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Category: General gun stuff

Shooting a sporterised Husky M38 at Deerstalkers Auckland range.

Reasons why I (sometimes) prefer my car to my guns

Geoff Leave a comment

Like most Kiwi blokes, I have a tendency to tinker in the garage. My two favourite interests at this time in my life are my assorted collection of long arms and my 1980 Triumph TR7 DHC. Both of which I work on just about whenever I get the chance.

I love my guns, but sometimes this little convertible steals the show.
I love my guns, but sometimes this little convertible steals the show.

However, being a mere mortal, I can’t dedicate myself to both equally and often have to choose how I spend my time (or dollars). Fortunately for me, my wife enjoys shooting and riding in the convertible, so I don’t have to work too hard on that front.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I do sometimes prefer my car to my guns. And here’s why:

My car always has something to work on

God bless British Leyland, but they didn’t make the most reliable/simple/functional vehicles. While I may finish a project rifle or find the perfect cast projectile load, I may never finish working on the ol’ Triumph.

Great resource for anyone looking to cast lead projectiles for the venerable 7.62×39 – especially for the SKS.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?13453-Practical-Dope-on-the-7-62X39

Posted by The Gun Rack on Tuesday, 9 February 2016

 

My mates

Most of my shooting friends would know a little bit about cars, or have some sort of mechanical tendency. At the very least, they all have driver’s licenses and vehicles. We have plenty to talk about and share.

Give these to a mechanic and you might get a blank stare in return.
Give these to a mechanic and you might get a blank stare in return.

Most of my car enthusiast friends know very little about firearms, don’t have licenses and couldn’t begin to relate to the joy a cloverleaf group or the rush of a clean, ethical kill.

Also, they’d wear out my car knowledge in 20 mins if we tried to have an exhaustive conversation about anything.

Car stuff is easier to buy

It’s right there in the header. Anyone can buy me some bit or bob for my car. Easy Christmas presents. Not everyone can buy me ammunition or import semi-auto rifle parts.

Having said that, there are easy gifts for shooters.

But, in terms of ease of purchasing… There are two car part stores in a 5 min radius of my house. There are also at least half-a-dozen mechanics, a VTNZ and several hardware stores that carry useful automotive stuff.

There is one gun store in that radius. It also happens to be the only camping and outdoor store as well.w

Testing

If I modify my rifle, I have to wait for a weekend or time off work to head down to a range. For rimfire, it’s not so bad – 5 mins away is the Howick Rifle Range, where I shoot with HSSRC. However, for centrefire rifles, I have to travel at least 45 mins.

To test any modification to the car, I can drive down the street. I can even test drive it to the shooting range! And no one will complain if I turn the engine over on the weekend. Test firing a rifle would be a slightly different story.

If I had a range like this in my back yard, I may divide my time slightly differently.
If I had a range like this in my back yard, I may divide my time slightly differently.

To add insult to injury, if I forget anything at home for my range trip, or if the modification turns out to be unsuccessful or needs reworking, I have to drive all the way home to fix it and wait another week to test it again!

To be honest, I love both hobbies equally. They’re as expensive as each other and both give me a chance to clear my head and work on something with my hands. Both hobbies result in great stories of hit and miss, and allow plenty of opportunity to geek out in stores and online.

Push feed vs controlled feed bolt action rifles

Geoff Leave a comment

Whenever there is more than one option, shooters around the world will have vastly differing opinions for and against each. The same could be said for push vs controlled feed bolt action rifles. However, after over a hundred years of having both on the scene, it seems a sort of stalemate has been reached.

So, what's the big deal?
So, what’s the big deal?

People still have their preferences, but realistically, there are much more important factors to consider when choosing a bolt action rifle, and the feed/eject mechanism is almost ancillary to other concerns. That being said, there are differences.

The double feed

A push feed action is exactly what it sounds like. The round is pushed by the base of the bolt into the chamber. Once the bolt is fully closed the extractor claw will engage the rim of the cartridge, so that the ejector plunger can push it out when it’s clear of the chamber again (once the bolt is pulled rearwards).

The oft-quoted push action double feed can occur if you do not fully close the bolt upon chambering a round. This means the round will not eject as the extractor claw has not engaged the cartridge. If you move the bolt forward again, you’ll feed a second round into the base of the first.

The bolt in this .243 Stevens literally pushes the round without grabbing onto the rim until the action is fully closed.
The bolt in this .243 Stevens literally pushes the round without grabbing onto the rim until the action is fully closed.

This situation is very unlikely to occur, except through clear operator error. We all like to think we’re beyond such simple mistakes, but stress can cause us to do funny things. When might you be this stressed? Hunting dangerous game, or perhaps in fast-paced action matches like the Precision Rifle Series. However, most competitors use modern push feed actions without any issues. Big game hunters on the other hand, are probably the biggest proponents of the Mauser-style controlled-round feed.

Making life easier

The main reason for the proliferation of push feed rifles is that they are cheaper and easier to manufacture. Having said that, some very expensive, reliable and accurate rifles use push feed actions.

There’s one thing that just makes like easier with a controlled-round feed. You don’t have to push the bolt fully closed, or completely work the action, to pick up and eject a round. And no, this isn’t the same point above worded in a different way.

This Mauser action with its large claw extractor grips the round upon picking it up out of the magazine.
This Mauser action with its large claw extractor grips the round upon picking it up out of the magazine.

If you spend a lot of time on the range drilling small holes into paper, you’ll come across plenty of situations where you have to clear your rifle so someone can go forward. This may be for a change of targets, a ceasefire in a match or  some other situation where rifles need to be made safe.

If you have a box magazine, no issues either way. However, if you have a blind magazine, emptying a full mag with a push feed action can be annoying and time consuming. A good example of this is the Mossberg 100 ATR which I recently reviewed. A nice, slick bolt action, but you can’t pull the magazine out or drop a floorplate if you want to quickly empty your rifle.

With the Mauser-style actions built by CZ, Winchester (some model 70s), Ruger, Kimber and others, you can simply move the bolt a fraction of the way forward and pull it back again to solidly pick up and eject a round. I do also find that the bolts are generally less sloppy in the action, as the long extractor acts as another guide to keep the bolt going forward and not sideways.

These sound like silly points to favour one rifle over another, and they are. Although it’s a feature I really like, it wouldn’t influence which rifle I bought if I was choosing between two (unless they were otherwise identical, which isn’t going to happen).

If you want to dig a bit more into the subject, there’s plenty on the web, including this well-illustrated article at Lucky Gunner.

New year = New rifle

Geoff Leave a comment

Well it’s been a great break, with some awesome weather to get outdoors around the country. One thing that’s true every year is that people make goals to join the gym or eat better, especially after the Christmas splurge. It usually takes the form of “New year = New you” or #newyearsresolution #fit2016 #caloriebattle if you’re particularly young and annoying.

There are some parallels for shooters. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a Christmas budget that literally allows for a new rifle, so we’ll have to make do with the weary barrels, actions and stocks that we already have. Just like the once-a-year gym bunnies, this means squeezing maximum performance out of what can be old and tired equipment.

One of the best ways to do this is to ensure good cleaning habits. By maintaining your rifle or shotgun properly, you’ll extend barrel life, ward off rust and stay accurate for longer. Here are a few cleaning tips for a better 2016.

Strip down semi-autos

While you might clean the barrel and even the chamber and action of your AR or AK after every range trip, stripping it down and giving it a birthday a few times a year can lead to improved reliability.

A surprising amount of gunk builds up in gas tubes, magazines, under selectors and safeties and even in the nooks and crannies of stocks.

Once you’ve broken down your rifle into its various components, you might cringe at the amount of expensive gun-cleaning product you’re going to have to use to get it ship-shape. My personal recommendation is to use less-expensive cleaners to do the grunt worker. Cleaner-degreasers work well. My favourites are those that are citrus based. Otherwise, a good move is a parts cleaner, such as automotive brake cleaner. Whatever you do use, make sure it’s safe on the materials it will come in contact with. Otherwise, your cheap fix may become very expensive.

Parts cleaners can make for better-functioning weapons.
Parts cleaners can make for better-functioning weapons.

Use a bore cleaner and a copper remover

If you’re not too particular about your cleaning, you may not realise that these are in fact two different things. A bore cleaner is great for getting out powder and debris, while a copper remover helps get rid of fouling that can destroy accuracy.

A good cleaning routine makes use of both. I also like to run a wet patch of bore cleaner through my regularly used guns before storing them, and running a dry patch through before shooting them. You’ll be surprised out how much dirt it will lift. I would not recommend doing the same with a copper remover – this shouldn’t stay in your bore for more than 10 mins (depending on the strength of the product).

 

Industrial and gun care products work side by side.
Industrial and gun care products work side by side.

For guns like my Lee Enfield .303, which doesn’t get used as often, the final patch I run through is wet with lubricating oil. It can be a proper gun lubricating oil, or a safe industrial equivalent. Lubricating oil has a high viscosity and clings to metal. This oil won’t drip down into the action, but will stay in the barrel, keeping the lands and grooves free of rust.

Buy a one-piece cleaning rod

Cheap cleaning kits are all good for getting started, and pull-throughs are great for a quick clean in the field. However, if you’re serious about breathing new life into an old rifle, a one-piece rod should be on your shopping list.

Cleaning more often or more vigorously means more wear and tear on your cleaning apparatus. Aluminium and bronze-alloy rods ten to become weak around the threaded joins, and will eventually snap – especially if you use a larger patch for a more thorough clean and have to push quite hard.

A stainless steel rod with a freely rotating handle is a good bet – even better if it has a plastic coating to prevent damage to your breech or muzzle from ‘enthusiastic cleaning’. A multi-calibre stainless steel rod of solid construction can be had for about the same price as a cleaning kit with a multi-part, aluminium rod for a single calibre.

Plastic jags are a good temporary measure, but I wouldn't rely on them.
Plastic jags are a good temporary measure, but I wouldn’t rely on them.

Spend some money on jags

Cleaning jags may seem like a waste of money if you’re relying on the plastic ones that come with cleaning rods or kits, but they do make all the difference. Not only can you buy metal jags specifically designed to remove copper fouling for your specific calibre, but they’re also much less likely to snap or bend under force.

Use a guide for your cleaning rod

Rod/bore guides do several things to help you out, and cost very little. For between $30 and $100 you’ll get a decent guide with adapters that can be used across several/most calibres.

The benefits of a bore guide are as follows:

  • Keep solvents off your stock finish
  • Keep debris and solvents out of your action and mag well
  • Guiding the rod into the bore eliminates unwanted wear on the chamber
  • The guide keeps the rod straight, helping reduce stress on the rod, which could cause it to bend or snap

If you are serious about getting more use out of your rifle between cleans or a more accuracy for your time behind the cleaning rod, you may have to spend a small amount of money on the right tools for the job. In the end you’ll find that setting up your cleaning bench effectively is well worth it. Here’s to a 2016 full of shooting (and just enough cleaning)!

Three shot group on smallbore target

Rifle resources

Geoff Leave a comment

There are so many places around the web that you can visit to become more informed about your chosen shooting sport or firearm. However, some resources stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. Here’s a quick break-down of great places to to do a bit of digging.

Cartridge research and long-range accuracy

Terminal Ballistics is not only the home of Matchgrade Bedding Compound, but is also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to… well… terminal ballistics. The study of terminal ballistics is the study of what a bullet does once it impacts the target.

Nathan Foster does a lot of wound research and load development to help shooters figure out which cartridges will suit their desired application. If you’re thinking of trying out a new calibre, this is a great place to start.

Terminal Ballistics also provides long-range shooting advice, both on the web, and in books and other media. If you’re interested in hunting or target-shooting at extended ranges, make sure to give these a go.

Community opinion

Sometimes what you really want to know, is what other users think of a product. Sites like The Gun Rack provide product reviews and other useful information, but if you’d like to get a variety of opinions or start a poll on a certain subject, a forum may be the best place to do that.

In New Zealand we have nzrimfire.com, fishnhunt.co.nz, nzhuntingandshooting.co.nz and many, many more. Often you’ll find that forum members are across multiple sites, and you’ll soon figure out who really knows their stuff.

Advice on reloading and other topics is plentiful on online forums.
Advice on reloading and other topics is plentiful on online forums.

Technical reviews

While I try and provide thorough reviews from a user’s point of view, sometimes what you want is a very technical investigation into a certain issue.

A website you can’t look past is precisionrifleblog.com. Full of comprehensive tests and healthily objective comparisons, this is a site that I could get lost on for hours (and sometimes have).

Services

Some of the services that rifle shooters need are just not advertised in the way makeup or used cars are. To find out where to get your stock repaired or get a barrel threaded, you probably shouldn’t rely on Google.

Theirs no better resource for this than your fellow shooters. Aside from checking out forums, or the other resources listed above, joining a hunting or shooting club is an invaluable way to make contacts in the community/industry, and find out where your local gunsmith or hunting spots might be hidden.

Voere 22LR Bolt Action

No bolt, no mag – what to do?

Geoff 4 Comments

It’s not unusual for an older rifle to make its way through the family tree and lose its bolt or mag along the way – especially .22s which can be used and abused. The other way no mag/bolt guns fall into our hands is through Trademe auctions, usually run by gun stores that have used older rifles for parts, and no longer need the barrelled action and/or stock. So, is it worthwhile trying to restore these firearms to their former glory?

What’s the value?

If it’s a family heirloom, it could have enough sentimental value for you to undertake the project regardless of cost. However, if you’re eyeing up an auction, it’s probably because you want to get a rifle together on the cheap. Depending on your scenario, it may or may not be worth the time, money and effort to restore the firearm.

A word to the wise – thoroughly research your intended purchase before assuming you can find the parts to complete the project. As an example, I wanted to put together a cheap shotgun and bought an SKB semi action and stock, missing the forewood and barrel. I had seen some barrels online, and figured it would be easy enough to put this thing back together.

However, I found out (like an hour after the auction), that the SKB factory had been shut down, and that the barrels that I had found in the States were not ideal. There are some available locally – for over $900. There goes the idea of a cheap shotgun. So I paid $29.50 for something that probably won’t ever be used for anything, except perhaps testing out gun blue or stock reconditioning products.

What’s the cost?

Sometimes you can source the parts, but you have to be inventive to keep the cost down. The thing is, if it was cheap to do, the gun store would have bought the parts and sold a complete rifle for more – so you know it’s not going to be a walk in the park.

A good example of getting creative is a rifle I got from my father-in-law. It’s a .22LR bolt-action from sometime around the ’70s or ’80s. It was sold by a trading house by the name of Wischo Kg Erlangen in Germany originally, essentially assembled from parts provided by various European manufacturers. The rifle is basically a Voere.

The rifle came into my possession for the princely sum of a nice bottle of wine. It had a decent looking barrel and a crisp two-stage trigger. However, it was missing the rear sight, magazine and bolt. By keeping my eyes open, I managed to spot a Voere parts auction on Trademe.

The auction was for an action and bolt, with about 8 inches of barrel attached. See below video of me firing this weird thing, after fitting it to the stock from the rifle I had acquired.

Included in the “barrelled” action was the rear sight – a stroke of luck. Also in the auction I got a 6mm garden gun without bolt, which is just a wallhanger in my office. Oh well. I’m never even going to try solve that mystery.

The Wischo rifle sporting the Voere sight, pictured next to the Voere bolt, action/barrel and trigger group.
The Wischo rifle sporting the Voere sight, pictured next to the Voere bolt, action/barrel and trigger group.

The issue then became whether the parts I bought on an (educated) whim for $40 would fit my rifle – as technically they were not from the same gun. Well, it turned out I was right with my assumption that the trading house rifle was a Voere in disguise, however the bolt wouldn’t close nicely and the rear sight was obviously different, as it had a larger dovetailed base.

A machinist/engineer friend of mine helped me take a small piece of metal off the action around the bolt, which got it cocking smoothly, and extended the dovetail to take the sight off the parts gun. This cost me a box of Heineken.

All that’s left to buy is a magazine, which I can get from here, or here, for between $100 and $150. So, all up, for the cost of a bottle of wine, a box of beer, $40 for parts and around $150 for a mag, I’ll have a nice wee shooter with a bit of character and a story worth telling. By throwing in some of my own time and effort, I can reblue the rifle and varnish the stock, and it will end up being a really good looking little gun too.

So, again, it can be worth it – but you’ve got have the time, and sometimes know the right people, to make it worthwhile restoring a non-functioning rifle.

4 gun myths that need to stop

Geoff Leave a comment

Action movies are great. You get to relax and get pumped up at the same time. However, there are certain things that Hollywood, news media and general ignorance get people thinking about guns that just aren’t true. Here are four myths that need to stop, right now.

1. A silencer makes your gun sound like a mouse fart

There are very few “silent” firearms. Those that have been created to be virtually undetectable from about 30 feet (10 metres) away, were mostly clandestine firearms developed in war time, such as the De Lisle carbine and the Welrod pistol.

However, almost every other firearm in existence is still pretty loud with a suppressor on. The aim of a silencer, suppressor or moderator, is to reduce the decibel level and take out the loud “crack” of the round being fired. This helps in several ways.

  • It protects your hearing – especially for hunters.
  • It makes it harder to pinpoint the origin of the sound – keeps the animals confused for a couple seconds longer
  • It keeps the volume down at the public range or when on private land near to neighbours

The suppressor also makes it easier to shoot more accurately, as it reduces the recoil felt by the operator of the firearm, as well as the muzzle climb. This means shooters have less of a tendency to flinch or close their eyes, and can take follow up shots more quickly if an animal has not been taken cleanly.

While incredibly quiet compared to what is was before, this rifle is still loud enough to not be confused with a grandma spitting
While incredibly quiet compared to what is was before it had a silencer, this rifle is still loud enough to not be confused with a grandma spitting

2. Cars are often blown up with bullets

This is one of the great contradictions in movies and video games… Shoot a car enough times and it’s apparently going to blow up. While it’s possible, it’s not very likely. Fuel lines and tanks are very hard to puncture, and are right in the guts of the car. Even if you do manage to spring a leak, you have to continue shooting in that vicinity to try and get sparks from your rounds’ impact to set the fuel alight.

Tied in with this fallacy is the idea that cars provide great cover. No they don’t. Most hunting cartridges could penetrate through a car door or roof and still do a great deal of damage – never mind the shrapnel created in the process. Twenty millimetre rounds from a jet, 7.62×51 armour piercing rounds from a gunship or .50 cal rounds from a ma deuce will rip you and your car to shreds.

3. Guns click and clack whenever you point them at someone

This is one of the most aggravating things to see in a movie – and few are exempt from this awful foul up. Every time a character handles a weapon in any way, it makes a lot clicking, mechanical noises. As if it’s doing something. If I hold a gun, it makes no sound. If I lift it up and point it at something it still makes no sound. If I swing it around in circles and dance around with it – it still makes no sound.

A firearm will make a noise in these situations:

  • It is being loaded or unloaded
  • It is being calibrated or sighted in some way
  • A gunsmith is busy taking it apart
  • Your pulling the trigger and making it go boom
  • A safety or selector is being applied
  • A hammer or slide is being pulled back
  • You drop it on the floor
  • You hit someone/something with it

Other than that, they’re pretty darn quite. If you leave them alone in a safe for a million years, they still won’t make any noise.

4. Guns need to be racked/cocked every few seconds

Directors seem to think that working the slide on a shotgun is punctuation for a tense sentence. For those that don’t know, every time you rack a pump action shotgun, it ejects the round that is chambered – whether it has been fired or not. This means that every time the hero says something cool and makes that “kachook” sound for effect, he’s ejecting a perfectly good round. If he keeps doing that, he’ll have nothing left in his magazine by the time he’s done talking.

Keep racking that bolt and you'll have an empty magazine soon enough.
Keep racking that bolt and you’ll have an empty magazine soon enough.

The same applies to the slide on a pistol, or the charging handle on a semi-automatic rifle. When the SWAT team makes all those clicky sounds as they’re leaving HQ, then again during the pep-talk in the truck, again when they get out of the vehicle, and again when they confront the bad guy, they’re ejecting a bunch of perfectly good rounds (if this were real life). At three rounds per SWAT member in this example, and a team of 10 people, that’s a whole magazine of ammo wasted every call out. Terrible economics.

I could go on, but that’ll just have to be food for another article. What bugs you about firearms in popular media?