Re: Gun/Military Thread

[StoneSlinger88]

At least over here in the US, prices are still high. Not as bad as they were six months to a year ago, but still higher than they were before the market inflated. Certain firearms and calibers were hit worse than others, the AR-15 and .223/5.56 skyrocketed in price and dropped in availability. Things are starting to normalize, though.

[Harmony Ltd.]

glorious invisible hand of the free market

[StoneSlinger88]

Glorious invisible hand of the assholes who stockpiled everything as soon as it hit the shelves.

[Harmony Ltd.]

That's when you learn the age old craft of handloading.

By the way, does there exist brass cartridges for shotgun shells? If you ever want to be re-using them, I suppose that could come in handy, no?

[jacky2734]

They exist, but were made obsolete by the paper and plastic shotgun shells.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Because they're consumables and cost almost nothing, I suppose ?

[Frost]

They are. In my area, at least, while the price of 5.56, 9mm, .40 and 7.62 was skyrocketing, 12-gauge rounds stayed pretty much the same, and 20-gauge and .410 shells actually went down in price.

And you can reload the plastic shotgun shells, anyway

[StoneSlinger88]

Found a few things that caught my eye while I was doing some recon on the local gun shops.

1) An Arisaka Type 99 for $125. Very rough shape, and ammo's not cheap, but with a little TLC she'll look alright.
2) A Turk K98 Mauser for $185, in very good shape.
3) A Mauser K98 with curious markings. Looked Czech or Yugo with the weird letters, and the stamp was two wings rising up, with flames in the middle. *some research later* It's a Yugo M98, possibly German made and Yugo refinished.

I'll head to another shop soon, heard they had an SKS in stock. Knowing that shop, it won't be cheap, but they have great prices on ammo and sell me all the 7.62x54r I can carry.

[Frost]

It's weird that you've not seen one yet, considering that both the local mom-and-pop gunshops have several SKS's sitting around, while both of the larger range-shops have at least three

[StoneSlinger88]

I DID see a Russian SPAS-12, brand-fucking new, for $2300. SKS's don't usually make their way to Western Mass often, and the only shop that readily carries them (heard they ran out a month or two back) is a three-hour drive without traffic, probably a four-hour with, and fuck that.

[Frost]

Fuck that indeed. On the plus side, the newest shop in the area (having opened earlier this year and worked hard as hell to keep its prices consistent through the ammo-panic) tends to stock as much variety as they can, including fairly rare models. Contrast with the other major shop, which has a few hundred AR variants, another few hundred AKs, and then they just fill the shelves with random novelty guns

[StoneSlinger88]

There are very few shops in Massachusetts, and most are centered around hunting. The larger ones have a small military surplus section, but no large collections.

[Frost]

That's some shit. Though I suppose it explains why, for instance, AR-15's are so expensive where you live--you can find plenty here for less than $800, because so many of the long guns sold around here are civilian versions of military weapons (mostly, I think, to appeal to the ex-military crowd, of which this area seems to have a disproportionate density) and most handguns are the kind built for concealed carry

[StoneSlinger88]

After reading the history of Yugo M98's I really want one. And the Turk. They're rifles you generally don't see a lot. I didn't even know the Turks made a Kar98, and the Yugo M98, based on the markings, is a battle-capture.

[StoneSlinger88]

*grins like an idiot*

I just spent a little money.

Anyone interested in breakdown/cleaning updates? It's a Turk 38/46, aka the Turk's version of a K98, or maybe a reworked K98, who freaking knows. Turks had a thing for cobbling together frankenguns, so far I've found four different serial numbers on it.

[Frost]

Oh, yes, my good, sir, yes indeed.

[StoneSlinger88]

First update: Five. There are five different serial numbers on it.

Don't have time tonight, but tomorrow afternoon after work I'll upload the pics I took of the disassembly. Needless to say, it involves both a banjo and underwear.

[Frost]

Oh, that's just sinful.

[StoneSlinger88]

You'll find out soon enough that Brown Thunders are invaluable cleaning tools. Dust, polish, soak up, they're like reusable baby wipes.

[Frost]

Heresy. Ear-cleaner-thingies are all a real man needs to clean his guns

[StoneSlinger88]

Here we go.

Initial disassembly/quick wipedown:

Part 2:

[Frost]

You disgust me in the most pragmatic way possible, Stone.

[StoneSlinger88]

One little, two little, three little serial numbers. Four little, five little, six little serial numbers...

[Harmony Ltd.]

At this rate, they're probably just spare part serials, no ?

Do you think you could trace them back to their original manufacturers, dates and places of production ?

[StoneSlinger88]

Frankenturk is marked K.Kale, which means the majority of its parts were manufactured by the K.Kale arsenal east of Ankara. Took her for a little range fun today.

I was nailing the 200 yard range gong in the crouching position like it was nothing. It's very easy to maintain a good sight picture with it; not as much weight on the muzzle-end as the longer Mauser (whom I've named "Sultan") or the Mosin. The stock feels very nice in my hands and the trigger pull is crisp and clean. Like most Mausers, the bolt slides and cocks extremely smoothly.

A great rifle in a great caliber. Less than 15,000 of them were made, and all between the years of 1944 and 1946. Mine was a very late-year 1945, and judging by the serial number on TurkMauser.com (an excellent resource), probably one of the last thousand to be made. There's a lot of history in any surplus rifle, if you're willing to look for it.

That's one of the main reasons I love surplus rifles; you can learn huge amounts of information, all stemming from one beat-up old gun sitting in the back of a Mom and Pop store. Just some beat-up old rifle nobody ever looked twice at, tucked away in the corner and left to collect dust. Until you walked in, saw her sitting there, took her home and discovered the life still residing inside the cosmoline-covered stock and barrel. They're pieces of history, and sure, some perfect specimens belong in a museum or collector's showroom. But we want the rough old dogs; the old war horses, the ones that show their age, and through us, show it with pride.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Question : are 40mm grenade launchers legal for general purchase in the US ?

[Ironmonger]

Question : are 40mm grenade launchers legal for general purchase in the US ?

Uh, I think so, but I think it's one of those things that has to be taxed. It would be like $200+ per round. Someone feel free to correct me on this.

I might be thinking of Frag-12 rounds.

[Frost]

Question : are 40mm grenade launchers legal for general purchase in the US ?

Depends on what you mean by "General purchase". If you mean "can you walk into a gunshop and buy one?", then hell, no. If you mean "Is it possible for civilians to obtain one legally", then yes. 

Specifically, the weapon itself has to be registered with the ATF as a destructive device and is subject to the same restrictions as SBS's, SBR's, and full-auto capable weapons (That is, they require a $200 fee and a ton of paperwork, including a valid reason to buy one, and a usual waiting period of about six months. And the ATF can stop in any time to make sure you're not doing anything naughty with your toys.)

Then, you can buy flare/smoke rounds at your leisure. But any actual grenades are also legally destructive devices and each must be registered with the AFT (Including the $200 and the song-and-dance with paperwork)

That's why most "grenade launchers" you'll see in both film and on gunshop walls are 37mm flare guns

[Frost]

Note that some states (Like California, or as gun enthusiasts call it, Californistan) that have tighter gun laws also outright ban stuff like SBRs, SBSs, and full-auto weapons. Not that, judging by the crime rates, it does any good, but it's the case nonetheless.

[Harmony Ltd.]

What about "special" ammunitions for small arms ? Like tracer, incendiary or explosive rounds ?

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