NMBROU
Everybody has different taste
We all belong outside. We're drawn to nature, whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to, or the succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better. Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With all trails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently. With offline maps and on-trail navigation, download the free app today and make the most of your summer with all trails. Welcome to New Mexico Black Rifle Operators Union, I'm your host Sean. You know, tired of the legal crap. I'm sure you guys are too. I think by now everyone who's geared towards the political spectrum, like I have been from the Mexico Black Rifle Operators Union, understands that people have already decided who they're going to vote for. I have seen friends on Facebook and other social media platforms. They're arguing with one another about things like climate change. It's real, but not to the extent that, and these are my opinions, it's real, but not to the extent that they're saying that we're going to die. I'm going off of personal lived experience and a total experience. I've seen in northwest New Mexico in the past, you know, 20 some odd years. I've seen snow packs here in town proper be less than what they used to be. And I can say multiple instances, I can think of multiple instances where we had snow over two feet in Farmington itself. And being a resident of here for that long, I haven't experienced that in 20 years. So, you know, we've gotten a little bit more snow here and there. We have not gotten to where we used to be. Same thing goes for rain. But I don't argue with my friends. My friend, he's one of my good friends. I'll still have a beer with him. The same goes with anyone that disagrees with me. I mean, if you want to vote for Biden, go ahead. You know, that's your vote. In New Mexico, voting for a Republican is kind of a pointless endeavor anyway for presidential elections because we still have to override Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces. And odds are, we don't have enough votes to do that in New Mexico to flip it red. That said, don't argue with people about stupid stuff like that. And the same goes for the 2A. The best way to lead people to the 2A is to show them how cool you are. And I don't mean like be super like Fonzi type cool. I mean, just that you're a normal person. Demonizing the 2A is easy for the left. Showing how good it is and how awesome the people are that adhere to the 2A is just as easy. It's in fact more often than not when they find out that you're reasonable and that you'll talk to them and that you don't instantly judge them for their opinion. It's hard to do that. I'll be the first to admit that, especially in the 2A because, you know, I am such a huge advocate of it. But I find myself in mixed company, especially where I work now, there's a lot of leftists. I've even found some in church that I didn't expect to be leftist. But that's okay. Because our society is not meant to be, you know, the left wing and the right wing support the same bird. And that concept has as long since eroded itself away because of these culture war issues that were fighting. So I wanted to stick to something a little different than that. You know, now that I've given you that little rant about politics in the 2A, is I was thinking, you know, I have a friend who's becoming a very good friend. He is new to the AR world. He's new to the 2A. And he's asked a lot of questions about his AR-15 and about reloading. And one of the questions that came up are magazines. And you know what? I would say a good magazine is more important to any platform you're running into or running with than anything else. It is part of the heart and soul, the guts of the weapon you're using. In case some point, you can buy really, really cheap crappy mags for the AR-15 or the AK and you will pay for it when you go to the range. You will find that they are great range training tools because they will induce malfunctions that don't happen in the platform. A lot of guys I've seen in the AR-15 world have bought repurposed or used AR-15 magazines, but the springs are worn out. They don't have the green followers, they have the older followers, or they don't have the gray ones from magpool nowadays. Those are anti-tilt followers. And if you have an AR-15 magazine that's starting to wear out, you'll know because it'll start malfunctioning. Either it won't feed correctly, it'll double feed, or you'll induce, you'll have a bullet nose in and nose down. The same thing is with Kalashnikov, the AK mags. A lot of dudes will swear by steel mags. I'm kind of of the volition that I have to try them anyway because I've had bad experiences with steel mags, especially Korean mags. The followers have a tendency to be painted and that paint wears off and then it starts sticking in the magazine itself, the magazine body itself. So I usually dry lube those if I have them. If I was going to use steel mags, it's usually Eastern European and a lot they're here again. I've had folks tell me that their Zestava mags don't work as well. And I'm like, I've never had a problem with Zestava mags, but I've heard it from multiple sources that are in the local AK community that I have to take it with what, you know, take their word for it because these guys aren't idiots. Back of light magazines, I've never had a problem with one. So if you can find them and you can afford them, run them. I would also say the same thing with the Kalashnikov magazines if you're running an AK-74 or AK-556-AK. So any of the 100 series AKs that are 556 or 545, that Circle 10 magazines are the best followed by Polish radum for the 556. I've used Polish radum and I have found them to be flawless. I'm going to buy some AC Unity mags for my 556-AK to see how they run because I'm curious and they're about half as much as the Polish ones are. And that makes a difference, you know, if you're new to the platform or you're new to guns in general and you're doing this on the cheap, you know, you're very tempted to try these cheaper magazines. And I would say in the AR-15 world buy once, cry once, and it's not expensive. Magpo magazines, I've had friends that have had issues with them. I have never had an issue with a Magpo Gen 3 mag and I will swear by that and obviously the military agrees with me because that's the new magazine for the AR-50 or for the M16 specifically in the Marine Corps and in the Army. They're getting rid of the metal body magazines. What they're finding is that the lips usually bend on metal and they're dropped on the range. Those lips deform and cause malfunctions or polymer magazines, their lips don't deform or if they do, it's temporary before they're molded back into shape by how they're made. So it's half a dozen one dozen the other. I would actually say talk to you, you know, this is where you need to be a good advocate, you know. What is your experience? Well, my experience with Magpo differs very greatly from my friend who was in the military. You know, he swears by steel case or steel magazines or metal body magazines for the AR-15. I can't say that. You know, I've ran into a few bad metal magazine ones. Those were second cast offs on that set. I would say this is one of those cheap things that you need to stack deep because this is one of the things that's demonized by the left specifically and the right sometimes cow cows and lets those bands slide. You look at California, you look at Washington, you look at Oregon, you look at Colorado. I never thought out here about a magazine band in Colorado and it damned if it didn't happen. It's not enforceable and there's enough magazines in the world right now that you're not going to be able to find them or you're going to be able to find them and be able to buy them whether they're gray market or whatever you want to say. That being said, if you're caught in those states where they've actually banned them outright, there's a potential you get done by the law. So, you know, do this at your own peril, Freeman don't ask permission. It's a feeding device, you know, and that this I think will be decided in the Supreme Court eventually. It's just going to take forever to get there. You know, and then the other thing I was thinking about is, you know, it's okay to like something someone else doesn't in the two way. You know, I am an AR15 guy by extension. I became an AR15 guy because my brother is a huge AR15 guy and he had a lot of issues with his first one because it was never running. You know, I take my Kalashnikov one of mine out and I'd run it right next to his and mine would run forever. Turns out it was just a maintenance issue. You know, my brother hadn't been in the military, hadn't hung out with military dudes and was kind of afraid to ask dudes about how do you keep it lubed and fed. And when I build a rifle or get interested in the platform, I kind of go all in and get all educated as best as I can about the platform because I'm curious. So, my brother let kind of lead me down that path of becoming an AR15 guy is I built one because I wanted to know why he was having so many issues with his and that didn't seem realistic. It didn't seem I didn't understand why because the military for this gun for the AR15 are the M16, I should say, to be in military service for 60 years tells you something that the gun works and for it to have the cult following it has in the United States. It means it works. Why is he having issues? Well, like I said, it was more so a lubrication issue. You know, the AR15 is one of those guns, you have to know how to lubricate it. It does run better if it's a little wet versus a klashnikov. Klashnikov, you kind of can beat it around, but it's never going to be as accurate as an AR15. You know, that's a hard pill for me to swallow being an AK guy and an AR15 guy. But it's the truth. I've taken my 556 AK and I can get it close but nowhere near as accurate as I can. You know, my John Wick build AR15 and I'm the one problem with it, right? I'm the sole continued source there, meaning that I'm the one that's shooting it. I'm the one that owns it. Maybe it's my trigger pull. No, it's not. I've had other people shoot it and both of them, they say, are really, really accurate. But I've tried to dial in my 556 AK, my AK 106 SLR 106. And it just doesn't have the tight groups that my AR15 that I built does. But it's okay to like things that other people don't. And I mean, if I was going to say that there's one guilty pleasure of the AR15 world that I have, it would honestly be my, you know, my M1 grand. Nowadays, it reminds me of my dad. It has a lot of historical precedents. But nowadays, is it practical to be out shooting 30.06 with the prices that you pay for the ammunition? And is it practical to get the accuracy of the 30.06 from it that you could compare it to like an AR10 nowadays? They are dramatically different. You see what I'm saying here? Same thing with, you know, my brother's AR10 versus like my PTR91. They're close in accuracy, but it takes some humble tie there for you to understand that these guns were made to different tolerances and different time frames. Now, can you make the PTR91 very accurate? Absolutely. Will it compete with an AR10? I would say mine is pretty close, but mine is a sample size of one. It's also for someone who used to shoot competitively, who has dialed in, taken the time to ladder load his loads to do trigger, trigger work on my PTR because I will tell you that an HK trigger sucks stock. They are nothing. I mean, a stock bone stock AR15 trigger is night and day better than anything you get from the HK world owning several of those style of rifles. If you, I own a 556, so I own an HK93 clone and I can tell you right now that anyone who wants to say that that stacks up to an AR15 in ergonomics, in ease of use and service ability, it's not the fact. I mean, there's some humble pie you have to eat there to understand that the gun was made in the 60s, just like the AR15, but the AR15 has been continually updated and moved forward. Now, the newer iterations of the HK, the HK93 that PTR is putting out, that have bolt stops, that have different mag releases, that are more clones to the AR15 ergonomics, that's a different thing, but they're heavier and there's no way to get around that and that's part of, you know, you can like other things, but if you think you're going to take, you know, an old school mose and the gaunt and the ball drops and that's your one rifle and you think you're going to be semi-high-ac and be out there sniping people with, you know, with no sight, with no scope versus someone that has, you know, a Ruger All-American 308 with a scope on it, you're sleeping and you better slip in your PJs because you're you're definitely dreaming, it's not a thing. The accuracy of modern guns versus older guns is dramatically different because machining has improved that much and it's cool if you like it, you know, if you want a garbage rod, more power to you, if you like the mouser, you know, I'm a huge mouser, K98 fan, but I have no delusions that if the ball dropped that I'm going to be using a mouser rifle as a sniper rifle, at least a bone stock one, I have a couple that have been really worked on with custom triggers, fiber, bedded stocks, you know, bedded actions that is, with custom loads, muzzle brakes, the whole bit better optics, that is a different story than trying to say that a stock K98 is going to keep up with a modern sniper rifle, like an M24 or an M40, it's not going to happen. And to think that you're going to get a, you know, a 60 or 70 year old gun design or a 100 year old gun in the case of the mose and the gaunt and the K98 and you think you're going to run with these other dudes, remember that the average accuracy for a mouser back in the day was about six inches at 100 meters, you know, about that's about what they considered acceptable, okay. And your modern AR 15 is sub M away or three inches is a rack grade MR, AR 15, you know, the same thing goes for the AK world, the AK world is actually six to 11 inches is what they considered accurate enough to go fight. So don't ever think that you're going to, you know, be one of these badasses with this old gun, you need to be very practiced and become a good shooter, you need to improve your equipment if you're going to try to be that guy. But it's okay to like them all the same, you know, I'm a collector, but I also understand the flaws of each one. You know, I want a G 43 rifle, because it's something that my dad wanted, it's something I always wanted as a kid, you know, Hitler's in one grand. But I have under no illusions to know that there are some really big flaws in that gun. It's overgassed. There's a piece on the back of it that is used to enclose the action that tends to pop loose over time because of that overgassing. The gun will beat itself to death, but you have to understand the time frame it was built. The Nazis were actually thinking that, well, we'll just replace the rifle, you know, they don't really care. It's it's end of its service life at that point. And the person using it's probably not going to last that long anyway. That's the same thought process that happened with the Kalashnikov. You know, the Kalashnikov will go a million rounds, but it's going to have a worn out barrel. It's not going to be the most accurate thing possible, you know, Robske at AKOU. He's doing an accuracy, accuracy series right now with AK rifles. Some of them have, you know, the mighty washer ones again, as I like to say, it has over 10,000 rounds. And he honestly quick counting, he said, and it was still ringing the gong at 600 yards or 700 yards. And that's impressive. But understand, that's also Robske's a scout sniper. Are you capable of doing that? You know, with modern optics, you know, it's very possible if you're a good shooter. And if you have spent the time and effort, you make anything do pretty well. But you also have to understand that there's flaws to this. You know, there's a lot of modern comfort pieces to make a rifle better. And a lot of times people get into that dream world and think that they're going to be some bad dude or going to use this rifle in a roll or this pistol in a roll, that it's just not going to fit ever. You know, it's it's akin to, like I've said before, taking the PO8 Luger and turning it into a concealed carry piece. Can you do it? Absolutely. Is it your primary choice? Or should it be your primary choice? Absolutely not. But it's a very cool gun all the same. You know, you also have to remember that a lot of dudes are just getting into this, this arena. You know, my brother, he has a garbage rod. I give him hell about it because we were always Mauser guys. You know, my dad was a German rifle fan and to see my brother. And he, I think he got it from a friend that was in a tight and he bought it because he wanted to make sure his friend had could eat. That's pretty much what it boiled down to. So he still got the rifle. And you know, he's he shot it. He's pretty accurate with it. And he's like, well, it's pretty accurate for what it is. But it is a pain in the butt to load and unload. And it's a pain in the butt to do very much with like, yeah, well, it's 100 years old, 100 plus years old. What did you expect? That round is still used in the Russian military and it's used around the world. But that particular rifle is still putting people in the dirt in Ukraine right now on both sides of the war, because it's one of the most prolific rifles that ever existed. Is it what I'm going to choose? If I'm going to have to have a bolt action rifle to go out to war with? Absolutely not. If I had a bolt action rifle and I couldn't have optics and I was going to war, it'd probably be a K98 because I know how to use a stripper clips or it'd be a 19, you know, Springfield 1903. And why? Because the accuracy because it's basically a mouser rifle and again, stripper clips, or maybe it would be an infield, you know, SMLE because then you got 10 rounds and the bolts smooth too, you know, that type of thing, but it is not ideal for anything I would ever do. And that's when I start thinking about that, you know, I'm an old school fan of the lever action guns. I need to get one and add one to my collection, but I don't understand the tactical ones because to me, that's people trying to update the design and bring it to a role that it's nowhere ever going to fill. Now, if they ever banned assault weapons or banned semi-automatics and I had to have a gun to keep by my bed that was capable of putting a lot of rounds down in a short distance, you know, short amount of time and be accurate, I'd probably buy a lever action 357 Magnum. And the reason why is because it carries a lot of rounds, you can move a lever really quickly if you need to. And yeah, you could actually do those updates to make it fit that role. Like if you were in California, absolutely that'd probably be one of my bedside guns because having an AR 15 legally isn't a choice. And that's where I would have to look at that. You know, that's where the M1 grant and the SKS start making more sense if you live in one of those ban states because then since it has a fixed magazine and a fixed capacity, no one ever looks at it, even though it's very capable of putting a lot of rounds and a lot of pain down. I don't know that I would use an odd six in my particular M1 case for home defense. I mean, could you? Absolutely. But I don't want to kill a little Susie down the street when she's behind the fridge, basically, because it's got a lot of power and a lot of penetration. And that's what I worry about more so than anything else. And that's where 357 Magnum makes a lot of sense because it's a self-defense round. And with the right ammunition and the right loading, it probably wouldn't go all the way through your house. So I understand people when they say, hey, I like something. Hey, cool. I like something different. You know, some guys are will gun fans. I've never been a will gun fan. And in fact, the one or two that I've had that were double action, I've always got them to malfunction. If anything, I like the single actions more in a will gun because I've never had a malfunction with them. But that's a sample size of one again, one person, one type of gun. And that's not always the case. I don't think it's the gun for, you know, that 38 specialist wheel gun is probably not the gun I would hand to any girl I was dating or any female I've dated. In fact, I've usually moved them to 380 or 9 millimeter. And it was usually recoil based because how they handled the recoil told me a lot. And these particular guns, a lot of it had to do with how much dexterity they had in their hands to use the slide. I made sure it fit their hand. I made sure that they could manipulate the gun. But I can guarantee you, even to this day, I have several X's that I have armed and equipped for the future. And I'm okay with that, because I'm not that big of a jerk that they wanted to hunt me down and shoot me. I guess that's one good thing about being who I am. Like, share, subscribe. Remember, show us some grace. Talk to some people about guns, because we all have different tastes. Be great.