Real ones. No, I'm not kidding.
I've been reading about this for years. It's been worse in the southwest Asian waters where piracy is a looong tradition, but it's never actually gone away anywhere, including the Caribbean. What brought it back to mind was a post at Publicola on an incident off the coast of Somalia, pirates attacking and trying to board a cruise ship(Muslim corsairs strike again!). That made me look around, and I found this at Hell in a Handbasket.
Which, in particular, makes me wonder what the rules are on cruise ships. I know some have shotguns for skeet shooting, are the crew told/allowed to use them to repel boarders? Birdshot wouldn't be that good, but if you had a case of 00 buck on board, pirates and inflatable boats like those in this incident would be vulnerable. 'Course, the lawyers and weenies in a cruise company would probably have fits at the idea(why wouldn't the idea of having several hundred people with no defense except running bother them?), and some countries would have cows at the idea of a non-naval ship with arms for self-defense.
The latter has been a problem for a lot of people. I think it was last year a guy leaving Singapore(I think) was chased down and boarded by police because a crewman the owner had fired told the police he had guns on board. Turned out to be a shotgun and handgun(again, I think) specifically for pirates. That's a wonderful thought; he's leaving, almost out of their territorial waters, and they chased him down over this. Jeez, don't you just love it? Being Singapore, if the ship was looted and burned the pirates- if caught- would probably have been hanged or something, but that wouldn't have done the crew any good. A lot of countries get real snippy at the thought of someone having guns of any kind on a ship in their waters, including small private boats. They won't protect you if someone's coming over the rail in the middle of the night, but they'll damn sure jail and/or fine you to death for being armed.
Over time I've seen several reports of people repelling boarders with shotguns and/or rifles, and in some of them I remember they waited until they were home to talk about it; being worried about being jailed by the local authorities(when you can find them in some cases) will cause you to do that. The two cases I remember best, one woke up in the night to find them coming into the hold(he grabbed a Mini-14 and opened up) and in the other the ship was attacked in daylight; while one guy handled the boat the other used a shotgun and 00 buck to take care of business.
I've never had a chance to take an ocean trip. On a cruise ship I'd think the risks from run-of-the-mill pirates would be less, but nowadays the chance of terrorists trying to grab and/or sink the ship is greater; on a small ship(no, I can't remember the difference between a ship and a boat other than size) in many parts of the world pirates would be a real concern. In the case of a boat of my own, I'd damn well have at least a shotgun and handgun with a sufficient amount of ammo, and good places to hide them from customs inspectors, coast guard, etc. Damned if I'd trust my and other people's lives to the hope that if I call for help the cavalry will arrive in time.
Which does bring up a question: you're a member of crew or passenger on a ship sailing through an area where pirates(or just call them theiving assholes on water) could be a concern; what weapons would you take? In addition to the shotgun and handgun, I'd also like a semi-auto rifle, preferably something with a large magazine. I have little experience with automatics, and the paperwork for getting one is a pain and some places that would choose to ignore other things would break out in spots and handcuffs if you had a select-fire weapon on board. Since you'd be thinking of damaging their boat as well as the pirates, for the shotgun 00 buck and slugs in plenty. For the handgun, probably heavy hollowpoints like the Federal 230-grain Hydra-Shoks in .45; good stopping power on people and good penetration on their vessel. For the rifle? I'd lean toward something .30-caliber, this being a place where an SKS might be good. Reliable, plenty accurate for the work, ammo sufficiently powerful for both boat and people, and if it was damaged or lost overboard you wouldn't have the same level of screaming and upset as if you lost a $1000+ AR15 or something. What do you think?
(Yes, I know the U.N. has forbidden piracy and other such anti-social acts. I don't think I trust the bad guys to obey the U.N. Hell, nobody obeys the U.N. Except us, in too many cases where we should tell them to kiss our ass. But that's another post)
Update 11/9: Les Jones had a piece here that included some piracy information, including a link to The High Road that has the story of the sailing ships with the shotgun, here. Thank you Les!
And speaking of .50 Brownings and pirates
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Friday, November 04, 2005
Paris(while it's still there)
Ok, it probably won't be that bad, but it's pretty damn bad. I've been looking at different places and different accounts, first- and second-hand. So far, this seems to be the worst:
"A handicapped woman was doused with petrol and set on fire by youths during another night of rioting in Paris. The 56-year-old suffered third degree burns to 20% of her body in the attack."
I've had second and third-degree burns; they hurt like a sonofabitch, and mine were over nowhere near 20%. And any burns over that large an area can kill you. But let's ignore that for a moment, and try to figure this: what kind of asshole does it take to do this?
And this is one incident of many. Instapundit and Michelle have a lot of links on this mess, and it's pretty bad. It looks like the incident of the two kids being electrocuted was the excuse these bastards needed to start this; they've been building up to it for a long time. For the last several years there've been articles about the mess in these parts of French cities; gangs ruling, police afraid to go in except in groups with automatic weapons, gang rapes, Jewish cemetaries and places of worship damaged and burned, Jews attacked, the whole damn list. I can't remember where the article was, but about a year ago read where there's been a regular circular trade going on; ragheads in France stealing high-dollar cars, smuggling them to eastern Europe to sell, taking part of the price in and/or taking money and buying automatic weapons and RPGs, then using those to knock off banks and armored cars and such. And, as one or two people have pointed out, here for instance, a lot of big media have gone way out of their way to avoid mentioning that muslims are the rioters; to the point that it slaps you in the face that instead of reporting news they're actively trying to manage and control what people hear and how they'll hear it. Which means, more than ever, what you get from the BBC or whoever has to be viewed with great suspicion and cross-checked('course, we've been doing that for a while anyway, but still...).
A guy who wrote to Insty wrote this:
"There's just no damn jobs. White college grads can't get jobs, what hope do immigrants from regions with bad schools have? I think this is more like the LA Rodney King riots -- there's people there who want the French dream, just as in LA people wanted the American dream, but they just don't see it when they look around, and they resent the fact enormously."
There's an amount of bullshit there, the King riots were a bunch of assholes using that trial as their excuse to loot and burn(much like these clowns and the electrocuted kids).From what he says, though, the muslims in question in France have no choice where to live or go to school and little chance of getting out, which would definately push things toward 'worse'. Especially with the fundy kiss-the-prophets'-ass people stirring it up further.
And, if what can be dug out is correct, the French government is making it worse by, instead of taking concrete action to stop the rioting, arguing about whether 'tis better to appease the assholes or actually, maybe, making them stop.
The French really have two options; play appease and pay and plead and watch the rioting get worse, or do something hard and nasty that , while it'll cause condemnation by the usual suspects, might actually help. 'Course, if the commenter at Insty is correct, one of the things that would have to happen to really make a difference would be to make big changes in the French government and society, and barring a flat-out civil war that ain't gonna happen.
At least not in time.
"A handicapped woman was doused with petrol and set on fire by youths during another night of rioting in Paris. The 56-year-old suffered third degree burns to 20% of her body in the attack."
I've had second and third-degree burns; they hurt like a sonofabitch, and mine were over nowhere near 20%. And any burns over that large an area can kill you. But let's ignore that for a moment, and try to figure this: what kind of asshole does it take to do this?
And this is one incident of many. Instapundit and Michelle have a lot of links on this mess, and it's pretty bad. It looks like the incident of the two kids being electrocuted was the excuse these bastards needed to start this; they've been building up to it for a long time. For the last several years there've been articles about the mess in these parts of French cities; gangs ruling, police afraid to go in except in groups with automatic weapons, gang rapes, Jewish cemetaries and places of worship damaged and burned, Jews attacked, the whole damn list. I can't remember where the article was, but about a year ago read where there's been a regular circular trade going on; ragheads in France stealing high-dollar cars, smuggling them to eastern Europe to sell, taking part of the price in and/or taking money and buying automatic weapons and RPGs, then using those to knock off banks and armored cars and such. And, as one or two people have pointed out, here for instance, a lot of big media have gone way out of their way to avoid mentioning that muslims are the rioters; to the point that it slaps you in the face that instead of reporting news they're actively trying to manage and control what people hear and how they'll hear it. Which means, more than ever, what you get from the BBC or whoever has to be viewed with great suspicion and cross-checked('course, we've been doing that for a while anyway, but still...).
A guy who wrote to Insty wrote this:
"There's just no damn jobs. White college grads can't get jobs, what hope do immigrants from regions with bad schools have? I think this is more like the LA Rodney King riots -- there's people there who want the French dream, just as in LA people wanted the American dream, but they just don't see it when they look around, and they resent the fact enormously."
There's an amount of bullshit there, the King riots were a bunch of assholes using that trial as their excuse to loot and burn(much like these clowns and the electrocuted kids).From what he says, though, the muslims in question in France have no choice where to live or go to school and little chance of getting out, which would definately push things toward 'worse'. Especially with the fundy kiss-the-prophets'-ass people stirring it up further.
And, if what can be dug out is correct, the French government is making it worse by, instead of taking concrete action to stop the rioting, arguing about whether 'tis better to appease the assholes or actually, maybe, making them stop.
The French really have two options; play appease and pay and plead and watch the rioting get worse, or do something hard and nasty that , while it'll cause condemnation by the usual suspects, might actually help. 'Course, if the commenter at Insty is correct, one of the things that would have to happen to really make a difference would be to make big changes in the French government and society, and barring a flat-out civil war that ain't gonna happen.
At least not in time.
Carnival of Cordite #37
At the usual place, the wondrous Gullyborg, and including a couple of pieces by yours truly.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Ah, the tormenting of friends...
Also a range report
As mentioned before I wasn't able to make the NoR shoot(forgive me, K, for I have sinned), but there was a, ah, slight compensation. Which leads to the 'torment' above.
There was a small gun show I went to. Didn't know it was small until I got there, but a nice one in any case; found some things I needed/wanted, including the item in question here. I mentioned to Og what I'd found, he replied "!!*%#! Not a .22?" I said yes, and he called me unkind things, some of which referred to my family and parentage.
What I found was this, an Enfield training rifle:
Looks just like a standard #1 Mk3, except it's bored for .22 long rifle. One of the interesting things about the Enfield series is the two-piece bolt, body and head. With a standard rifle, if excess headspace developed a larger(longer) bolt head could be installed to correct it. In this case, a standard bolt head had an insert fitted to the inside with an off-center hole extending through the face. A firing pin was placed in the hole; the standard striker was cut off in front of the wide section near the front, so when you pull the trigger the striker hits the pin and bang. The extractor was modified to reach and hold the rimfire cartridge, and there's no ejector; the magazine is just the shell, and when you pull the bolt back the empty is pulled out of the chamber and falls into the mag body. So you have a rifle that is slightly heavier than the same rifle in .303(more steel left in the barrel), same sights and all, so you could start trainees off with a fairly quiet arm with virtually no recoil. A friend of mine got hold of one of these a couple of years ago, and it's a fun rifle to shoot, so when I ran across this one I was quite happy.
What caught my eye originally, though, was one of two unusual things about this one. In the rack it looked like another #1 until I saw this:
That is the rear sight from a Ross rifle. The Ross is a straight-pull bolt design, so what was that sight doing on it? Then I found that it was a .22 and... You'll notice in this picture the other oddity: that sling swivel in front of the magazine. It's not on my friends' rifle, or on a standard #1. The swivel base is part of the trigger guard, and if it was welded on it was a damn nice job; I'm thinking it was forged this way originally. I'd seen this third swivel on the WWII sniper rifles, but not on anything else. So it's a training rifle with the standard front and rear sights, with this bracket mounting a Ross sight on the receiver and a third swivel. Which information caused Og to say more unkind things about me, the brute, because these indicate it's one that was set up as a match rifle.
But the big question is, does it shoot? Yeah, yeah, collectable, blah blah. If it won't shoot well, I don't really want it. There are things I would make exception for, but a .22 that won't hit anything? So today I hied myself and it off to the range. Being short on time I went to the indoor range(H&H) where I mostly practice handgun. They have a 30-yard rifle side, and you have a rest for the forend, so I wasn't trusting to my somewhat wavering offhand style. The following four targets were:
First, with the Ross sight removed(pull one screw and it slides off the base) and the standard rear sight, using Eley Sport ammo:
This one was the same ammo with the Ross sight:
That high one was a called flyer.
Third was some of the Sellier & Bellot ammo that's on the market:
Last was shot with my favorite: Federal Lightning(now Champion):
Low shot was called flyer.
So yeah, it shoots. When I can I'll put it on a solid benchrest at 50 and 100 yards and see what it'll do, and I think it'll do well. This is about the same accuracy I get with this ammo and the Martini match rifle under the same conditions, so I'm quite hopeful of the results.
It doesn't make up for missing the shoot, but it's very nice anyway. A fine rifle, a variation of an already hard to find piece, with some undoubtedly interesting history behind it, and I get to care for it for the next however long.
Steam, Og. Mwahahahahaha!
Additional: The Eley Sport ammo seems to be very good stuff, it's one of the two most accurate in every rifle I've tried it in. And while the top-grade Eley Tenex runs about $11/box, the Sport can be had for $1.50 or so. And I remain amazed by the results from the cheap(pricewise) Federal ammo. In several rifles, from a Remington bolt to Martini match to Marlin semi-autos, it's consistently shot at least equal to and in most cases more accurately than anything else, including some $5/box match stuff. No, I'm not spending fifty dollars to get several boxes of the Olympic-grade stuff to test, not when these two give such good results. If you're shooting serious matches, it may well be worth it to you; it ain't to me, not now.
As mentioned before I wasn't able to make the NoR shoot(forgive me, K, for I have sinned), but there was a, ah, slight compensation. Which leads to the 'torment' above.
There was a small gun show I went to. Didn't know it was small until I got there, but a nice one in any case; found some things I needed/wanted, including the item in question here. I mentioned to Og what I'd found, he replied "!!*%#! Not a .22?" I said yes, and he called me unkind things, some of which referred to my family and parentage.
What I found was this, an Enfield training rifle:
Looks just like a standard #1 Mk3, except it's bored for .22 long rifle. One of the interesting things about the Enfield series is the two-piece bolt, body and head. With a standard rifle, if excess headspace developed a larger(longer) bolt head could be installed to correct it. In this case, a standard bolt head had an insert fitted to the inside with an off-center hole extending through the face. A firing pin was placed in the hole; the standard striker was cut off in front of the wide section near the front, so when you pull the trigger the striker hits the pin and bang. The extractor was modified to reach and hold the rimfire cartridge, and there's no ejector; the magazine is just the shell, and when you pull the bolt back the empty is pulled out of the chamber and falls into the mag body. So you have a rifle that is slightly heavier than the same rifle in .303(more steel left in the barrel), same sights and all, so you could start trainees off with a fairly quiet arm with virtually no recoil. A friend of mine got hold of one of these a couple of years ago, and it's a fun rifle to shoot, so when I ran across this one I was quite happy.
What caught my eye originally, though, was one of two unusual things about this one. In the rack it looked like another #1 until I saw this:
That is the rear sight from a Ross rifle. The Ross is a straight-pull bolt design, so what was that sight doing on it? Then I found that it was a .22 and... You'll notice in this picture the other oddity: that sling swivel in front of the magazine. It's not on my friends' rifle, or on a standard #1. The swivel base is part of the trigger guard, and if it was welded on it was a damn nice job; I'm thinking it was forged this way originally. I'd seen this third swivel on the WWII sniper rifles, but not on anything else. So it's a training rifle with the standard front and rear sights, with this bracket mounting a Ross sight on the receiver and a third swivel. Which information caused Og to say more unkind things about me, the brute, because these indicate it's one that was set up as a match rifle.
But the big question is, does it shoot? Yeah, yeah, collectable, blah blah. If it won't shoot well, I don't really want it. There are things I would make exception for, but a .22 that won't hit anything? So today I hied myself and it off to the range. Being short on time I went to the indoor range(H&H) where I mostly practice handgun. They have a 30-yard rifle side, and you have a rest for the forend, so I wasn't trusting to my somewhat wavering offhand style. The following four targets were:
First, with the Ross sight removed(pull one screw and it slides off the base) and the standard rear sight, using Eley Sport ammo:
This one was the same ammo with the Ross sight:
That high one was a called flyer.
Third was some of the Sellier & Bellot ammo that's on the market:
Last was shot with my favorite: Federal Lightning(now Champion):
Low shot was called flyer.
So yeah, it shoots. When I can I'll put it on a solid benchrest at 50 and 100 yards and see what it'll do, and I think it'll do well. This is about the same accuracy I get with this ammo and the Martini match rifle under the same conditions, so I'm quite hopeful of the results.
It doesn't make up for missing the shoot, but it's very nice anyway. A fine rifle, a variation of an already hard to find piece, with some undoubtedly interesting history behind it, and I get to care for it for the next however long.
Steam, Og. Mwahahahahaha!
Additional: The Eley Sport ammo seems to be very good stuff, it's one of the two most accurate in every rifle I've tried it in. And while the top-grade Eley Tenex runs about $11/box, the Sport can be had for $1.50 or so. And I remain amazed by the results from the cheap(pricewise) Federal ammo. In several rifles, from a Remington bolt to Martini match to Marlin semi-autos, it's consistently shot at least equal to and in most cases more accurately than anything else, including some $5/box match stuff. No, I'm not spending fifty dollars to get several boxes of the Olympic-grade stuff to test, not when these two give such good results. If you're shooting serious matches, it may well be worth it to you; it ain't to me, not now.
Remember that guy Ritter?
Scott Ritter? The 'former Marine Officer', as the 'anti-war' people liked to put it? Who turned out to be both a liar and a jerk who talked-up kids? Tim Blair compared some of his statements from 1999 and last month here. Example:
"Scott Ritter last month:
Be it said, I have a huge respect for the Marines and the men they turn out. Be it also said that, being a big organization, there's no way it can avoid having its' share of jerks. And just because someone was a good Marine doesn't mean they'll be wonderful at all other things. Look at John McCain; fine officer, fine service to his country, but look at what he's done as a Senator. Financial scandals, selling out people who trusted him and so forth. Ritter seems to be one of the bad ones, selling out when he saw benefit in it. And this is a good example of his selling out, and of how a lot of the 'peace and anti-war' people use the military when they take notice of them at all; he said what they want to hear, so he's a 'former Marine who should be listened to' when their usual reaction toward the military is moaning about fascists and those who allow the U.S. to ruin the world.
Ok, that's enough bitching on my part. Read Blair's post.
Additional: I mentioned yesterday the Democrats taking the Senate into closed session and the bullshit involved. Here's some interesting quotes from the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. Let's see, Bush wasn't President then, was he?
"Scott Ritter last month:
[B]y 1995 there were no more weapons in Iraq, there were no more documents in Iraq, there was no more production capability in Iraq because we were monitoring the totality of Iraq’s industrial infrastructure with the most technologically advanced, the most intrusive arms control regime in the history of arms control.Scott Ritter in 1999 (extract from Ritter’s Endgame):
In 1995 Unit 2001 conducted tests on live human subjects taken from the Abu Ghraib prison, using BW and binary CW agent. Around fifty prisoners were chosen for these experiments, which took place at a remote testing ground in western Iraq. The purpose of these experiments was to test the toxicity of available agent to ensure that the biological agent remained viable. As a result, all the prisoners died."
Be it said, I have a huge respect for the Marines and the men they turn out. Be it also said that, being a big organization, there's no way it can avoid having its' share of jerks. And just because someone was a good Marine doesn't mean they'll be wonderful at all other things. Look at John McCain; fine officer, fine service to his country, but look at what he's done as a Senator. Financial scandals, selling out people who trusted him and so forth. Ritter seems to be one of the bad ones, selling out when he saw benefit in it. And this is a good example of his selling out, and of how a lot of the 'peace and anti-war' people use the military when they take notice of them at all; he said what they want to hear, so he's a 'former Marine who should be listened to' when their usual reaction toward the military is moaning about fascists and those who allow the U.S. to ruin the world.
Ok, that's enough bitching on my part. Read Blair's post.
Additional: I mentioned yesterday the Democrats taking the Senate into closed session and the bullshit involved. Here's some interesting quotes from the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. Let's see, Bush wasn't President then, was he?
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
I's back
And a bit rested. So I need to catch up on some stuff.
First, the Carnival of Cordite(number 36 yet!) is up at Gullyborg. The announcement came out after I left town, so this is a late notice. And I don't care; I couldn't make it to the NoR shoot, but it was a good trip.
Speaking of the NoR, Gun Guy has pics up the the NoR site, plus his reaction to a presentation a lot of us put something into, plus his usual observations and a fine bunch of blog links. Start at the top and work your way down, it's worth it.
Speaking of Gullyborg, he's got a fine post on the Democrat weenies taking the Senate into secret session here.
So the Pres chose a guy named Alito as his pick to the SCOTUS. I admit that before I read anything about him, the fact that Reid and Schumer were speaking solemnly of their 'disappointment' and generally having the vapors(along with the usual suspects) told me a lot of what I needed to know.
I had a whole list of things in mind last night, but after sleeping and eating and taking care of things around the house, I can't remember most of them. Shut up. It'll happen to you, too.
I'll add some of them in when they come back to mind.
addons:
Remembered a big one. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership(here) found that when ATFE was questioned as to their testing manual for firearms, they came back with this: they ain't got one. Think about that; their 'experts' are testifying in court, people go to jail and/or have their lives ruined, and they don't have a standard testing procedure... There is no excuse for this kind of crap. Remember when all the screaming after the 'sniper murders' in MA tended to center on "ATF can't audit a firearms business more than once a year"? Bullshit. My understanding is they can make as many announced audits as they want, but can only do one unannounced audit a year, and the reason is their own past. A few years back a bipartisan congressional committee that investigated ATF slapped them with this restriction, among others, because they'd been abusing their authority. This feeds right into it; how can a law enforcement agency have their people testifying in court, under oath, when they don't even use a standard procedure? Because it's easier to jail people that way, I guess. There were reports in the past of ATF 'testers' taking semi-auto rifles, putting in a light firing pin spring or a heavier pin and using ammo with sensitive primers to 'test' them; if they got it to double once, "Well, we got us an illegal machine gun here!" and somebody winds up on trial. It's a lot easier to get away with crap like this if you don't have a standard procedure that a: you have to follow and b: can be pointed out in court. JPFO has the document available here, and you really should read it.
I'll add that this is another case of the assholes making is hard for the honest. I've dealt with some ATF people who were as helpful and easy to deal with as you could wish, and their job gets harder every time something like this comes out.
Addon:
Little Green Footballs has this and this on the rioting by primarily muslims in France. You know, that multi-culti heaven where all is well, and we should follow their example? Like this example, I guess:
"Sarkozy says that violence in French suburbs is a daily fact of life.
First, the Carnival of Cordite(number 36 yet!) is up at Gullyborg. The announcement came out after I left town, so this is a late notice. And I don't care; I couldn't make it to the NoR shoot, but it was a good trip.
Speaking of the NoR, Gun Guy has pics up the the NoR site, plus his reaction to a presentation a lot of us put something into, plus his usual observations and a fine bunch of blog links. Start at the top and work your way down, it's worth it.
Speaking of Gullyborg, he's got a fine post on the Democrat weenies taking the Senate into secret session here.
So the Pres chose a guy named Alito as his pick to the SCOTUS. I admit that before I read anything about him, the fact that Reid and Schumer were speaking solemnly of their 'disappointment' and generally having the vapors(along with the usual suspects) told me a lot of what I needed to know.
I had a whole list of things in mind last night, but after sleeping and eating and taking care of things around the house, I can't remember most of them. Shut up. It'll happen to you, too.
I'll add some of them in when they come back to mind.
addons:
Remembered a big one. Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership(here) found that when ATFE was questioned as to their testing manual for firearms, they came back with this: they ain't got one. Think about that; their 'experts' are testifying in court, people go to jail and/or have their lives ruined, and they don't have a standard testing procedure... There is no excuse for this kind of crap. Remember when all the screaming after the 'sniper murders' in MA tended to center on "ATF can't audit a firearms business more than once a year"? Bullshit. My understanding is they can make as many announced audits as they want, but can only do one unannounced audit a year, and the reason is their own past. A few years back a bipartisan congressional committee that investigated ATF slapped them with this restriction, among others, because they'd been abusing their authority. This feeds right into it; how can a law enforcement agency have their people testifying in court, under oath, when they don't even use a standard procedure? Because it's easier to jail people that way, I guess. There were reports in the past of ATF 'testers' taking semi-auto rifles, putting in a light firing pin spring or a heavier pin and using ammo with sensitive primers to 'test' them; if they got it to double once, "Well, we got us an illegal machine gun here!" and somebody winds up on trial. It's a lot easier to get away with crap like this if you don't have a standard procedure that a: you have to follow and b: can be pointed out in court. JPFO has the document available here, and you really should read it.
I'll add that this is another case of the assholes making is hard for the honest. I've dealt with some ATF people who were as helpful and easy to deal with as you could wish, and their job gets harder every time something like this comes out.
Addon:
Little Green Footballs has this and this on the rioting by primarily muslims in France. You know, that multi-culti heaven where all is well, and we should follow their example? Like this example, I guess:
"Sarkozy says that violence in French suburbs is a daily fact of life.
Since the start of the year, 9,000 police cars have been stoned and, each night, 20 to 40 cars are torched, Sarkozy said in an interview last week with the newspaper Le Monde."
The caliphate, anyone?
Monday, October 31, 2005
Did you miss me?
Anybody?
Damn.
In any case, back whole and reasonably healthy. No trick-or-treaters, which is a bummer. It's now late, I'm tired, and I've got stuff to write about. Tomorrow.
Except for this. Val notes that Castro and Chavez have been caught paying off politicians in Bolivia; and now the same in Brazil. You know, where the president was pushing for a ban on the ownership of arms? The president who, it turns out, has been bought and paid for by the worst dictator in the Western world? Gee, why would a corrupt politician, bought by a communist dictator, want the people disarmed? Any thoughts?
To borrow from Misha again, 'Lamppost, rope, politician: some assembly required'.
Damn.
In any case, back whole and reasonably healthy. No trick-or-treaters, which is a bummer. It's now late, I'm tired, and I've got stuff to write about. Tomorrow.
Except for this. Val notes that Castro and Chavez have been caught paying off politicians in Bolivia; and now the same in Brazil. You know, where the president was pushing for a ban on the ownership of arms? The president who, it turns out, has been bought and paid for by the worst dictator in the Western world? Gee, why would a corrupt politician, bought by a communist dictator, want the people disarmed? Any thoughts?
To borrow from Misha again, 'Lamppost, rope, politician: some assembly required'.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Just a thought before I go...
The word on the news is that Libby will be indicted, and the Grand Jury will be continued to keep looking at Rove.
I have a question: if you can be indicted for perjury now for remembering something you forgot before, or being reminded of a conversation you testified about and remembering something about it you'd forgotten(because it was, oh, two years before or something), if you can be charged with 'lying to a federal investigator' as Martha Stewart was- in an informal interview, not under oath, etc.- why would anyone say anything to an investigator or grand jury? If, because of some political connection with someone, you know that forgetting something about a conversation or forgetting talking to/about someone could get you charged with a crime, why say anything?
I can see someone being asked a question and taking the 5th Amendment: "Since anything I say, or forget to mention, or remember and add in later could get me charged with a crime, I plead the 5th and will not answer". And if the 5th protects you against self-incrimination, I would think that a perfectly proper use of the plea.
And if the prosecutors don't like it, maybe they should have considered that before.
I have a question: if you can be indicted for perjury now for remembering something you forgot before, or being reminded of a conversation you testified about and remembering something about it you'd forgotten(because it was, oh, two years before or something), if you can be charged with 'lying to a federal investigator' as Martha Stewart was- in an informal interview, not under oath, etc.- why would anyone say anything to an investigator or grand jury? If, because of some political connection with someone, you know that forgetting something about a conversation or forgetting talking to/about someone could get you charged with a crime, why say anything?
I can see someone being asked a question and taking the 5th Amendment: "Since anything I say, or forget to mention, or remember and add in later could get me charged with a crime, I plead the 5th and will not answer". And if the 5th protects you against self-incrimination, I would think that a perfectly proper use of the plea.
And if the prosecutors don't like it, maybe they should have considered that before.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
I love stuff that actually works
If you don't reload, the phrase 'stuck case' won't induce the same mix of terror and rage it does to us alchemists(as the Gun Guy calls us reloaders). So I'll explain a bit.
To reload cases, once you have some to reload(obtaining fired cases being an activity worthy all on its' own), the first step is resizing. You take the case, a resizing die set up in a press, and run the case into the die. The die usually does three things: first, it squeezes the case back down to standard unfired dimensions; second, a rod sticks way down into the case and through the flashhole and punches the fired primer out; third, when the case is sized it makes the neck area smaller than it should be, so there's a hardened steel button on the depriming rod, and as you pull the case out of the die the button expands the case neck to proper dimensions.
With a few exceptions- straight-walled pistol and rifle cartridges and a very few bottleneck rifle cartridges- the die is hardened steel with the inside very smoothly polished. The exceptions noted above have a ring made of carbide or a ring plated with titanium nitride that actually does the sizing. These two are extremely hard, and when polished have an extremely slick surface, so you can generally get by without lubing the cases. However, if you run a dry case into a standard steel die, the case will get stuck. WILL get stuck. Not 'pull a little harder on the lever' stuck or 'get something and tap on it' stuck. STUCK. We're talking teenage girls stuck on Orlando Bloom level here. You now have the options of getting a stuck case remover kit or taking the die apart and using a punch to hammer the case out, both of which ruin the case. And if you get careless, ruin the die. And they ain't cheap.
Enter Microlon. Yes, the same people who make the engine treatment I used on the bike. They make a stuff called Gun Juice for firearms. I've written about it before, mainly on cutting down fouling problems in barrels, and did a full review over at Mad Ogre's place in the weapons section. It slicked barrels up so well, and it mentioned using it on dies, so I stripped and cleaned my dies that aren't nitride or carbide and treated them. It did make a noticeable difference in the force needed to run cases in & out. And then...
A couple of weeks ago I had about a hundred .30-06 rifle cases to resize. Lubed them up and started. I generally put on some music for this stuff, so I'm cranking along when I notice that this case was kind of stubborn. And thought about it and realized the last half-dozen had been a bit stubborn. I grabbed that last few, and the next couple, and found that I'd somehow missed lubing about ten cases, six of which I'd run through the die.
This was flat amazing. No stuck cases when normally the first one would have jammed tight. So I'm definately a believer in this stuff. If you decide to try it, you can order it from Brownells, or straight from the company here.
To reload cases, once you have some to reload(obtaining fired cases being an activity worthy all on its' own), the first step is resizing. You take the case, a resizing die set up in a press, and run the case into the die. The die usually does three things: first, it squeezes the case back down to standard unfired dimensions; second, a rod sticks way down into the case and through the flashhole and punches the fired primer out; third, when the case is sized it makes the neck area smaller than it should be, so there's a hardened steel button on the depriming rod, and as you pull the case out of the die the button expands the case neck to proper dimensions.
With a few exceptions- straight-walled pistol and rifle cartridges and a very few bottleneck rifle cartridges- the die is hardened steel with the inside very smoothly polished. The exceptions noted above have a ring made of carbide or a ring plated with titanium nitride that actually does the sizing. These two are extremely hard, and when polished have an extremely slick surface, so you can generally get by without lubing the cases. However, if you run a dry case into a standard steel die, the case will get stuck. WILL get stuck. Not 'pull a little harder on the lever' stuck or 'get something and tap on it' stuck. STUCK. We're talking teenage girls stuck on Orlando Bloom level here. You now have the options of getting a stuck case remover kit or taking the die apart and using a punch to hammer the case out, both of which ruin the case. And if you get careless, ruin the die. And they ain't cheap.
Enter Microlon. Yes, the same people who make the engine treatment I used on the bike. They make a stuff called Gun Juice for firearms. I've written about it before, mainly on cutting down fouling problems in barrels, and did a full review over at Mad Ogre's place in the weapons section. It slicked barrels up so well, and it mentioned using it on dies, so I stripped and cleaned my dies that aren't nitride or carbide and treated them. It did make a noticeable difference in the force needed to run cases in & out. And then...
A couple of weeks ago I had about a hundred .30-06 rifle cases to resize. Lubed them up and started. I generally put on some music for this stuff, so I'm cranking along when I notice that this case was kind of stubborn. And thought about it and realized the last half-dozen had been a bit stubborn. I grabbed that last few, and the next couple, and found that I'd somehow missed lubing about ten cases, six of which I'd run through the die.
This was flat amazing. No stuck cases when normally the first one would have jammed tight. So I'm definately a believer in this stuff. If you decide to try it, you can order it from Brownells, or straight from the company here.
He's alive! He's safe! And he saved the beer!
Steve has now been heard from. He's posting from Man Camp, where Val has hooked up to a neighbors generator, and Steve's supplying badly needed labor and nutrients. (LIQUID nutrients, what did you think I meant?)
Among his thoughts on the current 'cane aftermath are that it's hard to get in a 'Oh my God!' frame of mind when you're sitting on the patio drinking homebrew, smoking a cigar, listening to music on the boombox and have a cockatoo for company. And how some people are freaking out, even though they don't live below sea level and have 'neighbors' floating their valuables away. And how some people in Broward County are comparing Wilma to Andrew; as he puts it:"So SHUT UP. Anyone up there who compares this storm to Andrew should be punished by having one leg of his walker glued to the floor so all he can do is shuffle in circles."
And think of being in a place where everything is electric, the lines are all down, and they tell you to boil your drinking water. As Steve says, a nicely mixed message. What to do, what to do... Aside from grabbing the nearest bureaucrat(assuming you can catch one out of his natural habitat of behind a counter with a security guard handy) and gently asking 'how?' as you choke him, that is. I'd say it's a good thing all those trees are down, except green wood doesn't burn worth a damn, and if it's been that long since a really nasty storm probably only 10% of the people around own an axe and have some idea how to use it without amputating body parts.
We've got tornados here, but at least they're a: at worst a mile wide, b: only travel about 20-30 miles in most cases and c: even though they can have winds over 300mph, they pass by in a few minutes, as opposed to a hurricane which only has 150mph winds but is a couple of hundred miles across("Wilma, you bitch, go on a diet!") and takes hours to pass by. Although we've had ice storms and wind storms that took down lines and poles and left some people without power for more than a month.
In any case, we have heard from Hog-Boy, and he is well. Maybe we can get him a laurel wreath to wear, with a sign that says 'Pig Power'.
Among his thoughts on the current 'cane aftermath are that it's hard to get in a 'Oh my God!' frame of mind when you're sitting on the patio drinking homebrew, smoking a cigar, listening to music on the boombox and have a cockatoo for company. And how some people are freaking out, even though they don't live below sea level and have 'neighbors' floating their valuables away. And how some people in Broward County are comparing Wilma to Andrew; as he puts it:"So SHUT UP. Anyone up there who compares this storm to Andrew should be punished by having one leg of his walker glued to the floor so all he can do is shuffle in circles."
And think of being in a place where everything is electric, the lines are all down, and they tell you to boil your drinking water. As Steve says, a nicely mixed message. What to do, what to do... Aside from grabbing the nearest bureaucrat(assuming you can catch one out of his natural habitat of behind a counter with a security guard handy) and gently asking 'how?' as you choke him, that is. I'd say it's a good thing all those trees are down, except green wood doesn't burn worth a damn, and if it's been that long since a really nasty storm probably only 10% of the people around own an axe and have some idea how to use it without amputating body parts.
We've got tornados here, but at least they're a: at worst a mile wide, b: only travel about 20-30 miles in most cases and c: even though they can have winds over 300mph, they pass by in a few minutes, as opposed to a hurricane which only has 150mph winds but is a couple of hundred miles across("Wilma, you bitch, go on a diet!") and takes hours to pass by. Although we've had ice storms and wind storms that took down lines and poles and left some people without power for more than a month.
In any case, we have heard from Hog-Boy, and he is well. Maybe we can get him a laurel wreath to wear, with a sign that says 'Pig Power'.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
More general thoughts
Steve has once again been rendered speechless by FP&L. I'm wondering if he ever got the ice for the fermenting fridge?
Kevin over at Smallest Minority has a number of good thoughts and reports. On the wussy GFW new James Bond(!), the move toward a carry law in Wisconsin, and the vote in Brazil.
The Geek speaks of Eugene Volokh and the 2nd, ABC playing bluffing games with the news, FEMA reversing course on one of their latest bullshit moves, and his own thoughts on Brazil.
I'm trying Steve's advise from last week on seasoning cast iron. I hope it works, I can smell it inside and the grill is outside and the windows are closed...
Mr. Completely writes of the Jennings .22. When I took my carry class, one lady had one of these, and the shots were keyholing at three yards. No thank you.
I checked the cast iron; it was nice & hot, and I hadn't set the garage on fire, so I turned off the heat and left it to cool slowly.
I just re-read Volokh's piece that I mentioned earler; GO READ IT. It's important.
I may not post for a few days. No, I won't be able to make the NoR shoot, but I will be out of town.
Kevin over at Smallest Minority has a number of good thoughts and reports. On the wussy GFW new James Bond(!), the move toward a carry law in Wisconsin, and the vote in Brazil.
The Geek speaks of Eugene Volokh and the 2nd, ABC playing bluffing games with the news, FEMA reversing course on one of their latest bullshit moves, and his own thoughts on Brazil.
I'm trying Steve's advise from last week on seasoning cast iron. I hope it works, I can smell it inside and the grill is outside and the windows are closed...
Mr. Completely writes of the Jennings .22. When I took my carry class, one lady had one of these, and the shots were keyholing at three yards. No thank you.
I checked the cast iron; it was nice & hot, and I hadn't set the garage on fire, so I turned off the heat and left it to cool slowly.
I just re-read Volokh's piece that I mentioned earler; GO READ IT. It's important.
I may not post for a few days. No, I won't be able to make the NoR shoot, but I will be out of town.
Various observations and comments
I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the news the last few days, so last night & this morning I've been cruising around.
Just read about the burned terrorist bodies and 'muslim outrage' at Wizbang. I have to agree with Jay; the 'mainstream Muslim community' does want it both ways- "Don't blame us, they're not true Muslims" and "You're not showing these Muslims proper respect!". To quote one of the commenters, "Pigshit". Either the bastards who set off a car bomb to kill a bunch of women and children or men applying for jobs are Muslims and you worry about their treatment, or they're murdering wastes of oxygen and don't deserve any consideration. You can't claim them when it suits you and disclaim them when it doesn't. Make up your damn minds, and in the meantime, shut the hell up.
Ran into Harry's Place, which I'd never seen before, who had this post on a wanker in the Guardian. Short version: Iraqi's Vote, Bush Aided In Next Election, All Is Lost! Worth reading, if only to see how BDS has spread worldwide. Check out the commenters for further illustration.
That bitch Sheehan and the fascist supporters are all atwitter because the 2000th soldier died due to combat in Iraq. Bunch of fucking vultures. I did hear Bush's speech the other day while I was doing laundry; contrast this to the MoveOn wing of the Democrat party and marvel at idiots who think terrorists killing people is preferable to us doing something about them. And a people becoming free.
Got time, go to Power Line and start at the top; lots of good stuff there.
The Gun Guy has initial thoughts about the Tulsa Gun Show.
Michelle Malkin wrote about a racist idiot at North Carolina State University. And the University disowning him.
Gee, I wonder why?
Captain's Quarters writes of Iran calling for Israel to be destroyed. NOW will somebody do something about their working to build nukes?
Michelle also notes that, beyond doubt, Al Franken really is a friggin' idiot.
I know I said it before, but Britain just keeps working harder to flush themselves further down the toilet. Piglet, pig stories, piggy banks... why don't they just wave a damn white flag and get it over with?
I think that's it for now.
Just read about the burned terrorist bodies and 'muslim outrage' at Wizbang. I have to agree with Jay; the 'mainstream Muslim community' does want it both ways- "Don't blame us, they're not true Muslims" and "You're not showing these Muslims proper respect!". To quote one of the commenters, "Pigshit". Either the bastards who set off a car bomb to kill a bunch of women and children or men applying for jobs are Muslims and you worry about their treatment, or they're murdering wastes of oxygen and don't deserve any consideration. You can't claim them when it suits you and disclaim them when it doesn't. Make up your damn minds, and in the meantime, shut the hell up.
Ran into Harry's Place, which I'd never seen before, who had this post on a wanker in the Guardian. Short version: Iraqi's Vote, Bush Aided In Next Election, All Is Lost! Worth reading, if only to see how BDS has spread worldwide. Check out the commenters for further illustration.
That bitch Sheehan and the fascist supporters are all atwitter because the 2000th soldier died due to combat in Iraq. Bunch of fucking vultures. I did hear Bush's speech the other day while I was doing laundry; contrast this to the MoveOn wing of the Democrat party and marvel at idiots who think terrorists killing people is preferable to us doing something about them. And a people becoming free.
Got time, go to Power Line and start at the top; lots of good stuff there.
The Gun Guy has initial thoughts about the Tulsa Gun Show.
Michelle Malkin wrote about a racist idiot at North Carolina State University. And the University disowning him.
Gee, I wonder why?
Captain's Quarters writes of Iran calling for Israel to be destroyed. NOW will somebody do something about their working to build nukes?
Michelle also notes that, beyond doubt, Al Franken really is a friggin' idiot.
I know I said it before, but Britain just keeps working harder to flush themselves further down the toilet. Piglet, pig stories, piggy banks... why don't they just wave a damn white flag and get it over with?
I think that's it for now.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Brazil Votes 'NO' On Gun Ban
In other news, Sara Brady is reported to be suffering severe gas attacks.
This is very good news. First, for the Brazilian people. They were hit with every 'we know best' hammer the 'elites' could use, and in the end said 'Hell no'. And 64 to 36 counts as Hell no. To quote a guy who wrote to Instapundit on this:
"Hi Glenn, I live in Brazil and believe me, you don't know the half of it. The level of propaganda from the pro-ban side, which included the current government, the Church, the Globo television network (think CBS, ABC and NBC combined) and the arts/intelligentsia crowd was beyond the pale and clearly directed at the less fortunate. In other words, it was presented as a class vote. The margin of victory indicates that Brazilians of all classes voted against this ridiculous referendum. It is a sure sign of the steady but certain maturing of democracy in this country. "
Think about that; just about every group that keeps helping push for bans/taxes/restictions here- discounting the President and our current government- was yelling at them, and they listened to both sides and said 'No'. I like this quote from Dave Kopel's post at the Volokh Conspiracy:
“Their whole campaign (against the ban) was imported from the United States. They just translated a lot of material from the NRA. Now, a lot of Brazilians are insisting on their right to bear arms, they don’t even have a pseudo right to bear arms. It’s not in their Constitution,” said Jessica Galeria, an American who researches gun violence with the Viva Rio think tank.
Don't you just love that? "Oh, God, they actually believe they have a right to arms! And their government hasn't given them permission to think such a thing! And the eeeeviill NRA had a hand in it! Aaaaaahhhh!" May they strain their throats with their screaming. As Kopel points out, their constitution specifically states:
"the home is the inviolable asylum of the individual, and no one may enter it without the dweller's consent, save in the case of "flagrante delicto" or disaster, or to give help, or, during the day, by court order;"
and if you have the right to protect your home from invasion, you have, implied at least, the right to the means to protect your home. There's more in the post, so go read it.
And the Reuters AlertNet article is just full of good stuff.
""We didn't lose because Brazilians like guns. We lost because people don't have confidence in the government or the police," said Denis Mizne of anti-violence group Sou da Paz." Gee, you think maybe? They think the police are corrupt and/or incompetent and want means to protect themselves? Whoda thunk it?
"Many voters had expressed concern before the vote that a ban would leave them defenseless against heavily armed criminals. Public confidence is low in a police force widely seen as inefficient, abusive and corrupt." Yep.
" "This referendum ... is not going to end violence," said Assis Augusto Pires, 60, who voted against the ban in Sao Paulo's wealthy Jardim Paulistano district, where high walls, electrified fences and private guards protect residents." Wow, even people who can afford private heat want arms! Hear that, Sen. Kennedy(Dr.MA)?
"Spotlighting the issue, a young girl was wounded by a stray bullet as police clashed with drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro's Dende slum on Saturday night, police said." Gee, some of the strictest gun-control laws around and the gangs still have guns? Sound familiar, D.C.?
And this one: " The ban failed in all 26 states and the federal district of Brasilia. Rural areas rejected it overwhelmingly. "This region is very isolated. If you don't have a gun here you don't have protection," said Igor Dedea, a logger in the rainforest state of Para." So it failed everywhere, and in rural areas 'overwhelmingly'.
Brazil is like a lot of countries; the government has made it as difficult as it can for a common citazen(at least they don't openly call them 'peasants') to own a gun, and is constantly trying to make it worse. And in Brazil's case, they're next door to Venezuela which has the weenie Chavez as president(think that may have something to do with some of their troubles?), with Chavez trying to export the wonders of castro throughout South America. But this gives me hope. The people of Brazil got both sides and voted to keep their ability to own arms for whatever reasons they choose. They took note that with current laws the bad guys aren't even slowed down in getting weapons, and decided that "Trust us, this will make you safe" from the government didn't cut it.
Now, let's see, a referendum to put a right to arms in their constitution... Probably won't happen, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?
This is very good news. First, for the Brazilian people. They were hit with every 'we know best' hammer the 'elites' could use, and in the end said 'Hell no'. And 64 to 36 counts as Hell no. To quote a guy who wrote to Instapundit on this:
"Hi Glenn, I live in Brazil and believe me, you don't know the half of it. The level of propaganda from the pro-ban side, which included the current government, the Church, the Globo television network (think CBS, ABC and NBC combined) and the arts/intelligentsia crowd was beyond the pale and clearly directed at the less fortunate. In other words, it was presented as a class vote. The margin of victory indicates that Brazilians of all classes voted against this ridiculous referendum. It is a sure sign of the steady but certain maturing of democracy in this country. "
Think about that; just about every group that keeps helping push for bans/taxes/restictions here- discounting the President and our current government- was yelling at them, and they listened to both sides and said 'No'. I like this quote from Dave Kopel's post at the Volokh Conspiracy:
“Their whole campaign (against the ban) was imported from the United States. They just translated a lot of material from the NRA. Now, a lot of Brazilians are insisting on their right to bear arms, they don’t even have a pseudo right to bear arms. It’s not in their Constitution,” said Jessica Galeria, an American who researches gun violence with the Viva Rio think tank.
Don't you just love that? "Oh, God, they actually believe they have a right to arms! And their government hasn't given them permission to think such a thing! And the eeeeviill NRA had a hand in it! Aaaaaahhhh!" May they strain their throats with their screaming. As Kopel points out, their constitution specifically states:
"the home is the inviolable asylum of the individual, and no one may enter it without the dweller's consent, save in the case of "flagrante delicto" or disaster, or to give help, or, during the day, by court order;"
and if you have the right to protect your home from invasion, you have, implied at least, the right to the means to protect your home. There's more in the post, so go read it.
And the Reuters AlertNet article is just full of good stuff.
""We didn't lose because Brazilians like guns. We lost because people don't have confidence in the government or the police," said Denis Mizne of anti-violence group Sou da Paz." Gee, you think maybe? They think the police are corrupt and/or incompetent and want means to protect themselves? Whoda thunk it?
"Many voters had expressed concern before the vote that a ban would leave them defenseless against heavily armed criminals. Public confidence is low in a police force widely seen as inefficient, abusive and corrupt." Yep.
" "This referendum ... is not going to end violence," said Assis Augusto Pires, 60, who voted against the ban in Sao Paulo's wealthy Jardim Paulistano district, where high walls, electrified fences and private guards protect residents." Wow, even people who can afford private heat want arms! Hear that, Sen. Kennedy(Dr.MA)?
"Spotlighting the issue, a young girl was wounded by a stray bullet as police clashed with drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro's Dende slum on Saturday night, police said." Gee, some of the strictest gun-control laws around and the gangs still have guns? Sound familiar, D.C.?
And this one: " The ban failed in all 26 states and the federal district of Brasilia. Rural areas rejected it overwhelmingly. "This region is very isolated. If you don't have a gun here you don't have protection," said Igor Dedea, a logger in the rainforest state of Para." So it failed everywhere, and in rural areas 'overwhelmingly'.
Brazil is like a lot of countries; the government has made it as difficult as it can for a common citazen(at least they don't openly call them 'peasants') to own a gun, and is constantly trying to make it worse. And in Brazil's case, they're next door to Venezuela which has the weenie Chavez as president(think that may have something to do with some of their troubles?), with Chavez trying to export the wonders of castro throughout South America. But this gives me hope. The people of Brazil got both sides and voted to keep their ability to own arms for whatever reasons they choose. They took note that with current laws the bad guys aren't even slowed down in getting weapons, and decided that "Trust us, this will make you safe" from the government didn't cut it.
Now, let's see, a referendum to put a right to arms in their constitution... Probably won't happen, but it's a nice thought, isn't it?
Sunday, October 23, 2005
And let us not forget National Ammo Day
If you're new to it, it started as one day in which everyone possible would buy at least 100 rounds of ammo. For all information, posters, etc. go here.
I just wish I could count the stuff I picked up yesterday.
I just wish I could count the stuff I picked up yesterday.
Carnival of Cordite #35
Is up at Gullyborg. I don't even know what's in it yet; I just got the e-mail. So go, beat me to it.
The Big Gun Show Report
As I mentioned, this is the biggest gun show in the world; the building is 11 acres(!) and it's full, something like 3800 tables. Guns, ammo, parts, accessories, knives, books, if it's related to firearms you'll either find it there, or find someone who can get it for you.
Also there, I just found out was the Gun Guy. Dammit, I wish I'd known, I'd have made sure I said hello. As it was, there's so many damn people, so many of whom look familiar for different reasons, I didn't notice him. Or maybe he doesn't look like his picture, or was gone to pee, who knows?
For some reason Martini Cadet rifles seem to have gone way up on price; the only one below $500 was pretty beat up in the stock and still $450. I'd like to have one, but not for that price.
Among other things, I picked up some sling swivels, recoil buffers and ammo. Found a place that had a good price on M2 ball for the M1 rifle. And my friend bought a tuna can each of 7.62x54R and 8mm from them. AND they dollied it out to the truck; what more can you ask for? You could go broke in the place really easy. And really quick.
Books. Lots of books. I'm going to have to make a list of Peter Capstick's stuff I don't have or want in hardback. No problem with buying from Books a Million, but if I can pick it up at the show...
Yesterday was cloudy and cool, today started cloudy and occasional sprinkles and cold. And maybe some frost tonight, dammit. I've got to cover the squash and maybe it'll last long enough to produce. I hope so.
Also there, I just found out was the Gun Guy. Dammit, I wish I'd known, I'd have made sure I said hello. As it was, there's so many damn people, so many of whom look familiar for different reasons, I didn't notice him. Or maybe he doesn't look like his picture, or was gone to pee, who knows?
For some reason Martini Cadet rifles seem to have gone way up on price; the only one below $500 was pretty beat up in the stock and still $450. I'd like to have one, but not for that price.
Among other things, I picked up some sling swivels, recoil buffers and ammo. Found a place that had a good price on M2 ball for the M1 rifle. And my friend bought a tuna can each of 7.62x54R and 8mm from them. AND they dollied it out to the truck; what more can you ask for? You could go broke in the place really easy. And really quick.
Books. Lots of books. I'm going to have to make a list of Peter Capstick's stuff I don't have or want in hardback. No problem with buying from Books a Million, but if I can pick it up at the show...
Yesterday was cloudy and cool, today started cloudy and occasional sprinkles and cold. And maybe some frost tonight, dammit. I've got to cover the squash and maybe it'll last long enough to produce. I hope so.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Must...drink....and rest...
Got up at 0500, which I normally don't do unless there's a chance of shooting something, and got home about fifteen minutes ago. And I'm beat. I shall write of the wonders of the Big Gun Show tomorrow. If I wake up.
Friday, October 21, 2005
More progress
In some things, anyway. The friend I'm going to the Big Gun Show with has a set of short-range radios we've used the last couple of years. This year, between fire/marriage/moving twice, for some reason he can't find the damn things. So off I go to Wally World.
I now have a set of Uniden radios, max 3-mile range, run on three AAA batteries apiece, for the grand total of $18.22. If I had regular need of such, they had a set with 6-mile range, running on four AAAs each, with charger and eight NiMh batteries, for about $25. God, these things have improved.
By the way, when big trouble with China(the evil PRC China) happens, one of our big problems is so much of our small stuff has been farmed out to them. With virtual slave labor(non-virtual, in some cases) they've undercut our domestic makers of stuff so much that I don't think American companies even make some of the stuff anymore. Last time I needed some small files, the only ones I could find were made in either China or India. How much of our electronics come from China? Other countries, too, but the stuff that worries me is the huge amount of small, you-don't think-about-it stuff that comes from the PRC.
I'm to bed, up early tomorrow. I will, in due time, report on this thing.
I now have a set of Uniden radios, max 3-mile range, run on three AAA batteries apiece, for the grand total of $18.22. If I had regular need of such, they had a set with 6-mile range, running on four AAAs each, with charger and eight NiMh batteries, for about $25. God, these things have improved.
By the way, when big trouble with China(the evil PRC China) happens, one of our big problems is so much of our small stuff has been farmed out to them. With virtual slave labor(non-virtual, in some cases) they've undercut our domestic makers of stuff so much that I don't think American companies even make some of the stuff anymore. Last time I needed some small files, the only ones I could find were made in either China or India. How much of our electronics come from China? Other countries, too, but the stuff that worries me is the huge amount of small, you-don't think-about-it stuff that comes from the PRC.
I'm to bed, up early tomorrow. I will, in due time, report on this thing.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Another reason to like John Stossel
I argue with him on a number of points, but more often I tend to nod my head in agreement when he's doing one of his reports. Case in point, this one. Go read it, it won't take long.
All done? Point after point knocking down the gun-ban agenda(don't tell me it's not their agenda; Clayton Cramer has a list somewhere of quotes from a bunch of these people, I'll try to find it and post it).
(Update: Found it! Was at the Volokh Conspiracy, here)
Think it'll make any difference to the hysterics and nannies? I don't either, but getting the information out there lets people who can be reasoned with know the facts.
All done? Point after point knocking down the gun-ban agenda(don't tell me it's not their agenda; Clayton Cramer has a list somewhere of quotes from a bunch of these people, I'll try to find it and post it).
(Update: Found it! Was at the Volokh Conspiracy, here)
Think it'll make any difference to the hysterics and nannies? I don't either, but getting the information out there lets people who can be reasoned with know the facts.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
And I have to make note of this
In a comment on my last 'cleaning greasy old guns' post Gerry close his comment with this: "I could go into minute detail, but most folks capable of detail stripping a rifle aren't liberals and are smart enough to figure it out for themselves."
I just love this.
I just love this.
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