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.

Summer

Friday night, minor leagues, and all you can eat and drink through the fifth care of the girl's work. What could be better? Oh, I know, a double header and ball cap give-away.

Sometimes this country isn't so bad.

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Morning Excitement

It's nice when it's not on my turf, but close enough to watch.  Helps the night go by fast.

Also, if you were planning to stay in the Stevens Point Super 8 in the near future, you may want to find different lodgings.

From the radio chatter, it sounds as though everybody got out safe.

Guess I'm Not Going to Get a Rhino...

At least not until Chiappa fires their PR guy and pulls their heads out of... Anyway, not too long ago they announced they were going to put RFID chips in their guns, and since American gun owners generally don't like that sort of thing, the gunbloggosphere kind of light up over it.

Apparently they put out a press release.  The whole thing can be seen over at TFB, but the last paragraph takes the cake:

RFID Removal: For those still concerned you can simply remove the grip and remove the hot glued RFID from the frame in the grip area when (over a year from now) these begin to appear. Others may prefer to wrap the revolver and their head in aluminum foil, curl in a ball and watch reruns of Mel Gibson's 1997 film, Conspiracy Theory. Well, that's a plan too!

So, rather than listen to your customers, you'd rather openly insult them?  Oops.  It's a shame, because I still think the little Rhinos are an interesting concept.

Ft. Hood Plot Foiled

The FBI says bomb-making materials were found in the motel room of an AWOL Fort Campbell, Ky., soldier arrested near Fort Hood Wednesday.

Agency spokesman Erik Vasys said Thursday that firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" were removed from 21-year-old Pfc. Nasser Abdo's Killeen motel room.

This is a full out case of WTF though... 21 year old PFC joined just a few years ago (well after OEF/OIF started,) AKO says he's an 11 series MOS (Infantry,) yet he claims to have had "Muslim religious beliefs [that] would prevent him from fighting in any war" since he was 17.  Apparently he made news earlier in the year when he claimed conscientious objector status to avoid a deployment to Afghanistan.

Thankfully the guy was lacking in general social skills, and did more than enough to tip off some people... like the gun working at the gun shop.

"Initially, what kind of drew our attention to him as a patron was he showed up in a taxicab," Greg Ebert said. "That's kind of out of the norm."

Ebert grew more suspicious as the man made his way around the store. He bought three boxes of shotgun shells, a magazine for a semi-automatic pistol and 6 pounds of smokeless gun powder, paying about $250.

"What raised the first real red flag was when he stands here and asks the manager, 'What is smokeless powder?'” Ebert said. "Well, if you don't know what it is, why would you buy six pounds of it?"

Thankfully the shop called the local PD, so they actually arrested him rather than "continued to build a case."  Seems the Army would like to talk to him about some Child Porn charges on top of the AWOL status...

New SOF Bike

And it's two-wheel drive (you can see the drive shaft running down the right side slider on the fork.)  Cool.

I've seen two-wheel drive bicycles and motorcycles before, but it always seemed to be a bit of a novelty.  Too much added complexity for too little of an advantage.

Apparently Christini has gotten it down to a simple system that works.

The AWD system makes the motorcycle noticeably easier to ride and substantially reduces rider fatigue, allowing you to ride faster for longer periods of time. The AWD system can be turned on and off with a simple flip of the engagement switch. The mechanical Christini AWD system provides distinct advantages without compromising the performance of the motorcycle. Power that would otherwise be lost due to wheel spin is transferred immediately to the front wheel. The system adds just 15 lbs additional weight and has a power loss of less than 1/10th hp. 

Dead Six ARC Available

If you're into those things and want to be the first kid on the block to read the Correia/Kupari collabo-stravaganza, it's available for you tech-savvy people here.

Unless somebody wants to gift me with a Kindle or something, I'll be waiting for the dead tree version.

ATF Gun Give-a-way Update

Say Uncle has a whole slew of links today.

Ow.

I recently switched to a pair of New Balance Minimus Trail shoes for running.  (As a quick caveat, I despise running with every fiber in my being, and avoid it as much as I can.)  The whole barefoot thing is far from new to me, as I'm one of those weird guys that has been wearing Vibram Five Fingers since Vibram made Five Fingers.

I'd intended to start running in them for a while, but my KSO's straps gave out a while ago (and way to early in their life...) and I only have a pair of Classics and Flows (for kayaking.)  To my dismay, a couple weeks ago the Army said Five Fingers are no longer allowed, as they "look unprofessional."  So I went to my standard running shoe company and ordered some of their new barefoot shoes.

On one hand, they're crazy light, and my feelings towards shoes is about par with Robb's feeling on pants, so that's awesome.  Unfortunately the make your feet land differently than traditional running shoes, so my calves are full of "FU" after a couple miles around the lake...

KSG Hoax Sellers

I've seen a few mentions of KSGs being available for sale, but Kel-Tec says "No... they're not."  Just a heads-up.

Bumpy Start...

Worked far too much over the weekend, and didn't get a good start to the day. This was compounded by UPS stupidity (seriously, a signature for an $8 paperback?! Glad that two-day shipping is getting my book to me in six.)

Anyway, back to work in a couple hours, but a few days off after that (mental health says "yay!," checkbook says "FU.")

May or may not be back later today.

Trophy Photo

Manda was quite proud of the 9X18mak ball she stuck in the bowling pin.

Can't blame her, it was pretty cool.

Winning

livingsocial.com is one of those sites where you can sign up to hear about deals on stuff to do in your area, and this morning they sent MandaFern a notice for a deal on a "45-Minute Handgun Experience" through the Gander Mountain Academy for $20.

We all love summer blockbusters big on explosions, high-speed car chases, and plenty of heart-pumping gunfire, but today's deal from Gander Mountain Academy in Madison puts all that thrill and excitement into the hands of even the most novice shooter. For just $20, take aim at the 45-minute Ultimate Academy Experience class (regularly $40). You'll get gun rental and ammunition; one-on-one interaction and training from a certified, skilled instructor; access to the virtual firing range and two defensive target simulators; and ten minutes to shoot a Glock 9mm on a live range. Learn important facts about gun safety and how to protect your loved ones from danger in this fun and informative course. At 50% off, you'll be able to sharpen those sharpshooter skills for less than the cost of a night at the movies.

I'm not fully sold on the whole "action movie" twist, but it's pretty cool to see a place that normally has deals on golf courses and sushi bars to be offering this.

Back to Normal

Just to let you guys know, power has pretty much been restored, the city's water pressure is normalizing, and once again I'm sitting in the coffee shop with my biggest worry being that I have to work in four hours.  Heck, we even hit up the range last night.  The worst part of it ended up being the loss of the ice cream in my freezer and no free birthday drinks due to power-loss downtown as we pulled up to the square.

Thanks for the words of support and the kind thoughts, it's always great to see fellow gunnies stepping up.

WCI Files 2nd Suit Against MPD

From Wisconsin Carry, Inc -

Greetings in Freedom,

Wisconsin Carry has filed a second lawsuit in response to the "Madison 5" Culvers incident from last fall.

To Recap:

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, five (5) members of WCI met for dinner at a Culvers Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. Each of these individuals was openly carrying a handgun when they arrived at the restaurant, entered the restaurant and ordered and ate their meals. At or about the time that the WCI members finished their meal and left the restaurant, a woman in her car observed them openly carrying handguns and called 911 to report it to the City of Madison Police Department. The 911 caller informed the dispatcher that she didn't know if it was an emergency, the men were doing nothing wrong and appeared totally relaxed, weren't threatening anyone and the restaurant was full of people but they each had sidearms and she didn't know if that was legal.

Upon being informed by the 911 dispatcher that open-carry is legal the woman stated "then there is no problem and its not an emergency". The dispatcher then suggests that if the woman is concerned or disturbed then it becomes a problem and the woman says "no they weren't threatening anybody or acting threatening". When the dispatcher informs the caller they are sending officers she says "well I feel bad then because they weren't doing anything wrong"

Listen to the 911 call here:  http://www.wisconsincarry.org/video/Madison5-911.wav

As these WCI members left the restaurant, they were accosted by eight(8) City of Madison police officers, who demanded that they produce identification, and threatened that if they did not do so, they would be arrested. From the time that these WCI members arrived at the restaurant up to and including the time that the police officers confronted them and demanded that they produce identification or face arrest, none of the WCI members violated any law, nor were they involved in any violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct, nor did they through their conduct cause or provoke any disturbance.

Wisconsin law does not allow officers to arrest for merely refusing to provide ID. 2 days later, Madison Police admitted the error in arresting and charging our members with obstruction, rescinded those tickets and instead, despite there being no disturbance, and no laws broken, issued disorderly conduct charges to all 5 of our members.

Wisconsin Carry filed our first federal lawsuit against the Madison Police Department 10 days after the original incident to challenge the Madison Police Departments unconstitutional policy of arresting law-abiding OC'ers if a call/complaint comes in.  That lawsuit remains in front of the Federal Court in Madison.

This second lawsuit is being filed as the disorderly conduct charges against the Madison 5 were dropped this past spring.  In this lawsuit WCI seeks damages on behalf of the Madison 5 for the unlawful detainment/arrest including legal costs associated with preparing for the defense of the unlawfully issued disorderly conduct citations.

A copy of this lawsuit can be viewed here:

http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Madison5/Doc_1_Complaint.pdf

Wisconsin Carry, a 100% volunteer non-profit corporation, will continue to use the federal court system to seek remedy for and deter instances where the rights of law-abiding Wisconsin residents who carry in the manner of their choosing, open or concealed (as of Nov. 1st when the new concealed carry law goes into effect)are violated.

Carry On,

Nik Clark
Chairman/President - Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
www.wisconsincarry.org
nik@wisconsincarry.org
www.youtube.com/wisconsincarry
www.twitter.com/wisconsincarry
facebook:  Search "Wisconsin Carry"