9mm "Mini-Nines..."

Worked all day yesterday filming a DRTV special on the current crop of Mini-9mm pistols, specifically the Kimber Solo, the Taurus Slim and the Ruger LC9. I'm going out to the range this AM before the daily thunderstorms ramp up to do the shooting part.

Unlike some on the Internet, I think the mini-9s are just nifty — if you can shoot 'em.

I would have liked to do a comprehensive overview and included the Kahrs (of which I've shot many), the Kel-Tec P11/PF9, the Walther PPS and the Rohrbaugh R9, but for some reason I wasn't able to lay my hands on them. The top-end Kahrs I've shot have been just super shooters, and they've been around a long time (mid-1990s). Sometimes companies get weird about T&E guns...I repeatedly wrote to one company asking to BUY one of their little 9mms, and I never got a reply. Strange. Sort of like Ithaca Shotguns...I've been trying to buy one of the new Ithaca pumps for 3 years, and either they don't have any for sale or there's some decoder ring that I apparently don't have. LOL!

More later...

Death in the Tall Grass!

Alf the Wonder Beagle roams the high veldt in search of the legendary "bacon."

So we're walking Alf on a really nice trail...I'm huffing along uphill when I place my foot down next to a stick...with a triangular head and a nice pattern of diamonds along its 2-foot length.

"Oh crap," I whisper, instantly achieving a Zen level of stillness while s...l...o...o...o...w...l...y reaching for the gun. Then I notice that Mr. Snake isn't buzzing, in fact, hasn't even gone to coil. I look along his length and don't see rattles — and, yes, I know there's the occasional rattler without them — so I do a little twosey-step to get clear, grab a stick, poke him in the butt and away he goes. Alf never notices, as the Stick That Moves wasn't "bacon."

BTW, here's a crummy picture of a really "cute" gun, a Ruger Single Six .22 cut to 3-inches and fitted with a birdshead gripframe:

I picked it up yesterday from a local operation, The Mountain Gunsmith, and Paul did an excellent job turning out a nice little packin' pistol. This weekend I'm putting together a crossdraw holster for it.

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming

I let my Mexican drug lord license expire. Am I still eligible for the free machine gun program?
Iowahawk Blog

In all probability, as has been reported by Snowflakes in Hell and No Lawyers, Only Guns & Money, the new DOJ rules requiring gun stores along the souther border to report certain multiple long gun sales will not survive legal scrutiny. The amazing thing to me is that the administration is sticking to its narrative, e.g. the "Iron River" of guns flowing into into Mexico, even though the "Fast and Furious" Congressional investigation and subsequent revelations have proven conclusively that they only Iron River flowing into Mexico is the one being run by the U.S. government.

It is, I think, part and parcel of the Left's love of the Big Lie...if they just keep saying it over and over and over, eventually it becomes accepted as, if not truth, at least gospel (and remember, the antigun "movement" was never actuality a "movement" in the accepted sense of the word, but rather an issue of gospel, an accepted shibboleth of the liberal religion..."I don't care about the fact; I know what I believe"...pretty much on par with saying that regardless of the facts, that pesky sun does in fact orbit the earth). Think of that line about a gun in the home being 43 times more likely blah blah. That fake statistic has been debunked for years, yet it is still routinely cited by the MSM as the "gospel" truth.

This is the first salvo of the Administration's antigun initiative, to be carried out entirely by fiat with no legislative approval necessary. If you go back through the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Michael Bloomberg's pet pack of liars, white paper (linked in the comment section of my previous post), many of the recommended actions involve hugely increasing the "mission" of and funding for the ATF...I fully expect to see these recommendations on the table in future weeks. I suspect the big pushes will come against gun shows and the non-existent "loophole" and the importability of certain weapons (ATF has been sniffing around magazine-fed shotguns for months).

Meanwhile, I've shifted my shooting training from cowboy to rimfire in anticipation of the Ruger Rimfire Challenge World Championships in New Mexico next month. We're going to be filming it for the new SHOOTING GALLERY and I will be shooting it as well. I shot last year's World in Morro Bay, CA, where I can assure you the food was a lot better than it will be in rural New Mexico! Last year I shot in Open, with a Tasco ProPort red dot on my Target 10/22. I replaced the red dot with Tech Sights AR-style open sights and will shoot this year in Limited. Part of that is due to my new improved left eye lens, which was replaced last year (my right lens was replaced the year before). The right eye remains permanently partially fogged from the shingles attack a few years back (jeeeeeeez, get vaccinated while you can!), but I have good enough vision for iron sights, more or less.

I did replace the AR front sight with a green fiber optic to match the green fiber optic on my Tactical Solutions Ruger 22/45 Mark 3.

Today's a pistol day; I'm also picking up the rifle stocks for my Sweetie's and my rifles. We had both of them cut down a bit to accommodate a more squared-on stance as advocated by GUNSITE. My .22 now has the same length of pull as my Ruger Scout .308, which I'm very pleased with.

Interesting commentary today over at the Weer'ed World blog referencing one of my podcast on using force (or not) to protect stuff:

I will not kill somebody over my property, but somebody willing to threaten me FOR my property is willing to kill me no matter what I do. I WILL kill over that.

I think that's a good summation actually. It comes back to the reasonable man doctrine...what would a reasonable man (or woman) do in that situation? There is a fine line between "theft." "armed robbery" and "aggravated assault," a line the armed civilian must be critically aware of. In my own personal experience, a person who wanted my wallet launched his assault by "making a motion consistent with drawing a firearm," and the situation went from zero to the gravest extreme in less than a second.

Once we are in the soup, we need to be aware of how the situation is flowing around us. As I have written before, ALL fights, all violent encounters, are potentially lethal to you. Yet you can only respond with lethal force when, in your opinion as a reasonable man or woman, that potentiality has been realized. And that is the scariest line of all...

Back in the Saddle Again..

Whew...been a busy week! Next week things will revert to normal blogging-wise. In the meanwhile the sign above is from the My Gun Culture blog, and yes, you can get the t-shirt!

Stories all over about Obama's new gun laws coming through executive order any day now...this from USA TODAY:

Spokesman Jay Carney said that the new steps would be made public "in the near future." He didn't offer details, but people involved in talks at the Justice Department to craft the new measures said they expected to see something in the next several weeks. Whatever is proposed is not expected to involve legislation or take on major issues like banning assault weapons but could include executive action to strengthen the background check system or other steps.

Here's a hint on how we'll respond...unless the ONLY administration recommendation is the abolition of the rouge agency BATFE, we are unconditionally, irrevocably and absolutely against the administration "suggestions." Republicans, pay close attention...NO COMPROMISES ON SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS! The BATFE is the problem...so fix it!

My Casey Anthony Exclusive!

Sources say Casey Anthony, following her not guilty verdicts, will be joining the cast of TWO AND A HALF MEN, replacing the controversial Charlie Sheen. The show will accordingly change its name to ONE AND A HALF MEN AND ONE LYING TROLLOP. In the first episode, "Where's Berta?," the show's beloved housekeeper, Berta, goes missing, and hijinks ensue!

Independence Day 2011

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world...

I remember being absolutely thrilled by those words when I was just a little kid. "Those brave brave men," I thought. "They must have been so afraid, facing the greatest military power on earth." Young boys always see themselves as brave, but I remember wondering what I would have done. Could I have found the courage to walk away from a warm hearth and loving family into the bitter cold of a Revolutionary winter?

America faces a dark hour this Independence Day. To be sure, we have faced darker hours before — the bloody ground of 150 years ago; the trenches of Europe in the War to End All Wars; the Great Depression; the Second World War. We are an incredibly resilient people. And yet today we are dispirited, exhausted...and yes, even scared. Those who hold power have made a decision to fundamentally change this country, to alter the compact between America and her people.

I think what we need on this Independence Day is some of the courage of the Founders, the courage to hold freedom in our hearts every day of the year. In her most recent book, THE BAD ATTITUDE GUIDE TO GOOD CITIZENSHIP, Claire Wolfe concludes thusly:

If we can't succeed in "doing something" about problems, the default position for a lot of us is to sit and bitch. Or keep trying the same unsuccessful methods over and over again — and that way lies madness.

Rather than banging our heads, we need to change our minds. Having changed our minds, we will see more clearly how to change our methods.

That's the key: Attitude is everything. To wit: A bad attitude toward would-be rulers and their flappers, enforcers, and sycophants, but an inner attitude of independence.

Then it's up to us to express that independent spirit in action — action that shifts our focus from the negative ("what those bastards are doing to us and how to stop them") to the positive ("What can I do?" "What can I be?" How can I make a difference to people right here?").

...

No matter what happens, they don't own us — if we don't let them.

Enjoy your Independence Day, remember our military who have bought this freedom with their lives and remember that you ARE free!

U.S. Forest Service Redux

I note in the previous comments a thread on ARF.com on Colorado (and the entire Front Range) issues regarding shooting on public land. The posts are built around stories in the local papers on the "destructiveness" of shooters, and I agree that irresponsible shooters make me and everyone else look bad.

HOWEVER — and this is a big big HOWEVER — before we go haring off about this issue, there are some very important points to be remembered (and Darrell, if you would please repost this on ARF.com, where I am BANNED FOR LIFE, I would appreciate it):

1) These are U.S. Forest Service "plants." USFS in the west is a violently antigun organization, who goal is to end all shooting on public land. There have been rumors of a USFS "summer offensive" for months now, and this is obviously the opening salvo. This was how they opened their last antigun initiative.

2) USFS seeks to create the problem that their "solution," ending shooting, would solve. By closing shooting-intense areas, USFS has sought to intentionally push shooters into less appropriate areas.

3) USFS routinely accommodates far more destructive uses of public land, e.g. off road motorcycling and 4-wheeling, mountain biking and equestrian sports. Let's be honest here...I despise slob shooters as much as anyone, but the total acreage of public land damaged by shooting is minuscule when compared to other destructive usage...and I am speaking here from EXPERIENCE. USFS is perfectly willing to accommodate all uses of public land EXCEPT shooting.

4) USFS has said in public testimony that they did not now have the resources to enforce the anti-dumping laws on the books. Under my questioning USFS revealed that they had NEVER fined ANYONE for illegal dumping on public lands, even though I was able to find more than 100 non-permitted dumpers in the area. USFS' contention that shooters are doing all the dumping is nonsense. And if USFS is unwilling or unable to enforce the stringent laws against illegal dumping, why do they want shooting bans so fervently?

5) Much is made of the single negligent discharge death at Ramparts, in which the range played no part whatsoever and that resulted in the closing of the range,, yet USFS routinely supports outdoor activities that result in annual deaths — skiing, kayaking, rafting, climbing, "extreme" hiking,even equestrian sports and mountain biking.

6) USFS has no data to support any of their antishooting agenda. In public testimony USFS representatives have been less than truthful to the Colorado Legislature, the Colorado Legislative delegation and the media. USFS has actually posted signs at shooting areas that misstate the law,, even though USFS Washington HQ issued a letter of clarification. Secondly, in our most recent battle with USFS antigun forces, no one who allegedly had "heard" bullets hit their home, trees, etc. were able to produce a single bullet hole, a photo or video of a bullet hole or any evidence whatsoever. The current article in the Colorado Springs paper was apparently driven by a "reporter" who allegedly had a bullet hit a tree while he was hiking.. Except, that he based it all on what he heard...he never even looked for a bullet hole.

Make no mistake about this...part of USFS' antigun agenda is to endlessly hammer the "destructive" meme and to turn us against each other.. Let's not play into their hands!

Whew!

Have survived another premiere week! As of this morning, both Tim Cremin and I are extremely pleased with the response to both GUN STORIES and the new season of TBD/SURVIVAL, and at least for the time being, no one wants my head on a block. Before I head off to shoot the 2-day Hell on Wheels cowboy action shooting regional up in Cheyenne, I wanted to touch on a couple of subjects.

First (and speaking of wanting my head on a block), years back — good grief, can it be almost a decade? — I stepped up to the podium at the largest hunting conclave ever to say that taxation without representation was still tyranny. I was speaking of the Pittman-Robertson funds, of course, derived from tax monies on guns, ammunition, components, etc. Those monies, in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year, have gone to wildlife restoration, wetland purchases, hunter education and funding state fish and game departments and programs. A tiny tiny trickle of the money also went into shooting ranges.

The problem that we saw, based on research from me and Paul Erhardt, was that the there had been a profound change in the market from hunting to shooting, and that change had not been reflected in the allocation of P-R funds. The steady decline of hunting, combined with the meteoric rise of competition shooting and training, coupled with CCW-driven birth and rise to prominence of Gun Culture Ver. 2.0 meant that we represented a majority of the taxes being paid. But 99.99% of the funds were going to hunting/conservation.

I'm not knocking hunting/conservation at all, but come on! We're dying for shooting ranges and awash in ducks! I made the decision to step up to the plate and declare the emperor had no clothes. I will say it got a bit (a big bit) hot in the kitchen......axe...block...neck, etc.

But we won.

The industry has come around to the view that the shooting/training/CCW Ver. 2.0 gun culture is the future. By industry numbers, hunting now ranks 4th as a driver. And now the next steps...refining Pittman-Robertson. This from Senator Mark Udall's (D-CO) office, about Senate Bill S-1249 — Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act:

Today, Mark Udall re-introduced legislation to help states construct and maintain safe public shooting ranges. The bill, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, would help ensure that there are enough accessible ranges where hunters and marksmen can safely practice recreational shooting.

Under current law – the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act – an excise tax is collected on sporting equipment and ammunition, which states can use for activities such as wildlife restoration and hunter education programs. However, it has limited effectiveness in establishing and maintaining shooting ranges, which are declining in number. Udall’s Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, co-sponsored by Senators Jim Risch, Michael Bennet and Jon Tester, would amend the law to give states more flexibility to use existing funds to create and maintain shooting ranges.

“The number of places in our communities and on public lands where Colorado sportsmen and women can safely shoot and target practice has steadily dwindled,” Udall said. “This bill would give states more flexibility to use federal dollars – that have already been allocated to them – to create safe, new public places to shoot. It would be a triple win for sporting and conservation communities: states can create higher quality and safer shooting ranges, more Coloradans can take up the sport, and it would generate more money for future conservation and hunter education efforts.”

Udall’s bill would:

• Increase the amount of money states can contribute from their allotted Pittman-Robertson funds to 90 percent of the cost to improve or construct a public target range from the current limit of 75 percent. This would reduce local and state matching requirements from 25 percent to 10 percent.

• Allow the Pittman-Robertson funds allotted to a state to remain available and accrue for five fiscal years for use in acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range on federal or non-federal land. Under current law, states must use these funds within one year.

• Limit the legal liability exposure to the federal land management agencies regarding the management and use of federal land for target practice or marksmanship training.

• Encourage the federal land management agencies to cooperate with state and local authorities to maintain target ranges on federal land so as to encourage their continued use.

The bill is fully supported by NSSF, which has taken the lead in allocating P-R funds to shooting ranges through their innovative grant system.

NSSF Applauds Introduction of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act in Senate

June 27, 2011 By Larry Keane

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, applauded the introduction of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO). This bi-partisan legislation will give states greater flexibility to use more of their designated federal wildlife resources (i.e. Pittman-Robertson funds) to establish safe recreational shooting areas. More specifically, the legislation will help facilitate the construction and expansion of public target ranges, including ranges on federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

“We appreciate Sen. Udall’s leadership in fighting for safe, accessible shooting facilities,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “This legislation clears the way for new shooting ranges and allows for the proper management of existing ones. Access to these facilities is paramount to continuing to pass on our hunting and shooting sports heritage to younger generations.”

A recent survey by the Responsive Management Company has show that the biggest obstacle to participation in hunting and the shooting sports is access. In addressing this concern, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act will not only help sportsmen and target shooters, but wildlife and conservation efforts as well. Active participation in hunting and the shooting sports means increased production of firearms and ammunition. Manufacturers of firearms and ammunition pay a federal excise tax — 11 percent on long guns and ammunition and 10 percent on handguns — which is used to fund wildlife and conservation efforts. By giving gun owners better access to ranges, the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Act will help to encourage participation in these pro-conservation pastimes.

By allowing the states more latitude in determining how excise tax dollars are used to enhance and develop public shooting facilities, wildlife conservation funding will increase. This benefits all sportsmen and is a strong return on investment.

This is HUGE! One of the baseline strategies of our enemies — perhaps the only one that has been working, BTW — has been to deprive us of places to shoot. A significant amount of revenue flowing into range development, coupled with pushing federal land management agencies to allow land for ranges (a big issue here in Colorado), is a very important start.

Personally, I will not be happy until we have parity, that is, until the P-R funds are allocated by percentage based on industry-derived numbers. If shooting/training/CCW represents 60% of the purchasing activity in an given year, then 60% of the P-R funds should be allocated for programs that benefit that segment of the industry.

Taxation without representation is always tyranny, no matter how well-intentioned the goals for that taxation are!

Thank you, Senator Udall, and thank you, NSSF!

First episode of Gun Stories

This week on MidwayUSA's Gun Stories, we're taking a look back at the rich history of John Browning's model 1911. Air Times: 06-29 at 2:00PM | 06-29 at 7:30PM | 06-29 at 10:30PM | 06-30 at 1:30AM | 07-03 at 6:00AM.

Tomorrow!

A Functional Definition of "Racism"

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially 
a nation of cowards"

-- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

February 18, 2009

CBS is reporting another death directly attributed to "Fast & Furious" guns, this one the brother of a Mexican state Attorney General, who was tortured and killed by cartel terrorists.

The majority view of ATF's "Fast & Furious" is now that it was a purely political operation, part of President Barack Obama's "under the radar" gun control effort. As I have said from the beginning of this fiasco, "Fast & Furious" makes no sense any other way. It was not a law enforcement operation, as made clear in testimony before Congress, because the ostensible law enforcement goals, "rolling up" the entire cartel gun smuggling operation or getting warrants against the mass murderers who head the Mexican cartels, was nonsensical even to the brave agents who have stepped forward to testify.

Those hero agents who stepped forward told their bosses the same thing they told Congress -- that people were going to die as a direct result of "Fast & Furious."

Apparently, the brass at the ATF and their handlers at the Department of Justice, including Attorney General Eric Holder, were okay with that, as long as it was Mexican nationals doing the dying. Let's be clear about this...all the people involved in "Fast & Furious" knew people were going to die. Their own experienced agents told them so. The cartels have routinely slaughtered family members of people opposed to them, and the concept of "innocent bystander" simply doesn't exist in the free-fire zone south of the U.S. border. Providing the cartel with a new, easy source of guns was guaranteed to have lethal results.

But wouldn't that just play into the meme? ATF leaders were happy, even described as "giddy," when "Fast & Furious" guns began turning up at Mexican crime scenes.

Can you imagine any circumstances, any mindset, that would allow ATF brass and its handlers to not think the guns they were flooding into Mexico would result in the killing of civilians? Any mindset at all?

So what is "racism?" What is this thing that we as Americans, in Attorney General Holder's words, are too cowardly to face? How about the Wiki definition:

Racism is the belief that there are inherent differences in people's traits and capacities that are entirely due to their race, however defined, and that, as a consequence, justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally.

The key words here, for me, are, "...justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally." Sure, the cartels are killers, but — nudge nudge wink wink say no more — Americans aren't going to get killed. Mexicans are going to get killed, and, well, they're Mexicans, right? They can't vote in American elections; they're a long way away and, hey, we won't even have to look at the bodies!

Ladies and gentlemen, if that isn't the essence of racism, tell me what is.

Their lives counted for less than a political point; counted for so little that dead Mexicans weren't even a minor consideration.

Some commentators say this upcoming Presidential election will be won by the Hispanic vote, and the party in power is reaching out to those voters who have their origins in Mexico and Central and South America with a powerful cry of, "Here's what we have done for you!" Here is what they really did — they armed your blood enemies and by doing so sanctioned the killing of your brothers, your sisters, your uncles, your aunts. Remember.

"Swollen men, blind with power

Break the rules, one by one

With their lies raising the danger

Of their games under the gun."

—Kris Kristofferson

"Under the Gun"

A Thought for Thursday

“

You can ignore reality,but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”

-Ayn Rand

Rumbling to a start...

...this AM, focusing on writing for THE NEW SURVIVAL GUNS, then heading for the range. I wanted to throw out some thoughts on Ruger's new 77/357 bolt-action rifle. Heaven knows in a house with two competitive cowboy action shooters in it there's no shortage of .357 rifles (2 1873 clones; 1 1892 clone, 1 Marlin). I also have a BSA Martini Cadet in .357...beautiful little gun!

Ruger 77/357

I like the idea of a reasonably priced bolt .357 as a fiercely accurate little pest rifle that could go up to deer-sized game in a pinch (and with the right ammo). I'm not a bolt-action junky like GUN STORIES and TBD Producer/Director Tim Cremin, but one of the coolest rifles I've ever shot was a Ruger 77/44, the same rifle in .44 Magnum/.44 Special with an integral suppressor (from John's Guns, I believe).

Shooting .44 Specials, the gun made virtually zero noise! No recoil either, like shooting a .22 LR.

With .44 Magnum 240-gr JHPs you got a little noise and a little recoil, but nothing significant. One thing that surprised me was that the big market for these little blasters are grounds-keepers at big golf courses...coyote and other pest removal with no sound signature to frighten (or piss off) the neighbors. With .44 Special you're not going to have the bullet go supersonic, so you're not going to get the crack you'll get with a rifle bullet from a suppressed barrel. And the 200-250 grain at less than 1000 fps .44 Special is a proven performer.

77/44 Suppressed from John's Guns

I could see the .357 77/357 with a suppressed barrel and .38 Special velocities.

BTW, I thought the 77/44 was slated for oblivion, but it's still in the catalog.

There's a good piece over at the Walls of the City blog on open carry issues in Georgia, where OC is legal as long as the gun is in a holster. It highlights something we were hammering last season on TBD -- the necessity for both civilians and law enforcement to know the laws. Open carry is a regular topic when I talk to law enforcement, and I believe there are the beginnings of a movement in LE training to address open (and concealed) carry issues. I imagine the major urban departments will fight OC down to the bitter end, the came way they obsessively opposed concealed carry.

I agree with this conclusion from Walls:

"Just like racial integration, getting people to accept law-abiding citizens openly bearing arms is going to be a long, drawn-out process, but it is an important one nonetheless, and it will invariably lead to a more free society and a country where people can make choices about how they want to keep them and theirs safe. However, until then, we will have to deal with both fellow "average" citizens and law-enforcement "professionals" who are, willfully or accidentally, ignorant of the laws of the land, and it is incumbent upon us to remain calm, cool, and collected in those situations, secure in the knowledge that we are right for lawfully exercising our Constitutionally-protected rights."

Caught Up, More or Less

Sorry for the light blogging...it has been a hectic few weeks. I won't go as far as saying I'm 100% caught up,, but I can at least catch my breath.

I note that Wisconsin is getting ready for CCW, leaving only the Dutchy of Illinois as the only state in the union willing to disenfranchise their citizens. The spread of concealed carry is, to me, an absolutely fascinating social phenomenon...as noted in THE RISE OF THE ANTI-MEDIA, a book I've written extensively about, CCW is as close to unstoppable as you can get. If not this year, the the next, or the next. Forty states now have shall issue or Constitutional carry. All the others, with the sole exception of the Daley-Obama Workers' Paradise, have some kind of discretionary issuance of permits. As noted on a couple of other blogs, every loosening of concealed carry laws is followed by a now-ridiculous MSM meme about, "Blood in the streets....shootings over parking places...etc." You want blood in the street, random shootings, etc., try gun-free CHICAGO, which has categorically proven the cliche that, "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws (and the Chicago PD) will have guns."

Say Uncle had a great comment on "Fast & Furious" that he found posted on FaceBook, and I think it sums things up pretty well:

Imagine the DEA telling pharmacists to illegally sell oxycontin to known drug dealers or they would be shut down. Then imagine the DEA using the fact that more oxycontin was on the street (and hundreds of overdose deaths) as a pretext for making it harder for patients to get prescribed narcotics. This is essentially what happened with the ATF and Project Gunwalker...

Gotta go assemble my Sweetie's 10/22!

No Snow!

Cold and wet, but the thermometer stalled just above freezing. Snowed like crazy a few miles from here, but no shoveling for me! One of the big Colorado bike rides ground through a lot of snow yesterday.

Today was a business business day, financial stuff. I also had a doctor's appointment this AM with a neurologist, and it appears my head is not about to explode. Tough luck for some of you...good for me. Tomorrow is a television work day, with some time to work on my Sweetie's 10/22 for the Ruger Rimfire Worlds in August in New Mexico. Here's something I'll never understand...why do gun companies, even smart gun companies, put these big dohickies on the rear sight -- in the case of the 10/22, a big old fat white diamond -- when you're supposed to pay attention to the front sight? I can't think of how many big fat white dohickies on the rear sight I've lacked out with Sharpies.

I'm going to try and get my video from Daniel Defense put together this week, but no promises.

I was kinda disappointed in FALLING SKIES, the alien invasion series that premiered last night. OTOH, the season closer for GAME OF THRONES on HBO was magnificent! Not a word in the series that wasn't written by the book series's author, George R.R. Martin, who is of course God. FALLING SKIES had so much hackneyed crap attached to it that the show was hard to watch. I like the idea that the Resistance uses, duh, guns! Shoot the aliens until they stop wiggling. Maybe later there'll be recipes.

Here In Winterfell...

So we're walking the Wonder Beagle after our 2 hour mountain bike ride. My Sweetie is waxing poetic about how beautiful things are around the Secret Hidden Bunker in the springtime...all the green shoots, the pale green of the new aspen leaves, etc. Me, the Ever Abundant Optimist, replied: Winter is coming....

"Shut up," says she.

Forecast for tomorrow is for up to 3 inches of snow...

Winter is coming...

Movie Dummy Barrett...

...from the last "Rambo" movie, autographed by Sly Stallone. The inscription reads, "It's been a penetrating experience!"



-- Post From The Road

The Best Looking Rifle on Earth

Pre-64 Winchester blah blah...'03 custom blah blah...FBI FNH blah blah...

This is the bomb, the Barrett MRAD in .338 Lapua..best shooting big caliber rifle I've ever shot! This is the Porche of rifles...I'd take an MRAD over an AI any day. I'd also take a nice chalet in Switzerland and the aforementioned Porsche, too.



-- Post From The Road

Current M107A1

In all it's glory...



-- Post From The Road

A Simple Optic Set-Up...

...for about the price you'd pay for an older used car -- a LEUPOLD Mk-IV, BORS system & Aimpoint Micro for up close...



-- Post From The Road

Ideal Father's Day Gift!!!

M107A1, good to go!



-- Post From The Road

Cutaway Barrett Semi

-- Post From The Road

Prototype Barrett #1

-- Post From The Road

Gun Lust

-- Post From The Road

Angela Barrett...

...gets serious!



-- Post From The Road

"Shoot Me First" Vests

Miguel over at the Gun Free Zone has an excellent post on the myth of a "shoot me first" vest. I've always though that particular canard was wildly overplayed. I'm sitting here at Denver International waiting for yet another connection (today is Travel Casualty Day) and looking around right now I see 3 people in vests -- they don't look like photographers,, fly fishermen or contractors. Instead, they just look like poor pathetic travelers who need the extra pockets.

Since I tend to wear t-shirts and shorts for the 3 days I'm at home in the summer, I like vests. And, yeah, you do look like a dork!

Ruger Single 10?

From Ruger today:

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the Ruger Single-Ten™, a ten-shot single-action revolver chambered in .22 Long Rifle.
The Single-Ten features a ten-shot cylinder and is constructed from durable and handsome satin-finished stainless steel. With a 5.5" barrel and smooth, walnut "Gunfighter" grips, the Single-Ten is well balanced and points easily.

The sight picture of the Single-Ten is enhanced by Williams™ fiber optic sights, which are click-adjustable for both windage and elevation.
"The Single-Six has always been a fun gun to shoot," remarked Mike Fifer, Ruger's CEO. "The additional cylinder capacity, along with the trim Gunfighter grips and fiber optic sights, make shooting the Single-Ten even more enjoyable," he continued.
Well, cool...the single action traditionalist in me is going to have to think about this, but it will make shooting the RRC Cowboy Class quantums easier! Hit the link to see the gun...have limited ability to post pictures off the iPad...

BATFE Report

In the airport, but I did want to comment on the Congressional report on the BATFE Gunwalker scandal. This from the Washington Examiner:

Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House committee, the report focuses on the efforts of four BATF agents who brought direct knowledge of the program:

“ATF agents have shared chilling accounts of being ordered to stand down as criminals in Arizona walked away with guns headed for Mexican drug cartels,” Issa said. “With the clinical precision of a lab experiment, the Justice Department kept records of weapons they let walk and the crime scenes where they next appeared. To agents’ shock, preventing loss of life was not the primary concern.”

Among the report's highlights, according to an Issa spokesman, are these:

* The supervisor of Operation Fast and Furious was “jovial, if not, not giddy but just delighted about” walked guns showing up at crime scenes in Mexico according to an ATF agent. (p. 37)

* Another ATF agent told the committee about a prediction he made a year ago that “someone was going to die” and that the gunwalking operation would be the subject of a Congressional investigation. (p. 24)

* The shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords created a “state of panic” within the group conducting the operation as they initially feared a “walked” gun might have been used. (p. 38)

* One Operation Fast and Furious Agent: “I cannot see anyone who has one iota of concern for human life being okay with this …” (p. 27)

* An ATF agent predicted to committee investigators that more deaths will occur as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. (p.39)

* Multiple agents told the committee that continued assertions by Department of Justice Officials that guns were not knowingly “walked” and that DOJ tried to stop their transport to Mexico are clearly untruthful. (p. 45-50).

Here's the link to the whole report over at the No Lawyers Only Guns & Money blog.

Here's my quick take...reiterating what I said on the podcast this AM:

1) The ONLY way Fast & Furious makes sense is as a direct attack on the Second Amendment. Otherwise, it makes no sense at all. The idea of "rolling up" a firearms trafficking ring is nonsense. If that had been the intent, it would have been a joint operation with the Mexican government. It wasn't...in fact, ATF went to some length to keep the Mexicans in the dark.

2) The idea of getting a gunrunning indictment against any of the cartel heads is equal nonsense. A gunrunning indictment? Against men that are, in effect, men with standing death warrants on their heads, mass murderers with their own private armies? Wow, they'd be shaking in their boots!

3) Fast & Furious worked exactly as the ATF and the people holding its strings -- the Department of Justice and probably Homeland -- planned for it to work. That is, it put demonstrably made-in-America, sold-in-America guns at Mexican crime scenes, waiting for the largely inept, totally corrupt Mexican law enforcement to find them, submit them to the US for tracing and shout loudly that they had found the literal "smoking gun," that American gun shops/shows were flooding Mexico with arms. That's why supervisors were "jovial, if not giddy" when the first Gunwalker guns began turning up at Mexican crime scenes...it was working!

4) I think ATF believed it had enough regulatory juice to keep the gun stores involved from talking, or if not keeping them from talking demonizing them, and maybe driving them out of business, if they did.

It's hardly a secret that I don't think much of the failed narco-state of Mexico, a country of peasants that has allowed a series of blowhard morons turn their country in something resembling one of the rings of hell. But one thing that strikes me as horrific, and breaks my heart, is how easily, how casually, a group of men in suits, in air conditioned offices in Arizona,, in Texas, and, ultimately, in Washington D.C., sanctioned the inevitable deaths of brown people in another country.

Collateral damage...like Brian Terry.

Savannah View

Out our restaurant...



-- Post From The Road

Day @ Daniel Defense

The first thing I want to say is I love, absolutely love, the Ambush 6.8 SPC rifle! We were shooting the 16-inch version with it's free-floating barrel in a modular rail system and it's totally cool shotgun-inspired hand grip on steel at about 40-50 yards, and it was sweet. All the Ambush rifles are fitted with Geissele 2-stage triggers, essentially 2 1/2 pounds on the first stage, 2 pounds on the second. It is a world-class trigger and made running the 6.8 a breeze. We had a Leupold scope on the test gun, but DD Sales guy Joe Marler both agree that with a red dot the gun becomes just about an ideal hog/brush rifle. The Ambush clocks in at 6pounds without optics and with a Magpul MOE...not a lot of fat to be trimmed off. BTW, the barrel is threaded but does not come with a flash-hider; only a cap.

We also shot one of the Larry Vickers' spec'ed Daniel Defense carbines with an Aimpoint Mini on that great DD mount. What can you say? This is pretty much the definition of a top-of-the-line AR, and it shoots like it. Of course, I couldn't resist the 10.3-incher with the Gemtech suppressor! We should have some video up on DRTV next week.

We spent a good bit of time in the factory, especially on the barrel line. DD barrels are cold hammer forged, essentially a steel "torpedo" -- what the steel billet looks like -- that has been drilled and then mirror-honed has a carbide mandrel inserted, then the hammers shape the barrel around the mandrel, including the chamber, lands and grooves. It is very impressive, and the barrels speak for themselves.

Down in Savannah...

...eaten' cream and bananas, as an old Lovin' Spoonful song went, and to spend some time with Daniel Defense. I'll be popping up some pictures fromt he range later today.

Tonight I want to get through day one of the Congressional hearings on the BATFE Operation scandal.

Charlie Cutshaw, R.I.P.

I note the passing -- far too soon! -- of my friend Charlie Cutshaw...a master gun writer, authority on AKs and things Russian, and a gentleman extraordinaire.

You will be missed, brother. Rest in peace.

Colorado Sunset...

...talk to God and listen to the casual reply...



-- Post From The Road

Update...

Fun day at the range! The Tech Sights on the Target 10/22 worked great...butt ugly, but great shooters...I'll take a pix tomorrow. The handguns ran like tops. Mostly I was sorting ammo. My Tac-Sol wants Federal Gold Medal; my Sweetie's 1911 liked the Fed Champions. The rifles liked the Federals and the Wolf Target, but man, the Wolf stuff is FILTHY! CCI Green Tag was accurate in the rifles, but underpowered. It gave me a shotgun pattern in my 22/45.

My Sweetie's out-of-the-box el cheapo 10/22 tanked after 20 or so rounds. The bolt locked back and stayed there...it's still locked back. Not that big a deal since I'm waiting for a Volquartsen trigger group to arrive from Mr. Potterfield, but still...I'll mention it to Ruger tomorrow.

The tuna a la Bobby Flay came out great. Essentially I made a dry rub with 3 different chili powders, brown sugar, cumin, fennel, salt & pepper, rubbed it into one side of the tuna steaks, then blackened the tuna steaks in a cast iron skillet. Smokey but yummy! Side dish of saffron rice and red beans, also from Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook. I was thinking of a rose wine, but opted for Stone IPA instead...right choice!

Oh yeah, and an avocado vinegarette for the fish...

Hopefully, A Range Day

"To stand on the firing parapet and expose yourself to danger; to stand and fight a thousand miles from home when you’re all alone and outnumbered and probably beaten; to spit on your hands and lower the pike; to stand fast over the body of Leonidas the King; to be rear guard at Kunu-Ri; to stand and be still to the Birkenhead Drill; these are not rational acts. They are often merely necessary."

-- Jerry Pournelle

I picked up that wonderful quote from science fiction legend (and the world's first blogger, I believe) Jerry Pournelle over at the Sipsey Street Irregulars site. With the ATF "Gunwalker" scandal heading for its first Congressional hearing on Monday, Sipsey, who along with blogger David Codrea, broke the story, should be regular daily reading.

Pournelle's quote should be chiseled in marble ore the entrance of every school and college in America. The sad thing is that most students, upon, seeing the quote, would have no idea what he's talking about. Instead, they,d take a picture with their iPhone and Twitter it out to their friends with the message, "WTF?!?!?!"

Today's mostly a writing day on THE NEW SURVIVAL GUNS, but hopefully I'll get to the range this afternoon to try on the new Tech-Sights on the 10/22. I also want to put some more rounds through the Ruger LC9. I'm cooking dinner tonight, a Bobby Flay dry rub tuna recipe I haven't done before. Let you know how the shooting and the cooking goes.

Beaver-Proofing!

Sorry for the light posting...I spent yesterday beaver-proofing the Secret Hidden Bunker, making sure we had defensible space in case of a "flash swarm" of social media-active rabid beavers attacked. Plus, we had to make sure there were no trees that could reach the house if they were felled by the furry bastards. On the way to the range yesterday I was amazed — amazed, I tell you! — at the beaver sign...they're everywhere.

That aside, yesterday was a weak point practice day on the range, mostly focusing on one-shot draws. I think one-shot draws are one of the basic building blocks of shooting...practice them a lot in dry fire, then go to the range to verify. I have another range session scheduled this week to work with Ruger Rimfire guns, especially my regular RRC rifle, a 10/22 Target now fitted with a set of really ugly Tech Sights so I can shoot Limited at the World Championships. I had considered building up a new rifle...you can do that with 10/22s since they don't break the bank...but I've got a lot of rounds through the Target 10/22 and I'm very happy with it. As I mentioned, most of the internals are Volquartsen. Hopefully, this will allow me to focus on my Sweetie's rifle, a very plain vanilla 10/22 I bought mega-cheaply from CDNN on their Memorial Day Sale. Assuming it groups well, the only changes will be a Volquartsen trigger group.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get together with Marshal Halloway later this month for a mini-9mm "shoot-out." I've read some interesting criticisms of the little nines lately, largely that one doesn't "need" such a gun because of advances in .380 ammunition. Sort of sounds like me a few years back talking about .40s and 9mms. Having shot most of the mini-9mms and most of the pocket .380s, I'd say if you're making a choice noe=w it comes down to how well you can shoot the mini-9mms.

They are a handfull, but not that much of a handful if you're a regular shooter. By that I mean I was able to get the follow-up hits as easily with the mini-9mms as I was with the .380s. I would define a real handful as the ultralight small frame revolvers shooting .357s or some of the semiauto mini-.40s, neither of which I want any part of. Why? Because I subscribe to the lotsa bullets philosophy of life...no such thing as a one-shot stop, so I want a self-defense gun that allows me to readily deliver the necessary follow-ups.

If you don't put a lot of rounds downrange, that's going to push your selection criteria to the pocket .380s (or the small frame revolvers in .38, .327 or even .32 H&R. If you do put a lot of rounds downrange, check out the mini-9mms. The slightly larger polymer-framed versions (the Ruger LC9, the Taurus Slim and the Kahrs) seem to me to shoot a tiny bit lighter than the Kimber Solo, which is truly pocket-sized, but I haven't had any problems shooting the Kimber, either.

Again, I don't usually do ammo tests...there's always something that a semiauto won't shoot. Over the many decades I've been testing guns, I've managed to accumulate a lot of weird ammo, and some of it would choke a single-shot T/C! In the case of 9mm, I have found the Fiocchi 147-gr truncated cone 9mms, won't run in a lot of guns, including my BHP. But so what? The stuff shoots amazingly well in a Para LTC lightweight commander. All I'm looking for is will the gun run with ball and a couple of different rounds of my favorite self-defense ammo (Corbon and Hornady are the usual choices). And yes, different ammo does group differently, but that difference is usually pretty small if you stay within a reasonable sample...for example, 9mm defensive ammo, 115 grains. And I'm not looking for competition accuracy out of a pocket self-defense gun. Sometimes you'll get it...Walt Rauch once told me that a Taurus 9mm I-frame revolver he'd gotten for T&E was the single most accurate small frame revolver he'd ever shot, and he's shot a bazillion of the things. It happens. But little bitty groups is not why one carries a pocket pistol.

Fear Grips America!

Terrifying, n'est-ce pas?

(courtesy Cryptomundo.com, whose correspondent was savaged mauled immediately after snapping this picture in a Philadelphia park Sunday...maybe)

PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania game wardens remained stumped Sunday about a spate of "truly bizarre" rabid beaver attacks in and around Philadelphia.

This story definitely has me worried...I mean, the Secret Hidden Bunker is virtually surrounded by beavers. They're everywhere! This could be the tiny push that shoves it all over the edge, TEOTWAWKI triggered by big bad beastly beavers driven by a virus that is either lab-engineered or dropped directly from the Mothership.

And more importantly, what caliber works for rabid rapid beavers (rapid rabid beavers?). Initially, I uncased the 450/400 3-inch Nitro Express #1 Ruger (okay...the .50 BMG was the first thought, but Alf the Wonder Beagle rolled her big brown beagle eyes at that suggestion), but then I suddenly realized that I could be facing more than one beaver, maybe more than 2 beavers, maybe even a herd (Flock? Clutch? Gaggle? Colony? Shrewdness? Swarm? Parliament? Weiner?) of beavers. Firepower, me thinks! So I've got the Thompson by the front door, along with some improvised Molotov cocktails in case the furry bastards bring a trebuchet -- hey, they can cut down trees, right?

Be ready for the Beaver Apocalypse!

Otherwise, hell, it's Monday and the recording studio is waiting for me, little green lights blinking. I wasn't particularly happy with my performance at the Rocky Mountain Regional Raid cowboy action match...I put together 6 good stages.. Unfortunately, there were 10 stages. I'd say 3 of my less-then-stellar were me pushing too hard, my head making bets that my hands couldn't cover. This is, sadly, probably a necessary step on the way to getting faster...how do you know the limits of your current skill level if you don't exceed them? And yes, in an ideal world you would explore those limits in your practice; unfortunately, we often perform different under the higher stress of competition than the lesser stress of practice, so sometimes you've got to push it hard when the timer goes off.

Jay G. from the MArooned blog has an excellent report on the Ruger LC9 up on The Firearm Blog. He likes it...so do I. It's a big pocket pistol, but a pocket pistol nonetheless if you so choose. I love pocket pistols (largely because of my shorts and t-shirt summer ensemble, but we're definitely going to rattle your cage about pocket pistols in next season's THE BEST DEFENSE...and not in a good way! Always challenge assumptions is a good way to put together a television show.

I hope! LOL!

BTW BTW, check me out on the NRA Blog this morning! (photo courtesy NRA Blog/Lars Dalseide)

At The Rocky Mountain Regional Raid....

...and basically hanging on. Couple of less than stellar stages; couple of really good stages. Is what it is. I have 5 more stages to shot tomorrow, then jump in the car and sprint for home! Did one stage with the Browning BSS and was very pleased (mid-20 second run,, with a rifle reload).

Tentative competition plan for the rest of the year is focus on cowboy until Hell on Wheels, the big western regional over the 4th of July holiday (I think we're going to take a pass on End of Trail this year). Then we're going to shift over to rimfire for the Ruger Rimfire Worlds in New Mexico in August. Finally, I'm thinking about filming and shooting the very first IDPA Worlds in Florida in September. If I shoot the IDPA Worlds, I'm either going to go with a Ruger SR9 in SSP or one of the 1911s in CDP...decisions decisions! Heck, that's nothing compared with picking a vest! LOL!

Some speed bumps with moving SHOOTING GALLERY to an hour in 2012. I think it's going to happen, but we weren't able to get the deal finished in time to film the MGM Ironman, which I really really wanted to do. Sometimes the Real World flatly refuses to conform to my schedule, damn it. THE BEST DEFENSE is shaping up extremely well...very happy with how that's looking. Pondering pitching a new series with a familiar face hosting, but I haven't yet made the decision to go forward.

Okay, tomorrow is (as Scarlett says) another day! I'm going to get A LOT of sleep tonight and see if I can focus down a little faster tomorrow morning. One stage is 8 shotgun rounds moving downrange, which plays to my strengths. Any day on the range is a great day!

A Dinner I Wish You Could All Have Attended!

On occasions I remember how amazingly lucky I am! We've been filming all day at The National Firearms Museum at the NRA with Joe Mantegna, wrapping up the stand-ups for GUN STORIES. Filming went just great, as with our other 2 locations.

Dinner tonight was Joe Mantegna, Joe's business parter Dan Ramm and his Wife Joanie, ace author (and GUN STORY contributor) Stephen Hunter, AMERICAN RIFLEMAN Editor (and American Rifleman TV host and GUN STORY contributor) Mark Keefe, Phil Schreier and Jim Supica (and wife Eve) from The National Firearms Museum, Lars Dalsiede from the NRA Blog, Producer/Director Tim Cremin and our great crew -- DP Rob Stookie, sound man Don Mitchell and proaction assistant Darlene Marshall.

What a great dinner! I wish you could have all been there just for the wide ranging, fascinating and occasional looney conversations.

Food was good, too!

#4...

....first day of production...



-- Post From The Road

4 Barrels...

...is better than 2...



-- Post From The Road

The Ultimate Howdah

.577 Snider cal, circa 1870, gold embellished



-- Post From The Road

Joe With 1911...

...not just any 1911...serial #4, first day production...



-- Post From The Road

Joe M...

...and Jesse James' S&W...



-- Post From The Road

Take That, Sir Isaac!

So I'm getting ready to fly cross country to the DC area and I get an email "Schedule Change" bulletin from United. According to the bulletin, I will be arriving in Baltimore about an hour before I leave Denver.

I'm good with that...I personally think that we have been held hostage by this whole time conundrum thing far too long. I wonder what other laws have changed since I drove to the airport...gravity, maybe. It will make for some really hilarious episodes of the Big Bang Theory next season!

I need to call my Sweetie and tell her under no circumstances to allow Pokke-san the Tailless Cat to go into a steel-lined box...especially if there's a geiger counter present. Heaven knows what would happen! He'd probably come out of the box with a velociraptor in his jaws to show mommy...

As usual, my best-laid plans for dry-firing ran up against a ton of the things I actually do to make money, which, in these grim times, gets done firstest. That's not a word, but it should be. I have a 2-day cowboy match, the Rocky Mountain Regional Raid, coming up this weekend, and I'd like to come out pretty well. Interestingly enough, I'm getting a new SxS shotgun, a Browning BSS, from gunsmith Johnny Meadows this week. My Sweetie correctly pointed out that I'd call anyone who changed a piece of primary equipment the day before a big match an...how did she put it?...idiot. QED, I'll stick with the Stoeger this weekend.

I'm also thinking of shooting/filming the IDPA Worlds, their first world championship, in September in Florida. What would you guys think of a full-court-press on the IDPA Worlds? I'd be wired throughout the entire match, so you'll undoubtably get to see me self-destruct on camera.

I'm going to make some hard decisions on the SHOOTING GALLERY schedule next week, which I'll discuss/announce her on the blog. We're also putting together the scenarios for THE BEST DEFENSE...head over to the TBD Forum on DRTV and throw your ideas into the mix.

Another Good One Gone

...I note the passing of Stephen Camp, noted expert on Browning High Powers and an all-around good, thoughtful guy, at the far too young age of 59.

Thanks for the conversations, brother. Rest in peace...

Snowing Sideways...

...need I say again? We got in a short road bike this morning before the weather went completely south (or should I say "north?"). Cold, windy at times spitting snow at the end, but great to be pushing the pedals. I cooked the the salmon inside, but luckily we found a bottle of the superb Iron Horse rouge champagne I'd gotten for some special occasion, put in the back of e refrigerator and forgotten about.

Memorial Day 2011

From the World War 1, poster

By these colors we stand ever true

For those who serve, for those who served, for those who fell but who remain forever in our hearts...thank you for our freedom, our country, our lives that we have because of your sacrifice.

And today, memories of my Father, who served and, somehow, never quite found his way home...

On the Way Home from Columbia...

...and Bianchi, where Doug Koenig edged out Bruce Piatt and Mike Voigt to capture the Cup yet again. Doug, Bruce, Mike and Tony Holmes all shot perfect 1920 scores.

Rob Leatham, who decided at the last minute to shoot Production rather than Metallic Sight division won there after coming back from a very bad day.

The big story for me and many other was the return of Bruce Grey, a perennial Production winner who retired from professional shooting 6 years ago after a heart attack and associated health problems. Bruce chalked up a 4th place finish in Production after setting a new record (unofficial, BTW) on the Barricades. At dinner last night Bruce told me he was as nervous, or flat out scared, as he could ever remember being when he stepped up to the Plates, which he then cleaned (and added an additional 32 "X-count" plates). Bruce is a dear friend, and it's great to see him back on the lone and so happy doing it! Congrats, brother.

Stumbling Toward Bianchi

Hopefully, if I have the uplink, I'll post directly to the blog. If not, I'll get something up this evening. Am looking forward to seeing Bruce Gray, who has been MIA since leaving Sig and moving to East...or perhaps West...Nowhere, Oregon.

Marshal Halloway and I had a great dinner with Larry (and briefly Brenda) Potterfield last night. Low key and fun.

Plan for new 10/22 is a Ruger Rimfire gun for my Sweetie, who wants a sight picture just like her cowboy competition 1873 (a flat-top Marble rear and a brass bead front...nothing fancy). She sill be shooting a Tactical Solutions/Kimber 1911 as her pistol. My "regular" changes will include a Volquartsen trigger group and bolt handle, plus a polymer bolt stop. Her call on the stock.

Bored Now...

...guess where? On the way to Bianchi Cup for DRTV...am bringing my head cold with me as I'd be lonesome without it.

Dinner tonight with Larry Potterfield...always fun! Will apply wine therapy to cold...

Finished 20th and last complete book in the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin "Master & Commander" series....am cast adrift, so to speak. May try "Game of Thrones" again, since I've been watching the series on HBO and like it a whole bunch.

Ordered a plain vanilla 10/22 from CDNN to build up...$190, cheap at the price.


-- Post From The Road

What Happened to May?

Do not be deceived by the mere appearance of purpose. 
A string with 

one free end will often tie itself in a knot in a high wind. That’s no

reason to go looking for a Great Knotmaker.

-- L. Neil Smith

Kind of like Mr. Eko's classic line on LOST: "Do not mistake coincidence for fate." I'm not sure I even have the mere appearance of purpose. I'm zipping to the Bianchi Cup tomorrow for DRTV coverage...am hopeful that my hotel has a basement. Will be traveling with a basic trauma kit, because...duh!

Today is a reloading day, and if the temperature creeps out of the 40s I want to get on my mountain bike for a half-hour or so.

I got my AMERICAN RIFLEMAN this week, ad predictably it's flooded with 1911 commemoratives that I can't afford. However, one gun that I can afford and probably will buy is the Wiley Clapp Lightweight Commander from Colt and TALO Distributors. Of course Wiley is an old and very good friend as well as one of the premier gunwriters ever. We first talked about his "everything you need; nothing you don't" Commander at the last 2 SHOT Shows, and it's finally in the pipeline for an MSRP of $1379.

The gun is what Wiley says it is, a Lightweight Commander in 45 ACP for everyday carry...a Series 70 gun with Novak sights and the minimum number of bells and whistles to make it 100%. I love the grips that Wiley designed for Altamont Grips. The one thing missing (and that I have on my own lightweight Commander-length S&W) is a Novak "Answer" mainspring housing/grips safety eliminator.

Still Crazy Busy...

...but I should be able to tinker together a blog post late this afternoon. I note that George Harris has left the Sig Academy...George is one of the most talented and original instructors I've ever worked with...expect to see him on SHOOTING GALLERY's special training segments next season. I also note that the NRA's AMERICAN GUARDIAN TV show has been cancelled, leaving another world-class instructor, Sheriff Jim Wilson, adrift. I doubt that either of these superb trainers will be adrift for long!

Interesting point — I went to Planet Boulder to get my motorcycle registration renewed yesterday and found a new sign on the county building door...NO OPEN CARRY. Once the sign said no guns, then the sign went away, and now it's no open carry. As I said, interesting.

Mo' later...

Monday Monday

LEFT BEHIND!

I've successfully gotten over the fact that I was Left Behind and have even finished Wednesday's podcast, which is uploading to Marshal even as I speak! Going to the range today for a few...

OMG!!!! 6:05 & I'm Still Here!!!!

YES! I have been LEFT BEHIND, morphed unto a best-selling post-Apoc religious book series! Oh man...I'm going to spend the rest of the night dipping 5.56 rounds into Holy Water...probably wouldn't hurt to stick some garlic into .45 ACP hollow-points...hmmmmmmm, where's silver nitrate? I mean, you never know what's gonna come out of the Hellbore these grim days...where oh where is the Sainted Buffy when you really need her???

And I Feel Fine!

Atlantis will rise,

Sunset Boulevard will fall,

Where the beach used to be,

Won't be nothing at all,

That's the way it appears.

They tell me the fault line runs right through the pier

--The Mamas and the Papas

"The Great California Earthquake"

Well, I'm home at the Secret Hidden Bunker and ready for TEOTWAWKI tomorrow afternoon! I have already made all the critical decisions..I have, for instance, decided to wear my beloved "Gus" cowboy hat from Ritch Rand, and I have packed a lunch. I will shoot a cowboy match in the morning, so I'll be tuned up for the Afterlife.

As I mentioned on another forum, I already have plans for the Afterlife -- I'm going to find Mark Twain, Richard Sir Francis Burton, "Karamojo" Bell and Mae West and head out to find the source of the White Nile. If that works out as well as I hope, we'll head north to sink the Bismarck. If you'd like to join us, meet us at Rick's Cafe Americain...you know where. I suggest you pack Airship Captain Goggles, at least 1 Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver (a LeMat or a Dardick would also suffice, but I understand trounds will be a bitch to find in the Afterlife) and a top hat. There will be cookies! And a musical interlude!



Now that I've got that out of my system, I picked up a really cool Sig Sauer P238 yesterday, the Diamond Plate version:

Funky little monster, to be sure. As I've mentioned before, my pocket carry gun for years and years was a Colt Mustang redone by the now-defunct Scott, McDougal & Associates. It's still one of the best .380s ever made (although Marshal Halloway swears by the P238 and is a big reason I got this one). BIG CAVEAT HERE! Both the Mustang and the P238 are single-action semiautos...if you carry either gun cocked and locked in your pocket (as I did), you MUST have a sturdy pocket holster that covers the trigger! Sig provides a really nifty belt holster with the P238, so you've got options.

According to Brother Jeff Quinn from GunBlast.com http://gunblast.com/(who will no doubt be joining us at Rick's Cafe Americain, bringing his own hot sauce), Colt will be introducing the Ultralite version of the Mustang pretty soon. Marshal thinks we'll have one for testing in June. Here's Jeff's pix from SHOT Show:

BTW, here's Jeff's review of the P238. Here's the P238 review from The Firearm Blog. My understanding is that the Colt 7-round magazines will fit the Sig, and vice versa. I'll check it out this weekend. I would like to point out that the P238 as it comes out of the box has lots of sharp edges...so did the Mustang until SM&A ground them off. If I was going to keep the gun, it would need to be dehorned. One thing I appreciate with the Ruger LCP, my every day all the time in-my-pants pistol, is that it's pretty smooth out of the box.

BTW BTW, one of my favorite holsters for the Mustang was this one from Pocket Concealment Systems, a cross draw that easily tucks under a sweater:

It is I believe based on a Lou Alessi design, and he called it his "sweater holster." I also like their Blackbird front pocket holster for jeans, and it works well for cocked and locked carry. I'm always experimenting with pocket holsters. As you know, I favor the DeSantis Nemesis for the Ruger LPC (and various and sundry J-frames, but I don't like the soft Nemesis for a cocked and locked pistol. My favorite pocket holster, for the little NAA .32, was a "Pocket Natural" made by by Jerry Ahern about a thousand years ago. Here's a pix off Jerry's site:

BTW-cubed, here's an article I wrote back in 2007 that says exactly the same things I say today, proving perhaps that I am ultimately boring. Finally, you can find all the information in the world on little pistolas at mouseguns.com.

Oh Boy! More Shoveling!!!

A foot of snow waiting for me at home tomorrow, along with a Sig 238. Sigh...break out the damn snow shovel...again. I hope I can get home. It has been a SUPER filming session here at Cody. Warren Newman, the curator, is one of the coolest, most knowledgeable people around, and I enjoy working with him. And Joe Mantegna is just wonderful to work with. I can't wait for you guys to see the show!

Baby's First Gat

-- Post From The Road