Manurhin MR 73

The Manurhin MR 73 is a French made double action revolver which is used by the French police along with their special operations team the GIGN. The MR 73 is chambered in .38 special and .357 magnum it also has the ability to be converted to 9mm. It is built to match grade accuracy and is said to have multiple hours of hand fitting at the factory. As for getting your hands on one of these firearms it will not be easy they are very rare because they have to be imported from France and aren't marketed in the US which also brings up its price.

imfdb

If you have ever watched a movie and wanted to know a gun that was used in it than imfdb or the internet movie firearms database is just what you need. Imfdb.org is a Wikipedia formatted website which lists firearms along with some other types of weapons used in movies and some video games. The site does a good job with screenshots of the firearms even those that are in the background of a scene. They even have write ups on firearms that aren't real but what they are assumed to be based on. For movies that haven't even come out they will have screenshots from trailers previewing firearms in the movie. Hopefully this site stays around for many more years.  

Franchi SPAS 12

The Franchi SPAS 12 is a unique and deadly looking shotgun. It was designed to be a tactical military shotgun but tactical is not how I would describe it. Complicated and heavy would be the best two words to sum up this gun. The SPAS 12 has the ability to shoot in both semi-automatic and pump action mode. When the slide action is all the way forward it opens the gas port so it can cycle rounds automatically. The tricky part about this gun is that it has to be set perfectly in the right mode to actually shoot or open the action. There are two safeties, one a push pin safety the other a quick release trigger safety. Earlier models of the SPAS 12 had a lever safety which had a recall because it didn't actually work and the gun could fire when it was on. Another flaw of the gun is that is has a shock absorber inside the receiver that if not replaced could cause severe damage to the gun. Again early models of the shock absorber would degrade and break apart making them useless, you can get replacement shock absorbers online that are made of better plastics to last longer. It has a folding stock and also has a hook(not pictured) that was meant to allow the shooter to use the gun with one arm to shoot around corners and such. With the weight of the gun I wouldn't suggest trying to shoot it with one arm. Since the stock is all metal it isn't very forgiving when it comes to recoil so you will feel everything. If you can find a SPAS 12 in good condition with all the parts it would be a good investment gun since they are no longer made and have always been popular among collectors. As long as video games and movies continue to include this gun people will buy it just to have it.  

M24 Sniper Rifle

I'll start by saying I don't own this rifle nor could I buy it direct from Remington and if I could it would be way out of my price range. The M24 sniper weapon system is sold by Remington Defense to the Military along with police SWAT teams. It is based of the Remington 700 rifle with major modifications. The Leupold scope that comes with this rifle cost close to $2000 alone. You can purchase a Remington 700 police rifle fairly cheaply and then try and build it up to the M24, this is a project I'd like to take on one day. If however you do want to get this rifle built for you at a decent price you can go to the Texas Brigade Armor. They make custom sniper rifle systems. The prices are reasonable but wait times can be long.

Army M24

http://texasbrigadearmory.com/index.htm

Glock 19 2nd generation

I recently picked up a Glock 19 2nd generation handgun online, I was a good price and wasn't in to bad of shape. I haven't even taken it out to shoot yet so I can't really speak to how well it performs but it feels about the same as my Glock 17. I find the smaller size to be nice with this gun I just wish it had the finger grooves that the 3rd generation Glocks have. I am starting to think I have to many of the Glock 9mm's. Most people will say the Glock 19 is the best Glock handgun due to its small size and ability to still hold 15 rounds in a non extended magazine. I don't plan to do to much modification to this Glock other than replacing the night sights which have been dimmed and now useless. 

Sig Sauer 1911

Now that the weather is getting nice my friend and I took a trip to the range to shoot outdoors. Today he brought his Sig Sauer 1911. I have shot .45 ACP before but never a 1911, some people will say that your first .45 should always be a 1911 but mine was actually a M&P45. This 1911 has some solid weight to it which helps handle the recoil. The trigger is as smooth as butter and just seems so natural to pull. I was pretty accurate with the gun although the rear sight isn't set right and is way to loose. As you can see this doesn't have a factory wood grip it was replaced with a rubber grip. I wasn't a fan of the slide release it seemed hard to get to. I will most likely buy a 1911 some day but would need to try a few more before spending the high price of most of them out there.

Gun Detailing

While working on my Glock 34 race gun I got a little sidetracked and decided to add some color to some of my guns. I picked up some nail polish and filled in the engraved lettering on my Glock 34 and Smith&Wesson M&P15. This is fairly easy little project, best to get nail polish that drys fast. When applying the nail polish try and stay just around the area of the engraved letters. Once the nail polish has dried use some nail polish remover and paper towels to wipe off the excess polish. You can apply multiple coats to make the letters stand out more.