tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22970681189984722982024-03-22T02:33:50.563-05:0012-Gauge Chimp's Guns and Gear ReviewsAn average guy's take on the wonderful world of firearms and knives.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-39238032288795249052021-06-13T17:56:00.002-05:002021-06-13T17:56:34.388-05:00Guns and Gear Review #29: SDS Imports/Tisas B45 Duty 1911<p> Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.</p><p>Today I'll be reviewing the SDS Imports/Tisas B45 Duty 1911 in .45 ACP. </p><p><br /></p><p>I picked this pistol up back in April and I think it's a hidden gem in the budget handgun world. </p><p><br /></p><p>The SDS Imports/Tisas B45 Duty 1911 is a full size 1911 and has a bunch of features not usually found on budget 1911s. Most of the features you'll find on the B45 Duty 1911 tend to only appear on higher priced 1911s, like those from Springfield Armory or Kimber. </p><p>I picked mine up from Classic Firearms and I managed to snag the last one they had in stock in April. I was so happy because I had been to pretty much every gun shop in my area looking for a 1911 in my price range. I found several that were way out of my price range, like a pair of Les Baer 1911's and a really nice Kimber in 10mm. </p><p>But there was nothing in my price range. Either I was too late and someone else beat me to them or the shop just didn't have any period. </p><p>So I did a quick check online and Classic Firearms had a few of the model I was looking for. While I was on the phone with the customer service rep, I found out there was only one pistol left and I hoped I was able to get it in time. </p><p>Thankfully, I was. If I hadn't gotten the gun, this post wouldn't have happened obviously. </p><p>Anyway, the B45 Duty features a 5 inch barrel, a black Cerakote finish, front and rear cocking serrations on the slide, Novak style three dot sights, an ambidextrous safety (perfect for folks who shoot pistols left handed like I do), an extended beaver tail grip safety, polished feedramps straight from the factory (Tisas claims that out of the box, the B45 Duty can feed and chamber hollowpoint ammunition with no need for additional work. Unlike other budget 1911s) and a steel mainspring housing. </p><p>That last bit is especially surprising considering most budget 1911s tend to have a plastic or polymer mainspring housing. There's also a slight bit of undercutting done to the frame by the trigger guard. Mine had a slight rough spot that caused some discomfort to my middle finger on my dominant hand, but that was solved with a set of Pachmayr wrap around grips. </p><p>Another issue I had was the magazine release spring was a bit too stiff. Even the guy at my FFL who helped me when I got my 1911 said it was way too stiff. </p><p>This issue was solved thanks to a set of springs from Wolff. </p><p>I haven't had the opportunity to shoot the B45 Duty just yet, but that's mostly because it's really hot in my area right now. Most days, the temperature stays at about 100 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit and my range is out in the middle of nowhere with zero shade to escape the blazing sun. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are a very real risk there because of that. </p><p>But, the fall is coming soon and hopefully I can get out and test out my B45 Duty 1911 soon. </p><p>Overall, I like the Tisas B45 Duty 1911 and feel comfortable recommending it to anyone looking for a budget 1911 with a lot of extra features.</p><p>I won't give it my seal of approval just yet, but I think it'll be awarded that soon. </p><p>As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. </p>12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-73913073468775221862020-12-08T16:51:00.001-06:002020-12-08T16:51:31.471-06:00Guns and Gear Review #28: Ruger PC9 carbine<p> Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here. Got another G&G Review for y'all today. </p><p><br /></p><p>Today I'll be looking at the Ruger PC9 carbine. </p><p>This is my most recent firearms purchase and it's one that's been on my list for awhile. </p><p>Thanks to some selling off of my collection as well as of some other stuff I didn't need anymore, I was able to pick up a brand new PC9 carbine. </p><p>I had originally planned on buying a Glock 19 Gen 4 because a friend had gifted me a couple older G19 mags last year. Well, my quest for a G19 went sideways and I ended up looking at the PC9 instead. Mostly because I already had a G17 and could use the same mags thanks to Ruger including a magazine adapter that allows the PC9 to use the common Glock style magazines. </p><p>Unfortunately, I seemed to have gotten into the PC9 market at the wrong time. It seemed that no one had a PC9 in stock. Gallery of Guns was out of stock, so was Bud's and a few other sites I frequent. I found one on Armslist, but the seller that had it wasn't very good at communicating and seemed to have chosen to ignore me instead of selling me their PC9. Oh well, their loss. </p><p>Feeling like I'd have to wait a longer period than I'd hoped, I decided to check out a local farm supply store that also had a large firearms section one day. As I browsed the damn near empty cases, I asked one of the employees if they had a PC9 carbine in stock. At first, the employee said they had sold the only one they had, but he offered to check the gun room and see if maybe they had another one. </p><p>After a few minutes, the employee comes back and says they have one left in 9mm, which is what I was looking for. I thank God and tell the guy I'll take it. He brings it up to the counter, I check it over to make sure it is indeed a 9mm PC9 (Ruger also makes them in .40 S&W now, by the way) and fill out the required 4473. A couple minutes later, I'm good to go, pay for my shiny new gun and I leave really happy. </p><p>Now that this little backstory on how I got my PC9 is over with, here's the details on this handy little carbine. </p><p>The Ruger PC9 carbine has a 16 inch fluted and threaded barrel and comes with two magazine adapters. One is for the SR9 pattern magazines and the other is for the ubiquitous Glock pattern magazines. A quick swapping of adapters and mine is set up to use Glock mags. I've got a few of those and none of the SR9 mags aside from the one that comes with the PC9 from Ruger. </p><p>The receiver of the PC9 features a built in picatinny rail and a charging handle that's able to be swapped from left or right depending on shooter preference. The front sight is a simple fixed post that's protected by two ears and the rear sight is a ghost ring style that's adjustable for windage and elevation. The front and rear sights are mounted on the barrel, which is removable from the receiver via a little lever similar to the Ruger 10/22 Takedown. Matter of fact, the PC9 is kind of like a 10/22 on steroids. Aside from the charging handle, the magazine release is swappable from left to right, again all dependent on shooter preference.</p><p>I've had some previous experience with the PC9 and that previous experience is what prompted me to purchase my own. Since purchasing my PC9, I've added an AR Stoner A2 style muzzle brake (this necessitated the purchase of a muzzle brake timing shim kit since my A2 brake didn't want to line up properly with just a crush washer.) as well as a Butler Creek sling from Walmart. </p><p>I've got plans to purchase a Midwest Industries freefloat M-Lok handguard (which will make my PC9 look sort of a like a modernized PPsH-41, just in 9mm instead of 7.62x25) for my PC9 as well as their buttstock spacer with a built in QD sling mount. I've also got plans to purchase a few more Glock 17 mags for it as well. I'll probably pick up a few of those 33 round mags I've seen a lot. I might also pick up a red dot optic for it as well. </p><p>Once the weather warms back up, probably next March, I'll take my PC9 out and put it through its paces. But until then, it's mostly dryfire practice and getting it in just the right configuration. </p><p>I guess it's not really fair to call this a review just yet, more of an overview I'd guess you could say. </p><p>Anyway, I like it and I'm glad I was able to pick one up when I could. So if you're in the market for a handy little pistol caliber carbine and want something that's not an AR style, the Ruger PC9 carbine might be just what you're looking for. </p><p>As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. </p>12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-52509356593174202222020-12-08T16:12:00.001-06:002020-12-08T16:12:52.669-06:00Guns and Gear Review #27: Where Are They Now ? Part 1Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.<br />
<br />
I've been wanting to do this post for awhile now and since I've got a bunch of free time, I figured today was the day for me to start. This is the first of a two part special edition of "Guns and Gear Review" I like to call the "Where are they now ?" edition.<br />
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Over the past ten years, a few guns have come and gone from my collection and as many knives have as well. Some I sort of regret selling and others I was happy to get rid of because they just flat out sucked.<br />
<br />
Let's start with the one that sucked. My Model 1895 Nagant revolver, or as I liked to refer to it as, "Fugly".<br />
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"Fugly" was a Model 1895 Nagant made sometime in 1939. It was built early enough to have seen action in the early years WW2 and probably killed its fair share of enemy soldiers (and probably a few Soviet soldiers who got on the bad side of the Soviet political officer who carried it.). This gun would not win any beauty pageants, but then again, it wasn't built to do that. It was built to be a sidearm to the Soviet soldiers and officers of WW2 when there weren't enough Tokarevs to go around. Which happened more than you'd think. Anyway, "Fugly" was a neat little gun that was cursed with a horrendous trigger pull weight. I never checked it myself, but others who owned Nagants have said that the trigger pull was very heavy. And gritty in some cases. I don't know the exact weights, but some folks have said it felt like 50 pounds in double action, but manageable in single action. Manageable being about 5 to 6 pounds.<br />
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<br />
Another strike against "Fugly" was the expensive ammo it used. 7.62x38R ammo was damn near non-existent in the US at the time I owned "Fugly" and when I was able to find a box or two, the ammo was close to 40 bucks a box. Others got around this by fitting cylinders that allowed one to fire .32 ACP ammo through the Nagant, but I never found one. Nor did I really want to spend the extra cash to fit one to my particular gun. Some folks also went as far as to fire .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Magnum through their guns. It was technically safe to do so, but it wasn't recommended for long term usage. So I just stuffed my Nagant back into its holster and stuck it into my nightstand drawer.<br />
<br />
And I forgot about it for a long time. At least until a friend of mine commented that he wanted to buy a pistol for his 21st birthday. I mentioned I had a cheap Russian gun and my friend jumped on it for the right price. Ten minutes and 100 bucks later, the gun was his and I was relieved of my burden of buying expensive ammo and having to deal with a horrible trigger pull weight. The 100 bucks was promptly spent on more ammo for the other three guns I had at that point.<br />
<br />
The next gun on the 'Where are they now?" list is the Rock Island Armory GI Tactical 1911.<br />
<br />
I purchased this gun back in March of 2012 at a local FFL that also doubled as a butane gas sales place. At first, the FFL ordered the wrong 1911, but he was able to get the one I asked for. No problem for him since he was able to sell the other 1911 pretty quickly afterwards. <div><br /></div><div>So I get my GI Tactical and a friend from a web forum I'm a member of sent me a care package of 1911 goodies. Being that I'm left handed when it comes to handguns, my friend included a couple left handed holsters along with some magazines and a really nice double mag pouch made by Galco.</div><div><br /></div><div>This 1911 would serve me well for a few years as my nightstand gun along with my Mossberg bullpup shotgun. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to try out a higher capacity handgun and after some searching, I settled on the Glock 21 Gen 4. So the G21 becomes my nightstand gun and the 1911 goes into my safe, where it sits until another friend expresses interest in getting a 1911 to practice gunsmithing on. We work out a trade and I end up with a Ruger P89 9mm pistol. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the time I had my RIA GI Tactical 1911, I had maybe two failures with it. Both being failures to feed, which were fixed by dropping the mag, reinserting it and trying again. Until I traded it, I had planned on getting the feedramps polished, which is a common fix on 1911 pistols. The trigger was good, the accuracy was typical 1911 and it was reliable once I worked out the issues I had. </div><div><br /></div><div>Looking back, I actually do regret trading that pistol and have plans on buying another 1911 at some point. There's a lot of good entry level 1911s being sold now and a lot of them are pretty decently priced. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Ruger P89 I traded my 1911 for ended up being sold this year in order to fund a Ruger PC9 carbine purchase and while I miss that gun as well, I'm pretty happy with where it ended up. A fellow Ruger fan in my AO purchased it from me and was excited to get it because he had been looking for one for a long time. I won't say it was his "Grail" gun, but it might've been pretty close. </div><div><br /></div><div>My personal "Grail" gun is a Winchester Model 1895 Russian Contract Musket made during WW1, but unless Winchester decides to make a reproduction of it like they've done with the Roosevelt .405 Winchester Model 1895, I'm out of luck on ever owning one. </div><div><br /></div><div>That is unless I get really lucky and find one at a pawn shop or a gun shop and it's not priced too outrageously. It's doubtful that'll ever happen, but hey, I can dream, right ? </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, I'd say that's enough of me yammering on, so I'll go ahead and bring this edition of "Where are they now?: Chimp's guns" to a close. </div><div><br /></div><div>As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. <br />
<br />
<br /></div>12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-32635882342693557002020-09-30T15:57:00.001-05:002020-09-30T15:57:24.411-05:00I'm back....Sort of.<p> Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.</p><p>So, it's been awhile since I last posted anything and I've got good reason for that. </p><p>Ok, so, it's not exactly a good reason, but more of a "I ran out of stuff to talk about and I sort of got burnt out and disappeared for awhile." type of thing. </p><p>Anyway, I'm sort of back and I just wanted to start off by apologizing for my lack of content over the past year. When I did the long term review of the Kailash Blades Scourge and Sirupate kukris, I was in the beginning stages of a move that took way longer than I had hoped as well as me not really having much to say about anything. That and I really wanted to find some stuff worth reviewing for the site. </p><p>Also, I got selected to be a moderator on a forum I've been a member of for about 11 years now and that's taken up the bulk of my time. So between my moderator duties and the lack of anything worthwhile to review, coupled with me getting burnt out for like the third or fourth time in the decade this site has been active, and you get one tired Chimp. </p><p>But, all is not lost, my friends. I do have some things in the pipeline to review and I'll probably have a new review up within the next few weeks. </p><p>So the site is not dead in the water, as it may have appeared for the last year. </p><p>Those of y'all who stuck by me and came back to the site over the last year to read the old reviews and just to check in despite the lack of updates, thank you. I really mean that. Thank you for sticking with me. I really do appreciate that and I really am sorry I sort of abandoned the site for so long. </p><p>So, with that said, I'm sort of back and may very well disappear again, but I will try not to be gone for over a year like I was. Also, I'm writing this via mobile since I haven't gotten on my computer for awhile. I need to fix that since writing on mobile is kind of awkward for me. </p><p>As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. </p>12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-18885227774565483612019-02-28T13:44:00.001-06:002019-02-28T13:44:13.473-06:00Long Term Review of Kailash Blades "Scourge" and Sirupate kukrisHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.<br />
<br />
Today's the day I finally am able to share with you my experiences with the Kailash Blades "Scourge" and Sirupate kukris.<br />
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I didn't want to rush into a review like I have in the past, so I took a bit of time to get to know the blades. Here are my findings during my use of both blades.<br />
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Starting off with the "Scourge".<br />
<br />
Now, keep in mind that my "Scourge" is an older variant and is no longer made due to various quality upgrades over the past five or so years. If you were to order a "Scourge" today, it would be a bit different than my model. The biggest difference would be the sheath and I believe the grind of the blade is different, but I know the sheath is changed. Gone is the traditional wood and leather sheath, that has now been swapped for a more Western style stacked leather or Kydex sheath.<br />
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I've used the "Scourge" off and on for the past few years and it has been tough throughout it all. Sure, the blade picked up a few nicks and the edge has a slight roll in spots, but nothing that couldn't be filed out during sharpening. It's picked up some scars and a couple small rust stains, but again, it's nothing that couldn't be scrubbed off or anything that'll compromise the strength of the steel.<br />
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If I had one complaint for the "Scourge" it'd be that the handle near the guard developed a small crack during use. This is due to a small flaw in the wood used and nothing that the bladesmiths at Kailash did. On their end, the flaw probably didn't present itself until well after it shipped. I was able to prevent the crack from going any deeper with a small repair, so I don't think it'll be a worry anymore. if it cracks any more, I can just saw off the piece on either side and expose the steel of the guard and have a semi-custom guard. It's not a big deal.<br />
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Overall, I still recommend the "Scourge" and matter of fact, I plan to purchase a newer one along with the 'Anniversary' model because I like the style so much.<br />
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Now, onto the Sirupate.<br />
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I haven't used the Sirupate as much as the "Scourge", but it has seen its fair share. Mostly on thinner branches and the damn ivy growing all over my backyard.<br />
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Where the "Scourge" is like an axe or a hatchet, the Sirupate is more like a machete (or a short sword, if you like) and it clears brush like nothing else. The Nepalese have been using various styles of kukri for hundreds of years and I'm betting that a Sirupate style kukri is probably one of their preferences. It's light, fast and doesn't wear you out like swinging a heavier kukri might. Matter of fact, when clearing weeds and other annoyances out of my yard, I preferred the Sirupate because it was lighter despite having a longer blade. When I first used it, I was afraid the thinner blade would bog down in some of the stuff I was clearing. Nope. It chopped through those branches like they weren't even there.<br />
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The blade did lose its edge slightly, but like the "Scourge", it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed with a good sharpening.<br />
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With all that said, I'd recommend getting a "Scourge" or a Sirupate or anything Kailash produces. They might be a bit more expensive than other places, but you're getting an almost custom knife for the money. If you were to have a custom knife maker forge you a blade like the "Scourge", for example, I'd bet that you'd be looking at price tag of almost 400 bucks, depending on the maker. For about 150 bucks or maybe even less, you're getting a blade that's built like a tank and will likely outlast you and your kids or even grandkids with proper care and maintenance. <br />
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So, in the end, the Kailash Blades "Scourge" and Sirupate kukris have definitely earned the '12-Gauge Chimp' seal of approval. And they are two blades I will never let go from my collection. Other blades have come and gone from my collection over the years, but these two are going to be with me for the rest of my life.<br />
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Thanks for reading this and visiting the site and as always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-55021025798282869792018-05-29T12:13:00.000-05:002018-05-29T12:13:00.387-05:00Guns and Gear Review #26: Del-Ton DT-15 ARHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp again.<br />
<br />
Excuse the long absence, but I decided to take a break from posting for a bit because I just didn't really have much to review or even say for the past few months. I'm not going to make any promises of regular posts because that'd be wrong of me since I have been kind of neglectful to the site. But I will try to at least make one post every month or so, even if it's just a "Hi, I'm still alive." type of entry.<br />
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As you may have guessed from the title of this entry, I have a new rifle. I have a new one and had to sell another one to fund the purchase. I sold my Hungarian AMD-63 AK to fund the purchase of the Del-Ton DT-15 AR. I didn't get out to the range with the AMD-63 as often as I would've liked and a local dealer expressed interest in the rifle when I showed him pics of it. I accepted his offer and a couple days later, I brought the AMD-63 to him and got my money. The same day, I stopped at a local hardware store and picked up the Del-Ton AR. <br />
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This is my first foray into the world of AR-15s and I think I got a decent rifle. I've been doing some research on AR's for the past several years and with prices coming down, I figured the time was right to pick one up. I decided on the Del-Ton because it was low priced, well reviewed and in stock. I've got a fighting rifle (my M+M M10 AK I reviewed years ago), but the AR will serve as a secondary fighting rifle once I get it set up the way I want it and get some trigger time with it.<br />
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The Del-Ton DT-15 I picked up came with the usual accessories (M4 style furniture, including an uncomfortable A1/A2 style grip, gun lock that got ditched because I already have like 100 of them from various sources, owner's manual and warranty card). The literature that came with the rifle was really, really vague as to what model rifle I have since Del-Ton makes a few different versions from the DTI Sport to the 'Extreme Duty' series. Mine is probably an Echo 316 rifle because of the mil-spec parts, but since I have no way of confirming that short of calling Del-Ton, I can't say for certain. I will send them an email and ask what series rifle mine is and update y'all when I get an answer. All else fails, I contact them on Facebook and see what they can tell me there. I contacted Winchester like that when I had an issue with some ammo, so I figure I can ask Del-Ton about my rifle the same way.<br />
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I can, however, confirm that my AR has a 1/9 twist rate barrel (1/7 is the best according to what I've read, but 1/9 will work for me for the time being), A2 "bird cage" muzzle device, and a mil-spec trigger. The barrel also has the little M203 mounting cut on it, should I ever decide to attach one of those to it or one of those Spike's Tactical Havoc flare launchers. The M203 is probably never going to happen since they cost a boatload of money and they are very hard to get on the civilian side of things. They're not impossible to get, they're just really, really rare. And super expensive. Not to mention some of the ammo is also heavily regulated. From what I remember, the practice chalk rounds are ok for civilians to use with no ATF approval or paperwork, but the other stuff is heavily regulated and requires a bunch of paperwork. So it's not worth the time and money for me. Others might think so and to them I say "Have at it."<br />
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Back on track here, I haven't really had the chance to hit the range with my new AR, but that's mostly because I only have one magazine for it and no ammo at the moment. I'll also be upgrading the stock set from factory to Magpul MOE stuff since I prefer the Magpul stuff. The factory stuff works, but the buttstock just wobbles way too much for my liking and the A2 style grip just feels weird in my hands. I got a bit spoiled by the Magpul AK grips I had on both of my AKs, so I figured it was only right to pop one of the various AR grips they make onto my AR. I picked up a Magpul K2 AR grip along with a CTR stock and M-Lok fore end. I had a little issue with the screw on the K2 grip not catching, but that was my fault and not Magpul's. The grip is now on my rifle nice and tight and feels loads better than the A2 that was on it. I might toss the A2 grip and the stock furniture set up for sale on a local gun sales board or I may keep it for another project. Not too entirely sure at this point.<br />
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Overall, I'd recommend the Del-Ton made ARs to anyone looking for a decent entry-level rifle. With the AR being so popular, there's a ton of sources out there for help and parts, so you can build your own rifle if you choose or you can just customize a factory rifle to your preferences like I did. Once I get a bit of trigger time behind it, I can give y'all a much better idea of the rifle and tell y'all what I like or don't like about it.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-45529319047279785732017-09-26T11:46:00.000-05:002017-09-26T11:46:19.084-05:00Kailash Blades Scourge Kukri: The Overview Redux (Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here. This review was originally posted a few years back, but things have changed with the maker since then. Andrew Lucas, the guy who designed the Scourge, has started a new company called Kailash Blades and he recently contacted me. He liked the original review and asked if I might switch things around to reflect his new company. See, KHHI was only able to produce the Scourge thanks to an agreement between Mr. Lucas and their CEO. That agreement has since expired and now Kailash Blades is the sole producer of the Scourge. Per an agreement with Mr. Lucas, I have edited my original post on the Scourge and will be deleting the original url. Any search results for Scourge kukri on my site will now redirect to this posting. Thanks for understanding, folks.)<br />
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<br />
<br />
Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with a brand new
entry on something I've been waiting to get for a very long time.<br />
<br />
Yes
folks, it has finally happened. I finally got my hands on a real kukri.
I am so happy I finally got one of these awesome knives. Now, this is
technically not going to be a review since I instituted my new reviewing
process, so it's more of an overview.<br />
<br />
First, there's
the matter of the background of the Scourge. The Scourge is the design
from Australian blade designer Andrew Lucas. I first learned of the
Scourge when Mr. Lucas posted a thread on a forum I frequent asking for
opinions on his designs. There were several different designs and the
one that ultimately became the Scourge is the result of multiple design
changes to one of the entries. Despite a few setbacks during production,
the Scourge became available to the public. Now, since this blade is
relatively new to the market, there just aren't that many reviews
online. Matter of fact, there's maybe a single YouTube video review.
Other than that one video, no one has done a review of this kukri that
I'm aware of.<br />
<br />
Now, on to the overview of the Kailash Blades Scourge kukri.<br />
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<br />
The
first thing I noticed about the Scourge is the fact the knife is huge. I
mean, this thing is a beast rendered in carbon steel. Upon opening the
box and holding the knife for the first time, I was immediately struck
speechless by how pretty the blade was and how immense the entire knife
is. Seriously, me being speechless is a rare thing since I'm a really
talkative person in real life. Just ask my friends and family about that
one. Until I received the Scourge in the mail, the largest knife I
owned was the Aranyik E-Nep I reviewed a couple years ago. The Scourge
is almost twice the size of the E-Nep and weighs a bit more, but that's
due to the size of it. <br />
<br />
Thanks to a conversation with
Mr. Andrew Lucas, I was able to find out the blade of the Scourge is
made of 5160 spring steel and is about 12 inches in length with a very
noticeable downward curve. There's an interesting little bit of trivia
in that the blade material is actually leaf springs from old trucks.
It's recycled into kukris by Kailash Blades and it's a way for the leaf
springs to be turned back into something useful instead of just rusting
away in a junkyard. The blade is also about a quarter inch thick at the
spine and tapers down a bit towards the handle area to make it an almost
perfect fit for most folks. This also helps cut down on weight since
the Scourge, like most kukris, weighs about a pound and a half total.
The handle scales are made from rosewood (an early version was to use
water buffalo horn) with finger grooves cut into them. The handle fits
my hand almost as if the bladesmiths of Kailash Blades designed it with
me personally in mind. They didn't, but it sure feels that way upon
holding the knife in my almost gorilla like hands. Wielding the Scourge
really makes me want to take a whack at things like coconuts, small tree
limbs and maybe even a few zombies.<br />
<br />
The wood is
beautiful as is and with a little coating of varnish or sealant and I
think the grain of the wood will really shine through. Thanks to a
little info I was given by Mr. Lucas, I found out that they don't
varnish the handles, they just oil them like they do with the blades.
I'm not sure what kind of oil is used, but it's either an organic
vegetable oil or some kind of rice oil being used. With that said, it's
completely up to the customer whether or not they want to use any kind
of wood sealer or varnish on the handles. One thing to be aware of is
that it is possible to use too much varnish on the handles. Too much
varnish and you run the risk of making it too slick and making it too
slick in turn makes the risk of the knife slipping out of your hands
even higher. Personally, I'd leave the handles alone and maybe put a
very thin coat of sealant on the wood so it won't rot. <br />
<br />
The
Scourge's sheath is probably one of the nicest sheaths I've seen out
there. It's made in the same way the sheaths the other kukris Kailash
Blades makes have. It's made of two pieces of wood and wrapped in water
buffalo leather and it fits the Scourge pretty well. I'd love to have
seen some kind of retention strap, but that's just me. Maybe in later
versions, Kailash Blades will put a retention strap on the sheaths. It's
not a big deal if they choose not to since the end user can simply add a
strap later on. I probably will since I plan on taking the Scourge with
me on an upcoming camping trip.<br />
<br />
Overall, I like the
Scourge from Kailash Blades. I'll be making a YouTube video showcasing
the blade's chopping ability in the coming months and I'll be doing a
long-term durability review in a year. Keep in mind that this is just a
simple overview of the Kailash Scourge and not a review. The reviews are
coming up within the year and I hope you all will be reading them then.<br />
<br />
Big thanks goes to Andrew Lucas for designing the Scourge and to Kailash Blades for making such an awesome blade. <br />
<br />
As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-14983133272968318902017-09-21T13:39:00.003-05:002017-11-27T11:19:46.149-06:00Guns and Gear Review #25: Kailash Blades 16 inch Sirupate KukriHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp back from a long break.<br />
<br />
Many of you might remember the Scourge kukri I did an overview on a couple years back. Well, today I have another kukri to review. It's not a Scourge, but a Sirupate kukri.<br />
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What's a 'Sirupate', you might ask ? Well, it's sort of a cross between a kukri and a machete. A kukr-chete or a mach-ukri, if you will. For me, it's an excuse to hack old watermelons and foliage around my house without looking like a doofus.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I did a little searching and found Kailash Blades. Andrew Lucas, the brains behind the Scourge kukri, is the man behind this new company. So, I browsed the site, saw several kukris I wanted, but I decided I wanted a Sirupate because I've never owned a traditional style kukri. After clicking my preferences, hitting the 'place order' tab and making sure my payment info was correct, I was well on my way to having a real traditional kukri in my hands.<br />
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Now, shipping from Nepal takes awhile, so I had to wait about a month or so for it to get here. Which it did this past Monday. I eagerly opened the heavily taped box like a kid on Christmas and inside was my kukri.<br />
<br />
I ordered the 16 inch blade Sirupate because it was the more sensible choice. They have blade lengths up to 24 inches or so, but those are more for ceremonial purposes and display due to the size and weight. 16 inches is the sweet spot for the Sirupate for me. It's long enough to make short work of bushes and the like, but still able to be wielded for long periods of time without tiring me out. Even so, the blade is long and if I needed to (or wanted to), I could probably use it as a short sword. It's just perfectly balanced for both utilitarian purposes and defensive purposes as well.<br />
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The blade measures about 16 inches and the handle is about 5 3/4 inches, with an overall length of 22 inches. The blade is highly polished and has almost a mirror-like sheen to it. There's a bit of traditional style engraving on the back of the blade towards the spine as well. The width of the blade at the spine is a little over 3/8ths of an inch. Still pretty beefy, but not as much as the Scourge with it's almost a half inch thick spine. Like the Scourge, the handle of the Sirupate is made from Rosewood with a nice polish to it. It's a little slick for me, but a quick wrapping with some grip wrap and it'll be good to go for me. That's really my only issue with it, a slick handle, but it's merely a personal preference and in no way a fault of the guys at Kailash Blades. The blade also came with a traditional water buffalo leather and wood scabbard that holds the blade in tightly, but not too tightly. It's got just enough grip to keep the blade from bouncing out, but it lets me draw the blade smoothly.<br />
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It's kind of unfair to call this a review when I really haven't tested the blade enough to warrant it, so it's more of an overview. I'm planning to do some cutting with the Sirupate from Kailash Blades here in the near future and will update this entry with my findings.<br />
<br />
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and plan to make more purchases from Kailash Blades as time goes on. They're a great company to deal with and Andrew Lucas kept me updated on my order during the entire time it was going from a simple piece of steel in the form of truck leaf springs all the way to a finished blade on its way from Nepal to the US. Not many companies will do that these days, especially not the head of the company either.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
<br />
ETA: I was recently contacted by Mr. Lucas and he informed me he's actually not the owner of Kailash Blades. The company is Nepalese owned and operated, with him as sort of a public relations/ quality control/publicity/media relations/designer type person. Sort of a jack of all trades deal, I guess. Either way, I'm glad to see him and the guys from Kailash Blades making kurkis and other blades again and I hope Kailash Blades is around for a long time to come and wish them well in all their endeavors. 12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-32673226132462158012017-02-21T13:17:00.000-06:002017-02-21T13:17:03.997-06:00Guns and Gear Review #24: Ruger P89 9mm pistolHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.<br />
<br />
I know it's been quite some time between my last entry to the site, but that's because I really haven't had the time or energy to write a review. I've got plenty to review now, but I just got sort of burnt out with reviewing and writing entries, so I decided to take a break for a bit. I'm still in the midst of that break from writing, but I decided I at least owed it to y'all to update the site at least one more time before disappearing into the shadows again.<br />
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Today's review is of my latest firearms acquisition, a Ruger P89 in 9mm Luger (or NATO or Parabellum or 9x19 or whatever name you want to call it).<br />
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The Ruger P series started out with the P85 in the 1980's. After a few years and one recall to fix a safety issue, the P85 eventually was replaced by the P89. My particular gun was built sometime in 2004 or so, so it's not an 80's gun as I originally thought. Ruger actually continued making the P series until about 2009 or 2010 when the SR series took over. Now Ruger has released the "American" series of pistols onto the market and the SR series will probably be less focused on by the company. I wonder how long the SR series of pistols will be made before Ruger decides to drop them like the P series. <br />
<br />
I traded my RIA GI Tactical 1911 to a friend for this gun and I think I got a pretty good deal. The reason behind the trade is my friend was looking for a 1911 to practice gunsmithing on and I wanted to try a 9mm. So we met up at our usual trading spot, swapped guns and I became the second owner of a shiny stainless steel Ruger P89. It's officially a KP89 because it has a stainless steel slide on top of the aluminum alloy frame. Ruger likes to differentiate between their standard blued models and the stainless ones with a K in front of whatever model it is. For example, a blued GP100 is just a GP100, but a stainless one is a KP100. Same gun, different model designation in the Ruger books. It makes no difference, really. For some reason, the stainless guns are worth more on the used market as well, but not by much.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I got my P89 and went to work buying ammo for it along with some extra magazines. I even put a set of Hogue grips on it to make it a little more comfortable in my hands (I've mentioned before that I have rather large hands and most gun grips feel a little small to me). I love the ambi safety/decocker and the ambi mag release. I wish my Glocks had that, but I've gotten used to switching my shooting grip slightly to release the mags with the factory release. The sights are little banged up, but given that this gun is an older model, it's to be expected. They're not quite as easy to pick up, but a little brightly colored nail polish or one of those paint pens you find at many hobby stores works to brighten the sights up.<br />
<br />
<br />
The P89 is kind of a heavy pistol, but it was designed as a duty gun and not something you'd carry concealed on a daily basis. Although, if you have a good holster and strong belt set up, you should have no problems. Heck, there's guys who carry heavy 1911 pistols all day and they seem to have no issues. For me, the P89 will be a range toy since I've got my Glock 21 for carry purposes. As soon as I can get a better holster for my Glock 41 (the long slide version of the Glock 21) that'll hold the G41 and Streamlight TLR-1s I have mounted on it, I might carry that one as well.<br />
<br />
Overall, I'm happy with the trade I made. If I get the urge to buy another 1911, I might buy another Rock Island Armory or maybe one from another maker.<br />
<br />
As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-3964990999832574542016-05-19T16:07:00.001-05:002016-05-19T16:07:27.795-05:00Guns and Gear Review #23: Classic Firearms Hungarian AMD-63 AK-47 style RifleHello folks, it's 12-Gauge Chimp again. Today I'm reviewing my latest gun purchase.<br />
<br />
Last month I purchased a Hungarian AMD-63 AK-47 style rifle from Classic Firearms and it's my second AK style rifle (the first being the M+M M10 I purchased a couple years back).<br />
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First I wanted to pick up a DDI (Destructive Devices Industries) AK, but my local FFL couldn't get one at a decent enough price for me. Their rifles are top of the line, but I'm not spending that much money on an AK right now. I think my FFL guy quoted me a price of around 1100 bucks for the base model with the Magpul AKM MOE furniture and 1150 for the upgraded Zhukov-S model. Either way, that's a lot of money for an AK. A couple hundred more and I could get an Arsenal AK, which are like the cream of the crop for AK rifles. Either way, I wasn't able to spend that much on a gun. So, disappointed, I turned back to my quest of finding a new AK and stumbled across Classic Firearm's website. A few minutes of perusing the site, I found my new AK. A phone call and a couple days later, I had my shiny new AK in my hands.<br />
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The Hungarian AMD-63, according to a lot of the reviews I've read, is one of the best buys in the AK world. These guns are built from parts kits, but unlike most, still use the original FEG made receiver and that is something that you really want. Some AMD-63 and 65 rifles use American made receivers that can be hit or miss in quality. Rifles that use the original Hungarian FEG receivers are much higher quality. How much of this is true and how much is just gun shop BS, I have no idea. They also use a slightly short gas tube and gas piston compared to standard AK style rifles. So if you get one of these guns, replacing the gas tube with an aftermarket one like the Troy rail or an Ultimak isn't going to work without some modifications to either one.<br />
<br />
Either way, I got my rifle and I like it. I haven't had the opportunity to get to the range and test it out yet, but I will soon and give y'all a range report on it when I do.<br />
<br />
While the rifle itself is in great condition and with little to no canting of the sights (this is still an issue with some WASR-10s, which is sad), I did run into a few minor fitting issues with parts I purchased for it.<br />
<br />
1: When replacing the Phoenix Technologies butt stock off, I noticed one of the screws was broken. After removing the stock, I found out why it was broken. Apparently, whoever put the stock onto the rifle at the factory, torqued the hell out of the screw and caused the head of it to snap off. This wasn't noticed by anyone until I took possession of the rifle and field-stripped it for cleaning. Also, when they put the stock on my rifle, the screw went it at an odd angle and came through one side of the part that goes inside the receiver. It worked, but it just looked so sloppy, like the QC (quality control) person was on break when it went through their station.<br />
<br />
2: After pulling the factory stock off, I attempted to install an Vltor AK stock adapter on my rifle and found out that the rear stock tang was just a hair shorter than required. This was remedied by me taking a rubber mallet and smacking the Vltor adapter a couple times to get everything to line up enough to work. I got it to fit and won't be taking it off any time soon since that sucker is on there tight now. Which is a good thing, by the way. Nothing sucks more when shooting a gun than a stock that wobbles after every shot.<br />
<br />
3: The original Hungarian hand guard (that a friend referred to as a 'donkey dong' type of hand guard) was nice, but it was made of metal and as most of y'all know, AKs get hot after a couple mags. That and the 'donkey dong' grip made it awkward to do mag changes. So I ordered myself a Magpul AKM hand guard and installed that in place of the original one. Well, I ran into an issue with this as well. Apparently, the Hungarians use a slightly smaller hand guard retainer and I didn't know this until I got my rifle. A couple minutes with a set of files later, my hand guard was fitted to my rifle. I even sent an email to Magpul about it, but it seems they're either too busy to respond or it went into the trash upon receiving. The latter seems to be a more likely occurrence since they're pretty busy with other things and probably can't take time out to respond to each person who emails them. I did have to use my rubber mallet to get everything back into place, but it was all good in the end.When I ordered my rifle, I was told by one of the folks at Classic Firearms that some fitting of parts was going to be possible, so this isn't too big of a deal for me. <br />
<br />
4: This wasn't necessarily a requirement for me, but it helps me feel better at ease about my rifle. I bought one of those Tapco trigger retaining plates for my rifle so I could get rid of the paperclip holding the trigger group in my rifle. The shepard's hook (the proper name for the paperclip) is basically a heavy piece of wire that hooks over the trigger group and keeps everything in place. Many people, myself included, opt to replace it with something a bit more substantial and less cheap looking. Seriously, we're in a day and age where aftermarket AK parts are plentiful and many companies still choose to put what looks like something you buy in bulk at an office supply store in their rifles. It's probably a cost saving measure, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, I once again had to fit the Tapco retaining plate to my particular gun since the hole on the plate didn't quite line up with the hole on my rifle. About ten minutes of filing later and I was able to get it installed. It wobbles a bit, but if it keeps my trigger group from flying out of my rifle or otherwise coming undone, I'm fine with a little wobble. <br />
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All in all, I knew before I purchased this rifle that I'd probably have to hand fit some stuff to it so that's on me and not Classic Firearms or the folks who built my rifle. <br />
<br />
Still, the rifle is great, looks nice and is a pretty good value in today's market. I highly recommend Classic Firearms and will probably be doing a lot more business with them in the future. <br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. <br />
<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-83152730137593287252016-01-11T17:35:00.000-06:002016-01-11T17:35:04.158-06:00Guns and Gear Review #22: Ruger GP100Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.<br />
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Today I'm reviewing the Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum revolver <br />
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I got this gun in February of 2015 and have had some trigger time behind it. Enough to give y'all my honest opinion of it. <br />
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The GP100 has been around for thirty years now (production began back in 1985), so the gun's been around about as long as I have. Which I find pretty neat. Mine, however, has only been around since 2014 (or so the sticker on the box says). Either way, I like the gun. It's got some hefty recoil, but not enough to make shooting it a pain. I mean, we're not talking about .500 S&W Magnum here, folks. Anyway, I had ordered a stainless steel model, but ended up with a plain blued model instead. Mostly because the shop I ordered it from was having a hard time finding a stainless steel model for me. This was right around the time SHOT Show 2015 ended and Ruger was trying as hard as they could to fill orders. So, I took the blued model, filled out the paperwork, talked to my friends at the shop while waiting for the background check to finish and left about ten minutes later with my shiny new gun.<br />
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My particular gun sports a 6 inch barrel with the aforementioned blued finish, which is kind of mottled in some spots, but it's fine. So long as the gun works, I could care less about the cosmetic flaws. I mean, I won't purposely let the finish get beat all to hell, but I'm not going to give it the white glove treatment like some folks might. It's a gun, not a priceless work of art. Unless Bill Ruger himself touched this gun (which is highly doubtful since he's been gone for a long time. And well before my gun was built.), it's getting used and the finish won't stay pretty forever. It had a Hogue monogrip on it, but I swapped it out with another rubber grip awhile after the first range trip.<br />
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I got the chance to take my GP100 out to the range soon after purchasing it and I have to say if you've never fired a .357 magnum before, it is an eye opener. The first shot (which was a 158 grain Hornady XTP hollow point, by the way) took me by surprise and I was shocked. Well, I was for a brief few seconds and then I emptied the cylinder into my target and reloaded. After I shot the speedloaders of .357 mag ammo I had, I moved onto .38 Special (also made by Hornady). The .38 Special ammo was a lot easier to shoot than the full power .357 magnum stuff, which is not surprising since it was made to be. I have plans to buy some of those "Ruger Only" Buffalo Bore .357 mag loads and see if they recoil as badly as some have told me. I suspect they probably will and will probably gather dust in my ammo cans after one cylinder full.<br />
<br />
I swapped some parts out for ones that I felt worked better for me after awhile. The factory Hogue monogrip was tossed aside in favor of a Pachmayr Diamond Pro grip (which feels so much better than the Hogue grip) and the hard to see factory front sight was switched with a Hi-Viz fiber optic set up. I did have a red ramp sight on it prior to the Hi-Viz sight, but I forget the brand name of that one. It may have been from Ruger, come to think of it.<br />
<br />
Both the Hi-Viz sight and Pachmayr Diamond Pro grip were Christmas gifts, so I'm not entirely sure how much they cost. A quick check to some online retailers has the Hi-Viz sight at around 26 dollars US and the Pachmayr Diamond Pro grip at around 22 dollars US. So they're not too expensive and worthwhile upgrades to the factory grip and sight if you like to switch out parts on your guns like I do.<br />
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After the upgrades, I need to get out to the range to see if my work was worth it or if I'll be going back to the factory parts. I'll be sure and let y'all know what happens.<br />
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I personally like the Ruger GP100 and may add another to my collection. I wish they made a .22LR version like they do with the SP101, but maybe someone at Ruger will read this and decide to make my dream gun a reality. Fat chance of that since I'm sure no one at any of the gun manufacturers read my stuff. Ah well, I can dream, can't I ? <br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-14128489093699804692015-12-31T18:29:00.002-06:002015-12-31T18:29:58.393-06:00Random Thoughts: New Year's Eve 2015 EditionHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here.<br />
<br />
Well, it's New Year's Eve and like many of y'all I've got plans for 2016. These plans include finally beginning my long talked about YouTube channel and a few other changes in my life. No, I'm not going to be taking down the site, if that's what all three of y'all who read my stuff are thinking. I will, however, be changing some things around. I'll be doing a lot more networking and hopefully expanding the site in the coming year and maybe score some products to review from some big companies out there. As it sits, my website is just a mere blip on the radar and I don't bring in enough views to warrant them taking a chance on me. So, I figure if I start a YouTube channel, be consistent in my uploads (or as consistent as I can be realistically) and start bringing in viewers and interest in products, I might get noticed by these companies. If not, I'll just do what I've been doing since 2009 and that's buying my gear and reviewing it for y'all.<br />
<br />
Another thing I've been wanting to do is going back and re-writing some of the older entries and possibly deleting ones with gear I no longer own. Like the Yugoslav Model 59 SKS and Nagant M1895 revolver. I sold the Nagant revolver years ago and I recently traded off the SKS for a semi-auto shotgun (and that itself was traded off for a Ruger 22/45 pistol). Either I'll delete those entries or I'll do a "Where Are They Now?" type of post at some point. Actually, I'll probably do the latter since it seems like a fun idea now that I think about it.<br />
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Another thing I want to see in 2016 is more people finding my site and hopefully gaining some info on the stuff I write about. I'm not a professional gun/gear writer, just an average guy who buys the best gear he's able to with the limited resources he has. I'm not under the illusion that I'm some guru on guns and knives and don't want to be one either. I just want to talk about my passion for firearms, knives and having a platform in which to do so. I know not many people actually read my site (hence the somewhat true joke about there only being three people reading my stuff), but those of you who do, know that I really do appreciate it and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.<br />
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So, now that I've taken enough of your time, I want to wish everyone out there reading this a Happy New Year and I'll see y'all next year. Take care, stay safe and I'll see y'all in 2016.<br />
<br />
For the final time in 2015, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. 12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-79645111937910128822015-11-09T15:22:00.002-06:002015-11-09T15:22:31.164-06:00Random Thoughts #17: Stupid gun videosHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here. I've been wanting to talk about this topic for quite awhile now and I figured this is as good a time as any to do so.<br />
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The topic I want to speak about is stupid gun videos and why they irritate me.<br />
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Now, I love watching videos where folks go to the range to have fun with family and friends. Those I have no problem with and honestly love to see folks having fun. What I do have a problem with is the videos where the idiots behind the camera hand an inexperienced shooter or someone who's never fired a gun before a powerful gun. Whether it's a .50 cal Desert Eagle or some other type of heavy recoiling firearm, you just don't hand one of those guns to someone who has never shot a gun before or has no experience with heavy recoiling guns. You start them off with a .22 and work up to the bigger guns. What really pisses me off is when the person firing the gun gets hit with the heavy recoil and is in obvious pain while the person behind the camera is laughing their ass off. Then they wonder why the person doesn't want to fire a gun ever again. Honestly, I don't blame them for not wanting to be anywhere near a gun again because of their friend or family member's stupidity and carelessness. What also gets me is the folks who hand an inexperienced person a firearm with little to no instruction on how to properly hold it or operate it. There's plenty of videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites where guys will hand their loved ones or friends a gun, give them a very basic rundown on how to shoot it and then get pissed off when the folks break several range safety rules. Here's an idea, guys and gals, before you hand the new shooter a gun, give them a briefing in the four basic rules of gun safety. It's not that hard and doesn't take that much time to teach them.<br />
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Another type of video that irritates me is when shooters film themselves engaging in dangerous and idiotic behavior with their firearms.<br />
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These types of videos include,<br />
1) People who have no business handling a gun, making what I call "I'm a badass gang member or street thug even though I live in the suburbs" type videos.<br />
2) People who are obviously drunk and handling firearms when they really, really shouldn't be doing so.<br />
3) Prank videos involving guns. (Really, guys? Why do you involve a gun in a prank?)<br />
4) People who like to think of themselves as these 'elite' gun experts and showing themselves engaging in really poor shooting and gun handling activities. A lot of these types of videos include the person on camera wearing a mask of some kind in order to hide their face (probably to save themselves from ridicule from friends and family)<br />
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There's a few other types of videos I'm leaving off the list. Mostly because there aren't that many of them out there. <br />
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I see these videos all the time and it irritates me to no end. We gun owners get a lot of bad press from the media and the general public and I feel that it has a lot to do with these types of videos. Not all gun owners engage in this type of behavior, but that doesn't stop the general public and media from thinking we do. If you want to see exactly what I'm talking about for yourselves, go to YouTube and type in 'gun fails' in the search bar there. I guarantee there will be millions of results for these types of videos. Usually in compilation form because there are so many of them.<br />
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In the end, I sincerely ask you folks to please not engage in this type of behavior. As gun owners, we have the responsibility to have this public image as being mature, professional and knowledgeable adults while owning firearms and using them. We also have this responsibility to make sure we handle our firearms in a safe manner. We've got to show the media and anti-gunners that we're not all a bunch of immature morons who are compensating for something by owning a gun. Gun owners come in all races, religions, political affiliations, lifestyles and genders.We hold all sorts of jobs as well. Gun owners are all over the country, it's not just limited to one part of the country as some folks in the media would like you to believe.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-73871258602844484682015-10-26T14:01:00.001-05:002015-10-26T14:01:22.732-05:00Range Report #6: A Fun Day at the rangeHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with another edition of Range Report.<br />
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I finally got out to the range after a long hot summer of sweating myself stupid and being too busy to actually go. I know some of you are probably asking "What guns did you take, Chimp ?" and I'll tell you in a minute. First, I want to tell you about the original plan that ended up becoming an impromptu range day.<br />
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My oldest nephew asked me to take him rabbit hunting this past summer and I went all out planning a hunt for the little guy. Well, originally we were going to hunt on my older brother's land where Oldest Nephew and his family live, but Older Brother nixed that idea. His reasoning is still unclear at this point, but I suspect it's because I was the one to come up with the idea instead of him. Anyway, when Oldest Nephew got the news that our planned rabbit hunt was cancelled, he was understandably heartbroken. Kid had been talking about the hunt for months and was so excited to finally get to go hunting. I will still take him rabbit hunting at some point, but I'll be looking for another hunting spot.<br />
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Moving on, since the rabbit hunt was a no go, I then decided the day was not going to be lost because my brother is a jerk. So, I loaded up a couple of my guns (I took my M+M M10 AK that I had done some work to over the past year along with my new to me Ruger 22/45 and my Glock 21) and off we went to the range. I also brought along some BB guns for my nephew to practice with.<br />
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So we hit the range and I let my nephew shoot some cans with his BB guns before I commence testing my new guns. Nephew had fun and I was happy that he was cheering up. After Nephew had fun, it was time for Uncle Chimp to have fun.<br />
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The first gun I tested was my M10 AK and while I only fired a single ten round magazine through it, I have to say all my mods worked fantastically and I'm glad they did.<br />
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The Midwest Industries AK muzzle device (again, I am not kidding about the name. MI actually calls it that on the package) worked well and kept the muzzle of my rifle down and made follow up shots easy to make.<br />
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The Troy Industries AK handguard worked perfectly and kept my hands from being burned by the hot barrel. The Magpul AFG was comfortable and I plan on putting one on any tactical rifle I purchase in the future because they work so well. The Magpul AK MOE grip was a lot more comfortable in my hands than the Hogue grip that came with the rifle and was too grippy in my opinion. The Magpul grip had just the right amount of grip and felt just right in my hands.<br />
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Even the ten round Arsenal AK mag that I used worked well. I just bought those because they were on sale and I figured they'd be good for testing accuracy from a bench (I know, I know, it's an AK not a benchrest rifle and won't get that great of accuracy due to the design).<br />
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After the brief AK test, I moved onto the new-to-me Ruger 22/45 I got in a trade awhile back. You folks can expect a full review of this gun some time in the future from me.<br />
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It's the basic model and I wasn't really testing for accuracy, just getting some trigger time behind it. I had a little trouble getting it to fire at first, but I soon fixed that and was blowing through the magazine with no problems.After I had my fun with it, it was my oldest nephew's turn. He had zero problems shooting the Ruger as it's a lightweight gun and often the first gun for new shooters. My nephew has some experience with guns, but he still had me help him since he was new to pistols. I helped him hold the gun as he put rounds downrange and after he finished the mag, he had a big smile on his face. "That was awesome, Uncle Chimp." my nephew told me after I put the gun away. I'm happy the little dude had fun and wasn't disappointed anymore that our original plans were messed up by his dad. <br />
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After we shot my 22/45 and had put it away, I felt it was time to try out my Glock 21 that I had purchased last summer. I brought along two loaded mags and a holster that I plan to use once I get my CCW permit. I made sure the range was good to go and drew my Glock. I only fired the two mags I had with me, but both worked flawlessly and I was able to keep all the rounds on target. Again, I wasn't testing for accuracy, just to make sure everything functioned and to get some trigger time with the gun. Firing a polymer framed Glock was a new experience for me since I'm used to shooting a steel framed 1911. I actually prefer the Glock over the 1911 now since the gun is lighter and holds more ammo in the mag. Not to mention I don't have to polish the feed ramp to get it to feed hollow point ammo like I did with the 1911 I owned.<br />
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Overall, I had fun and was happy I got to finally test out my guns. I was also happy that my nephew got to go along with me and have fun as well. I'm now in the process of looking for land my nephew and I can go rabbit hunting on and I hope we can get out and hunt soon. Otherwise, I bought two scopes for nothing.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-68761580846593387302015-10-02T13:38:00.001-05:002015-10-02T13:38:26.082-05:00Guns and Gear Review #20: Lucky Dog Knife and Leather Glock 41 holster.Hello folks, it's 12-Gauge Chimp again. Today I want to talk about a piece of gear that I recently purchased from a local custom shop.<br />
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I was browsing a local gun board awhile back and came across an ad for a custom holster maker named Chris Vargas. Chris is the owner and operator of Lucky Dog Knife and Leather in Lubbock Texas and I sent him a message asking him if he could make a holster for a Glock 41 with a Streamlight TLR-1s (this is a variant of the TLR-1 that has a strobe function. No difference in size, just the addition of a strobe function). Sadly, Chris couldn't make the holster for the gun with a light since he didn't own or have access to that particular light. Still, I commissioned him to make the holster anyway minus the light bearing option.<br />
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After a few minor hiccups, one involving Chris accidentally sending me the wrong holster and then having a family emergency, I received my holster a few weeks after the initial quoted time. To thank me for being so patient with him during the wait and as a sort of peace offering, Chris included a pair of magazine carriers with my order. I received the package a few days later after Chris called me personally to tell me about what had kept him from getting my holster out in the allotted time frame. Not many companies will do that in this day and age and I really appreciated that Chris took time out of his busy schedule to call me.<br />
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On to the holster itself now.<br />
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It's a standard Kydex holster, but with a left handed draw set up since I shoot handguns as a lefty. I can shoot them with my right hand just fine, but I prefer to use my left hand since it's my stronger hand. A lifetime of using my left hand to complete tasks and write will usually do that. I specifically asked for an OWB (outside the waistband) style with Tek-Lok mounting devices since I'm used to the style on my Blade-Tech holster. I just like the Tek-Lok mounts for some reason so I asked Chris to have those instead of belt loops.<br />
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Due to the small design of these particular Tek-Loks, I now have to purchase either a smaller width belt or larger Tek-Loks to accommodate my belts. It's not a big deal since Tek-Loks are around 10 bucks or so for the larger models.<br />
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The fit of the gun is perfect, though I may have to do some minor tweaking to make the draw and reholstering a little smoother. This is by no means any of Chris' fault, it's just a personal preference of mine.<br />
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The magazine carriers are set up for Tek-Loks as well and I plan to purchase some in the near future. I did have a minor complaint about one of the mag carriers, though. It's a little loose in retention of the magazine, but a little heating and reforming of the Kydex and it'll be as tight as I need it to be without having to worry about my magazine falling out.<br />
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I'll be using the holster a lot in the future in order to fully test it and I'll update this post with my findings, but until then I'm happy with the holster.<br />
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Big thanks goes out to Chris Vargas for making my holster and for doing a damn good job on it. It took a little longer than expected to reach me, but in the end the wait was worth it.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-24532686409166238172015-08-27T13:34:00.002-05:002015-08-27T13:34:45.357-05:00Guns and Gear Review # 19: Leatherman WingmanHey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with another installment of Guns and Gear Reviews.<br />
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Today, we'll be looking at the Leatherman Wingman multi-tool.<br />
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I usually carry a Leatherman Wave on my belt as part of my EDC set up, but I purchased the Wingman on a whim a month or so back and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite tools. I realized that I didn't need the Wave and its many different tools since I rarely used any of them aside from the knife blades, the pliers and the scissors. So I started carrying the Wingman around (it didn't come with a belt pouch so I had to use the one I had for my Leatherman Blast) and it quickly became my favorite tool.<br />
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Now, by this point, some of you are probably asking "Chimp, what are the tools on the Wingman and how much does one cost?". Well, I paid about 25 dollars US for mine at a Walmart Super Center in New Mexico (I do a lot of business in New Mexico) and the tools are as follows.<br />
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On the Leatherman Wingman, you've got...<br />
1: spring loaded pliers (nice touch, Leatherman.)<br />
2: a dual edged (serrated and plain edge) knife blade<br />
3: bottle opener (or can opener, your choice)<br />
4: a box cutter (I had no idea this was a box cutter until I watched a review of the Wingman online)<br />
5: a combination ruler/ nail file<br />
6: a small Philips head screwdriver<br />
7: a small flat head screwdriver<br />
8: wire cutters<br />
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I don't know if Leatherman counts the pocket clip as a function or not, so I'm leaving that out of the list of tools. Speaking of which, I hate the pocket clip on the Wingman. Mostly because it doesn't grip worth a damn. It may be because I wear jeans and the sides of the Wingman are super smooth, but still I hate the pocket clip because I feel like the tool is going to fall out when I walk. I had that happen with a cheap pocket knife once. Still have no idea where that knife ended up, by the way.<br />
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Anyway, I've been using the Wingman pretty steadily for the past month and there are almost no complaints from me. It's a lot lighter than the Wave I carried for the longest time (had to buy another one after my brother accidentally broke the scissors on my first one. I'll be sending that one in to Leatherman to take advantage of their warranty soon.) and I actually use most of the tools on it. Sure it's nice to have a bunch of tools at my disposal, but I'm not using most of them on a daily basis, which seems like a waste to me. The Wingman seems to me like a good minimalist multi-tool for folks who don't want or really need all the tools on the Wave or any of the other larger Leatherman tools.<br />
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Would I recommend the Leatherman Wingman ? The answer is YES. I'm not going to give it my seal of approval just yet, but I have a feeling it's a sure thing that I will in the future. <br />
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Well, that's pretty much it for this installment of Guns and Gear Reviews with 12-Gauge Chimp. Keep checking the site for more reviews in the coming months and keep an eye out for an announcement about a 12-Gauge Chimp YouTube channel. I'm still in the process of making that a reality and getting set up to bring you all video reviews on new items I buy and the occasional 'Random Thoughts' video I may do when the mood strikes me.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-75649686894793673582015-08-20T14:31:00.000-05:002015-08-20T14:31:11.971-05:00Return to Gun Review #16 plus an update to where I've been.Howdy, folks. It's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp.<br />
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You may have noticed my absence (or not since I'm not sure if anyone actually reads my articles or even visits the site anymore), and I apologize for that. The reason behind my long absence is that I just got burnt out on writing reviews and updating the site. I've purchased a number of things to review and I'll be getting to those some time in the near future.Just to clear things up and answer a few questions I'm sure no one has asked, I buy pretty much everything I review out of my own pocket. I am not sponsored in any way whatsoever. It'd be nice to be sponsored, but the site just isn't big enough nor popular enough for the big name companies to consider a sponsorship. <br />
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With that out of the way, on to the updated M10 AK.<br />
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As most of you folks know, I am a big fan of the AK and 7.62x39mm round it fires. So much so that I am strongly considering adding another AK to my collection. Before I do that, though, I want to update you all on what I've done to my M10 AK over the past year.<br />
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First, I ditched the Hogue handguard that came with my rifle and added a Troy Industries AK rail (more on that later). The Troy Industries AK rail is nice, but it's a little frustrating in installing since it requires a small Allen wrench to tighten down the bolts that hold it to the handguard retaining ring. Loc-Tite is your friend here if you don't want the bolts to back out and cause the rail to wobble (yes, I had that happen to me. Twice.) I recommend the blue Loc-Tite if you ever want to remove the rail and install a different one. If you never want to remove it, either use some of the red Loc-Tite or have your gunsmith weld the rail onto your rifle.<br />
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Next was the buttstock. The Phoenix Technologies "Survivor" stock is a decent stock in it's own right, but I wanted something that I could adjust the length of pull (LOP) on. The Phoenix Technologies stock is basically a fixed AK stock with a little trapdoor for survival gear (I tried and all I could fit in it was a cleaning kit. You are definitely NOT fitting any real gear in that stock.) So, I first put an Vltor AK stock tube adapter on it along with a Magpul CTR stock and called it a day. It worked for me and I was happy. Cut to SHOT Show 2015 and Magpul's announcement of AK specific furniture, which had me rethinking my set up. So, a few months of waiting for the stock to hit shelves, I installed my Zhukov-S folding stock on my AK. It actually went on easier than the Vltor tube. Magpul hit one out of the park with this stock. I will say that the LOP adjustment part was a little hard to adjust at first, but now it's smooth. I recommend finding a position that fits you on the stock and setting it there because the stock can be a pain to adjust at times. Maybe Magpul will make a Gen 2 version of the stock that's a little easier to adjust.<br />
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I also changed the muzzle brake (I absolutely hated the Tapco Razr muzzle brake that came with my rifle. Sounded like a tuning fork whenever I shot my rifle). I switched the brake out with a Midwest Industries AK muzzle device (I'm not kidding. The package simply calls it a 'muzzle device'. No fancy name, just what it is.) Getting the Tapco Razr brake off my rifle required a trip to a gunsmith and a monkey wrench to take it off. Installing the Midwest Industries brake was just my gunsmith screwing the thing onto my rifle after spraying some lube onto the threads to make everything go on without a hitch. It looks a lot better than the Tapco brake. Don't get me wrong, the Tapco Razr brake was a nice one, it just wasn't for me. And I'm not the only one who disliked it. Take a trip to YouTube and you'll find a bunch of folks who feel the same way as I do about the Tapco Razr.<br />
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Other things that I swapped were the grip (went with a Magpul MOE AK grip), gas tube (Troy Industries again.) and I added some rail sections to hold a Magpul AFG (angled fore grip) as well as a Bushnell tactical light and a Magpul QD sling mount.<br />
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I'm hoping once the weather cools down a bit, I can hit the range and put some rounds downrange. It's been awhile since I fired my AK and I need to do a lot of testing to see if all the mods I did were worth it.<br />
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All in all, I'm happy with the rifle and the mods I did. I made the rifle fit me and I think that's all that matters in the end.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-62455028667953751422015-05-19T15:05:00.001-05:002015-05-19T15:05:16.556-05:00Guns and Gear Review # 18: Glock 41 Gen 4Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with another entry to the site.<br />
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I've decided to change a few things on the site, starting with the gun reviews. I've decided to change the titles of the reviews since I mostly look at firearms and knives. From this point on, I'm going to call my reviews "Guns and Gear Reviews" instead of what they have been called in the past. I'll probably be going back and changing the titles of my previous entries. I've got a lot of things to cover so it may take some time. <br />
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Without further ado, here's the latest 'Guns and Gear Review'<br />
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Today, I'll be looking at the Glock 41. The Glock 41, for those of y'all who don't know, is a long slide variant of the popular Glock 21. Both pistols are full size guns, but the G41 has a longer barrel, around 5.25" according to my measurements.Which puts it in 1911 length territory. This gives the gun a longer sight radius which means better accuracy.The Glock 41 is only available in the Gen 4 configuration, so all you Gen 3 fans may have to upgrade to the newer generation if you want to get your hands on one.<br />
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I picked up my G41 a few days after ordering it from the local hardware store. Originally I had ordered a Century Arms RAS-47, but my FFL dealer was having a hard time finding one in stock for a decent price. So, I cancelled that order and switched it to the G41. I'm glad I did because the G41 is an awesome gun. It's only slightly longer than the standard G21, which means folks who use a 1911 as their carry gun will have no problem carrying a G41. Assuming they decide to quit carrying their 1911's, of course. Not everyone likes Glock pistols. For example, I used to think the grip was kind of blocky and uncomfortable. With the Gen 4 models and their different size back straps, my opinion on that has changed. Gen 3 guns and earlier still feel kind of weird, but that's simply because I'm used to the Gen 4 grips. Had I gotten into Glocks earlier in my life, I might feel differently about that.<br />
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Like the Gen 4 Glock 21 I own, the Glock 41 comes with three magazines, four different back straps, and the usual Glock factory accessories. Which are a magazine loader, spent casings for locales that require them, owners manual, and a mini catalog showing the other stuff Glock offers aside from firearms. I'd personally like to see Glock make a rifle at some point, but I think they're going to just continue making handguns. Which is fine with me.<br />
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I haven't had the opportunity to get out to the range since there's been other things taking up my time, so I can't really give y'all a true review as to how the G41 handles or if it's reliable enough for me to give it my seal of approval.<br />
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Once I get out to the range and run a few mags through the gun, I'll report back here and give y'all a full review.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-23664520568731858982015-02-27T16:22:00.003-06:002015-05-19T15:04:04.456-05:00Guns and Gear Review # 17: Glock 21 Gen 4 and Ruger 10/22Hey folks, your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with another Two for One Special review.<br />
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I've been kind of neglecting the site a bit, but I'm back with some new things to review and I'll be sure to have some more reviews coming in the future. <br />
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The first thing I'm going to review is my brand new Glock 21 .45 ACP caliber handgun.<br />
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Since buying my Rock Island Armory 1911 (which has since been sold to a family member), I was in the market for a new .45 ACP pistol. I went back and forth between various brands and something about the Glock 21 caught my attention. I called several shops in my area and a local hardware store had the best price and actually had the gun in stock. The other shops would've had to order the gun and wait several days to get it in my hands. One shop had an insanely high price tag on the gun in addition to the wait. Seriously, that shop wanted more than MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) by about 200 dollars. Let's just say they won't be getting my business any time soon. So, I went into the local shop and filled out the required paperwork for the Feds. Twenty minutes later, I was walking out of the store with my shiny new Glock 21. This is my first Glock pistol and probably won't be my last. Glock recently released a long slide variant called the Glock 41 and I'm considering picking one of those up as well. <br />
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Getting to the gun itself, the Glock 21 feels a lot better in my hands than my RIA 1911 did and I think it's because of the wider grip. I had to put thicker grips on my 1911 to have it fit better, but the G21 fits me nearly perfectly right out of the box. The Gen 4 models come with four interchangeable back straps and I ended up putting the medium beaver tail back strap on my particular gun. I figured since I have large hands that the large one would fit me the best, but it wasn't true. The medium fit me the best and it'll stay on the gun for awhile. Magazines drop free from the mag well easily and that's great for making quick reloads at the range. The sights are typical Glock style, which are plastic, and are one thing that I kind of dislike. I mean, is that hard for Glock to include metal sights on their guns ? I'm sure the sights are durable enough, but I'd like to see an option for metal sights in the future. I'll probably be replacing the factory sights with night sights soon, so it's not that big of a deal for me to have them on my G21 for the moment. The gun came with a total of three 13 round magazines and I ended up purchasing a few more at another store. It's always a good idea to have a decent supply of magazines in case one decides to fail. Factory mags are a little high in price, but they're solid. I know I could go the cheap route and buy some of those Korean made Glock magazines that were brought in a few years back, but I've heard really bad things about their quality. So, it'll be factory magazines for me and my G21. <br />
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All in all, I like the Glock 21. I'm hoping to get out to the range once the weather heats up a little and put the gun through its paces.<br />
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Speaking of guns, it's time for the second half of this Two for One Special. The Ruger 10/22.<br />
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I've been in the market for a new .22LR rifle ever since I got my Mossberg 702 awhile back. Now, the 702 Plinkster by Mossberg is a good little gun, but the lack of aftermarket parts and accessories severely limit it. I probably should've bought a Ruger 10/22 in the first place, but the store I bought my Mossberg from didn't have any at the time. So I bought the 702 Plinkster. Cut to last year when I found myself at a Wal-Mart in Odessa Texas and there on the shelf was a Ruger 10/22 with a stainless steel barrel. I looked it over and handed it back to the nice lady behind the counter. I thought about it for a bit and decided I'd go ahead with the purchase. Being that the store had several of that style in stock, I ended up with a fresh one and not the one that had been handled by who knows how many people. The gun I looked at first had a minor issue with the magazine sticking, but that's mostly due to the synthetic stock being a bit tight in the magwell area. My 10/22 had the same issue, but I ended up swapping out the factory stock for a Hogue stock that's so much better than the factory one. Swapping the stock for an aftermarket one solved the issue with sticking mags. I had bought a Blackhawk Axiom stock for it previously, but I ended up with a stock that was poorly molded and off center by a very noticeable degree. So I went with the Hogue stock instead and haven't had any issues with that one. My gun came with a single 10 round magazine, but I purchased a couple of the BX-25 magazines Ruger has brought to the market in the past few years. These are factory made 25 round magazines and they have been getting great reviews from shooters like myself. Ruger also makes a BX-50 with is basically two BX-25 magazines molded together. They sort of look like someone took two BX-25 magazines and duct taped them together, to be honest. <br />
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2014 was the 50th anniversary of the 10/22 and all guns made that year had the 50th anniversary roll mark on the receiver, barrel and bolt. Ruger even had a design contest for a special edition rifle to commemorate the occasion. I'm actually trying to track down one of those rifles because it's such a cool little gun and incorporates a few features that I really like.<br />
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Now, I have yet to get out to the range and fully test these guns out, but rest assured that I will and that I will give you all a full range report afterwards. Actually, come to think of it, there's a bunch of stuff I've purchased recently that I need to get out and test. <br />
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It's a bit too early for me to give either gun my seal of approval, so check back within the next six months time and I'll update the site with my findings.<br />
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As always this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-49490516787013900662014-07-31T14:40:00.003-05:002014-07-31T14:40:29.409-05:00Range Report #5: M+M M10 AKHey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a brand new edition of Range Report<br />
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Well, I finally had a chance to hit the range with a friend and I brought along the M+M M10 AK that I reviewed a little while back. I only have three mags for the gun, so my time behind the trigger was a bit limited. With that in mind, I loaded up the rifle and took aim at my target set up.<br />
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We had various targets set up at a range of probably 100 feet or so, not exactly a perfect range to test the rifles accuracy, but good enough to see if the gun worked properly or not. I fired one mag through the gun and let my friend have a go with the second magazine. Both were loaded with 30 rounds of Wolf 123 grain Military Classic 7.62x39 ammunition that has been kicking around in one of my ammo cans for about five years. I did have a couple issues with the ammo, but more on that later. <br />
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There were no jams whatsoever in the first 60 rounds and I'm pleased with the rifle. Of course, it'll take many more rounds sent downrange before I'm ready to give the rifle my seal of approval, but overall I'm happy with my purchase and with the rifle itself. A few of the stock parts are going to be replaced, but that's mostly a matter of personal preference. I know one thing that's getting changed out and that's the muzzle brake. The thing sounds like a tuning fork after every shot and it gets annoying really quick. I also need to pick up a few more mags so my time behind the trigger is spent learning how to shoot the rifle better and not wasted loading magazines. All three mags I had functioned like they were supposed to and while going from a stripper clip loaded rifle to a magazine system was a bit weird, I eventually got the hang of it and was switching mags like it was second nature to me. <br />
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As I mentioned before I had some issues with the ammo I was running. Wolf is pretty much known for being cheap ammo and that's one big reason folks buy the stuff. My issue wasn't with the price (I'm sort of a cheapskate when it comes to ammo, by the way), but with the way my SKS functioned with the ammo. I've used Wolf in my SKS numerous times before and I've never had bright blue smoke pour out of the receiver after a shot. I've also never had a round fail to fire after the primer was whacked hard. I'm probably going to have a gunsmith replace the firing pin on my rifle anyway, so I hope the FTF's will cease after that.<br />
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Overall, a fun day at the range was had by all and I hope to have many more range days with my friends in the future. Now if I could just find .22LR ammo locally, that'd be awesome.<br />
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Stay tuned to the site for an upcoming video review of the KHHI Scourge kukri I reviewed awhile back. I'm hoping to get some good footage of the blade uploaded soon. I've had a few folks asking me for video of the blade in action and I'm not one to disappoint my fans. So, keep an eye on the site for an announcement soon. <br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off. <br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-71453606533099346632014-06-13T12:49:00.001-05:002015-05-19T15:03:40.457-05:00Guns and Gear Review #16: M+M M10 7.62 AK-47Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with a brand new gun review.<br />
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It's been awhile since I've done one of these, but I've had good reasons as to why that is. You see, buying a gun is something that takes me awhile to do. Mostly because I tend to research my choices and try to narrow them down to what I can afford and what is the best choice for me. This gun purchase actually took the course of two years to accomplish seeing as how the gun came and went from various sites inventories (and at either really rock bottom prices or prices that made buying a $1,200 Arsenal a better option).<br />
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So, I finally found a site that had the gun in stock and at a price that was within my budget. I placed my order, called my FFL dealer to verify the purchase and transfer, and waited. A week later, I get a call from my FFL dealer saying my rifle was in the shop. I rushed over there and picked it up after filling out the 4473 required by the Feds and paying the transfer fees. It was at that moment, I became the owner of my very first AK-47 style rifle.<br />
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Getting to the rifle itself, it's pretty much an upgraded WASR-10, but instead of being made of used surplus parts with a few new US made parts thrown in for compliance reasons, this AK uses all brand new parts. Everything on this rifle is brand new and there's enough US made part to comply with the US 922r regulations. No surplus parts of dubious age, origin or wear and tear amounts here.<br />
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The M+M M10 features a 16 inch chrome lined hammer forged barrel topped off with a Tapco Razr muzzle brake. It's got the usual stamped AK receiver fitted with a Hogue pistol grip, a Hogue railed fore end set and a Phoenix Technologies 'Survival' stock with hinged buttplate that opens to reveal a space for survival items (I store an AK cleaning kit in the one on my rifle). It only comes with one mag, which is a plastic Bulgarian made mag, but AK mags are pretty much everywhere and are going for decent prices now. Granted, the mags aren't quite as cheap as the HK G3/CETME mags, but they're still affordable. The sights are RPK style, which means the rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation. It takes some getting used to, but it's no harder than using the sights on an AR-15. The front sight is a bit different than the traditional AK set up because it's built into the gas block instead of on its own like on a regular AK.This reduces the sight radius a bit, but just like the RPK sights one can get used to them. Either that or add some different sights later on. <br />
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I haven't had the chance to get out to the range to shoot this rifle yet, but that's mostly because summer is officially here in my AO and that means temperatures that regularly hit 95 plus degrees and don't go anywhere near bearable until late in the evening. I think I saw a bird burst into flames just flying around the other day because it was so hot. Anyway, once the weather cools down (or I suck it up and coat myself in really high SPF sunscreen and risk a sunburn), I'll be testing the rifle and giving y'all a full review. <br />
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Would I suggest buying one of these rifles ? Yes, I would.<br />
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The prices are coming down from the insanely high prices we were seeing them go for last year and they're still a great bargain for those of us who want an AK, but don't want to roll the dice and buy a WASR-10 and hope we get a good one.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
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Stay tuned to this site for a range review of the M+M M10 AK-47, folks. <br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-34719048364346099322013-09-19T16:14:00.003-05:002015-05-19T15:03:16.912-05:00Guns and Gear Review # 15: Kershaw ShuffleHey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp bringing you a new knife review.<br />
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I know it has been awhile since I last updated the site and I have a good reason for that. The reason of that is that I literally had nothing to review. So I just took a break for a bit, but now I'm back with some new things to review and a quick update for y'all.<br />
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As you all might remember, I've been giving knives and other stuff my 12-Gauge Chimp Seal of Approval rather easily over the years. Well, starting today, that all ends. Effective immediately, I will no longer be handing out my approval on a product without actually doing a lengthy test on said product. I got burned big time by my Ka-Bar Agama pocket knife and it had me rethinking my whole review system. So with that in mind, new products will now be used by me for a period of no less than six months. After the six months is up, I will then decide to either give the product my seal of approval or not. <br />
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Getting back to the topic of this review special, it's been awhile since I've purchased a new knife. The last knife I purchased was the Kershaw Nerve that I reviewed a couple months back. The new addition to my Kershaw collection is the recently released Kershaw Shuffle.<br />
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The Kershaw Shuffle sports a 2 3/8 inch blade with a total length of about 3 1/4" inches closed and about 5 5/8" inches when open. The blade is made of 3Cr13MOV steel with a bead blasted finish, which makes it a perfect little companion knife to the Kershaw Nerve. The handle is made from glass filled nylon with a "K" textured grip. Its other features include a bottle opener and a lanyard ring that doubles as a light duty prybar and a flat screwdriver (I have actually used it to tighten the grips on my 1911). It's got a pocket clip that's adjustable for right or left pocket carry with the tip up only. <br />
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Now, I've got gorilla sized hands which makes using smaller knives kind of a pain, but the Kershaw Shuffle's size isn't too bad. Yeah, it's a bit smaller than I'm used to, but this is not a knife I'm going to go all Johnny Tactical with. Come to think of it, I'm not going to do that with any of my knives for that matter. For me, the Kershaw Shuffle is purely a utility blade and it does a pretty good job at simple tasks. Its size makes it perfect for places where you can't carry a knife over a certain size (like some states here in the US). It's also perfect for those of us who don't want to carry a bulky knife everyday. <br />
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All in all, I'd say grab one of these while you can. For less than 20 bucks (in some places it's a lot cheaper), the Kershaw Shuffle is probably one of the best values of 2013.<br />
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Well, that'll do it for this review. Keep an eye open for my next review and an upcoming special review of a blade I am extremely happy to be able to review.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-2158456640277220012013-02-12T16:56:00.001-06:002015-05-19T15:02:55.791-05:00Guns and Gear Review #14: Kershaw Nerve and BrawlerHey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here, bringing you another two for one review.<br />
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Now, I first want to apologize for not being more active with the site in the last couple months. I am struggling for things to review that I think would interest you all. So, with that in mind, I bring you my review of the Kershaw Brawler and Nerve.<br />
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First up, the Brawler.<br />
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I purchased this knife for 20 dollars US just before Christmas last year at a local big box chain store and it came in a special "tactical" combo pack with an LED flashlight and a tactical pen. The light and pen were basically extras and they are fairly good for the money, but they aren't the focus of this review. The knife is what I was more interested in. So, let's get to it.<br />
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The Brawler (or the 1990 Brawler, as it's called on Kershaw's website) features a 3 inch modified tanto style blade, Kershaw's patented 'SpeedSafe' assisted opening feature, and a black glass-filled nylon handle. The steel used in the blade is 8Cr13MoV with a black oxide coating to protect it. It also features a four position pocket or belt clip. <br />
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My first thought upon buying the knife was "Did I make a good purchase ?" because I have made some boneheaded purchases in the past (See my purchase of the M-Tech/Maxam kukri). Well, my fear was unfounded because the Kershaw Brawler is a well made knife. It's part of Kershaw's budget line of knives sold at various sporting goods stores and big box stores along with some of Kershaw's more expensive choices. <br />
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I've done some cutting tests with the Brawler and have even carried it around as part of my EDC. Still, while it's a good knife in its own right, it didn't replace my CRKT Hammond Cruiser as my main EDC knife. That's mostly because I'm kind of stubborn when it comes to swapping out things that I feel work for me. I may just have to rotate my EDC knives, though. <br />
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Would I recommend getting a Kershaw Brawler ? Yes, I would. Even if you can't find the tactical pack I bought, the knife alone is well worth the 25 dollars you can find it going for. And if you look around, you can get the knife for less than that.<br />
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Now, onto the second part of this Two for One special.<br />
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The Kershaw Nerve.<br />
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This knife was actually the most recent purchase and it was also an impulse buy, one of which I'm actually happy with. I paid around 21 dollars US for it at a local sporting goods store.<br />
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Yet another part of Kershaw's budget line of knives, the Nerve features a 3 1/8 inch half serrated/ half plain edge blade with a bead blasted finish and CNC machined G-10 handle scales. The G-10 scales have a rough texture and almost a ripple type look to them. I'm actually kind of wondering why Kershaw didn't call the Nerve "The Ripple" because of the way the scales look. Of course, they probably already produce a knife called the Ripple, so that could be why. I should mention that both the Brawler and Nerve are liner lock style knives. The Nerve, unlike the Brawler, only has a two position pocket clip. Meaning you can only configure it for right hand blade tip up or blade tip down carry. It's not a problem for me since I carry my knives in my right jeans pocket. My left jeans pocket is reserved for other parts of my EDC, like my wallet. The 8Cr13MoV blade steel is the same used in the Brawler, but on the Nerve it's sharpened to a very scary degree. I'm not saying the Brawler isn't sharp (it is very sharp), but the Nerve's blade is scary sharp. Case in point, I did the same thing most guys do when testing a blades sharpness. I ran the blade over my arm and shaved off a good sized patch of hair with zero trouble. In that regards, I have no problem saying the Kershaw Nerve is the sharpest knife I have ever owned and this is a factory edge which makes it even more surprising. Most knives I get have decent factory edges, but the factory edge on the Nerve blows them all out of the water. Not even the Brawler had this sharp of a blade. Heck, not even my Kershaw Crown is as sharp as the Nerve and it's got a really sharp blade.<br />
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I've done more cutting tests with the Nerve aside from the arm hair shaving thing (which we've all done at one point in our lives, right guys ?) and it's awesome at every one of them. So, I'd definitely recommend getting a Kershaw Nerve while you can because I've been reading that Kershaw is actually discontinuing the Nerve along with a few other knives. So, I'll probably be picking another one up here in the next few weeks, assuming I still can.<br />
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Both the Kershaw Nerve and Brawler get the 12-Gauge Chimp Seal of Approval.<br />
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That will do it for this Two for One review special and be sure to check back often. Even though I may not have anything to write about, I still check the site from time to time and enjoy reading the comments you all leave. So thank you for stopping by and reading my posts and if you like what you read, become a Friend of the Chimp. Also, recommend the site to your friends, family and whoever you'd think would be interested in it. <br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-31968179166406862732012-10-01T15:53:00.002-05:002012-10-01T15:53:46.489-05:0012-Gauge Chimp's First Ever Gear Review.Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with the first ever gear review in the sites history.<br />
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Now, I've done gun and knife reviews in the past and that's basically what I'm known for, but lately I've thought about expanding my site and doing different reviews in addition to the gun and knife reviews. I'll still be doing those since they're basically what makes the site, but I just wanted to try and review something that wasn't sharp and pointy or went bang.<br />
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On with the review.<br />
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As you all may know, I purchased my very first 1911 in February of this year ( I think I may have said March when I did the review, but looking at my records, I actually bought it in February.) Anyway, the gun came with smooth wood grips that were kind of slippery. So, I decided to replace them with something better. What I ended up with was a set of Ergo Grip brand 1911 grips in black. These things are awesome and really fit my 1911 well. Granted, I did have to trim some molding remnants off and trim down a sharp corner on the grips, but other than that the grips were fine. It was just a matter of personal preference. Not everyone will have to do what I did. Now, I haven't really tested the grips out at the range but a couple friends of mine are supposed to be headed my way at the end of the month, so I hope to have a field test done at that time. As for now, I'm holding off on giving the grips my seal of approval, but even though I haven't gotten out to the range, I'm fairly sure that I'll be giving the Ergo Grips my approval.<br />
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Also, here's another first for the site. I will actually be naming the shop where I purchased the grips from. Recently, I was in Albuquerque New Mexico on vacation and I stopped at a shop called "Kaufman's West", which is military surplus store based in Albuquerque. They sell mostly brand new tactical gear and other items, but they do have a pretty good amount of actual surplus stuff. Now, I had read some bad reviews on the internet about the store and I was a bit worried I'd have the same experience as some of the other reviewers. In reality, I had just the opposite experience.<br />
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When I walked into the store, I was greeted by an employee named Daniel, who would later go above and beyond to help me find a paracord bracelet big enough to fit my large wrists. When I had a question about the Ergo Grips, he directed me to another employee, who in turn directed me to yet another employee, who would later turn out to be the manager of the store. All three of them were very helpful and made me feel welcome in the store. I forgot to get the names of the manager and the other employee, but I'm sure if they read my site, they'll know who I'm talking about. After I decided to purchase the grips, I wanted to see if they had a left handed holster that would fit my 1911. I'm kind of weird when it comes to shooting guns as I shoot handguns as a left hander and rifles and shotguns as a right hander. This makes it a bit hard for me to buy handguns since few on the market are lefty friendly. That's changed a lot recently since more and more companies are making guns that are lefty friendly. Matter of fact, I found a company that makes a true left handed 1911. It's basically a mirror image version of the 1911 we all know. It's pretty expensive which is why I probably won't be reviewing it any time soon.<br />
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Getting back to the store, I found an employee stocking holsters and asked her if they had any left handed holsters for 1911's. She asked me what kind I was looking for and after she mentioned a few styles, I followed her to the wall of holsters the store has. She found a really nice Galco holster for me, which I sadly could not buy due to my lack of funds. We looked at a few more holster options and after we came to the conclusion I wasn't going to find one in my price range, I thanked her for her help and went off to look for other items on my list. I ended up leaving Kaufmann's with the aforementioned 1911 grips, a coyote tan paracord bracelet and an OD Green boonie hat which will replace my cheap desert camo one.<br />
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All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Kaufmann's West in Albuquerque and I will be back again one of these years. The employees were nice and took the time to answer my questions to the best of their knowledge and the employee named Daniel, who I mentioned earlier, went above and beyond to help me find a paracord bracelet that fit me. When I told him about my site, he was interested in it and asked me to write down the site address for him so he could check it out. As I was writing down the site address, it occurred to me that it might be in my best interests to ask permission to write about the store. So, Daniel called the manager over and I explained what I wanted to do. I told her that I wouldn't write anything bad about the store, which is true since I honestly could not find a bad thing about the store. I received permission to write about the store and I kept my promise to them.<br />
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So, if you ever find yourselves in Albuquerque New Mexico , stop by Kaufman's West and check out the store. If you all are anything like your pal 12-Gauge Chimp, there's bound to be something that you'll like.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2297068118998472298.post-54266493745036214732012-08-03T17:09:00.002-05:002015-05-19T15:02:33.219-05:00Guns and Gear Review # 13: Leatherman Blast multi-tool and Cold Steel Vaquero Grande folding knife.Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp bringing you a very special review. It's the very first Two for One Review. I'll be reviewing two different things, in this case, two knives.<br />
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Now before I go any further, y'all are probably wondering just where I've been since April when I last made an entry to the site. Well, a lot happened between my review of my Rock Island Armory 1911 and now, but that's in the past and I finally have something to review.<br />
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First up, my Leatherman Blast multi-tool.<br />
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I was given this as a gift by a friend of mine and it's been on my belt ever since. Leatherman brand multi-tools have around since 1983. Leatherman also offers folding knives in addition to it's line of multi-tools. I don't yet own one of the folding knives, but as soon as I can, I will get one. The Leatherman tool I own is the Blast, which has been discontinued from Leatherman's lineup for some reason. I guess it's so Leatherman can focus on bringing newer tools and knives onto the market. Which is fine with me since I'm planning on getting a Leatherman Wave multi-tool sometime in the near future.<br />
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Anyway, the Blast features 16 tools and it's made from stainless steel with Zytel inserts for comfort when using the tool for whatever you may need it for. It comes with a leather belt pouch, although I have seen some that come with a nylon pouch instead of the leather one. In the years since I've had it, I have used just about every tool on the thing and it's still going strong and is as sharp as the day it left the factory. One really cool thing about the tool is that it has a 25 year warranty. All you have to do is register whatever Leatherman multi-tool or knife you buy on the Leatherman website and if the tool should somehow break or otherwise be damaged, Leatherman will fix it. Whether this is a free service or not is unknown to me since I haven't yet had to use the warranty service, so it might be a good idea to do a little research. Either way, it's still pretty cool.<br />
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Now, the 16 tools on the Blast are as follows.<br />
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1. Needle nose pliers<br />
2. 420HC clip point knife blade<br />
3. Regular pliers<br />
4. Wire cutters<br />
5. Hard-wire cutters<br />
6. Wire strippers<br />
7. Small screwdriver<br />
8. Large screwdriver<br />
9. Phillips screwdriver<br />
10. Scissors<br />
11. File (wood and metal)<br />
12. Small bit driver<br />
13. Bottle opener (this tool probably gets the most use for me.)<br />
14. Can opener <br />
15. Saw<br />
16. and finally, a Phillips and flat tip eyeglasses screwdriver bit.<br />
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After all the years I've used the Leatherman Blast multi-tool and the fact it has not once let me down, makes me give it the 12-Gauge Chimp Seal of Approval.<br />
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Now, onto the second part of this review, the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande.<br />
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I purchased this knife from an antique store last month and it is by far the largest folding knife I have ever owned. Seriously, the knife measures out to 12 1/4 inches in overall length with the blade open and around 5 and a half inches or 6 inches when closed.<br />
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Now, Cold Steel has been around for a long time and the videos of Lynn Thompson, the president of Cold Steel, using the various products his company makes to hack through car doors, thick free hanging rope, whole sides of beef and other stuff, have been seen by practically everybody. Cold Steel stands behind their product and is not afraid to show how much abuse one of their products can take.<br />
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The Vaquero Grande is a lockback style knife, kind of like the old folding knives our fathers and grandfathers carried. Is it my preferred lock style ? Nope, but I'm not carrying this massive sucker around everyday or even using it as my primary knife. That job falls to my CRKT Hammond Cruiser knife.<br />
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The handle of the Vaquero Grande is made of glass reinforced plastic called "Grivory" in the Cold Steel site description. Now I don't know if my knife, since it's an older model, has that type of handle or if they simply made the handle out of glass reinforced plastic, like the kind used in making synthetic stocks or grips for firearms. The steel used is Japanese AUS8 stainless steel and it holds a pretty good edge. I bought my knife second hand and I have no idea how much use it saw with the previous owner(s), but it's still pretty dang sharp. I got the serrated edged model, but the newer Vaqueros are available with either a serrated edge or a plain edge. They retail for about 56 dollars US, but I was able to snag mine for a little less than 20 dollars US. If you look hard enough, you might even be able to find them for less than what I paid, but probably not.<br />
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Now, I haven't done much cutting with the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande, mostly because it's such a large knife and it's a serrated edged blade. All in all, it's not a knife for everyone, but it's still a good knife. I've heard of folks carrying this type of knife as part of their EDC, but I prefer a smaller knife. That's not to say I wouldn't use it as a camp knife, though. If one wants to carry a knife as big as the Vaquero Grande around, I say more power to you. That is if you have pockets big enough to fit the knife. When they mean 'Grande', man do they mean it.<br />
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In the end, I still give the Cold Steel Vaquero Grande knife the 12-Gauge Chimp Seal of Approval.<br />
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Thanks for visiting my site and I hope to bring you all more reviews, Random Thoughts and Range Reports in the near future.<br />
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As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.<br />
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<br />12-Gauge Chimphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07044142158465519047noreply@blogger.com0