Black Dog Machine comes through

Yet another fine range visit has come and gone.

Miss Tacticute discovered recently that she likes sharing what she knows. She had an opportunity at her Kung Fu club to help out the kid's Basic class, and it was reported back to me that she did a very good job. So I considered what Miss Tacticute knew that she could teach, and what would make the biggest impression on her as a nascent teacher.

So I asked Mrs Friendly Neighbor if she would like Miss Tacticute to teach her how to shoot. I can't think of something with more kid-cred than being able to teach a grown-up how to do something.

That couldn't be done this weekend, so I brought Miss Tacticute to the range for a practice session.

She showed that 25 yard target who was boss.



Twice.



Following that performance, I got to go through two magazines from my M-14 (soon with can!). Miss Tacticute was my spotter through a 50x160mm spotting scope.



Not exactly Carlos Hathcock, but my first shot was on the left target, and it's the one touching the bullseye dot in the center. So, if I messed up, I messed up the right way.

After we had packed up and Miss Tacticute was sitting in the car, the Range Safety Officer came over to tell me how impressed he was with her shooting, and furthermore how amusing it was to hear her spotting my 200 yard shots.

I brought four Black Dog all-polymer .22lr magazines to the range along with four of their new polymer with metal feed lips magazines. Two of the new mags fed wonderfully. Two wouldn't feed, and in fact I had problems getting the rounds out later, even using tools. The feed lips just grabbed the rims of the rounds very, very tightly, so much that I couldn't budge them if I didn't depress them away from the feed lips.

So, Monday morning, I email Black Dog Machine, LLC, and ask them if there is something I should do to smooth the feed lips. By Monday afternoon, Rachel from Black Dog had emailed me back, confirmed that they had had some issues with the first run, and used my details from my order to send me two more. Following that email were confirmation emails from their online store confirming shipping. Rachel also suggested that I could use a file on the malfunctioning ones to widen the feed lips slightly so they are functional. Assuming that works, I'll had six working magazines, and if it doesn't I'll still have four that work. That's a solid customer service relationship and outstanding standing-behind-your-product.

So, if you have a .22LR conversion kit or dedicated upper for your AR-15, I must highly recommend Black Dog Machine LLC .22LR magazines.

UPDATE 10/21/2011: I had misunderstood. What Black Dog was sending me was two replacement steel feed lips parts, which arrived today. So I just need to pop the other ones off the polymer bodies and put these new ones on.

Items of mild import

On Friday, I attended another Rifle League session at West Coast Armory. I met my goal: I wasn't DQ-ed. I had earlier stopped by a gun shop and purchased a Streamlight TR-1, which was significantly better than a head-mounted lamp for low-light shots. There were so many attendees, however, that it took two hours to start the second runs.

While there, I ran into a guy wearing a Top Notch Tactical t-shirt. I inquired as to whether said person worked for the company, or if that was tchotchke. He replied that he was the owner. That made it rather easy to identify him as Alan, as he is the fellow that has been working on my silencer purchases. It's a small gunny world after all.

Last weekend, I received a little envelope from the USAF, and contained within was my Honorable Discharge certificate. I am now officially ex-military. Following a confirmatory call to the AFPC for instructions, I unceremoniously applied some scissors to my military ID, and now I have a pile of somewhat serviceable yet out-of-date uniform components to clear out of my closet. My Gortex wet weather gear is still good, although I suppose I should remove the Captain's bars from the rank tab.

The Quest for Silence

As I was checking my bank records today, I noticed a welcome thing.

The BATFE has cashed my (Trust's) check for the Form 4 for my M-14's suppressor.

The clock is now ticking. Anecdotally, I'm looking at 6 to 8 weeks more processing time.

Seriously, however... how much of this processing could be replaced by a NICS check? The entire process is a hold over from the days when there was no such thing. The amount of manpower and resources, overhead, benefits costs, etc for the dozen BATFE agents that process these forms has to be more than the total revenue from the tax stamps. They could reduce costs, increase speed, improve overall adherence to the overall principles of the Second Amendment, and increase revenue by:

1. Moving suppressors to the same restrictions as the host weapon they will be mated to.


2. Pay the Tax Stamp costs at the FFL


3. Do the background check via NICS (fine, Delay for the first purchase for extra checking)


4. Cache the investigation results for the purchaser so the second purchase can be done on the spot

Double shooty

This was a good weekend. I went shooting twice.

When you consider the round count, however, it doesn't look like much:

• 60 rounds 7.62 NATO


• 60 rounds 5.56 NATO


• 18 rounds .45 ACP


• 5 rounds .22LR, plus another 95 for Miss Tacticute

The important thing, however, was that I was in good company while I was shooting.

Friday night was Rifle League at West Coast Armory. It was my first time participating, although I had been gearing up to do it for a while.

The course of fire was simple: double taps on all targets, first two targets fired under a table, then three targets at the next location to the right, two more targets firing around the left ride of a barrier, mandatory mag change, three more targets, show empty then transition to pistol for the last three. In between shooting, congenial conversation with the other participants.

I took it slow and just worked on being careful. I did discover that a head mounted light doesn't work well in the dark scenario, but I was able to use a optical cortex trick of the Binden Aiming Concept to get the reticle from my ACOG (which I couldn't see through properly due to the glare off the rear lens from my headlamp) to appear in my right eye and appear to be superimposed on my left eye sight picture. Not a good operating plan, but I hit all the targets and hit no no-shoots.

One of the participants had an N.D, and I'd like to highlight how a heavily armed individual took this. The rules are clear: any N.D, and you're barred from participation for four weeks. Well, he dropped his magazine while he was transiting from position three to four, and with a round in the chamber, touched the trigger while reloading. He shot a barrier, and the bullet likely went into the ceiling. Everyone stopped, the rangemaster called for him to clear his rifle and pistol, and they checked the damage. Meekly and with no histrionics, he packed his gear and went home. Amazing; according to some, he should have started a shooting spree at this little setback. Not so amazingly, such people live with counter-factual internal model of how real people behave.

The second shooting even was Sunday, for the long awaited range visit with Miss Tacticute. As usual, the other guys at the range were utter charmed by the little seven year old with her pink AR-15. Here's how she did at 25 confidence boosting yards:



Here's how I did at 200 confidence deflating yards:



Miss Tacticute herself took that last picture, moving me around like an Oleg Volk protege to get the picture she wanted. It doesn't matter, I still look overweight, which must be a trick of the light.

I readily admit that I screwed up that shooting. I was shooting high to begin with, so a couple clicks over and I was shooting worse. I got the Up/Down mixed up in my sight adjustment. By the time I finished, I was getting a consistent 2" high shot placement right above the bulls-eye. Well, I can adjust for that.

My daughter, the next Hit Girl

So, Miss Tacticute and I went to the range on a lovely Sunday, only to discover that when the range schedule said "competition", it really meant "state championships". No where for us to squeeze in.

So we went to an indoor range.

So, picture this (and you'll get video later, so you don't need to picture it for long): Seven year old half-asian, quarter-hispanic girl, pony tail, tie-die t-shirt, pink capris...

And her trusty pink AR-15 in .22LR. The range staff helpfully found a wooden box for her to stand on so she could get behind her rifle on its bipod in bay 12, away from the other shooters.

So she's rocking away on her pretty AR, pumping .22 into a Homeland Security Standard qualification target. She shoots a 25 round magazine into the center of the target. She also works out that, due to the reduced range, her rounds hit below the aimpoiint of her Trijicon reflex sight, so she walked the rounds up to the center.

Well, that's a big target, and she's shot up the center, so I suggest she shoot the head area.

"Yay!" Oooookay.

So she mostly sends the next 25 rounds into the head, for a time competing for speed with the guy in lane 6 who's relatively rapidfiring his 9mm. I slow her down and she starts shooting all over the target. What's going on?

"I shot him in the shoulders!" Well, nice grouping, sweetie.

So I reel in the target to show her what's she's done, and she's pleased with it. The target is pretty well peppered with .22, enough that it's not worth firing more .22, but maybe I can use it with something larger before putting up another target.

Sweetie, I think I'll shoot this target for a bit. You've been shooting with this, shows her a .22LR round, but I'll be shooting with this, shows her a .45 ACP 230gr FMJ.

"Wow, that's big! Cool!"

So I set her in bay 11 so .45 ACP brass doesn't plink on her head, run the target out, load up and...

"Daddy! Daddy! I want to tell you where to shoot!"

Like Simon says?

"Yeah!" Arrighty then, that sounds like fun.

"Tummy!" Ah, center of mass. *BLAM*

"Head!" Another classic choice. *BLAM*

"Ear!" Er, what? "Ear, daddy!" Right. Careful aim, front sight, press, *BLAM*

"Shoulders!", she says with a giggle. *BLAM* *BLAM*

"SHOOT HIM IN THE EYES!" *BLAM* *BLAM*

"Yeah! Make a smiley face!"

Oh, I wish I had had the camera running for that.

Behold! The awesome power of the Intrawebs!

By the power of RFC 791, I have the power!

But first, a range report.

Miss Tacticute was grumpy and strongwilled today, so she had to miss out. We'll get back to her when we've fitted her AR-15/22 with a suppressor.

So, in the mean time, I decided to have a long range day with the M-14. I have some concerns about my scope sight in at 200 yards however, so I'm going to employ a sled for my sight in activities.



Sight picture:



So, that shooting went on for a while, until a guy came along to do some range clean-up work. He said he only needed a few minutes, so why not. I was done with my sight-in work:



(I worked from left to right until my cluster was more centered on the bullseye.)

So, here I am with a bit of time on my hands.... and a shortage of targets. Yes, I forget to get the extra package of targets from the garage before I left. So, adapt and overcomes.

Paper plus Pen plus Target Stand equals Field Expedient Zombies.

200 yards:


100 yards:


25 yards with M&P 45:


On that last one, I had a steep learning curve. I kept plowing the earth with 230gr 45ACP until I figure out I had to keep the front sight up above the rear sight. There was a lot of bullet drop over 75 feet from that 4" barrel.

So, now, as advertised, the power of teh interwebs.

As I finish up shooting my 100 yard zombie and come up empty, a young fellow approaches. And he asked, "Sir, do you know anything about M-14s?"

Well, I might know a little, seeing as I am shooting one, so I follow the young gent over to see what the problem was. The problem seems to be Live Round In The Chamber, Hammer Has Been Dropped, Action Won't Open.

Well, that's a puzzler, and an immanent safety hazard. The rifle can't be transported like this. Out comes the iPhone, which has an IRC app, and connects to the Gunblogger's Conspiracy.

So, to the conspirators I pose the question, and Wally (who has no blog) comes to the rescue, going to his safe to get a representative M1A. We try a couple things, checking the safety operation, hammer position, etc. Finally it is determined that a vigorous thump on the operating handle is warranted, and the action extracts the round. A light primer strike is noted.

So we try again with another round, and the same thing happens. Thump, and it is extracted.

Meanwhile, the young gentlemen are astounded that I could find someone with experience on their matter over my iPhone. I read one of the gentlemen's t-shirts, and deduce that he is a USAF Academy cadet. I introduce myself as a Captain. Bonding is had all around. Solidarity, zoomie!

Finally, we discover that the problem is their ammo. It's marked on the case with "P G 308 WIN" and it doesn't even work in my M-14 (which has never failed to fire, extract or feed, ever). Fortunately, they had some ammo marked with "R G 93" and a cross in a circle, which I identified as Radway Green British military surplus of 1993. The stuff they were firing appeared to be slightly out of normal in the shoulder. The Radway Green works fine, as does a single round of my own Lithuanian milsurp.

Ultimately, I had to wonder at this new fantastic future that we're living in. When faced with a problem, if I can't find it with a Google search, I can engage a live pool of experts that are familiar with my issue (at least one of them), and use this expertise to come to a satisfactory resolution. Could I have done this 5 years ago? Probably not.

I love living in the future.

B.A.G. Acquisition

B.A.G. day is really about associating two things:

• Grudgingly following the law and doing the paperwork and paying the taxes


• Exercising a right that too many in government (and those who love government power) grudgingly admit is protected

Since we finished out paperwork and payments weeks ago, I procured my B.A.G. acquisition just after that. The actual date, however, is as good a time as any to show off what I've scored:



(I'm no Oleg, and an iPhone isn't a real camera. Go see the professional stuff here.)

Smith and Wesson M&P 45C, no manual safety, with Viridian C5L. I'm hoping to replace my P14-45 as my regular carry piece, as, let's face it, that's a whole lot of steel.

The pistol and light are a great match up, and the ergonomics are nice, but it's a little short on holster options. Naturally, I don't want to be carrying this until I have a holster that will cover the trigger area. Viridian says they'll have some Kydex holsters for this pairing later this year.

New year, new range visit

I've been watching the weather forecasts for awhile, looking for the first decent Sunday to take little Miss Tacticute to the range. (She's been asking when she can go again.)

I was looking forward to it myself because this would be the first time I had been shooting since getting new optics. And by that, I mean getting LASIK. My vision is now 20/15, and I can tell.

So we packed up with high hopes: M-14, M-4gery, AR-15/22, P14-45 and a brand new S&W M&P 45c. Also taken were a new shooting sled for me to do sight-ins, a spotting scope and HD camcorder.

Unfortunately, I hadn't checked the range schedule, and the main range was entirely populated with High Precision shooters. That left only the .22 range and the pistol range available. Oh, well.

So, without further ado, Miss Tacticute rocking the pink AR-15!



Here were her results at 50 yards:



She was mostly shooting to the left, and as we went on with her shooting, I think it's because she's closing her right eye and sighting with her left.

After we ran out of .22LR, we went over to the pistol range. All we had were .45s so Miss Tacticute stayed in the car with my iPhone streaming German heavy metal to her through Pandora. I figure she can't pick up any bad words from Rammstein and Eisbrecher, at least, none that I or anyone she knows would recognize. My father-in-law and I shot the .45s until we had enough of that. The M&P 45c isn't bad, but its trigger can't compare to a single action 1911.