Kriss Recall

Ejector not in spec for the Kirss carbine.

Free fix.

Woot!

McDonald v Chicago

Best gun fer poop and fans.

This topic has been done to DEATH. Even by me. "What gun for...?" usually SHTF. Survivalistblog stirred up some controversy by saying if you could only have one, make it a pistol like a .357 Magnum revolver.

All the rifle guys came out of the woodwork. "A pistol is what you use to fight your way to your rifle!"

Well they sort of prove the point with that statement. You want that pistol immediately. And if you only have one gun... Better than "This spoon is what I use to fight my way to my rifle..."

Even JayG weighed in on it, and his entry inspired this one.

The rifle guys sort of have a point. A rifle IS better. Longer range, more powerful OOoomph when you hit the target, easier to hit a target.

But the rifle guys are missing the point.

There are SHTF scenarios, and then there are TEOTWAWKI scenarios. They are totally different animals

SHTF is 'stuff hits the fan', TEOTWAWKI is 'the end of the world as we know it.'

SHTF doesn't mean it's time to take pot shots at red coats on Breed's Hill.

SHTF is one zombie, not 10,000.

SHTF is Katrina. Or even worse.

SHTF is the Kwik E Mart you are standing in right now is getting robbed at gunpoint RIGHT NOW.

SHTF is 'defense' for good citizens like you.

TEOTWAWKI is war. And everyone is an infantryman. So you better have a rifle. You are on offense quite a bit.

But even soldiers get off the front lines and rest in safe areas when they aren't on offense, personally, right then. And SHTF can happen to a soldier in those safe areas. And it is easier to take a revolver to the latrine or shower than your rifle, so you won't be without when SHTF while reading on the terlet.

Handguns are handy. That positive outweighs a lot of negatives in the compromise of life.

CMP

I'll join the Garand Collectors assoc. to be in a CMP recognized/affiliated club. Plus, I really like Garands.

So I might one day fill out a form, get it notarized, and sent in to CMP with a check and a photocopy of my DD214, in the event I want to get a M1 carbine sent to me…

Yeah, I could be tempted by an M1 Carbine still. Especially if a lot come back into the pipeline from South Korea. A sudden glut of supply might not bring the prices down, but it might hold them steady, I am thinking.

If I really want to do this I should start to get magazines and parts and slings and such now…

Dammit. If I commit to M1 Carbine as my carbine, I have to commit to stockpiling M1 Carbine .30 ammo. Something brand new in my personal bunker. I hope the Koreans are sending back a LOT of surplus ammo, too. Non-corrosive.

But at less than $400 per unit for a rack grade piece of history, I might just fall over that slippery slope. I've fired the M2 Carbine... the full auto version of the M1, and that is a fun machine gun. The only thing going against the M2 is the slight more recoil and the cost of the ammo over something like the 9mm MP40. .30 carbine (or .223) is about the strongest cartridge that I personally think is practical for full auto firing from the shoulder. Unless you get something as heavy as a BAR. Machine guns (full size cartridge) need tripods or bipods or some other sort of mount in my humble opinion.

Other disadvantages? Well, the bullets supposedly bounce off of hordes of Chinese soldier in wave attacks. But what are the chances I will need to shoot at Chinese Zombies in 1950s heavy woolen overcoats in this day and age? I know for certain that I don't want to be hit by a supposedly anemic .30 bullet, and I bet most bad guys feel the same way. And zombie shots should be head shots, anyway.

Kahr

I saw this over at the Firearm Blog.

I’ve heard plenty of good things about Kahr pistols. Brigid likes them, for one, and the reasons she likes them are reasons that attract me to the model. Compact. Well made. Looks like a simple manual of arms. Glock like.

But I don’t like the Mass compliant Kahr that Firearm shows. Specifically, the safety.



It looks like ‘down’ is safe. Up is fire.

That’s their choice, and they aren’t alone at it, but I won’t be a customer to any model like that. Why? I’m already used to the other way. Down is fire. Like the way God intended. It's the manual of arms I know. If I mix it up I'm liable to make a huge mistake under stress when I need it. Same with mixing Colt and S&W revolvers. At least on reload. One you pull to release the cylinder, the other you push. I picture some cop, speedloader in hand, in 1978, trying to reload his Colt Python after 15 years of carrying a S&W Model 10. Trying and failing to get the cylinder open.

Now if I had been exposed to nothing but Kahr safeties to date, I’d prefer the other way and eschew 1911s for the rest of my life.

Can you imagine the horror? Life without a 1911?


Hopefully Maryland won't take a page and continue down the path toward a Massachusetts style feature demand on approved firearms. Maryland is bad enough as it is.


And I don't like the loaded chamber indicator. But only because it is one more thing that can break.


I'd buy a Kahr, but never an opposite-safety Kahr. Or any other gun-makers opposite-to-1911-safety gun.

Spit

I never learned to spit as a child.

Sometime I think I missed out on something important.

Whatcha Gonna Do?

Glad it's not me as Platoon Leader

Careful. There is some foul language...




The point is, to always DO something. Better to take a chance and do something than to sit around with a your tongue in your mouth.

The New World Order

Isn’t coming to get you. There isn’t some cabal of people conspiring behind the scenes looking to enslave the world for whatever ends you can think up.

No, ‘never attribute to malice that which can be explained with incompetence.’

Sure, there are leftists that want power and see a vector to power with collectivism. And that power will eventually corrupt them into malicious behavior. But most people desire collectivism because they are incompetent. They don’t foresee the problems with it.

There is certainly no all-powerful and coordinated conspiracy to slowly envelope you in a collectivist straightjacket. No, you stumble into that jacket. Usually willingly.

Think about OUR side. We are a conspiracy to resist such an end. A bunch of like minded gun bloggers are part of a whole that seeks a return to liberty and first principle outlined by the Founder in our constitution. There are similar groups with similar ends that we don’t even see eye to eye with. (I’m looking at YOU metrocons… Randians… maybe even some 3pers). How good a ‘conspiracy’ are we? It’s not even a conspiracy. But as long as our “leave us the heck alone” sentiment has traction, it ACTS like one. A spastic, incompetent conspiracy for liberty. The danger is apathy. Oh, and lawlessness. All bets are off if the society descends into chaos. That’s like turning the Etch a Sketch upside down and giving it a shake. You don’t know what the picture is gonna look like after that. As long as you don’t hit the Reset Button, or just stop caring, our incompetent conspiracy opposes THEIR something-for-nothing, eliminate-all-want-and-risk, take-care-of-us-Nanny-State, control-the-proles incompetent conspiracy.

When there is a real COORDINATED conspiracy to take over the world, you will hear about it. THEY will tell you what they are doing. Over and over. And they’ll still be incompetent. Just malicious, too.

Oopsie

Some stranger bit MBtGE's wife's arm today. Took out a big chunk. Then he disappeared into the woods.

Sorta shambled off.


She's not too worried. What's the worst that can happen?

Colonel

Jeff Cooper died on Sep 25 2006.

Only 3 years. It seems like it was longer ago.


I was only just starting to read his stuff when he upped and went to the Great Safari in the Sky.

Which blogs did you stumble upon?

All of you reading this at one time sat down at a computer and thought, “Hey, I like guns. I wonder if there is anything on this here internet that I can find and read about related to guns?” And then you stumbled upon gun blogs.

Do you remember what you first ran across?

I do. At first it was a mere handful. A google search lead to Alphecca, Armed Canadian, and Ten Ring. From them, Kim Du Toit and Tam’s View from the Porch.

It just snowballed from there, but those were the originals. They popped my cherry. And you know what? They were gentle. Like they knew it was my first time. And I appreciate that.

Not stopping it after that. Snowflakes, Uncle, and the rest just started poring into view, then others, all up and over the transom, until the bilge pump got swamped. It got to the point I needed to start my own blog just to keep my favorite links straight. (I HAD run across Uncle earlier from a connection with a local blog-TV-news personality named Brittney. But she {or the people around her discussing it} made it seem like Uncle was a bit of a local Tennesee right wing wacko, and that he should be dismissed from my mind. How long will blogs last, after all? So I didn't keep following Uncle, then.)

Canadian and Ten Ring still post, but less frequently. Kim is gone. Alphecca, my first, and Tam are still going pretty strong, posting daily. Uncle and Snowflakes, too...

I wonder if I’d been much different, being a new shooter looking for info, stumbling over blogs… if they had been DIFFERENT blogs?...

Revolution?

Mr. Epstein writes up some near future revolution speculation.

He seems a bit overly optimistic that despite a lot of other people suffering things will turn out ok (read, the way he wants, with his side prevailing) in the end...

Will members of the military refuse to fire on civilians? Yes. He's right about that. But not all will in any revolution scenario. Some will follow their orders.

Will external forces stay away from the continental US after a debilitating revolution? No. And some will interfere ostensibly to help any side and will be welcome. At first.

Will folks Mark thinks competent be riddled with ineptitude? Will folks he thinks incompetent demonstrate surprisingly clever effectiveness? Yes.

Will the end result be better than the 'horrible' situation the Republic is in now? Almost certainly not.

The unanticipated situations would bite this libertarian 'utopia' in the ass. No one knows the unknowns. 'Uninteded Consequences' would be one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The lucky ones would die in the first week.

Never trust predictive utopias.

He might be on to good speculative fiction... but bad policy.

Don't Like S&W Locks?

But you DO want a snubbie that won't snag? Like me?

A possible alternative is the Ruger SP101 spurless DA.






The hammer isn't completely enclosed, and the pistol is a little bigger/heavier than a S&W640. But those may be minor details. Depending on how much you hate that damn Smith and Wesson trigger lock.

Head Shot

I don't envy the person that has to make this kind of shot:


It's from that Law Enforcement Targets website. The one with the zombie targets.

You have to his the Black aggressor target behind, leaving the Orange hostage unscathed? You've GOT to be kidding me.

I imagine only SWAT types practice with these. How many regular patrol officers get presented with this situation.

I can do this shot. Sometimes. That's the problem. The hostage would prefer you being able to do this right 100% of the time. There are people out there that are confident and talented enough to make this shot every time. What percentage of gun bloggers and/or police officers are that good? It's probably in single digits. And the people that ARE good enough still have that fear of messing up to even try this scenarios in real life.

So single digit percentage of shooter that are good enough to make this shot. And single digit percentage of THAT number for people that are crazy enough to actually risk it.

Yowza.

I wonder how many of that target type they sell?

why zombies?

Why concern ourselves?

We study them because they are REAL.

"they represent a level of crisis that we do not have any experience with, and our ability to logically respond to such a crisis"

Yes, that, and they are also real.

Almost forgot!

Talk like a pirate day!

Memory

18 years ago, when I was a wet behind the ears navy officer, I went to a conference. (Not the last Tailhook. I coulda gone to that. There was a C130 with empty seats there. That might have been interesting.)

At this conference I sat next to this old guy. I was minding my own business, but he was chatty. And he talked funny.

Turns out he was talking funny because he was Dutch. And in the resistance in the war.

Their tactic against the Boche was to arrange with prostitutes. If a likely officer was using her services she’d place a candle at a certain spot at a certain window. ‘Likely’ meant ‘alone and WITH his service pistol.’ This old guy and buddies would then ambuscade the nazi on his way back to the barracks by shoving him into a canal. There was no way to climb back out of the water and in the winter the cold would overcome them soon enough. The trick was to get the pistol of the guy out of his holster before you dumped him in the drink. Then you’d have weapon for other operations later.

Kinda cool sitting next to the guy.

When guys DO talk about wartime escapades, they always seem so low key. Like they were discussing the weather.

Like the story my XO (a Marine Colonel) told about how he has to warn barbers not to touch this one spot on his temple because if they do he faints dead away. It was from the time an NVA soldier emerged from a bunker and stitched him up, abdomen, hand, head, with an AK. He always thought those shots weren’t fair because the guy was already dead from the .45 round to the forehead. When the Colonel (then a Lieutenant) woke up in the hospital he still had the frame of the 1911 attached to his hand. The round from the AK had hit the trigger guard and bent it in such a way that he couldn’t let go, so they stripped the parts off they could get to and left it there. The docs were more worried about the head wound to care about the hand injury at the time.

Life Member

My paperwork for NRA Life Membership came in the mail today/yestreday. By-Laws and everything. I'm official.

I even got the free leather jacket. It's pretty thin. Trust me, you are not joing NRA because the swag is worth more than the money you pay in dues...

No, the big money is the payments I'll get for the blogging. I specified "Cash, wheelbarrows full of."

Any day now...

MORE Zombie Targets

Here.

New Stress Test

I think I will stress test my range magazines.

Now that I have them down to where I want them, they are broken in and reliable, I want to test how soon it will be until they start to fail.

How am I testing them? I am going to leave the mags loaded between range trips. Better to find out for myself how quickly the spring or whatever on a mag will go 'bad' in a situation where I am not relying on the mag to perform flawlessly. That will give me a better idea of the Carry-Magazines, and what to expect with them.

Want to know what my guess is on Chip McCormick 1911 bags and Sig P229s? That they will be fine. Compressed for years they will still work without a hiccup. But either way, I'll try to find out by abusing the range mags. The unique thing is never leaving them unloaded for any period of time. Why do I think they will probably be fine? Because of something I read of Jeff Coopers describing MP40 mags bricked up in a wall for 40 years working fine. I've talked about that Cooper anecdote before.


I was a little hinky to load mags at home here in Maryland. The cops don't like ANYTHING firearm related, and the law is less than clear if you are allowed to sport around full mags. But it looks like as long as the loaded mag is separate from the gun and the gun is locked up, I should be fine. [note: I rely on more than just one source of info for my gun law-learnin. I use that website because it is concise and a bit of a one-stop shop. From there I can delve further, usually on the State Police website. But large swaths of the state's gun laws aren't really very clear.] And locked up can include a lockable gun rug in the range bag with the mags right next to it. The pistol might not even have to be locked up if it is in the range bag with full mags and the pistol is in an enclosed holster and the bag, in that case, would even necessarily be locked. An enclosed holster is any holster with a flap or strap to secure the handgun in the holster.

So... gym bag... army holster... and a bunch of loaded mags is fine in Maryland as long as I am going (and can demonstrate) to a gunstore, my property, or formal or informal range shoot. I don't know how I can prove I am going TO a range or informal shoot. I guess if Uncle Trollop on the Eastern Shore of Maryland invites me to shoot tin cans on his farm some Saturday I better have a printed email from him with a date and an invitation and directions. AND while stopping for gas on the way is probably fine, stopping at a stand alone Kwik E Mart for beef jerky and Red Bill is a bit hazy. IF the cops choose that time to lean on me for whatever reason.

Blog Fodder

So whenever I run out of blog fodder I should just go to the gunstore. Always something new to see and expound upon eloquently (~cough!~) there.

First, I went because I hadn't been in a while, and I wouldn't be remiss picking up a box of ammo or two. Just because.

But he had three P238s in the case! So cute! So teeny weeny. And... they aren't approved for sale in Maryland. But you can still buy them. The store will just hold onto them. Maryland isn't as bad as Massachusetts, JayG. I bet they get them by October. Cerainly much less than a year. Approval happens pretty fast for regular stuff like this P238. A cellphone pistol might languish a while before approval (if ever.) Our 'list' isn't to keep guns out of peoples hands for as long as possible, like in Massachusetts, but to keep pot-metal guns out. How fast does MA get around to it?

I didn't buy one of course. No money. Well, money is too dear right now. It would take something much more tempting than that.

And then I saw the Marlin Camp Carbines on the rack.

Something more tempting.

And I realized all my squawking about giving up the looking, or desire, for a carbine was right out the window. If they had been .45's I'd have walked out of there with one. Dammit! All because it was there and I kinda want it, and I don't see em in the wild.

Lucky for me, they were 9mm versions, and my credit card was spared. It is nice to illuminate my character and self-control without the expense. The reveal is only HALF disappointing that way.

For RobertaX

Zombie Fleet

You know what THESE are, don't you?

That's right, ZOMBIE FLEET.

There ain't no ghosts on there.

But fill those ships up with zombies and set them on autopilot to beach on the California coast? It'd take to long to notice the Californians were acting stranger than normal (more 'bitey') and then we'd have a bad Level 4 outbreak on our hands. The Portugese tried the same thing back in '49.

Cancel Christmas, indeed.

We Lost Jed Today

RIP



WOLVERINES!!!!!

rumors of my demise...

Turns out, I'm ok.

It wasn't Swine Flu as I am still alive. Since Swine Flu has a mortality rate of 116% (I am going by numbers/estimates of the Mainstream Media) I must have had something else.

Maybe it was just gas.

Sorry for those of you vultures that had your eyes on my gear. I bet you feel kinda silly NOW, huh? All that money spent on voodoo doll hocus pocus was for naught.

One Last Thing

One last thing before I succumb to this H1N1 virus and shuffle off this mortal coil.

Trollop wants to go to a pumpkin holocaust, but by the time November rolls around I'll be dead dead dead in the cold cold cold ground.

Does anyone know of a similar event as THIS that Saucy Trollop could attend? The woman REALLY hates pumpkins after November First.

Swine Flu

I gots the Swine Flu!

Probably be dead by tomorrow morning. Tuesday if I am really lucky.

Which one of you deserves my stuff, and why?

Seriously! And "I'm your buddy the gun enthusiast and you wouldn't be where you are today if it weren't for me," or "I'm your BROTHER!" isn't gonna cut it. "Where do you want me to ship this 5 pounds of Pig Candy? And I only want the Springfield and the Colt," is a better tactic. At least I'll die full of bacon.

~~~~~~~

This phenomena is common with players of MMORPGs. A guy plays for a long time and get's sick of the game and wants to go cold turkey. He talks about this disillusionment with his online friends. "Hey, Mom is getting sick of me stealing her credit card and the basement is starting to stink of my BO. I'm gonna quit playing EverWorldofCamelotWarsConanJedi and get a job."

Someone always says: "Can I have all your stuff?"

This is that.

Professor Know It All

JayG tried to be a good Samaritan and finally put some controversial gun questions to bed, once and for all. While a nice effort, he did have one little flaw. ALL of his answers are WRONG! I feel it my civic duty to help ol' Jay G out.

ahem!


Q. What's the best gun for my girlfriend/wife/best friend's mother/invalid uncle/etc.?

A. You get quite a bit more BTU per cord with hardwoods over softwoods, generally, and the softwoods can be a bit more 'creosotey' Get White Oak or Ash in your East Coast region if you can. Avoid Cottonwood at all costs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. What's the best "carry gun"?

A. Have you tried a hot bath? Maybe a walk around the block? In the future try to drink more fruit juices and eat whole grain bread products. Avoid cheese and other dairy if you can. And, for all that is HOLY, stop eating green plastic army men.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. Glock or 1911?

A. Yes.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. Which is the better caliber, 9mm vs. .45 ACP?

A. A good way to remember is the saying, "Spring forward and Fall back." You set your clocks ahead one hour in the Springtime, and back an hour in Autumn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. Which is the better battle rifle, the AK-47 or the AR-15?

A. I find whisking a couple tablespoons of tap water into the omelette helps make it fluffy and stay together better. More so than cream or milk. Also, salt the eggs after cooking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q. If I'm faced with a goblin/multiple goblins, would I be better off firing a warning shot first?

A. Nowadays, hardly anyone knows how to 'lead' a car. If someone intends to patch a hole they will use Bondo. Even that is becoming rare, and just replacing the whole damaged panel is the usual way to go. If you insist on lead, check with old time car enthusiasts and the like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I'm glad I was able to help put to bed some of those age old controversies once and for all. Let me know if you need any other help, Jay.

today

A couple years before Dec 31 1999, I got a revolver.

A couple years AFTER 9/11 I got a Garand. But that was mainly because of 2 realistic WWII cinematic experiences (Ryan and Brothers). Curiosity about finding a range to shoot the Garand got me here, to this blog.

You'd think if I was a paranoid gun-clinger I'd have gotten the Garand on the 12th of September...

But I'm still not satisfied with how we've done since that fateful day in 2001.

Not enough.

Update: Another thing. There is something horribly wrong with this country. Why? It's been 8 years and the towers have yet to be replaced by a grand building. The Empire State building went up in 16 months. The design took TWO weeks. It's been 96 months since the buildings came down.

Huh...

So THAT's what I have. A mild case of Stendahl Syndrome.

It causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.

Most recently, I experienced it at gun shows, the the effect has faded with subsequent trips and acclimation to the stimuli.

When I entered a gun show for the first time it was sensory overload. So much neat stuff to see, and so little time in the day. It made it hard to concentrate. I suspected that that may happen and it's why I write a list of things to purchase down on something. Otherwise who knows what I might shell out money for. I might take a tripod for a MG42 home accidentally.

Kinda cool, but where would I find a use for that?

Where There is No Pinko Doc

So I just go this book, Where There Is No Doctor.

It's geared toward remote 3rd World areas, but can be useful here, in the States, In the even of a massive disruption. Sort of a Katrina times 10. Picture a North Koreas/Iranian EMP, a zombocalypse, or when Ted Kennedy's brain is reanimates and using his supernatural thought control, manages to take over the gov't until the forces of Good and Justice known as the Kopechne Brigades finally manage to get him down for good.

It's not perfect but it has some value.

I've just started it, but one thing alread jumped out at me.

The author is a commie.

Great. The whole "do no harm" oath doesn't apply, especially when one is willfully blind of History. They spout off in a few places stuff like:

"hunger exists not because there is too little land to feed everone, but because most of the land is in the hands of a few selfish persons. The balance they seek is a fairer distribution of land and wealth. ... A balance between people and land can more likely be gained through helping people work toward fairer distribution and social justice than through family planning alone." emphasis mine.

Idiot. How many have to die needlessly before that lie is put to rest? Ask the people of Zimbabwe how well they've been eating since the land was distributed more fairly. How many Holodomors or Great Leaps Forward does this guy need to see before he realizes the murderous folly of professing such nonsense? Why does he think it better to go from a bad Kleptocracy to a WORSE Communist style socialism instead of advocating for a best-of-all system of individual rights, including property rights, and rule of law?

The author/s also bandy about things like "health care is a right" (what next? big-screen TVs are a right...) and always the ubiquitous term fair. Since when is life fair? How did this person come to think that?

Considering the audience for this is largely 3rd World peoples, spreading this contagion may end up killing more people than he helps. But he'll never know that. Somebody needs to treat him for terminal ignorance before he spreads it even further.

Well, rant over. I can look beyond the silly Marxists political claptrap to the information of value. Treating Typhus or Cholera is the same regardless of political bent. And for that sort of thing is why I bought the book.


Oh Crap! Precious little gun content...

Ok, actual rights... property rights is one of survivial... survival includes self-defense... the best means for personal defense is a pistol... etc.

Phew.

Runnin Out Of Steam

I've been toying around with the Master List, again. The more I think about it, the more I think I am about done. Except for a few holes I will fill, I will forever after have enough. And those holes are more to have a spare than to get something totally new.

What's that I hear? Cries of 'Blasphemy'?

Oh I don't think I can discount the chance I might cross the line and go a-collecting. And acquisitions in collection-mode seems to have no upper limit.

And there is always the chance I'll run into something I can't resist. Those are more for fun factor, and I welcome them. Shoot, the whole Tertiary section of the Master List is all fun guns that aren't needed right away. The secondary is all holes in the inventory that need eventual filling. But I'm going to promote the mini .380 auto and demote the Carbine since nothing truly satisfying for me is available commercially. I think I'll put the double barrel shotgun at the top of the Tertiary list, too. The end is in sight.

You know something? I feel good about this.

One other thing... You'll notice the Secondary section has no long guns on it anymore. That's a good thing. I don't have the space for em...

Labor

It's Labor Day. What are you doing reading blogs? Take some time off. Enjoy yourself.

Best Evah?

Borepatch put up a nice little graph, and I totally steal it here.. While it may be true in video games (as the graph specifies) too many people have the same opinion for REAL Zombies: That the shotgun is the best defense against the walking dead.

(Note: I doubt that Borepatch is one of these misguided souls.)

I will grant that for an amateur against a SINGLE zombie, yes the destructive power of a shotgun is quite reassuring and effective. Especially at Panic-Close ranges.

But when have you seen only ONE zombie?

No, they are like roaches. If you see one that just means there are hundreds behind the walls, waiting to emerge, silently, as soon as you turn out the lights.

With the numbers we are talking about, the shotgun is a distinct disadvantage. The range is too short and the per-unit ammo weight and bulk is too high.

The only thing worse is a flame thrower. Instead of having a grabby-bitey undead shuffling around trying to grapple you and sometime succeeding, you have a grabby-bitey undead shuffling around ON FIRE trying to grapple you and sometimes succeeding. Sure, the zombie will succumb to the flame, and I'd be all for it if you could light them on fire in that fashion when they were 1000 yards away, but the effective range of a man portable flame thrower is inside the post-ignite shuffle-range of a Zed.

So, while a shotgun is fine in Left 4 Dead (and I've played that game, that shotgun isn't THAT good, really, and I prefer the submachinegun or assault rifle), do not rely on it for your survival in a Zombocalypse.

Local Zombies

A Horde! Practically in my backyard. AND front yard! They even know the day in October it will arrive. Mark your calendars. October 24th.

When I saw this coming the pit of my stomach dropped to the floor. There may be hundreds. THOUSANDS.

I am so not ready. I need to prepare my firing positions and set up extra ammo at those points. I should probably call MBtGE for backup, but I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t come down here. What are the chances we’d make it out alive?

No, he doesn’t have to take the risk. But I do. This is my hometown. I LIVE here. And I’ll be damned if these Shamblors will chase me out. Luckily, there are plenty of high up sniping positions. I may die of thirst, stuck up there for days, surrounded by the Horde, but I will have made good use of all the ammo by then.

Here is the Radio Tower with the best views of the expected zombie approaches. Behind me, where I took this picture, there is a 5 story parking garage. A zip line to that and my waiting T-Bolt-mobile and I might make good my escape.

Nice sniper nest, easy to barricade the base, you can hear them coming for a long time if they get through the barricade... Carrying the ammo boxes up there will be a pain. Ugh.

But before the arrival of Zed and his teeming thousands, I can enjoy a cup of coffee and a cheese omellet (with side of Scrapple) at the Tastee Diner. I hope Rosa is working.

P238

Hey! What's the OTHER side of that P238 look like? Does it have a safety on that side?

LOOK how teeny it is!

Dangit

You know how gunnies like to explore product lines, look at what’s new, dream about what they might like to get next…

Well I don’t! I have a list! There are too many guns on it now! I don’t want to ADD to it.

But then JayG and his commenters starting chatting about a .380 pistol from SIG…

Dammit!

It looks like a little 1911! Awwwww! So CUTE! And I do have a spot for a new version .380 to complement the classic 1908 Colt Pocket Hammerless…

I was afraid to look at the price tag. This is SIG we are talking about. Not known as a budget brand….

Yup, the model I was looking at has an MSRP of north of 7 bills. More than twice some of the other .380s on my current list. And it’s much bigger than a KelTec or RugerLCP, I bet.

Ok, the stripped down, non-fancy, 238 is around $500. That’s better. I’ll update the Master List.

Is it practical? What role would it play in the arsenal? It would probably be a warm weather CCW gun, but I have a pistol for that higher in the queue: snub nosed revolver. So what does this get me? How do I move the ball down the field with this? I don’t. The cartridge isn’t even as strong as a .38, the capacity isn’t higher by a significant amount (just one). Yeah, now I’m talking myself down off the ledge. It’ll still be on the Tertiary list. A backup to more capable pistols for CCW and for fun otherwise.

And, of course, I’ll have to actually handle one before purchasing. I’d never get it sight unseen. Maybe there is something I won’t like. Like, a too bulky (for me) grip. The grip could be too short, too, with no available magazine extension… I’d have to see.

Hey, speaking of grips… Anyone have a line on a source for SIG grip screws that AREN’T that stupid Torx crap? Just standard flat head screws. Sheesh, why use the funky screws? If it loosens in the field I can’t tighten them, the slots don’t cut the users hands, and it’s not like they are assembling so many at the factory that they need the speed Torx offers. I tried ordering the screws from some dealer, but they never came. Bastage… Out $12. I should find the link to that website and post it here so my readers can boycott him. Hurt him economically. He’d lose all 3 of us as customers.

Link

One stop gun blog shopping. Gunbloggers.com

Also, this guy at M1A Rifles asked me to link to him.


Also: Saw this on Say Uncle. This guy has an excellent scenario to think about if you are a CCW holder. Or not. It goes to mindset. Others have linked to it, but it bears reinforcement.

Monster

I've created a monster.

Conversation with Saucy Trollop about guns are starting to sounds like this:

"Well, I could sell the XD40 and get an XDm9 so I can have that SWEET trigger on the XDm and get cheaper ammo. But the .40 was my first gun... Mabe I'll just keep it AND the 9mm. Oooo, and I love that trigger on all the 1911s I've tried, so I want one of those too... And I still want a derringer or one of those teeny vest pocket pistols like Shoshanna's 1905 FN in Inglorious Basterds!"

Yup. She covets. MORE!

ammo situation

Ammo availability around here isn't up to September 2008 levels, but it's getting better.

Went to Bass Pro and while they weren't swimming in ammo, they DID have .40 at a reasonable price, and they had bulk ammo for the first time in a year. Boxes of 100 bulk. And even .223 in 250 round boxes. The .45 was there, but expensive. .38 Special was horrendously expensive, but there was .357 next to it at almost half the price. .45 Long Colt is back. Lots of .25 and .32. Several varieties of 9mm at regular prices.

Soon, my readers, soon. Soon there will be end of the aisle displays filled with 250 round boxes of 9mm, .40, and .45. Not there yet. But soon.

I bought 100 .40. $37. Because I could.

I don't have a reserve of .40. Some I've set aside for training, and some for target practice. But nothing like what I withold of other calibers. The Sig 229 is for CCW. If it comes to the point I need to USE the reserves, then more than likely I will be open carrying a 1911. Fer zombies and sech.