Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Low profile plinker

zomg I'm going to post about guns!

My mother in law has complained that some varmits of the furry persuasion are causing problems with her small garden, and preventing her from planting a larger one.

The only method for vermin extermination which is 99% free of collateral damage (there are some very beautiful birds in the same area) is a manually applied high velocity lead lobotomy. Lead-on! Apply directly to the forehead!

A pellet gun was the first choice, and after some research I found the Crosman Phantom was the best choice for sub-$100 high velocity air guns. If anything, it was a little overpowered for what I was going to use it, but I figured it would get use in more official small game capacities. It was inexpensive, but not super necessary, so I wasn't totally convinced that it was the right way to go. Then I happened upon a post about Aguila Colibris.

After some memory refreshing research on subsonic .22 rounds, I rekindled my interest in these interesting options for a .22. Obviously, the underpowered cartridges wouldn't cycle the actions of semi-auto .22s, but there were other options. Like lever .22s and .22 revolvers.

I've always liked the idea of kit guns. Carrying around a small revolver in .22 for minor pest extermination, and being able to open it up and swap in a .22 shotshell, aforementioned Colibri, CB short, or whatever else. The ability to quickly switch ammo is gone on the lever gun, so that was a count against it, but a boltie or a break-action would be easy enough.

Actually, since we're talking about .22 revolvers, didn't I want a Ruger Single Six type gun? (You can see how quickly this got out of hand.) Being unemployed, there are a few low-cost but functional alternatives (Still being unemployed, these low cost options are still more than the Crossman Phantom.) Plus the single cartridge feed system (feed gate) might be a little fiddly to swap out a single round or keep track of what flavor of .22 is in what spot in the cylinder.

But...

After reading some more reviews and comparisons of the Super Colibris, I found many people saying the Super Colibris were quieter out of rifles than their 1000 fps airguns. If this holds up, I could have most of the things I want for the cost of one box of Super Colibris ($5).

Aguila advises for both the Colibris and the Super Colibris that they not be fired from a rifle for fear of the bullet not making it out of the barrel (ostensibly, the reason for the release of the Super Colibris which came later). Many people reported no problem with the Super Colibris through rifles, so I'm willing to give it a cautious try.

But this means I'll be using one of my existing .22 rifles, which is less than optimal, because both are semi-auto, and there can be some inconsistencies in velocity depending on when the pressure drops during the recoil operation. To be honest, this problem only seems to lead to problems at longer distances (which I don't need yet), but it didn't stop me from rekindling an old idea I had for a slide lock like on the old suppressed spy guns.

A slide lock prevents the recoil operation from taking place, and turns a semi-auto into a single shot in order to prevent gas (and noise) from escaping through the chamber when it opens to load the next round, while eliminating the mechanical noise of the reciprocation of the bolt/slide.

At this point, I'm pretty far off the beaten path, but the challenge of being unemployed seems to be fueling this thought process. If I was still well paid, I would have just bought the Phantom immediately and missed this whole tangent! BOOO-RING!

There are some options for slide locks on 10/22s, but that gun doesn't have much character. Plus, who wants to pay for someone else's product when you can make a something custom yer damn self! I've got a soft spot for that stupid space gun anyway. And while I'm in a fabricating mood, I should figure out a simple way to make a solid trigger bar.

Speaking of the G22, that sucker is SO getting a suppressor. The only question is; will I chop the barrel down to keep the end of the suppressor where the current barrel ends? Hmm... Thinking about it now, that would mean I couldn't keep the front sight on it, and I don't have nearly as much fun shooting with a red dot or scope. But it does look even more spacey with the front sight off... Oh the possibilities...

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, gardens... Did I mention there's a Savage .22/410 at the local gun shop? Didn't think I'd ever get to see one of those up close. That thing tickles the neat-o part of my brain.

Hahaha! I started this post with the title "Low profile plinker" and by the end of the post I had a tricked out space gun!

1 comment:

Custom Trailer said...

Hi,
I bought a krinker plinker kit for a 10-22. All the parts are here but it had no manual / installation instructions or illustrations. Where can I find the directions online? I've looked for hours