Saiga AK47 Conversion

I've written about the Saiga AK Conversions before when we converted one in 5.56.

This time, it's a 7.62x39 for my Christmas present to myself. This is how it looked when I received it.



This gun was purchased online from Atlantic Firearms for about $450. Unlike the Saiga I converted in the past, this one has traditional looking plastic handguards with a sling mount on the left side and a welded on thread protector, which protects 24mm threads.

Conversion cost about $100 or so and required the use of a drill press, drill, dremel, and a variety of other common tools. It took me about an hour and a half to do the entire project.



I highly recommend this kind of project to any AK enthusiasts. It's a lot of fun and the end product is a high quality AK at a very good price.

Here is a picture of the AK in it's current form.



Tapco provides high quality parts for this. The trigger is much nicer now, maybe even a little on the light side, but it breaks very cleanly and nice for a single stage and helps improve accuracy.

Bullet guide is by Dinzag Arms. 30 round mags are the Steel European AK mags currently being sold on Aimsurplus.com.

The first round I hand cycled failed to chamber, however, every hand cycling since and several mags worth at the range proved to work flawlessly.

I haven't chosen a muzzle device yet.

Second Chance for the Walther P22

OK, I admit that I have been as critical of the P22 as anyone. I owned one and I was less than impressed. You can read about what my thoughts were in regards to it HERE.

My younger brother decided to get one recently. I wasn't able to go out with him on his initial range trip, but I was surprised to hear later on that he shot about 300 rounds of Winchester Bulk .22LR through it with just a few malfunctions.

I had to see this for myself. So we went out and I had a chance to try it out. I was shocked. It was eating bulk Winchester and Federal ammo with ease. Sure there were a few failure to feeds, but nothing like I had experienced in the past with mine and others.



I was even able to let my 7-year old son get his first chance at shooting a pistol yesterday because of this P22. This is the reason I like the idea of one of these types of guns. Cheap training and good for teaching people how to shoot their first semi-auto handgun.

A few malfunctions in a .22LR pistol doesn't bother me one bit. I wouldn't stand for many malfunctions in a CCW or self defense pistol. Since the P22 is for training, teaching, and fun, I can tolerate a certain degree of malfunctions.

I am not sure if Walther made changes that make it more reliable now, or if this is simply a case of, some are lemons and some are not. Regardless, it has softened my disdain for the P22 and forced me to recognize that semi reliable P22's do in fact exist. I know. I've seen one.

Polish P-64 Review

These little pistols are currently listed at Aimsurplus.com for $179.95. Being one who has had good luck in the past with two other 9x18 surplus pistols (Makarov and CZ-82), I decided to roll the dice on these, so I picked up two of them.

I have done some reading on them and was aware of what I might be getting myself into, to a degree.

A little background on these pistols. They were developed in the late 1950's and put into service with the Polish Military in the 1960's, replacing the Tokarev. Being chambered in 9x18, it is a blowback design.



Mine each came with two 6 round magazines, cleaning rod, and a cheap, unimpressive surplus holster. The internals had a decent coating of oil. The outside lacked excessive oil/grease/cosmoline often accompanying an older surplus firearm. The finish on them was ok, but pretty well worn near the muzzle (The above pic makes it look a little better than it is in reality). Mine were made in '73 and '76.

I was able to get out and shoot these today and it was certainly an interesting experience.

First off, the thing that caught me by surprise was the recoil. Neither of my other 9x18 pistols exhibit quite this much recoil. So that was the first thing that jumped out at me.

I didn't find myself being particularly accurate with it either. The sights are not very good, although I am not sure if this is the only reason I was not terribly accurate with it, at this point anyways... I reserve the right to change my mind on this matter in the future, but my first outing wasn't encouraging.

Shooting it in double action is almost impossible with one finger, it was quite ridiculous how heavy the pull is (reportedly 25lbs+). Single action was the only way to fire effectively.

Giving credit where credit is due, they both fired 50 rounds each without a hiccup.

I also found the grip to be fairly small, even for me, and I don't have the largest hands. My entire hand barely manages to hang on to the grip, with zero room to spare.

It is an extremely thin design which leads me to believe it has potential to be a decent CCW gun. It also had a loaded chamber indicator in the rear, above the hammer, which I kind of like.

Like the Makarov, it has a slide mounted thumb safety (although up is fire and down is safe, the opposite of the Makarov) and it decocks the hammer when the hammer is back and the weapon is placed on safe.

It field strips almost exactly the same was as a Makarov. Remove the mag, check the chamber, pop the trigger guard down, pull back on the slide and lift up on the rear.

Another thing making it similar to the Makarov was the heel mounted magazine release. However, it is much harder to use this magazine release because it is recessed a little bit.

This firearm lacks a slide stop/release. The only way I know of locking the slide back is on an empty mag. Also, you must slingshot the slide to chamber a round, there is no other way.

Overall, I am not too impressed with this pistol, even for the money. I've read that you can lighten the double action trigger pull by adding a weaker spring and help reduce the recoil with the addition of a stronger recoil spring. These are changes I plan on adding to see if it can be made into a quality shooter and/or CCW gun. However, it is my opinion that in stock form, these are simply not great guns. There, I said it. I look forward to seeing what these changes will do to make it a better gun.

Another one of my brother's got a couple of them and shot his seperately and seemed to have a more positive outlook of the P-64 than I did when I spoke to him.

Obviously it is a combat proven handgun though, meaning it can be accurate enough and it is certainly reliable, at least in my limited experience, not to mention it has a service record to back that up. That said, I think it is only natural that one would want to compare them to the Makarov and others like that. Maybe that is why I wasnt so impressed, because I am comparing it to my Makarov and CZ-82.

To read my review on the Makarov, CLICK HERE

To read my review on the CZ-82, CLICK HERE

Jack Ross Ammunition Review

Like many gun owners, I find myself being pretty loyal to ammo manufacturers that make quality ammunition at an affordable price. When I heard about a new ammunition company that was based out of Nevada (my home state) I was immediately interested in learning more.

Jack Ross Ammunition

I was pretty happy to get my hands on a box of Jack Ross .45ACP to test out. Generally, I like to do my evaluation of ammo brands after I have shot thousands on rounds of it, but for now, the 50 rounds of FMJ .45ACP I got will have to suffice as an initial "review".



Jack Ross .45ACP

I carefully inspected each and every round and found them to have been made uniformly from what I could tell on the outside. Unlike what I saw in the pics on the website, my rounds were made with nickel plated brass instead of regular brass. I inquired about the issue (not a complaint because nickel plated brass is actually a "bonus" feature). This was the response:

"Hi Marshall, I generally use brass but I got a good deal on some nickel that I couldn't pass up. I use standard loads, and don't load +p. Hope you like the ammo."

Well, as it turns out, I did.



The gun we used was a Springfield Loaded. It grouped as well as I am capable with 7 shots at 10 yards. We churned out several similar groups. The ammo and our gun did it's part when we did ours.

No problems with the function of the ammo whatsoever, it was flawless. Seems pretty clean as well.

Jack Ross Ammunition makes ammo in 3 calibers right now, 9mm, .40S&W;, and .45ACP. They plan on adding other calibers soon, including but not limited to .38 special and .380, as well as rifle calibers, starting with .223.

They have good prices on bulk ammo with FREE SHIPPING on cases to folks in California and Nevada.

I would gladly use Jack Ross Ammunition again and hope to get my hands on some more for review on my blog(s), including the .40S&W;, 9mm, .380 and .223.

RIP Stephen A Camp

Although I don't personally know the man, I am quite familiar with him and his writings on the internet. He frequented MANY of the same forums I posted on. I am saddened by his passing. He was very knowledgeable about guns, although also very modest. He was a strong 2nd amendment advocate as well.

I truly hope that his website, http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/ is maintained as their is a lot of useful information on there. If you haven't checked it out, I would encourage you to do so. Although he loved and talked quite extensively about the Browning Hi-power, his site is full of many other types of gun and ammo reviews.

My Thoughts on the Glock 17

I never thought I'd love the Glock 17 like I do. I am here to own up to that and admit it.

My first Glock was a Glock 27, I got it when I turned 21 and I was drinking the .40 Kool Aid because my Dad was an FBI agent at the time. I still have it, but I wish I had gotten a Glock 26 then.

The .40S&W; is a good round, but I prefer the 9mm because it is cheaper to train and shoot with and just about as effective. I would go into more detail, but I don't want to get off track.

My second Glock was a Glock 19. I bought it to take carbine courses and have a slightly bigger sidearm than my Glock 27. It was something I could still conceal if I had to, but that wasn't it's primary job, and it filled it's role just fine.

I never thought I would get anything bigger than a compact. Never saw the need or the purpose for me. For a police officer or someone like that, sure, but my main priority for handguns has always been that they fill a role for me in CCW and/or open carry in the wilderness against 4 legged critters. It was a practical approach to avoid a gun like the Glock 17 and only get something smaller, or so I thought.

I ended up with my Dad's Glock 27 from his FBI days, so now I have two of those... and my Glock 27's are my primary CCW guns. They work great and are easy for me to shoot and conceal.

However, last year AIM had some Glock 17 3rd gen trade ins (with night sights) for something like $380. On somewhat of a whim I thought, what the hell. So I got one.

It was seemingly hardly used, just a little holster wear, but not bad. I thought I would throw it in the safe and maybe shoot it at the range once in a while.



It has started to become something more for me though. I've found that I shoot it very well, and I often have it near my desk when I am at home...

It's not a CCW gun for me. However, being a fan of Glocks I guess it's easy to see why I might have changed my tune in regards to this gun. It's reliable as anything out there, as is the case with most Glocks. It just feels good to hold. I added a +2 extension because I am not worried about concealability. That gives this handgun a lot of firepower since I can have 19 +1. I see it mostly as a range gun but also a handy little home defense gun. I might end up throwing a light on it for that reason.

I don't think I would rather shoot any other gun I own and it gets fondled more than any of my other Glocks.

It's a shock because for a long time I wouldn't even consider one of these, but in reality, I think it is practical for me to own this gun after all. I shoot it well, it's extremely reliable, light, and it just gets the job done.

Some people out there don't care for the Glock, and that is fine, but if you like Glocks, you might want to consider a Glock 17. I did, and I am very happy about it now.

Here's a video you may appreciate demonstrating the Glock shooting while taking some abuse.

(This is not me in the video. It's my friend Tim, or as you may know him, Sturmgewehre over at the Military Arms Channel on Youtube.)

Ruger 10/22 BX-25 Magazines

Well, it appears as though Ruger is now making 25 round mags for the popular 10/22. As the owner of 3 of these rifles, I have to say, "it's about time!"



I am very glad that Ruger is changing it's tune. They are becoming a company that is relevant, or at least interesting.

Springfield Armory 9mm EMP 1911 Review

Well, I have had this gun for a month or so now. We are past the 200 round break in, and I would like to go into detail about this gun and give you my thoughts on it.



This is what it looked like when I picked it up. I had it shipped from Buds and the price was right around $1100 once I got it out the door if I recall correctly.

If you don't know much about the EMP, it was built from the ground up by Springfield as a 1911 chambered in 9mm or .40S&W.; The 9mm is an aluminum frame, the .40 is a steel frame. I can tell that a lot of thought went into this gun and it had a lot of appeal to me from the beginning for several reasons.

If you follow my blog you can tell I am in a bit of a 1911 phase right now. Who isn't? I've been waiting for a single stack 9mm sub compact Glock for some time, but since I cannot get one of those, I have been looking at the smaller 1911's as conceal carry guns. The single stack obviously helps with concealment and being in 9mm, you don't lose as many rounds as you do with a .45 for obvious reasons.

Now, on to the EMP. When I first got it I was worried as it would not chamber a JHP initially. However, I got it out to the range in short order and put a bunch of FMJ through it. By the end of the trip, I had it feeding JHP's. Out of the 100 or so rounds we put through it at that time, I had two minor stoppages. Both times the round stopped on the feedramp and simply required a small tap on the rear of the slide to chamber the round (once was with a JHP, once with an FMJ). Since that time it has worked flawlessly.



The gun grouped decent with some semi rapid-fire shooting at 10 yards.



This gun has a smaller grip and uses specific mags, made by Mec-Gar. I did have a problem with one of the 3 mags it came with. I couldn't load any rounds into it because the follower was hitting the front of the mag as I would try and load a round. I contacted Springfield and sent in the faulty mag (at my own expense) and had one magazine shipped back to me in return.



Here you can see the difference between the grips of the EMP and my Springfield Milspec .45ACP.

So far it has been a good CCW gun. It is light, thin, carries decent firepower for a compact CCW gun (9 +1), and well fitted. It is fairly easy to CCW with, although I haven't carried it much for a variety of reasons (breaking it in being one of them). The slide is beautiful. Recoil wasn't bad at all.

The night sights work well and are very important on a CCW or duty carry gun.



Here is a picture of the gun field stripped. Field stripping the gun is actually very easy. There is no barrel bushing as there are in traditional 1911's.



You can see that a difference in this 1911 design is the feedramp is part of the barrel whereas the feedramp on a normal 1911 is part of the frame. I suspect at least part of the reason they did this is in order to keep from having rounds feeding directly onto the aluminum frame.

This feedramp was a little rough when I first got the gun but I can tell that a few hundred rounds has smoothed it out a little. It should only get better from here is my guess.

This gun will likely become one of my preferred CCW guns in the near future. I still want to take it to the range a few more times and test out carry loads before I start to trust my life with it.



Other than a few small differences, it really just feels and handles just like any other compact 1911. Like all 1911's, the trigger is very good.

I do have a couple of complaints about it, although they are fairly minor. The single biggest complaint I have is the magazines extending and not fitting flush with the gun. I can understand making mags like this, but only in addition to FLUSH fitting magazines, particularly in a CCW gun.

It is my understanding that someone out there modifies mags for people that will fit flush, but I am really shocked that Springfield doesn't do this and include at least one flush fitting magazine with every EMP they sell.

Another thing I don't care for is the Ambi thumb safety. Sure, lefties may like it, but they are a minority and I would think that it would be better if they sold it with a standard safety. Also relating to the thumb safety, I cannot for the life of me figure out why they don't come with a low profile thumb safety.

My understanding is that Springfield will swap out the thumb safety for a low profile thumb safety for a fee, however, this seems like a pretty big mistake to make on a CCW style 1911. It should come with a low profile thumb safety, ambi or not.

In my opinion, those are two issues Springfield should address immediately. They could have hit this one out of the park had they gotten those two things right.

I wouldn't mind a bobtail of some sort as well but Springfield doesn't seem to acknowledge the need for as small as possible grip in a CCW pistol.

These are things that can be fixed, with some extra money. However, I just think SA should have gotten it right from the beginning.

This gun fits my needs for CCW due to the light weight, night sights, thin profile, and excellent trigger, assumming it ends up being reliable, which it appears it will be.

Edited 7/4/11 to add: Since this original writing I have taken this gun out several more times. Despite my complaints in the past, I have really grown to LOVE this gun. It has been nothing but 100% since my original outing. I notice the rounds through this gun have somewhat polished up the feedramp and helped the action to become very smooth. I am very accurate with it and really enjoy shooting it. It conceals pretty well for me as well.

Ruger SR1911

Well, Ruger is finally in the 1911 game. Here is an interesting video done by Hickok45 who was able to get his hands on one.



Also, here is another interesting write up on the Ruger SR1911 by someone on Glocktalk.com

My New Ruger SR1911

And Hickok45 posted a new SR1911 video as well. Here it is.

Bulkammo.com - .45 ACP Nickel Ammo by Remington - 230gr MC

I want to thank Steven at http://www.bulkammo.com/ for providing us with an opportunity to review this ammo. We had a chance to run 50 rounds of it through a variety of 1911's and had no problems.



As you can see, this ammo utilizes a nickel plated brass case, which should aid in feeding and extracting. We were able to put a few groups together at 10 yards, semi rapid fire. The groups are shown directly above the guns pictured.

Here is what we did with an ATI FX .45 Commander, semi rapid fire, 7 rounds.



Here is a group produced by Springfield Armory Loaded, semi-rapid fire, 7 rounds.



Here is a group with a Springfield Armory Milspec, semi-rapid fire, 8 rounds.



I might consider this as an outdoors/wilderness carry load when FMJ might be preferential for penetration.

This is great ammo made by a quality manufacturer and provided to us by an excellent vendor, BulkAmmo.com. They shipped me this ammo quickly and I would gladly do business with them again.