Gun Thread: Happy Father's Day 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!

What's up? Now that the super fun NoVaMoMe is a wrap, your 'ol pal Weasel can turn his attention to Organic Tree Farming. Truth be told, I'm a little afraid to go down there at this point as I am sure the vegetation has been growing vigorously without my being there to beat it into submission. Anyhoo, I need to plan a work trip this week to tidy up the road and the ranges and get the place presentable for members of the Moron Gun Club making a return visit, and also the Dream Date with Weasel winner, Julie S.

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Happy Father's Day! This is a gun I inherited from my father, a Smith and Wesson Model 686-4 purchased in 1995. We were able to take it shooting a couple of times and I very fondly recall those trips. My dad wasn't a big shooter, and this handgun was a "spite" purchase in response to a politician who annoyed him by, among other things, pushing gun control back in the day. Gotta love my Dad! Spite purchases can be some of the best and most rewarding, don't you think?

Please tell us about your dad and any shooting you might have done together. Did he teach you how to shoot? More importantly, are you teaching your son or daughter how to shoot?

I was thinking about how much I will enjoy filling up the truck on the upcoming trip to the farm. I always stop at one of the small town gas stations along the way, and took this picture in April of 2020. As you can see I was paying $0.96 per gallon for regular. Now it's something like $4.60 at the same place, which got me to thinking about the cost of shooting in general. What are you doing, if anything, to mitigate the cost? Are you making fewer range trips and shooting less once you get there? Let us know in the comments if you have figured out how to save some money.

Q: Weasel, Do you enjoy Krispy Krunchy Chicken?
A: What the hell do you think?

Our pal Blake, who contributed two beautifully handmade cutting boards to the NoVaMoMe prize table sends a thank you!

I received the card signed by everyone who was at the NoVa MoMe and it really made my day. Thanks to everyone who made the NoVa MoMe and took the time to sign the card. Regards, -Blake

Thank You Blake!

First up, our pal Utah Lurker sends in some photos of a rifle from his Dad's collection.

I recently acquired a .308 FN Herstal manufactured KAR 98. Its stamped with Israeli Army markings due the Israelis ordering them in 1952-53 for use by their armed forces.

That is the only .308 KAR 98's I've ever run across as collector. My dad was a military arms collector and had an extensive collection of KAR98s, and it's from his collection that I acquired the one I own. If the Israeli experience is any indication they originally took 8x57 mm KARs from Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia for use by the Haganah. It was only after independence was won, 1951, that they ordered the rifle for the fledgling IDF in the new .308 cartridge which was beginning adoption by NATO.

As for CETME rechambered KAR98k's I've not run across one at any gun shows and would be suspicious unless it re-barrelled properly. I hope to get out from Utah to shoot at a meet with lurkers like myself.

Very nice Utah Lurker, and welcome! Thanks for the information and sending this in, and hope to see you at a MoMe!

Here are some pictures of my Spanish rifles which include the FR-8. Last Week there were some questions on the FR-7 and the FR-8 so I figured I would send a few pictures of my FR-8 so folks would know what one looks like and what to look for if they see one out in the wild. From the pictures the FR-8 was used to get the Spanish troops familiar with the new but still yet to be issued Cetme roller lock, delay blowback semi-auto rifle. The front and rear sights as well as the flash hider and grenade ability of the FR-8 are what one would find on a Cetme B. The FR-8 also uses the same bayonet as the Cetme B and also the sling setup. A nice shooter, it does pack a wallop on recoil and the iron Cetme sights do take some getting used to but work reasonably well. My FR-8 was made in 1954 and is still in excellent condition and fun to shoot!

Very nice, Hairyback Guy!! Thank you for sending these in!

Next up our pal Javems sends in a range report

Both targets were shot with an US 1917, 30-06 from a bench at 50 yards. The rifle has a fixed peep sight set at 100 yards. It has a second peep for extended ranges on a slide. The front sight is adjustable for windage but wound need an armorer or expert to adjust them. Rifle is as I bought it some 35years ago. Shot my re-loads. Remarkable for a rifle that could be pushing 100 years old. I'll have to see when this one was assembled.

In the second target you can see I was wearing out. Wasn't the rifle's fault. Missed the whole dang target twice. I'll have to get someone to help me next time. Traipsing up and down the range in this heat and humidity is more that I can handle at this point. If I can make the TxMoMe I'll bring either the 1917 or 98 Krag. I'll have to get dies and supplies for the Krag, commercial rounds are $3.00+ each if you can find them.

Nicely done Javems and thank you! Isn't it fun shooting these old rifles and wondering where they have served? How about a picture of the rifle?

Domestic Terrorist with Weapon of War

You People and your damn a-salt rifles! Who needs an a-salt rifle for hunting? Why do you need a gun that holds more than 10 grains of salt?!?! Did you know you can buy these on the internet?!

I recently had the pleasure of doing some fly hunting with a group of my fellow dangerously unstable right-wingers. Believe it or not, the Bug-A-Salt rifle really works, and comes with a wide range of accessories to customize your setup; including laser sights and custom ammunition and even a Bug Cam to record the hunt!

With standard ammunition, ballistic performance was excellent in crosswinds up to 3 mph, and targets as far away as 1 yard were successfully engaged. WeaselApproved!

A couple of weeks ago I included a comparison test of (I think) various screw drivers by a guy who does a really good series of product reviews. This week he tackles penetrating oil.

What the heck? One of my favorites, Aerokroil, came in last! I still think it's a great product, but maybe not the best for loosening rusty bolts. And although it apparantly doesn't work as well as some of the others, it makes up for it by costing more!

Gun Basics 101

This week the She Equips Herself Gal covers the five things to buy after buying a gun. This is a great topic as far as saving money, because there are a seemingly endless list of "must have" items advertised to first time gun owners.

Cigar of the Week

In case you're unsure how to proceed, here's a helpful video on how to smoke a cigar with Nick Perdomo.

And no Cigar of the Week feature would be complete without Cigar Vixen, this time reporting at the 2016 Puro Sabor Nicaraguan Cigar Festival.

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 mailbag entry is from our pal TDSOBVO. Timmy is wise.

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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