With a Side of Luger (Maybe)

This is going to be short, but I found out that I might get the chance to shoot a P08 Luger in a couple of weeks!  My co-worker's dad owns the Luger and he might let her take it to the range.  I'm thinking, wow, what a cool dad.  Because if it was my Luger, I wouldn't let it out of my sight/safe.  But thankfully her dad isn't like me.  And believes in sharing his Luger with the world his daughter's work friends.  I'm not sure if his Luger is in 9mm or 7.65 Parabellum.  If it's in 9mm, I've got some ammo to contribute to the cause.  7.65 Parabellum...not so much.  Anyway, here is the eye candy of the day.  P08 Luger picture via wikipedia.

Order up.

Hawes Western Six-Shooter Is HERE!!

This post is going to be short (a rarity for me, I know).  My Hawes Western Six-Shooter by JP Sauer & Sohn is here!! 

I picked it up from my transferring FFL dealer this afternoon.  The gun is beautiful.  Full size, pretty heavy (heavier than the Ruger Single Six I used to own).  It goes without saying that I can't wait to shoot it but I'll say it anyway.  I can't wait to shoot it.  Anyway, this has got to be short.  So that's it for now.  Order up!

Guns I Want To Buy: Steyr Mannlicher 95/34

This is the inaugural Guns I Want To Buy post.  And man, it was tough deciding on what gun to feature first.  I mean, there are LOTS of guns I want to buy.  I still don't own a 1911, an M1 Carbine, a Ruger Mini 14, a Browning Hi-Power...and the list goes on.  So I decided to go with something off the beaten path, something a little weird, a little different (after all, Kentucky Fried Firearms is a little different too).  So without further ado, let's give a warm welcome to the Steyr Mannlicher 95/34.

The picture (if you couldn't tell) is from J&G Sales, located in AZ but they do internet business as well.  The rifle is chambered in 8x56R, which is an oddball round.  The rifle has a straight pull bolt, which I'm assuming is just like the Schmidt Rubin.  Most other bolt actions like the Mosin Nagant and the K98 use a rotary bolt (turn the bolt up, then back).  The rifle is loaded with a 5 round clip.  At the last round, the clip automatically falls to the ground.  Without the clip, the rifle can only be loaded one at a time.  It's an old rifle.  The 95 stands for 1895 and the 34 for 1934.  And yeah, one last thing.  The Steyr Mannlicher has some SERIOUSLY STOUT RECOIL.  How stout?  Shooting it is the one time it is okay for a man to cry.

Alright.  Three things got me interested in the Steyr 95/34.  One of them was buying my friend's Mosin Nagant 91/30.  Man, the Mosin Nagant is a fun fun gun to shoot!  Lots of power, pretty accurate, and affordable surplus ammo.  Since I enjoyed the Mosin so much, I thought I should look into other bolt action rifles.  About a month later, my FFL 03 Curio & Relic license finally came in the mail.  And with that license in hand, I started looking for C&R guns to buy.  Which led me to J&G's website where I found the Steyr Mannlicher for sale.  Price: $100.  And a hundred bucks is always a great price to pay for a firearm that eats thunder and craps lightening.  So to recap:
1.) My Mosin Nagant love
2.) My C&R license
3.) El cheapo price   

But the reason I ultimately didn't get the Steyr Mannlicher back then was the scarcity and high price of 8x56R ammo.  And even though the Mosin Nagant's recoil never bothered me, I was a little worried the Steyr's recoil might get the best of me.  So I didn't buy it.  And guess what?  Due to the Gun Scare of early 2013 (when everyone freaked out about possible gun control legislation), J&G is sold out.  My other web sources for C&R guns like Classic Firearms, Wideners, and Aim Surplus don't have in in stock either.  So it looks like I missed the boat, right?  But wait.  I have a secret source for C&R guns.  Their website is only for FFL licensees (both FFL01/gun dealers and FFL03/Curio Relic Collectors).  And they still have Steyr Mannlichers in stock for $109.  I've been feeling non-buyers remorse for a while now.  Think I'm going to have to jump the gun on this one before they are gone for good.

Lastly, enjoy these Youtube videos of fine folks shooting their Steyr Mannlichers.  Aurora91sl shoots watermelons in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3NAuKCmuU.  Watermelon action starts around 2:40.  And Iraqveteran8888 shoots his Steyr 95 carbine in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0kcuy7LPw.  He uses the 5 round clips and his video shows the system nicely.

Well, I think this is just about done.  I'll update when I buy one.  Order up.            

Deep Fry of the Day: 1971 Hawes Catalog

Kentucky Fried Firearms traveled back in time and returned with this fine catalog from 1971.  (Google Translation: Bought it on Ebay.)  As you can see, Hawes sold a lot of guns made by JP Sauer & Sohn.  On the used market today, the Western Marshals are most common.  But I have seen a Montana Marshal and a Texas Marshal for sale before.  I think I saw a Chief Marshal on Gunbroker that wasn't labeled as such (the adjustable sights and short hammer look familiar).  The Virginia City Marshal is new to me.  I'll have to keep my eyes open for one (as if I wasn't obsessively checking Gunbroker and Armslist already).

The catalog itself contains five pages.  It's interesting to see what Hawes had to offer in '71.  I'll be honest.  I'd like to collect (and shoot) all the variants.  (Google Translation: Time to take out a 2nd mortgage.)

The most fascinating thing for me is on the bottom left corner in the orange box.  It looks like the .357 version (Model #6357C) could've been purchased with a optional 9mm cylinder.  And for whatever reason, shooting 9mm out of a cowboy six-shooter sounds so wrong, it's got to right.  You know what I mean?  I feel I've got to try it.  So yeah, add 9mm cylinder to the list of things I'll obsessively check for online.

Well, it looks like this deep fry is just about done.  Order up!     

UPDATE: Numrich used to sell a replacement 9mm cylinder (blue/nickel) for $58.85 but it looks like they sold out a long time ago.  I'll keep watching GB and Armslist.   
  

Update: Hawes Western Six-shooter (made in West Germany by JP Sauer & Sohn)

Just wanted to update my previous post.  The Hawes Western Marshal in .22lr has been shipped today!

It's coming Second Day Priority, I think, or something like that.  (Whatever USPS calls their 2nd Day Air.)  But anyway, by this time next week, it should be in my hands.  Very cool.   

It's Better to Collect Guns Anyway

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/those-comics-basement-probably-worthless-095537403.html

I collected comic books as a kid.  And yeah, I thought they would make me rich.  After all, everyone has a dad, uncle, or grandpa who had all these comic books or baseball cards that got thrown away by their moms.  And man, if those comics or cards were still around, Dad/Uncle/Grandpa would be RICH!!  I thought all I had to do was save my comics from the Thrown-Away-By-Mom fate and I'd be rolling in the dough.

I was wrong.  I learned this a long time ago, back in '99 or 2000, when I sold my collection of comics for pennies on the dollar.  I was eighteen then.  So it wasn't like I could've been collecting firearms instead of comics.  But I DO wish I had started my gun collection a lot earlier.  Not too long ago, AK-47s went for $200; SKSs for $100.  AKs are now around $550 and SKSs around $300-$350.  Though I've owned a handgun since I've been legally able, I only started collecting other firearms within the past few years.  Still I've noticed this: Guns don't lose their value.  They either retain it or go up.

Plus it's not like most of us are just sitting on our guns, waiting for our "nest egg" to hatch.  We're having fun shooting them too.  And there is nothing better than the smell of gunpowder lingering in the open air of your favorite range.  Could a comic book do that?  I don't think so.         
                          

Beretta Jetfire and a Side of Gravy

Okay, I'm going to be honest here.  That title has almost nothing to do with this post.  But I liked the sound of it so I went with it.

The title would've been more fitting if this was an in depth post about the Beretta 950 Jetfire (something that I plan on doing "some day").  After all, I love my Jetfire.  Have it with me most of the time, even in a few dreams where I used my trusty Jetfire to fight zombies, and one time, ghosts.  So yeah, it's a well loved gun.  And I'll get into the nitty-gritty "one day".  I promise.  But in the meanwhile, here is the meat and potatoes of this post.
      

The Beretta Jetfire in .25 ACP comes standard with an 8-round magazine.  Pictured is a nice example made by Mec-Gar.  I have a few Mec-Gars.  They work nicely.  No complaints.  Mec-Gar makes fine stuff.  But yesterday I found this monstrosity on GunBroker.

It's a 15 round magazine for the Beretta Jetfire!!  15 rounds!!  Geez, that sucker is literary going to stick out like a sore thumb and probably look something like this:

That is a Glock 19 with a 33 round magazine.  Looks silly, but it gets the job done.  The picture is a screenshot from the TV show, Jericho.  Swiped it from IMFDB which is a cool site to browse if you wanted to know, for example, what gun Eddie Murphy used in Beverly Hills Cop (Browning Hi-Power, by the way).

So yeah.  A 15 round magazine will look ugly and silly, and may lead to slide bite or hammer bite (the Jetfire bites if you don't position your fingers properly).  It may cause reliability issues.

But in spite of all that, I'm planning on getting one.  It's too weird not to try it.  

Well, that's it for today's episode.  Meat and potatoes: Done.   

UPDATE: (11/01/13) Ordered one today from GunBroker.