Gun Thread: More November 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!

Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be more November? I have noticed all y'all seem to be in a great mood lately, must be the Fall weather and return to Standard Time!!

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

I have accidentally acquired a collection of Beretta Mouse Guns, ironically named after cats. They all share the same open top slide and beautiful Italian design. Yeah, they're purdy, but how do they shoot? Well they shoot okay, but I suck. Forgive me, Gub Threaders but I have not been to the range in mumble-mumble months. I also confess that the last several mags were rushed. I recently retired, so I have more free time to work on fundamentals.

Beretta 71 (Cougar) Chambered in .22LR, alloy frame, steel slide, 8-round magazine. Used by Israeli Air Marshals, the Mossad, and Sayeret Matkal. To meet the weight/length restrictions of the 1968 GCA, a fake suppressor was "permanently" pinned to the barrel. Once in CONUS, they can be removed. Mine is an import from Israel.

Beretta 84F (Cheetah) Chambered in .380 ACP, 13-round double-stacked magazine. It has a "combat" trigger guard with a squared-off front that allows for a finger hold and a frame-mounted safety/de-cocker.

Beretta 85F (Cheetah) It is essentially the same as the 84F, but has an 8-round single stack magazine.

Browning BDA Manufactured by Beretta for FN Herstal. It is derived from the Beretta 84 (same 13-round magazines), but does not have an open slide. The safety is slide mounted (up = pew, down = no pew).

Thanks Butch! Nice collection and shooting!

Our newest pack member, Gertrude (Gertie for short), is settling in nicely after two weeks. Here she is snuggled in on top of a cozy cave.

She's a really sweet and gentle girl, and is proving to be a great little sister for FSJ!

Cigar of the Week

This week our pal Diogenes scores again with this excellent review of the The Gurkha Ghost

So, for my celebratory cigar, I went bigly. The Gurkha Ghost complete with holographic band which I thought was kinda cool. And I’m glad I did!

It starts with a peppery taste and blends into the surprisingly mild (for a medium bodied cigar) smoke with a layer of flavors that seem to center on cocoa and cinnamon. Made in the Dominican Republic, it looks imposing. Big, dark, earthy and even if it has been in the humidor for a bit, the skin looks lightly oiled from the tobacco. This is something a friend told me to look for. It is a good tip. Such a look is promising and this didn't disappoint.

The smoke has a pleasant tobacco flavor and this stick had an average draw. The ash stayed even and as I got into it, backgrounds of leather and wood floated near my nose. Very pleasant. This cigar would pair well with just about any scotch, a better bourbon, and I'd go Irish with it as well.

And yes, I'd sneak a martini into this as well.

Price ranges from $7.00-$9.00 so affordable.

I am a fan, and will be stocking up on the Ghost soon.

Excellent, Diogenes! Thank you!

Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.

Cigarsinternational.com
Cigarpage.com
Famous-smoke.com
Cigarsdaily.com
Neptunecigar.com
Smallbatchcigar.com
Bobalu Cigar Company
Cigarbid.com
Nicks Cigar World New!

A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid

Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!

Ammo 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
American Elite Ammo NEW!

This week's mailbag entry is from our pal Fungus Boy. Great one!

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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