28Dec06

On the subject of "Fingers-on-triggers-at-inappropriate-times, =9D from a friend in the Federal System:

At FLETC, at long last (Dec 2006) we've finally dropped the stage of fire i n the requiem PPC Course that requires shooters to have fingers in contact wit h triggers while they wait for targets to face.

Fingers-on-triggers-at-inappropriate-times is the leading cause of NDs in the field. Imagine that! Especially since we've actually been encouraging the mistaken practice for years! I've personally seen and investigated many cases where agents and officers claim to have had no idea where their finge r was when the ND occurred. Conversely, I've never heard of anyone in the field who said they couldn't find the trigger fast enough when they had to. =9D

Comment: Careless, unsophisticated trigger fingers are the direct cause of no end of grief! One would think this would be the very first issue we wou ld address during training!

/John

28Dec06

More on serious rifle triggers:

From my friend in the Philippines:

"I've personally witnessed our Marines do good work at 300m, even 4 00m, with well-worn, 1960s-vintage AR-15s. These are men who are called out when trouble boils over in our southern territories. Many have progressively tak en out entire machine-gun nests using only their rifles, all of which are equipped

with the same plane-vanilla triggers and plane-vanilla sights with which th ey came from the factory- so many years ago. They have simple gear, good ammo,

lots of skill, personal determination, and experience. They don't spend th eir time bemoaning the conspicuous absence of the latest wonder-gear. Instead,

they find a way to win. They are simple soldiers, unapologetically going about their deadly work."

From an instructor in OK:

"My prairie-dog-shooting friend does yeoman work on the little varm ints with a long, heavy barreled, tricked-out, scoped AR-15. Earlier this year, he and I were working over a dog town, when suddenly his AR began to double. E very press of the trigger rewarded him with a fast brace of shots. Bruce was startled, embarrassed, and genuinely irritated.

I ran a quick, armorers' check on his rifle. Nothing seemed bent, broken, missing, or out of place. I folded it back together. Suddenly, his two-stag e, " national-match" trigger system returned to it's proper function. Th e rifle ran normally through the rest of the afternoon.

That day, I, for one, was forever cured of the want of such a trigger! Anytime something malfunctions, looks fine, and returns to service suddenly , without any repairs, I simply have no faith in the system from that point f orward. I would have been far more comfortable if I'd found broken parts.=80

Comment: Replacement AR-15 triggers that claim the title "match " or "target " all have too-light pull weights and dangerously precarious sear engagement. This generates grave issues when they are placed into serious rifles:

(1) Light trigger springs make for light pull weights, but they also generate a slow, mushy reset, occasional double taps, and NDs.

(2) Light hammer springs generate light primer hits, unreliable ignition, hang fires, and damage to the gun when the hammer retards the bolt carrier during cycling.

(3) Light hammers are also famous for unreliable ignition, and they tend to

break in half!

(4) Precarious, delicate sear engagements will generate occasional, unscheduled episodes of full-auto fire and a rifle that may fire when the m anual safety is "on."

The problem with heavy/creepy/gritty, military-service triggers is that naive shooters have been persuaded that they are just unthinkable, and they would rather spend money on a gunsmith and gadgets instead of going to the range with a case of ammo, leaving egos at the gate!

/John

28Dec06

Gun cleaning advice from my pistolsmith, Jim Garthwaite:

"Fill a basin with hot water and dish-washing detergent. Immerse yo ur gun parts and then use a toothbrush to scrub them. You'll find this process removes even the most stubborn, hardened, caked-on bullet lube. Finish by running hot water over the cleaned parts and lay them on clean towels. The parts will dry themselves. If you have access to compressed air you can blow off

remaining water. Finish by doing the 'pencil check' to assu re your pistol is assembled correctly and functions as designed.

Our ancestors used hot water and soap to clean muzzle-loading weapons in their generation. The method works just fine, even today."

Comment: Hot, soapy water is still the greatest cleaning solution there is , and, like diesel fuel, you'll find it in great abundance most places you need guns!

/John

28Dec06

More good advice from the Philippines:

"Here, we make it a habit to keep at least two copies of every gun w e have on hand for serious purposes. When something breaks, we're not left unarme d, and then there is time to get parts necessary to repair the affected gun(s) .

Given the unpredictability of supply, some of us have as many three or even

four identical copies of handguns, just to make sure we have plenty of spa re parts and that we will thus never be victims of import flukes and sudden embargos."

Comment: With the political scene in Washington DC taking a recent turn to the left, "import flukes" and =80=9Csudden embargos" are likely to rear their ugly heads!

/John