1911

There is a reason you dial 9-1-1 when you need help. It's because it's the last 3 numbers of Browning's model 1911.

What Hath I Wrought?

Corky just bought a handsome SIG in 9mm. He intends to get a .40 caliber pistol of some kind next. Oh dear. Metal guns, though. So there is a bright side. And the grips on those are very handsome. It's a 226, I think, and he'll correct me if I am wrong:

MBtGE is shopping for ANOTHER plastic gun. The Springfield XD. In .45 ACP, at least. To go with his Glock 21.

Apparently my influence on their model selection is not as prevalent as I'd have hoped. At least they are getting MORE. This is a good thing. But I'd hope they'd select an all metal pistol in the venerable .45 ACP caliber and 100 years of real world testing. Not too many models fit that requirement. In fact, just the one. But they don't listen.

Quote from MBtGE "All I really want is... more."

Corky's big justification is get pistols for future IDPA use. No 9mm to be had at the local Wal Mart right now, he found. My influence on ammo purveyor selection is limited as well it seems, Wal Mart being more hostile to gun owner lately.

And Frozen may have gotten the same model SIG...

History Bleg

Tam brought up Second Kharkov on her blog. It made me realize a significant hole in my history knowledge. I know very little about conduct of operation on the Eastern Front. Partly because neither side spoke or wrote in English so their histories aren't as disseminated because of that extra layer of complexity translating all the stuff. And partly because the Wehrmacht was lead by Hitler, a very bad guy, and the Red Army was lead by Stalin a very very bad guy, and we are close enough to the actual events to want one of the adversaries in the epic struggle to be good guys rather than 2 of the most evil, evah.

Anyhoo. Can anyone recommend a very good, engaging, history of that front? 1940-45.

A .45 Carbine to Consider

When hedging over a .45 ACP carbine, some sent my another option. This company makes a kit for reproduction DeLisle style Enfields. With or without the suppressed component.

An Enfield is a Britsh made bolt action rifle, and right handed, but the bolt is far enough back on the reciever that it should be less of a problem for me, the whinging left-hander. It saw service as the British main battle rifle in WWI and WWII and was manufactured and still saw service up through the 1960s. It fired the .303 cartridge and held 10 rounds in its magazine, fed by stripper clips. It is famous for the smooth bolt action and was probably the best belt action rifle fielded in battle because of its 10 shot capacity.

Little of this matters if converted to .45.

I've seen some beat up sporterized versions of the Enfield and local gunstores, so I'd have no qualms about converting it to something else. It's already been 'ruined' of any historical value by a previous owner that wanted a deer rifle, ruining it further and making it a .45 won't be an afront to the ancestors. Another plus is "bhubbafied" or "sporterized" milsurp rifles are frequently to be had dirt cheap. Why were so many sporterized? Because it was a very popular deer rifle in the US and Canada, and in it's original robust military form it may be too clunky for stalking cervids afield.

This is my goal:

But it will probably more look like this:

So, $200 for a rifle, $300 for a kit, then whatever the gunsmith charges to put them all together. So, another data point, for when I get the gumption. Promotion on Master List? Meh. Prolly. I'll try to talk myself into it. MBtGE has been ribbing me, deservedly, for taking a step back away from "carbine acquisition mode". It's not that I am unenthusiastic on the concept of a .45 carbine, it's just that none available truly match my requirements adequately at a level of quality -versus- price that I can accept. It's not MY fault, it's the unreasonable gun manufacturing sector... Why aren't they catering to my every whim? Is that too much to ask?

Hard Times... Pt. QUATRO

Ok, I got nuthin. Sorry about that.

Hard Times, Part Tres

Mmmmmmmmm Hard Times Cafe. And American Chili Parlor.

It's a restaurant chain in the Mid-Atlantic area. Pretty simple menu. Chili. Coupla other items, like fries, hot dogs, corn bread. But Chili is the reason it exists.

They have 4 types. Two types of Texas style (my preference), a Vegetarian style if you are into that sort of thing, and some oddity from Cincinnati. That one is kinda wrong, but I'll eat it. It has tomatoes and cinnamon in it, fer cripes sake. There is room in this world for it, I guess.

There is NOT room in this world for Manhattan style chili. Green Bell Peppers? Pah! Abomination.

[Mandatory Gun Content... They have old timey photos of cowboys decorating the restaurants? Cowboys have guns, right? The food is cheap and filling simple to make so it's for a gun enthusiast on a budget or a survivalist in the bush?]

UPDATE: Breda reminded. I forgot one of the big pluses about Hard Times. The beer. They have Lone Star, usually, for traditionalist. And they have a wonderful House Brand lager, award winning and everything. It's rebranded Old Dominion Lager, a local microbrewery that makes some very good beers. It's the last decent local 'big' microbrewery. You have to go further than 50 miles from DC to find local beer of comparable quality and freshness that isn't a brewpub.

Hard Times part Deaux

After thought, if you need a firearm or firearms you really can restrict yourself. In the way of need.

You can restrict yourself to one. A rifle. And beware a man with one gun. Chances are, he knows how to use it.

But if you can have more than one, it might be a good idea. A backup to the rifle for short range defense and something easily portable. A pistol. Congratulations, you are every movie cowboy you ever saw. Or most soldier types.

Ok, great. But you need the versatility of a shotgun, too, as that kind of gun can do everything. Hunt deer, hunt doves and everything in between. And it is effective as a home defense weapon. So that is three.

And you can't forget another kind of versatility and the cheapest ammo. Some kind of .22, pistol or rifle. It's great for inexpensive practice, and good for hunting rabbits. Or if you are really hungry, feral cats. And carrying 1000 rounds of .22 compared to carrying 1000 shotgun shells or 1000 .30-06 rounds... Well you can carry 1000 rounds of .22.

And that's it. If the house burned down, I'd get those 4 pretty quickly after. Like the next morning. All at once.

And surprisingly enough, every survival treatese lists the same 4 types.

If I was starving, I might pare down to just those 4, but dang I wouldn't want to.

Hard Time A Comin'

We're at a rough patch in the economy, maybe. It's not too bad. But bad policies could make it worse.


A president can't really grow an economy. All he can do, with the help of Congress, is get out of the way, manage the Treasury soundly and let the economy do it's thing. Like a farmer and an apple tree. The farmer can prune it, water it, and fertilize it, but the apple tree has to grow on its own if the farmer messes with it, or doesn't.


A farmer can ruin an apple tree. He can chop it down. A president, with the help of Congress, can ruin an economy just like a farmer can ruin an apple tree. Look at Carter, or FDR's first 8 years. Horrible policies. Tax increases, socialism, protectionism, bad monetary policy, silly schemes writ large with government largess. Ick.


Elect a Carter clone in 2008 and we can get a bad case of the Malaise. Which is worse than my Rheumatis, or Lumbago, or the Ewe Crupe. Almost as bad as the Grip or the Bloody Flux.


So, in the event of hard time, what do you do if you are a gun enthusiast? You sell off your guns. I've been looking at my guns thinking of which I'd part with in bad times. I don't see much superfluous, except the 1903 Springfield. And it has too much sentimental value. I don't have redundant stuff. The only guns I'd consider extra would the ones on the Tertiary part of the Master List. And I don't have any of them.


If I was a big time gun collector and had a Browning patent collection, or all Smith and Wessons, or milsurp rifles from each major Western-Style Power for 200 years, then I might have stuff I could part out.


So no money there if time get bad. I'll have to rely on my old standbys. Selling plasma and male prostitution. ~sigh~ I promised myself I would go back to The Life...