Monthly Archives: March 2015
Free For All Friday 3-27-2015: Sick Noob, Trigger Pulls and Pistol Caliber Rifles
This is going to be a quick one. Remember how I said at the beginning of the week that I was sick? What started as a cold has upgraded itself to a mild case of pneumonia. Fortunately, typing doesn’t put me into coughing fits.
“How about the xdm mod 2? I shot one recently and really liked it but… the trigger pull seemed a mile long. should that be a deal breaker? Or is that something that can be easily adjusted to a shooters liking.” -Daniel L.
There is no part of a gun that can’t be tweaked. There are drop in trigger kits available for a large number of guns on the market and, if there aren’t any available, any gunsmith worth their salt can tweak anything for you. If you like the gun and you like the way it shot but the trigger was your only complaint, I say go for it. You might grow to like it or you can have it modified. On the other hand, I’ve shot guns that I loved everything about but the trigger was so dismally bad that I wouldn’t even bother getting the gun with the intention of modifying the trigger. It’s all down to how you want to spend your money.
“I recently watched a Youtube video by .22plinkster, and he had a Henry rifle that was chambered in .38 special/.357 magnum. That threw me for a loop. I thought that was a revolver caliber. Makes me wonder what else I don’t know. My question is, what else don’t I know? (Good luck with that answer)” -Mike H.
One of the main taglines of the site is a line my father always says: “It’s only what you learn after you know everything that counts”. In other words, always consider omnipotence a minimal standards. As far as your question, while the .38/.357 are typically thought of as revolver rounds, they are fantastic in lever action rifles. Same goes for .44 Magnum as well. Aside from the power that they pack, they also typically have blunt noses. You’ll find most lever actions are chambered in sizes that typically have blunt or round noses. This is because the bullets sit tip to primer in the magazine. If the bullet has too pointy of a nose, the jostling of carrying it around could set off one of the primers which would cause a chain reaction and…well..it would be a bad day for the person carrying the gun. Personally, I’ve been lusting after a .44 Magnum Henry Lever Action for a while now. If only money weren’t an issue.
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Free For All Friday 3-20-2015: Grips and Gunsmiths
You ever get a much needed vacation from work and then once the vacation starts, you get sick? Just sayin’. Happens to me a lot.
Have ever had your hands on an XDM 3.8 compact with the mag grip extensions or “x-tensions”? We’re the grip extensions solid and well fitting? Lastly, how does one go about selecting a good gunsmith? -Shaun M.
Yes I have and I adore that gun. Springfield Armory has one heck of a lineup with those. On the particular one I handled, the extensions were tight and felt like it was part of the handle. When I wasn’t shooting, there was a small bit of wiggle simply because the grip extensions are attached to the magazine itself which is typically only held in place by a tiny strip of metal. When shooting, however, it’s not really noticeable. I have heard some people talk about how they removed the extensions a bunch of times and after a while it would get a bit more loose. Easy remedy there: don’t pull the extensions off on a regular basis.
A lot of “gunsmiths” popped up in the recent AR scare. They were essentially just a bunch of people who knew how to put together an AR and add some accessories to it. A true gunsmith is becoming harder and harder to find these days. The best guideline I can give is to look for one that’s been in business a long time. With longevity comes experience and with experience (typically) comes quality. Even if he’s the only ‘smith in town, if he does nothing but junk work he won’t stay in business that long. There’s a gunsmith in my area that’s been in business since the early 80’s. If I have problems with my gun, I’m going to take it to that guy. Beyond that, go in and talk to the person. Ask them about what you’re wanting them to do and see what they say. If you’re not comfortable with their answers, go with your gut. It is possible to permanently destroy a gun. Speaking of which, a good gunsmith knows the value of being bonded and insured. Make absolutely sure of that before you hand your gun over to them. It protects you just as much as it protects them.
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Intro to Clay Sports: Sporting Clays
I used to play a lot of golf. I was terrible at it but I enjoyed it or at least I was able to convince myself that I enjoyed it. In all actually, I was kind of obligated to play at the time due to my job. It’s very common for business people and those in upper management to play a lot of golf. The main reason is because it’s a great place to talk business. You’re outside of the office and between shots, there is a lot of time to discuss things. The problem is, golf is ultimately quite boring. If you’re not the one hitting the ball, it is about as fun as watching flies fornicate. If only there was a way to integrate guns with golf. THAT would be fun!
Turns out, there is! Sporting clays is the golf of the gun world except it’s fun. I don’t even have to convince myself it’s fun, either. It really is an absolute blast (no pun intended). The comparison to golf isn’t just a sad attempt at humor. The overall concepts are amazingly similar. You have a course that is set up out in the countryside. Each stop is meant to simulate a kind of hunting situation. In fact, Sporting Clays is really the closest thing to hunting you’re going to get.
The Game
As I said, Sporting Clays is a course you follow in which you stop at various stations along the way. There are usually between 10 and 15 stations but I’ve seen more that have 18…which further emphasises that whole “golf with a shotgun” thing. Each person (up to 6 in a group) takes a number of shots at each station. The number of shots depends on how the station is set up but it averages about 5 to 10 targets per station. Unlike golf, it’s still a “highest score wins”. Each station has a guide to which targets or combinations of targets are to be used. You’ll find trajectories that simulate a group of birds being stirred up from a bush or rabbits running across the field. Each station is radically different and each course is unique and varied. Best of all, it’s challenging. Personally, I think that sporting clays will test your skill far more than skeet and trap.
But Wait, There’s More…
An interesting trend that’s been happening more and more as of late are businesses taking potential clients out to a Sporting Clays course instead of golf. It’s something unique and interesting but it still gives you the networking benefits that you would get on the golf course. The stations aren’t usually right next to each other and you often take golf carts around the path. One person shoots, one person pulls and the rest stand way back talking business. Plus, watching each other shoot moving targets is just more interesting than watching someone swing at a stationary little white ball.
I absolutely adore Sporting Clays and I’m looking to trade my golf clubs for a nicer shotgun. If you have a sporting clays course near you, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. It is far more fun than it should be.
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Intro to Clay Sports: Skeet & Trap
This may just be my opinion, but one of the most fun things you can do in the shooting world is participating in any of the clay sports. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all fun but clay sports are just…different. With pistols, you’re typically shooting at paper printouts or steel plates. They do go “ding” when you hit them but that’s about it. Rifle shooting is about the precision and control. Fun, but not for everyone. Both can be spiced up a bit with some competition but beyond that, it’s a very static shooting environment. Clays are much more dynamic. You’re having to hit moving targets. Tiny moving targets at that. Hitting a bullseye is exciting but hitting a fast moving clay with your last shot just before it hits the ground? That will have you cheering every time.
Entry is easy. You need a shotgun, a couple boxes of target shells, a shell holder (either a vest or a belt sack) and a clay range. Technique is also necessary and we’ll go over that later. For now, we’re looking at the sport itself. The term “clay sports” is a very general term, really. It encompasses a bunch of distinctly different games that all revolve around the same principle: shotgun, clay disk and destroying said disk. It’s kind of like how Taco Bell has an entire menu revolving around 3 or 4 ingredients. In clay sports, you have Skeet & Trap, Sporting Clays and Five Stand. All have different rules and styles. Today, we’re going to look at skeet shooting & trap shooting.
Ultimately, all of the clay sports are meant to simulate some form of hunting. It’s one of the reasons why those disks are called “clay pigeons”. While skeet and trap are different in that the pigeons are launched differently, they’re still scored similarly with similar rules overall. So much so that many competitions cover both styles. Some competitions will split it out having only skeet or only trap (like the Olympics, for example).
As far as how it works, let’s start with skeet.
Two houses, both alike in dignity.
You have two launchers (called “trap houses”) that will launch the clays in a criss-cross path. They’re also launched in the same directions and speed every time. On of the trap houses fires at a higher angle and the other at a lower angle (called “high house” and “low house”).
Shooters will fire at the clays from various positions around a semicircle. Each of these positions is called a “station” and there 8 stations in total. You shoot a total of 25 targets per round. If you’re just shooting on your own for fun and practice, it doesn’t really matter how you go about it. If you’re wanting to stick to the rules, however, each station has a set of launches.
- When shooting from 1 and 2, you do 1 target from the high house, then one from the low house then one where the targets are launched from both houses at the same time.
- When you’re on stations 3 through 5, it’s just a single from both houses.
- On 6 and 7, follow the same pattern as 1 and 2
- Finally, on station 8, you just do one high target and one low target.
On the picky rules side, they don’t seem to want you walking away with any shells in your pouch. The rules say that, once you’re all done, you get to reshoot your first missed target. If you were awesome and hit all your shots, then you have to shoot your 25th shot at the low house while standing at station number 8.
He shoots he scores!
You get 1 point for every target hit up to a maximum of 25 points. Now, “target hit” is an important distinction. You don’t have to obliterate the clay in order to score. As long as you get a piece of it, it’s a point. That’s why having a good (and honest) person spotting is important.
Take evasive action! Green Group, stay close to holding section MD-7. It’s a trap!
Trap shooting is played almost exactly the same except different. Instead of two crossing launchers, you have a single launcher in the middle that fires away from the shooter. For American Trap (as opposed to Olympic), you shoot from 5 stations and you shoot at 5 targets from each station. The launcher in trap changes the direction (to the left or right) that it points with each shot. This means you never really know which way it’s going to come out of the trap house. There’s also Wobble Trap which will move up and down as well as side to side.
I mentioned the Olympics a couple of times here. There is a separate set of rules and guidelines for Olympic style shooting. For starters, the clays move faster. I’m talking A LOT faster. There’s also strict rules as to where you have to hold the gun starting out. Very few ranges have launchers that are to Olympic regulations, mainly because it’s too difficult for the average shooter.
Before I forget, there is one unofficial rule for any time you’re shooting any kind of clay sport outside of a competition: never end the day on a missed target. It’s bad luck.
Next time, we’re going to look at Sporting Clays or, as I like to call it, the Golf of the Shooting World.
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Free For All Friday 3-5-2015: Ask Me Anything Edition
Keeping the intro short here. Got a lot of questions this week and there were more non-gun related than I expected. A lot were really good and fun. Some were a bit disturbing. Let’s start with the gun related because this is, of course, a gun blog after all.
Why has .38 special stayed a revolver round while 9mm and .380 go to semi-auto. Is there something that makes .38 special incompatible with semi-autos? Also, I’m curious of your comparison of revolvers and semi-autos. Is there some real benefit to revolvers or drawbacks to semi-auto that keep them both viable? -Daniel L.
It really comes down to the length of the cartridge. Putting a cartridge that long into a semi-auto means you’re going to have to increase the depth of the grip. This would make the gun difficult to use for a large portion of people not to mention harder to conceal. There are some semi-autos that use .38 Special but they’re usually specialized or custom models. More often, you’ll run across semi-auto pistols that are chambered in .357 and .44 Magnum because to do that level of work to make it work in the first place, you might as well put some beef in it. Look for the Coonan 1911 which shoots .357 Magnum rounds and the legendary Desert Eagle which has a version chambered in .44 Magnum. Not many people can grip those comfortably.
As far as viability, I personally apply the “anything is better than a pointy stick” approach. The smaller pocket pistols and many concealed carry geared semis only hold 5 or 6 rounds so there isn’t a real advantage to either side there. Some people like the slightly higher reliability of a revolver in that case but I prefer the ability to reload faster and carry extra magazines easily that comes with semi-auto. Everyone has a different opinion on it, however. Ultimately, it’s purely a matter of personal preference.
As you learned more about firearms, what was the most egregious or embarrassing fact/belief/opinion that you’ve had to let go of? Have your pro-gun opinions and your work in IT, a field not known for social graces, ever conflicted? -Kurt S.
I will admit that I was once one of the “just point a shotgun in the general direction of someone and they instantly turn to a disorganized mass of organized chemicals” people. I also started out with the “Hollywood Cup”. Could have been worse, I guess, but I still shudder to think about it.
One thing you’ll find about computer nerds in general is that they typically don’t care as much about guns as many (especially reddit) would have you believe. Keep in mind, the majority of us grew up playing video games that were chock full of guns so it’s not like we’re not exposed to them. In fact, nerds like myself are likely to be more open to pro-gun stances because of that. At the risk of skirting dangerously close to my no politics rule, I should point out that the NRA taking that “video games are bad, m’kay” approach a while back completely alienated a large demographic that, with only a slight amount of massaging, would have gladly joined their ranks. Nerds don’t like being thrown under the bus and they have a much longer memory than most other groups.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
When are ya gonna do the whole Mosin vs Mauser surplus rifle comparison? -Leroy N.
As soon as I can get my hands on a Mauser to round out the comparison. Otherwise I’m just quoting Wikipedia facts.
What World of Warcraft server do you play on? -GarroshSux
Trollbane. Alliance side. If you see someone from the guild “The Aristocratz” that’s me. I’m the only member of the guild.
What do you do for fun besides guns and Warhammer? -Sherry K.
Watching Formula 1 racing (go team Ferrari!). Also video games and driving around. I love road trips. Cars in general, really.
We know Doctor Who is your favorite show. What’s your second favorite? -Amanda J.
Top Gear (British version)
When are you going to get off your lazy [redacted] and make some more videos? -Dave T.
Yes.
Do you use Mac or PC? -James R.
I use a Mac for a large portion of my stuff but when it comes time to do my day job, I swap to PC because all my programming is in Microsoft’s .NET environment. I also swap to PC when I want to play certain video games.
What do you think about the rumors for the new version of Warhammer? -KhorneFlakes
1st, love the name. Second, some rumors, like the combining of various armies, makes sense considering the events going on in the End Times right now. As far as the crazy rule changes (like switching to 40K style combat), I’m skeptical of the majority of them as they make no sense from a business standpoint.
You used to talk about the firearm stocks. Do you still have them and how are they doing? -Michael N.
I still have stock in Ruger and S&W. Both are doing fantastic although Ruger has been on a bit of a rollercoaster as of late. S&W keeps consistently creeping upwards. I’ll be holding on to both for a long time.
Ever thought about competing? -Olivia W.
Quite often. It comes down to time and more-so money, really. Competing isn’t cheap. If I could bring in more money to GunNoob, I’d be able to afford it easier. If someone wants to sponsor my competing, I won’t turn it down!
Who’s your favorite My Little Pony? -Mike N.
http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/259943-are-you-fucking-kidding-me
What software do you use for GunNoob? -Karen J.
The site itself runs off of DotNetNuke. I have various modules installed to handle the different aspects of the site. Offline, I use Photoshop for any graphics and when I was working on the videos, I used Adobe Premiere and After Effects. I do all my writing in Google Docs then just copy and paste it into DNN to publish.
Thanks for the questions!
So do you have a question burning in your mind? We answer them every Friday so send them in! It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s arguably gun related we want to hear it! Head over to our Facebook or Twitter or Contact Page and send them in. See you next Friday!
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Beginner’s Shotgun Recommendations
There are two schools of thought when it comes to getting started in a new hobby. You can either start off as cheap as possible so that, in the off chance you don’t like it, you’re not out too much money. There are others that follow the line of thinking that if you spend as much as possible, you’re less likely to give up because you’ve made such a large investment.
Let me sidestep for a moment. Consider putting someone in a high end supercar for their very first car/driving lesson. A 16 year old can get into a Ferrari 458 and learn to drive fast and precise but can they really appreciate the engineering perfection of that car without having driven other cars? I’m not saying that they can’t, mind you, but without the experience, for the most part it’ll just be a car that goes fast and kills their parent’s insurance premium. If you start a person on, say, a Subaru Impreza which is a great car but a little on the boring side then move them to a Mustang then to a Porsche and finally a Ferrari. By the time they get to the Ferrari they’ll have an understanding of the benefit of mid engine design when it comes to balance and handling. They’ll really grasp why the multi-clutch gearbox and computer adjusted suspension give such an advantage when powering through turns.
In the firearms world, however, things get a bit wonky. When dealing with pistols and to some extent rifles, the difference between a $500 beginner gun and a $1500 advanced gun are subtle enough that the beginner isn’t going to notice them as much. That’s not to say they won’t but it’s more of a matter of appreciation. The difference between a properly broken in Glock trigger and a properly broken in, high-end 1911 trigger is noticeable but only so if you’re used to one or another. Hand that super expensive 1911 to someone who’s never held a gun and tell them to dry fire it and they’ll pull the trigger, nod and say “ok” then hand it back to you. Rifles, once you get past a certain point, are essentially the same. AR-15’s also have a quality plateau and after that point come down to the number of accessories slapped on to them.
Shotguns, on the other hand, are a different beast. There is still a point of diminishing returns but there are certain quality checkpoints across the board. Comparing a $400 Stoeger Condor over/under to a $2000 Beretta 686 then to a $13,000 Perazzi MX2000 you’ll see some incredible differences that even a total noob can appreciate.
So if you’re wanting to buy a new shotgun, where do you start? Let’s break it down into the common 3 big reasons people buy shotguns and then break those down into the “start out cheap” category and the “decent starting investment” group.
Home Defense
- Beware of Dog: You can’t go wrong with the Mossberg Maverick (reviewed here) pump action in this case. It’s a solid 12 gauge shotgun that holds 8 rounds and can handle any kind of shell you put in it. Because of it’s near identical footprint to the Mossberg 500, you can upgrade it as time goes by.
- Moat and Missile Pods: Or you can spend a bit more and just get a Mossberg 500. These are probably the most widely sold shotgun in the world* with various militaries and police forces using them.
*With the possible exception of the Remington 872 but with the quality problems Remington is having at the moment, I can’t recommend their guns.
Clay Sports
- Cup O’ Noodles: The Stoeger Condor (reviewed here) is a fantastic over/under and a good, solid choice if you’re wanting to try out clay shooting but aren’t sure if you’re going to like it. It’s not really upgradable but the price tag can’t be beat. If you enjoy it, you can always trade it in for something like…
- Champagne and Caviar: Anything from Beretta, really. Whether it be the 686 over/under or the A400 semi-auto line. They’re not the priciest things on the market but they’re not the cheapest by far. They are, however, the last shotgun you’ll ever really need.
Hunting
- Be Vewy Vewy Quiet: It really comes down to what you’re hunting. If you’re looking for birds, something like the Stoeger Condor is a great choice but Stoeger also makes a series of pump action and semi auto shotguns that are more geared towards hunting than something like a Maverick.
- I Am the Master of Maiming Meat: Here again, you can’t go wrong with Beretta’s hunting offerings. To use my car analogy earlier, Berettas as the BMW’s of the shotgun world. Solid, high performance and incredibly well engineered.
Keep in mind, these are just suggestions based off my own experience. I’ve tried quite a few shotguns at this point and, no matter what, I keep coming back to these. While there are always exceptions to the rules, prices, as with many things in the firearms world, are a usually good indicator. A $2000 Benelli shotgun is going to be able to go toe to toe with a $2000 Beretta. In the end, find the one that feels the most comfortable for you to hold in the price range you’re looking at.
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