The bucolic little Central California town of Lake Shoals was, as usual, very quiet Sunday morning. That area of California is much like what’s referred to as fly-over country by the pseudo-intellectual and quasi-erudite creatures infesting the highly urbanized areas of the East and West Coasts. The “Urbanites,” especially those from inside the beltway of DC, rejoice in looking down their noses at the “little people” of what you and I both know is real America.
Lake Shoals looked, at first glance, as though it could be the backdrop of practically every Norman Rockwell illustration published in The Saturday Evening Post. But the tranquility enjoyed by the good citizens of the town would soon be shattered with no hope of repair. The scars would live on for generations.
Sammy’s Gun Emporium, at the corner of Main Street and Sierra Avenue, could not have been more in the center of “downtown” Lake Shoals than if an army of surveyors worked for months to place it there. Sammy, an affable, friendly, large man, was a fixture in his community. He was a Rotarian and volunteered his time on the citizen’s planning committee. Sammy could never of imagined, even in a fever-induced nightmare, what would happen Sunday morning.
The three AR15s in the Sammy’s Gun Emporium safe somehow came to life and released themselves from confinement. They first conveyed across the sales floor to the stored ammunition, gorged their magazines full and headed for the front door. Once on the street no passerby made it more than a few steps without the three ARs spewing multiple 5.56 bullets into their unsuspecting bodies. Main Street was awash in innocent blood. Sierra Avenue with its churches full of the town’s faithful was tragically next.
The ARs continued their frenetic search and lustful death spree for at least another 15 minutes. No denomination was spared. The crazed, murderous team of three ARs visited all the churches and attached Sunday schools full of children.
Lake Shoals was even quieter now than before the onslaught. But it was a horrible quiet, the kind you never want to hear; just wind rustling through the trees, a distant siren and the almost imperceptible sound of agonal respirations heralding death. The Assault Weapons had done their black evil all too well. Now it was time for the California Legislature to do its job. And so they did. With the help of the two Senators in the nation’s capital, California passed an Assault Weapons Ban so as never to be visited by another Lake Shoals incident.
www.zeiss.com
www.surefire.com
Enlightened Legislators — Not
Okay, so I’m not Hemingway or Gore Vidal. I can’t even do fiction well enough for Penthouse Forum. The above story is, as I’m fond of saying, Toro Caca. AR15s just don’t come to life like the liquid metal in a Terminator movie no matter what Feinstein, Boxer, Clinton, Obama and Schumer say. Unfortunately, the one thing that is true is the Assault Weapons Ban the shaved apes in the California legislature shoved down the citizens throats or up another area.
So, if you live in one of these so called “enlightened” states and you want an AR you’re just plain out of luck. The only “slightly up” side is, if you already have a legally purchased AR, you’re probably “grandfathered” in. Now you have options.
I was one of those grandfathered folks with a serviceable but thoroughly beaten Bushmaster A1 style rifle, purchased prior to the ban going into effect and legally registered with the California Department of Justice.
I wanted a rifle effective as short range fighting gun, as it would be a 300 yd precision gun with only a quick change of optics and iron sights. Also, I couldn’t add any substantial part or parts changing its status as a California pre-ban gun. One name came to mind immediately; I called Les Baer and ran the situation past him for suggestions. He said, “Send it to me and send along any parts you want included.” I stripped the upper off the gun and started building a parts pile for Les.
For more info:
www.lesbaer.com
www.magpul.com
www.trijicon.com
www.surefire.com
Magpul
As far as parts go, I didn’t have to go far. My first call went out to Magpul. Richard Fitzpatrick, a former Amphibious Recon Marine, started the company in 1999 with the idea to make a better way to handle your magazines than tying some 550 para-cord to the bottom. All that has morphed the Bolder, Colorado company into 20 employees making everything from the Magpul MAG001 magazine device to their new groundbreaking Masada rifle.
Their PRS stock is a work of art and matched up with the MIAD Grip system you can fit any hand size, length of pull and cheek weld for any optic you match with your gun. The MIAD pistol grip features removable and replaceable front and rear panels for a custom fit and a removable inner core that allows storage. The three round plug is included but optional cores are available for waterproof storage of batteries or in a bolt/firing pin configuration.
Magpul’s Precision Rifle Stock (PRS) is a field precision stock adjustable for height and length of pull. At it shortest the PRS is about the length of an A1 stock. It extends to about a half-inch longer than an A2 stock. The PRS features a billet-machined buttplate with a rubber butt-pad and mil-spec phosphated steel shafts with aluminum ball detent knobs.
I also included Magpul’s Enhanced Trigger Guard. It has a shallow “V” shape for better use of gloves in tactical shooting or winter operations. Unfortunately, anymore for me, winter operations are shooting varmints from the truck without the heater on. And tactical shooting is when the varmints look especially mean and weigh more than a pound. The Enhanced Trigger Guard is doesn’t fold, has rounded edges and fills that annoying gap at the rear of the standard trigger guard. It’s made from barstock aluminum and drops right in.
www.troyind.com
Troy Industries
When I asked some friends for their recommendation on a Back Up Iron Sight (BUIS) system, one name consistently kept coming up — Troy Industries. Troy’s Folding Battle Sights easily install and position the post at the exact height as a factory M4 sight. Under stress, they deploy easily with no levers or springs to allow “Murphy” a go at you. Their stainless steel cross-locking system keep your sights up, operational and zeroed in the most extreme conditions. That’s a big plus for me when faced with rampaging murderous squirrels and prairie dogs. But, it could really be serious for you if you whack your 1:1 electronic optic on a doorframe and that big hunk of batteries, metal and glass rapidly becomes a Christmas ornament. If it were up to me I’d rename the BUIS the PISS for the Primary Iron Sight System. If your Optic gets pissed on — turn your PISS on. Even I can remember that.
Perfection Realized
The number of custom gun builders I’d trust with my life are few. At the top of the list is Les Baer. I’ve carried one of his 1911s for years now and it has never — I repeat never — malfunctioned. Not so much as a hiccup. That includes high ammo-count, gun-taxing classes at Gunsite and almost daily shooting on my range. I change the springs every six months, keep it properly lubed and clean it every now and then and it takes care of me. You can’t ask for better. So, if his 1911s are good, why wouldn’t his ARs be just as good? The answer is, they are.
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