Gun Thread: First Sunday in 2022 Edition!

2022? Huh? Wha? How in the ever-loving hell did that happen?

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!

Well I spent some of the last week at the beach, so no shooting for your ol' pal Weasel. Weasel really needs to get to his farm-o and rectify that, among other things! Unfortunately, crazy-time is upon me at work, so for the next six weeks or so I will be el mucho busy-o, and cannot always predict when things at the office will go to DEFCON 1. Hopefully soon I will be able to squeeze in a quick trip down with a bag o' guns to shoot.

Programming Note: if you're emailing something for the Gun Thread, please note the Proton Mail address at the bottom of the thread. Thanks!

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

Here's a fun little feller from the WeaselCollection, a Sig Sauer P230SL. I am a big fan of the Sig Sauer brand, and bought this example over 10 years ago. Chambered in .380, the pistol was manufactured in 1993 and is roll marked "Made in W. Germany" on the slide. The model also came in .32 ACP, strongly resembles the slightly smaller Walther PPK, and has a capacity of 7+1 rounds. It was marketed by Sig as a concealed carry option to civilians and a concealed/backup weapon to the West German state police and other agencies. It was replaced in the Sig Sauer lineup by the P232 in 1996. As is the case with most of my carry(able) guns I have replaced the original grips with Hogue Combat grips, which I like bigly.

Here's a video review of the pistol:

The SL model is all stainless, while the blued version has an aluminum frame. The magazine release is located behind the magazine floorplate which bugs some people, and really bugs other people. This is a very solid, well-made gun and isn't as 'snappy' as some lighter .380s can be.

These are great little guns!

Christmas Loot

Q: Weasel, did you get a book for Christmas?
A: Why yes! Yes I did!

The Guns of John Moses Browning

Big thanks to my BIL and SIL! Can't wait to dig into this one!

First up, our pal RI Red has been to the range with a .22!

New Ruger Precision Rimfire next to Christiansen Ranger. 18" bbl on RPR and 16" bbl on Ranger. Shoot-off today: Ranger shot tighter five-round groups of CCI Subsonic and CCI MiniMag. BUT, take a look at them with Geco Match ammo. Ranger top and bottom left, with Ruger top and bottom right. All four under an inch and the RPR takes it with 1/2" group at 50 yards.

Nice shooting, brother! Seriously you guys and gals, do not overlook the .22 when heading to the range. Look at all the fun RI Red had!

Here is a picture of my Lee-Enfield No. 5 Mk 1, unofficially AKA Jungle Carbine. She was manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in 1945. I seem to have been bitten by the bolt action milsurp bug; I am in the process of acquiring parts to build a M1917 rifle.

The barrel was shot out, so I had it re-barreled by Jim Albright of Albright Firearm Service. In addition to machining the distinctive lightning cuts, he refinished the steel bits and bobs. I highly recommend him.

Other than a deep clean with Simple Green and several coats of boiled linseed oil, I left the wood furniture as is. The dents, dings, and scratches add character and show she's been there and done that.

Very nice, Butch! These are great rifles and a lot of fun to shoot. I'm always a little surprised when I take mine out at the stoutness of the .303 British round. Congratulations on a very nice rifle!

Next up, our pal Ed L hits another home run, this time with shotguns!

In July 1940, the US Army found that it had just over 21,000 shotguns in its inventory. This was clearly inadequate to meet the needs for the expanding US military. To meet the need, US Army Ordinance contracted with Winchester for 1,494 Winchester Model 97 trench guns in November 1941. Starting on January 6, 1942, the US Army placed additional orders for Winchester Model 97s in both trench gun (fitted w/ sling swivels, handguard, and bayonet lug) and riot gun configurations totaling in the thousands by June 1942. This trench gun is one of the early production trench guns as shown by the WWI pattern handguard (with six rows of holes), barrel manufactured in 1941, the "US" property mark w/o the Ordinance Corps "flaming bomb," and the "W.B." inspection mark for Colonel Waldemar Broberg, the Chief of Winchester's Ordinance District from July 1941 to June 1942.

The standard bayonet for all US trench guns was the M1917. When attached to the trench gun, this bayonet gives the weapon a uniquely fearsome appearance. No M1917 bayonets were made for WWII; this example (and its leather scabbard) are leftovers from WWI.

Military shotgun ammunition should have been loads of 00 buckshot in brass casings as pictured. The demand for ammo exceeded the supply, so the military pressed paper shotgun shells from the commercial market into service. This proved a problem in wet, humid climates like the South Pacific, where paper shells quickly fell apart in these conditions. It wasn't until near the end of WWII did all-brass shotgun shells become more common than paper shells. Despite this, the Model 97 trench gun gained favor from the USMC, who used both the Winchester Model 97 and Model 12 extensively in their Pacific campaigns. The USMC's primary complaint about the shotgun was the lack of ammunition. The basic load of 25 to 50 shells per shotgun was never enough in combat conditions.

Riot gun versions of the Winchester Model 97 were meant to arm base security forces, defense contractor security guards, and organizations involved in the war effort (TVA, Manhattan Project, and others). That didn't stop them from making their way into combat, primarily with the USMC. This riot gun was made after the start of WWII, as evidenced by the barrel with a 1942 manufacturing date, the "US" property mark with an Ordinance Corps "flaming bomb," and the "W.B" inspection mark of Colonel Broberg. By the end of Model 97 production in March 1943, Winchester delivered 24,897 Model 97s in all configurations to the military.

Despite the urge to reduce cost and simplify production processes, all Model 97 shotguns were finished in the same commercial quality blue for the entire production run. It's not known why this was case.

Unlike other military weapons (M1 Garands, M1 carbines, M1911 pistols, etc.), the military Model 97s never became surplus post WWII. Surviving weapons were photographed in action in both Korea and Vietnam. Military Model 97s are very difficult to come by on the collector's market because they are very scarce. Research to date indicates that almost all surviving Model 97s in military inventory (from both WWI and WWII production) were transferred to the South Vietnamese government, where they were captured by the NVA upon the fall of Saigon, many still in their original packing crates.

Holy Shitballs, Ed L! Very nicely done! Thank you!

Need help choosing a gun? The Babylon Bee has you covered.

Cigar of the Week

Nub Maduro by Oliva at Cigars International. A little pricier than my normal fare, but worth a look!

For all you cigar aficionados out there, what online or brick & mortar stores do you use? It'd be nice to have a few more options and perhaps help some smaller rollers or local stores with some business. Let me know in the comments (use tiny url or similar, please) or just email me the link information and I will make a list and publish in an upcoming thread. Please include your nic, let us know which cigars you like, and tell is what (if anything) makes the store special. Thanks!

Gun Basics 101
Here's the She Equips Herself girl with a review of the Ruger LCP Max!

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's Mail Bag entry is from our pal Duncanthrax. Gun Guru. Always listen to Gun Guru!

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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