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OK, Who Ordered the Gale?

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I got to the range this morning right at 0700. The gate was open and there was no one else there. It was also still pretty dark. I got my truck unloaded and started setting up my steel when reader Mike C. and his lovely wife E. showed up, followed by reader Brad all the way from Sierra Vista. The wind was blowing hard enough that I didn’t bother to put up my regular target stand, but after about 8AM the wind dropped off and it was, while still cool, fairly pleasant.

Mike C. also brought some steel, so with our various firearms (M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, .458 SOCOM AR, PS90 carbine, a .300BK AR and a .300BK Handi-Rifle, various and sundry handguns) we rang steel for a while. Finally the wind dropped off enough that we decided to set up our target stands.

It was a trick.

A bit after 0900, reader DC and a friend showed up, followed by Primeval Papa. And somebody turned on the wind machine. Nothing that wasn’t steel remained standing.

That’s not to say the firing line wasn’t full – it was. There were a lot of hardy people out this morning to throw lead downrange, but by 10AM I was pretty much done. I shot until the next cease-fire, packed up my stuff and was off the range by 11:00.

So, the Central Arizona Blogshoot had seven attendees, two of us actually bloggers.

Sorry, but I don’t think anyone took pictures. When we weren’t shooting, we were trying to keep our hands warm.

Book Bleg

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Since I cut back on blogging, I’ve gone back to reading novels in a big way – 1-3 per week.

I’m a relatively eclectic reader, though I love Science Fiction the most. Not a huge fantasy fan, but there’s some I like. Mysteries are OK, though again not a huge fan. Let me list some of my favorite authors in no particular order:

Robert A. Heinlein,
David Drake
S.M. Stirling
John Ringo
Lois McMaster Bujold
John D. MacDonald
Robert B. Parker
Larry Correia
Larry Niven
Elizabeth Moon
William Gibson
Jerry Pournelle
Eric Flint
David Weber (most of the time)

I’ve said elsewhere, my personal and political philosophy is in large part due to Robert Heinlein’s entire catalog, John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels, and Robert B. Parker’s Spenser. I think if I had to pick one very finest Sci-Fi novel ever written, it would be Frank Herbert’s DUNE, though I don’t think much of the sequels or really anything else he wrote.  I’ve read most of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, all of Jim Butcher’s Dresden books to date, all of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson books, most of Isaac Asimov’s Sci-Fi and much of his non-fiction work (not a big fan of the Foundation trilogy).  I’ve read (I think) the entire Berserker catalog from Fred Saberhagen, but liked his Empire of the East series much, much more.  I’ve read all of Sue Grafton’s “Alphabet mysteries” so far.  I just finished all of Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder mysteries, and a couple of months ago I finished all of Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher novels.  (Good, but don’t hold a candle to Travis McGee.)  I’ve read W.E.B. Griffin’s Brotherhood of War novels through The Generals, and his The Corps series.  Liked those, but the repetition got a bit old.  I’ve read the entire Stephen Hunter Bob Lee Swagger catalog, and a couple of his non-Swagger novels.

So, anything out there that’s knocked your socks off?  Couldn’t put down?  I’m pretty open to anything short of bodice-rippers and Mack Bolan knock-offs.

Blogshoot!

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Just a reminder to my Arizona readers that there’ll be a shoot in Casa Grande next Saturday, 1/24 at the Elsy Pearson Public Shooting Range in Casa Grande beginning at 0700 and running until we get tired and go home. 

Same as last year, the range opens at 7:00AM. There are no rangemasters. There are no chairs – bring something to sit on. The firing line is covered and there are concrete shooting benches, however.


The city has porta-potties out there on a permanent basis, so we don’t have to rent our own (but bring your own TP just in case.)

The rules are pretty simple:


No explosives, no .50BMG rifles, no tracers, no incendiaries, clean up after yourself, don’t be a dick.

The rifle range is 300 yards deep with the first berm at 200.  The mountains that form the ultimate backstop are another 300 yards out and farther.  The ground there is reinforced concrete disguised as sun-baked clay. Forget about any target stand that needs to stick into the ground, it ain’t happenin’ short of bringing a sledgehammer. Steel and targets that don’t need taping are best, but if you bring something frangible be prepared to clean it up after it’s blown to pieces. And the benches are funky-shaped. Regular camping chairs are marginal, stools and folding chairs are better. I bring a folding chair, a target stand made of 2″ PVC pipe, and my 1″ thick AR500 plate steel swingers. I also have some .22 rimfire rated rolling targets made of steel, and some polymer self-sealing targets.  I think I still have a case of bowling pins, and some clay pigeons.

It appears turnout will be light – I’ve gotten five confirmed replies so far, and a couple of maybes.

I recommend you bring:  water or other non-alcoholic beverages (no alcohol on the range), sunscreen, ear and eye protection.  Ladies, don’t wear anything low-cut or open-necked.  Yes, I’m sure it looks lovely, but you don’t want to catch hot brass down in there.  OPTIONAL:  Something to shoot with, and something to shoot AT.  If you’re a reader or a non-gun blogger interested in coming to a off-the-cuff funshoot, please come on down!  I imagine most of us will be bringing multiple firearms and lots of ammo, but if you don’t, well, I’m willing to let people shoot my stuff (with my ammo), and I’m willing to let them shoot at my targets.

If you’re coming, please let us know in comments.

UPDATE:  Looks like seven or eight of us so far.

Still Playing at Quora.com

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The question was asked,

How realistic is the average gun rights enthusiast about their ability to use their firearm for self-defense/ home protection without being a danger to themselves or bystanders?

I have a friend who is a gun enthusiast, and while he is otherwise intelligent (PhD), I simply don’t trust his judgment or competence with a firearm. He is paranoid, can’t read situations well, and is not particularly coordinated.

If I was present at bank robbery, I would feel *less* safe knowing he was armed.
Is this an unusual case?

I responded to one of the comments.

There was a response from an anonymous user.