VolkStudio Blog

UTS15

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Oleg Volk

The version shown is not the final version. UTAS is now shipping an improved variant.

Posted in shotgun, weapon | Tagged 12ga, bullpup, UTS15 | 14 Comments

Producers are under two pressures: to raise prices to account for the loss of purchasing power of each dollar, and to lower prices to attract customers with declining incomes. They most obvious way to accomplish both is to keep the nominal prices the same or slightly lower while adulterating the goods and services.

In groceries, that means 59oz cartons instead of 64oz, at the post office, 18-stamp booklets instead of 20-stamp, and at the hotel much reduced service, such as no daily bedding changes. The difference over even one year has been drastic enough to be noticed.

The other cost is in the increase of regulations. To use the sound suppressor registration as an example, government intervention at least triples of the prices over countries where suppressors are not registered. To that, a $200 excise tax is added. And to those costs, the value of productivity lost while complying with the paperwork requirements, easily a full day of work time. So a suppressor costing $100 in New Zealand ends up costing Americans $300+$200 tax+$200 lost work time, a total of $700 plus a delay of 6-8 months. This is as an illustration only — all regulations increase costs and most provide no benefits to anyone but the bureaucrats enforcing them in exchange for paychecks and influence.

Posted in civil rights, sound suppressor | Tagged decline, inflation, money, regulations | 9 Comments

My Favorite Navigator

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Oleg Volk

My father in Prague.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged family, GPS, phone | 2 Comments

Custom Knives by Nikolay.

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Oleg Volk

My friend Nikolay makes awesome knives. I have a few of them here and just got done with the photos. Each one is unique, made of different materials and for different purposes. They are all for sale — and if you do not see something you like, email him directly. He does make knives and other tools to order. I carry one often and it holds the edge extremely well. These one-of-a-kind knives make great, memorable gifts.

Please indicate which knives you’d like. Photos on this page are numbered 1 through 12, each image also has a unique photo number. Shipping within continental US would be $12 no matter how many you buy. Use Paypal (galinaru@hotmail.com) or send checks to:

Nikolay Yermolenko
3706 Hull Neck Rd
Heathsville, VA 22473

PS: Some of the photos are no longer loading for me and re-building them in Gallery isn’t working. Are all twelve knife photos visible to you?

Posted in craft, interesting people, knife, tools | Tagged custom, hand-made, unique | 18 Comments

Hanging Professor

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Oleg Volk

A humorous sculpture in Prague. Many other photos of the same.

Posted in humor, Uncategorized | Tagged blue, Czechia, Prague, sculpture, travel | 1 Comment

Where to Go for Good Pastries in Nashville?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Since the demise of Alpha Bakery, the only passable source of baked good seems to be the French Bakery (Provance?) on 21st Ave. Are there any other good options, especially closer to Hermitage?

Posted in advice requested, food | Tagged baked, dessert, pastry | 6 Comments

How Rifle Ammunition is Made.

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Oleg Volk

This video (made by Buddy Singleton) shows the 223 production line at SBR.

Posted in ammunition | Tagged 223, assembly line | 4 Comments

Guns & Coffee Challenge Coins

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Virginia Open Carry sells these challenge coins to raise funds for pro-RKBA outreach. The coins aren’t very expensive, $15ea or five for $50, but they are now offered at a $3 discount with the coupon code OLEG. Get a neat conversation piece and help an effective civil rights organization at the same time! You can even get a couple for friends.

You can get many other items with that logo at ilovegunsandcoffee.com.

Posted in civil rights, rkba | Tagged coffee, coin, token | 2 Comments

Lens Usage Notes.

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Over the last few months, I’ve often had to decide which lens to take along on trip or to field photo shoots. Looks like the winner is the 90mm tilt-shift. I take most of my photos with it. I sometimes combine it with 12mm or 25mm extension tubes to get closer focus, but not very often. So the second most commonly used lens is the 100mm macro. When that isn’t long enough, usually when I have to contend with a small backdrop, 200mm comes out. These three lenses account for over 90% of my photos. As a result, I am really looking forward to the eventual acquisition of the 70-200.

The second tier are the low-light choices, 85/1.8 and 35/2. Usually, I’d rather add light than use super-wide apertures. 24-70 is the lens of choice for snapshots and video work.

45mm tilt-shift and 300mm are in the last group, used very rarely. These two provide effects I cannot get otherwise, so I keep them in the line-up.

17-40 is currently on loan to a friend. For my use, faster 24-70 obsoleted it.

With the 90mm angle of view being preferred, it was no surprise that the Panasonic G2 was almost always used with the 45mm lens rather than the 20. That kit was gifted away. If I ever get another 4/3 system, 20-45-75 on something like GH3 would likely be the choice. Articulated LCD and fast AF (as opposed to the slow AF in DSLR “live view”) makes it preferable for travel.

Posted in camera and lens | Tagged Canon, Panasonic | 2 Comments

Left Side or Right

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Unlike all other .308 bullpups, RFB may be safely fired from either shoulder.

Hunter model with 24″ barrel shown.

Posted in rifle | Tagged 308Win, bullpup, officer, RFB | 3 Comments

Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires and More Common Threats, Too

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Just in time for the holiday shopping season: the Triple Threat Kit. Stakes for vampires, silver-plated bullets for werewolves…which also work on zombies the old-fashioned ballistic way.

Ammunition is loaded pretty hot and works best in Coonan pistols and strong revolvers like GP100. We got close to 1600fps from the 5″ autoloader. You get eight rounds, enough for a full magazine and one in the chamber.

These would make a pretty memorable present, I think.

Posted in ammunition, humor | Tagged 357Mag, novelty, undead, vamire, werewolf, zombie | 4 Comments

Good Things Come Out of Knoxville

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Oleg Volk

3″ .357Mag revolver from Czechpoint in a custom Dragon Leather holster. Both companies are located in Knoxville, TN.

Posted in holster, pistol | Tagged 357Mag, leather | 2 Comments

Contact Info Needed

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Could somebody help me find email of Hector Pesquera, Puerto Rico Superintendent of Police. I was not able to find it on the official web site.

Posted in advice requested | 3 Comments

Inflation Estimate

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Oleg Volk

My best estimate for inflation on my own consumer goods basket this year is 21% rather than the official 3%. Product and service quality have dropped noticeably to maintain a price point. Personal incomes have dropped largely because government spending is crowding out private spending. For the first time, imported electronics like cameras are rising in price. Imported optic have been rising in price much faster, to the tune of 40-50% over the last year alone. Personally, I do not find my own lifestyle all that greatly affected, but people who had a tight budget last year are probably in trouble now.

Over the last seventy years, average annual inflation seems to hover around 5%. Late 1970s through 1980 inflation was relatively high, and we may be returning to that state now.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged inflation, money | 7 Comments

Industry Connections Needed.

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Oleg Volk

For various reasons, I need the following introductions:

— Somebody knowledgeable about methods of credit rating agencies

— Marketing folks at a general outfitting company (such as Blackhawk, 5.11 or similar)

— Marketing or PR at Nikon

Any assistance in this task would be much appreciated.

Posted in advice requested | 2 Comments

One Possible Solution to .223 Ammunition Shortage.

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Every place I’ve checked is out of .223 ball ammunition. If you have a limited supply of your go-to ammo but still need regular practice, look into frangibles loaded by SBR. In my experience, they work well in AR15 and SU16 rifles and yield accuracy similar to good ball. As an added advantage, they are allowed at more firing ranges than jacketed ball because of much reduced backstop penetration and lessened ricochet hazard. In a pinch, frangibles may be used for self-defense. Their performance in tissue is apparently pretty good.

The ammo shown here was left over after out October 9 Industry Shoot. SBR still have some in stock (about 20 thousand rounds as of today), but I am not sure how long that will last as they are filling wholesale orders from the same batch.