American Eats

Today, the History Channel is showing "More American Eats," whereby I learned the difference between barbeque (long time, low heat) and grilling (the only way to cook steak). I haven't fired up the grill all year...you have no idea how much effort that would involve. First, I'd have to clean the house enough that guests would not be repelled by my hermit lair, then I must get my propane tank refilled (yes, this heretic doesn't fuss with charcoal), and scrub the grill. I'd have a find the rare weekend when Jon can come down or when Lisa the Biker Chick isn't working...or get out the tupperware, cause I'll be eating BBQ or steaks all week to make it worthwhile. I've never done ribs before...I'd have to do that on a solo try, since I don't like experimenting on guests. I do steak well enough and I've had rave reviews on my marinaded chicken (maybe they were just being polite).

Hmmm...I've got that jumbo pack of Polish sausage to use....

Now What?

Just burned an hour or two out of my morning driving all the way up to Catalina only to find out that the Pima Tactical match was cancelled. Apparently, they couldn't find anyone to help set up in the rain last night, so they called it off. Nothing said on the website, just a phonecon to members. Gee, that's nice. A sympathetic member offered me his card as he was setting up for some practice. He even asked me if I wanted to join them in practice, but I practiced last week. And I don't shoot well when I'm pissed off. Not at anybody in particular, just the world.

Went home and downloaded all the magazines I loaded last night. Next week is the Cactus Monthly, but I'm shooting something fast, maybe Glock-Bushie-Rem1100. Maybe I should dig out a new ink cartridge and go shoot the postal match....

Update: Uh-oh. I replaced the black ink cartridge on the Epson and still get blanks. Futzed around with the setting, ensuring it defaulted to black ink, but no dice. Replaced the color cartridge and it only printed the red three-quarter-dot in the logo's bullseye. Grrrrrrrr....

Update: Hey! It's Sunday! I don't have to wait until 4 pm to start drinking!

Handmaidens of Terror?

Michelle Malkin notes, I believe with some error,

The politically correct are handmaidens of terror.

But handmaiden may be a too-mild appellation

For the worms at the core of the threat to our nation,

Who are far more concerned with our socialist purity,

Than commonsense measures for our nation’s security.

They’ll insist we don’t need anti-terrorist powers,

Till terror bombs blow down their own ivory towers.

More than mere handmaids in true servile sense,

They’re concubines of correctness in Jihadist tents,

Plying socialist sweetmeats to death-dealing masters,

Naively abetting more future disasters.

Respect our dark brothers say these houris beguiling,

No need for your paranoid, racist profiling.

Forget swarthy males from the East caused our losses,

We must share their pain, understand their root causes.

These handmaids ignore their own reasoning powers,

Like no grannies flew planes into those twin towers;

Or why we’re not shown after a terror event,

Any mug shots of men of Caucasian descent.

They insist we ignore facts as plain as their faces,

Like Islamo-fascists tend to be certain races.

No, Michelle, dear, I fear that handmaiden’s in error,

Simply too mild a term for these true whores for terror.

Russ Vaughn

Inspired by Michelle Malkin’s column here:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/mm20041201.shtml

I'm King of the W...Reloading Bench!

American Forces Pulling Out

Now that the cause is lost, America is pulling troops out of occupation duty. The foreign policy established by a President that many once considered being illegitimate and has inflamed many countries including former allies to break publicly against the nation, is finally at an end.

Read Varifrank for the details.

Friday Link'n'Logs

Smoke My Gun is blogging again!

Catfish at Texican Tattler reviews the Springfield XD. I got to shoot one at this year's Superstition 3-Gun. It jammed after the first shot. Granted, it was a stage gun probably shot for days without cleaning, but hey, isn't that eXtreme Duty?

Countertop has a new look! And he's moved that ugly Krugman graphic further down the page!

American Dinosaur has gone to Moo New digs!

RUMINT has it that today is John Donovan's birthday!

Bulleye's Friday Cutie goes really Old School! (NSFW)

New to the BlogRoll: John Wayne's Holster, God, Guns, Glory, ROFA-Six.

The Carnival of Cordite #24 is up!

The Rust Monster Attacks

I almost ripped my all hair out last night when I pulled Box o' Gun out of the holster and saw all the rust growing on the slide and safety! Methinks I'm going to need to get it plated or otherwised coated. I've been rubbing it energetically with an oiled cloth, but progress is slow. Let this be a lesson to procrastinators! Clean your guns immediately, especially when handled by sweaty shooters!

Anybody have a good rust removal recipes?

Blogging the Binker

Hopefully, she'll develop better taste when she starts picking out her own outfits.

[Ducks.]

July 3-Gun Practice Match

Holy cow, there were only 10 shooters that showed up? I was too busy having fun to notice! I'd made some suggestions to the club kahunas about making the 3-Gun PMs more like real 3-Gun, but the only ones they enacted were the stages I'd submitted. Oh ,well, you can't expect big change when most of the league consists of pistol shooters only.

Instead of rigging up two 3-gun stages and two pistol stages, I designed two pistol-rifle stages and two pistol-shotgun stages. Those shooting pistol-only could do so, but certainly must have been cursing me for making things hard on them....

Like Stage 1! The Shooter started seated at A, engaged those targets with pistol, grounded the empty pistol on the table and grabbed the rifle, shot the next array through barrel B, then moved to box C, shot that array, including the steel prone targets farther downrange.














Stage 2 was Pistol-Rifle as well. The Rifle Box B required all shots to be fired under the stick. The club couldn't come up with any carpeting to facilitate prone shooting, so most folks shot from one knee.







Stage 3 - Pistol-Shotgun. The course of fire committee deleted the two slug targets on the B shotgun side and added more steel targets. I used Jon's Rem. 870 on this day and ran through pretty quickly.













Stage 4 - Pistol - Shotgun. This time, the shooter ran from A to B, finished off the last pistol target, grounded the empty pistol and engaged the B steel with shotgun. When the club builds some other grounding props (carpeted shelves are good), I can incorporate them into some more interesting stages.





Jon's Springfield Champion was very balky for the second half of the match (we shot 3 and 4 first). I think this dustdevil on Stage 1 had something to do with it. He shot the last stage with my Box o' Gun and gave it rave reviews!

BTW, Jon cleaned up on the the multi-gun scores and I managed to avoid last place out of three or four long-gunners. Now to see if any of this practice will help me at the Pima match.

More Stuff

If you're wondering why I do something so crude as carrying spare M1A magazines in my back pocket, it's because I'm not used to carrying spare mags on my body. My Bushie (not pictured here) has a Wilson Combat Redi-Mag mounted on it. This little sidecar holds a spare mag and drops it with a press of the rifle's mag release button. Just be sure to have a hand on the spare or it will drop to the ground with your empty one! This has not happened to me, but I've seen it happen! Mag changes are lightning fast with the Redi-Mag; I keep a Brown kydex mag holder in case I need a third magazine, but I rarely need it.

Brown makes really cool holsters and holders, but I'd already bought my Fobus stuff before discovering them. They're a Tucson company, so I know where to shop when my current plastic becomes unserviceable. The magazine shown on Brown's site is a 30-round Thermold AR-15 mag, with which I feed my Bushie exclusively. For my M1A, I've found no acceptable substitute for USGI-spec 20-round magazines. Jon found one British-made 30-rounder that works, but subsequent purchases of what he was assured was the same model turned out to be unsatisfactory.

I think there is a Pima Tactical 3-Gun match this weekend; too late to get a mag pouch from Buchanan, but I have a roll of duct tape in the truck! We'll see how that turns out.

Raptor Rapture

A Yogi Berra-quoting test pilot waxes ecstatic over the F/A-22 Raptor at Castle Argghhh!

First Range Report...and More!

From AzLibertarian at Twenty Miles of Bad Road! He shot an IDPA match, then got his kids involved with shooting. I'm so happy.

If that's whetted your appetite for range reporting, stuff yourself at Mr. Completely's banquet of gunly goodness here and here. He sure gets around!

Firehand tries out some really rare pieces.

Monster

Remember, guys...spit at the ground in front of her, not in her face! The gesture means the same, but we don't want her to derive any refreshment from the moisture.

Keep an eye out for her tour bus, thanks to Vince Aut Morire.

Cathy, You Ignorant Slut!

Never have I been prouder to be an EX-resident of Pennsylvania. After issuing a Durbinesque apology for the feelings hurt by her crashing the funeral of a fallen Pennsylvanian Marine, Catherine Baker Knoll (PA's Lt. Governor) completely ignored her worse slight.

The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war.

Emphasis mine. Apologies to Jane Curtin.

Rummel's Specter Injector

He's going to Hell in a Handbasket, messing with non-corporeal undead like that.

Stuff to Stuff Your Stuff In

Reader Homebru asked me to do up an article on "trip to the range equipment," seeking advice on eye and ear protection, shooting mats, jackets, etc. I'm not going to be much help with a lot of what he's looking for, because I don't spend much time on the rifle range and when I do, it's often with improvised equipment. (Someday, I'll have to do a real range report on the SOCOM-16.) With that in mind, I'm writing this with a mind toward competition equipment and goodies for those of you who might be interested in gun games.

The two most vital articles of equipment are eye and ear protection. I guard my precious eyeballs with shooting glasses by Hoppes. They came with three lenses: dark tint for sunny days, amber tint for low-light (like twilight), and clear for cloudy days. I've never used the clear lens! Any glasses made to resist high impact particles are good, but I wouldn't wear shop goggles, because they'll fog up pretty quickly. Believe me, I know...I've played maverick paintball. I've got a pair of standard earmuffs and a broken pair of Dillon electronic muffs (gotta see if they can repair a small plastic piece), but in the long Arizona summertime, I don't like my ears bathing in sweat, so I use foamy ear inserts. The great thing about disposable foamies is that you can just throw them into the washing machine with the laundry and take them out of the drier as good as new! I keep mine in a small, clean container to keep them close to sterile.

If you're going to play the Gun Games (IDPA, IPSC), you'll need a holster and magazine pouches or holders to accomodate at least 30-40 rounds (more is good). Fobus makes a great, inexpensive paddle holster for just about any production handgun. Their belt-loop mag holders are hard to find, but I love them because too many paddles down my pants makes them slide down. If you're shooting Limited or Open class in IPSC, magazine extensions can delay or obviate your need to reload. Here is a Glock +2 bumper and an Arredondo +5 pad. The mags are Glock factory; the orange one is a police-surplus high-visibility training magazine. I so want to paint tiger stripes on it!

By the way, that's my nightstand and travelling gun, a G-23 with Trijicon night sights and extended mag and slide releases. I retired it from competition after I got a Glock 22. The mags shown are G-22.


If you're shooting Limited 10, you need more than one set of double mag holders. I have an odd set of Dillon (left) and Safariland holders. I usually start a stage with three or four Chip McCormick Power 10 mags and one MecGar 8-rounder to top the gun off before loading.

Again, I went with the cheap Fobus holster...because I'm cheap.










If you're a revolver enthusiast, now you're talking about some specialized stuff! You can clip the individual moon clip (or speedloader) holders to your pants belt, but the Safariland rigid outer belt here is the way to go! The belt carries the holders and holster and attaches by velcro to an inner belt (not shown) worn through your pants belt loops. The holster is Safariland and is made for the belt (though I've worn it on a regular belt). I keep the Brownell's de-mooning tool (upper right) in my range box.




Now that you've got the basic equipment, a range bag or box is better than carrying your other stuff in a cardboard box. Dillon Precision makes great bags purpose-made for the range, but long ago I discovered Borame camera bags at the Rose Bag Shop, Songtan, South Korea, right outside Osan Air Base. This is a camcorder bag with the velcro separators removed. It's semi-rigid and usually carries my knee- and elbow-pads, shotshell bandolier, and other bulky items. The front pouch can hold a handgun, but I packed mine with sunscreen, Q-tips, extra foamies, extra lens, Chapstick, cleaning rods, a Swiss Army knife, and packages of Wet-Naps for washing my hands. I don't use it for any handgun but my revolver, because I usually take advantage of Arizona's Open Carry law. No way am I wearing that revolver rig while I'm driving!

My hard range box carries heavy stuff like magazines and ammunition. This is an ItsaBox I won at my first Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun. It's another fine production available through Dillon Precision, who is the Big Name Sponsor for the event. Conceivably, you could even use a surplus .50 cal. ammo can for this purpose, but this box was free...and it's lighter!






If you're shooting 3-Gun, there are some nice accessories to speed up your game. Jon is a model for Buchanan Bagworks in this shot: he's wearing their double mag pouch with a T-bar extension to secure his M1A mags to his thigh. Though he's not shooting riotgun in this stage, he's found that their vertical shotshell bandolier makes a great suspender! All that stuff on your belt can make for an embarassing moment! Jon rounds out his ensemble with a chic desert camo boonie hat as he wisely avoids putting his super-duper muzzle brake into the barrel.



Having suffered droopy-drawers last month (all the weight I've lost was in my ass, evidently), I sewed some buttons inside the waistband of a pair of shorts and attached a set of my cowboy suspenders. They worked great! I'm carrying a spare M1A mag in my back pocket because I haven't bought a rig like Jon's yet. Maybe with all this big Blog exposure, Buchanan Bagworks will send me a free one?

The glove on my left hand is USAF-issue Nomex, handy for handling hot firearms and steel targets in the summertime and for preventing cuts to my hand while racking the slide of Box o' Gun.
Oh, by the way...I'm not drawing on some lowdown, mangy, varmint...I'm putting the brakes on after forgetting my rifle at the table. More on that fun after the scores are posted.

Since I'd brought half my Springfield collection on this day, I wore my Springfield Armory T-shirt. If representatives on any of the companies mentioned today wish to contact me for lucrative commercial endorsements, drop a line to cowboyblob--at--yahoo--dot-com and I'll reply with an address to which you can send the checks.

Postscript: Just because I use inexpensive match equipment doesn't mean I have no appreciation for fine gun leather. I own some Dillon, and several Galco holsters, and one nice Kramer IWB rig, but I prefer the simplicity of Fobus for my Limited Class guns. The above article in no way addresses my preferences for concealed carry, except on match days when I indulge in open or "sloppily concealed" carry.

Submitted to the Carnival of Cordite.

Ferret Ball

There Goes My Mesquite Tree Again!

I'm undergoing a whopper of a monsoon thunderstorm right now, and the mesquite tree in my front yard just took a dive. This must be the third or fourth edition of this tree. It was screwed up from the start; my house was the last in the division to be completed and I guess that the landscapers stuck their last remaining two or three mesquite saplings in the same hole in what would become my front yard. That resulted in a multi-trunk tree very weak at the base. They'd eventually fall over in storms like this, I'd cut them up and haul them away, and a new tree would sprout out of the stump. Rinse, lather, and repeat.

Pima Air Museum Gets a B-36

The B-36 Peacemaker "City of Fort Worth" is moving to Tucson's Pima Air and Space Museum to round out their collection of vintage and modern bomber aircraft (KOLD TV).

The Fort Worth-based B-36 Peacemaker Museum isn't particularly happy about this, but since the aircraft is property of the USAF Museum, they could only wave goodbye and take some really nice pictures.

Their loss is Pima's and Tucson's gain. I'm looking forward to seeing the old warbird.

Han Maekchu Kattajuseyo

Remember Beer.com's sexy, teasing bartenders? (Don't have the URL for the second edition, sorry.) I was surfing the Korea-blogs today and found that Cafri Beer has a copy-cat bar girl that responds to Korean and English suggestions! You need not cut and paste...she's bilingual! And don't restrict yourself to the commands listed!

Hosted at Kimchee GI.

h/t to The Marmot's Hole

Mech-Tech Carbines

Speaking of Glocks and pistol-caliber carbines, Jon bought the KelTec because the Mech-Tech carbine conversion unit I gave him didn't stand up to match use. I think this is characteristic of the whole product line since my .40 S&W unit would poop out at the same point his 9-mm would, right about Stage 3. We don't know whether extensive breaking-in would improve the weapon, so let's call out to the Gun Bloggers and ask whether anybody out there has a reliable M-T CCU that can last an entire match or two before becoming a Jam-o-matic! Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

I don't think you'd get a good range report out of either one of us on this piece of hardware. I've only sighted it in at short IPSC distances and didn't even pattern it on paper from a bench. I slapped the cheap Adco red-dot scope on it, fired a few shots, fiddled with the knob, fired some more, and it was on. It never made it to the Cactus Match because it pooped out the day before during a practice session--I decided to shoot Glock 22 instead. Jon's kids scored quite well with the 9-mm, but accuracy doesn't help when seconds turn into minutes.

Nightstand Meme

James at Hell in a Handbasket posted on the What's on Your Nightstand meme.

Before someone tags me with it, I'll play. Glock 23 (.40 S&W) stoked with Cor-Bon JHPs and a Stevens 12 gauge coach gun with a pair of rubber buckshot shells and a pair of reduced-recoil buckshot shells handy. This is for anybody I happen to encounter inside my home. For firefights going on in my neighborhood, I'll probably pop open the gun safe, not to bring out the heavier hardware, but to have a big piece of steel to hide behind. If the lead is flying and I don't know where or why, I will not go looking for trouble...like a stray round in the noggin.

Update: Tagged by Paul Krugman look-alike Countertop!

The Loneliest Man in the Universe

Not since the greatest pilot he ever saw "Gordo" Cooper made his 22 Earth orbits in the final Mercury space mission had any man been as alone as Astronaut Michael Collins during the Apollo XI mission. While Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin journeyed to the moon's surface and history, command module pilot Collins remained in lunar orbit. As a kid, I picked Collins as my favorite astronaut because, instead of being the first or second human to set foot on Earth's natural satellite, he piloted their ride home around the moon. What could it have been like to be so far away from everybody, especially while the spaceship sailed behind the moon, away from all human contact? At least the LEM crew had each other for company! The world's ultimate designated driver--his buddies had all the fun while he sipped Tang and watched the universe through the window. Today is the anniversary of the 1969 Apollo XI moon landing and his two crewmates will get a lot of mention, undoubtedly. But give a little love for the ultimate team player, Michael Collins, who made the mission the success it was.

Collins, a 1952 West Point graduate, attained the rank of Brigadier General in the US Air Force and later became the Director of the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution (my favorite!). He logged approx. 5,000 hours in the air and 266 hours in space (1 hour 27 minutes in a space walk).

Mudville Gazette Open Post

Gun Review: KelTec Sub 2000 9-mm Carbine

Who: Jon [redacted]
What: KelTec Sub 2000 9mm carbine (Glock version)
When: 1300-1430 hrs, 20 July 2005 [Jon hasn't lost his military vernacular yet, ed.]
Where: Ben Avery shooting range, Phoenix, Arizona
Why: Because

Cowboy Blob asked me to do a guest blog and review my new toy. Being as he is a devious soul, he asked me said question after a few drinks and I replied, “ShurIdloveta.” At least that’s what he told me I said. Anyhoo, it’s either write a few paragraphs or pay him to suppress the damn pictures.

Short Review: Buy it! It’s a great gun for $300.

Long Review: I bought the Sub 2000 ($325) and two factory Glock 18 mags, (33 rounders @ $36 each) on Monday. It comes with one ten-round magazine. I guess they have to find something to do with them now. Who the hell is going to buy a ten-rounder anymore? The firearm can be had for around $300, but is hard to find so I paid the extra $$$ to get the bird-in-hand.

Here it is in the ready condition (on my ugly carpet).











Here it is in the folded configuration with the two 33-rd mags and a standard Glock 17 magazine for size reference.










The carbine is very compact in the folded configuration. I was impressed with the ease of folding/unfolding the carbine. I can store it on a shelf in my safe, and as the following picture shows, it fits so well in my Dillon range bag that I didn’t feel the need to buy another gunbag for it.


Weather conditions were decent today and I only had to share the range with a few people. It was sunny with hardly any wind, though a little chilly at 41 degrees. Oh wait, that’s in Centigrade. It was 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Maybe that’s why there weren’t many people at the range! It’s all relative. The last few days it got up to 116 F, so it seemed cool today. Here is a picture of the range. My target stand is at 25 yards. The white targets are paper plates I used to get familiar with the carbine and the black center target is one of the Shoot-N-C targets I used to record my “official” results.

Here is a picture of my range table with my gear. Note the high-tech notepad and pen to record results and impressions. I used my rangebag as a rest.


The only ammo I used was 115 grain Winchester target ammo. It is reliable and economic at about $10 per box of 100 rounds (Wal Mart). The KelTec instruction manual stated the best accuracy came from premium hollow-point 9mm ammo, but since this is what I plan on using for the monthly Cactus Match competitions then I figured I should see how it performed with said ammo.

I fired a total of 200 rounds through the carbine and it performed flawlessly. Can’t get much better then that. Here are my impressions of my Sub 2000 shooting experience:

Sights: Rear peep with enclosed high-visibility (red) front post sight. The mechanism to adjust the sight is a little clunky but works. My carbine shot high and left out of the box. It took me a little while to dial the rifle in to an acceptable point of aim, but I also did it without the instruction manual (dummy!). A dime worked great as a sight adjustment tool. Bottom line, the sights seem a little cheap but they work and are sturdy.

Trigger: A little heavy but I was surprised at the consistency. Frankly, the trigger pull is much better than I expected from a $300 rifle. It seemed similar to a Glock trigger without the two stages. When the safety is engaged, the trigger can be pulled to the rear, so the mechanism is not a blocking mechanism.

Ergonomics: Overall, I was pleased with the ergonomics. The carbine is a little small for me, but that is a good thing. I am 6’ 2” and about 205 lbs. This means kids or average-sized females can comfortably shoot the Sub 2000. In fact, they will probably find it so much fun that they won’t want to hand it back to you!

I felt most of the controls were well placed and easily manipulated. I had to adjust my grip slightly when I disengaged the safety, but it wasn’t too extreme. The carbine pointed quite naturally. I would hold it at the normal ready position (port arms), and it was easy and smooth to transition to the firing position.

Accuracy: The carbine is easy to shoot and gave decent accuracy for the price. Here my “official” 25-yard, 5-rd group. The left most shot was my last and I distinctly remember pulling it a little. For size reference, the black target is 8” wide.

Although the rifle was still shooting a little left, I was tired of messing with the sights and wanted to check the accuracy at 100 yards. After firing a couple of rounds with no visible effect, I shot at a bush and realized the carbine shot high at 100 yards. I then lowered my point of aim to just below the bottom of the black. I fired 5 rounds and remember jerking the trigger on the third shot. That is why there are only four holes; my fault not the carbine's.

Cleaning: I gave the disassembly instructions the once over and went to it. The carbine is easy to disassemble and clean. It took me exactly twenty minutes to disassemble, clean, and reassemble. Now that I know how it works, next time will take less time. The bolt is a simple two-piece affair.


Summary: I’d like to have a 9mm AR-15 to go with my Bushmaster but the KelTec Sub 2000 is a fun, well-designed firearm that gives decent accuracy and does so at 1/3 of the price. My kids and I will feel confident we can compete with it effectively in the Cactus Combat pistol caliber carbine matches, and I feel confident in depending on it for more serious matters. It is nice knowing that if a shitty situation cropped up and I felt the need to carry my Glock 34 with M3 flashlight, Glock 26 backup, and KelTec Sub 2000 carbine, I would only need to bring along one caliber of ammo and all my larger magazines could fit in all my smaller firearms. If you’ve been wondering about this firearm…buy it!

Speaking of 9-mm carbines, Mr. Completely reviews the Hi Point!.

"The Plate and the Bruise: Body Armor Works"

If you read any of the MilBlogs, you're heard the story of the young medic serving in Iraq who was shot in the chest by an insurgent, got up, fixed the sniper's location for his squad, then treated the sniper's wounds after he was captured. Jack at Go Jack Army has the Doc's letter of appreciation to the body armor company and pics of the "Plate and the Bruise."

My Blog is Like This

Still have some jambalaya in the freezer and I'm cooking again! From Cajun to Korean: I got the wok out and did up some chapchae, rice noodles stir-fried with chicken and veggies in sesame oil. Once I got it done, I realized that I forgot the spinach...and had no kimchi in the fridge. Well, there was a jar in the back with some red liquid and a leaf of kimchi of undetermined age, but I'll see if I can dispose of that without the EPA catching on.

The Team Infidel hits have been slowing down and the Google Snoopers are returning to normal:

Difference between preparation and planning
Saloon graphics
Build your own smokehouse
.22 pistols
Team Infidel
Socom 16 at 300 yds
Ruger 22/45 any good
B52 AMARC
Jenya pics
Cowboy site template
Anime aircraft
Chinese junk gallery
Nekkid gallery
Superstition Mountain 3-Gun
Cowboy pics
C-130 ads
Cowboy video games
Sandiego shootin
why was drawn together cancelled
cowboy campfire pics

Something Different on the Stove

On my latest trip to the commissary, I resolved to add a little more variety to my diet. I usually get sandwich stuff and burrito-sized tortillas, frozen boneless chicken, sandwich meat, cheese, a bunch of canned vegetables, and maybe a frozen pizza or two.

My friend Jon and his wife are a good influence on my cooking, and even though squash stir-fry hasn't caught on at the Cowboy Blob hacienda, I kept some notes on good stuff to try myself. Tonight, I tried Jambalaya. Me being me, I used minced clams as the seafood component, and in another rebel move, I added a green pepper for color (Jon is wretching now, I'm sure). It kicked ass! The clams are so jamabalaya-colored that they just blended in, a surprise in every bite. I don't have a picture of the finished product, because I couldn't dive into it fast enough.

Next week: Couscous.

Fatwahs and Fartwads

By now, everybody in the Gun Blogosphere has heard of the threats against Anarchangel for his Team Infidel activities. I almost feel sorry for any ragtard that goes after him. I'm concerned and wish Chris all the best luck.

This weekend, my own blog has had eight visits from Googlers searching for "Team Infidel." One of them was from the GMT zone, the others from American time zones. Are these folks just interested in the story? Or could they be scouting for secondary targets? I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Although I'm not as physically imposing as Chris, I am no worse armed, and fairly well educated in physical security. I am by nature "paranoid enough." Although I blog semi-anonymously, I wouldn't take much brain power to locate me. Just be careful what you look for, ragtard.

Soft-Earred Fur Snake

Is native to comfy blankeys the world over.














Not the daredevil Lenny is, Squiggy still surprises me sometimes.

Outdoor Games

Been watching the Great Outdoor Games on ESPN the last couple of days...pretty cool stuff! Cute girls with athletic legs doing log-rolling and log-running, beautiful dogs running obstacle courses and leaping for height and distance, and well...guys with axes and saws. Haven't seen any sporting clays, or anything else involving a gun, but it's hosted by Disney World, so go figure.

God, I love Labrador Retrievers. My friend Jon's wife has a beautiful blonde Lab that is now Jon's girl. (Actually, I think Jon was the basis for the The Beastmaster; he just charms every critter he encounters.) Marley, the blonde Lab, has a nice big back yard that she shares with her buddy Maggie, a Shepherd-Chow mix. If you're in the backyard, she'll grab her big play-ball and ram it into your knee, crotch, or whatever's handy. "Let's play Fetch!" she implores, more out of instinct and training rather than anticipation of the hip pain she'll surely feel tomorrow. Yeah, she's not as young as she used to be, but she hasn't lost any enthusiasm for the game.

[Picture Hosting lost]

Yeah, she grabbed the smoldering stick we were using to stir the campfire. No, we didn't throw it.

Update: We were camping in Madera Canyon, which is on fire now. Must have been someone else's dog.

Murder on the Med

Blogger on the Scene

Huntress of Diary of a Hollywood Refugee just got back from her event-filled Med cruise. You know, the one with a rape, a murder, and a missing body (the probable murder victim). Read her story.

Gotta Admire Their Priorities

From FNC: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has approached the city fathers of Fishkill NY about changing their name to something more "fish-friendly," like, perhaps Fishinghurts.com! "Fishkill" comes from the Dutch for "fish stream."

Amazingly, there's nothing about Schuylkill County PA. "Schuylkill" probably has Dutch origins too and has its name on the county, an expressway, a river...it's pronounced like "school kill," which might dredge up memories of the Columbine CO or Bridgman MI school massacres. But, sorry, there are no fish or animals involved.

PETA is a PITA.

Link'n'Logs Friday

On MSgt Keith's blog:

The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and,
a good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few
opportunities in life where you get to experience all three at the
same time.. (Author unknown, but someone who's been there)

Lots more here!

And speaking of bowel movements, over at Carnaby Fudge, Stickwick Stapers visited NASA and got to sit in a Space Pooper! Lotsa great pics of the Shuttle Simulator!

And CDR Salamander points out that the new USS San Antonio (LPD-17) is a piece of crap!

Happy Bastille Day!

In honor of the French holiday...and our gallant British friends, I dragged this out of the archives for your enjoyment.

Jimmy and Nigel were sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris, watching the pretty girls walk by. Jimmy, not wanting to live the Ugly American Tourist experience, had been reading a French phrasebook and would occasionally try out a phrase on the waiter, who wore perpetual look of distaste. Nigel, the jaded Englishman, just smoked cigarettes, sipped wine, and leered at the miniskirted femmes as they passed. Jimmy had enough phrases memorized that he finally decided to strike up a conversation with a rather comely mademoiselle. The pretty girl was flattered and very patient with Jimmy, ocassionally offering tips in pronunciation and idiom. Before she left, she scribbled her phone number on a napkin and kissed him on the cheek before she ran off to her appointment.

Jimmy turned to Nigel and lifted his wineglass in elation..."Mon Dieu, Nigel, here's to French girls! I just LOVE the way they roll their R's!


Nigel replied. "It's the high heels."

Just Because

Who'd a Thunk it?

Just when I've avoided all things French, Ray Calafell puts his finger on what might be the only solution to our survival--if we have the stomach for it. It's from the rare Frenchman with a spine.

Kind of like the Blackjack Pershing treatment, without bothering to leave one alive.

At Jen Martinez' A Collection of Thoughts

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
-- George Orwell

Dave at Garfield Ridge has a look at the homegrown Brit jihadis.

Almost That Time of the Year

Arizona is almost reaching the monsoon season!

In Arizona, as in other regions of the world including India and Thailand, we experience a monsoon, a season of high temperatures, high winds, and high moisture, resulting in potentially deadly weather.

The term "monsoon" comes from the Arabic "mausim" meaning "season" or "wind shift". The Arizona monsoon officially begins after the third consecutive day of dew points above 55 degrees. On average this occurs around July 7 with the monsoon continuing for the next two months resulting in about 2 1/2" of rain, about 1/3 of our yearly rainfall, however the monsoon varies year to year in starting date, duration, and intensity.

From here.

This will be a season of great lightning displays, and unfortunately, some loss of Dish Network reception due to heavy rainfall and lightning. I've missed many innings of D-Backs games last year due to the Water and Electric show. We've only had one night of Thor and Zeus playing catch so far; as I drove around today, I saw some spotty rain showers, but no lightning.

BTW: One server holding some of my pics is down for the evening. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Don't Hold it Sideways!

Chaos at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot describes his encounter with some of Tucson's (or South Tucson, perhaps) gangstas in a local gun shop.

I encountered some of Arizona's droopy-drawered sub-culture adherents at a Club match up at Ben Avery. They were just there watching the match and one standing next to me, I suddenly noticed, wasn't wearing eye protection. Almost immediately, he slapped his hand to his cheek while someone was running through a steel stage. When he pulled it away, there was a tiny cut on his cheek.

"That's why you're supposed to wear eye protection!" I said loud enough to penetrate his foamies and his thick skull.

"It didn't hit me in the eye," he replied, kinda defiantly. (Wait three seconds.) "Oh."

He left.

Maybe there's hope for him on more than one level.

My Brush with the No Spin Zone Tonight

Appearing on FNC's The O'Reilly Factor tonight was author Debra Dickerson, providing her views on the NAACP's drive for slavery reparations...that is, what views she could squeeze in edgewise past Bill's bloviating. Her views seemed to teeter from side to side, though I think she tended to side with Bill that reparations shouldn't come out of the taxpayers' hide.

Back before all the books she wrote, before her graduation from Harvard Law, before she was senior editor and contributing editor to US News and World Report, before she was a USAF intelligence officer...back in the early 80s, she was a staff sergeant just like me* in the same USAF enlisted career field at Osan Air Base, South Korea. I didn't know her well, but I knew "D.J." was a kick-ass crypto-analyst and I joined her "brown bean" run, the club-hopping celebration of a member's final night in Korea. My flight was on break at the time and gravitated towards what we thought would be a killer party. Oh. Yeah. I was just grooving to the rock and roll and trying to ignore the bargirls when D.J. dragged me onto the dance floor--I think this was the first time in my life I actually tried to dance, other than slow-dance-coppa-feel songs back when I was irresistible to Korean girls. The experience didn't convert me to a Disco Danny, but gave me a sliver of confidence to work with later in my life.

*Now that I think about it, I might have been a buck sergeant at the time.

How Many .22 Pistols Does a Man Need?

Okay, I only own one .22 LR rifle (the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22), which is really all the .22 rifle I need or want or have space for. Pistols are a different matter; .22 LR pistols are trainers, hunting pieces, and plickers, and one size does not fit all. The two pistols at the top are my two favorite; the Ruger 22/45 (left) with bull barrel is a good trainer for a 1911-pattern .45 (not perfect, though) and is super-accurate.

The Smith & Wesson 622 is super-light and is my hunting .22 of choice (the Ruger's big-ass sights snag on the scabbard holster). I've even bagged a quail with it, the little running booger! I don't like plinking with it because it's a PITA to clean. (I've yet to take it apart.)

I bought the FIE Cowboy .22 single-action revolver for $25 from a Navy Senior Chief who was liquidating his FFL inventory...what a deal! It's a fun plinker and a good trainer for adolescents who might otherwise blaze through a brick of ammo in a short shooting session without learning to aim.

The Bernadelli auto (right) is a great-feeling plinker, but it's a little too short for hunting.

The NAA .22 mini-revolver at the bottom is my last ditch back-up gun, or what I'm carrying when I normally wouldn't be carrying. I'm not saying I've worn it into banks and other such places, but it's often disappeared in my pocket so that even I didn't know it was there.

I think this part of my collection is self-actualized; I can't name any other I want or need, and I couldn't part with any of these.

Unless the price beats me over the head.

Posted at this week's Carnival of Cordite.

Baseball All-Star Game Blogging v1.06

Wonder how many Detroiters wondered why the band was playing "My Country Tis of Thee?" Because everybody knows that American automaking populations are uneducated.

I'm rooting for the National League, as always.

Update: Of course, I'm rooting for the losing team! 0-3 after the 3d inning. Let's see how many more runners we can strand!

Update: 0-5 Amercian after the 4th! But nice Livan Hernandez pick-off move to get Ichiro to end the inning! Hopefully the Rocket can staunch the hemorrhaging next inning. Let's see some bats, Nats!

Update: Nothing from the Nats bats, but Roger the Rocket kicked ass. I hope they leave him in for another inning...although I'm looking forward to Dontrelle Willis.

Update: Sh*t! I talk up Dontrelle and he gives up a two-run homer and a walk! Too bat they can't let him bat....

Update: Andruw Jones cracks a two-run boomer in the 7th! At least it's not a shutout!

Update: The Nats pick up one run in the 8th! Don't ask me how! I was rivetted by the video I found at AFSister's My Side of the Puddle. It's a Finnish man's tribute to American armed forces. Took a while to download on my dial-up, but it was well worth it!

Update: Yea, Gonzo! RBI double! He scores! It's a two-run game!

But a ground out and strike-out end it!

Link'n'Logs

Having once been a Safety NCO, I can appreciate the sentiment behind this OSHA warning, found at Pass the Ammo.

David Codrea at The War on Guns fries a deceitful reporter.

Basil's investigative reportage unveils BRITMO. TORTURE with a Capital Tea!

Fly the Not-Female-Friendly Skies

From Yahoo News:

RIYADH (AFP) - While the debate over whether Saudi women should be allowed to drive rages on, Captain Hanadi Hindi will soon become the first woman to fly a plane with the private fleet of a prince.

No word whether she'll have to have an adult male co-pilot with her .

Note: the picture is NOT Captain Hindi.

Do the Puzzle!

At Curmudgeonly & Skeptical!

Also at Terpsboy (NSFW).







Make your own puzzle at http://www.flash-gear.com/puzzle/

Howdy, Vern!

Okay, folks! Nothing to see here! Move along!

It turns out my IE was just clunky this morning. But I did learn something today (cue South Park's Kyle): Vern of Vern's Blog went through to lot of trouble to to look at my code and suggest a fix. I had seen his blog linking to mine in Technorati for a while, but after visiting his blog, my teeth clenched upon seeing his content. I didn't know why he'd linked to me, other than to point out a local blog across the political aisle, but I felt no desire to reciprocate. Well, not that I've had some contact with Vern, I realize how small-minded I was about that. Some of my best friends are left wingers, and I get along okay with them--except for the rabid moonbat who lives in the DPR-NJ, so I'm hereby going to link my first left-wing blog on my blogroll. Vern, a Phoenix resident, seems like a nice guy and wears a cool cowboy hat. Visit him today and see what the Left is saying.

(/Kyle mode)
(/teeth clenching)

Sorry, Explorers!

For those of you reading this in Micro$oft IE, I really do have a side bar, a blogroll, and some interesting links...but I can't get them to show in IE. Also, the bottom post's comment link is jacked, but I can't figure out the problem in the template (after all, it all works in Firefox); this is probably what's keeping the sidebar from loading. Could one of you Javascript gurus out there do a View Source and see what's screwed up? I see some lines specifically addressing IE, but it's all Greek to me:

a.comment-link {
/* ie5.0/win doesn't apply padding to inline elements,
so we hide these two declarations from it */
background/* */:/**/url(http://www.blogblog.com/thisaway/icon_comment.gif) no-repeat 0 45%;
padding-left: 14px;
}

html>body a.comment-link {
/* respecified, for ie5/mac's benefit */
background: url(http://www.blogblog.com/thisaway/icon_comment.gif) no-repeat 0 45%;
padding-left: 14px;
}

Brother-in-Law Blogging

No, I don't know if he's any good, but as far as I know, he's the only one in the family willing to wail away at a mike in front of an audience. Bravo!

h/t to "Gretzel"

Gotta Rent This

h/t to Random Thoughts

His review is here.

A less-glowing review at Southern By Blog!

Regardless, I'll watch it and buy it if I like it.

Pubs and Carnivals

Carnival of Cordite #21 is up!

Wow, this week really flew! I haven't been so quick to mine the Carnivals for pro-RKBA blogs to add to my ongoing post listing them (this URL subject to change when I do update it) since I wonder whether the Carnivals have rendered the list obsolete. What do you all think?

Since I'm asking...Bass or Newcastle? Chilled or room temp?

Update: Screw that noise...my first is room temp and I put some in the fridge for later. It's after 7 pm, for Pete's sake!



Here's my first use of the pub glasses Jon gave me for the bar. Do you know that's the first useful thing I've used my kitchen table for since I did my taxes? That's where I used to let all my tax return-relative paperwork pile up all year.

Buying British This Weekend

Thanks to Prairiebiker who, in comments, saved me from having to consume any liquid rye bread by pointing out that Guinness is made in Ireland. Tonight I'll be sipping either some Bass & C Pale Ale or some Newcastle Brown Ale. I've had both before and know it won't be such a hardship...the things I do for our Allies.

My love for Australian wines started after the Bali bombing, when I discovered the great assortment of Aussie stuff the Class Six store carried. I could just gotten a case of Fosters (Australian for "beer"), but thought wine might be better to help maintain my girlish figure. My drink of choice is rum and caffeine-free Diet Coke, so I'm stuck for a British booze that goes with my mixer. Gin gives me headaches...does the British Virgin Islands produce a rum available here?

Sod Off, You Donkey-Humpers!

Tomorrow, I'm going to the Class Six store to pick up a six-pack of Guinness. I'll choke it down with pride and gratitude for our English allies. I really don't care for the stuff, but London was a juicier target for the ragtards than say, Ireland, where they make heavenly Harp's and blessed Bushmills. So I'll keep a stiff upper lip and chug some liquid rye bread for Tony B and all his mates fighting the good fight. bottle of Scotch because it's made in Great Britain, our truest friend in the world.

Soul-Sucking Video Game

Where have I been the last few days? Besides some blog-reading, minimal housework, and chasing the weasels around their room, I've been lost in the soul-leeching depths of Civilization II. I've had it for years and managed to put it away most of the time for things like a social life, exercise, basically not being a bump on a log...but this week, President Pyotr Pyotrivich has brought the Russian Empire to its greatest heights. I don't even play it at the most challenging levels! I rack up almost all of the Wonders of the World, pound every last other culture into the dirt until they're surrounded and at my mercy, then run up my population over the maximum of 330 million, then launch my pimped-out spaceship in 2008 A.D. so that it arrives at Alpha Centauri the year before I'm supposed to retire (2020).

I'll bet no one who plays this game has a wife or a girlfriend.

In the Center Ring!

The Mighty Lenny! And his handsome assistant Squiggy!