Blammer - Gun Blog

This is my Bushmaster XM15-E2s. It’s a post-ban configuration, I think from around 1998-9. I’ve never fired it, though this is technically my first gun. It sits in the safe for the day when I take a rifle course.

In preparation for the day when I shoot it, I’ve been practicing its takedown. The trick was to get one of those AR-15 handguard removal tools, which allows you to one-handedly unlock the foregrip nut so you can separate the upper and lower receiver. Ordinarily, it is a 2-person job (at least, according to the army manual that came with it).

Shooting buddy Seuss and I were burning way too much expensive 9mm and 45ACP, and needed to keep our ammo costs down while keeping the number of shots fired high. Enter the Ruger Mk III. We picked this one up new at Riley’s up in Hooksett, NH.

Seuss, who’s much into bullseye-oriented shooting than me, also sprung for a ADCO Red Dot optical sight…we weren’t sure how much it would help, but it certainly dresses up the gun. Combined with the Ruger’s bull barrel and slanted grip, it looks like something out of Star Wars.

The gun itself is a fixed-barrel, straight-blowback design. I imagine the fixed barrel contributes to its accuracy, but makes takedown a bear (read a little further to see why).

It’s a fun little gun to shoot. A brick of 500 rounds of .22 high velocity costs about $5, compared to $10 for 100 rounds of 9mm. The gun is highly accurate, as far as we can tell, if not entirely reliable in feeding. It appears to depend on how the magazine is loaded…dropping the cartridges in maybe makes them stack funny.

My biggest gripe is that taking the thing apart for cleaning is a royal pain in the ass; the manual recommends that you keep a paperclip and a rubber mallet handy to take it down. The fit of the frame to the barrel is tight but difficult to align; you’ll need to be very careful about how the holes line up or you will not be able to put this thing back together. On top of that, there are a number of “gotchyas” you need to be aware of as you re-insert the bolt, let the trigger not be set. Compared to a combat auto, this gun is pretty finicky. It might just be mine…I should call Ruger and see if this is normal.

That aside, it’s a solid gun…it just reminds me more of a 1950s bicycle pump in design than a modern handgun. Now that I’ve gotten the hang of assembly, it’s not so bad.

I ordinarily am not too moved by Beretta, but I liked this one. It’s small, pretty, and Italian. It’s a single-stack, 7-shot 92 series, made sometime around 1985 I’d guess. The full-sized 92SB was the iteration prior to the 92F that eventually won the US Army Trials to replace the M1911. The major cosmetic difference between the 92SB and the 92F, I think, is the trigger guard. It’s rounded in the SB.

The 92SB Compact is a smaller-framed version of the full-sized 92SB with a double-stack magazine. Mine is a Compact Type M, the single-stack version, which results in a slimmer grip profile. It’s still not a tremendously small or concealable gun despite this.

I got this gun used also, because I just liked the proportions on it a bit better. Plus, as an example of a 1980s-era combat auto, it’s nice to have. It’s made all out of metal, and the curves machined into the slide are beautiful. The gun has some ugly scratches on it, but the gun itself locks up very tight.

I find it a bit difficult to shoot accurately, but then again, this is the gun I shoot the least. I still like it, though.

Here’s my Glock 34, a used range gun that’s seen maybe 1000 rounds through it. I got it at Manchester Firing Line, during their Glock sale. It’s in pretty good condition. The Glocks are pretty well-established, so I figured that a growing collection should include at least one example.

I got this gun because the size and shape is supposed to be a little more like the M1911 (what Glock calls the “Practical/Tactical” length). It’s longer than your standard Glock 19 or even Glock 17. It also has an adjustable rear sight, 4.5 pound trigger, and lightened slide for faster cycling, targeted as it is more toward competition than carry. I suppose it might fall into the “operator” category of firearms, if you’re into that kind of thing. I got it because it was a bit different from the usual run of the mill Glock.