Some Hoard Toilet Paper - Not Me

Me, I have a decent stock of ammo built up. If the dems take control of all three houses - The Senate, The House of Representatives & The White House - there most assuredly will be a huge tax implemented on guns & ammunition. How huge, try 35% or higher; I am pretty certain that was the figure they tried in their last attempt to  tax the people out of being able to purchase ammunition. The dems, led by the raving lunatic Schumer have tried to legislate such a tax for decades. We pay enough, actually more than enough, taxes right now. They may also try to legislate what types of ammo and how much of it someone can buy. Thus I have a  abundant amount of ammo built up and keep adding to it. 

Heck, the democrats, should they gain overwhelming control of the government, may even attempt to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I am sure it seems like an outrageous idea to some, the talk of an extremist (which I am not) but it does not seem all that far fetched to me. This is next to last month of 2020. Did you ever imagine, even for a moment, that things that happened in the United States this year would have ever happened - not just in your lifetime but ever? Had I made some predictions last year in 2019 and told you that a group of fascists, garbed in black, would take over and defiantly rule some of our cities or at least pars of them and that authorities would facilitate them doing so and even march with them - would you have believed me? Had I told you that hundreds of thousands of people would demand defunding the police - would you have believed that? What about elected officials assisting rioting crowds to tear down monuments, not only of confederate soldiers but also of Abraham Lincoln in the name of fighting racism? Lincoln of all presidents! Would you ever have imagined cities in flames as rioting and looting became commonplace and state & local elected officials would do nothing to stop and in some instances encourage such behavior then would attempt to to claim the president of the United States was responsible for causing or exasperating them, while at the same time turning down his offers for assistance at regaining the peace? You probably would have said I was nuts had I told you they were coming within the next year. Could you ever have imagined the response of governors of some states to a global pandemic was to blame our president for it while governors like the one in NY who allegedly forced elderly ill patients into nursing homes spreading the virus among the most vulnerable & where thousands died because of his orders; and even though NY had the highest death rate (up at least until I wrote this as far as I am aware) - the governor in essence would claim that his was the shining example of how to deal with such a crisis as he failed to utilize emergency hospitals and a hospital ship provided by the federal government? I culd not have imagined that even that bloviating buffoon Cuomo could have done so but apparently he did. 

Then somehow - crisis full speed ahead - it wound up that some folks felt a need to stockpile toilet paper! Would you ever have believed, even or a moment, that during a crisis, one of he first things stores ran out of, absolutely down to the bare shelves, would be toilet paper. Not me. That anticipated tax on ammo that I mentioned above, the one I think dems would be sure to legislate if they gain full control, I do not anticipate such a tax on toilet paper no matter what (but of course I could be wrong) so I am not running out with the droves of hockey mom preppers and stay-at-home daddies to buy reams of it. I see no need to build a stockpile of it; I do however have one or two spare package(s) of it any given time as I do with most things. I try to keep enough on hand, of anything, to be ready for what may come, in fact I have a need to do so that is ingrained into my psyche. It’s not that I am driven by the mentality of a hoarder – I do not hoard things except maybe ammunition but I usually have at least something extra of the things I use frequently so that I could use them in the event of an emergency. What kind of emergency, one that would ether cut off supply or prevent me from going out to get it. It could be as simple as me coming down with the flu or something more exotic like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (and I know first hand about how debilitating is that one) and being to ill to go out shopping with any regularity. 

Right now, should our supply line, of the necessities of life those we usually get at the supermarket and other stores, somehow be cut off, I  could survive for at least 1 if not 3 months on my current stocks and do so comfortably during shortages of just about anything. Well anything except maybe some of my medications because they are prescription meds but I do have a supply of the really important ones set aside to last at least a few extra weeks  – hopefully they will not be needed and hopefully I could survive without them if I ran out.

The fact is this: I have an actual psychological need to have some extra set aside for leaner times. That mindset, the one making me prepare for tough times is a healthy one not the mental illness of a true hoarder. It is due to a few very good things in my life that shaped who I am today: my great-grandmother telling & teaching my siblings and I about her poverty stricken life in Europe where her family was taxed to the point they enjoyed the luxury of eating meat only a few times per year (their animal protein was almost solely from eggs & dairy products and they had little of that as well) and how she came to America and gained wealth through sheer determination & very hard work; my mother suffering through the Great Depression and telling me & my siblings stories about it and thereby teaching us the valuable lesson that having a good work ethic could pull us through; my family was dirt poor when I was young and my mom worked extremely hard to provide for us; and finally - a cold war mind-set to be prepared for the end of the world as we knew it maybe even for the end times. They seemed near – those end times - as Krushchev & Kennedy brought the world ever so close to nuclear destruction. Tough times and the promise of the literal end of the world, at least as we knew it seemed to hover too close over our heads every day of my childhood into my teens and early adulthood. That was just the way of the world as it was back then but my family taught me how to prepare for it and survive to some good degree. I learned more on my own as an adult while I worked for a living.

Those things and the work ethic that I saw in my great-grandparents and in my mom, who worked hard for every penny they had (and my great grandparents amassed a good amount of wealth after they came to America pretty much penniless) were painstakingly passed onto me and shaped my life. It all prepared me for a lifestyle in which I'd work hard to achieve having something to always put aside for leaner times. Luckily for me and my generation, leaner times were mostly avoided but that dragon may have been disturbed in its slumbers and it looks have reared its ugly head on the near horizon. If you are not prepared for it, shame on you. If you want to prepare now, you're a little late but as is said - better than never. Toilet paper though should be just about the least of your concerns as to what to have on hand should that dragon come your way.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

What Is The Shelf Life Of Modern Non-Corrosive Ammunition?

The title of this piece is a question I often wonder about. Current & recent manufacturers of ammunition often state their ammo will last 10 years. From what I can gather about that, the consensus is that figure is essentially made up for legal reasons but I am none too sure that is the case. Many of the self appointed experts on ammo shelf life, who tell you that seemingly have no clue if that is correct or if at least some modern ammunition (that made within the past 50 years for the purposes of this piece) will actually only last 10 years others say almost indefinitely. My guess is almost all quality ammo will last much longer than 10 years but I wish someone could tell me factually how long it will actually last. Those who write about it often make reference to ammunition that was made 50 to 100 years ago that still fires reliably and imply that today's ammo would be much the same. For one example of such, see: https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/10/28/can-ammunition-go-bad/

The thing is that ammo made more than 30 years ago has a good chance of having been made using corrosive primers (keeping it to western countries, East Bloc countries were still producing corrosive military ammo, I think, into the 1980s and may still be doing so for all I know). I have been told (personal communication with several gunsmiths, military collectors and ammo dealers) that it is a known fact the materials used to make those old time primers does not break down much over time and thus ammo from way back then often works just fine today if it was stored properly over the years. I have also been told that modern, non-corrosive, primer materials are quite different and will breakdown over a period of 20 to 25 years. Me, I don't know and I do not know if the folks who told me so actually knew and thus the question in the title: What is the shelf life of modern non-corrosive ammunition.

What I do know is there are poor ways to store ammo and better ways. I try using the somewhat better methods but do not go to extremes. So, I have stored it in climate controlled rooms inside sealed ammo cans for the most part. Climate controlled? Yeah, inside my house at ambient room temperature on the cool side - as in my basement. I also keep it at low humidity or at least try. So, sometimes I put desiccant pack into the ammo can along with the ammunition. By saying I do not go to extremes, I mean I do not do things like vacuum sealing every box of ammo or ammo can a some folks do.

What about results? I can say without a doubt, the ammo I have stored that way, so far, has all reliably fired whenever I have decided to shoot up some of the older stuff; some of that being 25 years old or older. Right now, I think the oldest commercially available defensive pistol ammo I have on hand is probably from the mid-1980s to mid 1990s. That is Winchester 9mm NATO FMJ ammunition. Never a problem, it goes bang every time. I think I have only a box or two of it left and doubt I'll shoot it; probably will keep it for nostalgic reasons. It is from the time when I with the U.S. Custom Service Office of Investigations running narcotics smuggling & money laundering investigations but also had collateral duties as a firearms instructor (no I was not a desk jockey) and got oodles of free ammo for practice to keep up my skills. I also have some older 22 LR ammo that still goes bang too, some probably from the 1960s or 1970s. Always amazes me that it still goes off if I shoot it up; the thing about it though is I'll not ever depend on it as defensive carry ammo but I might need to with some of my older 9mm someday. I know, I probably should have rotated it out years ago.

I also have some other old defensive pistol ammo in the form of Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point +P. I think I have around a case of that from shortly after 9/11 - replacement ammo paid for by my homeowners insurance due to loss of personal ammo I had stored at our range in 6 WTC on 9/11. That stuff, I think, needs to start getting shot up but right about now for practice. I am going to hate to use it because it is about 1/3 of my 9mm JHP and may be irreplaceable with current politics as they are but I doubt it will last forever so may as well use it up soon. Again, I know, I probably should have rotated it out years ago; yet, I am wondering if it will last another 19.5 years or so and still go bang.

Anyway - back to the question more or less: Does anyone here have any actual technical, manufacturing, scientific knowledge as to the shelf life of how long modern made non-corrosive ammunition will last and still go bang reliably? That it lasts well beyond 10 years, even 20 to 25 years if properly stored, is doubtless at least in my experience. What do you guys think?

All the best,
Glenn B

Now That Would Have Left A Mark...

 ...a big crater shaped pock mark, or so I am guessing. The earth just missed getting clobbered by a small house sized asteroid last Friday - Friday the 13th (must have been our lucky day), one that was moving at over 30 thousand miles per hour. Actually they figure it would have disintegrated had it gotten closer to our atmosphere but when was the last time they actually witnessed one that big get that close, with 250 miles, and actually head right at us instead of skimming by like this one did so that they know for sure! Never. (Source.)

Ouch.

All the best,
Glenn B

So, I Was Sitting Here In My Chair At My Laptop...

 ...just a few minutes ago listening to Rush, online, when he took a commercial break. I was not paying much attention to the commercials, could not tell you what any of them were about; well, except for one. One began with a mellow voiced middle American accented gentleman talking about spanking. He went on to discuss how spanking is an age old, effective and totally acceptable, form of discipline for children. It was excellent, not only because of the screaming spanked children 👿 in the background, but because I fully believe such to be the case - that spanking is acceptable, when only done if truly needed and when the spanker is not at all angry but completely in control of his or her emotions. 

I spanked both of my kids a few times in their younger days, usually on the thighs although my son got it on his arse more than once, even did it with a belt once to each (very mildly - but snapping that belt a few ties & giving them only one light whack had all the desired effect you could want and later all I needed was to snap it leather on leather not on butt and it worked. 

Anyway, they got their truly fair share of spanking, their share of which was pretty rare and only when the transgression was serious enough to warrant the fear of a an arse whooping (more so than an actual spanking of any severity). Spankings of my daughter ceased probably when she was about 10-12, at least from me - left it to the wife to decide if she ever needed another which she did not. When my son was about 12 or so, and had done something very seriously wrong, I told him to drop his drawers (something my daughter never had to do)  & bend over my knee. I had waited about 5 or 10 minutes after telling him off in a fury - because I did not want to administer any punishment that was even in part fueled by my anger over what he had done (and I was angry that time).  He hesitated and sheepishly asked if there was some other way we could handle it because it was embarrassing to him. That was good. Why? Well because he knew or guessed I respected him enough to give him and option and because he knew what he had done was serious and deserved punishment but also had arrived at a level of maturity to know there were other ways to do that without spanking him. That exhibited quite a bit of maturity and responsibility for a 12 year old. So, we talked over what he had done wrong and I obtained a solemn promise he'd never do it again, and I doled out a punishment after asking him what he thought it should be (and his idea was more severe than what I had in mind). Of course, I also told him if he did ever again, he'd not only get the belt but would get it hard (it was that serious). He never did it again (and the it shall remain a mystery to you forever).

Back to that commercial with which I agreed and enjoyed. The amazing thing about it was that at the end the gentleman said it was sponsored by the state legislature of Oklahoma. You'd never here anything like that in NY from its legislature! I love it here even if where I live is a pimple on the backside of Texas.

Pardon me if there are any obvious spelling or grammatical errors above, my hip has been killing me; so, I just drank a modified zombie with four different types of rum and am having a large dollop of white rum right now because the pain medication has failed miserably and it hurts like hell and I've got to kill that zombie without delay! 

ETA: got a decent afternoon of sleep regardless of the pain and that was a good thing, pain is much less now.

All the best,
Glenn B

Liberals Truly Can Be Stupid...

 ...and sometimes are so idiotic as almost to be beyond belief. I saw what must have been the mist ridiculous bumper sticker today, wish I could have gotten a picture. It was right there among several other stickers expressing leftist viewpoints but it stuck out if only because of its profound wrogness. What was printed on it was this:

INDIANS DISCOVERED AMERICA 

If you do not instantly realize what is absolutely incorrect and extremely moronic about that, on more than one level, I recommend going back to elementary school for some 4th or 5th grade history lessons as they were taught - by Mrs. Brophy in St. Pancras RC School in Glendale, NY - back in the mid-1960s before ultra-leftist ideology began to take over the education of our children and to reshape history itself.

All the best,
Glenn B

With The Additional Ballots Found In GA...

 ...one cannot arrive at the conclusion that there was voter fraud but it surely adds fuel to Trump's fire when he claims such because it is hard evidence that things were, at the very least, very wrong. Just 5,639 ballots (source) are not going to change the tide even if all of the votes were for President Trump. Yet, it certainly makes one wonder, since they found them, how many others might be found and/or how many others were destroyed instead of being misplaced and thus not counted. 

They had an awful lot of time in those final battleground states to do a lot of things to corrupt the vote when suddenly all of those states stopped counting votes for an extended period of time.Why did that first in history concurrent cessation of the counts (in what was it - 4 states) during mid-count take place and exactly what was being done by those states' election authorities when the counts were stopped? This is just getting deeper & deeper as we move along.

I suspect it may get deeper yet. In fact, I am surprised that the Democrats have not tried to blame the Republicans & President Trump for the temporarily missing ballots. Why would they do that, you may wonder. I think they may yet try to say that Trump and his allies arranged for them to be hidden and left uncounted until the point at which the president contested the vote and then they'd suddenly be found to boost the president's claims that there was corruption. In other words that the Republicans arranged all this to look like corruption on the part of the Democrats in a clever attempt by President Trump to unlawfully hold up the election process and the certification of Biden as the President Elect. Nope, it would not surprise me at all if the dems tried to say such, they have said every other fantastically unbelievable thing about him to try to oust him over the past 4 years, why not try this as well.

All the best,
Glenn B

Cool & Comfy For A Long Winter's Snooze

My tortoise enclosure's hibernaculum (actually a brumation chamber as they brumate as opposed to hibernate) is complete. Well, it's almost finished; it needs a ramp or platform so they can easily get into it but they could do without if push came to shove. 

Anyway, now my Hermann's Tortoises will brumate properly and thus the male's sperm count will likely rise quite a bit; hopefully to the point where he, as I suspect right now, no longer shooting blanks. Only one egg out of about 16 eggs the female produced in the past 3 years was fertile and that one died while incubating when left in the care of my wife for a couple of weeks when I was moving. Previously the female Hermann's tortoise had quite a few eggs that hatched successfully. The number one culprit, me not brumating them properly. They need a cool down period, each winter, to be fertile with any reliability. As for my male Redfoot Tortoise, he stays inside for most of the winter; while they may brumate in the most southerly part of their range, it's my understanding that most Redfoots probably do not or only do so for a brief and mild winter throughout most of their range.

 

 

The overall enclosure has 8 foot long walls, each board is about 6" high and it is about 36" wide; the slotted blocks add a little more to the dimensions. It was one big enclosure before but I built in the hibernaculum (brumation chamber as they brumate not hibernate) recently and finished today. The brumation chamber has the black plastic tub so it will get some heat buildup on sunny days heat even if it gets really cold outside. The walls are built up with an extra 6" tall board and 1 block higher that were not there before. The bottom board, of the brumation chamber, above ground helps prevent substrate falling out if they come out on warmer winter days. That substrate is where they will dig and bury themselves. There is a baffle wall of those slotted blocks inside (three deep and two across from front wall to outer wall to keep the substrate from falling toward the opening (seen in front wall) and thus falling out (to the right of the opening as you view it). The substrate to the right (your right as you view it) is as high as all three boards, giving them a good depth under which to cover themselves while retaining enough heat to survive (or that is the plan). I have potting soil, coco fiber, cypress mulch, and plant material (leaves, dead cucumber & tomato plants and such) added in there all chopped up as substrate. The plant material slowly decomposing will produce some heat, probably more than enough heat to assure it does not freeze. That is important because all the substrate is atop a concrete patio and they cannot dig down into the earth as they normally would do so and did in my rear lawn when in NY. I have an indoor thermometer with an outdoor sensor hooked up that shows current temperature as well as the high and low for a 24 hour period. If it gets too cold inside the chamber then they will be brought inside but I am confident they will be able to stay outside all winter in that setup.

All the best,
Glenn B 

Ammo Shortage Over Soon - Don't Bet On It

 As per Vista Outdoors in a Fox Business news report, they have a $1 billion backlog of orders that they do not expect to fill for at least one year! (Source - if the link does not work, copy and paste this: https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/vista-outdoors-ammunition-backlog-billion.amp. Fox sucks when using links like I just did.) 

Since I doubt the ammo buying frenzy is going to stop any time soon, I imagine that backlogged orders for ammo and the amount of time it takes to fill them will both increase markedly in that time frame at least if the democrat actually becomes president. For some reason they keep calling him the president elect but that is not official yet so one can still hold onto hope.

If hope is lost because he does get in, you will have done well to have bought ammo and guns now if you are short, even at today's super inflated prices. The best price, on AmmoSeek.com, for 9mm (as I type) was $597.95 for a case (1,000 rounds @ almost 58 cents per round) and that was for Russian steel cased crap. The best price on brass cased 9mm, from a familiar to me & well known manufacturer was $675.95 (1,000 rounds @ almost 68 cents per round) for Winchester FMJ. To think, that Winchester ammo was probably going for around $180 - $190 per case less than a year ago. I should have held onto my OLN and VSTO stocks!

All the best,
Glenn B

Bury Them But Not Too Deep - Do It Now

I've heard it said that if you think it's time to bury your weapons - then it is really the time start using them instead - that being to overthrow a tyranny. I don't believe that for a second. In fact, I think now is the time to bury some but also to keep some handy just in case. Why bury them? Well, I am just about convinced that no matter what legal actions are taken now and in the near future - on January 20, 2021 - a democrat will become president.

The democrat in question is an avowed enemy of the Right To Keep & Bear Arms (RKBA). He has made it absolutely clear that his plan is to confiscate guns evidently starting with AR-15 and the like. Far prior to the election he named some guy with the ridiculous ethnic name of Beto (ridiculous because his ethnicity does not match that of the name as I am give to understand) as his gun confiscation czar. His VP is also extremely anti-gun and was reportedly the most liberal Senator in our history. She seems very pro-criminal from what, for the most part, I have read about her - as in pro-releasing them onto the streets and hoping to get them to vote leftist.

The possible choices/nominees, for this potential president's cabinet, will chosen from some of the looniest political figures I have ever seen in my lifetime. One an avowed socialist who wants to do away with billionaires but yet is at least a millionaire himself; another who whooped it up as if she were a full blooded native of this continent and then in sum & substance claimed - see I told you I was part Indian and it's been proven because I am like1/100,000th (or whatever) native American, another who is a wanna-be gun grabber (the guy with the ethnic name that does not fit) and on and on.

They did very little down to nothing to try to stop the recent insurgency - if you have not noticed that was all the looting, arson, rioting, assaults, murders and daily illegal protests that were obviously politically motivated no matter what false claims they made that they were doing so for nobler reasons. Those same folks, nut jobs many of them, have been arming themselves in great numbers as never before. The NICS checks in October 2020 have far surpassed, by extreme numbers, those of any other month during the history of the NICS system (a system to run background checks on those purchasing firearms from dealers & gun shows). These guns are not inexpensive nor is their ammunition; in fact since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices of them began to sky-rocket and a buying frenzy ensued. Shortly after that, George Floyd was killed by police and the protests and riots began. Those soon morphed into anything but away to honor Mr. Floyd and peacefully protest his death or support for his family. What they turned into were socialists/communist agitators trying to destroy the United States of America, the rights of its people and its Constitution while at the same time continuing the years long effort to demolish the presidency of President Donald Trump. That only added fuel to the firearms & ammunition buying frenzy and more and more members of the far left bought the very same guns & ammo they have hoped for years to take away from moderates & conservatives.

Then, as the election drew nearer, more and more on all sides of the political area began to panic and buy as much as they could of firearms, ammunition, and accessories for them. The prices kept going up. Some ammunition that sold for $189 for a thousand rounds (a round = an individual cartridge) were soon selling for $1.00 apiece or $1,000 per case of 1,000 rounds. (Some may think that a lot of ammo but it is probably enough for 5 trips to the range during which a moderate amount of shooting practice is accomplished.) The election is over now and the intense buying continues ad because supplies have dwindled and production cannot keep up with demand, prices apparently will keep rising. I have heard it said by ammunition manufacturers that had President Trump won reelection, it would have taken at least one year for production to have gotten back to normal and longer for prices to do so. With the democrat as our president, I heard (no verified) that ammo company big wigs believe ammunition prices will keep going up over the course of the next ear to where the same thousand rounds of ammo will cost $3,000.00 - or each round $3.00 apiece (speaking about something like 9mm handgun fodder).

Have you wondered for even a moment where folks are getting the money to pay for all these guns and all this ammo. Folks on the right - those with no or very little time to protest anything are short on time for that because they work for a living. Sure, many folks on the left work too but it is obvious, at least to me and others of like mind and should be to you too, that those on the left, especially the far left do not work - at least not regularly and are either on the government doles or making money illegally. Look at the protestors, those in ANTIFA and in BLM. Do they all have jobs - if so - how do they work while being involved in all the protesting? They probably don't - that is do not work at least not at a 40 hour a week job. So where are they getting the money to buy guns  ammo - especially at the current inflated prices? My guess is illegally - as from selling drugs or stolen property -  or possibly though handouts from the likes of people akin to Soros or Bloomberg. Not necessarily them but others like the with oodles of money to give away to the cause of destroying the free market, capitalism, our rights, our Constitution & the USA but most of all dedicated to destroying Donald Trump. While I cannot prove any such allegation please note I did not make an allegation, I just said it is a possible source of their funds that I consider may be such. Certainly, while it may have been a bit of a start, the pandemic stimulus funds were in no way enough to explain it all way. I'd sure like to be the fly on the money giving place wall to find out how these liberal vagabonds got enough money to cause record breaking sales.

So, by now you may think, man oh man Ballseye did you ever go off on a tangent, far from your initial thought of it being time to bury guns & ammo. I have not, I am trying to stress why it is important. First off because if the democrat gets in - guns will be confiscated - at least from conservatives and supporters of the by then previous president and I have already explained that. Next, the extreme leftist known as AOC, is already calling for a blacklist of sorts (source) for they who supported President Trump and there are others in Hollywood who are or were doing the same (source 1) (source 2). Then there is an independent website (I think independent of AOC) also dedicated to such (lost the link, but if I find it again, I'll post it). Secondly, those on the left who have been buying guns & ammo will almost certainly run out of money if the democrat becomes president. Why? Well, if funded by the likes of leftist billionaires, I think it likely they will cease handing out such funds because their man got in. They may get some more from future stimulus payments and from jobs - if and when enough low paying part time jobs come back soon enough if an when the pandemic isolation orders cease. But where will they get enough if prices continue to rise? They won't and thus I believe they will resort to the list that AOC wants to formulate- or others like it - and they will target conservatives & moderates who supported trump and the RKBA and will try to take them either by outright use of force or by stealthy theft. Do you think me believing such a situation will come about is preposterous? Think again and go back just one year from today and tell me: Did you think their would be mass protest sin the streets, in liberal cities & towns (and even the countryside) during which fascist groups such as ANTIFA (and make no mistake they are fascists), did you think there ever would be a movement called Defund The Police, did you think even after that movement commenced that it would be supported by prominent democrats ad even provoked by them to do more damage than already done, did you ever think that when the president of the United States of America offered to help end the looting, rioting, arson, assaults and murders that the democrat leaders f the affected areas would basically spit in his face and tell him he was causing the problem (too bad trump did not declare martial law and deal with it swiftly and convincingly because then there would be no chance of an extreme leftist democrat in the Oval office in January).

Yes, with all that going on and with things promising to get worse - maybe even as bad as it was/is in Venezuela (once the richest country in South America taken to its knees in abject poverty with the rights of its people destroyed in only a couple or few years - do you not think it possible or even probably that you should prepare for the worst and that doing so means you should have something in the way of firearms and ammunition set aside - hidden - safe  and ready to be retrieved and used in the event an all out tyranny, the aim of which is to shoot down our Constitution and destroy our rights and our great nation country comes to be. I sure as heck do!

All the best,
Glenn B

Some Comment Notifications Lost In The Ozone I Guess

Got an email yesterday from one of my regular readers asking about he comment he had sent in and wondering why it had not been published. I never received an email notification for it, went through my comments and found a few others likewise. Posted his and another, deleted the rest as they were spam. 

 Had a problem like this before where Blogger stopped sending notifications but this time it may have been my email since I did receive so many other notifications from Blogger in the same time frame as the ones I did not receive. If however, it is Blogger, I'd have to guess it has to do with their new and dumbed-down format and user controls. They went from what I thought was a very good blogging platform to what I see as a pretty much an absolutely moronic way of doing things. I think, it's truly like a pre-teen or young teenager designed the new format as part of a class project that he or she failed miserably. Why they attempted to fix what truly was not broken is beyond my comprehension - unless they were trying to become appealing to the brain dead.

All the best,
GB

PS: Yes I just backed up my blog just in case the hammer falls because I wrote that.

Happy Veteran's Day

 

Here is hoping all of the honorably discharged veterans of our nation's military services have an extra special day today. Thank you for your service.

All the best,
Glenn B

Advice From Moonpie

 Moonpie being yet another guy on a gun forum. His advice of a day or three ago was to start buying magazines (as in those that likely will be banned if that seemingly leftist, child petting, racist, women's hair stroking, klan loving, segregation opposing, China loving, nepotism promoting, gun hating POS Biden actually gets into the oval office - this time as top dog - which by the way is my opinion of Biden, I have no clue as to Monnpie's). It probably would not be long before he puts out some executive order to criminalize them & to confiscate them (or should the Dems take the Senate - before a ban is enacted into law). Illegal - probably as all heck but if he or the Senate does it and if his minion obey, think of the hassle trying to reverse it - it could take years if not decades. I also recommend hiding a good number of them if he gets in - just in case of whatever - mind you not to do anything illegal.

I already ordered another 10 aluminum, 30 round, AR15 magazines by Bushmaster from Numrich (aka: GunPartsCorp.com). Not a bad price at about $108.00 shipped from NY to TX. Note, if you look for them they show a much higher price until in your cart and it has to be the offer for a single lot of ten of them, not ten that you put in your cart by inputting the number ten into the little 'number of items' box. I suppose I may as well post the link, the one showing the sale pirice: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/1437110A. 

Recently purchased Beretta 92 series mags and ordered some Glock 19 mags; now to look for some steel 30 round AK mags. It evidently is coming folks - be ready - the left apparently is out for retribution for the four years in which they were denied their goddess of sorts - Hillary Clinton.

All the best,
Glenn B

A First BB Gun For Christmas (or whenever)

 Here I go with another gun forum related post, second in a row.This is my reply to a parent thinking of getting either an Air Soft gun, a manually cocking B gun or a CO2 powered BB gun for his/her child. A few to several other forum members chimed in that a manually cocking BB gun is too difficult for a young child to cock (the child will be around 5 1/2 years old at Christmas).

This was my reply, advice I lived by when teaching my kids almost anything:

"Whether to tough for him or not, I strongly recommend a manual cocking BB rifle. They are inherently safer than a CO2 powered BB gun. Think about long and hard because w"hat is the most important issue here - I think safety. You can cock the gun for him and you can teach him to do it with your assistance and he will become ever so happy & proud when he finally can do it himself. Think of that and the bonding while you help him do it - hands on father (or mother) to son  (or daughter) teaching. That is how you get the right way going in kids and not by handing him something so easy to do he can do it right away and thus have more of a chance of not learning to do it the best and safest way over a longer and surer to set in set of instructions from dad (or mom).

You will notice I left out the whole idea of an Airsoft. Airsoft it too much like a toy to me; so, I would use a metal BB gun that is closer to a real firearm if I was ultimately intent on teaching my child to shoot real guns. Toys do not translate to danger for most kids; explain and make sure it sinks in that a BB gun is not a toy.

As far as I am/was concerned, the same goes/went for first firearms. I started my daughter and son off with a bolt action rifle. Then only after that was seen to be handled appropriately and well, did they move onto semi-auto rifles and that took quite awhile 9(not a day nor a week nor a month - maybe half a year or more). I made it fun and they each had fun. Lots of folks say their kids would be bored with a bolt action rifle and probably think the same about a mechanical cocking BB gun. That is balderdash, at least it is balderdash if you teach them the right way by doing it the right way yourself and showing them your enthusiasm about teaching them the basics with the basics. In other words keep ot safe & serious but make it fun not only for the child but for you. Moving on to bigger and better things should be a reward for them doing it right with the first tools - it should not be a participation trophy kind of a thing but something earned.

I also look at it this way, any parent who says something like 'a mechanically cocking BB gun is to difficult fore their child to handle' and therefore is going to get the kid a CO2 powered gun, quite possibly is either getting one too soon or is just too plumb lazy to take the time to teach the child how to do it right until the child gets it right himself or herself. You will be missing out on a much better bonding experience doing it the easy way instead of the the better way that takes more time and effort on both your parts.

Good luck with it all."

All the best,
Glenn B

 

So A Guy In A Gun Forum Said...

...this in response to folks being what he seems to think is overly concerned about Biden possibly becoming president (and yes there is an outside possibility he will not become president - one can hope):

"It’s almost like people think we lost the senate and SCOTUS doesn’t have a 5-4 constitutional majority...

I better run outside and scream at the sky while there’s still time"

 This was my reply:

"Well, going with the "It's almost like some people think" kind of a thing, let me says this:

It is as if some folks do not recall the amount of executive orders put into place by both President Obama & President Trump or think that they also can be done by any president (on either side) and if Biden becomes president it certainly will not favor our side as supporters of the Constitution nor our most precious right, the RKBA, when he gives such orders. Also bear in mind President Trump nor Obama needed both sides of Congress there when passing executive orders - Congress be damned was the theme. There is nothing, that I can see right now, to legally stop Biden for doing it tenfold beyond all the executive orders they put forth combined.

Then there are the RINOs in the Senate that will kiss Biden's arse just as they kissed Obama's (should Biden actually become president - lawsuits are pending and hopefully can straighten out any inconsistencies or fraud in the election). John McCain was the leader of that pack with Mitt Romney following close among others, even Mitch McConnell all too often seemed to poke his turtle head right through but going the wrong way into Obama's arse to appease him and the left.

If the 5-4 Supreme Court decides that executive orders are not legal in too broad a manner, that could undo all the good president Trump did with those he gave to the betterment of this nation. If they look too narrowly, then each of any such orders given by Biden, should he actually become president, maybe would have to be looked at on what could become an order by order basis and where would the money come to pay for all those legal actions? I think you are looking at it with a very narrow view considering all that could happen under a Biden administration.

You do realize, once he becomes president (if so), the economy will suddenly start to correct itself and then bloom and blossom into a vibrant one just by way of blue states, like NY & CA, dropping all or most of the COVID-19 restrictions on work places. As soon as places of business, those that have not gone under, begin to open en masse again, people will love it - they will be going out, working, making money, driving around, buying gas; going out to: dine, to the movies, to shop, to go on vacation and they will be spending their hard earned dollars all over the place. Their dollars from work that it will appear Joe Biden gave them by saving the economy by convincing Dem states to reduce or eliminate restrictions. By the way, those new found dollars will replace the ones many just ran out of while their unemployment benefits expired. Do you think when that happens people will think back and say it's just like it was under President Trump's pre-pandemic economy and we have trump to thank? Or, is it possible, they will see Biden as now having the magic wand that eluded Obama and see Biden as the one waving it and making the economy boom. If he somehow keeps it going for 4 years - the dems very likely will be reelected in 2024 no matter what else they do to screw things up or head us toward socialism. Of course, before they do that, they will attempt to pass a huge pandemic relief bill to give people free money from the G (there's that socialism thing sneaking in there) and it will be much bigger than anything given by the Trump administration. Think it won't pass, just watch the RINOs line up to kiss his arse as they did under Obama.

In addition, Biden will probably get the rioting and looting to stop within 6 months at most because of any economic stimulus package that will appease the looters & rioters. He probably will start programs like the one under which Obama had attempted (or at least wished) to make the police & federal law enforcement as strong as our military (remember his promise to do so - what was his goal but tyranny). The devil in the eyes of the Dems will have been removed from his throne and their god will have risen to it with Camel-Toe the most liberal of all the other past democratic senators at his side VP Elect Kamala Harris and the insurrectionists of the left will be appeased and wait for direction from Biden or other leftists like Soros and Bloomberg.

Personally, I do not think Biden is not going to survive his first four years in office. Actually, my guess would be he does not make two years maybe not even one before he is either declared incompetent or before he suddenly dies of something like an accidental fall or a stroke (maybe with a tiny needle-hole hidden somewhere on his body through which an undetectable poison was injected to 86 him - think Clintonesque). I truly believe the democrats in power do not want him as their president and they believe that not only is he expendable but that he was pushed though because they wanted someone who is expendable and who already comes with a ready made reason for an unexpected death or to be booted out of office - a reason like dementia or some other deteriorating brain disease (from which he already seemingly suffers). I think he is extremely burdensome to their leftist causes and that they would prefer Harris to be in that position with her super extreme leftist agenda.

I suppose some folks really do not see some or maybe even any of that but it is the way I think it could and may happen - all that without me screaming at anyone or anything - especially not at the sky. After all the abhorrent, non-factual, bogus, outright dishonest and seemingly criminal ways they tried to eliminate president Trump from the office of the presidency, I would not for a moment fail to imagine those things or worse will possibly be attempted by the Democrats to push through their socialist agenda and push Biden out of their way while doing so."

Well, that's how I see it anyway - no screaming at the sky required.

That done, I am going to Homer's Depot to buy some wood and slotted garden blocks to finish the hibernaculum on my tortoise enclosure.

All the best,
Glenn B 

 

From Father To Son

I purchased another Ortgies in 32 AUTO not all that long ago, already had one of them. I knew my son liked to shoot my original one and while he'd get it sooner or later depending on when I croak - I got that second one and gave it to him. Just transferred it to him through a dealer in AR on Monday. I have a decent amount of 32 ACP on hand to give him also. Me thinks: he is going to have lots of shooty goodness fun with it.

November 6, 2020, Edited to Add: So my son went to Academy Sports today where he picked up a single box of 32 AUTO because I forgot to bring some with me last weekend when I visited him. Damn - $35.00 per box of 50! Luckily I have over 1500 rounds of it to share with him; so, maybe I'll be generous and give him a box.😏

All the best,
GB

Dark Storm Clouds Approcahing

I am afraid, very afraid that the United States of America, as we know it, is about to be forever lost. I hope I am wrong but it looks dark & stormy on the horizon and as if it inevitably is moving this way. It would make me very happy to be very wrong but the outlook is not promising right now.

Still hoping for the best,
Glenn B  

Was In Bed Snoozing...

 ...and woke up about an hour ago to take a whizz. Then I made the mistake of turning on the laptop, I looked at Fox News election results, I saw there was no winner yet and after about an hour of reading this and that about the election I am going back to bed. If Trump is not the winner, I will gnash my teeth tomorrow. Right now though, it looks as if he is on his way to win but too many votes still outstanding in WI, PA, NC & GA to tell. I am too tired to stay up for this, I'm getting to old I suppose but still voting Right.

Damn, did Trump really lose AZ??? That amazes me. Anyway, that's it for me for now.

All the best & goodnight,
GB

It's The Big Day Today...

 ...the one that will determine the course of our nation and her people over the course of the next four years. I do not know about you but I liked the economy booming as it was before the pandemic struck and like what I have heard so far about it beginning to rebound - both things I see as impossibilities under any leadership than our current president - President Donald Trump. I also liked the way things were going for employment (yes that is part of the economy but it deserves special and specific note). Under President Trump - employment was at its highest rate ever as I understand (I could be wrong but it was very high regardless) and it was so for minorities as well as the majority. Just look at the jobs brought back to the USA under his watch. People with jobs are happy people and more products are being made in America and if he is reelected the trend is likely to continue. Then there was and remains the cutback of government regulation - something that would never happen under a democrat president nor under the vast majority of Republican Presidents; I hope you have not forgotten that President Trump, by way of executive order, demanded elimination of two federal regulations for every new one put into effect. Of course, how can one forget judges appointed to the courts by President Trump - judges who are obvious supporters of the Constitution of the United States as opposed to progressive subversives who apparently want to infringe on all of our rights or eliminate them entirely while forming a socialist dystopia. Then there is the handling of terrorism, the elimination of terrorists and pulling many in our military out of harms way. As for our NATO allies he stands by them but he makes them pay their due - no other president in my lifetime that I can remember ever did that. There are many more things I could mention and all of the positives that I see have come about under our current president. I hope you see it too because it is very plain to see if you just open your eyes and your minds.

VOTE TRUMP!

All the best,
Glenn B

Been Busy All Weekend

 Drove over to Benton, AR on Friday to visit Brendan. Had a nice visit. We spent most of the weekend at a gun show in Conway where we had a couple of tables. Place seemed emptier than I thought it would have been prior to the show. That could have been because it was a pretty big all with lots of tables. I did notice a huge line outside the front doors a few times on Saturday and once on Sunday. 

 Did not sell much at all probably because any guns I offer up for sale have to go through an FFL for a transfer to the buyer (and that means the dealer with the FFL has to hold the gun to be given over to the buyer at the dealer's place of business not at the show -that due to some libturd rule about the imagined gun show loophole). Too say the least that would be very discouraging to any potential buyer; so, as it wound up, I sold zero guns and very little of anything else. 

I did transfer one gun but that was today, Monday, before I left AR. That was to my son through a dealer local to him. Gave him an Ortgies pistol in 32 AUTO. I actually left it with the dealer for Brendan to pick up after work today.

As for the rest of the vendors at the show, they seemed to be doing okay except for one who had a Glock pistol stolen off of his table. There was another attempt to steal a pistol, also a Glock, on Sunday but that crook got caught. When Skye & I were returning from a dog walk and trying to walk inside, the alleged thief and a possible accomplice almost knocked me over trying to get out, they were followed by three guys who all looked like vendors, whom I stepped aside for so they could catch the guy as it was obvious they were after him. The got got about 15-20 yards from the doors when a dealer caught up to him and he immediately gave the dealer the pistol. Then he skedaddled - FAST across the parking lot. I did not bother to watch much of the chase, I wanted to get Skye settled in back at our tables but did see a few overweight dealers trying to catch a trim youth. Then a really fit looking guy came out of the hall and got in on the chase. I saw later that they had caught the guy, I figured it was that young fit looking guy who must have caught up to him. The alleged crook was handcuffed, behind his back to a chair near the entrance, waiting for the police. My guess is he will wind up with free (for him) room & board in a furnished room cell for at least a year or more since they are not too easy on crooks down this way. Once an officer was there, I commented to him that he should be happy the dealers saved him the trouble of a footrace and he smiled and agreed, then said that he has chased the same guy before! It was nice to see the guy got caught. No clue if he was the same crook as the one who stole a Glock on the first day of the show.

Other than that, had a few drinks with Brendan Friday night before the show. We also went out Saturday night together for dinner with Skye along at a place that had an outdoor, dog friendly, seating area. Had a swell time.

All the best,
Glenn B

It Would Be Amazing...

 ...if before Tuesday (election day) one or more states had enough votes cast by its registered voters to determine who won that state in the election for the presidency. It certainly ought to be something if not easily figured out then certainly possible to determine if enough votes were cast & tallied for one or the other so that the remaining number of votes, even if all of them went to the guy with less votes, were not enough to help him.

Just imagine the storm of shit balderdash that would cause within the media and among the politicians & other talking heads who believe themselves know it all pundits. It would be very interesting to say the least.

All the best,
Glenn B