RIFLEMAN'S JOURNAL - AUGUST 2002

Holy Crap! I didn't vote for the Fascist, I voted against the Communist. There's even less difference than I'd feared. Since 11 September, what few Constitutional rights, guarantees, checks and balances we have left have been dropping like public-school standards. When the next civil war comes they'll probably get me in the first couple days. I can't imagine I'm not on their lists already, being a GOA (Gun Owners of America) member and having written e- mails and sometimes actual paper letters - on rare occasions, even checks - to various politicians, organizations, and other public figures. The Fascists or Communists or whoever will probably get me, but if I'm good enough with a rifle I might take a few of the totalitarian bastards with me. Leaving that many fewer for the next Patriot to deal with.

And I might pleasantly surprise myself by lasting a while. I certainly intend to try.

Up to 12 days for delivery, the website says. I'm hoping to get to the range this weekend. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll arrive before then.

It's the English Pit Range, a converted gravel pit in Camas, Washington, run by Clark County Parks & Recreation. I live in Portland, Oregon; my apartment is about 11 miles from the range. Why does this matter?

Some background. As implied, I'm financially-challenged. I live in a run-down studio apartment. It's a shack, but it's only $275 a month in a city where you can't find a 1-bedroom under $400, and the landlord has been remarkably tolerant about the several months of back rent I've been catching up on by $100 a week now that I have a job.

Being financially challenged, I have no automobile. I do most of my commuting and errand- running on mass-transit and/or bicycle. Just got my bike, an 8-year-old DiamondBack Sorrento, out of the shop yesterday - new back wheel, for the fourth or fifth time. This one they built for me, recycling the existing hub and rim, instead of just slapping another machine-built wheel on. The theory is it will last more than one season now. The front wheel, original from 8 years ago, is probably past its life expectancy too. At least it should be cheaper than the rear, even if they can't salvage the hub (the rim is badly worn from eight years of braking).

A few times I've biked the whole way to the range, about 23 miles round trip, and boy did my butt hurt. The range is at a higher elevation than my apartment; it's a long, hard climb up the bike lane in the middle of the I-205 bridge over the Columbia River. Last year - only two days before That Day - the airport light-rail extension was completed and a new transit center, four blocks from my place, to go with it. One of the busses serving this TC is from the Vancouver/Clark County system, C-Tran. All the busses from C-Tran and Portland's Tri-Met have folding bike racks on the front now. Using the C-Tran bus to cross the river costs $1.75, but chops several miles, and most of the climb, from the trip. It's almost all flat or downhill on the way back but I still get plenty of exercise, which is good, ‘cause it'll be kinda pointless to shoot nice groups with a rifle if I can't run like hell when the tyrants du jour call in artillery or air support.

Being bus-and-bicycle-bound, I am limited in the amount of stuff I can transport. A few years ago some vendor I've never seen again was selling bicycle gun racks at a gun show. Little more than a couple pieces of rubberized heavy wire and some velcro straps from which to hang the rifle - or fishing rod, or bow, etc. - alongside the top tube. It was only $10. Actually it doesn't work very well because it really gets in the way of your leg on whichever side you hang the rifle from. Whichever end of the rifle sticks out front may even interfere with steering by hitting the front brake or forward reflector. But, on short rides it works well enough. I wrap whichever rifle I'm taking in a typical $4 gun show fold-over soft case, set it in the rack and bungie it to the top tube, then load the whole thing onto the bus rack. When I get off across the river I shift the rifle to one of the rear panniers, butt down, with bungies again to keep it from whacking me in the head if I stop suddenly. My detachable racktop pack serves as range bag, and the other pannier carries any handguns I want to use, more ammunition, and so on.

The range charges $6 per year and $4 per visit, which is crazy cheap for an organized, maintained range with Range Officer. Typically open 10am-6pm weekends only, also open Wednesday through Sunday during summer.

Rifle? What rifle? Being finan- hell, being poor, I can't afford the ~$1,200 M14/M1A that Fred recommends, but I did manage to score a couple Ishapore 2A Lee-Enfield derivatives in 7.62x51mm NATO. I even managed to keep one through my last round of unemployment.

This is a decent rifle, IMHO. Fred doesn't hate it either, though I'm not sure he's fully aware of this variant; he goes on about the #4s, which have superior sights but are in the increasingly-hard- to-find .303 British service caliber. The Lee-Enfield has always been very fast for a conventional bolt-action (as opposed to a straight-pull like the Mannlicher M95 or Schmidt-Rubin series). These 2A and 2A1 Ishapores fire the widely-available NATO round, and even have 12-round magazines instead of the .303's 10 rounds. They load through the top with M14, FN-FAL, or similar chargers ("stripper clips"). 10-round aftermarket magazines for the 2As are available for about $30, but the SMLEs weren't meant to use interchangeable magazines like modern autoloaders, just the chargers. Based on the #1MkIII, the 2As take the same bayonets, and some small parts. A friend gave (!) me a lovely P.1907 bayonet with a 17" blade. Now that's what a bayonet's supposed to look like!

The 2A's major shortcoming, IMO, is the crummy 19th-Century sights: a rather small blade front, drift-adjustable for windage, and squinty little notch rear with a worm-screw arrangement for the traditional elevation slider. The 2A's rear sight is marked for 2,000, presumably meters, while the 2A1's (the one I kept) is marked for 800 but is built like it goes just as high. The rear sight is forward of the chamber in the traditional position, giving a stubby sight radius. I really want a decent aperture rear and post front for this rifle, as far apart as possible. Mojo Sight Systems have apparently given up on an SMLE version of their ghost-ring rear sight and instead made one for, of all things, the Swiss Schmidt-Rubin straight-pulls now available on the surplus market, for which 7.5x55mm ammunition is even harder to find than .303 British. I've long been considering a Williams receiver-mount. $50-odd for either.

Another problem with the whole SMLE series is the barrel. Light and skinny, it's not as stiff or as heat-resistant as many other designs, and often disperses shots vertically when hot, which it takes only a few rounds to become. I've been searching the web and the gunsmithing lists for hints; pressure bedding has been mentioned, simply shimming the barrel at the fore-end tip. The SMLE is apparently designed with this in mind, with a spring-loaded stud being pressed up against the barrel by the nosecap, but there's more art than science to pressure bedding and it doesn't seem to work on my sample. I've chopped up a soda can and stuck a couple thicknesses right over the stud. We'll see what happens.

2 - Friday, 9 August 2002: It's here! The Fred's bundle arrived today in a USPS Priority box.

Holy Crap! There's a lot of stuff in that box! Ten sets of four targets, all for use at 25 meters, simulating 100, 200, 300 and 400 meters: the AQT, Army Qualification Test. Maximum score, 250; Expert (Rifleman), 200; Sharpshooter, 170; Marksman, 125; less, Unqualified.

The bundle also includes two of JPFO's hard-hitting "Gran'Pa Jack" booklets (#1, Gun Control Kills Kids, & #5, The UN is Killing Your Freedoms). A stack of activism tips and hints. And of course, the Guide to Becoming a Rifleman: 30-odd pages of techniques and tactics, and then more targets, on easily- photocopied 8½x11", including actual-size renditions of antenna mounts and vision blocks for typical armored fighting vehicles, like those white UN APCs.

I will go to the range tomorrow, but I will not yet take the AQT. Instead I'll run a couple errands in the morning, turn in some cans & bottles for Oregon's 5¢ refund, then run down to the local Kinko's and photocopy some of the smaller targets. My plan is to take at least 50 rounds (that's another thing: gotta build up my recoil tolerance!), and practice the basics: grip, NPOA (Natural Point of Aim), sights, trigger, breath, etc. I plan to work toward 4 MOA (Minutes of Angle; 1/60th of a degree, or about one inch per 100 yards/meters), which will translate to putting all my shots inside one inch at the 25-yard line.

Why 4 MOA? Because at 500 yards, that's 20 inches, and that's the average width of a human torso.

You're damn right I'm training myself to kill. I'm an American Patriot and I will do everything I can to destroy anyone who tries to take away American freedom.

As long as they shoot first. Moral high ground, and all that. Read Clayton Cramer's article on this subject, "Rights and Revolution". It's a .PDF, so right-click and download if you have a slow machine or a browser which doesn't/won't integrate the Adobe reader.

I might take my .357 along, but I did pretty well with it last time and I'm running low on ammunition for it, so I'll probably just concentrate on the rifle.

Hm. I should probably take 100 rounds.

3 - Saturday, 10 August 2002: Stayed up late rummaging through my files for a .PDF target I got off the net. Found just the one, a 6x6-inch square grid with black 1-inch center.

This morning, printed a few copies of the .PDF, then made a word processor file to fill in the empty space above and below with a description and spaces for recording data. Double-printed, turned out lovely. After breakfast, to the errands.

Morning errands done. Made 20 copies of my practice target @ Kinko's, 6¢ each. There's a place near me that only charges 3¢, but they're closed on weekends. I'll make a big stack there later. At an office supply store, got some push-pins for posting the targets; the coffee cans at the range are always out. Also some ¾" bright red/orange dots. Much cheaper than actual target dots where targets are sold.

To the range! Decent weather, partly cloudy, 70-ish F. Forecast says clearing and 80. Probably should have worn shorts instead of jeans. Oh well, more calories burnt. Bringing 95 rounds, Portuguese NATO surplus on M14 chargers.

Arrived about 1:15pm. Bike computer says 5.0something miles from the Fisher's Landing transit center to the range. Whew! Saves me about an hour, and I'm not dehydrated and heatstroked before I get there.

The 25-yard spots, both of them, are in use by a father & son - don't want to interrupt that. While waiting I read the Guide, practiced grip, sight picture, dry-firing, etc.

Also chatted with other shooters. One was National Guard, one of the probably-few who still takes marksmanship seriously. I explained I was just starting self-training and he reinforced the fundamentals, much as the Guide describes.

I really shouldn't be doing this alone, but all the people I know are either in no shape to come along (even in their cars), or don't see the urgency (more like don't want to), or are even on the Other Side of the coming conflict.

I really don't like cityfolk. They don't understand.

Using the Hasty Sling. Cooper, in The Art of the Rifle, says it's useless, but it does make me feel steadier. I discovered it years ago, and Fred comes right out and recommends it.

Another problem: this is a benchrest-only range, except for the 25-yard stand-up handgun range, and Fred says (and Cooper says as much) that a true Rifleman never shoots from the bench, because there aren't any in the field. Well. I will eschew the use of the blocks on which to rest my rifle, and will dry-practice some sitting & prone at home.

Fred recommends his $45 shooting jacket. I have seen something similar - padded elbows, etc. - at surplus stores, likely for much less, but that was at least a year ago. Must check again. Anyway, like I said, I'm not shooting the AQT today, only the 1" black square at 25 yards.

Definitely need better sights. This is a priority. Also, the Hasty Sling is chafing my arm inside the elbow. Long-sleeve shirt or shooting jacket for this.

Using center hold, first shot was centered but 3" high. Next nine near but lower. Already flinching. Support arm quickly beginning to ache & tremble. Bare elbows chafed by old carpet covering benchrest.

Learning experience. More preparation next time. May visit surplus stores tomorrow.

Okay, another 5 rounds. Now holding 3" below center square. Hit! And... four subsequent misses. Flinching increasing.

Oh, but that first hit in the string- that felt good.

Getting eye fatigue already. Been needing new glasses for a couple years at least. Poverty sucks.

Wow! Barrel already hot, which of course affects accuracy - but I'm not good enough yet to know how much. Well. Another string of 5, holding 3" below the center again. The rear sight won't go any lower. Argh! Need better sights now!

(Duh! The pressure bedding I tried is almost certainly responsible for the point of impact rising by those 3". I don't remember it shooting that high last time - but that was months ago....)

Hmm... I got a 1" group this time. How the hell did I do that? How do I do it again? Well. Keep practicing. Five more.

Lay down the soft case under the elbows. Much better. Climb the hill for a water bottle from the bike. Should have brought one down.

Fresh targets. Stickers at 6-o'-clock, 3", for aiming points. That's cheating (Peacekeepers or Federals won't be wearing day-glo orange), but I'll quit it when I get decent sights so I can go back to a center hold.

What the hell? Now it's only 1"-2" high. It cooled while I chatted, but that much? ARGH!

Rifle getting hot, even in slow fire. Rear sight protective wings beginning to burn fingertips. (Consider removing handguard to improve barrel cooling. Hmm- ventilating instead? Check next gun show for spare handguard.)

45 rounds fired, losing control. Hungry. Enough for one day. Left range about 4:00pm. Stopped on way for Washington state Lotto ticket. I can dream, can't I? Got back about 5pm.

As a range session the day was largely wasted - only 45 rounds from only one firearm over more than two hours. But everything's a learning experience, and I got out of the apartment and got some exercise. At least bolt-actions are easy to clean.

4 - Sunday, 11 August 2002: Mojo is now offering what they call the Phase III, I believe, which couples an aperture front sight with their ghost-ring rear. They may be onto something here. I can see how this would be perfect for center-hold on little bitty targets, like a 1" square at 25 yards, or a UN/Federal/Commie/Fascist's torso at 500.

The human eye and mind has the natural ability to center the view of objects through other objects, which is why aperture sights work. Centering a circle within a circle should work at least as well. I must look into this further. Maybe have something custom built by an actual gunsmith. Williams makes high-quality sights - their FP model is available with target knobs, much like the adjustment knobs on a proper battle rifle's sight, like the M14 - but I wouldn't want an $80-odd chunk of precision instrument hanging out where it'll get whacked out of alignment the first time I dive for cover, so I'd have to get some protective wings built up for it and somehow mounted to the receiver.

Hm. At this rate I might as well get one of those rebuilt FALs, CETMEs, or G3s. Some are under $400. But, they don't (legally) take bayonets (or flash hiders).

Another notion is to get a Mauser, like a VZ24 for under $100, and customize that: rebarreled for .308/7.62 NATO, bolt handle turned down, sights as described above, and since it's a bolt action I can keep (or add) a bayonet lug and flash hider, and maybe even extend the existing magazine or convert it to use cheap surplus FAL 20-round units. The Spanish FR8s that Big 5 had a while ago - gone now, I'm sure - would be a good starting point since they already have decent sights and are already in 7.62x51mm. (And yes, I checked. The FR8 is for NATO rounds, earlier models are for the lower-pressure CETME rounds.)

Stopped at Big 5 for the sale flyer today. Came perilously close to spending $20 I shouldn't, putting an $80 VZ24 on layaway. Resisted temptation. FR8s are, as expected, long gone.

5 - Wednesday, 14 August 2002: Planning next trip. Considering removing the aluminum shims; suspect I've been blaming the rifle for my lousy technique.

The sights still stink, though.

385 rounds left, 185 Portugese NATO on chargers, and a plastic-sealed 200-round battlepack that I'm certain is the same stuff - nice weather-resistant package, don't want to open it until necessary. Three more big shows this year; must stockpile ammo.

In hindsight I was in pretty bad form last time. I know I'm capable of good, fundamental shooting, but if I have a "zone" in which to do it I wasn't in it that day.

Hm. Not so young and invincible anymore. Consider diet, fluid level, etc., and effects on nerve & muscle systems. Try having breakfast other than bachelor-fuel for a change.

Payday this Friday. Been trying to save up for a proper fighting pistol; my .357 is accurate and reliable, but I only get six shots and it does take a while to reload, even with speedloaders. First choice, were money no object, would be a 1911 derivative in the original .45 ACP, generally considered (except by those weird Glock people) to be the finest personal-defense firearm ever developed - but money does matter, Kimbers all come with full-length guide rods that can't be field- stripped without tools and they start at $600, Springfields are mostly the same and almost as expensive, the Argentine M1927 surplus clones are becoming scarce, and the Charles Dalys are... not quite in my price range.

Also in the running is the excellent Czech CZ75 series, or perhaps an EAA Witness derivative. Some of those, even genuine Czech, are under $400. The Witness series is also available in calibers other than the CZ's original 9x19mm, and with other options. They even make it in .45.

What I will likely get, though, is the FEG (Hungarian) clone of the GP35 (Browning Hi- Power), a 9x19mm single-action semiautomatic with a 13-round standard magazine and, in my opinion, one of the top three fighting pistols ever designed, along with the CZ75 and 1911.

I've wanted one of these for over twenty years. When I was 13, by brother took me up in the hills and let me fire his Hi-Power. We found an old hubcap and leaned it against a log at about ten paces. He fired five rounds, hitting two or three times, then handed the pistol to me to empty. I didn't miss. He never took me shooting again. :)

I've wanted a Hi-Power ever since.

Introduced in 1935 in Belgium, the design was started by John Moses Browning - who also designed the 1911, and some other things that haven't gone out of production for generations. After Browning's death in 1926 a Belgian named Saive took over and finished the pistol. In 1940 invading Nazis overran the Belgian factory and liked the GP35 so much - it was already in their standard pistol caliber - they kept it in production and issued it to their paratroopers. Nazi-marked GP35s can bring four figures from collectors. It saw action on both sides in the Second World War; Great Britain, Canada, even China I believe. After the war, much of NATO adopted the GP35. I've seen news video of Saddam Hussein firing one from his balcony over the heads of adoring-or-his-off- camera-soldiers-will-put-a-bayonet-through-them crowds. It is not an obscure design.

Anyway I've been seeing the FEGs advertised in Shotgun News for some months, but without prices - a lot of wholesalers give that to Federally-licensed dealers only. But, I saw some at the last couple of shows; one had wood grips and apparently 13- and 10-round magazines, for $241, while the other had wraparound finger-groove rubber grips and apparently a 10-round only, for $196. (Not counting Oregon's $9 gun-tax after Measure 5, for which the euphemism is a background check processing fee.)

That's pretty cheap for St. John's Last Design. Genuine Browning production (now discontinued; Browning's latest catalog lists no centerfire handguns) goes for $500-$600. Argentine surplus around $300-$400. Israeli clones seem to have gone away, don't recall what they went for. Also available, the Arcus clone, I think also Hungarian but maybe not FEG, internally the same but with different styling, more angular and futuristic. Haven't seen those for a while, I think they were around $350. Gunfolk on the net say the FEG ain't junk. The next big show is the weekend of September 6-8 at the Expo Center.

Sure, I should be spending the money on something more responsible, like more rifle ammunition or new glasses or even a motor vehicle. But come on - wasn't there ever anything you really wanted?

6 - Friday, 16 August 2002: Got paid, got cash, went to surplus store - Andy & Bax, close-in across the river from downtown. They still had a few of the shooting jackets I remembered - padded elbows, lots of pockets - but the handful left were size Small or smaller (XS, XXS). I'm a Large. Phooey. I'll just use one of the surplus woodland BDU shirts I already have. The elbows aren't padded, but are reinforced. Blew about $7 for a little compass that fits on a watchband, and a sewing kit for my field/survival pack.

Haven't been to Aloha Surplus, ‘way the other side of the metro area, for months. They had Mosin-Nagant slings, and more firearm-related stuff than many surplus stores - even ammo. Not this weekend - been riding miles every day, commuting from work, doing the range, shopping and running errands; only so much time and energy to go around.

Removing the aluminum shims from last time. Must remind self to concentrate on each shot. Read the Guide! Fred tells me how to do it, I'm not listening!

Latest issue of Shotgun News in mail today, six days late. My tax dollars at work in the USPS. Anyway, Reid Coffield now has a regular article on gunsmithing, and a Q&A column too. In the column, a writer complains about the exact same problem I'm having; that my other-than-#4 SMLE shoots different places when hot as opposed to not. Coffield says, Yes, they do that, because the barrels are light and "whippy". Just as I had already heard.

I wonder how many of those Navy Arms "Tanker" or "#7" conversions are in circulation, and what they're going for? The Mosin-Nagant M44 carbine is known for accuracy, theoretically because the shorter barrel is stiffer. Unfortunately those conversions have even shorter sight radii than the 2A1 I already have.

FALs, CETMEs and G3s, assembled from parts on new US-made receivers, are around $400. Fred recommends the FAL after the M1A. 20-round magazines for the common metric FAL (as opposed to the screwy English inch versions) are widely available and affordable. HK ergonomics have always bugged me, and there's much less stuff available for those than for the FAL anyway, and there are reports that the CETMEs/G3s aren't being put together right (like, sights on backwards). The current-rebuilt FALs still don't take bayonets (if I need a bayonet I've probably done something wrong; a Rifleman should minimize risk to himself - but OTOH, I understand that the bayonet lug was added to the Soviet SVD sniper rifle because some Soviet sniper of note was overrun and killed without one; so, I want a bayonet on any rifle I have), but it would be a 20-round autoloader with decent sights that I might actually afford.

Hmm....

Oh yeah: electric bill came the other day. No new glasses or new front bike wheel this pay period. At least I can catch it up completely. Latest phone bill's a day or two overdue but that should be all right; I caught that one up a while ago.

7 - Saturday, 17 August 2002: Forecast says sunny and mid-80s. Shorts instead of jeans today.

Should probably stop somewhere for breakfast.

Stopped for brunch at the drive-in across the street from the transit center before going back to the apartment to load the bike. 60 rounds for the Ishapore; intend to use every one.

Cloudless day, or near enough; near 80 already as I board the bus about noon.

Ugh! Humans. City humans. Vile creatures. Probably soil themselves if they knew what I was carrying, and again if they knew why. Must begin seriously saving for motor vehicle.

Watching the spandex wearers slug their way up across the bridge. Whew! Won't do that again unless I have to.

Arrived about 12:45. Using BDU shirt; much more comfortable, less chafing of elbows, and of forearm from the hasty sling. Stopped at convenience store for a couple meat sticks and a Snickers. Brought water bottle from bike this time. Much better. Next time bring Gatorade or similar? Extra bike bottle for that?

Three targets at 25 yards, above each other. First string of five at top target, center hold. First shot felt pretty good, and was about ½" out of the black at about 11-o'-clock. Second shot was a flinch. I bet an FAL wouldn't kick that hard, and it would have decent sights. Rest of string high and a touch left, maybe 8 MOA.

Still shooting high? After removing the shims? Maybe it is the rifle. Rear sight base already toasty after only five rounds. Second string mixed in with first. Extraction a little sticky. Probably need some brush work in the chamber, especially on the neck, judging by the spent cases. Getting a handle on recoil, at least. Still flinching, but not as much or as bad.

Third string in with the others, 1"-2" high. Starting to actually group.

Fourth string, middle target, holding 1½" low - and that's where it went! Argh! Can't this thing make up its mind? Two more right where I aimed, the other two up near where I thought they'd be, but one only touching the bottom of the black and the other off to the left - flinching again. 40 rounds left.

Fifth string. Middle target, center hold again. Maybe it's built to shoot where it's aimed after warming. Obviously the designers thought about it, because there's that spring-loaded stud through the fore-end tip, pushing against the nosecap.

Hm. Got about a 5 MOA group, which is near what I want, but almost 2" high like before. Okay, forget the vertical, just go for group size & give more thought to a properly adjustable rear sight.

Seeing heat waves from barrel, right through the wood handguard. Really look for spare handguard to ventilate. Gun Parts Corp anyway.

String six, middle target, center hold. Same as previous, a bit wider.

String seven, lower target, center hold. 5-6 MOA, centered about 1" high. Almost worth saving, but no. Fresh targets.

String eight, upper target, center hold. Have I mentioned that the front sight blade is about 4 MOA? Mojo's Phase III double-aperture gets more and more appealing. It would be nice to actually see what I'm shooting at, without using a 6-o'-clock hold, which would completely screw up distance adjustments anyway; it's only for targets of known size at a known and constant distance. String eight up around 6-7 MOA. Windage good at least. 20 rounds left.

String nine, same target & hold. Second shot, perfect hit, entirely by accident. Losing it. Save last 15 rounds for next time or burn them to build recoil tolerance? Well, one more string.

String ten, bottom target, center hold. Barely 5 MOA. Saving that target. Encouraged, fresh targets for last two 5-round chargers.

String eleven, not so good; one flinched way off. Sunlight glowing on targets through holes in plywood holder, makes it hard to tell where my actual holes are. String twelve, last 5 rounds. Flinched, no good. Done for the day. Left about 4 pm, reached apartment about 5.

This session was more useful than the last. Better prepared, i.e. food & drink and long-sleeve shirt; fired more rounds, improved recoil tolerance. May even try AQT next trip, or the one after.

Gave Ishapore's chamber a good brushing with .44 and .38 pistol brushes. 325 rounds of the Portuguese left.

July 20 issue of Shotgun News shows Navy Arms offering the 2A "Tanker" carbine for $160, but that's the price for a Federally-licensed dealer; more like $200 by the time it gets to a lowly peasant like me. And, the sight radius is very short, and $200 is a hell of a lot to spend on a theory based on observations of a completely different design.

In the same ad Navy Arms offers genuine #4 SMLEs, with proper sights and heavier barrels, for $100 dealer price. But, where would I get a decent quantity of decent quality .303 after the Constitution is suspended? And besides, the only bayonets for the #4s are little stubby things compared to the 17" I have for the 2A1.

Looking back through last three issues, several vendors offering L1A1s - that's the British inch pattern, not the rest-of-the-world-standard metric - for about $400. Metric models from high- end makers like DSA and Entreprise are four figures. Metric receivers about $200; metric parts kits $100-$150. Could I build my own? Lots of folks do. It would still be unconstitutionally registered since the receiver is legally a firearm and would go through NICS. I could get an unfinished receiver and legally build my own unregistered FAL, so long as it remains semi-automatic only and has neither bayonet lug nor flash hider, but I have neither the machinery nor the skills to finish such a project. Even a finished receiver, registration and all, would probably require tools and skills I don't have, and which would increase the real cost.

The English Pit range really isn't suitable. Benchrest only, and the RO can be less than understanding. Tri-County, out Tualatin way, is pretty far, and pretty expensive. Douglas Ridge, down Estacada way, is about as far but may have a better "vibe." Also I think they do CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Progam) matches there; I could qualify for a $400-ish Garand by firing 50 rounds in an official match. .30-06 instead of 7.62 NATO, but maybe CMP has some 7.62 Garands in their program - have to check - or I could trade somebody for one. The M14/M1A is, after all, a glorified Garand, and the Garand doesn't need much glorifying.

Douglas Ridge also has a silhouette range - that looks like fun - and a 1,000-yard highpower rifle range, sort of, on certain days. Anyway I imagine I could do prone and other position shooting there like I'm supposed to be doing. It is a membership place, though, and like most such requires NRA membership. Did I mention I'm really disappointed with NRA's legislative performance the last few years? Like, they're writing more gun laws than they're fighting?

I might skip the range next weekend and recon Douglas Ridge. It would also put me in the general area of Sgt. Gator's surplus store in Damascus.

8 - Sunday, 18 August 2002: I sure want that Hi-Power pistol, but maybe I should be saving for an FAL instead. Hard to save up that much when you're pushing hair-care products back and forth across a warehouse for $8.25 an hour. My .357 revolver should make an adequate sidearm, and when the stuff hits the fan I'll likely have an opportunity to pluck an M9 Beretta off some totalitarian cannon-fodder's corpse.

Looking back through older issues of Shotgun News for metric FALs that I don't have to put together myself. April 20 (newsstand May 6) issue has a feature article on FAL accessories, and a sub-article on related websites. Useful after I get one. Besides, most of that stuff - especially the battery-dependent "land warrior" crap - I wouldn't want hanging off my fighting rifle.

January 1, 2002 issue, the ABN Sports liquidation, lists the "Centurian STG 58" at $480, but of course those are long gone, though the liquidation isn't. Same issue, Inter Ordnance lists one for $550, but doesn't say if it's inch or metric - and of course the ad is nine months old; pointless to go back further, the way prices and availability change.

9 - Tuesday, 20 August 2002: Stopped at the cheap copy place and made a bunch of 25-yard practice targets.

Today's issue of Shotgun News is, of course, not here yet. Some totalitarian twit in the post office is probably having it tested for anthrax. Anyone interested in guns must be one of those domestic-terrorist militia nuts. Rosie said so, it must be true. I've probably been reported to TIPS - via America's Most Wanted - several times by now.

Grr. Makes me want to... raise the Stars & Bars. The First National. Most folks wouldn't recognize it anyway. I should get a Betsy Ross, signifying my desire to return to this nation's founding principles. Like, the Constitution. It wasn't perfect, but it beats whatever we're using now.

Okay, okay, there is probably not some fast Federal conspiracy to deprive me of my Shotgun News. But... Rosie got on national TV and said that everyone who owns a gun should go to jail, and the studio audience cheered. As a gun owner in 2002, I have some vague notion of what it felt like to be a Jew in Germany in, say, 1937.

I really must, must, must spend $20 to join JPFO (Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership). I've been meaning to for well over a year but keep blowing the money on inconsequential things like rent and food (and, okay, surplus battle rifles...).

10 - Thursday, 22 August 2002: I think I will take a break from the range - the English Pit Range, at least - this weekend, and bike down Estacada way instead, to recon the Douglas Ridge club and maybe shop at the surplus store in Damascus. Douglas Ridge (only been there once, a year or two ago) will be much more expensive than English Pit, but I might get my money's worth anyway, especially if I find some like-minded individuals to train with.

At least the new back wheel is holding up, and the front hasn't collapsed yet....

Poverty sucks! Can't afford a modern rifle, can't afford membership at a club or range where I can actually use it, can't afford a car to get there and back in a reasonable amount of time - argh! If I ever win the lottery I'm emigrating to Montana. One of the leading candidates for the Free State Project. Underpopulated, no "large" cities and few of any kind, too far and undeveloped for the Commiefornians to colonize and socialize, and they already have a tradition of telling the Federals to ...go.

11 - Friday, 23 August 2002: Dubya was visiting Portland today, and the local blueshirts set up roadblocks at likely vantage points - like a freeway overpass with a good view of the air approach, which just happens to be on my morning bus route to work. Yup, I might pull a third-hand Stinger or seventh-hand SA-7 out of my fanny pack.

For crying out loud, he's a president, not a king. There are no peasants, no bowing and scraping, in the United States! This is all Lincoln's fault, turning Pinkerton's gang into the Secret Service, launching this whole elitist, aristocratic tradition - exactly the sort of behavior we fought the War of Independence against.

Let me be clear: on my ballot, I filled in the oval for Dubya, because I couldn't stand the thought of America being Gored. I didn't, and now really don't, think he's the best man for the job, but of the two viable candidates, I hoped he would do the least amount of damage.

It could be worse, I suppose. If Gore'd stolen the election instead of Dubya, I'd probably have a barcode tattooed on my arm by now. With Bush the Younger in office, it'll take a little longer. Not that I think he, Ashcroft, et. al., aren't totalitarians - they just want to look like they're not, so they don't move as fast.

Anyway! Three choices for tomorrow: to the range again; recon the other range here in Oregon, and stop at the "nearby" surplus store; or just veg out. I've been riding back from work, after taking the bus down in the morning, to save bus fare, but I left the bike and bussed both ways the last two days.

You know, I still haven't decided. I'll see how early I wake up tomorrow with the alarm off.

12 - Saturday, 24 August 2002: Decided on the Southeast Passage. Took busses as far as possible, which turns out to be about a hundred yards from the entrance to the Douglas Ridge club, figuring on riding all the way back. Studied Fred's Guide on the way.

Ugh! More city humans. The Estacada bus passes through the transit center at the large Clackamas mall. (shudder)

Reached the club about 1pm. It's a long way, especially considering the bus doesn't run on Sundays, which is when a lot of the matches are held.

I didn't get membership info and didn't bother touring the facilities. When I got there, I saw a certain blue minivan: Thomas Lee Anderson, of Oregon's Tyranny Response Team and some other outfits - Firearm Safety Training Team or some such. I used to be part of the TRT but left after a personality conflict quite suddenly and surprisingly arose between Anderson and myself. Last I saw on the mailing list, shortly before I gave up on the TRT in general and Anderson in particular, I got the distinct impression that Anderson was holding me personally responsible for the passage of Measure 5, which outlawed private transfers of firearms at gun shows and added a $9 de facto tax to regular firearm sales.

Huh? Never mind the - what was it? Near 70% of citified sheeple that voted for it. As soon as the anti-self-defense psychotics got the thing on the ballot it was as good as passed. I went to rallies. I made photocopies for handouts. I made picket signs and marched and shouted. One of the other TRT members, before I left, pointed out how I had "ramrodded," that is, came up with the idea for, two rallies myself - not that more than a handful showed up at either, but that's a function of the pacified urban environment.

But somehow Measure 5 is all my fault?

I don't know what goes on in Anderson's head, but I figure on staying as far away from it as possible. So Douglas Ridge is out. Likewise the Tri-County club on the other end of the urban sprawl, I know he goes there too.

(Sigh) Back to the English Pit next weekend, I guess. Maybe I'll take the Mosin. It should hold zero better than the Ishapore, and the Mosin's sights, while of the same general type, are clearer to my eye. Once I have the proper technique, it should carry over to all rifles, and at this point I need more confidence in my equipment. There may be another facility or two in reach, like the Vancouver Rifle and Pistol Club. I may recon that one next weekend - no, I want at least one more live-fire session before the big gun show, which is the following weekend. Maybe the 14th, then.

Anyway, I did stop at Sgt. Gator's surplus store in Damascus. Got 20 targets, the large 75-meter "feedback" targets of roughly the same design as the AQT, 10 for $1.

Ya know, I don't think TRT Oregon has done much of anything for a long time. I think I'll take their link down off my website's front page, finally.

New Shotgun News today. Feature article on holster making. I've already made a crude holster for my 1861 Colt repro, but it's underweight for a holster (need heavier leather for that kind of work) and imperfectly designed, so with the article's help I may try again. The article also points out that one could make one's own concealment holsters, very topical considering my intended purchase of the FEG in two weeks.

TAPCO offers the G1 (metric FAL) parts kit, everything but the serial-numbered upper receiver which is legally the firearm, for $170. Metric receivers, complete, legally a firearm, as low as $200 from various vendors. Haven't priced unfinished receivers but I have heard they are available. AGI (American Gunsmithing Institute) offers a video on "Building the FN-FAL" for $35 including shipping. L1A1 inch-pattern rifles, about $400 dealer price. SARCO offers new FN- licensed chrome-lined metric FAL barrels for $135. Used 20-round magazines, $6.

Only one paycheck left before the show.

13 - Sunday, 25 August 2002: Okay. The Tannery Shop offers 80% receivers for several arms, including the AR-15, the 1911 and SIG P228 pistols, a 70% receiver for the 10/22, and a 60% for the FAL - oho! "Coming soon", a "builder's kit" for the FAL, including blueprints, a parts kit (G1, Imbel, or something) and a 60% receiver, for $225! And only $12 shipping. I could afford that (sometime next year, if I don't tell someone to take that job and shove it...)! Now who do I know with a milling machine (who would let me use it (for this))? I already know a guy with a lathe, and another guy who's a few different kinds of engineer, and they'd probably both be interested just for the mechanical and engineering aspects.... Blueprints alone, $5. 60% receiver alone, $60. 80% receiver, "N/A". Maybe they're still working on it, maybe there's something funny about the FAL according to the BATF.

See, I have to do the actual machining - the end user, that is. Otherwise it's "manufacturing a firearm for sale" according to the jack-booted thugs. But, if I do it all myself, even if I use someone else's equipment, it's still legal! As long as I don't put a bayonet lug or flash-hider on. And best of all, since it doesn't go through the illegal registration of the National Instant Check System, the government can't prove I have it - and therefore has a harder time taking it away!

Well, the govt. could seize Tannery's customer records, like they've done with Bob Stewart of Maadi-Griffin, and with what's-his-name from MK who was making semi-only M14s out of re- welded de-milled receivers. But they'd still have a hard time proving I still had it in a court of law. And, if I didn't get a fair trial, it'd be past time to actually use it anyway.

Yes, actually talking about this in a public weblog would defeat the whole purpose of having an unregistered rifle. But... at that price, I could afford to build more than one (over time), and, I feel I'm performing a public service by sharing the idea with fellow patriots. (They're coming for me anyway, right? I already have other firearms that have been registered through NICS.) So, if I do it, I'll describe it in as technically-helpful detail as possible. There are also a couple Yahoo mailing lists on this topic, like gunmakers and gunkitbuilders, which I'm already on. Also an FAL list. (Um. I reckon I oughta subscribe to that, presently.)

I don't think I know anyone with a milling machine, and there are some things lathes can't do. Well, I've wanted a mill of my own for some time, maybe I'll invest in one. Likely even a used one will be twice the price of the FAL kit, or more, but I consider it a capital investment. Remember, it is legal for a private citizen to manufacture, for personal use, an otherwise-unrestricted type of firearm, without begging the king's permission. I might get some take-off barrels from the parts table at a gun show and build up a whole collection of single-shot sporters, for example. I could get an unfinished 1911 frame and build a legally unregistered fighting pistol. Of more immediate utility, I could make my own spare - or custom - parts. Also, I could do "ordinary" machining, for people, for pay. I bet my two engineer-type friends would love to help me learn how to use the thing, expecting, and rightly so, to have use of it themselves for their own sundry projects. They might even go in on the purchase with me, but their financial states aren't much better than mine at the moment. Oh well, back to socking away $5 or $10 a time.

Hmm. I really want that FEG Hi-Power clone....

Um. Problem with the Mosin. I very stupidly included the sling when I sold my last one, and Fred and Cooper both say that using the sling is a very important part of hitting your target.

...I suppose I could drill a couple holes in the stock and borrow the quick-release studs and sling from another rifle, but this Hungarian M44 carbine is in very nice, all-original, matching- numbers condition, so I want the correct "dog collar" sling to go with it rather than butchering it.

I will call Aloha Surplus, where I got the last one. ...And, they close at 6 on Fridays, making it all but impossible to get there from southeast Portland after work, without a car. The guy on the phone knew exactly what I was talking about - and didn't have any. Maybe by the time I can get over there with money to spend, they'll have some in. Or I could mail-order one, but I'm near the bottom of my checking account now and it probably wouldn't arrive in time for the next range trip, on the 31st, anyway.

Hmm. Maybe I could make a sling, or at least adapt one I already have, without altering the M44. Hmm.... Yes! I have leatherworking tools now, from my 1861 holster project, and some scrap leather that isn't really thick enough but I could double it, and a big bag of rawhide lacing. I could make my own "dog collars" and attach the 1¼" nylon sling from the Ishapore to them! Hm. Might even work better than the original. No little buckles handy (fabric store? Later, when I can afford it), but I can just use the lacing to tie them shut and put the nylon sling onto them like they were regular sling swivels. Or I could even use the leftover nylon strapping from the bandolier project, that's easier to work with than leather anyway and it's lower-maintenance.

So! During this week, work on the sling adapter for the Mosin, which should only take an hour or two. This weekend, live-fire with the Mosin at English Pit. Next weekend, the big gun show where I still intend to buy the FEG. The 14th, recon the Vancouver Rifle & Pistol Club. The 21st, maybe get out to Aloha Surplus just for the heck of it.

Turns out I was already subscribed to Yahoo's FN-FAL list, it's just low-traffic. Found and subscribed to fnfalfanatics list, also apparently low-traffic.

The FAL isn't perfect, but it's by no means a disaster. The standard models don't allow positive chambering because the cocking handle is separate from, and does not travel with, the bolt. You get positive extraction, because pulling back on the handle will pull the bolt back, but if your chamber's a little fouled or your ammo's a little grungy you can't whack on the bolt handle to put it in battery. Same problem with the M16 series, which is how that funny bump got on the side of the receiver - as an afterthought. This can be fixed, though, by using the bolt carrier and cocking handle for the (typically Israeli) heavy-barrel version, available either as surplus parts, or as new US production for much more money.

Sights are decent, with the proper post-and-aperture picture, but are not click-adjustable for minutes-of-angle like the M14's. The ones I've seen have a variation of the slider arrangement for elevation, though. Other sights may be available. Fred's Guide includes a diagnostic target that allows one to sight in a rifle for various ranges at a single, short distance, by using the same point of aim and different points of impact.

The G1 kits I've seen pictures of come with a folding bipod! Many buttstock designs are available, some including a storage compartment for a cleaning kit or spare parts. I wonder if there are any with a butt flap, like the M14's, to rest on top of the shoulder?

It's the right caliber. It uses 20-round detachable magazines, which at the moment are everywhere and dirt cheap (M14 magazines are $15-$20 for cheap knockoffs, $50 or more for the real thing). 30-round units are also available though I don't have prices for them. The receiver top cover can be replaced with one with a charger guide, for reloading the magazine in place, or with scope mounts. And, no amount of kickbacks and political wrangling would have got 90-odd countries to adopt the thing if it didn't work. Field-strip is very simple, much simpler than the M14, apparently a little better than even the SKS or M16. The barrel can be cleaned from the breech, as is proper.

Mosin ammo: 100 rounds brass-case FMJ, all on chargers; 18 rounds copper-washed steel- case FMJ, loose; two 20-round boxes of Russian-made lacquered-steel-case 203-grain jacketed soft point. This lacquered stuff, dark green, is what gives a lot of Mosins extraction problems. Apparently the lacquer melts with the heat of firing and glues the case into the chamber. This matches my experience. A very light coat of oil or some gun lubricant on the neck of the case before loading will allow you to at least use the stuff. The brass and copper-washed-steel work perfectly. Probably, I'll take the bandolier (which I made from scrap canvas, and nylon strap and some snaps from the fabric store) of 50 rounds to actually practice with, and one box of the lacquered stuff to dispose of as a warm-up.

14 - Monday, 26 August 2002: Decided on the nylon strap for the dog-collars for the Mosin sling, except what I have is one inch and the slots in the stock are about ¾". I'll fold it in half and stitch the heck out of it. Probably just close the loop by more stitching, since I can't afford buckles or snaps right now; can always slice the things off later, still have plenty of strap. Used carpet thread likewise left over from previous projects. Sling removal is not necessary for field-strip, and I can make proper adjustable/removable dog collars later. For now I just want the thing working for a shooting aid. And why would I need to remove the dog collars anyway? Just treat ‘em like regular sling swivels, that don't make as much noise or mar the stock. Get another sling later, so both the Ishapore and Mosin have one.

Yep, the idea of making things my ownself does appeal.

In Shotgun News, DSA offers a replacement FAL rear sight, something like the M16A2's, for $75. Click-adjustable windage, where the original needs a screwdriver - but, once windage is set I expect to leave it alone, it's elevation for engaging targets at different distances that concerns me. Maybe the original sight will be fine, 90-odd countries seemed to think so.

Finished the dog-collars for the Mosin sling, they work.

In mental anguish, deciding between buying, at the big show in two weeks, the pistol I've wanted for over twenty years, or instead saving for the rifle I actually feel a need for. Only $45 set aside at the moment. Typical paycheck about $500. $200 off the top for back rent, then groceries and bus fare and such for the next two weeks, doesn't leave much for freedom tools.

I was going to get a Mauser of some kind to replace the Yugo M48 I had to sell, but that can definitely wait. Unless I find an FR8, which is unlikely.

15 - Tuesday, 27 August 2002: Still examining legality of building my own FAL, or anything else for that matter. Some sources say that as long as it's not an otherwise-restricted type (full-automatic, barrel shorter than some bureaucrat's arbitrary figure, post-1994 "evil" features, etc.) you can just build it and enjoy, without petitioning the king for royal favor. Others say you have to fill out a particular BATF form and humbly bow and scrape to (and bribe) the nobility.

Frankly, if I had a milling machine, I'd have built a single-shot something or other by now anyway, just to prove I could. And how would the thrice-damned government even know?

Anyway I'm still looking into this. I have .PDF copies of the BATF form, implying the second case above, but also .JPG scans of what are claimed to be official BATF letters confirming the first. I think, the form is for manufacturers who want to make firearms for sale, while an individual making a firearm for his or her personal use doesn't need it.

That must be it, or there wouldn't be so many outfits selling 80% receivers; the form's requirements are insultingly intrusive and degrading, like most government regulations. Most folks simply would not put up with it (which is what bureaucrats, by nature, want: to make something so difficult, expensive and time-consuming that no one wants to do it anymore), so either it is perfectly legal for an individual to build an unrestricted firearm for personal use without reporting it to the government, or there are a lot of "illegal" firearms being made.

Either way suits me. I do believe it was Thomas Jefferson himself who said "a bad law ought not to be obeyed" - and the more firearms in non-government hands, the better.

16 - Friday, 30 August 2002: Payday. I might, barely, afford the Hungarian copy of the classic pistol I've wanted for over twenty years, but probably not. The next big show is in mid-November. Smaller shows the last two weekends of September are in Longview and Vancouver, theoretically reachable with my limited transportation (and private sales at shows haven't been outlawed in Washington, yet). I may actually be fiscally responsible and keep saving. A motor vehicle may be more useful as survival equipment that my thus-far-motorless lifestyle has led me to believe.

But I really wanted to get that pistol for my birthday.

Having all but decided to not get the pistol (this time), the question arises whether I should even go to the show - but of course I should, for more rifle ammunition if nothing else, and also to price FALs and other modern battle rifles, and the many things that go with them.

Three-day weekend, at least. Labor Day, worldwide commie holiday. It has become traditional on this day for mobs of socialists and anarchists to roam city streets, looting and vandalizing; and for various police organizations to demonstrate just how fascist they can be in response.

Remember Dubya's visit last week? There were protestors at the hotel downtown, objecting to The Bush's plan to whup on Iraq, among other things. Maybe they were genuinely concerned, as I am, that under the Constitution, the President lacks the authority to initiate military force against a foreign state (only Congress can legally declare war; note how we haven't been "at war" with anyone we've whupped on the last 50-odd years, they've been "police actions" or "security council resolutions") - but I wouldn't be surprised if some of them thought ol' Saddam was just a "misunderstood victim of society." Some were monumentally stupid enough to bring infants. Someone pushed, someone else shoved, and we ended up with rubber bullets fired into crowds of baby-toting civilians in a major American city.

A favorite argument among gunfolk is that the Second Amendment is meant as a guarantee, as a last resort, of the right and the tools to resist a tyrannical government. Anti-freedom types have always laughed and said "it can't happen here," usually while proving it can, every time they vote. The same leftist traitors who call themselves "civil rights advocates" continue to spout that line with one fork of their tongues, while bemoaning and "viewing-with-alarm" the civil rights crisis in America with the other.

If you ever wanted graphic proof of how dishonest - or, simply, stupid - these so-called liberals are, note how very carefully they are not making this connection. Anyone who supports restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms at a time like this is either too dumb to be allowed out in public unsupervised, or is rooting for their own brand of totalitarianism.

The annual Labor Day Riots remind me of the Spanish Civil War. Communists on one side, Nazis on the other, and plenty of atrocities to go around. There are no "good guys" to root for. They're all scum. I plan to sleep in on Monday.

With my 12-gauge, .357, and gas mask in reach. Maybe I'll use the day off to cut up those old jeans with the inseams worn out, to make more bandoliers.

Taking the Mosin tomorrow, as described earlier. 50 rounds surplus FMJ, 20 rounds lacquered-case Russian soft-point for warm-up. From previous experience I know this 203-grain soft-point stuff shoots much lower than the 150-ish-grain FMJ, so it's about pointless to shoot it for record, but it groups about the same, and any practice is better than none at all.

In hindsight, another problem with the Ishapore is - the rear sight's elevation slider shifts in recoil! No wonder the %$@# thing strings vertically! What's likely needed is a stronger (or simply newer) spring in the slider catch. Ordering one from GPC would likely only get me another worn- out piece of surplus (I should replace the old spring with... another old spring?), but I believe the large hardware store near my apartment sells wire that would be suitable for making one. That, however, requires further research, so I'm just taking the Mosin this time.

Another solution, of course, is to get a decent rear sight for the Ishapore, which I've moaned about already. I could Loctite the existing sight, but that would defeat the purpose of having it calibrated for different distances with the standard type of ammunition.

17 - Saturday, 31 August 2002: Trying to get an earlier start today. Ran some morning errands, got some food & drink to take to the range. Having decided not to get the GP35 next weekend, I have rather more money to spend on food, laundry, and other luxury items.

Did manage to take the bus 40 minutes earlier than previous trips. With the holiday weekend, there should be fewer people at the range, and by the time I get there the first batch, who were there when the gate opened, should be finishing up, and the second batch, who slept in, won't be there yet.

I never have liked crowds.

(Didn't work out that way after all. This club thing... if I can find a decent club, with decent people....)

The Mosin is not, by American standards, an elegant design, but it's really tough. The stubby M44 carbine, since there's less of it to knock against things, is even tougher. No problem with the sights getting nudged, or shifting in recoil, here! If you want a firearm that will always work and really last, you've got two choices: something designed by John Moses Browning, or something adopted in large numbers by the Russian military.

(Well, okay, some Rugers. But he's still a traitor, even now he's dead.)

Arrived about noon. A touch of CLP on the case neck helps with extraction with the green- lacquer rounds in the Mosin. Just burning it up, not shooting for record or real practice, though I did try to group well. Difficult with a Mini-14 launching its Mach 3 poodle-slayers a couple lanes down, and an FAL hurling brass at my head right next to me.

[rant="on"] Chatted with the guy with the FAL. Depressing! "Bill Clinton was not a bad President." Drugs should be legalized - okay, I'm a libertarian - but they should be "government controlled." Obviously he's not. He went on about how survivalists are "nuts," and how one was arrested for building "fertilizer bombs" to keep people off his property, "and they found drugs there, too." I had not heard this story but was immediately suspicious. He did not question the media's version of the story, and had no interest in any other explanation. Visual aid here.

I felt genuine horror, that an American gun owner could be so complacent, so deluded. He said he didn't even vote! The man made me sick. The worst part is, I know a lot of people like that. "I don't want to talk politics." "Can't we just have fun?"

NO! As a matter of fact, you can't! This disgusting complacency, this pitiful head-in-the-sand behavior, has cost me a friendship or two. And then they whine and say "Why are you so angry with me?" Take a good look at that cartoon, above. That's why. At least I try to do something for freedom. Too many people won't even get off the couch.

Remember this, when people you know are sent to "enemy combatant" camps, when you're pulled over every day or two for "random inspection," when you have to show identification three times between home and work. Remember, you could have done something. You could have helped stop tyranny from rising in America, or at least slowed it down so we could better prepare to fight.

But you didn't care. It wasn't as important to you as watching big-government, anti-freedom propaganda on TV. [/rant]

Back to what I'm supposed to be doing. Starting to get a handle on this NPOA (Natural Point Of Aim) thing, putting my body in a position where I can relax as many muscles as possible and remain on target. The way I've been doing it, I've been tensing everything to get the sights lined up, and of course they don't want to stay there.

Definitely want a different range, possibly a real club. Better conditions & facilities, and hopefully a better class of people. Will recon the Vancouver club on the 14th, as mentioned.

Lacquered stuff gone (still one box left in the apartment), switching to the brass case FMJ. First real string, dispersed vertically but much closer to point of aim than previous sessions. Encouraging.

Second string better, three genuine hits. I may be onto something, using the solid Mosin instead of the questionable Ishapore. Third string, three hits - or four? The fifth round touching. That's the kind of shooting I'm here for!

If I sell the Ishapore, I'll have that much more money for an FAL....

Getting a little fatigued, but the NPOA helps; but my NPOA isn't so "N" yet. Oh well, that's why I'm doing this. The FAL-toting Democrat (shudder) left, so I moved to the lane he was using, which has more elbow room. I was using the last lane, right up against the wall of the bench shed.

Fourth string grouped high, one hit, one touching. May be losing it for the day, though progress has definitely been made. Fifth string, left and a little high, but nicely grouped. Could the Mosin disperse horizontally when hot, like the SMLE does vertically? Never heard of such.

Sixth string: again high and left, but under one inch. I can shoot 4 MOA! Seventh high, but I rushed it some; also, I'm using different lots of ammunition: if I read the headstamps correctly, some is from 1990, some from 1985. (I use the same lot within each string, of course.) Windage good. Just about 4 MOA strung vertically. At least I can't blame the rifle as much. You need tools you can trust!

Getting tired; left (supporting) elbow sore despite BDU shirt, and my bladder is filling. Three chargers left, tough it out. Heat waves from barrel, cosmoline weeping from fore-end and handguard. Last three strings opening up. Packed it in, left about 3pm.

Now that was a more productive session! I may even try the AQT with the Mosin (haven't shot the AQT at all, yet). Unfortunately it seems I'll be doing no shooting for the next two weeks at least. Maybe the Vancouver club will be worth the trip. I'll try to practice NPOA with dry-fire.

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