Category Archives: Firearms

These are our BOOM STICKS!!!!

Thoughts on WA i-594

by Woodsbum

Being an avid outdoorsman, hunter, shooter, and all around woods kinda guy I have been very scared of the way that groups are pushing their personal agendas on the rest of us and calling it “for our own good.” Since I got my voting packet in the mail yesterday I thought I would post a few things about what is being pushed down the throats of Washingtonians. Although I am very against measures such as this, I wanted to point out a few things.

I am personally against having my name in any government database because of the proven track record of abuse. This information from Freedom in Information Act queries where reporters post firearm permit holders information publicly, lack of security on such information (how many ACA Exchange breaches so far?), and persecution by government employees (IRS anyone?) just reeks of danger to law abiding citizens. The 594 really, truly creates a large firearm ownership database ripe for the plucking.
Virtually every firearm TRANSFER (putting the firearm into another person’s possession such as “hold this while I climb over this fence”) – with very few exceptions – would require a licensed firearm dealer to complete. SO… If I was teaching a hunter’s safety course, I would have to hand the shotgun to a licensed dealer to perform the background check, wait the required time, have the student transport the firearm back to the shooting area, have them shoot, then repeat the process so that I could get the firearm back. If the firearm was handed back or forth before this check was done it would be a felony. No more handling firearms at a gun store either. Buy it, then touch it……
594 doubles the waiting period for handgun sales also. Like this really accomplishes anything. Law abiding people don’t go to the store to buy firearms to kill or rob other people. How does this make any sense?
Again, 594 will specifically regulate transfers, not sales. Under the language of I-594, in virtually all cases, a person merely handing his or her firearm to a family member (other than immediate family) or a friend cannot do so without brokering the transfer through a gun dealer with the accompanying fees, paperwork, taxes and, in the case of handguns, state registration. All of these transfers are obviously creating a registry to begin with even though only the “handgun” transfers are supposedly kept by the Department of Licensing. How could they not be if it has to go to the same place?

I highly recommend that you read the whole initiative. I cannot stress enough how the language of this initiative is based around transfers and not sales. There are some sections to try and mitigate the potential for people to get in trouble for letting someone else touch another person’s firearm, but again it is in normal “political” language that is very open to abuse and interpretation. If you doubt what I just said, take a look at the Washington laws regarding drinking in a bar. This law states that all people consuming alcohol must have a valid ID. There are no age restrictions so a 100 year old person that goes into a bar, by law, cannot enter and drink unless they have a valid ID of some sort. Common sense is gone and there is a $500-$2500 fine even if the 100 year old merely forgot their ID In the car and has a beer.

Although I know the NRA has their own agenda and doesn’t want any sort of registry, I have to agree that this is a bad initiative. Their statistics on how this would only catch less than 1% of the legal sales that end up in the hands of criminals says a lot. These guys get their own guns from the Justice Department so why would they want one from Cabela’s?

Anyway, here are a few videos from the NRA. I am not sure if this really meant that much to you or was helpful. It is an important thing to think about, however. How willing are you to give up all your rights as a citizen even though over 99% of the criminals out there are not affected?

This would affect more cops and law enforcement than it would criminals. Even they would have to go through this whole process if they were trying to even borrow a firearm….. Think about that.

N.A.A. Wasp – My Noisy Cricket

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by Woodsbum

For many years, I have carried some form of compact semiautomatic pistol. Originally, it was a Glock 30 (not very compact, but small enough to carry and pack a punch). After I found that the Glock was too big for my liking, I moved over to an old Smith and Wesson SW9. Eventually the firing pin spring wore out and the factory replaced it with a M&P Shield. Now, I still carry this quite often. There is a problem with the size of this pistol, however. It is nice and compact compared to most pistols, but it still tries to pull my pants down when I wear workout clothes and still tugs a bit in a cargo pocket. I was to the point where I was actually getting annoyed.

Then I found the North American Arms mini revolvers. I call it my Noisy Cricket after the MIB movie pistol:

NAA Wasp

This little guy comes with two cylinders so that I can shoot either .22LR or .22WMR ammunition with it. The cylinder comes out by pulling the pin under the barrel. This is also how you reload it. The design does not allow for reloads while the cylinder is still in the frame.

For a better frame of reference in regard to size, here is my Wasp pictured next to a 30-30, a 45-70 and a .44 mag cartridge.

NAA Wasp next to 30-30, 45-70 and 44 mag

As you can see, it really is not much bigger than having a set of truck keys and work keys in the same pocket. The design also makes is safe to carry the cylinder completely loaded. There is a notch between the rounds that the hammer fits nicely into. This locks the cylinder and prevents accidental discharge of the pistol while bouncing around your pocket. I have always been an advocate for carrying any firearm with an empty chamber, so this feature really struck me as well thought out. I do carry revolvers with all chambers filled, but put the hammer down between cartridges in a similar manner. This design locks the cylinder and disallows the pistol from accidentally rotating to an unspent round. Very nice job, guys!

Now for how it shoots….. I am not as spot on with a camera, so I never remember to take pictures of my targets after I shoot them. This may also be due to the fact that I usually don’t use paper targets when plinking. Either way I am stuck just telling you how it performs, so if you want to see actual “proof” you will have to find one to play with.

With the .22 WMR rounds, it was dead on accurate. Where the pistol was pointed was exactly where the round hit. The sights are similar to how you aim a shotgun for there is no rear sight. You basically put the bead on your target and let ‘er rip! Using Mini-Mag .22 LR also resulted in the same accuracy. I was shooting Dr. Pepper and RC cans at 25 yards with this little guy….. Then came the standard velocity rounds. Oh, boy. I would have been better just throwing the rounds at the cans. It didn’t shoot a grouping, but more of a pattern. It was a pattern of a drunk, blind person wearing mittens. It was HORRIBLE. I used Remingtons, Winchester, CCI and Federal standard velocities in several different grain weights. Nothing worked to pull the accuracy back into a grouping but the CCI Mini-Mags. I did not try Stingers. Mainly because I didn’t have any.

The NAA pistol is really a great pocket pistol. With the right ammunition it is very accurate and .22 WMR is truly no joke round. There are also many accessories for this little guy to include flip handles with clips and belt buckle mounts. Considering the price and fact that this little guy gives you the ability to carry even when working out, swimming, or wearing anything that will disallow normal concealed carry without printing, NAA has got a real winner. I consider this one of my best firearm purchases and am now recommending that all my friends get one.

Sig P238 Problem with Sellier & Bellot Ammo

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by Gunguy

My Sig P238 has been a decent shooter, but never a 100% reliable. I kept it cleaned and lubed it according to Sig specs (not too much oil), hoping that one day after the initial break-in period a miracle would occur and my little Sig will be problem free. Well, that didn’t happen, instead I got a problem I’ve never experienced with any gun I’ve shot.

I was finishing a box of .380Auto Sellier & Bellot. I inserted a new loaded mag (6 cartridges) and fired the first shot. The slide moved back about a quarter of an inch and the gun got stuck with an empty shell still in the chamber. After dropping the mag, I made sure the gun was safe and tried to clear the chamber by pulling the slide back with no success. It got stuck so badly that no matter how much force I used it wouldn’t even move a millimeter in any direction.

I called our experienced range master who inspected the gun, making sure it’s safe and brought it back to his office. He put some oil on the gun (the excess oil is seen on the pictures above), and after several attempts to clear the pistol he plainly said : you need an experienced gunsmith, and recommended one.

I’ve purchased my Sig a little while ago, and still have the original manufacturer’s warranty. I hope this problem could be resolved without wasting too much time. I will be updating this post on how the whole ordeal goes down.

– update

I’ve inspected the barrel more thoroughly and found a bulge about 1 inch from the muzzle. It looks like a bad Sellier & Ballot ammo caused the problem. Called a gun shop where I bought the Sig, and they nicely offered to look at it by their gunsmith… Hope new barrel will do it.

Remington 870 Shotgun Range Report Plus Mods

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by Gunguy

I purchased a Remington 870 Express Tactical Shotgun several months ago. The shotgun was very accurate using the iron sights and I was shooting excellent groups with slugs at a 100 feet with out any trouble. After zeroing the shotgun I wanted to make some improvements. The default stock on the Remington 870 Tactical Express was pretty awful. The shotgun kicked like a mule and I started to flinch after less than a dozen rounds. I was very happy with a Speed Feed stock that I purchased for my Mossberg 590 over 10 years ago so I decided to get one for my Remington 870 as well.

I initially was going to go with the pistol grip Speed Feed III stock but after reading reviews stating that the grip was better suited for larger hands I decided to go with the Speed Feed I stock which holds four shells, two on each side.

In addition to the stock I added a six shell TacStar Sidesaddle shot shell holder and your average run of the mill sling. The only thing missing on the shotgun was a flashlight. I’ve tried the Elzetta Tactical flashlight mount that I used on my Mossberg 590 but it pinched the magazine tube and bound up the spring and prevented proper loading of the shells. I considered one of the Sure Fire fore grips but the battery life on the flash lights is abysmal. The short battery life span plus the price tag on the Sure Fire fore grip, around $400, made me look for another solution.

I’m considering several different options but I have not made up my mind just yet.

After I installed the stock and shot shell holder I took the shotgun to the range and put about 50 rounds of slug and 00 buck shot through it. The Speed Feed stock reduced the felt recoil of the shotgun noticeably. The stock 870 was pretty light weight with 6 shells in the magazine tube. After putting on the after market accessories I could keep 16 shells on/in the gun. The additional weight was noticeable but because of the placement the shotgun was still well balanced.

The 870 Tactical came with a factory installed 2 round magazine extension, picatinny rail and an intimidating tactical choke tube. The tactical choke kept coming loose through out my time at the range. I found myself constantly tightening it and checking to see if it was in tight enough.

I could put a drop of blue loctite on the threads but for a defense weapon and the occasional trip to the range I’m not going to bother. With my sparse additions I could store the shotgun with 16 rounds at the ready in case of an emergency. I have the shotgun loaded with Winchester 12-gauge Supreme Elite PDX1 shells and in case a home defense situation arose I believe it would more than suffice.

See the pictures below of the groups, the stock shotgun and the shotgun after the accessories were put on.

Stock Remington 870 Tactical Express

Remington 870 Tactical Express with Accessories Left Side

Remington 870 Tactical Express with Accessories Right Side

Remington 870 Tactical 15 Meter / 45 Foot Target

Remington 870 Tactical 33 Meter / 100 Foot Target

Reloading in the Bush

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by Woodsbum

For many years our family has used the old school Lee Loader to reload .410 shells. We really didn’t think too much about it until someone saw the little setup we had and was amazed. This little loader allows you to literally reload your .410 shells out in the field if you wished. You are not tied down to a reloading bench and all sorts of permanently mounted equipment. Other than the kit you only need a hand priming system and a small wooden mallet.

This is the loading kit I am referring to:

Lee Loader

This got me to thinking whether other field type kits were available still or if I was stuck looking for older gear if I wanted something else. A quick search came up with the following results:

.308 Hand Loader
9mm Hand Loader
.38 SPL Hand Loader
.223 Hand Loader
30-06 Hand Loader

These were just a few of the calibers that were available. I didn’t feel like over linking this post, so just click one of the links above and do a search for your specific caliber.

There are also other items that are available to assist if you are setting up to reload in the field. Lee also makes a hand press that will allow you to use your normal dies. It just requires you to strong arm the lever rather than having it bolted to a table. Of course it is also single stage and not progressive, so you wouldn’t want to fill AR15 magazines with what you are loading by hand. It would work well for a SHTF situation or if you had to rebuild some loads with a different bullet weight while in the field for instance. Here is the kit.

Lee Hand Press Kit

Some other items that might be handy if you decide to set up for reloading in the field would be the powder measure kit and maybe some sort of scale to ensure you are getting the right loads.

Even though this might seem a bit extreme just think back to the end of the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Most sportsmen would have similar setups that they took with them to reload as needed in the bush. Factory loads were expensive and had some problems with reliability depending on where you lived. If they were able to reload their hunting loads and pull off the shots that they did, why not take a look at grabbing some equipment for yourself. You don’t have to get a $700 Dillon or Ponsness Warren setup to reload. People like Billy Dixon were able to pull off almost 1 mile shots with their loads. I don’t think that is too bad with an old 50-90 Sharpes, so think how well some simple gear and practice could do for you and your .270.

Here is a video that shows how to use the Lee Hand Loader.