Jan 2007

Tuesday, 1-30-07: Evidently Windows Vista is out now. Don't make me say “I told you so” and be one of these early adopters. Give it a little time for them to work out the bugs they didn't know they had or knew how to fix... in fact... just wait to upgrade to Vista next time you buy a new computer. It does a lot of neat things to an upgraded box like invalidating your CD Key among other things. And I'm not exactly in love with their new music store thing “Urge”. I like iTunes better... for one thing, it doesn't have a damn Monthly Charge to subscribe to it.  Maybe one day I'll get a new computer with Vista on it.  But I am right now, far more likely to buy a Mac at this point.

Email: “Greetings from AZ. Saw your posting today about the .257 WM - Roy Weatherby's favorite caliber. I have two versions of this both from Weatherby - a Mark V Deluxe with a gorgeous wood stock, and the other Mark V with a fiberglass stock. Both are obviously scoped (the glass one also has a bipod mounted) and both are dead on accurate. Talk about a firestick for reaching way out and touching something! Neither rifles has never given me a single problem, and handle factory ammo and hot reloads without a hitch. Anyhow, it's nice to see an appreciation for this particular caliber. Take care -Mitch”

I've had a lot of emails suggesting other calibers from .22-250 all the way up to 8MM with light bullets. Seriously, guys, look up the ballistics of the .257 Weatherby Magnum and then get back to me about your suggestions. They only suggestions that made sense were in the realms of the .25-06, .260, and .264. Remember the idea is for a medium game gun that can do varmints out to a long way away. It needs a lot of speed... something the .25-06 would have to be reloaded for, but can do it. But not nearly as good as the .257. 8MM? Come on. Let's get real. Yeah, it's going to get out there, but it doesn't have the trajectory that was wanted and that was the whole point. Christiansen's Arms makes some nice custom rifles and can one in .257 in a carbon fiber wrapped barrel on a Remington action... that would be a dream rifle... especially topped with a Leupold VX-7 scope. Something like that is absolutely on my “Eventual Must Have” list.

Monday, 1-29-07: The email from our man in Oregon has caused a stir. I think this was his intention when he made the subject of the email “Stirring the shit”. I got a lot of emails in response... but the best one is from Sgt Neil. He covers all the bases. Let me hit you with that one now: “Being a cop I have to take exception to Brock's characterization of cops involved in shootings being mad dog killers. Imagine that... yet another Monday-morning Quarterback of situations he was not at nor has any idea other than the oh so accurate news accounts. I love my job though I have been involved in three shootings, one of which was an elderly black woman suffering from Alzheimer-induced dementia. She started by shooting her husband's old Webley at the neighbors, reloaded then started at us and my buddy shot her. Her first two attempts to shoot at us misfired. Those were the two loudest clicks in the world. My buddy was cool about it and said that the only mistake he made was hesitating while she pulled on the two misfires. I ended up handcuffing her and she struggled even then to reach the dropped weapon. Now THAT was a hellacious aftermath. All the papers and the broadcast news said was that we had "murdered" an elderly, beloved black grandmother. The second was a 17 year old with a knife who had another officer bent backwards over a table driving a knife into his chest. He was shot off of the officer. We are still dealing with that some 6 years later. Every victim is beatified at some point by someone and every cop, no matter how justified, is vilified at some point. Look at the 9/11 thugs being characterized by some of our own cultural and political leaders as freedom fighters and painting the US as asking for the attacks. The same thing happens with cops on a smaller scale.

As for Taser's, they are only for certain arrest control situations not to include deadly force, which a knife-wielding subject qualifies as. I have not shot knife-wielding mental cases when they were surrounded by others due to no clear shot so heavy furniture and batons sufficed those times but I am not willing to trade my time on earth for theirs in any case no matter if he is (sniffle, sob) just a "tender" 17 year old. If my Taser barbs miss, fail to penetrate, are swatted away, dodged (and it happens), etc., I have traded then the safety edge I had of time and distance for that one well-meaning but misguided shot, and he is now on top of me and I am as good as cut and possibly dead. To repeat, for those of you from Chapel Hill (UNC), Tasers are not for deadly force situations. We have taken them from a couple of officers who refused to understand that to save their lives because a Taser is a control device for those failing to comply with arrest commands, never as a replacement for deadly force.

I do take exception for ANYONE smuggling ANY type of drugs into the US, mainly for the breach of security and sovereignty violations. Who in the fuck do they think they are to operate with such impunity? Bush's special guests apparently. The Guardsmen who were probed (Huh huhhuh huh Beavisss, he sssaid "probed") by that "recon in force" should have had the balls to go armed even in violation of standing orders. Oh that some of them had been armed with at the very least Brother Browning's "Yankee Fist" and had had the wherewithal to use it. Monday-morning quarterbacking? Yes, I am. What's good for Ganja Joe is okay for me. Our government has failed in its social contract with us by allowing this crap to ever happen then to continue. I would love to see headlines and photos where a Mexican Army Hummer and its occupants is shot to shit deep inside the US and left for all to see. Drug smugglers and the Mexican Army should have to step around or drive over the dead bodies of the drug runners and Mexican soldiers who preceded them.

As for the Border Patrolmen, I have no problem with their shooting of an armed smuggler...and yes, he was armed. One of my buddies was in on the investigation and he said that essentially they did try to cover it up which, according to him, is what nailed them. In his opinion, as someone privy to the investigation, he feels they would have been okay had they not tried to hide it and had just been up front about it. Apparently they tried to cover up that it ever happened, then, when confronted about it, said "Well, okay, we did shoot AT him but..." then the train wreck unfolded.

Ogre, thanks for your excellent blog. It is usually the first of three "mandatory" web stops I make daily after I check my e-mail in the morning, the other two sites being crossfit.com and Fox News. - Sgt. Neil”

Thanks for the email, Neil. As Forrester says, “Your the man now, Dog!”

A rifle for shooting critters a long way away. I had been thinking about this very same subject that came to me in email... “Moving back to Wyoming in a year after I stock away a grubstake. I need a medium caliber 6mmish varmint/coyote gun for the winds my beloved 22-250 can't handle. My brother has got a .25WSSM and we try not to duplicate each other. So.... 6.5x55 Swedish or a .260 Remington? - Baxter”

You know, for sheer zippy flat ballistic trajectory, nothing beats a .257 Weatherby Magnum. For long range hitting on Coyote or Lopes... And even capable of downing deer, Mulies, Elk... it has even taken moose... there really is nothing better outside of some crazy wildcats. You can get this in Vanguard. The bonus is that a Vanguard is not an expensive rifle. Top that with a really good scope, and you will have a very serious Coyote Cannon. The downside is that it is a Weatherby and I'm not that big on Weatherbys. They do represent a huge bang for the buck value that can't be beat, but I just don't like their actions. I prefer Remingtons or Kimbers or CZ's. Those are my holy trinity of bolt actions. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a Weatherby. Not at all. I just don't care for them. I would be all over a Remington in .257WM.

My Nikon Scope: Guys, I'm not pimping the Nikon Buckmaster as being THE scope to get for your rifle. Like I said before, I got it for free. FREE is a compelling price. But just because I got it for free doesn't mean that I am obligated to say I like it. I've been given lots of junk for free that is just that, junk. And if I think it is, I'll say it is. Now, we sell this scope for $209.99... which makes it a rather cheap scope considering we sell scopes going all the way up to two grand and more. The Buckmaster is a mid level unit in Nikon's line up. ProStaff being the lower level and the Monarch being their upper level. This one has good eye relief and a nice wide field of view. Those are two things I look for in a scope. After brightness and clarity of course. The 3-9 is decent power range... but I find I do most of my shooting with the scope set between 4 to 6. Above 9 parallax becomes an issue, and that just isn't anything I like to play with. What I was saying is that the scope, even at 210 bucks represents a very good value. A Leupold VX-II is about a hundred bucks more money. I'm taking a pass on all the Bushnell or Tasco and other value scopes. Burris can make a decent one if you get one that doesn't come out of China. BSA and Simmons... waste of time and money. I used to think that I was just hard on scopes, so I bought cheaper ones. What I didn't really understand was that I was buying scopes that are prone to failure, not me causing them to fail with my less than delicate 11B handling. When I stepped up into better scopes, they magically stopped going tits up on me. Imagine that. Optics, more than anything, you really do get what you pay for. Brightness is something that you can't fake. You get it by using proper coatings. Fully Coated means that all the internal prisms and lenses are coated. These coatings allow light to transmit through rather than reflecting. This allows more light through the scope, making it brighter. Clarity or Definition comes from the quality of the lenses. You can't get these things in a cheap scope. Much like racing, how fast you go depends on how much you want to spend, there is a point where you get diminishing returns. You want that sweet spot where you get a lot of performance for not so much cash... this is where the Buckmaster is a great option if you don't want to spend a lot of money. I've never said it was the best. I said it was a great scope for the money. Perhaps the best. A Leupold VX-II is a better scope, but it's more money by a good margin. If you can snag one for the same dollar, then do it. If you want The Best you might have to wait for a VX-7 and you are certainly going to have to spend a large amount of money. If you don't want to spend a lot of scratch, there is the Buckmaster.

I still can't decide on a side folding stock for my Marine Magnum. It looks like I just might have to revert to my old standby Butler Creek unit. No, don't try to sell me on a top folder. I've never cared for that configuration. I'm loving this shotgun. It's lighter, smoother (one of the slickest ever) faster handling and much better looking than my previously favorite Mossberg 590's or Benelli Nova Special Purpose shotguns.

Thursday, 1-25-07:  That landscape above, that is a spot overlooking the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  I took it yesterday morning.  Absolutely gorgeous, even frozen over.  It looks better in the summer time, but yesterday I found the winter view to be nothing short of breathtaking.  Especially considering that it was a balmy 25 degrees.

First thing I did this morning: Was to take my eldest son to school... two blocks from the school is my work. But I've had another day off today. Yesterday I had some fun blasting with my new Marine Magnum and a .30-378 Weatherby Mag. Today, I wanted to do some shooting with my 7MM. Before I could shoot it, I wanted to mount up a new scope on it and get it zeroed. The scope I put on it was a freebie from Nikon that I decided to give a shot. It is a Buckmaster 3-9X40MM with their new BDC reticle. We sell these scopes for only $209.99 so it is not an expensive scope by any means. The Remington 700 has a better action than Weatherby, in my opinion. I'm going to get some flak for saying that, but that is just my opinion and your mileage may vary. Even the 1600 dollar Mark V. Now if I could just get a Remington chambered in .30-378 with a good muzzle break, I'd be happy. I was right when I said that the 7MM kicks harder. It did. My shoulder is feeling it now. Well, the clarity of the new Nikon is very good. Impressive compared to the scope I had on it before... which was a 3-10X44MM from a company that I am not going to name. The fine BDC reticle in this unit is an almost clever design, but kind of gimmicky. I've got mine zeroed for 300 yards and it is dead nuts on target... point of aim – point of impact at 300. I don't know why I decided on 300, other than I am not often shooting at things much closer than that with my 7MM. If it is closer than that, I'm using my .30-30. You might not run that way, but that's the way I roll. After I had it zeroed out, I had a few extra Hornady rounds... so I climbed up on a small peak and crawled over the crest overlooking a small valley. I could see several prairie dogs standing around what looked to be about 250 yards... So I put the cross hairs just at the dogs feet, took a deep breath, let it out and held it while I started to squeeze the trigger. The little marauder exploded from the shoulders up. Chunks of gore all over the place. The other dogs twitched nervously bit didn't run. So I tagged another one the same as the first. The last two dogs got the hint and scurried down their holes. Still had 3 shells left that needed to be fired. But since the targets around that area were now on alert I decided to take the act on tour. I went to another location where I saw a coyote hunting something much smaller than its self. I'm not sure what the range was exactly, but it was a lot farther out than 300. I cranked the scope up to 9 power and went prone in the snow, with my bipod legs extended down as far as they could go. The coyote was a small one and looked tiny through the scope. I put him inside the top of the first BDC ring and watched him. When he stopped bouncing around I held my breath... then he moved again. I didn't have a predator call on me or I would have used it. So instead I just made some squeal sounds... through the scope I could see that it got the coyotes attention who turned in my direction with his ears perked up. The 7mm Hornady BTSP caught him in the lower jaw and exited the back of his neck. The body was still twitching when I clipped his ears off and put them in a plastic bag. It's ghoulish, I know. But that pair of ears is 30 bucks. That's a box of ammo. So that dog just paid for my fun this morning. That left one round left. I searched 360 degrees but didn't see anything else, save for a suspicious looking spot of snow on a boulder. I thought it looked about 250 yards away but it wasn't. The bullet struck about 3 feet low. Obviously that boulder was a lot larger and farther away that it looked. Next thing I get from Nikon is going to be a Rangefinder. Ranges are deceptive out here. I still had fun though. I had a great time. Everything went well this morning with no surprises... it all worked as advertised. Kudos for Hornady for making the best rifle ammo out there, and kudos to Nikon for making a very good and usable rifle scope. If you want to do some good shooting, go west of Vernal and head south out into the desert. I'll have to admit something here, if it wasn't for the white snow covering the ground, I might not have been able to pick up on any of the critters out there. Normally they blend in pretty good... but in the winter they have a nice contrast that shows up very good in the scope. My shoulder now has a good ache going on. Shooting the .30-378 Mag yesterday with the break off, compounded with several boxes of shotgun shells, and now this 7mm... time to find some Advil.

Email from our friend Dan Brock at Plowshare Forge: “George, George, George, The border patrol fucks you mention deserve to be in prison. It's time the LEO idiots learn that if they're going to pretend to be so fucking "highly trained" they ought to stop shooting people. Smuggling ANY amount of hooter isn't a sin unto death by anyone's standards. I'd rather find my 5 year-old smoking a fattie (and believe me, I don't want that) than to know that someone was killed "protecting" her from this little drug that gave me so much comfort for 30+ years. Besides, these shits filed a false report. Fuck 'em.

I may feel so strongly about this because we have a county DA, Doug Harclerod (may God give him itches in places he can't scratch) who has a real soft spot for cops who blow folks away. A month or so ago, the Eugene PD killed a drunk (1.8%) bipolar kid, 19 years old. He wouldn't drop the kitchen knife he was holding "when so instructed by officers". This is why crazy people are called "crazy". For Christ's sake, his fucking family called the cops because they were worried that he was going to hurt himself. They took care of that I guess.

About 18 months ago, a stupid 15 year-old (is there any other kind) stole a pick-up. Sherrif's deputy ran him to ground then shot him through the window of the pick-up because the cop misinterpreted the kid's hand gesture of surrender as to be threatening. The "highly trained professional" thought this kid was going to shoot him through the ROLLED-UP window, so this kid had to die. If these morons can't do their job any better than this they ought to quit before they end up getting ass-fucked in jail, or have to move to Lane County.

By the way... your severe case of "Al Gore a phobia": I know, the guy's a stiff. I still have problems with his "no enforcing agency" cop-out during the tenure of our 14 year-old president (as opposed to our present 8 year-old one). But if he's wrong, who loses? If he's right - and lots of people with more cred than I've got agree with him - and we blow him off, we're fucked, plain and simple. Besides, it's not "warming" so much as "climate change". There are daffodils blooming in DC. Here, it's pushing 60 outside. However, the comfort I take in my position is that I think we're fucked no matter what.

In closing, the word of wisdom from my Antarctic experience is this: Exposed skin freezes to metal at -30 and below. The field expedient solution is to pee on the affected member. Therefore, never touch anything higher than your head to prevent aiming difficulties and unpleasant splashback. Keep the faith -Dan Brock”

Thanks for the email, Dan. I'm going to send you a drawing of something to see of you can make one... a little project perhaps. It is a design I've had in mind for some time.  Now, let's talk about this. These Border Agents have got the shaft on this one. They are convicted almost entirely on the word of a Drug Runner. Now, I'm not tight assed about some grass, but come on... Drug Runners do not transport large amounts of dope without being armed. Here is the deal.. the only ones that know exactly what happened are the two agents and the drug runner. The prosecution went to Mexico, offered full immunity to him so he could burn the Border Agents. This is bullshit. And to make matters worse, now the Border Patrol is not allowed to arrest anyone crossing the border. WHAT? Then what the hell is the point of all this? We're crucifying them and hanging them out to dry. Every Border Agent should just resign in protest. Every one of them. I can fully understand these agents feeling threatened and firing.  Last time I was down there near the border and I felt threatened... I ended up catching a 230 grain FMJ .45 caliber slug in my chest fired from an old Norinco. Thank God for Kevlar. That is a dangerous region to be in.

The situations you mentioned are unfortunate and I am familiar with those stories... I will not defend those officers who completely fucked up. However, this is why all officers are getting or should be armed with not just a gun, but a tazer. Our local boys in blue are now sporting the new X-26 Tazer gun and while they have only had it for about 2 weeks now, it has saved the life of a subject that weeks before would have been shot with .40 JHP slugs. There are lots of less than lethal options out now that just were not there before. Training is everything, but many departments just don't have the means of offering all the needed training. That is the harsh reality of underfunded departments with not enough men to cycle through needed training programs. This might have helped the EDP kid with the knife... but the guy in the truck – yeah, that was crazy. That was the result of a cop who was in a big adrenaline rush, angry, scared, and expecting or wanting violence. Training isn't something that would have helped that one. That was probably a bad hire to start with.

Now back to the global warming thing... I don't think we are hosed at all. Sure, it's strange weather... but we used to call it El Nino, remember that? It comes in cycles and I was told by a non-political weather guru from the Air Force that this is an El Nino cycle right here helped by high pressure zone held in place because of the jet stream. (right now it is a balmy 12 degrees – I even went shooting without having to wear gloves or a jacket) We discussed the Global Warming and I mentioned the fact that all we hear about are all the Scientists that are saying global warming is all man made. He said that there are just as many saying it is a historically proven weather cycle stemming from solar activity and Man has very little if any effect at all... and those scientists are being censured much like those that used to say that the earth was round and not flat. And evidently some Scientists in the Global Warming camp have been quietly switching sides. You are right about Gore being a stiff, but I've no phobia of him. I just don't like him. Not one single itty bitty bit.

DIVINE STRAKE: The .Gov wants to detonate a 700 Ton explosive for some sort of weapons test. This will send up a Nuke sized mushroom cloud. I have no problem with the test its self... we have to test our weapons. The problem that I have is where they want to blow the thing. They want to pop it off where they used to test nukes.... This presents a lot of issues with fallout. You see, after some 900 nuke tests, the area is flat out dangerous. Stirring it up will put radioactive material in the air that could contaminate not just southern Utah, but everything east for thousands of miles. Let's put it this way. This would be a colossally bad idea to set this thing off. I find it unbelievable that they are even considering blowing that firework off there. There are countless other locations that don't have the repercussions. Like the U.N. Building for example... or the DNC HQ. Flip a coin.
 

Wed, 1-24-07: Well, I pulled the trigger on the Remington Marine Magnum. The Marine is an expensive pump action shotgun... for the same amount of money you could score a lot of other options and I considered all them. But there is something about the Marine Magnum that I really dig. I like the all weather fighter ability... the synthetic stocks and the chromed/nickel finish... it just looks sharp. Some of the other touches are nice, such as the Limbsaver made recoil pad, the sling swivels with the one on the front that actually swivels. And a decent sling was in the box with the shotgun. The finish looks like a bead blasted example of the same finish that Remington is putting on the XCR rifles. The internals look like they are all hard chromed... but I'm not sure if that is actually true. Because of these polished and finished internals, the gun feels smoother than a Wingmaster. That says a lot. The bottom line is that I'm loving it. Now the only problem that I have is that I was planning on putting on my favorite folding stock... the steel side folder from Butler Creek. I don't know why I like that stock so much... I just do. But now? Well the stock on the Marine has that nice cushy Limb Saver unit on it that makes shooting it much more pleasant. I'm launching full house hunting slugs and my shoulder isn't protesting it. Yeah, I know I could affix a Limb Saver pad to the Butler Creek unit, but this has me thinking... there are other folding stock options out there. Maybe one of them is a better option? I'm not sure. I really don't know because many years ago I tried a something different, it sucked and broke on me, and I've always used the steel Butler Creek ever since. Anyone have any suggestion? It has got to fold in a way that doesn't impede operation while folded, and it has to be rock solid when extended. And don't give me crap about the M-16 style stocks... I can't stand those on shotguns. They have no place on scatterguns in my opinion.

One thing about shotguns that have impressed me. The new shot wads. I remember all the shotguns used the old fashioned wadding that was basically a felt plug... as the shot left the barrel that plug/wadding forced the pellets to start spreading out very quickly regardless of the choke you used. These new wads that are made of plastic hold the shot together after shot leaves the barrel until air pressure pulls the shot cup away from the shot. Patterns are much better these days. Even in guns like the Marine Magnum that don't have any choke. I've been playing with Federal's Top Gun target stuff. Not much power in that, but seven rounds of it is probably perfect for home defense around Ogre Ranch. What that load doesn't do, Winchester slugs will handle just fine. I'll have to order in some decent 00Buck.  

I also pulled the trigger on – but did not purchase – a Weatherby MK V in .30-378 Wby Mag. First off, I hate the caliber because everyone says it wrong. It is not .33-78 Weatherby Mag. There is no such thing. It is ".30-378" say it with me.... .30-378 means that it is a small artillery shell, necked down to .30 caliber. It bugs the hell out of me when people say it wrong. Pet peeve. Sorry. Ferocious sound and fury. An extreme amount of energy. Thank goodness for the very effective muzzle brake. Good grief that rifle is loud. Because of the brake, the gun shot much softer than my 7MM Rem Mag. I would probably put it right there with a .270. Without the brake, it hurt. I'll leave it at that. I only fired one shot without the brake. I zeroed the customer's rifle so it was dead nuts on at 200 yards. It can really and truly reach out and eviscerate something. Now, while I do admit this gun was a... uh... blast (sorry) to shoot... man is it so far over powered for damn near everything! This is twice the gun a serious hunter needs to take just about any big game in North America. Thank God for it. Shooting a real hot rod like this was a real treat. At 95 bucks a box, the ammunition is very expensive. But that didn't stop me from blowing through all 20 rounds. I was going to save some, but next thing I knew, I was empty. If I owned this rifle I would have to be reloading for it. Too much fun. If you are considering buying one of these rifles, step up into an Accumark instead of just a Mark V. The V is good, but at this level you want to be able to get everything you can out of your cartridge. The package I was shooting rings up at about 3 grand... and at a hundred bucks a box, why not just go a bit further and get the real deal? It's like buying a Lambo, but taking it with the optional V-6. If you are going to do it, just go for it and really do it.

State of the Union - Ogre's Response: The president's speech last night has some interesting things in it. First off you gotta love that guy that saved the guy that fell on the rail road tracks... did you see him hamming it up? That was awesome. Enjoy the moment, my man... savor it. The president didn't say anything new about the Iraq war, nothing unexpected there. So essentially, for the sake of national security, we have to stay in Iraq. But for the sake of national security we can't do anything about our own borders. Bush's policy doesn't make any sense. I'll be honest that I didn't understand what he was talking about with his health care plan. Tax credit to make affordable health insurance more available to those who are less than rich. I'm not getting exactly how that is going to work out, but I like the idea. Sounds like a good one to me, at least on the surface. It was a pretty good pep rally... but nothing really profound. “The State of the Union is strong.” Not really, sir. The nation has never been so polarized since the civil war. That isn't strength. As much as I can not stand Jim Web, the Democrat who gave the DNC's response... I have to agree with him about one point. The jobs going overseas. Shareholders and the stock market are doing very well, that is true... but at the cost of American jobs. Manufacturing across the board is running away from the USA as fast as it can. Especially in my world of Guns and Autos. Is it too much to ask to have American Cars actually be built in America? Evidently it is. Ford is building all their new cars down in Mexico. Browning and Winchester and Weatherby guns are being built in Japan? They can't even have a gun in Japan... yet the Japanese are building our guns? That makes not a lick of sense to me. Granted, they do a good job. Nothing against the Japanese at all... it's just that the guns they are building over there should be made here.  Where was I?  Oh, the speech, yeah, I really didn't get that much out if it  If you did, great.  I was more interested in discovering what Nancy Pelosi was chewing on.  I was expecting her to blow a bubble or something.

Speaking of Japan... their imports are generally pretty cool... but I'm starting to hate Drift Racing. It seems to be a useless sport. Drifting is all about style, not speed. Because of that, I can't call it racing. You take two cars and run them around the track... one car racing normally, and the other car Drifting. The normal technique is going to thrash the Drifter. Hard. In the mean time, the guy racing normally has his car running at normal engine temperature, his tires could keep going another race or two, and everything is cool. The Drifter on the other hand is sitting there in a car that is spewing steam from his overworked cooling system while his tires are only just barely hanging together by the belts. While the regular racer may have one, the Drifter did look cooler going around the track... I'll give him that. And he probably had more fun doing it. But I'm more concerned about going fast than looking cool.

Going Fast. Yeah, I was going too fast yesterday. I admit it. I got pulled over yesterday. 3 over. No, I didn't have my V1 detector plugged in. This was point made by my son while the State Trooper was looking in the car watching me fumble for my proof of insurance. “Gee Dad, you should have had your radar detector plugged in.” Which was exactly what I was thinking. The Trooper said “What detector?”

I pointed to it. “Uh, a Valentine One. Sir.”

“Isn't that like the best one on the market?”

“Yessir.”

“Yeah, you should have had it plugged in.”

I got off with a warning. For the speed aspect. But for the insurance I didn't. What? American Family Insurance had just taken the automatic deduction from my bank account, they are paid up in full... by policy should have been fine. So I go in to see them. Oh, we canceled your policy in December. What? Because of the accident... your 16 year old's crash. That happens when you have teenagers driving who are not on the policy. You mean my 6 year old. He was 5 at the time. Oh. Yeah, and while I didn't get any notice of a cancellation, not a letter, email or a phone call... you guys are still taking my money. How was I to know you jackasses canceled my policy? They fixed it, of course. And I got my proof of insurance and showed it to the Justice Court and the proof of insurance ticket was dropped of course... but still. I remain pissed. My insurance is through AMERICAN FAMILY. Who in the past have been perfectly fine... but have lately been a huge pain in the ass. If I had not been pulled over, I would have never known they fucked up my policy and were just taking my money at their whim. Yes, we are now looking at other insurance options. They have our home policy as well. We are going to change everything very soon.

Monday, 1-22-07: Two border agents are now convicted for shooting a drug smuggler. The smuggler was armed and had over 800 pounds of weed... illegally crossed the border... threatened, the agents fired... and the border agents are in prison over this. This is a travesty of justice. If Bush doesn't pardon these two agents – who were doing there jobs of protecting our country – then Bush needs to explain very clearly why he didn't. I'm pissed off about this.  Everyone needs to write and call their Congress persons and demand they all push Bush for Pardons.  That these guys spend 1 night in prison is asinine.

While I am talking politics... here is a prediction for you: 16 Years of Obama. Two terms as a Vice under Hillary and two more terms as Pres. For the love of all that is holy – I pray that I am wrong about this.

My CZ-100 article: Looks like most readers of CCM have found this to be the most entertaining article I've written to date. I will admit that it was a lot of fun writing it. I think I was a bit blunt in it... but I also think that it was a fair review. You will have to read it and decide for yourself. I'll post it here in the weapons section soon enough. Now please understand... I do love CZ firearms. So understand that when you read the 100's review.

Have you paid any attention to the rebirth of the Fairness Doctrine? Now that the Dems have Congress, they have a hard on to suppress Rush Limbaugh... they can't do it in the court of the free market, so they are going to do it through Government Mandate. No one has been able to compete with Rush Limbaugh so they are going squeeze him out. We can see Air America Radio has been such a wild commercial success. Awesome how they keep bleeding millions of dollars... it is only a matter of time before they finally go away. But not before the Libs make sure that they have the fairness doctrine in place to counter anything and everything that any and every conservative has to say. When it comes to being fair... I think it is completely fair to call a moron a moron.

I have some .500 S&W Magnum cartridges on my desk. I need a lever action carbine for these bad boys. If you set one of those monster shells next to a .45 ACP... the .45 is dwarfed. Both are handgun rounds... yet one is absolutely out of control. You can't help but to love it. It begs for a Marlin 1895 rifle. Here is something else it is begging for... a single action revolver, like a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The double action X frame just isn't right for these things. The geometry of the grip frame is all wrong for the amount of recoil the .500 Mag delivers.

There is a huge proliferation of ATV's around here. “Quads” as they are called. These 4 wheel motorcycles are deceptive. They feel good and stable, but can be far from it at just the wrong moment. These things cause a lot of injuries when folks take them for granted. They need to be used with caution. Now, for the record, I do like them. I would even like to have one. For what, I'm not exactly sure. I do love going out into the desert and up into the mountains all the time. The problem that I have with them is that since they are not street legal, you have to have a truck and a trailer to get them up there or out there to where you can take it off the trailer and get it rolling. Very popular now are the bigger ATVs that let two guys sit side by side instead of one behind the other – because two guys riding one behind the other is kind of ghey. These bigger ATVs are, in my opinion, stupid as hell. They are not much smaller than a simple old Suzuki Samurai. The Samurai is street legal, crazy good off road, and you don't have to pull them behind another truck. And you do get a little more room for all the gear. I have a hard time taking guys that ride these mini truck ATV's serious. If they were real hard core outdoorsmen, they wouldn't be rolling up into the mountains in camo covered golf carts. Those things are ludicrous. Regular ATV's that you straddle rather than sit in are more hard core... they have a lot of potential for off road adventuring. The only downsides are of course the deceptive stability and the lack of capacity for gear and supplies. I can see military applications of these ATVs. Light Infantry units would benefit from them a great deal... Just if they could make them quiet. Moving heavy weapons, rapid movement... they would be awesome. But the military doesn't use them. This is okay. This gives civilian militias an advantage. They could use them. Not that I put much stock or credibility into civilian militias. I'm just saying. We could use them down on the southern boarder, if anywhere. Like the Minutemen project... but with guns.

Back to the Samurai vehicles... I like them a lot. They are lightweight, economical, and surprising in what they are capable of. Just like the old Willis Jeeps. Rhino lining is awesome stuff. Coating a little Samurai in and out with Rhino leaves you with a sturdy little rig that is impervious to the elements, easy to maintain, and easy to live with. The biggest drawback to the Zuki is the lack of engine. If you drop a bigger engine into a Samurai, and they don't have to be much bigger... man... you really have something. For the cost of a fancy new ATV, you could get a nice samurai set up for adventuring. Or a Sidekick. Either way.

Friday, 1-19-07: Bloody weather: The temps measured locally are so far sub-zero that we are colder than Nome Alaska... even colder than our research station on the Antarctic. Bloody freezing here like you wouldn't believe. Yesterday morning I went out to my car to warm it up... and my dry fingers flash froze to the car door. Unlike California, we are not crying for help from the federal government because it is a bit nippy outside. We deal with this... take it in stride... and keep going. That's just what it is like living out here. In the summer time, this place is like Arrakis, the desert planet from Dune. In the winter we are living on the ice planet Hoth. See, we can live here because people tend think ahead and plan for it. We know winter is going to come eventually so it doesn't surprise us. Unlike other places such as New Orleans which lives in the paths of hurricanes, under sea level, behind a mud dike... and then act surprised when they get a bit wet. Where is all this Global Warming that the Democrats are screeching about? I want to find Al Gore, and kick him square in the nuts.

Ian Flemming: If you know James Bond, you know who Ian Flemming is... he's the guy that wrote the James Bond novels. Ian came up with some good stuff for his books, a very creative guy. But the man does not know a thing about firearms. Bond, in most of the books, is armed with a little Beretta .25... Which the same gun is also available in .22. This is just about one the most ineffective handguns on the planet. The barrel is less than two inches, and after you load the cartridge the actual length of barrel is about an inch. Not only is this not long enough for the slug to develop enough velocity, but it is also not nearly enough to stabilize for accuracy. So as week as the .22LR and .25 is... the little Berettas are even less so. They are just about completely useless. After a bunch of books, Bond is upgraded to a .32 caliber Walther PPK. This is a huge upgrade for the spy, but it is still a very pathetic little side arm. I'm going to do a review on one of these little Beretta .22LR autos. I did review an NAA Mini... and I liked it. The Beretta is much the same size wise and barrel length but the gun is much thicker and loses the advantage of being able to hide anywhere. Since it is so thick, it has to be carried with more caution. However, it has a greater payload and quicker reloading. So we will see about this... which is the best pee-wee popper.

I'm not getting the Obamagasims that the media seems to be having. I feel like calling in to CNN and MSNBC and asking them if they need to change their pants after they show a picture of Obama. What is it about that guy? He's young, weird looking, Democrat, and to the media, he is Jesus. The only think hotter than Obama is the new Apple iPhone. Another think that Artsy Libs are flipping for. It must suck being a Liberal Geek right now... not knowing who to fellate first, Obama or Steve Jobs. The iPhone and Obama has a couple similarities... slick packaging for something that really isn't doing anything new or special. I don't see why Obama is so great. No one really knows what this guy stands for. And the isn't telling anyone yet either. Why not? Because the polls haven't told him what he stands for yet. Screw this guy. I don't like him... I don't trust him. If he stood on firm principles, we would all know already what he was about.

S&W has come out with their M&P in .45ACP. Two versions... one with a frame mounted manual safety. The other just like the other M&P pistols. This is an interesting thing... The addition of the manual safety... is this going to make the pistol a better weapon? I don't think so. Really this is nothing more than S&W recouping the costs of rapid development of their .45 caliber gun to satisfy the bid request for the new military pistol. These guns are the guns that they were going to offer up for the military trials. Taurus is also releasing their candidate pistol called the 24/7 SOCOM. And that gun looks flat out pathetic. But the S&W M&P is not a pathetic gun. I'm not all that lovestruck about them either, but they do seem to be decent and completely average handguns. They are also rolling out compact versions of the M&P which look like they have a world of potential as concealed carry guns. As cool as these small units might be, S&W is missing the target. Until they release a .45 Compact, I don't think anyone is going to get all that excited about them. I'm not. That request for bid from the .mil was a huge let down for the gun industry. They throw out this teaser, got the industry all a twitter, and then cancel it. The .mil should just conduct trials based on existing guns – purchased for testing one at a time in a random selection process – and then shoot them until they break. First ones to break lose. The most reliable ones pass on to the accuracy test. If the guns are accurate and reliable, then they are given to the troops for evaluation, and let them decide which one they like the best. Unfortunately the .mil's system doesn't do that.

Jones: There are a couple guns out there that I'm wanting... The Kimber I mentioned the other day in .338 Federal is one. A SIG 556 carbine and Kel Tec's new .308 Bullpup... and something a bit different... a Lever action in .500 S&W magnum. Now I know that a .50 caliber levergun might be overkill for most things. But for some reason I don't think that such a gun is unreasonable out here where I live. For one, I live within view of Skinwalker Ranch. I am told I am in Bigfoot territory, and there has even been a Chupacabra incident nearby. So when dealing with Supernatural Creatures, bigger is better. Just in case. .30-30 probably isn't going to cut it. I've already put another gun on Layaway... a Remington Marine Magnum. I like the flat chromed look they have. Remington isn't going to be making them that way anymore though... they are going with a black finish that is plenty resistant enough, but it is just not the same. I saw we only had a couple Marines left so I snagged one. Had to.

Media Player 11. While working on some stuff, my Media Player pretty much decided to update its self. I was rolling just fine with #10. Let me tell you, 11 is awesome. Or at least it looks awesome. It looks a lot like Quicktime with a black and blue skin. I don't see anything functionally different, but it does have a new button called “urge” which is nothing more than a windows version of iTunes but without the slick interface that makes iTunes actually worth your time messing with. I wanted to try out Urge, to say if it worked or not. So I gave it a shot. I wanted some Led Zeppelin. The album with the guy with the sticks on his back... well, I couldn't find anything with Urge. So I rolled out to the store, found it for 10 bucks, and ripped it to MP3 format. Done. Music sounds great. So now, Urge is a load a crap. 11 also has a sync to your Zune feature, which is cool – if you have a Zune. If you don't need these things, you really don't need to upgrade from 10... or 9 for that matter... but if you think you have to have your media player colored darkly, then go for the upgrade.

Wed, 1-17-06: Kimber has listened to me... They went and did it. They are now making the 8400 Classic and Montana in .338 Federal. I've got an inexplicable jones for one of those so bad it makes my teeth hurt. I might have to trade off the Tikka for a down payment on that. Not sure I'm liking the Tikka. It seems to be about as average a rifle as you can get. I'm really not impressed at all. Sure, it has a nice out of the box trigger, but overall it is just – average. Perhaps I'll offload it. I'm not even sure if I'm all that fond of the .300 WSM. This is where the .338 Federal comes into play. I really like the big bore unmagnum. But that is just me.

Kimber has also made a very nice new .45, the Covert series... which are drop dead sexy and have everything I want. The only downside to them – and damn near all 1911 these days are the ramp style rear sights. Useless, in my opinion. They look cool, but don't help at all with one hand operation.  I'm really beginning to like Kimber a great deal  Since they have rolled with their second generation of guns, I've really been smitten... They have changed my opinion of them 100%.

Gun Reviews on the way: Ruger Vaquero .357, Charter Arms, Wilson ADP, CZ-100 (in the current issue of Concealed Carry Magazine right now) and the Walther P99 QA.

Tuesday, 1-16-07:  Border Issues: The government has no intention whatsoever in closing off and sealing the borders. It never has, and it never will. This means anything done in the name of National Security is just so much bullshit. Without secure borders, there is no security. Why would a terrorist risk flying into Baltimore when he could just walk across the border? At the same time, the Mexican border isn't the one the 9-11-01 terrorists crossed. Now consider this... the NAFTA super highway. Have you heard of this? I is a system of highways coming together, crossing the border and rolling straight up the middle of Texas and just happens to be 4 football fields wide. There will be some booths to check ID, but there will also be SpeedPass/EasyPass lanes just like some toll booths. You only have to slow down. Trusted Trader tags allow fully loaded semi trucks to roll through, unstopped and unchecked. Because of this, China is going to be shipping all that cheap shit we buy at WalMart into Mexico and bringing it up this super highway. This means the longshoremen are going to be out of work. Thanks to the Administration for supporting NAFTA and not supporting National Fucking Security. This is horseshit. This is going to cost Americans millions of dollars, their jobs, and ultimately their lives. This isn't a threat. This isn't a prophesy of the apocalypse... this is happening. Right up the ass of the State of Texas. Bush's home state.

So what can be done to help security? Man, it is going to take something drastic. We are going to have to secure not just the USA... but the whole North American Continent. Law Enforcement is going to have to step up big time on an international scale. Drug enforcement? Prepare for legalization. Looks like the only Homeland Security is going to be your own trigger finger. If you are living in Texas – may God be with you. You are going to have to be extremely vigilant. Vigilant and well armed. And I would suggest very well organized. Neighborhood watch on a war footing. Patrols of citizens in armored up vehicles Mad Max style. Families will have to take turns on a rotating schedule as to who pulls Watch Duty every night. Invest in Night Vision as soon as you can. They attacked a National Guard outpost for crying out loud, they wont think twice about raiding your hacienda. Here is what I suggest: large caliber rifles, snooper scopes, and shovels. If you get some gang rolling in up your street in Mexican Military Humvees – you are either going to stop them, or they are going to stop you. The fact that I am saying such things really pisses me off. This is the whole fucking purpose of the US Military and the .gov aint doing shit. A fence? Are they fucking kidding us? Why yes, yes they are.

SHOT Show: It is all over... and so far what I am hearing is that the hottest new gun is a civilian legal bullpup .308 carbine that takes FAL magazines and is made by Kel Tec. Interesting news from Kel Tec. They have been doing some clever things lately. Such as the PLR-16. So far they are no FNH by any means but they are making some bold moves for a small joint that started out doing just pocket pistols. We wish them all the best... and that they send us one of these new rifles for review. This is one rifle I just might have to get ASAP.

Beretta pisses me off. On one hand I love the stuff they make. One the other hand I think they are arrogant self righteous bastards. Their Px4 handgun is great. But out of 4 versions, 3 of them are for military and law enforcement only. These versions are not select fire, suppressed, or feature extremely large magazine capacities. They are merely different double action only type trigger modes. Beretta seems to think we cake eating civilians can handle the same triggers that our super hero police can. Screw Beretta. If they want to play the same game Colt played... they will reap the same rewards. They don't see what a power house in the arms business Colt became? They should rather take a hard look at Remington. Remington doesn't sell anything to the military save a few sniper rifles and some ammo. Remington sells everything else to who? To the American Gun Owner. Sportsmen and shooters of all stripes. Beretta doesn't quiet get that.

Speaking of Remington, they have some crazy new shotguns coming out... thumbhole stocked 870's... very cool. I might have to score one. They have their new 770 rifle which comes with a scope, mounted and bore sighted at the factory. Looks like a cheap Bushnell unit, but one that is suitable for the gun. This is a good move... a less spendy rifle ready to go hunting out of the box for not a lot of money. And other than the cheap stock it actually looks like a good rifle. It has that Tikka style action. I'm talking about a closed receiver with the window port for loading and ejection. It makes for a strong action. Not a bad option for some of you MilSpec guys to get into a decent rifle with some real killing power behind it. Of course that might be more than you guys can handle... or understand. Let me put it another way. Cheap Sniper Rifle. Ah, now you know what that is... there you go. And you can get it in bigger, more powerful calibers than just .308.

Military Calibers vs Non-military calibers: Lots of folks argue that you should only buy your guns in calibers that the military uses. They think that because they are using the same ammo that such ammo will be more readily available. Well, I'm one of those folks that thinks that is bullshit. Let me illustrate. For some time now we have not had any 5.56MM or 7.62X39MM ammo available. All the ammo is going to Afghanistan and Iraq. We were out for about a month. We've been out of the 7.62 for longer and are still out of it. We finally got in some 5.56, but it is from A-Merc, and it is the crappiest stuff on the planet. So for good .223 (is there really such a thing?) we are still waiting. I don't know about your area, but supplies are thin. On the other hand we have plenty of everything else. 7MM Rem Mag? Got it. .30-30? Got it. You name it, we got plenty. Now let's say the Dems do start banning things again... they are already planning on trying and they are planning on starting out with dangerous ammunition. Lots of other countries already ban military calibers... this is where they got the idea from. If they do this, you will quickly see a void on the ammo shelves and good luck finding anything to feed your AR. Such a ban would also include brass. Reloading would prove to be difficult. So that is why I do not see any wisdom in buying a military caliber rifle simply because it is in a military caliber. The upshot for all this is that when this war is over .223 ammo is going to be cheap and plenty – certainly a feather in the cap for the milspec crowd. We've not seen any bulk packs of milsurp .30-30 at the gun shows. And with the new SIG 556 carbine coming out... well... there you go. I would LOVE to see the SIG 556 redone as a SIG 762 carbine, but that is just me. I'll be happy to wait for the new Kel Tec rifle which will be out and available in 2008 according to reports. Until then, I'll be happy as a clam shooting my .300 short mag Tikka and a 7MM Remington. You know what I'd love to see? Some clever fellow break out his CNC mill and come up with a miniature AK scaled down to dimensions for the .218 Bee cartridge. Now that would be a fun little gun.

Lots of guys are having fun with .17 caliber guns. Mach 2, HMR, Remington, and now Fireball. Laser flat trajectories and high velocities are one thing, but at the business end, the bullets are useless. They are too light to do the job on anything bigger than Coyotes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but we have plenty of small and sub-caliber guns out there. .218 Bee and .22 Hornet are just as fun, ain't they? Of course they are. And if you look, there are probably lots of rifle out there leaning up against a rack in some pawn shop.

Just a thought: Ruger needs to make their Bearcat revolver in .17Mach 2, almost as much as Browning needs to do the same with the Buckmark. Soon.

Walther P99 QA .40: I'm doing a review of the P99 right now. It scores higher than I thought it would. It actually impressed me a great deal. I'm not really into polymer framed guns, but putting prejudice aside I find that the P99 is an excellent handgun. I'm not even into the .40 caliber. But the P99 is an excellent platform for it. The two items... the P99 and the .40 caliber... they come together and just gel. I fired the 9MM version of the P99 some time ago and I wasn't all that impressed. That changed here with the .40. The Walther is still not a perfect pistol. It needs metal guide rod for starters... and the decocker? You have to be a spidermonkey to be able to actually use it. Not that you need it with the Quick Action trigger system. I guess for take down it has its uses... you have to drop the striker before you can pull the slide off the frame. That decocker beats dry firing. Still, for all the warts... It's a very worthy handgun.

Deep Freeze: This morning at 6:30AM the outside temp was -29 Degrees. When I started my car this morning, it didn't want to start... it did, after a while, but then it was really difficult to shift. Our four canines kept themselves warm by huddling up together in the shop. They were fine. But evidently some cattle in the area were not so lucky and froze to death. When it's so cold like this, keeping the house warm becomes expensive. Even after doing everything we can to insulate the home. Our propane tank is about empty again. It was not too long ago when we had it filled. Because of that, we've turned the thermostat down. Thank heavens we have the three wood burning stoves. Two in the house and one out in the shop. We'll be fine. But let's just say that I'm looking forward to spring already. The upside is that we found the most awesome sledding hill.

I found some software that will allow me to convert DVD to Windows Media. The downside is that Windows Movie Maker pretty much sucks. The software is not ideal and doesn't quite allow me to do what I'm wanting to do. Still looking for better options. Don't say “Mac”. Cause I know. I just don't have the money to buy the Mac. I full on would if I had the money. I would SO buy a Powerbook. It's the last thing I need to get Project X rolling and off the ground. That and some contributing editors.

Battlestar Galactica: Been catching up on it. Awesome show. So there they are, billions of lightyears away from earth... and they gear up with Safariland armor, kevlar helmets, Beretta Storm carbines and FN FiveseveN pistols. Interesting. I would have really expected the human race on the other side of the universe to have developed their own weapons and equipment. At least they didn't blunder by adopting the AR-15 rifle. The Cylons would have owned them. Starbuck with long hair is hot. She's certainly cool... but I think I'd have to take Boomer/Sharon. Drastically cute. Caprica? Let's put it this way... Can I get that implant that Baltar has?

Scrubs: This is the most brilliant SitCom ever made. Dr. Cox is my hero. The scripts are brilliant and the actors are delivering the lines with perfect timing. I love it. The characters are wonderful. As far as comedies go, it is my favorite.

Email from Reader: “First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of yours. I knew of your site prior to joining the USCCA last summer (love the AR-15 article, by the way). I always turn to your article first when I get CCM. I was surprised, then, when I saw your "ultimate CCW" gun article. You made several statements that did not seem to mesh with what I had previously read from you. First, I thought there was no such thing as an "ultimate," one size fits all CCW gun. I thought "to each his own." I thought the same people that used this phrase were the same people that wrote 9mm vs. .45 articles to sell magazines. Isn't it a matter of preference? Second, and more importantly, I was very surprised when I saw you suggested the NAA .380. I know you have said the NAA people are great, but I didn't think you went for small calibers in CCWs. I remember reading an article on your site (can't remember where) and you made the comment that the small gun you had felt even smaller when you were assaulted. Plus, you have the funny statement on your site ".45 ACP: Because no matter how you try to rationalize it, 9MM is still for women and pansies." Then, I noticed you carried the Wilson ADP (how do you like it? Have you ever shot one of their KZs? I've been thinking of getting one). Is the .380 really good enough? All my time I've had a CCW permit, everyone has said 9MM is the smallest one should carry. I'm not trying to be combative, because I know you know a whole lot more about guns than I do. I was just wondering why you were suggesting the .380. As a side note, will you autograph and return a CCM mag to me if I send it to you with $$ back for postage? Your articles are great. - David”

Thanks for the email and the praise, David. I see your point, and understand where you are coming from. My purpose on the guardian as being the "ultimate" and I cringe at that word... is that the guardian is the smallest gun that you can have with you all the time. 100% of the time. Even when you are going into areas where concealment is absolutely the most critical factor. A .22 in the hand beats the .45 you have at home or locked in the trunk of your car or wherever it might be other than on your person. My carry gun right now is a full sized 1911 Kimber - and I love it. (I'm alternating between it and the ADP) But it is not one I can carry everywhere I tread. For example, my church does not approve of concealed weapons. Were I to be "made" at church, it would cause lots of problems. So I don't pack my Kimber at church. I need something much much smaller, and sometimes that means a smaller caliber... even down to .380. Is .380 enough? I'm not saying it is... I'm just saying it is the minimum caliber acceptable to me. The Guardian is also as much pistol as can be packaged in such a small size. Cost was also a contributing factor. If cost was of no concern, I'd probably have went with the Rohrbaugh pistol... Undoubtedly that is a better option, but it comes at 3 times the price. I've got too many folks bitching about me reviewing only expensive guns. Let's get back to the caliber question... Really 9mm isn't enough. The joke on my Weapons page that you mentioned is just that... something to make one smirk. .45 ACP isn't even enough when you get right to it. No handgun is. (not counting the new revolvers out there capable of stopping a pissed off charging Lincoln Navigator – you can't pack one of those monsters concealed. If you could... I would!) For real stopping power you gotta have a rifle or a shotgun. A pistol is only there for you to have something so you can make it to your rifle or shotgun. So, no... it is not my first choice. But it is one that is always with me, even when I am packing my Kimber. That's what makes the NAA my choice there. The ADP is bloody fantastic. Smooth, accurate - you wont believe how accurate - and easy to carry. Night sights. It's awesome in the full meaning of the word awesome. Seriously - save your pennies. You are going to want one. Regarding the autograph thing... sure. I'd be happy to. (Offline Address Emailed) Cheers!

Let's talk about some stupid shit. Bandidas. Penelope Cruz and Salma Hyak together in a stupid western comedy. They are scorching hot, and acting stupid and fighting a lot. I love it. The story is that the two kitty cats get together because bad men did bad things and they set out to make it right by robbing banks that the bad men own. They enlist the help of an ex bank robber who teaches them about the business. In the process they get very wet and sexy. Then they shoot guns while being adorable and sexy. Then they go after a detective and turn him to their side by being even more sexy yet. If that's possible. And yes it is... This just might be the best damn movie ever made. The only thing that could make it better would have been if they were lovers too. Yeah, I said it. You know you were thinking it. Of course the movie at the same time is completely retarded... but it does have two steamy hot cowgirls being all sexy and I'm down with that.

Friday: 1-12-07: I really don't know what to say about the National Guard units retreating from Mexican infiltrators. I am hugely disappointed. But I am not surprised. Guard units do not roll around in the states ready to throw down. It is also very possible that they had no weapons or live ammo for their weapons. Under these conditions I can see the Guardsmen falling back and calling for help. Now if they had weapons and ammo... had the ability to fight back and destroy the attackers... and they didn't, then I would be willing to say that some heads need to roll. What happened to “These Colors Don't Run”? Okay, I'm not going to harsh on these Guardsmen too bad here... I don't know exactly what went down and how. But the situation shows us that our Guardsmen need to step up. I've said it before, but I'm saying it again. Every soldier regardless of where they are or what kind of soldier they are... all of them need to be armed at all times. Live weapons with live rounds for them. Even Medical or Weathermen. I don't care. If they are in the service then they are sworn... if they are sworn – they wear a freaking side arm at minimum with access to rifles. A loaded gun on their hip of everyone soldier. Guardsmen get National No Questions Asked Carry Permits – their Military ID Card. Concealed or Open – the Soldiers choice. Even if they are not on a Drill Weekend. This is what they are all about... Guarding the Nation. If you are a Guard without a weapon – you are a Door Man. That's what the Guardsmen were when they let themselves be over run by those infiltrators.

Tikka T3. We took one in on trade the other day. One in .300 WSM. Black with a synthetic stock. It is not fancy by any means... but it is a very slick rifle with a short bolt throw and a fantastic trigger. It has rings and bases on it already, but no scope. I've not decided on one yet. The only problem that this Tikka has is a case of gun cancer... rust. There is light surface rust all over the action, on some of the barrel, and even some on the trigger. The rust is only on the exterior and all the internal surfaces and parts are fine. This is mostly cosmetic. I've already talked to my gunsmith and he's quoted me only 200 bucks for a polished hot blueing, or 150 for matte. But considering what the rifle is... what it is for... the rifle's qualities... I might look at doing a powder coating type finish on it. My gunsmith does a fantastic blueing job... he has the tanks for doing the hot blue the right way. But I think a weather resistant bake on finish might make more sense. If I had my choice, I'd have Wilson Combat give it their Armor Tuff finish, because, damn, that is the best there is. I wish Wilson Combat did automotive refinishing. I'd get my Contour SE refinished in grey Armor Tuff. .300 WSM is a solid caliber. Hot and fast, and capable of offering a large dose of precision delivered violence and brutality at long range. Everything you want in a rifle made for killing shit a long way away. The only downside is recoil. This caliber has more than its share of it. The T3 is a light rifle... you are going to feel it. Or should I say – I'm going to feel it. Right in my bad shoulder. Oh well. I'm not going to complain about it. Considering the horse power that is so far above and beyond the .308 that too many shooters consider to the “ultimate” rifle caliber. Around here, I don't know anyone that hunts with a .308. Lots of guys plink with it.... but they are not trying to take game with it. Then again, out here in my part of the country, the game is big and far away. I'd have no problem going after anything out here with a .308... I don't feel that I need a big magnum – even a .300WSM. But when I tell you the price I got this Tikka for – you will say “Yeah, I'd have snagged that shit too”.

I don't really like it, but I'm cashing in on the Coyote Bounty. A pair of coyote ears is worth $30. A couple weeks ago, I cashed in 17 pairs. In my trunk, I've got another dozen. I've not had any problems with coyotes as some ranchers have had... and in fact, I like them. I think they are pretty groovy critters. But thirty bucks is thirty bucks. I like shooting, and I like getting paid. This is a pretty slick combo for me. .30-30 has no problem dropping a Coyote out to 250 yards. But let me tell you... 7MM Rem Mag will drop a dog out past 700 with ease. One dog pays for a box of shells. A box of shells earns enough scratch to take care of business. It isn't pretty, it isn't personal... its business. I don't think I'm going to roll any dogs with a .300 WSM. That's a bit much.  But I might try it. 

Surge in the Troops. I don't know if a surge in the number of troops is a good idea. I think they only really needed some alterations of their rules of engagement. Putting more men on the ground has pros and cons that I am not going to go over here... let me just put it this way. It seems to me that it could be too little too late. Mitt Romney's statement that we need five regiments in Baghdad and another two outside, that sounds like it makes sense. A 15% increase isn't a surge... and I think John Stewart of The Daily Show said it best. “That's not a surge, it's a gratuity... it's a tip.” The only unit I know of that is gearing up for going over is the 82^nd Airborne. The 82^nd is a fantastic military engine... but this isn't exactly the mission these guys are suited for. Airborne units are not meant for garrison duty. They are meant for kicking as much ass as possible. That mission, they do well. So if the 82^nd drops into Iraq, they are going to have to expect that asses are going to get kicked. If I was a terrorist over there right now... I'd be thinking of relocating my operations. Spain seems an easy target. I've worked with the 82^nd before... I know how hard core those guys are. They don't play around. They are one of the best Infantry divisions on the planet and they know exactly how to drive the enemy before them and hear the lamentations of their women. Ferocious warriors. But is it a good idea to get them tied down in Baghdad? We shall see. I don't think I'd send them though... That is a unit I would hold back... one of my Ace cards.

If you have not seen it yet... check out Michael Blane's blog and look at the SIG 556 carbine video clip. Now this is a fantastic weapon. It is as ergonomic as an AR-15 and similar enough for AR Bevets to not get too freaked out about. The gun breaks down like an AR at first... but has a simplified bolt and carrier system... a gas system that is 1000% better than an AR... it's fantastic. The rifle only has one small problem left. It's still only chambered for .223 Remington, suitable only for ground squirrels, rabbits, and other small rodents. I would like to see it chambered in something a bit more effective. The new 6.8SPC and other .270 caliber alternatives really transform the platform. Instead of a light carbine for target practice and other shooting sports, you would have a real weapon for enforcing imperialism and glory.

It seems a lot of Brits are all a twitter because one of their soccer players went to LA. This is a surprise to those of us in the USA because we didn't even know we had a soccer team in LA. Yeah, he left England a long time ago for Spain... but the UK seems to have crowned him English Royalty anyway. Can't blame the guy for going to LA though... a million bucks a week isn't just chump-change. Even I would move to LA for that much scratch. Only because I could afford to fly my ass back out every weekend. 5:00PM Friday, I'm flying back to Utah and wont fly back in until 8:00AM on Monday. Maybe not today though...

Right now there is one hell of a snow storm going on. It snowed all night and looks like it going to be snowing all day today. The depth is measured in feet at Ogre Ranch. Unlike other places, the local National Guard armories are not being opened up to the homeless people to keep warm. Business is carrying on as usual. This is a downside to having 80% of the vehicles on the road out here being all wheel drive trucks... you can't call in a snow day. If you do, you get the label “Pussy”. Unfortunately my little Jaguar powered car doesn't have all wheel drive, isn't a truck, and when its tires touch snow it says “screw this” and immediately wants grab the rails on the side of the highway like an old woman going down a flight of stairs. I've had no problems with actually kissing a guard rail – but I've had some close calls. The real problem I have right now is that I have a Concealed Carry Magazine article deadline today and a pistol that I have not had a chance to shoot yet. Because of the new James Bond movie “Casino Royale” I wanted to review a Walther P99. I've done a lot of 9MM's and .45's so I wanted to do something different... so this P99 is a .40. Should make for an interesting review. But getting stuck in the snow trying to get to where I can shoot it is less than appealing. I might have to break out Brutus from his winter hibernation. His four wheel drive would be helpful, but Brutus gets cranky when you wake him up like that. I would give my left nut to have Brutus refitted with a Chevy engine and transmission... but that's another topic. Right now, I'm at my writing joint “Gandolfo's”, enjoying a hot breakfast sandwich, drinking some raspberry tea, and looking at the snow. Some time after I post this, I'll brave the snow and go shooting. Maybe.

Monday, 1-8-07:  Thanks for all the advice about camera mounts. I'm going to fabricate my own. Simple enough once I go get the stuff I need to get it done. No problem. This leaves one last issue I need to overcome before I can get rolling. This should be a simple one. I need to take the DVD recordings and turn them into a format that I can manipulate easily for editing. I am guessing this is a software conversion. Anyone have a cheap and easy solution for that?

The best take I got regarding Nancy Pelosi's freakish relishing of power and glory: “Hey George, Just wanted to point out something that I noticed today. When Nancy Pelosi was ceremoniously given the helm today and gloating over her new found power I noticed something was missing. When she was handed the great big gavel that is the symbol of the Speaker of the House, and she held it proudly in the air in triumph over her new power and glory, it seemed like she needed to have one more accessory. I honestly kept picturing in my mind that with the Hammer in one hand (the gavel) there should have been a Sickle in the other. It just would have seemed more fitting. Buckle up, this is going to be a ruff ride. Jesse”

A disturbing but accurate mental image, Jesse. Nail on the head. The real disturbing thing about Nancy's revelry is that is displays her complete lack of understanding of the way the government works. She is not the most powerful woman in the country – she's nothing. She is not elected to her position. Her position is by traditional appointment, and not by election from the people. She's the speaker. A figurehead and not a policy maker herself save as a representative of her constituents. At least that is what she is supposed to be. We can see her understanding of it is a little different. If I was a person living in San Fransisco, and I saw my Rep acting like she's acting – I'd be pissed.

From our man Stephen; “This morning I read in my newspaper that several Democrat Congressmen are facing corruption investigations. I think the Democrats are really saying they want more 'buy-partisanship' in politics.”

An interesting update to muzzle loading. Consumable cartridges. ThunderCharge is a caseless cartridge that you drop down the barrel, ram home with the ram rod, and then affix your 209 primer and there you go. This is being hailed as a revolutionary new thing. This is pretty cool, and a slick new thing for the commercial market. But back in the 1800's they called them paper cartridges, but hey... who's counting?

I had several emails about my take regarding Civilian Shrinks attached to military units. Most folks are in agreement with me about my opinion of the use of the Chaplains, but some do not. I didn't mean to insult anyone when I said civilians have no place being embedded with military combat units... if I did... deal with it because I stand by that opinion. Soldiers have more to worry about than keeping dumbass civvies from getting themselves or others killed. And they don't have to worry about “liability” issues or keeping things sanitized for civilian sensibilities. The use of an existing military asset makes sense. Chaplains have a lot of time to study... and as officers, they take time to study even before being commissioned. Why not just require some psychological courses? A chaplain doesn't need a full psychological degree... but some courses regarding dealing with PSTD only makes even more sense. Guys, this is one Ogre's opinion. It is not a perfect solution. Don't worry about it. I'm in no position to effect policy within the Armed Forces. I know, it is unfortunate.

If I was in charge of the Armed Forces... the Ultimate Commander... I would make some changes. First off, the main rifle in the Army would be TAVORs in .270WSM. The handguns would be 1911's in 9X23MM. These weird digital BDU's which amazingly don't blend in to anything... forget them. Would go back to our WWII style uniforms but made with better materials of course. We looked good then. We would also roll with more tanks instead of light wheeled Strykers. And robots with lasers... I could go on.

Thursday, 1-4-07:  Embedded Shrinks: Some combat arms units are starting to embed head-shrinks. Reporters are bad enough... now they have to have civilian shrinks asking them how they feel about them. This is utter bullshit. Unfortunately this is also the best solution that anyone has actually tried. Solution to what? PTSD. A good Head Doc can help minimize or even prevent PTSD if the Troop has access to him when he needs it. PTSD is a complicated issue. There are no easy answers for it. The results of ignoring or neglecting PTSD? Well, here in Utah is a Marine locked up in the hole facing charges for Murder. I'm not going to go into his case, and I'm not going to allow his PTSD to be used as an excuse for it... but I do think PTSD was a solid contributing factor. Now back to the Civilians. This is one of the bigger issues I have with this thing... civilians. Combat troops can not exactly get along straight up with a Shrink that is most likely Liberal and have no real understanding of a Soldier's Mind. They can't relate. As a result, the Troop who knows this, isn't going to really open up and lay everything out on the table. The Troops are not stupid or gullible as John Kerrry would have you believe. Our Troops are the smartest, deadliest, yet most humane soldiers ever fielded by any nation in the history of the world. Out soldiers are the best America has to offer. They are our nation's very foundation. They deserve the best treatment the nation has to offer. The mechanism for dealing with PTSD is already in place. Military Chaplains. The chaplains only need training in dealing with PTSD issues. The chaplains are already there... but there are not enough of them. There should be a chaplain for every Company if not every Platoon. I like the Company level idea. The Chaplain is not just there for Religious reasons... they are also there to be a listening ear for the Troops. A shoulder for those that need it. A councilor. They should be more a part of the unit that just the guy some Troops go see on Sunday. They need to be put to better use than just that.

The root problem with PTSD in a combat soldier is not a tear in their psychological fabric, but I think ultimately it is a problem with Self Worth. Most of the Vets I've talked with have had issues with their own self worth. Think about this... you have a guy that is a hero... he fought... bled... had the company of his peers who did the same things he did... then he goes home. After the grand welcome is over... he's alone. No one around him understands what he did... many even think what he did was useless. Or worse, he might not even be able to or allowed to tell anyone. This is where PTSD rears its ugly head. He goes from one extreme to the other and this giant let down leaves a vacuum that nothing is filling. This is where drugs or booze can come into play and the soldier is very susceptible to self destructive behavior and influences. At this point, it is often too late to help them. At this point, the soldier has to want to be helped. I've talked about Combat PTSD, or PTSD-C as I call it, before. I'm not going to go into it all again... but let me nutshell it for you. The soldier has got to feel like he is still apart of things, that he still has value, that he is still important. They are... all of them are! The problems with PTSD is that it makes you feel like you are not. It's got a lot of Depression factors of course, but all of them stem from the same thing. Now the other factors, that regular PTSD doesn't have stem from another thing. Forgiveness is something that the soldiers need. Forgiveness from God, and even more importantly Forgiveness from themselves. They have to forgive themselves first. This is where a good and smart Chaplain can come into play and head off the problem. Thou Shalt Not Kill is a hurtle. Of course I know the original phrase was “... not Murder” but most guys don't know the difference and this causes a huge problem. Most of the guys I've talked to about their PTSD didn't know that. This is some of the things that Civilian shrinks don't get. To them a Soldier's PTSD is the same as the little girl that got raped by her dreadful Turkish uncle. The Soldier's PTSD is completely different and the mental scars go deeper on levels that the girl's PTSD doesn't begin to touch. I'm not minimizing the Girl's trauma... just illustrating that the Soldier's trauma is different. The Girls was a victim. She had no choice. The Soldier was a participant who chose to act on something that haunts him afterworld. Civilian shrinks don't understand the difference well enough. They can't. They've not been there. This is where the Chaplains need to step up. One of the biggest problems with the program now is that the Troops need permission to go talk to the Shrinks or to the Mental Health persons... this can cause a stigma for the solider that he might want to avoid so he doesn't go talk those that could help him. Embedded Civy Shrinks tries to stem that issue, but like I said, it's not the best solution. No officer has a problem with letting a troop go talk to the Chaplain. There is no stigma there. The only problems with the Chaplains is that they are not always available or that they are not trained in dealing with PTSD. This is a suggestion to the .MIL... train the Chaplains and put one in every Company. Chaplains are not just priests. They can be put to better use. Use them. Train them. Deploy them. Send the civilians home. They have no place in a military unit of any type in any place.

SHOT SHOW 2007: Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to go. I'll catch it next year when it comes back to Vegas and I'll be able to drive. I'm going to miss it... it sucks that I can't go... but that's life.  As much as I'm going to miss going to SHOT, I have to take solace in the fact that every day at work, we've got our own gun show. We've got over a thousand guns in inventory and last year we sold 2343 firearms. We have one of the largest firepower displays in the western states. We have more than Cabellas (in Utah) and we have more than Green Top (in Virginia) could ever hope to have. We have everything else you need to go with it too. We have the scopes, the range finders, the binos and the spotting scopes. And if you need ammo, we have it. You want to reload? We got the Hornady, Lee and the RCBS... presses, dies, and all the components you need. Name the caliber. Muzzle loaders? We got it. Archery? We have Hoyt, Reflex, Parker, PSE, Archery Research... We have you covered. It's awesome. So while I can't go out and see what's coming out just around the corner... I'm not going to worry about it. It's coming around the corner right to me. Then I can sell it. I used to be a Gun Slut... so I guess that means I'm now a Gun Pimp.

Sitting here at B&N I was trying to send some email... Zone Alarm kept telling me someone was trying to come in. five or six times. I looked around and only saw one guy with a laptop. He had on old Dell with a wireless card sticking out with one of those wire antennas. He was faced away from me. So got up... walked over... saw that he was indeed the one trying to hack me... so I whispered in his ear. “Try again and I'll put you on the evening news.” He said “Oh, sorry.” What? Sorry is for like... belching at the table... or even farting in an elevator. For hacking? No, sorry doesn't cover it. I let him know my feelings... I broke off his wireless antenna and said “Oh, Sorry about that.” Fuqqer.

Getting new glasses, which is why I am at B&N. LensCrafters is grinding my new optics as I type this. Spendy lenses this time... going all out. Bill would have killed me this time last year. 2006 was good for me. I hope 2007 is going to be even better. I have a good feeling that it will be. 2008 is going to be raw...

I'm impressed with the Dems. They are saying that “we need to be bipartisan” and the media is licking it up like pudding. But they are at the same time strong-arming the Repubs and blocking them, not allowing any changes or debates on any of the first 100 hour issues. Yeah, that's what they mean by Bi-Partisan... only one party... theirs. Buckle up. Politics is going to be a bumpy ride from now on.

Digital Video Camera. I pulled the trigger on my Digicamcorder. The JVC was a no go. I went with a Sony with Zeiss optics. Now I've got to come up with something to actually do with it. I've several ideas. Just need to decide which one to do first. Perhaps a video review of my new Kimber? I need to make something that allows me to mount the camera on a dashboard. Something removable and wont mark up the car. Any ideas?

Monday, New Years Day: Some more thoughts on the Stoeger Cougar. The Beretta Cougar is in my opinion one of the best handguns on the planet. The guns are smooth and accurate and very reliable. Beretta didn't know how to market it very well, considering that there was no Lethal Weapon 7 with Mel packing a Cougar. They were hoping the Land Rover crowd would embrace it on its own merits, but they didn't. The guys buying the expensive over-under shotguns just are not into new double action automatics. Don't be surprised here. Since they didn't know how to market it, the guns didn't sell very well. Only a few departments adopted it. Virginia State Police adopted it in .357 for awhile, I think... if I remember right. Okay, so Beretta dropped the Cougar and has now come out with the “Super Cougar”, or as they call it, the Px4 Storm pistol, which is pretty much a larger fancy poly framed Cougar. But the original Cougar was/is a fantastic gun... so they shipped the design and tooling and such things over to Turkey where the Stoeger firm is continuing the production. The differences between the Italian version and the Turkish version seems to be just cosmetic. I didn't notice anything really different. The guns look the same and feel the same and function the same... the only difference is the finish. Stoeger doesn't know how to make a good finish. I want to buy them a buffing wheel and send it to the Stoeger factory with a note asking them to please use it once in awhile. The triggers feel good too. They have 15 round mags for the 9MM version. The best thing about the Stoeger Cougars? The price. They are retailing for 350 bones right here. Let's put it this way, if I was looking for a good 9MM and I wanted to save some bucks for ammo – I would buy the Stoeger Cougar. It is, right now, the best deal in handguns going on. I would buy one today. Unfortunately I don't need another 9MM so I'm going to take a pass. At least today. I've got a Beretta 92FS Inox from Italy sitting in my box right now. (along with a pair of Charter Arms revolvers... which are seriously the worst handguns I've ever seen – period. The frames are fucked up and the grips don't fit. The grips don't even match up one side to the other, and they sent ME these guns to review? I'm going to have to send them back... I can't review them.) So while I'm not going to buy one, seriously consider the Cougar if your in the market for a handgun.

We also got in the Franchi shotgun. If you like the Benelli, but don't want to spend the Benelli dollars, we had the Stoeger... but the Stoeger is a little rough. The Franchi is in the middle. They are smoother than Stoeger, and with a better finish, but not quite as nice as the Benelli. How much? 650. Hell yes, that is a screaming good deal. If I needed a shotgun like that, I'd have no problem buying one myself. 650 for a Benelli type semi auto shotgun? I'm all over it. But I don't want one right now... I've got a jones for the Remington Marine Magnum. I'm digging the chrome. I don't know why. If the Franchi was chromed out, with a shorter barrel and an extended tube, I'd snag it. I'm not into duck hunting or clays, so a typical 28 inch, ribbed shotgun is not my thing.

Video Camera. I'm going to be buying a digital video camera. It's a JVC with a 20 gig hard drive and digital image stabilization. I'm going to be doing video posts, throwing them up on YouTube and linking them here. At least that is the plan right now. This is also going to be used for Project X which is still in the works. This is one of the stepping stones. For those that have not seen me in some time, you are going to be surprised when you see a video of me. Last time many have seen me, I had a shaved head. Get ready for a shock. I'm not sure if this is the camera I should get. I don't want a camera that records to disk. Disks get to be spendy. Recording straight up into a hard drive only seems logical. The problem is that I've read some reviews that are very positive about this unit. Then I read Cnet's review, which was less than flattering. I'm talking about the JVC Everio GZ-MG21. It's only five hundred. There is a Sony that has a 30 gig drive for only twice as much. I think this unit might do well, but I need some feedback from those that know digital camcorders... Will this do? All the cameras that I want are unfortunately still over 3 grand. Of course those are capable of shooting feature length films, something I don't need to do... yet.

Unloading some guns: The following guns are for sale, shipping to FFL dealers only so I will need signed copies of your dealer's FFL. If you are interested, I can send you my phone number at work and we can talk about the details. Cost of shipping is not included in the price.

HK P2000 DAO .40 - $650

CZ-100 9mm - $350

S&W CS9 9mm - $430

S&W 410 .40 - $300

Beretta Bobcat .22 - $200

Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag - $530

Walther P22 .22 - $320 (with both short and long barrels, grey frame)

Ruger Single Six .22 Mag (no .22LR cyl) $285

Remington 7400 high grade .243 - $425

Remington 7400 matte black synth .30-06 w/ 6-18 scope like new - $600

Weatherby MK V tan and black lined .22-250 - $1000

Weatherby MK V black synth, a little rough .300 WBY Mag - $600

TC Encore .50 cal muzzle loader $550. Stainless, black synth stocks.

CHECK ARCHIVES FOR OLDER CONTENT

Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012

“I keep two magnums in my desk drawer. One is a gun that I keep loaded.  The other is a bottle and it keeps me loaded.”