Po' Folks Got Po' Ways

Okay. last minute update:
Check out my sweet-bear's blog...
This is my daughter, Betsy, puttin'; it out there (Fifth Grade).
If you've got kids, clue 'em up.
Check it out. The last, ring-of-fire, jumping squirrel... It kicks ass

First of all: today is the tenth anniversary of the national scab that we just can't stop picking at - so I'm not going to address that at all. Well, I will for a very brief bit.
If you lost someone there, I'm very sorry and am in no way trying to trivialize your grief but, for all you folks out in bum-fuck, Utah: it was ten years ago. Get over it!
It's like a national case of PTSD.
Let's try to look beyond the visible evidence of our mortality for a second.
First of all, since we have two presidential contenders who subscribe to this faith, let's not forget the other 9/11. The one in 1857 known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
I think something on that subject would a good question to throw at Romney and Huntsman next debate. Hell, bust Harry Reid on it too.
And Herman Cain. Fuck-oh-dear. Again throwing rocks at the short bus. Here's his "tribute" (AKA campaign video - and he did the vocals - in one take):
You'll find it in all its self-congratulatory splendor here.
Unlike Herman, I tend to think of things on the time line in relation to past and further past. For instance, my 1962 pickup - which I love dearly is almost fifty. A vehicle built fifty years prior to it was made in 1912.
See how it works. Ten years before 9/11, Godfather's Pizza was actually good pizza - very good pizza.

Okay, enough grabass.
A while back we explored the issue of infantry rifles, cut-down to "pistol size" Long ass pistols.

Now, those sawed-off SMLE's exist in abundance and, while some were undoubtedly used by the tunnelers given the shortage of pistols, most had a far more mundane function.
Initially the 2" mortar (AKA "The Toffee Apple") used a standard friction igniter. I suspect that, given the nasty back flash and recoil, this was soon amended to a shortened Enfield rifle attached to the tube, chambering a special, blank round and fired by means of a lanyard.
Not nearly as sexy but apparently effective up 'till 1916ish when the Stokes mortar became the standard.
But...but... WTF? Are there no cut-off rifles at all?
It's okay, honey. Our old friends, the Russians have rushed unto the breach.














Meet the "obrez".
I just acquired one of these rifles (not an obrez - a Mosin Nagant, 91/30) and am having a hard time keeping it and my jungle carbine from getting into cat-fights.
I dearly love my Enfield but, well... she's expensive to feed - and kicks like a mule.
To give mad props to my first love though:
"Gunny's" an idiot.
A: He got his ass kicked bolt-action vs bolt-action.
B. If the Brit had known the proper way to rapid fire, he'd have kicked his ass when he used the Garand as well (Gunny doesn't seem to be that good of a shot).
C. And THIS is the biggie, 30.06 did not "win" WW2.
We'll hold off on revealing that until we explore the dumbass - Gunny's - my bad - statement that the 30.06 round was the longest serving round that he can imagine.
Your imagination sucks ass there, Ron. The longest serving rifle round (120 years and counting) is that stone-age, archaic 7.62X54R which - incidentally - also won WW2.
Back to the obrez. These were made/modified by various factions during the Russian civil war.
In a long conflict where many participants were conscripted peasants and guerrilla fighters - and peasants wanting to not be conscripted and so, were willing to fight against it - this thing was perfect.
Genuine pistols were in short supply and the standard rifle was impossible to conceal so, being that there were tons of them around, the rifles could be easily cut-down as a do-it-yourself project.
Every firearm forum I've read about these on has a large group of hand-wringers who can't leave alone the uselessness and illegality of the thing. Of course it's got no accuracy - not everything has to be practical.
Speculation regarding horrific recoil abound as well on which this video may shed some light.
Apparently he was firing Czech surplus ammo. The barrel is so short that not all of the powder is consumed leading to a massive fireball and manageable recoil, but at the expense of muzzle velocity.
The pearl-clutching regarding legality cracks me up as well. If you were to actually fuck up a perfectly good rifle to make yourself one of these - legally - it would require paperwork and a fee of $200 - and the ATF folks would have you on their radar. And would you actually plan to take it to the range, your local gun shop? Would you think of carrying it in your car? I would hope not.
Myself, if I was going to do something so outside the law, I'd prefer to keep the government out of it.
Neither here nor there. I have no intention of ruining my present MN nor buying another to ruin. I just like these as the make-do artifacts that they are.
Really, the true beauty of this thing is the complete freedom to accommodate any skill level.
So now we'll enjoy looking at some examples so the wide range of possibilities can be appreciated.


This next one; ten minutes in the basement with a hacksaw and you're golden.



Or you can go all anal-retentive on it.















These I love. Wood - or not?






















Saving the best for last. Little Ivan's junior-high, wood shop project.


The guy on the left looks to be high. Poor trigger discipline too.
Thus concludes our journey through the wonders of the obrez.
But, in closing one thing must be said.

This is not what we're talking about.







This is more than a ruined Mosin Nagant.
This is a cry for help.
Please give generously so we can defeat tacticool derangement syndrome in our lifetime.