Gun Thread: Third March 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 Third March Edition? Seems like just last week was the second Gun Thread of March edition, and now it's the third Gun Thread of March edition! I sense a pattern emerging here. Do you?

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

Halp! I go to the range and I shoot and I suck!

Okey-Dokey. We have talked a bunch about shooting fundamentals, because I think a healthy focus on them is important. Focusing on fundamentals is how you first create good marksmanship habits and then reinforce those good habits over time. I have yet to meet a person who decides to go out and spend money so they can truly suck at something. It just doesn't make sense. With me so far?

And yet, that is precisely what the Non-Fundamentals-Focuser Community achieves. They buy guns, and ammo, and pay for range time, then waste the opportunity for improvement they have just purchased. It's like taking one lick of an ice cream cone and throwing the rest away, or eating one piece of pie instead of all of the pie, or putting beans in chili, or buying a new car and driving it from the dealership into a river. Again, it just doesn't make sense.

When I am working with a new (or new to me) shooter, range time always begins with a discussion of objectives. When evaluating rifle team shooters, the answer is easy. With casual or recreational shooters, the answer can sometimes be less straightforward, because oftentimes the shooters themselves haven't really thought it through. Some include a vague mention self-defense, or maybe they went shooting with a pal and it seemed like fun, or simply to attract range babes and to make new pals and enjoy social interactions. Whatever the reasoning or lack thereof, I have never once had someone tell me their goal was to waste money and to perform poorly in the process.

And yet, here we are.

If all someone wants to do is become proficient and have a good time, then a very basic level of instruction and practice makes sense. For the more performance focused shooter, more in-depth instruction and consistent practice is key. For those who enjoy the basics and want to go all nutty with precision and accuracy, an even greater level of commitment is required. For those who are not primarily focused on improving as an objective, then there isn't much beyond general range safety and a few pointers they need to learn. Go blast away, do it safely, and have a good time but don't expect a lot in terms of consistency and improvement over time. You cannot go to the range once a year, shoot 50 rounds, and expect to maintain any level of proficiency, much less actually become a better shooter.

Want to become better? Just become an adherent of WeaselDoctrine, and yes, it is a Cult.

Instead of watching a bunch of videos or reading articles on proper technique then trying to remember it all three weeks later at the range, break the information into manageable parts and take notes in the form of a few bullet (ha!) points on the highlights. For example, when practicing trigger pull/squeeze/whatever the highlights might be - smooth pull, - pad of index finger, - do not anticipate recoil, etc... Just the highlights. Study your notes just before you go to the range. These become the items you will focus on during the range session. Once you are at the range and all set up on and ready to fire, look at your notes on the elements of trigger work again, and then immediately practice those items. You can take in a lot of information on proper technique, but in order to retain the information and develop muscle memory you must practice it immediately after review. Make whatever gave you problems the last time the first thing you concentrate on the next time.

It ain't rocket surgery people. You need to practice and practice with a purpose to see improvement. Fortunately, this isn't very difficult. Start with a focus on solid fundamentals, practice them, and you will see results.

Once again our pal Ed L brings the guns with a Colt Official Police revolver!

US Coast Guard Colt Official Police Revolver

Originally produced as the Colt Army Special in 1908, the Colt Official Police remained in production with little change until 1969. Colt simply renamed the Army Special as the Colt Official Police when it became obvious that sales of this revolver to police agencies far outstripped those to the military. The NYPD, Boston PD, numerous other police departments, and federal agencies like the FBI and Treasury Department all made the Colt Official Police revolver their standard issue handgun.

What makes this revolver interesting is that it's one of a handful of firearms that can be directly traced to the US Coast Guard as the purchasing agency. "U.S. COAST GUARD" is roll marked into the revolver's backstrap. The mention of this marking in the Colt letter indicates that this was done at the Colt factory. Colt's letter also provides additional details which match up to the revolver in hand.

The Colt letter states that this revolver has a ramp front sight. This revolver has a serrated ramp. The standard Colt Official Police in the interwar period had a "half-moon" rounded front sight. Deliveries with features varying from the standard were usually noted in Colt's shipping records.

The serial number shown in the letter and the revolver match.

The Colt letter states that this revolver was part of a 25-gun shipment to Joseph A. Lorch of Washington, DC on December 7, 1937. Joseph A. Lorch was Colt's sales representative in Washington DC over three decades (1920s through the 1950s). As such, he was heavily involved in promoting Colt products with government agencies. During this period, Mr. Lorch would receive shipments from Colt before delivering them personally to the purchaser. In this case, it's likely that Mr. Lorch simply drove from Washington to Baltimore to deliver the revolvers to the US Coast Guard's Curtis Bay Yard.

This revolver's service with the USCG after delivery remains unknown.

Nice Ed L! Very cool. Everyone, please join me in thanking Ed L for his contributions!

Q: Weasel, can you please help us understand what the Laplace Transform tells us?
A: Sure.

Here are Fun Size Joe and Gertie waiting for their most favorite treat in the entire universe, Snap Sticks from The Farmer's Dog , where we also get their food. Highly recommended!

Cigar of the Week

This week our pal Diogenes scores again with this excellent review of the Particulares Cremas

Particulares Cremas

While there are conflicting thoughts on this, Freud is generally credited with the saying that "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." This cigar, the Particulares Cremas, is just that. It is a cigar. Nothing fancy, nothing dramatic. Just a good smoke.

But it taught me something.

Yesterday was clear, sunny, and cold. I turned the computer off, left the phone in the house, fired this stick up, and sat in the sun to enjoy a very peaceful 45 minutes to myself.

This is what cigars allow us to do.

The Particulares Cremas delivered a variety of flavor sensations via a medium body of creamy smoke. There was fruit, cocoa, and blast of pepper at the start. Basic tobacco throughout and the tannic highlighted each flavor if one was thoughtful enough to dwell on them. It provided a long ash that once removed, revealed a well centered burn cone.

So. Nothing surprising.

What I learned, and shame on me for not remembering, is that you can absolutely enhance an average cigar with an above average drink. In this case I paired the cigar with a generous dram of Aberlour A'bunadh Speyside single malt. This is a very good Speyside with a dramatic scotch flavor but without the brackishness of the lowland scotches. I cut mine with a dash of water and ice. Together, this pairing of cigar and drink made both better. I recommend it and I will, in future reviews, include a few lines on what pairings I create.

This could be fun!

Most 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!

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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