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Evening Win-Mag - Well, been to therange and a couple of lgs; one, I got to fondle a new Ruger 10-22 take-down. He got two in, one left on the rack. Ergo, full retail, sigh. Came with a nice carrying case with space for an extra bbl. Speculation running rampant that Ruger will offer a bull-barrel version. The outside pocket on case sized for a pair of 25 round mags. I couldn’t tell if the case was sized for scope to remain on the receiver in breakdown mode. One would think so but...The other point was there were no studs for mounting a sling, I know we can add studs but one would think, wouldn’t one?

In other newz, no used glocks, sigs in either store, just new ones. Revolvers were in fair supply, and ammo shelves had been depleted, hmmmm. Some models of rifles and shot guns limited selection. Supplies, powder, primers in good supply, no run up (yet).

Federal Champion .22s in short supply round here. I did see one brick at the lgs/range.

Range-trip successful, paper was punched, brass was collected, all highways safely traveled.

Range-trip successful, paper was punched, brass was collected, all highways safely traveled.

Glad to hear about your trigger time. Shame about that 10/22 takedown. I haven't even seen one yet, but I suspect extra barrels will come threaded for use with "muzzle accessories", as Ruger calls them. Considering their production capacity is already booked for the rest of the year, I might just grab the first 10/22 TD I see. I'm glad I did that to all three Rugers I bought (so far) this year. These models seem to trickle in slowly, if at all. Often, it's just the one in the rack that's left.

I got some Federal Champions from Midway, where currently they're on sale. I think I paid $1.89 a box, which is a steal for what is basically match-grade ammo. Midway's ordering page was a bit confusing. I wanted a brick, it said "$1.89 per box", so I put in the number "10". Then the other day this hugh box arrives from them, and inside were ten bricks of Champion for a total of $189 plus shipping. I missed the part on the page that said "sold in packages of 10 boxes".

This worked out better than I expected, because I now have about 14K rounds of just that one brand of ammo, with a very good expectation that I will find the perfect formula for each .22 I try it with. I suspect the CZs will be much less fussy than the 10/22, but I have a "sample pack" of one box of everything, just so I can follow where the results are pointing.

I'm also starting to test the Ely Rifle Match against the Champions. Right now, rather than resize them, I just segregated the ammo by rim thickness. I noticed better consistency in the Ely, with only two about-equal distributions of rim thickness, both .0005" apart. The Champion fell into four groups, with varying percentages, but again each group varying only .0005" from the next. The uncertainty of my measurements (me and my calipers) makes the fifth position to the right of the decimal dicey.

Until I do more testing, I only have hunches. I suspect the Ruger is vey finicky about what it likes, with .222" diameter bullets and the thinnest rim dimensions the best. The CZs, I can only guess that they will be happy with one particular bullet size, but that's only SWAG at this point.

Aaaaannnddd, I was able to sort the rim thickness of my Ely .17HM2 ammo into four about equal groups. Can't resize the bullets, but I can see how well the CZ 452 does with different rim size, especially since I now have the Timney trigger on it.

I could never afford to do this kind of research with centerfire ammo, especially match-grade ammunition. I've decided I need a thousand rounds of a particular brand of dimensional/weapon combinations to find the best, and still have about a brick left over for "productive" shooting. That means I'll have to double my inventory of subsonic test ammo. When I see things on sale.

Tonight's Saturday Night Gun Pron takes a break from .22s to look at a new product for "America's Rifle", the M-faux carbine. It's another replacement for the regular GI pistol grip (the most user-unfriendly item on the rifle, IMHO), but with some fresh thinking behind it.

Bravo Company Mfg has come out with a pistol grip that has less of an angle than the original 1959-version AR15 grip, which has been more-or-less been standard with aftermarket stuff ever since. However, the company points out that shooting styles and combat tactics have changed in those 50+ years. Tactics, optics, and body armor have brought a more square-to-the-target stance, rather than the "blade stance" of presenting your left side to the target (if you're right handed), with the weapon pressed against your chest, and your right elbow stick out like a chicken wing. That stance works best with a more acute angle of the pistol grip to the barrel axis. But today's shooting style with this type of carbine works best, and is most comfortable, with a more vertical grip angle. At least that's what BCM says, and after buying one of their grips, they may have a valid idea. The picture below shows the original AR15/M-16A2 grip, my still-beloved Magpul, the new BCM grip, and a Sig 556 grip, just for comparison.

The Magpul has about the same angle, but is vastly better for me because of its slightly-arched backstrap, and more hand-filling cross section. Eugene Stoner obviously never studied ergonomics, and the GI grip, with its smaller cross section and straight backstrap can shoot a bolt of pain through my arm when my carpal tunnel is acting up.

The BCM grip, second to the end, is noticeably more vertical. Otherwise, it has the same benefits as the Magpul, including a longer grip length, which allows for more room to find the right spot to grasp it, or a slight change of grip to allow some muscle relief. The BCM has a shorter front-to-rear length, but a wider body. This may be helpful to more people with varying hand sizes, but I have no way of telling, as of now.

All I can say is that it feels different, and looks vey different on the rifle. I guess I may have grown so used to the one-unchanging-angle that this new grip seems so out of place. It feels good, but different.

So here it is on my gas-piston rifle, which has become my M-faux "guinea pig", having that new buffer tube, and a Magpul mid-length handguard that sort of reminds me of the FN FAL. Of course, the original FAL had a pistol grip that was even more angled than the one on the AR15, so while it looked sexy and space-agey (we are no longer in the space age), might not have worked the best, at least for me.

I find the Magpul MOE handguard to be comfy for me, without the need for an angled grip, although one could be added. The added Magpul front sling loop is unobtrusive and silent, and works well with Magpul's MS3 sling (not shown here). The Magpul MOE or MIAD (more deluxe, configurable pistol grip) both work well for me, so I'm eager to see how the BCM works. I expect the results to be approximately equal, but if the new grip proves far superior, I see future upgrades to my rifles that use that type of pistol grip. Only extended range time and handling will tell for sure. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. :)