30 September 2011

Serenity Sequel?


29 September 2011

Making Browncoats

Brigid and Guffaw have stories up about creating Firefly fans, which leads me to mention this.

My 12 year old accompanied me to Charlotte last Friday for a get-together with some Mustang folks. It's a three hour ride from here to there, so he took a DVD player along.

What did he take to watch? Firefly!

I've often thrown Firefly quotes out, one of my favorites is "I'd like to be king of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat."  When he saw that episode he laughed right out loud.

I think he's hooked.

28 September 2011

Finished!

The grip is here and the conversion is complete!

I think it turned out pretty well.

Parts used for 922r compliance: Tapco trigger group (3 parts), buttstock and pistol grip, and a Leapers UTG quad rail system (foregrip).

That gives me six of fifteen (I don't have a muzzle attachment) US made parts, and if I throw in the Surefire US made magazine bodies, followers and floorplates I have nine.

That means I am in compliance no matter which magazine I use, which was the purpose of this operation from the start.

I'm happy with it.

UPDATE: Range time has been scheduled. I can't wait to try it out.

26 September 2011

Time Flies

I was updating my quarterly maintenance schedules last night and setting up for the next quarter, and the maintenance done last night will next be due on December 25, 2011.

Christmas is 90 days away and once again I am nowhere near ready.

It doesn't hit as often, but when it does it hits just as hard.

25 September 2011

Saiga Conversion

The hardware I was looking for showed up Saturday.

Unfortunately the pistol grip I was hoping to re-use is not going to work.

Twenty more bucks plus shipping and I have a Tapco pistol grip on it's way.

It should be in this week sometime, and then I'll finally get this darn thing done.

The conversion itself isn't hard to do and I think I will really like the way it works when it's done.

Pics when finished.

Weekend Fun

It's been a pretty busy weekend.

Friday night Youngest Son and I saddled up and rode to Charlotte for a meet and greet with the Carolina chapter of the Mustang Forums. There were seven cars, six of them were California Specials and the last had CS wheels. This has been a recurring theme with the Carolina MF'ers meet and greets.

Saturday morning at 5:30 AM I left the house heading for the Heart of Carolina Mustang Club 18th Annual Car Show. The weather started out
spitting rain so we didn't have the turnout we were hoping for, but we still had eighteen cars in the judging ranging from a very clean 65 fastback to a brand-new 2012 California Special. We also had two non-Mustangs, a Galaxy convertible and a superb 71 Torino.

Once we got the cars in and parked the sun blessed us with it's appearance and it turned out to be a pretty good day.

More pics for the Carolina MF'ers can be seen here, and more pictures from the HCMC car
 show are here.

It was a busy two days, but it was a lot of fun.

And here's something to ponder. The weekend before the originally scheduled car show weekend was beautiful, the originally scheduled weekend and the weekend it was actually held were both wet, next weekend is supposed to be beautiful again.

22 September 2011

Where Do We Get Such Men

As promised.

On 15 September 2011 SGT Dakota Meyer, USMC, was awarded the Medal of Honor for service as set forth in the following citation:

Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders. Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above. Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner's position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Corporal Meyer's daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy's attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on. His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Corporal Meyers has since been promoted to Sergeant.

Thank you, Sergeant Meyers.

US Navy photo

It's Not About Dying

It's about living.

A quote of the day, if I ever heard one, and another spot-on post on the Range.

If Brigid is not one of your daily reads...what are you waiting for?

20 September 2011

Okay

Og started it, and here's my submission.

I've had it long enough that I don't remember when or where I got it, and I have no idea what it is.  All I know is that it is in my pocket whenever I have a pocket for it to be in.

Next!

17 September 2011

In The Mail

The clips for the Mosin.

It really is easier to load it with stripper clips rather than one at a time.

If the hardware for the Saiga/AK ever shows up I'll complete that, too.

Then it will be range time for all the rifles.

UPDATE: The Saiga hardware is on the way.

We The People

of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.



How many of you were able to read this without singing it?

Happy Constitution Day!

16 September 2011

I Deserved That

In this post I took a swipe at one of the good guys just to see if he was awake.

He was.

And now it's time for me to walk it back some.

I don't have the temperament to be in law enforcement. I know that about myself.  I don't have the patience to deal with people as a general rule, and that's one of the several reasons I didn't take up the offer to join one of the countless police forces across the country when I retired from the Navy.

I'm better off dealing with machines. Machines are predictable and they follow the script, and when they don't you can figure out whats wrong, fix it, and they're back on point. People, not so much.

Most of us are going to have very little interaction with the police, and for the most part when we do it is going to be the mark of a bad day.  That means that usually the guys (and gals, can't forget them) in blue don't get to see us at our best.

Just like all of us have bad days, they are human, too, and they have bad days as well.  It's the bad days that get caught on tape and put on the news.

Yes, there are bad cops out there, but for the most part I believe that the men and women who are out there answering the call are good people. We never hear about them because we aren't likely to comment on a positive interaction, only on the negative ones.

So here's to the good guys. Thanks for being there.

(And besides being one of the good guys, Wyatt has excellent taste.)

15 September 2011

Guns I Want

in order of wantingness:

Ruger Blackhawk in .357

Remington Model 700 CDL in either 30.06 or 7mm This niche has been filled quite nicely with the Mossberg 100ATR. I think I still want something in 7mm later on though.

Mosin M38 carbine

M1 Garand or M1A Springfield

M1911, manufacturer not important

AR-15 pattern EBR  Screw Armalite, they can keep their crap for the Only Ones. Don't want one now, not even from another manufacturer, cause "AR stands for Armalite" and they can all trot off to hell. So I actually have an AR-15 pattern rifle in 6.8, on a 3D printed lower. ;) The 3D printed lower fell apart so I got me one of them there 80 percent lowers instead.

I'm sure that more will be added to the list over time.

EDITED TO ADD:

Winchester Model 94 Short Rifle, but I think this one should be closer to the top...maybe between the Remington and the Mosin.

Saiga 12 gauge shotgun converted to the AK trigger group

Marlin 795 Purchased 5/13/13

M1 Carbine, this goes on the same line as the M1 or M1A. Any (or all!) of the three would do. Not a 30-06, removing this one from the list. Too bad, it's still a nice looking gun.

Glock 19 Purchased 8/30/13.

MKA 1919 shotgun, because the EBS Project is lonely (and also because "AR-15 shotgun ZOMG!!!)

Vepr Tactical Sniper Rifle because I certainly have enough rounds for it.

CPL Dakota Meyer

Former Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony today at the White House.

A full write-up will be made when the award is posted to the official CMoHS site, but until then, Well Done Marine.

Falling Down The Interweb Hole

So earlier when I put up my post about HR 822 (thanks Sean) I saw a link to recent news articles about a quarter of the way down the page.  In those links was an article about law enforcement opposing the resolution.

I tend to judge some things by who is opposed to it, so this to me seemed like a positive endorsement of HR822 (like I needed another one). However when I clicked on the link I found that there seems to be only one entity that opposes the bill - the Philadelphia PD.

The Philly PD does not have a good track record where guns are concerned, so this seems to be pretty par for the course. (Sorry Wyatt, you are known by the company you keep.)

The story they quoted was of one Marqus Hill (not Marquis, Marquis Hill is a trumpet player) who, after being acquitted of murder in 2005, was denied permission to get his concealed permit back. Philly, it seems, is a one-time-good-deal jurisdiction where gun permits are concerned. More symptoms of the disease, dontchaknow.

Marqus did what many other Philly residents do - he applied for a Florida non-resident permit. Since Florida is a must-issue state, and since Marqus did not have any felony convictions, the permit was issued.  And, since PA reciprocates with FL, that means he was once more legal to carry in Philadelphia.  This, by the way, is the issue that sticks in the craw of the Philly PD - they said no and the citizen, rather than meekly go away, went around them.

Fast forward to 2010; Mr Hill sees some teenagers out minding their own business selling lemonade and cookies - oops, change that to burglarizing cars, his being among them - and he shot one of them. Thirteen times.

This incident is being used as a good reason not to allow national reciprocity, because if you do that then...what exactly?  Since Mr Hill was already holding a valid permit recognized by the State of PA, what would the proposed law do that is not already being done in this particular case?

I'm not condoning the actions of Marqus Hill, I was not there and I don't know the particulars of the case. Perhaps he is a bad, bad man and needs to be buried under the jail, perhaps he lives in a bad neighborhood and felt threatened enough to shoot thirteen times, I don't know and until the facts come out in the trial neither do you. That's how we still do things here for the most part, first we have the trial and then we have the execution (except in the press).

I'm also not going to go into depth on the obviously flawed reasoning of the Philly PD or Philly, City Of regarding gun laws, and I'm certainly not going to go off on a well-justified rant as to the appropriateness of having to obtain permission to exercise a Constitutionally protected natural right.  I think you know where I stand on such issues.

Instead I am going to quote the infamous Tam: "Where the hell do you get off thinking you can tell me I can't own a gun? I don't care if every other gun owner on the planet went out and murdered somebody last night. I didn't. So piss off."

And now back to the actual subject of this post.

Whilst searching for the above quote I found where she had linked a post at Popehat, which had linked a post to here.

This brought me full circle back to Tam's for this post.

And that is how you get to the point where you are nursing your second beer thinking about the good old days of the Clinton presidency.

And while you are at Popehat you must read this. Priceless.

Reschedule

The Heart of Carolina Mustang Club annual car show has been rescheduled for the 24th of September.

If you are in Cary NC on the 24th, please do drop by!

Just as well I guess, the car had flaws in the clearcoat so it had to be sanded and repainted.

I should get it back Monday now.

Reciprocity

There is an interesting piece of legislature winding its way through Congress right now.

Official Summary

2/18/2011--Introduced.National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to carry a concealed handgun (other than a machinegun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state. 

Go here to voice your opinion.


HT: An NC Gun Blog

The Waiting Game

The car should be ready tomorrow morning.

As I write this it is 86 degrees and the sun is shining.

Tomorrow will be in the 60s with rain.

13 September 2011

It Figures

I dropped the car off Monday morning to the body shop.  It should be ready to go Thursday night or Friday morning.

Monday was beautiful and it's scheduled to be the same all the way through Thursday.

Friday it's going to rain and be in the low 60's.

Saturday, more of the same (just in time for the car show).

Sunday I go back to work, and it is going to be sunny and in the 70's.

FML.

12 September 2011

Confrontations

A co-worker just told me a tale about a confrontation in a parking lot.

He does not have his concealed carry permit so he was not armed. He did have a Leatherman type tool in a pouch on his belt, this becomes significant later in the story.

He was walking out of a restaurant picking up a carry out order when a man approached him wanting to give him a package. He politely told the man he was not interested in the package and he kept walking towards his vehicle.

The man became belligerent and charged him while making verbal threats.  At the last moment he stepped to the side and let the man charge on past, and when the man turned to face him he had his hand on the Leatherman with that side turned away.

He pulled the velcro flap up on the Leatherman pouch and told the man once more he wasn't interested.  Apparently the sound of ripping velcro made the man believe he was armed, so while still making verbal threats the man turned and walked away.  When my co-worker pulled out his cell phone to call the police, the man ran away.

What would I have done, my co-worker wants to know? I don't know what I would have done, but I am sure that I would have at least shown my carry weapon (as long as I had it, if the restaurant was one that served alcohol I would not have legally been able to have it with me even to pick up a carry out order; if I had been coming home from or going to my defenseless victim zone workplace I likewise would not have had it with me).

I'm too fat and slow to run, I told him, and too old to fight, so that only leaves me one option. If I had had my son with me the time frame for that option would have shortened considerably. I most likely would have drawn and prayed that the man was just a bully and would see that there was no profit in continuing to harass me, and hopefully he would have gone his way. That's the way I think it would have ended up since that is the way it went for him.

When all is said and done everything worked out well, but it is something that he says has been torturing him all weekend.  I told him it was perfectly legal to carry openly without any permission slip from the State, and if he had been openly carrying maybe he would not have been approached at all. We then discussed the pros and cons and the what-ifs and the maybes.

We discussed shooting to wound vs shooting to kill, and I informed him there wasn't any such damn thing. You shoot to stop the threat, as much as you need to, and then you shut your pie hole and get a good defense attorney.  If all goes well you won't need one, but if it goes sideways its better to have one on call. In the end that was the only thing I could tell him.

One thing for certain, it makes me glad I have protection.

11 September 2011

September 11

What he said.

Recovery

With the new hard drive installed and a second fresh install of Windows XP, an updated audio driver and some new program files it looks like the magic elf box is once more online.

I'll play with Ubuntu later now that I have the extra disk space.

10 September 2011

Ubuntu

For the price of some charred oinky ribs I had a friend of mine come over and install Ubuntu on my ailing magic elf box.

It didn't go as smoothly as one would hope.

Finally after about five hours of work it came up and connected and seemed to be acting fine, but wouldn't connect to the printer (online forums were less than helpful, their solution was to get a non-Lexmark printer) and wouldn't share files (yes, the proper software is installed).

Not fifteen minutes after he left the damn thing dropped off the network and won't reconnect.

I'm going with his suggestion to get a bigger hard-drive so that Windows XP and Ubuntu can both be installed. That way I can play with Ubuntu to my heart's content and still have access to my files and printer the rest of the time.

Good thing I still have the laptop!

09 September 2011

Conversion

I went to the tool store today to get the drill bits and punches I needed for my Saiga conversion.

I don't have all the pieces yet, but I decided since I had the time that I would go ahead and start, and that way if I needed to get anything else I would know about it in plenty of time.

Following the instructions I disassembled the old trigger group and removed the trigger guard and plate.  After a quick shot of paint and a little grinding to the new hammer to fit the bolt lock plate everything is ready to go back together.

Now I am just waiting on the hardware.

Taste Test

They changed the label on the Drifters, but it didn't fool me. I found it!

And since I was happy I found my brand, I thought I'd try out another.

Shipyard IPA.

Not a fan.

TigerSwan

My money has been paid, my application has been sent in, and my equipment has been gathered.

This is going to be a lot of fun!

I think there is still room if you want to join in.

08 September 2011

Stimulating

Another word  is verboten.

At this rate pretty soon House Democrats won't be able to say anything at all.

Which I like to think of as more of a feature than a bug.

07 September 2011

Guilty Secrets

Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.

This show is both fascinating and horrifying.

It's fascinating because you get a chance to see inside some people's minds.

It's horrifying because...you get a chance to see inside some people's minds...

It makes me feel so much smarter and saner after I listen to it.

I know. It's not nice to make fun of the crazy people.

06 September 2011

Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Meme

I don't even know why I'm bothering, but here goes:

From Sithy Things comes this meme, list your favorites of these ten things:

#1– Favorite candy: I'm not really big into sweets. Pass.
#2– Favorite movie: The Outlaw Josey Wales is a favorite, as is Casablanca, anything by Monty Python and of course no self-respecting Browncoat would fail to list Serenity.
#3– Favorite drink: Demon's Hop Yard IPA, but since I can't get that here, Drifters IPA or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale will have to do.
#4– Favorite dessert: Once again, not a big fan of the sweets. Pass. Cheesecake! Especially with strawberry topping, although cherry is OK, too.
#5– Favorite city: Not a big fan of cities as a general rule, but if I have to pick one I'd say Raleigh because I can walk home from there if I must.
#6– Favorite pasttime: Reading.
#7– Favorite clothing: Pajamas.
#8– Favorite animal: Cows, because they make such delicious steaks.
#9– Favorite flower: Roses.
#10 Favorite music: Yes.  I have everything from Beethoven to Green Jelly in my collection, although I'm not a big fan of hip-hop (or whatever the hell they are calling it these days) as a general rule.

So there you have it.

Time Marching On

Yesterday was Youngest Daughter's birthday, she is exactly 20 years 1 month and 3 days younger than I am which puts her in her mid 20's.

Today is Youngest Son's first day back to school. We went out this weekend and got him new school clothes and shoes, so he's all set that way.

The summer vacation is over and a new year begins.

03 September 2011

Modifications

There seems to be an internet group for everything.

I went looking around for Saiga stuff and found a forum, not unexpectedly I might add.  Since the Saiga is manufactured by the same people and along the same lines as the infamous AK-47 it is quite possible, and even encouraged, to move the trigger group forward from it's sporter configuration to the normal AK spot.

Moving the trigger group gets rid of some unnecessary connecting hardware, gives better trigger operation, better ergonomics, and shortens the rifle up by a couple of inches which improves its handling a bit.  It also virtually guarantees compliance with Federal law regarding imported rifles if the furniture gets changed out as well.

I bought this rifle in the condition that it presently sits. It's a pretty standard Saiga .223 under it's fancy hardware. That fancy hardware includes a Tapco T-6 collapsible stock set, a UTG MTN-HGSG39 quad rail system that replaces the forearm hand guard, a Vickers VCAS sling (which may or may not stay), a Grip Pod GPS02 collapsible grip bipod, and a quartet of Surefire .223 30 round magazines. It also has a Texas Weapons Systems dogleg scope mounting rail, in the Gen 1 configuration not the Gen 2.

With this parts listing (not counting the bipod, scope rail or sling) as long as I'm not using the standard Saiga magazine I'm in full 922r compliance. However, if I decide I want to use the shorter Saiga magazine I need a few more domestic parts.

Moving the trigger group installs three more domestic parts, which makes it safe to use the Saiga magazine.  Looking around the web one can find many conversion instructions, but this one is the one I think I will use, mostly because the author seems to have started from the same basic skillset that I possess.

So to that end I have ordered a Tapco T6 stock for the AK (I'm hoping I can use the same pistol grip that came with the Tapco Saiga stock set), a fire group retaining plate, and the necessary hardware to complete the conversion in accordance with the instructions.

It ought to be fun!

02 September 2011

A Few Simple Things

Last night was grill night, burgers first and then ribs. The ribs get better with each attempt and last night they were absolutely perfect.

I was going to try Brigid's bacon coleslaw on the burgers, but when I got everything together I discovered that Youngest Son had depleted the bacon supply. How embarrassing, running out of bacon??? Inconceivable!

The next pack of bacon is getting frozen so that it will be there when I want it.

Today is an open-carry day, I have a luncheon with Triangle Open Carry. This will be my third such event, I can't yet say that I am entirely comfortable with open carry but so far it hasn't been any trouble at all. Unlike this guy, who's plight reminds us that if the law is on the books you can be charged with it (the law in question is "going armed to the terror of the public" which I have been assured would never be used unless you are waving the gun around and generally acting like a jackass, which so far it doesn't look like this guy was doing).

Last but not least, I just got my email from Brownells letting me know that my ammo can with 420 rounds of .223 ammo is on it's way. So, I took an inventory:

1723 rounds of 7.62x54R, 1320 of it still in the big green cans
746 rounds of .45 ACP FMJ target loads and another 34 hollowpoints
400+ rounds of .22LR (I didn't count it all but I have most of a 525 round box left)
85 rounds of 12ga #8 shot, 29 rounds of #7 1/2, and 10 rounds of #00 buckshot
10 rounds of 129gr and 10 rounds of 140gr 6.5x50mm Japanese
258 268 rounds of .223 plus the 420 on the way. (Just found another ten rounds)

This doesn't include anything I have loaded, of course. That should do me for a while.

Well, I'm off to lunch. Everyone have a great day!