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DECEMBER 2007 12-30-07: This week in Music: I've been doing this weekly now, picking a few songs that I enjoy, finding the videos for them and sharing them. I'm liking this diversity, but I don't know if The Horde is. I get relatively few responses about music. I'll continue to do this as long as it amuses me. Anyway, I'm inspired by Guitar Hero on a few choices. For one, GH has been introducing younger folks to some really fantastic older music that they normally wouldn't have been introduced to. I think it is a responsibility of parents to teach the kids about the finer things in life, such as great old Music. La Grange is on GHIII and my boys recognized it as one of Dad's Old Songs, and that it must actually be cool! Nice. GHIII had me remembering a young time when these songs were new. One that I liked, and sang to girls with a 98% success rate of slipping knickers was Broken Wings by Mr. Mister. Remember that one? How many slow dances did you take to that song? Another one by Phil Collins, In the Air Tonight. That one is well known thanks to Miami Vice, in the original series and in the new movie. Great song. Now you can't talk about these songs without Brian Adam's love ballad. And Richard Marx's Right Here Waiting For you. Now, to keep you all from catching the ghey, The Bangles' Eternal Flame was one of my favorites. Along with one from – now don't laugh – Madonna. Like a Prayer. Her curly dark hair in the video just nails it for me. Don't know about the black Jesus, but she's smokin hot for a retarded Liberal Chick. Admit it, you thought she was hot too way back then. Then there was the chick that wasn't hot, but all of us would have loved to have taken her out because she was cool and cute in a weird way. Remember this one? Cindy Lauper, Time After Time. It hurts don't it? Oh yeah... feel that pain. Remember Frankie Goes to Hollywood? Relax. Embrace the horror, but that was some hip stuff right there.. Remember dancing to the B-52's? You know you shook it to Love Shack. You also danced to this one. You Spin Me Round. Even though the guy was even more gay than Boy George, you danced to it. Oh yes you did. When I was DJ'ing back then, every guy danced to that one. Don't tell me you didn't because the girls would pull all the guys out onto the floor. I had more requests for this song than anything else save anything from Journey. So much so we had to go out and buy the 12 Inch club mix LP. Yes, we spun vinyl records back then. Every week me and Robert Smith would go to Tower Records near the Tacoma Mall to buy the latest 45's... and for those of you who don't know what those are, they were vinyl records slightly larger than CD's that had one song on each side... hence the phrase “Flip Side” Usually there was a good song on Side A, and Side B had something less popular. What was heavy metal like during that time? Well, it was a sad time for Metal back then. All the guys wanted to look like Chicks. It wasn't until the 90's when things got back to normal, and real chicks took the stage and got really Metal. Well, that's enough for now. I've got to get back to my guitar and practice some AC/DC and Scorpions. Thanks Matt for that little lesson. Guys, The Horde's own Matt L has posted a video to help me learn Rock You Like A Hurricane. Kudos to Matt! Sometimes it doesn't pay to try to explain things to people. Check this out. Last few days I've been getting emails from someone who has been in the gun store I work at: First email:
> Scott Leatham wrote:
> */George Hill /* wrote:
Scott Leatham wrote: George Hill <ogre@madogre.com> wrote:
I know many dealers other than us that all
charge 10 bucks and a couple that charge 15. Scott Leatham wrote: I'm not out anything by not shopping there. I will do all I can to let people know you give less than a shit about gun safety though. Also that you believe that you are justified in calling them a pain in the ass just because they are customers. So I loose nothing, I'll do all I can to see that Basin Sports looses business. Don't bother responding, you're not worth my time. But hey, you're only loosing $10 a gun so what does it matter? Right? Scootter And
my response: Wow. That was a reaction I
wasn't expecting. I try to explain to you a little bit about the gun
business and now you are waging a personal war on the store I work for? Your
still hung up on $2.50, so you are going to do everything you can do to
damage the business of a guy that is generous to a fault, where we give free
advice and council to anyone with a question, give thousands and thousands
of dollars to every fund raiser and cause that comes asking for something.
Free hats and or pocket knives to everyone that buys a gun. Donates all the
background checks to every wild life foundation that holds banquets in
Vernal... and pays his employees living wages so we can feed our kids and
support our hunting and shooting passion. And yet you can only see $2.50
and the miss handling of a gun by a kid that doesn't work there anymore. I
do assume you are talking about Corbin, a kid that is still in school. He
was the only blond kid we've had since I remember. We got rid of a couple
other younger guys too, but they were not blond. Well, only blond brained.
They are gone too. What more can we do? You still want to harsh Basin
Sports? Cheers! GH Well, that was sent so we shall have to see what Scooter does now that the ball is in his court. I decided to post this for reason of enlightenment. Both yours, my Loyal Horde, and my own. For you other dealers out there, give me a little feedback here. I don't expect to see Scooter, whoever he is. Other guys at the store know who he is, but I don't. I do expect to get an email from him... a last word full of spite and maybe an expletive if I'm lucky. The guy was pretty much a hostile jackass right off the bat. And if he is envious of a Kia and thinks fondly of a Geo, I don't think he's really buying a lot of guns all around the state of Utah. Now, I don't know about Scooter here... but I really have shopped a lot of gun stores here in Utah. And the one I work at is one of the best in terms of our prices, service, and overall quality. How many times to you tip the guy at the gun counter? I actually get tips. Five bucks here, twenty there, as much as fifty bucks more than a few time. Why? Because I make damn sure you are satisfied with your purchase, understand your purchase and you are taken care of the best that I can. Just the other day I was tipped buy a guy for sighting in is Druganov rifle with the Russian military scope. Not much, but it paid for my lunch that day. How many gun stores have you been in that you've seen the clerk get a tip? I don't ask for them. The customers have volunteered it because they are Happy Customers. And I'm not the only one that's been given gratuity. I think all of us have. Why? I've never been in a store that will bend over backwards to help you out like we do... FBMG does too... no slight on them. Larry and James rock to a shockingly high degree. But I think we do too. That's all I'm saying. I don't like having to charge background fees at all. I don't like having to run them. I don't believe the Second Amendment requires background checks, but we do them as the law directs. We have to. And because we have to and the State charges us, we have to pass the cost along. Is that too much to ask? Or am I up in the night?
SIMPLY
RUGGED: The holsters from the
Alaskan leather worker are very nice. I ordered one for my CZ P-01 but
was sent one for a CZ 75. While I couldn't use it, a friend of mine could.
So he got the rig as a present... hey, it's that time of year. He has
Unlike other holster makers, Simply Rugged offer a few unique items that have been developed under the cold harsh reality of life in Alaska's wilderness. Check out the whole lineup and place an order. The biggest question is “would I order another one?” The answer is yes. My friend is very happy with the one I gave him, and he's a picky bastard. If he likes it, and I like it, then it's damn good holster. I'll have to order another one, maybe for my birthday in March. It's well known among the US Military that the M-4 carbine is a total piece of crap. I've mentioned the resent dust tests the US Army have conducted and posted links to the articles. Those tests show that the M-4 did worst than any other rifle tests. Last Place. Yet they keep making excuses for it. “But it works fine if you clean it!” Guys, a combat weapon is not something that should have to be kept clean. That's just a basic fact. If you argue that, you've got a Hollywood (or a Navy) view of what warfighting is. Read this. The Military is trying again to get a replacement. Jams are only part of the problem with the M-4, which is a problem with all the M-16 based arms... but the other problem is the 5.56MM's crappy performance out of the M-4's short barrel. The US Marines have decided to ditch the M-4 as a whole and are issuing the M-16A4 which is a full length flat top version. But what does the US Army do? They decide that they M-4 needs a hammer forged barrel. So instead of fixing the problems with the rifle, they use a marketing phrase that describes the method of manufacture. There was no problem with the barrels themselves to begin with. This is like taking your car in to sort out a braking problem and the mechanic installs LED brake lights. “Longer barrel life.” That's just peachy. How about something that gives our Soldiers a longer life? Is that too much to ask? Luckily they did change up the magazines from the crappy aluminum ones we've been using for almost a half century. This is a small improvement, and doesn't address the mechanical issues in the weapon's internals. Namely the Direct Gas Impingement System, the under achieving plunger ejector, and the star shaped chamber that is impossible to really clean. I've written my “I hate the AR-15/M-16” article years ago and it seems like the .Mil has finally listened. The article gets me a lot of hate mail all the time. Usually in cycles when the article gets posted on some video game forum or something. It starts out with the poster calling me an idiot, and then the poster proceeds to make all the old excuses for the weapon. All I'm saying is that the Military needs a rifle that needs no excuses. No excuses for reliability issues. No excuses for poor ammunition performance. Let's get a military weapon that uses a cartridge based on one that was designed to kill deer (at least) instead of squirrels. Now, all you guys that say the M-16 and the M-4 are so great, explain to me then all these articles I just linked to and all the efforts to get a different weapon for our troops? If the weapon was just fine, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? The weapon has a lot of good points that make it great for a lot of different purposes. Combat is just not one of them. Like I've mentioned before, I just picked up another one myself. They are a pain in the ass to clean, but they are fun and accurate and easy rifles to hit with... as long as you are not hitting anything bigger than a coyote. And they are only marginal at best for that much. For police work, riding around in a clean cruiser, they would be just fine too. For home protection, sure. Even most ranch work. But to outfit our Armed Forces? It's one of the worst choices out there. The only thing worse is probably the UK's SA-80 rifle. A lot of our forces have gone back to the M-14. I've been told by the M-16 Bevets out there that “Yeah, they did, but they've been sending them back.” That's a big Negative right there. I've got reports from front line troops over there right now that there are more M-14's on duty right now than ever. Some units are using more than 2 per squad now. You can debate the numbers, but the fact remains that there are military commanders out there that would rather be using left over rifles from the Korean War. One of the Christmas presents I was given was Guitar Hero III. While I'm not as Jaded about GH has Yahtzee is, I have to admit that my boys are getting more enjoyment out of than I am. I like it, sure. But I'd rather play a real guitar, even if I suck at it. The wireless guitar/toy/thing is a lot better than the older one that has the cable attached to it. The one Guitar Hero rule we have at Ogre Ranch is that you have to stand up to Rock. You can't sit down and be lazy about it. You have to stand, strap over your neck, and you have to work it full body. You should see some of the boys jam out like that... I about had to hold up a lighter when one of my boys did the windmill move. 12-27-07: Two new guns came in. Both from Remington, and both pretty dang cool. First is the rifle, a 700 VTR in .223. I don't know if these are all that new or what, but it was the first time I've ever seen or heard of the VTR. It's based on the SPS Varminter, but it has a green stock with black inserts, and a triangle shaped barrel with broad compensation cuts. It's chambered in .223. If it was a .22-250, .308, or anything really... then I'd be all over it. It's that cool of a rifle. It's like The Horde's Sniper Rifle, but in a puncie caliber. Then there is the 870 Tactical Desert Recon. This is an OD green 870 with an extended black magazine tube, digital desert camo furniture, and a standoff breeching muzzle end that is actually a fancy, wicked screw in choke tube. I like this gun, but it's a bit too much. I like the OD green and black, but the camo is cheaply done and scratches off with ease. The feed stock chipped the camo paint just inserting one shell. If they did this very same gun, but used just regular black furniture instead of this weak camo – I'd have been all over it. Also, I opened the box as it came from the factory... and it was filthy as hell. I looked like it fired no less than a hundred shells before someone at Remington decided to box it up. So first thing tomorrow, I'm going to have to clean the thing. Still, this is one seriously aggressive, asskicking shotgun. I like it. A lot. Class Envy as an argument for a pistol? It happened: “Re: The Sigma. I honestly don't get your hatred of the SWXVE series. Especially after Glock raped them out of its proper 6 pound trigger. We have a gun designed for use by EVERY PERSON. It's not too large for the smallest American citizen. It's not too small for the Ogre-sized. It has ENOUGH ammunition in reserve - a minimum of 14 shots with GOOD magazines. It's inexpensive - as low cost as a police trade-in revolver. It's the VP-70 done almost right, in terms that it's a Volkspistol. A People's Pistol. And not in a communist way, but in "every free American should have one." A gripe about the trigger? Fuck that noise. Here: A kitchen-table operation and you have an already reliable pistol with a combat fighting trigger. As it is, the weight of trigger pull is nothing compared to old Walthers or Smith 59's. Smith and Wesson sells lots of Sigmas. Why? Because it fits folks, it works, and is inexpensive. You won't worry about dumping a half magazine into a home intruder and police taking it away to the evidence locker, because, honestly, it's inexpensive enough that you can buy TWO for the price of an M&P. Were I to become the mayor of a city in Utah or Alaska, I'd buy one for every citizen in my jurisdiction, and hell, hire some gunsmiths to polish up the triggers like Mr. Apathy said. It would be cheaper than a police force, and anyone refusing to pick up their pistol will be advised to move to San Francisco or Berkeley, where they can be free to be prey for urban predators. So, sure. Hate a Sigma. But it's there for people who can't afford their own ranch, are stuck on dial-up, and need the money to buy a microwave rather than feed their kids cold baloney and half-boiled ramen soup. The Sigma is for all citizens, simple, safe, and hard to fuck up with a lot of off levers and crap. It's an American pistol designed for those who aren't skilled enough for locked and cocked 1911's.” The
SIGMA wasn't designed for the people. It was meant as a profit making cash
cow for S&W. It was designed by Glock and ripped off from Glock, so there
was no development cost. It was so close, you could exchange parts. There
was a lawsuit. Glock won it. S&W had to change the SIGMA. But it's still a
Glock rip off. It was a product of the British owned S&W... the cost
cutting and deal making, agreement signing S&W. Those things alone make it a
scar on the gun culture's family history. But, look on the bright side,
sure, it's a decent pistol... but there are better pistols that I like more,
that don't cost more. And guns that don't require you to take down and
polish all the internals to make the trigger half decent. You can do that
stuff to most pistols, so being able to do it to the SIGMA isn't making it
something special. It makes it average at best. Being cheap doesn't
necessarily give it any nobility either. If that was the case, then Hi-Point
would be the ultimate Volkspistol. The pistol of the unwashed masses. No, I
do not have either a Sigma or a Hi-Point here at Ogre Ranch. The last
Hi-Point I purchased, I took it to a drill press, drilled two holes through
it, spray painted it gold, bolted it to a plaque, and gave it away as a
trophy. I don't like them. I don't like Sigmas either. Don't give me that
class envy bullshit. I have 6 kids and I work at a gun store. You think I'm
raking in tons of cash? You've never been a gun dealer. You don't sell guns
to make money, you sell guns because its a passion. There isn't big money in
it unless your name is Remington or Winchester. Come on, I drive a freaking
KIA now because my wife has my Contour. A Contour and a Kia! If I rolled in
a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Land Rover Disco, then maybe you could pull that
rich guy crap on me and it would not make me laugh my ass off. Seriously,
dude, I have hiccups and a stitch in my side now. Christmas was a joy this year. Everyone was spoiled and loved and taken well care of. Clint was full on thrilled about the Contender pistol. The boys all got everything they wanted, Mrs Ogre was treated to many gifts... and all around we are all very happy with the season. We could ask for nothing more. One gift that I really like is a simple PC game called “Hellgate: London”. It's a first person shooter made by the same cats that developed DIABLO. It has a lot of Diablo aspects, in that it is very character driven with a cool leveling system. And speaking of the level system, each level is different every time you replay it. This means the game maps are always fresh. Awesome game. Just amazing stuff. I just might have a new favorite game. My laptop only just barely plays it, so I'm going to have to upgrade the RAM... I need two 1 gig sticks of DDR2. Because HP used two 512 sticks and filled both slots. Nice. So instead of buying just one, I have to buy two. Oh well. The game is worth upgrading “Hordecaster” for. Easily worth it. I hope you all had a great Christmas as well, and I wish you all a happy new year on top of that.. 12-23-07: I feel like Metal again today. When I feel Metal, I'm feeling Rob Zombie. I'm feeling Demonoid Phenomenon. (Warning: that video is uncensored concert footage which means a few girls lifting shirts. Don't click if a boobie is something that offends you. If you do click, buckle up. It's one of Rob's hardest rocking songs EVER.) Saliva's Click Click Boom has a good hard vibe that grooves me. Sick of Life from Godsmack. Ah, yeah... that's good stuff. Now, let's throttle it back a bit with Sun Spots from Nine Inch Nails. NIN is an interesting group... they used to be so hard core, they were the official music of Quake III, and now they are almost POP'ish at times... pretty broad spectrum for NIN. Makes them a bit difficult to pin down with a label... they are just NIN. I took The Fremen (My project DPMS) to see how it shoots. Pretty well I must say. Better than I was expecting actually. I've never before been impressed with DPMS, but I have to admit, this one is decent. Still not "impressed" but I'm reasonable satisfied with what I got. I was expecting to swap off the uppers to get a better barrel, but this one is going to serve just fine for my purposes... namely for killing coyotes and to use it when I start teaching carbine classes again. And I think it will do just fine for 3Gun. I picked up a Mac G4 tower that has OS 9 on it... I think. Cool looking box, but before I can gift it I need to upgrade it. Can it run OS 10.4? How do I know if I can upgrade it and what would need to be upgraded? This machine isn't for me. I'm more than happy with my Linux and XP boxes and my XP Lappy. Not that happy that it has XP on it, but I'm a slave to FrontPage. What can I say? Yeah, I like Halo. But I've not played 2 or 3. I wasn't looking for Halo anything, but stumbled upon something really cool. First is a real Warthog, and then this clip. Evidently Bungie is working on a full fledged HALO movie. That could be potentially epic. But alas, like all video game movies, it could suck like crazy. If I was going to do a Halo movie, I'd take the story line from the game, and follow that, leaving room for side stories and sequels, but still... follow the game writer's story like gospel. 12-22-07: Fred Thompson: Kill. Protect. Punch. Thanks to The Horde for pointing this out to me... specifically the guy that shot that .600 Nitro Express Encore. Yes, he survived that. The music in the video is a song called “Glass Shatters” by Disturbed. Good heavy stuff. Makes me want to go hang out with Fred Thompson and go kick someone's ass with him. Not quite as good as Drowning Pool, which makes me want rejoin the Army all over again. That last video just gives me a huge patriotic hard on. HOOAAH! Fred Thompson on the other hand, doesn't invoke any response from me. The guy might be good for us, but he's like Quaker Oatmeal. I'm not going out of my way to get some oatmeal. I don't care how wholesome it is. But I do like that Kill. Protect. Punch video... gives Fred some spice, but it also turns him into a joke. I'm still behind Ron Paul for the time being. I like my Scrooge like I like my Patton – with George C. Scott. I've seen what, 8 or nine different versions of Christmas Carol, bur the George C. Scott version is still – and will always be – THE BEST. Suck it, Patrick Stewart! Selling guns: This last week we've sold a crazy amount of gun. When I say a crazy amount, let's put it this way. We've been selling more guns in a day, than we have in a normal month. According to resources, we run the third most background checks in the state of Utah... and that doesn't count CCW Permits. A large number of those checks are for multiple guns. And when we got people buying as many as 4 or 5 at a time.... well... let's put it this way – we sell a whole mess of guns. The Kia Sportage: I got sick and tired of getting stuck in my own (flat and level) driveway. So I put four new tires on the Sportage. The old tires were balled. Not just worn down, but they were slicks. On all four corners, slicks. As American Warmonger mentioned, we have been blasted by snow. We got 2 feet overnight the other night. It took 45 minutes to dig my way out of the driveway Friday morning, because the Sportage, even in 4X4 mode, couldn't budge through the fresh powder. Well, I got it into town and hit the Goodrich in Vernal, behind the Checkers. This is where I go for all my treads. They got it done for me and put on some American Prospector SUV (made by Cooper) tires that are slightly oversized to fill out the wheel arches. It looks 100% better, and handles – well, now the Sportage handles when before, it just didn't. Any bit of slick and the Sportage was spinning like a game that involves a bottle and immoral dares. No more tire spin and no more loss of vehicle control and ending up stuck. It actually feels like I have a real little four by four instead of a pudgy little car that can drive on dirt roads. 12-21-07: Weapons Violation at School: One of my sons is a straight A student and has never been in trouble for anything – ever. They did a Safety Check at school today. Going through all the lockers, backpacks and searching for weapons. As soon as they said that they were looking for stuff like that, my boy right off the bat, stood up and went to the teacher and took out his little red pocket knife and gave it to her. Normally he leaves it at home, but I rushed the boys out the door because we were late because of a heavy snow fall. In the rush to get out to the car, he forgot to take the little pocket knife out of his pocket and place it on the book shelf by the door where he normally stashes it. He might be getting a week or two at home now. The principle and his teachers do not want him punished at all, “But Policy is Policy”. I'm not angry at my Son... I'm proud of him. I'm not angry at the Teacher or the Principle... because the school district did this, brought in police officers and officials and all that crap... and it all came down on my sweet innocent eleven year old who could have said and done nothing, but acted uprightly and honestly and will take the consequences on the chin. I am angry at the District. Here's why. There is a known gang type element that has started up at the school and the school knows exactly who the problem students are. But if they address those students directly, it would be “racist”. So instead of being racist by targeting the dumbass thugs, for being thugs... they come down on my Son. Because he was honest and white and an easy target to show the Board of Education that the school is keeping an eye out on violence. Great. Well, he'll get some time off at home, do some homework, spend some time with his Play Station. Whatever he wants, because I'm not going to punish the boy, and I'm not going to allow the School to do anything more than giving him some time off. I'm also going to have to buy him a new pocket knife - Damn It – boys need pocket knives. I grew up with one constantly. Why did I do it? I picked up another AR-15, another one from DPMS. Probably because my cost was crazy low and I wanted to try some stuff with it. I threw on a big fat long range scope on it and I'll try my hand at doing some ghetto camo and making it into a Desert Varminter type rifle I'm going to call "The Fremen". Yeah, yeah... I know I'm the guy that wrote “Why I Hate The AR-15”, but for everything about it I don't like, there are things that I do like about it. I maintain that it is still a pathetic weapon for the Military to use. I'd take a photo of it, but I don't have a camera. I was going to buy one, but decided to buy my father in law a very nice Christmas present... Since he doesn't read MadOgre.com, I'll spill the beans here... a G2 Contender pistol in .223. He has a bunch of barrels for it in other calibers, from when he used to have one. He had to sell it because there was a time when he was drastically broke and had a family to feed. I've been there too. But he kept the barrels all these years... so he just needed the platform and something caliber-wise that he didn't have yet. He's done a lot for us, and this is only a small thank you by comparison. Such as the new fridge that we got... this huge Sub Zero stainless monster fridge. So freaking cool... out of the blue. He's a good man... a living Saint. So sacrificing a new camera is a small price. Who knows. Maybe Santa might get me a digital camera. When I get a camera, I'll have a lot of photo work to do. Speaking the Military's M-16: We all know that the Army conducted dusty condition tests and the M-4 carbine (a shortened M-16) failed the test. So what does the Army do? Buy some new magazines and gave the M-4 a better barrel. WTF? How does this help? The magazines? The mags only accounted for a quarter of the M-4's failures, so while not a huge improvement, is still an improvement... but going to Cold Hammer Forged Barrels? What does that do? Make the M-4 sound cooler. That's it. It's marketing. While CHF production might help target rifles, it really doesn't offer any edge to a combat carbine. And it does jack crap for improving reliability. Smoke and Mirrors... that's all the Army is doing... Smoke and Mirrors. The M-16/M-4 still sucks, and the Army knows it. 12-20-07: The US Department of Peace? A whole new branch of the .gov that promotes hugs and Care Bears? Are you freaking kidding me? For the love of all that is holy, this is the most retarded idea. And who is behind this crap? Democrat Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich and others. I didn't like the Department of Homeland Security as I thought it was redundant, but it's working out – I guess. Not only would this new Department of Peace do nothing for the Country in terms of proper utilization of taxpayer money... but when you read the legislation – it is downright frightening. Peace Education and Training? Domestic Peace Activities? Technology of Peace? Arms Control and Disarmament? Let's break this down for you. They want to take away all your means of self defense and by force, program and indoctrinate you if you don't want to comply force you into reeducation while programing your kids in school. For peace. Remember Red Dawn? Remember Jed's Dad in the camp? Remember what happened to Jed's dad and others from that camp? Yeah. Establishment a Peace Academy modeled after the Military Service Academy? Sounds like a very expensive program that does absolutely nothing but force us to feel better about each other? You want me to feel better about you? Here is a tip, if I'm driving behind you – and you are going slow - pull over out of my way so I can pass you. If you are a waitress and I'm sitting at your table, don't ask me if I want a refill... just keep the glass full of my favorite beverage. If I'm in the Movie Theater, SHUT THE HELL UP. If I come up to the check out line at the store, and I have one item, and you have two shopping carts full of stuff, let me buy my one item first. If you want to change lanes in front of me, use the turn signal. If you are going to go town and do a little shopping, at least change out of your pajamas and wear shoes. A shower is a good thing. Take one. If you have asinine liberal opinions, keep them to yourself, I don't want to hear them. If you see me with a pistol strapped to my hip, don't point it out. I know it's there. I don't point out your ass is hanging out and you smell like corn chips, and those pants do make you look fat. I keep that to myself. Unless you ask. So if I ask you, “pardon me, but do I have a gun on me?” then you can point it out to me politely, “why yes, indeed you do. A very nice one.” That is all you have to do to make me feel peaceful. Then I'll feel happy happy joy joy good vibes for everyone. A Government Department to alter the way we feel and how to think? Torches and Pitchforks. Dennis Kucinich can bite my ass. 12-19-07: Rock River has pissed me off. I'm happy with the way they shoot, they are well made and very accurate as far as AR-15's go. And as far as AR-15's go they are one of the more reliable AR's out there. (reliability is relative) The problem those is that they are not made like other AR's out there and maybe that's a good thing? Well, a friend of mine has one and wants a Vltor stock on it. The problem is that they don't quite match up because the VLTOR is made for the more common size. Took my 20 minutes before I threw up my hands. I called James at FBMG and he told me that of course it wouldn't work because of different specs. So I'm going to send it out to them because they can fit it up with a couple replacement parts and get it done right. They play will all the AR's more than we do out here in the Basin, because they are about heads and helmets and we are about hooves and horns. Well, we have never had any problems at all with any of the S&W M&P AR-15 rifles. And interestingly enough we haven't had any problems with the Armalites either. And very few with DPMS even if DPMS is usually frowned on by some of the more snobby AR guys. I get asked from time to time about how to effectively blog. I don't know if I'm really the best source for blogging tips. MadOgre.com isn't really in The Blogging Scene as I am not using a shake and bake blog software that allows comments and all that jazz like your average run of the mill blog. MadOgre.com is a Site... I've got articles and reviews on different pages hosted on a server I pay for out of my own pocket and have been doing so for years. But you guys ask, so here you go. First, pick a few of your favorite topics and center your blog around those. Ideally your topics will be about matters you have some authority and expertise with. Maybe food if you are a cook. If you know the tire business, the ins and outs of tire construction, sales, all that jazz – as boring as tires might be to you – you have a lot of knowledge that might be very useful to people. People buy tires all the time. I do. I like performance tires on my cars and I'm willing to pay a bit more for the good stuff. Which means I'm willing to take a little time to look into those better tires. So I'd be a reader of something like that. See what I'm talking about? Look at it this way... Who the hell are you and why would anyone care about what you think? You need to answer that. If you have some authority on a subject, any subject, then people will tune in. I know guns pretty well, so that's a subject of my blog. I have people from the movie and TV industry tuning in and hitting me up for questions. I have other gun writers asking me my opinions about something or another... even ghost writing something for them. I've got authors asking me details about a gun or some other technical matter for their story... It's nice. I even have a couple lawyers ask for technical details on occasion. You can have that too if you have some authority on a subject. So do what you know and write about that. Make your blog actually useful and you will have your audience. Post at least once a week, and make that post interesting. If you only post once a week, make it worth while to check back on and book mark. You gotta blog regularly. You might have some good info and someone might check in and keep checking for a week... but if there is nothing new, he might delete the bookmark and there you go. But don't just post crap. This is a sad day for me. Let me tell you, my Horde, The Browning Cynergy Synthetic Featherweight that I wanted... I sold the last one (of the two) we had. It was hard to let it go. My eyes watered up a bit... but I am going to be okay. I'll manage. I'll be able to get another one. A better one. Right? Like perhaps this one. Pooty Poot? Time Magazine selecting Putin as Man Of The Year only goes to show you that Time Magazine is a giant crock pot of simmering fecal matter. Putin is one of the most evil people on the planet... and Time is stroking his ego? The man already thinks he's the next Peter The Great. 12-18-07: Mitt Romney has lost my support. “Weapons of Extraordinary Lethality”? Like any one of my hunting rifles that can drop a Bull Elk like it was hit by Al Gore's personal jet? While I think Mitt would be good on a great many issues, mainly economic, his bullshit about guns have illustrated that he doesn't understand the US Constitution and would be just another fascist selling out America to the highest bidder, just like Clinton and Bush. I think this is a very simple litmus test of a President, but it by no means the only question. The one candidate that I really want to support, but can't is Ron Paul. I don't like his position on the war in Iraq, and I don't like his isolationist views. I want my President to truly be the Leader Of The Free World, and to know it, understand it, and to act like it. America First? Absolutely, but there is the rest of the world too. Huckabee? He's just a jackass. Let's rock out – Music of the week: Some cool old Rock and Roll. First up is a band that doesn't so much play songs, but really make whole albums that tell stories. Queensryche is my second favorite band of all time because of this. It's one of the few bands that you sit down and listen to a whole disk start to finish. Operation Mindcrime is epic. Empire is even more so, and is what really put them on the map... namely because of one song that is just a part of a larger story. Believe it or not, I've sung Jet City Woman on stage, with a band, in front of a crowd. We rocked it, but I didn't wear biker shorts. Silent Lucidity made them famous, but it didn't go to their heads... and that's a good thing. The lead singer is easily the best male vocalist next to the lead from AC/DC, but for different reasons. If you don't have the album “EMPIRE”, go to Amazon.com and order it. That's an order, Soldier! Now, because of something our friend Matt in NC has said... let's roll with some Scorpions, Rock you like a Hurricane. How many of you guys remember when this was the most badass song on the radio? I do, and for a time, it was. Oh yes, it was. And now, here is my all time, #1 favorite – Pink Floyd and what is perhaps their best song. Comfortably Numb. But bands like Pink Floyd and Queensryche, it's impossible to really pick out a favorite. An idea to camo your old rifle stock. Everyone us painting rifle stocks now days. Few are actually doing a good job of it and fewer still have stocks that can resist the evil Hoppe's #9 treatment (surviving a drop of it on the stock without ruining the paint) so I wanted to come up with something better. I have an idea. Mod Podge. Cut out a length of camo fabric, lay it out on the rifle stock, with the barreled action and everything off of it, of course, and adhere it to the stock with the Mod Podge, which dries clear and hard. The result is a stock with your favorite camo pattern on it. There you go. I've yet to tried it out... but I will. Next time I want to replace a rifle stock, I'll try this on the old one. 12-16-07: Still have a problem with coyote hunting? Read this. The problem is that not enough people are doing it. Predator hunting is the best hunting there is. I'm only into hunting deer for the meat... even a huge rack on a buck is just not exciting to me. I'd rather see a huge rack on a Becky than a Buck. So I was given a PSP for Christmas. My son wanted to give it to me early so we could play head to head as he has one too. We both have these white units with Darth Vader on the back. He likes Twisted Metal, a car-gun game where you drive around blowing things up. My kid thrashes me at it. Full on thrashes my butt every dang time. I have to say these PSP devices are pretty damn cool. Wireless, web browser, photos, videos, music, all that. I've got Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories going on and it's pretty awesome. And by that I mean coolest damn thing ever. Don't even have to boot up the laptop to get my GTA on. I love that. What I don't like is that my 14 son can browse porn in the bathroom. Sheesh, when I was his age, I had to sneak pages from Playboy in my Math books. It's amazing what you can do with the PSP. I just wish there was a little keypad and mouse for it so you could actually enjoy an FPS game. GoldenEye on the PSP? Rogue Spear? Undying? HELL YES. Well, I guess we'll just have to be satisfied with hooking it up to the TV and playing on the big screen. Addictive like CRACK. I love the PSP. I'm glad I got him one! Now if I could just unlock a better car so I can not get my butt kicked so bad. I am Legend: I took my oldest to see it Saturday night. One one hand, I loved the flick and really enjoyed it. On the other hand, it departed so much from the book that it really irritated me. This is the burden of being literate in the movie theater. You take a fantastic story, and dumb it down to the point of retardation... and then you film it. In the book, the dog was not a loyal companion. In the book, there was a major plot twist that made the story so good there at the ending... in the movie, you full on saw it coming and it was just flat out disappointing. About the dog, my oldest son and I both got something in our eyes during that scene. Because that dog was just like Ranger, only smaller. Ranger was our beloved Timber Wolf and he was my loyal companion. He hunted with me, hiked with me, comforted me when I felt down... when he died, I felt broken. I would give anything to be able to scratch his fuzzy ears again. So this movie hit home for us. A lot of guys don't understand why Will would have gone into that dark building after the dog. Let me put it this way, I would have gone in too if Ranger had run in like that. What would I have done differently? As soon as I saw that mannequin moved to a different place like that, that would have been my signal to get the hell out of the city. I understand that “ground zero” thing, but when I saw that there was something else out there with an IQ that was playing with me – it's time to go. Take the dog, pack up the SUV, and get the hell out of dodge. The CGI vampires ruined it, they should have used actors in make up. I liked the SUV Rampage. The lady and the kid that comes out of no where – that's when you should get up and walk out of the movie... because it has nothing at all to do with the book from that point on. Not like it was that close to the book anyways, but it was at that point where the movie makers just gave the author the big middle finger and anally raped him till he bled from his eyes. I can't stress this enough, the book rocks. The book has one of the best endings to any story ever written and the movie, well, it just fell over sideways and died all curled up in a ball. Still, the movie is worth seeing, but look for the book and read it as soon as you can. Another reason Hillary Clinton would be a natural disaster proportion plague on America and the rest of the world: Read this and get as pissed as I am. HC needs to be put under very close, fine tooth comb investigation. The only politician slimier than her, is Putin. The CIA: I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing every little detail about what the CIA is doing. We need to go ahead and just flush "The Agency" and rebuilt it from the ground up. All the leakers need to be let go, all the procedures need to be rewritten, and we need to get on the freaking ball with our national Spy Game. China is kicking our asses with their Lenovo notebook thing and now the Maxtor hard drive thing... China is the Spy Game Master. We need to play catch up and stop dicking around. The CIA is making the USA look like a bunch of idiots in a time of World History when we need them the most. I want a CIA that knows what the fuck it's doing. I want a CIA that is hidden from view, a shadow... and when something is about to happen, the CIA has people there, on the scene, letting our military know WTF, or stopping it before it happens. A good Cold War CIA with men in long coats running agents deep under cover doing all that spy shit. I want my CIA spooks armed with silenced handguns and no names. I'm tired of all the CIA bullshit I'm reading about in the news. They keep more secrets at MicroSoft than they do in the Puzzle Palace. WTF? They tossed some video tapes? I don't care about that shit, I want them to get out there and spy on China, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, and Greenland - because they are waaay too fucking quiet over there in Greenland and we need to know why. The CIA doesn't need to be abolished, it needs to be rebuilt like the damn Bionic Man. Here is how to do it. Fire those that leak information, and by fire, I mean by two shots to the back of the head. Forget the accountants, the hiring process needs to be changed immediately. We need people in there who know how to shoot, who know field craft, who know how to take pictures, who know how to find shit out, make friends, and get information from people who have it. Giving gifts, bribes, all that shit to get the goods. Instead we have a bunch of Liberal puss nuts who have a grudge against the President, so they have weakened America for it. Thanks to the Democrats, who under Bill Clinton raped the Intelligence community like it was wearing a blue dress. Nicely done, fucktards. 12-13-07: S&W i-Bolt rifle: We got one in the other day and I was able to actually get my hands on it. You know what? I love it. S&W is currently offering them in .270 and .30-06 but other calibers are in the works and hopefully they will be out soon. We got in the camo version and it looks awesome. A nice darkish pattern that will work well in most wooded areas... that's the way to go. The all black one doesn't quite look as good and that's odd for a rifle, but true in my opinion... and I don't even really like camo guns all that much. But I am really digging these new Smiths. The fit and finish is very good, better than what I've seen in photos. The trigger is FANTASTIC. I want one. You guys have to actually get your hands on one too. These bolt actions are worthy of a close hard look. Even if you don't really groove on bolt action rifles, they are worth having. There are many situations where the precision delivery of a heavy blow is desirable, and the i-Bolt is a great tool for that. Browning Cynergy Feather Composite: I've not been tempted to buy an over-under shotgun before. I've liked the Benelli autos, and I like the Cynergy OU guns, but I've not felt that “I've Got To Have It” pull... then we got in this one. It's so light, handles so easily, fits me so perfectly, and looks completely badass. I am very tempted to get this unit. We've got two of them, and one just might end up in my collection, not as a safe Queen... because I would shoot the hell out of that gun. I was told there are only 5 available in the country right now, and I've access to two of them. Hell, I might buy both of them just because of that! Mine, not yours – You can't have! Dan Wesson's Bobtail Commander still speaks to me. Solid stainless, no billboard logos on the slide, clean... wow. We got in a couple more of the .45 versions and they are gorgeous. CZ made a good move buying Dan Wesson. These Bobtails are a proud addition to the CZ line. But when it comes to shear accuracy, to hard core tight group printing, the 97b is the way to go. Why are these 97's not flying off the shelves? It's the most accurate production automatic I've ever fired. Tactix: Berkley has a new line of fishing rods called “Tactix”. They look awesome and feel even better. The 6'6” Tactix Trout is $39.99 and is easily on par with St. Croix rods in the same class. Speaking of S&W: This morning at 11:00AM MST I checked S&W's stock. It's fallen to 5.7180 per share. This is a great time to buy a shitload of S&W stock. It's been riding around 20 for several years, and now it's gone down to “Time To Capitalize”. Buy it now, a couple grand worth, and if it goes back up to 20, you've made a nice little bundle. I love coyote hunting. More than any other hunting on the planet. So this site caught my attention. At first I was thinking “WTF?” But then I realized I was being bigoted. Some people feel the same way about wolves as I do coyotes. I've had two wolves as my pets, and still have one... they are the best dogs I've ever had. So I can sympathize with Charlie the Coyote. Okay, so there is one Coyote I wont hunt. The Ogre is not completely cold hearted. Charlie is clean and free of disease... I've no problem with this one. Maybe I've been too hard on the Stykers and they are not as bad as I thought. I read the Superman story and I have to admit that the Stryker did a damn fine job of protecting its crew. I'm still not sold on them... if anything I'd only use them as a HUMVEE replacement as a patrol vehicle in hostile territory. They do not rate as a replacement for a tank like some people seem to think. 12-11-07: Several things I want to cover tonight. I'm not in a good mood, and I'm not joking around here. No sarcasm, no tongue in cheek, and I'm not smiling. Take a look at this. This is Katey, and at the time of shooting this video, she was 13. More recent videos show her much more matured, and thankfully less animated. But she makes a good point. She's beautiful, smart as hell, and she has her information lined up. If I were her father, I'd be outrageously proud. She's doing some good work for Gun Rights in Canada. Just like her Dad, who've I heard of some time ago. I don't have a link to any web site of his, but his little girl has her voice and is doing a fantastic job. Keep an eye on her, she's worth book marking. While you are watching her vids, you will find a shocking story... Katey's home is being seized by the Canadian Government. If her family moves to the USA, I'll get Katey a gun... but considering her father's legal battles, because he's a proud Canadian and fighting to fix his broken country (very admirable) I don't think they will be leaving CA any time soon. But if my country was stealing my home, I'd consider it. Best of luck to you guys up North, Katey and your Dad – keep up the good work. Former DC Police Chief Ramsey has changed his opinion on DC's Gun Ban. Read this. He's getting closer... still cold... but moving in the right direction. Registration is flawed program and amounts to an Infringement according to my studied opinion. With applications and registrations there is no Liberty and because of that, Ramsey still misses the point. But considering his opinion previously, it's a good start. Now, if we can just get DC fixed, we could get the rest of the nation (with the exception of California, which is just completely hopeless) sorted out and set straight. One big step to help that is this little bit of legislation. This is going to go a long way to righting a lot of wrongs, because this will inevitably include State and Federal buildings such as Post Offices. You see, if some place like say “Applebees” posts that their joint is Gun Free and thus you can't carry your firearm with you... and something happens... they are liable for it. While I don't like the idea of making anyone liable for the criminal actions of Evil, even worst is the off the cuff way these Anti-Gun Jackholes so casually dismiss your right to self protection. If you can't defend yourself because they say no – then they should be held liable for any threat to your person while you are on their property and I would even go so far as to say while you are on the way to or from their property. This needs to pass. We need this legislation. Contact your State Reps and see to it that they know your mind on this.
We've all seen the news regarding
the Colorado church shootings.
Jeanne
Assam is a private citizen. Jeanne is not a Cop. She's not Ex-Military.
She's just Jeanne who happened to take personal responsibility seriously and
got herself licensed to carry a concealed firearms. She was a volunteer
security guard for her church. She confronted and engaged the Gunman. She
stopped the threat. Didn't kill the gunman, just stopped him. The gunman
killed himself, but the point was made – an honest citizen, woman, stopped
the rampaging shooter. Jeanne acted courageously and has every right to be
proud that she had her wits about her enough to protect her flock. She's a
hero. 12-09-07: I've read that Greece has just contracted for a sharp new version of the BMP-3 with loads of tasty new upgrades to electronics, engines and gun system. The price for vehicle is 4 Million a pop. I was thinking, wow, that's a lot more than the Stryker, which was 3.15 Million. To look up that fact, I searched it out and found that the Stryker program has ballooned to 4.25 Million, so the Greek BMP is about 250,000 USD cheaper per unit. Remember, the old M113 Gavins? We only have 11,000 of them standing by. We could have completely revamped the Gavins with new engines, electronics and guns for only 400,000 US dollars per unit. And the Gavins wouldn't have had the problems with tires that fall apart when they go off road, get stuck so easily, and would have been more survivable. Anyways, looks like Greece has a better head on their shoulders than the US Military had, thanks to that jackass General Shinseki. Okay, I want to see this movie. Much better idea than a machine leg I think. I'm digging the drill bra, Mini Glaves, and the Tempura. That rocks to a very high degree. To quote Fark, “I'd hit it.” Digital Camera Problem: Little Man, one of my nephews broke my digital camera. He dropped it onto hard tile. I'm not angry. I'm not miffed. I'm not even annoyed. But I am inconvenienced. I was going to replace it anyways, but not yet. Well, I have to now, before I can finish any of my reviews. I'm thinking very hard about this unit right here, the Nikon CoolPix Hunting Camera. This is a CoolPix L15 8MP camera, flexible gorilla pod tripod, hard pelican case... I tried it out and it takes great images and does very well doing close up stuff. I think this would do good. We have a few of them at the store and I have a good price on it, but I'm not sure if this is a good choice. I'm not a shutterbug. Do you Camera Warriors out there have any advice on this? I had a photographer recommend a Fujifilm camera... that's what I've been using. After a month of using it, I hated it. It was better than my previous camera, but it still sucked. If you recommend a different camera, that's cool. I'd like to stay under two hundred, so don't tell me how great your $800 digital SLR is. I know. I've used them. I'd rather buy a gun for that kind of money. Spider Silk socks are on the way, read the article here. I'm still waiting for the body armor. Huge oversight in my Ultimate Weapons list. Vera. Guys, Stop sending me shit about Mitt Romney's statements about the assault weapon ban... like you really think I've not seen those? Please. 12-07-07: Some dumbass web site decided to try to make a list of the Ultimate Weapons. No, no, no... This wont do. Green Lantern's ring? Might as well have been Aqua Man's swim boots. That's just weak. I'm not going to make my own list here real quick. The Yamamoto's Wave Motion Cannon. Do you guys remember that? Oh yeah... that's the stuff. Now watch this clip. Here we see three more Ultimate Weapons. The Emperial Space Marine's Bolter, the Chain Sword, and the Dreadnought. (the big Mech thing with the gattling gun) The one last thing from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Lightning Claws. Make Wolverine look like a complete pussy. The Smart Gun from Aliens. And of course the M-41A Pulse Rifle. The ZF-1 from Fifth Element. Vera, from Firefly. The side arm of the Gramaton Cleric from Equilibrium. Deckard's handgun from Blade Runner. The Wierding Module from Dune. And last but not least? The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. People don't stop killers. People with guns stop killers! Great article by Glenn Reynolds. If weather conditions are just right, I can tune in to AM 1100 coming out of Grand Junction. They have Neal Boortz and Michael Savage. I have to say these cats are right on. Our buddy Ben has a weblog up now. American Warmonger. Hooaah. Bookmark this page and check back often. Ben is a super cool guy, a shooter, a biker, and a writer. He helps out a lot with magazine photos, usually as the unfortunate model holding the guns. Its tough work. Christmas Gift Ideas for you Ladies out there: Don't know what to give your Man for Christmas? Give him a gun! Don't know what to get for your Boyfriend? Get him a gun! He might have lots of guns already, but trust me, wants a gun! You don't know what kind of gun? You don't know what caliber? You don't know what Make or Model? It doesn't matter – there are no wrong answers, because it's a GUN! If you think he already has one like that, get it in a different color, because that works for guys... because it's a GUN! They are like potato chips, only louder. Get him a GUN! The gift of a Gun is meaningful and significant... it communicates trust, love and respect... it says “I love you, and I trust you, and with this I know you can protect me.” You don't get that message with a book... or with a neck tie.... all that says is “here is some shit for you because I'm supposed to give you something”, and you don't want to say that! So get him a Gun, people! It's the best gift to give any red blooded American... Guy or Gal... Buy a Gun! 12-06-07: A moment. New born babies are such marvelous things. Such a little body, containing a human spirit, just learning and understanding how this world works... This morning, while holding my new born son, he looked at me. This time, his eyes focused for the first time and he saw me. I looked into his eyes and said hello. He reacted with small facial expressions that communicated back to me, “Hey, your my Dad!” I can't explain it any better than that... but if you have had that experience, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven't, I really hope you get the chance. It's pure magic. You don't really know what pure love is until you've had that moment with your new born child. Songs of the week: I've been jamming out to some classic rock lately. Classic Rock doesn't get any more genuine than Led Zeppelin. I like everything they've played. So to pick one is an exercise in insanity. But I will... I'll pick the immigrant song. It's short and sweet. Ah, there you go. Let's follow that up with Journey. We all listened to that stuff when we were kids, thought it was deep and meaningful but didn't understand the real depth until we got older. Okay, now lets hit you with some Kansas. Everyone knows Carry On My Wayward Son and think it's their own personal anthem. And it's a Guitar Hero song, which is cool... But I sing along with Dust In The Wind more often. Now here is a tough question for you guys. Who's better, Kansas or The Doobie Brothers? The Doobie Brothers is one of those bands you never think of, but you like all their songs. At least that's it for me. And that's it for this week in music. Our good friend Matt has sent us this link regarding the shooting spree in the Omaha mall. I've not really been paying attention to this one, because I've been otherwise preoccupied. I had wondered if that mall, like many malls across this nation, if it was a gun free zone. Turns out that it was. Reading that article I was struck by how Pro-RKBA it was, then I looked a the author, John R. Lott Jr. Lott has been a devout RKBA champion and we are all better off because of his tireless efforts. He nails the core of the issue right on the head... or, should I say, between the eyes. The shooter, who I will not name, was a coward and selected the location for his rampage based on his cowardice. He chose a location where people would be unprepared and defenseless... where the so called “security” is nothing of the sort. Gun Free Zones are prime examples of disarmament doesn't make people safe. To quote Jeff Cooper, “An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it.” I was very pleased to hear Mitt Romney's speech today. Fantastic job. Yup. I like Mitt Romney for President. I think he is what America needs. I really do. His business sense can save America. I see no downside to Mitt. What RKBA? The only candidate stronger on the Second is Ron Paul and he has no chance in hell to win. Sorry Libertarians, but you know it's true. Don't let the Libertarians be our Green Party. We don't need our votes bled away as that only helps the Democrats. That's how Gore lost in 2000. Dear George: Thank you for contacting me about the important issue of gun ownership and the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I appreciate your interest in my campaign for President and would like to extend my sincere gratitude for taking the time to share your views with me. I support the Second Amendment as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American. It’s essential to our functioning as a free society, as are all the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights. I am proud to be among the many decent, law-abiding men and women who safely use firearms. I firmly believe in the importance of responsible gun ownership and sales. I recognize there are people in this country who want to remove all guns in our society and I think they’re wrong. Washington needs to distinguish between law-abiding gun owners and criminals who use guns. Those who use a firearm during the commission of crime must be punished severely. The key is to provide law enforcement with the resources they need and punish criminals, not burden lawful gun owners. As Governor of one of the most liberal states in the country, I stood up for the rights of gun owners and sportsmen over burdensome bureaucratic regulation. I advanced legislation that expanded the rights of gun owners in my state and I’ve been proud to have the support of pro-Second Amendment and sportsmen’s groups in my previous runs for public office. I also designated May 7 as “The Right to Bear Arms Day” in Massachusetts to honor “the right of decent, law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms in defense of their families, persons, and property and for all lawful purposes, including the common defense.” One of the most active fronts in the fight to preserve our Second Amendment rights today is being waged in the courts. As President, I’ll appoint strict constructionist judges who will follow the Constitution and not legislate from the bench. I’ll also fight to repeal the McCain-Feingold law, which sought to impose restrictions on the First Amendment rights of groups like the National Rifle Association, to advocate for issues we care about. I am running for President because I fervently believe that I have the experience and vision to address the issues facing our country. Throughout my years in both the private and public sectors, I have been successful by pursuing innovation and transformation. If there ever was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to visit my website at www.MittRomney.com for updated information on Second Amendment rights and other issues that may be of interest to you. I look forward to hearing from you in the future, and earning your support. Sincerely, Mitt Romney Yes, I know that's a canned answer, but it's a good answer. Considering the alternatives to a crashing dollar, water and oil starvation, and having all our guns snatched by the Democrats. 12-05-07: I never realized it before, but the main spring housing on my Kimber Tactical Custom II is plastic. Interesting. It's also plastic on the TLE series... and damn near all the Kimber pistols. This irritated the hell out of me almost all day yesterday. The first reaction is “replace it”. Put in a metal unit. Then the more I got thinking about it, the less inclined I am of changing it. Sure, it's plastic, but it's strong enough for the job and it is very light. I mean, how often do you hear of a “Main Spring Housing Failure”? Ah, never. It looks fine, feels fine considering it's also sandwiched between forged aluminum panels and locked in with a mag well funnel... It isn't going anywhere. Replacing it would only be for some soothing of a ego wrinkle or unfounded myth about strength or reliability. I've got well over 4000 rounds through this Kimber and It's never failed me or shown signs of failure. Then again, I clean the gun properly after I shoot it, let the magazines rest when not in active use, and I've replaced the recoil spring after 2500 rounds. I replaced that spring to prevent possible failures and to reduce frame battering that tired springs can cause. You have to be a little more considerate of that with an alloy frame. That and I was told by one of the worlds best 1911 gunsmiths that you should. That spring cost me, what? $7.50? No big deal. Small price to pay when you are whipping up on the competition who is using pistols that cost more than double. So, no. I'm not going to replace it. There is no need. The only way I'd bother replacing that, would be if I decide to get a Bobtail Conversion done to it... but if I am going to take the time and trouble to have a worthy (and by worthy I mean the guy has to be a frickin artist) gunsmith do that, I'll have him replace all the internals with match grade stuff and go through the whole thing that way. But for now there is no need for that. As for the Bobtail Conversion job, I wont on this one. It's pointless. This Kimber is not my carry gun. I carry it when I'm out shooting or for IDPA... it's my Guilty Pleasure gun. It's also probably the last gun I would ever sell. I like it as is and that includes the mag well funnel, so I wont be getting rid of that. I remember the first time I got a Bobtail on a 1911... It was on a Springfield TRP Operator... a very nice pistol, but once I got the Bobtail Conversion done, I hated it. It was too different and it changed the way it felt in my hand. So I sold it to a police officer in Salt Lake, who fell in love with it the second he saw it. I sold it to him for what I was into it, and he was happy. Since then, I've changed the way I grip my autos, and I've grown to like the feel of the Bobtail. I could probably get that work done on my S&W Commander as that is my carry gun. Anything to aid in the way that unit carries and conceals is an advantage. I really love that Scandium gun and take it with me often. The unit is so light and handy – It's my perfect carry gun. I only want to make it better now. I was thinking about getting a match barrel and bushing for it when I get a trigger job done to it... so maybe I'll have a Bobtail done too. Hmmm... Maybe. There is no rush to make the decision... there is no deadline and there is no one I'm trying to impress. (Sorry, Horde) Maybe I'll get that work done to it when we can't buy any more guns thanks to the Hillary, UN, and the Democrats. I was asked about getting a bobtail done on a 1911 that has a mag well funnel. I don't know anyone that does that sort of deal because it defeat the purpose of the funnel. I've seen guys bevel out the mag well aggressively to create the funnel effect, or at least to help a bit... and that's fine. Custom gunsmithing is something not enough guys indulge themselves with. Guys will use a gunsmith for a repair, or to get something drilled and tapped for scope rails or something... but they don't get anything custom done. Perhaps they think it's too expensive to get it done. Perhaps they think it's above them. Usually the cost is very reasonable and the results often completely transform the handgun and make something average into something extraordinary. Especially when such work is done to something your used to... something like your good old 1911 you've always had knocking around. Then all the sudden that old gun is like Cinderella at the ball. During work at the gun counter, about 11:30 the power went out. Just a sudden immersion into almost total darkness. It was only about 2 seconds later when all the guys behind the gun counter pulled out Surefire lights and got back into business. Customer said “Man, you guys are ready for anything.” Damn right! What was especially creepy was that one of us didn't have a Surefire, but a blood tracking light. I answered, “pretty much.” 12-04-7: Marlin .308MX: A couple of fellows bought a couple of Marlin 308MX rifles. Not the XLR long stainless units, but the shorter blued versions in the new cartridge .308 Marlin Express. Both rifles were scoped up with Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9X scopes. Not a bad package... not the scopes I would have picked out, but not bad. The guys brought in the rifles and a stack of targets. Each target had a 4 to 5 inch random splattering of holes. The groups were shot at 100 yards and they complained that the guns wouldn't shoot. I took Mike with me and we went to the Buckskin Hills Range and got to work. Here are some observations. First, I freaking love the .308MX. The cartridge is inherently accurate thanks to the marvelous efficiency in the case. The guns are not even that loud... they have a “Whomp” to it, but not the sharp bang of most regular .308 rifles... it's a little different... more like a .3030. You can actually shoot these without ear plugs... this means you can take these guns out and really hunt with them and not worry about blowing your ear drums out. Recoil was damn near the same as my .30-30. But when you look at the numbers, .308MX does at 400 yards what .30-30 does at 100 yards, so we are talking a major improvement in punch, without any perceived increase in noise or recoil! Fantastic! The rifle is essentially your good old Marlin 336CS but with a spiffy new chambering. Now it shoots good, feels good... but how about the accuracy? Impressive to say the least. At 25 yards both guns were printing clover leaf shot groups. Not the big random scattering and nothing showed any sign of a problem. We skipped 50 and pushed out to 100 yards, what the old guys were saying they were shooting at. Guess what? These rifles shot the very same groups at 100 yards as they shot at 25. We were punching holes inside of holes. Now this pissed me off... because these damn guns are shooting out of the box just like my .30-30 does with over 200 bucks worth of gunsmithing! And these guns have completely shitting triggers. They are gritty and heavy and suck just much like a factory Bushmaster or Hi Point Carbine. No, scratch that... I've felt better triggers on Hi Point Carbines. I wouldn't mind having one of these at all, but I'd get the trigger worked on, replace the firing pin and put a target crown on it, and of course get rid of the Bushnell and sit it up with something righteous.... then we could really see what these new Marlins could do. The 308MX gets an 8 out of 10. I would like to see what the longer, stainless XLR does, and I'd like to shoot these guns over a Chrono, and compare them with some other rifles, like my .30-30. Those Chi-Coms are some seriously sneaking bastards who are winning the Spy Game against us. And by US I mean the rest of the world that is not China. Remember the SNAFU about Lenovo laptop within the Department of Defense? How the Chinese made Think Pads were reporting home all the data that DOD guys put into them. Huge intel breach, potentially the biggest in the history of the US because no one knows just how bad it was. Now we know it must have worked pretty damn good, because the Chinese decided to play the same game again. Check this out. Maxtor Hard Drives are reporting to Beijing now. Seagate too. I always preferred the Western Digital hard drives... I'm glad to see I was justified in my opinion even if I had little basis for it. Thanks to Hamm172 and Warded Neuron for the heads up on this. Just to be safe, any time you buy a new drive, do a low level reformat before you do anything else to it, even before you format it, format it. Merry Tossmas! This hits the nail on the head and expresses everything I feel about this time of year. Have you heard of the snafu at GameSpot? Well, what happened was a game maker put out a pig steaming pile of shit that they call a game, market the hell out of it, and then pitch a fit when a game reviewer says it aint that great. GameSpot fires the guy for speaking straight up. Here is the story. What really sucks about this, is that Video Games are freaking expensive, especially for the PC. Yet if you buy one that doesn't work or that just flat sucks, your stuck having dropped 50 bucks on a steaming pile. To avoid the crap, guys like me read reviews and try to sift through the truth about the games before we plop down our Hard Earned. This incident pulls the curtain back and we see that there is no credibility at one of the best places to go get those reviews. So what can Game Spot do to regain that credibility? Nothing. There is nothing they can do. Sacking the guy that sacked the guy only shows that they decided to put the blame on a patsy. They could fire all the head editors there and replace them with guys who are known to speak their minds, but then they lose all their advertising revenues from the game makers, and stop getting those sneak peaks that make them interesting. So then what? They would have to totally redo everything... a complete redo, not just superficial. I think its beyond them. I don't think they could do it. I think Game Spot is finished. 12-03-07: Good News from Venezuela! That psychopath Hugo Chavez who works hard daily to make Venezuela look like a giant cock was defeated in the court of the ballot box. He says that his plan was too much, what he meant was that he didn't cheat nearly enough. He was defeated by a very narrow margin. So much so that the DNC is demanding recounts. “Chavez, who was briefly ousted in a failed 2002 coup, blamed the loss on low turnout among the very supporters who re-elected him a year ago with 63 percent of the vote. Seven in ten eligible voters cast ballots then. This time it was just 56 percent.” I'm thinking that the problem with the narrow results is that there was far too few people out there voting. But then I thinking, good hell... if only we had a 56% turn out in our own elections! We have such pathetic voter turn out that the DNC banks on our apathy. We have got to get people out to the polls. Considering the Utah Highway Patrol found the tazering in my back yard to have been perfectly reasonable, I suggest you get one of these next time you come to Utah. Or if you decide to take a bath... Just in case you get pulled over. But of course, to avoid getting pulled over, I suggest one of these. I've got one, and if you have a quick vehicle, you should too. Not that I need one for my bloody Kia. Judas priest that thing is glacial. Thank you all for your support and well wishes. Mother and Child are doing absolutely wonderful! 12-01-07: The 6th Son arrived 11:51PM November 30th, healthy and strong. Eight and a half pounds, 21.5 inches long, with a full head of wavy golden hair. He is absolutely perfect. Mrs. Ogre came through very well and conquered the ordeal. Father Ogre remains completely exhausted, proud, and can ask no more of anything. At this very moment, Mother and Child are sleeping while I stand watch. All is well. The Utah State Tazer Trooper: His actions were officially found to be justified. However I officially hold his actions up to the tazering to be worthy of a severe reprimand... had he shown a bit more respect for a fellow citizen and acted like a human being, had he used his training to de-escalate instead of to instigate, then the tazering would never have happened. Officially, that trooper is a douche-bag. The Republican Debate: I didn't comment on this earlier because I didn't watch the debate. So I decided to wait until I had read the transcripts and watched the videos. I'm now of the opinion that this debate was total bullshit. CNN showed a drastic display of partisan bias and a sheer lack of professionalism. CNN selected the questions very carefully in a way to try to make all the Republicans look as bad as possible. While I think the Candidates did a very good job of answering the questions, the questions themselves were all silly and pointless and targeted for partisan effect. DemocRat plants? Like CNN didn't know that? That's baloney. CNN was well aware of all of those people because Obama and Hillary sent them to CNN just for that purpose. That was obvious when you listened to the questions, how the questions were asked, and the tone and inflections. As far as who won the debate, I think Mitt Romney came out on top. On the bottom, CNN was the biggest loser. While CNN got good ratings from this political theater, CNN shown themselves to be biased political activists. What I want to know is why in the hell did the GOP select CNN to be the venue? They should have gone with FOX News which has been much more neutral in things like this. They've lost the last shred of credibility with me and a lot of other people. The other big winner was YouTube. Awesome springboard for them. But as far as debate questions go, I think YouTube should stick to music videos and guys getting nailed in the balls. It brings the nobility of the democratic process down to a tourist attraction... there is no dignity to it. Something is lost. Democracy can be a wonderful thing, but I think the Founding Father's had it right with a Representative Democracy... Direct Democracy means rule by an uneducated, emotionally reactionary mob. With a representative democracy and the electoral college system that we have, there is a cushion of reason and rational, measured control. That's a good thing. But to sway a national debate by a dumbass girl in a t-shirt asking a dumbass question about if the President of the United States should enforce the law? That was asinine and CNN should have been above that. CZ 527 Carbine vs Marlin 336CS Response: “Which is better" is always good for an argument. Well presented on the CZ vs Marlin but of course I dont agree because you are wrong. Bullet performance is down to using the same bullets, its nothing about the rifle or cartridge. Accuracy? My 336 shoots sub moz just as i got i from the gunshow for $300 (1950 something model) Speed? try a bolt gun left handed As for the Czech Republic, I wish them well. I also wish the USA well. Buy American when you can. Marlin is better. - Meade” What works for one might not work as well for the other... I've fired brand new 336 XLR rifles that could group within an inch... And others that could group inside in a nickel at 100. Then there is he famous "Marlin Jam" that can creep up on you... so no gun is perfect. The rifle or the cartridge? I see where you are coming from, but if one case has a greater volume of capacity and can launch the bullet with more energy, then more energy is retained at the far end of the range where it impacts the target. Differences can build up and even the very same bullet fired from one gun can look completely different when fired from another. Your argument would make a .308 the same as a .300 Ultra Mag. Bullet performance isn't just the same bullet, but hitting at the same velocity. Different cartridges deliver bullets at different velocities... and if one cartridge pumps that bullet out 100 to 200 FPS faster, than another, that's not a lot of difference when you are talking like 3200 FPS or 3000 FPS. The differences come into play at the far end of the rifle range when velocities have bled off and energy drops. Especially if the velocities drop below the speed of sound and then you have the bullet transitioning down past the speed of sound... breaking through the bullet's own sonic shock wave again. That's going to effect accuracy. Then you might drop below 1000 foot pounds of energy which a great many experienced hunters say is the bottom of what you want for hunting white tail deer... and I'll say Terrorists too. And that's going to effect the ability to cleanly kill bigger game animals. When we are talking about cartridges that are in the mid to low 2000's bullet weight, shape and velocity all come in to play. Just because one can hit a target with one at a longer range doesn't mean you should. Especially with a cartridge like the 7.62X39 at longer ranges because your trajectory is so steep. I killed a coyote past 600 and it was strange. I hit the dog back/top of the head and the bullet exited under the jaw. Very steep angle. Killed the dog like a switch because the bullet entered the brain, blew chunks of bone through the pulp even if there wasn't much in the way of a shock effect. On bigger game, going for a vital shot... no way. I wouldn't even try it. This is why I think 300 is max effective range. Meade mentioned the platform, and yeah that has a difference too. If a longer barrel gains you some velocity, then it's a benefit. But with my chopped down Marlin and this CZ Carbine, any stated or published velocities are useless. For example the Hornady LEVERevolution ammo states that the velocity is around 2400FPS. Out of the Super Marlin the velocity is only 2250 ten feet from the muzzle so the chronograph could read it. Also the drilling of the bore and rifling, the amount of friction in the barrel, the rate of twist all are well known factors into ballistics. So the platform does play a factor. The issue of Church and State was again on the news. Liberals contend that anything that has the world “god” in it should be edited. From Schools on up to the Federal level and everything in between. This is a waste of everyone's time and is actually unconstitutional. The first amendment allows freedom of speech, as we know. This includes the freedom of speech by members of our Government. Not just in regards to speech, but let me point this out. The 1stA says: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” The point of the religion clause in the 1stA is to make sure that we don't have here what happened in England. England, because of a great great great (add a couple more greats to that Grand Father decided he didn't like Catholic dogma and decided that England needed its own official Church... so he started The Church Of England. Our Founding Fathers did not want anyone to force a Church Of America. Now look back on the history of England and the history of The Church (meaning Catholic) through the middle ages. The Church had almost the same amount of power over people as the King had, with the only limitation being that The Church did not have its own private military force. (Police Force is a different story, and the influence over the standing military is something altogether different too) Being told that You Will worship here or there or face social and political penalties was something that a great many people could not tolerate. So they fled the UK and Europe. The came to America so they could worship how they wanted. Not so that they could escape religion all together. Invoking God does not mean you have to pray to the same god. In fact, which specific god is never really mentioned is it? It could be Buddha or Loki for all it matters... when god is invoked, it's a personal thing on the individual level, and no one is saying to have to adhere to the god of the invoker. Frankly, being offended by “god” and protesting such is pretty anti-American. Look at the Bill of Rights. The matter of god/religion was addressed in the first amendment in our Bill of Rights. God was before Free Speech. God was before guns. Assembly. Searches and Quartering. God Came First. Now look at the very document that started this whole America thing, our Declaration of Independence: The first paragraph speaks of the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them... Not only does Thomas Jefferson invoke Science and God, but he puts God over Science. Then look at the language in the next paragraph. All men are created equal (created by God) and endowed by their Creator (God again). He closes the declaration with this: “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence...” Meaning that we have total faith in God. God is all over the foundation of America. And for some sniveling, mouth breathing, jackass to say that no one can publicly exercise the expressions of their faith, is quite frankly someone that needs to be thrown a beating. Our founding fathers wanted us to be free... they wanted us to be able to have our liberty. And if that means putting up a Cross along the side of the highway where a State Trooper or anyone else has died (recent issue in Utah) then that is absolutely fine and to argue otherwise is to promote your own ignorance and intolerance. My Mom is doing something interesting today: Her and Sister In Law Cindi is taking their Concealed Carry course so that they can get their CCW Permits. Outstanding. I really wish I could have taught them the course, as I am certified to do so in The Commonwealth, (but not here in Utah WTF). I am told that the instructor is a reader of MadOgre.com. She didn't tell me who this was, but I know several instructors in the Richmond VA area. Some of them are good, and some of them are pretty damn good. So I am sure they have been given proper and top notch instruction. Next time they come out to My Desert, I will instruct them on the use of the rifle for close and personal work and how to engage targets at great distances. I bet my Momma will have no problem taking down a mangy coyote at 1000 yards after a few pointers. CHECK ARCHIVES FOR OLDER CONTENT
Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012 Graphic Artwork by Martin White
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