Bleg

There's a pretty good handful of things I'd like to blog about, but it's a "hurry up and wait" point in time... Check back Sunday night probably, Monday by the very least.

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DA Fox does more than just talk

Jackson County (WI) District Attorney Gerald Fox has dropped the charges against a man who admitted to carrying a switch-blade.

You may remember Mr. Fox is the DA who wrote a memo in the wake of the McDonald decision stating he would no longer enforce certain state weapons laws.  Thankfully it looks like he's willing to follow through with it.

New Camera - slight update after jump

I wanted to pick up something small and handy, yet durable enough that it's going to withstand some harassment in the field.  I was looking at the Olympus Tough 8010, but the number of complaints about the shutter lag and excess noise despite the 14mp rating, I looked around a bit more, and ended up going with the Casio Exilim EX-G1.  Still nice and shockproof (an unfortunate pothole/rifle butt claimed my first digital camera in Afghanistan) and the waterproof rating is a nice bonus.  Plus it's a good chunk cheaper.  I got the camera and a 16gig micro-SD card for a little under $200.  (my only complaint so far is that it uses micro-SD cards... I'll have to pick up a cheap one with an adapter so I can use them in the reader slots on my computers.)

The body is stainless steel with strategic polycarbonate sections, so it's a bit heavy for it's size (5.4oz according to Casio) but it's surprisingly small, only slightly larger than my phone, super thin too.  It came with two "bumpers" that screw into the side nearest the display and lens, which definitely seem like a good idea in my experience.

(.45 shown for scale, not included with camera)

The battery's charging, so I haven't been able to mess with it much yet, but I'll be at Ft. McCoy all weekend doing army stuff, so we'll so how it goes.

"Fat" not "Obese"

NHS Should use term fat instead of obese, says minister (BBC) 

Anne Milton told the BBC the term fat was more likely to motivate them into losing weight.

Makes sense.  I hate political correctness for the most part.  Stupid concept really.

Hooray for Wednesdays

That's the day when the new comic books come out, and having my comic shop and coffee house well within biking distance are things of pure beauty.

Hopefully do some worthwhile blogging in a bit.

Bikes...

Went for a quick night ride, was kind of hoping I'd get caught in the edge of the approaching storm (hey, my single speed needs a wash and I'm lazy.)  Two things learned: I need at least one bright headlight, my little single led Knog Frog is nice for quick trips down well lite streets, but venturing out into the boonies gets a little sketchy.  Secondly, around flat ol' Central Wisconsin, single speeds rock.  My road set-up has a retarded gear ratio (54 tooth ring and a 16 tooth cog on back...) and it's great here.  I can pretty easily just cruise at 20mph down any smooth flat road.  Plus it's super quiet and super low maintenance.  Air up the tires and lube the chain occasionally, that's pretty much it.

Thing is, I'm a XC mountain biker at heart, and I saw this one on Trek's website the other day... As a 6'4+ biker, the concept of 29" wheels has a certain allure, and the lower approach angle with those big hoops lends itself well to my preference for slightly more technical trails (not like trials riding or anything, but I do enjoy a good log stack every now and then.)

Multiple hobbies suck... my wallet hates me.

Huh... would have guessed more...

You are 8% hippie.

Ok, you conservative soul. Do you even believe in global warming? Loosen that necktie a little, and try some organic food. It actually does taste better. And go to a farmer's market--they're fun.

Are you a hippie?
Take More Quizzes

I do think it's a little biased.  I mean, yeah, I drink soy milk, but that's for medical reasons, not for moral reasons.

Although I'm not even half the hippy Breda is!

Still can't polish a turd...

I mean the photography is fantastic... but it's still a Hi-point.

A cousin-in-law asked me where he could get "clips" for his Hi-point last weekend.  I had to work extra hard to simply shrug and say "the internets..." and not blurt out something about just getting a real gun.

I do need to dig out the 9mm carbine project from a few years back.  Here's the only severely crappy pic I could find (still from a video actually...)

I think I at least put a semi-gloss sheen on it, at least if you catch it in the right light....

(h/t Caleb)

I always did like the Gurkhas...

Just picture the scene as a soldier returns from hunting an arch-enemy. Commanding officer: 'Did you get him?' Soldier: 'Yes, sir.' Commanding officer: 'Are you sure?' Soldier: 'Yes, sir.' Soldier reaches into rucksack and places severed head on table.

Apparently the powers-that-be were less than pleased with his actions.  No doubt a digital camera could have provided ample evidence of the target's demise, but where's the fun in that?

Mag Grumbles

So the Kimber was being a pain today.  Wouldn't get through a single mag without a fail to feed of some sort, until I downloaded the mags by 1 (two 8 round and a 7 round Kimber mags.)  Guess Wilson Combat may be seeing some of my hard-earned moneys in the near future.

On the other hand, the M&P 15-22 is running strong, other than a handful of mag/mediocre ammo feeding issues (maybe every-other mag;) I've put about 700 rounds through it in the last couple days without even as much as a squirt of CLP through it.  My 10/22 rarely goes 50 rounds without needing some attention.  Although when switching between the irons and the red-dot, it's important to put the optic back on the correct rail, otherwise you get slightly frustrated when it suddenly start putting the rounds six inches high and right.......

Take 2

Same box...

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Always Check Your Ammo

That's all for now. Back to shooting.

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Mud + Single Track

= nothing but more fun.  That's all for today.

Gun Safety

The Brady Campaign will be glad to know the Nerf Maverick's trigger pull is too heavy for my 2 year old nephew to actually fire.  With a little bit of his uncle's help he did manage to get one shot to stick to the TV, so it wasn't a total loss.

Nice Pair

Although I do intend on picking up a GSG-1911 in the near future... but for now the P22 makes a decent match for the M&P15-22.

Huh... that was fast...

The one downside of having an M&P15-22 and a decent amount of mags is that a 333 round box of Winchester .22lr disappears awful fast.  I don't think I was at the range more than 45 minutes before my box was empty.

But, weapons qual coming up for Uncle Sam, so we'll turn around and do it all over again at the next chance. And again... and again...

Super-light SAW

Kit-up has three new posts talking about a new concept SAW style weapon that fires a telescopic lightweight 5.56 round (essentially a polymer case with the propellant surrounding the projectile.)  Removing the brass from the equation creates a pretty decent reduction in the overall weight of the ammo.

They're also talking about a traditional carbine setup using the system (possibly a modified M4.)  The shape and size of the round allow it to use a 40 round straight magazine (not curved like the standard AR/M16 mag) that is not much bigger than the current M16 mag.  The operating system also lets them squeeze a few more inches of barrel into the same overall length package, which is never a bad thing.

From what I understand, the tech has been around since the '70s, but it sounds like the Army is hoping to actually start seriously looking into it, with field tests slatted for next summer.

So ugly it's beautiful.

A nice little perspective look at my very most favorite aircraft.

(h/t to the Jeffersonian)

Pic for today

Workin'. Check back later.

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For the Realz?

Again, the SCAR program is apparently cancelled.  How long till FN tries to deny it again?

Mossberg 930

So with the bolt handle now installed, I think I've got the gun to a good place.  Not much else I can think of that would easily improve it, maybe ghost rings down the road, but it's still pretty quick shooting as is.

I started off with a barely used standard Mossberg 930 with the factory 24" ported barrel.  I stuck with that barrel since I plan to use it more for competition than home defense or anything.  The porting helps keep it under control, and the ability to use choke tubes is a good idea to me.  The factory barrel also came with a red fiber-optic bead.

The 24" barrel also let me tuck a beastly +5 mag extension from Nordic Components.  The factory tube holds 4, and you can float a round on the lifter, bringing the total full up load to 11 rounds, counting one in the chamber.  Added the tube clamp from them as well to keep everything together and keep the tube straight.
Also the charging handle from them, which I just blogged about.

I also slipped a GG&G Remington 870 sling plate under the extension and added a Gear Sector GS 2P sling and fixed stock adapter, since no long gun should be without a sling (and tan is the new black.)

I also picked up ported Modified and Light Mod choke tubes, since the gun only came with two XXFull turkey chokes, which you absolutely do not want to run slugs through that.

It's a fast shooting and pretty decently handling gun, and the recoil is really not bad at all, between all the porting and the gas system, it feels less than a 20 gauge pump in my opinion.

And most importantly, it just looks cool.

Another Nordic Components Shotty Goody

Not too long after I picked up the Mossberg 930, I added a +5 extension from Nordic Components, followed not to far by a barrel/mag clamp from them as well.  I blogged a little about the extension before.

Today their new over-sized charging handle showed up.  One of the problems with the 930 series, including the tacti-cool SPX version, is that the OEM charging handle is small and kinda pointy.  This can be a bit of a problem for tactical and competition shooters, since it's pretty easy to miss the handle when clearing a malfunction.  Due to early QC issues with Mossberg, the 930 series is still playing catch-up with the after-market community.  There have been a couple other handles offered, but they've been pretty hard to come by.  Thankfully NC has gotten tooled up to produce one.

I can haz?

I know it's a couple days late, but if you're still trying to find the perfect gift for me...

AR Lowers and Legalness

So the big laugh going around yesterday was a picture, via ARFCOM, from a dealer down in Texas with posted notice that stripped lowers are NOT to be sold for building rifles.  This of course got more than a couple people poking fun at the incorrectness of the notice.

Well apparently the shop's owner spoke up, and says the ATF said so.  Er, at least an ATF agent told somebody who worked there you can't.  In my experience, ATF agents have an uncanny ability to make up things on the spot, and quote "legalities" they really don't know anything about.  Last time I checked, if you buy a stripped AR lower receiver, you still have to fill out all the paperwork and get a background check just like you're buying a whole new rifle.  In fact, last time I picked one up, they had to ask if I intended to build a pistol, because if I did I would have to deal with the state required waiting period.  Not to mention the lower receiver is the firearm according to the ATF, so I don't think it would really be possibly to actually use it to replace the lower on an existing AR.

Slow day...

Whole lot of not much going on today, work, work, and whatnot.  I did however pick up a JoeMo XL today from my usual caffeine pushers, along with a bag of coffee's bastard limey cousin (loose tea) to play around with the included tea basket.  Of course I immediately slapped some BCM stickers on it.  It's pretty sweet.

Also ordered a Nordic Comp Speed Bolt Operating Handle for the 930 (we'll just call it my birthday present to me.) Forgot they were in Minnesota, so UPS says it'll be here tomorrow.  Depending on how early, I may just duck over to the range since I have the next couple days off.

Cool.

I write like
Isaac Asimov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Via Breda. Odd though, I haven't really read a whole lot of Asimov to be honest.

In other Birthday News;

Amongst such notable figures as Samuel Colt and Lizzie Borden, The Firearm Blog turned 3 today.

Birthday Range Trip

Went to the range for some zen shooting before work. The above pic is a five shot group at 25 yards with the Anshutz. I guess my breathing was a little wiggy, but it wasn't too bad.

All in all, a decent way to start off my 27th year upon this rock.

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Guess it was cold...

Saw this at work. Guess somebody thought the tree was cold and gave it a sweater.

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Inception

Pretty decent, despite my irrational dislike of Leonardo DeCaprio (you know that one guy that everybody likes, and for some reason that makes you hate him more? For no reason? You're not even sure why you don't like him to start with for His Noodly sake!  That's kinda how I feel.)  The concept is pretty cool, and gives you plenty of leeway to suspend that pesky disbelief.

The thing that surprised the crap out of me was the amount of gun porn.  Sig Commandos, SCARs, Berettas, H&Ks, Glocks... I know I'm missing a bunch, but I lost track.  I don't think I ever saw any in a single preview, but wow there's some great gunfights in that one!

Phone wallpaper

The camera has a "whiteboard" effect that I think makes for cool gun pictures. That's my current wallpaper on it.

Expendables

I'm fully intent on seeing this, preferably on the largest screen reasonably possible (hint Roger's Cinema,) but if for some reason you're still on the fence, Caleb posted a trailer that should solidly decide for you.

Sniper on the Eastern Front

I just finished reading Sniper on the Eastern Front, and I do have to say it's pretty good.  The book is a retelling of Sepp Allerberger's time on the Eastern Front, and his progression from a green machine gunner to one of the best snipers in the German Army, and the inevitable retreat and end of the war.

The author didn't like how the publisher translated it into first person for the English edition, but I feel it helped the reader connect more with Sepp, something that could be a bit challenging when reading about WWII Germans.  It's worth a read if you get the chance.

Absolute Coolness

Exoskeleton for troops getting closer by the day.

Of course I can help but wonder how long before we can throw some heavy armor and big guns on there... but that's just the Space Marine/Starship Troopers fan in me.  On a serious note, this is one of the most useful things I've seen in development for us grunts.

More Sig 226 & 229 E2

I keep seeing search engine hits for these, so I thought I'd mention the online American Handgunner for Sep/Oct has an article on them.  I have to admit, they look kind of goofy now that I see them at some less than flattering angles.

Flash Flood Warnings...

and an 11p-7a shift.  Gonna be a fun night.

Battle Comp 1.0 Review - part II

(First bit here, with a video)

Second trip, if anything it felt even better.  Warmed up with the .22s, and having an extra set of hands there to take pictures is always nice.  Dumped a mag worth of controlled pairs downrange as fast as I could with Dan snapping away, and very little pause between pairs.  Recoil was pretty much straight back and the muzzle was easy to control.

Here's the money shot, first case hanging out in the air, second just coming out of the ejection port:

M&P15-22 Pics

Hit up the range before the eventual thunderstorm and ensuing flash-flood and tornado warnings, got a handful of pictures.

Here's Dan and his M&P15-22.  He needs some rail covers something bad.

I picked up a Primary Arms micro red dot a while back, and the dot was quite dim.  I contacted Primary Arms and they swapped it out for a new one for me and it's much better.  Just need to break down and pick up an MBUS rear at least.

It's a good set-up with the front sight on for simulating what the Army issues these days (at least my unit, that is an M4 with an Aimpoint Comp2 or Comp4.)  Still prefer the Eotech though personally.

Fighting a wasp...

...in the cockpit of a kayak is less than fun. But it does get the blood pumping.

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Top Shot 4

So I had a similar experience to Uncle, except I was avoiding the usual places, and go figure, History Channel has "Caleb's Last Shot" as one of the first videos on the freakin' site.  Thanks...

Doesn't help that the blanketyblank thing won't go five minutes without freezing and starting over from the beginning... doubled with the heavy amount of drama in the episode, it's just frustrating as all get out.  It seems as if the level of drama in each episode has increased exponentially.  It's starting to feel less and less about shooting.  I will say though, that if the producers' plan was to make me dislike Adam, mission accomplished.  Of course it's pretty similar to what's-his-name and Kelly a few weeks back.  Eitherway, I don't know how much more of the series I'm actually going to watch.

Working Tonight

So I'll be missing the new episode of Top Shot. It's a shame, I hear Caleb busts out the drama big time this week. Guess I'll catch it when it's up online.

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New phone...

Finally broke down and got a "smart phone," and supposedly this Droid app let's me blog from it. So this is kind of a test.

On another note, any droid apps I should have being a gun/coffee blogger?

(bonus pretty sunset to see how good the camera is on this thing... at least how good it is through a bug splattered windshield)

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Kids Say the Darnedest Things

So I ducked into Best Buy to get a car charger for my new phone after closing formation, and as I'm checking out, in full ACUs, I mention how the little pen thingy on the card reader hates me.  He says something about thinking the computers they have are older than him (and really, they may be...) and says "maybe the government should do something about it."  I'ma go ahead and assume that the majority of the readers around here will know the tone used for that statement.

Sigh...

OC Shenanigans

And a couple warm fuzzy gun rights moments, and a ray of hope from a Chicago youth-

So I headed up to Gander Mountain this morning on a whim.  Just wanted to check in, see what's on hand, maybe scope out some new stuff if they've got it in.  Good way to kill a bit of time at least.

As usual, I holstered up and headed into the store.  Gander Mountain has generally been very supportive of the Wisconsin OC movement, even to the point of allowing some members to leave OC pamphlets in a couple of the stores around the state.

Most importantly, a while back they made a change to their signs at the door regarding firearms and bows brought in for repairs and whatnot, in which they specifically state these rules do not apply to legally carried firearms for self defense.  (This will come into play in a second...) Here's the sign: (click to make big)

So as I'm checking out a nice little M&P9 (hadn't handled one yet, felt pretty good) an employee approaches me and informs me that corporate policy states "you can't carry a holstered gun in the store."  I guess somebody back in the gunsmith area saw me and kinda freaked... from what I gather it may well have been an ATF inspector, which would explain her lack of knowledge regarding firearm laws...  Anyway, I pull my best "ORLY?" face, and tell him that's not what's posted at the door.  We walk back to the front doors and I point out the relevant text.  Victory ensues, he kindly apologizes and heads back to his post.  A little later as we're chatting over the handgun counter he thanks me for pointing it out, and that he had never really stopped to read the sign, and for whatever reason assumed the second half said the opposite.

The point of "permits" also came up, and I let him know there's no such thing as a carry permit in Wisconsin.  As Gov. Doyle has alluded, the State Constitution is your permit.  After walking back to the gun department I also overheard him talking to what I assumed was the store manager, who was correlating that it is in fact corporate policy, and that he doesn't just agree, but in fact encourages it!  Makes me feel a little better about the money I've spent at that particular store over the years.

After all this, I was approached by a young man, looked to be 13 or 14, who said that it's pretty cool that OC's legal in Wisconsin.  He confessed he is from Chicago (it is the time of year for the Northern Weekend Migrations, and that Gander Mountain is right on I39/US51, the main drag to the Northwoods) and watching him wander around the gun department in awe was pretty cool.    He asked a few questions about my gun, and a couple about the legalities of OC and stuff, and told me he felt safer knowing that people can legally carry here.  By god there's hope yet.

The fun didn't stop there either, two other employees asked me about OC while I wandered around, including one of their gunsmiths who just moved here from Colorado.  He had a CCW permit when he lived there, and was kind of sad about having to give up that measure of protection moving here, especially since he had lived around Denver.  He told me he never went anywhere there unarmed.  I gave him a pamphlet (I keep a stack in my car just for these occasions,) and I'm pretty certain the movement gained another one today.

LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU

FN suddenly says the Mk-16 isn't cancelled...

Van Hollen Speaks

Well, not much has changed, and it looks like he won't be doing anything as drastic as Mr. Fox did, but here is is doing an interview yesterday morning.



There was a little facepalm moment in the middle though... I don't know why he agreed that there's a registry, there is no such thing in Wisconsin.

Overall though, he's pretty well on our side. I can only hope that he can convince enough of the... people... in Madison to agree with him.

Wisconsin Crime Rates Down

I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but the overall violent crime rates in Wisconsin came down from 2008 to 2009.  This also just happens to be the span of time that State AG Van Hollen sent out his memo to all LEO to knock off the OC carry = disorderly conduct crap, resulting in an overall increase in OC in the state.

Between 2008 and 2009, the State of Wisconsin experienced an overall decrease in crime rates reported to law enforcement agencies. The violent crime rate decreased by 6%, while the property crime rate decreased by 5%.(page 4)

NPR and Gun Control

And how well it doesn't work.  Every now and then NPR does surprise you.

(H/T Say Uncle)

Heh.

That's really all I can say about that.

Battle Comp 1.0 Review

Well, first impressions and whatnot.  After busting it out of the box late last night, I was quite impressed.  the device is cleanly machined, the finish is nice and even, and overall I felt it was worth the price of admission.  I went with the matte stainless finish, I felt it would help break up the colors of my carbine a little more, and would be a bit more photogenic as time goes by.

More (including short video!) after the jump-

I like getting boxes in the mail.

There's always good stuff in them.

Hopefully get the comp mounted tomorrow or so, and out to the range before the end of the week... maybe.  Army stuff this weekend, so we'll see.

Lost in Translation

So apparently at a certain chain-type sandwich shop, "no tomatoes" is code for "no lettuce, but I love thick juicy slices of tomato."  Who would have guessed?

Why Liberals Should Love the Second Amendment

Pretty well thought out and decently written argument.  It's too bad that the people who really need to read this have such huge blinders on that they'll just write it off as crazy-talk from the title alone.  Oh well.

(H/T SayUncle)

Does the awkward teenage stage ever end?

Just hit up the range to shoot some quick video of the carbine pre-BattleComp and heavy buffer, kind of spare of the moment, so I just grabbed my tripod and camera and headed out solo.

Go figure, despite the insane humidity and the range being a swamp (me feet are still wet...) there were people there.  So I was feeling a little like "that guy."  So if you happened to be out at the Rapids Range and saw some guy taping himself shooting, it's for legitimate product reviews and whatnot, not for youtube poserness

Test

Don't worry... checking something.

Nose Art...

So I think I'm going to get crackin' on finishing up the second Valkyrie for my long-term Air Mobil Imperial Guard project, and I need to find some good nose art for it.  I decided a while ago that my Valks will all have pretty girls on them, and the Vultures (fills the Apache roll in the 40k world...) will get sharks teeth.

Here's the piece on my first Valkyrie-

I've been poking around for a bit, but nothing on the interwebs has really jumped out at me like that one did.  Anybody got any ideas for me?

And the rain keeps coming...

The stuff hasn't let up from last night, so the range trip is in that grey area of "maybe" in hopes of the radar not lying and the stuff letting up in a couple hours.

So I'm sitting in the usual coffee shop trying to think of something to put here, other than the grumbles of postal workers and their holidays (got postal match targets to send in! grr!) and lack of fireworks last night.  Check back in an hour or so.

Update: It's raining even harder and Caleb's rubbing it in my face.

Grumblecakes.

No fireworks in Stevens Point tonight.

Independence Day

The wait... it can be hard.

Matte Stainless BattleComp and Spikes ST-T2 Heavy Buffer in route.  Gonna need more ammo... lots more ammo...

More developments in the Dairy State.

Much faster than I expected.

The DA for Jackson County has released a statement in regards to McDonald V. Chicago.  It is nearly mind boggling in regards to what he says;
(click on quote for full .pdf)

This Supreme Court ruling is binding on all states and local governments, and immediately renders some of Wisconsin’s current laws unconstitutional. Therefore, in keeping with my oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, I hereby declare that this office will no longer accept law enforcement referrals for violations of the following statutes:

Section 167.31, prohibiting uncased or loaded firearms in vehicles;

Section 941.23, prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons, including firearms;

Section 941.235, prohibiting the possession of firearms in public buildings;

Section 941.237, prohibiting the possession of firearms in establishments where alcohol may be sold or served; and,

Section 941.24, prohibiting the possession of knives that open with a button, or by gravity, or thrust, or movement.

Needless to say, the implications are huge.  I would, however, suggest that any readers who happen to live in Jackson County proceed with caution.  The DA may throw out any charges, but that does not prevent you being arrested and having your stuff confiscated.

Hopefully this is just a sign of more to come!

ETA: There's an article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website about it, and quotes the Black River Falls police chief.  Once again, somebody who should know better equates the entire OC/CCW thing to the "Wild West."  As I've mentioned before, the "wild west" type of comment is full of crap.

FN taking a page from H&K?

FN released a statement today in regards to SOCOM's decision to cancel all future Mk-16 orders-

(McLean, Va.) July 1, 2010. FNH USA is cautious in releasing any information due to the nature of the pledge to our customers.

We can, however, reiterate that the MK 16 (5.56mm variant), MK 17 (7.62mm variant) and the MK 13 Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module (40mm), which make up the SCAR family of weapons, have each met, and in our opinion exceeded, all of the USSOCOM program requirements. It is also a matter of record that the SCAR has been proven to be superior to existing legacy assault rifles after numerous Department of Defense tests in both lab and field environments.

FNH USA believes the fact that the SCAR program recently passed Milestone C and was determined to be operationally effective / operationally suitable (OE/OS) for fielding, highlights the tremendous capability the weapons system offers deployed special operators.

FNH USA believes the issue is not whether the SCAR, and specifically the MK 16 variant, is the superior weapon system available today ...it has already been proven to be just that. The issue is whether or not the requirement for a 5.56mm replacement outweighs the numerous other requirements competing for the customers’ limited budget. That is a question that will only be determined by the customer.

While we know that the MK 17, to include the "common receiver" and corresponding 5.56mm conversion kit is an option, other Services and SOF components will have the ability to procure the MK 16 stand-alone rifle under the contract if it better meets their mission requirements.

In conclusion, the management and employees of FN are proud to provide this generation of special operators their first, entirely new assault rifle that meets and, in our opinion, exceeds the demands of today's battlefield.

I'm having a hard time believing that it's from FN and not H&K with the amount of "we're right and all of you suck" coming across.  "You too can have the best rifle in the world, if you can afford it!"


I'm still sticking by my feelings that the SCAR Mk-16 simply does not offer enough of an advantage over the current AR/M16 family of weapons to justify the price difference.  The Mk-17 with a multi-caliber option yes, but not the pure 5.56 Mk-16.


(H/T to The Firearm Blog)

Investment Advice?

Tam posted a rather interesting screen cap of various stock values.  I should finally figure out how to go about doing it an buy some stock in S&W.

Divorcing the Bike.

I'm not, but somebody did, and it made me laugh quite a bit.  Some potentially NSFW pics of a Giant XTC (ok, not really NSFW, but you'll understand when you see.)