All posts by MadOgre

Weapons

Weatherby’s New Vanguard

2 Comments

I have the utmost respect for Weatherby and their Vanguards.  However I just don’t really care for them.  I’ve sold a ton of them and I’ve shot plenty enough… it’s just not my flavor.

Well, Weatherby had given the Vanguard’s a face lift.  Most noticeable is the new stock.  It looks much better… and it feels much better.  But what I like the most is the accuracy guaranty.  Sub-MOA, something you had to spend extra on with the old Vanguards.

I sold one to a fellow here… a good shooter.  In .223, it was.  The next day he comes back with his target.  Even while adjusting the scope’s magnification, and using off the shelf ammo… 1/2 MOA.  It was still under an inch at 200 yards.  I don’t care who you are, 1/2 MOA out of the box with off the shelf ammo, for 449.99, that is flat out impressive.

I’m not in the market for a new rifle… but I could buy one of these new Vanguards myself.  I really could.

Now, if I wanted to get one of these new rifles… for general hunting of North American Big Game or what have you… I think i’d probably have to take it in good old .270 Winchester.   Accurate round.  Good ballistics.  Hornady’s Custom #8056, 140 grain BTSP Interlock is probably the ideal load for factory ammo.  2940 FPS.  Not too shabby.  That would do the job on dang near everything in North America.

Weapons

Oh come on, Ruger!

12 Comments

Got a shipment of Rugers in today.  Opened the box for a little SP-101.  I took it out of the bag and picked a target and took aim.  And then I noticed something.  The front sight was orange.

What?  Covered completely in nasty rust.  Come on Ruger!  What the hell?  I’ve seen more and more problems coming from Ruger.

Optics

Leupold’s HAMR

9 Comments

I was discussing the new Leupold HAMR with a customer today.  He was considering the Trijicon ACOG, but didn’t like the very short eye relief of the ACOG.   Both are fantastic optics and I have always been, and continue to be a fan of the ACOG.  But the new HAMR is really good.   But if I was to pick just one…  Which one?  After much consideration I have made a choice.

Between the two, I’d have the HAMR.

Reason being, it has better glass, clearer, brighter, and it doesn’t have that right side distortion the ACOG’s have.  And it has better eye relief.  Almost 3 inches instead of one and half with the ACOG.
The battery thing isn’t a real issue because when it’s off, you still have a reticle.  You only need to turn it on when it gets dark.  And come on, how many other things do you have with batteries anyway?  GPS, Radio, Lights, but some guys are going to poo-poo the HAMR because you have a battery for night shooting?  Please.  For better optical clarity, I’ll deal with a once a year battery change.

Automotive

It didn’t go well

13 Comments

Okay so I’m changing the oil in my motorcycle.  And… well.. it didn’t go well.   The punch line is that I crushed the little bone at the tip of my pinky and spilled all the old oil all over my driveway.  Oh, the oil is changed.  New filter, fresh oil… Bike is happy.   It just looks like Mr. Bean did it.   And my pinky wont stop bleeding from under the fingernail where the cuticle used to be.  Ouch.

Gear

I’m not happy with Wegner.

15 Comments

Some time ago, I purchased a Swiss Army Wegner wrist watch.   Silver bracelet, blue face, “Military” model.  Looks good.  You’ve seen it in many Ogre Videos.  And then The Nightcrawler Effect hit me.  And the watch ejected off my wrist like a Jet Fighter Pilot struck by a Sidewinder.

So I sent the watch back to Wegner to get the bracelet fixed and the crystal (which had been scratched) replaced.   After 3 months the watch came back.  With a bracelet that was so small I could only get 4 fingers of my hand through.  WTF?  And the scratched crystal was still there. So I send it back.  This time it came back with bracelet that fit perfectly.  And its still scratched.  I’ll leave it like that.

However, I no longer want it.  I’ve replaced it with a Nixon.  “The Scout”.    So… I’ll put that Swiss Army Wegner Watch up for Trade.   Make an interesting offer.

Training

How to Not Shoot Yourself. By Daniel Shaw

5 Comments

Guest post:  How to Not Shoot Yourself.  By Daniel Shaw

 Shooters who subscribe to the Ogre’s blog or social networking sites were likely to have seen, in late June, the YouTube video of a gentleman who was doing some training that resulted in him shooting himself in the leg. From his language and the way he handled the pistol after shooting himself, I gathered that he was not a novice. His main purpose of posting the embarrassing video was to let viewers know that negligent discharges could happen to anyone. Even the most skilled and experienced shooters can make bad decisions through complacency and those decisions could lead to an accidental discharge.

Continue reading How to Not Shoot Yourself. By Daniel Shaw →

Gear

CRKT, I don’t like them.

12 Comments

CRKT makes a lot of good looking blades… and they are popular with a lot of my friends and other Gun Owners who are into knives.  However there is something about CRKT that is a bit off.

For one thing, it’s their locks… or LAWKS as they say.  Gimmicky locking mechanisms don’t make a for a good blade.  A good blade is all about the blade.  And CRKT has some great looking ones, but the company takes shortcuts.  Steel quality, heat treatments… I don’t know what it is with these guys but every blade I’ve had from CRKT has gone dull faster than knife made from silly putty.  You take any CRKT knife and it can be made twice as good if they had got rid of the silly gimmicks and concentrated on making really good blades.  Like Buck.  It used to be that I’d not own a Buck.  Now I’ve purchased a couple and they are great knives.  Why?  They have great blades.  A knife is a sharp edge of metal… the cutting edge is the most important.  Everything else is just to make that edge usable.   Now I know others will say that they had great luck with their CRKT knives.  And that’s fine.  But I use my knives hard.  I’m not saying you don’t, just that my other knives hold their edges a lot better.

Government

It’s going to hurt?

9 Comments

It’s going to hurt he says.  What is going to really smart is the thrashing the Democrats are going to get come the 2012 elections.

The American Economy is a huge engine.  Extremely powerful.  Powerful enough to spin us, and to spin the economy of many other countries.  But ever since the Democrats took over Congress, it all started going downhill.  Then the Democrats took the White House as well and everything has gone to hell in a handbasket.  We hear the Whitehouse talk about all the jobs they have created… Horseshiat.   They don’t create jobs.  All the Government can do is to choke jobs.  Strangle growth.  I believe in this Nation… and I believe that it can be healed and can regain its momentum.   And a lot faster than the Democrats think.  The Administration needs to take the weight off this great engine.  But they are not going to do it.  What is going to have to happen is to get a regime change.  When that happens, we’ll get some momentum back.

 

Uncategorized

Uprising: UK

1 Comment

It looks like Uprising: UK is going to come out to be about 300 pages.   A much more manageable sized book.  While I am going through and basically rewriting it, I am being careful to give it more atmosphere.  Uprising: US was basically all about the action.  UK is going to be more about the atmosphere and I want to give it more tension building up to the action and then make that action sudden and brutal.

Some scenes in U:UK were very tight, fast, and then we jumped ahead.  Well, I want to make some of these scenes bigger.  Such as when there was a downed aircraft and a missing character.  That scene needs to be expanded.   Then there is the death of a different character, and that should probably get more time as well.   More visual, more detail, and make this story something more important than just an action/horror genre.   Because while U:UK has zombies in it, it’s not really a zombie story.  It takes a turn for the super natural… and I think it takes Uprising to a new, higher level.

The stories as written by the other Uprising authors, are being worked on… and when they are finished, these are going to be some works that you will not want to miss.  In all honesty, they are some of the best writing I’ve ever read.   And this makes me feel strange.   I kinda think they have done a better job than I have done… I started this, created this Uprising Universe, and these are the guys that have taken it and run with it…  Which makes me the George Lucas of Zombies.  Neat.  Now I need to grow a ridiculous mop of hair, a huge beard, and wear flannel.    Okay, no… I wont go there.  But this does make me think… who is my Jar-Jar?  I think that would be Musket.  Musket is my Jar-Jar.

The next books in the Uprising Series is going to be in Russia… and then to China where the Uprising was all started.  But I don’t know how it all ends.   We shall have to wait and see.