A Small Suggestion...

Maybe we should use "enhanced interrogation techniques" on Eric Holder as soon as he leaves office to find out what he really knew about Fast and Furious. And let's not forget Hillary Clinton and Benghazi…yep, fire up the old waterboard! Jonathon Gruber? Lois Lerner? Valerie Jarrett? Al Sharpton? Maybe we could do an American Idol type thing…call it American Idle maybe…have have people vote on who we'd like to see strapped on the big board next, televise the whole thing. The ratings would be HUGE, I tell you…HUGE!

And since school-age kids can vote, I'd say Michelle Obama and her school lunch program may be in their sights. I suggest something like this for a little variety:

Instead of a stream or river, though, I'd suggest lowering her into a vat of brussels sprouts. Now that's torture! Meanwhile:

Would-be carjackers in Florida couldn't drive stick shift

OCALA, Fla – Police in Florida say two would-be carjackers almost got away with a vehicle in Ocala but didn't know how to drive a stick shift.

This gives a whole new spin on "Drive It Like You Stole It."

Subtly segueing into seriousness, the Christian Science Monitor, which has never met a gun control lie they wouldn't publish and herald as revealed truth, seems puzzled that the whole nation has changed into a bunch of redneck peckerheads clinging to their guns:

A dramatic swing in public opinion when it comes to guns and gun control may be driven by current events – particularly high-profile police killings inStaten Island, N.Y., and Ferguson, Mo., a gun control advocate says. 

In 2012, 48 percent of Americans in a Pew survey said guns do more to protect people than place them at risk. According to a survey released Wednesday, that number has increased to 57 percent. 

The shift was even more substantial among African-Americans, going from 29 percent in early 2013 to 54 percent now (though with a margin of error of almost 10 percent due to a small sample size).

Color me shocked! I mean, African-Americans! Who could imagine that African-Americans would stand there watching their businesses and their lives go up in flames in Ferguson and thing, hmmmmmm…is there a way I could have stopped this?

I do love this quote from my brother the Right Reverend Kenn Blanchard:

He adds: “There’s a racial divide, too, that the anti-gun people have been using to suggest that white people don’t want black people to have firearms. But what I see are my white brothers, the old geezers, who are saying to the younger black generation: ‘Here’s a gun, I’ll show you how to shoot it.’”

Speaking as one of those old geezers, amen! I once had a wonderful dinner with Reverend Kenn and his congregation. I note from his website that he's a Tavor fan as well.

I also want to send you to a great blogpost from Matt over at Jerking the Trigger on setting priorities:

Why do people still refuse to use weapon lights? Perhaps they have prioritized the possibility that the light might draw fire over shooting dark, unidentified shapes in the night. I suspect many have learned the same safety rules as I have and yet, they conveniently throw out Rule 4 when it comes to weapon lights.

I was talking to Kevin Creighton from Misfires and Light Strikes this week and he was bemoaning the existence of an AR-15 in the Rock Island .22 TCM caliber (he talks about it on his blog at the link above). I kinda agree with him…considering the TCM is based on a .223, the bolt's not an issue. When I head out to the gun room this AM I'm going to see whether the TCM will feed from a standard Colt 32-round or Glock 9mm…that would be the only breaking point. I've shot the 5.7 X 28 upper, and it was really a cool (and loud) little gun. A TCM AR pistol with The Brace would make a neat little truck gun…I like the cartridge.

African Always Wins...

That's $900 worth of an impala pedestal mount trophy. Note the shards of bones, brittle probably from being boiled too long. No, it's not a world record impala, or even a particularly great impala. But it was the result of a long, hot stalk and a long shot that I was proud of.

Sorry for the crummy pixs, but I's sort of running out of the house.

My plan now is to take the remnants of the impala and the kudu (where I'm having trouble remounting the horns to the skull) to a really highly recommend local guy in Ft. Collin who specializes in horn and skull mounts and pay for his hep. I think the impala can be remounted as simply a horn mount.

The packing on these trophies was simply terrible. The trophies were wrapped in "bubble wrap," the the wrap was old or reused and had apparently lost most of of its "bubbles." In effect, it was like wrapping the trophies in multiple layers of Saran Wrap. The trophies were then dumped in a cardboard box and cover with shredded paper...shredded paper! The pedestal mount is fragile...it should have been crated, not tossed into a box!

Been Running Around All Day...

…picked up trophies from last year's African hunt. The impala pedestal mount was completely destroyed…will post pictures tomorrow. Very disappointing…I'ver seen better packing from 8 year olds.

Interestingly enough, I spent some time (not nearly enough time, I might add) on my .22 "challenge" course with the Clark Ruger 10-22. Man, what a different between bench shooting and field shooting -- exactly why I set up the challenge course! I'm pretty good at 80 yards and in, but not so much at the longer distances. I was holding over, but I think I can do a lot better if I run the numbers on Mini-Mags and then dial the scope up…at least, that's what I'm telling myself. .22s aren't laser beams. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow, and I may sneak out and run the long stages again. Yes, I know I said I'd be practicing cowboy, but there's something hypnotic about a hard training stage. Shooting off sticks is definitely a weak spot for me, something I haven't practiced until recently.

Here's a plug for a great sponsor -- Streamlight has added a "AA" battery version of their Siege lantern. I mention it because Streamlight Sieges are a mainstay here at the off-grid SHBII. Living off-grid, you get used to going to a battery powered lantern instead of that switch on the wall…especially after a run of cloudy days. In the older Secret Hidden Bunker, where the power went out for hours at a time, the Sieges got a lot of work.

Tomorrow on the podcast I want to talk a little about the New York grand jury decision…a very different situation than the grand jury decision in Ferguson.

Nite nite for now...

My .22 Rifles!

Okay, I played hooky today and went down to the range with my veteran 10/22 and the Ruger American .22 bolt gun to dial them in with new scopes. Here's the 10/22:

It's gone through a lot of iterations since it emerged from the factory as a heavy barrel 10/22 Target Version ages ago. The current version includes:

• Volquartsen TG2000 trigger group

• Factory Ruger bolt

• Factory Ruger laminated stock

• EGW 20 moa scope ramp

• Clark Custom Guns deep-fluted .920 match barrel

• PFI .22 Rapid Reticle Evolution

The first 3 rounds on target out of the barrel scope combo went into 1 hole at 50 yards. Here's my "reference" 50-yard 5-shot off the bench group:

You can see I pulled one a tiny bit out of the 4 shots touching group. I shot several brands of .22, and the CCI Mini-Mags produced the reference group.

I also carted out my Ruger American Rimfire Compact "hunter training rifle." I added the Boyd "bumble-bee" Hunter stock specifically to "heavy" the rifle up and make it feel more like my centerfire rifles. Scope is a Burris 2-7x Droptine on Weaver #12 bases.

The groups were almost as good as the 10/22:

These groups, also at 50 yards, were with Eley Edge, which has been an amazing round out of this rifle…I used it in the big Tactical Solution NSSF Rimfire match in Idaho. I think\ I can tighten these groups up with a little practice. I also spent some time with the American on my Challenge Course, doing offhand plates at 25, 35, 50 and 80 yards. Turns out if you don't work the bolt, the gun doesn't go bang.

This is my "play" .22, a Tactical Solutions X-Ring with the wonderful Vantage stock with the SBX barrel option. It's fitted with a bulletproof Burris Speed Dot red dot. This is my NSSF Rimfire rifle.

It's amazing how quick this set-up is! If you're looking for a fun gun to shoot, or you've got a Spousal Unit or teenager involved in NSSF Rimfire, this is definitely the way to go!

I have one other longer term project that I didn't take out to the range…a Marlin 2000L biathlon rifle (I actually shot it in Summer Biathlon) that I want to set up as a long-distance shooting trainer. I was inspired by this story from F-TR Class champion James Croft, who's using a CMP surplus Remington 40X custom .22 as a trainer for F-Class. Kinda cool!

Finally, Some Good News!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Anaconda to Swallow Man Whole on Discovery Special 'Eaten Alive'

Wouldn't it be great if Discovery could do this like AMERICAN IDOL and we could all vote on who we would like to see eaten alive? Hey, I know who I'd vote for! No, not Jon Voigt. It's not as cool when you read the whole story, to wit, they're not just going to throw people into a pit of starving anacondas — which admit it, would pull good numbers, especially you tossed Jennifer Lopez in as an appetizer. Instead, some dofus is going to don an Anaconda Digestive Tract Diving Suit and boldly go where no man has gone before, at least not gone and ended up anaconda poop. And isn't it a great world when you can Google "anaconda poop" and actually get videos? Such a time we live in!!!

WORTH WATCHING!

Bill Whittle — Ferguson and the Real Race War

Slow Sunday

Spinning up for a hectic week, but I wanted to answer a couple of the comments on the previous post.

On the Lucid, longterm my HD7 has proven to be an excellent sight. Everyone who has tried it has liked it (and that includes some very picky people). It's been bounced around a lot in travel and keeps on ticking. The Lucid is still on the Tavor…the only thing I've changed other than the trigger is swapping out the factory top rail for a Gear Head raised rail which brings the Lucid up to AR height. For a little under $250 I think it's a truly great value, plus I was very impressed with the Lucid guys when I met them at SHOT. I generally use the "dot in a donut" reticle, BTW, because I'm used to it from the Leupold CQ/T 3x I've used for about 100 years.

I'd hoped to have a chance to go to their long-distance training event in Wyoming, but the filming schedule didn't allow it. I note they now have a retrofit QD mounting kit for the HD7 and a low cost riser mount for their M7 red dot.

I'm interested in their scopes as well, although I'm trying to swear off any non-Mil Dot reticles…I'm not sure I have the available RAM to learn a new scope reticle, although their the Lucid L5 reticle looks pretty nice.

Jumping topics just a little, I shot a cowboy match Saturday, and boy, did I suck! I swear, shooting skills are like the Little Dutch Boy and that damn dike…just when you get one leak stopped, another opens up! Honestly, I've neglected my cowboy shooting, largely because of my travel schedule precluded any matches for the last quarter and my limited training and shooting on the road focused on rifles. As a consequence, my Saturday match was a collection of one unforced error after the other. I bobbled a shotgun load, which I haven't done in ages, then bobbled the next load. I sat down and picked up guns with the wrong hands, took ages to get on the first target for both my pistols and my rifle, skated a pistol round over a target because I wasn't "locked down" on the bank of targets, blah blah blah.

Well, this just won't do! I've got a big national match coming up in a couple of months, Winter Range, and I need to be a lot more on my game. It's dry-fire time! And on-shot draws. And try to keep focused, something of a challenge when you have the attention span of a gnat on crack.

Meanwhile, back to responding to comments. The Troy PAR, the pump-action AR, is indeed a fascinating firearm, especially for people trapped in anti-2A states like New York and California. The big advantage is the ability to take advantage of all the AR accessories out there. Another gun in that category would be the Ares Defense SCR, a semi auto AR, but in a "traditional" package. Gary Paul Johnson speaks very highly of Ares Defense, and they were impressive when I talked to them at SHOT. OTOH, I've tried to obtain or buy one of the SCRs with no luck. Kinda reminds me of my ill-fated attempt to buy one of the then-new Ithaca Featherlight 20 gauges…couldn't even get a return email, call or directions to a dealer! LOL!

Overload, the longer length of a rifle is always an issue when using it in a self-defense context. We've discussed on THE BEST DEFENSE and next season on SHOOTING GALLERY I smack a lever action into a wall in a demo to "hammer home" understanding how to move, and how not to move, with a long gun. That's one of the reasons for my increasing infatuation with bull pups like the Tavor (my choice), the Steyr AUG (my producing partner Tim Cremin's dream gun, which, BTW, are being blown out by CDNN for $1500 or so this weekend), my "almost" gun, the FS2000 and, oddly enough, the AR pistol platform…I say "platform" to mostly irritate military fanbois who insist a "platform" must be rolling.

Because I live in a rural setting, I have ready access to long guns. My bedside gun has for years and years been a Sig 226 9mm. However, I've been experimenting with my Spike's Tactical 9mm AR pistol as the "handgun to get me to the rifles," and I'm liking how that is working. The Spike's pistol uses a foam covered buffer tube, which quit honestly works as well as the Sig SB15 brace. The Spike's 9mm uses standard Colt 32 round magazines, of which I have…many. Spike makes a great version of the Colt mag.

I've shot the pistol at 25 yards a few years back, and if I recall it was 4-5 inches with me just screwing around with an Aimpoint Mini and ball. I plan to check at at 25 yards off my bench rest set-up with Corbon DPX before I draft it into service. I'll add a single-point sling, I think.

My Sweetie, Newt the beagle and I did a long hike today on some of the more rugged acreage on the SHB-II Ranch (so to speak). Some of the land is pretty rugged…steep, rocks, cactus, etc….and we had a pretty good scramble while we were working our way around a big rock outcropping. Newt is so cute  climbing rocks! FWIW, I was carrying my Taurus Public Defender with 3 Federal buckshot loads and 2 .45 Colt SilverTips. Yes, I know from the Internet that the Taurus Judge series is hopeless, worthless, brainless, and a bunch of other '…lesses,"and I don't really understand how worthless the gun is. LOL! Aside from the ballistic jello and penetration I've done, the one animal I shot with the Federal buckshot was DRT. And then some. Blade-Tech holster. Six extra .45 Colts in a Tuff Strip.

And thank you all for the kind thoughts on Asta, our kitten. We were pretty scared Thursday and Friday, but today he was finally better. He yowled at us and started eating. One more test tomorrow AM, but my Sweetie and I are hopeful.

A Post Thanksgiving Apology

Kinda blew past Thanksgiving yesterday, but I'm hoping you all had a good one and aren't in some food-induced coma.

Things are a little subdued here...aside from the fact that I've been working long days since I got back from Israel Monday, we've got a very sick kitty on our hands, and he's is taking huge amounts of time and concern while his vets try to figure out what's wrong with him. He's in my office now, exhausted from his 3rd vet trip in 2 weeks. We're very worried about him. I'm also struggling with my ubiquitous airplane head cold, and it's all I can do to drink hot coffee and record voice-overs.

Wind is screaming outside...I'm hoping it lays down enough to let me sight in a .22 rifle with that new Pride/Fowler Rapid Reticle scope...Im very fond of the original Rapid Reticle .22 scope...that's what I used to get my Appleseed "Rifleman's" patch. OTOH, I could take a cold tablet and a nap....hmmmmm....

Interesting article on 9mm carbines at Stately McDaniel Manor...I've decided to include the JP 9mm in my on-line home defense segment of THE BEST DEFENSE.

More later...

Catching Up Before REALLY Catching Up!

Or something like that...the trip to Israel to spend some quality time at IWI left me pretty far behind the eight-ball, but principal filming for SHOOTING GALLERY, THE BEST DEFENSE and SHOOTOUT LANE is all finished. Or, as we say in Colorado (or 1968, which is probably redundant), we're down to stems and seeds...just in time to start planning GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA and my and Marshal's new Internet series AMERICA'S RIFLE. Cool!

I thought I'd weigh in on the new Taurus Curve .380, except that I haven't shot it. I handled the first "printed" piece and a prototype version a couple of years back, but neither I nor Marshal have shot the production version. I thought it was an intriguing idea...I think we're all still feeling our way toward dealing with the huge new market.

I will say that our "doctrine," if you will, at THE BEST DEFENSE is that pocket pistols need pocket holsters, because the pocket is the equivalent of your crazy Aunt Mavis' hall closet that hasn't been unopened in like 50 years...there's a lot of icky gunk in there, and you'd rather not transfer that gunk from the pocket to the pistol. All of us Mikes and the one Marty on TBD occasionally use pocket pistols -- we strongly recommend them as a way to have a firearm readily available when you're at home -- and they're hard enough to access without risking rendering the gun unfireable to boot.

Holster science isn't mysterious ju-ju...yes, you're going to spend some money on holsters you'll ultimately reject, but hey, we're in a golden age of holsters as well as handguns.

Secondly, with a pocket gun pointing at my femoral artery or, worse yet, Mr. Weasel, I'd sorta like the trigger guard covered so the trigger doesn't figure out a way to fire itself. That's why I don't use pocket clips on my small framed revolvers. Again, I like holsters. They've worked well since we moved beyond horse pistols hung off saddles.

Thirdly, I like sights...you know, those bumps on the top of the pistol. I have over the years repeatedly told mini gun manufacturers who sought to eliminate sights on sneeze-distance pistols that I thought it was a bad idea. After years of doing TBD, I insist on sights that give me a fighting chance at a longer shot. Yes, the Taurus does have a sighting system that I'm not familiar with -- and I am inherently conservative about new ideas in a machine I might have to use to save my life -- but I keep reading that the Curve will probably be used within the 3-foot radius do the "hot zone" around your body. Okey-dokey, now if you'll kindly explain how to arrange that guaranteed distance...

As armed civilians, we have limited ability to choose the ground, the time, situation, etc. on which we might have to fight. Given that, I would argue against less, rather than more, specialization in my self-defense tools. Keep in mind that I was just in Israel, a nation fighting an enemy that wages war against women and children, and nobody there was arguing for smaller, lighter, close-in distance-limited weapons. From a purely paranoid viewpoint, which is pretty normal for me, the rise of lone wolf terrorism, increased civil unrest and the virtual certainty of a less-than-certain future points in the other direction. Gabe Suarez presents an articulate opinion that more ammo in a larger gun makes more sense in these times. 

NONE of the above means the Taurus Curve is a bad gun! I haven't shot it, much less carried it. It might be the best carry gun I've ever had. But it would be unfair not to note that, at least IMHO, the Curve starts with strikes against it.

On another note, as I mentioned in my comments, If I could get a civilian IWI X95 tomorrow, I'd happily shell out the money. I found it to be a great little gun, probably why the IDF is fielding it these days. Small, light, handles great. you'll love the SHOOTING GALLERY 2-part special!

An Obscurity

 Photo of my foot...

...and the prototype of Uzi Gal's entry in Israel rifle trials back when...the Galil won those trials. This gun is in the hand of a private collector.

More Gun Porm

X95 vs TAVOR

No, You Can't Have One!

Half-Heartedly Snowing...

...at Secret Hidden Bunker II ; about 13 degrees. Which is quantums better than it was last week, when my Sweetie had to deal with 10-below and an off-grid power system that turned itself off (coupled with back-up heat that hadn't been set up to be backup heat. Because she is the smartest person I know, not to mention one of the most stubborn, she stayed outside in the bitter cold and sorted everything out.

As usual, her complete ass of a boyfriend wasn't there to help her out. I'm desperately trying to wrap both SHOOTING GALLERY and THE BEST DEFENSE by the beginning of Thanksgiving week. SHOOTOUT LANE is in the can, but I haven't seen any rough cuts yet. Also got exciting news last week that one of mine and Marshal's pet projects that has been sitting around for a couple of years is now up and running -- an Internet series dedicated specifically to ARs! As always, this will sincerely rock...right now me, Marshal and Nick Collier from DoubleStar are brainstorming content as we speak.

We are DEFINITELY open to suggestions from you guys!!!! I want to deal with different calibers, "purpose-designed" guns, intelligent self-defense training (as in, "Dude, you are NOT going to Syria next week!"), 3-Gun competition, accessories, etc. I know that's pretty vague, but we're moving toward specifics pretty quickly.

For SilencerCo in Utah I went to GUNSITE for an Outdoor Channel event, with Di Liedorff (Team Benelli) and Ryan Muller (Team Stoeger) teaching a "3-Gun 101" class. Shot Ryan's Adam Arms piston competition rifle...sweet! Then Di, Ry and I (Rhymin'Simon strokes again!) went on to FTW Ranch to film for SG. We wanted to try something different, so we all and different rifles to show the concepts were gun-neutral. I used my .300 Win Mag Ruger Guide Gun, Di a 6.5 Creedmore Ruger Hawkeye, Producer John Carter a box-stock .308 Ruger American, Ryan a McRee Precision BR-10 in .300 Win Mag. Ken Jorgensen from Ruger also joined us with a 1-off Hawkeye.

Gotta say that 200+ rounds of 180-grain .300 Win Mag over a few days will wear you down! And make you a believer in PAST Recoil Shields!

Ruger On The Record

Just to clear things up...from Mike Fifer, CEO of Ruger, on an article circulating on numerous media outlets and firearm blogs suggesting that Ruger gave a"war  reception" to the antigun clown show seeking to promote smart guns:.

Our General Counsel met them inside our front entryway, said I was not present (I was actually out of the building at a meeting when they showed up), accepted their envelope addressed to me, said goodbye to them and that was the end of it. They left.

Perhaps "warm reception" is a relative description. While we disagree with their methods and specifics, there is little to be gained by being rude to them (which they might have preferred, given that they had Channel 3 news cameras with them). They also behaved well, did not make a fuss, and quietly left. It was a non-event, in spite of their goal of gaining publicity.
Best regards,
Mike Fifer
p.s. Feel free to post my reply.

And let me add my own comment: 

GOOD LORD! YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON THE INTERNET?

Spent the Whole Sunday Reclining...

...and shooting my .300 Win Mag Ruger Guide Gun at 300-700 yards. I know we all occasionally fall in love with specific guns, bur truly if I had to run out of the house with one single rifle (okay...one bolt-action rifle), it'd be this one. .300 Win Mag is so versatile, and the Guide Gun with it's super (and loud) muzzle brake, is just perfect. At least to me. It cries out for a SilencerCo "Harvester" suppressor!

Surprise!

In transit. More when I stop moving. Discussion in OUTDOOR CHANNEL acquisition of InterMedia, including Sportsman Channel, on next Wednesday's blog.

SilencerCo Salvo 12 Gauge Suppressor

I'm between hither and yon and don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to say that I was very VERY impressed with the SilencerCo 12 gauge behemoth. I put maybe 50 rounds through a Benelli M2 with one of the 12-inch Salvos fitted...on an indoor range with concrete walls...and didn't need hearing protection.

The recoil reduction, if anything, was even more impressive! I'm going to call it around a 40% reduction in felt recoil. I. Face, a couple of time I intentionally didn't fully shoulder the Benelli, and it was still a sweetheart to shoot.

The user-configurable modular construction is really cool--12, 10, 8 or 6-inch lengths. Obviously, the shorter you get, the less noise reduction you get. But obviously it depends on your needs.

More later...

Quiet!

Nut Cuttin' Time!

VOTE!

If we're going to take Colorado back from the swine who have been feeding at the trough in Denver, it's got to be done by Tuesday. And we have to be above the "margin of fraud" — the progressives will use every tool at their disposal, and we are assuming massive voter fraud with Colorado's all mail-in ballot. You must get that ballot in!

Survived Halloween!

No haints, ghosts, poltergeists, zombies, vampires, witches, liberals or other blood-sucking fiends!

I'm continuing the sprint to the end of the year. Last week was a spectacular filming week for THE BEST DEFENSE, with locations arranged by Marshal & Teresa Halloway. Everything pulled together perfectly — when the worst production delay for the week was having the batteries die in the Airsoft AR-15, you know you're golden. I especially like the shootout in a church, modeled on the Colorado incident.

I know I say it every year, but we're kicking this season up to the next level. I'm very pleased to be working with new Producer Jeff Murray, who has brought a ton of energy and vision to TBD.

We did get in one day at the range…check out the DRTV video of Seeklander training for the IDPA Back-Up Nationals with a vintage Century Arms 45/70 single action revolver. I remember seeing ads for these behemoths in the late 1970s/early 1980s, so it was really cool to actually shoot one, We used up a box of Remington 300-grain JSPs.

I remember thinking what a thumb-buster that beast would be! I finally got a 45/70 Contender from J.D. Jones and did indeed bust a lot of my own skin with heavy bullet loads. Interestingly enough, the Century 45/70 didn't recoil all that badly with the loads we were using…I'm thinking that the softer push of the 300-grainers was a combination of not fully burning all the powder in the pistol-length barrel and the fact that we've all shot such fire-breathing monsters as the .500 S&W Magnum and the .500 and .475 Linebaughs. Also the undeniable fact that the Century weighs as much as a Prius.

Also got to shoot a Sig P-210/5 Target:

It's got the extended barrel and came from the factory with a tuned trigger, which was pretty cool since the P-210 in its regular flavors generally has a fine trigger pull. I've shot a bunch of P-210s over the year — and have considered buying one…but I wisely breath into a plastic bag until the feeling passes — but this one is really, really sweet. The trigger surprised both me and Seeklander.  It is a target shooting monster, to be sure.

Nephews of Anarchy

Seek toasts his leg on the pipes!

Perfect Day for Shooting!

That was yesterday, which also made it a perfect day to finish setting up the "bones" of my .22 "challenge course." My goal was to build a course that would help me get ready for rugged African hunting, and I modeled it strongly on last year's Namibia plains game hunt. Right now there are 6 shooting positions scattered across a couple of acres...I figure the overall course is about 600 yards long...it is grueling, rocky, cactus and most of all UPHILL!

I'm using mostly Action .22 Rimfire targets as the backbone. Action used 4-inchnimpact plates. Position 1 is 3 shots, 2 on a buffalo at 150 yards, one on a round place at 100 yards, from sticks or rested on the rocks. Ditto Position 2, now with the buffalo at 100+ yards and the round plate at 80 yards, kneeling or sitting.

Position 3 presents 4 plates at 14-25 yards. The plates are partially obscured by heavy brush and buried down into rock piles.

Position 4 is my regular shooting range area and includes a Rimfire plate rack at 20 yards and 4 fixed plates (6, 8, 8, 10 inches) from 18-40 yards. There's a loooooooooooog uphill slog to Position 5 which is a prone position on the house platform itself. There are 4 2-inch swingers at 25 yards; 8 2-inch swingers at 66 yards, ashown at a downhill angle.

The final position is a doozy, another downhill shot, this one at an 8-inch Caldwell Magnum Gong at 165 yards. I have several shooting positions higher up the hill that can pus this shot to 300 yards.

I have some small 2-inch swingers I want to add for closer in targets. I also have 5 MGM .22 auto-poppers and at least 1 more Magnum Gong in the budget for the course.

Scoring will be as per FTW Ranch...you get 3 shots on each target. First shot is 5 points, 2nd 3 points, 3rd 1 point. My overall goal is to set a par time for the whole course.

Here's the punchline...I've been changing sights/scopes on my .22 rifles, so NOTHING is sighted in well enough to run the course. Hope to remedy that today!

First Shots, "Scout-In-A-Box"

We were filming for SHOOTING GALLERY yesterday, a special on lever action rifles for self-defense, so I natured took the almost-completed BLR .223 Scout project to the range to put some rounds through it. Here's the Scout-In-A-Box, in a box (a very nice Negrini box, to be sure)...

You can see here one of the reasons I opted for a forward "scout" mount in the BLR...the BLR's higher profile receiver would be a little tougher to get into the box of choice if I had gone with a traditional mount scope. I also like that the scope, a Burris 2-7X Scout, remains with the barrel. Yes, lock up should be the same every single time without effecting the point of aim, but hey, it's the real world. If I'm taking the gun apart, I'd rather the scope stay with the barrel. I also like how close to the bore line I can get the scope, an advantage of the forward mount.

Here's producer John Carter shooting the BLR...note the loooooooooooong bolt almost to his nose! I wanted the gun with the same length of pull as my cowboy lever actions. The long bolt isn't an issue with .223 recoil, but it does scare bystanders.

I would say the gun is working out well. It is fast to shoot — we were using Winchester White Box 55-gr ball — and fast to run. Since we were limited to pistol bays, we didn't get into accuracy tested and ran the scope at 2X. I'll get the gun properly sighted in after we get through SG and THE BEST DEFENSE filmings.

Recoil was negligible, of course. I'm just getting the Andy's Leather Rhodesian sling set up like I want it.

The only issue any of us had running the gun was with one magazine. I gotta say that considering BLR magazines are $125 MSRP, the DAMN THINGS OUGHT TO WORK 100%! That's a discussion I'll be having with Browning, you betcha!

Tim Wegner from Blade-Tech was with us for the filming, and he was really taken with the little carbine. He brought along a Wild West Guns Alaskan Co-Pilot based on a  45/70 Marlin, so we had both yin and yang on the range, not to mention Marshal Halloway with is Taylor's Alaskan 44 Magnum take-down. Here's me with Tim's Co-Pilot...that's Marshal Halloway's thumb in the upper lefthand corner of the picture...LOL!

I will say that hands-down the Negrini is the best gun case I have ever used. It's not just a little better...it's a WHOLE BUNCH better!

I have to say that the idea of a take-down lever action rifle in a reasonably small and light case was really intriguing to everyone, especially considering that BLR take-downs are available in such heavyweight calibers as .300 Win Mag and .450 Marlin (essentially a belted ballistic twin of the 45/70).

We'll be doing the complete story of the BLR Scout "legal in all jurisdictions" rifle on DRTV at the same time the level episode runs on SHOOTING GALLERY.

Watch This Space!

Yes, I'm on my way back to the Secret Hidden Bunker after a couple of days off...c'mon, that's not so so reasonable! I'm headed into the frenetic end-of-year filming schedule, so I wanted to take a short break before I climbed into the blender.

We went to Monterey, one of our favorite places, bicycled, watched otters and ate calamari. There are worse ways to spend altitude time! 

First Impressions -- DP-12 Shotgun

Over at DRTV: http://www.downrange.tv/blog/first-look-the-dp-12-double-barrel-pump-shotgun/31865/

In the car and seemingly unable to paste link!

Also Ed Head's piece on the Ruger 5.56 Sccut is really good!

http://www.downrange.tv/blog/reviewing-the-ruger-gunsite-scout-5-56/31857/

Or, a 3/4 Scale Thompson...

...in .22 LR!

Connecticut Shotgun Mfg. Co.

How about a double barrel 12 gauge pump?

A Little Turkish Walnut

Guess Again...

Just Another Day at the Office

Now THIS Is a GUN!

My Sweetie wanted to do some Appleseed practice this afternoon (she did great, BTW), so I thought I would take the JP Rifles GMR-13 9mm carbine along for the ride. I'd been working in the gun room sorting stuff, so I grabbed an old Aimpont Comp4 military red dot and ratcheted on the little carbine. I also took a selection of 9mm ball ammo, including Winchester White Box, Fiocchi and Armscor and a 33-round Glock magazine. Mostly what I wanted to do was see how the carbine ran…the Aimpoint wasn't sighted in but I figured it would be on paper.

We were shooting at 25 meters, the measured Appleseed range, on an IPSC target. I dumped a quick 20 rounds…a little low, but pretty good. I wasn't shooting for groups, just to settle the gun in. I "settled" until I ran out of ammunition, including one 33-round mag dump as fast as I could run the trigger

I was surprised at how well the carbine shot. A JP match barrel is, after all, a JP match barrel. And a 9mm carbine is like running a .22…no recoil to speak of. The JP trigger was, as you might expect, perfect.

You can see the dedicated Glock lower in the lousy picture above. Mags ejected cleanly with the enlarged JP button. The upper is one of JP's left side-cocker, the way God intended ARs to be run. As I've mentioned before on SHOOTING GALLERY, John created the GMR to have the operating feel of an MP-5, the gold standard for submachine guns (hence the side-cocker). I think he succeeded.

So what does one do with a 9mm carbine? This one, my plan is to use it in local 3-Gun competition (and, yes, I may suck it up and shoot a Glock 34…I've got an excellent stock of 17 and 33 round mags). I've got a couple of hundred rounds of Wilson 147-gr 9mm match I want to try in this gun. It's some of the most accurate 9mm ammo I've ever shot. Wilson also has a 125-gr match ammo I'd like to try as well. John says he's pulling 1 1/2-2 MOA groups at 100 yards, which is exceptional for 9mm.

I'll put a Burris MTAC (Warning! Sponsor Alert!) on it to sight it in.

Cliff Notes version…I liked the heck out of this rifle! I can't wait to wring it out.

Wrapped in Louisiana!

All done with the filming for SHOOTOUT LANE! Now there's about a billion hours of video to edit...glad that's not on my plate! I'm very very excited about this series. I also want to say how wonderful it has been to spend time with Jim Clark and his family and Jerry, Kay and Lena. They are amazing people, and I am proud to count them as my friends. Jim and I go way back…he was at the first "combat pistol" match I shot, and unlike me, he was pure shooting talent.

Today was going to be a match day, but the thought of a 3+ hour drive after just getting home from a week out was too much. Instead, I'll be working on the gun room. As I mentioned, the reloading benches are built and the presses installed. Now I need to see if I can find the brass and bullets! Not to mention the primers...

An Ode to Purple Penguins

Penguins! It had to be penguins! This from NRO:

A Nebraska school district has instructed its teachers to stop referring to students by “gendered expressions” such as “boys and girls,” and use “gender inclusive” ones such as “purple penguins” instead. 

“Don’t use phrases such as ‘boys and girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention,” instructs a training documentgiven to middle-school teachers at the Lincoln Public Schools. 

“Create classroom names and then ask all of the ‘purple penguins’ to meet on the rug,” it advises.

Hmmmmmm...far be it from me to create a "gendered space," but I would like to point out that:

1) I hate penguins

2) I hate purple

3) Neither boys nor girls are, in fact penguins

4) Neither boys nor girls are — except in a rare case emanating from Minneapolis — purple

5) I've seen more intelligent thought from a salad bar

Now that I've dealt with that crushing issue, lemme tell you why I bought a Tavor and not an AUG. First, I like AUGs. For some reason I liked the FS-2000 better, but I didn't buy it, either. I think it has to do with some indescribable element of feel. The Tavor just felt right with I shot it. I'm not a huge bull pup fan...like a lot of people, they always seemed like a nifty idea until I spent a little time with them. Every AUG I ever shot except for Cory Trapp's full auto had wretched triggers; the Tavor and the FS-2000, OTOH, had merely bad triggers. Neither "wretched" nor "bad" means "inoperable," BTW.  I'm hoping the new Geiselle gets me to "okay" on the Tavor.

I was also never crazy about the AUG's folding front vertical fore grip or the charging handle, but that's just nit-picking.

I find the Tavor comfortable and easy to run, which is why I want to use it in a class. Unless I shoot it under stress, I don't really know how it's going to perform.

Regarding interviews in the podcast, honestly it's such a pain in the butt I stopped doing them. DOWN RANGE Radio is the tail that wags the dog. Because Marshal and I kinda arbitrarily created the show, it's technically not part of what I do for OC...well, it kind of sits on top of what I do. It takes me about a day to put a podcast together. Some just flow; others are like dental work. When I added in the interviews, it also added in a lot of extra work...scheduling, the electronic hook-up, editing interviews, etc. Honestly, I just ran out of hours. Especially this time of year, when I have SHOOTING GALLERY, THE BEST DEFENSE and now SHOOTOUT LANE in production. That all may change in the future.

Time is so dear these days I'm starting to panic about upcoming SHOOTING GALLERIES, where I need to have a bunch of rifles with scopes mounted and sighted in. The various scopes and scope mounts are here, but I'm not sure when I can get to a long range range, so to speak.

In other small changes, I'm shifting from HKS Speedloaders to 5-Star for the revolvers I take on the road. I got a few 5-Stars originally for guns like the Taurus Judge and the .454 Ruger Alaskan. They're drastically overbuilt, and I like that.

Everyone Hates Clowns

Yeah, well. Later today it's back to the range on the 1000 yard shot. We're on our bazillionth scope mount, I think.

The Gun

Back to the Drawing Board...

...on the long range S&W 929. As they say, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Sti, with Jerry Miculek and Jim Clark working on it, it WILL get done!

Yeah!!! One More Item Checked Off the Ole List!

Yesterday we closed on the sale of our old house! The money's in the bank and no more 2 mortgage payments. Was on the market for a loooonnnnnnnnggggg 6 months. As you might expect, it was a bittersweet moment. We bought that house before it was built and we lived there for 14 very good years. And as you know, there are some beloved ghosts in that house. I hope the new owners love it as much as we did.

Was going to shoot a cowboy match this AM, but the match was cancelled for some reason. So I'll do an afternoon road bike ride and work on my reloading bench. Coming up is one more week of filming on SHOOTOUT LANE...I have to say that the filming has exceeded my and Producer John Carter's wildest expectations. Kay, Jerry, Lena, Brock and Jim have been just super, and I think you guys are gonna be blown away!

I got my Geissele trigger for the Tavor yesterday! Hopefully I'll pop it in this afternoon. I am REALLY looking forward to visiting IWI in Israel for SHOOTING GALLERY next month. I still want to take a carbine class with my Tavor fitted with the Lucid HD-7. I love that set-up! If you're not familiar with Lucid, you should be. they're Wyoming homies and their mission to to build quality sights that don't require a mortgage.

I need abut 2 weeks at home doing nothing but gun work -- mounting scopes, sighting in, testing guns, reloading, finish setting up the range. Not gonna happen anytime soon, but I can dream. I've got 5 more Action Target Rimfire Series pieces of steel on the way. I've blocked out a course for rimfire rifle and pistol, with shots out to 200 yards...lotsa uphill hiking and some aggressive shots (off-hand, sticks, kneeling, prone) suspect that if it's as cool as I hope, we'll probably film it for DRTV. It's basically training for Africa, with a little Appleseed thrown in.

I picked up the Ruger 9mm LCR and I'll put some rounds thru it thus morning. I should have first impressions for you tomorrow. I will say off the bat that those extra 4 ounces (the .357 frame vs. the .38 +P version) make a difference. Having carried the LCR .38 for a few weeks, you don't even know it's there. Still a lot less than the 25+ ounce SP-101. Based on a comment from the previous post, I have shot the striker-fired LC-9s, and it has IMHO the best striker-fired trigger I've ever used. Period.

My Sweetie wants to shoot USPSA this winter. I'll be shooting revolver, I think, initially with the old S&W 629 that Randy Lee of Apex fame built for a SHOOTING GALLEY ICORE episode a few years back. The original premise was to see whether we coUld run a .44 based gun like a 625 .45 ACP, using moon clips and stubby .44 Russian brass. Besides, I owned a 629, and 625s were in short supply. The results were decidedly a mixed bag...the 629 came out as easily the best shooting .44 Maggie I own -- stainless gun, titanium low-mass cylinder, amazing DA trigger. The .44 Russian -- Black Hills cowboy ammo -- not so much. With the tighter tolerances for the custom moon clips from TK, it didn't take a lot gunk/unburned powder to gum up the works. I ended up shooting the match with .44 Specials in the moon clips, which worked out well.

USPSA has a weird set-up for the revolver divisions -- a 6-shot revolver can be major caliber; an 8-shot revolver minor caliber. The intent, I believe, is to balance out 6 and 8 shot revolvers on the round-intensive USPSA run-and-gun stages, where a couple of extra reloads can make a big difference in the score.

I've shot the S&W 929 8-shot 9mm, and I do lust after one (especially after a couple of weeks with Jerry Miculek, who's name is on the sideplate of that Performance Center gun and who pretty much fathered the N-Frame rocket). It is a pure competition beastie, and I don't want to go heavy into a new gun/gear/angst if I'm not gonna run it.

BTW, I note that SyFy has anew zombie series based around the premise of having to transport "serum" across the zombie-infested landscape. That was the plot of the SHOOTING GALLERY zom episode (which I, of course, stole wholesale from Roger Zelazny's DAMNATION ALLEY...the book, not the pretty wretched movie with Jan-Michael Vincent, whom I always found to be a pretty nice guy). And, of course, Balto got the serum to Nome, too.

Meanwhile, Back in Louisiana...

Am commuting to Shreveport, but am hopeful that I will return to normalcy no later than Thanksgiving. In the meantime, expect slow blogging.

Saturday morning at the New Secret Hidden Bunker coyotes woke me up about 5AM. Howling, growling, general yapping...it was like waking up in a NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC special. Given all the racket, I suspect  they brought down a small deer...they usually aren't that noisy about rabbits. The coyotes are doing a pretty good job of keeping out of my sight, which is substantially better for their health. But they seem to be getting braver. I've got to sight in the Ruger American .22 that I popped an old Weaver 1-3x on...I figure it'll be the medicine gun for coyotes.

I'm kinda excited about the Ruger LCR in 9mm. As I mentioned on the podcast, I've been carrying the Ruger LCR while I'm on the road, loaded with .38 Corbon DPX. If the 9mm LCR works well, I may go down that path. The 9mm is build on the heavier .357 platform.

The Ultimate Revolver Scope Mount

No, really!

In the Eye of the Beholder

Miculek art...

Regulating Clark Double Rifles

Regulating Clark Double Rifles

Swiss Family Miculek

C'mon...You Always Wanted to Do This!

The First .22 Scout!

Built by Jerry on a Nylon  Remington .22 with one of the first TASCO pistol scopes, circa early 1980s...

Jerry's Nylon Remington

SHOOTOUT LANE Begins Filming

What could possibly go wrong? I'll let you know if it works!

Strategies for Surviving on the Other Side of the Bubble

My ubiquitous travel cold seems to be receding, which is great because it gives all-new road viruses a chance to take hold! Was a glorious late summer morning here at the New Improved Secret Hidden Bunker while Newt and I were out walking. For some reason the light reminded me of late summer mornings in NYC many many years ago whenI was living in a 5th floor walk-up in Greenwich Village. I remember thinking that, man, I'd never leave the City! LOL! How things change.

I did a presentation yesterday for OC on the state of the industry, and I thought you guys might be I terested in the Cliff Notes version. Marshal and I called the top of the market in late June last year, so we're 14-15 months into the down side. I'm thinking that we're not at the bottom yet, but I suspect we'll see it before SHOT 2015. Black rifle sales are, as everybody knows, pretty much in the crapper...essentially, anyone who was even thinking about buying an AR or an AK sucked it up and bought, leaching huge amounts of "gun money" out of the system.

People are still buying black rifles, but not at the historic rates of the last couple of years. I believe we'll find a new normal pretty soon. Concealable handgun sales are holding up pretty well — concealed carry is still the primary driver for the market. Accessories are down, but not as emphatically as black rifle sales.

I'm seeing a "race to the bottom" on AR pricing. ArmaLite's $600 ARs ($900 for the 7.62s) have put a stake in the ground; the blow-out houses (Centerfire Systems, CDNN, etc.) are below that $600 stake already. I saw one deal with an AR and 5 mags for $550-ish. Keep you eye on that market niche, kids!

It could be and has been worse.

A Good Day for Congratulations!

I was all the Trijicon World Shooting Championships, presented by the NRA, at the sprawling Peacemaker facility in West Virginia, about an hour from Dulles Airport, and I think it was an absolute home run! I love the idea of testing all shooting skills to determine who is the "Undisputed World Champions" shooter for this year. Trijicon, the NRA and Peacemaker really stepped up on this one!

The winner?

Not really a huge surprise:

Daniel Horner from the Army Marksmanship Unit and arguable the top 3-Gun shooter in the world. He edged out multiple Bianchi winner Bruce Piatt and held off challenges from Jerry Miculek to claim the $50,000 purse...one of the largest in shooting sports history.

The women's title went to wait for it...wait for it...Lena Miculek — the top woman 3-Gunner, BTW — who outdistanced SHOOTING GALLERY's own Dianna Liedorf-Muller for the win.

I'm going to be talking about this on the podcast this week, but I wanted to note an interesting point. All through the match the pro shooters were telling me that victory would come down to a single stage, the Double Wobble Traps — 2 MEC wobble clay throwers on a stage that was confounding even champion trap throwers. The provided gun (this was a provided gun match to level the playing field) was a dedicated high-rib trap gun, not a piece most of the pro shooter were familiar with.

Going into the stage, Horner knew he had to deliver. And deliver he did, winning the stage. That is the definition of a champion. I believe the Trijicon World Shooting Championships will quickly become the premier shooting event in the world!

Here are the stage descriptions and the overall place finishes.

Also, a quick congrats to Mike Seeklander of THE BEST DEFENSE fame for his 3rd place overall finish (and yes, I know IDPA doesn't recognize overall place finishes!) at the IDPA Nationals in Tulsa.  Seek came in just behind Nil Jonasson in ESP, Enhanced Service Pistol, class. Of course, Bob Vogel, continuing his Terminator-like domination of IDPA, finished first overall and first in SSP, Stock Service Pistol, a staggering 23 seconds ahead of Jonasson

Here are the unofficial results!

Busy Busy Busy

Filming for SHOOTING GALLERY. Sorry to be lost in space for awhile. BTW, signed up for Winter Range, one of the largest cowboy action matches and one long considered a "shooters' match." I haven't shot Winter Range in 3 years and I'm looking forward to it early next year.

Big Moose; Little Dog; Big Gun

I know it's a crummy iPhone pix, but check out this mack daddy moose hiding out up near the old Secret Hidden Bunker...really nice rack on the old boy. Would sure look good on the wall...LOL!

BTW, Newt is as rambunctious as a 6-month old puppy is supposed to be. Here she is with part of her massive pine cone collection.

She reminds me of my chows, always testing to see who's really the pack leader. So far, I'm winning, but it's a close thing.

Finally, while I'm cleaning pictures off the phone, here's the SHBDos Afternoon Walking Around Gun, the .454 Ruger Alaskan. The rounds in the 5 Star speed loader (and in the gun) are Winchester 260-hr hollow-points. The extra ammo in the Simply Rugged holster are Corbon 335s, in ace I'm jumped by a velociraptor driving a dump truck.

Long Bike Sunday...

...then shopping at a garden store in Ft. Collins...barely thought about guns at all, not even the LC9 I was carrying. Came back to the Bunker and sorted through music for the podcast this week. Now I'm sitting at home watching "Outlander" and having a Leupold's Navy Strength Gin with a Fever Tree Tonic and a little lime, bemoaning the fact that this time last year I was headed to Africa. I'd so hoped to go for buffalo this year, or that damn gemsbok I walked away from on the long shot. I'm a much better rifleman now than I was last year at this time. Poorer, too. Hence, no Africa trip this year.

Strangely enough, I dream about Africa, something my friend Dwight Van Brunt, who used to run Kimber, warned me would happen. At least in November I'm going to Texas to work with my Ruger Guide Gun .300 Win Mag at longer ranges.This week I need to mount a scope on the Ruger American .22, stick a suppressor on it and thin the rabbits a bit. Only fair, since I removed the big snakes. Plus, we're having a really bad tularemia year here in the High Country, and I can do without all these bunnies.

Well, Heck!

I managed to get in a cowboy match yesterday and shot like complete crap for the first 2 stages. I'd made the decision to push myself on speed in this match (after all, no one is going to win a Cadillac, or even a Yugo). And push myself at did, right over the edge. I imagine my friend Caleb Giddings would tell me that's a good thing, since I now clearly know where the edge is, but it still sucks. I really thought I could hold myself together at that speed, but nyet! LOL! I actually had a fast run on the second stage, but managed to prove conclusively that you can't point shoot a rifle even if the target's only 12 yards away.

I did manage to get things put together by the end of the match, turning in a 25 seconds run on the last stage (10 pistol; 10 rifle; 4 shotgun), 3 seconds off the winning pace. was fun, as always.

Winter Is Coming

It's 47 degrees, socked in and misting rain here at the Secret Hidden Bunker. Not the greatest day for solar power, but we've got a pretty efficient system...not a day to run a lot of appliances! 

Or a day at the range, for that matter. Hopefully, the heavy weather will break late this afternoon, and I'll be able to hit a cowboy match this weekend. No 3-Gun or revolver on anybody's schedule.

 

I'm gald to see CCI "Tactical" .22LR apparently back in the world...I don't know whether CCI has done a run or if some of the hoarded ammo trickled out. I was skeptical when this stuff came out in 2011, thought it was a marketing ploy for the then screaming-hot black rifle market. However, it shot extremely well out of my 2 .22LR ARs...one hole groups for my primary gun, which we used in SHOOTING GALLERY to win my Appleseed "Rifleman" patch. Quite honestly, I'm going to pick up a case if I can. If not, I'll "stem and seed" it, to use Colorado terminology.

I strongly recommend you visit Bearing Arms and read Bob Owens' report on the GUNSITE 250 class. As you know, I have unconditionally recommended the 250 class to everyone who carries a gun. It is the baseline against which all other training is measured. If you take no other class, take this one.

I also note that, sadly, Tam has pulled the plug on her blog, A View from the Porch, because of long-term cyber-stalking. She left the site up for the archives. I know Tam personally, and she has struck me as a person of both great knowledge on guns and strong personal honor. We have not always agreed, but hey, that's normal. She deserves better than being run off the Internet by some A-hole in his mommy's basement.

Whew!

Every so often I hit a week where I'm in 2 places at once (which, as the Firesign theater once noted, means you're really nowhere at all). Listen to the podcast this week for my wrap-up on whe Boise NSSF Rimfire Challenge event, one of the largest Rimfire Challenges. It was amazingly fun, which is EXACTLY what we designed the Rimfire Challenge to be! 

I know it's driving you guys crazy, but I remain fascinated with manually operated rifles like the Browning BLR and the Ruger American. We'll be filming fornSG later this year at FTW Ranch in Texas on long-range shooting. I'm going to use the Ruger Guide Gun in .300 Win Mag that I used on out HUGELY successful Africa special last year. I've added a Burris XTR 4-20X, the baby brother of the scope I used at FTW in March.

Working on THE BEST DEFENSE scenarios now...a child abduction, as I mentioned, and a violent stalker.

Sorry!

Traveling, and pretending to be a television producer.

Will have gun reviews up next week...have to abduct a child tomorrow...even writing it sounds icky...