From The Economist print edition- Apr 30th 2008:
“An estimated 875m small arms are in circulation worldwide: one for every seven people on the planet. Nearly three-quarters of these are owned by civilians. And about 80% of those guns in civilian hands are found in just 30 countries, according to the Small Arms Survey, a research group. Although America accounts for 40% of firearms in civilian ownership, people put them to more deadly use elsewhere. The gun murder rate in Colombia and South Africa, for example, is much higher than in America.”
A few weeks ago, one of my clients brought in an old Sharps rifle for us to sell. The rifle was in desperate need of some TLC—and we’re not talking about CLP. It required a gentle touch—something you would use on a fine watch or a piece of jewelry. One of my business associates happens to be a buyer of antiquities and makes his living selling estate items on eBay. So, I consulted my friend, the antique dealer.
He introduced me to a wunderprodukt called Simichrome polish, made by our friends in Germany. It’s a paste used for polishing virtually any metal and won’t scratch or damage the surface in anyway. Just apply a small amount of paste to the surface and polish with a clean cloth. The results were spectacular.
Recently, a client was in our shop picking up a used S&W model 65 that he purchased from CDNN. It had quite a bit of tarnish, so we gave it a quick polish with Simichrome and snapped a few pictures:
I can’t say enough about this stuff—it’s superb! Every gun enthusiast’s toolbox should have a tube. The only downside: Simichrome is hard to find, but it can be had for around $10 + shipping online. Just Google “Simichrome” and you’ll find some for sale. I highly recommend it.
[Find Simichrome on Google].
That’s all for today. Have a good one, my friends.
– Evan
A few weeks ago, a story broke in Winter Haven, Florida regarding the KABOOM of several Police Department Glock 37 pistols [see article]. While the KABOOM phenomenon has been around for many years, this is the first time I can recall it affecting a large law enforcement agency using the .45GAP. In this particular case, Speer has accepted the blame for providing defective Gold Dot brand ammunition to Winter Haven PD. The department is now in the process of liquidating the model G37 and replacing it with the venerable Glock 21– at a slightly higher cost per unit, of course. The question is: why choose the .45GAP in the first place?
The .45GAP is an answer to a question nobody asked. The .45ACP is legendary. “If it ain’t broke—don’t fix it,” and the .45ACP is definitely not broken! Glock developed the GAP cartridge for the sole purpose of not being the only major firearms manufacturer left without their own round on the market. Sig Sauer developed the .357SIG for the same reason. “Cartridge Envy” makes companies do strange things.
Winter Haven’s decision to deploy the G37 was a mistake. Whatever short-term savings they enjoyed have long since been negated. The cost of ownership on the G37 is actually more expensive when you consider variable costs like ammo for training. Plus, you’re only getting a 10-round magazine capacity with the .45GAP model 37. Wasn’t the whole point of the .45GAP to offer a smaller profile, increased capacity, and comparable ballistics? No, that wasn’t it. The point of the .45GAP was to give Glock a caliber, however short-lived, that it could call its own.
– Evan