Johnny Orr passed away

Too bad. I attended games as a student when Orr coached. (and the Mayor was playing) One of the best coaches ISU has ever had.

Hoiberg hosted him at a game only last month.

Well, this story has legs

One of those dusty, watery eye type stories. Made it all the way to England, even.

I remember she seemed like a nice woman at a fundraiser held to help her children shortly before she passed. My wife says this was something she would do.

Why have I not watched this before

Whale wars is absolutely hilarious! The sad hippie faces alone brighten my day.

And one more thing

Finally got around to watching Sucker Punch this week. The action sequences were bad ass. Hell, so bad ass I didn't even notice the B-25 had a jet engine on the right side during my first viewing. And I never picked up on the mirror tricks until I watched the behind the scenes stuff. I just assumed CGI. Nope. Fooled me.

Cold temp test

Loaded up some 300 BLK loads recently. Left them in the truck all week in the cold weather. It was a balmy 12 degrees when I ran these. Only problem was one 20 round pmag not feeding. Rounds 3 through 20 were fine, the first two shots ejected but didn't take a new round.

So, in other news

Apartheid sucked and all. RIP Mandela.

CNN to stop showing the news

What is the response to getting their asses kicked by Fox News constantly? Throw in the towel and do something else besides news. Because trying to come at stories from less than a full on leftist slant (as opposed to Fox News' barely leftist slant) would be beneath them.

Grrr

FNX 45s require warm loads to cycle the heavy slide. Loading more than a small number is a waste of primers and bullets. Guess I have some 1911 bullets, if nothing else good happens. And, damn, Rainier 200 grain bullets seat like crap.

Well, that is a glitch

Looks like there is an upper limit to the amount of money you can make in GTA V. Because Michael should have near $3 billon. Trevor and Franklin should be around $2.3 and $2.4 billion, respectively. Stock market manipulation is fun and profitable.

This was a max money playthrough- I spent the smallest amount of cash as possible this run. I did pimp whatever weapons I had, and a few cars. It is really a waste to do the stock market missions past the $1.5 billion mark.

I may go back a save and stash 1/2 of the cash in a different stock before pulling the remainder out. Or just blow some shit up...

A Black Friday Sale I found useful

Andrew Branca's book, The Law of Self Defense, 2nd edition, is on sale on Amazon today. Bought it! Andrew did great work covering the Zimmerman trial at Legal Insurrection.

Giving thanks

Ultrasounds are pretty neat. 10 fingers, toes and a bad attitude at being disturbed. Definitely takes after me....

Hmmmm

Wally World had 1200 round count boxes of 9mm. For $500. Must be some kind of dumbass test. $42 per 100 for Turkish 9mm? Maybe they will be discounted on black Friday. I'm too lazy to look it up.

They also had sample packs of 22lr last night. Well, they were Mini mags, those almost always come in sample packs.

Update: By 8 am, the 4 cans of Turk 9mm were gone. At least according to a co-worker on another shift. Wonder if they weren't supposed to be out yet. I seriously think only the severely mathematically challenged would buy 1200 rounds of 9mm for 2x the non-gunshow rate.

That's nice, honey

NBC interrupted an old SNL for Obama to shout "SQUIRREL!" about some deal "he" worked with Iran. I think I would rather watch Lady Gaga. Maybe if he would put effort into listening to people in this country....

Okay, so Iran pulled the same scam on Obama that he pulls on the stupid party. "Freeze" Iran's program, lift sanctions and talk later. Expert foreign policy my ass...

50 years

Today is the anniversary of noted communist Lee Harvey Oswald giving John F Kennedy his renewal notice.

Speaking of renewal notices, nice of Harry Reid to give one to the filibuster rules in the Senate. Commence packing of the judiciary! Looks like Tom Harkin wants to go the full Lincoln and change more rules, because fuck reaching across the aisle, that bipartisanship is for pussies without the media covering their asses.

Things to do in Los Santos when you are dead

Some snaps of various activities to do in Grand Theft Auto V.

Read unapproved materials:

Critique performance art: 

Hunt with a high capacity assault weapon:

Jaywalk:

 

 Appropriate taxpayer assets for nefarious purposes:

 Be a dick:

National buy ammo day

A Communist Shot Kennedy Week

Just saying. 50 years this Friday since Lee Harvey Oswald, Communist defector, shot John F. Kennedy. Not some vast hokey conspiracy with Elvis and a time machine. One asshole with a surplus rifle. Not the city of Dallas or some Texas hate machine.

If anything, Ruby was doing what any pissed of American would do. Avenging the death of his president.

Obamacare Navigators need to pass a NICS check

Seeing as to how they all seem to be scheming felons or ACORN retreads.

27000 people signed up for Obamacare?????

I'm starting to think the true number of uninsured in this country is actually just the people who testified before Congress back in 2009-10.

Oh, and those people who have lost their policies due to Obamacare....

Reloading notes

One of the screws backed out of my powder drop linkage while I was using it yesterday. I ended up weighing every loaded round from that batch. Any suspect rounds that deviated too far from a known baseline were taken apart. All had powder; all were within +/-.1 grain. I'm now checking the screws each batch. If they get loose again, a dab of blue Lock-Tite 242 will be in order.

A can of R134a dry air is invaluable in keeping the press clean.

Verifying that the press is locked in position after indexing saves cases. I placed marks on the press as visual aids, but mostly a slight tug as I'm guiding the bullet into the seating die does the trick.

Obamacare cart

A thought on the Obamacare enrollment numbers being fudged by including people window shopping. Since the law is so poorly written and loosely interpreted, maybe those people really are, in one way or another, already enrolled. If they don't buy a plan, they have helpfully provided the IRS with a reason to bill them next year.

Logjam

The bottleneck is no longer the reloading bench. Now, actually delivering the lead to steel is the problem. I guess I could load up the stinking small primer 45 auto brass...

Double take

I need to go back and watch Anthony Bourdain on the DVR. Last night he had a round table with some CNN knobs and a chef of Korean decent. They discussed how much Anthony liked guns and his episode where he shot an AR. I swear I heard the chef say something along the lines of "I want to move out of California and buy an AR with no background checks." He and his family were among the rooftop self defense variety back during the riots of '92.

Guess I'm a Progressive Now

Okay, I stepped up to a progressive press. I have been looking/reading up for a few months now. Robert recommended the Lee Loadmaster. (correct me if I am wrong) I watched all the videos, looked at Lee's Loadmaster and Pro 1000. Hornady has the Lock N Load AP with good reviews. Dillon has some very nice setups too, just a little out of my price range. At least, those with the ability to load rifle were. I almost pulled the trigger on a Lee- I liked that they have a case feed system included.

Pardon my mess

What pushed me into the Hornady was a coworker looking for an AR upper. Deals were struck, and now I have a Hornady Lock N Load AP. I even used it as a full fledged AP press for the first 100 rounds. Ruined 4 cases figuring things out.

What I've found works for me is to load in 2 steps. The first run thru de-primes, (I love the primer system, with a hose on the end to drop them directly in a trash can) sizes and bells the case mouth. Then I clean the cases. (cough, sometimes, cough) Hand priming is next, mainly because I am a control freak with primers. You have to go by feel, not sight when priming cases with a progressive press. Maybe I will get used to it. I doubt it. I then feed the cases back into the press with nothing in position one. Two has the belling die. Three is the powder drop- which is just freaking cool to watch in action. Position four seats the bullet, after a quick visual powder check. Five is a Lee Factory Crime Die. I'd say 99% of the time the autoeject works perfectly. I can load 200 primed cases in less than 30 minutes working at a steady pace. I am now out of 40 S&W brass to reload, other than roughly 50 cases held in reserve.

Why buy a progressive press when I'm not using it as one? The real reason I wanted a progressive was to reduce case handling. To load 100 rounds on my single stage, I was touching each case 6 times- sizing, belling, priming, powder drop, bullet seating and crimp die. My hands start cramping by round 50. (Okay, the night I de-glocked, sized and belled 1200 cases was, in hindsight, a bad idea) I thought about a turret press. Couldn't see that much of an advantage over a single stage, though the Lee with the auto advance would almost work the same- size, bell on one die plate, hand pump primers, swap heads powder, seat and crimp on the other die plate.

Below is a quick test of my first batch. That Streamlight helps keep the muzzle on target.

Decorating pumpkins with a 6.8

90 grain Speer tnt at 50 yards. I wasn't there, but they were my reloads. I guess, due to wind direction, bits of pumpkin were raining down on them at the firing line.

DST over

Because 536* people in DC determined one day you couldn't decide what time of day it was on your own. By using that fancy glowbull warming thing in the sky.


*A few less when it was originally enacted.

Oh, no

A home brewing supply store is opening next to my favorite gun shop. I'm going to go broke on one block...

Also found at the fun store

Ammo storage boxes! A little small, but effective. Nice when your LGS will order hens teeth for you, instead of playing Midway's 2 item limit game. 

Blue gun

Halloween leftovers.

WTF did I do!

I think I mounted a lightsaber on my pistol!

The switch was on when I put the batteries in. I was blinded. A 630 lumen TLR-1 HL will do that to you.

All sorts of handy

Picked up a primer swager tool. RCBS 9481. Very nice, even on those nasty LC crimps. I reloaded 20 cases- Winchester, Winchester 5.56 and Tula brass*. Also tried a few LC marked cases I had already used a cutting type swaging tool to trim. Primers slid in consistently after using the new swager. I feel the need to shoot up some of my nemesis- PSD marked brass from PMC. Too bad I got pissed and chucked most of the brass last time.

 A deal for the $40 Midway wants, and a steal for $32 locally.

*I swaged about 150 cases, only reloaded some samples. Compared to using the cutting type tools, it took less time and effort, although the cup on the base could be taller on my Lock 'n Load Hornady press. Maybe I can find a washer to space it up slightly.

Good old days

Back when civil servants had a conscience.Or expected jail time for nasty crap like this.

From the Nixon Library.

Our latest mountain lion

Is just here touring the bridges of Madison County. The DNR has to admit this one, as a game cam caught him. How long will the DNR continue the prior restraint policy of not letting bow hunters carry a pistol?

Heh

Looks like this will be a baseball blog for a bit

Cardinals are going to the World Series. :)

After Obama's Victory Lap Presser

Did he get in the limo and do a burnout in front of the RNC's offices in DC?

Well, that was stupid

As much fun as that shutdown was, the stupid party lived down to their name. Pathetic.

Bet the Dems are pissed

The Million Veteran March members are removing the Barrycades from the monuments and delivering them to the place from whence they came- the White House. If the DNC wasn't broke, I would bet their rent-a-mobs would have taken them to Capitol Hill. Of course, veterans know who the Commander in Chief is.

System upgrade

EBT broken? Or just a trial to see what happens?

Judging by comments on Facebook, people are trying to use them at places that piss me off that they accept them at all. Movie theaters take EBT? Fuck you, freeloaders.

More shoddy work before 8 am

Than some people do all day...

Made a plate holder from steel and wood rather than wood and a prayer.

Mobile Victim Disarmament Zones

Much hay has been made about the "oblivious" passengers in San Francisco when the man was executed on the welfare tube. Maybe if the criminals weren't the only ones packing heat....

Just think, Chicago requires victims to be disarmed on the trains. If they ever get around to issuing any permits.

Bluster

So, if Obama claims a random number of Republicans >1 are ready to give him his way, that means his party is starting to break.

Also, something George Bush did better than Obama. Not that rampant free shit is anything to brag about, and was one of many things I thought could not stand about Bush*, but Hah-Hah.


*I always disliked the growth of .gov under Bush, but Obama makes him look like a piker.

Oh, you are hurting my morale...

The Washington Times notes the ATF wants to block publication of John Dodson's Fast and Furious book. Morale in the Phoenix office might be hurt. Just where in the blue hell did they find agents with feelings, anyway? Are these the guys that weren't hardcore enough to be in the IRS?

Overheard at the range

"What? Are you packing it in early?"

"Dude, I've gone through 200 rounds and I'm shooting again Wednesday. I can watch people shoot just fine...."

Broke steel target holder rev 3.0. I underbuilt this one to see how weak I could make it.  Now I know.

Eight Six Seven Five....

-insert annoying jingle here-

If you need insurance
Yes, you do*
Call 1-800
F1uck you

We built that

Dealing with petty tyrants

WWII vets visit the WWII Memorial in DC, found it closed today. Looks like the park police are no match for the greatest generation. Or Obama is not dumb enough to order the park police to arrest American heroes.

Essential workers

Are the troll.gov accounts still active during a shutdown?

Funshow

Stopped by the gun show at the fairgrounds last night. Now I know where all the 22lr bricks are going. Almost bought a red SR22. Stuck with powder and some once fired brass. The latter so I can stop the Gollum routine at the range over 45 auto cases. Picked up more steel targets.

Also ran into the Ruger American Rifle in 22lr. Hmm. And a Rock Island in 10mm. 300 blackout was $13 a box from one vendor.

I've never had a vendor just give me something. Thanks Robert.

Whew!

Prepped 700 cases tonight. That kinda sucked. Including 200 odd cases that needed the Glock bulge removed* and 40 or so that needed a trim. But they are ready to prime and go anytime now. Though I do need to check the case length on the 45 brass...

*I had to buy more storage bins today for all the 40 S&W brass I've collected. Oh, woe is me, I know.

Range fun

Should be a dead werewolf. If I had silver bullets, anyway. Even shot the moon.

The pile of crap on the ground is my new steel target holder. Actually, it is funny what happened. I burned through 500 rounds today. The final shot from the final mag left the gong swinging so hard that it fell over. That is probably a bad thing, getting it swinging like that, but it is fun getting my timing down to keep it going. I actually made it able to be weighed down to keep it from falling over, but it is funnier having it fall down.

It is safe to say the round count on the FNX 45 just passed 1K. The only problems have been reloads not strong enough to cycle the heavy slide.

Added:

I fired quite a few left handed today. Supported and unsupported. Actually shot better than I expected. We did note that the M&P fired very nicely with the reloads. I was able to keep it on target even when firing it so fast it sounded like a subgun.

Sorry

Between the end of the baseball season, reloading, shooting and a new GTA, something has to suffer. Internet time (and blogging) seem to suffer the most.

Forty is awesome

When you reload and all your friends give you their brass. I've been finding enough bullets, primers and powder to reload 40 (and 45 auto) plus build up a small margin of extra components.

I have shot more 40 and 45 this year than 22LR by a factor of about 20. Just throwing that out there. Most of that was today through Ace's MKIII Ruger. It annoys him that I shoot it better than him. That one is easy- I always shoot other people's guns better than I shoot my own. He asked if I wanted to buy it. (not right now, plus, if I buy it, I won't shoot it as well.)

Son of a....

Hugh Jackman is in Iowa today to premiere his new movie in Iowa Falls. I guess his agent's dad is reopening the theater there. I briefly considered going, but tickets were starting at $100. So what pops up on Facebook? A picture of one of my cousins with Jackman. Hanging around town. Damn.

So there I was in Los Santos

Bought GTA V. After the initial missions, did the usual. Explored and "test drove" cars. A Boss 302 is pretty slow when you want to pass tractor trailers on two lane roads. I was happy to find a pre-86 Toyota pickup, and excited to find a '50s Powerwagon. Which I promptly destroyed on a mountainside. Whoops. Hit some deer. Punched cows. Literally.

The cops are definitely modeled on the LAPD. Expect to see many shot up blue pickup scenes. The police will and do react to NPCs as aggressively as they do to you. Strangely, I got in more trouble shooting coyotes than dogs. Professional courtesy?

Nice

Back from exile

I returned last night from my work imposed exile.* I was met at the door to work by a coworker. "OMG I've been playing GTA V since I got off work until I came in today it is badass you have to get it you can do this and that and holy crap it is awesome." He actually went on longer, but you get the gist of it right there. Thanks for the spoilers, I'll be sure to forget to ask him to go to the range with me next time...

*My crappy tin can brand sail foam (T-mobile, not an Obama phone, those would work) doesn't play well with I-wireless, and I don't have data roaming because: cheap! So I lived with the hotel Wi-Fi. Since I've laid off some of the political posts, I don't have a lot of content stored up to dump out. I probably should throw those posts out there, I feel better bitching about stuff like that. I do feel pretty good about the post I nuked Monday, since it was based on the bullshit news of that day and not what really happened.

Miss a day, miss a lot

So, I've been busy, with little to no internet. Did I miss anything?
Besides the mass shooting (without a rifle) by an Obama voter? (Because his family claims just that, not the black thing)

Oh, and I guess Jay G is moving out of Massachusetts. You really do miss a ton once in awhile.

How did that get in there?

5.9 Cummins in a 68-74 Vette

I'm in a boat

Forty

Playing with 40 S&W reloads. 135 grain Nosler jhp over 7.2 grains bullseye. Punchy. 180 grain Berry's over 3.8 grains bullseye. Ran. Dropped it to 3.6 grains for the next few to try next time. CCI small pistol.

I like the Lee deglocking kit. I saved a metric ton of Tula brass cases fired by a coworker's G23. The kit removed the bulges just fine for use in my M&P.

All the news

That is paid to print. So, the Impala is the best full size car with the best full page ad.....

pwned

Is that short for "Putin owned?"

Reloading bench 1.4

I would say 1.4 would describe it properly. I was operating in beta mode for the last year. The press was attached via c-clamp to a drafting table, as was the powder measure. All of my tools and brass were organized along the lines of "where the hell did I put that?" This is a vast improvement over that mess.

The bench might be a little tall- it is actually more comfortable to drop powder while standing. I am debating pegboard vs a cabinet for the top half. But, all that costs money. So far, I'm out a box of screws and the plastic bins. The lumber was scrap from work. I might build a second bench in the garage.

Reloading for the win

HSM 230 plated flat nose. 4.6 grains of Bullseye, CCI 300 primers. Had about 5 stovepipes. The FNX has a heavy slide and could use a bit more powder. This puts the FNX 45 over 600 rounds fired.

Breaking in my steel target

I drug the target out to 15 yards, just to see how poorly I could do. And, hopefully, not get hit by lead fragments.

Mix of FNX45 shooting Federal 230 grain FMJ and M&P357 (Fo-tay barrel) shooting WWB 180 grain.

video

I forgot how much I like shooting the M&P in 40. Even though I suck at it.
It is fun watching the lead explode off to the sides of the target. (Is that bad?) The holder is shredded along the edges. I really need to rework it to a simpler, A frame design.

Added: I always roll video after I shoot a good run. And proceed to shoot my worst runs of the day. Pretty sure there is a rule for that.

What's in the box?

I know what it isn't.

 

"It" is a mug from Dragon Leatherworks. I actually won* it responding (incorrectly) to a contest Dennis was having to promote his new store on Facebook. Go, like it, etc. It is a little too early to fill it with a frosty beverage, but I will correct that later.

Sweet logo.

Maybe someday I will get around to ordering a holster. 

*Gee, if I claim this on my taxes, I'm also going to expense a ton of ammo

That's a good Labor Day

Fast N' Loud on all day. I could see me watching it all day. Can't say why it appeals to me, other than the crappy resto-mod builds they do look like fun. Maybe it is the fact that Richard doesn't scream like an ass at his staff.

Our local cat hunt is over

A coworker was on a site last night, in Des Moines, and saw a buck. It was paying more attention to him than his surroundings. Then he noticed something hiding behind it, barely visible through the grass. So he started making noise, and....

The doe stood up and looked at him funny.


Oh, about that mountain lion sighting. The official story is that they have a photo....

Someone in Syria Gassed Someone Else

So I can't buy an M1 carbine from Korea, and some mumbling crap about NFA trusts. Is that the long and short of it? Reminds me of some douche attacking a building with a truck, and airline travelers getting increased scrutiny. Maybe all those imported weapons are needed to arm Al Qaeda in Syria.

And nothing of value was lost

Hassan gets the death penalty. After a ton of mandatory appeals. Why not send him to Syria?

I maded something

A target holder for my steel target. Or whatever. No pics at this time, I need to try it out first. Scrap lumber for the win!

I'd try it out today, but it is stupid hot out. I mowed the lawn dried out weed patch out of spite, and have no energy to go shooting in the heat, then go to work. Gotta pay for all this ammo somehow.

What caliber for mountain lion? pt2

People keep spotting a mountain lion just down the street from where I work. What, there are no mountain lions in Iowa, let alone our largest city? LOL. I'm thinking 300 BLK will do the trick. Otherwise 380 will just piss him off.

Machine Gun Cherry Broken

With the MG42, no less. I need more cash next year.

At the Iowa Firearm Coalition Second Amendment Rally today, at Brownell's complex in Searsboro. Nice place.

My wife got in on the action too. She chose the Browning M1919.

It has been pointed out on FB that the 1917 has a water cooled barrel. I'm going off of what I remember the rental sheet saying. It might well be a 1917. NFA in Iowa is the important part.

Bradley Manning could be getting a cellmate

Hassan found guilty. Hopefully he would only be Manning's cellmate until his execution. Martyrdom? Sorry, he is far from the first or last martyr excuse used by Islamists.

Iowa Firearms Coalition Rally Saturday

Tomorrow is the 4th Annual Iowa Firearms Coalition Second Amendment Rally. At Brownells Searsboro range complex. I'm going.

So we are just supposed to take a beating

Here is what happens when you take one. WWII vet beaten to death in a parking lot by the youth of the ever elusive "teens" race.

It looked like it was giving me the finger

Bonus points for the gold paint

Treason!

No, not Bradley Manning. He's getting 35 years. It used to be treason to BBQ the Queen's mute swan in formerly Great Britain.*

It is considered an offence to kill a wild mute swan as it is believed they are the property of the Crown, though centuries ago, their meat was considered a delicacy.

The birds are now protected under under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and killing or injuring a swan used to be classed as treason under a law dating back to the 12th century.

Why does this remind me of The Pirates! Band of Misfits movie from last year?


*Not that I condone the random eating of swans or anything.

Excellent way to sell competitors parts

Apparently Troy Asymmetric hired Jody Weis, former Chicago police superintendent and noted antigunner as a trainer. This is the training side of Troy Defense. Looks like he'll be teaching the jogging classes. Supposedly they have already pulled the bio down from Troy Asymmetric's webpage. Have they actually fired him?

Suddenly, I have the urge to buy Samson or MI rails. Way to piss away the goodwill Troy received from the gun community after the Dick's fiasco.

Update: They claim to have rescinded the hiring.

Score one for the good guys

The POS shooting up a county in southern Iowa decided a home invasion would be a good idea. Fortunately, people in southern Iowa keep shotguns ready to deal with just such a situation.

Hmm

I found this little gem while clearing my targets. Looks like the UMC bullets. Or it could have been there before me. There was a bunch of aluminum Blazer cases mixed in with the 22lr left over from the Ruger rimfire competition last weekend. This was just beyond one of my targets.

Happiness is

A warm gun. Duh. 119 RA45T through it today plus 50 UMC and 50 Federal ball. No malfunctions. Even loaded it to 15+1 with the defensive ammo, ran fine.
Well, I need more pistol trigger time. If I did my part, it shot fine. If I didn't, well, blah.

Added: I can still feel the stippling over an hour later. Considering the callouses on my hands, that is very impressive.

Range report

No, not on the FNX. A coworker bought a G23 and we went out earlier this week to break it in. I was farting around with an M&P while he tore through 6 boxes of Tulammo brass cased 170 grain, and then some Barnes SD loads. The Tula brass ammo was a surprise- it was clean on the inside of the case and outside. Got the usual Glock bulge. He had one stovepipe on the first mag, and problem free shooting after that.

I was telling him about how some M&P9 fullsize models shoot funny. So, I proceeded to shoot one of the best groups in my life. He was laughing his ass off each time I shot the bullseye. I did shoot the G23 well- it is a nice size.

Geeking out

I fingered up the display FNX 45 and a G21. Finally decided on the FNX. When he brought out the non finger fucked one from the back, I squeed and messed up the 4473. Just happened to be the model I wanted, not black on black. If I'm going to own an ugly pistol with limited aftermarket support, I want it extra ugly. Mission accomplished.

 

Only $40 more for this over the Gen 4 G21. I do miss my old Sig P220, this reminds me of it with a fat grip and 7 more rounds on tap. Time for some night sights and a holster. (after break in, of course)

I'll just put this here

Brain deadening

Watched an episode of Double Divas on DVR. I can barely stand the show*, but this episode had something to do about guns.

This week, they were making a bra for a bounty hunter to carry her gun in. Short version, they stitched a holster onto a bra. One of the hosts ran around with a squirt gun in it (not the LC9 the customer normally carries, is there a blue gun LC9?) and proclaimed it satisfactory. Drawing consisted of whipping out the girls before grabbing the gun. The customer seemed satisfied.

It was funny watching the seamstress laugh at the saleswoman- she expressed shock that the former carrys a gun. Though the latter did lampshade that the gun would print. They took the saleswoman to a range to shoot a gun. She seems good at her job; she sold the woman demonstrating the gun on coming to the store.

The previous episode was the hosts turkey "hunting" with a husband or family member. They made the women of Duck Dynasty look like ninjas.

Overall, the show didn't seem overtly antigun. Shocking, how times have changed. Maybe I'll give the show a second chance.
 

* I was pretty sure I'd watch anything featuring boobs. I may have found my limit.

CORE slides

44mag has a few in stock. Maybe other retailers do as well. I've bought from 44mag before with good results. Apparently includes a barrel, too.

Yeah, that is funny

Epic.

Organizing (And Fail! After Action Report)

I've forced myself to set my system in 6.8 like I do in 300 BLK.

Primed cases go into the 40 S&W tray on the left. Upside down so I'm not temped to grab them and stick a bullet in them.

While charging cases, they are in the white tray. If you note the powder level in these cases, it is only 29.4 grains of Re10x.*

Grab a bullet, seat it and place it in the green tray. 90 grain Speer TNT, in this case.

Use the Lee Factory Crimp Die and place into case. Done.

I do posses more loading trays. But they are the "dirty" trays covered in case lube. I don't like that crap around powder period. The 40 trays are a handy, compact way to keep brass together. 9mm trays work fine for .223 Remington based cases.



*I now know what I did to screw up. Besides not putting powder into 4 cases and not checking the powder level before seating bullets. Note the height of powder in these cases- some are very near the top, others not so much. Hornady cases vary in weight by lot number. Of the 100 once fired cases I prepped tonight (primed with a CC450 primer) 20 weighed in at 117-120 grains. 80 of them weighed 127-130 grains. The lighter cases have more case volume. Meaning a lower powder level in those cases. Most of the last batch were of the high volume variety. Save for one. I fixated on that one, (#21 of 30) weighing the powder two or three times to assure myself it had the same charge. I then skipped to #26 and continued charging cases. And failed double check my work before continuing.

With 300 BLK I check every time. The powder level is so low in the case that it is almost never visible from an angle. I've done about 1K of them since the last time I loaded 6.8 SPC.

And my alignment is....

I did the sheeple thing too. Sweet, I am Chaotic Neutral. :D Pretty sure that means, "I've got mine; you're on your own!":P I would say I'm closer to a type 2 than a type 4 Chaotic Neutral.
I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Ranger (5th Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength-11
Dexterity-10
Constitution-11
Intelligence-17
Wisdom-12
Charisma-11

Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it. Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal. However, chaotic neutral can be a dangerous alignment when it seeks to eliminate all authority, harmony, and order in society.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Derp

I was reading Tam's post this week about the pistol not going bang and the gentleman continuing to feed it squibs. And I thought to myself, "damn, I better be careful." No, I didn't think "what a dumbass loser for reloading squibs." Though I did think "who hammers more bullets in when nothing is coming out?" I did reload a squib once. Luckily I was able to knock the bullet out of the bore. That one must have had powder in it. Why? Read on.

Did I say once? Because I did it again today. 4 squibs, no powder. And I know exactly what I didn't do. I didn't do a double check, by looking down the necks with a flashlight to check for powder. I have a routine for reloading 300 BLK, and when I switched back to 6.8 SPC, it was different. So all of my checks were tossed out, too. I can even visualize where the empties were sitting on the loading tray.

I developed my routine simply to reduce the number of cases sitting open with powder on a reloading tray, just in case I have to rush off and do something IMPORTANT! in the middle of reloading. Then come back to find half of the cases full and half empty. So I try to limit the number I drop powder on to 15 at the most, then immediately seat bullets. Lesson relearned.

At least none of these left the case. They were at most .010" longer. I did look down the bore from the breech end each time (AR15 for the win there!) to check for obstructions, until I was embarrassed enough to take my crap home to ponder it. Funny thing, once I got past the four, I'd have had smooth shooting from there on out. All the other cases weighed +/- 0.5 grain of each other.

Side "benefit" to Fast and Furious

Not sure why Mexican citizens would want asylum in America, our administration was arming the cartels they are fleeing. Guess they better drop them off in Canada.

I'll never hear the end of this

My wife is (distantly) related to Jimmy Stewart. On a promo for some show on TLC (guess it counts towards learning), I noticed Zooey Deschanel has some last names in her family tree similar to my wife's extended family, from the same parts of Pennsylvania. Crap. Best I can come back with is that a roommate in college was related to Mark Grace. (Cubs)

Dang

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns tour bus was in town yesterday. Found out about it on the news today. Didn't look like a big turnout to me.

Busy working

Need to work extra to afford ammo for an FNX.

Oh,yeah, and to buy the FNX in the first place. Coworker is trading an old car for a gun...instead of buying mine.

Pleaded vs Pled

Apparently pled is Scottish. Guess that is why it sounds right to my ears, while pleaded sounds like arrogant English stuffiness.

Purring like a kitten

There are three cats in this pic. Two feline and one 3208. Luckily the feline variety did not get harmed.

Brand R

Ruger SR series pistols have a very different feel when dry firing. Glock, M&P, XD and the FNS all feel a little squirrrely as the striker is released. Every SR I've tried doesn't. Over travel? Lighter striker spring?

Whoops

Touched an FNX 45. I think I just moved it to the front of the line. Holsters might be an issue.

Government, um, efficiency?

This is my real shocked face, not the sarcastic one.

A coworker recently applied for his Iowa Permit to Carry Weapons. He was allowed to use an online course, and apply online. His only personal contact was when they had him come down and get his photo taken and hand him his permit. Time from sending the application to actually getting the permit? 8 days. A reduction of around 22 days, from the anecdotal evidence of 8 people I personally asked who have permits in Polk County. It could be that the numbers of new permit holders are dropping, guess I will find out at renewal time.

Where I work, we have gone from 1 coworker with a permit* to over 50%** since shall issue passed two and a half years ago. Technically, the first coworker moved on to a different employer, so all of the growth has come from new holders. And it is possible others have them, just they don't broadcast it like the rest of us do. ;)

*Another employee was a reserve sheriff deputy in another county. He also left, to become a real deputy. I don't count him because of the Some Animals Are More Special Than Others laws. Not that he was a bad guy, on the contrary he was pretty cool.

** If you take out the FNG's from out of state we just hired, it is closer to 75%.

Total Recall (2012)

I watched it a few months ago, not a horrible movie. Really dig Kate Beckinsdale as a baddie. Having seen the original dozens of times, (probably second only to Mad Max 2) I cringed as soon as his hand rang. Other callbacks were fun, too. Like the "two weeks" woman, human shield man, and, of course, the three breasted hooker. I don't find The Fall any worse than the alien atmosphere generator of the original.

Cool

Mill's Fleet Farm is open in Ankeny. Looks like I may have to go shopping. :) I heard it is their largest store yet.

I live dangerously

Californians must be a fragile people. Or I went to the cool places....