The Last Practice: Tacoma’s National Guard Armory Shuts Down
Members of the Dockyard Derby Dames scrimmaging for at the armory for the last time.
Words go here.
NSSF SHOT Show 2010 2nd Floor Panoramas
Panorama from the top of the DPMS booth Towards the Glock booth
Panorama from the top of the DPMS booth Towards the CZ booth
Czech Out This Czech Steel Jacketed Steel Core 7.62×39 [230Grain.com Repost]
Yet another repost from 230Grain.com
Some time ago I received 80 rounds of some very mean looking surplus 7.62×39 in light blue cardboard boxes. After some digging around on the internet and a brief discussion with some friends from The Firing Range we figured out that the ammunition was Czech in origin and potentially over or undercharged (factory proof or rifling test loads). Some more deliberation made me decide that it was my duty as a denizen of several Internet firearms communities to dissect and weigh a sample projectile and post the results on the Internet. The results have been been on 230Grain.com and on the Something Awful but I figured it was deserving of a slightly more permanent article here.
Birchwood and Casey Aluma Black Review/Overview [230Grain.com Repost]
Yet another blatantly ripped off posted from 230Grain.com
While milling through my favorite sporting goods store’s shooting section I found a cute blue bottle from Birchwood and Casey. The contents of the bottle was called “Aluminum Black” and judging by the “Poison” and “Selenium Dioxide” warnings on the bottle; this was not some strange unrefrigerated energy supplement. According to the description on the bottle, “the room temperature chemical used by gunsmiths and industry to blacken aluminum parts,” and with some quick thinking on my part, would be perfect for fixing up the blemishes on my Sig P6/225′s aluminum frame.
[230Grain Repost] How to Parkerize (Maganese Phosphate) Your Face Off
[Yet Another Article I wrote for 230Grain.com]
Warning, and general safety tips:
Always perform this and all other processes involving caustic chemicals in a well ventilated area using the appropriate safety clothing and eye protection. Great care must be used when using flammable materials around fire to prevent injury or death. MisoStudios.com and the author, Miso Beno, hold no responsibility for any injury or damage that may result from this tutorial. I have made every attempt to insure the factuality of this article but still suggest that the end user try it on a something cheap and easy to replace before trying it out on that family heirloom.
If you kill yourself or ruin your stuff it is not our fault.
TALCS Public Sighting
Photos of the TALCS are popping up on the automotive forum, R3VLimited, in the “Official 2009 E30 Picnic Photo Thread!” It is nice to note that the TALCS has officially passed through Canadian customs (and was inspected by Canadian customs with no issue) and was well received in it’s first public appearance. There’s nothing quite like reviving an old idea and finding it it both surprisingly useful and stylistic. I hope to improve on the TALCS’ design before it’s next “major” shoot.
- Why who is this very THE TACTICAL gentleman? I have no idea who he could be. -Photo by Brad Bowen
Marine Imports – A Canadian Quest to be a Marine
Editor’s note: Due to the sensitivity of the issue(s) discussed in the story you are about to read, the individual’s name has been withheld.
The United States Military has accepted foreigners into its ranks for decades but for one Canadian his journey to become a U.S. Marine has been met with resistance and failure at every turn.
David Francis is a native Canadian living in British Columbia and has dreamed of become a U.S. Marine since he was 5 years old growing up watching films of U.S. Marines charging the shores of Iwo Jima during World War Two. In 2004 he decided he would follow his dreams and try to join the U.S. Marine Corps but his path has been littered with both bureaucratic and physical obstacles.
Since he was a child David has always considered America and Canada to be the same country thought that his calling was in the Marine Corps. His father had lived in America and was on the list to get a green card but decided to surrender it when our marine hopeful was born. The single act of passing on his green card set his son and our Canadian up for the bureaucratic adventure of his lifetime.
This adventure started in 2004 with the announcement to his friends that he was going to join the United States Marine Corps. He first consulted his Canadian career councilor who told him that it would be a simple process of crossing the U.S./Canadian border and applying to become a Marine at the first recruiter station he came across. Of course U.S. Immigration law had something to say about this; to join the any branch of the United States military as a non-citizen he is required to hold a green card, which he did not have. This left him with two options; he could apply for a skilled worker visa, live in the United States for two years then apply for a green card, or he could marry an American for at least a year.
Not wanting to jeopardize his opportunity to enlist, by engaging in a sham marriage to acquire a green card, David decided to start looking for employers in the states that might sponsor his entry into the country. Unfortunately after a year of searching he found that entering the U.S. through the legal route would be much harder than he expected because he lacked skills that would ease his entry into the state under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Citing Emma Lazarus’ “The New Colossus” inscribed inside of the Statue Liberty, our Canadian said, “The U.S.A seems to have forgotten the creed about the tired masses and the land of opportunity. I can’t fairly criticize the nation for trying to protect itself from criminals entering wholesale, and I understand why the policy is cautious to begin with, but frankly it’s at the point where it’s ridiculously difficult to attempt to emigrate and begin a life down there.”
Two years into his attempt at immigrating into America to become a Marine, David was still searching for a means of legitimate entry with no success. Instead of waiting idly he began working for a company specializing in tactical gear and accessories for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to set money aside so he could go to medical school to become a nurse. He was making good headway until a non-work related injury left him bedridden from winter 2007 to winter of 2008 waiting for emergency surgery to repair his injuries. It seemed that his hopes to become a Marine were being stifled at every turn, but he still hasn’t given up or taken the easy route by joining his native military. His refusal to join his native military isn’t because he lacks respect for soldiers of his own nation. Instead David said “holding a gun all day is cool and all, but it’s just a job. Being a Marine has always been more of a calling to me.”
Although David has recovered from his injuries he still has a minimum of three years of hard work and studying ahead of him. He is aiming to become a nurse so he can take advantage of the TN-1 skilled worker visa program under NAFTA, which would allow him to enter the U.S. and apply for a green card.
How To Butcher Your Marlin 60
Last year I ended up receiving a beat up Marlin/Glenfield Model 60 semi-automatic 22LR for a job. During some down time last year I became a little desperate for a project so I decided to use up a few cans of spray paint I had left over from my Nerf Maverick paintjob and decided to make my marlin as “tacticool” as I could on my limited budget. My Model 60 went from a standard issue plinker to a “tactical bubba can snypa special” and was reliquished to the back of my closet where it spent most the past few months.
Then Clinotus of 230Grain.com mentioned that April would be “Tactipril” and I decided to break out the ‘ol Model 60 and submit it as fluff for the competition. I couldn’t just leave well enough alone and decided to get in touch with my friend James about using his metal lathe. After some idle catching up he agreed to teach me how to use his lathe and to help me with my quest for the “tacticool.” Unfortunately for me, the Model 60 isn’t as easy to butcher as it’s counterpart the Ruger 10/22 which is the firearms ricer’s dream rifle. Instead of having a barrel held in with an easy to remove screw the Model 60 has a pinned and pressed barrel which is a pain to remove, but who in their right mind takes the barrel off of a Model 60? They’re amazingly good rifles out of the box.
Unable to find much information on removing the barrel from this line of rifle I decided to make a nice and informative post on how to potentially ruin a $100 rifle. My results were positive but I can understand how this process could permanently ruin your firearm and that is why I am posting this article for entertainment purposes only.
Stock Photography
For the past several weeks I’ve been futzing around with an old Vz. 24 rifle stock that I had cut up (have pitty on me milsurp gods) to restore a bring-back Kar 98k stock that had been duffel cut. After a heated brain-storming session with some e-buddies I decided that the best route to take would be to build a “Tactical Assault Longrange Camera” (TALC) around my Nikon D200. Of course the project is still underway and needs to undergo field trials before it can be deployed in major tactical operations.
The TALC should be ready for the first field trial later this March May and will have its first review in April by the kind folks at 230Grain.com.
Interview with Scott Dover, Vice President of Aero Precision
The AR-15 platform was born of aerospace industry technology and design practices, so it’s only fitting that Aero Precision, one of Boeing’s leading OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), is also a major OEM for some of the largest AR-15 vendors in the United States. Ten years ago, Scott Dover and Charlie Silkett expanded their company’s product line beyond aerospace technology to include firearms manufacturing. The techniques andquality-control processes honed to perfection manufacturing jet engine components are now also applied to their line of firearms parts.
Scott Dover is the Vice President and lead of firearms production at Aero Precision. He agreed to give us a glimpse into what it takes to manufacture an AR-15 and show us around his production floor. Under his watchful eye, we managed to get some photographs of his facility and some of his products during their manufacture as well as a brief interview about his company and production process.
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