California Says One Gun a Month, So...

A decade or so back, Springfield Armory put out a batch of 10000 brand new M1s, and I was fortunate enough to get one. Beautiful rifle.

Yeah. I think about you and that rifle every time the mood strikes me to want a new Garand. Unfortunately, the few of those that are on the used market are going for astronomically stupid prices. There's a few companies out there that do all new production except for the receivers. They use either SA or HR. I wouldn't mind getting an IHC just for giggles, but I really just want an actual new one. Frankly, I'm kinda surprised no one makes them. Maybe the market will open up once the CMP's remaining stock of decent shooters continues to dwindle.

Didn't the Obama administration block the reimportation of a large number of garands a few years back?

Yes, from South Korea. I haven’t heard any more about it since this update almost a year ago:

http://www.guns.com/2017/02/20/bill-filed-to-bring-south-korean-m1s-back-from-overseas/

Apparently the CMP did get approval to bring back 80,000-something rifles from the Philipines.

Anyone got experience good, bad, or indifferent with Ruger Mini-14s?

I was issued a Ruger AC556 with the factory folding stock way back in the good old days. It was a nifty little rifle that would have made a nice little "truck gun."

I’ve got no experience with Mini-14s myself, but over the years I’ve heard that due to the barrel being so thin that they suffer accuracy issues when it heats up during sustained fire. A friend who owned one for a time (and who is an otherwise excellent shot) told me that was his experience with his rifle.

It would explain a lot about the A-Team’s performance.

The mini-14 is cable of it, but not specifically designed for sustained fire. It's a simple truck/camp/varmint weapon.

It's too bad they cost as much as they do if that's the case.

The A-Team were a highly trained commando unit. That means they were missing the shots on purpose. It makes sense that they would miss. They are already fugitives and they don't want to add murder charges to their list of crimes.

So really it shows that they are even more skilled because they can miss the bad guys on purpose but still accomplish the mission.



A-Team FTW!

Well...things didn't go quite according to plan this month.

My local gunshop sold the TRS it had, so I'm waiting for another one.

This one wasn't on my hitlist at all; it's totally a target of opportunity. HK only makes these once in a great while, and my local shop had a terrific price on it. I think it's a cool-looking gun (and is reputed to be quite accurate), and it's my first HK pistol (might be last since selection here in California is VERY limited)...this is a USP Elite in .45 ACP.


And, since the shop had a new one in stock, I put the next gun on my hitlist on layaway for next month: the Smith & Wesson Model 29 Classic .44 Magnum (stock photo, I forgot to photograph mine)...



It's a gun I've always wanted (big Dirty Harry fan, I am) and now it's in the pipeline. Those grips have gotta go, though. The original 29's grips were MUCH wider. I don't think I want to shoot a heavy-recoiling handgun without a little more to hold on to/brace against.

Y'know, one of the guys who takes part in the twice-yearly camping/hunting excursions I go on suggested that for the next trip this Spring, "everybody has to bring a new gun".

I'm seriously thinking that this may be the one I bring.

Sad news. I don't have one and it wasn't on my list, but I still imagined these would always be available.

The Browning Hi-Power is...

Browning link

Does this include Argentine Hi-Powers?

I imagine not, since they're clones, yes?

Of course, those aren't available on the market here. So, if I want a Hi-Power I'm going to have to find one on the used market, or find a new Browning still in stock somewhere.

Not that I especially want one. Too many other goodies on my hitlist.

Same here. They're wonderful pistols (two of my friends each have Argentine Hi-Powers that are excellent guns) but there's always some other firearm that it seems I'd rather buy instead.

But if you do end up buying one and want to make it as cool as the latest modern day heater, there's now a polymer frame available for Hi-Powers.



http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Polymer Frame.htm

To my mind, the only reason to acquire a Hi-Power is for its historical/nostalgia value. For a 9mm (or .40 S&W) defensive pistol, there are an endless number of better choices. Even here in severely choice-limited California, it wouldn't be near the top (IMHO).

We can't get magazines over 10 rounds here, so the Hi-Power's most compelling feature--its 13-round capacity--is nonexistent for us.

When I've been approached by stations in San Diego about going to work there I've always declined, in part because only...four?...of my guns would be legal there.

Similar experience here. I turned down a job in San Francisco partially because I didn't want to give up my gun collection.

That's not a gun.
*reaches behind back*
This is a gun.

When I was born my Pawpaw gave me 150ac of Long Leaf and Loblolly, my mule Lucy* and a buggy, an Arkansas Toothpick and that pistol. That side of the family totally not from Nashoba Co!

*Lucy kicked my Momma in the stomach while she was pregnant.

With me. Joke is that explains a lot.

35 years later Lucy is gone but Rio and Isaac love that buggy when back at 'Camp Alabama'.... <3

My gun actually comes with a display case like that. Prolly never get used.

I'd like to swipe those grips.

I've never really enjoyed the long barrels, but my favorite revolver of all time has been my 629 Mountain Gun.

The Mountain Gun is a 3", no?

I would probably never carry a .44 Magnum--and if I did, it would be the more packable L-Frame Model 69 Combat Magnum--so I don't feel compelled to make it too compact. My plain-jane 629 is a 4" and I love the way it looks and handles. For the 29, I specifically wanted something as close to Dirty Harry's gun as possible.

S&W did have a 2.5" 629 called the Trail Boss that I thought was very bad-ass looking.

The Mountain Gun is 4". That's as close to perfect for carry as you're going to get with an N Frame. You're right in that an N Frame is not something you'd want to conceal. Heck, a 5" 1911 is much easier to conceal than any N Frame. But, I don't have a problem with trying to conceal it.

Okay, neophyte question time: all else being equal, isn't a longer barrel more accurate than a shorter one?

(Cue "That's what she said!" jokes)

I don't think a longer barrel is inherently more accurate. You won't see much difference among barrel lengths if you shoot the guns from a clamped-down rest. You do get higher velocity with a longer barrel (to a point), which makes the bullet shoot flatter (i.e., the bullet drops less over a given distance).

The longer barrel has a greater sight radius (distance between the front and rear sights), which makes it easier for the shooter to align the sights more accurately.

So, yes, a longer barrel is probably more accurate for most shooters, but not because the barrel is longer.