Arsenal SGL 20 AKM with Blond Wood Furniture

This Independence Day weekend James and I tried out the Arsenal SGL 20 Russian Izhmash AKM. This is one nice rifle. Nice finish, build and accurate out of the box. I put some Ironwood blond furniture on it. It came with some nice plum furniture, but I really dig the blond look. No failures of any kind with this rifle. I got a great deal on this rifle a while back when K-VAR had their big "stimulus" sale. If I had the funds, I'd buy another.

Here's how it started out:







And here it is now:







Here's the video of James and I with the Arsenal SGL 20.

P.O.F. p415 (HK 416 clone) with Barska red dot

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I took out my P.O.F. p415 (HK 416 clone) with Barska Electro Sight red dot optic. The red dot sight works pretty well, and is sighted in at about 25 yards. I used PMC 55 grain ammo and got pretty good results. I really like my P.O.F. p415. It's accurate, easily modified, a bit on the heavy side, but really a great rifle. It has an "18 heavy barrel and a great HK style front sight. I use a Stag Arms lower with the POF upper and I've had good luck with just about all the mags I've used. I bought some Tapco mags for $10 a piece and they work great so far. I really like the Korean HK 416 knock-off magazines as well. The POF p415 upper is a bit pricey, but if you want quality and accuracy, POF is the way to go. If I had the money, I'd like to get one of their 7.62x51 (.308) models.

Yugo M70AB2 modification project (part II)

Ok folks, here are some pics of my finished Yugo M70AB2 modified rifle. This rifle is no beauty queen, but the paint doesn't look too shabby either. The real test will be when I put a couple hundred rounds through it. We'll see how well the paint stands up to the heat, and if the weld holds. I hope to try it out this Saturday. I'll post some video of the test session. I hope that it doesn't rain.

Yugo M70AB2 modification project (part I)

Let's talk AK mods. There are those out there who are completely against it, and view it as a sin and then there are those of us who appreciate the classic AK look, but don't see anything wrong with updating our rifles with all the bells and whistles that modern society has to offer. I happen to be one of the later. Now, I didn't get crazy here, but decided to change the sights, grips, and add a cushioned recoil pad.

My rifle started out as a standard, no frills factory model Yugo m70ab2 undefolder AK type rifle. I think that factory handguards on the m70ab2 are somewhat boring looking, so I swapped them out with an AK-47 Leapers UTG M70 Yugo Tactical Quad Rail. This allows me to add optics and grips, etc. I put a Bushnell Trophy red dot on it, and zeroed it in at about 25 yards. It works great.




I also added a recoil pad, as the metal underfolding stock against my shoulder wasn't horrible, but didn't feel that great either. I have yet to try this out while firing the file, but it feels really nice when I shoulder it.




Here's what the rifle looked liked after adding these mods.




I was pretty happy until I saw a site online where they were adding H&K front and rear sights to AK's. Now that looks cool. So, I bought some HK G3 front and rear sights and had my local gunsmith put them on. He did a great job, but I should have told him to put the front sight post on as close to the gas block as possible. Well, my father and a friend cut a piece of conduit and welded it to the gas block. I think that it looks pretty darn cool. The weld is a bit rough, but looks cool. I applied a coat of aerosol Hi-Heat Spray Paint (made for use on grills, etc.) to give it a flat look and paint the metal conduit pipe. I have to wait another 48 hours to added another coat.

Here are some pics of the unfinished AK mod. I have the rifle tapped in order to paint it. I can't wait to add the final coats of paint and take this baby out for a test drive. I will post the final pics, along with a video and range report once it's ready. In the meantime, here are some pics of the mod in its current stage.

Centurion 39 Sporter Rifle (100% American Made)

Century Arms Inc. is producing their own AK type rifle called the Centurion 39 Sporter Rifle. This rifle is made of 100% American made parts. The rifle has a milled receiver, a proprietary V shaped Chevron Compensator, designed exclusively by Century and has Picatinny rails on the hand guards for mounting optics. I know that the milled receiver is a huge plus in the book of a lot of AK fans. I also know that there are a lot of mixed feeling about the quality of workmanship coming from Century over the years. I've owned two C.A.I. Yugo AK type rifles (M70 and M72). The construction of both them was fantastic and they function without any issues to date. So, I'm willing to give the new Centurion 39 Sporter Rifle a try. I'd like to see what the MSRP will be for these rifles. Maybe Century will send me a sample so I can spread the good word. Nah, I don't think so.

http://www.centuryarms.com/?p=199

The great outdoors

I went to my friend Scott's place to try out some new mags, rifles, and for a bonfire. We tested his Colt M4 .22lr tactical rifle, which was really nice. I got to fire an M&P 40c that one of his police buddies brought. I thought that it would be somewhat awkward to hold, due to its small size, but it was really ergonomical and I had no trouble with it at all. Even with the shortened grip it handled nicely. It was pretty accurate too. I took one of the new Tapco AR 30 round polymer magazines that I picked up at the last gun show for $10. It feed well and seems to be a good buy. At $10, I'd buy some more. I used the mag on his Bushmaster AR type rifle (I don't recall the model). That rifle shoots really well and ate up the Wolf 62 gr. and PMC .223 ammo. We fired a Mossberg 500 and an intersting Colt 22. As it got dark we made our way to the bonfire that was built like a tepee, and grilled some dogs. It was another fun day at the range.

Colt / Umarex M4 Carbine .22 Tactical Rimfire AR-15

With the price of ammo still pretty high, and the realization that people still want to fire their AR type rifles, Colt and Umarex have teamed up and tapped into that market. In an effort to provide affordability without giving up the cool factor, they have produced the Colt M4 .22 Tactical Rimfire. I was skeptical when I first saw it. I sold my Ruger 10/22 not long ago. Not because it wasn't a great rifle, but because it just wasn't as fun as my AR or AK types. I even bought an MG-42 kit to dress it up, but that didn't help. The Colt / Umarex M4 Carbine in 22 long, is a different story. It has the look and feel of a Colt AR, but it's lighter and provides an inexpensive way to do a ton of plinking. We used mostly Federal, which fires really well. We also put a couple of rounds of Remington through it, but it didn't load well at first. If you like AR rifles, but don't have the cash for a bunch of .223 or 5.56, I suggest that you try one of these.

Pumpkin Shootout

Alright, so if you've never lined up a bunch a pumpkins and unloaded the arsenal on them, you're really missing out. Don't get me wrong, paper targets have their place, but there's nothing quite like watching these reactive targets spew seeds out the back when a 5.56 NATO or 45 ACP round tears through these guys. These pumpkins were free from a local pumpkin patch. The guy there just asked that I tell people that he's now selling Christmas trees on his lot. In case you aren't able to head out to the country and do it, here's some footage of our session. Enjoy!

Century Arms c93 Sporter (HK 93 clone) test fire

My wife and I took out my Century Arms C93 Sporter out for the first time. I used Wolf 55 grain .223 FMJ ammo. I was SO EXCITED for weeks to try out my new rifle. Well, the first round went off just fine, and then...FTE time! Failure to extract. It wouldn't extract the spent casing, but the next round fed right in beneath it! Aghhhh!!!! Well that did it. I was so mad! After about 10 mintues of messing with the cocking tube and seeing that the bolt would not close all the way, I thought that I'd better try it again. BOOM, round fired successfully, but it was still a bolt action NIGHTMARE!!! So, I went through about 30 rounds like that. Then it happened, the gun went into action (semi-auto that is). After that, I went through about 150 rounds, FTE free! I guess it just needed to be broken in.

As luck would have it, the camera died before I could film it! I'll post more footage just as soon as I get out there again. I have to thank my lovely wife for being such a good sport and going with me! I love her.

Trouble Loves Me

Here's some footage of my bro. Nate shooting my P.O.F. p415 gas piston upper.

J. G. Anschutz Deutsches Sportmodell WWII KDF Rifle

This story is about the WW II German training rifle that my grandfather brought back from the war. As far back as I can remember, it sat in storage at my grandparens' home in Ohio. When we'd visit, (if we were lucky) my dad would take it out and let us hold it. The rifle was designed to realistically imitate the feel and function of the standard 98K Mauser. It sure looked the part. I always thought that the 98K was the coolest rifle ever; and for so long it seemed as though this was the closest that I'd ever get to the real deal.

It is a 4MM indoor training rifle. That means that it was designed to be shot indoors! How fun would that be? Well, I never got to find out. This is a “Buscher” model. I have learned that Buscher was a personal friend of Max Anschutz and a renown gun dealer in Germany. This is his "private label" firearm. It was made by Anschutz for him. This particular rifle with the Nazi proof is extremely rare. The top of the receiver ring is marked with a DAF/KDF Kraft Durch Freude (Strength Through Joy)Sunwheel logo and states “Eigentum Des Sportamies”. The top of the rear section of the barrel is marked “Germania Waffenwerk AG Zella- Mehlis. Kal 4MM Lang.”

The rifle is in excellent condition after all those years. The markings/proofs are in fantastic condition and very rare. I couldn't find a whole lot of info on the rifle, even after contact the manufacturer at Anschutz. I've seen other similar rifles, but not with the KDF and nazi markings. Anyway, I ended up selling it not too long ago to a gentleman who will be putting it to good use. He's gonna shoot it! Wow! I'd love to find out how accurate it is. Here are some pics. Enjoy!