Categories
G19 Glock Springfield Armory XD45

I Decided to Switch My Carry Gun

I’ve switched from carrying the Glock 19 gen 4 to the Springfield Armory XD45 subcompact in Mod 2 format.

Why the change?

I’d always been interested in the XD45.  I bought this used (see my last post).  It appears to have a very low round count…there’s slight barrel wear (just the black finish has worn) and there’s one place on the slide that has finish wear.  I took it to the range and shot a bit over 100 rounds from it.  It has VERY manageable recoil (remember, it shoots .45ACP) for a firearm it’s size.  I had no issues firing it…there were no hiccups or malfunctions.  I shoot this better than I do my 1911 of the same caliber.  The grip safety doesn’t bother me and I’ve carried the 9mm counterpart in the past so I’m familiar with the platform.

There was nothing to not like about the gun.  It is a good bit smaller than my G19 and I’d been thinking of going back to my XD9 anyways.  The XD45’s raw price was $320 but after all the fees, it was $420, which is still a great price for a basically new firearm.  I can basically switch carrying the XD45 to the XD9 (and back) without any issue.  I did that during my last range visit and because the two guns share the same platform, I had no issues being accurate or getting used to triggers when switching between both handguns.  Recoil happens after the round has been fired, so it doesn’t affect my accuracy (unless I’m anticipating it).

I’d been using the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holster with the XD9 subcompact shell when I first started carrying.  The XD45 will fit in that holster without issue.

Magazine capacity is 9 rounds with the normal magazine, although it comes with a 13-round extended magazine as well (which I use as a backup mag).  I’ll be getting a few other 9-round mags soon, so that when I go to the range, I don’t spend most of my time loading up mags.

The sights are great, but are not good in low-light situations, so I may have to get new sights.  I’ll probably not go with XS Big Dots this time.  If I can find a set that have the same profile as the current ones but are night sights, I’ll be fine.  Or, I can keep them as-is and not mess up a good thing.  I’ll figure out which direction I want to go soon.

Categories
45ACP Mod.2 Springfield Armory sub-compact XD45 XD9

I Bought a Subcompact Chambered in 45ACP!

So, I’d been thinking about larger caliber handguns lately, and love my XD 9 subcompact.  I’d heard great reviews on the XD 45 variant.  I found a used XD 45 that was being sold for $329.  After shipping and taxes, it was priced at $389…still a steal!  I bought it this past Sunday.  It should arrive at my FFL on Saturday.  Due to that, I might have to wait until Sunday or Monday to pick it up.

The handgun will come with a 9-round and 13-round magazine and nothing else.

While I’m excited about the handgun, I’m a bit miffed about the shipping.  The damned gun is in-state.  The store that sold it to me is in Virginia Beach.  I’m in the Manassas area.  I could’ve driven to pick it up and saved the $50 in shipping (at least).  I bought it on Sunday night via Gunbroker.com.  They wanted an over-the-phone transaction so I called them Monday morning when they opened.  I’d already contacted my local FFL (my range) so they were aware of the purchase and incoming firearm.  I asked them to send their FFL info to the store where I bought the handgun.  I think they sent their FFL info to the store either late Monday or Tuesday morning.  I got an email from USPS stating that the gun was due to be shipped but hadn’t been picked up yet…that was Tuesday morning around 10AM.  The firearm sat a the store all day…wasn’t picked up until late that evening.  It’s due to arrive 12/15.  That’s 3 days for transport when I could drive to that store and be there within 3 hours (max).  WTF.  Most people would blame the shipping (USPS) but I’ve bought firearms from out of state that didn’t take 3 days to arrive at the local post office.  I know shipping can be expensive for a business but shit, didn’t I pay $30 for shipping?  That shipping fee results in the slowest mailing method?  That’s B.S. IMO.  I won’t be buying from them again.  And, this is a mom/pop, brick-mortar store.  People always harp on supporting local and/or brick-mortar stores but when crap like this happens, I hear nothing but crickets.

Anyways, I’m going to be using my XD 9 subcompact Alien Gear holster for the XD 45 since I hear they’re compatible with the holster.  I’ll probably end up buying 2-3 extra 9-round mags as well.

The plan is to carry this handgun.  I’ll keep you all updated as I become familiar with it.

UPDATE (12/15/2018):
She has arrived, and two days early (picked her up at 8:30AM yesterday before heading to work).  Was not able to shoot from her since I had to go straight to work.  Will try to take her out today — getting dressed now, in fact!

UPDATE (1/1/2019) –

I’ve done a quick review here:

Categories
Glock 19 Grand Power P11 SIG Sauer P320

I’d Not Been To the Range In Quite A While

I’ll admit right now that I’d not been to the range since April 2018, until this past week.  I went to the range after work (I didn’t even change out of work clothes).

I took the Grand Power P11, the P320 (which is currently in a subcompact configuration), 100 rounds of WWB FMJ and 100 rounds of Wolf FMJ (both 115-grain).  And of course, I was CCing my Glock 19.  I neglected to charge up my mini-camera, so there’s no shooting footage this time.

I ran out of rounds before my one-hour session finished.

Sig Sauer P320 Compact – 78
Grand Power P11 Mk12 – 72
Glock 19 – 50

There was one malfunction between the three firearms and 200 rounds of ammo, but I do not believe it was the firearms.  Of course it was the Grand Power that exhibited a fail to feed.  I tried to feed that round 5-6 times and it would not feed at all.  At first I thought it was a fail to return to battery but then when I saw that it wouldn’t feed no matter how I tried, I determined that the ammo was bad.  I would’ve tried to see if one of the other handguns would’ve chambered/shot it but I didn’t know if the projectile was pushed in (making the round over-pressured).  I chucked that round.  Now, the Grand Power is very tight tolerance-wise.  Some people may fault the gun for that.  For me, no.  The ammo has to be good.  Reputable SD ammo would be within tolerance.  FMJ (ie, practice ammo) should not be expected to be perfect.

Overall, it was a good range session but I promise to myself that I’ll be visiting the range every month at the LEAST, because I shot like shit compared to my last visit (I’d been regularly visiting the range back then).

Categories
.223 5.56 difference NRA

This NRA Article Describes the Difference Between 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington

If you’ve ever wondered about the differences between 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington, well, this article gives a good account of the differences.

Bottom line is, if you’ve a .223 rifle, do not fire 5.56mm from it.  If you’ve a 5.56mm rifle, you’re OK (but may see some inaccuracy due to the added “slop”, the slop being an allowance to ensure the firearm will fire when dirty/grimy).

Categories
AMD-63 ammo Cabelas frangible Hevi Duty LAX PPU RAS

7.62×39 Ammo – Where Is It?

I visited my local Cabelas today and was a bit pissed.  They had very little 7.62×39 ammo.  I saw a few boxes of PPU and Herters.  That was it.  Nothing else.  No bulk in that caliber either.  That company (Cabelas) is large.  It is very large.  And it can’t keep stocked in mainstream calibers?  I mean, there was 5.56mm and .223, but no 7.62×39.  WTF. 

I was hoping that Cabelas would be my local go-to, but either someone is purposely buying up all the AK ammo (I hate horders) or Cabelas is having supply problems.  I was trying to stay away from Walmart for ammo but I think I might need to keep using Walmart until Cabelas gets their shit together.

As well, it was the same for 9mm handgun ammo.  There was hardly any.

I ended up buying some of that PPU, only to find that it was soft-nosed, and it wasn’t marked as such on the box.  I opened it up and saw that it was round-nosed with a lead tip.  I heard that some people had issues when trying to shoot that ammo through their AKs.  I did see at least one video where a guy loaded up this same ammo and shot it through his AK with no issues.  We’ll see.  I bought 40 rounds of it (2 boxes).

So, I’ve two boxes of the PPU SP RN and a box of RAS (30 rounds).  I guess I’ll be using my range’s ammo on my first visit.  I want to fire maybe 100 rounds of 7.62×39.

I saw that Cabelas had some frangible ammo that I was curious about.  It was Hevi Duty frangible and non-toxic, $15 for a box of 50.  I bought 2 boxes.  This is multi-purpose ammo:  it can be used at indoor and outdoor ranges, on steel, as competition ammo, and as HD/SD ammo.  It’s supposedly very accurate too.  It is light-for-caliber, as it is 100-grain and has a velocity of 1200 FPS.  I will shoot a box of it through my carry gun and then begin to use it as my SD ammo if it feeds without issue.

I also have 500 rounds of RAS coming from LAX.  It was $99 for 500 rounds.  I almost ordered 1000, but I’ll see how fast of the incoming batch I shoot before ordering more.  Shipping was a bit high, though, so I should’ve probably bought the 1000.

In my last post, I mentioned that I’d bought Magpul hardware for the AK.  I was able to fit that on the gun with a bit of grinding/filing.  The handguard fits well.  I can’t fit the gas tube cover since the gas tube on my AK is not standard (it is shorter and has no fittings for covers or handguards.  I do want an upper handguard on the gas tube, though, so I’m waiting for M-13 to finish a batch of tubes specifically designed for the AMDs (they are $50 each, though….I’ll probably end up buying two of them).  I suppose I could make my own.  Apparently its easy to cut down a standard gas tube but heat is needed, as they can crack.

I keep looking over the gun to determine if there are flaws or some things I overlooked.  I think I’m obsessing, thinking I went cheap and remembering the “you get what you pay for” mantra.  The only thing that might be wrong with this particular rifle is that the barrel’s hole where the gas tube vents from might be large (they’re supposedly all like that).  I’ll deal with replacing the barrel when the time comes.  I can mitigate the issue by buying a stronger recoil spring and maybe one of those buffer cushions…

So, tomorrow may be where I take the AK to the range.  We’ll see.

Categories
video

Last Post’s Video Links Fixed

I wasn’t aware that the video links in the last post were not working properly.

I’ve fixed them and the videos are now viewable.

Categories
AMD-63 bolt bolt carrier group receiver trigger group

A Close Look At The Innards Of The AMD 63

I wanted some video documentation of the innards of my AK, so that people see how CII firearms hold up over time.

I’m finding that there are too many people that are parroting shit about guns they’ve never owned or seen.  I’ll elaborate on that soon but for now, I just wanted to share the videos and picture.

And yes, I’m aware of the peening on back of the bolt carrier.  I discussed that in my last post.  That’s the fault of the Tapco G2 trigger group, actually…it’s metal is harder than the bolt carrier.

Categories
AK 63 AKM AMD-63 FEG Hungary

It’s Here!

The good news:

The bad news:

Yes.  Already.  I haven’t even fired it yet.  The only thing I can think of is that it happened when test firing the rifle.  It’s not actually that bad…it’s only on the left side.  The right side is fine.  I hear they all peen like that and will eventually stop.  We’ll see.  I understand that I can polish my hammer (Tapco G2) so that it stops doing this, but I want to investigate further before even trying that.  This is my first AK….I’d rather the carrier gets fucked (I can always buy another) than me screwing it up by trying to smooth out the hammer face.
I’m loving the rifle so far.  I only had 30 minutes to mess with it before I had to be off to work.  Everything it came with is good, as well.  The rifle is actually lighter than I expected.  In fact, it’s a LOT lighter…it feels around the same weight as my AR-556.
I can actually see myself shooting this thing a lot, but I’ll await the other bits to arrive before I take it to the range.
Categories
AK47 gas tube cover handguard mag loader Magpul rail sight adjustment tool

AMD 63 Mods On the Way!

My FFL hasn’t even received my AMD 63 yet and I’m already ordering mods for the rifle.

I usually frown upon that because I always want to know how a gun shoots before modifying it.  In this case, I want to swap out the handguard with Magpul bits.  The stock handguard is all-metal and are unshielded.  From my understanding, the handguard get hot.  The Magpul is shielded and appears very rugged.  Installing this also means that I’ll lose the foregrip, but I’m OK with that, as I’ve no experience with it.

The Magpul handguard comes with a gas tube cover, which is great because the gas tube is exposed on this rifle.

I had to order the AKM variant.  This will require some minor fitting but I’m OK with such things and there are YouTube videos on how to fit it to the AMD variants.

I may also order a rail that will attach to the gas tube (which will replace the Magpul gas tube cover), but that will come later.

I think I also need a magazine loader, so I ordered the Butler Creek ASAP Universal Magazine Loader for the AK47.

I also need a sight alignment tool, so I ordered the Magna-Matic Defense Front Sight Adjustment Tool.

I will also need to get some ammo but I’ll worry about that a bit later, as I’m not far from a few gun stores (and Cabelas, if I’m not seeing anything I like at the small gun stores).

The rifle arrives some time tomorrow, but I’ve work.  They’ll have to call me around 10 AM at the latest if they expect me to pick it up tomorrow, otherwise it will be picked up the next morning (they open at 10 AM).

Either way, I’ll be posting pics here between tomorrow and the next day.

Categories
AK47 AKM AMD-63 CII Clearview Investors Hungaria Tapco

I Ordered My First AK47!

Last night, while at work, I ordered my first AK47.

I ordered a Hungarian AMD 63 rifle that was built from original surplus parts sets.  This particular firearm is based on the Hungarian AKM.  The Hungarian AMD 63 replaced their AMD 65 (their 65s were more expensive to build and had reliability issues with the foregrip).

Note:  This rifle is mislabeled by importers.  It is actually an AKM 63.  The folding stock version is still called the AMD 65, though.

It will come with a composite stock, 5 30-round Tapco mags, a 4-cell mag pouch, and a AMD leather sling.

I ordered through Clearview Investors.

I was on the fence between an AMD 65 or an AMD 63. AMD 65s appeared to be much more difficult to find and also don’t have all that many mod options. The difference between the two is that the AMD 65 has a foldable stock (a metal piece that can be crooked). So, I opted for the AMD 63 instead.

This is the item I ordered.

The below is what is listed in the description at the above link.  I’ll list it here in case it changes in the future.

AK 47 Variant 7.62×39 Rifle
Original Hungarian FEG “Heavy Wall” Stamped Receiver
New U.S. 16.5” Barrel, 4140 chrome moly
Barrel threaded 14mm-1, standard AK threading
Muzzle Brake threaded on
Tapco G2 Trigger Group
Accepts hi-capacity magazines and drums
U.S. made Butt Stock
Plastic Pistol Grips (stained black)
922r compliant

7.15 lbs.
37.5” Overall length
7.62×39 Caliber

 

Built to our specs. from original AMD 65 parts,  from double stack rifles. This means that the bolt, bolt carrier, etc.. were made to handle double stack mags. The heavy wall receiver is an FEG with a double stack mag well.The rifles are built by Clearview Investments. They are well built using a new U.S. made barrel, with the gas port, front and rear sight blocks aligned carefully, assembled and then the entire assembly is parkerized. Each rifle is tested with a variety of mags prior to shipping.

 

Note : These rifles are built from original surplus part sets. Metal components have been professionally parkerized to a like new finish however grips and forearms are original and may show some rub or finish wear. Trust me though, overall these are nice. 

I’m definitely excited about this firearm, because I’ve been looking for AK variants for awhile.  I specifically wanted something that wasn’t going to beat itself up as I shot it, and it had to be not-too-expensive while also chambered in 7.62×39.

I initially started looking at Century Arms’ C39v2 because I liked the idea of an AK that was made in the U.S, but when I saw MAC’s and AKOU’s reviews of the rifle, I backed off.

I then researched PSA’s PSAK47, which is actually not a bad option.  I’d have probably had one by now if they’d been better stocked.  They were always out of stock.

I then researched the WASR 10s and N-PAPs.  In fact, I was researching those guns last night and was on the ak47 Reddit subpage when I saw an archived post of someone mentioning Clearview Investors as a good source for a rifle they mentioned, the AMD 63.  When I saw that the firearm was Hungarian-sourced and was on sale for $529 (regular price was $621), I began to feverishly research.  The only issue this rifle will have is carrier tail mushrooming.  Here’s an example, with pics.  From my understanding, the Tapco trigger is the cause of that (the metal of that trigger is harder than the metal of the carrier tail).  That can easily be fixed by installing a different trigger group (to a trigger group that is known not to mushroom the carrier group).  So, I’m trying to find out if anyone has had any luck with other-than-Tapco triggers.

I’ll also be needing to get some 7.62×39 (in bulk, which will be cheaper than buying range ammo).

I’ll review the rifle when I receive it (should receive it sometime this coming week but I work swing shift so it may be difficult to get until my next weekend.  We’ll see.