- More range trips.
- More range trips with the younger set.
- Shoot more matches. I’d like to do a Steel Challenge match using the .22LR guns I have; another USPSA match would be fun, too.
- Go to a Project Appleseed shoot. They were doing shoots in Smithville late in 2011; that would have been an easy drive, but I couldn’t make their schedule work with my academic schedule. I’m hoping for another shoot somewhere close this year.
- Take at least one of the younger set with me to Project Appleseed (subject to parental permission).
- Get some nice gun leather. I’d like to get a good gun belt to start with. After that, I’m thinking something that will fit the Single Six and possibly the New Frontier: I wonder if I can use the same leather for both. (Galco has a holster for the Single Six, but does not list one for the New Frontier.) I’d also like to get a holster that will fit my S&W Model 29 and Model 25, which I think should be feasible; they’re both 6″ N-frame guns. As for sources, there was a guy in Wimberly but he’s apparently closed. I think there’s another guy in Lockhart, but I need to check on that. And I really want to order a 1911 holster from Dragon Leatherworks, too. I’ve heard Dennis on Vicious Circle, and he seems like a really nice guy. Plus every single review I’ve read of his work has been more than positive; try “ecstatic”.
- Do more research on gun leather before I buy anything. For example, when Skeeter Skelton talks about the “classic Tom Threepersons design“, it sounds cool. But what exactly does that mean, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of that over something like the “Austin” holster? (You know what I really need? “Gun Leather De-Mystified”. Or maybe “Gun Leather for the Complete Idiot”.)
- Get good optics on the Bushmaster and the M&P15-22.
- Get more magazines (including a drum) for the Thompson. If I can find a deal on vintage Thompson magazines, I do have a Dremel tool…
- Build out that AR lower that’s sitting in the gun cabinet.
- Figure out a way to discretely keep the Marlin 336 in my car during the work day. Tinted windows combined with a case, maybe?
- Either get one of the Ruger Scout Rifles (if I can find a deal), or do something about building one of the other .308 bolt actions out into a scout rifle.
Archive for the ‘Guns’ Category
New Year’s Resolutions 2012.
Saturday, December 31st, 2011A grand day out.
Friday, December 30th, 2011If you’ve got a week off, and you live in a relatively free state, why not schedule a range day?
And if you’re doing that, why not bring the middle nephew:
especially since he got a pair of Say Uncle endorsed active muffs for Christmas?
(I wanted to bring the two older boys, too, but for logistical and other reasons I wasn’t able to make that work.)
So we went out to Best of the West in Liberty Hill. I had not shot there before (though I’d been there once for LaRue’s Range Day). I was actually pretty happy with the range; everyone we dealt with was polite and friendly, and we managed to get an entire 50 yard bay to ourselves. (I only felt like we needed 50 yards, since all I brought with me was .22LR stuff for the novice shooter.)
One. Million. Dollars.
Thursday, December 29th, 2011That’s what the District of Columbia owes Richard Heller and his attorneys, including Alan Gura, in legal fees over District of Columbia v. Heller.
Actually, the figure is $1,137,072.27. The Honorable Mr. Gura and the other members of the legal team were asking for $3.1 million, while the city was arguing for $840,000.
Administrative note.
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011I’m taking this entire week off of work, and using the time either to do stuff I’ve been wanting to do, hang out with family, or both. (If the weather holds up, we may try for a range trip this week.)
In the meantime, blogging is sort of on the back burner. There will be a TMQ Watch this week, but it may not go up until later this evening.
Side note: Apparently, I have been designated the “coolest uncle ever” on Facebook (I am unable to verify this for myself, since I don’t do Facebook) because I got this one:
one of these:
for Christmas. (At least, I think it was one of those: it was an H&K folder that McBride’s had on sale, cheap, but I didn’t make a note of the exact model. I know it was one that had the tanto point. If he still has the box, I’ll get the exact model later.)
Appalling.
Monday, December 19th, 2011I sent an earlier version of this story to my great and good friend Weer’d Beard for his “Gun” Death files, but something in today’s NYT coverage moves me to post.
But there was no way Ms. Gillespie, 73, could have been prepared for what happened.
No, actually, there was a way that Ms. Gillespie could have been prepared for what happened, but the city of New York denied her the tools she would have needed for effective self-defense against Jerome Isaac.
(Fair question: would the muzzle flash from, say, a KelTec .380 have ignited the fumes? Not sure, and I suspect it depends a lot on what type of fuel he was using. The NYT describes him as “reeking of gasoline”, but I’m not sure if that’s an accurate description or a colloquialism. In any case, I like Ms. Gillespie’s chances with a gun much better than the no chance she had without one.)
Grind that axe, NYT.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011Stipulated: the death of a police officer doing the right thing is tragic.
But there’s some odd stuff going on in the NYT coverage. For example,
“the sort of firearm that continues to vex the city”? Are there a lot of folks getting shot with semi-automatic Ruger pistols? Would it somehow have been better if the officer had been shot with a Smith and Wesson revolver? And doesn’t NYC have strict gun control laws?
I realize I’m probably expecting a little much from the NYT, but I’d like more details on how this unloaded revolver was “jammed”.
And:
Isn’t that interesting? I expect we’ll be hearing more about it in the next few days.
Always be sure of your target and what is behind it.
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011Hmmmmm hmmmmm hmmmmm. A “reality television” show. I wonder what show that could be. Actually, I don’t wonder: I took a guess as soon as I saw the headline. Anyone want to play along? I’ll put this behind a jump…
By the way…
Thursday, November 17th, 2011…thanks to Jay G. for reminding us that Saturday is National Ammo Day.
I’m thinking about picking up some .45 Long Colt for one of my Smiths.
Saturday is also World Toilet Day.
We recommend you celebrate both holidays in a safe and appropriate fashion.
Still alive.
Thursday, November 17th, 2011Just not much to write about, and working on a final project for school.
I feel like I should write something about the Austin F1 race, but I don’t know what to make of the situation at the moment. It feels like a huge scam, but I can’t tell who is scamming who.
I also feel like I should write something about the passage of HR822, but:
- Other people said it better.
- Okay, so it passed the House. It still has to pass the Senate, and be signed into law. When it becomes law, then I’ll celebrate. But I think there’s still a long road to travel.
I also feel like I should write something about the Astros situation. Not that I care about baseball, but I have covered it before. The problem I have is that almost all of the coverage at this point is speculative; ask me again after today’s meeting, when a final deal is (or is not) made.
Edited to add: Okay, it is now official. Jim Crane is the new owner of the Astros.
Random notes: November 8, 2011.
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011Obit watch: Smokin’ Joe Frazier, 32-4-1. (And two of those losses were to Ali.) NYT obit.
Christo has obtained Federal approval for his latest project, “Over the River”.
(Artists conception in the linked article.)
Yeah. At least, it must never happen again until the next time the NYT and the current administration want to drum up support for a ban on modern sporting rifles.
Obit watch: November 1, 2011.
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011William Zeus Bligh-Glover, M.D.
Dr. Bligh-Glover was a consulting forensic pathologist, and an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University.
He was also known in the gunblogging community as William the Coroner.
I’ve mentioned before that I have family in the Cleveland area. Next time I went up to visit them, I was hoping to be able to invite William and some other Cleveland bloggers out for dinner and storytelling one night. I never met him (though we exchanged comments a few times on his blog), but he struck me from afar as someone I’d very much like to meet and befriend.
Tributes from Calvin’s Mom and Ambulance Driver.
A handful of randomness.
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011Headline: “Texas Equusearch wants Casey Anthony to answer questions under oath”.
That’s nice. I want a pony.
From the linked article: “Texas Equusearch is suing Casey to recover the more than $100,000 it says it spent on searches for Caylee Anthony in 2008.”
On what basis? Texas Equusearch is a non-profit organization that volunteered their services. They had no contractual agreement with Casey Anthony, to the best of my knowledge, so what basis do they have for filing a suit to recover costs?
She may be guilty as all get out. But the courts disagreed: only God knows, and he will pass judgment at the appropriate time. Let it go, people.
He plays that Choctaw stickball every Friday night.
Ask not for whom the bells toll at Notre-Dame: Angélique-Françoise, Antoinette-Charlotte, Hyacinthe-Jeanne and Denise-David are going to be melted down and replaced next year.
The other day, I mentioned the California rogue PI setting up ex-husbands for DWI (plus running a brothel for the cops and selling drugs for cops) case. Balko covered this as well, prompting a lively discussion in the comments.
One of the commentators posted a link to a longer article from Diablo Magazine about PI Chris Butler, which I think makes for interesting reading. The writer apparently started out expecting a standard human-interest story about PI moms; it’s fascinating to watch his skepticism develop as things start not adding up.
The first part of that statement would have raised red flags with me: I’m not aware that Glock officially sponsors private detectives (though they do sponsor competitive shooters). It seems like something that would have been easy to check with a call to Glock’s PR department; curiously, there’s no indication that the author ever did make that call.