|
OCTOBER 2007:
10-30-07: Serious Question: “George, Since you’ve been talking about scopes so much, can we talk some rifles? Let’s say I’m in the market for a “tactical” rifle. I’m going to use that description since that is how they are all marketed anymore. I’m not really wanting to spend the change on a “custom” unit and with today’s over-the-counter options, I’m not really sure I need to. I’m been looking at the Kimber line and I really like some of the things FN is producing and it really seems like we have some great value in both those offerings. CZ also seems to be coming to the table with some nice toys. Remington and Savage are nice, but IMO they’ve “Lost that Loving Feeling” and no longer have their finger on the pulse of what to bring anymore. I guess the stock is a personal thing and most are offering a variety of McMillan choices so I’m mostly interested in your voice on actions and quality and customer service. I guess this is a WWOD question since you are in with the big boys anymore. Caliber would be .308 or .300 Win and most likely the later since I’m used to it in my Browning BAR (old 70’s Belgium made gun – it is sweet)” There are two ways to go about this. Buy or Build. First, let me go on and explain the build proposition. You can take an old Remington 700 that you have in your closet... an old beater that is ugly and in dire need of some love. Or you could buy an old 700 from a dealer with some trade ins or a pawn shop. You want one with a long action, but it doesn't matter the caliber. You just want the action. Get the 700 for as little as possible. Now that you have the action, order the McMillan stock of your choice. So you have the action, stock and now you need a barrel. I like Shilen. You can get a stainless steel match grade barrel for only $474. All said and done, you are getting your 700 essentially custom built for a heck of a great price. Don't skimp on the barrel if you take your shooting seriously. If you play your cards right, you could totally rebuild or build your gun for less than a thousand. Now the Buy option is a bit more fun. You have lots of options and you don't have to get your hands dirty. Now the problem I have with tactical bolt action rifles is that they are regular bolt action rifles with the stocks painted black or blotchy camo. There really are no features of a tactical rifle that are not cosmetic. A good tactical rifle will have a couple qualities that one needs to be aware of. First is accuracy. It has to be accurate, nothing else comes first. After accuracy the other qualities fall into place as ease of use, stability, and it can not have a shiny wood stock. That's about it really. Everything beyond these things is just marketing. Remington is a first option. They make several models that will serve our purposes. One being a “Tactical” model with a flat green stock. It's called the “Model 700 XCR Long Range Tactical Rifle”. Creative, that. If I remember right the price we would sell it for was less than $1200. The best thing about it is the Bell & Carlson stock. It looks serious, doesn't it? All the good bits are the unseen. The new X-Pro trigger system and the XCR finish. Popular is the double sling swivel attachment points. I think that's an over rated addition because all those bi-pods you attach to them have a point to attach your sling anyways. This is also an indication that the shooter isn't really as deadly serious. Bipods are highly over rated like Mark Wahlberg movies. Marine scout snipers shoot off of rests, usually field improvised out of their rucksacks or something. Now if you don't want to spend that much money you could get a regular XCR or an SPS rifle and hit it with some Krylon. Most rifle makers do something similar the 700XCRLRTR (I'm not typing that again) including CZ who has their model 750 Sniper. It looks like the rifle someone would use if they worked for Darth Vader. The MSRP is a cool two grand. Actual retail will be somewhat less. That's not a bad way to go and if you wanted a sinister looking rifle, this one is my choice. But what if you don't want a sinister looking rifle? What if you want a tactical rifle that is a bit of a sleeper? CZ has that too. They call it the Ultimate Hunting Rifle and it is fantastic. Take away the militaristic Nightforce scope with it's knobby off road styling and put on something less dramatic and you have a great looking hunting rifle in .300 Win Mag. CZ does not specify what you can hunt with it. But with a guaranteed 600 yard MOA accuracy with a different scope you can hunt anything. They guarantee 1000 yards with that Nightforce. The price seems steep at first, a whopping $3450 MSRP. But the rifle sans scope is only around 1800 which puts it about in the same price range as a Weatherby Accumark. Not bad at all. Now that Weatherby I just mentioned.. They are well known in the hunting community as game slaying bastards – and they have one for whatever game it is you are hunting. A .257 Weatherby Mag, 7MM Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, or the ridiculous .30-378 Weatherby Magnum... which is an anti-aircraft shell necked down to thirty caliber. It can Pole-Axe an elk at 1000 yards. But Weatherby also has some of their own Tactical rifles and I know a couple police snipers that use them. Take a look on this page at the bottom. There is your sinister looking ones. I've not mentioned the FNH PBR because, well, you should already know about that one. Freakingshitdamnhell: You guys know I don't have any good luck at all. Mine, is all bad. Remember when I said the belt came off the alternator? It did... that's not the problem. What bugged me was the why. The belts looked new. Well, I found out why. The alternator seized up. That's what caused the belt to break. This isn't an old looking unit either... the damn thing is the shiniest bit under the hood. Why it seized, I don't know. I don't care. But with the Kia down for awhile, and the Pontiac down... this leaves us with only 1 small vehicle that's operational. The Contour. I'm not a mad ogre right now. I'm furious. The exacerbating thing about this... is that I have nothing to be furious at. Not the guy that sold the Kia to me... not even at the Kia because these things just happen. It's a part of buying a used car. I know that. It's just that this is all extremely bad timing because Mrs. Ogre's due date is Thanksgiving, but in reality she could pop any time. We're trying to get things ready for all that... We have property taxes due in week... just everything is piling on and it is stressing me out. Time to listen to some soothing music and chill the hell out. I'm thinking Journey right about now. You know what... I would trade the Detonics Combat Master for a someone to come out and install a new alternator, make the car run, and throw four new all terrain tires on it. I'd make that trade right now. Seriously. I'd take that. That would be a done deal. I'd be losing about six hundred bucks in value on that deal, but I don't care. Hmmm... maybe I should hold out for an engine rebuild for the Bronco too. I'd rather be out coyote hunting or fishing... the dogs are on the move now and are coming to any call... And now that the weather is cooled the fish are biting right up by the surface of every water in the area. This is like a magical time for Ogre type guys... and I'm freaking stuck. This is bullocks. If I was a wealthy man, I'd probably do something silly with the Kia, just for the hell of it. I thought of this when I observed a wrecked car on the bed of a flatbed tow truck on the way to the junk yard or someplace. It was a Mazda RX8. A very small car with a slick engine... a rotary. I bet it wouldn't be all that difficult to transplant that engine into the Sportage. Since the Sportage has a ladder frame under the body, there is a lot of room for modifications that you just can't do with vehicles made with a unibody construction. Off the bat, I'd say that I'd want to put a larger engine in it with more pistons... but this isn't a Jeep. It would never be cool – ever. Not even if it was powered with the engine out of a Corvette... so why not something silly? After all, the current engine is a Mazda engine out of the Miata, so the RX-8 is a logical upgrade if you use twisted logic like mine. Fortunately for the motoring world, I am not a wealthy man and I never will be. You sports car enthusiasts will not need fear me insulting one of your favorites. 10-29-07: Not much on my mind right now... busy with all kinds of stuff. So we will share an email. Queue up the Strongbad heavy metal email music: “Ogre, I shot a 6 point whitetail with the vanguard 7mm rem. mag last Saturday. It went completely through both shoulders. He took a few steps and fell. When cleaning the deer, I saw the utter devastation that this 150 gr. Sierra soft point boat tail did on this deer's heart and lungs as usual, was amazed as usual, and wondered why the U.S. military isn't using a more potent round for the troops. You could shoot a 223 through a 30" barrel and it wouldn't make a wound like this! I don't believe that there is much difference between the .308, 30-06, 7mm-08, 7 rem. mag. in the efficiency on a deer, or a human, but I can't see a 223 causing this much damage. If a human is shot with one of the bigger rounds, there is little hope for said target, whereas, there is hope for a human with a gut shot or a shoulder shot with the 223. I hope that our military will someday get it's head out of NATO's ass and arm our soldiers with a real manstoppers like the 30-06 and .45acp – Steven” Hooaah. In my mind, a cartridge that is designed to kill big game as cleanly as possible is just about the idea military cartridge. Any of them. Pick one. A cartridge that was only a mediocre varmint cartridge has no place in the hands of warriors. 10-28-07: So Argentina has a new female President. First elected woman President in that country and the first elected woman president in the modern western world – that I'm aware of. She's not bad looking either. Better looking than Margret Thatcher at least. Unfortunately a quick glance at photos show her to be quite buddy buddy with the likes of Hugo Chavez, the paranoid, communist bastard who has Venezuela in a death grip. Speaking of which – don't buy gas from Citgo. Just saying. She seems to lean far too left for me to be comfortable with. There is a silver lining to this mess. A bit of good news we can glean from this. She's going to show us what it's going to be like here if Hillary Clinton wins the white house. Kind of a small scale simulation. We can estimate that anything that Cristina does to screw up her country, we can multiply that damage times ten and that's going to be what Hillary does to us. Of course, I am being optimistic. Hillary is going to be much worse. Still, it is going to be well worth the while to keep our eyes on Argentina for the next year or so. MadOgre.com: Since Ogre Ranch has been Wired, I've been able to take a bit more time for the site and clean a few things up and do some things I've been meaning to do. Some minor things here and there. If there are somethings that need to be fixed... let me know. I'll put it on the To Do list. And don't say full site rebuild. I'd love to do that, but I honestly don't know how I would go about doing that and I'm not about to use Word Press or one of those other shake and back blog engines. I'm all about HTML, not a database. Should Japan have F-22's? You can look up the F-22 Raptor yourself, and bathe yourself in pure All American Awesomeness. Now consider all possible future conflicts and how the F-22 can come to play. The only downside to the Raptor is that we don't have enough of them. Future will include China of course... and having F-22's stationed in Japan would be an asset. Having Japan buy a bunch of them and station them for us, at no additional cost to us would be a strategic windfall. Unfortunately Japan is weak on security and many of our secrets have been slipped because of Japan. This is too bad. If Japan could sort themselves out, this would be a Win-Win for both nations. However since Japan can make no guarantees, they are going to have to look for an alternative. I suggest the Israeli version of the F-16, the F-16i. Or at least look at those Israeli upgrades for their own aircraft fleet. Ideally what will happen is that Japan could get themselves sorted, and just buy as many F-22's as possible. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be dandy, but it isn't anywhere as capable as the Raptor and it is nearly just as expensive. What we could do is lease the warbirds to Japan with our own security details. This is something we have done in the past and could easily do again. More thoughts on the .30-06. Most detractors of the .30-06 seem to do so only keeping in mind the old Jacketed Soft Point 180 grain loads. Much like AR advocates talk about the AR's wounding capability out of full length M-16's yet boast of the M-4's ease of use. Hornady .30-06 165gr SST Light Mag: Velocity/Energy: Mzl: 3015/3330. 300 yard: 2405/2118. 500: 2041/1526 Trajectory in inches: Mzl: -1.5. 100 yd 1.5. 200 yd 0.0. 300 yd. -6.6. 400 yd -19.3. 500 yd -39. A more traditional 180 grain load is going to be a bit higher at 100 yards, and fall about 2 inches more at 500. The 165 is a little faster and flatter. Now let's look at the .300 Win Mag, the one that everyone likes and use as the base for the Aught Six Scoffs. Since I looked at the Hornady 165 grain load, let's look at the same bullet with the Win Mag. Hornady 165 gr. SST: Mzl: 3100/3520. 300 yard: 2478/2250. 500: 2108/1628. Mzl: -1.5, 100 1.3, 200 0.0, 300 -6.2, 400 -18.1, 500 -36.6 Okay, the .300 Win Mag is a monster. But it's only .4 inches less of a drop at 300 yards than the Aught Six. At 500 yards its only dropped four inches less. The power of the .300 Win Mag is only 100 pounds greater. This is not a huge increase in power over the Aught Six. If you are sniping at an enemy commanding officer, you only hold one button higher on his uniform... and he isn't going to feel a difference having been hit by the Aught six. This is not much difference here... because if you were to cut just 2 inches of barrel length off the .300 Win Mag, you would have the same exterior ballistics as the Aught Six. I'm not slamming the Win Mag here... I'm just saying that it does not make the .30-06 obsolete. It does not force retirement. Now just for fun let's look at my favorite cartridge and compare them to what we've just looked at: 7MM Rem Mag 154 gr SST: 3035/3149, 2508/2150, 2189/1638. -1.5, 1.4, 0.0, -6.2, -18.0, -36.1 Oh snap! What do we have here? Faster and flatter by a tick and yet only a measly 11 grain lighter in bullet weight. And I must say a lot easier on the shoulder. What does this mean? What can we gain by this? We have learned that this is all much ado about nothing. In effect, in terms of practical application, these are all hitting hard and fast and in a hunting/tactical field situation – your results are going to be about the same. 99% of all creatures that walk the earth would be effectively slain with either of these three cartridges. Much like racing cars these are. There might be slight advantages from one car to the other, but the biggest differences come from one thing. The Human Factor. It's the driver, the shooter, the pilot... that is what makes all the difference. Everything else is splitting hairs and possibly even meaningless. Since only hits count, then only hits matter. If you can't take your old rifle and make that hit with it – then it doesn't matter what you are shooting with. You might as well be throwing stones and foul language for all the good it is going to do you. Pick your rifle, scope, caliber... and spend some time shooting it. I see far too many guys buying a new rifle and scope set up, and only buying one or two boxes of rounds for it. This tells me that they do not take their shooting seriously. Unless they reload, and hardly any of them do. Might as well not even have purchased the rifle for all the good it's going to do them. Yes, ammunition is going up. Yes, it is more expensive to shoot these days, but that doesn't mean we shoot less. Shooting is a perishable skill. It's not like riding a bike, it's more like running races. You have to train for it. Practice. And if you stop practicing, you may have to start all over again to build your skills back up. 10-28-07: I feel insulted: I used to enjoy the articles by a fellow named Gabe Suarez. I can't say that anymore. Nasty rumors ran around about him that may or may not be true. But I had thought that he did have a good take on the matters of defense... but because of the rumors, I had since taken his writings with a grain of salt. He's been writing lately for Concealed Carry Magazine and I have not really taken the time to read his new stuff. Until this morning. I read the latest issue. The same issue as my Beretta 21A review. I read this article of his called “Gutter Medicine” and have come to the conclusion that this guy is seriously full of himself. Gabe says that: “There was a time when shooters believed that if they were simply fast and accurate, all of the world's problems could be handled with hardball out of a 1911. given that few of this crowd ever actually got into gunfights repeatedly, this “theory” persisted up to the modern age.” This is a direct and straight up slam on Colonel Jeff Cooper. Jeff Cooper changed hand gunning forever when he devised “The Modern Method” of gun fighting. Jeff Cooper was a US Marine and has been to war and had several engagements with handguns – specifically the 1911. Feh... Then the rest of Gabe's article he does nothing to back up his outrageous comments. For this guy to send up Jeff Cooper calling his work a theory and to infer that it is outdated – I'm furious. I've met Jeff Cooper on a couple of occasions, even had dinner with him once at a SHOT Show gathering... A great man and was one of the last true sophisticated gentlemen of our time. Gabe should stick to playing with his airsoft. BROWNING NEWS: Okay, let me fill you in. Rumor had it that Browning was making some major changes and might drop the A-bolt line of rifles. This is partially true. Browning has made some giant changes, but only dropped part of the A-bolt line up. The dead end products are the Super Short Mags. .223 WSSM, .243 WSSM, and .25 WSSM. Since Browning was the only one that produced rifles in these calibers, those of you that purchased them – take care of them because they are orphans now. Ammunition is going to be a problem for them in the future, so get your reloading gear for them ASAP. This is unfortunate because we are quite fond of the .25 WSSM. I would imagine a factory legitimized .25 WSM based on the .300 WSM cartridge. But don't hold your breath because lots of rifle makers are dropping the WSM cartridges too. The .270 WSM is probably the single most brilliant cartridge to have come out in the last 20 years. The biggest news from Browning is the addition of a new line of rifles called the X-Bolt. These rifles are sexy looking. They have a new trigger system that is fully adjustable from 3 to 5 pounds, factory set at 3.5. Which is perfect. They use a new scope mounting system that looks to be rock solid. The X-Bolt has a neat little bolt release button at the top of the bolt handle. This is clever and handy, but not as good looking in my opinion. They have a new recoil pad and a new rotary magazine that I hope is top loadable. Free floating barrels that look like they mean it this time. Same 60 degree bolt lift which is nice. The stocks look slick and sleak... very modern without looking Sci-Fi. And these X-Bolts are available in all the popular calibers from .243 all the way up to .375 H&H Magnum. As attractive as the wood stock are on the X-Bolts – I'm smitten by the Stainless Stalker X-Bolts... that black and silver just works with this design. TC has their new Icon rifle, S&W has their i-Bolt... both look like fine rifles.... but Browning has just schooled the hell out of everyone with the X-Bolt. Unfortunate there is one problem with it... the hard part about the X-Bolt is just picking the caliber you want first. Good luck with that. I'm having a hard time myself. I could buy one of these... and I'm afraid I just might have to as soon as they come to production. The Browning High Power remains in the 2008 Catalog. This is interesting because I had been told that FNH was ending production of the High Power all together. I'm glad to see they haven't. I do not wax poetic about the BHP like some gunwriters do, but I do respect it. One of these days I will buy one.. but not today. I've got a 9MM that I'd rather shoot more than any other 9mm... and I think it to be the ultimate evolution of the BHP design. Of course I'm talking about the CZ P-01. OGRE'S TOP SCOPE PICKS: If I was to do just a Top Ten, it would be full of optics that never dipped below a grand. So what I've done is to take a look at each price tier and pick a scope or two at that level. I'll start out on the low end of the price scale and we'll work are way up. Now the interesting thing about some of these scopes is that they can sometimes beat scopes at a higher price level. So you might want to take this list with you next time you hit the gun counter so you can check them out head to head with other scopes. When you are looking at a couple different scopes you need to compare the brightness, clarity, eye relief, magnification levels (are they actually magnifying as they are saying they are), and their history for strength. Another thing to consider is the reputation of the company for taking care of the customer after the purchase. There is no chart or number that allows you to rate a scope. Like say Candle Power or Lumens. End since everyone's eyes are different, optics are subjective. So here we go: Nikon ProStaff BDC 3-9: $159.99. There are a lot of other scopes out there that cost from this price level on down, but seriously, there are none worth the money. Tascos, Simmons, Bushnell Banners... looking through them they generally have a nasty yellow tint that makes it look like you are looking through a jar of piss. They are total crap. If you can't buy a better scope... if you can't bring it up to this level... you probably shouldn't be buying a rifle scope. This scope is where clarity starts. The ProStaff is clear, reasonably sharp, and has a lifetime warranty. The BDC reticle works quite well with a little practice. Vortex Diamondback 4-12: $189.99. Vortex is a new optics company that is taking the market by storm. I've not seen anything from these guys that have not been fantastic for the money. This scope might prove to be much better as we see how well they stand up to recoil. Nikon Buckmaster 3-9 BDC: $209.99. I liked this scope so much, I went and got one and I'm glad I did. For only two hundred and ten, it's hard to beat this glass. The only downsides to this scope are first the funky rounded objective bell shape and the eye relief which isn't as roomy as it should be. Nikon Team Primos 3-9 BDC: $269.99. This is an interesting hybrid scope which reminds me of the older Monarch series. It has the ProStaff tube, with the Buckmaster style focal ring. The clarity and brightness is outstanding. I wish they made this in a 4-12. For some variety. Nikon has the lower end of the market tied up, but the newest evolution of the Monarch series has disappointed me. They are not bad, but not quite as good as they used to be. Reason for this is the exporting of the manufacturing from Japan to the Philippines. This wasn't a beneficial move for them. Bushnell Elite 3200 4-12: $299.99. This one has the parallax focus out on the objective bell. It has a decent eye relief for varminting and target shooting. Match this one up with a Savage or a Vanguard and you've got a good package without spending a lot of money. Leupold VX-II 4-12 LR: $329.99. You can put this on any heavy recoiling gun and it will take care of business. The glass is great and light transmission is too. These new VX-II scopes are actually the old Vari-X III scopes that everyone hailed as world class. Nothing has changed here. It's still world class and hunters have taken these around the world and have hunted everything on the planet. Burris 4.5-14 Fullfield II: $389.99. This has a larger bell, Mil-Dot reticle and is popular with guys looking for a tactical rifle scope that doesn't break the bank. I've seen these on a lot of flattop AR's and Remington 700 SPS rifles in all calibers. Vortex Viper 4-12X40: $429.99. This is going to give the Leupold VX-II's and some of the III's a serious run for the money. The good warranty, the argon gas purging, side parallax focus, these scopes have a lot to offer. But again, since they are new they don't have the century long track record of proven history. Hey, Vortex – send me one of these, and I'd be happy to field test it! This scope here is one I am very interested in. Leupold VX-II 4-12, fine plex: $439.99. I've topped one of my favorite rifles with this one. This is a good balanced rifle scope that is bright, clear, with great eye relief... the only thing I wish it had was turrets that were finger adjustable and not requiring a damn coin. Over 400 bucks and you have to break out a penny. That's a dumbass oversight that Leupold needs to fix. This is ridiculous. But that's my only gripe. Getting a better scope that this one, the price jumps considerable. Leupold VX-III 4.5-14 B&C: $579.99. This is another personal favorite, a scope that has it all... no weaknesses. In fact, the VX-III doesn't know the meaning of the word “weak”. I love this one. The Boone and Crockett reticle is simple and brilliantly executed allowing very rapid use in the field to help calculate your hold over and windage. You can put this one on even the harshest recoiling guns. Shepherd 6-18X40 V2: $725. This is a good scope for the money... probably the best of it's type if there was anything else like it. There are two sets of adjustment turrets. One for your zero and another to adjust for range and windage. This allows for serious precision long range shooting. Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14: $749.99. Zeiss produces very fine optics for hunting in all conditions. This is one of the worlds best all around scopes and for what you are getting quality wise, it's hard to beat. Again, to get better than this, there is a big price jump. Kahles 10X42 ZF95 Tactical: $999.99. The requirements of a great hunting scope are similar to a tactical scope. In this case, the scope has to be clear and bright and strong. Simplicity and ruggedness are Kahles halmarks. The reticle is designed for the most serious of shooting tasks and not just for bagging big bucks. I had a Kahles years ago and never found an equal. Of course, I have always been fond of fixed power rifle scopes and that one as given to me by a dear friend who no longer walks the Earth... so I might be a little biased. I wish I still had it. It was stolen from me by a room mate in College. Swarovski 6-18X50: $1,069.99. If I have to explain this one, you've never looked through one. Swarovski has been the pinnacle for many years. Expensive, but worth it if you want the absolute best in optical quality. The only downside is strength and I've seen more than a few come back for repairs after being mounted on heavy recoiling arms. I wouldn't put this on anything from .300 Win Mag on up. But on something smaller – it's the best there is. Leupold VX-7 3.5-14 B&C: $1599.99. If you guys wondered what you should get me for Christmas... this is it. And don't worry about getting me the same thing as someone else. If I get multiple VX-7's, that's fine by me. No social faux-pas here. I'd happily put one on every rifle I own. The strength, clarity, color transmission... it is on par with the Swarovski's and even bests the Z6 in my opinion... better field of view and eye relief at least in the examples I've looked through. This is my top pick. Nightforce Optics 8-32X56 & 12-42X56 NXS MLR: Price? Don't even ask. Nightforce scopes are crazy expensive but worth it if you have the means. If you are in the market for a .50BMG rifle then these are the scopes you want. Fantastic optics, etched reticles for strength, illumination, if Government is buying you a scope – pick this one. These scopes are so good, CZ USA is putting them on the UHR, the Ultimate Hunting Rifle, and boasting MOA accuracy out to 1000 yards. Special Forces use these bad boys on their sniper rifles. Sure, they cost as much as a used truck, but this is what you want when lives are on the line. Okay, this list is personal choice here. Don't fret if your favorite scope isn't here... I had to keep it brief. I cut out a lot of scopes that are great and others that are reputed to be good but I've not had personal experience with. Most of my choices are based on hunting and not fighting. But the way I see it, if your hunting scope is good enough to climb a mountain in the dead of winter into high altitude to bag game foul weather – it will handle popping off bad guys easily. “Tactical” as a scope type doesn't work for me. Reason why, the US Army buys a lot of Leupold scopes... same ones sold to hunters. Same tool, different application. And I've also found that Tactical scopes make fine and dandy hunting scopes too. Mil-Dots do not a tactical scope make... and neither does knobby turrets. So take this list for what it is, use it as starter for next time you are shopping for your pick. Look at these scopes and compare them with others and see which ones you like better. The
Mighty .30-06 – The Horde's Best Take:
“The
.30-06? Love it. It ended the Thousand Yeah Reich 990 years early, and shot
down the Rising Sun. It's the cartridge that the 7.62mm NATO wants to be
when it grows up and it's the baseline standard for effectiveness in all
rifle cartridges. It smothered the 8mm Mauser in its sleep, then had an
illicit affair with the .44 Remington Magnum to father the .44 Automag. All
the Chuck Norris facts actually were attributed to the Aught Six first. Hooaah! Let's pull another email from the hat: “In a world not run by politically correct nuts .30-06 would be on the list of other things that make you happy to be American: Our Military, apple pie, football, baseball (damn Indians lost again) hot women, The Flag. People who don't know squat about guns have heard about the 06! Its the first real rifle cartridge a lot of fathers let there kids shoot there first time out. And I don't think there many animals in North America that you would need to have a larger caliber on had for. You can still find good cheap surplus if you look. And perhaps its best quality it can still turn cover into concealment after all these years. - Mike” Hooaah! Mike, Doug... and all you other guys saying the same things – these are the reasons the .30-06 will be The American caliber of choice for as long as there is an America. 10-26-07: The .30-06. For over 100 years the .30-06 has been the go-to cartridge for just about every need for many Americans. It really has been a jack of all trades cartridge. Loads from 110 grains all the way up to 220... it can do anything, and it has done everything. Some guys believe it to be the King of Cartridges and relish everything Aught Six. Out here, the Aught Six is not just ignored, but reviled by many. It's either worshiped or hated. Not much middle of the road in these parts. Where do you guys weigh in on the Aught Six? I like it with 165 grain maximum loads. But that is just me. Virginia Training: My Sister In Law, Cindi is living in Virginia. Near Richmond. She has a little problem. She needs a good trainer to develop handgun skills. Her husband and my brother is off in Iraq serving our country. She picked up a slick little 9MM Springfield XD compact. It will work for her just fine, if she learns how to use it. Is there anyone near Richmond that actually knows what they are about? She's tried Chesterfield Security Training Academy and that hasn't worked for her. Dominion Range is not her favorite. What other options are out there? I'd teach her myself, but I'm in Utah so she is out of luck there. Sunofa.... Driving in to work this morning in the Sportage... felt a thump and the engine died. After a minute trying, I got it started again and it drove the last mile in just fine, but with the dash warning lights all lit up. Pulled in the parking lot and popped the hood – everything looked fine until I realized that I had a belt missing. The little belt that spins the alternator had come off so I had driven in on just battery power. Not cool. Less than 20 bucks for a new belt, no problem. Looking closer on all that it is going to take to actually replace that little belt – I have to disassemble the whole freaking front end just to get to the parts to work on it. It looks like at least a half day project. This is really seriously and truly bad timing for such a project. Like you wouldn't believe. And I can't just drop it off at a shop – every shop is booked through till mid December at least. So I have to do it myself. Maybe I'll be able to get to it Sunday. No, not happy about this. Not at all. Because I looked at the broken belt... and it looked pretty new. Chewed up from the trauma, but otherwise the belt looked rather fresh. WTF. Email from reader: “OK - as a long time but sporadic reader, I am noticing a definite softening of the mad ogre persona. It all started with the admission of serious health problems that require ongoing action to live with, and kudos to you for doing the right thing. I mean it. Then, there is the KIA, hmmmm.... then the admission of AR15ownership..hmmmm....then the ongoign CZ plugs - well those ARE good guns, we know that (you and I know that), and using your surname more often..hmmmm.... Well, I just wanted to say that I was really beginning to worry about you for a while there, around the time that you had the knee thing, the posts were getting really wild, and I actually thought to myself "oh shit, George has drug problem.." but I didn't feel like I could say anything to you about that, as we don't really know each other, but I was concerned. Now, it seems that you are much more comfortable with you, and I just want to say good for you, you sound like a great guy, George.. no shit. Tim“ Thanks for the email Tim. I might seem that way – a kinder gentler Ogre... but the Theme Song for the day is “Break Stuff”. 10-25-07: Get on over to Monster Hunter Nation. Larry has posted the first chapter of his book, and is taking pre-orders. Get on the list ASAP. You of The Horde will want this book more than any other book this year, or the last few years. Seriously – just read that first chapter and see what you think. This is the book you've been waiting for. What is this book? Take all the Monster Movies, blend them up together and add in some gun guys that know what they are doing and put them in those monster movies. It's kind of campy, but awesome fun. I read the whole book in one sitting. Stayed up all night reading it because I couldn't stop. 30 Days of Night: Ben and I had to go see it. Awesome movie – I can't say enough about it – but Ben said it best. “They finally made a real Vampire movie.” Yes, yes they did. No pretty boy vamps with frills on their sleeves and ruffled collars, no romance or spouts of poetry. Just a brutal, no pulled punches, slug fest. Now, Ben, having lived in Alaska, has actually been to that town. In reality there is no sunrise view over the ocean, there is no pipeline near the town, and everybody in town has lots of big guns. In reality, if vampires tried this, it would have been a really short movie. Still, all in all, I enjoyed it a great deal. Good horror flick for October. Considering that the Uintah Basin looks exactly like that in the winter – it is almost a training video. Lessons learned. Be prepared for anything. Store goods to include food, water, batteries, propane, and guns and ammunition. Medial kits are a swell idea too. You need a safe location that everyone in your circle knows how to get to. Have an evacuation plan. Carry a freaking sidearm, long arm, and a good sharp knife. More about that in a near future post. This morning I shot a .300 Remington Ultra Mag. Good and effective brake made the rifle shoot like a .308. It was a Remington 700 with a Nikon Monarch scope. Owner believed that the rifle has problems. After shooting, we determined that it was the scope. We swapped scopes in the field with a known good scope and fired groups. The bad scope was producing vertical stringing in two shot groups... this is caused by something inside bouncing between two points of rest internally. The known good scope had no such results. So we will get this guy's scope sent off for warranty repair, Nikon with cover it, and in the mean time we can sell him a new scope. This time a Zeiss. I've been thinking about my Top Ten scopes list... and I have some of my favorites already down...but this one is not as easy as it sounds. I have to have separate price ranges for each category. I'll start out a the bottom, “Under 100”, and then move up the dollars in increments. I think that will work better and if you are looking for one in your price range – well, there you go. Because if I was to just pick my 10 favorites, it would all be high end stuff and the list wouldn't be very useful. Also while I'm putting this list together, I'm looking at these scopes and others in that price range too. So I'm making sure that I select the better glass for you guys that don't know glass or don't have the chance or time to compare everything yourself. It will be done this weekend.
10-24-07:
This is strange. But funny. Dead terrorists are hilarious. Have you seen these Dyson vacuum cleaners? They look like you could program them to kill. Like Star Wars Assassin Droids. I'm sure they clean very well, but when you can get a vac for ¼ the price, are they really worth it? Goji Juice. I don't know if this stuff is snake oil or voodoo or just a strange tasting fruit juice, but it supposedly helps regulate blood sugar and reduce uric acid from the blood. I don't know if this stuff actually does what it is said to do... but guess what? I've been taking it as recommended and I have been feeling much better. Have you guys heard anything specific about this stuff? It tastes kind of like an Apple-Berry juice mix that's gone off. Strong fruity flavor. It would probably make a good mixer with a dash of Rum and Bourbon and Red Bull. Empty Holster Protest: I came across an interesting new story. Check this out. University students protested the No Guns On Campus rule by wearing empty holsters. Sounds like a good idea to you? To me, I don't think so. I think I'd just continue to pack concealed, emphasis on the word “concealed”. No one needs to know. No one needs to worry about what they are not aware of... and no one would be writing my name down to be included on the list of others who strapped up for the protest. I'd like for someone who is on our side to keep track of who wore holsters and see how they fare academically. How their test scores and GPA's averaged out afterwards. Compare that to before the protest. See if they were shrugged or shunned or maybe denied opportunities on campus that they would have otherwise been granted. Things like that. I bet there is a price these guys are going to pay. Speaking of Universities... With the overwhelming political bias and propaganda engine that is a modern university... and considering the monstrous expense for every credit and balance that against how many credits are required that are not actually related to the degree you are chasing. Why do we put up with this? If we are paying so much money for a product – our higher education – why don't we get the product that we want? The answer is “because that is the way it is”. Well guess what? That's BS. Why don't we create our own higher education program, with our own accreditation system? With campus policy that doesn't infringe upon Liberty. There is one college that is almost there – Hillsdale... but not quite right. Speaking of Holsters. I've ordered a rig from Simply Rugged Holsters for my beloved CZ P-01. One of my favorite holsters is a dirt simple belt slide rig that I got 14 years ago and has carried more guns than the LAPD. It was the simplicity that I liked about it... and that is something I like about what I'm seeing in these holsters. Rob, the cat that works the leather, says there is an 8 to 10 week turn around. We shall strive to be patient.
10-23-07:
We took the Sportage about 5
miles out into the middle of nowhere to do the shooting. I wanted to
find a nice spot with a cool overlook... and use it to scout Antelope
movement. The Sportage is a bit low to the ground, so picking our line
carefully is critical. Climbing steep grades is a simple matter of dropping
it into low and first and just let the machine go to work. It can crawl up
some impressive inclines. Even on dirt and loose rock. Dare I say it? But it
can climb as well as a Jeep Cherokee. I don't know if it's that good,.. but
it did conquer terrain that I've previously defeated in a Jeep.
Our prayers are with our friend Matt, in San Diego. He has been evacuated from his home due to the wild fire. He just might lose everything. He wanted to move back to Utah anyway, looks like now is a good time. Having experienced a wild fire earlier this year, I can really sympathize with those in California that are effected. All of the sudden, everything seems to be a bit less important. This is strange. But funny. Dead terrorists are hilarious. Have you seen these Dyson vacuum cleaners? They look like you could program them to kill. Like Star Wars Assassin Droids. I'm sure they clean very well, but when you can get a vac for ¼ the price, are they really worth it? Goji Juice. I don't know if this stuff is snake oil or voodoo or just a strange tasting fruit juice, but it supposedly helps regulate blood sugar and reduce uric acid from the blood. I don't know if this stuff actually does what it is said to do... but guess what? I've been taking it as recommended and I have been feeling much better. Have you guys heard anything specific about this stuff? It tastes kind of like an Apple-Berry juice mix that's gone off. Strong fruity flavor. It would make a good mixer with a dash of Rum and Bourbon and Red Bull. 10-22-07: LATE: The CZ 527. I've been shooting it and I've come to a conclusion. The CZ 527 rocks to a shockingly high degree in spite of a couple flaws. I do not like the fact that you can not top down load the magazine through the rifle... you have to drop the mag to load it. And the stock is a bit short... I would like at least another full inch if not an inch and a half. Small complaints, I know. Bigger complaint is that CZ does not offer this rifle with a longer barrel in the 7.62X39MM chambering. The 18 barrel is short and handy, but a 24 inch barrel would give the cartridge a big advantage. Also the rear sight works well, but I would like a graduated rear sight or a sight with different flip up ranges like on the Safari guns. Then there is the scope bases... I would rather have seen these guns with a regular Weaver base built in rather than the weird .6 dovetail it has. Other than these complaints, I find the 527 Carbine pure unadulterated shooting pleasure. The recoil is a touch more stout than an AK, but it handles so easily. The gun lets you drive it rather than it trying to drive you. It's like dating a chick from Japan. Submissive, willing, and eager to please. It hits with good authority thanks to the .30 caliber slug it launches. The bolt action is a bit stiff since the gun is brand spanking new, but this situation does better with age and experience. Hitting with iron sights is no problem. I was easily able to bounce beer cans out to 100 with open sights taking a snap shot. Hitting targets out to two hundred was no problem either thanks to the fantastic trigger the CZ rifles have. The single set trigger is brilliant when you want to make a good clean shot. Uncanny. I can't get over how light it is. It is really amazingly light. I have purchased pellet rifles for my sons that are twice as heavy. CZ says it weighs 5.9 pounds... but it is the lightest 5.9 I've ever lifted. Probably thanks to the amazing balance, it feels lighter than it is – because it feels like a Red Rider. Recoil is there, the gun does have some buck to it, but it is still a pussy cat to shoot. After emptying a box of 20 cartridges I realized that this gun is a total hoot to shoot and I only spent 5 bucks on shells. You want to shoot this much out of any other center fire rifle bigger than .223 and you would have spent more than double that at least. And it is till a highly effective brush gun caliber. I would have given anything for a rifle like this when I was a teenager. It's ideal for a woods rifle. You could hunt boar, white tail, most anything out to moderate ranges with this gun. This rifle has just become my very favorite gun. For some reason I decided I wanted to try to scope it up. I pulled out a discarded Simmons 3-9 scope and mounted it up just for giggles. (Yeah, I know it's a Simmons and they suck... but it was in the junk pile. It was a choice was between this Simmons or a Tasco. Looking at both, I liked the Simmons the best. That's not saying much. It's like saying I'd rather be stabbed in the thigh with a fondu fork than a shrimp fork. More about scopes in a minutes) I'll zero it and see how I like the feel of it scoped tomorrow morning. If I don't like it scoped, I'll take it off and forget about scoping it. If I like it scoped up, I'll order a Leupold 2-7 for it This rifle just BEGS for a long eye relief scope mounted in a Scout position. Please, for the love of all that is holy, some one make a scout mount for this thing. Scopes for this rifle is totally optional and up to the individual. You can pack this without a scope and still have an effective carbine. However if you do want to pack one of these rifles for brush/defense/patrol use – carry along a couple spare magazines loaded and ready. Five shots is nothing for an AK, but for a bolt gun it's a lot. However because of the ease of use, and price of the ammo... you are going to want to spend more time pulling the trigger between reloading. So I suggest this, when you order your own 527 Carbine, regardless of caliber – order a couple spare magazines to go with it. You will be glad you did. Just had a thought. The Simmons would be better served on a different rifle, and that old fixed 4X Leupold would be ideal for this little Carbine. I will have to make that switch first thing in the AM before I head out to do some blasting. Oh, with the iron sights... I found that it is MOR accurate. (That means “Minute of Rabbit”) All the way out to about 130 yards. He he he. Can't wait to see what it does to coyotes. Rifle Scopes: “Hey George, could you publish in your "Weapons" section your top ten choices for scopes? It would be helpful for those of us who are looking for a scope and are swamped with the number of scopes and the number of claims that are out here. Thanks AndyJ” That's a great suggestion Andy, and I'll do it. After a little procrastination and binge drinking Diet Dr Pepper all night. HP is johnny on the spot with warranty replacement... but I'm not happy with it. We got in a new mini tower for work. The NIC gives network cable unplugged errrors frequently. Upgrading the driver didn't help. Well, it did at first, but then the problem came back even harder than before. I'd like to just install a separate PCI NIC and use that instead of the one built in to the Mother Board. Simple work around solution, right? Not for HP. They want to replace the MoBo... which technically is the right answer, but they wont do the 10 buck work around even upon request. Oh well. I've not replaced a MoBo for what, 8 months now? I guess that was too long for the Fates to hold out. We all know about the 500 Magnum, right? If that isn't full on awesome, I don't know what is. But is it big enough? To some, yes. It's too big. But for others? Not really. For those that look at a .500 Magnum and scoff, I give you this. Think of it, a 4 shot revolver... hugeness... I want to review it for Concealed Carry Magazine. Packing.Org has been down for some time now. While crawling the interwebs for news of what happened to it, I came across this. Handgunlaw.us. Check it out. I'm replacing the Packing link with this one. 10-20-07: The worst weapon the US Army ever had? I was asked what I thought the worst weapon the Army has ever had. Two conditions: First, no M-16's. Second, no weapons forced upon US troops by the French, aka the Chauchat. This is difficult to say because really the US Army has been gifted with so many very good weapons. However there is one that stands out in my mind. I hated it with a passion. It was heavy, awkward, unreliable, and completely freaking dangerous to fire. But it was fun and cool... just wouldn't have wanted to fire a shot with it in a shooting war. I'm talking about the M-47 Dragon. I was trained initially as a Dragon Gunner. What the Dragon is, is basically a prenatal TOW missile. A tube launched, optically wire guided battlefield anti-tank missile. It had two fatal flaws. First, the weapon produced a huge firing signature. And when I say signature, I'm talking about a huge plume of smoke highlighting the gunner. The second fatal flaw is lack of speed. The Dragon was painfully slow. It felt like forever from firing to when the missile actually reached out and hit the target. At max range, the Dragon would have an 11 second flight time. The main problem is that the target – a Soviet Tank – could see the firing, swivel the turret, and hose the gunner down with coax mounted machine gun fire in only 4 seconds. Using the Dragon in a war is suicide for the gunner. Tactics evolved to rear attack ambushes. Now this is where it becomes all the more complicated. You see, the Dragon was designed to counter the Red Tide, the flood of Iron Curtain armor pouring in from Russia advancing across Europe. Now if you are in a defensive battle and you are supposed to ambush the enemy from the rear? That means you have to hunker down and let the enemy overrun you, and that means you get all the sudden like in enemy territory. Then you send up “here I am” smoke signals. Suicide. The weapon system was fundamentally flawed this way. But it did make a huge boom. I got to shoot over 25 of these bastards. Most of them were the Dragon II versions with the improved warhead. Considering the weapons limitations, we decided to use them more against other hard targets such as bunkers or other such structures. Quite often, instead of packing a Dragon, we would pack a bunch of M-72 LAW rockets... which everyone liked much more even if it didn't hit half as hard. At least we could shoot one and live. So, yes, the Dragon is the worst weapon the US Army has ever fielded. I'm still learning to play the guitar. One day I want to be able to play guitar just fraction as well as Satriani. A dream of mine would be to take lessons from The Master himself. Check out what I found on YouTube... that's right. Satriani lessons. Sweet! If anyone has a spare electric guitar laying around, I would be happy to put it to use. Send it my way. My acoustic is just about worn out. It can't hold a tune. It was cheap, but it did make me catch the bug. Is there anyone better than Joe Satriani with a guitar? Now, be careful answering... you don't want to just start naming his students. The correct answer is no one, but props to Ted Nugent (link might be NSFW) as a second just because I love that guy. The I hate the AR-15 article. Let me give it to you straight - I have a Rock River sitting in my gunsafe, right next to a DPMS Panther. Don't look shocked. I'm a 60th level Legendary Gun Nut +5. I like guns... all of them. Even the less than ideal ones. Now, the AR-15 might not be my favorite rifle, and I might think it is a completely crappy weapon for our military... but it is a decent rifle for certain applications. So you Counter Strike Commandos, don't harsh on me too much. Alright? Ease it up. Besides, after having that rant posted for what, 8 years now? I've heard all the arguments and responses on both sides. I just think there are better weapons for our military to be using, in more effective calibers. Don't freak out guys... just because they happen to be in the safe, doesn't mean they would be something I grab if I hear something in the middle of the night. No, for that stuff, I have shotguns. Now, don't be surprised by this... The Ogre has many different and interesting arms... but he will never divulge the number or the models of all of them... so don't even ask. If I was going to buy a new AR, I'd buy a S&W M&P-15T That's the one with the flat top, rails, and flip up sights. For the love of all that is holy, I can't help myself. I'm starting to like this little Sportage. While the engine isn't what I am used to, it actually does pretty good relatively speaking. I've test driven several other vehicles in the same class... Honda CRV, Jeep Liberty, Ford Escape... and the Sportage is pretty much right on par with those guys as far as linear performance goes. It's no Cayenne by any means, but it does pretty well. I've been studying the engine and I've found there are several performance upgrades that I can do that isn't that expensive and will enhance not just horsepower, but fuel economy as well. The engine is made my Mazda, specifically used in the Miata and a couple other vehicles. So the capability is there, just hidden. I've got to let it out, and it's pretty much all easy bolt-on affairs and exchanges. There is a body lift that I can do to give me some more clearance for better off road tires, but that is something I'll do much later... if ever. While the Sportage doesnt have a great deal of clearance, it has enough to make do on moderate trails that I use the most. If course, this is the guy talking that took his Contour up to “The Bowl” out there in Lehi for a shoot. So I can wheel the hell out of this Sportage before I need to lift it. But I do need some better tires. I've got 4 street tires on it and each one is a little thin in the tread department. Even so, I've been able to take it just about everywhere I've taken the Bronco. That says a lot. I've taken the Bronco in places that other guys don't try unless they have a couple other rigs with them armed with Warn winches. So if I'm able to scoot through in the Kia, well... Maybe this might make for a good project vehicle. Not that there is a lot possible with it, but enough to make it into a vehicle that can stand on its own. All I want is a rig that can do some mild wheeling, decent performance, and still get good fuel economy with it. Most of my enhancements to the engine are going to be geared for improving the economy. I'd like to get it well up into the high Twenties and get the power up to around 185. I which there was something that could be done about the transmission. The tranny is the weak link in the Sportage. It's geared too low. Even in 5th gear it's too low. When you cruise at 65MPH the engine sounds like it's straining too hard, the RPM's are too high, and that' way the Sportages are not that great on the fuel economy as more sophisticated Mini Utes like the Honda. Simply because the Hondas have the gearing sorted out. Well if anyone made a perfect vehicle, no one like it. 10-19-07: Late: Ogre Ranch is wired now. Broadband with a wireless access point. Hence my ability to post here at night. Speed is decent. Ruger has a new pistol coming out, the SR9. Just what the industry needed, another striker fired, high capacity 9MM, with plastic frame. At least this one has a manual safety, which puts it in unique company... the Taurus 24/7. Which probably brings down the property values. Looking at the pictures of it, it looks like they just made a 9MM version of the P345 and took away the hammer. Interesting move, as I've heard more people say they want guns with hammers rather than saying they don't want hammers. If you are a die hard Ruger fan, then this just might be what you are looking for. Now, I was going to roll through Ruger's product line and offer some “coaching” like I did CZ recently. I still might eventually but right now I'm going to pass on it. The only thing I am going to say about Ruger is that while I am not a fan myself, I do respect them. Some of their rifles are in a class all their own. What bothers me though is that as a company they scoff at those who carry concealed. Out of all the guns they make for everything... they only make one gun suitable for concealment... the SP-101. Sturm, let me give it to you straight up – not everyone wants a 5 shot snubbie... and not everyone likes the SP-101. You could thrash the market if you would just offer compact versions of your current autos. Just shorten the grips on some, barrels on others... mix it up a little. A compact P345 would be SICK. Blacken it out, shorten it down, there you go. Think about it. Anchoring yourselves in the “Full Sized” market isn't exactly going to win you all the market share you could be getting. The biggest segment of new shooters are those who are wanting to carry concealed. You can't pack a full sized gun as easy. Michael Bane might stroke your ego's and telly you that everything you make is brilliant, but I'm not like that guy. I want you to be better than what you are and not just christen you with a halo. Chop that frame down, shorten the barrel a little, and give S&W a run. You need to do this soon because S&W has a lead on you with the M&P series, which already has a version with a manual safety. Why did they call the .243 the .243 instead of what it is, a 6MM-08? Just wondering out loud. I've updated the Weapons Section: I've put up the latest review of the new Detonics USA's Combat Master, Marine Magnum, with some others coming soon. 10-18-07: The CZ 527 finally arrived, and I have to say that it was worth the wait. I am going to hold off throwing on a scope... because the weight and balance of this little popper is just splendid as it is. The sights look like they are capable of some good and precise shooting, but I would rather have had them adjustable. The stock is also pretty short. I might order one that is a little longer, the LUX rifle's stock is a straight over swap, and I think it's a little longer than the Carbine's. I'm not sure. I'll have to call CZ and ask them about that. I've not shot it yet, but I will take care of that tomorrow during my lunch break. I went ahead and put on a sling. A simple black leather unit. I wanted to put on a classic leather “Military Sling”. You see them often, leather straps with a double row of holes... I'm thinking that would be the best, but we were out of them. I'll switch when we get them in, and I'll use this one on one of my other rifles. I can get a Leupold 2-7 variable for this unit for about a hundred and fifty bucks which beats the full retail of what? 250? No rush though.. I'm going to take my time, learn the rifle, and then pick the best scope for it. We placed an order with Hornady for some ammunition... we were told they are 6 to 9 months out. This is nuts. And Hornady isn't the only one with long dates for delivery. Guys, I'm dead serious when I say this... STOCK UP NOW. Stock up and gear up for reloading. Buy all your primers right now at least because they are getting hard to get and we might not have any left when you finally decide you are ready for them. Don't pass up any ammo in your calibers... if you have some cash and there is a box of any of it, just get it. 2009 is going to be a dark, dark year for shooters. Good question: “Hello George, I am impressed by your various views on concealed weapons. After reading the article on the NA Guardian 380, I still wished I had came upon one at a decent 2nd hand price (legally of course) when I decided to purchase either a Kel-Tec P3at or a Guardian 380. However, A dealer friend of mine made me a good deal on a NA Guardian 32 that I have used primarily as my usual tote weapon for self defense. Granted, it does not have the gusto that I wanted in a 380, it does seem to fit my every day tote criteria. I keep it in a Galco pocket holster which grips it a little tighter than I prefer but, that is no great inconvenience. It is heavy for its size which trades off well when fired. I do carry a Ruger P89 9 mm when it can be concealed easily (mostly cold time) and in times of less concealment availability, I use a Jennings auto loaded with CCI 22 stingers. I would be interested in suggestions from you as to how I may conceal differently and your opinion on my totes. I can take criticism and would appreciate your feedback if possible. Keep the great articles up. You make it hard to decide on things because you have so much variety of input on different concealments. I like that. It keeps me on my toes. Thanks, Jr from North Central Florida” Thanks for the email, Jr. The NAA Guardian .32 that you have is better than the .380 Guardian that you don't. Keep it stoked with the best ammo that you can get... such as ammo from Cor-Bon. Good and hot .32 is going to be fine for a pocket pistol of that size, so bumping it up to the .380 Guardian isn't really worth it for you at this point since you already have the .32. If you want to upgrade, skip the .380 and go ahead and run it up all the way to 9MM and snag a Kahr PM9. That is worth the upgrade. The Jennings .22 isn't something really worth keeping around. They are cast with pot metal and just do not have the quality even in the base metallurgy let alone the fit and finish of the internal parts. They make Hi-Points look good. I've seen them break in different places for different reasons... they just don't belong in a defensive arsenal. Keep it for plinking, sure. Enjoy it for what it is... but since you already have one pocket pistol, no need to keep two on duty. I'd retire that one from active service. But if you insist on keeping it on the job, then swap out the loads from Stingers to Velocitors... they are not as fast, but they are heavier and have better penetration. Now the Galco rig being a little tight, that's normal. Go to a sports shop and get some of that conditioning oil they use on baseball gloves. I don't remember what it is called because I got some ages ago, still have some, but the label came off years ago. It will soften the leather, smooth it out, and make it easier to use. Now about the Ruger 9MM. Great gun for a shooter, but a bit bulky for a carry gun... I wont trash talk Ruger but they just don't make CCW guns other than the SP-101. Luckily the SP-101 is a fine weapon. Those are the 5 shot snubbies with barrel lengths out to 4 inches. If you are a Ruger man, that's not a bad way to go. I just looked at a .32 H&R mag version which was nifty has all get out. But I'd go with a .357 Mag because of the greater power factory and ammunition variety. Another email: “G'day Ogre, Watching the development from afar I have to agree with you. The V22 is just plain unworkable and all the engineering science points to the tilt rotor being an unworkable and dumb idea. I think this thing should be the impetus for the US Military procurement system to change one closer to market. The US military should act as consumer and all who want to sell to it act like a supplier. They bear the costs of developments and have to produce a finished product. With the savings made in abolishing development programs the military can pay more for quality product. What's your view on the current practices of procurement of the US military? Kind Regards, Elijah” The current Military Procurement program benefits the contractor, and the General in charge. The tax payers and the soldiers suffer. I don't mind a General getting a little lining in his pocket for buying expensive stuff... but the stuff has to be worthy of the procurement. What's happening now is the contractors sell the Generals the bill of goods - vaporware - and then hook them with "if you pay us enough money, we will invent it". The kickbacks are good enough to make the Generals say "sure, that sounds good". This is where the process gets abused. It's become absurd it is abused so bad. And it isn't just for armor vehicles and whirly birds... everything has become a problem all the way down to ballpoint pens and cleaning patches. The development should be done by the contractors, on their dime. Of course this puts them at risk of loosing money that way, but the end result is that we will get better products... such as a V-22 that actually works and performs better than expected rather than the piece of crap we have now. I don't care if the companies get cold feet... you want to sell something to the US Military it had best be some hot shit, not a piece of shit. Now, I can see somethings need the military to be in on during development... such as the F-22 Raptor and a certain new class of attack submarine. But look at it the other way. The HK XM-8. It looked good all over until the Army had some and put them to work in the desert. The rifle turned out to be worse than the M-16 is. HK needs to eat crow for that... and they have. But we could have ended up with it... it was scheduled to be the new military rifle. Luckily it wasn't developed on our dime. I keep getting “Shouts” from Digg. Digg.com users are sending me these shout outs... I don't get it. I click the link but it goes to one of my own comments. I think I'd like to block the whole shout thing. Another email: “Ogre, Wanted to jump on your Osprey post earlier, then I realized that's probably not a good subject to tackle from work. The Time article points are mostly right but they completely miss more critical aspects of the Osprey's inherent design flaws. What has made aviation safe in general and military aviation safer in particular is a little engineering feat called redundancy. A multi-engine aircraft can lose one or more and press on, even a single engine aircraft in trouble can glide, a helicopter can auto-rotate to the ground, hydraulics, fuel and electrical systems can all usually crossfeed each other, etc. The V-22 has several "Jesus Nuts" to it. ("Jesus Nut" is a helo guy term for a single point of failure system, like the Huey, one nut comes loose and the only thing left to say is "Jesus" before you crash) The Osprey cannot glide like a traditional aircraft, nor can it auto-rotate to the deck like a Helo. I'm not concrete positive about the no auto capability, but I see them fly every day and I've never seen one fly an auto-rotation profile. The Az accident I think bears this out. The kinetic energy all resides in the engines and gearboxes, not in the rotors, and they're too small to have enough mechanical advantage to turn the whole system via free-fall airflow. It can continue to fly on one engine. It cannot fly if it loses one of the two transmissions, or the synch shaft between them, or either rotor gearbox or blade system, or it's 5000 psi hydraulic system which cannot so much as fart while airborne. It cannot do anything but fly or crash in engines forward mode. Yeah, garantee me stuck nacelles are never going to happen. Now imagine this aircraft in combat. You get the picture, too many single points of failure. In it's defense, it was not intended to replace the 53. The "Shitter" is heavey lift, the Osprey replaces the 46 which is medium lift. It is fast, and as a gas whore, Marines like it even more. It's Marines God given right to squander fossil fuels and precious natural resources. To continue bashing, I can honestly say everyone I knew in my peer/running mate/year groups that flew the Osprey, are all dead. I will not get on one. To say I have significant misgivings about this aircraft is an understatement. Be glad your bros are in the Army, this is not going to be pretty. Use as you will, but please leave my name and address off any postings. Respectfully, Smokin” Oh there are many other reasons to distrust the V-22 Osprey. A couple more have to do with stalling and vortices at the rotor tips which cause stalls and crashes. The hydraulics have been problematic at the start because the heavy duty system they needed was too physically heavy for he bird to lift. Any one of these problems should ground any aircraft... but the V-22 has a parade of these problems and yet they are pushing it through regardless. This is reckless and the results will be bloody as hell.
10-17-07: 1996
Kia Sportage: Good condition, 5 speed manual, 4x4, 2.0L DOHC motor, 800
bucks cash. Interesting little transport pod. About the same size as the
Contour, but taller. Feels like a truck. A hopelessly gutless little truck.
But it is it spry off road? I was wondering if it could wheel... so my
Oldest and I went out and wheeled it. Indeed it does, I am happy to say.
After spending a day with it, I observed 23 MPG. Not bad. Not great... but
not bad for a 4x4. Not as authoritative off road as Brutus, but it can do
dirt good enough. Certainly better than the Contour. Best still, it's a
second vehicle for Ogre Ranch that we can use while Mrs Ogre's Pontiac
Montana gets repaired. It's going to take at least two months before the van
gets fixed. Reason for that is the tribal bullshit is going to take about a
month to work through and then for the shop, well, every freaking shop is
booked solid for about a month. So best case, we are looking at 8 weeks.
Options were to rent a car for 125 a week until the van if fixed, or buy
this one and then sell it once the van is fixed. We could probably sell it
for as much as 2500 cash. Okay, I know I have said that I hate the Kia
Rondo... but hey, it was 800 cash and I could snag it right on the
spot. Done deal. While it isn't the most masculine of vehicles, at least it
isn't as gay as the Rondo. Still a Kia... Still made in Korea. Mrs Ogre has
driven it, and even she thinks it sucks. At least it will get us from point
A to point B. Not exactly thrilled about it, but it is a workable solution for a problem forced on to us because of institutionalized racism. The indian lady that nailed my wife's van on tribal property is denying it happened at all – even though we have witnesses and got her plate when she did that hit and run routine. So the County cops can't do anything about it. And of course, the Tribal Police wont do anything either – so as a result we are screwed. Our insurance company is going to have to go after her insurance company... Yes, we did finally get that information, because it just so happened that the cop we called, we were following up with him while he was driving on the highway, was right behind our Hit&Runner. She got pulled over. He couldn't cite her for anything, but he was able to get her insurance information. I used to think all the hate of the Tribe was ignorant bigotry... But I can see that it isn't... it has some pretty solid foundations and reasons based on long standing frustrations. It comes down to justice. The tribal police seem to exist for the sole reason of keeping the tribe members above the laws of the white man. This treaty crap needs to be rolled back, done away with. If they want to hold to those old 1800's treaties, then let's do it. If they venture off the rez, then we can shoot them on sight. What? You don't like that idea? They have rights? Oh, okay... then do away with reservations. There has been many instances of child abuse... harsh, unbelievable child abuse carried out upon indian children. The schools report it to Child Services. But they can't do anything about it. They report it to tribal authorities, but they don't do anything about it. Results is that we had one kid beaten to within an inch of his life. And another that was beaten two inches past that point. I'm sure other tribes are better than this one, but the Utes? Well, that's just the way it is. They might buy a brand new 2008 Dodge 4x4, but they wont feed or bath their kids. It's disgusting. It's shameful. But that is the way it is. I know not all of them are like that... but they do protect their bastards. You've got a handful of folks that are slimbags, yet the whole tribe brushes it all under the tee-pee as an institution. So who's worse? Those that do it or those that just let it happen. If I was Emperor of America, I would do away with all of these bullshit Indian Treaties, Reservations, and all the special government handouts... all that... We are all just plane Americans. That's it. No Blacks. No Whites. No Latinos. No Gays. No Divisions. Just Americans. We live in what is supposed to be a fucking Melting Pot – so start fucking melting already. You can have your own sub culture, but you don't get a government grant for it. V-22 Osprey: I've harped on the Osprey long and hard since the beginning of MadOgre.com. Now Time Magazine is reporting that these things are heading in to a war zone. This is doomed to failure in a big ugly nasty and Marine killing way. Let's look at the Osprey's Good Points:
We don't need to go in to the project costs or how much blood these things are going to spill. But what I want to know is this... how are the people who worked on the design going to sleep when the faces of the dead haunt them... or what they are going to say when the wives and children of our dead Marines ask them why they built such a shitty aircraft when they had so long to work on it. I'm trying to think of a military vehicle that was such a failure. The SGT York? Well, it used proven components that when put together just didn't mesh. Given some more time and trial and it could have worked. The Army's LHX/Comanche? Actually it was coming a long great. Too long and over budget of course, but it worked. Then there was the F-20 Tiger Shark. Think of an F-5 Tiger II, but without the two small jet engines and instead one huge jet engine and lots of advanced avionics and flight controls. It worked brilliantly, but the Air Force already had contracts for the F-16 so they didn't buy the F-20. Since the US Air Force didn't want the Tiger Shark, no one else wanted it. Best thing about the Tiger Shark, US Taxpayers didn't pay for development. Northrop did. All out of their own pockets. Neither the Comanche or the SGT York or the Tiger Shark killed the crews. The Osprey did. And the Osprey is developed on our dime, not Boeing's. Because they didn't have much financial stake in it, the people developing the craft didn't care about it being done on time, on budget, or even if it was capable of meeting the requirements. Same thing with the Strykers. The Army couldn't just take LAV III's, instead they had to reinvent the damn things so they cost 3 times as much and are heavier and for some reason, a bit less capable. Nice. DETONICS: I still get email about this. Detonics has shut its doors again. The company “Detonics USA”, the latest version headed by Jerry Ahern, is no longer. Not at their address any more, done. Finished. Emails Regarding Charter Arms. I've several emails from both camps, favorable to Charter and not so favorable of Charter. I've picked one from each camp as representative of the opinions: “Owned a .44 Special for nearly 20 years. It is my "house gun" - next to my bed. Shoot it once a year - about 20 rounds. For my purposes it works fine. Nasty to shoot even with better grips. It is far more accurate than this shooter but for the serious shooter not too appealing. Two virtues. One it was cheap. Two it is simple to load, clean, and shoot. Should I get ambitious enough to get a CCW permit will invest serious money for quality, training, and enough ammo to become and stay proficient. My point (if there is a point) is that many firearm owners don't need much. A Kia Rio instead of a Ford Expedition if that makes sense. I enjoy your blog and read it weekly. Being a Democrat I rarely agree with you but like the way you express your views. Best Regards, Frank” “Ogre: Thank you for pointing out the glaring inconsistencies between reality and the G&A review on the Charter Arms snub. I was puzzled by the G&A review. The Charter “Bulldog Pug” models that I’ve seen were pure garbage. The crane looks like stamped sheet metal!! I’ve never seen an article so deliberately written to keep a manufacturer (and advertiser) happy. I can’t wait to see the article you wrote. It’ll be interesting to see if CCM accepts your review for publication. As an aside, I’d love to see Ruger produce a .44 spl version of the SP101. Why don’t you mention that to them when you get the chance? Thanks. Chris” I guess really the final word regarding Charter Arms comes down your individual expectations and intended use. I think most of Charter's issues stem from cosmetics and materials. The design is fine, but if they did a better job of putting the parts together, a better finish, and maybe paid attention to the triggers a little more – they could really have something there. Because waving the flag and boasting US Made just isn't going to cut it in today's market. They are about 40 years too late for that. 10-15-07: I've really got it bad. I need some professional help or something. But I'm getting addicted to big rifles. The talk of the .35 Remington. An old .338. And now there is a sweet trade in that's tickling my mind... a 700 BDL in good old .300 Win Mag that we took in on trade for nothing. It's worn from riding in a soft rifle case and that's it. The bolt face shows that the rifle is practically still a virgin. Maybe 3 shots through it... 5 max. The bore is pristine. Rings and bases on it, but the scope was removed. I'm thinking what happened was that the guy had a cheap scope on it, not enough eye relief. He touched it off and the scope bit him so he was turned off the rifle. This happens more than it should. Simple lack of ballistic education. Potent rifles buck, don't get too close. It's not any more complicated than that. Now, bigger than the .300 is something I like even better. I'm starting to really get a jones for a .375 H&H. And a fellow might be trading one in for such a ridiculously small amount, everyone in The Horde would call me a right bastard for taking it – but the customer said that was all he wanted. Ahem. It's a Winchester model 70. Yup. It's sick. I know. But my knees went weak when I heard that. This would be like someone saying, hey, I've got a Porsche 928 in mint condition that I want to sell for, oh, say just 900 bucks. Yeah, it's that good of a deal on something that interesting. Of course the rifle is a lot less than that. If the 375 guy brings that in, I'm all over it. Another fellow has called first dibbs, but I don't think he'd really take it. Not really a heavy caliber guy and the .375 is indeed a heavy caliber. If not, the .300 Win Mag is mine. The .300 Win Mag isn't a monster power level cartridge. It's powerful, yes, but there is something else I really like about it. The cartridge has amazing inherent accuracy. Talking to some serious shooters who make sub MOA shots for a living at targets that stop living... the .300 Win Mag does the job better than anything else capable of hitting out to a grand in a rifle that you can actually pack around as easy as any other hunting rifle. I'm only interested in a very few .30 caliber cartridges... and this one is one of those. .30-30, .300 Whisper, .7.62X39, 300 Win Mag, 30-378 Wby Mag, That's about it. And really I'm not all that interested in the .30-30, or the .762X39... I just like them because of the casual nature. They don't take themselves too seriously, like say a .308 does. I still don't get why so many people groove on 308 so much. It's really a grossly overrated mediocre cartridge. It defines “average”. It only looks good when the alternative is the .223. Sure, it's accurate, but it doesn't reach out and hit like I want. I'm not dogging it... I'm just not a fanboy. Nikon has a new scope that I truly dig. The Slughunter BDC. Brilliant idea and long overdue. The scope is set with calculated hold over points for specific ranges. It's a fast and effective system that works. They have the same thing for muzzle loaders. I'm thinking a Super Black Eagle II with a slug barrel, extended feed tube, and this Nikon scope... freaking awesome. Now THAT would be a big rifle I could get into. Not the longest range rifle... but a hell of a lot of fun out to two hundred. That might be a long way for you cats back in the East where 50 yards is a long shot. Come on, don't balk at that, you know it's true. I've hunted those same woods. Spend some time out here in the desert and that's point blank. A scoped shotgun has a lot of potential as a multi purpose weapon. Israel uses just such a thing as a sniper rifle for taking down baddies wearing bomb vests. Speaking of Benelli, they need to add the pistol grip that they call the “steady grip” to the Comfort Tech stock and stop making people have to choose between one or the other. That's really the only suggestion that I have for them. They rock. Guns and Ammo did a review of the Charter Arms Bulldog. This must be a different Charter Arms that sent me two guns to review. G&A said that the fit and finish of the gun was on par with other production revolvers. You gotta be kidding me. S&W or Ruger would have fired their production managers if they had put out a gun like one of the units I was sent to review. You read that G&A review and you come away thinking that the Charters are right there with Smith or Ruger. This is so far from the case that the G&A review is comical. I've never read a more carefully worded gun review before... and I've never seen guns with the fit and finish this bad. Not even hand cut prototypes with saw and drill marks all over them. The article also says there is no sharp edges. Usually when one says that something has no sharp edges, they mean no square edges... but I think the G&A article is talking about razor blades. Because that would be accurate. There are no razor blades on the gun. But there are plenty of square edges, especially around the trigger guard where your fingers are going to be intercepted. You know, the important areas. Of course, this problem wouldn't be so bad if the grips actually fit. But the one bit that I don't like the most... the cylinder latch. It seems as if it was just jury rigged together. If this is the kind of revolver you are looking for... save a few more pennies and get a S&W, Ruger or a Taurus. Or save a few and buy a Rossi. I don't know yet if CCM is going to run the article I wrote, but if they don't, of course I will and I'll post it up in the weapons section as soon as I know. 28 Weeks Later: The DVD is out. I don't know if it is actually better than the first one like some guys have said... but it is a perfect sequel. Now if you were dealing with a zombie situation like that, I don't think you would have ordered the Code Red thing and just start wasting everything. I wouldn't have. I liked how it was the American Military that ordered that... nice touch there... a little anti-American sentiment there? Considering the fact that the zombies ended up trashing France, I would say that it had a happy ending. 10-13-07: Our man James in the UK sends us an interesting question: “I’m probably way out of the loop here in the UK, but I just found out that Jim Cirillo has died. I never met him, but I have a copy of his book Guns, Bullets & Gunfights which is excellent I was especially impressed by his insistence that rookie tactical specialists should be selected on grounds of maturity and social involvement, not gun skills. After all, gun skills can be taught, but no one can be taught the value of life. Only when you value life – your own life and the lives of others - can you make life or death decisions effectively. In fact, if I were to put together a 10 book essential shooter’s library, a sort of “Desert Island Books” list, it would contain: Death In The Long Grass, P Capstick, Guns, Bullets & Gunfights, J Cirillo, Handgun Stopping Power – E Marshall, E Sanow, In The Gravest Extreme, M Ayoob, Stressfire - vol 1, M Ayoob, African Experience – C Boddington, Principles Of Personal Defence, J Cooper, The Ayoob Files, M Ayoob, Muntjac – Managing An Alien Species, C Smith-Jones, Roe Deer – Management & Stalking, R Prior. Obviously, the last two are idiosyncratic UK-orientated works, but the rest are universal. Are there any other essential items I should add to this list? James PS: You can probably guess that I am an Ayoob fan. I have done LFI1 and LFI2 with him and highly recommend him. He is a brilliant orator and teacher, although admittedly he is the kind of guy who can polarize opinion – you either love him or hate him.” Not a bad list at all, James however, I would make a couple changes. I would drop the “Handgun Stopping Power” and throw in “Another Country” and “To Ride Tall, Shoot Straight, and Speak The Truth”, by Jeff Cooper. The main reason I suggest the dropping of the Marshall and Sanow book is that while on the surface it sounds good and logical, it has been proven to be junk science... a distortion. It might be interesting reading, but don't put much stock into it. Cooper on the other hand was the real deal. His daughter wrote a biography about him and I have an autographed copy and it is a fascinating look into his life. Not only was the guy a true gentleman, shooter, and sportsman... but the guy raced Porsche sports cars. Gotta love that. So yeah, more Cooper to the list. Ayoob is an interesting guy too, but he is no Cooper. I've had some personal dealings with too, but I've not taken one of his classes. He is a rather salty personality. The .35 Remington? “I read your post on popular hunting rounds and I'm not surprised. Here in Virginia where (because of the thick brush) a long shot is 300 yards I've never felt any need to change from my trusty hand built aught 6. One odd thing I've noticed recently is the increase in stores stocking .35 Remington. I have an old Remington model 36 pump action rifle in .35 Remington that I inherited from my Grandfather. In the past it has been very difficult to find any shop that would stock more than a box of this at a time and (because I don't reload) I've shot it sparingly and haven't hunted with it. In the last year all of the shops I frequent have had several boxes in stock. After talking to the shop keepers they say that locally the round is making a huge comeback as a brush gun. I can think of some places I'd rather use this gun than my '06. Do you have any opinions on this round? - Matthew” Are you kidding? I love the .35 Remington. I've spent a lot of time stalking the Appalachians near Roanoke with a Marlin in .35 Rem. It wasn't my rifle, it was my friends, but he didn't like it because it kicked too hard... so I used it. It does have more thump to it than a .30-30, but not that much more. Similar trajectory to the .30-30, but it does so with a fatter, heavier bullet. And on deer, it does the trick perfectly. It makes for a perfect brush gun for both Eastern states and the Pacific Northwest. I remember hiking and hunting in the mountains, eating fresh venison over the camp fire. Ah, I miss those days. And these new LEVERevolution rounds? If they work for the .35 as well as they do for the .30-30 and the .45-70, there is little the .35 couldn't do. I'd like to see someone take a .300 WSM cartridge and open it up to .35 caliber. I bet that would be a super bear stopper. Kudos from Steven: “Ogre, First, I would like to tell you that of all of the so-called experts that I read concerning shooting and firearms, You are the most respected. Reason? We don't always agree on which guns are the best, which cartridges, bullet types, scopes, etc... , but I know that you are speaking for yourself, and not regurgitating some crap that some other "shooting expert" has already said. Good stuff. Second, thanks for showing a lil respect for all of the Glock toting Horde members out here. While I can find no fault in the Glock design as it pertains to my hand, I can understand why they aren't right for everyone. Third, and most importantly, there was another school shooting today. This time in Ohio. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the kid in question was on ritalin or one of the other popular kiddie drugs. Better buy the pistolas while they're still legal, or at least before Hitlery becomes our new "worst president ever"! Steven” Thanks for the email, Steven. You know, if we all agreed on guns and cartridges... the gun industry would be as boring as the Insurance industry. Can you imagine? Everyone would be rolling around with 1911's and Remington's in .30-06. I can only give my opinion on the guns and cartridges that I have experience with... but I'm lucky in that I've access to lots of different firearms that stems from amiable relationships with lots of generous people and the fact that I am a an addict for new and interesting guns. If I don't have it or have had it – I want it. If I can't buy it, I'll trade for it. My friends call me a Gun Slut. Having bought and sold and traded for countless guns – I have a broad spectrum to base my opinion from. I am quite lucky that way, I know that. MadOgre.com's Spanish Version: I've got more people saying they love it than those that say they don't. It stays. No, I am not racist. Don't make such assumptions just because I love my country and believe that English should be our national language. Look, I've got a lot of respect for the Individual, not a race. When I was doing a lot of hiring for a certain technical company, I tried my damnedest to hire a guy from Mexico. He wanted the job and to be able to get a green card and immigrate legally. And to be quite frank, he was the most qualified candidate by a factor of ten. I only hired those that were the best candidates... those that worked for me, know that was true. I didn't care about race. Hey, I even hired a liberal Democrat woman – because she was the best candidate. What happened to that guy from Mexico? The company did not want to bring in a guy from Mexico. I did. I battled for him, but they didn't let me hire him. I would have. Like I said, he was the best candidate. He could have taken my job. Anyone I hired could have taken my job – that's the way I hired people. I didn't look at race or sex or age. I've always been above that. I've hired people of all races, colors, creeds, and sexual persuasions. My company was racist, but I wasn't. If I was racist, I wouldn't have called that guy in for the interview. I wouldn't have put my neck on the line to get him there. So shut the hell up. Thanks. OH HELL YES! HELL YEEEESSSS!!!!! CZ USA is going to be importing something wicked cool. I want one. I want one bad. The tactical model, because I know what zytel is. Wood Impregnated Plastic, I don't want to know what that is. I know what what plastic impregnated wood is – we build decks out of that stuff. Still, I'll take one, thanks. Oh, and CZ USA, I love you, man. Police: It seems my idea about a police department structure is split 50/50 between guys who are police or were... some like it, others just think it wouldn't work because it would be too hard to implement... Oh well. Just thinking out loud... but I think I'm right. ;) 10-12-07: I would like to see a city police department with a different sort of structure. Normally you have your band of patrol officers, some reserve officers, designated SWAT officers, and a handful of detectives. Most departments I know are set up like that. What I would like to see is a department that does away with all SWAT officers. Instead, bring up the level of training and proficiency of all officers and arm them well enough to deal with everything when working together. I know this would be more expensive at first, but I think you have a more balanced force overall. Even the reserve Officers should get more training and this can be done by other full time officers. Now instead of a handful of detectives, I'd like to see a large fraction of the whole... maybe a third of the Officers who's job it is to detect and solve crimes. The idea here is two fold. First, is to allow Officers a faster response time to hard core situations. Second to reduce the occurrences of hard core situations. For example, the SNAFU at Waco. With simple old fashioned cop work, they could have snagged David Koresh peacefully. In fact, they could have done just that the day before. Instead, the Officer In Charge opted for the heavy handed approach. I know this is an extreme example, but it's a good example. Similar things happen all the time on a smaller scale. I know there are times when a heavy hand is required, but we are seeing a lot more heavy hands when it wasn't needed. With more investigations we would see less SWAT charges into wrong homes and raids when the suspect isn't even at home. Not only would a heavier detective force make SWAT ops less frequent, but it would make them more effective. Simple as that. Just like the Army's use of more Scouts increased the effectiveness of the main force... time and time again. Mrs. Ogre's van got smashed. She was parked at the school where she teaches, and some drunk indian lady driving way too fast came around the corner and smashed right into her van tagging the passenger side front wheel. Now the van has no steering. This was also a hit and run sort of thing, but we have the plates and the Authorities have been notified. But since the lady lives on the Res... pretty much we are just SOL. Nothing we can do. In the mean time, Mrs. Ogre is dropping me off at work and picking me up at the end of the day... I don't have my car any more because her schedule requires wheels more than mine. But still. I am super Pluto cold pissed off. This lady wrecks our van, and runs off and hides behind a curtain of institutionalized racism. We need two vehicles... and now we don't have them. DAMN IT.
Cabella's Foremost Outfitters?
Well I did it. Got that difficult review done. I might not have been all that complementary to the guns, but I was honest and I was fair. If that isn't what you want, go read Guns & Ammo where everything they “review” is wonderful. Still, with this one, I'd rather get a tooth pulled. My next review is going to be a nice little S&W model 67 Combat Masterpiece. Here is a picture of Marie who helped me with the shoot. She's a doll, and a hunter and shooter too... wicked sense of humor. But sorry guys, she's taken. Damn it.
10-09-07: Most Popular Hunting Calibers By Sales: One way to track popularity of any given caliber is to compare sales figures of ammunition. It shows us something interesting. Before we get into the interesting bit, here are the Top 5:
The 7MM Rem Mag came in at a very close #6. Just about forever the horse race has always been between .30 caliber and .27 caliber. At some times one will take a lead over the other... but eventually the .30 caliber will take the lead again. Right now the popularity fight has moved into the Short Mag calibers and .270 WSM is kicking the trash out of the .300 WSM. So seeing this list showing the good old Aught Six taking the lead in overall sales isn't a shock. These sales figures go back across the last 5 years. We see that the fad calibers didn't make the cut... such as the .204 Ruger. But what I found interesting is that one caliber made it, while a certain other did. The caliber that surprised me was .30-30. While it is a great caliber and I recommend it highly, I just didn't think it was so popular anymore. The other caliber... the one that didn't make the cut also surprised me. .25-06. It didn't make #6, which was 7MM, #7 which was .22-250, or even #8 which was .300 Win Mag and #9... well... I forget. It really comes down to one thing. The good old Quarter Bore just isn't popular. It's so far down the list, there are probably executives out thinking about dropping it from production. I really can't believe this. The .30-30 is tons more popular still today than the .25-06 and the new .25 WSSM. This has amazed me. Flat out amazed me. The .25 just never really took off. The old .250 Savage was mildly accepted at best. Then rash of Military Surplus .30-06 rifles out there made a lot of blokes want to wildcat it to get more performance out of it. The Aught Six necked down to quarter bore was popular enough to get the factories to legitimize it. But here we are... over a hundred years later the Thuddy Thuddy is still slaying wild game... and doing so much more often than wildcat bred .25-06. Look at the .308 case. People neck it down to .243 to make, well... the .243... or down to 7MM for the wonderful 7MM-08 cartridge. But how many people are necking it down to .25? Interesting, I think. I've always liked the .25-06. Ever since I knew what it was and after reading old Gun Writers who are now testing loads at the Big Range In The Sky. The Other Aught has always been crazy versatile and has taken ever game animal in North America and capable of taking 99% of the rest of it. It has a fantastic trajectory with great energy. You can load it with some light bullets and go for varmints or load it hot and heavy and take on some big game. The accuracy can be shocking. Really there is nothing the .25-06 can't do. It's more versatile than the .270, yet the .270 has somehow garnered more popularity. I'll even admit that it has more flexibility than my beloved 7MM Rem Mag. Yet it is only barely more popular than Strep Throat. What's wrong with us? Browning just might be killing off the A-Bolt II rifle. The sad thing is that I have just started to grow fond of them.. Rumor has it that next week or so Browning is going to be having a huge meeting with all their sales guys to go over the news. You see, they've canceled all pending orders and are not accepting any new ones. There is no availability on any of the guns. Also, we can't seem to get any Super X loads for the .25 WSSM... They are doing something to it... I hope they don't kill it off. This is troubling to me. One very popular rifle package we have been selling more of lately has been a Browning Hunter or Stainless Stalker in .25 WSSM. Since we don't have any ammunition for it other than very expensive 85 grain Ballistic Silvertips... which is great for varmints and coyotes, but useless for the deer and elk in season now. We could be selling pallets of the stuff, but we can't get it to sell it. This is a case of The Industry dropping the ball... a critical fumble at the 10 yard line. Because we have had more than a few hunters holding tags and looking to use their new .25 WSSM rifle for the hunt. Also, we've been told that Primers are at least 6 months out. We've had to turn away a lot of reloaders looking to stock up because we are running out. The primer is the one key component that if it is limited, all shooting can grind to a halt. Considering there are only a few companies making primers, it wouldn't take much to effectively achieve Gun Control... All it would take would be a couple OSHA violations to shut a plant down for “safety”. An EPA violation for toxin build up or something. Or just industrial sabotage done by the Liberals under the guise of an ELF attack. We need a couple new sources for primers. I hate to say it, but Mexico is a good option for that. Out of some concern about this I picked up a case of Large Rifle Magnum primers, some 154 grain 7MM Hornady SST bullets and an extra bag of brass. If something happens, I could feed my Big Seven. But nothing else. This is something I'm going to have to fix over a short time frame. It's not going to be long before reloading becomes the only way to feed our guns. This is also a very good reason to get into Muzzle Loading. Less components. You can mold your own bullets. If it comes down to putting meat on the table, that's a good and historically proven way to do it. Hey, we won our National Freedom with muzzle loaders. I feel sorry for owners of hungry rifles that fire rounds by the case full. Myself included. If you are a guy that only fires a few rounds a year through your deer gun, well, then you suck, but when ammo get to be a hundred bucks for a box of 20 it won't be all that bad for you. Guys like me, it's crushing. Thoughts on Glocks: Much like the AR-15, I just don't have a lot of love for the Glock family of handguns. But that doesn't means that I have no respect for them. I think Glocks are ugly, point poorly, feel unbalanced, and just don't live up to the reputation. On the other hand, they are accurate and reliable and do a good job. This is more than I can say for the AR-15 family of rifles. If sent on some adventurous mission and I was issued a Glock for the task I would not feel disadvantaged. I wouldn't be all that stoked for it, but I wouldn't feel cheated. Now, if I was given an AR, I'd probably be pissed. Ogre doesn't venture out with overly glorified .22 mags. The Deputy Shooting Rampage: Yeah, only cops should have guns eh? That worked out. I lived for awhile up there in northern Wisconsin. I'm familiar with the town. A lot like Vernal. Everyone knows of everyone else if they don't know them personally. Or at least the guy you work with knows them or is related to them. Small town. Now some idiots out there are saying things like “How did this guy get through the system?” What system? Everyone knew the guy. If there was a problem with him, people would have known it. The Sheriff wouldn't have hired him. The guy snapped and flipped out... it happened and no amount of finger pointing is going to resolve it. No amount of “System” could have prevented it. One Horde Member pointed out that these people want a Minority Report system, or already expect it. Look, I don't want to live in a Minority Report / Gattica type world. I don't want a “system”. I want my freedom. 10-08-07: Can any Liberal understand the true nature of war? Check this out. Watch this from start to finish. What can I say about this? The heroics of everyone involved is both staggering and humbling. And Democrat Congressmen are saying that these people are failures. I can't believe it. Notice something else about this. Black guy, White guy, Asian guy all involved. Tell me this... why do the Liberal Democrats keep promoting racism? If it wasn't for them, there would be no racism any more. I don't see race in this news clip... I see Americans. I see heroes. To quote Captain Mal, “We're all just folk.” Email from Hordeman Joe: “Regarding your 10/05/07 blog: Amen. I vote for the MadOgre for at least VP. - Joe” Thanks, Joe. I'll consider running one day, and then I'll take up heavy drinking until it goes away. Ted Nugent: Now he should be The President of the USA, and I would happily be the Veep. There is a video of him doing some television interview where he talks about gun control and criminal control... it's getting a lot of play on YouTube and other places. Liberals look at it and see a nut case. A lot of gun guys look at it and say “right on!” A lot of guys, gun guys, don't like him and say he's too over the top. I don't think so. I think he is just expressing his passion for his beliefs. My question how come they are not. So many gun guys express often extreme views about their love for liberty and country. Nugent preaches it... more over, the man LIVES IT. Unlike so many, Nugent is not an Internet Cowboy that mouths off about how wolfish he is, then logs off and lives like a sheep. He has a fire in his belly, lives as he speaks, lives as he believes. He didn't serve in the military, but he serves the military when ever he can... he's done loads of concerts for the troops... has been doing that for decades. He believes in and is using renewable natural resources more than any San Francisco Liberal and because of that has a much smaller “Carbon Footprint” than just about anyone else in the US. (talking about his day to day, apart from his concert tours) The man provides for his family with his own two hands and doesn't expect or ask for help from anyone for his sustenance. The whole time he never looses sight of what is important. Family, God, and his Country. I'm sorry, but that is just about the most honorable way of life I can think of. You can bash him all you want. I think he's right. My life goal is to be able to live like that. That's what I'm trying to do. Email from Hordeman Steven. He nails it. He swings, hits, and sends it out of the ball park: “Og, If a city has a strangler in their midst, does the sheriff ever announce that they have a "rope problem"? How about a slasher, do they go on the news and announce a "knife problem"? How does a community have a "gun problem"? In my community, several teens have died this year due to ATV mishaps, as well as car crashes. Do we have an "ATV" problem? Or maybe I have a "car problem", or a "teen problem"? Aside from car and ATV deaths, if a city has a "gun problem", then what they really have is a "CRIME PROBLEM". They need to find criminals, do battle with them, show all of the community that they will not back down against thugs, and let people like you and me enjoy our rights! I'll tell you what the biggest "problem" that we have is. We have a "Judge" problem! The sentences are weak for violent criminals, yet they are severe if you or I go into an Applebees for a meal while wearing a sidearm because they sell booze by the drink. Total bullshit. Tired of all this bullshit, Steven” You are right, Steven... we do have a Judge problem. And we have a public education problem because we also have juries that get soft hearted. They nail people who make simple mistakes or procrastinate... but people with serious issues are treated with the soft glove care. I don't get that. But you see it if you sit in a court room and watch the proceedings. I've seen it more often than I care to say. Not that I've been in a lot of court rooms lately, but there was a day back before MadOgre.com when my job required my attendance in courtrooms at least once a month. So I do know what I'm talking about here. I'm reading a book that has grabed me. Hordeman Steven James penned what is one of the most excellent crime/thrillers I've read since the last Marcus Wynne novel I read. Order The Pawn from Amazon.com as soon as you can. With winter rolling in, your going to want something good and gritty to read. This book has some action to it... not nearly as much as the “grab you by the short and curlies and swing you around the room” sort of action that Marcus has. Steven's is very cerebral... then while your thinking about it he shanks you in the head. It is also very well written and engaging. We look forward to more Steven James books in the future. And Marcus, you teasing bastard... you said you had a new book coming out and I've not seen it yet. Get to work, Bro! My book? Silvershot is still chugging along like an old coal powered steam engine... slow but steady. Soon... it will be finished soon. Privateer has taken a back seat to it right now. 10-05-07: Elizabeth Edwards has the gall to question Rush Limbaugh's lack of military service? Rush was passed over by the military for medical reasons. Documented medical reasons. That was the decision of the US Military. What is John Edward's excuse? A high draft number? That was documented as a false claim. Rush's excuse for not going to Vietnam is perfectly valid... where as John's is a smoke screen. This means that Elizabeth Edwards needs to shut up and sit down and get her meds adjusted. What a low thing to mouth off about... how tacky that is. How utterly classless that is. Who is she to sit in judgment of someone else's disability? And who gives a flip about Vietnam Era politics when everyone back then was just a kid? They were all kids back then... just out of teens... So Rush had some back or foot problems and John was a stinking coward... Doesn't matter today much does it? Which one has the better plan for America? And since when do the Democrats have to campaign against Rush? That's the funny part. The Liberal Democrats' new policy of character assassination is a failed plan. They don't understand that character assassination only works when the accusers have character. I'm also increasingly tired of hearing how the Dems in the Congress keep bagging on Bush when they themselves have a lower approval rating. This next election is going to be very interesting... because pretty much all Americans are getting very tired of the political BS that we are being subjected to every day. I'm tired of hearing which candidate raised more money than that candidate that day. This is going to be a long election season – and it hasn't even started yet. Buckle up. It isn't going to get any better. My
only hope is that we get some candidates that are actually going to start
talking about the issues – and I don't mean the stupid issues like Gay
Rights and Abortion. I mean the serious hard core issues like American
Security and Sovereignty. Where America stands on the world stage. The
strength of the US Dollar. And crushing China and the New Soviets. America
is in some seriously deep hot shit as a nation and fluff issues are just to
keep us from paying attention. I've talked about China enough for the time being... and that's another hot topic of mine. But not right now. Where is the Candidate who wants to roll back all federal gun laws? Where is the Candidate that wants to do away with Race check boxes on all government forms? Who wants to actually, really and truly overhaul our tax code? Who wants to tell the RIAA that if a music download is 99 cents than you can't sue for more than 99 cents and if you show a burger that is stacked and thick then you better serve a burger that is stacked... that if you advertise a low price for your phone service, then that's what the bill is going to look like and one point five seconds worth of small print on a blip-vert doesn't constitute informing the public. What about a candidate that says “instead of giving 22 billion dollars in aid to some 'Stan, let's invest 22 billion in America”. Or even, “we have 22 billion to give away? Then, our taxes are too high.” Where is the candidate that is going to make the USA proud of its colors again? Because I'm over here looking at a globe and thinking, where is the next free country? Where can I take my family to that has freedom and democracy? I can't take them anywhere... that's here. But the Tree of Liberty has not been watered lately and it's wilted... we need to fight for it again. Not physically with violence, but with ideals. We can not tolerate ignorance any longer. Stupid crap that otherwise reasonable people are espousing like Ethanol from Corn and the Fairness Doctrine. This crap has to be put to bed on every level that we hear it. If you hear someone spewing some really stupid crap like that – you gotta speak up. Especially when we hear it from a candidate! Barak Obama wont wear an American Flag pin on his lapel? Yet he wants to be the President of this country? My hell, people... only a moron would think this guy is even worth speaking to let alone vote for. This guy shouldn't be in any public office. Serenity now! Speaking of Serenity, there was a dirty little rumor that there will be another Serenity movie. For those not in the loop, Serenity is a movie based on what was the best Sci-fi series on TV ever, called Firefly. If you have not seen Firefly, get on Amazon.com and order the DVD collection. Then watch the series, in order as they appear on the DVD's. If you've not seen Firefly yet, I envy you... I really do. Because you get to watch it all for the first time. So yourself a favor, for me, and check it out. Yes, I did suggest you buying it – don't bother renting it or anything. Just buy it. You will anyway. Don't watch Serenity until you've seen all of Firefly. And the possibility of a new movie – awesome. It makes me giddy. One thing I really like about Firefly is the independent vibe it had. They use a phrase to describe the government there that is perfect for today's government. “Puppet Theater”. That's exactly what the Government is these days. Time to wake up... and I think we will. 10-04-07: Responses to my “coaching” of CZ USA: The most responses were targeted to the Kadet Pistol and Adapter. The desire for a .17 Mach 2 version is there. CZ needs to build one pronto. If I was a Chief at the CZ hut, I'd order this immediately. The other responses were oddly enough about the 97B. A push down past fire to decock lever is a major element that folks want... The other is black rubber grips like the SP-01 has, night sights, and a frame rail. The consensus is that if this gun is as big and serious as it is, then it needs to sign up for duty. I couldn't agree more. In fact, this should also be done immediately. There is no reason not to. A version in 10MM would be a hailed by many as the greatest thing ever... and a 10MM duty version as described would be as one reader called it: The Most Fabulous Object In The World. Are you listening CZ-USA? A 10MM 1911 is great... but that's been done before. A 10MM 97B would be fresh... Do it. Do it soon. People are waiting. You do a Tactical 10MM 97B with a decocker – I will be the first in line to buy it. If you don't want to do 10MM, then how about a 9X23MM? That would rock to a shockingly high degree. Kim Du Toit said: “I know, people are going to ask why I would endorse the poodleshooter AR-15 on the left of the pic; I would respond that the AR-15 is a perfect rifle… for women and children.” My response – why would you want to shoot women and children? Feh... no... the AR-15 is not perfect for anything. Anyone wanting an AR-15 should buy a SIG 556, it has all the AR's good points, and none of the bad. Well, other than caliber of course. And it still uses M-16 type mags like the AR. There is no reason to continue using crap. As Cake Eating Civilians we have the right of CHOICE. We do not need to report to Bushmaster for our issued AR. I say the SIG is perfect for the ladies and kiddies. Speaking of 10MM: I think my next handgun order will be a 1911 Commander Bobtail in 10MM. I've only read a few owner reviews on this gun, all positive... but none in depth and all with the bias of “it's mine and I love it.” None really all that objective. I think I'll call up CZ and request one as a Press Sample with the option of buying it. This would be my first 10MM... I've fired lots of different Tens, but I've never owned one myself. The Dan Wesson here is less than 800 bones... the one we got in was a 45 and I think I remember we sold it for only 750... which makes it a hell of a good deal. I've got this LNIB Detonics Combat Master, and I think I could sell it and buy this Dan Wesson... I think I might. Browning Rifles: The more I handle the Browning Stainless Stalker rifle, the more fond I become of it. A .325WSM might be in my future if this infatuation continues. The short throw of the bolt is appealing, so is the drop down box magazine which is a love it or hate it feature. I like the palm swell to the stock, the lightness and balance... I didn't really like them so much at first, but they are growing on me. Especially this Medallion GR3 model we got in. Think of your normal Browning Medallion, give it an octagonal barrel and finish the stock in the normal satin finish found on the hunters, but add a red wood end cap. It's a very nice looking and feeling gun. In .270WSM it has potency and versatility. I like it. But not enough to throw down the cool grand we sell them for. Big problem with a Gun Review: I'm going to be writing a gun review here very shortly. I want to write a nice and positive review... I really do. But the subject of the review is total shiat. Overpriced, sub par quality... for hell's sake, the grips don't even fit and there are gaps in the panels! You can see where the frame has shifted and part of the frame has left marks on another part and I've not even shot it yet. This is how it came to me from the factory. The finish looks slightly better than cast zinc and pot metal. This is completely unacceptable. There is no way I can write this review with any favorable marks. And the gun isn't even cheap! You can buy a Rossi for less. Their dealer cost is more than what we retail a Rossi for. And the Rossi parts all fit with no bending of the frames and they actually have a finish on the metal... I see no reason whatsoever to buy one of these guns. None. In fact, the company should close it's doors in shame and not open them again until they can make a decent handgun – even if they have to cut out all the parts by hand with a file. Look, it's a REVOLVER, not a space rocket... it's easy to do. I could make a revolver with the tools I have in my garage and I could do a better job. My 13 year old could do a better job. There is no excuse for this shoddy example of what is supposed to be a serious defensive tool. This company has a long name in the USA... it's actually rather famous... and yet they send me this to review... me... The Ogre... the guy that called an HK “Perfectly Adequate”. What, are they challenging me? Do they think I'm a sellout or something? I've actually had this gun – these guns – for over a year now waiting for my review. I don't know what I'm going to say yet, but you can count on me giving a completely honest and objective review. The company in question might not like it, and Concealed Carry Magazine might not publish it – but if anything, I'll publish it here in The Weapons Section and you will get the full Monty about it. I mean, hell man! The grips don't even fit together... the two grip panels don't even match up. It's like putting on shoes from two different pairs. How the hell do they get that wrong? It's not a fluke... I've got two different guns from these people and neither gun has grips that fit. And no, it's not like they tried fitting the wrong panels together between the two guns. Because if you take one panel from one gun and try to fit it to the other from the other gun – that doesn't work either. I can't articulate the full gravity of the lameness here. These guns SUCK. On a scale from 1 to 10, ten being a proper defensive weapon... I'd rather use harsh language. At this time, I can find no redeeming qualities at all. And I've been trying for over a YEAR. No, I'm not going to write a critique of this company... because I've seen better made Jennings and Raven .22's. My only suggestion would be to close shop forever. No, I'm not the most diplomatic gun writer out there. But I just might be the most honest one. I wonder how many other gun writers have looked at these, thought the same thing, yet closed their eyes and swallowed. “That sting you might feel, that's your pride fuckin with you.” It makes my Mom want to hurl stew: I'm going to have to move the photoshopped image of the African “I love Mad Ogre” person. While I found it funny and disturbing, it is going to have to go someplace else. James asks a very good question: “Re: China I have only very limited experience of China – working with Chinese colleagues and a one week trip to Beijing and Xian – but I would totally agree with your recent posting from a Horde Member. The decision to post it in full was definitely the right one –the danger from China to both the UK and the USA cannot be over estimated. I have also noted the almost total absence of intellectual curiosity in Chinese people. I recall once that we were strolling through some orchards with a Chinese interpreter and I pointed out the total absence of birds, insects and wild flowers, despite the rural location. Our ‘terp (a woman of about 30, obviously well educated and smart) said blandly “there used to be many wild animals and insects, but now there are none”. I was alarmed at what I saw as evidence of imminent ecological collapse and I asked the ‘terp whether she was worried. Her answer? “No. I never think about it” Every time I talked to a Chinese person, I got the impression that they were simply feeding me the Party line rather than their own opinion. Obviously, anyone chosen to assist foreigners would be politically-sound, but I suspect that they genuinely believe what they are told by their leaders, from Kindergarten teachers to Presidents. This may not be a Communist phenomenon – after all, Confucius also emphasized the need for respect, harmony and not rocking the boat. Now for the controversial bit – how do you think a visitor from China to the USA would report back to his friends and relatives? - James St Albans, UK” With no intellectual curiosity, I wouldn't be worried about the collapse of the ecology... I'm worried about the collapse of the Chinese as a people. How can a culture flourish if there is no curiosity? If they don't think about the birds and the insects... if they don't think about anything but duty and obligation – where is China's poetry and art going to come from? That worries and frightens me. Without art and such – there is no humanity. If there is no humanity... then they are as a people capable of horrid atrocities that I previously only credited the Chinese Government with. This explains why there is such vast and rampant acts of barbarism, cruelty and inhuman violation of human rights... acts that happen daily. Such as the forced abortions of whole villages and the slaying of newborn infants. Look up “Chinese babies born blackened and dead”... there was a story on NPR a couple months ago that was absolutely horrific about this. What about the mass graves of the executed? They execute dissidents constantly... you say something the government doesn't like – you get shot in the back of the head. Pow. Done. And no one dares speak out about any of this... because they don't want to get shot in the back of the head... and in China, it's not just you. They will shoot your family too. Just to make a point so you don't get all heroic. That kind of sickness can only happen if the people have totally lost their spirit. Like the North Koreans. If they have nothing to gain from anything, they have nothing to lose and are capable of anything. This makes me fear China all the more. And we are paying them to grow their military! Every day we keep buying stuff made in China... and that empowers China's growth. But we like our “Every Day Low Prices” don't we? So if this question was asked of the Chinese, I think the response would be like that 'Terp's... she never thought about it. Speed Freak: From the estimates made, and relative to the known governed speed of the chase car – my velocity was 140 to 142 MPH. Niiiice. Now understand something here... the Contour was designed in Germany for the Euro market where it continues to be a top selling car under the name Mondeo. It can handle higher speeds than US roads are designed to handle. But yeah, I know... I was going way too fast for it. No, I'm not going to do it again. Just so you know, my SE is pretty much an SVT under the hood now... Since I got it, I've been replacing parts here and there. I'm about due to just go ahead and get SVT badges for it. 10-02-07: The two escaped cons have been caught. One was shot by the police in the stomach. My only question is this – why did they stop? The cops shooting, I mean. Because now this jackass is racking up medical bills like crazy while in intensive care at the hospital. A convicted murder who escapes jail, does a home invasion where he and his partner in crime steal an SUV with three guns in it, 100+ MPH chase, spike strips, fleeing felon jumps out of the stolen SUV with a rifle in his hand and points that rifle towards the police... and he is only tagged in the gun once. Kudos to the LEO's for getting the badguys but I am a little disappointed in their shooting. Local news radio said that the other guy suffered a foot injury and is unconscious... did he step on a spike strip? Cause that would suck... hope it doesn't get infected.... yes, I'm crossing my fingers behind my back. How fast was that? I said before that all there is to do out here was go Off Roading and kill shit. Well, that is not quite true. There is other popular things out here like shagging, drinking, and doing stupid shit. Sunday afternoon I opted to do stupid shit. There is a place not far from where I live that allows a guy with a radar detector to see just how fast his ride can go. This is where I've had my car up to 135 MPH on more than one occasion. I say 135 because that is about where the speedo is pegged and wont read any higher. Hence my question. I need a hand here from someone that is familiar with Ford cars and gearing ratios and what not. I had a little thing done to my engine by a guy that used to work with or for (I wasn't clear) Ford's SVT division... it pretty much removed the governed speed limit of the car. That wasn't the point of the tweak, but a side effect. I also filled the tank with premium unleaded and added in two cans of Octane Boost. I wanted to see something. Usually such a stupid act is done after you have a few too many and say “here, hold my beer.” Lets give you a little back ground. Most cars have a governor in them and they are set very high... usually higher than what anyone will go. Faster than a certain car that was following me to see how fast I was going... a German car made for going fast... I was faster. We hit his governed speed and I started to pull away from him, then I found a problem. The rev limiter. I know how fast the Audi was going when the Nanny Chip kicked in... but that leaves me with the question: If you are in a '97 Contour SE, in 5th gear, and the rev limiter kicks in making the engine sound like a turbo bypass valve opening up... how fast would that be? I've no idea, but let me tell you.. it was hellafast. It was well past Hair Ignition speed... well past anything I've ever felt in my Contour before. It was also far faster than a Contour should ever go, let me tell you. I think I may have unofficially broken the 87 Ford Contour SE Land Speed Record. The rev limiter kicked in at about 7200 RPM... I don't know exactly because my eyes were firmly fixed on the oncoming collision was about to have with the horizon and I didn't glance back down until the RPM's read 6000 RPM... with the speedo still pegged. It took some time to coast back down to a hundred. It was so fast, that the car felt like it was floating. Not your normal light steering kind of floating... well yeah that, but there was also the “if you do anything the car will flip over and not stop rolling until it's flung off all its bits and you wont stop rolling for half a mile inside the pearly gates and past God's lawn furniture” kind of floating. I'm not going to do that again. Ever. The last time I hit the limit of my courage, I was driving a Colorado State Police pursuit package Camero and the speed was 147 MPH. I was told that “it had a lot more” but I just didn't want to see any more of it at that time. I was well past that “I don't want to see anymore” yesterday. Before you ask how this was possible, I'll tell you... this was the same place that eons ago I got a Geo Metro XFI to do a hundred and six. It is very long, straight, and down hill and heading east, quite often you do have a bit of a tail wind when conditions are right. So it is kind of a cheat for top speed runs. The Valentine One was active with all logic modes turned off so it would hit on anything out there... But all the Leo's were elsewhere so I got to play. No, I am not going to do that again. The car is fine, but the chip has been removed and the original one has been reinstalled, along with my intake set up. The chip wasn't programed the way I wanted it anyway so I declined the trade... The chip, a turbo kit, intake, and some professional wrench time for one of my guns. It wouldn't have been a bad trade at all... but I don't need top end speed. I want more low and mid range for better passing and take offs. I'm also not going to go the Turbo route. I'm going to go the supercharger route that will give me the most power where I can make the most use of it. But I will get a K&N set up... I liked that part and was sorry to take it back out. A cold air intake makes a huge difference, not just for top end, but also down low. If I wanted more top end I'd have to go and do the whole body kit to improve aerodynamics and all that jazz... no thank you. I like stealth cars... Q ships... sleepers.... and that is what my Tour is going to be... is becoming. Top end just seems like something that is going to get me killed. I have to tell you, I am quite fond of the Contour. Its insane... it doesn't look like a fast car. It doesn't sound like a fast car. But it IS a fast car, when everything about it says that it shouldn't be. It looks like a Librarian's car, and it can sip fuel like an Accountant's car... but it can drive like a Lunatic's car. One problem has cropped up since that run. My right front tire keeps losing air now. I've had to put in some Fix A Flat stuff, which is rubbish and now it feels like it is out of balance – which it is because of the goo that goes in. I'll have to get that sorted this coming week. I suspect that this is because I was driving faster than my Traction T/A tires are rated. And yes, I know that was lucky I didn't have a blow out. Yada yada yada... I know, Dad... I know. Hey, at least I wasn't on a motorcycle! Judas Priest, that was THRILLING! I think my heart is still beating fast from that run. One the way home with the cruise control set at 63 MPH, I felt like I was crawling. If I was ever to buy another car... a sedan or coupe... it's going to be a BMW 5 series. Cars like that are made for fast – they can handle fast. When they go fast, they feel stable. The Contour doesn't. (Update on this – had to replace the tire. It was delaminating!) I was asked about the .30-30 vs 7.62X39MM test that I want to do. I will do it pretty soon. As soon as my CZ 527 Carbine gets here, and I get some ballistics gel. The CZ 527 that I ordered is on back order by about 2 weeks. So, I must be patient. Anyways, about the tests... I'm going to test trajectory, impact force, and wounding potential. I think clay will demonstrate this the best... or maybe wet-pack. I suspect that the .30-30 will hit harder and cause more damage, but will not have as nice of a trajectory. We shall see. We always hear about how the AK round hits like a .30-30... and we have all taken that as relative truth. Maybe it isn't. I'll need some different 7.62X39MM factory loads... I can get several different .30-30 loads, that isn't a problem. The AK round on the other hand doesn't have the luxury of variety. The reason I'm giving the .30-30 the edge is the new Hornady Evolution round. I think that round makes all the difference. The next question remains just what scope should I top the 527 with? I'm thinking the slick little 2-7 variable from Leupold. That would look good on the little carbine. The Kingdom: Intense film. The things I came away from the film with. One: Jamie Fox can kick some ass and is a better actor than anyone imagined... His work with Mann and playing Ray was no fluke. Two: Jennifer Garner is freakishly shagable, even sweaty in body armour. Three: The Middle East, and all parts connected to it, is one seriously fucked up corner of our world. The movie is altogether too damn plausible and believable. Well, after you get past the bit about Saudi actually letting US Agents investigate anything. I look forward to the Special Edition DVD on this one. The behind the scenes stuff will be interesting as hell. Some Good News: Ogre Ranch will be getting high speed broadband in a week or so. This means that I will be able to do some things with MadOgre.com that I've not been able to do since my connection time is measured in moments. CHECK ARCHIVES FOR OLDER CONTENT
Copyright G H Hill 1999-2012 Graphic Artwork by Martin White
|
“I keep two magnums in my desk drawer. One is a gun that I keep loaded. The other is a bottle and it keeps me loaded.”
"The opinions of Ogre at
MadOgre.com are explosive. Read with caution." - Washington Post "You make me laugh. You piss me off. You even make me agree with you. You're a
Blog-God!" - Horde Member
|
|
|
