PTR-91

Well, a PTR-91 has found its way into my bunker. Since I already had about 40 HK91 mags sitting here it seemed silly not to have a gun when the mags are less than $2 ea. (And before anyone points it out, yes Im aware of Tapco’s ’50 for $50′ deal. Im also aware its sold out.)

Will shoot it this weekend against a genuine HK91. The barrel is heavier on the PTR so perhapsthe stry I was toldof it being mroe accurate thatn the HK91 is true. Im more concerned to see if it’ll share the HK91’s reliability.

AR group buy info

I checked out ATF’s various newsletters to check a few things. These days a person can fax a copy of an FFL, rather than snail mail, and that faxed copy can be used as long as its checked against ATF’s ‘ EZCheck website. What this means is that you can have your dealer email a scanned & signed copy of an FFl rather than go through the tedious and laborious process of nagging your FFL into please getting the damn thing in the mail.

I needed to look into this because I really wanted to make this as easy on myself (and you guys) as possible. Obviously, some dealers are in the 21st century and some are not so snailmailing an FFL is fine but emailing one would probably be more efficient.

So…Im going to go ahead and set up the webpage along with a countdown timer. I’ll set March 16th as last day for ordering with the final order to be submited that day. As I said before, it’ll be $102 for a completely stripped lower, or $122 for the same with a letter of non-build to allow completion into a pistol. Shipping will be a flat ten bucks with insurance/confirmation extra. This will include shipping to Alaska and Hawaii as well. Obviously, no orders outside of the US. Any order received w/o an FFL is going to be refunded. I will, however, keep a list of FFLs up that I have received so you can see if one of them is near you. BUT, you’ll have to make sure to okay it with that FFL before anything gets shipped. I dont care when I get the FFL as long as its before the deadline. If you wanna pay for a lower (or three) but youre not going to be able to get the FFL out until you make your biweekly run into the city or something, thats fine….just try to get it in by the deadline. The reason for this is because if I order a lower with your money, and you wind up not being able to get a dealer to take delivery, Im stuck sitting with your lower indefinitely or, worse, having to refund your money and ‘buying’ a lower that I might not want or need (or be able to afford). So order whenever and as often as you like, but if theres no dealer to ship it to by the time the deadline rolls around, youre gonna get a refund. Tip: if ordering more than one, make sure your dealer is very, very clear about if their transfer fee is for each receiver or per order…avoid surprises that way.

I’ll have the page up in the next day or two.

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Last of the Mountain House orders went out today. The replacements for the wrong stuff they sent me arrived yesterday. Everybody should have their stuff by the middle/end of next week.

AR lower group buy possibility?, Sportsmans Guide stuff

Someone asked about a group purchase on stripped AR lowers, specifically Stag Arms lowers. I hadn’t given it any thought but after running the numbers I’d say that if the interest is there, yeah, its possible. However, AR receivers are much different from a buncha FD’s in terms of shipping. Theres that whole FFL thing to deal with. Here’s some ideas about how it would go:

  • Any order would require an FFL before any stripped lowers could be shipped.
  • Buyer pays any fees that their local FFL requires.
  • Shipping would be a flat $10.00 regardless of number of lowers. One or a dozen, its ten bucks.
  • Insurance/delivery confirmation is at your discretion and expense.
  • There’d be a 3% surcharge for PayPal and credit card payments.
  • Price would be $102 ea. Stripped lower.
  • If you wanted a letter stating the receiver had never been used to make a rifle (so you could then make it into a rifle or pistol) it’s an additional $20 per receiver.
  • Buyer is responsible for making sure their local laws allow them to have AR’s.

I think that would cover pretty much everything. If this were to pass it wouldn’t be until the later half of March. That gives everyone time to free up a couple hundred bucks. If theres enough interest, I’ll go ahead and set it up.
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New Sportsmans Guide HQ (military surplus) catalog showed up today. Two things jumped out at me:
BX7M-107904 – 24 pairs of Trigger Finger Mitten liners $24.97
These things are normally used with the large shells but they work great all on their own. At $1.04 per pair you can leave a pair in your car, backpack, at work, and still have plenty to store away. They also work great with just about any pair of large mittens used as outer layers. Good value on these.

BX7M-103629X – 5 New German Military Pant Liners – $14.97
If you’ve got one of the Flectar parkas I’m always pimping then you’ll recognize these pants as being ‘mates’ to the parka liners. Sizes avail. Are limited to XL,2XL,3XL but European XL may translate to an American large. For $3 a set it might be worth trying.

Food, reloading, Stag AR

Of the MHFD’s that arrived the other day, fifteen cases were for me & the girlfriend. (Because, really, al my acquisitions now are for me and her rather than just me). So, she see’s the five foot high stack of boxes in the kitchen and says “You know, I think we’re doing okay for food.” I agreed and said it was probably time to move onto something else. Her reply? “Ammo.” Well, you can never really have enough, can you?

Just got back from CostCo with 2 50# bags of rice to replace the pre-Y2K stash that I’ve finally finished. The girlfriend helped me funnel both bags into a 15 gallon blue barrel and didnt think there was a single thing wierd about the whole thing. Anyone else, their wife or girlfriend would roll their eyes and sigh someting about ‘wierd interests’.
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Ordered up the .38/.357 conversion for the Dillon Super1050 today. .38 Special ammo ( and to some degree, .357 Mag ammo) are dirt cheap to load and quite versatile. Plus, I;ve got about a dozen guns here chambered for them. Most of the .38 ammo will get LSWC or LRN bullets for general use. The rest will get 125 or 110 JHPs. The .357 ammo will mostly get 125 and 158 JHPs and some will get heavier bullets designed more for penetration than anything else. Quantity desired? 5,000. One evening with the 1050 will be all it takes.
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Got the dealer package for Stag Arms today. Their lowers are cheap, cheap, cheap and more interestigly, you can pay an extra $20 and get a letter from the factory stating the lower you have was never built into a rifle. This leaves you open to build it into an AR pistol if youre so inclined. If we get another assault weapons ban those ‘pistoled’ receivers would probably be worth more, IMHO, since you vould hten build them into rifles or pistols.

MH arrival

MH stuff has arrived. If youre local, c’mon down Sunday between noon and 5, or during the week during the same time.

Everything arrived EXCEPT they sent Jamaican Style Chicken w/ Rice insted of Mexican Style Chicken w/ Rice. Theyre sending the correct stuff but if you had the Mex rice in your order its gonna take a few more days. The Mex rice in the ProPak, however, did show up.

Kifaru, MH, Guliani

Yummy.

Got my Kifaru E&E bag today. I like it alot. Very heavy duty, modular in ways that leave all sorts of possibilities open and fairly well designed. What I really want is a Marauder backpack (in olive drab if anyone is in a generous mood). I like what Ive seen so far in terms of materials and, more importantly, design. Just wish the stuff wasnt so bloody expensive.

The girlfriend has opined (which, not coincidentally, rhymes with whined) that I already have a fairly decent collection of backpacks sitting around here. Like handguns, sex toys and kitchen knives there is no one pack that ‘does it all’. Thus, I will collect as many of the bloody things as I want.
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Toady is Monday. MH supposedly shipped last Friday. I’m guessing it could be here Thursday, but more likely Friday. Believe me, you’ll hear about it here as soon as it gets here.
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Looks like Rudy Guliani is throwing his hat in the ring. I’d expect he’d get the GOP nomination. However, although he’s a better choice than Clinton dont think for a minute that he’s a friend to your rights, guns or otherwise. Remember how they used to say Musolini made the trains run on time? Rudy reduced crime in NYC but read about the cost…the guy was more than happy to wink and nod when it came to cops playing it fast and loose. I’m telling you, kids…..buy ’em cheap and stack ’em deep.
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Map gimmick,Kifaru, food saturation?,Fun with Mormons

This amuses me. Lets see if it works:

Visitor Map
Create your own visitor map!
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Ordered a goodie from Kifaru last week. Will give a review of it when it arrives. I wish I had the money for one of their Marauder packs but in the meantime there is no shortage of other goodies to play with. I ran itno a guy at Sporsmans Warehouse with one of the Marauder packs and he was nice enough to let me examine it. I was pretty impressed but at almost $300 it oughtta be a good pack for that kinda coin.
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After running calculation on food storage in terms of FD & MRE’s & the various canned stuff & the dry goods in storage, etc, etc, etc. I may actually have hit the ‘Continue stockpiling but at a relaxed pace’ mark. If thats the case then I get to focus on a different aspect of being prepared. I do need to go down to the bunker and inventory things so I know exactly whats there in terms of food. Off the top of my head I know its pretty good but Id like some more precise numbers.
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Remember a few months back I mentioned that the local ham radio group was approached by some Mormons wanting to get in on the bandwagon to set up their own radio network? Apparently its come to fruition complete with a class of about 50, 2-metter HT’s provided to each household by the church and base unit equipment for the local Bishops Storehouse. Tellin’ ya, these guys have their poop in a group. Almost enough to make me wanna convert just for the networking…but, then theyd expect me to tithe..and go to church…and believe…and eat Jell-o. Too bad there isnt some sort of ‘supporting membership’ or something. Or, at least, maybe an armband or something so after the apocalypse they’ll no I mean them no harm.

By the by, author Dean Ing wrote a series of books about the US after a nuclear war where the Mormons, by virture of their being prepared, were able to pick up the pieces and wind up turing the US into a theocratic Mormon state. (“Wild Country”, “Systemic Shock”, and “Single Combat”)