Anyone know how to tell a bad primer from a light firing pin strike? I was shooting my Glock 19 the other day and for the first time I pulled the trigger and it didn't go bang. I pulled the round out and saw a dimple from where the firing pin hit it. I chambered it again and the second time it shot no problem. The ammo was pretty cheap (either Tula,Monarch, or Blazer), but I've never had it happen before.
Unless you're experiencing multiple failures to fire, with different cartridge manufacturers, I wouldn't worry about a bad round of cheap ammo. How many rounds have you put through it? BTW: Any time you have a failure to fire, you should keep the muzzle pointed downrange for at least one minute before ejecting in case you have a hang fire.
Some gun porn...new grips for the old model 10 They are walnut and I ordered them last week from a guy named Jim Badger out of South Carolina, I think. Excellent quality and speedy work without any incident.
Friday Gun Porn: Winchester Model 1873 Deluxe, manufactured in 1886. They don't make 'em like they used to... Futuristic Gun Porn: Spalted spanish cedar for an ultralight cedar/carbon fiber benchrest stock. The dark lines go through the wood and are a result of fungi infecting a (probably) dead tree. Any spalted wood is rare and I picked it up at a local lumberyard. Lucky me. Depending on the pattern you could get down to 20 ounces or less with the blank I'll glue up with this board, and the carbon fiber will make it surprisingly strong.
Got wood? I spent tonight planing and sawing in a buddy's shop and got a pile of blanks set up. Lots of different stuff going on. I am especially happy because out of that lineup, there was very little waste, and what I'm not using will be turned into pen blanks. That is why I buy epoxy in gallon jugs.
I'm gluing up a zebrawood, black walnut, and carbon fiber blank today. The fella it's going to will use it for a classic-styled rimfire sporter stock. Yep, just a little different.
In-progress gun porn from last night. Spoiler Not a job for a dull chisel or weak stomach. One slip and either the wood or metal (which cannot be touched) is screwed. The wood is still a tiny bit proud because I had three layers of masking tape for safety, so tonight I'll go back and get it damn tight with one layer of tape. The LAST wood to metal fitting for this shotgun project! Hands down one of the toughest aspects, and one I didn't forsee, was getting the angle of that fore-end metal angled properly within the wood so the fore-end stays tight against the barrel and doesn't rattle around. You won't see it but all of the metal is glass-bedded into place so it won't go anywhere for centuries to come despite whatever the wood wants to do. It's not an old-school purist method, but fuck it... function over form.
Here's the new gun in action... Half the fun is using a mechanical front rest. All of the aiming is done via twisting two knobs. I designed the stock so I can shoot, push the rifle back into position, and the crosshairs are sitting exactly where they were before. I have some work to do before it's a competitive setup, but I'm satisfied so far. Spoiler These are some 3-shot groups at 50 yards with a couple types of cheaper match ammunition. Typically I shoot 5 but I wanted to get a feel for the new front rest and shoot more groups. Not too hot, but it has some real potential. I've got some higher grade stuff (Eley Team and Match) coming that others have tested with chronographs to check the true velocities and S.D. so I know it's really good ammo. Full length pic of the rifle:
I ran all 800 rounds of Eley Match and Team ammo I had through the Suhl today at 50 yards indoors and this was the best target. In fact the best 30-shot string any of my rifles have done. 10 3-round groups averaging .203" ctc. Excluding the bastard group on the upper right, it's .176". That shatters my goal of 25 rounds averaging below .25". Tomorrow will be a good day to take it outside and test stuff like the torque on the takedown screws and amount the fore-end hangs over the front rest. I'm just learning how to adjust the barrel tuner to eliminate vertical in the groups and give it the edge in accuracy necessary to be competitive. Expensive to feed but this thing is awesome to shoot. Spoiler I'm drawing up plans for a carbon fiber buttplate attached by magnets that covers and adjustable weight system. I may end up cutting and filing out a couple steel or aluminum buttplates for it too depending on how much weight is necessary to adjust the balance just right.
FYI: Hornady ammo recall. For anyone with a S&W 500, this is muy importante. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/02/foghorn/hornaday-ammo-recall-500-sw-300-grain-ftx-custom-ammo-loaded-too-hot-to-handle/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/0 ... to-handle/</a>
I would like to secure my guns a little bit better than I have them now. I live in an apartment, so a giant floor safe isn't plausible. I would like enough space for 1-2 long guns and about 5 pistols. I'd mainly like to protect them from theft. I've seen a few wall mounted style safes that seem okay, but I have no experience with them and I'm not sure about trying to mount one to a wall that doesn't belong to me. I'd like to keep the cost below $400 ish. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.
I'm trying to think of a safe way to secure firearms for that cheap, and aside from a chain, padlock, and foot locker, all I can think of is keeping them disassembled and/or hidden. Do you have a closet with a lockable doorknob? For your long guns, could you store them within some cheapass coats, hanging by the sling? If you don't want to mess with securing things to the floor or wall, then either secure it to the heaviest piece of furniture you have, or rely in obscurity.
Just got myself a new toy: For those who are unfamiliar, it's an FNH Five Seven. It has a polymer frame, slide, and magazines and it fires a 5.7x28mm round at 1800 fps. The mags hold 20 rounds, and you can buy extended mags that hold 30. This thing is slightly bigger and longer (5 in. barrel) than my .40, but the difference in weight is incredible. It's like holding a pellet gun. They claim that it's accurate out to 50 meters, so I tried it out to see if it was true. I'm pretty average when it comes to pistol shooting, and after sighting it in I put ten of ten rounds through a beer can at 50 meters. I think I just discovered my new favorite gun.
I've always wanted to shoot one of those. How's the recoil? Is it a bitch to find ammo for it at a decent price?
One of my buddies has an FN P90* and apparently FN is still the sole producer of brass and ammo so you can get ammo but it ain't the cheapest and availability can be limited. He is reloading the FN brass and complains of the laquer they put on the cases too, for what it's worth. *Holy balls is that thing fun to shoot. He's working on a drop-in P90 conversion kit for the Ruger 10/22 and I cannot wait to get one.
It's not bad. Pretty similar to a 9mm or a .40. Shooting it is a mindfuck because of how far away you can aim and still hit shit. Yes. A buddy of mine claims he can get 2000 rounds for $800, which is really good for 5.7.
As I repped you, 10 hits in a beer can at 50 meters is amazing. I have a Army Marksmanship Unit-tuned M9, and I can hit 10 for 10 at a man sized plate at 50 meters, and that's considered pretty good. Even at 150m, the hold off for 9mm is only 12 inches or so.
I PM'ed you back, but in case anyone else is wondering, I had the grip resting on the tailgate of my truck and I was taking my sweet ass time. If I was standing up and shooting two-handed I wouldn't be able to do that. With how many rounds you've fired Brian, I think you could do some pretty impressive shit with this gun. When it comes to accuracy, it'll outperform any 9mm. 2000+ FPS with a 40 grain FMJ.