Arizona ACTS is Dead to Me

The Arizona chapter of the American Confederation of Tactical Shooters has just "selected" its third match director and I no longer wish to be associated with the organization.

The June match is secretly titled "We Hate Muzzle Brakes" and apparently it's a serious faux pas to actually warn muzzle brake users that they'll be grouped together on a firing line and to bring double hearing protection (phones and plugs).  It seems the new leadership wants those evil muzzle brake users to go deaf -- yeah, that'll teach them!  It's very unpleasant to be a range officer behind a muzzle brake user, so the new AZ ACTS gang thinks it'll be fun to give those bastards a taste of their own medicine and group them all in a deafening firing line with no prior warning of the hearing safety issue.  What a bunch of sadistic ratfucks!

I have no beef with stages designed to make muzzle brake users eat the dirt their noisy devices kick up or give them the opportunity to shoot in a confined space to feel the concussion... I change my tactics when I'm shooting a braked rifle and one of the beauties of the ACTS format was to give the shooter the freedom to solve the shooting problem.  Only this time, the shooting problem is to eat hot muzzle blast and they were going to keep that a secret until I brought up the safety issue.  

It's a shame that AZ ACTS has gone from the most fun match in the state to a vengeful ordeal with such little regard for their fellow shooters.  I'm sure I can find something constructive to do with that Saturday. 

Old and Stolen but Timely

I Hate to Complain

Compared to lots of folks nowadays, my life is pretty good, so when something does go wrong, I really can't complain... unless it's to inform/entertain my few readers.

A fellow shooter advised me that the slim differences between the Uzi Model A and B didn't include their buttstock attachments, so when I saw a killer deal on TSG with a wood stock, top cover, 3 mags, and a pouch, I jumped on it in order to make the Hebrewm a more comfortable shooter.  Well, now I've got a wooden paperweight and a top cover that somehow prevents the gun from firing... so don't believe everything you hear.   

The Ranger stranded me in the college parking lot yesterday afternoon.  The nice folks at the shop say it was just the dead battery, but I suspect something more.  I just consider myself lucky that I was stranded where I still had wireless internet (from school) and cellphone reception.

Since these things come in threes, I think I'll pick up some cheap trinket at the fairgrounds gun show this weekend and let it break or be the wrong size for something.

Update:  Screw that noise.  The Internet ate my Writing homework.  Maybe I'll get something nice at the gun show.

Would You Buy a Cookbook from this Man?

That's not a question.

It's a plea.

Refusing to be a Victim

TAMPA, FL -- A Tampa woman refused to be a carjacking victim when she was approached by an armed man who jumped into her car on Thursday.  

Story at ABC Action News

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this photo, sent in by Serr8d? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL. You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your NerfTM Gatling Gun!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winners!

2nd Place: Tam at View from the Porch with:

Chevy's "Warner Brothers" edition minivan having been a huge success, they decided to follow up with a new "Wachowski Brothers" edition.

1st Place: Azlibertarian wins with:

It appears that Vanessa has had a son! Congratulations!!

Other Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Outside the Beltway
RT's Ponderings

Shooting in Mesa AZ

An Earwitness Account

I live in a similar "quiet neighborhood." We've only had one drive-by shooting and one home invasion that I know of.

Stand Proud, Men!

And Pee.

h/t to Red Oregon

Memorials Large and Small

Four Point Oh, Baby!

Whew!

I think I might have to try to graduate after all this.

So THAT'S a Podcast!

As a busy student, I haven't had the time or attention span to check out all the gunny podcasts there are out there in the Blogosphere (since I didn't have high-speed internet until I started school). Since I actually met several podcasters at the NRA Convention and had the spare time between semesters, I paid them a visit.

Gun Nuts Radio is run by Caleb and co-hosted by Breda. When I listened to the latest archived show, Breda was 'casting from Phoenix with guest host Kevin Baker. Local boy makes good! They put on a good show centered on Kevin and the NRA Convention, then took some calls, including one from Caleb (who's shooting in the Bianchi Cup Match) and a few crank calls. If you let the feed run, you'll be treated to earlier archived shows back-to-back.

Vicious Circle is hosted at Snarkybytes and features up to half a dozen co-hosts like Breda (she gets around!), JayG, Stingray and LabRat, PDB, TD, and others. This is grown-up entertainment at its snarkiest, best enjoyed with an open mind, a frosty adult beverage, and a thick skin.

The podcast is intended to be awkward and tasteless. That’s why it has an “explicit” tag on iTunes. -- Alan @ Snarkybytes

Curiously, in "The Hate Episode" that aired days before I even met any of them, they tore their way down a list of the projected BlogBash attendees and actually had nice things to say about me -- and only nice things. Sigh... I'll never be one of the Cool Kids. Must be the age difference?

Moving from kaffee klatch to broadcast booth: Eric Shelton's Handgun Podcast is one slick production! His latest episode covered Ruger's coming-out with the gas-piston SR-556 ("it's got a pistol grip" is how he justified going slightly off-idiom) and three fine Arizona Evil Black Rifle manufacturers: Patriot Ordnance, Sun Devil Manufacturing, and Cav Arms. Um, does Cav Arms even make black gun furniture any more? He promises more Convention coverage tomorrow.

There are even more podcasts on the Gun Rights Radio Network, but I've been up all night (but my fever has subsided) so I think I'll take a nap.

NRA Convention: Schmoozin' with the Industry

On the night of Day 2 (my last day there), the GunBloggers met at Majerle's Sports Bar to rub elbows with reps from Tactical Solutions, In-Sight Gear, and Smith & Wesson.

NRA Convention: Day 2 (Opening Day)

Besides over 60,000 citizen patriots flooding the Convention Center, I saw Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis, actor R. Lee Ermy, champion shooter Todd Jarrett, FNC reporter William Lajuness, outdoor writer Jim Zumbo, news crews from CNBC and Reuters, and over a dozen GunBloggers covering the Convention with Press credentials.

Not WIthout Commercial Interruption

"Third Power" took me up on my offer to shoot a video spot.

NRA Video Blogging - Day 1 (Schmoozin!)

Thursday night, we adjourned to the D'Backless Chase Field to rub elbows with NRA reps.

NRA Video Blogging - Day 1

Finally! I dropped the audio tracks (which were nothing but crowd noise and blogger chatter) and tried out YouTube's Audio Swap feature.

Here's Day 1 in the Press Room and on the Floor. I'll edit and upload the rest before the weekend, for sure.


Want to annotate the video? Contact me for the URL.

Front Sight Down? Who's Right?

Today I read from Exurban League and Gun Nuts Media (with a link to the Pahrump Valley Times) that Front Sight and its president, Ignatius Piazza, was in receivership.

Mr. Piazza says otherwise:

Don't be concerned.

You can’t believe everything you see on the Internet.

This is pure BS written by a reporter who was banned from Front Sight after she was convicted of illegally carry a gun into a courtroom.

We are training 428 students as we speak and are totally in control of Front Sight.

We look forward to seeing you on your next course.

Ignatius

Who to believe? PDB disputes Doctor Iggy with a vengeance.

Late Reporting from the Convention

The good folks at the Patriot Ordnance Factory, an Arizona company that makes fine gas-piston rifles, are always looking for ways to make their rifles work with the minimum lubrication possible. Their latest innovation replaces the single-piece bolt cam pin with one that features a roller head.

I really don't know how much the cam pin contacts the innards of the AR upper receiver, but in a minimum lube environment, putting in the roller ought to help keep the bolt carrier running slick as whale snot.

Personally, I keep a light film of Break Free on my POF-USA upper innards, but if I ever get one of their sweet .308 platforms, I'll welcome the extra moving part.

New Range Box Bling

Courtesy of Third Power of Days of our Trailers.

Get yours today!

Meanwhile, TP has posted lots of great NRA Convention coverage and I still can't get my camcorder to capture. If it weren't between semesters right now, I'd try it on a school lab computer.

May ACTS Match

Pretty cool match, but some problems I'll address privately with the Head Shed.

Video!

Arrggh!

Tried all night and today to get Adobe Premiere and my iMac to recognize my camcorder and capture all that video from the NRA Convention. I'll talk to Jesus about it tonight.

Meanwhile, that's The Anarchangel, Chris Byrne (left), joining a discussion with heavy-thinker David Koppel and Michael Bane (center).




"Sebastian" (standing) of Snowflakes in Hell, hangs out with (from left) Mike (Another Gun Blog), TD from The Unforgiving Minute, and Alan of Snarkybytes.













Alan (lower left) schmoozes with Breda (The Breda Fallacy) and one of several Pennsylvanians in attendance, the author of the NUGUN Blog. In the background, folks from the event's sponsors, Tactical Solutions and In-Sight Tech Gear.









Melody Byrne (left) chats with JohnOC (http://www.theguncounter.com) and his fiancée Myrhiana. All the folks in the snazzy Gunblogger Conspiracy T-Shirts frequent a so-named IRC chat group of gunbloggers and readers.










More of our sponsors, I think.

Aw, C'Mon!

Today was my Birthday! You expect me to post something? I got in late Friday night from a Gunblogger SchmoozeFest hosted by Michael Bane (center-right), after nursing a single Diet Coke to ensure I could drive the whole way without falling asleep at the wheel.

Got up this morning and shot the ACTS Match, then hung around and socialized for a while!

Got home, took a nap, then jaunted over to the college for the Screenings. Said "Howdy!" to my friends Ann and Patrick there, as well was classmates from Video and Film. I'll be back tomorrow night, but I'm pooped right now.

What a cool birthday present: a mention in the Christian Science Monitor!

Poor Man's Steady-Cam

My latest production gadget is the Poor Man's Steady-Cam, purchased from Great Little Ideas because I'm too lazy to put one together myself.  You might not notice it on my Convention footage, but this should revolutionize my match videos shot without a tripod.

In the Belly of the NRA Beast

Humped the whole Cowboy Blob Production Co. to the Media Center, saw the crowds and decided to hang around with the press corps for a while.  The first face I recognized when I walked in?  Jim Zumbo's!  (Don't worry, I'm not going to drop any more names.  I see some familiar faces, but I can't read their nametags from here.)  

Once I'm re-hydrated, I'll head down and brave the crowds.  The lines are just tremendous.

On thing that struck me yesterday while roaming the floor watching the exhibits set up:  that's the power of the NRA, hundreds of taxpaying businesses (many of them small), thousands of employees (most of them non-union), millions of customers, most of them very skittish about what's going on in Washington right now.  

Denise and Yosemite Sam of the 10 Ring just said "Howdy!"

I'm such a lightweight gunblogger... I didn't attend any of the grassroots seminars, but there's a good reason for that.  There are only two gunny labels on this blog: gunfun and gunfun_NOT.  I leave it to more talented bloggers like Kevin Baker to tackle the heavy political issues.  

Later:  I walked the aisles in my normal thorough gunshow-trained methodology.  Lotsa cool gear, some eye candy showing it off... and R. Lee Ermy at the Glock booth!  More later!

NRA Blogging

Not much to see on the convention floor today, very few exhibits had all their crap in one sock before I adjourned to the Media Center -- and discovered I couldn't download the still frames from the Sony's memory card. So y'all gotta wait for a home editing session to see all the nothing that went on. Did get to meet Michael Bane (who's doing what I want to do when I grow up) and Breda (The Bonny Blogger of Books, Bacon, and Bullets) and catch up with Kevin Baker. I think only a surprise appearance by Gov. Sarah Palin could have topped getting to meet Mr. Dick Heller (DC vs. Heller) at the Happy Hour Bash at Front Row Friday's. Yeah, stupid ol' me had to confirm he was that Dick Heller. What an inspiration!

Met several Pennsylvanians on my blog roll, lots of Phoenix talent (of course), the Delaware guy, one from Oklahoma, a podcaster from Tucson I'd never met before (one of these days I'll listen to one of those... sorry, I'm a visual guy!). When I said that at least Breda was representing the many fine Hoosier gunbloggers, I was promptly corrected, since Breda's part of Ohio doesn't technically fall inside of Indiana. (And this was before the beers, folks!) So what's up with that?
Hopefully, I'll get some video reports from the many fine bloggers here tomorrow.

My Air Force

It's come to this.... (Click4bigger).

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this photo? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL. You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your banana split recipes!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winner!

George at Mad Ogre wins with:

"She's Any Which Way and Loose"

Other Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Blogs4Bauer
Family Security Matters
Right Pundits
Outside the Beltway
RT's Ponderings
Wizbang

Deleted Star Trek Scene

Happy MD to all you Mothers Out There!

TGIF Shuffle -- No Doubt to Rob Zombie

Took a break from studying for my last final (Video Editing) to join the Evil Geniuses at the ACTS Pre-Match Head Shed Meeting and Dinner (I actually had an appetite!). Since there wasn't supposed to be any shooting on this trip, I took the Stang, my recreational vehicle, to justify driving all that distance (yeah, guys, I needed extra motivation). There wasn't supposed to be any shooting, and there wasn't, but I suppose that's the rationale behind picking meeting venues that don't serve alcohol. I'll bet everybody but Kelly's daughter was packing heat. God Bless Arizona!

Yup, the wind noise from driving the ragtop kept me from listening to tunes, so here's another Shuffle:

1. Oleta Adams "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
2. Redbone "Come and Get Your Love"
3. Queensryche "The Needle Lies"
4. Peter Frampton "Do You Feel Like I Do?
5. Queensryche "Another Rainy Night (Without You)"
6. Queen "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
7. Rainbow "Stone Cold"
8. Pantera "Mission: Impossible"
9. Pink Floyd "Atom Heart Mother Suite"
10. Outlaws "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
11. Rita Coolidge "Words"
12. Peter Gabriel "Shaking the Tree"
13. Pink Floyd "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
14. Paul McCartney "Goodnight Tonight"
15. Outfield "Your Love"
16. Pretenders "Every Day is Like Sunday"
17. Pink Floyd "See Emily Play"
18. Rita Coolidge "Something Said Love"
19. Queensryche "Breaking the Silence"
20. Patsy Cline "Walking After Midnight"

Heh

Hmmm

I might have to turn on the house a/c soon.

A Language Refresher

If you've got a filthy mind and/or are learning Estonian. Not SFW with the volume up.



h/t to Bender

The Hunt for Gollum

This just kicks so much ass, I'm beginning to wonder whether film making is going to be a midlife dalliance or a lifelong passion for me.

h/t to Ghost of a Flea

Late? For Moi?

Skip this if you're under 40 and/or not a cheesy music fan.

Was chatting with an old friend on the FaceBook thingie. Here's the gist:

CB: I did whip out a screenplay tonight for the Advanced Cinematography class to consider, though. Looking for 4 or 8 minute Horror genre.

Him: So stare in the mirror for 4 to 8 minutes. hah-hah-hah-hah.

CB: Naw, I get to 3:55 and a pair of red eyes appear hovering behind me.

Him: Yea, but can you say Candyman three times?

CB: I think one of those red eyes was glass... Maybe it was Sammy Davis Jr.
Buh, boom Tsssssh! Try the veal, tip your wait staff!

Him: It's gettin kinda late for Blob, eh?

(He's three time zones ahead.)

TGIW Shuffle - Kenny Loggins to No Doubt

Not a bad week -- finished up Video with only one wrong answer on the final, Film final with enough extra credit to max out, and both movies didn't get booed out of the classroom. My screenwriting Prof told me that my final script was entertaining and ambitious enough to be made into a Hollywood 90-minute movie, but I'd rushed through some story development to squeeze it into the 20 pages (equals 20 minutes) needed for the class! Said it would make a good short story, but as a screenplay, the plot twist would confuse too many viewers.

1. Kenny Wayne Shepherd "Shame, Shame, Shame"
2. Nirvana "Breed"
3. Nine Inch Nails "Ruiner"
4. Nazareth "Love Hurts"
5. Kenny Wayne Shepherd "Trouble Is..."
6. Lindsay Buckingham "This Nearly Was Mine"
7. Monkees "Last Train to Clarksville"
8. Natalie Merchant "Wonder"
9. Marvin Gaye "Heard it Through the Grapevine"
10.Monster Magnet "Silver Future"
11. Metallica "The Shortest Straw"
12. Metallica "Wherever I May Roam"
13. Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs "Ballad of Jed Clampett"
14. Linda Ronstadt "Different Drum"
15. Nickelback "Breathe"
16. Linda Ronstadt "Long, Long Time"
17. Mariah Carey "Someday"
18. Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused"
19. Led Zeppelin "The Wanton Song"
20. Matchbox 20 "Never Going Back Again"

Cowgrrl Binker

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday -- Scroll Down for New Stuff

Got a better caption or photoshop for this photo? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! Leave a caption or photo link in comments, or Email a pic to me at the address in my profile. If you're sending a large animation, please provide a hot-linkable URL. You need not own a blog to win! I'll advertise your favorite charity, web site, or even your goat cheese recipes!

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday p.m.

Winner!

Maggie Mama wins with:

Some days you wear the Angorra; some days the Angorra wears you.

Drop me a line soon, so I can put up your blog ad, Maggie Mama!

Other Contests

Support your Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Outside the Beltway
RT's Ponderings

Reality - The Rough Cut

For your viewing and listening pleasure, our final Cinematography film, a music video:

I thought it was funny

May Cactus Match

Since I had to go back up to Phoenix to retrieve the light stand I left up there from last weekend's video shoot, I talked Jon and Big Bob into joining me for a little 9-mm long-gun fun while I was up there. My long gun was a little shorter than theirs.

More video as I add them.

Uzi

Uzi

American Spirit Arms 9-AR

KelTec Sub-2000 (Glock format)