New Smith

Just going to drop this here...

Too bad it is in an obscure, hard to find caliber.

Like S&W on the ol' facebook if you're curious.

Gear Scout on the new Army PTs

It's... beautiful. Go read.

Hornady Ammo Recall

Hornady recently announced a recall of certain 9mm Critical Duty ammunition. The ammo is described as:

• Hornady Critical Duty
• 9mm +P 135 grain
• item# 90226
• lot# 3141635
• shipped from factory between 6/5/14 and 7/16/14

The ammo may have light or no powder charges.

Contact Hornady for more information

Oops.

Not saying names, but we found out how 9x19 Tulammo holds up through a .40s&w Sig today. Gun was not effective, but it made for a good malfunction drill!

Wheelie-grumbles

I know Taurus was trying to fix their image a while back, and it's nice that they implemented a good warranty program... but... $76 shipping kind of kills the "free service" on your $400 revolver.  It's seriously cheaper (if I can find one in stock....) to buy a new cylinder and install that myself (the problem is a mar in one of the chambers, causing the empties to fire-form to the crap-tastic machine mark and not want to eject.)

Once again, the lack of locally owned dealers sucks.

On a related note- S&W is awesome... they just give you a pre-paid shipping label.  Only cost me the gas to Mosinee (nearest FedEx office.)

Ruger LC9s

Got an email from Ruger today, they introduced the "LC9s", a new version of their single-stack pocket 9 with a striker system rather than the DAO trigger setup on the original.

Supposedly it has a much better trigger and fits in LC9 holsters.  More importantly (to me,) they deleted the crap-tastic LCI flag and just went with a little viewing port.  Still has a mag disconnect (darn) but they've included an "inert magazine for safe disassembly."

Looks like a good option for a small gun.

Cars!

Going to give this a shot... Here's the link to an album on the facebooks for 317 pictures of cool cars from last weekend.

Rotaries are good for spitting flames.

Vroom!

Here's some shaky, sometimes blurry video of some vintage cars making lots of noise. (Still getting use to the oddities of using a dSLR for video... and blanked on bringing a tripod...)

 

Camo Circus

This should be fun to watch...

The U.S. Army;has altered its government-owned Scorpion camouflage pattern to look almost identical to MultiCam, the trademarked pattern the service has been using in Afghanistan since 2010.

On one hand, it follows my thought of keeping the gear and uniforms that are already in the system; however we'll see if Crye thinks it's a little too close to Multicam.

Bobbleheads...

...do tend to bring in the crowds. Minor League game time!

Off to the races!

Vintage weekend at Road America. Very cool cars, and just as cool to be able to explore my wife's old stomping grounds. Great way to spend a birthday!

Some more potato pics, but tons (literally thousands. And I use that word correctly) of pictures on the 'real' camera to convert and dump on some sort of online sharing deal after we get home.

Timber Rattlers game tomorrow.

Tacticool at its finest.

Vroom.

Can't get any closer than this to live race cars!

Vroom!

Potato pic... but there will be real ones when I get home and edit the raws.

Down in Elkhart Lake, WI for the Vintage Race at Road America because tomorrow is my birthday and I like old cars.

'Merica.

Scientific Coffee

Or at least a low down, almost scientific look at how and why to use a French Press.

HstarR may be coming back...

So interwebs, rejoice!

Game 2

So far another close one. Last night we won (just barely), right now we're down by one...

Fika!

Sounds like I'd get along with the Swedes pretty well.  I like the sounds of a mid-day coffee break.

Beef

ALL the beef. Somehow I just crammed a quarter of a cow in the two freezers. I suggest investing in charcoal if you're looking for stocks...

Baseball!

Good way to spend my one day off this week.

Army Pistols

Lots of talk about the Army (once again) not being happy with the ol' M9. Pretty legitimate reasons in my mind, but I don't think a caliber change is going to fix the issue.  A new pistol (with a rail... and a smaller grip... and not stupid backwards safeties or DA/SA... etc.) is needed, but also people need to realize that FMJ out of a pistol is going to always suck.

The overall challenge is finding something that all the new hip plastic pistols do (high capacity, lightweight, modular grip size would be nice...) that isn't a plastic frame (my vote would be a Sig P226 SAO in all honesty... even though they're not that light.)  I know how GIs treat M9s, and a plastic frame is not going to last long.  I doubt that'll happen though, probably just end up with some .40S&W Glock and go through it all again next time we go to war again.

Want.

Limited Edition H.C.A.R. pre-sale package...

I still think it's one of the cooler "new" things coming out lately.

Independence Day

Be safe, and enjoy yourselves.

Inside Coffee

Ever wondered what it looks like inside an espresso machine when it's doing it's thing?



Now you know.  And it's pretty cool.

MHI-Nemesis

Little reminder - the newest Monster Hunter Book is out!

I got the eARC a few months back, and let me tell you, this is possibly the best MHI book yet.

(Note- I do get a cut of every Amazon purchase made through the links on this page, and greatly appreciate it. It costs you nothing and helps me out greatly.)

Cheap Steel

TacStrike recently had an inventory reduction sale (actually it's still going!) and part of that includes some of their Flat Rate Shipping targets.  One of the downsides of steel targets is that they're heavy, and weight equals higher shipping.  TacStrike decided to work the system, and developed a set of targets that fit in a couple sizes of the USPS Flat Rate shipping boxes to make it easier to get your hands on some durable targets.  These also have a bracket on the back to hang them from a standard steel garden fence post.

I snagged a SFRT, which showed up a couple days ago.  It's a pretty substantial little guy, 8.5"x5.5", and is a good little challenge at 100 yards.  I never seem to remember that black is not the best color with how wooded the berm is at the range I tend to shoot at...

Once they got done mowing, I set up at the 100 yard line and got to work. It seemed like a good day to get back to basics, and I have been itching to try out the RRA two-stage trigger I dropped in my A2.  On a side note, this is still probably my favorite setup for good relaxed shooting.

As I mentioned, at 100 yards, the small target is a bit of a challenge, but aim small, miss small.  The little thing doesn't as much 'ring' like you'd expect from a steel target, but when you do hit it, you get a good solid 'smack.'  55gr FMJ pretty much disintegrates, with minimal dimpling, so long as you're not too close to the edge.

(I may have gotten the wrong fence post...)

You will knock out some chunks if you're on the edge though.

Like I said earlier, the .223 rounds just about completely splatter, but 9mm leaves little lead flowers.

Next time I just need to remember some cheap spray paint in an easier to see color, but other than that, these are well worth the price, and it's a great time to pick some up.

Good day for the range...

And range maintenance I guess. Guess I'll donate some blood while I wait and be thankful they started on the lane I want to shoot at!

Ruger "Budget" Nine

New Ruger 9E

Like the Trigger Jerk says, almost an upgraded version of the SR9 (no gaudy loaded chamber indicator or adjustable sights, etc) for a good chunk of change less ($100 less to be precise.)  The frame looks just about identical, and it would make sense to use the same magazines.  Mostly just some changes to the slide machining process to save some time and money.  Smart move on Ruger's part I think, should make for a great entry wonder-nine.

Appologies

I've been tossed on the night shifts, and it may or may not be sucking my soul out slowly through my eyeballs.  I've attempted to kick-start some brain functions with some Army approved chemical concoctions-

-but I don't think the mix is the same state-side as it is over there.  At least it tastes pretty decent.

Two-wheeled Crazy

Danny in a beautifully post-apocalyptic landscape.

Saturday

Because it kind of is for me.  Put up with a few overnight shifts, and reward yourself with beer, good food, and live music (from our wedding band/her bonus parents) on the patio at a bar just out of town.

Also nobody rocks a mandolin lime Jonathan. Nobody.

Blarg

Nothing sucks the life out of you quite like a few nights of graveyard shifts.  That and I don't think these New Balance boots I got are ever going to break in, so I'm a little cranky.  Just need to suck it up and order some Danners...