Practice Makes Perfect, I Hope

The Nikon scope that I ordered for this AR-15 project will not arrive until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I'm going to get in some more practice with this funky BSA scope that I found in a packing box.

This is a BSA Platinum 6-24x44 scope with a 1" tube and mildot reticle. And today's exercise is to get it mounted, levelled and boresighted on the AR-15. I'm going to use Burris Signature Zee rings - I'm sold on the things - with the concentric inserts. Those are the inserts that come with the package; the eccentric inserts are sold separately - for $16 per ring!

I adjusted the scope with the bathroom mirror method again so that it was optically centered.

The first step is to level the gun, so on go the Wheeler bubble levels. Looks level to me!

The AR-15 flat-top has a good-sized flat just behind the Picatinny rail. This accomodates the Starrett machinist's level nicely. But notice that the bubble here is all the way to the left.

Uh-oh.

When in doubt, always believe the more expensive piece of gear, so we level the gun to put the Starrett bubble in the center, and re-adjust the Wheeler to agree.

Here's the Starrett with the bubble in the center. It's hard to get it there and harder to keep it there.

The Burris ring is a tight fit on the rail - in fact it won't fit at all. Notice the little cut in the ring's base, next to my thumb? That's the "Zee" that you find in the Burris rings for the Weaver-style base.

So we just get out the old pry-bar (Stanley screwdriver) and gently open up the "Zee". The rings are steel and do not yield easily; it took me seven attempts to open it enough to slide it on the rail.

And then whaddaya think happened? Yup, these (medium) rings are too low for the 44mm bell of the scope. In this photo, the bell of the scope is resting on the handguard, and the tube of the scope hasn't touched the ring yet.

But I was once a Boy Scout, and I was prepared with a set of high rings, seen here. Of course, that meant opening up the "Zee" on yet another set of rings, yadda-yadda.

I set the rings exactly 4 inches apart and tightened them down to 20 in-lb, while pressing them forward against the rail. These are 1" rings and the bases use straight-slotted screws! Caramba! Interestingly, Burris 30mm rings use Torx screws at the base. Wonder why?

You can see the lower ring inserts in place here; they resemble big-end bearings on a crankshaft.

 

And here is our old nemesis, Mr. Boresighter. Everything still looks level, but we have been tugging and pulling and torquing on the gun a bit, and this is our last chance to check the levelling before we put the ring caps on. So we check one more time with the Starrett level and it's off half a bubble. So we level the gun again and tweak the Wheeler level to match.

Torquing down the rings. Moving in a criss-cross pattern, one quarter turn for each screw. Checking the scope to see that it's level in the collimator. Checking the bubble level. Then another round of quarter turns until the wrench clicks at 20 in-lb. Several times I felt a slight "give" as I turned a screw; I think this may have been the plastic insert being pushed into place by the pressure of the steel ring.

Here's the view. It was just fiendishly difficult to get a good snapshot with this scope. But what you see here, even though it looks off-axis, is what I saw with my eye: nicely level, one unit to the right and 3.5 units high.

And here's the final assembly. The feeler gauge says that the scope is 0.077" above the handguard. Is that too close?

All done and ready to be put away.

Great Idea For Cartoon

Middle-aged man in suit is complaining to young woman in green apron and black baseball cap.

Caption: "This is a helluva way to run a coffee shop! You call this a decent download speed?"

Sent from my iPhone

Affixing A Scope

I have assigned myself a winter project this year, namely to install a very accurate scope on an AR-15 flattop with a floating bull barrel, 9:1 twist, etc.

But before I do too much damage, I wanted to try a smaller-scale, less expensive project first.

So I'm going to install a Leapers scope on a Marlin Papoose.

Yeah, I know, it has a detachable barrel, so how accurate can it be, at best?

But that's not the point. The point is to learn how to use the tools.

Starrett 6" machinist's level

Wheeler torque wrench

Wheeler scope levelling barrel clamp

BSA collimator

The scope is a little Leapers 6x32 with a 1" tube.

The rings are Burris Signature .22 Rings, medium height. I also have one of their "Pos-Align" insert kits with the eccentric ring inserts.

Step 1 is to level the gun laterally (left-right); longitudinal levelling isn't very important.

That's probably overkill, as far as a bubble level is concerned, but it is extraordinarily sensitive. It took me nearly 15 minutes to level the gun.

Then I put the Wheeler barrel clamp level on and adjusted it to agree with the Starrett.

It's actually a nice piece of gear. All the images on the web make it look like it's made of yellow plastic, but it's anodized aluminum.

Now the Starrett is removed and the scope rings attached to the receiver.

I didn't bother to degrease these rings, because, come on! But I will do it on the final project. These rings have Torx screws.

And now here's the star of the show. You can see the inserts in the rings. These are the concentric inserts that came with the rings.

And here is the BSA collimator. The .22 spud doesn't fit very well.

And it used to spend most of its time on the gun in this position. There are lots of complaints about this boresighter on the web.

But a quick trip to the hardware store provided the answer.

I checked the scope reticle centering using the bathroom mirror method. I wasn't too impressed with the other method of rotating the scope while supporting it by the scope tube; who says it has to be optically and mechanically concentric?

The first thing to do is to make sure that the scope is level against the boresighter grid, and that the gun is still level at the Wheeler bubble level, too. The Burris rings begin to grab the scope as soon as the ring screws begin to bite, and there's a long way to go to tighten it down. I tightened the ring screws in an x-pattern, one half-turn at a time, checking scope levelling frequently. 

It was a slow, painstaking process to gradually torque down the four ring screws, and when I had all four screws tightened to 10 in-lbs, this is what I saw.

I got the level part OK, but that's damning with faint praise. Actually what I saw in the scope with my eye was that the scope crosshairs were 8 divisions (32" at 100 yds) high and two divisions (8" at 100 yds) to the left.

I have a set of Pos-Align eccentric inserts for the rings. I used Burris's formula (my ring spacing was 3.5") and found that I needed .008 horizontal adjustment in the front ring, and a whopping .031 in the rear. The kit comes with .005, .010 and .020 rings, but only one pair of each. So I put the .010 insert in front; if I rotate it to 53-degrees, it should give me the .008 I'm looking for, AND it will lower the front ring .006.

The rear ring was simple: put in a .020 ring with the thick side at 6 o'clock. That will lift the rear of the scope.

Here is the scope with the eccentric rings in place before the caps are added. You can see that the front ring has been rotated. I just eye-balled it to between 45 and 60-degrees.

Then I ran through the tedious process of torquing down the caps while checking that the gun and scope remained level.

Here's the result:

Looking through the scope I see that the windage is at 0 (centered) and the elevation is 1 unit high (4" at 100 yards). And I haven't touched the scope controls; they're still centered.

Now, of course, the proof of the pudding...

This is just a pilot project, but as far as the process goes I was pleased. And I was just blown away by the Burris Signature rings! I didn't expect them to work, but by golly they not only worked, they worked perfectly.

As you can see the scope has a Mil-dot reticle. One of my reasons for selecting it was to experiment with the Mil-dot ranging system in an inexpensive way.

And I found that there are 16 clicks between collimator grid divisions, elevation and windage, which comes out to about 1/4 MOA per click. (HA! like that's going to make a difference!) Well, we'll see.

Super-Brick

Five thousand rounds of 22-LR.
Thanks, CMP!

Dulles Gun Show II

On my shopping list was a Smith and Wesson model 36 "Chief's Special" and I got a nice one, in 38-Special, with its original box. Probably 1960's vintage, so I had to do the 4473 thing.

 

The other gun was the ubiquitous Nagant. They're still under $150, people! And C&R eligible; they'll send it direct to your door by UPS Next Day Air. What's your excuse for not having one?

 

And look at that firing pin!

 

It loads like, well, what it is: a nineteenth century revolver. There is a loading gate on the right side. The ejector rod is swung into position and pushes out the spent casing. You can see the tip of the ejector rod peeking out of the cylinder, above.

 

The ammo is unique. The mouth of the case protrudes beyond the cylinder. When the gun is cocked, the cylinder is moved forward a couple of millimeters to form a gas seal with the barrel.

So to facilitate maximum plinkage, a replacement cylinder is available to convert it to 32-ACP. Here's a video of a guy trying one out. He did not seem too impressed.

With an effective gas seal, this is one revolver that might be suppressed effectively, and it has been done:

I was disappointed that there seemed to be no S&W M&P 9mm compact magazines at the show. Also on my shopping list were a pair of Peltor earmuffs to protect my aging hearing. Maybe later. As for the mags, I'm on the waiting list at Cheaper Than Dirt. Hey, it worked for the Ruger 22/45!

Smith & Wesson Chief's Special

Model 36, wood grips, in box, 1960's.

Pix later.

Sent from my iPhone

Dulles Gun Show

Waiting for the doors to open.

The line is two blocks long.

Sent from my iPhone

QE3 and Social Security

No, not "Queen Elizabeth".

"Quantitative Easing".

It's the Federal Reserve's policy of buying back U.S. Government debt in the trillions of dollars. The Treasury doesn't have trillions in cash sitting around, but that's OK, the Fed just prints it. They print it electronically, of course, but the effect is the same.

Who owns this debt? Well, one of the biggest owners is the Social Security Administration. During the 1980's and 90's the SSA ran a surplus, to prepare for retiring Baby Boomers. This extra cash was used to buy T-bills, the same T-bills that the Fed is now buying back.

Well, doesn't that mean that Washington is printing money to meet Social Security obligations? And doing it in the trillions of dollars?

Just asking.

Warp Drive

Who would have thought that the Virginia Transportation Dept, of all people, would have a sense of humor?

Orbital Sciences is on that road.

"You didn't produce that film!"

Well, Barack?

Well, Fauxcahontas?

Or are we just going to steal from those who produce things of value?

The Fragrance of Hoppes No. 9

I just finished my first disassemble/reassemble with this new Ruger 22/45 Lite. Bought it last weekend at Green Top Sporting Goods in Glen Allen, VA, just north of Richmond. Definitely worth a trip if you ever get within 100 miles of the place. They started selling guns in 1947 at their filling station (building still exists) and they have a framed bill of sale of a gun from 1947. They also have a framed copy of one of their first 4473s, from 1968 (or '69?).

Green Top is moving next month, just across the street to new quarters. This in spite of the fact that Bass Pro Shops opened one of their superstores just a couple of miles north. So congratulations Green Top!

I stopped in last week to get a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm Compact, and while I was pressing my face against the glass I saw this little beauty. So, since the demise of Virginia's one-handgun-a-month law, multiple purchases are now perfectly legal.

Saturday I was at the local indoor range and put 100 rounds thru both new gats. I have three magazines for the M&P and five for the 22/45. When I have a few more rounds thru 'em I'll number the mags and start issuing demerits.

The Ruger .22 auto-pistols have a nasty reputation for being  difficult to break down and re-assemble.

It's true.

But there are lots of videos on the web to show us how. Ruger has one that is nicely done but rips along at a frantic pace. 

Here's disassembly:

1) check unloaded

2) insert empty mag

3) pull trigger to drop hammer

4) remove mag

5) open latch over mainspring housing

6) pull out mainspring housing

7) slide out bolt

8) remove receiver from frame (tap from plastic mallet)

And reassembly:

1) Insert receiver into frame

2) tap into position

3) insert bolt into receiver

4) insert empty magazine

5) safety off

6) pull trigger and use dowel to push hammer into fully-fired position

7) remove magazine

8) insert mainspring housing into frame and receiver

9) tilt muzzle up (extremely important!)

10) rotate mainspring housing into position - as it closes, slight spring resistance should be felt

11) snap mainspring housing latch closed

12) check for proper functioning

Notice that a third of these steps could be eliminated except for the magazine safety!

Seven-Shot Flintlock Repeater

Neatorama.

Indy 1500, Part Two

Saturday I went to the legendary Indianapolis 1500 gun show with Roberta X and Tam. 

 Huck The Miniature Broadripple Biting Tiger had to stay home; he was not happy.

I was looking for a Sauer 38h, a nice little German pre-war 32-ACP pistol, and I think I got the nicest one at the show. 

And there was even enough left over for an Astra 600 in 9mm Parabellum. With two of their rather eccentric magazines, yet!

So Sunday we were at the Eagle Creek range bright and early. The Astra was tested first. I checked the safety, loaded a full mag (mistake!), pointed downrange and released the slide.

"Budda-Budda-Budda!"

It loosed off three rounds then stopped. With the safety ON.

With Roberta and Tam watching carefully, I loaded a single round into the magazine, checked that the safety was ON and released the slide.

"Bang!"

We tried one more test to catch and examine the ejected casing: it had a nice symmetrical primer strike, and no signs of out-of-battery fire. 

After the blogmeet Roberta disassembled the Astra. She inspected and cleaned the firing pin, spring, and follower. All appeared undamaged and in good order. She reassembled the gun and we used snap-caps with a little "dot" of "shoot'n'see" paper on the base, where the primer would be. We released the slide on this snap-cap and got a firm firing pin impression in the paper. We did it again with the same results.

So it's off to the gunsmith tomorrow.

The Sauer is a model of Teutonic order by comparison and shoots well. The single-action trigger pull feels a little light for my taste. Roberta X remarked on it, too. It feels like only about five pounds or so. But it has a stripped grip screw, so it's going to the garage, too.

Locally Grown Gardens

Indy 1500, Part One

Gun Wall Sconces

Neatorama.

Tick-Tock

Coolest animated gif I've ever seen.

Neatorama.

Another Hot Ride

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When I got on the bicycle it was 104 degrees.
At the end of the ride it was 106.
On the way home, the car's outside temperature reading briefly ticked up to 108 degrees.

I took lots of water, and ice cubes, in a Camelback, plus four frozen water bottles.

Hot Weather Ride

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And not far away:

Meet me at the corner of Browning and Garand.

There really is such a place, at Quantico MCB.

I Put A Spell On You