7/8/14

I noticed that I may have made a slight error the other day.  I said I ordered a “Demi-kilo avec fromage” when it should have been a “Semi-hemi-demi-kilo… avec fromage.”  A “demi-kilo” would be a full pound rather than ¼ pound, y’see.  So, moving on… Saturday I went to the RR to feed the cats again then went for a long hoon “on the way” home.  It was my older, older brother’s birthday so he and his wife were coming over to spend the afternoon.  I should have gone to the gun show.  I wound up sitting around all day doing nothing while he installed something on mom’s computer and she cleaned out/off all her “fingerprints” from the laptop she was giving to mom’s stray… the one from Thursday’s rant with whom I will not be interacting ever again if I have any say in the matter.  Eventually the thing Bruce was installing on mom’s computer finished and they went home.  I sent Larry a text asking if he was going to the gun show Sunday and finally got a reply around 2200 h saying “Maybe.”  Sunday morning I got a text saying he was about to get ready to leave.  I replied that I had to go feed the cats again and asked if he wanted me to pick him up.  He declined and said we’d meet at the railroad.  I fed, we met, and then headed to the show in Fiona.  I had $100.00, the bolt-action Marlin .22, and the 7.62x39 Saiga with me.  The plan was to try and sell the Marlin for enough to buy a Ruger American Rimfire (their new .22 caliber bolt action rifle which uses the same magazines as their 10/22 semi-automatic) and the Saiga for enough to pad the wallet out.  I was partially successful.  I sold the Marlin but had to mooch some money from Larry to make the RAR purchase because I also found “some hen’s teeth encased in unicorn farts.”  Ok, so a 20 round SKS internal magazine may not be THAT rare, but ever since I have started looking, I have not been able to find one for sale.  The guy from whom I bought the other scarcity, an SKS trigger group, had it in his case.  I tipped my hand when I gasped and pointed at it saying, “*Gasp* Is that a 20 round SKS mag?  I’ve been looking for one of those for a while!”  While I didn’t actually hear a cash register go “Cha-ching!” in his head… I’m sure it did.  Of course my haggle gene went totally AWOL at that point as well and I handed over the $100.00 he was asking.  I never even gave a single second’s though that it might not fit my SKS… especially since I have mine installed in a bullpup stock, I just quoted Phillip J. Fry and said, “Shut up and take my money!”  I did mention that I borrowed the balance of the money to buy the Ruger for which I shopping, right?  Well, that almost had a negative consequence.  We walked up to the table where Larry’s “girlfriend” works (she flirts with him at every show… ok, she flirts with me too… and all the guys for that matter, but still) and had a look at the RAR they had.  She saw I was ready to buy but hesitating… or at least she thought I was hesitating.  She said, “Let me see how low I can make this.”   She asked her boss and he knocked it down to $260.00.  I so loathe ending a sentence on a number but can’t think of a way to rephrase that one… and don’t hate it enough to keep trying.  So, with my discount worked out, I said I’d take it.  She sent me to the paperwork table.  As I sat down, Larry handed me the rest of the money I needed for the purchase.  I said to the lady who was doing the paperwork, “Yeah, that looks bad.  But I promise I am the buyer, he’s just loaning me the balance.  See?” and I took the rest of the cash out of MY wallet.  Assured that I was not making a straw-purchase for someone unable to pass the background check, she went ahead with the deal.  With that done, I watched as Larry bought something and we discussed what to do next.  Since the Saiga was obviously NOT going to sell, I was out of money.  Larry was down below an amount where he could make any more big purchases as well.  I suggested we go check out the new location of Bloodbath & Beyond.  Larry had never seen the new store so that was what we did.  We loaded our swag into the trunk of Fiona and headed out.  At BB&B we shopped for a while and then called it a day.  I took him back to his truck at the railroad and went home.  After I put the Saiga away, I unpacked the RAR and had a look at it.  The double 10 round “Jungle Style” magazines (mounted butt to butt) for the 90/22 do fit but the 25 round banana mags do not.  The hole in the gun’s stock is such a tight tolerance that even the apparently square 10/22 rotary magazines won’t go in backwards!  I have never seen that in a 10/22, Juan can always put the mag in wrong in one of them!  The banana mags are significantly thicker than the rotary mags and will not fit the RAR.  Meh, the others do so I’m happy… ish.  I mounted that cheap BB gun scope temporarily until I can get the bases to mount the scope I really want on there.  Then I wasted the rest of the evening in front of the TV.  “But wait,” I hear someone in the peanut gallery saying.  “What about the “hen’s teeth encased in unicorn farts?”  Yep, I totally forgot about that $100.00 albatross until I was about to go to bed.  I went back out to the car and found it in the trunk.  I took the 10 round internal magazine out of the SKS and tried fitting the 20 rounder.  It wouldn’t fit.  I had a look and it appeared as though the bullpup stock was fouling the face.  See, the 10 round mag slopes down at… oh, let’s say a 20⁰ angle whereas the 20 round mag is more like a 60⁰ angle.  I had to take out a file and clearance the hole.  Eventually I got it to fit.  I was really happy.  But then I thought, “Since the magazine only opens about an inch now, rather than three or four, I wonder if it will still dump the ammo when released.”  I decided on a test.  First off, I removed the bolt so that there was no way I could accidentally chamber a round and have a negligent discharge.  Then I loaded 20 rounds into the magazine.  I was really, REALLY glad when that confirmation was made!  I released the catch and fifteen rounds spit out the bottom of the gun, just as they were supposed to do.  I could flick the follower with my finger to dump the last five and considered myself in possession of a 20 round SKS… bullpup!  I reinserted the bolt, locked it back, and charged the magazine from two stripper clips.  They fed perfectly into the magazine and I was almost giddy.  I dumped the mag with the release catch and reloaded the stripper clips before putting everything away.  I really like that SKS… even more now that it has double the original mag capacity.  Well, I guess I’ll call it a rant now… especially since that was pretty much the end of the weekend’s tale anyway.  Have a day.