JonF

There is no attending range master nor have I have never seen a ranger "checking in" on any of the activities there.

I have no idea what you are basing that comment on but it certainly isn't based on a scientific survey. I have yet to hear of a town that limits HPP applications or the number requested. While there might be one or two, the comment of most or all is BS. You are correct, it is not based on any scientifically conducted or officially sponsored survey. It was simply the determination made by myself after limited conversations between myself and the few folks that i've met at the range from neighboring areas who have expressed to me the limits thier local PD communicates when applying for permits. It was not my intention to spew forth misinformation or "BS" onto the forum in a perfunctory manner, rather to find out more about where such limits are being imposed. Apparently, according to several board member that have replied, this is not state law and thus cannot be enforced. I will edit my original post to be less offensive and more objective.

Does your local PD limit your number of handgun apps at one time? Some do, some don't.

I've only been going to the rimfire range for the past couple years so i don't know the history of its availability, however, there is a dedicated trap range that is now closed for lead remediation. Its been closed for a year or two now and there is no work being done there currently for the remediation plans, nor is there any posted completion/reopening dates. I've encountered some interesting folks there but nothing yet i would be concerned about (hopefully it stays this way). I do see people trying to shoot trap there since the dedicated trap range closed but trap isn't permitted at this range. I met a cop there once who brought his young son and his duty glock and mini-14 to shoot. he was nice enough and we chatted a bit even though centerfire rifles and handguns aren't permitted there either. He just claims to have been shooting these "for years without any problems". The most interesting thing i've seen though was some pineys that were absolutely filthy after digging around the firing line and the berm all morning for brass and copper. They weren't shooting so they had to stop thier "harvest" when i got there and wanted to use the range.

My friend had this old Sun computer lying around from the 90's and donated it to the shooting trip. The chassis is made of much heavier sheet metal than current computers and although its probably only about 18" square, its a tank! I set it up at the max distance at the range which is 225 yards and the Mosin 91/30 was perforating it with ease! A couple shots with the tokarev managed to puncture through the parts with minimal steel and only dent the spots with multiple layers. Those shots weren't easy to make with the tokarev pistol at that distance as there were way more misses than hits.

Fair enough, but if i gave you a free Rem 700 SPS rifle, would you never spend a dime on shooting it because ammo/accessories cost more than the free gun? I understand the juxtaposition and contrasts of costs here but it just so happens that mosins are exceptionally inexpensive whereas the other stuff (mounts, scopes, etc) carry more common market appropriate costs. Plus its fun to experiment!

Thanks for the compliments. That's interesting to know about the shellac. I do like the red shellac finish they put on the beech though. It seems to suit the "plainness" of beech well. I was at Ft Dix with my buddy who has just bought a Yugo Mauser and a Hungarian Mannlicher. He's not the most thorough guy with cleaning/maintenance and his idea of cleaning the cosmo was to wipe the gun down with a rag wetted with mineral spirits. Now its well known that mineral spirits does clean off cosmo very well and is easy to work with but you gotta strip the rifle down and bathe some of these guns to get them clean. Fast forward to the initial range outing with it, it turns out that this gun is a nice shooter giving good groups. About 30-40 rounds into it with him shooting right next to me, I notice some reddish beads of liquid on my arm. At first sight i though i might have caught some kinda particle blowout or return-to-sender fragmentation from someones gun. Turns out his cruddy mauser was sneezing cosmo on me with every shot as it percolates from every nook and cranny that he didn't clean out. :x

100 yards is a piece of cake. I don't shoot for groups at that range, but rather plink reactive targets like clays ans such. At Colliers mills range, its a 100 yard range and i sometimes put clays on the berm. A smidge of holdover via the mildot scope and they bust with ease. Recently, i was at the Ft Dix range with my 22 and noticed through the scope a paper plate lying on the berm 225 yards directly ahead of me. I had to practically aim the scope using the very base of the vertical crosshair where it meets the housing to get enough holdover. I could hit it but any hint of a breeze seemed to knock the bullet off course. Its always funny when you can count off time between the crack of the rifle firing and the puff of dust as it impacts over 200 yards away!

Lol, the timing was a coincidence as i too just recently joined. I'm going to SS again tonight, there's a meetup post in the meetup forum for it. So far no replies.

Lol, i bet that's a wild ride! I'm looking at the more pedestrian .357 and possibly a .22lr pistol pack for ease and economy of obtaining ammo. But caliber aside, how is the action? Can you compare it to any other brands with respect to single and double action trigger feel? I compared the ruger gp100 to the S&W 686 and preferred the Smith for its single action feel. The Smith was light and crisp whereas the ruger was much more gritty with a feel like it was stacking (Even in sa).

took 3 months exactly in Keansburg. The fellow there handling the paperwork seems to drag his feet quite a bit causing and artificial delay. He doesn't seem interested in FID/permits as taking any sort of priority. I know the procedure and after they get all the info back its as simple as typing the forms and having the chief sign them. I called and pestered him every 2-3 weeks and after the first couple weeks he claimed to have everything he needed, so then wth is the holdup? Later, i think he handed off the firearms paperwork to the detective bureau secretary and she is so much more pleasant to deal with. My last batch of permits took only 30 days roughly as i called her a few times to inquire so she made sure to get them out in a diligent and timely manner. I think i love her.

Yeah, i'm not too enthralled with it either. it was a fun experiment but it has its share of shortfalls. The next setup i want to try is this traditionally positioned mount from advanced rifle parts. It does not require any alteration to the rifle whatsoever thereby preserving the originality of the piece. http://www.advancedrifleparts.com

Strider, small world eh? welcome! regards, cossie from nasioc!

Earlier in the year i was looking to buy my first revolver and decided i wanted a DW. Specifically, i wanted one of those pistol packs that they used to offer that gives you the gun plus 4 interchangable barrels with the unique DW tensioning system. I found some on gunbroker but got outbid everytime at auction end due to me not being around for the final minutes. I put the search off for a while and never did find one but still have some interest. It would be nice to actually try one before buying since they have not been offered from DW for many years. Anyone have one and can compare to a S&W in terms of trigger quality and maybe bring one to the range meetups we have here? Jon

Does anyone else go there to shoot rimfire, shotguns or smoke poles? I go there to plink and test my .22's when i'm not going to Ft Dix to shoot centerfires. The nice thing about Colliers Mills is that since its a free public range you can shoot at pretty much anything. I personally like to shoot reactive targets such as paintballs, clays, golf balls, hockey pucks, cans, a steel plate gong at 100 yds, spent shells found lying around and the occasional dead computer component when im out plinking. I don't shoot glass and always clean up my junk but many folks do not leaving the place littered with trash. :x Sometimes you can reuse someone elses "targets" a bit more and some folks have even left target stands there so you can use them to put up paper targets if you wish. They have 3 covered shooting stations in the middle of the firing line and 4 open air stations flanking them. Its usually pretty empty in the spring and summer but come fall folks are sighting in thier hunting weapons and its gets filled up quite often.

The stock was legally and permanently altered to be a fixed stock by a licensed FFL/gunsmith before coming into my possession. It is no longer adjustable in any way.

Yikes! Thats all i have to add.

Dan Wesson is hands down the best value for the money at its price point. I picked up a PM7 last year and absolutely love it. THey have risen slightly (i think due to the parent CZ ownership instituting a company wide price hike) but they are still worth the cash. You get a gun full of custom parts and top notch craftsmanship and manufacturer support that springfield cannot barely match!

I refinished the stock on my M44. When i bought it i was new to milsurps and thought it looked pretty beat up and was looking for a project. It may have not been as bad to some folks but i suppose i don't have the emotional attachment that other collectors do and went at it. In retrospect, i shoulda just left it not because of of preservation of the original finish, but the finish i applied didn't turn out how i liked. The wood is very uneven in its coloring with a lot of dark discoloration. Maybe that is just a part of the properties of beech or a factor of its age and use but it's no walnut beauty. I used the Birchwood casey tru-oil kit with stain but the stain didn't darken it very much. I dunno, maybe i'm being too critical. Let me know what you think. The original finish is flaking badly after wiping down with mineral spirits to remove the ridiculous amounts of cosmoline coating this gun. Stripped using a non-toxic citrus based stripper. This product worked quite well at removing all the shellac in all nooks and crannies. I steamed out as many dents as possible, lightly sanded (no markings to preserve on this stock) and applied some walnut stain. IT hardly darkened much at all compared to the pic above when it was fully stripped. Again, the grain is ok, but the coloration is very splotchy. Final result after about 6 coats of tru-oil applied by fingertip. Its quite glossy and neither a deep walnut color nor does it resemble the reddish tint of the original shellac finish.

With the coming of spring this year, it was time to break out the rifles and get out to the outdoor range. I began thinking that the 10/22 benchrest/target project i built last year was an amazingly accurate gun, but just so unweildy and totally overkill for a day of plinking. I mean, its setup to shoot the hair of a gnat's arse at 50 yards, but sometimes when your plinking clays, paintballs and old computer parts, who cares about dime sized groups. I thought i would start a new project that is as lightweight as possible but without going to buck wild with the costs. The very essence of this projects is that everything must be lightweight. Again, this notion was spawned after i tried holding up my target gun for a few rounds of offhand plinking one day. What i wanted was something that was not only substantially lighter than stock, but also improved in usability. I came to the conclusion that the barrel and stock were the two places were weight can be greatly saved in terms of replacement aftermarket parts. The rest of the items would remain save for some simple trigger/action work to improve that. Lastly, i would add have to some optics that would provide an aiming system since the iron sights were going away. Consideration would be given here to a balance of weight and usability of course. I started by picking up a simple new beech/blued 10/22 on sale from the local sporting goods store. This one was the least expensive model since several of the components were largely going to be cast aside for the build. This model also has the new plastic trigger guard which i'm actually pleased to have for the small weight savings it offers. For the stock i chose the Blackhawk Axiom for several reasons. First and foremost is the weight. It really is light as a feather and is comfortable to boot. The pistol grip gives great positioning and control, the stock is adjustable and molded at a level to give a good cheek weld for the scope. They offer a cheek riser piece but it seems unnecessary now given the ergonomics with the low mounted scope. For the barrel, the lightest ones out there are probably the carbon sleeved models but they come at quite a premium. I chose the Tactical solutions fluted aluminum model as a compromise of weight/cost since the law of diminishing returns starts to set in beyond this price point. For the action, a simple VQ hammer was installed along with thier auto bolt release. These two mods make using and shooting the gun so much better than the stock experience. Again, the action doesn't get substantially better past just the hammer. I have a full kit in my target model and its just perfect but not essential for this utility oriented build. I should also mention that the trigger guard is the new plastic model as is the trigger itself and mag release. While i was a little disheartened to see the switchover from Ruger, i actually desired these specific parts for this build due to the weight savings they'll provide. Its not much, but cumulatively, its greatly contributes in the end. For the optics, i chose the Simmons 22Mag 3-9x40 AO scope for its standout light weight amongst its competitors and the good reviews it seems to garner. Its price is right as well. The view though it is quite nice and am happy with its quality as i never spend so little for a scope before. To mount it, i used the lightweight aluminum OEM weaver rail and some lightweight aluminum Leupold medium height rings. This combination leaves plenty room for the scope caps up front and enough for some flip covers in the future. Assembly was straightforward and the action fits tight in the Axiom stock. I'm very pleased with the overall turnout and it really is a featherweight build. I just finished assembling the rifle so I'll report back soon with a report. In the mean time, here's an interesting list of weights of the various components that make up a stock blued and stainless rifle models, plus the aftermarket components and overall weight (measured by hanging from Lyman digital gauge). A typical stock 10/22 is approx 5.5 lbs Ultra lightweight 10/22 fully assembled (no scope): 3lb 7oz Ultra lightweight 10/22 fully assembled (with scope): 4lb 7oz From the total weight values above, you can see that if you were to put an even lighter, small, fixed mag scope or even simple iron sights, you could have a very lightweight gun for hunting or plinking. This rivals the the weight of the Magnum research ultra lightweight 10/22 based production gun for half the cost using much of the same components. Which, incidentally, was part of my inspiration and drive to build this. Grip is hollow to save weight! Grip is glock-like in shape. Would probably take a Hogue slip on sleeve easily. Foreend is heavily perforated and fluted to save weight. It has good girth for gripping as well. Barrel is fully floated.

I recently jumped into the foray of Mosin Nagants when shooting/buying guns in common calibers was next to impossible during the great hoarding shortage of 09. I picked up an M44 from Gander Mountain in the winter than a 91/30 in the spring plus a few cans of ammo. My M44 seems to have a sewer pipe bore but shoots so-so. Actually, i haven't spent much time with it since i've been shooting the M91 more since i put a scout scope on it. This is actually my first centerfire rifle so i've been messing around with it trying to get used to the art of long range rifle shooting down at Ft Dix Range 14. Frankly i'm not that happy with the scout scope since its just a low mag pistol scope with fixed parallax and shooting out past 100 is tough. So much so that i'm gonna take the scout scope off and put on a traditional rifle scope with a receiver mount that does not alter the rifle. I already have the mount and a bent bolt on the way, just need to settle on a scope. These $100 rifles add up quick! In the mean time, i have to get the M44 out there and shoot with the irons again. Do any of you folks have a nagging case of Mosinitis? :mrgreen:

I'm a shore shot pistol range and Ft Dix Range 14 member.

I'm a SS member as of last year. Their selection of firearms and accessories is really good and the prices are very competitive on many items especially stuff they specialize in (Glock, etc). The amount of business they do is staggering as of late and they seem to have increased thier staff. I've gotten to know most of the main folks there but not so much the newer/part time guys but nevertheless, every one of them are nice people. Ive noticed that each of them seems to hav ethier own special eclectic interest in shooting so depending on when you want to discuss with them, you may need to talk to a particular person if you want to get technical.

Dusting this thread off a little. I currently ride an RC51 on the street and a DRZ 400 dualsport in the dirt.

Hi folks, name is Jon and I got introduced to the shooting sport by a friend back in 08 and qiuickly got sucked into it. Looking to meet up with some folks in the future on some of the outings I see posted. I'm also a member at shore shot and if there are any other members that are patrons, perhaps we can meet up some time. I'm also a ft dix range 14 member for clay and rifle shooting. Lately I've been getting into surplus gun shooting due to the cost and other difficulties in buying and feeding guns in modern calibers. Anyone else in the middletown vicinity? Jon