A shotgun named Vera

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

In shotgun we trust? (“Vera” means “faith” in Russian.)

Made by Coal Creek Armory.

Posted in interesting people, shotgun, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Which of them is having more fun?

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

The guy with an advanced .308 bullpup topped with a Nightforce scope…

…or the kid with a GSG522 topped with a budget Primary Arms 1-4x?

PS: The kid should have been wearing safety glasses. That was fixed as soon as we noticed.

PPS: I notice that the PA scope is back in stock. $119 for a clear illuminated scope that holds recoil of 450Marlin is a pretty good deal.

Posted in rifle, training, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Which of them is having more fun?

Shotgun! Blast!

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Saiga with 8" barrel and 20rd MD drum, 1/320s exposure

KSG with 18" barrel, 1/400s exposure

As you can see, both recoil energetically. The difference in muzzle flash is mainly due to the barrel length, as they were firing the same ammunition. With both guns, you get to throw lead at the target by the pound, in fact, the payload of 20 rounds of 1 1/8oz slugs adds up to nearly pound and a half!

Keltec KSG | MD Drums | Coal Creek Armory, the creators of this custom Saiga | Trijicon Reflex

A video is in the works.

Posted in shotgun, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

GSG522 gets scoped

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Oleg Volk

When I took the 522 carbine to the range first, I had a (broken) red dot sight with it — predictably, the results didn’t look useful until I removed it and used iron sights. The gun comes with several front sight posts (held in with a screw) but the one I had installed — a “big dot” type was not conducive to precision shooting. So I returned with a Primary Arms 1-4x scope.

I really like that scope: it’s cheap, sharp, fairly bright and holds more recoil than I am willing to experience myself. I’ve also been converting most of my rifles to Magpul type 2 slings.

For lack of a front sling loop, para cord around the sight tower had to do.

The ribbed surface is rubber and feels nice in hand. The charging handle would be a little longer.

The carbine has a good trigger. At 25 yards, I put most of a full 22-round magazine into one hole, losing my concentration on one shot. To me, this seems adequate for a plinker. Ammo: bulk Federal from 550-rd box. I did not have the time that day to re-shoot without a flinched shot. The gun runs with 30 or 40 grain ammunition equally well, and accuracy is also similar.

Posted in ammunition, rifle, training | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

A job for an accountant?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

A friend just graduated from college and looking for a job in accounting, preferably in Kentucky or Tennessee. If you have any leads on such position, please let me know and I will forward the resume.

Posted in advice requested | Tagged , | Comments Off on A job for an accountant?

Cats

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

A friend’s cat relaxes on a guest.

Gremlin is waiting out the rain.

Posted in beast, pet | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Kathy Jackson

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Author of Cornered Cat and editor of Concealed Carry magazine. Amazingly talented writer.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A portrait

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Photographer/model Chryseis Dawn.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Viridian X5L RS installed

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

In case of civil unrest, rioters would be well served to stay away from people with rings on their fingers. A single person might choose to retreat, but those who can’t maneuver due to kids would be more inclined to make a stand. They won’t feel guilty about removing any perceived threats to the kids and spouse.

Posted in light/laser, self-defense | Tagged | 10 Comments

For an upcoming magazine article

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Also useful for computer wallpapers.

Posted in hunting, rifle | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cell phone solution for European travel

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Oleg Volk

This summer, I will be in Prague and Budapest for about ten days. I’d like to stay in touch with people by phone, but not sure how viable my AT&T Android phone would be there. Any suggestions on the best way to have access to my standard number and voicemail while abroad?

Posted in advice requested | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Same photo, completely different look

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Oleg Volk

The image I posted last week is now on the front page of YHM site. And it looks completely different! I like what their designer has done with it.

Posted in rifle | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Ammunition expenditures

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Oleg Volk

My last range trip lasted three and a half hours. We brought three guns only and hand three people alternating on a single firing point. No rapid fire, one zeroing. Ended up shooting about a hundred rounds each of .308, .223 and .22. So 300 rounds total on a very slow range day.

Assuming just one range trip per month weapon, it still works out to more than a case of ammunition per caliber just staying in practice. Had we done movement drills or run three firing points, the ammo consumption would have at least doubled.

Posted in ammunition, training | Tagged | 7 Comments

Mixing it up at the range

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Oleg Volk

308 Vepr with 5-round magazine, 16" barrel, 2.5-10x Nightforce scope

Took the 308 Vepr to the range for the first time. Since I didn’t have the lowest rings available, the gun could have used a cheek rest. Even so, the nice 2.5-10x scope worked really well at 50 yards. Rain came and went, so we just fired steel-cased ball to get a rough zero. Got to give to the AK types, they run pretty much any ammo. Good trigger, very mild recoil.

Vepr with 20rd TSD magazine

In addition to the standard 5 and 5 round magazine, I tried a TSD 20rd magazine. It’s an M14 mag body with welded tabs for AK receiver. Rock-solid — which is good news for people who want to use it for support on firing!

We put about a hundred rounds through this rifle but ran out of time for accuracy testing. Next time, will try different types of ammo.

Superior Arms HBAR in .223 with 4-16x scope and red dot from Primary Arms

This rifle is a heavy barrel upper on a milspec lower. The scope and the red dot are inexpensive but work very well. The ability to adjust parallax is very helpful. The dot is placed very high but it’s meant for two purposes: centering the scope on target at higher magnifications and close-in defense when the bore offset is inconsequential. Despite the basic GI trigger and plan looks, this rifle is accurate. Below, a typical 50 yard target fired with ball ammunition.

Some ball ammunition can be quite accurate. A 3-shot group at 50 yards.

Last year's 50-yard 3-shot group with IMI ball

Posted in ammunition, rifle, training | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Rimfire fun

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Keri tries out a GSG522.

Posted in rifle, training, weapon | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Rimfire fun

Movie review: The Flowers of War

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Oleg Volk

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410063

Storyline: 5/5
Acting: 5/5 — main and secondary characters all convincing
SFX: 4/5 — impressive but a bit unrealistic at times
Music: not a notable factor

The film gets a lot of story-telling in a two and a quarter hours. Both action and interpersonal sequences were very well done. A few moments appear more theater-like but that doesn’t detract from the realism of the film. I wonder why American films utterly fail and portraying such convincing and engrossing worlds.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Another impressive kid.

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Oleg Volk

My friends excel at raising smart, personable children.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

New on CTD: Shorter!

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Oleg Volk


Short shotgun gets even shorter.

Posted in shotgun | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Combination guns

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Oleg Volk

How practical are over and under rifle/shotgun combinations for hunting in the US? I am looking at the older 410/22 and newer 308/12ga or 223/20ga combos. Do game laws ever conflict with the ability to have shot and bullets available int he same firearm?

Posted in advice requested, hunting, rifle, shotgun | Tagged , | 18 Comments

YHM Black Diamond again

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Oleg Volk

Posted in rifle, sound suppressor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments