After many years of not adding any ballistic weaponry to my collection, I figure it’s about time to strap my boots up and go for it. So, I drove up to J & G Sales in Prescott, AZ since they have an awesome selection that is easily purchased online. It’s quicker and easier to buy in person, so wtf.
After much looking, I chose the hi-point ts 4595 45 caliber carbine rifle along with the Diamondback DB380 .380 semi-auto pistol. Oh, and a stock of ammo to keep me happy for a long time. Oddly enough, 7.62x39mm (AK/47 ammunition, in my case) is the least expensive of them all at $189/1000-rounds. 45 caliber ended up being $235/500-rounds, and .380 was about $170/500-rounds. Now I realize why lots of foreign countries and terror cells hold the AK/47 as their default weaponry.
At the range, the first weapon to be opened up was the Diamondback DB380 pistol. The clip holds the ammunition professionally tight, and it engages into the pistol nicely without a worry. Due to the size though, the chamber load is a little flimsy and odd. Since the pistol is mainly the same design as a Glock, it consists of barrel, top slide, and bottom torso. (or whatever it’s called) Mostly, as you slide it back, the slide moves out of the way and the round is pushed up into alignment where the slide pushes forward to load the round. Unfortunately, the Diamondback DB380 requires ALOT of wear-in time because it is not deburred and such inside at the factory. I’ve had quite alot of jams and nonresponsive trigger moments during the range time. I have to open it up and deburr this pistol in order to put it into production.
The Hi-Point TS 4595 45 caliber rifle on the other hand was a delight to work with. It is light, quite intimidating by looks, and is just a nice low-price rifle. The magazine only holds 9 rounds, but that’s probably the only downfall I’ve found. The receiver slides back easily and cleanly, and lays right into position on the shoulder quite easily. The suspension section on the stock makes the recoil of each shot nearly the same as a .223. I found that it is easy to lay the iron sites onto target, fire, and re-aim immediately after with a slight correction. That pattern made things easy to group my shots closer during fast-shot rounds. The only downfall I’ve really seen with this rifle is the amount of work it takes to break it down. It’s not quite as easy as field rifles, where you can break it down with 3-4 moves. Allen wrenches, and push pins are used to piece it together, and really requires a bench or isolated area to work on it. Though it doesn’t need to be broken down each time (barrel cleaning for the first 500-1000 rounds), when push comes to shove and you need to use it over a longer period of time away from home it makes it harder.
I fell to my AK/47 for true military feel, as it’s a clean harsh weapon and hits the target predictably. I don’t think I will ever find any civilian weapon that will go beyond that, but maybe an AR-15 NATO round rifle will when I pick one up. Until then, at least I have a predictable 45 caliber rifle.
The Sociopathic Mind of a Certified Eclectic 