Friday, October 31, 2008

I Like My SKS

I was plinking at the range with my Yugo after the Steel Challenge match. I had bought one of these a year or two ago that was unissued with all matching numbers. I have resisted making it into a bubba. The only mods so far are to replace (extend) the butt plate and put in the firing pin with spring assembly to remove the slam fire possibility.

I have noted some differences since changing the firing pin. The Wolf Military Classic ammo is no longer reliable. There is a FTF about every 8 rounds or so. The primer is dented but no bang. I wait a while, eject it, reload it and it goes bang the next time. I expect that these primer are a little hard and the strike has been weakened by the new setup.

It seems to shoot the other ammo I have just fine. I will have to count and see how much of the Wolf I have left and sell it off. Aside from all that, it is fun to shoot. It is as described by others - minute of mule deer at 100 yards.

October Steel Shoot

Yes, the Taurus is still broken but I did receive a nice letter saying that I might get it back in 7-8 weeks. We are jokingly referring to this as the limited lifetime warranty. It is under lifetime warranty if you live long enough to get it back.

A friend of mine wanted me to take his newly acquired pistol and abuse it. What a deal!! He had purchased a Commander from a retired officer that has been modified a touch. The previous owner apparently shot a little. It has had a trigger job, compensated barrel, magwell, extended mag release, ambidextrous safety...you get the idea. It worked flawlessly.

I shot an average of mid sixes for all stages. This an improvement of 4 seconds per stage over the Taurus and put me in the middle of the pack instead of riding drag. I have not decided what to do with the Taurus when it gets back but its Steel Shooting days are over.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

My Taurus Broke

Last months Steel Workers shoot did it in. I was on the fourth stage. "Make ready" That was as about as far as I got. I loaded a magazine and gave the 24/7 Pro (45cal) a rack but it did not go into battery and actually popped back open a little. It was determined that I was hosed after an attempt or two. I did not have a spare weapon so stated that I was done.

A gent I was shooting with offer the use of his gun. I was hesitant but this was a "friendly" shoot and not a true competition so I used his pistol. We were doing a standard setup of four black plates and red stop plate. I have put about 3000 rounds through the Taurus and still have difficulty with the sights (shoots too low) and fitment. My best round for the first three stages was 10 seconds. Very slow by most standards. It usually takes me six or seven shots to hit five.

I was asked if I ever shot a 1911 style pistol before as this was the style I was borrowing. I have a Commander so the answer was affirmative. I shot a 4.7 second which is quite good for me. I only heard silence from behind me. The RO asked if I thought that I could speed it up a little on the second pass. Not much - 4.6 Seconds.

I voice from the back says, "You can't have it". Those STIs are smooth guns. I promptly announced that I would have a nice double stack 45 for sale in a few weeks.

Back at home I could not even dismantle the weapon for inspection. The slide will go all the way back, snap forward , and then pop open about a half inch. The opening is under spring pressure. Something is lodged/broken or whatever. Sent it to the factory. They claim they will let you know within two weeks. What they mean is that they might let you know that they received it within two weeks. I never heard anything. I called customer support and was told it was there but not opened yet. Taurus has had it for over two weeks and has yet to open the package. They also never sent anything saying they received it. I was told that it would be another couple of weeks before that happened so I still do not know what it broken.

These guys must be really busy. I think it is trade time. Wonder how the Springfield XD is?