Government, Uncategorized

Officer Safety

18 Comments

I’ve got a lot of friends in Law Enforcement, including a brother. It’s very hazardous for them to make a traffic stop because of other traffic. Lots of cops have been hit because of this, and the resulting interview of the drivers that hit the cops always comes down to “They didn’t see them.”
Also, there has been a lot of cases where Fake Cops pull people over and kill or rob them or just get their jollies off acting like cops.

For the concern of Officer and Public Safety, I think all Law Enforcement Vehicles where the Officer may make a traffic stop… I propose a simple idea. All vehicles driven by Officers who are authorized to make a traffic stop, County, City and State… Nation Wide… All vehicles should be painted High Vis Green.
Don’t like this idea?  Tough.  This is for Safety, so get used to it!
This has been proven to work in the UK!
This way, Motorists can see the Police Officer from farther away, and be mindful of Officer Safety.
You are not against Officer Safety are you?  Public safety is better as well.
Let’s extend this to all Emergency Vehicles as well.  Firetrucks have been rolling in High Vis Green for some time now, with reduced accidents because of it.  So only Law Enforcement and Emergency Vehicles should allowed to sport High Vis Green.  So if someone tries to pull you over, and he’s not rolling HVG… Call a real Cop.   If a Cop sees a guy trying to pull someone over and he’s not rolling HVG, he knows something is wrong.
Hey, this is for SAFETY.  So get with the program, or you are NOT SAFE!
We should implement this nationwide starting next month, with full implementation by Jan 1 2013.
Gear

AR-15, Ergo Grip

10 Comments

On my Facebook page, I have a picture of me hold my AR-15 rifle.  Here it is:

The most common question that I’ve been getting isn’t about the gun, the sights, the sling or stock… or the “Man, looks like you lost some weight!”  No, the question has been hitting me up the most is about the pistol grip.    Yes, it’s a simple hardened rubber grip from Ergo Grip.   Nothing fancy.  No storage in the hollow cavity.  Just a simple grip.

“But why?”

Because I like it.  I don’t need my pistol grip to be a Modular System.  I don’t need it to do anything.  I just want a good feeling pistol grip to hold on to when I’m shooting my rifle.  Because that’s what it’s for. No, it’s not MagPul and I know MP now has a new Rubber Coated MOE grip… and its fine.  I just like the Ergo better.  And it’s 10 bucks less.

This also comes as a change of ideology with me.  I used to be a big fan of “On Gun Storage” for things like spare batteries and maybe a small bottle of gun oil.  (Not that I need it since I use Slipstream) or maybe even a spare firing pin or whatever.  I’m not anymore.  Most guys like me, Gear Whores, will wear more than enough pouches and bags and even pouches for bags… that we can carry more than enough stuff so we don’t have to put it in our gun so we don’t lose it.  I’m at the point now where I don’t want anything on my gun that I don’t absolutely have to have.  If the batteries are not connected to anything vital, I don’t want them in my gun.  That goes for other spare parts.  I can keep that stuff in a pouch and leave my gun lighter and easier to use.  Especially if I’m rocking a Single Point Sling.  I don’t need the extra weight cutting into my neck.

Back to the grip.  The main reason I’m not using a standard A1 style pistol grip is that they are too small for my hands.  When I grab the grip, my finger goes all the way around the trigger and I can touch the receiver.  I need more space at the backstrap to put my finger tip on the trigger where I want it.  The Ergo grip does just that and feels good in the hand.  I can shoot more comfortably with it in different positions, because it feels like I have better control of the weapon.  This is what it’s all about.

 

Automotive

The 2015 Ford Mustang

12 Comments

I’ve read the lamentations of the Ford Fans that the next Mustang is completely ditching it’s Retro styling.  At first I was myself concerned that Ford had lost it’s mind.  But then I watched a new Mustang roll past (I was sitting in a Wendy’s at the time) and I thought that it had very little Retro look to it anyways.   So not much is lost.  The new Mustangs don’t look like Mustangs and they sound like Honda Accords, so I’m not bothered by Ford chucking it and starting over.  This is ultimately going to be a very good thing for Ford.  The new 2015 Mustang looks sharp.  It looks like a performance car.  It looks like an Aston Martin, but that’s not a bad thing.   I have some optimism about the new Stang… with Ford’s new Engines, some new looks, I see a winner coming.  Especially since Ford has hinted at something the Mustang has always needed.  An Updated Suspension.   There is Hope For America!

All we need now is for Chevy to make the Vette a Mid-Engine car.

Automotive

Monday’s Motorcycle: Adventure Bikes

4 Comments

This nails it for me.  Watch this…

And this one…

This captures something inside me like nothing else… Screaming Warp Speed is fun. But this is a Lifetime thing. I could spend the rest of my life doing this. Adventure Touring. Looking at all the options out there, there are many great ones. The Triumph Tiger, The V-Strom, and others. But that goofy looking KTM has some appeal to me. I don’t know which one would be the best of the best. Probably the BMW, but it’s size and weight is intimidating to me. I am most comfortable on the Liter bikes. So that 990 Adventure is what I’m leaning to.
It’s about the Freedom, guys. Other bikes do the Cool. The Thrill. The Speed. And they are all great. But these big Enduros do the Freedom.

Uncategorized

Updated: up with the Boy Scouts of America

17 Comments

The BSA was a great program when I was in it.  I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it.
My eldest son was trying to get his Eagle.  He put out project plans that would have been just fine, but the local guy kept shooting them down, insisting that he put in a new flag pole for the new park… meaning he wanted me to buy a new damn flag pole for the park.  He new time for my son was running out.  Five project proposals in a week at one point… all shot down.  For my Son.  Other scouts I know of in other troops did those projects just fine.  Nope, they wanted us to buy a flag pole.
But the time came and went and my son passed the deadline to get his Eagle.
I’m pissed.
Now my other sons are having other problems with the BSA… and they are no longer enjoying the program here.  I’m just done with the BSA.  And that makes me very sad.

(There was a little Change in the local BSA leadership all the sudden. This may be a good thing.)

Weapons

Enough Politics, Let’s talk Guns!

8 Comments

As mentioned before, I had a little range time this morning.  All the Gun Counter Guys met at the range at the Crack of Dawn.   Sunrise just coming up, it was a beautiful day at the Buckskin Hills Range.  We did a little shooting with the Springfield Armory Rep.

Shot an XDM, the XDS, the MC Operator, and the EMP 9mm… I had little interest in the other pistols.  The XDM’s are what they are, just fine pistols and I like them for what they are but they are just not for me.  The M I tried is a variant with a fiber optic front sight and an open topped slide.  It shot very well, as I expected, just like all the other M’s. And regular XD’s I’ve owned.  No failures.  The accuracy was very good.

The XDS, Springfield’s new subcompact, single stack .45, is an interesting pistol.  It also shot very well, was accurate and while snappy, was controllable.  It is a great little defensive tool.  I wanted to like it, but I just didn’t.  Here’s why – and why I’m not hot on all of the XDM’s… it’s the Texture.  They feel slippery in my hand.  I could probably buy an M, the 3.8 Compact, as that remains my favorite of the group… but I would have to rework the grip.  So I guess my hangup is one that is rather easily fixed.  If you have an M, you certainly have a fine sidearm.  If you are looking for a pistol, absolutely take a look at the XDM’s.  The S, isn’t for everyone.  It’s for guys that want that subcompact .45… but don’t trust a Sub-Compact 1911.  It’s one of the very few sub-compact .45’s that I would have any confidence in.  I’d have to work the grip of course, but as good as it shoots, it’s certainly a good for it’s intended purpose of CCW.

Here’s one that surprised me though… the EMP 9mm.  I shot one before, in .40 and I was “Meh” about it.  But the 9mm version is somehow different.  It blew me away.  It shot exceptionally well.  Very accurate.  It did give me one tiny hang up… a failure to go into battery.  A quick smack on the back of the slide did the job and the gun fired and cycled just fine and it never gave me a hang up after that.  What this gun needed was to be cleaned and oiled.  It was bone dry and filthy from the Basin Sports Factory Range Day last week.  Some Slipstream Styx would make it run like a sewing machine.  The recoil was… not even there.  Impressive little gun, and a great CCW option.

My favorite Springfield handgun though… the one I kept coming back to… The 1911 MC Operator.  As you guys know, I’ve said that the top Production 1911’s are SIG’s, Springfields, and Dan Wessons.  I would put STI in there as well, but those are more Semi-Custom like Wilson, Nighthawk, and Les Baer.  And I admit I need to get to know STI better, I’ve only fired a grand total of 3 STI pistols, and each one was a custom gun from them, Larry Correia’s Cheater Heater, and two full blown race guns.  Wait.  Where was I?  Ah… the MC Operator.  I hate to say this… but I liked it better than my TRP.  Yeah, I said that.  The TRP is Springfield’s Flagship Badass 1911.  But I just like the MC Operator more.  It feels better in the hand since it doesn’t have the aggressive “Wood Chipper” checkering for one thing.  It’s also just a more humble, Get it Done and Let’s Go Home vibe to it.  Reliability was great… not a single hiccup of any sort.  Accuracy was the best out of all the handguns… Let me clarify that.   My ability to be accurate with this pistol far surpassed the other handguns I fired today.  The EMP was accurate, but I had to concentrate more with it.  With the MC Operator, accuracy was effortless from the very first round I fired.  And it felt GOOD in the hand.  Not just holding it, but it felt good firing it.  Not all handguns feel good during the firing cycle… This one does.  It’s the Winner of the Day for the Pistols.

Rifles.  Well, you guys know Springfield has only one line of Rifles and those are the M1A’s.  Springfield just has a few variants of that platform.  I love the classic standard wood stocked M1A for it’s look and feel.  What a great gun.  Shooting that thing gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart.  Everything about the M1A… it’s awesome.  It’s a part of Americana, like a Ford Mustang, Classic Rock, and a Coke. Metal and Wood.  It’s beautiful.  You can’t Not love it.  If you don’t love it, just go away…. I don’t even want to know you… You would have to be like one of those guys that don’t like Dogs or Bacon or Firefly.

The one that made me grin like a 14 year old who just found a Playboy…. The SOCOM 16.  See, I shot the SOCOM II before and yeah, it’s cool.  But it’s like Cool that’s Trying Too Hard.  It’s the one with all the Rails and the extra six pounds of heft and discomfort.  The SOCOM 16 is more unassuming.  Oh, don’t get me wrong… it’s a Thug.  It’s the Snubnosed, lightweight, easy to handle M1A.  Where as the standard M1A’s are full length Battle Rifles, the Sweet 16 is chopped down stealthy street fighter.  I like them before compared to the II’s when looking at them in the store.  But I had expected them to kick a lot more being so much lighter.  They don’t.  It’s surprisingly soft shooting.  Something about it is… addicting.  I really like it.  This is the .308 for a Door Kicker.  It’s very cool how short it is, while still being perfectly legal.  It feels like a Sawed Off, and it kicks less than the full sized.  If I got one of these Sweet 16’s, I’d have Gundoc (Joe at Crusader Weaponry) work his M14 Magic on it… because he’s a wizard with the M14/M1A’s.   I’d have him slick it up, trigger job, and Cerakote all the exterior metal a nice Dark Grey… that would contrast nicely with the black stocks.  That’s it.  That’s all I’d do.  I’d just keep it simple.  Slick, Sexy, Simple.    Man… I want that now.

I have some Video I’ll post up this weekend.

Automotive

KTM To Work

5 Comments

Do to the requirement of attending our monthly team meeting at the Range today, I opted to ride the KTM.  The Range is not Sport Bike Friendly.  Not at all.  It’s not even Car Friendly.  It’s 4X4 friendly for sure… So the KTM went to work with me.

I like it.  Due to the use of Off Road Cogs instead of actual Tires, it did have an abundance of vibration.  But that was expected.  It’s very different through the curves, the way these sorts of machines lean.   I like the riding position and the fact that its so much easier to stand up on the pegs.  It’s odd standing up on the highway… but fun.  I only went tops 67 MPH and not my usual Warp Factor 9, but it didn’t feel like I was going slow.  It’s just a fun machine.  I got used to the bike more… and coming home on it I was much more confident and comfortable.  I liked it even more.

I also liked the fact that I was able to say to myself, “Hey, where does that little turn off go?”  So I took it… went over a couple hills and across a field and back onto the highway.   NICE!  That is the exact thing I wanted an Enduro for.  I can go anywhere on it.  I love that.  It’s not smooth pavement only.  I am digging this Enduro thing.  The Two Wheeled Jeep thing.  It’s addicting.  I find myself daydreaming about where I can go and explore.  I’ve gone up to Paradise Lake a couple times… and it’s fun.  But I want to take it further.  Go explore some Ghost Towns.  Go up to the tops of some of these mountains around here.  And I will.

An Enduro is liberating.  It really is.

Uncategorized

Ride to work… Get a Ride home.

23 Comments

I hate it when my Wife is Right.  Grrr…

This morning, she said, “You shouldn’t ride, I’ll give you a lift in.”

Oh no… I’m big tough biker… I can ride!!!  *Beats Chest*

Let me back up and give you some background here.  Saturday night my right knee really starting hurting.  Sunday morning, I woke up to a knee that would not bend. Pain.  Lots of pain.  Gout attack in the knee.  So I was on the couch or in bed all day.  Same story with Monday.  Same with Tuesday… but Tuesday night it was getting better.  Today, Wednesday morning I felt pretty good again.  “I can ride!” I said, and watched he drive into town in the Explorer as I put on my helmet.  Got a leg over the ZX-11, backed it up no problem.   Rolled forward… Oh Crap.  I can’t get my foot on the peg.  So I rode all the way into town with my right foot off the peg.  That’s not easy, but I couldn’t get it on the peg.  My knee wouldn’t bend.

I pull into work… Wife pulls in after me.  Having seen my foot hanging of course.  She did not say “Told you so.”  She knew she didn’t have to.   I hate it when she’s right.

After work…. my knee was killing me.  My left knee even started hurting.  So I limped the bike over to my Sister In Law’s, and parked it.  Called her up and she came and got me.

When we got home I looked at her and said “I can ride the KTM to work tomorrow… I can stand up on the pegs.”  Oh man… she was pissed!

BTW – I don’t need any Gout advice.  My hell every time I say Gout I get every form of home remedy suggestion and that’s about as annoying as my wife being right.  So… stuff that jazz.  I’m going to see the Bonesaw tomorrow.  Maybe get some Cortisone injections.

Oh, if anyone has a Can Am Spyder they are willing to trade for a ZX-11… Yeah, I’ll trade you right now.  Next week?  I don’t know, but right now I’d trade you.

Dudes, I seriously would not wish Gout pain on anyone… not even those few people still alive that I call my enemies.  Gout pain is insidious.  It’s basically God saying “I don’t like you.”  It hurts on a level that you just don’t understand unless you’ve had it.  No, I’m serious.  I’ve been shot.  Stabbed.  I’ve broken many bones.  I’d opt for another Gun Shot Wound over Gout Pain.   Because with Gout – there is nothing you can do about it.  There is no Position of Comfort, especially in the Knee.  In a Toe or Ankle, Gout is Hideous shit.  In the knee…. No… That’s God punishing you for something.  That’s a taste of Torment from Hell.  OTC Pain Meds… They don’t work unless you Combo them Up.  And when you do that, you have to be careful.

Government, Training, Uncategorized

Guest Post: Activist Carry

140 Comments

Irresponsible Open Carry Activism Jeopardizes The RKBA

Guns should be carried for personal defense, not Activism.
The best way to do that 99% of the time is Concealed Carry. Even if people do choose to Open Carry, they shouldn’t do it to provoke confrontation nor be uncooperative with the police while doing it. It makes gun owners look bad, turns cops against us, wastes their valuable time and certainly isn’t going to make it more likely that people will think “oh, gun owners are normal people, not trouble makers.
Spread the Word. Most people have realized that the time for “solidarity” through tolerance of the guys carrying guns with video cameras has come and gone. Their bravado is jeopardizing our RKBA and should be seen as an embarrassment to responsible gun owners. When the OC Movement started, people carrying while going about their daily business to show responsibly armed people are part of everyday life, it made some sense… but, the extremists have spun out of control. Let’s make sure that the firearms community is condemning this behavior.
I am not calling for a change in laws or for us to ostracize people who carry openly in a responsible, civil manner. Perhaps responsible OCers should be most concerned and the most openly critical of those who are using their guns to get (inevitably negative) attention?
Obviously, I am a proponent of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and do not want to to see OC made illegal, but I fear that will happen more and more often, in more and more places (as it already has it one state), if the confrontational actions of a very few reckless people continue.
-Rob Pincus
-I.C.E. Training Company

The Internet's Original Critic