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.

Uncategorized

Lawn Mower Rant

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North Carolina is blessed with awesome growing weather.   You can grow a lawn on your roof here.  The perfect blend of Rain and Sun and optimal growing temperatures for like 10 months in the year.
This means a lot of lawn mowing.  For some, this is a source of great pride and satisfaction.

For me it’s a bloody curse.  For one, I’m allergic to cut grass.  I’m fine around grass, until it starts getting mowed and whatever the feck it is that comes out of it just about kills me.  Watery, red, puffy eyes, and nose that wont stop running.  So for me, when I start cutting grass, I want it done fast and thorough and none of that bagging crap.  I like a Mower and Mulcher in one.  Know what I mean?   This isn’t much to ask for, is it?  Evidently it is.  Because in the last 5 months I’ve gone through 3 mowers.  This last one, did only half the yard before it just went belly up.  Sure it’s used, but before it started on my lawn we had it serviced.  Cleaned out, fresh oil and filter and a new spark plug.  Tuned up.   Ran like a champ…. In the front yard.  And then the Mower must have looked in the back yard because it just said “Screw this” and shut down.   It will start… and it will run… for about 5 seconds max.  Just like the last two.  Even after getting them professionally serviced.  Even had a new carb on one of them.

All three had one thing in common.   MURRAY.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Murray Lawn Mowers really and truly suck.   They are the Phoenix Arms of Lawn Mowers.   Fine when brand new but a couple boxes of ammo through it and they fall apart.  I will never deal with another one for the rest of my life.   I’ll never deal with another Phoenix – or MURRAY ever again.  Life is TOO SHORT.

 

Weapons

Ruger’s new LC9s.

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Ruger is rolling out a new version of the LC9, the “LC9s”.

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The “S” of course, means “Striker”.  It is said that this has a very good trigger pull.   If that’s the case, and it really does have a good trigger pull… well then.  That changes things in regards to my opinion of the LC9.  The S model would then be a pistol well worth considering.    Let me tell you why.

Continue reading Ruger’s new LC9s. →

Weapons

Updated: The Mossberg 464 SPX: 6 Reason to buy one.

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I can admit it when I’m wrong.   I can change my opinion when new information comes to light.   And I can change my opinion when something I once thought a disgusting abomination proves to be actually useful.   Well, in this case, that Something is the Mossberg 464 SPX.   When I first saw it in photos I thought it was a joke.  When I first saw it in person at SHOT Show, I was horrified.
But over time, the Mossy 464 series has grown on me.  And the SPX version has even become less offensive to my Lever Sensibilities. Now I’m at the point that not only to I actually like them… But I actually really WANT ONE.

Here’s what I like about the 464 SPX from O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc.
1. It has good sights and not Buckhorns… No one likes Buckhorns, not even guys who know how to use them. And these work in lower light conditions. 
2. The stock adjusts to fit different sized shooters, or the same shooter through all four seasons.
3. The muzzle end is threaded. This means you can take off the flash hider and put on a muzzle brake, or a suppressor… Or a thread protector and have nothing on it. You have options.
4. It’s a Mossberg… so while it’s not a Japanese made Winchester, or a questionably made Marlin, or Brazilian or Italian made whatever… It’s a solid, hardworking US Made rifle that’s going to get the job done.
5. The safety is actually in a logical place for a Lever Action.
6. These things actually shoot very well.  

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It does look better with a coating on it.

Ugly? Indeed… But it works. And that makes it rather attractive to me.  I think if I had one I’d get the gun Cerakoted for improved corrosion resistance, put a sling on it and cover the rails…  Maybe change the stock to a lighter unit.  But that’s less important.  I’d put a Battlecomp on it first chance I got.  And then I’d call it good.    

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Updated:  Okay, you guys know I am not one to leave well enough alone.  I’ve been looking at the 464 series of rifles and there seems to be some holes in the line that could be filled.
The 16″ barreled SPX loses a round of capacity and a chunk of velocity from the standard 464 rifle with the 20″ barrel.  I think it would be nice to offer a 20″ SPX and let it take advantage of that extra oomph and extra round.  That’s one thing.  The other thing, is the they have a nice weather proof marine finish… but with a not so weather proof wood stock.  How about a Marine Finished SPX?  And how about a Marine Finished 464 with a regular furniture, but in a sturdy synthetic?  I know I’d like that.  I’d also like a Trapper version of the 464.  Traditional, but in 16″.  Okay, we’ve got this ball rolling… Where is a .45-70 gun?  That’s right… I’m looking for a Guide Gun Alternative here.  The 464PH, Professional Hunter, make it like the Marlin’s SBL… top rail, big loop… Do the same config in .30-30 as well.  And while we’re talking calibers… Let’s look at a .44 Mag version of the SPX and Trapper.

Government

Is DC now a Constitution Carry district?

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The DC Police Chief sent out instructions to all DC police officers that they will not make arrests for carrying a gun.  Concealed or Open, no distinction was made.  If you are legal to own the gun, you are legal to carry it.  This is also called Vermont Carry by some.

Let this sink in again… if you are legal to own a gun, you can now carry it in Washington D.C.

This is historic stuff.   When was the last time you could do that?  The 60’s?  The 40’s?  I don’t know.  Not within my lifetime I’m sure.    But let’s not organize Open Carry Parties and head to Chipoltes and Starbucks… because I am sure any inch you give them will be leverage they can use to throw you to ground for “Disorderly” or “Trespass”.  The Legal Fight is not even close to being over on this one.  DC will appeal, and the legal status of Reciprocity will be created which could change this status for your State.   Legal Teams are freaking out.  And Washington DC Police are different from the Capitol Police, who patrol places like the Smithsonian and around the White House and Capitol Building and all the Monuments in conjunction with NPS.   So tread lightly people.  Tread very lightly right now.  Because this smells of bear bait.

Uncategorized

Longmire on A&E

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THIS.

For some reason, this show just captured my attention.   It’s kind of like a more dramatic Jesse Stone series, set in the West.  The hero of the show is a full sized Ford Bronco… I mean, a Sheriff named Longmire.  He’s not a perfect guy… the classic flawed hero thing.  What’s cool about it, is that it would be too easy to channel John Wayne or Clint Eastwood for the role of a Western Cowboy Sheriff type.   But he’s not doing that.  He’s just a guy that’s holding down his job.  He makes mistakes, but handles his problems the best he can.  He carries a Colt 1911 and a Winchester 94.  He’s a most interesting leading character because of his faults.

Here’s another reason to watch Longmire.
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Katee Sackoff plays a Deputy.  She’s come a long way and really shows her acting talent, especially in the most recent episode.  If you didn’t like her before – you will in this show.   She’s a very good actress.  Surprisingly so.  We remember her from the cocky spaceship pilot in Battlestar Galactica.  Here, she plays a character of far more depth.  She has a list of problems as well, to the point her character should be unlikable… but she is.  Because Katee’s acting makes her believable.   Which is good because not all of the things in the show are believable… because they do throw in a measure of Western Lore Fantasy in there for fun… But overall I think one can relate more to this show than “Justified”… the only other cowboy hat lawman show I know of.

You see a good mix of drama and action… character development and personality conflicts.   Overall, it’s a great show.   I like it a lot.

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