LuckyGunner.com Off Of My Link List

I recently read one of the blogs on my link list and saw that the other blogger had endorsed LuckyGunner.com as one of the good guys with decent prices on ammunition. That reminded me that, while I have checked out their prices over the past several months, they have had anything but what I considered to be decent prices on ammo that I needed. As a matter of fact, their prices seemed sky high to me and seem to be staying above those of other dealers. While the prices at many other dealers have come down a long way, the prices at Lucky Gunner still appear, to me, to be somewhere up in the stratosphere. For example, I recently bought (within the last week or two) a case of PMC Bronze 9mm, 115 grain, FMJ ammo from SGAmmo.com. The cost of a full case, 1,000 rounds, of this ammo was $299.50. They ship UPS ground. With shipping and optional insurance, the total cost was  $318.50. That included the optional $3.00 cost for additional insurance to cover the whole purchase price, above the $100 insurance coverage that UPS offers for free.

Yesterday (or maybe the day before), I checked LuckyGunner for the exact same ammo. They offered it at $455.00 plus shiping. Today, when I checked again, they were offering it "Special Price" at $399.00 plus shipping and plus optional insurance if you want it. The shipping, to my neck of metroburbia (I just coined that one), is going for $17.63 by their least expensive offering, which is for FedEx ground. The optional insurance is shown at $7.98. That would come out to a total of $424.61. This was listed at: http://www.luckygunner.com/9mm-115-gr-fmj-pmc-1000-rounds

There is quite the difference, even when the "Special Price" is offered at Lucky Gunner, between their price and that of SGAmmo. That difference being: $106.11. The difference was greater, yesterday or the day earlier, before LuckyGunner.com put it on "Special Price". That pre-Special Price cost would have been an additional difference of $56.00, or in total a difference of $162.11 with the optional insurance (from LuckyGunner) or $154.13 without the added insurance fee. That is quite a big difference either way, and to me it appears to be nothing less than price gouging when the same exact ammo can be offered at a much lower and closer to (what was not so long ago) the normal price. All that is especially so in light of the recent article I read in which major manufacturers were quoted as saying they have not raised their prices, more than nominally, on ammo since the ammo buying frenzy commenced.

If you are wondering, is this merely a single instance of LuckyGunner charging much higher prices than other dealers, you could take my word for it that it is not a lone case. Then, who am I to expect anyone on the Internet to believe me without further examples of it. So here are more instances of it (all below highlighted ammo available and as priced at the time I typed this up):

Aguila .45ACP: 230 grain, FMJ ammo, brass cased, boxer primed

$449.90 at J&G Sales for 1,000 rounds

$505.00 at LuckyGunner for 1,000 rounds

That was a $60.10 difference, prices do not reflect shipping.

I have bought this ammo in the past but from AIMSurplus.com for $439.00 (back in April 2013), shipping not included in that price.


PPU (Prvi Partizan) .32 ACP: 71 grain, FMJ, brass cased, boxed primed.

$12.00 per box of 50 at Wiedners

$23.50 per box of 50 at LuckyGunner

That is an astounding difference of $11.50 per box - meaning it is almost double the price at LuckyGunner than it is at Wiedner's. Prices do not reflect shipping.

I bought this ammo from Wiedner's at the current price but back in May 2013. Surprisingly they have had it at that price, I think, continuously since then.


Prvi Partizan .308 Win: 145 grain, FMJ, Blue Box Ammo, brass cased, boxer primed

$312.25 @ $12.49 per box when ordering at least 25 boxes (500 rounds) at SGAmmo.com

$390 per case of 500 rounds at LuckyGunner

A difference of $77.75 per 500 rounds, shipping not reflected in those prices.

I ordered some of this ammo from SGAmmo tonight, but at $12.79 per box of 20 because I did not order 25 boxes of more. Still, an excellent price at the current time.


Spartan 12 Gauge: 00 Buckshot, 9 pellets, 2 3/4" shells

$109.90 for a case of 250 rounds at SGAmmo.com

$150 for a case of 250 rounds at LuckyGunner

A difference of $40.10 for a case of 250 rounds, shipping not reflected in those prices.

I never bought this particular ammo but I might have bought it tonight if I did not order the .308 Win. ammo.


Wolf  5.56x45mm (.223):  62 gr, FMJ, steel cased, Military Classic

$179.00 per case of 500 rounds at TheArmory.com

$240.00 per case of 500 rounds at LuckyGunner

A difference of $60.01 per 500 rounds, shipping not reflected in those prices.

In each instance shown, LuckyGunners prices are much higher. Granted, on some other ammo in the same calibers, LuckyGunner's prices do not reflect that much of a difference but they are, from what I have seen, usually higher priced than many other ammunition dealers when comparing the same brand, caliber and type of ammunition. On rare occasion, when I have checked their prices, I have found LuckyGunner to have the ammo I wanted or needed at the best price available. That seemingly was when ammo was even harder to get than it is currently, such as back in February 2013 when I ordered five boxes of PMC Bronze .308 WIN ammo from them at $25.00 a box of 20 rounds (I had to be out of my mind), if I recall correctly it was because it was just about all the brass cased .308 that was available at that time. They now show a price for that at $17.00 per box of 20 rounds but they are out of stock. Right now, I can get that ammo from PalmettoStateArmory.com, a dealer from whom I have made recent ammo purchases, for $15.99 per box, and it is in stock. I also can get it at a couple of dealers, with whom I have not yet done business, at an even less expensive price, such as for $13.99 per box of 20 rounds from Selway Armory and yes it is in stock there too.

If you are curious as to why I chose the calibers that I used as examples above, it was because I have ordered all of them fairly recently. In fact, I have ordered most of the brands, in the listed calibers, too but maybe not the same exact grain weight or bullet type. Each time I shopped around, for a specific caliber and type of ammo that I wanted, if LuckyGunner had it, and another dealer had the same exact thing as LuckyGunner, it was almost always less expensive at the other dealer. It also was usually much less expensive at the other dealer. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying they are always higher priced - just that they have almost always been so relative to ammo I have been looking for, when I have been looking for it. For all I know, they could have the greatest prices in the world on other calibers of ammunition at other times. You would have to check on their prices yourself to determine that but I think it is doubtful that would be the case when and if you checked.

I have shopped at every dealer above, with the exception of two, those being TheArmory.com and SelwayArmory.com. I can vouch for excellent service from each of those where I previously have shopped. Lately I have been making a good amount of purchases from SGAmmo.com because they have had some excellent prices over the past month or two and have had ammo in calibers I have been seeking.

You may think I just went overboard in explaining why I am removing a dealer from my link list but I wanted to explain it so there would be no doubt about it. I do not appreciate dealers that charge inflated prices especially when it is evident, by prices found at other dealers, that the offering price both could and should be lower. This is the same reason I dropped my link to CheaperThanDirt.com. As part of the shooting community, I also feel somewhat obligated to help out other shooters in getting the best deals they can get and to avoid those who, in my opinion, price gouge or seem to routinely overcharge for ammunition - especially in these times when it has been tough to find ammo. Why do I feel a bit obligated? Because other firearms enthusiasts in the shooting community have done likewise for me in the past. Just being part of that community makes me want to spread the word about good deals and to do likewise about ones I believe are not so good too, when I come across them, especially when not an isolated instance. In that light, I feel I cannot, in good conscience, continue to leave a link, on my link list, to LuckyGunner.com.

By the way, remember that case of PMC Bronze 9mm, 115 grain, FMJ ammo I bought at SGAmmo.com. Well, the money I saved by buying it from them instead of from LuckyGunner was at least $154.13. (It would have been a difference of $162.11 had I got it from them and also purchased the additional insurance.) Guess what I used that money to purchase. I bought bulk exploding target mix, two boonie hats, and a 2 liter bottle of potato vodka - with a few bucks left over for lottery tickets. By shopping around, my money went a lot further than it would have had I not shopped around for a better price. To finish up, just let me say: An informed buyer is a well armed and well stocked consumer.

Oh one last thing, I do not receive any type of compensation from anyone on any of my link lists (unless you consider reciprocal links from other bloggers to be compensation, which I do not consider such). As for ammo dealers, I receive absolutely no compensation from them and I am pretty sure my link lists contain only those dealers with whom I have previously done business.

All the best,
Glenn B

When Suspects Are Black But The Victim Is White - It's Alright...

...is what I imagine the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have been thinking since the July 9th beating of a 13 year old white youth by three 15 year old black boys. (Did anyone find it offensive that I called the white kid - a youth, and I called the black kids - boys? After all, I just switched around the wording the way the media had printed it relative to the races. If you found it offensive my way but not the way it appeared in the linked article, you are very likely a race bating hypocrite.)

As race was not a valid concern, or should not have been an issue, in the George Zimmerman trial, nor should it seemingly be an issue here. It seems Sharpton and Jackson understand that race probably was not an issue in this case; yet, they made an issue out of it in the self defense killing of Trayvon Martin because he was black and because George Zimmerman looked white. So why did Sharpton and Jackson open their big mouths then and not now? Because they agree that blacks can not be racists and only whites, Hispanics and Asians can be - that is they agree with one another and all the other race baiters out there. How those pieces of shit have any credence at all among the law abiding black community, that they claim to represent, or among any other community, is beyond the scope of logic.

All the best,
Glenn B

Did Someone Pull A Lightning Fast One...

...and make fools of the reporter, his editor and the media outlet that reported a car was struck by lightning just a moment after one of the kids riding in it wished to be hit by lightning. See the story here:

http://local.msn.com/lightning-hits-family-car-seconds-after-kids-wish-for-lightning-strike.

To say the least, there is something that seems to effect how I see this story and it is not a lightning flash. I have to wonder, did someone pull a lightning fast one on the reporter and his editor on this story. The first names, of the kids who were in the car, are all related to the science fiction genre. Denham was the last name of the main character in the original King Kong. Tanner is the last name of Charles R. Tanner who was an American science fiction writer who wrote in the 1930s and 1940s. Taylor was the last name of the actor Rod Taylor who was the lead in the movie The Time Machine. Morlocks, the family name of those in the car, was also the name of the creatures in the story The Time Machine. What a coincidence - isn't it!

All the best,
Glenn B

Fruit of The Week - The Bogart

As I type, I am imbibing my fruit of the week. Luckily for me, earlier today, I realized my store of hard spirits was lacking, as in down to just a few ounces of cherry flavored Bourbon (don't get wise with me, it was a gift). Thus I visited my local mom and pop liquor store right after hitting the ATM at the bank. I got myself a 2 liter bottle of potato vodka (a staple) and got the wife (and me) a couple of bottles of red wine. I would have gotten a bottle of rum or Irish, maybe even both, in addition to the vodka was I not on a bit of a budget because I am headed to FL for a week next week and because I just spent last weekend up in NH. The vodka will do nicely for me until I leave next week.

Getting back to the fruit of the week - tonight I mixed two pineapple spears, one large banana, two tangerines, a lemon (not just the juice) and a rather large home grown jalapeño pepper in the blender with about 1/2 a cup of apple juice and 9 ice cubes. It is different from my usual sweet fruit of the week drink. The bitterness of the jalapeño mixed with the sweetness of the exotics fruits and tartness of the lemon makes my drink bitter-sweet with a tangy bite that leaves a bit of a stinging burning sensation in my throat. After it has gone down and you would think it is all over, it ain't over yet. My throat has a slight fire going on at the back of it right now. Feebly smoldering embers of wilder times just passed are giving me a bit of a burning itch, an enticing sensation that needs to be satisfied, not squelched, and the only way for me to satisfy it is to have another swig of it and there it goes all over again - those embers have flared up anew. The darned thing is like life. This is the drink that just about sums up living my life to date; it's been like life in a Bogart movie. Whatever character Bogart played - those characters could never get enough of living the way they did; there was always that itch they had to scratch, the flame they had to fan, they were never satisfied that what they had done to date was enough. Somehow, for them, as for me, the embers of adventure, riches, intrigue, danger and romance always flared up again.

Man, this is one hell of a great drink, don't ya think? Well, I do anyway. I may have to name it in his honor - consider it done,. It is The Bogart (adjustment of ingredients may or may not occur at a future date but it has to leave those embers just waiting to be satisfied with more fuel).

All the best,
Glenn B

Cisco Brewers - Island Reserve - Russian Imperial Stout

One good beer I brought home from NH was all I had on Monday because I got cheap on myself when I visited a beer store up that way over the past weekend. I stopped in a distributor on Sunday, on my way home from the Sixth Annual NE Bloggershoot, and hemmed and hawed over the decent selection they had available of local New England beers. I had never before seen some of the beers and ales they had for sale and it was a tough decision. I finally decided on two bottle of Cisco Brewers, Island reserve, Russian Imperial Stout. The bottles each contained 1 pint, 9.4 fluid ounces of beer that was 13% alcohol.

I am someone who enjoys good to excellent biers, ales, stouts and such but certainly am not much of a connoisseur (nor any sort of Frenchman). Still though, I will describe it in my own way. As for the color, I will say the color was really dark brown. Others might say it looked like melted dark chocolate or that it had the color of dark roasted coffee beans, but that kind of a description is mostly not for me. Suffice it to say it was really dark brown. The consistency was a bit creamy. The head was decent and grew slowly after I poured up to the fill line in the glass (German bier glass that has about an inch and a half beyond that line). As for the taste, I cannot, and even if I could, I would not, tell you that it had hints of mocha, dark chocolate, raspberries and honey or any frilliness like that. What I will say about the flavor was that it tasted to me just like it should taste - like a nice dark stout, not very hoppy but mm-mm good. It went well with dinner. I liked it and would rate it a 7 out of 10.

Really though, to rate it properly, I would need to have had at least two or three more of them because in order to rate an alcoholic beverage one of the most important factors beyond taste is the buzz factor. I am pretty sure though, at 13%, three or four of them would have had me blasted. Just the one certainly took off the edge quite nicely.

Shame on me for not buying at least 4 of them, two for me and two for my son and shame on me for not buying at least two of three other types of beers local to New England. Next time I have the opportunity, I think I will do just that.

All the best,
Glenn B

Exploding Targets On FBI and USFWS Hit Lists

It seems the FBI has done what they evidently present as an exhaustive investigation into the potential uses of exploding targets like those produced by Tannerite, Sure Shot, Star Targets and White Lightening (source). They have determined that these targets could be utilized by terrorists as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Before his death, Senator Frank Lautenberg recommended they be controlled as explosive devices because these items, even though not explosive until mixed by the user and then shot with a high powered rifle round, are easily obtainable by terrorists. Let's think about that for a moment -  the that being: 'easy to obtain by terrorists'.

Exploding Targets (ETs) have been the rage among many members of the shooting community for years now. They are fun to shoot at just like fireworks are fun on July 4th (Independence Day). Even though available for many years now, not once in all those years has it ever been reported that the components of commercially available ETs have ever been used successfully (or at all) in an improvised explosive device by terrorists. Not once, as in never, or not ever, or zero times. Get it - terrorists do not use ETs in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). There may be a reason for that. They require detonation by high speed impact such as that caused by a high powered rifle bullet. Hitting them with a hammer will not set them off, running them over does not make them go boom, electricity will not set them off, fire will not set them off, cannon fuse will not set them off.

A bullet hitting them will set them off but that is not a very sure fire way to set off a bomb and even the dimwitted among terrorists realize that (but not the brain children at the FBI under the Obama Administration). You see, if a terrorist plants one of those exploding targets as a bomb, then gets to a safe distance to set it off and shoots at it with a high powered rifle he may or may not hit it with the first shot. As I recall, most terrorists, in fact most shooters among the military, federal agencies, police departments or the general population of the gun toting free citizens of the USA are not expert marksman. So why chance missing. While a hit on the first shot would make two bangs, one from the rifle and a louder one from the exploding target - a miss would make a bang from the rifle that would need to be followed by at least one more (or a couple to several more) until the terrorist actually hits the explosive target to make the explosion take place.  That first miss, with the loud rifle shot, would be all that was needed to do a few things. First - it would alarm people an alert them to danger, second it would give away the location of the terrorist, third - it would give law enforcement a target. Nope, the terrorists realize these exploding targets are not what they want to make IEDS, even the stupid ones - otherwise we would have heard of their use by now since, as I said, these targets have been around for years.

Now if the FBI report is not enough to convince you that exploding targets are dangerous, as it was not enough to convince me, the article goes on to state the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has tried to make them seem ultra evil by way of a report in which they said: they have "associated" ETs with 16 forest fires over the past year. Here is the quote from the article:

""In the past year alone, at least 16 wildfires on national forests have been associated with exploding targets, causing millions of dollars in suppression costs while threatening the safety and well-being of surrounding communities," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell." (source)

You will note that Mr. Tidwell was not quoted as saying that the ETs actually caused the forest fires, just that they were associated with the fires and that the fires associated with them have caused lots of damage. I bet he chose his words quite carefully. Now even if the ETs actually caused the fires, which is doubtful to me, weren't there many more forest fires and weren't most of those caused by people who started them with things like campfires, matches and carelessly disposed of cigarettes. Funny how none of those things have been outright banned as USFWS has just banned the exploding targets in certain areas:

"An order issued Monday by the agency bans the targets in forests and grasslands in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota." (source) The Obama Administration seemingly is going bonkers over these targets by saying they are readily accessible to terrorists who could easily use them as IEDs and is starting to issue restrictions and bans on their use. Remember, these are targets that have been purchased legally and legally used by law abiding American gun owners for years but yet never have been reported to have been used by terrorists. Ah, but wait, a single individual has claimed to have seen a container of Tannerite (a brand of exploding targets, the original) among items that could be used to make IEDs. That one guy says he saw such but apparently has not provided any documentation or other hard evidence to back it up. Even if he actually did see it among other items that are commonly used to make bombs, we still have not had one confirmed report of the use of Tannerite, or the equivalent, in an explosive device detonated or even manufactured by an actual terrorist. Why not?

Well, other than the reasons I gave above, about needing to detonate ETs with a high speed impact such as from a high powered rifle round, the other main consideration is probably that much more efficient and deadly explosives can be made easier and for less expense than these commercially available ETs. For instance, Al Qaeda, on the Arabian Peninsula, puts out a periodical online magazine called Inspire. In the summer 2010 edition, there was an article in that magazine called: MAKE A BOMB IN THE KITCHEN OF YOUR MOM. The article give in depth instructions about how a jihadist (read as Muslim terrorist) can make a bomb from everyday household items.

First, the article explains the two types of explosions: Chemical (such as TNT and C4) and Mechanical (inflammable materials burned in a confined space, such materials as gun powder or simple yet effective household ingredients that can be combined to make an explosive substance). The household ingredients that they tell you to combine, to make the explosive substances, to be used in very effective pipe bombs, are sugar and the substance found in match heads in crushed form. Yes, you got that right - sugar and crushed match heads make an effective explosive binary compound. 

You can buy these ingredients anywhere in the United States, certainly easier than you can buy Exploding Targets in the USA. I will admit though, the ETs are still easy to buy, no license required just as there is no license required to buy sugar or matches. The reason you can buy the ETs, without an explosives license, is that they are made using a binary substance. In other words, there is no explosive substance until two substances are mixed. So the ET's when sold, are not really explosive since the substances are shipped to the buyer each individually packaged. The buyer has to mix them to turn them into an exploding target and yes that is quite legal, and I believe it is legal in all 50 states. It certainly is legal in my home state of NY which is one of the most restrictive when it comes to things like explosives and firearms. So why haven't terrorists been buying these ETs, or the substances to make them like there is no tomorrow?

The reasons terrorists are not buying ETs in great quantities are likely very simple ones, such as:

1) ETs are relatively expensive; sugar and match heads much less expensive.

2) The ingredients for ETs, an oxidizer like ammonium nitrate and the fuel like aluminum shavings (or flakes)  are much less expensive to obtain than the commercially available exploding targets themselves so  terrorist could make them himself for much less expense than buying commercial ETs.

3) There is less of a paper trail when buying the components of ETs rather than actually buying commercially available ETs themselves from a dealer. You could buy ammonium nitrate at one source and get the aluminum for aluminum flakes at your local supermarket in the form of aluminum foil which is very easily converted to aluminum flakes or shavings.

4) The Al Qaeda preferred ingredients, sugar and match heads, as written up in Inspire magazine, are MUCH less expensive than ETs or their components.

5) The preferred bomb ingredients, as seen in Inspire magazine, are even more readily available than those required to make an exploding target since you can buy them at virtually any delicatessen, grocery store, supermarket, 
warehouse market and so forth. In fact, matches can probably be obtained at many more places than where you can buy sugar.

6) Purchasing the ingredients for the Al Qaeda inspired bomb would not leave a paper trail of any sort unless purchased by an absolute idiot. Purchasing ETs almost always leaves a paper trail.

7) The explosive compound, detailed in Inspire magazine, that is made by mixing the crushed match heads with the sugar can be set off buy means that are more covert than shooting a rifle at the explosive device. For example, while the exploding targets can not be set off by a mere electrical charge, that is the preferred method of igniting the sugar/crushed match head explosive compound and the directions for making an ignition device are included in the Inspire magazine article. The device consists of a timer clock, some wire, a Christmas Tree light bulb or two, and a small 9 volt battery. This type of device could be placed anywhere and allow the terrorist to set the device to go off at the time when the area is most crowded but when the terrorist has long since vacated the blast zone. Shooting at an exploding target would require the terrorist to be there to set off the device and his or her presence may be enough to alert people to danger.

8) The directions to make the binary explosive compound found in explosive targets is patented. The information as to the exact ingredients in the exact amounts required is not easily obtainable.

9) The directions to make the binary explosive compound consisting of sugar and crushed match heads is readily available in Inspire magazine and probably elsewhere on the Internet. The exact ingredients and amount to use of each have been published worldwide by Al Qaeda. If the ingredients found in explosive targets was better suited to make a bomb or IED, why has Al Qaeda not made an effort to break it down and then make that info public!

One can only conclude that terrorists have not resorted to using commercially available Explosive Targets because there are less expensive, easier to obtain, easier to mix, easier to use covertly, more effective ingredients available with which a terrorist can make an improvised explosive device (a homemade bomb) that will not leave a paper trail back to the terrorist or the terrorist organization.

Sure, a terrorist might actually use an exploding target or the material used to manufacture them in an explosive device but the chances of that seem pretty remote considering how long these targets have been out there yet never have been reported as having been used by terrorists to any great extent. Yes, the FBI says a group in NH had the targets set up around the perimeter of their encampment (source) and my guess would be they only used ETs because they were unaware of how easy it would have been to make a bomb the Al Qaeda way. The truth is, ETs are not a component of choice for use by terrorists in IEDs as is made obvious by the fact that Al Qaeda itself recommends an explosive mixture of crushed match heads and sugar by way of INSPIRE its own terror inspiring magazine.

Strange though, neither the USFWS nor the FBI has made a move to prevent anyone from carrying sugar and match heads, let alone matches or cigarettes, on federal land even though they say they are worried about IEDS and or the threat of fires. Neither have you heard the FBI say even one thing about the dangers of sugar and match heads - nor are you likely to hear or read about it in any of their reports because they do not want to spread around how easy it is to make effective bombs out of them. The truth of the matter seemingly is, at least to me, ETs do not make truly effective bombs if only because of the lack of variation of detonation methods and because the person setting one off needs to remain in the area. (Yes both of those limiting factors could be overcome by why bother when the ingredients for easier to make bombs are less expensive and easier to use and set off.)

My guess is that this FBI report and it recommendations as well as the action taken by the USFWS are just two more parts of the Obama Administration's attack on law abiding gun owners. How is that, you ask. By way of trying to make gun owners look more evil than just being mere gun owners - now they own the means to make IEDs and that makes them eviler needs to be stopped fast! It only adds more lies and more less-than-factual controversy to the push by the left to destroy the RKBA and our other liberties and rights all in the name of preventing terror. Obama would have better prevented terror by not backing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and by sending in troops to protect our embassy
personnel in Libya.

Oh, that FBI information will likely accomplish one other thing, in my opinion. I think it may well cause a buying frenzy on exploding targets because of the now looming potential for those ETs to be regulated right out of the commercial market or at least require background checks and or licensing to purchase. My suggestion, to free Americans, buy them while you can get them before the buying frenzy begins and prices go up. Need more incentive, just remember what happened with ammo prices and ammo availability once Obama was reelected - and that was not GWB's fault - not by a longshot! Sportsmansguide.com has them right now. If I was going to buy them, I think I would buy at least one of the 10 pound bulk packs.

All the best,
Glenn B

Darn - More Gun Cleaning - The More I Shoot, The More I Clean

Once again, I started cleaning the guns today - those I had shot up at the Sixth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot. I worked on them for a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours earlier today. I got a only two of them cleaned. If you knew what guns I had taken with me to shoot, I would bet you could guess which two I cleaned today based on how long it took me to clean them.  Well, okay, I'll tell you exactly which ones I had along:

Stevens Model 66-B (bolt action rifle, .22LR)
Armscor Model 14Y (youth model, bolt action rifle, .22LR)
Remington Model 241 Speedmaster (semi-auto rifle, .22LR)
Remington 870 Shotgun (12 gauge pump action)
Hungarian Mosin Nagant M44 (bolt action rifle, 7.62x54R)
Yugoslavian Mauser 24/47 (bolt action rifle, 8mm Mauser)
Ruger MKII (semi-auto pistol, .2LR)
High Standard Duramatic (semi-auto pistol, .22LR)
Ortgies Pocket Pistol (semi-auto pistol, .32 Auto)
Smith & Wessom Model 17 (revolver, .22LR)
Glock 26 (semi-auto pistol, 9mm)
Remington R1 1911 (semi-auto pistol, .45 Auto)

Now, can you guess which two I cleaned today that took me three hours to clean even though I did not do a complete detail strip on either one. Granted, I disassembled them most of the way but not completely and that took me most of three hours.

If you guessed the Mosin Nagant and the Mauser, good for you, you were right on target. I only took each down as far as removing the bolt and then disassembling each bolt for a good cleaning. I did not take the wood of  either one nor did I remove the trigger group from either one. I figured those parts could wait until later. As it stands, I cleaned the bores, the chambers, the receivers, and the bolts. I also wiped down what exterior metal is exposed. Those bolts were dirty and needed a good cleaning and each of them got one.

My compliments, once again, to Gunzilla in that it cleaned the cosmoline out of the Mauser's bolt with minimal rubbing and swabbing effort on my part. One thing I found out about Gunzilla though, to be aware of, it may melt certain kinds of plastic. I do not mean polymers like that found on Glock pistol. What happened is: I had a bottle of Gunzilla in my range box and it leaked. It got all over the inside of the plastic range box but did not damage the range box itself. Instead, it apparently melted away part of the plastic case of a screwdriver set I had inside the range box. Whoops!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Sixth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot

I arrived up close to the location of the Bloggershoot early enough on Friday evening to go to my hotel, check in, and then run right down to the next town south to go to dinner with some of the others who would be attending the shoot. There were 15 of us who enjoyed a nice dinner, and a couple of drinks, together. I know the number because they gave out checks by number and I got number 15 and was the last to arrive and to order. It was nice to reunite with some of the folks who I had met only one year earlier during the Fifth Annual NE Bloggershoot and nice to meet some new faces too. There was good food, good grog and a good time for all. Then back north to my hotel where I think I passed out at about 0100 on Saturday morning.

Saturday, after sunup, was sure a beautiful day at the Sooper SeKrit location for the Sixth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot. It may have started a little cloudy but it stayed cool to just warm and plenty of sunshine came out to keep most of the skeeters away. Starting time was slated for 1000 hours and even though I only arrived a few minutes before that, I was ahead of most of the other shooters who did show up, better late than never - for them anyway.



My guns minus the Glock 26 on my hip
and the Ortgies in my pocket.

As it turned out, I got there just in the nick of time and grabbed the last remaining open table on which to put my guns. Others who showed up later their used their own tables (many had SUVs and pick-up trucks and could fit things that I was not about to get into my Corolla), used their tailgates, or just put their stuff on the ground in cases or on tarps. I have no clue as to how many folks showed up to shoot, I would guess at least 25 to 30, but there were a lot of guns for sure!



The packets of 7.62x54R were tied
with a string, how quaintly Soviet.

After everyone had se up their guns, some of us had the foresight to make their ammo readily available and some even to load magazines (box mags not those that were internal to the gun, they had to be loaded on the line). I loaded away. I got a little surprise when I was getting my 7.62x54R ammo ready. I asked if anyone had pliers, I forgot my multi-tool and someone lent me his. so I could open the 1957 vintage ammo can of it that I had bought along. Actually I was two surprises. The first was that the can opened easily, much more easily than the spam type can that pretty much requires a special can opener. The second was that all the ammo in he can was gift wrapped. Now, I knew that the ammo would be wrapped in packets of 20 rounds per pack but what I did not expect was tat each little packet of it would appear to be giftwrapped as each one had a dainty little string wrapped around it like each like a little present.

Soon enough, Jay G called us all to attention and introduced our hosts and then did a safety, rules of the range, type lecture. I am going to say it lasted all of five minutes, maybe 10 minutes, and it was well received by everyone.

All eyes and ears were on Jay as be fired off the do's and don'ts of the range. I don't think there was a shooter in the crowd who was not paying attention to what he had to say. He covered the basics of firearms and range safety and gave a rundown of the idiosyncrasies of the particular range we were using. Jack spoke up too, stressing us we wanted to shoot only toward the backstop. Safety was the number one priority and being safe would assure that we would all have fun. 

As soon as Jay was finished, our host Jack fired the first shot and the shooting proceeded directly after that.

I made a beeline to my gun table, assured eyes and ears were in place, grabbed my Remington 870 and commenced firing once safely back on the firing line; or did I grab the 1911 first0. Who cares, I just started shooting and am pretty sure I got off the first shot after Jack had opened the festivities. I sure wasted no time stepping up to the line.

Festivities is a good word to describe what went on at the range. Everyone seemed to be in a good and festive fun seeking mood. If they were not in that mood before the shooting started, they sure were in such a frame of mind once they commenced firing. Most of the rest of this story can best be told in mostly pictures so here goes:



Brad's Guns, lots of em too.

 

Well okay, so maybe they weren't all Brad's guns
and some were Dave's guns too.

Evil Black guns, and even a green pistol, atop storage bins.

Guns in cases on the ground.

More gun in cases on the ground.

Guns in wo

manly mauve cases on the ground.

Some people had tough guns and laid em out right
on the ground. Guns - guns - guns all around. There were
enough of em to make a Brady Campaigner's head implode.

Guns on ultra-macho green milsurp blankets.



Guns, and is that a machine gun, on soft pink blankies.

More guns on soft pink blankies. Someone
liked coddling their guns for sure.

Even evil black pistols in evil black cases on soft pink blankies.

 

Guns on tailgates. Imagine that in a baseball
stadium parking lot for the tailgate part.

With all those guns, and all their ammo, we needed a place to shoot.
This is the "range" looking from the line downrange to the backstop.

Downrange, not a zombie target in sight although their had been a
book by George Soros hanging where the hole was when I took
this pic. It was probably the most shot at target of the day.

A look at the backstop we used last year. This year's backstop
was a big increase in range safety with the hill behind it.

 

There were shooters of all types, shapes and sizes there to shoot hose guns too. We went through an awful lot of ammo. I am figuring I fired 50 rounds of 12 gauge slugs and buckshot from my Remington 870, 80 rounds of 7.62x54R, 50 rounds of .32 Auto from the Ortgies, 150 rounds of .45 Auto from my Remingtom R1 1911, and a shitload of .22LR from both pistols and rifles (probably on order of 400-500 rounds). I also shot about 20-40 rounds through the Yugo 24/47 Mauser; I lost count with the Mauser because there was a user error type problem and also a problem with the ammo. As for user error, I apparently never cleaned the bolt of the cosmoline after getting that rifle. I cleaned it up while at the bloggershoot, after asking Wally from York Arms, what h thought might be the problem. He took the bolt apart and I both cringed and felt like an idiot. Oh well, no time better to clean it than when it was at least partially disassembled. Put it back in and fired some rounds but kept getting failures to fire and was then told by both Wally and some others that the milsurp ammo I was shooting is notorious for failures to fire. Probably hard primers and some see to be seated very low in the case. Never had a problem, even with the cosmo in the bolt, with current commercial ammo. Oh well, before I blab on more, here are pics of the shooters:



This guy apparently took Joe Biden's advice
and went wit a side by side shotgun - nah,
not for one minute. This is Jay G who shot
just about everything imaginable.

There were Mosin Nagants, women in sunglasses with big nasty
shotguns and guys with evil bull pup style rifles also in black.

Hey babe, haven't you ever heard Joe Bien's advice about double barrel
shotguns? I thought it better not to ask her that - all things considered.

And then there was the guy who made me think of what Neuman
would have looked like had he ever decided to go postal on Seinfeld.
I can hear him now: "Jerry, I just couldn't take any more, I just opened
up with my AK on every mail bag in the facility. It felt soooo good."

Matt an his son shooting away. To think, this kid did not want
to come and I would swear he had more fun than everyone else
combined. He got to shoot his dad's suppressed rifle and his dad's
submachine gun(s). Mind you, with hands on coaching from his dad.

Then we had guys really ready for self defense. Shooting a snubby
as primary with a 1911 as back-up may seem a bit off
but who cares when he had a cannon at his side.

Suppressed hair and a suppressed rifle - excellent combination!

Your's truly just after firing this .30/06 pistol one handed and
catching it with my left hand as it was flying out of my right hand.
Earlier, I had to clean the bolt on my Mauser. I used Gunzilla and
still had a film of it on my hands. Amazingly, my reflexes were like
greased lightning and I actually caught it before I got completely out
of hand. This was supposed to be video but I set the camera wrong!

Erin: "So you think you're hot stuff with that big rifle don't you
big boy?" Dave just replied with a look that could kill.

The day was not all shooting. There was a lot of waiting in between your chances to shoot. The line could accommodate about 6 to 8 shooters at a time, so each of us shot some, took a break and reloaded mags or talked to other shooters and such. We also took a nice break for lunch that we ordered from a local eatery:

During a break in the shooting: more manly murmerings
about who had the better gun or who could shoot
a smaller group or something like that.




Some guys couldn't get enough of one another.

The hostess with the mostest taking lunch orders.




A group of happy campers picking out delectables from the menu.

 

Relaxed, after lunch, Dave is distracted by Erin, one of a two man team, as
the Les, the other team member, makes a nonchalant grab for a box of Dave's
ammo. Just look at how Les keeps his eyes on Dave as he makes the grab.



 

Getting back to the shooting, I should mention that while most of the folks who attended the bloggershoot were well experienced, some were novices. There was a red headed young lady there with her family. Diana was her name, I think. I hope I have remembered her name right. (I forgot it right after she told me and had to be reminded several times, my inability to sometimes remember names can be quite embarrassing.) She was shooting only for her second time. It seemed an awful lot of folks were trying to help her out. She was having a somewhat awkward time getting advice from two or three guys at once at one point and also because some of the guns (rifles) were just too big for her as a new shooter.  After watching for 5 or 10 minutes, I butted in and asked if she wanted to try a rifle that would fit her better. She said yes and I handed her Brendan's Armscor 14Y; it is a youth model and was much better suited to her size. I am guessing she shot at least 28 to 35 shots out of it (7 round mag), first shooting fast but then on my advice taking her time. I gave her some quick pointers on safety, on how to get a good sight picture and how to achieve proper sight alignment and how to focus on the front sight and the next thing you knew she was almost right up there with Annie Oakley in shooting prowess. Well, maybe not quite that good but she was repeatedly hitting a small orange cube that was hung at the 25 yard line and she was firing from a standing position, unsupported with open iron sights. She did not hit it every time but hit it enough to have made me think she will become one heck of a marksman should she keep with it.

The red headed gal getting some lessons in revolver shooting.

Charlie Brown, eat your heart out, the "little" red headed gal blazing away.

Diana was a quick learner and rapidly progressed to
evil black guns, then tried the Armscor 14Y. Most of the
rifles were too much for her to handle; I think not so
much due to size but to inexperience. The smaller rifle
was easier to hold and just made things that much easier
 for her. Note the color coordinated ear plugs and shoelaces.

Darn it, out of ammo already! I knew I should have
brought more magazines than one with me.

Somebody came prepared, Gary (?) doing a reload on the line.

Les shooting his .45 and shooting
up his, or somebody's, ammo.



Long pistols, short pistols, what does it matter - they both send
the lead downrange. The pistol packing mama was our hostess.

 

The helmet took a lot of rounds.

Speaking of sending lead downrange, we had a few really fun targets to shoot at. One, I already mentioned was the book by George Soros. It was a book representing his policies. We begged to differ with them and shot the hell out of that book (no threat express or implied toward Mr. Soros). That one probably got the most shots. Then there were the detergent bottles, the small figurine (I think a bank) of another anti-gun personage but who shall remain anonymous and who was shot in effigy to scoff at him in fun (no threat intended at all to the real person), the blue UN like helmet and Elmo. Yes, sadly, we bunch of Neanderthal shootists who attended probably shot at Elmo if not as much as at the Soros book, then close to it.



The post shooting but pre-bayonet charge Elmo.

Funny how he showed up last year too and was shot full of holes then as well. He also wound up being on the receiving end of the bayonet charge - both years. No, it wasn't just restricted to shooting fun so, those of us with bayonets held a charge for our rights and for freedom from those with minds on the ultra libturd side who would disarm us instead of allowing us to defend ourselves against red furry bug-eyed monsters. It was symbolic and noting more, well for us anyway. It was all too real for the stuffed Elmo. If Elmo was not shot up as much as the Soros book, the bayonet charge made up for it.

Yes, there was that other target I mentioned. The one shot at in effigy, not as any sort of a threat to the person (not real, expressed, implied or even hinted at) but to merely make a statement against the policies of the likes of him and for shits and giggles. Not one of us there would even think of ever shooting the guy who the figurine represented - why commit a crime or waste a bullet when soon enough he will fade into obscurity. Yet, shooting the figurine, knowing that is all it was - just shooting a figurine - was a lot of fun.

As for shooting it, once I saw it being set downrange, and once downrange was clear and the whistle blown to start a new hot line, I was already heading to the line with the Remington 870 loaded with buckshot. There were at least three people on the line, already loaded and ready to go by the time I got there. I had to load on the line so it was another couple of seconds before I could shoot. Then somehow, I got of the first round at that little figurine/bank and I sent it flying and in a number of pieces at that. 

I felt obliged to apologize to Jay for shooting the target he had just set -up but I could not resist, it was that tempting. I would have posted a pic of that target here, or at least of a piece of what was left of it, had I not been strongly advised against doing so. We shot at in in good natured jest, while at the same time making a statement, to ourselves, about our camaraderie over our 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms, again meaning no harm to anyone. Shooting it, or what remained of it after the first couple of shots, sure got a lot of laughs when it flew this way and that each time what was left of it was hit. Funny though, all throughout - that little figure sure clung to the change it had in its hand much the same way others might cling to bibles and guns.



St. Barbara medallion on the cannon.

The cannon was shot off again at the end of our shooting festivities. Just a few words about the cannon before I close. The cannon was hand made, by our host Jack. It is a 1/2 scaled version of an 1857 Napoleon Cannon. The blogshoot, this year, was dedicated to the lady who gave our hosts the medallion that was attached to it. So, all the while that we were shooting, we were watched over by, not only the NSA, CIA, FBI, DHS and ATF but also by the patron saint of artillerists - Saint Barbara. The cannon to which the medallion was attached was fired both to begin and end our day at the Sixth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot which ended as safely as it had begun. Saint Barbara watched over us well.

All the best,
Glenn  B

My Guns For The Sixth Annual NE Bloggershoot

It took me a couple of weeks but I finally figured out, tonight, what guns I will be lugging along to this Saturday's Sixth Annual Northeast Bloggershoot. I am heading out late tomorrow morning, right after I get the car's oil changed and the trunk loaded. If I have room for all of them, this is what I am bringing along:

Rifles:

Armscor 14Y (bolt action, box mag fed, .22LR)

Remington Model 241 Speedmaster (semi-auto, tube fed, .22LR)

Stevens Model 66-B (bolt action, tube fed, .22LR)

Yugoslavian 24/47 8mm Mauser (bolt action, internal mag)

Yugoslavian Mosin Nagant M44 (bolt action, internal mag)


Shotgun:

Remington 870


Pistols:

Glock 26 (semi-auto, 9mm)

High Standard Duramatic (semi-auto, .22LR)

Ortgies Pocket Pistol (semi-auto, .32 Auto)

Remington R1 1911 ( semi-auto, .45 Auto)

Ruger MKII (semi-auto, .22LR)


Revolver:

S&W Model 17 (.22LR)

Again, I am only bringing all of them if I can fit all of the gun cases into my trunk with all the ammo and other gun gear. Crap, that's going to mean I'll have to do a trunk clean-out tomorrow before I leave; it's something I just remembered that I forgot to do today. As for my other stuff, like a bag of clothes and a cooler, they can go on the back seat.

Now, before I forget something else, I had best print up the directions from MapQuest.

All the best,
Glenn B

Maybe, If You Sleepwalk...

...you should lock up your guns or at least unload them before you hit the hay. I am willing to bet at least one guy will feel that way from now on.

All the best,
GB

BOATLIFT, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience - The Video - A Must Watch

This video is pretty amazing (using the word literally). I don't remember seeing it before now, and it came out almost two years ago. Of course, when it came out, I may have seen it and forgotten it as I was bogged down by chemo brain shortly after it first aired on YouTube. Still though, it made such an impression on me tonight that, I think I would remember this video even if I was in the ending stages of Alzheimer's. Trust me, it is worth the watch about a 9/11 story of which little was told in the media. 



A hat tip to mein zuverlässiger Freund, Rich M., with whom I worked at 6 WTC.

All the best,
Glenn B

Fruit of the Week (Midweek Edition Because I Missed The Weekend)

Tonight's ambrosia consists of three pineapple spears, two bananas, a peach, a nectarine and about 1/2 cup of apple juice with the juice of one whole lemon added to the mix. I must say it was mmmmm-mmm delicious - even before I added the Vodka (which for some unknown but sad reason was the only hard spirit I had on hand that was worth mixing). Now that it has a decent proportioned dollop of vodka in it, it is even tastier.

I even used the mix for my crested Geckos, my Mossy Gecko and my blpaitca roaches - that is of course - without Vodka. I think they will love it.

All the best,
Glenn B