Yee-Ha - I Won An AR-15 Stripped Lower

I hardly ever win anything and I mean that most literally. I am lucky to have won a total of $300 (or less) over the course of having bought thousands of paper lottery tickets and scratch-off tickets. I rarely win in Casinos. I have bought tickets, each year for several years, for firearms raffles and have never won anything. Likewise with most other raffles I have entered. When I do win something, it is usually on the low end in monetary value or usefulness to me.

Then again, every now and then, some good luck shines through my black cloud and the rainbow's end falls at my feet. I recently made some donations to Kilted To Kick Cancer through Jay G's fund raising efforts. He had some very nice prizes up for grabs for they who donated at least $10. For each increment of $10 that you donated, you got an entry for the prize drawing. Let me just say, because I had only made a few smaller charitable donations earlier this year, I decided to make a a more sizable set of donations through Jay's efforts to kick cancer; after all I have a personal vendetta to fulfill against it. Thus, I had a bunch of entries.

The prize that I won, or a reasonable facsimile of the prize I won, can be seen below (click it to enlarge):

 

I said reasonable facsimile because that is not the exact receiver that I have won, it is a sample. What I have won, is an AR-15 stripped lower receiver, donated by York Arms. York Arms will do custom serial numbers, caliber markings, and Safe/Fire selector markings as well as magwell engraving as part of this prize package. I have some things in mind already, like maybe Ballseye's Boomer (or Blaster) right under that same but a bit smaller sized serpent and maybe SAFE and ARMED for the selector switch positions. I am thinking of my initials followed by my birth date as the serial number or maybe Ballseye696 (696 was a once lucky number for me). Of course I have to be legally eligible to receive it through an FFL (as of this past weekend, at the time of my last NICS check, I was still legal and hopefully should remain so).  I have the FFL in mind, they only charge $25.00 and do excellent transfers.

 

Now I have to decide if I want to take the chance of trying to build an AR-15 myself, from a kit, or if I want to have Wally at York Arms build the rifle for me. Kits I have seen go for about $450 to $650. I am not going to go for anything fancy, pretty much a standard, or so I am thinking. I would guess, that the kit plus the labor, would probably amount to around $650 to $800 for what I want but have to check with the company on that to be sure. The $450, if I do it myself, sounds a whole lot better but that means it might not be finished for years and that there will be a lot of cussing going on in my basement each time I try to get it done. Still though, I am going to check on how to get it done and if it looks simple enough, I may try it.

 

Any advice, that anyone would like to offer, on whether or not I should try to build it myself, would be appreciated in the comments section.

 

All the best,

Glenn B




Regular Gas Only $1.84 A Gallon!!!

 

 

Need I even suggest for whom you should vote to save America?

 

All the best,

Glenn B

PS: A hat tip to Bob C. for sending me this one.

 

Just Got Home After a 305 Mile Drive...

...and then sat down and did the math about my 6 hour and 45 minute trip. Yep, it took me that long to drive only 305 miles. I averaged 45.18 mph on the way home. That sucks! Granted, I stopped to grab a bite to eat and also stopped at a Wally World to pick up a couple boxes of .308 Winchester Ammunition (that's right kiddies, I has me a new toy). The thing is though, that took, at most, all of 45 minutes for both combined, If I take off that 45 minutes, then my real average speed was 50.83 mph. Not much better. Heck the speed limit on much of the ride was 65 but then there were all those 30, 35 40 and 45 mph zones on the route chosen by Garmin.

This snail's pace has led me to believe that my son is right on the money about Garmin GPS devices - they are, in his and now my opinion, essentially worthless pieces of crap. I had mine (my son gave me his otherwise he probably would have thrown it out) on the trip. I decided to use it to get home and at first it sure seemed to have given me a faster route. After all, I had it set for fastest route. Then, it took me through the heart of several villages and through city streets in Ithaca, NY, in heavy traffic, on my trek home. It also tried to steer me out of my way into New Jersey. Had I just returned home the reverse of the way my trip to Geneva, NY had gone, I probably would have taken off at least another 1/2 on the trip. I did not depend on a GPS to get there but used Map Quest instead. Map quest made a whole lot more sense in the routes it provided. Oh well, live and learn.

New Gun Pron coming soon since there is a new gun in the house. More about that maybe tomorrow night (I will be busy most of the day and probably unable to blog until tomorrow night).

All the best,
Glenn B

Here I Am In Horseheads, NY...

...so if you are guessing that I made the decision to go to the firearms auction tomorrow, that I wrote about in my post immediately prior to this one, you would be right. I am, about 50 miles from the auction location, here at Motel 6 in Horseheads.

The town and village name of Horseheads has to be one of the oddest names I have ever heard of for a town and one that I like very much. So, I just checked the town website and clicked on the town history link. At that link you will find what is a brief but most assuredly interesting story that tells how the name came about.

I doubt that I will be blogging more tonight. I want to review the auction catalog once more to make sure I did not miss anything on which I might place a bid as far as guns go. They are also auctioning old cars, a new vehicle, militaria, hunting and fishing equipment, taxidermy mounts, decoys, ammo and firearms accessories and maybe another thing or two. I am mostly interested in the firearms and will only check the catalog for them tonight. There is a chance I will also bid on something else since last time I was at this auction house I bid on a deer head mount and a dagger too (and brought them home since I had the high bids on them) but as I said my sights are set mainly on the firearms.

I hope to get to the auction house by 0730. I am not sure when they open but that should get me there early enough to register without waiting too long on a line and will give me a good amount of time to preview items. On my previous trip, I got to see many of the guns the night before the auction but not this time. I will have to do all of my previewing tomorrow morning. That means an early to bed time for me, within the hour.

All the best,
Glenn B

Gun Auction Spurs Some Decision Making

Decisions always seem to have to be made and thus my little gray cells get a workout choosing the course of my day. For instance, I received a flier in the mail, only a couple of days ago, for a gun auction about 300 miles from my home that takes place tomorrow. I had been planning on visiting my nephew for a belated b'day celebration tomorrow but now that has changed. I am not saying for sure that I am leaving, to drive to the town in which the auction will be held, sometime later today, but if things turn out just right over the next few hours, then I'll have that decision to make.

I already decided to visit my nephew on Sunday instead of Saturday. Now to see if I can: get an oil change for the car, money from the bank, a purchase document or two for a pistol or two from the police department (it sucks living in the repoobliKista comunista de Nueva Yorkistan) and get some few things done around the house. I would have to accomplish all those things before it would be too late to take off within a reasonable time frame to make it to the motel at which I already have a reservation. I have until 6PM to cancel the reservation without penalty but sure would like to leave home, if I decide to make the trip, at least a few hours before that deadline. Leaving by 2PM would be okay I guess. Decisions, decisions, all based on how and when things turn out - so maybe I had best get a move on.

Since I just took my new thyroid medication only 30 minutes ago I have to wait another 15 to 30 before breakfast. It says to wait 30 to 60 minutes before eating and I split the difference. I take it at waking, and sure woke up late but had my first good night's sleep in months, almost a full 6 hours without getting up once!While I do have to wait a bit for breakfast, I suppose going upstairs and preparing it will take up that time quite nicely and get me one step closer to some fast paced bidding. So, without further blabbing by way of blogging, I am off to begin my day and toward making the decision as to whether or not I am going to that firearms auction.

Oh yeah, I have one other important decision to make - how to break this, just right, to the wife.

All the best,
Glenn B

Google Translator Ain't Worth A Damn

Here is the way Google translated the name of my blog over in France:

Ballseye de baby-boomers

Somehow, I think it misses the point. Oh well, what do I care about whether or not the French read my page. Funny thing though, somebody over there took a look at my Marlin 336 disassembly and reassembly post. 

All the best,
GB

Oh The Joys Of Post Radiation Life...

...are seemingly never ending. Tomorrow morning, I will start taking medicine for low thyroid hormone production to boost those hormones. Seems my thyroid has started to get sluggish and probably explains why I have felt like run down crap for the past couple of months or so. Can be due to age and such but they think it probably a product of my having gone through getting my neck broiled by radiation treatments last year. That was over with early  last November but it  apparently just keeps on giving more joy as time goes by.

It is better though than had it not worked. The real bummer is, I will probably have to take this crap for the rest of my life - or so it says in the info sheet from the pharmacy. Then again, if it makes me feel better -  suppose that's going to have to be okay.

At least the doc told me that both my blood pressure and my triglyceride level had dropped. The BP was 124/82. The triglycerides fell from about 450 to a decent normal range, I think 139. I guess that a couple of weeks of cutting out an ice cream bar per night had something to do with them getting lower, maybe cutting back on the beer too. The vodka and other hard spirits, that I have been drinking in place of some of the beer, may have helped there since carbs convert to triglycerides. As usual, my cholesterol levels were very good; they are virtually always good ice cream and beer or not.

The doc also told me, I lost a couple of pounds. That is also good since having low thyroid hormones often means you gain weight. Nice to see I bucked that trend.

All the best,
Glenn B

In Honor of Jay G Shaving Off His Stache...

...as part of a pledge raising promise he made for Kilted To Kick Cancer, during September; I figured the least I could do to sow some solidarity was to shave the beard. Sorry Jay, my stache stays.

This is my new profile pic, taken tonight. I know its a lousy pic but that is exactly how I wanted it to look. Well, maybe I would have liked to look about 30 years younger and in better shape but you get my point (and if you don't, tough noogies).

All the best,
Glenn B

U.S. Department of State - Bizarro World Style

I don't know what it is that makes the Obama Administration think that the American people will keep buying into its bullshit on almost every topic imaginable but here they are doing it yet once again. Do they expect to get a rise in the polls from this sort of obviously outlandish falsehood?  They are now reportedly claiming the the State Department never said the attack on our consulate, resulting in the deaths of our ambassador and three others, was related to the so called anti Muslim video.

See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/10/state-department-denies-concluding-film-sparked-consulate-attack-in-libya/

The sad thing is that there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of the American public who will buy this story, from the Obama Administration, as 100% truth. Truly, we do live in Bizarro World!

All the best,
Glenn B

Eat Some Roaches (& Maybe Some Worms) - Win A Snake

That was seemingly the idea. Then there was the added requirement of you eating the most bugs, after all it was a bug eating contest -something like the hot dog eating contest at Conney Island each year except this time the food was apparently alive and tasted nothing like beef.
 
It was called Midnight Madness and the contest reportedly was held by Ben Siegel Reptiles of Deerfield Beach, FL this past Friday night. (Side note: I have been to the shop once when I visited my uncle down in Florida. Nice place and nice folks running it. I have also dealt with them online.) The winner was said to have been Edward Archbold. He supposedly ate dozens of roaches and worms all for the sake of winning a snake, a python valued at $850.00. They said Ben Siegel was reported as saying that Mr. Archbold "was the life of the party". How ironic a well meant comment. Shortly after having won the contest, Mr. Archbold complained of feeling ill. He started to vomit. Someone called 911 for him and he also called 911 himself. He wound up outside the store, my guess would be waiting for the ambulance, when he collapsed. After that, an ambulance transported him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy is planned. My guess is that he did not die from eating the bugs. That is my guess because I would not think you would be poisoned that quickly by anything they could have living in them or on them. Of course, I am not a doctor nor a pathologist and they will make the final determination, I am just guessing. 

I have always thought that reptile keepers tended to lean toward either being weird, doing weird things now and then, or just liking weird pets. I know that by way of personal experience since I have been keeping them (the reptiles and amphibians not the keepers) since I was about 8 or 9 but now I am convinced more than ever. I am not saying that to deride the memory of Mr. Archbold, there is not anything necessarily wrong with weird as long as it is not harming anyone in any way or violating the law - it just means being different in a sort of far out way.

Eating those bugs, to win a snake, classifies as kind of weird in my opinion. I have to hand it to the late Mr. Archbold though, and to the other contestants, they did something I would probably even be somewhat squeamish about even in a survival situation if bugs were the only food and I was starving. A guy who would eat bugs, to win a contest with a prize of a snake, now that is a different kind of a man. Yet, everyone who met him that night thought he was a nice guy and I would have no reason to doubt that at all had I not read here that he had once been convicted of indecent exposure. Yet, doing something weird or being different, like by eating roaches, in and of itself, does not preclude one from being a nice guy, just ask any of the herpers you know. Indecent exposure, well depending upon the circumstances, that could mean something altogether otherwise as to whether or not he was a nice guy, at least in my estimation.

All in all, it was a life cut way too short. Mr. Archbold was only 32 years old or so said the reports I read.  My condolences to the family, friends and loved one, of this fellow herper.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sources:  
http://myfox8.com/2012/10/09/florida-man-dies-after-winning-roach-eating-contest/

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/man-dies-eating-roaches-587314
 http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21008744010489/man-dies-after-live-roach-eating-contest-in-fla/

The Most Arrogant Man In The World

This video is friggin' great even though I was rather expecting to see a new 'most interesting man in the world' gig when I received it in an email from a friend. The line about Joe Biden having been selected as VP just to show the world that Obama did not need a VP had me laughing so hard and so loud for so long that I had to play the rest of the video over because I missed it due to my laughter. I have never, not ever, heard a better explanation of why - that useless, foul mouthed, bumbling, arse wipe - Joe Biden was chosen to run as Obama's VP. That line alone would have made the video absolutely precious even if the rest of it had sucked. Of course, the rest of it was just about as funny - and sadly - just about as true!

A hat tip to my good friend Bob C. for sending it to me in an email!

All the best,
Glenn B

Another Résumé - This One With A Bit Of A Bang

If you read my blog, with any regularity, then you know I have been putting in for a lot of jobs over the past few months. I finally got one too and I like it.

Yet, I sent out another résumé just today. The job I have set in my sights with this application is a bit different than most. It is as a writer for The Firearm Blog. They are seeking writers and I figured why not me. I don't know if they offer any type of compensation but regardless, it sounds like there would be the potential of receiving firearms and other firearms related items for reviews. That might make it worth it without any compensation. It would also be a welcome change from my usual blogging in that blogging for them would mean no political blogging, just firearms related posts. Well, on their site anyway, I imagine I would continue with my usual in BallseyesBoomers. 

Wish me luck, I am guessing there will be plenty of competitors who all are shooting for the same position.

All the best,
Glenn B

Interuppted By A Bandit On My Way To Aurora

I had just settled back, much like Plainclothes Detective C-7 Elijah Baley, for the long trip through the stars to the distant planet Aurora. Baley in a spaceship and me in a chair on my patio, under the light of one incandescent bulb and the stars, Isaac Asimov's - The Robots Of Dawn - in my hands and open in front of me. As I read on about Baley commencing his trip to Aurora, I was interrupted, suddenly aware of a low and really guttural growl coming from behind my right shoulder. It was Pepe, our adult male Chihuahua, who had just been at my side . He was growling as I had never heard him growl in all the 6 plus years we have owned him. I turned to see what it was at which he could be growling like that, automatically reaching for the Glock 26 on my side, half expecting an intruder to try to make his way into my back yard. Then as I twirled around toward the commotion, there he was, masked and all, a thief in the night climbing over my gate and with one bound my mutt Mimi sprang out of the side doorway growling at him as well. The intruder jumped from the fence and was then, in a split instant, climbing up the Dogwood tree next to our fence. No sooner had I gotten my flashlight out and on him than he was already 15 feet over my head and still climbing. Suddenly, as Pepe kept on barking and growling wildly, I heard a swooshing sound to my left and thought maybe there were two intruders but then realized it must have been Mimi jumping over the fence into our neighbor's yard to position the intruder between herself and Pepe who was still on our side of the fence. I called out to Mimi to come, and she ran round, from the neighbor's yard, to the front side of our house and up to the side gate which I opened for her to come back inside. As I opened it though, Pepe ran outside at once.

I went after him without delay. I was not really concerned about the burglar. I had never seen one in our area before but it was treed and why should I worry about a medium yet good sized raccoon anyway. Pepe was nowhere to be seen and I called and called. He just took off like a bat out of hell once the gate had opened. Maybe by then, the raccoon had come down and headed the same way, I did not know. All of a sudden, I head someone down the block calling out in the darkness - "here he is" and I saw Pepe running back toward me. Jus as he was about up to me, he veered sharp right into our neighbor's lawn to head toward the backyard. Right then, I also heard a commotion in the backyard, I guess the bandit was making its escape in that direction. I had forgotten about Mimi and just kept calling Pepe. (Mimi jumps the fence with some frequency, Pepe has never run out of the yard like that on his own and I was much more concerned about him winding up getting thrashed by the coon than I would be for the larger Mimi.) Well, in a moment or two, Mimi came running over to me as I called for Pepe, and thankfully our little rat Chihuahua Pepe was right behind her. I opened the side gate and they were both back in our yard. I got them both inside right away, then accounted for Lucy, our other adult Chihuahua, and for Roxie our 65 pound mutt, they were still both inside. Actually, Roxie had come down and come out once she heard the commotion but by the time she was outside, I think the raccoon was gone so she lost interest right away and went back inside. Luckily the puppy A-B (said like Abby but meant as in "A-B Something" or "A-B Normal" for the brain that was used in the movie Young Frankenstein) was at my future son-in-law's place with his two Chihuahuas.

I have lived in this house for about 20 years now. I have seen a  lot of squirrels, a rabbit or three, a few Opossums and have seen damage done to one of the tops of my plastic garbage cans that I figured was from a raccoon (or rats) - but until tonight, I had never seen one of those masked critters in the flesh anywhere near our house. That was a bit of a treat and a bit of a scare with a minor pain in the butt trying to get both dogs back on the property but it was fun in the long run. Had I lived in most places, other than in the overpopulated part of NY in which we live, I might have blasted that masked bandit and would have been BBQ'ing or smoking it by tomorrow. Oh well, as it turned out, he lives to steal another night and I can go back to my book.

All the best,
Glenn B

Obama's Debate Notes (well maybe and maybe not but funny as hell)

Had me laughing my arse off ! Click to enlarge so you do not miss a thing. I don't know the author, could have been Obama himself, I suppose. Hat tip to Peter Q for this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

Which Is The Most Ignored Rule Of Firearms' Safety

My guess would be that most folks, who are familiar with firearms, would probably say that the most overlooked rule of firearms safety is the one about keeping your finger off of the trigger before being ready to shoot or maybe the one about keeping it pointed in a safe direction. Violation of the the nose picking finger rule might lead to the most accidental discharges (whether or not negligent on the part of the handler) and pointing a gun unsafely may be the most violated rule. Yet, my guess is that neither is near being the most overlooked rule of firearms safety, overlooked as in forgotten, ignored or simply unheard of in the first place. As a matter of opinion, based upon about 48 to 49 years of personal shooting experience, with me being an enthusiast who has shot frequently for 33 of those years, and with about 15 of those as a firearms instructor, I can say with nary a doubt in my mind that the most ignored rule of firearms safety is that most people do not bother to properly:

Whenever practical, you should learn the characteristics of a firearm and how to operate and shoot the gun safely before handling it. Then, once you have learned 'hands off', you need to learn 'hands on' how to use it and how it handles, at a firearms range, until you are proficient in its use. (my words)

Now, some of you may think that what I just said is not one of the rules of firearms safety. You may think there are only 4 rules of firearms safety and that they will prevent all accidental discharges and other safety violations (negligent or otherwise) and that you have to follow those 4 rules to the letter in absolutely every case of handling a firearm. If that is what you think, let me tell you that you are dead wrong on all counts. Firearms' safety is much more complicated than just 4 absolute, rules that simply and absolutely do not work as absolutes in the first place. 

Think about it. Knowing how a gun operates and being knowledgeable of its handling characteristics (in general), before handling it, is one of the most intelligent and important things you can do when it comes to firearms safety. How many times have you seen some pick up or accept a firearm from another person, that he or she has no idea how to operate properly. They try to do this or that with it, such as maybe open the action, remove a magazine, operate the safety (if there is one), load it, shoot it and all they wind up doing is violating one or more of the so called 4 rules because of them becoming flustered by their ignorance. Usually it is the one about keeping it pointed in a safe direction, followed by the booger picker on the trigger thing - just watch someone to whom you hand an unfamiliar gun that has a different operating characteristic than most other guns. Even if they do not violate one of the 4 rules, watch them as they try to figure out how the guns works. Most folks, who are fairly experienced with guns do not bother to ask: "is there any characteristic of this gun that makes it handle differently than most" or "hey, how do I operate it" or "can you show me how it works". Most will not bother to ask to look at the manual for it, most will just take it and start fiddling with it as they expect it to operate like any other gun they have handled before. When it doesn't is when things can get dicey and very unsafe.

I am not the only person in the world who thinks that learning the proper operation and handling characteristics of a firearm is an important safety rule. As a matter of fact, I earned at least 10 rules of firearms safety at the young age of 8 years old. Back then it was the job of firearms instructors to teach you them and the rules often were printed up in their manuals, the ones that came with new guns. The rules could also be found in books about shooting and were offered up for your knowledge at events like hunter safety courses. Today, many years since I was an 8 year old, many firearms related organizations and companies post firearms' safety rules on their websites; you will be hard pressed to find any of the major ones listing a mere 4 rules.

Here are the ways that some of those companies and organizations list the particular rule I have been writing about:

The NRA says it like this, on their website:

"Know how to use the gun safely. Before handling a gun, learn how it operates. Know its basic parts, how to safely open and close the action and remove any ammunition from the gun or magazine. Remember, a gun's mechanical safety device is never foolproof. Nothing can ever replace safe gun handling."

Remington Firearms lists a veritable litany of firearms safety rules in the manuals (PDF) for their firearms and on their website (make sure to click on each rule for a full explanation of each). They call them the 10 commandments of firearms safety, here is number 10:

"Learn the Mechanics and Handling Characteristics of Your Firearm. Not all guns are alike. They have different mechanical characteristics that dictate how you should carry and handle them. Anyone who plans to use a firearm should first become totally familiar with the type of firearm it is and the safe handling procedures for loading, unloading, carrying, shooting and storing it.
 

Before you even unpack your new Remington firearm, read this instruction book from cover to cover and familiarize yourself with the different component parts of the gun. Then read, understand and follow the Ten Commandments of Firearms Safety in this book."

 

Wow, did both of them actually say that you should become familiar with a firearm before you handle it. They sure did, didn't they! And so you should when possible, for the sake of being safe with firearms. Of course, like any rule, there are exceptions. You would not want to wait for instructions or take the time to read a manual in the event of an emergency wherein an unfamiliar firearm was available to you as your only method of self defense. In addition, there are those times when you might come int possession of a firearm for which you can not find a manual and for which you can not find, within reason, anyone willing to tell you how it works. You would have to learn yourself in each instance but in one their would be an immediate need to go hands on and in the other you could at least give the firearm a good looking over before attempting to operate any of its mechanisms.

 

I have a gun like the second that I just mentioned. It is a military training rifle in .22LR caliber. It didn't come with a manual. I made several attempted to locate a manual for it, by way of the company from which I purchased the rifle and via online inquiries on gun forums, commercial gun websites, gun auction sites and the like. I did not come up with anything, so I posted on a few forums that I could use some pointers on how it operates; nothing was forthcoming from those inquiries either. I have had the rifle now for about a year. Yes I have 'handled' it but I have not shot it. Not even put one round through it since I got it last November. Now that is not solely because I have not familiarized myself with it by way of operating instructions. It is also because I got it when I was pretty bad off due to cancer and I put it in a corner out of the way for future shooting fun.

 

Recently, I took it out and tried to figure it out. It certainly has one of the most different looking actions I have ever seen for a single shot rifle but I think I could handle and shoot it safely but that only after hours of  me trying to figure it out first. I should note that when I did handle it to examine it, I always made sure there was no ammunition available anywhere near the rifle, that it was pointed in a safe direction and that my finger was off of the trigger or any moving part unless  was certain I had it pointed in a safe direction. None of that necessarily means that if I take it to the range and try to fire it, I will do so without a mishap, as I am still not completely familiarized with the workings of the action of this rifle. Yet, based upon my experience with other guns, and upon my hours of examining this rifle, I will test it at the range someday soon. I will let you know, after my testing, how it went or in other words if it blew up or will continue to be a fun to shoot gun for years to come. Again, my guess is it will fire safely even though I did not familiarize myself with it by way of a manual, although not for lack of trying on my part. I figure, I am familiar enough with firearms that I have figured this one out properly enough and safely enough to take it to the range for a test firing but I have to admit I surely still would like to have the manual or other instructions giving me full knowledge of how to operate this rifle in a safe manner and as to how to disassemble and reassemble for maintenance.

 

As I said above, their are some exceptions to the rules and this  training rifle may just have to be one of them. That is if I ever intend to fire it. Of course, I will take every other reasonable safety precaution while doing so. As far as the great majority of firearms go though, I strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with their mechanical and handling characteristics before you handle them. I do it myself whenever I can and that is almost always with very few exceptions. The best way to do that, if you can, would be by reading its manual and by having those characteristics explained to you by someone already  thoroughly familiar with that particular type of gun. In the absence of one, then do the other. Better safe than sorry especially since accidental discharges can have consequences that last forever.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Death & Taxes

There are two sure things in life. One is getting closer and closer as each day goes by and the other keeps getting to be a larger and larger burden when each payment comes due. I just got my property tax bill, for the school tax portion of my property taxes, it has risen by $485.78 since last year. I cannot wait to see how much my general property tax will go up. Those are both just my 'town' property taxes, then there is the annual 'village'  property tax. I just paid that and think it too went up since last year.

It all almost makes me wish for death to hurry on up and get here to help put an end to high taxes. Just in case you think I am getting suicidal, allow me to assure you, I do not mean my death.

All the best,
Glenn B

Today

57.

All the best,
Glenn B

Just So Friggin' Tired Lately...

...and have been that way for the last couple of months and it just keeps getting worse. Have actually fallen asleep, momentarily, on my feet a couple of times in the past week. Sleep a few hours, wake up, am as tired or more so, as when I first hit the hay. Doc thinks my thyroid is low, more checking on Monday - already know it looks heterogeneous as per the CT scan that was run on me recently. I am hopeful that the big C has not come back, have had some scary thoughts centering all round that lately. Really hoping that is just a pointless worry.

Not posting this to bitch about my health or how I feel but more just to let you know why I have not been blogging as much this week. Hope to get some done this weekend.

All the best,
Glenn  B

Another One Added To The Blog List

Lurking Rythmically is the latest edition to the blogroll. This one can be found, on the right side of my blog in the blue zone, under the header: TAKE A SHOT WITH THESE SHOOTIST BLOGGERS, Not At Them.

All the best,
Glenn B

Bonnie & Clyde's Pistols Sell For Over A Half Million Dollars

Wow, talk about inflation. Bonnie Parker's Colt Detective Special sold for $264,000 (despite ATF ruining the revolver in my opinion) and Clyde Barrow's Colt 1911 sold for $240,000 at an auction in New Hampshire over the weekend. I guess the fact that ATF placed a serial number on Bonnie's Colt revolver was of little consequence to the buyer, maybe because it could be considered the gun closest to her at the time she died in a hail of lawmen's bullets; it was found taped to her inner thigh. Clyde's 1911 was found in his waistband.

One report I read said the same buyer bought them both; it must be nice to be filthy rich. That same report said the guy who owned them, prior to this auction, supposedly bought them for $50,000 apiece back in 1986. As if going from $100K to over $500K was not inflation enough, just think of how much more these were valued today than they were when Bonnie & Clyde owned them in the early 1930's (these guns were taken from them upon their deaths in Louisiana back in May 1934). My bet is that each probably sold for less than $50 back then and almost certainly less than $75.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Old Tasco Scope On My Marlin 336 Makes Me A Happy Shooter

I sighted in the Marlin 336 on Friday night at a local range. I usually like to sight it in at 50 yards since I figure that to be the range distance closest to the average far distance I might shoot to get a deer. I hunt in fairly heavy brushy areas and or woods (in the openings of course when I can) and usually have shot deer out to no more than 35 yards. This rifle is scoped so I figure maybe I would shoot out to 75 yards or even 100 yards but 35 to 50 is much more like it. Well regardless of me liking to sight it in at 50 yards, I could only get to the indoor range and that only has a 25 yard range. So that is the distance at which I checked the scope.
 
I set it it on it weakest power 2.5X. It goes up to 10X, it's a pretty big scope. I had thought that maybe the scope had gotten knocked out of alignment on our trip to the Fifth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot not too long ago and wanted to make sure I had it pretty much zeroed in before hunting season. I thought that if it was still zeroed, that would be fine. If not, then that would mandate a trip to the outdoor range to zero it at 50 yards. My 336 shoots .35 Remington caliber. I remembered that it shot about 2-3" low at 25 yards with Winchester-Western ammo. I could not remember how low it shot at 25 yards with Remington Core-Lokt ammo but it also shot low with that ammo at 25 yards when zeroed in at 50 yards.
 
Somehow, I forgot to bring along a box of the Winchester-Western Ammo. I brought only a box of the Remington Core-Lokt and 3 rounds of the Winchester-Western that I had loose in my bag. So, I loaded it up with 3 rounds of the Remington first. I figured if it was really off the mark, since I suspected it had gotten knocked out of zero at the bloggershoot, I could sight it in good enough with the 20 rounds of that ammo. I fired the first 3 shots of Remington Core-Lokt at 25 yards. That is all I needed to fire with that ammo, it told me all I needed to know once I saw the grouping.

I had the scope set on 2.5x for the first shot. I set it to about 6X for the second shot and back to 2.5X for the last shot. I was standing, leaning over the bench, with my right elbow supported on the bench, left elbow up in the air. No sand bags or anything like that, I wanted this to be somewhat like me maybe leaning on a stump or log out in the woods or as if I was firing from a seated position supporting my arms on my knees. It was about as realistic as I could get at this range. The target was a 12" x 12" sheet with a 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" diamond outline around the center. I aimed the cross hairs dead center, at the smaller orange diamond, which is just about 1/2" by 1/2" across. The small squares in on the target are 1" x 1". My group size, across the widest spread from outside rim of one shot to outside rim of the other, was about 11/16th of an inch across. If you measure from the outside of one the shot on the left, across the center shot, to the inside of the shot on the right, then it was a group size of about 7/16th of an inch or thereabouts - hard to measure because it is a one hole group for all three shots and the inside rim of that shot hole had to be estimated.

As you can figure from the picture, I figured it was still zeroed. Also, as I had thought it would do, it shot a bit low at 25 yards, in fact, if I recall correctly the Core-Lokt would shoot about an inch or two high at 50 yards when the gun had been zeroed in with the Winchester-Western ammo, which is what ammo was used the last time I zeroed in this gun. That means it would not shoot quite as low as the W-W ammo at 25 yards. As you can see, it shot about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch low at 25 yards. Splendid - I tell you - splendid! I then took the three rounds of the W-W ammo I had on hand and shot it. Well, I shot my Glock 19 and my Ortgies pocket pistol first. Then I shot the Marlin 25MN in 22 WMR, I went through about 50 rounds with that rifle. After that, I decided to shoot up the three rounds of Winchester-Western ammo, that I had with me, through the Marlin 336.

The W-W ammo shot about an inch and a half to two inches low and the group was opened up quite a bit over the Remington Core-Lokt ammo out to 2 1/8th inches at the widest spread, outside rim of one hole to outside rim of the other. Not so good but okay for deer hunting. I know can do better with it, probably as good as I do with the Remington ammo, and am guessing that after the first few shots with the 336, followed by about 100 with the Glock and another 16 with the Ortgies, and then 50 with the 25MN, I was a bit fatigued (Bear in mind that I broke 2 ribs just 2 1/2 weeks before and they are still aching a bit when I do certain things; good excuse for crappy shooting anyway.)

When it comes right down to it, the old Tasco scope I have on the Marlin 336 was not knocked out of zero at all.  I will take it to the range again, maybe in a week or two, next time with more ammo, and will shoot it more to make sure it is good for myself. Hopefully Brendan will cone along and shoot it too although if zeroed for me it is usually okay for him too. I have to say, I have surely gotten my money's worth out of that scope. It was very inexpensive, on sale, several years ago. I was advised against getting a low end scope and almost regretted it because within a year or three of me having bought it, Tasco went out of business. They have since reopened under another corporation and no longer honor the warranties on older scopes like mine but mine has taken a beating at the range, in the trunk and while out hunting and has remained in great shape. I have had that scope on the Marlin since about 2006, taken off for cleaning the rifle now and then but that has been the scope for the Marlin since then. I have owned it at least a couple to a few years longer; it sat around in the box that long before it went onto the Marlin. I had bought it with an idea of getting a very different gun on which to mount it but when my eyes started to get a little weak, I put it on the 336 and am happy I did so. Not a bad decision at all, Brendan got his first big game animal, a black bear, with the Marlin 336 with that scope on it - a one shot and immediate kill.

Yep, you can say, I am a pretty darned happy shooter with that Tasco scope sitting on the Marlin 336.

All the best,
Glenn B

Essentially Free Firearms Training Offered

I am offering free basic firearms training to anyone who can legally possess firearms and who has little to no experience with firearms. This includes training in firearms safety, basic nomenclature, basic handling, basic marksmanship, and basic care and maintenance of your firearms.

The deal is this, I will train you at a local range - you pay for the range time for yourself and for me. You will need to supply the firearms (I may be able to supply a .22 bolt action rifle, for training only, to those who do not yet have one); I will not supply handguns. If you wish to learn how to shoot a pistol or revolver, you will have to be properly licensed if required. You will also need to supply your ammunition (I can supply some 22LR ammo free of charge in some instances) and safety equipment such as eye protection and hearing protection.

This is pretty much a local offer, to people living within a reasonable distance from my home in the greater NYC area and western Long Island. Of course, if you live outside of that area, and would like me to train you, I could possibly do so but then some arrangements would need to be made for my travel expenses. I would love to train someone in Lake Placid, NY or Tucson, AZ but it's not like I can just hop on a commercial jet, fly to your location, put myself up in a hotel for a few days all at my expense just to give you free shooting lessons. I may be a feller but certainly am not a Rockefeller.

The offer is good for anyone, who can legally possess a firearm: who is 18 years old and older who wants to learn how to shoot rifles and or shotguns and is also open to anyone 21 years old and older who would like to learn to shoot pistols and revolvers. I reserve the right to end this offer at any time and or to deny training to anyone for any reason whatsoever at my personal discretion.

As for my qualifications, I had collateral duties as a firearms instructor for 14 years while in the employ of the U.S. Customs Service. I have received firearms instructor training from and been qualified as a firearms instructor by:

The National Rifle Association (currently certified as a Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor for handgun and shotgun)

The United States Customs Service (where I was certified to instruct: handgun, shotgun, rifle and submachine gun)

I have also received additional firearms training from several other sources.

If interested, please contact me by way of the email link on my profile page.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sold Some Ammo Day Before Yesterday - How Did I Do?

I sold a couple of boxes of .380 ammo yesterday. Winchester, Silvertip, hollowpoints, 50 rounds in each box, factory fresh, old reserves. I got $10 a box for them and gave the guy about 50 to 75 rounds of loose .40 S&W ammo, also factory fresh, old reserves, for free. I was happy with the transaction. How did I do? Do you think I qualify as a good businessman?

I imagine if I was in the ammo selling business, I would be going broke soon. Truth be told, I almost hated having to sell it to him. The "him" in question was a good friend of mine. Still though, I find I cannot just keep giving away ammo as I have done in the past, even if the people I have given it to have been friends. Well, at least not give it all away for free, after all I did give him a good amount of the .40 cal stuff for free. The twenty bucks I did get will go to a good cause. I will buy a box of .45 Auto with it. Now, if I was a businessman, I would have gotten at least $25 to $30 apiece for each box of the .380 ammo and then bought at least three to four boxes of .45 ACP with the proceeds. Oh well…

 

All the best,

Glenn B

Just How Does President Obama Feel About Islam

He pretty much summed up how he feels about Islam in a single sentence, when he told the world leaders, at the recent General Assembly of the United Nations, this:

“The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/26/media-ignore-obama-attack-on-those-who-slander-prophet-islam/#ixzz27gJCgF5s

So, when someone says Jesus Christ is God, or that Yahweh is God or that Vishnu is God or that Buddha was a great religious teacher, or that there is no God, I guess he is saying they should have no future because they are saying, in sum and substance, that the prophet was wrong, and would't that be slander, or worse would it be blasphemy, in a Muslim's eyes. I wonder if Obama thinks beheading would be a proper way to end their futures, as it seems many Muslims believe. Voting for this guy, I think, is a vote to destroy the Constitution of the United States of America as we know it and once that is gone so to is the nation and the American way of life - freedom.

All the best,
Glenn B

Just How Do You Feel About Islam

If you are anything like me, then you will agree with what you are about to hear in the embedded video. Once again, Pat Condell hits the nail squarely on the head.

Why is it that non-Muslim people across the world do not get this message. I suppose mostly because there are so many far left leaning liberals in the world. If you are a far left leaning liberal, don't be offended, think about why I said that. In fact, no matter who you are, think about it with me for a few moments. Liberals want, even demand, tolerance yet do not one for moment tolerate anyone who disagrees with them. Just go out and tell some gay or lesbian, at a gay pride parade, that while you can tolerate them living near you, you will never accept their sexual choice as anything but deviant or as anything less than abnormal behavior or immoral behavior or whatever you believe it to be. Then watch their reaction. I guarantee you will make the news because of their intolerance. The same goes for anyone from a staunch women's lib movement, take NOW for example. I would bet if you spoke up in support of Sara Palin at a NOW meeting, saying she is a woman and you support her wholly and believe in her politics, they would vehemently denounce you. The same, in essence, for welfare recipients that make a life of being on the dole instead of working and same for all the Occupy crowds. Disagree with them and their so called values and they will attack you with hate in their eyes.

Does that sound at all familiar. It is the mantra of the Muslim, they (for a large part of the Muslim world) hate anyone who is not Muslim. Well, that is only going to make me more resolute to stand against them. I am sick of pandering politicians like President Obama, bowing and apologizing to them and telling them how hateful and disgusting it is when someone in this country exercises his or her rights. Yet, Obama has continually been derogatory toward Christians, conservatives, 2nd Amendment Advocates, free speech advocates, people who wish to live and work in right to work states and so on. But I digress, this is about Muslims, not about Barack Hussein Obama (AKA: Barry Sotero - self professed Muslim).

No more ranting, without further ado, here is the video:



Hat tip to Peter Q for the heads up on the video.

All the best,
Glenn B