Range Day AAR

I got the G-19 sighted in, barely. Of course I left the handy dandy Glock tool at home so I had to use a knife blade to adjust it. It will now shoot bullseye from a bench rest.

I, however, still suck at shooting it.

First things first, Youngest Son and I tried the Battleship targets at 50 yards with the Marlins first, but my old eyes wouldn't let me line up properly (I was using the 795 with iron sights, Youngest Boy was using the Model 60 with the scope) so we pulled them back to 25 yards. After going through a full box of .22LR (325 rounds) neither of us had won but I was closer.

Next I put a few rounds through the Arisaka and the Mossberg at 100 yards while Youngest Son peppered a zombie clown target with the Saiga. The Arisaka is still a handful, it groups in a 5" circle at 100 yards but I'm pretty certain that most of the problem is me since I'm not using a bipod with it.

The Mossberg shoots 1.5 MOA at 100 from the bipod and it likes 51 grains of IMR 4064 with its 165 grain Hornady SST's. I've heard that a Boyds wooden stock will bring the groups down to sub-MOA but 1.5 is still minute of Bambi so I'm satisfied with it.

After that Range Partner and I tried out the Battleship targets. RP won, finally, after we had gone through all the 9mm I brought (should have brought more since I was sighting the 9mm in, along with the tool...but I digress) and then switched to the G-36...and then went through all but 4 rounds of all the .45ACP that I brought.

It was pretty glaringly obvious that we both needed the practice, and I'm somewhat concerned that the G19 needed so much adjustment with its sights. Maybe a new barrel would set it right, irritating with a new gun but it puts holes where its pointed now so it's all good. Best of all was the stress reduction achieved through recoil therapy, I think that was probably needed more than the practice.

Mexican for lunch, inspection and tag renewal for the Pony and lawn mowing followed, and now I'm in skating ring hell as Boy shmoozes the chicks.

Eh. Life could be worse.

Fun!

Saturday was supposed to start with shooty goodness. It started instead with frost.

I mean to tell you it was f*@king cold out there yesterday morning (defined as anything below 40 degrees).

We met Range Partner at the range only to find out it was a maintenance day so shooting wouldn't start until noon. Also, I had borrowed an AC vacuum pump and gauge set from RP and was supposed to bring it to him. Of course I had forgotten it. I also had a Meetup shindig scheduled for the afternoon, for which I had baked a pumpkin cheesecake, and I had left that at home as well.

Since no shooting would occur, and since I am such a forgetful cuss, RP came back to the house with me to get his pump and I got my cheesecake and went on to the shindig. It was kind of out of the way but the GPS app on the 'droid took me right there. I love living in this technologically advanced age. But I digress...

Along for the trip was every rifle and pistol I own, only the shotguns stayed at home. The G36 and the Mosin stayed in un-fired conditions but everything else got a few rounds through them...except the Marlin 60.

This rifle usually eats anything without any complaints, in fact I've only had one time where it didn't want to load properly. Today, after seven months of trouble-free operation, we had more fail to feed issues...but that mystery was soon solved (and as you might have surmised, it was all about the USER ERROR...).

I have a confession. I don't really like to clean guns. Especially semi-auto rifles. I don't like taking bolts apart either, but that's more due to the fact that there are ten distinct parts to an Arisaka Model 30 bolt, which was the primary reason it was replaced by the Type 38 so quickly in its service career. But once again I digress...

The RO, a one-eyed ex Army firearms instructor, took one look at the action (specifically the feed ramp) and said "When was the last time you cleaned this rifle?" "Last time I fired it." "How did you clean it?" "I ran a boresnake down it and put it in the safe." *pained look* "When was the last time you took it down and cleaned the action?" "Oh, why didn't you say so? That would have been...let me think...never." *apoplectic look* "You need to take this rifle down and clean it."

Truth of the matter is, I had never ever had the thing apart (the closest I got to taking it down was when I removed the action from the stock to drill it for the sling swivels. Drilled the stock, that is, not the action). I didn't know how it was done to be quite honest (dead simple as it turns out), I bought it used and didn't get a manual with it. Fortunately Marlin looks out for us idiots, so when I got home I downloaded the manual and took it apart for cleaning.

Damn was that thing dirty.

The manual says not to take it apart any further than removing the action (on the Model 60 that includes the feed mechanism for the tubular magazine), but the action was so gritty that it had to come apart. Good thing someone else looks after us idiots as well.

In retrospect I probably could have just hosed it down repeatedly with brake parts or carb cleaner and moved everything around until the grit was gone, but I thought it was better to do it this way. When it went back together everything was smooth like buttah and cleaner than I have ever seen it.

The only thing that makes me feel less guilty about my lack of cleaning on this rifle is looking at comment threads on multiple gun boards and seeing that I'm not the only one. Turns out that most folks with Model 60 Marlins boresnake them after shooting and call it good, although using Q tips with some Hoppes to clean the feed ramps is mentioned.

At any rate it is nicely cleaned and lightly oiled, and as penance I also took the Model 795 down (same action on both, the only difference is the tube magazine feed mechanism on the 60 as opposed to the detachable box magazine on the 795) and cleaned it really good as well. The next time we go to the range I expect it will feed like a brand new one. I also expect that I will have to put it on the stand and sight the scope in again.

'Tis a burden that must be borne, I guess...

And for the record, the shindig (hosted by Old School Protection in Clayton at their range) was a rousing success. If you are local to that area and want to take a firearms class, check them out. (FTC note, I was not given anything of monetary value to say this, the rope you can piss up is hanging over there in the corner.)

Range Day

Boy and I met Range Partner this morning after breakfast to spend some quality time making smoke and noise. Along for the ride were the two .22 rifles to be bullseye sighted (as opposed to pretty good sighted which is what they were). Also along for the ride were my freshly re-crimped reloads that had been tested good on the reloading bench with the Glock barrel.

The .22 shooting went well, about 30 rounds through each from the bench rest had them hitting bullseyes right where they were aimed. I shot eight of my reloads through the Glock without any problems, and then they wouldn't go into battery again. I stripped the gun and checked the reloads through the barrel and it was like I had never run them back through the crimp die. The 100 factory loads I brought chambered fine.

I shot the 100 rounds of factory ammo for the badly needed practice and then we finished up the day with the .22's at 25 yards, Boy on the scoped Model 60 and me on the iron-sighted Model 795. He had been bragging on his shooting prowess, so I made him a challenge; each of us would shoot 30 rounds and then we would check the targets and see who was better.

30 rounds later and it was pretty clear the old man still had it. We swapped rifles and repeated the challenge with the same results. After that I didn't have to hear about what a great shot he was any more. He shot his last 25 rounds through the Hi-Standard and I shot my last 25 through the 795, and that finished off one of the two boxes of ammo that I had picked up on Friday morning.

After the shooting was over we packed up and headed over to one of the Mustang Forums members houses to help with a header install on his '12 Mustang. The day was finished up with a ride to the shoe store to get another pair of Converses for Boy who had out-grown the ones he was wearing. I was shocked to see that the shoes that Mom bought for me because they were cheap weren't so much anymore; I guess that's what happens when they get featured in a Will Smith movie.

All in all a pretty good day.

In The Mail

My goodies came in.

First, the lights for the Subaru. They're a bit different than what came on the trucklet, the lenses are flatter, but that shouldn't make a great deal of difference as long as the mounts are right.

It's a good thing they were well packed, it looks like the gorilla squad was in charge of handling.

Also, two extra magazines for the 795, so now I'm all set for Appleseed.

It rained like hell this afternoon, but now that it's gone the forecast is dry and sunny for the next couple of days. Just right for getting the lights put on the Subaru and doing some shooting.

Accessories

This came in the mail today:

Going by the Appleseed brochure, it's easy to see that Tech Sights know their target audience (I cut the top of it off when I cut the package open).

 The sights came pre-assembled and ready for installation, but the instructions show how to break them down if needed.

Installation was a snap, requiring only a flat blade screwdriver. First, remove the factory front sight by removing the mounting screw. It lifts right off.

Put a dab of LocTite on the new front sight mounting screw and tighten the new front sight down right where the old one came off.

The new front sight is taller than the factory sight and consists of a post with protective ears on each side. The allen screw in the front tightens the front post down.

The rear sight is even easier to install because nothing has to come off. Just put the rear sight down on the cast-in rail and tighten the mounting nut with a flat blade screwdriver.

Elevation adjustments are made by turning the knob just under the sight. It has white hash marks on it. Note the azimuth hash marks underneath the elevation adjustment knob.

Adjust the azimuth with a flat bladed screwdriver. (Pay no attention to the green crayon marks.)

I can't wait to get this rifle to the range so I can sight it in and have a bit of fun with it!

Note to the FTC: I paid for these sights with my own money, for my own use. The rope is hanging in the corner right over there.

One Off The List

This morning I set out with the singular goal of purchasing a firearm.

I have long wanted a Marlin 795 to make an Appleseed gun out of, but I saw a Savage 64F in the local mart of walls for a pretty reasonable price. I decided that if the 795 was not available I would opt for the Savage instead.

My first stop was at the aforementioned mart of walls to ensure the Savage was still there, and much to my delight, there in the ammo case, was .45ACP and 5.56 Winchester white boxes! The 5.56 was in 20 round boxes, but there was a whole pile of them. The .45ACP was in the 100 round white boxes, a sight I had not beheld in quite some time.

Limited to 3 boxes total, I opted for two of Gods Own Caliber and one of the 5.56. I'll have to pop in tomorrow early and see if there is any of the 5.56 left, if so I'll get three more boxes. I'm not expecting them to be there, but I can hope.

With the availability of the Savage determined I was off to Gander Mountain in search of the elusive Marlin. When I stepped up to the gun counter what should my wandering eyes see but...the very object of my desire, front and center in the display rack! When the clerk stepped over to me I pointed and said "I'll take that one right there."

We went over to the BATFE(IEIO) desk and filled out the proper paperwork, and before you could say "Mark Kelly is a sad panda" I was carrying the box out to the car. I don't know if the BATFE(IEIO) was aware of my existence before but now they can tell for sure that I own one firearm, and I can say that my carry permit made the process much more streamlined.

Along with the ammo purchases at the mart of walls I had also picked up a set of sling swivels and a cheapo nylon sling in anticipation of my acquisition. As soon as I got it home (well, after I walked the dog that was ecstatic to see that I had made it home safely) I put its new accessories on.

First impressions: It's shorter than the Model 60, but it's obvious to even the most casual observer that the actions are the same, the biggest difference is the magazines.

The Model 60 sports the traditional wood stock while the Model 795 has a synthetic stock. I prefer the looks of the wood stock, but the synthetic stock makes for a lighter rifle. The 795 weighs in at a mere 4.5 lbs, a full pound lighter than it's wood stocked sibling. The synthetic stock is just a touch longer, but not long enough to make up for the Model 60's barrel length advantage.

Another very obvious difference is the bolt release. Pressing the tab up on the 60 releases the bolt, pressing the lever down on the 795 accomplishes that purpose. Both have the last-shot open feature, and pulling the bolt clear back and pushing the handle inward locks both bolts fully open.

A look at the top of the receiver further illustrates the similarity of the two rifles. I had not noticed the integrated rail on the Model 60 until I looked at the 795, but the two are identical.
 

On the previous models of the 795 the swivel studs were the traditional screw-in post type, but on this model they are molded into the stock. I'm not sure how much I like that...

but they worked well. The swivels mounted up with no issues, and if they do end up being troublesome I can always drill and install the studs that came with the swivels.

It needs some Tech-Sights TSM200 aperture sights (on order) and then it's all ready for Appleseed. It won't have the fancy engraving, but I think I can live without it.

All told the final cost was as follows: rifle, $160.11 with tax; sling swivels, $9.97 (tax not included); el-cheapo WallyWorld sling, $6.97 (tax not included); Tech-Sights TSM200 sights, $75.00 shipped, total cost approximately $255 (estimating the tax for the sling and swivels). Add a $20.00 magazine (the standard Marlin magazines are about the same price as a ProMag 25 rounder) and the cost ends up being in the neighborhood of $275, Appleseed ready. Not bad, considering the Ruger 10/22 will cost you around $250 for the basic rifle, and then you have to add the sights, sling and swivels to it as well...and this is before the trigger and barrel mods are done to the gun (I don't know that it absolutely needs them, but apparently everyone does them so there must be something to it).

Now all I need to do is put some .22LR through it.