Mega Rad Gun Thread

[Yours Truly 2095]

I frequent the discord local to my area a lot. The people in it are similar to everyone here. There's meetups we do as well.

Don't eat the brownies

 

[SpergioLeonne]

I frequent the discord local to my area a lot. The people in it are similar to everyone here. There's meetups we do as well.

I don’t think I could be convinced to use discord at all, since it’s pointless, I had a job that tried to make me use slack before and all these messaging/quasi social media apps are gay, and it’s the official platform of gay ops and grooming

Kiwi farms is actually the closest thing to social media I use and it’s mostly because it’s a forum and forums were cool

 

[Samhain]

Thanks for the responses guys. Looks like I'll be sticking to reddit (oof), arfcom and the few Discord servers and Telegram channels I'm in. And this thread, of course.

I don’t think I could be convinced to use discord at all, since it’s pointless

I got sucked into Discord to join a few servers related to a couple of my interests, and they're mostly good for chatting with helpful people. The kind of discussions you used to see on forums back in the day. Kind of a shame forums have mostly been replaced with these walled garden chat apps.

it’s the official platform of gay ops and grooming

I don't even know how people find Discord servers with suspicious people in them. I assume they're usually full of kids and relatively insular. How glowies slip into them, I have no idea. Now, Telegram on the other hand, it's pretty easy to find channels where I imagine feds are lurking...

 

[SpergioLeonne]

I don't even know how people find Discord servers with suspicious people in them. I assume they're usually full of kids and relatively insular

I guess most of the bad shit is in discords associated with “influencers” and Roblox. That was just bad enough for me to acquire a distaste for the platform. But if you have worthwhile communities you know of on discord, I’m not going to pretend I know better and they don’t exist.

It’s mostly a thing where I don’t like the company itself

 

[POWER IN MISERY]

the psychological tax of having to go through some gay discord to have your questions sassed by a diaperfur is enough to make it never worth using.

 

[John Badman]

Colt gonna make me act up with that red dot plate. I’m gonna buy that mountain revolver and larp as a modern cowboy.

 

[Path Wanderer]

So given my like of /out/ing and -let's just say- other circumstantial vulnerabilities I predict in the near future, I am thinking of acquiring a high-force pistol/revolver for self defense. Besides the Ruger Redhawk, is there any cheap gun that fits this model?

(Also am newbie)

 

[Falcos_Commisar]

I tend to enjoy the older military surplus guns. Muh woodnsteel and all.

That said, what never ceases to amaze me is the price people are willing to pay for k98k rifles.

This is a basic, bolt action rifle, which had around 14 million made. The only markings found on these rifles are essentially a serial number, manufacturers code, and very small proof marks. Yet, for some reason, people will pay well into the 1000-1200 figures for one of these rifles.
To put it into perspective, the FN manufactured Ethiopian mausers, only had about 25 thousand rifles total. They each have a large lion of judah proofmark, a large Ethiopian national crest across the receiver, and are in an interwar pattern.
Yet, even very nice condition examples, when they do come up for sale, only reach around $800.

There are many other examples of much rarer and (imo) more interesting mausers that dont even touch k98k prices, and the whole affair baffles me.

I one had the opportunity to get a near mint Imperial Iranian Army Mauser with matching bayonet for $700....

He's a veterinarian in his dad's practice. So safe to say he was pretty well set up from the get go to make the mega bucks.

I never cared for his channel, personally. Mainly because I'm not a fan of guns being used to do dumb shit/dumb shit being done with guns. And I seem to have a natural distaste of family coat tail riders.

Yeah it was pretty "normie" and the guy was already well to do before starting it.

Hell, his first videos were of him racing his relatively new Corvette that he had in college.

A LOT of the early YouTube stars came from loaded families so they could afford multiple go pros, first gen DJI drones, and had the time and space to make all that stuff. See Channel awesome and the like

K2's are back! (not sure if I saw news of this posted or not)

Adorable my ass. They'll be selling them for $2k easy after it's all said and done.

There's Glock Talk, 1911 Addicts, and Sniper's Hide that I know of off the top of my head, but they're all pretty much just boomers yelling at boomers. 1911 Addicts is probably my favorite of the three, but I don't do any more than lurk occasionally. A couple of companies, Guncrafter Industries and Tisas, have verified accounts there, and will hang out in their respective boards, which can be interesting.

Hehe Snipers hide was founded by a guy that trains federal agents and it pisses some Twitter/YouTube guntubers off like nothing else.

Your assessment is ultimately correct
Your choice is either /k/, reddit, or forums mostly used by old boomers.

I personally use the C&Rsenal discord, as the moderation there is generally minimal, and the autists are marked for your convenience.

Interesting....

Thanks for the responses guys. Looks like I'll be sticking to reddit (oof), arfcom and the few Discord servers and Telegram channels I'm in. And this thread, of course.


I got sucked into Discord to join a few servers related to a couple of my interests, and they're mostly good for chatting with helpful people. The kind of discussions you used to see on forums back in the day. Kind of a shame forums have mostly been replaced with these walled garden chat apps.


I don't even know how people find Discord servers with suspicious people in them. I assume they're usually full of kids and relatively insular. How glowies slip into them, I have no idea. Now, Telegram on the other hand, it's pretty easy to find channels where I imagine feds are lurking...

Yeah the "just join the discord bro" is annoying as discord is laid out as a stream of consciousness style chat app, NOT a forum

So given my like of /out/ing and -let's just say- other circumstantial vulnerabilities I predict in the near future, I am thinking of acquiring a high-force pistol/revolver for self defense. Besides the Ruger Redhawk, is there any cheap gun that fits this model?

(Also am newbie)

Cheap.... Not really. Cheaper than S&W, Colt and some Rugers?

Yes, Taurus and Charter arms.

Are they worth it..... Maybe. They might be a ok... They might be out of time from the factory.

 

[Among Us Gaming]

Among Us Gaming's Special Guide to Sussy Companies and Guns
No. 1: Royal Tiger Imports

Royal Tiger Imports (RTI) or Inter Ordnance Inc. (or as I like to call them, Rigger Tigger Imports) is a firearms import and manufacturing company based primarily out of Florida. They are known for 2 things: Horrifically bad American made AKs, and equally terrible imports from Ethiopia.
Who is Royal Tiger Imports/IO Inc?
Inter ordnance, or I.O. Inc, had its first claim to fame as the first company to manufacture AKs here in America. The company name (whether the company will admit it or not) apes the far more famous Inter Arms company, run by the legendary Sam Cummings.

Spoiler: What was Inter Arms

If you have any Spanish firearm, Mosin, Mauser, or any other flavor of military surplus rifle, without a large import mark, (and in some cases with an import mark from a different company that picked up a deal Cummings made after Inter Arms dissolved), you have a gun that likely touched Inter Arms at some point.

The first American made AK's? Sounds amazing, and yet that could not be further from the truth. In all reality, IO Ak's are known for one thing: being complete garbage. From headspace issues, worse rivets than an A&P school, and heat treatment problems galore, IO AK's are known for having terrible quality.
Later on, much in the style of International Military Antiques, the founder of IO inc, Uli Weigland discovered a HUGE cache of many and all kinds of firearms in Ethiopia. Every gun you could think of that migh have been bought or sold, new or surplus, was found there. Too many to list for this section, but everything from as of before, unknown Ethiopian Contract K98 rebuilds, Villar Perosa SMGs, ZH-29 rifles, all the way down to yugo m48s, and British fields. When I say that cache had a little of everything, I mean it. A step up for the company? Certainly financially, but not in reputation. These guns, coming from Ethiopia, are in the exact condition you would expect them to be in. Ratted, beat up, missing parts, missing bolts, and all around rode hard and put up wet. You would think this could be workable still, but this is where RTI dropped the ball. While some of the complaints about pricing are ignorant at best (Yes, I'm sure you could have gotten this same ratty beat-up rifle for a beer and a bag of chips in 2001, that market and its prices that were then have been dead for 20 years now), many are quite legitimate.

The Problems with RTI
The issues with RTI are often twofold: Pricing, and condition. We will have the pricing discussion first. For all discussions moving forward, all firearms described are from the Ethiopian Cache. Their Swiss and Italian imports

Spoiler

which are the same guns from the same sources that everyone from Century Arms to Simpson LTD has been getting them from

are not worth mentioning in this discussion. I will also not be discussing the customer service concerns, as that is a scale issue, and compared to other companies coughHunter's Lodgecough who will be getting their own posts at some point, I do not think it of note currently. I will also not be discussing the parts kits, as those are both outside my wheelhouse, and not something most people buy anyway (though some of them are quite good deals).
First I want to be clear, there certainly are deals to be had, and I will discuss that later, but as it stands now, I want to speak to the main issue.

To describe the pricing issue simply, I will use their current listing for a complete No. 1 Mk III Enfield (Since I don't know how Josh feels about linking firearms on his site so I will refrain from doing so in this post. If anyone knows about the policy regarding that please let me know). An "original condition" (aka the best condition they offer) can be had right now for $500. Now, I've done the math. If you take every single No. 1 Mk III Enfield sold on GunBroker in the past few months from their sold listings, remove the fliers, and average the prices, the average price comes in at around $560. These are all rifles that are in better condition than this "original condition" rifle. The rifle from RTI is not even guaranteed to be shootable, as the bores offered are anywhere from "poor" to "very good" (and I'll get into that later). So once you get one of these rifles, and clean it up, you'll still have overpaid based on market prices, and that's assuming the rifle you get is worth shooting in the first place (due to that bore condition issue). This is the pricing problem with RTI. You will get a fun project, but it will never be worth the money you paid for it, let alone the effort to put it back in shooting condition. For the amount of money you spend there, you're better off waiting a week or two to find something on GunBroker.

Condition is the other main issue. First of all, anyone should know that if you buy it from RTI, it doesn't matter what you buy, it will be rough and beat up. Expect that going in. If you don't want that, do not buy from them; simple as. Second, always read the description of what you are purchasing in its entirety. I shouldn't have to say these things, but I've been in the eBay business myself for nearly 6 years now, and I know people do not read those or have those thoughts ever.
RTI uses its own condition rating system. If this throws a red flag for you, good. If not, then pay attention. They have several grades, and they are in listed here in order of descending condition:
Hand Picked: These particular rifles have been selected by an employee at RTI (Shaw Presumably), to be cleaned, and listed individually. This is typically due to a unique feature on that rifle (such as Amharic or Ge'ez writing on it), it being a particularly desirable model (such as a number 5 Enfield), the rifle having notable provenance (such as an Austrian capture carcano), the rifle having work done to it (such as one of their restorations), or the rifle being so few as to not be worth a large listing (Gew 88s). These firearms will have a more clear and specific description, noting any defects found on that rifle. This is the one time on RTI where you know exactly what you are getting. This, however, does not guarantee that these firearms are shootable. Many times the barrels will still be utterly roached out and unshootable, and in some cases entirely fubar (though those are rare and arguably collectible examples of rifles that have had the barrel shot with another rifle).
Original Condition: These guns are in the best condition that RTI has to offer in a non hand picked format. They will be complete rifles, and not be missing any parts. Your wood may have minor cosmetic cracking (with the exception of bedding failure, which for whatever reason baffles every seller I've ever seen when it comes to detecting it), and the finish will of course be worn if not gone. Still, you should expect a rifle that you can take apart, clean, put back together, and shoot. The one important thing to know, however, is that bore condition is not guaranteed. They can be anywhere from "poor" (read: sewer pipe) to Very good (read: decent surplus condition). Even with these rifles, you are still gambling on bore condition.
B Grade: These rifles are in harder condition. They are often missing small parts, anything from an action screw to a sling swivel. The finish will often be in worse condition, and you can expect notable wood cracks. Handguards may be missing chunks, and you may have wrist cracks and or bedding failures. Bores are typically much rougher (with some exceptional cases to be discussed later), and less consistent. You may get a shooter, you may get a wall hangar, and if you get the latter, the amount of money you need to tie up the odds and ends and get a barreled action typically is not worth it. That said if you're willing to gamble or have a good barrel and or parts gun lying around, these are a worthy buy
C+ Grade: Now we get to the Ugly stuff. C grades are typically pretty roached out. The C+ grades are the same C grades but may have an extra the normal C grade doesn't have, like a magazine or Bolt. As for the rest of the rifle, see below.
C Grade: These are not the bottom of the barrel, but they're certainly the scum that sits there. These guns are typically utterly roached. You can expect small parts missing, and virtually no finish in some cases. It is not uncommon to be missing a handguard entirely, and in many cases (though they are listed as such) with no bolt either, and in some cases, no magazine. These guns are wall hangers and parts guns. The bore is typically suspect, though you can pull some gems. If you need furniture or parts, these are a good option. If you have a sporterized rifle and wish to restore it, these rifles can be a good pick
Project Guns: RTI will occasionally have guns with problems so steep they list them individually as project guns. these guns typically have snapped stocks, bulged, bent, or blocked barrels, handmade stocks, and cracked receivers, and are all around very hard up. Some of these guns can be absolute bargains (A $300 MAS 49/56 comes to mind), and some aren't worth the shipping you pay (A Mannlicher 88/90 barreled action comes to mind)

So What Should You Buy?
So with all these questionable listings, and uncertainty, what and how should you buy?
DO NOT BUY: I personally would not touch any of the Mannlichers they have. All of those rifles seem to be utterly roached bores and are nearly all virtually unshootable. If you want one to put over your fireplace, sure, but otherwise I would steer clear. I would say the same of the Vetterli-Carcanos. You will have to make custom hand loads to shoot them safely, and they'll still be in hard-up condition though they do qualify as antiques. I would also steer clear of the GEW 88s if you don't know what your way around the GEW 88 barrel issue (I can do a deep dive into that problem if there's any interest). Lastly, any listing, listed for more than $300, that is not a hand-picked item, I would steer clear of, as you just don't know if it will be a shooter or not, and anything more than $300 is a lot of money for a wall hanger
MAYBE BUY: Some of the handpick options are quite neat, if pricey. As for the condition, it is listed in the description, so you will know exactly what you're getting. The Gew 88s can be a good buy, as they often will have Amharic script on them. The Gew 98s are Belgian post-WWI rebuilds, and the barrels have a Lion of Judah (The Ethiopians claim to fame is that they are descended from Solomon and the Queen of Sheeba, and thus claim direct lineage back to Israel itself) proof on the barrel. The FN Ethiopian mausers have the Ethiopian crest on them and are exceptionally cool. On the other hand, selects, antique (legally gun antique) carcanos pop up on occasion. There's also a Steyr M95 sniper (yes actually) and an Austrian capture Carcano long rifle. For the generic listings. All these hand-selects are cool and worth having, but may need work, and are rather expensive, typically at least $500 a pop. For the generic listings, The Number 5 Jungle Carbine B grades without Bolts can be worthwhile if you're an Enfield/WWII guy. If you have a No. 4 bolt, then $300 is a fantastic price for a jungle carbine. You're gambling on the bore, and because Jungle Carbine barrels basically don't exist, you can't really fix it, but it is a worthy gamble if you want one. I will put the Carcano long rifles in this category as well. If you want one (these are the WWI rifles, not the WWII 1941 Carcano), these are a low-priced option. However, barrels for these guns are also non-existent, and these seem to typically be quite hard-up bore-wise.
DO BUY: Hand-select MAS 49/56s are a great buy at RTI. They're listed in the $700 range right now, +/- $100, all with shootable bores. The average market price I see currently for a MAS 49/56 (which are French refurbishments; the RTI guns have never been through that program) is around $850, which while those rifles are in better condition if you just want a shooter 49/56,

Spoiler

because you play too much Rising Storm 2

these are a great choice. Their variously graded Enfields without bolts and magazines are fantastic rifles for a sporter rebuild; Their original condition No. 1 Mk III without bolts was great, but they are out of stock now. This section is more limited, partly because not much is a good deal, and partly because their inventory is low right now and there is not a lot out there.
SMOKING HOT DEALS:

Spoiler

none lol

In all seriousness, if you want the good deals, you need to be on their mailing list to see things as soon as they listed, as stuff sells out fast.

My Personal Experience
I have made 2 purchases from RTI: a Gew 88, and the aforementioned No. 1 Mk III Enfield without bolt. The Gew 88 was a handpick. It was as described, and while it needed a lot of work, I was aand am ok with that. It has some really cool Amharic on the barrel shroud and receiver. I haven't gotten it shooting yet as I need a barrel still (again, the Gew 88 barrel conundrum), but I'm happy with what I got. The Enfield I got as I had a spare No. 1 Mk III bolt lying around. That gun was actually excellent. The bore is quite good (a muzzle test with some PPU .303 leaves a 1/8" ring of copper sticking out). I got lucky and had good headspace as well. The only reason I'm thinking about selling it is because I want a No. 1 MK III pre * with the magazine cutoff, and I'm planning to get a Long Lee from Hunters Lodge (and believe me, they'll get their day here too). Otherwise, It was a purchase that surprised me, and I have been very pleased.

Final Thoughts
Overall, while I think RTI gets more hate than it deserves. You just have to be realistic about what you're getting and accept that the days of $25 Mosins are long behind us and are never going to return. That said, I can't be too sympathetic. I've been a seller on eBay for nearly 6 or 7 years now, and a lot of what people get mad at RTI for is because of how they list their items and run their business. I wouldn't be caught dead doing things the way they do them, as it's dishonest and unfair to the customer. Ultimately the best adjective I could use to describe RTI personally is disappointing. They have such a unique and rare selection of firearms, and so much history behind them (which I would have loved to get into, but that is outside the scope of this post). That's why it's so disappointing and frustrating that they price things so poorly, and have such terrible listing and customer service practices. It's just so much wasted potential. It's unfortunate, but ultimately its better than those guns rotting away somewhere in Ethiopia.

If there's interest, I can do another post like this on Hunter's Lodge, or any other firearms website or seller.

 

[Romulus augustulus]

So given my like of /out/ing and -let's just say- other circumstantial vulnerabilities I predict in the near future, I am thinking of acquiring a high-force pistol/revolver for self defense. Besides the Ruger Redhawk, is there any cheap gun that fits this model?

(Also am newbie)

save your money and get a Colt Anaconda in .44 mag. unless you are truly destitute and living paycheck to paycheck (in which case you should not be spending money on guns) you should be able to save up the 1,500 dollars to get one. magnum revolvers are not cheap and neither is the ammo. expect to pay at least 0.60 cents a round.

 

[BikeLock]

FN is making a 10mm now. Kentucky Ballistics did a video on it recently, shooting it suppressed, and his ended up breaking.

I guess my initial feelings about the FN striker guns were right. I haven't seen someone blow up an HK like this (yet). It also looks like unless I buy a rifle or Hi-Power my FNX 45 will be my only FN firearm.

I thought Belgians knew how to make weapons? It literally lasted only TWO shots...

 

[SuperConglomerateWhale]

I don’t think I could be convinced to use discord at all, since it’s pointless, I had a job that tried to make me use slack before and all these messaging/quasi social media apps are gay, and it’s the official platform of gay ops and grooming

Kiwi farms is actually the closest thing to social media I use and it’s mostly because it’s a forum and forums were cool

I only use discord for two irl things, guns included, and nothing more. I can't stand everything else.

I do appreciate the write up on RTI, but you need to understand that the absolute camel shit listed on their site are badly priced and retards believe in the Ian McCollum shill.

 

[WhoBusTank69]

So given my like of /out/ing and -let's just say- other circumstantial vulnerabilities I predict in the near future, I am thinking of acquiring a high-force pistol/revolver for self defense. Besides the Ruger Redhawk, is there any cheap gun that fits this model?

(Also am newbie)

You must supply a number for your budget, nobody will shame you for it, but there are options for just about everyone. Used Glocks are a dime a dozen, Ruger recently put out a Glock clone that's ~$400 new, Taurus makes functioning hunting revolvers; you've got wiggle room.
Use case is also very important. Wildlife is hardy because they are less likely to acknowledge pain and if you want a do-all there are certainly options. I will suggest above all that you find a range that offers rentals and/or training. You have to want to use a gun to become proficient, and no caliber/brand is a totem against harm as you must know how to use it.

 

[The Dude]

I guess my initial feelings about the FN striker guns were right. I haven't seen someone blow up an HK like this (yet). It also looks like unless I buy a rifle or Hi-Power my FNX 45 will be my only FN firearm.

I thought Belgians knew how to make weapons? It literally lasted only TWO shots...

Their older firearms designs (ten years ago and older) should be good to go. I had a PS90 that ran great, but of course it is a simple blow back action and those are pretty hard to fuck up, but I never had a problem with my PS90. It could be the gun Scott had on his show just came from a batch that had poorly mixed polymer, or it could be a flaw with the pistol design itself.

 

[Club Sandwich]

So given my like of /out/ing and -let's just say- other circumstantial vulnerabilities I predict in the near future, I am thinking of acquiring a high-force pistol/revolver for self defense. Besides the Ruger Redhawk, is there any cheap gun that fits this model?

(Also am newbie)

i'm not sure i would trust a cost-optimized .44 magnum which is the only thing that comes to mind with whatever "high-force" means. there are a good number of used .357's on the market though. typically people looking for a specific sort of firearm have an intended use-case or already know the ammunition they want to use. outside these you start getting into harder to find ammo that might not be easy to acquire to practice with.

the old cheap rancher standby is a ruger vaquero in .44 mag or charter arms in .44 long colt or .44 special is probably inexpensive and powerful enough for most purposes like boar defense but regardless you're paying a bit of a premium on the ammunition itself. you can get a Taurus Judge in .44 LC as well for under $400 in most places if you can inspect it personally (most are alright in terms of manufacturing for minute of man use safely enough).

not sure either of these would have much (if anything) over a .45 ACP pistol in terms of terminal ballistics unless you're making your own loads. 200gr JHP at 1000 f/s from a .44 special is a very mean load and the go-to back in the day was a 180gr wad cutter or JSP at around 1050 or 1100 was a bear/pcp defense load for mountain men and 1970's door kickers for early SWAT teams.

i feel for personal defense against black bears or the like, a 1911 from RIA wouldn't be a bad option and shouldn't break the bank either. brown bears, not so much. if you have a specific use-case in mind, you're better off supplying some details.

 

[Yours Truly 2095]

Colt gonna make me act up with that red dot plate. I’m gonna buy that mountain revolver and larp as a modern cowboy.

This also makes me act up. In a good way. They're making actual optic cut 1911s now too. But this will always be the king

A Glock 40 MOS (or non MOS) with a chest holster is always an option for hiking in bear country. It's 10mm. I've been considering it myself lately. We've had some rabies black bear attacks in the general area. I don't own anything larger than a 9mm handgun wise. I can understand the advantage of a revolver in terms of against a bear. If it's on you there's no risk of a slide malfunction.

 

[Boney]

i feel for personal defense against black bears or the like, a 1911 from RIA wouldn't be a bad option and shouldn't break the bank either. brown bears, not so much. if you have a specific use-case in mind, you're better off supplying some details.

Pretty surprised to see you recomend RIA 1911's. I've personally witnessed them having lots of finnicky issues.

Everytime I say something in here though I get even more nuanced people dotting my "i"s and crossing my "t"s though. Is there a secret sauce to buying RIA?

 

[Yours Truly 2095]

I badly want a tisas 1911a1. The new updated ones that are basically 1:1 repros with the correct ejection port. forged frames too. To go with my Garand. Othais from c&r vouches them hardcore so it's enough for me to think it's worth the $300-350. I've seen cheap 1911s run better than expensive ones.

 

[BananaHand]

not sure either of these would have much (if anything) over a .45 ACP pistol in terms of terminal ballistics unless you're making your own loads. 200gr JHP at 1000 f/s from a .44 special is a very mean load and the go-to back in the day was a 180gr wad cutter or JSP at around 1050 or 1100 was a bear/pcp defense load for mountain men and 1970's door kickers for early SWAT teams.

i feel for personal defense against black bears or the like, a 1911 from RIA wouldn't be a bad option and shouldn't break the bank either. brown bears, not so much. if you have a specific use-case in mind, you're better off supplying some details.

I disagree with your recommendation specifically for the RIA 1911. Now these days the Turkish ones can be found for the same price but with better metallurgy.

Many of the long-term RIA owners I know would keep having their pistols shed parts, mainly with external controls like the grip safety, thumb safety, and slide release break. Another one I knew had a full length tactical 45 (straight mainspring housing, Novak type sights, guide rod) not function and kept jamming against a Norinco and modern Colt (2010s era pre-CZ) that used the same ammo and magazines just fine.

 

[stratautist]

I badly want a tisas 1911a1. The new updated ones that are basically 1:1 repros with the correct ejection port. forged frames too. To go with my Garand. Othais from c&r vouches them hardcore so it's enough for me to think it's worth the $300-350. I've seen cheap 1911s run better than expensive ones.

The modern (post 1990s) trend in expensive 1911s is to bring all the tolerances in so that the gun feels more premium and doesn't rattle when shaken. Not surprising at all that an older 1911 without these modern "improvements" will shoot more reliably, and none of these changes improve accuracy at all.