July 13, 2012

Magazine Design Dilemma: Open or Enclosed?
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Related Topics: Firearm Accessories General Magazines Rimfire Ammunition    
Chautchaut light machine gun

Chautchaut light machine gun

The long-gone, unlamented Chauchat light machine gun of World War One was faulted for many design and manufacture defects. One complaint that had the greatest influence on the subsequent firearm design was the open-sided magazine — an awkward, flimsy mud-trap. Since then, open-sided magazines have been relegated to a few pistol designs. After WW2, even those largely disappeared.

Imagine by surprise when I saw the concept come back in the last several years. Colt, S&W and GSG rimfire rifle magazines now sport open sides. That design allows manual depression of the follower to make loading easier. The new STG44 rimfire clone splits the difference and have one open and one closed side. Black Dog Machine magazines for SU22 are available in both versions, with enclosed sides and with accessible follower. The obvious trade-off is the ease of loading (and cleaning) for the increased likelihood of getting dust into the magazine in the first place.

Open 22rd magazine

Open 22rd magazine

Closed 26rd magazine

Closed 26rd magazine

Open 32rd magazine

Open 32rd magazine

Based on your experience with rimfire magazines, which design approach do you think will win over? Or would it be some other option altogether, perhaps a drum that allows to relieve the clockwork spring tension while loading?

 

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The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!

May 30, 2012

.22LR Competition Pistols: What to Buy, What Not to Buy
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Related Topics: Buyers Guide    

With ammo costs going up and availability going down, many shooters are turning to the good old .22 Long Rifle cartridge for affordable shooting fun. Rimfire competition shooting leagues are springing up across the country. New shooters are mastering the fundamentals of marksmanship. Experienced shooters are rediscovering that .22 LR competitions are a fun way to hone their skills to a fine edge. What should we look for in a competition .22 pistol?

Walther P22

The tiny Walther P22 is a fun plinking gun, but competitors avoid it.

There are a variety of reliable, affordable and accurate pistols to choose from, but sometimes they can get lost in the noise and marketing of the firearms industry. Gun magazines, websites, and blogs constantly scream that whatever is newest is the best thing ever. Of course, this is not true. Some of the newest .22LR pistols to hit the market are simply range toys of lesser quality. They may look like classic firearms such as the 1911, Glock or Sig 226, but they are just not accurate enough for competition work. Many of these guns are much smaller than the service pistols they mimic. Their tiny grips are best suited for teaching children to shoot. There are also doubts about the longevity of these guns as many rounds are fired through them over time. If you want a .22LR that looks like a silenced 1911, you can buy one and play with it once in awhile at the range for fun. If you want to compete, there are better choices for the same amount of money.

What we are looking for here is a reliable, durable, accurate, and ergonomic pistol. We want large iron sights that are easy to see, a very good trigger, and a barrel that shoots straight. The gun needs to point naturally, and regular maintenance should be easy to perform. We all know that .22LR ammo is very “dirty” ammo relative to its size, and all firearms work better when we properly clean and lubricate them. With these rules in mind, here are some good options to consider.

Ruger MkIII

RugerMkIII

The Ruger Mk III is a great all-around choice.

The Ruger MkIII is my personal favorite. Although I’ve seen amazing results with heavy-barreled variants, mine features the standard weight, tapered six inch barrel and it is still more accurate than I am. If I miss with my Ruger, I know the fault is mine alone. The big disadvantage of the Ruger is that disassembly and reassembly are notoriously difficult. Many shooters fear the pistol’s complexity and refuse to disassemble it. They clean their Rugers by removing the grips and dunking the rest of the gun in carburetor cleaner or another harsh solvent. Another downside is the price, which starts higher than most other .22LR pistols and gets even more expensive depending on options.

Beretta Neos

Beretta Neos

The Beretta Neos is a relative newcomer, but looks like a great value.

The Beretta Neos is a relative newcomer to the .22LR target pistol field. These excellent quality pistols are probably the best bargain per dollar spent. They shoot straight, are easy to disassemble, and come with a built in Weaver-type optics mount. However, many pistol leagues do not allow optics, so that may not be a factor. Pricing is very competitive because the Neos is a newcomer. The science fiction looks of the gun may turn off some potential buyers, but they don’t truly matter except for the extreme grip angle. If you are used to the grip angle of a 1911 or Sig Sauer and you decide to pick up rimfire shooting to save money, you will not have a natural point of aim with the Neos.

Browning Buck Mark

Browning Buckmark

The Browning Buck Mark is a high quality pistol with a high price to match.

The Browning Buck Mark is a classic .22LR, loved by thousands of shooters. A wide variety of shooters find the Buck Mark’s grip to be perfect regardless of hand size. Ergonomically, it is almost magical. Maintenance is the problem for the Buck Mark. Small hex head setscrews hold the Buck Mark together. The owner must unscrew them each time they take apart the pistol to clean it. Losing a setscrew means no working gun for you. Strip one out during reassembly and well… I guess you won’t be cleaning your Buck Mark for awhile. The Buck Mark is also the most expensive of the pistols I am mentioning in this article.

Smith & Wesson 22A

S&W 22a

The Smith & Wesson 22A is easy to disassemble for cleaning.

The Smith & Wesson 22A is not as popular as the Ruger or Browning, but it still offers one big advantage. Disassembly for cleaning is super easy, with no tools required. Where the Browning has a setscrew holding the barrel in place, the 22a uses a large plunger that you can press with your thumb. The barrel’s accuracy is very good, but the trigger is stiff compared to the other guns I have mentioned. Reliability can be iffy with this gun, especially when dirty, so it’s a good thing that it is so easy to clean. On the other hand, its price is pretty hard to beat and its grip angle is perfect for shooters who are used to full size service pistols. Like the Beretta Neos, the 22A comes with a standard Weaver rail for mounting red dots or long eye relief scopes.

There are other pistols appropriate for rimfire competition, but these are the most affordable and readily available. If you’re a fan of the Sig Trailside, the Colt Woodsman, or the truly exceptional Smith & Wesson model 41, then by all means, go out and shoot your favorite one! There are plenty of bowling pins to knock around at a local shooting league near you!

 

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The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!

May 21, 2012

What can’t you learn by using a rimfire trainer?
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Related Topics: Ammunition Handguns Pistols Rimfire Ammunition Training    
Bersa Thunder 390 is a popular carry pistol.

Bersa Thunder .380 in a Sideguard holster is an effective carry solution.

What’s the first thing to do after buying a carry pistol? A range trip, of course! For many new shooters, this is the trying time when they discover that the nearest range isn’t near enough, and the price of centerfire ammunition isn’t close enough to free. They also discover the wear on the hands from the recoil of the lightweight carry guns. What’s a newly minted responsible citizen to do?

Many get a .22 upper or a rimfire trainer mimicking the centerfire gun. That’s great, but the critics are right in saying that a rimfire substitute doesn’t teach the recoil control afforded by using the real thing. Compared to firing a lightweight 380 or an airweight 38 revolver, shooting its rimfire clone is uneventful.

Bersa Thunder .22 clone of the 380

Bersa Thunder .22 clone of the .380

So learning recoil control is right out. Can you learn sight alignment? Yes. Breath control? Sure. Trigger control? Of course. Safety and mag catch manipulation? Definitely. Drawing safely and efficiently from a holster? Yep, you can learn that with a .22 just fine. They even work for teaching kids the basics of marksmanship.

You also get to enjoy spending $10 on ammunition for a range trip instead of $50 or more, wearing muffs or plugs but not both, not having an imprint of the pistol grip in your palm after firing off a magazine. Ammunition cost aside, the human endurance is a factor with many subcompact weapons. Rimfire trainers allow practicing in the basics for pennies on the dollar. The practice isn’t new — rimfire Martini rifles are nearly as old as the .45-577 model and so are the rimfire equivalents of .455 Webley. Even the navies used to have rifle cartridge adapters for small and medium caliber artillery pieces, both to reduce the cost of practice and stave off barrel wear. Another consideration is that in many areas, centerfire rifles are banished from indoor ranges but not their rimfire clones. Rimfire trainers: fun and useful.

 

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The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!

April 7, 2012

The Great Marginal Utility of the First Gun.
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Related Topics: Carbines Training    
An armed person won't be an easy victim

An armed person won't be an easy victim

To a person who has no food, even a modest meal is a life-saver. To another, well fed and sated, additional food is of little marginal utility. A pair of pants is a boon to the naked, while a whole closet full of outfits is of minor importance to the clothed. It’s the same with defensive weapons: the first weapon is of utmost importance, the rest merely refine the solution. By weapon, I mean both the object and the mindset required for its use. A knife, a stick, or a rock are all weapons in trained and willing hands, while a rifle unsupported by the will to use it is merely a firearm.

A personal weapon is always a gift of trust

A personal weapon is always a gift of trust

Consider this Winchester model 60 bolt action rifle dating back to the early 1930s. It’s almost identical in mechanism and performance to the modern kids’ rifles, the Crickett and the Mini Bolt. It lacks the punch and the rate of fire of dedicated defensive rifles, but it still allows the owner to pose a credible threat to a foe out past a hundred yards. Its performance is mostly independent of the strength of the shooter, and its ability to keep a menacing animal or human at a stand-off range makes it a viable defensive tool though better weapons obviously exist. A thug willing to stand twenty yards away from a victim armed with a knife would unlikely be willing to do the same in the case of a rifle…even a whimpy, slow single-shot .22 bolt action. The same would apply even to the black powder muzzle loading arms — they were a formidable tool when new and have not become less potent since. Even BB guns have been known to suffice for defense when used competently as weapons. Almost any ranged weapon is a greater upgrade from an empty hand than the further degree of improvement from that stop-gap to a proper battle rifle.

The service such weapons perform goes beyond emergency defensive uses. Possessed of a weapon as a specific category of tools, a wise owner will think to the possible uses and what-if-then scenarios. Upgrades of training, of firearm and possibly of the general circumstances become more likely. That is why gifts of weapons — with an explanation of the purpose and function — are so good for making the recipients more independent. A gift of a weapon implies many things, among them the trust for the recipient’s judgment, and a confirmation of the peaceable intentions of the giver. No one gives arms and training to a person selected for later victimization, so a gift of a weapon is a definite peace offering. So give peace a chance — gift a weapon to someone you love.

 

 

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The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!

March 28, 2012

Don’t Use Too Much Gun!
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Related Topics: Ammunition Hunting Revolvers    
SW617

SW617

Colibri - 22CB - 22 Short - .177 pellet

Colibri - 22CB - 22 Short - .177 pellet

Yesterday, I stayed at a friend’s cabin in the backwoods of Tennessee. In the evening, her cat discovered a mouse that infiltrated from the outside. Three hours later, the cat was still chasing the mouse all over furniture, running through the upstairs bedroom, then along the hallways. Something had to be done to remove the rodent since the cat was clearly not up to the task. Leaving it be wasn’t an option as mouse feces are a health hazard. A shotgun with polyethylene riot control birdshot would have done the job, but that would have been noisy and required vacuuming up the shot off the floor.

Out came the Smith&Wesson 617 revolver and Colibri ammunition. Similar to CB caps in concept — a 20 grain bullet driven only by a pinch of primer — Colibri is sized similarly to 22 Long and so fits most 22LR firearms. It will not cycle autoloaders but functions with reasonable accuracy in revolvers. I had it along for the trip because I sometimes teach new shooters using this almost-silent and recoilless cartridges for the initial familiarization. While a Walther P22 with a Gemtech Alpine sound suppressor was on hand as well, 40 grain bullets at 800fps would have taken quite a bit more out of the cabin walls than the Colibri 20-grainers ambling along at nominal 375fps. Since the light in the hallway was quite dim, I had to hold a flashlight in one hand and the revolver with the other, firing from five yards. Hearing protection was not needed as the report resembled an open palm brought down lightly against a table. After each shot, I could hear the sound of bullets rolling back towards me on the wooden floor. I wasn’t sure if I hit the rodent, so I fired again and then moved in to examine the results.

Dead mouse

Dead mouse

Aguila Colibri

Aguila Colibri

As you can see from the photographs, the shots penetrated completely. The bullet that passed through the body is visible near the mouse, the other projectile that met the lesser resistance of the leg bounced a couple of feet back towards the shooter. You can see a very slight dent in the door frame made by one of the bullets, not a big deal at the rough backwoods cabin. A low-powered air gun would have probably one as well, but I worked with what I had on hand. At least now I can claim that even my mousegun has a six inch barrel!

 

Like this article? CLICK HERE to get stories like this, useful tips, and valuable resources every other weekend in your e-mail inbox.

The mission of Cheaper Than Dirt!’s blog, “The Shooter’s Log,” is to provide information—not opinions—to our customers and the shooting community. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt!
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