while back that I was going to wind up setting up a Glock with a red dot. One of my biggest questions was do I get an MOS Glock and use the adapter plates to mount an optic, do I buy a third-party slide already cut for an optic, or do I send off my slide to get cut? Tough choice. No one seemed to have anything nice to say about the Glock MOS system, so that was the end of that. Aftermarket slides that were already cut were a bit north of $300. Heck, the whole damn gun didnt cost me that. Someone recommended Wager Machine and after reading more about them I decided to give them a shot. I had them do an RMR cut to my factory slide, cerokote the whole thing, and install the Trijicon suppressor-height sights I sent them. Total cost, soup to nuts, was $145.
Unfortunately, none of my vendors happen to have a Trijicon RCR in stock for me to fit on there to judge the quality of their machining. But, I can say the cerokote looks great and they seem to have installed he sights properly.
Only real thing left to do here is sight in the open sights, get the optic mounted, and perhaps put in a bit of a better trigger.
I don’t usually put this much….bespokeness….into a pistol, but I’d like to have at least one pistol that gives me just about every possible advantage available short of a giggle switch.
I’m very much looking forward to getting the RCR mounted and seeing how it works out.
A few months ago, one of my vendors was closing out a particualr model of CZ rifle…..the CZ 457 Jaguar. For me, the claim to fame for this gun was the 29″ (thats not a typo) barrel. Between a barrel that is so long that a .22 has burned up all its powder long ago, and the Sparrow suppressor I dropped on the end of this thing (making it almost four-and-a-half feet long) shooting this thing with subsonic Remingtons sounded like a staplegun.
And, unsurprisingly, the gun was, with open sights at 25 yards, stupidly accurate. With the open sights and a solid rest, all shots touched in a group you could cover with a nickel. And, as much as I hate to admit it, my eyes ain’t what they used to be when it comes to open sights. (Hence the Glock upgrade to a red dot…more about that in a few weeks.)
CZ makes good stuff, but if you’re looking for a quality .22 that punches way above its weight class, go with their .22 rifles.
With subsonic HP and the Sparrow on the end, this flagpole is going to be pure murder on gophers if I ever manage to find enough time to spend a day out in the fields. I’m tempted to drop a scope on it, but thats what I have my Savage 93 for….
All in all, a good day at the range. I function tested some guns I’ve been meaning to work with, confirmed the zero on an AR, and had a real blast shooting the CZ 457. Not bad for a dreary rainy day here in western Montana.
I like the Ruger P95DC for its rugged end-of-the-world durability. Rental ranges confirm that these things virtually never break. Then again, no one probably has any interest in shooting them so perhaps thats the reason. But…even more robust in Ruger’s “Ignore ergonomics, just make it a tank” style, we have today’s guest…a Ruger P89DC. An outgrowth of the P85 (and P85II) series, this was a somewhat improved version of the P85 series of military contract wannabes.
I genuinely believe this gun is unkillable. With shipping, this ugly duckling (ca.1993) set me back a hair over two hundred bucks. Whats really fascinating is that someone thought highly enough of this gun to put a set of Crimson Trace laser grips on it. Ruger retired the P89 in 2009, but they turn up in evidence lockers and gun ‘buybacks’ everywhere. I’ve never seen a broken one. I’ve seen them with pitting, rust, gouges, scratches, missing sights, and all sortsa staining…..but I’ve never seen one that didn’t work.
Friend Of The Blog(tm), Tam, did a 2000-rd endurance test and other than the cringe-worthy ergonomics, it chugged along without a hitch. That isn’t necessarily a difficult accomplishment. Tam’s 2000-rd tests prove that any well-made pistol from a major brand shooting quality ammunition will usually give that kind of performance. The pistol Tam used for her test, and which has apparently gone on to be a prop for a book cover, was a very worn, very well used pistol that, when I got it, still had the evidence tag wired to the front of the triggerguard. (You can see the wear from the wire on the front of the triggerguard in her photos.)
The P95DC is a lighter, handier gun…but thats like saying a patio paver is a lighter handier brick than a cinder block – its true, but that doesnt take away the fact its a brick. Since they both use the same magazine, and the price was right, and you can never have too many ‘disposable’ handguns to stuff under the seat of your truck, the floorboards of your cabin, or into an ammo can buried in a national forest somewhere, it seemed like a good purchase at the time.
Im still fascinated that someone went through the time and expense to slap a laser sight on it.
Nice day at the range today. Was shooting with a friend and we were using our .22 conversion kits in our AR’s to practice fast sight pictures and shots. She wound up having a .22 case do a double feed that was stuck in the receiver quite solidly. I was about to use my pocket knife to try and pry it out when she stopped me and told me that she had a tool in her bag for prying out stuck cases in AR’s. Now, there are all sorts of tools out there for that sort of thing. Heck, Gerber even sells a multitool that incorporates such a tool as one of its features. But, apparently for about a buck at any paint store you can get one of these:
And…it was darn near the perfect tool for the job. Live and learn.
Spent about four hours at the range doing drills with the .22 Glock and the Ruger MPR with the .22 kit. Also sighted in the new dot scope I put on a Ruger takedown. And I function tested a P95DC that I picked up a few weeks ago.
Most interesting was some kids (and I mean kids…like college age kids) showed up on the same range with a host of dot-sighted Glocks. This gave me a chance to get some opinions about Glock MOS vs third-party milled slide, RMR vs Holosun vs Acro, etc, etc. The short version is that it looks like optimum result will be achieved by getting the RMR on a slide that has been milled out specifically for it rather than using Glocks MOS and plates. I need to research it more, but I think that’ll be the direction I’m going…at least until I get some more research done that points me in a different direction.
All in all, a fun and productive day at the range. Getting into the habit of doing a bit of gun workout every week seems to be paying off in terms of enjoyment.
I really don’t like making too many posts that are firearms-related because, nominally, this blog isn’t about firearms but rather about preparedness. And while firearms are certainly a part of that, they are but a small part. Unfortunately, the free ice cream machine is clogged today and firearms posts are sort of a low-hanging fruit.
As years come on apace I am slowly moving forward in terms of firearms technology. I’ve put red dots on a couple carbines and I’ve decided I want to try out a red dot pistol. To that end, I’ve decided to assemble a moderately tweaked out G17 (or G34….haven’t decided yet). The reason for the red dot is simply for speed and increased accuracy.
I’ve learned, at some expense, that the world does throw the odd curve ball every once in a while and that when that pitch leaves the mound youre gonna want every advantage you can get. For me, that means fast(er) and (more) accurate shooting.
I’m looking at getting a Trijicon RMR. I’ve talked to several people and gotten some mixed messages regarding slides with optic cuts. Glock makes their optic-ready MOS series and my initial thought was just to pick up a 17MOS or 34MOS (which, sadly, are not available as Gen3 versions.) However, I’ve had a couple people tell me that the MOS mounting system leaves a bit to be desired and that I would be better serviced to send a regular Glock slide off and have the optics cut milled out specifically for the RMR, rather than using adaptor plates.
Another alternative, which is rapidly gaining favor with me, is to buy an aftermarket slide that is already cut for the RMR. In this manner I can have a Gen3 pistol with the optics. (It’s a personal preference thing…the Gen3, to me, is the more comfortable and reliable of all the Glock generations. Fuddlore perhaps, but I have the money to get what I want so …why not?)
Once that optic issue is in the rearview mirror the rest is simple. A quality threaded barrel, a nice trigger, suppressor-height night sites, light, and a good holster. And then loads of practice.
But, for now, the bugaboo is the optics mounting issue….after that everything else seems simple.
I’ve been to a couple classes at gun school, many years ago, and I have had forays into competitive shooting also many years ago. But any acquired skill can be easily unacquired by lack of usage or lack of repetition. And as I’ve gotten older, instead of having no money but lotsa time, it’s gone the other way. I can afford the toys, I just don’t have the time to shoot them. Thats gotta change.
A friend of mine reminded me that the difference between an amateur and a professional is that an amateur practices until they get it right, a professional practices until he can’t get it wrong. I have no desire to be a ‘professional’, whatever that means, in terms of pistolero. But what I do want is a heightened/sharpened skillset that will help me when things are in a panic and rational thought has left the room. What’s that expression about how ‘you will default to your level of training’?
The world is not getting to be a brighter, warmer, friendlier place. I would prefer, given my druthers, that if it ever comes down to some brief-but-intense moment where a pistol is what stands between the safety of those I care about and the violent intentions of some whacko, I have the muscle memory and presence of mind to perform up to the task. I don’t need to be the fastest, I don’t need the briefest split times, I don’t need to be Best In Overall finish. I just need to be able to draw my pistol and get bullets on the target in the most expeditious and efficient way possible without shooting myself or anyone else. The only person I need to compete against is me. I do not want to rely on luck.
So, I’m working on adopting the habit of getting out to the range once a week to work on my pistol and carbine skills. Not to plink, not to target shoot, not to screw around, but to actually practice repeatable drills, get metrics on performance, track those metrics, and instill some habits and behaviors that will, ideally, work in my favor if that need ever arises.
How to do that? Well, as Flannel Daddy says “Talk is cheap and ammo is expensive”. First thing is dry fire practice. Drawing a pistol from the holster smoothly, getting a clear sight picture, and keeping the gun on target as the trigger is pulled. That’s an easy enough thing to practice at home…I spent the money for the Mantis laser dry fire and I can’t say enough good things about it. I get to use my carry pistol, the holster I normally wear, the light I normally use, etc, etc. And I can do this sort of practice whenever I want and not have to leave my living room. Can’t recommend it enough.
So, part of my intended practice plan is a healthy dose of dry fire. At some point, it’s time to head to the range and put some actual metal into the air. Still, 9mm isnt as cheap as I’d like it to be, so there’s also a good bit of .22 practice going on. A while back I bought a Glock 44 specifically for this sort of thing. While dry firing absolutely has merit and utility, the feedback of a bullet hitting the metal plate sure gives some nice positive reinforcement. Yeah, there are conversion kits out there for the Glock but I have a bit of experience with them and was never all that impressed with them. I have more confidence in a .22 trainer built by the guys who also built the real thing. Your mileage may vary, of course…and I know there will be posts in the comments about how someone’s conversion kit has functioned flawlessly blah, blah, blah. Great, man, I’m happy for you…Im just telling you what my experience has been and what it’s led me to do. You do you.
And, of course, from there its another step forward and time to shoot actual 9mm. Cheap ball is around $0.25 per round today and if you think you can reload it for less than that, then you havent bought primers lately:
At eight cents per primer, youre still looking at about four or five cents for powder, and at least a dime for a bullet. I’m assuming you’re using scrounged (‘free’) brass. That puts you at around $0.23 per round. Screw that, I’ll pay the extra $20 for 1000 rounds I didnt spend all weekend reloading.
If you have to use a carbine for self-defense, things really have kinda gone off the rails but thats the world we’re living in today. As a result, I have a CMMG .22 conversion kit and I don’t really have a bad thing to say about it. As I type this, Arms Unlimited is selling the CCMG kit and 13 magazines for $205. You’re missing out if you don’t jump on that deal. I’ve bought three of those packages as gifts for friends of mine so they can join me in some casual competition. My experience has been that the Federal bulk box .22 is the preferred ammo. When youre done using the kit, fire a round or two of.223 out of it to clean the .22 gunk outta your gas system.
Next up is a shot timer. Not because I’m interested in being the fastest gun out there, but because I want to measure my own progress. There are apps you can download for your phone that provide very good shot timer functions, but I really don’t want to half-ass any of this process and I can afford a purpose-built shot timer. On Tam‘s recommendation* I purchased a shot timer off Amazon. I must say, last time I did anything that required a shot timer we did not have the fancy Bluetooth connection that you kids have today. And if you go waaaaaay back, Cooper and his gang started this whole trend with just a stopwatch and a fast thumb.
Targets are, for me , the steel plates hanging at the range, so I bring along a can of spraypaint to clean them up. I’ll probably sign up for the Big Sky Practical Pistol Club membership so I can use their stands and plates. But I’ll also swing by Scheels and pick up some target stands and go online and order up a pile of the IPSC/USPSA torso targets to use.
About the only thing left to do, logistics-wise, is research what shooting drills I want to incorporate into a routine and which ones i think will provide me the skills I foresee needing. Obviously I want something that does a draw-from-concealment, some weak-hand stuff, some close-in drill, and then whatever else looks like it may lead to a useful skillset to have tucked away for that Bad Day. The odds of ever needing those sorts of skills are pretty strong against it…but I’ve had the odds thrown out the window before.
But, for now, I’ve got most of the gear details ironed out. Now its time to draw up the schedule and regimen and get to it…which is, as we all know, the toughest part. Talking is easy, doing…not so much.
* = I should point out that when I have a question regarding gun schools and competition, Tam has been very generous in taking the time to answer my dumb questions with patience and promptness. So…h/t.
I’d like to thank the /wallstreetbets autists who made this purchase possible by driving up AMC and and putting my ten 5$ calls through the roof. Got out just as it started to slide back. Better to be lucky than good.
