9/11
Everything I said in 2006 still holds.
I’m off to the range.
Tag: Rendezvous
Too Busy to Blog
It looks like about half of us have arrived, and I’m already meeting new people, like Cap’n Bob and the Damsel, the crew from Reasonablenut, D.W. Drang of The Clue Meter, and the guy who runs the official Cheaper Than Dirt blog – imagine that, getting paid to blog.
Today the early arrivals took a guided tour of Scheels in Sparks. It opened about this time last year. Essentially it has everything that Cabela’s had in our tour last year, plus two HUGE aquariums – one freshwater, one salt, and a 60′ Ferris Wheel in the middle of the store. Cabela’s would fit inside this place with room to spare.
And they had AMMO! AND powder! (But no primers.) Pretty impressive place. Reno must be an outdoor recreation mecca to support both a Cabela’s and Scheels.
About 16 of us went to dinner more-or-less together at the Buffet in the El Dorado casino. They tried to seat us close together, but there was a limit on what they could accomplish. Afterward we retired to the hospitality room and joined up with those who had gone gambling and the new arrivals. I’ll try to get photos posted tomorrow, but it’ll be late, since we’ll be at the range most of the day.
It’s 10:30 as I write this, so I’m going to call it a night.
13 Hours, 45 Minutes and 845 Miles Later . . .
I’m in my room at the Silver Legacy. Departed Tucson at 4:45AM, walked in the door of my room at 19:00 on the button.
Long day.
Now to see if anyone else is here. No emails yet.
Prepping for GBRIV
The Rendezvous starts in two (2) days. I’m leaving tomorrow morning at O-Dark-Thirty AM, and I plan on driving straight through. That should put me in Reno between 9 and 10 PM. I’ve decided to travel through Mordor California this year, at least on the way up. It should (I emphasize should) save me about an hour, and hopefully the scenery will be better than the sun-blasted landscape of Nevada has been these last three years.
On-line ticket sales for the Para GI Expert / Front Sight training certificate ended Saturday at midnight, or close to it. Total ticket sales, both at Soldiers’ Angels before PayPal went asshat, and after LuckyGunner.com was kind enough to pick up the gauntlet, came to (drumroll please): 449! After the 3% credit card processing fee (and PayPal’s cut), that means y’all have donated $4,355 to Project Valour IT. Thank you! With what we’ll add at the Rendezvous, Project Valour IT should be able to pick up several new systems!
The weather this year looks to be perfect, with daily highs of about 90 and evening lows in the upper 50’s. Perfect T-shirt weather, rather than the snow we got last year. And I own so many offensive, politically-incorrect T-shirts, it makes choosing which ones to take very difficult.
Speaking of choice, I’m still trying to decide what boomsticks to take with me. The Remington 700 5R (now with a NightForce scope in place of the Leupold) is a given, and one of the ARs, I think. The Garand, and I believe I’ll bring Baby Blue, too. (No .30 Carbine ammo to be had in Tucson. Oops. Perhaps I’ll bring Conan the Borg instead. It’s been a while since that one’s been out of the safe, and I have .22 ammo.) I’ll have to buy some ammo for her, though. I haven’t had a chance to reload for .30 Carbine yet. But I’ve got this new (to me) P14 Enfield I’ve yet to put a round through . . .
For handguns, my full-size Kimber upper is out getting the slide Gunkoted and some tritium night-sights installed. I hoped to have it back in time for the Rendezvous, but no. I think I’ll bring my S&W 25-13 Mountain Gun and some .45LC for it, but I’ll be leaving the companion Winchester 94 here. I might bring the Hi-Power, since I have the better part of a case of 124gr. NATO-spec Europellets. Of course, I’ll bring the Para Gun Blog 45, and the GI Expert I’m giving away. And last but not least, I think I’ll bring my Boomershoot pistol.
Anyway, I’ve got to do some running around, pick up some ammo, load some ammo, pack everything up, and then get to bed early. No posting tomorrow, probably – at least not until I get to Reno, and even then I’ll probably be too wiped to post more than “I’m here!” If you’re coming, I look forward to seeing you! If you’re not, shame on you! But stay tuned – we’ll be liveblogging a lot of it!
Here’s the updated schedule of events.
Para GI Expert Ticket Sales End Saturday
Luckygunner.com will be terminating the on-line ticket sales for the Para USA GI Expert pistol and the $2,000 value training certificate to Front Sight Saturday night, September 5, at midnight. So far just a bit over 250 tickets have sold, so your odds of winning a $600 MSRP pistol for $10 are still pretty good! Get your orders in soon, and remember, it’s a tax-deductible donation to a great cause!
Falling Down On the Job
Falling Down On the Job
As mentioned, the first rule of blogging is to try to post something every day. Rule #2 is to try to make your posts topical and interesting, or at least interesting.
Fail.
It’s been a busy week, and next week looks much the same. The following week is, of course, the Gun Blogger Rendezvous, so things should pick up quite bit. Oh, and I’ve heard from Joe Rothstein:
Kevin:
On vacation now. I’ll get back to you after Labor Day.
We’ll see, I suppose.
Anyway, there’ll be more content soon, I promise.
You REALLY Want to Come to the Rendezvous
Mr. Completely has put up a schedule of the activities planned for this year’s Gun Blogger Rendezvous:
Thursday, September 10th2:30 pm. Leave the Hospitality Room to car pool to Scheel’s Sports Store in nearby Sparks.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Guided tour at Scheel’s Sports and browsing/shopping. Pick up munchies and soft drinks on way back to hotel.
6:00pm. Leave the Hospitality Room to go to dinner. Location to be determined later.
Thursday Evening until midnight: Refreshments and conversation at the Silver Legacy Hospitality room. Bring your own refreshments and munchies.
Friday, September 11th.8:00am. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room, then downstairs to one of the restaurants for breakfast.
8:45am. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room to car pool up and head out to the Washoe County Shooting Facility, the Pyramid range for rifle and pistol target shooting out to 900 yards.
9:30am – 2:00pm. At the range.
3:00 pm. – 5:45pm. Show-N-Tell at the Silver Legacy Hospitality room.
6:00pm. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room to go to the ground floor to Gecko’s BBQ Restaurant for dinner.
Friday Evening until midnight: Refreshments and conversation at the Silver Legacy Hospitality room. Bring your own refreshments and munchies.
Saturday, September 12th.
8:00am. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room, then downstairs to one of the restaurants for breakfast.8:45am. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room to car pool up and head out to the Washoe County Shooting Facility, the Pyramid range for an introduction to Steel Challenge Action Pistol shooting.
9:30am – 2:00pm. At the range.
4:30 – 5:15pm. Rachel Parsons of the NRA
5:15 – 6pm. Bill Brassard of the National Shooting Sports Foundation
6:00 pm. NSSF all you can eat pizza feed at the Silver Legacy Hospitality room. After dinner will be the fund raiser raffle for Project Valour-IT and the drawings for the door prizes.
Saturday Evening until Midnight: Refreshments and conversation at the Silver Legacy Hospitality room. Bring your own refreshments and munchies.
Sunday, September 13th.7:30am. Leave the Silver Legacy Hospitality room, then head downstairs to one of the restaurants for breakfast.
8:15am. Leave for the Virginia City Camel Races Festival and Cowboy Fast Draw Blogger Match.
9:00am – 10:00am. Cowboy Fast Draw Shooting.
The Cowboy Fast Draw shooting is the last scheduled event for the Gun Blogger Rendezvous, but many attendees will be staying Sunday night and returning home on Monday. The Camel Races Festival, The Reno Car Museum, the Downtown River Walk, the new Reno Museum, and a number of other things should be considered for the rest of the day on Sunday.
Note that many of the times shown are departure times. Plan on being there a little earlier than the departure time.
OK, that’s what’s planned. There’s also a FAQ post if you need some more info.
Now, on Saturday night we’re going to have the raffle drawings, and as you should know by now, we’re giving away the Para GI Expert that I’m donating and a $2,000 value training certificate to Front Sight that YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN. (The prizes are separate – two prizes, two winners.) So far we have sold about 175 tickets for these two prizes, and we still have a bit over two weeks to go before those sales stop.
BUT IF YOU ATTEND, there are a myriad of other prizes you can win. (Attendees also have a shot at the GI Expert and the training certificate.) Hi-Point has donated their new 9mm Carbine, and Para USA had promised to donate a pistol as well.
Today they revealed what that pistol will be, their Gun Rights Edition high-capacity PXT P14:
The specs are:
Product Code: PX1445S GR
Caliber: .45 ACP
Rounds: 14+1
Barrel: 5″
Weight: 40 oz.
Length: 8.5″
Height: 5.75″
Hammer: Spurred
Sights: Fiber-Optic Front/2-Dot Rear
Receiver: Stainless
Finish: Stainless
Magazine: PNM45
MSRP: $1,149.00
I’m (obviously) not eligible to win the GI Expert, but I’d LOVE to win this pistol!
So far the attendee’s list is about 34 names long, so your odds will be pretty good!
READ THIS
READ THIS:
You don’t really “arrive” in Germany, as much as you are born there: naked, bleeding, in pain, unsure of your surroundings, not knowing anyone and wondering what in the hell just happened.
— Maj. Chuck Zeigenfuss, From My Position… On the Way!: “He has no personal effects…”
Then read this:
British officers in his unit, 2 Rifles, wanted to track their man every step of the way, and to ensure that his family was informed and supported in this time of high stress. Yet having their soldier suddenly in the American system caused a temporary glitch in communications with folks in Germany. The British leadership in Sangin could have worked through the glitch within some hours, but that would have been hours wasted, and they wanted to know the status of their soldier now. So a British officer in Sangin – thinking creatively –asked if I knew any shortcuts to open communications. The right people were only an email away: Soldiers Angels. And so within about two minutes, these fingers typed an email with this subject heading: CALLING ALL ANGELS.
Soldiers’ Angels Shelle Michaels and MaryAnn Phillips moved into action. Day by day British officers mentioned how Soldiers Angels were proving to be incredibly helpful. The soldiers expressed deep and sincere appreciation. Yet again, the Angels arrived during a time of need.
— Michael Yon, Do Americans Care about British Soldiers?
Maj. Zeigenfuss concludes his piece with this:
If you’ve not joined soldiers angels yet, please do so. There are many ways you can help, either through time, monetarily, visiting, writing a letter, or adopting one of over a thousand soldiers who have asked
* Donate a backpack
* Donate items for a backpack
* Make a Blanket of Hope
See why the Gun Blogger Rendezvous supports Soldiers’ Angels and Project Valour IT? And why you should, too?
21 Days!
There are now THREE WEEKS until Gunblogger Rendezvous IV! If you haven’t signed up, time is running out. Once again, for those of you who may be new to this site, the GBR is an annual gathering of gunbloggers, readers, and guests in Reno, NV for a nice long weekend of shooting, show-and-tell, bullshitting, eating, adult beverages, and damned little sleep! And there are prizes!
The attendees this year include (but are not limited to):
Mr. Completely, our host
KeeWee, from KeeWee’s Corner
Phil & David, from Random Nuclear Strikes
US Citizen of Traction Control (who failed to secure Summer Glau, but we’ll forgive him.)
Ride Fast & the Commandress, from Ride Fast – Shoot Straight
Mr. & Mrs. JimmyB, the Conservative UAW Guy
Lou from Mad Gun
Derek from The Packing Rat
Rachel Parson from the NRA
D.W. Drang from The Clue Meter
EJ from Engineering Johnson
Mark Knapp from Firearms Lawyer
Maj. Chuck Ziegenfuss from From My Position – On the way and founder of Project Valour-IT.
Dirt Crashr, from Anthroblogogy
Chris & Mel Byrne, from The Anarchangel
Uncle, From Say Uncle
Miss Elain-eous of Bearcat’s Spin
Azreel of Free Spirit Mind
John O’C. of the Gun Counter forum
Benjamin of The Reasonable Nut
Larry Weeks, from Brownell’s
Andy and Lance from HiCap Gun Works
and Guest of Honor, Alan Gura
And me, of course. And the prizes? Well, I’m giving away a Para USA GI Expert that you need not be present to win! In that same drawing, you can win a certificate for four days of training at Front Sight in Nevada. Valued at $2,000, you can use it for one four-day class or two two-day classes.
IF YOU ATTEND you can purchase raffle tickets that might win you another Para pistol, or a Hi Point 9mm Carbine. Or you might win a framed Heller Kitty t-shirt autographed by Alan Gura! Other sponsors include (but are not limited to):
Steel Challenge Shooting Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Nosler Bullets
Which means there will be some damned cool stuff.
And, of course, there will be shooting!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1933EPNUIY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&w=480&h=385]
So make your hotel reservations, sign up for the Saturday night all-you-can-eat Pizza dinner, and we’ll see you there!
Hey! STILL Wanna Win One of These?
That’s ParaUSA’s new GI Expert entry-level 1911 I’ve been talking about for a couple of months now. Gun World magazine just published a review of it that was very positive. The specs are:
Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 5 inches, stainless steel
Twist: 1 in 16 inches, left-hand
Action: Single-action, Semi-automatic
Sights: Dovetail Fixed, 3-White Dot
Receiver: Carbon Steel
Trigger: Medium length
Hammer: Skeletonized Spur
Magazine: 8-round with removable base pad (two provided with pistol)
Overall Length: 8.5 inches
Height: 5.75 inches
Weight: 39 ounces
Finish: Covert Black Para Kote™
Stocks: Checkered Polymer
Safeties: Slide Lock, Internal Firing Block, Grip
Additional Features: Lowered and flared ejection port, beveled magazine well, flat mainspring housing, grip safety contoured for spur hammer, two eight-round stainless magazines
MSRP: $599
I picked up the pistol from Murphy’s Guns this afternoon at lunch, and it’s a beauty!
Regardless of our being screwed by PayPal, this raffle is going forward. Soldiers’ Angels is still taking phone orders for the tickets, AND hopefully tonight or tomorrow on-line ticket sales will resume HAVE RESUMED! Rendezvous sponsor LuckyGunner.com has stepped up to let us use his commercial web site to sell the tickets with all proceeds (minus the 3% credit card fee) going to Soldiers’ Angels. At least PayPoop won’t be getting another dime.
We’ve got about four weeks left before the Rendezvous for ticket sales, and – don’t forget – the OTHER prize in the drawing is a $2,000 value gift certificate to Front Sight, good for a four-day class or two two-day classes. I think if the first ticket we draw comes from a “prohibited” state, you might very well be the winner of that prize. I’ll talk to Mr. Completely about that.
Here are some pictures of the actual pistol in question:
Add to that, Maryland. No spent casing in the box for their useless IBIS system.
Sorry about that, but I don’t make the stupid damned laws, I just have to abide by them.
What’s on the inside.
It even comes with a bushing wrench and lubricant!
Puuurty!
Pretty nice, no? Only $10 a ticket! And it’s for a great cause! Tickets will be on sale both on-line through LuckyGunner.com and by phone through Soldiers’ Angels until September 7, so hurry! Get yours today! (And maybe buy some ammo while you’re at it. If it’s on the LuckyGunner site, it’s in stock!)