Tag Archives: guns
Watergun: parts arrival
As best I can tell, the missing parts to get the gun ‘shootable’ were a sear, sear pin, and firing pin retaining plate. In other words, these:
I am not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination…thats one of the reasons I shoot Glocks – you don’t ‘smith them, you just swap parts. At this point it looks like nothing needs fitting, which is good. But..the proof is in the function. We’ll get to that later. Alright…lets grab a punch, YouTube some disassembly/assembly videos, and get crackin’.
And once thats done…lets hand-cycle it, check the safety and trigger, and just generally play with it. It may look like the slide is a bit stiff but whats actually happening is that I’m trying to rack the slide without moving the gun or my hands out of the frame. Think its easy? Try it sometime.
Yeah, that rear sight is flopping around like Obama on a foreign policy question….but that’s a low priority at the moment. Next step is to take it to the range, tie it down, put a string to the trigger, and shoot the bloody thing.
And the sharp eyed viewer will notice that someone took the magazine safety out. Well, not really….it appears someone welded it to the trigger to deactivate it. :::SMH::: Whatever. Shooting this weekend. Hopefully the slide won’t go sailing through my brainpan.
For those keeping track:
Assuming everything works, and nothing cracks/breaks/explodes/flies off, I’ll send it down the valley for a coating of some kind and then, as the years go by, slowly start replacing parts with premium parts. Kinda make a sweet custom gun with a crappy, but interesting, finish. I’m pleased with how quickly this is coming together. :::Knocksonwood:::
Watergun update
Needs sear, sear pin, firing pin retaining plate, grips screw, rear sight spring, rear sight elevation screw.
That looks like about it. However, that does not mean some of the extant parts shouldn’t be replaced. The ejector should probably get replaced, and I should play it safe and replace all springs. Let’s see if we can just get the bloody thing assembled first. Interestingly, I can buy entire complete top ends for this thing for about $200 and just use the frame. But…I rather like the Been There Done That look.
So far I’ve got the plate, sear, and sear pin on the way for about $67 total so far.
In the meantime, the recoil assembly works, the magazine release works, the slide stop works, and the mainspring/hammer assembly work. Still looks like The Last Browning Out Of Pompeii though.
Codename: Watergun
A friend came by today to show me something interesting and slightly upsetting:
Ooohhh, thats not right! Nooo…..
It’s a Belgian P35 (or ‘Hipower’ to you), circa 1971, that was retrieved from the waters of Lake Michigan. The lake it is said, never gives up her dead….but guns are a totally different matter. Anyway..it’s mine now.
Condition is about what you’d expect but…the internal surfaces are surprisingly good. Barrel isn’t bad, and the deep pitting is mostly on non-critical surfaces. I think…I might try getting the missing the parts and getting this thing up and running. (And shooting it from a tire with a long string.)
First thing I need to do is make up a spreadhseet of all the parts necessary to make a P35 and then see what I have and what I’m going to have to find. Once thats done, if it proves safe to shoot, I’ll send it off and cerakote the holy crap out of it.
The story, I am told fourth-hand, is that this gun and the mags came out of a diving episode in Lake Michigan a few years ago. The gun ‘had the rust removed’ which, judging by the lack of wire brush marks and the thoroughness, must have been done using electrolysis. The gun was disassembled, apparently, for the process and some parts are clearly missing. I managed to put the recoil assembly together, get it into the slide and , after applying a tablespoon of CLP to the whole mess, got it sliding on to the frame, and then it seemed to cycle by hand just fine. Promising.
It also came with three what-used-to-be magazines. Now, thats a bit odd. See, if someone dropped this thing over the side off the boat doesn’t it seem a bit odd that there’s two spare magazines that fell over with it and made it all the way to the bottom lying next to it? Way I see it, the mags come with the gun for only two reasons: they were all in the same backpack/duffel when it was lost/tossed over the side or it was all on the same Sam Browne of whatever poor schmuck decided to breathe water. The mags will, I think, with new springs and some beadblast be just fine.
So….interesting project that I anticipate will take a year or two to wrap up since I’m going to try and do this with used parts inexpensively sourced off GunBroker and eBay. If it works out, it’ll be a gun with a great story.
Ruger PC9…the original
Where there’s a will (and poor impulse control) there’s a way.
I’ve been wanting an original Ruger PC9 for several years now. They discontinued them a few years back and the prices skyrocketed. It was getting to the point that all the ones I found on GunBroker were traveling at an altitude of about $800-1000. This is simply stupid money for a carbine that virtually no one bought when it first came out, is simple blowback, and takes a proprietary magazine for a gun that is most commonly found in gun buyback bins and evidence lockers.
But..I wanted one.
I figured that with the reintroduction of the greatly evolved version of the PC9 the prices for the original ones might go down. It appears they have. This particular carbine, with one soon-to-be-thrown-away USA Brand magazine, was $500. Now, for $75 less I could have bought a brand new Ruger PC9 takedown that takes Glock magazines. So..why this original one? Well, mostly because I’ve a dozen P-series 9mm’s tucked away in the safe and I want a carbine to go with them. I think that two pistols, the carbine, half a case of ammo, a dozen magazines, a couple holsters, a cleaning kit, and some other support gear will fit nicely in a Pelican case to tuck away somewhere for that (very) rainy day.
I still very much plan on getting the new PC9 takedown carbines, especially since they use Glock mags and would therefore make an excellent companion to my Glock pistols. But getting the original carbine was on my list and the opportunity finally came together.
It is interesting to note that despite the small size of the carbine, it is deceptively heavy. Not surprising since it is, basically, just a modern version of the Winchester Model 1907….with a rather large counterweight housed in the forend of the gun. In fact, looking at exploded diagrams between the two, it’s hard not to think someone at Ruger might have played with the 1907 and thought “Time for a reboot”.
By the way, for you youngun’s out there, Marlin also had their hat in the ring with a pistol-mag-compatible carbine…the Camp 9 and Camp 45. The former took S&W mags and the latter took 1911 mags. One guess which model commands big bucks today. They were great guns, with Old-Marlin quality, but had a slight design flaw where, once the plastic buffer at the back of the stock ate itself from use, the reciprocation of the bolt beat the stock to pieces. (Aftermarket buffers are available.) After replacing a ton of stocks under warranty, and with the Assault Weapons ban coming in, Marlin dropped both guns. The 9mm turn up far more frequently than the .45 ACP….people hold onto those things with both hands.
As long as we’re flogging this particular deceased equine, I’ll also point that in the last twenty years we’ve had a handful of other pistol-caliber carbines that took popular(ish) handgun mags…incudingbut not limited to: KelTec, JR Carbine, HiPoint, Spanish ‘Destroyer’, Beretta, a handful of AR-ish 9mms that took Glock mags, and a host of pistol-to-carbine conversions.
But…while some of those are better than the Ruger, none of them take the same magazine as the Ruger…and that’s the bell I was trying to ring.
So that happened…..
Reposting “‘Trust me’ Is Not Enough”
So after the Trump election we all saw the gun/ammo markets come up with new equilibrium pricing on AR’s and the like. Why? Because people believed that they had dodged a gun-control bullet with Trump. And now? Well, past history has shown us that you take Trump seriously, not literally. (Whereas the Democrats took him literally, not seriously.)
I posted this about Trump’s unproven record on gun control and I believe that it is rather timely now. The fact remains, you don’t know that he won’t enact some sort of Feinstein-esque agenda. With Hillary it was a certainty, with Trump it’s an unknown. And that unknown is why you’re not out of the woods, gun control-wise, in regards to a Trump presidency.
Warm fuzzies
Hmmm….I wonder what this could possibly be…..
Range time
There is not a single thing that is, pricewise, cheap about HK products. Even the clones are spendy. And the accessories as well.
Which is why I should not have been surprised to find that the PTR I picked up shot about 6″ to the left and 18″ low at 50 yards. Why? Because unless you’re willing to spend about $80 for a genuine HK tool, or $45 for a knockoff, your ability to zero your rifle is rather limited. (Yes, you can use snap ring pliers but the marks it leaves on that sight drum ain’t pretty.)
Fortunately, being an evil yuppie survivalist, I actually have an HK sight tool and was able to zero the gun properly. But I did learn something I did not know. The sight drum has three aperatures and a v-notch. The idea is that the v-notch is your quick acquisition sight, and the subsequent “2”, “3”, and “4” aperatures are for 200, 300 and 400 yards respectively. Ok, fine. What I did not know is that the v-notch is not a 100 yard sight. I just assumed it was. As it turns out, from what I read, the V-notch and the “2” aperature are the same elevation. Didn’t know that.
I’ve posted it before, but here’s one of the best instructions on sighting in your G3-type rifle.
Years ago, Cheaper Than Dirt (home of the $99 Pmag) had a sale on surplus G3 furniture kits…stock, forend, and pistol grip….for ten bucks. I bought a bunch of them and since I have so many spares, I could afford to whip out the Krylon and DIY some winter white.
Might send this gun out to be dipped or coated in a winter camo pattern.
Yup..thats the ancient WGerman snow camo. I desperately want the new Danish or Finnish snow camo but its a colossal pain in the ass to find that stuff here. I may have to make friends with someone overseas, figure out the Byzantine metric clothing size system, and ask them to hit the surplus stores for me. Didn’t wear the matching pants to the range because..well..I figured I was already looking a little tinfoil-y with the color-coordinated rifle and outerwear. Which reminds me…anyone know a vendor for white 3-point rifle slings? I suppose I could order up some white webbing and fab up my own, but……..
…but then I’d have to live with myself……..
Scene: Local gun shop
Him: Hey, we’re getting a buncha used guns in later
Me: Awesome. Lemme know when they arrive.
:::Hour later:::
I show up an start sifting through the stack. He says theres a Ruger 556 in there. I find an AR-pattern rifle, but its the Ruger 762. Ok, he mixed up the Ruger 556 for the 762, I can see that.
Me: Hmmm…..What’ll you take for the PTR-91 and the Ruger 556?
Him: :::mentions price::::
Me: Hmmm…I’ll give you $1500 for the pair.
Him: Sold!
And I trundle off with my loot. An hour or two later, I’m thinking “Man, those SR-762’s are kinda pricey. Lemme look up the price on those.” So I did. And, apparently, a new one goes for around $1500 :::sigh::: I know what happened. I drive back.
Me: Hey, that list of guns that came in. It had prices with it right?
Him: Yup.
Me: Read me the serial number off the list for that Ruger you sold me.
Him: :::reads wrong serial number:::
Me: And the model number?
Him: ::: reads off wrong model number :::
Me: And the caliber?
Him: :::reads of wrong caliber:::
Me: I think you sold me the wrong gun. Let me see your bound book.
Sure enough. There was a Hawkeye in .223 on the list and and somehow the SR-762 got mixed up as that gun.*
Me: Dude, I really hate saying this, but you sold me this gun way too cheap.
And we figured it out. It was a bit of a headache to clean up, paperwork-wise… The Hawkeye, that never left the building, had been entered as sold to me. So, rather than correct it we just logged it back in as received from me. Easy enough. But…man, a $1500 rifle for half the price woulda been nice.
But….I like the people there and I’d never be able to show my face in there again if they called me and said “We made a mistake” and I said “Too bad.” So…yeah. Mensch.
* = Here’s what happened. I asked if he had any Rugers. He said “I have a 556” which I took to mean he had a Ruger 556. So I grabbed the first AR-15’ish gun I saw with a Ruger logo and it was the SR-762. I figured “He’s not really a gun guy. He thought it was the 556 model because it looks like an AR, he doesnt know the difference between the 556 and the 762 models”. But what actually happened was that he MEANT “I have a 5.56 caliber rifle in the Hawkeye.” A very interesting miscommunication.
