Author Archives: Oleg Volk

Keltec M43 bullpup in 6.5Grendel

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Oleg Volk

6.5Grendel is a fast, dense round with good ballistic coefficient. In the last half-dozen years it has become a lot more popular. To me, it would make more sense scoped — but people have achieved great accuracy with similar 6.5mm … Continue reading →

Posted in interesting people, rifle, weapon | Tagged , | 11 Comments

More photos from my Austin visit with TWS

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Some sort of a Marlin .22 bolt action. AK74 with TWS forend and rail.

Posted in interesting people, rifle | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Clearning up the confusion about Keltec RDB and M43 action type.

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Oleg Volk

From Keltec designer: “The original prototype was a long stroke piston (Like the SU-16), which is probably why the leaked ad said so, and why there is some confusion. But the current production RDB is a short-stroke piston operation, similar … Continue reading →

Posted in rifle | 1 Comment

Why a CZ527 carbine

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Oleg Volk

The original 7.62×39 M43 round was made for the SKS and later AK47 rifles. Since I have a vz58 compact rifle also chambered for it, why would I want a slower bolt action carbine? For one, it’s a work of … Continue reading →

Posted in hunting, rifle | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Odd absence of serious ranged weapons

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Looking at the videos and photos of the street fighting in Ukraine, it would seem that the riot police formations would be quite vulnerable to arrows, bolts and slugs even if fired from extreme range. And yet I see nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in weapon | Tagged , | 13 Comments

How to turn off viewfinder auto-adjustment on Alpha 77?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Oleg Volk

A friend lend me Sony Alpha 77 to try out. I noticed that the viewfinder brightness is proportional to the exposure. If the ambient exposure is insufficient, the viewfinder turns black. The camera doesn’t know that I have studio flash … Continue reading →

Posted in advice requested, camera and lens | 6 Comments

Portrait

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Special effects make-up artist Tirzah Julius-Burns.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged | 2 Comments

Guns for the handicapped: amplifying a fundraising appeal

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Oleg Volk

BayouRenaissanceMan talks about the challenges of finding affordable defensive arms for his disabled trainees. If you are able and willing to help out, I think this is a project worthy of support.

Posted in advice requested, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , | Comments Off on Guns for the handicapped: amplifying a fundraising appeal

How to reach Frontier Airlines? (Update — problem solved)

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Oleg Volk

A friend is sick this morning and needs to postpone a flight with Frontier. Their hold time is in the “40 minutes range” but they always drop the call at about half-hour mark. The web site doesn’t offer the option … Continue reading →

Posted in advice requested | 2 Comments

New on All4Shooters: Keltec RDB and M43 bullpups

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Read the overview.

Posted in rifle | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Canon flash needed in Las Vegas

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Oleg Volk

I am in Las Vegas for SHOT show. I brought two studio flashes with me but managed to leave out my hot shoe mount flash. I can try to have it shipped but I am not certain that the package … Continue reading →

Posted in advice requested, camera and lens | 3 Comments

Flat Dark Earth

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Sig M1911 Scorpion, Viridian X5L light/laser, Skallywag Tactical dagger.

Posted in knife, light/laser, pistol, weapon | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The main reason for Coonan popularity

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Coonan pistols in particular are very accurate, have good triggers and tame the .357 recoil well — especially when compensated. Absence of barrel to cylinder gap means no pressure loss, so muzzle velocity of 1400fps with 158gr and 1600fps with … Continue reading →

Posted in ammunition, pistol | Tagged | 9 Comments

Speaking of good holsters for uncommon guns…

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Oleg Volk

…last year, I needed holsters for two FMK pistols. Turned out that Alessi is one of the very few companies making them. Since I carry Kahr P9 often and G26 sometimes in their leather — and it’s still like new … Continue reading →

Posted in holster, pistol | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Sideguard belt holster for HK USP9 compact

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Oleg Volk

One of my closest friends had a USP 9 compact that he wasn’t carrying. Turns out the holster he had were either uncomfortable or too obvious to observers. Enter Sideguard holster and mag pouch. Problem solved. I borrowed that USP … Continue reading →

Posted in holster, pistol | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Today’s snapshots

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Not quite as cold out today, so CZ527 came out to play. With iron sights, it’s a fast and handy brush carbine. With an optic, it’s set trigger allows considerable precision. Not warm enough to stay out long though… …so … Continue reading →

Posted in light/laser, pistol, rifle | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Snapshots of a sharp, pointy thing

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Skallywag Tactical

Posted in knife, Uncategorized, weapon | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

If you have nothing to hide…

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Imagine a most upstanding human, righteous, kind and lawful. That human gets elected to hold some office. Should that person not worry about government spying because they would never find anything compromising about him? Surveillance can be used for more … Continue reading →

Posted in civil rights | Tagged | 10 Comments

Thanks, Will!

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Oleg Volk

While still sorting the many good photos that came out of the photo shoot at Will M-Four studio, I’d like to post a shout-out for Will and his site. Will’s kind invitation provided me with highly productive work day, new … Continue reading →

Posted in interesting people, pistol, rifle, weapon | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Arrows quarrels and bolts

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Oleg Volk

Where could I get a few Medieval-looking arrows and/or bolt for a photo shoot? They don’t have to be functional, but have to look old rather than modern in construction. I’d like to have them by January 20th.

Posted in advice requested | 7 Comments