90 days until Gun Blogger Rendezvous V!
Are you making plans?
Here’s a slide show from last year’s:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWxVvZUpT1Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&w=640&h=505]
GBR-V – Sept. 9-12, 2010. BE THERE!
Tag: Rendezvous
It’s Never Too Early To Start Planning
It’s Never Too Early To Start Planning
Mr. Completely has set up the dates for the fifth annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous!
The official dates for Gun Blogger Rendezvous V are
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,
September 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th.
I’ve made every one so far, I intend to make this one.
Edited to add: True Blue Sam points to this YouTube video Derek did covering what you missed last year if you didn’t attend:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWxVvZUpT1Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&w=480&h=385]
Project VALOUR-IT Fundraiser is ON
Project VALOUR-IT Fundraiser is ON
I apologize for my tardiness. The annual fundraising drive is on, and I have joined Team ARMY. As most of my readers already know, the annual Gun Blogger Rendezvous we hold in Reno raises money to support Project VALOUR-IT, and last September we collected over $8,000 for the cause.
But that’s just a drop in the bucket.
I know the economy sucks and things are tight all over, but I ask that you do what you can for our guys and girls who come home from war with less parts than they left with, and who will be coping with those changes for the rest of their lives.
As Maj. Zeigenfuss put it, what would YOU give YOUR right nut for?
The drive goes on through November 11. And thanks.
GBR IV Update
GBR IV Update
Well, the numbers have been crunched, and here’s what Mr. C has to say:
…after sorting it all out, and adding in all money received from
- On line raffle ticket sales
- GBR-IV Registrations
- Donations
- Raffle Tickets sold at GBR-IV
We cleared a grand total of
$8243.80and we had a ball doing so!
I should also mention that National Shooting Sports Foundation (AKA NSSF) at the last minute donated an additional $1,000 to Project Valour-IT. This is in addition to their buying us pizza on Saturday night! If you would like to thank them for their generosity, an email to
should do the job!
That’s about four times what was raised last year! And about half of that total came from the GI Expert / Front Site Certificate online raffle ticket sales! Thanks again to all of you who bought tickets!
The winner of the Para GI Expert received his prize today, and (given the sterling efficiency of the Post Office) I expect the winner of the Front Site certificate to receive his prize tomorrow, since I mailed it out Certified Mail, Signature Required on Tuesday.
Here’s hoping GBR V will be even better!
Raffle Prize Update
Raffle Prize Update
OK, I got the Front Sight training certificate sent off Certified Mail yesterday afternoon, and today I dropped off the Para USA GI Expert at my local gun shop for shipment to the winner’s FFL of choice. Unfortunately, they’re still so busy they weren’t able to contact that shop before they closed today, but hopefully it’ll be going out tomorrow UPS Red for delivery on Friday. ($51 for the freight! Ouch!) Murphy’s was nice enough not to charge me a transfer fee since they knew this was a raffle gun. If you’re ever in Tucson, make sure you drop by Murphy’s – 3235 N Country Club Rd., Tucson, AZ 85716-1351. Ask for Dave. Tell him I sent you.
And thanks to Sean and Scott and everybody else who bought tickets. I have yet to see a grand total, but I believe we were over $6k this year in donations to Project Valour IT, and you can’t beat that with a big stick.
OMG! A Brit With a Gun!
I started him off with my 10/22.
I wish I’d taken a video – it was fascinating watching the muscle-memory kick in. After every shot his hand automatically moved to cycle the bolt, but he was shooting a semi-auto. It took about ten rounds before he finally overcame the urge. I then moved him up to the Para GI Expert.
Until Friday, he’d never even seen a real 1911. He ran three or four mags through this one. He was the first to shoot it (after me, of course), but not the last. We put about a hundred rounds of hardball through it Friday without a single hiccup. (Thanks to The Packing Rat for the photo. Derek’s a pro.)
Then I moved him up a bit on the power level:
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf
He must’ve liked it. He went on to shoot The Packing Rat’s California-compliant Saiga.
(Photo credit to Derek.)
On Saturday we shot a couple of stages of Steel Challenge. Our “recruited native asset” with a Ruger 22/45:
http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf
It looks like he knows what he’s doing, doesn’t it? He said afterward he plans to set up a Steel Challenge match in London using AirSoft pistols.
I think he’s serious!
13 Hours, 45 Minutes, Redux
After an enjoyable evening in good company, I retired at about 11:00PM last night so I could get a reasonably early start this morning well-rested.
So much for that plan! About 2:45AM the ringing of my hotel phone woke me, but when I finally got the receiver to my ear, there was only a dial tone. I tried to go back to sleep, but just a few minutes later came a knock on my door. Maj. Zeigenfuss was in need of his backpack, which had disappeared from the unlocked Hospitality room, and since I was the only attendee he knew both the first and last names of, I was obviously the place to start! It only took a few minutes (and waking a few more people) before the backpack was found, but the interruption meant that the alarm clock was NOT a welcome sound this morning!
I hit the road at 8:30AM, and walked in the door of Casa Minority at 10:20PM after three refueling stops, one stop at McD’s for a breakfast sandwich in Carson City, and a stop at a Rite-Aid for some aspirin at one wide spot in the road or another. I had fun! Worth every minute, and I’m looking forward already to GBR-V!
Thankfully, I took tomorrow off too, so I have a day to recover.
And the Winners Are . . .
The $2,000 Front Sight training certificate: Scott Warren of Mississippi
The Para GI Expert: Sean Brzozowzski of Minnesota
Congratulations! Emails outbound!
(And Robb Alan Allen [sorry Robb – I was damned tired last night] and Thirdpower should be kicking themselves for not attending. There was another Para being given away.)
Ron. . . Ran. . . Run. . . Gathering
Apparently more than a few people have a hard time with the word “Rendezvous” (damned Froggies):
That’s the sign the hotel put up outside our hospitality room.
We thought we’d struck gold Friday night when we found out who had the rooms just two doors down:
“NorCal Lefties!” We can walk next door, introduce ourselves and our very presence will make them cry!
But no, it was deceptive advertising. They were all left-handed, not politically Leftist.
Here we are Friday morning heading out to breakfast before the range session:
And I’d like to introduce you to the winner of the “traveled the farthest to get to GBR” award, reader and commenter Phil R., who came all the way from London.
Yes, the one in England:
He’s studying for a PhD in Linguistics at Oxford, and until yesterday had never shot a handgun.
We fixed that.
Here are some of the guns we brought to the funshoot this year:
Mr. C’s race guns.
The obligatory EBRs
Some Boomershoot long-range pistols.
SayUncle’s 6.8SPC AR. He sells those, you know.
The Byrne and O’Connor Spring ’09 Handgun Collection
And there was some Old School stuff as well that I’ll post when I get some more time, plus some videos that don’t want to upload for some reason.
Here’s a shot down the firing line at the end we occupied:
Good turnout!
The raffle dinner is later this evening, and I’ll try to liveblog it. I’ll also try to get more photos, including some of Alan Gura, who is much younger than I imagined.
I’ll post about this again, but last night SayUncle asked a question about donating toward the legal fight for our rights, mentioning that he’d received emails from people saying they’d tried to donate during the Parker/Heller litigation and had been refused. Alan said that there had been a deliberate decision to take that case all the way without outside aid of any kind, which is why offers of assistance had been politely but firmly declined. However, all the current litigation, such as the Chicago incorporation suit and many others, are being paid for by the Second Amendment Foundation and CalGuns. If you want to help now, that’s where your money needs to go. I’ve been receiving solicitations from SAF for a while, but i did not know that they were the financiers of these efforts. They’ll be receiving donations from me in the future, and I hope from you as well.
It’s almost 4:00PM as I write this, so it’s time to head downstairs for dinner and the raffle. More blogging later, I hope.
Quote of the Day
I still don’t know what “the shoulder thing that goes up” is. – Alan Gura
Still too busy to blog. It’s closing in on Midnight, and I have to get up at 7AM. Alan Gura gave about a 45 minute talk tonight beginning about 8:30, and then started taking questions. He may still be at it.
I’m glad he’s on our side. I have a lot more to say, but I have no idea when I’ll ba able to do it. Maybe Monday, from the looks of things.
Good night.