Black Betty Gets a Tan

Two cans of Krylon Camo paint, and my rifle gets a facelift.  Haha, I know what you're thinking, "This guy lives in BC, one of the greenest places on Earth.....why the *uck would he paint his rifle desert cam???"  Clearly, I've watched too much TV and was influenced by BHD.

I gave the stock very light dustings of kakhi spray paint and hopefully it sticks, but even if it chips and scraps, I don't care, it's not a wall-hanging decoration. 

My buddy Jay and I went out to Squamish to let off a few rounds.  It shot pretty straight okay, but that's not a slight on the rifle.  It's the owner that needs more practice.

Magpulled the hell out of my Norc

Haha, well my Norinco CQ-A didn't stay stock for very long....My buddy Jay introduced me to his pal Justin Fan of Canadian Tactical Cowboys Supplies, and the next thing I know, I'm buying everything on his site.  Here's a list of everything I ended up doing with for the Norc:

Norinco CQ-A 5.56mm 14.5 inch Barrel with:

- Magpul MBUS front and rear
- Magpul PMAG 30/5 5.56 NATO Magazine (not shown in the vid)
- Magpul OD Green XTM Low Profile Rail Covers
- Magpul OD Green MOE Pistol Grip
- Magpul OD Green MOE Trigger Guard
- Magpul ASAP Sling Attachment Point
- Magpul OD Green MOE Carbine Stock - Mil-Spec
- MilSpec Buffer, Buffer Spring,Castle Nut, Stock Latch Plate, Receiver Extension Tube
- Aimpoint Micro T-1 (Made in China clone from Deal Extreme)
- S&J 9" Rail
- S&J Low Profile Gas Block
- CMMG AR-15 22LR Stainless Steel Conversion Kit w/ 26rnd Black Dog mag (not shown in the vid)

Norinco CQ-A purchased from:
- Lever Arms http://www.leverarms.com/

Accesories purchased from
- CTC Supplies http://ctcsupplies.ca/

Labour to put it all together
Jay at http://j1metalfab.blogspot.com/

 Jay calling it out for me after he helped me zero it.

 The BCR crew.

 Regala shooting my Norc

 The Cap shooting Regala's Glock

My grouping at 25 meters

More Toys - Norinco M14S

After putting the red dot on my AR, I was no longer able to apply everything I learned at work, since we use longer rifle with a 3x optic.  I was able to practice some basic weapons handling, as well as the immediate action drills, but I wouldn't be able to shoot (or see) beyond 50 meters without a scope.  At work, our range practice got us out to 200 meters.  I liked my AR the way it was though, and didn't want to build it for long distance, so I decided to get another rifle.  I wanted to get something that was non-restricted as well, so I settled on the Norinco M14S from Wanstalls

It's hard to tell from the pic, but my rifle was drowning in cosmoline or some other type of packing oil when I opened the box.

Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone and had to mount a scope on it right away.  Haha, actually, I bought a Busnell 3x-9x from my buddy Jay for dirt cheap wayyyy before I even got the rifle, so it was perfect.....except I went and ordered a cheapie airsoft railed scope mount (WE Low Profile Scope Mount Base for M14).  DO NOT BOTHER WITH THE AIRSOFT MOUNTS.  Lesson learned, I thought I'd cheap out with it, but it does not work.  If someone managed to get it to work, it probably took a lot of massaging to make it fit.  God knows, my buddy Jay went through hell to make this thing fit, and it still wasn't straight.  It looked cool, but that's about it.  I had it on for a few hours then decided to bin it and get something tested and proven.  Jay found the M14/M1A CASM Gen II mount for me from m14.ca and it fit like a glove. 

The CASM literally dropped right in and according to Jay, super easy to install, just as they advertise.  The video helped alot, but it also came with instructions that were pretty clear.  Looks like the CASM is a great product and taylor-made for this rifle.  No dinking around, no massaging, and no praying it will fit and work.  I'd recomend this product to anyone with an M14, Springfield or Norinco.  Anyway, I don't have much experience in shooting still, so this set up works for me quite well.  It was inexpensive, and it's great for beginners like me.

Fakepoint Red Dot on the Norc

Well, it didn't take long for me to start tinkering with the Norc.  The first thing I did was threw on a Magpul MBUS rear site, a cheapie red dot.  I also bought some ammo from Dave's Army Surplus  along with some dummy rounds for practice.

New Toys

Well, updates on the Jeep are a bit slow right now because I've gotten myself into new hobby that will probably end up being another money pit.  I'm posting pictures here because sometimes these two hobbies can go hand-in-hand.  I'm not saying that one always correlates to the other, but I've seen it happen more often than not. 

I got my PAL a few months ago and the original intention was so I could get additional training to suppliment my second job.  We get range time maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and I figured I better take it upon myself to stay current, so I got a PAL. 

My first rifle is very similar to my work one, except it's a bit shorter.  I'm using layman's terms because I'm a complete beginner and don't know the lingo very well yet...besides, it will be easier for beginner shooters to associate with.

I bought a Norinco CQ-A from Lever Arms, which is a restricted firearm based on the AR.  A lot of people say it's a copy, clone or knock-off of the original M4A1 with a 14.5 inch barrel, but there are a lot of manufacturers that are making their version of this rifle (Bushmaster, Stag, H&K, etc).  From what I read though, they're not a big fan of Norinco down in the states, and my guess is it probably has to to with copyright issues?  Well, it's about half the price of the cheapest name-brand AR in Canada, so I figured might as well grab one, and if I get bored of the hobby, then I haven't invested that much into it.

My rifle came in pretty good condition considering where they were made, and apparently with a far better finish than the earlier generations of Norinco CQ-As.  It was still a bit rought around the edges, and there were plenty of machine marks, but overall not too bad.  It's definitely not on par with my Diemaco/Colt Canada work rifle, but it all fits together, all the working parts do exactly what they're supposed to, and when I pull the trigger, it goes bang, so I'm happy.

We have this rule in Canada where mags are limited to 5 rounds (yes, I am aware of the LAR-15 pistol mag), so the first thing I did when I got my Norc was to call up Justin from Canadian Tatcical Cowboy Supplies and pick up a pile of spare mags. 

As I soon found out, Chris Costas was right about endlessly pouring money into this weapon system.