That time of year is once again upon us. A time when friends and family who may not have seen each other in a year gather, gifts are given, and much food is consumed. But before the gathering comes the age old problem, what gifts to purchase. Well if your list includes one or more Hoplophiles this guide is here to give you some ideas.

First up is a gift that is great for when you can’t make the range and hunting season is closed. Cabela’s Alaskan Adventure this game hails itself as the ultimate hunting and fishing adventure to North America’s great last frontier. It allows you to track trophy animals, hunt birds, fish and even ride a dog sled. For Playstation 2 and XBox 360.

For time afield one of the many useful tools one can carry is the Woodmans Pal. This handy variation of the classic machete is great for various chores around camp and on the hunt.

As many of you know a level scope is critical to accuracy at longer distances. What better gift for the member of the Wile E. Coyote School Of Gunsmithing in your family than the Wheeler Engineering Level-Level-Level. This is simply the easiest to use and most accurate scope leveling device I have seen.

While we’re on the subject of WECSOG members, one of the most common applications of the WECSOG trade is building Black Rifles. There are a few tools that make this task much more enjoyable.

One of these tools is called the MOACKS or Mother Of All Carrier Key Stakers. (You know Saddam should have trademarked that phrase, he would have made more money on that than he did skimming money off of the oil-for-food program) Besides giving a very solid staking job on the carrier key it also has a variety of other uses. Especially if you give them the plus version which I highly recommend. These uses include: a bolt tail scraper to remove carbon fouling from the rear of the bolt, a tool built in for removing the carbon build up under the firing pin flange, and a carrier bore reamer.

My favorite all around tool for AR-15 smithing is the AR-Stoner Multi-Tool When used properly one can swap barrels in minutes, switch buttstocks, and change muzzle devices.

One necessary safety tool for the WECSOG is a 5.56 NATO Field Gauge (stock number 184-100-009) While a great many home builders do not bother with Headspace it is the one thing you do not want to have to little or too much of. I use the above gauge to check for excessive headspace and a dummy round to check for minimum. If the bolt closes on the field gauge you have a serious and potentially explosive problem. The same if you don’t have enough and the bolt doesn’t close on the dummy round. You’ll also want to get a Bolt Disassembly Tool to make getting the ejector out easier.

For dealing with shooting in a cross wind it helps to know how much wind you are dealing with. The Caldwell Wind Wizard will at least let the Hoplophile in your life know what the wind is where he is at and also lets him know the temperature.

Finally we come to the one chore every Hoplophile hates. Cleaning! KG Industries has many excellent products that make this chore easier. I’m a big fan of KG-2 and KG-12.

This concludes the Ordnance-Corner 2006 Holiday gift guide, but before you go you may want to think about talking to your Hoplophile about going shooting sometime. Offer to buy ammo and they’ll probably jump at the chance. If not let me know so I can smack the goof. Shooting can be quite enjoyable, and VERY relaxing.

Image courtesy of Oleg Volk

Post Election Selection Trauma?

Not here. While a great many gun forums seem to be teeming with “oh no what do I buy before the Assault Weapons ban comes back!” and many similar messages of panic. I’m not too worried, yet.

In order to win back Congress the Democrats had to run moderate to conservative candidates. Even Nancy (Queen Moonbat) Pelosi’s pick for House majority leader, Jack “Cut-N-Run” Murtha has an “A” rating from the NRA on firearms issues. Democrat Congresscritters got chased out of town in 1994 after a two year orgy of anti-gun legislation with Democrat President Bill Clinton. Afterwards they admitted that the NRA and other pro-gun organizations were the ones who did them the most damage at the polls.

This tells me that at least on a Federal Level gun-control is likely to be a whisper for the the next two years. If Nancy Pelosi, Chuckie Schumer, and Diane Feinswine get too noisy on the issue they face a backlash that will make 1994 pale in comparison. The Democrat party is already starting to tear itself apart from the inside as the radicals who have been waiting for 12 years clamor for their due that has been denied them for so long (Investigations, Impeachmnets, Gun Control, Socialist Policies etc.) They are opposed by those who know only a more centrist Democrat Party stand the chance of surviving this decade. Couple that with the fact that they literally put themselves in debt to win and you have a Democrat Party that needs to tread very carefully or risk losing the farm.

So my advice to you is to not spend junior’s college fund to buy things yet. Watch legislation carefully, write letters, send e-mails, and make phone calls. Become a hard-core pro-gun activist. Only in doing so will we ever manage to keep our Second Amendment Right that so many fought, bled and died for. Only if you see a bill gaining traction should you begin a buying frenzy. Otherwise buy steadily until your supplies reach a level you are comfortable with, but don’t forget to stock up on water and food as well.

Si vis Pacem, para Bellum

Thoughts on see-through scope mounts and AR-15 Carry-Handle mount scope mounting.

I will admit to being an accuracy freak. While some organizations like the Revolutionary War Veterans Association advocate 4 MOA (Minute of Angel) being acceptable accuracy I strive for half of that with my battle rifles and go for sub-MOA performance from my precision rifles. One of the key components for accuracy with a precision rifle is a good and consistent cheek-weld. This is aided by mounting the scope as close to the bore as possible. I can illustrate this for you by showing how the scope is mounted on my Remington 700 PSS below.

As you can see the scope rides comfortably on the stock which along with allowing for a more solid and consistent positioning from shot to shot actually aids in recoil management as well.

Now let’s look at an AR-15 with a scope mounted on a flat-top (A4) style receiver.

As you can see the cheek is once again anchored firmly on the stock. Compare the above image to the one below of a scope mounted on an A.R.M.S. Mount using an A2 receiver.

Notice how instead of a cheek weld you have a jaw-line weld. Not easy to keep consistent, and on heavier recoiling rifles not at all comfortable.

Unless you are using zero magnification optics, like Aimpoint or EOTech where you can look through the iron sights and use the electronic one, you can’t have two sighting systems available at the same time and expect to maintain any level of reasonable accuracy. It is best to get accustomed to using one cheek position and sticking with it. This makes transitioning to other rifles a much easier task because you don’t have to re-learn how to get your eye on the sights when shouldering the rifle.

I should have posted this weeks ago.

On October 9th President Bush signed into law the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act which states that during National emergencies Officials cannot go around confiscating lawfully possessed firearms. They also cannot prohibit you from carrying a firearm if you do so in compliance with State and Federal Law. With exceptions for temporary confiscation while riding in government transportation.

While this law simply re-affirms our Second Amendment Rights it is a shot across the bow of corrupt politicians like Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and those under him. To see what depravities were and are being wrought upon those who sought to exercise their Right To Keep and Bear Arms see Give Them Back