1gewehr

There are three variations of the Egyptian Helwan.  All will likely have the Arabic writing on the slide.  First are the ones actually made by Beretta at their plant in Italy.  They will have 'Made In Italy' on the frame.  These are first-rate quality, and are identical to the pistols Beretta sold commercially. Second are the ones made in Egypt while Beretta was still running the production there.  The finishing will be thinner and final machining less polished.  But these are still good pistols. Finally, we have the guns made after the Beretta techs left the plant.  These are hit or miss.  Parts may be hand-fitted and not fully interchangeable.  There are usually obvious machining marks and may be burrs (unless the gun has some wear).  Heat-treating of the locking block and slide may not be correct, so look for cracks on those parts.  These are the guns that give the Helwan a bad name.  Generally, the lower the serial number, the better chance that the quality is good. In the 1980's a bunch were made for commercial sale and imported by Navy Arms.  The quality of these guns varies greatly.  Some are obviously 'parts guns' made from whatever spare parts they had laying around.  Others are of pretty good quality.   Generally, if the pistol looks like a quality product, it will be fine.  But do check the locking block and the slide for cracks and wear in the locking areas.   Because the bad ones give it a bad name, the Helwan usually sells for $200-$250 these days.  Magazines can be hard to find and expensive, so if it comes with spares that would be nice.

  It's not a 'workforce issue'.  It's a plastic injection molding production line.  According to the Magpul rep at the NRA convention in April, they were already running at full production to try to get ahead of demand.  The only way to increase production is to make an additional production line.  VERY expensive!  And a permanent cost to supply what everyone hopes is a temporary spike in demand.

Why are you watching CNN?  You will get more accurate, factual information from Pravda.   Seriously, guys.  TV 'news' is a really bad source of information.  Look at how much they got wrong in the initial reports from the recent shooting in CT.  They named the wrong person as the shooter, said his mother was a teacher, said he had also killed his father, and got a lot of other stuff wrong as well.  They are not in the business of providing actual facts.  They are in the business of entertaining you and creating a 'story'.  Watching TV news to get facts is about as useful as watching CSI for the science.

In stock, GI-issue form, all three rifles are normally about 2-3moa out of the box.  The M1A and M1 can be tuned to get under 1moa.  The FAL was not designed for that.  While folks have and can build a 1moa FAL, it's neither cheap, nor easy.  My favorite FAL shoots reliably at 1.5moa with Australian surplus ammo.  I bought a boat-load back when it was available.  It shoots just over 3moa with the more common Portuguese surplus.  Go figure.  Other folks have said their rifles like the Portuguese, British, South African, German, or other ammo better.  My rifle shoots it all.  It's just most accurate with Aussie.   I prefer the FAL for it's ergonomics, reliability, quick cleaning, and ability to use ANY .308 ammo out there.  The M1A does not have an adjustable gas system, and you must tune the rifle if you use heavier or lighter loads than normal GI-spec ammo.  The Garand should ONLY be fired with ammo spec'd for the Garand.  Heavy bullets are notorious for bending expensive operating rods.   If you decide you must use glass, the FAL and M1A are the best platforms.  Simply because they both have excellent quality easy-to-install mounts available.  Scoping a Garand is best done by making it an M1D clone.  That involves machine work (or buying a new barrel), and modifying the stock and handguard.   All three are proven combat designs.  Keep in mind that the more you modify it, the more you will likely affect reliability or durability.  There are some amazingly accurate M1As out there.  But, those rifles are kept scrupulously clean and never see rainy, muddy, or sandy conditions.

For some reason, the Yugo rifles do not have chromed bores.  And I guess they didn't make troops clean them as I've seen a lot of Yugo rifles with really nasty bores. All the Chinese and Russian SKS rifles I've seen had chromed bores.  I've seen a lot of Chinese SKS rifles that looked really ratty on the outside, but look like they have been rarely fired inside. 

'Aggregated'?  Hmm, I've never seen that before.  Can you take a video of that?   I've had two digital scales.  The first was a Dillon in the late 1990's.  It was pretty good, but two years ago,  a battery leaked and that was the end of it.  that's what I got for being a cheapskate and using discount, no-name batteries.  I then bought a RCBS Rangemaster 750.  It's been a good, reliable, and accurate scale.   Electronic scales are AMAZINGLY accurate.  In fact, most problems people have come from that.  They are affected by everything around them.  Temperature changes, tiny breezes, vibrations, etc.  All of this can be easily handled as long as you keep it in mind when you use the scale.  Here is my scale checklist: 1)  Turn off all fans. 2)  Make sure all vibrating/motorized equipment is turned off (brass polishers, electric motors, etc). 3)  Use the check weights to 'zero' the scale. 4)  When using the scale, stand or sit still until the weight settles. 5)  Don't use crappy chinese batteries!

I will GLADLY compromise!!!  I would like for ALL gun laws to disappear!  I'll compromise and agree to get rid of only the 1934 NFA and 1994 Brady Act (for now). :rofl:   Compromise works two ways.  All I have heard is THEIR way, not OUR way!  We need to take the battle to them.  Let them realize that letting them keep ANY gun laws is a compromise to us. :usa:

Those who can shoot without a scope will be equally adept with a scope-mounted rifle.  The reverse is not true.    If it were me, I would buy one finished rifle of my choice, as well as a receiver for the second rifle.  The receiver is the controlled part which is liable to be banned or have reduced availability in the future.  With the receiver in hand, you can then build the rest of the rifle as funds permit.   Also, scopes and mounts can be added to any of those rifles at a later date.  So, you might buy two rifles and get the scopes as finances permit.   As for which rifle to choose, hopefully someone down towards the southern part of the state will answer.  As for me, if you want to meet at the Stones River range some Saturday next year, I'll bring a FAL, Garand, and M1A so that you can try them all.  None of my rifles have scopes, though.

Previously posted on Tea Party Nation.   What you have heard from many politicians and news commentators IS correct. It IS time to have a reasonable discussion about Gun Control. Let's start with the absolute FACT that gun-free zones and gun control have been dismal failures at preventing crime and mass killings. The highly-publicized shootings at the theater in Aurora, Colorado and now at an elementary school in Connecticut should have proven those facts beyond any doubt.   So lets look at what our leaders have come up with as a way to stop or reduce such incidents. More gun control. Oh, sure, since the gun-free zones and existing gun control have done such a good job, let's have more of it. We have just seen 22 6 year-old children sacrificed on the altar of THAT absurd idea.   In one of the most gun free zones in the world, a man with a knife stabbed and slashed 22 children at a school in China on the same day that 22 children in the US were being shot to death (1). And NBC News reported that this was not the only such incident in China (2). A string of such incidents in early 2010 resulted in over 20 deaths and more than 50 wounded. the largest mass murder in the US, was done by a farmer who killed 44 people and injured another 58 when he blew up a school in Bath, MI. No amount of gun control could have stopped any of those.   The BBC recently reported that handgun murders INCREASED in the two years after the UK confiscated nearly all of the legally-owned handguns in the country (3). And other countries with very strict gun control have seen mass murders as well. In Norway last summer, Anders Breivik killed 77 people before being stopped by a heavily-armed SWAT team (4). In 2009, a 17 year-old in Germany killed 15 and wounded 11 (5).   So, having shown that Gun Control does NOT work, what is there with a proven record of stopping such violence?   Someone with a gun.   Is it preferable to have a murderer free to continue methodically killing until the police arrive, or to have somebody on the scene with at least a chance to stop him?   Ideally, you would want a fully-armed Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, Marine Recon, or other elite warrior, on hand and ready to place their lives between a killer and innocent children. Sadly, mass murderers very rarely attack innocent people when there are armed warriors around. In fact, you could say that they intentionally plan their attacks for places where such armed warriors are NOT present.   However, there are a very large number of armed people who have often shown that they have not only the ability, but the willingness to place themselves between killers and their victims.   In the US, there are at least 9.6 million potential civilian concealed handgun carriers. There are several states that do not require permits to carry a concealed weapon, so there is no telling how many of them may be armed. But with almost 10 million folks that may be armed, there is a good chance that someone you see today is carrying a weapon.   Just last week, there was a shooting at a mall in Oregon. After killing two people, the shooter, with several working firearms and lots of ammunition left, suddenly decided to kill himself. He was suddenly confronted by an armed citizen with a handgun, who was carrying that weapon in spite of signs that posted the mall as a Gun-Free zone (6). There is no way to know how many lives were saved by that decision. And that was not the only time in recent history that a mass-murderer was stopped by an armed citizen (7). 2012 - church, Aurora, CO 2012 - store, Santa Clara, CA 2012 - RV Park, Early, TX 2010 - store, New York Mills, NY 2009 - store, Richmond, VA 2009 - birthday party, College Park, GA 2007 - New Life Church, Colorado Springs, CO 2007 - bar, Winnemuca, NV 2002 - Appalachian School of Law, Grundy, VA 1998 - school dance, Edinboro, PA 1997 - Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi 1995 - store, Muskegon, MI 1991 - Shoney's, Anniston, AL   Sadly, mass murderers who are stopped do not get very much attention from the news. In fact, murders and other crimes that are stopped by armed civilians do not get reported very often. Sometimes, the story is reported, but the fact that an armed person stopped the crime is not mentioned.   For the past fifty years, we have been told that guns are bad. And that civilians with guns will cause murder rates to rise, 'Wild-West' shootouts, and 'blood in the streets'. Firearm ownership has increased during that time, as have the numbers of concealed carry permit holders. And what has happened? Murder rates have DECLINED. And violent crime has declined most in places that have made civilian concealed carry possible (8, 9). Whether there is an actual correlation between those two statistics is in debate. But the FACT is that the 'Wild-West', and 'blood-in-the-streets' nightmares have NOT happened. And the most significant fact is that while firearm ownership has gone UP, violence has not. So obviously, having guns around does NOT cause violence.   Those who propose to confiscate all firearms and/or ammunition from civilians are just ignorant. Making either firearms and/or ammunition is not rocket science. This is a technology that is hundreds of years old and widely known. Anyone with simple skills and a minumum of tools can accomplish it. People with primive tools and materials make machine guns and ammunition under the harshest conditions (10). Does anyone believe that a nation of craftsman-hobbyists cannot accomplish it as well?   The conclusion is that our national policy of not allowing legally-armed citizens to carry in schools and other 'gun-free zones' has been a disaster. It has allowed an untold number of needless murders, and made our children into defenseless targets for anyone seeking to end their life with national headlines. It is time to reverse this idiocy and allow those who are willing and able to defend the innocent.   It is time to eliminate 'gun-free zones' and other restrictive laws, and restore the right of the citizens to protect their lives, loved ones, and property.     1) http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15901085-villager-slashes-22-kids-with-knife-at-elementary-school-gates-in-china?lite 2) http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15901085-villager-slashes-22-kids-with-knife-at-elementary-school-gates-in-china?lite 3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1440764.stm 4) http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/13/world/europe/norway-massacre-report/index.html 5) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/11/germany-school-shooting-winnenden-albertville 6) http://www.mrctv.org/videos/media-blackout-oregon-mall-shooting-stopped-licensed-gun-carrier 7) http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2012/12/mass-killings-stopped-by-armed-citizens.html 8) http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/11204311/ 9) http://www.handgunsmag.com/2012/06/20/2011-fbi-violent-crime-stats-gun-ownership-upcrime-rates-drop/ 10) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JajLlxEiXxg

The NRA has gotten MUCH better since 1994.  And the reason the NRA has gotten better is because the members told it to get better.  In 1994, the NRA helped write the AW bill and the Brady Act.  The flak they got over that is still a sore spot with the leadership.   In 1994, 'ugly guns' were not something the NRA was going to really fight for.  And just mentioning the words 'National Firearms Act' caused Wayne LaPierre to run away as fast as he could at the 2000 National Convention in Charlotte.  This year at the convention in St Louis, he did NOT run away.  He made no promises, aside from admitting that US v. Miller was a bad decision.  Still, that's a HUGE leap forward from Charlotte.   They have made a lot of progress.  And it's because the membership has insisted on it.  I'm still pushing for the NRA to get ANY gun law repealed as that is something they have never done.  But, I feel confident that as long as we keep making noise, it will eventually happen.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/curios-relics.html

ATF says that EVERY C&R firearm you acquire or dispose of while you have a license MUST be logged in or out.  For once, the law is pretty clear about this.  This ONLY applies to C&R firearms, though.   Since your shotgun is over 50 years old, it is automatically a C&R and thus must be logged in.

Tragic, just tragic.  As posted before, we all need to pray for the families and victims.    As usual, the bodies aren't even cool before the calls for gun control start.  In spite of the fact that these killings happened in states with very strong gun control.

True.  I do not see how the two things are related.  Senator Beavers has been a very strong supporter of the Republican Party, so this appears to me to be another mistake on the part of teh leadership.

The only thing I can think of are the shenanigans behind the 2010 TN senate race. To summarize; Mrs. Beavers decided to run for Wilson County Mayor instead of reelection to TN Senate.  Based on that public announcement and filing, TN Representative Susan Lynn decided to run for that TN Senate seat.  Shortly before filing ended, Mrs. Beavers changed her mind and filed for the TN Senate seat, and did not notify Mrs. Lynn.  This left Mrs. Lynn no choice but to run against Mrs. Beavers.  The race run by Mrs. Beavers was not clean, and had a lot of mean half-truths and innuendos thrown at Mrs. Lynn.    Quite frankly, while I agree with Mae Beavers' voting positions most of the time, I agree more often with Susan Lynn and the deciding factor in my vote would be based on character.

What's truly sad is that Republicans seem to have an inability to learn from their success.   In 1994, the 'Contract with America' proposed a large reduction in the size and power of government.  Republicans won hugely in that election.  Since then, they have moved ever further to the left, and steadily lost influence and power.  Oh, wait, they GAINED a lot during the 2010 elections when they had a message of...  Hmm, what was it?  Oh, yes!  'A reduction in the size and power of government'!   It took them 16 years to re-try the 'small government' message.  Perhaps we won't have to wait quite as long next time.  I sincerely believe that if Romney had been vocal with a better message than "I'm not Obama", he probably would have won.   As for TN Republicans, the leadership seems determined to make the same stupid mistakes as the National leadership.

If she can find the original paperwork from the Army allowing it to be sent home, it can be added to the Registry. If that happens, it will be a $15K machine gun. Otherwise, it's a $1000 parts kit as the receiver will have to be destroyed. I have no idea where they go the idea it's worth $30,000. I've never seen a legally transferable STG44 sell that high. Also, most were issued to normal Army units, not 'SS'. The first large issue went to a Waffen SS unit trapped by the Russians. After that, most went to Panzer Grenadiers (Mechanized Infantry) or regular Infantry Regiments. Over 425,000 were made.

[quote name='Troutburger' timestamp='1355149259' post='857751'] Don't put them in the tumbler. I've read the vibration and banging around can damage primers and break down powder causing over pressure. [/quote] Totally false. There have been cases where live ammo was tumbled for a week or longer with no degradation of the powder or impacted primers. But in this case, the problem is that it is STEEL cased ammo. Brass cases will discolor, which usually causes no problems. Steel rusts, and the rust can cause the case to lose a lot of strength. If the case blows out, it can cause damage to the firearm and be dangerous. I would personally not fire rusted ammo.

The Republican Party is trying to stay in the middle of the road, even as the population moves more and more to the sides. They actively pushed conservatives away this election cycle. Small wonder that they lost. Being the lesser of two evils does not win elections.

Muzzle Brake - A device designed to redirect the muzzle blast to reduce recoil or muzzle jump. Typically, this is at the cost of increased noise and sometimes increased flash. The AK-74 is a modern example. Flash-hider - A device designed to cause rapid cooling of the gases expelled from the muzzle in order to reduce the amount of flash. Originally, there were two types, the flash suppressor and the flash hider. The suppressor is what we know today. The old flash hider was conical or can-shaped to cause the flash to not be visible except from directly in front of the weapon. Today, the term flash-hider refers to either device. Modern examples include M-14, L1A1, M-60, and the FPK/PSL Dragunov look-alikes. Combo device - A muzzle device performing more than a single function. Typically a flash suppressor that also allows launching rifle grenades. Usually, they also allow attachment of a blank-firing device. The M-16/M-4 muzzle device is a good example. Most modern military rifles use this in some pattern.

Anyone who can manage the finances of a small business successfully has the ability to understand national economics. Where it gets complicated is that politicians are always seeking one thing; power. In order to get and keep that power they want to be able to buy votes without having any negative consequences. Since most of them are lawyers, they are used to playing games with words and concealing the facts. Economically, here are the facts: 1) We are broke. We spend more money than we take in. Raising taxes on the rich won't change that, even if you declare that $75,000 a year income makes you 'rich'. 2) The US dollar is backed only by faith. If folks quit believing that it is worth something, it won't be worth anything. Right now, the Fed is creating dollars from thin air. If they didn't, the US debt would be MUCH higher than the current more than $16 Trillion dollars. 3) The current US Gross Domestic Income is only $15 Trillion. In other words, if you add up ALL of the money made by EVERY person, corporation, and company in the country in a whole year, it adds up to less money than the government owes right now. 4) The only way out of this is to CUT spending. A LOT! You can talk about waste, military, etc, but they won't solve the problem. the problem is entitlements. They make up over 50% of Federal spending, and are growing at a horrendous pace. 5) Politicians do NOT want to cut spending. Especially entitlements. That's the case, plain and simple. Either we reduce entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Welfare, etc), or we all go down.

Alexander is also pushing his 'Marketplace Fairness Act' which would place a tax on the internet. Politicians love taxes as it gives them more money to buy votes.

[quote name='c.a.willard' timestamp='1354688762' post='855160'] I'm kind of surprised to see a board member recommending adding a restriction on a constitutional right. [/quote] What Constitutional 'right' are you referencing? If you mean voting, there is no 'right' to vote. Congress could restrict the vote to only left-handed, bald piano players if they wanted. Voting is not a 'right'. It is a duty and a privilege. Your average 14 year-old fifty years ago knew more about economics and civics than most adults do today. Government education has done it's job well. If this past election teaches us anything it should be that the populace will now vote for the person who gives them the most 'free stuff'.

Republican National leadership is running scared. They cannot accomplish anything except by doing one of two things; either throw in with the Democrats, or the Tea Party. Either way, the national leadership is made ineffective. Here in TN, the Republicans are feeling large and in-charge. But, once again, they are feeling the pressure from true conservative groups and the Tea Party. I expect that in another 18 months we will see several more of the current Republican leadership lose primary races. That's how politics works. You have to keep beating on them until eventually they start seeing the light, or you can fire their butts.

[quote name='greyofk' timestamp='1354411199' post='853580'] I studied the geometry and loading data for .400 Corbon. I also read a lot of reviews and range reports about this cartridge. I've got impression that reliability issues prevented widespread of this (excellent in theory) round. In theory a bottleneck case should feed better than a straight case. In real life it mostly depends on the magazine. Most of .400 Corbon handguns were converted from .45 ACP. I had not heard about any special mags. My questions are: 1. Who ever had .400 gun or converted other calibre to .400? [i][b]Both 1911 and Glock 21.[/b][/i] 2. How reliable was the action? [i][b]Very reliable.[/b][/i] 3. Did you use factory loads or handloads? [i][b]Both. I liked the Berry's 155gr bullets as they are easy to load and feed reliably.[/b][/i] 4. Did you make .400 brass from .45 ACP brass? [i][b]As suggested above, I used .308 brass with split necks that I cut down and re-sized.[/b][/i] 5. How did the gun function with your handloads? [i][b]Perfectly. The .400 Corbon is an excellent caliber, but in the 1911 it really should be kept just a hair less powerful than the 10mm. I found that 10.2gr of Winchester Action Pistol reliably gives right at 1275fps with 155gr bullets.[/b][/i] [/quote] The pressures for .400 are lower than for 10mm. So it will NOT reach 10mm power levels (1350fps with 155gr). But it will reach a lot higher than the .40S&W's 1150fps with the same bullets. Factory ammo is getting hard to find. But if you reload, you will never have a problem finding cases!