Dave Markowitz
Member
Decent weather and free time intersected for the first time in a long while, so I hit the range today with my Saiga AK, CZ-52, and S&W Model 18-3. On my way up I stopped at the local Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a box of Remington clay pidgeons for about $4. They make fun targets for rifles and pistols when set on the berm.
My main goal for the day was to function test the Saiga with its new Tapco G2 fire control parts (trigger, hammer, disconnector). I also wanted to try my PK-01V red dot sight, which I got a few weeks ago from Freedomoptics.com.
Last night I loaded up 130 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39 JHP in my new Hungarian 20 round AMD-65 mags. When I got to the range, I first loaded one round into a mag and fired the rifle. I wanted to make sure the G2 FCG was working properly, and didn't want to dump 20 rounds in the event the gun went full auto (although I suppose that might be fun for a very short time
). It worked ok, so I then tried it with 2 in the mag. Again, it worked fine. So I put in 4 rounds, and again it worked properly.
Now confident that the rifle functioned as it should, I mounted the PK-01V sight and turned it on. I found that in the bright daylight it was best to set the brightness on the 6, out of 8. I then put 5 rounds downrange to see where it was hitting. Elevation was right on at 25 yards, while windage was only a little bit to the right. I adjusted the windage and started to have fun.
All told, I put 137 rounds through the Saiga and it worked very well. A couple of mags failed at first to properly feed the first round, but I think this was caused by not retracting the bolt all the way. I had no failures other than these.
I *like* the PK-01V. Target acquisition is fast and the red dot is easy to see. The sight unit itself and the mount are very solid, and I feel that it's a good buy for the $169 from Freedomoptics.com.
After exhausting my supply of 7.62x39, I uncased my CZ-52. My first trip to the range with this pistol, late last year, was plagued with self-dissassembling magazines. Since then I got two new mags from CDNN. Today I was able to run 100 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 7.62x25 though the gun without a hitch. I also have some Yugo surplus 7.62x25 but I didn't feel like cleaning up after corrosive primers today.
I put about 50 rounds through the Smith & Wesson Model 18. The .22 ammo I had was CCI Mini-Mag solids. This is good ammo but apparently the Smith doesn't like it. At 25 yards I was getting 4" groups from a benchrest. I should be able to get groups half that size. It's time for me to play around with different kinds of ammo to see what it likes best, something I haven't done with it yet.
Aside from my toys there were other people shooting today who had some neat stuff. E.g., a Winchester M1 Carbine, a P-1 (postwar P-38), a pre-ban Bushmaster with an M-4 upper, and a circa-1950 M1 Garand.
As for the "2/3rds ATF Day?" Well, I got the "F" part covered and now I'm sipping some Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon to take care of the "A." No "T" today.
My main goal for the day was to function test the Saiga with its new Tapco G2 fire control parts (trigger, hammer, disconnector). I also wanted to try my PK-01V red dot sight, which I got a few weeks ago from Freedomoptics.com.
Last night I loaded up 130 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39 JHP in my new Hungarian 20 round AMD-65 mags. When I got to the range, I first loaded one round into a mag and fired the rifle. I wanted to make sure the G2 FCG was working properly, and didn't want to dump 20 rounds in the event the gun went full auto (although I suppose that might be fun for a very short time
). It worked ok, so I then tried it with 2 in the mag. Again, it worked fine. So I put in 4 rounds, and again it worked properly.Now confident that the rifle functioned as it should, I mounted the PK-01V sight and turned it on. I found that in the bright daylight it was best to set the brightness on the 6, out of 8. I then put 5 rounds downrange to see where it was hitting. Elevation was right on at 25 yards, while windage was only a little bit to the right. I adjusted the windage and started to have fun.
All told, I put 137 rounds through the Saiga and it worked very well. A couple of mags failed at first to properly feed the first round, but I think this was caused by not retracting the bolt all the way. I had no failures other than these.
I *like* the PK-01V. Target acquisition is fast and the red dot is easy to see. The sight unit itself and the mount are very solid, and I feel that it's a good buy for the $169 from Freedomoptics.com.
After exhausting my supply of 7.62x39, I uncased my CZ-52. My first trip to the range with this pistol, late last year, was plagued with self-dissassembling magazines. Since then I got two new mags from CDNN. Today I was able to run 100 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 7.62x25 though the gun without a hitch. I also have some Yugo surplus 7.62x25 but I didn't feel like cleaning up after corrosive primers today.
I put about 50 rounds through the Smith & Wesson Model 18. The .22 ammo I had was CCI Mini-Mag solids. This is good ammo but apparently the Smith doesn't like it. At 25 yards I was getting 4" groups from a benchrest. I should be able to get groups half that size. It's time for me to play around with different kinds of ammo to see what it likes best, something I haven't done with it yet.
Aside from my toys there were other people shooting today who had some neat stuff. E.g., a Winchester M1 Carbine, a P-1 (postwar P-38), a pre-ban Bushmaster with an M-4 upper, and a circa-1950 M1 Garand.
As for the "2/3rds ATF Day?" Well, I got the "F" part covered and now I'm sipping some Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon to take care of the "A." No "T" today.
