Bullet Points – August 1
NSSF’s weekly e-newsletter

Down Range: October 2013
In the August 2013 issue, Ray Ordorica compared two full-size 9mm pistols, a surplus CZ 75 (about $350) and a new Tokarev M70A, made in Serbia by Zastava (about $330). The CZ, designed in 1975 and with more than a million having been built, is one of very few DA/SA pistols that can be carried cocked and locked. The CZ is big and stout enough that even the hottest 9mm ammo with the heaviest bullets would hardly kick enough to disturb the composure of the weakest-handed shooter.

Shooters have been involved in lively and often raucous debate about the smoothness of piston guns as compared to the traditional direct impingement. However, they have no difference of opinion that piston guns are way ahead of direct impingement guns in terms of cleanness of shots. So, the main issue of debate between superiority of piston guns over direct impingement guns is about smoothness of the latter when compared with the former.

Many experts have compared these two assemblies from both tactical as well as competition aspects using units manufactured by Adams Arms and are not yet quite sure about what should be the final judgment. However, most of them feel smoothness is an issue that has been well tackled by Adams Arms.

Generally, experts have compared AR-15 accessories, that is, Adams Arms piston uppers in both short lengths and medium lengths and are unanimous that they run almost as smoothly as direct impingement systems. They were already near unanimous that they run cleaner over the direct impingement types. So, these new AR-15 Accessories helped shooters a lot to revise their opinion about this system and it is no mean feat considering the amount of apprehension shooters had before they could lay their hands on this AR-15 accessory.
While shooters have used the mid length uppers from the range of AR 15 Accessories from Adams Arms, they observed that the recoil was markedly less as compared to carbines of AR-15 variety. Moreover, one other facet of Adams Arms piston uppers have made them so dear to shooters and that is, the ease with which these can be taken off the gun just by pressing a switch and a half turning the attachment in anti-clockwise direction. This is surely a welcome relief to shooters who often have to take apart their guns.
The other enduring feature of this Adams Arms Accessory is its unbelievable shooting quality. Even while using a shorter piston the excess gas did not create unwanted heat and it quietly exited out of the muzzle without creating a blast normally associated with such a short piston. This is, once again, a quality that has made it such a hit with shooters who generally dislike the heat and recoil after a bullet leaves the muzzle.

Shooters have used thousands of rounds of ammunition through Adams Arms piton uppers and generally do not have anything much to complain about except, of course, in some stray cases, when after pumping 6,000 rounds of ammunition through Adams Arms mid-length piston, the firing pin became unusable. However, that cannot be linked with the quality of Adams Arms Accessories in any way.

There are also not any noticeable abnormal wear and tear such as tilted carrier or worn out buffer tube as one would except in any other run of the mill accessory. Further, in a welcome relief to shooters, these Adams Arms uppers do not need any regular cleaning and can be used without any tension whatsoever till at least 6,000 rounds are fired.

The red dot sight is generally a military equipment. Very simply put, it is a tiny red dot right at the center of the line of sight, which helps to aim and shoot with significantly greater accuracy. The standard mechanism of a red dot sight is usage of a red light-emitting diode (LED) right in the center of collimating optics. This causes a dot-sized illuminated circle to appear that is aligned with the line of sight of the weapon, and it is parallax free. That means the position of the red dot is independent of the shooter’s eye movements, and hence provide very high shooting accuracy. Nowadays, not only the military and the police use the red dot sight, target-shooting competitors, hunters have started using this technology very widely.

Unlike most scopes, which can magnify targets, the red dot sight doesn’t do that. It is more of making the shot hit its target faster rather than with more precision. The larger the dot is, more the ease people find in shooting with high-speed accuracy.

The general configuration for a red dot scope is a tilted spherical mirror reflector, with a LED positioned at its off-axis. The mirror has partial multi-layered silvering which lets all light wavelengths to pass through except the wavelength for red light, which is reflected. The deep red 670 nm wavelength, is the most preferred. Since they are very bright and is highly contrasted with the general background, especially a green background. The size of the dot can be manipulated by an aperture made of metal or polished glass, kept in front of the LED.

Since the red dot scope’s collimated image is truly parallax-free only at infinity, some rectifications need to be done. Compensation is done by keeping the dot right at the center of the red light scope. Some manufacturer’s go to extent of manipulating the configuration to get the red dot sight to focus at a finite distance, which generally does not exceed 25-50 yards.

Red dot scopes fall into two separate categories, depending on configuration designs. The ‘tube’ design is similar to the well-known telescopic sights, with the entire conformation fitted into a long tube mounted on top of the firearm. The tube configuration makes it possible to add other accuracy enhancing contraptions, for faster shooting. Since, for a reflector sight only requires a single optical surface, tube is not really essential. The other conformation is the ‘open’ design. The design consists of a flat base with a support base for the reflective optics machinery.

Most red dot sights nowadays are paired with brightness control, giving a high contrast dot in bright background. And a corresponding dim dot, so as to prevent loss of night vision in low or zero light conditions.

Hunting using rifles happen to be very much in use even in the modern days because of several reasons. Of all hunting a wild boar is to be done in a proper manner as they have a very good sight and sense of smell and hearing. So choosing a proper rifle scope for hunting is very crucial and few things are to be considered before buying it.

Before hunting
If you are a wildlife lover and like hunting then get the rifle scope which comes with a complete advanced design from a professional hunting store. Also know how to maintain it and check the condition of it before you go on hunting as the improper functioning of it may cause damage to the hunter. Before going to hunting see to the weapon you are carrying with you which will support you during the time.

• A hunter should carry a high caliber rifle when he starts to hunt a wild boar also the load of the gun should match the style of hunting.
• There are a number of advanced models with a number of advantages which can be used when you start hunting.
• Look for the size and weight of the rifle scope along with the magnification. If the animal is spotted at a longer range even you can hunt it using the gun.

Check all the above important features of your gun before you go on hunting.
Get a scope
Choose the hunting scope which increases the accuracy of the shooting weapon. These scopes have a number of typical features and adjustments.

• Eye relief is a main characteristic of a weapon which is the distance that a human eye can be from the scope and the longer the eye relief is the better one to use as the chance of getting injured is less.
• This provides a kind of protection from the gun recoil and the renticles and even assist in aiming the target.
• See that the scope you bought is well maintained and adjusted properly. If you follow simple rules you can enjoy the great performance of the scope along with the accurate shots for a very long time.

The hunter with a good scope equipment can improve the accuracy of hitting the target in the first shot so before buying a hunting scope, see the following tips which may help in getting the best one with which one can enjoy the fun of hunting.

Introduction: If you wish to go about cleaning maintaining your SKS, you should ensure that the weapon is unloaded and placed on the “SAFE” mode. To accomplish this task there is a knob on the right side and toward the rear of the receiver. When you hold the receiver with one hand, you turn this knob and then pull it out as far as it will go. In this way, you will be able to unlock the receiver, and it’ll be easier for you to remove the receiver cover as well as the recoil spring, the bolt and the bolt carrier. Once you have got hold of the bolt, you’re going to need your hammer and a punch. Make use of the punch in order to knock out the firing pin retainer so that you can pull out the firing pin. If you do things in the opposite way, you’ll be putting it back together.

Maintenance: This gun is certainly dirty, ugly and   at the same time strong. In order to maintain this gain, there are people who will tell you to wash it with water or Windex. You should also be aware of another maintenance problem. It is however not a problem but still you should be aware of it. There are many SKS rifles, except the earlier versions of the Russian models which make use of a firing pin which is free-floating. The hammer will hit the firing pin which will in turn hit the primer. You will however not find any spring to push the pin back into place. Rather, when the bolt is ready to push the next round of ammo into the battery, the pin is pushed back into place by that round. The problem with this is that a lot of crud builds up in the channel that holds the firing pin. You must know as to what is pushing that pin back into place after each round is the primer of the next round. So what should one do if that pin gets stuck in the forward position?

Package: When you get the whole package, you will be getting a bayonet, a cleaning rod which will run along the bottom length of the barrel and the little egg which we had mentioned earlier. The good news is that the market has many SKS Stocks and SKS Accessories. You should still be aware that laws are in place which will govern how you upgrade your SKS.

Manufactured by Springfield Armory Inc. in the year 1974, the M1A is more like a civilian version of the M14. The name for the rifle is chosen by the company based on their pattern of the m14 rifle. It has a lot of variants and is pretty different from the original M14.
If you get the rifle from a participating dealer, you can get the M1A Accessories at a decent rate and save considerable amount money which can reach as high as six hundred dollars. You can get the accessories from the market and online as well.
The combo tool for the M1A which is manufactured by Springfield Armory is used to disassemble and clean the rifle. It is a multipurpose tool and fits neatly in all the stocks. Another accessory is Thermold 20 magazine which does not jam like other metal magazines. Since they are made of nylon, they resist heat rust and even dirt. These dent resistant and non corrosive magazines will not have a scratch on them even if you throw or abuse them.

There is another magazine Loader manufactured by the Butler Creek which is quick and can be loaded without giving any sort of pain to the thumb. It can be loaded and unloaded easily without putting any stress on your fingers. There is another magazine built by the Springfield Armory which is similar to the ones which come with the original rifle when they are manufactured. You can get an extra magazine to add the power of the fire of the rifle.

Tritium Nights Sight is another M1A Accessory which is manufactured by AmeriGlo Green and has a green tritium dot and even a parkerized finish in them. They are used by military, citizens and even recreational shooters. The versa Pod is another accessory which is like a rail adapter for the M1A in which a sling loop is attached. It helps the gas residual bleed from the vent of the gas.

Dovetail Mount is a Flat Top mount whose base has integral rings which are attached to the dovetail of the gun with the help of the Screw knobs. Without making any changes the base can be installed and it does not need to be removed for any cleaning. It is attached to the cover with the coyer retaining pin.

Before you plan to buy M1A Accessories, make sure you get it from an authorized dealer and he is not fake or illegal. The charges should be bargained properly as there are people who are there to just fool you.

The myth of ‘modest gun control’

Advocates of ever more restrictive infringements on that which shall not be infringed almost universally refer to the current infringement du jour as a “modest” “gun control” measure.

AR-15 Maintenance

Maintaining your weapon properly is extremely important when it comes to operational safety of said weapon. Military, law enforcement and paramilitary professionals know this well, since a badly maintained weapon can spell the difference between success and failure in a life and death situation.

A clean and well maintained weapon is a reliable weapon. For the AR-15 cleaning there are four basic steps to follow. Read More

SKS stands for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova or Simonov System Self-loading carbine which is designed in 1943. The SKS carbine is known for its qualities that are friendly for inexperienced shooters. It is relatively cheap and easy to handle and its ammunition is also inexpensive. It was offered in two barrel lengths. One in 20” and the other is 16”.

The SKS carbine was produced in different variations across Europe and Asia and these can be categorized into three. The standard fixed magazine SKS carbines, Chinese SKS-D and SKS-M and the Yugoslavian Type 59/66 rifles. Though there are many variations, SKS accessories that are sold in the market are made to fit them. These accessories are sold in firearms shops and even online. SKS accessories are used to customize the features of the rifle.

Gun owners tend to adjust their rifle according to their preferences to cater to their activities such as buying accessories fit for hunting if they are engaged in small-game hunting. Listed below are some of the common accessories that are installed in SKS rifles for the sake of modification.

• Shooters may want to install a scope to their rifle but then, the SKS carbine is not designed for such. As a solution, shooters replace the receiver cover with a mount and put the scope on top. These mounts are available in varying sizes.
• Placed on the mounts are the scopes. There are some scopes that are installed with laser.
• There are also a variety of magazines for SKS. Those that are sold in the market are five rounds, ten rounds, thirty and forty rounds.
• Another accessory SKS rifles are bayonets. Though SKS are already built with either blade or spike bayonets, some prefer to replace the original.
• An essential accessory for an SKS carbine owner is the sling. This is for easier handling purposes.
• Firearms shops also sell SKS maintenance kits. For the gun to last longer in its optimal state, it should regularly be cleaned and checked for any damages in the parts.
• Also for the purposes of maintenance are gun cases. These accommodate the gun and the additional parts that may come with it.
• Some shooters also prefer to buy a pistol grip because SKS rifles’ design does not have a built-in one.
• There are also tactical laser and flashlight combination.
• The original layout of SKS is made of wooden SKS stock. Stocks that are made of different materials such as rubber can also be bought to replace the original one.

These replacements may be deemed necessary for shooters who are more particular with what they use their rifles for, whether they use it more for target shooting or for long-range uses in hunting. The purpose of the rifle will dictate what accessories should be installed and what are not needed. Some may not find the need for a scope while some may need scopes that are built in with lasers. Customization of the SKS carbine relies on its use as well as the aesthetic preferences of the owner.