It was bound to happen sooner or later -- I finally fall victim to "Little Black Rifle Disease ..."

If you hang around long enough on gun/shooting forums, at the shooting range or near the gun shop, you'll eventually hear someone refer to an affliction known as "Little Black Rifle Disease" (LBRD).  When I first heard the term, I was coming of a flurry of handgun acquisitions and was just beginning to consider the possibility of a hunting rifle.  I had ventured over to PAFOA's "rifle" forum to see if I could pick up any advice on an appropriate setup and couldn't help but notice that every other thread seemed to be about "AR-15s."  One poster had started a thread with pics, stopping in to show the gang his new (and first) AR-15.  One of the responders congratulated him by saying, "welcome to the club, you've now been infected with LBRD."

I didn't think too much of it at the time, and in fact, as noted previously in this blog, went on to purchase a SIG 556 as my first tactical/battle rifle.  I chose the SIG because I thought it looked incredibly sweet and because it was such a great deal at the time.  I'll admit now that at the time, I really didn't understand the basic differences between the SIG and an AR-15.  Well, there are a LOT of differences between the two (more than I can get into in this post) that I don't really understand at this stage, but the basic fundamental difference is that the SIG action differs from an AR-15 action, though both rely on gas generated when the round ignites to power the stroke that ejects the spent casing and loads the next round.

In the weeks that followed my purchase of the 556, I began to think more and more about an AR-15 until eventually I was convinced that there was enough of a difference between the two formats that I should acquire an AR-15 and explore it further.  So, after some careful analysis and research, I chose to enter the world of the little black rifle by acquiring a basic, entry level model known as the Smith and Wesson M&P-15 Sport:

I should point out that what you're looking at isn't really a basic Sport, but rather the sport after I added a Yankee Hill quad forerail, a vertical forgrip and an Eotech holographic sight.  I decided to get the basic Sport and jazz it up a bit rather than buying a tricked out AR off the shelf.  It was probably THAT decision that made me vulnerable to LBRD.  You see, the basic operation of the AR-15 is awesome -- it's super light and typically very durable and effective in a variety of conditions, and the minute you begin to handle and contemplate its uses, you become infected.  In essence, LBRD is the affliction whereby you come to realize that there are so many possible configurations and setups for this versatile weapon, that there's simply NO WAY one, or two, or maybe even three or more will ever suffice.  I'm not sure I owned this Sport for more than a week before I was already contemplating what I could do with the next one.  And it's not just the accessories and addons.  AR-15's can be built with a variety of barrels, stocks, grips, rails, sights, triggers, etc.  What's more, once you understand the basic components, you can LITERALLY build you're own from an endless combination of various pieces.  As I sit here and write this today, I have already acquired more than half the necessary components to build my very own AR rifle, though that's the subject of many future entries.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few more images of "Kourtney and Chloe," or the "Girls" as I like to call them.

Time to catch up a little .... Presenting the FNH 5.7

It's been a long while since I last posted and there's some members of the firearms family that I haven't yet introduced.  Now that hunting season is well behind us, it's time to get back to my anti-zombie collection.

I finally broke down and picked up an FN Herstal Five-Seven pistol.  While there were still some obvious holes in my collection -- most notably a gaping hole in my safe where an AR-15 should rest, not to mention the notoriously absent shotgun -- I couldn't resist going back for another handgun.  I was sort of obssessed by the unique quality of the Five Seven's 5.7 x 28 mm cartridge, not to mention it's 20 round per standard magazine capacity and it's reputation for long range accuracy that have many referring to it as a "hand carbine."  How unique is the 5.7 x 28 mm cartridge?  Well, aside from this pistol, there is only one other standard production firearm that shoots' this round -- FN Herstal's strikingly bizarre-looking PS90, a 50 round assault carbine.  (Note:  You can also buy an upper specially made to shoot this cartridge through an AR-15, but that's a blog for another day.)

I opted for this pistol in two tone -- black and flat dark earth.  It came standard out of the case with 3 20 round magazines.

It's a fairly large sized handgun -- slightly bigger than my M&P 9mm.  That being said, it's mostly polymer, so it weighs next to nothing.  Below is a pic that includes a shot of the 5.7 x 28mm round. It's the little round with the blue tip.  To help you understand the petite size of this high powered round, that's a 230 grain .45 ACP round sitting next to it.



There's quite a loyal following with the Five Seven.  If you read up a little bit, you'll find an entire subculture that loves this little pistol.  There are several available rounds out there that can defeat most types of soft body armor.  For me, I don't plan on needing to defeat body armor, but I do think it's cool that it shoots virtually a flat trajectory out to 100 meters.  That's crazy range for a handgun.

During the first range trip, with the standard 3 dot combat sights (which are not set up for accurate target shooting), I was able to put 14 of 20 rounds into a 9" target at 25 meters.  I don't think I could duplicate that type of accuracy at that distance with any of my other handguns, particularly the first time out.  I shot 100 rounds without any failures or other issues. It's a really fun little gun to shoot. It sits perfectly in the hand and with very little recoil, will spit out rounds on target as fast you as you can squeeze the trigger.  As for the trigger itself, it's good out of the box, but not on par with my Apex trigger in my M&P 9mm or the crisp 1911 trigger in my Kimber .45.  I guess I'm a little spoiled by those guns, but the Five Seven definitely doesn't suck.  I'm pleased with this acquisition.