Tag: Rendezvous

Somebody came out with a new and improved hand-held mini-gun, the XM556 Microgun. Being fully automatic, it’s restricted to military, law enforcement, and (of course) Class III dealers. (Damn you, Hughes Amendment!)

Which Rick Mance of Traction Control blog is. Rick brought some interesting stuff to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. I’d imagine he’d like one of these for a dealer sample.

Update:  He beat me to it by a long shot.

It’s on.  The dates are Sept. 8-11, and the Silver Legacy is taking reservations now.  Details are here.  (Yeah, that’s me behind the trigger of my .300 Win Mag Remington 700.)  Luckygunner.com is the primary sponsor again this year, and if you register before June 1, you get $150 worth of ammo from them that they’ll deliver to the Rendezvous freight-free.

So, the Tenth Annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous is complete.  I skipped the Sunday simulator session, and left for home just after 8AM.  Had to stop in Vegas about 4PM because I was flat exhausted.  Got home Monday afternoon.

There were 25 registered attendees at this year’s event, and together we raised almost $3,000 for Honored American Veterans Afield.  Sponsors of the event were:

Lucky Gunner – primary sponsor, and supplier of ammunition to attendees.  My thanks to Anthony W. of Lucky Gunner for getting everything set up and organized, and for running things so well.  Lucky Gunner is set up to run next year’s event also.  Anthony took a lot of photos and video.  As soon as those are up, I’ll be linking.

The Silver Legacy Resort and Casino – Nice place to stay, and very accommodating!  When we asked about wheeling in the Gardner Gun, they were all for it.

Special Interest Arms – Richard Brengman is a local out of Gardnerville, NV, about an hour south of Reno.  This year, in addition to the Gardner Gun, he brought a variety of Class III items for us to shoot – most suppressed, a couple full-auto.  I’m kinda interested in his 9mm bolt-action rifle with integral suppressor.  One tax stamp.  Sucker is about as loud as a dropped paperback in a library.  Richard also donated a stripped AR-15 lower to the HAVA raffle.

Springfield Armory – Donated T-shirts, beer glasses and coffee mugs, a couple of banners and some other things.  Maybe we can wangle a pistol out of them next year.

Ruger – Provided a range bag, a backpack and some coffee mugs.  No repeat of the MkIII Hunter of last year, but….

Sig Sauer – Sponser of shooter and GBR attendee Jaci Janes provided caps, keychains and stickers.  Hmm…  I think I’m sensing a trend here.

Dillon Precision – donated one of their “border shift” ammo bags and some hats.

Brownell’s – No ultimate range bag this year, but Brownell’s did donate one of their new ESG  Backpacks, some AR10 magazines, and a slew of oil samples as they usually do.  We missed having Larry Weeks join us, but he’s enjoying retirement by running around to various competitions.

Allchin Gun Parts – donated optics mounts and machined magazine base pads.  Nice stuff!

Burris Optics – Again this year Lori Yunker (former GBR attendee) kindly donated an AR-F³ red dot sight on a Picatinny mount.  That got snapped up.

MOA Targets – another local, Mitch Gerlinger makes AR plate targets for rifles and pistols.  I won one of their Freedom Wheel units rated for rifle.  Can’t wait to see if I can hit it at 500+ yards with the .300 Mag.  Mitch also brought out his full-auto M14 to the Friday shoot, and let anyone who wanted to rip off a magazine.  Pretty cool.

Target Barn – Provided the IDPA target cardboards that we used during the Saturday “paper steel” shoot, and also some pretty cool shoot-‘n-see zombie varmint targets.  I got a set of those.

Front Sight Training Academy – again donated a four-day training course valued at over $2k.

Self Defense Association – Sponsor of shooter Great Satan (Jaci Janes’ other half), Self Defense Association is an insurance company for anybody who might need financial security after a shooting.  SDA provides insurance policies to cover both criminal and civil legal fees should you need to defend yourself against prosecution or a lawsuit after a self-defense shooting.  They donated a $250k policy.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation – the REAL “gun lobby,” the NSSF provided us with way too much Godfather’s Pizza for the Saturday night festivities as they have for the last several years. 

CigarsCity.com donated cigars and a small humidor.  Something different, and also something snapped up almost immediately.

Repeat attendee Bill Llewellen of Billlls Idle Mind brought some laser-cut aperture sights for Ruger pistols, and donated a couple to the cause.

And last, but FAR from least, Reno Guns and Range (formerly U.S. Firearms Academy).  They allowed us to ship our stuff to them for safekeeping prior to our arrival, even though they were in the middle of trying to get ready for a grand re-opening at their entirely new and extremely state-of-the-art facilities.  And, ladies and gentlemen, if you’re in the Reno area I strongly urge you to check them out.  That place will make the Scottsdale Gun Club look pale by comparison when they get it complete.  On Saturday they gave us the run of their 10-lane bay to conduct our “paper steel” shoot on opening day.  On Sunday they ran their simulator training for us again as we had done the previous year, but in a newer, more spacious facility.  We got the full tour of the place, which has not only the 10-lane 25 yard range (rated for rifles), but also a private four-lane range with attached “meeting room” complete with conference table, pool table, and mini-galley.  They will eventually have a “shoot house” complete with garage for realistic training using simunitions.  This place is AWESOME.  I kinda wish I lived in Reno.

I think once Lucky Gunner gets their feet under it, next year’s Rendezvous will be even more outstanding than this year’s.

I pulled out of my driveway at 05:30 this morning, and into the parking lot here at the Silver Legacy at 19:30.  Two stops for fuel, one for lunch in Vegas.  Not bad.  Best part about the trip is A) diesel doesn’t cost $4/gal this year, and B) diesel actually costs less than regular gas.  Looks like the truck got pretty good mileage for a 7,000lb crew-cab beast.

Tired, hungry, and my a$$ is a little sore.  Time for some dinner and then bed, I think.  Looking forward to the next few days here at GBR X!

There’s still time to get signed up and make room reservations for Gun Blogger Rendezvous X.  Check out the site.  There’s some good stuff to take home with this year.

The schedule has been sent out to attendees, and here’s what’s on tap:

Thursday, August 20:

2:45-5PM – Trip to the massive Scheel’s Sports in Sparks. If you need any last-minute range gear or just want to check it out (worth the trip) a group will be leaving from the Silver Legacy. Upon our return we’re having a group dinner at the El Dorado buffet. (No sponsor, attendees responsible for buffet cost.)

Friday, August 21:

8-9AM – Breakfast at the Silver Legacy Resort &Casino (Free, sponsored by LuckyGunner.com)
10AM-2PM – Range time at the Washoe County Shooting Facility. Shoot what you brought, and shoot what everybody else brought. This is where the Gardner Gun and various other toys, some suppressed, some full auto, will be available to shoot. The range has target frames and known-distance positions for them out to 300 yards. Steel swingers at various ranges out to 900 yards. I’m bringing my .300 Win Mag for this. Range fee is $8/person. Bring something to drink, and sunscreen is advised. You also need eye and ear protection.
6-8PM – Dinner at the Silver Legacy – (Free, sponsored by LuckyGunner.com)
8-Whenever – Mix-n-Mingle in the hospitality room.  Adult beverages and snacks (byob!).  This is the main reason I go to the Rendezvous, and I don’t drink.  The range trips are just an extra added bonus.

Saturday, August 22:

8-9AM – Breakfast at the Silver Legacy Resort & Casino (Free, sponsored by LuckyGunner.com)
10AM-2PM – “Paper steel” shooting at the new indoor range at Reno Guns & Range.  $15/person.  Rimfire and centerfire handguns only.  Irons & optics.  Five white paper plates mounted on IPSC style target stands. One plate will be designated as the “Stop Plate” and it must be shot last. The other four plates may be shot in any order. Each shooter will shoot the stage multiple times, and the slowest time will be discarded. The remaining fastest times will be totaled, and added to the shooter’s overall score. Once each shooter has completed the stage, the targets will be moved to different positions, and will be shot again as “Stage 2.” Additional stages will be shot as time permits.  Each string will be shot from the “low ready” position.
5-6PM – Special Interest Arms’ Richard Brengman will talk about his Gardner Gun and other toys, which you should have gotten to shoot on Friday.
6-6:15PM – Brief introduction to the organization we’re sponsoring, Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA).
6:15-7:15PM Pizza dinner, provided by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Please don’t drip pizza grease on the Gardner Gun!
7:15-7:45 – Raffle benefiting HAVA. There’s some nice stuff this year.
7:45-Whenever – Mix-n-Mingle. Adult beverages, yadda yadda yadda….

Sunday, August 23

8-9AM – Breakfast at the Silver Legacy Resort & Casino (Free, sponsored by LuckyGunner.com)
9AM-1PM – Scenario simulation at Reno Guns and Range. This is a training simulator using CO2 powered simulated firearms against projected threat scenarios. We did this last year. If you carry a gun for self-protection, this is highly recommended. It will make you think. $15/person.

So get on the phone and make your reservations!