Les Jones

Guns > Gun Links #30

AK-Pattern Rifles

EAA is no longer importing Baikals or Saigas. The (non-AK Baikal guns will be imported by Remington under the Spartan by Remington brand, and EAA suggests the prices will be higher. There's apparently no distributor for the AK-based Saigas at the moment.

SayUncle passes along this link to a deal on a WASR (Romanian AK) with accessories from AIM Surplus. I was curious how they managed to import AKs using 30 round mags. (The Saigas use proprietary 10 round mags, and don't accept standard AK mags.)

Apparently the guns don't accept AK mags when imported, but are modified after the fact. Instructions for converting WASR to accept AK magazines. Rec.guns threads here and here. My one comment on seeing WASRs in person at a local gunstore: if that's the best wood they could scrounge for the stocks, it'll be a cold day in hell before you can convince me that Marxism is better for the environment than democratic capitalism.

For more info on AK rifles, see The AK Files and GunsNet.net.

I'll give you three guesses about that funny-looking gun to the right. It's:
A) A surplus rifle from Bakwardistan.
B) An AK made to be California-legal
C) An entry in SomethingAwful's Worst Weapons in History Photoshop contest, which is high-larious.

Right to Keep and Bear Arms

"You living in CA is a big problem. Basically, if you think a gun would be fun, you're not allowed to have it."
- Third_Rail on The High Road

SayUncle is trying to decide whether the winds are shifting towards gun owners or gun controllers. Based on the expiration of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and the increasing number of states with shall-issue carry permits, my take is that things are very definitely going in favor of gun owners. And at this point, there are no forceful advocates of gun control outside of California, Massachusetts, and New York, the un-free state projects.

Smallest Minority explains (with pictures!) why ballistic fingerprinting doesn't work.

Neal Knox, past vice-president of the NRA and a champion of the second amendment has passed away after a battle with cancer.

Jeff Soyer has the latest check on the bias.

LATE-BREAKING NEWS: Michael Moore's bodyguard has been arrested for carrying a gun in New York. "If guns are outlawed, only rich celebrities' bodyguards will have guns." Confederate Yankee has more on anti-gun politicians and celebrities who hire armed guards

Revolvers: New Smith &Wessons

ZeroForum has pictures of the 2005 Smith &Wessons.

The K frame .357 Smiths are all gone. The few remaining models (the 65 and 66) are going to be built on the slightly beefier L frame, using a semi-lug barrel instead of the full-lug typical of L frames. And names? L frames usually begin with a "6" which would mean the new models would be the 665 and 666. Wicked! Then again the 66 is a stainless 19, so S&W might go with the 619 moniker.

The 5" J frame model 60 is interesting, even if the long-lug barrel is slightly funky. Lots of people are excited about it as a lightweight, accurate hiking gun. Tamara tells me some people with small hands will like it because the J frame has the smallest grip size of any S&W, and this gives them an option in a long-barreled gun.

Tamara showed me something about the 2005 Smiths the other day. The shape of the area around the hammer has changed. It's less dished out, and shows less of the hammer. I can't say I like the look of it. S&W keeps coming out with new models that are interesting and sometimes functionally superior to anything that's come before, but for aesthetics the older models are generally the way to go. One nice thing about Smiths is that you can choose the guns you like from different eras.

There's more at the link. And for Ruger fans, next week I'll have lots of love for Ruger revolvers old and new.

Gun Pic of the Week: Smith &Wesson Model 63

Posted by lesjones