AJ Stoner Muzzle Mrake and Aimpoint PRO for my AR

At last, my new muzzle brake arrived - AR Stoner Competition muzzle brake.  It has a strong resemblance to the SJC Titan Comeptition Muzzel Brake, but about $40 cheaper, and instead of two larger top ports, it has three smaller ones.

And no, it doesn't just twist right on, I had to get a crush washer and learn quickly how to use one.  It was tough getting it mounted without scratching the hell out of it and my barrel.  Thick towel and a plastic bag over the muzzle brake was what ended up working for me.

In addition to the muzzle brake, it was also time to replace my Deal Extreme Fakepoint Micro T1 with the Larue QD riser.  I was just about to write about how awesome this Fakepoint was, and how it lasted over 3,000 rounds without incident, but it finally crapped out on me, and now it sometimes doesn't turn off, or remains at one brightness level.

I replaced it with an Aimpoint PRO, the real deal this time. 

The mount that it came with felt sold, and I don't think I will replace it with anything else.  In fact, the whole unit just feels solid and built for some abuse. 

I can't wait to take my rifle to the range to try out the new add-ons.

New engravings for my Norinco M1911A1 Police model

I decided to try my hand at refinishing my Norinco M1911A1 Police model.  I was going to parkerize it, but I'll leave that for another day's experiment.  This time around, I just tried some cold blueing with a $5 kit I bought from Canadian Tire.

The Made in China and Norinco trademarks were burning a hole in my retina so I went through various grits of sandpaper until they were gone.

Then I had the slide engraved with something I thought would look a bit better than Norinco.

It's kind of hard to tell, but the blueing actually turned out pretty good.  The light is reflecting off it, but it's a lot darker than it appears here, and pretty much matches up with the rest of the pistol.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.  Next I'll try parkerizing.

Winchester model 1894 Canadian Centennial

Ho Lee Fuk, what am I doing?  Haha, CGN (Canadiangunnutz.com) and EE (Equipment Exchange) are dangerous places to be, and I'm willing to bet the addiction is bad as crack cocaine.

I've always wanted a lever gun, ever since I was little, when I had dreams of being a cowboy.  Of course, that's never gonna happen, but the nostalgia is still there and there's still definitely some sort of draw towards the western style firearms.

My buddy Jay's had one for a long time now, I've thought about it, but they were always sort of pricy and I figured getting one would just set me back for other things I wanted more at the time.  But now that I've sort of gotten what I wanted - a 1911, an AR, a shotgun, and a long rifle, it was time to start getting the nice-to-have toys. 

Of course, that sounds all nice and planned out, but really, it was just me browsing on EE and making a purchase beyond my means, haha!

The seller was from Ontario and he was very professional and made sure it was packaged properly, fully insured and sent it off right away.  

In fact, he packed it so well, it may as well have come from the factory

So, I don't really know much about lever guns, let alone this particular model, but from I have learned is that pre-1964 models are more desirable, something to to with the metallurgy of the receiver being alloy post 1964 instead of steel of the pre-1964s.  I have no idea, all I know is I have a cool lever gun, and it feels pretty awesome.

This one happens to be a Canadian Centennial commemorative edition, however, not all that highly prized and sought over, and not all that collectable because apparently Winchester had a habit of making tons of commemorative editions of just about everything.  But still, since this one had Canadian in it, it had a ring of home for me, plus it's furnished with the octagon barrel which seemed like a pretty pricey feature if buying brand new.   

Anyway, this example was a bit older, from 1967, but the action felt smooth and the barrel was bright with good rifling.  I'm a bit intimidated to detail strip it down right now, so I'll wait out on it for now.  Looking forward to taking her out to run a few rounds through

New grips for my 1911A1

I searched high and low for these Springfielf Armoury wood grips, or the Springfield Armory Cross Cannons grip ($40 plus shipping from Springfielf Armoury).  Amazon and Ebay had a set of these "US" stamped grips selling for about $30 plus shipping so I was fortunate enough to have somone on CGN sell me theirs for $30 shipped.  Figured for $30, it would dress up my Can Am deal Norinco 1911A1 Government, especially since this batch didn't have any Norinco or Made in China markings anywhere on the pistol.

I still have yet to master the art of taking pictures in my apartment with crappy lighting.

Anyway, they're a decent set of grips and I'm pretty happy with them.  I think the wood grips definitely compliment the classic design.  I still like the modernized 1911s with the beaver tail grip safety, the skeletonized hammer and trigger etc but I've also developed a liking to the classic look as well.

New Barrel and Polymer Buffer Pin for my Ruger 10/22

 It's Christmas, haha!  My new barrel for my Ruger 10/22 came in today.  It's an E.R. Shaw 10/22 LR .920" diameter 1 in 16" twist 18" stainless steel - heavier than hell, haha!  That was one beefy barrel, and the Archangel stock kit already adds some decent weight to the 10/22.  I'd say it weights nearly as much as my AR now.

I also ordered a few of these polymer buffer pins, supposedly to absorb the shock from the bolt and keeps it from slamming into the receiver.  Apparently,  Ruger receivers can crack or break after long periods of time.

It was a pretty simple install, just strip the rifle with the trigger group out, and pop it in.

 One of the hardest part of the install today was getting the factory barrel out.  It was a right pain in the arse, and I sweat buckets trying to get it out.  I was tempted to take a hammer to the thing, but at the last moment, I noticed it started to give, and eventually, it slid out.  I heard that some people believe it's threaded into the receiver, but it's not.  It's just really, really tight.

There was a bit of gunk after I yanked the factory barrel, so I cleaned it up a bit first before sticking in the new barrel, which fit like a glove.  

I had to make sure that the extractor was lined up with the barrel before tightening down the v-block.  I heard if this isn't done right, it might result in failure to ejects.  The above pic shows it not lined up.  The series of pics below shows it lined up.

It's a pretty barrel, with a nice finish on it.  I've read a lot of good reviews on this barrel, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

I thought the 18in barrel was going to be too long, but it actually doesn't look too bad.  

Like I said, this is a beefy barrel.  It adds a bit more weight to the front end, but hopefully the weight gain will be worth it.  And aesthetically speaking, it looks a lot better than the factory contour barrel.

I'll take her tot he range this weekend and try her out.