Gun Thread: The Guns We Love To Hate (And Hate To Clean) [CBD]

My father bought one of these, an Astra 600, mail order in the early 1960s. I think his motivation was to get a reliable home defense pistol, and since he was not making much money this seemed to be a good choice. It is undoubtedly reliable. I don't think he ever had any problems with it. Of course it had no ergonomics, the grip was awful, the hand position awkward, and it had a weird snappy kick that was very unpleasant. And while it looks like it should be light...it isn't. It is shockingly heavy. And it's a blowback mechanism. Crazy...huh!

He loved it.

I, on the other hand, much preferred his H&R nine-shot .22LR revolver. But I was five. Nine shots! Do you know how many Indians you can shoot with a nine-shot revolver? Like 500!

I will stipulate that the Ruger is an elegant and accurate pistol. And if you promise to clean it, I will fire it all day.

I used to dread cleaning my weapons after a day at the range because I was taught how to do it by my dad, who was taught to do it by the United States Army. I don't know when they shifted to non-corrosive powder, but my dad wasn't taking any chances. Everything was cleaned to within an inch of its life.

When I moved out and flexed my wings I decided that wiping the crud out of the action and the rails and having a clean bore was the goal...not being able to survive inspection from an an angry sergeant whose goal was to prepare his men for battle in Korea.

One trick I learned was firing a few FMJs at the end of a range session. That seemed to clear out a lot of the lead from my cheaper range ammo.

As for gun oil......Yeah, that's not contentious at all.

FrogLube is Probably Made From Coconut Oil (Not Frogs)

I defy you to find a better one than this. Or cheaper! I just bought a six-pack at Costco for $36.

And it will double as oil for your crossbow......

So.....Your least favorite weapons....your tricks for cleaning.....and anything else gun-related your fevered minds can conjure.

But....no nasty politics stuff. I'm serious.

posted by Open Blogger at 01:00 PM

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