Had A Visitor

How well do you know your wildlife scat (poop)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Large, black, and full of bird seed is the sure sign of a Black Bear. This was located in a grassy parking area on the right side of the driveway heading up towards the house and was not there a couple of days ago. My little poodle rescue girl found it and "pointed it out to me" by paying too much attention to it. I texted my neighbor that I had something to show him and to stop by on his way home from work. He did and we had a poop viewing party. He was shocked to say the least.

In the 20 years we have lived in the woods, I have never seen a bear on my property, but this is the third sure sign. In 2005 or 2006 my dogs found a similar pile in the woods right behind my house where our fire pit is now. In 2016, we woke up to find an ornamental iron "shepherd's hook" bent flat to the ground, and the suet cake basket at the top crushed, mangled, and empty. My bird feeders are now high up in a tree with a rope and pulley system. But the birds drop seed all over the ground which the squirrels, chipmunks, and ground feeding birds mostly eat. I figure the bear was probably licking it all up.

I have had my Marlin 336 in .30-30 handy since a fox was hanging around near the chicken yard a few days ago. At the time all I had handy was my 9mm G-17. I should have braced myself on the deck railing but I didn't and given the distance firing off-hand, I missed. Twice. Now with a bear in the vicinity the rifle was handy last night when I was in bed. I am on a 24 at the FD so there will be no predator control until tomorrow. My wife certainly won't pick up the slack.

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is loaded with 150gr Federal soft-point ammo. The ammo is rated for white tail deer and is probably overkill for the fox and a little light for bear. I have the same ammo in 170gr but that is way too heavy for the fox. The scope is a Bushnell Trophy and the rifle is sighted in at 100 yards. 3 shot groups are covered by a Kennedy half-dollar. For the 170gr ammo I just hold high about 2 inches. Well placed shots will be the order of the day. I don't hunt and never have, but I bought this 1971 vintage rifle with the scope mount when I started raising chickens and discovered I did not have a good varmint/predator rifle. $265 plus tax back in 2007 when every gun shop had a well stocked used gun display.

Carried In GFDZ's Today

Not once, but twice.

Our local school held their annual Veteran Breakfast and program. I was armed with my Ruger LCP in a pocket holster. Not my preferred firearm for cold weather, but better than nothing and perfect for deep cover. Absolutely no chance of anyone inadvertently catching a glimpse of my firearm or holster. I was deep inside the school, full of students, faculty, and other veterans from town. No one there was EVER in danger, regardless of what panty-peeing hoplophobes or anti-gun tyrants want you to think. But you know who would have been in danger? Anyone wishing to carry out mass murder unopposed.

From there, I went to the Post Office to mail a bunch of first class items. The USPS is closed for the federal holiday but the P.O. Box lobby is open and I used the inside mail drop. It is debatable whether I actually violated the law, since postal carry prohibitions have been declared unconstitutional in the U.S. 5th District. These constitutional rulings cover the 5th District region of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, as well as anyone that was a member of the FPC (Firearms Policy Coalition) and the SAF (Second Amendment Foundation) of which I am a Life Member of the latter when the ruling came down. Those gun rights organizations were plaintiffs in the case, therefore the ruling applies to their members.

GFDZ's will always cease to exist when I am there. 

 

 

GFDZ = Gun Free Death Zone 

To The Range Today

My wife was out of town at a Christmas Craft Fair at Mohegan Sun, so I just felt like throwing some long range lead today out to 200 yards this afternoon. I only took 30 rounds with me and at that just shot 12 in a little less than 2 hours. Set up and break down took quite a bit of time. My rifle is zeroed to 100 yards. Using my dope card I dialed up the windage and elevation required to get out to 200. The 7.62x54r cartridge shoots a hair flatter than .308 with a 100 yard zero. Out to 200 the .308 drops 3.7 inches but the 7.62x54r drops 3.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got mixed results. I cleaned the bore and then touched off a fouling shot at the 200 yard gong. A previous shooter painted all the plates black, which is hard to see with a black reticle that most scopes have, So I painted a white spot in the middle. My hit is circled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I took aim at this Birchwood-Casey spatter type bullseye target. The first shot was right on the line of the 9-10 ring at about 11 o'clock. The next one was just above it. The third shot was just above the red center at 12 o'clock. A little disappointing to say the least. On the other hand, it's been about 7 months since the last time I did some long range shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then moved over to this target also made by Birchwood-Casey. The next two shots were at the large center diamond. First shot was left, the second was right. Geez, I am really sucking today! The shot in the upper left small diamond was later in the session and after the next shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just for ha-ha's I took a shot at the thick disk lying on it's side. It too, had been painted black so I rotated it for an unshot surface and sprayed about a 3" diameter spot of white. I had hit this target before and just like then, I put one round dead center where I was aiming. That's when I decided to go back to the target with diamond and aim for the upper left one pretty confident I was gonna punch the center. DAMMIT! off by about an inch. WTF?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did an internet search on what my problem could be. Basically the response was "aim small, hit small." So I tested that theory with my next 3 shots against some rocks I rounded up a little bigger that my fist. I hit each one with one shot at 200 yards turning them into clouds of dust. Apparently my trouble is all psychological because it certainly isn't my equipment.

This last shot was because I don't like odd numbers and wanted to shoot an even 12. This was at the 75 yard gong without readjusting my scope but holding low on a guesstimate. Centered by windage and just a bit low on elevation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This rifle performs better than I can make it unless I spend a lot more time at the range with it and make a shit ton more ammo. But knowing that the purpose of this rifle is to engage and destroy "man sized" targets of opportunity from a hidey hole in a case of FAFO, I need to not be so hard on myself. Every one of today's 12 shots would have produced satisfactory results, and unlike the SEAL snipers in the movie "Captain Phillips," I won't be lying prone on the fantail of a pitching naval destroyer while taking aim at an also pitching small craft with bad guys inside.

Unplanned Range Time

I had 50 rounds of my reloaded 9mm to burn up from my last outing. When I reload, I try to do 200 rounds per caliber. I decided to get some range time in with my newest gun, the G-17. Since putting on the adjustable sights my aim has been much better. I grabbed my new OnYour6Designs holster to do some timed draw and shoot as long as no one else was at the range. Excellent! I had the place to myself.

I started with some basic target practice at 10 yards and then the 25 yard hanging plates. With 20 rounds left, I moved the target stand to self defense range of 7 yards. I strapped on my holster, put up a B-27 humanoid silhouette, and broke out my roll of masking tape to cover holes. My shot timer was set for shot strings, a 1 to 9 second random start, and a PAR time of 10 seconds. Most of my shot strings are less than 5 seconds, but since I hadn't done timed shooting in a long time I left it set where it was. I shot seven strings, but somehow didn't record the 7th before clearing the timer data. I started with 2-shot center mass hits only, then moved to "Mozambique Drills" aka "Hearts & Minds" (two to the chest and one to the cranium). See the data below.

String #1  5.04 seconds *

Shot #1 2.17   Shot #2 2.87

String #2  4.24 seconds *

Shot #1 2.01   Shot #2 2.23

String #3  2.81

Shot #1 2.00  Shot #2 0.81

String #4  4.12  +

Shot #1 1.94  Shot #2 1.05   Shot #3 1.13

String #5  4.42  +

Shot #1 1.93  Shot #2 1.11   Shot #3 1.38

String #6  4.88  +

Shot #1 2.50  Shot #2 1.19  Shot #3 1.19

 

* FTF malfunction on second shot that had to be cleared. Good training element and came in under time. I attribute to my reloaded target ammo. It only did it twice.

+ Mozambique Drills. First 2 shots were center mass, 3rd shot to the head. 

 

The target was hit satisfactorily every time. The gun will be cleaned and lubed tomorrow and stowed until carrying in cooler weather or the need arises. I am confident in my abilities to carry this firearm safely and effectively. Next practice session will be after I load some rounds. Carry ammo will be my normal Hornady Critical Defense 115gr JHP rounds.

Plans For Cooler Weather

And more layers of clothing to easily conceal a handgun and spare mags. I am planning on carrying my full size Glock G-17 loaded with Hornady Critical Defense 115gr JHP rounds and two spare mags. In anticipation of this, I ordered and received yet another kydex OWB holster and mag carrier in black from OnYour6Designs.com to fit it. An initial test fit showed another well made product, that held my gun and mags securely, and when I have time I will figure out whether or not to cant the holster. All of this easily hides under a loose fitting flannel, fleece pullover, zippered hoodie, or when necessary a suit jacket. For normal times I will stick with the Kommiecticut legal 10 rounders, which I also have a half dozen always loaded up with Federal HST 147 gr JHP for the PCC-9. If things start getting spicier the carbine goes in the truck in a soft sided case that accommodates the mags. The pistol ammo will be changed over to the Federal so the mags can go in either weapon since the PCC-9 sports the Glock mag well.

But if things continue to go sideways I may break out the super deadly 17 rounders I have squirreled away for SHTF. The problem is getting "caught" with magazines over 10 rounds and making my "paper felonies" real ones. 

Range Day Tomorrow

My brother and sister-in-law, my niece and her husband will all be my guests at my club range tomorrow morning. They will all have to fill out waivers first and I need to put them on file. I will then review The Four Rules of Gun Safety (I literally beat these into people's heads) and the club range rules and procedures. I facilitated the gun purchase for my brother of a brand new S & W "Victory" in .22LR that another friend was looking to unload so I know he'll be shooting that. I'm not sure what else they will bring. For me, I think I will just bring my PCC-9 and G-17. That way I can also act as R.S.O. while everyone else is shooting.

Range Report 8-3-25

Sunny and a bit on the warm side (especially in the sun) with temps in the low 80`s with low humidity. I had two goals in mind; work on the problem I had in this post with my CMP Tisas 1911A1. Scroll down to the bottom to read what was happening and my proposed testing to figure out the problem. I also wanted to try out my new shooting mat from MidwayUSA. The last time I remember shooting prone was in the military so this was going to be a new experience for sure.

I got to the range about 10:20 this morning, well after the 10:00 allowed start time. First thing I did was pull my weed-whacker out of my truck and trim the grass around the range house. Then I used my backpack blower to clear away all the debris and leaves. What do I find sitting on the floor of the range house in the corner? An empty Jack Daniels bottle with half a swallow of whiskey on the bottom. Alcohol is forbidden on the ranges by both club rules and state law and apparently someone thinks that does not apply to them. I took photos of it and locked the bottle in my truck for safe keeping. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next was range inspection. As a club Range Safety Officer I always walk the range out to the 200 yard backstop and back, stopping at all the shorter range backstops whether I am there to shoot or just passing by. Once again, the bullet trap angled 8'x4' Hardox 450 plate at 100 yards has been freshly damaged by penetrator ammo in what appears to be 30 caliber. Photos were taken for evidence, since this is now the third time this has happened. I sent all the photos I took to the range chairman and am currently awaiting his return phone call as I write this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was getting ready to shoot, a few guys showed up after Trap to shoot handguns. I decided to hold off on my activities and act as R.S.O. just to keep an eye on things. The rule is you can't be an effective R.S.O. and participate in shooting activities at the same time. No safety violations occurred and the guys weren't there all that long. I was able to start checking out my 1911A1 after they left. I field stripped it, and taking just the barrel while holding it muzzle down, plunked (dropped) some random Winchester factory rounds of 230 gr "hardball" into the breech. Every round settled all the way in as expected. I then tried it with random rounds of my target reloads. AHA! most of the rounds did not seat properly. It turns out that the end of the case is not crimped. Next time I load some .45ACP I need to check to make sure the die is a little lower in the turret, and back off the bullet seat adjustment to get a proper crimp and case overall length. My old Colt Government Model 1911, my Glock 21, my S&W Governor (revolver with full moon clips), and my 45 Shield didn't seem to have any issues with these rounds that I loaded quite a while back. I re-assembled the 1911A1 and proceeded to run mag after mag of the Winchester ammo through it with zero malfunctions. I did all my shooting unrested at 25 yards and repeatedly dinged the steel plates. I shot at a B-27 human torso target at 25 yards and it was obvious I would be able to qualify to Army standards with my pistol. Satisfied with the operation and results I packed it away. I police up my brass after every mag and after I was finished shooting two were still missing. I looked everywhere including the open top trash can but never found them. But what I did find in the trash REALLY pissed me off.... a fucking Coors Light can. It had no bullet holes in it so it wasn't used as a target. More evidence of alcohol consumption at the range. All I have to say is God help them if I catch them. Certain members obviously see nothing wrong with this behavior, but if I catch them, as an elected officer of the club, I will recommend that they instantly and permanently lose their membership, as well as be banned from the club facilities FOR LIFE!! How you like me now, fuckers.... place my range in legal jeopardy will ya?

Now it was time for the prone shooting from my new mat. I would be using my US Patriot 1775 sniper rifle in 7.62x54r. I went down and set up a target at 100 yards and freshly painted the steel gong for verifying my 100 yard zero. I then headed out to the 200 yard backstop to place a Birchwood-Casey spatter target with an orange decal 2"bullseye, and a fresh coat of white paint on the large round hanging gong and the chunky steel disc lying on its side. Satisfied, I headed back to the firing line area.

I got down on the mat, set up the rifle for 100 yards, dropped a fresh round in front of the bolt and sent it into battery. Because of the staggered layout of our backstops, I was unable to see the bullseye target but could see the gong. Instead I took aim at the center of the freshly painted round steel gong and sent it. The 2 1/2 pound set Timney Trigger breaks crisp and clean and the round impacted dead center of the gong. Satisfied with my standard zero, I then set up the rifle for 200 yards.

This took some doing, and as I found out, I am all out of sorts trying to maintain hold, arm position, the stock on my shoulder, eye relief, cheek weld... it's all different lying prone as opposed to sitting at a bench. While breathing is easy to control, timing the shot with my heartbeat is more important and difficult lying on my chest. Using my known dope for 200 yards I dialed up 2" of elevation and 1" of windage to the left. The first round I sent down range was dead center but high. The next 3 or 4 were also high. Weird, I thought but then I took aim at the gong for a couple of shots. Better, but still a little high. I dialed the elevation back down one click and took aim at the chunky disc lying on its side. I put all 3 shots in a nice little group in the center. After 10 rounds I was done shooting for the day and went down range to retrieve my targets. As I was walking back, the gunsmith that cut and crowned my barrel and is also a club member was just getting his stuff out of his car. He builds precision rifles and shoots long range precision competitively. I told him what I experienced shooting prone. He told me that everything changes and that I will need to document the differences if I am going to shoot from different positions. I waited until he went down range to set up his windage flags and targets before touching my firearms to case and move to my truck. I loaded everything up and was headed to the clubhouse for a cold drink before he even fired a shot. As I was getting in my truck another younger member showed up to do some shootin'.

Declined, Not Denied

I received an email a little while ago from the CMP regarding my application to purchase a U.S. surplus 1911. I filed this application last year for the current round of pistol sales, but the more I thought about it, I really just wanted a 1911 to shoot. I have an early 1980's vintage Colt MKIV Series 70 that I have customized with many upgrades for shooting bowling pins. It is not set up for personal defense or casual shooting and has a shiny blued finish. The CMP pistols are pretty expensive for what they are, and that is strictly a case of supply and demand. They are allowing individuals to buy up to four now. There are four grades of pistols for sale and you get to choose the grade from what is available, but not the actual pistol. From the CMP website:

Service Grade $1300. Pistol may exhibit minor pitting and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

Field Grade $1200. Pistol may exhibit minor rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips are complete with no cracks. Pistol is in issuable condition. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

SOLD OUT – Range Grade – $1150. These are 1911 pistols for those that want a part of history and a shooter, not a collectable. These are 1911s that have been modified in some way, and may have some commercial parts.  No two (2) pistols are alike, the modifications / parts could be any of the following: Night Sights, extended Beaver Tail, Rubber Grips, Barrels, Oversized Slide Release, Target Triggers, Adjustable Rear Sights, Tactical Match Hammer, Competition Grip Safety, Sight Rib, Slides, Checkered Front Strap, Ambidextrous Safety, Different Finishes. Some of the manufactures of these parts are: Bar-Sto, Wilson, Ed Brown, Pachmayer, Hogue, Caspian and Bomar. 

Rack Grade $1100. Pistol will exhibit rust, pitting, and wear on exterior surfaces and friction surfaces. Grips may be incomplete and exhibit cracks. Pistol requires minor work to return to issuable condition but is functional. Pistols may contain commercial parts.

 

When I initially filed my application, I was planning on requesting a "Service Grade" pistol. After all, if I were to spend $1100 on a junk 1911, I'll spend $200 more for the best I can get. There were a couple of updates regarding the rate of order processing and it was going slow. Initially my application was supposed to come up late April/early May. Then that got changed to July. Well here it is the 7th and I got my email stating my order is in process. Here was my brief response:

"I am going to pass on purchasing one of these 1911's. I cannot justify the cost for a gun I just wanted to shoot. Instead, back in February I purchased a Tisas CMP 1911 which fills my needs perfectly."

That's right. Long after I filed my application, the CMP offered up these Tisas CMP 1911A1 pistols for $499.99. This is how they come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A close up of the special CMP markings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guns are Cerakoted instead of parkerized, and I replaced the walnut grips with the plastic ones I seem to remember the ones in my unit having. They are stamped "United States Property" and "M1911 A1 US Army CMP". I have only had it out for one range outing and was having issues with the gun going fully into battery using my reloads. I could force it into battery with a rap from the heel of my hand, but it did this once with each mag of ammo. It definitely is not a spring issue because it is quite stiff. I have not gotten back to it yet, but I believe I need to tweak the extractor because that what it feels like, but may also try a box of commercial hardball ammo. Accuracy at 25 yards was what I expected since I fired it from a rest first and I should improve my marksmanship with updated eye glasses.

Range Day 5-23-25

Wifey is away so I went to the range this morning after breakfast and a little housework. One of the guns I brought was my recent G-17 Gen. 3 with the newly installed Dawson Precision adjustable fiber optic sights. Ever since I've had that pistol, I had a hard time seeing the all black factory sights and even at 10 yards, could not seem to hit a fucking thing I was aiming at. I hoped these sights would be the answer. I also brought a couple of my new Kommiecticut verboten 17 round Gen. 5 mags for testing. I read some articles and forum posts about Glock mag compatibility. The conventional wisdom is that Gen. 5 mags are backwards compatible, but Gen. 3 mags won't work in a Gen. 5 pistol. But there were tons of posts about the new mags having difficulty in older pistols, so I grabbed a couple of random ones to test in the G-17 as well as my Ruger PCC-9. I have the Glock mag well in my PCC-9 and I don't believe the gun cares about Glock magazine generation. I also wanted to have some more range time with my Tisas CMP 1911A1. I loaded up my ammo can with an appropriate amount of boolits, made sure everything needed was in my range bag, and also loaded up my range tote box. The carbine is in a tactical rifle case, and the two pistols were in their respective Tupperware containers the guns came in.

I started with the G-17 using Kommiecticut legal 10 round mags loaded with 5 rounds and a 12" Caldwell spatter target against a sheet of plain brown paper set up at 25 yards. For aligning the sights at 25 yards, I braced the pistol on a sandbag rest. After a couple of 5 round groups to get used to it, I went for score. My group was right on with windage but high. A quick adjustment down and I was in the center. This is the first time I have been able to hit something I was aiming at. The fiber optic sights are easier to see, but it is readily apparent that I need to go to the eye doctor and get new glasses. I then loaded the mag with 10 rounds and put 5 on the paper and 5 ringing the permanently mounted steel plates at 25 yards. So satisfying to hit what you're aiming at. I loaded up one of the eee-vil 17 round mags with 17 of my target reloads and easily went through the entire mag without any hiccups. I then loaded 10 rounds of my purpose bought Federal HST 147gr. JHP to see how they functioned in the G-17. 10 rounds, 10 hits on the 25 yard plates. I put the Glock away.

Next I brought out the Ruger PCC-9 simply for testing the new 17 round mags. I grabbed the other unused mag, loaded it up, and fired 17 rounds without any issues. The PCC-9 sports a SIG-Sauer Romeo 5 red dot mounted on "witness" mounts so the iron sights are still usable. I was able to hit the 25 yard, 50 yard, 75 yard, and 100 yard plates easily. I had 6 rounds left in the box so I loaded them and blasted the plates again. We're not supposed to shoot the 25 yard plates with rifles, but since this is a pistol caliber carbine I bend the rules a bit and it causes no damage to the plates. I had brought another full 100 round box of my 9mm target reloads but decided not to break into it, and put away the Ruger.

I put up a fresh target at 25 yards and took out the 1911. My Maglula loader works great on double stack mags and is supposed to load single stack as well, but was less than satisfactory. The top of the mag kept getting stuck in the loader, making the loading operation not as smooth as with double stack. 1911 mags are easily loaded by hand so I ditched it to the range bag and did it manually. I bench rested this pistol as well to see where the fixed sights were at 25 yards, which is military qualifying range. Turns out they were pretty good, and again a trip to the eye doctor will improve my aim. The problem was the gun. I guess it would be classified as "FTF" because the gun kept not going fully into battery. Using the heel of my left hand I could get it to go and then fire. Trying to rack the slide to clear the malfunction for some reason was extremely difficult, but it would go. This happened at least once on every mag loaded with 5 rounds. I will be investigating a couple of items... doing an ammo "plunk test" using just the barrel and random live rounds dropped into the chamber to check for fit, and examining the extractor to make sure it isn't too stiff. Another reason given is a weak main spring, but this is definitely not the case. It is very strong which makes field stripping harder than I am used to. When the gun did function it worked well and hit hard like a 1911 should.

I had hoped to come home from the range and mow the lower yard, but what started out as a sprinkle has turned into a steady rain.... AGAIN! If it doesn't stop by 6:30 PM my evening fishing outing will be cancelled.... AGAIN!

Do Not Comply - Armed Civil Disobedience

A really good friend has done me a solid both times he has gone north to the free states of New Hampshire and Maine, bringing me back Kommiecticut forbidden Glock G-17 seventeen round mags. They are exactly what I needed for one of my my current SHTF set ups. The 5 in the packages are the newest ones. They are now with my hidden stash. I have "legal" 10 rounders loaded up and handy to get the guns in quick action for normal circumstances. The empty packages will be disposed of in public trash cans around the area, not my household trash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a review (lifted from my former blog and slightly updated):

The Tenets of the Armed Civil Disobedience of Non-Compliance

DENY-DEFY-DECEIVE-EVADE-RESIST-SMUGGLE-DEFEND

 

DENY - Deny the ownership of any weapons or other survival gear you may have, except to your MOST TRUSTED family members or friends. Even then, it should be on a "need to know" basis. The days of opening up a gun safe to show off what you have are long gone.

DEFY - tell government where to stick it by ignoring the unconstitutional intolerable acts they continue to pass into law. When they make you a felon by the stroke of a pen, because what you have done legally in the past they don't like is now illegal, just defy them. Take it from me, once you get the first "paper felony" the rest are easy. It has been demonstrated over and over that Armed Civil Disobedience frightens them into inaction. Carry across the imaginary line at the state border that turns you into a criminal for daring to exercise your Constitutional Rights.

DECEIVE - Take whatever measures necessary to secure your property. Never fill out any "state" paperwork if you can. Private transactions are just that; PRIVATE! Know your buyer-know your seller-cash only.

EVADE - Stay clear of law enforcement. Move "banned" property or any future banned property to a secure location. Subterranean mono vaults work quite well. Exercise your 4th and 5th Amendment Rights at all times. All questions by LE should only be answered by or in the presence of an attorney.

RESIST - Resist the efforts of the tyrants in their efforts to register and confiscate. Show up at rallies and demonstrations. Call and write your politicians. Vote the bastards out of office, and feel free to maintain "traitors lists" containing the names and full contact info (including home address) of those traitors that want to strip your rights. Make sure the tyrants know the list exists.

SMUGGLE - Travel to free states and buy whatever you want and can. Firearms are tougher to do, unless it is a private sale. Cash only - know your buyer - know your seller. Magazines, ammo, blades, supplies, etc. Bring it back to your forbidden zone and stash it. Buy extra to distribute. Some smuggling efforts, depending on where you live, require you to cross multiple forbidden zones. It just adds to the fun!

DEFEND - This was the newest addition. Be committed to the fact that if the tyrants ever get froggy enough to try forced arms confiscation, you will meet force with force. After all, if they are coming for you at zero-dark-thirty your life as you knew it is already over. Fight like a dead man with nothing to lose. Remember lips and hips. Shoot them in the fucking face! When the body count on both sides gets to intolerable levels, maybe that shit would stop. Maybe.

A Man's Stay-cation

Last week, I was supposed to join my wife, adult daughter, and several of my daughter's friends on  her 40th birthday celebration in Florida at the house of the mouse. The two main reasons I chose NOT to go are; #1) I am on a self-imposed commercial "NO FLY LIST" meaning I refuse to fly commercial anywhere. This way I avoid having to be disarmed, the TSA Kabuki theater bullshit, and any of the "wild animals" acting out in airports or on airplanes. I have seen Europe twice and don't care to go back, and anywhere I desire to go here in the states I will drive to. The single exception is if my father-in-law passes and I need to go to Florida with my wife and her family. #2) I refuse to give one red cent to that woke mess called Disney. I made all this abundantly clear to my wife and daughter months before they went and they felt it was my loss. Oh how wrong they were. Until that corporation returns to its non-woke, family oriented content and environment I will never return. I cashed in two 24 hour PTO days from last year to pay for my time off and still have 12 hours left over. My last shift ended at 06:00 AM on April 11th, and today is my first day back. Nine glorious days off, including not attending two training sessions which I will probably hear about, but TPTB are not going to like my response to. It's called a fucking vacation and that means you don't see me until I come back to work!

On the 11th I helped my wife get ready and did stuff around the house. My daughter stayed over at our place so we could leave early. We left at 06:15 AM to drive to Logan Airport Saturday morning the 12th. What an absolute shitshow ride that was. Cold temperatures, heavy snow, and no roads treated or plowed. We thought the MA Turnpike would be better, but oh no, it was far worse. And the heavy wet snow was accumulating on the asphalt and freezing. Not until we got to about Framingham did conditions improve, and luckily any of the accidents we passed were minor spin outs. By the time we got to Boston it was as if the bad weather behind us was nonexistent. I got them to the airport on time and quickly got the hell out of there. The ride home was easy-peasy, because by that time roads were clear and wet and the snow was gone. Time to start my stay-cation! I had to take care of my normal weekend chores except laundry which got done the day before.

The next few days were me doing some of my favorite things and eating meals I like. Sunday I went to the range. I usually only go during the week when I have the place to myself. A couple of guys came over after Trap to each fire a few handgun rounds and then left. I was now by myself for testing some subsonic .22LR ammo I bought from an estate sale. I tried some in a semi-auto rifle and pistol. It would not cycle in either one so I ran it manually. Accuracy was fine so it should be good for pesky chipmunks out of my bolt action .22 rifle. I then put a few cylinders through my 1935 vintage S&W K-22 Outdoorsman. Of course it functioned just fine and I repeatedly dinged the hanging steel plates at 25 yards. Next up, my US Patriot 1775 home built sniper rifle. Originally a 1939 Soviet Mosin-Nagant 91/30 from the Izhevsk Armory, this reformed Commie now serves to support and defend The United States and The Constitution against ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. Targets of opportunity from a far away hidey hole, don'cha know.

This rifle fires my precision measured and loaded ammunition with PPU 7.62x45r fire formed brass to this rifle's chamber that is neck sized only. The bullet is a 174 gr Sierra Matchking BTHP in .311" diameter. Some rifles are .308" but most of the Russian ones are .311" I slugged mine to find out. Accuracy with .308 factory ammo is less then satisfactory for obvious reasons. The powder is 45 grains of Hogdgon Varget. The primer is Winchester Large Rifle. I measured the chamber length and have the bullet seated 0.005" off the lands. Chronographed muzzle velocity is 2580 fps. Accuracy is better than I can make it shoot. More practice would definitely help for sure. That and a trip to the eye doctor for some new glasses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking downrange to 200 yards

 

200 yard backstop circled in yellow

17" spatter target with added 2" bullseye

 

A closer view. I'll try again after a visit to the eye doctor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started by verifying zero at 100 yards and it was dead on. Next out to the range maximum of 200 yards. After some windage adjustment, controlling my breathing, and waiting for my heart rate to slow so I could time my shot between beats, shot #5 was as close as I was probably gonna get. Definitely close enough for my purposes. I then proceeded to hit the 12" gong and then the smaller 6" gong I had stood up on its side on some timbers on the ground. It makes a really loud "THOK!" sound when hit. After 3 shots at the smaller gong it fell over. I decided to see if I could hit it lying on the side.

On its side with 3 fresh shiny shot marks

 

 

Exactly where I was aiming. Perfect!

 

I went down range to pickup my targets and then back to the firing line to pack up for home. I headed home to secure all my firearms and ammo, and have some lunch. The plan was to go fishing early evening to dark so I got my fishing gear in shape. Later, I headed to my club pond a little before 6 PM and was met by my neighbor and his 9 year old grandson. The grandson was pretty rambunctious splashing a stick in the water and then hooking my rod when he tried to cast. No biggie, I caught a nice largemouth bass anyway and then I moved to the left of them near the pond outlet and deeper water where I promptly caught another smaller largemouth. Every evening except Wednesday (too cold and windy) I returned to the club pond and had great success with both bass and trout, landing a decent 14" Rainbow Trout on Thursday. Since all my tackle has the barbs crimped, catch and release is easy and not hard on the fish. They all swam away quickly. I went home at dark to feed the dogs and watch a streaming movie (I don't remember what I watched) but it was definitely something my wife would not care for.

Monday was supposed to be the warmest day of the week with highs in the 70's, so late morning I headed out on The Beast for the Kommiecticut shoreline, specifically Niantic and Skipper's Seafood on RT. 156. It was more crowded than usual since the kids were out of school for spring break. But since I had nothing but time I had no problem waiting to order, then waiting for my food. $22.54 for a fish sandwich with onion rings and a bottle of soda was a little expensive, but man was it good and screaming hot. Their onion rings are lightly battered and sliced very thin like shoestring french fries. I thought I might stop for ice cream on the way home but I was too full. I got home and decided to play some guitar before heading out for an evening of fishing. The 1946 vintage case is in pretty good shape, but the old leather handle was falling apart and I really didn't want it to break making me drop it. I found a Gibson style excellent replacement handle on eBay and ordered it for $29 plus tax. The new handle arrived on Thursday and fit my old case perfectly.

What's left of the original handle. It went in the trash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new handle installed on the original hardware. Nicely made

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other than fishing on Tuesday evening, I don't recall what I did all of Tuesday and Wednesday during the day. I do know Tuesday afternoon I took my little poodle girl for a walk around the town park and then along the river on the linear trail. We had the place to ourselves and she got to have some quality alone time with Daddy. 

 

Wednesday was in the 40's and very windy. I am surprised I didn't lose power. Thursday I rotated out my snow removal equipment for my lawn upkeep equipment. The lawnmower and weed whacker got fueled up and started on the first couple of pulls as usual. The snowblower got a fresh oil change and then the fuel tank drained after I drove it down to the barn. I pulled all of my wicker porch furniture from the back of the barn. The snowblower then went to the back of the barn with the snow shovels. I had backed my truck and trailer down to the barn to load all the furniture to bring up to the front porch in one shot. I was outside all day and then back out in the evening for fishing until dark. The fishing action every night has been great. Friday morning after breakfast I took a trip to BJ's for a restock in anticipation of my wife's return. I am also in the process of rotating out all of my generator gas storage from last spring, so I picked up 25 gallons in my Jerry cans and then topped off my truck. That leaves five more Jerry cans to dump in our vehicles to burn up and then refill. This gives me a total of 70 gallons of gas on hand which this time of year could have my generator run about 10 days at full power. 20 days if I was to run conservatively and even longer if I siphon some out of my vehicles. I would only do this if I was unable to buy gas because of a regional outage due to large scale system damage. Luckily that has never happened. After going to BJ's I came home and put everything away and made some lunch. After lunch it was out for another cruise on The Beast. I only went about 50 miles, but 50 miles of wind therapy will do anyone some good. I went home, had some supper, and then out fishing for the evening until dark.

Saturday evening I was to return to Logan to get the wife, so I wanted to make sure I managed my time during the day properly. A week earlier we went to Boston in snow. Saturday the 19th it was predicted to be 85. My club had our big spring cleanup work party in anticipation for our two big fishing events and our big summertime fundraiser event. I worked from 08:00 to about 11:00 on the pond detail. I figured since I have been doing so much fishing I would concentrate my efforts there. After that the weekly trip to the dump, home for lunch, and then some guitar time sitting out on my front porch entertaining the birds and squirrels. My wife and I had dinner plans for on the way home, so I needed to shower and put on some clean duds. Her flight was due to land at 6:06 PM, so I left at 4:00 PM in case of unexpected traffic to Boston.

I decided that since I would have to sit in a cell phone lot for an unknown amount of time and then have to hit a rest area on the way home, I would have to play my game of "Felon-Not A Felon" by carrying my EDC into the Republik of Massachusetts without their "permission slip." As I cross the imaginary line at the state border where I magically transform into a felon and then back again, I call out "Felon-Not A Felon!" Because of the warm weather I was wearing cargo shorts and carrying my S&W 45 Shield in a DeSantis pocket holster in my right thigh pocket, a spare mag in my left thigh pocket, and as usual my SOG Instinct blade horizontally at 11 o'clock. Traffic was non existent and I arrived at the cell phone lot at Logan Airport at 5:15 PM. There is a sign in the lot with all the "rules"... no unattended vehicles, no idling over 5 minutes, 30 minute maximum wait time. Wait, WHAT? It's over 80 miles to Logan from my house, how the fuck am I supposed to know what traffic will be or if her flight is on time? Well, I decided to see just how that gets enforced. If necessary I would just circle the airport and then return to the lot if I got kicked out. Certainly don't want any trouble with "authorities" while carrying. It turns out, no one enforced anything, so I sat and waited listening to streaming music. The flight was on time and my wife called me saying that she and my daughter would be waiting curbside for pickup. Aw man... my daughter was supposed to have a friend pick her up. There goes a nice dinner with my wife because going out to dinner with my daughter (the vegan freak) is beyond tedious, so I normally avoid it. I got to their location in just a few minutes, loaded their luggage, and headed for the airport exit and the Mass Pike. After drinking a bottle of water and sitting for so long in the cell lot, I needed to hit the first rest area in Framingham heading westbound. We arrived at the rest area and all went in because my wife and daughter wanted drinks, I went straight to the Men's room. While at the urinal doing my part to recycle, in walks a MA State Trooper and goes to the urinal more than the appropriate anti-gay distance away. I watch him out of the corner of my eye, but he pays me no mind as he has probably been on the road for a couple of hours and just wants to relieve himself. I finished first and walked behind him to get to the sink to wash my hands. He heads for the sink as I am exiting the restroom. As I am walking across the main concourse of the rest area I see him come out and then head into the convenience store. Never saw him again, but man if he only knew. The advantage of concealed carry. The girls got their drinks and we got back on the road.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. We hit a heavy rainstorm west of Worcester and down I -84 which was good because it washed most of the salt off my wife's car from the previous ride to Boston. When we hit the Kommiecticut state line I said quietly "Felon-Not A Felon" and my wife asked "what did you just say?" to which I replied nothing, just mumbling to myself. When we got closer to home we came out of the rain and as we came down the home stretch on the main road everything was completely dry.

My wife and daughter and her friends had a great time. Not the kind of fun I would care for. And they got to see The Old Man (my wife's father) while they were there. He will be up for the summer next month and we hang out on my days off.

Brought Back Memories

Yesterday morning I did a Patriot Guard mission at the CT Air National Guard base in East Granby. It was a send off for the 103rd Airlift Wing on a deployment. The PGR was there to stand a flag line. There were about a dozen of us and although there was media present, none of the local outlets have posted a story. Here is a link to the media advisory from the 103d and below is an excerpt about their mission:

The Guardsmen will provide logistical, mechanical, and mission support to forces deployed within various global combatant commands supporting of Operations Spartan Shield, Inherent Resolve, and Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa.

They regularly fly their C-130s over my house at low altitude every couple of days heading east out towards Cape Cod and I assume Otis AFB. Later the same day they fly heading west back to Bradley. Occasionally they'll fly contour at maybe 500 feet. Some people in town are frightened or annoyed by it and complain, but I think it is way cool! In fact, so many military aircraft fly over my house I believe my house is a navigation waypoint. In addition to the C-130's, I get pairs of F-15's, UH-60 Blackhawks, CH-47 Chonooks, and the occasional C-5 Galaxy, OV-22 Osprey, or CH-53 Sea Stallion directly overhead. Sometimes it's like my own private airshow. 

I had to work until my FD shift ended at 06:00. I thankfully got out on time, went home to clean my chicken coop, shower and change clothes, grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee, and made the less than 1 hour ride to the air base. I did not ride "The Beast" because my driveway went from a frozen glacier to a mud hole suitable for 4x4 races. At this point it will be weeks before "The Beast" comes out of hibernation.

The ceremony was held inside a closed pristine hangar on the base. That required me to give my drivers license info to the PGR State Captain to be forwarded to base security for a background check. Last time I did one of these we had to park outside and walk in, but this time we drove on base and parked in the hangar lot. This also required me to be totally unarmed, because we were actually going on base and would be subject to search at any time. I had to choose between doing this mission unarmed, not doing the mission at all, or taking a chance. I chose to do the mission and not take the chance so as not to reflect badly on the PGR by potentially getting arrested with a firearm, therefore honoring those that deserve my presence. I made sure I went straight there and straight home so as not to regret my decision to be unarmed.

Driving on base brought me back to my days in the military many years before 9/11. Back then, all I had was a DoD decal on the left side top of my front bumper. If the sticker was not expired and I was in uniform, I just slowed down enough for the SP to see it and waved through. If I was in civvies, I would have to stop and hand the SP my ID. If your sticker was expired, you would have to produce your ID and then report to the base security station to get a new decal. On weekends when we Reservists were there, there was a back gate with one SP manning it we could go in and out of. It was even pretty easy for civilian visitors to go in with a brief check at the gate or an escort. There were no physical barriers other than the chain link fence gate that was always open. No zig-zag roads, pop-up barriers, or other post 9/11 modern base security measures. Yesterday, they held us in a special lane until everyone was there. The State Captain verified the list with the SP and we were let in. There were plenty of SP personnel to guide us to the parking area. The ANG personnel in the parking lot was disappointed none of us rode in on motorcycles. They were hoping for a "Rolling Thunder" optic of our arrival. Sorry, not this time of year. We grabbed our flags and headed in to the hangar.

You could truly eat off the floor in that hangar. There were two portable bleacher units brought in for spectators set up at a 45 degree angle to the stage and chairs in front of the one on the right for brass and dignitaries. The open area in front of the stage were for the formation of those being deployed. There was a 4 piece military brass ensemble playing Sousa march and patriotic tunes. We all hit the restroom, assembled our flags, and lined up to the right of the stage. After we lined up, many National Guard brass and dignitaries went down the line to shake our hands and thank us for being there. The first one through as usual was someone I have met a few times before, Major General Francis Evon. He is the Commanding Officer of the entire CT National Guard, a soldier's soldier and a real down to earth guy, starting his military career as an enlisted man. Then several other ANG officers came through. The local state representative came through the line. Then.... I had to suck it up and do my duty to the PGR, because here came US Senator Richard "Da Nang Dickie" Blumenthal; Mr. Stolen Valor himself. If I had been there on my own, I would have waited until he approached me and turned my back on him. But since I was there with the PGR, I did not want to mar the reputation of the PGR. I shook his hand and when he thanked me for being there, I just gave him the stock PGR response of "It's our honor." I don't know of any health problems he may have, but he seems to have become a shrunken little man. He reminds me of a toddler, whose head is too big for his body.

While we waited lined up and looking good, they called for formation. I chuckled to myself, remembering have to assemble for my own daily morning formation in the drill hall so many years ago. It was usually called by SSG Ed Demetrion, but when he wasn't there it was up to SFC Gomez. That was always fucking hilarious. SFC Gomez was a naturalized US citizen from Colombia and he had a heavy Spanish accent and he was also quite the comedian. He would walk down the hall of the Reserve Center repeatedly yelling, "OK, OK, for-may-shon in de drill hall! Le's go, Le's go! Get een for-may-shon!! NO ES-MOH-KINK!" He knew damn well how funny he sounded to us young gringos, and it was even more funny while he tried to emulate a tough Drill Sargent to get us lined up and squared away.

It has been quite a while since I have been around that many active duty personnel. Some of those females, young and older, both enlisted and officers were quite fetching. We used to call them "Split Tails." Of course since this was the Air National Guard, it is the Air Force, and to me always seemed to attract more females than the other branches.

The ceremony only lasted about a half hour. They posted the colors and the brass ensemble struck up The National Anthem. A military Chaplain did an invocation. There were several speeches, and first up was General Evon. After him was the unit Commander. Then the politicians.... blah, blah, blah. Luckily with my poor hearing, the loudspeakers facing away, and the poor acoustics of the hangar, they all sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. I did catch Da Nang Dickie complaining of defense budget cuts, spinning the waste, fraud, and abuse DOGE has been eliminating into political gibberish and propaganda. Fuck that piece of shit, gaslighting the young skulls full of mush in the process of being deployed. They then held a promotion ceremony for a few airmen, as well as service awards for others. The Chaplain went back on stage to deliver a benediction and the ceremony was over. The troops were dismissed and the PGR was called to stand down. We disassembled our flags and walked out single file to the lot. The ride home was uneventful and I continued with my weekend chores and errands.

Later in the day, my wife and I went out for dinner at a restaurant we haven't eaten at in over 20 years. The Traveler Restaurant off I-84 in Union, famous for their roasted turkey dinner and a free book with dinner. That's right, a full free library as well as some books, puzzles, games, and greeting cards for sale. The last time I remember eating there was on the way back from Maine when we would go to the State Fair in Skowhegan back in the 1990's. I wasn't going to take a book because I am behind in my reading already, until my wife showed me this:

I bought it for $4.50 to keep at the firehouse. A non-woke children's book from 2010 with large print and cool illustrations where the "kids" are different little animals. A couple of pages were ripped but I taped them as good as new. Sometimes little kids come to the firehouse to visit, but when they get there they are shy and want to hide behind their parents. My plan is to read to the younger ones when they visit to "break the ice." By the way, we both had the turkey dinner with a large side of green beans to share, washed down with a glass of lemonade. The dinner was delicious and filling, perfect for a cold late winter night. Pretty reasonably priced as well and Glypto recommended if you're passing through the area at dinner time.