Rogue Elite

I never got on the M1 carbine bandwagon even though I know that it’s a fine gun.   There are are lots of bull shit stories about the firearm, but the biggest drawbacks about it are that the gun is designed for ball ammunition.  I  know there are claims about hollow point ammunition working in them, but I would not use this firearm with defensive ammunition in a defensive situation.  Just like it’s much famed 1911 WWII family member, it was designed for a specific task and it did the job well.   Many 1911 firearms have problems with ammunition and it’s all about the throat on the guns.   There are newer 1911s that resolve this issue, but it does exist.

When all of those WWII surplus guns started drying up in the 1980s and 1990s it was getting harder and harder to find decent magazines.  We sell a very good amount of M1 Carbine Promag magazines for the M1 carbine and they are available in 15rd and 30rd capacities.  When you use the 15rd magazines you’ll probable get a better balanced firearms, kind of like 20rd magazines on an AR15.   The M1 Carbine can be a more effective firearm in some situations compared to a handgun, but be realistic about the ammunition that you are feeding them.  There are also good reports about the Promag magazines for the Mini 14 and Mini 30.

There was a transition away from the high capacity or should I say, Standard capacity firearms back in the late 1990′s after the AWB of 1994, but it was mostly because the cost of a gun magazine might have gone up 200% or more.   You could easily spend $1000 for a firearm and magazines depending on what it was.   Once thing that I will that will never change is balance and speed.   I think we have recently witnessed the pinnacle of the M4 Carbine accessorizing craze because now we are seeing more and more that people are wanting lighter carbines and 15 lbs AR15 variants is something that really doesn’t help you out in close quarters gun fights, speed does m ore than what optics you have in close up fighting.

When it comes to caliber and capacity, you really need to put some thought into how much weight you want in a firearm especially a handgun.   I’ve shot some double stack 45acp handguns that were so heavy that taking them in and out of  holster felt like I was wielding a ball and chain.  Throw in spare gun magazines and the bulk and weight can quickly become extreme.  The Springfield XD is a nice 45acp gun, but the balance of a 1911 or even the Sig 220 seem to handle better.   And lets not forget, the reason for a handgun is to fight your way back to a rifle, so why bother trying to carry all that handgun ammo.

That is a question we get quite often around here and we always throw a question back to a customer.   People call or show up wanting us to give them advice but there are a lot of liabilities in telling people what to get or do.   So much of gun accessories and firearms has to do with the job at hand and a persons gun skills.   I’ve heard people claim that you can’t shoot long range with a 5.56 gun but I see it done all the time at local gun clubs.   Sure there are instances of high wind where a 5.56 bullet isn’t going to do very well, but sometimes only a 50 bmg is going to get the job done.

Even the trusty and reliable Mini 14 is an often over looked hunting Carbine, but I’ve seen white tails taken up in Vermont with 75gr expanding rounds.   The 6.8SPC would be a more powerful round than what the military is using today but it’s not really going to solve all of your problems.  Most of my friends that own them are using them for hunting rounds and not even for Carbine training ect.  The only problem you may run into when changing uppers in with the gun magazines.  The 5.56 round is better than any handgun round if you use the right kind of ammunition and the AR15 platform gives you lots of caliber options that are really best for upgrading your gun for better hunting.

Today I was listening to a local talk radio host who had a local reporter on and they were talking about the Flash Mob stuff that was going on there.   In some people’s minds these incidences are not racial, but that is absolutely absurd.   We’ve had at least 3 mob incidences against young white males or old white men and it’s always black on white.   In some camps of our society, racism only applies to things that a white man can do and not the other way around.  Racism exists in all societies and cultures but only those living in the world that Political correctness has created think it only exists when a victim is black.

One of the callers challenged the local news writer about what the news article would be if a gun owner shot one or more of these individuals when they were committing the crime.   The news reporter basically said it at this point it would say something about a “gun owner defends against a mob” I’m paraphrasing, but I thing it was bullshit.  We know that if a gun owner shot one of these individuals and reloaded with using spare gun magazines that it would be excessive or bull  shit that someone that trained to shoot shot 5 or 6 of the criminals and it was unfair that someone would do that against un armed youth.   Considering the ages groups of some of these Flash mobs it would probable not sound justified if a 65yr old man shot 11yr-19yr olders, but the reality is it may well be if things keep up like this.

I have never really liked the feel of having a pistol magazine protrude out of the bottom of the gun unless it is because the gun grip is too small for me.  I’ve seen a few of my friends do this on their Glocks, namely the Glock 26 because it is such a small gun.   I did put an extension on a Sig 239 which is the  only gun I currently own that has this.   The first gun that I owned was a Colt 1991A1 and it only came with one pistol magazine.   It was a Colt magazine which i thought would be the best gun magazine to have, but that turned out to not be true.   After having a few problems with the slide stop not catching, I found out the magazine tab was bending and causing the issue.

I believe it was at a gun show that I picked up 2 Wilson Combat magazines and my Colt 1991A1 ran flawlessly with ball ammo.  The gun magazines really ran well with hollow point ammunition but I found the gun to be too picky with hollow point ammo that I pretty much gave up on worrying about it.   If you look at the velocity that a 45acp is flying at, I don’t think you’ll have massive over penetration issues compared to 9mm ball.   Wilson combat magazines have varying base pads and from my experience this is mostly a concern for competition shooters.   If the magazine drops free I don’t need to worry about gripping it and pulling it out for a fast reload.

I remember that dark era of gun ownership where the Clinton Administration imposed the so called Assault Weapons Ban on law abiding citizens.   This ridiculous law basically made us cosmetically alter firearms and put a grandfather law on buying new standard capacity magazines.   There were some firearms that got hit really hard by this law and something like a 15rd Glock magazine went from being worth $20 to over $100.   There were some firearms that really weren’t worth buying because a handful of magazines meant the gun cost twice as much as it use to.

One gun that got hit really hard by the ban was the Sturm Ruger Mini 14.  This gun was issued to Law Enforcement at some points with 20rd and 30rd magazines, but since the magazines were not manufactured in large quantities, the AWB dried it up quickly.  Many manufacturers such as Promag magazines didn’t make even 10rd Mini 14 magazines.   The Min 14 is not a combat carbine and according to some conversations I had with Pat Rogers on gun forums the gun hasn’t made it through a single Carbine Class.   One way to keep the gun in it’s place is to use the appropriate magazine, probable 10rd and 20rd magazines are the most appropriate.

There is much to say for using an M4 Carbine for home defense in comparison to using a handgun.   There are many people that are transitioning home defense weapons from handguns to carbines.   There are  pistol caliber carbines that have very good reputations for reliability and given that you are getting another 200-300 fps or more out of them from a handgun round, you are getting more punch and spank from your bullet.   One firearm that is starting to get a little more use due to ballistic improvements in ammunition is the M1 Carbine.

The M1 Carbine always had a good reputation for being reliable, lethal and handy.   The Mini  14 from Ruger has a bit of an edge over the old M1 Carbine, but it’s still a very potent and useful weapon.   When we are asked about gun magazines for this firearm for  home defense, especially in California, New Jersey and the un friendly States, Promag magazines makes a very good M1 Carbine 10rd magazine.   This is one of the best replacement magazines you can find for the M1 Carbine and if you look around there are some decent defensive rounds you can optain for this caliber.

That is a sure thing, and in my opinion it was a big step forward for semi-autos.  It really is too bad the gun was not fielded during the Korean War because it would have made a difference for the USGI.   As much as the Garand was a useful weapon to the American Rifleman, it was quickly out dated in the battle field and from what I have personally witnessed, is not very versatile when it comes to being used by different soldiers.   Many Vets that I have spoken to did not think the gun was fun to shoot and couldn’t hit anything at 100yds with it.   I’ve seen that type of shooting before, it’s called “fear of recoil”.

When the M14 was first issued, it pretty much did in the M1 Garand and the BAR, but modern warfare made the riflemen’s  usual combat engagements take place at well under 400yds.   Most engagements that I know of from personal stories took place at under 100yds.   The M1 Carbine still was very practical for soldiers until the M4 Carbine came out, now many enthusiasts in California and New Jersey can use the Promag magazines that are 10rds and from what many of our customers have said they worked very well for this old relic.   If it were not for the limited availability and reliability of M1 Carbine ammo, I think the gun would be more popular.

That’s a far out dated question is  my opinion.   Sure you can get an SKS or an AK for less money and higher capacities, but for the most part, the AK and SKS are not very friendly to mounting rifle optics and given it’s tradition scope ring mounts, you can mount a nice Leupold rifle scope on the gun and get more out of it than you would from a surplus Com-block rifle.   Can I also say that the gun is lighter and has a better trigger?   There are certain products that we sell that are sold to many of our customers in California and New Jersey and can’t use gun magazines that usually are standard issue.

I got an incredible deal on a used Ruger Mini 30 for just about $200 from a disgruntled owner that tried to make the gun into something that it wasn’t.   Promag magazines makes a reliable 10rd magazine that worked for me.  I have no interest in trying to make this gun take 30rd magazines.   There are now domestically manufactured brass hunting rounds for the 7.62×39 and I wouldn’t hesitate to tell someone to consider one of these Ruger puppies for yard work.  I also wouldn’t hesitate to consider reloading for your Mini 30 because you should  be able to get your gun to pretty close to MOA with the right ammo.

I guess we are all living behind enemy lines if you consider what we’ve been dealing with since the 2008 election.   I recently go around to reading some of the bull shit that is listed in the Obamacare bill and it’s loaded with nothing more than crap.   We have a bunch a lunatics in Washington DC that are trying to say that a vending machine operator has to list how many calories for each individual item they are selling.  This is all brought to  you by the people that are afraid to call Islamic terrorism what it is and want an average American Citizen to not be allowed to own a firearm that holds more than 10rd of ammunition in it.

We have a diverse group for our customer base.  We  have the concealed carry apparel crowd and we have many, many Government employees and private contractors.   Our customers that live in California and New Jersey tend to be more restricted in the gun accessories product line and when it comes to selling gun magazines, we’ve been selling a lot of t he Promag magazines to them.   The Mini 14 is a very popular firearm in California because the gun doesn’t have to be modified from the Factory configuration, but it still shoots the .223 or 5.56 ammunition that the AR15 does.