1. You could give a damn about baseball stats, and can't figure out how anyone would memorize them, but you can name the make and model of every firearm from every movie and TV show you've ever seen without thinking about it.2. You've stopped thinking of it as "Brown" and now only see things as Coyote Tan, Flat Dark Earth (or FDE), or Desert Tan...3. You subconsciously count shots fired during movie scenes and know when the hero really ran out of ammunition...4. ...And it drives you nuts.5. The thought of a new model from Smith, Ruger or Kimber makes you physically salivate.6. Even though you KNOW they make good gear, you just can't buy HK because they are a bunch of self-centered, PR Inflated, elitist pricks.7. You see the sense in paying $30,000 - $100,000 for a double rifle. If the name on it is right...8. Chances are, you've shot more in the last month than the last cop you met has in the last 5 years. (Unless they are from NYC, in which case, you've likely shot more than they have in their career...).9. 1000 rounds of ammo constitutes a decent afternoon at the range.10. Your initial thoughts about 911 upon being mugged is to call them to provide medical assistance to your aggressors...
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Monday, September 17, 2012
You might be a gunny if.....
You Might be a Gunny if.....
Review: GSG 1911 .22LR Pistol
Review: GSG 1911 .22LR
By: Michael Em (Mez)
In todays world of ever
increasing cost of ammunition we are all looking for better, low cost ways to
practice more. One method is to use a
.22. There are many excellent .22’s to
choose from. The Ruger MKII series (and
new models) or the Browning Buckmark are 2 excellent examples. But they do not mimic the size or shape of
your favorite handgun.
Ideally, you should use a
.22 that is the same size, shape as your handgun. For those who shoot the 1911 family of
handguns, GSG (German Sport Guns) has the solution for you.
GSG is producing an
excellent copy of the 1911 but designed around the .22 cartridge. The GSG 1911 is a full size copy of the 1911
handgun. Made from lightweight aluminum
alloy with a steel barrel and steel parts where necessary. It has a 10 round magazine (10 not 12. Don’t be an over achiever like Gundiva) and
fixed sights. Other features are
ambidextrious safety, magazine disconnect safety and changeable front sights (3
different heights) to help set zero.
In the box you will find
instruction manual, tools for cleaning and takedown and the obligatory safety
lock.
One additional feature is
the GSG can accept a threaded adaptor for those who own suppressors.
The GSG 1911 functions as
any other 1911. But does have a slightly
different takedown. In their need to
overdesign everything, the Germans added an additional screw and pin on the
right hand side of the frame that must be removed in order to field strip the
GSG 1911.
What I like:
1.
The fit and
finish is excellent. This is one
handsome pistol right out of the box.
2.
Reliability is
also excellent. (Using proper ammunition)
I was able to shoot approximately 900 rounds through this pistol over a
3 month period without cleaning before I experienced failures of any kind. A thorough cleaning solved these
problems. If you take care of this
pistol and run ammunition it likes, it will run reliably for you.
3.
Accuracy is
good. Definitely not a target
pistol. But 2-3 inches at 15 yards is
realistic. Basically a standard 4 inch
clay pigeon out to 20 yards should be doable if you have the skill. Plenty accurate for a training pistol.
4.
The magazine
functions very well, feeds reliably and is a nice heavy duty steel
construction. (Again, it holds 10, not 12)
5.
Some parts are
interchangeable with 1911 parts. I was
able to replace the safety for one I like better. (Note:
not all parts will interchange)
6.
Full size 1911
and will fit into standard holsters. As
will the magazines fit into standard carriers.
7.
Lighter weight
than a standard steel frame 1911. Being
an alloy Aluminum frame, there is a significant weight savings. This is great for a long day of training or
competition.
What I’m indifferent about: (Things that irritate me but are not deal breakers)
1.
This handgun
works best with high velocity .22 ammunition.
Reliability goes down when using standard velocity ammunition. But you do get to practice your malfunction
drills. This could be a good thing.
a.
CCI Mini Mags
work wonderful in this handgun.
b.
Try several
different brands of high velocity ammunition and see what works best. (And no, CCI Mini-Mags are not
expensive. When you start buying Eley
Match, then you can complain about expensive ammunition)
2.
The magazine
disconnect safety. I’m not a big fan of
a magazine disconnect safety. Especially
when the original design does not have one.
But the Europeans like them for some reason. But the good news is, this feature is easily
removed. Just remove the backstrap as
you would with any 1911, and pull out the spring and transfer bar that make up the
magazine disconnect safety then reinstall the backstrap.
3.
The finish does
wear quickly. Being an aluminum alloy,
the frame and slide are anodized. And
most commercial anodize finishes will wear quickly with heavy use. After 3 months of use for Steel Challenge
competitions, I noticed typical holster wear.
Do expect cosmetic wear if you use this for training and are drawing
from a holster. This is solely cosmetic
and will not affect performance.
4.
The factory
guide rod is plastic. This is a known
weakness of this handgun. It will break
eventually. Be prepared for this. The good news is, replacements are readily
available. Either the factory plastic
one or an aftermarket stainless steel rod.
The good stainless steel rod will run around $25.
5.
Cost. The cost is moderately high for a .22. The base model will run approximately $350
and go up from there. Sig Sauer also
sells this same handgun under the Sig name.
They just charge you more. ($380 - $460). But with the Sig you have one option not available from GSG. The Sig comes in Black, OD Green and everyones favorite FDE (Flat Dark Earth).
Shop around
for the best price. Magazines are also a
bit pricey at approximately $30-$40. But being all steel, they should hold up well and give you years of service.
What I don’t like: (Things I
want the factory to improve upon)
1.
The safety
catch. It is nice the GSG 1911 has an
ambidextrious safety. But does it need to overly large with sharp corners? I think the safety is ridiculous. It is too large and has many sharp corners. I would definitely replace this item. Which I did.
2.
The plastic
sights. Really? Plastic sights? WTF GSG?
For the price you charge, I would at least expect aluminum sights. Something a little more durable than
plastic. But I guess the 1911 is such an
uncommon firearm there isn’t a large aftermarket base to use a standard off the
shelf part.
a.
In reality, I
think there should be some aftermarket sights that will fit. But I do not know for sure. I don’t know which dovetail the GSG is cut
for. Call the factory to verify before
buying aftermarket sights.
Conclusion:
If you are a 1911 fan and
want to shoot lower cost .22 ammunition, look at the GSG. It may be a bit pricey but I think in the long
run you will get good value for it.
Especially if you practice a lot.
It has a few irritating nags
that I want to see the factory improve upon.
But overall I think this pistol will give you good reliable service and
value.
I like this pistol. I would definitely buy one again and even
recommend it to friends and family.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
UN Gun Treaty is NOT dead
I've heard recent commentary by several government officials that they plan on signing the UN Treaty on Small Arms. Great, then all it will need is a sympathetic Senate to pass and become law. The Senate we have is not interested, but the next one or the one after that might be a reason to worry.
I subscribe to a free news letter written by Alan Korwin called Page 9. Alan is a lawyer and pro gun rights spokesman that runs an outfit that breaks down and publishes the gun laws of each state, you've seen his work, though you may not know it. I'm going to copy and paste an exert from his latest news letter. If you want to subscribe, or read the rest of the news letter, you can go here, http://www.pagenine.org.
Key Elements of the Draft Treaty
1. The treaty makes it clear that it recognizes, and that nothing in the treaty can interfere with, a nation's right to self defense. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of the entire deal, because it refuses to recognize any element of personal self defense. Like the UN's so-called charter of human rights, the international body has no place in its framework for people defending themselves. Given that governments are the main perpetrators of violence in the world, this is a travesty beyond measure, but the 170 nations involved are all comfortable with the plan. The nation can defend itself, but you cannot. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
2. The whole focus of the draft is to control arms for what it calls authorized and unauthorized users and also end users, which it does not define or attempt to define. This is literally carte blanche to justify any law making a nation could want for gun control. And the treaty is not written like law -- it leaves almost everything up to the nation-states who agree to cooperate. What are the chances that people at mortal peril from their own "authorities" will be authorized users of arms, especially in nations where they have no right to arms in the first place? Some of the greatest abusers of human rights sit on the human rights council of the UN, so hope for an equitable outcome here are hopelessly remote. Because you have no vote, no elected representatives and no voice at the UN, chances for change to anything adopted here are zero.
3. Part of the plan is to track all arms, ammunition and parts from manufacture to disposal, through a regulatory system which is undefined. A special UN agency (the "Implementation Support Unit" with a budget, staff, reporting, etc.) will be created to do this, pulling the entire gun industry globally under its watch. Sweet, huh? It would be voluntary to start of course, because they recognize no one would cooperate otherwise (and probably won't then either, but that's how you get the camel's nose under the tent, and start building a bureaucracy). This could eventually make possession of even small amounts of ammunition subject to burdensome government regulation beyond anything the worst gun-rights haters in Congress even dream about. The next treaty draft, now being dreamed up in deep dark corners of UN imaginations, will take this further.
4. There is not a single word designed to protect personal gun ownership, any individual rights, promote or encourage proper firearm use, provide accountability for governments that abuse people's rights, or authorize people's use of arms against governments that use arms to commit armed atrocities against their own people, although none of that is a purpose of this treaty. Typical of the UN this is about empowering government, and has virtually nothing to do with empowering the people or balancing power. That's their way.
5. The treaty in its preamble does recognize "lawful private ownership and use of conventional arms" for "recreational, cultural, historical and sporting activities for States where such ownership and use are permitted or protected by law." It does not include crime prevention, personal defense or resistance to tyranny (though it does say 'among other things', in Latin). Early talk that it would only include military weapons was false, "small arms and light weapons" are part of the package, and nations must maintain and publish a list of all such goods.
6. This is the really scary part -- the way they're thinking. Article 6 -- they do make noise that it only pertains to international action, but there are holes you could drive a supply train through:
"Each State Party shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures necessary to implement the provisions of this Treaty and designate competent national authorities in order to have an effective, transparent and predictable national control system regulating the transfer of conventional arms."
That's what the "news" media means when they say the treaty is dead.
Read the dead treaty here:
http://iapcar.org/?p=970
Stay alert and stay tuned in.
Shoot straight,
Double Tap
I subscribe to a free news letter written by Alan Korwin called Page 9. Alan is a lawyer and pro gun rights spokesman that runs an outfit that breaks down and publishes the gun laws of each state, you've seen his work, though you may not know it. I'm going to copy and paste an exert from his latest news letter. If you want to subscribe, or read the rest of the news letter, you can go here, http://www.pagenine.org.
5- UN Arms Trade Treaty Lives
Full plain-English analysis
The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:
The UN Arms Trade Treaty ended in failure, as the parties could not reach agreement before their self-imposed deadline. A dull sentiment of remorse fell over the conference as high hopes for an agreement ended dashed. Both Hillary and Barack withdrew their support in the eleventh hour when it became apparent the agreement would not be finalized. The Huffington Post blamed the Obama administration for the failure, and also the NRA which it said spread "lies"; USA Today blamed it on the U.S., Russia and China, who asked for more time to review the draft.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The first draft of the current effort at a UN Arms Trade Treaty was a smashing success after nearly six years of effort and a solid month of direct negotiations in New York at UN headquarters. It yielded a draft proposal with many of the most difficult terms and conditions hammered out in grueling sessions with all major parties and 170 nations represented.
This is how a treaty like this gets enacted. In fits and starts. Ideas come together over a period of years, and are gtahered in drafts and proposals like this one. We can now see how everyone is thinking -- and it is not in defense of our rights. Ostensibly, the treaty is about international arms trade, but functionally, it attempts to regulate arms from top to bottom.
No one who really understands the situation seriously expected a final document to come out of these first round negotiations. Media reports however did carefully lead the uninformed public into holding out false hope for such a result, leading to a widespread sense of failure. This will help boost public support when the next effort seems to magically spring forth.
Failure was not the case however, as the positions staked out by the pro-rights and anti-rights factions became well known, and the main actors left understanding clearly where the next round of negotiations would have to go to reach an executable document.
Full plain-English analysis
The lamestream media told you:
The lamestream media told you:
The UN Arms Trade Treaty ended in failure, as the parties could not reach agreement before their self-imposed deadline. A dull sentiment of remorse fell over the conference as high hopes for an agreement ended dashed. Both Hillary and Barack withdrew their support in the eleventh hour when it became apparent the agreement would not be finalized. The Huffington Post blamed the Obama administration for the failure, and also the NRA which it said spread "lies"; USA Today blamed it on the U.S., Russia and China, who asked for more time to review the draft.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
The first draft of the current effort at a UN Arms Trade Treaty was a smashing success after nearly six years of effort and a solid month of direct negotiations in New York at UN headquarters. It yielded a draft proposal with many of the most difficult terms and conditions hammered out in grueling sessions with all major parties and 170 nations represented.
This is how a treaty like this gets enacted. In fits and starts. Ideas come together over a period of years, and are gtahered in drafts and proposals like this one. We can now see how everyone is thinking -- and it is not in defense of our rights. Ostensibly, the treaty is about international arms trade, but functionally, it attempts to regulate arms from top to bottom.
No one who really understands the situation seriously expected a final document to come out of these first round negotiations. Media reports however did carefully lead the uninformed public into holding out false hope for such a result, leading to a widespread sense of failure. This will help boost public support when the next effort seems to magically spring forth.
Failure was not the case however, as the positions staked out by the pro-rights and anti-rights factions became well known, and the main actors left understanding clearly where the next round of negotiations would have to go to reach an executable document.
The U.S State Dept. issued a statement with
spokespersonwoman Vic Nuland's name on it that said the U.S. supports a second
round of negotiations next year. "While we sought to conclude the month's
negotiations with a treaty, more time is a reasonable request for such a complex
and critical issue," the statement said," according to USA Today.
The British foreign secretary, a man, William Hague,
according to the British "news" service The Guardian, said, "We
have made huge progress. The chair's draft treaty has our full support as well
as that of the great majority of other states. But to be fully effective, the
treaty will need very broad – ideally universal – participation. It is clear
that more time is needed to reach the widest possible agreement."
I usually tear these legal documents apart, and report on
their content step-by-step, in plain English. That's what my company does with
gun laws: http://www.gunlaws.com/books.htm.
That's how you find out what your gun laws are locally. That's how we support
this work, and spread the word on new laws, tactics, gun-rights struggles, and
a lot of other cool stuff, take a look, go ahead, I'll wait.
I've read the thing cover to cover and outlined it in a
general way below, since it wasn't formally adopted. So much of the content is
loose and broadly interpretable in unexpected ways that the document must be
dead on arrival. If they even dreamed of enacting such sweeping language
without controls, the grant of power to do virtually anything regarding guns
would be absolutely dictatorial. They can't possibly intend to do that, can
they? The potential for harm to the health and sovereignty of our nation (or
any nation) is so great, no freedom-oriented American could support it. But
that is the draft they came up with. I linked to a copy at the end of the
analysis.
All that's left is to hold Mr. Obama, Hillary and others
responsible for supporting it in the first place. Their loudly announced
backing for the treaty shows their true (often hidden) colors, and their
repeated tale that it would not impact gun owners, is exposed as a lie. They
will erase the Second Amendment if they can, and lie about it while they're
acting.
The Guardian opined that, "This leaves the door
open for further talks and a draft arms trade treaty could be brought to the
193-nation United Nations general assembly and adopted with a two-thirds
majority vote. Diplomats said there could be a vote by the end of the
year." The Uninvited Ombudsman suspects that will hinge largely on the
results of the U.S. elections in November.Key Elements of the Draft Treaty
1. The treaty makes it clear that it recognizes, and that nothing in the treaty can interfere with, a nation's right to self defense. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of the entire deal, because it refuses to recognize any element of personal self defense. Like the UN's so-called charter of human rights, the international body has no place in its framework for people defending themselves. Given that governments are the main perpetrators of violence in the world, this is a travesty beyond measure, but the 170 nations involved are all comfortable with the plan. The nation can defend itself, but you cannot. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
2. The whole focus of the draft is to control arms for what it calls authorized and unauthorized users and also end users, which it does not define or attempt to define. This is literally carte blanche to justify any law making a nation could want for gun control. And the treaty is not written like law -- it leaves almost everything up to the nation-states who agree to cooperate. What are the chances that people at mortal peril from their own "authorities" will be authorized users of arms, especially in nations where they have no right to arms in the first place? Some of the greatest abusers of human rights sit on the human rights council of the UN, so hope for an equitable outcome here are hopelessly remote. Because you have no vote, no elected representatives and no voice at the UN, chances for change to anything adopted here are zero.
3. Part of the plan is to track all arms, ammunition and parts from manufacture to disposal, through a regulatory system which is undefined. A special UN agency (the "Implementation Support Unit" with a budget, staff, reporting, etc.) will be created to do this, pulling the entire gun industry globally under its watch. Sweet, huh? It would be voluntary to start of course, because they recognize no one would cooperate otherwise (and probably won't then either, but that's how you get the camel's nose under the tent, and start building a bureaucracy). This could eventually make possession of even small amounts of ammunition subject to burdensome government regulation beyond anything the worst gun-rights haters in Congress even dream about. The next treaty draft, now being dreamed up in deep dark corners of UN imaginations, will take this further.
4. There is not a single word designed to protect personal gun ownership, any individual rights, promote or encourage proper firearm use, provide accountability for governments that abuse people's rights, or authorize people's use of arms against governments that use arms to commit armed atrocities against their own people, although none of that is a purpose of this treaty. Typical of the UN this is about empowering government, and has virtually nothing to do with empowering the people or balancing power. That's their way.
5. The treaty in its preamble does recognize "lawful private ownership and use of conventional arms" for "recreational, cultural, historical and sporting activities for States where such ownership and use are permitted or protected by law." It does not include crime prevention, personal defense or resistance to tyranny (though it does say 'among other things', in Latin). Early talk that it would only include military weapons was false, "small arms and light weapons" are part of the package, and nations must maintain and publish a list of all such goods.
6. This is the really scary part -- the way they're thinking. Article 6 -- they do make noise that it only pertains to international action, but there are holes you could drive a supply train through:
"Each State Party shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures necessary to implement the provisions of this Treaty and designate competent national authorities in order to have an effective, transparent and predictable national control system regulating the transfer of conventional arms."
That's what the "news" media means when they say the treaty is dead.
Read the dead treaty here:
http://iapcar.org/?p=970
Stay alert and stay tuned in.
Shoot straight,
Double Tap