Category Archives: Uncategorized

Slumping Gun Sales?

05/21/2014 MadOgre 11 Comments

In an article about slumping gun sales over at TTAGs, Dicks blames the political environment.

Allow me to retort. Gun Sales may have slowed down overall… that is true. The reason is not a lack of desire for new guns. It’s a lack of liquid money in the hands of consumers. Let’s be honest. With Obama care and that economic stranglehold, compounded with cutbacks and rising gas prices… it’s tough to justify spending the extra green. Now let’s add the fact that a lot of the popular guns use ammo that’s hard to find as well… Lots of factors go into an overall slump in gun sales.

But let’s look at Dick’s Sporting Goods specifically. What could cause them to have lower sales compared to other gun stores?

I’ve been in several Dick’s stores between here in Richmond, VA for various reasons. I always wander over to the gun counter to take a look. What I see are the usual suspects of the common hunting guns… A couple Rugers, Remingtons, and a Marlins… A few shotguns. Nothing interesting. No MSR’s to speak of. No handguns, which over the last few years have been the sales leaders. Concealed Carry is the biggest sales segment and Dick’s is having none of that. MSR’s have also been sales leaders and Dick’s doesn’t want to sell those in their stores. So the #1 Rifle in America, they are too good for, so they are getting none of those sales. Ammo selection was almost nonexistent, as was the Counter Help at the Gun Department. And then when you could find someone to show you a gun, the person was an asshole that seemed to be put out that you were bothering him/her. Never before has a Store ever been so well named. Dick’s has slumping gun sales because they are not serious about being in the gun sales business. They are more worried about Crossfit and Sports. And that’s fine… The Gun Industry doesn’t need a store like Dick’s if their attitude is that of negligence and disrespect.

Message to Joe Schmidt, Dick’s COO: Now, Dick’s could get back into the game. And it wouldn’t take a lot of effort… but it would take a few new good people in the right places who can make Gun Department decisions separate from rest of Dick’s Corporate Structure. They need some serious Gun Guys at Dick’s. And they don’t have that. Dick’s is wearing the shoes they laced up by their own choice. Joe, contact me and we can talk about how to fix this.

Uncategorized

Open Carry Activists.

05/20/2014 MadOgre 34 Comments

Congratulations to the Open Carry Activists in Texas. You got the rest of us all shut out of Chipolte like you wanted.

That is what you wanted, right? Because, I mean, you guys did see what happened with Starbucks, right? So getting us shunned at one of our favorite Burrito joints had to have been your goal. Couldn’t you have picked a place we didn’t like to hold your Activism at? Like Panera Bread, Checkers, Dairy Queen…

Seriously, you guys packing the AR-15’s everywhere… You are ruining Open Carry for Everyone. The guys that insist Open Carry means they can walk around with AR-15’s and not cause problems – are causing problems. You guys are turning open carry into a 2nd Amendment Gay Rights Parade. Something no one cares about – but you throw it everyone’s faces and dare people to say something. I don’t care if you are gay… But Chaps and a Thong is not dignified attire to be out in public in. Same with an AR-15 Rifle. This isn’t Israel. This isn’t Baghdad. And you are not a PMC Contractor… What you are is an insensitive jerk throwing your rights in people’s faces at the expense of everyone else’s. That’s not the Libertarian Way.

You guys are not helping.

We want to make Open Carry a normal thing. And within the gun rights community there is enough people who are actually advocating against OC, giving preference to Concealed Carry Only. Me, I advocate “Carry”. Open or Concealed, you are talking about the condition of your Shirt Tails, not the guns… but that’s not the question here. That’s not the problem. The problem is you Clownshoes who think you need to walk into the diner with a rifle. You guys are going to bring down a lot more heat on the 2nd Amendment as a whole rather than get the Middle Ground Folks to come over to our side. “Oh those guys in the Booney Hats and Shorts with the Scary Rifles… Those were Nice Guys! I want to be like them!” No, that’s not going to happen. Instead you are going to turn those people who don’t mind guns – into people voting against guns.

If you gotta have your Rifle with you when you eat out – Go through the Drive Through!

Look, I’ve OC’d long guns many times. I’ve slung Tactical Shotguns, AR’s, PSL’s, a Sterling SMG, and rode through town on motorcycles. But the one thing I never did was was stop and go into a place of business with it, because I knew that even in rural high desert Utah, that was just not acceptable. Even while “Perfectly Legal” it’s just not acceptable behavior. Much like wearing a thong and twerking out on Main Street…. Sure, it’s legal. But it’s also not acceptable behavior.

Uncategorized

Hollywood Should…

05/19/2014 MadOgre 32 Comments

The title of this post was going to be What Hollywood should make instead of doing Remakes, but that was long and awkward. Moving on: Here’s my list of Movies that need to be made. If Hollywood isn’t making a Remake, it’s pulling books from the Teen Age Girl section at the book store. And that’s fine… for Teenage Girls. What about us Blokes? Us guys that want something made fresh. What do we get? 214 different reboots of Comic Books, Giant Monsters, and Giant Robots… I want something NEW on the screen… Because there are a lot of fun books out there that would make awesome movies.
Also – this is a list of freaking awesome books that if you have NOT read – You need to because you are missing out. Read the books or get the Audio Book. But take this stuff in and glory in the majesty.

1. Monster Hunter International, by Larry Freaking International Lord of Hate Correia. And all the follow on MHI books. One good solid movie for each book. The director should be Guillermo del Toro. Casting choices can be argued in the comments.

2. The Iron Druid Chronicles, by Kevin Hearne. One of my favorite series of books, written by someone I don’t know. They are wonderfully clever, funny, daring, and truly very interesting books that hold my attention cover to cover. The Director for this… Maybe Wes Anderson, because of the quirkiness factor.

3. Grimnoir Chronicals, by LFILOHC. The three books in the GC series are epic. They have tenderness in parts, and loads of action, iconic characters, and they have a solid universe… world building is important here. I think the Coen Brothers for this… they could really add the gritty texture these movies would need, and give it that edgy feel. Again, each book it’s own movie to be released 2 months apart. None of that year long wait.

4. Dead Six, by Mike Kupari and LFILOHC. Both books. The action and pacing of these books needs a Director that can keep up. Now, I know who you guys would probably go to on this… But I’m thinking it needs some more flair than that to do these Characters justice. I want the physical action to really blow you away. I’m thinking Ridley Scott is the man for that.

5. The Uprising Saga, by George H Hill. Uprising Italia by Zach Hill as well as the other books coming by other authors. I’d like to say Michael Mann or some other ultra realistic director to get that jaw dropping gritty reality, but no. That’s not right. Because Uprising is literary junk food that should not be taken too seriously… Quentin Tarantino. If Dead Six is a perfectly grilled Porterhouse, then Uprising is a Microwaved Hot Pocket and a Mountain Dew Kickstarter to wash it down. It’s what Walking Dead SHOULD HAVE BEEN. And by the way, I think someone at AMC read Uprising… A Governor that takes over things with an eyepatch? Really? (Just kidding, I know the comic book predates Uprising…. but still)

6. Armor by John Steakley. Since we are talking about new films and not remakes… there’s no hope of a reboot of Starship Troopers. This is like the same thing but from a different perspective. James Cameron can do the alien world and military might better than anyone in sci-fi.

7. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. This book is probably more special to me than it should be…. but it really resonated with me. From a movie making standpoint – this movie would be impossible without the right director. J.J. Abrams made me like Star Trek. If he can do that, he can do this.

8. At the Mountains of Madness, by HP Lovecraft. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. The movie Guillermo has been wanting to make… Let him do it! If anyone does this movie… it should be Guillermo. No one else can do it justice. For God’s sake not Tim Burton…

Other books I want to see on the screen… The Stars my Destination, American Gods, Redshirts, and The Horus Heresy series.

What do you want to see made and who should direct it or be in it? Also, what do you think of my picks and who should be cast?

Uncategorized, Weapons

Gun Peeves

05/05/2014 MadOgre 37 Comments

There are a lot of stuff that bugs true Gunnies in TV and Movies… But the number one thing that bugs me?

1. Pistols Akimbo

I’m not talking about just Dual Wielding… but pointing two different guns in two different directions. We see this in far too many otherwise decent movies. Note to Directors: STOP IT. Doing this can actually ruin what could otherwise be a decent movie. I’ve actually turned off movies I was watching when this stuff started happening. Worst offender:

2. Tea Cups.

It’s one thing if James Bond does it. He’s British and they are into Tea Cups and Saucers like no one’s business… But still. Bond is supposed to be the consumate professional with a license not just to carry a gun, but to use it at his discretion. I mean you wouldn’t see Jack…

Oh come on… Jack Bauer too? He’s killed more terrorists than a dorm full of Call of Duty players. And he’s not even just Tea Cupping – but taking it to the extreme from of using his finger tip to brace the trigger guard. That’s some hard core tea-cupping there. Still… I’m looking forward to the new series of the Bam-Bam-Bauer-Power-Hour. But this photo right here makes me wonder why.

3. Crossed Thumbs.

This just makes the Trainer in me get all twitchy in my right eye. I hate seeing this. That image is from the movie HEAT. A movie that actually does very well in the gun handling department… until That Guy. That Guy is supposed to be a veteran detective, a pro. You see this all the time on TV and it grates my nerves. But in a movie with a director like Michael Mann? It’s distracting. Not only that, but…

It’s going to be painful… watch the 3rd shot. Try not to cringe.

4. Glock Safeties and Cocking.

That was almost enough to make me stop watching The Walking Dead. But we’ve seen this in countless shows… Phantom Safety Syndrome and Ghost Cocking sounds. Why do Directors insist that they actors do something that is mechanically not possible? What are they trying to accomplish? It’s worse than the Dramatic Cocking.

5. The Walking Dead.

The Chickenwinging, no rear sight, laying his head down like he’s making out with it, Evil Governor. Who also does this:

Right Hand shouldering… to the blind eye. Let’s just point out that this doesn’t work.

And then there is RICK. Who can’t hold up the barrel of his Python.

I hate Rick… almost as much as I hated his wife. Most every episode of The Walking Dead is a parade of bad decision making and bad gun handling… The show gives me a headache every time I watch it. It’s morbid curiosity that I keep watching.
BTW, the only guy that has his wits about him is Glenn.:

Glenn has the sense to at least put on some body armor. He also scored the Hot Chick as his Main Squeeze. And for a traveling companion here, a cute chick with luscious Ta-Ta’s. Glenn Wins.

Uncategorized

Hero or Vigilante?

04/29/2014 MadOgre 7 Comments

Interesting story coming out of Texas. A concealed carry permit holder used his weapon to not just stop a crime but to apprehend the criminals. The news story is here.

How would this have played out in other states?

Utah, AZ, AK, GA, WY, MT, ID… Probably would have gone over just as it did.
Other states – NY, CT, MD, VA, NC, IL, CA, OR, WA and many others… The story probably would have been taking a much different tone.

Had this situation come to a different ending before the police arrived, I’m sure the story would have been negative even though the person tried to do the right thing. Or what if the Hero didn’t have a Permit – but had the gun in his car and was able to get it out and get into action. Would that have changed the tenor of the report? I be it would have. Heaven forbid that someone other than a Permit Holder attempt to do what’s right.

Do what’s right. Simple phrase. But dire consequences here. And things could have gone very pear shaped very quickly in this situation. But this man did the right thing – because it turned out okay. But what if he did the right thing and it didn’t turn out well? If that had happened, the Hero would have been branded a Vigilante and the report would have been that he shouldn’t have intervened.

The Police were of course, as always in case like this – advising Citizens to NOT get involved and just get good descriptions. “Observe and Report”… like most Security Guards. Notice that the Security Cameras are not good enough to get Plates? You can’t depend on Cameras. Cameras don’t reduce crime. If they did – this wouldn’t have happened, no?

Here’s the deal… We have far more GOOD GUYS than we have COPS. Permit Holders, or GOOD GUYS With Guns that DON’T have Permits. You see, if it was a First Aid situation, the person trying to help is covered under the Good Samaritan Law. But for a guy like this, there is no Legal Coverage for attempting to stop a crime in progress. So if you try and succeed – you are a good guy. Try and Fail – You will become “Part of the Problem” and you will be the Bad Guy.

Should we extend the Good Samaritan Law to cover attempting stopping crime in progress? Oh, the Liberal Mind will boil and explode on that question! Many Gun Owner’s will too. There will be more George Zimmermans out there… More Vigilantes… and some day someone might actually wear a costume while doing it! Oh this will be great entertainment… Debating the validity of something Good Men have been doing ever since there have been Bad Men.

I think we should… Amend the laws to protect the Good Samaritans. Just like a LEO is protected by law. Just think of it… Instead of a few cops in a town – you have thousands. Just like in the old “Wild West”. Here’s the thing about the Wild West… NEVER has this country had a period of greater Peace and never had people been so removed from Government. Oh we know all about the Shoot Outs that happened there because there were so few, each one was documented and talked about in detail. Now days? There are so many the Internet can’t even keep track. Let’s bring back those days of Peace.

Uncategorized

Pigeonholed

04/29/2014 MadOgre 8 Comments

Leonard Da Vinci. Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin.

Do you know why these men were so great? Because they were not Pigeonholed into thinking that they could only do one type of job. Yet the tradition of Corporate America is to Pigeonhole people and ID People by the Job they did before instead of everything that they are capable of.

I find this sad.

Uncategorized

Sick and Tired: Spartans.

04/25/2014 MadOgre 27 Comments

The Gun Community really goes overboard on THEMES. Someone comes up with something cool and 89,000 other people do spin offs of that theme and it’s a Forbidden that anyone else says anything about it. Well, let me break that ice.

Spartans. Molon Labe. TheFiringLine.com introduce the Gun Community to “MOLON LABE” back at the turn of this Century when Rich went up against the Anti-Gunners and used quite astutely “Molon Labe” as their battle cry. Combine that with the move “300” and holy freaking hell it’s been nothing but Greek Spartans all over the damn place. Tactical Greek Spartans of some sort must account for 1/6th of the entire Gun Industry now. Okay, I exaggerate… But come on… This theme is tired. The only thing more tired is the eternal battle of “Who is more tactical than Who”, which is only slightly more tired than “.45 vs 9mm”. Don’t get me wrong – 300 was the ultimate badass movie. We all love the Epic Sentiment found in the film that loosely correlates with actual history. But to say you are a Trainer and you want to come up with your own Training Company – and you pick Spartan as a Theme? You have a dramatic lack of Imagination.

Let me help you out if you have no imagination. You know who else is Badass, other than Spartans? Vikings.

Vikings raided and pillaged there way all around Europe and the Mediterranean, into the Middle East, and across to North America. They were Ultimate Badasses because they literally became the Boogey Men of all of Europe. I had one History Professor that even suggested that Vikings were one of the peoples that fought the Egyptians that were called the Sea People. They were all over the place. Scary. Monstrous. Why don’t you call your Ballistic Dojo something along the lines of the Vikings? The Pirate theme has some popularity in the arena of motivational patchworks… and that’s cool too. Unfortunately the popular motif is the Calico Jack standard. Yes, that image is very piratey but unfortunately John Rackham was terrible at being a Pirate. Sure, he was a smooth talking rouge that had a couple hotties on his ship with him… living it up like the very image of the label on a bottle of Captain Morgan’s… but he just sucked at being a Pirate. His biggest score was the taking of another ship… In plain view of Authorities and when they caught up to him – Calico Jack and his crew were hiding in the jungles as the Good Guys took his ship. Don’t use that as your Pirate Theme – but pick another. There are lots of awesome Pirates out there. And just think about how epic your Booth Babes will be one day at SHOT SHOW.

So who do you want to surround yourself with? A bunch of Magic Mikes or some beautiful Pirate Booty?

Years ago, Gundoc and I started CRUSADER WEAPONRY. We used the Crusader Knight as our icon and it worked. But now there are a lot of other guys out there… If I had a dollar for all the other rifle maker’s “Broadswords” out there – I’d have a Broadsword rifle of my own. Many Copycats…. And that’s fine… as long as they are not overdone like the Spartans are… Judas Priest… I’ve seen more Tactical Spartans at SHOT SHOW last year then their were in the Movie.

Keep the MOLON LABE – Get the Tat. Because that’s awesome. But if you are going to name your company something… BE ORIGINAL.

Uncategorized

Undying

04/16/2014 MadOgre 2 Comments

This is the scariest game I’ve ever played. More than Doom 3, the Marine missions in AVP, or FEAR… which are all my top choices of a scary gaming goodness… But Undying holds the crown. The graphics suck and the combat dynamics are “interesting”… the story is pretty good for a Video Game’s rationalization to go around and kill everything. What sets it apart is the Characters and the Environment. The lighting effects, the sound effects, and the music combine to create an immersive environment that few games can even get close to. While I consider myself to be very jaded and disconnected, Undying really sucked me in to that world. And that world scared me. There was one area in the game that was pretty much empty of monsters, but the mood and the music worked together to really creep me the heck out. Undying is the only Horror-FPS game, or any Horror Game, that made me throw a NOPE grenade, unplug the computer, and walk away. UNDYING did that to me. It’s never happened before or since… but I had to pull the power cord, get up, and walk away, because I was freaked the hell out.

You know how you have your 1 horror movie that freaked you out the most when you first saw it? For me that’s EVENT HORIZON. Well, Undying is that – in a video game.

This is the character you play. Patrick Galloway. He’s a Post WW1 Era Scottish version of Neo/Mr. Anderson or a Dr. Gordon Freeman. He can use bottles of flaming liquid, a revolver, a shotgun or a slingshot from that guy on Youtube that makes crazy slingshots. And in the other hand, he can use Magic. And he’s left handed. Clive Barker said that he wanted to make this character sexy, as he is gay and wanted a character that held his attention. The result is that unlike other FPS Game characters you get to know Patrick Galloway… your alter-ego as play through and get sucked into the Undying world.

Being written by Clive Barker, it’s going to have some depth, some darkness, and a enough Batshit to build Crazy Town with. Clive… is a guy that’s really not right in the head. He makes Stephen King look like a school teacher, and Dean Koontz look like a sunday school teacher. So some aspects of what he writes is just oh so very wrong. There’s a lot of Wrongness in this game. Here’s the thing though… It works. And it’s scary. And it’s a hard game, which means you are not going to be breezing through it. You have to investigate things, and figure things out, and it’s not going to be easy.

I’d like to see this game redone on a better game engine with better graphics. And I’d like to see the ending cleaned up and some other things tweaked… but overall it really stands on it’s own. Maybe though… maybe it’s best that the Graphics remain poor. Because maybe it would be too much if it was any more “realistic”.

Uncategorized

FNH shows some Leadership

04/12/2014 MadOgre 3 Comments

Congratulations to FNH for showing some serious leadership in the SHOT Industry. Something EVERY company that’s involved in the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade industry.
Partnering with TREAD LIGHTLY!.

This sends the right message. To everyone. From our fellow shooters, to everyone that enjoys the outdoors for all reasons. My brother in law Sage Wheeler taught me to appreciate our lands more than I had thought about. I’m not an Environmentalist by any means, but I am one that is concerned. I’ve spend many hours in the desert filling up the back of my Chevy 4×4 and my Ford Bronco full of garbage and crap to take to the landfill. Couches, Appliances, Chairs, TV’s, Computers… All of them… Everything… riddled with bullet holes. Sure, I made my share of holes… But then I came back and cleaned up what I could. Because the #1 reason our shooting areas are getting closed off – is because we tolerate those that use those areas as a dumping ground. That has to stop. If it doesn’t, we’re going to lose all of it.

Thanks, Sage. And thank you, FNH.

Automotive, Uncategorized

Designs

03/24/2014 MadOgre 6 Comments

Looking at the newest Fords and Chevy’s one thing is clear… Ford is slipping. Ford is concentrating on making everything look like generic Aston Martins. Including the new 2015 Mustang. Now, I’m really digging the new Mustang. A lot. I mean… a lot… Love it. But when all the cars are starting to look the same way… it waters the Ford brand down.

Chevy is doing much the same with all their cars… The Cruze, the Malibu, the SS… they all look the same from the front. This is disappointing. Honestly, it’s hard to tell them apart on the street. Save for the Camaro and the Corvette.. They all look they came out of the OctoMom. I’m not saying that they look bad individually… But when you walk around a Dealership… It’s a shallow gene-pool. It’s like the same guy just phoned in the designs.

Making everything in your brand look the same… isn’t making it all look like Family. It makes everything look Inbred. This may have worked for British Royals through the middle ages… but it doesn’t work for me. I don’t know about you. What do you guys think about that?
I think where designs have really taken off, is with the interiors.

Continue reading Designs →

Mad Ogre

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Slumping Gun Sales?

Open Carry Activists.

Hollywood Should…

Gun Peeves

Hero or Vigilante?

Pigeonholed

Sick and Tired: Spartans.

Undying

FNH shows some Leadership

Designs

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