Some Range Time and Conversation

I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine the other day.  For the most part we have very similar ideas on firearms and gun control, though he leans a bit more towards some of the legislation proposed recently.  His girl friend is a High School teacher, so I think that probably plays a role in some of his feelings.  I'm sure he worries about her with all these stories in the news about school shootings.

Anyway, he's in the military and was toying with the idea of getting a pistol for his girlfriend for while he is deployed.  I'm sure it is as much for his peace of mind as for hers.

I offered to take them to the range and let them try out a few of my pistols.  She had never handled one before (was kind of scared of them), so this seemed like a good chance to show her the basics and try out a couple, see what she liked.  I brought my Smith & Wesson MP-22, Glock 17, and my Ruger Blackhawk .357.

Having never shot a pistol, she obviously liked how easy the .22 was to handle.  After a bit of practice with the .22 we got her moved up to the 9mm.  She was alright with the 9mm, put a few magazines through it, but she wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it as the .22.  We even got her to try the Blackhawk once, but the gun itself was so heavy that she quickly went back to the other two.  She handled the recoil just fine, it was the actual, physical weight of the revolver.  That was fine, him and I had plenty of fun with the Blackhawk.  He's a revolver guy too.

Afterwards, he was still puzzling over whether or not get her a pistol.  I offered my two cents.  I told him first off that he should get two pistols, one for him, one for her.  The way pistol purchases go in Hawaii, it's a lot of back and forth between the police station and the gun store.  If you are even toying with the idea of buying two pistols, you buy them at the same time and it halves the trips to the police station.  Secondly, if he thinks it might be a good idea to get him and hers pistols, he should do it now.  There is a minimum two week waiting period for all pistol purchases in Hawaii.  I told him that a home defense firearm is kind of like insurance, you don't ever want to use it, but if you need it, you need it now and not in two weeks.

Also, if he gets it now then they will have plenty of time to get her well practiced before he leaves.  Obviously, having a pistol for home defense doesn't do her any good if she she isn't comfortable and accurate with it.

We all had fun at the range, so whether or not they decide to become gun owners, at the very least she had an opportunity to learn about firearm safety, got to shoot a variety of pistols, and have some fun.

Almost My New Favorite Rifle: Auto-Ordinance M1 Carbine

In general I'm not a fan of semi-auto rifles and pistols.  There's nothing wrong with them, there really isn't, I just think firearms that require more interaction are more fun to shoot.

Take a single action revolver, in my opinion is a whole lot more fun at the range than most other pistols.  It makes you slow down, put a little more time, energy, and thought into shooting.  To me, that's more fun.  It also makes me more accurate since I'm not just throwing rounds down range, each shot is a very deliberate process... not just pulling a trigger.

I think that's probably the same with rifles, that the reason bolt action rifles are widely considered more accurate is because it forces the shooter to slow down.  I also think that the lower the capacity, the more careful the shooter.  If you only have five rounds you make them count, if you have twenty than you are more likely to shoot first and question later.  More input from the shooter and fewer round capacity means slowing down, there is more of a process between each shot being fired, and ultimately I think that makes a shooter more accurate.

However, the firearms that I like to shoot have their limitations.  For most people a single action revolver  doesn't make a lot of sense for self defense compared to even a modest semi auto.  Semi autos usually have larger capacity, quicker follow up shots, and faster reloading.  So, obviously semi-autos have a place, I just never really enjoyed shooting them very much.

All that said, I decided I wanted to add a semi-auto rifle to my growing collection.  I really like the collection I've got going and decided to continue adding variety.

So, of all of the times to go to the gun store looking for a semi-auto rifle, this was probably the absolute worst time to go.  I wasn't looking for an AR-15 or AK, I was thinking maybe a Ruger Mini-14, but quite literally the three stores I went to were cleared out of any semi-auto rifle over a 22lr.  I would have been good with getting a 22lr semi-auto but they were all AR variants (I'm not a fan), or 10/22s in garish colors (I mean that literally, there were greens and purples left).

Then, at the last store I went to I saw something interesting.  Just like the others, the semi-auto shelves were bare... this one had one last rifle.  I'd never seen anything like it and asked if I could check it out.  It came with a folding stock and had a beautiful wood forestock and handle.  It almost looked like an old version of the AK but was obviously a smaller caliber.

Turns out it was an M1 Carbine, a WWII replica of a paratrooper's rifle built by Auto-Ordinance and Kahr.  I'd heard of the Garand, but never the M1 "carbine" before.  I did a little research and realized that I really should have heard of it before, it's a pretty cool rifle with a very cool history.  Check it out yourself, if you need more info there are many, many M1 carbine fan sites out there.

The more I looked at it, the cooler it seemed.

The 30 carbine ammo is not a particularly good round for hunting or survival scenarios (it's actually called ".30 carbine" and you're not likely to find it laying around).  The round looks like a skinnier version of the .357 and hasn't been common for decades.  It's also pretty similar balistically to the .357 out of a rifle.  It's a little weak for a rifle round, only really usable out to around 150 yards, and it was mostly issued to support troops in WWII.

.38sp vs .30 carbine

.38sp vs .30 carbine

Despite being less common, because of it's small size it's cheaper than a lot of rifle ammunition, about $25 for a box of 50.  Almost the equivalent of most pistol amunitions.

I decided to go for it, the rifle was just quirky enough that it caught my interest.  I like getting those looks of "WTF is that?" when I uncase my rifle at the range.  This rifle would be a unique addition to my collection AND it was semi-auto.  Score one for the weirdo.

Then comes the real question, how did it do at the range?

First time out?  I don't think I hit the target.  It took some cycling to get it running smoothly, the first few times it was pretty rough.  It also had an issue with feeding the last round in the mag.  I think that was stiff springs in the mags, which should break in, causing the last round to get stuck half way inserted.  Otherwise, it was a blast to shoot.  This thing kicks about the same as a .38sp out of a lever gun, which is hardly more than a .22lr.  I think I was grinning ear to ear with each shot, it was just a blast to shoot.

I looked it up later and accuracy problems are a pretty common with these rifles the first time out.  Out of manufacturing they leave the front site too tall.  This is also had a non-adjustable flip-up rear sight, one for 100 yards and the other for 200.  I'm going to have to do some playing to get it up to the accuracy I would expect.  The only other complaint that I had is that the rifle isn't actually "blued", it's painted and scratches fairly easily.

But man, is this a cool carbine.  It's pretty, I love all the wood.  It's easy to disassemble and clean.  It barely kicks, and it's fun to shoot.  It's a unique addition to most anyone's collection.  Even with the few small issues I had, this rifle is quickly creeping toward the title of "Favorite Rifle".  It makes it me smile everytime I shoot it.

For all you survivalist types, this is probably the lightest rifle I've ever held.  You pick up my rifle case and it feels empty.  Seriously, the whole rifle weighs in around 5lbs.  This paratrooper folding rifle, you cold sling it over your shoulder and forget about it until you need it.  The ammo isn't common, but it is fairly light and inexpensive compared to actual "rifle" rounds.  Besides, with how light the rifle is you could compensate by carrying more ammo.

At $990 dollars it isn't the cheapest rifle, but for that price I can put up with the few complaints I've got (they're all easily fixed).  I'm definitely looking forward to getting the sights adjusted and having some fun throwing lead the next time I head to the range.

 And I found out that Ruger makes a Blackhawk single action revolver in .30 carbine.  Apparently, it's very, very loud and intimidating.

Ruger Blackhawk .30 carbine

Muhuhahahahahaaaa!


EDIT (02-10-2013): I love my M1 carbine.  I love the history, the looks, and how it shoots.  However, the rear sight drives me bonkers.  It comes with a non-adjustable flip sight, one for 100 yards, one for 200 yards, in a dove tail joint.  On mine, it was really off to the left.  To "adjust" this sight you need the proper vice/tool, or a hammer, punch, and patience.  I ordered an adjustable sight for it, tried a dozen times to replace the flip sight... and broke down and ordered the proper removal tool.  These typically go for $150, the cheapest I could find was with Sarco for $70 (E-Sarco Inc).  It's been frustrating, especially since I'm probably only going to use it once.  So, great rifle, just keep that rear sight in mind.  On a plus note, the original M1 needed to have the front sight ground down in the field, whereas the front sight on my replica seems spot on.

The Scout Rifle Concept

If you're unfamiliar with the scout rifle concept I'm going to go over some of the basics.  For more information there are dozens of other sites out there that can give you more details.

Basically, Jeff Cooper (a legend in the rifle world), came up with a general purpose rifle concept.  The idea is to have a light weight rifle that's easy to carry, bolt action, accurate, and can quickly and humanely kill anything within sight.  The concept also included a forward mounted "extended eye relief" scope.  

These scout scopes are usually only magnified 2-4x, and works kind of like an early incarnation of the red dot site.  You keep both eyes open, put the rifle to your shoulder, and you're almost immediately on target.  With both eyes open you keep your peripheral vision, you can track moving targets quicker.  It's very fast, that's the idea. 

(Ruger Gunsite Scout with Scout Scope)

Probably the most true-to-concept rifle mass produced is the Ruger Gunsite Scout.  Gunsite is the organization founded by Jeff Cooper, they collaborated with Ruger to make a rifle to fit Cooper's specifications.  Gunsite held a show and tell with the rifle and dozens of Rifle reviewers showed up.  The videos are very cool and describe the rifle and the concept very well.

Here are the videos put out by Gun Talk TV:

Ruger Gunsite Scout: Gun Talk TV Pt 1

Ruger Gunsite Scout: Gun Talk TV Pt 2

Ruger Gunsite Scout: Gun Talk TV Pt 3

Ruger Gunsite Scout: Gun Talk TV Pt 4

A lot of people think that the Scout Rifle is a pointless idea, that it compromises too much.  To be decent at a lot of things means it's isn't really good at anything.  It's not a sniper rifle, it's not a hunting rifle, it's always somewhere in the middle.  

However, for people like me that think the idea of a 'general purpose' rifle is a good one, the Ruger GSS or similar scout platforms are definitely worth a look.  And yes, this would make a good Bug Out rifle, or one **** of a zombie killer.

Some thoughts on Guns and Caliber

Left to Right:  .22lr, 9mm, .38sp, .308

I was doing really good for a long time.  When I got into survivalism and prepping I did a lot of research and thinking and planning...  I decided to get a pistol and a rifle that could share the same ammunition, a common round, reliable and easy to work on. 

Eventually I decided on the Ruger Blackhawk Convertible, a revolver that shoots .38sp/.357 and can convert to 9mm, and a Rossi R92 lever action rifle in .38sp/.357.  (Note: I haven't been able to do a review of the Rossi because it broke the first day at the range, there will be a full post on that later on).  I figured that if things ever got so bad that I should get out to the woods for a while I'd have a nice rifle and pistol that shared and fired a good variety of common/cheap ammunition.

However, by the time I had my "survival gun" set up I'd already been bitten by the shooting bug.  Once you have the basics it's hard to stop there.  What if I want to go hunt bigger game or at a larger range?  I should probably get something a little heavier.  Or when you stumble over a super-cool gun at the store that would be a blast at the range (Henry Golden Boy .22lr).  

In recent times I've started to more closely examine the differences between calibers.  You can see the drastic difference between the ones that I shoot in that first photo. 

.22lr is a great round for the range, low recoil, nice accuracy at shorter distances, all around fun.  It's amazingly cheap, light, and you can put a thousand rounds in a pack without crippling yourself.  It doesn't hit very hard compared to most other rounds, but you could probably shoot 10 for the cost/weight of most other rounds.  Great in a short range rifle and is available in a lot of great pistols.

9mm is a great round for hand guns.  It's cheap, light, extremely common, and packs a decent punch.  Arguments have been made against 9mm stopping power but honestly, I think it comes down to what you're comfortable shooting. If you can shoot really well with a .40 or .45 than great, but for those who want lower recoil, faster handling, and usually a higher capacity, than 9mm is hardly a slouch.  As for stopping power, there are studies that show that usually a torso shot will stop a person pretty quickly, caliber doesn't seem to be as much of an issue as where it's placed.  Thus, shoot what you're comfortable with.  There are some 9mm rifles as well, good to pair with a 9mm pistol, but there aren't many options and they are somewhat uncommon.  The Thureon Defense rifle, Hi-Point, and AR-15 style Colt model 6450 in 9mm are some options.

.38sp/.357, I group these together because there is not a lot of difference between the two.  The .357 is a slightly longer version of the .38sp with a few more grains of powder behind it.  Almost all guns that can shoot .357 will also shoot .38sp.  It's got a little more kick than 9mm, it's common in revolvers and was THE round in police revolvers for decades.  It's slightly heavier, slightly more expensive than 9mm.  What I like about this round is the variety, between the different .38sp and .357 rounds it's pretty easy to find the round you're comfortable shooting.  The other benefit is how easy it is to find a good lever action rifle that shares the ammo.  Some rifle nerds poo-poo lever actions but they have been historically proven and remain a good general purpose rifle.

.308 is by far the largest round that I shoot.  This is a big round, kicks hard, and hits harder.  It's the most expensive round, the heaviest round, and also the most accurate at longer ranges.  The .308 is commonly used in long distance matches.  It's also used in most military sniper rifles.  When you just need to reach out and touch something... .308 is a good round to have available.  This is basically just a rifle round though, you'd be hard placed to find a pistol to use the same round (and probably wouldn't want to shoot it if you did), which would mean packing at least two different rounds with you.  Also, this isn't that much fun at the range, you put more than twenty rounds downrange and you're shoulder will be pissed for the next couple days.  Good for one-shot one-kill, but follow ups will be more painful than with other rounds.

One of the things that surprised me when I was shooting more often was the different effects of the different rounds on wood.  The targets I shoot are wood frames with a cardboard center, paper target stapled onto the cardboard.  9mm and .38sp when they missed the target and hit the wooden frame would have a small entry, big splintering exit.  The low speed entry meant that the bullets had time to expand in the wood before exiting.  When I hit the wood with .308 I thought it would be destroyed, blow the frame in half.  Yet the opposite was true.  Small entry, small exit, as though the bullet didn't even notice it had hit anything.  It just went straight through it.  Straight through two inches of wood at 100 yards?  That's penetration.

That's something to keep in mind when hunting, the expansion of the bullet when it hits something solid.  For short range hunting (or defense) a 9mm or .38 will work, it will hit, expand, and stop.  On a small target at shoerter ranges that should be enough, something bigger and it might expand too fast, not penetrate far enough.  For a larger animal .308 will pass through far more tissue before starting to expand.  With most animals I wouldn't be surprised if the .308 went straight through.  For larger animals that could easily be the difference between a wound and a kill shot.

The other thing to keep in mind is that pistol calibers in a longer barrel (like a rifle) will perform way better than out of a pistol.  The longer barrel gives a longer area for the explosive gasses to expand before the bullet leaves the barrel, that gives the bullet a lot more velocity and range.  A .357 in a pistol is a powerful pistol round, put it in a longer barrel and it starts to rival a rifle round for velocity and effectiveness.  Yet, the rifle recoil in a pistol caliber is significantly reduced from a rifle round (they're designed to be shot from a hand gun, there's more weight in a rifle, less felt recoil).  The .38sp in a lever is only slightly more recoil than a .22lr but the bullet hits a lot harder.  They won't be a match for .308 in accuracy or distance, but it gives some credence to sharing a round between a pistol and a long gun.

There are articles, graphs, and websites that will back up the information here and others that will totally disagree.  Feel free to peruse them and see if you can wade through the all various view points.  The information here is based on my own experiences and you might find that your's varies.  There is no substitute for personal experience and practice, so experience and practice as much as you can to find out what works best for you.

Hopefully some of these thoughts help you in choosing your calibers.

Range Review: Ruger Gunsite Scout, Making me look good

I'd been looking at getting a larger rifle for hunting.  The biggest rifle I owned was a Rossi R92 lever action in .357, but I was thinking I might want something a little bit bigger if I was going to take it hunting mid size game.  That's when I stumbled on a good deal for a Ruger Gunsite Scout.

I had the er, pleasure, of shooting my Ruger Gunsite Scout for the first time at the range today.

First thoughts?  .308 kicks like a freakin' mule.  Of course, you have to take that with a grain of salt because I haven't shot anything much larger than a .22lr or .38sp in years.  So, going from .38sp to .308 was like going from a friendly pat to a boxer's punch to the shoulder every time the trigger was pulled.  I ran about 80 rounds through it, interspersed with some lever action .357 fun.  Yeah, I'm feeling it now, a big ol' red mark, and I have a feeling it'll be worse tomorrow. (Edit: yup, I have a nice sized bruise two days later)

I did about forty rounds at 50 yards and was pleasantly surprised with the accuracy.  Considering how unfamiliar I was with the rifle, I was happy to be hitting the target regularly.  I didn't adjust the sites because I figured that the bad shots were probably my fault and the majority were pretty well grouped.  Mostly I was just trying to get familiar with the rifle, how it handled, and how it cycled.  Familiarity is more important than accuracy the first time at the range.

I was also sighting in my Rossi R92.  Both were doing exceptionally well at 50yrds so I decided to get a little froggy and move the target out to 100yrds, still only using the iron sites on both rifles.

The Rossi didn't do the transition very well, the weaker round (I was shooting .38sp) meant I had to adjust the sites to even get close.  Also, the bead on the front site was so big it basically obscured the target at that distance.  It was fun to shoot but it wasn't going to win any accuracy awards.

Then I ran another forty rounds through the Ruger GSS.  Periodically I would use my binoculars to try and see where I was hitting.  Unfortunately, the only "hits" I could see were those on the white paper outside the black rings.  I struggled a little bit trying to figure out what the best site picture should be but since I couldn't tell where I was hitting I wasn't sure how to adjust it.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was hitting the target with most of my shots.

So, imagine my surprise when I walked up and saw this:

Yeah, you rifle nerds can laugh all you want, but I was extremely pleased.  It's not going to win any tournaments or get hung up on the wall, but definitely not bad.  I'm a decent shot overall, I've done a lot of shooting, on and off over the years, with a variety of guns, but this was a totally new experience for me.  Basically, this was my first time shooting an unfamiliar rifle, an unfamiliar caliber, with iron sites, at an unfamiliar distance, and I couldn't even see where I was hitting to adjust for better accuracy.  Half a dozen in the black would have made my day.  So, Hell yeah I was happy with the results!  

I practically strutted back to the bench, target in hand.  Ruger GSS, making me look better than I am.  A little bit of practice and a healed shoulder, who knows how good the results will be?  I'm looking forward to finding out.