More interested in guns than politics, just a guy with a camera and some gear.
I head a great (if exhausting) time at Shot Show this year, and together with the rest of the TFVTV team produced over 90 videos from the biggest firearms show of the year.
I’m not a big Vegas guy, but I do love the gun industry and the chance to visit with all those cool people from far away that I never normally see during a year.
Since Colt Canada began releasing firearms to the civilian market, there has been a massive amount of interest in the rifles. Different variants, limited runs, milspec parts all feed into the flurry of excitement.
I managed to get my mitts on one of the Sa20 clones, and we had a sit down with Wally F, a Canadian Forces infantryman to talk about the differences between this and his work rifle.
This is one of the longest videos I’ve ever done, and I’m actually super happy with how the back and forth went on camera. I’m used to running off a mental script, and then cutting later, so doing things on the fly like this was a little new.
I’ve been shooting the Jericho for years. In fact I’ve got two! But this is my first ever video with one. I’ve got more time with this handgun than any other, and clearly I like it a lot.
It only took a few thousand rounds for me to start feeling proficient with mine and to really understand the firearm. That’s part of why I try to review guns I’ve had for an extended period of time. I like getting the newest, shiniest thing and posting about it, but it also bothers me when I don’t have a full range of experiences with a firearm. Definitely not the issue here.
Also fun to throw in some Cowboy Bebop jokes and watch the fans go wild. I wish I had more pop culture references in the tank for future shows.
The saga of the 3rd safety position continues, with Digitrigger announcing their new hybrid digital and mechanical system.
They’ve got two announcement videos, one with lots of content and one with lots of shooting, but here’s the core concept of the setup:
Your safe is still safe, your semi is still a strictly mechanical milspec trigger pull, but your third safety position puts the trigger into digital mode. In digital mode, the grip safety must be engaged, and the trigger pull is ~1lb with no take up. You can also set the digital mode to a “shot on pull” and “shot on release” mode. Continue reading “Digital Trigger: Welcome to the Future”
I took a vacation recently to Central America. I know what you’re thinking “You work in the gun industry TVPP, isn’t every day a vacation?”
No. It flippin isn’t. Some days are awesome, other days are a pain in the ass, and it’s still nice to unplug every now and again.
So I went solo backpacking across Costa Rica, saw the capital, the Pacific coast, the cloud forests, volcanoes, and the Caribbean coast. It was a good time, and I’d go back again. Because I’m a work-a-holic, I also couldn’t resist visiting a gun shop, snapping some photos, and writing about the gear I used on the trail… Continue reading “A Gun Guy Travels to Costa Rica”
You might remember this little guy from an ultra-budget build I did back in February 2015. At the time the entire gun cost me just over $600.
Well I’ve still got it, and still shoot in on a regular basis. I’ve settled on a Meprolight optic, traded the A2 flash hider for a PWS brake, and removed the fancy Magpul ACS stock in favor of a matchy Magpul MOE stock.
I also bought my first M-Lok accessory for it, and found it to be a pain in the ass to install. I’m definitely a keymod person. The polymer-to-polymer connection of M-Lok was finicky.
Additionally with this rifle I’ve started using IMI .50 Beowulf magazines. I’ve been shooting .50 Beowulf mags for years now, and these are hands down the best I’ve used. They’re much stronger than some of the other .50 polymer magazines out there, and much better sized than the aluminum body mags I’ve used in the past. Definitely a keeper, and I’m glad I got a few.
I love this rifle because of it’s simplicity. It’s light, it’s handy, and it works. Even with the basic Meprolight red dot I can ring that 300 yard gong with consistency. I’d be curious to see how it handled a 10,000 round trial, but I’ve had no issues with it since I put it together. I feel like it works so darn well now that I’m naturally averse to any substantial changes. Firearms can be such a fluid thing for a hobbyist, always trying new concepts, new gear, or new platforms. But it’s nice to have a few guns in the safe that don’t change.
I still think that the most affordable way to get into the AR15 game is through a slow buy used gun. If you piece together the bits, you can take your time, watch for deals, and get a great gun for a great price. You don’t have to scour the internet and scrimp and save at every turn, but if you keep your eyes open and are patient, it pays off.
I traded my Hatsan pump gun for a Pietta 1860 Army. Primarily because I’d just finished reading Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. If you haven’t read it, be warned: it is a bleak and violent story, with some very intense landscape descriptions. It was a stellar read. Easily my book of the year so far, and features ample use of black-powder weapons in the guerrilla warfare of mid-nineteenth century Mexico.
I may be born and raised around Calgary, but I’m no cowboy. I suddenly found myself curious about a family of firearms I’d never had interest in before. Not enough to spend several thousand dollars on a real antique, but curious enough to try a fully functioning replica of the original Colt.
This is a .44 caliber single action revolver that uses percussion caps and black powder to launch round-ball projectiles.
It’s a ton of fun.
It’s hands down the largest handgun I’ve ever owned. The 1860 Army essentially has a reloading press built into the frame of the gun. You pour powder, insert a ball, and then ram it into place using the lever under the barrel. Then when a cap is place on the nipple on the rear of the cylinder, and the hammer dropped, the whole thing kicks off to make a ton of smoke and put a round down range. The rear sight on this is actually built into the hammer, and consistently puts the rounds about 8″ high from the point of aim.
With any luck I’ll have a more detailed review for you in a few weeks.
It’s been too long! While I’ve been shooting lots, and keeping up with firearms news in Canada, I have to admit I haven’t been great at keeping this blog updated. So here’s a solid start at some new regular content.
What’s kept me away from the keyboard? Well a few things.
First, we took Zahal’s IDF Tavor course into the United States for the first time, and Lovie and I had an awesome time teaching US shooters how to use their rifles. I finally got some solid hands on time with the IWI US version of the X95, and it certainly does have some interesting things going on. Colorado is a gorgeous space, and we had a great group of students.
