Gear, Military, Weapons

Trunk Monkeys

7 Comments

I’m concerned about Trunk Monkeys right now.  The term comes from the funny videos on YouTube, just go there and look it up.  It’s amusing.  But what’s not so funny is the job of Rear Security and the guys that have to pull this slot.  They are called “Trunk Monkeys”.  This is not an easy job to pull if you get tasked for it.  Reason being, you get told to be the Trunk Monkey, you jump into the back on an SUV and it’s pretty much up to you to make the best of it.

Trunk Monkey in Nepal.
Detail in Israel.

You can see these Trunk Monkeys are in the back with gear, tools, an unsecured spare tire…  No safety, no protection.  These Trunk Monkeys are hanging it out on the line more than anyone else in the detail.

Looking Cool is a Priority in the US Secret Service. Note how everyone is looking at the photographer who is about 2 second from getting lit up.

This is one of the most famous Trunk Monkey photos out there, as this one is US Secret Service.  I’m not giving anything away as this one has been out there for years now.

Now, of the Trunk Monkey is lucky, he’ll at least have a seat or something.  But again, very little protection for the Agent in the back.

This is how you make the best of the situation… With a really big freaking gun.

This guy has a seat and a weapon mount to help him do his job better.  Maybe a seatbelt, and some upgraded body armor…. but again, the protection is minimum his movement in the vehicle is minimum. The fronts of the vehicles are protected with bullet resistant glass.  The backs?  Not so much, and especially not if the rear window is opened.

I’d like to see an armor plate on that weapon mount.  Something to help deflect some incoming fire..  I’d like to see a swiveling seat on a slider so the Trunk Monkey and can move side to side to better engage and avoid threats.

Uncategorized

Uncle Musket

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In the Uprising Saga, there is a character called “Uncle Musket”.  Uncle Musket to many, just Musket to me.  For those that don’t know, “Uncle Musket” is a real guy.   He is in fact my younger brother.  He posts from time to time on WTA.   Recently he just posted his thoughts about an Automatic Pistol:

 

You buncha unholy meddlers and mad alchemists have true topped yersefs now!
This damn thing! Have ye any shame? An arm far defense is it? Whot?
Through the mad currents of private trades, I have this we bobble of an alleged defensive pistol and by the dark blazes you magazine and cartridge people make me ill sometimes!

Right then. This lilliputian thing.
So, yes, OF COURSE this thing runs on metallic cartridges…very small ones.
Damn your eyes! “Oh well, you see it’s 380, and that’s not very far from 9mm!” 9MM! 9mm is a fair size for lock plate screws, not bores, you giggling twits! Did this JUST to make me mad!
Well, so, here it is. It’s bloody SMALL. Has a trigger there. The whole fool thing is the size of a proper arm’s trigger mechanism. The “grip” such as it is, made of poly-I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU CALL THIS CRAP!…holds a tiny magazine which contains the preposterous metallic cartridges. Each cartridge has a primed disk on the back…damn stupid thing to do…prying that little thing out for repriming…you people must have wagon loads of spare time…so, this tiny magazine rides inside this tiny grip handle…which is designed for a beetles’ pinchers more than for a man’s hand…you can’t club a footpad with this shameful gadget! Stoopid! If one of my stock cutters or locksmiths showed be this!
Six of the cartridges in the magazine mind. Cause, holy hell, havin six of the nonsensickle things make up for it’s glaring USELESSNESS!!
So now…this is a compact 380…polycrap frame…the SLIDE…purports to be steel of some kind.
The barrel. Look at this. This! is a pistol barrel! This sad broken pipestem is a pistol barrel!
You buncha gibbering loons.
Oh by the greenman’s beard do I feel deprived! Poor silly old me! I’m too ignorant to prance about your stone and glass cities stingin my sciencecraftic mates with these tomfool 380s!
My dear wood gods…pinacle of guncraft this…theres the magazine release…perfectly made for a fairey staff to articulate. That little speck there…
Fine! Grand! If you lads load up with these Gnome guns! You’ll dominate the field!
Stay back! He has a fel 380 of top sciencecraft! That little blob in his hand! Thass a GUN!
Thanksa bushel for this! I’ll toss out all me kit and wield this mighty cannon till me dying days!
No ball mold either!

I would like to see a whole series of Uncle Musket Reviews… but that’s his business.

Weapons

SIG’s Latest

8 Comments

I’m thinking George Lucas must have joined SIG’s board of directors.  Check this out.

That my friends, is a SIG P228.  I used to have one.  I liked it.  So did other guys.  But not enough to keep SIG making it.  SIG discontinued it for many years.  Then they brought it back, briefly, with the addition of a rail.  Then they discontinued it again.

Now they are bringing it back with the Military Designation M11-A1.  To the Milspec Guys, the A1 designation means it’s all revamped to the newest standards.   And now some gun dudes (Not THE Gun Dudes) are getting all mushy about it.  “It’s a completely different pistol!” They say.  Oh for the love… No, it isn’t.  It’s a bloody P228!  If I take my wife’s Ford Explorer, scoot the seat back, and spray A1 on the back with Krylon, this doesn’t make it a completely different vehicle, it’s still a Ford Explorer.  And this M11A1 is still a P228… The same gun everyone ignored for the last 20 years.  But now all the sudden because it’s being sold under it’s Military Designation, it’s somehow better.  It’s just a 228.  And that’s a good thing.  The P228 is one my favorite handguns… It handles better than a 229, lighter too.  It’s a great gun.  But the way some guys are jizzing their pants about this is just crazy.  Where were you guys 20 years ago when SIG dropped the 228?  Because the M-11 has been around since 1989, used by the Military since then… and SIG still had to discontinue it because you guys were not buying it.

Hey SIG, just go ahead and Drop the “P” Designation of your pistols and make it “M”.

Automotive

Time for me to give it up.

26 Comments

I rode my ZX-11 in to work this morning.   When I first got on it at Ogre Ranch, my knees protested, but when I hit the highway, I didn’t care.  It felt so good to be on the Ninja again… It was like being born again.  Of course, I always feel that way when I hit the highway on this bike.

By the time I hit Vernal, my knees were staging a protest and it was a bit awkward getting off the machine.  That’s not good.  By the end of the work day, my knees were giving me hell.  Getting my right foot on the peg was difficult.  I was half way home when I finally was able to yank it up by my pant leg.  Once I pulled into Ogre Ranch, getting that foot back off the peg was not happening.  I almost dumped the bike because of it. I’m not yet ready to give up Riding. I’m just going to have to give up Sport Bikes. My knees can only bend so far now. Cruisers and Enduros, I can still do. But Warp Speed Land Rockets – Not so much. In all seriousness – This is really freaking depressing for me. I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved this ZX-11. It’s been my favorite vehicle out of everything I’ve ever owned. And I can’t even get my feet on the pegs anymore.  This is killing me.

I’m going to have to sell it or trade it.

3,000 Cash or a Trade for something with All Wheel Drive that gets decent fuel economy, or some sort of “Hot Hatch” with front wheel drive.

Government

Libya

54 Comments

I posted this on Facebook this morning:

How come we are not bombing the shit out of Libya for murdering our Ambassador? How come we are not doing anything about this? Why is our President setting America up as the kid that anyone on the playground can pick on?
Fuck that. America should be FEARED. Americans around the world should cause a wake of fear and caution as they walk around because everyone knows that if you fuck with an American, we will saturate your world with pain and despair. You will show America respect or we will take it from you.
Our President is such a pussy he is putting every American at risk instead of protecting us like the Commander And Chief is supposed to do.

My anger has not subsided.  In fact, it’s only gotten worse.  Because instead of our President actually doing anything about this, he has Apologized To The Murderers and Terrorists!  WHAT THE FUCK, OVER?  WHAT THE FUCK?
One of my young sons learned of this attack, the murder of our Ambassador, the removing of our the US Flag… He observed that “the Libyans have in effect declared War on America.”  My KID sees this… Why can’t our damned President?  Apologizing to Murderers?  When did we start apologizing to evil?

Uncategorized

Recoil Magazine: Full Retard Extra Plus

14 Comments

As we’ve been tracking the FUBAR situation with Recoil Magazine, we’ve watched as many of their top shelf Advertisers drop those idiots like a hot potato.  And rightfully so.
The magazine has put out another official statement.  I’ll post links tonight, but let me paraphrase their message for you:
“You Slimy Handed Cake Eaters… How dare you question us!  We have over 26,000 likes on Facebook!  Screw you all and your views of Gun Ownership.  We will not listen to you rednecks in Fly Over States!  Go pound sand!”
Well, that’s what I read into their message… I’ll link up the actual message tonight when I get home.
So basically they are not going to get rid of the idiot Editor, JT, who caused all this mess.
That’s fine.  That’s their choice.  It’s their magazine and they can do or say anything they want.
But we don’t have to listen, read, or buy their magazine or the products of those that are continuing to support Recoil.
Over the weekend since Monday, they have lost a big chunk of advertising, industry support, and popularity.  This new message from the Publisher has only made matters for them worse.

Here is the message:

RECOIL Magazine’s Position:

In light of some of the comments and complaints made about a paragraph in a recent article about the Heckler & Koch MP7A1, Recoil wishes to make the following points clear:

· It is simply not credible for anyone to question Recoil’s support for, and commitment to, the Second Amendment. Recoil is first and foremost a gun lifestyle magazine, aimed at the modern shooting enthusiast.

· The opinions in the paragraph in question accurately reflected those of the manufacturer, and should have been reported as direct quotes. Recoil acknowledges the way the paragraph was written has caused unnecessary confusion.

· Jerry Tsai, a passionate gun enthusiast and the visionary behind Recoil magazine, will remain as editor of Recoil.

We thank you for your support and understanding.

Quite honestly, if you read the article, it was one paragraph that was actually quoted from the manufacturer and we did not state it that way. Recoil has 26,000 likes on face book and the magazine has only been out for three issues and issue number 4 is just hitting the streets. I honestly believe that this will not hurt the magazine. I have not lost anyone as a result of this and do not expect to.

Joe Galloway
Associate Publisher
5.0 Mustang & Super Fords
Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords
Phone 813-675-3493
Fax 813-675-3557
Email joe.galloway@sorc.com
Assistant: Jennifer Conklin 813-675-3507

Some guys have blamed HK for this because they will not sell the MP7 to Civilians.  This is unfair to HK.  I sat in a meeting with the President of HK, and I spoke with him personally about the whole “You Suck and We Hate You” thing.  Yes, HK is very well aware of Master Correia’s thrashing of them, and admitted that it was actually justified.  He stressed the lengths they are going to to try to turn that image around.  As a dealer, I have seen the results of their efforts.  Calling up HK now is like calling up a totally different company.  According to German Law – HK is based in Germany after all – they are not allowed to sell the MP7 to Civilians.  German Law says because such weapons have no sporting purpose they can’t export them to the US… unless it’s to a Law Enforcement Agency.  So it’s not HK saying that you suck and they hate you – It’s the German Government saying you suck and they hate you.  The president of HK would love to sell you and me and our friends, HK MP7’s and SL8 rifles with full magazine capacities.  Of course they would… they are a Commercial Company. They want to make money.

Recoil Magazine however has taken all this too far saying “Thank heavens we can’t get our slimy hands on guns like these.”    We can’t handle firepower of this magnitude!  Never mind we can get AR-15 rifles with 100 round magazines topped with optical gunsights that were science fiction 10 years ago.  FNH PS90 carbine/SMG’s with 50 round mags.  (Just so you know, Belgium isn’t in Germany)  Recoil has persisted in showing us their ass and has given us the middle finger for saying “Hey, that’s not right!”

As a result, we need to persist in the flogging of Recoil Magazine and those that continue to support them in Advertising and on Facebook.  Simple as that.  We can’t have a supposed Gun Magazine that prints Anti-Gun Bullshit.  Yes, what they said was Anti-Gun… it’s exactly what the Anti-Gun Liberals say.  Looking for Sporting Purpose justifications is pretty much saying that you don’t know shit about the Bill of Rights, the US Constitution and of you hang on to the Sporting Purpose BS, then you are NOT “Pro-Gun”.  We don’t need this in a magazine acting like they are.  We don’t need Recoil.  We need Recoil to Go Away if they are not going to Change.  And that Change is the dismissal of “JT”.

Oh, one more thing.   Make sure you UNLIKE Recoil Magazine on Facebook.

Uncategorized

Recoil on Recoil

29 Comments

So the Editor if Recoil Magazine issued an Apology.  I’m not going to post his bullshit, but it was basically him saying “I’m sorry you were offended.”  Not that he was sorry he made an error in saying it… just sorry that you took it to be offensive.  That’s not an apology.  That’s what I say when what I really want to say is “Fuck you, and fuck off.” 
George Bush said this to China when a Chinese Fighter ran into one of our P3 Orion’s and caused it to crash land… China demanded an apology and Bush basically said “We’re sorry your fighter pilot ran into our plane.”  Again, Bush basically gave China the middle finger.
So with Recoil giving us the Middle Finger, it’s time to return the favor to them.
Recoil is a magazine.  Magazines make their money not by selling the rag – that just covers costs – but by selling Advertising.
Instead of contacting Recoil Magazine, we contact those that have been advertising in the magazine:
Magpul, Panteo, Bravo Company. 
We need to contact these guys and request that they stand up for Civilian Gun Owners and withdraw all their advertising from Recoil.
Recoil needs to die on the vine.  It was a shallow rag at best with no actual content and these companies advertising with them can do better in other venues.  
In fact, ask them to Advertise instead with Armed American Radio and Mark Walters will give them a smoking good deal if they Jump Ship over to AAR Advertising.
I’m still pissed at Recoil… They had a good idea at a nice high end magazine, but really failed at not hiring actual Gun Guys to edit and write for them.  This is a fatal flaw that needs to be shoved right through the heart.

It is possible to save Recoil.  The Layout Artists are good, but the writers and editors need to be replaced to the person.  Especially JT, the moron who started this mess. When Recoil gets a new Staff, it could become one of the best magazines out there. 
But to be honest, I don’t see this happening.

What’s sad though is all the good magazines that have gone away… I miss OMNI Magazine.  *sigh*

Gear

AGV K4 Explorer

1 Comment

I’ve gone through a few helmets in the last couple years.  Some of the changes were necessary due to impacts, others because of fit issues.  I have a very “Oval” shaped head.  It’s more Lycan than Human.  So most helmets just don’t fit right.

HJC:   These lids are starters, nothing I’d go back to.  It fit fine at first, then after it started breaking in it got loose.  It was loud, poorly vented, and heavy.   But it was cheap.

Scorpion:  Very Good fit and finish.  I like it.  Mine was the EXO-400, one of Scorps lower cost lids, but it was great helmet all the way around and I’d not hesitate to get another one.  But the 400 was shaped more oval and the higher end Scorps are more round, so they wouldn’t quite fit me.  Which is too bad, because I really like them.

Bell:  Great venting.  Light.  Killer looks.  I really liked this helmet save for two things.  Loud as hell and it was crushing my awesome roman nose.  Mine was the Vortex Siege helmet.  If you are in a hot location, and have a normal shaped head, this is an awesome lid.  Just wear your Ear Buds, Ear Plugs, or if you are completely deaf you’ll be fine.  See, the lid as some exhaust vents  right behind your ears.  So what happens is as you get moving, drag behind the helmet creates a vacuum and it pulls air through the intakes and out the exhaust ports, creating the sound of a hurricane inside your head.  But it moved a lot of air and kept me cool through the hottest part of a High Utah Summer.  The constant nose smashing however drove me nuts and I had to get something different.

AGV:  Valentino Rossi can’t be wrong.  The Gear Geeks at Revzilla turned me on to AGV for the head shape, so I checked out the K4 selection.  This is an upgrade over the classic K3 lid, so it’s more aerodynamic in shape, quieter, lighter, better fit… This bucket has everything I wanted.  The graphics I picked are the “Explorer” pattern with an old school compass… which spoke to me.  It reminds me of why I ride.  It’s not for the sheer speed (That I do enjoy) but for the freedom to get out and Experience The Ride.  Adventure Riders have a slogan, “Ride The World”.  And that’s what I want to do.  Get out there and see it… be there… take it in.  It’s a beautiful thing.

My next helmet?  Well, my next lid is going to be a Dual Sport type helmet, sporting that long sun visor, which I have found would be a good thing.  Smoked shield.  Longer shape.  I’m thinking the Icon Variant helmet.  Icon is known for crazy graphics, but the one I like is called “Battlescar” which is basically no finish, just the fiber from construction, some sealant, and a clear rubberized coating over that.  It looks badass.  It’s not just about the looks though, it’s one of the few Dual Sport helmets that has a visor that doesn’t create lift when you are at speed (80 MPH for example) so I can ride it on my Sport Tourer or my Enduro.

Automotive

Sunday Ride

7 Comments

Hit Red Cloud Loop, just North of Vernal.  I was looking for an alleged Ghost Town that is up there someplace.  I didn’t find it, but I think I know where it is now, and will hit it next weekend. I didn’t get to do a lot of pictures because I was White Knuckling the whole way, going quickly, and just taking it in and enjoying the experience.  On the way out, exiting above Maeser, this is the route down.  The views were spectacular.  I had to stop and take a pic a couple places on the way down.

Continue reading Sunday Ride →

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