Build it and "It" will Come

With persuasion from 2 of the guys at the store, I have decided to build a .223/5.56 rifle.  Some call it an AR.

Wikipedia calls it:

The AR-15 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, magazine-fed, semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke piston operation. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials.

The AR-15 was first built by ArmaLite as a selective fire assault rifle for the United States armed forces. Because of financial problems, ArmaLite sold the AR-15 design to Colt. The select-fire AR-15 entered the US military system as the M16 rifle. Colt then marketed the Colt AR-15 as a semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle for civilian sales in 1963.^[8] The name "AR-15" is a Colt registered trademark, which refers only to the semi-automatic rifle.

For purposes of this post, I'll call it 'the rifle".

So how do you start building the rifle?

With this part - the "stripped lower". 

This is the part that is classified by the ATF as the actual gun.  This part will contain the trigger/hammer assembly, the safety, the bolt catch, and will accommodate the magazine and the buffer tube.

This part is manufactured following the original specifications (from the 60's) for the military version of the gun. The major difference is the military version (M16) has a "selective fire" option which allows automatic fire. The civilian version (AR15) does not. All manufacturers use exactly the same specifications for the part, dimensions and material. This makes for a huge source of lowers for the consumer, but also a choice. For example, there is virtually no difference between a $65 stripped lower made by ABC compnay and one that costs $185 - they're all made to the same specifications.  Just depends which "name" you want people to see on the side. 

The part I bought is manufactured by Delaware Machinery. Fit and finish is beautiful, anodized aluminum. $65

Now, this is where it gets interesting...

To build out the lower, you need a trigger/hammer assembly, springs, pins, a grip, a buffer tube, and a stock. And of course, you can customize every one of these parts. I chose to buy the "standard parts", predominantly because of availability but also due to cost. My target price on this rifle is <$600. 

I chose the standard lower parts build kit from Palmetto State Armory - $109. Here's what you get for the money.  Note: the stripped lower is not a part of the kit.

With some trial and error, I was able to get all the parts in place in about 45 minutes. The lower build kit I bought does not come with instructions or even a schematic - I found both on the internet.  There are dozens of sources for schematics and hundreds of YouTube videos showing how to assemble the various parts of the lower. At least 10 minutes of the 45 was spent searching for the information. Once you know where the parts go, it's pretty simple to actually install them.

Here's where I am now with the parts installed: 

Next step:  find and purchase a complete upper (barrel, upper receiver, bolt carrier group, and charging handle).  Stay tuned.

Sighting the Target

We need water to survive. It's more important than food. You need bullets to shoot a gun. And to hit the target, you need to aim. Aiming, or sighting, is not as easy as it sounds.

 

First of all, let's check your eyesight. Do you know which is your "dominant eye"?  Here's a quick way to find out.

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR DOMINANT EYE

• First, form a triangle by clasping your hands like in the picture above. Hold your hands out in front of you.
• Next, with both eyes open, sight through the triangle and focus on an object. Don't focus on your hands.
• Close one eye. If you can still see the object in the triangle, then you're looking with your dominant eye. If not reverse the process.

When you see how the image shifts when you are not using your dominant eye, you can see how much that could effect your aim when sighting your gun.

The next issue to consider is your "sight picture".  Briefly stated, that's the line formed between the rear sight and your final target. In reality, when you sight your gun, you're looking at the target, your rear sight, and somewhere in between is the front sight.  This is your sight picture. But is it possible to focus on all those objects at the same time? The short answer is no. 

While you won't be able to bring all of those objects into focus at the same time, it's important that you focus on the rear sight primarily and look through it to see your target. At this point, you'll see a fuzzy front sight. Without changing your focus, move the gun so the front sight moves into alignment with the rear sight. As long as you can see the target through your rear sight, you should now be "on target". Pull the trigger. Check your results.  

Learn how to make this sight picture quickly. It's important in a self-defense situation, where you need to acquire the target as quickly as possible. Practice by lowering your gun after each shot, so you have to find the target every time. You'll get good at it with practice.

Bersa Thunder 380 Plus

I have to admit that there are very few things that "surprise" me.  It's not that my expectations are low; I've just grown to accept that few products are going to make you smile when you first use them. The Bersa Thunder 380 Plus makes me smile.

First of all, fit and finish on the Bersa is first class. It is a solidly made gun; no rough edges, no obvious machining marks. Our particular sample has an alloy frame with a matte nickel slide. The "Plus" designation signifies that the model sports a 15 round magazine instead of the 7 round found in the standard Thunder 380. Total capacity is 15+1.

The 380 is chambered for the 380ACP round.  While there is a lot of discussion about the merits of this round, the Bersa handles the ammuntion with ease. We shot several boxes of JHP without a single failure.

Out of the box, this gun is extremely accurate. At 7 yards, we were putting rounds into a three inch circle. At 20 oz empty, it has plenty of weight to help dissipate the recoil of the 380 round and feels very comfortable in the hand.

The action is DA/SA with a thumb safety which acts as a decocker. The pull weight on SA is very low.  The rear sight is drift adjustable, although we didn't think it needed any adjustment in the short time we shot it.

If you're looking for a well-built, economical handgun, in a relatively compact frame, put the Bersa Thunder series on your list. At less than $400 retail, it is well worth the money.

Triple Target Range

What better way to start off Independence Day than a trip to the shooting range?  Wednesday morning, we went to Triple Target Range in Sophia, NC.  

The check-in station at Triple Target Range. 

Located "in" Sophia, NC, Triple Target Range offers outdoor, covered shooting for rifles, pistols, and shotguns. We didn't visit the rifle section, although there were several people there as we passed by on our way to the pistol range.   

The ranges are positioned in an arc and each section is approximately 15 degrees apart on that arc.  That and the high earth berms make it impossible for any errant shots from any of the ranges hitting anybody at one of the others. 

At the end of a long gravel road, Triple Target Range is a well-thought-out range where you get to shoot any or all of your weapons in a relaxed, outdoors, woodsy setting. Limited to firearms at this point, they are building stands for the archery range. Don't have any information at this point when to expect their access. Please check with the range directly. 

While we didn't encounter any zombies at Triple Target, there was enough lead-slinging all around to pretty much put a "hurtin" on them if they had been there. 

Triple Target Range in Sophia, NC.  Owners Shelton and Joann Bradshaw.  Check it out!

http://www.tripletargetrange.com

Drive-By Shooting

You hear about them on the news and see it in the movies, but you never think you're actually going to be involved in one - a random drive-by shooting. My daughter and her son experienced that yesterday during lunch in the Charlotte (NC) area.

They were just sitting down, when a bullet came through the front door, striking the chair in which my daughter's son was just getting ready to sit in.  It passed through an oak slat in the back and grazed his forearm. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt.  The police later discovered the bullet (.22cal). They said this was the third time this type of event had occurred in that area. 

I guess that's why we sell guns. Seems like everyday, people are in situations where they need to protect themselves from the crazies and criminals out there. What if the shooter had actually come into the restaurant and started shooting innocent bystanders. You would want to either have a weapon to defend yourself or hope that somebody else there had a weapon to fight back. 



We are fortunate and extremely happy that nobody got hurt. Unfortunately, there is somebody still out there that thinks it's perfectly okay to shoot into a crowded restaurant. Sad but true.

UPDATE: there were actually 6 shootings in a 12 hour period;  apparently the shooter's target is automobiles.

See the coverage here: 
 http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/6-shootings12-hours-has-charlotte-residents-high/nPP6j/

Care and Feeding of a Taurus 738TCP

When taking a new gun out of the box, you don't expect it to not work AT ALL, but that's what we discovered when tried to put a brand new Taurus 738TCP into service for a customer.

At Patriot Aims, we do a basic QC check on every semi-automatic pistol, which at a minimum consists of racking the slide to check for any resistance, checking the operation of any manual safeties, and chambering and ejecting a round from the magazine (we use snap-caps in the store).

While these basic pre-sale checks don't tell us anything about the accuracy or long-term reliability of the gun, they do indicate whether the gun can actually be used as a gun and is more than just a bunch of metal and plastic parts.

When we performed this check on a new Taurus 738TCP, this is what we found:

1). The magazines (2) locked into the handle, but the base plate would not fully seat against the base of the grip.

See the picture. 

 This caused the top of the magazine to be fully 1/16" lower in the chamber. Because everything was lowered in the receiver, when the slide was released and the cartridge was stripped off and pushed forward, the bullet "dead-headed" into the ramp.

2). The slide spring was so tight, the slide release button could not be depressed. You had to loosen the tension by pulling back on the slide (two handed operation), before the slide button could be disengaged. This issue would probably have gotten better with successive firings (breaking in) but the magazine issue forced us to reject this gun as a usable weapon.

In other words, what we found was this gun was totally unusable in its current state. Luckily, we were able to verify the problem by substituting a magazine from another 738TCP.  With the magazine firmly seated in the handle, the bullets chambered and ejected as designed. This one is going back to the manufacturer.

Store your water in Bricks

Of the 3 necessities for survival - 1. shelter, 2. food and water, and 3. protection, water is perhaps the most important.  A person could survive for days and weeks without food.  You can only survive for a few days without water.

To complicate matters, the average person needs a minimum of 1 gallon of water per day for drinking and basic cleanliness.  When you do the math, a family of three would require over 20 gallons of clean, potable water a week.

The issue then becomes, where do you store that volume of water?  There are all kinds of ideas, milk jugs, 2 liter drink bottles, waterbed mattresses... All these choices have some serious downsides. 

Consider this option - the WaterBrick.  

Think of the WaterBrick as a lego you can fill with water - 3 1/2 gallons per brick. Then they can be stacked, stored in closets, under beds, in the garage...

They are designed to be stacked, they have carry handles, and they have pass-through holes that allow them to be lashed to ATV's, trailers, etc. 

In addition to holding water, they can also be used for bulk food storage, dog food, and even ammunition (the bricks are watertight). 

Check out this link to see some innovative ways to use WaterBricks in your setting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=im1mFUXiGiw

The Thin Red Line

A customer purchased a Crimson Trace laser sight for a Ruger LCP and asked us to install it. The CT sight is designed to fit around the trigger guard with an "on" button just below the trigger and the laser source is just in front of the guard. When installed, it looks like this:

The "on" button is located so your finger activates the laser when you are gripping the gun to fire it. As soon as it's released, the laser goes out. The unit has adjustment for elevation and windage and the instructions are pretty clear. We adjusted this unit to match the gun sights at 7 yards.

Solar Charger

If you are looking for a small, lightweight system for charging your small electronics with solar power; this is the system for you.  The Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit from GoalZero.

The kit includes a 2-panel solar collector, a USB adapter/connector, a AA rechargeable battery charger and a nylon carrying case.   Price through our website - $119.95.

Gun Store 101

Opening a gun store is as easy as 1-2-3...

1. Get Approved

Before you can open a gun store, you have to ask the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) if it's alright for you to become a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL).  To ask the question, you first have to fill out the application in triplicate and send it, along with $200 (a level 3 gun dealer) to the Bureau for a extensive background check.  This is a federal check for criminal or seditious history going back as far as they have records. And for the ladies and others whose names have changed along the way, it is even more convoluted and lengthy.

At the same time, the local sheriff conducts a similar check to determine if you have ever been charged /convicted of domestic violence. In other words, if somebody has called 911 on you because you were knocking down their front door, don't send in your license application, because you won't get the license and you won't get your $200 back.

While all this background checking is underway, you have to get acknowledgement from the county zoning department that the place where you think you'd like to open your store complies with the nearby zoning regulations and covenants. And, if you happen to be looking at a location like a strip mall, the existing tenants sometimes have restrictive clauses in their leases which forces the landlord to dismiss such evil businesses like tattoo parlors, adult bookstores, and gun stores.

So, if by chance, all of the inquiries by the BATFE come back positive and the sheriff confirms you've never done anything bad to another person, and there are no zoning issues, you are officially granted a FFL for the period of 3 years (revocable at any time).

2. Open the Store

What is the first thing you do when you open a store?  You stock it with goods to sell. After all, people go shopping to buy things. So what items do you stock in a gun store? 

A quick check of the available products on one of the distributors offering shows over 4,000 handguns and rifles, from a wide variety of manufacturers. Obviously, we can't stock one of everything. And then there are the accessories - holsters, magazines, scopes, slings, cases, grips, etc.

What about ammunition?  There are a minimum of 8 "standard" handgun calibers; as many in the rifle calibers. Considering the bullet configuration - full metal jacket, jacketed hollow point, etc. - further enlarges the choices.

Shotgun shells are sized by gauge (.410, 20, 16, and 12), by length, 2 3/4 and 3, and by pellet load (buck shot all the way to bird shot).

I think it's safe to say that there's a pretty good chance that no matter what we put in the store, we aren't going to have what most people think they want. We'll have some guns and some ammo, and at least, we'll have pictures of the ones we don't have so the prospective buyer can see what we could have had. 

Don't see what you want?  We can order it.

3. Stay Approved. (Lose your license = out of business)

Now that we have the store open with items that people want to buy, we have to make sure that the "good graces" the BATFE has bestowed on us continues. A seamingly daunting, detail-oriented, mind-numbing series of tasks.

Think security, paperwork, safety, and background checks.

EVERY TIME a person buys a gun, they must be checked against the NCIS system to ensure they are qualified to purchase a firearm.  This includes rifles, shotguns, and handguns. The buyer must have a state issued photo ID and be over the age of 18 to buy a rifle; over 21 to buy a handgun. To buy a handgun, the buyer must have either a purchase permit (one for each purchase) or a concealed carry license. Nobody can buy a weapon for somebody else.

EVERY TIME a handgun is purchased the dealer must complete a form, detailing the information about the buyer, the model, serial #, and specifications of the firearm purchased, the license # of the distributor that supplied the gun, and the license # of the dealer that actually sold the gun. Leaving out even the most seemingly inconsequential detail could be grounds for losing your license.

At the end of EVERY DAY, all firearms must be stored in a secure place to ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands. The agent at the BATFE said "it isn't a matter of if your store will be broken into, it's a matter of when".  This requirement translates into the need to buy a "big ass safe", and shifting all of your stock into the safe before leaving the store for the night.

So how do you protect yourself from the bad guys who drive a van through the front of the store, or the crooks who use a chain saw to cut through the roof of the building to get in and grab whatever they can get in the 10 minutes before the cops come?  With paperwork.

Every firearm acquired must be logged within hours of receipt, whether it's a new gun purchased from a distributor, or purchased used from an individual, or on consignment from a customer. Failure to do so is a violation of federal law. On the flip side, all transfers, whether to a customer, or another FFL holder must be logged to show it has now changed hands and is no longer in your possession. Federal law.

The BATFE agent has the authority to visit your shop during store hours and look at your paperwork to ensure you're in compliance. And you'd better be in compliance. Remember, lose your license = out of business.

So, by now, if you've read this far, you're probably wondering why anybody would want to open a gun store. Well, consider these statistics:

The FBI said it fielded nearly 16.5 million queries from firearms sellers last year, that was up 15 percent from 2010, when the FBI performed 14.4 million screenings.

The National Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF) is the firearms industry lobby group that keeps track of everything gun business related. As a reference, NSSF tracks firearms sales during the month of August. 2011 August firearms sales were up relative to any year over the last ten years. More specifically, “The August 2011 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 815,858 is an increase of 13.5 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 718,971 in August 2010.” Make the jump to see the 2008 “Obama surge” that set the pace for 2011. If Americans re-elect Obama in 2012, it’ll be chocks away for the U.S. gun and ammo biz. Again.

There are lots of other statistics, all pointing to a growing demand for guns in America. As for our store, we have decided the outlook for future gun sales far outweighs the 3 step process that got us there. We're "shooting" for a banner year!

Survival Rifle

This is the Keltec Sub-2000.  A lightweight, folding rifle in 9mm or .40 cal.  Shoots regular handgun ammo. The rifle 29.5" long and folds down to 16".  Weight is 4.0lbs empty.

The 9mm SUB-2000 can be configured in the following magazine types: Glock 17, Glock 19, S&W 59, Beretta  92,  and Sig Sauer 226.

The .40 SUB-2000 can be configured in the following magazine types: Glock 22, Glock 23, Beretta 96, S&W 4006, Sig Sauer 226.

If you have to travel light and want an accurate, potent rifle to take along, this one is compact and lightweight enough to fit in your backpack and it uses the same cartridges you use in your 9mm or .40 pistol. 

Full size extended - weighs 4.0 pounds.

A real Winner from Keltec.





Folded - 16" x 7"



Greensboro Gun Show

Last Saturday, we went to the gun show at the Greensboro Coliseum. WOW!  What a crowd! If crowds mean people are interested, then I would say a lot of people in the Greensboro area are very interested in guns.

When we arrived around 2:00, the lady taking the tickets said the count at that time was over 8,000 (the show opened at 10:00 - and this was the first day). 

So, what did we see there? The usual stuff - tables covered with rifles, shotguns, pistols, military garb, ammunition, knives, and on and on. Two things that were perfectly evident; there were a lot of women looking at guns, and the overall demographic profile seemed to suggest there were a lot of "new" gun fans at the show.

The women seemed to be looking for small, lightweight semi-automatics that can easily fit in a purse or pocket. And the dealers seemed to be anticipating that. I saw Keltec 3TAP, Ruger LCP, Bersa Thunder 380, Taurus P22 and Beretta Tomcats.  Don't remember seeing that kind of gun at the show in those numbers.

Still, there were a lot of "assault" style rifles and self-defense shotguns.

This turnout might be a sign of the times.

CZ-USA 2075 Rami 9mm

25.0oz., 10+1 double-stack magazine.

3.0" barrel, 6.5" overall length.

Ships with a 10rd mag. and a 14rd magazine.

MSRP $595.00.

For a smaller gun, this is a solid, heavy gun. Shooting standard 9mm, it is a comfortable, powerful, firearm.

The trigger is double action/single action (DSA).

Kahr CW9

Shot the Kahr CW9 today at the local range. A lightweight, compact, 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

15.8oz., 7+1 single stack magazine.

3.6" barrel, 6" overall length.
Ships with single 7rd magazine.
MSRP $485.00

Shooting standard 9mm ammunition, this is a very powerful gun in a small package.  While it is larger than a Keltec PF-9, or a Ruger LC9, it is just slightly more weight, and it has a larger grip, allowing you to get all your fingers on the gun.

This is a double-action only (DAO) trigger. On my first shot, I didn't think the action was engaged; the pull is that constant and smooth, without a definite "break" on release. But then the first round fired off and I knew I was going to like the gun. It just feels different than other double action guns. After a couple of rounds, I got a feel for where the release is and I felt more confident that I could actually want to own this gun.

While it is a relatively small gun, ergonomically, it naturally fits into your hand. And the weight is such that you don't feel like you should be shooting a 9mm.  It is a little "snappy" because of its weight, but not so that I would complain. After all, you are shooting a 9mm. At about 50 rounds, I was feeling very comfortable and punching holes in the target in the right places.

Kahr makes a smaller version of this model, the CM9, with a shorter barrel and shorter handgrip.  While I have not shot the CM9, I would think the smaller frame and lighter weight would result in a snappier shoot. 

I could definitely see this gun in my arsenal as a concealed carry gun.

How Do I Choose the Gun That's Right for Me? - Part 1

The internet is full of information about which gun and ammunition is the best for concealed carry use. You can find discussions on gun forums, demo’s on YouTube, explanations on Wiki and dozens of other sources. If you are looking to purchase your first handgun, we've provided some generic information to help you decide which one is right for you.

If you are a woman, a lot of people will tell you to buy a revolver. They are simple to understand and operate,  can be small and lightweight, and they are easy to load (flip open the cylinder and pop in the bullets).  For the purposes of this discussion, we will only cover the other spectrum of handguns which are commonly referred to as semi-automatic pistols.  

Basics:

   There are a lot of (semi-auto) guns on the market and all of them have the same thing in common. That is, they all are designed to sling a projectile, at some considerable velocity, in a specific direction. This last bit is VERY important, because in a defensive situation, you want the bullet(s) to go in the direction of the person you are defending yourself against.  Forget about, for the moment, caliber, muzzle velocity, bullet construction, etc. - the bottom line is you have to hit the target to benefit from a gun's defensive purpose.

   Most handguns today are made up of a combination of materials, metal, plastic, and wood. There are some other exotic materials and treatments, but at the end of the day, they're  pretty much the same.  One of the important considerations in choosing a handgun is the physical size of the piece.  Size matters for a couple of reasons:  1) if you intend to conceal the gun somewhere on your body, you'll not be successful if that gun is a cannon.  On the other hand, a tiny cricket of a gun may conceal well, but not be very good at persuading a bad guy from causing you bodily harm.  2) generally speaking, the larger the gun, the larger the caliber and the heavier the gun. Forgetting about concealment, if you have a hard time holding the gun because it's heavy, then it probably doesn't matter what the gun can do because you're not going to be able to control it.

   When you start looking at guns, you're going to hear a lot of terms that will initially mean absolutely nothing to you.  You'll hear that a particular gun is a blow-back style, or that it has a tip-up barrel, etc.  Don't worry about that at this point. What is more important, is what type trigger action is best for you. 

   There are two basic trigger actions in a handgun: 1) single action, and double action.  Some handguns have both, and some have exclusively one or the other.  What does this mean in handgun selection?  It's pretty much up to the individual, but here are some considerations.

Double Action: 

   When you pull the trigger on a double action handgun, the motion accomplishes two things. In the first part of the motion, you "cock" the hammer (or the actual piece that strikes the bullet).  The second part of the same trigger pull then "releases" the hammer, and the gun fires.  Typically speaking, a double action trigger has a harder "pull" because the gun is actually performing two tasks in that single motion. 

Single Action:

   When you pull the trigger on a single action handgun, some other action has "cocked" the gun, and the trigger then releases the hammer to strike the bullet.  Because the motion only has to do one task (the release), single action triggers are typically much "lighter" than double action.

   A double action/single action gun is typically set up so the first shot requires a double action pull on the trigger, and subsequent shots are single action.

  What does this mean in terms of handgun selection?  Let's revisit the discussion about controlling the direction of the bullet when firing the gun.  Generally speaking, the less force required to "squeeze" the trigger and thus avoid inadvertent movement of the gun in the process, the better you'll be at actually hitting the target you intended to hit.

So now, you've got size/weight considerations and what type of trigger action you prefer.

The next consideration is the caliber - or to put it in other words, how much bang do you get for those bucks?

Most people familiar with guns say that you shouldn't even consider anything less than a 9mm.  Anything less will not provide you the "knock-down" power you need to stop a bad guy.  On the other hand, unless you actually shoot a cannon (or a 12 gauge shotgun), bad guys don't go flying when you shoot them with a handgun like they do in the movies. What you want to do in any defensive situation, is slow the bad guy down, so you can get away.