In perusing the manual I found a couple of small pieces of information.
The manual shows a magazine loader, but none is included. $19.95 from MPA.
It mentions 9mm ammo, but nothing about +P or +P+ suitability. I emailed the company and they said they do not recommend +P or higher.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Partial review: Masterpiece Arms MPA930-SST-X
Just got one in yesterday, and it looks pretty good overall. Just under $500 shipped.
The flashlight and optics are both NcStar. Both appear to me to be of reasonable quality. Not great, but considering the price they're ok. The finish the safety extension for the barrel is a bit darker than the pistol. The extension and flashlight mount looks anodized, while the pistol is Parkerized.
A few not so awesome welds but they appear quite functionally fine:
Fit and finish seem pretty good overall. Mags click in and drop out positively and easily. An aftermarket paddle release is available.
The sight is the D4B model.
- 33mm lens
- 7 brightness settings
- 4 reticle patterns (1-crosshairs w/circle, 2-large circle around small dot, 3-small dot, 4-crosshairs w/small dot )
- Comes with a sight cover
- Extra battery
40 (or 35 depending on who you ask) lumens, 1 watt. Quick release weaver mount, ambidextrous sliding switch to turn it on. The switch ends up right at trigger fingertip when you put your finger alongside the pistol body. If you're a lefty though, you'll have to use a different finger, as your trigger finger will turn the light off; not useful if you want it on.
I'm not sure you could use the bottom rail for much besides a flashlight as it can wiggle back and forth about 4mm. I guess a laser might be reasonably accurate at close ranges, but you could probably get a low profile laser on the top rail, mounted in front of the sight.
See the gaps above that let it move a little on the back end next to the guard.It's a heavy sucker! 5 lbs unloaded with all accessories. Well, that will keep recoil low and the sights on target. And of course the bolt is huge, which will absorb a lot of the recoil.
You can buy MOST pieces of this separately from MPA. The pistol can be bought with the top rail mounted. And you could by the scope elsewhere too.
Lets price it out separately. Prices are from the MPA website.
MPA930SST-A Pistol, sidecocking. $499.95
Mini 9 Flashlight rail, flashlight, and Barrel Extension. $89.95
NcStar D4B. $40+ from various places, MPA doesn't sell it separately. If they did, it might be a bit more.
The MPA930-SST-X is $630.95 MSRP.
Strangely, the total price adds up to about what you'd pay for the package deal. I suppose you save a tiny bit, plus a little shipping.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.
Next: Documentation included? And how about that warranty fine print?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Top 40 Reasons to Support Gun Control
From here an excerpt:
"2. Washington DC’s low murder rate of 80.6 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Arlington, VA’s high murder rate of 1.6 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control."
A funny and thought provoking read.
"2. Washington DC’s low murder rate of 80.6 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Arlington, VA’s high murder rate of 1.6 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control."
A funny and thought provoking read.
Summertime, and the ammo's here
Looks like some easing is on for the summer. I was in my local Academy store, and they actually had 9mm, 7.62x51 (!), and some other hard to find calibers in reasonable quantity. Now only if the Winchester white box NATO wasn't 90 cents a round...(!)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Gun Prices on the Way Down
Check out www.classicarms.us
That CETME for example has been marked down $100 since I bought one a month or so ago. DANGIT!
That's a good thing, personal 'loss' aside.
That CETME for example has been marked down $100 since I bought one a month or so ago. DANGIT!
That's a good thing, personal 'loss' aside.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Join the NRA
Membership application.
This included a pretty good magazine and a number of benefits like:
The biggest benefit you get as a gun owner is showing the politicians in Washington that we are a big enough demographic to warrant their attention.
There are a lot more firearm owners than members. And if Washington has it's way, I believe we won't have either any more.
This included a pretty good magazine and a number of benefits like:
- Official NRA members - only shooter's cap *
- Your choice of monthly NRA magazines
- Membership card and decal
- Insurance for you and your guns
- Invitations to "Friends of NRA" dinners, other special events and more...
The biggest benefit you get as a gun owner is showing the politicians in Washington that we are a big enough demographic to warrant their attention.
There are a lot more firearm owners than members. And if Washington has it's way, I believe we won't have either any more.
I don't understand
From the NRA Institute for Legislative Action:
"This week, in a typically misleading move designed to bolster their political agenda rather than reduce violent crime, the Brady Campaign released a report calling for background checks on "all gun sales in America, including at gun shows." The Brady report was intentionally designed to correspond with, and bolster, a "gun show loophole" bill (S. 843) introduced this week by fanatical anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). In fact, the Brady report was released at the press conference Lautenberg held earlier this week.
Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, said in the group's press release, "We can do this. It will have no impact on any law-abiding gun owner in the country." Of course, that is absolutely false-the proposal will ONLY impact law-abiding gun owners, including any law-abiding person selling a firearm to a law-abiding buyer. Does Helmke really think that criminals, drug cartel members, and violent gang thugs are going to start legally purchasing firearms and submitting to a background check? Law-breakers, by definition, break the law. They are criminals; they are predatory, they operate outside of the law. You know that, we know that, Lautenberg knows that, even Helmke knows that."
I can't even begin to imagine the mindset behind getting rid of guns. Oh wait, yes I can. They somehow think they can eventually make enough laws to where they can get rid of guns altogether or make it so hard to own one, you won't bother and the criminals' supply will magically dry up.
This is a misguided attempt to control the tools criminals misuse. They only problem is that the tools in questions have legitimate uses, including protecting you from the bad guy who didn't turn in his gun when the law was made to tell us all to do so. Oops.
Firearms will gradually be taken away or regulated to such a degree that only criminals will have them, and guess what, formerly law-abiding owners will be legislated to criminal status if they don't turn them in.
This has happened to other countries, and it will happen here IF WE LET IT. Don't fool yourself into thinking it can't.
Let's look at some death rates. These are from the Center for Disease control. I found them at this link.
This is the death rate per 100,000 people. Both sexes, all races.
Transport accidents 16.3
Nontransport accidents 23.4
Accidental discharge of firearms 0.3
Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms 4.2
Assault (homicide) by other and unspecified
means and their sequelae 1.9
Events of undetermined intent 1.6
Discharge of firearms, undetermined intent 0.1
Complications of medical and surgical care 0.9
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by other and
unspecified means and their sequelae 5.3
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by discharge of
firearms 5.7
All causes 825.9
You're roughly 4 times as likely to die in some sort of accident as you are to by firearms. And that's INCLUDING suicide by firearm. Again, this also ignores the fact that firearms can be used like any other tool, and in the absence of that tool, people will use something else for suicide or homicide. For suicide it's roughly 50/50 for firearm or not, and 1/3 of homicides do not involve a firearm.
So, that firearm death rate is starting to look figuratively small.
So what do most people die of? Heart disease or cancer.
Major cardiovascular diseases 288.8
Malignant neoplasms 188.7
By my math, that's 470+ which is roughly 47 TIMES greater than the firearm related death rate (figured at 10.3 for all firearm deaths, even accidental). Where's the big push to spend money on preventing those? Not as exciting as 'guns are bad, mmm-?' I guess.
You really wanna save lives? Outlaw McDonald's and tobacco products.
"This week, in a typically misleading move designed to bolster their political agenda rather than reduce violent crime, the Brady Campaign released a report calling for background checks on "all gun sales in America, including at gun shows." The Brady report was intentionally designed to correspond with, and bolster, a "gun show loophole" bill (S. 843) introduced this week by fanatical anti-gun Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). In fact, the Brady report was released at the press conference Lautenberg held earlier this week.
Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign, said in the group's press release, "We can do this. It will have no impact on any law-abiding gun owner in the country." Of course, that is absolutely false-the proposal will ONLY impact law-abiding gun owners, including any law-abiding person selling a firearm to a law-abiding buyer. Does Helmke really think that criminals, drug cartel members, and violent gang thugs are going to start legally purchasing firearms and submitting to a background check? Law-breakers, by definition, break the law. They are criminals; they are predatory, they operate outside of the law. You know that, we know that, Lautenberg knows that, even Helmke knows that."
I can't even begin to imagine the mindset behind getting rid of guns. Oh wait, yes I can. They somehow think they can eventually make enough laws to where they can get rid of guns altogether or make it so hard to own one, you won't bother and the criminals' supply will magically dry up.
This is a misguided attempt to control the tools criminals misuse. They only problem is that the tools in questions have legitimate uses, including protecting you from the bad guy who didn't turn in his gun when the law was made to tell us all to do so. Oops.
Firearms will gradually be taken away or regulated to such a degree that only criminals will have them, and guess what, formerly law-abiding owners will be legislated to criminal status if they don't turn them in.
This has happened to other countries, and it will happen here IF WE LET IT. Don't fool yourself into thinking it can't.
Let's look at some death rates. These are from the Center for Disease control. I found them at this link.
This is the death rate per 100,000 people. Both sexes, all races.
Transport accidents 16.3
Nontransport accidents 23.4
Accidental discharge of firearms 0.3
Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms 4.2
Assault (homicide) by other and unspecified
means and their sequelae 1.9
Events of undetermined intent 1.6
Discharge of firearms, undetermined intent 0.1
Complications of medical and surgical care 0.9
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by other and
unspecified means and their sequelae 5.3
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by discharge of
firearms 5.7
All causes 825.9
You're roughly 4 times as likely to die in some sort of accident as you are to by firearms. And that's INCLUDING suicide by firearm. Again, this also ignores the fact that firearms can be used like any other tool, and in the absence of that tool, people will use something else for suicide or homicide. For suicide it's roughly 50/50 for firearm or not, and 1/3 of homicides do not involve a firearm.
So, that firearm death rate is starting to look figuratively small.
So what do most people die of? Heart disease or cancer.
Major cardiovascular diseases 288.8
Malignant neoplasms 188.7
By my math, that's 470+ which is roughly 47 TIMES greater than the firearm related death rate (figured at 10.3 for all firearm deaths, even accidental). Where's the big push to spend money on preventing those? Not as exciting as 'guns are bad, mmm-?' I guess.
You really wanna save lives? Outlaw McDonald's and tobacco products.
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