Toy Show

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!

Heller got his gun permit from the DC Overlords.

Congrats Mr. Heller and thanks.

Have A Shot

Not lead shot, rather a shot of Bourbon. I don't pretend to be a person of refined taste, but I do know what tastes good and being as how one of our fellow shooters works for Brown-Forman, we occasionally get to sample some of the finest spirits available. One such spirit is my current favorite bourbon, Old Forester Signature 100 proof. While Jack and Jim are fine for mixing, they don't really sit well with me as a "sipping" whiskey. Old Forester Signature has a beautiful amber color and a spicy taste with a subtle backdrop of fruit (I told ya, I ain't refined!).

The really great thing about OFS is that it won't bust your wallet. At about $18 a bottle, you can't get a better Bourbon, the only problem you'll have is finding it if you aren't from the Kentuckiana area. I live just close enough that our large liquor store carries it.

Also, I realize the good folks making this Bourbon can't proclaim its medicinal qualities, I have no such restriction. I was having what I now think was some mild food poisoning and felt really bad, so I took a couple of glasses of OFS before going to bed and woke up the next day as good as new! So there you go, Bourbon, is there anything it can't do?

On Caliber & Myths

I wouldn't be a gun blogger if I didn't weigh in on the fairly recent gun blogosphere ramblings on caliber snobbery and some outright 1911 mis-information.

First of all, Syd at Front Sight, Press has an anecdote of a .380ACP not penetrating a skull. This compells him to proclaim his unconfidence of the .380 as a man stopper. First of all, yes, the .380 is an anemic caliber compared to the mighty .45ACP, but does it make it unworthy? I say no and here is why. I carry a 9x18 Makarov in my front pocket a lot, now the 9x18 round is an over glorified .380ACP, why would I carry such a loathesome caliber over say a .45ACP or .357Magnum? Simple, because it fits me best.

The Makarov pistol is a compact semi-auto that is absolutely reliable, fits my hand(!) and carries 8+1 and another 8 on my hip in full view because it looks like a Leatherman. It is quite litterally, the only gun I can get into a pocket, fits my hand, is reliable and in a reasonable caliber (it ain't a .32 for Pete's sake).

Why not a J-Frame .357 or similar? Believe me, I'd LOVE to have one of those little fireballs, but I have a hell of a time wrapping my huge paws around one of those little suckers. I've fired Judge's 640 in full anger and the gun tries to rotate in my hand so much I can't be confident of reliably hanging on to it during a stressful moment. The Makarov fits me and I'll have it on me when I can't or don't want to carry the K-Frame .357 or a Government .45ACP (my other carry pieces).

About that 1911. Some knuckleheads has it in their head that 1911 are tempermental, malfunctioning POS's that require many $$$ of gunsmithing to make right before you can carry them. BULL! I have three and have handled many more and they all work great. I have a Colt Mark IV that i've not done anything to the feed mechanism, a Kimber that is likewise unaltered and a Rock Island that is lock stock. They run, period.

The ONLY issue with them is that you HAVE to have a good magazine for them. This isn't such a problem with most semis because there aren't that many magazine choices, you get the factory mags and Pro-Mag and that's about it. The 1911 however, WOW does it have magazine choices, every Tom, Dick & Harry makes one and it is usually an "improvement" over everything before it. Rest assured, if your Blastomatic 2000 (thanks Tam) had 2,000 different mag manufacturers and 500 different frame manufacturers and examples that are nearing 100 years old, you'd have issues with mags.

So, if you don't have a 1911, what are you doing here? Go! Go now and buy one! Also, don't let some interweb jockey shame you out of carrying that fart gun, they have a purpose so get your mousegun freak on!

The Hero of Canton

As much as I detest these things sometimes, Firefly (Serenity) is one of my favorites and I can't figure out whether I'm please to be a "Jayne" or not. I suppose since he is my favorite character, I'll say I'm pleased. Just watch your back Malcolm Reynolds!

PS, I think a rousing rendition of the Jayne song is in order

You are Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)

Although you can be a good fighter and good at protecting others you are not very bright sometimes. Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 70% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 50% Alliance 50% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 45% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 45% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 45% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 35% Inara Serra (Companion) 20% A Reaver (Cannibal) 20% River (Stowaway) 15%

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

Wild Bunch Fun

Saturday I made it down to Pleasant Valley for the first time this year. I won't try and explain the crazy schedule I've had this year, lets just say it's the 3rd time I have managed to shoot Cowboy in '08 so it was good to get down to my "other" club.

Pleasant Valley has a "Wild Bunch" category started by Jose and this was the first chance I had to shoot the category. I borrowed Jose's Rock Island Mil-Spec and his 97 and shot my Marlin for the match. I had a tanker's shoulder holster for the 1911 and I kept the magazines in my pocket. Not the best set up by a long shot, but I was only there to have fun.

Speaking of fun I really enjoyed the category. I got to shoot fast and except for one stage when I failed to lock out my elbow I was perfect with the pistol. I also had a little malfunction on the first stage and it's nice to see that all of those malfunctions drills I've worked so hard on over the years just run on their own without me having to think about it.

I wouldn't shoot the category on a regular basis because it would interfere a little with the way I do things int he real world, but a couple of times a year would be a blast. I would like to be able to fully load the 97 off the clock and see how the category compares to the other fast categories. I think it's hard to convince people that reloading is always slower then switching guns, they don't call it a "New York Reload" for nothing!

If you are looking for some 1911 shooting with your cowboy come on down to Pleasant Valley, you can even bunk in the clubhouse and shoot the whole weekend. Tell 'em Judge sent you.

I'm Not Surprised

Syd at Front Sight Press asks if anyone is surprised that The Chicago Tribune has come out in support of Mob Boss Mayor Daley's stance on Heller being wrong, however, they don't think the city (not my the city, thankfully) should fight the ruling insisting that you can't fight a SCOTA rulling. Gee, you think? The paper would rather Chicago take the same tact that DC is taking in making it very cumbersome to register and firearm and impose ridiculous restrictions upon them in the home.

It's nice to know that d-bags like Daley and his cohorts in Chi-town will gladly c-block your constitutional rights when they see fit. Hey! They know what's best for us right? We the unwashed masses shouldn't be thinking of such lofty plans as being able to defend ourselves against criminals that the nanny state classifies as "victims" and sends them on their merry way as long as they stay away from their gated communities.

Remember, this is the same political womb of arrogance, corruption and greed that the Obamassiah was birthed from.

Aggrigate This

There's a new gun blog aggrigator at http://www.gunblogs.org/

So you can get your roundup of, well roundups. Whoa!