Why The Number of Guns I Own = Many

I recently bought a new gun for concealed carry.  I took it an my every day carry gun, a Kel-Tec P-11, over to Blucore Shooting Center for some new gun wringing out and recoil therapy.

I shot both the new gun and the P-11, going through drills as well as just doing the usual get to know your new gun routine.

About 7 magazines through the P-11 I started to get FTE's.  I tried to keep going, but it was clear that the P-11 was done for the day.  At that point I moved back over to the Taurus TCP 738.  It performed well, giving me a fair grouping at 5 yards that I am confident I can improve on with a slightly different grip.

Back at the house I started with cleaning the Taurus 738.  The slide bound up (recoil spring) and required persuasion from a rubber mallet.  Not terribly confidence inspiring.

Next was the P-11, after cleaning it and verifying the extractor was working fine I finally spotted the problem.

The ejector done broked in half.  I called Kel-Tec the next day and they are sending a new ejector gratis.  That means my EDC gun is out of commission.  With the problems with the slide on the Taurus and the fact that it's only got about 50 rounds through it, I'm very glad I've got other options.

For the last couple days I've been comfortably carrying the 1911.  Having many options is nice when want suddenly finds a way to turn into need.

Cleaning Less Is Fine, Until It Isn't

Caleb has some advice on gun cleaning.  The condensed version is don't do it until it gets real nasty, just lube it up and go.  That advice is fine and dandy, most of the time.  Allow me however to relate a tale of my buddy's 1911 I recently looked over.

My buddy is a relatively new gun owner.  He just bought his first rifle last week.  He has owned a Para 1911 in 9mm for around 8 months or so.  It has had FTE problems since he purchased it, but in the last month it had gotten really bad.  He was convinced that he needed to replace the extractor.  Since this gun is equipped with their Power Extractor, he was all set to send it to a gun smith to have it sleeved and a standard extractor put in, MSRP $100.

I asked if I could take a look, mostly out of curiosity.  I stripped it and the thing was coated in lubricant.  My initial cleaning involved wiping off lubricant with a clean cloth.  I checked the extractor and it appeared to be operating just fine.  Next I got out the trusty flashlight and looked down the barrel.  The chamber was copper colored and filled with schmutz.

A little bit of this magical concoction from Hoppes, some break cleaner on the action and reapplication of a SMALL bit of lubricant, and the gun is off to the races.

The moral of the story is this.  It is fine to minimize cleaning of your guns (as long as you are shooting non-corrosive ammo).  If you practice this however, it may end up biting you in the ass one day.  I like to keep them clean, lube them a little, and inspect them a lot.

Marco ... Gobble Gobble Gobble

I spent part of the night today getting ready for Turkey hunting this weekend.  It is quite possibly the best version of Marco Polo I have ever played.  The season opened last weekend, but I decided that the weather was way too nice for hunting.  This weekend is much better with a 50% chance of rain, possible freezing temperatures in the morning, and likely little sunshine and even less warmth.

Here is what I will have with me when I go searching for Tom.

From top center and going clockwise:

• Camo hat with built in face and neck covering (kinda like a balaclava, but with a bill)
• Turkey vest to hold all my calls, plus water and other random junk
• Binoculars used chiefly to spot turkey rocks and turkey stumps
• Patterned turkey target used in the morning to remind me what my shotgun does at 40 yards to a turkey's head
• Federal 2-3/4" Magnum #5 turkey shells.  It's what my shotgun likes to eat.
• Two 00 buckshot loads for any hungry bears or coyotes (just in case)
• Stoeger 12 GA, over/under shot gun with two turkey chokes
• Camo shirt, pants, and jacket
• Various calls (pot & peg, mouth, and box calls)
• Montana hen decoy, flat and light and still fools turkeys

All the way on the bottom is my ParaUSA GI Expert.  It is a 1911 in .45.  It is there in the event that some outside entity causes turkey hunting to go Tango Uniform.  In a situation like that, two guns are always better than one.

New Shooters' Smile

I mentioned in the last post that I had two new shooters at the range on Saturday.  One was my six year old son.  He has shot before, but always with me right behind him.  This time he was on his own and did a great job.  He can recite the 4 rules and understands why each is important.  Here he is behind the 15-22.

He did a great job and more importantly had a lot of fun.

The other new shooter was my friend's daughter.  She was fearless and shot everything put in front of her.  She started with the 15-22.

She then moved up to the 30-06 and shot it like a pro.  Once again, she had a lot of fun.

When we moved to the pistol range she was a little more cautious, but with a little encouragement, she picked up the 1911 and knocked down more than a few steel plates.

I've been informed by the lovely lady's father that Saturday was the highlight of her spring break.  To those of you worried about taking your daughter shooting, I would hold up my friend's daughter as shining example, and say to you, What are you waiting for?

As a side note, the adults had a good time too.  Below is visual proof.

Not Concerned...

So I was cleaning my 1911 pattern firearm the other night.  I took the barrel out of the slide and wiped it down, but there were these two lines around the lugs that wouldn't come off.  I don't remember them being there.  Upon closer inspection (running my knife point over them) they appeared to be cracks.  I sent these pictures to the manufacturer...

 

Who informed me that he thought they were machining marks, but told me to send it in if I wasn't happy.  I am still not convinced that they are machine marks, but I don't want to send it back to the manufacturer for repair of a purely cosmetic issue.  On the other hand I have seen pictures of guns that have blown up and would prefer if my handgun remained in the non-blown-up state for as long as possible.

Any thoughts, opinions, or name calling welcome.