There Goes the Sun...

Sam crossed the majestic mountains to the valleys far below.
He talked to his team of huskies as he mushed on through the snow.
With the northern lights a-running wild in the land of the midnight sun,
Yes, Sam McCord was a mighty man in the year of nineteen-one.

Johnny Horton
"North to Alaska"

Well, my Sweetie's Mom is coming in this AM from Florida; unfortunately so is a major upslode blizzard, coming in from New Mexico. It is already seriously snowing, so it looks like we harness up the doggies and flail the Boxcar, my trusty Honda Element, the 60+ miles to Denver International, where they're trying to get the morning flights in. Yee-Haw!

And speaking of yee-haw, I got my defacto Christmas present yesterday — a Hans Vang Remington 870 12 gauge pump, just the thing for when reindeer run amok. This is the same gun that Hans, the best shotgun mechanic on earth, builds for folks like the DEA and various and sundry spooky types. The base gun is a Remington Law Enforcement 870 Police Magnum, which features the smallest number of plastic parts of any blaster out there. The major change to the gun is the superlative Vang-Comp ported barrel — my own experience has unequivocally proven that the Vang-Comp system shrinks the group pattern of buckshot while reducing felt recoil substantially.

The forcing cone has been lengthened, LPA front and rear sights installed, the great Vang-Comp domed safety, a +2 magazine extension and hi-viz magazine follower have been added and the whole gun snugged into a Hogue synthetic stock and finished matt black. Over the years I have shot a lot of "tactical" shotguns, including a bunch of Hans' guns. — this gun is my 100% choice as my personal shotgun! No frills; everything already proven; same as the gun I used in the GUNSITE 260 shotgun class. I'm looking forward to taking this one through Randy Lee's new tactical shotgun class, which I'm hearing good things about.

I'll ry to get some pictures up (and maybe video) when I get back from my snow trek!

Looks like our hapless brothers and sisters across the pond could use a Vang-Comp blaster! This piece from The First Post:

Many country people consider a sawn-off 12-bore to be the most effective and easily available short-range weapon. A farmer at the Suffolk Show told me that, for added impact, he pierces the crimped end of the cartridge and pours in warm wax which sets and creates a mass of lead shot.
Owning a weapon is becoming a habit for rural homeowners who feel unprotected now that so many police stations have closed.
[...]
Could we be seeing the first signs of a militant middle class which has had enough and is beginning to arm itself? Perhaps.
For those who cling to the notion that an Englishman's home is his castle, a new weapon will soon be available to help deter intruders. Designed by BowTech in Oregon, USA, the Stryker (left) will be on sale in Europe by mid-January.
It is a precision hunting crossbow complete with a multiple reticule, red dot 1x30 scope nightsight, 175lb draw weight, binary cam technology and the power to skewer a hoodie at 50 metres.

"Skewer a hoodie!" Gotta love that Brit understatement!