"Second, they described the victim as a "folk singer" and, really, who hasn't wanted to see one of those torn apart by wild dogs at some time in their life?"
Tam
30 October 2009
29 October 2009
Why 6.8?
Revelations 6:8 is "I looked, and there was a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death. Hell followed him. They were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals on the earth."
Revelations 6:5 is: "When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Go!" I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale."
You wanna be a lamb or Death?
Never Be Accused Of Not Bringing Enough Gun
Rosco S. Benson.
Weer'd started a meme based on this post! http://weerdbeard.livejournal.com/577728.html
28 October 2009
My Retros Baffle Me
I built Charlotte as a late production R604; when I got all the parts for Sabrina, I had an errant desire to make Sabrina as a GAU-5A/A. I took the slick-side upper from Charlotte and used that on Sabrina and used the A1 upper I had for Sabrina on Charlotte making her an M16A1 clone.
When I took them to be zeroed, Charlotte required no adjustments.
That stood for about a week and I decided that I really wanted an XM177E2 instead of a GAU-5A/A. So the uppers were swapped, returning Charlotte to her original configuration. Both barrel nuts ended up perfectly aligned with the initial torque-loosen-torque-loosen-torque. That never happens, let alone to two at the same session!
Today I zeroed them.
Sabrina needed no adjustments. Charlotte just three clicks down and two left.
My bafflement is passed on to the guy in the next lane. He was not having any luck getting his ACOG zeroed, or his irons or his laser. I was shooting with Sabrina at 100 yards and getting better groups than he was at 25. I helped him with his settings and he got all three things hitting about the same place.
When I took them to be zeroed, Charlotte required no adjustments.
That stood for about a week and I decided that I really wanted an XM177E2 instead of a GAU-5A/A. So the uppers were swapped, returning Charlotte to her original configuration. Both barrel nuts ended up perfectly aligned with the initial torque-loosen-torque-loosen-torque. That never happens, let alone to two at the same session!
Today I zeroed them.
Sabrina needed no adjustments. Charlotte just three clicks down and two left.
My bafflement is passed on to the guy in the next lane. He was not having any luck getting his ACOG zeroed, or his irons or his laser. I was shooting with Sabrina at 100 yards and getting better groups than he was at 25. I helped him with his settings and he got all three things hitting about the same place.
27 October 2009
Quote Of The Moment On The Republican Leadership
"Taking lessons in how to win elections from these guys is a lot like attending a seminar on how to win the World Series by the management of the Chicago Cubs." Mike at Cold Fury.
http://coldfury.com/wp/wp-trackback.php?p=19009
http://coldfury.com/wp/wp-trackback.php?p=19009
Rifle Cartridges
From L to R: .22 Long Rifle (1887); .357 Magnum (1934); 5.56x45mm (1963); 6.8x43mm SPC (2002); .303 British (1889/1910); .243 Winchester (1955); 7.62x54mmR (1891); 7.62x51mm NATO (1954); .30-06 (1906).
Literally spanning the entire history of rifle cartridge development.
Get off my lawn, indeed.
22 October 2009
Zoon
Just cause you don't understand what's going on don't mean it don't make no sense
And just cause you don't like it, don't mean it ain't no good
And let me tell you something;
Before you go taking a walk in my world
You better take a look at the real world
Cause this ain't no Mister Roger's Neighborhood
Can you say "feel like shit"?
Yea maybe sometimes I do feel like shit
I ain't happy 'bout it, but I'd rather feel like shit than be full of shit!
And if I offended you, oh I'm sorry...
But maybe you need to be offended
But here's my apology and one more thing...fuck you!
And just cause you don't like it, don't mean it ain't no good
And let me tell you something;
Before you go taking a walk in my world
You better take a look at the real world
Cause this ain't no Mister Roger's Neighborhood
Can you say "feel like shit"?
Yea maybe sometimes I do feel like shit
I ain't happy 'bout it, but I'd rather feel like shit than be full of shit!
And if I offended you, oh I'm sorry...
But maybe you need to be offended
But here's my apology and one more thing...fuck you!
On "Don't Ask Don't Tell"
I am not addressing the entire can of worms.
One clear objection a straight man can level against openly serving homosexual men is pretty much the same objection a straight female has with her straight male colleagues: "Don't wanna bunk with someone who wants to fuck me when I don't want to fuck them."
And we don't make straight male and female personnel bunk together, do we?
So, do we have the gay guys bunk with the straight girls? Now the gay guys have an objection, some of those girls are going to want them. And bunking the gay guys with the girls doesn't solve the gay guys wanting each other, or not. By the way, when I was 19 and was joining the Army, if they recruiter had told me I could bunk and shower with the girls, all I had to do was say I was gay, I would have put on a lisp and signed! Solve that problem Mr/Mrs/Ms/?? LGBT advocate!
The best bunking arrangement is where everyone in the bay doesn't want to have nookie with the others. At present, the only way to get that is sex segregation of heterosexuals.
P.S.
Openly gay men in the military has one huge advantage over mixed straight male/female troops: no pregnancy.
Excluding females from the ranks would be cheaper in a lot of ways, only one set of facilities, no worries about troops getting pregnant... But cheaper is not always better.
The Soviets had a simple solution for females getting preggers in a mixed unit, BANG!
One clear objection a straight man can level against openly serving homosexual men is pretty much the same objection a straight female has with her straight male colleagues: "Don't wanna bunk with someone who wants to fuck me when I don't want to fuck them."
And we don't make straight male and female personnel bunk together, do we?
So, do we have the gay guys bunk with the straight girls? Now the gay guys have an objection, some of those girls are going to want them. And bunking the gay guys with the girls doesn't solve the gay guys wanting each other, or not. By the way, when I was 19 and was joining the Army, if they recruiter had told me I could bunk and shower with the girls, all I had to do was say I was gay, I would have put on a lisp and signed! Solve that problem Mr/Mrs/Ms/?? LGBT advocate!
The best bunking arrangement is where everyone in the bay doesn't want to have nookie with the others. At present, the only way to get that is sex segregation of heterosexuals.
P.S.
Openly gay men in the military has one huge advantage over mixed straight male/female troops: no pregnancy.
Excluding females from the ranks would be cheaper in a lot of ways, only one set of facilities, no worries about troops getting pregnant... But cheaper is not always better.
The Soviets had a simple solution for females getting preggers in a mixed unit, BANG!
21 October 2009
SUCCESS!
I finally got the windage and range knobs on the Aimpoint 1000 free and working.
Took Dee to the range and got her zeroed in at 25 yards.
This is the confirmation target. All are ten shot groups, slow fire aimed at the center of each of the six squares. Notice the center left square.
If Orca Shitheel could see this, I'll bet he wishes he'd bought a gun cabinet...
The Lovely Harvey says, "Requiring him to have a gun cabinet that isn't glass and locks was not a big request with kids in the house. Doesn't matter anyway his wife won't have guns in the house. If you like guns why would you marry time after time women who despise them and forbid you to have one?"
Took Dee to the range and got her zeroed in at 25 yards.
This is the confirmation target. All are ten shot groups, slow fire aimed at the center of each of the six squares. Notice the center left square.
Vanity shot!
If Orca Shitheel could see this, I'll bet he wishes he'd bought a gun cabinet...
The Lovely Harvey says, "Requiring him to have a gun cabinet that isn't glass and locks was not a big request with kids in the house. Doesn't matter anyway his wife won't have guns in the house. If you like guns why would you marry time after time women who despise them and forbid you to have one?"
Idle Hands Are STILL The Devil's Gunsmithy
Sabrina is now the XM177E2 clone I originally set out to make. I swapped uppers with Charlotte.
Charlotte is returned to her original configuration as an R604 (Late) Clone.
I have now made a stereotypical gun from each of the 4 services. Sabrina being an Army XM177E2, Charlotte being an Air Force M16, Alice being a Marine M16A2 and Bubba's being a Navy M16A1. OK, I am reaching, but it's kinda neat anyway.
Charlotte is returned to her original configuration as an R604 (Late) Clone.
I have now made a stereotypical gun from each of the 4 services. Sabrina being an Army XM177E2, Charlotte being an Air Force M16, Alice being a Marine M16A2 and Bubba's being a Navy M16A1. OK, I am reaching, but it's kinda neat anyway.
19 October 2009
I Am Curious
Is there anything that the Southern Poverty Law Center disapproves of that they think is not caused by racism?
Ravenclaw Eric Commented Thus:
Not really, unless you count "anti-Semitism" as different. Basically, they're a money-making scheme that depends heavily on scaring rich, slightly aged, rather out-of-touch liberals with scary stories about the Klan, Neo-Nazis, skinheads and other eeeville racists marching down their street tomorrow...if you don't give generously!
It's one of the richest "charities" in the country, and specializes in going after people who can't really fight back---Tom Metzger of WAR, for example. Compared to the kind of legal talent that SPLC can deploy, almost any leader of a group they've targeted is seriously outgunned.
Even a lot of liberals have started having second thoughts about SPLC---the legal precedents they've set could easily be used against groups they like, and the way they blitzkrieg people who have no real effective way to fight back does not always set well, no matter how unpleasant SPLC's targets are.
18 October 2009
This Is Getting To Be Bullshit
The H&K suit against GSG and ATI reminded me of something that's being abused.
Trademarks.
H&K's suit against GSG is essentially, "They make a gun that LOOKS like our gun!" and since you can now trademark the appearance, apparently, you can sue.
Companies have been trying for centuries to get permanent patents. Trademarking is allowing them to do so.
The GSG-5 looks a great deal like an H&K MP5, but in .22 LR instead of 9x19mm. The patents on the MP5 expired years ago. So, I can make a gun that works exactly like an MP5 as long as it doesn't look like one, but since form follows function, we end up with expired patents being forever because the design influences form.
Colt tried this on the M4 and failed. Their permanent patent loophole is their contract with the government for M16 sales, signed in 1967 with no closure date. Anyone making an M16 and selling to the USA has to give Colt money. They have to pay even more to use the Colt Technical Data Package, which if you wanna sell to Uncle Sugar, you have to have to meet specs.
The aviation/defense industry has been suing plastic model kit makers and flight sim designers over their trademarked designs for a long time. It's especially galling since the most egregious suer here is Grummann, and they don't even own the design they got famous for suing about, the TBF Avenger. The Navy hired them to design a torpedo bomber and held all rights to the manufacturing. Most Avengers were actually made by General Motors (TBM). I love the legal brief about how letting a flight sim include a flyable version of an Avenger would negatively impact future Grummann sales.
Future sales of a WW2 torpedo bomber?!?!
This shit has gotten out of hand.
Trademarks.
H&K's suit against GSG is essentially, "They make a gun that LOOKS like our gun!" and since you can now trademark the appearance, apparently, you can sue.
Companies have been trying for centuries to get permanent patents. Trademarking is allowing them to do so.
The GSG-5 looks a great deal like an H&K MP5, but in .22 LR instead of 9x19mm. The patents on the MP5 expired years ago. So, I can make a gun that works exactly like an MP5 as long as it doesn't look like one, but since form follows function, we end up with expired patents being forever because the design influences form.
Colt tried this on the M4 and failed. Their permanent patent loophole is their contract with the government for M16 sales, signed in 1967 with no closure date. Anyone making an M16 and selling to the USA has to give Colt money. They have to pay even more to use the Colt Technical Data Package, which if you wanna sell to Uncle Sugar, you have to have to meet specs.
The aviation/defense industry has been suing plastic model kit makers and flight sim designers over their trademarked designs for a long time. It's especially galling since the most egregious suer here is Grummann, and they don't even own the design they got famous for suing about, the TBF Avenger. The Navy hired them to design a torpedo bomber and held all rights to the manufacturing. Most Avengers were actually made by General Motors (TBM). I love the legal brief about how letting a flight sim include a flyable version of an Avenger would negatively impact future Grummann sales.
Future sales of a WW2 torpedo bomber?!?!
This shit has gotten out of hand.
16 October 2009
Quote Of The Random Interval
"The [HK] USP is the best $500 pistol you can get for $800." SayUncle.
13 October 2009
In Keeping With A Theme
Brunhilda gets the ugly, worn, but still functional, parts that are sort of left-over...
Like this pistol grip.
Like this pistol grip.
Same Shit Different Day
"Look me in the eye and tell me I am less of a person than you are," Christine Quinn, the first openly lesbian speaker of the New York City Council, said yesterday.
You are less of a person than I am.
If you were equal to me, you would not demand special legislation to be elevated above me. You would be the same as me.
I ask again, are you a people?
We are not equal if we are not equal under the law.
I support equal rights, not special protections.
You are less of a person than I am.
If you were equal to me, you would not demand special legislation to be elevated above me. You would be the same as me.
I ask again, are you a people?
We are not equal if we are not equal under the law.
I support equal rights, not special protections.
10 October 2009
I Just Got A Survey
The "Republican National Committee; 2009 Obama Agenda Survey"
It's a multiple choice deal: I am given Yes / No / No Opinion to choose from for my answers. My answer will appear and comments in parenthesis.
1. Do you agree with Barack Obama's budget plan that will lead to a $23.1 trillion defict over the next ten years?
No.
2. Do you believe that the federal government has gone too far in bailing out failing banks, insurance companies and the auto industry?
Yes. (I also don't think that this is purely a Democrat or Obama issue.)
3. Do you support amnesty for illegal immigrants?
No. (I also extend the welcome mat for any and all legal immigrants.)
4. Should English be the official language of the United States?
Yes. (Duplication of paperwork savings would be immense. It would also encourage immigrants into assimilating into our culture.)
5. Are you in favor of granting retroactive Social Security eligibility to illegal immigrants who gain U.S. citizenship through an amnesty program?
No. (I don't want them to be citizens in the first place!)
6. Are you in favor of the expanded welfare benefits and unlimited eligibility (no time, education or work requirements) that Democrats in Congress are puching to pass?
No. (I'm of the opinion that welfare is breaking our bank, expanding it will accelerate the process.)
7. Do you beleive that Barack Obama's nominees for federal courts should be immediately and unquestionably approved for their lifetime appointments by the U.S. Senate?
No. (The process should be the same regardless of who is president. If you are going to go through a nominee's life with a nit-comb, we do it to all nominees. If we rubber stamp, we rubber stamp for all.)
8. Do you believe that the best way to increase the quality and effectiveness of public education in the U.S. is to rapidly expand federal funding while eliminating performance standards and accountability?
No. (I want the feds out of education. What performance standards and accountability? I want k12 to be deunionized too!)
9. Do you support the creation of a national health insurance plan that would be administered by bureaucrats in Washington D.C.?
No. (Nor would I want a state health insurance plan that would be administered by bureaucrats in Tallahassee. Private would be just fine, and eliminate the state border as a barrier to competition between insurance companies.)
10. Do you believe that the quality and availability of healthcare will increase if the federal government dictates pricing to doctors and hospitals?
No. (More but harder does not work.)
11. Are you confident that new medicines and medical treatments will continue to be developed in the federal government controls prescription drug prices and sets profit margins for research and pharmaceutical companies?
No. (Socialism is dangerous. Fascism is dangerous. This is both.)
12. Are you in favor of creating a government funded "Citizen Volunteer Corps" that would pay young people to do work now done by churches and charities, earning Corps Members the same pay and benefits given to military veterans?
No. (When you hire them, they stop being volunteers. I don't like how they linked this to parity with veterans. Separate issue.)
13. Are you in favor of reinstituting the military draft, as Democrats in Congress have proposed?
No. (The all volunteer military we have now is far superior to the draft armies we used to have; for many reasons.)
14. Do you believe that the federal government should allow the unionization of Department of Homeland Security employees who serve in positions critical to the safety and security of our nation?
No. (I don't think any government employee at any level should be allowed to be in a union. Ever. Period.)
15. Do you support Democrat's drive to eliminate worker's right to a private ballot when considering unionization of their place of employment?
No. (The entire point of a private ballot is so the employee can vote their conscious without worry of retribution or sanction from the union organization or fellow employees!)
It's a multiple choice deal: I am given Yes / No / No Opinion to choose from for my answers. My answer will appear and comments in parenthesis.
1. Do you agree with Barack Obama's budget plan that will lead to a $23.1 trillion defict over the next ten years?
No.
2. Do you believe that the federal government has gone too far in bailing out failing banks, insurance companies and the auto industry?
Yes. (I also don't think that this is purely a Democrat or Obama issue.)
3. Do you support amnesty for illegal immigrants?
No. (I also extend the welcome mat for any and all legal immigrants.)
4. Should English be the official language of the United States?
Yes. (Duplication of paperwork savings would be immense. It would also encourage immigrants into assimilating into our culture.)
5. Are you in favor of granting retroactive Social Security eligibility to illegal immigrants who gain U.S. citizenship through an amnesty program?
No. (I don't want them to be citizens in the first place!)
6. Are you in favor of the expanded welfare benefits and unlimited eligibility (no time, education or work requirements) that Democrats in Congress are puching to pass?
No. (I'm of the opinion that welfare is breaking our bank, expanding it will accelerate the process.)
7. Do you beleive that Barack Obama's nominees for federal courts should be immediately and unquestionably approved for their lifetime appointments by the U.S. Senate?
No. (The process should be the same regardless of who is president. If you are going to go through a nominee's life with a nit-comb, we do it to all nominees. If we rubber stamp, we rubber stamp for all.)
8. Do you believe that the best way to increase the quality and effectiveness of public education in the U.S. is to rapidly expand federal funding while eliminating performance standards and accountability?
No. (I want the feds out of education. What performance standards and accountability? I want k12 to be deunionized too!)
9. Do you support the creation of a national health insurance plan that would be administered by bureaucrats in Washington D.C.?
No. (Nor would I want a state health insurance plan that would be administered by bureaucrats in Tallahassee. Private would be just fine, and eliminate the state border as a barrier to competition between insurance companies.)
10. Do you believe that the quality and availability of healthcare will increase if the federal government dictates pricing to doctors and hospitals?
No. (More but harder does not work.)
11. Are you confident that new medicines and medical treatments will continue to be developed in the federal government controls prescription drug prices and sets profit margins for research and pharmaceutical companies?
No. (Socialism is dangerous. Fascism is dangerous. This is both.)
12. Are you in favor of creating a government funded "Citizen Volunteer Corps" that would pay young people to do work now done by churches and charities, earning Corps Members the same pay and benefits given to military veterans?
No. (When you hire them, they stop being volunteers. I don't like how they linked this to parity with veterans. Separate issue.)
13. Are you in favor of reinstituting the military draft, as Democrats in Congress have proposed?
No. (The all volunteer military we have now is far superior to the draft armies we used to have; for many reasons.)
14. Do you believe that the federal government should allow the unionization of Department of Homeland Security employees who serve in positions critical to the safety and security of our nation?
No. (I don't think any government employee at any level should be allowed to be in a union. Ever. Period.)
15. Do you support Democrat's drive to eliminate worker's right to a private ballot when considering unionization of their place of employment?
No. (The entire point of a private ballot is so the employee can vote their conscious without worry of retribution or sanction from the union organization or fellow employees!)
Comments Were Thus
09 October 2009
The US Is Too Racist To Be Socialist?
WOW!
I never thought that someone would come up with an argument for joining the Klan that I could get behind.
Being a racist stops socialism? That might end up as a positive in the cost/benefit analysis (because I am not a minority).
Nope.
They are both evil and we can be egalitarian while rejecting socialism. Adopting one evil, just to be rid of another is not a plan I can endorse. Evil is evil.
I never thought that someone would come up with an argument for joining the Klan that I could get behind.
Being a racist stops socialism? That might end up as a positive in the cost/benefit analysis (because I am not a minority).
Nope.
They are both evil and we can be egalitarian while rejecting socialism. Adopting one evil, just to be rid of another is not a plan I can endorse. Evil is evil.
Presented In Its Entirety
From here: http://www.bookwormroom.com/2009/10/04/the-difference-between-conservatives-and-liberals/ The comments have additions.
If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn`t buy one.
If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he’s in labor and then sues.
If a conservative reads this, he’ll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he’s “offended”.
If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn`t buy one.
If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.
If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.
If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he’s in labor and then sues.
If a conservative reads this, he’ll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he’s “offended”.
08 October 2009
From Tam
"6.5 does indeed have marginally better ballistics in many engagement envelopes, but its fans are such a bunch of goddam furries, trolling the 'nets for any mention of "6.8SPC" so they can start a caliber war, that I wouldn't be caught dead with a 6.5 upper even if it was a frickin' death ray. ;)"
In comments to her own post here: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=15907727&postID=6646615511555070084&isPopup=true
In comments to her own post here: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=15907727&postID=6646615511555070084&isPopup=true
Slow Motion Bullet Pr0n
Oh, and thanks Robb!
05 October 2009
File Under "Why Are You Thinking About This"
Tam has posted about assault.
She is making an entirely different point, but she raises an idea that had never occurred to me (with good damn reason) and that my mind is fascinated with.
Justifiable Rape, Self Defense.
Self defense is allowed in other forms of assault like battery and homicide.
Tonight's thought exercise, the circumstances where one could use self defense as a justification for rape. I assume we would need Rop'r'rian levels of "givens".
She is making an entirely different point, but she raises an idea that had never occurred to me (with good damn reason) and that my mind is fascinated with.
Justifiable Rape, Self Defense.
Self defense is allowed in other forms of assault like battery and homicide.
Tonight's thought exercise, the circumstances where one could use self defense as a justification for rape. I assume we would need Rop'r'rian levels of "givens".
04 October 2009
Harvey Has Been Bit By The Retro Bug
Cheyenne was originally inspired by the carbine carried by Tom Berringer's character Sgt Barnes in Platoon.
We started out with what we thought we wanted...
...along the way we tried out some more modern parts...
...but today she is a relatively faithful clone of an R653 carbine.
I love working on them so Harvey's experimentation has been a lot of fun for me.
We started out with what we thought we wanted...
...along the way we tried out some more modern parts...
...but today she is a relatively faithful clone of an R653 carbine.
I love working on them so Harvey's experimentation has been a lot of fun for me.
02 October 2009
Sabrina Is Completed
From a sad collection of parts.
To a complete carbine. 6.5 lbs loaded with 20 rounds. 33 5/16" long with the stock extended and 30 1/8" retracted.
A lot shorter than when I mocked it up in June, huh?
Pictures of the assembly.
11.5" barrel.
Being installed.
Adding the gas tube.
The beginning and the end:
UPDATE: Range report:
25m Zero.
25m Zero Confirmation. I was aiming at the top '8'.
100m Confirmation. I think I screwed up when I used the short range aperture for the zero. I will have to take her out again and check with it zeroed on the 'L' aperture.
To a complete carbine. 6.5 lbs loaded with 20 rounds. 33 5/16" long with the stock extended and 30 1/8" retracted.
A lot shorter than when I mocked it up in June, huh?
Pictures of the assembly.
11.5" barrel.
Being installed.
Adding the gas tube.
The beginning and the end:
UPDATE: Range report:
25m Zero.
25m Zero Confirmation. I was aiming at the top '8'.
100m Confirmation. I think I screwed up when I used the short range aperture for the zero. I will have to take her out again and check with it zeroed on the 'L' aperture.
Charlotte Is Changed
She started as a 1969ish M16 (R604).
She's now a later pattern M16A1, just like the one I first fired in Basic.
This led to a shot of the recreations of the rifles I served with.
The pristine slick-side upper is going to be part of Sabrina now. The more beat-up slick side is now back on Brunhilda.
She's now a later pattern M16A1, just like the one I first fired in Basic.
This led to a shot of the recreations of the rifles I served with.
The pristine slick-side upper is going to be part of Sabrina now. The more beat-up slick side is now back on Brunhilda.
01 October 2009
30 September 2009
McDonald vs Chicago Has Been Granted Cert
SCOTUS is poised to hear a second amendment case based on 14th amendment grounds.
I'm all tingly.
I'm all tingly.
29 September 2009
Kim Du Toit Is Back?
Oh joy.
I do not understand the fans. He said some things that I agreed with, and said it very well. But when I didn't agree, he was 180 off. That was running at about an 80% disagree ratio at the end when he "retired".
I speculated that he would not be gone long; and look, he's coming back.
Pardon me if I don't get all giddy, but except for the guns he just doesn't speak for me.
I do not understand the fans. He said some things that I agreed with, and said it very well. But when I didn't agree, he was 180 off. That was running at about an 80% disagree ratio at the end when he "retired".
I speculated that he would not be gone long; and look, he's coming back.
Pardon me if I don't get all giddy, but except for the guns he just doesn't speak for me.
Weer'd Beard commented thusly at 1423 29Sep09:
I stopped reading him a few months before his last "retirement". So much blather about hanging journalists and politicians and all that just gets me rolling my eyes.
He reminds me of the Threepers saying "If you infringe on our rights we will start a revolution"....but happily waiting for the NICS transfer of their 14" BBL M4Gery with the ATF approved pinned flash hider to make that BBL the required 16"....and looking idly by as I'm not allowed to buy that gun because Mass still has the AWB among other shitty laws.
look either you're going to start a revolution or your all talk. Kim is a well spoken and wise man, and has also written many a great post that I enjoyed....but frankly when a fat man sitting in his home with his gout foot put up prattling on about "revolution" OVER and OVER again, I get a little sick of the shit.
And that's before he starts talking down to the women shooters!
Yeah I won't bother with him anymore, but I wish him and Connie the best of luck.
28 September 2009
On The Murdered US Census Worker
I am afraid I have the same callous response to this as to the police complaining that their job is dangerous.
Bill Sparkman was not murdered for any of the laundry list of exemplary things he'd done before accepting the job with the Census.
Ponder on that for a moment.
The stain of participation in administering the census ERASED the good works he'd done to that point and he was murdered for that association.
The questions being put forth in the current census are beyond the scope intended by the Constitution. Since it's a crime to refuse to answer the questions, you've backed some people into a corner about breaking the law. Murder is breaking the law and there's a good chance of not getting caught; refusing to answer the census taker's questions has 100% of being caught since the agent of the state is at your house and talking to you.
Unintended consequences indeed.
I am sorry you were murdered Mr. Sparkman. I am even more sorry that the people who murdered you were not angry at you in particular, but some faceless government official in a distant office.
Just like a police officer, the anger is fomented by the legislatures and aimed at the executive branch's lowest rungs. Just like a police officer, you need to appraise yourself of this situation and weigh the risk. If you accept the job, you do not get to use the "following orders" defense.
There may well come a time when the bottom level functionaries, the people who have to deal with the common citizen, will have to refuse to carry out the orders of their superiors or be killed with them. It may even come to pass that the functionaries will have to have resigned long before the shooting starts to be spared.
It would be far better for the people responsible for this mess to fix things while there is still time to stop it. I desperately hope the soap and ballot boxes have the power left in them.
UPDATE
Or he's just another victim of our war on some drugs and refusal to secure the damn border with Mexico and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In which case, the motives for killing him were entirely different and my position is less valid about this case.
P.S.
Notice that this post is not gone down memory hole when new facts are presented. Truth is there is not a lot of solid evidence about this case in the public yet and the speculation that some right wing group did it to avoid participating in the census had great traction. I need to find my hook-remover...
Bill Sparkman was not murdered for any of the laundry list of exemplary things he'd done before accepting the job with the Census.
Ponder on that for a moment.
The stain of participation in administering the census ERASED the good works he'd done to that point and he was murdered for that association.
The questions being put forth in the current census are beyond the scope intended by the Constitution. Since it's a crime to refuse to answer the questions, you've backed some people into a corner about breaking the law. Murder is breaking the law and there's a good chance of not getting caught; refusing to answer the census taker's questions has 100% of being caught since the agent of the state is at your house and talking to you.
Unintended consequences indeed.
I am sorry you were murdered Mr. Sparkman. I am even more sorry that the people who murdered you were not angry at you in particular, but some faceless government official in a distant office.
Just like a police officer, the anger is fomented by the legislatures and aimed at the executive branch's lowest rungs. Just like a police officer, you need to appraise yourself of this situation and weigh the risk. If you accept the job, you do not get to use the "following orders" defense.
There may well come a time when the bottom level functionaries, the people who have to deal with the common citizen, will have to refuse to carry out the orders of their superiors or be killed with them. It may even come to pass that the functionaries will have to have resigned long before the shooting starts to be spared.
It would be far better for the people responsible for this mess to fix things while there is still time to stop it. I desperately hope the soap and ballot boxes have the power left in them.
UPDATE
Or he's just another victim of our war on some drugs and refusal to secure the damn border with Mexico and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In which case, the motives for killing him were entirely different and my position is less valid about this case.
P.S.
Notice that this post is not gone down memory hole when new facts are presented. Truth is there is not a lot of solid evidence about this case in the public yet and the speculation that some right wing group did it to avoid participating in the census had great traction. I need to find my hook-remover...
P.P.S.
Hrrrmmmmm....
John F. Kennedy was the first President of the United States who was also Catholic. A great deal was made of it at the time.
John F. Kennedy is also the last Catholic to hold that office.
Barack H. Obama is the first President of the United States who is also black. A great deal is being made of it.
Will history repeat in other interesting ways?
John F. Kennedy is also the last Catholic to hold that office.
Barack H. Obama is the first President of the United States who is also black. A great deal is being made of it.
Will history repeat in other interesting ways?
This One's For You Robb
I am officiating a friend's wedding.
By only renting the tuxedo top, shirt, vest and tie I am saving $50 over other members of the wedding who have chosen to wear pants.
By only renting the tuxedo top, shirt, vest and tie I am saving $50 over other members of the wedding who have chosen to wear pants.
27 September 2009
Gun Pr0n? You Want Gun Pr0n?
12" Seacoast Mortar: Model 1890 M-1 at Ft Desoto.
The guns were made in the Watervleit Arsenal in Watervleit, New York and the mounts were made by the American Hoist and Derrick Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Here's the breech end. The recoil mechanisms on all four guns have been removed and the gun is being held up by the recuperation springs. Minimum depression is 45˚ and maximum is 75˚, the gun recoiled down into a pit under the mount (which has been covered in deck-plate).
The breech blocks are also missing.
These are not small guns.
At one point there were 8 of these mortars at Ft Desoto. In 1917 4 of them were moved to Ft Rosecrans in California. The four at Ft Desoto are now the only ones remaining in the United States. There are four others on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines.
http://ww2panorama.org/panos/1fung_mortars.html (Quicktime panorama)
The guns were made in the Watervleit Arsenal in Watervleit, New York and the mounts were made by the American Hoist and Derrick Company of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Here's the breech end. The recoil mechanisms on all four guns have been removed and the gun is being held up by the recuperation springs. Minimum depression is 45˚ and maximum is 75˚, the gun recoiled down into a pit under the mount (which has been covered in deck-plate).
The breech blocks are also missing.
These are not small guns.
At one point there were 8 of these mortars at Ft Desoto. In 1917 4 of them were moved to Ft Rosecrans in California. The four at Ft Desoto are now the only ones remaining in the United States. There are four others on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines.
http://ww2panorama.org/panos/1fung_mortars.html (Quicktime panorama)
25 September 2009
Hey Truthers
Or at least Rosie O'Donnell...
Fire can't melt or bend steel?
Two words: Sherman's Necktie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman's_neckties
Just wood fire too. Not near as hot as jet fuel and without the chimney effect to help concentrate the heat.
Fire can't melt or bend steel?
Two words: Sherman's Necktie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman's_neckties
Just wood fire too. Not near as hot as jet fuel and without the chimney effect to help concentrate the heat.
23 September 2009
Abandonment
I've been watching, and reading, about some companies in the AR world and noticing a trend.
Company makes something that's really a niche item.
Customers like the niche item and then discover the company also sells mainstream items.
Customers tell friends because of their positive experience.
Friends, who are not interested in the niche, buy lots of mainstream items.
Company decides that there's no money in the niche, drops it.
People who liked the niche item complain.
Company explains how much money they are missing out on by supporting the niche.
Customers remind company that the niche is what put them in the position to sell so much mainstream.
Company says, "oh well, we're making money on mainstream so we don't need to support you niche buyers."
Customers take that as, "thanks for making this possible, now fuck off!" and stop buying anything from the company.
They tell their friends.
Friends join the boycott. Company begins to lose business and market share.
Company ignores problem.
New company opens to fill the niche.
Customers like the niche item and then discover the new company also sells mainstream items.
Old company goes away.
Repeat...
After location, I would say the next most important rule here is "dance with the one that brung yah." The AR market is fickle and capricious enough without the companies actively pissing it off.
Examples:
Del-Ton. Del-Ton made their niche in selling complete AR kits, less the lower receiver. The kits were good quality, the shipping was relatively fast, communication was good, no order was too small and the customer service was friendly. In the fall of 2008 the decided to become an FFL and offer their own brand of lower receiver and complete rifles. Shortly after that the election rush began. Customers ordering parts were told, "We are a rifle company now, not a parts company." Shipping slowed to a halt and customer service stopped being friendly. People who were on back order got to watch people who had ordered after them receive their goods before them.
The internet allows the customers a place to compare their experiences in the form of forums! A pattern emerged about the order priority. Complete guns were taking priority over parts. Parts that were found in the complete rifle models shipped before parts for other configurations. Larger orders were filled before smaller ones. Threads on their industry page on ARFCOM used to read like, "OMG! My parts are here, THANKS!" now they read, "It's been eight months, when do you think you'll get around to filling my order?"
DO NOT ALIENATE YOUR CUSTOMER BASE!
CMMG is at the beginning of this cycle. They are a barrel maker. Their niche was making barrels in configurations not supported by the other companies. Because of BRD (black rifle disease) the niche customers would often order a mainstream configuration to make it a "one stop shop". Their friends noticed the quality and ordered their own mainstream barrels. Notice the trend following the form?
Yes, the niche is a small part of your business. Yes, down time changing the tooling is like losing money.
Without the niche product, how are you better than the three other companies who make barrels yours? It's called competitive advantage. It keeps the doors open.
Company makes something that's really a niche item.
Customers like the niche item and then discover the company also sells mainstream items.
Customers tell friends because of their positive experience.
Friends, who are not interested in the niche, buy lots of mainstream items.
Company decides that there's no money in the niche, drops it.
People who liked the niche item complain.
Company explains how much money they are missing out on by supporting the niche.
Customers remind company that the niche is what put them in the position to sell so much mainstream.
Company says, "oh well, we're making money on mainstream so we don't need to support you niche buyers."
Customers take that as, "thanks for making this possible, now fuck off!" and stop buying anything from the company.
They tell their friends.
Friends join the boycott. Company begins to lose business and market share.
Company ignores problem.
New company opens to fill the niche.
Customers like the niche item and then discover the new company also sells mainstream items.
Old company goes away.
Repeat...
After location, I would say the next most important rule here is "dance with the one that brung yah." The AR market is fickle and capricious enough without the companies actively pissing it off.
Examples:
Del-Ton. Del-Ton made their niche in selling complete AR kits, less the lower receiver. The kits were good quality, the shipping was relatively fast, communication was good, no order was too small and the customer service was friendly. In the fall of 2008 the decided to become an FFL and offer their own brand of lower receiver and complete rifles. Shortly after that the election rush began. Customers ordering parts were told, "We are a rifle company now, not a parts company." Shipping slowed to a halt and customer service stopped being friendly. People who were on back order got to watch people who had ordered after them receive their goods before them.
The internet allows the customers a place to compare their experiences in the form of forums! A pattern emerged about the order priority. Complete guns were taking priority over parts. Parts that were found in the complete rifle models shipped before parts for other configurations. Larger orders were filled before smaller ones. Threads on their industry page on ARFCOM used to read like, "OMG! My parts are here, THANKS!" now they read, "It's been eight months, when do you think you'll get around to filling my order?"
DO NOT ALIENATE YOUR CUSTOMER BASE!
CMMG is at the beginning of this cycle. They are a barrel maker. Their niche was making barrels in configurations not supported by the other companies. Because of BRD (black rifle disease) the niche customers would often order a mainstream configuration to make it a "one stop shop". Their friends noticed the quality and ordered their own mainstream barrels. Notice the trend following the form?
Yes, the niche is a small part of your business. Yes, down time changing the tooling is like losing money.
Without the niche product, how are you better than the three other companies who make barrels yours? It's called competitive advantage. It keeps the doors open.
22 September 2009
Idle Hands Are STILL The Devil's Gunsmithy
Brunhilda, except for the upper is very much like the kit-bashing the Israeli Defense Force makes and calls a Menusar (Mekutz'rar).
I took the A1 style upper I had ear-marked for Sabrina and put it on Brunhilda.
The R604 upper is now going to be on Sabrina. This makes her a GAU-5A (R630) instead of an XM177E2 (R629). It's a noble heritage, 48 GAU-5A's were used by the forces involved in Operation Ivory Coast rescue attempt at Son Tay. The GAU-5A is an Air Force designation, but most of the troops using them there were Green Berets.
Together:
I took the A1 style upper I had ear-marked for Sabrina and put it on Brunhilda.
The R604 upper is now going to be on Sabrina. This makes her a GAU-5A (R630) instead of an XM177E2 (R629). It's a noble heritage, 48 GAU-5A's were used by the forces involved in Operation Ivory Coast rescue attempt at Son Tay. The GAU-5A is an Air Force designation, but most of the troops using them there were Green Berets.
Together:
21 September 2009
I Just Noticed Something
Kaylee started out to be as close as I could get to an XM177E2 as I could get legally. Ignorance of what was legal and what parts were available led to her not being all that close, really.
Sabrina will be almost impossible to tell apart from a real XM177E2 when I am done.
Sabrina is made with a lot of surplus parts made by Colt, notably the stock, grip and hand-guard.
Kaylee now has a Colt stock, grip and hand-guard.
Parallels.
I sure hope that Pat gets done with Sabrina's barrel soon. It's been months!
Sabrina will be almost impossible to tell apart from a real XM177E2 when I am done.
Sabrina is made with a lot of surplus parts made by Colt, notably the stock, grip and hand-guard.
Kaylee now has a Colt stock, grip and hand-guard.
Parallels.
I sure hope that Pat gets done with Sabrina's barrel soon. It's been months!
19 September 2009
Today Is International Talk Like A Pirate Day
But I don't speak Somali...
A Note To Current And Future US Presidents
All of you have paid lip service to supporting the 2nd Amendment.
Want to make us gun owners feel better without even confronting Congress about changing the laws to something we like?
It's simple.
Appoint one of us to be head of ATF. Don't know any of us? We will be happy to provide you a list of candidates we'd be perfectly pleased to have running the place.
Want to make us gun owners feel better without even confronting Congress about changing the laws to something we like?
It's simple.
Appoint one of us to be head of ATF. Don't know any of us? We will be happy to provide you a list of candidates we'd be perfectly pleased to have running the place.
18 September 2009
Six Reasons
...I will not live in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or New York.
And one (not yet finished, but registered) reason to not live in Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, or Minnesota.
And one (not yet finished, but registered) reason to not live in Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, or Minnesota.
Feminine Firearms
The Lovely Harvey's collection. Not a single one of mine in there, even if I own some of the same stuff.
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