In Memoriam

On By Tom LindsayIn GSSF1 Comment

Photo courtesy of the USAMU via the Military Marksmanship Association.

I was clicking around today looking for information on the US Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), when I came across the website for the Military Marksmanship Association, a private, non-profit group made up of former USAMU members. I was surprised to find there on the first page a familiar name, SFC Jason Sargent.

The last time I shot a GSSF match at Fort Benning in 2008, the USAMU served as Range Officers. Sergeant Sargent was the RO when I shot 5 to Glock. How could I forget that name?

I was also shooting with another shooter, for whom it was actually the first time they had shot a pistol. I was fascinated with how patient the other RO was with this new shooter, even though her strings took minutes to complete.

While we waited, SFC Sargent asked me, “Would you mind if I gave you a pointer?”

Well, duh. When the US Army Marksmanship Unit offers you free advice, you take it.

It turns out I was slapping the trigger, that is, removing my trigger finger from the trigger after every shot. He showed me how to shoot with reset, that it, to hold the trigger until the gun cycled, then release it just enough to reset the trigger, ready to fire. The difference was palpable, and I was able to reduce the time on my next string of fire by over 3 seconds.

It was probably the most valuable shooting advice I’ve every gotten, and I remember it vividly. After all, like I said, you don’t forget someone named Sergeant Sargent.

But today, on the front page, was a link to SFC Sargent’s obituary. I was stunned.

** Update – obituary here.

I will let you read his story. I certainly cannot do it justice.

SFC Sargent, thank you for your service, and for your advice. You will be remembered.

Podcast of the Week: Gunsmithing Radio

On By Tom LindsayIn Gunsmithing, Podcasts1 Comment

As I’ve spoken of many times, I like to fiddle around with my guns. I’m a certified Glock Armorer, and I own books on the SKS and Mossberg 500. But, I’m not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination.

That doesn’t stop me from becoming a really big fan of Fred Zeglin and his new podcast, Gunsmithing Radio.

This is a fairly new podcast, with 4 episodes so far. There doesn’t seem to be any set schedule. In fact, I just happened to notice a new episode on my iPod this morning.

In the first episode, Fred explains that Mark Vanderberg, the founder of Gun Rights Radio Network, approached him to start a podcast about gunsmithing. Fred has been a gunsmith for about 30 years, and he agreed. I’m glad he did.

Episode 1 begins with an explanation of gunsmithing and how Fred got into the craft. Episode 2 explains how to become a gunsmith.

Episode 3 gets a bet more technical, by explaining the tools a gunsmith uses, and a little about how they figure into the business side of being a gunsmith.

I was just fine with my level of tinkering, to this point.

Then Episode 4 moves into how to do specific things with a specific rifle, namely modifying the trigger guard of the venerable Mauser bolt-action rifle. I listened, but I have to admit didn’t get all of it. For one thing, most of what he talked about was beyond my skill level, and second, I haven’t even shot a Mauser before, let alone disassembled one.

But all that aside, I’m a fan, for a number of reasons.

The first is the host. Fred’s style and tone is wonderful, at once conversational and professional. You can tell he’s had a lot of experience teaching his craft, which is a good thing, since gunsmithing is danger of becoming a dying field.

Second is that, even though I didn’t understand it all, this is what I call a “timeless” podcast, one I can keep, and listen to any time, from now on. It’s not so immediate that it loses its relevance in a week. Mausers will always be Mausers. Or not – that’s the beauty of gunsmithing.

I discovered one thing, though, that may help me in the future. I subscribe to most of my podcasts through iTunes, and I rarely visit the individual podcast websites. When I was researching this post, I visited the podcast website, and I found pictures of the Mauser, and all the modifications Fred talked about in Episode 4. So, next time, I’ll pay attention when Episode 5 shows up on my iPod, and I’ll be sure to visit the website.

So, Gunsmithing Radio has taken a welcome place on my podcast rotation.

Announcing a Live Twitter Event

On By Tom LindsayIn Twitter

Wednesday October 26 is the 130th anniversary of the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral, immortalized on film in several movies. To me the best is Tombstone.

Anyone who’s followed me on Twitter for any time knows how much I like this movie. When it comes on TV I’ve been known to live tweet it, 5 or 6 times.

I am planning to watch a video copy, without interruption, starting at 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on the evening of October 26 (01:00 UT 27 October).

I will be live tweeting my thoughts, lines, and other sundries using the hashtag #Tombstone. Please join me.

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I’ve done some research, and I find it fascinating to read the eyewitness accounts of the fight. I especially like that the court testimony of all the participants still exists, especially that of Wyatt Earp. A good many of them are listed in the References section of the Wikipedia article on the fight.

Reading these testimonies, one reason I like Tombstone the best is that director George Cosmatos seemed to go to lengths to match the action they portrayed to what the participants said happened.

More as the day approaches. . . .

Sergei’s Story

On By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized4 Comments

I was checking out some of the other blogs on the Gun Blog Black List and I came across Disabled & Shooting, and his post about his SKS. Since I had already planned a series on the backstories of my guns, I decided to tell you about Sergei, my SKS.

I was at the local gun store one day in 1993, and I noticed the distinct aroma of cosmoline coming from the back room. The owner told me he had gotten in a shipment of SKS rifles, and he had hired some local high school boys to clean them so he could sell them.

By the way, did I want one?

Well, I had received a year end safety bonus of $150, which happened to be the price he was asking. So Ronnie and I picked out one of the best looking, with all matching serial numbers, and away it went.

I took home a Chinese SKS carbine with wooden stock, which included a spike bayonet, sling, oiler, cleaning kit, ammo carrying chest pouch, and a set of ten stripper clips.

From the beginning, this was a good shooting gun. The front sight was a little off, but it was predictable enough that I could apply a little Kentucky Windage and be on target every time.

But I wasn’t satisfied. Over the years, here are the mods I’ve made . . .

* Replaced the wooden stock with a polymer Monte Carlo style stock. The original wooden stock had a very short length of pull, not surprising given the small stature of its intended shooters. The new stock made it easier for me to get a good cheek weld.

* Replaced the Monte Carlo stock with a folding pistol grip stock. (That’s the one shown in the photo above.) Yes, you can hip shoot it with the stock folded. I don’t do that very often.

This also led to me first serious gunsmithing attempt, replacing the wood grained gas tube hand guard with a black plastic one. I used my Dremel to grind off the pin holding it on, then used a nail to pin the new on back in place, and ground it flush. I was proud.

* Bought a 30 round plastic magazine, and removed the 10 round fixed magazine. I added a second plastic magazine later.

But, one of the things I found when I took the gun to the Blogger Shoot and shot 200 rounds in one afternoon was that both of these plastic magazines suck. On both of them, the feed lips spread so much during use that they could not be put into place. I had to squeeze the feed lips together to get them to work at all.

So my next purchase will be some 30 round metal magazines. I know TAPCO makes plastic magazines that are supposed to be pretty good, so I may get one of those, too.

* Added a scope. I bought a 4-9 x 30 mm scope, that came with a new rear receiver cover and rings. My red dot scope also fits these rings.

* Added a vertical hand grip in the front. I also had to add a strip of rail to support it. This was simple – I just drilled through the lower front of the stock, and screwed on the rail using stainless screws and some blue Loc-Tite. I also painted the heads of the screws with some flat black model paint.

* Added a fluorescent plastic front sight post, and drifted it perfectly into place. The gun now shoots dead on to a 8 x 12 sheet of paper, hand held, at 100 yards. Did this take some getting used to, after having to aim left about 1/4 inch for 15 years? Yes – it took me 3 rounds.

Look for more mods in the future . . . .