Crime is Down.

Crime is down.  Why?  More guns equals less crime?  Yes, I like to believe that, but the data so far isn't conclusive.  It's definitely correlation, but causation hasn't been proven.  The corrallary that anti-civil-rights folks posit, that "more guns equals MORE crime" has been put paid to.  And it's a foregone conclusion that more guns equals more freedom, and THAT is a good in itself.  It would be valid and called for it more guns DID equal more crime.

No, I think this drop is crime we've been on, this twenty year downward glidescope, is because the soap dodging hippies are getting old.  The are naturally violent, this breed of hippies, and are a blight on the more upstanding members of this generation.  But they are nothing if not self-centered.  They'd hate to hurt their precious extra-special skin.  Now that they are aged they worry they'd break a hip on one of their unlawful sprees.  They don't care if they hurt others, but to hurt themselves?  Can't have that. 

Just a personal theory of mine.

[Bonus question:  Is the correlation between more guns and less crime a stronger case for causation than all the fraudulent data proffered up to show a carbon forced anthropogenic change in climate?  Climate study is a more complex beast.  And it doesn't help when you fudge near everything and can show a tempurature increase over time plugging the same years data every year for a 50 year graph...]

Update:  There could also be less crime because there is less lead paint in the environment.

and Remember

Tam says it best.

NRA Idear

Today's is my mom's birthday.  She's hard to shop for but a voracious reader, so my fall back gift idea was always Amazon gift cards.  But I did THAT for Mother's Day.  I moment of inspiration was provided by the NRA convention and she ended up getting the ceramic carving knives a bit early.  She LURVES them.  Thanks, NRA.

And What Inch What?

One of the guns on Archie's ship in the war was a 5" 38.  It also had 3" 50s  He had no idea what that meant so he asked me.

I told him it was like the .45-70 used in a Trapdoor Springfield.  Or .30-40 used in the Krag.  So a 5 inch 50 was a five inch diameter shell propelled by 38 grains of powder.  Naturally.

No no no. 

Thanks to the glory of the internet, we confirmed a theory I had that was more... uh...  true.  The 5 inch is the diameter of the shell, the other number was the barrel length in number of that diameter.  So this gun was 5 x 38 inches long.  190 inches.  Almost 16 feet.  A 3" 50 has a 150 inch barrel. 

I didn't want to go into the British system of measuring their guns as "X Pounders" referring to shell weight and dating back to front stuffers.  Our privateers in the War of 1812 preferred 9 pounders mounted forward that were longer than usual and called Long Toms.  Though the moniker Long Tom ended up getting pasted on many types of artillery.

Archie coming home

He's a tough old bird.  I'm going to the hospital to bring him home.  I'd have expected him to be laid up another day at least.

Now if only I had a post queued up for tomorrow...

KI

I know they probably don't read this blog...

But all the people that bought Potassium Iodide off of eBay for $100 a tab because the Fukushima reactor was going to go all Jane Fonda on us...  How do you feel about that economic decision, now?  Wise use of your finite resources, was it?  Better safe than sorry, or better assauged and impoverished?

Looks like the most hazardous, toxic, thing emitted from the reactors that reached our shores was Media Panic.  And when you add up the final reckoning attributed to the disaster in 50 years, and it's impact on this continent...  Yup, Media Panic will still top the list as the most damaging factor.  I'd bet the farm on it.

Archie

Taking Archie to the hospital for surgery.  Back later.


----

Just got home.  It's after 7.  He got through ok, but is nauseous, groggy, and grouchy (not more than usual, on the grouch part).  I'll check on him tomorrow.

...and off the ledge

Success!  Work buddy wants the 700 Target Tactical now.  Another note... he is moving to Hawaii.  I recommended he get the rifle BEFORE he goes.  This is a bad state for firearms, but the CW is Hawaii is worse.  You need a permit to purchase or transfer ANYTHING it looks like.  He'll need to register his rifle when he arrives.

I am in a bit of a sticker shock on that model and I don't know why it's price is so high.  I am used to perusing the $700 left hand rifles, and wonder why THAT one is $2k.  It's not a $1300 stock, right?

He may settle for, and be happy with, a Remington 700 VTR, instead.  $800 for the rifle, $400 for the Leupold scope.  Plenty of goodness to settle into.  By the time he shoots the barrel out he'll know what $6000 rifle he wants.

And, my work here is done.

Zombie Homeowners

Oh, Crap.

I admire his moxie, but...

I'm trying to talk a guy at work down off the ledge.  He wants to buy his first rifle.  He wants a Barrett M107A1/M82.  And he lives in Maryland with the expected Maryland quantity and sized rifle ranges. 

He's shot rifles a bit, but has never owned one, so it's less ridiculous than it sounds.  And Barret is very fine manufacturer, sure.  But still. 

I recommending shooting other people's Barretts for a hundred rounds or so before plunking down, what?  $6000?  Or, alternatively, take that money and buy a Remington 700 tricked out like an M24 and get a great scope from Leupold and a bunch of match ammo and have lots of fun shooting it and still have money left over for a sizable downpayment on a new car.

I just think it a bit much.  For a first rifle. 

Range 2 Days Ago

Guess which one is me with a 1911, and which is Saucy Trollop with a S&W .44?  Typical.

Got nuthin

All my NRA convention stuff is about bingo, and I need to find the Muse again.  She usually is down in the cistern in basement, trapped, putting lotion on her skin when I tell her to.  I make up little rhymes...

Steel Helmet

I watched Steel Helmet this weekend.

Made in 1951, it's a 'WWII movie' set in the Korean conflict.  Know what I mean?  It has that feel to it.  Like Hollywood had the whole war movie thing down from the previous war, so to make a new movie on the latest war on the Korean peninsula, they just replugged tab A into slot B and ran with it.

A lost squad runs across a grizzled old warhorse of a top sergeant and a tag along South Korean kid (named 'Short Round') on the way to establishing an OP at a Buddhist temple.  They fend off the enemy there until relieved.  

The enemy acted like WWII movie Japs, sniping from trees and skulking about and such.  The weapons were mostly WWII types.  Ok, Korean war weapons were mostly WWII types, but you could tell that the studio hadn't had a chance to upgrade it's prop armory.  There were several Tommy Guns and no Grease Guns is what I'm noticing.  And no M2 Carbines.

It''s clearly filmed in California, but that's OK, because Korea and Californian topography are actually pretty close to each other.  It was one of the advantages of the state when they filmed all those seasons of MASH. 

One of the updates to reflect modern times (a mere 6 years after the end of the previous war) is an integrated Army.  There is a black medic and a Japanese sergeant/bazooka-man.  A North Korean prisoner even tries to sow discord in the squad by working the "your country doesn't appreciate you, you aren't white" angle.  And the lieutenant is mentioned as not trusting his Japanese sergeant because he is Japanese and that's how the squad got lost in the first place.  Wrestling with this issue on the silver screen only 3 years after Truman ordered integration. 

There is also a subplot not perfectly explored about a conscientious objector and how he comes around to become a hero manning a machine gun against human wave attacks.

That was another nod to later post WWII tactics.  The human wave charges with oodles and oodles of enemy.  Americans had faced charges before, naturally, but the 'oodles and oodles' part was a new thing to see.  And that war happened at a fast pace, relatively.  It started in late June of 1950 and the beginning of 1951 the Red Chinese had already entered, pushed the UN forces back south of the 38th parallel, and the war was settling into a hard slog of trench warfare, so the makers of this movie were up to speed, releasing this movie after the war had become pretty static.  

A bit ham-handed in spots, but still a good movie to see. 

Z1N1

I picked up Z1N1, another zombie novel.

I like to give books a chance, and can dial my head back to lower reading levels for the ease and entertainment, but this book, I just can't get past the writing. 


I'm not saying I'm better.  If I had a plot to flesh out and self-published a book, it'd probably be of this quality.  But at least I haven't foisted my meager talents onto an unprepared and innocent public in the form of book length fiction.  Yet.


"Show, don't tell," was what anyone that tried to teach me writing said.  This is mostly 'tell.'  And not a noun goes by without modification by at least one adjective.  Good way to pad the word count, I guess.

I'll try to give it one more chance.

Zombie Autopsies

Recommended by a co-worker.  Zombie Autopsies.  It presents the investigations of a doctor sent to facility to investigate the virus that has killed 2/3rds of the world population and has probably infected the final third.  Tick tock, the clock is ticking.

This particular zombie virus is nasty.  It's not just spread by bite wounds from the infected, but by respiratory droplet.  It's probably a man made virus and the base is an new infuenza strain that no one has an immunity to when it is released into the wild.

Flu isn't zombie-instigating, so whoever developed this bio weapon got OTHER bugs piggy backing on it.  Prions that attack the higher brain functions, leaving only the deep lizard-brain areas intact.  There is a theory there is a third nasty on the flu virus that actually protects vital systems like the heart and the lower brain, but the Doctor only gets close to solving this problem.

It's a bleak portrayal, and hopeless.

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore...

Zombie Survival Guide for kids.

Karl Maunz

So I met this interesting exhibitor at the NRA convention.  His booth was on the lower level, towards the left as you walked in.  It was Karl Maunz of Maunz Match Rifles. 

Mr. Maunz was an armorer for the Army during his stint, and had a couple pictures of him with his unit, including his work with the US Army Shooting Team in a photo dated 1960.  He lives in Ohio and has shot competitively at Camp Perry since 1954, when he was 15. He still lives near Camp Perry).

You all know my fondness for older rifles, particularly stuff with a John Garand provenance.   And especially my fondness for the M1A.  Note the year Mr. Maunz was in the Army?   The thing that caught my eye as I strode past his booth was an M1A/M14... only it wasn't...

What I was looking at had a non standard flash hider and a big box magazine, so an M1A at first look.  But it also had a Garand style walnut forend, the front hand guard.  This detail stopped me in my tracks.  Could this be an example of Garand's T20 prototype?  A Garand adapted to fire with BAR magazines?  The floorplate had a steeper angle than what I was used to with the M1A/M14...  And maybe the bolt was a bit longer than .308, though I wasn't sure...  And I certainly wasn't going to snatch it off the rack and start field stripping it right there.

It was at this point that Mr. Maunz engaged me in conversation.  It turns out he MAKES them.  And made them.  He was involved with the original M14 development as a young man.  One of the many gunsmithing services he had done over the years was convert Garands to fire with a M14 magazine.  Now here is a man that speaks my language.  Somehow the chat drifted over to bolts, and I lamented that M1A bolts were as rare as hens teeth and the guy I bought my M1A from said if I ever see one I can expect to pay $350 or more for em, and I had given up my cursory search for them.  Maunz scoffed and told me I can still get one for around $150, and that I was misinformed.  Wonderful!  Now I have a chance to get spare, somewhere.  Pretty much the only thing I don't have a spare of, now, is the receiver and barrel.  And that's just fine.  

He had a sample of a scope rail for the M1A, made of stainless steel that he makes himself.  Yes, that is serious foundry work.   He casts his own receivers, too, and has done forged receivers in the past.

I noticed he had old boxes of .276 Pedersen, and that way found that he too wished MacArthur had switched to it as military standard back in the Depression, too.   He, as a SHOOTER, loved what the .276 could do.  All the "what might have beens" involved with that round.  Aside from getting us a 10 round Garand.  It's nice to find someone that thinks like I do a bit.  And it confirms my suspicions that the .276 is a sound round ballistically.  (That poor Pedersen.  He came up with some ingenious innovations but they so rarely took off to stratospheric popularity.)

He makes rifles that shoot that caliber.  In fact he is working on some new developments even now, and I can’t wait to see what’s up his sleeve in that regard.

The receivers he displayed didn't say Springfield, and then a big long serial number.  They said "Maunz".  His name.  This guy is the real deal.  He makes these things, too, and that is the coolest thing ever.  Walking talking history of my favorite rifle.

He shoots left handed not because he is left handed but he is left eye dominant, and he is thus sensitive to the needs of lefty shooters.  He was aware of the tendency of a Garand to eject brass toward 4:30 and hit a lefty in the temple. so he’s adjusted many of them to shoot forward to the 2:00 position.  Just like my own M1A does.  He says if you hold your rifle right you can set a hat out in front of your prone shooting position and all the brass can end up in the hat.  If you’re good.  

He is closely involved with the American Shooter's Union, the M14 Club, and the Garand Club.

Archie, the WWII veteran up the street from me, is a great old neighbor, but his thing is cars and boats and archery.  I love chatting with him, and I always learn new old things from him.  But.  Imagine if Archie had been more like THIS guy, Maunz.  All the things I could have absorbed.  Instead of getting my car fixed in Archie's garage (valuable enough, certainly) I'd have learned how to make my own rifle by now.

And, at 70 some years old, Karl Maunz is still innovating, with plans for rifles and ammunition on the boards, soon to be released.  It was a pleasure the time I have to meet up and speak with him on the convention floor.

Metrocon Vs. Terrists

Writing an article for the Metrocon fortnightly, Cliff May doesn't have a problem with denying firearms to terrorists suspects on the Watch List.  He concedes the issue that there is a problem with lack of due process, but is not dissuaded from supporting such a restriction.  He is also convinced that once wrongly placed on the list, a person can easily, with time, get off the list.  Somehow.  So a right is "delayed but not denied."

He knows the counter arguments, but is unpersuaded.  He says he supports the 2nd Amendment, but in this case wishes to err on the side of caution.  He also doesn't think these denials will be abused by bureaucrats.

At least he is honest about his line of thinking.

I disagree with him.

The commenters universally take him to task, so far.

You know what this is?

You've heard the News.  The world is ending.  Saturday.  Some religious sect has been finding hidden codes in the Bible that indicate a calendar.  And 21 May is the Day of Judgement.  6PM Eastern to be more precise.

I had let all that slip by me as another false prediction of the end of the world.  It's happened so many times that you can't help but get a little jaded. 

Then I heard part of an interview on the radio from a representative of this End of Times group.  He said, "according to the Bible, the dead will rise from the grave..."

Oh dear.  OH DEAR! 

Zombacalypse!!!  I am NOT ready.  I'm crossing my fingers I get taken up in the Rapture, but at this point in my life?  My chances are a bit slim, I admit.  The God I know is prettu impressive and I'm sure he has high standards of excellence in his selection.  I doubt I'll make the cut.  I wasn't the kind of kid that got picked LAST in kickball or dodgeball, but near last. 

But to remain behind with the walking dead.  I am not NEAR ready.  I better stay sober Saturday evening, just in case.  There are 2 VERY large cemetarys 2 miles from me.  One to the north, the other to the northwest.  The northwest one even has my grandparents in it.  How ironic would it be to be treed by Zombie-Granma? 

It could be a long summer for those Left Behind.

And some of you scoffed at me for my Zombie Prep.  Who's the man, now, Dog?

William Vs Maryland final argument due...

Or is it Woollard v. Sheridan?

Did it come out today?  Was the State's response laughable this time?

~90 day waiting game from now for Judge Legg or Chasanow to issue a ruling.  Middle of August?  By Labor Day.

Update:  Link on this page to the pdf. 

Probably will need a ruling from SCOTUS reiterating that the right does indeed extend past your home's threshold. 

BUY GOLD!

Why does Ron Paul want to sell all the gold in Fort Knox to China?  Who does he think has the money to buy it?  And why does he want to exchange all that bullion with 'fiat money'... paper money...  that he disdains so much?  Does he just want the Federal Reserve to have to have their meeting in Beijing or something?  Let the Communist Premier be in charge of the exchange rate and cut out the middle man?

CDC

Even the Centers for Disease Control is opening their eyes to the Zombie menace.

Tubular

Totally.  From Bartel Armory.

This was a nifty safe idea, similar to one reviewed last year at Snowflakes, but slightly different.

And I am late to the party.  Lots of other bloggers have posted about it, Including MBtGE who even mentioned one nice hook; you can have them paint it to look like a hot water heater.  The door side can be spun towards the wall.  Put some dummy copper pipes on top, and voila.  It doesn't have to look like a giant shotgun shell.

The metal is THICK.  It's not 10 gauge or 8 gauge sheet... it's 3/8th inch thick.  What is that, 2 gauge?  I'd have he inside painted white, too, personally, for better internal visibility.  They have an NRA decal on the inside of this one and battery operated LED for illumination.  You can get that wired to household current if you desire.

It's spendy, yes, but I think its an order of magnitude better at break-in resistance.  It didn't look 'fireproof' but I'm dubious of fire ratings as it is.  Important safety tip:  Never let your house catch fire. 

Kahr Selection

This was nice, at the convention, to compare all the Kahr 40s as side by sides.

 

So a CW40 and a PM40 have a plastic frame, and an MK40 and a K40 have a metal frame.  Weight and cost will vary with the frame type, natch. 

Their website is bit confusing in its layout.

Folks have warned me off the plastic Kahrs.  And I have a need for a slim .40, but not a short gripped version, so process of elimination leads to the K40 as a possible future selectee.  Maybe a T40 but that grip a barrel is a bit longer. 

Insta

Here is a good article on gun rights.

Yes, we've had some victories.  But gun right aren't about guns.  They are about the individual.  The State seeks power at the expense of the individual, and here is where the true threat to us all lies.  We could win every pro-gun vote in the legislatures, win every gun case in the courts, and still be stymied as the State seeks other avenues to restrict people.

I'd recommend not supporting elected official that seek increased State power as remedies.  Of any party.

Zombie Tools

Has added some tools.

Poky thing to take out Zed when you run out of ammo or need to be quieter.

WWTD

Well...  I hope Tam comes back.  That would be cool.  She's a huge free value-add on these here interwebz.  Heck she has he own category on this blog.  What Would Tam Do?

Cupcakes

The zombie threat is EVERYWHERE!

Vintage Ammo Boxes

At the 'historical' section of the NRA Convention, first floor, they had a John Browning exhibit, including a rig for the M1917 water cooled machine gun.

It had a brace of ammo on the carriage that were interesting.  Including vintage ammo boxes that look very similar to modern metal machine gun boxes.

I don't want a real one:

But reproductions?  That'd be fun.  Or just the hardware to make my own.  It wouldn't be too hard to make up a bunch and paint them olive drab.

They hold .30-06, but from the outside they are about the size of a .50 BMG metal box.  The stout wooden size accounts for the size difference, I'm sure.

Awareness

Awareness is always good.  May is Zombie Awareness month.  So get crackin' and get aware!

XD v XDm Grip

Blogger has been borked.  I am unprepared!

Ok.  I like the Springfield XD.  I find the XDm to be largely superfluous with their swappable grip panels to tailor the grip to your hand.  The regular grip is perfect for me.  If I were Springfield I wouldn't have bothered.  I'd end up losing the unused grip parts, too.

But which grip panel matches the original most closely, so if I end up with an XDm I can just go that route and not worry?

Well I asked at their booth at the NRA convention.  There are 3 panels, labelled 1, 2, and 3. 


#2 panels matches the original most closely

The Road To

Damascus.  Another NRA convention find.

Sorry for the bad picture, but the black handled knife is a Ka-bar.  But unlike any real Ka-bar, the blade guard and pommel are all Damascus steel, and the handle is ebony instead of leather washers.  I'm a sucker for Damascus blades, but I resisted.  They can be spendy.

Panic in the Streets

Yes, PANIC IN THE STREETS!

It's movie review time.  Directed by anti-commie Elia Kazan.  Starring Richard Widmark (who I always confuse with TV's Riddler from the Batman Series) and Jack Palance.

It's relevant to this blog because of the potential zombie angle.

A mystery 'furrener' is sick, and get's mugged and kilt by some underworld hood in New Orleans.  Thing is, he has pneumonic plague.  Like black death, but spread with respiratory droplets instead of flea bites.  Palance plays the murderous hood, and Widmark is the Lt Cmdr in the Health Service, so you know he's a good guy.  (He's from the Federal Gov't, so you can trust him. )

He convinces the big wig officials in the city to search out everyone the dead guy came in contact with for quarantine.  He doesn't want to alert the press because the good people of the Big Easy will panic and quickly commandeer school buses and such and beat feet out of town as they invariably do, carrying death wherever they go.  And they only have 48 hours to find and quarantine everyone Patient Zero breathed on, and everyone THEY breathed on.  (So that's only about 10,000 people or so...)

The Health Service guy thinks that maybe he should call Washington and warn them about this after about 36 hours, but he never gets around to it.  (I guess he didn't want to spoil the surprise.) 

Most of the cops are gruff beat types with New York accents, but beneath the rough jaded exterior they are good guys, diligent, and good at their job.  (Just like New Orleans cops have always been.)

With some good police work and wearing out a lot of shoe leather they end up chasing the disease carriers all around a major transportation hub's restaurants, hotels, and busy warehouses, breathing on everybody, all in a shady seamy criminal underworld where no authority is trusted or cooperated with, especially when the reason they are being questioned is a secret to avoid stampeding a city to the four winds.  There is an exciting foot chase in the end.  Jack Palance's character shoots 8 bullets out of a Model 10 revolver, only managing to hit a security guard friend of his and his criminal partner, then he's caught.  They've been forcefully inoculating people as they go throughout the whole movie.  (They must keep a bajillion doses in a back store room of the Health Department downtown.)  And alls well that ends well, crisis averted.  And Washington none the wiser thanks to one lonely Health Service 0-4 and a Police Captain's dogged determination.  The two went from adversary to friends in the course of the flicker show, too.  Awww.

The narrative stretches the imagination.  Now plug in the zombie parameters.  Zombie infections are more deadly, but easier to tell who has been infected by the bite mark.   Pneumonic plague is harder to catch carriers because they act normal and you can't tell who has been breathed on.  Of course treatment doses for Plague is more difficult.  Antibiotics of a certain type that you can run out of.  People are resistant to getting the treatment too.  Not as resistant as folks infected with a Zombie Virus, but at least the treatment is cheaper and plentiful: high velocity projectile applied internally to the head area.  Panic if word got out would be the same.  And the near impossibility to contain, especially without a fast and total mobilization of containment forces.  Even then...

When the Zombacalypse comes, the authorities won't be ready now, just like they weren't ready then.

"That's the gun Miss Breda carries!"

Indeed.

Galco IWB

SC2 Holster is a product from Galco I was unaware of...

Top center.  I would have bought one, but they had nothing for lefties to sell.  Just righties.  Hmph.

Saw this at the NRA Convention.

Anyway, it has a feature I like, especially for a 1911.  A thumb break.  This helps with retention, it makes me feel more secure in Condition One, and the flap covers the safety to keep if from digging into my back.  So it is on the List.

Firearm Reliquaries

Seen here, and a sample:

Some topbreak Smith & Wesson .38?

Update:  DAMMIT!  MISpelled reliquaries.  Not even sure I got it right now, my confidence is so shot.

10-22 mag

Ooo, finally.  A magazine for the 10-22 from the Ruger factory that holds more than 10 rounds.  Bill Ruger might be spinning in his grave, but I want a reliable magazine that quasi simulates my M1A for Appleseed type training that Ruger Inc. will stand behind, or stand behind the licensed contractor.

You can get them here.

Update: Oh, I forgot to mention.  I can't buy these.  I live in Maryland and it is illegal to purchase magazines that hold more than 20 rounds.  I can own them, but I will need Virginian MBtGE to purchase mine for me.  I cannot get them shipped to my home address from a dealer, legally. 

Sanford

I dreamed Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) that carried both a 1911 and a Ruger SP101 and no less than 3 Back Up Guns.  A Bobcat, a mini .22 NAA revolver, and a 2 shot Derringer.  I don't think he wanted to get killed for lack of shooting back.  Good luck swimming if he fell in a lake with all that iron.

Duracoat

Yes these are actual guns.  Not plastic toys.

An AR with a 1911 attached to the underrail.  Insanity.  Almost as good as crocheted guns, tho.

They had other, more tastefully done, samples there.  Your gun can match your favorite tiger stripe camo pattern, for instance.  And they're not an Abomination unto Duggan as this may seem.

Gotta

I posted this before, I gotta post it again. I just like it. Sue me.

Plus he is a Marylander.

Moon

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
- President Richard Nixon

Convention Tip

If they ever have an NRA Convention in Pittsburgh again, here is a little tip to solve your parking woes.

There is a Goodyear Tire Fort Duquesne Blvd. store RIGHT next to the convention center.  Instead of wandering around looking for a space a 2 mile walk away, bring your car with worn tires to Pennsylvania.  Drive to Goodyear and have them replace the front two tires with brand news ones on Friday morning, and the rear two on Saturday.  Pick up your car in the evening and drive back to your hotel.

You're welcome.

Convention Chiappa

I got to handles the Chiappa Rhino at the convention.

I was impressed a bit.

There is a grip size choice, small medium and large, with various materials.

The trigger pull is acceptable.  Only a hair under my 640.  A slight hesitation at the break.  More than acceptable.  I've fired worse production triggers, certainly.  And only custom DA triggers I've fired are better. 

It's a light gun, weightwise, owing to the alloy frame.  Lighter than my steel 640.

The SA option is novel, on guns with a hammer.  You cock it and the hammer is loose, and up against the frame.  That's because all the trigger work is deep inside the pistol.  Kinda different, but no big deal.  I'd love to fire one.

Gun Finder

A division of Gun Up...


Gunfinder could revolutionize the way you buy guns when it is complete.  Saw this at the convention, with someone familiar working the booth, too. 

Let's say you got a hankering for something in current production that shoots 10 mm (and that hankering could be for another caliber, a manufacturer, a size barrel, a price point) and you want to be sure you are looking at everything that's out there and available.  You select 10 mm and a cloud of guns becomes 9 or so.  Eventually they'll have older stuff as this network grows, so used Bren Tens will join the 9, as well as whatever else is out and available.  But for now, new stuff.  You can compare vital stats and decide which is for you.  Eventually you can click "Buy THIS one!" and automagically a price quote will appear.  The wholesaler or whomever has that model in stock is notified that you are purchasing and will then notify your specified local gun store that a transfer is on it's way.  When it arrive you putter down to the store and fill out the paperwork and take the gun home, post checks and such.  The price quote will try to include all taxes and shipping and transfer fees possible. 

Neato!  You've just bought a gun on the internet.  You still have to run it through your FFL so you don't run afoul of Federal law, but you'd expect that anyway.

Now Gunfinder is not ready for full primetime yet.  You'll notice no revolvers on their page.  And you can't click an Add To Cart button like I described yet, but someday.  In the meantime the page is still useful for side by side model comparison and research, so check it out for that and keep your fingers crossed for more features coming soon. 

Uh Oh, Barry-O

This accounting of recent events makes the President look like a timid and empty suit.

Ronald Reagan said you can get a lot done in this town if you don't care who gets the credit for it.  Obama And Valerie Jarrett didn't want to go in and get Bin Laden, but Leon Panetta did, and had already prepped for it, and was supported by Hillary and Robert Gates.  The op became a fait accompli, and all the President was considering at the end was "what if it gets out that I squashed this opportunity."

Hell even Biden was in the loop more than Barry was

You can get a lot done in this town if you don't care who gets the credit for it.  Panetta, the head of the CIA and future SecDef got something done.  And Barack Obama took the credit for it, in full narcissism mode.  If this report is true.  Is it?  How the hell would I know.

Another take, similar vein, similar reservations.

Convention Coupons

I snagged 2 coupons for products I've posted about recently that I will take advantage of.  DeSantis and XS Precision Sights.

The DeSantis holster is the first of probably many pocket holsters I'll try out.  I have an Uncle Mike's now, and it is fine but getting worn. There are other brands out there, and I will probably try a few more.  But now I have a coupon!

Commenters are a bit down on the XS Sights, but not enough to sway me away from trying them out.  There are 2 sizes of front post, large and small, and I need something for my J frame to make it stand out more.  Nail polish isn't gonna cut it.  I'll probably get the small for that.  And it's just the front sight, anyway.

Front and rear will go on the Commander 1911.  I'll stick with 3 dot for more precision on my Gov't size, in case I ever improve my marksmanship or want to compete.  The Commander's biggest purpose to is to eventually be my CCW carry gun.  If a 'target' is far enough away to require a fine notch and sight picture, then I should be evading.  50 yard shots, by most lights, in IDPA might not do as well with XS sights, but I will see anyway, won't I?  Currently the Commander has no tritium, so there is that.  And I have a coupon!

 Plus i got those VZ grips for my J Frame.  I went for basic black, while JayG got similar grips but greay and black for the SFH.  They were there, at the show, and available.  So I snagged some. 

[Update:  Are these grips beefier than the factory grips?  No.  But my factory grips were full size rubber Hogue grips.  I swapped them out for the much smaller Eagle grips (no pinky spot on those, or the VZ.)  The Eagles are good, but you know how some folks are never satisfied.  I have no idea how wooden S&W grips feel, girthwise]

Big Revolver

They shoot .45-70... 

And look stylish doing it.

CNN scoops FoxNews

On Zombacalypse prep.

[Remember kids, never select a shotgun for your anti-zombie battery.  It's fine for onesy twosies, but Zed comes in hordes, and the shells are heavy to carry in bulk and slow to load.]

Convention Review

So, I mentioned I went to NRA's Convention in Pittburg and had a good time.

The first day, getting there, was trying.  It was a Friday, so normal rush hour traffic applied.  The convention center is downtown in city not designed for that kind of traffic, either.  A good chunk of the morning was spent crawling to a parking space. 

Regardless, I love old style rust belt cities.  Especially ones that have had a renaissance and fixed themselves up.  Look how pretty it can be:

These were taken from the third floor of the convention.  That was where the press room was, and not too much else.  Getting in was a snap without standing in line and registering.  I just walked up to the entrance and asked where the press-media room was and they let me pass right on through.  Though you can get in for free by being a Life Member.

The third floor was meeting rooms, the second floor was this:

And on the first floor was a convention hall about half the size of the second floor.  It was like TWO Nations Gun Show in size.  Gargantuan.  Even wearing comfy shoes was not enough.  My feets were TIRED.  I considered renting one of those Rascal Scooters.  But I saw guys there twice my age and with a oxygen tank tube leading to their nostrils walking around and didn't want to face the humiliation of asking them to make way for the lazy out of shape guy.  Too bad.  The scooter would be good for more swag.  I ended making use of a Maxpedition dump pouch for my stuff.  That and the media badge held all the business cards I got.  Plus my jacket pockets of my Plethora of Pockets Duluth trading company jacket.  It's like a shoot me first vest, but less 'first.'

The first day I hung out with frequent commenter Bubblehead Les.  And he recognized the faces of everyone.  Very useful guy to have around.  Saw LOTS of stuff.  I'll elaborate on items of particular interest in later posts.

We couldn't buy our own beer in town at happy hour time.  Caleb and Dustin of Lucky Gunner and Iain Harrison of Crimson Trace saw to that.  Though I would have sat there parched if I had gotten free ammo and a laser grip for a J Frame instead.  Ah well.  I wonder how big a media person you have to be to get that level of swag?  And there were no hookers for media types, neither.  Probably for the best.

Bloggers I've Met

Bloggers I've met are symbolized with a:   ~

Over on the blog list next to their names -->

And it's not even complete yet, I've met so many recently.

Let me know if I met you and your blog don't have a squiggly.

Who is dead?

So my clock radio woke me and before I hit the snooze button my sleep addled not quite awake brain heard, "Jerry Lewis is dead, taken down by Seal Team Six last night."

I thought that was funny and wondered what the clown prince of Brat Pack comedy did to get the US government and an elite commando units interested in his demise, then drifted beck to 9 more minutes of sleep.  Poor bastard.

I learned different later.  I must have misheard the name.

The Lotto Machine is Broken

Yeah, yeah, it's a hanckneyed meme.  "What guns would you get if you won the MegaMillions?"  People then traditionally spout off the custom pistols and full auto fun-boom-sticks and all the ammo and the land for the big rifle range out in the sticks...

Also, how they wouldn't go back to work the next day.  Or blog.

That's not what I'd buy right away.  The fancy new guns I mean.  Not right away.  And I'd still blog even though I am a kajillionaire.  But the FIRST thing I'd do with all that money is hire a fulltime editor to catch all my typos and grammatical failings!!  I don't know what's wrong with me.  I've been using this language for most all of my life.  As long as I've had these teeth in my head.

Home

Just got back from the NRA convention.  Tired.  Lots of blog fodder for the coming week.

What was the best part?  The camaraderie from hanging out with some two dozen other bloggers.  THAT was a true joy.  Good fun.  I got to meet Uncle!  And Farmer Frank!  Breda's mom!  LOTS more.  Tres cool.

I saw Gunnier R. Lee Ermey and Sammy L. Davis.

I shook Alan Gottlieb's hand.

I shook Dick Heller's hand.

I shook Alan Gura's hand again.

I happily gave a hand to Mike Vanderboegh.  I may not always agree with his style, but I appreciate his pressure on 2A issue.  He afflicts the comfortable, and comforts the afflicted.  And someone needs to be in that roll.  And lately he is ON a roll.

Also, why doesn't Google blogspot know how to spell 'bloggers' in the onboard spellcheck?

I kinda like these

XS-Sight-Systems

They are like the Red Dot optic of iron sights.  Ok, that was a horrible marketing slogan.  But that doesn't mean it can't be used in an ad...

When I bought my Sig P229, I was worried I'd hate the ball on post sights.  I thought I was used to 3 dot standard, and that I'd never get used to the different system.  I was wrong, and it's become my favorite way to aim a pistol.  Dot the i and go.  Put the lollipop on the target.  That sort of thing. 

The XS Sight System goes that route but BIGGER.  The rear notch is more 'broad,' the front tritum bead is more HUGER!  And faster front sight acquisition is the name of the game for self defense.  I'm seriously considering putting this on the Commander (it has no tritium and is 3-dot, my Gov't has tritium) and maybe the frontsight alone on the 640.  Yes, I like that system that much.  So what bad thing about them am I overlooking?  I was never going to use the specced pistols for bullseye shooting, anyway.

I'd have blogged about this sooner, but I didn't know the product's name when I went looking for it again on Brownells.

Update:  I got the chance to fondle them and chat up the folks at the convntion booth.  That is, fondle the sights, not the booth reps.  They even had samples on a 1911 and J Frame blue gun.  Yup, it's on the List now, of things to spend money on.

More update.