Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a new development in my firearms purchasing quest.
I mentioned a couple days back that I was planning to buy another Mosin rifle, well something better came up and I will be buying a CZ-82 9x18mm Makarov pistol sometime next year. I figured the price of either Mosin rifle was a bit high and I was right. The shop had the rifles for sale at $179 for either the M44 or the M38. That is a bit too high for me and instead I will save up a bit more and buy the CZ-82, a firearm that is actually worth the high price tag.
Now don't get me wrong, I think the Mosin M44 and M38 are very nice rifles, but when I can find a better deal on a firearm, you better believe I'm going to go for it. I will, however, buy another Mosin as soon as I can, but for now the CZ-82 is the firearm I'm focusing on.
That'll do it for this update. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Previews of what's to come on 12-Gauge Chimp's Blog
Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a list of whats to come on the site.
1. In a few weeks or so, I will be bringing you an update on which Mosin rifle I end up with. It'll either be that M44 or the M38 and I'll do a review and a range report sometime after that. ( See above update )
2. I have an oppurtunity to restore my Mossberg bullpup to factory specifications. I have contacted someone at a collectors organization devoted to Mossberg shotguns and they have a limited supply of parts for my particular gun. So hopefully I can get the parts I need and bring my bullpup back to it's original factory appearence.
3. My search for a genuine kukri continues. I have found a couple sources for kukris in the US and also I have contacted a kukri maker in Nepal, but so far it looks like I'm going with the ones in the US, due to shipping costs. It's something like 38 bucks just for shipping from Nepal to the US. Combine that with the cost of the kukri itself and the total comes out to about 90 bucks.
Anyway, that's going to do it for the previews. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
1. In a few weeks or so, I will be bringing you an update on which Mosin rifle I end up with. It'll either be that M44 or the M38 and I'll do a review and a range report sometime after that. ( See above update )
2. I have an oppurtunity to restore my Mossberg bullpup to factory specifications. I have contacted someone at a collectors organization devoted to Mossberg shotguns and they have a limited supply of parts for my particular gun. So hopefully I can get the parts I need and bring my bullpup back to it's original factory appearence.
3. My search for a genuine kukri continues. I have found a couple sources for kukris in the US and also I have contacted a kukri maker in Nepal, but so far it looks like I'm going with the ones in the US, due to shipping costs. It's something like 38 bucks just for shipping from Nepal to the US. Combine that with the cost of the kukri itself and the total comes out to about 90 bucks.
Anyway, that's going to do it for the previews. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veterans Day
Happy Veterans Day, everybody !
If by some chance a vet reads this, thank you for your service. If you served in WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm or the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you are a hero in my book and I am humbled by the sacrifies you make or have made to make the country safe.
If you know a vet, please let them know what they mean to you, thank them for their service, buy them a drink or something.
Veterans of the United States Military, my name is 12-Gauge Chimp and I salute you.
Also, please take some time to remember those who were killed in the recent shooting attack at Fort Hood. Thank you.
This is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
If by some chance a vet reads this, thank you for your service. If you served in WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm or the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you are a hero in my book and I am humbled by the sacrifies you make or have made to make the country safe.
If you know a vet, please let them know what they mean to you, thank them for their service, buy them a drink or something.
Veterans of the United States Military, my name is 12-Gauge Chimp and I salute you.
Also, please take some time to remember those who were killed in the recent shooting attack at Fort Hood. Thank you.
This is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Random Thoughts # 8: Yet another Mosin
Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp back again with a new set of random thoughts.
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, another Mosin will soon find its way to my collection. I sold my Nagant revolver to a friend and now I have an empty space in my gun collection, so that means I must fill the void with a new gun. This is where the Mosin comes in.
A local gun shop has a small number of Mosin M44 carbines in stock and I will be purchasing one in the coming months. Now I have an M91/30, but I've been looking for another Mosin for sometime now. Besides, it gives me a reason to buy another gun.
The Mosin M44 was created to fill the need for a compact rifle in the Red Army. They had tried to fill that need with the M38 carbine, but reports came in from troops who wished for a bayonet attachment, which the M38 lacked. In steps the M44 with its side folding bayonet. Early on in the war, the Russians mainly issued the M91/30, but soon would issue the M38 and M44 as alternate rifles to the troops as the war went on. It was not uncommon to see entire units armed with the three different Mosin rifles.
Well that's pretty much it for this edition of Random Thoughts. I'll be sure to update you all as to when I get the M44 and I'll even post a review and eventually a range report. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Update: The shop that has the M44s now has a limited stock of M38 carbines. So now I'm torn between buying the M44 or the M38. I'll post another edition of random thoughts soon and let you guys know which rifle I end up with.
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, another Mosin will soon find its way to my collection. I sold my Nagant revolver to a friend and now I have an empty space in my gun collection, so that means I must fill the void with a new gun. This is where the Mosin comes in.
A local gun shop has a small number of Mosin M44 carbines in stock and I will be purchasing one in the coming months. Now I have an M91/30, but I've been looking for another Mosin for sometime now. Besides, it gives me a reason to buy another gun.
The Mosin M44 was created to fill the need for a compact rifle in the Red Army. They had tried to fill that need with the M38 carbine, but reports came in from troops who wished for a bayonet attachment, which the M38 lacked. In steps the M44 with its side folding bayonet. Early on in the war, the Russians mainly issued the M91/30, but soon would issue the M38 and M44 as alternate rifles to the troops as the war went on. It was not uncommon to see entire units armed with the three different Mosin rifles.
Well that's pretty much it for this edition of Random Thoughts. I'll be sure to update you all as to when I get the M44 and I'll even post a review and eventually a range report. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Update: The shop that has the M44s now has a limited stock of M38 carbines. So now I'm torn between buying the M44 or the M38. I'll post another edition of random thoughts soon and let you guys know which rifle I end up with.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Random Thoughts # 7 update
Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with an update to my last post.
It seems after a bit of internet investigating, I have found out some things about my kukri.
( for the full report, see Random Thoughts # 7 ).
The first thing I found out is the steel used for the blade is 440 stainless steel, which is good for corrosion and rust resistance, but not so good for heavy use knives, such as the kukri. Now a good working knife, like the kukri, is made from high carbon steel, as high carbon steel can withstand the abuse a kukri is normally put through.
The second thing I found out was that the handle was a bit loose, but it's nothing a little epoxy can't fix. Now it's not a bad knife, but since finding out it is nothing more than a cheap " tourist " kukri, it will now be limited to a display or light duty knife. It does come with a supposed " lifetime " warranty but since I bought it at a flea market I'm screwed if the thing breaks. I'll only be out a couple bucks, but still, this knife will not see heavy use.
I did find a couple sources for actual Nepalese made kukris. All I need to do now is find a kukri model I like, place my order and then wait a week or two until it arrives from Nepal. I'll let you all know how it goes.
Well that'll do it for this update, as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
It seems after a bit of internet investigating, I have found out some things about my kukri.
( for the full report, see Random Thoughts # 7 ).
The first thing I found out is the steel used for the blade is 440 stainless steel, which is good for corrosion and rust resistance, but not so good for heavy use knives, such as the kukri. Now a good working knife, like the kukri, is made from high carbon steel, as high carbon steel can withstand the abuse a kukri is normally put through.
The second thing I found out was that the handle was a bit loose, but it's nothing a little epoxy can't fix. Now it's not a bad knife, but since finding out it is nothing more than a cheap " tourist " kukri, it will now be limited to a display or light duty knife. It does come with a supposed " lifetime " warranty but since I bought it at a flea market I'm screwed if the thing breaks. I'll only be out a couple bucks, but still, this knife will not see heavy use.
I did find a couple sources for actual Nepalese made kukris. All I need to do now is find a kukri model I like, place my order and then wait a week or two until it arrives from Nepal. I'll let you all know how it goes.
Well that'll do it for this update, as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Random Thoughts #7: I got a Kukri knife ( Finally )
Hey guys, 12-Gauge Chimp here with yet another edition of random thoughts.
This past Saturday I went to a local flea market in a town about an hour or so from my place. They had the usual overpriced garage sale fodder with a few interesting knick knacks thrown in for variety, but one thing that caught my eye was the fact that one vendor had knives and not just the usual crappy knives either. This vendor had a kukri, a knife that I had been looking for ever since I started rebuilding my knife collection.
I might need to explain just what exactly a " kukri " is, just so no one is confused. A kukri is a traditional fighting knife used by the Nepalese Gurkha's, it has a large curved blade and is suited for everyday tasks in addition to being a fearsome fighting knife. There are various sizes and styles of kukris, most blades measure 12 to 18 inches, with some examples being even longer. In fact the British Army still issues the kukri to certain units. Ok, I think thats enough explaining for now, on to the review.
The kukri I purchased is not a traditional styled kukri, in fact it's not even a true kukri. True kukris are made by a Nepalese company whose name escapes me at this moment, but true kukris are imported into the country from time to time. There is a certain process that every true Nepalese kukri must go through to be called a kukri, usually a sacred blessing of the blade by the master bladesmith or a religious official. Anyway, my kukri is made by a company that also supplies blades for numerous high end knife companies, of which I will not name because I don't remember all of them.
My kukri has a relatively heavy blade, the curve of which is very pronounced. This is good since a kukri is mostly used for hacking and other tasks. It has some sort of anti rust coating on the blade and the handle has a very rough textured grip, which is good because you really don't want this knife to slip out of your hands when hacking vines and end up losing a toe or finger. Another thing to mention is the blade is sharp and I mean SHARP. Most factory edged knives need to be sharpened a bit further to get a working edge on them, but this knife has a fantastic edge to it. I've almost cut myself so many times since buying it. While its not exactly " shaving " sharp, it will get the job done, whatever that job might be. My one complaint about this knife lies in the crappy sheath that is provided. Seriously, all the effort was put into the knife and it's like they just assembled a sheath for it as an afterthought. I will be replacing the factory sheath with either a better aftermarket sheath or I'll try to make a sheath for it using some Kydex or leather material.
That's going to do it for this edition of random thoughts, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all later. As always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
This past Saturday I went to a local flea market in a town about an hour or so from my place. They had the usual overpriced garage sale fodder with a few interesting knick knacks thrown in for variety, but one thing that caught my eye was the fact that one vendor had knives and not just the usual crappy knives either. This vendor had a kukri, a knife that I had been looking for ever since I started rebuilding my knife collection.
I might need to explain just what exactly a " kukri " is, just so no one is confused. A kukri is a traditional fighting knife used by the Nepalese Gurkha's, it has a large curved blade and is suited for everyday tasks in addition to being a fearsome fighting knife. There are various sizes and styles of kukris, most blades measure 12 to 18 inches, with some examples being even longer. In fact the British Army still issues the kukri to certain units. Ok, I think thats enough explaining for now, on to the review.
The kukri I purchased is not a traditional styled kukri, in fact it's not even a true kukri. True kukris are made by a Nepalese company whose name escapes me at this moment, but true kukris are imported into the country from time to time. There is a certain process that every true Nepalese kukri must go through to be called a kukri, usually a sacred blessing of the blade by the master bladesmith or a religious official. Anyway, my kukri is made by a company that also supplies blades for numerous high end knife companies, of which I will not name because I don't remember all of them.
My kukri has a relatively heavy blade, the curve of which is very pronounced. This is good since a kukri is mostly used for hacking and other tasks. It has some sort of anti rust coating on the blade and the handle has a very rough textured grip, which is good because you really don't want this knife to slip out of your hands when hacking vines and end up losing a toe or finger. Another thing to mention is the blade is sharp and I mean SHARP. Most factory edged knives need to be sharpened a bit further to get a working edge on them, but this knife has a fantastic edge to it. I've almost cut myself so many times since buying it. While its not exactly " shaving " sharp, it will get the job done, whatever that job might be. My one complaint about this knife lies in the crappy sheath that is provided. Seriously, all the effort was put into the knife and it's like they just assembled a sheath for it as an afterthought. I will be replacing the factory sheath with either a better aftermarket sheath or I'll try to make a sheath for it using some Kydex or leather material.
That's going to do it for this edition of random thoughts, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all later. As always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Random Thoughts # 6: Buying a new gun
Hey guys 12-Gauge Chimp here with another edition of Random Thoughts.
Well it's that time again folks, time for me to add a new gun to my collection. Over the last few months I have been scouring the internet for the best deal on an AK-47 or similar rifle. So far I've found a few places that seem to have a good selection and all I really need to do now is narrow my choices down as to which rifle I'm going to get. I'm kind of stuck choosing between a Romanian WASR-10 AK and a Hungarian AMD-65 AK, now both are AK-47 pattern rifles, but they each have their pros and cons, which will be explained below.
-The WASR-10 is a standard military rifle with classic AK looks.
The pros of the WASR-10 are:
1. It has a full military style wooden stock
2. It accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is the cheapest version out there
4. Easy to customize
The cons are:
1. The front sight and rear sights may be canted( or off to one side)
2. Since the gun comes into the country in a " sporting " configuration, the fit and finish may have defects
-The AMD-65 is a Hungarian copy of the AK-47 with a unique side folding stock.
It's pros are:
1. With the stock folded, it's very compact
2. It too accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is also one of the cheapest AKs on the market
4.It has a standard forward pistol grip
The cons of the AMD-65 are:
1.The stock looks kind of weird and unstable
2.It needs to have a certain number of U.S made parts to use imported AK magazines
Overall both rifles have advantages and disadvantages, but it's nothing a couple extra bucks and some work in my spare time can't fix. The real hard part is choosing which rifle is right for me
Well whatever rifle I end up with, I'll be sure to post a review and a range report as soon as I can.
That's going to do it for this edition of 12-Gauge Chimp's Random Thoughts and
as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
Well it's that time again folks, time for me to add a new gun to my collection. Over the last few months I have been scouring the internet for the best deal on an AK-47 or similar rifle. So far I've found a few places that seem to have a good selection and all I really need to do now is narrow my choices down as to which rifle I'm going to get. I'm kind of stuck choosing between a Romanian WASR-10 AK and a Hungarian AMD-65 AK, now both are AK-47 pattern rifles, but they each have their pros and cons, which will be explained below.
-The WASR-10 is a standard military rifle with classic AK looks.
The pros of the WASR-10 are:
1. It has a full military style wooden stock
2. It accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is the cheapest version out there
4. Easy to customize
The cons are:
1. The front sight and rear sights may be canted( or off to one side)
2. Since the gun comes into the country in a " sporting " configuration, the fit and finish may have defects
-The AMD-65 is a Hungarian copy of the AK-47 with a unique side folding stock.
It's pros are:
1. With the stock folded, it's very compact
2. It too accepts standard AK magazines
3. It is also one of the cheapest AKs on the market
4.It has a standard forward pistol grip
The cons of the AMD-65 are:
1.The stock looks kind of weird and unstable
2.It needs to have a certain number of U.S made parts to use imported AK magazines
Overall both rifles have advantages and disadvantages, but it's nothing a couple extra bucks and some work in my spare time can't fix. The real hard part is choosing which rifle is right for me
Well whatever rifle I end up with, I'll be sure to post a review and a range report as soon as I can.
That's going to do it for this edition of 12-Gauge Chimp's Random Thoughts and
as always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
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