I am back!
I shall try to post again more often.

That annoying statistic about guns in the home adding danger...

The Dangers of Guns in the Home.

This topic is often cited by the anti-gun crowd as a reason not to have a gun.  The statistic used, claims there is a much greater chance of being killed by a gun if there is a gun in your house.  This seems reasonable but overlooks (how convenient) the skewing variable that those who have reason to fear being shot (by reason of their lifestyle choices) are very likely to possess a gun for their own defense.  They fear being shot because they are engaged in gang activity, sex trade and drug trade meaning there are people who wish them dead (competitors) or wish to rob them of their large sums of cash (no good banking opportunities in the gang business).  Our subject individual is therefore significantly more likely to be killed with a gun.  His answer is to have a gun. Thus, an extremely high portion of the data is skewed by the “high risk” gun possessor.   Because his possession of a gun is likely not legal (age and or existing felonies being in the way) he will not have proper storage or carrying options for the gun.  This then tremendously increases the opportunity for “accidental” shootings.  When one is not legally allowed to carry a firearm, one does not wear the appropriate holster for the firearm.  Being able to drop the firearm to not get caught “in possession” is essential to continuing life “on the outside”.  Carry options then are relegated to loosely tucked into the waistband, hidden in a pocket or in the loose hood of your hoodie.  Being that the gun must be disposable means that older, cheaper, lower quality firearms are more desirable.  These guns are generally not as safe, more prone to “accidental” discharge.  Not having proper storage, such as a gun safe, increases the chances of “unauthorized” users (children in most cases) having access to the gun with disastrous results.  Please check the results in the news for verification of this data.  A very high portion of the “accidental firearm deaths” will fit this category, in my view likely over 50%.  This causes yet another skew to the data.  It is not the gun that causes the issue but the lifestyle that requires a gun and the concessions to safe carry and storage practices the lifestyle requires that make it dangerous and skew the data.  If there were a way to eliminate the effects of the gang lifestyle from overall gun possession numbers, the numbers would no longer seem so scary.  If you are not involved in gangs, your chances of getting killed by a gun are much lower.  If no one in your household is involved in gangs, their chances of getting killed by a gun are much lower.  If you do not live around gang activities, your chances of getting killed by a gun are much lower.  Those who legally possess and legally carry are not and never have been the problem.  As always it is not the inanimate gun that is the problem, it is people.  A very small subset of people, that skew the numbers into something the anti-gunners try to flog us with. 

Stolen with good cause.... I do indeed support this.

A return of the Minuteman?

I harken back to an earlier time for an answer to a modern issue. In colonial times a threat to the community was met by a response from the Minutemen. The “Indians” are raiding? The French are attacking? The Minutemen are the answer. An immediate response from within the community. The greater “Militia” likely would be the solution to the raid but would take time to muster just as the police and emergency response can take some time to materialize. The Minuteman stood ready to respond “within a minutes notice”. He was the holding force to allow the Militia of the day to assemble enough force to deal with the problem. I am not saying that the Police and emergency response is slow or insufficient. I am saying it is not and cannot be instant and immediate. Whether the Jihadis take on the role once belonging to the “Indians” or even if the Zombie Apocalypse should present itself, we need to be and have Minutemen again. We need trained citizens capable of responding to armed conflict or disaster. We need our own modern version of the Minuteman inside our community and ready to respond armed and ready at a “minutes notice”. I have long viewed the open carrier and concealed carrier as the potential answer to this but now see that as insufficient. Perhaps we need a more Swiss or Israeli answer. A rifle and someone to use it may be our answer and we need better access and greater numbers inside our communities. 2 topics to discuss: Is there really a need? What “kit” should our modern Minuteman have. The original Minuteman had his rifle or musket and his haversack with 3 days supplies and powder ready to go. It was contained enough that it could accompany him anywhere he happened to be. What should be essentially part of and how to carry our modern “kit”.

Feeling "pithy"

So, there I was, feeling a bit "pithy" this weekend, when a thought began to form. Here for discussion: “Communism” is the garrote that violently strangles the human spirit in full view of the world. “Socialism” is the soft comfy pillow that is held over its face in the dark of the night. The results are the same. The motives are the same. Why, then, is one perceived as less threatening than the other? Neither can tolerate the individual. Both need to be opposed. T.A.F February 24, 2014

When God smiles on you....

So there I was feeling a bit grumpy and sorry for myself when I heard it.  That DEEP low rumble.  Aircraft! Big! Radial engines!

How did I come to be in this grumpy state? There is an event at work requiring my attention on a weekend.  The same weekend of a blog shoot in WV (3 hours-ish away) and the same weekend of a Lure Coursing event that a certain Irish Wolfhound under my roof would love to attend.  I am stuck on a short leash.

Wife and dog get up early and head to the Coursing event, I stay home and head off to my event, grumpy that it exists.  I make my official appearance, make sure all under my purview is operating as it should, and wander home again.  Wife has been texting excitedly about the dog running (it is amazing to see these critter run flat out) and I have decided to head out and join them.  I make a brief stop at a WalMart out of my usual range, near my event, for outing supplies and my ubiquitous check of the ammo locker.  Oh goodie! Bulk packs of 12Gauge slugs, both I and my local store are out and I have some scope work to do with my shotie. 

Heading home to pick up the video camera when the phone rings: Wife reports a minor injury to the dog that ends the coursing participation.  Nothing serious but her running is done for today.  Well, crap!  No point in driving out to watch or video.  So I head home with no major plans for the day remaining.  I decide it is time to check e-mail and ammo prices.  I do so wish the politicians (that damnable blight upon humanity that they are) would stop with all the attempts at gun and ammo restrictions.  I long for the day when there was at least a good chance that my ammo of need MIGHT be on a shelf at some local establishment.  I find that I now follow the 5.56mm prices like a Wall Street maven follows the Dow.

But any who, there I am at the computer when I start to notice that unusual sound building to the point where the house is vibrating.  My neighbors probably already think me a bit odd but would have had it confirmed when I run out into the front yard and start scanning the sky for the sound.  It is in the cedar tree or rather behind it, moving away.  I round the tree and can finally see it: broad low rounded wings, 4 big radial engines, single tail.  Why is a B-17 flying over my house?  I stand alone in my front yard, no neighbors have seen either me or the aircraft.  I watch in awe as it heads away to the east.  Had I not been tethered to town for my event, had I not given up on the Coursing event, I would not have been here at this moment.  Sure tasted like lemon aide all of a sudden.

If Wikipedia is accurate, there are 11 surviving, flyable B-17s in the United States, all “G” models, most on the west coast.  I have visited a couple in my life at air shows and had one serendipitous flyby while on a vacation.  Today one visited my house.  A quick check for a nearby air show comes up empty. What are the odds?

But as they say “Wait there’s more”!  I am truly at this point in my writing when I hear it again!  Could it be?  I run outside this time remembering to grab the SLR on the way out the door.  It is behind the house this time my view is blocked but it is close.  I find the angle between the house and the trees, I draw the camera to my eye.  I forget to focus but it looks ok. I forget to zoom but I can see it in the viewfinder.  CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, until my view is blocked by other houses and trees.  I realize my hair is standing on end.  Yes, I am an airplane geek.  I always have been.

I will attempt to blow up the picks if they worked out and add them to the post. What I could not see on the first pass was the paintjob.  This bird is flat olive drab with yellow markings.  I hope the pics are clear! 

 

 

It has made a third pass and my son was home to see it as well.  obviously my quick google-fu has failed to find some local event.  But I shall try again.

 

Google-fu to the rescue.  The aircraft "The Movie Memphis Belle" not to be confused with the original "Memphis Belle" but was her stand in for the movie of that name is making an appearance at the Hanover County Airport today.  They are selling rides and must be giving good value for the ticket prices ($450.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!) as my house is almost 11 miles from there.  My guess is that they are about 2000 feet up and they have made a 4th pass over the house this time with my wife witnessing. The bird is a "G" model originally but does not wear the chin turret to better match the original.

While I was away....

I have severely tapered off on my postings.  Part of it is due to a shortage of good material (when God smiles on your life you find few things to comment on) and part of it is due to finding a good use for some of my free time: Appleseed.  About 2 years ago I dragged wife and son to something I had read about called Appleseed.  I had been planning on going for awhile and had purchased a Mossberg 702 Plinkster for the task.  Well, taking the wife meant that she had to have something to shoot and that Plinkster just felt good to her.  (Jump ahead 2 years and that rifle has moved into a leopard print case that matches her range bag and I no longer think of it in terms of "MY" rifle.) My son was going to use my grandfather's Remington 552 (tubefed rifles are not the best choice we would discover) or the CMMG conversion in an AR.  That left me struggling with what to shoot as that pretty much emptied the gun safe of anything remotely usable.  Father's Day was at hand and I was blessed to be ready to make my next rifle purchase.  I ordered a CZ 452FS in .22WMR.  Having decided to go .22WMR, I started shopping for ammo and found a deal that I wish I could repeat.  900 rounds of FMJ bulk packed for $89.00.  Had I known what a good deal this was, I would have at least doubled my order.  At around ten cents a round even with the addition of shipping that is untouchable!  The lowest grades of .22WMR run fourteen and the better can go as high as forty cents.  The upside was that I had a new rifle that had a detachable magazine.  The downside was I was going to do timed stages with a bolt action rifle.
I purchased the slings available from Bass Pro Shops since I had read that a sling was essential to getting the most out of an Appleseed.  Other than sighting in I had not fired this rifle and had not shot alot of any long guns in over 30 years.  I thought I was ready.  I was somewhat mistaken.
Appleseed teaches the 3 primary shooting positions, standing, sitting/kneeling, and prone.  It teaches the use of the military sling, primarily the loop sling for sitting and prone and the hasty sling for standing.  In my college days I had shot rifle on an ROTC range.  I do remember shooting prone.  I do not remember slings.  Somewhere along the way I had been introduced to wrapping one's arm in the sling to tighten up the slack.  I had a sling on my hunting rifle.  I would learn that I knew almost nothing about the sling and the benefits from using it correctly.
I did the best I could with my sling.  Not being a mil-spec sling, it left much to be desired.  Once when I really tighteened it down, the plastic buckle broke.  I honestly do not remember how I tried to use it as a loop sling but do remember needing to wrap my arm twice to take up the slack.  (At my second Appleseed some months later, I would have a eueaka moment when I used a mil-spec sling.  It was "Oh that's how it goes!" )  I was shooting decent groups struggling to understand sling technique.  My wife, already a competent shooter was improving steadily.  My son struggled with equipment issues, the 552 started jamming so he switched to the AR with the converter.  We later discovered that the conversions commonly lack the accuracy (4MOA) necessary for Appleseed. It had some feeding isuues at first too.  For him it would be a frustrating weekend.  Learning NPOA (Natural Point Of Aim) was the key to my weekend.  I was not a bad shot to start with.  NPOA brought my repeat shots to the same place,  Groups got smaller.  We ended the day with our first AQT followed with a Redcoat target.  A few fliers kept me from the necessary score.
A good nights sleep and Ibuprofen prepared us for the second day and I opened with a clean Redcoat target, a good omen.  Later in the morning as I approached Doug, the senior instructor with a target to be scored he asked me "Do you know what I see? I think I see a Rifleman score."  When he had a chance to score the target a bit later, I discovered I had scored 216, indeed scoring Rifleman.  I would manage to do so again a few more times that day.  My wife was tightening her groups through the morning, then when it looked like she too would score Rifleman, her scores fell off and her groups opened up.  It was a mystery right up until her scope fell off her rifle.   There would not be enough time left for her to sight in again once it was reattached.  Her Second Appleseed would be her first Rifleman score instead.  My son would be on a borrowed Ruger 10/22 with  only limited success.
It was more than shooting, there was history too.  I am a history nut.  I was hooked.

Better than a Brady candle

Wonderings

We tried to grow pumpkins this year. We failed. Planted two different times in 2 different places and both sets of plants died. So how did we get pumpkins? The compost heap with seeds that must have been from last years halloween Jack-o-lantern grew them for us. I harvested one in August and one in October. Another unexpected blessing. Thank you, God, for this blessing.

Simple joys, gifts from God

Many years ago, I let the top of a pineapple sit in my compost pile and take root. There was no way it would survive a Virginia winter so I transplanted it into a pot and brought it inside. It lasted several years and one day my "foliage" plant had a baby pineapple on it! We watched it for many months and it grew a 5 inch or so pineapple. When it appeared ripe, we harvested it and rooted that top and tried again. The pineapple was tasty but rather small. The top became another foliage plant. I think it died as a result of being overturned by rampaging cats. Fast forward a few years and we buy another pineapple to eat and the top goes to the compost pile. Try again? Sure, why not? It helped keep our spirits up during a much snowier than usual winter, perched in our front window and around February we noticed that it was bearing fruit that had lovely purple flowers all around it. Today after enjoying watching the pineapple grow and produce a pineapple that reached almost market size, I decided that it was ready. In the last week it had gone from a rich dark green to a lovely golden yellow. Knife in hand, I cut it and trimmed the "slips" that accompanied it from the plant. Taken in to the cutting board I trimmed the top and the bottom, shaved down the sides and cleaned it up. that heart filled a quart storage bag. Before I popped it into the fridge, I took one small slice from the bottom. I like pineapple, I thought I had had good pineapple before. I have never had pineapple this good before! Truly a gift from God. A very simple pleasure, most unexpected. Thank you, God.

Why in the world was your first purchase a .300 Winchester Magnum?

Once upon a time I had a friend who had dream of Black Bear hunting. He owned 2 rifles, a replica of the Springfield Armory 1873 Trapdoor Carbine in .45-70 and an abused war trophy 7.7 Arisaka. In this dream a friend would back him up with the Arisaka as he took the bear with the .45-70, as the .45-70 Trapdoor is a single shot weapon. I was elected to be the friend but I found the Arisaka to be junk and unsuitable to rapid aiming and firing necessary to back up such a hunt. I studied balistics tables and decided .300 Winchester Magnum shot very flat and had plenty of energy for eastern Black Bear. As would have it, A and P Arms (local gun shop of the day) had a Ruger Model 77 in the desired caliber of .300 Winchester Magnum. So I, being capable of such purchase at the time (several hundred dollars) bought it and took it home. A trip to Best Products added the Bushnel Banner riflescope 4-12 x50mm. Once we got it on the range and tweaked in, it shot postage stamp groups at 100yards. I still have that rifle and treasure it and the fact that it was the 1976 version stamped on the barrel "Made in the 200th year of American Liberty" makes it extra special. Oh, that bear hunt? We never did go. As it turned out I would much rather punch paper than shoot critters so in the long run that was for the best too.

How did I get here?

In a Galaxy far, far away......Nah, it has been done before and undoubtedly better. I have always liked weapons. Almost any kind, guns , knives , swords, bows, and many more exotic things. I have always been interested in how to make them work and how the introduction of new or different weapons could change the course of a battle on the battle field. I grew up in the 60s watching Combat, and Rawhide, and Rescue 8, and Dragnet and Maverick, and Have Gun, Will Travel. Guns factored heavily in my entertainment. We had no guns in our house, in the suburbs. My father owned a shotgun (a .410 bore side by side) that was kept at his parents house in the country. He carried it for snakes when we went stomping around my parents acreage in North Carolina. My brothers had no interest in it and I was the youngest so shooting it just did not happen. When racial strife hit North Carolina my Grandfather decided he needed a gun and purchased a .22 caliber rifle, the Remington 552 Speedmaster. On future visits to the "country" I would get to experience it. We went out behind the farm house and had to be sure of our direction of fire. There were neighbors "over there" and these bullets "can go a mile". I think my first targets were wooden blocks and tin cans shot from perhaps 20 feet. POW! POW! POW! I do not remember wearing hearing protection, since there was none in the family until I purchased some in my teenage years, I doubt we had any to use. I am pretty sure we used .22Longs. The 552 is fairly unique in that it feeds Shorts, Longs and Long Rifles. I imagine that we fired less than 30 rounds, but, I HAD FIRED A GUN!!!!!!!!! Other visits would get more shooting in but it remained rare and special. After my Grandfather died and I had friends at home, who shot, and places we could shoot, the Remington became mine. Many hundreds of rounds of ammo from Kmart went through it. It shot well, we plinked and had fun. Some of the most fun times that I recall from my teens and 20s included that rifle in my hand. My friends led me to handguns. One friend acquired a Ruger Mark 1 and another a Ruger Single Six. More handguns were added to our "shooting club", A Colt .45 ACP (Now I would call it a 1911) and a Dan Wesson .357 Magnum. I made my first rifle purchase a Ruger Model 77 in .300 Winchester Magnum. Other folks joined the "club" bringing Black Powder rifles and pistols and more rifles and shotguns came with them. I would not purchase my first pistol until I was in my 50s but I had owned one that was a gift for more than 20 years. Early in my marriage, I took my wife shooting at the Carolina property. .22, 12Gauge and .38 Special were expended. She shot well but firearms were not of much interest to her. in the intervening years we raised a family. When my youngest was about 12 I took them all to the range. It was the start of my reawakening. I had missed shooting. I had missed those people who shoot. I was back among them to stay.

Ammo tests

Tried a few kinds of ammo over the past weekend. In the wife's .40S&W we tried Gold Dot hollowpoints and all functioned well. Then for giggles we tried the CCI shot shells. Good news and bad: they fire fine, they do not cycle. The shells do not attempt to extract. You will have to fully rack the slide to clear them out. They do have no trouble loading. I remember trying them in my .45 and they worked flawlessly, no issues no failures. I did try my new Corbon DPX 185Grn +P solid copper hollow points in the .45 and it did not notice that I had changed ammo. It felt no worse than 230Grn hardball at standard pressure. I mix rounds in the mag when testing so it cycles into and away from the round in question without "wasting" large quantities of expensive and sometimes scarce defensive ammo. My wife reaquainted herself with the .45. She shot well but loves her .40

An anthem for the Tea Party.

Thank you Krista Branch. The movement has an anthem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0heL2Czeraw

Appleseed Project

Well the weekend arrived: time to do Appleseed. The program is rifle shooting and history of the American concept of the "Rifleman". Much good information was dispenced and my shooting did improve. I cannot reccommend Appleseed more highly. Listen to the instructors. Follow the instructions. Learn the concept of "Natural Point of Aim". Learn the proper use of the rifle sling. Watch your targets get better. Spend 2 days with great people, make new friends. We went as a family, wife, son and self. Wife is ready to go again, there will be another one in a few months. Son had a litany of ongoing equipment issues. We provided him with the wrong rifle and the "spares" had loose scopes and other problems. Moral of the story, be sure your equipment is ready for a tough couple of days. Wife's rifle scope came loose also to the detriment of her scores. Even on a .22LR rifle the vibration is significant after 300 rounds or so. I, against suggestion from the instructors, used a bolt action rifle, my new CZ452FS in .22WMR. It does not shoot as fast as an auto loader but the action is smooth and the accuracy was impressive. With it, I regularly hit my targets and kept my groups small. A couple of folks were using ARs in 5.56mm, one gentleman was using a M1A in 7.62mm (loud) and one other was shooting a bolt gun in .22-250. Most used .22LR to keep costs down. 300-350 rounds of .22LR can cost as little as $11.00- $12.00 using bulk from Wally World. My .22WMR cost probably $30.00 or so to feed. The ARs had to cost more. Stick with cheap rimfire. The lessons translate well to heavier arms.

After the shoot we applied several lessons to our shooting. We added a cheekpeice to both my rifle and the Mossberg that the wife is using. Ordered several milspec rifle slings, tuned the scopes for correct eye relief and trued the point of aim. Both her rifle and mine shoot better than they did. The cheekpeice makes a reproducible shooting position easier. Both are now cranking out ragged quarter sized holes with great consistency. Wife has plans for that "Rifleman" patch next time. I think she will be getting one her skill and equipment seem to be ready.

Latest Range Report

Finally got to shoot the new rifle. The CZ452 in .22WMR is SWEET!!!!!!!!. Shoots like a dream and once tweaked in, drills a single hole at 25yards. For the upcoming Appleseed it should do nicely. The Wife's Ruger P944 (.40S&W) shoots well too.

Newborn Blogger

Well, world, I have arrived. Now you have to put up with my thoughts, once contained in only my head and conversations, being out in the open for the world to see. I will undoubtedly write some things that are "politically incorrect" or in some other way disagreeable. Get over it. I promise to not post something that I do not belive in with the exception of SATIRE and SARCHASM. If you do not handle satire and sarchasm, leave now you are in the wrong place.