Internet Idiocy

First, a disclaimer: I think the 1934 National Firearms Act was a bad idea, the 1968 Gun Control Act was a bad idea, and closing the registry in 1986 was a horrible idea. It may strike some of you as odd, but I *don't* think the NICS check is a bad idea. I'm well aware that it doesn't do MUCH to keep guns out of the hands of Bad Men, but I do catch the occasional anecdote (not to be confused with data) of idiots with warrants and/or priors trying to buy guns. It's not particularly onerous for those of us who ARE legit, although the use of 4473 clerical errors as a bludgeon by the ATF makes me cranky. (My favorite shop got audited this winter; he's spending several days in and out of federal offices and courts explaining why someone forgot to check "no" on a 4473. THIS is stupidity.)

In any case. I spend a LOT of time on the Smith & Wesson Forum. It's a good group of folks and about as tightly knit as one can expect from nearly 50,000 members. Great mods and owner, and the depth of information available is second to none - as long as you want to talk S&W. For as long as I've been hanging out there (since I got my 28-2 a couple years ago), it's been (bluntly) a bit of a Fudd forum. This isn't a bad thing: they certainly don't frown on black rifles (just combat tupperware), but the focus is Smiths. Since Smith is known for wheelies there wasn't a lot of crossover with, say, ArfCom.

Until this past year, when they released the M&P15-22. It's an AR in that it accepts pretty much all AR accesories, but has a polymer receiver and is blowback instead of gas operated. However, for $500, it's less costly than most dedicated .22 uppers, and certainly more reliable (and accurate) than the various .223-.22LR conversions out there. Suddenly, the masses of black-rifle kids (and I don't mean that as a pejorative term!) were appearing in the S&W Forum. The conversations stayed on-topic thanks to pretty much constant effort from the mods, and a few trolls and others saw the banhammer for repeatedly breaking rules. In other words, no major changes, particularly when the 15-22s were moved to their own group.

I poke in there occasionally, and chime in on a few conversations - generally not about the 15-22 specifically, since I don't own one. Yet. (I've been considering it and if they'd make an A4 setup instead of the railfarm I'd be all over it.) Regardless, I skim through the group at least once a day and chime in where I think I can be of help.

Last night, a user posted a new topic with a title to the effect of, "15-22 full auto". Inside was a link to a YouTube video. I was curious, so clicked over, fully expecting to see a CoD-kid bump-firing his 15-22. ... Nope. Video description said something about a trigger mod, and the video was clearly full-auto, not a bump-fire or crankfire. (!!!!!!)

I clicked back to the forum, "reported" the post, and replied with something along the lines of, "you just posted a video online of an unregistered/untaxed machine gun... that'll be good for 5-10 years in club fed. Probably should undo what you did and delete the videos ASAP." There were several more posts of roughly the same content, both before and after me - and a couple of "damn that's cool man".

... and you know what? I agree. IT IS COOL, MAN! A reliable .22LR full-auto (and the cyclic rate was VERY high - 25 rounds in about 2 seconds) would be a GREAT way to enjoy full-auto in a slightly more affordable way. Particularly since it's possible to actually control a zero-recoil .22 much more effectively than a centerfire. I've shot a (registered, legal, and in another state) full-auto M16. It was FUN. But. Even if they were legal to have in NY, I couldn't afford to feed one enough to make it worth having. .22LR? That I could afford.

All that said: If you're going to be an idiot and make your 15-22 into a machine gun (and this is just fodder for the anti's, by the by - "he turned it into a machine gun with only a few tools!") ... don't post about it online. Don't take videos of it. Don't tell anyone. In fact, don't do it to begin with. And if you have done it, take apart your fire control group. Take out any pieces you've modified, beat them out of shape with a hammer, then cut them into small pieces. Then order new ones from S&W or whomever and call the $50 in parts a learning experience - that will save you from 5-10 years of "experience" while Bubba enjoys that sweet young thing in his cell.

Part of owning a firearm - ANY firearm - is knowing the laws in your area. Municipal, state, and federal. And following them, unless you want to go to federal-pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

I understand, when you're 18, 19, 20 - hell, even 40, 50 - that it's easy to think you're immortal, or above the law, or "they won't care about one kid doing this". Here's a hint, folks: THEY CARE. If my small-town part-time dealer is spending days and dollars in court over a checkmark on a sheet of paper, THEY CARE. And you are NOT above the law. You want to play with FA? Get your 01FFL, ClassIII stuff, or the manufacturing FFL (07?). Then see just how much they care and how much paperwork is involved. Mind-blowing.

Because they care, they will prosecute you, and you will likely lose. Fines up to $100,000 (Mom? Dad? How would guys feel about getting a second mortgage over Junior's $500 rifle?), 5-10 years in pokey ... and you come out a convicted felon, unable to ever own a firearm again, probably unable to vote, and having to explain that ten-year-gap on your work history when you try to apply for another job. None of these are pleasant options.

While I was poking around the "related" videos, a few other things in the same vein caught my eye:
- a Marlin 60 running FA
- a Ruger 10/22 running FA (I have seen these done legally by FFLs. A 14-year-old is not an FFL.)
- a 10/22 SBR ("Don't worry, it's legal*," says the teenager filming the video.)
- pop-bottle or PVC "silencers"
- etc, etc, etc

* - It IS possible to make a legal 10/22 SBR. It'll cost you a $200 tax stamp and a Form 1, along with signatures and so forth. This one, however, looks like someone took the barreled action out of a Ruger Charger and slapped it into a 10/22 rifle stock. Ruger, if you're paying attention, it would behoove you to make this un-possible without removing metal somewhere. Thompson-Center went to court over this with their Contenders, and that judgment only eliminated constructive possession, NOT actual possession!

Minor update

Life continues apace. Two weeks ago MrsZ and I spent a late morning enjoying trigger time and general camaraderie with a fellow Appleseeder. I tried out my new handload for .45s and was pleased - 6.0gr T/B/230grLRN. Zeroed my Winchester 94; it's now handily minute-of-deer at 100yd and would be fine to 150. Toyed with the .17 rifle and pistol - can't get the pistol to hold a consistent zero and think that may be a sights issue. I have a pistol scope for it, now I need to get a rail and rings. I also got to enjoy his Marlin .45-70 levergun, which was an absolute hoot to shoot and has bumped up my desire list a bit.

Last weekend we made brief appearances at the local Appleseed, and actually managed to fit in some shooting - it helped to have a surplus of instructors for once. My Savage MkII is having feeding issues, and a thorough scrubbing is in order soon - and possibly some new magazines. I'll be coughing up for the stainless magazines next time around, as the ones I have are well-coated with rust freckles. MrsZ's 10/22 is having ejection issues, and beyond a thorough scrubbing it may require some parts replacement - particularly the extractor/ejector.

On the home front, we acquired a new grill last weekend, and I put it together Tuesday. It is ... large. Very large. Half-gas, half-charcoal, side burner, and there is an optional side-smoker that I will likely get at some point. Almost three hours to put together at an admittedly leisurely pace. Hamburgers and grilled veggies on the gas side came out beautifully, although proper grill implements are in order so I don't drop *quite* so many bits through the grate. Today I did a rack and a half of pork ribs on the charcoal side, and tried the "water smoker" method. I'm not displeased, although there is some tweaking to do. We rubbed the ribs with Dinosaur BBQ's "Foreplay" dry rub and some brown sugar last night and stuck 'em back in the fridge overnight.

I got up at 10 this morning and started the grill, put a shallow pan of beer on one side and the coals on the other, and the ribs over the beer. Closed off the dampers and started smokin' ... An hour later I remembered that I had pruned the apple trees a few weeks ago, and decided to improve on the smoke. I poked through the brush pile and found a promising apple branch, cut out a nice-size chunk, peeled it, cut it into chunks, and added it to the coals when I added more charcoal. Around 12:30 I basted one side of the ribs with Dino's Sensuous Slatherin' Sauce, cooked another 15 minutes, flipped, basted that side, cooked another 15, then pulled the ribs and covered them up...

I just finished my rack of ribs. Not too bad at all. The temperature was a little high (pushed 300 or 350 a couple times) so the edges dried out some, but the flavor was good. The side-smoker is a definite must-have to keep the temperature down some.

We got a love note from our homeowner's insurance company Monday - they are canceling our policy in 30 days because of "unacceptable risk". I called the agent for details and they told me it was because of the un-sided garage. Nevermind that the garage has been bare for over a year... and that they told us when they wrote the policy that it wasn't an issue. We did some calling around and cursing, and I placed an order for lumber yesterday - nearly 1500 board-feet of rough white pine, in order to do board and batten siding. That should be delivered Tuesday or Wednesday, at which point I'll start getting siding up as quickly as possible. Most of the lumber will be pretty green, so it'll weather and dry over the winter and then we'll seal/stain it in the springtime.

Somehow, shooting has taken a back seat to home ownership. This is ... frustrating.

Side note: Shotgun ammo prices have started to decline slightly. I went through Walmart the other day and the 100-round value packs of Remington trap loads were marked down from 24-something to 21-ish. Small, but noteworthy. ... Of course, I can't tell you the last time I shot trap. I should find the nearest range with open trap and go shoot some; it's a good way to relax on a Sunday morning.

New boomers tried

Spent a couple hours this morning on trigger time with a nearby gunny and fellow Appleseeder. Tossed several guns in the truck and a bag of ammo and headed off.

We spent some time getting my S&W 647 zeroed at 25m (got it close, not great)... then tried and zeroed my new-to-me Win94. It's shooting minute-of-deer at 100yd which is all I need from it. Trigger still sucks - I'm hoping some shooting or dry-firing will smooth that out. Might need to get some snap caps.

Re-zeroed my Savage MkII... it had been adjusted for 100yd shooting, and I brought it back to 25m.

Brought out the Savage 93 and worked the kinks out. Had it happily zeroed at 25m and then it fell from its position leaning in the corner and the zero went bye-bye. I was unpleased. Re-zeroed. It is now 1/2" low at 25m and dead-on at 100yd - just about perfect for squirrels and other small game.

MrsZ re-zeroed her 10/22 to 25m as well.

Played with the MkIII 22/45, the 1911, the Bersa ... tried a Springfield XD9 ... and spiffiest of all, a Marlin .45-70. It didn't kick like I thought it would. Stiff, but really not any worse than a 12ga with a slug. Definitely worth consideration.

Side note, I tried my latest batch of handloads for the 1911. Trying a new powder, RamShot TrueBlue. Not bad. I'll be loading up a couple boxes of that for competition.

A shooty evening...

I took yesterday off of work. It was nice out, I had things I wanted to get done around the house, and maybe just maybe spend some time with MrsZ. I finished my various projects, showered off, and we debated evening plans. Called a few friends, and none of them were available.

MrsZ finally said, "Well, how about going shooting? I still haven't tried your new pistols, and the new trigger is in my rifle."

I liked this idea. I threw together range gear while she made sandwiches. Headed out and plinked away for nearly two hours... MrsZ was mostly shooting her 10/22, which I had just installed a Volquartsen hammer in. It's now an insanely-light trigger, if a hair soft. I didn't feel like bothering with a sling, so I slapped the bipod on my Savage MkII and burned some ammo with that.

MrsZ had yet to try my Thunder380, S&W 21-4, and my 22/45. It was starting to get dark, so we switched to pistols at 7yd. A couple magazines through the 22/45, then a magazine though the Bersa. She did quite well with both. Didn't get around to the 21-4, sadly. The fireball from a 22/45 at dusk is pretty cool; the fireball from the Bersa is downright nifty... should've brought the AR for sampling. *g*

I also had the opportunity to try the .22CB Shorts in my Savage and the 22/45. It was absolutely eerie shooting them in the rifle. I pulled the trigger on the first one, heard *click*, and then saw the puff of dirt. No report. I asked MrsZ if it had actually gone "bang". She said yes, so I cycled the action and pulled out one of my earplugs ... sure enough, it went bang, with about as much zip as the little plastic-ring cap guns I used to play with. Nifty! Tried in the 22/45 and they're a fair bit louder, but still much quieter than any .22LR I've used. Not enough oomph to cycle the action.

I should see if I can find some of the Aguila 60gr subsonics, and some .22CB Longs as well. I'm intrigued by quiet!

Side note: the 22/45 is a hell of a nice gun to shoot. Mine has a great trigger, which seems to be abnormal, and while the sights aren't great, they're tolerable. Nice plinker. It's manual of arms is very similar to the 1911 I shoot competition with, so it's good for practice in that regard. However - there is a big difference. When the slide lock backs on an empty mag, my usual practice with the 1911 is to drop the mag, then gently lower the slide by hand. I tried to do that with the 22/45 last night. It doesn't have a slide, only the rear bolt... so I promptly dropped the extractor at full speed into the fleshy part of my left-hand middle finger. It bled. I cursed. I won't make that mistake again. :)

Search term round-up

Aside from a brief Tamalanche early after installing Sitemeter, a normal day here has been ... slow. That's likely due to not updating daily. I do get a fairly regular stream of hits from google searches, though, and a la the Munchkin Wrangler, I'll post a few highlights.


small rifle primers

The little round thing in the back of a centerfire cartridge that's struck by the firing pin and ignites your gunpowder. There are at least eight different sizes - small and large rifle and pistol, and magnum/non-magnum variants of each. Small rifle primers are used, in particular, in .223Rem/5.56NATO, which is pretty rare these days. If you have primers, count yourself lucky. PowderValley claims they have backorders for 50,000,000 primers, and they're not the only ones.


kns hooded front sight match approved

I'd suggest checking the rules of the particular match you are entering, as NRA Highpower has different rules from Benchrest and Smallbore and so on.


a2 rear sight jpg 0-2

I don't have pictures of them, but try the Google image search. Or look at an AR - the flip-up rear aperture with the larger hole (0.200" diameter) is the 0-2, and is conveniently labeled as such. It's not a precision aperture, but is designed for limited visibility and moving targets. It also has a different zero from the small aperture.


wolf 223 stuck

A frequent issue, particularly with tight chambers. Older Wolf ammo, along with some of the various "Bear" ammo, is lacquer-coated. At higher rates of fire, the chamber gets hot enough to melt this lacquer and effectively glue a round in place. Clear your rifle, remove the bolt if possible, and CAREFULLY tap the round out with a brass rod from the muzzle end. Use acetone to clean your chamber and dissolve the lacquer, then a chamber brush and normal cleaning procedures... and then stop shooting crap ammo in a good rifle. Save the Wolf for the Mini14 and .223 AKs.


hooded cross hair front sight for 22 rifle

Swap your crap Ruger factory sights for a set of Tech-Sights, and the front sight tower accepts all standard AR front posts, including the KNS hooded crosshair.


walmart pistol primers

Walmart doesn't have store-branded gun anything. Not ammo, not primers, not nothing. Some Walmarts apparently do sell reloading components, but I've never seen it.


kns with rra 2 stage trigger

Well, KNS doesn't make lowers. If you mean KNS anti-rotational pins with a RRA trigger, it should work fine. The pins are standard diameter, as are the triggers. The pins just look fancy and mean you need one more tool in order to disassemble your rifle if something breaks.


5.56 a2 rifle insert notes lesson 6

I see you're in the UK. Naughty, naughty! I'm not sure where you're inserting that A2, or why you need notes, but apparently you've made it to lesson 6, and that takes some dedication. Keep practicing and you'll get there!


And that concludes the highlights of this set of search terms...

An Appleseed Weekend

As I mentioned in Friday's post, we were doing the Appleseed thing this weekend. We made it out the door roughly on schedule and had things set up in good time when we arrived. The range was already set up and ready to go, so we simply popped up the canopy near the firing line and then set our tent up near our host's house. Other instructors were arriving at the same time along with a couple shooters, so there was chatter and some planning, and just good times.

Sleeping in a tent puts you back in touch with the world. I tend to forget how insulated we are living in a house. We fell asleep to the sound of peepers, bullfrogs, and the occasional quiet moo from the pasture across the road.

We woke up at early-dark-thirty to the distinctive screaming whine of a pack of rice rockets tearing up the highway nearby. In a valley, so the noise started early and lasted a long time. Rolled over and went back to sleep...

... and woke up around 6:30 as it really got light out. Rolled out, dressed, joined our hosts and other instructors for breakfast and coffee, then moved up the hill to the range to greet the shooters and get things rolling. A good mix of new and repeat Appleseeders, along with at least a few very new shooters. (One step past, "Wait, which end goes bang?") Nice mix of equipment as well; mostly 10/22s of various flavors, a few ARs, and one fellow (a repeat from last year) shooting a Remington 700 in .270.

Saturday, all work was at 25m, and we ground the basics into our shooters. Six steps, NPOA, getting sights and scopes zeroed, and a good dose of history from 4/19/1775. Managed to squeeze in a couple AQTs before the end of the day, and punched out two Riflemen with them. Weather was perfect all day even though storms had been forecast - and just as we closed things down, the skies darkened, the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle on and off. A pretty good storm moved down the valley with some impressive fireworks as the instructors enjoyed dinner courtesy of our host (an instructor) and his wife. MrsZ and I moved out to the tent around 9:30 or 10:00 and listened to the rain patter gently and watched the sky flash as the valley rumbled. Something about storms in a tent...

Woke up Sunday around 5 for natural reasons. Took care of that and noted that the entire valley was in thick fog. Went back to sleep for another hour and a half, and when I woke up, it was still a soft gray world of ghostly shapes. Our tent was perhaps 200yd from the firing line and canopies - and those were invisible. An apple tree 100yd up the field from us was a mere suggestion of shape. Not ideal shooting weather... but we went in for breakfast and coffee, and ignored the weather.

It cleared as we ate, and ended up being another beautiful sunny day. Fewer shooters, but all motivated, and cranked out three more Riflemen. Following that, we went to full-distance shooting. Stretched out the .22 shooters to 100yd, and the centerfires to 200, 275, and 500yd. The .22 shooters were turning in respectable groups on the 100m target, scaled equivalent to shooting 400m. A few were making good shots on the (scaled) 800m and 1200m targets. Impressive, to say the least.

Centerfires were playing with a 6" popper at 200yd, a full-size Army "D" target at 275, and a steel copy of an IDPA silhouette at 500yd. I watched one of our IITs, an outstanding young man at 14yo, get prone behind his father's CMP Garand and start making solid hits - consistently - on the 500yd target. Prone, unsupported, iron sights, with surplus ball ammo. The M1 Garand: The finest battle implement ever devised. (Gen. George Patton) MrsZ slung up with my AR and got it dialed in for the 275yd D-target and made some good hits; a few other shooters ran a half-mag through and did OK with it.

We made the official end of the day at that point, but there was more fun to be had... two folks had brought out .50BMG single-shots, and there was a small supply of Tannerite. The Tannerite was mixed and put out at about 100yd in three .5L water bottles. The centerfire shooters were split into three fire teams and given one minute to hit their assigned bottle. I claimed privilege on this and jumped on a fire team instead of watching. Slung up sitting so I could see over the grass, loaded a mag, and the third shot connected perfectly. Yeah, that was cool... the sound effect was *crack* pause *crack* pause *craBOOM!* "BOOOYAHHHHH!" (with fist-pump for effect)

After we finished the Tannerite, the .50s came into play. The owners did a simultaneous volley on the 500yd target (with two good hits), then let those who wanted to have a go at it. I had shot one last year so declined - they're cool but I don't want to burn someone else's money and generosity for no reason. MrsZ took a turn at one though - and the look on her face after was freaking priceless.

Took down the range, packed the truck, and headed home - sore, sunburned, dehydrated, hoarse, and happy. This morning we slept in a little bit, then after showers we got around to cleaning rifles. Her 10/22 was desperate for it, and now MrsZ knows how to strip and clean her rifle. We did this outside because it was nice out. I cleaned my AR at the same time. While cleaning the barrel and chamber, I had set the BCG on a towel on the sidewalk. In the sun. After cleaning the barrel/chamber/receiver to my minimum standard, I picked up the BCG to start cleaning that... and promptly burned my finger. Not much, just enough to turn red and hurt a little. I don't know how our men and women in the sandbox deal with that - I presume they must wear gloves.