PTR Commentary

My remarks on a link to an article posted by SayUncle:

I like mine: from sandbags I was getting 3" at 200yds (1.5 MOA) with old Australian surplus using a Hensoldt 4x scope (with temps in the 30s, so I was probably getting a cold-bore shot every string...). The recoil is heavier than an AR-15, but you get used to it. Especially if you put the wide handguard and Magpul PRS stock on there, which makes it really heavy!

Downsides to the HK91-style rifle are two: it beats the hell out of brass, and it doesn't have a last round hold open. The former is only an issue if you reload (which is why I only feed mine surplus). The latter is a serious demerit, IMO, as I'm not going to stick tracers in for my last couple rounds. Still, as Boston T. Party opines in his "Gun Bible", it'll pretty much always work, which is what you want in an SHTF rifle.

CDNN has the best price on the gun. RTG has good prices on surplus accessories; buy new at HKParts if you're rich ;-)

I still despise CTD, though....

Stripper Clips

An old post by Mr. Vanderboegh has convinced me that I need to load ammo on stripper clips, keep the clips in bandoleers, and stow the bandoleers in .30-cal ammo cans.  I may need to find myself some .223 stripper clips....

ChiCom M14s

So I'm back to wrestling with whether or not to get a Chinese M14.  Obviously, I'm not enamored with the fact that it's Chinese-made, considering that they're our main political and economic opponent.  However, I'm hesitant to pay $1500+ for a cast receiver.  According to BTP, SA has had some trouble with their cast receivers (it's unclear if that's fixed or not) and while he mentioned the Chinese forged receivers, he said that they were soft and need heat-treating to bring the hardness up.

As a result, I was reading forums and came across this one on Calguns:

Ever wonder where Springfield Armory Inc gets its "investment cast" commercial parts?...Answer: Wayne Machine Inc. Where is Wayne Machine Inc located???...Answer: Taiwan.
http://waynemachine.com.tw/

If you think your buying a full fledged American built, American made, American parts rifle....think again buddy. ;)

Another source notes that small parts come from China, whereas the receivers are Canadian, and yet another forum actually references a business info page that mentions SA.  So...that kind of eliminates the "buy American" argument, since I can't afford an LRBArms M14SA.  Yet.

In the past, I've bought Chinese products where I couldn't get equivalent features in a U.S.-made product.  Of course I could get an LRBArms gun, but we're talking 3x the price.  Now I'm more of the opinion that I buy something cheap first, figure out what I want, and then spend the big bucks to get it.  Practicality before ideology?

There were a couple M14 gunsmiths mentioned on the forums:

• Warbird Custom Guns - bolt conversion with refinish, $200; rebarrel $75 (plus barrel, of course)
• Arrington Accuracy Works - no prices listed, but one forum mentioned them as doing heat-treat/bolt service

And then there's Smith Enterprise, but I have a feeling I can't afford to have them do the work--if I could, I might as well go the LRB route!

In a Christian Science Monitor article about America's "gun culture", reference is made to an essay that suggests that with the 2A, the notion of civic engagement implies that people ought to "participate in . . . law enforcement and defense of liberty":

The pro-gun movement has been expanding ever since, aided in part by favorable legal rulings and writings. In 1989, Mr. Levinson, the Texas law professor, wrote a notable essay in the Yale Law Review in which he suggested that citizen participation in government might extend to the Second Amendment.

Levinson looked specifically at whether "ordinary citizens [should] participate in the process of law enforcement and defense of liberty rather than rely on professionalized peacekeepers, whether we call them standing armies or police." Gun rights activists consider it a hinge moment in the gun debate, since it marked one of the first such dissections of the Second Amendment by a liberal legal scholar.

That's quite a notion, especially for a liberal scholar (as the article notes).  Sounds right to me—there haven't always been so many professional LEOs running around.  The essay, entitled The Embarrassing Second Amendment, is available online.

RDIAS

For some reason, I got the urge to read about registered drop-in auto sears (RDIASes).  I'd love to own a machinegun (although in my crummy state I can only own C&R MGs) and a RDIAS seems like a good option.  Being drop-in, it can be moved to another lower receiver, as being the registered part, it's not limited to one lower.  Plus, an RDIAS works with .22LR conversions, so one could burn through 1k rounds for less than $50.

Well, Google turned up a few interesting hits:

• Quarterbore's DIAS page, with great pictures (the toolbox case for AR-15s is cool too!)
• A discussion of RDIAS vs. RLL vs. RR on Arfcom
• An Ohio gunsmith who works on NFA weapons and can fix damaged RRs

Ah, I wish I were rich and lived in a state that didn't suck from the perspective of gun laws.  Maybe it's time to move, or buy some land in a neighboring state....

rec.guns AAR from 2000

Sharp as a Marble linked to a recap of an old rec.guns post on The Smallest Minority, where a pawn shop owner ended up shooting a guy, who'd stabbed him with a sword, with a .25 ACP.  Pretty crazy stuff.  Better to have a gun than no gun—but I'd still rather be carrying an ACP two-tenths bigger in diameter.

Self-Defense

An old friend (who happens to have become a Democrat) messaged me the following link on Facebook: What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)

From those details, it doesn't sound like the shooting was justified.  Permit-to-carry holders, in MN anyway, are required to retreat (unless in one's home).  Chasing down a suspect isn't acceptable, also because it doesn't demonstrate a reluctance to participate in a confrontation.  Neither is shooting someone who doesn't exhibit immediate intent to inflict great bodily harm or death.

It's hard to tell from the news who the victim is.  The novel Bonfire of the Vanities comes to mind.  (Where the outraged community and leaders twist the facts to make one of the perps out to be a victim.)

I also came across a forum thread on Minnesota Carry where a permit-holder shot a guy who'd robbed another woman, and according to some accounts was pistol-whipping her, after he was fired upon.  Again, it's hard to tell from the news, but it sounds like the bad guy was really a baddie, as he was a felon who had been freed on a catch-and-release program.  (A felon possessing a firearm is also illegal.)  The guy's mother and sister claimed injustice, but they too have criminal records: the mother for drug possession and the sister for receiving stolen property.

The really fucked up thing is that the judge, Toddrick Barnette, who released the dead perp, is the same asshole who stuck the late MN gun-rights icon Joel Rosenberg with $100k bail after Joel was arrested on a technicality (apparently there was an unused courtroom in the building that allowed them to claim he carried in a prohibited place).  Hmm.  I'm guessing the judge is a Democrat.

Aguila Colibri

Aguila Colibri is a brand of "quiet" .22LR cartridge, a light bullet propelled by only the primer.  I'd considered these for indoor use, but the lead in the primers would be an issue.  Comments on forums seem to indicate that penetration is an issue, especially at practical distances.  Sounds like a Super Colibri out of an 18" barrel is the best of the two for velocity and penetration without excessive noise.

Homebrew Explosives

From a GRE post by Kurt Hofmann, I followed a link to this great archive of homebrew explosives information.  One reason to get a place in the middle of nowhere is so that one can try some of this stuff out without having the po-po knock on your door....

HDDs Gone By

old gold: Some information on HDDs gone by from the Land Down Under.

Wikipedia has a list of defunct HDD manufacturers, as well.

Metal Spigots

Most gravity-pressure water filters have plastic spigots, which sucks.  There are a couple sources for metal spigots that I've found online, but one of them is only in Europe.  The commercial dispenser spigot manufacturer is Tomlinson.  Unfortunately, the type with a watch glass is still a plastic body.  I suppose the other alternative would be to have a machinist make one to spec.

The Purpose of Armed Citizenry

Another post by Vanderboegh worth rereading.

HDD Industry Consolidation

• Rumors from The Register circa 2012.02.08 regarding Toshiba as the buyer of Desktop drive assets from WD/HGST.
• Verification of the rumors via WD's press release dated 2012.02.28, with additional information that WD will have to acquire Toshiba's Thailand plant in exchange.
• Article on China approving the WD acquisition with conditions on 2012.03.02, similar to the EU's objections.  (A translation of the article was made internal to HGST; the linked article has a rougher translation.)
• The FTC issued a proposed order to accept the WD acquisition with divestiture of 3.5" assets on 2012.03.05, apparently in response to China's approval.  However, it appears that there's an open period for comments for 30 days, implying the approval hasn't been given yet.

Drones over the U.S.

The AP has an article about the use of drones over U.S. soil.  Sounds like a good impetus for the technically savvy to start building anti-drone drones for a hobby.