Miscellany: Microtech Makora review (2022 release)

I like my Combat Troodon just fine, but it's turned out to be an impractical knife to haul around everyday. Enter the Microtech Makora, rejiggered for the 2020s with a smaller size and higher price:

If you're at all familiar with Microtech's top selling model, the Ultratech, the Makora should look very familiar. They're both double-action OTF automatic knives with 3.3ish-inch blades, side-firing switches, and tungsten carbide glass breakers. In short, they're super similar, so much so that the gun store I bought my Makora from actually had it mislabeled as an Ultratech in the display case.

So why does the Makora retail for north of $400 as part of Microtech's "Signature Series"? Well, the Makora has two nice upgrades from the work-a-day Ultratech: nickel boron internals for a slightly smoother action, and a grippy traction inlay on the handle. Not exactly earthshattering improvements, but for an EDC blade, if you're going to have one or the other, you might as well go big.

Books: Tolkien Illustrated Editions

The holiday season has brought the usual onslaught of deals, sales, and discounts, most of them for disposable tchotchkes that will be forgotten by next year. There are some interesting gifts to be given, however, like the "Tolkien Illustrated Editions" of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings featuring color illustrations from the author himself:

I was previously familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's cartographic skill (it's almost impossible to imagine The Hobbit without its famous map of Mirkwood), but I didn't know that he was also a fair painter.  These nice hardcover editions collect the often-dreamy landscapes and sketches Tolkien created to accompany his works, and I imagine they'd be well-received by any fantasy fan.

Guns: NAA Pug review - Beware of Dog

Introduction

In concealed carry parlance, a "non-permissive environment" or "NPE" is a place where carrying a gun is not actually illegal, but is prohibited by private policy or otherwise heavily frowned upon. Discovery of your piece in such places usually won't put you in jail (unless you refuse to leave once asked), but it might lead to social ostracization, termination of your employment, or even a dangerous run-in with security or police if someone freaks out.

If you choose to carry a gun in an NPE, concealment is obviously priority #1, and one of the best guns for the job is the diminutive North American Arms Pug, chambered in .22 magnum:

The Pug is a gun for when you absolutely, positively cannot get "made" while carrying.  It's tiny enough to be carried in a front pocket behind other stuff, so even if someone were to look at your pants, they would only see the innocuous outline of your wallet or phone.  While there are other pocket guns like the Ruger LCP, they are all too big and heavy to completely disappear like the NAA Pug.

Sights, Grip, and Trigger

The NAA line of revolvers all have some very significant drawbacks - a slow single-action firing mechanism, a puny caliber, and limited capacity.  But surprisingly, sighting is not an issue in this particular NAA model, because the Pug has a really nice set of XS Big Dot sights.  These sights are more visible and precise than the vast majority of .38s and .380s out there, so it's amazing to get them on a gun this small.

The grips on the NAA Pug also help. The slightly oversize rubber fills the hand better than the slick wooden grips NAA has on other models, so much so that I've taken to using the Pug grips on every NAA mini revolver I've ever owned.

On the downside, the NAA Pug has the same heavy single-action trigger as its brethren, so don't expect rapid follow-up shots or easy one-handed operation.

Range Report

As is tradition here at Shangrila Towers, we don't sugarcoat gun reviews, and my NAA Pug unfortunately suffered a serious malfunction after a few boxes of ammo - the extractor pin broke in two:

Now, this was the first time a NAA mini revolver has malfunctioned on me (I've owned a half dozen of them), but even good guns sometimes have a defect creep in.  What matters is the customer service that is provided; in this case, I emailed NAA and they mailed a replacement pin to me in a few days, which is an "A" in my book.

At the range, the XS sights made shooting the Pug a breeze - with .22 magnum ammo, the gun shot 2" groups standing unsupported at 5 yards all day long, and even shot to the correct point of aim.  Contrary to what the Internet tells you, accuracy is very important in a mousegun because the bullets themselves have such low power, and you won't stop an attacker unless you hit something vital.

Here's some groups with Speer Gold Dot and Winchester Super-X 40 gr. JHPs - the Speer bullets in particular are designed to work with short barrels and lower velocities:

Some rounds were less accurate. I experienced keyholing with Hornady Critical defense, and iffy accuracy with bulk pack CCI Maxi Mags, in both the TMJs and JHPs:

Perhaps the biggest surprise were the tight, consistent groups from Winchester Universal, which is much cheaper than the Speer stuff:

Conclusion

To be clear, the NAA Pug would not be my first, second, or fourteenth choice for a gunfight. But ensconced in a form-fitted leather pocket holster from Lost River Leather, it is still the most concealable, best-shooting pocket gun in the world. Whether that means anything to you depends on who you are...or more precisely, where you are.

Miscellany: Orvis Classic Barn Coat

Fashion is not a common topic of discussion here at Shangrila Towers, but with the weather turning blustery, I thought it might be fun to review some outerwear that would make a nice holiday gift - the Orvis Classic Barn Coat:

You see, I needed something to replace my old Club Room jacket, which finally gave up the ghost after many decades of faithful service. After fruitlessly searching eBay for the exact same jacket, I decided the Orvis was the closest thing I could find.

In some ways, it's a downgrade.  It lacks the uber-useful chest-level front slash pockets of my old jacket, and the corduroy collar isn't as comfy as a leather-lined collar. On the other hand, the Orvis features a handy redundant front zipper, and the interior and waist pockets have button closures if you want to keep things secure. Perhaps most importantly, the Orvis is a bit big for size, which allows you to layer in a hoodie or sweater when it gets really cold (well, cold for Florida).

Music: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (Tchaikovsky)

I've been a fan of classical music since I was a little kid, and one of the pieces that started that fandom was Tchaikovsky's violin concerto. As I recall, the bubbly, uptempo final movement was used as incidental music for a cartoon I saw on TV, and it stayed with me ever since.

I recently saw a spirited performance of the concerto by the Palm Beach Symphony and Akiko Suwanai, who famously won the International Tchaikovsky Competition back in 1990 at the tender age of 18: