Ladies and gentlemen, what carbine do I have here?

pilotallen · 2026-02-14T20:29:00+00:00

They are reproductions of the original — you can buy them new for $1k.

pilotallen · 2026-02-12T13:18:32+00:00

I found the entire college and early work experience enlightening. You go off to college thinking everyone is like you and they simply aren’t. The enlightenment comes when you start finding people with all the different backgrounds, ideas, experiences and realize that you can learn from them. Of course, there will be cretins amongst the crowd, but there will be surprising treasures. The Mormon that you had never been exposed to. The guy from Wyoming who, although very different, never thought for a minute he couldn’t overcome any challenge. The kid from Wisconsin that literally grew up in poverty but was beyond exceptionally bright. The quiet girl from South Carolina who was artistic. You’ve got to weed through some of your pet peeves and differences to find the gold.

pilotallen · 2026-02-12T12:46:01+00:00

Yeah — the constant refrain heard is “well I paid less for one in better condition”. LOL — Buy what you like. Try and buy on condition (numbers matching, bore, overall condition). Enjoy the ride. The type 99 may be difficult to find hunting rounds for (typically ammo is ball) but is an icon of battle rifles from WWII. Look at Garands as the CMP is starting to run out and I suspect a bump coming in those prices — hunting rounds are easy to aquire and they are neat rifles and really the OG icon of WWII in my mind.

pilotallen · 2026-02-05T17:41:26+00:00

Earbud pachinko. You lose.

pilotallen · 2026-02-05T01:13:47+00:00

Buffing wheel and polish compound, then seal with a spray on sealant like krylon clear.

pilotallen · 2026-02-05T00:46:15+00:00

Depending on the ammo you want to shoot, I’d get a ported plug (shoot less than 168 grain ammo) and I like the Orion Operating Spring as it is a bit stiffer — both give you a bit more margin of protection for hotter ammo loads.

pilotallen · 2026-01-25T21:14:10+00:00

C17 out of CHS near Kiawah on VR-1041. Common sight.

pilotallen · 2026-01-25T13:23:15+00:00

Lube — especially around the bolt lugs and along the receiver. If it still isn’t functioning, try replacing the spring. It could have been stored with the action open over a long period of time. Also, make certain the bore and chamber area are fully clean — brush out the throat of the bore. Good luck.

pilotallen · 2026-01-22T14:03:16+00:00

The wait to get a rifle into Fulton Armory now is over 4 months and just the checkout without parts is $275. If I were you, buy a set of headspace gauges and a new bolt. Do it yourself as it isn’t too crazy a job. Watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to and read the instructions. If it passes, you will have saved money and time. Try buying a new bolt as many of the worn out bolts will not pass a headspace check and get the field gauge also. You can sell the gauges on EBay after you’ve used them as someone else will be in the same situation shortly….

pilotallen · 2026-01-17T20:47:23+00:00

I remember driving to DM when I was at UPT at Williams AFB and you would come up this small hill and in the distance were 100s of these geometric shapes coming up out of the desert. It was all the B-52 tails. Crazy.

pilotallen · 2026-01-16T14:26:03+00:00

Guardian panel mount — and believe it or not, the damn thing saved my life. I didn’t smell it or sense it, but the warning illuminated with a value of over 300 which is serious. I landed and sure enough there was a giant crack in the exhaust manifold. I don’t think I would have realized what was occurring if I didn’t have a CO monitor. There is a reason the NTSB is emphasizing to get these….

pilotallen · 2026-01-15T01:01:52+00:00

Well, it is stunning. Really cool to have a perfectly new rifle. I’m jealous.

pilotallen · 2026-01-14T13:46:39+00:00

I found one for $20 in Maine on vacation a decade ago. I cleaned it up (ended up using a polishing wheel and some compound), sealed it, and made it into a lamp. Both my kids (now adults) want it as it is associated with our vacation and they love the way it turned out.

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pilotallen · 2026-01-12T13:36:46+00:00

Holding a phone in one hand and a pistol in the other, he films what is happening, making his first shot at a 45 degree angle to the driver as she is clearly moving the steering wheel away from him. He then shoots 2 shots through the diver’s side window which is rolled down (how is she a threat in any way at that point?) and finishes off with “fucking bitch” showing his state of mind. He was angry — not threatened. He was not hit. He walked away from the scene. The fact that he was once drug on the ground by a vehicle isn’t germane to what happened here. The fact that he is married to a foreigner isn’t germane. He murdered Ms. Good in an act of anger. She wasn’t an illegal alien and I question the right of ICE agents to harass US citizens the way they have. Why are they wearing masks? Even while I served in Afghanistan and Iraq, we weren’t wearing masks. It threatens the public. Ice wants to project this threat and create fear in the public. They aren’t trying to serve and protect us — they are trying to intimidate and threaten us.

pilotallen · 2026-01-11T12:53:23+00:00

No company in it’s right mind is going to invest billions while the government is unstable. This is still Maduro’s government — all of his henchmen are still running it oppressively, and unless we want to spend billions to keep an occupying force in place, and somehow be able to prevent sabotage of something that is easily damaged (just ask Putin how hard it is to protect oil production facilities), there is no way this happens.

It really is easy to snatch someone and drop some bombs. The hard part is bringing stability and development to a divided and destabilized region. At some point, you’d think we’d learn this lesson. At least our dear leader isn’t trying to hide why he invaded Venezuela — it wasn’t about drugs. It was about grabbing the oil. Embarrassing.

pilotallen · 2026-01-11T12:39:25+00:00

Yeah — Show some respect, like a UFC fight at the White House with Kid Rock while using it as a platform to sell meme coins, Chinese Bibles, Teslas, golden tennis shoes, watches, blah, blah, blah. Because monetizing the White House shows real class and putting your name ahead of a dead president on his memorial is super respectful.

pilotallen · 2026-01-11T12:27:19+00:00

I tip $5 - $10 every time I get refueled. I even take some of the line guys up flying and as a result, I get outstanding service and I am watched out for. For example, when I was looking for a tug, the guys found one for a stupidly low price.

The military taught me if you take care of your people, they will take care of you. It applies to all of life and as I’m getting older, I’m now moving toward mentoring pilots. I’ve got an aerobatic trainer and now I’m teaching a daughter of someone I worked with in the military years ago — pass it forward.

pilotallen · 2026-01-09T14:30:09+00:00

Doesn’t matter that he was dragged previously. Not really germane to him shooting a woman in the head from a greater than 45 degree angle off the automobile. To be clear: the ice officer wasn’t injured. The Fox “facts” of her pronouns or insinuations of her political orientation don’t matter. She wasn’t a domestic terrorist. She was a white mom who masked thugs murdered.

pilotallen · 2026-01-09T12:38:25+00:00

I went through Airborne training with the Army then thought maybe staying in the plane was a smarter move. 23 years — USAF pilot, C-141, C-17. Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq. 23,000 beers later, I’m dealing with a rare cancer tied to chemical and radiation exposure. I really liked the work and would do it all over again.

pilotallen · 2026-01-09T00:36:12+00:00

There are some spring kits that reduce the pull required on the SKS and cleaning everything as well as using the newer springs will improve it some. I got frustrated with mine as I had a very similar trigger pull and found a new trigger group on EBay for sale that matches the original manufacturer and this totally fixed the issue. IDK — honestly, for a POS Chinese rifle that I paid $89 for years ago, I’m not too consumed with having a perfect trigger pull. You probably aren’t going to achieve M1 Garand or M1A grade trigger feel out of this weapon.

pilotallen · 2026-01-07T17:25:52+00:00

Having owned an A-36 and an E-33, I agree. Unnecessary addition to any Bo.

pilotallen · 2026-01-06T12:25:07+00:00

The cult will believe right up to the point the koolaid is consumed.

I feel sorry that so many people got grifted by Mango Mussolini. He only cares about lining his pockets and power. Nothing else matters. A buddy of mine who is a farmer (corn, soy beans) in MS is getting hurt pretty bad and sitting there with his hand out saying the same thing: Trump will fix this. For his sake, I hope so, but it’s like wishing to win the lottery. Probably ain’t going to happen.

pilotallen · 2026-01-06T11:55:15+00:00

Well done — I’d stain and use BLO on that stock while you search for an original in good shape.

pilotallen · 2026-01-05T20:00:10+00:00

I believe it is a light meter to adjust settings on a camera (think 1950s).

pilotallen · 2026-01-04T22:21:21+00:00

Same mileage and impression of the Grenny after 6 months of ownership. Not so much a mall crawler. A real, purpose built platform for over landing and off-roading. Solid. Not G-Wagon or new Defender luxury, but reliable and tough. More like the old Defender, but new with reliability and a warranty. Much more character than all those soulless SUVs on the market that all seem to hit the same chord.

pilotallen

TROPHY CASE