Range Report November

As I mentioned, I went to the Range last week. I hadn't been shooting since the blogshoot. Yuck. A month.

I took the carry guns. The Snubbie and the Sig P229

About the thickness of the Sig's grip.... Maybe replacement grips? The ones I have are SO pretty, but they ARE plywood... And the rubber ones might be slimmer. Easier on the hand too. More utilitarian. And less thumpy when I sit in a wooden chair. The other side of that coin, and, I think, the reason this gun (marketed to CCW types) has wooden grips vis rubberized ones is that the wood won't catch as much on your cover garment. If they are significantly slimmer, it's a case of damned if I do, damned if I don't. The replacements only cost $22 with $8 for screws so it is worth investigation.

I love that improvement that kicks in once you warmed up and shots start landing more where you are looking...

Here is the first target, .40 on the left, .38 and .38+P on the right. The holes furthest from the center are from initial shots. NONE landed on the shoot-n-see initially. Then I warmed up. Stuff still lands outside the target area, but not ALL of them:



And the second. 7 yards, by the way:

And I've been noticing that I assume the grip and stance without thinking about it. It's just becoming automatic and natural. That's one good thing, I guess.

Here is the final magazine of the .40:

Now if the holes would just fit inside a 3x5 card closer to the center...

I do shoot better when I can easily see where the holes hit.

I'm not getting any better. I've been at this a while, and it certainly looks like I'll never have a chance to win any target matches with anything but maybe my revolvers when I have time to cock the hammer. Even then.

It's frustrating.

Update: Look at that second target, left hand side. Sorta centered, just low with a few 'on.' The third target I am fading. The first target I am cold. I need to have 50 rounds look like #2 or better. A little low but tighter and still centered would be a start, THEN I could think about lifting the group. The 'low' part may be an artifact of DA trigger. Those were all .40, btw, but the better snubbie shots are in the same place.

I'm Confused

In discussing Nazi use of a gun registry on the Volokh Conspiracy, a commenter said:

"The article points out that part of the problem is that “straw purchase” is not illegal in Texas, and a gun owner may sell the gun to a private party without verifying the buyer’s identity, much less the background check a dealer would run. This is not true elsewhere in the U.S. In my state, Pennsylvania, straw purchases for a prohibited person (such as a felon) are a crime and no one may sell a handgun without doing it through a dealer, who will run a background check on the buyer. "

I was under the impression it was just as illegal under federal law for a resident to sell a pistol to a felon in Texas as it is for a resident to do the same inside Pennsylvania (1968 GCA). Am I wrong, somehow? Gun laws are confusing, but I didn't think I was that confused.

Favored

The set of pistols I own rise and fall in my esteem, depending on my mood.



Right now, the thick gripped P229 is actually coming around to the positive, despite the bulk. I just like it better right now. It is the gun I'd take, and have taken, to training evolutions. It is my holstered CCW gun. When I tape up my finger tip the trigger doesn't aggravate me and that makes it a more pleasant gun to shoot. I've only taken to taping up recently. So that helps.



My 1911 is a bit neutral right now. It IS a 1911, and that fact alone puts it in high mental esteem. But, to be truthful, I am still not comfortable with a condition 1, cocked and locked pistol (for CCW, as I'd OC this type in a second). I am much more comfortable than I was 5 years ago, mind. If I shot the SA 1911 as well as I shot a single action revolver I wouldn't own any other pistol. But I don't shoot it that well. I want to like it more, and I'm sure it will come back around. It has the potential of being the last firearm I'd part with.



My S&W 686 has never fallen out of my high esteem. My first pistol is still a rock solid piece, in my head. I shoot it well, and rely on it to be there if I need it.



The snubbie S&W 640 is still pretty new and has never fallen out of favor. It just sits so well in a pocket holster and is most likely to be the pistol 'on me' when appropo.



I was almost ready to sell my 1903/8 Colt Pocket Hammerless more than a year ago. It was too extraneous, was an oddball caliber for me, and served no purpose. Some commenters talked me down though. It COULD be employed as a CCW pocket piece, but rather than a 'tool' it has gone to 'collection' status. It's fun, too. It's too nice to be a constant CCW for me. It was almost too nice to keep. Maybe I'll sell it one day, but not anytime soon.



The only other pistol I have is the .22 revolver, the S&W 617. All .22's are fun, I find, so that keeps it in a favorable place. But it might not be as high as it was when new. Haven't shot it too much recently. Again, the wheel will turn and I'll go through a phase of shooting the crap out of it, grinning the whole time.


~~~

So, WHY is the SIG P229 SAS DAK CCW (boy, that's a lotta 3 letter acronyms. too much!) growing on me? That Double Action Kellerman. For those unfamiliar with it, it's a 7 pound DA trigger. But even that isn't that descriptive. Most have pulled on a revolver DA trigger. It's lighter than that. But it's not nearly as light as the striker-fired triggers found on the Glocks, XDs, S&W M&Ps, or HK USPs. It's not too bad a pairing when your other walking-around gun is a snubbie. In that the triggers aren't that far different. And it's a very smooth trigger. If I do a stead pull-through, I don't get super accurate shots, but I get center mass. So I am pleased with the gun and semi-pleased with my shooting skill with it.

Walking Dead ep 2

Wow. That was a considerably graphic nookie scene for a basic cable TV program.

I am unfamiliar with the a pistol I saw and have to look it up on imfdb. Ah. It’s a S&W 3913


I knew that pistol that the handcuffed racist guy had until Deputy Hero took it away. A Browning Hi-Power. Nice. Him getting handcuffed to a fitting on a city building roof will provide a plot point for later, I am sure. He also had a bolt action rifle with a scope.

A zombie apocalypse will be a wonderful time to gunnies and hunters and country boys. Especially the latter. A lifetime of skills build up that have little commercial value will suddenly be called upon. Now if they can only some of them can overcome their racial issues. Not that all have that. But this one in the show sure does.

Update: On the power of the first episode and the rating it pulled in to basic cable for a 10-midnight pilot, and a strong showing for the second episode, AMC has ALREADY renewed Walking Dead for a second season of 13 episodes. Ohboyoboyoboy. I hope it stays good and doesn't go off the rails. Like BSG did.

Sheesh

I am already bad enough at proofing a post prior to publishing. Careful attention to detail has never been my strong suit.

A notion appalled me. What if, in the years I had been posting, I had misspelled a blog label? Like I had spelled it "2nd Amendmant" all this time and only now noticed? I haven't done something like that. Yet. But would be mortified if I had.

OC Debate

Robb Allen mentioned a call out for a friend looking for someone to debate, in front of the TV cameras, and 'against' side of the Open Carry debate in Florida.

I'm against OC, but I'm not so against that I could successfully debate the topic.

Well, I'm only sorta against it.

Deep down, there should be NOTHING preventing it. A gun on my neighbor's hip is no more of problem than a gun on a Cop's hip. I KNOW this.

I like guns. Why would I not want to see more of them? I like to see what people chose to tote. I like it when people exercise their inherent freedom to do so.

I dunno. I personally prefer Conceal Carry, for it's own peculiar tactical advantages.

I understand that done right, and regular people carrying in the open will eventually show the non-hysterical that really there is no problem with ones fellow citizens toting about. Any more than regular citizens careening about in 2 ton metal transportation devices cause people much alarm.

I'm also polite and I don't like scaring sheep-like hoplophobes. Though why I care what THEY think I sometimes wonder myself. I don't see too much advantage to being all in-your-face about it to prove out point. That's a tactic more suited to the other side, I believe.

I'm all for freedom of speech, but I try not to cuss and shout near little old ladies, too. Even though I can.

Sure, there is the worry that some idjit will bluster about and look the fool and paint us all, unfairly, as irresponsible jerks. But life ain't fair. And we still need to move the freedom-ball down the field toward our endzone. Maybe I'm an OC advocate that just wants to do it a bit more slowly. Pass OC friendly laws but not use them so much. Again, to be polite to those that like to soil their britches. No one wants to be around folks with a load in their cotton undergarments, right?

But put me up against an OC advocate for a debate and I'd just end up agreeing with all their points and sounding like a gibbering idiot. So I'd be a horrible choice for Robb's friend. Plus I have a face for radio, not TV.

Bill Whittle

On guns.

Fondled Sumthin

At the range the other day (report comin') I DID get to fondle one of those new Taurus Slims in 9mm.

The trigger creep was pretty bad. And the thing FEELS like a Kel Tec .380, but a hair bigger. It is definitely skinny. Just a hair too big for a pocket, maybe.

It didn't give me a lot of urge to buy it of something the same size. I'm sorta looking for a single stack that I would holster, not pocket carry. I wouldn't adopt something like this, in 9mm, since I already have that S&W 640 for that role.

A slightly larger .40 may be what I want. I need a skoche more grip length.

Be sure of your target

I know there are a lot of us waiting for that dark day, the day we gunnies will be called upon to turn back the undead horde... But keep some situational awareness. And an eye on the calendar. We'd hate for a senseless tragedy to occur just because we failed in our attention to detail, and innocents end up getting slightly injured.



I wonder how Stewie swung the NFA stamped AR?

Gotta Prep

For a hunting outing with MBtGE next Saturday. Getting a little excited...

Gonna wash my hunting clothes is just water to rinse a bit of the soap smell out.

I am loathe to mess with my shotgun for fear of either rendering inoperable or making it smell like solvent. So my semi-auto may be a single shot. That's ok for a deer application

ASCII

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Remember

Walking Dead Zeds

I've been thinking about the zombie types in Walking Dead. How they should be classified.

They have memory, coming back to old habits, hanging around the familiar. They know to use doorknobs to enter places. So these are smarter than average bears... er... zombies. Not smart zombies, but clever enough to occasionally stumble upon something clever that will throw a wrench into the protagonist's plans and assumption and thus advance the plot. "Whadaymean they figured out the 6 digit keypad combo at the secure perimeter?!!!!"

They're not Sprinters, and not Shamblors. They are something in between. They're Stumblers. Like drunk people. They aren't coordinated when they move but can put on a burst of speed when they need to.

If I may quote from Shaun of the Dead: "Just look at the face: it's vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet." That characterizes the facial expressions of a standard Walking Dead zombie to a T. Er... Z.

So not really a new form, but a slight evolution of the classic Shamblor.

Time to Renew

My Range Membership. At my local cheaper range, On Target.

It's only $175 to renew. And if you go once a month it pays for it self. I went every week there for a little while and need to get back. Maybe I'll go today...

I should build a range in the basement. You can do that, you know. Even in Maryland. Make a pretty long one, too. A private range in my state is no real concern of the authorities if it's below ground level. A way to make one is to dig a trench out from the basement wall and put in cement stormdrain pipe going out from a hole in the wall to the property line. The hard part is ventilation and lighting and waterproofing. Oh, and going out to a hatch in a shed to change out a target. But to have the opportunity to shoot daily might be wonderful... Certainly for a while.

If i get the gumption to go this afternoon, I think I'll bring the 2 possible CCW pistols. The snubbie and the Sig P229.

Election Results

I'm disappointed in the whole.

But I’d be disappointed if less than 430 conservative, Constitution-following, small gov’t types won their House bid and the losers were subsequently covered with a sticky substance like maple syrup or spray-in foam insulation, then doused with the contents of a feather pillow, and THEN given a free ride (like a horsey!) from the Capitol to the Potomac straddling a 2x4.

The political landscape looks better, state and federal, yes. It’s no Pollyanna. Then again OUR side isn’t the type that strives for a Pollyanna/Utopia, so we may be ok. For now. Don’t trust em. ANY of them. Watch em like a hawk!

Cisco v. Texas

What do San Franciscans think of Texans? Well here is but one example.

Money quote: "They all carry guns and fire them without provocation, usually to get your attention or to express emotion."

Well, ok then.

Safety Rule

One of my unlisted #5 shooting safety rule is "First the shooting, THEN the drinking. Never the other way round."

Same applies to voting, in my personal philosophy.

I voted. You know what that means now?

What?

Anyway.

With this huge enthusiasm to put a restraining order on Nancy Pelosi I expect a huge turnout for the GOP in Maryland. Epic. The Democrats will probably only win by 67-32 instead of their more usual 71-28.

What if they are incompetent?

There is an election today… Perhaps you’ve heard word of it?

A Historic shift is likely to occur due to so-called Tea Party sensibilities. An electorate that wants a smaller gov’t spending less and intruding on people’s lives less. They want to have less of a tax burden and more liberty to live their lives as they please.

And the Republicans are about to reap the rewards. But the Tea Party has promised… if the GOP strays from conservative tea party principles and simply goes back to business as usual, with pork barrel spending and become, again, the party of “Democrat-Lite!” then woe betide them for they will feel the wrath of a scorned electorate. RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) are definitely an endangered species, and there are no bag limits of the hunters. And Tea Party people have rifle, actual and proverbial. The proverbial rifles will be uncased in November 2012, presumably. (I’m sure the actual rifles will not be needed. Well, I hope.)

That’s the assumption. That either the Tea Party sensibility will reign or the RINOs will. One is good, the other bad. But, and I’m being pessimistic here, what if there is a 3rd more likely option. What if the GOP is just incompetent? What if they try to instate Tea Party type policies? They will fail. The GOP, beholden now (let’s assume) to the Tea Party won’t control 60 votes in the Senate. Probably not even a majority. And they won’t be able to override a presidential veto. Even a perfect legislative quiver in the House will simply crash against the rocks of opposition. In order to pass anything a bill has to be worded in such a way that folks can’t vote against it. And a bill like that that doesn’t compromise on principle, while possible, is very hard to forge.

But they can fail and look good, or more likely, they can fail and look bad... Fumble the sentiment, the initiative, and the message. Oh dear.

So what are we left with? The GOP has to go for political wins instead of legislative passage. “We had a good law, but THEY kept if from seeing the light of day. We need your help next election to bring more folks that will vote with us.” So the Tea Party will have to keep going another 2 years with the same enthusiasm, not get tired, hackneyed, or out of style. And the opposition will be working to make those sensibilities seem like that and more.

Another political win the GOP can point to is “Well we did have control of the House, and we stopped the bleeding, no more Leftist paper came past. We were a do-nothing Congress when that’s what the people wanted. The Congress before was DOING something alright, it was doing damage to America.” That’s a smaller win. And may be the best we can hope for. A restraining order against a Lefty agenda.

But none of this happens in a bubble. The other side is not composed completely of dummies, and they will be thinking of their own political angles to play to counter these perceived successes.

No. The big danger to conservatives (which Gunnies generally are, even if they are a one-issue political animal only concerned with the Second Amendment) is that a new Speaker Boehner isn’t up for the leadership job. The Leadership has to stick to principles and run the table as much as they are able. If their performance doesn’t appear inspired, then prepare for the second reign of Zombie Pelosi, as the Tea Party mentality puts a goodly portion of the electorate into the "this is your LAST chance to get this right" attitude.

Even the Metrocons notice.

The Walking Dead on AMC TV

Ugh, I didn’t expect 2 hours. That was a long premiere. But I was pleased.

The Walking Dead is a zombie TV series on AMC based on a comic book of the same name. Like I needed to tell you all that. Production values for this show are excellent and exceed even Romero-movie special effects. A brief synopsis and I will try to limit the spoilers in this review: Our protagonist, Deputy Hero, wakes up in his small town Georgia hospital to find he’d been in a coma for a bit, and the world had a little Level 4 zombie outbreak while he slept. A whole 28 Days Later thing. Hey, you know something? 28 Days Later might have stolen the coma motif FROM this series, and not the other way round.

Some other observations...

Oh look, a love triangle. Well I guess you gotta have TV drama and dramatic irony in a TV show. I hate it when emotions and personal dynamics get in the way of zombie carnage. Ah well.

They did a good job showing how loud shooting a Colt Python inside a tank can/might be. Ow! My freakin ears! And it's not like it's a good idea to bounce a bullet around on the inside of a bullet proof chamber. He's lucky ONLY his ears rang.

I had one problem with my suspension of disbelief. The aforementioned tank that Deputy Hero seeks sanctuary in, he accesses the interior though a hole in the underside. Thing is… I have it on good authorioty that there is no hatch in the bottom of an M1 Abrams tank… Sorta ruined the whole thing for me.

But the Ma Deuce DOES have ammo. THAT could be fun.

There are many folks in refugee situations running from the undead. They are staying in nylon camping tents. "Uh-oh Carl! There is a zombie in camp outside our tent!" "Don't worry Martha, I'll take care of this." zzzzzzzzzzzip. "There. All closed up. Now we are perfectly safe." Yeah, that could be bad.

And we get to see the futility of relying on a 12 gauge for our anti-zombie weapon. See what happens when you rely on shotguns? Shotguns are the WORST anti-zombie gun. Deputy Hero had half a dozen or so, presumably loaded, carrying them around in a duffel. Probably because he figured out it takes too long to reload and he might run into a group of Walkers. At least he thought THAT far ahead. Turns out all those loaded shotties are bulky and the Deputy-Hero lost them in a spill fleeing a few hundred zeds. I guess he didn't expect THAT many in a group, either. A horde is a HORDE. Once you start taking off your shoes and socks to count the zombies nearby that shotgun is less useful. And there are ALWAYS more zombies. He’d have been better off with a Ruger Mini-14 and 3 extra magazines than all those shotguns. And a Mini-14 and a couple dozen magazines is still lighter in weight than 6 shotguns AND able to handle a couple hundred of the undead, maybe. Well, give Deputy-Hero a break. He still hadn't wrapped his head around this whole zombie thing just yet. It's hard getting your feet under you after a discombobulating coma combined with a Level 4.

Ooo, almost forgot. There was an instruction at the beginning, by Deputy-Hero. He had his revolver (Olde Skool!) and him and other law enformcement are getting ready to shoot it out with actual crminals and such. The instruction was, "be sure you have a round in the chamber and the safety is off!" But all the other cops have Glocks, with no safeties.


~~~~~

Oh and i just heard about this mini-series. The Dead Set. It's about what happens to a Big Brother cast and crew when a Level 4 happens and they hunker in place. It's on IFC and I'm gonna have to find a copy.

CCW in Pop Culture

Has anyone ever recalled a modern TV show talking about a man with a legit CCW 'license'?

Cuz I can't remember one. Positve or negative or what have you. It's like no one on TV Land can conceive of the possibility outside of law enforcement. Only Cops have permission.

Or am I way off base and it's all over the place in TV and Hollywood?