Never Forget

Never Surrender.
God bless America, and all who have lost their lives in the name of freedom.

Arcus 98DA Review: Good quality budget pistol

Those looking for a low-priced full-size pistol (<$450) will be hard pressed to find one that is not made from low-quality parts with high tolerances by some sketchy gun company. However, there are always a few options that are very good quality and surprisingly cheap. The Arcus 98DA, chambered in 9x19mm, is one of those.

I acquired a brand new 98DA for the price of only $320 online. Arcus is a fairly unknown Bulgarian company, but they have produced weapons for the Bulgarian military for years. In fact, the 98DA is currently the official sidearm of the Bulgarian and Iraqi armies.

An initial glance at the 98DA will reveal its close similarity to the Browning Hi-Power. Indeed, this pistol is a Hi-Power clone with a few key differences. The first is that this is a double action pistol, hence DA in the designation. Secondly, the magwell is extended to hold a 15-round mag, the grips are different, and this gun features an obvious dovetail below the hammer. Arcus began this series of Hi-Power clones with the Arcus 94, which was a single action full-size pistol. The 98DA and 98DAC (C standing for compact) followed. Overall, the gun feels very solid and well constructed. The slide and frame are CNC machined from steel forgings. It comes shipped coated with a thick grease to protect against moisture, which needs to be removed before shooting. To keep costs down, the gun comes in a cardboard box instead of a dedicated plastic case. It comes with two 15-round magazines, and what appears to be a cleaning rod as far as I can tell.

The pistol features a thumb safety, which can only be engaged with the hammer at half or full cock, and also blocks the firing pin and slide. The pistol has no decocker, so care must be taken when releasing the hammer. Disassembling the 98DA is quite easy, and is basically the same as the disassembly of a Hi-Power. The innards of the gun are not polished, but I couldn't care less about that for $320 if it functions well.

On the range, the gun proved to be fairly accurate, with 2-6" groupings at 25 yards. The double action trigger pull of 13 lbs is ridiculous, but I can't see any situation when I would be firing it in double action, and the 6 lb SA trigger is very manageable, if somewhat gritty. The pistol is equipped with standard 3-dot sights. The rear sight is adjustable for windage, but not for elevation. The gun is sighted in at the factory for a distance of 25 meters. I have only had 1 failure-to-eject out of several hundred rounds I've fired, and that was using shitty Tula Walmart ammo, so I don't attribute that failure to the gun.

Overall, if you are looking for a steel-frame budget pistol that still functions well, the Arcus 98DA is probably one of the best options for the price. It's a sturdy, no-frills weapon built for utility, and it excels in this role.

Piers Morgan strikes one final "blow" against gun owners.

Well, it became official this week that Piers Morgan is no longer employed by CNN. Frankly, I didn't even realize he was still working there. It is very possible that his TV show was cancelled due to his frequent anti-gun rants.

I wouldn't crack the champagne open too quickly though, @NRA - I haven't finished with you lot yet.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 2, 2014

Uhh...I don't think anyone's even listening to you anymore, Piers.

Of course, there are a barrage of pro-gun tweets that follow:

@piersmorgan You are now history, from CNN? I love it! I think I'll go outside and shoot my guns, and there is nothing you can do to stop me
— Bill Perdue (@bill_perdue) September 2, 2014

 

@piersmorgan Good riddence!
— Craig Miller (@metrobank) September 2, 2014

Of course, we always have this to remember him by:

Sheri Johnson of Noveske Rifleworks created an extremely badass company.

Not sure how many people have been following this, but after Sheri Johnson left Noveske she went on to work on a new project, which happens to be the most badass company ever. She explains EraThr3 in this interview for RECOIL magazine.

Still not quite sure what they actually make, but whatever it is I'm sure it will be awesome (and expensive).

Cars, guns, scantily clad women? Count me in!

Is this responsible journalism?

So, you may have heard about Steven Sotloff, an American journalist who is currently being held hostage by ISIS. The terrorist group has threatened to kill him if the airstrikes in Syria do not stop. His mother, Shirley Sotloff has created a video begging for his release, which she has sent to the leader of ISIS.

NBC just posted this article.

Terrorism experts said Wednesday that the video was studied, carefully worded and tactically smart. What they could not say was whether it would work.

“She’s definitely done her homework,” said Colin P. Clarke, an associate political scientist at the Rand Corp. research group who has studied insurgency for more than a decade. “This is probably what any parent would do.”...........

..........Her language throughout the video was deliberate. In presenting her son as a reporter bearing witness to a fight against tyrants, the mother was invoking a powerful idea in Islam, said Patrick M. Skinner, director of special projects for the Soufan Group, a security consulting company.

If her video actually does work, won't ISIS decide to kill him anyway if they catch wind of this article and realize they've been played? Just sayin'.

As a side note, in case any ISIS sympathizers are reading this: FUCK ISIS. Burn in hell you pieces of garbage.

What's going on in Ferguson?

I've been following the Ferguson situation, as I'm sure you have. The situation has escalated from simple protests to riots and looting. All ignited by unsubstantiated assumptions that Michael Brown was shot by a bad racist cop. Now, we even see that Eric Holder is heading down there to examine the situation.

Here's what we know:

1. Michael Brown robbed a gas station before he was killed. However, that is not a justification for his death, as the robbery was over and the confrontation had nothing to do with the robbery.

2. Multiple eyewitnesses agree with the officer's version of events, that Brown attacked him and possibly reached for his gun. However, this has obviously not been confirmed yet.

While the protests against the shooting were initially harmless, if misinformed, some thugs in Ferguson decided that they could use this shooting as an excuse to raid every innocent business owner's store and wreak destruction in the town. In addition to this, "police brutality" is becoming more intense, at least if we are to believe what the media is reporting.

It's looking more and more like this is Trayvon Round II. Michael Brown was no innocent kid. He was a thief, and he was large enough to be dangerous without a weapon. Of course, if the shooting really was unprovoked I will fully support charges against the cop, but it's looking more and more like the opposite.

EPA is ruining diesel trucks.

In addition to my gun obsession, I am also a bit of a diesel truck aficionado. While I don't currently own one (no money!), I have always loved diesels, and absolutely hate what is happening to them right now. Here's the low down:

Starting in around 2003-2006, diesel trucks had to reach stricter emissions regulations. Consequently, manufacturers began installing a system onboard new diesel engines known as "exhaust gas recirculation", or EGR. EGR systems reduce nitrous oxide in the exhaust, and generally make the truck pollute less. Sounds like a good thing, right? Wrong. While the trucks are better for the environment, the EGR systems generally reduce fuel mileage, and put extensive wear on an engine by recirculating dirty, soot-filled exhaust gas back through the intake. Additionally, when these systems fail, it almost always results in extremely expensive engine damage.

As if the EGR wasn't bad enough, the EPA is now forcing all new diesel trucks to come equipped with a diesel particulate filter, or DPF. The DPF is a filter in the exhaust, which collects soot, reducing harmful particulates from exiting the tailpipe. Eventually the filter gets full of soot, and becomes clogged. At this point, the trucks computer instructs the engine to undergo a "regeneration", which involves injecting large amounts of diesel fuel into the exhaust to heat it up enough to burn off all of the soot in the filter. DPFs increase fuel consumption even more, and when a regeneration occurs, fuel economy and power are drastically reduced, and dilution of the oil with fuel generally occurs. Obviously this is bad for the truck. Additionally, when the DPF finally wears out (which it will), a new unit costs upwards of $7000.

I'll leave you with these sound words...

Up until recently, a solution existed to this EPA bullshit. DPF and EGR delete kits allow the owner of the truck to remove these troublesome systems. However, a programmer is also required to reprogram the engine's computer. There used to be a plethora of delete-capable programmers to choose from, but the EPA has been slowly forcing them out of existence. Last year, H&S Performance, the last company to produce a delete-capable tuner, was forced by the EPA to stop production of these products, despite the companies assurances that the tuners were for off-road use only.

If this continues, diesel truck enthusiasts will be stuck with shitty, fuel guzzling, breakdown prone trucks in the future.

I guess in conclusion, the EPA can go screw themselves. They don't really care about the environment. What's worse for the environment: an old diesel truck with no emissions that gets 20 mpg, or a new one that pollutes less, but gets 12 mpg and lasts half as long?