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Simmons Red Dot - Anybody?
by
I am contemplating buying a Simmons Red Dot ($50) for my 22/45 for squirrel hunting and target fun. Will this suufice or do I realy need to spend approx. $130 for an Ultradot?
I just came back from my local Gander Mountain where I looked (through) the Bushnell reddot. Looked really great - actually I thought it might be cheating it looked so good. $99
I thought somewhere I read something about the color of the Ruger logo's. That they were black for a reason.
My new KMK512 has Red/Silver logos on the grips and the bottom of the magazines.
My 10 year old KMK678GC has Black/Silver logos on the grips and the bottom of the magazines.
Why the difference. The red is not a special edition or anything is it?
There are no other indications of it being a special edition and I'm sure I would have read something somewhere about there being a special edition available.
Am I imagining things? or is it normal to find both Black and Red logos?
I'm not possitive on this, but I recall reading that the logo's wear red untill the death of Mr. Sturm (Mr. Ruger's partner) at which time they were changed to black. I believe on some anniversary years Ruger has gone back to the Red logo though. Again this is what I recall, not possitive.
TD, from what I understand, that is correct. The only pistol after his death to carry a red symbol, to the best of my knowledge, was the 50th anniversary MkII.
But that's fine by me. It adds contrast and I like the way it looks. Plus now I can tell the difference between the new mags that came with the KMK512 and the 10 year old mags that I have for the KMK678GC.
Here is another twist for you Blackhawk and super blackhawk owners too. The base of a 44 Mag. brass will fit perfectly into the Ruger logo of the factory grips. I don't have pics, but very attractive. I took a dremel tool with the metal grinding dics to the piont where the base meets the rest of the shell. I then popped in a new primer that was inoperable, (soaked in water). Pop out eh old ruger logo from behind and put the brass in it's place.
I got a 512 too and it has the silver/red logo, and it doesn't seem to be an anniversary model, because for one thing it has bolt ears and I'm pretty sure the 50th ann. ed. didn't. Oh well, it's a mystery I don't really need solving, it's very attractive
on what you will be using it for. I got the ultra dot 4 with 4 dot sizes to select from. Generally for outside moving targets and fast acquisition larger is better, but for more aimed shots, precision and lower light, smaller helps.
I have a 22-45 with about 400 rounds thru it. Twice now the bullet fed corectly but no snap. The round had to be manually ejected. No mark on it. and the gun proceded to fire the rest of the rounds. Any ideas?
No snap? Do you mean when you pulled the trigger the hammer didn't fall or that just the gun didn't fire? It's not too rare to find duds in .22 ammo or a "dead spot" on the rim (especially with Remington Thunderbolts for me.) Check the ammo for a firing pin strike mark. It its there, then its not the gun unless its not firing on every round. Try the cartridge again. If it doesn't fire again, then you have a dud and should dispose of it accordingly.
That's odd. Unless the sear isn't engaging, or the bolt isn't coming back enough, it should cock every time.
If you can tell it's the ammo, fine. If not, I'd advise disassembling the gun (or have a gunsmith do it for you, if you're afraid), and make sure everything is in working order.
Just got back from the range with a bit of ammunition testing data that I'd thought I'd share with my fellow shootists. I'm always trying to find the best ammunition that I can shoot large quantities of (Cheap AND accurate). The ammunition tested today consisted of Remington Target, Winchester T22, Remington Subsonic, CCI Blazer with a few groups shot with Eley Tenex Gold and Eley Practice, more or less as a control. The pistol is a '91 vintage MK II 5.5" blued bull barrel that is for the most part stock. Only mods are a polished feed ramp, home made blast shield, and drilled and tapped for a 3/8" rail. Sitting on the rail is a 3-7 Bushnell rimfire dovetail rifle scope (no rings) that is only on there for testing purposes. It's the only scope that I have available, and the eye relief is way too short for actual "shooting". Two ten shot groups were fired with each ammo, with one group of Tenex Gold and one group of Eley Practice. I prefer to save this pricey fodder for use in my rifle.
CCI Blazer, $1.79/50rnd box, .63" , .35", average .49"
Rem. Target, $2.54/50rnd box, .70" , .52", average .61"
Win. T22, $2.79/50rnd box, .55" , .54" , average .55"
Rem. Subsonic $3.59/50rnd box, .52" , .46", average .49"
Eley Practice, $4.00/50rnd box, .46"
Eley Tenex Gold, $17.99/50rnd box (ouch!) .46"
Testing conditions-all groups fired from a lightly padded rest, 25 yards, temperature -8 degrees C, very slight crosswind that likely has no effect on group size due to the way our pistol range is constructed. We shoot down a channel with 18 foot high berms at the target end and at our right (where the wind comes from) I had jamming with Blazer and Remington Target only. Once per magazine each. No flyers at all with T22 and Rem. Subsonic (actually both shot a ragged half inch or so hole into the paper) Blazer was right behind with only one shot out of the ragged hole. The T22 was the most consistant and had no failures to feed. Overall, I was surprised that this 5.5" handgun shoots every bit as good at 25 yards as my bolt action sporter. I never expected a one hole group at 25 yards.(well I did expect PERFECTION out of the Tenex Gold!!) Blazer usually doesn't fail to feed, maybe it was because of the slightly cool test conditions. It looks like given the price and performance that either T22 or Blazer is (so far) the way to go with this pistol. Blazer is far easier to get and a lot cheaper. I can only get all the other tested ammunition at a gun shop = go for a drive. As a side note, I removed the scope, shot a set of silouhettes, replaced the scope and shot another test group. Point of impact didn't change. I plan to do more testing of ammunition in the near future. I want to try Winchester High Velocity solids, Remington High Velocity solids and some of that crappy Federal bulk 550 and Winchester Dynapoint. Crappy in my rifles anyway. I'll let you know how things turn out.
steve
http://www.mclemores.com/
I haven't ordered any Eley ammo from this sight but the prices appear to be far less than any I have seen elsewhere. Down to about .04 for Practice 100 in bulk. If anyone has bought from this sight I would like to know how they were.
have any of you Ruger Nuts (smile) used or tried the Marvel match trigger and how does it compare to the Volquartsen unit?? My new KMK678GC is getting a makeover
I ordered a 22LR. conversion for my SA1911 from
www.marvelprecision.com and while I was there I saw what seemed to be a sweet trigger unit.... They make a supurb conversion....stands to reason that he makes a pretty good trigger....Methinks one of you folks must have come across one??? any experience?
I asked Bill at OnTarget what he knew about the Marvel trigger..He said he installed one a couple years ago for a customer and was not impressed but they may be different now....I am going with a Volq.. but popped for the 28 bucks to have one of Marvels triggers sent out with my 22LR. conversion ..what I found interesting about it is that it has pre and after travel adjustments AND pivot adjustment Marvel makes exlnt stuff so I'll let youz know if his trigger is up to snuff with the rest of his goodies
Bill also said to ask you guys ...( I didn't tell him that you were no help..(smile)
Aimhigh
Hey folks I'm a new MkII owner, and have started reading through some of the postings. Very informative site. Having said that I need to comment on something:
In post 310 there was an interesting thread which got into Constitutional Law issues and whether registration could lead to confiscation. Please read the US Constitution folks. Article I section 9 states in pertinent part, "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." This is why we reference "pre-ban" items when referring to legislation. Since the legislative branch can't pass ex post facto law, the executive branch can't enforce ex post facto. Therefore if you purchased something legally prior to a ban you would not have to worry about the government seizing that property. This also would tie into 4th Amendment issues. This may have been pointed out earlier, but as I say I am new to this post.
Before anyone freaks out on me about Amendment II. I would like to say that while I favor sane and reasonable gun ownership restrictions, I feel that Amendment II is very clear, and that firearms restrictions should come from action under Article V of the US Constitution. Article V defines the amendment process. To all that oppose the wide latitude of Amendment II they should seak a new Amendment placing further restrictions on firearms ownership, instead of subverting Article V. I spent 8 years in the military defending the US Constitution and it bothers me that both conservatives and liberals alike both fail to understand that document and try to subvert it.
Thanks, and I hope I haven't made anyone too angry.
BTW, if you read the Patriot Act, you will quickly realize that neither the Administration, Congress, nor apparently the Supreme Court have any intention of letting the Constitution stand in the way of what is thought to be the "needed security" of the moment.
You misread the ex post facto provision. What that means is that the legislative body (Congress or state legislatures) can't make what you did yesterday illegal if it wasn't illegal yesterday. Meaning if it was legal to PURCHASE the particular gun yesterday, the legislature can't make yesterday's PURCHASE a crime. New criminal statutes can only deal with the future not the past.
But that's different from what you're saying. You're saying that if it was legal to purchase the gun yesterday, the legislature can't later make POSSESSION of it today. They can IF the law passes second amendment muster. But it's the second amendment not the ex post facto provision that governs that issue.
Sorry, I disagree. As I stated in my original posting the reason we have "pre-ban" and "post-ban" firearms under various laws is that the legislature cannot make either purchase or possession of something illegal ex post facto. There is plenty of case history to back this up including the assault weapons ban.
I agree that possession cannot be made illegal ex post facto. Ex post facto deals with the past, however. The legislative body can make FUTURE possession illegal even if it were legal in the past. In other words a new law cannot have a retroactive effect. That's what the case authority holds.
Using this reasoning (ex post facto) then it would be legal for me to have and use a case of my great grandmother's laudanum (tincture of opium) and/or my grandfather's .45 submachinegun which were both leagal to purchase through the mail at the time they bought them.
I thoroughly agree with your arguments about our rights as citizans as well as your reasoning about the constitution. Unfortunately, our "representatives" seem to feel that they "know better" and consistently impose unique interpretations to our fundamental rights - see "Patriot Act".
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can not rely upon logic - we must consistently monitor and challenge our "leaders" to ensure our rights.
When was the last time any of us wrote our senators and congressmen?
Uh... I like the outline format fine, although I was getting used to the other format. But there seems to be a couple of problems with the way it is right now.
the numbering system seems to be messed up and the spacing is messed up. Every line seems to be centered instead of neatly indented to help things be organized.
is it just me? If it is, can someone tell me how to fix it?
The reason things are in line is due to the previous format forcing people to respond in order. Now that the outline format is back, you can reply to any reply you like, and it will indent as it had previously.
As for the numbering, it's that same as it was. I have no control over that. New threads do popup to the top though, and I thought we could try that out with this format for a while and see how it does. If it isn't liked either, it will also be removed.
Radar - you're correct - the messages used to be left-justified rather than centered. Also, the fonts were the easier to read "serif" type rather than this "sans-serif" type.
Well, after long research and searching at gunshows I'd finally found the 22/45 just like I wanted. A local gun shop had a used model in great shape for a great price, but I'd decided to wait on it. When I came back, the guy said he'd sold it the second I walked out the door but he did have the new one left....riiiiight.
Knowing these guys from past experience, they probably just put the used model in the back to make more money off of me. So I did more searching... and found a used but good condition Ruger Mark II Target (KMK-512), blued, for nearly fifty dollars less than the gunshop guy wanted for the 22/45.
Long story short, I'm now the proud owner of a beautiful, accurate as hell Ruger despite the swindlers out there. Thanks to all for your input and support. I hope to start my Form IV Silencer paperwork shortly.
I have and always will love Rugers. They seem to withold a certain special charm. I'm hoping to eventually purchase a M77... always wanted one, but they've always been too much for me.
Congradulations on getting your new Ruger. I took mine down and inspected and cleaned it as soon as I could, and found that the disassembly/reassembly process wasn't as complex as I've heard. Its supposed to be like a big taboo, but I'll never fire a gun I haven't personally inspected all working parts of and cleaned/oiled.
Check out this page to help you out if you choose to disassemble for cleaning. It has pictures, and if you follow it step by step you can't go wrong:
It takes the removal of the tricky hammer spring assembly out of the picture so all you need is an allen wrench to get the bolt out so you can clean from the breach (which in my opinion is always preferable to muzzle cleaning... I'll go to great inconvenience to not clean from the muzzle).
Have a blast with your new ruger, I know I love mine
Also, if you don't already, place an EMPTY/USED cartridge into the chamber before you snap it for practice/disassembly. This prevents any possiblity of the firing pin denting the upper part of the chamber, which is quite prone in rimfires.
Okay, I've been careful about dry firing and have used a casing, but I've also seen several people write that dry firing a MK II won't ding anything. For example I found this post from a few months ago:
"There is no controversy about dry firing a Mark 2 as far as Ruger is concerned. The only concern is by people who haven't looked at their gun. Its fine to use an empty shell as a snap cap, its just unnecessary since the firing pin can not hit the breech face PROVIDED the firing pin stop pin is in place."
Dry firing Rugers is fine. They made them to be dry fired without damage. The problem is you get used to doing it with a Ruger and then out of habit do it with another brand of gun and that's where you get into trouble.
Also, even though the pin stop may stop the firing pin, it is possible after doing this for a while, that the hole in the firing pin that the stop goes through, could stretch and start causing a problem. I'll be safe rather than sorry.
Mark II's can be safely dry fired without any threat of damage to the chamber wall as long as the firing pin stop pin is in place. The firing pin stop pin is a significant pin that mounts crosswise throung the bolt and is easily viewed by a owner for proper placement. The pin is held captive once the bolt is installed within the receiver and cannot be removed accidentally.
Most quality rimfire handguns have a firing pin stop installed to prevent accidental chamber damage, if for nothing else just to safely decock the hammer prior to storage.
Thanks for returning the forum back to a modified outline format. It is a true pleasure to have someone in charge who is concerned enough to act on Website user feedback.
Also, thanks to all of you who spoke up and were heard.
Looks like I'll be continuing to enjoy this forum for many years to come, as I hope everyone will.
I've been lurking on the site for the past three weeks. I just got my first gun, a 22/45, which I'm really enjoying(an expert at 7 yards, ok at 15 yards, greatly challenged at 25 yards)
The site has been a great asset to me as I've picked up a wealth of info. Thanks to everyone. I do like this format much more. Thank you for the change back.
JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
It might be a good idea to bring up change of the board before making them. I think the surprise of finding the site changed without any discussion first might have caused some hard feelings.Getting some feed back from the people who make the site what it is before making changes will help keep it strong....My 2 cents....Rod
I kinda like it, it's more like many of the other boards I visit. The features I like the most are that when a message is replied to the whole thread goes back to the top so everyone can tell it was replied to so they may read it... The way it was you pretty much would never get your post read of you replied to something that was not on the first page, now it will pop back up to the top...
and second now you can do stuff like this:
(Click to enlarge)
I think once you get used to it, you will like it better.
Hello all,
I was hoping to get some advice. I am considering buying a Simmons Red Dot (4 MOA) from Cabela's for about $50 and mounting them with SoLow's.
1)For squirrl hunting and target fun (not competition) will the Simmons suffice? (Want to keep cost down)
2)SoLow vs MGW: I like the lower mountin the SoLow offers. Would I regret going with the MGW?
3)I am a little nervous about the SoLow after reading some problems with fit. Should I quit worrying?
Either brand is a good choice. I've found no noteworthy differences between the two brands. I chose an MGW base for my Ruger. I examined both thoroughly for advantages/disadvantages prior to buying one. Price was a concern, that plus like you, I found the installation/fit difficulties too numerous in frequency to ignore. It appears to me that So-Low Inc. has neither the inclination or desire to correct these well noted deficiencies.
My particular shooting situation also dictated my decision. I have many dot scopes and prefer one brand over another at times, for ease of use or dot size. Having a Weaver scope mount base attached to my pistol vice the scope itself allowed me the flexibility to make the changes I desire.
Installation of the MGW base is a snap. The toughest part is the removal of your old rear sight base. Incendentally, both scope mount brands require rear sight base removal, so neither has an advantage here.
I hope this information will assist you with your decision, good luck!
I love my solow mounts. I did not have to file them at all. The bottom edges were tight, but that ensures that the site is centered at the top and not "leaning" right or left as both sides of the bottom edges that wrap around the receiver touch my frame (but they are aluminum so they will not scratch or anything). I did notice that when I tried to slide them on my receiver while on the frame that I could not get them on easily, but when I removed the receiver they slide right on, then I just had to turn them to line them up for the frame and everything went together.
I have SoLow's mounted on a 22/45 and they fit perfectly -- no filing at all. I haven't tried to remove the receiver from the frame with them mounted though, so that could be a problem. However, mine fits so snug to the receiver/frame that I can remove my red dot and SoLow's for cleaning, then reinstall them without having to re-zero the scope. As for the Simmons scope, I haven't had any experience with them. Mine is a Tasco Accu-Dot, and I have been very pleased with it.
Sorry Jeff, I cannont comment on that particular brand, I do not own or have any first hand experience with them. Maybe someone else will be of some help here.
Thought I'd share a recipe I found in a VERY old hunting book. One part whale oil ( I know, it's impossible to find nowadays, but read on, I'll get to that!), one part turpentine, and one part acetone. Whale oil was used as the first hydraulic fluid in automatic transmissions, and later replaced with the red stuff we are familiar with today, so good old (new?)ATF is a reasonable substitute for whale oil. I store this magical elixer in an old Hoppes bottle. Just make sure it is tightly capped when not in use as the acetone evapourates quickly. Does an excellent job of cleaning the bore, and any other part for that matter on a .22, but won't touch copper fouling one bit. Doesn't really matter, as .22 pistol/rifle fouling is almost all bullet lube and powder residue anyway. Econmical too, as a 3 ounce bottle costs about a quarter. I've been using this stuff for years on my .22s and shotguns, works great. As a side note, my wife finds the "aroma" of Hoppes #9 nauseating ( I LOVE it!!) but this homemade stuff doesn't bother her.
steve
Well, after a long time since this forum was started, I have just stumbled across my own creation. Yep, I'm the one who started this forum.
I had actually thought it was dead. I got slightly side-tracked with various other matters in life and had forgotten this place even existed. Then, somehow, I stumbled upon it while searching for a cb conversion for my 10/22. The biggest shock came when I saw it was still active!
Well, now that I see it has some people who use it, I might as well put it to good use and improve it as best I can. I'm hoping to modify this forum for better usage in the coming days, so it's more user friendly as well as incorporating things I've learned in 2 1/2 years since I started this place.
I would like to thank everyone who has joined and continued to answer people's questions, in the past and hopefully in the future. It is greatly appreciated, and I hope you'll like what I'll be doing to the forum.
Reference: I still have my 5.5" bull barrel 22/45, as well as a stainless 10/22 and a Super Blackhawk (which still needs a rear sight).
I wanted to offer my graditude for creating this forum. It has been invaluable to me as I searched for, found, and perchased at a steal the perfect .22 target pistol to have suppressed. As cut throat as firearms dealers tend to be these days, and as little support (read "none") we get from government consumer protection agencies, it is crucial that we be informed consumers.
Thanks again for providing us a place to share wisdom learned through tough experience and ask questions when we're befuddled.
I think that I can speak for most of the folks that frequent here by offering a big "Thank You!" for creating this board in the first place. I would also like to say welcome back - we've been looking for ya! I was pleasantly surprised to notice a new name at the top of the page when I surfed over here today.
Again welcome back, and if you need any help with the admin stuff, let us know. I know a some of us have been dying to get the search function back (Yes, I've been hanging around here for a long time now.)
Here's part of the new look. The forum is a more updated style and allows threads with new replys to pop up to the top. This should help whenever you need to see if someone replied or not, as well as keeping active threads toward the top.
