All posts by MadOgre

Weapons

Ruger SR9C

17 Comments

This gun has been on my mind lately.  Packing a full sized 1911 and a full sized 92FS poses difficulty when entering areas where you really don’t want your concealed gun to be made.

11136713_1646976858865675_6552735855775395101_n
It’s a good looking gun. Short, small, and I can reload with a full sized mag.

At some undisclosed point in the past, at some undisclosed location, I was carrying concealed in a place that had it surfaced that I was packing concealed… would have been bad.  Not technically illegal, but it would not have been a happy situation.

While I knew my gun was lawfully concealed, I felt distracted and self conscience  because this was a less tolerant place.

11128835_1646976875532340_3384073325759099271_n
Unlike past Ruger center-fire autos, the SR series is well sculpted and suitable for concealed carry.

Normally I operate and a Total ZFG situation when it comes to this sort of thing.   I just don’t care what others think… But when others could take actions that, while wrong, would… how should I say… hinder my calm.  I’ve not decided, but am thinking about getting something that is a bit more concealable.  I don’t want to go IWB, but I’d consider it.

11026090_1646976878865673_4958350693493421976_n
The only double stacked gun I can remember that is narrow like the SR series, is the Browning BDM.

So I’m thinking a gun that’s shorter and as reasonably narrow and still be comfortable.   Now, I’m not wanting to go Single Stack… Because while I am not all that concerned with a high capacity, I like even more the idea of my reload giving me a boost… because if I Go Loud, I probably need a lot more ammo.  Especially if I’m using something as anemic as 9mm.  Which I consider Fine, but I’d like Finer.  I love my Beretta and shoot it quite well… and carry it often… but it has a lot of rounds.  Going down to a single digit round count for concealed carry – I’d rather have my reload give me as much as it can.

The Ruger SR9C gives me all of the above wants.
Of course, a Ruger SP101 would serve just as well.

*sigh*

I am conflicted.  Maybe we can chalk this up to New Gun Itch.  (The GP100 is still happening – eventually)

Uncategorized

Going to the Gun Show in Charlotte, NC tomorrow.

10 Comments

I’ve not been to a good gun show in YEARS. In 2013 I went to a gun show in Wilmington, NC that was the saddest little gathering I’ve ever seen in my life. The last good one I went to was a Crossroads of the West in SLC… well, actually far south of SLC, but never mind… That was a gunshow where Crusader Weaponry had a booth and it was good… had fun.  Nothing since then.  Wilmington doesn’t even count as a Gun Show.
Now, I hear that these gun shows in Charlotte are big deals. We shall see. Evidence that it’s a big deal is that I tried to get a table for Point Blank Range and was told that they sold out last Feb. So that’s a good sign that this will be a lively event.
I’m going to be there, and I’ll be handing out some coupons for free gun rentals… So if you see me – make sure get that coupon.
I may take something with me to sell or trade as well. Bartering is the fun part for me at these events. Finding those killer deals, leveraging them and flipping them and leaving the show with more money in my pocket than when I arrived. If the show is fluid enough. So we will see… we will see.

Uncategorized

The passing of a Villain

6 Comments

safe_image So Sarah Brady has finally kicked the bucket.  I can’t really say that I care one way or another.  She was a Villain of the Constitution.  She took a tragedy in her life, and twisted it into a weapon to use against millions of others to hurt them and hinder them.  She’s been a pain in our collective asses for decades now.  But let’s not start singing Ding Dong The Witch is Dead…

madame-medusa-rescuersShe even looks the part of a villain. Right out of a Disney movie.  I don’t feel enough one way or another about her passing to get worked up.   I feel indifferent.  Completely indifferent.  Some are cheering.  Some are passing around high fives.    I just don’t care.  Here’s my prediction though.  Come Monday, there’s going to be flags flown at half staff and Sarah Brady will be granted Sainthood by the Liberal Left.  There will be long speeches about what a fantastic person she was.  Much like Chi.  I also predict Gabby Giffords will be crowned the Heir to this Legacy.   Buckle up for a new Gun Control surge – in her memory.

Weapons

You can 3D Print a Heavy Caliber Gun.

1 Comment

In San Francisco, an AR-15 is a “Heavy Caliber Gun”.

capture17First off… What is a Heavy Caliber Gun?  A .45-70?  .50 BMG?  40mm Bofors?   If I hear “heavy caliber” I’m thinking of Artillery or something Anti-Tank.  So I was thinking “3D Print some Artillery?  I’m in!”  And then I clicked the link.
I am sorely disappointed.  5.56mm and .223 are a .22 Caliber… that is not by any means a “heavy caliber”.  Maybe if your targets are Chipmunks.  Maybe.
I should have known though… The source is CBS out of San Fran… Every Caliber is a Heavy Caliber.
No one tell them that you can get an AR type rifle in .308.  They would shit themselves until they died.
Quick – someone tell them that you can get an AR type rifle in .308!

 

Automotive

Drag Racing x4

3 Comments

20150329_125634

A few folks from work and I went to the zMAX 4 Wide Dragway to watch the Nationals.
Drag Racing is the automotive equivalent of Gladiatorial Combat.  It’s loud, it’s violent, and it’s over suddenly.   But man… You feel it.  Now, when you drag 4 cars at the same time.  Good hell.  That’s just bananas.  The sound and fury is staggering.   Ear Plugs are not optional.  They are quite mandatory unless you enjoy hearing loss.

20150329_133740
I have to say that my son and I truly enjoyed the experience.  We watched records being broken.  We watched dreams die.  We watched it all.   And loved it.
We were entertained.
I want to thank the zMAX organization for letting us hang out with them and experience a bit of all that they do.   It was a truly impressive spectacle that we will not soon forget.  I’d post a video… but was told that was a No-No by the NHRA.  I shall respect that.

Gear

BOLT LUBE by ZMAX

29 Comments

10487246_10205167478719975_6131840037654178969_n  Testing out a new product from ZMax.  This bounced off my desk the other day and I’ve put it to the test.  I know there are some great gun products out there already, and I know we all have our favorites… So I’m pretty dang jaded when it comes to some new latest and greatest gun care product.
However, ZMax is different.  ZMax has a long history of working lubricants for the automotive industry.   And a lot of that in racing. They have some serious Lubricant Engineering chops.  So when I saw this stuff, it raised an eyebrow.  If these guys can help race engines perform better and longer… a gun oil should be real easy for them to do right.

So I’ve been testing it since I got it.  My 1911, one of my 870 Tacticals and a few other things are now lubed and coated with ZMax’s “BOLT LUBE”.    My 870 is gleaming darkly with it, and the 1911 feels like its been pampered.  I am genuinely impressed so far.  And honestly, nothing has actually impressed me since Slipstream and FIREclean.

Some of ZMax’s claims are going to take some time to sort out.  But others I’m seeing evidence that it does just as advertised.   The oil is thicker than most new gun oils.  It really does stay where you put it.  Other oils can run like water… Such MPRO-7’s gun oil.  This stuff is different… It’s slick in a way that can only be described as creamy.
You can usually feel rather quickly if a gun oil is going to work for you or not.  This stuff works.    I don’t know anything about the Micro-Lubricant part of the label.  I’ll have to talk to them about it, but there’s something to it.

The BORE Cleaner and Conditioner seems to work just fine as well.  It’s hard to test a cleaner when my guns are already clean.  But I used it on some other things and it cleaned the metal quite nicely, leaving the surface with what feels like a micro-film of some sort of lubricant.  That’s probably the “Conditioner” part.

The site talks a lot about “soaking into the metal”.   And I’ve yet to see metal soaking a fluid in like a sponge, but I know what they are talking about.  Penetrating into the microscopic nooks and crannies that are only seen under an electron microscope.  That’s where moisture can get, so that’s where corrosion starts.  Getting in there with whatever micro-lubricant they have is a good thing.

I have high hopes for this product.  It has a solid foundation and history behind it.  While it’s a new product, it didn’t just pop out of the blue.     I’ll keep you guys posted on how it tests out the more I use it.

20150316_122516UPDATE:   Tested further in my Beretta 92FS.  Let’s put it this way.  I’m sold on it.  As I said before, “I gotta talk to these guys.”  Well, I did.  I talked to them.  Zmax is HQ’d at the race track, and I met the fellas there at the 4 Wide Drag Strip.   Okay, first off… 4 wide drag racing?  That’s just bananas.  I will be getting tickets to that.  You want to see more power launching than that – You’ll have to get on an Aircraft Carrier.    In talking with the Zmax crew – I discussed this with them.  “Just what is in Zmax that makes it work different from other lube?”   Pretty much the answer was in Molecule size.  Here’s what they said, “If a normal oil molecule is, say, the size of a basketball.  Then the the size of the Zmax molecule is the size of a ping pong ball.”  It’s 80 times smaller.  That’s how it penetrates into the metal, lifts carbon off, keeps carbon from sticking.  That’s the secret.  That is legitimately impressive.  In my Beretta?  Well, my Beretta was already slick.  The feeling as I said before?  Creamy?  That’s the feel in the Beretta.  But there’s a difference.  Not only does it feel so smooth… But it’s not bleeding oil.  The oil stays put, as advertised.
Pretty much – Bolt Lube by ZMax does what it’s advertised to do.  That’s also impressive.
A bit more though that is not advertised.  It works better when it gets hot.  Which makes this IDEAL for all your Class III applications.  In and on suppressors and full autos.  Any gun that you are going to run hard… get hot.  That’s where the ZMax comes into it’s own.

Food

Armchair Quarterbacking: McDonald’s

27 Comments
The Big Mac Promise
The Big Mac Promise

McDonald’s is in a financial crisis and is bleeding money.  And another report has the CEO saying that they are needing to evolve.  I agree.  McDonalds has been one my least favorite Drive Through’s for about 30 years now.  In fact, the only time I stop in a Mickey D’s is when I’m road tripping… Not to eat though.  Well, maybe sometimes.  But mainly just for the clean restrooms.  They may have the cleanest Men’s Rooms going coast to coast.

But let’s talk about that brand.  Yeah.  It needs to change.  First off, Ronald McDonald is a Clown.  Everyone hates clowns.  Clowns need to go away forever.  Seriously.  Every time I see a clown, I think “Rule #2”.  When McDonalds started out – there was no Clowns.  McDonald’s started in the 50’s, but the clown didn’t show up until 1963.  There was no need for that other than an attempt to market to children… and really kids don’t need a clown to inspire them to chow down on fatty salty and sugary foods.    Kid’s don’t drive the car that pulls into parking lot and kids don’t have the Plastic to pay for an order.  Market to the folks that do.  The Child-Adults with cell phones that could do a space launch and an attention span of a Gold Fish and the life ambition of apathetic Person Of Walmart.  Or the guy with kids that doesn’t have time to cook.  Let’s look at that second guy.  Dude’s busy, has some kids in the car and want to get them some food because they are hungry and cranky and hey, he could use something to eat as well.

The Big Mac Reality
The Big Mac Reality

The Menu’s Flagship Burger – The Big Mac.  It’s pathetic.  It’s not big.  The meat patties are tiny and tasteless and if you are lucky you have a decent amount of shredded lettuce to at least keep the buns apart.  I generally like burgers that have something between the buns.  You have something called the Big Mac, it needs to be substantial.  The Quarter Pounder has a good patty… How about you use 2 Quarter Pounder patties in the Big Mac?  Forget everything else and think about that for a moment.  Look at what everyone else is doing… Big Thick Juicy Burgers.  McDonald’s, your burgers have not been thick or juicy for some time.   Forget your Specialty burgers that come and go – I’m talking about your core menu items.  The staples that have been around for as long as I can remember… Your patties suck.  They are too thin, and too small.  Seriously, I’ve had thicker patties from White Castle.    And when they get served they are generally cold and dry.    Get some meat in there.  The whole Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?” series of commercials, they were talking about you, McDonald’s.  And you didn’t do anything about it.

Five Guys... Enough Said.
Five Guys… Enough Said.

The problem with McDonald’s is that you lost your Soul.  That clown stole it.  Go back to the source.  What you started out being.  Be that again.   You’re trying to be all things to all people and it’s just not working.  Outfits like In & Out Burger and Five Guys are smoking you.  Why?  Because they are giving their customers what they want… Something they want to eat.  They’ve embraced the fact that they are a fast food burger chain.   They decided they want to offer the best burgers that they can.   You guys?  Your gourmet specialty burgers are generally pretty dang sad… because they are made by the same non-engaged Min-Wager Clowns that don’t care about or even know about what a good burger is.

In & Out Burger.
In & Out Burger.

This is for the CEO of McDonald’s personally… Jump into a car with a friend that is truthful and honest with you.  And you guys go on a Road Trip.  Go to In & Out.  Go to Five Guys.  Go to the other top burger joints in the country and really look at and taste the food.  And then ask yourself why you can’t do that.  And all those reasons you come up with as to why you can’t make a damn good burger like that…. FIX THAT.  All those reasons should become your action points.   This isn’t Rocket Surgery… This is Burgers.

Your chicken sandwiches are not that bad… Not that great, but not bad.  I’m no judge of chicken though.  You’re fish sandwiches suck though.  Same reasons your burgers do now.  But that’s something else… You need to get back in touch with the burger.  Do that, everything else can fall into place.

Does this patch look familiar, McDonald's?
Does this patch look familiar, McDonald’s?

We’ve got a saying around here.  “No Clown Shoes”.   Get rid of the clowns… Relearn what a good burger is.  Get your soul back.   And while you are at it – get rid of the garish bright red and yellow.  Tone those colors down.   That will let people know you can be taken seriously.

Your fries are great.  Don’t touch them.