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Gun Thread: End of July 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!

Well that went fast! July, I mean. Seems like just the other day we were celebrating the 4th, doesn't it?

The big countdown to the TXMoMe began a couple of weeks ago, with email contact info for Ben Had here and also on the main page, left sidebar. The dates are October 21st and 22nd in Corscicana, TX, and you don't want to miss it! More on that below, and please take note of the video and the HINT below it.

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

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Featured Gun
Last week we had a look at the Springfield Armory 1911-A1 GI Model.

1911-A1 from last week

This week we have another .45ACP pistol from the Springfield Armory 1911 lineup, the Champion Operator with Trijicon sights and Hogue Combat grips. Big difference in the same platform, huh?

(Looks like I need to work on the subject angle!)

With a four-inch barrel I'm not sure if this was marketed as a commander model or not. I really like the gun, despite the accessory rail which I do not generally care for as a matter of personal preference. Nevertheless, it is a fine shooter with a muy excellento trigger, but I'm not sure if it'll ever take the place in my old withered and shriveled heart the basic GI Model holds.

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Shooting Gear
From time to time we discuss various items of shooting gear here on the ol' Gun Thread, and I thought I'd start going over some of the items which have worked well for me. Since they came up in the thread last week, let's start with rear bags for rifle shooting.

First, decide your objective. If it's a casual day of plinking cans from a fence at 75 yards, just about anything will do. An old sock full of sand will work.

Q: Weasel, my grandpappy used a sock full of rice, and he lived to be a hunnert!
A: Rice absorbs moisture and becomes nasty, which range babes find objectionable. Do not use rice. Use sand or some sort of plastic bead filling, instead.

If you are out for a day of something other than casual plinking, you need to pay a lot of attention to your rear bag setup. A lot of attention. I have said it before and I will say it again, of all the variables a long-range shooter must master, the rear bag is probably the easiest to control and will cause you more problems than just about anything else if it is not rock solid. The farther out you go, the bigger the problem will become. One more time; if your shit is all wobbly, you will have elevation problems. When I am coaching a new shooter, usually the first thing I look at is their rear bag setup. It's that important.

So what is the solution? Well, a stable and solid rear bag. The model I prefer is made by the Protektor company in Galeton, PA.

First, let me say a few words about the Protektor company and its people. Their customer service is world class. Call them up and explain what you want, and they will take care of you. I recall once needing a custom bag in a hurry, which they cheerfully made and express shipped to me. Amazing.

Anyhow, the photo above shows the Dr Long Range Bag and I have several in different configurations, for different rifles. Yep, for maximum effectiveness, the bag should be matched to the rifle. You will note the bag in the photo has an angled top for use with a rifle with an angled stock as you might see on a hunting rifle. For target rifles with a flat stock bottom, order a bag with a flat top. The width and height of the "ears" as well as many other features are all customizable, too. For precision shooting, the rifle must recoil straight back into your shoulder and then reset to the original position after a round is fired. Although they are offered on the Protektor website, avoid bags with a thin base and small footprint. As the bags age from use and the leather softens, the sides and the bottom of the bag become rounded, leading to, you guessed it, wobbly shit. Note the thick rubber and leather base of the bag pictured. This is what you want.

A final word on Protektor bags. Buy them pre-filled with sand. The regular sand option is fine in my opinion, but they also offer a "heavy" sand option too. The Protektor people fill lots and lots of bags with sand and they are good at it, with all of the ones I have ordered arriving just exactly right. Yes, it costs more to ship, but it pays to have it done right. Too much sand and the rifle will tend to bounce, and too little sand and the bag is ineffective.

Q: Weasel, is there another option?
A: Yep.

Another option, not quite as effective as the Protektor bag discussed above, is a tactical bean bag. This one is from Triad Tactical another company I have used before and been pleased with.

Q: Weasel, I skipped the content. Is the bean bag just as effective as the more expensive Protektor bag?
A: *SIGH*

This much lighter and less expensive option exists for closer engagements of a few hundred yards or so. A number of companies make them, so shop around. You are looking for a bag with poly filling and made of 1000 denier cordura. A word of caution, though. All of the bags like these I have ever purchased have come badly underfilled. To fix this, I carefully open a seam and add a lot of Beanie Baby guts, and stitch it closed again. A bag such as the larger "tactical pillow" shown above should have almost no compressibility once you are set up on target. You can get away with this at mid-range, but not at long range. Don't be a bag squeezer for elevation! The front rest or bipod is where you make almost all elevation adjustments.

OK - hope this helps. I'll pick another item of gear for next week and let you know my thoughts.

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Pop Quiz
Do you want your rear bag to be:
a) very, very solid
2) all wobbly and shit
iii) all of the above

Answer in the comments, and please show your work.

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Range Report
First up, our pal Dave in Fla made it back to the range to work on some things that troubled him a couple of weeks ago.

I made it back to the range today and had much better results this time. While I was struggling with my LCP-II the range officer came over and showed me what I was doing wrong with my grip. After we spent a few minutes on it, my results were much more consistent. I'm still shooting low from anticipating the shot but trying to relax brought the shots up to closer to center. The first picture is 15 test shots with the Ruger with reloads between each 5 shots. The new grip on it was recommended to me on the gun thread 2 weeks ago, and it does help!

The second picture is with the Sig 320 (which is a LOT more comfortable to shoot than the .380). Closer grouping with a single 15 shot mag, though still a bit low. All of these are at 5m.

Then I also spent time with my Ruger 22 semi auto. I've shot this rifle only once before, and you can see I don't have the scope zeroed yet. The grouping at the head was the first 25 shots, then 50 rounds at the body, finally 25 more rounds at the upper right target. I kept fussing with the scope and the shots in the red are the last few shots. This was standing at 25m, and I'm finding it is hard to get my aim to quiet after 100 rounds standing.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the results today!

Very nicely done, Dave in Fla! I bet your aim was off after 100 rounds of shooting. Take a break! You need to periodically rest your muscles between shots, and I'm certain I'd be all over the place after that many rounds. Congratulations on some nice shooting!

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Mystery Gun
Next up, our pal Rodent is looking for help with identifying a friend's rifle.

Please find attached pictures of my friends rifle he inherited from his uncle. He knows nothing about it. His uncle passed away at 91 years old in 2019. Sending to you in case any knowledge of this. No markings on it other that I can see other than "Navy Arms" and the only web info I found is that it may be a replica firearm?

Wow! That is very cool! There is still a Navy Arms in operation, and a page with their various models can be found here. Looking at the pictures, I don't see anything that appears to be an exact match, rather it seems to reflect characteristics of several. I bet a call to them might give you an answer.

Anyone find a match or able to make an ID for Rodent??

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Next up our pal That Deplorable SOB Van Owen sends us a good video from the hickok45 channel on the (March) anniversary of the 1911. It's good but at over 30 minutes, this might be one you want to save for later. Thanks, TDSOBVO!

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On Target!
Hey! It actually is rocket surgery!

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82 Days!
The countdown to the TXMoMe continues! That's right, boys and girls, the TXMoMe is a mere 82 days from today, and by now you should be rushing your MoMe attendance plans to completion. There are lots of big doin's in the works and your hosts Rancher Bob, Cow Horse Queen and Ben Had are ready to welcome YOU to the festivities! Have you signed up? Are you on the exclusive guest list, or are you one of the mentally defective people who always finds a reason to make it next year?

This year, in addition to the usual compliment of shooting clinic instructors, my main shooting buddy Geoff is planning to join us. In addition to being an all-round good amigo, Geoff is also one hell of a shooter. Here's a video we put together at WeaselAcres a while back with one of his shootin' irons.

HINT: Word has it there may be some, well let's just call them "special" weapons, available to shoot. I don't want to go into a bunch of specifics, but if you liked the video, plan on bringing a box of brass case 9mm ball ammo with you to Texas.

Holy Shitballs, people. Have I not implored and cajoled you enough? Do you require additional imploring and cajoling? I challenge you to find a single person who has attended a TXMoMe and not found it to be a life altering experience. Life altering for the good even! So please quit screwing around and making up reasons not to commit and start planning on getting your ass to Texas in October!

You will see this material again, so for heaven's sake, so do yourself a favor and email Ben Had for details!

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Musical Interlude

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Gun Basics 101
Noting new from the She Equips Herself Gal, so I went into the SEH archives to find this.

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Cigar of the Week
Our pal and Chief Cigar Correspondent rhomboid brings it with another excellent cigar review. Thanks rhomboid!

The Oliva Serie G Maduro, robusto vitola (size). I looked at the Oliva Serie G in an earlier review on the Gun Thread. This cigar has the same filler and binder tobacco, but a maduro wrapper, vs. a Cameroon wrapper on the regular Serie G. And the smoking experience was altered as expected due to this difference. Deeper, richer, stronger, and more earthy and dark wood flavors, with less of the sweetness or hints of cocoa found in the Cameroon version. Still a pretty mellow smoke, most would consider it medium, though if you're partial to lighter fare it can seem full bodied. Excellent construction and burn, easy draw. Box-pressed, like its sibling Serie G (rectangular instead of round). These sticks can be found for around $6 a piece and up, online.

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Here is Cigar Vixen with a tour of her Cuban humidor tour. There is some very good info here if you happen to watch with the sound on.

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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

***Mail Bag***

This week's mailbag entry is from our pal WTM who brings teh funny!

You know, this is a very good point!

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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?