Something Wicked this way comes... Project X

JAN 06

Tuesday, 1-31-06: Judge Alito is now on the Supreme Court bench. Outstanding. It's good to see a Judge who takes his role seriously, and not a political activist like several of the Justices in our nation's highest court. This is a good day for America as a whole.

Better than Alito's confirmation, was Ted Kennedy's temper tantrum on the floor of the Senate yesterday. Oh my heavens, he pitched a fit to rival my 5 year old. It was an amazing display of immaturity and a total lack of self control. But even more amazing yet, is that there are people who still continue to support his dolt. Kerry was just about in tears. It was real show... very telling about who these people really are. Instead of picking their battles, putting in the effort into where they can win, they are just going to throw a fit and be the obstructionists that they really are. Nice. And then with the news that Howard Dean has spent almost all of the DNC's money... it looks like Rush Limbaugh was right. The Democrats really are imploding. This also shows that Dave Berry was correct as well. The biggest purpose of the Government really is entertainment.

I learned yesterday that a couple of Deputies from my county here were reading MadOgre.com. To them I will say “Howdy.” I'm not exactly sure what bit they were reading, but they are welcome to all of it. Just want them to know that while I do have a radar detector in my car... I really don't speed all that much. I don't. No, really.

Head's Bunker has done it. A real comparo between the AR and the AK... and the winner is... The Mosin Nagant.

There is a new pistol out on the market, from a brand new company. It shows a lot of promise. It's called the “CPX-1”. It comes in 9mm and you have two finish choices. Pretty simple and straight forward pistol... similar to the Kel-Tec P11 but according to reports, an improvement. I contacted Skyy about doing a review on it, but evidently someone from Concealed Carry Magazine has already purchased one. For only 339 MSRP, it's pretty affordable. I heard someone picked one up for only 225 and is delighted with his. The design looks like it could be more ergonomic than a P11, and it might have better sights. I'm interested in this little unit and will have to acquire one for what I am going to call “OGRE BRUTE FORCE TESTING” and see how it stands up. From the looks of it, from what I'm hearing about it, and considering the price... it looks like one of those things that look worth trying out. Unfortunately Skyy isn't going to be at SHOT this year... they are just starting out, so this is understandable. Hopefully they can make it next year and these guys will be able to take off.

While I'm talking about guns here, take a look at the Weapons Section page and look through the list of my Top 10 Rifles. I've decided to edit that list to reflect my current opinions.

This is interesting news... Google is working on a new distro of Linux now. Based on Ubuntu, it should be excellent. (A little biased here, Ubuntu is a personal favorite) This could go a long way to damage Microsoft's hold on computer technology and open a lot more doors to the world of Linux computing. Google's OS looks attractive in a cartoonish sort of way. I think the stock Ubuntu looks better, even Kubuntu... but Google's isn't too bad. I've seen worse (Cherry Linux, Xandros, etc.) I'm not sure what Google is going to be able to do under the hood that the Ubuntu crew can not. Other than make it uglier, obviously. What Google can do though, is to use its massive name recognition to promote its own Linux version. There is potential here, folks. Huge potential. I'd keep an eye on this if I were you. Because seriously guys, you do NOT want to use Vista if you can help it at all.

Thursday, 1-26-06: I told you, I told you, I told you! See, I told you so! “Bush lied”? Suck it Howard Dean. Suck it John Kerry. Suck it Ted Kennedy.

This is deeply disturbing to me. Mexican Military coming into the US and shooting at or threatening Americans. This is intolerable. Screw Judge Alito and Abortion... The war on Terror? We are being invaded by hostile forces. Period. We are being invaded at will by hostile alien forces. Yet Washington DC is doing nothing and Mexico is saying “No we're not.” This is like a bad redo of the Monty Python argument Clinic sketch.

The one question I have for these states along the borders who are complaining about these incursions... WHY ARE YOUR GOVERNORS NOT CALLING OUT THE NATIONAL GUARD? If the FED isn't doing anything WHY AREN'T YOU? Texas, Arizona, Nevada, California... you guys are bitching and moaning that there is a problem and the Feds aren't doing anything – Then YOU do it. You have Guard Units ready to go on line and defend their States. That is what they are there for. I bet you they would all be more than willing to step up. I bet they are already wanting to.

I can't believe the dire national importance of this and how hard the Government is ignoring this and how little this problem is showing up in the major media. CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC... All of them... they should be all over this and not let one night or even one news cast go buy without this story being covered until President Bush – who keep saying that his job is to “Protect America” - to actually start PROTECTING AMERICA! That is why Bush got a second term.

Hey, Congratulations to Hamas for your sweeping Victory! And congratulations to the Palestinians who have just proved to the entire world that you are all completely Nucking Futs. Evidently peace is not something Palestinians want.

For the first time in some many years... I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl. The Rolling Stones? No thank you. Steelers and the Seahawks? I didn't even know the Sea Hawks were still a pro team. Sheesh.

Water Heater: We finally got it fixed. This morning I took a real hot shower for the first time in too many days. Cold Showers suck, but a hot shower... glorious! I actually got up early just to take it.

The other day I downloaded and installed GAIM for Windows. This is a Linux IM client that they've made cross platform. I popped in an old AOL “AIM” user name that I had not used for like 6 years. It not only logged in with no problem, but bang – there was my buddy list and everything. That's pretty cool. But it makes me wonder how long AOL is holding on to information, even an unused account for so long.

If I could have any car... any car on the planet just given to me. It would be a Lotus Exige. It's not really a car I would actually spend my own money on, because it's just a toy really. But what a fantastic toy it is. You can have your Viper Coupes and your Ferraris... I'll take a Lotus Exige, thank you. Heres why. It's just simply a “sports car”. A true honest to God sports car. There is nothing fancy or extreme about it... the engine is actually a Toyota even... but when all the parts are put together they really gel. If I had 54 Large to spare, I would probably have to buy one of these things.  If you are having a hard time understanding why I like this little Lotus so much, you have got to watch this video.. Trust me... it's worth the download.  Oh, and that's the infamous Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear who I've ranted about twice in the past.

This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota state after the recent snow storm.
WEATHER BULLETIN: Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from a Historic event --- may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- With a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands. FYI: George Bush did not come.... FEMA did nothing.... No one howled for the government... No one blamed the government. No one even uttered an expletive on TV... Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else... Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either... CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm... Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards... No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.... No one looted... Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something... Nobody expected the government to do anything either... No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Streisand, No Hollywood types to be found... Nope, we just melted the snow for water... Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny. Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families. Families took in the stranded people – total strangers - We Fired up wood stoves. Broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns. We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die". We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks. Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves. "In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% most of the world's social problems evaporate."

As Larry The Cable Guy says, “Git-R-Done”. New Orleans has a different take on that:

Tuesday, 1-24-06:PM:  The next gun to be reviewed has arrived. It is a Wilson Combat SDS. Justing holding it, it knocked my socks off. Invoice showed a price of $2930. Ouch. That's a steep levy for a shoot'n iron. We shall have to see if this gun is really worth it. Much like any time I rent a car, I drive it like I stole it. I'm going to shoot the hell out of this thing. When Bill Wilson gets this gun back, its going to be panting for air and sweating. All I can say about it so far, for almost $3k... it feels like what a $3K pistol should feel like.

With all the major US automakers making serious cutbacks, DaimlerChrysler is the only one to have “Done it Right” when it comes to layoffs. Instead of kicking out all the indians, they are giving the axe to 6,000 of the chiefs. This is how you make your cars faster, you don't remove parts of the engine, you remove things that make your car lighter. You pull out the back seat, take all the junk out of the trunk, etc. Ford, closing plants and firing the people that actually make the vehicles... and who could be making new vehicles if Ford would use some damned imagination and stop copying VW... they are shooting themselves in the foot. Ford is so top heavy it's insane, so they start undermining their very foundation. That's stupid. But then again, Ford as been doing a lot of really stupid things lately. For example, they are selling a Ford Falcon in the land of Oz that is one of the coolest cars on the planet. But not here in the USA. Dumbasses. In the middle of the Hot Rod Revival, Ford's hottest Rod isn't even here to play with the others. DaimlerChrysler's move, I'm afraid, puts most of it's management in Germany, making it just a shadow of the old Chrysler... but we all knew that was coming anyways.

AM:  I've been listening to NPR last few weeks on my drive home. It's all been about the upcoming election in Canada. NPR always interviewed the Liberal candidates, wishing them the best and encouraging them. So much so that I was wondering if I was listening to NPR-Canada. Well, the elections were yesterday and I was looking forward to the drive home to hear the results. (sometimes I like my news served up a certain way) Well, last night NPR talked about everything but Canada. Not one word. So naturally I assumed that the Conservatives won. This morning I found out that they did. Funny how NPR, which had been broadcasting everything they could about the elections, even weird third party (and fourth and fifth) candidates. And not a word. This is absolutely typical of liberal media. They don't want to talk about things they dislike, unless it's ripping on them; if by “them” you mean “George W. Bush”. So Canada voted in a Conservative. Recently Germany had done the same, voting in a Conservative. If only France would do the same.

Speaking of France... Hordeman Sparrow sends us this: Sitting together on a train, traveling through the Swiss Alps, are a French guy an American guy, an old Greek lady and a young blonde Swiss girl. The train goes into a dark tunnel and a few seconds later there is the sound of a loud slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, the Frenchman has a bright red hand print on his cheek. No one speaks. The old lady thinks: The Frenchman must have groped the blonde in the dark, and she slapped his cheek. The blonde thinks: That Frenchman must have tried to grope me in the dark, but missed and fondled the old lady and she slapped his cheek. The Frenchman thinks: The American must have groped the blonde in the dark. She tried to slap him but missed and got me instead. The American thinks: I can't wait for another tunnel, so I can smack that Frenchman again.

I like to poke fun at the French. I can't help it. But I've got to say that I do not have any ill will to the French people or any person of French heritage. What bothers me about the French is their Government and the popular French attitude of Anti-Americanism.

As much as France owns it's current existence to America for saving their asses in World War 1 and 2... America has to give France a tip of the hat for their helping us out during our Revolutionary War when we broke our bonds from England. French shipping, blockade running, and Naval Support helped America out a great deal. So, to France, “Thank you”. Now stop acting like a pack of flaccid assholes and pull yourselves together and forget your losing socialist agenda. Now back to Canada. Maybe since they have a Conservative back in office, they can get rid of this. I can't help but to think of any Anti-Gun individual I'm talking to as an idiot. They have to be completely void of any understanding of true human nature and history. Liberals are often anti-gun. I think this is where the term “Liberal Idiot” comes from.

Monday, 1-23-06:  Thanks to Hordeman Nolin for the following:

The picture shows that this soldier has been thru Survival School and learned his lessons well. He's giving the sign of "coercion" with his left hand. These hand signs are taught in survival school to be used by POW's as a method of posing messages back to our intelligence services who may view the photo or video. This guy was obviously being coerced into shaking hands with Hillary Clinton. It's ironic how little she knew that he would so inform us about the photo---perhaps because she's never understood our military to begin with. No Democrat has. Not even the ones who have served, like Kerry, who's service was only thinly masked Self-Service.

The Democrats think they are tough on National Security. This reminds me of someone...

I'm curious as to why Ford has decided to cut back so deeply. This seems an extreme restructuring. The one question that I have for the Ford Execs, is how many of them are loosing their jobs? Ford is still selling the #1 vehicle in the USA, the F Series pickup truck. At least they have done something right. Bringing back the Mustang properly is a bonus, the GT puts the name Ford back into the performance market, but what about regular cars? The Focus is just pathetic. The 500 is deeply disappointing. So really the meat and potatoes car is now the Fusion. Unfortunately for Ford and the Fusion, we are all just waiting for the next model year. Please, Ford, pretty please, give us a high output V-6 with the manual transmission and a tight suspension.

With Ford announcing these cutbacks, I feel sorry for the guys that work those factories. Whole communities in many areas. That sucks. But this is what happens when top heavy corporations look for ways to tighten the belt. We don't need to question the salaries of Ford's upper management, do we? The other cause for this? I suspect the Union had a part to play in this. I'm not a fan of Unions.

Kim DuToit has brought up the subject of public schools again. While our younger boys are doing fine in public school, our oldest is home schooled. Mrs. Ogre actually teaches at a public school. We can see both sides. There are pros and cons to public education, but Kim has it right. They don't need more money. They need to cut the fat. Which was Ford's and Winchester's issue. Upper Management. Id have voted in his Mrs. World thing... but Mrs Czech Republic had my votes for First, Second, and Third place.

Why I like the Washington Post. Stephen Hunter. Didn't read anything like that from the NYT. Go figure.

I watched the new “Underworld” movie. This is the second film about Vampires vs Werewolves staring Kate Beckinsale. She is... yummy... and the only reason to watch this movie. A good love scene. This film was... how do I describe it? Flat out stupid? The first one was pretty cool, but this one was lame. If Kate wasn't in it, Id have never gone to see it in the first place. Everything that made the first one cool was lacking in this one, so to amp it up they decided to throw in sex and a lot more violence. So much for plot or story line. I hated it. And before you ask, they were using the same guns as in the first one. Evidently Vampires and British Agents both institutionally prefer Walthers.

Late Linking: Oleg Volk's Journal. Book mark that one.

The Air Force is working on a replacement for the F-22 Raptor, they are calling it the “Viper”. Looks like it should do well:

Friday, 1-20-06:  I really don't know what to say about Winchester crashing and burning. How do you take one of the oldest manufacturers in the country, a cornerstone gun maker with military contracts... and totally run it into the ground like a 747 playing “Lawn Darts”? Winchester is going to be shutting down their factory in Connecticut. This is the same factory that's been there for, how long? Pretty much forever. As long as there as been a Winchester. The place where there famous Model 94 lever action rifle (have you ever seen a western movie?) has been produced. This is not just sad for the American Gun Industry, but this is sad – no, flat out depressing – for America as a whole. The '94 is the gun that won the west according to many gun historians and enthusiasts. This is a huge part of history that we are watching die a slow painful death, like that Terry Schivo lady. If I was Ruger or S&W... or Kahr, I'd buy that factory, lock stock and barrel. Not only that, but I'd keep the factory open and producing what is one of the finest rifles ever made. This might be a loosing proposition... but I would do it just to keep a bit of American history, and a very uniquely American bit of history at that, alive and kicking. So what if they are not selling all that well. They are not being marketed all that well either. And Winchester's upper management isn't doing anything to correct that either. Some of those rifles are also priced about 100% too high. Why spend 900 for a rifle that is pretty much similar to the one Marlin is selling for half the price? Winchester isn't even trying to be competitive.

Just heard on the news that the planet Mars is experiencing its own “global warming”. I've not heard how yet, but I'm sure that the Liberals will figure out a way to make it Bush's fault. BTW, it's totally Bush's fault that my water heater died yesterday... that bastard. With some tinkering, we got it working again. The overflow valve got stuck or something and there was a big pressure build up that popped the blow off valve, and water somehow got into the electricals and the whole thing just went to hell. But it was working this morning and heated enough water for a shower... so I'm happy about that. But it's still Bush's fault that this happened.

I'm taking this straight from a Washington Times email: “An Army judge advocate general (JAG) temporarily banned Army and Marine Corps snipers from using a highly accurate open-tip bullet. The JAG, we are told, mistakenly thought the open-tip round was the same as hollow-point ammunition, which is banned. The original open-tip was known as Sierra MatchKing and broke all records for accuracy in the past 30 years. The difference between the open-tip and the hollow point is that the open tip is a design feature that improves accuracy while the hollow point is designed for increasing damage when it hits a target. About 10 days ago, the Army JAG in Iraq ordered all snipers to stop using the open-tip 175-grain M118LR bullet, claiming, falsely, it was prohibited. Instead of the open-tip, snipers were forced to take M-60 machine gun rounds out of belts and use them instead. The order upset quite a few people here and in Iraq who said the JAG ignored the basic principle of every military lawyer that there is a presumption of legality for all issued weapons or ammunition that are made at the military service level at the time they are acquired. "She forced snipers to use less accurate ammunition, thereby placing U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians at greater risk," a Pentagon official said of the JAG, who was not identified by name. "And she incorrectly issued an order. JAGs may advise a commander, but they cannot issue orders." After Army lawyers were finally alerted to the JAG's action, the order was lifted and the JAG was notified that the open tip was perfectly legal for use by snipers. However, the reversal was followed by the Army officials' taking retaliation against a sniper who blew the whistle on the bogus order. The sniper lost his job over a security infraction in reporting the JAG.”

Lesson learned here: Keep that damn lawyers out of the way of our soldiers on the battlefield. If something was mishandled, let them sort it out after that damn war is over. As for this JAG Legal Eagle that – illegally – issued orders, she needs to be fired. Just flat out fired. Discharged. 1. She put our men's lives in danger. 2. She acted outside of her scope of authority. The shear arrogance of her! Conduct unbecoming and Officer. She must have political ambitions.

Having a little fun: Last night before I started writing, I played a little game that I was given (thank you, John!) called “Need For Speed: Most Wanted”. It's a racing game. Not the most realistic of driving games, and not violent like Grand Theft Auto (a personal favorite, yeah, I know I'm going to hell) but fun nonetheless. The Porsche Cayman S... that is one cool sports car. If I could buy a sports car just for sunny Sunday driving around the mountains, it would be a Cayman. In the game it can go over 200 mph... I doubt the real thing could scoot that fast, but it would still be my car of choice. I'd park it next to my Caddy STS-V, and tell Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway to give it an extra coat of wax too. Since I'm dreaming... Hey, Salma Hayak, make me some dinner too. We all have our dreams.

Thursday, 1-19-06: PM: Okay, I'm just pissed. Water Heater dies and all the water just goes into overflow. The furnace is dead. (thank God we have the woodburning stoves!) The Washer is leaking all over the damn place, and the fridge is shot. I'm just having a dandy fucking day over here. Got a house and need a shitload of appliances now. The only thing that's working well evidently is the Dryer. So I can just expect that to go tits up tomorrow morning. Fuck me. How does this shit all happen at once? God hates me. Probably because of my comments about Mayor Nagin yesterday. Shit. Id be banging my head against a wall right now, but I'm too afraid that it would break too. And my religion prevents me from putting on a really good sloppy drunk right now when I could really use it. I'm going to play Limp Bizkit's (however you spell that retarded ass name) song called “Break Stuff” because I think that fits my mood like a glove.

AM: So now we have Osama Bin Laden saying he's willing to offer a cease fire. Not too long ago we nailed his upper level cohorts, and now Osama is saying, “Can't we all just get along?” Do you know what this means? It means flat out, undeniably, that The War On Terror is working.
Not only is it working so well that the Terrorists are wanting to call it all off; but it's working so well that even France is growing a set of balls now. Man, if even France is thinking it can kick your ass, that's pretty much a sign that its time for you to throw in the towel. Damn. This wasn't something I was expecting to hear when I woke up this morning.

This morning I woke up to 18 inches of snow on the roof of my car. Everything is deep in snow. Some places deeper then others of course, but 18” on my car. I hate snow. Icky stuff. What's even worse though is that my wife's van has absolutely zero handling in it. Her van pushes from the rear. And the van is so badly designed that instead of pushing forward, its easier to pull the ass end around the front. This means she spins out in the blink of an eye. So she's sitting at home now doing nothing when she was supposed to be in town teaching a dance class. She's pissed.

If you are running Microsoft Windows, read this. Interesting stuff. Now, what can you do about this? This. Speaking of Windows, we have a new tool that we are using over here. One that we like. You can download it. It's called “Crap Cleaner”. Get it and check it out... good stuff. It doesn't do anything special that you can't do manually, but it does it quickly and automatically. It's worth it.

Wed, 1-18-06: Mayor Nagin, of New Orleans, thinks God is mad at America, so he hits us with hurricanes. Then he says that he thinks God wants New Orleans to be rebuilt. Now let's think about that for a second. Let's say that God was pissed off and sent the storms, per Nagin's thesis. Let's look at which city God destroyed. Methinks perchance the Mayor doth protest too much. Nagin blames Bush for God's wrath, but for all the Government's wrong doing, the storms didn't flood out DC, did they? No, they flooded New Orleans. If God hit New Orleans, he did it for a reason that originated in New Orleans. When God wiped out Sodom and Gammora (sp) he didn't hit Egypt. I'm not judging New Orleans personally, but maybe the whole beads for boobies during mardi gras kind of got under His skin. I'm not one to speak for God like Nagin, but if Nagin thinks he can, he should get it right. Maybe I'm not Chocolate enough... what a racist ass.

The FBI wasted no time in rewriting history. Remember the Branch Davidians in Wacko? Remember when the FBI raided them, burnt the whole damn place to the ground in the process? Okay, maybe they didn't burn it down, but the end result was that lots of people died in an action that could have been carried out with not a single damn shot fired if the FBI just did some good old fashioned police work instead of acting like the 6^th branch of the Pentagon. MadOgre.com reader and Horde Member, Mr. Davis sends us the heads up:

“Revisionist History at the FBI: " February 28, 1993: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Agents raided a compound of the Branch Davidian cult, led by David Koresh. Known as the Mt. Carmel Church, the facility was located nine miles from Waco, Texas. The resulting confrontation resulted in the deaths of four ATF Agents and six Branch Davidians." uh, I seem to recall the body count was closer to 80 dead civilians... being off by an order of magnitude is NOT a typo, it is a travesty.” I seem to remember at least a dozen children died, maybe more like 20... Maybe the six are the only ones that they the FBI actually just shot. This is how the Democrats use authority. And let's not forget the armed entry to grab the little Cuban boy Elian. And George Bush is the bad guy. Sheesh. I've yet to see Ashcroft order armed raids on anyone. Maybe he has, but at least the results haven't become public history.

Emails about AR-15's and M-16's. This is a continual thing here at MadOgre.com. I suspect it will continue even after the M-16 rifle gets finally replaced in 2032.

First email (unedited) come from some git that thinks he knows his ass from a hole in the ground, but I doubt it.

“i have crawled through the mud not shooting at paper targets but killing people lots ,the only jam i ever had was using hollow points i also have on video me using 10 100 rnd beta c mags in about 10 minutes with no jam i dont like the charging handle either but oh well good luck with your ak way too metal sounding for me when it goes off u.s soldiers are trained to shoot at that metal sound good luck no hard feelings love all my m-16s and 15s”

Yeah, I can believe this guy. People, this is the cost of having a website. At least he was entertaining. Now our next email comes from our Hordeman in Nevada:

“Hey. In the first place, I doubted what you've had to say about the AR-15/M-16/M4 line. I've always liked them, because they're light and accurate as hell. Reliability, for me, was never a problem...Mostly because I kept the ones I was allowed to play with clean as a whistle. However, I got to play with my uncles Rock River M4 style carbine. The Rock River ones are supposedly amongst the better ones available, and I found it an absolute pleasure to shoot, and it nearly convinced me to get one of my own (Eventually, anyway. I don't have $1000 to shell out for another rifle.). It's literally light enough for me to fire one handed with some degree of pratcial accuracy (At least close enough to some one to get them to put their damn head down). I thought all of this until I actually began to roll around in the mud with it, do work prone, belly crawl, et cetera. The damn thing basically stopped working, and I spent an entire evening scrubbing fouling and red Georgia clay out from the inside. It literally quit firing with a relatively small amount of dirt in it; Something that's never happened to me with any firearm. Once I even dropped my surplus's Yugoslavian Mauser into the dirt/mud with the bolt open and got a crap load of dirt into the magazine, chamber, and barrel. I knocked the Mauser against a convenient tree until everything fell out of the barrel, and there was no noticeable difference in performance. I'd never knock a six pound $1000 AR-15 against a tree after fouling it up, and I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't help it function, anyway. I'll stick with my battle rifle. So, what I've been trying to get at is this: I think the M16 and its spawn are poorly suited to any military work where you're actually going to be crawling around or otherwise mistreating a rifle. However, I think its a good gun for various entry teams/SWAT person ell. I say this because the carbine forms, and even the full sized rifles, are light and compact, and they're instinctual and easy to shoot with. The .223/5.56mm bullet not going through walls is an advantage, here, and shot placement (Since most SWAT officers are literally shooting at targets across the room from them)and volume of fire more than negates the lack of power the .223/5.56mm round packs, while the excellent reliability when free from poor circumstances is a benefit, as modern AR's preform maricioucly when pampered, as SWAT or similar personnel have enough time to do. Stopping power is not as paramount as its made out, anyway if you have proper shot placement. Its hard to imagine some one surviving two to the heart and one to the head! - GunsOfNevada”

See, I told you so... Great email, Guns. Keep your powder dry. Okay, email number three today comes from a man behind a badge who has been there and done that, and dragged it back in cuffs kicking and screaming. A real door kicker, ass kicker, and name taker:

“I showed out SWAT commander the "why I hate the AR-15 article". He barley gave it a second look. Meanwhile, another officer who was a Vietnam Vet, ( he has since passed on God rest his soul ) thought it was the funniest thing he has seen since John Kerry's defeat. You are right, the AR-15 sucks....you should not have to surgically clean anything to keep it reliable. I have a G3 clone that will put an AR's dick in the dirt any day of the week. When we have SWAT training, all the guys w/ M4's have at leat one stoppage. That's police conditions nowhere nearly as bad a military combat. I laugh away and continue to shoot my MP5SD and chuckle............Keep it up. 1* John”

Now these last two are emails I love to get. John and Guns have both seen the light. John just took longer getting there. But if you use an AR and you are serious about weapons and safety... it's only a matter of time before you finally come to the realization that I am right. John, you stay safe out there, and keep up the good work. You watching your buddies backs is going to save lives someday because one of those AR-15 variants will fail in the clutch and you are going to be the one to pull his balls out of the fire. I continue to get emails daily from guys out there who real fighters, who have used these weapons in combat in unpleasant conditions. They almost universally dislike the M-16 series. Guys who only shoot on controlled range conditions, they seem to mostly think the weapon is just fine. Do you see the difference here? Combat and Range work are two different things. Very different things.

My new book, “Privateer” is coming along nicely. I'm already having a lot of fun writing it. I'm going to give this one my maximum effort. Once it's done, I'll post parts of it here in a separate section.

Friday:  1-13-06: I was up rather late last night... 3:30AM. I was rolling on my new story and lost track of time. It's coming along nicely already and I only started it last night at about 11:00PM. Privateer is of course involving fighting piracy (as in “arrgh”) in a modern setting. There might be swashbuckling. This will be my priority project as soon as I finish up my Kahr PM9 review.

Top Gear Magazine, UK's #1 car rag. Has a cat named Jeremy Clarkson writing for them: “One minute, I think the only way to deal with disaffected Muslim youths is to drop a bomb on them. The next I think the solution is to drop a bomb on America. - Jeremy Clarkson” Evidently he comes to the USA every so often to test drive new cars. Maybe we should revoke his privileges. There should be an Anti-Dickhead law. Truthfully, I think Mr. Clarkson has a bad case of Sour Grapes. Clarkson is a certified car nut. He likes going fast. But he lives in the UK, a country over run with rabid socialists that insist that they know what is better for you than you do. The Big Brother over there is installing a system to monitor every car in Britain at all times so that They know exactly where you parked, where you are going, and how long it is taking you to get there. And of course, if you get there too quickly, there will be a bill sent to you by post. He can't own a gun, let alone carry it with him if he has to go into a seedy part of town... where the UK's fantasy of Gun Control is making British Gangs relatively speaking better armed than the Royal Marines. Of course, if they decide to save ammo on you they will just beat you down with cricket bats for the entertainment of others. Heaven forbid they track the gangs like they do their cars over there. No, the UK is not all that bad. They have better sitcoms and a simplified tax system, they gave birth to America, Monty Python, and fried fish and potatoes. I'll give them credit for the Beatles, but I'm an Elvis guy. I suspect, in his hear, so is Jeremy.

Thurs: 1-12-06: Damn Damn Damn Damn! Damn Squared! You guys know I'm not just a blogger and gun reviewer, I'm a writer... I've been working on some books that one day I hope to sell. Well, these books have been stored on a 40 gig hard drive in my Linux box. Since I'm not foolish, I also have copies stored on my other computer. So if one goes down, I've got them on the other machine. Actually, each machine has two hard drives and copies are stored on each. One story I've been working on, I've not transferred it to the other system. The other day my SUSE crashed, hard. Had to reformat and reinstall. Well, after I did that, I discovered that my secondary hard drive had died. Where the most recent work was stored. This basically lost 75% of the story I had been working on. FREAK! Well, I'm done with that story. I can't rewrite the whole thing again. Let this be a lesson – Back Up Frequently. Just like gamer's #1 rule: “Save Frequently”. That is so true. My other stuff is okay. I got lax and didn't do my duty. Lesson learned. The hard way. Also “don't keep your eggs all in a basket made with old used hardware.”

The upshot to this, I'm now able to start working on the story I've been wanting to write for some time. Temporary working title is “Privateers”. It involves boats and guns. Lots of guns. That's all I'm going to say about it.

Email server being switched today... forgive any dropped communications today and tomorrow. Everything should be cool shortly. Oh, hey... Already on the new server. Fusion Networks = Chuck Norris. Now the DNS change will take a bit of time, so if I don't get back to you promptly, you know why.

The Ninnies, and Heath Ledger, are pissed that Brokeback Mountain was dropped at a theater here in Utah. They claim it is bigotry. Uh, sorry... this is Utah. No one was going to see that film. A theater is a business and that movie wasn't brining in the bucks, so they spooled up a different movie to bring in more ticket sales. Sorry, but the Good, Bad, and the Fabulous isn't really all that great of a movie. I don't care what editorials are out there saying why you should go see it. How come they never wrote a New York Times editorial about why you should go see Narnia? There is about a 3% gay population in Utah (and that's about the number nationwide) and that isn't enough to prop up a whole movie effort. I don't remember “Priscilla of the Desert” or “So Long Wong Foo” being all that big of a hit in the theaters either. “Bird Cage” was good because it was seriously funny. Now I'm not sure how you can actually have something “seriously funny”, but Bird Cage did make me laugh out loud. We've got cowboys all around this place. Some of them are gay here too. Unless these guys are cracking jokes or shooting cool guns or something interesting – I don't care to see any movie about them. Just because you are gay and make a movie doesn't mean we have to go see it to prove we don't hate you. It might just be because your movie sucks. Make a movie that rocks, and we'll watch it. Pretty much that is the rule of thumb about any movie. Star Trek Nemesis didn't last long in the theater either.

Wed: 1-11-06: Yesterday I listened to NPR, which was broadcasting the hearings for Judge Alito. I'm not sure who the congress person was that was questioning the honorable justice, but I do know one thing for sure... I think it was Chuck Schumer, but the man was an asshole. Major asshole. Just like Chuck. The more I listened, the more I got the impression that he didn't know a damn thing about the Constitution of the United States of America. This saddened me somewhat, but angered me more. This moronic politician grilling a man that has spent most of his lifetime studying the law... the process is insane. This fool badgered Alito relentlessly over the Abortion Issue, trying everything he could to force Alito into making a political decision rather than a judicial one, which is his job. Judges are not politicians and they should not be forced into political ones. A Supreme Court Judge has only one thing to do, interpret the bloody constitution. That's it. That is the whole reason for their being. If they can't do that very simple thing, then they should be removed and flogged. Too many justices have been allowed to be political boat anchors for a failing party. This is an intolerable situation. Alito fenced well with The Asshole, who's only retort was “I'm deeply disturbed.” I'm not sure how many times he said that, but I wish I had a buck for each time, I could order some Dominoes Pizza for lunch. I don't listen to NPR all that often, but when I do, there is usually something interesting there if you know how to listen past what the Liberals are saying to what the real truth of the matter is. Alito has done a great job so far, so I've got to give him credit. I would have thrown a chair at Chuck inside of 5 minutes. Of course, I'd have done that anyway even if Chuck didn't even say a word. I am after all, a man of principles.

Reports are still coming in regarding the S&W M&P pistol. Most everyone is saying that these new handguns are very good indeed, with the repeated phrase “S&W got it right.” This would indeed be good news... but I can't believe it at face value because the gun still has a polymer frame. Sorry guys, I can take a decent pistol with a polymer frame as “right” but only on a case by case basis... such blanket statements like what I am hearing about the new M&P should only be reserved for handguns with solid metal frames of some sort. That is “right”. Anything else is “Well, it might be good enough”. As I said before, I shall keep an open mind about this gun, but I've got to see this for myself. S&W as a history with automatics that have all fallen short in my opinion. The Generation III automatics have the ergonomics of filing cabinets, while the SIGMA series is a cheap Glock knock-off that reminds me of the 1.99 Spyderco Delica knock offs that you can buy by the bulk besides any gas station cash register. I'm not a fan of S&W autos. Admittedly, if you can get past the Gen III auto's ergonomics, you find that they really are outstanding handguns. Smooth rails and triggers, good sights, good accuracy and excellent reliability... they are just about everything you could want in a pistol. If only they fit your hand. If you have a hand that does fit it, you would be hard pressed to find a better gun. You would also be hard pressed to find a pair of gloves that fit your meat slabs hands too, but that's your problem. If S&W could combine the Gen III's good qualities with the Sigma's decent ergos, then Smith would be on to something. Evidently, if these reports are to be believed, Smith & Wesson may have discovered this all on their own.

Guns & Ammo magazine has got to be the fluffiest rag ever made. Everything that comes around the corner is a remarkable achievement and deserving of everyone to rush out and buy one, if not two. It seems to me that the only concern for submitting articles to them, is that whatever you do, you do not even come close to potentially irritating any potential advertiser. Don't say anything is bad, only highlight the good points, and don't say any one product is better than any other product. While at this, be careful to not actually have any opinions one way or another about anything unless you are Jeff Cooper and in that case, the editors will pick and choose what opinions will be printed. As long as you can follow those guidelines, you are good to go to write whatever you want. Even idiotic statements like “The 1911 Government Model... This is my favorite auto pistol of all time, but let's face it, it really hasn't had all that much influence on too many other military firearms.” WTF? You've got to be kidding me. Garry James just might be biggest snail skulled mouth breather that gets printed. (Next to Chuck Taylor of course) The Government Model is the one handgun that has shaken the whole Earth more than even the S&W Number 3, or the Colt Navy. After all, those guns haven't seen almost continual military service for almost a hundred years like the 1911 has. There is a reason for that, and a damn good one. Garry James relagates the 1911 to a mere “Honorable Mention”? I could just... hold on, I'm going to... vomit. Yes, there we go, I just puked into this issue of Guns and Ammo with nothing else to do but to toss the magazine into the wood burning stove now. Thank you Garry James. The guy that says the 1911 is unworthy of historical mention but the Browning Pro-9 is the second coming of Jeebus, while making not a single mention that it is a rebadged FN FNP 9. (Which I'll be reviewing soon enough) Along with the 1911 in mere “Honorable Mention” status is the Glock 17 and the Broom Handle Mauser... Feh... the Broom Handle was the first viable automatic handgun ever to see any decent production, and you can still buy them (and shoot them) today... yet they are not worthy? Are you kidding me? No, uh huh... I'm not even picking up another issue of Guns & Ammo – ever. It has to be the most useless magazine on the news stand. More useless than GQ, Comfortable Living, or Mime Expressions. (Yes, I remember seeing a real magazine called Mime Expressions which was a whole full colored magazine dedicated for those that are Mimes. I'm not kidding. Yes, I think it was from France. I wonder if it talked about how Mimes are always getting caught in glass boxes... I don't know. I didn't pick it up. Part of me wanted to, the same part that wants to see a fountain of blood in any traffic accident that makes me slow down to below 40mph on the freeway)

You really gotta feel sorry for poor Mr Penn. He's having a tough time quitting smoking because of President Bush. (Fifth paragraph from the bottom) Of course it is Bush's fault. He's The President, which is a position right between Jesus and God. Wait, maybe that's not true. Maybe the truth might be more like Mr. Penn is a very weak individual with no spine of his own, and a very tiny penis.

Having a tough time connecting to MadOgre.com the last few days. I'm pretty sure this is a local issue here. Might be this computer. Windows XP Pro 64 Bit Edition... I hate it. I hate it more than finding legacy drivers for an orphaned Win 98 machine. It looks like XP. It feels like XP, but it isn't XP. It's Server 2003. Which means most of my tools I use for fixing XP and securing XP, don't work... because it's not really XP. Yet because it is still Windows, it is vulnerable and insecure and all the old suspects are free to roam and party in this box... because you can't effectively unfuck XP Pro 64. As soon as I get a decent copy of Vista Beta, I'm reformatting. Not that I'm expecting Vista to be any better, but at least I'll be getting to know what is really under the hood of the OS that is going to be screwing everyone up. XP64 is actually so bad, that even Microsoft just said “Ah screw it” and dropped it like a flaming bag of doggie poo.

Tuesday: 1-10-06:  At work we have a small collection of episodes of Mythbusters. Uh, Kari Byron is achingly hot, and I'd watch whatever show she's on... that's all I'm sayin. The show is pretty cool... makes me miss my Dish Network. But what is the coolest about this, is that they are using (loosly) science. When you have a kid that doesn't like Science, you can show them Mythbusters, and all the sudden they want to be Scientists and Mythbusters when they grow up. I do too. :)

Dodge Challenger: Dodge has just answered the prayers of many old school hotrodders. The Challenger. Let's pray this makes it to production. This car is gorgeous. If it hits production with a power train similar to the new Charger, it will be a smash hit. But being a Challenger, it has to do a bit more than the Charger.

As if the new Dodge isn't enough to make MotorHeads like us drool all over the place, Chevy goes and makes the situation all the worse... They are bringing back the Camaro with suitable retro styling. This car... well... as far as old school rods go, the '68-69 Camaro was my favorite. Always has been. I've always wanted one, in black, rebuilt with a modern engine and suspension. That's been my dream. Always has been. Chevy has cast that dream in iron.

Now, the only question is this... come 2008 when these cars hit the showroom, which one? Damn. I think my head would just explode. Challenger, Camaro, or of course, a new Mustang? Hotrodders have been blessed. Break out the black Tshirts, ZZ Top CD's, and sunglasses.

Another reason to be cheerful today: As bad as the M-16/AR-15 rifle is, at least it is not an SA80. I'm posting this message from the UK to keep everything in perspective:

“You think that the M16 is bad? You should be grateful that US troops are not afflicted with the SA80, like their British colleagues. British soldiers aspire to be issued with M16s! Or, indeed, any weapon that will actually go bang on demand. I have used this shoddy rifle myself over several years and I can honestly say that it is, without a shadow of doubt, the most systematically inadequate weapon ever issued to any military force. The SA80’s lack of export success speaks volumes about its utter worthlessness. No Army with any choice in the matter has ever decided to use it. Even the Falkland Islands Defence Force  - that’s about 200 ancient shepherds living on a rock in mid Atlantic - refused it, despite the obvious advantages of uniformity with the British garrison. Leaving aside the “joke” calibre – 5.56mm, a round so weak as to be illegal for shooting even muntjac in the UK – I can identify the following key criticisms:

Rifle:

·         Safety system is inadequate, blocking only the trigger, not hammer or firing pin

·         Trigger pull is heavy and gritty, due to transfer bar mechanism

·         Plastic furniture melts in contact with common chemicals, eg: issue insect repellent

·         Cover for gas parts comes loose in normal usage

·         Finish on metal parts rubs off easily, exposing metal beneath to rust

·         Design lets in sand, dust and other material

·         Weapon only works when saturated in oil – which attracts the aforementioned dirt

·         Due to need to keep weapon oily, it won’t work in wet weather, which washes the oil away

·         It is possible to assemble the weapon incorrectly, disabling it until fixed by a gunsmith

·         Many small, easily lost parts

·         Plastic parts are fragile

·         Cocking handle comes off in normal use, disabling the weapon

·         Metal parts so thin and soft that weapon can be bent by light hand pressure

·         Don’t even think about using weapon as a club in close combat

·         Rifle version is least unreliable when firing semi-auto – troops prefer to use this version on full auto, but even this is “iffy”

·         LMG version splits its groups when firing full auto – troops prefer to use this version on “semi”

·         Sharp points and sharp edges all over

·         Chronic double-feed problems

·         Etc, etc, etc

Cleaning kit:

·         Oil bottle cap splits, spilling oil

·         Oil bottle too small

·         3 piece cleaning rod too short to pass down barrel

·         3 piece cleaning rod not plastic covered

·         Wire brushes shed bristles after even the smallest use

Bayonet

·         Long tip breaks off easily, in hard use, eg: when sticking it in someone’s intestines

·         Saw blade design would not cut butter

·         Soft blade material is impossible to keep sharp…

·         …but that’s OK, because the issue whetstone is useless anyway

For some reason, even the cleaning kit is useless, an inexcusable problem, when any gunsmith’s shop in the country could provide a more suitable alternative. The current Mark II version of the SA80, created by H&K by retrofitting Mark I’s, is supposedly much improved, but only in the sense that Ringo Starr was a marginally better drummer than Pete Best. You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Even more annoying is that this weapon has been on issue for the last 20 years – all of the problems with it are widely known, both in military circles and in the general media – and yet nothing has been done to fix it. Indeed, the Government refuses to recognise any criticisms since this would, by implication, mean a commitment to a replacement weapon. It has, at least begun to issue the FN Minimi as a supplement to the dire LMG version of the SA80. On the plus side, the weapon does have some positive aspects, though these scarcely make up for unreliable operation.

Positive points:

·         Compact, bullpup design, ideal for mechanised and urban warfare

·         Heavy barrel

·         Easy to shoot to a reasonable standard

·         Strong steel magazines, superior to US-made ones

·         Clever sling

·         Simple, effective telescopic sight, at least on some rifles

So, once more, the Toms are forced so carry on as best they can with a weapon that is plainly inadequate for the job in hand; problems with the SA80 are just one part of a wider problem with inadequate, outdated and scarce kit in the British forces. If your brothers, just back from Iraq, noticed the envious glances from the British troops stationed down the road, you now know why. British troops, short of just about everything they need to fight the war, feel like paupers compared with the well-equipped, well-armed Gis.

I have just read a report from the House Of Commons Public Accounts Committee, a Parliamentary body which has been looking into defence procurement. It’s investigation has revealed that, in the most recent invasion of Iraq, British troops not only lacked body armour and NBC equipment, they also lacked ammunition (!) Apparently, evidence from Army officers shows that frontline units were reduced to appropriating weapons and ammo from surrendering Iraqi troops due to chronic shortages of ammo, spares and even lubricating oil.

City of Durham MP Gerry Steinberg told Ministry Of Defence officials: "I find your attitude not only arrogant but complacent as well. I think soldiers may have died because of the failures of your department…If I was a soldier being led by some of the hierarchy I see at this table, I would be bloody worried, to be quite honest."

Worse still, chronic shortages continued to cost lives, even after the invasion. In late June 2003, well after the fall of Saddam, six British military police were killed in Majar Al Kabir, by a largely unarmed crowd, since the number of rifle rounds issues to each proved to be inadequate to hold them off – they had just 20 rounds per man. Plainly, nothing has been learned since the Battle of Isandlwana, where exactly the same thing happened. That was back in 1879. Thank God your brothers serve in an Army that sees fit to equip them properly to fight the foe. Grrrrrr… James Living in the UK, and not very happy about it”

Ouch, that's a serious smackdown of the situation in the UK... Thanks for the emails, James. You make some very good observations that need to be more widely known for the sakes of our friends serving in the UK's armed forces. The SA80 is known amongst the shooting community here in the US as a unreliable rifle, but accurate. I would trade accuracy for reliability any day, hence my prefrence for the AK series over the AR. So what we have here really, is two of the greatest nations on the planet (Italy, I'm not leaving you out. Norway, you too!) with two of the worst rifles ever fielded. Historians have always remarked that we have always had the best weapons which is what let us become two of the greatest nations... The UK was first, then the US after our little spat, and since then we have dominated world history with brief failed attempts by German to change that.

While we are talking up the gun subject, we just got word from Larry at FBMG that they are about to receive their shipment of Saiga shotguns. These are the most brutal sonsofbitches every created. You take the politically incorrect and utterly reliable AK-47 action, beef it up and chamber it to feed and fire 12 gauge shotgun rounds and feed them out of modified AK type magazines, letting you reload your 7 rounds of buckshot brutality in about 2 seconds. Now THAT is a weapon system worthy of anyone of The Horde. These guns are the shizznit. If you want to cause any Liberal to go into a full cardiac arrest, show them your little Saiga shotgun. They will freak out and you will never have to talk to them ever again. And yes, they are perfectly legal... but check your local laws of course. These are pure badass. We've talked about bad ass rifles over the last couple of days... these Saigas trump that. Yes, they can fire (insert evil laughter here) slugs too. Modified Saigas that I've seen sport regular AK-47 stocks and look great. I'd like one with regular wood stocks, or maybe some green synthetics. I don't think there is anything on the planet that could stand up to a Saiga. Not even Bigfoot. They make crazy sweet shotguns for 3 Gun competition too. Call FBMG and line up one for your arsenal ASAP. Unlike other guns that you may just want... you need a Saiga.  Speaking of the Saigas, I want one too.  I've got some guns on consignment there, and if you guys would just buy them, then I could get my Saiga!

Monday: 1-9-6:  EMAILS ABOUT THE AR-15: You know any time this subject comes up, Its going to round up opinions. Last post about it, you got it, fresh opinions surfaced. However unlike the usual crop of opinions, this time around we actually got a lot of good solid opinions based on reality and logic.

EMAIL 1: “Hello Ogre. I would like to add my .02 and I hope it's better than most change you've gotten. Yep, there's been much debate over the M16/M4. Reliability wise I cant argue because I've never been through hard pressed combat nor have I dragged it though mud. I was however in GW1 with the 24ID. After 16hrs of convoying we finally stopped and I checked my weapon. It was FULL of grit and sand. I pulled the charging handle and you wouldn't believe the sound it made, but it hand cycled w/o much effort and I believe it would have functioned properly. If I'd gone another 16hrs w/o cleaning I may have been in trouble. For a FAL or HK I think I would have had the same concerns. There's no doubt you have to keep the M16/M4 clean, but that's a given fact with any weapon or tool. Except the AK of course, then again that weapon's designed for villagers who need to be told not to crap in the water supply (I love that depiction). Multiple shots to stop an enemy is the fault of our military's choice of ammo. Unfortunately the average soldier isn't in the “know” about ammunition, or cares for that matter so he uses what's issued. For the longest time we've issued 62gn green tip but I think the old 55gn would be a better choice. From the stories I've read 62gn leaves neat little ice pick holes. The 55gr is prone to break up causing more damage, and no I'm not talking about that old “designed to wound” scuttlebutt. Last year Blackwater promo'd a better designed, heavier round that turned targets (dense meat, ballistic gel, etc..) into hamburger in comparison to typical ammo. At longer range a better designed and heavier round will do the job a 62 or 55gn will not. Still, at 150yds or less I'd feel more comfortable using the 55gn over 62gn. There's lots of one-shot-stop LEO stories about 55gn, TAP and other specialty ammo that didn't hit vitals, but rather near vitals that 62gn would have been more forgiving. A Sgt. working guard duty in Iraq used a scoped M4 and various ammo on wild dogs. He did this for several weeks and reported his findings on ARFcom. He said the 55gn performed very well. The 62gn sometimes needed several follow up shots or caused him to have to track the animal down, whereas 55gn was far more successful. Granted dogs are smaller than humans but the outcome reveal performance drawbacks to 62gn ammo. We need to go back to 55gn or issue a heavier and better designed slug, or sliver, which ever you prefer to call it. :) Compared to a .308 battle rifle I prefer the M4 for compactness, ergonomics, user friendliness, better designed iron sights and unlimited platform potential. I've owned a FAL, an HK clone and several AK's. NONE came close to the positive points of the M4. For those reasons I'll gladly accept direct gas impingement and rotary lugs. Some hate the M9 because of caliber and earlier design issues. I chose a 92FS because it fits my hand like no other handgun and the sights line up every time. Slide controls or not I like it! It's almost like point and click and the M-4 does the same for me. I've built several rifles with Olympic and Bushmaster parts, but IMHO nothing has come close to the Colt quality I've experienced. EVERY Bushmaster barrel I've gotten had a canted front sight base. Sometimes canted so bad the rear sight didn't have enough threads to adjust windage. Don't get me started on Olympic. Their rifles are great if you want to bench shoot or don't care about military specs(materials, tolerances or QC). I bought a Colt 6400 and I've never been happier with an M4 clone. QC and spec wise it's the closest to what we get in the military. Mine's rigged with just the basics. An Aimpoint with back up iron sights and a surefire light. Thats all I need for self defense. I've pimped out my rifles with a rails, vertical grips and other various stuff but I wound up back to the basics. If I go to Iraq (I'm an MP with the reserves) I'll try to rig up the same way and smuggle in some 55gn ammo. With that setup I'd feel right at home. I think the issues you call attention to can be overcome by the operator, new technology and ammo choice. Our solders are in a better spot now to add their own tweaks and adjustments. I've seen plenty of bushmaster uppers on Gov lowers, after market butt stocks, scopes other than Trijicon/Aimpoint and many other pieces-n-parts. Here's a final point I'll leave you with: A lot of contractors will use the AK47 and others, but you'll see a majority of them using the AR15 platform. To me that speaks volumes because they have the choice whereas our soldiers don't. Now I know you hate the damn thing and I'm not trying to get unspokenly labeled as “Rabble Rouser.” However I think you're arguments are little behind the times and nullified by technology and knowledgeable users, which are becoming more prominent in our ranks. I invite you to put down the Haterade and give props to how far this rifle has come through for our troops and contractors. Overall the M16/M4 platform is evolving and getting better all the time. Maybe that says the base M16/M4 sucks and needs improvements. Then again it may be saying there's nothing wrong with improving on perfection. Sincerely and most humbly, Boom Stick”

You make some good points, Boomer... You are right about it coming a long way. It has. The current weapon is vastly superior to the original. But there are 3 points where it fails in my book:

1. Caliber. Versions I've played with in .300 Whisper, a conversion requiring only a barrel change, are much more suitable for just about all infantry combat, and especially with the Army's tendency to try to make everything as "Special Operations Capable". A quick attach suppressor and the weapon is perfectly “stealthified”.

2. Gas System. I want an operating rod. Versions with op-rods are not much heavier than those without... this isn't too much to ask for and even the US Army its self admits that the op-rod would be a huge improvement. This was a major selling point of the XM-8.

3. No fixed ejector. The plunger type ejector can cause the worst jams in the field under poor conditions... there is no reason to use it. A fixed ejector is simple, sturdy and isn't a potential failure point. Using the plunger type is illogical.

Everything else in the AR-15/M-16/M-4 weapon system is just fine, if not better than anything else out there. Fix these things, call it the M-16A5, and I'd be all over it.  I wont push for wood stocks.

EMAIL 2: “I've read enough articles on this subject from a variety of sources, both military and non, to conclude that a Korea-era M14 would be a better bet than an M16/M4 that just came off the factory line last week. I've also read mixed reports from 'Nam veterans about the M16A1s they were issued. Way most of them told it, the things either operated flawlessly (even though they were still .223s) or they turned out to be more of a pain in the ass than a help. There we've got what I like to call the Mixed Bag Syndrome, where results tend to vary, but the majority of the weapons seem to trend either the really good or really bad end of the spectrum. With the XM8 canceled, I cringe to think how many more years our guys are going to be stuck with these (more often than not) pieces of crap. Oh, and a side note; way back when we were gearing up for Afghanistan some news channel did a report on the Taliban and their "outdated" weaponry. I can't really remember much from it, but a few images that did stick in my mind were those of the man-portable stingers (Soviet-era), and AKMs (it would appear that those and Chinese copies of them comprise the bulk of the insurgent's small arms arsenal, not actual AK47s). Yeah, outdated only because they're older models and still use wooden buttstocks/handguards. Never mind the fact that 7.62x39mm has more stopping power than 5.56x45mm could ever hope to have, lets pretend that the M4A1 SOPMOD Tactical Assault Carbine is superior because it looks more deadly and has picatinny mounts on both the ironsight mount and all four sides of the handguard for all kinds of scopes, visual reflexes, flashlights, lasers, etc. I guess the reasoning behind all this addon potential is that it will make up for all the M16/M4's shortcomings in the face of guns like the AKM and G3, but to me it'll forever be an overhyped and overcomplicated varmint gun with an appearance that suggests otherwise. See ya, Justin”

Well, you know, guns don't kill people. Picatinny Rails kill people.

EMAIL 3: “As far as your article on the M16 is concerned I am completely with you. I used to own a Colt Sporter Lightweight who jammed on me a few times, the day before I sold it upon extraction one spent case managed to fit in the cocking lever groove. That was the end of a Love story that never started. I enjoy a lot your internet site… I will be back CMSgt “Desperado” Italian Air Force”

Good to hear from our allies in Italy. 

I'm getting sick and tired of the Democrats and other Liberals crying about Bush's wiretapping. Just what the hell do they think the NSA is for? Just what do they think the NSA is supposed to be doing? The NSA monitors communications of potential enemies of the USA. That's what they do. That's pretty much all they do. Terrorists are, and I might be going out on a limb here, enemies of the state. They want to talk about Domestic Spying? Let's take a look at Hillary Clinton. The Clintons used the FBI to do just this. Not only that, but she was busted, red handed with missing FBI files, files about American Citizens! Just what the hell was that about? Where is the outcry about Hillary? She was illegally using FBI resources to spy on political rivals and anyone else she needed to know how to keep quite.

Saturday, 1-7-6: Bad Ass Rifle? Here are two examples of some of the emails I've been getting since yesterday. I'm posting them unedited.

Email 1: “Ogre, I have ws in Iraq and Afghanistan where the m-4 rifle...properly maintained works like the bad-ass rifle it was always intended to be. I have personnelly used it in combat and it has saved my butt a number of times; However, I agree with you 100 percent about the AR-15 and earlier versions of the M-16. I have also used the AK-47...it was a nice weapon to have as a back-up and preformed flawlessly even after the rifle was found in a ditch by a canal. Thanks for the informative article and you are right on...if people like the rifle so much join the military. Michael Shropshire”

Email 2: “You sound like a clown who's never had to lug around all the OTHER crap a fighter has to carry.  Get a clue, dude, the troops MISS with 50,000 rds for every kill that they get with the rifle. So how is having them carry HALF as much ammo around going to help, hmm? Keith”

Okay, the first email, the guy disagrees with me, but then agrees with me. I don't get that. I'm also at a loss as to how you can shorten the barrel of a rifle and all the sudden people think that it is a completely different weapon. Yes, I know they shorten the hand guards as well and that makes it look different. Maybe that fools people like an optical illusion or some thing. The M-4 has all the faults of it's bigger brother. They are built using all the same parts save for the barrel and handguards. They fire the same ammunition as well. So if no one calls the M-16 a Bad Ass Rifle, I don't see how you can call the M-4 anything like that. Guns on an average loose about 50 feet per second velocity for every inch you shorten the barrel. M-16's have a standard 24 inch barrel. The M-4 has a 14. That's 10 inches less barrel. This is a huge loss of velocity. I don't have a chronograph and a pair of rifles to test, but I bet we can at least assume that there is a good chunk of velocity lost with the M-4. The M-16 is said by everyone who knows rifles, to be “anemic”. Meaning that it is weak, tired, fatigued. So if you take that round, remove a chunk of velocity, then what do you have? A Bad-Ass Rifle? It's more of a Pee-Wee Herman than Mr. T. Most of the guys who I've talked to, who have used the M-4 in combat, have all fired long bursts into their targets before the targets go down. The M-4 needs to make multiple hits, and because it fires a round with little recoil and it feeds off a 30 round magazine, this is easier to do than with other rifles. As a Room Broom, the M-4 does a pretty good job if you keep it clean. My thesis however is that in spite of the M-16's/M-4's capabilities, it is unsuitable for combat duty. The weapon system remains too fragile and too sensitive and it still fires a round that is too weak. Reports continually come in from the battle field of troopers nailing their target center of mass, and the target continues doing whatever it was it was doing before it got hit. These reports came out of Mogadishu, Somalia. Out of Afghanistan. Out of Fallujah and other places in Iraq that has seen heavy fighting. As far as the second email is concerned... Keith Crump has no idea what he is talking about. This is an example of what happens when people who’ve never served think they can Armchair General the military. Most rounds fired that add up to such statistics as his quoted “50,000 rounds per kill” are fired from machineguns which do something called “Suppressive Fire”. Riflemen do that as well, but mainly its the machineguns that do that. Suppressive Fire is putting out a large volume of firepower that forces the enemy to keep their heads down. Suppression denies the enemy movement or response and allows the riflemen to maneuver, close with, and destroy the enemy. You pretty much have to have served in an Infantry Platoon to really get a good grasp of this and how it works. I did the infantry thing. Light Infantry. Meaning I hiked my ass off with a heavy ruck sack, weapon in hand. Most of the time out in the field that weapon was either a CAR-15 (the precursor to the fabled M-4) or it was an M-60 machine gun. I could tell you some horror stories about blisters on the feet, about starting a patrol at sunset and watching the sunrise while still on patrol... all the while packing that heavy rucksack and my load of weapons and ammo. And let me tell you, every time, my preference was to carry the M-60. The “Hog”. Because The Hog was a serious weapon that I knew could stop the badguys... something that remains in question to this day about the M-16. I think the M-4/M-16 is a fine enough rifle for urban work and for Police work... but it should be replaced. We've been using it since Nam... We are overdue for a change. Anyways, Lots of emails lately about my Why I love the M-16 article... Must be making the rounds through a forum again. Which one now, I wonder. Probably a Counter Strike forum.

Speaking of the M-60, the newest version, the E4 is it... the M-60 has never had it so good. Reliability is through the roof, while still firing a full caliber rifle cartridge. The E4 has been slicked up, chopped down, and tuned into a fantastic weapon system. I wish I had been packing an E4. The 60's I carried had most likely served in Vietnam along with all the NCO's I served with. I've got a video clip of one rolling through 800 rounds nonstop. That is freaking awesome.

Friday, 1-6-6:  Does any of The Horde other than myself ever read a magazine called “Automobile”? There is a section of the rag called “By Design” where a gent named Robert Cumberford examines the artistic lines and elements of select vehicles. I always enjoy reading his page because he always points out the same elements that catch my eye. However, the other day I was reading through an older issue of Automobile and came to By Design, and this is where myself and Robert Cumberford will have to agree to disagree. The subject of conversation was the Hummer H3. While we both like the H3, we do so for different reasons. First off, RC calls the original Hummer, the civilian version of the HUMVEE, “a fairly inept military vehicle”. What the hell? Wait a second. The HUMVEE is NOT an inept military vehicle. It is... in a word... “fucking awesome”. Lets consider for a moment that this rig was nothing more than the next generation GI Jeep. The same Jeep that American GI's rolled with in World War II, with little changed until the HUMVEE came out. The HUMVEE rolled through Desert Storm, and is still rolling around Baghdad today facing all threats including RPG's and IED's made from artillery shells. The HUMVEE isn't even close to inept. The problem with the HUMVEE is that it is a victim of its own success. It is so badass that people think it is more than what it is... people think that the HUMVEE is almost a tank, that it is an APC. Guys, please... it's a pickup truck. Its essentially nothing more than a regular old pickup truck. A glorified Ford F-150. The HUMVEE is a very capable rig, when it comes to mission flexibility and off road capability, the HUMVEE can not be beaten. Not while doing everything it does. The HUMVEE is sold around the world. Where it is not sold, like China and Japan, the HUMVEE is copied. Now, take a look at the H3. The H3 is pretty awesome in its own right, everything about it save for the engine. The engine could be a bit more girthy. I'd like to see it with a rip-snorting V-8. But otherwise the H3 is one righteous earth shredder. RC only sees it as a macho curb hopper. But you can't really hold it against him. He only knows smooth type street cars. The kind that slides like quick silver across oiled glass. He isnt the type to appreciate the subtleties of such luxuries as ground clearance and low end torque and locking differentials. Perhaps if he lived further than 10 minutes away from a Starbucks he might start to see that the world is not paved for valet parking and such things as capable military vehicles actually have a real purpose.

I heard on the radio that Google is well over 400 bucks a share now. That is crazy. This sparked a brief conversation here at work about which stocks are good ones to buy. Targeting certain stocks for their profitability is of course wise investing. But why not buy stocks that also reflect who you are? Should I get back into the investing game, I would do it a little differently. I would first off buy as much of GM as I could. 20.49 a share right now, but the trend is already starting to climb and GM has no where to go but up. Ferrari would be a cool stock to own. I'm into guns too, of course, so I'd have to look at the different gun companies and others in the shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry. Many are publicly traded companies. If I support an industry politically, why not financially as well? And profit from it? Sure, the returns are probably not as steep as buying MS right now (buy it before Vista goes public) but you can feel a lot better about yourself.

Thursday, 1-5-06: Whistle Blower: If you work at the NSA and something your working on is classified, and you don't like it so you take it to the New York Times... That is not Whistle Blowing. That's called a breach of security. That's called a Felony. I'm sure the New York Times is fuzzy on this issue, but one thing is for sure, this guy deserves a lesson in Whistle Blowing, and hopefully he will get the harsh lesson in prison where he will get the change to blow a lot of whistles.

Smith & Wesson: They made huge strides in the realm of professional arms when it first came out with the Military and Police revolver so many years ago. S&W has resurrected the name, like they did with the “Chief's Special”. The original Chief's Special was a slick little snubbie, while the new one was a relatively slick little automatic. The new M&P is an automatic, but so far I'm not thinking it is all that slick. Seems to me they watched Ruger take their tepid automatics, redoing the ergos and calling it the P345 which has been well received by the shooting public. S&W's own SIGMA series has been less than tepid... more like flaccid. It was a poor knock off of the Glock and has never been popular save to make fun of. The new M&P looks to me like a SIGMA that has been warmed over with a new mold for the plastic frame. At least it looks that way to me. Reports are coming in that this time around the new SIGMA, I mean M&P, actually has a decent trigger. I'll take that at face value. You can give a Jennings a decent trigger too, but that wont make it a good gun. As much as I disliked all Ruger automatics, I found that I liked the P345. I shall keep the same open mind when it comes to the new Smith.

France: I guess their only problem is that they didn't know who to surrender to. Nice isn't so nice anymore.

This is a good plan... yeah, we wont build any walls now. They just want to pick berries, right? If President Fox wants to build bridges of understanding and open the borders, then he needs to make sure crap like this doesn't happen. Ever. Then he needs to make sure that his borders are secure the rest of the way around his country. Then he needs to apply for US Statehood. Then we can have an open border like between states in the USA. If that is what he wants, then fine. But letting his people shoot at ours... that's only the way to start a war. US Border Patrol agents have said that they have never seen Mexican Border Patrol agents. That says something right there.

Wed, 1-4-06: The situation with the Coal Miners. If the US wants to roll with cars running on Hydrogen, we are going to see more stories like this. America's #1 power source is Coal. Most of the USA's power generation uses coal. They burn the coal to create steam which in turn spins the turbines used to spin the generators. This power is required to generate the hydrogen. Moving all cars to hydrogen would more than double the drain on the power grid, thus placing further demand from the coal mines for more and more coal. My heart goes out to the families of those that died in this mess... but gear up for even more stories like this in the future. And of course burning all this coal produces all the more pollution. Even more so than if we just stuck with petroleum burning cars like we have now. Before the Libs start with the watery eyes thing about energy, I'd like to see them hold their own so called Leaders in the government responsible for what they drive. I'd tired of seeing Liberal Democrats cry about energy consumption while riding in Stretch Limos and Ford Expeditions and Excursions. But hey, I guess they need all that extra room for their ego's.

I've made a mistake, and admit it openly, my family and myself are still all driving German sedans: “OH THOU IGNORANT OGRE, Your Contour is the German Mondeo-99%. A Cobalt is 95% GERMAN OPEL ASTRA. Also the Focus is a bad copy of the last generation GERMAN Focus. We were not deemed worthy of the new version. lf you want to see the difference,drive a NEW Mazda 3-It is the chassis of the German/English Focus. Don't accuse your father of going back on his bed-rock values.” As penance, I shall eat sausages and kraut for dinner. But I wont eat the schnitzel, because it's full of schnauzer.

Looks like the only heretic is Mrs. Ogre who is driving her Ford Aerostar minivan, which is hands down the worst minivan ever built for production. She said she likes it... but then again she says she still loves me too. She's either lying, sour graping, or there is something wrong with her.

I've just finished seasons 1 through 3 of the show “24”. I have some observations, but before I go into that let me just say that I love the show. Now, let me rip it. At Ogre Ranch we call “24” by our own little pet name “The Bam Bam Bauer Power Hour” and by this we mean no disrespect. They have a lot of cool new technologies there at the CTU offices. I'm familiar with wireless keyboards and wireless mice, but wireless power? Look around the CTU floor and you will see a number of computer systems that are up and running, supposedly, without even being plugged in. Amazing, that. They have a very high number of Mac computer systems around a government office that would normally go with the lowest bidder that offers the best support, amazing that Apple was able to swing that bid for a bunch of Power Mac G-5's. CTU must hire rejected Wal-Mart employees... No one is trustworthy, no one. Not even the CTU station chiefs. Just how does this group get anything done? Kim Bauer, she has got to be the most stupid character of the bunch. In seasons one and two she is just running around getting into as much trouble as she can, life threateningly so, while telling everyone she talks to that her Dad is a Federal Agent at the CTU. She does pretty much the exact opposite of what her Dad tells her to do almost every time. Yet in spite of this, she gets a job at CTU. Nice. But they do take time to show that she knows how to run around a computer system... that's great. Stupid, and put into a position with potentially tragic results if she decides to go her own way again. I find that 24 is a much better show if you just fast forward through any part with Kim Bauer. Granted she does look good running around sans bra in chilly weather, but we can skip that anyway... she isn't that pretty. Jack and his guns. Jack's Giant SUV of Fun is stocked like a rolling arms locker. We see that at the back of his rig, he has a roll out drawer full of weapons and other such goodies. (BTW you can actually buy one of these lockable systems for your rig) Yet every time all he pulls out of it are the smallest of the guns. Once he does break out a Mac-10 and that was a nice touch, but in his situation, wouldn't you have grabbed that G-36 he had in there? I would have. Jack is an ammo slut, btw. He gets down to his last magazine, and he still lays down suppressive fire when he should be aiming single shots. The guy likes his muzzle flash, what can I say? Rules are meant to be broken according to Jack's play book. Even when it would have been easier to take a second, explain things to other people, and rolled with lots of help... that's not Jack's style. Tony's wife is hot. That's all I'm saying. Looking forward to season 4.

Email I have to share, look for the lesson here: “George- HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Well. I have seen and read lots about it happening to other people, and just like everyone else, I never thought it would happen to me.  On Teusday, 12/27, the Hood County, TX Sheriff’s deputies and volunteer fire dept. evacuated the area where I live due to grass/brush fires being out of control. We had about 30 minutes notice. We removed the two aft seats from the Tahoe, loaded the pets in their respective pet carriers, packed what clothing we could get into travel bags, gathered up a few precious items and most of the Christmas gifts for the kids. My wife collected all of the required medication (she is diabetic and keeps extra insulin and such at home). I grabbed my Sig, my big rifle and a shotgun. I grabbed a couple of cases of bottled water and a case of MREs that I keep handy. Each of my children had an assigned task, which they carried out without question or hesitation, and I’m proud of them for that. I have insurance on everything we left behind, so I was not too worried about it. And then we went on down the road to a church as instructed by the deputy. Once at the gathering point we checked in. I noticed a whole lot of unprepared people and a Red Cross van. These nut cases (other evacuees) were actually in a panic. I noticed a lot of guys standing around speculating about what may happen, and where the fire might go and so on. I had no intention of joining their banter session. So, I gave my cell phone number to a deputy that I kind of knew and took my family on into town and had dinner. We waited at a friend’s house for a few hours and then drove back to the church where we had originally stopped. The place was much like the messes we see on TV where it is all but chaos. I was embarrassed by the lack of planning from some of these people. Just ridiculous. I was just about to leave again, when a deputy announced the particular areas where it was safe to return home. We were very lucky. We were allowed back on our street, and the house was still there. 27 homes within about a mile of our house were lost. The fire had come within about 200 yards of our place. The electricity was out, so I fired up the little generator so we could run the refrigerator and freezer along with having some lights. I had neighbors wanting to know how I had lights and they did not. Silly people. I didn’t sleep much that night, and we kept a close eye on things for the next couple of days. As of right now, things are fine, but the danger of more fire is very real. What I do not understand is, why people cannot prepare themselves for emergencies and then act in a responsible manner when necessary. ESPECIALLY when there is warning ahead of time. (Hurricane? Five days warning?....) Dumbasses. Mart” The Boy Scouts motto still rings true. Good job, Mart... a good example for all of us.

Monday, 1-02-06:  I hope... that everyone has had a good New Year so far. Mine has been up and down already, but generally in the positive so far, with the outlook being much more hopeful. Best wishes to all, and we are still crossing our fingers that Ted Kennedy has a massive coronary while in bed with Nancy Pelosi... hopefully while he was on top so he crushes her to death after his passing. Forgive me for being morbid and disgusting and for invoking those unwanted mental images.

Follow the Leader: I've reported several times of my satisfaction with my V-6 Contour. Well, both of my brothers home from Iraq, have purchased V-6 powered Contours. My mother is also eyeballing a V-6 Contour of her own. This is a bit odd. Especially since my family has been staunch supporters of German Made Sedans since before my birth. Audi's forever, then VW's... and now My Dad is piloting a Chevy Cobalt (ahem Saturn) and everyone else is going to be driving Ford Contours. My other brother is driving a big Dodge Ram hot rod, which is cool. So the German Car Family has finally become naturalized. I think this might be all my fault. I was the first to break ranks with a Ford Thunderbird, Toyota Supra, Jeep, and other such Non-German vehicles. All of which were lucky to post over 20 miles per gallon on the highway. Funny how things change.  Note to the Family.  Use Mobil 1 Synthetic, 5W-30... Your Tour's will love it.  For filters, use Wix or Bosch Premiums.  They are a bit more money, but work so much better than anything else out there.  You can actually feel the difference.

Our brother Jimmy is now at this moment in Seattle hanging out with his Bride To Be. It is reported that he has done the Bended Knee Proposal and it was accepted. It is official now, he is doomed. Congratulations to Cindi, our newest Sister In Law, who I will refer to as “Sister Cindi” until I feel otherwise. Condolences to Jimmy who will not be able to get that Xbox 360 and Porsche 911 Turbo... your doomed, bro. You are going to have to start shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, look at Comforters, fabric swatches, and scented candles. Good luck with that.

Mrs Ogre takes our littlest trooper into the dentist this morning. He's had a bad toothache lately and the Ambisol just isn't cutting it. Turns out the little guy is going to have to get a root canal on the tooth because it can't be pulled for fear of screwing up all the other teeth he has coming in. Great. Just shoot me now.

At least I wont be getting any more traffic tickets. The V1 has already saved my butt twice.  Saves that any other detector wouldn't have been able to make. Direction and Number... you gotta love that. I don't care what any other advertising says about other detectors, if they can't give you the number and direction of the threats... they are just about useless.

SHOT SHOW 2006: I am looking forward to this. My wife and I will be down there together, helping me lug around the cameras. I've got word from our Hordesman in Athens that he will be attending. Our good friends from FBMG in Draper, UT will be attending. Tim Schmidt is going to be there, he is the publisher of Concealed Carry Magazine and founder of the United States Concealed Carry Association. This SHOT Show is going to ROCK. Can't wait till Feb! The Wife and I will be driving down there, breaking records along the way. I'm looking forward to this more than Christmas.

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