JANUARY 2009

1-28-09:  819 Billion Dollars for a Pork Orgy. This is our new Democrat Government telling us that we don't know what to do with our money. That is OUR money they decided that they are going to spend for us. Mostly giving it to those that don't deserve it, those that shouldn't have it, and those that have no purpose even thinking about it... I've not read all of it. There is over 600 pages of it... but everything I've read so far – it's all Pork Barrel Spending crap. I'm not seeing any Stimulus in this. This is the worst legislation I've ever seen – I've ever read about – it's even the worst I could imagine. This is asinine. The Democrats controlling 2 thirds of our Federal Government – and they are having an orgy with our money. With this sort of Democrat Leadership – guys – I'm telling you – we are in a world of hurt now. This is our money, spent in ways we don't want it spent. It's shockingly bad no matter how you look at it.

If Congress wanted to Stimulate the Economy – they should have taken that money, paid off our loans to China, got us out of debt, and then cut taxes like an axe murderer. That would have helped our economy more than anything. I've listened to enough guys today saying that they should have given the money to us and that would have stimulated the economy. Well, it's a fun way to think about it – but it would be wrong. Because that would have devalued the dollar even further and everything – everything – would have become more expensive. The wise thing for the government to do is the same as any household... cut spending, balance the books, lower our overhead. Instead we have these insane Democrats who think they can spend money like drunk college kids with their first credit card – and that's going to make everyone happy.

Look, there is stuff in this bill that is going to CRUSH business. Business might not be everyone's favorite right now – but that's what drives the economy. And when there are stipulations on carbon offsets which is all BS anyways, and there are mandatory regulations that basically put industry into a choke hold – you are going to cost people their jobs. That's what Congress just did. I have two friends that just got layed off. I know oil companies and drilling rigs that are shutting down left and right because of the Democrats and Obama already. Gas prices are going to surge. Gas is going to go back up – sky high. 8 bucks a gallon I'm thinking. And the Democrats are going to shrug and say “well, you should just inflate your tires mores”. This is going to push the economy over the brink.

Guys, I'm scared. I really am. I'm afraid for America... because if America falls – the world falls. And the rest of the world should be very concerned too.  The Democrats are at the wheel and they don't know how to drive and they don't know where they are going. This will not end well.

Yet I have hope. No need to panic.

Because I know that we will have another election in 4 years. And I think that by then we will be ready to vote some people into Office who have some points invested in IQ.

1-27-09:  Sorry - Video was pulled because I made some errors.  I'll do another one when I have time.

1-26-09:  WeTheArmed.com is back up and better than ever. The speed and responsiveness is impressive. Now we just need everyone to come back. It was down most of the day Sunday. A freak DNS issue after we went to the new server. Once that was sorted out, we are good to go.

Update on that: Up again, Down again. This is frustrating. Again, DNS issues. Our host better sort this out... this is just stupid. But keep checking to see when it does come up. Because once this is sorted, WTA will be positioned with the power and the performance to really be one of the top Gun Boards out there. We are still young, but with the experience we have on tap there, the members we have... it's Top Notch. Well... once the DNS crap gets ironed out.

Nancy Pelosi is an evil hag. She's added Birth Control to Bail Out Bill. Along with Birth Control is Abortions. Because this will help the economy. Frivolous, irresponsible sex will help the economy. Sometimes I wish God would get Biblical again. Turn Pelosi into a pillar of salt. This is unbelievable. The Democrats believe, as a party, that children are a burden. Obama suggested that while he was campaigning, and now Pelosi is saying the same thing.

So here we have a very fundamental difference between the Democrats and Republicans. Democrats hate Kids and Guns and Religion... and Republicans Embrace Them. So the Democrats say you can have Gay Marriage and Abortions, but not an AR-15, Prayer and a Parenthood. Frankly, I think we need these things more than ever now. Its time that our side of the political spectrum do two things. First, Stand Up and defend our Rights and our Children. And Second, to kneel and pray for the strength and wisdom to keep doing it.

I was going to go shooting today. Maybe even drive out to SLC and kidnap Larry Correia for a few hours and take him to the range... get Steve Ting and Ben Sheppard out too. Everyone's been working hard and stressing. Thought maybe having some fun would put everyone back in the right mind. Well, those plans were put on ice. Yesterday it rained. Then the rain turned into snow. So this morning I go outside and we have a nice thing layer of ice over everything, and on top of that 6 inches of snow here at Ogre Ranch. I drove down to the little country store we have called “Shirleys” to get a bite of breakfast and my favorite morning beverage. Two cars had slid off into the shoulder. And that's just along a half mile stretch. Thank Oberon for 4 Wheel Drive. The Chevy, in 4x4 mode felt like it had tank tracks. Very solid connection and grip. I am not liking the imagined chaos that is highway 40 or other routes. Just nuts out there. And there is another winter storm coming in at us. Our schools have just declared a half day today, because of the second storm coming in. Just to give you guys an idea how serious this is – the Uintah School District NEVER calls snow days. In VA, we had snow days just because someone saw a Flake. Or if there was a chance to see a snow flake. Here, Jack Frost has to be Crack before our schools even raise an eyebrow. So, no. I'm not going to go shooting today. I'm not even going to go into town today. I'm going to just kick back and be a complete lazy bastard today. Warm crackling fire. Hot Chocolate. Work on Silvershot and some other things.

Gun Content. I do think I need to talk about some guns today. Friday Ben and I went shooting. You can see on YouTube that we busted some Tannerite again... but what I forgot to mention was that we also had an XDM 9mm on hand. The XDM is a good weapon. It's a solid and respectable handgun by all means. And 19 rounds of 9mm on hand is an impressive payload. It shot well. It was accurate and reliable and did everything it should and nothing it shouldn't have. Really, the gun has no warts. But I didn't like it. It shot nice and soft... reminded me more of a Browning Buckmark than anything else. But I just want more from a full sized duty handgun. I need more than just 9mm. I'm not saying I'd want to take a hit from a 9... but I'd just rather pack more horsepower in a defensive weapon. And that's what handguns are. Defensive Weapons. I think the XDM package is best suited to .40. In .40, it feels like a 9mm when you shoot it. And with 16 round magazines, you are packing one more round in the gun that the Military's M9 Handguns, which are 9mm. So the capacity is great. And it does this with a nice thin feeling grip. To me, it doesn't feel chunky as most double stacked handguns do. The XDM has a thumbs up from me – in .40 caliber.

1-25-09:  WeTheArmed.com is temporarily down. But have no fear. We are moving to a new server. The new WTA home has a lot more horsepower... it's going to be almost twice as fast. It's going to be great. So stay tuned. Stick with us. We'll be back up better than ever. Our old server gave us some small occasional glitches... page time out errors... usually when you've written a long detailed response to a post. Irritating. So that should be resolved with this transition. Some new things going on at WTA. For one, the whole Karma thing has gone away. It was fun, but it got distracting. It was a turn off to some folks. So whatever benefit it had, was not worth the downside. Themes... a lot of guys were turned off by the darkish these WTA has. Well, WTA is more user friendly than folks realize. You can pick your own theme. Our boys have been working on lighter themes that each individual can look at and select whichever one looks best to you.

So there it is. WTA will be slicker, faster, user customizable. So if you've not checked us out lately, come back and take another look.

Some thoughts on Windows 7. As I've mentioned before, I've thrown Windows 7 Ultimate on a laptop and have been using it for web tasks, emails, things I don't have to save data locally. I have to say that W7 is impressive. It runs much faster than Vista. It is much slicker than Vista. It feels more like a finished product that Vista does. I'm running it on an old Dell laptop that has only 1 gig of RAM and a CPU from when Cindy Lauper was hot. And Windows 7 runs great on it. The only problem that I have with Windows 7, is that it's going to be locked out in 6 months or so. It's going to dead ended so if you are a user, you will have to get the 1.0 release and install that. And that is too bad – because this is fully featured and works great. Installing it was the easiest Windows install I've ever done. And the fastest. Didn't have to hunt for any drivers, it found them all. I can't tell you enough... I like it. MS has a winner here. I could put it on all my systems.

1-24-09:  It's been a little while since I've updated here. I've been busy. As you can see on the MadOgre YouTube Channel. Ogre Ranch is in a transition state here. The weather wants to be Spring, but it's not ready to give up Winter yet. The result is that things melt, and it rains, and everything is wet... and then at night it all freezes solid and slick. My truck. My Porch. My road. You wouldn't believe all the slide-off's and accidents. One lady got killed the other night, two guys from work have had crunchings of bodywork on their vehicles. It's been quite serious. But pretty soon the freezing will stop... and with that comes more wind and rain. And more wind. We get a lot of wind in the spring. Enough to damage trees. Tear limbs down. It's like Winter isn't ready to leave so it's throwing a fit and being dragged out.

This hasn't stopped me from shooting. Which has been an almost daily thing all week. So yesterday I made up for the missed shooting day by taking a second range trip. The first one was fun. The second one was fine tuning my zeroes on my 527 rifle and carbine. Willy and I worked on these zeroes together. He had a couple of his rifles that needed to be tuned as well. The one rifle that just always performs above expectation is the 527 Carbine in 7.62x39mm. The accuracy is impressive. Several groups... and I kid you not... are all touching.  Some one hole groupings... with a flier.  This is because of the ammunition being less than consistent.  Pretty consistent... but there is always that one round that strays.   When I dive feet first back into reloading - I'm going to work up some loads for the x39 because I think, and I always have, that there is great potential in that cartridge. 

The new episodes of Galactica are stark and drastic. This is the best it's every been. The fleet has some major issues. Issues that are easily resolved. Simply kill Zarack and Gaeta, and make Apollo the President. That's one. Two, put military personnel in command of every ship. Use the Cylon FTL drives and kit out the fleet. Maximize the everyone's ability to escape danger, to reach safety. “Politics” of the Fleet are secondary to the military requirements of protecting the fleet.

Windows 7. MS has their new version of Windows that is going to replace the SNAFU that is Vista. Windows 7 is less about eye candy, and more about making it actually functional. Yet Windows 7 looks awesome. It's running great on my Dell laptop, with only 1 gig of RAM and a slow processor. It's actually quite impressive.

1-19-09:  Had an interesting day today. A customer brought in a new TC Icon rifle that he had some issues with. Namely, the rifle can't shoot worth a crap. I thought perhaps this cat couldn't shoot because he was all over the target. There were some screws loose on the gun at that the bottom of the stock. Thought perhaps this could be a contributing factor. So I hit them with some blue GunTight from Loctite and torqued them down properly. Well, I found that it wasn't the shooter and it wasn't the screws. Either Scope or Bedding. Scope is easiest to diagnose... swap scope for a known good scope and test fire. I have a Nikon Monarch waiting to go onto a different rifle, so I used that one. Crap. It's not the scope. This Icon is getting a trip back home.

For some reason I was just jacking around with my digital camera and recoded this fiasco. Hope you enjoy it. There are 5 videos in this series. (some may still be uploading) So look for the others under the More From: Mad Ogre tab.

So Obama is getting sworn in shortly. Well that's just peachy. Because our Tax and Spend Congress just cant wait to get the full court press going on. This Stimulus bill is the most disgustingly useless waste of money since Coors purchased advertising on KBYU. Spending unprecedented quantities of your money to accomplish very little in terms of actual tangible benefits. This is going to cost us dearly and it's going to be futile because none of the spending to stimulate anything is going to solve the situations that put everyone into these needy situations. And now everyone is wanting part of this handout. Las Vegas Casinos are wanting bailout money. The Porn Industry is wanting bailout money. Everyone wants some bailout money. This is insane. Just shear insanity. Because no one asking for it should get any of it. If money has to be handed out – do you know who should get it? You and Me. Its our money... not GM's. Not The Luxor's. It's yours. You want to stimulate the economy? Cut those taxes steep and deep. Let Americans keep more of their own money and let them spend it the way they want. THAT is going to stimulate the economy. It's tax season... everyone that pays taxes gets a 50 Grand Credit. Or what ever this amount of money works out to be for each of us. That money can go pay off Credit Cards, help put money down on a new car... buy some Goods and Services. That would stimulate the Economy the right way. By rewarding companies that people want to do business with and those companies that don't deserve any – don't get any. This is how it should work. The people who should get the bailouts are those that are paying for it. No one else should get anything. Bail you out. Bail me out. Then we can fix the economy the right way.

1-18-09:  I had an email attempting to defend Ruger's new LCR as it being original. I'll not post it as to save time. Let me go over a couple things about the Ruger. Ruger is claiming originality with their new LCR, where there is none. Their so called Monolithic Frame is something that Charter Arms has been doing for ages. No frame panels. Ruger gets no points there. That's no original at all. The Laser Grips? S&W has had that for some time now. As they have had the light weight frame. I still don't know wtf a synergistic coating is... is that plastic? Well, in 1999, Star had their model 1911 PL, which was a 1911 with a frame that had a Synergistic Coating of plastic. No counting all the other guns that have frames made of plastic. There was, as I've pointed out before, a revolver that was made with a plastic frame, it was cool because it was a Schofield type break open. Now what makes the Ruger LCR look unique is two things... the cylinder and the hammer shroud. Well, the hammer shroud looks a lot like what Rossi did some years ago where they had the grip portion of back strap come up over the hammer to form the shroud... this Ruger looks a lot like that. The funky cylinder on the other hand, looks like pulled the cylinder off the CNC mill before it was complete... to me it looks unfinished.

So there you go. NOTHING on the Ruger looks original or new in anyway. These are all things I've seen before. Like a bad hacked up B action movie ripping off everyone else's movies and packaged together in some new way that leaves it somehow distasteful. Kinda like the movie “WANTED”. You walk away feeling either ripped off, dirty, and disappointed. THAT is what the Ruger LCR is to me.

Joe at FBMG is one of the best gunsmiths out there. Joe and I are coming up with a rifle concept that we want to build... one is a modern remake of the DeLisle Carbine, and the other is a new take on a Scout Rifle based on the CZ 527 Carbine, with mucho improvements. What's holding us back is that Joe needs a mill. He could also use a lathe. A mill is 3 grand. A lathe is 3 grand. Starting out on this project, and for everything else Joe needs to work on – he needs a Mill. We need to hold a fund raiser for Joe to get his mill. Any Ideas?

One More Thing. Another friend of ours needs some help. We are very concerned about him and we don't know what to do. He has some health issues but can not get insurance because his health issues are “Pre-Existing”. No one will touch him. He needs a good doctor. He is a good man, and a proud fella.... he wont ask for help and he wont accept charity. He's deep in debt on medical bills and is avoiding the hospital to prevent more bills pilling up. I need a Doctor near Colorado or in Colorado willing to look after him in exchange for gunsmithing services. This isn't charity – this is good old fashioned Barter and you would have a very good gunsmith on tap for all your gunsmithing needs. He is one of the top up and coming gunsmiths in the country. So this talent for talent exchange would be equitable and mutually beneficial. If you are a Doctor in Colorado that is a gun owner and a shooter – please contact me.

Here is something I hadn't thought of before... Nathan Fillion is the new Bruce Campbell. This was said in a thread on Digg. I think there is something to that. Consider for a moment Nathan's roll as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog (it's on Hulu.com) I think this just might be true. But unlike Bruce, Nathan can actually really honestly and truly act when needed. Bruce, not so much. Now, I love Bruce... he's.... he's The Bruce. But Nathan is the big thing. If you have any doubts, rewatch Firefly, Serenity, and Slither.

I caught the latest episode of Galactica last night... on Hulu.com, and it was a shocker. Lots of things came up that had you thinking “What the Frakk?” This was some shocking stuff. Stuff that was rather unpleasant mind frakks. I posted about his on WTA. Go there to read my comments.

1-17-09:  SIG has a couple new things coming out that I am very interested in. One is the new SIG P238, which looks like a Siggified version of the Colt Mustang. I know I say it about a lot of guns – but I want that. Now if they could just resurrect the Pocket Nine, I'd be all over that. I'm not a huge fan of the .380, but in such a slick and small package... it's attractive. The other thing I like is the SIG 522. A .22 lr version of their 556 rifle done in Classic 550 Series stocks. It looks cool as cool can get. And being a .22, cheap to shoot. This is SIG's answer to the GSG5 guns, which are those HK MP5 looking guns in .22. Rimfires are cheap to shoot and always fun. So any gun in .22LR, deserves a closer look.

We got a GSG5 pistol in the shop... it's cool. Looks just like an MP5. And I wanted to like it. But it reminded me exactly why I don't really like the MP5. The thing is heavy! The GSG5 is heavy too. Looks and feels like an MP5, yes. That's what it is supposed to do. But what I want to know is why couldn't they have made the dang thing in 9mm and then it would have had some utility. In .22 it's just fun. Silly fun. Because this pistol version you can't hit with. It's trigger makes it impossible. With a shoulder stock to brace with, you could hit with it. But as a pistol, it's just a novelty.

Few “Tactical” guns impress me anymore. Rail are best left to AmTrack. Quad rails are not attractive to me at all. I like a short rail on the bottom for a light and maybe a vertical grip like how I have on my SIG 556 Desert. The SIG's side rails, I've put MagPul covers on... pretty much just to help protect the pretty duracoat. Ah man... I do love that SIG. Watch during the firing, the muzzle doesn't even rise at all. I get some push and I rock back with it a little... but the muzzle just stays on target like it had an M1 Abrams Stabilization System in it. I don't see any weapon system out there, SCAR or ACR, being any better than this. From SHOT, we are hearing reports of everyone trying to out Tactical the next guy. Sorry. I just don't care. I've got this SIG. These new guns are interesting perhaps... but if you are one of those guys that purchased one of the SCAR rifles for over 3500 bucks – you've lost your mind. For that much, you could have got 2 SIG 556 rifles, topped with Holosights, and some MagPul Pmags for each. What's more Tactical, I ask you.. having one Spiffy Rifle no one else has... or having two ass-kicking rifles for you and your backup. Because if you put all that into one – your not looking for ass kicking... your looking for ass-kissing. You want to be the attention whore at the range. And that's fine. Sometimes it's cool to be That Guy. But in a case like this – being That Guy is crazy. If you have that much money to spend, think about this. Think about the guy that you would call if you had a SHTF situation. You call him for help and he comes over to back you up. What does he have? Is it good enough? If not – how about you take that extra money and help kit out the guy that has got your back.

Who's your Battle Buddy? In the Army, we had Battle Buddies. You have his back, he has yours. You work together. Help each other. In the civilian world, you should work with your Battle Buddy... shoot together. Train together sweeping your area of operation. Kinda like practicing your fire drills in case of a fire. Practice your Fire Drills in case of SHTF. Shoot and move. Clear his house – he clears yours. If you have property – or he does – how do you secure it? Sort that out before it happens. Out here, if I call the cops, they could be 30 minutes to get to me. My BB is 4 minutes. Code words, Strategy. If you come home and you find your door open – you call your BB... what do you want him to do. Where to you rally? Where do you want him to approach from? These need to be planned out. If you have dogs, they should know and trust your BB. If he has dogs, they should know you.

Your Battle Buddy should be kitted out similar to you so you can share components... Doesn't have to be the same guns – but using the same mags is helpful. Same ammo is helpful. Buy a case of ammo... go in on halves together. I don't care who your BB is... your Friend. Your brother. Your spouse. Whoever it is, it has to be someone you trust.

Babylon AD. There's been a lot of hate over this movie, mostly because of the disappointing ending. But I have to tell you... I liked it a lot. It's a flawed movie, to be sure... but it's got a lot going for it. The film starts out in Eastern Europe or Russia or someplace equally screwed up... harsh, stark, and brutal. Then it ends up in shiny modern New York. The disconnect is striking. Vin D is The Man... and pretty much this flick is My Brother TC in Eastern Europe ending up in New York. You have some interesting concepts at work here. Vin's character is cold and brutal and starts out saying God can't help... yet he prays over his supper. He lives in a Post-Apocalyptic wasteland... yet has some high technology stuff. Much like the Uintah Basin. The chosen one girl storyline is unoriginal, as is the journey as is the chosen one being a stupid spoiled child that's actions puts everyone at risk. Still, Vin's character is what makes this movie interesting. Same as in the movie Pitch Black – he makes it cool. Now, the controversy comes at the ending, which everyone hates. The reason the ending sucked is the same reason that Stephen King's endings suck. It's like the story is going along and King just says screw it, I'm ending it in two pages. This movie suddenly takes some big time jumps, no explanation, and ends without answering in questions. It's too abbreviated. This could be much like Lord Of The Rings in scope, but condensed the whole thing down into 120 minutes. Babylon AD could have been 2 or even 3 movies. It needed more character development. It needed more exploration of the world. This is why people hated this flick... it was too rushed... too hurried for the credits to roll. This great expectation that wasn't realized... that's the reason for the ire. One thing I don't like – Vin's given a car with a trunk full of useful weapons. And out of them all, he takes a Beretta 9mm and leaves the rest in the car he knows he's never going to see again. WTF? I'd have taken all of them... strapped them on under my huge parka. Vin's crazy. This brings us to one important Vin lesson. Don't let Vin borrow your guns. Ever.

Just kidding, Vin. You can come shooting with me anytime. Please don't kick my ass.

1-14-09:  Ruger has a new revolver out. The Ruger LCR. And it's full of shit. From their ad:

“You'll see its unique components. You'll feel its light weight. You'll try its smooth trigger. And then you'll wonder - is this a Revolution or an Evolution? Think features (high-tech polymer fire control housing, aerospace aluminum frame with synergistic hard coat, friction reducing cam) meets functionality (reliable, durable, easy-to-use). Put it in your hand, fire the five rounds of .38 Special+P, and realize that it is pure genius. Realize it is one of the most significant new revolver designs in over a century. REALIZE IT IS THE FIRST HANDGUN OF ITS TYPE.”

Okay, S&W has been making light weight Snubbies in .38+P ant .357 for as long as I can remember... Taurus has been making them too... But now that Ruger does it, it's revolutionary? And what the hell is a synergistic hard coat? And no – it's not an evolution and it's not the first handgun of it's type. There have been other light weight snub nosed revolvers... some made with plastic too. Ruger is full of themselves. Here is the thread on WTA... and I see someone has already posted a pic of the poly revo I was thinking of.

I uploaded a number of new video clips on YouTube. Check them out here. We had some fun today. Tannerite was involved. Our mistake was in not bringing enough of it out.

1-13-09:  This is just wrong: “Playboy just offered Sarah Palin $1 Million to pose nude in the February issue...

Michelle Obama got the same offer..........from National Geographic.”

I showed a guy the Insight ISM-V optical gunsight today. He looked at it and said “But I can get an Aimpoint for 400. Or an Eotech for 450. Does it have a doubler on it? No? Night Vision Mode? No? GPS? No? Why would I want that?”

He made a good point. “Because it has a laser” isn't a good enough answer. Yes, impressive batter life – but so does the Eotech and Aimpoint. Clear optic... same. The only advantage the ISM has is the 2 MOA dot... that is a finer dot size and allows for more precise shooting. But a 2 MOA dot instead of a 3 MOA dot isn't worth doubled the price... because seriously... The Vortex Strikefire has a 2 MOA dot and it's only 149. Why would a guy pay that much more for a red dot with a laser? “Well, the MARS optic has that too.” That's not a good enough answer either. Because we now have lasers in our flashlights and pens and you can get a laser pointer out of a gumball machine. A lasers is not worth an additional 450 bucks over the price of the red dot. Now. I'm saying this from the perspective of a guy that likes the ISM. I do. I love it. I want one... but for almost a grand – there is no way in hell I'd spend that much for it. No freaking way. If I'm going to drop that kind of cash on an optic for a combat gun – it will be an ACOG.

Willy and I went shooting again today. He rocked that GAT modified Siaga 12 gauge yesterday. Today he took out his Winchester in .223WSSM, and I brought out my humble little 527 American in .223 Remington. (BTW, I shoot 5.56mm out of it) That .223WSSM is amazingly fast. And if I ever had any doubts about it's accuracy – the were put to rest today. Willy nailed a tiny target well over 600 yards away... just bullseyed it. The little 527 American did very well too. It's no Precision Rifle, but it is impressive none the less.

I have to say again that in spite of all the other rifles I have and have shot... these 527's remain my personal favorites. My 527 Carbine in 7.62x39mm is my top choice, but the American is a close second. These rifles are just delightful. If you examine one at the gunshop, it's not all that impressive. But it's once the rifle is topped with a scope, and a sling and you actually take it out and start putting rounds through it... it comes together and it becomes something greater than what it was in the store. Much greater.

I am wanting yet a third 527... another Carbine... but in a configuration that CZUSA isn't currently making. I want a 527 Carbine with a heavier 18 barrel and a kevlar stock, a one piece picatiny scope base across the receiver, longer bolt handle with a larger knob. Oh, and one last thing... I want it in 6.8SPC.

Remington's new 2009 Catalog is out and I'll be going over that soon. Some seriously hot new products coming out.

1-12-09:  And now for something completely different.

1-10-09:  H-S Precision. Along with the CD rifle I'm testing, I took the H-S Precision rifle out today. The weather was nice, winds were calm.

I was working with it from 100 to 400 yards. At 300 yards, I was banging a swinging 6x10 inch steel plate every time. At 100 yards it was grouping very well, but I didn't zero it for 100, so the group was high by several inches. Likes and dislikes... I really like the thumbhole stock. It anchors in the shoulder naturally and allows it to be held very steady. Now, while I said it was grouping well... it was about 1 inch at 100 yards. But this was with cheap 180 grain soft points. When loaded with 168 grain Hornady TAP FPD, this rifle really wakes up. I shot a OHG with it. That means “One Hole Group”. Not one ragged hole... One freaking hole. It looked like I fired one round into the target and called it good – it's only when you examine it closer that you see there is a tight little clover leaf going on. That impressed the hell out of me. I didn't expect to see that. I hate to say it – but this is what I should have taken to LRI instead of the XCR Compact Tactical. I like the heavier fluted barrel, and I like the stock... the trigger is great. The only thing I'd do to it modification-wise would be to put on a slightly longer bolt handle with a with a bigger knob. But that's really nothing to worry about. This rifle is incredible, and I really dig the shorter 20 inch barrel. I need to zero this Dead Nuts On for 100 yards... I was going to do that, but ran out of time. That's the down side to a range run on a lunch break. Just not enough time. That and I was distracted by a suppressed M-4 full auto, a .223WSSM, and the Charles Daly I'm evaluating.

Travis and Mark both shot it and they both liked it. More trigger time is required. It feels like the rifle isn't even broken in quite yet... It needs another 100 rounds through it before it gets tuned in.

The scope topping this rifle is a good high powered Leupold VX-III with the fine-plex crosshairs and the side parallax focus. Great scope, this. I like it. But it's better suited to a varmint type rifle. A rapid deployment tactical rifle needs a PFI RR800 or a Zeiss Rapid Z 800... But that is just my opinion.

The H-S Precision SNAFU with Ron Horuchi's endorsement was most unfortunate and it did anger me. But I can't hang H-S Precision out to dry because someone in their department Marketing made a distasteful mistake. I also think it was just as wrong to say that because of that, they are not going to print anyone's endorsement. That's over reacting. Just don't print endorsements by guys who snipe out mom's holding babies. That's it. That's all I'm asking.  But because of this SNAFU, H-S Precision is kind of controversial right now.... what do you guys think?

1-9-09:  Charles Daly D-M4EL Carbine. Item No.: CCDM4E16.

5.56mm Nato, 16” Barrel, 1x7 ROT, MSRP 1309. Flat top, with removable carry handle. Fixed front sight. 6 position collapsible stock. Chrome lined 4150 barrel, M-4 feedramps, M-4 forend.

The rifle is a good looking gun that compares closely with a rifle that Rock River makes in the same configuration. To be honest, the CD gun has a better exterior finish on it, looks cleaner and sharper, and retails for less money. It's a good looking rifle. All the guys at the gun counter remarked that it is a good looking gun. The finish is not shiny, but not as dull as other AR rifles out there... some look greyish in color... but this is certainly all black.

We had about 150 rounds fired through it today, just testing initially for reliability. The gun functioned flawlessly. Accuracy, while not testing for it – was apparent. With different loads, it was most accurate with Nato Spec 5.56mm ammunition. Hitting to 400 yards was easy, even off hand. Initial shooting was done with the Insight ISM-V red dot optic.

I wanted to bench it and get to work on some accuracy testing – but it was cold and windy today... accuracy testing will have to wait until it calms down. I could have rolled forward, but I want as many variables removed as possible to see what this gun is truly capable of. That means benched, shooting paper, measuring groups. But in the cold wind like this – that task becomes a miserable chore. It was hard enough getting out there shooting it. You can see me really suffering in the video clip. But I do that for you guys... I suffer so you don't have to. I know, I know... I don't have to... but someone has to sacrifice for the betterment of all.

What this rifle compares to. The fit and finish is a step above S&W's production MP15 series. And it's a step above Rock River's gun in similar configuration. I know, because we had couple and I put them side by side and looked hard and close. Smoother action.

The only wart I've found is that the gun has a long heavy trigger pull with a little grit to it. I expect this will wear in a bit and the feel will improve. Having said that – let me say this. It's no worse or better than any other AR-15 trigger I have felt on any AR costing below 1800 bucks.

Costing less, than but surpassing Rock River... that's a good thing. Costing about the same as the MP15, but surpassing it as well. Blowing away Armalite and DPMS and Bushmaster. Those guys are not touching this rifle.

1-8-09:  Kimber Listens To The Ogre: I'm going to take credit for this. Kimber has two new pistols out that are based on a suggestion I made some time ago. Look in the archives... 7-30-08. Basically an all steel version of the Tactical Custom II. Now, look in the new Kimber catalog. There they are. Kimber is calling them the Tactical Custom II HD and the one with the rails is the Tactical Entry II. I'm going to smugly take credit for these new pistols. You are welcome, sir. The HD version is pretty much exactly what I asked for, but Kimber didn't do the SIS style sights.

I love the SIS series, but the finish on them is too damn slippery. If they did the slide is a simple blued finish with real serrations instead of the SIS logo – then they'd have something. I love the contouring in the frame, I love the sights... I just have a hard time grasping the slide to open the action. I might look youngish for my age – but really I'm burned out. I'm broken. I have arthritis. And manipulating the SIS is difficult for me. I need sharper serrations so I can grasp the slide easier. But that is just me.

I'm going to have to buy a Tactical Custom II HD. This is the gun I told Kimber to make, and they actually made the bloody thing. Gotta have it.

New Combat Optic: The Insight ISM-V. This is a super tough Red Dot type sight with a built in visible laser. It's funky looking.  But has a long 1500+ hour battery life thanks to the use of the CR 123 3 volt battery. Tight 2 MOA dot for accuracy. The laser is a class 3a laser – so don't shine it in anyone eyes... because it will damage them. It snaps onto standard mil-spec rails and co-witnesses perfectly with a fixed front sight post. This is a very cool aiming system. Very hard core. Like I said before, it is funky looking at first, but it grows on you. It's a little spendy, but it looks to be worth it. I tried it out on a Rock River... full on awesome. I love it. I want one. If you want one, call me soon. We've only go 2 left. $899. Which is a great price. We beat Optics Planet by a huge margin on that price.

I had to kill things today: At lunch hour I had to get out and shoot things. Had I known the day was going to be so awesome – I'd have brought the HS Precision .308 and done some work with it, but as it stood I had the 527 American in the truck. So that's what I shot. It needed to be zeroed again anyways, and I had about 500 round of 5.56mm in the truck. I got it zeroed DNO (Dead Nuts On) at 100 yards. And blasted the dot out of the center target. These 527's are such sweet shooters... it's amazing. That single set trigger sounds like a gimmick in the store – but when you are actually on the shooting range – it's priceless. A rifle that weights in at what feels like 2 pounds with a scope and a sling has no right to shoot as accurately as it does. I kid you not, the thing is a tackdriver. Well, after I got it tuned in, for some reason I switched on my electronics in my ear muffs. Being alone at the range I didn't need to hear anything so I had them off at that point. Once on, all the sudden I could hear something... chirping. Prairie Dogs. They were out enjoying the warm sun. Well, they were standing up proud as could be, chirping away. 4 of them. I snuffed each one. One shot each. 1 round in the chamber, 3 rounds in the magazine... done. Oh man. That made my day. Now that was a lunch break.

The weather, I can't believe how nice it was today. I'm brining the HS tomorrow, and if it's nice again – I'm going to dial that one in and kill some things with it.

1-7-09:  Remington has a new version of the VTR .308... they call it the Recon. (and it's in .223, but we have a .308 in stock) This is your basic .308 VTR rifle, but with a digital desert camo on the stock. Still a regular SPS type gun – but in camo. So that makes it a “Recon”. Yeah. Okay, Remington. I see what you did there. The rifle its self is decent enough, just as the VTR is... no changes there. And the camo is groovy enough. So yeah, I kinda like it. Now being a decent rifle is one thing – being a Precision Rifle is another. This is not a precision rifle. The VTR's were never supposed to be. They are all about 1 MOA guns, and that's about all you can hope for. Still. 1 MOA guns... That's 10 inches at 1000 yards. So that's more accurate than 99% of the shooters pulling the triggers on these things. Top that with your PFI RR800-1 and a short legged Harris Bi-Pod and you have a fine weapon system for tactical shooting.

Hornady has some new things out... first if their 2009 Catalog which came in the mail the other day. Just got to looking at it and I see they finally release some of their LEVERevolution bullets as reloading components. Very nice of them to do that. But don't expect to reload with them and achieve the same results as Hornady Factory. Hornady calls these FTX bullets. Another new bullet type is the GMX, which is a like a Barnes Triple Shock. This is especially good news if you are from California and you like to hunt. No lead in these bullets.
One interesting new development from Hornady is the new .338 Marlin Express. This is popping off a 200 grain, .33 caliber slug with the same ballistic trajectory as a .30-06. Wow. That's pretty good. Out of a levergun. One thing I have decide on, is that I don't like scoped lever guns. For long range guns – just use a bolt action. You will be better off. The levergun holds no advantage when you put 4-12 scope on top. I'm sorry. It doesn't. It's no longer Fast... it's not as accurate... and it doesn't pack as well. Maybe a Red Dot... but otherwise – keep your levergun topless. I've experimented with scopes on my Marlin and they just don't pan out as being as useful as they should be. Meaning that you are better off just keeping the Iron Sights on there, and maybe upgrading those irons with 24/7 Big Dots or something.

One thing that impresses me about the Hornady Catalog – is how awesome the 7mm is. In every bullet construction – the 7mm just has a naturally high ballistic coefficient. Most of the times, the 7mm is the highest. Only a couple of places is anything higher... one is the .30 Amax with a 200 grain slug and the other is the .50BMG bullet. The 7mm – it's my favorite for a reason. I like the .308 for the accuracy, but it can't touch the 7mm... for long range shooting – I just love that 7mm. To get better, you have to step up to a .338 Lapua.

It was a nice day today. Yesterday it was freeeezing cold. Today, I walked for lunch out to a taco stand, with no jacket. It felt good. Guys were telling us that the little fuzzies were out playing and it was prime Prairie Dog hunting conditions. And I had to work. Not only that... I couldn't even go on my lunch break, because Mrs. Ogre had my truck. Because her van is in the friggin shop again! Arrgh. Tomorrow, I'm taking my .223 CZ 527 out and on my lunch break – I'm going to see if there are any P-dogs to bust. This is also PRIMO coyote hunting weather. Ah... I can't wait for some more time off to go slay some vermin. This is the best time of year for this. The critters are hungry and bored and want to play and eat and they don't care if you are aiming at their cute little heads.

1-6-09:  Range Day:  So I go out to the range today with the intent of firing up a few mag-fulls through my SIG 556 and zero the HS Precision rifle, and compare that with the XCR compact tactical rifle. Didn't happen.

Oh, I fired the SIG. (Ran FLAWLESSLY) and Gavin fired the SIG too. That took about 3 minutes after getting out of the truck.  As you can see in the photo, the Desert Camo Duracoat looks smashing.

So after being out there for about 3 minutes, I started loading the HS rifle's magazine. My fingers started to hurt from the cold. It was so bloody cold that by the time I pushed the magazine back into the gun... ouch. I was about done with shooting for the day. I was going to zero the HS at 200 yards. So I aimed and fired... no idea where the round went. 4 shots... No evidence they even left the barrel – they didn't hit anything. Another 4 rounds and I found the gun was hitting low. Very very low. I'm going to have to take this back to square one.
Unfortunately, it was too cold to continue. I suffered some pretty good Frost Bite once, and ever since the cold really gets to me. Cold and stiffness turn into flat out pain.

We bailed and hit Taco Time for some Nachos... the Cold air helped Gavin's lungs, and the Father-Son time helped me....

1-5-09:  Pontiac Problems: Last week the Pontiac Montana went to the shop... we got it out Friday. It broke down again Sunday night... throwing off a pulley at midnight. Mrs Ogre was able to nurse it back home. So again – it gets to go back to the shop on the back of a flatbed tow truck. I swear this damned contraption gets carried into town more than it drives in under it's own power.
Reason for the Midnight Run - was that our son Gavin was having an Asthma Attack again... So he was enroute to the ER. And the Pontiac broke down on the way there.  Mrs. Ogre had to come back and swap out for my truck. She barely nursed the can back!  I'm very angered. What if she was left stranded out there?  What if Gavin when critical then?  He could have died because of this stupid fucking POS Pontiac Montana.  And I can't be mad at the mechanic that worked on it last week.  Really, he did a great job.  Unfortunately this breakdown had nothing to do with last week's. Completely unrelated.  This Pontiac is a friggin lemon, and I'm going to squeeze lemonade from the asshole that sold it to us.

Yes, another Asthma Attack. The only attack that scares me, as I can't fight it off... I have to watch helpless as my son struggles for air. First one in over a year... Not even a hint at a problem.... and bam. There it is. The Docs at the Roosevelt Hospital did well. They had to give him double treatments... of the strongest stuff they had. This was a very bad one. Very bad. In fact, it was worst one ever. Nothing scares me more than shit like this. Nothing. I would rather make an airborne jump into Faluja armed with just a rolled up newspaper than face this sort of thing again.

Charles Daly is now making AR-15 rifles: They are reported to be good guns, and according to one former Marine who owns several AR rifles, these are the best things going. Well, the gauntlet was thrown and accepted and Charles Daly is sending me out an AR for T&E. I've got to see this for myself. Of course my test and review will be completely honest and fair and unbiased. Objectivity is my SOP. As soon as they are available, I'll be getting a new all steel 1911 from them too. What's especially cool about this is that these are the new Israeli made 1911's and not the Philippine made 1911's. CD has dropped them and is now concentrating and Good instead of Cheap. This is excellent news. Whole new company restructure and direction change. Very good news indeed.

On WTA it was mentioned that Chicks with Guns is a tradition that goes back to WWII Bomber Nose Art. This is something any Red Blooded American Male (and some females) appreciate... so I found it ironic that shortly after, I get an email about Mil-Bogs that contain a link to this project – Pin Up Calendars For Vets. Hubba Hubba! That Gina gal is a real 1-2 knockout! Good job, Girl! I might be going out on a limb here... but we need more girls like this doing this sort of thing. Ahem. For the troops of course.

It's COLD out here. 14 Below. I hate the cold... even more than I hate the Pontiac Montana... I hate the cold. Inside it's warming back up. We ran out of propane all the sudden and even before I could call the company that delivers it (Ogre Ranch has a Gas Tank for natural gas) they had a truck out here. I was in the middle of googling for the company's phone number when I looked outside and there was the truck, pulling up to a stop. Awesome. Something went right today. Sure, the fill up cost more than the repair for the van – but we gotta have heat in here. We have some wood, but the gas heats all the rooms. Now that things are warming up – I'm getting sleepy.  Since I got ZERO sleep from the hell last night put us through – I'm knackered.

I was going to go shooting today. But being this cold and this tired – it would be useless... a waste of time, effort, gasoline, and bullets. I'll get to it tomorrow if tonight goes better... and by better, I mean, no runs to the ER.

1-3-09:  Lots of new bloggers listed, so go through the list and look for the new ones.   Some have been removed due to inactivity.

It's a good time to be an AK owner: There are a couple new things out for the AK that brings it up a couple notches in terms of usability. First was the LaRue Tactical “AK-IronDot”. A simple rear-sight exchange that allows the use of a small red dot that co-witnesses with the iron sights. What makes this so important is because it's one of the few simple easy solutions to mount an optical gunsight on your weapon in a secure and solid manner. The AK's dust cover that covers the whole of the upper receiver is a poor place for mounting anything, and this LaRue unit skips it completely. Brilliant. Quite honestly, this is one of those Forehead Slap things. Why has no one thought of this before? I've mentioned the LaRue Tactical unit before. One of my brothers has it for his AK. Now take this optic and combine it with the next little ditty... The Lightning Bolt. These two things resolve 2 out of the 3 main AK issues I have.... the only remaining issue is a safety switch that I can easily flip without moving my hand off the grip. And those lever extensions have been out for years... so there you go. You can now run your AK at full throttle with nothing holding you back.

SIG 556 Lightning Bolt: The Lightning Bolt for the AK is fantastic. But I would REALLY like one to be made for the SIG 556. Of course for the SIG it would be a more complicated conversion... but it would be worth it. You see – so many weapons out there have the charging handle on the right side of the receiver... Most of them in fact. Some don't. The FAL, the HK rifles and SMG's, the FNH FS2000... these have the operating handles on the left side. Which allows you to cycle the bolt while keeping your eyes and muzzle on the target. The AR can be run like that too, but you have to move your head. Being able to hold the gun with your firing hand and cycle the bolt with your off hand – that's a huge advantage. My beloved SIG 556 is a heavy gun. Taking your hand off the grip to cycle action is admittedly awkward. Luckily you don't have to do that very often thanks to it's Sun-Rise-Like-Reliability. If someone out there could make a conversion for a Left Hand Side Bolt for the SIG – I'd have to get that done on my SIG. It would be perhaps one of the greatest conversions possible for the rifle. I don't know why gun makes put the handle on the right side of the gun... most shooters are right handed and this makes it awkward for them. Sure, it's easier to make – but the gun would be so much better otherwise. I especially like the FAL/L1A1's handle, as it is not only where it should be – but it folds down out of the way when you don't need it. While some guys don't quite like that – I think its great. The only other way to do it is the way HK did it on the G36 rifle. Put it up above the barrel, centerline, with the handle that can go left or right. The only downside to that is that it could be potentially weaker. Potentially. I'm not saying it is.

HS Precision: I'm going to do a full out review on an HS Precision rifle, head to head with my XCR Tactical. The HS has a short heavy barrel like my XCR, 20 inches, fluted, great trigger... and a nice feeling thumbhole stock. HS has garnered my ire lately... but this rifle is about 6 years old with a low round count. So it's going to be a an interesting head to head test.

Further Forty Thoughts: In Richmond I used a .40 as a duty weapon, an HK USP. The .40, for some unexpected and unwanted reason has been on my mind lately. At our shop we have the top .40 choices. The Glock. The Beretta Storm. The FNH FNP40. The XDM. The HK USP. It first I was thinking I might want to get a USP 40 again, as it was a great weapon that never failed me when I called upon it. At the command of Stop, the thugs that saw that HK – they stopped instantly. But I also like the Beretta Storm. It's a good looking pistol that feels great in the hand. The XDM is accurate and has a very high capacity. The FN is perhaps the best and most precisely made of the lot... all have good arguments for and against them... one gun that is absent here is the SIG P229. As good of a weapon as it is – I don't know why it's here. I think it's because I'm for some reason wanting a Plastic Forty. This is something that I would never have said 2 weeks ago. I don't know... this is kind like saying I want to try some gay sex... it just isn't for me. Not plastic framed guns and not .40 Short and Week. So wanting a plastic 40 is just not my usual thing. Coming down to a pick – it would perhaps be a toss up between the USP and the Beretta. I like the hammer fired guns better than striker fired so those guns have the edge. Me getting a Glock is just unlikely. It's at the bottom of the list for me. And the reason for that remains the grip angle issue. Getting one that been recontoured by filling in the gap and grinding off the grip to give it the right angle... that would be something else. But you don't see those around very often. Especially not as a trade in gun.

A new rifle club is going to be made: I talked to a guy on the board of Parks and Recreation. They have taken over the care taking of the Buckskin Hills Shooting Complex. My Playground. The board doesn't know what to do with the money they have set aside for the rifle range. The handgun range gets attention thanks to our UDPL group. (IDPA) And the Cowboy Action guys have a club to advise the board for that side of the range. The Rifle Range has been largely ignored because there is no organized group that uses it. So I'm organizing a group. The High Uintah Rifles. We'll hold long range matches and offer training courses as required.

A couple things the rifle range needs. More targets. Some reactive targets. Swingers for examples. And targets from 100 yards to 1000. They have 20,000 bucks for improvements to the ranges. If we can have some volunteers to help me out, they can pay for the materials, and we can but the targets up we want.

Sign Ups will be at Basin Sports or contact me via Email. Membership will be free for those willing to volunteer time on improvement projects.

01-01-09:  The First Day Of 2009: This was a fantastic day for the Ogre Clan. We took the boys to the local sledding hill and let the boys thrash the snow as much as they liked. When we left, they were all tired and sweaty and ready for some relaxing and some hot chocolate. I went to the Buckskin Hills shooting complex. There and worked with a couple of my customers dialing in a CZ 750 Sniper topped with a 6.5-20 Zeiss Rapid Z 1000 scope. This kit, with a large quantity of ammunition and supplies cost just under $3400 USD. A little direction in operation is not too much to ask for. In just a few shots, this rifle system was DNO. (Dead Nuts On) Hitting at range was remarkably easy. My own rifles, especially the Remington 700 XCR Compact Tactical, topped with the RR800-1 by Pride and Fowler pleased me a great deal. I could not be happier with it. Hitting is all that matters... not how “Uber Tactical” your scope is... your rifle is... but how it hits. With my XCR/PFI rifle – If I can see it, if I can identify it, I can put a 30 caliber round through it. Only hits count. My CZ 527's are sick and wrong... rifles should not be this much fun. If rifle shooting is a meal, CZ 527's are chocolate mousse. Too sweet... too delightful. Hitting with such light rifles could be difficult, but thanks to CZ's single set triggers – Sweetness and Light my friends, sweetness and light.

Now one rifle that surprised me was a .25-06 Weatherby Vanguard topped with a Nikon Monarch. Both rifle and scope probably cost less than my XCR did toppless... And it hits precisely where I want the bullet to strike. This isn't my rifle. This rifle belongs to a SLC Attorney that wanted it dialed it. DNO doesn't get any more DNO. Light recoil, high velocity, hits with more than enough small for most North American critters.

I had a very strange thought the other day – one I can hardly even admit to having.

I thought about getting a Glock.

In .40.

The midsized Glock .40... the model 23. I know this is shocking to my readers... it's even more shocking to me, trust me. Now I'm not saying I'm going to give up my beloved 1911 .45's. That is not going to happen. And I'm going to go rush out and buy a Glock any time soon either. I just had a funny unexpected and unexplainable thought...

I did some scope swapping. The big old Nikon Monarch has been taken off the little 527 American and in it's place has been installed the Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7x32mm variable. It's a small scope, but it could have been a bigger one. But the bigger scope I had on it felt like it ruined the look at feel of the light rifle vibe. The rifle feels much better again. I like big potent scopes as much as anyone – but these 527's just feel – violated – when you put a big scope on them. Ideally I'd put a Vortex 2-7 Razor on to this one, like I have on the Carbine.

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