Von Richthofen’s tail gunner.

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Judging by the Snoopy painted on her fuselage, in this variant of history the little annoying dog did not triumph. C96 Mausers were in fairly common use among aerial observers until stronger aircraft could mount flexible machine guns.

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A party snapshot: M1 carbines

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Yesterday, I had a nice party at my home. Half of the fourteen guests were teenagers ranging from 12 to 19. Three of them, aged 12 to 14 and all left-winged just by coincidence, picked out toys for the next meet-up. In evidence, an M1A1 carbine, an M1 carbine (both with the preferred early two-position flip sights) and a very handy, lightweight M1-22 trainer carbine. Can’t wait for the range trip!

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Taking 5.7×28 further

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Most 5.7×28 arms are short-range defensive designs. Planned bolt actions from Savage and others did not materialize, so this essentially small game/varmint load had no platform from which to realize its full potential. I originally scoffed at the AR57 upper as being much larger than a PS90, but have changed my mind now that I am more interested in accuracy.

5.7×28 is a 150 yards round, so I think that a 3x scope would suffice for most needs. When Primary Arms brings out the 5x prismatic later this year, I’ll swap. Conventional scopes are just too long for the magazine to clear them on loading, though with case the magazine could be inserted under the objective bell from the side. I have not yet shot this combination, looking forward to find out how it works.

The original purpose of this was to amuse left-handed kids (thanks to bottom ejection), but it might actually have a practical use beyond range plinking. Since the rear sight spot is occupied by the scope, I added a tiny Crimson Trace laser to the top of the forend as a backup sighting option.

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New favorite rifle?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk

This has long been my favorite recreational rifle. With AAC Aviator suppressor on the long barrel, it’s very quiet. 4x Leupold scope allows pretty good aim from up close to about 100 yards. But it has one giant disadvantage for teaching new shooters — it’s long and heavy. With the suppressor attached, it doesn’t even fit any of my cases. Few kids can fire it even from supported positions.

Enter Savage MKII FV-SR, a shorter and lighter bolt action already threaded for a suppressor.

It comes with an Accu-trigger and integral scope rail, saving the effort that was necessary to get the Mossberg set up.

Gemtech Alpine suppressor comes apart for cleaning, which is good for high-volume shooting I am expecting. The flutes on the endcap are designed to be turned with a coin for a tool.

Given the role of this rifle — engaging very small targets precisely — I over-scoped it. 4-16x Primary Arms optic was picked for the close focus, down to ten yards. I am already using it on a .223 Superior Arms Varminter, so I know it would work fine with a .22LR. At 4x, it can be used off-hand, at 16x for longer ranges from a bipod. Rangefinding mil-dot reticle is calibrated at 16x.

Since I shoot paper and other inanimate things for now, subsonics work just fine for my purposes. The rifle ought to be quiet enough to dispense with wearable hearing protection entirely. This ammunition has been quite accurate in the Mossberg, giving better than 1MOA at 50 yards.

So all I need now is a handful of 10-round magazines (the rifle came with a 5-rounder) and I’ll be set for a nice day at the range. Once it is zeroed — hello again, Appleseed!

Posted in rifle, sound suppressor, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Dana at the range

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk


A short edit of old video footage (from March) showing Dana shooting a Sub2000 carbine.

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Had she starred in “Home Alone”…

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Oleg Volk

…that film would have ended much sooner. We are used to viewing teenagers as vulnerable, but that’s in large part because adults have forbidden them defensive tools and bad laws designed to infantilize mature and immature teens are far more common today than even a single generation ago.

This girl is twelve and can run a 5.56 rifle with ease — and my 338Spectre AR posed no difficulty either. She’s also shown evidence of good judgment and excellent social skills. I’d rather have her on my side than some Army base guard with an unloaded Beretta M9 — because the Army also tries to infantilize their staff and contractors in peacetime, wondering in wartime why people aren’t showing enough initiative anymore.

Posted in interesting people, rifle, rkba, self-defense | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Your family needs you alive!

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Oleg Volk

“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other guy die for his.” ― George S. Patton Jr.

“To die for one’s beliefs is indeed a noble touch
To live for them is better and it doesn’t hurt as much” ― Terence Chua

Once you become a casualty, you are a liability to your family. They have to choose between escaping and trying to save you. So not becoming a casualty isn’t just a good idea, it’s an obligation to your dependents. Prepare for such eventualities as may be mitigated by prompt action. While the men who shielded their girlfriends from bullets in Aurora, CO are heroes, they’d have been happier being live heroes. Pity they would have had to break local laws to survive.

Posted in pistol, rkba, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

False flag operation?

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Oleg Volk

For years, many Australians claimed that the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting was a false flag operation. This week, many Americans are saying the same about the Aurora, CO mass murder. Not having enough information about either, I can’t say if those views are accurate. We should, however, consider something about our lovely federal creatures: Fast and Furious was very much an false flag operation with hundreds of murders to show for it. So before anyone says “how could you even think that people would do something like that?”, let me point out that they have done something like that — on a grand scale — already and got caught. Any sufficiently noticeable terrorist event now be viewed as a possible US government agency plot for influence or some other gain. A bit like the Waco church massacre done to get a larger budget for BATF. That’s quite a PR problem for the leaders of the free world.

Posted in rkba | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

Tactical Solutions .22 upper for M1911

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Useful for introducing new shooters to M1911 platform.

Posted in pistol | Tagged , | 4 Comments

A variation on the AKSU theme

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Oleg Volk

A friend just stopped by to show off his new pet, an AKSU variation in 5.56mm. Симпатичная “сучка” получилась.

Posted in rifle, weapon | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Theater seating and self-defense

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Oleg Volk

(Image by okaygeek.com)

People say that any hypothetical defender at the Aurora theater would have run the risk of hitting innocent bystanders. The risk existed but consider how typical theater seats rise rise towards the back. It’s the classic “second rank fires over the heads of the first” musketeer arrangement. A perp near the screen would have been on the receiving end of all armed theater patrons simultaneously…had any armed people besides the attacker been present.

As for the aiming in the dark: gun lights exist for a reason. Moreover, in a smoky atmosphere, laser beams would have become visible and pointed to the attacker most prominently. Green lasers in particular provide enough scatter to light up the target fairly well. Worst case, the combination of screen light and muzzle flashes would have provided some idea of where to shoot — and the viewers eyes had time to adapt to the darkness.

So it would have been a tough fight but far from impossible — certainly not on the level of Beslan school takeover.

Posted in light/laser, rkba, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , , , , | 46 Comments

Smiles all around

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Oleg Volk

(Photo by Jon S.)

Posted in author, shotgun | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Good outdoor kit

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Spartan Blades | PMR30

Posted in knife, pistol | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

FN5-7 vs. PMR30

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Add your two cents’ worth on CTD blog.

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One possible use for a PMR30

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Fits just fine in an AR15 mag pouch.

Posted in ammunition, pistol | Tagged , | 4 Comments

One way to rejuvinate an old weapon

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

A friend brought in his truck gun today. When it entered the studio, the magazine was full of ball, upon exit of modern defense ammunition. It may be a small change, just better terminal performance and less muzzle flash, but even Josey Wales liked his percentages.

The pistol is Makarov Modernized, PMM (12 shots of 9×18 or, in this case, 380ACP). If anyone knows of a spare magazine for it for sale, please let me know.

Posted in ammunition, pistol | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Why I always insist on eye protection at the range

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Lucky Gunner folks tested a whole bunch of eyewear. Their results were surprising to me. That said, even the junkiest of the safety glasses would turn away gas, so wear at least something — but preferably a high-end pair.

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Who needs armor-piercing ammunition?

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

For starters, every innocent victim of the psychopath and/or terrorist in Aurora, Colorado. He wore armor. The same people could have used sound suppressors, both to avoid being blinded by their own muzzle flashes in the dark and to reduce recoil.

FN57 with proper (non-fragmenting) defensive ammunition. SS190 is hard to find but still available.

In the absence of vest-busting ammunition, any pistol with any rounds would have been better than none. Arms, head and legs all have major blood vessels. Arms in particular are often hit when armed suspects are shot — no instant stops that way but a major impediment to further slaughter of innocents.

Those who have been to firing ranges know how much concentration is required to make accurate hits. Return fire, even if technically ineffective, still has a way of breaking the attacker’s concentration. And most trained people would have eventually scored hits. Had more than one lawful gun carrier been present, Mr.Psycho would have ended up in a crossfire — again, not a position conducive to marksmanship against moving people in semi-darkness. But he got to shoot helpless, unarmed marks without any fear of return fire — in part thanks to the theater policy prohibiting lawful carry, in part due to the complacency of the theater-goers.

Posted in pistol, rkba, self-defense, sound suppressor, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

31 more reasons

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Oleg Volk

PMR30 | GTM purse

Posted in pistol, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Sig551 with a twist

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Oleg Volk

He modified the 556 to look more like the Swiss military 551, with tritium night sights and a steel top rail. The resulting rifle is a little heavier than the US 551-A1 that it resembles and it uses AR-compatible magazines.

The optic on top is an NVG-compatible Aimpoint T1.

Posted in rifle | 5 Comments