California Says One Gun a Month, So...

Stocked up on handgun ammo (actually did late last year before new regs in California made it impossible to mail order, and it's been in storage)...12 cartridges I actually shoot and 2 I may in the future:



From left to right:
.327 Magnum, .380, 9mm Luger, .38 Super, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, 10mm, .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .454 Casull Magnum, .500 Magnum.

I don't have guns in .327 or .38 Super yet. I also aspire to shoot .357 Sig and 5.7x28, but I don't have that ammo on hand. I suppose I also technically shoot .45 Winchester Magnum (I have an Automag IV), but only technically since ammo is very hard to find and I last shot the gun over 20 years ago.

Also, didn't count rimfire (.22 Long Rifle, .22 WMR) since rimfires don't count.

Not the forum for that.

Godammit. The Black Friday sale at my local shop found my price on this one...



So, it's my Christmas present to me this year.

I like the color!

Oooooooh let me know how it shoots.

I'm pretty sure this year will tie my personal record for purchases at three, but really only because two of the guns were deals I couldn't pass up (the Rossi .22 and the R51). Today I picked up another PSA lower because when I took my CAR15 out to shoot a few weeks back I discovered a couple of problems that need some gunsmithing. I bought the lower as a replacement. When the original lower is repaired, I'll probably used it as the basis for an old school A1 rifle with the triangular handguards to go along with the other four AR-types I've got.

If I bought as many guns as Paladin I'd need to buy at least one more gun safe.

I'm going to have buy an additional safe. Don't think I'll have as many as @Elwood though.

This is an extremely unprecedented acquisition of guns for me. In my life, I've probably never bought more than 2, maybe 3 guns in a year, and in most years it was 0. Over 30 years, I'd accumulated a fairly modest collection (approx. 20 pieces, half handguns, half long guns).

It's only happening because I've always wanted a gun collection and I'm in a spot financially where I can finally pick up some of the things I've always wanted. My collection has essentially doubled in size in the last year. 2017-18 way outpaces 1989-2016.

Oh I hated those triangular hand guards when I first joined the army. And some units I was in kept the A1 around forever.

First AR I ever shot--years before I owned one--was a rental at the shooting range. I was, maybe, 13 and with my dad, who was NOT a shooter in any way shape or form (though was a WWII vet), but who indulged my enthusiasm for the sport. (Reminds me of the parents in Galaxy Quest: "At least he's outside.") He rented it and got me 60 rounds to shoot through it. Pure awesomeness.

And, yep, it had those triangular handguards. Whenever I see a vintage AR/M16 with those, I always think of that day at the range with my dad.

My best friend is old school and loves that style of AR. Doesn't believe in holosights or anything, except on his duty carbine (and even then he'd ditch it if he could).

I had no intention of ever buying one because that era is covered by the CAR15 clone I have, but now that I'll end up having a lower in need of an upper I'll probably get an A1 upper to go with it at some point.

I like the retro-ARs that Brownell's is doing. They're even making copies of the original AR-10! Can't get one in California, but I think I'd buy one of the A1 types if I could, just for the nostalgia. (Okay, I also want to leap over walls with it while humming the SWAT theme.)



Brownell's Retro AR-15A1 Upper.

Yeah, I've got that one on my Brownell's wish list in case I can't find one cheaper elsewhere.

Though this company actually makes more authentic uppers (fiberglass handguards instead of polymer).

https://retrorifles.com/collections/m16a1

Bah: "Modifications to the M16A2 were extensive. ... The front grip was modified from the original triangular shape to a round one, which better fit smaller hands and could be fitted to older models of the M16."

I used the proceeds from the sale of my M16A3 as the down payment on a house when I got married. In hindsight, I wish I'd kept the rifle.

As for AR15/M16 style rifles and carbines, well, I have more than one and fewer than the United States Marine Corps. No one but me will ever know.

Picked up the M9A1 and my California-friendly AR (every time I say that, I think of a pizza with goat cheese and avocado) today, as well as this Aimpoint PRO optic that seems to work pretty well...

I was looking real hard at Aimpoint, but last year Midway had a great sale on Eotech 512s so I bought one for each of the flat top carbines I have. Between the sale and Eotech’s rebate, I think I paid around $250 each, which was a steal.

$250?!? That's outstanding!

I have an older model (I think it's a 512 because IIRC it uses AA batteries) on my bullet-buttoned rifle and my buddy has the (smaller) XPS which I like even better. They are great pieces of technology.

The 512 is older and a little big, but AA cells as a power source is part of the appeal for me. No need to scrounge proprietary batteries.

gonna have to parrot the sentiment on the 512, I have a billion AA's stuffed in a drawer, and can get more anywhere. I think the XPS uses a CR123a, while not something i'd have to trek too far to get the far more expensive battery, its nowhere near as common. Yet. I'm seeing a lot more flashlights use 123's, and I can get them at Home Depot.

My Surefire uses CR123s and they're great batteries, and since most of the wireless microphones we use at the office run off AAs, I basically have an unlimited supply.

It's been many years since I bought any for use around the house.

That's exactly why I also went with 512's for my setups. Sure, everything else I own uses CR123's, but I want simple and readily available with the optics.

I've been contemplating getting one of those magnifiers for my eotech, the problem is that I don't think my upper has the real estate space, even if I took off the backup irons. I'd like to put a free float handguard on my Beowulf upper, but I dont think I can. So I guess I'm looking for a fixed 3x optic that can take a beating.

Took three of the new ones to the indoor range yesterday.

The Sig 1911--which seemed quite accurate against steel targets at an outdoor range a couple of months back--was indisputably so on paper targets. Standing at 7 yards, I could chew a single ragged hole in the black center of the target, and, with some concentration, shoot silver dollar-sized groups.

The same was true for the M9A1. I'd forgotten how good the 92/M9 trigger is.

The LCR-X was a pleasant surprise. Even with .357 Magnums, it was not painful to shoot, though the blast and recoil had me flinching after a while. With .38 Specials, it was gentle enough to shoot all day. Shoots a little high for me--the gutter sight is lame--but groups were okay.

I shot the M9 after the LCR-X, and a full-size 9mm seems recoilless after .357 Mag out of a snubbie.

Ran a hundred rounds through that R51 today. Other than a couple of jams caused by a misaligned round in the magazine it ran great.



The odd thing about this pistol is that I can shoot it way better one-handed than I can with two, which is never the case with me.

im going to be doing a side by side comparison of the 1911 and the beretta 92 in a little bit.

went to the range today, turns out they were having a new years sale, and my resolution for this new year is to become a better pistol shooter so...

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