Perfect for the New Year!

From my friends at Stag Arms, the ideal briefcase for the Year the Mayan Calendar ends:

From the press release:

STAG ARMS is proud to announce that it has partnered with LAN World, Inc. to introduce the 2012 Executive Survivors Kit. 

STAG ARMS and LAN World, Inc. have designed the executive survivor’s kit (ESK) for the discerning customer that demands the highest quality equipment. Using only the finest products the 2012 ESK is truly the survivor’s kit of choice for any type of disaster preparedness and personal security. The ESK can be purchased ($2012) online or over the phone where a customer service agent will find your closest dealer and assist in the transfer to you. The ESK with its military grade case is perfect for long term storage or can easily travel with you.

The 2012 Executive Survivor’s Kit includes the following and is competitively priced at $2,012 (over $2500 value!):
•Stag Arms Model 2 AR-15 rifle
•Diamondhead Versa-Rail handguard
•EoTech 517 Holographic Red Dot Optic
•Stag Arms Field Repair Kit, OTIS AR-15 Cleaning Kit, & Silent Sling
•Two 30 Round Magazines (10 rounds for restricted states)
•Gerber MP 600 Multi-Pliers
•Gerber Omnivore LED Flashlight
•Dual Purpose Human/Pet First Aid Kit
•MRE Field Ration Meal
•Pelican 1700 Long Case
•60 Rounds of Quality Ammunition

Test...

Trying to get my apps back up and running...

Sorry for My Absence!

A combination of hellish end-of-the-year stuff that has to be finished by tomorrow and an ill-timed (okay,,,there aren't any GOOD times for this!) computer changeover that has not not gone nearly as well as I'd anticipated. I'm still trying to get everything up, running and sync'ed!

BTW, this AM saw a huge coyote in full winter fur about 7 yards from the house, standing up on one of our trees that came down in the last storm so he had a clear view of Alf the Wonder Beagle at the back door. That coyote would make a fine hat!

Merry Christmas!

Clear, cold and very still here in the High Country. Dinner will be "Midwest Traditional," with smoked turkey, sage dressing, dumplings, grilled asparagus, homemade bread. My contributions include a new lime/tequila/jalapeño cranberry sauce, a small bowl of very-Southern oyster cornbread dressing and amaretto chocolate mousse. Maybe King Fu Girl Riesling wine for a change of pace.

Tomorrow I will pass the actual holiday day on a stationary bicycle so as not to completely blow all the weight I've lost over the last couple of months!

Got to get to cookin'.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Christmas Eve, 2011

We just came back from a long walk in the snowy woods with the Wonder Beagle, shown here after sticking her nose deep into the snow to see if there were any elk, or anything edible, such as biscuits, nearby.

The woods are indeed lovely, dark and deep, and we are amazingly lucky to live up here. It's going to be a low-key Christmas here at the Secret Hidden Bunker, and, obviously, a very very white Christmas.

As always, our thoughts are with those who serve on far-flung fronts, especially with our dear friends somewhere in the wilds of Afghanistan...wish you were here, guys.

From our family, animals and all, to yours...Merry Christmas.

And tonight of all nights, peace.

Buffalos Died in the Frozen Fields, Ya Know!

Well, maybe not that cold, but it was nippy up here at the Bunker. We hosted a neighborhood party last night, and it went wonderfully. We even drank up the last of my hi-zoot Brian Benson Kandy Red, a just wonderful red wine.

The winter storm that slipped through last night dumped about a foot-and-a-half of snow, which my Sweetie and I spent the afternoon chiseling off the driveway..ah, winter! Almost.

I hated to see that Kevin Brittingham, founder of Advanced Armament, is out. Of course, Kevin sold AAC to Freedom Group/ Remington a couple of years back for about a zillion dollars, but the merging of the free-wheeling AAC culture (much loved by top tier military) with the more staid FG/Remington was easier said than done. Last time I talked to Kevin, there was a lot of tension there. It's a shame because so much innovation comes from those "skunk works" type companies. Kevin's a genius, and I wish him the best.

"I Can't Believe It's Monday" Monday Post

In other words, I need another Sunday, or maybe even a Saturday and Sunday. When a major holiday like Christmas happens on a weekend day, doesn't it seem like a gyp? I haver a genuine grueling day in front of me, staring at a microphone, which is, I realize, perhaps less taxing than hanging drywall. Still, a day's work...I'm waiting for the stuff I need to voice-over to finish downloading...the Secret Hidden Bunker's Internet connection is catch-as-catch-can.

I did shoot a cowboy match up in Ft. Collins Saturday, resulting in my worst place finish of the year...wowee zowee...my gun-handling seemed pretty good, but I somewhat cleverly avoided actually hitting targets. Head-not-in-game = piss-poor performance!

The new 1-hour format of SG looks very cool!

Cry, the Beloved Country!

The McBane of McBane weeps in his grave, and the fallen of Culloden Moor are dishonored...from The Scotsman:

ANYONE caught carrying a knife in town and city centres in Scotland in the coming weeks faces a potential four years in prison, under a new crackdown announced today.

The six-week pilot scheme will see cases automatically prosecuted as more serious offences, increasing the length of jail terms available to sheriffs from one year to four.

The move follows a similar strengthening of prosecution policy in July covering anyone found with a knife on licensed premises or public transport and in incidents linked to local gangs.

Prosecutors say anyone caught as part of the latest crackdown will be arrested and brought before a sheriff and jury.

Scotland’s top law officer, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, QC, said the pilot would involve a zero-tolerance approach to the problem. He said: “The public will wish to enjoy the festive period in our towns and cities without fear. The zero-tolerance crackdown should help to deter anyone stupid enough to think about carrying a knife.

“If the threat of severe penalties for breaking the law deters knife carrying and prevents one act of violence it will have been a success.”

No new legislation is planned by the Scottish Government on knife crime, according to a spokesman, but ministers will work to use existing laws more effectively.

Scots accused of possession of a knife in a public place in town and city centres during the pilot will see their cases automatically go through “solemn”, not summary, procedure, increasing sentencing powers.

Victims groups and the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit welcomed the new approach to knife crime but shadow community safety minister James Kelly MSP said the Scottish Government needed to go further.

He said: “The Crown Office’s tough new stance on knife crime is a step in the right direction, but with knife crime taking its toll on Scotland 365 days a year, the crackdown should be all year round, not just for Christmas.

“The message needs to be sent loud and clear that it is never, ever, acceptable to carry a knife on the streets of Scotland.”

A Gun You Gotta Have!

The Ruger LCR revolver...in .22LR!

The .22 LCR weighs in at 14.7 ounces and has 8 holes in the stainless steel cylinder...otherwise it's the same as it's .38 and .357 brothers, including the patented Friction Reducing Cam trigger system that gives the small-frame revolvers one of the best trigger pulls I've ever felt on a revolver of that size.

The HUGE utility of the .22 LCR — and something that we've been talking about a lot on the podcasts and on THE BEST DEFENSE — is that it's a convenient, low-cost tool for practicing with a gun that for some people can be notoriously hard to shoot. Snubs are the embodiment of Jeff Cooper's "carried a lot; shot a little" dictum. But the problem is that a snubbie revolver's short sight radius, light weight and resulting "brisk" recoil make follow-up shots a bit of a challenge (LOL! With an ultralight .357 and 125-grain screamers, is that ever an understatement!).

The solution to the challenge is, as it pretty much is with all guns, to shoot them a lot. A .22 option allows you to shoot them a lot, and cheaply. I'm going to go out on  a limb here and suggest that if you're new to CCW and think a snub revolver might be the way you want to go, I might get the .22 LCR first...no, .22 isn't the world's best self-defense cartridge, but it is substantially better than harsh language. Secondly, you will have a gun that you can shoot a lot and that you will keep even if you decide to go to a semiauto for CCW. If you feel comfortable with the .22, it's an easy transition to the .38 (which I've been carrying for a couple of months now) or the .357 version.

Secondly, a .22 revolver is a great gun in its "kit gun" role...a gun that you'll have with you in your "kit," fishing or otherwise. Recall that Smith & Wesson has made small-frame .22s described as "Kit Guns" since the 1930s. To update this concept, a .22 small, light .22 revolver is a great addition to a grab-and-go bugout bag, because if you have to grab and go, you now have a back-up gun to your primary piece, and you can easily add 100 rounds of .22 ammo to the bag. I currently have an S&W Kit Gun and 100 rounds of CCI Mini-Mag 36-gr hollowpoints in my grab-and-go bag. That gun will be replaced by a Ruger LCR .22, because I've shot the centerfire LCR a lot and love the trigger, I have extensive holster options for the platform and, hey, it's a Ruger and will probably outlast cockroaches and Keith Richards!

DRTV will have a full video report next week...

The Last Airport of the Year!

So I was at the Tulsa airport staring aimless at a spot between the magazine rack, women's fashion rags, and the Duracell display when it finally hit me that this is my airport of the year. If I can get out of Tulsa before the line of storms I can see moves in I will have gone the distance for 2011. Heck of a year -- taking SHOOTING GALLERY to an hour, the huge success of GUN STORIES, the addition of Mike Seeklander to TBD, our announcement of GS/RAPID FIRE as a new series, 2 more Telly Awards for excellence in programming, a lifetime achievement award from my Overlords at Outdoor Channel and the Communicator of the Year award from POMA/NSSF, a "Gunnie" award for the best podcast of the year...not a bad 12 months!

Of course, one of the things I learned as a music critic all those years ago is that you're only as god as your last hit...the holidays are a chance to find a bunch of new rabbits and stuff them in hats, to be ready to pull at the appropriate time.

A lot of my focus in 2012 is going to be on the Internet...there's a ton of things Marshal and I want to do for DRTV. I'm also planning on "building out" the new SHOOTING GALLERY format...there were too many changes we wanted to make to try and cram them into one season, so for Season 13/2013 (assuming I'm renewed) we've got some more surprises up our sleeve.

In the meantime, Uncle has funny piece on what he would like to see for SHOT versus what he will see...read the whole thing. He's pretty much on target, with a couple of exceptions I can't tell you about now. He got me thinking about what I'd really like to see, realizing that I might be the only potential market for some of this stuff.

• A centerfire double-barreled howdah pistol...my heart tells me in .500 S&W Magnum but my brain suggest something obscure, like 40-65. I could probably compromise on .50 Special.
• A .380-sized semiauto in .22 LR...a great CCW practice tool!
• A .44 Special Ruger SP101 (I keep begging and begging, but so far, nyet)
• A Scout forward-mount scope with an illuminated reticle...please...
• A coffeemaker that fits on an AR rail

How about you guys?

Ruger LCR

As I have mentioned, I've been doing a couple of months' experiment with carrying a small-frame revolver, a Ruger LCR in .38 Special, as my primary carry gun. I wanted to give it a try because it has been a long time since I carried a J-framed sized gun as my primary, and I've been getting a lot of questions. I'm thinking that many new CCW holders, what we refer to as Gun Culture Ver. 2.0, has opted for the classic revolver as their carry gun of choice.

Let me give you a quick set of bullet points of what I've learned so far:

• The LCR carries amazingly well on the belt. It's light (13.5 ounces in .38; 17 ounces in .357). The short revolver, combined with that light weight, allows the gun to be easily carried in a hi-ride holster without the dreaded "tip" outward of the gun away from the built. I've been using a Ritchie holster on a Wilderness Tactical Instructor's Belt.

• The LCR has the best trigger pull of any snubbie I've ever shot, including the other 3 I own. I've put anouth rounds through it that it's very smooth and, thanks to the patented trigger system, doesn't stack at the end.

• Polymer frames and soft grip panels work...felt recoil is reduced and the second shot comes quickly, even with the Corbon DPX I routinely carry.

More later...

BTW, here's Jeff Quinn's old review and an excellent look at the LCR .357 from My Gun Culture. You guys know I'm in the .38 Special camp, right?

GUN STORIES/RAPID FIRE

Say, what if the GUN STORIES team created a series that focused on full auto rock-and-roll? RAPID FIRE, coming Q4 2012...this ought to be a hoot!

Perfect Christmas Movie!

"There's a saying in prize-fighting...everybody has a plan until they get hit."

-- Charles Remington (Michael Douglas)
"The Ghost and the Darkness"

I made a special trip to the Field Museum in Chicago to see the Ghost and the Darkness...a little tatty, but think of it as a mandatory stop on the Grand Tour of our culture...

One Hard Lap Finished!

The Tombstone-Hollywood-Tulsa back-to-back filming trip is finally finally over! I'm not lying...this one was a toughie....lots and lots of moving parts. We ran mostly 4-camera shoots, adding in the ultrahigh-speed Phantom as a regular item. We really are taking the shows to a new level, and I can't wait to get them out there!

Couple of gunny things. Say Uncle links to a story on the current Virginia Tech shootings. Uncle notes that the VT campus had probably done more to be "ready" for an active shooter situation than any other place...closing barn door after horses have fled, etc. How well did their "never again" planning work? You be the judge:

14 minutes to respond...22 minutes to issue an alert

Yes! When your life hangs on seconds, the police are only 14 minutes away! Plenty of time to get a Happy Meal! Watch our scenarios on TBD Season 4 and see how quickly violence can boil up...Fourteen minutes...think about it.

In next season's TBD we also look at the controversial technique of using the gun as an impact weapon, a topic that's spun up a little buzz on the Internet. Mostly, it's a last ditch technique against multiple assailants to buy either the time or distance to put the gun fully into play. Maybe the most important thing we've learned from simulations is that the Real World refuses to mold itself to our training, requiring us to mold our training to the Real World.

Couple of new guns world a more expanded loop...the little 5-shot Ruger .357 with the better fiber optic sights and the 4.2 inch barrel (here's The Firearm Bog review) is really starting to grow on me...

First off, Ruger is a sponsor, so we've got that out of the way. For the last couple of months I\'be been carrying the Ruger small-frames snub, the ultralight-weight LCR, asan expedient as much as anything else.. Been a while (read, decades) since I routinely carried a snub as my CCW choice. But after some question off the Internet and as I was getting ready to put together by CCW Tips for TBD Season 4, I started carrying the LCR, a .38 Special version loaded with Corbon DPX. I've used 3 holsters -- a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster and leather holsters from Ritchie Leather, a vertical belt holster and a dedicated crossdraw I use when driving. Neither Ritchie nor DeSantis are sponsors. It's kinda spoiled me...the light LCR pretty much disappears on the Ritchie belt holster and conceals under a shirttail, vest, jacket, etc.

One of the CCW topics we talk about on TBD Season 4 is not comprising on one's home defense guns....if you routinely carry a smaller gun on a daily basis, and most of us do, it makes sense to have a larger, heavier "full-size" gun for home defense, since there,s no need to compromise size/weight to carry the gun.

The new Ruger is a pretty good home defense choice for a person who carries a snub on a daily basis. It's heavy enough so that full power .357 loads don't case one to have the vapors and because it's a 5-shooter you cans use the same speedloaders as for the snub. Not a huge deal, but handy. For those of us out in the boonies, it's also a "right-sized" trail gun. Besides, it's a Ruger and probably indestructible. We'll be doing a full DRTV report on it.

A second gun that has made a really great first impression on me is the Kahr CM9...I've shot a coupe of in both 9mm and .380 and was always impressed by the way they shot. The price, howeer,was daunting. The little CM9,though, has street prices in the mid-high $300 range. My T&E gun has just a super trigger pull,and I can't wait to take it to the range in my on-going evaluation of all the mini-9mm. Expect a .40 version by SHOT.

And BTW, I should have a really cool announcement from Ruger late next week...by really cool, I mean something I wanted...we'll probably be talking about at least the concept on the podcast!

More F-and-F

It gets harder and harder for anyone to even pretend...from this morning's PowerLine Blog:

If the Obama administration wasn’t trying to set up an argument for more gun control, then what was it trying to do? That question has never been answered.

If the Obama administration did arrange for the shipment of arms to Mexican drug gangs, not for any legitimate public purpose but in order to advance a left-wing political agenda, and those guns were used to murder hundreds of Mexicans and at least one American border agent–which they were–then we are looking at a scandal that dwarfs any in modern American history. I think one would have to go back to James Buchanan, who ordered the shipment of federal armaments to the South so that they could be commandeered by secessionists when disunion came, to find a worse scandal. And one could argue that even that act by Buchanan, generally considered the worst President in American history, was motivated by principle and not politics, and therefore was not as craven as Obama’s gun walker scandal. But such a judgment would be premature. A great deal more investigation needs to be done before we can conclude that Fast and Furious was the worst scandal since pre-Civil War days.

And from M.J. Mollenhour:

I always suspected that the ATF set F&F up for at least the right motive, and then the absurd operation got co-opted by the administration. Holder, and Hillary, others, and perhaps even the president then kept it going for the benefit of the TV cameras and reporters, finding Calderon a willing fellow-oppressor. I suspected.Now, after this, I am more strongly suspecting that it was a setup early on, to create anti-American citizen gun-owner propaganda. It may not have been spawned in the White House or with Hillary, though: might have started right there within the ATF.

But, I will never forget the sight of our Secretary of State on stage with the leader of a foreign power, speaking out to disarm Americans. And they wonder why we do not trust the government.

How About Marshal's Jacket?

From Tombstone last week...




Man, what a week! From Tombstone to Hollywood to Tulsa, bippity bappity boom! I am seriously glad to see so many things coming together, but I can at least "see the barn" from here.

Couple of things...Eric Holder before the House again tomorrow...wonder what Mr. "You're all cowards" will have to say? The dog ate his homework? That the buck stops somewhere else? That, hey, collateral damage doesn't count if you just look at it the right way. The man is an embarrassment...he should be under indictment, not the head law enforcement officer in the United States.

I see that CBS is reporting that they have memos proving Fast and Furious, if it wasn't purely an undercover pro-gun control attack on the Second Amendment, was at least going to be used to promote gun control by hiding BATFE involvement and calling for long gun reporting requirements. I've said it before (and I believe I said it very very early on) F&F only makes sense as an attack on the Second Amendment...give me a different explanation that passes the sanity check. If DOJ/State was using F&F to funnel guns to the Sinoloa cartel to aid in their endless apocalyptic struggle with the Zeta cartel -- the net result regardless of who wins being the destabilization of the legitimate, if ineffectual, Mexican government -- that's an act of war by the United States against Mexico. "Bungled operation?" Yeah right...everybody and his dog Fred in the chain of command signed off on this thing...it wasn't bungled...it ran exactly the way it was supposed to run, which is why all the sign-off'ees signed off in the first place. And recall that the Obama administration has sealed the records on the death of Agent Brian Terry...that should tell anyone with the IQ of a grape just how high those sign-offs went.

And you know, I won't even mention the Mythbusters cannon ball, except to say WOW, I'm glad that wasn't mine!

-- Post From The Road

In the Autopsy Room...

...on the Criminal Minds set...



-- Post From The Road

Moderately More Coherent...

...tonight...was truly a Whipped Puppy last night. Hard to keep up with so many things going on...the record Black Friday gun sales are amazing but not surprising. We are an unsettled nation clinging to our God and our guns and counting the days until next November. Not to mention there are some very good deals out there! I have said this before and I will say it again...if you don't own an AR, it's a great time to shop around and buy one.

Thanks to all the commenters who weighed in on knee replacements. My doctor wants to wait as long as possible before the replacement, which suits me because my schedule is so grueling these days. When I do it, I know I need the appropriate rehab time, and right now it's just not there (especially with SHOT earlier in January). I know it'll be easier when we get a little better grip on the SHOOTING GALLERY 1-hour format...I expected the changeover from the old format to be...challenging...

Another in the...

..."Tough Day at the Office" pixs!



-- Post From The Road

Pre-Christmas Filming Push...

...on both SG and THE BEST DEFENSE. Lots of long days, so expect limited blogging. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll be back at the range with the ultrahigh-speed camera and various point-of-view stuff. Too tired to do more...sorry...

Here are some pictures from today's filming: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2411648205276.2116627.1073377951&type=1&l=5c37ce2b64 .

Shovel Day

About a foot if snow in the driveway of the Secret Hidden Bunker...Alf on strike since we wouldn't give her all the leftover sausage from the red beans and rice dinner. Maybe I can convince the cat to clear the snow...


-- Post From The Road