SLOW start.

And... RATS in his HOUSE.

slpow start

Pressed for time.  Bought no ammo.  Bought lots of stuff.

Archie has a rat in his house tearing his place apart.

More later after I get all my poop into one sock...

AR Build

So I bought the complete lower parts and complete buttstock assembly.  When I got to MBtGE's house before the Fun Show, we got to assembling, using his AR as an example to crib off of.

Everyone was right... LOTS of things that go sproing into the darker nooks and crannies of whatever room we were in.  But I was ready for it.  They didn't get far.  It took a plan for some springs and pins.

Complete parts list?  Not... quite...  I need 2 parts to attach the buttstock properly to the lower.  So the rear upper attachment takedown pin is not properly secured, yet.  But I had the gun show to find them.  And an upper.  More on how that worked out, later...


The lower parts kit and trigger is just plain jane.  Cheap enough, GI grade.  Upgradable maybe.  But the upper I get, I want to get the right one the first time.  I don't want to deal with a used lesser upper.

Woeful

The more I think about, the more I realize how woefully inadequate the training I received in the Navy.  They decided I was 'qualified' with the pistol.

There was no safety training other than keep it pointed down range.  No classroom training about how it operated.  No cleaning or field stripping training.  Nothing on what do if it stopped running.  They didn't even tell me what that little thumb safety on the side did. 

"But T-Bolt!  You were in the Navy!  Not infantry.  And it wasn't even a combat ship!"

True.  But we pulled into various ports around the region.  A lot.  Sailors thought it was because they deserved a liberty trip ashore.  That was just a benny.  The reason?  We were a supply ship.  Underway replenishment.  Dozens of tractor trailers had to come alongside at a dock connected to shore so that WE could then zip those pallets out to a carrier group.  So watch standing on that ship at the brow was very common.  With multiple poorly trained armed sailors and officers.  What if a large crowd of locals got all uppity and jihad broke out unexpectantly?  The Cole was anchored out.  You needed a boat to attack it.  You'd just need feet to get to our boat.

Multiply my poor training conditions by all those other millions of personnel.  An NRA basic course is an order of magnitude better. 

Of course, training may be better now.  And who knows what is truly typical average training for armed watchstanders.  I suspect it is better.  I fear it is much much worse.

Making Weight

Yesterday I talked about extra stuff you can cram into the storage crevices.  But do I/you want to?

It's a lightweight handy package, a carbine, and I want mine lightweight, too.  So I am looking for stuff to take OFF, too. 

Like the bottom sling swivel integral on many buttstocks.  There is a screw and part gone.  That's a few grams.  Small beer.  But something.

Where else can the extra Ell-Bees be shaved off?

Well, get one of those composite rails that are light and smooth.  Only screw on the picatinny lengths you actually need rather than haveing 5 linear feet of sharp aluminum. 

That's the disadvantage to not getting the front sight integral to the barrel, anyway.  No matter what type of barrel shroud you get, there will probably be some flex to it when you sling up.  And I don't know about the weight comparison between integral and rail mounted BUIS up front...

What I need is suggestions like:  "Choose brand X optic over brand Y.  Sure Y is lighter, but you don't need batteries for X.  You'll probably want at least a spare battery for Y.  Of course X costs 4x as much..."

Stowage

Lots of guns have onboard strorage.  A cleaning kit is customarily stored in these places.  But the AR platform has a plethora of extra trunk space possible.

What do you store in yours, apart from cleaning kits and spare batteries for the optics?

Things I've been thinking of...  Alan wrenches, broken shell/case remover, bore snake, a tiny bottle of Break Free, sight tool, a Werther's Toffee candy,


Also... a mag pouch for one mag that attaches to a weaver/picatinny rail...  I need to see if those exist...

Stink Bugs

Tell me about it.

It was like a plague of locusts at the gun range Saturday.

Upcoming Gun Show

Fun Show is comin' this weekend.  And Ima GOIN'!

I got cash I've saved up $40 a week for years that I think I can dip into...  What should I get?

I'm thinking that Upper.  But that's a lot to think on.  I better review the comments.  There and here, from 2 years ago, to see what my thinking was then..

I have the stock and lower parts and sights coming this week, too, so, conceivably, all else I'd need is ammo.  (Had PMAGS for a month, thanks to MBtGE.)

I guess my search for the perfect light weight handy carbine was staring me in the face for five years.  It's the AR.  I should sell the SIG P229 and all the .40 rounds and put 5.56 ammo cans in their place.


So what else.

I'll probably get that single stack XD 45 someday, but not at the gun show.  Transfer back to Maryland is too big a hassle.  Besides, I want to see if they'll need to recall the pistols first.  Not that I think they will, but a nice seasoning period never hurts.  A spare snubbie or spare Commander is also out for the same transfer reason.

I'm always sorta shopping for the Winchester Model 88.  And, being a long gun, I can actually buy it in Virginia without issue.

Lefty guns are always something I look at.  Could be something interesting, there, you never know...

 I don't think I will be so intimidated this time.  My first gun show was sensory overload.  So much to see!  So gobsmacked about it that I couldn't focus or concentrate.  But now it is old hat.  Which is good ifn you don't wanna go overboard.  "Look, a bullet-proof vest for a Dalmation sized dog!  I like Dalmations!  Give me three doggie vests!"

Metrocons in 3D

The National Review has a thing on 3D firearm printing and the shannigans of Indiegogo.

Wounded Warrior Blogshoot

So, the Berryville range in West Virginia is nice.  I've never shot at a place that had a 400 yard range.  And all sorts of fun was had by all and sundry.

Let's get the participant list out of the way.  Lagniappe (the organizer), Tempestuous Sea, THOTPolice (and Missus), Another Day Another, JB Miller, Old NFO, Proud Hillbilly, Shekel, MSgtB (and Missus), and a passel of lurkers, like Bubblehead Les, and Stretch, and The Axe, and Morlock, and AZMrMacs.

Weather was gorgeous.  There was something nearby, dead, you can smell when the wind was right.  Probably not a groundhog because we saw those.  They understood English, must be, because they only scampered across the range was when a cease fire was called.  There was one thing... There were thousands of stink bugs.   Thousands.   It looked like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but instead of oodles of varieties it was just stink bugs.  Stink bugs that didn't stink, so... no harm, no foul

This is the second annual Wounded Warrior Blogshoot, and range fees for everyone was $30.  People through a coupla bucks in for the fundraiser on top of that.  And then we had over $1000 to donate to the charity.  (At dinner is was $951, but we couldn't leave it at that...)

There was a pistol area that had a steel target at 25 yards.  I was using the pistols and 10/22 on this.  I was rubbish with the pistols, as you people already know.  I need MORE practice, naturally.  But the trigger on the 10/22 I fixed up must have been good.  I forgot to thing about it. But, standing unsupported I could hit the head sized steel every time, no misses.

I didn't have the opportunity at the busy range to truly test it.  I mean for Appleseed.  With good ammo I want to be able to put all the shots into a quarter sized target at 25 yards.  And I think I can do it now. 

What else.  Well here is the rifle range with dueling 7.62mm rifles.  That's my M1A on the right, JB Millers AR1- on the left.  And the berm is way down thar.

If you look carefully you can see my shoot n see on the left and there are... PUMPKINS ON THE BERM! 

So we took some time eliminating that deadly gourdish threat.

Here is the result when I wasn't killing the oncoming hordes of Orange Menace.  Les obliged with the chest prop for my camera.

So not shabby.  Hitting high at 100 with the red dot.  I'd correct it, but it will be right on at 250.  If I have a zombie or pumpking problem at 100 yards I'll aim for the chin to get the forehead.

I forgot to mention...  7.62 doesn't make pumpkins explode.  It does tear them up a bit.  You need something else for a kaboom.  And the RO obliged with tannerite in one of them...  It was a race between JB and I to hit it. And I only have 6 bullets left.  I aimed for the chin and sploded it on round 3.

Here is the 400 yard range where NFO spent most of his time:

I don't know if I had ever fired FO's M24.  I have fired his SCAR and that is just like having an easy button.  The bolty was more problematic for me.  The eye relief is tricky and FO has it set up for right handers...  I was hitting over the shoulder of the steel reactive target.  About 1 o'Clock.  Took me 3 shots to hear the 'tink'.  Not good.  Others were hitting it earlier with that rifle.

There was some machine gun action.   Dueling Uzi's for instance on full rock and roll, and I like this pic because I got some brass in the air; one near the port, the other at headtop height 2 feet in ahead of it:

"Hey, T-Bolt, come check out the gun I am gonna use in case there is a zombie apocalypse!  Got a whole box of birdshot to go with it!"

Grumble Grumble....  It was a handsome family heirloom, that double.

You never select a shotgun as your primary anti-zombie firearm. It's great for onesy twosey, but zombies travel in hordes. The reload time is onerous, and the ammo, while effective, is heavy and bulky and short ranged

After, we dined at a neat little place called John's, My Pappy's Place, est. 1963.  The fried chicken was delectable.

Retention Holster

So I have a couple Serpa holsters.  But the usual complaints about them has soured me on them as well.  You know the ones... the locking mechanism jams up tight at times, the release button is too close to the trigger and some folks forget their training when in a hurry and end up still USING that trigger finger after the holster has been released.

But since the Pittsburgh NRA convention I've noticed some thumb-button release retention holsters by many major holster manufacturers.  The initial runs were limited to models offered, and NONE of them offered lefties.

But I noticed PDB did some holster reviews.  All looking at retention holster that are alternatives to the Serpa.

I checked em out.  The one that stood out for him was Safariland's offering.  The one that stood out for me was Safariland.  Because they were the only one that offered lefty version for more than just Glock models.   So they got my money.  I was prejudiced for Galco, but they haven't caught up to me and my sinister requirement.

Shootin'

I should be heading out shootin' right about now.

More later.

Hope I'll be able to properly zero the 10/22 there.  Why wouldn't I?  Depends on the range.  Might not have the right 25 yarder there to shoot at.  I have the sight to get the windage dialed in and to test the new upgraded trigger.

DOJ OIG report

Notice I didn't comment on the Fast and Furious DOJ report?  I didn't think it worth commenting on.  When I was a kid and sat on Santa's lap and asked for swag he asked me if I had been a good little boy all year.  I said 'yes.'

But I was the wrong guy to ask on that.  I had a conflict of interest.  So to speak.

----


Strains credulity.

Heads should roll.

Fire Holder?  Asks Mexico.

Wrong Foot

I apologize to all telemarketers that call my house wanting me to give them money in some form or another.  Either out of the goodness of my heard to help the poor starving children in some third world hell hole like La Jolla California, or think I might actually buy the product they are hawking after a chat on the tele.  "Replacement windows?  How can I lose?!!"

You see, you are doing it wrong when you say, "Good evening!  Is New Jovian there?"

No.  Mr. Thunderbolt is here on the phone talking to you.  And I don't know you from Adam's off ox.  I'd terminate this call politely had you remembered the Mister part, Chuckie.  Now you got my back up.  And I might be salty from this point on, to you and yourn.

Am I turning into a crotchety old bastard?  Perhaps.  Get off my lawn.


Wait!  Did I post something like this before?  The dementia is creeping up on ME, too, I think.

Heh

Seen on Instapundit


Save the Planet, Buy an AR.

-

Never even HEARD of this...

Before the week.  And I am sort of flabbergasted that I haven't.  This sort of subject should be right in my wheelhouse, but no.

Snaphance.

What is that?!

Matchlock, Wheel-lock, Flintlock...  All these trip easily to mind and roll off my tongue.  But the snaphance is totally unknown to me.  It's a slightly different operating system for musketry before the flintlock became popular and solved some problems with the advent of a frizzen as a better sparker/pan-cover.

Frizzen.  I knew that one...

Archie's Cologne

Wish this was still around.

Zombie Coloring Book

I was never good at coloring inside the lines.  Maybe that's why I jerk the trigger too much...

The Zombie Coloring Book

Bad Guy Tactics

So, when society got 'civilized' life was easier for the stick up man.  Find a likely target, flash a weapon, demand valuables, then go away.  But thanks to the prevalence of CCW that is becoming more and more risky for the bad guy.

It's not super prevalent, yet, but the victim is more and more likely to air our the bad guy.

Now, bad guys aren't the brightest bulb on the string, but eventually they'll catch on.  And they'll change their tactic to minimize risk to themselves.

What will they do?

They could walk up behind and shoot a victim behind the ear.  It avoids an armed response.  But that's a lot of prison time just to get an iPhone4. 

They could walk up behind and clout a victim with a blunt object.  Still a risk of murder, but less so.

They could get other bad guys with weapons to help with a stickup.  Safety in numbers.  A victim with self defense capabilities might hesitate, more, to take on 4 armed thugs.  But then the bad guys have to split the loots.

I don't know when the prevalence of solo bad guys meeting CCW toters will tip the balance into a tactic change, but I want to think on it ahead of time.  Ideally, I'd prefer they switched careers and became telemarketers or summat instead of stick-up artists.  Maybe politicians.

NRA History

I got this old wooden box.  It's from the 30's.  And it says NRA on it.  See:

20 to 30 what?  20 to 30 score of ammunition, no doubt.  "We Do Out Part"  Sure do!  Looking after our sacred Constitutional rights, I'll wager!

Well, let's see what's on the other side. 

Prunes?   Well, maybe the National Rifle Association was selling fruit back then to raise money.  Kinda like they sell wines now.  That's gotta be it.

I'm just joshing you.  NRA, in this case is the execrable and unconstitutional National Recovery Administration.  One of FDR daft ideas.  Businesses loved it as it set price controls relatively high enough to keep them afloat and squelch competition.  That's not NRA's Eddie the Eagle.  It's the Blue Eagle.  Must be seen to be actually Bolshy, after all.  Read more about it in The Forgotten Man.

As for that funny sounding tea company hawking prunes...  The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company is just the A&P Grocery Store.  That organization was the Wal Mart of the day.  Driving all the Mom & Pop butchers and bakers out of business 90 years ago.  Now look at em! 

One day Wal Mart will be crap, too.

Archie Freaks Out a Little

It's not new.  He does it all the time.  He obsesses over a coming event.  Like say he has a doctor's appointment on 9/19/12 at 11:45...  That totally throws him.  And he'll think about and ask me about it over and over again every day until the day.  "What does 11:45 mean?" the :45 part throws him and he can't decipher digital clocks anymore.  He can't decipher dates, either, and wonders where the 19 went on the years.

His newest thing?  His drivers license is expiring soon.  He's still a decent driver.  He never ventures farther that 2 miles from the house, never goes out before 10 or after 2 to avoid traffic, and certainly knows he can't see to drive at night.  So he's still ok behind the wheel, relatively.  But the thought of renewing his drivers license stymies him.  He'll pass the eye test fine and will probably get the certification from his eye doctor anyway to save time at the MVA.  So all he really has to do is wait in line, fill out a form and give them $30.  I'll probably fill the form out for him in advance, too.  The arthritis makes his handwriting a bit messy.

But that knowledge isn't stopping him from dwelling on it and having fits about it.  He's impatient and needs things done right now.  RIGHT now.  But he can't renew until a month before it expires.  So he will hector me about it until then.  Not because he enjoys hectoring me, though he is a crotchety old bastard, but because he can't quite grasp it and can't let it alone.  He never could leave things alone, being so independent, but the not grasping how it works now is the part that bothers him.

His license expires in March.  So 5 months of this.

At least he knows not to call me when it is dark out unless he's having a medical emergency.  I used to routinely get calls telling me all his clocks are wrong.  They say the same time but they're wrong.  They say 3:00 but it's pitch black outside.  So what time is it really?

It's 3AM, Archie.  I gotta go to work in 3 hours.  Why don't you go back to bed?

Soon, it will be the thermostat.  Switching from Cool to Heat.  I can talk him through it over the phone.  That's easy.  I will probably do it for him dozens of times.  It's frustrating.  Not for me (unless he does it at 3AM) but for him.  He knows he was master of that thermostat for decades.  Installed it himself.  CUSTOMIZED it so I had to grok the customization for 5 minutes instead of the 5 seconds a simple thermostat takes to comprehend for someone with my faculties.  I can't reteach him, but he, ever optimistic in his way, think he can be retaught.

He does relearn for a short while.  A week maybe.  Then it's back.  Or gone, rather.

Same with figuring out email.  Or his file system for his bills.  Or how to write a check.  It tests both our patience at time.

If this were the Navy, back during the war, they'd give him an APC Pill, pronounce him right as rain, and send back on Watch.

Sawed Off

I don't have much knowledge in this area, but I bet a reader does.

I don't own a shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches.  Or with a short OAL.  If I did I'd have to go through the whole ATF tax stamp rigamorole.

I know the attraction of a sawed off.  It's easy to conceal and more wieldable in tight spaces.  I also know that a short barrel means more shot spread and less effectiveness. 

Is there some sort of optimal sawed-off length?  Presumably 1 inch past the receiver is too short and just like a firecracker, and may even be dangerous for the user.  I know the effective range drops with short barrels, but what is the recommended range with the ideal sawed-off length?

Kind of a silly notion to think on, and of little practical use, but what they hey.  Knowledge is knowledge.

Because I need something uplifting

To get this horrible taste out of my mouth...

Pro Wrestler Triple H breaks character for a fan.

iowahawk

Egyptian Zombies

No kidding.  The enthusiastic gang-rapers and embassy-stormers in Cairo's Tahrir Square are zombies.

They are hopped up on goofballs.  Specifically, Tramadol.  An opioid analgesic that allows the Islamic Rage-Boys to take a beating and not even feel it. 

"Zombies operating under the control of Islamists and Leftists — working together. Who said they couldn’t get along? "

Drug popping adversaries are the thing that always makes the army get rid of .38s in favor of .45s (see: Mindanao 100 years ago).  So, if Egypt turns nasty, they should remember the old lessons and leave the Berettas on the ship.

And remember, headshots for zombies that feel no pain. 

Dreams 2

I got more dreams, but they don't always have the gun content, so I don't always share them.

Like the one with no guns but I was in a Starship Troopers type basic training inside a super-skyscraper.  Lots of acrophobia there on the open stairs with big gaps between the treads you could fall through.

Or the one where I was a superhero.  Batman-esque.  But I could fly.  And I was armed with an FG-42 of all things.  I would normally carry the Thompson, I thought in the dream, but the bad guys I were after called for the larger round.  I was on a kidnapping case and had no arrest powers so I was calling in a favor with buddies in the FBI to make it legal and such.  While I waited for them, AGAIN in a giant hotel/mall/skyscraper complex, but luxurious this time, not barebones like basic training (above), I was consulting with other crime fighting masked superhero types to try to get as many brains working on the problem as I could, and we were all coming up with good scenarios in the parking garage. There were lots of glass elevators.

I have a recurring Chesapeake Bay dream, on the beach near Point No Point.  Had these for decades.  As I age the horizon, which is normally bear except for some times when you can see the far shore at low tide... well that distant shore get's more built up with taller and taller buildings.  And they get closer and closer to the Western side.  And the water near the beach, normally 5 feet deep, must get deeper and deeper because larger and larger vessels pass by as close as crab boats collecting pots.  At this age the 2 story building and street lights are now, in the dream, Chicago.  And the barges and tugboats are tankers and aircraft carriers.  I haven't even been down there for 15 years or more.

These 4 dreams were on successive nights (with the one from yesterday's post).  Without the nicotine patch they aren't always this good or memorable.


I know I know.  Dream posts....

Loretta Bell: How'd you sleep?
Ed Tom Bell: I don't know. Had dreams.
Loretta Bell: Well you got time for 'em now. Anythin' interesting?
Ed Tom Bell: They always is to the party concerned. 

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Dreams

I used to smoke.  Started when I was thirty, mainly because of the anti-smoking backlash that was going on back then.  Busy bodies weren't going to tell ME what to do!

Lucky Strikes.  Unfiltered.  God they were glorious.

Anyway, bad idea.  I worked hard to quit but kept falling off the wagon.  I've got quitting dialed in, now, though, so when I do fall off the wagon it's no big deal.  I'll smoke from one to three weeks then be quit again.  The time gaps between relapses grows bigger and bigger.  To avoid relapses I have to avoid being around smokers.  Which is easier and easier unless I start dating one.

How do I quit?  I used to use that Chantrix stuff but to get a refill meant going to the doctor, who would then talk down to me in a condescending way as if I was a child.  You know smoking is bad for you?  Bad bad bad.  If I could change anything about the medical profession it would be that. 

But that's ok.  I find generic nicotine patches work wonders.  And they cost less than cigarettes.  They wean me off the cancer sticks lickity boo.

The side effects, for me, with Chantix was copious odorless underarm sweat.  Inconvenient.  The side effects for the patch is vivid dreams...  And hence, blog fodder:

I was back in the Nam.  It was 1965.  Our equipment was used and second rate.  Reduced to junk Garands.  Someone higher up decided we needed a new rifle.  So...  They altered the M1 Carbine.  They made it sort of a double rifle.  The usual 15 round .30 carbine magazine, but also a 5 round .30 Pederson magazine, to give us grunts that extra oomph.  Oh, good LAWD!

The extra anemic cartridge and extra weight was unnacceptable, but we would use it as a stopgap rifle until some new .223 rifle came out...  (see?  foreshadowing!  Must be for tonite's dream...)

Well, with a new rifle, that required new ammo.  So 200,000 rounds were ordered (I swear, this level of detail was in the dream.)  The supply officer only accepted 100,000, though.  We didn't want to store that much, and really, how would we burn through all that?  Viet Nam was just a sleep police action and all.

The dream kept cutting away to the the two non-descript red containers that held the ammo, just like it was a movie.  One of the containers kept shifting on the back of the flatbed truck... Uh oh... building tension...

Well, it was understood that the way to keep vital supplies untampered with was not to tie them down.  That made them look like they weren't valuable and the native population didn't bother with them.  It was my job to go check on the other 100,000 rounds. 

The supply dump was in a semi-urban area, and it was cold for the tropics.  A storm was brewing up.  There were plenty of locals going about their business in and around unguarded US containers.  Including kids at recess.  The wind was blowing things around a bit. I notice the container I was looking at was about 200 yards away and it was balanced precarious and shifting with each gust.  So I was a bit alarmed.  I started sprinting away as soon as I knew it was going to topple.  The container fell and burst open and rounds starting to pop off.  Then it was like a nuke going critical.  More and more rounds started going until the thing exploded.

Then the dream went to slow motion.  I could see the deadly shock wave moving out from the epicenter over my shoulder and was trying to put as much distance as I could in order to survive it.  Pity the locals that were too close.  I knew it was still dangerous to me because the wave front was kicking up dust and debris on the road as it closed in on me.  Eventually it overtook me and felt like I was kicked in the ass by Andre the Giant.  My last thoughts were, 'well, I probably have a concussion, now.'

I woke up home, and home was Georgetown, DC.  Of 40 years ago.  Not as tony as it was later.  Georgetown USED to be a slum-like area 70 years ago.  I was looking at old tube radios and appreciating the sound quality.  I ran across a cute little brunette on a bike, and she had a baby with her.  She must have had a guilty conscious because she apologized for stealing my bike.  "Oh, is this yours?" she said, pointing down at it.  It might have been a pickup line because the bike wasn't mine.  I responded, "Depends on what you mean.  The bike isn't mine, so there's that.  I just met you now so the baby is probably not mine, either.  But you have stolen my heart..."

CHEESY!  I need editors in my dreams.  But thanks for the movie, Nicotine Patch.

Translation

"Teen shoots self in junk while cleaning his pistol"

Right.  Whenever you see "shot while cleaning" I am sure that at least half the time it's the excuse used when the truth was, "Teen, probably under the influence of some mood altering substance, was showing off around friends with a loaded gun."

Yes people do stupid things while actually cleaning a gun.  Like violate 3 of the 4 rules simultaneously, I am almost positive this is not the case.  (Clearly, if cleaning, rule One was violated as he didn't triple check to see if it was loaded or not, he pointed it at something he DEFINITELY DIDN'T want destroyed, so rule Two, and the finger was on the trigger for the unhappy event... rule Three.  Rule Four sorta doesn't come into it or apply, so lets give him a pass and just award the hat trick.)

Not mentioning the whole 18 year old with an HK.  So the gun is stolen, 'borrowed' from a parent, or gifted by some adult.  All circumstances at least somewhat questionable, in view of the result.

Other possibility... He was carrying his pistol in his wasteband and grabbed the trigger re-arranging it.  Again "cleaning it and it went off" is the story you tell the cops.  After they don't go for the "Sumdood shot me and ran away" baloney.   "Sumdood shot me!" is the best excuse for the kid, after, as he doesn't get in trouble AND he gets to keep the expensive pistol.  You wouldn't expect there to be a gun to confiscate if the mysterious owner and assailant absconded.

He could have been cleaning it.  But my BS detector tells me it's the less likely scenario.

9/11

Look at what today is.

I never did get my a feeling of righteous vengeance I thought the whole thing called for.  I thought it called for a: "Pull crap like that and bad things happen to you and most everyone you ever knew.  Man are you gonna be sorry.  And in 11 years we'll probably be good friends with the survivors.  See:  Japan, 1952.  So you have that to look forward to."

Flip Flops

For Breda.

Cuz she can wear flip flops now.  As soon as she acclimates to the new leg.  (The trick is that space between the first and second toes.)

Crocopotami

Or is it Hippodiles?

Anyway... I had a dream that new type of dangerous game showed up in Africa.  Like Africa needed something NEW that kills people.  It was a cross between a Hippo and a Croc, obviously.  Hippo body and a Croc skin and head.  The jaw had both kinds of teeth.  And the things were HUGE.  Bigger than normal  full sized Hippos.  I don't know why they needed teeth, the heads were big enough to swallow people whole.

In the dream there was a way to protect yourself from these monsters that I am sure could take on Bull Elephants and win.  They wouldn't go through a sliding glass door.  A sliding glass door might as well be 4 feet of opaque reinforced concrete, to these bad boys.  Odd, but I'll take what I can get. 

Careful when you go swimming in Africa!

What caliber for Crocopotamus?  Goodness.  Truly a .50 BMG critter, I think.  The extra size and tough skin and thick body...  It'd be hard to get to the boiler room.  And with a skull twice as big and twice as thick as a normal full size croc, that would be problematic, too.

2

Borepatch does a post on a 2-Bore.  Now that's a lotta gun.

Walking Dead

Walking Dead is full of fail on all outlets.  There is a Walking Dead game on Facebook.  I stopped playing when my baseball bat ran out of ammunition.

Literally

Both Joe Biden and Sean Hannity have the same problem.  Neither knows what 'literally' means and can't stop saying it.

So... ARs...

So when you buy a stripped lower, to get the rest of the gun you need to buy a "Stock Kit" and a "Trigger Kit" and an "Upper."  Is that right?

I need to carve out some time and watch the Brownells video on putting an AR together from parts.

But the Stock and Trigger kits...  They look common in the catalog houses, and I think the idea if to give you the whole spiel of that part of the rifle.  Is there some group of parts you won't have if you get those kits?

I'm budgetting and slowly accumulating.

And then... will I need specialized tools?  I know there is a do-hicky for getting the handguard on and off, but you won't need that right away if you get a complete upper.  There is also a wrench like multitool thingamabob that covers a lot needed tools.

The sort of upper I have my eye on is this.  A carbine length item with brass deflector and a flat top.  Will need EOTech type optics and BUIS, naturally.  I'd get a light mount and a foregrip too, but nothing else.  The stuff I've added is heavy enough.

Well...

They might not have any anti-gun stuff in the platform, or give it much airtime....  Unless you ask individually any of the intolerant bigoted convention goers... Morons.

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Blogger get togethers

I'm going to try to be at both of these September gunblogger type events.

Back, and to the Left

Saw this video on Uncle.  He commented on how the security guard looked like a shooter, what with a decently fast draw and all.

What I noticed was his lateral movement. Good tactics, that.  Back up, putting some more distance between you and the attacker you are responding to, and move side to side.

Which way?  To the left is a good bet.  The security guard initially goes to his left; he steps to the right to draw and get a better shot but then when the excitement starts he scoots with a purpose toward port. Why back and to the left?  Well, most shooters are right handed.  And this is a stress situation so they're practice (if any) at hitting the bullseye goes out the window.  The most common reaction is to flinch and jerk the trigger.  Even on a calm square range most people, if they have a fault, and are right handed, will see groups low and left on the paper target.  If you are the target the holes would be low and on your right hand side.  So more to the left so those holes are only in the air next to you.  A much better place for the bad guy's bullets.

A better reaction would be to anticipate right and left-handers and move to the outside of the strong hand.  If you are presented with a guy with a two handed grip it's hard to tell which is the strong hand so moving left plays the odds. 

MOVING is most important, regardless of direction, of course.  Generally a good idea to not be in the same place, making it easier on the bad guy to line up on you.

At least that is how I think of it.

Never

I NEVER give permission for TTAG to use any content from my blog.  I just wanted that on record.  He seemed like a decent enough guy in person but the unethical practices there is a real turnoff.  He has a habit of lifting content, usually unattributed, from other blogs and does no value-add.

Value-add?  If I go, "Tam was talking about Y with the Colt Pocket Hammerless and that reminded me I had similar issues, X, with my Colt Pocket Hammerless."  With a link to Tam's post and then I go on about a new subject: X.

"Exploring the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns."

It's not hard to come up with your take on a subject or generate brand new stuff.  Go to a gunshow, go out shooting, play with the stuff you got.  I do it every day.

Of course I would have to come up with content worth lifting these days...

Bottom of the Barrel

Slow gunblog day.

Remember this guy in 2016.  My governor.  Martin O'Malley.  He will be running for President if some philandering scandal doesn't catch up with him. (There are many rumors.  Watch The Wire to see those rumors fictionalized.)

The only reason Maryland's economy is decent is we are so close to the Federal Money spigot.  If sequestration happens look for our situation to tank.  Taxes are too high here.

And he isn't sure if the current national economy is better or worse...

And he is obviously terrible on Second Amendment issues. 

Don't let our horror become the nation's.

Labor

For Labor Day I rotated my tires, chopped back and mowed over the patch of wildflowers out front, and I am doing laundry.  Can I rest now?  Is that enough labor?  I'm sweating like an incumbent democrat with 10% unemployment going into an election...

Bugs and Hunting

I am STILL tormented by the chigger bites I got a week ago.  Curse the buggers.  Next time...  DEET insect repellent, wrists neck ankles.  The books say it takes 10 days.  This is day 7.

But what if I go hunting before the first frost?  Wouldn't I just be adding yet another smell to the Eu-de-TBolt aroma to frighten off Bambi?  I mean, it's bad enough with the cloud of testosterone, Aqua Velva, and methane (it's why the ladies can't keep their hands offa me.  Well, not the methane so much.) I walk around in the center of, all day.

Based on my discomfort I don't care if bug spray will guarantee the deer will stay away, I'm using it.

I've heard tricks of carrying half an onion in you pocket.  The deer don't associate the onion smell with threat and might mask the other human smells that could spook them off.

Quartered Safe

So I am reading Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser.  Fraser wrote the Flashman series, and this is a memoir of his life as British enlisted man in a nigh forgotten corner of WWII.  Burma.

He was a member of the Black Cat division, the 17th.  His regiment came from Cumberland in north England, and he tried to faithfully reproduce their accent in the dialog.  Fascinating.  "Est seen a coody loup ower a yett?" is Cumbrian for "Have you seen a donkey jump over a gate?"  You get used to it pretty quickly.

They called him 'Jock' because that what you do to any Scot that ends up in your unit.

It's not a history.  Just a recollection of some events 50 years after the fact.

His reference to the Japanese was 'Jap' and that applied in plural as well as the singular.  While US forces usually added the S to the plural: Japs.

In the fighting he carried a Lee Enfield, naturally, and had the old style sword bayonet.  Though other members had the shorter pig-sticker style.  His company commander had one of these bayonets and it ended up bending at a 90 degree angle inside a Japanese soldier, making extraction difficult.  When Fraser was promoted to lance corporal and section leader they issue him a Thompson submachine gun which he detested.  When he was able to he dumped the Tommy gun in a river and went back to the Enfield.  He hated the Tommy as it was inaccurate at range and rusted too easily in the monsoons.  Monsoons are something Westerners would not believe unless they are in one.  It's an astounding amount of water coming down, apparently.

His biggest consternation was leading men much older than him.   I know how he feels.

His biggest beef with the modern world is the touchy feeliness of modern people.  Stiff upper lip, there!  The Londoners didn't need counselors for the psychological health after the Battle of Britain you Silly-Mary.

His division arguably fought in the last set piece battle of the war at Pyawbwe.

He never got injured by enemy fire but suffered from dysentery, malaria, and spongy white waterlogged skin and accompanying sores.

His admiration of the Gurkhas was unparalleled.  Short little deadly whirlwinds with a large crooked knife.  They'd drop their rifles in jungle encounters.  Not to runaway, but to attack.

Two Great Tastes

You know those flashlights with a crank grip that you pump and they don't need batteries?  Like this or this?  The ones that go "whir whir whir whir whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...."

Well, combine with a grip like this.

And now you are cooking with gas!  Never have your gunlight run out of battery juice.  It runs on beer and fritos.

NO ONE STEAL MY IDEA!  I'm gonna get rich offa this patent!