Forging

See that first 10 seconds of this video?  That guy is making the blank for an M1 receiver.  That big trip hammer is pounding the molten metal into dies to get the right sizing.  The receiver will be machined after this step.

You see how labor intensive that is?  Can you get a robut to hold the pole in the right place?  Maybe.  But it might be cheaper to carve it out of barstock or get the piece to the closer-enough phase with baking MIM powder.

But it won't align the molecules of iron like forging with a big ol drop hammer does.  Maybe you don't need it that strong, to tell the truth.  I sure do like the old ways.  But, man, it's expensive keeping skill labor around.

And look at the window behind some of these workers!  You can open them!  And single pane in Massachusetts.

Bren 10

So Larry Vickers reviews the old Bren 10 and give a bit of the inside baseball history of this star crossed pistol.  Which is cool all in itself.

But this is a blog and I need blog fodder.

So watch this video, it's been making the rounds:



I noticed that the spent cases are ejected in a weird, to me, direction.  Over Larry's left shoulder.  The other side of the gun than the port.  It's casting that brass at 7 o'clock.  On both guns.  Ya know, you often like to see the spent brass shooting of in the 1 to 5 o'clock areas.  At 6 o'clock you get it right in the kisser.

Now, looking at this parts diagram, the ejector looks like a complicated part.  The gun is 30 years old and the company dissolved.  It's probably hard to get replacement parts.  So even in Larry is thinking "that ain't right" there isn't much he can do about it.  And the gun is more of a curiosity at this point.

Oglaf.com

Comics.  Often dirty, and sometimes true.  Frex:

Tacti-Cool

Are the two officer standing behind the turd-burglar with a bad haircut all tarted up in soldier gear because they want to look cool and intimidating?

Or are they corrections officers and wear protective stuffs because they have to hand folk in jail.  A subset of the population not know for cooperative behaviors and are often violent? 

Not sure.  Leaning latter.  If they were the arresting officers they could give the hot vest a rest once at the station.  It is summer in South Carolina after all.

This has been a very wet June

Record levels.  And that was before this weekend's storm.  I am so glad I put a driveway in to get that side of the house better drainage.  I'd rather pay the rain tax than to get a flooded basement.

Storm from 23rd

A really nice wall of darkness hit on a 90-sumthin afternoon, dropping the temperature right quick.  It rained like dammit but not too windy.  Cats and dogs and sticks to beat them to death with.  The power stayed on but the cable blinked for 30 seconds.  The tail end of the storm has the greatest colors. 

 

Also, time to look for a better camera.

Is it Friday

Yes.  Yes that is.

US Racism

China lashes out at US racial bias in human rights report

China?  Is whinging about racism, here, in the US?  Complaining about us round-eye barbarians not from the Middle Kingdom? 

Apple hates the Confederate flag

I hate it too. It represents slavery and rebelling and segregation to me.  All my relatives fought for the good guys on the winning side in the War of Rebellion.  Except for one great great great aunt, married to a Union admiral uncle.  She was a Southern lady and flew the Confederate Flag over her house in Elmira, and the local constabulary was too cowed by her outgoing personality to force her to take it down.  I live in Maryland now, but my ancestors fought against slavery back in the 1860s, from upstate New York.  Just corporals that hated America's original sin.  I still hate it when people own other people.  It informs my conservative libertarianism.  Lincoln was right to push for the 13th Amendment with every fiber of his being.  I HATE 'the cause' because the cause was slavery.

But.

Apple Corporation wants to ban a video game because there is a Confederate flag in it?

Oh, for F***'s sake...

Leave it alone, Apple.  You can't erase it from history.  Southern Americans fought Northern Americans and vicey versey.  People fought and died and suffered bravely on both sides.  That happened.  More people were killed in that war than all our other wars combined.  Wishing it to go away doesn't make it so. It's just a game.  Not some desire to go back to segregation times.

--

And for you still flying the flag?  Take it down.  Not because I said so.  Not because the authorities are forcing you.  Not because you are being pressured to.  Not because of any fool thing I said.  Take it down because you want to.  That'll show em!  Huh?  You have other things more important to your heart.  And your pride in the good things about your past will never fade.  But, the hell, whatever.  It's just a flag.  And YOU want to take it down.  No one told you.  No one forced you.  No one guilted you.  You just did.  And you take that away from the Leftists.  You pull a Jackson on them, coning around  behind where they didn't expect it.  Brilliant!  And.  So, win win. 

And Apple?  Cool your tits.

It's not that Apple hates America.  Not nearly that simple.  It's that they hate reality.

---

And after all that, if ONE extra orange 1969 Charger goes to the car crusher because of this hoo ha, so help me....

CDC

CDC funding on 'gun health' issues is hamstrung.  By Congress.  Good.  Firearm issue belong in DOJ, and the CDC was just a stalking horse for gun banning.

The NRA accused them of trying to use science to promote gun control.  Untrue.  They were using 'science' to promote gun control.

Manchin and Toomey

So are Senators Manchin and Toomey resurrecting their gun control bill as some sort of signalling, and really don't expect them to move anywhere? 

Sebastian seems to think Toomey is doing it to fend off Bloomberg dollars, but that doesn't explain Manchin.  He is going to have a challenging election next time in WV.  But I guess he HAS secured Bloomberg payoffs now.

Other usual suspects are on board, and Harry Reid will say anything at this point.  He's quitting before his brother blackens his other eye. 

Any other marginal Senators, pols that can go both ways on the issue, laying a marker down for expanding Gun Crow laws?  You know, to keep guns out of the hands of black people and, what the heck, all you peasants too?

President O'Malley

So, when President O'Malley is our boss in the Whitehouse, what can we expect from him, gun wise?

I’m pissed. We're asking what it will take to stop this violence? We must stop asking: we must act now, as a nation. #CharlestonShooting

— Martin O'Malley (@GovernorOMalley) June 19, 2015

Well, he WANTS to ban all guns.  Confiscate all 300,000,000 in civilian hands.  But like grandpa always said, "Want in one hand, poop in 'tother and see which one fills up first."

Even with a Democrat legislative majority he won't get that.   He'll go for what he can.  He is a politician, at heart, after all.

So, what signals can we expect from him based on past performance?  He will try to get nationwide what he has done in Maryland, of course.  Magazine size limits.  'Assault weapons' bans.  He'll try to get those already owned not grandfathered in, but that will be his Arnhem bridge.  Other little things.  This law, when passed, will be exceedingly hard to enforce so it will be yet another Democrat blow at the rule of law.

Just wanted to tell youse all what to expect with this next President.  No more ARs.  Except HBARs.  Oh, and you can still buy uppers of any variety, of course.  But when you buy the AR it will be attached to a heavy barrel.  It's a sop to varmint hunters on the Eastern Shore here.   Later, the "Internet Upper Purchase Loophole" will be something for the Dems to whine about.  When they figure that all out.  They really haven't yet here in this state.  They'd really not deal with gun control if they can avoid it.

Metro Vs Metro

A Metrocon (VerBruggen) goes after King Metrocon (Frum) and puts him in his place.

Frum hasn't read the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but, like anyone, that doesn't stop him from having innaccurate opinions on it based on his own personal set of 'facts.'

Fallout

I am REALLY looking forward to this game.  I loved #3 in DC and Las Vegas and certainly got my money's worth out of them, in entertainment value.  Never played the earlier versions in, what?  The 90s? 

November.

AR mags

For $6.50?

Practically disposable.

I suck

I need to train and practice more.  If I was getting the target that Tam was lamenting in gun skool I'd be ecstatic.  But she trains and practices more than I do.  At least I know the solution to my lesser performance.

Training Sensei

Guarding myself against the "One True Gun Fu" and being loyal to a single Sensei, I think I will get some shooting training from the gunsmith, Sam.  He's got creds, he's got the facilities, and I like his teaching style.  Plus I know where his place is without using the GPS.

And I certainly need improvement in my shooting skill set.  Shave a couple strokes off my golf game, so to speak.



"Try to focus on the front sight, T-bolt.  I'm Mr. Meseeks look at me.  But also remember to squeeeeeeeeze the trigger."

"Well, which is it?  Focus on the sights or pull the trigger?"

"It's kinda both... but you also gotta grip it 20% tighter..."

---


I maybe a bit premature to worry about falling under an over-dogmatic Svengali sway at this early stage.  

And you can fix this 'problem' by diversifying our instructor set. 

 

Boing Boing

Informs me that a VPC study says Good Guys with guns only kill Bad Guys with guns 1/34th as much as Bad Guys with guns kill people. 

Boing Boing, you do know that the VPC, Violence Policy Center, lies and exaggerates?  Asking them put up accurate information on firearms policy is like asking the GOP party HQ to objectively rate which political candidates are the most charming and attractive.  Some bias might poke through.

And I don't care if it is 1/300th as much.  You can't have them.  As it is we need them at least 1/34ths of the time. 

The accuracy of official DOJ justifiable homicide stats is just horrible, right off the go.  And DGU doesn't have to end with a death to be a good event, it's just flaws and failure all the way down.

Funny looking part

Anyone recognize the mainspring housing on the left in these?  Ostensibly both are 1911 parts, but I dunno...

A reader asked me and has asked other bloggers and fora.  Everyone is stumped.  So far.  There is no hole for a retaining pin and that slot is weird, obviously. 

I liked the last 2 popes better

Well, Il Papa, how are we gonna start the Marxist Revolution with out AKs to seize the means of production?  If you discourage weapon manufacturey...

At least the previous popes didn't hitch their wagon to the force that piled up the biggest mountain of skulls in the 20th C.