Notes from the gun shop...

I put in another day at the shop to cover for Wayne F_________ so that he could care for his mother. It seemed like a fairly busy day and I actually sold a Thompson Center Impact muzzleloader.

This seems to be a good gun and I imagine that this is produced for about as low a price point as a quality gun can be made. Not my cup of tea but if you need a tool to take advantage of the muzzleloading season then this will do. No, I don't own one.

We had some .22 LR today and still had 3 boxes of CCI .22 WRM. Got some .30-30 in as well as some Unique, Red Dot, and other Alliant powders. Maybe 25 pounds of powder all together. That's not much.

Colt Concealed Carry Officer's Model .45 ACP

John M. Browning designed the Model 1911 pistol, our nation's service pistol for many years. Some thought it could be improved by making it lighter, hence the Commander with aluminum alloy frame and 3/4" shorter barrel and then shorter yet as the Officer's Model with 3-1/2" barrel. However, many noticed that the angles necessary to function the smaller Officer's Model resulted in decreased reliability. Also, while the shorter butt contributed to greater concealability, the shorter barrel was more a hindrance to accuracy than it was benefit in any other way. The idea of installing a Commander length slide assembly to an Officers' model frame was executed and the lords of the gun rags called it good. So Colt made some in 1998. Apparently, it was not a model that inspired enough buyers to lay out the cash. There is still a demand though and it is being met by the Gunsite model at $1395 (last I checked) plus tax plus shipping plus transfer fees or about $1460-1500 out the door and by the custom gunsmiths.

One of those smiths is Jim Garthwaite. I have read articles about him and/or his guns, indeed I've read all the articles shown on his website. He was the Pistolsmith of the Year in 2004. Mr. Garthwaite does work on 1911 and Browning High Power pistols. He also has been doing classes in which the participants build their own guns.

My friend, Rob Leahy of Simply Rugged Holsters, told me about a Garthwaite CCO at Bucky O'Neill's Guns in Prescott, AZ. Although rob said he'd get photos the work load at his shop was too great but he assured me that I'd like the gun. Knowing Rob, I took the leap of faith and called Dave at Bucky's to order the gun sight unseen. I am all into the gun for less than the price of the Gunsite CCO, which is simply a production gun. Further, the few of his guns I have seen for sale have been asking $2500 or more.

Well, it took a bit longer than expected. While they received my money, and FFL, in a timely manner, shipment was somehow delayed a bit and I didn't receive the gun until this week. Today was the first day I had time to shoot and photograph it.

As you can tell from the photo this gun is literally a Colt Commander slide (1991A1) on a Colt Officers' Lightweight frame. The front sight is dovetailed and a Heinie rear sight has been installed. The top of the slide was stippled and the rear of the slide was checkered. Also checkered was the steel (stainless I presume) main spring housing and the front strap. I'm personally pleased that the front of the trigger guard was not checkered. The trigger is like that on my Officers' Lightweight ACP but the feel is different. The gun has a National Match bushing. I haven't had it apart yet so I haven't looked at who made what component.

When you look at the first target you can see that I lost a couple of rounds due to the trigger. That should go away with practice. I really like the sights. Even with my currently compromised vision (cataracts) and bifocals I could see the sights well enough to be effective.

You'll note the vertical stringing and "lost" rounds outside the "group". That trigger is pretty light and crisp which I'm obviously not accustomed to! Then the stringing I think is due to the slight difficulty I had in shooting the gun quickly. Recoil seems to be snappier in this than in the Officers' Lightweight, I think because the gun is just about as light but the bullets are getting more velocity out of the longer barrel. That's just my perception. Recoil is not at all physically bothersome in that it is not at all painful. In comparison I think that a S&W M13 shooting full on 125 gr. .357 Magnum loads with the factory stocks can be painful.

The ammunition used was a mix of ball (Winchester white box) and Federal Hydrashocks. Nary a slip twixt mag and chamber or chamber and ground with any of it or any magazine (Wilson, Chip McCormick and Colt factory). I'll check 230 gr. Golden Sabers next.

Links:
- Massad Ayoob: The Colt Concealed Carry Officers and its niche-mates
- How About the CCOs by Wiley Clapp

Notes from the gun shop...

We had a pretty interesting day today. In some ways it was surprising because with blackpowder season around the corner you'd expect that we'd be selling more muzzle-loading guns and supplies. We did do 8 transfers. Also, because Vic didn't work I had to do a couple of repairs.

One was removing a case from a Remington 700 bolt. Not difficult, just levered it right out from under the extractor. The problem was excessive pressure. The case was a Remington (.270 Winchester) and the primer pocket was expanded to almost twice its normal diameter. The owner claimed it was all old ammo from the same box and no reloads. The primers were not consistent with factory ammo, some cases were Federal and the owner looked a bit squirrely. Whatever.

The next case was a messed up Star 9mm pistol in which a cartridge had been jammed backwards into the chamber. The man had gotten the slide assembly off the pistol but was lost after that. I got the case out and then had to re-assemble the gun and show him how it is done. Oh, yeah, I've gone big time.

Still short of powder, .22 rimfire, FMJ ammo for 9mm, .40S&W and .45 ACP or any sort of practice ammo for the .38 Special.

Squirrel hunting

They don't call it hunting for nothing.  I hunted, near Elkhorn Lake, but I only saw one squirrel and he/she vamoosed up a big pine ASAP after he/she saw me.  All fine with me though.  I had a pleasant walk.  Didn't dress for it, just wore my blue jeans and regular shoes, which are kinda like moccasins, and a light jacket.  Boy has that area grown up.  Clear cut back in the late 1960s, the pines were about head high when I was in my teens.  There were squirrels, grouse, turkeys and deer at that time and I saw them all.  Now it is pretty much a mature forest and there's not so much food to attract any of that game.  There are some crows in the area as well as small birds which feed on small plant seeds or insects.  Doesn't seem to be a lot of hard mast this year but that might be a local thing.  It is supposed to rain again tonight and tomorrow so I'll decide whether or not to go out, someplace else, tomorrow.

Carried my 1956 manufactured Marlin 39A Mountie and some old CIL Cascade .22 LR ammo.  Feeling pretty retro, as usual. 

Notes from the gun shop...

Lots of neat guns have come in to the shop during the past 2 weeks. Smith and Wessons, Colts, some good quality rifles and some really good glass as well. We were very busy. Hunting season is here and the firearms season for deer is just around the corner.

Notes from the gun shop...

Walked in to discover a number of neat pistols had come into the shop from an estate.  Many Smith and Wessons, a Kimber and a couple of Ruger single-actions.  It was a pretty busy day.  However, not much of an improvement in the availability of ammunition.  We did have some .30-30 which is apparently very difficult to find in Augusta county.  VERY little .22 LR.  We only had 7 boxes when I left the shop.  Other than that there wasn't much of note.

Notes from the gun shop...

Worked an extra day at the shop yesterday to fill in for a friend who's mother is in the hospital. We had a pretty good day. Bought a Weaver K1 in pretty good condition. The ammo shortage continues. We apparently had the last 5 boxes of .30-30 in the county. .243 Winchester is apparently hard to get as well. We sold out of our .22 LR but we still have some .22 Short HPs. Lots of traffic, not so sure we had that much in sales due to the shortage of things to sell. This is pretty bad when we are about to start the main hunting seasons.

Notes from the gun shop...

We had a lot of people through the gun shop today. I think that the smell of fall is in the air and people have started moving forward with hunting season. Ammo might be a problem though. We have the last 6 boxes of .30-30 in Staunton, there is no .22 WRFM, we haven't had a new box of CoreLokt anything come in in months, and .22 LR continues to be in short supply. Sadly, even pricing standard velocity RN at $7.99 now meets with a happy grin at the "good price". $.16 a round .22 LR is apparently the new normal. We do have VARGET and W748 powder. Nobody mentioned the UN arms treaty today, political conversation being dominated by the "fools of both parties" "dragging this country down".

Chris has a REALLY nice S&W Model 19 4" with box, papers and tools. It might not have been fired outside of the factory. He also has a nice Model 98 Krag.

We had a problem reassembling a rear sight for an M1 Rifle (Garand). I took mine apart this evening and put it back together without a problem but we can't get this one to work. Every time we put it together the windage knob will change the elevation and both knobs will turn together regardless of which one is being operated. I think it is because the trunion is bent and bearing against the windage knob.

This week I'll be spending tomorrow at the shop as well. Wayne F_________'s mother is in the hospital and he's with her so won't be at work.

Notes from the gun shop...

Late to post because I had to run up to Alexandria to carry Aunt Deanna's furniture to her new condo.  Anyway, we were pretty busy from the get go at the shop because #1 it is hunting season and #2 they just had the Ruffed Grouse Society Dinner.  Had a lot of people come in to pick up the guns they won.

Have to brag on Chris a bit.  One of our customers and fellow members at Stonewall, Roger M_______ lost his 13-year old Brittany this past February.  That's pretty tough.  The RGS was auctioning off a Brittany pup again this year.  Chris bought it and GAVE her to Roger.   I do believe Roger is in love.  Katie Ann is her name.

There is more ammo available.  Prices aren't coming down right now though.  We also got some powder in sometime last week.  This time I didn't leave the 8-lb jug of IMR 4895 for a customer, I bought it.  I use it in the .35 Remington and M1 rifle .30-06 ammo.  Cost about $20 more than the jug we had back at the beginning of the year.

Those are the highlights from this past week.  Not exciting to read about but it was fun to be there.

Aloha!

We have just returned from a vacation that was on Linda's "bucket list", that is, to Hawaii! Had a great time in Hawaii but, for me, not so much the traveling. We did make that part of it a little less painful by flying out of and returning to Shenandoah Valley Airport just outside of Weyers Cave. It saved our driving to or being shuttled to (very early in the morning) a more distant airport and also the parking fees. Staff and TSA agents were friendly and got their respective jobs done.

Leaving home the morning of 10 September, our flight out took us from Shenandoah Valley Airport to Dulles to Denver and then Honolulu on the island of Oahu where we arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon of the day we left due to the 6 hour time difference despite our approximately 14-hour travel time. We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort right across the street from the world famous Waikiki Beach. Dinner was on our own which was all well and good. We went exploring and found a local seafood/Chinese restaurant, The Seafood Village, just a short walk up Kalakaua Avenue. I had Mapo Tofu and Nana had potstickers and General Tso's chicken. Very good. Then we walked back to the hotel and crawled into bed at about 7:30 local time or about 1:30 AM on the 11th at home. We were both very tired and and slept right through to about 6:30 local time. By the way, the beds at the Marriott were the best of the whole trip. Both of us slept well and had no aches or pains in the morning.

The next morning (Wednesday, 11 September) we got up and I went down to Seattle's Best (located in the hotel) for Nana's breakfast sandwich and coffee and my blueberry muffin. The food was excellent but the cost (and you should be prepared for this if you go to Hawaii, especially in tourist venues, was $15+. Our guide and bus driver for the day was "Cousin" Dave. The next item on the agenda was a trip to the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and a tour of Honolulu.Most of us thought it appropriate to visit this memorial on the 12th anniversary of 9-11. We did not have the opportunity to go to Ford Island and visit the USS Missouri nor did I have time to do more than walk over to and see the outside of the USS Bowfin. We did get to visit the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific aka the Punchbowl. Unfortunately we were on a bus and busses are not permitted to stop, literally, on the grounds although they can drive through really slowly. This meant that we could not get out and pay our respects even though I have a 7th cousin 3-times removed, Clayton Ellsworth Gee, interred there. Lunch was at the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant in the Aloha Tower Marketplace. My pre-ordered meal was the Mahi-mahi which turned out to be grilled mahi-mahi (dolphin, the fish, not the mammal) in a sandwich. I did not eat the sandwich entire but the grilled fish was delicious! Free refills on sodas as well (not so everywhere, so ask).

We had that night's dinner at the hotel and it was very good. I think that they have a standard schedule and our chosen night was the prime rib buffet. I had a couple of slices of prime rib and the teriyaki beef with rice. An excellent meal! Nana and I went for a stroll on the beach but since I had quite a bit of sand on my feet even after washing them off at the beach shower I chose to walk back to the hotel barefoot. Nobody gave me a second look. If you had seen the "fashions" in evidence you'd understand why. Then it was another early night, we were tired and jet lagged.

Thursday, 12 September, saw us up bright and early. Was this going to be the pattern for the whole vacation? Seemed so. We had breakfast in the hotel, a buffet, with a 3-egg ham and cheese omelet to start the festivities. We didn't have anything in the morning so I walked down Paoakolani Avenue to the canal that parallels Ala Wai Boulevard and watched some outrigger canoe paddlers practice. Then I walked back to the hotel for our excursion to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This interesting semi-commercial venture inlcudes various cultural exhibits and demonstrations for the various Polynesian communities as well as dinner, either a luau or an American style buffet. Our guide for this excursion was "Cousin Jay" from Samoa.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is located next door to the Brigham Young University - Hawaii and Church of Latter Day Saints Temple in Hawaii. A short ride over to the BYU- Hawaii visitors' center is available. We took advantage and went for a look see. As usual there is a bit of proselytizing which is to be expected but as always one is struck with the beauty and neatness of the grounds. The young people, be they from the Marshall Islands, South Korea or Kentucky were very pleasant and fun to talk to.

Dinner at the Polynesian Cultural Center, we had the American style buffet by way of a misunderstanding in the purchase of our tickets, was excellent and followed by a show which told the story of a Polynesian boy's life at the end of which was a fire-knife show. Everybody loves that part. Then it was back on the bus and to the hotel at about 10:30. One had multiple opportunities to purchase a bowl of ice-cream for $5.00. Nana had one and she said it was excellent.

Friday the 13th, an auspicious day to travel, saw us up and at 'em for our flight to Kauai and our next hotel, the Aqua Kauai Beach Resort. Very nice, on the beach (although a very narrow beach adjoining the hotel property) with 3 fresh water pools and 1 salt water pool, a 60-foot slide (mostly used by the kids) and an excellent restaurant as well as a gift shop and bar/lounge. The place is large and some of the units are owned, sort of like a time-share. VERY nice. Our first day here we took a tour of the island including the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Waimea Canyon and had lunch at Kilohana Plantation. Dinner was a pizza party at the hotel. Pretty good pizza, excellent service, and a fun way to end the day.

Kauai is interesting in that it seems much more laid back. The chickens here are everywhere. We had a rooster that crowed outside our window and then would move down the line of rooms to, apparently, act as the wake-up call for the hotel. They aren't afraid of people either. Just as the local doves would do, these chickens would wander around by your feet and under your chair at the oddest moments. You see, all the restaurants have open windows and doors and at the ground floor it was pretty common to have birds all around.

Saturday, the 14th and we had a whole day on our own here which we chose to use resting by, in, or near the pool(s). Not very eventful, but VERY enjoyable. Nana got in the water, too!

Sunday morning and we were on the "road" again headed for Maui. After we landed we picked up our guide, Karen, and off we went to the Maui Ocean Center. We had an excellent lunch, fish and chips, in their restaurant overlooking a marina and the ocean. Our next stop was Lahaina which, due to the presence of a cruise ship, had a craft fair underneath their famous banyan tree. Although whale watching boats operate out of Lahaina, this is not the season for whales which are currently feeding in Alaskan waters so we did not get to do any whale watching. We were finally able to check in at our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Maui in the Ka'anapali area. There are a number of rather nice (an understatement, the Hyatt is gorgeous) hotels/resorts/time-shares operating here connected by a beach side sidewalk and a land side of the hotel road way.

Our first meal was at the Umalu. Several in our party had a bit of shock at the price, e.g. $17 for a cheeseburger, but the food was good and we were rather full from our rather large fish and chips lunch.

We started Monday the 16th off with breakfast buffet at Swans Court. That was excellent. From the ham and cheese omelet to the croissants, muffins and, as it was everywhere in Hawaii, the fantastic fresh pineapple and cantaloupe, this was a great breakfast. Then Nana and I hopped the inter-hotel trolley to Whalers Village. Aside from the usual clothing and jewelry stores, there's a whaling museum which is fairly nice and includes a forecastle of a whaling ship. Whaling was a big thing here for quite a while and re-supplying the ships was big business in the area hence the museum. There are a number of whale "models" throughout and a whale skeleton at the entrance.

We took the inter-hotel/resort trolley to Whalers' Village we caught the bus for Lahaina. Nana wanted to find a Hawaiian dress and look around at all the stuff we'd missed in our short visit the first time. Had a good time. I wandered around the wharf area and got a good look at a swordfish that had been brought in. Also walked down behind the school and watched locals surfing. (NOTE: Hawaii is year-round school) Then I walked back over to where Nana was and we walked down the block to Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch. Good food and cheaper than the hotel. This is NOT the Jimmy Buffet owned chain of restaurants. We continued down Front Street to the Hardrock Cafe and caught the bus back to Whalers' Village.

A hint. The bus costs $2.50 (exact change) per ride. Day passes are $4.00. Want to ride out and back? Buy a day pass and save at least $1.00. Go someplace else or get on and off along the route and you can save much more. Good deal.

Tuesday was another day of fun and frolic on our own. After another sumptuous breakfast and a bit of time to let it settle we walked down the trail along the beach to Whalers' Village and Nana had another go at the shops. Then we took the trolley back to the Hyatt. Then we lolled around the hotel. Relaxed and enjoyed. That evening was our luau. It could have been better, it could have been worse, it was our first luau though so we can hardly be considered experts. The food was good, the dancing was entertaining and educational, and the fire knife show was awesome.

Our last day in Hawaii was Wednesday, 18 September. We got up, bags in the hall by 10 AM, on the bus/coach at 11:30 and down the road to Lahaina for more shopping. Nana had lunch at the Burger King (yeah, I know, Aunt Deanna laughed out loud at that). I went through the museum in the old town hall and we wandered around a bit. Then it was back on the bus and off for the Plantation Tour. That was interesting but it is set up for the tourists. Somehow I thought the pineapple plants were bigger, learned something there. Then it was a bit of a look about before dinner at _______. We had pre-ordered the steak. It was good. Dessert was macadamia nut pie which was like pecan pie, really a tart in size. As you know, I don't eat nuts but even Nana was not impressed.

Then it was off to the airport, through the agricultural inspection, checking bags, security, another agricultural inspection and onto the plane for our long, long flight home.

Notes from the gun shop...

Boy, the day flew by. Customers of one sort or another took up most of the day with barely enough time to chat or take a toilet break. We ate "lunch" on the go. Of note is that we had a S&W Victory model .38 come in the door. Looks to be all correct with original finish about 80-90% (I didn't get to look at it for very long). Might be gone by now, that was a whole 24 hours ago.

I got my Rock Island Auction catalogs today. Wish we had stuff that nice pass through our shop! WOW!

Notes from the gun shop...

What to say about today. Interestingly we have several classic, quality firearms on hand, a couple of neat other guns and we had some ammo. No, we have no .22 LR except for some match ammo. We sold out of the 9mm and .45 ACP ball but we do have .38 Special and .40 S&W. We also have some .17 HMR for the first time in several weeks.

Those neat firearms? There is a Smith and Wesson 17-4, a 15-3 and a 10-5 all in very good or better condition. We also have a couple of Savage 24s, a Browning Sweet 16 and a Ruger 94-44.

We also received a supply of 209 primers for blackpowder season and some TC Impact rifles.

One other thing. There was recently the abduction of a young woman in Nelson County. Today, two female residents of the area near the supposed site of her abduction bought a pistol for self-defense. It was obvious to them that the police could not be with them at the time of an abduction and that they would have to fend for themselves. That there was a man who had been arrested gave them no comfort...

The truth about guns and crime that you can understand...

Notes from the gun shop...

Boy, have things slowed down. We're still doing some business, lots of customer service, i.e. answering questions, but not firearms sales. Most people still want 9mm ball and .22LR. Other than that, no change.

Notes from the gun shop...

Things have really slowed down in the last week.  Still no .22 LR, .22 WRFM, .17 HMR, and so forth.  No powder, no bullets. We are starting to run out of certain primers.  Availability for hunting ammo for this fall seems to be tightening.

Big sellers?  Handguns suitable for concealed carry.  Ammo most requested (that we don't have) .22 LR, .380 ACP, 9x19mm, .22 WRFM.  Powders most in demand?  Red Dot, IMR or H4350, Varget.

I am constantly asked, after the usual, "Do you have ______ ammo?", "WHY?"  Why indeed.  The answer is simple.  People are scared, perhaps even panicked.  They have no faith in the trustworthiness of their elected representatives.  They have no faith in the broader government (as run by the bureaucrats).  They have no faith that was once normal will be that way again.  These people often say something along the lines of, "the world is upside down."  For them, what was right is wrong what was wrong is right, what was moral is now immoral and what was immoral is now moral.  This scares them.  These frightened people aren't all old, white, country people either.  Those who hold these views are of all demographics but one, they are not communists/socialists.  They ARE, white, black, Asian, young, middle-aged, old, male, female (and some who have crossed THOSE boundaries in their lives), rich, middle-class and poor.