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May 1 to 17th 2008
5-17-08: Vortex: A fellow Horde Member emailed me about the Vortex Skyline 80mm. $399.99. Whoa... a 20-60X80mm Spotting Scope for more than a hundred bucks less than the similar sized Leupold. Straight styled... 30 bucks more for the angled. Now, Vortex has an “ED” version... that means Extra Low Dispersion glass. This is similar to the Swarovski HD type lenses. The Vortex ED Skyline is only $679.99, with the straight style... 30 bucks more for angled... How does that compare to the Swarovski 80mm HD? Well, for starters, it's Two Grand less. The Swarovski 80mm HD is an amazing glass... easily the best spotting scope on the planet. And for that price, it damn well better be. But we can't really compare these to Swarovski, can we? No... that's not fair. But it is really damn good for being 2 grand less. I really like the little, light Nomad spotting scope. Great glass for packing in the field. Orders are coming in and guys who are in the market for glass, they are happy with what they are seeing with Vortex. I've mounted a couple of these Diamondback 4-12 scopes – and those guys are saying their next scope is going to be another Vortex. Remington's latest rifle: Remmy just announced that they are adding to the R-15 line, by expanding to the .308 platform and calling it the R-25. Calibers are .308 of course, .243, of course... those are the obvious choices... but then they also have the R-25 in 7mm-08.... HELLO! This isn't good news for me. This is actually pretty grim news. Because I'm going to have to wait till Christmas now since I've had a rather insane gun buying spree this last couple months. Look up the shooting characteristics of the 7mm-08... What a fantastic little cartridge. It's a personal favorite of mine... good energy, velocity, trajectory, in a cartridge that bucks less than the .308. It's very well a candidate for the title of the most ideal plains game cartridge. Coyotes to elk. Yes, I said elk. 7mm-08 takes a lot of elk around here every year... ethically. It his harder than .243 because it can use heavier bullets. I'm also fond of the .260 Remington cartridge, and I have been scratching my head as to why Remington isn't putting the R-25 out in .260... That would have been my first choice... it's similar to the 7mm-08, but using a 6.5mm slug. What scope would I put on an R-25? Do you need to ask? Vortex Viper 6.5-20x44 with the Dead-Hold BDC reticle. What about the R-15? Diamondback 4-12x40.
SIG: I have to say that I really dig the SAS versions of the the SIG line. What I would really like to see is a combined Platinum-SAS. A Platinum series, with the rounded contours and DAK trigger. That would be awesome. I'm digging the 1911 RCS. It is like a C3, but dehorned... something the C3 just begs for. I might have to order one next year if we can still do that after the Dems take over. Yeah, I'm not feeling optimistic about November. The RCS might be my celebration if we win... or the last gun I buy if we lose. I don't know... we'll see. Another soldier ordered to Iraq is refusing to go. This dude needs to suck it up, pull his shit together, and do his duty. If he doesn't, he needs to face the UCMJ and spend some time in the brig. Cowardice can not be disguised as conscientious objections. There have been a lot of such objectors, and they still served as medics or in other duties... but they still served and this pussy can't even do that much. Fuck this guy. It isn't his place to judge the validity of a war – his job is to freaking go. Now, if he is over there and he is ordered to rape a kid or shoot a nun or something – then that is an illegal order and he can refuse. Seriously, right here... I'd just shoot the fucker in the head and move on. He volunteered... he signed up... he swore an oath. That means something to me. Now this pussy is going to refuse to serve his duty? That's a prison sentence at least. If he doesn't get arrested and tried, I'm going to be pissed. If he gets jail time, he's lucky. This is the fruits of the softening up of the US Military... the eased off on the Basic Training so now anyone with a bit of stubbornness can get through it. They gave the hats of an elite unit to everyone so those who didn't rate could still look cool. Then they came out with this Army Of One bullshit... and now we have these guys refusing to serve. Great. What's next? Giving them marshmallows and Mt Dew and an XboX to get them to feel good about being in the Army? I know disabled guys that have begged for the honor of serving. This jackass has no honor... kick his ass out... he doesn't deserve to have a uniform. FBMG's Gunsmith is now blogging: Gun Doctor. Email from Kristopher: “HK fanbois ... they suck, and they hate us.” One of the funniest things about having a blog, is the backlash you get. For example, there is a strange forum dedicated the 6.5 Grendel cartridge. In it is a thread that discuses my AR-15 rifle article. They go on to say how ignorant I am and how great the AR is... but then one of them says this: “After thinking about it for some time, and I've seen that article before, the only thing I'd change on the AR is I'd make more room within the receiver and put the bolt-carrier group (BCG) on rails like the AR-180 to minimize its sensitivity to combat-conditions grit. Yes, I'd make it a piston system to solve heat in the receiver and to make it more easily work with a wide range of ammo rather than playing around with port sizes and to slow down the cyclic rate which causes the bolt to work faster than the magazine can reliably feed cartridges in full-auto, but that is only a secondary solution to the principle concern of a receiver that's cramped for space. - John” So I'm an idiot, but the AR is fine... so he's going to just off the cuff basically rebuild the whole damn thing. New upper receiver design, a new bolt carrier design, and a new gas system. Uh... Okay, yeah, sure, the AR is fine... just replace everything and it's all golden! Nice. You can see why it continues to entertain me. Oh, I forgot another big – monolithic huge – HK flop. This one in the UK... The SA-80 rifle rebuild. The UK contracted with HK to fix their sketchy SA-80 rifles. HK spent a lot of money, rebuilt all the rifles, and bilked the UK for millions of dollars... and the rifles are still problematic hunks of crap. Sure, they are accurate... when they fire. Much like the AR now. HK is less impressive the more you look at them objectively.
5-15-08:
Oh dear, I stepped on the Counter
Strike Players' Pee-Pee again.
My opinion on HK has
raised their sweaty hackles. I've been called an idiot, a troll, and it
was said that I need to get out more. Well, sorry, but those guys need to
actually go out and shoot the guns they are so rabidly fascinated with.
Perhaps my opinion is a bit harsh, but they never answered my concerns. How
is it that an HK is more than a SIG when the HK's are mostly injection
molded plastic and SIG's are machined aluminum? How is it that the SL8 is
supposed to realistically compete with all the other Next Gen rifles, when
it is hamstrung with 10 round mags – and you pay twice as much for it?
Right. I'm a troll. Fine with me. Now some of the guys on that site have a
head on their shoulders and can look at something objectively. This is
actually hard to do with firearms, as almost no other inanimate object
garners so many emotions... the only thing else that comes close are diamond
rings for some reason. Now, I'm not dogging all HK stuff... HK has made some
FANTASTIC arms. The G3 series is brilliant. The G36 system is brilliant. The
P7 series is a treasure. Unfortunately the G3 is over priced... all the HK91
variants are which leaves you with the only alternative to buy a clone, and
with gun makers like Hesse, Vulcan, Special Weapons and the like... this has
made buying HK91 Clones a dicey proposition. The G36 is not available
because American Citizens are not Worthy of such a gun – hence the
manufacture of the SL8 dicktease. It isn't a G36 and it is hamstrung with
the 10 round mags. America is not California. And they are of course – OVER
PRICED. Is it worth 2 SIG 556 rifles? Feh, not hardly. The HK P7? I love the
gun... I really seriously do. But HK discontinued it. I'm sorry... the
triggers in the other HK pistols are just horrid. They really are. Yeah, I'm
a fan of the 1911's and carry my S&W 1911SC .45 almost all the time... but I
am fond of others as well... like SIG, Beretta, and CZ... and FNH. I'd put
an FNH P series pistol against any HK, any day. Now, I did tell the HK Rep
that I talked to that I was quite fond of HK's LEM trigger system. He then
said to the store owner, “This guy should be wearing all black... he's an
Operator acting like he's a Hunter.” I thought that was quite funny.
No... I left that shit behind long ago. The Rep then went on to explain that
the LEM trigger system is less popular with most civilians as the
traditional DA/SA trigger is the more popular way to go. Well, the LEM
trigger remains smooth and light and crisp with ever pull. The LEM should be
more popular... it is a superior system. Yes, I called the MK23 SOCOM
a flop. It's not HK's only flop... there is the P11 underwater pistol,
the XM-8 which is a G-36 done as crappy as possible. HK is not
perfect. HK is not the font of all that is leathal... FNH is the new
Black Gun, sorry. HK has a small bit of weapons in the US Military...
some MP5 weapons and a few MK23's that sit in dust in some armories.... they
are not used operationally, with most guys rolling SIG P226's, Beretta M9's
or customized 1911's - from who? Kimber. Yeah, I saw that jab
about Kimber... they might not be all that impressive to a +3 HK Wizard, but
the US Marines like the ones they got. 57,436 hits on average a month now! I dang near had a heart attack reading that. That's freaky. But then again, I've been blogging now for over 10 years, before it was called Blogging, and I am known as a Blog-Father to many many other blogs. Still... holy crap. HK EMAILS: “Apart from the 10 round mags you should mention that the thumbhole stock was not designed to be held by the human hand. I mean, when they first came out I held one and was WTF?!?!? I'm not being remotely sarcastic when I say that the person who designed the SL-8's stock never held a firearm before in their lives. I dunno, maybe they believe most people have the hands of a 6 year old struck freakishly by severe arthritis. And yes, their pistol line has gone downhill. Yes the USP's were still more expensive than most but my stainless .45 shot like a dream, 9mm soft recoil and condition one capable. "World's most expensive polymer pistol line" (excluding STI/SVI's) is not a title I'd be proud of. All that being said, I really need to get me a 10mm. What do you think of the XDm? It's a .40 but built on a modified XD 45 frame. So in theory one could ream out the barrel, put in heavier springs and have a 16+1 10mm! Although I'd be happy with a 9+1 SIG 220 10mm but apart from giving Bruce Gray an exorbitant amount of money for a conversion, I probably won't see one in my lifetime. Your thoughts, Mr. Hill? :-) -Andy” True that about the ergonomics. And we can also just go ahead and say it... they are ugly too. Yeah, I said that. A 10MM on an XD frame? DUDE – If you can build that – I want one. HK EMAIL 2: “Over the span of the time I've been reading your site, I've disagreed with you, agreed with you, and spent almost a year wondering who the F*%$ the STIG was. I work at a pawn shop and a big box sporting goods store and I've played with dozens of the models you speak about. HK handguns are ridiculously overpriced. I have a FEG hi power clone that has run with 4 fte's in 6000 rounds that cost me $350 used plus some hogue wrap arounds and a browning extractor and spring. That's a 99.93 reliability. My $725 SW 1911 has 9500 rounds through it with 9000 on the original recoil spring until I had 3 failures to feed. 99.97% reliable/ 100% if I changed the spring every 3000 like I'm supposed to. Now explain to me why I should by a gun for a cool grand that feels like a toy when I decock it? Taurus PT92's feel better when you decock them. Hell Bersa's feel better...no resonating handle, no thwoing after the hammer drops. I carry a 1911 every day and a Kahr Arms K9 as BUG. I will likely swap the 1911 for a 4" XD45 compact in within a short time. I will have paid $549 if i paid retail, which I don't (insert evil grin) and have a gun as worthy as I can imagine. My best friend has run 13000 rounds through his XD9 without a malfunction yet. Why would I pay two thirds a months salary for a pistol with no other benefits than the emblem on the side? I am not a SEAL, nor do I wish to be one. I can John Woo XD45's for about what I'd spend for one HK. As far as rifles go I think you can buy an AR-15 with a piston upper in 6.8 or 7.62x39 for about 2/3 the cost of an HK. Maybe I'm missing the advantage to a 10rnd HK. And if they can't assemble a gun that holds more than 10 rnds here, why can't they assemble some 30rd mags here and put them in when they get off the boat... I'm just thinkin out loud. John BR, Louisiana.” You can buy a lot of different AR's now that have op-rods... and kits that let you convert the AR you already have. It's time for some off color comedy. Another clip from “Coupling”. For those running Windows, some observations. Sorry about the Free Vista video clip. It got a few of you, so it was worth the laugh. Back to business. Service Pack 3 has caused no problems, and if there are holes it patched up – great. Go ahead and roll out SP 3 if you like. AVG 8 is out. 7.5 wont update to 8, you have to download it and install it. It's a big improvement, scans faster, works with Thunderbird better, and has more web protection. Unfortunately that bit doesn't work with Firefox beta 3. Still, another thing worth updating.
It must be nice being of another
nationality and coming to the USA where you are compelled to criticize
Americans and our Culture. Because we are not able to do that... we have
more tact and manners... and we try not to be asses on purpose. But if you
are Canadian, you can go in to an American Gun Shop, and spout off about
guns and how we shouldn't have them and how Canadians are better shots.
Basically being a complete dick. We get this from time to time at our gun
shop. We get lots of people from around the world. Mostly from the UK and
Germany, but we get others too. It's funny, they will look at all the guns,
and we do have an impressive gun collection. They will have big eyes and act
as if they are at a holy shrine. Say how cool it is. We will offer to show
them a gun, hand them one... but they act as if we are handing them a
poisonous serpent. Then the dicks will bluster on and be dicks about it and
thump their chests about being superior because they can't have guns back
home. This is what is called “Sour Grapes”. You are not fooling anyone.
Ben talks about an
5-14-08: Vortex Strikefire: Lots of questions about it. It's still not out yet. Next month. We have 6 ordered, one is mine and I'll let you guys know how it is. If it's awesome, I'll let you know it's worthy. If it's lame, I'll let you know that too. But I'm betting it's going to rock to a shockingly high degree. I wont be back into the gun shop till Friday. Our hours are 9:00AM MST, to 7:00PM MST. You can call in your Vortex orders to me. Some things we have on hand... others will have a delay. The 10X42 Vipers and Razors are on hand, 4-12x40 Diamondback are on hand... well.. we have a couple left... Nomad spotting scopes with free compact tripods. I really love Vortex stuff... the only things about them that I question are the longevity and strength of the rifle scopes, and the Strikefire. The Binos and Spotting scopes are fantastic for the money... better than more expensive established brands, like Nikon. Yeah, I said Nikon. I went there. My beef with China lays solely on the communist Government. The news of how bad that quake was, and all the damage and havoc... it's humbling and reminds me how lucky we are here at Ogre Ranch. 5-13-08: How did your day go today? Mine was interesting. Let's recap and sum it up. “What do you think of HK guns?” “Mediocre yet over priced and arrogant with triggers like toggle switches.” “Oh.” “Who are you?” “The HK rep.” “Oh.” So HK is selling these UMC and SL8-6 rifles and wants us civilians to buy them. The prices are high. The magazine capacity is limited to 10 rounds. I see no point, no point at all. SIG has the 556 (great trigger on mine), Bushmaster is bringing out the ACR, FN has the FS2000 and the SCAR coming out... lots of really cool rifles from gun makers that don't give the American Shooter the middle finger by neutering the magazines and limiting them to just a few shots at a time. Are they serious? Are they really thinking that we can sell guns with a 20 round deficit in capacity with no other selling point than "It's an HK." What is HK doing to add value to that? Giving away optical gunsights? Oh, wait, FNH was doing that earlier this year. What has HK done to for the American Shooter? What have they come out with lately? Rebadged USP's? The last military gun, the MK 23 was an epic flop. The last famous thing they have accomplished is a video game cover. HK has become the Al Bundy of the gun industry. They've become a sitcom of their own creation. VORTEX OPTICS: If you are in the market for some glass. I recommend Vortex Optics. If you need any, contact me. I need to sell a bunch. Binos, I got the Viper 10-42's for 499. Rifle Scopes, I've got the Diamond Back 4-12 for 199. This is a great scope and I like it a heck of a lot more than the Nikon Buckmaster. Spotting Scopes... let me know which one you want and I'll get you a price. 5-12-08: Cowboy Blob is pushing my idea again. Combat Cowboy Shooting... Cowboy Casual... whatever you want to call it. It's Defensive Shooting, using classic American firearms, without the costumes and roll playing. It's a shooting sport... it's about the guns. SASS guys have a whole industry built around COSTUMES AND ACCESSORIES for crying out loud. That's fine... I have friends who are into SCA too... cause to me, that's what SASS is... 1800's Western SCA.
Bob Barr is going to hand the election over to the Democrats. I'm not too happy about this. Some Libertarians think this is a good idea to run on principles. Well, it is... in an ideal world with pink skies. In reality, running on principles is going to hand the nation over to communist fucktards who are hell bent on ruining this country. Bob Barr is going to split the conservative vote, just like how Ralph Nader did. What did Nader accomplish for the Liberals? He handed Florida to Bush and the Dems lost. Great for us, wasn't it? Well, Barr is going to be our Nader. I might be a Rabid Libertarian, but I am asking everyone out there to ignore Bob Barr and not give him any money, votes, or the time of day. In my “Why I hate the AR-15” article, Mad Dog makes the astute observation: "The best way to improve the AR-15 is to unscrew the front sight, and put a new gun under it." Marlin Madness: I don't know what the hell is going on at Marlin, but they used to be a solid gun maker. As I've mentioned before, Marlin's quality control has been slipping. Well, now they have just thrown themselves off the cliff. They sent us a couple new rifles. Two lever actions. One an 1895 and the other an 1894. The wood in the fore ends do not match the wood in the stocks. Not a bit. That and the wood is total crap. I went outside and found better wood on the pallets our ammo is shipped in on. WTF Marlin? No, this isn't just Marlin not finding decent lumber. Because Marlin also totally screwed up the checkering. You can get better checkering by hitching a chain through the trigger guard and dragging the rifle behind you on a gravel road. Disappointments do not end there. The traditional Marlin Flappy Trigger is still there, but somehow it has become worse. The action feels rough, pitted, mottled, and altogether nasty, like a cross between a catlitter box and Kristie Alley's thighs. I was jonesing for an 1894 in .357 Magnum... but I think I'd rather have a splintered plank of pine 2x4. I know a lot of guys like Windows Vista. I like XP better (but not by much). For those who want to try Vista on your machine, for free, you can. Try this. 5-11-08: Chuck Hawks hits the nail on the head with this article. It's well worth the read. I agree with him 100%. While he is bagging on the Tikka T3, which is a decent rifle, but over priced... the same can be said for a lot of other guns. And his point of blaim is dead nuts on. The Sporting Press. However I think the industry is pulling themselves up by the boot straps... Look at the new Browning X-Bolt. It might be taking cost saving measures... but they priced it right on the money where it should be. Lots of advances and nice features, balanced with reasonable cost savers... the X-Bolt is less money than the new TC Icon. While the Icon is a great rifle... the X-Bolt... I like it better. On the other side of that coin is the S&W iBolt... it is a cheap rifle. It costs less, but it has a lot of good hardware in there so that makes it a good value. Such as the Timney trigger and a great barrel. But unlike the other guns, it isn't doing anything to try to act like it's a premium rifle. Everything about it says Work-Horse Field Gun. Of course gun writers in a lot of the big magazines have praised these guns like they were custom hand built english doubles. Stretching your gas mileage: I've had a couple guys question how I'm getting so many miles per gallon out of my Contour when they, who have similar cars, are getting less. Have I done anything special to my car? No. Let me fill you guys in... it's about driving technique. First.... Get your car in good shape. Check your tires inflation. Proper inflation is important... I'm not rolling on low rolling resistant tires either, because I like to corner. Air filter needs to be clean, spark plugs in good shape... those are all obvious. So if you get the junk out of your trunk, and keep your kit tip top... the rest of it comes down to driving technique. Coast it:
Race it: You burn a
lot of gas when you slow down for a curve, then accelerate back up to speed.
Take the racing line. The fastest way through a curve is the longest way
through... by taking the racing line you scrub less speed which means you
waste less momentum. This also means you minimize your braking. Passengers
will hate you... but you will burn less fuel because you are on the gas
less. Simple enough to understand isn't it? Then there is the technique you
see on NASCAR all the time... Drafting. This is letting the car in front of
you push the air out of the way for you. Lowers your wind resistance. This
lowers the amount of power your car needs to maintain speed. This lowers
your fuel consumption. It is risky... so be very careful when you do this.
The closer the better of course, but even if you follow the 2 second rule,
the car in front still punches the air and allows you to cruise through more
turbulent air... so follow and don't pass unless you need to. Drafting, when
done right, can really stretch your mileage.
Lug it:
Cruise it. Use your
car's cruise control whenever you can. The computer can modulate the
throttle more accurately and consistently than your foot. That means less
time getting on the throttle to speed back up to where you want it to be.
There are other techniques you can
use on top of these... use them all consistently and carefully... and you
will see an increase in your mileage. Also, only run the AC when you
really need it. My Dad always drove this way because he hates OPEC
with a passion that burns like the sun... Well, now I drive like this
because of fuel prices. Now, if I'm in a hurry... all bets are
off and I drive it like I stole it. Carving the apex and crushing the
throttle... four wheel drifting through some bends. This is why I have
a Valentine One radar locator. This is also why I buy new tires every
damn year. I do enjoy DRIVING.
WELCOME HOME MY BROTHERS!
5-10-08: A choice I will luckily never
have to make: I'm a huge fan of both
teams here. I grew up with nothing but Audi's... but I've always looked
longingly at the Porsche's. I would kill for a new Audi right now. Any
model... I don't care. For a new Porsche? I'd kill twice. Are you kidding?
It's a PORSCHE. Come on, if I showed up to your door, you probably had it
coming.
I mention the Porsche because I saw one for sale today. It was jaw dropping. An 86 Carrera, red, almost perfect condition outside, looked
“BNIB” inside. It looked like it was a 2008 by the condition. Had a few rock
chips on the front end paint. But no big dings. Oh man, this was one sexy
car... made my tongue hard. Enough said. I noticed this car because it was
parked where the car I wanted to look at was supposed to have been parked. I
wanted to look at an 87 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I could
almost trade straight across, my Contour for the Crown Vic.... but...
well... looks like the Vic was taken. Damn it. Seriously, damn it to hell. I
love my 'Tour... but I need more room for my boys. I could happily drive
this Tour for another 5 years... but my boys are growing. So I am
kinda looking for a trade... but not real seriously.
IDPA:
First stage – I'll pretend it didn't
happen. Next 5 stages, I redeemed myself nicely. We had a couple guests with
us today. Some dude from FMG Publications showed up... you might know FMG by
one of their rags... “GUNS Magazine”... ever hear of them? Also, some dude
from Team Safariland, Mike Lerner. Mike was a 30 year vet of the San Diego
PD. Good shooter. Shot an STI and was fast and accurate. Unfortunately his
STI had serious reliability issues. We were considering bring the
STI's into our shop... but after close examination, we took a pass.
I'm glad we did. I don't think STI guns live up to the hype a lot of
guys gush on about. Oh, they are great... I'm not saying they are
not... but I'm just not that impressed.
I'd rather have a
Kimberr... which still has not failed me, bobbled, or even slightly
disappointed me. Round count is about 5500 rounds. Jams?
One, but it was ammo related, not a fault of the weapon.
If I was going to buy a new Bow
today...
Limbsaver Deadzone 5-8-08: Savage Model 12 .22-250: Well, I took home the Savage tonight. After work, Ben and I had to do a little shooting... test out my new rifle. The ammo I grabbed to test it is the Hornady Custom 40 grain moly coated V-Max, with a velocity of 4150 fps. Judas Priest! That is no joke. The load is so fast, the bullet hits the target before the trigger breaks. We just blasted suspicious looking rocks and did not even zero the scope. We were just having fun. I'll get serious with it and zero it out and print it this weekend. However, from what was observed, I am already impressed. Zero felt recoil, precognitive velocity, super flat trajectory, and the ability to cause unabashed grins in two gun-jaded men. This is going to be my Dedicated Coyote Smasher rifle. The coolest thing about this .22-250 with this 40 grain load... Ben and I both saw this - the bullet's shockwave going down range... not a vapor trail... that's kinda common... no, the shockwave. Crazy cool.
California urges caution around coyotes. That is very interesting. For The Horde on the other hand, I urge the generous use of ballistic tips. I don't care what you might feel about coyotes after reading The Daily Coyote Country Fried Home Videos has contacted us about this video. The want to put it in their show. If they can deal with the video quality. If they do it, they'll pay some bucks for it. This money will go to Willy, who has 2 girls and a boy to take care of, and a shooting habit to support. This would be a good deal for Willy. What I don't like about it is that Bill Engvall is going to say some dumbass comment about Willy, or about shooting... without knowing the real story. So let me clue everyone in. Willy is a former US Marine. He knows shooting, and he knows safety. He knew the risks of ricochet and took that 1.5” steel plate and angled it back and to the side so if there was a bounce it should have bounced up and away from the shooting position. In reality the round should have penetrated the plate with no problem. He was shooting an Armalite AR-50, which is chambered in .50 BMG. This is the round that shot down German fighter planes in WWII, and is still being used by our military. This was such a freak occurrence that it is flat out spooky. The velocity of the projectile, and the weight of the projectile that came back and hit Willy – Had it hit him more directly, he would have been killed... it would have been like being hit point blank with a .45 ACP. He was lucky it only broke his jaw bone. He's a good man and could have been killed. And Bill is going to crack jokes about it. If it wasn't for Willy's kids, I'd turn CFHV down. Windows XP SP3: 5-7-08: Ammo Maker List added to the weapons section.
Some Political Opinions: The greatest thing about the Obama-Clinton
war is that it is dividing the Democrats like nothing else. But it looks
like Obama is the victor. We knew this would happen, what we didn't know was
that Hillary was going to cling on like a barnacle and not let go for
anything. Not even for the good of her own party. Of course, the downside is that we could end up with a President that has less than 25% support.... no mandate to do anything. Up shot is that the new president would not have a mandate to do anything. It's not perfect, but a 2 edge sword... at least he (or she) couldn't pooch the nation any harder than it already is. I'm going to have to take back all the nice things (both of them) I have said about McCain. The man remains a flabby tit even when the opportunity is there for him to stand up and take a leadership role. He's the kind of Less Nessman type guy that only got to where he is because no one else wanted the job. If he had any balls, other than in the scrote hanging under his chin, he would stop complimenting the Democrats all the damn time, and go on the attack. Make valid arguments rather than felating Howard Dean's camp. Raise points rather than talk about his resume and how nice the Dems are. If I was going to be vulgar about him, I'd say he's a twat. You can look that word up – McCain fits every definition. RE: Hemmingway: WOW. You other bloggers out there, you want a flood of email? Ask an opinion on Hemmingway. Holy cow. By and large, the biggest response was for the Nick Adams stories and Hemmingway's short stories. I think every work has been suggest, with those winning the most nods. In short, the answer is “all of them”. My boy will eventually read them... and don't think for a moment that he is too young. He reads at a college level and has every book I have in the house. I have a lot of books. I have college books. He home schools. He home schools from college texts. See the pattern? He's already read most of HP Lovecraft's works and can carry on intelligent conversation about the deeper meanings in Chaucer. Gout: AR-15 Magazines, and SIG quad rail handguards: If anyone has any spare AR type magazines, or some SIG 556 SWAT type quad rail handguards that you are not using... send them my way... I can put them to good use! 5-6-08: Field and Stream is looking for the Ultimate Outdoorsman. Unfortunately I am unable to attend, so they will only find the runner up. Too bad. Sounds like a fun time. And I could have used the winnings. Well, maybe next time. Email from a College Student: “ states/academic institutions freedoms to carry concealed. I have had my concealed carry since the day I turned 18, and I have been shooting ever since I can remember, and I have never broken any laws , and yet I can carry across the street from my university, but if I cross the road I am in deep shit on so many levels it really is ridiculous. After reading your several posts over the college situation on CCW, I thought you would appreciate/support this. If you would, please take a look at a group known as Students for Concealed Carry on Campus and please consider this website for your awesome site / pass this along to anyone that appreciates what we can do anywhere else, but not while most college students are in class. http://concealedcampus.org/ Thanks for keeping me posted on current events / the gun market while I am away at school/interning and giving me a good laugh when i need it the most. Happy shooting and have fun with your new 556! Midwest College Member, Matt”” I suggest printing out the below logo and pasting it up wherever there is a No Weapons sign. (Logo removed) I was going to get my 14 year old son a couple books by Hemingway. Unfortunately I can not decide which. Specifically, I think the African adventures would be great. A Moveable Feast, Under Kilimanjaro... nonfictions, but worthy reads. What do you guys think? Robert A Heinlein is another author that he is going to be reading a lot of this summer... but I need a little help picking out the Hemingway. Nine Inch Nails: The Slip, the latest from NIN... they are giving it away for free. I've downloaded it, and its good. I would have bought it. They did this last month with “Ghosts” and that was good too... but this is a better album... but Ghosts made a lot of money, even after being given away. The Slip will be going to CD eventually, but right now – go ahead and enjoy it. NIN is changing the music industry... and I think we can support that. So even if you don't like NIN, download it. And when you are going to buy a CD, think about what NIN is doing... and buy one of their CDs. Hey, they make good gifts. This is proof that there is little intelligence in institutions of higher learning. University of Kansas has one of the most RETARDED gun policies I've ever seen. Read this. You can bring guns to campus, you just can't have them on campus. And every gun that gets checked in, gets checked to see if it's stolen. What does it take to have a gun declared stolen? Someone calls in a serial number. That's it. This story is not going to have a happy ending... not for the school, not for gun owners. I suggest that colleges adopt the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. It's amazing that these places still persist on having No Gun policies in the wake of all the evidence that they are in fact making the schools LESS SAFE. Has there ever been a mad gunman shooting spree at a Gun Show? How many at schools?
5-5-08: The Shooting Wire sent out this interesting list. This is based on purchases last year.
Top rifle brand: Remington (14.1% of
all purchases)
Why doesn't anyone make an AR-10 rifle in .22-250? We've got them in .243 and all other .308 based cartridges. I could go for one in .22-250. Had that option been available, I'd probably rolled with that instead of a Savage. I think .22-250 is under-rated... it is a great intermediate caliber. .22-250 Rem., 40 gr. V-MAX
Which is my main concernn. 96 Ford Contour, 2.5 liter V-6, 5 speed manual: Who remembers Richard Scarry? Deep Thought:: Two men are out ice fishing at their favorite fishing hole, just fishing quietly and drinking beer. Almost silently, so as not to scare the fish, Bob says, 'I think I'm going to divorce my wife - she hasn't spoken to me in over 2 months.' Frank continues slowly sipping his beer, then thoughtfully says, 'You better think it over - women like that are hard to find.'
5-4-08: GO SEE IRON MAN.There has always been something about Robert
Downey Jr's acting that I like. I don't know if I like admitting it, but
there it is. Seeing the guy bounce back I think is good news... seeing a guy
turn his life around and make himself better. Good. I think that is good. So I
am well pleased that Robert nailed the Tony Stark character – better than
anyone else could have. Seriously, I don't think anyone else could have
pulled it off so effortlessly. The biggest surprise was Jeff Bridges. The
Dude from The Big Lebowski... Jeff has come a long way from that role! He
plays a very convincing evil bastard. The perfect villain for Iron Man.
Gwyneth Paltrow did a good job, she's charming... for an anti-american
wench.
5-3-08: So we are off to SLC... Dance Competition Day at Lagoon. My little beloved sisters in law are dancing and I adore them. I really do. But I am not big on Dance Competitions. We are also going to see Iron Man, and dine at the Olive Garden and check out the Gateway Mall. I am pretty sure I'd rather be hunting coyote or fishing.. 5-2-08: New Gun Alerts: Thompson Center's new Endeavor rifle. Love it. This is an upgrade to the Encore Pro-Hunter, which includes the Triumph's tool free speed breech. A very nice touch to the already very nice rifle. As far as modern in line muzzle loaders go – this is the pinnacle. This is it. I just don't see how it could be made better. Jim Shockey, the one cat out there that has probably done more muzzle loading hunting than anyone else since Daniel Boone has put his name on this gun. If you watch his show, you see him using a regular Encore all the time. I don't remember seeing any of his stuff with him using a Pro-Hunter... so it looks like he skipped it and now landed on the Endeavor. That says something. I've not shot one yet... but handling both the black and camo versions... they look damn near perfect. I don't think I could come up with an improvement to them if I tried. If you are thinking about getting a muzzle loader – seriously – this is it. And the price isn't bad at all. Kahr finally sent us the P45 pistol. Width and length is damn near the same as the CW40... the grip is only about a quarter inch longer. Very light, very slim and easy to carry. Ben took one home today. This is kinda funny because he's been jonesing for one of these for months. Now, the downside to working where we work is that there is a Golden Rule there... and that rule is that new products that come in have to be on the shelves for 3 weeks before employees can buy them at our discount rate. These Kahrs just came in... Ben couldn't wait the 3 weeks. I have to laugh... I've done that too. I can't blame him. It's a gem of a pistol. But like all Kahrs, it is not without warts. Sharp edges and a rough action are the curse of new Kahr pistols. Fortunately, the roughness will smooth out all on its own with some shooting. But the sharp edges will require careful attention from a file. Kahr's, more than any other line of pistols demand a full melt job. I don't know why Kahr doesn't do that. They would be so much more appealing to buyers if it didn't feel like holding and handling something that might hurt you. Ben is giddy like a school girl about his new P45. (just like I was when I picked up my SIG 556) It is going to become his main CCW gun. A choice I could have made myself, if I was in the market for another .45 for CCW. (Something that wasn't a 1911) Today, (I wrote the above yesterday, but didn't post it) Ben reports that the Kahr P45 is flawless in functionality, accuracy was good, and he has taken a file to the sharp edges of the frame to clean it up a little bit. The Taurus Judge: I don't get this pistol. We got in a few of them last year and sold them really quick for about 350 bucks. We ordered more and are still waiting for next shipment... we've been waiting for over a year now for them. Every single day we are open, someone asks for a Judge. Even one of the guys I work with ordered one for himself. The gun is large and heavy and really, it's of limited utility. It does nothing very well and the novelty of being able to use .410 shotshells is just that... a novelty because it groups like crap. I don't like them. Vortex Strikefire: It's now in the 2008 hunting product catalog, and the rep said that it will be out in another month and they will be retailing for around 130 bucks. Other than that, he didn't know anything else about the unit. Which isn't surprising... but I was hoping he might have an example. Oh well. Quote of the Decade: “At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.” P.J. O’Rourke
Not only did I shoot the gun, but I blooded it as well. After being sure of the reliability and accuracy I drove closer to the dump and walked. Someone had shot a lot of prairie dogs in this area and it was a feast for crows. If crows are going to town on the carnage, then other critters will be too. Today I'm wearing sage green... vest and shirt. Camo hat up top to cover my CEO hair cut. Green electronic muffs to help hear and to muffle the bangs. I figured I'm good to go and everything is adding up for a little hunt. Wind was blowing about 10 mph, with gusts up to 20-25 or so. So walking into the wind and cresting carefully... using my binos (I always keep a pair in my car) I was able to see a lone coyote eating some dead animal flesh, it was about 200 yards and he was not paying attention to anything. Using the contours of the terrain I was able to move in to just about 60 yards undetected. I lined up the shot, gave a little lead for the wind.. about 4 inches Kentucky and held my breath. The Coyote was intersected through the torso just behind the shoulders, a little higher than I would have liked... I was loaded with an Ultramax 55 grain ballistic tip and it worked great. The dog jumped from the surprise shock, turned away to run, and promptly fell sideways and kicked for a couple seconds. Had I been using optics, I would have been able to put that round through a better vector through the animal, making a cleaner kill... but I would say that the gun did everything I asked it to do. Speaking of Prairie Dogs: Colorado just dodged a bullet. Some fuqqtard liberal group sued Colorado in an attempt to make hunting prairie dogs illegal. This would have been an ecological disaster for Colorado. Ranchers lease land from the state or from the BLM. Cattle are a precious resource, especially since the cost of food is going up and the cost of feed for cattle is going up too. Grazing open ranges is important... critical to some ranchers and to those who buy beef. Unchecked prairie dogs ruin that grazing land and dig holes that cattle will trip in – snapping their legs. One rancher said that if the prairie dogs went unchecked, the cost of beef could go up dramatically. Another rancher I talked to shrugged and said two bucks a pound for local grown free range beef. There is another problem with unchecked Prairie dogs. It would stimulate the population of predators... and this brings me to another related topic. Sage Grouse. The population of sage grouse has overall suffered a large decline in the last 10 years. Reason for this is the severe drought and harsh winters we have had and an increased in predation. NPR had some idiot expert on talking about the reason sage grouse has declined is because of a lack of “hard decision makers”. People who have the guts to make the hard decisions of restricting oil and gas development and to eliminate off roading, OHV, and ATVs and of course, hunting. This guy is up in the night. So he would have us cut off our own balls and forget the critically needed energy development – in the hope that by staying away from those areas that these stupid birds will prosper. Moron. Mankind is the steward of this world. It's our job to manage in a strait forward and logical way. Not theoretical ones. If a gardner sees weeds in his garden, he doesn't move the peas... he pulls the weeds. If these birds have a hard time surviving, because they have these obnoxious mating rituals that attract predators from miles away... the solution is simple: A bounty on coyotes, fox and bobcats. Eliminate the predator. My Brother has taken a keen interest in the original Sharps rifle. Not a .45-70.. the original capping breach loader. Kinda like a muzzle loader, but from the back door if you know what I mean. Here is what he has to say about it, and why he loves it: “It's pretty much my ideal rifle. I love a good capping breach loader and the infantry model is super rugged. There's just something about placing your sights on someone while cranking back on a big sidelock hammer that really illustrates that someone is truly and unavoidably fucked. It's like they become doomed, it's like a curse, almost magical. Single shot rifles that have external hammers almost have the same power, but a huge side hammer has that power in spades. Russians in Afghanistan experienced this ballistic curse and learned to fear the tribesmen with the big funky rifles much more than the ones with the captured Kalash, because they knew the men with the odd relics were REALLY aiming at them and that the hit would be damning in a way that a hit from a x39 often wasn't. The thump of a large calibre plug hitting someone nearby was moral breaking. It was strange and unavoidably fatal. The conscript medics could do little but share the unit's terror. Often doom came to the drafted Russian from the Snider conversion Enfields*, and often from muzzle-loading rifled muskets from many different countries, but it came with greater certainty when the mechanism of the rifle required greater focus and the sight-plane was long. This brings the mind into a lethal clarity as it takes in the target. It is a channel for the force. The psychic lock and the heavy bullet combined to knock souls from bodies with an efficiency that an automatic weapon burst can not match.” Email: "George, I am trying to
spread the word about a website <www.guntransfer.org>,
which is owned by the Commonwealth of PA. It purports to provide legal
guidance to PA residents on what the legal requirements are for transferring
ownership of a gun in PA. The site implies that transfers in PA are legal
only when completed through a Federal Firearms License holder. CHECK ARCHIVES FOR OLDER CONTENT
Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012 Graphic Artwork by Martin White
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I'm for McCain, but I don't like it one damn bit. This site is best viewed w/ FIREFOX or OPERA.
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