Gun Thread: More December Edition!

Notice that is not English on the blackboard [h/t]Kindltot

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Last week we celebrated the arrival of December, and what do you know, this week we have even more December! We also commemorated the anniversary of the Jap sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. I wasn't around in 1941, but as an American, I am still bitter and angry about it. The greatest generation certainly was just that, and those who answered the country's call and served in WWII are a rapidly vanishing breed. I am not sure we will see the likes of them again.

With that, let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

What is being taught in schools where you live? I'm guessing it isn't anything like this.

A few years ago, and maybe once since then, the Book Thread did a thread specifically inviting lurkers to delurk. I wonder how much response the Gun Thread would get with something like that. Posted by: Oddbob at December 05, 2021 09:26 PM (nfrXX)

What a great idea! I try and welcome new commenters whenever I can, and even start the thread off each week with an invitation for lurkers to de-lurk and join the fun. Still, I often receive email from people with a question or comment they felt silly asking or were otherwise hesitant for everyone else to see.

So first things first, you are always welcome to email me, and I try to respond before the following week's thread goes up. If more than a week goes by and you haven't received a reply, please email me again. I have to admit my system for tracking these things is not the most advanced, and my brain is drying out with advanced age so my memory isn't what it used to be. If you are sending me stuff to include in the thread, I generally reply to those at least a day before I am going to use them. Again, if you have a specific question for me, just ask and I will try to get you an answer as soon as possible.

Second, every single person who comments on this thread was a newbie at some point as far as guns and shooting are concerned, so don't feel like your question isn't worthwhile. There may be others tuned in at that very moment who are wondering the same thing, and you would be doing them a favor, too. Please don't think a question or observation you have is too basic. The value of this thread, if there is one, is in helping people improve their shooting and enjoyment of the shooting sports in general. If something is holding you back or you are unsure how to approach a problem, we have a bunch of people here with a wide range of knowledge, so just ask!

Lastly, even if you aren't a shooter and are just shooting-curious, speak up and say hello! If you find a particular topic or area of shooting interesting, let us know what that is. I rely on you all a lot for thread material because it's not only way more interesting than listening to my B.S. for three hours, it keeps the content fresh, relevant, and most importantly interesting to you.

Hope to see you in the comments!

First up our pal Ed L delivers on his promise to share some cool martial arms.

A couple of years ago, Colt licensed US Ordinance to make about 1,000 replicas of its XM177E2 carbine, best known for its use by Military Assistance Command Vietnam's Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), aka Special Operations forces such as SEAL teams and Rangers. Made more as a collector's piece than a tactical carbine, this retro rifle tries to include as many actual features from the originals as possible, such as the vinyl coated collapsible stock, cut down bayonet lug, selector stops, and the same Colt roll marks as the originals. The production run used the same serial number range as the originals, with a "V" tacked on the end to differentiate the replicas.

The target was shot at 20 yards from a standing position. Not bad for a collector's piece. Coming in at just over six pounds and a bit over thirty inches long with the stock collapsed, it's not hard to understand why my platoon sergeant and Vietnam era veterans in my 1991 Operation Desert Storm platoon preferred this over the M-16A1s issued to us. It's not hard to see where the roots of today's M4 sprang from.

Nice rifle and nice shooting, Ed L! Thank you!

Last week our pal Blake sent a video of an unusual 1911 variant which I included because, well, it's an unusual 1911 variant.

This week we have a follow-up from our pal Blasternaz on this very exact gun!

I've shot this! More than once! Ed is an 02/07 and has built 2 more of these, neither of which runs reliably. But Bob's original keeps on keepin' on! Video was done by Rob762 at Big Sandy.

How cool is that? Small world, huh? Thanks Blasternaz!

Next up we have a question from our pal JerseyDevilRider

Has the Gun Thread cover the Mantis 10 Elite - Shooting Performance System? I've read some stuff and am sort of ambivalent. My son wants to get it for me. I'm not sure. Anything anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

I am almost positive we covered the Mantis 10 at some point, but I can't recall when it was. Almost certainly in the last year, but that still covers a lot of territory. Anyone have any thoughts to share on the Mantis x10 Elite system?

Next up our pal Flounder shares a video on considerations when establishing a combat AR Zero.

Interesting! What are you tactical AR guys and gals using?

Next up we have an article on the evolution of the M1 Garand rear sight. By now it should not come as a surprise that Weasel rilly, rilly likes these old rifles! Take a look!

Staying with optics, a question which comes up from time to time has to do with First and Second focal plane scopes (FFP vs. SFP). In a nutshell, first focal plane scopes measure accurately over their entire range of magnification and second focal plane scopes measure accurately at one point in the range, say 22X. By "measure" I'm talking about using the scale built into the reticle. Here is a video from Vortex that discusses the subject in some detail.

As the Vortex guy mentions, the center of the reticle crosshair does not change in either example, but in SFP scopes everything outside the center is relative, except at one specific magnification. Another difference? FFP scopes are more complicated and are more expensive.

Q: Weasel, what do you use?
A: Second Focal Plane scopes.

Why? Because all of my shooting is done at fixed, known distances. I don't need to range, or determine the distance to the targets. When I am correcting for windage, I just convert the correction to correspond with features on the target, say the outside line on the 10 ring or the middle of the 9 ring or whatever. On a 1,000 yd F-Class target, the "X" ring is a 5 inch diameter circle and the 10 ring is 10 inches. When I calculate wind, I solve for minutes (MOA) of deflection based on my read of the conditions, apply them to the target, and take the shot. Say a 2mph wind has a .5 MOA effect on a bullet at 1,000 yards; I hold right or left out on the edge of the 10 ring in that condition (.5 MOA x 10.47" = ~5", or about the edge of the 10 ring) and let the wind blow the bullet back to the middle. Some might consider this an extra step, but with practice it can be done as quickly as trying to use the reticle to measure holdovers. Try it!

Precision Rifle (PRS) and some other competitive shooting disciplines involve shooting at variable distances where the ability to measure the range to targets effectively is important, and first focal plane scope might be better suited for those applications.

In the end, just use whatever works best for you. Do you have a preference??

Have I featured these yet? I think maybe I have. Anyhoo, my daily cigar is the Bahia Brazil Robusto. At less than $3, it's a great value in a great cigar!

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA
Bud's Gun Shop

This week our pal Pillage Idiot goes hunting on his farm and shares the results. Thanks PI! Nice shooting! I'm reserving a spot for you in the Rifle Clinic at next year's TXMoMe.

Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?

posted by Weasel at 07:00 PM

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