If You Only Knew the Power of the Colt Python!

LOL! 

Hi There!

Sorry but I have been busy of late. Some work related, some not. I purchased a new Micro lens for the DSLR and trying to figure that out. Here is my first attempt at that. No post editing except for file size. 

Much to learn! 


 

Looks like Smith and Wesson gave up on Insight

For the Bodyguard line of handguns. First they seem to have rebranded them into the M&P line and then announce they are now available with Crimson Trace lasers. As an early adopter of this .380 after less than a satisfactory experience with the *-Tek something .380, I picked one of these up when first introduced.  Make no mistake, the trigger is like pulling a sled through a gravel pit, but for what it is and what it does I find it acceptable. Besides, if I put this in a pocket holster I WANT a long trigger on it. Real Estate there is probably not worth as much as I think but.....

Although I think a laser on a "bad breath" distance defensive handgun is a bit superfluous I payed for it and it should work. This is Insight laser #3 on this thing. S&W replaced it free every time. 

Interesting to see that Crimson Trace has stepped up to replace the Insight laser it seems.





Looks like a drop in so S&W did not have to change anything except the laser branding on the lower. Wonder if they will send me one and is it really a direct replacement? Looks like it.  

Oh, +1 on the "Don't look at laser with remaining good eye" stickers on the video! Heh...

Revolvers! (And other stuff)

So my friend wanders by and redeems himself as the former master of misfit Handguns and whips these out:

A Smith and Wesson Model 625 JM in .45ACP and a Ruger Single Ten in .22LR.

Well, guess what? Dang it! I love the 625! Shoots very nicely. 

Here are 12 rounds (double and single action) with it and 8 rounds through a STI 1911 not pictured today from 7 to 10 yds. 

I have a saying that "It is not the arrow, it's the Indian" when holes don't show up where you want them, but guess what? It's awesome when you have a great arrow =)! 

I would go get one but off to CMP class next month and pick up another Garand. Sigh... SO many guns, so little money!
 

 

 

Thanks Technology!

Hey. I'm a geek and yet I still get frustrated with less than thought out tech. Check this out.

This is a ETL Secure Logic wall safe. I installed it oh, about 6 years ago. It is basically a steel box attached to interior wall studs. I would not put the family jewels in here as the easiest way to defeat this thing is a battery powered circular saw to remove it from the wall studs. It IS a steel box that would drive your average crack head crazy though and is fantastically convenient.

It is powered by one of these. 

A battery (duh). So what do we keep it in it? Routine stuff. It's rather pedestrian too. 

Sadly though, while attempting to replace the battery one of the leads came off the motherboard. It was not soldered, wire tied, or any other known form of stress relief for a wire known to man or child. Simply pressed on a pin on the board. So now I have to remove this thing from the wall and see if I can can repair it. 

In the meantime, the company seems to have gone the way of many others. No customer service, no phone number, no Website. 

Sigh.... I guess that when it comes to the stuff that matters I stick to such (low) tech:

 

 




 

Its Special!

A .44 Special!

It is a Model 396. I got it from the storied Blogger and Author Peter Grant. It is spiffy, but I'm waiting on ammo for it. My .44 Special rounds are too heavy for it (yeah I have .44 Special ammo, what?). 

I needed this thing like another hole in my head, but it was for a good cause. 

AAR to follow as soon as I get ammo for it. 

Thanks Peter! 

.22 Revolvers

So Tam has a post up on the cost of .22 revolvers. I have to say her logic is impeccable. Since she mentions the Smith and Wesson 617, I thought I would oblige. 

Yep! Just like the 686 .357 Magnum. Big honking K Frame. Noted as the K-22 Masterpiece Stainless FulI-lug.  I agree with Tam. The cost to make this Handgun regardless of caliber would be the same to me. 


Here is a shot of the 617 with its little sister, the Model 34-1 Kit gun. Chambered in the same caliber. 

The cost is in the action, not so much the raw materials.

 

Road Trip!

I venture north this afternoon to visit Mr. and Mrs. Curmudgeon. A short trip but well worth the effort. 

First, two working Revolvers. Back in the day, you had one of these or a variant on your hip. 

Top, Colt Official Police in .38SPL. Bottom, Smith and Wesson Model 10-5 Military and Police in the same caliber. In case you have not noticed, Mrs. Curmudgeon likes grapes. This picture was taken on the kitchen table.

Wandering down to the bunker I took a bad pic of some of the knives on display. Mr. Curmudgeon is one of the first members of the Case knife collectors club and had a few on display. 

I'll get back up there with a real camera instead of the iThingy soon.

Food was good, targets reviewed and sadly a return home too soon. 

Good to see them. 

The New Bodyguard .380

Take a look!

Anybody see what's different? No laser. Looks like S&W gave up on the Insight integral laser. I am on my third one, so I assume I am not alone with problems with the laser. Dropped the price point to be more competitive as well.  

From the Bench!

Its been a while but its worth it! 

This one gave me some grief. I could not find it in the Standard Catalog. I asked for help. The amazing walking encyclopedia of all things that go bang gave me the heads up! Thanks! 

This is a .32 Military & Police! They did not make a lot of them either on the K Frame. I'll clean it up and shoot it this weekend! 




 

You Don't See These Every Day

So at the range today my friend whips this out:

Sorry about the crappy iThing photo, but it's a Smith and Wesson Model 622. This .22LR was made from 1989-1996. Single action stainless alloy with 10 round magazine. A great little pistol! This one seems to be from the first of the run with a mfg date of 1990.

Springfield Down!

There is no malfunction drill for this. Click, no bang. Tap and rack right? Yes, but behold. 

Broken firing pin on the Springfield SA-XD in .40 S&W. 

So do you carry a back up gun? They are mechanical devices after all. They can fail.

I know you are worried about my Springfield and the fact the firing pin is on back order. In fact almost every gun part I have ordered over the last month is so. You may be worried about my 40-fu. Never fear. 

My favorite .40 S&W. When you care enough to send the very best. A Model 4006 and as a bonus if you run out of ammo it makes for a really heavy blunt instrument! 

Tomorrow's Load Out

Tomorrow I have a Husband and Wife team that took the Basic Pistol and Concealed Carry Handgun class last month now looking for personal instruction.  I applaud the fact that after class they realized they needed to know more and become more proficient with the art of running a Handgun. 
Sadly, they are going to get it from me =). 


After that? My student from Basic last month.  NFO offered some great tips and she and I have talked and Emailed (the student, not NFO!) .  She says she is leaning toward a revolver.  I have no problem with that!  

The Range has a plethora of rental Handguns.  She has her purchase permit and I thought I would bring some stuff in addition to the range inventory.

I think I will go to the Smith 34-1 Kit gun in .22LR on the bottom first to build confidence and the trigger is well, a S&W revolver one!

After that we shall see how it goes!  The Airweight?  Maybe.  I don't have a Smith Model 10 laying around right now (I am so ashamed), So the Colt Police will fill in. Going to Semi's? The OLD Colt Mustang Pocketlite in .380 might be of some use. 

Wish me luck!   

    

   .

MOLLE Overload! Oh and a S&W Model 30.

So Odysseus over at By Other Means posts today about a MOLLE attachment for Motorcycles.  How timely. I get a lot of uh, ribbing for my current range bag. 

"What the h**l do you have in there?" Uh, a lot. Today this arrived on the door step delivered by the brown truck of happiness. 

Why get another bag for the range? Well, I'm going to a two day class next weekend with A Girl and Her Gun and I have been told it is in a remote location. No time to pop out for lunch. OK. So I need something to hold food and all the other little things you might need for the range. 

Oh, MOLLE stuff! I hope I don't get the sickness and get addicted to that! It looks like a bad problem to have.




Whoops! It has started! 

So now for this. Tam over at View From The Porch posts about everyone taking pictures of pretty much the same Pistol and posting it on the Interwebs. I get that. I am at times embarrassed to throw up pics of my run of the mill hardware.

Not this one though. 

 









Although the little Smith is rather pedestrian, the engraving stands out to me. Who was Mae Crawley? Was the engraving to lament the passing of a loved one or a declaration of love lost? What motivated someone to have this Revolver engraved so? 

According to the Smith and Wesson Historian, the Model 30 Hand Ejector was introduced in 1896 and fired the .32 S&W Long cartridge. It stayed in production until 1976. This is a nice J Frame Revolver to me. Not so much because of what it is, but because of what it meant to someone. 

It is things like this that make me think there will not be a Glock or Kimber Historian on the payroll with those companies.   

Oh, I just noted that the backpack is "VTAC Field Tested". Oh crap!
 
I need to check that nothing fly's off of the thing! It has happened before with other VTAC stuff. More important than a backpack too. 

The Fiber Optic left this sight. S&W replaced it but I am still leery.










 
 
  

If you are drinking Kool-Aid

I suggest more sugar. Once again a Apex DCAEK being installed. It changes the action on this pistol greatly.

There are some really tricky parts to handle, but it is worth it. I think I have installed five or so to date and they all are worth the effort. 

FTC- I payed for all of them. So there. 

If you are going to drink the Kool-Aid....

You might as well go back and get another glass of the stuff! I remember when I had a malfunction on my Colt at uh, Blackwater, USTC, uh, whatever they call themselves now. I will continue training and as they say: "two is one and one is none". So I rambled off to the Metropolis and picked this up.

 
The last thing I want to happen while traveling and spending money for instruction on a Handgun is to play Gunsmith on a broken Pistol!  Much easier to grab another and get back to it. Sigh.... Off to order the Apex stuff for the new one. 

As the most interesting man on the planet says, stay thirsty my friends! 

 

But Ma, it followed me home!

I have some reservations about this one. It may be because I see many new shooters with it. They uniformly do not have fun shooting it. It is NOT a good Revolver to learn with, and I see many walk away after shooting it once:

 

This is a Smith and Wesson Model 638 Airweight chambered in .38 special. Five shot DA revolver. 

It will do what is required of it. For the novice however I would stay away from it to learn the fundamentals of Handgun operation. I shot it today and it is not fun, but it IS functional. 

Or maybe I am still old school.

 

I do love my Colt Detective Special!

From The Bench...

I wandered to the range today and I was happy to see many former students there shooting! One former CCH student was there with her retired LEO husband. They were very proud to show off the new Bersa and her M&P. Yeah! 

So the husband gives me this and tells that this was his backup/off duty gun back in the day. 

He reports that it is not firing all the time, light primer strikes. 


This is a Smith and Wesson Model 36-1: The Chiefs Special. Chambered for .38 Special with a 3" barrel. This one was made in 1981. 


Working the action revealed that #1 it sounded like a gravel truck and #2 the reset was "crap". So off with the side plate and discover nothing is readily observed to be amiss except for a large amount of sludge laying about. I take the thing apart and clean and lube. The hammer block appears to have been the problem. She is sounding and feeling much better now and I will test tomorrow! 

The 36 has a storied history. Serial # 337 went to J. Edgar Hoover engraved with his name. Serial # 38185 was attributed to actor Jack Webb with a nickel cylinder and rosewood grips on 6/4/1954. It sold at auction in 2000 for 6K! 

Here she is ready for testing tomorrow:

I am old school and would prefer the checkered wood grips, but ok! I will let you know how it goes! 

Bodyguard Update!

Remember this? I sent the second version of the Smith and Wesson Bodyguard laser that failed back to the home land. After oh, about 2+ months, this arrived today via USPS:

So the second replacement came in the baggie on the far left, this one came in the spiffy foam container. Pay no attention to the bolt or magazine on the far right. They will be back later as the bench again seems to be backing up! 

So, for now the Mk.1 Mod III laser will be put into service. I noted that several have posted on the Interwebz about the buttons for activation not working. I find it interesting that S&W has sent the buttons (small gray things) with both replacement lasers. I must say that they send the batteries, the Allen wrench, and buttons every time.

So testing coming up! I don't really need the laser, but I am of the thought that I paid for it. If you have a Bodyguard, work the thing! 

Some have posted about the lack of the .380 cartridge in a personal defense incident. I have to say that this would beat a stiff word and a rolled up Newspaper! It is all about tradeoffs. I would much rather have a 1911 or my M&P with me, but sometimes that is not practical. The .380 loaded with personal defense rounds and with the requisite mindset I feel would do well, and better than nothing at all. 

I'm Waiting on the Tactical Cup Holder Now!

Tam posted about the Crimson Trace Lightguard for the "9mm bullet hose". So I thought I would try one out. Her link to Amazon showed the unit on a training gun. I thought I would need to fix that:

As she points out that immediately makes these useless. 

First step, get the guy I gave that Remington 1900 shotgun back to yesterday to make me another Kydex holster. He will. 

For the Lightguard? Looks like this:

 










That will work! It is not a Surefire flashlight but will light it up! So now I am waiting on the tactical cup holder and GPS nav unit to hang off of this thing. Curse you Tam!