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.

 

Last Plinking in Crossover. Fo Real This Time.

I am getting a new vehicle soon....  I thought I'd take it upto the mountains one more time & go plinking.  This was March 16th.

Shot my Glock 19, HK USP(.45) & my AR(Daniel Defense/M&P).

Car got really dirty, but I thought it was fitting for its last hurrah...

*a few weeks later*

GUYS: "We are going shooting."

Didn't feel like going, but buddy I hadn't seen in awhile suggested it, so I was like let's do it.  Also, he has the same truck I have on order, so I wanted to check out what he had done to it as well(Ford Ranger). 😇

I'm not gonna lie.  Driving the only crossover in convoy of pickup trucks made me wish I had a truck of my own already.  Even if it's just Ford Ranger.  😭

My new steel plate...  I think it must've been green-tip 5.56 that punched holes right thru it at 60 yards or whatever. 😆😭

                                       

I almost forgot my chair & had to come back for it.  I was the last car, so everybody's gone.  I load the chair up & leave.....  See one of my buddies waiting for me just couple minutes away which was great....  Then random chime & indicator light starts flashing in the instrument cluster.  I'm going "oh great", as I'm trading this car in hopefully next month.  Indicator is flashing so fast I can't even see what the car is trying to warn me of. 

Right before we get on the highway, I pull over & tried to figure out this mysterious problem.  Light flash again, but this time, it stayed on for like half a second, just long enough for me to make out which indicator it was.  It's just the door ajar light.  Scared the crap out of me.  😩

New Rifle Bag Stays Home, We Go Plinking.

Ordered this awesome looking 3-way carry 43" rifle bag by Lancer Tactical.  I've liked their bag in the past.  Low price, excellent design & quality.  This one I would not recommend though.  

It's hard to see what's wrong with it at the first glance.  It certainly took me a  minute.....  This frigging bag is upside down.  Zipper fastener is on the wrong side(bottom).  Everybody I showed it to saw same as me, so I emailed Lancer Tactical.  They replied, but just to say that it is that way by design.  Alrighty then.  I don't know that the hell I'm supposed to do with this thing.  😂

While I didn't get to take my new upside down gun bag plinking, few of us were able to get out to the woods.  We were worried about snow on the ground(I'm actually riding in a 2WD truck here), but there was zero snow.  Phew.

My buddy had very base Ford Ranger, but he had lifted it couple inches, bigger wheels & also added a headache rack.  It actually looks pretty good.  My Ford crossover is having problems again, so it had to stay home.  I do not recommend buying Ford crossovers.  You can say whatever you want about Japanese cars, but OMG man, I've never encountered major car repairs until I owned a Ford.  2 other people who has the same car's also running into expensive major repairs.  What a POS.  I recently ordered Ford Bronco though, so I'm special kind of stupid.

I usually come up here alone, so nice to have other people setup targets for change.  😇

Friend goofing off.  We call him all sorts of names when he does this, including Chechnyan special forces. 😂

Shot my new FN15 little bit.  Trigger felt little bit better this time?  I forgot, but I remoil-ed it couple months ago, too.  Maybe that helped.  Jerking sensation was gone.

We stayed there little longer than planned, but I think we all had fun.  It was beautiful day for it.

 

FN SRP G2 Carbine aka FN 15

Day before Thanksgiving, I was on a mission to go shooting.  1) I had just picked up a new AR rifle & 2) Been waiting to test new 12rd magazine I bought for my carry pistol(Sig P365).

Where I go shooting, it was all rain with the exception of Wednesday.  Mission was successful.

Foggy on the way up there, but no problems.

Let me get this out of the way.  Trigger on this rifle sucks.  Whether talking about Glocks or AR-15s, I hear & read about swapping, upgrading triggers.  Never really understood it.  People are spending lot of money & effort to upgrade these triggers, so I'm sure they are really nice.  However, I'm okay with most standard factory triggers, and ones that came with my three AR's before(Bushmaster 308, M&P Sport 2 & PSA lower), I actually liked those.  

I just sold my Bushmaster 308, because I have nowhere to really take advantage of  its extended range.  Jumped on this FN 15 from Botach.com, because 1) It was on sale for $899(after shipping & background check $974 😬) 2) Been interested in FN, because along with Colt, they provide U.S. military with it's full-auto cousin M4 rifles & 3) I wanted to replace my backup AR with little bit more reputable lower(it was PSA before this)

There were other points too, like my backup AR upper(M&P Sport 2) had shorter handguard than I like.  I've also been wanting to upgrade backup sights to steel ones & they cost like $200 or more for the set?  I found that bit outrageous.  Just for that, it was like taking another $200 off this new rifle since it comes with a set.  Here's a pic of my outgoing backup rifle.  It's been stripped of nicer accessories & probably sold soon:

My backup AR-15 before the new FN15. Wanted more reputable lower + longer handguard, maybe free floating barrel.  Consists of M&P Sport 2 upper, PSA lower w/Magpul STR stock, MOE SL handguard & Burris AR 536 red dot/prism scope kit.

Back to FN 15.  My new backup AR-15:

Already swapped the cheap stock & grip with Magpul STR + rubberized grip.

It looked like this stock:

Sighted in the backup sights before installing the red dot/scope.  These FN backup flip sights are great.  I would say HUGE upgrade over the Magpul MBUS.  Especially the rear.  #USERFRIENDLY

Only thing that worries me about these flip sights are those nail-sticking-out-looking release button on the (left)side?  I'm afraid of that thing getting snagged by clothing, straps, etc.

You can flip the peep hole for large or small.  Much, much easier to use than the Magpul MBUS I've used before this.

Looks really good after installing the Burris AR-536 kit(kit has FastFire 3 red dot on top of the scope).  AR-536 is actually designed for .308/7.62x51.  I originally got it for my Bushmaster 308(image at bottom of the page), but I've been since using it on my ARs, because I can't afford ACOG. 😭

As for the rifle, I have found my outgoing M&P Sport 2 to be more accurate.  Maybe because the trigger sucks?  I was only shooting sub-100 yards though, rest-shooting on top of the table & backpack.  Maybe it was me, who knows.  Hard to say after just one round.  Overall, I think the rifle's good.  But again, terrible trigger pull.  Never realized AR trigger could be this unsmooth.  Maybe I'll try cleaning & lubing it, too.  

I carry all sorts of spare batteries in my shooting pack.

It was pretty cold up in the mountains.  My red dot battery died.  Shortly after, my ear muffs.  😤

Shot my carry pistol Sig Sauer P365 after that.  With the ammo price & availability not improving much, I only shot it with this new 12-round mag.  It performed flawlessly with the plinking Blazer brass ammo & also Hornady hollow point.  Spring's mad stiff & I could only fit 11 round in it so far.  Magazine's also little longer, prints little more than the stock 10rd magazine with the pinky extension, but not that bad.  It's my new carry mag.

Also shot some with Glock 19(my go-to) & HK USP.  Yep.  Still sucks with both.  Thanks for reading.  😭

Bonus: My first real rifle.  I'm gonna miss you bud.

Bushmaster 308