Painted my rifle "Oregon Camo"

 Oh my god.  So much development in stuff relevant to this blog, but I haven't written about any of it.  I hope to catch up on here soon enough, but first thing first:

Just about all the information are in the video.  This AR-15 is my go-to rifle.  She's a keeper, so I felt okay about painting it & throwing away any resale value.  It's based on M&P Sport II lower from my first AR-15.  Sitting on it is Daniel Defense DDM4V7.  I think at the start I had Burris AR536 I took off of AR-10 I used to have on it.  Then EOTech + cheap, but good magnifier by Riton.  I finally got the ever 💰elusive💰 ACOG designed to work with cheap M193 ammo(model#100288) & I'm pretty sure it's here to stay so I painted it on the rifle....😨

I took a handful of pics I've taken of the woods around my area to come up with the pattern & colors, so this is my "Oregon Camo".  Looks pretty good!  😀

Snow vs Me Round 2

Last Saturday I didn't get to do much shooting due to too much snow up in the mountains.  Weather's been mild this week, so I went back again.  All my buddies were working, broke, or both.

 Initially, roads were clear.  Ran into few parked vehicles off the freeway which was strange.... but I soon found out.  As you climb up, all shooting spots were taken, there was one group who even lined up their trucks blocking the way(I assumed they were shooting on the road).  Rest of the logging roads had foot of snow, so unless you came up to do uphill off-road climbing, you were out of luck.  

I came back down near the freeway myself to regroup.  I knew of another road just few miles from there, so I decided to take the chance & bingo!  I discovered this sweet spot with nice backstop. 😍

I kinda wished I had brought my AR with me.  I had brought just two guns:  My conceal carry Glock 43x MOS(with Trijicon RMRcc) + the new gun S&W Model 69 .44 Magnum.

Glock shot well.  I have TLR-6 light/laser combo on it(laser turned off).  To fit RMRcc on the gun, I went with the adapter plate made by Forward Controls Design.  Tall-ass suppressor height sights to cowitness are also by FCD.  Let me warn you: If you go with this setup, most holsters will not fit.  Only one I found for IWB(In-Waist-Band) & under $80-ish was Werkz holster.  Other holsters didn't have the tall clearance for FCD front sight blade.  It's decent, but like many other holsters out there, it's uncomfortable.  😭

I didn't know this, but like how .357 Magnum revolvers can also shoot .38 Special, .44 Magnum revolvers are able to shoot .44 Special.  After shooting few rounds of .44 Magnum from the S&W M69, I finally tried out the .44 Special.  I saw Hickok45 on youtube comparing .44 Special kick to that of .45ACP?  After shooting .44 Magnum, I shit you not, it felt like I was shooting a .22LR man.  Crazy. 😳  

Unfortunately for me, .44 Special actually costs more than the Magnums.  Magnum were around buck a round, Specials little over buck a round.  👿

I think I mentioned in the last post that I had bodyshop work on my pickup.  I was told that they had to take my tonneau cover(bed cover) off during the repair, so I decided get my tools out & just make sure it was put back on correctly?  Uh-uh.  Clamps weren't tightened properly & it was on crooked.  💩  Took the rear hatch off, spent about 30 minutes working on this thing, but I wasn't able to straighten it out with out taking the other hatch off & I wasn't up for that.  I just tightened the clamps, put the rear hatch back on & called it good.  Bummer....

At least I was able to find a brand new plinking spot, so I'm gonna call this a win.  👍

 

Smith & Wesson Model 69 .44 Magnum

So I hit another car for the first time ever back in January & it was in bodyshop for like 3 weeks.... until yesterday.  Progressive Insurance took their sweet time & one week of the stay at the bodyshop was just waiting for insurance adjuster approval.  They also used Non-Ford aftermarket bumper on my 2022 truck to save couple of bucks.  Not impressed with Progressive, but anywho, I was happy to finally get my pickup back.  I've been dying to go to the woods & do some plinking.  I also wanted to test out my new .44 Magnum.  I'm into 9mm & .45ACP typically & this was my first "hand cannon" caliber.  Been wanting .357 Magnum for long time, but I was like why not go big?  😚

So Friday morning.  WTF.  I like snow, but not right now.  My favorite plinking spot is on the south side of the mountain range.  It's a lot more snow than I expected....

I didn't get the chance to take pics, but entrance into the service road had foot & half of snow, so I didn't even attempt to drive into it.  If there was that much snow at the bottom(and it's steep downhill into it), it was only going to get worse from there.  I turn around & try to cut thru to the northern side of the range:

Road closed. 😭

Finally I arrive at the Northern entrance of the mountain range after driving around for like 30 minutes.... It didn't look bad.  At first.  After getting stuck the first time, I was forced to put it in reverse to climb back down for I don't know tenth, eighth of a mile probably.  That's when I made a mistake of backing one side into a snowbank trying to turn it around.  This happened to be where there were three guys getting ready to do some shooting.  I tried to give them little space & I guess I went little too wide.  They actually helped me get unstuck & even offered to let me shoot next to them.  I saw another spot down the road, so I politely declined & thanked them for the help.

Finally my own spot:

Saw so many youtubers talking about how hard this gun recoils.  Smith & Wesson Model 69.  .44 Magnum on relatively lighter frame.  Slaps your hand so hard, etc., etc.  Honestly it wasn't that bad.  Yeah you feel it, but as long as you know what you are doing with high power pistols, you'll be fine.  I was relieved, because I was afraid I made a mistake of purchasing a gun that I'd be afraid to shoot. 😅 

Only bummer here was the snow.  It was so deep I could only take the target out to about 12 yards.  I didn't even bother with AR or P226 I had brought, but I got to shoot my first revolver & also my first .44 Magnum, so I was happy.  Out of ten rounds, I actually did miss one off the paper(8.5"x8.5").  Most of those were shot with double-action, so I'm not too worried about it.  I'll get better(probably lol).

Revolver reminds me of my childhood toy guns.  Very cool.  😍

 

My Ford Ranger Part II

Wow.  Nearly 10 months since the last post.  Let's pick up right where we left off.  Ford Ranger:

BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 - Also went from 265/65R17 to LT265/70R17 which added bit more ground clearance.  Still squatting little bit.  It needs leveling.

I believe I got this 3D printed ignition trim ring on Etsy for $8.  It just snaps in.  Picked red to make it easier to find ignition cylinder.  I so wish I had push-button start!

I had heck of time picking out a phone mount for this truck.  I went thru this expensive route of bracket made by BuiltRight Industries that mounts onto the tray on top of the dash.  From there, RAM mount system.  RAM is a expensive system in itself, so I bought used pieces from eBay to put one together that could hold my old Garmin navigation...  That tray bracket is mounted on, it kind of wobbles now.  I also had to cut the mounting screws little bit shorter with a dremel.  Not straightforward install, nor clean.  😕

This RAM holder claw thing's a bit of pain in the ass to put the phone in it, so I almost never use it to hold the phone.  Great if you off-road though.  Good grip!  Still need a actual phone holder...

Anywho, this is how the truck was setup for while....  Also added black textured bug shield/hood deflector by Ford Accessories.

Next was the air dam.  This Ranger was originally expected to come with silver airdam?  I was disappointed when it showed up with black.  Luckily for me, my buddy who also have a Ranger agreed to let me swap mine with his silver!

Before & After:

His chrome bumper actually looks pretty good.  Dare I say black air dam matches it better than the original silver.

I think I screwed up the black one little bit & didn't fit his Ranger perfectly even.  His fit my Ranger just fine.  We had a good laugh over this one.... actually it was me laughing watching him get upset. 😂

This was probably the last item added on the exterior.  Ford Performance towing hooks.  Sold my original black ones on eBay, I think red pair ended up costing me only about $35 IIRC.

Almost forgot.  Stickers.  US flag decal = Classic.  JDM sticker on the right says "Slow Life" in Japanese, "Slow Style" in English(Yeah, I don't get that one either).  On the tailgate is the wakaba mark sticker I still get a kick out of.  Used to have one on my Ford Edge also.  Neat looking logo.  

That's it on the Ranger!

 

Finally My New Rig Is Here: 2022 Ford Ranger

So I got my first ever truck this week.  Always liked cars.  Never owned any other types of cars until little over four years ago when I bought a Certified Preowned 2013 Ford Edge.  They got me good on that one.  I've always liked Edge, but I also knew it wasn't a reliable crossover.  Since Ford advertised 7-year powertrain warranty on those, I figured this was great opportunity.... NOT.  What those advertising scumbags left out was that 7-year warranty started when the vehicle was new.  Not when I bought it.  I think they told me I had about 1.5 year of warranty or something like that in reality.  As expected, huge repair bill came & I was ready to shop for new car.

Fast forward to 2022.  New cars are extremely hard to come by.  Computer chip shortage in auto industry has caused a shortage of new vehicles.  All of sudden, dealer lots are close to empty & used car values has soared....  SCORE.  I can get a lot for trade-in, if I can wait for new vehicle to arrive.  

December 31st, I put $500 down to order the new Ford Bronco.  When you get the base 3-door model, it was unbelievably cheap 4WD rig.  Problem: It'll take tad over a year for it to arrive, even for base model.  Base Bronco had stick shift, too. 😛

February, news of another wave of chip shortage.  At this point, I had exhausted Bronco videos on youtube.  I asked my salesman if I could switch the order to Ford Ranger instead.  I always thought Ranger was kind of lame-o & too expensive.  Was really interested in Toyota Tacoma, but 1) Saleslady at my local Toyota dealer showed close to zero interest in what I wanted + it was difficult to build the Tacoma on budget.  With Tacomas, you have to buy up to certain grade or level of build before you can add something specific like locking rear end, etc.  Wasn't a fan of Ford Rangers, but with this truck, I can order the base XL, and somehow add decent wheels, SYNC 3(entertainment/communication system), and most importantly, off-road package on the cheap.  

So, order was switched to Ranger in mid February.  Truck was delivered late May.  Little over 3 months.  Not bad at all, considering.

Garbage looking tires, but I was going to give 'em a chance.

Again, with used car value being crazy high, I got private sale type money for my trade-in.  Truck came in when Ford had $1,000 rebate + another $500 discount for people who custom ordered vehicles.  Finance manager at the dealer went to bat for me, and he got my decent APR offer lowered not once, but twice.  I was stoked.  😇

Trucks are expensive.  I had to go with the base XL Supercab(smaller cab), so I can have money for the accessories.  First item I bought was Diamondback tonneau cover, back I think in April?  My buddy let me store it at his warehouse.  It's the best tonneau I found, but MSRP of $1,799.  I stalked their outlet page & was able to get one for $1,440.  This is just the beginning.  😬

What you see in here are all official Ford accessories:  Bed tray, tailgate liner, console safe(box on left), Ford Performance grille(big box).  💲💲💲

Diamondback tonneau cover's installed.  Kind of.  Installation was much harder than expected.  I saw countless videos on this, but there wasn't one for Ranger.  There were additional weatherstripping required for this truck I didn't know about.  I'll also have to trim few pieces next week to make it fit & seal right.  What a pain in the ass.  😭

Ford Performance grille install actually went as smoothly as advertised.  It looks cool.  I also added aftermarket LED lights from Stage 3 Motorsports.

That night, I tried to install LED headlight bulbs, but more pain in the ass!  Passenger side bulb is jammed stuck in the headlight assembly.  Why.  😭  I'll have to regroup on that one.

Finally today, I was going to take the new truck into the woods.  One of the kids from work, who also go shooting with us, he recently got new Subaru Crosstrek & he's been wanting to take it off pavement.  I texted him, he's onboard & we are off!

AWD is so perfect for logging/service roads.  My Ford Edge was so good to drive here.  When road got real rough, options were very limited to none though.  Subaru's probably way better, especially with the lift kit.  I was driving in 2WD mode here, but right around when this pic was taken, effing around with the camera, I lost control, it started fishtailing & I switched on the 4WD immediately.  😱

Foggy AF.

Looks little narrow.  Some suggested new wheels/tires(couple grand), or maybe even spacers(few hundred bucks?).  I'm undecided.  These factory Hankook tires are garbage though.  I'm surprised Ford calls these "off-road" tires.  It's suitable for crossovers & country road driving, but I can't believe anyone would consider these off-road tires.  👀

Got to the final destination.  One of our shooting spots.  This color "Cactus Gray" looks greener in pics than to naked eye?  Interesting paint.

Diamonback covers great man.  Drove through hard rain on highway, bumpy logging roads, but there were just handful drops of water inside on the bed.  I haven't even completely installed all the seals yet.

Love this song...  Next week, more accessories planned.  Swing case tool boxes, bed cargo organizer, etc.   

The End.