Tag: guns

My Pusher Dealer Emailed Me Last Night…

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(Merchant O’Death:) Are you still interested in a Marlin lever gun?

(Me:) Yeah, but I want this one:

Marlin 1895GBL

Found it online for $625 plus freight, but I’ve got some expenses to cover this month.  Probably won’t be able to afford it for another couple of months.

(MO’D:)  We have a bead blasted stainless version of that gun (or one very similar to it) that came in used today. Gray laminated stock. Rear peep sight.

(Me:) What kind of price?  This one?

(MO’D:) Pretty much the same gun but the guy had it bead blasted resulting in a matte finish. I will have a look at the price tomorrow when I get to work.

(Me:) The big thing is the large-loop lever and the six-round magazine tube. With this one, I’d kinda like it black, but I can always get it cerakoted. But the stainless rifles are a lot pricier than the chromoly steel ones. Even used, I’d expect the stainless version to run close to $800. That’s a bit more than I’m willing to spend.

But let me know.

(MO’D:) I’ll text you with the details.

(Me:) You are an evil, evil man.

(MO’D:) Yes. Yes I am.

He texted me this morning. It wasn’t $800.

I traded a pistol to get it.  I can pick it up August 13.  I’ll be bringing it to the Rendezvous.

1895 photo 1895SBL.jpg

I Love Arizona

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Rated #1 for the third year in a row:

1. Arizona
arizonaStill the reigning champion, Arizona combines strong laws with an unmatched shooting culture and strong industry presence. An effort to strengthen the state’s preemption law failed to make it out of the legislature this year, but a clarifying bill did pass, specifying that the transfer of firearms was immune from administrative or municipal regulation. Arizona gets full points in every category with both permitless and permitted carry, strong self-defense laws, a “shall sign” NFA statue and a thriving competitive shooting scene. Whether you’re into ISPC-style shooting, 3-Gun, long-range rifles, Cowboy matches, shotgunning or just shooting machine guns in the desert, Arizona has everyone covered.

30 Days Until the Rendezvous

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The Tenth Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous, that is.  Here’s some videos from previous iterations of the event:

GBR IX:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxDgFU03j8k?rel=0&controls=0]

GBR VI:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyzabsdKkQM?rel=0&controls=0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzyHWQZYzxk?rel=0&controls=0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvm7oFct97Y?rel=0&controls=0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Iz7vqMruc?rel=0&controls=0]
GBR V:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNRm0PTSH40?rel=0&controls=0&w=640&h=480]
GBR IV:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLZm5MXynsI?rel=0&controls=0]
Oddly, there’s not a lot of footage of us eating, drinking and talking back at the hotel!

But here’s some of the stuff that you could take home from the Rendezvous last year:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPUxmaCZOYM?rel=0&controls=0]
You’ve still got time to register and make your reservations! Get a move on!

Gun Blogger Rendezvous Update

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So, if you’re coming to the Rendezvous, and you own anything chambered in .45-70, you might want to bring it.  Special Interest Arms is bringing their Gardner Gun and some other interesting stuff as well:

Not planning to run it (the Gardner Gun) for hours at a time, just burst, so no need to deal with water for it.

Going to need help getting it into the hotel after the range for the show and tell too.
Some one needs to follow with a camera, the looks on tourist faces as we wheel a Gardner Gun along the casino floor should be priceless!

I’m also planning to bring the 300 BLK Trecenti again and the new 9mm Novem bolt action. If you want to find out just how good your 9mm suppressor is bring it and the ability to put it on 1/2-28 threads. Eliminating the action noise really lets the suppressor work.

Probably bring the AK-47 FA and suppressed FA 9mm AR-15 too. Might even drag out my old .303B deer rifle for the long range targets.

I will try to get Brian to come out again and bring his De Lisle and other suppressors to demonstrate too. He’s been in the NFA game for decades and has a lot of interesting stories if you can get him to take time for a real interview. Hint, ask him about how you get a demo letter for a post-sample Mini-Gun.

And Anthony Welsch of LuckyGunner.com is bringing 1,500 rounds of cowboy .45-70 ammo:

I heard back from our purchasing folks today. It sounds like getting some 45-70 in bulk quantities shouldn’t be a problem so I’ll plan to ship 1,500 rounds or so west with the rest of the ammunition orders.

I’ll talk with hotel management and ask if they have any special requests for getting the Gardner inside. If some open carried AR’s at a Chipotle can create national news I can’t imagine what a Gardner on a casino floor would do!

Me either!

I doubt Richard will want to run 1,500 rounds through his $24,500 floor sample.  I doubt Anthony wants to ship any ammo HOME, so bring your Trapdoor Springfields, Marlin 1895’s and other guns!

And Now for Something Completely Different: Gun Pr0n!

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Since this is supposed to be a gun blog (albeit lately it hasn’t been much of a blog at all), I thought I’d change tack and, you know, post something gun related.

Last week my dad asked me to take a couple of guns that he no longer had need for and that I didn’t want, and see what I could get for them.  So I took them to my favorite Merchant O’Death and was very pleasantly surprised at what the shop was willing to give me for them.  While I was there, MOD once again brought me a couple of things out of the “Special” display case, trying to tempt me. This is usually a very bad thing for my wallet. The first thing he showed me was a 6″ 3-screw Smith Model 29, a Dirty Harry special – beautifully blued, no lock, hammer-mounted firing pin, in very good condition.  I haven’t succumbed to .44 addiction yet, so I was able to resist temptation.

However, when he pulled this one out of the case, I couldn’t help myself:


That’s an old Clark Custom IPSC Open class Bullseye gun probably from the early late 80’s 90’s.  (See first comment.)  It would be equally good as a bowling pin gun.  Check this thing out:


Note the Remington 1100 cocking handle in place of the rear iron sight:


And the hand-done stippling on the frontstrap and the Allen screws on the front of the dust cover for adjusting fit of the slide to the frame:


From the wear & tear on the scope mount, this gun has obviously seen a LOT of use:


The first thing I looked at when he handed it to me was the price tag. Let’s just say it was WELL under $1k.

It followed me home.  Soon as I get a chance, I’m going to see how it shoots.

From the Front Lines

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My favorite Merchant O’Death emails from his position on the front lines:

The statement has been made and the Kool-Aid has been drunk. In the wake of the ATF statement about the impending ban on any 5.56mm/.223 ammunition that is loaded with the 62-grain, SS109 LAP bullet (the one cartridge specifically named by the ATF&E being the M-855) known colloquially as “green tip”, the masses have laid siege to my shop, buying large quantities of any and all 5.56/.223 ammo, the most common statement from the aforementioned group being: “I can’t believe you guys still have any two-two-three ammo on the shelves! The government is going to ban it!” or words to that effect. The fact that Rush Limbaugh stated that the government was going to ban .223 ammo on his radio show last week has had the expected result. I shudder to think what the lines in front of ammo vendors at gun shows will look like in the foreseeable future, though thankful that I will not be one of those folks standing in those lines.

We don’t have any limits on .223 ammo nor have we increased our prices. Despite the predictable reaction from the “masses”, we aren’t worried about running out of 5.56/.223 ammo anytime soon though our stock of 62-grain, “green tip” ammo is quite low. Not everyone has fallen for the misinformation. The vast majority of those individuals scampering out of the shop with an arm-load of .223 are of the “tacti-cool” variety. There are a goodly number of folks that actually ask: “What is the deal with the ban on two-two-three ammo?” And I happily explain it to them. Strangely enough, while the sales of ammo have spiked, the sales of “black rifles” have not. I find that a bit amusing actually.

It does indicate that pretty much everyone who wants an AR has an AR, doesn’t it?

Just by coincidence I recently purchased 500 SS109 projectiles when they went on sale at one of the major mail-order vendors.  I don’t shoot M855 (I handload) but these were such a good deal I thought I’d give them a try and see how they compare accuracy-wise against my normal Hornady 75 grain BTHPs.

What I told Merchant O’D was, I’m waiting for the DoD to take a second shot (so to speak) at making once-fired military brass unavailable to reloaders.  After all, the mantra of The Other Side™ is, “The philosophy cannot be wrong!  Do it again, ONLY HARDER!!“