Gun(s) & Coffee

I was going to post this photo last week, but Blogger was broke.

Anyway, CZ52, 6oz of fresh espresso poured on top of a sugar cube and a teaspoon of caramel flavor syrup... next time I'm going to omit the sugar though, makes it too candy-like for coffee.

Need Gear...

Specifically, a Multicam Molle pouch capable of holding a Jetboil system that doesn't cost almost as much as the stupid stove does.  Ideally by this weekend, but realistically by the second week of June.

Anybody have a lead on such a beast?

Picture of the...

Day, Week, Month.... I don't know anymore....

I really like the clouds rolling over the mountains.

Readers may recognize Guns & Coffee friend/sometimes contributer Cro (of Rubber Band AR fame.  My evil plan is to rope him into more stuff when he's back.) He's currently in Afghanistan, but things are going well.

Magpul Dummies in Colors

Magpul has put up a limited run of their polymer dummy 5.56 rounds in FDE and Orange in cigarette box style 12 packs.

I'll probably snag a pack or two of orange.  That could be a handy color.

NRA's AAR

The NRA-ILA has also posted a summation of the meetings last week.

There's some good points in there-

"The Assembly Criminal Justice Committee met in Madison and heard Assembly Bill 126, the companion to SB 90.  Some of the most compelling testimony of the day came from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.  He described how he was an opponent of concealed carry until he began to see the effects of aviolent crime wave on the citizens of his county.  He realized that citizens really are the first line of defense against violent predators because his officers could not be everywhere all of the time.   Sheriff Clarke asked the committee to allow citizens the most efficient and effective means of protecting themselves -- a concealed handgun.  Many law enforcement officials throughout the state could learn from the Sheriff's example." 

NRA Workshop AAR/WI CCW Bills Info

Last Thursday the NRA-ILA, in conjunction with Wisconsin Force, put on a "Grassroots Workshop" at Gander Mountain.  Due to CCW legislation being recently introduced into the state house and senate, and a public hearing regarding these bills taking place across town from the meeting earlier in the day, the "workshop" turned into more of a CCW Bill familiarization class.

First off though, the turnout was great.  There was at least 100 people cramming into a room meant for about 40.

Yay, crappy cell pic!

We were literally overflowing into the store.  The upside was that they mic'd the speakers, so the entire store could hear what was being said.

As far as the bills in circulation, there are three: AB126/SB90 (shall carry/licensed carry) and SB93 (Constitutional Carry.)  The NRA guys claim they support both.  While this seems a bit strange at first, what they mean is that they'd love to see both bills reconciled and combined.  Realistically, this would be a bit rough, but I tend to agree with their thought process.

It's pretty long, so more after the break-

Military Appreciation Game.

The Brewers definitely give good seats to us vets. See you guys tomorrow!

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Ok... One More Quick Thing...

I can only assume the SEALs found it while flipping the mattresses, but given it was "electronic," it was more likely on a thumb drive under a poorly disguised folder name.  Not quite the way of the devout Muslim.

Out of the Office

I'll be a bit scarce over the next few days, running down to catch a couple Brewers games and some other stuff while we're in the neighborhood.

I was going to get some stuff down regarding the NRA "Grassroots Workshop" that took place last night, but Blogger's little hiccup kept me from writing from the event or getting to it last night while it was still fresh.  Overall, despite the "Join the NRA!!" overtones, it was a great summation of the current CCW Legislation going through Madison, and answered a lot of questions I had regarding that.  I did take a lot of notes, so come Monday I'll hopefully sum things up more.

Supposedly the missing posts from the last couple days will be popping back up soon-ish too, maybe even the one I tried to send from the meeting... who knows.

Anywho, back on Monday.

That Sucks...

It looks like Blogger had a massive aneurysm yesterday, and the powers that be killed all posts after a certain time on Wednesday. Don't know if they're going to come back, but I'm less than happy about that.

NRA Workshop

Some quick things before I head to bed for the day (grumble grumble night shifts...)

Tonight is the NRA "Grassroots" Workshop at the Rothschild/Wausau Gander Mountain.  I'll be there with the M&P in hanging out in it's Raven-clad glory assuming I wake up in time to make the drive.

Apparently the things filled up awful quick, what with the actual honest to FSM concealed carry bills being introduced, so they set up some more-

Dear Fred:


For Concealed Carry To Become a Reality, the NRA Needs Your Help! Due to popular demand for NRA-ILA's grassroots workshops, the NRA's state association Wisconsin FORCE has scheduled three more FREE Workshops to help secure the Right-to-Carry Concealed. It’s time for Wisconsin to join free America!

During last November’s elections, NRA members and gun owners throughout the Badger State sent a clear message to elected officials that a strong Right-to-Carry law must be a legislative priority. Residents of Wisconsin sent their legislators to Madison to secure their freedom.

To ensure we are prepared to meet the challenges posed by anti-gun forces and answer questions our members have about this legislation, Wisconsin FORCE, your NRA chartered state association, will be hosting a series of workshops throughout the state.

Please plan on attending to learn more about the bills, as well as what you need to do as gun-owners to assist in our efforts. At this meeting, Wisconsin FORCE will discuss the bills, as well as what each of you need to do to ensure victory. This meeting is absolutely free. The workshop will run about 60-90 minutes.

Please make plans to attend one of our events and encourage your fellow NRA members and Second Amendment supporters to attend as well.

Here are the details for the upcoming workshops:

Monday, May 16, 2011 6:30PM - 7:30PM-8:00PM
Ace's on 29th, 2827 Oakes Avenue, Superior, WI 54880

***Space is limited. Please register by emailing your full name to
Superior@wi-force.org.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 6:30PM - 7:30PM-8:00PM
Stadium View, 1963 Holmgren Way, Green Bay, WI 54304

***Space is limited. Please register by emailing you full name to
GreenBay@wi-force.org.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 6:30PM - 7:30PM-8PM
Americas Best Value Inn (Sicily Room), 3900 Milton Avenue, Janesville, WI 53546

***Space is limited. Please register by emailing you full name to
Janesville@wi-force.org.

Also, earlier in the day is the Concealed Carry Hearing at UWMC.  I'm not sure what the start time is, but it's supposed to run till 6pm.  If you're in the area, it would be an ideal time to voice your opinion to those making the decisions.

Yup.

Some days there's more important things to do than blogging... Beating thunderstorms into submission to spend time with important people is one of those.

Yup. Kayaking with the girlfriend is definitely more important.

Constitutional Carry Needs You!

Greetings in Freedom,

I apologize for this hastily drafted email, but its a very busy week.  Word out of Madison yesterday was that neither Fitzgerald brother (One is speaker of the house, one speaker of the assembly) was going to allow the constitutional carry legislation to a vote.

TODAY I've been told the Capitol is abuzz about constitutional carry as a result of calls and emails from gun-owning constituents who want constitutional carry to have a fair shot.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO MADISON TOMORROW, The Madison hearing is ONLY hearing the "shall-issue" permit bill.  WHEN YOU SIGN IN at the hearing you have to sign in "in favor" of the bill or "against".  Wisconsin Carry along with our friends over at the massive Wisconsin Tea Party Coalition are asking our members to all WRITE IN a 3rd option and sign in, "in support of CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY."

This way they cannot tabulate people attending for constitutional carry in support of "shall-issue" nor could they tabulate people attending for constitutional carry as against concealed carry.
Wisconsin Carry, in a joint effort with the United States Concealed Carry Association is also preparing a set of radio ads to pressure the Fitzgerald brothers into standing up for smaller government and lower taxes and allowing constitutional carry a fair debate/vote in their respective legislative bodies.  We have funds set aside to begin this radio ad campaign in Milwaukee.
If you have monies you would like to donate to run these ads statewide (Madison, Fox Valley, Lacrosse, Wausau) you may donate on our website homepage www.wisconsincarry.org
It appears we REALLY need to put pressure on Scott and Jeff Fitzgerald to do the right thing and support the law-abiding citizens of Wisconsin who wish to carry concealed and not have to pay permit taxes, register with the government, nor take the government mandated training class.

We are asking you to make 4 PHONE CALLS today.  One to Senator Scott Fitzgerald, Speaker of the Senate, One to Jeff Fitzgerald, Speaker of the Assembly, and one each to your state senator and assembly person. If your assembly person HAS signed on as a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 93, thank them. if they have not, ask them TO sign on.

Constitutional Carry Senate Bill 93 viewable here:

You can read at the top of the bill which senators are co-introducing it and which representatives are co-sponsoring.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document?cite=proposaltext/2011/REG/SB93.pdf

Scott Fitzgerald contact info:http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=senate&district=13

Jeff Fitzgerald contact info:http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=assembly&district=39

Find YOUR legislators:http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx

Carry On,
Nik ClarkChairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.www.wisconsincarry.orgnik@wisconsincarry.orgwww.youtube.com/wisconsincarrywww.twitter.com/wisconsincarryFacebook: Search "Wisconsin Carry"

Hmm.

Lack of inspiration... plus the weather's nice and I don't work until 11pm.  Check back laters perhaps.

Texas Readers-

Aaron at Weapon Blog is asking you contact your elected officials regarding HB 2756 (Open Carry).

For the Ladies

As a brother and a fan of ladies in general, I'd like to see them stick around.

Shooting Diva's has released a free pdf download of the Diva Defense Guide.  It's a great little primer on where to start, and packed full of useful tips.

Pass it along to the important women in your life.

M&P40 Review

From Robb Allen over at Guns, Holsters, and Gear.  It looks like Robb drank the Kool-Aid, and found it quite tasty.  More than a few chuckles, and a great review of a popular product.

His findings are pretty much right on line with what I've found with my M&P9, although I haven't had any issues with the sights (mine has night sights) and I have the thumb rests (er, "external safeties") to prevent me from inducing a slide lock failure (the key reason for switching from the SP2022 to the M&P.)

I should be slightly offended by how he describes the grip sizes though... I use the  ‘Wow, can you palm a basketball with those meat-hooks?’ size, but my hands aren't that big... just my palms.  My fingers aren't that long, but the added bulk of the Large grip fills my palm nicely (much like the arched mainspring housing on 1911s.)

Heh.

The girl mentioned last time she went in to her credit union, the first thing she noticed was the "No Firearms" sign on the door.  (UW Credit Union... typical "icky guns" syndrome from University people I assume.)  The corruption, er conversion, is coming along nicely.

(In all fairness, we'll be going to two Brewer's games this weekend.  I've never really gotten into organized team sports before, but it's fun to watch her get excited, so I'm playing along.  It's starting to grow on me.)

Hmm... Not in the "Big" News Sources...

 Apparently this happened earlier today-

Almurisi, described as a burly man, emerged from a bathroom in the back of the plane and "walked briskly" toward the front, where he began yelling unintelligibly and pounding on the cockpit door, police and witnesses said.

 "He was walking very fast all the way up to the front," said Angelina Marty, 35, of San Francisco, a passenger on the plane. "He kept walking faster and faster and faster. He was screaming something, and the lady in the row across from me who had spoken Arabic said, 'That's Arabic,' and she had translated it and said it was roughly, 'God is great.' "

(bold added for emphasis)

Ah, good old political correctness.  I guess printing "Allahu Akbar" would just be in poor taste.

At least it sounds like everything worked out, although I wonder how long it'll be before we hear he was on the "no fly list," yet they let him on the plane to help "build the case..."

New Shooters

A couple blurbs involving novice shooters.  One blogger takes a frightened novice out and conquers her fear, and a neuroscientist takes a reporter out shooting simply because everybody should do it.

He doesn't hunt. Rifle practice is just another way to mentor his students. "I try to teach them about life," he says. "How to shoot a gun is something you hope you never need. But, whatever one feels about gun ownership, everyone should know how to use one."

Sounds good to me.

(h/t Unc)

75k

Neat.

Sure, they didn't stick around long, but it's still pretty cool.

3rd(?) Annual "Balls Am I Out of Shape" Ride

It's never a long one, but it's always an eye opener.  It's also not an official anything, simply the first time each year I manage to make it out to one of my choice single tracks and thrash my own body senseless.  I only rode for about a half hour today before calling it quits since it's going to be getting dark soon.

On the upside, one of those single tracks is a mere half a mile from my new apartment.  I will be taking advantage of that as much as humanly possible this summer, now that it's actually looking like spring around here.  The downside is that it's on a small island in the Wisconsin River.  Most of the trail was underwater last month, and it's still pretty soggy (actually there's a few spots where it's always wet...)

Apparently my current tires, some Specialized Sport Tracks, are the suck when it comes to the Island's sticky mud.

Traction is lacking when your treads are that clogged.  May have to look into that...

On the upside, despite being muddy and bruised (and maybe bloody... hard to tell under the mud...) I'm pretty darn happy, even if feeling like a giant sack of lard.

Just enough time to shower, eat something, and report in for the night shift...

Squee!

That is all.

Minotaur ITW Mag Pouch

The other day I mentioned I had found a new mag carrying solution.  Here in Wisconsin, where concealed carry is forbidden, Open Carry is the only way to go about being properly prepared.  Thankfully, this only applies to the gun itself, and spare ammo can be carried any way you see fit.  For the most part I've been carrying my spare magazine in some sort of OTW (outside the waistband) pouch, either a Raven Concealment pouch, or a Galco mag holder.

I decided I wanted to cut down on the amount of "outside" stuff I use for daily carry, since quite often I remove my holster because I can't bring my gun somewhere.  Also I'm starting to stock up on more CCW friendly equipment (I'm an optimist.)  I'd heard good things about Comp-Tac, and was looking at stuff on their site one day, and found the Minotaur IWB Mag holder, and decided to give it a go.

I decided to go with the "c-clip" option, and got it in a natural finish.  I'm a sweaty guy when the weather gets warm, and don't want dye seeping into my clothing, plus the natural shade of leather is quite appealing.

The ordering process was quite painless, and Comp-Tac sent emails at every step of the process.  Production time is only a couple days, a welcome change from Raven, and the pouch was in my hands within a week of ordering.

The pouch itself if very well made.  Clean and straight stitching, even color, and a smooth feel.

This is by far the most comfortable magazine pouch I've ever used.  The leather comes up high enough to keep the magazine from digging into you, but is short enough that it doesn't interfere with drawing the magazine.  It conceals quite well, the girlfriend didn't even know it was there until I mentioned it.  The c-clip is nice, as it's unobtrusive on the belt-line, and on my belt I can remove the pouch without taking said belt off.  It provides plenty of support for a fully loaded 17 round M&P mag with 124gr loads.

The only problem I've had with the pouch is that with the single belt loop it has a tendency to rotate forward a bit.  It never goes so far as to dump the mag out or let it drop below my waistline however.

Overall I'm very pleased with this pouch.  Now hopefully the people down in Madison hurry things up and I have an excuse to try out some of Minotaur's IWB holsters.

Stats Show More Women Buying Guns

"I feel more independent, more safe, more of a stronger woman," Powers-Spurlock told Nashville's News 2.  "Never again am I going to ever let any man run me over like that."

Despite what Eric Heyl has to say on the subject.

There's a reason the Colt of old was known as "The Great Equilizer."

Charges Dropped Against Madison 5

For immediate release: 

Last fall five Wisconsin Carry members were peacefully enjoying dinner at a Madison area Culvers restaurant. Like thousands of Wisconsin residents, they carry a sidearm for self-defense as a daily practice in the only manner currently provided by Wisconsin law. After a 911 caller inquired as to the legality of open-carry, Madison police arrived en masse and illegally demanded identification from all five. Two members who politely declined to provide ID were wrongfully cited for obstruction of justice. (Wisconsin, a free state, does not require you produce identification when you have done nothing wrong.) Those citations were rescinded 2 days later and all 5 were mailed citations for disorderly conduct despite no evidence of a disturbance. Details of that initial incident are available on Wisconsin Carry's websitewww.wisconsincarry.org. Click on the "Sept. 23rd 2010" blog heading for details including the audio of the 911 call. 

Wisconsin Carry filed a federal civil lawsuit against the City of Madison and Police Chief Noble Wray on September 29, 2010. That lawsuit can be viewed here: http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Ma...nComplaint.pdf

Wisconsin Carry also retained, on behalf of our members, notable defense attorney Chris Van Wagner, principal of the Madison law firm Van Wagner & Wood http://www.vanwagnerwood.com/ to contest the wrongfully issued disorderly conduct citations. 

Today, Wisconsin Carry is pleased to announce that Attorney Van Wagner has informed us that all of the charges against the "Madison 5" have been dismissed. According to Attorney Van Wagner "The Madison City Attorney agreed after a full review of the police investigation and 911 call that there was absolutely no disturbance created by our members and that the disorderly conduct citations were inappropriate". Van Wagner also added that "The ONLY disturbance created on that Saturday evening was by a mass of uniformed Madison police officers and squads arriving to investigate law-abiding citizens having dinner" 

Questions about this incident and subsequent actions by Wisconsin Carry and our attorney may be directed to Wisconsin Carry or Attorney Chris Van Wagner. Wisconsin Carry will shortly be filing a second civil lawsuit against Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and the City of Madison to obtain damages on behalf of our members for their wrongful detainment and costs associated with disposing of the citations. 

Wisconsin Carry, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the ability of law-abiding Wisconsin residents to legally carry in the manner of their choosing (open or concealed). 

Carry On, 
Nik Clark Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc. nik@wisconsincarry.org www.wisconsincarry.org

 (bold emphasis mine)

This is good news indeed.

Yet More Mystery Bird

Gear Scout has it on pretty good authority that the crashed helicopter (mentioned here and here) was a modded and kitted out MH60.

WI Constitutional Carry Bill!

It has been authored and introduced for co-sponsors.  WCI says the following-

Greetings in Freedon:
Today the authoring was completed on Constitutional Carry legislation in Wisconsin from Senator Pam Galloway and Rep Jeff Mursau.
Here is the bill that has been authored.  The bill has not yet been assigned a number, it is being circulated for CO-SPONSORS.
www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/bills/LRB-11-2007-1.pdf
Please contact your legislators TODAY and ask them to CO-SPONSOR the constitutional carry proposed legislation.  (I believe you can reference it by the Legislative Reference Bureau number: LRB−2007/1)
TODAY THERE WAS ALSO 2 shall-issue permit type legislation bills authored today and circulated.
These alternative bills have a myriad of fee's and other mandates to go along with them.
Here are those bills:
www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/bills/LRB-11-2027-1.pdfwww.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/bills/LRB-11-2033-1.pdf
PLEASE contact your legislators today and ask them to support constitutional carry for Wisconsin.  Your right to carry doesn't require taxes/permits/fee's/registration/government mandated training class, etc.
Its interesting to note that the constitutional carry bill is 19 pages.  The other 2 bills which create a massive amount of new legislation/requirements/fee's/fines/permits/registration, etc are THREE TIMES as long.  Freedom really is less complex than more government isn't it?
Carry On,
Nik ClarkChairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.nik@wisconsincarry.orgwww.wisconsincarry.orgwww.youtube.com/wisconsincarrywww.twitter.com/wisconsincarryhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=340160200214

That last paragraph got me.  All too true.

Overall, it's about dang time this has been introduced.  Key points of the Constitutional Carry Bill include altering and repealing the (in my opinion) unconstitutional vehicle transport restrictions, as well as altering numerous state statutes to the point that "gun" and "firearm" do not mean "handgun" (this should keep the DNR people happy with their anti-poaching mindset (the reason for the poor vehicle transport law in the first place.))  It also fixes the 1,000 foot school zone law.

More Whirly Bird Stuff

Just to add to the conspiracy fun, there's a growing thread on ARFCOM in regards to the mystery tail I mentioned yesterday.

Lots of speculation and the usual ARFCOM stupidity abounds, but there's a couple mock-ups of what it could have looked like.


3D rendering of the object in the photo






















































There's also a possibility it was part of a Paki bird that got too close to the action.  If it is in fact a new stealthy chopper, I doubt we'll get the full story for years.  Still interesting stuff.

Ahh...

As a stark counterpoint to yesterday's snow, it's currently 57 degrees and climbing, and feels warmer due to the completely clear sky and bright sun.  It nice to enjoy driving around aimlessly in the work car with the windows down for the first time since October (it's also great to enjoy a daytime shift after a month of nights...)  Thankfully I'm done at 3, so bike riding shall occur before it gets cold and dank again tomorrow.

Also on a more positive note, tomorrow looks to be the last night with below 40 degree temps at night, at least for the foreseeable future.  This is important so the water in the small lakes around here can warm up.  Last Friday the girl and I went up to Gander Mountain and ended up driving back with something on top of my car...

It was on sale well below her budget, and I'm all sorts of jealous, since it's 10 times nicer than my little boat.  (Although I can't complain too much... mine was free after all.)

It's looking to be a fun summer... assuming it ever gets here.