'90s Pop Music... >:P

Killing some time at the campus coffee house waiting for my registration appointment, and the barista has the music set to "'90s Pop" and it's only making me think that this particular genre of music in nothing more than the embodiment of everything you should never do musically.

Spellbound & Dead Six

Signed copies are up for pre-order at Uncle Hugo's if you're interested.  Just ordered mine.

School...

Took a semester off, registering for classes today (they start Tuesday... hopefully there's some left...)  Follow that up with work, probably not gonna be here much today.

MHI Patch Contest!

Take Two.

I was half tempted not to mention it, just to increase my chances, but that's just asking for bad karma or something.

Wow... You're Old!

In internet years anyway... Say Uncle turns 9 today.

Keep up the good work!

For the Lulz

Robb's first rejection letter.

...

Slow start and an environment not very conducive to blogging (or anything productive for that matter.)  Check back later.

20ga Buck

Managed to find some boxes of Remington No. 3 buck for the little Remington yesterday.  20 pellets per round with poly fill to keep them from getting too beat up in flight.

Hopefully get out to the range in a few days and see how they pattern in "across the room" distances.

Happy Blogiversery!

To Tam!

As my largest source of traffic outside of Google, I felt I should give some happy thoughts.

New Pistolette

New pistol arrived today.  Radom P-64 through AIM Surplus.

On top of the Eee PC for scale.

First impressions; for a gun built in 1976 it's in great shape, just a very little bit of holster wear.  The double action trigger pull is actually worse than the Nagant revolvers... so I'll be most likely picking up a Wolff hammer spring a few pounds lighter.  The single action pull on the other hand is quite nice, some take up, and a nice light crisp break.

The safety/decocker is the typical European "up for fire/down for decock/safe," and the mag release is the European heal setup, but the mag slides out nice and smooth.  I'm not a huge fan of those types of controls, but the double action pull is more than heavy enough for safe hammer-down carry, and should still be plenty after the spring change.

The size is comparable to the current flood of "pocket nines" like the Ruger LC-9, and the 9x18mm cartridge is right between .380acp and 9x19, so I'll be looking for a decent pocket holster that this little guy can ride in.

I should have a longer post in a few days with more photos, and possibly an initial range report.  If there's anything in particular you guys want to know about it, just drop a line down in the comments.

MD - Art of the Precision Rifle

Full trailer has been released.




Looks pretty good.

I love the shot of the bullet trace at about the 20 second mark too... quite sweet.

Not sure on price, but it's a 5 disc set.  If you're doing any precision long range shooting it's probably going to be well worth thinking about.

7 out of 10 Students Skip Buying Texts Due to Costs

I read stories like this and I'm very glad that the school I'm going back to in a couple weeks has a text rental program.  I think the most I've ever dropped on books in one semester was about $120, which is apparently the cost of just one "normal" text book, and the worst of which was a self published professor who infamously changed it every semester, and charged $80 for something that looked like it came from the copy center at Staples.

Legitimate Sporting Purposes

Don't exist in Great Britain.  Shooting at pictures of concentric circles is even too violent for the kiddies.

If I had kids that were getting some of those tickets, I think I'd just tell Mr. Johnson to fold them up until they're all corners, and then...

Dear Smith & Wesson;

Look at what this gentleman did, and start making them.

Failing that, if somebody can mass produce the thingy he replaced the take-down tool with, I may just track down an M&P9 Pro and do the above to my current M&P...

MSM Don't Tread On Me shirt

Looks freakin' sweet.

Gonna have to get me one.

Zoo Animals

More photos from the zoo in no particular order.

Be Prepared

The girl (Fern) wrote a short explanation of why she's going to get her CCW permit come November.

A Fine Brew(ery)

Last Friday night Fern and I headed out to Amherst to stop in at Central Waters Brewery.  They've pretty much stuck a bar on the side of the brew floor, and you can stop in on Friday evenings to sample their brews.

Central Waters has been around for a little over 10 years, they started out in Junction City, WI (about 15 miles down the road to the West of us,) and relocated to Amherst, WI (about 15 miles East of Point...)  They're a typical Wisconsin Microbrewery with a decent range of offerings, and Friday they had the first batch of their annual Octoberfest brew on tap.  I also had a pint of their Mudpuppy Porter with Nitro rather than CO2, and it had the smoothest, creamiest head I've ever had on a beer.  It was wonderful.

If you see some in your local cooler, it's worth checking out.

20GA Buckshot?

I need some... any suggestions?  Cannot find any local sources...

Found in Madison

Not sure if it's for or against... but it was stuck to the top of an Onion newspaper box, so take that as you may.

 

Nobody Told Me...

Apparently there's a "gunblog blacklist" out there somewhere.  Nobody told me about it...

Regardless of how true it is, there's now one posted.  (It's really just another list of gunblogs worth reading, but they're always to good to scroll through and kill time on.)

On the Hunt

Much better... all cleaned up and pert'ified.

Triple Americano Kind of Day

Heading to Madison for the day, primarily to go the the zoo (lions, including a cub, tigers, and several forms of bears. Oh my!) Behind a night of sleep, hence the post title. Should be fun.

I think we may just get enough to the circus, er capital building, to laugh at the hippies but I'm sure the smell will prove too much. I'm rocking a Magpul hat for good measure though.

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Grr.

Was going to do stuff, but I spent the last two hours fighting with the Eee PC trying to convince it that the slot in the side is not a cooling vent, but an SD Card reader.

It still won't budge on its opinion.

(It's running Windows 7... anybody have any idea what the deal is?)

Second Wind...

The downside of random overnight shifts is that while I'm crashing all night, once I get out and stumble my way home at 7am, I usually feel pretty awake yet.

I think it'll lead to a relaxing roll down to the coffee house on the park bike to enjoy some coffee, some reading, and some light blogging.  The ol' Specialized P.1 really doesn't get enough use.

Shh...

Both the noise and recoil suppression are impressive.

From AAC's blog.

Wausau dentist opens gun shop downtown

Seeing as I'm in need of a local(ish) dealer that doesn't suck and is willing to return phone calls (two down...) I see this as welcome news.  This doesn't hurt either-

The "Don't Tread on Me" flag symbolizes those views, Prehn said. "It's like, don't even think of taking that right (to own and carry guns) away from me."

 Hopefully working close with the local PD and the amount of security will keep him from falling victim to the typical fate of small gun shops in Central Wisconsin.

I'll probably duck up there next week at some point to scope it out.

Do they even bother with Alcohol and Tobacco anymore?

ATF Guns Traced to 12 US Crime Sites

I mean they're sucking at the Firearms part...

Shift Gears

Travis Haley hasn't slacked off since parting with Magpul Dynamics.  He's got some good exercises up on his site's blog, including the "Shift Gears Drill" below.



The target is a free download here.  It looks pretty simple and .22lr friendly to boot.  I'll probably give it a try next time I'm at the range.

Beretta Micro-9

Baretta introduces the ugliest handgun ever to grace the face of the earth their take on the tiny 9mm pocket pistol.

Personally, I'll pass. That thing is too ugly.

Industrial Flow

I've posted some of Danny Macaskill's videos before, but it's always a treat to watch him play on his bike.  He's got a new one out now.



Would love to be able to ride like that...

Speaking of Books

"Spellbound", the second book of the Grimnior Chronicles, is available as an eARC for you 21st Century electric book peoples.

Shameless Book Suggestions

Tam started reading a new book, and I agree with her roomie.  The only times I've been let down by Gaiman are a couple short stories, and the bulk of those books made up for it.  That being said, American Gods is one of my all-time favorite books, and I recently snagged a copy of the 10th Anniversary Edition, purely because it's a gorgeous book.  Neverwhere is also one of the greatest things I've ever read (a few times.)

(I say these are shameless plugs, seeing as if you guys click one of those Amazon links and actually buy something, I get a cut of the action.  And I thank you for it.)

Case of the Mondays

32 oz. of wonderful coffee later and I'm still not feeling it.  Been a long weekend.

No Peepee for Gunnies

Sadly I'm sure this will only be the first of many.  Thankfully I don't spend much time in that area of the state.

(h/t Uncle)

Underwater Gunplay

If you're not watching Smarter Every Day on youtube, you need to fix that.



Destin risked a Ruger auto and a small frame revolver of some sort to show us where the gasses are coming out and where they're going by firing them in a tank of water and filming with a high speed camera.  Then he explains what happened.  Cool stuff.

Charter Arms Rimless Revolver

Is actually a real thing, and actually for sale, and TFB has a review.  The .40S&W chambering itself doesn't really excite me, but the idea of a revolver firing rimless cartridges without using moon clips is pretty cool.  Hopefully they'll do one in 9mm or .45acp before too long.

Pastafarianism in the Military

I'm kind of breaking one of my self-imposed rules of life, and talking about religion.  Normally I avoid it (well, sober anyway,) because one of my biggest pet peeves is people forcing theirs on you, and one of the 8 I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts specifically says that's one of them.


However over at Venganza.org (the official site for the Church of the FSM,)

Here’s a guest post by Justin Griffith.  Justin is well known for his fight against the idea that “there are no Atheists in Foxholes”.  He was recently profiled in the New York Times for his activism.

Justin goes on to talk about how he actually managed to get a Drill Sergeant to smile in basic when he tried to confiscate his Holy book and his struggle to get the Big Army to realize there are honest to goodness Atheists in the ranks.


I have run into similar situations.  My current paperwork simply says "No religious preference," however as many have noted, just about everybody assumes that's just the same as Christian non-denominational.  My dog tags tell a different tale however-

However this last June I went through Soldier Readiness Processing.  This is basically a day when they go through all your records and see how squared away it is in the event you get called up for active duty.  Part of that is making sure you've got all your stuff in order in case you buy the farm, including you have the correct religious preference listed so they know what to do with you.


So I go in to talk to the Chaplain, and he looks at my form, looks at his list of "approved" religions, and says "I don't see this on my list.  Is it some sort of joke?"
"No. I'm Pastafarian."
"Well this is a serious thing.  If you die we want to make sure we don't upset your family.  You have to be serious about this."
"I am serious."
"Well, it's not on my list."
"Fine, just leave it No Preference.  Close freakin' enough." (It had been a long day, and it was my last station.)


It still does tend to be an issue.  It overwhelmingly feels like the leadership can't wrap their heads around the idea that some people simply are not religious(or fictitious Drill Instructors...)  At the same time, if you are one of those people, you don't really seem to get equal treatment to those who are.  Throughout Basic those that regularly attend a religious service basically get a couple hours off every week to go to their chosen service.  In my experience those that didn't go got to have a barracks party (cleaning for you civies. Due to this, I usually would go to the Catholic service, just for the time off.)


Maybe more Atheist soldiers will step forward and claim Pastafarian for their religion and we can get the Army to actually recognize it as a "religion."  It could be the simplest way to finally get some form of (non)religious equality for not having a religion.  There's definitely the numbers...

Defense Department statistics show that about 9,400 of the nation’s 1.4 million active-duty military personnel identify themselves as atheists or agnostics, making them a larger subpopulation than Jews, Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists in the military.

Speaking of all this, I'm hoping to be officially ordained in the Church of the FSM, but I'm tight for cash, and it's $46.  There is, however, a Tip Jar over on the left... maybe I can get commissioned as a Chaplain...

Speaking of Taking the Ladies to the Range

WotC has a pretty good post up titled "On having your wife as a battle buddy."  MandaFern feels much the same way.  She has no intention of carrying come November, but I think she's in agreement that at least getting the permit and having the ability to is a good idea.  Way back when we started dating (well, seems like a long time...) I used the "I've got a fire extinguisher in my trunk, but I don't expect my car to burst into flames any second" example for why I carry a handgun pretty regularly.  At the time it simply reminded her to get a new extinguisher for the kitchen, but the point did make it across.

Frankengun

Must be seen to be believed.

New Wheels

And a whole bike to go with them.

$220 from roadbikeoutlet.com... what could go wrong?  (Well, needs better pedals and the seatpost leaves something to be desired...)

Anyway, we'll see how this one holds up.  The previous single speed road bike made it through about five seasons, including a few tough Wisconsin winters.  The drop bars are an interesting sensation, never rode with them before.  May add some top bar inline brake levers eventually though, either that or get used to braking while riding the drops...

Wisconsin DOJ CCW Q&A

Wisconsin DOJ has released a 49 page .pdf Q&A regarding the new law.  I'll probably print it off and go through it during my down time at work tonight.

Shooting with Significant Others

Uncle mentions he's slacking.  As some of you may know, I had MandaFern out to the range pretty soon after we started dating.  I think it's a fantastic idea to take your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/fiance/etc... out to the range.  Suddenly, if somebody breaks into your house, it goes from "honey, get down;" to "honey, cover me while I reload."

0500 Wake-ups Suck

But make for pretty views.

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CCW and UW Campuses

John Lott talks about how the UW System is going to have to deal with the new CCW laws.

The way I understood it, it would be up to each campus to decide how to deal with CCW in the buildings, however they cannot stop you from carrying on the campus grounds.  It looks that he's reading it the same as well.

I'm hoping that my school will choose to go the simple route and allow it.  I'm sure the College Dems will cry to no end, but it would be the simplest and cheapest solution.  I'll certainly let you guys know as soon as I know what our policy will be for CCW.

Funny, Yet Frightening...

Because it's probably true.

If you don't follow Larry, you really should.  He writes pretty good stuff in printed format too.

Darwin Sighs...

...As another slips past.  Not to hate on stereotypes, but they apparently live in a trailer, so there's bound to be many more chances down the road.

Those Knobbly Bits On Top

Apparently Caleb upset some people with his post yesterday about a "point-shooting" video.  I tend to agree with him, since I like to hit what I'm shooting at, be it a steel plate or a guy charging at me with a knife.  Can you hit stuff without sights?  Of course you can.  A couple summers ago when I was shooting a decent amount of trap I actually used a gun with the bead removed more than a few times and would still get 20+ out of 25 clays (we found some scouts actually would worry too much about sight picture and not following the bird, so removed the bead on one of the guns and taught them to "cover the bird" with the muzzle. For some scouts it worked, and their hits went up.)  However I hit closer to 25 with the bead in place, and I sure can shoot a pistol a lot better with sights than without.  Those little knobbly bits are on the slide for a reason.

For me, the key is good form with a good press-out, and your muscle memory will bring the sights in-line with your intended target almost as fast as just pressing-out and hoping.  Of course this means that you actually need to practice... a lot.  And that doesn't sell class seats like "Learn to Shoot Fast and Accurate NOW!!" tends to.

Also, having a newer shooter taking pot shots into rock at 10 feet with no eye-pro tells me what sort of instructors they are, and that is the kind I don't want to be around.

Surefire Quad-stack Mag Disassembled

Gear Scout got one in the mail, and of course the first thing they did was take it apart to see how it works (not that I can blame them, that's been my urge with new toys since I was like 2.)

I'm still pretty hopeful for the 60 rounder.  It looks good.

Decent Sight Pusher?

The more I work on my handgun skills, the more I want to change the sights on my 1911 and possibly/probably the M&P9, as well as be able to adjust them more easily than beating on them with a hammer (especially with the tritium vials in the M&P.)

Anybody have suggestions on a decent sight pusher that would work on both guns?  I can find a few that look good, but are specific to the gun, and at $150 a pop, it starts to look less and less appealing.

ugh...

Slow stumbling start to the morning.  Need to get some of the second half of the blog title flowing.  Check back in a couple hours.