Gun Thread: 2/20/22 Edition!

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!

It's still February, but March is coming up fast. I'm happy to report that things are settling down finally in WeaselWorld and I'm planning to head to the farm as soon as the weather cooperates. I don't mind the cold, but rain or snow will generally keep me inside. I managed to get my pickup truck seriously stuck in the mud once at the farm and that's not something I am anxious to repeat. Oddly enough, just after that I had a 12,000 pound capacity winch installed on the front of the truck and haven't had a problem since! Anyhoo, I hope to have a range report from WeaselAcres for you soon.

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

I bought this example in 2010, and it's been one of my favorite shooters ever since. It's smooth and the fit and finish are excellent. Think I'll toss it into the bag for an upcoming trip to the farm!

This Sig 1911 has what is probably the most aggressive front strap checkering I have encountered. Last week, we talked a little about using skateboard tape to provide grippiness where needed, and I thought I had invented that great idea until a Lurker came along and popped my bubble.

This past weekend you said, "One of the reviews mentioned something I think is a good idea, and that is the practice of placing a strip of skateboard friction tape to the front strap."

Not only a good idea, but an old one. Here's a 1911 I carried for a long time, that has now been retired to just being a random room gun. My favorite Hogue grips don't cover the front strap and I like some texture there, so...

Nice job, Mr. Lurker. Bubble Popper!

First up, our pal Schnorflepuppy sends us a range report:

Well, made it back to the range for the first time since Corsicana, owing to a combination of winter storms, the Kung Flu that hit my family and me in January, and general laziness and inertia. The results were ... less than optimal. In the spirit of transparency and showing my fuckups, I've attached my results.

First drill was to try the She Equips Herself one-hole drill from a couple of Gub Threads ago at 3 yards with my M&P Shield 2.0, which I finally figured out how to load in 7+1 / 8+1 configuration. You load the first round, eject the magazine, add a new round to fill the magazine, insert the magazine back and tap it kinda hard with the bottom of your hand to seat it. I told myself that it's can't be that hard of a drill, right?

Yeah, as you can see by the picture, it's that hard. In the five iterations I shot, I was consistently low and left, indicating a likely flinch anticipating the recoil. Attempt #1 was actually the most successful in getting close to the same hole - by attempt #5, you can see I was all over the target, including the flyer that barely nicked the bottom of the paper. I think I got too focused on the fact that I was flinching, and wasn't working hard enough to address the cause of the flinch.

Second drill was much the same, except I ran 27 rounds with reloading from 3 yards. My first shots were to the left and mostly low again, indicating that the flinchopotamus was still behind me chewing on my ass. I slowed down on the last magazine and focused a lot on posture and grip, and started to get some 10-ring shot placement.

Third drill was the same as the second with maybe one fewer shot, because I was at the end of my ammo. When I saw some of my first shots tending low and left, I refocused on smoothing out my trigger press and breathing. You can see that my results, while still not perfect, started to get better.

Overall, today's results show that much, much, much more range time is needed, maybe with an instructor. I have a class coming up at the same facility the week after next, so that will be my next opportunity to improve, unless I can be arsed to get back to the range in the meantime.

Interesting shooters in the next lane - they had a pair of silenced 5.56mm rifles that they were trying to dial in. The silencer reduced the report of the rifles to a mild "pffft", which was a pleasant surprise. Then one of the guys unscrewed his silencer and opened up FULL AUTO, which not only got my attention but that of my deceased ancestors. The shooter looked over at his partner, smiled, and said, "That right there is why I own it!".

Great report, and nice shooting S'puppy! Thank you!

Next up, our pal A.H. Lloyd gives us a few great reasons for using snap caps.

With winter locking my state in its icy grip, range time is harder to come by. I used to go out weekly, but outings are now monthly at best. Shooting is a perishable skill, so one way to keep and maintain proficiency is to use snap caps. New shooters may have no idea what these things are - or why they should have them, so I thought I'd give a brief overview of what they are and why everyone needs them.

Be Kind to Your Firing Pin
All shooting requires steady, consistent trigger pull. In rifles, you have the advantage of a shoulder stock, more weight to offset the pull and you're likely braced on a bench, bipod or something else for greater stability. With handguns, there is a lot more chance of incidental movement, which makes developing this skill critically important.

Range time will only get you so far. When firing live ammunition, noise and recoil and make it difficult to analyze your technique. This is where snap caps come in. Snap caps are inert replicas of actual ammunition, matching the same external dimensions but made of polymer or aluminum. They are usually given a special color so that they cannot be confused with regular ammunition; typically blue, but sometimes dark red or orange.

Snap caps are not to be confused with "dummy rounds," which can be made from actual ammunition components, typically bullet and casing. Above you see some snap caps and also some dummy rounds. For those who are curious, the snap caps are (from left to right) .45 ACP and 7.62 Tokarev/7.63 Mauser, where the powder loads are different but the cartridges are dimensionally identical.

The dummy rounds (on the right) are 9x23mm Steyr, because snap caps are not available in that caliber. They came with only one identifier, a black rubber primer. As an extra safety precaution, I painted the bullet tips blue.

Snap caps allow you go through the firing sequence without risking damage to your firing pin. Modern cartridges rely on a hard, swift strike from the firing pin or hammer face to ignite the primer. This force is absorbed into the primer, but if no cartridge is present, that energy goes into the firing mechanism. Rimfire weapons are especially prone to damage if dry fired. Snap caps absorb that energy, preventing potential damage. Different snap caps have different primer substitutes - some using rubber, some using a spring - but all are there to do the same thing, which is act as a buffer.

With snap caps in place, you can dry fire with confidence, focusing on a steady hold, breathing and all the other fundamentals that live-firing can obscure. But there are other uses as well.

Loading, Reloading and Unloading, Oh My!
The other use of snap caps is to allow you to safely practice loading, reloading and unloading your firearm. This is particularly important if you have an auto-loader and aren't used to loading the magazine, cycling the action and making sure it is unloaded - always check the chamber! Revolver owners also benefit from these drills, especially the part about keeping the muzzle pointed downrange which is easy to forget when holding a snubby with the cylinder open.

What you want to achieve is a level of comfort with handling your firearm that is essentially reflexive. You should be able to move through load, reload and unload without actually looking at it. This isn't necessarily about being able to perform a "combat reload" as it is locking in safe habits. Another area where they are useful is in doing holster draw drills. This is especially true if you don't plan on keeping a round in the chamber. If you don't use snap caps, you may not realize you are 'short stroking' the slide, which can lead to a misfeed.

Those of you Glock users who like having one in the pipe should also use them and practice clearing after the initial shot. I particularly urge Glock folks to do these drills because despite their vaunted trigger safeties, there is ample video evidence of people shooting themselves in the leg.

Diagnosing Feed Problems
This brings me to 9x23mm Steyr dummy rounds. Obviously, I'm not going to try to build proficiency in a caliber whose ammunition is rare and expensive. The reason I own them is to verify the pistol's mechanical function after take down and reassembly. Most of us know how to do a "function check" after we reassemble a pistol, but that doesn't tell you if the magazine is feeding reliably. That's where snap caps come in. Trust me, you do not want to be using live ammunition while trying to figure out a consistent failure to feed. Even modern firearms can have bent magazine feed lips or need to have the ramp polished. Snap caps are how you figure this out.

Snap caps can be found in gun shops or online and aren't expensive, so there's really no excuse not to have them.

Great points, thanks AHL!!

The CMP and the M1 Garand
Civilian Marksmanship Program Expert Grade rifles are still available! If you have ever considered owning one of these wonderful battle rifles, and you should, the CMP route is a great way to go.

What the heck is "expert grade" you ask?

The balance of parts on EXPERT Grade Rifles will match all service grade criteria, showing less wear and a better cosmetic appearance than a Field or Rack Grade. Cosmetic condition will be good to very good. Rifle finish may vary, exhibiting normal wear and/or color variation among the metal parts. May have some visible pitting, frosting, or other minor cosmetic deformity on the metal parts.

Here is a dangerous lunatic with a farm, a tractor, a little dog and an M1 Garand (re-run alert).

Do you have an M1 or similar rifle from the era? Here's what the CMP has to say regarding ammo.

The CMP advises to not use .30/06 ammunition in M1 Garands, 1903s, and 1903A3s that is loaded beyond 50,000 CUP and has a bullet weight more than 172-174gr. These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets. Always wear hearing and eye protection when firing an M1 Garand, 1903 and/or 1903A3 rifle.

Protect both your a) face, and 2) investment in the rifle, by using the appropriate ammunition. I handload for all of my vintage rifles, in this case using the M2 Ball ammo specification from the 1940s; 152gr bullet and targeted muzzle velocity of around 2800fps, or less. Not just any old .30-'06 ammo is recommended.

Ready to buy? Here's a video on how it's done.

Do you have a Garand? Why not share a range report!

Rarely does a day go by that I don't get at least one question on how to replace a propeller on a B-17.

Q: Weasel, what are the steps involved in replacing the propeller on a B-17?
A: Well first, you get a B-17, then you... oh, just watch the video.

Gun Basics 101
We've been talking about hearing protection recently, and the She Equips Herself girl is back with a video on custom molded ear plugs.

Cigar of the Week

I swear that our pal Eromero is just about the luckiest guy I know!

Won this at the Grand opening of the indoor shooting range today. Mrs E estimated the value at $600. Actual value turned out to be $720!!! Included an engraved whiskey snifter. Now all i need is an ascot.

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

From our pal blaster:

DMV Moron Gun Club went to the Nations Gun Show. sharon(willow's apprentice) has been looking for the right handgun. After watching Reacher this week, we think we have the right gun for her.

I've had the pleasure of meeting sharon(wa) and doing some shooting together and I think this is a good fit!

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 Open Blogger at 07:00 PM

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