Ballseye's Gun Shots 121: Beretta 70S Magazines - Possible Source (definite source for Bersa Model 644 mags, while they last)

Recently, someone sent me an email inquiring about whether or not I would sell him one of my 5 magazines for my Beretta Model 70S. I declined and tried to steer him to a source of aftermarket mags for said pistol. Well, if you are the person who inquired, and you are reading this, you may be able to get a really good deal on magazines that, while not made for the Beretta 70S, may fit and function in it. Of course, if you are not that person, and have a Beretta 70S, and want some mags that may fit and function in it, you might also be interested. If you own a Bersa 644 and need mags you will most likely be interested.

Tonight I received an email from the http://www.sportsmansguide.com/ in which they advertised magazines for sale for the Bersa 644 pistol in .22LR at this link:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=771993&ecid=E107D&em_id=gbarthgwt@msn.com

When I saw the pic of the mag, I immediately thought it looked a lot like a Beretta Model 70S mag (in .22LR). I was curious so I did a web search for Bersa 644 magazine. I came up with a website, that apparently specializes in selling magazines and other gun parts, called Hoosier Gun Works. I checked their page for magazines A-D:

http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/magazine_pistol.html#a-d

One that page I saw they offered the Bersa 644 mags (in .22LR) for $25 each. Sportsmansguide has them at $19.97 each or $17.97 each for club members at the link I gave above. The thing about the Hoosier Gun works page was that it certainly seems to indicate that the Bersa Model 644 mags can be used in a Beretta Model 70. Now, mind you, I am not to sure that is actually the case, but if you are in need of mags for the Beretta 70 and it variations in .22LR, well it just may be worth checking into further. If you can get em at this price and they work in the Beretta 70S with no glitches - well you have probably gotten yourself a really good deal. Of course, if you do not want to chance it, you can always get after market mags elsewhere that were actually made to fit the Beretta 70.

That's it.

All the best,
Glenn B

SHARK...SHARK...GET OUT OF THE WATER

I was just watching Fox News and they reported on some new toys expected to be released sometime in 2011. One of them was basically a remote controlled blimp of sorts. It is shaped and colored to look just like a shark, well just as much like a shark as a toy balloon can look. The thing about this balloon is not only is it helium filled so it floats in the air, but it also is remote controlled and it appears to swim through the air propelled by waves of its tail fin.

Okay, sounds like a kinda fun, maybe even kinda scary, kids toy. I just can't wait to see who will be the first moron to bring it to the beach, my guess is that it will make the news. Hopefully it will either be released soon, well before the summer season begins so folks will be aware of it well before summer, or they will wait until after the summer has ended. Otherwise, I can just imagine the scene something like this could stir up at a crowded beach if it goes air swimming by, just above the water's surface, and just one person yells "SHARK" and starts to flee the surf.

All the best,
GB

Happy Birthday Arizona

Today, Arizona is 99 years old; it became the 48th state on February 14, 1912. I love the place, its people (the legal residents and citizens not the illegals) and almost everything about it. I have been there now a total of - wow I lost count - but I figure it has to have been at least 30 0r 40 times now. I have visited there for anywhere from driving through, to day trips, to 2 weeks long vacations, to 45 days for work, to 4 months for work (twice). I would go there again tomorrow if I could go. It is certainly a state full of natural wonders, wonderful people who are good Americans with great values. Their idea of gun control is basically being able to hit your target and they strongly believe that our nation should enforce our laws against illegal entry of aliens into the country. Just gotta love it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Gun Show Just Around The Bend

It's only Monday but I am wishing it was already Friday and that I'd find myself waking up tomorrow to head out to the gun show up in Middletown, NY. I still have a decent chunk of change set aside and am hoping to pick up a rifle his weekend and I don't mean another Nagant like I got at the White Plains show earlier this month. I am really hoping for the Remington 700 VTR in .308. If I cannot find one at the show, I may see if I can pick up a nice decent AK-47. Of course, if I run across a really nice Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, well I guess I can forget the AK, at least for now. I have to admit though, the AK would go nicely with the ten 30 round pre-ban AK magazines I just bought.

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/mid/MIDDLETOWN.htm

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/mid/MIDDLETOWN-%20FEB-11.pdf

All the best,
Glenn B

The Bellamy Brothers - Jalapenos

Maybe you have already seen it, it looks to be at least 8 months old from what I saw on YouTube, but today is the first I rememebr seeing it. I don't think I would forget certain parts of it because of how they just stuck out (lol).



All the best,
GB

Ballseye's Gun Shots 120 - Happy I Did Not Go To The Range Yesterday...

...because when I went this evening, I found out it was closed for the day yesterday for a state/county holiday (they called it Presidents' Day but they also take off on the 21st for that, I imagine they meant Lincoln's Birthday which actually was February 12, 1809). So I was lucky not to have made a wasted trip yesterday.

My trip there tonight was a fun one as most of my range trips turn out. I only brought along 2 guns, the new Mosin Nagant 91/30 and my issued SIG 229. The range is an indoor one and the maximum distance at which one can shoot is only 25 yards. It's probably needless to say, I did all my shooting with the Nagant at that distance. With the open sights I would much have preferred to shoot at a range of at least 50 yards but I made due with what was available. I only had 40 rounds for the Nagant but that was enough to get an idea of how it shoots and to realize what kind of ammo it probably likes. I had a 20 round box of Prvi Partizan 150 grain soft points and a box of 20 Silver Bear 203 grain soft points. Let me just say right out that there was one heck of a difference in how well the rifle shot the two different bullet weights.

I started off shooting the Prvi Partizan out of the Nagant in 3 round sets. I wanted to see how well of a group I could get with it. When I brought my target back after the first 3 shots I was absolutely amazed to see only one bullet hole on the paper. Okay, I tried again but made sure the rear sight was set as far back/low as it would go. On the next target there were only 2 out of 3 shots on paper and the darned paper is 10.5" x 12". I took another look and saw that two shots had apparently gone though one hole (note, I said apparently, more on this later) but the group was 2 3/4" across at only 25 yards. I was beginning to think that the frosted barrel was shot out. The three shots were all at about the same level vertically but were spread out horizontally from left to right. Not something I usually see when I shoot. Another try with 3 shots and all 3 were on the paper but sort of 3 in a row from left to right. All the shots were hitting about 3" low but that was not my concern, it was that spread from left to right that was bothering me.

I decided to give the Silver Bear ammo a try. I moved the rear sight forward 2 notches to raise the sight. Then I fired 3 shot groups with the Silver Bear ammo. After I got the first 3 off, I brought the target back not expecting to see anything better than what I had done with the Prvi Partizan but wow was I surprised. The first group was about 3" high and 2 1/2" to the right of the bull's eye. The group size was 1 1/2". I decided to just keep shooting for group size not worrying about where the group was hitting for now, so I did not adjust the sights again. I tried a second set of 3 rounds. That group was in just about the same place and the group size was 1 1/4" across. I gave it one more try with 3 rounds and that last time again shot in the same area but with a group size of 13/16 of an inch.

I shot some more withe the Prvi Partizan, until all of it was gone - which was another 11 shots. Of those, I shot two 5 shot groups and a single shot. The 5 shot groups both had 5" spreads. I was shooting bent over at the waist so that my elbows were resting on the bench. I figured I could do better with my SIG 229 at 25 yards and fired 7 shots out of it from essentially the same position. I got a 6 shot group with a 2 1/8" spread and one flier a few inches directly above that group. With the flyer, the group was 4 3/4" with my SIG 229 pistol at 25 yards. I then shot two 5 shot groups from the Nagant using the Silver Bear ammo. The better of those two groups was 1 5/8" across the other was only slightly larger.

The Nagant was consistently shooting in the same area, with decent sized groups, using the 203 grain Silver Bear ammo. It was pretty much all over the place with the lighter 150 grain Prvi Partizan ammo. Once I got home and I looked at the targets to measure the group sizes, I discovered something interesting about how the ammo was hitting the paper. Remember I said more about two of the Prvi Partizan shots having gone though the same hole! Well, it seems I was wrong. There actually only were 2 shots out of 3 that hit paper on that set. What had looked like a 2 shot hole actually now seems to have been caused by bullet wobble. Not like a bullet that was tumbling end over end but as ft it had been wobbling side to side just a little bit because the hole was just a wee bit oblong horizontally. When I looked at the other targets I had shot with the Prvi Partizan ammo, I noticed that most of the holes in the paper looked just like that one, as if the bullet had wobbled side to side a little bit. On the target that I shot with the Silver bear ammo, the holes were crisp and about as perfectly round as a bullet could make them. I am not much of a technical guy when it comes to guns or to ballistics and how bullets fly toward the target. I do know that the rate of twist can cause different weight bullet to fly differently, some weights are just not made for certain barrels. My guess is this is what happened with the lighter Prvi Partizan ammo. I will see what happens in the future with heavier bullet weights, those closer to the 203 grain Silver Bear. Prvi Partizan makes a 182 grain FM, I will probably try that one but will have to wait until I can get to the outdoor range for the FMJ stuff. They also make a 180 grain soft point and if I can find some of that I will try it at the indoor range as soon as possible. There are lots of other choices out there for me to try, I may even try some other lighter weight stuff but for now will probably stick with the heavier weight ammo until I see how each of them shoots though this Nagant. Of course, I will continue shooting the Silver bear 203 grain ammo thought it and see if I can fiddle with the sights until I am hitting pretty close to dead center. I am eagerly looking forward to some better weather and a day at the outdoor range with this rifle.

Back to the range this evening - once I had finished up the ammo for the Nagant, I took a look at the spent shell casings to make sure they looked normal. Actually I did that after the first 3 shots with each ammo, then looked at all the shell casings once I was done shooting the rifle. I wanted to see if there was any apparent evidence that the head space was off. All of them looked fine. The primers of the Prvi Partizan ammo looked to have normal to almost light hits on them. The Silver Bear on the other hand were dimpled more than I would have expected. I am guessing the Silver Bear may have a hotter powder charge that caused this or suppose it could just have been due to softer primers.

After that, I shot up about three boxes of ammo for the SIG 229. Other than the 7 shots I took at 25 yards while resting on the bench, I fired the rest of the ammo at 7 yards. I shot some of it slow fire and some rapid fire from a 2 hand hold unsupported. Then I shot one handed with each hand and then went back to the 2 handed shooting. Let me just say, there was a single big hole in the center of the target with a few orbiting shots around it when I was finished. Once the ammo was expended, I loaded for the street. (I always make sure to have enough put on the side for that so when I leave the range I am sure to have a loaded weapon. I once left unloaded because I had shot up all my ammo and I can tell you it gave me a feeling of vulnerability that assured I would never do that again.)

It's been a good couple of weeks for me, I have been to the range 4 times in the course of exactly 2 weeks. I had been thinking of what I could do to get over the winter doldrums and shooting is sure one way to keep myself happy. of course, it would be nicer if Brendan had been coming along but he has been working on the 3 days I have been to the range for recreational shooting and of course, he cannot come with me when I shoot to qualify for my job. Maybe next time, I can work it for a Saturday and he can come along. We always have a good time shooting together and I enjoy it immensely to see him shooting not only well but safely. That, along with a few other of his good habits, convinces me that he is a responsible young adult.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 119 - Firearms Safety - Not Just The Responsibility Of The Person Holding The Gun

If you read my blog regularly, then you know I can be a stickler for firearms safety. The reason for that is because when it comes to accidents with firearms it is all too often that you do not get a second chance. I was among the lucky in that regard. I have had a single accidental discharge, due to my negligence, several years ago, when handling a firearm. I put one into my kitchen floor when I thought I was making a firearm safe prior to take down. I thought i had removed the magazine, then pulled back the slide and ejected the round in the chamber, then thought I clearly saw it was empty, then aimed in a safe direction and squeezed the trigger to decock, and bang.

So what is the rest of that story. I had come home late one night, very tired. I placed a loaded pistol I had been carrying in a fairly safe place. I was so tired I then forgot to unload it and went to sleep on the couch. When I awoke, later that night, I noticed the pistol sitting there and realized it was loaded. I went to unload it, then thought I had better go upstairs and leave it on top of my fridge after unloading as that was its usual roost. When I got upstairs, I had the magazine in my hand already. The thing was that the mag in my hand was the spare mag and not the one in the gun. When I visually checked the chamber and mag well, I basically saw black, probably because of the small size of the well and because the room was only dimly lit and because I was not really fully awake or alert. I broke an awful lot of firearms safety rules that night all because I broke one that basically says not to handle firearms when not alert. All my bad, yes indeed. Yet I followed at least one rule and thanks to me keeping it pointed in a safe direction, I only wounded the floor and my pride.

I always considered myself a stickler for the safety rules, even before that accidental discharge. For those of you screaming out that it was a negligent discharge as opposed to an accidental one, don't get your shorts in a wad. It was definitely accidental because I did not do so purposefully. Accidental and negligent are two very different concepts although as is often the case they go hand in hand down the path of 'whoops - did I do that'. Negligence goes toward fault and not toward whether or not you did something purposefully or accidentally. It is that simple. So mine was both accidental and negligent at that. As I was saying, before that guy started screaming a me about accidental versus negligent, I always have been pretty much a stickler for gun safety rules. That is the only accidental discharge I have had in my lifetime. Regardless of it being the only one, it was one too many. Sure accidents can happen, even to the most careful of people because we can all be off at times, emotions, fatigue, illness, brain farts, can all effect us now and then without us realizing they are effecting us. But there are ways to help assure that even if you are off, you will not have an accident with a firearm or that if you do then the accident you may have with one is not one that results in an injury or fatality. Mind you, I am not at all saying, even in any small measure, that it is ever okay or even expected that you will have such an accident but as a wise old coot of a firearms instructor used to say to me: There are three types of shooters in the world, those who admit to having had an accidental discharge, those who will have one and then admit it, and liars. If you do something long enough, even always having done it the right way, there is the increased chance you will do it wrong sometime sooner or later.

With that all in mind, I am usually very on the ball with firearms safety. Yet, I have committed some other small momentary errors in that regard. I have rarely done the following: inadvertently if only momentarily covered myself with a firearm, covered others momentarily with a firearm, had my finger on the trigger when I did not intend or was not ready to activate the trigger (note I did not say when I intended to shoot because the rule about keeping your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot just plainly has too many legitimate exceptions - one of them being take down of Glock pistols) and so on. The thing is I usually caught myself or someone else caught me and let me know. Anyone, who handles firearms on a fairly frequent basis over many years, who tells you they have absolutely never committed an infringement of the firearms safety rules is either an out and out liar or an idiot or is simply not self aware enough to realize when he or she has broken those rules (this is very often the case but there are plenty of idiots and liars out there too). I have way too much experience with guns and with being around people who shoot or otherwise handle them to know better about such claims of 'not me - not ever'. Even the best of us make small mistakes now and then no matter how much we strive to prevent them.

Now, when I refer to the Rules of Firearms Safety, you must bear in mind that I am not making reference to Colonel Jeff cooper's 4 Rules of Firearms Safety. As far as am concerned, those 4 rules are never enough. Some have accused me of not understanding that adding more rules is not the right way to go and that if those 4 are followed an accident or negligent act with a firearm could never take place. The truth is though that I have not added more rules to Colonel Cooper's 4. He, on the other hand, actually abbreviated some already long standing rules of firearms safety to come up with his 4. Of course, you could call his rules the 4 cardinal rules of Firearms Safety but I would disagree even then. They just do not cover enough of the situations that arise when safety is at issue concerning firearms. They do a fairly good job of covering firearms safety when someone (as in one person) is shooting or otherwise handling a firearm and is wide awake, not under the influence of mood altering drugs, is not about to hand a firearm to someone else, and so forth but remember I said a fairly good job. They are truly lacking in that they leave out such tidbits as 'gunpowder and alcohol don't mix' (in other words - never handle firearms, ammunition or their components while under the influence of alcohol or mind altering drugs), before handing a firearm to another person - open the action, always make absolutely sure you are using the correct ammunition, safely store and transport firearms to prevent unauthorized access (by children and adults) and on and on and on.

This time, while writing about firearms safety, I am not going to do what I have done in the past and spell out rule after rule after rule. Instead, what I have done this evening was to compile a list of firearms related web pages that contain firearms safety rules. Why have I done this instead of just listing the rules here. Well, to be quite frank, because others have called me: unqualified with regard to teaching firearms safety (regardless of my 13-14 years as a firearms instructor and over 40 years of shooting experience), a bullshitter in that they thought I made up these rules to spite Jeff Coopers 4 rules, inexperienced, a trouble maker, a liar in that I said there were more rules than 4, a moron, and a range Nazi. One has even told me that I am paranoid about firearms safety because I stress the importance of additional rules. Well, if I am paranoid or full of crap, or too much of the stickler because I believe there are many more than just 4 rules, at least I can say that I am in good company because some major firearms organizations teach those additional rules just as do I and they have been doing it for many-many years and now I have linked to them. I remember these rules from when I was a pre-teenaged child and that was, sadly, a long time ago. After all, when and from whom do you think I learned them! I did not make them up out of thin air or gun smoke. So, in the Blue Zone, to the right on my blog page, I have embedded a new link list called: FIREARMS SAFETY - Do yourself a favor - read these because 4 Rules are not enough by a long shot.

I strongly recommend you read the firearms safety rules that are available at the Smith & Wesson and Remington links that I provided under said header. They are fairly in depth, don't take all that long to read, and are well worth the expenditure of 5 or 10 minutes to read them because they may someday cause you to save a life because you adhered to them. When reading them, if you pay attention, you will discover what I printed out in the title of this post, that firearms safety is not just the responsibility of the person holding the firearm (it took me an awfully long time to get to that, didn't it!) Firearms safety is the responsibility of the shooter, handler, owner, the person who stored or transported a firearm, the parent, the experienced versus novice shooter, the instructor, the gun blogger, a person observing others shooting or handling and so on. Remembering that will go a long way to help assure things stay safe. Of course, familiarizing yourself with all the rules, then practicing them relentlessly, is the best way for you to personally keep things safe but making sure that others do likewise is also a good bit of safety insurance. So, do your part to handle and store them safely and make sure others are doing likewise because you following those rules may either prevent or lessen the effects of an accident that otherwise may have taken a life or seriously injured someone. That life could be that of a stranger but then again, it could be your own or that of a loved one. Never forget that you want to do your best to keep things safe at all times because sometimes there are no second chances.

Safe shooting,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 118 - Hopefully Another Range Day Today or Tomorrow

I need to get to the range with my latest acquisition, the Izhevsk (man is it hard to recall how to spell that) Mosin Nagant 91/30. I hate to shoot it at only 25 yards at the indoor range but I do not have the time to go the 40 or 45 miles to the nearest outdoor range nor do want to freeze my toes off. The outdoor range can wait until later in March or April. For now, can see how it shoots and handles at the indoor range. Of course, if I do get a chance to get to the range today, that would mean I'll also bring a pistol or three or maybe some 22 caliber rifles in addition to the Nagant. Besides that, a trip to the range today would mean my fourth or fifth such trip this month. (And someone told me today he thinks I am more of a collector of firearms than a shooter after seeing my blog. Go figure, I always thought of my meager collection of firearms only as an offshoot of my shooting since I bought them to shoot and not to hang on a wall.)

Before I can go to the range though, I will need to get my fish and amphibian tanks cleaned up and maybe get some more work on my income taxes done. I am doing them for me and the wife and am doing my son's. His are done just need his bank account info to get them financially accounted. He will be a happy camper once he sees he is getting something back this year. I figure I ought to have an hour or two for the range this evening - hopefully two. Maybe one can get enough range time but for me, it seems, there is barely enough time for the range for as often as I believe I should be going. So, when I get the time, I try to make the best and most of it.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Guns Shots 117 - Non-Range Firearms Practice

I was wondering how many of you other shooters not only practice tactical shooting at the range but also practice other non-shooting tactical firearms techniques at home. In other words, do you practice things at home such as dry firing (with only dummy rounds in he firearm, such as snap caps), magazine exchanges, one handed loading (if not at a range then using only dummy rounds I would hope) weapons retention, weapons take aways, malfunction clearing, one handed malfunction clearing (again for the last 2, using only dummy rounds if not at a range and maybe even then).

I know, that at most ranges I can use in my area, the practice of most of these techniques would be frowned upon. So, I sometimes wind up practicing them at home with unloaded guns or guns loaded with dummy rounds, or with dummy guns (for weapons retention or take-away techniques). I make darned sure that there is no ammo in the room in which I am practicing, that is unless it is locked up and very secure. I would hate to make the mistake of picking up a mag with a live round after having been distracted and then putting that mag into a pistol and having to live with the possible consequences. I also do it only when no one else is home, well except for the pets. In addition, I do it in the most secure room in my home, the one least likely to allow an accidental shot to hit someone outside or inside (my basement). I would much prefer to do all this at a range but as i said - they usually do not allow it. The only range at which I can do this sort of thing is the one my job uses for qualifications and then it is only under the supervision of our range officers during tactical exercises and practice. Since we do this a very limited number of times per year, I opt to practice as best I can at home with unloaded or dummy weapons.

What about you?

All the best,
Glenn B

Federal & American Eagle - .45 Auto Ammunition Recall Alert

A friend from work let me know about this recall notice. I am passing it on to the rest of you as a public service sort of thing. I am hopeful that Federal will see it that way, as sort of a helping hand to spread the word and prevent any potential tragedies.

I would strongly recommend that you check your .45 ammo and if you have any of this you follow the instructions in the accompanying notice.

The image is clickable to enlarge. The original posting about it can be found by clicking the appropriate link on the Federal Premium site . The link is located near the lower right hand side of the home page or you can just click on it here:

http://www.federalpremium.com/pdf/45_Auto_warning.pdf

There is also another link on the Federal Premium home page that says: "If you have affected product Click Here". Please don't go crazy clicking on this link just for the heck of it or out of curiosity. Click on it only if you have the effected ammo. I am pretty sue Federal does not need any unnecessary traffic on their servers right about now. They will probably have enough with all the people who will be turning in the recalled lots of ammo.

Shoot safely,
Glenn B

Some Would Say This Car Has Everything but...

...I would say not unless it has a hot coffee dispenser, dual front facing machine guns, dual rear facing machine guns, a smoke blower, an oil dispenser (in the rear) and an ejector seat. Of course, if it really had email service and served up sizzling bacon, those would be the first steps toward getting it there.


see more Very Demotivational

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 116 - Ever Sold, Traded, or Just Gotten Rid of A Firearm & Not Regret It or Miss It Later?

Over all the years I have owned my own firearms, which has been since about the mid to late seventies, I can think of only one that I do not usually miss and that I most certainly do not regret getting rid of. That is one and the same as the RG pistol in .25 Auto that was my first pistol (in fact the first gun I ever owned). It was an out and out piece of junk. One of the best things I ever did was when I took it apart and threw its pieces in different parts of a salt water bay. It was just that crappy. Of course, if I think of it as my first gun, well then I can get all nostalgic and actually begin to miss it, that is until I remember what a piece of junk it was and then I am again happy that I just rid myself of it forever.

With every other gun I have gotten rid of, that I can think of right now, I have always had regrets, sooner or later, once it was gone. That goes for my Charter Arms 38, my 4" and 2.5" S&W Model 66 revolvers, my 2nd 2.5" S&W Model 66, my Ruger Mini 14, my Remington 870 Wingmaster, my Charter Arms Path Finder, my few (at least 4) Beretta Jetfires (.25 ACP), my Browning BLR in .358 Winchester, my CVA .45 caliber Philadelphia Derringer (a kit gun), my J.C. Higgins 22 rifle, my first Marlin 336 in .35 Remington (missed it so much I had to get another), two Yugo SKS rifles (even though I kept another), a Mosin Nagant M44 even though in only fair condition and whatever else once owned that I got rid of one way or the other. As a matter of fact, sometimes I almost kick myself in the head because of some of the guns i have sold. That Marlin 336 was pre-safety with a gold plated trigger and was just soooo sweeeet. Then again, the sale of the marlin was nothing as compared to my selling of the Browning. Selling that Browning BLR was probably the stupidest move I ever made with a gun. I bought it for a song, sold it for a decent profit and just miss the hell out it! I don't care if the ammo for it goes for around 2 bucks a round. It was a great rifle and shot one heck of a great caliber round. Ouch, I just kicked myself. To one extent or another same goes for everything I sold, I deserve to be kicked in the head or elsewhere a bit lower down wherein brains sometimes wind up!

Oh well, life goes on and there are plenty more out there to buy and the next gun show within about a hundred miles of my house is in about a week and a half in Middletown, NY. Guns, guns guns, guns - I just never seem to get enough of em. They are lots of fun to shoot, interesting to collect, useful hunting tools, a part of my work life, and are just comforting to have at hand in the event I ever need them to defend me or my loved ones and the Constitution (hopefully it will never get to that).

You know, now that I think of it - maybe I should have kept the RG .25 Auto.

All the best,
Glenn B

9mm Ammo - Good Price Alert

Military Shooters has some pretty good prices on two brands of 9mm, 124 grain, brass cased, reloadable (so I am assuming both brands are boxer primed although it only says so for the Swiss stuff) FMJ ammo. They have two types available at right around a hundred bucks for 500 rounds:

Fiocchi @ $109.99

and

Geco @ $94.49

I was about to order the Geco, then I saw the ad for the Fiocchi said: "This 124gr FMJ 9mm ammunition is mfg by Fiocchi USA in Missouri." Again I am about to assume something, that they mean Missouri, USA. So I paid the extra $15.50 for it (well actually the extra $31.00 plus a bit more for shipping because I ordered a thousand rounds not 500). I figure the added expense is worth it if it helps keep some jobs here in the U.S. of A.

If you want either, I would hurry. They only had 7 lots (of 500 rounds per lot) of the Fiocchi and the Geco was also limited, I think they had 19 lots. Now that I think of it, maybe I should have ordered 500 rounds of each, instead of 1,000 of the Fiocchi, and I could have saved some cash and had a variety. Wow, an extra thirty bucks, I could have bought a case of beer - a really good case of bier - for that money. Heck, what am I thinking??? I just said it was better to buy the made in the USA stuff - didn't I! Sometimes I wonder about myself. Oh well, I'll survive. Anyway, it was just better to have ordered something made here, even if by a foreign owned company, because as I said, it helps keep jobs here.

All the best,
Glenn B

The First Lady....

...wants us to watch what we eat! Have you taken a look at her derriere lately? It is disproportionately huge in comparison to her head. Maybe that is because something that belongs in her head is really in her ass. All that not to mention her flabby upper arms. I am no lightweight myself but I do not go around professing that everyone in America should follow my guidelines to lose weight when I myself do not follow them. For example, while she has been telling us to all lose weight by watching what we eat, and has been praising and pushing the properties of organic vegetables, something else was happening at the White House Super Bowl party. Have you seen the list of delectables that was served at the White House Super Bowl party? If you have not seen the menu, here are at least some of the items that were served:

assorted beverages including at least 2 kinds of beer

bratwurst

buffalo wings

cheeseburgers

deep dish pizza

chips & dips

German potato salad

kielbasa

potato chips

pretzels

twice-baked potatoes

salad (apparently not organic)

As the First Lady's other end keeps getting broader, she keeps taking broadsides at the rest of America and all the while keeps butting-in to our lives. It seems, if left up to her, we would not be able to choose what we eat, all only to satisfy her voracious appetite for control of every aspect of our lives!

References:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/white-house-super-bowl-menu-salts-fats-sugars-and-bipartisan-brews/?partner=rss&emc=rss

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/2011/02/super_bowl_xlv_what_the_obamas.html

All the best,
GB

Way To Go Packers

I watched the game sort of half halfheartedly. Why would I want to watch a game where neither team has cheerleaders? That is not the only reason I only watched the highlights and listened to the announcers for the rest of it. I was busy cleaning guns and paid much more attention to that. Had I been somewhere else, like at a friend's or relatives place for a game party or at a bar, I would have paid more attention. I decided to stay home though and to get the new Mosin Nagant 91/30 cleaned and then cleaned the bolt of another one I in my collection.

I guess I am not that much of a spectator sport fan. I had hoped that the Green Bay Packers would win and am happy with the result. Now back to gun cleaning or maybe I ought to go to work, it is just about that time of day.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 115 - The New Mosin Nagant 91/30 - The Good News & The Bad

If you read my blog posts from this past Saturday, you know I went to the gun show at the Westchsester Convention Center in White Plains. You also know that I picked up a Mosin Nagant 91/30 that was manufactured at the Izhevzk Arsenal in 1939. It is a nice looking rifle, obviously an arsenal refinish - one that probably saw some little use after being refinished but that definitely has little more than storage rack wear marks. All of the serial numbers are matching with the exception of the magazine floor plate which is forced matching, or in other words which has one serial number stricken out and another number stamped onto it. The newer stamped number matches the rest of the numbers on the rifle, thus it was probably restamped when at the arsenal for refinishing. Could have also happened at the original factory, I suppose especially since 1939 was a war year. I am guessing they could have taken one from an older surplus gun, that was already marked with a serial number, and incorporated it into a new gun - who knows - who cares! Either way, it does not matter to me because the much more important parts of the rifle, the bolt and receiver, have matching numbers.

When I looked at the rifle at the show, I had somehow missed the strikeout on the magazine floor plate. Since I am not collecting this as pristine or perfectly matching rifle, but more as a shooter to add to my collection, it is not of much concern. This rifle has an importer number electro-penciled onto it along with other importer info. I tend to shy away from firearms with importer scribing on them but this was was an exception because of the serial number and because, as I said, it is a shooter for my collection. The only importance, for me, of the original serial number is that it is prefaced by two letters: "BB". Those are my son's first and last initials. It was a must buy so long as it appeared to be in very good to fine condition and this one seemed to be in excellent condition for a refinished rifle.

Yep, I just said it seemed to be in that good of a condition. Today I disassembled it, a detailed strip, for a good cleaning. I found no problems on any internal parts. The bolt assembly was clean as a whistle, probably cleaner. There is no rust on any of the parts that were previously hidden under or behind the wood. Nothing looked broken or worn too much. Everything looked great except for one thing. When I cleaned out the barrel I was disappointed. It had just enough cosmoline in it at the show that it looked fouled but otherwise great. I cleaned it out, I came to realize it is a bit frosted. Now, I have had this problem before and cleaned it good enough with a tornado brush to make it look almost pristine while retaining accuracy. This barrel has great rifling so what I am seeing is either a bit of surface rust or is a slight amount of pitting. That is a bit of a disappointment but since I have not shot it yet cannot say if it is going to be a big disappointment or not. I cleaned it well today, and will give the barrel another several passes of both a regular cleaning brush and a tornado brush tomorrow and see what it looks like then. Of course I will also shoot some non-corrosive ammo through it, as soon as I can. That probably will do a lot to clean out any remaining frosting. Then I will clean it again, and see how it looks and again see how well it shoots after that. Chances are this one will be a pretty good shooter since it does not look to bad down the bore. I am keeping my crosshairs crossed.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ronald Reagan Tribute On Fox News Now...

...well on at least as I type, Started about minute ago. Worth watching? I think so.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 114 - The Gun Show Report - It Was Not Just Another Show

Nope, it surely was not just another gun show. Well, maybe the gun show at the Westchester Convention Center, today, was just another show for most folks but not for everyone - not for me. I really had a lot of fun there today, got there just before 9 when they opened the show to the public and left only about an hour before it would close for the evening at 5. Heck, it was only a 350 table show but I am guessing I made the rounds of those tables at least 8-10 times each and saw new things, I had missed earlier, almost every time around. Besides that I met my friends Charlie K and his brother-in-law Rob and their friend Dennis at the show and we had a good time jaw-boning about this or that and looking at guns and other gun stuff. Before I met up with them, I went round the tables 2 or 3 times, then I took about an hour break and went for lunch at a diner across the street. Well, actually, it was my breakfast. Then it was back to the show, and I was soon met by them. Sadly, someone else who was supposed to go was unable to get up and get going this morning since he only came home at about 0415 in the AM and was zonked when it was time to hit the road. Ah - youth. He made out okay because of the show though, as will be seen.

I was specifically looking for a Remington 700 VTR in .308 today. I had the cash at the ready but sadly, I did not find one. I saw one in .22-.250 but that is a far cry from .308 and definitely not what I had wanted so I let it pass. It was going for $664, which seemed to be a decent price. I looked at plenty of other guns, a Marlin 57M Levermatic really caught my eye. They only were asking $165 for it, that is a pretty good price for one in excellent condition and this one seemed to be excellent. I passed on it for the moment wanting to see more at the show before making a decision about it. You know what happened - he who hesitates is lost. When I looked again - it was gone. I also took a good long look at some Mosin Nagant 91/30 hex receiver rifles manufactured at the Tula arsenal. I figured i might be interested if nothing fancier caught my eye. I went back to get one of those and all 3 that had been on the rack were gone. At only $110 each, I suppose it was no wonder that they went pretty quickly. There were still some 91/30s with round receivers from the Izhevsk arsenal. I scanned them quickly, immediately saw one looked better than the others, picked it up for a closer look, saw it was made in 1939, saw that it looked to be in excellent condition (probably an arsenal refinish) and then saw that the serial number began with the letters "BB".

I asked to the dealer to remove the nylon tie and take out the bolt so I could take a look down the barrel. He obliged, I looked and immediately said "I'll take it". I mean, how could I resist not only a Mosin Nagant in that nice a shape, for only a hundred bucks plus tax, but one that also began its serial number with my son's first and last initials. I filled out the paperwork, the dealer completed the NICS check, and I handed over $108 (in exact change) and then walked away with another Mosin Nagant (we now have 3 of them or is it 4). I am going to check with the ATF to make sure I can legally gift this to my son as that is what I want to do if legal. I am almost 100% certain I can do that. If not, well then he can shoot it whenever he wants to shoot it. If he can have it as a gift, he will be very pleased indeed, if not then he still gets to shoot it. I showed it to him once got home and he had one of those big smiles on his face that used to be called a Kodak Moment. By the way, that Nagant was a big hit while I was still at the show; I had 4 different people stop me to ask about it and all wanted to buy it from me.

I also bought some ammo for the Nagant, just a box of 20 rounds because we have a bunch of it at home already. I bought this stuff just to try another brand. Other than those things, that was it for guns and ammo. I did get a few other things though: 2 Tee-shirts with Elmer J. Fudd wearing a helmet and flak jacket, holding one men looking black rifle and has a caption saying "Be vewwy, vewwy quiet quiet... I'm hunting tewowists!" (One can only hope he will be as succesful as he was in , 'Doc What's Opera'.) I got one for me and one for the son. I also got a 2 pack of exploding targets, 8 targets in each, and a bore light. I wound up spending about $192 at the show itself including the cost of all the gear above, admission and a couple of sodas. Add to that about $14 for lunch, $10 worth of gas and $9.50 for tolls and the grand total for the day was about $226. A lot less was spent than I had expected.

I had thought it was going to be a much more expensive day since I had my heart set on the Remington 700 VTR which would have set me back about another $725 to $810. If I had gotten that, I probably would have bought at least 500 rounds of .308 ammo, figure another $300. I was also thinking about getting my son a case of 5.56 ammo for his AR. One of the dealers had Prvi Partizan 62 grain FMJ for $351 tax included. I was tempted but first I figure we ought to make sure the AR likes the 62 grain stuff better than the 55 grain stuff he has been shooting out of it. We have a few brands of heavier than 55 grains to test fire to find out, so I just let that ammo purchase wait. Anyway, another show is coming up in a couple or few weeks and we can get it there or order it online. I had also been keeping my eyes open for a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington but no luck. I would have really spent all I had with me had I seen both a nice one of those and the Remington VTR. As it is, a trip to the bank to redeposit some cash is in order for Monday; that way I will not spend it all before the next gun show and thus I'll have plenty of cash on hand for that one.

Even though I did not find the rifles I was hoping to find, I did come up with a gem of a Nagant, had fun with my buddies and wound up putting a smile on my son's face when I got home with the rifle. All in all, it was a great day for me.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gun Show Day

Well, it's the day of the gun show at the Westchester County Center and I almost cannot wait to get there. Of course, maybe I had best get some sleep since I have to be up at about 0630 and it is already almost 0100. It's not the anticipation of the show that has me awake though. I worked early yesterday, got to work at 0530 so was up at 0415. When i got home last night, I was zonked and passed out at about 1900 or so. Slept til about 2100 or so, now cannot get back to sleep. Maybe a quick wee dram of the Irish will help and although I must admit it is not a good habit to fall into, it helps every now and then at times like this.

Gun show info links below. See you there.

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/wcest/Westchester.htm

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/wcest/COUNTY-CENTER-FLYER%20-FEB-2011.pdf

All the best,
Glenn B

What's A Gun Guy To Do To Ward Off The Next 6 (or is it 7) Weeks Of Winter (even if the Ground Hog said it will be an early Spring)

I know, I know, really I do. He should spend as much time as possible at the range (the indoor range) shooting and he should also do other gun related things like going to gun shows. Since I have already been to the indoor range twice this week, and qualified for my job at an outdoor ranger yesterday, I guess the next thing to do would be for me to get myself (and my son) to a gun show. By now, you must realize this is leading up to a gun show announcement or three.

On Saturday, we are going to go to a gun show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. It is a small show, only 350 tables - nothing like some of the very large shows I have been to in Arizona or even the somewhat large ones in Pennsylvania - but a decent sized show for NY nonetheless. Well, really, it is not purely a gun show but a gun & knife show but it will have to do. The show at this location went bye-bye years ago after one of the school shootings and only was resurrected within the last year. Here are a couple of links to info about this show:

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/wcest/Westchester.htm

http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/wcest/COUNTY-CENTER-FLYER%20-FEB-2011.pdf

The son and I will be meeting a couple of my buddies up at the show and I am expecting to have one heck of a good time. To that end, I think I will be bringing along a nice sized wad of cash that I have saved up over the past year and a half to buy a new gun. I'll only get one if the price is right, that would be less than I can purchase what I want at Gander Mountain or Dick's Sporting Goods. Time and our trip to the show will tell. Of course, even if we don't pick up a new rifle, I may wind up buying a case or two of ammo, some 50 caliber ammo cans, and some firearm's accessories. Once the nicer weather is here, I am hoping the son & I will be hitting up the range at least twice a month with his AR, the spotting scope and lots of 5.56 or .223 ammo. The thing is though, I may be able to get a better deal online than at a gun show for the ammo; again, time and our trip to the show will tell.

All the best,
Glenn B

New York City Veterans' Day Parade, November 2010

A friend of mine sent me an email with a link to this video today. It is a collection of still shots from the New York City Veterans' Day Parade in November 2010. The photos were taken by a former Marine and retired NYC Transit Police Detective. He notes, on YouTube, that it made him shed some tears once he saw his finished work. I shed one or two myself, watch and tell me - did you too! Make sure to have the sound turned on.



All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 113 - Shooting Someone In Self Defense - A Question Of Conscience

On a firearms forum that I frequent, someone posed the following question with regard as to whether or not you would be able to shoot someone:

"Will my conscience allow me to use deadly force in defense of my own life or that of someone else?"

My answer was plain, simple and truthful:

My conscience demands it!

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 112 - The Lead Sure Has Been Flying - Two Range Days In A Row

On Sunday morning, I took off early for me for a Sunday and headed to the local county range. After writing about My Favorite Range Gun, I realized I had not shot some of my favorites in too long awhile. So, I dug out 3 of them, all 22's - the S&W Model 17, the Ruger MKII and the Beretta 70S. Then I scavenged around for a good variety of 22 ammo and came up with about 10 different types. I grabbed a couple of full boxes each of: American Eagle High Velocity 40 gr. solid point, Armscor Precision 36 gr. hollow point, CCI Blazer 40 gr. solid point, CCI Mini Mag hollow point, CCI Standard Velocity 40 gr. solid point, Federal Champion Standard Velocity solid point, Remington High Velocity solid point, Remington Subsonic solid point, Remington Target solid point, and Remington Thunderbolt solid point.

In the hour I spent shooting, I probably shot about 300 rounds or so and only fired 2 of the pistols to do it. I fired the Ruger MKII and the S&W Model 17, never getting around to the Beretta 70S. I shot okay, not my best but still pretty good. One thing that always amazes me is the different groupings I usually get with varying 22 ammo. While most shot right on center or pretty much so, with 2 of the 10 varieties, I shot off to the left. I tried each of them again and again shot to the left. It only happened with 2 brands - I'll be damned if I remember which ones, wrote it on the targets but am too lazy to get up to dig them out right now. Another thing that amazes me is that I got the best groups, with both pistols, while firing some of the cheapest ammo you can buy - the CCI Blazer. This has happened before with one of my rifles, it shot the Blazer ammo the best by far over some other ammo I fired through it. Go figure. As for ammo I fired, on Sunday, that I do remember - I was left unimpressed by the Armscor Precision, CCI Standard velocity and by the Remington Target ammo. They were all over the place, well for my groups anyway. I was shooting two hand hold unsupported at 15 yards. All of them produced groups that would have been more than good enough for self defense type shooting but I am not about to use a pistol in 22LR for self defense if I can help it. As far as target shooting, plinking, or hunting would go, shooting any of that ammo out of those pistols, I would have to go with the CCI Blazer. I must have gotten a very good batch of it. I have a partial and full brick left over. I hope the full brick is the same lot number as the partial one that I have been shooting up.

That was it for Sunday but not it for the week, not by a long shot. I was back at the range on Monday evening. I decided to bring along 200 rounds of 40S&W and practice with my issued SIG 229 DAK. I did pretty well. At 25 yards, holding two hands unsupported, I was able to get about a 6-7 inch group. Yeah, I know, not great but good enough for me. My eyes and shoulders are not what they once were and anyway a group that size on a man sized target is more than good enough for effect. I was pretty happy with it considering I was shooting without any support. In closer, my groups were better, I did much better at 15 yards, 10 yards, and 7 yards (a nice one hole group). So i did very well closer in as far as group sizes went, that is until I shot rapid fire at 3 yards and the group was about 8 inches. That was okay though since I was firing as fast as I could without using the sights, punching out to firing level from chest ready, firing 3 shots, then 2 round volleys until I got off all 13, then reloaded and fired all 12 as rapidly as I could get them off. I was happy with my shooting and anyone I might have been shooting at would not have been happy about it.

Oh yeah, I also shot the S&W Model 17 again and this time also fired the Beretta 70S. Had a lot of fun shooting them and had a lot of time left over because I went through the 200 rounds of .40S&W with my SIG in about a half an hour. I shot a bit more than an hour, maybe 10 or 15 minutes over and simply had a blast (as usual). I wish I had more time and more 40 S&W ammo with me but I didn't. At least I had the 22s and plenty of ammo for them for my remaining range time.

Well, the week is not over and neither is my shooting for the week. That is if the weather cooperates. I am scheduled to shoot for my quarterly qualifications on Ground Hog's Day. Apparently Mother nature has something scheduled for that same day in the form of sleet, frozen rain and snow and lots of ice. At least that is what the weatherman has been telling us. It should start tomorrow and then go into Wednesday morning. I am not looking forward to more shoveling nor am I looking forward to having to reschedule my range day. I picked Ground Hog's Day because it is special for me and because there is no better day to go shooting than a day deadicated to a rodent like a woodchuck. I have a stick on Ground Hog target somewhere, I hope I remember to bring it along and that I get a chance to chuck a few pieces of led at it.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Little False Hope - Or Maybe A Life Saver - The Gas Mask

Several years back, I obtained a gas mask. It came with 3 filters. The filters have long since expired and so too has the gas mask, though I would think the mask probably good for years to come since it was never used and stored under moderate conditions. With it came a complete chemical resistant suit, the thing about the suit was that it did not fit me, it was way too small. Don't ask - that is just the way it was and I will not give details.

I have often wondered if the gas mask, without the suit (or even with it) was something that could save my life in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack (or in the even of an industrial catastrophe). I have also wondered if having one was just so much false hope. Then I would think to myself, 'Well the Israelis give them out not only to their armed forces personnel and to their government workers and also to the general public. If they do that, there must be something to them and anyway - folks wear them all the time in dangerous industrial situations'. The thought about not having them if needed also crossed my mind, pretty often, ever since 9/11 and it was accompanied by another thought. That other thought was of all the people who would survive whatever it was that those without gas masks would not survive. I was dead serious about all those thoughts at one time or another, also just amused by them at times. They came sort of intermittently depending on what was going on in the world and most were also intermittently forgotten then resurrected again only to be forgotten again seemingly ad infinitum.

I always sort of fantasized figured I would get myself and each person in my immediate family a gas mask. I just never did it. Yet, the thought of having a need for them kept popping up now and again. I have sort of a survival mentality, I would rather win the gunfight than lose it sort of a thing, even if I get shot, so I can get to see another day. I guess that is why the idea of buying some gas masks has persisted ever since 9/11. of course, I don't know if I want to still really be alive in a post apocalyptic world the likes of that seen in Road Warrior or Book of Eli, but I don't want to suffer the alternative either - as in getting killed off because I was not prepared to survive. It does not have to be something apocalyptic either, I would not want to suffer the consequences of something much more commonplace than the end of the world as we know it - such as an industrial explosion at a chemical plant or a nuclear reactor spewing forth radioactive material into the atmosphere or maybe just a run of the mill local area terrorist attack.

There was another reason though that I did not run right out and buy 4 gas masks. Gas masks are expensive, for good ones of current or even recent manufacture, the filters that go with them are also expensive. Yes my family is worth the expense but to tell you the truth I would need the money at hand to be able to buy them and not take other things away from the wife and kids. Of course I tend to be a procrastinator when it comes to buying stuff like that, especially more expensive stuff. Not that I won't spend the money, just that I hem and haw and check this and that and it takes me forever. I do buy what I have decided upon but only after I have definitely decided upon something and once I have saved up the money (it took me a couple to a few years to decide on my first computer and then spent between a couple to a few thousand on it). Back to gas masks. Recently, I saw an advertisement for some clearance items, one of which was a very well made gas mask without filters at $20 apiece! Thing is they were sold out when I checked at the store - it is a local store - I had waited too long and checked this and that too much and lost an opportunity. Well, I was about to leave the store when the clerk asked me if I wanted to buy another brand, also well made by a reputable company or so they said. I declined though at the time since knew little about the particular model (there I went procrastinating again and I was already there with money in hand ready to buy the brand that had sold out). I went home, did some checking, then got realized I had better act fast or lose another great deal. Sometimes I can overcome the procrastination bug. So I got right onto the store's website and ordered 4 of them. I also ordered another manufacturer's mask in size small since the 4 of the other brand I ordered were only available in large. My daughter probably will need to use the smaller sized one. The 4 large sized ones were just under $25 apiece and the small one was $20. I made the order.

I guess they arrived yesterday, I found them in my vestibule today. It is a rare day when someone in my house tells me a package has arrived for me! What a surprise when, I found out that the 4 I had ordered, North model 54401, also came with CBN (chemical, biological and nuclear) filters. I found that out when I opened the box tonight but I had been thinking I would need to order filters somewhere else. That was a big money saver right there. Normally those filters go for about $40 each. I checked them to see if they had expired, it would be my luck and I was again happily surprised. The filters are marked with what I believe to be an expiration date of 06/2015 ; I plan to confirm that with the manufacturer. If that is correct, they are good for over 4 years! Such a deal, I should buy more of them.

I was also a bit surprised, this time not so happily, to see the order had gotten somewhat screwed up. They sent me 4 North gas masks alright, but only 3 large, the other was a small. I would never have ordered the other brand, a small Forsheda, had I known they had an available North mask in small; their site only showed them in large when I ordered. Had I known, I would have gotten 4 large and 1 small - all North. I am hopeful they will make an exchange, the small Forsheda for a large North (I will pay the difference). Although they did say all sales are final on clearance items - they screwed up the order so I am hopeful an exchange will be amenable to them. If they want my continued business they will do the right thing and I am a decent if not good customer of theirs. Anyway, if they will not make an exchange it will be no great loss for me and I will try to sell the Forsheda. All I needed was 4 masks anyhow, I bought 5 because I wanted an extra North size large but can do without the extra one if they ran out. If they did not run out, I may buy a few more.

Next, I'll have to work on chemical resistant suits, gloves and boots. With the way things are going in Egypt, with China building up its military and getting testy with us, with North Korea attacking the South over and over again, with Iran being oh so much closer to nukes than we had thought, with the frequency of industrial accidents, with the way the Mexican cartels are going berserk, with the unchecked frequency at which terrorism just keeps rearing its ugly head, I figure that maybe a gas mask just might come in handy someday and if not, then so what.

Now, if any of this survivalist thinking sounds crazy or paranoid to you then stop to think for a moment about the motto of the Boy Scouts of America - "Be Prepared". Then give some few minutes thought to the Bhopal Disaster in India, to the Chernobyl meltdown in Russia, or to Three Mile Island here in the USA or just read the papers everyday about terrorism everywhere. Then think solemnly about those people who died or who were terribly injured but who may have fared better had they been better prepared while living in the shadow of the dragon. I have no fantasies of being a dragon slayer, just some hope of maybe surviving the dragon's rampage to see another sunrise and to see its rays shining down on my wife and kids standing beside me, them with hope in their eyes that we will make it to yet another day. Of course, I don't really know if making it, through whatever might happen, will be worth it but the only way to find out is by being alive to find out first hand.

All the best,
Glenn B

President Obama Announces a New Form of Government in the United States of America?

I listened to about half of President Obama's state of the union address earlier this week. It mostly seemed just to be political fluff as usual. A lot of hollow but puffed up rhetoric full of sweet sounding promises with little substance, a lot like cotton candy. Looks good, tastes good, does not fill you up or supply nutrients and in the end rots your teeth.

There was one thing though, that the president said, that I just cannot get out of my head. I just keep thinking of him saying it and I think of it over and over again. The reason I keep thinking of it is because he seemingly announced that the United States of America has a new form of government now (because of the elections last November) that the new year has begun. I have listened to the news reviews of his speech, I have looked to the blogs and read about the address on several of them, and have seen little mention of him announcing our new form of government.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM PEOPLE, ARE YOU ASLEEP? DON'T YOU REALIZE HE JUST SAID WE HAVE A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT HERE! AREN'T YOU CONCERNED?

Oh, wait a minute, what am I yelling about - of course you know that we have always had this type of government. I just again thought of the quote in question. What he was actually talking about was probably only a new form of government that was worthy of note in his own mind. I mean, after all, our form of government has been a republic for over 200 years and in all that time, at least for the majority of it, we have in essence had a 2 party political system governing us. So, I suppose when the president said: "...governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties..." he was only admitting his own ignorance and or his arrogance in that he had apparently believed it had not been that way during the first 2 years of his term (heck maybe he thought it was always run in some way other way - more like a an oligarchy or more like a dictatorship).

Did everyone miss that quote or just ignore it? Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? I don't think that said statement was inconsequential nor that it was not extremely telling on the part of the president. He was (and probably remains), in my opinion, the most smug president in my lifetime. One of the reasons for his continued arrogance must certainly have been the fact that not only was he elected to the office under a seeming shroud of secrecy about his past but that he had a Congress, in both houses, made up of mostly democrats, ultra liberal ones at that. It is not so any longer - is it! So is it that he now needs to make it appear as if he is bowing down a bit to the legislature of our own nation, or at least to the opposing political party. Was it not so much to say sorry for America as he did when he bowed to leaders of other nations, but to say sorry for his own bad behavior in his first 2 years in office? No of course not, but probably trying to make everyone believe he is now willing to work with the opposing political party certainly helps him when he is trying to hoodwink the American people into believing that he is a swell sort of a guy who is worthy of reelection in 2012. The thing is though, he was, as is apparent by this statement, not willing to work with the other party while his party was in control. I mean, why did he never say before now that governing was a shared responsibility? Of course it was not due to ignorance, he could not be that stupid being a natural born U.S. Citizen and a community organizer and all - so it must have been due to arrogance or so I would think. Despite any talk to the opposite, he obviously never wanted to work with Republicans during the first two years of his administration, as far as I can tell. That is evident to me by this statement and by almost every piece of legislation he tried to get through Congress and by the smug attitude he had while doing so. The only thing surprising about any of this is that he would, in essence, admit as much by making this statement. Can you actually believe he said it, that he thinks our government's responsibility will NOW be a shared one between parties! Amazing however you look at it.

What next - will he realize that the American people have rights under the Constitution or that he should try to keep our nation's foreign policy strong or maybe that he should actually cut back on government spending or stop borrowing from China? Anything he says seems to me to be all so much lip service from a man who seemingly believed that before his state of the Union address, and the November elections, government was not a shared responsibility between parties!

If you have not realized it, allow me to clarify, the above is my personal opinion.

All the best,
Glenn B