Gone Fission

Gone Fishin'

I'm going to be out of pocket for a while.  You know how it is.  RoMERO refresher training and whatnot.  So my access to internet will be limited for security reasons.  Last time I did this I posted enigma codes in morse.  Readers didn't appreciate that.  So this time I'm thinking short videos and links of stuff that interests me.  It won't always be gun related, but it should be more interesting than morse for most. 

Try not to change much in the world in the meantime.

I shall return.

Chiappa Veto

Well, crap.  Now I can never buy a Chiappa.  Not because they put an RFID chip in their pistol. I can get that out myself.  Not because they are blissfully ignorant in their PR office about what an RFID chip can or can't do...

But because a PR office belittles its customer's concerns.  Insulting.  I also don't buy cars or radios or groceries from people that say things like, "Wow, YOU are ugly?  You want that?  Gimme your money and get out of here.  Hey is that a picture of you and your family?  Wow your wife sure is ugly.  And you kids look retarded!"

Ok. The Chiappa rep actually said: "For those still concerned you can simply remove the grip and remove the hot glued RFID from the frame in the grip area when (over a year from now) these begin to appear. Others may prefer to wrap the revolver and their head in aluminum foil, curl in a ball and watch reruns of Mel Gibson's 1997 film, Conspiracy Theory. Well, that's a plan too!"

Hey Chiappa, how bout I wrap my credit care in aluminum foil before the swipe when purchasing one of your products?  Oh?  You say then you won't be able to make the transaction and there will be no sale?  That, good sirs, is now the point. 

Snark has it's place (Hi, Tam!)  that place is not in product sales or related evolutions.  How astoundingly rude.  I dismiss them from my thoughts. 

Oh Chiappa can fire this northbound end of a southbound horse, but the fact they hired him in the first place makes me question their judgment.  It'd take a lot more to placate my concerns and regain my trust.

It's a shame too.  I kinda wanted a back-up spare snubbie.

Shottie Loadout

For thos of you that use a shotgun as a primary defense, do you vary your load out?  I know some people at least entertain the idea.  I am leery of the wisdom of doing so.

For instance "I load rock salt first in case I wanna firing a warning shot, then I have a magnesium loaded shell to blind the home invaders like a flash band grenade.  I close my eyes for this one.  The next 2 are 00 buckshot for the bad guys, and then a slug round, if I have to crash through a locked door but it will work on a bad guy too.  The last 2 are 000 buck cuz I figure they are already pretty messed up and no need for overkill..."

Ok that was a bit of Mall Ninja fantasy, and not serious.  But there are valid argument for varying.  Like shot-slug-shot-slug.  Does anyone actually do that? 

I'd use 00 buckshot for everything.  Keeping track of what is next in thetube is more than my adrenalin addled brain can probably keep track of.  I know others would go all slug.  Still others would have birdshot in the first one, but only because they use the shottie to take out rattlesnakes in the yard.  For social purposes they might not count on #9 size shotgun pellets, but snakes would be in a bad way with that. 

Further

Further signs of inroads at the Metrocon Fortnightly as a 2nd A ally there takes the plunge at the range.

Caps

You know what you don't see anymore?  Caps for cap guns.  I know that cap guns fell out of fashion in the 80s, and then went really downhill during the anti gun hysteria of the 90s.  Now they've been replaced in the hearts of young boys by Airsoft guns.

But I was an adult when you could still buy caps in the toy section of the local grocery.  Good luck finding anything gun related there now.  At least near me in suburban Maryland.

I guess they are relegated to eBay and specialty websites these days.  No wait... Amazon isn't so obscure!  Hmph.  They'd probably still be at the toy aisle of my supermarket if my area wasn't so namby pamby hoplophobic.

MetroCons, looking better n' better

Yes another writer at the Metrocon Fortnightly espouses on the correct side of civil rights and the 2nd.  Did National Review go all gun nuttie after David Frum left?  I'm sure there are still some urban urbane conservative writers there that are all for gun control, but they stay quiet now.  If they do that pemanent like then there is no problem, no?

Beretta M9 redux

I got a work buddy.  I've detailed his exploits before.  The Contrarian is his handle.

He is in the Air Force reserve, and got out of active duty a couple years ago. 

According to the Air Force, he is qualified on the Beretta.  He's never shot one.  Never TOUCHED one.  But he does his web-based training for it every year, as required. 

He has shot them in many videogames, he admits, so he figures he's ahead of the curve.

Now, it's not like he's an MP or a Parajumper or a flight crew member.  He works with computer systems, programming.  Not exactly near the sharp end of the spear, and was never deployed overseas.  But STILL.

I know the military will send deploying folks for refresher training with real guns and real field training exercise.  My brother, the Supply Officer, got to do this before hitting Iraq in 2006.  Maybe the Contrarian would have gotten this before going off to Afghanistan or whatnot.  But he reports that lots of folks in his various units DID deploy without shooting the service pistol.

The Contrarian did have AF training and shooting time on the M-16.  Once.  In Basic Training.  Never got a range slot after that, though he tried.  I think you passed if you didn't kill anyone accidentally and most of the bullet you actually fire went, generally, downrange.  No sighting in was done.

The Sailor I work with did a little better in her basic training.  M9 pistol and shotgun training in Basic. 

The Marines and Army guys I talked to here get actual training-training.  So the DoD hasn't gone completely insane.

Jeff Cooper is spinning in his grave.

Why should I bother familiarizing myself with the Beretta 92?  The military doesn't bother.

92

I've never shot the current issue handgun of the US Military.  I need to remedy that.  Or at least familiarize myself with it's feature and how to field strip it.  That can be done with some research.

When I was in the Navy, the issue handgun was the Beretta 92 (aka M9, aka a lot of other variants of same...), but the Navy wasn't on the top of the list for the new pistol so we made do with M1911A1s.  That's what I qualified on.  I am pretty familiar with the 1911 at this point.

It looks simple enough.  DA/SA, safety-decocker looks ambidestrous.  The slide release and takedown lever thingy look ordinary and straight forward.  15 round magazines

Magazine safety?  Can it fire with a round in the chamber but no magazine present?  Dunno.

Field stripping... well, I can't figure that out unless I have one.  But it looks easy.  I'd just have to pay attention when taking it down to be sure I'd put stuff back in facing the correct direction.  Look like 4 parts aside from the frame.  Barrel, slide, guiderod, and spring.  Easy enough.

Am I a Zombie?

I dunno...  ARE you?

Survival Food

Mmmm, canned corned beef.  Bully Beef.  Ernest Hemingway would go camping and eat corned beef and onion sandwiches

A few months ago these went missing on store shelves.  There was Spam, there was tuna fish, but no corned beef.  I wondered what economic circumstance made them come up in a shortage.

I like that you still have to open it with a little key.  No other food, except maybe blue crabs, has injured my fingers getting at the meaty goodness than canned corned beef. 

Williams and Woolard

I said I'd have more on the Williams case.  Not much more to say.  It's been submitted/filed with SCOTUS. Recap, Williams is a guy that was carrying his gun home from his girlfriends house.  The cops saw him acting squirrelly, his method of carry was not in keeping with Maryland's strict rules, and since there is no way he'd be given a CCW Williams hadn't bothered to try.  This got him arrested.  This case hopes to clear up where Heller stopped:  "Yes we have a right to keep and bear at home, but what about outside the home?"

The OTHER Maryland case is Woollard.  This is the SAF case with Alan Gura.  There's been some movement on this, as well.  It's another CCW case, trying to determine what level of scrutiny the legal system should use when seeking to deny someone his 2nd Amendment rights.  A member of our local gun rights forum was AT the 4th Circuit hearing, taking notes. 

His impression is that the Judge seems to be leaning in that the state can't essentially deny the right to CCW with their may issue (you need a Good & Substantial reason to get a permit here) restrictions, but the state may be able to cordon off broad swaths of densely populated areas in the interest of public safety.  Or until another case settles that.  Further impression... the State's attourney is in trouble, and won't like the conclusion.  So that could be good news. 

This population density thing concerns me, knowing my legislators.  Ravens stadium during a rock concert is crowded.  Normal tourist day around the Inner Harbor, Baltimore is crowded.  A townhouse development in the suburbs is crowded.  Heck, even a company softball game with 50 folks playing or watching is crowded in some lights.  I wonder where the judge is going with this.

And what will population density do to the folks that already have a CCW but happen to live or work and got threatened in densely populated areas? 

The Next 3 Days

So there is this Russell Crowe quasi revenge movie, prison break for a frame job thing called The Next 3 Days.  You are planning a prison break, you might need to be armed.  You need a gun.  He goes to a gunstore and says:

"Show me where the bullets go..." And buys a gun.  Or has it already.  Looks Glockish.

Then he is an expert shot.  A college professor.  A College professor.

As for n00bie training...  There is SOME familiarization needed when buying a new pistol.  I knew, from the movies, that the magazine goes there before I ever laid a hand on a pistol.  I'd have figured out the Operating System of most pistols, even that inexperienced, give time and fiddling.  But I am mechanically inclined.  That said, I never did figure out how that SPAS shotgun worked, but I wasn't really trying.  Same with the technique of loading individual rounds into a mag.  I could figure that out, but it was nice to flatten that learning curve by being shown some ways to do it.

And I usually ask for the field strip technique at the gun store before taking a gun home.  See the weird way a Colt Pocket Hammerless needs to be disassembled.

But you don't go from "show me where the bullets go" to good shot, much less GREAT shot.  Even naturally talented and motivated.



Admittedly he only uses it once.  But he does Mexican carry a Glock in the front of his pant.  Which works, I guess, until it doesn't.

Great....

This whole Gun Runner thing get's better and better.  DEA and State Department making direct sales of guns to the Los Zetas?  WTF?!  Is there any part of the executive branch not gun smuggling to murderers south of the border?  Is profit from the sales at least going into the general fund to alleviate our budget problems?

Sunrise

Sunrise in the Washington DC Metropolitan area was 85 degrees.  Usual DC humidity applies throughout the summer, so that is just shy of 99.72%.  Giving us a heat index, when it's still a little dark out, of... lessee... carry the 2... aha!  It feels like 138 degrees out.  Celsius, I believe.

I hope it's not hot where you are, and wish for cooler weather soon.  For all the good wishing will do.  I can wish in one hand and poop in the other and see which fills up first.

Future Legislation

If the Ballew incident and an out of control ATF led to the Firearm Owner Protection Act... (thanks Tam)

I wonder what legislation will come out of Fast and Furious when half of Obama's Justice Department is frog marched to prison, begging not to be extradited to Mexico?

And what the roid raging Canton Ohio bad-cop situation will do for CCW legislation and reforms to counter abuses of the out of control members of local police?

We may be living in interesting times.

Another N00bie

That blogs about guns!  Good good.  We need those.  And this one is actually YOUNG.  Not a broken down old warhorse.

Careful Jetaz.  I notice that gunnies that blog tend to gain a little extra padding around the middle.  We must be saving it up as an energy reserve for the coming Zombacalypse or something.  Funny how that works...  So, to avoid the male gunblogger spread, better think about maybe some PT.  I know I need to, I feel like Private Pyle lately (more mentally stable, natch)...

Careful some harsh language follows:

Economics is HARD

Joe Huffman is right.  The Baltimore mayoral candidate doesn't have a grasp of economics.  I should send him a copy of Dr. Sowell's Basic Economics.

Also... I'll be quite surprised to learn that there are any gunshops or ammo purveyors inside the City of Baltimore.  But I could be mistaken.  If I was a crook that needed ammunition for my illegal possessed firearm, I'd just drive my stolen car out to a big box store like Bass Pro at Arundel Mills mall and shoplift what I needed.

What?  You say shoplifting is illegal?  You don't say.  Well, that will stop him, the worry about breaking a shoplifting law.

Here's an idea...  Tax bullets $4 Trillion dollars each!  As soon as someone buys one we'll have solved our budget problems.  Think that'll work?

Bracing the Public

People ask me, "T-Bolt?  Why is the Zombie menace being kept on the QT, hush-hush, from the general public, with only a few folks like yourself on the GEOrge RoMERO teams (Ghoul Elimination Organization. Rapid Multi-Eradication Recon Ops)?  And if it is so top secret, why do you keep telling us about it?"

I'll answer the last part first.  Because:  I'm just some faceless Sumdood on the internet that writes poorly.  Who is gonna believe me? 

But that also goes toward answering the first part.  The reason the Zombie menace is kept from the majority of the world population is to avoid a panic.  Especially if we can keep it contained.  There was a lesson learned from the Cold War.  The specter of annihilation from thermonuclear war was a drag on the populace's collective morale.  Folks worried about it and the stress made them jumpy and a worse citizenry  But the RoMERO honchos know they are going to have to tell people sometime.  Not the least of reason that if a Level 4 Outbreak ever came about, folks would feel betrayed and angry that they were kept in the dark.  The thing is... they are ALREADY telling you.

Remember my post about what causes more zombie movies/book/stories to get released?  Is it a Republican administration or world upheaval in politics or economics?  Neither.  It's because we have insiders in the entertainment industry encouraging the making of more media with a zombie theme.  And they are all instructional.  Like little scenarios to get people's head in the game without knowing the threat is very real. It's quite clever, really.  Once people are more inured to the horror they can come clean.  And if a Level 4 were to happen NOW, well, there'd be some fallout about the secrecy, but it would have been worse were it not for instructional texts and books and children's lit and films.  (try not to shoot Bill Murray.)

Don't believe me?  Ye of little faith.  Want proof?  Go up to a non-gunnie non-zombie person at work.  Ask them what the way to kill a zombie?  How does a person 'catch' the zombie infection?  9 times out of 10 they'll tell you remove the head or destroy the brain and avoid getting bitten.  See?

Now if we can just spread the word about eschewing shotguns...

BB

Beastie Boys music video filmed entirely with GI Joe Action Figures.  Miniature plastic gun content.  Also contains zombies.  Nazi zombies. From their new album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.
-

This was right down the street.

The Ken Ballew Raid.  An ATF debacle. 

Heard about it from Joe Huffman.  I was a wee bairn all of 2 living a couple mile away, too.  Must read up on it, maybe comment here, as this is really the first I've heard of it.  It smacks of another search warrant foul up where the occupants think they are being nighttime raided by people intent to rob them and are acting like police, but not even dressed as police.  Ken grabbed a gun to defend himself from what seemed like ruffians, but were really cops, and go shot in the head for his trouble.

Ken was snitched on by a burglar that wanted to give up something to police.  The burglar noticed grenades and guns in the apartment.  Ken was a gunnie, so yes there were guns.  The grenades were the inert kind that look cool, but don't do much but sit on a shelf doing that.  Heck I had one of those as a kid.  You can still get milsurp decor, of course, today. 

The ATF ignored exculpatory evidence.  Mr. Ballew, an Air Force vet, was employed at the Washington Post as a pressman and was a boy scout leader. 

Sounds like he got shot because the ATF was bored and he was a gun nut.  Oh joy.  The ATF has been doing this stuff forever, it seems.  This, Waco, Mexican gun smuggling.  Do they do ANY part of the F in ATF right?  The A guys were alright when I had to deal with them.

Headline

Police officers shoot each other as they try to arrest child porn suspect at Harry Potter screening.

This was in Connecticut.  Suspect hit in foot, one cop hit in arm, one injured by flying glass.  Odd.

Anniversary

I've been blogging for 4 years, today.  The fruit or flower anniversary.  Hey, hops are a flower.  I'll think I'll procure myself a gift. 

I'm getting to be a veteran at this blog stuff.

Borepatch has his 3rd anniversary a few days ago.  He's worried he is burning out.  I know the feeling, when the black dog growls and you wanna pitch it in for lack of inspiration.  Persevere!  He thinks he is getting too repetitive.  I say, "No!"  And so does Winston Churchill.  Anaphora is one of a bloggers strongest tools on points that are important.  Repetition is perfectly alright.  Repetition can be vital.  Don't be afraid of repetition.

Also, don't be afraid of your spell check, fellow bloggers.  Or the utility of pre-publish proofreading. Would that I took my own advice on this more often...   For instance, until just now, this post was titled "Annicersary."

Or you can, like me, totally forget you covered the exact same topic only 17 months before.

Inspiration and blog fodder comes in waves.  It's HARD to post everyday, but if I didn't the muse wouldn't come.  Gaps between posts would grow, and eventually... blog death.  

Commenter Questions

From Clint1911

“I had been holding it like a golf club.  That didn't get me anywhere, a gentle grip.”
That's the WORST thing you can do. Let me guess, you've been shooting a lotta 22's right?

Not really.  When I shoot .22 it doesn't approximate the same flaws as with centerfire, so I don't count on the .22 to improve my stuff in that area and thus I don't use .22 as much as I would/could. 



Questions:

Do you have access to reloading equipment?

No.  I don't trust myself enough to go that route.  My patience level, concentration, and attention to detail aren't conducive to reloading.  At least to the point where I'd be comfortable shooting my own loads.



What guns to you practice with the most? (include airsoft)

1911s for SA the last year or so, .38+P and .40 for DA.  Rarely .22.  Sometimes I'll play with the Trollops .44 magnum or .40 XD.  I've never shot an airsoft pistol and it's been decades since I shot a BB gun pistol.



How often do you dryfire?

Not often enough.  Though I am starting to incorporate it into the beginning of a live fire range session to get my warmup started.

Why, Galco?

Why don't you make the SC2 inside the waistband holster with a snap thumb break for a Commander sized 1911?  Lefty version.  Pah!

Would that some other holster maker might fill that gap with something like the SC2 but better... hint

Plot Device

Plot Device from Red Giant on Vimeo.

WITH gun content

Mod

In helping me to troubleshoot my persistent pistol shooting flaw (anticipation) a commenter, Ritchie, suggested gripping the lower fingers on your grip and relaxing the trigger finger.  Hold the grip more firmly and you'll duck it less waiting for that big bang.

It's also Todd Jarrett's advice, sorta.  Todd's is "grip it 20% tighter."  When he comes around to check how your new tightened grip is coming he'll probably say, "grip it 20% tighter."  A tighter grip solves a host of problems.  I had been holding it like a golf club.  That didn't get me anywhere, a gentle grip.  So I go a bit harder now.

Now it's important that the trigger finger is relaxed to do the squeeze and surprise break.  While I am gripping like mad I forget all about how hard I am holding on and concentrating on that finger.  Which is probably what I am supposed to be doing.  I am seeing some small incremental improvement.

Anyhow, Ritchie said:

"Trying to come to grips with my G20, I happened upon something which may apply to you too. I realized that when I tightened the lower part of my hand, the lower 2 fingers, that pressed the lower end of the Glock's backstrap into the heel of my hand. This sort of took up some slack in that area and prevented pulling shots low. YMMV, or it might work for you too. "

To help himself, he added some bulk to the backstrap, and sent me a picture of the testing prototype and permission to share it:

Obviously, he swapped out the surgical tape when he went "live" with it. (baseball tape!)  If you look close there is a bit of leather there on the back.  This added bulk, as I mentioned, like an arched mainspring housing on a 1911 as opposed to a straight housing.  I prefer straight mainspring housings, but I'm not married to it.  I can always switch back.  I might like a little padding back there as I build up better callouses in the event I go the Full-Jarrett and aim to shoot a million rounds over 2 hour per day sessions for years to get truly good at shooting.

Williams V MD update

Back in May it said:  "May 18 2011 Order extending time to file response to petition to and including July 15, 2011."

Refresher:  It's a CCW case in my state that I talked about before.


So, did anything happen with the Williams case?  Is it going to SCOTUS?  Let me check...

In the meantime, I have a sort of a bad feeling about this.  This will only really impact non-carry type states.  It's a much smaller impact on the voting population than the previous 2A cases like Heller and McDonald (I shook Mr. Heller's hand at the NRA convention, btw.  That was nice.)  A positive ruling will be huge, but the Supremes note the polls and note the impact and might not want to go this far.  I'm looking at YOU Justice Kennedy.  No time to go wobbly, sir.

An aside: If Obama gets another nomination I hope he picks a long term, vocal, anti-gun advocate.  Why?  That person should have to recuse themselves for eternity on any 2A case, that's why.  Probably wishful thinking on my part, but Barry makes so many blunders he could make this one, easily.  But one blunder I doubt he'd make were to accidentally nominate a 2A friendly judge..

I've Said it Before

I've said it before, I'll say it again.  Never use a shotgun as your goto zombie weapon.  Foolish.  I should know.

It's great for onesy twosey, but zombies travel in hordes.  The reload time is murder and the ammo, while effective, is heavy and bulky.  Even 100 shotgun shells in magazines (thinking Saiga) is monstrous to carry compared to 100 rounds of .223 in magazines.

Oh, but you plan to hole up in the perfect shelter on cement stilts and take potshots at the shamblors gathered around your compound?  You need reach-out-and-touch ability of a rifle.  And would you rather have a storeroom full of cased rifle ammo versus 12 gauge in boxes?   You'd cram 3 times as much rifle ammo in there.

A shotgun is a backup weapon at best.  For the pot and to repel boarders in a desperate last stand type of thing before you dog the blastdoor shut.

Though the linked article does detail some interesting survival accoutrement that could apply to many long guns.  The mini-bayonet might not be the most effective in that configuration, admittedly.  Like your primary weapon.  Your rifle.

Upheaval Makes for More Zombies

Zombie movies, that is.

I've heard a similar theory before.  But slightly different.  A GOP presidency means more zombie movies/shows, and Dem presidency means more vampire movies/shows.  More of that old saw, "The GOP is the stupid party [like brainless shambling undead] and the Democrats are the evil party [like vampires]."

Meh, it sounds ok, but it's probably a buncha hooey.  Both theories.

The new theory stresses 'bad times' like from wars or Great Recessions.  How come leftist LOVE the idea of hard economic times?  They seem to root for a return to breadlines, I guess, to enact their statist economic controls.  Prolly why they want to call this the Great Recession.  If their hero FDR, who saddled us with the beginning of a true federal welfare state and command economy (after a fashion) that stuck, can have a Great Depression, why can't the guy they think of as the best president EVAH get a 'Great' moniker on his economic downturn?  Have you ever noticed that other countries called the 1930s economic problems a Depression, and got through it faster than we did?  I guess they didn't want to exacerbate and lengthen it for political gain or something.

A shame Obama doesn't seem to have the skill FDR had to turn this all to his advantage.

I wonder what kind of movies we'd get if the federal government actual withdrew some and started to leave people the hell alone, more? 

Jello Bullets

From here.

Terror

Ugh, what a nightmare.  I dreamt I impulse bought a Taurus Judge.  Ick. 

First, I am less than impressed with Taurus' reputation.  Which may be improving, but I'm not gonna take that chance.  And examination of their latest wares still shows some lesser fit and finish to make me comfortable.

Second, I own no .45LC or .410 nor guns that fire either.  And I don't want to exacerbate my caliber inventories with more categories or complexities.

Third, how good, really is .410 bird shot as a self-defense round?  Answer: not very.  Now I could go slugs for the .410, but how good is that compared to .45LC?  Might as well load all .45LC at that point in the big revolver.  But if you are going to do that, might as well buy a pistol that is designed to just fire .45LC.  But that ammo is expensive and not particularly superior to others in it's class.  Might as well just get a .45ACP revolver or a 1911 at that point.  And now we've come full circle.

Anyway, I woke up.  But only after I dreamt 3 home invaders were bothering my domicile.  In the dream I eschewd the Taurus and just dug out the S&W 686.  So even my subconscious was a bit hinky about the Judge.

Speaking of dreams, I know gunnies have gun dreams/nightmares.  When it's a bad dream, some folks' dream-gun fails to fire, others miss every shot...  My bad dreams, the gun works but the ammo is inneffective.  A .357 just barely breaks the skin, only making the bad guy mad.

Mt. Splashmore

XS Range Report

So I got hte gunsmith to put the XS Sights on my Commander.  Here is the range report, as promised.  There was some trepidation going in that the sights are too gimmicky and 'sloppy'.

See?  The rear sight has no notch.  Bit of a sway back.  You might wander that big front sight around in that shallow saddle and not line it up with the post to make a perfect lollipop.  Also, that front sight is BIG.  It covers a lot of the target.  You aren't going to aim at a bad guys left eye and decide against that and shift to the right eye when he's 20 yards away.  You know what?  I'm not good enough to do that anyway.  So the problem the sights present are a bit moot.

Plus, they glow in the dark.  They almost back light my face they are so bright.  That's an improvement, so if performance is not too negatively impacted, the switch to XS will be considered a good thing. 

Anyway, here are the targets:

I aimed at the lower right shoot n' see first for quite a few mags to warm up.  You can see the usual T-Bolt shooting flaw with 'flyers' outside the target area, but still some good-for-me work otherwise.  I relaxed and shifted to the top left target.  There I concentrated on gripping tighter and just feathering the trigger to break the shot.  With noticeably better results if still low and right.  I'm getting better at that light trigger work, and can do it on demand most times.  I don't know if I could under stress without a lot more habit forming trigger work.

Here is the second target.

I started at the upper left shoot n' see.  Then I did one mag each at upper right and lower left.  All those and the previous target were at 25 feet.  But for the lower right I pushed the target trolley out to 60 feet and shot the last 16 rounds.  Since the sights aren't as good at distance, and I'm not that good at shooting I expected disaster.  I was pleasantly surprised I shot as well as I did.  That green encircled area is only 10 inches wide at the widest.  

Verdict...  XS Sights are a keeper and I'm glad I got them.  

On a side note, I am slowly 'getting' my trigger pull.  And about time.  I need to accelerate my establishing of pathways with a better trigger pull so it's second nature.   

Another side note, gripping 20% tighter leads to more blisters.  One on my left thumb from where it rests on the safety.  One on the left palm where the mainspring housing rests.  Poor baby...

Check out the spam!

In the previous post comments.  Apparently it wasn't airplanes that hit the World Trade Center, it was 3 thermonuclear explosions.  I coulda swore I saw airplanes on the TeeVee.  Here I thought the Truthers were finally starting to fade.

Source of this revelation is Egyptian and Russian sources.  You think we do conspiracy theories well in the US?  We are amateurs compared to Egypt.

Things Tam Taught Me

Hey.  Lotsa people admire Tam.  She is a great blogger, been on the internetz forever, and is super knowledgeable.   Just reading her stuff and her comments here is like a cheat sheet before the big exam.  I've learned a bunch from her through long term osmosis, and I bet a lot of you have.  For instance:

- Pull straight back smoothly from full reset on a DA trigger on a revolver.  One continuous motion.  Just commit to the trigger pull when you have the sights on. 

- Tritium sights are good with most any firearms.  Especially when dealing with shambling zombies in low light situations at dusk or what not.   If you have sprinting zombies you want a red-dot optic of some sort.

- Got a 1911 jamming on the second round?  Did you load 8 rounds in the mag?   Might be that, causing it.   Load 7 next set, see what happens.

- Sunscreen.  And gloves on high round count outdoor training.

- Don't keep messing with it.  Leave it in the holster.  Playing with it as if it were a toy is a way NDs happen.  Minimize handling.  You know what a pistol is, you don't need to fondle it every chance you get.  Act like you been here before.

What has Tam taught you?  If not Tam, what is the best lesson you've absorbed from the posted experiences of another blogger/internet-source?

Zombie Products

From Neatorama.

Holster

Is your holster snug?  Does it try to rack the slide when you put your non-safetied semi-auto gatt in there? 

What do you do about that?

I guess when reholstering you can seat it by pressing the slide with the meat of your palm instead of pressing with just the grip.  And as the holster breaks in it will be smoother, but you may want a tight fit anyway. 

Is there something I'm missing?

Prep, UK

Well, Bristol England, it is good you are prepping for the Zombacalypse, but your country is going to have have some major rights reforms on individual self-defense if you want any chance of a good result.

But they have codewords for radio and TV broadcast to disseminate info to authorities without causing a panic.  Like we used "Doctor Redbird" at the hospital to alert staff to a fire.  If you ever heard a PA system at the hospital ask for Doctor Redbird and then a buncha janitors ran past with fire extinguishers, that is why.  Or "Hey Rube" as the call of Carneys to indicate there is trouble at the county fair.

Dual Wield

The Beard, work friend, wants those undersleeve wrist attached extender holster thingies for his future CCW work.

You know those cowboy movies where the gambler kept a derringer on the end of an extendable contraption attached to his wrist?  Those are COOL, right?  I think the latest movies I've seen with an example are Jeff Goldblum's in Silverado and in Kevin Kline's in Wild Wild West.

The Beard wants 2.  So he can dual wield.

Like this, but with a small pistol:

Ok, he isn't exactly serious about it.  But it is an intriguing CCW option.  Intriguing, I said.  I'm not too sure about the wisdom of that rig.

Regardless, I can't seem to find a commercial version available today.  I magine law enforcement frowns upon them and the LAW may well, too. 

I'd figure they'd still exist as a costume or cosplay prop for folk, if not with actual firearms.  Any sightings out there?  Googling 'wrist holster' variations or 'sleeve holster' variations, with or without the word derringer, gives me bupkis.

And how bout this... If unwise to have a gun on your wrist, what about a wrist attached, spring-loaded, spare magazine holder for your reload?  Huh?  THAT'D be something.

CCW Safety II

Yes, yes, I was being sarcastic.  Mandating DA-only universally is insane.  Silly. 

Odd thing is, I shoot BETTER DA than I do SA with my carry-gun selection.  But I am broken.  You all know that.  Policy shouldn't be centered on my abilities, certainly. 

I just hit more with the 5 rounds of DA than I do with 7 rounds of .45 SA.  And I think less when I'm doing it.  If you promised me I'd put a threat down with my .22 conversion kit I'd carry a 1911 with 15 rounds of .22.  But that's not realistic, is it?  Though I'm getting better with the .45 when I have a chance to think about it.  Someday, it will all come naturally.  Until then, 5 rounds of .38+p or 12 rounds of DA Kellerman .40.

It still strikes me as odd that I shoot that DA comparatively better.  It just shouldn't be.  But I won't argue with it in the meantime.

But cops should definitely go old school with Model 10s.  There would be fewer no-knocks if that was all they had.

CCW Safety

Im my humble opinion, all CCW pistols should be handguns with 10 pound or greater DA triggers. For greater safety.  We should all voluntarily comply, but if a nationwide law was passed requiring it, I'm almost OK with that.  Discuss...


Also, all cops should be armed with S&W Model 10 .38s with 158gr SWCHP rounds.  Only.

SERPA ND

I totally understand the misgivings of the Serpa button on their retention holsters.  When under stress, in a hurry, when fine motor functions are out the window, I worry my finger would migrate to the trigger too easily. 

I LIKE the Serpa holsters and own a couple, but I am still concerned. 

5.11 is coming out with a thumb release retention holster.  It's not up for anything but Glocks when I checked the site (though I hear there are others already out there, just haven't found them online), but 1911 and SIG P229 varieties can't be far away from release.  I will get one to try when they do.  Maybe the 5.11 types will be more resistant to getting jammed up with gravel, too.

But that didn't stop THIS ND, either.  His issue was with a thumb release and then his thumb migrating to the safety, releasing it.  His finger was already near the SA trigger, and a bad result happened.

So that's food for thought for ANY retention holster.

A Serpa would be a similar problem if the safety was disengage inadvertently while still in the holster.

Retention holsters address a valid issue.  They make it harder to be surprised and disarmed in an Open Carry situation.  Does that outweigh there two things going against retention holsters, relative ease of getting the finger close to the trigger, and the fiddly bits getting munged up making it impossible to draw at all?  And this applies to ALL the retention holsters, not just Serpa and 5.11.  I dunno.  I dunno.

I think I'll stick to using the Serpa (and probably should switch to thumb-release 5.11) just with the Sig P229 right now, because of the DAK trigger.  I have 1911 Serpas that I feel more hinky about as time goes by.  I think I prefer, in an Inside the Waistband or a Paddle holster than my 1911s ride in leather with a snap retention.  For IWB with the Sig, the Milt Sparks works just fine. 

A thumb release in leather for 1911s, AND a thumb release 5.11 Paddle for the Sig has the advantage of similar release methods for commonality of training.

My ideal future is getting good enough, to my satisfaction, with 1911s that I don't even consider the desire to carry the Sig.

XS installed

I went ahead on put that funny XS sight on my Commander, despite misgivings from knowledgeable advisers.  Why?  I want to see for myself. 

I'll keep my full size 1911 with more conventional sights.  So I won't be out of a 1911, certainly, if the new sights are a disaster.

My Commander, ideally, is a future carry gun.  And I wouldn't use it for stuff WAY out there, where the XS sights might not perform as well.

But the proof is in the pudding.  I report back with a range report. 

I DID need to get SOME sort of tritium sights on the Commander for low light application.  And I already know I like the lollipop style sights, despite my initial prejudices.  So I am hopeful.

Update:  Range tomorrow, prolly.

Dangit

Some guy named Tom in South Dakota won MY Kriss carbine. 

.223

There is sentiment, online and off, that, "Gee, T-Bolt, a .223 rifle would be awful handy if the SHTF because it will be a very common and easy-to-find find ammo."

Yup, agreed.  But if a National Guard platoon or cops in a police cruiser leave their vehicles unsecured because a zombie ate them then I'll have access to their ammo.  I'll have access to their rifle too, since they'll have adopt their own incisors as their go-to weapon of choice.  As Sam Elliot, as Sergeant Major Plumley, said in We Were Soldiers, "Sir, if the time comes I need one, there'll be plenty lying on the ground."

But...  it's be nice to be familiar with an AR pattern rifle of some sort, I agree.   Just to know how to field strip one without thinking about it, to start.

also: 


"Good Morning Sergeant Major!"


"How do you know what kind of gott-dem day it is?!"

Cal

I always liked Calvin Coolidge.  Read this and get a sense of why.

Perfect Food Gun

Saw the perfect food gun for sale at my local gun store.  A Savage Drilling. 

Well, not a drilling, I guess.  Just a combo gun.    My brain just thinks "Drilling" when I see a long guns that shoots rifle and shotgun.  Which is wrong of my brain.  Drilling comes from the German word for 'three'.  Drei.  Three barrels.  This was 2.

It was very simple.  Just a break open single shot machanism long gun.  Top barrel is .22 long rifle, bottom is .410.  With those two you can eat any critter this side of the Mississippi.  I know you can take deer with a .410 slug.  Ducks and such with different shot.  And .22 for miscellaneous 'other' woodland cuties..

Only one trigger.  So load .22 or load .410 or waste a round when you pull the trigger and double down on the bang.

I don't know why, but I kinda covet it.  I admire that simplicity and utility.  Bricks of .22 and shotshell reloader and you have meat for a Robinson Crusoe life. And I also like these.

Update: Link to a fan page of the Savage 24.

SCOTUS sez

Video extrapolation about the decision to allow realistic simulated anti-zombie training for today's yutes.



"I would love for my child to learn how to massacre zombies. This is a valuable life skill, and you never know when it might come in handy."

Nowt Ah Toomah

Itz nowt ah toomah!

I tried to get Caleb to get Markos to say "Git tu da choppah!" on a podcast once.  What can I say?  I was drunk.  Sorry Herr Kloos.

But a tumor that regulates if you die or half die?  Here I thought zombies were probably caused by a virus.

AR? Huh?

I don't have an AR.  Maybe someday.  But it'd be a hassle.  I'd have to stock a whole new type of ammo and whatnot.  Plus I never have gotten over the whole use of a semi-auto .223 when I have .308 just lying around. 

I'll get over the reluctance someday.

Hmmm.

You know I keep coming back to the old impractical pistol carbine.  You see where I'm going with this? 

What about my FIRST AR being a .45 carbine?  I have .45ACP stocked.  Intriguing...  While I'm at it, put a suppressor on there.   Ooo, now we're getting fun. 

Yeah yeah, pistol caliber carbines aren't 'in' right now.  But it's not like this is the goto gun for social purposes.  It's a fun gun.  A souped up Marlin Camp Carbine.  With a suppressor on the subsonic round it would fill a niche, yes.  It would scratch that carbine itch I've had for ages, and permanently.  I'd spend as much on making a custom lefty bolt .45 with a suppressor as I would for a AR setup, and with the AR I can still have access to a boat load of accessories (not as much as a .223 variety, but still jillions.)

Points against it... Man, but that's unconventional behavior for me. 
 

What does a 1st Amendment ruling

Have to do with the Second Amendment?

A good deal, apparently, when shooting down sillier social 'sciences.'

Short version: the gun/weapon you own makes you more prone to violence?  Yeah SCOTUS is calling some shenanigans on that idea.

(Yes TWO sets of shennanigans on one Saturday.  While other bloggers do light posting on the weekends, I double down for you loyal readers.  All 4 of you.)

CDC Shennanigans

I wish the Center for Disease Control would go back to concerning themselves with health issues, rather than carry the Joyce Foundation's water on rights restrictions.

A cure or inoculation against Zombie infections would be a much better use to taxpayer resources.  That way it would only be a waste of money rather than a waste AND contributing to civil rights violations.

Murder is bad.  It's not a disease, and out of your purview, CDC.  Mind your own bidness.  Be less cockamamie about it, too.