Larry Vickers' Delta Force Colt 723 Carbine

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons posted an interview with Larry Vickers. They discussed his Colt 723 carbine that he was issued when he was first with SOF-D aka Delta Force.

Ian says in the description for this episode:

Use of carbines like this one by Delta and other special forces groups set the stage for the adoption of the M4 Carbine and Aimpoint M68 optic by the US military at large, and it's very interesting to listen to Larry's first-hand experience of how and why it was put together.

By the way, if you want to duplex magazines like that, Matt Bracken (Enemies Foreign and Domestic) has an excellent "how-to" article on it here. I've done it with black duct tape and a thin dowel.

Rhodesian FAL

I've read a number of books on the Bush War in Rhodesia over the years and have seen (online) a number of parts kits built FALs. However, the FAL that Larry Vickers and Ian McCollum examine in the video below is an actual Rhodesian Army FAL right down to the ground-off South African markings.





In another video just released by Larry himself, you can see him shooting this Rhodesian FAL in both semi-auto and full-auto mode.





Not to get all political but one wonders what the former Rhodesia or Zimbabwe as it is called today would be like if it had not been caught up in both post-Colonialism and the Cold War. If Harold Wilson and the Labour Party had not been in power in the UK in 1965, would Ian Smith and the Rhodesians have felt compelled to declare independence unilaterally? Ah, the what-ifs abound.

Cutaway Wilson Combat 1911

Wilson Combat made a custom cutaway 1911 for Larry Vickers. In the video below, you can see him shooting it in both full and slow motion.

It is fascinating to watch the ejection begin after the hammer has fallen and the bullet is on its way downrange. This is a well put together video. I've watched 2-3 times and I can see myself watching a number of more times. It is only about 3 minutes but is is 3 minutes well spent.

Friday Follies

FireClean is supposed to be a revolutionary gun lube that actually helps keep your gun clean, so saith the likes of Larry A. Vickers. However, if you've paid any attention to firearm forums and/or gun blogs over the last week or so, you've found out that this miracle product which Amazon has for $29.95 for a two pack of 2 oz. bottles isn't quite so exotic as it would seem. Actually, it is just vegetable oil, specifically canola oil. 

I'm not here to hash out this controversy but if I had some corned beef hash, I'd want eggs with it. Eggs cooked in oil. 

Well maybe not FireClean gun oil but that is exactly what Karl and Ian have done. They fried up some eggs in FireClean and ate them. We all should thank them for taking one for the team in the name of science.