I was out on the range today with my old friend Matt Burkett, the lord high god of competition training. He bought along one of his Predator Tactical .500 S&W Magnum pump rifles...yeah, that's right, a pump that can lob a 500-grain hardball downrange. So after we did a little piece for SHOOTING GALLERY, Matt and I stood around turning big rocks into piles of little bitty rocks (WARNING: Kids, don't try this at home! Only idiots shoot rocks!).
Darn, it was fun! I told Matt that, yes, Mr. Stupid would be buying one ($1200 MSRP, more or less). What a cool gun to shoot! If you're a Southern hog hunter or you'd like a bedroom rifle that will put down a velociraptor in case one gets in the bedroom, the Predator thumper is a godsend. I often wonder about Matt's mental state...
About the Kriss...I gotta tell you that the buzz on the buzzgun is apparently true. I was shooting a Kriss full auto with a suppressor, and it is unconditionally, hands-down the easiest machinegun I've ever fired. Kriss guys claim it shoots lighter than an MP-5, and having put a lot of rounds through MP-5s, I have to say that statement is true.The hardest thing about shooting the Kriss is to NOT clamp down on it the way you'd usually do with a little full auto. The Kriss trainers talked about shooting the gun with a "soft shoulder," essentially, letting the gun easily recoil into your shoulder instead of using a hard, locked-in position that you might use with an full auto AR or AK or one of the more exotic buzzguns. I mentioned that I'd shot an 8-inch FAL 7.62 full auto, and it required a 100% lock-in to keep it under control (and it was touch and go...LOL!). The Kriss was like shooting an American 180 .22 full auto...you could hold it on the target with minimal effort. Neat little gun! From what I heard, law enforcement is all over the .45 ACP buzz gun.
BTW, one thing I really liked about the Kriss was the TWO operating controls — a safety and a separate lever for single shot, 2 shot burst or full auto. The logic behind the 2 levers is that under heavy stress (and the Kriss is designed as an entry gun, which is about as high stress as you can get), on a standard single lever system it's easy to blow through single shot to full auto, which puts you at a disadvantage if you have to take a single precision shot, say, against a hostage-taker.
Zero-dark-thirty is coming early...more tomorrow...
Oh wait, BTW BTW, the stuff that we filmed for SHOOTING GALLERY is landmark stuff, things you've never seen before. We did a lot of stuff with the guys from the Direct Action Medical Network (DAMN), and I think everyone who owns or carries a gun should see this information!
5 comments:
Thanks Michael, I've always wondered how I might kill a Dinosaur in the middle of the night!
Shooting Gallery is still on Outdoor Channel correct? When's the new season premier?
Them pump guns look real purdy, but at 1200 bucks and ammo at 35 bucks a box of 20 rounds (when you can find it), gotta ask: Why not get a 20 gauge pump gun for 1/4 the price and ammo at 1/3 the price? The ballistics of a 20 gauge slug (.60 or Rem sabot loads) and the 500SW are about even. Plus the shotgun gives you lots more options, equal accuracy etc? Neither Mr. Hog nor the velociraptor would notice the difference.
A 20 gauge slug is only a 260 grain running about 1900. The .500 out of the PT 500 a factory 350 Hornady load is coming out at 2150 for 1/3 more foot pounds of energy. The 300's are coming out around 2400-2500. At 2500 they have 4,000 foot pounds of energy for double what a 20 gauge does. An additional note is that most 20's don't have a 6+1 capacity. :-)
so... 12 ga slug. I WIN!!!
Of course, no one said all guns had to be practical or make financial sense. "I want it" is STILL a valid reason to exercise the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. I WIN AGAIN!!!
Thanks so much for your post, pretty helpful information.
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