FREE MARKET FAIRY TALES

Its November 19 which means its...

Just a gentle reminder

Your start the week free rifle porn

This morning dear readers, we start our week with one of Precision Rifle Services redoubtable products …

the Classic Precision Rifle, a snip at a credit crunch busting £9,995 (inclusive of VAT you will be delighted to know). For that sort of money, what do you get aside from ¼” – ½” group at 100 yards? Well the rest of the menu will have you slavering in your seat…

Action: Hand built waith a Grisel or Sunny Hill custom hinged floorplate & prigger guard

Trigger: Arnold Jewell stainless match-grade with top safety

Barrel: Shilen chrome-moly match-grade with hand polished, black finish; contour, length, weight & twist rate to customers specification

Chamber: What ever you want up to 338 Lapua

& if that isn’t enough to you, as an extra you can have an exhibition grade walnut stock

Ooooh nurse! Now many of you might quite correctly say that you can get just as much for a lot less money. But come on, fess up ... if you won the lottery you would wouldn't you? & before anyone asks, no I haven't just ordered one, but if I could, rest asured I would.

Last weeks comment of the week

Cue drum roll…..comes from Diana whose website is here. Anyway her winning entry that she left on what I thought was a long forgotten post on fox shooting is …

WTF is wrong with you hunt ass bitches??? Don't you f*cktards understand that animals have feelings, too? Well I guess you guys don't so go on being heartless and CRUEL, b*stards!

Do you know what? When I read stuff like that I am just seized by the urge to go & shoot something

Roll on the weekend!

Expensive birds ... & lots of them

I have to confess that the start of this years shooting season has gone really rather well – maybe not in terms of the number of days out, but certainly in terms of the number of birds. A month ago in Monmouthshire we had a total of 261 on the day (185 pheasants & 76 pheasants). On Friday, over in East Sussex we got 147 pheasants & 169 partridges. lets just say that currently the freezer is bulging with game.

Ah, a day in the countryside … rolling chalk downlands

& the scene behind your humble correspondents peg at the end of the first drive after lunch – on days like that, you simply can’t have enough shells in your cartridge bag

followed by the pickers up doing their stuff

The only downside to all of this that I am rapidly getting a taste for some very very expensive shooting. To put that into some sort of perspective, a smart driven day will cost circa £30 + VAT a bird shot. Given the current economic climate there are plenty of people trying to offload shooting that has already been paid for or is part paid – prices being quoted by some of the sporting agents are apparently as low as £15 per bird. However even had that sort of price, I still need to keep buying those lottery tickets

Start the week FAL fun

Abbiamo ricevuto un lotto di un centinaio di FAL L1A1 inglesi. Si tratta di armi ricondizionate in arsenale, in eccellenti condizioni, con rigatura dal 95% al 100%. Gli otturatori, usati ma in ottime condizioni, sono stati rimatricolati. La calciatura è in plastica e nella maggior parte degli esemplari è nuova. Su alcuni impugnature a pistola e su alcune maniglie ci sono tracce di usura da movimentazione.

As PG who sent me this link comments, no translation is really necessary

Sorry about the lack of posting but…

lets just say that I going to be rather busy today

Hip flask etiquette

Earlier this week, our favourite African American posted a comment that I made the other day

Time for one of my favourite pastimes: weapons cleaning. Now that is one of the advantages of a semi-automatic…lots of lovely little bits to clean. Yes I know, some actually regard this part of the post-shooting ritual as a bit of an anathema, but I take a simple pleasure in sitting down with either a mug of tea (or a large glass of whiskey) & taking the time to clean a firearm really well. Well it sure beats having to talk to the children

which got this reply from 1776 Rebel

I get nervous when folks talk about whiskey and guns. Even unloaded guns. Lots of time for the whiskey when everything is back in its cabinet or safe or wherever. Then the mind does the final safety check and the bottle opens up. I’m a gin and toxic guy.

Firstly lets get this straight, when I am down at the clay ground or on a rifle range I never touch a drop. Afterwards..oh yes & indeed there have been times when I have needed a couple of come back bracers to keep a hangover & the shakes at bay before picking up a rifle first thing in the morning. OK, but that being said, when your humble correspondent is out game shooting matters are slightly different. On a typical days pheasant shooting, my basket will contain at least the following:

Frankly, in between drives how are you going to properly enjoy the company of your fellow guns without a little social lubricant being passed around. However recently I have decided to stop messing about with all of those little metrosexual girlyman sized hip flasks & bought one of these wee fellows…

& yes that is a full sized shotgun next to it & those are 12 bore cartridges! Trust me when I say that a few snorts from that bad boy & you don’t have to worry about whether you should be shooting ‘maintained lead’ or ‘swinging through’ the birds …if you get my drift

Of course, this sort thing causes our cousins on the left hand side of the pond for blanche somewhat. A couple of weeks ago when I was smart shooting – we had 75 partridges & 165 pheasants on the day – one of the guns hailed from Chicago. Although he was an experienced shot, he had never shot driven game before. When after the first drive, we all tucked into the slogasms (sloe gin cut with champagne), his face was an utter picture & he wouldn't touch a drop all day. Of course we respected his views & got stuck in

Your Tuesday morning battle rifle conundrum

It would appear that on the left hand side of the pond there is an election of some note due very shortly. This seems to be preoccupying pundits & pollsters alike. Therefore out of respect for our cousins over the water I thought that we would conduct a little polling of our own but on an altogether much more interesting topic & here is the scenario…

Sanity has returned to our foreign policy in the finest traditions of Crecy, Agincourt & Waterloo, we are off to fight the French. When to get to armoury, there are only 2 rifles left in the rack; a Lee Enfield No.4

& a Mauser K98

Which one would you take.

On the face of it, there is little to choose between the two as both a proven designs, capable of surviving both the rigours of the campaign & still cut a dash on your shoulder as you march under the Eiffel Tower as part of the victory celebrations.

To all intents & purposes, there is no particular advantage in using either 7.92mm or .303. Either will leave suitably sized exit wounds in Jean-Claude’s chest.

In combat conditions & in the firefight, again there is nothing to separate either weapon in terms of accuracy.

The Lee Enfield’s 10 round capacity beats the Mauser’s 5. However, remember we are fighting the French here & there is a school of thought that says, with some justification I will add, that a couple of rounds is all your are going to need before the drapeau blanc is flying …

Assuming that plentiful ammunition will be available for both, which one would you sign out?

UPDATE - Sorry, but I have had to take the poll down as it had become corrupted. When I last checked it, after 150 votes, the No.4 was in the lead by a ratio of about 4:1

Of Franchis & log fires

The clocks went back on Saturday night, heralding the start of autumn. Maybe that is why it was raining so hard on Sunday morning or maybe it because simply because it was a Sunday. Still the rain was pouring down but reader Tricky & your humble correspondent had decided to head off to the clay range regardless – well it was either go & get wet or face the bedlam that is Free Market Towers on a Sunday, so no choice really.

Now instead of taking my Beretta, for some reason that I can’t quite fathom, I decided to break out the Franchi 20-guage. The reason that I try to kid myself that I bought in the first place was I thought that it would be an ideal little gun for Mrs FM to learn to shoot with – light & next to no recoil. However I must have been kidding myself because the moment she clapped eyes on it, out came a loud yuck & since that day about 5 years ago, I think that she has only shot it once.

It could be because it is a semi-automatic or maybe it is because of the Realtree paint job but Mrs FM, bless her little traditionalist little heart simply refuses to use it which is why I bought a Beretta Silver Pigeon & even that, an over & under, she secretly regards as a tad too modern.

So, in 5 years of ownership, I doubt that it has shot more than a thousand rounds. I have used it on quite a few bunny bashing expeditions where its synthetic finish comes into its own – bouncing around in a Landie at night - but the few times that I have tried to shoot clays, for whatever reason I have never been able to consistently connect with anything. But what the heck, there’s a first time for everything & its raining like billy-o

Of course, all of this missing is completely down to operator error. If I do have any criticisms of the gun, firstly the cocking handle, its way way too small. Maybe it has been designed for dainty designer Italian hands or maybe, after years of using military weapons I am used to something a little larger & more robust but to my way of thinking, that handle is far too small.

Secondly, when it comes to ammunition, its more sensitive than a Welshman with a grievance. I have shot it dry, wet, dirty, clean & every combination thereof, but try as I might, I just can’t get it to cycle on 24 gram shells. Now I know that the answer is to shoot 28’s (doh!) but a lot a clay grounds will only let you shoot their own ammo & invariably those will be low fat loads. However yesterday the range we were at allows to to use your own shells so I shot a combination of both. Predictably, the 24’s wouldn't cycle but the Franchi was flawless on the 28’s.

In fact, aside for the aforementioned ammunition issues, that little gun went really really well. I even managed to connect with between 50-60% of everything which I was absolutely delighted with, especially given that the conditions were slightly less than ideal.

But when it comes to getting home wet, lets just say that is why we have Aga – not because of all of that slow cooking blah blah blah nonsense but because designer kitchens might be all very well for Gordon or Jamie, but they don’t have anywhere where you can dry sopping shooting kit. That takes Mrs Aga

With all the clobber gently drying out, time for one of my favourite pastimes: weapons cleaning. Now that is one of the advantages of a semi-automatic…lots of lovely little bits to clean. Yes I know, some regard actually this part of the post shooting ritual as a bit of an anathema, but I take a simple pleasure in sitting down with either a mug of tea (or a large glass of whiskey) & taking the time to clean a firearm really well. Well it sure beats having to talk to the children

& with everything sorted out & stowed away, only then did your humble correspondent feel that he had earned the right to settle down on the sofa of sloth, as some of The Englishman’s logs crackled away cheerfully in the wood burner & get stuck into an immense stack of gun porn oh yes, & an equally large drinky-poos

How glad am I to be back from Asia?

Today I shall be mainly listening to...

Today I will be shirking – well not shirking exactly. After the school run I have to pop down to Salisbury. From there it will be cross country to Cirencester for a spot of luncheon

& then on to Monmouthshire where I shall be staying in this fine hostelry tomorrow night, with seven other stout bulldogs

Do you recall all of those 12-bore cartridges … well we fully intend to put them to good use on Friday. Given that I shall be driving through some of the most beautiful & quintessentially English countryside you could ever imagine, I think that it is entirely appropriate to spend the journey listening to this man’s music

Very very loudly.

Not really the grand homecoming...

... but I got home at seven this morning & by three I was down at Greenfields of Salisbury, topping up FM Tower's magazine with a couple of thousand rounds of Eley's excellent VIP Game

Well the season has already started & I have some catching up to do

Friday Mauser porn

Apologies for the lamentable lack of firearms posting but being stuck in Hong Kong for the last few months, I have managed very little shooting etc etc. That sorry state of affairs will soon be rectified. Shall we just say that now I have my appetite back, I thought that we would round of the week with this…

a Mauser K98k in 8x57 caliber, manufactured by Feinmechanische Werke GmbH Erfurt (ERMA) & sporting a rather swanky Zeiss Zelvier telescope sight on high turret mounts.

For those of you that have five grand burning a hole & an empty slot on your FAC, its available for a mere £4,250 from R J Holloway. As an alternative, if you are down to your last fifteen hundred quid, you might want to consider this

A K98k fitted with the ZF41 sharpshooters scope which Fulton’s currently have in the rack. Of course Fultons being Fultons, they only have a picture of half the rifle. Somethings never change & that is certainly true of those guys!

Quack quack ... bang!

& so the season opens

Today dear readers is The Glorious Twelfth & for those of you lucky enough to be out on the high hill, what sport awaits you…

Your humble correspondent is stuck in Cathay’s bosom however, reading sad news like this

The grouse shooting industry could become the latest casualty of the credit crisis, it is feared.

So if anyone out there is pondering the cost of a days shooting, just go do it. I havent manged to get up to Scotland for a couple of years now, but if you have never been up on the moor in pursuit of those elusive little red birds, I guarantee you that your game book is incomplete. Rectify that inexcuable omission. Now

Monday morning literature

In 1959, Ed Zern reviewed Lady Chatterley's Lover for Field & Stream:

This fictional account of the day-by-day life of the English gamekeeper is still of considerable interest to outdoor-minded readers, as it contains many passages on pheasant-raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. Unfortunately one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material in order to discover and savour these sidelights on the management of a Midlands shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion this book cannot take the place of J.R. Miller's Practical Gamekeeping.

On another occasion, a reader complained that his wife wanted him to give up outdoor sports:
"If this keeps on I'm going to blow my brains out. Please give me whatever advice you can."

Zern responded: "Since trajectory isn't important here, our recommendation would be a .35 Remington with 200-grain soft-nose bullet."

Pointed out by Gweilicus & shamlessly stolen from the Futility Closet

Achtung Brassiere?

Just following up from yesterdays body armour post, it now seems that German Police have also come up with a similar system... only its for its women officers

The new underwear was developed as a second barrier of defence after normal bras were found to cause injuries while on duty. The officers' bullet-proof vests, while stopping the force of gunshots in an attack, pushed the plastic and metal parts of their underwear into their flesh, causing injury.

Carmen Kibat, a policewoman in Hamburg who tested the new underwear, said: "These can save someone's life so it's not a laughing matter." She organised "Action Brassiere" across Germany, getting hundreds of policewomen to try the bras out in the line of duty.

Sadly at the moment, I cannot find any clips of Officer Kibat testing her underwear!

"Mitch, I'd like you to shoot me again, to prove the point..."

You probably don't want to be trying this one at home

& the latest pig news

From reader Peter

Will you look at this nice harmless little piggy? There he was, just quietly minding his own little piggy business.... eating his little piggy dinner.... which he paid for himself, of course... and then BLAM.... some cruel neo-fascist crypto-terrorist, quite unreasonable armed with a murderous lethal weapon... that COULD be used to shoot a small child.... just goes and cruelly takes away his little piggy life.... wiping out his dreams of settling down and providing for his family.....

I am pretty sure this is directly linked to the cause of stabbing in inner cities and pretty much everything else that is wrong with the world....... including the woefully inadequate suspension springs that they fit on trucks nowadays. I am disgusted, of course..... and have only set it as the wallpaper on my computer as a warning against the threat of global warming.

I feel the need, the need for leeeeeeeeed

This morning, the redoubtable Mrs FM & your humble correspondent have been to the clay range to give the Berettas a good rousting. Whilst my 12-bore Model 686 (on the right in the picture below)

is still a wonderful wonderful gun to shoot with, Mrs FM’s 20-bore Silver Pigeon is just about the most delightful, light, fast handling shotgun that I have ever used. If I had my time again, it is probably the only shotgun that I’d ever use.

Anyway, the War Office’s shooting is coming along nicely – she is currently connecting about 50% of the time. However, when she connects, it is slap bang in the middle of the pattern stuff. So as soon as she stops thinking about what she is doing, starts to relax & shoot instinctively, that average will come up worryingly quickly. Grrrrrrrrrr!

Other than that, I feel it incumbent upon me to point out the gratuitous matching of cap, jacket & shirt…

…sometimes, just sometimes, she is such a girl!

Today, I have mainly been...

Taking the dogs for a walk & the enivitable swim this morning

followed by a trip over to The Englishman's Castle this afternoon

for a little noise creation

followed by a few cups of tea, round at mein hosts. This evening before supper, I shall wander across the field to the pub for a couple of jars of Wadsworths' finest. Racing around the globe is all very well, but this really is my sort of a day.

Your start the week Kalashnikov fun

Two things sprang to mind when I saw this photo: firstly, really really hope that she had that AK set to fully automatic fire & secondly ...

… looking at the only vague proximity of rifle butt & shoulder, deep regret that this is a single picture & not one of a series, taken she hoyed back on the trigger …!

New arrivals

Sorry for the lack of posting over the last day or so but your humble corrspondent has found himself seeking respite from the heat & humidity of Hong Kong with literally, a flying visit home.

Now 24 hours in Blighty might not seem long, but it has proved long enough to pick up these little fellows …

A brace of black powder pistols might not seem very much to those of you that live in civilised parts of the world, but here in GFWland, owning these at the very very least probably classifies me a deemed enemy of what passes these days for society.

Sadly I haven’t had time to give them a good rousting as tomorrow, I am back on the plane but soon soon my precious ones...

Firearms torture

Ensconced as your humble correspondent currently is in Cathey’s bosom, life has pretty much reverted of hedonistic bachelordom as this is (on & off) an ‘unaccompanied’ secondment until mid September. There are however a couple of downsides. Firstly, as maddening as they can be at times, I miss my ... dogs. Secondly, at nearly 44 years old, there is simply no way that my body can recover from Hong Kong's hangovers pace of life quickly enough these days. So, after nearly two weeks out on the screaming this week has been a little more sedate, mainly because Megacorp has very kindly flown Family FM out for the half term break. Needless to say, my schedule has been a little more restrained now that the handbrake is in town, which for the sake of my liver/kidneys/waistline is probably just as well.

Anyway, aside from half a ton of junk & two very petulant children, Mrs FM brought out my unopened post from the UK which comprised two categories: firstly, final demand notices / written threats from money lenders to pay the usurious rates of interest & secondly, my Firearms Certificate which has just come back from the Police after my last variation application.

Deep joy!

They even acquiesced to all my requests

Even deeper joy!

So I now have empty ‘slots’ for a .17 rifle, a fully moderated .223 rifle, a .303 rifle & a brace of .44 black powder pistols. Therefore, upon getting home in the autumn, I will be able to indulge my compulsive firearms purchasing disorder with a vengeance.

Now regulars will know that I bought the pistols some months ago now but haven’t picked them up because I have been laggardly in getting my FAC varied. So that’s just a question of popping 10 miles down the road to get them.The .303 is going to be quite easy as my favourite gunship has several very nice looking Lee Enfield No.4’s under refurbishment at the moment. That will be a case of a 60 mile round trip & cutting a cheque. Sorted.

However, the .17 & the .223 present more problems as there is nothing out there (available in the UK in a left handed version) that really appeals. So I am now faced with the prospect of two custom builds … quelle hardship I know!

Current thinking is that I will base the .17 on a Savage because the CZ/Brno isn’t available with a heavy barrel as a left hooker. In fact all I am proposing to do is to junk the stock & fit it with something a bit better. In the UK, all Savage rimfires already come with the barrel cut for a moderator so it will just be a case of screwing on my existing T8.

The .223, will prove a little more difficult. If Steyr produced their excellent Scout in a left hooker I'd just get one of those. Sadly they don’t, so something a little more proprietary is in order. Because the biggest constraint is the action, the chances are that I will base it on a blueprinted Remington & indeed a lefty one of these

(available from Rimfire Magic) fitted with an over the barrel PES moderator would fit the bill nicely.

The real complications are however more fundamental & serious. The second hand 7.62mm Blaser LRS leftie that I looked at a few months ago is still available... oh & favourite gunsmith currently has another really nice looking Mauser which will be ready shortly & I fancy building an ersatz Short Slide Rail K98 to compliment my Long Slide Rail K98k. But Nipper is growing up fast & will need a 28g shotgun soon.

I know, I know ... the answer is to sell the kids to a passing Austrian, beg my local Firearms Licensing Office for yet another variation & just go and buy the lot. At least if I have sold the kids I'll be saved the cost of a half decent shotgun!

Proof that cowboys were larger than life

Can to think of it, if say your average run of the mill Glock can bring on a bout of PSH among the GFW fraternity, this wee fella should induce a full rectal prolapse

h/t to Axe Wielding Manic for this one

Browning Hi-Power Pistol

Today dear readers, our Monday morning gun porn is somewhat bittersweet for me as my Hi Power was seized by the State as few years ago. Notwithstanding the UKs absurd firearms legislation, today we celebrate John Moses Browning’s classic design

Initially, the "High Power" pistol was designed by John M. Browning in 1925 and was patented in the USA in 1927, soon after the death of the Browning. The design was aquired by Belgian state-owned company FN Herstal, and improved by FN designer Dieudonne Saive. The resulting pistol was shelved until 1935, when Belgian army was ready to adopt new sidearm.

The HP was offered for trials and won, and was adopted as a Model 1935 pistol. Soon after that it was also adopted by Belgian police and by many foreign countries, including the Britich Commonwealth ones. The High Power is the only sidearm that served for both sides in WW2. Germany used many HPs manufactured in occupied Belgium, while Allies used HPs manufactured mostly in Canada by Inglis. The HP continues its service well into the 21st century with many armies and police forces, being the second longest 'living' service pistol after another famous Browning design, the Colt 1911.

Technically, the High Power pistol, also known as Browning HP 35, GP 35 or Model 1935, is a recoil operated, locked breech pistol. It uses a linkless barrel to slide locking invented by Browning. The trigger is single action, with external hammer. The original HPs featured frame mounted safety at the left side of the frame, that locks both sear and slide. Modern versions, since Mark II, also featured ambidextrous safety levers, that are also more comfortable to operate.

Some pre- and WW2-time guns also featured backstraps with cuts to accomodate removable shoulder stocks/holsters. The HP was the first military pistol to have high capacity, staggered column magazine for 13 rounds plus one loaded in the chamber.

Pump it up

If you were to take a little look on Guntrader, a cursory glace would reveal that of the 2,464 rifles that are for sale, only 21 are pump actions. Unlike our American cousins, for no real reason us stout bulldogs don’t consider them to be ‘part of the woodwork’. Indeed the same said search of Guntrader would reveal that most of the ‘pumps’ that are for sale are old Brownings such as this

that are in the rack at £150, less dealer discount. So, cut to an undisclosed location in Texas just over a month ago when I had the opportunity to shoot a Taurus thingy or to give it its full title a Model 62C-SS

Now I have to ‘fess up’ that my initial reaction was less than even tepid right up until the moment when I actually shot it.

In the interests of brevity, shall we skip what might laughably be described as a technical description because that would miss the whole point of these things - here’s what you do with them

1. Stuff them full of ammo
2. Shoot said ammo off as quickly as possible
3. Reload
4. Repeat #s 3&4 until you are out of ammo
5. Go to the gun store, buy more ammo and then repeat #’s3&4 ad nauseam

… what they don’t tell you on the tin is these things are small, light, childishly simple & utterly addictive to shoot.

As Kim advises about his Taurus (the one I was shooting)

I could not put this little rifle down.Now, I’m not saying that you’ll have as much fun as I did when you get to shooting your pump-action .22 rifle. I bet you’ll have even more fun than I did. My advice to you: take twice as much ammo to the range than you normally take, then you won’t be as disappointed as I was when I finally had to quit. Set aside some extra ammo for other guys to shoot too, just like I had to

You don’t one of these, you need one … now. Trust me, I’d never tell a porkie about such weighty matters

Mauser G33/40

This mornings gun porn is a Mauser oddity, the Mauser G33/40 which was usually issued to the Alpenkorps

The G33/40, is a shortened and lightened version of the K98 rifle. Built by Waffen Werke Brunn it was only in production for 3 years, from 1940-1942. It fired the exact same 7.92mm round, and had the same Mauser 98 action. However, that is where the similarities end.

The G33/40 had several different parts that were not matching with the K98. These included: the bolt, stock, cleaning rod, sight hood cover, upper hand guard, barrel bands, sling, and even the bayonet.

This particular survivor is fitted with a ZF41 scope it would have been issued to a marksman for short distance sniper duties.

What to do with an old BSA?

There are lots of ‘em kicking around, old BSA .22s, for the most part, unused & unloved, consigned to the back of the gun safe gently gathering dust & worse. The fact that there is still such a supply of these rifles that haven’t now been produced for several decades, is an indication of how well they were put together in the first place. However both time & shooting fashions have somewhat passed the venerable BSA Martini by. Even me, Mr Black Plastic have to confess that there is something about these old rifles, even though I sold mine a few years ago.

Anyway, on Sunday night as I whiled away the evening half watching television but mainly surfing gun porn & fantasising about future gun purchases, I came upon this up for sale by one of my local dealers

Now at £595 it is way way too spendy given that whilst cute, even the glass is nothing special (it is sporting an Optimate 6x44). Then again, just look at that walnut stock

With a 21” barrel & sound moderator fitted, to my way of thinking, you could while away many a happy afternoon just plinking away at either tins or targets. The only down side that I can see is the way the scope is mounted

With the rear bell sitting so far back over the action, swift reloads might prove a little fiddly & this in turn might any serious vermin control slightly difficult. But then, a little more research revealed this which is currently for sale by the same dealer that I bought my Mauser & Ruger 1022 Evolution from

At only £295, complete with forward mounted scope & moderator, to my mind, that looks a very handy little package. The cut down barrel might make it a little butt heavy but the addition of the moderator, even though not heavy should help keep the centre of balance between your hands

Now I know that there is an argument that says you should chop up these old rifles but to be honest, its not like there is a shortage of old BSAs & they go fo very little at auction.

In any case, I would rather see these old 12/15s refurbished & modified than have them rotting away unused. This to my mind would be a great little all round rifle as long as you dont get too hung up on the Martini action. It would certainly be short enough to have with you at night, bouncing around in your Landrover potting rabbits & will almost certainly be more accurate than the average shooter.

So, if you dont fancy buying the usual CZ or indeed a 1022, you might want to try something a little bit different. I can guarantee you that if you were to turn up on the range with either of the above, everyone would want to have a go.

Rifle, .303 Pattern 1914

Continuing our very intermittent series of predominantly British infantry weapons, this morning dear readers we turn our attention to the venerable Pattern 14 (or P14) rifle.

Originally designed before the Great War for .276” caliber, it was ultimately produced in the more usual .303 caliber in the United States under contract by Remington, Winchester & Eddystone as to re-tooling British factories that were running at fully capacity producing SMLE’s would have been impractical. Interestingly, being based upon the Mauser action, it represented a departure from the more usual Enfield style action

During the Boer War the British Army had faced accurate long-range fire from insurgents (eh? Ed) using Model 1895 Mausers chambered for the 7x57mm round.. This smaller, high-velocity cartridge prompted the War Department to develop their own "magnum" round in 1910, using a .276 calibre round patterned from that of the Canadian Ross rifle.

However being prduced by three manufacturers, caused serious production problems;

Each factory produced parts from their own designs, leading to interchangeability issues; Winchester was particularly troublesome in this regard, going so far as to refuse for months to change to the new Mk I* standard. Therefore, the official designation of the rifle was dependent upon its manufacturer: e.g., the Pattern 1914 Mk I W is a Mk I of Winchester manufacture, R would be Remington, or E for Eddystone.

The P14's principal combat use during WWI was as a sniper rifle, since it was deemed to be more accurate than the SMLE at longer ranges, either in standard issue form or with modified or telescopic sights (modified and telescopic sights were used only on Winchester-manufactured rifles).

When the U.S. entered the war, the P14 was modified and standardized by the U.S. Ordinance Department and went into production at the same factories as had produced the P14, production of that rifle having ceased, as the Model of 1917, commonly known as the M1917 Enfield, chambered for the standard US 30-06 cartridge. It enjoyed considerable success as a complement for the Springfield M1903 rifles which were America's official standard issue, soon far surpassing the Springfield in terms of both total production and breadth of issue.

Prior to and during World War II, the P14 was used, after undergoing modification ("Weedon repair standard", formally the Mk II standard) in Britain as a rearguard rifle, primarily to equip the WWII Home Guard (the soldiers of Dad's Army carried P14s); the rifle was also used again as a sniper rifle (the configuration being different from the WWI incarnation

Indeed, as one pundit puts it

the P14 was a British design, based on a German action, manufactured in America.

Therefore, the next time you see some ponytailed protesters waving their 4 x 2 placards about the international arms trade, you might like to politely point out that it really is nothing new!

Women at Arms

Lots more here. Found by Walt who swears blind that he stumbled upon it while researching the Lee Enfield carbines Model 1888 bayonet.

Mondays weapons systems quiz

This should get the old grey matter turning over ...

(a) Sketch and label a CD versus Mach number plot for a typical bullet. What physically occurs at the Mach numbers for drag divergence and maximum CD? (5 marks)

(d) Describe the origins of equilibrium yaw and magnus effect on spin-stabilised shells. How does a point-mass trajectory model differ from a modified point-mass model? (5 marks)

Lots more (as pointed out to us by EX_STAB) here

Aftermarth

How was yesterday for y'all??

It seems as though I havent been here been shooting for a long long time. Well lets just say that over the last two days I have been shooting these ... a lot!

I wish that I could write you a full range report but sadly 1) its way too late & 2) I am still grinning far too much to be able to even try to put a half sensible post together ... & yes I know, that doesnt normally stop me but tonight I am afraid it will

Scope issues resolved

Idont know if you rcall, but back in January I was trying to work out how on earth the adjustments on the ZF scope that Mickey is now sporting, works

This morning, thanks to TSgt Matt, I have the answer

I own one of these fine scopes and I can tell you EXACTLY how this thing works. First off, the "canoe" shaped dial in the middle is solely to focus the optic. To adjust the elevation, simply loosen the small thumbscrew (it is attached to the post with the arrow pointing to the range dial) and simply rotate the range dial until you are right on target. Don't worry about what the range dial is pointed to...we will take care of that now. The numbers are basically a bullet drop compensator for the military issue 7.92mm (192gr. I believe) and is set in meters.

Now, with your rifle sighted at 100m, loosen the 3 screws on top of the turret (under the "canoe" focus lever...NOT on the scope tube itself). Next just rotate the range ring to have the arrow point to the 100 and then tighten down the screws. When the screws are loose, you should be able to rotate the ring without moving the crosshair up/down. With the screws now tight, it clamps the elevation adjustment to the range dial, so when you turn the dial to the next range, it will affect the elevation.

Once I get home, it will be straight round to The Englishmans for a spot of zeroing

Trigger control?

Pink pistols ...

... whatever next.

(via The Englishman who is 'resting' in a darkened room having sent me this)

Your breakfast issues resolved

Its that perennial morning after problem: you cant focus because of the jackhammer in your head & you have a mouth like a Kurdish lorry drivers jockstrap. Still, help is on the way in the shape of the fry up that you have on the go but then it all grinds to a halt because you simply can’t decide how you want your eggs.

Fear not, because those clever fellows in Hong Kong have come you with these …

You don’t need one, you will simply just have to buy all four. In fact, this is so good that I am nearly moved to invite four GFW’s round for brunch on Saturday but on second thoughts, fortunately I don’t know any. Maybe as a replacement I will just have to extend an open invitation to Mothers Against Reality & hope a few show up

& in the spirit of today’s Teutonic theme…

We have looked before at one or two of the rather (cough cough) more interesting weapons that are currently coming out of Germany at the moment, such as this excellent H&K MP5 clone.
Now as EX_STAB points out, this copy of the legendary Sturmgewehr MP-44 is becoming available.

Whilst we would all like to see it in a more mainly cartridge than .22LR, the advantage is that in this smaller calibre, it is fully UK legal in semi-auto format. At EUR. 1749, it is certainly ssssspendy but surely that is a mere bagatelle when compared to the pleasure that you would have owning one

Lao ji xuelei chou, jin wo shou zhong qiang

Never forget the hatred forged of blood and tears,
and hold that gun tightly in your hands

Forget "doing it for the children", just arm them now

Via Kim

The rise of violent crime was highlighted yesterday when it was revealed that children as young as eight have been caught with guns.

This photograph was taken three years ago, when Boy was seven years old. It was a beautiful evening & with a couple of hours of daylight left, we thought that we would the opportunity to go & pot some rabbits before supper.

Down in these yerrrr parrrrrrts, this is pretty much normal behaviour. In fact I simply cannot exactly recall at what age I did the same with my father. However (via The Englishman) it would seem that the GFWs don’t want our children to be taught how to safely handle legally owned weapons …

Did you realise there is no minimum age requirement for a shotgun licence, and that children as young as 10 are being issued with them?

However, I don’t feel comfortable about this, do you? Anti-gun campaigners do not feel children are mature enough to use a powerful weapon. I would be interested to know how many young shotgun holders have been involved in accidents. Do the police ask why pre-teens want a shotgun? I would like to see the data on that too.

Whilst my heart is uplifted to learn that in Suffolk alone, 182 under-16s have received Shotgun Certificates, this sort of thing really causes me to spend hours, sitting in the dark, stroking my Remington while whispering softly to her soon soon my precious, soon soon. In fact, as regular readers will know, this sort of rage is normally followed by your humble correspondent heading straight down to the gun shop to buy himself another little something (once the urge to head for the clock tower has receded). But not this time however, oh no. This time I am going to do something a little different…

The big irony in all of this is that Boy, now ten years old, doesn’t actually need a Shotgun Certificate to shoot on a regular basis & shoot on a regular basis he certainly does. However, thanks to the likes of Ms Seymour (someone who labels herself as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations , Press Consultant, Journalist, Political & PR Blogger), that is about to change. If young people being approved by their local Firearms Licensing Officer to have a Certificate causes such PSH, there is clearly only one course of action open.

Looks like I will be filling in the forms this weekend!

Yours, aye

Mr FM
(someone who when he is sober enough to remember, wants to see EVERY ONE one of Her Majesty's law abiding subjects armed & trained in the use of those arms)

Time to start this year's Christmas list

Forget Surefire, what you want is one of these...

A wave of the fat capitalist cigar to TDB for the link & for this one from EX_STAB
(warning, some of the lyrics aren't shall we say terribly work safe)

One from the vault

Xiong huai chouhen, dan wu xu fa

Tebie yao zhuajin xue sheji, zhandou zhongjian zui daliang zui pubian de ying benshi jiu shi sheji. Yiding yao ba sheji xunlian gao hao.

With vengeance in your heart, no bullet will be fired in vain.

You must especially make the best use of your time to learn how to fire a gun, because in combat this is the most widely used practical skill.

Ensure that training for shooting a gun is thoroughly carried out.

& for those of you that thought that their tactical rifles were fully kitted out...

you really need one of these

Stolen from Last of the Few

Saul has slain his thousands; But David his tens of thousands

In view of yesterdays report (that the Army has run out of machine guns), perhaps the time is now right to scour our many military museums for suitable replacement weapons & lets be honest, with the possible exception of the greatest light machine gun ever produced, nothing screams stout bulldog like the venerable Vickers medium machine gun. Deploy a few of those to the North West Frontier & the Pathans heads would be kept well & truly down in the gutter

Yes, it harks from a different much happier age & indeed it was in 1881 when Hiram Maxim, was attending a Paris exhibition that he was told that if he was to achieve pay parity with Croesus he was going to need

to invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each others' throats with greater facility.

Sensing the commercial opportunity, he wisely set up shop in London’s Hatton Garden, an area long noted for its very very commercial outlook &

between 1883 & 1885 patented almost every process by which automatic fire could be produced. In 1884 a press report stated "Hiram Maxim, the well known American electrician has made an automatic machine gun with a single barrel, using the standard .45 rifle cartridge, that will load and fire itself by energy derived from recoil at a rate of over 600 rounds a minute."

The bulldogs adopted the Vickers.303 (basically a go-faster version of Maxim’s original machine gun with a slightly reduced rate of fire) in 1912 & its crew of six could produce the equivalent weight of fire of 40 well drilled riflemen.

The following tale related by Ian Hogg gives you an idea of just how good a weapon this was

The Vickers gun accompanied the BEF to France in 1914, and in the years that followed proved itself to be the most reliable weapon on the battlefield, some of its feats of endurance entering military mythology. Perhaps the most incredible was the action by the 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps at High Wood on August 24, 1916.

One team fired 120,000 from one gun to win a five-franc prize offered to the highest-scoring gun. And at the end of that 12 hours every gun was working perfectly and not one gun had broken down during the whole period. It was this absolute foolproof reliability which endeared the Vickers to every British soldier who ever fired one. It never broke down; it just kept on firing and came back for more. And that was why the Mark 1 Vickers gun was to remain the standard medium machine-gun from 1912 to 1968.

Sadly, I have never had the opportunity for fire this most quintessentially British of weapons. However in light of the current shortages of both men & material, I don’t discount being recalled to the Colours at any time (heaven help us all) & indeed, if I were to find myself east of Suez equipped with one of these fine old pieces ...

... I wouldn’t be too disappointed

Of Courts Martial

Retired Army Green Beret James T. (Smokey) Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling pretty good about it. Taylor, at age 79, is one of the oldest members of Chapter XXXIII (The Larry Thorne Chapter) of the Special Forces Association. He was placed on trial by fellow Chapter XXXIII members under the charge of "failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber" in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, TN, in November.

The court martial, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. The event itself was deadly serious.

Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of November 5, 2007,when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises