Some More Talk About 69...

 ...and no I am not talking about my favorite position for sex. If you read a couple of my recent posts, you know I will soon be 69, you will also know that a rifle I sent in for warranty repair was lost in shipment by UPS. It was miraculously found by a contractor from Maryland who had been doing work in my town in Arkansas - apparently delivered to the place he was doing work on and which he thought to be a box of left over parts. Well he opened it in MD, saw it was a rifle and called the manufacturer about it, their customer service had already been searching for it for me. Thing was I wanted it back badly because the serial number ended in 69 and I bought it as an early birthday gift for myself. 

 

Well, 69 has been lucky for me again. I have been buying scratch off lottery tickets three or four time a week and the only two I have purchased, all at the same local shop, have been numbers 6 and 9 s they have them numbered in that shop. I hit for $40 on three tickets so won a whopping $10 above what I spent on them. Then yesterday, I bought number 6 and number 9 again. I started scratching off the stuff on one of them and saw a cash bag, that meant I had hit for $100.00, then as I kept scratching, I kept seeing more cash bags, there were five in all. All in all, that one ticket was a $500 winner. Yeeha, whoopee, hip hip hooray, happy birthday to me or whatever! 

 

Either that money will go into my bank account being that I just paid off my next year of auto and renter's insurance (ouch, it was a lot more than $500.00) or a new gun may be on order soon. Then again a thousand rounds of 5.56x45mm or 7.62x39mm ammo may be coming my way.Of course, I may decide to go on a road trip to a casino and play some poker - who knows I may win more or lose it all. Decisions, decisions.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Am I A Doomsayer or Just Being Practical About Being Prepared?

China very recently curtailed exports of antimony and nitrocellulose to the United States. Antimony is extremely important to ammunition manufacture and to the manufacture of other national defense items. As per Fox News: "The little-known metal antimony is used in ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, as well as batteries and photovoltaic equipment. China produced nearly half of the world’s antimony last year."  China has been cutting back on critical elements needed for our national defense since at least last year. 

Other things that China has reduced exportation of are:

Gallium (used to produce micro-chips, semi-conductors and other electronics, many used in military applications). In 2022, China produced about 98% of the world's gallium. "Disruptions in the gallium market could pose significant challenges for U.S. and allied defense industries and cost hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses." More at the source.

Germanium    

"Meanwhile, the demand for germanium for fiber optic communication networks, infrared night vision systems, and polymerization catalysts increased dramatically.^[27] These end uses represented 85% of worldwide germanium consumption in 2000.^[30] The US government even designated germanium as a strategic and critical material, calling for a 146 ton (132 tonne) supply in the national defense stockpile in 1987."

"Due to its use in advanced electronics and optics, Germanium is considered a technology-critical element (by e.g. the European Union), essential to fulfill the green and digital transition. As China controls 60% of global Germanium production it holds a dominant position over the world's supply chains." More at the source. 

Graphite "In 2018, the U.S. Government included graphite in its first-ever list of 35 minerals or “mineral material[s] that [are] essential to the economic and national security of the United States, that [have] a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and that [serve] an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security.”" More at the source.

 Please tell me that I cannot be the only one who sees these cutbacks to exportation of essential minerals/chemicals from China to the USA and other western nations as an extreme national security risk and as a potential prelude to world war. Of course, the export limitations could all have been put in place to exert pressure on governments to allow certain exports from western nations into China. Such things as more limitations of exporting computer chip technology to China were recently effected by the US. Something tells me though that if we want peace we had best prepare for war and to do so we had best be mining or producing these things ourselves. Just taking antimony alone into consideration, it is a critical element in the production of national defense hardware. Remaining dependent upon China, which undoubtedly will be our enemy in any world conflict, is truly ridiculous and U.S. politicians had better wake up soon over the shortages of antimony that the Chinese export restrictions will create and thus also of the national security weaknesses those restrictions will cause. "Antimony is a necessary material for the U.S. defense industrial base and is therefore critical to national security. However, the United States remains reliant on Chinese imports to meet domestic demand for antimony. “More at the source.

Of course, there will be other predictable fallout created by the export restrictions. One of them, close to home, will be that the cost of commercial ammunition will rise drastically as the supply of ammunition dwindles. So, those who are second amendment advocates, preppers, survivalists and so forth may want to consider buying ammo now before the prices go up even higher than the much inflated current prices. Add ton that the fact that there is a threatened strike of dock workers looming (more at the source); the prices may skyrocket for ammo if foreign ammo supplies are cut off due to a strike. Of course such a strike would affect many different types of imported goods, not just ammo. Things may be getting a lot more expensive in the near future, the union has threatened to strike as soon as October 1, this coming Tuesday (as I type). 

I for one recently bought a good deal of ammunition, not having to do with any of these issues but rather with the possibility of Kamala Harris winning the upcoming election. That would not only affect prices of all commodities, most likely making them rise, but would probably create a buying frenzy when it comes to guns & ammunition based upon her anti 2nd amendment ideals. Now with the export restrictions upon us and with a dock worker strike possibly imminent, I am thinking of purchasing even more ammunition along with firearms maintenance supplies like gun oil, gun cleaning solvents, cleaning patches & swabs and so on. I also recently purchased some of that but that was because I was running short of those items. Now, I may purchase more to have them in stock should it become tougher or nearly impossible to get them.

I will probably also be buying more supplies for the home, especially food products that remain edible for years such as canned goods. I will also increase my medical supplies, and other things needed for comfortable daily living in the home such as cleaning supplies, toiletries and others. If gold and silver were not so darned high priced now, I'd add more bullion to my meager stocks.

It may turn out that my fears are unjustified but I lived through 36 years of the original 45 yearlong Cold War and I was brought up to believe it was wise to have made survival preparations back then and I know, without a doubt in my mind, that it is prudent to do likewise today. If it turns out I do not need the items I have stocked up on, I can eat the food and sell the ammo and whatever else I have purchased or just save it all for another rainy day.

All the best, 

Glenn B

 

Five Pounds Of Possum

Listening to the song in this video made me hungry! 

 

It made me think of Granny & her vittles from the Beverly Hillbillies too.

All the best, 

Glenn B

It Has Been A Weird Three Days For My Gun Stuff

 In my post immediately prior to this one, I described a couple of things that made me an unhappy camper so to speak. The big one was that a Henry U.S. Border Patrol commemorative rifle, that I had shipped via UPS, back to Henry for warranty repair had not been received by Henry. A second one, both of them having been shipped to Henry on August 30th, had already been returned to me. So, two days ago, I go in touch with the UPS store where I had dropped them off, the supervisor there told me it was shown as in Texarkana, AR and said it must be at the UPS Customer Center there. I asked him to call to verify that and he refused. I asked for the phone number there, he said they would not answer if I called! I also contacted Henry and the customer service rep there, with whom I had been dealing since July, confirmed it was never received by Henry and she would inquire of UPS.

 

Yesterday, the Henry customer service rep, called me. She told me the rifle had been found. Here is when, how and by whom it was found:

This is one of the weirdest stories I have heard in years. The customer service lady from Henry called me up and am I very happy? In fact, you can safely bet yes I am. She told me that a man who lives in Maryland called Henry yesterday and it just happened to be her who answered the phone. As I said, she is the same lady I have been dealing with all along from customer service. The man's story was this: He is a contractor who was doing work At the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Texarkana, Texas. When the job was done the workers took all the remaining boxes of parts and signs and whatever else they were using that was left over, loaded it all into his truck and he drove back to Maryland. When he got there and opened the boxes, he found the rifle. There was no UPS shipping label on the box. All that was written on the box was "Texarkana, TX". He was shocked to say the least when he saw the box contained the gun. When he saw the Henry box inside the outer shipping box, he called Henry and as I said, he got the same customer service lady with whom I have been dealing and who had been searching, since the 26th, for the rifle. He explained that all to her. She sent him a UPS label so he can send it directly to Henry. 

She told him the rifle was special to me because I had essentially bought it as an early birthday present for myself and that I will soon be 69 years old. She also told him the serial number coincidentally ended in 69 and that made it special for me. He told her there was no way that he could screw over someone who had protected our borders once he saw it was a USBP commemorative and agreed to send it to Henry. When Henry gets it, if not lost again, they will do the minor cosmetic warranty work and then return it to me overnight express. I can only hope it does not go astray again.

I have since been in touch with the gentleman. I sent him an email thanking him. I also sent him $50.00 Amazon gift card because he did the right thing and as I told him -  one good turn deserves another. I would not have lost a penny had the rifle never been found because the Henry rep told me they would send me another to replace it, but it was sure nice they found the one of the two I had purchased that I wanted to keep being the serial number's last two digits matched my soon to be age. He said he had no clue how it wound up with the other items UPS had delivered for the renovation job he was handling at Cracker barrel. Regardless of how it happened, I am very happy he was the one who found it. I am also very happy he was not stopped for speeding, or anything else in MD, because if the car had been searched - how would he have explained the rifle in such an unfriendly anti-gun state. No cop would believe him when he told them he had no idea how it wound up among the other items from the renovation in his trunk. Sometimes things that go wrong eventually just work out fine and this has been one of them so far. Let's wait and see though if I ever actually see that rifle again😐.

It truly is nice to see there are some honest people in the world who are willing to do the right thing. Had some libturd found it, it may have wound up as seized property or thrown into the Atlantic ocean. Had a thug found it, it may have wound up being used to injure or kill an innocent person. Who knows what would have happened if some leftist psycho had found it - may have used it to try to assassinate President Trump the way things have been going as of late. As it is now, Henry plans to do the small cosmetic repairs it needs and the rep said she will have it shipped by way of overnight delivery to me.

It certainly was weird (almost Twilight Zone weird) but it also most assuredly made my day, heck it made my month, the way it has worked out so far.

All the best,

Glenn B

 

Not A Good Day For Gun Stuff

 A while back, I ordered two Henry Golden Boy U.S. Border patrol Commemorative Rifles. Probably the most experience guns I have ever purchased bar none. When I received them, I was disappointed to say the least, the brass receivers on both had some small black spots and the wood finish on each was missing at one spot (same spot on each) and one of them had other flaws in the wood finish. So I contacted Henry customer service and their first rep told me to buy something called Flitz and to polish the brass with it, and they would send me new wood to replace the stock on one and forearms on both. I got pissed. I contacted them again and they said send em in which was better in my view at the time. I shipped em out via a UPS store with shipping labels supplied by Henry.

 

Two days ago, I received one of the rifles back via UPS. The other did not arrive by today so I checked tracking for it. Tracking says it is sitting here in Texarkana, AR - never got any further. I went to the UPS store, they could not help except to say maybe the label fell off and the box is at their lost & found in Kentucky. I contacted Henry CS, the and their rep said she is looking into it and will try to find out from UPS if they are holding it. If it is lost or stolen (as I suspect) she said Henry will send me another one. The thing is, these were a birthday present to me from me. The one that is missing has a serial number ending in 69 - guess which birthday is my imminent one! Yep, you guessed, that'll be my age very soon- so that one was kind of special for me.

 

If they find it still in the shipping box undamaged by any mishaps at UPS or in other words in the same condition as when shipped, I will be ecstatic.

 

Add to that, I just picked up the High Standard Supermatic Tournament Model 107 Military from my FFL today. I had the high bid on it at an online auction about two weeks ago. It has been sitting at my FFL since the 23rd because I only got the tracking number for it today, once I checked it I saw it had been delivered. The pistol itself looked nice at first glance but I also immediately noticed something was not right with a major parts, those parts being the two magazines that came with it. They are both what I am 99.9% certain are Triple K mags (aka: crapola - my estimation of Triple K's products after having a few that did not fit the guns they were made for properly, out of several I have purchased). Before the auction, I sent the auctioneer an email asking for the condition of the guns I wanted to bid on, the reply was that this one was in 95% condition but it did not mention that the mags were aftermarket. That was very, very, very disappointing as the OEM mags are difficult to come by at best and cost a lot of money on top of that. My guess is an original, if I can find one, will be at or over $100.00. (If any of my readers has one to sell, please let me know.)

 

Next up is that the package containing non-firearms items, from the same auction is due to be delivered to my address by 7PM my time. The thing with that is all of my packages sent via UPS are supposed to go to the UPS store (firearms are excluded and have to come to my address for my signature). As I said though no firearms are in this shipment, just some ammo, books and other stuff. Now, I have to wait at my apartment for the box because if they leave it on my doorstep, I am guessing one of the porch pirates who lives nearby will take advantage of the opportunity to grab it if I am not here to receive it.

 

Harketh -  my mongrel just had barketh a minute or two ago as I finished the prior paragraph. I looked outside and there was the UPS guy about to drive away in his truck after dropping off a box across the street. I called out and asked if he had one for me. The addresses of my duplex are way off in number from all other addresses on this block so he thought my place was further one. Anyway, he sad yes he had it. Small wonder something went right today relative to my orders and I am thankful for that and thankful to Skye my pooch for sounding the alarm. Hopefully everything I ordered is in the box, will check that later. Before looking in the box, we will be off to the dog park because my UPS alarm deserves to have some fun after letting me know the UPS guy was here. She does not bark for many things but she always barks when UPS comes by, sometimes even when half a block away and when they do not even make a stop near our place.

 

Now if only they find my rifle and I can find an original mag for the High Standard. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Reality Show Personalties

I watch what I guess are considered reality shows; although I am pretty sure some of them are based on pure set up bullshit (and that like virtually everything I write in this entire post about the shows and their characters is based on my opinion). Now mind you, I do not watch many reality shows and those I watch are limited to my interests. One reason I do not watch many is pretty much due to the fact that the liberal hollyweird types that I guess make the shows consider them reality when in truth, I believe some of them, if not all, are as far from reality as is possible. 

 

The prime example of that last thought, for me, would be the one I believe was the original 'reality' show - The Real World. Based on episodes of that show, my daughter based her demands that I either send her to Boston University or Boston College for her college education. That was a long time ago but was still 40K per year for at least one of them. When I explained to her we could not afford it, she flipped out and told me I was a terrible father/provider and that it was my obligation as a father to send her to one of those schools because the parents of the college kids on The Real World had sent their kids to such expensive schools. It was a show that I figure started the whole spoiled brat movement back then. It wound up my daughter went to a college under the State University of NY and yes, I paid for it including room & board. That was okay, 40K per year was not. The kicker was that years later, when she was paying for graduate school on her own dime - she told me that I had been right about college and that the Real World had been full of shit just as I had told her when she as in high school. She had matured up nicely to have told me that!

 

Well, since then I have watched several other so called reality shows, some more phony than others and a certain few that may actually have been fact based (note I said may have been fact based not are or were fact based). The ones I liked have always centered around my interests: I like shooting and collecting guns (have a small collection), I like fishing (or did years ago, probably would still enjoy if if I ever get my fat arse to a river, lake, pond or stream again), I like hunting, I like finding neat old things old things that are worth more than I paid out for them (have ever since I was very young). So I have watched shows like Antiques Roadshow (UK & US versions - man they find nice very old stuff in the UK), American Pickers, Down East Dickering (one of my favorites shows, sadly only two seasons), Cajun Pawn Stars (I was planning a visit but when I checked Google maps about a year ago, I found out that the place had closed down.That was due to Jimmie DeRamus, aka: Big Daddy, passing on back in July 2023.), Pawn Stars, Pawnography, Storage Wars, Storage Wars TX, Sons of Guns and so on. Every now and again, I watch a show about hunting or fishing but Outdoor Life, Field & Stream and Sports Afield were my go to sources for hunting and fishing info when I was a youngster.

 

In watching all of those shows and a few others, I soon realized that there was one character out of all those shows who I feel is not only a man of many annoying habits but who also repulses me. In fact, in reruns of his show on the Roku channel, he sickens me in almost every edition of Pawn Stars each time I see them. If you have not guessed, that person is Rick Harrison - the bald dude/owner of the shop on Pawn Stars. I think his most annoying habits are telling people 'it's a fair price or deal' when I think it is not, his being a lowballer all too often in my estimation, the many times (if not every time,) he loudly exhales as if greatly exasperated when someone tells him the price they want for an item, his calling in his 'buddies or friends' to give estimates of worth on items (really is he calling in friends to give objective opinions on value, I would think the friendships would be a major conflict of interests), the way he seemingly treats employees and family, and what I think is his incessant self gratifying type laugh at things he says and that he seems to find funny but that in my estimation are only rarely funny and then only in the least imaginable amount but that I also think usually are not funny at all in my opinion. 

 

Yes, I understand he just endorsed Donald Trump but that may be one of his infrequent good points in my opinion. Mostly, as I see him, the guy is terribly arrogant and is a pompously self aggrandizing bore who believes himself to be more intelligent and knowledgeable than almost anyone else in his family or in his employ even when he seems to be wrong. Of course, it could all be an act but his facial features, his actions, his posturing and business etiquette all lead me to believe that for the most part, when it comes to his personality, he is not acting. Then again - who knows he could be the nicest guy ever but his TV persona is horrendous and truly annoying as I see it.

 

There have been some others who have driven me to being annoyed such as Frank on American Pickers - talk about being cheap, he certainly seemed to be a tightwad to me; then there was Johnnie DeRamus also a seemingly pompous arrogant type always ready to be, if not actually, low-balling a customer in my estimation; and the dude on Antiques Road Show who apparently was the poster expert and who wore what I though were the weird suits (that guy just creeped me out). One other guy, whom I believe is almost as annoying as Rick is Dave Hester of Storage Wars; if he, in real life, is half as much the way he is or acts on Storage Wars - then I think he is a nasty piece of work. Again, that may all be an act but I tend to think it would be an acting marvel for him to come off like that if his real personality was much different than that on the show.

 

Still though, I watch those shows. Regardless as to whether or not they are all staged or for real, and regardless of some of the characters annoying traits, I like shows like: American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, and Down East Dickering not because I think they actually find all that stuff without it being set up in advance but because I like the items they highlight on the shows and like learning about them. As for Down East Dickering, there actually is an Uncle Henry's (their treasure hunting bible, so to speak) published in paper format and online - so at least that is real but who knows maybe - just maybe - all of it is real on all of those shows but I doubt it.

 

Of all my interests other than family, the strongest probably has to do with guns & shooting. Yet, the odd thing there is, I watched reality shows related to guns least of all. Maybe that is because I have received a lot of real world training and real world experience that includes hunting with them, as an amateur collector and also as a armed professional in federal law enforcement for 32 years, including 16 years of collateral duties as a firearms instructor, and many years as a Glock Armorer. 

 

Still though, I watch them as if addicted - not so much to the shows but to hoping to find another rare treasure or three for myself. When it comes to guns, I have found some good ones at good bargain prices over the years but I also suffer from seller's remorse after having sold almost all of them sooner or later. My biggest regret in that regard was selling a Marlin 1936 in excellent condition including the case colored receiver. It was the nicest gun I have ever owned, and believe me the photos do not do it justice, the case color as amazing). Like a fool I sold it.

 

The thing these shows give me, besides some knowledge about collectibles, is hope that I will again find some treasure at a great price. Believe me, if I ever find a Marlin 1936 in similar condition as the one I sold, I'd buy it in a heartbeat if the price is right and this time I very much doubt I'd sell it.

All the best,

Glenn B

Some Questions For Ruger Owners

I own a few Ruger pistols and a rifle right now to include one Ruger MK I, two MK IIs, aq MK IV, a New Model Single Six Convertible in stainless steel, and a Ruger 10/22 that I have owned since about 1980 or so. I have owned a few other new Model Single Six revolvers, an old model Single Single six revolver or two, a Ruger Redhawk in 44 MAG and an SP101 in 357 MAG. I just cleaned my 10/22, in fact I have all of my long arms in my apartment right now and plan to clean & lube them all over this weekend. 

 

Now, I have been wondering about something about Ruger forearms ever since I got the 10/22 ad my first Ruger MK II (with 5.5" target bull barrel and what I have wondered is this: Are all Ruger semi automatic pistols and rifles as big of a pain in the buttocks as are the 10/22 and the Ruger MK II to take apart and assemble (especially to assemble)? So, really, I would love to find out if other folks have the same difficulties as me, not so much with the Ruger MKII, they are a legendary PITA to assemble so I watch my own video on YouTube for how to do it right but are other Ruger semi-autos as bad?

 

 

So while I can pretty easily get a MK II together again, if I watch the video; the one I am wondering about is the 10/22. I find it bothersome trying to get the bolt back onto the recoil spring guide/bolt handle assembly just right. I just did it and it took me several attempts and a good five to 10 minutes to get it in there right. Once it goes in right, that successful attempt seems to have been a breeze but during the several attempts to seat it properly before that, it is as annoying as a tick crawling around in your arse crack - and that is to say the least about said annoyance. Anyone else feel likewise - not about the tick analogy but about certain Ruger semi-auto guns being bothersome to reassemble?

 

As for their revolvers, I have never tried to do a detailed strip to clean them, all I do is a field strip at most. I learned my lesson with regard to doing a detailed strip of a revolver way back in 1980 or 81 when I took apart a Colt Border Patrol 357 revolver and it had to be sent to a Colt armorer to assemble it again. A field strip of the Ruger convertible revolvers requires removing then later putting back in place the cylinder. In my experience, that has always been easily accomplished. So what is it that drove Ruger to design some firearms which are easy to disassemble/assemble and yet design others that are worthy only of the gnashing of teeth and spewing forth of many loud and foul expletives? I just don't get it. 

 

Now, I am guessing that making some of their guns that way must have been caused by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger the founders of the company. I say so because it was the younger Ruger, William B. Ruger Jr., who ran the company after his dad retired in 2000, who I think finally redesigned the Ruger MK pistols (or had it redesigned)  to produce the new and much improved Ruger MK IV with its easy to use takedown button. Sometimes change is good. Sadly the younger Ruger passed away in September 2018 (how did I not know that or if I did at one time know it, how did I forget - those little gray cells are getting old I suppose). Luckily though for we Ruger lovers, the company is still going strong; they also bought Marlin when Remington (Marlin's former owner) went belly up.

 

I guess I had best stop wasting time and get back to cleaning my long-arms, only three down and about another 18 or so to clean. Then next weekend or sometime later, I guess it will be pistol & revolver cleaning time. 

All the best,

Glenn B

0300 And Not Just Sleep Eludes Me...

 ...but tiredness also has been absent tonight. That likely meaning a very long nap later today, probably this afternoon. Happens every now and again, often enough that I am pretty used to it. Of course, I may forego the nap if I get at least six hours sleep starting sometime within the present hour or two. My pooch easily can wait until1130or 1200 to do her thing at the dog park so no problem there. If she needs to go earlier, she will jump up on my bed and wake me up. That though does not happen all that often. Anyway, six hours will do me just fine. I just hope I feel tired soon.

All the best,

Glenn B

Only 6 Hours Left...

 ...as I type. Target Sports USA is running an 8% off sale on select ammo, that is 16% off if you are a Target Sports USA AMMO+ member.

I ordered two bricks of Blazer 22 LR (1K rds.), a case of 1K rds. of New Republic 9mm 115 gr. FMJ and 100 rds. of Magtech 38 Special JHP. I also picked up an order of 200 rds.of Remington 35 REM, 200 gr. SP at the UPS store this evening. I bought that directly from the Remington/Federal website for a little more than $40 per box plus sales tax, shipping was free.

I am buying ammo now in case Trump loses and Harris wins by hook or by crook or by election fraud. I probably will also buy some gold or silver bullion before the election. I figure even if I only add a half ounce of gold or 25 ounces of silver or better yet - both, that would be an okay addition to my rather paltry stock in bullion coins. My bullion hoard is growing slowly but surely as time passes and as we get closer to a recession, depression or heavens forbid - a war involving us directly.  So while my bullion cache is small, I am hoping if calamity hits the economy and the dollar crashes, maybe at least some is better than none at all. If I could bring myself to stop buying guns & ammo for 6 months or more, I could build up a somewhat nicer stock of bullion coins for a rainy day. I figure I would be comfortable with a stock of bullion coin equaling about 10% of my cash savings, or at the very least 30% of my current (at any given moment) annual gross income. Either would take years but as I essentially said: my bullion pile is growing slowly at a kind of, sort of, almost steady pace. My ammo arsenal is much the same except its growth is a bit more speedy.

 

All the best, 

Glenn B

What Will Be The Libs Excuse This Time?

Last time they said it was a set up by the Trump team, that he was shot and injured. So, what will they say this time - yes another attempt seems to have been made to kill The Donald (more at the source) - especially in light of the fact the suspected assassin maybe did not fire and was thwarted by a Secret Service agent firing at him. Are they going to explain it as a guy taking his AK47 for a walk or as a guy taking aim through the golf course fence to shoot squirrels or golf balls or the guy thinking he was at the firing range. You know whatever they come up with will be pure balderdash. Just like when they say it is MAGA and Trump trying to destroy "democracy" (actually a constitutional Republic but what do leftists care if they get it wrong). The left is like thousands of assassins hiding in ambush and waiting to strike and the Trump campaign trail like a walk through enemy territory which Trump must tread; yet, Trump carries on and that can only be because he loves the USA.

All the best and vote Trump,

Glenn B

Bitten Again

 The firearms auction bug is a persistent little pest and it bit me again today. Yep, there was another Hessney auction today and as usual I could not resist the auction's alluringly sweet song and the cash was lured out of my pocket like mariners' ships of old to the Sirens rocky shore.

 

So far, the auction will not be over for several hours yet, I have had the high bids on a few lots:  

 

High Standard Model 107 Military Supermatic with two mags and two sets of grips. They told me the pistol is 95% plus. Looks it in the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

A complete five edition set of Death From Afar by Chandler & Chandler plus White Feather by Carlos Hathcock. 

 

 

 

 A USN MK3 Mod. O knife with MK3 Mod O USN scabbard (my son had me bid on that for him).

Some old tin boxes and other junk. I wanted the Schimmelpennick cigar box and the old fashioned can openers. Don't ask why because I do not have an answer but if a cigar aficionado wants the cigar box, I may sell it.

I have a bid pending om two AR-7 15 round magazines which I am 99.9% certain will for my Henry U.S. Survival rifle. I also have three bids on ammo,  all of the collectible or hard to get types. That is all. Already spent too much for one day but so far have kept myself to under 1K and only one firearm which is kind of, sort of almost absolutely my max to spend at this & future firearms auctions. Time will tell and of course but if I hit big in any lottery game, that limit  flies right out the window.

All the best,

Glenn B

Not A Bad Ammo Deal At All

 I just ordered 200 rounds of Remington Core-Lokt 35 REM 200 grain soft point ammo. I used to get this stuff for under $25.00 box maybe even under $20.00 per box but that was several years ago. Lately, in fact for way too long, it has been hard to come by and is very expensive when you find it. For instance, I just checked Ammoseek.com to see what they showed it going for. There was a total of one place selling it at $99.99 per box of 20 rounds plus shipping and I would guess plus tax. That was a little too expensive for my pocket book. So, as I do fairly often, I checked the Remington website (I think now owned by Federal) not expecting to see any for sale but still hopeful. I have not seen it for sale on their site in over a year and have only seen Core-Lokt 35 REM 150 grain pointed soft point available. I have three rifles in 35 REM, two of which - a Marlin 336 and a Remington 141 - are tube fed and thus could be a potential hazard if using pointed ammo, the other is a Remington Model 81 that is box magazine fed and can use the pointed ammo - no problem. 

 

Well, while I am the penultimate pessimist (not quite the ultimate) and knowing that deer hunting rifle season is opening in many states soon, I decided to check Remington again today. I was happy I did so because there it was. They were selling it direct to the consumer for $67.99 plus tax and I think $12.99 shipping. That was quite a bit lower than $99.99 per box but still not low enough; so, I went to ExpertVoice.com of which I have been a member for several years now (if you are not a member I think you should be). Once there, I logged in and brought up Remington Ammunition. Then I looked for the discount code (only can be used once every 3 or 4 months and you need a new code each time), copied it and went back to the Remington site. I ordered 10 boxes for $407.90 plus tax, the total being $449.71 with tax of $41.81 (AR has higher sales tax than does NY). It came with free shipping, shipping would have been $12.00 otherwise. So I got it for $44.97 per box; that is much better than the $99.99 per box (plus shipping and I am guessing tax) as seen on Ammoseek and also much better than the normal retail price of $67.99 from Remington.

Is it too much to pay for this ammo, I think yes it is still way to much, but I wanted it and the price was right as compared as to any other prices for it that I have seen. Granted, I can get Hornady Leverevolution FTX 200 grain 35 REM for about $35.00 plus shipping and tax but I have a good deal of that and wanted some additional Remington ammo. By the way, when I have tried to sell some 35 REM in the past (shame on me) the Remington Core-Lokt always sells, the Hornady is a tough sale at best (even though inherently more accurate). I guess folks don't like the fact that the Hornady has plastic tips.

 

Anyway, ExpertVoice has something like 900 brands affiliated with it and they offer discounts or discount codes for many of them. If you sign up and want discounts, you need to do training for each brand as far as I am aware. That usually consists of watching videos or viewing advertising pages, then taking multiple choice tests about the products. May sound tedious but it is well worth the savings as I see it.

 

One last thing, I just found out Remington is offering a 20% rebate on ammo through sometime in October. I kind of, sort of, almost definitely doubt they will honor the rebate on my purchase since I already got it at a 40% discount but I will try and see what happens as another 20% off would be marvelous.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

It's Been Awhile Since My Last Post...

 ...and I suspect having a fungal infection inside my guts is at least partly the cause of my slacking off. Plus I have just been diagnosed with diabetes;however, since I was eating much more healthy foods in the month for which I" as tested, I kind of, sort of, almost definitely believe that the fungal infection may have screwed up those results although my doc tells me that is impossible. I have been told several times before, by doctors, that something as impossible only to have them proven wrong each and every time;so, I am hopeful I am not actually diabetic. I did get some good news in there. I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy in the last two weeks and was told no polyps and no infection but they did not test for the fungus. Go figure. There was a red irritated patch inside my stomach on which they said they performed biopsies but everything was negative but again they did not test it for the fungus. Doctors can be idiots.

 

I have taken enough anti-fungal meds by now to kill a rhino or destroy my liver. Yet, I still have the infection as far as my visits to the throne would indicate. I have another weeks or ten days worth to take and hopefully will be better by then, This is one of those things that is very difficult to defeat. I hate the idea of being eaten alive by a fungus so I sure hope it works.

 

 

Too bad it is not psilocybin growing in my gut, at least that way I could enjoy the trip.

All the best,

Glenn B

She May Want To Put Price Caps Into Place But...

 ...if Kamala Harris is elected president, my guess is this will not be far behind:

 

 

Of course, that is not actually the price of gas now at Murphy's in Texarkana, AR where I took the shot. They just built a new gas station after tearing down the old one and this is what their sign shows now but they are not open yet. I suppose they did that to discourage folks from trying to pull in and fill up because no one in their right mind would be filling up at that price. Then again, it is what Dems are probably hoping for to advance electronic vehicle sales while destroying the US of A.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Hitler Becomes President of Germany on August 19, 1934 - Is It A Coincidence The Democrat National Convention Is...

 ...being held on the same date that Adolf Hitler was officially elected as the president of Germany (more at the source). I believe there are coincidences now and then but that something of this magnitude is not coincidental because it could not have been or at least should not have been overlooked by the Democrats who picked this date for the DNC. That especially in light of the fact they placed Kamala Harris into the running for the presidency by pushing out Joe Biden and thus Harris did not receive even a single vote from anyone to be the candidate before today (in other words there was no primary, in effect robbing other candidates of their chance to run and denying voters there chance to select their candidate as is due process in elections. Does sound at least somewhat Hitler like to you because it does to me?

 

Lately I have seen videos of Harris saying she will essentially steal patents from patent holders; and that by the stroke of a pen she had people incarcerated and she ruined their lives making them lose jobs and spend their savings on defense lawyers (among other negative actions) and after she did so she then dropped all criminal charges (so she ruined the lives of folks who were guilty of no crimes) and thus she knows about having power (I am guessing it is what we can expect more of if she wins the election). I do not know if the videos were real or faked but they certainly seem to hold true to the Harris we have known over the years.

 

VOTE, VOTE EARLY, VOTE FOR TRUMP. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Lost Some Money, Recouped Some Money & Saved Some Money

 So as you may or not be aware, I am sort of a gun auction junkie. Ever since March of 2012, I have either attended, in person to bid, or bid online in about 48 Hessney Auction Company auctions since then. So that averages out to about four per year. I note, I just checked my files on my computer to count my auction receipts, I did not check my hard copies, there may be more than 48 altogether. I should note, in the beginning few years, I was lucky to attend one or two per year. After that, I attended at least a few per year and in recent years have bid in just about every firearms auctions (now called Sportsman auctions and Military & Sportsman auctions but I'll just refer to them as firearms auctions). For instance, last year in 2023, I bid in 11 of their firearms & ammo auctions; this year (all online only ever since COVID), so far, I have bid in four of them. In recent years I do not think I have missed miss an opportunity to bid in any of their firearms auctions. I may not always wind up with a high bid on a gun but always wind up getting something firearms related.

 

Well, those last two sentences above might have been a bit misleading making you think I have bid in every one of their firearms auctions and that I have bought something from every one of them in recent years. I should have said that up until this month I have always done so; this month, their auction was on Saturday August 3rd. and I missed it. As usual, I sent Joe Hessney and his crew an email asking them about several guns and some other things in which I had a keen interest. Then on Saturday morning the 3rd, I got out of bed a bit later than I had wanted and got my car loaded up to attend a local to me gun show. I got Skye in the car and headed to the dog park with her. After that it was direct ton the gun show where I finished setting up. The gun show opened at 0900 CDT, the auction began at 1000 EDT. Same time but in different regions. Well, this knucklehead forgot all about the auction which I had intended to view online by way of my phone. By the time I remembered the auction was running, every firearm had been bid on and sold. Well, because of my forgetting the time, at least there was some money saved; I figure at least a grand, probably more.

 

As for losing money, at the gun show, I sold three guns & a stripped AR-15 lower, a few to maybe several boxes of ammo, a couple or few rifle magazines & access ores and a couple of holsters. That is where I lost money. The show tables, of which I had two, were $65.00 each, so $130.00 total. Of the three guns I sold, two went at a loss as did the lower. One gun, an Iver Johnson Sealed Eight Target revolver went for $2.25 more than I paid for it (not taking into consideration gas to drive the 310 miles to the auction and then the same mileage for the return trip, the hotel and other expenses). So actually,I lost money on all of the guns. That was okay, I was still happy with how much cash I recouped. I needed to replenish my savings account & other liquid assets because they were below what I want to assure remains in them until I can either buy a house or drop dead - whichever comes first. I sold a considerable amount of things, almost everything at a lost, maybe a few at break even prices and a few at a small net profit. The over all sales wound up costing me a bit more than $200 owed in state sales tax. The little bit of net profit will also cost me in federal income tax when tax time comes around. All in all, I lost money; yet, I recouped some cash that I did not have and that went right into my savings account along with putting back in the $500 I had withdrawn prior to the gun show. I withdrew that in case I would have seen anyone walk in with a gun for sale for that amount of less that I could not resist and I had enough pocket cash prior to that to pay for the tables. All in all, I am a happy camper.The guy who bought an AK (milled receiver) from me (in excellent shape) was happy he got it at an excellent price specially for a gun show where other dealers were asking hundreds more for similar AKs. He came back and I am pretty sure was the same guy who bought the receiver (also at a great pre-China Virus price). 

 

Anyway it all added up to replenish my bank account at least somewhat. If the price of gold and silver stay up there, I'll be set with what I have in the bank account and what I have in precious metals (even if the price falls say by 20% my bullion will hold a good value for me overall). Another show should get me feeling comfortable but only if I do as well. Then again, I am none too sure I have that many more guns I am willing to sell. Most folks would probably want to make a nice net profit at a gun show. I understand that because such shows require a lot of labor, a large amount of time to get ready, more time spent at the tables selling, and time to tear down and head home and then put everything away and do accounting. 

 

Me, I am not very concerned about making a net profit; I am happy to get under but close to what I paid for most things I sell. When it comes to some other things I am okay with a larger amount of loss. Of course if I make a net profit, that is nice but certainly it is not my main objective nor even an important one; I get a decent pension even though 40% goes to my wife. My main concern has been getting money back into the bank to replenish money after I have spent it down too much. I hopefully also will wind up with enough to be able to buy more guns after a gun show and right now I figure I am at that point where I can afford one or two more auctions or a purchase of some more bullion or both. 

 

That all makes me happy and it makes my buyer's happy because they get good deals. They keep coming back, like the gentleman who bought the AK; he has bought from me at a couple of other shows in the past. Never listen to anyone who says you cannot possibly get a good deal at a gun show - they obviously have never been to any of my tables.

Single Issue Votes

 On a gun forum which I sue frequently, the news that the NRA has endorsed a sole democrat politician for this years elections has drawn the ire of many forum members. The thing is that the forum members who oppose the NRA having done so probably are, in my estimation, using the same basic method of how they have gone about deciding to oppose the NRA on this issue; that method was, by my guess, to base their decision on a single issue. In this case that would be that the forum users disagree with the NRA based solely on the fact that the politician is a democrat and thus must be opposed. Of course, I think the NRA's single issue used to by them to decide to endorse her was something different, her support of the right to keep and bear arms, but the method of using only a single issue to make their decision is the same.

The thing is, it is not a single issue situation, one has to consider all of the other issues which she supported and voted for in addition to those she openly opposed and voted against in order to make a wise decision as to whether to support or oppose the NRA's endorsement of her. I am pretty certain though, the NRA bases the political endorsements they give to politicians on only one issue, the RKBA or at least in the great part upon that lone issue. In that regard, many in the gun forum's thread discussing this seem to be of the same ilk, as is the mindset of other conservative who oppose the NRA's endorsement of her, as far as how they are going about judging the NRA. By that I mean they evidently are basing their dislike of the NRA's endorsement of congresswoman Mary Peltola, D–Alaska (more at the source) on a single issue when there is no doubt one issue does not make up the platforms of most politicians nor the ideals of most voters.At least I think not of logical voters in most elections. If this lady is consistently one who votes more conservatively or at least logically and is not woke nor a DEI selection by voters, then maybe she deserves not only an A+ from the NRA but the support of those in the Rebooblican Party who currently oppose her, having received the nod from the NRA, just because she is a registered Demonkrat. 

I had been thinking, just in the last couple of weeks of registering as a Demonkrat; that just so I could vote in the Demonkrat primaries - the ones that should have been held with little delay after the likes of Schumer, Pelosi, Harris and others seemingly conspired to boot out Biden. Let's face it, my (any any other voters) due process as a voter may have been violated by them not allowing voters the opportunity to vote for their candidate of choice to replace Biden on the ticket. I would have voted for almost anyone other than Harris; my vote probably would have come to be a write in vote or Biden (it would be great if dems did that en masse, voted for Biden in the new primary (that should have been held) and then Biden would have wound up with more votes than Harris. You may think it great that she was appointed by the Dems and is running against Trump but I think a leftist of lesser degree would be easier for Trump to defeat; and the easiest would have been Biden - easily accomplished, as I said, by way of write in votes for Biden. 

Now, I am not very religious; although, sometimes I wonder if I am more religious than I think and at other times ponder whether or not I am religious at all. Yet, I do embrace several, or I suppose it is actually many, Christian morals, philosophies, ideals and etiquette and live most of my life with them as guidelines along with some of the same from a few other religions and or lay philosophies of some who are agnostic or not religious at all. In general, I think I live my life by trying to do the right things much more frequently than not. Despite that, I have as of late found myself sort of praying to God (if there is one), or the Gods if more than one (the early Christians number one way into the hearts of those of other faiths to win them over, I think, was mainly the fact that despite claiming there was only one God, they kind of sort of almost practiced a religion that was polytheism in a way never seen before because their one God was also three Gods all miraculously being one and the same), Nature, the Force or whatever powers that may be that Harris does not defeat The Donald and then wind up destroying outr great nation and I base my prayers on several issues. In the case of the upcoming election while the one issue of the RKBA is extremely important to me, I still believe candidates need be judged on several issues and have their voting records and their overall politics scrutinized by a multitude of examiners, the voters, just to assure their platform and possibly prior behavior agree with those types of essentially Judaeo-Christian and other religion's ideals before anyone decides to give them a shining endorsement or their vote. 

It is much the same when deciding whom not to support and voting against someone, for instance Harris. There are many points I can think of why one should not vote for Harris. Those being the disaster of the essentially open border, her abject disrespect for the law when it came to what I think was post G. Floyd terrorism practiced by BLM and ANTIFA among others, her extreme disrespect for law enforcers as I see it based upon her thinking defunding the police was a good idea and I believe she probably still thinks it, her seeming belief that riots involving those groups were peaceful protests, an alleged large number of race based convictions of black men for minor marijuana infractions when she was a prosecutor, my belief she is a racist, her playing all sides against the middle by claiming at different times to be of different races, her failure as Border Czar, the failing economy, her anti-RKBA stance, her poor judgement as in her selection of her running mate- even many dems agree on that, her all too often senseless babble that she repeatedly regurgitates, her inability to get her point across to make anyone understand what she actually means when speaking about the issues (this has been a long time ploy of leftists leaving it to their followers to decide the meaning of her babble for themselves thus getting self satisfaction even if their interpretations are very different than one anothers in the dem party - keeps everyone happy when they all can make believe they got it right), her seeming frequent inability to finish making a point about something serious without breaking out into a wild cackle, her very apparent lack of knowledge on subjects about which she is interviewed or about which she is making a statement, her evident lies about the competency of Joe Biden.

All that said, I cannot understand why anyone who is acting rationally would vote for her. Instead I see a multitude of mindless adherents who will vote for her because they believe she would be the first woman president and sex is their one issue, she would be the first black woman president and race and sex are what does it for them or simply race alone is enough, she would be the first person of Asian descent and her ancestry, race and ethnicity does it for other voters. I prefer to base my distaste for her on multiple issues: first of all that she is the selection of the deep state within the Demonkrat party and thus her candidacy was not put to a vote and deprived other candidates of a fair chance and also deprived the voters of the opportunity to make the selection, that she goes along with how she was selected as the candidate, she seems to support late term abortion, she is anti-RKBA, she did nothing to get the economy out of the mess it is in but supported Bidenomics that caused the economy to falter, that she evidently  lied about Bidens mental acuity, that she apparently lied about her support of Biden as the dem candidate, that she speaks in senseless riddles or babble,  that she seems very uninformed and unknowledgeable about major issues, opposes Donald Trump and has seemingly expressed the same hatred for him as other mindless Demonkrats by which they hate him so much they'd do anything to prevent him from being elected again - even supporting his assassination, that she plays both sides against the middle in the Israel versus Hamas war... The list goes on and on but those multiple issues I just presented are more than enough reason for me never to vote for Harris and probably for me to never vote for a Demonkrat ever again because it seems the great majority of the party's members are actually functioning irrationally when it comes to politics. 

While I tend to doubt it, maybe the NRA decided to endorse congresswoman Mary Peltola, D–Alaska based upon multiple issues, after their scrutiny of her overall politics, as opposed to doing so based upon a single issue. I certainly would hope voters do so, that is to consider many issues if not all of them even if the NRA maybe did not. I definitely wish they'd do so when it comes to whom they decide to cast their vote for president - Harris or Trump. If they do that, I think there is no way Trump can lose unless the election is rigged.

All the best,

Glenn B