Category Archives: firearms

general this and that ; maps, guns, bad movie, stuff

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Posted by haltse on February 2, 2007 – 8:40 pm
Filed under Family, firearms, reviews, Work

Firstly  Live Earth from MS has replaced google’s version  as my favorite for entirely parochial reasons namely…

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=55.999481… 

This is my parents airfield and scrapyard in Scotland with a really good resolution.  Hell some of the ones taken by the microlight 2000ft up aren’t as nice.  Soon a map to all of the places I can recall living in.

Last night:  A night at the Museum.. everything comes to life, apart from the acting ability, the character development , the ability to not telegraph physical humour  or go for the most obvious sight gags or  humor on the lowest shelf. 

Tonight: Range, and it’s obvious that my skills have deteriorated badly from 1-2 times a weeks.   I’m just going to bite, er ,the bullet and return to a weekly basis of 100 9mm’s  and 100 45′s and 50 357′s  which means a lot more lunches in the workplaces discount section.

Work’s been sullen the last 2 days re the untimely demise of an employee under the most senseless circumstances,  sadly  I  fit in with a Heinlen quote re the nature of man and   Jubal  didn’t seem to be offering it as a compliment.

“Man is the animal that laughs”

It’s usually all I have left,  it’s my way with dealing with life , universe and everything yet .At the time I most have to respect other’s insanity re their man in the sky providing  “sense”   which is a one way street.

Triggering the light, fantastic? The 1911SC Smith and Wesson

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Posted by haltse on December 13, 2006 – 12:53 pm
Filed under Erin, firearms, reviews

This weekend saw the purchase of two new boomsticks for the house. Firstly though  one of the funniest gun comparison charts I’ve seen  re the  AK,AR and a Mosin Nagant. 

I bought an old SKS and ammo for a happy price, specially since more ammo was included in the deal than I expected. Erin  decided it was time to get something a little more  refined, substantial and just all round fluffier than her polymer 9mm ( A  SW9VE , reviewed here)    and bought the  fairly recently released 1911 SC.  A commander sized 1911 with a Scandium frame.  This has a full size grip, 4 and 1/4″  barrel and for a first trip out shot pretty damn close to the fullsize 1911 I have ( though with less style;) )  It comes with two magazines, if your problems are larger than 16 rounds you should be shopping in the rifle aisle, and during the first 84 rounds not a single fault. I don’t like the safety much it’s not as overt as my other one, ie thunk! rather than snick.    Sadly it has a huge pain in the ass “fault” when disassembling it where  holding down the beaver tail can pop the    thus preventing  reassembly without first taking out the  safety which is utterly  bullshit.  It’s part of the safety mechanism  , very safe, can’t get it back together.  On the whole an excellent carry gun which I will enjoy stealing .

Lost in America: What not to keep in your car for emergencies

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Posted by haltse on December 8, 2006 – 5:44 pm
Filed under Culture-internet, firearms, General, media, reality

Ok this is a result of recent events but I don’t want to dwell on the individual choices made or the people involved since it occurred in a space that’s more vocal / protective of “its own” and marginally divorced from physical reality than the rest of the population.Grief ridden arguments annoy me .. so there’s my unusually “sensitive” self censorship since there are as many people lauding a heroic effort as those deriding Naivety on a monumental scale.

I’d like to toss in my two cents on thinking about buying an ER kit for the car without thinking. Note this is for short term ER like snowstorm , run off road in a remote area type.

Nature is as Ayn Rand once said, A motherfucker.. oh wait, sorry that was me, she wrote,

“Even if smog were a risk to human life, we must remember that life in nature, without technology, is wholesale death

Which is a polite version of what I just said. I’m not an uber survivalist yet there’s enough material in the house / alternate fuel cooking / light and heat to make it indoors without too much fuss A water purifier ( A real one not the under the sink versions) that would let me drink the swimming pool. There’s so much missing there’s no point in going into it. That’s static and there’s a lot of issues such as”what if I’m not at home when tshtf?” Hence having enough in your car to keep you relatively safe for 2-3 days in terms of water,food, heat and some Hell there’s people that don’t even have knives on them ( mainly due to insurance companies insisting on pro victim policies in the workplace)

Think about what you need and why you are buying it. There are way too many kits being sold that contain a standard light bulb , and regular batteries and this is what you have to rely on? Regular batteries in a cold climate do not store well and they are probably going to be dead after a few days of low temperature. Lithium Ion batteries are far more resilient, have a shelf life around 10 years and aren’t as prone to temperature swings. LED flashlights are practically unbreakable and cheap enough to dump one in each car. So that’s the light but adding a rescue strobe for under $30 ( long runtime vs immediate needs)

The water? bit harder but unless you’re going to keep a microfilter in the car , ( about $90) then sticking some basic purification tablets in should suffice for 2-3 days if you really can’t spare the trunk room for a couple of bottles. ( If you are in the SW , or traveling through it DONT leave home without this it’s insanely draining to change a tire in 110 degrees) Food, for short term buy some MRE’s and a heater at a gunshow, or stock up on energy bars, heck this fits into a duffle bag. And if your state allows it (HA allows a natural right I Wish I were joking) carry a weapon that can take on the largest predator you expect to find in the region , it’s also pretty good for calling attention to yourself.

Anyway all very basic and the point was THINK about what you are buying and why, you’ll have your own right answers to a question that sadly was prompted by such a graphic example of not doing so.

Today in despair.. Cold, Traveling incommunicado and when logic fails me and other people.

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Posted by haltse on December 5, 2006 – 10:19 am
Filed under Family, firearms, pat, rants

We’ve been ill over the weekend. Kid’s still got a cold and the  nostrils can still be referred to as a form  of “streaming media” there’s  snot all on the telly.  So a round up.

Sat day we went to the Crossroads Gunshow at the State fairgrounds for probably the last time.  The charge , which was high at 9, was now $14 a ticket and  had we not paid $6 to park we’d have walked away ( yeah I know we made a sunk cost error there but  it was good enough logic at the time)   So $28 just to get in..   And for that we get,   well the same as all the prior times when it cost $9 , 8 and I think 7 when I started going.  In short they  have priced themselves out of my market I’d rather take the $30 and drive to a nice gunshop and eat lunch.  The only thing we got out of it was a nice Uzi shirt from Vector arms, I’d buy the  gun from them but I’m having a sale of them as it is. 

Sunday : we had the  kid at the “in-laws”  and went to see Flushed Away, Aardman Animations foray into  the digital realm. It’s no Wallace and Grommit but that female rat was cute.. I mean  the kind of cute that if she was lying with a broken neck in a mouse trap you’ ld still want to pull ‘er up by the tail and.. oh sorry I forgot , Pg movie,  anyway it’s toilet humour literally but it possesses a visual wit, possibly even whimsy  when it comes to the singing slugs,  that most animated dreck that’s palmed of on the kids fails to reach.  Most of the people that didn’t like this, critics are people too, felt that the low brow nature of the “man getting hit in groin by football”  was crude Americanization  misses the point that  Benny Hill hailed from the UK.  Well worth a spin on the big screen.

Logic fails me: 

Having a good argument counts for nothing when  I show up wanting to go scuba diving and the other side turns up  wanting to play a game of “conkers” 

In the “Pat” category of religious nuts…  Here’s this tasteful story from New Zealand

 

“Maori elders consider the combination of blessed river water and prayers to be a trigger for the release of the spirits of those trapped by violent deaths on the roads. ..

Despite the prayers, Mr Waihi said the exercise was non-religious and not just for Maori fatalities.

“Some people don’t have an understanding why we are doing it. They should find out more about Maori protocols before making comment.”

 MM ok,   No I don’t think so. You’re all nuts

Hurt the feelings bad… kill the mind , meh!

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Posted by haltse on November 27, 2006 – 10:31 pm
Filed under Demon Haunted World, firearms, General, rants, reality, state gone wild

some slap dash comments for my 2.3 readers.

Cop’s break in to a house on a “drug tip”  against a 92 year old  kill her.

A comedy actor says “nigger” a few too many times in a comedy club

NY police shoot  one guy multi times  outside a strip club

Guess which one has caused more outrage?

Here’s the problem for me I really don’t know what occurred in the cop shootings, and often can see both sides,  but  where I can criticize them is for their even being  there in the first place.
Who cares about  vice in a strip club or about people that wish to purchase drugs ? What’s more dangerous to you? Odd when protecting people means killing them?  Helleresque even.   These “Accidents”  are not going to go away as long as the police are asked to be societies baby sitters, social workers and increasingly  as lifestyle police.   There’s a difference between a peace officer and a law enforcement officer. Sadly we have too few of the latter and way too many of the former.
New York’s mayor said he is “deeply disturbed”

About what exactly.. too obvious?  Given Bloomberg’s hatred of guns I wonder how he can reconcile that it’s not “democracy” that holds him in place but the obedience of those he looks likely to shaft in the public eye.  He cant see why anyone would fire x number of rounds. Then again he’s on record questioning why anyone would want to own/ use a gun.  People with their own bodyguards tend to have that “Rosie” outlook.

Going back to the offense taken at the word nigger. TV news is happy enough to show it while motherfucker is being bleeped and asterisked out the transcripts so .. er how offensive is this really about as offensive as the groveling apologies after words.

Police kill man reaching for gun in Metrocenter food court

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Posted by haltse on November 21, 2006 – 9:32 am
Filed under firearms, Freedom, General

Police kill man reaching for gun in Metrocenter food court

Police shot and killed a man Monday evening in the Metrocenter mall food court when he reached for a handgun in the waistband of his pants after he had been told by police to remain still, officials said.

And they  hassle us about carrying legally in the mall because this  type of thing NEVER happens.

Season Shot – Ammo with flavor. A whole new meaning to peppering a bird.

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Posted by haltse on November 11, 2006 – 12:51 pm
Filed under Culture-internet, firearms, General, recipes

Season Shot – Ammo with flavor.

Save time on your next hunting trip by pre seasoning the pheasant.. Watch the trailer, read the info and wonder how many talkshows are going to get fooled:)

Small arms missing in Iraq but it’s ok it’s the Gov that lost them.

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Posted by haltse on October 30, 2006 – 9:40 pm
Filed under firearms, political, rants, reality, state gone wild, You have nothing to fear

Thousands of weapons missing, report says – Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit – MSNBC.com

Only trained professionals can safely handle arms  you may have heard that on many occasions. the prior video was included since it illustrates the hubris  that those that with power often display, sadly being hoisted  by your own pitard doesn’t have the same ring as  being shot by your Glock  but it’s a nice illustration of the larger issue.  To lose track of weapons in a civil war (can I call it that yet) seems to be slightly more than casual carelessness it’s almost like.. hubris;)

Lying bastards and the lies they tell. RANT Follows ( Anti gun people)

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Posted by haltse on October 23, 2006 – 12:25 pm
Filed under Family, firearms, political, reality

Least this piece has a name on it but sadly the sources for the figures they tout are unexplained, albeit referenced ( for a change )

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It’s an American way of death. More than 30,000 people die from gunshot wounds every year, through murder, suicide and accidents.

Half of those are suicide ( I think you can see that halving a problem by definition isn’t in the interests of those that are paid to solve a problem)

 

“AK-47 assault rifle”  really  that’s not what the rest of the world calls a semi auto, but then again  these guys would call a Nissan Maxima a high powered car ( they look kinda similar.

 

“covered topics ranging from metal detectors and school bullies to the value of religious beliefs and good communication between parents and schools.”

Amusing, a nation that has the highest adherence to religious observance outside of a theocracy still thinks that there’s a saving grace in  putting on the “ghost shirt”   of religion. This point is too stupid to refute apart from noting that prison population has a higher number of religious folk than does the general population ( that they have a lower IQ on average should  of course be “quietly” pushed to the side.

“How is it even possible to have a discussion about preventing school shootings without talking about guns?”

The  guns themselves are not violent.  My collection is responsible for less deaths than a certain Senator’s car.   Why not question schools?  Guns were around and an integral part of school life for the rural people( me included)  yet there were no shootings, stabbings or drive by fruitings  just the usual hateful bullying and abuse that in retrospect I should have taken out the whole school over:P

The fact that most of our lethal violence involves firearms lends credence to the hypothesis that the prevalence of guns is a prime reason.”

Fails to notice that overall  murder rates have fallen, fallen dramatically in states that allow concealed weapons, oops inconvenient “fact”  As to most of the violence?   While guns certainly are the  single most used weapon ( and come on if you want to kill someone you’re going to avail yourself of the tool, it’s not the tool that possesses the murderous intent though ( getting it people  ? inanimate objects   require an interaction process to  kill  )  Wander over here.  Note the incredible rarity of school deaths  in relation to gang deaths.   Then again  more kids die during sports, or heading to or from school  ( we really should question why we need those schools again  they seem to be a casual factor in school shootings)  Then they will ban edged weapons , then sticks, then  ensure everyone wears cotton mittens..  etc ..

Successful lobbying has led to a string of NRA of victories over its gun control adversaries. In 2004, Congress allowed a ban on assault weapons — such as the AK47 used in the Missouri school shooting — to lapse.

Er Bullshit. The AK’s we’re always legal  as an assault weapon during the ban. The ban on certain types of cosmetic features   however may have resulted in the AK semi auto having tighter controls. ( Machine guns are legal in the USA, just taxed heavily and you have a lot of paperwork to go through)

In a nutshell.  My law abiding family is  NO danger to yours. That you would remove the ability to defend them just because you are unwilling to is one of the  most pathetic examples of people that “love their fellow man”  The contempt I have for those that would deny natural rights ( I can’t say god given ) is limitless.  It’s easy  , really easy, don’t want a gun? Don’t buy one .

You can learn more here

 

Lord of bore? Quick Review

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Posted by haltse on October 21, 2006 – 10:31 pm
Filed under Culture-internet, firearms, reviews

Lord of War (Widescreen)

I’ll usually watch movies that have an opinion contrary to mine without too much fuss, unless it’s been telegraphed as being totally divorced from reality ( Michael Moore’s “bowling” comes to mind.) This one I was expecting not to be bored in, it’s guns, chases, explosives and .. maybe in a slow motion way it is. While the movie ultimately agrees that the “merchants of death” are nation states belonging to the security council ( oh there’s a shocker ) it totally fails for me in the last third. Fundamentally there’s
something missing in the logic when seeing a gang of men with machetes hack up a young woman and child means that not selling weapons to them was somehow adding insult to injury. There’s a sad and unavoidable fact larger numbers of people control those without the means to damage the larger group, some call it anarchy I prefer to think of it as the natural expression of situational democracy. If they really cared , arm the helpless. Oops I’m now beyond the pale of the humanist groups but seemingly they get off
on the idea that a dead women with her panties around her ankles in an alley is morally superior to one explaining to the cops why two guys have holes in them:) It’s easier to explain in pictures;)

This man does an excellent job,

Killings show failure of gun policies. Letter to AZ republic by a scary guy ( and that’s without a gun)

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Posted by haltse on August 1, 2006 – 1:12 pm
Filed under blogging, Culture-internet, firearms, General, media, political

Killings show failure of gun policies

And Allow me to retort.

In response to Mike Duraham’s opinion posted August 1st with regards to killing showing the failure of gun policies I would like to take him up on his offer and point out the fallacies of his argument. I’m not a member of the NRA and certainly not a conservative by any means,

Let’s address the issue with bars, a place where people can’t legally carry so that their “victim hood” has been assured may have been a sarcastic aside but wouldn’t it make more sense for a criminal to rely on a blind obedience to the law to assist their victory?

On the tautology that pro gun policies don’t disarm criminals wouldn’t that be the part about their being criminals? You honestly think that a polite request to be less violent or perhaps cutting down just a tad on the homicide is going to have an effect in either of these cases? Does he believe that normal people look at a gun and think, “Wow this makes me want to go out and kill all kinds of people?”

To be blunt it sounds like he’s arguing that the victim found, by the appropriate “state militia” fifteen minutes after a call for help, strangled and raped in a parking lot will be morally superior to the woman that successfully defends her life with a firearm or would he be ok if she uses a knife? Maybe a brick or harsh fucking language in order to preserve her or the lives of those around us?

Is he arguing that the very objects that you abhor be wielded by the state to apprehend these two criminals yet not for a second see the irony that current laws and policies in nearly every society prevent the wanton murder of innocents, by any means, but you’re seemingly comfortable removing the means to reliably defend our families just so, just so you can what exactly?

What compelling reason would have you confuse the tens of thousands of Arizonan’s that can legally carry a concealed weapon, and the hundreds of thousands that own them with the actions of two mass murderers?

It’s not just rhetorical I would love to know what motivates the kind of letter that is more outraged at a political position than those carrying out the acts themselves or the failure of those mandated ,in theory it’s not actually require of them in law, to protect the citizens of this state.

Ah joy tax money , hubris and why I won’t be spending any more money with Cabela’s

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Posted by haltse on August 1, 2006 – 9:03 am
Filed under Bad CS, firearms, General, media

Glendale, AZ – News 16 million in perks for new Cabela store.

Update…. It looks like common sense has prevailed and for the time the checking procedures have thankfully been eliminated for the time being. Now compare that to how long it takes to get the state to change anything..

Oh wait, that part’s missing from the Glendale council puff piece on the latest addition to the we’re for a free market, provided we get kickbacks crowd. Every other business in Glendale that provides sporting goods is now paying to subsidise a rival. Thankfully , Cabela’s, the rival have commited a wonderful bone headed move by asking that people check their firearms when visiting their store ,usually I’d be really happy about their rights to control how they do business but when so much money is tied up in infrastructure paid for , oh wait, it’s tax money I should have said stolen, from the public then it becomes harder to justify from their side. That they would expose people to the hazard, and much as I love my boomsticks these things are purposefully deadly, of amateurs disarming in public is mass ass hattery on a ,and I will ask my lawyer friend about this, negligent scale. The chances of a modern functioning weapon discharging when at rest in a suitable holster are nil. The chances of a da/ sa auto being made safe by all and sundry.. less so.
I wrote them several days ago asking them if this was the case and they have not bothered to respond. A company that refuses to engage the public deserves abuse. A company that refuses to answer a customer’s , a condition I can no longer be accused of, inquiry on one of their policies shows a degree of hubris that’s touching.

Sportsman’s warehouse, is within 10 miles, allows carry and isn’t in Glendale that it’s reportedly cheaper is just an added bonus. I do hope that anyone that remotely cares about their basic rights as a mammal to consider not patronising Cabela’s with their business with those that appreciate your business and not endanger you , or your family, for a motive that’s so far not apparent. I’ll update this if/when I get a response.
JG Sales in Prescott would be a better day trip if you need an “event” to go to:)

Kalashnikov backs weapons control by foxes. Henhouse votes to appease.

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Posted by haltse on June 26, 2006 – 7:00 am
Filed under firearms, media, political, state gone wild, You have nothing to fear

BBC NEWS | Americas | Kalashnikov backs weapons control

“It is not the designers who must ultimately take responsibility for where guns end up – it is governments who must control their production and export
Mikhail Kalashnikov”

Excusing his communist upbringing but, WTF , the Soviet system of government killed way more people with his tools than any tin pot dictator. (usually in the furtherance of imposing their own state , you know the kind that has somehow the moral obligation to control the production of arms mentioned in the quote:) )

I went ahead, and made my day.

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Posted by haltse on June 4, 2006 – 9:36 pm
Filed under Erin, Family, firearms, General

I must be more readily affected by the media than I’d publically admit to ( Blog’s aren’t public since no one reads em;) Two weeks after watching “the Prisoner” series we’re still looking into building/ acquiring a lotus seven based car. We’ve also been watching Sledgehammer which led to a range trip and a 44 ( kinda wished I hadn’t sold mine) It’s kinda funny to switch from a 442 snub to a 6″ 629 I’m sure my little one has barrel envy but it seemed to amuse one or two of the people that saw them basking together.
I’ve not been shooting as much as I would like these last months then again

I’ve not been attacked by any static paper either so it’s so far a wash;) though that’s a lame joke as Mr Lee said “boards don’t hit back”

What am I carrying these days? The aforementioned 442 which is a lightweight J frame Smith and Wesson in .38. Why? Well these are to me nicely subjective reasons and when talking about guns for personal use isn’t it better to keep it personal? I don’t have to outfit a department of JBT’s with an acceptable compromise of size, weight, recoil or be concerned with the economics of doing so. One also has to take into account the climate, local regulations, the kind of work you do, and your daily routine to come up with many suitable solutions.
This all seems obvious to most of you but shockingly enough I have friends that don’t possess any means to defend themselves other than harsh language and a cell phone. Hence the 442 is a compromise. 5 shots rather than 6 or 7 (there’s no reason why a revolver needs to have six shots) which makes the gun narrower , hence more concealable. 38 rather than 357 I have a Ruger SP101 snub in 357 but it’s far heavier,recoil is robust and takes longer to get back on target but damn it’s fun :) Fun <> usefulness in many cases but having managed to tame that beast I feel it’s made my shooting more accurate as a result but I would hazard that a 357 snub for your first defensive gun is a bad idea, a really bad idea.
The 442 Airweight (An aluminium and steel mix) has a concealed hammer which makes it far easier to pull from a pocket since there’s no hammer to snag on clothing and which ( I still prefer holsters) makes it far harder for anyone, or thing, to interfere with the action. For liability reasons there’s no hammer to cock so in the rare event it’s legally used it’s one less thing for the prosecution to focus on.

I hate that in any cop show or movie when someone yanks the hammer back to emphasis just how serious they are , the gun now has a 2-3 lbs trigger pull which is nothing , sneeze, hiccup, cough and there’s a good chance you’re going to pull a Pulp Fiction and be in need of “the Wolf” Most of us don’t know a wolf.

At present I think my daily exposure to risk and the canon of material available re self defensive use of firearms ,balances out nicely ( Ie most uses are over in < 3 rounds with an even higher percentage stopping after “people” see a gun and decide your watch , ipod or ass are really worth less than their worthless life.)

I’m pretty much of the inclination that if I “need” to stick on a 45,spare mags, and shove a rifle in the trunk (just in case) then it’s doubtful I’ll go there. ( Only one such case has arisen ) Yes there’s a huge range of situation where this is not the best thing to have to hand but for what I perceive the relative risk to be presently it’s better than praying.

One shouldn’t link alcohol and guns ( don’t blame me blame ATF)

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Posted by haltse on February 10, 2006 – 8:33 am
Filed under firearms, General, political, rants

Last orders please

Story from the “home” country , I’m still between nations at present , some kind of peripatetic internal exile, though I likely will change that soon.   One of the shocks that I experienced after moving to the states can be described with a lyric from  Soul Asylum “Trying to do the right thing play it straight the right thing changes from state to state”  Just trying to buy  alcohol was restricted by some of the strangest laws ,that  not only depended on the location , but the time and date.  County by County, some places sold both  beer and real alcohol, some  just the latter, the rules changed  to the point where  I was glad to move to California after three years in Georgia ( I was even happier to move to AZ )

Anyway  I’m sure they had the “best ” intentions in deciding that I would drink more responsibly if I bought them in two stores rather than one. I’m sure the people in the UK that opposed the lifting of  11pm most nights as the last orders ( for public houses, private clubs have other rules) had those interests in mind when the spent the publics money  trying to prevent  adults from deciding when and where they drink.   Than again they has aleady spent a lot of the money earned from the taxation, licencing and outright appeals to greed ( lottery) to convince people that England is a country that one could enjoy while sober.

So not only did the conventional wisdom not occur, e.g people drunk 24-7 causing fights and accidents,  but the inverse  a 20% annual reduction in violent crime relating to drink. Are they refunding the cash? er no.

A similar situation occured in  AZ 10 years past  We were sold back our right to carry concealed weapons. Oddly the   same mindset prevailed in here where “professional” commentators  let lose  with a vision of  streets awash with blood and people casually using guns as hammers, bottle openers and bullets as toothpicks failed to materialise. These same people  are still at, but now they have made some friends.  And I mean manufactured. Whether it’s by fortuitous happenstance or Machavellian planning ;) is that the people you would think are in favour of the Second amendment are more in favour of a second income. What happens is when you create a privileged class (interesting eytmology on that word) , which in this case is the instructors  teaching the course required to buy your rights back.  Anyone want to hazard a guess which way  the majority of these lean  when the need for these courses appear:D

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