reasonablenut

New Year's Eve used to be my favorite holiday. Plenty of booze and plenty of opportunities to scrape a knuckle on some shit or get the favor returned; it depended on the year.

Now that I'm a bit older and wiser, this is the most dreaded holiday of the year. People do some of the stupidest shit on this evening. It's like they've been saving it up all year. Already, I hear gunshots and on walk home from my parents house, some ingrate bounced a cigarette butt off my head from a passing vehicle.

Now I'm bunkered. Not going anywhere for the next 24 hours at least. I was planning on no human interaction of any kind. But as I was writing this post, my brother called. He's gonna come by and spend the night. The guy's not as paranoid as I am, but he does not want to be driving after midnight (me, I wouldn't get in a car today.)

He's also bringing Esther and Stella, his two 9-month old pups. They may sound cute and harmless, but they are far from harmless, while also being cute. They can take out a really big bone (there's a brand or a kind, but I don't know because I don't own dogs) in a matter of minutes. My brother figures that no matter what he buys at Petsmart, his return is a minute of peace for every dollar he spends, i.e. if he buys a $12.00 bone, it takes Esther or Stella an average of 12 minutes to devour it.

Needless to say, I am a single man who lives alone and owns a lot of guns. I've got Hoppe's and copper solvent all over the place, at levels where a 12-month old baby could access them, nevermind a couple of instinctive dogs of mass destruction. I've never drank copper solvent, but doing a bore clean with it just about sends me into la-la land so I don't want to see what it does to any living thing if ingested.

Needless to say, I have been throwing shit into my kitchen cabinets for the last forty-five minutes.

I had a post to do about cant, as the title of this post reflects, but I'll do that tomorrow, as the "ladies," as my brother refers to Cthulu invaders that he considers dogs, will be here shortly.

Happy New Years, stay safe, and follow the Geek's safety advice when it comes to berms.

Update: While all the gun chemicals were safely stowed, we found Esther with my can of Easy-Cheese in her mouth. For those of you not familiar, Easy-Cheese is some kind of plastic by-product they put in a pressurized can so you can spray your cracker with yellow cheese-tasting stuff. It is under pressure though, and a dog breach might result in canine tragedy.

I should have left the copper-solvent and pulled the Easy-Cheese.

The old man had a problem with a previous post. He is tired of us young'uns bitching about Boomers. His post will come later. Let's see what him and Susan Sontag can say for their generation, eh?

Susan Sontag died. My sympathy goes out to her family and friends. A loss like that is devastating to an unknown number of people who loved her. May she rest in peace.

That being said, there has been a lot about intellectuals that has been tossed around the internet like so many sterile beans. Derbyshire at NRO disappointed me by actually giving hay to the notion that some people, for whatever reasons, stand out as far and above us Plebians.

No offense to anyone, but if you call yourself an intellectual, I will probably try to plant a boot up your ass. I am not as well spoken as many people commenting; I don't possess the patience or Sophistry to argue fine points, because stupidity pisses me off.

While I never glee in a human death, the Sontag retirement has made me realize that, starting with Zinn, we are starting to see the hardcore 60's radicals die out.

If Mailer, Vidal, and Chomsky all succumb to bedsores and regularity concerns, this country might be saved. Might.

I would like to point out a new blog, tenring.blogspot.com . It is a woman-man co-blog. Denise has been lurking as can be seen in this bleg about shotguns ; a topic of which I am woefully ignorant of. It's good to see people sign on and I will be watching this one. Wealth of knowledge and whatnot.

Given that the interim between Christmas and the new year seems to have slowed news, blogs, business, and, to be frank, anything but sleep for me, I thought I would throw out a couple vacation options for the new year.

First off is BoomerShoot (h/t to Limpidity for this one). This appears to be a once or twice a year event, in which you have several days of intensive clinics regarding fine-tuning your long-range rifle abilities. After the two days, you have a day on a 700+ range in which the targets are ammonium-nitrate based explosives. So when you hit the target, you are rewarded with an explosion. This range is located somewhere in Idaho. They have not posted prices for the event, but seem accomodating to the point that if you have a non-real person, non-political target you would like to blow up (the example they use is Barney the purple dinosaur), they will be happy to stick an explosive filled cardboard tube up his ass so you can vaporize him.

The next spot I spied (h/t to my old man) is the Elk Mountain Resort. This seems to be a vacation spot geared more towards my fat-ass lifestyle, where a bed, a beer, and indoor plumbing are absolutely essential ingredients to any new experience. One can pick between the lodge and cottages for their quarters. Activities include wine-tasting, rock-climing, holistic healing, bird watching, billiards, etc. Additionally, they have a shoot club located on their resort that includes trap shooting and a live-fire shoot house. This would be the main attraction for me, expecially if I could take a hot shower afterwards, before sampling some fine wine (I eschew massages.) Their rates are posted and you can spend between $310 and $2,500 a night. I suspect that this does not include the wristband that gets you onto any ride for the whole afternoon. The resort is located right outside of Montrose, Colorado (which I'm not too far from.)

In any case, I though with the holidays coming to a close, some of us could begin to think about Spring and Summer vacations. Other options include Frontsight, which Spoons went, saw and described.

UPDATE: In the comments section of this post, Joe Huffman, the proprietor of Boomershoot, leaves some badly needed clarification that my crack research staff failed to provide me. Joe also links to his blog, which is better run than this one. Check him out, as I've never seen a link to his blog before.

Finally, I don't know whether it's tongue in cheek or not, but please do not take any offense if I refer to you as a "wacko" or a "nut." If I start calling you a "pinko" or "a seditious piece of pusillanimous shit," get offended.

Social Security has all of a sudden come to the head of politics. People argue about; come up with loony salves; remain in denial ("The system's fine.")

No one has outdone Krugman(note I was going to link to one of his latest scathing columns, but the Old Grey Lady wants me to pay for it: not happening) in the freakout category than Michael Kinsley. He even floated a meme to several blogs to get the blogosphere opinion.

In any regard it is all crap. If liberals or conservatives start telling you there is any way to save "The Most Successful Social Program in the History of the World", tell them they are full of shit. And on this one, Republicans are- as bad as Democrats. They paid into it, so they want they're government payoff, when the time comes.

The only solution is complete dissolution. If baby-boomers want to be that greedy (and they are) I'll pay into the system for another decade, just so those whining fuckers will have the free everything they've always wanted.

I think I can plan my own retirement a little better than FDR or GWB or any other elected fucker I can think of. But freedom can be dangerous, can't it? You let me invest and make a shitload of money, maybe other people will start to think that being responsible for themselves and their parents may not be such a bad idea.

And then where are you at? Right back to free-market capitalism, which, if you ask the left, has done more damage to this country than the 2nd amendment alone. Kind of scary if those people who take the Constitution and the intent of this country's founding seriously, actually get to run anything.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

If you get bored I recommend the Weird Web-cam Romanian Fat Guy Lip-Syncing A Top-Ten German Song. The future of vid-blogging.

In other news, don't buy you're kid a Red Ryder BB gun, as it could run amok and kill all your neighbors. If anybody can verify the "15 deaths and 171 serious injuries" that the Red Ryder has wrought, please email me about it. I bought one of these babies for my friend's eight year old daughter. I didn't chronograph the thing, but as near as i can tell, with the wind at your back, you rack a whopping 110 fps with one of these killing machines.

Take a cue from "Christmas Story," the icicles on your garage are probably more dangerous than anything you bought yourself or your kid.

Update: h/t tip to Goldberg at NRO. He is my wacky though astute, Romanian lip-sync weird crap Guy.

Tip him, he's underpaid.

Lately it seems the blogosphere is more like a bunch of lemmings than independent critics. Gunblogs are the worst culprits. Admittedly, we tend to be absolutists. I am. Most people I link to are.

The ManorFish blog post that caused the uproar, which seems to have been pulled since then, has caused a herd phenomena the likes of which hasn't been seen since the The anti-Vietnam war movement. Commentor's opinions seem to be that we should descend on Spokane, WA like a plague of locusts. Everyone had an opinion. It was an asshole cop; his rights were violated; let's mobilize to defend him.

A) I don't know the man or his blog and cannot vouch for either.

B) Cops have a tough job. Be that as it may, a lot of cops are assholes. If you have another way to make more money, you damn sure aren't going to be a cop. Cops sometimes don't understand the law. Their is an entire body of common law out there that the 9th Circuit can't understand, so how is a cop supposed to grasp the realities of that in the middle of the night? They are typical people who happen to be given some authority. My father calls this the "old guy with a whistle" syndrome. He uses this in reference to crossing guards. You take a 21 year old kid and put him through the system, he is going to police with authority. I've heard some alleged first-hand accounts of rookie officers who can't wait for they're first shot. Most of them are good people who are trying to perpetrate those compunctions.

C) The hysterical aspect of the whole thing was unbelievable for an unverifed story. Everbody got caught up in it:

Publicola of course reacted.

Smallest Minority was outraged that a citizen's rights were violated.

Kim DuToit had to EXPLAIN HIMSELF to the likes of us.

No one approached this thing with any caution or self-interest.

D) My father is an occasional blog-watcher and refers to this as the "pebble-in-the-pond" effect. Somebody chucks a grenade, and the repurcussions result in all of us saying the same thing. To the point it make us all look like asses.

The facts are:

ManorFish acted like an asshole.

So did the cop.

And so did the blogosphere.

People were reporting that comments were recommending armed surrection (BASED ON A POST THAT WAS UNVERIFED).

Brief history lesson. Thoureau was an advocate of breaking law. If a law is unjust, you pay no mind. I think me and Publicola agree, I think my state laws are a violation of the Constitution in this regard. My state requires training, fees, other bullshit to acquire a CCW permit. It also requires that I submit the serial number and caliber of the pistol I carry. I basically need a license for every gun I might or might not carry.

I'm not game. So, once in a while I carry illegally. If I get popped by a cop, it will cost me $200.00. People have been advocating outright crime that they are unwilling to pay the cosequences for.

ManorFish had no such dilemmnas. He was not in violation of the law, according to him. He was a dick though. I think that can make all the difference.

Don't be a Dick.


Addendum: You libertarians will hate me for saying this, but a police force ensures civilty, to some extent. If you hate cops, imagine what life would be like without them. It is a cop's job to make the society as civil as possible.

Much like San Francisco's deserving their handgun ban, if they ever manage to get it done, New York is uniquely deserving of its very talented Attorney General, who will probably be guiding the ship of state after the gubernatorial election.

With a mayor like Bloomberg and a Guv like Spitzer, that state will quickly turn into the cesspool that Guliani managed to cover up for a couple of years.

Outside of coming after the industry I work in and threatening to nationalize insurance regulation (you think your premiums are high now?), he's managed to go after Smith & Wesson and any number of various and sundry professions. The man takes pride in fucking with other mens' livelihoods.

To wit, he has taken it upon his shoulders to wield the fight for the common man against unscrupulous TOY GUN WHOLESALERS. This man stops at nothing to do the right thing for "the children."

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A settlement with major national wholesalers has pulled thousands of toy guns that violate New York state law from shelves, many of them from a new target: Costume shops.

Did you catch that? Costume shops? This asshat wants to put me out of business, but I should be worried about toy guns from costume shops.

The wholesalers were estimated to have distributed more than 12,000 toy guns in 2001 alone in violation of a state law that previously had been applied only to retailers.

Now I'm not sure about the subtleties involved in NY gun law, but if the law didn't apply to wholesalers in 2000, why should it all of a sudden be a bludgeon for the state to beat down legitimate enterprises with? I think Spitzer is starting to think he's the whole Supreme Court wrapped up in one freak looking head.

Spitzer said the distributors sold toy guns that violated a 15-year-old state law that bans realistic toy guns unless they had permanent, usually inch-wide orange stripes running down both sides of the barrel.

As with real firearms, this puts a burden on the consumer. If a company has to install features on a certain product in order for that product to be legally distributed in a state, there are potentially 50 different versions of the product.

"Realistic-looking toy guns pose a threat to the law enforcement community and to the general public," Spitzer said. "My office's agreements with these two wholesalers will help keep unsafe toys off the shelves of scores of retail stores across the state and possibly prevent tragic incidents."

Notice the dickhead doesn't state that keeping "unsafe toys off the shelves" may "possibly prevent tragic incidents." No facts, no support, just the old, tired Clinton philosophy that if you spend 3 billion dollars on something and it doensn't improve, throw yeat more money at it.

When I can't get a decent capgun for my kid that isn't orange and the Fed has booted me out of a job, I'll know who to be thanful for.

As Kim du Toit rightly points out, the much lauded AG opinion did not happen under Reno and Bubba. If you thought that Ashcroft was unfriendly to liberty and the 2nd amendment, you were wrong.

Regardless, Ashcroft is gone. Let's see how you folks like a real squish like Gonzales.

For those of you who follow or are interested by this sort of thing (and a lot of you aren't) James at Hell In a Handbasket linked to a post I did several months ago.

The main thrust of my post, was that I wanted to be able to paint a target without leveling a muzzle at the subject. I have several rail-mounted lights for both my CZ and Glock, but that violates one of my big safety rules: you do not point unless you have every intention of shooting.

Since that post, I have bought several lights (a lot of money.) My first pick was The Geek and The Head's recommendation. This is an economical design that most people would have no problem forking out for; the Surefire G2. I carried it for several weeks. One Saturday, I ended up taking a nap and didn't remove the multi-tool or light from my belt. When I woke up, I thought a kidney was failing me. Somehow, through the soft sheath, I managed to actuate the light, burn through the nylon sheath, and begin to burn myself. I was a little freaked out, to say the least. Lesson: take shit off your belt or you will stab, burn, or otherwise maim yourself. This is not Surefire's fault, but my lazy ass.

This is a very good personal light, however I had money to spend and options. The next score was the Z2 Combatlight. I bought this one with a hard sheath, due to the incident mentioned above.

This is a good light as well (the NRA endorses a version of it), however I found it to be a bit bulky for everyday carry.

So, I bought another one. The Executive Defender is what I currently carry daily. I like this light because it is a bit smaller and has a better bezel design to prevent fat fucks like me rolling over and burning their fat asses. Also, it is a bit more ergonomic. Finally, it has a serrated bezel on both ends which makes it ideal for a last resort hand weapon. It's size also means that ladies at the office don't freak out. It is inconspicuous to carry.

Streamlight still provides a good product. The M-3 is still mounted on my CZ-PO1. I haven't reviewed any of their handheld flashlights, but intend to in the future.

As a Glock or a 1911 is usually my primary weapon, I'm happy to have a light that does not mount, but is easily accessible in most situations.

The other thing Hell In a Handbasket and Cowboy Blob brought up, is that much like racking a pump shotgun, light can be the ultimate deterrant. My main concern was the direction of the beam having to be the same as the muzzle. I have corrected that and have been practicing with the appropriate stance/grip.

I feel the need to extrapolate on my position on the San Francisco gun deal.

While I noted that numerous commentators are vehemently against this, I said let those dumbasses do whatever they want to.

My reaction failed in several capacities.

While I really don't care if people in San Francisco can own guns or not, the larger issue is that it will be a precedent. If it is passed, litigated, appealed and ends up in the 9th circuit, nothing will make any difference. If it makes it to SCOTUS, that will be a different story; but we all know the Supreme Court prefers to spend their time watching porn than actually deciding Constitutional issues.

I live in New Mexico, where our courts cut and paste decisions off of the California court sites.

To be truthful, I think that if this passes, crime numbers will match those of DC in several years. Doubly, I don't think this will have much effect on the rest of the nation.

These people have the right to govern themselves in any loony fashion they see fit. (h/t to Cerebral Misfire for the legal commentary that makes me sound like I actually know what the fuck I'm talking about.)

A lot has been written on the SFChronicle article today. Publicola gives it a proper dressing down. The story was broken by Jed at Freedom Sight and James at Hell in a Handbasket. I don't claim to be as eloquent or knowledgable as any of these people, however, I have a different take.

What is being proposed is going to be put to a vote. If citizens are willing to voluntarily relinquish their rights, who am I to argue? It seems that the people of California, and especially San Francisco, are not shy about shredding their rights little by little. They seem to be almost gleeful as they do it. Fine. They don't live in Jesusland. And their going to have the Ninth Circuit on their side when it gets to the courts, so any precedent you can quote is completely extemporaneous.

I have a dear friend who lives in San Francisco. I have known this woman since early high school. As years have gone by, I have become increasingly conservative and she has become increasingly liberal. She has 2 children and is completely in favor of gun control. She moved to SF because it is a liberal town.

The plain fact is, if you want 2A rights, don't live in Cali, especially San Francisco.

The responsibility lies not with city supervisors, but with the people. If the people are lost, so is the issue. Say hello to Murder Capitol #3.

This is not a "carp about the media" post.

The Geek has up a great post about his kid's friends not being able to play over at his house because their parents had found out that there were guns in his residence. Needless to say, read it, it is goddamn hilarious. I cannot match the Geek as far as spinning a good yarn.

But the post got me thinking about the normal prejudice one runs into every day. My mother is a great lady and supports the 2nd amendment just like my father. Occasionally, she will even go pop some .22's with us. But, if she found out I carried, that would freak the crap out of her. Additionally, I live in a shall-issue state but do not have a permit. If you want a good knock down on that one, Publicola and Xrql are duking it out, as usual.

Additionally, I have a friend whose girlfriend is really loathe to fraternize with me in my own domicile. No I don't hit on her when I'm gnarly drunk. When she comes over, I collect all of the guns, knives, etc. and put them in one room and lock the door. I don't carry when the woman is over (except for a knife or two.) All this to no avail. The mere fact that there are firearms in the place makes her completely uncomfortable. There is also the fact that I have an airgun range set up in my hallway, which is fairly hard to hide, and once in awhile said friend tries to get her to shoot a pellet gun, which immediately wants to make her go home.

Another example is my brother's girlfriend. She stayed with him over the summer and knew before hand that I was a shooter. That was cool until my brother bought me the Guns & Ammo AR-15 book that came out midsummer (and I'm sorry he wasted the money on such a useless gift, I mean that was BAD). Once she found out I owned an "assault weapon", and a pre-ban to boot, she started asking my brother the typical questions: "Why does anybody need an assault weapon? Those have no sporting purpose? Is brother on the edge of going on a kill crazy rampage, the likes of which will not be seen until Hmong hunting season in Wisconsin?"

I personally try to take an incremental approach to people nowadays. Yes, if a liberal really pisses me off I start yelling about how the 1938 Act was unconstitutional. Generally, though, I like to take a step at a time with people and make sure they remain comfortable. Some people, like my buddy's girlfriend, will never be comfortable though so I just try to stash them and make like I'm normal.

Seriously, she sits at the table and will only walk to the bathroom; and that only if it is absolutely necessary.

I am unlearned in anything having to do with shotguns. A buddy of mine set me up with the previously mentioned Mossberg. As it has a left-hand configuration, he sold it to me for a good price. It's short-barrel, tactical yadayadayada, but it's a good bedside gun.

I want to get into skeet shooting and am torn between buying a normal sport-configuration or just getting a barrel and stock that I can swap out on the Mossberg.

Also, if any of you have time on your hands, you can explain what chokes are good for what.

And, what shot size is ideal for what application with what choke.

Sorry, I'm a centerfire guy and have a hard time getting my head around any of this.

A Scotsman article titled Call to Sharpen up Penalty for Knives , pretty much says it all. This is another "families of victims" story.

FAMILIES of stabbing victims were today set to launch a campaign calling on the Government to make carrying a knife as serious as carrying a gun.

I don't know what y'all do with knives, but generally I use them to open boxes, cut straps, cut rope, etc. To compare a knife to a gun is nigh on idiotic. Knives have specific functions. Don't get me wrong, I carry knives that are designed for killing people. They are the best back up weapon. But the Kingdom wants to strip citizens of any capability of defending themselves. The limeys voted for 'em, so I don't feel that much pity when they experience a home invasion or mugging.

The group, which includes Damilola Taylor’s father, will demand ministers introduce a five-year minimum jail term for carrying an object with a blade longer than three inches, which would equalise the penalties for knives and guns.

My push-dagger is longer than 3 inches for crying out loud. Boot knife is about 2 1/2", so these people would be limited to carrying a pen-knife without risking half a decade in prison? A guy who happened to have a knife is cooped up with a serial rapist? These people are insane.

They also want a six-month minimum jail term for carrying a blade shorter than three inches, or three months for juveniles.

So they don't want you carrying a blade longer than 3 inches, but they also don't want you carrying a blade that's shorter than 3 inches. It sounds like they want to ban knives. Given how they're gun control attempts have been so successful, a knife ban makes sense.

Next they are going to ban hammers, screwdrivers, flashlights and axes.

Mr Walmsley said the current knife laws were a "sick joke". Mr Taylor, whose ten-year-old son was killed in London in 2000, said they have "no effect at all" and the Government has to realise "enough was enough".

What exactly is going to be enough for Mr. Walmsley? Fire pokers, shovels, and weed-eaters banned? The "sick joke" is that this man wants to absolutely ban any citizen of the ability to protect their children and loved ones. This always makes me think of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine, where you have the, admittedly, heartsick father of a victim who turns into an anti-gun activist. The Tec-9 was covered by the assault weapons ban but had little impact on the ability of an 18-year old punk obtaining one. What if his child would have been killed in front of him in his own home and he was completely stripped of any ability to react due to Feelgood 'gummint regulations?

The death of a child, whether by gun, knife, or hands (can we ban those?) is a terrible thing. However, murder will never be extinguished while free will exists. That might be a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, but it is a fact.

The maximum jail sentence for possession of a knife will double, while new measures will be used to control the sale of knives.

Yeah, criminals are always worried about time serving the state. That's a deterrant like shooting a squirt-gun at a home invader.

The ability to kill in any society does not necessarily rely on tools. Will is all that is needed.

I've noticed a trend in European films as far as characters bludgeoning one another with fire extinguishers. If that's all that's available, it will suffice.

BTW, in case you didn't notice, the title of this article is a witty reparte. "Sharpen" the "Penalty for Knives." Do you get it? Knives? Sharp?

This one is pretty rich and the Old Man set it to me today.

For those of you who don't know, I'm left handed. For those of you who don't know, it sucks. For those of you trying to find left-handed bolts that are worth a shit, don't bother.

Finally, some Frogs did a study on this anomoly we call left-handedness. From what I understand of this article, either we are very adept at melee combat from the womb, or we represent a psychopathic influx into sociey that Darwin and his turtles haven't been able to abate or extinguish.

To me, you pick your nose and scratch your ass with a different hand, but outside of that the only distinguishing characteristic is that you catch brass in the head from your own gun. Charming. And don't get me started on how Garands hate our kind...

After 6 weeks, I finally made it to the range today. Primarily trying to sight in a fixed sight Colt Commander (a difficult task at best.) Also finally got to shoot the Taurus 8-shot .357 mentioned about a month ago.

The .357 shot extremely well; As I've said, I'm just not a revolver guy. I enjoy shooting the pistol, but it will never rank with Glocks and 1911's.

Today we were primarily trying to burn up some weak .45 ammo. This shit wouldn't cycle the slide, caused multiple jams, etc. We burned it up because ammo tends to mix it up at some point. The ammo acted better than we anticipated and we basically plinked water jugs, while fucking around with the Taurus.

Also had a Mossberg 590 that I bought a couple of months ago and hadn't fired. Don't tell anybody, but this shotgun has no useful sporting purpose, as far as I can tell.



That killed the water bottles I was popping with .45's all afternoon.

All in all, a plinker. Can't brag about tight groups or any of that shit. Just shot the crap out of some stuff. Beats work.

I feel very sorry for Spoons, and I am not usually one to take pleasure or profit from the misfortune of another. But damned, ever since he screwed up his back he has been addictive, like the Percocets he's taking. He didn't post at all on Saturday (I think), and I got a tad worried. He's back with the MRI for working people info.

Dave Kopel is guest-blogging over at GlennReynolds.com. Not that either of them need any exposure. This confounded me as to how Glenn got Kopel through the MSNBC door. Doesn't somebody monitor that site for kooks?

Additionally, once I get my ass in gear Six Meat Buffet will be added to the blogroll.

In further news, Kirk at Limpidity takes me to task for not responding to all you sickos who manage to comment on posts.

Other than that, I think a couple of Hmong groups would still pay you dearly if you want to take a shot at the Nut's head.

And donate, dammit. Castle Arrgh is kicking our asses.

Occasionally, I get weird hits as a result of the blogger "Next blog" randomizer.

I've come to realize that gunblogs are a blip on the screen compared to the massive amount of teenagers who run their own blogs. Everything from kids in Ohio planning their next trip to the mall online to recently broken up Japanese women who don't know what to do. It is extraordinary.

It is egocentric (but I guess that case may be made for blogging per se), ridiculous, and kind of depressing. These people are young and have the internet with which to change the world and they seem to wallow in their shallow worlds.

This one hit tonight:

http://lifeasamonologue.blogspot.com/

She seems like a well intentioned lass. Stop by and tell her it isn't as bad as all that. In the end it will work out. And buy as much Lake City surplus as she can afford for when the zombie attack hits.

Be forewarned, this is an airgun related post. The weather, work, etc. have all conspired to keep me from the range. In my times of want, I fall back upon Benjamin's custom indoor airgun range.

Several weeks back, I was shooting my Gamo Shadow on a Saturday evening. This rifle cocks easy, is powerful, comfortable and accurate. It shipped to me with a BSA 3x .22 scope with dovetail mounts. They must have sited it in at the factory because it is accurate as all hell at the range I'm shooting at and I've never had to make any serious adjustments except to compensate for my cant.

In any case, a certain shot occured and something popped up into the reticle. It looked like a small piece of yarn, but depending on what lens it was on, it could have been bigger or smaller. I shook it around and it would move, but not clear the field of view. I called my "scope expert" and he told me he'd never run into anything like that.

The week before last, I bunged it into a box and sent it to BSA service outlet, or whatever. I explained that it came with the Gamo, which I purchased in February from an online retailer, and that I didn't even have the documentation for that purchase. At best, this is a $60.00 scope.

I kept expecting and email saying they couldn't help me out or that I needed further documentation. Last Thursday, less than a week from when I shipped it, I got a box via UPS with a brand spanking new scope in it. Same model. No explanation.

I have to say that this is the best customer service I have ever experienced, be it cars, knives, appliances, etc. Absolutely bullshit-free.

A BSA is definitely not a Leupold, but if you are shopping for a .22 or airgun scope, or even a red-dot (I've got a BSA on one of my uppers) this company will not dick you around based on my experience.

Thanks to the Geek, I think I finally have this down.

Give to a good cause.

The Old Man and I got into it the other night about what rifle reloads more quickly: the AR style rifle or a Garand.

As we've not been in the field for awhile, and have somewhat murky prospects, the dispute was not easily resolved (i.e. me with a 10-rd mag loaded with 8 and him with his Garand.)

Without actual field-testing, and even that would be inaccurate because I'm sure there are tons of people who can reload an AR faster than me, it comes down to a matter of opinion.

The Old Man makes the point that the Garand self-ejects the clip and you only need to jam a new one in. As well, the Garand bolt automatically releases once the clip is seated. There is no button to drop the clip, as it ejects by itself, and there is no bolt release.

We also agreed that magazine-couplers could not be considered in this argument. We are talking about an empty rifle that locks back and you reload from the belt with a clip/magazine.

My point is, yes there are more motions in an AR reload. The bulk of my argument rests on the fact that a mag-well makes jamming the magazine far easier than seating a clip in a Garand. If you haven't fired one, it can be a bit tricky. Under stress, a box magazine is a lot easier to jam in.

In any case, opinions are welcome and encouraged.

Gunbloggers look bad.

We don't make the Washington Post top 10. The 2004 Blog Awards has no gun bloggers unless you include the evil master, Instapundit, or the other ambulance chaser, Spoons.

So do something:


http://www.spiritofamerica.net/cgi-bin/soa/challenge.pl?rm=action&challengegroup_id=38

As to the old man's post, the background might be lacking. As anyone who has read this blog recently knows, I have been following the Chai Vang incident in Wisconsin. The approach I took was that of a media critic. The entire coverage seemed to revolve around A) assault weapons and B) race, culture, etc.

Total, I think I did five posts, the most vehement being the first one. Say Uncle linked to that post (thank you Uncle) and it seemed to pop up on a lot of google searches.

Last weekend I received some hatemail and there was a comment posted that warned me that "my mouth could kill me." This last Wednesday I was looking at my referrals and noticed I was getting some traffic from a blog I had never heard of: http://racialtension.blogspot.com .

As I am in the habit of reciprocating blogrolls I checked it out and it is a site that out and out advocates my assassination.

I showed it to the old man Thursday night, because he does not check the email or do anything but post his views when he feels like it. I'm not even sure he could check the Sitemeter.

In any case, he notified blogger.com and sent a note in to the Feebies.

The context of his post is that I posited the argument that it seems that only white people can be racist, according to the MSM, but the old man kind of lays bare the disparities between my arguments and my detractor (or sworn assasin) in his post, simply.

BTW, the old man may be short on words but long on meaning sometimes.

From the Old Man:

Who's the racist - decide for yourself!

http://racialtension.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_racialtension_archive.html

In the last several days this blog has become increasingly weird.

I seem to have an audience of people fixated on really unhealthy things.

In any case, for you non-sickos out there, Mrs. Du Toit has been added to the blogroll.

Be polite and respectful, as the woman is probably smarter than the lot of us combined.

Fron the NY Times yesterday you, have this redeeming quality:

"Hmong Hunter Charged With 6 Murders is Said to Be a Shaman"

The accused, Chai Soua Vang of St. Paul, seeks "the other world" when he tries to cure sick people or invoke divine protection for those who request it, said his friend and former hunting companion Ber Xiong.

If he cures sick people he seems to be adept at killing healthy ones. I'm glad Mr. Vang was an upstanding pillar of the community. None of this has anything to do with the act he committed.

"He is a special person," Mr. Xiong said. "Chai speaks to the other side. He asks the spirits there to release people who are suffering on earth."

I guess on this particular broadcast the spirits were chanting "Kill, kill, kill."

"He danced on a small table for about two hours," said Mr. Xiong, an employee of an audio technology business in nearby Bloomington. "He was calling out the whole time, not to the people in the room, but to the other world. My job was to sit near the table and make sure he did not fall off."

The more I read this story, the less I see it has to do with murder. He was talented; he loved to hunt; he did a pretty good table dance; who fucking cares. He killed a lot of people. I don't give a shit if he has red phone to God.

It is unclear whether Mr. Vang's role as a shaman is in any way connected to the shootings. But Vincent Her, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin who studies traditional Hmong culture, said he did not believe that shamans could go into a trance so deep that they would lose touch with the physical world, even in a situation of extreme stress.

Thanks for that analysis, college guy. And if he did go into a trance that deep and killed 6 people, that would have made it any more palatable?

"That would make him or her unable to mediate between the two worlds, which is the core of the shaman's role," Mr. Her said.

He seems to be unable to mediate anything, including reality. That other world is one I have no experience in, so I will leave it to the experts.

Editor's note: given the wacked out comments I've been receiving, this should be the last post on this issue. If you want to kill me, just email me and we can set a date and time. If nothing else, I am courteous, though often late.

I know that the favorite network to hit is CBS, right now. That network has never chapped my ass near as bad as NBC. Case in point, this Brokaw Retiring story is bigger than Reagan's death was. And Reagan actually changed some shit (you know, little shit like shattering the Evil Empire, and all that.) You'd think the entire nation was in mourning about this crusty old barnacle finally letting go.

People are crying about it, for Christ's sake. Hell, Tom's crying about it too. I was drinking water and putting on clothes and, well...er... equipment, this morning while watching this guy get choked up with Katy Couric.

Goodbye Tom, you weren't that bad, but don't fool yourself, you weren't that good either.

What's really got my tit caught in the wringer is this Olbermann louse. I don't know where he comes from (I think he is a former sportscaster, but I may be wrong) and I have no idea what NBC plans to do with him.

I've never run into this guy before because I don't have cable. In fact 20 minutes of the Today show is about all I catch. But since the election they've let this jerkoff run a blog on their site that makes DemocratUnderground look like a Washington think tank. They even put up a little caricature of this runt with an exaggerated head. Self-parody gets no better than this.

In any case, this whelp seems to think he can trailblaze his career off of the "Crime of Ohio."

You people just need to let it go. And no, no matter how many recounts are done, Badnarik is not going to win.

Everytime I think there is nothing worth commenting on in the MSM, I am proven wrong with a Yahoo news search. This one is courtesy of USA Today, a paper I don't subscribe to.

BOSTON — With a quick electronic scan of a fingerprint, gun shop owners in Massachusetts will know immediately if a customer is eligible to buy a weapon, using a system that officials say is the first of its kind in the nation.
The Massachusetts Instant Record Check System, developed over the past six years with nearly $7 million in technology grant money, will be in place in all police departments and gun shops across the state by next summer. It is currently operating in three shops and about 140 police departments.

Well, 7 million dollars seems to be a lot of money to encroach on the fourth amendment. But these people don't live in America, they live in Massachusetts, by choice.

The system gives police and gun-shop owners instant access to updated information about arrest warrants and restraining orders which was not readily accessible under the old paperwork-intensive system.
"It represents a real quantum leap in public-safety information-technology applications," said Public Safety Secretary Ed Flynn, who planned to unveil the new system Wednesday at the Four Seasons Firearms shop in Woburn.

Sorry Ed, you wouldn't know a quantum leap if it launched you into the Bronze Age. Given that I don't know what "public-safety information-technology applications" are, I doubt you could find your ass with both hands. This bring to mind Alphecca's Weekly Check on Bias the week before this. Jeff covers an NPR story where the reporter follows some dumb-ass to the gun store. The man's too ignorant to know he is being used. What got me laughing my ass off was the picture of the willing fool. He's standing there with an AR and some muffs for NPR. Jeff named the picture npr_stooge.jpg. Brilliant.

Anyway Ed, there's no picture but you are a stooge, my friend. Wait there's more from Ed:

"This enables us to make sure that the only people bearing arms in the commonwealth have the right to bear arms," he said.

Hey Ed, I never noticed that criminals in Massachusetts or anywhere else bothered with the legality issue. They don't do Bradys, so why the hell would they get fingerprinted?

Gun owners have long complained that the process of getting a license is cumbersome and time-consuming, often taking weeks or months.

Simple solution; sell guns like you do knives or shovels or frozen salami or any other potentially deadly weapon. If gun-owners in this state are this cowed (and our famous hunter turned presidential candidate is a product of the Commonwealth) they ought to have to give blood and stool samples to purchase a gun.

It also eliminates paperwork for gun-shop owners, who now have to pay 50 cents per form per gun, and alert the state of each sale.
"You hit the button. Before the customer leaves the store, the state knows they purchased that firearm," said Carl Ingrao, owner of Four Seasons Firearms in Woburn.

Carl, like Ed, is one of the edified citizens of Woburn, a town I will now avoid like scabies. This prick actually seems chuffed that he can update the governments records on an individual with the click of a button.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, said the state had not involved gun owners in the development of the technology. But he was looking forward to Flynn's demonstration and hopeful the system would cut down on the wait and paperwork for licensing.
"We don't support licensing anyway, but it's a fact of life here in Massachusetts," Wallace said, "and if you're going to mandate it, you better provide it."

Jim Wallace, the director of something I've never heard of, is interested to see Ed's demonstration. Hopefully it doesn't involve paper cups and string. Meanwhile, Mr. Wallace is non-supportive (not against) of licensing. So he figures if the governments gonna bugger you, they ought to have the courtesy to use some vaseline.

With pro-2A friends like this, why do you need the Bradys?

And I hope Ed's demonstration goes off better than planned. He's an ambitious soul who's got his eye on the future.

I've been lazy the last couple of days, but others have maintained.

Kirk over at Limpidity finally got in gear and posted his range report on his new AR upper. Sounds like a sweet machine once the glass got tuned up. I've had a 24" RRA varmint upper that sounds vaguely like the configuration Kirk has. Spent a couple days on the range sighting before I realized that I had screwed up the scope mount. In the run up to deer season, it seemed to be about 75% of the problems they encountered while trying to get things sighted in. If the rifle is in good shape and it is still shooting like crap, chances are you screwed up mounting the scope.

Publicola has a good essay up about the need to understand the phraseology used in the gun debate.

Kevin at Smallest Minority has been mixing it up with the folks at the NSSF. Please note, Kevin's archives are a little weird at this point and when you pull the link, it may appear blank. Just scroll down a ways and you'll get to the gist.

Finally, after the weirdos and hate-mongers I've had responding to my Hmong links, a local posted a very heartfelt comment about the victims. He posted it anonymously, so I am reprinting it without permission, but it contains some information and sentiments you won't find via Dan Rather and the gang:

Hello. I just would like to say a few things. I stumbled upon this site as I was looking up todays events with Chai Vang. The reason that I am interested in this is because I live here in Rice Lake WI where the 6 people who were killed and the 2 people who were injured are from. I had my own family of hunters in the woods the day that Chai Vang lost his mind. I say that loosely. There are a few things that I would like to clear up. One is that the reason they only had one gun between a group of 20 hunters is...There was only one set of hunters in the woods actually hunting when they noticed Mr. Vang (definately more respect than I should give him) sitting in a fellow hunters' stand. So..there was only ONE gun needed in the woods at that time. When the altercation happened with Vang and a couple of other hunters came out of the cabin, they had no reason to bring out weapons. And again...after Vang began his massacre and the others came out after recieving a call for help, they weren't thinking anything that bad was happening out there, so they did not bring weapons. They left 2 younger hunters inside the cabin and went to find out what was going on. One of the boys was a nephew and a son of some who were getting killed in the woods. I know that one of the hunters that survived said that one of the land owner (who died) did say something to Vang after he refused to leave that wasn't nice. But when someone isn't listening to you and you needed the stand for your family for the days hunt and you started out trying to be nice, you tend to raise your voice a bit. And he said some profane things as well. Which isn't shocking. But he wasn't going to shoot at Mr. Vang. I know this because he was an upstanding member and business owner in our community. He was prideful in our tradition of hunting and excited to be hunting with his sons and nephews and friends. The son who was screaming "Help Me!! Help Me!!" as Vang chased him down and shot him 4 times in the back. The friends who were shot of the 4 wheeler 3 times each in the back as they were trying to get away, not be confrontational. One of the people on that ATV that was shot off of it and hit 3 times in the back was a woman. Not just a woman, but a daughter, who's father was wounded and lie next to a tree and watched his daughter get slaughtered along with a close friend. You tell me that these 6 people deserved to die and that you hope that they had a slow death and rot in hell. Well...I believe that you should get the facts straight before you pass judgement. I know that there are a lot of white people with problems. I know the same is true about every race of humanity. I am not going to side with a murderer just because I might demean my race. It is more demeaning to my race to have me side with the murderer than it is to accept that there are bad people in every bunch, and that not all peoples are worthy of acceptance. That no matter what "race" you are there are bad and good. But just because you are Hmong, doesn't mean what Chai Vang did was deserved by those lives he shattered that one cherished opening deer season weekend. It will forever haunt this community. I don't condemn all Hmongs for the action of this one sick individual. Just as I don't condone the behavior of all Whites. I think it's wrong to do so. Please just know that the people that were affected here were good people. Mr. Crotteau and his son Joe, who were the co-owners of a father/son business, left behind a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a son and a brother. Shattered a family. Mr. Laski who was the mananger of a building center left behind a wife and children...3 that I know of. Ms. Willers was engaged to be married, as was Joe Crotteau. Mr. Drew was well known an loved in this area and left behind lots of family. Mr. Roidt was a fun loving individual who was always ready for anything. He was up to working or playing with children. Mr. Hesebeck and Mr. Willers were both very nice men. This tragedy should not have happened. Please forgive me if I have offended anyone. That is not my intention. My intention is to spread some light on this very shadowed, very horrific event. Please read all you can about the ENTIRE case. Not just that you chose to see. Read all the details. Not just those you hope to hear. Thank you.