Sunday, November 6, 2011

I love mechanical things...

Anything mechanical has always fascinated me.  From the age of three, mom says I tried to disassemble everything I could, studying it, trying to figure out how it worked, trying to improve or fix anything that wasn't functioning at an optimal level.


Guns, tractors, cars, trucks, motorcycles... I love doing my own work... fixing, maintaining, improving.  Wrenching on farm equipment, tractors, engines, motorcycles, guns, and working in the barn or shop seems to be where I find a lot of relaxing enjoyment.  The wife thinks my favorite manly fragrances are Hoppe's, WD40, Diesel, and Valvoline.

I've done a lot of amateur gunsmith work over the years and I've been toying with the idea of working my way through one of the NRA short-term gunsmithing schools so I might one day move on to a second career or at least have more refined skills and a small machine shop in place before TEOTWAWKI.  I just wish I lived closer to one of the schools.


The new Ruger SR1911 has hit the 1,000 round mark without a single malfunction.  Due for a good cleaning... it was disassembled, cleaned, looked over carefully, lubricated, and reassembled.  John Browning's design still amazes me, especially considering that the basic design is now over 100 years old.  Although it is a good design, some 1911s I've used in the past have been a little finicky and they always seem to need some attention and adjustment over time.


I'm starting to think the good ol' folks at Ruger might have made a gun that won't need me as much as the other 1911s have in the past.  There are some basic wear marks on the rails and in places where metal runs against metal, but nothing that looks unusual.  Actually, there seems to be less wear than many of my other semi-autos visibly show after that many rounds.


As much as I enjoy shooting... I also enjoy taking the guns apart, keeping each one in top shape, even improving them when needed.  What else can I say...

I love mechanical things...

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