Ammo test (courtesy of Lucky Gunner)…

 Gunny  No Responses »
Aug 162012
 

…actually, range trip, happy new gun day, and ammo test (courtesy of Lucky Gunner)…

A while back – I’m embarrassed to say just how far back – Russ from Lucky Gunner contacted me to see if I’d be willing to do a test and evaluation blog post on some of their ammo. Over several emails we discussed what I shoot and what I’d be interested in testing…

We decided on .30-06 Sellier and Bellot. Two days later a small package arrived at my office. Everyone here knows the FedUps guys rarely bring me work related packages, so there was quickly a gathering of interested onlookers. No disappointment here – nicely packed and protected – with no shipping damage. When I opened one of boxes of Sellier & Bellot .30-06 Springfield HPBT Match ammo , the first comment was, “My Precious!” Beautiful stuff – it looked like premium handloads.

Ed chimed in with “What are you gonna shoot this with?” My original plan was to test them using my 1944 1903-A3 Remington – original iron sights only. After reading the ammo specs, I decided to go with something more modern with optics – 53-year-old eyes ain’t what they used to be. Ed agreed to loan me his Winchester Model 70 – “My favorite rifle, the one I killed two deer with one shot with!”, he said. His next trip to the office he brought it to me. The weather didn’t cooperate that weekend and the next was a trip home (I work out-of-town).

In the interim, I decided I wanted a modern .30-06 for my safe, too…it’s a sickness, I tell ya! I didn’t really want to spend big bucks, so I started reading up on “entry-level” guns. I ended up getting a Mossberg ATR from the local Wal Mart – $276.28 out the door. In the interest of staying “budget”,  I mounted up a Simmons 4-12×40 scope I had lying around. Things I like about the ATR – the bolt and the overall feel of the gun – polymer stock and all. Very nicely done. Things I dislike – polymer molded-in swivel mounts and trigger guard – might have to go with a Boyd’s stock at a later date. That kinda goes against the budget concept, though.

Fast forward to range day – a couple of friends (Rick and Hope) from the apartment complex I stay at when away from home came along for the day. We arrived at Moss Knob mid afternoon – the higher elevation knocked about  12° F off of the temperature – it was a very pleasant 84° F with very little breeze. Moss Knob is in a mountaintop amphitheater/hollow which makes it an ideal range site. We set up our targets on a corrugated backer board to save on trips to the 100 yd stands.

After we got all set up, we started off with Ed’s Model 70 with some Winchester .30-06 180 grain I had on hand. We set up on bench bags and got to work play. All three of us shot the Model 70 with pretty good results with the Winchester ammo – we didn’t fuss with Ed’s scope at all – just used “Kentucky windage and elevation” to zero in. We also shot some Korean .30-06 surplus I had in the ammo box with similar results. When we changed over to the S&B ammo it was surprising how much our groups tightened up. Very nice!

Rick with the Model 70 – click to enlarge…

Hope with the Model 70… – click to embiggen…

We repeated the same test sequence with the Mossberg ATR  - it took a bit longer since the scope was newly mounted. The night before I had sighted in using a .30-06 Springfield 7.62x63mm Cartridge Laser Boresighter - great for getting you on paper, but not “dead on.” At this point we have shot about 20 rounds apiece – a recoil pad is starting to seem like a really good idea! (note the towel – improvised pad).

Rick with the Mossberg ATR – click to biggerate…
No pics of me – I was the guy with the camera.

So…on to the targets – click on any of them to view larger…

 

In a nutshell? Lucky Gunner’s service is outstanding, Sellier & Bellot .30-06 Springfield HPBT Match ammo is amazingly accurate and I don’t believe you can go wrong with a Mossberg ATR. It’s accurate as well and inexpensive enough that I can afford to buy some more S&B ammo!

I have to include this last target for posterity:

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased the Mossberg ATR and the Simmons scope with my money. Lucky Gunner provided me with two 20 round boxes of ammo for testing and evaluation purposes. I thought it might be worth writing about…while I had fun, I received no wheelbarrows full of cash for writing this review.
(…and bite me).

On dealing with double standards

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
Jun 232012
 

Often wondered about this myself…

 Back in 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said we were “a nation of cowards” on matters of race. Permit me to be brave and run a few assertions by you just to see whether we’re on the same page. There should be two standards for civilized conduct: one for whites, which is higher, and another for blacks, which is lower. In other words, in the name of justice and fair play, blacks should not be held accountable to the same standards that whites are and should not be criticized for conduct that we’d deem disgusting and racist if said or done by whites.

Williams: Dealing with double standards | Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Pick and Pluck Foam FTW

 Uncategorized  3 Responses »
May 162012
 

I recently bought a house-brand Pelican-style camera case from Calumet Photo to use as a gun case – I figured I needed something with healthy dimensions to accommodate my folded Kel-Tec SUB2000  with optics attached.

To get the length and depth I needed, I had to move up to a pretty large case – but hey, extra space isn’t a bad thing! The case is built like a tank – with four latches and two locking points at each latch.



As you can see, there’s quite a bit of interior real estate - 22.83 x 17.32 x 8.66″ – Internal -  filled with a solid one inch piece of foam in the bottom, two layers of pick and pluck (diced) foam and topped with egg-crate foam in the lid.

It took about ten minutes to create the form-fit area for the SUB2K – pretty slick! Next step will be to fit slots for the magazines and mount that Magpul AFG and pluck foam to accommodate it.

That’s a Red Lion Precision, LLC SUB 2000 forend on the Kel-Tec – allows you to index the forend by 90° increments so you can add optics and accessories and still fold it. (Another solid piece of equipment – amazing how much more substantial it makes the gun feel.) More of a review and range-testing to follow soon.

There’s lots of “left-over” space in the case – room for four to six pistols and their mags – more to come on that.

This will make range trips (and grab-n-go) much easier – I’m really liking it!

Highly recommended…

 

 

 

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased the Kel-Tec SUB2000, the Calumet case, the Red Lion Forend and the Magpul AFG with my own money. I thought it might be worth writing about…I received no wheelbarrows full of cash for writing this short-form review.
(…and bite me).

Range Test – Kel-Tec Sub 2000

 Uncategorized  6 Responses »
Sep 272011
 

I have recently had the opportunity to test and evaluate (read “send a bunch of ammo downrange”) a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 in 9mm Luger. Kel-Tec  offers the Sub 2000 configured to use a variety¹ of readily available pistol magazines and they were kind enough to send me a test unit configured to use Glock 17 magazines.

When I picked it up at my local FFL, the gun was packed in a no-frills but form-fitted corrugated box and included a sight adjustment tool and a “key” to lock it in the folded position. Prominent on the lid of the box appears a large amount of American pride. In addition to the stylized American flag Kel-Tec logo, there are a series of smaller flag logos signifying American-Owned, -Made and -Parts – yeah, I like that.

At 16.1″ folded, the weapon is small enough to easily fit into a backpack, briefcase or laptop bag. (Or the available soft case from Keltec).
Spartan to the point of homeliness, this little ugly duckling comes into its own when you do what it was designed for – just shoot it. The cheek weld on the buffer tube leaves something to be desired (I believe a God’ A Grip Customizable Cheek Pad ² would be a very nice addition) but “as-is”  it is amazingly accurate. 
The sights were off out of the box – but the groupings were tighter than this old man’s eyes have a right to do. The sight adjustments are pretty straightforward - loosen a Phillips head screw with the supplied tool and then tweak the fluorescent blade up. Side-to-side sight adjustments are done with the hex end of the same tool by backing the locking pad out on one side and tightening by the same amount from the opposite side. Don’t over tighten!  
During my testing I’ve put over 300 rounds through the Sub 2K – a mix of Federal, Remington UMC and Tula. From the first magazine to the last – no failures whatsoever. That includes alternate loading the three different products in a single mag – still flawless.
Kel-Tec brought this little beauty (grin – it grows on you) in at a very attractive price point – $409 starting MSRP. Davidson’s shows models other than “basic black” as high as $446 MSRP. It looks like they retail for $300-350 – if you can find one in the wild. These puppies are scarce! 
The nice price point does open up some neat options – some I feel are must haves – some tacticool. For the must have list – the stock extension and more magazines. It works beautifully with the larger capacity mags as well. If you’d like to mount some type of optics and still retain the “foldability”, you’ll need the aluminum forend (available with two or four picatinny rails) and a good quick release scope mount.
Aside from being a fun gun to shoot, I see some strong utility. Take it hiking/backpacking, four-wheeling, working the back forty – a handy little truck gun. Due to its compact size and accuracy, it could also easily fill a niche as a home defense gun. Hmmm…might need to cycle some defense rounds through it…any excuse to head back to the range!
I’d love to see it in God’s own caliber – preferably using Springfield Armory XD .45 magazines. Being able to share mags would be wonderful. Even without that option, I’m loathe to return this little gem. I foresee another purchase in my near future.
___________________________________________________________________________

¹ The 9mm SUB-2000 is available in the following magazine types: GLK17, GLK19, S&W59, BERETTA92, SIG226. 
The .40 SUB-2000 is available in the following magazine types: GLK22, GLK23, BERETTA96, S&W4006, SIG226.

² I bought one of God’ A Grip’s Cheek Pads and put it on my Ruger 10/22 – I’ll likely buy more. Good products.

FTC Disclaimer: Kel-tec was kind enough to ship this weapon to me via my local FFL for testing and evaluation. I paid the requisite transfer fees and purchased my own ammo for this test. The  God’ A Grip cheek pad I mentioned, I purchased with my own money. I will very likely purchase a Sub 2000 in the near future. I received no wheelbarrows full of cash for writing this review.
(…and bite me).

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