Big Boy

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Henry Big Boy: ten rounds of .44 Magnum. The original in .44 Henry had only about 35% of the power of .44 Magum, the traditional 44-40 that descended from it a little less than half. Felt recoil is still negligible with either this or .45Colt.

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Rainier Arms rifle

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Built on AXTS receiver, it uses a medium weight barrel and the light, thin, skeletonized Samson forend. The balance is awesome. Not sure what to think of the 45* safety — it’s faster than the 90* but all my training has been with the latter. The other furniture and BUIS are (predictably) Magpul. Sight: Aimpoint on a Bobro QD mount.

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Effect of US depression on China

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Oleg Volk

I’ve seen a number of theories that US depression would damage Chinese economy. Given the inferior good status of most of the imports, wouldn’t China and other makers of budget products win at the expense of Germany, Japan and other makers of superior or boutique goods?

Independently of that, how does the rate of inflation correlate to the share of barter out of all business done? At 5% it would be quite little, at 2000% probably considerable…but what’s the relation between the loss of fiat money value and the willingness of Farmer Frank to trader four chickens to Gunsmith George for a bayonet and ten cartridges, bypassing the cash market entirely?

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Small arms for right and left hands

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Right hand IWB (brown) and left hand tuckable (black) holsters made by Erik Srigley. Right hand (22wmr) and left hand (38spl) revolvers by Charter Arms. Copper rose sculpture by Galina Rubanovskaya, the lovely wife of the recently mentioned knife-maker Nikolay. She makes such works of art to order. Let me know if you’d like one.

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Essentials for civilized living

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Posted in craft, knife, pistol | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Survival rifle

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Oleg Volk

M6 as a survival rifle confuses me. .410 is hardly an effective shotgun round, while .22LR is efficient but the rifle comes with primitive sights and a rather odd trigger. Switching from rimfire to centerfire is somewhat awkward, so the defensive utility of this gun is limited. The trigger guard is too small for use with gloves. The entire gun is all-steel, so it is relatively heavy and would get cold in winter.

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Two sighting options

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Oleg Volk

This CORE15 rifle is set up with Norden Performance 1-6x scope (designed by Ed Verdugo who also designed 1-4x GRSC scope) and Dueck Defense offset sights.

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Aguila SSS 60grain ammunition

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Carteach and I just tried the same ammunition, Aguila SSS. His results were not positive — poor accuracy with bullets not even stabilizing. My results were a result of considerable research and quite positive.

I tried SSS in a couple of pistols but the results were mixed. I decided that the solution would be to fire it through a .223 upper with CMMG conversion kit. Turns out people have done that with good results, as the faster twist barrels provide decent accuracy. However, my goal was to have a quiet round and SSS isn’t quiet when fired from semi-auto rifles. The short case means that the gas comes out of the ejection port quite early in the cycle.

While searching the web, I noticed that several owners of Mossberg 144 rifles shoot SSS with good accuracy. While the twist rate is supposed to be the same as with other .22s, something about that gun makes it work better. I have a 144LSA and tried the 60-grainers unsuppressed first. Accuracy was excellent at 25m, with no keyholing noticed. After I fired ten rounds to verify stabilization, I put the AAC Aviator suppressor back on and tried again.

Accuracy from kneeling at 25m remained excellent, with all holes touching. I fired it at 75m also but I was not firing on paper. Instead, I had a pop can on top of a steel post. It seems the point of impact moved slightly to the right relative to 40gr bullets, once I corrected for that I could ring the steel consistently. I only hit the can once out of ten shots, so I have no idea just how much drop it had at that distance with 25m zero. 5-6″ drop seems likely. It might make sense to replace the 4x Leupold with its duplex reticle with the upcoming Primary Arms 4x with BDC chart and just learn which hash mark corresponds to which distance.

The point of this whole exercise was to try out a relatively effective load (50% heavier than most subsonic .22s) in a bolt action and check accuracy (passed) and the noise level. SSS is already fairly quiet without a can from such a long barrel, but with the suppressor it was QUIET. It was quieter than “Hollywood quiet”. It made as little  noise on firing as clicking of a mechanical pen, just lower in pitch. Certainly quieter than any air gun I’ve encountered. The sound of the bullet hitting the earthen backstop at 75-80m was far louder.

SSS is dirty ammunition. But it is super quiet and apparently fairly effective on impact. Might make a low-budget alternative to subsonic .223 loads.

Posted in ammunition, rifle, sound suppressor | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Offset backup sights

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Oleg Volk

I address similar BUIS to my precision 20″ AR15 but they were standard Yankee Hill sights on Midwest Industries 45* adapters. Dueck sights come with their own mounts and this solution is a little more streamlined. On the other hand, YHM sights can also be used without any offset. The rifle is CORE15.

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vz61 Scorpion

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Pistol version of the submachine gun. With a stock, it is a very controllable automatic weapon. Without a stock or an automatic mode, it’s a fairly large 20-shot pistol with low recoil.

Scorpion is also imported by Czechpoint.

Posted in pistol | Tagged | 4 Comments

Henry Golden Boy .22 carbine

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Tom is left-handed, so a lever action works as well for him as a dedicated left-handed bolt action. His P22 is riding in a holster by Kevin Manley on a gun belt also made by Kevin.

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vz58

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Oleg Volk

vz58 from Czechpoint. The gun and the magazines are lighter by far than any 7.62×39 AK variant. Shown with AFG2 and Primary Arms “M3” red dot. The sight mount is see-through for the iron sights. Ribbed part of the stock is the cheek-piece and can be raised.

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Henry Big Boy

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Oleg Volk

In March, I had an opportunity to shoot several rounds through a Henry Big Boy in .45 Colt. I am not, ordinarily, a fan of lever actions, but that one clicked with me. Having more rifles than range time, I couldn’t justify getting one. Not being a reloader, I couldn’t justify 45Colt chambering, either. To my delight, I got my hands on the .44 Magnum and .22LR versions recently. It feels almost as the .45 version did, being just a little shorter. I have yet to fire it live, but I have a hundred rounds waiting for the next range trip…in the meantime, it looks good in pictures. The fit and finish on it are superb.

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More on the nature of urban riots.

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Had the British rioters attacked the homes of the members of Parliament, water cannon or tear gas or live ammunition would have been used by now. But only the mere proles are being affected, so the government forces do little to stop the violent thugs and actually hinder the population’s efforts of self-defense. Should even one rioter be shot by the defenders of lives or property, I am certain the official outcry would be deafening and the efforts to find the culprit considerable. The Good Shepherd doesn’t suffer his flock to gain independence.

Posted in civil rights, self-defense | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

On the recent riots

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Parks usually warn visitors not to feed wild animals. Habituated to handouts, creatures such as bears get aggressive and attack visitors who disappoint them by not providing the expected food. Then the park rangers have to shoot the “problem bears”. It’s the same with the people: habituating them to handouts and letting them think the handouts are tribute is a surefire way of getting riots when the bread and circuses cease or merely decrease.

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.22 Magnum snubbie

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Lots of muzzle flash, lots of noise, not much recoil or muzzle rise. A reasonable defensive choice for people who can’t handle a heavy revolver or strong recoil. From a 2″ barrel, penetration with expansion is 11″, ~14.5″ with ball ammunition.

Pathfinder

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

Why AK-47?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Two weeks ago, I got a note from Canada:

I live in Canada where owning a firearm is not just problematic, but akin to signing a good part of your citizenship and rights away.

The majority of people up here are anxious about guns and firearm ownership. I think around 2/3 support strict gun control. It’s tough enough making the argument for firearm ownership here but almost impossible when it comes to assault weapons. People are really scared of assault weapons eg AK-47s. They seem to think almost magically about them as though AKs and similar rifles will go off on a rampage all on their own without human action.

Can you give me a couple of the most popular arguments U.S. gun rights folks use for AKs and/or links to those arguments?

Let’s talk about the reasons why some people want AK47 banned.

Is it the name? Doubtful, as the same people would like to ban AK74, AR15, Uzi and pretty much any other modern gun they can name.

Is it the caliber? Probably not, as the haters of AK and SKS don’t notice Savage or CS bolt actions in 7.62×39.

Is it the looks, the pistol grip? No, as the same people object to AK47 in bullpup or thumbhole stocks.

The long stroke gas piston and rotating bolt? Don’t make me laugh. They don’t get that deep in the technical details.

They hate AK47 for the same reason they hate FN FNC, Steyr AUG, Keltec KSG, American 180 and every other gun that is either effective for self-defense or looks effective. At the end of the day, it comes down to the unwillingness to allow others effective tools for defense from man, beast or mob.

The discussion shouldn’t be about AK47 or AK74 or Sharp Stick Mk1 Mod0. It should be about the right of the smallest minority, the individual, to self-determination and self-protection. The right of that one person should not be abrogated on the account of any number of scoundrels misusing similar tools. That would be like disarming the 1941 American Army because Japanese and German armies used their weapons for evil and therefore nobody should have dangerous weapons. Just because Joe Thug or G-Man Jack use an AK47 or any other weapon is no reason to deprive Smiley Suzy and Friendly Fred of theirs…in fact, the misuse of force by criminals and governments is the most compelling reason, far more compelling than sport or hunting, for lawful civilians to stay well armed and trained. Whether they choose AK47 or any other weapon.

Posted in civil rights, rifle, rkba, self-defense, training, Uncategorized, weapon | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

The right degree of subtlety

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Oleg Volk

This just like one of the shirts I wore to Defcon. People in the know would recognize it, others probably wouldn’t.

AR15 bolt face sticker is another such design. It allows recognition by other gunnies with minimal attention from the rest. Assuming, of course, concealed rather than open carry. An actual AR15 would take the attention off your shirt a bit.

Shirt | rifle | revolver | glasses |  Ally

Posted in interesting people, rifle, rkba | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Рога и копыта у негосударевых людей

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Что символизирует дар оружия? Доверие. Передавая тебе оружие, я доказываю свою веру в твою дружелюбность и вменяемость. Никто не подарит оружие человеку враждебному или безответственному. Мой подарок так же и доказательство моих собственных мирных намерений. В масштабах страны,  мы говорим о праве каждого человека не считаться по умолчанию юридически бесправным, врагом или психом. В случае войны, автомат в руки и вперёд, а в мирное время нельзя защитить себя и семью — разве это справедливо?

Что наблюдаем среди противников права на эффективное оружие самозащиты? Недоверие к другим, голословные заявления про невменяемость и дикость целых народов…а за теми заявлениями кроется страх получить отпор за собственное хищничество. Противники гражданского оружия те-же гиены предпочитающие антилоп без рогов. Со здоровыми львами — армией и силовыми структурами — им не справиться, так они мирных жителей пытаются превратить в заведомо безоружных жертв.

Впрочем, не все они хищники. Есть и феодалы, которые навязывают беззащитным людям услуги по защите от бандитов и других власть имущих. Услуги эти неэффективны и дороги, но в условиях монополии на оружие и такие сойдут. А если кто будет возникать, так есть и несчастные случи от которых безоружный любитель свободы не застрахован. Кто защитит крестьянина от рыцаря?

Что лучше, пресловутый “дикий запад” где в действительности уровень преступности был невысок а личные свободы уважались, или средневековье в звоне кандалов да по колено в крови смердов? Личое оружие может и не гарантирует свободу или безопасность, но безоружность практически гарантирует их отсутствие.

Posted in civil rights, rkba, self-defense | Tagged | 3 Comments

Messages on a Las Vegas palm tree

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Oleg Volk

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