Food, Training

Considering teaching 3 new Courses.

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I’ve been thinking about three new firearms courses.   Let me bounce this off you guys and see if these would have some traction.

1.  The Lever Action Operators Course.   This course would be a focus class on the Lever Action Rifle platform, specifically Winchester 94’s, 92’s, and Marlin’s 1895’s, 336’s, and 1894 rifles.
The course would start out with the introductions, history and development… and then move to disassembly, cleaning, repairs and modifications, and then moving on to tactical applications within the weapon’s performance envelope.

2.  The 1911 Intensive.  So many Shooters have commented that they are “Not Familiar” with the 1911.  This course would fix that.  Taking someone who’s never fired a 1911 before, and turning them into someone who is both familiar and confident with the pistol.  This would start out with of course the history and development of the 1911 pistol from 1907 to present.  We’ll cover a detailed breakdown of the 1911, to full disassembly and reassembly.  Every single pin and part.  Students would bring their 1911’s and we’ll tear them apart, inspect each part, clean and lubricate each part, and reassemble.  We’ll talk about common modifications, things to avoid, things to look for, and how to make the 1911 fit you the best.  Then we’ll cover the application of the 1911 in a defensive role.   Classroom in the Morning, Shooting in the afternoon.

3.  The Grilling While Armed Tactical Grilling and Shooting.  We’ll combine two of my favorite things in one course.   We’ll start out with how to set up your grill, how to cook direct grilling and smoking on your Weber (or other) charcoal grill.  Once the coals are lit and the meat and heat are set, we’ll do a defensive pistol course.  During the breaks from shooting, we’ll cover Pro Level, Champion Grade cooking techniques so you get the most out of your Grill.  Then we shoot some more.  And then once the smoking and grilling is done – We FEAST.  So you come away from this course, full and satisfied with grilled and smoked foods, and with the knowledge to grill and smoke your own, and with some improvement to your defensive shooting.  Okay, really this is just a day of hanging out at the range with good people and good food and enjoying the Freedom Lifestyle.

Training

The Ferguson, MO situation.

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Ferguson, Missouri. Here’s my take on the situation. The Media is all over how the Police are too Militarized and are too heavy handed. True. And frighteningly so. However, take a look at the other side of this. We have a complete breakdown of society that happened within just hours. People were upset about a Police Shooting… So the response of the people there was to flip over vehicles, burn down buildings, and loot everything that wasn’t under armed guard. In their own town, in their own neighborhood, to their own neighbors. They are doing this to themselves. I’m sorry, but that has got to be contained and stopped, like firefighters fighting a wild fire. With what I’ve seen in the many videos of the rioters and what they are doing – I think the Ferguson Police were doing it right. A big show of force that communicated “This stops here”.
Then they went and jumped the shark as that power went quickly to their heads and became part of the problem themselves.
This is a situation that needs to be evaluated in great detail as to how it proliferated from protest to pure chaos. We need to see the stages and the signs and we need to break this down into lessons we can learn from.
This is Prepper School Fodder right here.
Civil Unrest is a reality that moves just as fast as a fictional Zombie Uprising. We use Zombie Uprising as an analog for Disaster Training… but guys, I’m telling you. You just saw that happen in Ferguson, MO. There’s your Zombie Uprising, so don’t tell me Zombies are not real. Because that situation in Ferguson is very real. And if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. It can happen where you live. So we need to think about that. Break that down.
Look at where you live. Imagine that situation in YOUR TOWN. Ask Your Self some questions.
1. Where would it most likely happen?
2. Can you Button Up and Hold Out, or will you need to Go Mobile?
3. If you need to Move Out, then what is your movement plan?
4. What is your Destination?
5. What are your Preps for that? Moving or Holding.
6. Who is in your Group to back you up and what is their Readiness?

You need those answers NOW. Because looking at Ferguson, you don’t have time to make the preps when things start to happen. You only have time to execute your plans.

Weapons

Open Carry / Protest Carry

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In Texas, one is not allowed to Open Carry a handgun, but you can a Long Arm.  This has lead to many incidences of guys packing their rifles into places one does not normally see someone packing a rifle.
They do this out of Protest and to try to help promote the Second Amendment.   The problem with this is that it raises many alarms and often cops get involved and it ends up on YouTube, and eventually the location in question puts up notices that no guns are allowed there at all.

I have a better idea.

Continue reading Open Carry / Protest Carry →

Food

A Good Burger in North Carolina?

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There was this list online some place… that listed the BEST BURGERS in the NATION.  Every State had some entries…. And one of the ones for North Carolina was El’s Drive In in Morehead City.

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Right off 70 in Morehead, right next to some big old hospital.  I’ve heard their advertisements on the Radio a bunch of times… and then this list shows up.  I decided I had to try it.

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This is their Double El’s Special with Slaw and Chili Sauce.  Supposedly their best burger.  Ordered a Coke and some onion rings to go with it.  The onion rings were pretty good.  The Coke was in a freaking can… and that Special Burger… It was… Special.  The chili sauce and slaw – was on so thin as to only serve to make the bottom bun soggy as hell.  You couldn’t really taste it.   The bottom bun was like a wet napkin about the third bite.  The beef – there were two paddies, yes… But they were flavorless and dried out.  So I had a Dry and Soggy burger.  You know how you burn a paddy on a grill really bad and then slice off all the burned layers?  THAT is what these paddies tasted like.   Dry flavorless meat.   Quite seriously, this was one of the most disgusting burgers I’ve ever had in my life.  At least I had a 2 dollar can of Coke to wash it down with.

All is not lost at El’s though.  I did also have an Oyster Burger.  Maybe it was good?

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Nope.  What you can’t see was that it was drowned in ketchup under that flaccid bun.  The oysters were fried waaayyy too long in the deep fat frier, and were about has tender as charcoal with bits of crust as hard as granite.  You could break your teeth on these things.  Oh, and if it being rocklike wasn’t enough… the oysters were filled with sand… and small chunks of gravel.

Overall, El’s Drive In was a most unpleasant place to eat.  Unpleasant meaning, flat out nasty.  The service was good though.  The lady was prompt to my vehicle and very nice.  But as nice as she was for a 50 year old Car Hop, I don’t think I’ll ever go back.   In fact – I really wish I didn’t go in the first place.

 

Weapons

My favorite 1911 Configuration.

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To me, saying “1911” is like saying “Pickup Truck”.  There are many Makes and Models out there, all different, all with different purposes. But they are all 1911’s so they are pretty good and should all pretty much run the same way.   But one configuration of 1911 that always makes me drool…
A Lightweight Commander.  Specifically a two tone LW Commander.  As far as pistols go – these are my Redheads.  My Kryponite.  My weakness.

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This one is very nice… Subdued colors.  A big visible dot on the front sight… Very nice indeed.  I’m not a huge fan of the ramped rear sight, but I can deal with that.  On this gun the higher end red wood grips are a little dressy on the flat finished gun.

colt_04860txt_commander_eliteThis one is nice too… Subdued colors again, but with a set of black grip panels.  I like that a bit better due to the fact that it’s more in keeping with the motif.  The first one is like having White Wall tires on a Mustang GT.   I guess that would be fine if that’s your thing… it’s just not my thing.   And if it is your thing… and you like that… Well, “America”.   Bully for you!

kobra4Here’s one that’s very good.  Micarta grips, brushed stainless and a moderate polish on the slide… Not Subdued, but more natural.  I really like that.  I also like the Bobtail… a lot.  But it’s not necessary…  Just really really nice.  Like Navigation or a Back Up Camera, or XM Radio.

Yost_left_rearOh man… Here we go.  This is the higher end.  We have a high polish on that blued slide and burled walnut grips.  This one is so nice that it’s almost too nice.  We call guns like this “BBQ Guns”, but it’s what you wear to a BBQ at your friends place… your nicest gun in a nice leather holster.  Not something I’d EDC, but wear to special occasions.  It would be like having a date with a Super Model… You are not going to take her out on the rounds of your usual haunts, but to some place special.  (Unless she asked to go to the regular haunts mind you)   So for me, that last one there, the more natural one, that’s the one I’d pick.

What do all these Commanders have in common?  Two Tone Finishes, with Dark on top of Light.  The current Vogue due to the advent of stainless slides on polymer frames is to have a light colored slide on a dark frame.  This I don’t care for.  It makes all manner of sense though, sure.  It’s PRACTICAL.  A stainless slide will show less wear than a blued slide.  And frames will typically show less wear than slides… So putting a stainless slide on that black frame makes Reason and Logic smile.  But it doesn’t make me necessarily smile, no, just the opposite is true.  And let me tell you why.

Growing up reading every gun magazine I could get my hands on as a kid, I stared with wide eyes and great wonder at the custom 1911’s made by true master level gunsmiths… and all of them were two tones with stainless frames and high polished blued slides.   That LOOK defined “Custom” for me then and it does so now.  So the stainless slides on black frames just look “off” to me.   So my ultimate has to have a black slide on light frame.   That just visually tastes right to me.

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