28Aug06

It's the Law in MI!

"I have a Remington 870 with a folding stock that was installed by t he gunsmith you recommend. Registering it as a pistol seemed like a hassle, u ntil I realized that I could then legally carry it with me in the front seat of my

car. This provided a particular benefit for the type of housing-project security contracts we have.

The practice seemed curious at first, but my registration card, plus my CCW

permit, precluded legal unpleasantries. Now that I'm taking delivery of a new, folding stock RA/XCR, it is my sincerest intention to, once more, regis ter it as a 'pistol.'"

Comment: Legal nuances never fail to astonish me. It appears the folding-stock XCR is the perfect rifle for MI after all!

/John

28Aug06 Ruger Mini-30 At an Urban Rifle/Shotgun Program in OH last weekend, we had, as usual, a number of AR-15s in 223, one DSA/FAL in 308, and one Ruger Mini-30 in 7.62X29 (Soviet-30). All ran fine, except the Ruger, which stopped cycling after hesitantly digesting two hundred rounds of Russian, steel-case ammunition. This is, unfortunately, all too typical for the Ruger Mini-30! We've seen a dozen of them over the last few years, and none have ever finished the program. All have gone down, usually on the first day. This student was using thirty-round magazines (hard to find now), which were difficult to insert, didn't want to lock in place, and generated one stoppage after another! The frustrated student finally put the Ruger away and changed over to a DSA/FAL, which, like all DSAs, ran fine for the rest of the weekend. We see many Ruger Mini-14s, and nearly all are okay, running nearly as well as most other 223, military rifles. But, the Mini-30 is a can of worms. Who wants a reliable, military rifle, chambered for Soviet-30 (7.62X39), should get hold of RA or Krebs and get their hands on a Kalashnikov. Caliber is great (superior to the 223 in every way). Magazines are plentiful and work well, and Kalashnikovs run just fine! /John