Amigos Cantina

Economy of Guns

2010-04-29T16:56:00.001-04:00

The National Shooting Sports Foundation issued today a report on the economic impact of the firearms industry. As my favorite Meth addict/dealer/manufacturer on TV Jesse Pinkman says, "That's mad cheddar yo!".

Indeed it is, when you see $27.8 Billion in long form ($27,846,304,300) it really is hard to fathom THAT many guns and that much ammo being sold. But the thing that gets me is the ~ $8.6 billion increase from 2008. That's 45%! Fo-tay-Five! So Barry O is roughly worth roughly $9 billion to the firearms industry and they're trying to get him voted out of office, or are they?

No, I'm not trying to start a conspiracy rumor, but one has to wonder how the folks selling arms and ammo and accessories REALLY feel about The One going for a second term? I suppose it's up to his performance over the next couple of years.

Something I'd never thought I'd read

2010-04-07T15:39:00.001-04:00

Mac-10 based Tactical Rifle....

I'll let that sink in....

Yeah, that's what I thought too. WTF? Yet there it is and this is April 7, so no April fools. Michael Bane has a tease of what he calls a "cool little gun" After the initial shock of a MAC-10 based Tactical Rifle subsided, I thought that it may indeed be a fun gun to shoot as there aren't a hell of a lot of .45ACP or .45anything semi-auto rifles out there. Then again, perhaps there's a good reason for that?

For what use would one purchase this gun for? Plinking? Well, at $20+/box, .45ACP isn't exactly a bargain. Home Defense? At that length, I'd as soon have a 12guage and if I did choose a rifle, it'd probably be in .223 (which is cheaper to shoot btw) or something a little more rifle-like.

So what then?

Does a gun have to have a purpose?

I suppose not (I'm looking at you Taurus Judge).

Winter Range

2010-02-26T08:35:00.001-05:00

Winter Range is going on as those of us in the Northern climes are still dealing with winter. Michael Bane has been all over the match with results of the Wild Bunch Match (Congrats Doc Molar & Two Sons) as well as pictures and blogging from the main match.

Some of the fun of going to a larger match is the vendors and Michael points out someone who I'd not heard of before, Joe Perkins of Outlaw Grips. Joe was showing off the "Hand of God" grips those of you who've seen the modern remake of 3:10 to Yuma should recognize. They make some very fine grips for Single-Action revolvers and even to inlays of Silver. I'm kind of drooling over the bloodwood grips myself.

Get You Some

2010-02-20T16:21:00.001-05:00

So the question of the ages has been answered, what question is that? Why are we here? Is there a God? No, no, the question is "is there anything better than a M2 Browning .50cal machine gun". You might want to get a napkin handy to wipe the drool before watching this video of the GAU-19/A .50cal General Dynamics manufactured, electrically powered Gatling Gun.

Gau 19 firing

I Just Love This Video

2010-01-30T06:48:00.001-05:00

The thought that some crazy MFer out there decided to build a freakishly large caliber and mates it to a light rifle. The results are hilarious.

My personal fave is the guy who gets knocked back and his glasses and muffs stay in place like a Looney Toons scene.

I'm not what you'd call a recoil junkie, I don't swagger about talking about how I like to shoot the big stuff and in fact, I don't like recoil. But I'd love to shoot this gun, kind of a gunny extreme sport. Maybe they could add this to the X Games?

Utterly amazing

2010-01-27T09:01:00.001-05:00

You know, I often wonder how I'll do if the SHTF. I can only hope to do as well as the 11 (That's ELEVEN) year old ~~boy~~ man in this report of a home invasion. Seriously, there is so much we don't know, like how long the perps banged on the bedroom door and how accessible the rifle was. But the fact that an 11 year old had the poise to remain calm enough to deliver effective shots through a door after he is shot and wounded is utterly amazing!

Kudos to you young man, you saved your mom and your own lives and sent a BG to the hospital.

I'm predicting he doesn't have much trouble in school with bullies from here on out.

H/T to Robb at Sharp As A Marble

Updates

2010-01-27T06:17:00.001-05:00

I've just got a couple of updates.

The Indiana Senate & House passed bills that will close the hand license database from public information requests. Thanks go to those who fought for it. The Indystar.com's article on it mentions that this was passed over police objection.

Information that The Indianapolis Star used to discover that the state was granting gun permits to violent people -- often over the objections of police -- would be kept secret under a bill that passed the Indiana House on Tuesday.

Exactly what police are you talking about? The rank and file officer or the political heads of departments? In fact, I doubt you could even get a majority of police heads to say this is a bad thing. You do notice that the article doesn't mention specifics, just that it was "often" objected to by police. Sheesh, what good reporting there INDYSTAR. They'll probably report that the Colts are often in the Superbowl.

More legislative WIN: The IN Senate bill 25 that prohibits employers from firing or restricting employees from having a gun locked in their vehicle passed 41-9. Caleb has been on top of both of these bills all along and you should go read his blog to keep better up to date.

Georgia Arms update: The Georgia Arms order from April 09 came on Friday and they mistakenly hadn't shipped everything. I e-mailed them on Saturday and they replied back on Tuesday (closed for the weekend) and will ship the remainder or refund my money (my choice). Overall, I can't say anything bad about them, but make certain they give you an expected delivery time for those backordered items.

April Fool

2010-01-20T16:14:00.001-05:00

The order I placed with Georgia Arms on 4/21/2009 has shipped!

LOL

Seriously, I got a UPS shipping notification and thought what the hell? Then I saw it was from GA and I thought, WTF did I order? Found the confirmation, I get some .45 hollowpoints in a few days. Uh, Yeah?

Shot Show Sting

2010-01-19T23:15:00.001-05:00

If your Shot Show checklist included "bribe an African Defense Minister", you might be in jail right now.

The FBI ran a sting to nab people trying to bribe officials to gain contracts. One of the 22 arrested is was an executive for Smith & Wesson. This is probably going to overshadow their release of the new .327mag J-Frame they brought to the show.

Flash, Boom, Bang

2010-01-17T10:04:00.001-05:00

Michael Yon is pretty much the Ernie Pyle of our time. He's been working and living among the soldiers on the front line of the War On Terror since 2003. Funny thing is that he doesn't report via newspapers or TV, his presence is mostly online at www.michaelyon-online.com. This week, he's reporting from Afghanistan on a counter-battery group and he's got some AWESOME night shots of cannon fire. If you like big bore going boom and lighting things up click over to see and read.

M4A1?

2010-01-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

Looks like the US Military will be upgrading the venerable M4 carbine with a heavier barrel and name it the M4A1. Why? Durability, the videos in this article depict a very extreme test of the carbine. In one video, the lighter barrel turns red hot, droops and eventually explodes. The second video, the carbine with a heavier barrel catches fire, but continues to operate until the gas tube ruptures.

This is really a ho-hum story, but the videos are pretty cool, so go watch them.

"Pound Sand Newspaper Lad"

2010-01-14T08:21:00.001-05:00

OK, so I'm not so much with posting about what other bloggers say, but Tam must have the same steroid guy Mark McGuire has when she ~~commented~~ snarked about the Muncie Starpress.com editorial. My favorite quote has to be

It's against the law for a child molester to own or carry guns. It's not against the law for a child molester to write newspaper editorials, however. Not that I'm implying anything, of course. But don't parents with small children have the right to know?

By the way, the editorial is about the new bill introduced in the Indiana State House Natural Resources Committee to protect the License To Carry A Handgun Database from public. As it is now, $35 will buy you the names and addresses of all Indiana LTCH holders. Those of us who have said license, tend to think this is a bad idea as the criminal element could put two and two together and = my home being broken into.

Also, if you're unaware, the local, ahem, newspaper has deemed it necessary for "public safety" to put this database on their website so that anyone can search it. Albeit by street alone, no actual address is given, but they legally could if they wanted to.

Much to my delight, my local representative Peggy Welch has sponsored the aforementioned bill to close the Handgun License database and for that, she's earned another vote from me. I had originally written both her and Vi Simpson on the matter to make my feelings known, at least one of them may have listened and that gives me the warm & fuzzies to be honest. I like it when I can feel (even if it isn't true) that a government elected official is actually doing something that benefits me. We hear all to often about the bad ones and there seems to be an over abundance of them right now, but there are a few that aren't.

If you live in Indiana, I urge you to contact your local congresswoman to encourage them to get this bill out of committee and pass it in due haste. The following list is Natural Resources Committee and they'll decide if this bill gets put to vote in the full house, so if you've got a rep on this committee, obviously, we need your help.

Chairman, bob bischoff; h68@in.gov
Vice-chair, dave cheatham; h69@in.gov
Bill sponsor, peggy welch; h60@in.gov
Members:
nancy dembowski h17@in.gov
Dale grubb; h42@in.gov
Nancy michael; h44@in.gov
Phil pflum; h56@in.gov
Paul robertson; h70@in.gov
Bob cherry; h53@in.gov
Dick dodge; h51@in.gov
Tim brown; h41@in.gov
Sean eberhart; h57@in.gov
Dan leonard; h5@in.gov

Slim Is In

2010-01-11T17:09:00.001-05:00

The newish trend in pistols seems to me to be that less is more. Designers have figured out that pistol shooters, concealed carriers especially, don't like bulky pistols. At least not pistols that are bulkier than need be. The Glock SF, S&W M&P series, Ruger SR9 and now Sig is getting in on the size reduction of their pistols with the new P226 & P229 E2 pistols. They've reduced the size of the backstrap and overall size of the grip, plus an improved texture.

This makes perfect sense to me, when I was tearing down a couple of P226s to refresh the springs for the owners, I marveled that there was so much wasted space in the frame and these pistols could have been a LOT smaller than they actually were. Looks like Hans & Co. thought the same thing, eh?

The reduced grip will help those with smaller hands, but I think it'd guys with larger hands too, how? Simply put, I've got ham-hands and the web between my thumb and forefinger is especially meaty. So when I close my hand up, this area takes up a lot of space, I typically put the smallest backstrap on a pistol like the Walther P99 or S&W M&P to give that part of my hand a place to go. That chunk they took out of the backstrap looks awfully inviting to me, this gun looks like it'd fit me like a glove.

Now I'm wondering if there'd be a way to retrofit an older P226 or P229 to this new grip?

I Pitty Tha Fool!

2010-01-08T14:16:00.001-05:00

Yes indeed it is an A-Team movie!!!

I can't help but wonder how true to the original material they'll be? Will there be stainless Mini 14s with folding stocks? Bullet-proof tin in every garage? Conveniently placed obstacles for the bad guy vehicles to flip over?

What I do know is that their will be explosions and bad acting and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Only A Mother Could Love It

2010-01-02T10:08:00.001-05:00

Or Me.

As ugly as this new revolver from Chiappa Firearms is, I want one. Not from any reasonable standpoint mind you, I don't know if it is built well, shoots well, is reliable or has the ergonomics of a piece of rubble, but something about the looks of this snubby really calls to me. It's called the Rhino and you can see why, it has a profile that is reminiscent of the African beast with the horn on its nose (here the part of the horn is played by the front sight).

This latest addition to the .357 revolver family has a somewhat unique arrangement that allows the barrel to be lower to push the recoil impulse lower into the hand and the theory is that it'll have less felt recoil than a traditional revolver. As always, when you get something, you have to give up something else. I wonder what it is in this case? Weight? Reliability? Ergonomics?

Scraping The Bottom

2009-12-18T20:45:00.001-05:00

I know that I'm swinging pretty low here, but I was setting up a new computer and the browser's default home page had a link with a picture of a guy shooting a gun with a caption "What's He Shooting?" This drew my attention and stole a good 5 minutes of my life so I'm paying it forward to you dear reader.

Apparently, the gossip kiddies are up in, well arms, about some pictures of some douchebag from some horrible child exploitation reality TV show shooting a gun at his "estate". Apparently reality TV d-bags aren't allowed to have guns wherever this picture of said d-bag was taken. So everyone is weighing in with their opinion. I'm sure the comment section is a freakish mix of reality TV fans and 2nd amendment types hashing out the intricacies of law and how it applies to TV d-bags with guns.

My opinion? At least he has a decent grip and his stance isn't terrible. Other than that, meh... Who could possibly care?

You Can't Argue With That

2009-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

I ran across this video that relates (briefly) the Swiss take on defense, as a country and individuals and one citizens take on why he personally is so adamant about self defense. Turns out a trip to a halocaust museum sparked his determination not to be a victim and he, like I, believe that the way to not be a victim, is to be able to properly defend yourself.

The video also follows the shooter to the Tiro Federale in Campagna Switzerland's national shooting day where over 200,000 Swiss go to the range and shoot their service rifles with government provided ammo. There are over 500,000 service rifles residing in Swiss homes with a national population of only 7,000,000 people. The men who are compelled to mandatory service in the military get to keep their service rifle and MUST keep it in their home.

The crime rate in Switzerland is the lowest in the world, I wonder why? Shouldn't there be blood flowing in the streets with 500,000 ACTUAL assault rifles in homes?

Watch the video for more.

Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World

No Trial, No Reports To File

2009-12-01T09:27:00.001-05:00

Seattle Police officer Jim Pugel saved the Washington taxpayers a LOT of money. Good riddance to this dirtbag. Also, I hope that the friends and family who helped this sorry excuse for a human being find nothing but sorrow and ruin.

Darn Tooten Skippy

2009-11-20T13:48:00.001-05:00

From Mike Bane. Seems Remington is entering the handgun market again. They're apparently going to take a huge risk on an untried platform. Oh wait, no, no they aren't, they're gonna make a 1911. Now some are speculating that they might do something crazy like a polymer 1911 or some other Glock boy non-sense. Some say they're trying for a .gov contract for a new .45ACP pistol. I figure they're just wanting to get some of that sweet sweet gun money that's kept this economy from ending up like a WWII Japanese super sub.

Cowboy Action?

2009-11-19T14:38:00.001-05:00

Somehow, I look at this picture and think Cowboy Action...

Second Amendment Weekend

2009-11-19T11:29:00.001-05:00

Seriously!? Holy crap! No word on how effective last year's weekend of awesome was, but I'd guess it was damned successful.

Indiana, you have to get on the ball and do this NOW! South Carolina legislators, my hat's off to you.

via Alphecca

Stop In Any Language

2009-11-16T09:56:00.001-05:00

Seems an Local resident used the universal language for "stop what you're doing right now" when he found a 22 year old male skulking about his domicile. I'm not sure whether the homeowner was trying to shoot the intruder or warn him when he put a .357 Magnum round through a door, but I'd bet that besides a screwdriver, pocket knife and flashlight that the cops found the scat to Fruit of the Loom ratio was greater than 1:1.

Comin' At Cha 09

2009-11-10T11:07:00.001-05:00

We're back after visiting our pards in Texas for the Southwest Regional. This match was highly anticipated with good reviews from years past and good word from the US Open which is run by the same folks. I truly expected the best large match experience I've ever had and I may have just had it. Maybe. The folks that run the match bill it as a party with a shoot attached and that's exactly what it is. There's plenty to do and everyone is your best friend, they are without a doubt, some of the kindest folks I've ever met and I had a wonderful time at Badlands Bar3 ranch with its beautiful setting. I've never felt more welcome anywhere.

The weekend started for us on Wednesday last week as we stopped by Memphis, TN to, well eat Bar-B-Que and visit Beale Street for music and spirits. We hit Corky's early for excellent Bar-B-Que and with our stomachs full, we headed downtown to a hotel. BB King's bar is where we spent almost all of our time on Beale listening to the house band and sampling a few more food items and drinking excellent beer while enjoying a good blues band.

Thursday was Graceland and touring "The King's" mansion certainly put a legendary American figure into perspective for me. I was pretty young when he passed and never really delved into his music and life, but this is a truly American experience that allowed me to see why people thought of him the way they do. The hall of trophies is incredible and while this house is considered a mansion, by today's standards, it is merely upscale.

After Graceland, we left Tennessee behind and made our way to Texas, set up in the hotel and then wondered why the heck I picked New Boston to stay in. There's really nothing there, the hotel was great, but there's nothing to do. Long story short, we were in a dry county!!! I mean really, who'd have guessed that the shoot was in a dry county? We prevailed however, and managed to find a package store at the crux of two dry counties on Friday. We also ventured into Texarkana for some of the best steak you'll ever eat at the Cattleman Steakhouse. This isn't the Cattlemen chain, but a family owned steakhouse that treated us like kings and stuffed us with shrimp cocktail, calimari, clam chowder and a big, tasty ribeye steak, YUM!

Thursday was the Wild Bunch Match, I didn't shoot it particularly well, but I managed to barely make the top 10 of 37, so I guess that ain't all bad. The WB match was free and started at 3pm on sidematch day, bad thing is that due to some hickups at the start, we finished in twilight conditions, but we finished and had a good time. Nothing like knocking the rust off before the main event.

Friday we shot stages 1-5 on the early shift, I shot pretty well for me with one miss on the day. The stages looked fast and initially we thought these were all going to be burners, but they were really well written with choices to make and things that made you slow down a bit. They weren't dumbed down stages that let you rip away, you had to think and choose the best way for you. I find it highly pleasing that Judge and I shot stages differently and when reviewing why we made the choices, figure we both got it right. That's a good stage when there really isn't a single best way to shoot it no matter your category.

Saturday was stages 6-10 on the afternoon shift. I had one miss on this day, but I was slower, so not as good a day on Saturday. I'm still pleased overall and the stages weren't the issue, they were all pretty well written (except for one) and I don't think anyone can complain. Well, maybe the chickens, everyone hated them.

Comin' At Cha 09 stage 8

Sunday, Judge and I headed out for home early. We didn't stay for the awards, I kind of regret that, but he had to work on Monday and with nothing to really do other than watch an awards ceremony, we figure it was best to head out for Indiana since it was 12 hours away.

Knowing is...

2009-10-20T21:04:00.001-04:00

This is inspired and needs to be a patch, hat and T-Shirt already. I've seen this around for a little less than a year, but for any GI Joe fans who sat through those craptatious PSA announcements, this is pure win.

Trade Day Time

2009-10-05T23:09:00.001-04:00

This weekend will be the 3rd Annual PVR Trade Days. As the ad says:

3rd Annual PVR Trade Days
October 10th and 11th, 2009
Buy, Sell, Trade. Bring anything related to the Old West and
Cowboy Action Shooting. You are welcome to bring your own
table/display or just use what’s available at the range.

Cowboy Guns
Wild Bunch Firearms
Pocket Pistols and Derringers
Leather of all kinds
Holsters, Belts, Badge Holders
Loading Strips, etc.
Old West Clothing for
Cowboys, Cowgirls and Genteel Ladies
Spurs and Accoutrements
Ammo
Reloading Components
Reloading Tools
Gun Care and Cleaning Supplies
Art

Please price the items you want to sell.

1 of 13

2009-10-05T17:04:00.001-04:00

Is it just me? or does this woman look totally bad-ass? She's one of the 13 newest female Afghan National Police officers. I bet Judge & Copper wish they could wear hoods and dark glasses while at work. Anyway, I just hope we (USA) don't totally screw the pooch in Afghanistan, if we do, this woman's life and many other are forfeit.

Tip of the hat to Gunpundit.

It's a trick, get an axe

2009-10-02T11:08:00.001-04:00

Boingboing has the story of an Indian family that took a stand against thug militants, took their guns away, killed one and injured two more. The reason? One of the thugs wanted to marry Rukhsana Kausar without her consent and when they attacked her family, she pounced on one of the thugs and she and her family fought them off.

I'd like to think that this sort of thing (fighting against thug militants) wasn't such a rarity, but it is. Cudos to Miss Kausar and her family, nobody deserves to be subjected to thuggery and oppression and if the rest of the world had her tenacity and self-respect, we'd all be better off. I'd just prefer the family started on a more even ground, but unfortunately, the Indian government wants law abiding citizens to be victims.

Bleg

2009-09-22T08:21:00.001-04:00

Folks, to anyone who actually gets to this page, if you can spare the bucks, please help out my niece who's participating in IU's Dance Marathon to benefit Riley Children's Miracle Network.

Thanks a bunch, this is a good charity and I'm proud of my niece.

The inevitable AR followup

2009-09-21T11:32:00.001-04:00

Michael Bane has the scoop on Ruger's new rifle following their AR introduction earlier this year. The SR22 is a 10/22 wrapped in AR trappings. You can throw AR15 accessories at it to customize it as you wish and yet shoot the economical .22lr cartridge all day to get your trigger time. The rifle looks good and with the proven 10/22 action and barrel, I'm sure it shoots as good as advertised. The premise Ruger (and Michael) want us to believe is that we can use this rifle as a surrogate to an AR15.

I'm afraid it isn't that easy. You see, while this rifle looks similar to an AR15, it simply isn't, the safety selector isn't in the same place, the mags aren't the same, the trigger isn't the same and the bolt most certainly isn't the same. So what? you may ask. Well, if you're wanting to get practice with a firearm, you should practice with THAT firearm, not something similar. I'm sorry, but there are good, cheap conversion kits for AR15s and S&W did it right by making an AR15 in .22lr. So if you want to shoot a 10/22 that looks like an AR, go forth and purchase this gun, if you want true practice with an AR cheaply, buy an AR and convert it to .22lr.

Dreaming of Texas

2009-09-08T11:25:00.001-04:00

Work has settled down a bunch for me after last week and after a full summer of all work and no play, I've been itching for the play part. Judge, Copper and I will be heading down to Texas in November for the SASS Southwest Regional also known as Comin' At'cha! Many folks say this is THE regional to go to and being as how I'm always busy and it's hotter than hell in August, Guns of August (Midwest Regional) is out for me. So, Judge and I were looking for something this time of the year and we figure Texas won't be THAT hot in November and a change of scenery is always nice. Now if we could find something else to do before the shoot in NE Texas, we could make a true vacation of it.

For now, I've found this video to whet your CAS appetite.

"Comin' At'Cha" SASS SW Regional at the Badlands Bar3

Yep, That's Fast

2009-09-01T10:01:00.001-04:00

Caleb points out a video of quite possibly the fastest mover you'll see. It certainly illustrates very well the time that you have (or rather don't have) when someone charges you. Could you get three shots on this target?

MVSA IDPA Match - MGM's new charging target - FAST AS HELL

1 down, 99 to go

2009-08-26T16:38:00.001-04:00

'nough said

Generations

2009-08-23T13:37:00.003-04:00

Last week my father gave me a gun. While that in and of itself if pretty great, it's not the gun itself that is really special, but the guns history. It took a little research, but I managed to figure out a little about the gun.

It is a version of the Pistolet Automatique de 7 millimètre 65 genre "Ruby", however, this one is made by Santiago Salaberrin and it is a .25 auto with the trade name "ETNA" stamped on the gun. There are a number of variations on this weapon, but this one is definitely a pocket pistol designed as a little holdout piece.

So the guns is not really all that special with over 30 factories making versions and copies I would bet these things are lying in boxes and in the tops of closets all over the world. So what's so cool about a 70+ year old gun? My great grandfather was a drummer in a band. He traveled the river boats up and down the Mississippi playing drums and generally doing what a musician would do in the roaring 20's. In his vest pocket for all of those trips was the little "ETNA"

So now I think I'll make sure it's in good working order and carry it with me to work. I can't think of a better legacy or connection to the past.

That was close

2009-08-09T22:52:00.001-04:00

So I picked up a Kel-Tec PF9 the other day and took it to the range on Sunday to try it out. A couple of boxes of Blazer Brass 115g FMJ went smooth as silk and the little gun, while snappy, is controllable and accurate enough. I then shot a box of Golden Saber 124 +P JHP through it and again, no problem, so I moved on to reloads. This was also going smoothly until the little gun stopped barking, I did a QA on her and the slide won't budge, rot roh.

At the range, I couldn't get any movement on the problem, so I packed it up and went home for more serious investigation. After complete dissasembly, it turns out the bullet in that round set back severely (about .25", looks like a .380ACP now) and bulged the case, locking it in the chamber tighter than ~~bike pants on Rosie O'Donnel~~, lets just say it was tight. Thing is though, the gun was just out of battery and my trigger pull resulted in the firing pin striking on the very edge of the primer, another tenth or so and I would have probably been digging Kel-tec out of my hide at best. Who knows what the worst would have been, I'm just glad I didn't find out. You wonder sometimes what the difference between a ho-hum range report is and another internet posting of a blowed up pistol, I find it is .10".

Then again, maybe it was God's way of saying I should have been in church on Sunday morning...

Bed Bunker

2009-07-28T10:04:00.001-04:00

I want.

The greatest combination since that dude with chocolate ran into that other dude with peanut butter. Its a gun safe under, no AS a bed. WIN!

Rest well at night with up to 35 rifles and 70 handguns under your bum.

Take Me Down

2009-07-16T06:36:00.001-04:00

This is very interesting, as most everyone knows, Winchester ceased production of their lever guns a few years back, they are now doing a very limited run of their iconic 1892 levergun in a take-down version. Steve at the Firearm Blog has the details, essentially, they'll make 500 20" and 250 24" guns. I'd have to agree with Steve that they'd really have a hit if they released it in 30-30 and I'd go one further and say it should be in either 18" or 16". Talk about a near perfect truck/guide gun.

X Planes

2009-07-15T21:19:00.001-04:00

One of my loves in life are aircraft, mostly military, but aircraft in general. I get this from my dad who loved the aircraft he grew up with as a kid and couldn't read enough books on the subject of his heroes, men like Robin Olds, Dick Bong, Eddie Rickenbacker, Robert A. Hoover and of course Chuck Yeager. As I was growing up in the 70's, I developed my own love of the aircraft if not the men who flew them. The 70's was just after a great period of Supersonic development and the tactics and strategy of air defense underwent a wild developement where the powers felt that it needed to be really freakin' fast and haul missiles. I identify with the "Century" jets more than any other out there, from the F-100 Super Saber to the truly knarly looking YF-107. The other planes that were big news in those days were the "X Planes", the experimental aircraft that pushed the limits of what aeronotical engineers could do. From Yeager's X-1 to the semi-spacey X-15 to the superfast X-51 Scramjet. Why am I telling you this on a cowboy shooting blog? Well I had to point as many people as I can to my new favorite blog, X Planes and I figured I should explain why I think it's so darned cool.

Flag This

2009-07-13T23:24:00.001-04:00

Michael Bane seems to have the knack for flustering S&W's lock system on big-bore lightweight revolvers. He's had another instance with yet a different gun, folks have asked me why I won't buy one with a lock on it, this is why. I will not own a gun that I would intend to carry for self defense that has such a device on it, there are too many other good guns that won't do this and yes, it is the principle that S&W didn't have to ruin their revolvers.

Independence Day

2009-07-03T23:18:00.001-04:00

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

SASS Vaquero

2009-06-26T08:29:00.001-04:00

I forgot to put this up yesterday. Ruger has introduced the SASS Vaquero. Steve at the Gun Blog has more pictures and info on the gun.

From the press release

The high-gloss stainless steel Ruger SASS Vaquero comes with the lower/wider Montado-style hammer found on the Ruger Montado. The SASS Vaquero, chambered in .357 Magnum, features a 4-5/8" barrel, a blade front sight and wider (.140") rear sight, and black checkered, hard rubber grips with SASS grip medallions. Each SASS Vaquero will bear a special serial number featuring the letters "SASS" as a prefix followed by the numeric sequence. These special edition single-action revolvers will only be sold in two-gun sets of consecutive serial numbers and will ship in a red, two-gun carry case.

So they have some nice features that will definitely appeal to SASS competitors and they only come in 4-5/8" barrels and .357Magnum. That's probably the best combo for competition as you'll not have much recoil with the .38 SASS loadings and the 4-5/8" barrel is short enough and yet remains well balanced. I myself have just this year added Super Blackhawk hammers to two of my Old Model Rugers to facilitate one-handed shooting and I really like them. I don't think they sped me up any, but I shouldn't get to many hammer slips, the bain of all Gunfighters.

The new SASS vaquero can be had for $1500 MSRP mid summer 2009 (I'm starting to sound like Jim Scoutten)

Zombie? Where?

2009-06-24T22:47:00.001-04:00

You gotta love zombie films, they indulge our gunnie fantasies. Woody Harleson as a bad-ass with a mare's leg and a #3 black Escalade with a push bumper strangely adds to the appeal. Turn off the brain and sit back and enjoy.

Zombieland Trailer 2009

Wild Bunch @ Founder's Ranch

2009-06-24T16:21:00.001-04:00

Michael Bane has been shooting the SASS Wild Bunch match at Founder's Ranch this week. He's posted an after action report, who won what and what worked and didn't work (for him). I really like shooting Wild Bunch at the local matches and would actually like to see it become a category, but it appears to not be in the cards as I think SASS can make more money holding a separate match. Too bad really, I think they could attract more shooters, that's always a good thing right?

That Sound You Hear?

2009-06-23T12:50:00.001-04:00

Oh, that'd be Sam Colt and John Browning spinning in their graves.

Colt 45 - Holistic music video

I mean, even cool guns and babes can't save this piece of... uh... art?

We Need More Of These

2009-06-22T08:42:00.001-04:00

As Tam points out, a role model we can all hope to imitate. The money quote "It'll never happen to me". Indeed.

Old Family Friend

2009-06-03T22:10:00.001-04:00

Like most gun owners right now, I'm getting bit by the cost of ammunition, sure I reload in most of the calibers I shoot, but the way things are with component availability, let alone cost, I've decided that I need to fall back on the old standby .22lr for plinking and some practice.

On Memorial Day weekend, I was digging in the safe and decided I should clean up my Dad's old .22 squirrel gun, so I pulled it from the dark recesses of the safe and headed to the garage. My dad's old gun, a Marlin Model 99 .22lr semi-auto was (as I later found out), only made for 3 years, from 1959 to 1961 and was the predecessor to the ubiquitous Marlin Model 60, the main differences are that the Model 60s generally have provisions for mounting a scope and Marlin went from Walnut on the 99 to Birch on the 60. I'm sure there are minor internal differences, but the actions are essentially the same.

I always remembered Dad as being a fairly good shot, at least in my estimation, I remember he, my brother and I putting a dime on a post about 20-30 yards away and trying to pick it off between us. I also remember being so entirely proud of myself for hitting it and spending a half hour looking for said dime, I carried it in my pocket for a year or more. I suspected he was sand bagging, but I didn't care much, I still hit that dime! I also recall Dad going out in the morning and coming back before noon with several squirrels for dinner that evening and how good a cook my mom was/is. A lot of family history is stowed away in the lustrous walnut stock and when I look down the barrel at the the brass bead front sight, I can imagine Dad zeroing in on the next meal.

My Dad's Model 99 isn't worth a whole lot of money, it's got a lot of wear and has seen it's fair share of rust, but I'll fight you for it and It'll be a damned cold day in hell before I sell it. This is an old family friend that's taught several men and a couple of women how to shoot, provided meals for a poor country family of seven kids and various other family members and until I dug it out that weekend, I didn't realize just how much it meant to me or my family.

Oh, did I mention you could hit a dime with it at 20 yards? Yeah, that too.

Remember

2009-05-25T09:29:00.003-04:00

American cemetery at Normandy

Colleges and Guns

2009-05-06T14:51:00.001-04:00

One of the leading assumptions that opponents to college concealed carry is that Students lack the maturity to carry. Seems like this student certainly has the maturity and did the right thing. Most opponents would cite that places where students gather would become bloodbaths as immature students resolve differences with guns instead of reason. They say that the University is no place for guns as ideology should take precedent and guns would inhibit (somehow) said ideology.

One should wonder what sort of reasoning and ideology would have gotten the ten students out of a situation where two armed intruders had separated the group into those to be murdered and those to be raped and murdered? Anyone?

Luck would have it, one student did have a gun and had the internal fortitude to stand against those that would have done grievous harm to himself and his friends.

I wonder what the producers of last month's ABC hit piece on guns have to say about this? How did a one student out of ten prevail while outnumbered two to one when ABC's show depicted differently? The difference? These thugs didn't know who had a gun and weren't firearms instructors and the stakes were real.

Let's be clear, the gun didn't save these students, one of the students saved them, he just happened to have the correct tool for the job and enough skill to get that job done. I think all anyone who is for concealed carry on campus wants is to have the opportunity to carry the right tool for self defense against armed opponents.

Family Day

2009-04-20T13:52:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was an impromptu Family Day at Thunder Valley. Judge & Copper's families showed up to see what all goes on at a cowboy shoot and to help us eat the great food at the cookout afterward. Here are some pictures.

Judge's wife & daughter Dina & Sabrina with Copper's boy Wyatt.

Judge teaching his niece, its what he does

Copper & Wyatt

Dina breakingher first shots (she hit everything in sight)

Copper's wife Christy steps from behind the camera

Sabrina & Wyatt are best buddies

BAG day gun

2009-04-16T12:27:00.001-04:00

OK, it wasn't bought on 4/15, but a couple of weekends ago, I picked up a very sweet Colt CCO. For the uninitiated, a CCO is an officer's frame with a commander slide mated to it, very ideal for concealed carry (CCO stands for Concealed Carry Officers). I had to give up an AR and a few bucks to get it, but it is certainly worth more than the AR to me and I can get another AR (rather, build one out of the 2 lowers I have). So far, the CCO is utterly reliable and my only quandry right now is finding a carry ammo that doesn't make my hand throb. So far, Speer LE Gold Dot 200g +P are sooooo not it. Suggestions anyone?

The gun came with the "Goodyear" wrap-around grips, I ditched those for the more acceptable double-diamond rubbers that I really like on carry 1911s. Some say they cling to clothes, but I've not had a big issue with that, the wrap-arounds do fwiw. Accuracy with the CCO is good and the only other thing I changed on it besides the grips is adding a ring-style hammer that I had Judge order from Fusion for my Officer's model, it was seredipity since the hammer was two-tone and the new CCO was also.

This gun also darned near got Judge into a bit of hot water, I was lunching with his missus when she mentioned that their daughter said uncle José brought daddy a new gun, a little one. Of course I'd do no such thing and besides, it isn't that small. The little angel saw me bring it in to their house and show it to Judge while the misses was off shopping at the mega-outlet-mall.

Easter Conversations

2009-04-13T13:08:00.001-04:00

Overheard at the Gigante family Easter dinner table.

Conversation #1
Nephew: "Uncle José, why can't I find any ammo?"
Me: "Because everyone's scared of what the new emperor will do to prevent us from buying it in the future and are buying it all up so that the manufacturers can't keep up"
Nephew: "What are they trying to do?"
Me: "Well, there's the tax it to oblivion angle, or the serial number it scheme, essentially, everyone thinks they're gonna do something to make ammo damned hard to come by"
Nephew: "That's stupid"
Me: "yep" goes on to explain what shops he can try to find some decently priced .40SW.

#2
Mom: "ABC had a program on Friday that said having a gun wouldn't do any good since you would be too scared to use it"
Me: "ARGH!" explains how flawed the ABC program was "Would you rather have a chance and a gun or be helpless and hope that the mutant gunning people down thinks you're already dead or runs out of ammo?"

Then there was a conversation about Zombie Jesus and how freakishly strong he was to move that rock (or what I imagine my 2yo great nephew would think of the resurrection of Christ during Sunday school). It was determined I should never teach Sunday School, go figure.

Lean On Me

2009-04-07T17:23:00.001-04:00

OK, this one is out there, I know, but while "researching" pictures of Kendra Wilkinson and her beau at the gun range, I thought it interesting that she exhibits "the lean". I say this because I see a lot of inexperienced ~~female~~ shooters pickup a long gun and instinctively go into this sort of stance, apparently it is comfortable to them, for what reasons I don't know, but I thought this picture demonstrates it perfectly.

There are better things to quip about, but this has always puzzled me and if anyone has an answer let me know.

BTW, I am not responsible for your actions after clicking through to Kendra's website.

One of Those Days

2009-03-28T10:02:00.001-04:00

What's the best thing to do on a Friday afternoon? Well this Friday, I decided it wasn't work. I had found a shop selling AR lowers for $100 and off I went to Lawguns in Indy, a new shop that opened this week. I got there and met Anthony who was eager to take my business an after pleasantries, I started on my 4473. While filling my form out, the phone constantly rang and another customer came in for uppers. The shop isn't much right now, but it appears they'll be carrying mostly AR type stuff. I picked up a couple of accessories for my AR and bid Anthony good day.

Off to Beech Grove Firearms! I had heard great things about this shop and it is a very nice place with a lot of wheelguns and as good of stock of firearms and ammo as I think you can have right now. The shop is clean, bright and friendly, the prices are a bit on the upper end of reasonable, but they have stock.

On the way home, I got to craving a cigar and so I stopped by the only good cigar store I know of on the South side of Indy, the Pipe Puffer. It's probably a good thing I don't live in Greenwood as this place would see me a LOT more. The Cigar selection is very good with pretty much all the major brands represented and a nice selection of each. The cigars are kept in their walk-in humidor in perfect conditions, so you get a top-notch smoking experience.

The Puffer also has areas for customers to lounge while they enjoy a smoke, think a small tavern that serves smokes and not drinks. I would have sat in one of the comfy looking leather chairs or sofas had the place not been absolutely packed with folks enjoying the afternoon with friends and tabacco.

All in all, it beat the living hell out of being in my office and one of my ARs is decked out and I've got parts for another complete AR. Go me!

Stage Strips?

2009-03-27T09:23:00.001-04:00

Is this an alternative for cowboy shooters at the loading table? Reloading strips have long been a part of CAS, providing a convenient way to keep track of the ammo you need for a stage without having to carry a box up to the line or back to your cart after you've loaded. Tuff products have done what Bianchi won't, make ~~speed strips~~ Quick Strips for .41-.460 calibers. Now if they made them in 10 or 5 round versions, I think they might get some traction in CAS, they aren't exactly period, but then a bright blue plastic box isn't either.

If these hold .45ACP, I might have to get some for WildBunch since I gave my leather strip to Judge (actually, he pilfered it) and .45ACP will fall out of the wooden ones I've made.

Hmm....

H/T to Les Jones

ATWS

2009-03-26T08:47:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty certain Judge should get one of the new Trijicon ATWS to mount on the 30-30 levergun he just got. I'm sure it wouldn't cost so much and what is more natural than a state of the art, thermal imaging sight on a 105 year old design? I don't know how much it costs, but with the economic wizardry going on right now, I'm sure Judge could pull it off.

H/T to The Firearm Blog

Ammo Recall

2009-03-17T22:55:00.001-04:00

I guess they're spoofing gun owners, but they're also spoofing the media, so I'd say that's fair and balanced, besides, I can laugh at myself.

Pig Gun

2009-03-08T16:27:00.002-04:00

Jose hasn't been the only one buying guns, but he as definitely opened up the distance. I finally decided to sell the AK and since I promised if I ever sold it I would give the original owner first dibs the AK made it's way home. I bought a microwave range hood for the house and with the money left over I spent it on a new lever gun.

I have always loved the .30 - .30 lever guns and I've been wanting a short handy rifle with a small scope that was quick to acquire. I've been told this is called a pig gun so I guess that's what I wanted. As you can imagine these are pretty hard to find.

Well thanks to Jose I located a Sears 54. The gun is in great shape and I don't think it has ever been shot. It's got a 20" barrel which is longer then I wanted, but the price was good. I plan on having the barrel cut down to 16.5 inches and with a leather butt wrap, ammo loops, sling, and lever wrap from Kirkpatrick Leather I'll be pretty close to set. I think I will also add an aimpoint to the set up and I will have my pig gun.

Public Enemies

2009-03-07T22:38:00.001-05:00

This movie opens July 1st and while I realize it'll be a Michael Mann cheesefest, the thought of 1911s, 1897s, 1887s, Brownings, car chases and oh yes TOMMYGUNS is too appealing. It just went to the top of my want to see list.

Public Enemies OFFICIAL TRAILER

Oh happy day!

2009-03-07T22:13:00.001-05:00

Today was the first time all year the weather was cooperative for a range trip. Sunny and 73 degrees will do nicely. I loaded up a few 1911s, a few hundred rounds of ammo and headed North.

Today I had a new horse in the stable, this past week I picked up a Colt 1991A1 off of an individual in Indy and she's a beaut. I've never been much for blued 1911s, but this one I fell head over heals for the moment I opened the blue Colt box. I now had my real Wild Bunch pistol. The 1991A1 is Colt's "el-cheapo" 1911 with none of the frills of the higher end guns, standard grip safety, thumb safety and spur hammer. The ejection port isn't lowered or flared, the only thing that they put on it that would be considered an upgrade is a set of white dot sights. This is quite possibly the only niggle I have with the gun, I'd prefer a set of hardball sights, but I ain't complaining.

The Colt shot and functioned flawlessly as it should. I fed it 230g FMJ factory and some 185g LSWC that I had loaded. It didn't care witch round was in the chamber, it just spat it out and grabbed the next round. I also tried a variety of mags, from cheap-ass surplus mags to CMC Powermags to the original Colt mag, again, the Colt didn't give a rats ass. In fact, all the 1911s I shot today went without a hiccup.

The other guns I brought with me were my carry officer's model and a couple of Government RIA's. I was asked by Judge to find out why his RIA shot about 4" high and 2" right at 10 yards. So I brought mine along and swapped upper parts until I eliminated everything but the slide. Looks like it needs to take a trip back to Armscor. After diagnosing the culprit of the RIA's woes adn about two hours and 250rnds later, I called it all a success and headed home.

Shooting War

2009-02-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard that the US A.G. William Holder has dropped the other shoe. Sure, we all expected that the BHO White House would move to bring the US more in line with Socialist Europe, but there are those that held that because of recent strides of pro 2nd Amendment forces, that even BHO would have a tough row to hoe to bring about another AWB. Well, what did it take? 35 days or so for them to start talking about how this is necessary and for what? Mexico's safety? Soverenty much?

Now if these pecker-heads want to ban a scaring looking rifle because they're scared of it and they hold some sort of false hope that this will curb violent crime (even in the face of overwhelming FACTS to the contrary) that's one thing, but to take away US citizens CIVIL RIGHTS over some shit in Mexico? MEXICO!?! Well, that just bullshit!

So for all you out there who said it wouldn't happen, how about now? And for all you BHO apologists, go screw off would you? I don't give a monkey's pimpled ass how much hope and change and unicorns made of rainbows D-Bag In Chief has promised you personally, this guy is going to leave this country far worse off than before he came to office. Between spending us into oblivion, the push for "Fairness Doctrine" to the call for a "Scary Rifle" ban, your money, your rights and your dignity are being stolen right under your nose and all you can do is say "isn't it great we have a black President?"

Yeah, its terrific, now pass the borsch commrad.

Sure Sign You Need To Sweep The Garage Floor...

2009-02-24T15:42:00.001-05:00

Your at work and you have something in your shoe, remove offending shoe and determine it is a birdshot pellet. And you haven't reloaded birdshot in 3 months and have worn those shoes many times since.

Buh-bye

2009-02-19T16:18:00.001-05:00

Say goodbye to your civil rights folks, what we have left of them anyway. Seems you can't have a snarky sign in your truck window as someone (in this case an officer) may mistake the meaning of the word abort and start violating your right to speech. It won't stop there, they'll turn it over to the Secret Service and they'll come calling to make sure you don't belong to any groups they don't approve of.

''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

At least they were "cordial" about the whole thing, I wouldn't want the SS to be rude about making sure you weren't in violation of, well not being PC.

Somehow I find it ironic that a sign that says "Abort Obama, Not The Unborn" would be taken as a threat on the President. Perhaps the officer feels that aborting babies is somehow killing them or a bad thing. I'm sure I'm mistaken because the powers that be certainly wouldn't want to give us the impression that abortions are a bad thing. The idiot probably just doesn't know what abort means.

The newsok.com story I linked to above mentions that everything was set right in the end, I beg to differ, this sort of behavior by persons in power is never right and no amount of backpeddling will make those actions "right".

Hat Tip to Michael Bane

Nigerian Bubba Gun

2009-02-11T08:35:00.001-05:00

The Firearm Blog has a post about a recent e-mail exchange he had with a Nigerian gun owner and the problems with obtaining a proper stock for his shotgun. I love this as it shows the ingenuity of man and also is sticking your tongue out at "The Man". Sometimes we forget how lucky we are here in America to be able to buy arms and accessories without much hindrance and this should serve as a reminder to us all of how we could end up if we don't stand up and vote the anti-rights politicians out of office.

BTW, last week I received an e-mail from a fellow in Germany wanting some help obtaining info on the Ruger GP series revolvers. I obliged him and sent the info he requested, it's kind of cool this internet thing.

"...that is the height of irresponsibility."

2009-01-30T08:16:00.001-05:00

That's a direct quote from our new president. Unfortunately, he wasn't talking about the new "stimulus" package. Somehow, the irony of someone who has rammed a pork-bloated bill through congress and senate that makes Ron Reagan's defense spending look miserly preaching about Wall Street executives giving themselves a few billion in bonuses while eating $100 steaks is lost on the press and pretty much everyone else.

I wonder if I'm going to be able to escape from this alternative universe or if I should just grow a goatee.

UPDATE: At least someone else gets it.

1911 in .22LR

2009-01-23T10:52:00.001-05:00

It is nothing new having a 1911 converted to .22lr for economy of shooting, but the folks at GSG are bringing out a 1911 patterned pistol that should allow those who don't want to fuss with a conversion to have a 1911 in .22lr. Sure, you could plunk down the money for a conversion from Kimber, Ciener or Marvel, but I don't really like the idea of adding that cost to a complete gun and I doubt I'd be the type to switch between the conversion and the standard chambering. For those like me who'd like to have a rimfire practice pistol and especially one that closely or identically mimicks my fighting gun, this GSG 1911 seems to fit the bill. No word on pricing, I'm hoping its under $400, GSG's other .22lr pattern-type guns are reasonable and they seem to offer plenty of goodies to bolt onto them.

The good and bad thing about this time of year, all the new guns come out, my mouth waters, eyes widen and my wallet takes a beating.

Via The Firearm Blog

Nightguard .41 Magnum

2009-01-12T10:46:00.001-05:00

The .41 Magnum is one of those cartridges that just never made it to the big time. From what I understand, it was developed (by none other than the kings of magnum pistol cartridges, Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith) as a replacement for law enforcement to the .357 Magnum, but the ammo manufacturers made the loads too stout for comfortable usage. Thus it has been pretty much relegated to hunting duty since. Now we have the 10mm & .40 S&W that have pretty much taken that market over, but those aren't true wheelgun cartridges.

I've often lusted over the possibility of coming across a snubbie S&W Model 57, but the closest I've ever seen is a 4" version and everyone who's got one of the M57's wants a hefty price to wrest it from his grasp (rightfully so). So now the new Nightguard S&W line has a Model 357 .41 Magnum 2.5" barrel example coming out in '09 that I'd love to try out. This might be one of those S&Ws that overcomes my prejudice against the lock and the premium pricing. Maybe.

#1, As In One Million Dollars

2009-01-05T10:08:00.001-05:00

Now those surrounding Dr. Evil may not think $1,000,000 is a lot of money, but it certain is for a gun. Said gun should be able to plow down terrorists and Nazis (not to mention zombies) with ease. Yet this lowly six gun is up for auction and could fetch the hefty sum, I'm unsure if a gun has sold for more, but I'd be willing to bet not. Is it worth that much? As a tool, definitely not. We aren't talking about a tool though, we're talking about the grandest of Colts, ~~a Peacemaker~~, THE Peacemaker, serial number 1. To some, this pistol may look worn and ugly, but to a cowboy, she's a beauty.

It certainly looks better than the painted atrocities we saw last week.

Hat tip to Xavier for finding this one.

Zootshooters!

2009-01-03T11:57:00.002-05:00

This is sweet! I saw the link first at Tam's, and of course had to look it up. This is right up my...alley!

You can find their website here

Now I have an excuse for that Tommy I've been wanting. We can use the three 97's that Jose has started collecting and of course the wild bunch 1911's. I've even got a gangster hat from my roleplaying days. I am so there...I just need to convince somebody to bring out their full auto Tommy for me to play with!

That's a LOT of rounds

2008-12-31T10:16:00.001-05:00

224,000 over 12 days to be specific. James Yeager posted a report on a class he instructed in Tennessee recently on The Survival Podcast forum. Most interesting is the reporting on the gear while 22 men crawled around in the mud and muck and the ways it failed (it all fails eventually). AKs, ARs, Glocks, holsters, packs, you name it. The moral, I believe, is that stuff is gonna fail if you expose it to extreme environments and you just have to cowboy up and deal with it the best you can. Don't sit and pout because your AR has a round over the bolt, DO SOMETHING!

James gives a very nice description of issues that arose and relates that the most reliable arms under these specific conditions are the AK47 rifle and Glock handgun. That really doesn't surprise me in the least, that's the rep that both arms have acquired over the years. He does note, however, that even those vaunted bastions of reliability failed (seems mud in the chamber is bad).

H/T to Steve at The Firearm Blog

Does Not Compute

2008-12-30T10:37:00.001-05:00

Michael Bane has the scoop on USFA's newest revolvers that are coming in 2009. Needless to say, I just don't plain care for them. They are ugly as it gets. That said, to each their own, if you want a SA revolver painted in whatever tacticool color, good on ya. I suppose if you wanted to Walk the Earth with a single action pistol that wouldn't rust at the first sign of dampness, you could get one of these (or you could just get stainless). I wonder if they'll offer them in digital camo or zebra stripes? How about a cow pattern to make them a true cowboy gun?

P.S. I wonder if these are SASS legal? I don't think this has ever come up, maybe it never will, but I wonder if someone showed up at EoT with painted revolvers, would that be allowed?

Gun Buyback Fail

2008-12-24T13:26:00.002-05:00

The Suffolk police had an anonymous buy-back program that quickly ran out of gift certificates to give away for the "illegal" guns people were handing over. Of course the police kept the guns anyway and then asked people for their IDs. That's all sorts of trustworthy right there.

The program gets a fail, the article on newsday is full of all sorts of win though, they included a very snarky poll asking what the suffolk police can pony up since they ran out of gift cards. My vote was for "Leave the gun, take the cannolis"

Money quote from the article:

"How is that anonymous?" she asked. "Anonymous is not 'Give us your name and number and in two weeks you'll get your gift card.' "

Walking the Earth

2008-12-24T02:26:00.004-05:00

This post by Tam has been sitting on my mind lately. I know it was an off hand remark, and the statement can really mean whatever you want it to mean, but damn if it don't make ya think.

What gun combo would you take with you to walk the Earth?

Walk the Earth can mean whatever you want it to mean and if you feel like defending it go ahead. If not, just proclaim it to the world.

Me? I think it would be my 4" S&W Model 66 and my Remington 870 (with the extended mag tube, Surefire forend, and Vang safety).

Zippo

2008-12-20T09:39:00.004-05:00

When my wife's grandmother died last year we brought home lots of little things that had sentimental value. We have several cast iron skillet's, cookbooks with handwriting in the margines, pictures and letters. A month or so ago she brought me a Zippo that had been her great grandfathers that she had found in a box of pictures. The hinge was broken and the internal parts were rotten and gummed up, but otherwise it was not in bad condition.

I did some research and found that the lighter did not have the date or serial number stamped on the bottom, but it did have the serial script of "Zippo" stamped on the bottom. So the lighter is circa late 40's early 50's. I also found with it an envelope where it had been sent for repair to the Zippo factory in 78.

So of course I sent it back to the Zippo factory for a free repair. The lighter came back yesterday in perfect working condition. I now have at least a 50 year old lighter to go with my B-Western gear. So the next time you see me at a CAS match just ask to see the lighter, after all it was made to be used.

Oh, by the way the Zippo company stands by their product forever and will make repairs for free with a fast turn around. That's a quality American company that is hard to find nowadays!

Hopalong

2008-12-18T07:16:00.003-05:00

For my birthday I received the Hopalong Cassidy Collector's Edition. It's a digitally remastered box set of 25 classic Hopalong Cassidy films with William Boyd. Now I am to young to have seen any of these on TV (Except for the Western Channel) but those of you who read this blog know I love movies, especially old classics and these are the best of the westerns.

I watched Border Patrol last weekend with my 4 year old daughter who loved it. It was a lot of fun to explain to her about the "good guys" and "bad guys" and she got a kick out of the character California.

Anyway, if you get a chance pick this up. it's well done, good transfer, and of course it stars Hoppy my favorite of the b-western cowboys!

Sukiyaki Western Django

2008-12-15T00:05:00.003-05:00

Well the guns have been cleaned and stored away. As we sit and dream of shooting to return in the fall I thought you might want to have a little fun with the Western. Sukiyaki Western Django has received some good reviews and by the trailers it looks to be a lot of fun as long as you don't take this kinda thing to seriously.

Available on DVD and Blueray November 11th.

Wild Bunch Rig

2008-12-12T00:52:00.004-05:00

Drool.

I plan on shooting in the Wild Bunch Category next year at Thunder Valley. I've created my own wild bunch rig, but I just recently came across this one by Mernickle Holsters.

It's priced at a hefty 299.95 but it's been designed from the ground up as a competitive rig for the SASS Wild Bunch Category by Bob Mernickle who knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a great holster.

This would also make a right pretty carry rig. Looks like I'll just have to keep right on drooling.

2008-12-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

Well well, it seems the Gov from IL was arrested today on corruption charges, say it ain't so! Seems he was trying to sell the vacant Senatorial seat vacated by Obama to the highest bidder. Its a good thing Obama wouldn't have anything to do with this, right? Maybe, maybe there is a connection?

Shades of The Chicago Way

Huzzah!

2008-12-05T16:50:00.001-05:00

This is good news!

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Lyle Laverty today announced that the Department of the Interior has finalized updated regulations governing the possession of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The final rule, which updates existing regulations, would allow an individual to carry a concealed weapon in national parks and wildlife refuges if, and only if, the individual is authorized to carry a concealed weapon under state law in the state in which the national park or refuge is located. The update has been submitted to the Federal Register for publication and is available to the public on www.doi.gov.

AND

“The Department believes that in managing parks and refuges we should, as appropriate, make every effort to give the greatest respect to the democratic judgments of State legislatures with respect to concealed firearms,” said Laverty. “Federal agencies have a responsibility to recognize the expertise of the States in this area, and federal regulations should be developed and implemented in a manner that respects state prerogatives and authority.”

Someone at the Dep. of Interior is using common sense? This confuses me, but I'm willing to roll with it. Perhaps the common sense fairy could come to The Hill and bestow some sense before those idiots give away even more money we don't have to corporations and banks that don't deserve it.

Free Plaxico

2008-12-04T12:37:00.001-05:00

This article in the WSJ from Dave Kopel certainly hits the nail for me. I think Plaxico is an idiot for having a Glock shoved in the waistband of his sweatpants, but I don't think he should do significant jailtime for it.

Shooting yourself is stupid, really stupid. So is sticking a glock in your pants without a holster. Discharging a firearm in a public place is illegal and should be unless you are defending yourself or others. Simply having a gun in your possession however, should not be illegal, nor should it carry a silly minimum sentence.

UPDATE: John R. Lott, Jr has a piece up at fox.com about disarming citizens, as they were in India, even if they are physically superior like NFL athletes.

When police can’t promise to protect law-abiding citizens such Plaxico Burress or the victims in India, why don’t we allow people the right to protect themselves? Unfortunately, bans do more to encourage crime than prevent it.

End of Year Shootouts

2008-12-03T12:07:00.001-05:00

So we come to the close of another year and another shooting season. This time of year is truly for the ~~hardy~~ foolish among us to venture forth into the frozen or nearly frozen ranges to grab our ice-cold revolvers, rifles and shotguns and try, try, try to make it to the end of the day without frostbite or embarrassing ourselves. The end of the year means for me that I can shoot other categories as shooting whatever my main category happens to be doesn't have any benefits in regards to rewards or competition. So I usually switch to something else, last month I shot traditional, this month I think it'll be Frontier Cartridge Duelist.

Black Powder categories never go well for me, but I've got the ammo loaded and I need an excuse to shoot my double and those brass shotshells are a callin' Since I've acquired a couple of extra sets of revolvers over the past year or so, I don't have to cuss myself while cleaning my Rugers, I'll cuss myself over cleaning Colt clones...

In any case, this week's match should be fun as Rebel has set up the stages with "Old SASS" type scenarios, carrying bags of money, dynamite and the occasional dance, all on the clock and all in fun. Once SASS got big, these types of things went away as competitors complained that these things took time and weren't "fun" for them. I can understand this to a point, but occasionally, it is fun to do all the silly non-shooting stuff just because. I look forward to Saturday, its going to be a long day as I need to fill in for the ailing Redneck Rebel (GET BETTER SOON BOB!), but that's a small price and keeps me appreciating all our leader does so darned well.

Here's to slow times, hootin', hollerin' and a day of fun, smoke and friends.

The wait is on!

2008-11-25T03:09:00.001-05:00

Yes!

This has to be the first time in my life I'm excited about waiting in line. After a year Grant Cunningham has opened his wait list back up and I managed to score a spot. Now I just have to have patience unit he is ready for my S&W M13 3".

Don't worry I'll post pictures when it's done.

I think this would make a good movie

2008-11-24T14:04:00.001-05:00

A10 vs The Taliban Bikers

For a very brief moment, I feel sorry for some Taliban bastard getting blown away by some hotshot A10 jockey, but then I realize the Taliban are major douche-bags and feel a sense of gratitude that some hotshot A10 pilot lit his ass up.

Does that make me a bad person?

Now you know why that sand in your mag was red Judge.

You don't say

2008-11-20T20:02:00.001-05:00

Dave Hardy links to a pretty interesting piece on police tactics towards "active killers" and the changes or evolution thereof. The study done by the Tactical Defense Institute of Adams County, Ohio concludes that the proper response by police should be a singe officer response, that is, the first officer on the seen aggressively goes after the killer. The reasoning for this is that the time it took to assemble a SWAT team and later an ad-hoc tactical team from the first four or five uniforms on scene cost lives.

Here's the money quote from the study though.

The other statistic that emerged from a study of active killers is that they almost exclusively seek out "gun free" zones for their attacks.

Really? You mean to tell me that a person who wants to kill a lot of people as quickly as possible will go to a convenient local where many people gather and cannot have firearms? But they're gun free zones! GUN FREE! Many have started to refer to schools and malls as victim zones, you can't really argue with that, if a nutjob wants to get his 15 seconds of fame by blasting 40 some odd people into the afterlife before he lethally injects himself with lead, what the hell good is a law or even a sign for that matter?

Now as for the single officer tactic, I'm not so sure about that. I would think it would be a matter of time before some idiot wants to kill a lot of cops and decides to head for the local mall to kill a few civies and wait for the cops to come one by one. Maybe the first two officers would be a comprimise, or (GASP!) you could abolish "gun-free" zones and let responsible permit carries have a fighting chance and maybe save a lot of lives in the process? Nah! That'd never work because only government can save us.

Presents from the Taliban

2008-11-20T09:32:00.003-05:00

Following the advice of Tam I started picking up some extra magazine for my "Peoples Sporting Rifle." I ordered a couple from Cheaper than Dirt and found them to be worn, but serviceable and relatively clean. Perfect for my wishes. I decided to order another one (can't have to many) and when this one came I must say it was...interesting. The insides were filled with red sand. There was to much for it to be just rust (unless the package originally had two mags in it) so I can only assume that the Taliban are trading in there old mags for new poly mags.

That's right, I believe I just received a Taliban trade-in. Momma always said you get what you pay for.

I can't believe I read that right.

2008-11-13T20:54:00.002-05:00

"Why are white people buying assault weapons?" said Ben Agger, a sociology rofessor at the University of Texas at Arlington who wrote a book about the Virginia Tech slayings. "I almost hate to say it, but there is a deep-seated fear of the armed black man, because Obama now commands the military and other instruments of the justice system. They are afraid Obama will exact retribution for the very deep-seated legacy of slavery."

I had to read that twice, yes, he's saying if you are white and bought an EBR, it is racially motivated, that is, you are a racist. I'm nearly speechless that someone who's charged with educating others would be so completely and utterly ignorant. I've disliked (hated) sociology for a long time, its kind of like reading a 15yo newspaper of obvious insights most of the time. Other times sociology produces this sort of clag that nobody in their right mind should ever believe and yet, there it is in black and white. Oops, letting my racism show again.

PO'd

2008-11-12T08:47:00.002-05:00

I'm pissed off. Over the last 3 months I have been scheduled to attend a Shotgun Instructors Course, a Pistol Operators Course, and a Patrol Rifle Instructors Course. They have all been canceled. At the last minute. Forcing me to change not only my work schedule, but my personal schedule as well.

I'm starting to develop a complex. The first time no reason was given (I know the class was full), the second time was for low attendance, and the most recent was due to "scheduling conflicts". This last class was also full and had been scheduled for 6 months. I figure the state employed instructors just decided it was going to be too cold next week and bailed. What a load of BS.

I teach classes also, all over the country, I have had classes with 60+ students and classes with 9. Oh well. You commit to something then you carry through with it. That's part of it. I can't help but have very poor feelings for the government agency that hosts and teaches two out of the three classes that were canceled a week in advance for unknown reasons that couldn't be all that great anyway.

Sherrif Defends CCW Holder Identities

2008-11-11T13:13:00.003-05:00

An Oregon Sheriff is fighting a newspaper request for the names of CCW holders in Washington County on the grounds that Oregon law that states records are not public if they could reveal a person's security measures or weaknesses. Sheriff Rob Gordon believes that it is implied that the permits were obtained for security purposes (NO! REALLY?!) but the court is saying that permit holders have to state that they obtained it for security purposes before they can be considered non-public.

So Sheriff Gordon is contacting by mail all 10,000 or so permit holders to elicit whether they indeed obtained them for security reasons.

"Instead of going through the process of saying that it's implied, we're going though the process of getting the documentation that says that it is," said Sgt. Vance Stimler, public information officer at the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

I wish all Sheriffs would be this progressive in thought towards the CCW community, sadly, I think he's in the minority.

Well done Gordon!

One Good FU Deserves Another

2008-11-05T20:09:00.001-05:00

As we all know by now "The One" has ascended to the office of POTUS. This doesn't bode particularly well for gun owners, or conservatives, or hell, anyone who wants to keep the money they earned or Civil Liberties! I digress. What to do about it? Why go out and buy one of the most hated guns the idiot Left fears, an AR15 EBR (Evil Black Rifle). I don't "need" one, but I've wanted one for a while and had made up my mind to get one this year "just in case". Well I put it off for a while looking for a pre-built that I think I want at a decent price (I'm ~~Cheap~~ Frugal) as I don't really know enough about the EBR to know what I want so's I can build one. This past weekend, I spied the ticket, the DPMS Sportical AR15 from Panther Arms, its a complete flat-top AR with no forward assist and not a sight to be found, a blank slate of an AR to be done with what I wished. The best part? $640, sweet!

Anyway, I had MCSports put it on hold for me as I wanted to deal a 1911 away I've been wanting to get rid of. I took ownership of it today of all days, kind of appropriate no? Perhaps I'll see if I can save some more before 1/21/09 to buy another (or just some lower recievers) on innaugaration day, just my way of flipping the bird to those that are ignorant and unfortunately in charge as of next year.

This is too good

2008-10-31T19:21:00.001-04:00

I just HAD to post this video, it is simply too darned good to not post.

Hat tip to Instapundit (actually one of his readers)

Electrical Engineering FTW

2008-10-31T09:35:00.001-04:00

THIS is full of awesomeness and win.

To think that a parent would either send a 9yo child into a neighbor's yard to steal a sign or be upset that he got what was coming to him is utterly and completely disappointing. First of all, if I were that boy, I wouldn't have told my dad under any circumstances because I'd gotten worse than what that sign gave me and secondly, my dad wouldn't have gone to the neighbor but woulda tanned my hide.

And thus the problem these days is that when children do wrong, they aren't necessarily punished or corrected, rather they are taught to look for someone else to blame.

No apology from the parents for their thief of a son.

And you wonder why I worry...

2008-10-31T03:44:00.002-04:00

about Zombies!

It's that time of the year again and as usual out come the Zombies. If only we could deal with them as god and George Romero intended.

So the Zombie Riot was interesting but in the end didn't amount to much. Zombies = 0, Constabulary = 1

I voted yesterday...

2008-10-30T04:01:00.003-04:00

How about you!

So far in my district they have had record numbers voting everyday using early/absentee voting. I stood in line for 2 hours...take your ipod and a book cause the lines are only going to get longer. Whatever you do, get out and vote.

All the cool kids are doing it

2008-10-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

So I decided I'd post this Chuck Norris video.

I'm not sure the cameraman survived this video, perhaps someone should send flowers after Chuck threw that last punch, even when he doesn't make contact with you, Chuck is deadly.

Keep my fingers crossed

2008-10-27T00:13:00.004-04:00

I'm keeping my fingers crossed because it looks like I might get the opportunity to attend Jeff Gonzales Pistol Operators Course. I put in for the course a month ago and due to staffing problems at work I didn't think I was going to be able to attend. As of this week however the dates opened up so if all goes well I should be in the class next month.

This will be one of the first outside training events we have hosted at our new range and I am very much looking forward to the experience. I meet Jeff Gonzales at Shot Show a couple of years ago and he seems like a great guy. I also had the chance to pick up his book Combative Fundamentals and enjoyed it immensely. I found the book helpful and thought provoking without being overly preachy or boring which sometimes happens in books of the type. I do wish the book had a few more photographs to help show what he is talking about, but overall it was very good. Now I hope to get the chance to improve my skills and get some much needed training.

Many people think that if you are a firearms trainer you get to shoot all the time. That couldn't be further from the truth. Usually you find yourself instructing and teaching so much that you miss out on opportunities to improve your skills. So no matter how good you might think you are it is always a great idea to get out and take some courses from other people. If nothing else you will get some much needed trigger time.

New Stuff

2008-10-16T10:43:00.003-04:00

Sorry I've been away for awhile, but things have been very hectic with me this year. Cowboy Shooting started grand with my being appointed as Vice President of Thunder Valley. In VP Tradition I immediately missed a majority of the matches this year due to work and other commitments. I hope to change that next year and make every match! (I'll settle for most of them)

I found myself working or taking care of my daughter most shoot days and I have only managed to attend less then a handful of shoots for the entire year. I did however get elected as President of a national law enforcement organization and managed to help my department get it's own range after a 10 year fight.

The new range is fantastic. It is a state of the art 12 lane indoor range facility rated for small arms fire up to and including .308 rifle rounds. The backstop and targets were installed by Action Targets and they include 12 turners, 1 runner, and 1 retriever (the retriever comes right at you and/or runs away from you). This range took a lot of work but it's finally done and we are all very happy and excited about it.

Sure there are glitches and bugs with the new building. It's just like moving into a new house. Once in you find out all the stuff that was accidentally left out or forgot so we still have a ton of stuff to do. Along with the new range we finally got approval for our patrol rifles and I'll be attending a patrol rifle instructor course next month. My experience with a patrol rifle is very limited so I'm a little apprehensive about the instructor level course. All in all it's been a very exhausting year and I am looking forward to it winding down so I can start fresh again next year. Hopefully it won't take me as long to post as this time.

PS. It's almost Zombie time again so stock up on the esentials.

New-Old .45s

2008-09-27T21:40:00.001-04:00

Well, with the economy in the dumps, but its not like I haven't been trying. I've acquired a couple of new irons, one a carry piece, the other a cowboy action revolver that I really don't need, it was just too good a deal, yeah, one of those...

At the last Indy 1500, I picked up an Officers model Rock Island as I noted previously here. I did a few things to it, I dropped in an STI trigger and cleaned up the area where the spring guide and slide stop reside as it had quite a bit of flashing or remnant metal that was causing the slide stop to pop out under firing (not a desired thing). I dropped in a new slide stop as a precaution and put on a pair of double-diamond rubber grips from Kimber, something I picked up from reading Xavier's blog (oddly, he recently posted his own compact 1911). I agree with him in that there really isn't anything comparable in grip and comfort.

So far, I've put over 600 rounds down range with it and aside from the slide stop issue and some horrible ammo I bought at the 1500 (don't buy "factory reloads") it has nary a problem that weren't on me. Ejection and feed are positive and the gun shoots accurately enough (better than I). I also am loving the smaller form factor while carrying, it is a very handy pistol that disappears nicely on my side (like a deck chair on the Queen Mary).

The only thing I'm thinking of doing is replacing the sights, the mil-spec sights really don't pick up well under certain circumstances, though I do find them mostly adequate. The problem is, what do you go with? Novak makes a rear that fits the rear government dovetail, but I don't think they make a post sight for the front. A lot of folks rave about the Yost hardball sight, but I don't see it being much better than what's on there. Trijicon makes night-sights, but getting that front post sight staked without breaking the vile is nigh impossible without Trijicon's $300 tool and that seems a bit steep to me. I have found the King-Tappan form Kings Gun Works may just be what I'd like to try, it isn't flashy, but does provide visual cues to help a shooter out. If anyone has a suggestion that won't require milling of dovetails, let me know in the comments pleast.

The second shooting iron I recently acquired is a Ruger ~~Tank~~ Vaquero in .45 Colt and 4 5/8" barrel. I really didn't need it, but the price and extras the fella was offering were too much for me to pass up. This gun was manufactured during the first year of Vaquero production in 1993. That's pretty neat, for me anyway, it certainly was very well taken care of and certainly wasn't used in CAS, that's for sure. My guns that are less than 7 years old are showing wear from use, but then they are Rugers, so aside from holster wear, you wouldn't know the difference. I'm very pleased with this gun as it is beautiful for a ~~tank~~ Vaquero and it completes my second set of shorter barreled Vaqueros (I had a 5 1/2" version). BTW, if anyone out there has another 4 5/8" Vaquero in .45 Colt they would like to trade for a 5 1/2", let me know, I wouldn't mind matching up barrel lengths.

All in all, its been a pretty decent month and I picked up a couple of nice guns for under $1k, guns that I'll USE more importantly. I don't like having guns that don't have jobs.

The Deal

2008-09-24T16:34:00.003-04:00

Rep. Mike Pence on the bailout.

"I must tell you, there are those in the public debate who have said that we must act now. The last time I heard that, I was on a used-car lot," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana. "The truth is, every time somebody tells you that you've got to do the deal right now, it usually means they're going to get the better part of the deal."

Pence’s humor aside, all I hear from the guys who want to pass this bailout is that the alternative is unthinkable. Well skippy, if you want $700 Billion to hand out to the very idiots who mis-managed this whole thing down the shitter in the first place, I’d suggest you start convincing me by laying out exactly what the alternative is because I happen to think that handing out $700 Billion to morons IS UNTHINKABLE!!!

Wild Bunch Rig

2008-09-18T08:38:00.004-04:00

Last month I shot my first Wild Bunch match at Pleasant Valley. I had a great time and a lot of fun. I wasn't very happy with my set up so I decided to come up with something different.

I stated with the notion that a boarder town gunfighter who opted for the new wiz bang auto loader wouldn't settle for a military flap holster. So I decided to improvise just like that gunfighter and cut off the flap.

I purchased an army surplus flap holster for next to nothing ($18) along with a leather knife case ($3). I cut the flap off of both the holster and the case. I then used some leather thread and stitched the top of the holster back together and fitted the knife case to the magazine by getting the case wet and letting it dry with a magazine wrapped in plastic inside the knife case. I then cut the back of the holster and knife case open enough to except an old 3" western cartridge belt I had lying around. The rig looks western enough and the holster presents very well allowing you to get your master grip on the gun well in advance of the draw stroke. Of course now I just have to get a chance to use it. Oh, and don't pay any attention to the 1911. It's not Wild Bunch legal, but it was all I had for the picture.

Newb 101

2008-09-17T11:53:00.001-04:00

It's important to know when you're dealing with a new shooter. I got a snort out of a post on a local gun board today when the new shooter had this to say about a handgun he tried out.

"I didn't really like the grips but everything else felt great on it."

I'm trying to restrain the sarcasm, this is a new shooter, but you HAVE to know that a proper and comfortable grip is paramount to shooting well. You need a good grip, trigger and sights, everything else is gravy.

Toy Show

2008-08-24T09:18:00.001-04:00

The Indy 1500 Gun & Knife show is going on this weekend so I went toy shopping and came back with a new one. It's nice to go in with a lot of options for what you'd like to have. I wanted a large bore wheelgun for carry, an officers model 1911 in .45ACP, I'm always looking for a snubbie .357 it seems (stainless) and I could have been convinced to purchase an AR15. This was just the guns that I wanted, let alone reloading and accessories...

I came back with a RIA officer's model. I had seen one in a pawn shop about a year ago and thought about getting it to play around with, just to know more about them and to see if the smaller version could be made into a carry piece for me and my ginormous hands. Turns out after handling this one at the Gun Show, I have to admit that it is a handy little piece that fits my hands remarkably well. Why this RIA over a whiz-bang Kimber Ultra Carry or Pro Carry or Colt Agent? I didn't want to spend $800-$1,000 to satisfy my curiosity. Besides, my short list for a 1911 includes reliability and accuracy, both of these have been achieved on the RIA's that I've handled. This particular model sports a commander hammer and beavertail grip safety, so it is essentially carry ready with the only upgrade I might consider (besides grips) is a set of sights and I'm not convinced yet on those.

Anyway, I'll post pics when I can and get out to the range for testing soon.

(pst, yes I know the image above is flipped, blame Armscor)

W00T!

2008-08-18T16:00:00.001-04:00

H eller got his gun permit from the DC Overlords.

Congrats Mr. Heller and thanks.