Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

15. Where would you retire to? Retire? I will probably get killed in the early battles of the coming revolution. – Dale at Mostly Cajun from his post Potpourri

There were a lot of good ones to choose from, but that was the winner.

RKBA Event Announcement

RKBA Event Announcement

Do you live in North Carolina? (I used to.) A group of gun rights supporters will be holding a gathering on the afternoon of February 4 from 2-6PM in front of the legislature building in Raleigh. (I used to live in a suburb of Raleigh.) From their information page:

Join with hundreds of fellow Americans, peaceably assembled to seek a redress of grievances from government officials who are not respecting our Constitutional Civil Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

As American citizens, We have a responsibility to protect and preserve ALL of the rights, freedoms and protections guaranteed ALL Americans by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments. These are our Constitutional civil rights and liberties, they are a birth right of ALL Americans extended to all naturalized citizens.

Call them Constitutional Rights, Civil Rights or Civil Liberties they are one and the same and mean as much to tens of millions of gun owners, conservatives and Constitutionalists as do other Civil Rights to other groups of people.

And, though I’m sure they’ll be seen as sell-outs by some, they understand that frightening the (*ahem*) is counterproductive:

Rules of Engagement
In order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations, some “Rules of Engagement” will be in effect.

1 – Firearms: No firearms will be present, concealed or otherwise.
2 – Dress code: No paramilitary style clothing, no uniforms, no hunting gear. Dress normally. Remember that the media usually tries to portray pro-gun advocates as dangerous kooks. Don’t give them anything to work with.
3 – Signage: Some signs will be made available, but you are welcome to bring your own. Keep them clean – you know what I mean. I have no intentions of having signs printed or manufactured. Hand made signs are more effective and personal. So the number of signs available will depend on how many I can personally make in the time available. I will have blank posters and markers/pens for anyone who wishes to make their sign on location. Verbage can be stern and blunt but not provocative. Again, remember the media will be looking for something to highlite on their reports that reinforce the bigotry against gun owners.
4 – Flags: American flags are always appropriate so bring them large and small. Gadsden flags are also appropriate. Do not bring any others. Do not bring any American flags that have been descecrated with symbols, words or imagery. American flags will be flown right-side-up.
5 – Press Spokesman We will have at least one designated press spokesman present. I ask that no one speak with media reporters but to refer them to the spokesman. Once again, dont give media the opportunity to use you and your words in a negative manner.

I wish them all the luck in the world. There’s a lot more at the site, so I recommend you spend some time there and perhaps consider setting up one of these things if you live in the capital city of your particular state.

This was brought to my attention by one of the organizers, Bubba of What Bubba Knows – one of the few really good aggregator sites out there, and one that has sent me a ton of hits over the last couple of years. Help him spread the word.

Happy Birthday, Tam!

Happy Birthday, Tam!

Today’s Quote of the Day:

Really, could it get any better? I mean, short of having Charles Schumer picking up my brass and carrying my shopping bag full of ammo while toadying obsequiously?A birthday slathered in awesomesauce

You mean he didn’t? Dammit! I have to talk to my credit card company about reversing the charges, then!

And they say an honest politician is one who stays bought . . .

Long-Range Pistol

At last year’s Gunblogger’s Rendezvous, David of Random Nuclear Strikes attended and brought with him his Boomershoot pistol – a Thompson/Center Encore chambered in .308 Winchester. He also brought with him as handouts a reprint of an American Handgunner article from 1995 about Don Bower and his long-range pistols. Entitled “Ultimate Handgun Accuracy: 1½” Groups at ¼ Mile,” it certainly piqued my interest! (The piece is available at the link.)

I shot David’s pistol at the Palomino Valley Gun Club, whacking the 400 yard gong with ease.

Had to have one.

So to “celebrate” Obama’s victory, one of the things I bought in November was a T/C Encore frame. Then I ordered a custom Bullberry .260 Remington barrel. Finally I bought a Burris 3-12X pistol scope, Burris Signature Zee rings, a set of offset inserts for the rings, a Pachmayr grip, a Harris bipod, 200 pieces of Remington .260 brass, and some ammo boxes. (Bullets, powder and primers I’ve already got.) The last of the parts arrived this week.

I haven’t got everything adjusted yet, nor all the screws tightened down, but here’s what she looks like:


You can’t see it, but the action is open on that last photo. Yes, I know the scope is canted. I still have to get everything adjusted just right, but I wanted to post photos, dammit! Oh, that spirit level is the 1″ unit that Ninth Stage sent me, along with the 30mm unit for my Remington 700 5R.

I also wanted to say something nice about a vendor. I buy a lot of stuff from MidwayUSA, and their prices and performance have been uniformly good. But we gunnies are cheap frugal bastards, and price is important to us. When I went looking for rings for the Remington 700 5R, Midway was out of stock, Brownell’s didn’t carry what I wanted, and they were nowhere to be found locally. A little Google searching brought me to Optics Planet. They had what I wanted, in stock, and at a good price – even better when there was no freight charge.

When I went shopping for that Burris 3-12X pistol scope, as always the first place I went looking was SWFA.com. They usually have the lowest prices, and I’ve never had a problem with anything I’ve gotten from them. However, at the time I was looking, Midway was having a sale on the very Burris scope I was looking for, and it was less than SWFA. Unfortunately, neither of them had the Burris Signature Zee rings I wanted, so off to Optics Planet I went and while I was there I checked on the scope as well.

They had it, and it was less than Midway’s sale price. Plus free shipping. They also had the rings and the offset inserts for them. (I’ve got +20MOA of offset in the back ring.)

I ordered 200 pieces of brass, four 50-round ammo boxes, and the Pachmayr grip from Midway the same night I placed the order for the Burris scope and rings. I got the scope and rings first.

I’m not denigrating Brownells, Midway or SWFA at all, they’re all great vendors. But if you’re looking for some glass or some rings, check out Optics Planet. You might be glad you did.

Anyway, when I go to Boomershoot this year, I’m taking both the 700 5R and this pistol. Hopefully I can get some ammo loaded tonight and make a trip to the range dark and early tomorrow morning!

More Linky, No Thinky

More Linky, No Thinky

Once again, a link to Hecate’s Crossroad of “advice” on how to be a good robbery victim from the Omaha World-Herald.

SOS.

Quote of the Day goes to Hecate:

This steaming pile just leaves me speechless.

Well, not exactly speechless . . .

And, if you have a lot of spare time on your hands, you might enjoy the Discovery Channel’s Non-Line-of-Sight cannon game. How much stuff can you blow up? Link courtesy of one of Hecate’s commenters, Rio Arriba of Notes from the American Outback.

Another long day tomorrow, and next week looks worse.

In Re: Sucking Up

In Re: Sucking Up

Hecate of Hecate’s Crossroads posts on why she put links to the three Dangerous Victims essays on her sidebar. Excerpt:

I recall a friend describing a brief time when he worked in a liquor store. It was the only one in the area that had never been robbed. The store owner had a policy that anyone working there had to have a gun and carry it openly.

RTWT.

(Sorry, but 12.5 hour days are not conducive to “thinky” blog posts, thus you get “linky” blog posts. And not many of those.)

THIS is How to Suck Up!

THIS is How to Suck Up! 😉

I was checking the referrer log yesterday and noticed a hit from a blog I didn’t recognize, Hecate’s Crossroad. The interesting thing was that the hit had gone to the first post in the Dangerous Victims trilogy of essays, and the reader had continued on reading. So I clicked on over to Hecate’s Crossroad looking to see where the link came from.

She’s linked all three posts on her sidebar!

Now, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Ramblings from Oz was the first blog I know of to post links on the sidebar to essays of mine – in his case, under a heading titled “Favorite Essays.”

I’ll tell you, if you want your ego stroked, this’ll do it.

eBay Strikes Again

eBay Strikes Again

My boss has a run-in with eBay. Quote of the Day:

eBay can pucker up and kiss my hairy, old, wrinkled…..

(Click for the visual aid, and the rest of the story.)

Apparently eBay is frightened of images of firearms. Who knew?

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

I’ve always loved movies. I worked in a movie theater my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college, and I still enjoy seeing a film projected on a big, wide screen in a big, dark room, even though the experience now sets me back $9 plus another $10 for 35¢ worth of popcorn and fizzy sugar water.

I love movies.

The pickings have been slim of late.

Here’s the QotD:

Worst lists are somewhat disingenuous. The truly worst films of the year are always the cheapie slasher flicks and pretentious independent films Blockbuster only buys a single copy of. But my definition of worst is “worst experience,” as in crushing disappointment, as in There’s A Special Place In Hell For All Involved And We Call It “The George Lucas Wing.” – Dirty Harry’s Place, 10 Worst Films of 2008

I could not agree more.