Sometimes it pays to be a squirrel

 Sorry for the prolonged absence. Things have been what things have been here. But I'll try to do better now, especially with a pending international trip coming up to give me stuff to post about.

But today's post is about squirreling stuff away, and how sometimes it gets you a guest spot on the reality show "Hoarders", but other times it really pays off.

The last couple weeks or so, I've been working on a kit-build Glock pistol. I like the idea of building one up from scratch and putting in all the stuff that I want in it. Accordingly I got a frame and a slide and a quality barrel and started building. 

Did anyone else notice a scarcity in gun stuff lately? Turns out that Glock parts are now in demand and many are now apparently made from "unobtain-eum", meaning back-ordered or unavailable everywhere. But for once, my pack-ratting paid off. I recalled doing a bit of upgrading on my first Glock--a Model 23--back about 20 years ago. (Where does the time go?) It occurred to me that I might have a couple of old odd-bits around from that work that I could use as standy-by parts just to get this one complete and functional while I wait on back-ordered parts. So I went to the old tool box where I have always tossed carefully stored extra gun parts and what did I find in a little pull-out marked "Glock" but damn near enough brand new, factory-packaged internal small parts to build TWO Glocks! WTF? Where did these come from?  All I can figure is that once upon a time, I decided that I needed to put in a cache of small easy-to-break-or-lose parts for the one Glock that I had (I used to do that a lot) and I forgot that they were there.Now I have several Glocks but thanks to their engineering foresight, many if not most of these parts are universal across the Glock family and every one of these parts put away for my old G-23 is a perfect fit in my new-build Glock 19. Freaking yes!

I also realized when comparing that some of the internal parts that I ordered that did arrive were actually pretty shoddy when compared to OEM Glock parts, so all the new off-brand slide parts that I'd already installed got replaced with new old stock original Glock parts. The slide now works noticeably better when installed on my older Glock 19 frame for testing. If course most of the main parts and springs are Apex and Wolff but those that aren't will are now Austrian-made stock.  

The gun was finished last night and tested this morning. After the first magazine filled with Federal factory rounds all fired as they should have, I fed it another couple of magazine filled with older misc. Federal and Winchester defensive rounds that I'd rotated out of other carry mags. Those also shot flawlessly. Then the acid test: A magazine filled with assorted junk rounds that just accumulated in my "loose rounds" can. Everything from Blazer to foreign military to loose hydrashocks. And but for one bad cartridge that refused to fire, the pistol digested everything and put them all right where I wanted them. The Apex trigger is short and crisp and resets briskly with a tactile click and I think I'm in love with it.

Only downside to the range trip was being swept twice by the only other shooters on the range, first by a guy with a new shotgun (but at least the action was open and empty...and after I suggested that he keep that thing pointed downrange at all times, he apologized and it did not happen again.) Second time was by a girl shooting with her boyfriend as I was walking out. She fired one round then turned with the gun in her hand and swept both he and I, and that firearm was still loaded. I was less nice in my admonition about that and then her boyfriend began to dog her out for it and she got upset and I decided that it was just time to keep going. This is why I hate this particular indoor range and just use it for testing now.

I promise to start posting again and putting up more pics of the housewolves, porch cats and back-yard chickens that I now have here. (Yep--got chickens.) Also another drive through Mexico is pending and there will be stories and pics. Stay tuned, and if you want me posting more, comment more and let me know that I actually still have more than three readers. (Hi Mom!) 

Quiet on the range...

I got a call from the gun shop this morning. My Form 4 was finally approved for a suppressor that I'd bought about a year ago. Much of the delay was THIS SHOP not forwarding everything to BATFE as they should have--and no, they didn't offer to do anything to make it right--but it finally cleared and I went to pick it up and put some rounds through it today. And I was in awe, as it was actually quieter to me then the unsuppressed pistols being fired an the adjacent firing line on the other side of a brick wall and a steel door.


The can is the Acadian Arms Defender made right here in Lafayette, Louisiana.

I got in on the first production run of the new Defender and I got it pretty cheap. I chose it after evaluating their Predator model, and I was impressed with that one, but this one is better. Just 6" long at 13oz, it brings a 5.56mm muzzle blast down to actual hearing safe. I was shooting my 18" HBAR on the indoor range with just foam plugs in my ears and I felt no discomfort at all. Normally pistol shots bother my ears with foam plugs alone, which is why I use plugs AND ear muffs when I shoot. Unless I'm shooting this one. Heck, if I was outdoors and not shooting next to a brick wall I probably wouldn't have even needed the plugs.

As far as I could tell, the Point of Impact didn't shift a bit. This can is light enough that you hardly notice the extra weight on the end of the barrel, unlike say a Gemtech HALO. Only downside is that being so light it heats up fast, but it is rated for full-auto per the manufacturer. I have it on a Special Purpose Rifle (SPR) though so rapid fire shouldn't be a problem. It can be fully disassembled for cleaning with just one hex-head wrench and it comes with some anti-seize grease for the threads when you install it. This one is direct thread, so no fancy (and expensive) proprietary muzzle devices are needed but that does mean that it goes on one particular rifle and stays on that one. I bought this one specifically for a particular rifle though so that's not an issue. It's a fine addition to my 18' HBAR with a variable power Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40mm scope.

Now I just need to grab a good bipod and sling for it and I'll be all set. (I'm still kicking myself for selling a bunch of Harris bipods that I'd bought used from Springfield Armory at Camp Perry one year. The money I got was good at the time and badly needed but I could have used every one of those bipods had I only held on to them. Sigh...)

M-1A vs PTR-91

Yesterday I found a new (to me) range just over the Mississippi line so I went to check it out. I also got to test and sight in both new 7.62 rifles that I picked up before the Pandemic hit and closed my regular range for the duration.

This rifles: top to bottom, Springfield M-1A Scout Squad and PTR-91.

Neither has a sling yet. It was noticed during the shooting which was done at 200 yards prone from the mat. Eventually the Springfield will get an optic of some sort. The PTR will stay in it's "clean" configuration. I will cobble up some sort of sling adapter for it so I as a left-hander can carry it properly and maybe even use it as a shooting aid like on the M-1/M-1A/M-16 rifles. Both shot 7.62x51mm ammo from 20rd. box magazines.

The first glitch came when I brought out some old reloaded ammo I'd made up for a 1919A4 once upon a time. These rounds were a trifle too long for most rifle box magazines so I'd set them aside for my .308 bolt rifles. Of course they wound up back in the mix and got grabbed this morning by mistake. Dammit, I know better. The M-1A did load and fire them without a hitch. The PTR struggled to chamber a few of them because the bullet tip was right up against the forward wall of the magazine and they didn't chamber well when I'd release the bolt on the first round.

Also, that bolt/bolt handle. As a leftie...grr! When I'd slap the bolt handle down out of it's retaining slot, the bolt and handle would shoot forward and that handle would hit my right hand which was already in place of the foregrip most every time. And it moves fast and hits hard! This can be resolved with training (keep the fingers out out the way) but it wasn't happy-making. The PTR also has a stiffer, heavier trigger than the M-1A (which is almost like a competition trigger in it's lightness and smoothness) but the PTR trigger does break crisply and cleanly. Both were pleasant and enjoyable to shoot from that aspect. Both also present with very nice sight pictures and they shoulder instinctively and comfortably. Each was a joy to shoot, although the PTR's recoil was noticeably sharper with the same ammo. It wasn't unpleasant at all, it was pretty much what you'd expect from a 7.62mm cartridge. It just showed me how effective the M-1A and it's muzzle brake is at reducing felt recoil.

The sights on the M-1A are much more adjustable, and coupled with that trigger, the smoother recoil and the fact that it's charging handle wasn't busting my fingers like the PTR, I gave it the edge in shootability, although I'd be happy with either one in a pinch. Accuracy was tough to gauge because that crummy ammo was printing WAY low with both rifles, but I had no difficulty putting them all on the standard pistol silhouette in passable groups at 200 yards with both rifles.

I love them both. The M-1A was a bit better in the ergonomics and performance areas but it's also about twice the price. I'd fight with either if I needed a "go to" rifle and I endorse them both.

Someone has to be that guy

So being bored last night, I got around to installing a new magazine spring in my Benicia Arsenal rework 1898 Krag. Working on a 120+ year old gun is always a challenge but I got it apart, put the new spring in and managed to get it back together correctly in about an hour and without breaking anything, so I was pretty pleased with myself. The magazine hinge pin in particular is prone to breaking and those aren’t cheap or plentiful any more, probably because so many people break them.
But I reassembled it without a problem, giving it all a good cleaning and oiling while I was inside. Then I cycled some rounds through it for a function test and that smooth old Krag action ran them through perfectly. I loaded a couple more mags up and ran those through too. Did I mention how slick and smooth a properly-functioning Krag is?
I picked the loose rounds up off the floor and was just about to put the rifle away when a neighbor called from outside to ask me something. I went out to talk to him and as we talked, a gunshot went off just down the block. While this doesn’t happen as frequently as it used to, my response hasn’t changed. I ducked back inside And grabbed the Krag because it was right there. I scooped up a handful of .30-40 cartridges, moved back outside and took up a good position behind my car where I could see down the block. I opened the Krag magazine, dumped the shells in, closed the magazine and cycled the action, chambering a round. From where I was I could see two blocks down and a block to the left. My view of the street to the right is blocked by houses. Pretty sure whoever fired that was around the corner and not too far down but as long as they stayed there I was ok with that. My neighbors called the police and probably because they had nothing else to do, they were there in a few minutes. As is typical of NOPD, they didn’t look around to try to find the shooter (or victim), they just switched on all their lights to let everyone know that they were there and then they left. Hell, they didn’t even seem to see me standing in front of my house or the old Krag tucked discretely behind the gutter downspout. They soon left and I picked up the rifle and walked back inside. And then I thought about it. If someone with a gun had come running around the corner onto my street towards me, my house, my neighbors, etc. ... Hell I guess somebody has to have the honor of being the last person in history shot by a Krag.

I can stop any time I want to...I just don't want to.

I saw this for sale on an auction site a couple of weeks ago. Just a couple hours to go, and no bids above the very low starting bid. I bid $5 more and I got it. No one was more shocked than I.

It's an American copy of the old G-3 made by a collaboration between Heckler and Koch of Germany and the Spanish arms firm CETME back in the day. It was a darn good rifle, probably falling in there between the US M-14 and the venerable FN-FAL. I still saw quite a few in use in Mexico last year. And for the American civilian market, H&K made a semi-auto version known as the HK-91. I never got one because the first Bush ban caught me by surprise back in the 80's and even though the last gun shop in the area with any so-called "assault rifles" for sale had a nice HK-91, they also had one last Springfield Armory M-1A and I bought (and still have) that. And new HK-91's were never allowed to be imported into the US again so I figured I'd probably never get one. But then a US company called JLD bought the machine tooling and remaining parts from an HK-licensed firm in Portugal and started making a new version of the rifle here in America in 2002.

This version is the PTR-91. It fires the NATO 7.62x51mm cartridge from a 20rd box and sports a 17.7" barrel. Even with the fixed stock (and they do make folders) it is shorter than the M-14/M-1A or FAL, but alas, it's not much lighter.

Initially they made receivers and used surplus parts to build them, just like Century International Arms was doing, but eventually they started making their own parts and improving their processes with more modern tooling and techniques and today these rifles are every bit as well-made as the originals and they are built 100% here in America in a plant in South Carolina.

Every year I'd see these on display at the NRA conventions or other big gun shows, and I'd admired them for their solid feel and excellent finish. Unlike the Century guns, the welds were always clean and straight, the finish was uniform and nice, and they just felt right. And the price wholesale was well under a grand and still hovers around that if you hunt a bit. This one was considerably less as it was "used", but like the Springfield Scout Squad I got last month, this one has no dirt or carbon or even scrape marks from normal metal/metal contact caused by working the bolt or inserting magazines. I don't know where that one has been since leaving the factory but I'm pretty sure that it wasn't on a firing range.

I'm still waiting for my range to open but when it does, this one and the Scout Squad are going out to tear up the steel plates on the rifle line. I have no doubt that both will do just fine. And now I feel better because if the Dems win in 2020 and keep their promises to come for our AR-15's, at least now I have a couple rifles to protect my AR-15's with.

New old gun

And another post, just because a new (to me) pistol followed me home.

Yep. A Glock 22, Gen 3. .40S&W. Previously owned by my city.

Yep. NOPD is finally trading in their Glock 22's for new 9mm Glocks. They cut a deal with AIM Surplus and AIM is now selling them for $279.00 each. And any officers who want to buy theirs have been told to contact AIM with the serial number and pay...$279.00. What a nice FU from the city.

Of course the city has a bit of a problem with it's history of selling used guns. Back in the not too distant past, a slob of a mayor named Marc Morial made the city the first in the nation to sue the gun manufacturers, alleging that they were "putting dangerous weapons into the stream of commerce" and adversely affecting New Orleans, a city which then (and now) had a very high violent crime rate. Well the first thing that happened was that the SHOT show dropped it's bookings at the convention center, and it had been one of the few events to take up the entire million+ square feet while bringing thousands of visitors into area hotels and restaurants for a week. Then after that economic kick in the nuts, the gun manufacturers showed up in court with numerous guns bearing City of New Orleans property markings It seems that the same city that claimed that the gun manufacturers were dumping guns on the street had been selling confiscated and ex-city guns onto the same streets through some of the same wholesalers that the big companies used. So that suit got tossed and the city lost a lot of money for nothing.

And as fate would have it, I have one of those guns too. It's an old Beretta 92, used by NOPD before the jump to Glocks. It's an oldie--old enough that the late Todd Louis Green looked at it during a class I took with him back in 2011 and laughed. Todd used to be an exhibition shooter for Beretta before he went into teaching full time. He pronounced my gun "ancient" then taught me how to run it so well that I used it for the rest of the class even though I'd only brought it to show him. But here's that one sitting with the new one. Decades of protecting and serving the Crescent City right here. Now they protect me and three whack dogs.

And RIP, Todd Louis Green.


BTW, the new pistol shoots NICE. It may have a NY trigger but it's well-shot and broken in and it's smooth with a crisp break and great reset. I'd suspect that someone swapped out the disconnector and tuned it a bit but I know how fascist NOPD is on such mods...and they check every gun every qual just for that.

I was going to tweak this one but after 50 rounds at the range I think I like it just how it is.

A day at the range

I needed this day. It's been too long, and Southern Decadence festivities are inundating the French Quarter this week-end so it was time to go visit real America for a few hours.

Started out on clays with the Ithaca 12. Took me a bit to find my groove and I missed some ridiculously easy ones, but as soon as I started throwing pairs, I cleaned house. Apparently I do better when I don't have time to think and try to plot the clays. When I don't give myself time to over-think it, I hit them fine.

Then it was over to the rifle line.
I'm old enough to remember when I was literally the only one on the firing line with a "black gun" or "assault rifle" and I got snide remarks from other shooters for having an AR-15 20 years ago. But these days I'm often the only one on the line without one. Times have changed...and good luck banning something that most shooters seem to have these days.

But for me, it was a trip in the Wayback Machine.

Bottom one is a Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) #1Mk3* made at Lithgow, Australia. This rifle was the British Commonwealth infantry weapon from World War One until it was supplemented and replaced by the #4 above it starting in 1941, but some of the Commonwealth countries like Australia and India kept manufacturing and using this variant through World War Two, and in the case on India, production continued into the 1960's, and then they changed over to the new NATO 7.62x51 cartridge and continued producing it
into the 1980's. But this particular one was made in Australia in 1941 and undoubtedly saw some service in WW2.

The top rifle is an "upgraded" version, the #4mk1. This one was manufactured at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Maltby in South Yorkshire, Britain. It was also made in 1941, and I bought it back in the late 80's for the sum of $76.00 from Southern Ohio Gun when Century International and others were bringing in the "endless" supplies of military surplus arms at dirt cheap prices. (I wish I'd bought so many more but most of us didn't see them ever running out.)

Both rifles fire the .303 cartridge and as I still had seventy rounds left of South African surplus .303, I took these two out to the range. I have not fired this #4 since the late 1980s or early 90's so it needed to be sighted in. The first two rounds at 25M hit at nine o'clock there and didn't really please me. The third took me a second to find...what the heck?! Look at that keyhole at the left edge of the target where the projectile went through sideways.

That got my attention. I recovered the spent brass and it looked fine. I pulled the bolt and checked the bore. Looked ok. I fired two more and they were centered, just a tick low as they should have been. I eventually chalked it up to a ammo quality control matter. The remaining rounds seemed to have fired fine and most of them hit the 8" steel gong at 100M solidly. (And now I wonder how many of the misses were on target but went sideways like the one above...)


Then it was Thompson time.

I took the 1928 Thompson out to play for a bit. Always fun. Set a target out at 30M and made Swiss Cheese out of it by putting front sight on the target belt buckle and firing short bursts, letting muzzle rise carry the rounds up the target's belly and chest area. Easy peasy.

I heard another rapid-firing weapon down the line and curious to see, I popped down to see this joker rapid-firing an AR with NO SIGHTS ON IT! Yep. No front or rear but he was going to town.

Sigh...public ranges.


Still, a great day indeed, and long overdue.

New shotgun

I'm still around--honest. I keep meaning to post but wow--so busy. Not busy enough to keep me from picking up a new gun though, and this after I promised myself I'd quit buying them. (In fact, I've been selling a few to thin the collection a bit.)

This one came along at a stupid low price and since I'm really enjoying shooting clays as of late I could not say no.

Gun is a Remington Model 11, 12 gauge, semi automatic. If it looks like a Browning A5, that's because it is. When John Moses Browning designed that gun in 1898, it was a revolutionary firearm. As was usual back then, Browning took his ideas to American companies like Winchester and Remington and they turned him down. So he took them to Fabrique Nationale in Belgium and that firm made tons of money and produced this gun in particular for ninety-eight years. In 1905 though, Remington also decided that they wanted it so they worked out a deal where Remington made them here in the US from 1905 until 1947 when they replaced it with the 11-48. This particular one, per it's serial number and barrel date code, was made in October of 1943, and some of it's markings attest to the fact that it was made for a special customer.

During World War Two, the US government was buying most anything decent that could shoot and a lot of these were purchased as training guns for anti-aircraft gunners and as recreational tools for officers and airmen. Some with shorter barrels were used for guard duty and a few even made it into combat zones as fighting iron. This one still sports it's 26" barrel though and was probably a trainer or sporter. The history on these is all over the place but the provenance is there in it's markings and date codes, all of which match up.

In face the only flaw in this gun from a collector's point is one gouge on the left side of the stock right where an inspector's stamp would likely be and there's actually the faint remains of an ordnance wheel just ahead of it. I'm willing to bet that if that gouge wasn't there we'd see the initials "FJA" for Frank J. Atwood, military inspector, right there.

Still. Sweet gun, clean, and I had the chance to pick up for just over $300 so I wasn't about to say pass on it.

Now as soon as the range quits being underwater I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Accidental pistol acquisition not too shabby

So I started messing around with the Heritage Arms Rough Rider .22 revolver that I bought at a local pawn shop last week...the one that I was going to turn in at the city's gun buy for $500 only to have them run out of money and turn me away along with and 80% of the other citizens looking to turn in their guns. And since I was sort of stuck with it, I started to research it and discovered that it has no shortage of positive reviews. It's also American made. I noticed that mine had a .22 Magnum cylinder in it and because I read before shooting, I discovered that you cannot put .22lr rounds through a .22mag without swapping the cylinder. Bad things happen if you try. So I bought a used .22lr cylinder off fleabay for cheap and while I was at it I found a plug that replaces the ugly and prominent safety lever on the left side of the gun for $20 and I installed that today.

Looks fetching now, eh?

I took it to the range today with both cylinders and a box of ammo for each and tried it out.

It balances and aims well and the trigger breaks pretty light--almost too light--but I'll get used to it. The hammer is a proper "four click" like any real single action revolver should have, and it grouped ok, just a fair bit low and right with both cartridges. Looking at it closely, I discovered someone had bent the front sight to the left slightly. I took it come and straightened it, then gave it a bit more bend to the right because it was over a fair deal. Hopefully that gets the windage closer. I also gently filed down the front blade a tad to bring it's point of impact up a bit. Next range trip I'll see where it's hitting now. But as it stands now, I like the little critter. It could easily become a companion on future hiking and camping trips.

And I owe it all to Mayor Cantrell's bungled gun buy program. Thanks Mayor! You armed another citizen who would likely have never bought one of these otherwise. And this "evil" gun now lives in New Orleans thanks to you.

Only New Orleans could screw up a gun buy event.

Yep, here in New Orleans today, there was a gun buy. They like to call them "gun buy backs" but how can you buy something back that you never owned?

Apparently the Mayor's office got hold of some money courtesy of a New York-based outfit (Can you say "Bloomberg"?) and announced that they would pay residents of Orleans Parish for any working gun brought in, no questions asked and no ID required aside from proof of residency. (Yeah, that had a lot of folks scratching their heads.)

The offering price: $500.

You read right. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!

So I quickly decided to part with an old single-shot 12 gauge with a frozen ejector and glued-on handguard. I mean, for $500? Hell yes. I even went the extra distance and snagged a Heritage Arms Rough Rider .22 from a local pawn shop, and since they were only paying one payment to each resident, I recruited one of the charming young ladies I know from the bar to come stand in line and turn it in, with the understanding that we'd split that payment minus what I paid for the revolver. And off I went this morning with two junk guns and a hung-over showgirl to collect a quick thousand bucks.

(Sorry folks...she made me promise no pictures of her.)

We got to the drop-off point an hour early and the line was already almost two blocks long. Damn!

So we stood in the rain and chatted with some of the other several hundred people and watched as the line continued to grow behind us. Apparently I wasn't the only one looking to dispose of a couple of guns this morning.

And after almost two hours, the line had moved about a block and a half and people coming out were reporting that they were out of cash and were only giving out vouchers for whatever. And then they were out of those. A city official came out and announced that they would still accept any guns that people wanted to turn in, but everyone just laughed at him or shook their heads and walked away with their guns. And we, like the majority of those who came out, were in this group. The excuse was that they didn't anticipate this many people. They then clarified in the news later that they'd only intended to accept 200.

Gun buy-back hits capacity in only one hour.

Seriously? How do you not offer five hundred dollars cash for literally any gun and not expect a turnout? Only Mayor Latoya Cantrell's people could screw something up this badly. I guarantee you over a thousand people were in that line.

And let's talk about those people, because I was observing.

A fair number were what you'd expect in this neighborhood, a couple blocks off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd ad south of Claiborne Ave. They were older black people, men and women, who were bringing in unremarkable old junk. But the majority of the crowd was young, male and white, and several of them still had their guns in the factory boxes, suggesting that they'd done what I did and quickly gone out and bought a cheap gun and rushed down here to sell it for more. And as we all talked, many people openly admitted doing this. Hell, who said capitalism was dead? I think that had they just offered a hundred bucks a gun, many of the locals would have sold their junk and walked away, but since the offering was so high, the money ran out quick and almost every one of those people took their guns back home again. (Note: if anyone on the Mayor's staff is reading this, you need to keep offering $500. I still have two guns to sell you, you jackasses.)

And yes, I did surf the line a bit as we were all dissipating to see what collectibles I could snag, but I came up dry. Well not entirely. Anyone wanna buy a Rough Rider?

I also had to buy my accomplice lunch, and it's a true fact that respectable strippers don't settle for McDonalds after you make them stand in the rain for two hours, so that wasn't cheap either. Thanks Mayor Cantrell. Only a special kind of incompetent politician could screw up a plan to give away money.


Oh--and for the "guns cause crime" argument...a thousand people stood in the rain with guns today and no one got robbed or shot, even after the bulk of them got hosed by their government officials. Maybe more guns don't cause more crime, eh?

New (to me) gun!

Snapped up another 1898 Krag yesterday, but when I got it home, I realized that it didn't look like my other 1898 Krag--it's short.

I got it cheap because it was missing the front sight base, but I already located a replacement and the CMP custom shop can install it and fix the finish as best as possible.

But as I research Krags I'm kinda puzzled. What is this little guy, exactly? 24" barrel. Serial number dated to 1901. If it was cut down, work looks to be arsenal/factory job, not "bubba's basement". Didn't cost much so it'll likely stick around as a shooter if it's at all accurate. Any thoughts, bright folks?

Just...wow.

So the other day, I sent a text of this picture out to a rather well-known firearms enthusiast.

The reply was as expectwed, along the lines of: "OMFG!! Where did you find it? Did you get it? Ah, I see it has the Bomar sight, but not the extended one...Is the barrel bushing tight as hell?"

Yeah, I knew he'd recognize it. Sadly I did too when I saw it in among a few hundred other firearms this past week. It's a custom-built US Service Pistol Team 1911 in .45, and alas, it's one of the 450-odd small arms in the museum at Jackson Barracks, New Orleans, Louisiana that were caught by the floodwaters following Hurricane Katrina.

Of the 200+ buildings on post when the water came, only about thirty did not have to be rebuilt from scratch. Parts of the post were under 20 feet of water and this water contained sewage and just about every chemical you could imagine in a flooded industrial community.

Like the rest of the collection, this pistol spent about two and a half months submerged in the toxic sludge before it was dried off and roughly stabilized by the curatorial teams, however they all look like this one now--or worse--with finish wear, pitting, ruined stocks, etc. Historic military arms from the 19th century on upwards, including almost a dozen Thompson sub-machine guns, BARs, Springfields, Krags, Reisings, Colts of every flavor, and numerous foreign guns too. (I noticed a beautiful German MP40 that didn't look like it got wet at all...at least on the side I could see.)

The reason I got to see them was because I'd gone in and spoke to the staff about possibly donating some of my collection to replace the ones that they lost due to the flooding. One thing led to another and now it looks like I'll get the chance to volunteer to help fix and preserve some of these guns starting in January. It's a big job that really is just getting started and they need the help. Since I've owned or worked on much of what they have, why not?

And as thought, if any of you do have any period US Military arms that you'd like to see preserved in their brand new public museum and it's soon-to-be awesome "Wall of Weapons" display, please contact me and I can assist with the donation and proper credit to you. Some of mine will surely be going in there and I can't think of a better place for them to be displayed forever.