I'm a Geek...

Because stumbling across these made my day.

I Can Relate

Plus work... a lot... so blogging has been light as of late.

Wyoming Constitutional Carry

Moves on to the Governor's desk.

On the State Assembly

they are the desperate, pathetic lover that clings to his photographs of his time in the majority and can’t accept that the majority left him for another guy.

For some reason, that made me laugh a bit.  If you're too lost, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed Gov. Walker's budget repair bill, and the Democrats were less than enthused about the prospect.

It’s worth noting that Kramer was ridiculed by Democrats and in the press for daring to clap during a State of the State speech, yet many of those same Democrats were shouting and throwing things in the chamber last night.

 Unfortunately, the Dem. Senators are still on the lamb, so the bill is still effectively dead-lined.

Maine

Joins the list.  Seems a day scarcely goes by without one joining these days.

A Rather Elegant Design

The local coffee house just started carrying these, and if I hadn't just sent out a rent check I'd pick one up.  That's easily the prettiest press I have ever seen.  They've also got Highwave MoJOEmo mugs now too.  I've got a standard Joemo and a larger one with a tea basket, and they are indeed fully leak-proof.  The only downside is if you are one of those heathens that add sugar and cream to your coffee the seal mechanism can get pretty gross.

I've actually been rocking a Nissan Thermos that's just as leak proof, quite a bit simpler, and so effective that I've burned my tongue up to four hours after putting coffee in it.  I've lamented that it works too well.

Vintage AR10 Sales Pitch

It's about 15 minutes long, but pretty cool.  The music alone makes it worth watching.



(found and converted by Bladeworks123 at Military Firearm)

Galco Solo Options

The site tracker says a lot of people have ended up here looking for info on the new Kimber Solo, so I thought I'd mention Galco Gunleather has announced they'll be offering 5 different holster options for the gun.

Idaho

Eyeing up Constitutional Carry as well now. This makes the current list (that I know of) Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, Colorado, and Iowa; as well as Wyoming having already passed it through the Senate.

Too True

"Armorer" ≠ "Gunsmith"

KSG Update

Fixes and tweaks for the production version, including fixing the "dead trigger" problem.  Also talks of a choke adapter and breacher attachment.  The later has potential to make for a pretty cool looking gun, in my opinion.

Montana

Pushing for Constitutional Carry.

Reliability

Caleb makes some good points on The Shooter's Log regarding what to look for and some tips for researching carry gun reliability.

I'll admit, I followed a small piece of it, the fact that the city police and county sheriff departments here carry M&Ps did have a bit of weight in my choice to buy one (although they carry .40s and I'm confident with my 9 with good HPs.)  And to date, the only issues I've had with my sample have been two failures to eject with cheap Russian steel cased rounds, and that was out of nearly 1,000 rounds of it.  I've never had a problem with any brass cased stuff though.

Conspicuous in the Coffee House

Caleb's video just made half the place turn around and look at me.  Something about the dialog at the beginning. (Thankfully I had headphones on...)

Snowplow Drivers...

I'm starting to think the city ones around here must be part of a union and are all down in Madison.  I have seriously been down smoother tank trails than the roads around here are right now, not to mention how close I've come to getting the car stuck in the few hours I've been working tonight.

Firefly Returning

Well, the original series, but in HD, and in the right order at least.

The Science Channel has acquired the rights to the cult-hit and will air the series in its short-lived entirety, plus some new extras. Science Channel will wrap each episode with interstitial segments starring renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts.

Plus an interview with Nathan Fillion, the actor who played Mal.  He says he'd play him again in a heartbeat.

Cold Steel Trench Hawk

My Tomahawk showed up a couple days ago, and here's some photos and initial impressions of the beast.

I managed to snag a Cold Steel Trench Hawk the other day from an Amazon seller.  This particular tomahawk tends to sell out quickly, and it's pretty understandable.  First off, it's relatively inexpensive.  I paid less than $40, and got free shipping to boot.  Compared to the hundreds of dollars some modern "combat" tomahawks are going for, it's a steal.  Secondly, it is a good looking piece.

The head is the shape I've been looking for, with enough of a beard to hook things and a good hefty spike on the back.  I look at a tomahawk as more of a breaching tool and extreme last line of defense (ie., my rifle's out, I dropped my pistol, and the zombies are still coming...)

The steel is a quarter inch thick, and wedged into the handle and held in place with two hex bolts.

It's not too heavy either, and has a fairly decent balance point (at least to my untrained hands.)  The blade is sharp enough out of the box for basic choppy business, but I'll probably put a decent polish on it just because I like my axes sharp.

The handle is textured, but it could be a little grabbier.  This could be easily fixed by some judicious use of a soldering iron or grip tape, but I'll probably go for a clean 550 chord wrap.  I may hit it with some tan krylon as well, not so much for the tacticool thing, but to keep it cool in the sun.

Cold Steel does have replacement handles listed on their website for about $7 a piece, a nice thing to keep in mind, and a great thing to have on hand if you're in a hot dusty place on the other side of the world (if I take it on my next deployment I'm sure I'll have at least two stashed in a footlocker at least.

The sheath is rather ingenious in how it securely stays in place covering the blade and the spike, and simply hinges away after undoing a single snap.  The downside is it's simply a blade cover, and has no mounting points or loops to attach it to any gear.  There is, however, enough clearance between the center section and the blade that you could potentially thread some webbing through there and rig something up, and I'm contemplating hard mounting some sort of Molle friendly system in that spot (plenty of room for some Chicago screws.)

Overall, so far I'm more than pleased with the purchase.  If you're looking for a basic entry level "combat" tomahawk, the Cold Steel Trench Hawk is a great place to start.

SCAR-17 Review

At Gunblog.com.  I was definitely more excited about the SCAR-Heavy than the Light, and I'd love to get my hands on one some day.

At the range, the SCAR 17s is much like a Ferrari - everyone knows or expects it to be great, everyone knows you paid a significant amount of money for it, and everyone is watching you with it.

Lots of good stuff, plenty of pictures, and a video.

On the Up Side

As the Democratic standoff enters its third day on Saturday, Fitzgerald is considering what other bills the GOP could pass without the presence of the Democrats who haven't been seen in the Capitol since Thursday. -

- Some of the most controversial issues Republicans have discussed revisiting this session include... ...allowing Wisconsinites to carry concealed weapons.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Vintage '94

I need to look up some tutorials on this type of style.  I'm ok with how this one turned out, but I know I could do better.

Yuck.

Last week we saw temperatures pushing close to 50.  Today I woke up after a post-work nap (worked nights this weekend...) and found nearly 6 inches of fresh snow on my doorstep.  Good day to get some photos edited and some research done for some upcoming blog posts I suppose.  However I am enjoying the fact that the property management pays somebody to clear the snow from the parking areas and sidewalks, and that my car is nice and cozy in the garage, not under a snowbank.  It's the small things.

DIY Kydex

A guide from ITS Tactical.  Lots of good advice and great pictures.  I wouldn't mind giving it a shot sometime.

Back in a bit...

Some assembly required.

Madison...

...continues being Madison. 

Fake doctor's notes being handed out to keep people at the protests, and certain legislators are still MIA.

Stay classy Mad Town!

Sad Really...

I tend to avoid talking much politics outside of 2A on here.  Partly because it doesn't really fit here, but primarily because I really just don't care.  However the current goings on in Madison are getting to be pretty big news, and being a Wisconsinite, I thought I'd at least mention it (plus I'm a whore and I know it'll get the hits up.)

The problem, in my mind, is that a ton of schools were forced to close for multiple days this week due to teachers feeling it necessary to go down to Mad Town and whine about what the Governor is proposing, and then a bunch of Dem. State Senators have decided to hide out in Illinois to postpone voting on the proposal (that's the part that really pisses me off.)

Really? A bunch of tax-paid people walk off their tax-paid jobs to demand more money from taxpayers, and that might play badly with . . . taxpayers?

Personally, I'm not a fan of unions.  I've found them to be a pain in the ass in the past (my Explorer Post pretty much died off because of the Firefighter's Union not allowing us to do ride-alongs because they thought it would be "unprofessional" to have minors on the rig.  That was the start of a steep downhill slide.)

More importantly, some of us state payed employees realize that our jobs are, well, our jobs.  There's a reason I'm awake at four in the morning to be typing this, and that's because there's a lull in activity around here so I'm taking a break and refuelling my caffeine reserves.  To you senators hiding out of state, I hope your constituents wake the hell up and vote you out for running away when it's time to work hard.  To all you teachers playing hooky, I'm glad I don't have children yet. As it is, I do pay taxes, and a large chunk of that goes towards public education, and you're kind of messing that up pretty hard core.

It's a shame I'm working nights all weekend, the Tea Party is supposed to show up to join the fray tomorrow, and I'd be pretty tempted to head down and watch the fun and take some pictures; but, like I said, I've got to work (and I like getting paychecks more than spending any amount of time in Madison anyway.)

Of course the main problem is that it's all slowing down the CCW legislation.  That was supposed to come after the budget was hashed out.  Jerks.

New Helmets Coming

Reported to be 70% stronger than current ballistic helmets.  Sounds good to me.

Foggy Range Photos

As promised, more photos from yesterday.

More after the jump-

Stoppers

I've been meaning to get these for a while, but I finally got hooked up with some Avid BB7 disc brake sets for the XC bike.  The snow can't melt fast enough.

Excuse the lame back tire. It's been living on the trainer for the winter,
and I wasn't about to swap rubber just for a photo.

My bike is finally up to 2005 standards.  Hooray!

More Constitutional Carry Pushes

In Tennessee and South Carolina.

Foggy

Visibility was pushing maybe 50m... was a fun drive, and made for an interesting range session today.  Cool pictures though, look for more tomorrow. (Later today if you want to be technical.)

Kel-Tec KSG Pre-Order

I just got an email from The Gun Source announcing the Kel-Tec KSG bullpup 12ga dual mag beast is available for pre-order at $614.99.  Just thought I'd pass the word around, as the site tracker says lots of you people are looking for it.

The price doesn't look that bad for the amount of hype behind this gun either.  I'm definitely waiting on the second or third run boat, when the price comes down a little and the bugs have been worked out.

It is working...

Even if it's a little slow, but as Uncle pointed out in a couple things today, OC is making somebody obviously carrying a handgun less of big deal and a bit more "normal."  As Sebastian notes:

if the folks who are engaging in attention seeking behavior now need to up the ante to rifles, because pistols just don’t grab attention like they used to, maybe there is something to the OC theory.

I'm still not going to go around town with a long gun though.  I've spent plenty of time lugging a rifle around 24/7, and it's a pain and more annoying than not if you rarely have to use it.

Hooray!!

I'm posting this from the computer in my apartment. The Interwebs have landed.

Add Utah

To the growing list of states pushing for Constitutional Carry.

Cool

Heh.  Via Uncle, Handgun-shaped ice cube trays.



I may need to get a set for the new place.

Grumbles... M&P9 Mags?

Seems like everyone is out of stock... Anybody see any lately?

Delicious

A couple people just went through the line at the coffee shop and had the barista grind up some bags of coffee beans for them.  It is possibly the most wonderful and delicious smell this side of fresh bacon.

It's quite distracting.

Jealousy

This is probably my favorite version of the AK.  Some day I'll have one.

It's Special!

I haven't shot any of the newer Hornady stuff out of it yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it out.  Rumor is they loaded it to true .32 Win Spc specs, so a bit more "oomph" than the ol' 30-30.

Trek 820Al-SS

Mentioned a while back that I'm slowly rebuilding a bike, and I know a couple people asked for more info.

Here's the beast in it's current state-

1999(?) Trek 820Al frame, Marzocchi Bomber air-sprung fork, TruVativ Howitzer crank and BB, TruVativ Stylo stem, a couple sets of Avid direct pull brakes, and some Vuelta wheels.  I don't like the tensioner I have on it though, the chain doesn't roll smoothly over it, destroying the point of the silent rear hub.  I did put on a pair of Crank Bros. Smarties on it after I took the photo.

Still a ways to go, but it'll be a fun beater when it's all done.  There's some alright single-track less than a mile from the new apartment, so it will get a lot of use.

That's better.

Switched out yesterday's photo for a better copy.  Bluer blues and a level horizon.

GunUp

There's a new graphic over on the left, this one's for GunUp Blogger Network, a relatively new resource for the always expanding gunblogosphere.  Part collective blog, part forum, with a wealth of knowledge and some pretty great features (Gun Finder is pretty cool.)  It's worth checking out if you haven't already.

A gift...

...for me.  I ordered a tomahawk.  I've wanted one for a while, and this particular one goes out of stock before you can sneeze whenever they have them, so I jumped on it.  Hopefully it doesn't lead to another collection that sucks up all my gun funds...

Warm Thoughts

Although it is an unseasonably warm 36 degrees here at the moment, here's a photo from a couple summers ago.  I need to stop slacking and get back to more regular gun pictures on the ol' blog.

But Without the Butt

Robb Allen has acquired some Magic Cat coffee beans, which apparently mimic the infamous civet coffee, albeit without the absurd price and less than appetizing production process.  I may have to order some and see what I think.

West Virginia...

...looks to be following Colorado and a couple others with the push for Constitutional Carry.  Always good to see this picking up more steam.

Milwaukee Judge knocks down bad CCW charge

“Requiring Pinnow to put the encased unloaded firearm out of reach would effectively deny him his right to bear arms guaranteed,” by Wisconsin’s Constitution, according to the decision.

 The man in question had an unloaded and encased .380 under his passenger seat while searching for his stolen car in a "bad neighborhood."  There's a bit of a debate surrounding the "within reach" concept in regards to Wisconsin's CCW restrictions and vehicle transport, and in this case, the Judge has decided the defendant was well within his self defense rights as stated by the State and Federal Constitutions.

Watts found that Pinnow... ...had just been robbed, was searching for his stolen car in a high-crime area, and had tried to comply with another state law about the transportation of firearms by keeping his gun unloaded, and in a case.

 “He was exercising his right to bear arms in a reasonable and prudent manner,” Watts wrote.

 Just another story of why the current restrictions on vehicle carry (mainly backed on the DNR to combat poaching) need to be readdressed if we do get concealed carry of any sort here. I'm sure if they really pushed they could have tried to hit him with a charge for having a gun within 1000 feet of a school zone as well.

Glad to see a reasonable ruling has been found in this particular case though.

Precision Mortar Kit

Mini-JDAM kit for infantry mortars.  Neat.

10m accuracy over 6km range, and possibly in the field by the end of the year.

Loooong weekend

Working overnights, lack of internet at home, and lots of other stuff going on have conspired in making me feel like I need to make excuses.

So the problem with not having internet at home isn't that it cuts down on my ability to write stuff to put up here. I'd honestly say that 90% of the content I post is writen and thrown up from my little netbook from the coffee house. The problem is that I'm so used to waking up and jumping on the blogoshpere and scoping things out right away and getting the creative ball rolling.

Did hit up the small local gun show today.  Did I say small? I mean tiny and very fudd-filled.  One big table full of vintage Marlins and a couple Winchesters though, and a rather overpriced Colt Anaconda that was pretty, but definitely used.  One small table with a couple Saiga rifles (no shotguns, I was curious what the prices on them would be) and a couple cans.  Tons of Nazi paraphernalia... couldn't even find any loopholes.  Overall a disappointment.

Noticed Instapundit mentioned the little Syma S107 came down a little in price.  I picked one up after Christmas for cheap and I have to agree that it's an absurd amount of fun for such a little thing.  I'd suggest getting a couple spare tail rotors though, it's a vulnerable little thing out there in the back.

Oh, and the Bialetti Moka Express is the coolest coffee related thing I've gotten in a long time.  I have a very rich and smooth Americano to get me kick started for my shift tonight.  It smells wonderful.

Oleg's got a new place

Away from the super-pop-up world of LJ.  Just thought I'd pass the word around.

Offset KAC BUIS

From Stickman over at Gear Scout.  Looks like a nice setup if you're running scoped.

Lights and Guns

Uncle links to a SI article on white-light/handgun techniques and gets the ball rolling on some discussion.

I've touched on white-lights and their importance on guns before, and I still stand by it.  I like the idea of having a light on the gun and the bonus of being able to use my off hand to open doors or dial 911.  (Also the reason I have a handgun sitting on the nightstand. If I can't take care of it with 17 rounds of 124gr +P 9mm, it should be enough to get me back to the AR (with light attached as well.))

Hopefully...

...I'll get internet set-up at the new HQ before too long.  Sorry about the sparsity of posts as of late.

More Constitutional Carry Bills

Add Tennessee and Iowa to the list.  Always great to see the movement gaining ground.

(H/T to SayUncle and James respectively)

Wait a minute...

...is that really the best way to describe it?

Far from the first time I've seen the phrase in use for online bike parts (at Price Point this time if you're interested) but everytime it makes me laugh to myself.

Army Sending out New Flashhiders

From AAC (Blackout) and Surefire (for the M240, this one maybe? I'll have to hit up my contacts over in A-Stan and see if they know anything.)

H/T: Kit Up

Bleg

Total of 12 hours of work today, after being a Soldier all weekend... still no internet at the new place, so trying to catch up with things.  Fun times.

Subtle...

Target giving you a reminder?

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Colorado Pushing for Constitutional Carry

It's good to see it picking up more steam in a variety of other states.  This gives us in Wisconsin more hope of reasonable CCW legislation in the coming year.

MOE Rifle-length Handguards

Are now shipping.

I like the looks of the MOE handguards personally.  It's a nice change up from the normal round or oval ribbed two piece guards.  This one rounds out the set of Carbine, Mid, and Rifle length handguards in the MOE line.  I'm probably going to use a Mid-length one on the next couple builds I'm contemplating.

Shhh...

300BLK Integrally Suppressed bolt-action rifle from AAC.  That puppy is super quiet.

Mild HyperStealth SMARTCAMO Update

Looks like it was posted a couple days ago, but I was busy with moving and all that.

This really is looking to be one of the coolest things I've heard of this year.

Break From Moving

But not from working some way or another. Driving it 10 miles down hardball also sucks a bit. "Bouncy" Doesn't begin to describe it.

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Blue Angels

Then and now.  Just plain cool.

Ninja Suit

Despite the name, I do want.  The Merino Wool one, I'm pretty partial to the green-ish color.

So... Cool...

Via SayUncle, a homebuilt 12ga revolving shotgun using chambers cut from scrap 12ga barrels and a $10 barrel.  This is quite possibly the coolest thing you'll see all day.

Chinese Top Gun

Not quite what you think.  Although I think Tom Cruise may be about the same height as most of their pilots, for what it's worth.

MWG 40

Bulgarian manufactured 40 round magazines for the AR-15. 

At $25.95 I may have to pick some up and see what I think next payday.  I've got a couple Bulgarian AK mags and they're rather nice.