Gun Nut WANT!

Here's a short list of the new friends I want to purchase in the near future, as well as a bit of explanation as to why I want them. In order of how I'm going to buy them, behold:



First, the Polish P64. You'll immediately notice the similarity to the Walther PPK. It is in fact nearly identical to the PPK. The P64 has a European mag release (A sliding button on the butt of the gun), is chambered in 9x18mm Makarov, and has a price tag around $160. That's right, a well made PPK clone for $160 (Plus S&H, and transfer fees. Call it $200 all together). 9x18mm ammunition goes for about $10/50rds and is in stock online at just about every major distributor. Keeping your LCP or PPK fed right now isn't so easy, since .380ACP is backordered into oblivion or the price is stupidly high. 9x18mm is also marginally more powerful than most .380ACP loads. This gun is tremendous value for money. I think I'll be ordering one this week perhaps. If you get one, you'll need some new springs. The old recoil spring was rated around 16lbs, which lets the slide beat on the frame because it isn't being slowed properly. Wolff Gunsprings sells a 22lb recoil spring for $8 or so. You'll want that. You may also want a reduced power hammer spring to clean up the trigger pull. Those go for $5 each (or $9 for a pack of three), and are available from 20lbs down to 17lbs. The factory hammer spring is a carpal-tunnel-inducing 26lbs. You'll probably want an aftermarket spring.

Next, the Polish Tantal AK-74. These babies were upwards of $900 in December '08, but now that Obamamania has subsided a little, they're back to $550-$600, which is more reasonable. They are about as accurate as a Galil (maybe shoot 2" at 100yds. MAYBE), but the 5.45x39mm round has less recoil than the 5.56x45 NATO--and that's saying something. My 9 year old niece has shot and enjoyed my M&P15. So a skinny 9 year old girl can easily handle the 5.56x45mm...and the Tantal has less recoil than that! The Tantal has one of the most solid side-folding stocks on anything, AK or not. In addition to being more accurate and more controllable than an AK-47, it's also HALF AS EXPENSIVE TO FEED! Surplus 5.45x39mm ammo is easy to find for about $185/1080rds shipped. Consider that a case of 1000 5.56x45 is about $360, and 1000 rounds of 7.62x39mm is about $280. The 5.45x39mm rounds cost about the same as match grade .22LR ammo. There are really only two problems with the Tantal or any other AK74. First, mags are expensive, at least for AK mags. Used bakelite mags go for about $20 each, which isn't terrible, but AK47 mags go for about $8 each. Second, the 5.45x39mm round never really caught on here in the US, and I'm not sure why. Importers nearly cut us off from 5.45 during the late 90s, possibly just in an effort to make a profit on a low demand, low price round. I guess the solution is to buy a few cases and hope the surplus doesn't dry up for a while.

Now an aside on the 5.45x39mm round. It does not penetrate hard barriers as well as the 7.62x39mm, or even 5.56NATO. However, there is an air cavity that is a byproduct of the manufacturing process that is located in the very tip of the round. This makes it VERY unstable upon hitting soft stuff, like flesh. It spins and yaws, and sometimes the jacket separates in a very violent manner. Center of mass hits with this round are usually a death sentence because of the random wound channel. The Afghans called it "the poison bullet" or "the devil's bullet".

Lastly, the M&P9L. If you read "Blinding you with Science" you've seen the group my 3" barreled M&P9C made from 50 yards. This big boy has a 5" barrel. It's an M&P, so has great ergonomics, is very reliable, and has a pretty good trigger (that gets better if you own an Arkansas stone). Most people who shoot the M&P series agree that they're faster to get back on target than any other tactical tupperware out there. Even my 9C is really quite fast and easy to keep on target during rapid fire. The 9L may turn out to be quite a match pistol, and a good choice of duty gun.

You can never have enough guns. I don't collect them. I accumulate them.