JULY 2009

7-31-09:  Continued Glee From Savage: You know... I just can't help but to really geek out over Killswitch. The Savage 93R17 continues to delight me. It started to shoot a little lose the other day so I picked up a .17 caliber rifle Bore Snake. I had found that I just didn't have any rod small enough for the .17 bore so I just grabbed a snake for it.... Used some Tetra Gun Cleaner and Lubricant Spray, wetted the snake at the brush end, and pulled it through. Just once. In one pull, the bore looked better than brand new. One pull scrubbed out the gunk and mopped it out... Done. I used the same Tetra spray on the bolt, the trigger mechanism, the mag well... and then wiped off the excess. Done. The gun is now shooting, and I kid you not, better than when it was new. It's wearing in now... and after a cleaning and oiling all done in one blast... it's slicker and more accurate than it was at first. Which means, if it's even possible, more enjoyment out of this little rifle. I stopped by one of my Pdog Prowl Spots and it was empty of the ghouls. So I blasted a bird. It was a long range shot... really pressing my luck... but it was about 200 yards. Smoked it. The V-Max didn't do a whole lot of damage, but it made a pretty nice exit wound. Dead Center Of Mass. MAN, the accuracy of the .17HMR is ridiculous. I didn't see anything other than more birds to waste rounds on so I just rolled home. We've a few young cats at Ogre Ranch that prowl the grounds, and the biggest, I always give any birds I harvest. It tears into them like the cookie monster, going for the exit wound first and splashing out feathers like a kid in a wading pool. Happy kitty. Since I got that Savage, this kitty has never eaten so good.

Speaking of Tetra: I know there is just a crazy amount of specialty gun care products out there... and every one of them claims to be the best. The Cleaniest, the slickeryest, and the protectyest... Lots of those products out there may even lay claim to doing everything at once better than anything else independently. Bolt claims. And since there is no centralized testing of Gun Care Claims... well... nothing is ever done about BS claims. Weaponslicker, Gunny Jizz, Monster slider, 9ProsEm, Techymilly, whoever it is... they all say it's the best. Now, I've been testing all of this stuff on my own guns... seeing what works well and what doesn't. Some things do work better than others. For Example... The ProM Seven and the Techymilly stuff absolutely sucks as a gun oil. No, I mean, seriously bad... as in... it made the guns actually feel worse. I'm not kidding. But some stuff did well and some stuff did amazingly well. I really like the Mpro7 Cleaner. But not the Oil under the same name. In fact, I hate that stuff. Do you know what I use it for now? Absolutely nothing. Miltech stuff, I've a growing collection of little bottles and they all remain (save one) completely unused. The one that I tested – yeah... I think I'll use that when I run out of Mpro7 Oil. Now, I am continued to be highly pleased with Tetra Gun Oil. Just the plain Tetra Gun Oil stuff. It's clear, like other oils, but it's thicker. It's slicker. It stays where it's put. It really is the best I've ever used. I can say the same about the Mpro7 Cleaner. Awesome. Those are my 1-2 Punch for a dirty gun. Now as of late, I've liked the Hornady One Shot spray cleaner and lube... Loved that stuff. But then I started using this Tetra Spray Cleaner and Lubricant. Don't get me wrong, Hornady makes good stuff... but this Tetra Stuff kicks Hornady's ass. Now, it's not that great of a cleaner... and it's not that great of a lubricant... but for a quick shot of stuff to do both jobs – It's the best I've used to date. It made Killswitch a happy little slayer again. What more of an endorsement can I give it?

Random Story Excerpt:

Landi sat on the rock as still as possible, trying not move, trying not to breath. The small bone she held out in front of her had a little bit of squab meat still left on it. Just inside the tree line, in he bushes, was a small dog, sitting quietly. it's eyes looking at at the meat, then back to Landi. Suddenly there was a popping sound and the dog was no longer in the trees, but was right in front of her, gently taking the bone out of her fingers with it's teeth, then just as suddenly it was gone. Landi couldn't help but to giggle.

The dog was dangerous, her mother had warned her. She shouldn't get near it. “Yes, Mother” Landi had said. Dogs can not be trusted, her mother scolded. But her Uncle Seff had a dog. A big one, with long black hair and eyes that looked like lemons. It's name was Reck and it never hurt Seff or anyone, even if it was scary looking. Landi even patted it once. Reck smiled and licked her face. She liked dogs.

The next day after breakfast, Landi sat on the rock again, this time holding some sausage she had kept from breakfast. She was supposed to have eaten the hole thing. Breakfast was small, and there was never enough to eat, but she had to feed her dog. She knew it wasn't really her dog, but she wanted it to be. It could be if it wanted. If it wanted to, she'd name it. She didn't have a name for it yet. She tried to think of a good dog name, but she didn't know very many and all those other names had dogs.

The bushes under the trees parted, and the dog walked out and sat down on it's belly. It looked at Landi and considered what she was holding out. It raised its nose into the air and sniffed, but the wind was wrong. It crawled a couple steps closer. There on the morning breeze, it caught the scent and it licked it's lips. With a popping sound the dog vanished from the bushes and was suddenly there in front of Landi carefully taking the sausage and just as suddenly it reappeared back in the bushes.

Landi was so thrilled, she squeaked with delight. Usually the dog would just go away and she wouldn't see it for the rest of the day. But now the dog was still there. The dog swallowed the bit of sausage and licked it's lips again. It wasn't much meat, but it was tasty.

Suddenly the dog popped right back in front of her again. It stood there, looking at Landi, with its ears perked up and its head tiled slightly to the side.

“I don't have anymore,” Landi said.  The dog looked at her hands and sniffed her fingers. It licked Landi's hand, savoring the taste of the oil that remained.

Landi giggled and the dog sat down in front of her. It was a small dog... only coming up to her knees. It was young, a puppy, with a coat of short light brown fur. “You're cute.” Landi declared. The dog tilted its head, listening. “You can me mine, if you want.”

The dog just looked at her. “I think I'll give you a name.... you look like a boy dog so you need a boy name.” Landi thought about it for a minute. “I think I'll call you Badger”. The puppy's tongue rolled out and it panted as it smiled at her. “You like Badger?”

Off in the distance another dog barked and Landi looked up to where the sound had come from. She heard a popping sound and looked back at Badger, but he was gone again.

7-29-09:  Email from Matt: “Chicago politicians continue to fight the US Supreme court... Heller decision and the NRA every step of the way simply put ...they do not want law abiding citizens to be armed and therefore. Check the link. This continues to happen... where is their logic?”

The logic is simple... The Liberals/Democrats want you to be completely dependent on them, so you keep them in power. The weaker and more dependent upon “The Authorities” you are for everything... your food stamps, your medical care, your protection... the more you are bound to vote for the Democrats who are giving you everything you think you want, by taking away everything you actually need – such as your Liberty. When you lose your Liberty – you lose your potential to Achieve. It's like this.... “I'll pay you Minimum Wage, and you have Job Security. Or I pay you, say 15% Commissions, and your job security depends on your performance.” A lot of Dems are picking the Minimum. They are going to make no more than the minimum... no achievement because they have no expectations and no incentives to strive to achieve. The Commission rate means they could face famine and get fired... make a decent living... be well off... or they can become Millionaires because there is no limit on what they can achieve. It's all up to them... Such a thing puts Dems in a Panic Attack. If you are achieving – you don't need their meager handouts. And if you don't need their handouts... you don't need them. If your making just the Minimum, you need the Dems all the more. Keeping you at risk, moves their agenda as well... without guns, or laws that allow you to protect yourself, you are dependent for your safety... you also no longer have the means to resist their tyranny. They own you... you become their subject. That's their logic. And their agenda. That's what they want. They want you on your knees before them. Simple as that. If you are smart, armed, independent... you are no one's subject. The Dems hate that.

I thought that the Leftists claimed that George Bush had damaged the image of America around the world... and that the Democrats were going to fix that and everyone is going love Obama. Oh really?

I don't know about you, but I remember news reports and videos showing foreign leaders shaking Bush's hand. They respected him as a Leader and as a World Power. Obama isn't just Not Respected, but outright snubbed. That's Disrespected.  Why is that? Probably because they know he is not a Leader. They recognize him as what he is... A Muppet. Someone has their hand up his backside and controls his actions.  Sure, he can blame Bush for things all he wants... but a real Leader doesn't do that.  Just wait till we get Palin in there in 2012...  So, tell me, Demo-nuts... Who's respected around the world?

7-28-09:  Worst Americans In The Country: Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Dianne Feinstein, and Al Gore. These five people pretty much represent the worst America has to offer as “Leadership”. These five people can be found at the roots of all our core issues troubling this nation today. You can change the order of the last four, but Barney Frank, I'm putting up at the #1 slot for Worst American. We need our own version of an early Australia for people like Barney Frank... some forlorn place we can drop them off and forget about them. I'm thinking Umnak Island... let's take these four people and drop them off on Umnak Island with no computers or cell phones. And if we see them anywhere else, they get dropped on an island further out and less comfortable than Umnak. And why does Nancy Pelosi always look like she's being tazered? And if she was actually tazered, would she look any different? That's something I'd like to experiment on... for Science.

7-26-09:  Video from Last Course:

7-25-09:  Shout Out: Have you guys been checking in on Woot? They have some good stuff, but it's not always stuff we want or can really use. I've mentioned these cats before, but I want to mention them again because they always have something that myself and The Horde usually wants or needs or can use... it's always good stuff. CAMO FIRE. Bookmark that, and better yet, sign up for the email alerts so you always know what's on the board there so you don't miss anything missing from your kit. What's Camo Fire? It's like Woot for The Horde, so check it out.

The new Cash for Clunker program is out and rolling now: I asked a dealer about this he explained it to be as this... our tax dollars are paying you to trade in your old car for a new one. So you can trade in your car, then you can get the incentive check... that's double dipping your trade. in. 3500 bucks car worth a 3000 trade, that's 6500 on your old car. If you were already in the market, this is a great deal. Not quite enough to make me want to trade anything in, but it's a good bonus for those out there already looking. It's almost enough money to pay for replacement batteries in a Prius.

Now, a lot of people are looking for a new ride. For those looking, some advice from an expert. The Consumer Commando.

Now the Ogre in me is looking at this new government program and is screaming inside... this is not what the Government is for! But it's too late... the program is running at full tilt boogie and there is nothing we can do about it so we might as well take advantage of it.

I need a device... a Scope Camera thingy. Or an adapter so I can attach my digital camera and see through the scope, or optic such as a Red Dot or Holo Sight. I tried to capture a shot on a coyote with the result of not getting the shot, and missing the shot. Then I tossed the camera into the truck and tried to get a second shot at it was running, but by then it was already out of range and dropping into a wadi to disappear. Trying to hold the rifle, camera, line up both so I can see through the camera and the scope together, then get them on target... it's like juggling.

Okay, I've got to rant a bit about this Obama vs The Policeman thing. I'm so sick to death of it... I can't stand it... but what I can't stand even more than “the issue” is Obama's half assed non-appology. “I've talked to him on the phone and he's a good man and a good police officer” yadda yadda yadda. No where did he say that he was sorry or that he was wrong about the cop... just that “he was a good man and that he didn't know that before but now that he's talked to him, that's been established.” Oh Come On! I'm tired of this Jr Varsity bullshit streaming down from Capital Hill. I want a Leader that has the balls to say “I was wrong, and I'm sorry.” One of the guys at work said something that I took offense to and I snapped at him, pretty hard. He was pushing my buttons about something and normally I shrug it off like I always do – because they really don't know me... no one does save my wife... they don't know what I've done. They only know I'm George at gun counter and I have a website and I've done the gun writer thing. So when he pushed my button again, a little bit of the George I thought I had buried came out to bite. It wasn't 10 minutes later before he came up and said that he was sorry. See, that's some balls right there. He could have grumbled or blew it off, but he recognized and he manned up and owned it. That makes a good man... a man with Character. I apologized as well – and that was it. It was as if it never happened. Done. The Subject, is laid to rest. Now our President didn't have the Stones to do that... and as a result, the subject continues. Weakness of Character, Obama. Weakness of Leadership. I don't care if this guy is our President or not – he's a pussy. How can he face down the international community... oh... wait... right... we are talking about the same guy that bowed to the Saudis.

Shit.

Our President, the Commander and Chief of US Forces, should bow to no one. He should walk into a meeting 10 feet tall wearing shiny gold plated armor carrying a Red White and Blue shield in one hand and a freaking broad sword in the other... The Saudis should have bowed to him. Instead, we had Grima Wormtongue.

No wonder the North Koreans are beating their chest and executing Christians.

Sarah Palin has bigger balls than Obama. “Never apologize for our Country.” Damn Straight!

7-24-09:  Monster Hunter International: Our good friend Larry Correia as written what is easily the most enjoyable book I've ever read in my life. In fact, he's written two, MHI and MHI part II which isn't published yet.... but let me tell you... MHI II will rock your socks off.... but that wont do you any good if you haven't read the first MHI book yet. BAEN Books is publishing the first one. If it does well, then the second one will be green lighted for publication. Now, a lot of you have already read MHI... the Self Published version. Maybe you've even already put one on order. Guys, this book makes a great gift. Seriously, order another copy. I know... I know... why buy the book again? Because Larry is one of the coolest guys I know, and I want to see him do well. He's a friend. Yes, but I'm not pimping this book just because he's a Pal. It really is one of – if not THE most enjoyable book I've ever read. Larry emailed me a copy of the rough draft a long time ago, before it got printed. It was, I believe, on a Saturday night. I oped the document that was MHI, and I sat down and started reading. Next I looked out the window and it was the next morning. MHI kept me glued and I couldn't stop until I had read the whole thing... and when it was done, I wanted more! I'm not kidding. Order a copy for yourself or order another one to give to your friend... or two. Let's pump Larry's sales and put him at the top. Because you know what I really want to see? Ron Perlman playing Owen Pitt in MHI THE MOVIE. Okay? If you've not read MHI, that link has some sample chapters. Check it out.

Instructor Self Improvement: I keep going back over my last course in my mind. I didn't record the course, but I have a good memory of it. I'm not satisfied. I could have done it better. This is my self criticism:

First off. I should have nailed the Tactical Reloads in the beginning. We had too much fun on other stuff, this should have been hammered in. Malfunction Drills should have been repeated more, good, and plenty, until everyone could do a Malf Drill and a Tactical Reload without looking. These things should be natural and without cognitive thought... muscle memory. We only briefly covered shooting on the move and there was a lot more to it that we should have covered, and drilled. Shooting from the ground was bullshit. I should have had everyone really worked this, both sides, both shoulders, up and down and shooting from the ground a hell of a lot more. These techniques needed to be drilled more. These drills are not fun... this is work. But these skills are where the differences are between those that win a gunfight, and those that end up casualties. There is another thing that I never mentioned at this last course... and that's Mind Set. The mental conditioning and attitude that separates the wheat from the chaff.

I'm already reworking the course for the next time. Each time, the course gets better. Each time, I become a better instructor. Each time, I think the students come away with a better experience and are better shooters – better warriors – each time. And yet, each time, I find things about the course that I am not satisfied with. I think when I get to the point that I am satisfied, it will be time to hang it up.

9-5-09: We will be holding a training course, Tactical Carbine, out in SLC someplace. Looking for a location. What would be great is if there was some private property we could use in the Heber City area.

Tried out a new rifle: Howa 1500 Lightning rifle with a thumbhole stock chambered in 7mm WSM topped with a Nikon Monarch BDC scope. Customer wanted this rifle zeroed at 200 yards. Let me tell you... that's one smooth shooting rifle. The action is a little tight and needs to wear in a little, but shooting it... my XCR .308 has the same felt recoil and this is a 7mm Short Mag. This is supposed to roll you back, right? Not hardly. Shooting from the bench, tucked in tight... no drama. It really does feel just like my .Remington 700 XCR Compact Tactical. You could shoot this 7mm all day long. My own Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag is... authoritative. This 7mm Short Mag isn't anywhere close to felt recoil of the Rem Mag. Short Mags boast a 20% reduction in felt recoil. This has been true in every rifle I've shot when comparing similar rifles. Now a lot of Short Mag rifles coming out are done on light weight frames in light weight stocks and with light weight barrels. This is fine if you want a mountain gun. But the trade off in that light weight is now you are feeling more of the felt recoil... pretty much negating the reduction qualities of the cartridge. If you need a magnum in a light weight gun, fine... but realize that you are buying a magnum. I hear a lot of guys complaining that the WSM rounds “Kick Lick A Mule”. No, they really don't. Your Featherweight is what kicks like a mule. You put that same round in a Vanguard or this Howa... it's comfortable to shoot and down right pleasant. In every case these WSM rounds are more accurate than the standard rounds. And they totally squish prairie dogs.

7-22-09:  Observations on .17 HMR Ammo: There are three .17 HMR ammo options available at Basin Sports. One is the Hornady 17 grain V-Max. Another is the CCI 17 grain V-Max loaded to the same velocity and has the same accuracy as the Hornady, but has a black tip instead of red and is .50 cents more a box. I noticed no difference from the Hornady fodder. The other ammo is the CCI 17 grain TNT Hollow Point. It is loaded to the same velocity as the ballistic tips, but I found that it groups slightly tighter than the tipped rounds. Unfortunately it shot to a slightly different point of impact. So the question I had was if the TNT loads warranted zeroing the scope for them or sticking to the tipped rounds. (which both shot to the same point of aim, point of impact) The real test is putting bullets into bodies. After work our friend Ben and I set about looking for volunteers to take a few shots from the TNT's so we can compare that to what we observed with the tipped rounds.

We went just west of town, me armed with Killswitch loaded with the TNT rounds, and Ben with his .45 ACP Marlin Camp Carbine. Ben put the Marlin to good work and spilled first blood, and then shortly there after I found my volunteer who stood up proudly and chattered “Here, try it on me!” So of course I obliged him. The range wasn't impressive, maybe 40 yards, but I wanted to do justice to the volunteer so I carefully braced against the door of my Chevy. I remembered the point of impacts from earlier group testing, and held accordingly... when the trigger broke, I saw the bullet impact the Prairie Volunteer right square in the center of mass and I heard the solid “SWACK!” sound of the bullet striking home. That bullet gets out there “right now” fast. Of course we had to get over there and get the critter's report on the terminal performance of the TNT and see what he thought of it. He didn't think much of it, and was trying to dig a hole to get away from the disappointing rounds, even if his upper limbs were not cooperating. A second shot was required to put the volunteer to rest on the subject. There was some blood on the ground, a bit. Not much. There was over-penetration, but little evidence in the way of expansion. Maybe the Prairie Volunteer just wasn't substantial enough of a mass to effect the HP expansion. The tipped rounds on the other hand would have had the Volunteer spilling it's guts about how much he liked the Ballistic Tips. Or maybe this test was a fluke.

We pressed on looking for more volunteers. Ben found a couple more for his Marlin, but no Prairie Volunteers remained for the TNT's. However as luck would have it, a feathered volunteer was willing to stand still at about 60 yards or so... the TNT proved it's accuracy once again and vectored straight through center mass, dispatching it cleanly and effectively, with little drama. This is unfortunate as I was wanting to see some serious feather scattering shock effect. There was none. Clean entry and an exit that wasn't much bigger. Those TNT's just sail right through... but they do sail right through where you want them to go. It's not just hitting the target... it's picking the spot on the target you want hole to go. One of the kittens that lives at Ogre Ranch is actually quite appreciative of the TNT's lack of shock transfer as it was happy to take the whole bird as a meal.

While the results are disappointing, I can not overlook the absolute precision of the TNT round. If you are going to shoot for as tight of a group as possible, zero your scope for the TNT. If you want to hunt small game for the stew pot... the TNT is what you want because it will not damage the meat as bad on say... Rabbit. Roasted Rabbit on the menu? Go for the TNT's adjust your scope accordingly and you will eat well that night.

For dramatic rodent destruction, the V-Max is the sure-shot medicine. It kills those pot-guts faster than an intercepting steel belted radial. The V-Max didn't group quite as tight as the TNT's but they group tight enough... and we are talking group size of a Penny rather the the TNT's group sizes of a dime. Not a lot of difference, but it's there... the trade off is the explosive shock effect. If I wanted to make some rabbit stew, I'd avoid the V-Max loads. Now for bigger game, the TNT's would probably excel. Perhaps for Coyote I'd opt for the deeper penetration of the TNT. If fact, I'm pretty sure of it. However, what about for Fur Bearing Fox hunting? Where I want to keep the pelt as damage free as possible on those smaller red foxes... I'm probably use the V-Max on them as I suspect the shock would be all internal and there would be no exit wound.

Now there is another round that I've not tested at all... and that's the heavier 20 grain Hornady XTP load. It's longer, heavier, but a touch slower. How that bullet performs, I don't know I'll try them out whenever we get some back in to Basin Sports.

7-21-09:  DSL should be back up and running at Ogre Ranch very soon. Being without it really sucks, especially since a lot of what I do requires a fast connection. Not just a connection... but a fast connection. Because seriously, if I had to go back to Dial Up... MadOgre.com would evaporate. I just don't have the patience, and life is too bloody short. Speaking of Life... AH – Yes, it's back up and running. Excellent. Setting Vids and stuff to Up Load now.

My Savage 93R17 has earned a Name. My Rock River, my SIG 556... most of my guns have not earned that honor. This little itty bitty Savage already has. It's now known as “Killswitch”. It is simply death incarnate for small desert creatures inside 200 yards. Any day I bring that rifle to work with me, it has never failed to kill a prairie dog on the way home. Not Once. Which is more than I can say for even my beloved CZ 527 American, which is crazy good at spilling Varmint Blood. Killswitch is wearing two colors of the desert camo pattern I am working on, there will be a third color that I will use and the combination of those three colors will overlay a “digital camo” type pattern... but first I have to make some stencils and it's going to take some time before I get the chance and materials to do that. So in the mean time, Killswitch is wearing a plain subdued coat that while unfinished, still serves to break up the outline of the rifle. 

(Uploading Videos to prove I have More Fun with my guns than You. ;)  )

The Shooting Wire for Monday had a brief regarding the use of Suppressors on some hunting guns. The wire mentioned the fact that in most countries either encourage or require the use of Noise Suppressors on firearms. This is a matter of courtesy in some cases, and safety in others. Weapons with a Gun Muffler attached are not nearly as loud, startling, or harmful to unprotected ears as un-muffled arms. Another side effect of a Gun-Muffler is that they are in most cases the firearm in question is even more accurate than without it. They Gun-Muffler got a bad rap with politicians because of hype back during the post prohibition era when all the movies were about booze running gangsters and hitmen and the term “Silencer” came about. Movies showed these silenced guns killing with no more report than mouse flatulence. This is not the reality. The reality is that a Suppressor is simply a Muffler. Just like the one on your car's exhaust system. When Hyrum Maxim invented the thing, he called it the “Gun Muffler” hence my previous use of the term. Back in the day, you could buy a muffler at your local hardware store for the equivalence of 5 bucks today. Like in other counties still using them, this was a courtesy to your neighbors. Farmers would use them, hunters, they were not uncommon devices. But thanks to BS Hype, the Gun Muffler became a “Silencer” and as such, evil and must be regulated to almost non-existence. Today such a gun muffler carries a tariff of around 800 bucks on average, depending on who it's from and what it's for.... some are as high as 1400 or more. Then you are looking at a two hundred dollar tax stamp for privilege of being less obnoxious. That makes even a less expensive Gun Muffler cost you about 1000 to put it on your gun – not including any new barrel or gunsmithing required to thread or put an adapter on your rifle. This makes such a thing very cost prohibitive. So why would you want one? Well, let me tell you. I don't know a single shooter who is over the age of 30 that can hear as well as he could before he took up the shooting sports. I know a lot of shooters who in fact have permanent hearing damage because of this sport we love. All it takes is for a guy at the range to forget to put on his earpro or for some to bust off a cap before others put on their earpro. Bam, that's all it took... now his or her's hearing is now harmed. Hearing never gets better. It only degrades. And shooting accelerates that erosion of sound. I myself have about 50% of my hearing left, and most of it in my right ear is just gone.

At my last training course, one of those in attendance had an HK pistol in .45 ACP. .45 is a loud hump to the ears when it shoots. It's not as sharp of a crack as a .357 Magnum which is just hell on the eardrums, but it is loud and harmful. This HK pistol was fitted with a Gun Muffler. Legally and Expensively. However the result was that one could rip off a whole magazine full of rounds and not have your head ringing from the shots. You could still hear the shots – as the suppressor only reduced the noise level of the report to below dangerous levels. It was remarkable how so many people found the use of the muffler so completely alien that it was a fascinating novelty. What I liked was how it made the gun point more naturally for me.

I think we need to roll back the law that was asinine in 1935 and even more so today. The law was a bad idea and has done far more harm than any theoretical good. I would very much like to put a Gun Muffler on most of the guns I own, but to do so, I would have to put out enough cash to have made a sizable down payment on a new Mercedes Benz SUV.

Has a tactical shooter, in a home defense situation a “Can” would allow me to engage within close confines such as a hallway, without blowing out my own eardrums. As a target shooter, a gun muffler would allow me to “plink” without disturbing anyone or any wild life. As a hunter, the use of a can would reduce the hunting stress on animals that I am not hunting. Ask a Wildlife biologist about hunting stress on a species... or just plain disturbing wildlife and that animal's survivability especially in the beginnings of a winter. As a gun owner in general the use of a can would have prevented the damage of my own hearing and help protect the hearing of my children and friends when they come with me for recreational shooting or hunting. Also, this reduces noise pollution across the spectrum.

New Dog at Ogre Ranch: We picked up a new dog from a neighbor this week. A male Pyrenees puppy, all white. He's the cutest damn thing you've ever seen. He's just a babe... a pup about 5 weeks old, with huge paws and skin he's going to take a few years to grow into. The breed is known for stable, calm, yet very loyal and protective nature. He's going to be a big dog... we've named him “Bear”. My youngest boy is very much in love with Bear. Bear is content to sleep a lot, and when awake, very calm and un-excitable. We've yet to hear him bark. Which is good. I like the idea of a dog that doesn't bark unless it needs to bark. While we miss Raven very much, we are happy to have Bear now.

Photos Later.

.300 H&H. We have a gun at Basin Sports that grown men balk at. It's a simple TC Encore Pro Hunter rifle, in .300 H&H. Most guys look at it and shake their heads, refusing to even hold the gun. “I like my shoulder the way it is now... I don't need it rebuilt.” This gives me pause and I put the rifle back and pull down another offering, a .300 WSM and they take to that no problem. This is clear evidence that people just don't know what the .300 H&H is anymore. Pretty much the .300 H&H was designed to give European (namely British) shooters a round with more punch than the .303, yet do so at relatively low pressures. In terms of ballistics is about the same as a .30-06 Springfield... maybe a tick better. The were not using smokeless powder at the time, instead they used Cordite, which looks like strands of translucent uncooked spaghetti. They would pack the case with them, and to get the velocities they wanted, they simply made the case fatter to fit more Cordite in there. The round is rather pleasant to shoot, not harsh at all. I've fired several hundred .300 H&H rounds and never once complained about the recoil. In fact, it feels more “cushy” than .30-06. Out of an Encore Prohunter, the .300 H&H would be a big pussycat... probably more like a .308 than a .30-06. Now the .300 H&H I shot before was built off a Mauser action, and the gun Sporterized from a Military Gun to a Hunting Gun. The gun its self was no big deal in the looks department, but it nailed pie pans hanging from trees every time out to 300 yards, off hand... open sights... with ease. No, that wasn't me shooting it... I was a young lad with eyes on this man's daughter and he was showing me how much I needed to respect his girl. He would be pleased to know that I treated her as a Virginian Gentleman should. The .300 H&H cartridge is certainly not one of The Great cartridges of the world, but it is one of the more sensible ones to have come out... one that looked to resolve obvious shortcomings of current offerings using Cordite propellant on that side of The Pond. So it's no historic epoch. It's not really a tack driver. It's not even really all that powerful in terms of other things from Holland and Holland, who's name generates mental images of elephants blowing up like Prairie Dogs hit by .22-250's.... no... the .300 H&H is none of those things. So why would any American Shooter want one? Well, a few reasons really. First off, it's comfortable to shoot for a full on .30 Caliber. Easy on the shoulder as they say. It does what it does with relatively lower pressures allowing you to actually shoot the thing in a hunt without worrying about your ear drums like you would with say a .30-06. And best of all – you have something that people don't know about around here. You could be at the range, shooting your .300 Holland and Holland, and you can take it like a man and when your buddies balk at say, a .300 Ultra you can say “Feh, I shoot a Holland and Holland, man up on that RUM you Sissy.” I don't know if that would actually work on anyone... just saying. It sounds cool as hell.

7-18-09:  Ogre Ranch SITREP: KIA DSL Modem. I'm offline at the ranch until it's fixed. No worries... everything else is peachy. I think. House needs repairs, Truck needs repairs, Wife's van needs repairs, bills need paid... so everything is pretty much normal.

The Camo process on my 93R17 is underway. I've got the base color on multiple coats and I'm ready for the second color now. Will do that tonight. Pics will be posted... er... after the DSL modem is fixed.

Crusader Update: Crusader will be offering 2 things starting ASAP, and by ASAP, I mean right now. Custom Refinishing with a new process we are calling “Crusader Armor”. We have multiple color options so we can pretty much do any camo pattern you want. Crusader Training: Also, my training program is now under the Crusader banner for this next training class, which will be held on 9-5-09 out on the Wasatch Front, so some place near SLC... we are still trying to find a good venue. Location and Time is TBD, but you can Pre-Register and Pay for the course by hitting me here at this email address ogre – at – madogre – dot – com. The cost of this course is $150. This is the Carbine 1 Course, and it has a limited round count of 200 rounds. Hits count on this one so we are focused on skills and accuracy, not just blazing away with hammer drills.

I've got several vids to upload, but no connection to do it with. Oh well. They are not going anywhere.

7-15-09:  I didn't want to talk about this, but I need to get this off my chest. During the course last Saturday, my wife made an appearance. She brought with her my sons, and fell news. Raven, the last of my wolves, died. She got cut on some sharp junk metal from the next door junk yard, and it opened an artery. She bled out quickly and there was nothing anyone could do for her. There was lot of blood. Mrs. Ogre didn't want me to come home and discover this and become upset. This was good strategy on her part. She's a wise woman, my wife. Raven is buried next to Ranger. Together they'll watch over Ogre Ranch just as they did in life. She was as sweet a dog as anyone could have, just as Ranger was... only they were not dogs. They were wolves... are wolves. And they were members of my family. Loyal, protective, and loving. Raven wasn't perfect.. she had a quirk... she was terrified of thunder storms. She would stand in defense of her Pack and fight to the death against any threat... but thunder would turn her into a quivering little puppy. Sometimes she angered me... but she'd look up at me with her big eyes and give me that stupid “Sorry” grin she had and I couldn't stay mad at her . As she grew older – and she was getting long in the years, her panics became worse and her body pains and bad joints got worse. She had been hit by a car years ago before she came to us... and the leg never healed right. It caused her pain daily... but she was strong. Every morning she would romp with Kenyan like a Pup through the fields... and come home smiling and happy. Then she'd sleep most of the day as it took a lot out of her to play like that. She was happy here, and she was loved, and loved in return. She had a good long life. She will be missed.

Training and Instructing: I've come to the point now where I've got to ask myself if I really want to be a Firearms Trainer. I've been instructing locally, a handful of guys at a time, local mostly... but my courses are now starting to bring in more attention and I've been blasted with inquiries regarding more courses. But do I really want to do this? Is this something I really want to take seriously... If I don't, I should stop teaching all of them... walk away from it. No more. If I really want to do this, I need to take this seriously and put together a good range kit, more target stands... and really put together a package. I've been told by a few guys that have taken courses from “Big Names” that my course kicks ass and they really learned a lot from my training, more than he other guy that charged ten times my price. I was also told that my course fee was stupid low and I should be charging 200 bucks. Currently I charge 100... which is about the price of 3 or 4 boxes of shells. Considering the economy, I've got to keep my prices very low... I want people to learn how to drive their rifles and if a guy can't afford my course, he'll opt to skip it... I don't want to see that. I want training to be affordable. And I want to be able to offer more training for the dollar. So... do I really want to do this?

I think the guys that came to my course last Saturday would urge me on to continue and to improve it. The guys from WTA that came up from AZ pooled together and got me a kick ass knife... a Zero Tolerance. ZT is an off shoot of Kershaw.... Kershaw's Angry Brother. It's got the speed safe mechanism and it's wicked cool... I love it. It's become my daily carry knife. I'm hugely gratefu and humbled by the gesture. It will probably take a Pocket Lightsaber to make me switch carry knives now.  Not just because this knife is so bloody cool... it also speaks to me... it appeals to me in the language of the warrior, and warrior to warrior is says that I am doing it right.

So... yes. Yes I'm going to do this. More on this later.

Email from our man, Stig over in Norway: “Hi George, Reading about supreme court in US now, and see that remark about "wise latina woman" and so on from Sotomayor. Got me thinking in US there will be more "Norwegians" than in Norway, but funny enough never seen them claiming "equal rights" or anything. hmmm. Just a thought. Lutefisk for everyone, give us free herring! NOW! STIG:)” Thanks for the email, Stig. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the Justice Is Blind thing just went completely out the window. Racism is evidently okay here in the USA, as long as it's against Fair Skin Folk.

7-13-09:  One of the drills I came up for the class was a hell of a lot of fun, and I've never done it before. I call this Ogre's Zombie Drill. Using ZombieTargets, I numbered each target. Each Zombie also has a name. Bob, Chuck, Steve, Osama, and numbers 1 through 8. Two shooters at a time would shoot. I'd call out a series and the shooters would engage that sequence. Such as, “One, Bob, Seven, Three, Osama!” Depending on the Name and Number, the shooters would transition from one target over to another... or even One target, and then because the name was the same as the number called, that same target. So the thinking portion was there, the target acquisition was there, and the controlling that weapon all came together. I've shot the drills using the colored and numbered shapes... and that's okay... but pretty much you are still shooting the same target, just different spots on the target. This allowed the shooters to engage multiple targets, and even required the shooters to even shift their positions if we had a wider swing to deal with. This drill went great, it was caveman simple, and it was a lot of fun. And alternative for this drill could be to add a Letter to the targets. A, B, C, etc so we could call “One, Chuck, Delta, Seven!” And then the shooter engages those 4 targets in order. This is the “Ogre's Zombie Drill”, and if you see anyone using this drill from now on – you know where they got it.

The use of these Zombie Targets was pure win. First off, these targets are pretty cool... they are fun to shoot... keeps the training atmosphere light hearted and less stressful, and the students will remember the training better. I recommend them highly.

New thread on WTA by Thernlund, his take on the course and the hunting. Yeah, I think they had a real good time. Now, normally after my courses, we do not all roll around hunting my hunting grounds to extinction. What we normally do is eat Mexican Food and then relax because normally it's too bloody hot. The weather was just PERFECT. During the course it was cool and overcast most of the time. Temperatures were very pleasant. That night it rained a little, and the next morning it was nice and sunny. Not too hot, but perfect for all the dogs to come up and sun themselves so we could shoot them.

7-12-09:  Crusader Weaponry is now ready to accept Pre-Orders on our Custom Uppers! Check the details out here. If you have questions regarding Crusader Weaponry, please address those questions through Crusader, or Gundoctor on WTA.

A quick note to my Local Uintah Basin Readers... Guys, when I'm at work at Basin... I really can't talk about Crusader.  I don't want there to be any conflict of interest and I don't want it to even seem like there is a conflict of interest.  Crusader is no secret, I've talked to the Owner and let him know what I'm doing and it's cool - as long as I keep it compartmentalized.  Should there come a time when it's possible that Basin carries Crusader - well that would be awesome.  But in the mean time - Basin doesn't so there it is. 

July 11^th Carbine Course: It was a day for WeTheArmed.com at the Buckskin Hills Range. Thurnland, JesseL, Coyotesfan, Harm, and StevenTing came out. Meeting the WTA guys was awesome. Getting these guys up to speed on some simple techniques that could save their lives is also very awesome. The course went very well, everyone did a great job and worked hard. The whole class gets an A+. After the course was the traditional Mexican Food followed by some prairie dog slaying. It was a great day. There is a thread on WTA about the course and the reactions to the course and the prairie dog hunting. T Man is going to post some vid and photos. I've some photos to post as well... but I didn't take any Vids.  Much thanks to my brother Zack, who served as my Assistant for the course. With 8 shooters on the line, I couldn't keep an eye on everyone so Z watching those I wasn't and we kinda roved back and forth so I could watch some, he watched some, we switched so as we repeated some drills, I could see if anyone needed correction. Corrections were made as needed and safety was not compromised. It ran smoothly this way. Sometimes I would get ahead of myself and have to come back to something, but overall I think the course went well. I'm pleased. Am I satisfied? No. I am my own worst judge and I know things I could have done much better as an instructor. I know where I need to improve for next time. I know where I Eff'ed it up. First off, I should have been having guys do a Tactical Reload after every 5 rounds to practice that drill. I should have had guys doing SPORTS at least once per magazine. I should have been drilling these two things like a broken record. I should have also spend more times shooting from the ground. But I was being too nice. That and I was concerned about the amount of ammo being expended. We got down to about 3 mags left when we finished it up. That's close to running out of ammo... and I didn't want to do that... they had prairie dogs to kill. That and I don't like leaving a range with no ammo on hand. Just in case.

I'm not sure – but I think today is the 500^th Day of the Cavalry Arms Raid. As I understand it, the ATF raided Cav Arms, took CavArms property, computers, inventory... and has still not returned it, while at the same time not charging CavArms with anything. That is a blatant violation of the Bill Of Rights, Search and Seizure, Due Process, and Protection of rights not specifically enumerated. I call Bullshit on the ATF. I call Asshattery.
GIVE CAVALRY ARM'S PROPERTY BACK TO CAVALRY ARMS.

Guys, I'm wiped out. The course yesterday, the day of hunting today... I'm just wiped out. Dehydrated even though I drank fluids constantly. I'll get back to some good posting shortly.

7-8-09:  Ben and I did some shooting today. I topped off my new Savage 93R17 with a Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7 and it needed to be zeroed... Ben's CZ 452's scope needed to be re-zeroed as well so during our lunch break we got them dialed in.

A rough zero, shooting at suspicious rocks and cans... it didn't take much to get them both on target. Once the guns were dialed in, it was time to get back to work. This left us both with a terrible itch for more shooting... so on the way home we had get some shooting. Ben had already blooded his rifle, so I had to get mine done too. It didn't take long to get to some P-Dog Ground. We only saw a few prairie dogs, and we zapped two of them. Ben snuffed one first as I was still getting used to my little Savage... then I got my groove on and the next doggie I saw I zapped it with a solid hit to the center mass.

The result was gruesome. I'm well pleased with both the Savage, the cartridge... and most importantly I'm satisfied with the optic. I've been trying to find a home for this Elite 3200 2-7 for some time... and I think I've finally found it.

7-7-09:  I pulled the trigger on a .17HMR. I had been thinking about getting one... but today I went ahead and did it. The one I got was the Savage 93R17. This is a simple, heavy barreled, all black synthetic rifle... no frills... and it's ugly. In fact, it's hideous. But I'll be checking out how well it shoots after I set it with a scope. There are several scope options that will work for this gun and I was going to make that choice tonight... but I found that the rings I have – don't fit these bases. I have rings for a Picatiny set up, not Weaver. There is a slight difference there... but the result is my rings wont attach right. Bloody hell. I was hoping to scope it up and then nail it with some desert camo tonight. Crap. Oh well. Anyways... so here I am – with a .17HMR rifle now. Neat.

Sick of Wacko Jacko: The constant and relentless coverage of that Child Molester's funeral is asinine. He was a fucking Child Molester – not a Minor Deity. Fuck Mike Jackson.

Bumped into a guy from Richmond, VA and we had a chat. The discussion went like this.

“So what do you think of Obama?” - Ogre

“It's no different than being back in Richmond.” - Dude

“Really... er... How so?” - Ogre

“Just another black guy trying to steal my shit.” - Dude

Insert Rimshot sound effect here. Yes, the comment was racist, but it was funny at the moment... having done patrol work there, I can tell you what – theft was common. But even in the worst Hoods in Richmond, it aint nearly as bad as what Congress and Obama is doing to the United States of America.

I'm really looking forward to the Advanced Carbine course this Saturday. This is almost more like a WeTheArmed.com gathering than a training... everyone scheduled to attend is a WTA member.

7-6-09:  Behold, the Religion of Peace. This (and the list of related articles) pretty much sums up the value Islam has of Christians (or Non-Muslims). Throwing Acid on women and kids? I don't care what God you believe in – but that isn't right and such actions come from a core of pestilence ridden, corrupted soul.

My religion has nothing to do with my favorite pastime... hunting Varmints and Predators. Coyotes and Prairie Dogs mainly. Last Wednesday, Lawman Greg and I rolled through some prime P-Dog Territory and we tore it up. We were just getting warmed up and making some great long range shots when a storm front rolled in and ended the hunting. Greg is a good shot and made good use of his single shot .223 Rifle. I was using a .223 as well, the 527 American. It was sixes who was doing better... but both of us agreed on 2 things. One, that .22-250 is The Shit when it comes to making P-Dogs dance in the air. And Two that some company needs to make a decent cheap line of 55 grain .22-250 ballistic tips... because .22-250 is too expensive to really enjoy in the blood-gluttony of a good prairie dog slaughter. Like Wolf or UltraMax. If those guys did – Varminters would worship you!

7-5-09:  Project X: It's been a long time since I've mentioned Project X. I'm still working on that, but I'm at the frustrating point now. I need Capitol. If I could get enough money to jump start Project X, I could in turn invest a lump into Crusader and help jump start that. The model behind Project X has changed a little... evolved a little... but it's still there at the core – the same thing that I wanted to do before. My wife and I were talking about Project X this morning, and I think this might be something I put all my resources into and rolling with as soon as possible. Because Project X could springboard Crusader and this would be a 1-2 punch... two birds with one stone. I just need some good hardware to get X off the ground. Hardware specifically being something like this and this and this. That last one, not too bad. Not bad at all. The first one though is the gut wrencher for me. I don't know enough about them to make the right choice, that looks like the closest one according to all the camera features... the only other feature I really want is the ability to record straight to a hard drive because I'm sick of using DVD disks. Anyways... like everything else it all comes down to money.

7-4-09:  Happy 4^th of July. I pray to God that people remember WTF it's about.

I've wanted to mention my mode of carry during my trip to the Pacific Northwest. Fanny Pack. Now, I've used fanny packs before... a long long time ago, because I was young and stupid. Well, I decided I wanted to give it a go now that I am older and a little bit wiser. The Fanny Pack is at first appealing for a couple of very good reasons. First, it's perfect Tourist Camo. You blend in with all the other Tourist Dorks. Second, you can carry all kinds of crap in it. Such as a camera, a flashlight, spare memory cards and batteries, a couple water bottles... and a handgun much bigger than that which you would normally carry. Such as a full sized service handgun with attached weapon light and several spare mags. You could pack a friggin SMG in there if you had some of the bigger fanny packs out there. So at first, I was quite taken with the Fanny Pack. For about 4 hours or so... and then it became a huge pain in the ass. It was awkward, always in the way... and I hate looking like a Tourist Dork in places I used to call Home Town. Unless your Fanny Pack was meant to pack your handgun – the Fanny Pack isn't meant to pack a handgun. Which means the gun has movement in the pack and shifting, and things clunk around like my light into a memory card, ruining the memory card. Luckily the camera and the gun were just fine... but the fact remains that the Fanny Pack isn't ideal. So now that I am older and wiser, and have reevaluated the Fanny Pack as a means of Carry... I give it a 3 out of 10. I hated it and I am not going to use it again.

7-3-09:  Crusader Weaponry: The website is up... but not nearly finished. Okay, some news. Swag stuff is being worked out... I'm trying to find good vendors and good product. We also want to do some knives. I'm looking for a good vendor for those as well... and I think we have one for the fixed blades. Still need to find one for the Folders. We've got a lot of stuff cooking at Crusader right now... Including bringing some Crusaders to a John Farnam training course in November... yeah, that's a way off... but it is something to look forward to.  So if you want to test out a Crusader, well, sign up for that course too.  Farnam is a very well respected instructor in Utah... easily the Number 1 guy out here for training.   Me?  Come on, please.  I am no John Farnam.

Poor Joe Biden. Couldn't pull more than 100 people to come listen to him? Sarah Palin was famous for bringing over 20,000 to one rally on short notice. Hell, even a small Tea Party had more than 100. Give or take a couple thousand. Sucks to be Joe Veep. This gave me a good laugh this morning. Biden is such a clown. Out of all those people that came to see Joe – how many had to be there out of some personal loyalty, how many had to come because the DNC told them to go, and how many were paid to go? Okay, now how many were Press? That leaves, what, 3 people that actually wanted to go to listen to Sideshow Joe? That's hilarious.

Al Franken: If Joe Biden is a Clown – WTF is an Al Franken? Well, he's a Senator. Seriously... What the hell is wrong with Minnesota? I mean, if you are going to vote in a Saturday Night Live Comedian... shouldn't you go with a more intelligent one like say... a Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd or a Chevy Chase... even a Dana Carvey. Wait. Never mind... we are talking about Minnesota.

Laptop Woes: I've been keeping Hordcaster going for long past it's prime. Keyboard, NIC, touchpad issues, I've worked through, fixed along the way... keeping this laptop rolling. Now the LCD screen is going dark. I turn it on and it's looking red and takes time to warm up and be readable... but never getting as bright as it used to be. It's about done. I need a new laptop. I just can't afford a new one right now. The one that meets the specs I need is about 1400 bucks. I'd like to play around with a Netbook device – but I really need a full power laptop. This is coming with really really bad timing. Damn it. I've got a laptop I can fall back on – but it's less than half the power and memory... enough I can still get on the web, but I won't be able to get much done... like update MadOgre.com. Freaking Bad Timing Here.

It's just... well, it's not even sex: Police Chief and a female officer get a little affectionate and it's caught on the cruiser's dash cam. Nothing stark or even sexual. It's rather tender... it's outside of Wed-Lock, sure... but it's not a Cigar Up The Blue Stained Dress like Bill Clinton's Affair. Honestly I don't have a problem with this. Yes, he's the Chief, and yes, she's an Officer under him... but what I see here is two consenting adults that are sweet on each other. Inappropriate? None of my business. Lot's of people come to be close at work, how come just because this guy wears a badge – he was forced to retire? It's no one's business but these two – and well, and I guess the guy's wife. But it's no one else's. She's kinda cute, btw.

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