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heads up!! 09.19.2015. my posts on the plywood gun have attracted some notice by www.weaponsman.com, a very interesting blog. i'd suggest that you drop by there, because they have good posts on firearms related subjects in general, on firearms design and on topics not at all related, but of interest to those of a conservative bent of mind.
they also did a very nice compilation of articles here on the plywood gun, with url hot links directly to those articles. i mean, good gracious, that was seriously nice of them. to say the least. you can find the compilation at http://weaponsman.com/?paged=4 .
don't ask me why the my links are not hot. ask typepad. end of the heads up!!
well, by popular demand (from skeptics & enthusiasts alike) this post has a film taken w/ my nikon l24 *** shooting a full magazine through the plywood gun. the shooting takes place entirely without incident, and the gun functions flawlessly.
i tried loading a magazine of 12 rounds first, but, could not get the magazine latch to engage. so, i took 2 rounds out, this relieved the spring pressure a bit, and the latch engaged just as planned. i set this up so that i could do it all by myself, and then "remembered"/discovered that to film the shutter button has to be continuously engaged. so i asked another guy if he would like to be a cinematographer, he said "no," so i said, "come over here and press this button when i say 'start," and let it up when i say 'stop.'" or something like that.
oh, first, a picture of the safety. i forgot to take it out at first, and had to remove it. i am not sure that you can see what i am doing, so, a picture of the "safety" removed from the lower. actually, it works pretty well, and renders the gun entirely inoperable: it is an expended .357 casing with a bit of wood dowel stuck in it.
o.k., no more tease. follows the film of the rifle being shot. the word processor/typepad will give you a live link, you click it, and then open the file. then you have to press the play button, and if all goes right, you'll get to see me shooting the rifle. nothing much happens, except i pull the trigger, the rifle recoils, a little puff of smoke at the muzzle, and the rifle cycles ejecting the case and loading a new one. the same thing happens repeatedly.
totally without incident.
o.k., let's see if this works. (i tried for 3 hours to upload this thing from the camera via the computer on typepad. i sent it to friends via email, and something called the "google drive" for long videos. that wasn't too bad. then i tried youtube, and that was an absolute breeze: i've put it off for so long, figuring it would be complicated. it wasn't.) it does work, on the following youtube link.--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1bEAy_LNxs&feature=youtu.be . this is not a live link, just cut and paste it to the command line, and press "enter."
by doing so, it has come through perfectly for me.
john jay @ 09.19.2015
p.s. i've loaded some 130 grain bullets, and i will try them w/ the stiffer buffer spring that i couldn't get to function earlier. who knows?
*** (posted at youtube, quite obviously. thanks for you patience, given that i have not figured out yet how to post directly to the typepad processor. i am, after all, "a work in progress." even yet.)
i retired, moved to my small home town, but, over the years the real world has caught up with me.
this is what the world has done to me. quite a mug, eh? (you think that i don't hold the world responsible?) --
i must get around 25 emails a day, from this well minded group and that profit mongering idiot, pandering "survival strategies." (do i need tell you the expression these articles put on my face? laughing.) usually they extol the virtues of gold, or silver or other things of value.
well, o.k. but, it strikes me that they miss certain obvious points.-- if the world goes to hell in a hand basket, or natural disaster strikes, having you financial house in order my not be an issue of first magnitude. other things will become important. for one thing, you cannot eat gold, nor can you drink it: it has little fat content, and no other nutritional value. nor will it keep you warm, or shelter you from the rain and snow in the winter, or give you shade in the summer.
and, in real bad times, it may not be all that handy to buy those things. the people who have provided for their basic physical wants may not be wont to sell any of those things, or any portion of them.
if i were thinking of "survival," my first thoughts would be towards food, shelter, and being able to provide for my general physical well being. "money can take the hind tit," as my mom used to say.
food. beans, rice, flour, pasta, salt and pepper. real bacon and real smoke cured hams. canned goods. personally, i cannot imagine a life worth living without nalley's chili, or in times of real privation, staggs. vienna sausages. you want green leafy vegetables, well then, plant them in the little plot you've laid claim to. grow 'em. eat the deer that eat them as they are growing, and enjoy the bounty of your harvest.
did i mention canned goods. buy jars for canning. learn how to can. (stay away from green beans until you know what the hell you are doing.) in the mean time, canned chili, canned tamales, canned corn, peas, veggies and the like. canned lima beans. canned beans. canned bacon. (really, there is such a thing. really.)
water. in every form. tap water. bottled water. water in plastic containers, or plastic barrels. canned pineapple, canned fruit salad, canned beans and canned peas.
prescription drugs. well, for as long as they last. personally, when mine run out, i am shit out of luck, unless aspirin does the trick.
clothing. denim, flannel, wool pants, wool shirts, wool coats. i'd lay in a supply of heavy cotton underwear, as i don't want to be buried in tattered undies.
buy good heavy weight boots, made out of leather, and socks to go with them, light & heavy wool. if you must have light weight shoes, a good quality deck shoe will provide good service.
forget about synthetic & plastic bullshit. it won't last long.
shelter. if you can keep a house under your control, congratulations. if you must skedaddle, and run for the hills, a good heavy weight white cotton canvas tent and stove, and poles to hold it up with will do you a whole lot better than you ever thought possible. look for high ground, sheltered from the wind, and avoid puddles.
camp near a stream.
guns & ammo. i suppose big pistols are good for ones ego, but, if i were you i would get a couple of rifles in calibers used (now & before) by the u.s. military. over the long run, they will prove way more useful.
buy spare parts sets. stuff breaks, and needs repaired. i don't care what brand or model a gun is, it is a machine, and though a simple and robust one as machines go, it will need repair.
i would buy rifles in caliber .30-06 springfield, .308 winchester, and .223 rem/5.56mm nato either in bolt guns or semi auto. a nice little savage over & under in .30-30 winchester/20 gauge would be very handy, and very serviceable in keeping you fed should it come to that.
as to specific models anything that says remington, winchester, ruger, savage, marlin or mossberg is probably gonna stand you in good stead. a good bolt action is hard to beat. personally, i have gotten fond on my ar-15's, but i wouldn't have them without having the basics first.
don't overdo it. take what you need. as to ammunition, lots & lots & lots. it's tricky getting it from the minions of the state, or, local warlords.
the other weapons and calibers are for defending yourself, your family, and what you have in your little corner of the world.
automobiles. keep it simple. avoid cars & pickups w/ every damned electronic & electric gizmo. if you can find an older car that has no electronics on it, to include electronic ignition and fuel delivery, buy it. an older model 4wd pickup, with stock tires and rims and working systems is pretty good. get a manual transmission w/ a clutch. you don't need all the damned power in the world, as you and your family can haul all you need in a couple of pickup trucks in caravan.
just make sure everything runs, and is up to snuff.
gasoline. it's gonna be hard to come by.
i have been looking into wood gassifiers. you've never heard of them. well, the germans used it for fuel systems in wwii, and much of europe got by with them for 4 or 5 years after wwii, until cheap gasoline became available.
a wood gassifier is handy for putting around in the mountains, where there are lots of trees. you can make wood, e.g., fuel, out of trees. that is handy, and nifty, and saves you the embarrassment from having to beg for gas from some petty fucking bureaucrat.
attitude. cut your hair short. you are not gonna have the luxury of a whole line of shampoo's and the like, nor are you likely to be soaking in a hot tub every damned morning. in fact, you are probably not gonna bathe all that often.
don't worry about it. humans haven't for most of their biological history. you'll get used to body odor in pretty quick order.
you are gonna have to get an attitude adjustment. developing a sense of humor will be helpful. not worrying about the disappearance of your wealth and your stock portfolio will also help. understand that a lot of the things that you have held dear, including your ambitions and your "place in the world", are no longer terribly relevant.
friends. family.
life.
these are now the things that you will have to cherish.
and, to prolong and promote those things, you are gonna have to learn some mechanical skills, and other things, that you did not think important.
in your previous life.
john jay @ 09.18.2015
p.s. as for myself, i am staying put.
"they" come for me, i am dying on my front porch, guns blazing.
i live in a small town. near the river. fresh water. no upstream settlements or industry, nothing in the water except bugs and mud. i have sleeping bags and wool blankets. jeans, boots, and socks. flannel shirts.
propane bottles, coleman cook sets and kerosene lanterns.
and, finally, is this the face of a patsy? --
friends, there is more than one way to skin a cat. and, more than one way to build an ar-15 lower, and avoid the gd gubment being in your damned back pocket.
the following suggests an alternate route to what i am after.
http://www.guns.com/2013/12/06/bolt-together-ar-15-lower-receiver-3d-printer-necessary/ .
this is way cool. this method, coupled w/ aluminum adhesives, should build an absolutely hell for stout lower, out of aluminum, totally without the need for a cnc controlled milling machine. i cannot vouch for the fit, nor for the placement of holes and such, but, the concept is absolutely impeccable. go ahead, take a "peck" with it, be my guess: i don't think you can.
do i like the design? in my desk, i have a print out of the plans. does that answer my question?
john jay @ 09.14.2015
http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/screw-together-lower.jpg very nice, very elegant. indeed.
