Tag: AK47

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firearms Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) Guns of America (GoA) politics VCDL Virginia

So Where’s that Sic Semper Tyrannis, Virginia…

I’m not sure if you all have been reading about Virginia’s recent election results, but it’s sucking here, to the point that I’m wondering if I should just move all my things to NC (I’ve family there).

We’ve been planning on an out of state move, but we’ve been in the planning stages the past 3-4 years…I’m not sure when it’s going to happen. It needs to happen soon.

The biggest changes are that in July 2026, we’ll no longer be able to purchase “assault weapons”, standard capacity mags, and will probably be required to submit for purchase permits (WTF) to buy firearms. As well, standard capacity mags are not grandfathered, meaning that you can’t keep those mags, even if you’ve had them 10+ years. If you’re caught with them, you could face up to a year of jail time and will be charged with a Class I misdemeanor, with associated penalties.

And, of course, LEs have cut-outs (meaning they’re exempt).

Right now, there are so many statutes that were submitted that I’m having a difficult time keeping up with them.

As well, state reciprocity will be adversely affected (WTF).

Nothing is solid yet, but I’ve no doubt that most of the changes will stick.

The arguments I continue to see from gun folks are that no one voted and that VA deserves what is occurring. I call bullshit on that. VA is always had the same issues that other states with large metropolitan areas have – northern VA has a pretty massive population and is pretty much outvoting the rest of the state localities. It’s not the fact that no one voted, but that we were outvoted.

Additionally, many folks have have their heads in the sand regarding this. There was the mentality that “that won’t happen here.” Some folks aren’t even aware that these laws are being proposed.

Also, it didn’t help that the Republican clowns in the state upset EVERYONE, including their own constituents. They had the majority the past few years and went power crazy, negating abortion rights, neutering LGBT-ABCDEFG rights, not legalizing marijuana, and doing shit like being under Trump’s umbrella. I’m not a one-issue voter and didn’t agree with a lot of what Republicans did. I’m neither a Republican or Democrat.

And there’s that too…the infighting amongst gun folks. Some folks are daring others to adopt the “come and take it” attitude but won’t do it themselves. Some folks are suggesting that everyone “don’t comply”. Yeah, fuck that. I need to stay clearable. These gun folks expect everyone to protest, ala Jan 6…yeah, fuck that. Apparently, the Lobby Day turnout wasn’t so good in 2026. Maybe because most folks are trying to not participate in something that could turn ugly? Some of those folks will ask, “so, what have you done for the gun community?” Plenty enough. I advocate via social media. I help fellow gun owners, both old and new. I donate to gun-specific causes. I buy from local gun businesses.

So now, I’m trying to determine what I immediately need to buy before prices skyrocket and before things sell out.

I’m a 2011 guy and have been carrying them a few years now. As 2011 mags are expensive and 10 round 2011 mags are difficult to find (and I’m not going to neuter/damage any of my standard capacity mags), I’m probably going to just switch to a Glock 48/43X for now. IMO, it doesn’t make sense to carry 10 round mags for 2011s. Why Glock 48/43X? Because I’ve one 1911 that will use G48 mags. Also, the G48 has been on my list a while now…I may as well buy it soon.

I’ve 6 G48 mags on the way to me now.

I’ll also be buying 10 round AR-15 and AK mags (10 for each platform, for now).

I’ll be packing up all my mags that are over 10 rounds and will be storing them at my parents’ home in NC. I’ll keep my “assault weapons” with me since they’re grandfathering them, but I won’t be able to shoot my AK-V, as there are no 10 round mags for that gun and I’m not going to neuter the mags I currently have.

I’m tempted to just buy a bunch of “assault weapons” before the ban kicks in, just to spite the state.

But, at least there’s no more UBC, right?? RIGHT??

If you all aren’t already donating to grass roots advocacy orgs that help fight shit like this, I highly recommend that you reconsider. The VCDL is the primary org to donate to, although the FPC and GOA are also alternatives. Hell, I’m donating to all three.

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7.62 x 39 AK AK-47 AK-P Arsenal Canik PSA SAM7UF-85 TP9 Elite TP9 Elite Subcompact

AK Range Day!

Today’s range day was deemed AK range day!

I took out the Arsenal SAM7UF and PSA AK-P. The former is a milled rifle that I’ve owned 2-3 years but never shot until today. The latter is an AK pistol that I bought 3-4 years ago and have been shooting off and on.

Both are dreams to shoot. I’ve no range footage because I hate recording when shooting long guns (my mounting point doesn’t agree with the rifle shooting position).

I shot the SAM7UF first. I thought it would be hard on my shoulder but it was rather mild, especially considering that the folding stock’s makeup is usually something that folks complain about. It’s supposedly not easy to shoot, but the stock didn’t bother me (I’ve the rails covered with paracord).

I thought the recoil would bother my shoulder with that stock but much of the recoil never made it to my body. The milled rifle is heavy and the heft absorbed much of the recoil.

I shot out to 25 yards. I wasn’t hitting point of aim but I think it’s because the rifle may be zero’d to 100 yards. I need to study the method of zeroing AKs. When I do, I’ll revisit the range with the SAM7 and zero the gun (on the 25 yard range, since I’ll have a difficult time seeing further than that).

The gun has some blast, too. It seems it has more blast than my other long AK (a bastardized AK-63D from Classic Firearms). I shot 30 rounds before I switched to the PSA AK-P.

The PSA AK-P is a flamethrower but I already knew that. I didn’t feel like squinting trying to hit 25 yard targets so I moved the target closer, to half that distance.

I’ve a red dot sight for this firearm but I removed it when I last took it out, as I hated it. I’m decently accurate with the iron sights, so I shot 30 rounds at one of those target papers that have 5 targets on it. all but maybe 4-5 landed on paper (because the targets on the edge of the paper don’t leave much room for error and I was doing a lot of quasi double-tapping). The groupings were pretty tight for the rate of fire I used. I also shot while standing. A picture is below.

12 yards, standing w/ irons…

The gun bucks and throws fire. Additionally, it got HOT! I burned myself once and had to wrap it up in rags before I put it in it’s case so it wouldn’t melt the inside foam. Also, keep in mind that this is a pistol and the brace is HARD on a shoulder with the kick of an AK pistol. I also tend to pull the gun in really tight while gripping the mag. I’ll be bruised tomorrow.

Lastly, I always try to shoot my carry gun when I’m visiting the range, so I shot some defensive ammo from the Canik TP9 Elite SC. This ammo is something new to me, but I bought a batch of it from my range 2 nights ago, since it was on sale at 19.99 for a box of 50. The make and model is Federal 115-gr Hi-Shok JHP. I bought 250 rounds of it, not knowing if it was good or not but liking the sub-$20/box price. I later researched the ammo and found that the ammo is GOOD and that law enforcement uses it. I’d assumed that since the box was white and since the ammo wasn’t being sold in 20-round boxes, it was range ammo. It is not. So, tonight I bought 100 more rounds of it just to shoot with tonight. It shot well, without hiccups, and without feed or extraction issues. I may end up trying to buy it in bulk but my research shows that when looking for it online, the low price is 0.49/round, which is a bit high compared to what I found at my range. My range will carry it until it runs out and won’t let me buy in bulk anymore (the person that sold it to me apparently shouldn’t have let me buy so much without shooting – I bought it after my shooting session).

Right now, I’m right at 482 rounds shot through the TP9 ESC. Expect that number to go quickly as I continue to practice with it.

The AK-P currently has 370 rounds through it. I could shoot it more but for some reason, shooting that gun indoors gets old quickly (it has tremendous blast). I looked at the internals (trunion, bolt, and bolt carrier) and the parts aren’t beat up (this model is a GF3). Most AK snobs hate US-made AK, and think they’re sub-par. If I have any issues, it’ll be something like fire-pin issues, or something stuck in the firing pin channel (primer metal), or maybe a loose firing pin retaining pin (which probably won’t be an issue, as I’ve checked it and it is not loose at all). I will probably buy another firing pin, in case the OEM one breaks.

The SAM7UF only has 30 rounds through it but I’ll try to shoot it more, now that it’s no longer virgin.