Monday, March 25, 2019

Of Course I Bought Some Guns At My Last Hessney Auction!

Nope, I did not forget, in my post immediately prior to this one, to post about the guns I bought yesterday. That post was praise of The Hessney Auction Company and they deserved that praise in a post on its own.

Now for the guns I added to my collection, they are:

One is a Mauser Model 1895 "Chile" 8mm Mauser bolt action, 29" barrel with full stock and sling, matching serial numbers including stock. Made by the Lowe factory. Now, I am not an expert on Mausers but my guess is they got it wrong when they said it is in 8mm; as far as I am aware these particular Mausers were all chambered in 7x57mm Mauser. Of course, it could have been modified; I am checking on that and hoping it is that they labelled it incorrectly.

Another is a Savage Model 64 in 22LR. Has a few minor dings in the stock but is otherwise a nice gun. Did not come with a magazine but that was an easy fix as they are readily available.

One more long gun was added to my flock - that one a Stevens Model 85 .22 S,L,LR take-down semi-auto, 24" barrel with magazine.


Then there was the reproduction Remington 44 caliber black powder revolver by Navy Arms. I got it more for a wall hanger than anything else but who knows - I may shoot it once I get to AR. Here in NY they are legal without a pistol license; but of course, being it is NY, as soon as you get cap, ball and or powder - black powder handguns have to go onto your pistol license. I figure why bother, I am moving to AR soon enough. 

Not a bad days haul. I got good prices on three of four and paid a decent price to maybe a bit too much on the Mauser but that one is most likely a long term a keeper. I am hopeful I can get to the range later today or tomorrow with the 22s but sure have been busy around the house getting ready for selling it. I'll do a range report on the 22s ASAP. The Mauser will have to wait until I determine which caliber is it with certainty.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, March 24, 2019

My Last Hessney Gun Auction - I Have Had It With Them!

What I have had with the Hessney Gun Company LTD has been nothing but a good time and mostly good deals on guns, ammo and other firearms related things. No disappointment of any type made this past Saturday's (yesterday's auction as I type) live auction my last one. No it was something else that did that and I must say it is disappointing to say it likely will be my last. The reason for that is my impending separation, divorce and move to a Arkansas.

Damn, I will miss the folks at Hessney. I have been attending live auctions there - just about 305 miles each way from my home - for just a month shy of a full 7 years. That first auction I attended there was on April 28, 2012; that was only a month and a couple of weeks after being declared cancer free. In fact, my trip to that auction was the first really enjoyable adventure I had since my cancer treatments had ended in November 2011. I still was pretty run down from it all but was at the point where if I did not get away from moping around the house I was going just stay miserable forever. So that's what I did, I went to the auction and I did pretty good for myself that day. 

During that first auction, I purchased a Browning Citori Lightning unfired in the box (their code for new); a High Standard Dura-Matic M-101 with two (2) barrels, an Iver Johnson Hercules grade 16 gauge SXS shotgun, a Stevens Model 66-B .tube fed 22 Cal. take-down rifle, a New England Firearms SB1 Pardner 12 gauge single shot shotgun, an Eight Point Whitetail Trophy Mount, and a Moroccan Carved dagger with brass decorated scabbard. While I made out well overall, I learned some valuable lessons because I mad some mistakes at that first for me live gun auction.

The knife was a made for tourists piece of crap. That was okay, I got ride of it eventually for at least what I paid for it. The Hercules grade shotgun was a total failure on my part. I had thought I was bidding on another of the same make & model that was in good to very good shape but bid on the wrong one and wound up with a piece of junk. It is hiding in a corner in my basement somewhere - hiding from the junk heap that is! As for how I did well - there was that Stevens 66B and NEF Pardner. One in very good condition and the other was new respectively. Had fun with them and eventually sold them. Then I also got that Citori, I did very well on that one is all I will say - very well indeed.

That was the start of it all. I just kept returning and returning and over the years went more often each year. If the Hessneys and their crew were not as nice as they are I never would have kept going back again and again. Including that first auction I have attended a lot more of their live auctions, bid on one of their live auctions via the Internet because I was out of state for that one and also bid on one or two of their online only auctions. The breakdown of the live auctions I attended goes like this for 2012 and all the years since:

2012: April & October

2013: I don't have any receipt for that year so maybe none but my best bet is I attended at least one year but that is only an undocumented surmise.

2014: June 

2015: June 

2016: I started to get serious in 2016 and attended live auctions at Hessney during January, April, June, August and December.

2017: February, March, April, August, September, October and December.

2018: January, February, April, June, August, September, October, November. I also bid on a live auction in March but had to do so online as I was visiting my son in AR at the time;  I picked up a new in the box High Standard M101 Derringer. I also bid in an online only auction in July.

2019: February and March

I am sure there would be many more to come if I was to stay here in NY.

So, what's the point in telling you how many times I have been to their auctions? It is not to impress you with how many times I've been there but rather to impress you with how much I was impressed by the Hessney Auction Company. The Hessney family are some of the nicest and warmest down to earth folks I have ever met. Joe is the lead auctioneer and his daughter Carrie also is an auctioneer. Both do a bang-up job of it and both have my unending respect and thanks for making each auction I attended delightful. I am a bit ashamed I cannot remember Joe's wife's name but she too is a sweetheart; yet, she is also a no nonsense kinda gal. In other words, she takes no crap from any wise arses who try to give their employees a tough time as she works the floor during the auctions. One other family member I have met is Carrie's daughter - now around 2 years old and a pretty little fireball of a lass. 

Speaking of the employees the Hessney crew is an excellent bunch of folks too. I've got to give Don a hat tip as one of the best of the bunch and a hat tip to Megan too. As a matter of fact, Don got a warm handshake and Megan got a friendly hug from me when I left their yesterday. Gosh, my last auction there was only yesterday but somehow seems longer ago than that as I sing the tune nostalgic.

I am going to miss them all very, very much. If you ever have the chance to visit Geneva, NY - up in the Finger Lakes Region of NY - check to see if they are holding alive auction. It may well be worth your time and some cash to visit and do some bidding. While I attended only their firearms auctions, they also hold estate auctions, jewelry and coin auctions, comic book auctions and so on. As for those other auctions, I cannot say much since I am a gun guy and attended only those auctions. If you're into guns though, I can say this: I don't think you will be disappointed at all if you attend one or more of those auctions. If you do ever stop by there, tell them Glenn B from Long Island (the guy who moved to AR) says hi and misses them dearly (I do already and am sure I'll continue to do so). If I am lucky, I'll be able to visit them on a future trip to NY during yet another live gun auction.

All the best,
Glenn B



Thursday, March 21, 2019

Spring Has Sprung...

...and while I kind of, sort of, almost missed it - it happened yesterday - I did get to enjoy the full moon last night before it clouded over. Or was it that I saw it, the night before it was actually full, on Tuesday night? Damn those little gray cells - they have been easily confused as of late with the getting ready to sell the house, preparing for my move down south, and arranging for our separation - among other things! 

Anyway, spring is here, started yesterday and today is the first full day of spring. Enjoy it while it lasts, mid to late Spring it is almost as nice as the early to mid Fall.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Is The South Rising Again?

Missouri reportedly is putting forth legislation, that is passed and signed into law, would make it a crime to enforce any and all federal gun laws within that state. It reportedly has already passed the state senate.
A key question and its probable answer, asked in the linked article, about this proposed law are:
"Can you imagine if other states follow suit? It would spell the death of gun control in red states, at the very least, if not a step toward political Balkanization."

Read more at the source

Is this for real or is it satire like what is posted at The Onion? I do not know much about The Sentinel but the site this article is posted on has a separate satire page, so I m guessing this may be real news. If it is for real it will be interesting
 
I know they used the word "political" before the word "Balkanization" but do they think it would stop at politics if Balkanization actually took place. If this passes and other states follow suit, I think the United States of America will have come to an end as we know it. Does anyone think the federal government is willing to lose its power over the states! Like the first time around, when states tried to shake off the yoke of the federal government and exercise states' rights, the situation would likely end up in civil war. Maybe good - maybe bad but I think there will be a lot of pain and suffering getting to the end result if this passes and if other states do likewise in rapid succession. 
All the best,
Glenn B

Monday, March 18, 2019

Is It Just Me Or Is Fox News Starting To Lean To The Left?

Recently Fox new suspended Jeanine Pirro's show because of a question she asked. She asked a tough question did not make a statement, about Muslim Congress Critter Ilhan Omar and she was almost immediately ostracized for it. 

"Omar wears the hijab, which according to the Quran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won’t get molested," Pirro said during her "Opening Statement" segment on March 10. "Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?" (More at the source.) 

Why did Fox react as it did? Apparently they are not talking about it as per the linked source article. ? Did Fox believe that her asking a question would seem offensive to its customer base who are mostly conservative? Or was it that Fox is seeking another customer base - one on the left?

Today, I read this piece on Fox News online: Republicans’ day of reckoning on Trump is coming. It is one of the most blatantly anti-Trump pieces I have ever read on Fox News. It is, in my opinion, evidently the work of a leftist loony. yeah, I know , Fox boasts of being fair and balanced - and while they give coverage to opposing viewpoints they were predominantly on the right. lately though, they seem to be drifting, as if in a fast tide, toward the other side as it appears to me they are printing more and more stuff like this anti-Trump opinion piece. 

Then again, maybe it is just me thinking such is the case or have others noticed it too? Regardless, I find myself relying on One America News Network more and more; I just wish they included a little more substance in their online news reports.

All the best,
Glenn B

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Much Said About The Mosque Shooting In New Zealand...

...but all I can say about the actual shooting that took place is that it was abhorrent. Of course, I find every act of violence committed in the name of Islam (or any religion or political position) just as abhorrent and some even much more so when one considers the torture that often is inflicted on the victims. Other than defending oneself, one's family & loved ones or while protecting an innocent third party - shooting to kill another person is nothing other than a heinous act of despicable violence. 

That said, the only other thing I can say, not about the shooting itself but about what is to come is this: Beware of copy cat shooters. You probably could place some safe bets that it will happen again soon in another country that has a fairly large Muslim population because of the simple truth that people around the world are fed up with the Islamic agenda. Be it Germany, England one of the Nordic countries, in the Balkans or the United States, I  think it a high likelihood it will happen again.

All the best,
Glenn B

Thursday, March 14, 2019

My Worst Hunting Season Ever Because I Got A Deer


I went hunting on opening day of the NY 2018-19 regular deer hunting season & am ashamed of myself. It's not because I went hunting mind or that I got a deer but because of a mistake I made.

Opening day this year turned out to the most depressing hunting day / hunting season of my life for me. It started off okay because I remembered to bring everything I'd need. I even drove passed the state forest the day before to check on parking conditions. Zero places to park and the snow was piled higher than anywhere else in front of the entrance to the state land parking area; why I have no clue. I went into town, checked into my motel and then went to Homer's Depot to pick up a snow shovel. Opening morning I dug out a nice parking spot on the side of the road over a culvert where the shoulder was known to me to be asphalt. 

I only got out in the woods late because of the shoveling of the parking spot, it took me at least a half an hour to do it but I took my time did not want a coronary and that snow was heavy. It was pretty light, maybe 10 minutes before sunrise when I did go into the woods. I saw 4 nice does within 10-15 minutes after sunrise. They were about 75-85 yards off and moving behind and through a brushy area. Took a shot at one and missed. Even though I figured I had missed, I looked for blood for about 30 minutes, no red at all anywhere on the very white background of the newly fallen snow and I looked quite the distance from where it was standing when I fired. Sometimes I miss, too bad it was today.

While looking for blood, I ran across a set of fresh bear tracks. Kind of small, I thought but I am no bear track expert. A short time after that, I found a second bigger set of bear tracks, I am guessing mama bear and baby bear were walking parallel to one another about 20 to 25 yards apart; otherwise two adult bears took basically the same route since it snowed. There were some deer tracks in the bear tracks, gotta love it. While looking at the second set of tracks, I caught movement off to my left, figured the does had swung around and doubled back and saw a dark shape go by between the brush. Then another and another and 7 or 8 in all - turkeys. They were about 40-50 yards off and not at all spooked by me. Too bad it was not Turkey season.

Waited around a bit longer hoping the does would double back. Got to thinking about all the deer tracks in the area, there were really a lot and since the snow fell yesterday, they were fairly fresh. I figured it was either a popular crossroads for them or there was a bedding area nearby. Kept thinking those does might come back, walked around a little and was about to take a seat when I saw a doe coming right at me through thick undergrowth maybe 50 or 60 yards off. I stopped, and waited. It would stop and then continue every few to several steps it took but kept coming my way. I looked around to see if a buck was following it and did not see one but saw some other does off behind it. I am guessing a minute or two at most went by and the doe turned completely broadside to me. I brought the scope on my Marlin 336 up on target, cross-hairs on the spot at which I would fire and followed it a couple or few seconds anticipating it walking by an opening in the brush and trees where I could get a shot. I was zeroed in on the kill zone right then and once it was in the clear I fired. It spun around once and fell almost immediately. She convulsed once or twice and I had gotten my doe. As I was walking over to it, I took a pic of it where it was through the brush to show to my son as a sort of this is what it looked like when I shot it. It looks as if it is right in amongst a tangle of brush and small trees that were between us but was actually behind them in a small but pretty clear area.

As I got closer to it and on the other side of the brush that had been between us, I stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw literally dropped and my heart sank. My doe was not a doe. It was a spike buck with about a 5-6" tine on each side. What I did next is what I thought was right but maybe I should have done what a friend had told me years ago – left it to rot - if something like that should ever happen to me when hunting. I gutted it, tagged it, dragged it, got it into my car (on a plastic tarp), tried making a call but got no signal, drove to where I could get a cell phone signal and pulled over to make a call at a rest stop about 2 miles off. Then I did one more thing that I had thought was the right thing - I reported myself to NY State DEC.

I called DEC and got a central dispatcher. He gave me the number for a local DEC officer. I called the officer and explained I had mistakenly shot a spike buck I had thought was a doe. I also explained put a doe tag on it, not because of my mistake but because spike bucks with antlers to a certain size are considered anterless deer but I was uncertain if this one was within that size range. I also explained I had thought it had been a doe because I never saw the spikes until after I shot it. He asked me to wait where I was and he would come along to check it out. I waited.

Two DEC law enforcement officers showed up in separate vehicles maybe 20 minutes after my call. They were pretty nice. One officer, the one I had spoken to on the phone, at first asked my way I went to the rest area I was in to report myself. He asked me if I had been on my way home and then decided to make the call implying I had been trying to flee. I explained I went there because the heavy snow piled on the side of the roads from the plow made it difficult to park and I knew of the rest area and went there. I also knew I would get phone reception there which I had not been getting at the state forest where I shot the deer. He then eased up and kept telling me he would do what he could for me since I had self-reported and the other officer sort of concurred but played bad cop all the same. The other repeatedly insisted there was no way anyone could miss those antlers. No disrespect meant toward the officer but I have to wonder why he thought I shot the deer if I had seen the antlers - did he think just so I could report myself for a violation of the game laws? He also told me I should have used y rifle scope to assure it was not an antlered deer. As I recall though, my scope was on my rifle and one should not point a rifle at anything one is not ready to shoot. Besides that, having been a firearms instructor since 1987, I can say without a doubt that we never in all of our LE Firearms training ever told a shooter to use his scope to ID a target but we did tell our agents to never use a light or optics on a firearm as an optical aid other than when about to shoot and thus to use it only to acquire the target. Regardless, I honestly thought I had sufficiently identified it as a doe.

As to the antlers, I did not see them! I missed them and if you look at the photos you may see why. The bucks ears were as big or almost as big as its tines. In addition, there was heavy brush between us the whole time I saw it. Coincidentally, the photos I snapped of it while walking over to it (the ones to show my son kind of what my view before the shot had looked like more or less) shows how the brush and the ears can block your sight so as to cover the antlers. Sometimes I could barely see the deer at all as it advanced and had to wait for an opening to take a shot.

Sadly, I had not thought of the photos when talking to the officers, had not even realized then that you could not see the antlers in the two pics, or I would have showed them. Had I thought of the pics and showed them to the officers I might have gotten to keep the deer and not get a ticket because they told me had the antlers been a couple of inches shorter and harder to see they would have let me off and let me keep it (as it turns out if three inches or less it would be considered antlerless under the law and my doe permit would allowed me to take it legally). As it was, the one guy kept stressing how obvious they were but he was looking at it while in the rest area as it was laying on a shelf on the back of the other officers truck. Even then, if you look, you can see how much the ear can obscure those antlers. Yes you can plainly see one in that pic but again it is right there in front of you not in the brushy area with all the tress bushes twigs and whatnot.

Anyway, they seized the deer, my deer tag and gave me a summons. They were nice enough but nice or not I am going to have to pay the consequences even though the main responding officer said he wrote it up only as a violation (instead of an misdemeanor) and believe me that was a relief. Regardless, I later had to report this to my county PD's pistol license section and this could potentially put me in jeopardy of losing my pistol license. When I told the DEC officers this, they scoffed thinking no pistol licensing authority would make you report what they considered a minor violation but I am fairly certain I am required to do so. As for the ticket, I tried handle it in court on Monday after that weekend but to no avail. As per the officer, the fine goes from $0 to $250 plus a $75 administrative fee and let me just say that would be coming at a bad time.

Once done with that mess, I went back to town and picked up a couple of pairs of gutting gloves and got some lunch. Even though it was only around noon (I shot the deer sometime between 0800 & 0800 as best I could guess) I was debating going back hunting or to the motel. I decided to man up and went back to hunt some more. When I got there, the parking spot I had dug out of the snow was taken by some other hunter's pickup truck with 4WD. That person could have parked anywhere but took that spot. I suppose I should look at it this way: who can blame him. Oh well, called it quits for the day and went back to the motel in a really depressed state of mind. It got to me, still does, that I had watched that deer until it was almost on top of me and I shot it between 30-40 yards away and never saw those damned antlers. That is, I never saw them until after I shot it and was right on top of it. I don't know if you ever had anything like this happen to you, it is the first time for me that I have ever gotten into trouble like this and all for a mistake.

It troubles me deeply that I while was sure of my target, I obviously was mistaken regardless of how sure I believed myself as to its sex. It also bothers me that I did what I thought was the right thing by reporting myself instead of following my pal's advice from years ago and now I will have to pay the consequences. Of course, it probably would bother me much more had I taken that advice and left the deer there to rot and not reported myself. It concerns and disturbs me very much that I will now have a record even if only a violation. It is upsetting, and going to be hard on the pocket book, that I may have a pay a fine. It is giving me quite the bit of anxiety in as much as I believe have to report this to NCPD pistol license section and they may decide to seize all of my firearms.  I have hunted for over 45 years and never did anything like this before and had no reason to do it now except that I simply did not see those antlers and honestly thought the deer to be a doe and it makes me feel ashamed of myself that I made such a mistake. Mostly though, I was ashamed, very much so, to tell my son what I did. It was especially bad telling my son after having taught him firearms safety, how to shoot, about conservation & hunting, hunting etiquette and hunting safety. I attended hunter decades ago, then again with my daughter and again with my son a few years after my doing it with my daughter.

After I returned home, I went to my eye doctor for an examination. I was pretty surprised to find out that my eyesight had deteriorated since my last eye exam either one or two years before that most recent one. In fact he prescribed me lenses for both distance vision and close-up vision. Before that I had worn 1.25 over the counter readers for my distance vision. About 8 to 10 years earlier, I had seen the same doctor who examined me after my hunting blunder. Back then I had, through something a co-worker had seen while on a surveillance (I was a federal agent at the time), I discovered that my distance vision was failing a bit; I had not even realized it until the other agent pointed out the thing I had not seen. At the time I had been wearing reading glasses, the weakest over the counter ones for close-up vision and they helped me see in the distance as well. The same doctor (I have been seeing him for a long time and saw his father before him) told me that I needed stronger close-up glasses but that if they did not tire my eyes I could use the weakest over the counter readers for distance, he said it was virtually the same as prescription distance glasses would have been for me at the time. As for close-up glasses I had to keep using stronger and stronger ones over the years, all of a sudden I would realize I can no longer see clearly with them. The weakest ones I used for distance were another story; I used them for at least 8 to 10 years with no evident problems and to me I thought my distance vision was fine. It seems through that my distance vision had changed markedly and once again I had not realized it, at least not until my latest eye exam after the hunting mishap. I am guessing that is because it probably changed much more slowly than my close-up vision and I just got accustomed to it and thought it was normal. It was not and the strength of the glasses went from 1.25 to 2.0 for distance. I was amazed at how much more clearly I could see when I got the prescription glasses.

There may have been another thing going on with my vision that day. I used to wear one pair of glasses for reading and another pair (different strengths) for distance. The readers at the time I was hunting were 3.25, the strongest I could find over the counter. Just before I shot the deer in question, I had taken off my distance glasses and put on the strong readers. I did so to be able to see the distance adjustments on my rifle scope. The wood I were in had changed drastically as I walked along and went from fairly open to very thick and full of undergrowth and downfalls. So, where I had the distance set at 100 yards, I decided to change it to 50 yards knowing there is no way I would get a shot at 100 yards in woods as thick as those. I had just set the distance when I spotted three deer and saw the ‘doe’ I would shoot. I do not remember if I put back on the distance glasses, my guess is I did not. I wish I had also thought of this when talking to the DEC officers but I was pretty shaken up by them telling me I could be arrested. As I later thought back on that day, I am pretty sure I never took off the stronger glasses, I have a distinct memory of having to take them off when I later got back in my car and started to drive. While I could see at a distance with them across a room pretty – even across the street, the clarity does not last more than a few to several seconds and things blur somewhat especially at further distances. I cannot swear that also was part of it, just saying maybe. Anyway, I hopefully have solved that issue from ever happening again as my prescription lenses are bifocals – no more needing to change from readers to distance and back to readers depending on what I am looking at. Now I can use the single pair for both close-up and distance. Still though, I am ashamed of myself for shooting that deer and am not excusing myself just explaining what may have led me to shoot it and it not being a legal deer.

I have been to court two times already to see if I could get some info from the judge as how this proceeds the first time and to plead not guilty the second time. I tried going to the DA’s office as per the judge’s instructions but the guards would not allow me entry without an appointment. I called the DA’s office twice, the first time the phone rang and rang and rang and no one picked up during normal business hours. I called sometime later and got through that second time and asked to speak to an Assistant DA who handles cases in Windsor and was told I could not speak to anyone and had to wait for my court date. When I explained that the judge had told me to call, I was put through to someone I was told was the receptionist for those cases. I was again told, I could not speak to an Assistant DA and that is what the pre-trial meeting would accomplish. Some months later I received a notice for my court date – March 11th. So, I will be off to the courthouse in Windsor for my pretrial hearing or conference with the DA that day. I have all of my evidence lined up: and I am hoping for a dismissal.

Well, I went to court this passed Monday. I got there about 45 mnutes to an hour early. The Assistant DA walked over and introduced himself and asked why I was there. I explained it and he said a judge other than the one on the bench at that moment would take my case at 1PM. A little while before 1PM the ADA walked over to me again and told me he was going to make a motion to dismiss the case. He said that the DEC Officer had not submitted his deposition on my case. A little while after 1PM, the judge called me up to the bench, same judge I had seen a couple of time already, and he told me he was dismissing the case for the same reason. Now I had to wonder, why did the DEC Officer not submit the deposition! My guess, and this is just a guess, is that he figured I had been truthful and had never seen the antlers and that I probably had suffered enough grief over this not to have to pay or suffer more. If that is the case then I owe him my thans for that. Even if that was not the case and maybe it got lost in the shuffle or he was too busy to handle it or the DEC decided it was not worth pursuing at trial – I called him tot thank him for being a gentleman and for being respectful on the day he gave me the ticket. I am thinking he would not have issued a ticket had his boss not told him to do so. This I can say for sure – when the ADA told me he was asking for a dismissal and when the judge told me it was dismissed  I was a happy hunter. Again though, let me say it did not lessen my shame for shooting that deer because I had misidentified it.

This all is quite the embarrassment and I truly am ashamed of myself. This post was not easy to write up and place here for the eyes of  the public; yet, I figured I should share the experience so maybe others can avoid it. Because of my mistake you may learn something. Maybe it will make you look harder at the next deer you see when hunting or it might make you consider the advice my friend gave me way back when and maybe you will take it. Then again, maybe you will do what I did, what you I thought was and you think is right but at least you will have an idea of what may befall you if you do that.

Stay safe if out there and hunting to. I hope your hunts are happy ones. As for me, next season can only be better or so I hope because if it is not, then it may be my last hunting season. I may not bother ever going hunting again if it is worse than this year’s hunt because this last one has been one heck of a gloomy season for me. Definitely my worst hunting day / hunting season ever.

All the best,
Glenn B

Still Alive Just Have Been Busy...

...so I've not been blogging much at all. Last couple of days, I've been busy selling ammo. I figure the amount of ammo I had, even that which I still have, would not be transportable in my Toyota Corolla in even three or four trips. It just weighs too much. So, I am probably going to sell at least half of it. I have put a decent dent in it but need to sell more. I also gave away some today: 2,500 rounds of 22LR donated to the Freeport Juniors Club at a local rifle range, 500 rounds of 22 R to someone purchasing some other ammo from me and who bought a couple of shotguns from me in the past (good customer and nice guy reward so to speak) and some other here and there. The rest - whatever I do not give away, donate or sell - I will try to haul down to AR. Then I will take whatever money I got for the sales and use that to buy more ammo once I get down there. It's a plan.

Of course, I am considering renting a cargo van for my move and if I do so, I will be keeping more ammo than I am selling. If I rent the van, I figure I can make one trip to move the ammo, my guns, and what other meager belongings I will be keeping. The thing is, a rental cargo van is expensive - it will be 1K or more and that is if returning it to the same location as where I pick it up. A one way rental is out of the question, just too much.

Enough of this, no need to bore you with my problems.

Anyway, maybe I will blog some this weekend. I hope soo.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Quit My Job...

...but have been busy nonetheless. Getting ready to sell our house, for a separation and ultimately a divorce is a lot of fucking work. Thankfully, the wife said "ok" when I asked for it and it has been going amenably, even if slowly, since then.

Once free, I am moving to a freer state -  either north eastern TX,  central AR or southwest TN.

All the best
Glenn B

Who The Fuck Is R. KELLY...

...and is there any reason I should give a shit about him? If he truly has been sexually molesting underage girls (or boys), well then I think hanging him would be too good for him. More here on that molesting shit.

All the best,
Glenn B

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Damned Glocks & Their Triggers


All the best,
Glenn B

It Was A Good Shoot But..

...the video shows some things that need to be learned.


 
The responses of the officers were pretty commendable but two of them could have been mowed down because of their excessive (most likely adrenaline driven) boldness. First let me say that a vehicle is much akin to a very huge bullet or worse and when you place yourself in line of a bullet you are placing yourself in grave danger. Secondly, distance and cover are your friends. Third, a gun is not a shield. Fourth - be aware of crossfire situations and the tunnel vision that can allow it to happen. Finally, you need to exercise some self control of yourself to avoid becoming a potential hazard to yourself or other officers and in this regard I am specifically referring to the young buck who ran in and jumped the hood of the pick-up after the action was essentially over. Commendable eagerness but also a potential disaster waiting to happen - he could have injured himself or other officers and under less than favorable lighting conditions another officer may have lit him up - fatally.  Watch the video and bear those five points in mind, you will understand what I mean. Luckily none of the officers were seriously hurt from what I could gather but I think that maybe more due to luck than tactics.

I know, I know, I know - adrenaline was flowing, everyone was wound up, the situation was extremely dynamic but that does not mean we cannot learn from the actions of those involved with the hope of avoiding the potential for catastrophe to which some of them unnecessarily opened themselves up. They could have done it in a safer manner for themselves without having any less a chance of stopping the bad guy and that is an important officer safety concern. So, just in case anyone out there thinks I was doing so, no I am not bashing police, I'm just giving a critique based upon my own training - both received and that I gave with the hopes of improving responder safety. Overall, I think they were great, just trying to keep them and us safer in the future.

This video will probably be used as a training film for years to come and my bet is that each of the five things I just pointed out, and others, will mentioned and critiqued almost every time that video is used as a training aid to assure the safety of other officers in future encounters.

All the best,
Glenn B

Baby It's Cold Inside

Well, at least it is pretty chilly inside and stands to get a lot colder in my house because the heat is not coming on. A technician from Petro Oil was here last night to fix our oil burner. Now it is not coming on at all. Getting a message saying "No Flame Check Valve" but I don't have a clue. They are supposed to be here between 1040 and 1240 - earlier if possible. 

So much for throwing the technician a twenty last night for a tip. It's 56 in here now, 20 outside and I figure it will be a lot colder by the time they arrive. At least we have a gas fireplace in the LR. I've pulled out the small electric heater from the garage and put it in the basement to help keep the critters warm. 

Now where is that bottle of Kirschwasser. 

All the best,
Glenn B

Sunday, March 3, 2019

My Message To Benchmade




FUBM

That is all,
Glenn B 

Is Benchmade Holding A Going Out Of Business Sale Soon?

Just wondering, after all the responses they received from angry gun owners, not so much about them cutting up guns for the Oregon City PD but probably more to do with their record of political donations that was revealed once the brouhaha started over them destroying the guns. They seemingly have almost exclusively donated to libterds and their apparent excuse for having done so that: "As far as the political contributions, Elliott pointed out that Benchmade was in Oregon, and “the people who represent us are Democrats.”" is absolutely ridiculous (more at the source).

Think about it - if they had donated to those politicians who protect and uphold the Constitution and especially to those who support the 2nd Amendment then maybe, just maybe, the people who represent Benchmade would not have wound up being Democrats but would have been the Republicans or Libertarians to whom they would have made those donations! The logic of the statement that it is Democrats who represent and thus they donate to Democrats is absolutely absurd in the context it was given.

As far as supporting your local police, there are far better and much less controversial ways to do it than by cutting up firearms.

I recently gave my son a Benchmade knife that was given to me. Nicely made knife and a very nice gift to me but when I am in the market for a new knife, it will not be a Benchmade even if they hold a going out of business sale.

FUBM


All the best,
Glenn B