More Comforting News...

From MediaTrackers:

Documents from an Ohio National Guard (ONG) training drill conducted last January reveal the details of a mock disaster where Second Amendment supporters with “anti-government” opinions were portrayed as domestic terrorists. 

Portsmouth Chief of Police Bill Raisin told NBC 3 WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia that the drill accurately represented “the reality of the world we live in,” adding that such training “helps us all be prepared.” 

The ONG 52nd Civil Support Team training scenario involved a plot from local school district employees to use biological weapons in order to advance their beliefs about “protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights.”

Well, cool! What could be more fun than spending a weekend practicing the slaughter of your neighbors? Not surprised at this, considering everyone from Homeland Security to the clown show at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the usual suspects have been working very hard to portray us as the enemy, while portraying the enemy, that would be the Islamic fascists who want the utter destruction of lifestyle and all the world's people under the heavy yoke of Sharia, as an aggrieved minority set upon by wave after wave of neocon Bull Conners and the snapping police dogs of the Tea Party.

Think about how ludicrous this statement is..."a plot from local school district employees to use biological weapons in order to advance their beliefs about “protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights.”

I thought it might be helpful if I, as one simulation-writer to another, gave Portsmouth Chief of Police Bill Raisin a little supporting documentation. There is a lot of documentation for what Homeland and its willing dupes — sorry, Chief! — are trying to do. You can find lots of it here, or here. The key point is the creation of "the other," that is, encouraging the larger body of people to see the targeted group of people as "the other," so outside the boundaries of modern behavior, of modern culture, that they are undeserving of the protections of law or even civility afforded to citizens...so here, Chief Bill...news you can use!

"The Jews forced us into a struggle for life and death. The war has forced us to give up much we formerly thought was necessary. It has also forced us to give up the “politeness” that in reality is a weakness. A boxer in the ring must use his fists to defend himself against his opponent. A fencer can only win when he uses his sword. We as a people will survive this war only if we eliminate weakness and “politeness” and respond to the Jews with an equal hatred..."

— Ernst Hiemer, 1943

“Der heilige Haß,” Der Stürmer1943

Of course, you're going to need to change a little wording here and there, but that shouldn't be a problem for a smart guy like you! Contact the FBI and they'll give you the appropriate wording. Maybe if you were able to identify the new "enemies of the state" more easily...oh, and BTW, one more tidbit...

"Jews are prohibited from owning or bearing firearms and ammunition, as well as daggers or swords."

— Max Eichler

 Du bist sofort im Bilde (Erfurt: J. G. Cramer’s Verlag, 1939) pp. 139-142.

Probably should add "biological weapons" to that quote when you change it!

Ugh...

...or maybe "ugggggh..." We're maybe 4 days into this bout of snow, but it's not so much the snow as the winds. The small accumulation gets whipped overnight into big drift. Spent yesterday cutting drifts...not so much like shoveling snow as quarrying out concrete blocks and tossing them into a pile to wait for June. I'll fire up the snow blower this afternoon and keep chipping away at it. Been a while since we had this hard a winter, so we're due. The new south-facing Secret Hidden Bunker, 3000 feet lower, will make life in high country winter a little easier.

The weather's supposed to break in a couple of days, and they can get back to construction.

Have just about finished putting together the SHOOTING GALLERY 2015 Season plan...looks pretty good. We have the first planning meeting for THE BEST DEFENSE in a couple of weeks. I'm a little worried about scripting GUN STORIES because my pretty extensive gun library is packed away...that'll probably the first thing that gets unpacked at the new house. Hopefully by getting an early enough start on the broadcast products I'll be able to carve out more time for DOWN RANGE Television. I know Marshal and I be filming with Daniel Defense in March. I plan to film the Non-Permissive Jurisdiction project for DRTV, too.

I'd like to do do an Internet piece on prepping for ICORE...I'm been going through my stuff and seeing what can be twisted or tortured into use. My plan is to use a GP-100 6-inch rather than the 5-inch Match Champion, specifically for the adjustable sights. I'm going to change out the rear sights for a set of Bowen Rough Country adjustables and a green fiber optic front. I'm also going with a set of Hogue "Lamo Camo" grips to replace the Hogue rubber grips on the GP-100 I have...I never warmed up to the soft rubber Monogrips, and I like the design of the Hogue wooden/laminate grips (although some very knowledgeable revolver people profoundly hate them).

The only time I've really liked rubber grips on serious boomers, where anything that takes some of the sting out of them is a good thing. I especially like the Hogue "Tamer" Monogrips for the Ruger Alaskan .454 and the S&W .500 Magnum.

Marshal and I going to be doing a long range battle rifle class soon...I'm planning on using the Ruger SR762 if I can get it 100% in time. I would love to film that for DRTV as well.

LOL! As you've probably figured out, Marshal and I have more ideas than there are hours in the day...did I mention maybe a live DOWN RANGE Radio podcast from the NRA Show? A snubby revolver course? A comprehensive look at the state of the .380? Long range bolt guns? Wringing out the .204 Ruger on an AR platform? A test of the new Tac-Sol .300 Black? Profiles on top gunsmiths? And the list goes on and on and on...

Something I Wasn't Going to Write About...

...I'm from the South...not the "New South," but the lost South of a different generation, maybe from a different universe. So yes, I can tell funny stories about moonshiners and haints and violence that by today's standards would be breathtaking...or terrifying. I once wrote a piece for Esquire, back before Esquire became a sad collection of poofs — remember, back in the day Esquire was the only mainstream media that did a fair and honest profile of Col. Jeff Cooper — on Charlie Daniels and the soul of the South.

I wrote that Charlie Daniels was, like me, a product of the Old South, and that time laid  very differently there. I told the story of when I was a kid, on a bet, I'd walked out on the girders of an old railroad bridge over the Mississippi River at flood in Memphis.While I was out there like an idiot balancing over the black water, I looked upriver and and there was fire lighting up the sky, and I could see people on a boat, silhouetted against the flames, jumping into the river. I swear I could hear the screams, then a huge explosion. I frantically got off the old bridge, raced to my grandparents and told them there was a fire on the river. My grandmother laughed. "Honey," she said, "it's just that old riverboat that burned up...everybody sees it. Ain't really there, so those people are already gone."

For the record, the steamship Sultana exploded and burned on the river outside of Memphis April 28, 1865, the greatest maritime disaster in American history. The print above is from Harper's Weekly. Everybody's seen it, doncha know. I could tell you more, but, heck you'd probably think I was crazier than you already think I am. Charlie Daniels and I sat in his wonderful house in Tennessee many many years ago and talked about stuff like that, and quarter horses, and Bob Dylan, and Charlie's collection of vintage Winchesters.

I bring this up because last night, my cat Pokke-san jumped on the bed. He's the loudest cat you can imagine...I woke up when he was running up the stairs. Then I felt him land on the bed. He walked up to my Sweetie's face, sniffing like he always does. Of course, she was deeply asleep and didn't wake up. Then he came over to me...I could feel his paws on my chest, as I have so many times before over the last 8 years. I could feel his soft fur on my face. Then he made a soft noise, somewhere between a purr and a growl, and it sounded so very very sad. I was awake, but I didn't open my eyes, because of course my cat, Pokke-san, is dead. I heard him jump off the bed and head down the stairs, so I clicked on a Streamlight and sat up. Alf the Wonder Beagle was at the foot of our bed, standing rigidly, her hackles up. Dogs know things.

I picked her up and put her on our bed. Then I sat on the side of the bed for a while and thought about the Sultana.

Can You Spell "Cabin Fever?"

The high point of the day was making guacamole (Alton Brown's recipe) after ordering a .204 Ruger AR upper from JP Rifles. That's what happens with cabin fever...a little voice in your head says,"Go ahead...you can scrape up the bucks when it's ready..." I was blown away with the .204, a 4000fps 36-grain rocket that shoots like a laser beam. I have plans for the final gun!

Today was a heat wave, the high was 20, count 'em, degrees! Alf was as frolicsome as a puppy since the ice wasn't freezing in her paw pads. I even slept late, which is rare. I'm trying to spend 30 minutes a day dry-firing the Ruger revolver, and I think I'm finally settling into it. Hopefully the Blade-Tech holster will be here soon so I can start draws.

Here's a piece you need to read and distribute...a former MAIG mayor says he left the organization when he realized Bloomberg's ONLY objective was total civilian disarmament:

A former member of Michael Bloomberg’s gun control groupclaimed this week that the group’s objectives are far more radical than it has let on. 

John Tkazyik, the mayor of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said he quit the former New York City mayor’s group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, after he realized its objective was outright confiscation of firearms from law-abiding citizens.

Read the whole thing and pass it on. And remember, I told you so. There is no "conversation," there is no "reasonable," there is no "common sense," there is no "third way." There is only door-to-door confiscation by whatever reiteration of the Gestapo our little progressive friends can dream up...I'll bet they will have the cutest silver scull morale patches!

To back that up, here's a good piece from William Levinson at AMERICAN THINKER (where the above poster came from), "Gun Control: A War, Not a Conversation:"

(3) Incrementalism is War 

When Adolf Hitler says, "Today Germany, tomorrow the world," nobody should delude himself into believing that appeasement will make his statement mean something else. When militant Arabs publish Israel-free maps of the Middle East, and run children's shows that call for the extermination of Jews followed by Islamic domination of the world, a responsible person takes them at their word and treats them accordingly: like rabid animals, as opposed to negotiating partners with whom it is possible to have any kind of win-win conversation. 

When Senator Dianne Feinstein says, "If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them . . . Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in, I would have done it," it is similarly best to take her at her word. The same goes for Jan Schakowsky's (D-IL, wife of convicted felon Robert Creamer) statement that Congress can indeed get around to banning handguns. Andrew Cuomo has added that confiscation of firearms is an option, while Handgun Control Inc. said openly that the Brady Bill is merely the nose of the camel under the tent.

Good reading and good reminders. I have been taken to task for saying we are involved in a "war." This is the battle of our lifetimes.

And BTW, if you could spare a minute cross your fingers for my friend Lanny Barnes and all the members of U. S. Biathlon in Russia at the Winter Games.

"Buffalos Died in the Frozen Fields, You Know..."

...well, not really...only a song lyric...but it was 12 degrees below zero when I got up this AM...I can't say that the Wonder Beagle was thrilled about going out...when she came back in she immediately jumped on the bed and burrowed under the covers. I don't blame her.

(From the great Rotten eCards, of course)

And speaking of gangstas, from the Boston Globe, a report on the MA "study panel" on gun laws, recommending changes in MA's already draconian laws:

The panel members said they also learned that current law gives too much discretion to police chiefs to deny gun licenses to “unsuitable persons,” so they recommended that the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association help develop a tighter definition for that term. 

For the most part, police chiefs invoke the “unsuitable persons’’ language to deny licenses for handguns. The panel recommended that police chiefs be allowed to apply that standard to buyers of rifles and shotguns, who are exempt. 

That change would allow police chiefs to prohibit people who have been arrested, but not convicted, of a crime from buying a rifle.

Lemme get this straight...let's give law enforcement the power to strip a person of one of their Constitutionally protected rights...just because? Scratch a progressive's skin and beneath you always find the armorplate of a fascist. I know it has become unfashionable to say such things, but it is the truth our enemies believe that we will all be safer, more secure, if we empower our overlords to simply take matters into their own hands, irrespective of laws or those pesky Constitutional protections.

I have had (mainstream) conservatives explain to me why NYC's "stop and frisk" laws were such a good thing because they reduced crime. Ends, meet Means. My response was strictly Constitutional, what part of, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated..." don't you understand? What part don't you agree with? When I first went to England one of the things I truly wants to see was a copy of the Magna Carta...buried within that landmark document from the 13th Century was the concept of due process, the seeds of America and the freedom we've enjoyed.

But the liberal/progressive elite are uncomfortable with due process, because it implies that all people, even them, are equal under the law. And how can people who are so much smarter, so much better educated, so much more understanding of the country and its needs, be equal to some redneck peckerwood gun clinger or a black kid struggling to get by the in wrong neighborhood in New York? So much better if if those oh-so-smart people in power protect those less fortunate in income, parentage, job choice, neighborhood, skin color, religion choice. The authorities are there to protect and serve, after all. What could possibly be wrong with that?

There's a quote from G. K. Chesterton that applies here, I think:

“The wisest thing in the world is to cry out before you are hurt. It is no good to cry out after you are hurt; especially after you are mortally hurt. People talk about the impatience of the populace; but sound historians know that most tyrannies have been possible because men moved too late. It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists.”

I once interviewed a young Muslim woman who had been caught up in the Balkan "ethnic cleansing"...she survived and ultimately thrived, but her story was a horrific one of physical torture, multiple rape, disappearance or death or friends and family members, the usual genocidal package. What struck me in that interview was even after the years had passed, she remained puzzled at the genesis of her experience. It seemed so strange to her that the men who connected the battery cables to her genitals after repeatedly raping her were the same men for whom's families she had babysat, at whom's table she had dined numerous times, men who's children she played with and whom she considered her friends. Her life seemed perfectly normal...until it didn't.

How slippery is the slope? While we all may laugh at college students signing a petition to put gun owners in concentration camps, it's an uncomfortable laugh, with maybe a glance over the shoulder.

Tequila Tuesday!

My favorite 30-30 Reposado, Patron Orange Liquer and lemon juice...along with chili-rubbed halibut and my Sweetie's trademark Spanish rice.

Today was a push push push...lot of stuff had to get done by end of business day, and, miraculously, I just slid under the wire. I am looking forward to a long-range rifle class with the Ruger SR762 end of March, and the Crimson Trace/GUNSITE 250 pistol class in May. I'm thinking of using the Ruger Match Champion revolver in the GUNSITE class...I've never shot the 250 class with a revolver, and I think it might be instructive (as in how much I don't know).

I'm also thinking about going to the ICORE World Revolver Championships in June for SHOOTING GALLERY 2015. We haven't been to ICORE in a while, and it's time to go back, I think.What put me in the revolver mood was a phone call from my old running buddy Paul Erhardt, who outlined his plans for shooting ICORE and writing about it for the SHOOTING WIRE. Looked like it might be fun. Plus, I'm getting a lot of requests for information on revolvers for self-defense...interesting! Why should that be? Maybe because Gun Culture Ver. 2.0 has now had a couple of years shooting guns, and they've discovered that revolvers, with their one single manual of arms — pull the trigger — seem more and more attractive.

I think I have a semipermanent cold...my nose is never...let me repeat,never...going to stop running. I can't be allergic to something...it's, like, 7 degrees below zero. Nothing is alive out there. Just snow snow snow. And yet, I sneeze as if I'm in Kansas in the spring. Sucks massively. I've been reading a novel from Bernard Cornwall on 1356...it's grim and it keeps me awake at night. It also makes me think I'd like to write historical fiction when I finally run out of steam on television.

Which, I hope, isn't soon. Am working on the pilot of a new reality show, which I'll show you when I can. I think it's a hit, but, of course, I'm largely deluded. I still have an African hunt scheduled for June. Not that far away...not that far away...hang on...

Podcast Monday

And, amazingly, I got it done. Actually, I had too much material...I've been wanting to talk about revolvers, a lot about revolvers. I like revolvers, have always liked revolvers. My first handgun was a revolver, an S&W Regulation Police .38 S&W...I still have it, and that's a whole other story. It's also the first gun I ever pointed at a human being...and luckily, I never had to pull the trigger.

I've mostly been an S&W Guy but I have to say the Ruger Match Champion GP-100 may change my mind. That's about a gun and a half! I love the Hogue grips, and it's a pretty good trigger pull — needs lighter springs, but it's smooth with a crisp break.

Hopefully the temperature will creep over 20 degrees and I can get this gun to the range this week. I've got a case of ARMSCOR .38 Special FMJs tat just cry out to be shot. My cherubs and seraphim tell me this is not the last, nor the only, Ruger competition revolver...I think that's great, and I look forward to the next one.

Bruno Mars @ Superbowl

Prince Lite.

The Rest is Rock and Roll History...

I note the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who once played my friend Lester Bangs in the movie Almost Famous, apparently of drugs. Lester, of course, died of an accidental overdose in 1982. So I've read other music journalists who say they became music journalists because of the advice from Lester Bangs as delivered by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Yeah, I guess.

I've seen the needle

And the damage done

A little part of it in everyone

But every junkie's

Like a settin' sun.

— Neil Young

Tactical Groundhog Day

“This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.”

— "Phil Conners"

Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney Phil does a quick sneaky peak outside his secret hidden bunker. It's happening again...the "zombies" have the bunker surrounded! This year, though, it's going to be different. Phil slings the half-size Honey Badger in 5.7 X 28 and tucks 4 more 50-round mags in his custom Tactical Tailor plate carrier/tactical vest. He remembers how hard it was to get a groundhog-sized ceramic plate.  He straps on the groundhog-sized Glock 42, 2 Spyderco Delicas, a bandoleer of mini-flash bangs. Six more weeks of winter his fuzzy brown whistle-pig tail! Today will be a reckoning...

I think I'm going back to bed now. That means there will be 6 more weeks of brutal cold, blizzards, asteroid strikes, tsunamis, angry arguments with total strangers at the Safeway, and Vanilla Ice on television.

Low Key Saturday!

First, I eeeeeeeeked out a 4th overall in last weekend's cowboy match, although the guy in 3rd place shot a Thompson semiauto as the rifle and a 1911 as the pistol (obviously, a different class!). Very pleased. My Sweetie came in 6th overall, so very proud of her as well! Especially after our several months' layoff. If we can just do as well in a 3-Gun match as soon as the Great Thaw hits.

New Secret Hidden Bunker is now officially On Hiatus...too much snow; too cold...sigh. The joys of building in winter in the High Country. Since we didn't have anything housewise to worry about today, we took Alf the Wonder Beagle on a long snowshoe hike...we wore the snowshoes; Alf got by on her 4-Paw-Drive. I did make a minor change in ammo on the Designated Dog-Walking Gun, the Taurus Judge PD. There's a mountain lion in the neighborhood...it has killed and eaten 2 dogs in the last week. So I went to a progressive loading of 3 Federal #000 buckshot rounds backed up by an "anchor" of 2 Winchester .45 Colt Silvertips, 225-gr screamers I'm very comfortable with.

Interestingly enough, we didn't hike quite as far as we'd intended, since the Wonder Beagle got spooked. One atom of cat scent in the air sends her headed for home! We still got in an good workout. Darn cold, though.

Good piece by John Lott in NRO Online, The Cruelty of Gun-Free Zones:

Yet the media do understand the dangers of gun-free zones — at least when it comes to their own safety. Shortly after the Journal News of Westchester County, N.Y., got national attention in December 2012 for publishing the names and addresses of local gun owners, documentarian and activist James O’Keefe secretly filmed editors of the paper deciding not to put signs in front of their homes saying that their houses were “gun free.” One of the editors, after saying he hated guns, worried out loud that such a sign would make his home a target of criminals.

I've always thought the media should be willing to put large yellow triangle sticker on the windows of their homes reading, "GUN FREE AND PROUD!" They never will, spineless hypocrites.

I have to confess I'm not going to the Great Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, or SCI for that matter. My travel schedule spins up in a week or so, and I wanted to enjoy the time I had at home. And shoveling the driveway...LOL! Been watching Klondike...reminded me that it's been a long time since I've pulled a sled up a mountain in Alaska. Was cold then, too...

The battle for repeal  of Colorado's Bloomberg lovefest laws begins Monday. I don't think we're going to get anywhere in this legislative session, but it's going to be a new world after this year's elections.

Also ordered holsters today for the Ruger GP100 Match Champion (a Blade-Tech OWB and Hoffner Mirage IWB) and a Blade-Tech OWB for the SP-101 snub.

Otherwise, I cooked up some jerk salmon tonight using some Savory Extra Hot Jerk Seasoning...good stuff! Rub a little olive oil on the salmon...salt...pepper...lots of jerk seasoning. Broil on high for 5 minutes; dribble a few more drops of olive oil on the salmon, seal in aluminum foil, bake at 425 degrees for 5 more minutes. Pretty good, and lots of heat! Served with Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale.

It might break 20 degrees tomorrow! Yippie!

Winter Wonderland!

We shoveled the winter wonderland off the driveway of the Secret Hidden Bunker this afternoon so we could get a pizza...well, truthfully, we snow-blowed off the winter wonderland until the snowblower's sheer pin sheered. Then it was back to the shovel. While I was shoveling I got to thinking about Project Non-Permissive Jurisdiction and handguns. I may look around for a used Wiley Clapp Ruger GP100 .357.

Here's a couple of reviews, one from my buddy Jeff Quinn at GunBlast, the other from AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. It has been around a couple of years, which is why there are used ones floating around at good prices. I saw Wiley at SHOT, and he was still waxing poetic about the gun. Kind of a good compromise between the SP101 I have and a full-sized gun. Just a thought.

Ruger GP-100s are one of 3 things that would be left after a total global nuclear war, along with cockroaches and Keith Richards. They're pretty much totally indestructible, shoot better than they have any right to and are even relatively inexpensive. Ideal for the Project.

Of course, it could be I'm just punchy from shoveling snow.

Project Non-Permissive...

...is moving right along. My Browning BLR went to MPI fiberglass gunstocks to lose about half a pound or more. In finally found one of the Browning Scout Scope mounts (which is, sadly, steel). I'm rethinking cutting the 18-inch barrel to 16 inches...probably not worth the cost and the aggravation of building up a much higher front sight. I will need a taller front sight regardless of which BUIS I use — Skinner Express, XS or the classic Williams WGSR. Lengthwise, the longest piece of the take-down is stock, which will with the new stock be right at 20 inches, so I'm not buying anything with the shorter barrel.

That leaves a much-needed trigger job, a leather wrap for the lever and the decision on optics to be done.

Here's a picture from an old AMERICAN RIFLEMAN article on the BLR with a forward-mounted red dot, and I have to say a red dot is still in the running.

The new fiberglass stock will include sling swivels, and my inclination is to reach out to Andy Langlois for one of his "Rhodesian" slings.

Ideally, the entire package — rifle, handgun, ammo for both, holster for handgun, magazines/speedloaders — will fit into one of the Negrini or equivalent case designed for multiple handguns...essentially a large, nondescript briefcase.

Interestingly enough, the BLR may turn out to be the "EDC" for the New, Improved Secret Hidden Bunker, assuming we can get it finished before I pull all my hair out and run away to join the circus. There are more wild critters on the 35-acre new property, and I'd likely keep a rifle handy.

Couple of interesting reads for today. The first is from The Arms Guide on "Keeping a Clear Mind:"

At first approach, it may seem that concentrating on the self defense encounter, planning the best course of action—and taking it, while minimizing risk of injury to one’s self and any potential bystanders, while remembering the rules of law, is an overwhelming challenge. Trying to recount all the details of a frenzy of thought and activity after the fact only adds to the complexity of the task. Fortunately, with a few simple exercises, you can train your brain to handle these high stress moments like a champ. Here are some of the training tips I practice.

Read the whole thing...all good tips. One thing I would add that we've talked about a lot on the podcast that goes a little a little beyond event rehearsal...you need to tell yourself that you are in fact quite capable of handling a chaotic encounter. Yes, that's one of those weird little Happy Talk things, but it does work. The particular little mnemonic that works for me is the simple phrase, "I'm good at this!" Has to be simple, BTW, or it won't work...think of it as a programming bug for your head.

Example...right before SHOT I was in Planet Boulder on an icy, icy day. I was just driving slow-speed  down a 4-lane city street in the trusty Honda Element when I hit a patch of pure black ice invisible in a light dusting of snow. The rear wheels just dropped toward the curb and the car began to spin...yes, there was traffic behind me and in the on-coming lanes. The first thought that popped into my mind was, "Hey, I'm good at this!" I managed to stay in my lane, spin the Element 360 degrees and motor on like, "I meant to do that." My Sweetie even said I was laughing as I spun the car.

Competence is the antidote for panic. I have in the past taken ice driving courses, so I knew there was a good chance I could "get the car back" as long as I didn't fight it. Panic shuts down the mind, and anything that keeps the mind in the game is good.

The second interesting read today comes from the Gun Culture Ver. 2.0 blog summarizing an American Society of Criminology paper on who gets shot and when are gunshots fatal.

The victimization in Rochester [NY, the site of the study] was also concentrated in just a few geographic areas, with a single zip code accounting for 30% of all shootings. In some areas, gun violence is even more concentrated. Assummarized by prominent researcher Anthony Braga (Rutgers University and Harvard), 5% of street blocks accounted for 74% of all shootings in Boston from 1980 to 2008. Just 60 locations experienced 1,000+ shootings.

Interestingly, the report goes on to note that, "The only situational factor that is a statistically significant predictor of lethality is if the victim had a weapon." While there is a lot of head-scratching on this point in the blogpost, it makes perfect sense to me in light of the earlier geographic and social findings in the report. What we can read into those earlier findings are strong evidence of a thriving gang culture (surprise). At the top of the pyramid in gang culture are those individuals whom we may refer to as "violent criminal actors," or VCAs. They are, to borrow a phrase from the movies, stone killers, people who routinely and reflexively use violence to accomplish their goals. Violence, sometimes lethal violence, is simply a component of their "day job."

As I said in TRAIL SAFE, predators always recognize other predators...assuming an apex predator is a prey animal is a mistake that will only be made once. When predators hunt predators, they play for keeps. A VCA will assume his target is like him- or herself, armed and ready for the attack. As Ralph Waldo Emerson notes, when you strike at a King, you must kill him. Same applies to violent criminal actors.

BTW, kind of cool to see a blog focused on analyzing the Gun Culture Ver. 2.0 concept!

The Most Important Story of the Day

(frightening photo courtesy India Today)

Flatulent cows start fire at German dairy farm 

BERLIN - Methane gas from 90 flatulent cows exploded in a German farm shed on Monday, damaging the roof and injuring one of the animals, police said. 

High levels of the gas had built up in the structure in the central German town of Rasdorf, then "a static electric charge caused the gas to explode with flashes of flames," the force said in a statement.

We're probably lucky that the same thing didn't happen last night at the SOTU. Blah...blah...vocal faltulence...blah...blah...human generation of methane...blah...kaboom!

What we did hear last night was the dying whimper of this most recent antigun putsch. This from Politco's Dylan Byers (not exactly a friend of ours) instant analysis:

3. The Gun Control Push is All But Over 

Obama's gun-control push started to fade from view a long time ago, but Tuesday's speech solidifed its death. "A year after making a call for his broad gun control agenda the emotional big finish, Obama devoted just two sentences to preventing gun violence," our colleague Reid Epstein reports. "Gun control advocates — thrilled that Obama made their cause the centerpiece of his emotional big finish last year — are left to be satisfied that Obama simply reiterated its commitment to reforms." 

The mainstream media was part of the heavy push for gun control. From CNN's Piers Morganand Don Lemon to NBC's Bob Costas to almost the entirety of MSNBC and the editorial pages of The New York Times and The Washington Post. In the wake of Newtown, the sense of urgency surrounding gun control legislation was so fierce that, at times, it began to color the media's news coverage in general. In that regard, the near-omission of gun control from Obama's speech was a loss for the mainstream media.

Interesting observation on the MSM. The gun control "movement" — and I use the term very loosely — has always been largely a creature of the Mainstream Media. As I've said before, in 2013 the media went all-in for civilian disarmament. When even more mainstream commentators notice that "it began to color the media's news coverage in general," it should tell you how thoroughly compromised the MSM is. Also worth noting that the media is spinning last night's whimper as a ringing endorsement. This from Huffpo:

One year later, with his gun control agenda considered dead on Capitol Hill, the president used the same venue to pledge that he will advance measures to reduce gun violence "with or without Congress."

Yeah, well, take your consolation where you can find it. In fact, the push for gun control that began with Newtown is finished. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean there's not a new push just around the corner.

The sad fact is that gun control/civilian disarmament is a religion, not even remotely based on any kind of fact. It has articles of faith, its own catechisms, its priests and ruling elite who answer to no one. If it wasn't for the boundless support of the MSM, occasional crumbs from progressives and that nasty little fascist billionaire (can one person wreak havoc on a country...check Wikipedia, under "Hitler"), gun control/civilian disarmament would be on par with the Flat Earth Society. The reason the gun control movement keeps falling on its face is that the majority of American people, when presented with the reverent, long repeated "solutions," recognize nonsense when they see it.

It's obvious that whether our blood enemies say they want to "ban handguns," have "common sense gun control," promote "gun safety" or find "solutions to gun violence," the only real agenda item is unconditional civilian disarmament, however they can get it.

So take a deep breath, go shooting or hunting (or maybe both), keep bringing new people into our culture and get ready for the next battle.

Happy State of the Union Address!

"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."

— Frederick Douglass, 

August 3, 1857

A Cold, Snowy, Icky Monday in January

'Bout sums it all up. Temps been hovering around 10 degrees and it has been steadily snowing all day...even Alf the Wonder Beagle cut her walk short. The only fun thing I did today was the podcast. I also finished grinding up a Blade-Tech Holster for the Taurus Public Defender, the D.D.W.G.* (*designated dog-walking gun).  I ended up with a holster for a 4.5-inch barrel instead of a 2.5-inch barrel...kydex, meet Mr. Skillsaw! I also ground off a part of the holster that extended beyond the grip of the Taurus revolver, which sort of kept me from getting a good 100% grip on the gun. The net result is my perfect holster for the dog-walking gun.

And please, please don't tell me that you read on the Internet that .410 buckshot won't penetrate newspaper, can actually be stopped by a silk shirt and is only useful for separating shills from their money. I'm just not in the mood...maybe I'm in a bad mood.

I am in a bad mood. That must be it. I shot a cowboy match yesterday and actually did pretty good, much better than I expected. I think its because I shot absently...game the stage...run the guns. There was a run and gun shotgun stage, which plays to my strengths. Of course, Mr. Tricksy Hobbit went to the next stage, figured out there was one spot where I could shot booth revolvers and the rifle without moving my feet, which would save a few pieces of seconds. I cranked through the first 2 pistols, started on the rifle and, as I swung the right I torqued my legs...followed by a funny popping noise in my right knee. LOL!

Damn, that hurt! It's all swollen up today. I look like a crab going up and down the stairs. Well, nobody ever said getting old was for sissies. Give it a day, and it'll be back to normal.

At least today is Margarita Monday, and since it's snowy and the plow hasn't been by lately (like, since 8AM), I decided to work with what I had on hand...Republic Tequila Plata, Cointreau and lemon juice. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to win Iron Chef Tequila with it, but it's a good margarita.

Saturday, and Up Early Sunday...Maybe

Haven't been blogging because I've been dealing with vast quantities of steaming brown stuff as the new Secret Hidden Bunker moves along. It's a simple case of throwing more money at EVERYTHING. Budgets? We don't need no stinkin' budgets! We just go back to the Bank of Mike and hit the ATM! Rant rant! Rave rave! Whine whine! Bitch bitch!

Okay, I'm over it. I do suggest that if you're thinking of building a house, particularly a non-standard type of house not in a subdivision, find a sturdy piece of rope, step into your bathroom and hang yourself. It'll be over quicker, and you'll thank me for it in the end.

I am thinking of heading down to the freezing gun room long enough to reload enough cowboy rounds for tomorrow's match. I haven't shot any kind of match in ages and ages, the result of fickle weather and my brutal end-of-the-year travel schedule. I can barely remember how they work.

BTW, I was reading Paul Barrett's piece on the SHOT Show, and more and more the Glock book author shows his true colors:

A company called Lancer, for example, “introduced a stock capable of holding two ammunition magazines, although only one can be loaded at a time,” Terrill reports. I don’t know who needs a rifle holding two magazines when you can easily carry a spare on your belt or in a pocket, but there you are. Gun-control advocates aren’t going to be happy about this innovation, I predict.

Remember, Paul works for Bloomberg and told me that he thought his boss was a great boss and an honest man. You do the math. Of course Barrett also believes his good friend Ritchie Feldman's contention that many people in the industry are secretly pulling for a Hillary Clinton victory so they can benefit from another sales bubble. LOL! So stupid it's not even worth refuting. My favorite Feldman-ism (at least as I remember it) was when he went on a major gun forum and stated that I didn't exist, but was rather a compilation of a group of Washington antigun advocates who created me as an agent provocateur, or something like that.

You'd think they could have at least CGI'ed me to look like Darth Vader, or at least Chris Costa. After the last few days of dealing with the New Improved Bunker, I wish I didn't exist!

A Tragic Loss of Motivtion

I finally figured out my inability to do any of the dozens of things I need to get done...it's Post-SHOT Show Fugue (PSSF...I think there's a telethon or something). I mean, the temps this AM were in the single digits, thwarting the first inklings of going to the range. I was dead tired all day yesterday and despite that slept like crap last night. Even sticking a new trigger in an AR seems like a bridge too far.

Normally, I'm sick after SHOT...when you're in bed in the throes of the vapors, you don't notice how unmotivated you are. This year, amazingly, I missed the SHOT Flu, apparently one of about 3 people that didn't succumb. Hence, PSSF.

I meant to mention that I talked to the Ruger engineers on the apparent Gen 3 PMag problem on the SR762. The rifles were originally shipped with 3 Gen 2 PMags (that's what I have)...there was apparently an issue with the Gen 3 PMags (that's what happened to me). The current lowers have been modified to solve the problem. As for the early lowers, Ruger recommends the DPMS 19 rounders, which, luckily, I got some stashed from last year (sadly, not as many as PMags). The Lancer .308s or the new Brownells 20 should solve all .308 problems...of course, we can't have them in Colorado. I'll bet I never see one here...LOL!

Okay...I'm pretty sure I can summon up the energy to put a pistol buffer tube on a brand new lower. I got one of those KAK pistol buffer tubes designed for the Sig SB-15 stabilizing brace as part of the .300 Blackout pistol project.

Remington R51 Review Up!

The first comprehensive review of the Remington R51 from Gary Paul Johnson is now up on DOWN RANGE. Gary has more than 200 rounds through the gun and has done extensive research on the R51 and it predecessors. This is a "must-read!"

More on the Non-Permissive Jurisdiction Project

In answer to several emails I've received, yes, the guns put together for the Non-Permissive Jurisdiction Project will be featured on SHOOTING GALLERY and THE BEST DEFENSE 2015, assuming we're renewed, which is a pretty good bet. You'll see my .357 Marlin — an old one; not a new one — in the hands of Mike Seeklander this season on TBD. In fact, I may never get it back from Seeklander, who was very impressed with the lever gun as an efficient self-defense tool.

Answer to a second email question, yes, the finished Browning BLR will be equipped with a sling, almost certainly from Andy's Leather (visit him on FaceBook). In addition to being one of the great leatherworkers in America, Andy maintains the Scout Rifle Community. A sling is a rifle's holster, and any "working" rifle (i.e., one that's not shot exclusively off the bench or in a competition that doesn't not requite the rifle be carried out of the hand (cowboy, for instance) needs a sling.

Obviously, a lot of my thinking on the BLR derives from Col. Jeff Cooper's Scout rifle concepts, although as I noted earlier the concept of a forward-mounted scope is hardly original to Cooper. Andy has been instrumental in promoting and expanding on the Scout rifle concept; in fact, the BLR has figured prominently in several threads.

You guys know I'm a huge fan of the Ruger Gunsite Scout .308...I have more rounds through that rifle than any other bolt gun I own. I've shot it in classes at distances from contact to 400 yards. When I decided to go to Africa, I went with the Guide Gun specifically because I could configure it exactly the same as the GSR (LOP, sling), with the exception of a forward-mounted scope.

The Jeff Cooper Edition Steyr Scout

I always thought the Scout concept was interesting, but I didn't become an evangelist until, a couple of years before the Colonel died, he loaned me his personal Steyr Scout .308 (I believe fitted with the Leupold 2.5X) to shoot through the Gunsite African game hunting class with Il Ling New. By the time I finished the course, I was sold.

The Burris fixed power on GSR sits about 3/4 inch ahead of the ejection port, which is, to me, ideal. Notice that on the Steyr Scout the scope sits just slightly in front of the ejection port. The Leupold variable I handled and shot was mounted similarly. I have one of the new Burris 2-7X Scouts, but I haven't had time to mount it yet.

Could you use the BLR for this intended purpose (non-permissive jurisdictions) out of the box? Absolutely. Remember, I'm going for as light as possible for a travel gun. The trigger on mine is not bad, in the 6-7 pound range; the OL length is 40 inches with the 20-inch barrel (Cooper's Scout rifle standard was 1 meter in length, 39.4 inches); weight is 6 pounds 8 ounces with irons (Cooper's standard was 6.6 pounds - 7.7 pounds with irons and optic). By comparison, the Ruger Gunsite Scout weights in at 7 pounds with irons and a forward scope mount and a 38-inch length. The BLR does need sling swivels, but nothing is perfect.

If I was going to use the BLR out of the box with traditional mount optics I would go for the superb Leupold 1.5-4X 20mm, a great underrated scope weighing in at under 10 ounces, or something like the Burris MTAC 1-4X.

RE: Calibers...take your choice. I agree that .243 might be a good option...lots of different load availability (although no dedicated tactical rounds, I believe...I would go with the Hornady Superformance 95-gr SST), recoil on par with the .223 and a good hunting cartridge in jurisdictions where the .223 is prohibited for deer-sized game. If you don't have a .308, then that'd be the way to go. I have a good friend who travels a lot as an instructor and he routinely brings a takedown .308 BLR.

Bone Builders!

"Gin when taken with tonic water is an admirable drink for weaklings and women..."

— Robert Ruark

Well, there you are! I've had, like, one gin and tonic every month since Africa. My rationale is that it keeps me poised for Africa II in June of this year. I use a local gin, Rob's MTN Gin, that's like chewing juniper berries. Cut the designer hi-zoot tonic with lime-flavored fizzy water. Wait for the Brits to recover the Empire.

The good news is that MPI Stocks can do a lightweight stock for Project BLR. I'll send it off this week. I'm going gray with black webbing because I think that will be easier to accessorize. JOKING! Doc at MPI says 6-8 weeks for the new stocks. I have ordered the Browning Scout rail with an idea of using a forward-mounted red dot or a Scout scope. I've really like the Burris 2.75X on the Ruger Gunsite Scout and have shot rifles with the Leupold 1.5-4X Scout mounted. I think forward-mounted scopes are something you either love or hate...while I was in the Royal Armoury in Leeds last December I saw German Mausers from WW2 with forward-mounted scopes; Germans found that some soldiers had trouble focusing on the iron sights when under attack. Imagine that.

If the BLS was gong to be a dedicated "house gun," I'd use a red dot.

Other plans for Project BLR include a 16-ish inch barrel, a trigger job and some kind of BUIS. As I wrote earlier, I'm pairing the BLR with a revolver, either the bulletproof SP101 snub .357 (I have one tuned by Grant Cunningham) or the wonderful LCR .38 Special +P. You guys will remember that I've danced around the caliber issue between .44s and .38s. The .357/.38s seem to work better for this project for the same reasons .223 wins out over other calibers...availability and weight.

Interesting Update...got an email from Browning this afternoon...pretty interesting...I'll tell you all about it when I can...

Oh, And Another Thing...

My old friend Steve Lamboy is now working with International Case Company, who imports the flawless Negrini Italian gun cases. If you've got a nice Holland and Holland lying around, it's probably in a Negrini case. The cool thing is that in addition to their oh-my-goodness-it's-beautiful cases (which are pretty high on the indestructible scale as well) they've added a line of "tactical" bags that, amazingly, don't look like stealthy ninja killer fashion accouterments. In fact, they look like, well, something else. Here's last year's model...

I was kinda blown away by these cases with their flawless styling and drop-dead locks...and their prices, in the Pelican/Storm Case ballpark. I looked at Negrinis a couple of years ago and decided that much like a really nice Italian suit or one of those high-zoot watches that includes the time zones on the moon, I'd admire them from afar.

However, I'm really liking the new line, especially the intermediate sizes. In fact, I ordered one for the non-permissive jurisdiction rifle project. I wanted to put together a rifle/handgun combination that would be legal in as many jurisdictions as possible. After several bouts of agonizing I settled on a Browning BLR Take-Down in .223 and a .357 Ruger SP101 snub. I picked the .223 because of ammunition availability...the 4 round magazines suck, but hey.

Check them out!

And One Week Later...

...I'm back from SHOT!

Exhausted, my voice shot (so to speak), a sad, dragging-butt specimen of humanity. But I had a wonderful time. The annual "Michael Buys the Beer" post-SHOT party came off perfectly, with a slew of industry executives, competition shooters and media swilling my beer. Even the new Prez of OUTDOOR CHANNEL brought his family. Watch for the announcement of "Michael Buys the Beer" at the NRA convention in Indianapolis...wait wait...do they even have beer in Indianapolis? I'm sure some of my commenters will know the best places!

We won a GOLDEN MOOSE Award for GUN STORIES, and were one of 4 nominees in the increasingly competitive "Best Produced" category. It's darn hard to get ahead of that Jim Shockey and his amazing hunting productions! Congratulations to IMPOSSIBLE SHOTS, which won out over my 4 nominated shots in the "Shooting Sports" category. Jim Scoutten and his son, John, as well as their producer Mike Irvine, are friends, and we're all on the same page.

BTW, read the great interview with Joe Mantegna on Brietbart (where they also say some very nice things about GUN STORIES).

I have 2 new shows that will (I think) go to pilot, and, as usual, I can't say anything about them until we're farther along. Strangely enough, I've been asked to be a judge on a mainstream network outdoor competition..."we need a Simon Crowell, and you're him!" Hmmmmmmm...is that actually a compliment? My participation will ultimately be an OC decision, since I'm under an exclusive contract.

I also have an agreement in principal with Burris on endorsing their line of optics. Even if I didn't, I'd be all spun up on the new AR-1X Prism. I love the reticle, love the fact that it uses a AA battery and love the sub-$300 price point, I should have one of these on an AR within a month and will give you a full report...ditto on the other new Burris products.

Alright alright...I know you want to know what I bought, or at least ordered, at SHOT. The answer is...not much.

Sig P938

The Sig Sauer P938 .22 conversion unit is a slam dunk, of course (it's not up on their site yet). After shooting the Doublestar .308 I'm glad I already have one on order. I asked for a T&E on the Remington R51...the trigger on the guns they had at SHOT was really good, and I loved the art deco-ish design of the pistol. I have pretty high hopes for the little gun.

Remington R51

After fiddling around with one at SHOT, I'm ordering an Atlas quick detach bipod. It looks like a rock-solid unit and perfect for the shooting I've got planned for 2014. Just as the Show was wrapping up I stopped by Mark Serbu's booth...he has a really cool side-cocker AR upper with the spring system

mounted above the barrel, eliminating the buffer tube. It'll make a really slick pistol/SBR set-up.

Two big surprises:

• Walther's PPQ M2...felt great in my hand...had the best out-of-the-box trigger pull I've ever felt on a striker-fired polymer pistol...super short reset...the 5-inch version may well be my Sweetie's new 3-Gun pistol.

Walther PPQ M2

It is a really nice pistol! The trigger is on par with an Apex M&P trigger...honest.

• Rhino Arms' incredible new AR-10 platform 12 gauge. I'd never even heard of Rhino Arms before this SHOT Show, but it turned out to be old friends from the early USPSA days. These guys have built a killer .308 AR-10 platform, with a 1/2 MOA guarantee with 168-gr Sierra Match King factory loads. Yes, it's more expensive than production AR-10s ($3K vs. an average of $2.2K), but it is the best .308 I've handled (I did not get a chance to shoot it). So they took the .308 platform and created a 12 gauge...not a 12 gauge that mimics the style of the AR, but a top-of-the-line 12 gauge built on the actual platform.  They had a 10 round metal magazine and showed me printed models of the final mag versions. 

Rhino .308

Both the .308 and the 12 gauge are "can't wait to shoot" guns. Rhino tells me there is a lot of interest from LEOs on the 12 gauge, and justifiably so.

In the end, I will probably buy one of the S&W 69 5-shot L-frame .44 maggies, even though the gun bucks like irritated mule with hot .44 Magnum loads. It can keep my .44 Special L-frame Hamilton Bowen custom company. And yes, some sad, sick part of me cried out for the .460 Magnum snub, but I already have a .454 Ruger Alaskan that would induce carpel tunnel syndrome in a tree.

SHOT Storm...

...incoming. I'm almost almost packed, except now I have to unpack and repack to fit in all the stuff I left out in the first run-through. My shooting glasses seem to have gone to the moon or one of the outer planets, because they certainly don't seem to be anywhere in the Bunker.

BTW BTW, Marshal and I would like to know what you'd like us to take a look at. Obviously, we'll shoot the little Glock .380 (which I fully expect will feel exactly like shooting a Glock!), the striker-fired Sig 320, and the Remington R51 mini-9. The cowboy in me thrills to the new Winchester 1873 with a color casehardened receiver...although I already bought my T&E '73 from last year. Let's not forget the S&W 69 .44 Magnum (want...lust...must have!) and the FNH AR platform guns.

Of the SG Usual Suspects, Iain's all spun up on the S.W.O.R.D. .338 semi (didn't Bushmaster show one of these a few years back when Skip Patel was with the company?). Di Liedorff will be busily lining up new 3-Gun sponsors since she's left Team FNH. John Snow will probably be haunting precision rifle booths, and Sara Ahrens will probably be hanging out at Beretta.

So what do you guys want us to write about/video at SHOT 2014? 

Aftermath, from Primary Weapons Systems:

I thought this was a travelogue for Detroit...

Tactical Solutions .300 Blackout solution!

I think this is totally cool! From Tactical Solutions, a .300 Blackout upper with a permanently attached shroud. Here's the presser:

New for 2014 is the TSAR-300: The only 300 AAC Blackout upper which provides the versatility of a short barreled rifle (SBR) upper without the red tape and NFA paperwork. Suppressors fit inside the circumference of a permanently attached shroud allowing shooters to attach a suppressor without significantly increasing the overall length of the rifle. The TSAR-300 is full auto rated with a mil-spec bolt carrier group. Every upper comes with a TacSol two piece free float hand guard as well as an inert suppressor.

When your silencer paperwork clears, simply screw off the "inert" suppressor and screw on the real thing. This is sort of the flip side of last year's Sig Sauer MPX-C with the extended "compensator" that doubles as the innards of a suppressor when the paperwork clears and you screw on the outer tubing.

Couple of good points on the Tac-Sol .300 — the .300 Blackout round is optimized for the shorter barrel, so you're not losing anything by keeping the barrel short. The drawback to a 16-inch .300 Blackout is that when you attach the suppressor it's a bit unwieldy.

As the situation is now, if you want a suppressed short-barreled rifle you have to go down the path I'm following with the .300 Blackout pistol project. Build a .300 Blackout pistol lower for your short-barreled upper; file the paperwork and pay the $200 on an SBR; wait 9 months to a year; file the paperwork and pay the $200 on the suppressor, wait, then after the 2 stamps arrive you can assemble the entire gun.

SB-X 10/22 barrel

Tac-Sol first delivered the attached shroud on their .22 barrel upgrades, the SB-X, and I have to say that at first you could color me skeptical of the concept. That was actually until I tried it on one of Tac-Sol's X-Ring .22 rifles. With the SB-X you get a 12.5 inch barrel and the permanently attached shroud. That rifle with a Tac-Sol suppressor has become one of my all-time favorite .22s.

I'm hoping to have a TSAR as soon after SHOT as possible, and we'll be doing a full report on DRTV.

Bullpup Fever

You know, I couldn't wait to get my Tavor bullpup. I put a Lucid HD7 red dot on the gun (which I really like, BTW), put some rounds through it and sat it aside. My plan was to take a class with the Tavor, but the real world interfered and my spare time vanished. I hope to pick it up this year and get that class in, with a couple of changes.

Midwest KeyMod Handguard

Both Midwest Industries and Fab Defense are rolling out new handguards for the Tavor. My inclination is to go with the Midwest Industries version, because I like the KeyMod system. Maybe more importantly, there will be 2 new triggers for the Tavor in 2014. Trigger pull has always, to me, been the weak link of the bullpup system. As much as I liked its many features, I passed on an FNH FS-2000, even though it had a substantially better trigger than any of the AUGs I've shot (and, full disclosure, I have NOT shot any of the new gen AUGs).

The Tavor has a pretty good trigger...for a bullpup...but it's going to get better. Both Geissele Automatics and Timney have announced replacement triggers for the Tavor. I talked to the guys at Geissele and they're pretty close, so I placed an advance order.

I note that Desert Tech, which as pioneered cutting edge bullpups, announced a new one for SHOT, the MDR, interchangeable for 5 calibers. I remember shooting their SRS-A1 a few years back and it was pretty neat. Pretty expensive, but pretty neat.

Facing SHOT Show and a Couple of Thoughts on AR Calibers...

I guess it's time to get on with it, huh?

Goes without saying I'm not ready for SHOT, either mentally or in terms of clean underwear. The underwear situation I can fix. I've got a "hit list" of must-sees, and Iain Harrison and I talked about his must-sees earlier this week in Phoenix.  BTW, I can't believe I've never spent any time looking at these custom AR handguards from Unique-ARs.comhttp://unique-ars.com! Hopefully, we'll have approval at DRTV to give away some really nice custom ARs, and maybe a custom handguard would be a nice touch.

Unique ARs "Spiderweb"

Shooting in Phoenix earlier this week for SG, Marc Christenson from DS Arms brought down a custom AR in .204 Ruger with a 20-inch barrel from Montana Rifle. I've never even messed around with the .204 Ruger, with the possible exception of shooting John Paul's personal JP long range bolt gun in .204. A 32-grain bullet moving at 4000 fps...pretty cool. Marc said the .204 was crazy accurate as well as crazy fast. It was developed in 2004 by Ruger and Hornady as the fastest  production cartridge in the world. Uses regular AR magazines. March popped his upper on a registered full auto lower, and it ran like a champ. Might be a fun cartridge to fiddle around with. JP has some interesting parts for building a long-range .204. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I also finally got to run my 10 1/2-inch .300 Blackout upper on a registered lower rather than a pistol. Shoots just wonderfully...I definitely want to finish up that pistol/SBR project. Another surprise was the AR upper in 5.7 X 28. Sucker ran like a scalded ape, no malfs of any kind and incredibly fun to shoot with those 50 round magazines. The AR57 is a really neat set-up...stuck in the provided heavy buffer, popped the upper on just like any other upper and away we went. I like this!

AR-57

What didn't work was the .458 SOCOM. The Wilson Combat upper shot great on single shots, but we couldn't get it to run with any magazines. Might have needed a heavier spring to shove that big cartridge in. We were also running reloads — the only rounds we could get, courtesy of my friend Mike Barker — which are always tailored to the gun. It was a thumper, though, and heaven knows Bill Wilson has killed about a million hogs with the .458...his obviously works!

I also got a chance to shoot Iain's "bastard" AR — in 7.62 X 25 Tokarev, of all things, with a Czech barrel, a Russian optic and an weird collection of parts. He built it to make use of the cheap Toke ammo, which has now gone the way of the Great Auk (below):

The Great Auk, as rare as cheap 7.62 X 25

The idea was that he could shoot the cheap Toke ammo when there was cheap Toke ammo in local 3-Gun matches where the longest distances were under 100 yards. It was fun to shoot, although Iain cursed me for condemning him to an evening of cleaning out the filthy and corrosive surplus ammo residue.

JP GMR-12 9mm

I have a similar plan for the superb JP GMR-12 9mm rifle when I can finally lay my hands (and my credit card) on one. A less-than-3 MOA 9mm rifle that takes 33-round Glock mags, topped with the brand spanking new Burris AR-1X, would be killer on local 3-Gun matches with rifle shots at sane distances. Secondly, you can actually buy 9mm ammunition without a second mortgage on your home.

Sigh...am still wickedly depressed, but I know it'll get better. SHOT'll be crazy busy, and that's a good thing.

Pokke-san the Tailless Manx, R.I.P.

I note the passing of our beloved cat, Pokke, at only 8 years old. He was a fine mouser, a companion to Alf the Wonder Bagle and, oddly enough, our parrots, and a joy in our lives for far too short a time.

He is beyond pain now, and with the God of All Things.

My heart is broken. I will miss him so.

Air Travel...

...on a week with a major northeastern blizzard does indeed suck...and I'm not home yet. Massive delays, lost luggage, cancelled flights. It's not the airlines' fault, but man...

Spent a day at the Mammoth Sniper Challenge with my pal and SG Usual Suspect John Snow...by Sunday, the last day of the match, they'll be shooting from glaciers, LOL!

More when I figure out whether I'll make this next flight...

A New Year's Thought...

...from LOTR, as always:

"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. 

Fell deeds awake. 

Now for wrath, 

Now for ruin, 

And the red dawn!"

Theoden, King of Rohan

Happy New Year

from the

Secret Hidden Bunker!