Black Gun May Day Mayhem!

It was a beautiful sunny morning in Texas, crisp and bright, so I thought I'd better make good use of time and head down to the range with a collection of black guns. Don't get me wrong, I like wood and steel, I prefer it even, but these were the guns I wanted to shoot today.

5.56

So I did. The AR's performed flawlessly, which pleased me, because I had a hand in building them. It's always good when something you've worked to create works well. The rifle variant is well-capable of MOA awesomeness, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The Ruger American .17HMR shot well too, producing the best group of the day, 3 rounds in the same hole. Then it was pistol time.

.17 HMR

I'll be honest. I wasn't too pleased with my pistol performance during LL's visit, and I wanted to fix that. "I know," I thought to myself, cleverly, "If I get a Blackhawk Serpa holster, I'll shoot my .45 like a pro." 

Whatever

The Serpa's a good holster, no doubt about it, it holds your sidearm in a vise-like, mechanical grip, and has a smooth trigger finger release. The paddle system hugs your hip too; it isn't going anywhere. Get a Serpa, just be sure to properly index your trigger finger as you draw your weapon from the holster, otherwise you might shoot your foot off. Bad result.

Serpa

But, did the holster make me a better shot? No. It didn't, and I had to shoot off a box of cheap Federal ammo at 25 yards before I got in the swing of things. 

Message to market. Neat kit is no substitute for rounds down range. There's a moral in that, if you care to draw it.

Typical Texas Range Scene

Have a great May Day evening and remember, May is Mary's month.

God bless,

LSP

Go On, Shoot Your Upgraded AR15

Keen-eyed readers of this family oriented info blog, will know that I decided to take my AR15 apart and install a new gas block and a Yankee Hill free-float tube. Why? Just for fun and because I wanted to learn more about the rifle, with a view to building one myself. Neat project.

Must Get Front Sight...

I reckon the reassembled gun looked good, in a deadly black assault rifle kind of way, but I took it to a friend who knows about these things before I shot it. He gave it the green light, so off I went to the range with some boxes of cheap steel cased Tulammo and a value pack of Remington .223.

That'll Do

How did it shoot? Just fine, and I had fun setting myself various drills from 30, 50, 75 and 100 yards. Were the groups any better with the free-float thing? Maybe a bit, given no magnification, eyesight that could be better and a dog who enjoyed leaping up in sheer joy and excitement at the sound of the gun.

I Love The Range!

I had to put him on a leash in the end. But I'm pleased with my first foray into the world of under-the-hood ARishness. The gun worked and worked well. Next step? Keep this carbine to shoot cheap steel cased ammo and build a 7.62/.308 on the same platform. I've decided against a "6", you see, but that's a whole new story.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Deadly Assault Rifle Hi-Jinx

Because I'm a patriot, I have an AR15. It's made by CMMG and I've had several years of shooting fun with the little gas-driven blaster. But I wanted to change it up; swap out the stock handguards with a free-float tube, install a gas block, and a single point sling mount. 

Go On, Take Your Gun Apart

Off went the flash hider, the barrel nut and the front sight gas block. Fine, but the gas tube roll pin didn't want to come out. It did in the end and the new one, that came with the new gas block, didn't want to fit in it's allotted hole. After a lot of aggro, I filed it down slightly and drove it home.

The Old D Ring

The new barrel nut went on easily enough, along with its Yankee Hill handguard, and the sling mount was simple to install. I'm pleased with the end result, but there was an adventure half way through the project.

Oh No, We Can't Sell You That!

Looking down at my old, dirty, gas tube, I thought why not get a shiny new one? So I drove to Ray's and asked for one.

"Do you sell carbine length gas tubes?"

"Oh no, we don't have any."

"But what's that, there, in a plastic bag? Look you have about five of them."

"Hunh! We do!"

"Well that's great, I'll buy one."

"I'm sorry, you can't."

"Excuse me?"

"No. You can't buy those."

"And why not?"

"You can only buy one if we install it for you."

"Of course. And how much would that cost?"

"I don't know, sorry."

"Goodbye."

I felt, for a moment, there in the gunsmith's section of Ray's, that the world had gone completely mad. 

Looks Good, Does It Work?

As soon as it stops raining and snowing, I'll take the gun out to the range and see how it shoots. The free float tube should improve accuracy, we'll see.

Shoot straight,

LSP