Ballseye's Firearms Training and Tactics - Breaking In A Pistol (and Glock 26 Range Report)

Old timers probably remember, in years gone by, that when you bought a new car it came with a break in period. During that period you were supposed to drive the car moderately with regard to speed, distance, and braking. It was new and it needed to get settled or broken in. Cars today are not the same. You drive em out of the showroom ready to go. Still though, I think there is a break in period for new cars, and that would be the first several hundred miles (driving here in the NYC area) or maybe the first one thousand miles elsewhere with less traffic, less stop and go, less potholes, and so on. Its not a time when I baby the car either, but rather one wherein I give it a good long once over test drive to see if it is truly road worthy for say a vacation trip, daily commuting and so forth with my family in it. What I am driving at is that if it does not show itself as having problems in that time, well then nothing catastrophic - like a wheel falling off, the brakes failing, the steering failing - is likely to happen afterwards when I am driving it with my wife and kids in there with me. My testing it like this is a prudent thing to do with a new car instead of just blindly depending on it as being truly road worthy for all road conditions.

I do likewise with guns, especially with firearms that are meant for self defense purposes. If I am going to trust my life to a pistol, or revolver, or shotgun, or rifle, well you can be darned certain that I have tested it before betting my life on it working when I need it to go bang. Of course that goes out the window in an emergency when I might just grab any gun at hand, but my regular carry pistol or revolver, or my regular home defense shotgun or rifle, has had a good deal of ammunition run through it before I will use it to defend my life or that of another.

Now many a shooter buys a new gun, and buys a box or three of ammo, then takes the gun to the range to shoot it. They shoot up a box or two and save the other box to have enough ammo to load up the gun for self defense purposes with some left over. So it turns out that maybe they fired 50 to 100 rounds through a new pistol or revolver, and probably less through a new rifle or shotgun. If they encounter repeated failures to feed, to fire, to extract or to eject - they usually guess that there is something wrong with the gun. That is a good guess, but not always right. On the other hand, if they had just a jam or three they usually attribute them to the firearm being new, and to it needing the kinks worked out of it. They, like on the other guess with more jams, may or may not be right on that one too. Some of them may even guess it is the ammo that is at fault, and they too could be right. On the other side of the coin, they may have no malfunctions at all, and therefore arrive at the conclusion that the firearm is in perfect (relatively speaking) working order. Again they may be right, but again they may be wrong.

As far as pistols go, the thing is though that running just 50 rounds, or even a hundred, through a pistol to run it through a break in period, is just not enough ammunition to test its reliability. Sure it may seem like a good amount of ammunition to shoot, but it is often not enough to make something go kerplunk when instead it should have gone click, bang, rack, click, bang, and so on. What I am driving at here is that I have, in my almost 35 years of pistol shooting, seen many a pistol fail, and most of them that I have seen fail have either failed after having many thousands of rounds of ammunition fired through them, or have failed after only having a few hundred rounds shot through them at most. What that translates to is this:

A pistol, that has been fired again and again with proper maintenance will usually fire many many thousands of rounds before it fails. When it fails, it usually fails due to things like a broken part, metal fatigue, a worn piece, a weakened spring and so on. This is actually to be expected as a pistol gets older and older and is fired more and more. Parts need to be checked and replaced as needed. Of course all of this relates to a pistol that has been broken in and that has proven itself reliable from the start.

There are problems that arise with pistols, like all of those I mentioned above, that can start happening anywhere from the first round fired through the first hundred rounds fired, or in fact anywhere after that. While I just mentioned they can happen at anytime, they are less likely to happen, to a pistol that has proven itself reliable during a break in period, before you have reached the point where several thousand rounds have been put through it. What I am saying is that the break in period is the time during which many a problem due to faulty manufacture of the pistol's parts, or due to improper assembly, will become evident.

So what does one do to properly break in and test fire a pistol to check its reliability. Well first of all, and I am talking a newly acquired pistol that is either new in the box or used, you get the manual for it and read it. After doing that you ascertain that the pistol is safe, then disassemble it as recommended by the manufacturer for a good cleaning. After cleaning it, lubricate any parts that the manufacturer recommends lubricating, then reassemble it. Now the fun begins because now you take it to the local range with at least 400 to 500 rounds of ammunition to test fire it; and that ammunition should be the same ammunition you plan on carrying in it when you use it for self defense purposes.

Why so much ammo? Well because firing that many rounds through a pistol usually makes something go pppffffzzzt or kerplunk, or splat when it should being doing otherwise. If there is a weak part, something that is likely to break, well then that many rounds through the pistol will likely bring that problem to your attention whereas 50 rounds may not be enough. In other words, from my experience in over 35 years of shooting pistol and 14 years as a firearms instructor, and from what I have been told by other instructors, putting 400 to 500 rounds though a new pistol is a fairly reliable way to make it break if it was manufactured in a faulty manner. Another thing about using that much ammo is that the gun gets kind of dirty with that many rounds through it. So if it was put together to specs that were to tight and the guns starts to action slowly after say 300-400 rounds, it may also be a good indicator that the gun will not tolerate dirt and fouling as well as one would hope. Now while you are shooting 400-500 rounds at a single range session to break in a pistol, you can bet that if you were firing at a good steady pace, the gun is prone to get hot. This will also provide another indication of if it will function properly when needed in a tight spot. Some pistols begin to seize up when they get hot. If you fire this many rounds through it and yours does not, well bravo. One other reason to fire this many rounds, doing so will smooth out the operation of almost any pistol that was properly manufactured. What I means is that when a standard commercial pistol is manufactured there are bound to be tool marks and burrs on the metal. maybe not ones visible at first glance without magnification but they are likely there. Firing a pistol several hundred times, after having cleaned and lubricated it properly will smooth off many of these imperfections. This will allow the pistol to operate more smoothly. In addition if the pistol was finished to very tight specs, firing 400-500 rounds through it should also help to loosen things up just enough to help assure smoother and easier functioning.

Besides using that many rounds, you maybe wondering why I said to use only the ammunition you plan to use in the gun when you actually use it for self defense purposes. If you were wondering, well good for you, it is a good question. The reason I recommend not mixing ammunition, or simply using a cheaper ammo for practice and a better one for self defense, is this: You want to be absolutely sure that not only does your new pistol shoot, and that it shoots reliable, but YOU WANT TO MAKE DARNED SURE IT SHOOTS RELIABLY AND ACCURATELY WITH WHATEVER YOU PLAN TO USE TO DEFEND YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF YOUR LOVED ONES. You can take a pistol to the range, and then shoot Winchester White Box ball ammo (an inexpensive type of ammo sold for plinking and informal target shooting) though it for the 400 to 500 recommended rounds. The pistol may handle it flawlessly. They you leave the range, clean the pistol, and then load it with 115 grain Speer Gold Dot Plus P ammunition. You put the gun up on the closet shelf in the bedroom and that is that.

Well that was that at least until a few days later when you are awakened in the middle of the night by strange noises downstairs. Your wife is awake too and she is scared, she says she heard glass breaking and footsteps crunching the broken glass. You are sure it is a burglar. You have the wife call the cops and you get the pistol loaded with the hollow points (yes the ammo I described is HP ammo). Suddenly the bedroom door is hit and an armed intruder bursts into the room in a rage. You see him pointing a shotgun at your wife and you fire, the first shot going god knows where, and you try to squeeze off another shot, but for some reason the pistol has gone kerplunk instead of bang/rack/bang. When the police arrive they find you dead in a pool of your own blood. You wife has also been shot but she has survived. The bad guy has fled. When police examine your pistol they discover that the hollow points you were using would not reliable feed into the pistol and the somewhat rather rough feed ramp caused the jam. Too bad for you. that you tested your gun with ammunition that you did not depend upon to save your life; and too bad you assumed that if cheaper ammo fed in your pistol then more expensive ammo would feed too. Think that was too dramatic? Don't believe it could happen to you? I have seen it happen, that is the jamming thing, with many people's guns at the range. I'd rather not see the results, firsthand when it happens in a bad situation - though I have read accounts and seen photos of guns that have jammed for various reason, all when they were needed most. That is why I highly recommend using only the ammo with which you will defend yourself as your break in ammo for a new pistol, and why I recommend a break in test in the first place. Of course you can fire other types of ammo through your gun, but be darned sure you can fire the ammo with which you plan to defend yourself, that your gun operates reliably using that ammo, and that you can shoot accurately with that ammo.

There is another reason to go to the range and fire off about 400-500 rounds of ammo with any new pistol. It helps to assure that you are familiar with the pistol, and it should let you know whether or not you need to correct any bad shooting habits or if you need to adjust the sights to achieve accuracy with the new gun. Yes new guns are sort of like new cars, they are both machines, each make and model of both a car and a gun have a distinctive feel about them that you need to get used to, and they can offer quite the fun experience to use - as in drive or shoot while at the same time can also offer pure utility to the user.

Did I just mention fun, why yes I did. Shooting is good old American style past time that is lots of fun. The more you shoot, the more fun you have, well up to a point and dependent upon caliber anyhow. If you go out and shoot a .454 Casull 400 to 500 times in a day - well either you are a man of steel or are out and out nuts. Why? Well because you are bound to be hurtin bad if you are a mere mortal like me and fire that many of those big rounds in one day. Some pistol and revolvers require a few days break in period to shoot that many rounds, and those days may be spread out over weeks. With the lowly 9MM round however, it is a different story. You can probably easily shoot 400-500 rounds in a single trip to the range if you are a shooter of average build and strength.

Heck I did it today even though I have not been feeling my best lately. The truth is I had fun, and I was quite satisfied with my new Glock 26's operation at the range. I fired at least 400 rounds, and think it was actually 430 rounds I put through her today. I had a blast both figuratively and literally. I found out the new Glock 26:

1) Is an accurate shooter, probably more accurate than I can be with it.

2) Was probably made well, and will probably go a long time before breaking, since it fired every round with which it was loaded without a failure to feed, to fire, to extract, or to eject. (I had once failure to feed but only because I had not fully inserted a mag - shooter error - no fault of the Glock. I did have about 4 or 5 ejections where the shell casing came back at my face, and one or two that actually went to the left of the gun, I need to check on the ejector and make sure it is not bent at all; though most shell casings ejected properly.)

3) Can cause a blister on my trigger finger after firing 430 rounds within an hour.

4) Gets my fingers really dirty. I have to check into that, I don't remember that happening with other Glocks I have fired.

Here are the pics of some targets I shot. The one at 7 yards is the second magazine ful of round I fired from my new Baby Glock. The first 7 were shot into an already used target, I had been shooting my Ortgies Pocket Pistol in .32 ACP also. That first group looked to me to be a slightly better group, but a pic of that would have made a poor pic with .32 caliber holes and 9mm holes mixed together. All the targets are annotated to show at what distance they were set, and all have a U.S. quarter to sow scale for group size.








































As you can see, there was probably some shooter error. I don't mean as to group size, that was more than good enough for me; but you can see I am shooting a tad to the left of center of paper (where I aimed) when shooting at anything further out than 7 yards. I'll have to work on that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Out Of The Box, Examined, A Few Pics Taken...

...examined some more, cleaned, reassembled and put back into the box ready for the range. My brand spanking new Glock 26 is ready to be test fired and then broken in. I have it and 500 rounds of Speer 115 gr. Gold Dot ammunition ready for a quick trip to the range tomorrow. I had been thinking of going to the outdoor range, but since tomorrow promises to be one of those sultry summer days near 90 with lots of oppressive hum-a-didity, I figure a trip to the indoor range will be in order. I seem to remember they have A/C, but that could be my muddled middle aged memory and wishful thinking playing tricks on me. Anyhow, the indoor range is better for test firing a pistol, I can shoot when I please not needing to wait for a firing session and not needing to stop for intermittent ceasefires as at the outdoor range.

I figure 400-500 rounds through it tomorrow should pretty much let me know if there are going to be any problems. I don't anticipate any, but I think it pays for me to be on the safe side with something I may later use to protect my life. I would rather find out it is going to fail at the range, than when I need it in the clutch. Of course, putting a few hundred rounds through it at the range is no absolute guarantee that the pistol will not fail when I need it, but if those 400 rounds go through it without a problem, then chances are the pistol was made right and will be dependable. That many rounds through a new pistol is usually enough to cause any potential bugs to crawl out of the woodwork and show themselves. It is a prudent expenditure of ammunition when you consider the alternative of bringing into the field not sufficiently broken in and then having it fail when you need it. Since I get the ammo for free it is not much of an expenditure for me at all - some free ammo - but little cash - just the local range fee.

Now I just need to make sure I make the time for me to get to the range. That should be on the easier side on a Sunday, but heavens know sometimes things don't turn out as we hope. I am hoping though that all will go well, and that I'll be able to come back here to post a great range report with a smile on my face.

All the best,
Glenn B

No Pity For Assholes Idiots

Yep, I said it and I truly mean it. You see, after hurricanes Andrew (remember that one), Katrina and any others to hit the USA within let's say the last 25 years, it should have become apparent - even to the mildly to moderately maybe even to severely brain dead - that hurricanes and there aftermaths are things that one should take seriously, and are things that one should respect and fear. So when ample warning is given that a big one is on it way, and when government officials decide that it is time to issue mandatory evacuation notices days before the hurricane, yet thousands of assholes decide to weather out the storm in defiance of both the evacuation order and the wrath of Mother Nature - then I say to hell with them. I mean it too, and if not literally then at least with regard to paying any attention to them at all once the storm has gotten close enough to make it dangerous for rescuers to try to remove them out of harm's way.

According to the mud slinging news broadcasting company MSNBC at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26637482?GT1=43001, there were 250,000 morons people who did not flee the path of Hurricane Ike over the past couple of days. Well, as those people were probably betting, Hurricane Ike did not hit land as a category 3 hurricane as was predicted by goobermint government officials. No sireee, thems was schmart peepels, da goobermint were wrong and dey waZ rite. Well only to an extent. You see although Ike was weaker than expected when it reached landfall, it was powerful enough to dump tons of rain, and to push lots and lots and lots of water. There has been a lot of flooding already, reportedly thousands of homes are flooded, just check the news. There are other problems too such as fires breaking out, and roads washing away. Imagine that you good citizens jerks who stayed behind - floods and fires at the same time - houses submerged, roads washed away - what were you all thinking when you stayed. I bet I can guess. You were probably thinking the government is full of assholes idiots and that once they said it would be "certain death" to remain behind, well you just had to prove them wrong. Okay, I'll agree they were wrong. It was not certain death if you stayed behind, and it never turned into a category 3 hurricane as it hit landfall as they had predicted. Now what? Who knows, maybe some buildings will be blown down, just collapse, or wash away too; maybe some of you will get yourselves killed. You see they were at least also partly correct - there has been a lot of flooding.

One thing is for sure about the 'now what' question I just asked. Many of you who remained behind have added to the flood problem by wetting your pants and by crying. You, the big bunch of macho meatheads, who made a conscious decision to defy the evacuation order, are now frantically calling for help. Yep, maybe it was not as bad as those idiotic goobermint officials told you it would be, but it sure was a heck of a lot worse than many of you self proclaimed meteorologists thought it was going to be - wasn't it! If not, then why are so many of you flooding the telephone lines and airwaves (in the case of cell phones) with your frantic calls for help. Why are you looking to be rescued. Why are you, who were so absolutely foolish in the first place as to have remained within the path of the storm, now 100 percent prepared place the lives of rescue workers in danger to save your own sorry behinds? There is no sound reason within the realm of logic that these rescue workers should come to your aid before the storm has subsided completely. While there is no such reason at all, you can bet they will come. Most of them will be from that very same government who's call to evacuate you did not heed, that very same government that you believe to be full of idiots, that very same government you loathe and detest and mistrust. Yet my bet is: that until they come you will cry for help again and again; once they arrive you will scream "here I am, here I am, save me, save me" while you ignore others who need help too; and after they save you and bring you to safety and give you food, water and shelter - you will curse them as if there is no tomorrow for what you will claim to be their incompetence, their sloth in rescuing you, their racism in deciding whom to rescue, their floundering in overall organization, and whatever else of which you can think with which to slam them; and you and the mud slinging media will do so in a harmony that could rival the majesty of any choir with voices loud enough to be heard in heaven.

If I were in charge though things would be different. There would be no rescues; and I mean that. At least no rescues while there was any remaining threat from the storm to the rescuers. Once that threat had subsided, then a roundup could begin. Yes I said a roundup, and I do not mean it as a rescue as much as a mass arrest. Sure, those injured or in need of medical treatment would be rescued. All others would also be taken out of the area. Then all of them would be arrested to face any applicable criminal or administrative charges. Time and time again, it has been assholes people like those who defy such evacuation orders who cause other lives to be put at jeopardy. There is no reason that any first responder should have his or her life jeopardized because of another person's consensual, preplanned, defiance of proper government authority. Now don't get me wrong. Yes I work for the government, but I am no advocate of big government, nor of government sticking its nose where it does not belong. I do however believe that one of the main purposes of government is to protect the people. In that regard government builds up and maintains the military, and they also build up and maintain rescue forces such as the Coast Guard, police departments, fire departments, ambulance corps, search and rescue teams and so on. In that way, the government is 100% justified and right in issuing evacuation orders when the evidence suggests a major natural catastrophe is about to befall its citizenry. If you do not heed the government at times like that, well then you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The truly sad thing though is that the government is not likely to prosecute you unless you rape, rob, pillage or plunder during or after the storm. Even then, prosecution seems unlikely because those in government apparently have 250,000 defiant assholes citizens with which to deal. Officials will send out rescuers, yes even into still stormed upon areas, to seek out those in need; those who placed themselves into a situation, and now pull others into a situation, that presents a major threat of death or serious bodily injury. What a friggin shame. And do you know why politicians and other government officials will send in rescuers? They will do so because they are afraid of the yammering that will take place if they don't. You knew that, and that is one of the things that consciously or unconsciously swayed many of you to stay behind - that is you bastards uncaring as to consequence of your actions types.

You also knew that if told to do so, the rescuers would come for you. With the rescuers though, for the great part at least, they do not come because they are afraid of the yammering. You see, they realize that you will yammer, bitch, moan, and complain no matter what, so if they do a good job or a poor job they will still face your wrath after the rescue. They know that most of you will in some way hold them, at least in part, responsible for your self induced ills. They know that the politicians and other officials who ordered them into harm's way are just a bunch of old windbags themselves, and that the windbags will wag tongues at them too. Yes, they know all of this, but yet they come for you. They come for you the defiant, you the moronic, you the foolish, you the complainers, you who put their lives at risk in the first place. They will come because they are brave, because they are ethical, because they are moral, because they are good, because they for some reason, beyond the grasp of most ordinary men and women, see you as being worth the effort, worth the sweat, worth the risk even though it was you who put them at risk in the first place by your own choice. Can even you imagine why they come for you since it was by your decision to remain in the path of the storm and to defy the evacuation order that they will be put at risk.

If it was up to me you would cry for help until the flood waters subsided, until the winds died away, and until the sun had been shining for at least a couple of days. You see, in my opinion, you, and I mean all 250,000 of you combined, are not worth one life of one rescuer or first responder. You are not even worth a single drop of blood that one of them may shed due to a scratch received in the effort to save you. Yet I, and thousands of others no doubt, have already volunteered to come if needed. Why? Well because it is not up to me, at least not up to the purely logical side of me. No, there will be no one forcing me to come if I am needed, as I said I volunteered. Yet as I said, it is not up to me. You see, I live by something called a moral code, and ethical lifestyle, a belief that it is worthwhile to save my fellow Americans of all creeds, etnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, political parties and leanings and so forth. Heck I'll even save, without hesitation, those who are not Americans. Yet those same beliefs make it a gut wrenching experience anytime that I see even one rescuer lose his or her life or get injured while trying to save someone who made a determined and conscious effort to keep themselves within harm's way and just be an out and out asshole trouble maker.

Yes, if it was up to the more logical side of me, the first responders would not be coming for you today, and probably not tomorrow either. It would probably not be until the next day that you would have a chance of being rescued. You see, we would all be better off if the rescue was withheld until there was minimal danger presented to the rescuers. We would be better off if you had to wait days for saving, possibly even a day or two without food and clean water. We would be better off if you suffered for your sins transgressions against logic, law and authority. We would be better off because if the politicians had the balls temerity to do so, well you might just learn a lesson this time around. Then maybe the next time you, and others like you, would not be so ready to put others at risk to save your sorry asses people like you who don't think about the consequences of your actions or who just don't care about those consequences. If so much as one rescuer loses his or her life during the sure to come rescue operations, well then all of you should be held accountable. It is a shame there are people like you out there, and more shameful yet that there are those who bend over backward to kiss your asses bottom ends, and most shameful of all is that someone will be put at risk may lose a life or be seriously injured trying to save YOU. Yet they will come, you know it and I know it; and they will save lives, lives that foolishly put themselves and others at risk. It is one of the great ironies of our times. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves so much so that you never purposely do anything as foolish again, but again we both know it, that is we both you will not be shamed into a change of your ways. Isn't it ironic! You can bet it is.

With hope for the best,
Glenn B

My Glock 26...

...arrived today. There I was sitting at the duty desk in my office when in walked the FedEx lady. I had to sign for two packages for folks in my office. Once I signed, she asked me how to spell my last name for input on her keypad. As I was telling her, I looked at the packages and surprise, one was for me. What a coincidence! I showed her how to spell it; then I checked out the return address. It was - Smyrna, GA, home of Glock USA.

Well yippee, the Glock 26 had arrived, only about a month and a half, at most, after I had sent in the order, though it seems like less time. Not bad at all considering it has taken months for others in my office to receive their pistols ordered likewise.

Now the one n the picture, is not the exact same one I received, but it will have to do for now. Virtually the same pistol, so not much else to show by me posting a pic of the actual one I just got, but I'll take a pic tonight when I get home and post it anyhow just because that way I will have shown you my actual Glock 26. For now though it remains in the box, unopened. Well I opened the shipping box, but not the actual plastic gun case that Glocks markets with these pistols. I'll wait til tonight to do that, when I am home and relaxed. if I get the chance, I'll take it out over the weekend and shoot it at a range, you know just to make sure there are no glitches, bugs or kinks that need to be worked out of it. I imagine that about 400-500 rounds of 9MM should do the trick, you know- to break it in - so to speak.

All the best,

Glenn B

Remember, Remain Vigilant, Stay The Fight

Remember the events of 9/11/2001. The next time you curse out a TSA employee for delaying you catching your flight at an airport - think of the burning towers, think of the Pentagon, think of the words "Let's do it" spoken by a hero leading other heroes in the air above a Pennsylvania field. The next time you think that armed police officers in a subway station, or around Wall Street, or anywhere are overkill, think about what these bastards want to do to us next, and remember that 9/11 was the second al Qaeda attack on the World Trade center, not the first. The next time you are irritable because a Customs or immigration Officer takes longer than expected examining you at the border, and the next time you are upset hearing that we want to stop the flow of illegal aliens across our borders, remember these scum came across our borders disguised as 'legitimate' immigrant and non-immigrant aliens. The next time you think that our taxpayer dollars are being wasted on overkill when it comes to the global war on terrorism, slap yourself silly and remember that on this day September 11 in the year 2001, the largest, I repeat "the largest" loss of life in a single attack against the United States of America (that would be us folks) took place, and it took place here on American soil, by an enemy who was inside the gates, and enemy who lived here within our borders, who were educated on how to complete their attacks on us here by our own educational system, and who has vowed to stop at nothing until they have either destroyed us, or until they have converted us to their brand of Islam.

As time goes on old wounds heal. Our enemies are counting on this. They counted on it the first time around when they attacked the World Trade Center in a bombing attempt in 1993, and then waited 8 years before attacking it again in 2001. They are banking on the fact that as time passes we will become complacent because our government has made us safer. If we are safer, our enemies know we will want to relax instead of keeping up our guard if only because always being on alert is a tough way to live. They are counting on the fact that as we feel less and less threatened our memories of the terror fade away, our anger will subside, our will to unify as one nation and protect ourselves by fighting tooth and nail to defeat our enemies will weaken. They are right, it is happening, it has happened to a great degree. Many complain day in and day out that our vigilance against terrorism is nothing but political, many say we should withdraw from Iraq before the war is won, others have said there is no such thing as a global war on terrorism because there is no global threat of terrorism, others - just plain folk - bitch and moan on a daily basis about losing rights, about airport delays, about how they empathize will illegal aliens, and about how we should pander to Islamic Extremists. Others, probably the vast majority, stand idly by and do nothing one way or the other. It is a disgrace. Still though, most of us will never completely forget, most of us will have become toughened and determined, and many of us will remain on the alert and ready to give our lives to protect what we have and to defeat this common enemy of our nation. Remember the events of this day in 2001, and remember that the price of Freedom is perpetual vigilance and the determination to do what it takes at risk of losing all to stay Free. I assure you that virtually every first responder who lost their lives on 9/11/2001, that those in the plane over the fields of PA who followed a man who said "Let's do it", and virtually every serviceman and woman, who has lost life or limb since then protecting our country believed just that; and there are millions more of us who think the same way.

All the best,
Glenn B

Lyme Disease...

...positive. Oh Joy.

Dear Mr. Obama - a video

The below is a pretty startling political advertisement, but even if it was not at all political it would be startling. It just is not startling because of being political but rather because of its meaningful content. It is also a pretty forceful statement on whether or not we are doing the right thing in Iraq. Yeah, I know all the arguments about how we got the intel wrong for the invasion; and I agree somewhat with those who say we were wrong in going in for those faulty reasons. I also know that once we were there we waged a war that was not only necessary, but that served good purpose. This one video did not make me think that way. Lots of other things made me think that way, and I am a bit too smart, if not wise, to be swayed merely by such a gut wrencher. Yet, this video does state it plain and simple long before it reaches the part that makes it a gut wrenching clincher; and it comes from someone who apparently has had first hand experience with the worthwhile sacrifice of which he speaks.

All the best,
Glenn B

Time For Some Laughin...

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Today In History - Uncle Sam

Today in 1813, "the earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname "Uncle Sam" occurs in the Troy Post" (1). That would be the Troy Post of Troy, NY folks.

All the best,

Glenn B

references:

1. http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam

Gun Show Report

Okay, so we left the hosue this morning about five minutes after 0800. No breakfast, no coffee, and off we went. We got to my friends house right about on time at 0830. No traffic Saturday mornings are a good thing. We picked up both friends at the one's house, and we were off to Middletown and the Orange Coutny Fairgrounds for the Gun Show. About 87.9 miles later we were there. We mad good time, again no traffic to speak of. Found a parking spot about 1/4 mile from the entrance, and hoofed it to the show. Got to the entrance, paid an entry fee of $9.00 apiece (getting steeper all the time), then got disarmed at the entrance. Well not disarmed really, they had me unload and then they banded my pistol which they then gave back to me, and they had me leave the one mag from the gun at the door in a baggie with my name in with it. Funny how they never took the spare mags, and how I could have easily clipped the band myself and reloaded, or bought a new mag and some ammo and loaded. What was the point? I wondered about that, but I am not wondering now. I just firgure it is NY with sily, foolish, pointless assinine gun show regulations. Hopefully people will someday see the light and swing back toward freedom and sensible laws.

Went in started to look around sticking with the other 3, then remembered I wanted some ammo cans, and I headed to a back corner table where I got some at the last show. Sure enough the vendor with the ammo cans was in the same place, I picked up four excellent condition 50 cal ammo cans for $20. Then I realized I wa son my own. Spent the next hour or so browsing the tables and keeping my eyes open for a good bargain, and for another friend who was supposed to show up. Finally ran into Brendan again. He told me about some neat guns he had seen, and we went to check them out together. After another half hour or so, we ran into Richie, one of the friends who took the ride with us. He was busying himself buying an air rifle. He said Hubie was off somewhere else still searching the tables. After a short while we ran into Hubert, he was talking to Charlie K, one of 2 guys who was to meetus at the show. The other Pete K never showed, or we missed him. We BS'd with Charlie for a while, then he made the rounds again while we loaded some stuff into my car. Charlie met us outside not too long after that. As was I, he was soaked with perspiration. It was hot as hades in the show. Warm and muggy outside the show did little to relieve us.

After that we were off to Gander Mountain, where I picked up a few small items I needed. Then off to a McDonald's (off all places) for a quick lunch and BS session. It was a nice time despite being big Mac combos for lunch. Then Cgharlie K went on his way usptate to his daughter's college, andf the 4 of us got inmy car and headed home. It had started raining just before we left Middletown, and about halfway home we were in a downpour. Luckily we missed any flooding, but we could see the river getting high in some places we passed.

I did not pick up any new guns at the show, just the ammo cans. Prices on most firearms in which I had any interest were too high for me. I think Gander Mountain had some guns that were less expensive than the exact smae ones we saw at the show. There are not too many good deals left at gun shows anymore, that is unless you find someone bringing in something to sell. Buy it from them only once they have entered the actual gun show hall. If an individual sells to another individual at the show, a NICS check has to be done through a dealer at the show. In NY, don't stop anyone in the parking lot to try and buy from them, this is a big and illegal no-no here.

All the best,
Glenn B

Holy Gushing Gale Force Winds Batman...

...a miserable weather day is on its way. We may be about to be slammed by a storm pushed on us by a hurricane but I have to say: Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor dark windy and miserable rainy day will keep this gun nut enthusiast from his appointed rounds - there is a gun show to go to tomorrow, and I plan on being there. The thing is though, I just realized that the hours have just flown right by and it's already 10:15 PM. No blogging for me tonight, I've got to get right down to the Bat Cave to clean up a rifle or two that I plan on bringing with me to the gun show tomorrow.

Later for you, a report on the Gun Show tomorrow night or Sunday.

All the best,
GB

For Your Reading Pleasure...

...see the article at this link:

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/best_of_the_web_today.html?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb

I especially liked the thing about the Chihuahua.

Thanks to Cap'n Bob's blog, http://capnbob.us/blog/2008/09/04/better-red-than-fred/, for pointing me in that direction.

All the best,
Glenn B

Wanna Bet They Buy Their Own Gun Soon...

...I am willing to bet that they do, that is if they don't already own one. If they already own one, you can figure it a sure thing they will start keeping it more handy. The they I am talking about are: Kellie and Keith Hoehn of Fort Worth.

Two men allegedly broke into their home recently, at least one armed with a shotgun, the other with a pistol. When the shotgun was pointed at her children's room, well Mrs. Hoehn did what a brave mom would do - she went ballistic and she fought back. One of the first things she apparently did was to grab the shotgun and push it away from pointing at the kids' room. Then her husband tackled the guy and she cold cocked him in the head with a heavy object. Mr. Hoehn wound up with the shotgun, and the whole mess somehow wound up outside the house where he shot and wounded the alleged bad guy who was reportedly armed with a handgun. It was, reportedly, about then that the guy who used to be holding the shotgun came at Mr. Hoehn, and his wife yelled 'shoot him'. Mr. Hoehn obliged and hit the alleged bad guy, but the bad guy still tried to come at Mr. Hoehn who then shot again and killed him.

If this happened as it was reported, all I can say is bravo times ten for Mr. and Mrs. Hoehn. My bet is they will soon own their own shotgun or other self protection firearm. See the story here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,417122,00.html.

All the best,
GB

Weekend Shows - Guns & Reptiles...

...will be the prominent features of my upcoming weekend. First of all I will be attending a gun show sponsored by NorthEastGunShows.com. This show will be held at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY on Saturday September 6th from 9-5, and on Sunday September 7th from 9-3. On Saturday the plan is for Brendan and I to be out the door by 8, at my friend Richie's house by 0830, and at the show by 10 to meet up with friends Charlie and Pete. These three good friends have all retired from government service, and all three were firearms instructors on my job. In fact Richie retired from the NYPD, then became the primary firearms instructor for my office, worked there for many years, and has since retired from that job too. It will be a nice reunion. Hopefully we can drag Hubert along too (another co-worker who also had duties as a firearms instructor).

Brendan and I will only be at the gun show on Saturday. I am not planning on buying any guns because I don't have the cash, that is unless I see the bargain of the century and for that they make plastique. We may pick up some accessories, or some ammo since there are sometimes good deals, but I will readily point out that at the last one I attended there was little ammo on sale and prices for it were sky high. Still though we may find something, and just going to the show is a decent way to spend part of the day. Combine that with our little reunion, and it will be all the better. After the show we will probably all have lunch together, and we may also hit Cabelas. If Cabelas had any sense they would run a sale on days that there is a gun show in Middletown, they get lots of spillover customers from the show. I only plan to pick up some shiners and crayfish there - turtle food for my Musk Turtle.

Speaking of turtles, and other reptiles, the New York Metro Reptile Expo will be held this weekend on Sunday the 7th from 10 - 4 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. I plan to spend my day there, helping to man the Long Island Herpetological Society table. I may try to sell some animals there. I have not had any luck trying to sell anything lately to supplement the hobby, but maybe my luck will change this time around.

With two shows to attend this weekend, I guess that means any chores I had planned for this weekend had best get done on Friday evening, because it looks as if time will be short to do them otherwise. Gotta keep the wife happy somehow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Training & Tactics - Now Let Me Show You Instead Of Tell You

Not all that long ago I wrote a piece: From Purdy Good to What The $?@& Happened, see: http://ballseyesboomers.blogspot.com/2008/08/ballseyes-firearms-training-and-tactics.html

In it I basically explained some of the things that can make your shots go astray; and i further explained that sometimes your accuracy may go off target somewhat through no fault of your own, but rather due to certain aspects of the ammunition you are firing. It kind of boiled down to a discussion of "what in hades am I suddenly shooting so poorly at 50 feet, when I had been shooting great at 21 feet sort of a thing. My conclusion was that if all things considered were equal at both distances, then the likely culprit was that you were shooting .22LR ammo, and that trajectory and or quality control of the ammo were likely at fault. No, I won't bother to explain more here, go to the link and read what I wrote previously if you want more explanation.

What I will do here though is I will give you some pictures of targets to illustrate exactly what I meant in that other piece. Look at the pics, and go to the article, and you will understand exactly what I meant:

1. CCI MiniMag at 21 feet

2. CCI MiniMag 50 Feet

3. CCI Blazer 21 feet

4. Blazer 50 feet

5. Federal Champion 21 feet (old ammo, at least 15 years old)

6. Federal Champion 50 feet (same ammo)

7. Remington Thunderbolt 21 feet

8. Remington Thunderbolt 50 feet

Remember that all of these targets were shot with the same gun, a Ruger MKII Pistol, by the same shooter, using the same technique and hold. Federal Champion and CCI Mini Mag both showed the most reliable grouping between the 21 foot and 50 foot distances; and it is a pretty sure thing that quality control had a lot to do with it. As to the higher shots at 50 feet, that was due to the trajectory aspects of .22 LR ammunition.

All the best,
Glenn B

Hurricane Sarah Hits Landfall In Minnesota...

...and far left extremists and whacko liberals flee in panic, and so I guess too do some corrupt politicians and terrorists, as she picks up steam rolling on toward Washington.

Folks let me say it this way, tonight I thought I heard mayor Rudolph Giuliani give the absolute best political speech I have heard since some of those made by Ronald Reagan. Yet, his speech stood up as the best I had heard in years only for all of several minutes. You see, it quickly became obvious that once Hurricane Sarah hit that stage, that great speech by Mayor Giuliani that I had heard only moments before was now being bested by the words of the Governor of Alaska, the next Vice President of the United States of America, Sarah Palin.

I have regained faith in the Republican Party, I have even gained a great deal of of faith in John McCain. The woman he picked as his vice presidential running mate is as presidential as anyone could expect of any vice presidential candidate. The big question has been could she step into the shoes of the president at a moment's notice in the event of catastrophe; I think she answered us all tonight. There is no doubt in my mind as to for whom I will cast my vote in November - McCain/Palin all the way to Washington.

All the best,
Glenn B

Labor Day Weekend - What Did You Do?

Labor Day – What Did You Do? Here is what I did this weekend:

Well even though Labor Day was initiated as a day off for the working man (in NY City of all places), I did not get off today. Sure I had off from work, but I also had chores around the house and the garden. I’ll admit though, these chores sure beat working for someone else.

I primed and painted a closet this weekend. The first coat was applied Saturday, the rest today. I also did some light gardening, nothing back breaking for sure. I am also supposed to stain the front door, but am not too sure I can get back into the work mode. I’ll know soon after the Paulaner Hefe Weissbier I am about to imbibe. If it is quickly followed by a second, well work around the house is on hold indefinitely, or at least until next week. Of course I may get the front door done regardless, it may just be a good bier I need to get going with it. Staining fiberglass with gel stain is a royal pain in the arse. A wood or steel door will replace the one I have if I live that long. No more fiberglass, unless it gets painted, and even then I would prefer the others.

As for the gardening, I got a bunch of jalapenos and tomatoes today. It looks as if just about the last batch of tomatoes that will ripen on the vine are starting to do so. I have a lot of very green tomatoes left over, and if they do not appear to be getting either red or yellow (dependent on the type) by next week, off the vine with them, and into little paper bags in which they will ripen they will go. All of the hot peppers have been picked, the butternut squash looks about ready for picking – sadly only three fruits this year as all the others rotted for some reason. There is a good batch of spearmint to be picked. The basil also needs picking before it dies off. I don’t think anything else, except for a small Broccoli plant, has anything left worth picking. That has about three mouthfuls of broccoli on it. Oh well, all good things come to an end sort of. The garden has not ended – just this season for it has ended. Soon the plants will be uprooted and put into the compost pile to make fertilizer and earthworms for next season.

Did I forget to mention, yesterday I visited my mom out east on Long Island. Quite the drive going there, it took over 2 hours for about 85 miles. The drive back only took about 90 minutes. We had a nice day together. We went into Sag harbor for a walk – all of about 75 yards round trip from car to dock to car. Halfway through the walk we sat on a dockside bench and my mom got to watch the antics of the boaters, the gulls, and the killie fish. It was a nice breezy warm day with blue skies, so this was picture perfect. Then back to the car, a we took short drive of about a block and a half to a local restaurant/bar, where we had a good meal, and I had a couple of pints of Stella Artois. Then back to my sister’s house (where my mom lives). You maybe wondering why such a short walk for me and my mom – she has had hip replacement twice on one side, knee replacement on the other side, and a wired hip on the same side as the knee only because with the fake knee they could not also put in a fake hip. Add to that the fact she will be 84 in December, and you get the picture I am sure. All in all it was the nicest day I have spent with my mother in decades.

On Saturday we had a barbecue, that is after I primed the closet. My mother-in-law and brothers-in-law came by, as did Celina and Kevin her beau. Brendan and Julia were upstate fishing and having fun. The BBQ was pretty good, just burgers, franks, and Bratwursts (none of those prepackaged television commercial 'brats' for us, we had real Bratwurst made at a really ethnic German butcher, and fresh at that). Washed it all down with Paulaner Weissbier. Hmm, that reminds me, wasn’t I about to have a cold one?

Now, for me anyhow, I am going to go to get that bier – a nice cold one at that. Let me know what you did for your Labor Day weekend.

All the best,
Glenn B

Standing-By...

...for possible deployment to New Orleans or the Gulf Coast area if it gets hit hard enough by whatever hurricane that is headed that way right now. I suppose the President learned something from the last hurricane to devastate that area, otherwise why would my agency have just called me to ask if I was available to go on standby? When my group supervisor asked if I was interested in being put on stand-by to travel to New Orleans, I at first said I was not interested. He then asked if I had traveled to Atlanta before on standby to go to New Orleans (that was after Katrina), and explained this current detail was just in case the expected hurricane hits them hard again. I had thought it was for something to do with rounding up illegal aliens; but once I heard what it was really for, to help out if there is hurricane devastation, I volunteered without further question. Now I have to go round up some gear I may need to have ready just in case I actually have to go.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sarah Palin - Experience Or lack Of It

Here is the scoop. No matter how much Barack Obama will cry foul, no matter how much he will now whine that John McCain has hammered him for lack of experience, no matter how much Obama will try to make it look as if Sarah Palin has less acceptable experience toward running for executive office than himself - the absolute truth of the matter is that Sarah Palin has years more experience as a chief executive officer in government than has Barack Obama. She is the current governor of Alaska, she is the curretn Commander of The Alaska National Guard, she was elected as mayor twice. (I seem to recall lkiberals, independents, and some moderate or left leaning republicans hoping Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York would run for office.)

Granted her stint as mayor was in a village; however, the fact is she was the chief executive of thousands of folks in that town, and not once but twice; and she has worked her way through the ploiitical maze, and up the political ladder step by step. Before that she was a city council member, also for two terms. Now while that may not be big time insider, as in Washington D.C. insider time like that of Barack Hussein Obama, wasn't it Obama who when he first started to run for the presidency that claimed he was for change and that he was not and insider (and that was supposedly a good trait when applied to himself by himself). She later ran for the position of Lt. Governor and lost, but was in the spotlight so to speak, and the ten Governor Frank Murkowski seemed impressed with her political prowess.

She also was appointed to be the Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, appointed by Governor Murkowski (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_palin). She served in that capacity for only about one year, but bear in mind what she did there and just after that is more noteworthy than anything Barack Obama has done while a senator: She quit that job in protest of the corruption she discovered, and because her attempts at uncovering the corruption, and blowing the whistle on it, were ignored by the then governor of Alaska - the same guy who had appointed her to the position in question. After quitting she did something quite courageous - she exposed the corruption of state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, and yes she too is a Republican. Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine. She is not full of hot air about the supposed great things she has done, as you may remember Obama tries to tout about a bill or three he voted on during his brief time actually working in the Senate (time actually working as opposed to over a year running for the presidency in which time he has done virtually nothing in the Senate).

In 2006 she ran for the executive position of Governor of Alaska. She won, having run on a "clean government" (as in not corrupt) platform. She has continued with her campaign against government corruption since she has been elected. In July 2008 her approval rating as governor was at or above 80%. Some of the issues (note I said some of the issues - not some of the hoopla) for which she stands are:

1) Oil: She is all for the research and development of oil as a continued fuel source.

2) Oil Independence: She is for drilling in ANWR

3) Alternate Energy Sources: She is all for research and development of alternate forms of energy such as wind power, natural gas, and nuclear power. She has also implemented conservation programs for home energy use.

4) Global Warming: She has definitive plans to research and combat global warming, but does not as does Al Gore, readily attribute it to being a problem caused by mankind without any real evidence of such having been the case.

5) Environment: She sees the need for environmental issues and things like energy development to coexist. Governor Palin is chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multi-state government agency that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment (from her State of Alaska website: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/bio.html). She also sees a need to be careful not to make knee jerk reactions and opposed placing Polar Bears on the endangered species just based upon a global warming scare, and without at least some scientific research being done as to the Polar Bears' status (does this mean she does things reasonably, can you imagine that in a politician).

6) Taxes: She is for a windfall tax on the oil companies (ala Hillary Clinton), and has instituted one in Alaska. This has resulted in the state having a huge excess of funding, and she plans to give this money back to the people in the form of about $1,200.00 each. A sort of tax rebate paid for by not the everyday tax payer, but by the oil companies because of the wealth generated by drilling for oil in Alaska.

7) Abortion: She is unabashedly pro-life. She has 5 children, the youngest only about 4 months old and has Down Syndrome. She was aware of the Down Syndrome before the child was born. She is a member of Feminists For Life.

8) Gay Rights: She opposes gay marriage. She did obey an Alaskan Supreme Court order to implement same sex benefits, and signed a bill into law to that effect.

9) Separation of Church and State: On education and religion, she believes that both evolution and creationism should be discussed in schools (can you imagine that she is willing to have both sides of an issue be taught about in public schools).

10) Law & Order: She is truly anti-corruption and when she became governor, despite her husband having been a former employee of oil giant BP, she negated a deal that the former Alaskan governor had made with BP by way of a new law she had passed into the legislation (hmm she even has some legislative experience, all that Obama can tout). This law now allows a huge amount of natural gas to be piped into the lower 48 states of the USA.

11) U.S. Military & The War In Iraq: She is very supportive of the United States Military. As the commander of the Alaskan National Guard (hmm, more executive experience here, something to which Barack Obama does not even come close) she visited the U.S. troops in Iraq, and in hospital(s) in Germany. (Her oldest son was recently deployed to Iraq in the U.S. Army in the infantry.) All this, yet she has been critical of the Bush administration’s lack of long term policy on the war in Iraq (she is no one's puppet or mouthpiece).

13) Use of Natural Resources: She is pro-sportsman. She is a hunter, fisherwoman, snowmobile enthusiast, has run a marathon and has played team basketball. She is a self described 'hockey-mom'. She, as pointed out above is willing to drill for oil, yet also willing to develop and use alternative fuel sources.

12) Right to Keep and Bear Arms: She is pro Right To Keep and Bear Arms. She is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association.

13) Morality: She is moral. She is religious and attends church. She has been married to the same man for 20 or so years. They have 5 children together.

Now for the other side.

1) She is truly somewhat inexperienced when it comes down to it. She has little to no foreign policy experience. Neither does Barack Obama, but granted Biden his running mate does. She has made more tripe to overseas though, I believe than had Barack Obama, at least more trips to visit the troops, and no one had to twist her arm, and yes she visited wounded soldiers in the hospital.

2) Her experience, what she has of it is limited. She has a short time in government, but she has more time in government that does Barack Obama, yes she does count the years in the City Council, as mayor and as Governor. Her experience as a chief executive is monumentally more than that of Obama because he has zero experience as a chief executive officer, remember he is a legislator not an executive - there is a huge difference. He also has zero experience as the commander of a state's National Guard.

3) She is under investigation for allegedly firing someone because he would not fire someone else who was a State trooper; she has been open about this and it sounds to me like a case of the guy getting fired just trying to muddy the water for her as in revenge for his being fired.

4) She only holds a Bachelor's degree. What can I say - she has actually worked on her husband's fishing boat where she broke her fingers while doing so, and she knows hard labor both physical and academic. In addition, she was intelligent enough to have been twice on the city council, elected a two term mayor, and now to be governor of the State of Alaska. She has worked her way up from the bottom with no silver spoon in her mouth.

5) She is not a lawyer. Can you imagine that, a politician in an executive position (governor) who is not, and has not been, a lawyer. Move over Barack Obama and over 95% of the U.S. Senate.

6) She is not a Washington, DC insider - so my guess is with her stance against corruption many Washington D.C. insiders are dirtying their pants just thinking she may be elected.

7) She is a virtual unknown outside of Alaska. This is probably her weakest point, but my bet is she will be well known before the end of next month, and certainly before the end of October and the election in November.

The Bottom Line: The bottom line for me is this, she makes a better candidate for vice president than Barack Obama makes for president as I see her; but I am somewhat concerned at her lack of experience just as I would be with Barack Obam's if I were actually thinking of voting for him. Her lack of experience though does not seem to be as lacking as that of Obama in the executive branch of government, and even outshines Biden there. (Yes Biden has much more overall experience, but limited to legislative experience; and he is not my choice of candidates anyhow.) Unless something earth shattering comes up in the next two months to show otherwise, she has my full support as does Senator John McCain. Yes that means I will be voting after all (remember I said if he picked Lieberman or Ridge I would not find myself able to vote for him). Thank you Senator McCain for choosing a running mate for whom I can vote with a clear conscience based on the issues.

All the best,
Glenn B