Clubbin'

My Labor is $0 An Hour For Hobbies

Since I've been upgrading my Star Wars Lego fighters lately...

My B-Wing (7180) really shows its age.

75050 is more in keeping with the style of the other sets I'm displaying, but it's become a collector's item.

Then it hit me.

Lego is interchangeable.

Lego also publishes the instructions with parts list online.

So instead of nearly $300 for a complete, sealed, set.  Just over $100 including the pilot, who is the only non-standard part in the kit.  But it takes about two hours to enter all those part numbers into Brick-Owl's system and check out of the various vendors stores.

Doing a quick re-watch of Jedi surprised me.  The B-Wing is much smaller than I remembered.  It's about the same width as a X-Wing.

It'd Be My fault

I found this on Gunbroker.

It's been refinished, but still a neat piece.

I worry at how this will affect Willard since it's my fault he's got .45 Colt on his radar at all.

Ian did a vid on them too.

Also The Moon

 

Stuff You Can See From Your Back Yard In Florida

 

Musk put another constellation of Starlink satellites up and I took a couple of pics.

I continue to be impressed with the Canon M50!  I manually focused to prevent it hunting and let the auto-mode run the exposure and ISO.

Marv described what we could see naked-eye as a reddish dot.

Wow

So many people have moved to Florida, they've brought another Representative with them.

It's happened before.

When I moved here in 1997, there were just 23 Representatives.

Then the 2000 Census moved two seats from New York.

Then the 2010 Census moved two seats from New York.

Now the 2020 Census has moved another seat from New York.

We're up to 28!  They're down to 26 from 31 when I moved here.

I wonder if we're going to be hearing about essential Florida is for the vital health of the nation, as we did in 1998 when NY was that much more powerful in The House.

I have noticed that many former New Yorkers are toning it way down on the, "things were better back home," because they're a lot more likely to get a, "then go the fuck back!" now than they were.

As a former Iowan, there's things I miss about "home", but they're small things and I'm doing fine without them.

Amazing

As flighty as I can be at times...

There's stuff I remember that sticks.

There's a few items here and there where I remember who said what and when and it gets held until an appropriate moment to spit it back.

A spat I had with Miggy a while back had him dismissing what I was saying because I was quoting "some guy on the internet".

MiamiJBT from Arfcom was who I was quoting.

Well, MiamiJBT has morphed into Luis Valdes of Florida Gunowners of America.

Suddenly he's sanctified by being GOA's voice in Tallahassee and no longer just some dude.

By his own admission, he's not really doing anything different than he would be without GOA on his business card.

He's also the first person who reported what Marion was doing to us way back when open carry and campus carry got amended on the floor with the very same poison pill amendments rejected in committee.

But, hey, he's official now!

Layers Of Fact Checking

 

It checks out.  CBSN hates us and thinks we suck too.

Restructering

I went through the bent portion of the "wings" on the TIE/i.

They look exactly the same, but freed of the requirement to only use the parts included in 75211 they have about 10 fewer bricks and are both stronger and lighter now.

Refinement

Tweaking on the TIE Interceptor continues.

Today I made the front of the center section narrower, going from 6 to 4 studs, making it better match photos of the ILM models.

I know the changes are subtle, but it's a lot of fun trying to make it more accurate to its actual appearance in the films.

Finally Read It

I have finally bought a copy of a collection that has The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin.

It's a story that I'd heard of and read about but had never actually read.

It's pretty much everything I've read about it too.

Excellent piece of work, deserving of its reputation.

Same Day Installation

New water heater is installed!

Happy dance!

Something I thought interesting was the 14-year-old "General Electric" unit was also made by Rheem.

We did have an "Uhhhhhh" moment when we gave it power.  No popping, no hissing, no sound at all.

That's a new one for me and hot water heaters.

The water gets hot like it's supposed to, so I'm OK with silent.

The Future Is Kinda Neat

Since I have to have the garage open to drain the water heater, I am sitting out here.

No, I don't entirely trust my neighbors, why do you ask?

But the fact that I CAN sit out here on my laptop on a folding table and chair is very cool.

The brutal heat of Florida isn't here yet, so it's even tolerable, especially since I have a nice cross-breeze from the side door being open with the garage door.

This Surely Appears To Be Something

Linky for source.

20-843 NEW YORK STATE RIFLE, ET AL. V. CORLETT, KEITH M., ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to the following question: Whether the State's denial of petitioners' applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense violated the Second Amendment.

Sounds like this could mean shall issue becomes national.

Braced for extremely limited ruling that barely does anything and is widely ignored by the lower courts anyway.

Why On Earth Would I Be Popular There

I am suddenly looking at a trebling of traffic from normal and it's all coming from readers in Sweden.

Sweden?

What on Earth am I writing that they're so eager to read?

I really don't know.

I'll try to keep it up!

PS: They all seem to be using Firefox on Macs.

Drip Drip Drip Drip

We have a leak at the lower heater element on our 14 year old water heater.

It's been a good run, time for a new one.

Since we installed this one, I think we can manage the replacement.

Just Keep Tinkering

One nice thing about Lego is the ability to remove and add until you're happy with the results.

I think I'm finally satisfied.

Don't Use Your Work Addy

When making a political donation, don't use the email address provided by your employer.

The legal department, over and over, warns that employees using the work email address could be interpreted as the company taking a political stance which could affect business and relationships with vendors.

If your employer is a government entity, which is supposed to be apolitical, then using your work email can been seen as the governmental entity you work for as choosing sides in a political debate.

In either case, you're likely to be fired over using the wrong email address as a violation of policy.

A policy that you are unlikely to be unaware of.

It wasn't your donation that has you looking for a job, it was that policy.

I Don't Understand

Why is it that so many sellers on GunBroker have a no C&R policy?

CMP did the same thing with the M1911's.

What makes a cruffler unclean but a local pawn shop sanctified?

There's An Explanation But It's Considered Racist

 Check out this excerpt at NotTheBee.

I bought the Kindle edition.

Joe's Missing The Point

President Biden is under the impression that he can grant us permission to celebrate Independence Day.

I'm of the opinion that if you're looking to a government, or elected official for permission to enjoy the 4th of July you're missing the entire point of the day.

I seriously doubt that anyone will try to stop us from celebrating.

Nobody did last year.

But that was then...

Greeble And Structurally Better

Update: Changed the greeble for looks.

 Updated the wing structure to be much less floppy and prone to fall-apart.

I also took the time to make the center section greeble better!

Compare to the interim design...

...and the beginning...

Maybe I'm Blind

I keep looking for the section of our new anti-riot bill which grants civil immunity for running down rioters with my car.

I can't find it.

If I'm just missing it, can someone quote the relevant section?

But if it isn't there at all, shouldn't the press stop claiming it is?

Damn My Eyes!

The flaky idea of going up to Talladega has been torpedoed by a quick check on Talladega Motor Speedway's schedule...

General Tire 200, Ag-Pro 300 on Sat, and Geico 500 on Sunday.

That made prices at the nearby hotels triple.

There's not many realistic options that don't involve a hotel stay.

Have to keep an eye on the stock of 1903A3's at the CMP Forums, Willard's terms for buying back Catherine are too steep.

Oh Baby

I've long held that the Soviet PKM was entirely too good a design.

Its only real rival in NATO was the FN MAG-58.

Poland has made a new variation of the PKM in 7.62 NATO, the UKM 2020.

I really like Polish small arms and it's a pity that a UKM will never be in my collection.

Just A Nine Hour Drive

The CMP Talladega store is a mere 560 miles away.

According to one source, there's Garands aplenty, some 1903A3 and M1917 sitting there.

I happen to have the proper credentials in order.

8 Garands and one bolt gun per calendar year...

Hmmmmmmmmm...

With The Boy doing Special Olympics I'm free all weekend too!

I've regretted selling my M1903A3 with a story attached since I did it and it was all from an idiotic idea that I would be getting out of .30-06.

Except For It Actually Happening Your Theory Disproving It Is Spot On

Since I've made my niche being the asshole, here we go...

Mr Chomps, at the battle of the BTR-152, shot dead the three crewmen in the vehicle.

He used a pistol chambered in .45 ACP, made three head shots and the ball ammunition punched the Soviet made steel helmets to do it.

"But what were your split times?" I asked.

"Didn't the RO asking, 'shooter ready?' and the 'MEEP' of the timer alert the crew of the vehicle?"

Mr Chomps facial expression to my questions is hilarious.

His training on a pistol, to that point, had been the standard US Army course in the M1911A1 for officers and his personal interest in going shooting because it's fun.

No 2,000 round endurance test of his Colt Commander either.

So I ask the instructorati: Have you ever, real life, applied the skills you're teaching?

Because we keep looking up gun writers and trainers and keep finding that the answer is a resounding NO most of the time.

They might be taking notes from actual engagements by others, but they've no real life experience in the subject and deign to lecture someone who's actually been there and done that.

By the way, it wasn't the training that got Mr Chomps through that day.  It's the fact that he's a remorseless killer who can make the decision to kill that guy over there.  That's not easy to train for and would in all likelihood get your ass in court over what you're trying to teach.

Because if you're actually serious about this self defense shit, you have to be in the mindset that you're going to have to kill some person to successfully defend yourself or your home.

How many rounds of 9mm is that?  Will I learn it faster using expensive hollow-points or cheap ball?  What split time before it becomes second nature?  Is there an NRA certification?

Speaking Of The Heat

A friend of mine once got convinced to come out from Arizona to Orlando to pay homage to The Mouse.

Don't have kids, they lead to stupid decisions.

Like DisneyWorld in July.

I warned him about the heat.

He assured me that he knew from heat, living in Phoenix and all.

I said the trite old adage, "you don't know shit about humidity."

Well, he nearly had heatstroke from not being familiar with the difference between a dry heat and a wet one.  The signals his body was sending him didn't communicate the message because he didn't have a frame of reference to recognize it for what it was.

Happily, all's well that ends well and once he got cooled off and re-hydrated he was all better.

Battle Rattle

Having been informed that I am not serious about self defense, by the people selling seriousness...

THEY are not serious about self defense either.

Where's your soft body armor?

You never mentioned a means of communicating farther than you can shout?

No buddy to cover your back?

Remember, we're being serious here.

Not casual.

Dedicating our entire being to being prepared to fight to the death to save our very lives to the exclusion of all other considerations.

Come to think on it, why are you outside your bunker?

Why do you even own a car that's less protected than an MRAP?

This planet, by the way, is perilously close to an asteroid field.

Considering that you already know your most likely assailant's name, maybe you should think of getting different acquaintances that you think you need the stuff you keep insisting that everyone lug around.

While we on this topic.  Two of the items on the list can only be used legally in Florida when it's legal to kill someone to stop them.  I looked it up.

I am constantly amused at the advice given from the upper midwest about what to carry and how to carry it when such means are a short trip to heat stroke here in the summer.

I think, perhaps, that some people need to get out more.

The Grips

Willard, summoned, he comes with his model 29 as ordered.

"Model 29?  Do you think you can summon me and have me show up with a specified gun?  You will settle for a model 27 and LIKE it!" 

-W. Fleetwood.

They fit beautifully on this 27-2.

They also are not the same as a K-Frame.

In fact, they fit Willard's 27 so well he tossed cash at me on the spot.

Sorry, JRG and Slow Joe.

Conversations

All across America, a conversation is taking place.

It's taking place quietly and in near secrecy.

The topic does not bode well for a certain segment of society unless they can manage to chill the fuck out in a very rapid order really goddamn soon.

That the conversations are taking place is very significant.

Such conversations start seeking justice after being treated unfairly, but have led to genocide.

It's important to remember that pre-Victoria, genocide was Western Civ's go-to for dealing with peoples who would not be assimilated.

Consider this my Cassandra moment for the year.

That's A Lot Of Dairy

In honor of 4-20 many places are talking about The Big Lebowski.

From this I have learned of The Lebowski Challenge.

Every time The Dude imbibes a white Russian, you do too!  Same for toking a joint.

Someone has done the "hard" work of counting the number of drinks you're slamming in less than two hours.

12 white Russians and 3 joints.

That's Rick Sanchez levels of liver abuse.

Who Was It Who Wanted These?

K-frame, square-butt, no-diamond, magna style.

And Slow Jow Crow in the comments said, "Are no diamond grips period correct for a Model 10-7? My grips are trashed so I might be able to help. Also considering the finish on my reimported police trade in Altamont grips would be chrome rims on a hoopti."

This style grip is still being used to this very day and would be just fine on a 10-7! 

UPDATE: I suspect that these aren't for a K frame.  I put them on the Model 15 and they sit proud of the metal all around the grip frame.

There's an 'N' embossed in the right side grip too.

These might be for an N-frame.  Need to get Willard's 29 back over here to see if they fit that.

Wrenching Is Often No Fun At All

It was easier when I was younger and in better shape.  Ain't that the story of getting old?  Getting old ain't for sissies.

It's good to know that I still CAN wrench when I need to.

With all the troubles we had with this, a shop would have been doing the, "well it took us longer than we thought..." and the $110 repair with my own (plus Marv and JT) sweat would have been a lot more.

Like $700 more if the typical shop took as long as we did.

PS: if you have a newer car rocking the OBD2 get a BlueDriver dongle.  It was instrumental in determining which wheel sensor had died.

That Was Harder Than It Needed To Be

Did one of the rear bearing hubs on Moxie today.

It'd been making noise since Halloween, so it was due, but on Friday something inside began affecting the wheel speed sensor and THAT forced me to cut short an enjoyable day goofing off with Willard.

Traction control and ABS codes galore!

Once again with a wheel hub I have to take umbrage with GM for putting the bolts where you cannot readily get at them and slathering them with enough red loctite to hold a battleship suspended in mid-air.

Oh, and you can really only get at two of them from the bottom and snake in extensions.  Like 18" of extensions.

Once you get all the slack taken out of all the extensions and the universal joint... you've used 1/4 turn.  Then I only get another 1/4 turn because I can't get the back end high enough with a floor jack to clear the ground with my breaker bar.

Happily, Marv has an indestructible 1/2" ratchet that he got when he left the Army.  8" of pipe on that thing and we could take the slack out, back up a 1/4 turn and still get a full 180° turn before hitting the gas tank.

So half a turn at a time doing chin-ups on the ratchet because rust and loctite had bonded the bolts but good.  Never mind the galvanic reaction going on down there from the steel parts against the aluminum knuckle.

It took from around 1pm to near 6pm to get it all apart.  Then from 7:30 to 8 to get it back together.

It didn't fight being put back.

Rig For Red

The Lovely Harvey finally completed a project that I'd started years ago...

She'd bought me these on incandescent strings a long while ago, but the bulbs started dying and they weren't readily replaceable.

So I bought LED strings.  They were not the same size and the standards for the bulb holders between incandescent and LED are not even remotely the same.

She discovered that there was a cap you could unscrew and that let her use hot-melt glue to attach the little Corvette logos to the lights!

HUZZAH!!!

No Legal Application?

Reading this article on the proposed ban on suppressors...

A quote from Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ 12) stands out, "hey have no legal application, which is why law enforcement officials around the country have been calling for their elimination.

No legal application?

Well, they're not illegal to own if you've bothered with the tedious, but simple, process of getting a tax-stamp in most states.

So simply owning one and admiring it is a legal application in 42 states.

Mounting one to a firearm and shooting at the range is a legal application in those same 42 states.

Mounting one to a firearm and going hunting is a legal application in 34 states.

Maybe the perspective from one of the 8 states which bans the ownership of suppressors has warped them.

Perhaps the problem is really with illegally owned suppressors?  I guarantee you that if legally owned suppressors were a problem we'd be hearing from the usual anti-gun suspects about how the process of obtaining one is entirely too easy and should be made harder.  Well... they do that anyway, but generally get laughed at for it.

For the fucking record, I don't give a rat's ass what law enforcement officials want.  They get what I decide they get.  They are our employees and they get told by their employers what their job is.

And when they decide I shouldn't own something that I've a right to own, then I fire them.  The local sheriff pivoted hard on this very issue just before 41P went down.  There were a couple of serious primary contenders running on being a bit more NFA friendly than he was.

Fixed

My TIE Interceptor is officially a MOC (my own creation).

The center section of the wings was entirely too long from the tutorial that used only parts from 75211.

I have MANY more Lego than that and shortened them to where they belonged and put the roundels where they belonged too, instead of too far forward.

Also shown are Lego's only two official TIE Interceptor releases to date; kits 6206 and 75031.

Godspeed Twiki

Felix Silla, noted character actor, has passed on from pancreatic cancer.

He was in just about everything a kid like me of my age watched.

Also of note:  Married to the same woman for 55 years.  We have no idea about his politics.

Those two points put him head and shoulders above most other dancing monkeys burning oxygen to no good end.

Today I Learned

That "heavy, gets hot and kicks hard" means cannot be fired accurately from the shoulder.

I guess I need the Gun Writer's edition of Roget's.

Free TIE Fighter With Every Mimban Stormtrooper

See this guy?

This is one of four minifigs that came with set 75211.  The Star Wars movie "Solo" has a brief segment where these stormtroopers are seen.  In addition to the camo, they've got a stirnpanzer style extra plate on the brow of their helmet.

I paid, new in store, $70 for my first 75211.  The one I turned into an interceptor was $140 shipped from Hungary.

They both came with that stormtrooper.  75211 is the only appearance for this figure.

That minifig is averaging $85 on ebay.

Minifigs collecting is a thing and the collectors are serious.

OG TIE Collection

Lego set 75211 appears to be the pinnacle of the TIE fighter for form relative to the minifig and play size.

It was rather expensive when it was in stores.

I'd long hoped that Lego would make a TIE Interceptor in this size and style, they had before when TIE's were blue and black.

Sadly, they've gone to a "chibi" proportioned style lately, so even if they do make a new interceptor, it won't match the one from 75211.

Happily, you can make an interceptor with virtually no extra parts.

The only part missing from the original kit was the four guns at the tips of the "wings".

Also shown is Darth's TIE Advanced from the original movie, this is from Lego kit 75150.

No More Light

Went down to PowerTech Performance in St Pete and had them flash the BCM with the SDM ID.

It took less than five minutes, but the job is finally finished.

I've only been staring at it for three years...

Not being able to find the official procedure for repairing the shitty connector will do that.

Originally I was trying to find the pigtails for the original connector.  Because airbag, they don't seem to be available.

But I kept reading about the repair TSB, which eluded me for a long time.

I mentioned finding it and applying it the other day.

Are These Really Myths?

 Five Gun Law Myths That Can Land You In Jail

Reading the transcript it should be titled, "Five Gun Law Myths That Can Land You In Jail In New Jersey."

Or, "Five Specific Examples That Can Land You In Jail In New Jersey."

Or, "A short list of reasons to never enter the Gods Foresaken Hellscape of The Garden State."

I Agree

Don't make tasers look like guns.

It's Murphy.

If a gun can be mistaken for a taser, a gun will be mistaken for a taser.

And they have been.

But I cannot help but think:

We didn't have all these problems with dead suspects when cops were burly men with nightsticks.

I know we pivoted away from nightsticks after Rodney King and the LA Riots BUT:

Rodney didn't die.

We still have riots from the Rodney's of the world interacting with the police.

What have we gained?

A Spanish Phrase Sums Up A Most American Concept

¡Sin trabajo, sin dinero!

Hillsborough County Florida schools are looking to clip 1,000 positions.

I notice that they imply that those positions are all teaching jobs.

I also remember how hard the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association fought to prevent students from returning to classes, yet also retain full pay for their teachers.

¡Sin trabajo, sin dinero!

Well, you succeeded in keeping things shut down as long as you could and it's splashed back on you.  Congratulations!

I've long since lost all sympathy for the plight of public school teachers.

Pay and benefits for teachers are excellent, even if the pay alone seems lower than you'd expect for a college educated person.  No contribution, no out of pocket healthcare?  No contribution, 100% salary pension after 20?  Take a 20% pay cut compared to your classmates from college?

Yeah, sign me up.

Preferences in loans and interest rates?  Everyone forgets this.

Lots of teacher discounts at eateries and bars.

Yet... the budgets are going up faster than inflation, more staff is being hired, classrooms sizes are going down.

Scores are stagnant.

Even all that I could forgive.

But since the public school teacher is the nexus point where children get their very first dose of woke...

Fuck each and every one of them with something sharp and dirty.

You Know

Bernie, I know the very idea of how Mr Musk got rich is alien to the way YOU got rich.

I've got a suggestion for EVERY multi-millionaire socialist out there who want to tax unto oblivion millionaires who've actually earned their fortunes:

Why don't you spend your own damn money on these social programs you're advocating?

I know that you aren't because you not only own more property than I do, but my entire net worth couldn't rent your garage for a month.

I tell you, nothing disgusts me more than a rich socialist.  Not even a child molester is so low.

Real SEAL Response

I shared my pic of my XM177E2 clone and the S&W 15 to Arfcom and got an interesting reply,

Each guy was still issued a stainless model 686 in the early 90's when I first got to the Teams.  Thank God they got rid of them!  The intention was that they were stainless and more resistant to corrosion.  

Down side was the geniuses in charge of acquisitions had no idea the level of asspain cleaning them was after being submerged in salt water (think side-plate removal for 16 Frogs just to get back in the water on a dive the next night) was compared to just rinsing and cleaning a P226. 

-AZ5326X2

Thinking about it, ayup.  There's so much more that's inaccessible in a revolver than a semi-auto.

Got The Codes Cleared

JT found 32 (!) stored codes on The Precious!

He cleared them and the light, briefly, went out.

Then came back on when I restarted the car.

Down to one code.

B1001.

This code sets when:

• The last 4 digits of the SDM (sensing and diagnostic module) part number does not match the last 4 digits stored in the BCM (body control module).
• The VIN stored in the BCM does not match that of the vehicle.

Yes, but what does that mean?

The diagnostics aid says, "This DTC is an indication that an incorrect SDM is installed in the vehicle, or that the SDM and/or the BCM were replaced without reprogramming the BCM with the new information."

DING!

This connector has been faulty for a good long time.  It's very likely that the SDM wasn't communicating when I had the BCM replaced and, thus, didn't get its number recorded during the BCM set up.

I feel better now!

Now I just need to find someone with a full Tech-2 and subscription to flash the SDM's information and all will be well.

Disappointed

Replaced the connector for the driver's seat airbag and seat-belt pretensioner on The Precious.

The light is still on and the service manual says it probably shouldn't be; but we've seen situations where you have to use the Tech-2 to clear the code before it clears despite the assurances of the book.

What Gun For Ants

 

I am not sure what gun is appropriate here, but I'm pretty sure that a snubby .38 isn't enough for Them.

I do know; I'd have my whatever gun I had out and shooting...  What have I to gain by saving ammo here?

Early Reports

I am coming to the idea that if the defense in a trial can use the evidence as presented by the prosecutor as their defense...

The defendant should never have been charged.

Sold Out

The Mosin-Crate apparently got in a shipment of FEG Hi-Powers.

They sold out in four days with a $399 price point.

He had about 60, as indicated in the vid.

I wonder if Tisas is up to speed with their clone yet.

It's How Things Work

Mr Willard is the generous benefactor who got me the center diamond style magna stocks for my Model 15.

After, of course, I'd put in a bid on some correct-for-the-gun-but-not-for-the-period no diamond stocks on ebay.

If he had not given me the diamond grips, I would have been outbid and had to keep dealing with the too-narrow, too-square "Smith & Wesson Factory Grips S&W K, L-Frame Square Butt Checkered Dymondwood" I got from Midway.

Since he did, I won the auction and will have a set of no-diamond stocks for a K frame without a K frame to put them on.

THIS IS DANGEROUS!  A Model 19 is a K frame...  I don't have a service size .357...

WHY GODS WHY!?!

Little Details

Finally got a genuine Peanut Butter Pietro Beretta magazine for my 1951.

Got an issue lanyard for it too!  Man, that's a shitty quality lanyard.

The pistol itself was an Israeli police gun once upon a time and I've seen pics of them using that self-same shitty lanyard.  Go figure.

The PB marked mag is a definite step up from the, by all appearances, Triple-K brand ones that came with the gun.

A Well Regulated Uterus

You can do something with your "more regulated than firearms" uterus that you can't do with a gun...

Keep it with you when you go to jail.

The Curse Of The SEALs In Vietnam Playtest

The XM177E2 clone is a genuine, registered short-barrel rifle.

The Model 15-3 has diamond magna grips to make it a clone of a period correct Model 15-2.

I have both of these guns because I'm a tactile type and became fascinated with them during my tenure a s a playtester for GURPS: SEALs in Vietnam.

Update: Bonus Pic!

Old Guns Modern Cartridge

 

EMF Hartford clone of a Winchester Model 1892 and a Taylor's Outlaw Legacy in .357 Magnum as befits a brace for The Lovely Harvey.

The lever wrap is a work in progress...

1873 Brace

 

An impossible combination historically.  The Winchester 1873 didn't get chambered for .45 Colt for a variety of reasons until very recently.

While both are models of 1873, the revolver is more appropriately from 1898 after being refurbished at Springfield National Armory.

Wee "Big" Game Hunter

 Savage 93F, Ruger Single-Six and NAA .22 Mag in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire.

By That Standard...

In the sidebar someone made an equivalence so false as to make Venezuelans the same as Mexicans because they're both Hispanic.

An equivalence which would surely piss off the person who made the original error.

I'm being deliberately vague because I really don't want to find all the references needed to fully back my assertion as would be required by commenters.

Est-Ce Une Pipe Ou Pas?

 

It's an age old question.

One might even say it's a treacherous question.

Then, once you've answered: Is my picture art?

Time Travelers Take Note

 

An M1881 holster altered to accept a .45 Colt New Service will also accept a S&W Model 29.

Plus, when your supply of .44 Magnum runs out you can still pack .44 Special.

Ruger Ad

 

1957 made Ruger Standard.  Note, that's not Mark I or A100; neither was an official name for the first Ruger .22.  Though it makes sense to call it a Mark I because it was refined and modified and introduced as the Ruger Mark II... then III then IV...  The stocks are not stock, and were a pain to find because there's not a lot of support left for the old Standard, and starting with the A100 frame, the magazine follower button is on the other side making the wood incompatible.

1994 made Ruger 10/22 with factory Mannlicher style laminated stock.  The stock is slowly turning yellow-green with age.  It was nearly the color of the stainless when The Lovely Harvey bought it new.

Old Plinkers

 

Grampa's 1938 made Remington 341 Sportsmaster, I am the second owner.  He was a farm-hand for many years and shooting rats in the grain bins brought a bonus to payday.

The Colt Challenger is a pawn-shop find that didn't have grips.  I adapted some aftermarket Woodsman stocks.

GOOD!

Alcee Hastings burns in Hell tonight.

That he had a political career after being impeached (and convicted) for bribery and perjury says all you need to know about the depths Democrats will plumb to put a butt in a seat.

Does DeSantis get to appoint a replacement?

Breathin' Free

Today my county administrators decided that we wouldn't have to wear masks anymore.

So I blatantly ignored...

Zero signs because every single business I went to had taken down their mask signs already.

Lucky Caliber

 

Ruger Totally-Not-A-Deerslayer "carbine" and a S&W Model 29-3 4" bbl.  With genuine S&W holster!

All .44 Magnum, all the time.

The Guns From Brazil

Rossi R92 carbine in .44 Mag/Spcl. and a Taurus 441 in .44 Special.

Neither Is Actually A Carbine...

Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine with an M1 Carbine out of Israel.

The M1 carbine isn't really a carbine because it's not the short version of a rifle.

This Is Not A Joinder

There's a part of me that wants to deck out the Equinox with all the sovereign citizen indicators so that when I get pulled over I can be totally cooperative with the officer and have all my proper paperwork in order.

They'd have to be braced for all manner of bullshit and to suddenly have a compliant and cheerful citizen surely would make their day.

Just helpin' to make your day a little more surreal, Officer.

Quote Of The Day

The reason we do not stand up to injustices by our government is that we know they can, and will, use deadly force in the end.  And as of YET no one has wanted to start a shooting war.

-Sumdood on Arfcom

As Often As I've Seen This

As often as I've seen trap shooters with their muzzles resting on their feet, I have to assume that they are willing to destroy their tootsies and are comfortable with the ground as a backstop.

On the other hand, if you want to avoid stigmata on one foot...  Read this!

Harder To Find Than Expected

The Cadillac XLR and C6 Corvette have a common ailment.

The airbag light will come on and stay on.

This is because the plug for the seat harness can be caught by the seat and the wires bent back and forth until they fail.

There's a service bulletin about this.

I've been looking for that bulletin for two years now.

I finally got the correct number from an absolutely buried thread on The Corvette Forum.

I've got the parts ordered.

Soon my light will be shut off.

Remember "Following Orders" Is Not A Positive Defense

Deferred Maintenance

Finally got around to putting a good scrub on the Kiv.39's chamber.

It had the typical "need a cheater pipe" hard to open after firing that's too stereotypical of the Mosin action.

Getting a good look at the chamber is not easy on a Mosin, but once I had the angle you could see a ring of black where the throat of the case was.

It was decades of lacquer accumulation.

Not horribly difficult to remove, but not something that would get much touched by the normal cleaning regimen.

The action cycles dummy rounds much easier now!  I even tried before and after cleaning to see if would have any effect.

Now I have yet another gun to drag to the range to see if it's running better after getting something changed.

There Is No Joy In Depression

When something goes wrong and you can't go hang with your friends and you happen to be having a depressive moment, you wonder if they are affected by your absence.

They, of course, don't go out of their way to say, "we sure missed you last night."

This leads to a self actualizing condition where you begin to think, "I couldn't make it and I wasn't missed, so no reason to bother going next time."

Social media tends to reinforce the idea when your friends post what a great time they're having.

So you implode and just don't bother getting dressed.  You log out of chat engines.  You put your phone in airplane mode.  You don't matter to them, so shutting off all these means of communication won't affect them because they aren't even going to try to use them.  Notice how clever this part is?  They CAN'T get hold of you to ask if you're OK and you use this as proof that they didn't ask as a justification to withdraw further.

Add in the double whammy of lack of sleep thanks to the wonders of recurring nightmares and you just barely drag your ass out of bed, go to Easter lunch, don't talk to anyone and crawl back into bed.

Where you wonder if your presence was even noticed or if your lack of interaction noted with sadness or gratitude.

6 Stages of DMing

Congrats Iowa!

Iowa is now the 19th state to pass Constitutional Carry into law.

I'm old enough to remember when it was called Vermont Carry, because that was the only state that didn't require some sort of "mother may I?" to tote a weapon.

They might not be the last state to do it this year either!

Florida has bills languishing in committee for Constitutional Carry, but there's scant hope of them making the floor thanks to RINO capture of the leadership in Tallahassee.

And They Require ID To Get On The Plane

Delta Airlines continues to charge rates for tickets which could make it harder for many Georgians, particularly those in our Black and Brown communities, to exercise their right to travel.

See how easy it is to make your, rational, decisions racist in the current paradigm, Ed?

By the way, Ed, you're white too.  So your decision to ID and charge black and brown people to fly on your planes is inherently racist and indicative of a systemic culture of racism at Delta Airlines.

By the way, what is the ethnic, racial and LGBT make up of your board?

It Just Hit Me

What's the procedure for when your guns age into C&R status?

Doesn't matter until you sell it?

I think I've already spotted a potential trap with purchasing a gun you don't realize is C&R because you're assuming it's not old enough and thus skipping entering it into your bound book.

C&R Keeps Creeping On

Checking my list of guns and I noticed that several of my guns have entered Curio and Relic status by becoming 50 years old.  Guns which weren't C&R when I got them.

That's 1971 and earlier now.

I've yet to own a gun from new that became C&R.  Twenty years to go on that Glock 21!

I've owned that pistol for thirty years?  Where did the time go?

Almost The Same

Willard snagged me himself a S&W Model 66-2 for me himself.

I was surprised to see how similar in size it is to a 640-3.

The J-frame is just a little smaller than the K-frame in pretty much every dimension, but only a little smaller.

But you need to add every millimeter to get that extra shot.