Monday, April 30, 2012

History of the Carbine

Well... a very compressed history of the modern US Military carbine, and a commercial for BCM. Featuring Pat Rogers and Travis Haley.



Can't help but like BCM though, good gear from Wisconsin is always nice.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

F'in Cold This Morning

Seriously Wisconsin... it's supposed to be spring...

Ok... I think it's broke...

Friday, April 27, 2012

I See Your Double 1911, and Raise You a Double Assault Rifle

'Cause that's how the Israeli's roll.  Judging by the photo, looks like it's got two barrels and a shared gas system... not sure how well that would hold up.  Also not sure how you get "more accuracy" out of it, other than "accuracy by volume."

Surefire EP4 Sonic Defenders

Are good stuff.  Probably the best earplugs I've ever had... even managed to get about 7 hours of sleep after working the overnight last night.  That's the longest I've gotten in a while after working the graveyard shift.

Been There...

Borepatch: Coffee. Black.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Plastic Shell

Found this at the range yesterday.



Anybody know more about this beast?  I'm curious.  Headstamp simply says "HERTER'S" and "12" and "PAT."

ETA: Should specify, definitely not a snap cap, it's hollow and smells of burned powder.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Bank of America...

... Doesn't like guns.

Something that's been bouncing around circles of the gun forum world for a few years is starting to make bigger news.  I remember hearing about some small shop that sells tactical stuff (not even firearms) getting their account closed because they do business in the firearms industry at least two years ago, which had gotten mention from a few other business owners relating similar stories.

(wow... that was supposed to post at 7am.... thanks blogger.)

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Game Three

Well.... I got one of the rare(ish) pinstripe variant Lucroy bobblehead, so I'm going to claim a moral victory.


Home now, range trip in the morning.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Game Two

Much better. 9-4 final.

No real exciting plays today...
We also hit up Sprecher Brewery for a tour and tasting earlier in the day.

Should have taken the photo before drinking half of  it... but... well........
Also picked up a case of varied bottled awesome, with a half dozen Generation Porters in there to keep me happy for a while.

WI Hits 100,000 CCW Permits

Madison, WI (Northland's NewsCenter) - Friday morning marked a milestone for a new Wisconsin law. The 100,000th Concealed Carry License was printed fewer than six months after 2011 Wisconsin Act 35 took effect.
Yet nobody's drowned in the waves of blood in the streets. Amazing.

Game One

Yeah... we lost... but Norichika Aoki managed to nail an inside-the-park home run, for his first Major League homer, and that was pretty sweet to watch.

Aoki rounds second on his in-the-park home run.
(Better photo when I get home and can edit the RAW version...)
It was a close game, they ran it all the way into the 9th, then Axford decided to loose it.  Hopefully today they do better.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Baseball!!

Heading down to catch the Brewers/Rockies Series this weekend.  May or may not (but likely may) post some stuff during the downtime.  Also hitting up a couple brewery tours, because beer is wonderful.

Want, Even Though I Have No Real Use For

Ruger 10/22 Takedown.  Really simple too.  Would be good to put some Tech-Sights on it and stash it in the car for impromptu range trips I guess.

Caffinated Weapons of Mass Destruction

Jay G calls out Caleb on his blatant disregard for rules, thus winning the internets.

Speaking of Caleb, he's got a quick little video of shooting the Shield up that's borderline porn-worthy.  Lots of cool muzzle flashes anyway.

What Does NBC Have Against Remington?

NBC has had a few "stories" out lately about the Remington trigger group, and Remington is understandably not pleased with the press.  I just watched this video they put out in response on The Firearm Blog, and it seems pretty interesting.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Should be interesting...

On January 30th, 2012 a law-abiding Wisconsin concealed carry license holder, Nazir Al-Mujaahid, used his sidearm to shoot a shotgun-wielding armed robber who entered a north-side Aldi's grocery store in Milwaukee and threatened the cashier and customers. As is standard protocol, the armed citizen's holster, gun, and ammunition were taken into evidence by the Milwaukee Police Department.

A few days later the Milwaukee District Attorney's office cleared the armed citizen of any wrong-doing and declared the shooting justified.


Despite being exhonerated by the DA, making repeated attempts to obtain the return of his firearm from Milwaukee Police, and sending a letter to the DA's office requesting assistance in the return of his property, Mr. Al-Mujaahid's gun remains in Police possession.


Wisconsin Carry, Inc. has observed what appears to be a pattern of civil-rights infringing behavior from the Milwaukee Police Department. The Milwaukee Police Department appears to have a practice of concocting baseless reasons to seize any and all guns they come across in the City - even when those guns have never been used in connection with a crime. The Police Department also appears to have a practice of refusing to return firearms or unduly delaying the return of firearms that were seized incident to an arrest despite the fact that no charges were brought or when the gun owner is exonerated by the court system.


WCI believes that these acts by the Milwaukee Police Department represent violations to law-abiding citizens constitutionally guaranteed right to be free from illegal seizures of their private property and their Constitutionally recognized right to keep and bear arms. By seizing Al-Mujaahid's property, refusing to return it to him, and refusing to allow him to file a petition for the return of his property, Nazir has been deprived of his property without due process of law.


On Friday, April 13th, Wisconsin Carry filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee, Police, Clerk of Courts and District Attorney seeking the return of Nazir's property or alternatively, an opportunity to challenge any claims that his property is needed as evidence. Furthermore, we seek a declaration that the Milwaukee Police Department's practice of seizing firearms, even those never used in a crime, and requiring firearm owners to engage in formal litigation in order to recover their seized property, is unlawful.


A copy of this lawsuit is available here:


http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Milwaukee/Doc1_Complaint.pdf


We encourage individuals who, despite facing no charges and having committed no crime, have had their firearms seized by the Milwaukee Police and been forced to go to court to obtain their return, to contact Wisconsin Carry, Inc.


Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit Wisconsin Corporation dedicated to the advancement and protection of the right of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to carry in the manner of their choosing.  WCI pursues its mission of "Constitutional Carry" through grass-roots legislative activism, education including free concealed carry license training courses, litigation, and public relations.


Carry On,


Nik Clark

Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
nik@wisconsincarry.org

www.wisconsincarry.org

www.facebook.com/groups/wisconsincarry

www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry

www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry
 Far from the first time the City of Milwaukee, or Milwaukee County officials, have been less than respectful of gun owners' rights.

A note of interest in the case: the grocery store where the shooting occurred is a "posted property" (ie., no guns allowed,) and by all accounts, and from personal experience with the local example of the chain, poorly marked as such (I'm fairly certain the local one is not up to snuff with the law.)  I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with Al-Mujaahid not being charged with carrying there in the first place.  As far as I know, Aldi's hasn't fixed it yet either, but I haven't gone back since the first time I saw the sign.  Also, the would-be robber was not killed, despite being shot in the face.  Not sure what he was using.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

BAG Day!!

Manda got hers on (mine's "in transit" so to speak...)

No need to adjust your dials.
She decided the gorgeous little CZ-452 American needed to be saved from the used rack, especially since it accommodates her "disability" (love you dear ; ) )

The wood is beautiful.

Purdy
Just needs some glass, a sling, and some more (and bigger) mags.

I did get a new range bag today at least.  Mine was getting too small.


BAG Day!!

Once again, BAG Day is upon us.  After a quick nap (overnight shifts suck...) we'll be heading up to the shop to look around.

Friday, April 13, 2012

New Games Workshop Paints

For the whole maybe 2 of you that read my stuff and play with little toy soldiers, you probably know GW put out a new line of paints last week.

The newest issue of White Dwarf, despite being horribly overpriced, actually has some ok content, including (gasp!) actual rules for Deathworld Scenarios.  Also, there is a massive amount of stuff about painting with the new stuff, and there's a little mention of how you can use one of the new shading paints over a white base to knock out Iyanden Eldar guys in minutes, rather than hours.  I'd played around with building an Eldar army for a while, and actually have all the models buried around somewhere.  I like the background for Iyanden and really like the color scheme, but painting them kicked my ass, so the models got shoved to the proverbial back of the painting desk.  Literally a dozen or so layers of thin yellow paints to build up from a deep red-orange to get the effect I wanted.  Somehow I had gotten a tank, a few Guardians and a weapon platform done and that was it.

So I was intrigued, and picked up a couple of the new paints, and dug out a couple sprues and glued together some plastic dudes.  Hit 'em with white primer, and went for it.


The guy on the left was one of the first ones I did two years ago, involving the dozen or so layers for the yellow armor. The guy on the right was done with the new paint system, and I seriously knocked out eight of them in a little longer than it took for the Brewers Game yesterday.  White primer, a heavy coat of Casandora Yellow, and a quick coat of Lamenters Yellow glaze to even it out.  They look almost as good close up, and pretty much the same at "tabletop" distance.  I'm simply amazed honestly.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Shield Video



Yup... very tempted to go up to the shop and just order one for BAG Day.

More on the Shield

Caleb has a look ('cause he's a tease and got to play with it already.)

M&P Shield Revieled


The M&P Shield utilizes an extremely thin, lightweight, high-strength polymer frame with a black, Melonite® coated stainless steel slide and barrel. Both models are standard with a 3.1-inch barrel, which contributes to an overall length of 6.1 inches and an unloaded weight of 19 ounces. The accuracy of the pistol has been refined with a white dot stainless steel front sight and a white two-dot stainless steel rear sight. The M&P Shield retains familiar operating features including a simple takedown lever, flat profile slide stop, magazine release, and thumb safety. For improved firearm control, the M&P Shield is standard with a fixed textured backstrap and additional texturing at the forward portion of the grip. An extended trigger guard allows for operation with or without gloves.
Internal features of the new M&P Shield mirror the standard M&P Series. Its stainless steel internal chassis reduces flex while providing a stable shooting platform and its low-bore axis helps maintain ease-of-use and a comfortable feel. A passive trigger safety prevents the pistol from firing if dropped and a sear release lever eliminates the need to press the trigger in order to disassemble the firearm. A loaded chamber indicator is located on top of the slide. The M&P Shield is shipped with both an extended and flat magazine offering the ability to customize the length of the grip. The 9mm M&P Shield offers an 8+1 or 7+1 magazine capacity while the .40 S&W M&P Shield is standard with either a 7+1 or 6+1 magazine capacity. The M&P Shield will also be introduced in a California-compliant model. Both the 9mm and .40 S&W M&P Shield have an MSRP of $449 and are available now.

Looks like S&W did listen to the desires for a single-stack "pocket" 9mm, and upped the ante by offering it in .40S&W as well.  I'm hoping Crimson Trace will have a Light Guard out for it shortly, and I'll be looking at a sweet little carry gun myself.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Best smelling chore ever.




There was still about a bottle's worth of Bourbon Barrel Stout in there too.  The other barrel will end up loosing the top when the gutters get put up and used as a rain barrel.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Range Day and Magpod Goodness

Hit it up to introduce a couple new shooters and try out a some cool gear.

New shooter getting her cowgirl on.

Manda Rockin' the 10/22
For the antis and those insisting on mandatory training, the two women we had out today actively sought us out to get some trigger time and learn how to use a gun, primarily in regards to the new CCW and Castle Doctrine laws we have here in Wisconsin.  The young lady in the first photo is very excited to get out more and make range trips a regular occurrence.

As for the new gear, I'm lucky enough to have the v.1 Magpod for testing.

Blamo!

I'm very excited about this product, and getting my hands on one of the prototypes is simply awesome.  I'll definitely be putting it through its paces and seeing how it holds up.  In the meantime, they say first impressions are everything...

9 rounds, rapid fire prone at 25 yards
It may not be a long shot, but I can't complain about that group.

Friday, April 6, 2012

RFAK Parts

Guns, Cars, & Tech has a good post full of links to some of the "big" parts of a Range Firstaid Kit.

.22 Carbine Video

From Oleg.  A bunch of stuff I've been saying for years, but with somebody much better looking than me in front of the camera.

MRDs on Pistols

This is something that's been going on in the competition side for years, but is starting to gain traction in the defense area lately.  Caleb is playing around with a Glock with a Burris Fastfire II mounted on the slide, and it sounds like he's getting some more options to try out soon.

The biggest advantage in my mind is being able to maintain focus on both the target and the sight and the same time.  In a defensive situation, being able to keep the threat in focus while maintaining good sight picture is simply not going to happen with irons.

Currently the biggest hurdle is sending off the slide to be machined for whichever optic you choose, but there are a couple guns coming from the factory with cuts, and Brownell's offers a drop-in Glock slide that's already cut.  I'm hoping it'll gain momentum and become a more common option, right now the price is just too high for my budget, despite how much I want something set up this way.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Excuses

Slept in in preparation for overnight shifts the next two nights, then dug out the bike clothes to get a short ride in.
New biking socks though!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012