Year: 2025

Categories
1911 9mm

I’ve Really Been Curious About Taurus 1911s

Initially, I was avoiding Taurus 1911s, as I considered them to be not much better than Girsan 1911s (next level from disposable). That is based on watching reviews and seeing folks that owned them share not-so-good experiences with Taurus 1911s.

I’m really curious though, because there have been more than a few guns that I bought that had similar stories, yet turned out to be free of problems – the Bersa Thunder, for example, or the Springfield Armory XD.

I think I’m going to buy two of them this coming spring. I don’t have a 5″ 9mm 1911, nor do I have an Officer-sized 1911. I can buy both for under $900 if I buy Tauruses. Or, I can buy one next year and one the year after that (because I still want a 2011 and a Kuna next year, too).

The Taurus 1911s have some features that you don’t normally see with guns under $1500. When was the last time you saw a $400 1911 that has checkering on the front strap? The last gun I saw that was under $1000 that had front checkering was a Tisas 10mm 1911, and that was priced at $800. Magnum Research and Bul Armory has them but those are usually $1000. Many $1000+ 1911s do not have front strap checkering.

Taurus 1911s are not all that pretty, either, but I’ve a few 1911s that are parkerized and look to be chiseled. I just need it to work – I’m not really looking for a sub-$400 masterpiece (those don’t exist).

I also do not have any Series-80 1911s. All Taurus 1911s are Series-80. The most voiced complaint of Taurus 1911s is that they’ve bad triggers – bad as in heavy and/or mushy. Part of those issues are almost certainly attributed to the guns being Series-80 1911s. The firing pin safety makes the gun drop-safe, which greatly benefits folks who will carry the firearm. The con is that the safety mechanism will make the trigger less crisp. The trigger will be less crisp than a 1911 that doesn’t have a firing pin safety, but still better than most striker-fired triggers.

For some reason, Taurus’ Officer-sized 9mm 1911 is $100 more than the Taurus 4.25″ and 5″ variants – I’m not sure why. I also don’t have any Officer mags, but I’m sure I can find some good quality ones that aren’t expensive.

I do wish they sold them with rails and also wish they had optics-ready versions. Then again, optics-ready will raise the price.

What I’ll do is watch as many Taurus 1911 videos as possible, focusing on both the 5″ and 3.5″ 9mm variants.

I guess it’s time to study up!

Categories
.223 5.56 Ruger Springfield Armory

I’ve Been Conducting Research on the Ruger Mini-14

I’m trying to refine the list of guns that I’m considering purchasing in 2026.

I’m currently considering the Springfield Armory Kuna. Also on my list is either a Springfield Armory Prodigy 5″ Comp or a Ruger Mini-14.

I immediately focused on the Mini-14 Tactical 5.56 Stainless. That gun looks nice! It’s the gun that Hannibal uses in the A-Team TV series of the 1980s.

Although I love the looks of the gun, it does look somewhat gaudy. Sadly, Ruger doesn’t sell a blued version of this gun with the folding stock, and if I’m going to get the Mini-14, I want a folding stock. I did look to see if they sell blued stocks separately – they do, but they’ve been out of stock for a long while. The folding stocks are also far from cheap, at $300+.

There are blued folding stocks being sold by 3rd parties, so that’s an option (prices are similar to Ruger’s pricing, though). For example, Samson Manufacturing has a blued version of the folding stock for $347 – the stainless one is $320. If I buy a blued non-folding stock version, I can find them for approximately $980. That’s $1300 for both, which is around the same price as a folding stock stainless Mini-14, which is good, because I can customize a blued Mini-14 for the same price as an upper-class stainless Mini-14.

Also, the magazines are $45 each! I do not think aftermarket mags are an option, because research tells me that anything other than Ruger-sourced magazines will cause malfunctions. It appears that Ruger mags are pretty much mandatory.

One thing I’m wary of is accuracy. Lucky Gunner stated and showed that his Mini-14 is isn’t really accurate. He said that the gun has a habit of throwing flyers at range. That’s something I do not want to deal with, and that’s a serious downer. All of my guns have to be accurate. I’d hate to spend the money (they aren’t exactly cheap) on a Mini-14 only to have accuracy issues.

This post is just me thinking out loud. I also wanted to share my thoughts in case others are considering the Mini-14.

UPDATE (11/2/2025): I checked themagshack.com and saw factory 20-rnd mags for $29 (and 30 round mags for $39).

Categories
2A politics

Why Is There A Push for Exclusion of Certain Groups From 2A Protections?

A few weeks ago, there was a government effort to strip trans folks as mentally unstable, mainly to highlight that they shouldn’t own guns.

That is horrible. As well, it is scary, as there are a large number of people who actually condone such a thing.

WTF does being gay or trans have to do with owning firearms?

I am not trans or gay, nor do I support the movement. I don’t attend LGBT events, nor do I fly rainbow colors. I can be non-supportive of a lifestlye and still not want to infringe on the rights of those groups. That means that I believe that LGBT folks should own guns if that’s their option, knowing I don’t support the movement.

It’s really quite simple: if an argument can be made for LGBT people to NOT have certain rights, a similar argument can be made for blacks (I am Black American). The same argument can be made against Jews, or Hispanics, or other groups of people. We need to all stand together or we’re all going to be trodden upon.

Some folks (the general gun owning populace) believe what I said up above is double talk. I’ve no idea why. It’s plain-speak. You shouldn’t have to have certain beliefs to own guns. You shouldn’t have to be Conservative to own guns. 2A says nothing about how you should believe to exercise that right (no Amendment is modeled in that fashion).

Many folks believe that trans folks have mental deficiences, because the belief that you’re a different sex than what is biologically assigned is typically conscrued as a mental illness to many folks. The human condition is super complicated. Complicated issues should not be allowed to be explained away as mental deficiencies, especially if it affects a person’s rights.

I’m not saying every white and Conservative gun owner thinks in such a fashion – I’m generalizing, but there’s this overt notion in the gun community that gun owners should all think/act/feel as Conservatives (group think). That’s bullshit.

There are Leftist gun owners. I complain about anti-gunners and typically link them to Leftism (it’s actually not all that difficult to link the two). Anti-gunners, while they think the way they do, aren’t excluded from 2A. Leftists aren’t, either. No group is excluded in modern society, although there are several times in history where certain groups were not allowed to vote, for example. Blacks weren’t allowed to vote or own guns (Jim Crowe laws were specifically designed to impede the rights of Black gun owners).

If this mentality can be pushed to limit LGBT folks, it can be done to any group that doesn’t fit a certain mold.

We gun owners bitch and complain all the time about infringements (and rightly so), but why the hell are we being hypocritical about LGBT? Not every trans person is certified as mentally deficient. I’m all for infringing on the rights of folks that have broken laws that deem certain actions as criminal or felonious. Being trans alone isn’t criminal or felonious, just as being an immigrant isn’t a bad thing.

This type of thinking is why there are more than a few red states/localities that are flipping to purple or blue.

I don’t believe in penalizing a group due to them not having Conservative values. Why? Because I’m not a Conservative and I’m not White. There are some things that I believe in that are blue. There are some things that I believe in that are not red but not blue either. I also am not a single issue voter. I don’t just adopt one party’s position for the sake of supporting that party. I don’t blindly support one side or the other. Life isn’t that simple.

It’s sad that the gun community is allowing such hypocrisy.

No group of US citizen should every be excluded from excercising their rights. In fact, if you live here as an immigrant, you should have the same

Categories
1911 2011 9mm Fusion Firearms handgun XP Pro

The Fusion Firearms XP Pro Has Finally Surpassed 1000 Rounds!

We’re currently at 1011 rounds, all FMJ.

There have been no failures to feed or extract. Hell, I don’t remember the last time the gun was cleaned or lubed, but it’s doing fine, so far!

The gun is supremely controllable. I was able to do some really nice double taps tonight, without scattering rounds on paper. I’ve looked at the video footage and I’m able to easily control recoil, shoot quickly, and also simultaneously shoot accurately.

We actually shot 217 rouds tonight, which is a lot of ammo for me in one range session, especially out of one gun. The gun was actually pretty hot after maybe 20 minutes of shooting (because I wasn’t giving it a break).

So, what next? I’ll be working on a 1000 round review of this gun. I’ll give myself two weeks to create a script and record footage, as well as hunt for lots of B roll footage. If I struggle, it’ll take longer, but I want this done well since I’ve noticed that a lot of my visitors have been gravitating toward my XP Pro blog posts and XP Pro videos.

I’ll post the resulting review on both Rumble and YouTube, but I’m wanting to give up on Rumble. That platform just doesn’t get the a lot of traffic/views. I want to stay away from YouTube but Rumble is NOT a good replacement. I was trying to make an effort to use Rumble but every time I look at my channel stats, I get discouraged. I suppose whenever I post to YouTube, I can also post to Rumble and hope that my Rumble channel gains some views.

UPDATE – the 1000 round review video was published during the weekend of 10/18/2025.

For those of you that prefer YouTube:

For those of you that prefer Rumble:

Categories
1911 2011 9mm Fusion Firearms XP Pro

Have A Look At This!

This range session was the Sunday before Labor Day 2025.

This was at 10 yards, shooting at a 1″ orange dot, at a semi-rapid pace while still trying to be as accurate as possible.

I think this is the tightest grouping I’ve ever shot quickly at 10 yards. It’s tight enough to where you can pick any of 5 and they’ll be close to one another. Most of those are stacked on top of each other. I’m becoming super familiar with the gun – there’s not all that much recoiling in the footage, I’ve been working on my grip discipline, and I’ve been experimenting with trigger finger placement and trigger pull. As well, due to the minute recoil, and new grip texturing, I’m able to get quick and accurate follow-on shots.

Categories
1911 2011 9mm double-stack double-stacked Fusion Firearms XP Pro

I’m Still Evaluating the XP Pro, But Here Are A Few Video Snippets!

I’m just under 700 rounds through it. At the 1000-round mark, I’ll collect my thoughts and conduct a 1000-round assessment.

Categories
1911 2011 Fusion Firearms XP Pro

Extra Parts For the Fusion XP Pro Are Inbound!

I frequently monitor the Fusion Firearms pages to see if new parts are being stocked.

When checking earlier in the week, I saw that Fusion Firearms had a single sided thumb safety in stock. Sadly, they had none in hard chrome, so I bought the tennifer (black) one. If I find I don’t like the black one, I’ll buy the hard chrome one when it comes back in stock.

Note that this part is $50.

As well, they’ve a new grip module. It’s aluminum and it’s called the Prickle Dot V1. It’s not cheap, at $250. In looking at the pictures and comparing the pictures to my gun’s grip, I feel that FF could’ve done better. They made the side texturing more aggressive, but didn’t put that same texturing on the front or back strap. This is a common thing with gun manufacturers. They always overlook the front and back strap texturing or make it odd (the trend is that they tend to add vertical strips instead of horizontal – horizontal will be better for gripping). I decided to pass on buying the Prickle Dot grip.

Since I passed on buying the new grip module, I went ahead and bought the HandleIt grip enhancement tape for my current grip module. I’d rather not have to tape up the grip, but I want better texturing. While the grip isn’t slippery when I shoot it, if my hands ever get sweaty or dirty, that grip will surely be a challenge to control.

I ordered on 8/12/2025. The parts are on their way but will not arrive until 8/18/2025 (this coming Monday). This weekend, I’ll probably take apart the gun so that it’ll be ready for me to install the thumb safety.

I’m still considering buying the ported barrel but I really think that they missed the mark on that one…the ports are small and more along the sides of the barrel, not the top.

UPDATE (8/19/2025): Below are pictures of the upgrades…

HandleIt Grips, single sided thumb safety, no magwell
HandleIt Grips, single sided thumb safety, no magwell
Single sided thumb safety, no magwell
Single sided thumb safety, no magwell
Categories
AK-P Palmetto State Armory PSA range visit

I Wanted to Pop Off Some 7.62×39-Sized Freedom Seeds!

I visited the range last night and zeroed the PSA AK-P.

I reattached a red dot optic to it. I also moved it rearward, as I noticed that I could co-witness the irons when it was moved back a bit. This optic is the Sig Romeo5.

I also reattached the CNC Warrior 4pc flash hider.

Additionally, for this range visit, I paid for a private range so that I could have some privacy and so that I could have a bit more elbow room. Because of this, I ended up with some really good video footage.

I ended up spending most of the one-hour session zeroing the optic.

While I didn’t show the resulting target, I was impressed, as I shot 30 rounds from 25 yards, standing and unsupported, and the impacts were all within the target outline. All rounds landed on the black target. All but 2 landed in the 9 and 10 ring. All but 9 landed in the 10 ring. Some of the shots were slow double-taps, too.

As well, the footage captures how efficient the flash hider is. There’s flash, but it’s nothing like the flash of the OEM brake booster. In fact, I didn’t see flame or flash with my naked eye at all and was surprised when I saw some flame within the video footage.

My shoulder took a beating, though, as this gun is a pistol and the brace doesn’t agree with me.

I’m currently at 460 rounds through the AK-P.

I’m thinking of converting from the wood furniture to Magpul furniture (maybe plum coloring), as the wood stock gets super hot (which is why I typically grip the mag and magwell on AKs).

I really enjoyed this range session!

Categories
AK-P AK-V CNC Warrior Palmetto State Armory Prodigy DS PSA Springfield Armory

I’ve Revisited the PSA AK-V and AK-P

Last week, I decided to take the PSA AK-P to the range, as I’ve plenty of 7.62 x 39 ammo.

I shot 30 rounds before I quit (LOL)…the gun is loud AF! Even with the 4-pc flash hider installed, it is still loud. Yeah, it’s a flash hider, but it’s also redirecting the bang down range.

As well, the flash hider was generating sparks that I thought would be an issue, and I was waiting for the RSOs to say something. When I got home I looked at the footage and didn’t see the sparks in the footage. I also checked the flash hider to see if there were strikes within it’s internals – I didn’t see any damage.

I researched and saw that this is sometimes common and also saw video footage where many hiders/brakes generated sparks. This is probably a normal thing.

Also, after taking a shower, I was applying deodorant and and was surprised to have a bit of pain near my armpit. I looked in the mirror and there was a large bruise where I’d placed the brace of the AK-P. I may need to change the brace to something less damaging, but it could be the flash hider that’s making the pistol shoot more harshly (the hider also generate more recoil and back pressure).

A few days later, I was going to take the AK-P to the range again, but kept shuddering when thinking about shooting that gun indoors, so I switched to the AK-V.

I loaded up 4 mags of 9mm (those mags hold 35 rounds, so that was 140 rounds of Blazer 124-gr FMJ) and headed to the range.

I had fun!

I ended up having to zero the optic that was mounted on the AK-V. I thought I’d zeroed it a long time ago, but the zero was WAY off – at 25 yards, I was at the top of the man-sized target and many rounds were off-paper. The optic is a Vortex Sparc II red dot.

I zeroed at 10 yards (as I do my handguns) using the range’s bench rest and then, once I had a good zero, tested it at 25 yards. I was still shooting high, but was on the man-sized silhouette and only 2-3″ higher than where I was aiming. I may revisit the zeroing and do it at 25 yards instead – this means I’ll have to remember to aim a bit high when shooting at around 10 yards. I tested at 12 yards and was satisfied with the zero.

The 140 rounds disappeared quickly, as I expected. The only thing I don’t like about the AK-V is that the ammo goes quickly. I was shooting semi-rapidly and practiced quick pairs of rounds.

I’m at 710 rounds through the gun now. I like this gun so much, it got me thinking of purchasing the PSA Jakl (MP5-like 9mm blow-back PCC), especially since it uses AK-V mags, and I’ve maybe 10 of those. But the Jakl is like $1000 and I already have a $1000 blow-back PCC (the AK-V). If I’m going to get another PCC, it’ll be the Springfield Armory Kuna in 9mm – and the mags for that gun are cheap, at approximately $25 each. Plus, the Kuna is the same price as the Jakl, and has a better internal (roller-delayed) system.

As with most range visits, I also shoot my carry gun, so I shot two mags through the Prodigy DS Compact, which isn’t a huge deal, but I spent time zeroing the gun again, as I had problems with the optic (Viridian RFX45 closed emitter green dot) the last visit. In fact, I’d forgotten that I’d removed the optic to work on the adapter plate (doing this messed up my zero, which is what caused all my issues the last range visit). As well, the optic was loose, too. I re-tightened it, and then quickly got it zero’d again…was super easy and quick, especially with the bench rest. I had it surpremely zeroed within 15 rounds and then validated the zero at 15 yards. It was good. I’ve 300+ rounds through the gun with that optic now. The optic hasn’t died and is playing nice with the Prodigy DS.

The adapter plate that I’m using with the optic and Prodigy is the Springfield Armory Aimpoint Acro plate. When installing the optic, the optic is loose enough that it rattles. I’m not sure if it’s the optic that’s the issue or the plate. I used two layers of electrical tape on the adapter plate and then mounted the optic – the optic is now snug on the gun. It’s definitely wierd that I have to do that and I can’t place full blame (yet) on either part.

The optic is blocky and big but carries (and conceals) well. This is more of an experiment than anything else, but since I’m having no issues, I’ll continue to use it on the Prodigy DS Compact.

The DS Compact now has 1226 rounds through it.

Life is good!

Categories
1911 2011 9mm Prodigy DS Springfield Armory

I Now Have 1000 Rounds Through the Prodigy DS Compact!

I’ve now 1072 rounds through the Prodigy DS Compact 3.5″

The 1000-round review is below.

The lower video is hosted on Rumble – I’m trying to migrate my videos to Rumble now.