Gone Shooting - Keeper

I went shooting again this morning, been twice in less than a week. That's a record for me! I went to a local public range again today. I have access to private land but it is much further away. Normally I prefer to shoot on the private land even though the cost to drive there is more than the range fees. But today, like last time, I didn't have the time. No photos again either. When I'm at a public range I don't worry about taking pretty pictures, I have other concerns. Mostly I'm concerned that John Q. Public might shoot me in my back when it's turned. If you saw the tin roof of this shooting range you would see that my fears are not completely unreasonable

Today I took my Springfield Armory M1A Socom 16 to see how it runs. There are several guns I acquired in the last year and a half that I haven't tried yet. Of all the long guns I need to shoot I thought this one might be the problem child of the bunch. So I decided to take it to the range and see if it was a "keeper." It is

All shooting today was from the bench at 50 yards. The rifle was grouping slightly low so it would be probably be right on at 100 yards. I might have to fine tune the sights the next time it goes but it shouldn't be too far off. I was more worried about muzzle flash and recoil than sighting it in, but it turns out my apprehension was for naught. Yes, it does have some kick and muzzle blast but the rifle in completely controllable. Actually, despite some kick it's very fun to shoot. The factory muzzle brake does a good job of taming the recoil and the blast isn't too bad either (in daylight anyway).

As for function it was perfect. I fired 20 rounds each of 1980s British surplus, 1990s German surplus and Winchester white box without a single problem. The barrel and scope mount heated up fast though. The scope mount on this rifle is attached directly to the barrel and I noticed that after only 10-15 rounds it was already so hot you couldn't touch it! I took off the factory stock that had a rubber butt pad and replaced it with a Vietnam era GI stock with the standard metal butt plate. I was expecting it to be much more punishing, and perhaps it is, but it was nothing intolerable. After 60 rounds my shoulder was a little sore but it didn't leave a mark.

I had a lot of fun today. Burned up some expensive ammo and decided that this little bruiser has a permanent place in my armory. Not bad for a lazy Monday morning.

Organized chaos

The toy box is almost at full capacity. These photos can't even show it all. Actually it's over capacity as there is a rifle I still can't fit inside. I could probably wedge a few more small items in there though.

Of course my gun safe wasn't that big to begin with, it's a "6 Gun" model. If you know about gun safes you know that when the manufacturer says "6 Gun" they mean six skinny bolt action rifles without any optics on them. I've got six rifles in mine but they're jammed in there like sardines.

When I bought this years ago I couldn't half way fill it. I didn't know if I ever would. But you know how it is, the stuff just keeps piling up. I also use my safe for all my valuables, cameras, binoculars, etc., which only exacerbates the problem.

I have few options right now. I could buy another safe, or a bigger one - Don't want to do that, don't have the room anyway.

I could continue to leave guns out so some meth head could find them one day when no one is home - Don't like that idea much either.

Or I could just stop buying toys since I have no more room for new ones - I hate that idea most of all!

Decisions, decisions...

Seven Point Six Two - Times Two

Last December I purchased the Springfield Armory Inc. M1A rifle in 7.62 NATO (.308) shown at the top of the photo. I can't believe it has been 10 months already and I still haven't shot it. I had owned two others over the years but got rid of them in fits of stupidity. Last year, after a long search of all the .308 semi-auto rifles (with the features I wanted) I concluded that the best one for me was the one I had all along, the M1A.

So after buying one last year I thought of buying another in 2011 (Two is One). I was thinking of another Bush model or perhaps a Scout, maybe even a standard. Then I saw the Socom 16 used at a nice price at the local fun store, it needed a good home and now I have two I have yet to shoot.

It came with the standard ugly black plastic stock that I quickly swapped out for a nice walnut GI that was just sitting in my closet. Pretty ain't it? If you've got a sharp eye you probably also noticed its magazine is longer than the normal 20 round government issue. Last Christmas I asked Santa to bring me some 25 round mags and sure enough I found a few stuffed in my stocking. I haven't tried them out either but being from Check-mate Industries I don't believe there will be any issues. I won't buy anymore though as their usefulness is very limited. They make the rifle heavier and more awkward, and shooting from a bench (or prone) is almost impossible. But if I ever need to use a M1A as a bullet hose, firing from the hip and screaming at the top of my lungs like Rambo these should do fine. Until then I'll probably get very little use from them. Now I know why 20 round mags were good enough for the Army!

Yes I do hope to shoot both this year if the fall weather cooperates. I've shot a Scout before so basically I know what to expect from the Bush model. But I don't know about the little Socom, I suspect it has quite the bark!

The summer doldrums

I have several gun related projects I need to do but haven't. I keep putting them off for one reason or another, some good reasons, but mostly though I just seem to be in a funk lately. The hot and muggy summer weather doesn't help either. I wanted to put some back-up sights on my MSAR and zero them in for a while now. Haven't got around to it yet. I have a M1A Bush model that I bought last year, still sits untested in my safe. Recently bought a second M1A too, it's sitting next to the first. I also purchased a new .45 pistol a few weeks ago. Would be nice to try it out some time. All would make great blog fodder if I ever get around to it. I guess I'll just have to make myself or I'm going to wake up and find the whole summer wasted.

Your ammo is in the mail...

It arrived yesterday, late in the afternoon. A heavy package (58.4 pounds according to the UPS shipping info) containing 1000 rounds of this. I ordered it last week for the M1A I just recently purchased. It has been a few years since I owned a rifle in 7.62 NATO and while I did have a small amount still stored it wasn't enough. I needed some good quality, all around general purpose ammunition for it. Ammo good for anything I might need it for and yet cheap enough that I could regularly practice with it and not break me financially. For 7.62 this German surplus is probably the best bargain around right now. You can find it for sale several places but I bought mine from Sportsman's Guide over the phone and they made it very easy. This is the first ammunition I've ever mail ordered and had delivered. They made the purchase quick and painless and sent it right to my door. I like that. I can't believe that I've been shooting over 20 years and I am just now doing this. I've thought about it a long while but never got around to it, always staying with my local sellers. My need for 7.62 finally fueled this, buying the ammunition at my local Wal-Mart or gun shop would have cost me at least a third more (or purchase much less) and I would have to drive to them to get it. Yes this was the first time I did this, it won't be the last.

Seven Point Six Two - Two

Back in August I began looking for another 7.62 NATO (.308) semi-auto rifle to add to my safe because I felt that my gun collection wouldn't be complete without one. The M1A was the obvious choice because I had owned a couple before and liked them and shot them well. I also still had accessories and magazines for them. This time though I wanted a shorter model instead of the standard length, I thought the Scout or Bush model would be a bit handier in the real world. But there were several different rifles I wanted to check out too and I wasn't in a hurry, so I took my time while considering the other possibilities. I looked over a few different brand AR-10 and FAL rifles and a HK91 copy, I also considered the Kel-Tec RFB and the FN SCAR 17s although I didn't get a chance to handle those two. The RFB seemed an interesting design but the company has yet to work all the bugs out of it. The FN was another possibility but it was over my budget and right now extra magazines are scarce. As for AR-10 models I just didn't like the feel of any of the ones that I tried, they just seemed heavy and clumsy compared to the M1A. Some also have magazine/reliability issues. I really did like the FAL I handled but definitely prefer the sights of the M1A. The HK copy also seemed like a nice rifle but I've read too many bad reviews of them to take a chance, if I was going with this design I would get a real HK, which like the SCAR is also out of my budget. So eventually I decided that the M1A was what I needed to fill the hole in my collection after all and with a couple months searching found the one that I wanted. It's an 18-inch Bush model made in 2000 and hopefully should give me years of reliable service. Now all that I have to do is get to the range to zero it in and check for reliability, if we ever get a break in the winter weather!