All Posts, Most Recent First.
Posted: August 19, 2010
The ATF procedure for measuring barrel length is to measure from the closed bolt (or breech-face) to
the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. Permanent methods of
attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, high-temperature (1100°F) silver
soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over. Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod
into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the
furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and
measured.
http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-4.pdf
the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. Permanent methods of
attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, high-temperature (1100°F) silver
soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over. Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod
into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the
furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and
measured.
http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-4.pdf
Posted: August 18, 2010
Posted: August 12, 2010
- SureFire Shot Timer - FREE - This will replace your $100.00 shot timer!
- Topo Maps - $7.99 - download free 1:240000 USGS maps of all the US.
- Ballistic - $9.99 to $19.99 - Uses extremely accurate JBM calcs.
Posted: August 11, 2010
I have previously owned PCHs that were crafted by Lou for my Glock 17 and 1911 handguns, so when I changed my CCW to a Sig Sauer P228, I knew that another PCH would be in order as I consider it the best IWB design ever made.
I feel pretty confident making that claim as I had collected a fair amount of IWB holsters in the never ending quest for the perfect EDC setup before finding the PCH. For me, the PCH is head and shoulders above the rest as Lou himself made it.
As many reading this likely already know, Lou Alessi passed from this world on February 21, 2009. He will be greatly missed not only for his great gun leather but also because he was just a great down to earth guy that truly cared about his customers.
This review is of the PCH model as his successors are now making it though, so from here on out when referencing my experiences with holsters made by Lou himself, I will refer to it as the "Original PCH" and the current rendition I received last week as the Current PCH.
Posted: June 07, 2010
I had this scope for a short time and for the price you can not get more bang for the buck! This is an image and .PSD (Photoshop) file of a cheat sheet I used for my rifle stock. Thought some might find it helpful.
dms-cheat_sheet.psd
dms-cheat_sheet.psdPosted: March 01, 2010
While I have access to a lathe which would make the process fast and clean on a normal barrel, I find that ribbed barrels are easier done the old fashion way with a hacksaw, files and patience. What follows is the procedure I used to shorten a 28" Remington 870 barrel to 18.5" for a co-worker who wanted something shorter to use as a home defense gun.
Posted: February 01, 2010
Posted: January 23, 2010
I decided to start writing down things I see happening at my local matches that should not, and my suggestions to fix these issues. I'm looking at these from a "street" perspective not how to better "game" your IDPA match. None of the suggested "best practices" are going to make or break you match scores either.
Posted: November 25, 2009
Very nice skill drill consisting of (3) IDPA targets and 90 rounds fired at 20, 30, 40 yards, (1) Bianchi Barricade, (1) 55gal Barrel
11-28-09 Corrected Version:
Found several errors in previous document which have been corrected. Also added a Mag Count guide for easier administration of drill, stage setup page and score sheet.
Posted: November 06, 2009
After finishing my AR15 build with a MagPul MOE stock I discovered that I really prefer a shorter Length of Pull (LOP) than either the H&K A2 stock or my Choate side folder would give me. My Ar15 stock rides on the second notch of the six position stock and gives a LOP of 12.5 inches, allowing for a squared-up stance. This is pretty close to the 12" LOP I have on my Remington 870 shotgun which has a Hogue Youth Stock on it, but nowhere near the 14" LOP (standard BTW) that most fixed stocks tend to run on shotguns and carbines.
Until this modification I was going from 12.5" LOP on my AR15 & 12.0" on the Remy 870 to the standard 14" LOP on the H&K A2 stock. While I can't feel the difference between the 12.0"-12.5" LOP, I can definitely feel the shift in position that the 14" LOP that the A2 stock creates. I also notice the tendency to not get up close to the rear sight when using the side folder due to the lack of cheek-weld. By shortening the side-folder I was able to cure that problem also, as the shorter LOP puts your nose right on the back of the receiver as though you were in a "Nose-2-Charging Handle" position on the AR platform.
Choate does have a Tactical Folding Stock out that allows for a shorter LOP and is probably the best bank for buck on a side folder, but I had an old Choate already and didn't want to spend another $150.00+ that and try to unload my current stock at a loss for their "stubby" stock so the following is my solution for a "stubby" stock on my MP5 clone.
Until this modification I was going from 12.5" LOP on my AR15 & 12.0" on the Remy 870 to the standard 14" LOP on the H&K A2 stock. While I can't feel the difference between the 12.0"-12.5" LOP, I can definitely feel the shift in position that the 14" LOP that the A2 stock creates. I also notice the tendency to not get up close to the rear sight when using the side folder due to the lack of cheek-weld. By shortening the side-folder I was able to cure that problem also, as the shorter LOP puts your nose right on the back of the receiver as though you were in a "Nose-2-Charging Handle" position on the AR platform.
Choate does have a Tactical Folding Stock out that allows for a shorter LOP and is probably the best bank for buck on a side folder, but I had an old Choate already and didn't want to spend another $150.00+ that and try to unload my current stock at a loss for their "stubby" stock so the following is my solution for a "stubby" stock on my MP5 clone.
Posted: October 22, 2009
Posted: October 11, 2009
I've had this SKD Universial chest harness for sometime now and still think they are the best bang for the buck when it comes to factory made chest rigs, but as with all things it can be improved with minor modification. My view of "better" is embodied in the changes you see here.
None of the mods are hard and can be done on your wife's sewing machine (thanks Honey!) as the material is very easy to sew. For thread and how to sew the basic "box-stitch" see my article on the 1/2 point sling.
For reference the image below is how the chest rig came from www.skdtac.com
and how it ended up after my mods...
The rig weighs 10lbs with the following:
None of the mods are hard and can be done on your wife's sewing machine (thanks Honey!) as the material is very easy to sew. For thread and how to sew the basic "box-stitch" see my article on the 1/2 point sling.
For reference the image below is how the chest rig came from www.skdtac.com
and how it ended up after my mods...
Load Out
The rig weighs 10lbs with the following:
- (4) Pmags w/ 30 rounds each
- (2) Glock 17 mags w/16 rounds each
- (1) Surefire 6P with Malkoff M60W insert
- (1) SOG multi-tool
- (1) EOD Breacher bar
- (1) SWAT-T / EMT shears
Posted: September 25, 2009
Posted: September 11, 2009
My sling use on carbines went through the following progression.
Each sling has its strong and weak points but of those three designs I found the VTAC to be the best compromise. Still, there is nothing like a dedicated single point sling for easy weapons manipulations so my solution was to...
- Specter 3pt sling
- Bungee single point sling
- Adjustable 2pt VTAC sling
Each sling has its strong and weak points but of those three designs I found the VTAC to be the best compromise. Still, there is nothing like a dedicated single point sling for easy weapons manipulations so my solution was to...
Posted: August 27, 2009
This is a game I made up in 2008 to practice my GPS skills and long range shooting. You need a partner and common maps for it to work. The PDF page below is also in my Rifle Logbook besides being included in this post for those who don't need a complete logbook. As with the logbook, this page is made for the “Rite in the Rain” 5-5/8"x7-1/2" paper format.
The video below was made on the fly and during an outing, but illustrates the basics of the idea. You can mix it up as you like and change the scoring method that I listed on the card as an example.
geo-shooting_demo_final.mov Quick in the field walk-though of Geo-Shooting video. (238mb file)
I'm trying to convert it to youtube.com or flash, but it has some funky CODEC in it that is not converting well. I'll replace the link above with inline video when I figure it out.
14. Geo-Shooting Card
The video below was made on the fly and during an outing, but illustrates the basics of the idea. You can mix it up as you like and change the scoring method that I listed on the card as an example.
geo-shooting_demo_final.mov Quick in the field walk-though of Geo-Shooting video. (238mb file)
I'm trying to convert it to youtube.com or flash, but it has some funky CODEC in it that is not converting well. I'll replace the link above with inline video when I figure it out.
14. Geo-Shooting CardPosted: June 06, 2009
Do you know for sure that Jesus Christ is your personal Savior?
If you can do the following, you can know for sure!
First realize that God loves you...
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Secondly, realize that everyone is a sinner...
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Thirdly, realize that sin has a price that must be paid...
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Fourthly, realize that Jesus Christ died to pay your price...
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Finally, pray, tell Jesus you're a sinner, ask Him to save you, and claim His promise of eternal life...
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Accepting Christ is just the beginning of a wonderful adventure with God! Get to know Him better in a number of ways:
- Follow Christ's example in baptism.
- Join a church where you can worship God and grow in your faith.
- In your church, get involved in Sunday School and Bible study.
- Begin a daily personal worship experience with God where you study the Bible and pray.
Posted: June 06, 2009
Each of the 365 daily readings includes a portion from the
Old Testament, New Testament,Psalms and Proverbs.
BibleReadingPlan_Full Bible.pdf
Posted: June 04, 2009
Below is an example of a Failure To Eject (FTE) which shows the spent casing (top) jammed back into the chamber area with the newly stripped round from the magazine (bottom) trying to chamber.
This results when the spent casing is pulled out of the chamber by the bolt face & extractor, but not ejected completely out of the ejection port or because it fell off the bolt face (loose tension) before the ejector could do its job.
This results when the spent casing is pulled out of the chamber by the bolt face & extractor, but not ejected completely out of the ejection port or because it fell off the bolt face (loose tension) before the ejector could do its job.
My suggestions for eliminating this issue are as follows:
Posted: May 29, 2009
Well so did I. Problem was I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to jump at a clone that happened to come up for sale on AR15.com one day.
It looked like a good deal and in hind sight was actually not that bad of one, but the gun was a lemon for sure. The previous owner said that it ran "fine" with good ammo. I soon found out that "fine" is a very subjective term so remember that if you purchase a clone.
The only maker of clones right now is Coharie Arms which is the latest of several incarnations of companies run by a guy named Todd Bailey. Todd has a bit of a reputation as a cheat and a scoundrel which I'm sure he got the old fashion way... "he earned it!" Unfortunately he is the only major game in town for a complete 922r compliant clone at this time, and with H&K bringing litigation against everyone that makes anything resembling their series 94 arms, there will likely not be anyone else entering this cornered market soon.
The quality control at Coharie Arms (CA from here on out) is pretty much hit and miss. I get the impression from reading new owner posts at www.hkpro.com, AR15.com, and even his own forum www.hk-54.com that Todd's primary focus is to sell as many of these things as he can while he can and does not bother to test the guns properly to ensure that they will run from the factory, which many (if not a good many) do not.
My sample had several issues that took a bit of diagnosing with the help of members at www.hkpro.com, which Todd Bailey seems to monitor for the purpose of gathering information to make fun of and call names (on his forum www.hk-54.com) those who have been unfortunate to get a non-working sample of his guns. I guess it's easier than helping his customers which might require admitting his guns are crap from the factory more often than not, taking responsibility for such, and not trying to weasel out of his "lifetime warranty" at every chance he can. If everyone who got a bad apple sent them back, they would not have time to throw more crap out the factory door, but I digress.
There are other options to getting a clone though...
It looked like a good deal and in hind sight was actually not that bad of one, but the gun was a lemon for sure. The previous owner said that it ran "fine" with good ammo. I soon found out that "fine" is a very subjective term so remember that if you purchase a clone.
The only maker of clones right now is Coharie Arms which is the latest of several incarnations of companies run by a guy named Todd Bailey. Todd has a bit of a reputation as a cheat and a scoundrel which I'm sure he got the old fashion way... "he earned it!" Unfortunately he is the only major game in town for a complete 922r compliant clone at this time, and with H&K bringing litigation against everyone that makes anything resembling their series 94 arms, there will likely not be anyone else entering this cornered market soon.
The quality control at Coharie Arms (CA from here on out) is pretty much hit and miss. I get the impression from reading new owner posts at www.hkpro.com, AR15.com, and even his own forum www.hk-54.com that Todd's primary focus is to sell as many of these things as he can while he can and does not bother to test the guns properly to ensure that they will run from the factory, which many (if not a good many) do not.
My sample had several issues that took a bit of diagnosing with the help of members at www.hkpro.com, which Todd Bailey seems to monitor for the purpose of gathering information to make fun of and call names (on his forum www.hk-54.com) those who have been unfortunate to get a non-working sample of his guns. I guess it's easier than helping his customers which might require admitting his guns are crap from the factory more often than not, taking responsibility for such, and not trying to weasel out of his "lifetime warranty" at every chance he can. If everyone who got a bad apple sent them back, they would not have time to throw more crap out the factory door, but I digress.
There are other options to getting a clone though...
Posted: April 23, 2009
Shooting buddy and I ran this drill today on the clock and found the results interesting. He said no one is going to want to hear the results, but I’m posting it anyways in case some want to try it themselves and see if their conclusions are the same.
The drill was our attempt to see how much exposure time “posting up” would give us verses slow movement while maintaining A-zone (8” IDPA) hits on 3 targets when the option to get to cover was not available.
It left me feeling that the investment/return ratio on shooting on the move (outside of room clearing) is heavy on investment and light on return as far as reducing exposure, creating a harder target for BGs to hit and maintaining A-zone hits.
These are pretty close ranges, but not room clearing ranges which we also did in the shoot house with a lot more success and speed due to the farthest range being < 7 yards.
I didn’t get time to make all “clean” runs on it as the drill specifies, but my results were as follows.
String #1 = ~3.5sec with most hits in the C-zone and one A-zone
String #2 = ~3.1sec with solid A-zone hits and one in the C-zone
I was moving as fast as I could get hits and just reached Box-C when I finished T3 on the move.
To me the results mean I gained 10 yards of “groucho walk” speed movement while dropping most hits from A-zones to C-zones in the approximately the same time frame.
Hitting a “groucho walking” target while posted up is not hard. Do I want to give up accuracy and prolong exposure for this amount of movement when no cover is available?
Do you?
Posted: January 26, 2009
I’ve found the AK grip to be more than annoying ergonomics wise. The standard grip is solid and designed to fit any hand, but is not exactly comfortable for larger hands like my own.
Looking for something a little more “filling”, I first replaced my stock grip with the popular TAPCO “SAW” grip,
Posted: December 22, 2008
Besides all the BLM and Forest Service land that surrounds Medford, we have a nice range located in White City Oregon. It costs $3.00 per shooter for an all day pass and you can get a year long pass for <$30.00 at BlackBird sporting goods store on West Main St. If you are an Oregon Hunter's Assoc. member you shoot for free with proof of membership.
- Large bow hunters range, with walking trail.
- (4) shotgun ranges
- (1) 25 yard pistol range
- (1) 50 yard pistol / carbine range
- (1) 100 yard rifle range
- (1) 22lr ONLY 100 yard range
- (1) 200 yard ONLY range
- (2) 100 yard Rifle ONLY ranges with one having an extra 100 yards on one side for a 200 max distance
- (1) Competition and Police range with (7) bays [open to public for IPSC/IDPA/CASS and other events only]
The ranges include: