Monday, May 3, 2010

Ballseye's Gun Shots 56 - A Seasonal Gun Care Tip

Winter has passed taking it snows with it, or should I say leaving them in the form of melted run off. All that water has filled the reservoir and eventually will be recycled through evaporation and wind up in the atmosphere until it once again turns into precipitation and rains or snows down on us. Spring has sprung, as a matter of fact it is well sprung and getting warm. as usual, in many places in the USA, Spring is a rainy season. With the added warmth of its lengthening days you can bet those days will be more humid than even the most snow covered days of the harshest winter. That humidity has a way of gathering and remaining in certain parts of our homes like basements. I don't know if you realize it but something else also gathers in basements and that something else would be guns. Sure, plenty of folks who keep guns do not keep em the basement but many do. The combination of blued steel and humidity in a basement, or in any other room where you get both at the same time, can become a nightmare for the firearms enthusiast. Not only will the higher humidity of he spring and summer seasons lead to the potential for gun metal rusting but it also can lead to the distinct possibility of your ammo stores being effected.

There is a simple preventative/cure for this and I make sure to utilize it in addition to regularly cleaning and oiling my firearms. I store all my firearms with a desiccant like silica gel. It is relatively inexpensive, does a great job of wicking up humidity and keeping it away from your firearms, and works for years and years if you care for it properly. If you are like me and depend on silica type products to keep your firearms in good condition by preventing rust, now is the time to make sure that your desiccant packs are ready to absorb as much moisture as possible. If you have the type I do, with a small color coded indicator, then you can tell if they contain too much moisture and require to be heated in order to get them working to full capacity again. On the type I have, if the indicator turns from blue to pink it means that the absorption limit has been reached and the silica packs need to go in an oven at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 to 3 hours. If you have the same type of desiccant but do not have a color coded indicator tab you may want to heat your desiccant packs about once every 2 or 3 months (make sure to follow manufacturers instructions).

I have three desiccant packs in my oven right now. One has an indicator tab with three dots that are blue if at full potential to absorb, to 1, 2 or all 3 turning pink dependent upon how much moisture has already been absorbed. Another has a single dot that also turns from blue to pink as above. The other does not have an indicator tab at all. After about 3 hours or so, I will carefully remove the desiccant packs from the oven. Note I said carefully. They claim it is non-toxic but I am not about to take chances. So when I place them into the oven, I put them atop some aluminum foil. When I take them out I grab the foil and take them out on it. I am careful not to let any silica dust, that may have worked its way out of the packs, fall into the oven. Then after they are out of the oven, I let the oven cool then sponge it clean just to make sure. never had a problem with it, just being cautious.

Once the packs are out of the oven, I let them cool off. Then I place them into the containers where I store my guns or ammo. I keep one in my gun locker, one in my ammo locker and have one that I keep in an aluminum carrying gun case. Note I said I have the stuff inside the containers in which I store ammo and guns. You could probably use this stuff to try to keep a whole room less humid but would need a lot of it and it would not work as well as it does inside an enclosed container like a gun locker. You need X amount to dehumidify or absorb moisture from Y-cubic feet. It is sold in various sizes and when sold there is usually an indication given as to in how many square feet each size will be effective.

Does it work - really? This stuff works, I would swear by it it works that well. One year that I forgotten to rejuvenate it in the oven. I had about three guns rust somewhat, and the wood stocks on two or three rifles get moldy. It was a humid year. After I cleaned all the firearms and rejuvenated the desiccant by heating it, the problem did not recur. In years when I have not forgotten to rejuvenate it I have never had any such problems. I don't forget anymore, once was enough. If by chance you use this stuff, and you have forgotten to recharge it by heating it - now is the time to get it done. If you do not use this stuff in storage with your firearms and ammo, and live in a humid area, then now may also be the time for you to buy some. It is readily available at guns shops, probably at places like Home Depot (I'll have to try them someday they may have a good deal on it), and online. Some places you can get it online are:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=6944/Product/SILICA_GEL_PAKS


http://sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=359233


http://sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=180353


http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#desiccant____-_1-2-4_8-16-32

All the best,
Glenn B

Times Square: How Did I Tell You The Politicians Would React!

I told you that our politicians would in essence probably bend over backwards to avoid linking the bombing attempt in Times Square this past weekend to any Muslim Extremist groups. I did not mean they would avoid linking it to such groups if there was no evidence of a connection either, I meant they would avoid it even if there was such evidence. I also told you they would be sure to get their man, without any pushing from the public, if he was a U.S. Citizen like a militia type - you know - like a white guy from the rural areas of our nation. So how have they actually reacted to this bombing? I will not say it is just as I said, I will report and let you decide:

They have released a video of a "white" man walking down the street away from the area of the vehicle, who stops, turns around, takes of his shirt and puts it into a bag he is carrying and then continues on his way a few steps and looks to the right over his right shoulder. They say they are focusing on this man but readily admit he might not be involved - yet according to some reports - the police commissioner says the man "furtively" put the shirt into the bag. I watched the video, available here:


http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Police-Release-Video-of-Potential-Bomb-Suspect-92645799.html

I certainly can only see what you can see in it, maybe the police have a bigger and better copy, I am sure they have one that they have enhanced and probably have at least a few others since this is the area with the most video surveillance in NYC. Even with only this one to view, I must say, yes it looks as if he took something off like a shirt or sweater and put it into his bag. It also looks as if he was wearing another shirt under that one. Maybe he was being evasive or maybe he was hot. Taking off a shirt is not much to go on, since there were so many others in the area too but the way he turned around when he did it makes me also think he may have been looking for something behind him. Could be something, could be nothing. Tell me though, did that man do anything furtively - again - maybe or maybe not.

Note though they stress he is a white man. What does that connotate (or connote if you like the more modern word) in the minds of most Americans in a situation like this - I would think either a homegrown terrorist or a psycho. They must have a really good view on their tape to know he is not Asian (as in from places like Pakistan, Afghanistan and so forth where many people are white but their race is still Asian) or that he is not Hispanic. Of course, many Hispanics are white but their use of white here was purposefully done, I think, to take the heat off of certain groups because most people do not readily associate white men with those certain groups. That is just my personal opinion, what do you think?

As I move along, and get back to reporting and letting you decide, here is a bit of news about some evidence that has come up since the bombing. Yes, I am referring to the taped message claiming to be from the Taliban which claims responsibility for the bombing attempt. How did the politicians react to it? Here is a quote from mayor Bloomberg of NYC:


"So far, there is no evidence that any of this has anything to do with one of the recognized terrorist organizations."

No evidence! I suppose a message from the Taliban is not considered evidence because somehow the whole concept of evidence has changed under the watch of this ultra-liberal mayor. Now mind you, the way the report is written one would think the mayor said this after the message came out and I base what I am writing on that presumption. Of course, there is evidence, it is the message itself. There may be no other evidence to support that message, there may be other evidence to cast doubt on the message making it doubtful evidence, but it is evidence even if weak at best. What kind of a putz would say that this message, one claiming responsibility for the bombing is not evidence? Would it be one who does not understand the difference between the words evidence and proof (and Mayor Bloomberg most assuredly understands the difference) or would it be the kind who is a politician and who is trying to avoid having to say this may be connected to a certain group of terrorists? You decide.

Now sure, this all could change at the drop of a hat. The guy in the video could come forward to identify himself to police and tell them his legitimate reason for having been there - like maybe he just got off work. Then something else could come up to further implicate certain terror groups and the politicos could turn toward other suspects. Then again, the 'white man' in the video could be a home grown kook of the anti-everything right or left wing extremist types and they could have something really good on the video (of course he could also be a light skinned Pakistani and the tape could be real) but tell me, as it stands now, does it seem Mayor Bloomberg - for one - is bending over backwards to avoid saying this may have had something to do with Muslim extremism.


Before I close, let me make something clear. I am not bending over backwards to implicate Muslim Terrorists in this attempted bombing. I am not implicating any group. I believe we have to wait for the evidence to be in and analyzed with objective standards used to do so before anyone should make claims as to who did this. By the same token though, I am also saying that we should not eliminate any group before the same is accomplished. Too bad the politicians seemingly don't think likewise.

All the best,
Glenn B