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

The Coolest Gun in the World...

...as usual, the Auto & Burglar




Check out the cool dude in the original ad:



-- Post From The Road

Joe & 870

-- Post From The Road

Winchester '94s

Since I've been on a Winchester 94 binge lately, I thought I'd show you a few...the one on the right dates from 1894, serial number in the 12,000 range.



-- Post From The Road

Working

-- Post From The Road

Dan Ramm Bears All

-- Post From The Road

I have seen the future...

....and no, it doesn't work. The Gyrojet Mark 1-B



-- Post From The Road