S&W gun plumbing

I've grown tired of plucking half-ejected empties from the cylinder of my S&W Model 10-5 .38 Special revolver equipped with a 2" barrel and short extractor rod. So yesterday I removed the stubby barrel and replaced it with a pristine, 4" tapered S&W barrel with a 1/8" wide ramp front sight. It was a cloudy, gray April Fool's Day, which freed my eyes from glare.

I ordered the barrel and a longer center pin from Numrich Gun Parts Corporation. The listing said the barrel was used and in excellent condition. Judging by the barrel threads, crown, rifling and forcing cone, it had never been installed. I turned the barrel in with the aid of a vise, hardwood blocks cut to accommodate the barrel profile, and a revolver action wrench.

I reinstalled the cylinder and checked the barrel-cylinder gap. Then I fired some sighting rounds using a piece of copy paper fastened to the end of a 12-deep row of large hay bales as a target. Twice I had to return to the vise to slightly clock the barrel to adjust windage. The elevation was perfect.

I had to install a cylinder locking pin on the new barrel. I used one salvaged from a Model 10-7 that had been abused by a member of the Colombian national police force. It now engages the longer center pin and a new extractor rod obtained from Brownells.

Don't try this at home unless you've invested in learning though courses or manuals and have proper tools such as cup tip punches, gauges to measure barrel-cylinder gap and head space, and an action wrench. Professional pistolsmiths hate to work for people who attempted to bypass them at first. They deserve to make as much money as they can working for April Fools. Then there are ways to break stuff so it can never be repaired such as that Colombian revolver with the bulged barrel, bent side plate and yoke, stripped threads and misaligned extractor.

That K-frame snubbie spent a lot of time on a shelf. It was too large for pocket carry and it's butt heaviness made it flop and print too much in a belt holster. Out of the box, it shot low so the already-difficult-to-see front sight had to be lowered. With the new barrel, the old Smith and Wesson M&P is alive!

Mr. Goodwrench?

Barack Obama, the new chief executive officer of both GM and Chrysler, entered into another social contract with American consumers today. His promise to GM and Chrysler customers worldwide is:

"But just in case there's still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can: If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it's ever been, because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty."

It reminded me of what I shared with Peggy Joseph in November.

"When Barack is in the Big House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Peggy, 95 percent of us won't have to worry about changing the oil and rotating tires, either. We'll just drive our free cars into the free Jiffy Lube on the White House North Lawn. The newly nationalized Exxon Mobil convenience store dispensing full-service gasoline across the street in Lafayette Square, will be staffed by servants of the people, convicted Republicans on work release."

I should have anticipated White House GM and Chrysler warranty service. This shortsighted blogger regrets the error.

For an appointment or courtesy tow service, call the White House switchboard at 1-202-456-1414. Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industy staffers will take good care of you and your automobile.

Back to blogging

It's been a little more than a week since my last post. For some reason I doubt my legion of rabid fans, confined by the outer darkness as the result of my inactivity, are wailing, gnashing their teeth and rending their garments.

If I'm wrong and you're toothless, teary eyed and and digging through the shrinking supply of wearable Wal-Mart plastic bags--the modern-day equivalent of sackcloth--please forgive me.

In a few more days, I'll start the process of having cataracts removed from both eyes. I'm looking forward to wearing new, non-prescription, Wiley X shooting glasses and not stumbling around outside while blinded by the sun. I'm still waiting for repairs to be finished on the sheet-metal-covered shop door, which I punctured with a bale-loader tine. The sun bounced off a cloudy lens while I was performing a tractor equivalent of a chandelle. The turn radius was a bit too wide. I don't drive a computer as well, either.

I dream of fine May days at the range with my rifles and pistols. I assembled a billet AR-15 lower receiver the past week with a Stag Arms lower parts kit, an A2 stock pulled from a Bushmaster rifle, and an ERGO SUREGRIP by Falcon Industries, Inc.

For now it is wearing a post-ban, flat-top DPMS upper assembly in .223 Remington I purchased in 2003. I've contacted John Holliger at White Oak Precision about turning a barrel from a 6mm Douglas or Shilen 1-8" blank. He has reamers for several 6mm wildcats such as the 6mm WOA, 6mm-.223, 6mm PPC, and others derived from the .22o Russian case.

Conventional wisdom has changed. There's no longer any reason to mark down black rifles in comparison to turn bolts accuracy wise. Plus one receives a better workout when retrieving ejected brass.

Worried about the return of inflation?

If so, invest in gold and guns. Even better, buy a gold-inlaid gun such as this Glock Model 19 listed on GunBroker.

The two Model 19s are priced at $10,500 each. If you want something a little more compact, search for the two Model 26s listed for $8,000 each. These four Glocks are part a lot of 20 adorned pistols imported from Austria. With a little more than one day to go before auction close, there are no bidders.

Glocks, IMHO, are still butt-ugly even if they're golden.

Poodle Parading

Here's a tactical awareness exercise for you. How would you respond if a naked, 14-year-old male paired with a white, standard poodle approached while you were working in the yard?

Here's how this Michigan lady handled it.

When Hogs Fly

Nope, I was plumb sober when I saw hogs flying overhead about noon today. I was operating the Allis Chalmers D17 above 4,000 rpm so I didn't hear the first one coming until it was just above and behind my back.

For a nanosecond or so, the sound of two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofan engines had me thinking the D17 was going to break apart. Then I saw the A-10 Warthog blast past, so low I could see barren hardpoints and the 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger muzzles protruding from its snout. A few seconds later, the second A-10 Thunderbolt II shot over the hedge rows and past the east ridge.

I suspect the two Warthogs were heading back to Whiteman Air Force Base, home of the 303rd Fighter Squadron. It is part of the 442nd Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit. The 303rd returned from a deployment at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in June.

The 303rd won the 2006 Hawgsmoke competition and hosted the 2008 competition at Smoky Hill Weapons Range, a 54-square-mile area near Salina, Kans. It wasn't the first time people from Missouri crossed into Kansas for shooting practice. Nonetheless, I was pleased to see warriors on the wing today.Godspeed!

Let's Sue AIG

I'm outraged. AIG, of which we the people own 80 percent as the result of massive infusions of monopoly money, is still contractually obligated to pay incentive and retention bonuses to some of its past and present employees.

This burning rage is something I share with President Obama and many members of Congress such as House Financial Services chairman Barney Frank. The Honorable Frank said this morning that taxpayers should file lawsuits to kill the bonus payments.

Last weekend, President Obama said:

"This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," he said, in a rare flash of public anger, at a White House event with owners of small businesses.

"Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less 165 million dollars in extra pay," Obama said.

"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" he said, adding half in jest that "I'm choked up with anger here" as his voice caught at one point.

Perhaps the word, "outrage", repeatedly flashed in red on his ever-present teleprompter.

Barney has a good idea, and it needs to be moved forward a step. We the people should file lawsuits to recover every penny AIG has paid out to politicians. Barry, write a $101,332 check to the U.S. Treasury. If not, we the AIG stakeholders will have to get a court order to garnish your White House paycheck.