Guns and Ammo Enthusiast Blog A blog for and by Guns and Ammo Enthusiast's

Bersa Pistol Review

I bought it about three weeks ago and didn’t get a chance to fire it until today. Prior to firing it during the first few weeks I sat around and cycled the slide, mag release and safety because they were all very stiff. However, after awhile the gun loosened up quit a bit.

At the range today I fired 100 rounds without a single problem. I was very impressed with the reliability for such an inexpensive firearm. I own and have fired many different pistols before of various quality and the Bersa was as good as the best.

I used the following ammo: magtech 95gr fmc, PowerBall 70gr, Speer gold dot 90gr jhp, and PMC Starfire 95gr jhp. The only difference in the ammo was that the Speer was noticeably hotter than anything else. Accuracy of the pistol was better than my ability. I was using simple 12″ x 12″ targets and was able to keep every shot in the black at 15 yards. The only thing I could complain so far about this pistol are the grips. Some rubber type grips would be nice.

Arkady02

Swiss ZfK55 Rifle Review

The user “thirsty”, of AR15.com, has posted this great write up and range report on the Swiss ZfK55 rifle. And with his permission I have reconstructed the thread for you here. I had to cut it down a bit due to the number of photos. Enjoy the eye candy:

The Zielfernrohrkarabiner Modell 1955 or “scoped carbine model of 1955” is a design based largely on the K31. It also is referred to as K31/55 or ZfKar.55. There were a total of 4150 ZfK55 rifles manufactured, beginning with serial number 1000. My example is serial number 2397 and was manufactured in 1958. These rifles saw only a few years of service in the Swiss Army before being retired and issued to Swiss police snipers or sold to private individuals. Most rifles show signs of being used extensively, though there are the rare examples that were never issued.

Like the K31, the ZfK uses a simplified Schmidt-Rubin straight pull action and is chambered in the excellent 7.5×55mm Swiss. But while it looks like a modified K31, there’s actually very little parts commonality between the two, as in only 5 or 6 parts that are readily interchangeable, including the 6-round magazines. The scope, scope storage can and magazine are all serialized to the rifle. From a collector’s standpoint, an all matching numbers ZfK55 includes the scope and can. Not having them is detrimental to the value.

The ZfK has a receiver machined with mounting lugs for the scope. The receiver is canted to the right so stripper clips and ejected cartridges clear the scope. The scope is designed so it mounts directly over the bore axis, making sight-in a breeze. The windage drum is graduated whereas the elevation drum is not.

The Zfk55 receiver in comparison with the K31

Even the magazine is canted. K31 included in pic for comparison.

The Zfk weighs almost 5 pounds heavier than the K31 due to the weight of the scope, the heavy barrel, and bipod assembly. The barrel is free floated and as you can see in the picture there is minimal contact between the stock, barrel band and the barrel. The stock and upper hand guard are inletted to prevent contact.

The bipod mounts to the receiver so as not to interfere with the free-floated barrel.

The barrel is equipped with a unique beehive flash hider that is extremely effective at reducing felt recoil. In my opinion, the ZfK55 has recoil comparable to that of an M1A. The flash hider also gives the ZfK a distinctive report.

The matching Kern 3.5x scope has a simple reticle as seen in the picture. Also pictured below is a section of the rifle’s manual showing how the reticle was used on targets of varying distances. The rifle should be sighted in at 300 meters to best take advantage of GP-11 ballistics. Once sighted in at 300m, there is only 1 diopter difference between 100 and 300, and 300 and 500 meters. I’m not quite sure what a diopter is.

Caption roughly translated: Figure 7- Sight pictures of field targets at distances of 100, 300 and 500m

The scope storage can is designed to hold the scope firmly and protect it from the elements as well as impacts. Swiss snipers were trained to keep the scope in the can until they were in position in order to prevent any damage to the optics. The Kern scopes are not comparable to modern glass; they are actually pretty delicate despite weighing more than a pound. In the pic, you can see the large rubber gasket that serves to seal the can as well as clamp the scope firmly in place. You can see the tool to the right of the pic used to lock the adjustment drum screws in place to prevent the drums from moving once zeroed.

The ZfK bolt is different due to the angled design of the receiver. It also has a third locking lug toward the base of the bolt sleeve.

ZfK55 bolt on top.

The rifle is a joy to shoot. The combination of weight and flash hider dampens the recoil considerably and allows for faster follow-up shots. I put a 60-round brick of GP-11 downrange with little fatigue and I was disappointed I didn’t bring more.

The bipod works great in prone position it fits me perfectly. The bipod itself is loosely mounted on a swivel so it has side-to-side adjustability for shooting on rough or uneven terrain. Thanks to Swiss engineering and maintenance ethics this rifle has a mint bore and smooth operation.

This rifle is still capable of shooting excellent groups in the hands of a marksman, which I am not. I’m not at all a consistent shooter but I find it easy to make good shots with the ZfK55. My only dislike is the need for a chin weld to get a good sight picture. This is something that can be cured with a strap-on cheek rest, however.

These targets were shot at 100 yards prone with 1980’s GP-11 surplus. This target shows a 12-shot group. I can only account for 10 hits so two rounds passed through existing holes.

My best group was 1.5” @ 100yrds. Not too shabby for a 50yr old rifle and poorly disciplined shooter.

The ZfK55 is an outstanding rifle. They are very expensive simply due to rarity. But if you have the funds and want something unique and rare to shoot, the ZfK fits the bill.

Rossi Puma Lever-Action Carbine Review

A Traditional Cowboy Rifle in .45 Colt

Long, long ago, in those frivolous carefree days when Americans had the money to pursue their dreams and hobbies with reckless abandon, the sport of cowboy action shooting burst upon the American firearms scene.

The sport required participants to dress in period costume and participate in shooting events using original or reproduction firearms of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Typically, cowboy action shooters needed two single-action pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun.

This desire for multiple guns spawned demand for reproduction firearms like the Rossi M92 Puma carbine. Since many original nineteenth century firearms were no longer up to the rigors of regular shooting, shooters felt safer shooting a reproduction firearm that incorporated modern materials and safety features. In addition, to simplify logistics, cowboy action shooters often sought firearms that all shot the same caliber of ammunition. The Rossi Puma Lever-Action Carbine can be bought in several different calibers. For example, I chose .45 Colt so that I could use the same ammunition for my rifle and my Ruger Vaquero.

The Puma carbine is a convenient size for defending the old homestead or for trail drives down to the typical suburban shooting range. My Rossi M92 Puma has a 20-inch barrel and an overall length of 37 and 1/2 inches. Like the classic 1892 Winchester Rifle that it emulates, the Rossi Puma just handles well and seems like a natural fit for almost any shooter. Like many Brazilian-made firearms, the guns remain timeless while the importers change. You may find this classic cowboy carbine sold today as the Legacy M92 Puma. According to the Guns and Ammo 2009 Buyers guide, the Legacy M92 Carbine comes in .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, .454 Casull, and .480 Ruger and in barrel lengths from 16 to 24 inches.

300 Savage Riffle Review

The .300 Savage for a long time has been a rifle that is often overshadowed by better-known brands and calibers. However, for reliability, durability, and capability, it is a weapon that is hard to beat for deer and other big game hunting.

The rifle is built as a lever action, and the lever is well contoured to the grip, making it comfortable to hold or cock. The lever itself is easy to use, and the ejection of casings and reloading of the chamber is smooth, easy, and quick.
Shells are loaded through a side-mounted cylinder, and a simple small brass counter allows the hunter to easily see how many rounds remain in the cylinder with a simple turn of the wrist.

The stock is available in a couple different woods, but all are very well made, and even refinishing isn’t a very big chore. There is one downside of the stock, however, in that unless specifically ordered otherwise, it tends to be a little shorter than those of many other rifles. Being 6’3″, this makes the stock a little short for me. However just getting an additional recoil pad easily compensated for this small shortcoming.

The rifling is clean, tight, and well engineered to give the bullet the maximum spin as it leaves the barrel, which increases the accuracy.
The rifle is easier to clean and maintain than many other rifles, especially since the breach can be opened so wide.

Often considered a brush gun because of its light weight, this under rated rifle has capabilities that are as good as or surpass weapons that are more commonly considered as long-range rifles. The trajectory of the bullets isn’t as flat, or the speed of the bullet as great as in the .30-06, however I’ve witnessed open range shots of well over 300 yards that have resulted in a clean takedown of a moving target. Yet it is indeed light and easy to carry in brush, if that is where you are hunting.

This rifle can easily be set with a scope, though it functions perfectly well with open sights.

Bullet grain sizes vary widely, however 150 gr. is pretty standard for most big game, giving adequate hitting and knockdown power while also giving the range to make more distant shots.

The .300 Savage should get the praise it deserves. It is a good rifle for short distance, brush, and long rang shooting, it functions well and easily, it is easy to clean, and it is lightweight. Best of all, it is accurate. If you are considering a hunting rifle, this should definitely be on the potential list of choices.

I Test the Surplus Yugo 8mm Mauser Rifle for Accuracy and Handling

My Yugo M48 was purchased from a local dealer for $95 plus tax. A cheap plinking firearm even if its not that accurate. I also purchased several boxes each of the following types of ammunition:

Surplus 50′s headstamp yugo ammunition, 8 cents per round

Surplus 70′s headstamp romainian ammunition, 17 cents per round

New PMC ammuntion, 21 cents per round

New federal ammunition, 45 cents per round

New Wolf gold line ammuniton, 33 cents per round

All shooting at the range was done from the bench (as per range rules) at 100 or 200 yards. All shooting in the field was done offhand, standing shooting at silhouette targets of jack rabbits and coyotes from 25 to 75 yards,

Before heading to the range, I completely dissasembled and cleaned the rifle. It is important to inspect each part closely for wear and damage. Some of these surplus rifles have been in storage for nearly 50 years and damage can occur. In my case it was found I needed a new firing pin spring. It had been left cocked and the spring “took a set” and wasn’t any good. I picked up a replacement from my local gunsmith on the way to the range. Cost was $1.34.

At the range i fired 5 rounds to clear the barrel of any remaining storage grease or cleaning agent. The first string of shots was five rounds of each type of ammo at 100 yards. All ammo was FMJ target type. I gave the rifle ten minutes to cool off between each shot string. the results are as follows:

Group sizes

Surplus 50′s ammo

2.6″ evenly spaced

Surplus 70′s ammo

1.8 inches with one called flyer at 3.4 inches

PMC ammo

2.4 inches 4 touching 1 spaced out

Federal ammo

1.2 inches evenly spaced

Wolf Gold ammo

4.4 inches one group of three, one group of two

The second set of tests was 200 yards with the same conditons as above.

Group sizes

Surplus 50′s ammo

4 inches three touching, two singles

Surplus 70′s ammo

2 inches a five shots in a vertical line

PMC ammo

1.7 inches all shots clustered tightly

Federal ammo

11 inches with all shots in different parts of the target and keyholing

Smith and Wesson model 637 Revolver Review

Smith and Wesson model 637 Revolver Review
Already owning a 9 and a 45 I wanted something small but still able to do the job that I could carry concealed when I’m wearing sweets. Honestly I also wanted a firearm I could carry on my ankle. With those requirement’s I knew a semi-auto probably wouldn’t work. So I went down to my local gun shop to look at some revolvers. When I saw, felt, and held the Smith and Wesson model 637 I knew it was fit.

Smith and Wesson model 637 Snub

The specs on this firearm are as follow 38 special is the caliber, barrel length is 1 7/8” (Yes that is actually 1 inch and 7/8 of an inch, and yes that is small. This particular model comes with the Crimson Trace Laser Grips standard. (that is a nice feature to have). It weighs 15 ounces empty, hence the ankle part of it. The overall length is 6 3/8”. With a maximum total of 5 round capacity, there is not a lot of chances to miss the bull’s-eye.

Ok now on to the actual shooting of it. I’m a dead shoot with my M9 and my 45 at 25 yards, but with the Smith and Wesson model 637 I couldn’t hit the side of a brick house at 10 yards. (Not really) however with the short barrel length and the way the 38 round handles it is very hard to get accurate with this firearm, even with the laser trace grip pre installed. It also gets kind of hard on the palm of your hand after putting 200 rounds downrange to get the sighting down. As a self defense weapon I keep it as my last resort, sort of a drop weapon. It also seems to scare people more then a 45 acp for some reason. Maybe it’s seeing the hammer cocked, or maybe because the 38 is most signified with the police. I don’t really know, and don’t really care. If you are looking to carry a pistol absolutely canceled, and don’t care about shooting something accriatly more then 5 yards away then the Smith and Wesson model 637 is for you. If not please try to find something else that can actually hit what your aiming at.

By now you are probably thinking I hate this pistol. Fact is I love it. It works great in an ankle hoster, and even better, it sits perfectly right next to my keyboard here. But I still keep my 45 right in arm’s reach as well. If you want to go out and soot can’s at a close range this with do the trick as well. Your thought’s on this or any other subject is always welcome.

Franchi I-12 Standard — 12-GA Shotgun, Review

Franchi I-12 Standard — 12-GA Shotgun, Review
Now this is a fun shotgun for plinking. Grate for clay shooting. Best shotgun for hunting. With no need to reload a round after every shot you can easily bring another shot to your pray if you don’t kill with the first shell. I have shot both pump action and this shotgun. Honestly I prefer the Franchi I12 semi auto for all shotgun shooting. My best advice if you do happen to purchase the I-12 is, before you ever put 1 shell down range, load and unload it fully about 15-20 times, or until you can fully unload it on second nature.

Franchi I-12 Standard — 12-GA Shotgun

M9 or the Beretta 92 Review

M9 or the Beretta 92 Review

Beretta M9

What can I say about the ubiquitous iconic M9 or the Beretta 92? For some reason when I went to purchase a 9mm I had to have an actual M9. The same pistol our army solders are issued. Maybe because my brother is in the Army, or maybe from watching Lethal Weapon movies, I don’t know, but I had to have an M9.

The M9 is a very solid pistol, hold 15 in the magazine and 1 in the pipe, for a total holding capacity of 16 rounds. Made of solid steel, and is a bit heavy. However there is virtually no kick to it either. Very easy to disassemble and clean. Beyond that it doesn’t really need cleaning that often, because of the solid construction of the pistol. However I would recommend cleaning all your firearms after each use. One of the only problems I can find with the M9/ Beretta 92 is that it is a 9mm. yes you a fast mussel velocity and 16 rounds, however compared to other calibers the 9mm round has virtually no stopping power. If you want to put someone or something down in 1 or 2 shots a 9mm is not for you. If you want to have a lot of fun plinking or a backup/drop pistil then this is a great pistol. I do carry it as a secondary pistol myself. Please don’t think I am bad mouthing the M9 or 9mm round, I love it. However, to stop something the .45 acp is for me.

Tikka T3 Review

Tikka T3

This admittedly my first hunting riffle purchase. I bought the Tikka T3 in .308 calibers. I chose the .308 caliber for a few reasons. One of them is the range a .308 round will go, the other reason being, the plain stopping power of the .308 round. I chose the blue non glint finish barrel as well. There are a few good things about this riffle. It comes with sling mountings preinstalled, and with a free sling. The T3 308 has an 11’ rate of twist. It weighs a bit over 6 pounds. The Tikka T3 also comes slandered with a 3 round external electable magazine. Yes this bolt action riffle has a 3 round electable magazine. For a total combined carrying load of 4 rounds. My version of the riffle also has a 20” barrel length. Nice wood finish stock. This firearm has great accuracy. That is about where the good things end.

The bad, oh boy, the bad. Now I have shot other riffles in .22 up to .308 so when I say this I’m not being a wimp or over reacting. My Tikka T3 kicks like a Missouri mule. If you think you’re going to go out and shoot 10+ rounds in a row (out the box) you’re crazy. If you don’t break your shoulder, or at the very least be very, very, very, sore the next day, it would be a miracle. The 3 round magazine, well you are stuck with that. I have been searching for about a year to find a 4 or 5 round magazines, with no luck. It seems that Beretta one had a 5 round magazine, maybe, but no more. At least no more here in the United States.

So after struggling with the kick while trying to zero it in I decided to get the Limbsaver slip-on recoil pad. That reduced the recoil by almost half. Luckily they had one that my riffle like a glove (Like the Limbsaver brand is supposed to do). Like with any riffle getting the correct scope is very important. The scope I purchased well that will be for a different review. However the zero in process with the T3 seemed very easy as well. If you are entrusted in buying a Tikka T3 do me a small favor, read more then just this review, read as many as you kind find. If at all possible go out and shoot one as well.

Springfield XD 45 ACP 5” Tactical Review

Springfield XD 45 ACP 5” Tactical Review
   After putting 15,000+ rounds down range over the past 6+ years I have a lot to say about this pistol. First off with proper cleaning yes you too can put 15,000+ rounds through the XD without any problems.

   I’ll start with the true specs of the 5” tactical. The frame is made up of a polymer hard plastic type material. With the frame being made of this material, it is very lightweight, anti corrosive, and waterproof. Unfortunately that is where the lightweight ness ends. The slide is forged steel; the barrel is steel as well. It also has a peony rail to attach different items. Personally I have a laser light attached. (LaserMax Uni-Max Laser Sight)This pistol comes with 2 magazines with 13 round capacity. Making it 14 round total, 13 in the mag 1 in the chamber. In the literature Springfield claims “Dual Spring with Full Length Glide Rod”. I have shot other 45’s with a little less kick, but, not worth switching to for just a little less kick.

Breaking down for cleaning is very simple. Fist off the obvious, eject the magazine, then push the slide backward and lock it open with the thumb lock. There is a lever about an inch or less in front of the chamber lock. Push it clockwise (left to right upward). Push the chamber lock switch down. (Before doing this make damn sure there is no round in the chamber). Pull the trigger and the slide comes loose. After that the rest is simple. To reassemble do everything in reverse.

   The entire XD line by Springfield comes with 2 safety mechanisms pre installed. Both must be deployed before the gun will fire. However, they will not stop a child from firing the pistols. Unless their hands are to small to hold the pistols. The first safety is in the grip right where you would it the pistol at the palm of your hand. One that is deployed the other one built into the trigger that is naturally depressed when you squeeze or pull the trigger. Again both are simply put just naturally taken care of when you hold the pistol to shoot it.

   Some of the other interesting features are. This pistol has an internal firing pin, so one loaded you can not disengage it at all. Once calked there is a pin like thing stick out the end of the slide. If you look very closely you can see it, but it definitely be felt by the thumb. Again wit or without a round loaded this will happen. Unfortunately the only way to get ride of it is to pull the trigger. The other nice feature is a lip that lifts up on the slide when there is a round in the chamber.
If you are looking for a pistol with stopping power the Springfield XD 45 ACP is the pistol for you. Lets face it, if you are looking for a pistol with stopping power any .45 ACP will do the trick. However if you want ease of use, accuracy, easy cleaning, then you definitely need to get the Springfield XD 5” 45 ACP.