Follow up to Range Report # 3.

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a follow up to Range Report #3.

As you may remember, I mentioned going to the range awhile back. What I forgot to mention was that I took a friend with me. This was the first time that my friend had shot either of my guns so I made sure to go over some basic safety rules with him. He was a quick learner and I only had to remind him once about the rules.

Now as to what guns we fired, I chose to bring my Mosin Nagant M91/30 and my Mossberg bullpup 12 gauge. I had bought some shotgun slugs a few weeks earlier and I wanted to see how my shotgun would handle them. I also brought along a box of Silver Bear 7.62x54R rounds to see how my Mosin liked them.
We arrived at the range and proceeded to set up a few targets. I went over the basic safety rules and how to operate the guns with my friend and loaded a magazine of 12 gauge shells for him. I am pretty much used to the recoil of my guns, but my friend had not shot a rifle or shotgun up to that point, so it was surprising to him when he pulled the trigger for the first time. After a few mags of 12 gauge shells, we switched to the Mosin. Again, I went over the basic safety rules and how to operate it. I loaded the Mosin's magazine and handed it to my friend. The look on his face after pulling the trigger on the first round was priceless. I had him load the guns a couple times on his own so he'd get used to how they worked. He later mentioned to me that the Mosin seemed to have more recoil than the 12 gauge.

At first, neither of us could hit a thing, but once we got into the swing of things, we were able to keep a majority of rounds on target with the occasional miss. I attempted to get some video on my cell phone, but the wind ruined all the footage I was able to get. Now I have a digital video camera and I'm considering redoing this range trip once the weather warms up a bit. Once that's done, I'll let you all know.

Well, that'll do it for now, but keep checking the site for more updates.

As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Update for January 2011: Not much happening...

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with an update. Yeah, I know it's been awhile since my last update (December 22, 2010: CRKT Hammond Cruiser review), but there just hasn't been a lot happening for me. I've tried to think of something that would be of interest to you all, but all my ideas just fall flat.

So with that said, here's the 2011 update for the site.
1.) Sometime this year, I hope to purchase a 9mm pistol and an AK-47 of some type. I've got a few options on the table and now it just comes down to getting the funds to buy one.

2.) Gun and knife reviews are going to be put on hold a little while, at least until I purchase a new gun or knife. I'll still be doing reviews, just not as often as I first did when the site first started.

Well, that'll do it for this update. As you can see, there's not much happening in the world of 12-Gauge Chimp. Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you all will continue to do so in the future.

As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Guns and Gear Review # 9: CRKT Hammond Cruiser

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a new knife review. Now I know it's been awhile since my last knife review ( the Ka-Bar K2 Agama), but I have a good excuse. The reason I waited so long to do another knife review was because I didn't buy any knives after the Ka-Bar Agama. One of the local sporting goods stores was having a Christmas sale and I picked up a CRKT Hammond Cruiser pocket knife. It usually retails for around 60 dollars US , but since I bought it on sale, I got mine for the low price of 21 dollars US.

Here's the factory specifications on the Hammond Cruiser.
Overall length: 9 inches
Blade length: 3.75 inches
Blade material: AUS-8 stainless steel

It's a combo edge blade with half of the blade plain edged and the other serrated edged, which is what I'm looking for in a knife. It weighs about as much as the Ka-Bar K2 Agama and is about the same size. I've done a few tests with the knife and it passed all of them with flying colors. My only gripes are with the length of the pocket clip and the liner lock system is a bit stiff, but that problem will go away with use. The pocket clip is slightly shorter than the clip on the Agama, but not by much. I currently own two CRKT knives, including the Hammond Cruiser. The other is a CRKT Stiff Kiss that I had a friend custom make some new handle scales for since I wasn't a fan of the factory nylon cord wrapping it came with. Will I purchase CRKT knives in the future ? Yes I will. The Hammond Cruiser will accompany my Ka-Bar Agama as part of my EDC system.

All in all, I recommend the CRKT Hammond Crusier pocket knife. It has it's faults, like the kind of short pocket clip and the rather stiff liner lock, but those are just minor things that I don't like. Not everyone is going to have the same opinions on that as I do nor do I expect them to.

The CRKT Hammond Cruiser gets the 12-Gauge Chimp seal of approval.

Have a Merry Christmas, everyone.

As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Today is Veterans Day.

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here letting you all know today is Veterans Day.

So, with that said, get out there and thank a veteran for their service and let them know how much they mean to you and your freedom.

If you have someone in your family who served, sit down with them and listen to their stories of their time in the service. That goes double if they fought in either of the World Wars. Soon there will be no one around to tell the stories of WW1 and that makes me sad. We lose men from those wars everyday and I wish I had the opportunity to just shake their hands and maybe listen to their stories. No matter what war you fought in WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War or the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan, you are all heroes in my book and I thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart.

To all veterans, past and present, thank you.

And to those veterans no longer with us, may you forever rest in peace.

This is 12 Gauge Chimp signing off.

Random Thoughts #13 : Surplus stuff.

Hey there, folks. 12-Gauge Chimp here with a new edition of Random Thoughts.

As most of you remember I mentioned visiting a military surplus shop during one of my trips. Well, I bought a good bit of stuff. I bought another .50 caliber ammo can, a couple of MREs and a Chinese Army issue SKS chest rig. I figured I could use that when I hit the range with my SKS. Well, that and I'm getting tired of lugging around an old messenger bag with ammo in it. The MREs are for my emergency food stash as I was running kind of low, granted I'm still a few MREs short of where I'd like to be, but I'll eventually get to a level where I'm comfortable. The ammo can is being used for its intended purpose, holding my ammo. I know some folks use them as tool boxes and for car survival kits, which I'll make one for myself soon. I also need to rebuild my bug out bag and make 12-Gauge Chimp's Personal Survival Kit version 2.0.

I will, hopefully, be getting out to the range for some well deserved target practice and to finally test my Mossberg Plinkster. Seriously, I've had the rifle since June of this year and I have yet to shoot the thing. That's the thing when I make plans to do a gun review, I say I'm going to go to the range, but something comes up and I don't get to go. Such is life for 12-Gauge Chimp.

Well, that's going to do it for this edition of Random Thoughts. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Do you remember 9/11/2001 ?

Today is the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and I wanted to say a few things and remember what happened that fateful day.

September 11, 2001 was the day our world changed forever and it will never go back to the way it was before that day. Over 3,000 people lost their lives in an attack that would rattle the American people and bring us closer than ever before, at least it did for a few years anyway. Now nine years later very little has been done to rebuild, yeah the rubble has been cleared away, but nothing has been built there aside from a memorial that few people visit. Now I'm not going to get political and complain about the lack of progress on that site or the politics behind any rebuilding efforts, but you'd think in 9 years something would've happened, right ?

America came together that day. Only one thing mattered that day, we all were Americans, no matter if you were rich or poor, strong or weak, young or old, you were an American. Many people lost loved ones that day and people were changed. I, for one, still have nightmares stemming from things I saw on the news footage that day, but my nightmares are nothing compared to those suffered by folks who were there when it happened. They went through what can be considered a living Hell.

I guess what I really want to say is please don't forget the events of September 11, 2001. Don't forget the people who lost their lives that day.

Remember 9/11/2001 forever.

Thank you and God bless America.

This is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.

Random Thoughts #12: Ode to the Mosin Nagant.

Hey folks, 12-Gauge Chimp here with a new edition of Random Thoughts.

On one of the web forums I post on, there has been some bashing of the Mosin Nagant series of rifles. Some are saying it's the worst rifle out there, while others are saying the guns are ugly and shoot horribly. While it may be true that the Mosin doesn't have the aesthetic appeal of the Mauser or Model 1903 Springfield rifles, it gets the job done. The Russians designed this gun to be dead simple to use and maintain because the troops who would use them weren't exactly used to using a gun. Guns were heavily restricted by the Bolsheviks after the Russian Revolution and even before then, so unlike folks in the US who grew up with a rifle in their hands, most Russians had no idea what to do when they were given a Mosin and told to shoot Wehrmacht soldiers.

I like the Mosin Nagant rifles. While I have other guns in my collection that vastly out shoot my Mosin, it's the one rifle I keep going back to when I want to have fun at the range. The one thing that pisses me off is folks keep comparing the Mosin to the famed Mauser rifles. A Mosin is not the same as a Mauser so stop comparing them to each other. A Mosin will never be a Mauser and vice versa. It's really starting to irritate me. It's almost like the WW2 version of AK-47 vs. AR-15, both rifles are good for what they are and both have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.

Either gun is good, whether you like the Mosin or the Mauser. They both are dead reliable and almost idiot-proof when it comes to maintaining them.

I'm going to put this to a vote and ask you folks which rifle you like. If you wouldn't mind, please leave a comment with your preference between the Mosin Nagant and the Mauser series of rifles. If you like both rifles like I do, then put that in your comment. It's not a popularity contest or anything I just want to get your opinions on the matter.

That'll do it for this edition of Random Thoughts. As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.