Show and Tell

Another Christmas has come and gone, I hope your's was a fine one. I got a really nice gift from Judge Mint Day, a Mitch Rosen holster for my Kimber Eclipse CLE II! Its the new Premier holster from Rosen and it's a very nice one indeed, the width of the holster really spreads out the weight of the full size 1911 nicely and makes the holster less bulky. The snaps make it a cinch to take off if I need to; the forward cant of the gun is something I really like in a holster and this one manages to keep the grip nice and tight to my body. This thing is absolutely made for the 1911, when I first got it, I had to shove and shove to get the gun in the holster and then couldn't pull it out for a while. It is breaking in now and I can actually wear and carry with it now. The only thing that will limit my use of the holster is it's drop, it makes wardrobe very important when I carry with this holster and almost precludes me wearing it in the summer. But that lets me buy another holster later on, right?

Anyway, thanks for the gift Judge, I love it. Now for some holster/gun porn.

Cocked, locked and ready to rock

Holster; Kimber, Mag and 9 Friends

Merry Christmas

The Gunfighter

Since I broke the ice with Warlock I decided I had to keep going with the western reviews. I love movies and on the rare (very rare now with a baby) occasions I get to relax I do it watching a movie, and westerns are one of my favorite genre films.

The Gunfighter is another thinking mans western. Gregory Peck stars as Jimmy Ringo, an aging gunfighter tired of upholding his reputation. The movie starts with the tired Ringo trying to quietly have a drink. A young tough recognizes Ringo and forces a confrontation. Having gunned down the tough Ringo leaves town as fast as he arrived and the skilled manner in which he does it only proves how many times it has happened before. On the run from the brothers of the young tough Ringo tries to make amends with the only women he ever loved, but his past keeps getting in the way.

Gregory Peck is amazing in this film. He manages to capture the dangerousness of Jimmy Ringo as well as the sadness. We get to watch him develop the character in ways unexpected and it is a wonderful precursor to the roles he will play in the future, like On the Beach and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Just as Warlock utilized it beautiful Technicolor to enhance the picture, The Gunfighter does the same with Black and White. Stark and bare images for a character with little beauty left in his life. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Smoking

I love a good cigar, and CAS gives me plenty of opportunities to light up and relax. You can’t smoke anywhere in the city I live, and I’ve pretty much given up golf for CAS, so that’s where I do most of my smoking. Jose and I have different tastes so I know he wont agree with me on this, but the best (non-Cuban) cigar I have smoked is a Davidoff Millennium.

It was March 9th, 2004 and I had just finished watching a Pacers game with my squad. The game went into overtime and we all went to the Claddigh Irish Pub. We had a few beers and I settled in for a cigar. They had the Davidoff’s on the menu and since I hadn’t tried one before I decided to give it a shot. I am glad that I did.

It’s an excellent smoke with an even draw, mellow finish, and a slight nutty flavor. Not to strong and not to mild, but a perfect cigar for the middle of the day or a CAS shoot. The only problem is that nobody carries them around here and they are very hard to find…not to mention a little on the steep side.

[update] I probably have less sophisticated taste than Judge. I like the Carlo Torano cigars the best (for now), especially the 1959 Exodus Silver torpedo. Had one in Vegas during last year's SASS convention in the Tropicana's cigar bar. There's nothing like sitting in an overstuffed leather chair, watching a ball game, sipping a Manhattan, smoking an excellent cigar and engaged in discussion with a best friend (the cigar girl was a nice addition!).

The Three Inch Magnum

My current goal is to own a three inch magnum and find out if the myth is really true. I know this isn’t cowboy related, but it is gun related so here it is. The mythical three inch magnum is supposed to be the ultimate carry gun. Perfect for concealability, great stopping power, and the three inch barrel doesn’t bleed off as much muzzle velocity as the 1 and half and the 2 inch models.

I currently own a couple of S&W revolvers. A model 66 given to me by my father and carried for the first 2 years of my police career ( I love that gun), and a model 640 I currently carry as a back up. I love the S&W revolvers and think they are the finest revolvers ever made, but trying to find a three inch magnum is damn near impossible.

So I think I’m going to have one made. But first I gotta find me a good deal on a model 19, or model 66. Hell I might even go for a model 29. Besides the little cowgirl is going to need something when she gets a little older.

[UPDATE] I think this is a fine representation of a M19. Like Judge says, the 3 incher is hard to find so this example is a 4 inch model 19 ($270 on GunsAmerica.com)

CoC

The latest Carnival of Cordite is up. Like always the topics run the gambit, from second ammendment news to hunting to Barret's newest creation, the XM109 25mm anti-anything rifle. I want one of these. The Milt Sparks holster looks like a dandy as well. My 1911 wants one of those.

Littlest cowgirl

I had to add Judge Mint Day's little girl to the blog. Someday maybe this young lady will be cryin' about how she shot just like her daddy. I told her mom that she was crying because she didn't have any guns yet. :)

Jose just can’t lay off Coyote Cap, and like he said in his post “breaks my heart”. Now maybe we aren’t being fair to Cap. Sure we haven’t bought anything from him so can’t comment on his customer service or product quality, but here are a few reasons why we tend to give Cap a hard time.

It started in 2002 or so when he announced that he was making a Winchester Model 1887 lever action shotgun. He started taking 50 dollar pre orders from people and said that the guns should be here by the end of the year. Thousands of people gave him the money, and some even paid the full amount, but they didn’t get there shotguns. He finally delivered 120 shotguns (out of thousands) this December…that’s right 2006! I wouldn’t mind making the interest off of all that money for 4 years!

But he then went on to complain about the rise of the Yen and raised the prices on the guns…that takes balls. And the worst part is that everyone defends him for being a great guy and a good pard to do business with on the wire. Other vendors have been kicked off the SASS wire for the same thing, but he keeps right on going.

Jose and I meet him at the SASS convention in 2004. There is no doubt that he knows his stuff, and provides quality products for the gamers (all his guns are gamer guns), but the guy is slippery. I mean he is the epitome of a used car salesman. He could sell sand in the Sahara, and in the end that’s what chaffs our backside. Jose and I are about as straight forward as it comes. We keep our word, don’t’ take advantage of people, and take responsibility for our actions and decisions…the things that Coyote Cap seems to lack.

Feel free to do business with him, hell who knows I’ve always wanted an 87 lever shotgun so I might buy one some day, but I’ll keep my hand on my wallet when I do cause a snack oil salesman hasn’t changed much in a 150 years.

The SASS convention is over and the TG voting on agenda items has been released. You can d/l a copy here.

I thought I'd comment on the items as I see them.

#1 Should State and higher matches be required to award prizes to all categories. [YES] My only worry is that they'll hike the price of the match, though I don't see why they would, I guess I'm just used to oil prices rising at the hint anything that could negatively affect their profit.

#2 Should rules go into affect March 1st [YES] Good!

#3 Black powder categories blah blah blah 1cc powder blah blah blah [YES] Well good for them, now I hope they shut up. Oh and forget shooting that .32 of yours in BP at State and above because someone's going to challenge you and everyone knows you can't get that much powder in a .32. The three TGs will see that you don't create enough smoke because EVERYONE knows you can't hold that much in the cartridge and people see what they are expected to see. The expectation is there and it will be judged so.

#4 B-Western an official category [YES] I like this, it adds to the sport. Not everyone wants to look like a grungy old cowboy.

#5 Should any shooter be allowed to protest a non-safety issue (miss, procedural) [NO] OMG! thank you for that! I can't imagine a major shoot where anyone could argue a miss! Flog whomever put this on the agenda!

#6 Should any shooter be allowed to protest a safety call on another competitor? [NO] again GOOD! (see above)

#7 Should FC shooters be allowed to shoot Gunfighter style? [RATIFY] This is hogwash! If you want a BP Gunfighter, fine, make that, but dilluting a CATEGORY by making it a STYLE is stupid, moronic and simply a bad bad bad idea. BAD! There's already people asking if they can shoot gunfighter in B-Western for Christ's sake!

8# Competitor's age be established by his/her age on the date of the shoot? [YES] Duh!

9# Should we allow a leather tie down under the hammer? [NO] Who thinks of these things? STUPID!!

10# Should we change the empties left in long guns safety penalty? [NO] This is good, now just stop people from loading on the run and I'll feel safer. This rule keeps everyone safe from those who think this isn't a safety issue.

11# If a modification to a firearm can be seen in normal handling of the gun, is it illegal? [TABLED] This one is tricky, there's too many parts that can be seen as modified that are currently legal. I think as worded, this elliminates too many guns. BTW the lightning rod started this whole thing and I have actually seen one and it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. It is awfully gamer though.

12# Uberty 1873 percussion pistol legal? [RATIFY] I don't have a dog in the hunt, but this isn't a gun in the spirit of the rules and I hope it gets voted down.

13# Should revolving percussion rifles be legal main match guns [NO] by all means thank heaven!

Also voted on were the Coyote Cap/Interstate Arms 93/97 shotgun with was tabled for next year. Something that's got Cap hopping mad, so that makes me happy. To read him whining about all the money he spends to make this sport safer is truly gut-wrenching. Like I care if he lost a few thousand from the $100k or so he took on deposit for the 1887 that he had the gall to raise the price on anyway. HA!

The lightning rod isn't legal either, breaks my heart...

Anyhow, that's the voting and that's my take like or leave it. I don't pretend to make everyone like me, but I have my opinions and that's why I've got a blog.

What’s your favorite western movie? I’m thinking about this now that winter has rolled around and I can’t shoot for the next couple of months. Warlock is my favorite western movie. Warlock was made in 1959 by Edward Dmytryk and stared Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, and Richard Widmark. Dymytryk is one of those classic Hollywood directors who was responsible for The Young Lions and The Caine Mutiny the depth that is found in both of those films can be found in this one as well.

The movie starts simple enough and at first seems to be much like 90 percent of the westerns being made at that time. A town called Warlock is being plagued by a gang of cowboys and the townsfolk hire a gunman to come to town and clean things up. Henry Fonda plays Clay Blaisedell the hired gunman. Anthony Quinn plays his gambler friend Tom Morgan.

The tone of the movie starts to change pretty quickly as one of the cowboys, Johnny Gannon played by Richard Widmark, decides he wants no part of the thugs and members of the town make him deputy marshal to Fonda’s marshal. Good guys morph into bad guys, bad guys become good guys, and Anthony Quinn plays one of the best and creepiest (and probably gay, but the film only hints at that) “sidekicks” I have seen in a western. At the end you’ll find yourself never hearing “Rock of Ages” the same again. This isn’t a light hearted western it is thought provoking with plenty of depth and character to sink your teeth into. It was the first film I ever saw Richard Widmark in and I still think it’s one of his best performances.

So this long winter go out and rent or buy Warlock, you’ll be happy you did.