I Don't Know About You...

 ...but I do know that I need to make a trip to the range. I have both a shotgun & revolver I bought at auction back in late April, probably received them in early May and  have not shot them yet. The shotgun is a Savage Stevens Model 94C Hammered 12 gauge; it is a single shot. The revolver is a Ruger New Model Single Six Convertible, 22 LR & 22 WMR, in stainless steel. Both are in very nice condition and I am very happy about that because I bid on them without being able to check on their condition before bidding. I usually check at least a couple to a few days before the auction but my timing was off so I tried the day before the auction. That was no good and no go because they were too busy to do it at the auction house. That's okay by me because it was my bad as they say. 

Regardless of not being able to check, I wound up with two very nice firearms. As for the shotgun, I certainly did not buy it for anything like needing another shotgun, I think I have four of them right now, two Remington 870s, a Remington Model 10 and a Remington model 31. Those are more than enough for me, in fact I recently sold my Remington model 29. I bought this one thinking it would be a nice project gun on which I'd maybe touch up the bluing and refinish the wood stock. Right now, that is still the plan but I have no clue when I, THE Great Procrastinator will get around to it. Anyway here it is in pics:

 

 

As you can see it is in pretty good shape. I have almost half a mind to leave it as is but I also have just a bit more than half a mind to strip that ghastly dark finish off of the wood and replace it with one using tung oil and lots of rubbing it in; I am a fan of more natural looking wood and there is oft times beautiful wood grain under those old time dark finishes. I know many folks prefer the original finish and a good number of them think it almost sacrilegious to refinish an older gun like this but I have no qualms about doing so. After all, this is not some rare super expensive gun, I got it for a whopping total of about $130.00 or so and that includes shipping and an FFL fee.

 

As for the revolver, it is staying as is except maybe for me touching up the finish on the grips or replacing them with a better looking pair. Now, they do not look bad but there appears to be finish wear when seen up close & personal. That may only need a bit of polishing though. Here are some pics of it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I posted pics of these already but am just too lazy at 0545 hours of the morning to check. I got out of bed at 0350 or so and have not felt like jumping back under the covers, wide awake am I for some reason.

I bought these at auction, the same auction my son told me to bid on this for him, the this being a Glock 41 in 9mm. Here are some pics of it:

 

The Glock needs some repair, minor at that but repair nonetheless. Someone, an idiot I suppose, put an improperly sized pin into it as far as I can tell. It's the one above the trigger pin (its name eludes my little gray cells right now). It falls out when shot. No big deal if it is only the pin and not something internal. It will or should be an easy fix no matter what. I just hope Glock is again selling parts to the public. Apparently they had their own crisis during COVID and would not sell parts to the public for a while back then! If they are not selling parts, the pin may cost me about 10 times what it usually sells for from Glock.

 

As I said, I need a trip to the range. I was thinking only with the Savage Stevens & the Ruger but I guess with the Glock as well since my son gave it to me to fix being I used to be a Glock Armorer & Advanced Glock Armorer. I said used to be because I never recertified once my certification expired the last time which was the fourth certification or so for me over the years. I figured why waste the money to recertify with Glock @ of a few hundred dollars when they were not selling parts to the public. I guess when I get it fixed thought I should shoot it to make sure I got it right.

 

Anyway, as I said, I need a range trip. Maybe Friday, sounds good anyway.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

This Video Makes Me Want To Pick Up A Browning

 If you are interested in firearms history, you likely know that there probably is not a more eminent figure when it comes to firearms patents and models than John Moses Browning. If you'd like to know some of his history, watch this video. It is just under an hour long but I think definitely well worth your time: 

 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Glorious Range Day Today

It truly was a glorious day so far today here on Long island - at least for me. The weather was great, in the low 60s when I left the house this morning around 0900 (actually left by my planned time for a change) to head to the range for some shooting. Brendan was at my side as we drove the 48 miles or so to the range. (I had thought it was 60 miles but stand corrected since I checked the odometer today.) The drive was nice, almost no traffic once we were about 1/2 way there. No idiots encountered on the road was also a plus (and let me tell you I seem to have a penchant for attracting them if they are around). The guys who checked us in at the range shop were nice. I was a bit dismayed to see that the $18 bucks we pay is only for 3 hours of shooting (longer if they are not busy and don't need the bench for someone else). It used to be that much for 4 hours. (I stand corrected again I had been certain it used to be for the whole day of shooting but the guy at the counter set me right on that.)

After we shot for about an hour or so, we met up with a friend of mine, Dennis M, who retied from my job a year or two back and that made things even better. He was the guy who asked me about the Kel-Tec SU16 that I recently wrote up on the blog. He bought a used Mini 14 (stainless) with a telescopic sight and was breaking it in for his first shoot with it. We did not get much time to talk since he probably stayed only about an hour or so, but we will meet again for another shoot in the not too distant future if all goes as planned.

There were no Range Nazis yelling at us today. In fact, the guys who were firearms officers at the range were really very nice as they usually are with one guy who is an exception and can be an ass. Yet, as I said he was not there today, or at least not bothering me if he was there. Most of the shooters today were also on the ball when it came to range safety. That included a couple of guys who came with a Boy Scout Troop and their troop leader for some shooting. They were shooting for the 1st time from what I could tell - the scouts that is and were doing okay even if they could only shoot at 50 yards. (By my estimation that is a horrendous distance at which to teach a newbie to shoot, but it is all that was available.) Surprisingly they were doing okay. I suppose the glass optics they were using helped there.

As far as shooting went Brendan and I did okay and we had a blast shooting away with 6 rifles and a shotgun that we brought along. Brendan had nothing to brag about but at 50 yards he was sighted in well enough with the scoped Marlin 336 (in .35 Remington) to hit a deer in the kill zone easily at that distance. I wanted to try the 100 yard line this time round but the range was so crowded we decided not to move from the 50 to the 100. Maybe next time. With the Remington 870, he seemed to be off his best a bit. He was hitting the target at that distance but was high and so was I. A bit of tinkering with the 870's stock open rifle sights got me zeroed in right on the money but he was still shooting a bit high. Oh well, when we hunt, if it is rifle country, I will probably use the slug gun myself and let him use the Marlin. As for me and the Marlin, we were a good combination. I was off at first and the fault was all mine. When I concentrated a bit I got 5 shots too look like a compacted clover leaf. In fact three shots basically made one hole. I was loading with three at a time, then loaded two remaining shells I had left over. I impressed myself good enough for me to have patted myself on the back.

We also had fun shooting the Russian Mosin Nagant 91/30 and the Hungarian Mosin Nagant M44. Neither is a tack driver, especially not the M44 but we would have hit a deer at that distance. Some shots would have been backbone breakers and others belly busters but all were pretty much centered. We both also shot Brendan's AK. That is a spray and pray type of gun if ever there was one. It does not seem any too accurate but we did hit paper at 50 yards and would have put one heck of a hurting on people sized targets had we been defending ourselves.

Finally there was the Ruger 10/22 All-Weather that I bought Brendan a few years back. It has a red dot sight on it and I shot okay with it using fairly crappy ammo at 50 yards. Brendan shot okay with it too. I shot maybe a large orange sized group for 20 rounds the first time around. It was shooting low so I adjusted the sight to get the right elevation but it still needed some windage work. We left that for next time. I have to point out, it was a relief for both of us to shoot something with almost no recoil at all but after about 3 1/2 hours Brendan had had enough; in fact so had I. My back, right shoulder and neck are all telling me now that maybe I should not have shot the 870 to day or stayed as long at the range with those larger caliber rifles; maybe a lot more of the 10/22 was in order for me. Oh well. Funny though, the tingling I had in my left arm up through my shoulder has gone away. That has been bothering me each time I have used the PC lately and when driving, but is gone now! At least one part of my middle aged anatomy must have gotten jarred back into place.

The ride home was uneventful - which translates to great. We made a stop at a live fowl seller and I picked up a couple of Guinea Hens for tomorrow's dinner. I am cooking - that should be an adventure of its own. We made a couple more stops so Brendan could pick up some stuff for a birthday party he was to attend and then we headed home. I suppose that tonight I'll have to start cleaning the guns all over again. Seems like I just cleaned about 4 of them as recently as this morning! Shoot em, clean em right after you shoot em, then make sure test fire em as soon as you can, and then you have to clean em all over again and test fire em again and on and on and on. It is a vicious cycle I can attest to that, but I love it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Biweekly Gun Shots 7 - Remington 870 Express Super Magnum Waterfowl Camo

Is there anything I need to say about the Remington 870 shotgun other than I think it is a great shotgun. Now I am not the only one of that opinion, there are plenty of others who think the same way about it as witnessed by the fact that the 870 is one of the most popular pump action shotguns of all time. Despite that praise I guess I'll have to say a few things about it, otherwise my blog would not be much of a blog.

The particular model I have pictured is the Remington 870 Express Super Mag Waterfowl Camo. It is obviously being marketed for shooting waterfowl, but my guess is that it would make a great turkey gun too. That camo job in Mossy Oak Duck Blind might look like reeds at pond side, but my guess is that it would make it hard to see for waterfowl, turkey, and even a hunter who may have put down the shotgun while answering another call of nature other than that of a game animal while out hunting. The specs on this gun as supplied by Remington are:

Gauge: 12

Chamber: 3 1/2"
Magazine Capacity: 3 (3 1/2")4 (2 3/4" & 3")
Barrel Length: 28"
Camo Design: Mossy Oak® Duck Blind™
Choke: Vent Rib Rem™ Choke
Overall Length: 48"
Average Weight: 7 1/2 lbs.

Of course, if I got one of these, I would use it mostly for hunting waterfowl and turkey. Why? Well I already have an 870 Express Combo that I can use for everything else. The 870 Express Combo comes with two barrels (yes the barrels are interchangeable). I have had mine for about 25 years now. Mine came with a 28" vent rib barrel and a 20" smoothbore deer barrel with rifle sights. It has taken one heck of a beating out in the woods hunting, and has fired thousands of rounds (I used to qualify with it for my job when carrying a personally owned shotgun was within regulations) and it has never failed me. Of course the finish on the metal parts of the one I own is pretty worn and the gun could use a refinishing, and same is true for the wood (I even redid the wood once myself and it still looks pretty good). I have got to say that this gun is one of the most reliable ones that I own. It is only when I look at this older version of the 870 that I can bring any fault to bear on the newer models. I am currently issued a Remington 870 for my job, it is an 870 Express Synthetic with Ghost Ring sights (absolutely great sights for quick target acquisition). It being a newer model lacks the magazine spring retention cap of the old models, and on that point alone I can find a lot of fault to shoot over in Remington's direction. Why all the fuss over one little piece being removed. Well when they removed it they also altered the magazine tube so it would not be able to accept the magazine spring retention caps at all. Now if you want to disassemble the shotgun you had best have your hand ready to capture the magazine spring or it will go flying. This is not all that bad, but what truly is a pain in the neck is the reassembly because you have to force the spring back into place each time, and then get the magazine end cap screwed back on without allowing the spring to come loose. Houdini might have had a bit of difficulty with this maneuver. For the life of me I just don't get it when a company like Remington has a good thing going and then goes out to improve something by fixing something that is not broken! The result in this case was a pain in the ass neck reassembly procedure. Remington also apparently went to nylon or polymer trigger guards on some guns, or so I have heard. I think they went back to metal trigger guards after quite a bit of discontent being expressed by the peon who buy the Express, but you may want to check on that. Now if only they would go back to the magazine spring retention caps!

I suppose, when you think about it, a small complaint like the one I just expressed (was that a pun) is not too bad. My guess would be that someone becoming familiar with this gun for the first time would not even notice the shortcomings I just wrote about. What they would likely notice is the great reliability of this gun to function properly time and time again, and the quality that goes into making them. They would also probably notice the decent price that makes the Remington 870 Express models pretty easy on the pocket book. The 870 Express Super MagnumWaterfowl Camo has an MSRP of $577. The 870 Express Super Magnum Combo with Extra Deer Barrel & Rifle Sights also comes in at an MSRP of $577. Wow, what a great buy with that extra barrel when compared to the Waterfowl model!, and my guess is they are less expensive in the gun store.

Remington offers a lot more choices when it comes to the 870 than the few I mentioned above. If you want more information on the Remington 870 shotguns that are available, go to:

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_870/

All the best,

Glenn B

Dear Santa...

I know I have not been the best boy all year long, but I have tried to be pretty good; and I think you know I have gotten better than I have been in recent years. I have not written you a letter in at least about 45 years or so, I guess mostly because I always figured others who needed or wanted things more than me should write to you. This year though, I am writing to ask you for something I would like, and I would like it just for me. I know I likely am not going to get it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt just to ask you for it anyhow.

What I would like is a brand new Beretta Over/Under 12 gauge shotgun. I am particularly fond of the Ultra Light Deluxe, but if there is any chance you could swing something like this for me any of their models would be fine by me.

Of course I'll be leaving you some goodies, as I always do each and every year, I just hope you like Irish Whiskey, German Bier, and a good wurst sandwich.


All the best,
Glenn B

PS: Here are the specs, just in case your elf's need to whip one up in a hurry; or just in case any of the firearms enthusiasts out there are interested:

Model: Ultralight Deluxe, Cat Code: J687575, Gauge: 12, Barrel Length(in): 28, Choke: Modified Choke, Chamber(in): 2 3/4", Rib: 6X6, Weight(lbs): 6.3, Carry Case: Yes, MSRP: $2,350 (yikes). I can only wish Santa could do his magic for me and I find one under the tree (and I do mean only wish) because I surely would have to save my pennies for a long time to be able to buy one.

GB