Return From Rottfest

Actually I got home four days ago, but I had such a marvelous time, working on not enough sleep that I lost one day. I loved being there so much, that I stayed over an extra day. The few extra bucks for "Business Class" paid off right there, being I could change flights without penalty.

The Rottfest was a gathering of some of the nicest, most interesting and informative people I have ever meet. An eclectic group for sure. A military doctor, a long haul truck driver, LEO's, teacher...not to mention all the myriad jobs we had each had in the past.

There was three firearms instructors there, along with a pile of various long and short arms. Got to shoot a .45 and .40 semi-auto handgun, plus a custom built AR-15 ("Bad Karma") and 50 rounds through one of these bad boys:



An HK PS90

We even managed to break the indoor range we were shooting at. An armor piercing round got mixed into a clip and a weld on the backstop split. (I didn't do it!) I did get a couple on pointers on my stance and I didn't get yelled at for any mistakes in range etiquette or safety.

One of the guys offered to build a custom AR-15 for me at a price that is less than I could get a basic off-the-shelf one for here and I think I'd be a fool to pass him up on the offer.

I've already got my calendar marked for Rottfest 2011.

The Rifleman

I finally break down and get a new machine and what do I get hooked on? A black and white TV show from the '50's.



I went to HULU to find a movie to watch but ran into "The Rifleman", a show I loved while I was growing up. Lucas McCain was my hero. In those 30 minute shows I found a man who was fair, honorable, worked hard for what he wanted and above all loved his son.

In all the years I have watched this program, I had never known how Lucas and Mark got to North Fork, now I do.

Did you know Sam Peckinpah wrote and directed the original screenplay and a lot of the first year episode?

And for you rifle purists, I know that the show is set in the early 1880's and the rifle was produced in 1892...I don't care!

There are 50 episodes on Hulu if you'd like to go back down that trail.

When You Think You've Heard It All

From boston.com

But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.

DOUG VAN GORDER
Quincy

This idiot is not only a "progressive", he's a teacher! And not only is he a teacher, he's experienced the horror of being a helpless victim.

I AM a math teacher at Brockton High School, the site of a school shooting earlier this month.

I was mugged once. I was scared, and just wanted the situation to be over, but the more I gave into the demands of the mugger, the more he'd demand, until I finally decided that the next step could/would be to get rid of the witness.

That is the one "no holds barred" fight I have ever had in my life...hell, it's the only fight I've ever had, but the one thing I learned from that experience was that the second I fought back, the mugger was the one conceding position.

Current school security procedures lock down school populations in the event of armed assault. Some advocate abandoning this practice as it holds everyone in place, allowing a shooter easily to find victims.

An alternative to lockdown is immediate exodus via announcement. Although this removes potential hostages and makes it nearly impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets, it unfairly rewards resourceful children who move to safety off-site more shrewdly and efficiently than others.

Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish. [emphasis: mine]

If one dies, we all die, that makes life "fair". He recognizes the danger of sitting and hoping the police show up in time, but is willing to sacrifice the many for the few.

This asshole has to be one of those that worked to forbid games like Dodge ball and Musical Chairs because someone loses, either through guile, speed or luck.

Let's go back to the quote I cited at the top:

But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.

First off, I going to guess that this asshat has no children of his own. God help you if you did anything to hurt my boy. I don't care if he is 21 years old and bigger, stronger and faster than me, my duty is to protect him and do everything in my power to see that he lives a long life.

That last line is the best:

than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime

Using a weapon to protect the innocent...is a crime itself. (I'll bet a months wages this spineless sheep voted for Obama.) This guy, DOUG VAN GORDER of Brockton High School in Quincy, Mass. is not going to be like Liviu Librescu at Virginia Tech, he's going to be hiding behind your children hoping HE doesn't get shot.

Dumbass With A Gun

How many things are wrong with this picture?
(borrowed from the Rott)



The right to keep and bear arms may be in the Constitution, but good G-d Almighty!

I can only assume that when his partner fired it didn't startle him and he pulled his fucking trigger.

* He's wearing an ATF hat (I hope he got it on Ebay)

* He's, like, pointing a gun to his head.

* Finger inside trigger guard...You never, never put your finger inside that space unless your 99% sure you are going to fire the gun.

And just to prove that there are Dumbass guys that even if you take guns away from them will still try to find a way to keep themselves from procreating.

TGIF

This was one of the picts tied to an Email sent to me today about a hamburger joint in Chandler, Az. Damn, I was in Phoenix just 3 weeks ago. Would have gone by, if I knew it was there. My host in Phoenix will hear about this oversight.

Here's their site: Heart Attack Grill (Sound on for the theme song.)

That was something I needed to run into today. Work hasn't been bad, but the crap going on with the bailout of the sub-prime companies has kept my blood pressure up at the limits. I now have 2 2/3 days off before my stint on graveyard shift.

Other things I ran into.

This is great: Evolution of Wedding Dance. Look like a fun loving couple. (Peruse the site, Deej has got some great stuff there)

This was inspired by the viral video: Evolution of Dance

I mentioned above the Sub-prime debacle going on, well not to be outdone, there is this fun piece of news I got this morning:


Villaraigosa to unveil L.A. housing plan
The mayor will propose a $5-billion, five-year effort to build homes for the poor and middle class. But some wonder whether it is feasible.

I ain't one of the ones wondering if it's feasible. This city can't keep it's hospitals open, the roads repaired, the tax increase that was suppose to hire more cops got diverted to gang programs that I wrote about earlier: Why Is L.A. Going Down The Crapper?. Now we are going to build "affordable housing"? We never learn. New modern tenements to warehouse the poor. By the time these things fall apart, Mayor (and "former" gang member) Villaraigosa will be long gone...along with his kickbacks.

Hell!!! Now I'm mad again.

I need a happy thought...

I'm going to meet a fellow Rottie at a shooting range in just over a week.. He sent me a list of his guns, and outside of the uniqueness of my black powders, he's got me beat. I'm going to owe him a beer.

I'll close with a song. Most of you (that would be you 7 of twelve) won't like this, but I'm not posting for you. It's got something catchy about it and it's the most requested song on the music station I listen to. Give it a chance and you may get one of them earworms. If you hate it, I didn't post it for you, I just hope it's there years down the road if I ever stumble into this again, I'll wipe the spittle from my chin and go "What the hell?", kinda like when I thought "The Knack" were hot.



Paper Airplanes by MIA

A Good Time Was had By All

I had a major jolt of OT on my paycheck last week so I decided it was time to spend something on me for a change. I hadn't been to a gun store in close to a year and I was down to enough ammo to fight off a first assault.

I posted this at the Rott to see if they could advise me on possible next steps and I'm going to just paste it here.

Back from the toy store.

Got to caress some .45 Kimbers. The salesman handed me a stainless and I told him that while balanced it just felt heavy, so he showed me the UltraCarry (Aluminium frame), felt nice, but I bet you have to make sure the thing is spotless after firing or the pits start to happen. He also told me you don’t know exactly what color it will be, when they blue it, it can come out anywhere from green to dark blue. He also showed me a version that that was colored like a rattlesnake. They were all way too cool, but I can’t afford over $1000 for a pistol.

The main point for going was to find a conceal weapon. The only .40 that they had that was small and very very light. I figure every time I shoot it I’d have to bring my aim back from 45 degrees due to kick. It was a Kahr who I know nothing about, and when he said “until you put minimum of 300 rounds through it, it will jam. (No go)

We then looked at some .38’s and as a carry weapon, the hammerless revolvers look good. They are much thinner than I thought, and no hammer, no added catch on clothing.

I did pick up a brick of .22 ammo (I’ve got plenty, but now we can go always psycho at the range with it if we want), target rounds for the 12 ga. (There had been a run on 00). 120 rounds .40 JHP, some to run through at the range (new brand) and some for…being available. They were out of wad cutters, so I go back Tuesday to pick up a box of 00 and some target rounds for the pistol.

I wonder if other people are getting edgy, I’ve never seen this store run out of things.

If any of you GLP’s (Gun Loving Psychos) here have suggestions, I am a more than an willing student. I’m not rich, so “you can’t go wrong with Kimber” isn’t what I need. I’ll pay for a good piece of machinery that does what it’s suppose to do, but my initial budget from what I looked at today, is set around the around +/- $500 range. I’ll pay the limit if someone can convince me it’s worth it.

I asked if they were going to stock the XM25 soon, I doesn’t look promising for the near future.
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If anyone here has suggestions, I always open.