Why pawn shops are better than buying lottery tickets!

In addition to the rare (and underpriced) gem of a gun you occasionally find at the local pawn/loan/jewelry/check-cashing/discount tobacco/whatever store, always be on the lookout for stuff like this…….

I hit one of my usual haunts on the way home this evening as they were sticking price tags on a bunch of old knives. I took a quick gander and came up with these two. I knew they were worth at least the $24.95 on the sticker and, since my 5 year old sons' name is Case, had to put them away for him if nothing else. Negotiating the price down to $20/each made the deal even sweeter!

A little Ebay research turns up this is about $175 worth of knives. That would be a quick 300-400% profit at auction. I think I'll keep them though, and go back tomorrow to look at the rest of the box!

So, your grandpappy’s old .22 rifle is a tack-driver?

Here's another entry in what should be called the "How to drop a grand before you know it" blog.

If you think you have a .22lr rifle that will shoot the proverbial "dime-sized groups" all day at 100 yds, go to the USBR site and order some targets. Or download a practice version at CZ452.com and print out the practice target. The official targets are printed on heavy stock and are much easier to score though. Read up on how to score the target at USBR or RimfireCentral.com, get some sandbags or a rolled up sweatshirt (for true bubba style action), and see what the old squirrel killer can do.

I would consider a score over 240 @ 25yds, or 220 @ 50 yds, excellent for a sporter type rimfire rifle. Ammo will make a huge difference, I would suggest buying several brands of premium target ammo to see what your gun likes best. A good starting point would be the economical Wolf Match Target or Match Extra if you can find it. The Wolf will give good to excellent results in most rifles, much better than the 500 round bulk packaged stuff from Wally World.

DISCLAIMER: This site will not be responsible for max'd out credit cards or spousal neglect due to the onset of ERBD – Escalated Rimfire Benchrest Disorder. Symptons include spending ridiculous amounts of money on little 22lr ammo, frequent all day sessions at the range and a rimfire rifle that costs more than any other centerfire gun you have ever owned.

3″ Barreled Revolvers

There's something about a 3" big bore revolver. It just hits me as perfectly proportioned. With the attitude of a snub-nose fire breather , a 3" tube still gives decent ballistics and sight radius along with full extraction of empties. It's enough barrel for most any non-hunting scenario, with easier packability. S&W and Ruger have former and/or current 3" models. Lew Horton, a S&W distributor, has commissioned many limited runs of 3" models in the past.

Be careful purchasing 3" models though, you will start scouring local shops and online auction sites for more.

Here is my favorite, a S&W 629 Backpacker.

Now for something really important…BBQ!

Just returned from a meal out with the family at a chain bbq joint. I stayed with the ribs, not bad, since the pulled pork left me unimpressed on the last visit. The this got me thinking about one of those hole-in-the-wall joints I found while working out of town.

Ridgewood BBQ, located near Bristol,TN, isn’t much to look at from the outside. But that’s the way it should be, spend the money on the meat! The best BBQ joints are almost always dives. Decor is strictly greasy spoon/honky tonk that is about 20 years overdue for a facelift…Perfect!

On to the food, they smoke pork hams in a little smokehouse at the corner of the parking lot. The hams are sliced thin, not shredded, and tossed on the grill for a few seconds with some sauce just to warm it up. Of course the sauce is their own secret recipe. It is as close to a perfect combination of sweet, tangy and spicy I have ever found. The beans are some of the best ever too, with little shredded pieces of the ham floating around. French fries are big, greasy and lots of ‘em, as it should be.

If you want to try some of the sauce, here is a mock/clone recipe. I have made it, but the real thing is much better. Still, a good recipe that will beat 99% of your store bought sauces.

Concealed Carry Anyone?

For anyone considering a license for concealed carry of hangun, check out packing.org for discussion forums and a listing of laws in all 50 states (if CA, IL, NY & NJ are even considered states.. police states maybe). Quite a few states offer reciprocity to license holders from neighboring (or not so close) states.

How (Gun) Stuff Works

Since I had revolvers on the brain today, here’s a cool link.

How Stuff Works has tons of neat information with lots of pics and cool animations. Follow the link and scroll down to the cut-away revolver diagram….click the trigger and enjoy!

The Original M&P

Since the new S&W M&P 40 will become more popular in the years to come, I thought it might be nice to show a much earlier "M&P" for the teens and Gen-X'ers that seem to populate my local range with their Glizz-ocks & SIG's.

The original "Military & Police", a 6 shot revolver in .38 S&W Special, goes all the way back to 1899 and is still manufactured as the Model 10 today.

This specimen is a post-WWII 2" model (circa. 1946-47) known as a "Pre-Model 10". Smith & Wesson didn't began using model numbers until 1957. This is also considered a "Transitional" gun because it uses a pre-war frame with the "long action" hammer action. Post-war guns had a redesigned shorter hammer action and added a 4 line address where the pre-war frame was marked "MADE IN U.S.A" on a single line.

New S&W M&P40

Being a sucker for anything S&W, I put my dealer on notice that I wanted the first one he got in back in November. Fast forward to late February, I finally got one.

The M&P has a polymer frame that is stiffened by a stainless steel internal chassis. After shooting , it really feels closer to a steel framed pistol than any other polymer gun I've fired. The trigger will remind you of the earlier Sigma in appearance only. It is much lighter and crisper in actual use. S&W lists it at 6.5lb and I would guess that's about right. It is smooth with a short reset and is easier for me to shoot more accurately than most pistols outside of a 1911. Speaking of 1911's, the grip angle of the M&P is a lot closer to the John Moses Browning design than the obvious market rival of this new pistol..the Glock.

Here is a detail pic of the slide, some machining marks are visible, but they are even and not noticeable unless closely examined:

The 15 round magazines are very nice and have functioned flawlessly through the first 250 rds or so, using every kind of ammo I had on hand. They are marked for .357 Sig also :

Field stripping the pistol is straight-forward and addresses the issue of sear deactivation in a manner other than pulling the trigger. This will most likely appeal to PD's as a way of preventing ND's (negligent discharges).

First, lock the slide back and remove magazine, then depress the takedown lever, flip the yellow sear deactivation lever down to the position shown and release slide from frame. The recoil spring/guide lifts out and the barrel will slide out of the frame.All pretty standard stuff except for the sear deactivation.

To change the grip panels, remove magazine, turn grip tool 90 deg (either way) and remove, slide grip panel down and off, install new panel and reverse steps :

In closing, the M&P is ergonomic, well-made, points and shoots as well as any polymer gun I've tried and holds 15 rounds in a package than can be tailored to a wide range of hands. Assuming long term durability is good, S&W should sell a boat load of these. It would be great to see a large percentage of PD's go back to an American made service gun, and considering the Army's M9 is probably on the way out, the stakes may be even higher.