Are Ammo Prices About To Rise?

With the price of gasoline approaching $4.00 a gallon, even surpassing it already in some places (I paid $3.90 per gallon tonight but passed a palce where it was over $4.00) one has to wonder:

Are the prices of just about everything to go up again because shipping companies will raise prices due to increased gasoline expenses?

It happened last time gasoline prices were this high, so I imagine it could easily happen again. The thing about it this time is that after the last price increases, the prices did not fall proportionately when fuel prices fell. So, they are already getting more than they should be for most things. While that may keep prices down for a bit, if gas remains this high for more than a few weeks, my bet is that prices will skyrocket on everything from bacon to bullets. Thanks for all the hope and change!

Might I recommend - buy ammo and other bulk commodities now.

All the best,
Glenn B

Best Sick Leave Excuse Ever - Leave It To The Irish

I don't think I have ever heard a better excuse to bang in sick. If this is not the best sick excuse note you have ever heard of, then you must be Irish. The way I figure it, only another Irishman could out do this one!



All the best,
Glenn B

Close The U.S. - Mexico Border - Now

With all that has been going on in Mexico and the U.S. that is related to violence carried out by drug cartels, isn't it high time that we close the southern border. In my personal opinion, I think it is time for it. I also think it a shame we do not have anyone in government with balls enough to order it but again that is my personal opinion and I would so much like to be proven wrong. How many of our citizens or others have to die before we take this quite appropriate action. Let Mexico handle its problems by itself while we isolate ourselves from them. Put the military along the border, not to police our country but to prevent any further invasion of illegal aliens, and of drug smugglers and murderers. What has brought me to the point where I feel it necessary to close the borders. Well, to tell the truth, it was not the murder of my fellow ICE agent, nor the wounding of his partner, nor was it the killing of the Border Patrol Agent in Arizona, nor the killing of the tourist on the jet ski in Texas, nor the shooting of the missionary in Mexico, nor the killing of the Arizona rancher apparently by someone who entered illegally from Mexico then simply walked back across the border after the murder. Nope it was none of them.

It was this: Police: Arizona Beheading Incident Tied to Mexican Drug Cartel. Yeah, I realize it was probably a dirt bag, slime ball, drug smuggling illegal alien piece of shit who was killed and beheaded but the thing is this: Now this country has become as bad as Mexico. Not yet by the number of murders but certainly in the depravity. Well, could you ever have truly been surprised that it would come to that, what with so many illegals from down there up here. Oh yeah, that's right: If you are a leftist who has bent over backwards to kiss the ass of ILLEGAL aliens (aka: criminals) from Mexico, drug smugglers from Mexico, and allies of illegal aliens in groups like La Raza, I suppose it would come as a surprise to you. I mean, after all, hasn't it been you who have been bullshitting telling us as how good for the USA is illegal entry of Mexicans into this country.

Nope, after all is said and done, it seems you were wrong. People who thought like me were right. Illegal aliens crossing our borders, almost unabated, then allowed to remain here is our death knell as a nation and will only lead to a high rate of worse and worse criminal activity committed by the illegals. We thought it was bad with gangs like MS-13, well we ain't seen nothin' yet as far as the violence of the cartels goes; they make MS-13 members look like bumbling amateurs. These recent acts of violence and deaths, and now this beheading, are only the first taste of it. That is, unless someone in DC grows a set of balls huevos and gets them lo mas pronto posible (oh, I am so confused, which language should I use, oh that's right it's English) as soon as possible and orders the military to the southern border to stop the invasion by way of a complete border shutdown.

Again folks, THAT IS MY PERSONAL OPINION and it in no way shape or form effects how I do my job; I have to follow the rules, regulations, laws and orders without prejudice! Then again, it would not be prejudice, nor would it be a violation of any U.S. laws, to shut our borders down. The national emergency is here, the invasion has been ongoing for years, we are now reaping what the ultra leftists we have sown and we are, for the most part, ignoring it. The truth be told, it is not going to ignore us if we get in the way - it will just cut us down much like they cut off that guys head or killed all those others I mentioned. We really ought to shut it down and let Mexico fix itself. A border shutdown - a serious, complete and long term one - would certainly be a surefire incentive for hope and change in Mexico.

All the best,
Glenn B

Shooting About a 5" Group at 1,000 Yards - Could You Do It?

I doubt I could achieve that. I probably would be happy to shoot an approximate 5 inch group at 100 yards let alone 1,000 yards. On the other hand though, a WWII era shooter/sniper, Ted Gundy, well into his 80's, has accomplished just that. Simply amazing.



All the best,
Glenn B

The Last Lonely Eagle...

...has taken flight, heaven bound, never to again land on this earth. Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving veteran of U.S. Military forces, who served our nation in World War I, peacefully passed away at his home this past Sunday. He was truly, a man among men! He was 110 years old and was the last link to the Doughboys of WWI. To learn more about him, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Buckles

If you would like to hear about him, in his own words, then watch these two videos:





I salute him for his service both to his nation and to all of the others who served in WWI. You see, up until the day he died he was, as the honorary chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation, an advocate for the creation of a National WWI Memorial in our nation's capital. They hope to refurbish the existing but decrepit District of Columbia WWI memorial and have it reclassified as a National WWI Memorial. Why not honor Mr. Buckles by doing something to help end the shameful disgrace that he fought so hard to end - contact your elected officials today and demand that our government refurbish and reclassify the DC WWI Memorial as a National World War I memorial dedicated to those Americans who served during WWI.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 124 - Support Your Local Firearms Dealer or Buy Online?

I like getting a bargain on something and I will shop around, for a deal, in local shops, sometimes in distant shops (usually if traveling near one), and also at online dealers when looking to buy a firearm.

Some folks think it is best to buy from local dealers. I think it a good way to keep the local economy going and to help assure that the local dealer stays in business. Regardless of that though, sometimes still buy from an online dealer. While the reason for that can be the price, sometimes it is availability, other times it is customer service most times it is all three. It is not me doing a disservice to a local dealer by not buying from them when their prices are not competitive or are downright highly overpriced. Likewise, I am not doing a disservice to a local or online dealer when they do not offer, or will not order, a gun for which I am looking. Nor am I doing anything wrong when I avoid dealers who have less than at least good customer service.

While there are several criteria on which I base my decision to buy either from a local dealer or online dealer, one of the most important considerations is competitive pricing. I don't like getting ripped off, so I shop around to make sure the price is competitive. Included in the price are other considerations such as sales tax (locally, distant or online), shipping fees (online) and transfer fees (online). If I was going to buy a new gun online, and had to pay a transfer fee, I would shop around for the best value there too, I might even check to make sure that the shipping fee was reasonable. A few years ago, many FFL dealers or holders in my area were asking $50-$75 per transfer. I recently checked and found some, if not many, are now asking only $25-$35. I add that and shipping to the price of the firearm, from an online dealer, when I am doing price comparisons against local dealers. I will buy from a local dealer, even when paying a bit more than when buying elsewhere, but if the local dealer is still more than about 10% an online price as calculated above then guess from whom I buy.

Some of my local dealers had been selling Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifles, in very good to excellent arsenal refinish condition, for upwards of $175 each. When I inquired about buying one of those from a certain local dealer, with no other customers in the store, he acted as if I was being a pain in his backside for asking about it. That was over a year ago, I stopped shopping there since then. When I can buy the same rifle online for $100 plus about $20 shipping, from an online dealer who has given me great service in the past, which should I buy? It is easy for me to figure.

Recently though, at a gun show which I attended, one local dealer that was there had great prices on them, of $110 for hex receiver and $100 for round receiver models. I had been about to buy another online but when I saw his very competitive price, I considered buying one from the local guy. It was not price alone that got me to buying that rifle. First of all it was availability and display of them. Only after I saw them did I see the good price. When I went to the guys at the table and asked to look at one, I was a little leery of them. I had a bad experience with them, oh just over a year ago and had stopped shopping at their gun store. Yep, these were the same guys who made it seem painful when asked about a Nagant in their shop. Not only had I had a bad experience with their poor attitude but since they used to sell these rifles at inflated prices and I wondered why these were priced so competitively. Well, to my relief and surprise, I was treated attentively, respectfully and politely. They gave me time to look it over and took off the nylon tie that had been through the action and removed the bolt so I could look down the bore. They also took the time to discuss the rifle with me. So, a combination of availability, good service, and price convinced me to buy one from them. It seems they have changed their attitude toward customer service and that went a long way toward me making my purchase. They will keep me as a customer as long as they keep up the good pricing and good service. Others who had noted their deficiencies in the past have also noted their change for the better as of late. It seems their business may be improving in the near future as news of their improved service is spread by satisfied customers.

I often base my continued dealings with the local, distant and online dealers on past experience with them. If they price well is one thing but as I just pointed out, in the above example, there are other factors in my considerations. If they give good service is a big consideration. Things about their service that consider are: if they have been helpful, if they answer questions, if they are knowledgeable, if they stand behind what they sell, if online dealers ship promptly, if local dealers get something in when they say they will, return policy, if they treat the customer respectfully, if they don't act like the stereotyped pompous gun dealer, if they seem to be ethical, etc. Most dealers at which I no longer shop have not given good service in at least two or three of those areas. Why reward them with my continued patronage and my hard earned cash if they do not treat me well. I have to earn my money, so too should they and excellent customer service is one way to earn it.

So, when it comes down to it, it is not as simple as saying 'buy locally'. It is a matter of a dealer convincing me that I should buy from him other than buying from someone else. It is up to him whether or not he wants to do that convincing. That is one of the main aspects of capitalism and one of the reasons I like the capitalist system as much as I do like it. Competition is a good thing for the consumer in a free market.

All of the best,
Glenn B

If This Happens In The United States...

...you can bet I will either be among the infidels victors or will go down fighting because I have been sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. Hopefully it will never come to the way it already is in England, France, Germany and others. There is one basic law for this country as a whole and that is the Constitution of the United States of America. I believe that any system of laws and or any form of government, even one that masquerades as a religion, that opposes the Constitution and our Constitutional Republic, and tries to overthrow our form of government whether by violence, or by slow assimilation, should be abolished on our soil swiftly and permanently.



All the best,
Glenn B

Austin, TX Police Dept. Holds Gun Buy-back but Activists Buy Some of the Guns Before Police Have a Chance

No way to post the video here so I will just post the link to both the article and the video, it is the same for both. Read, watch and listen, this is a great idea where legal!

http://weareaustin.com/fulltext?nxd_id=125606

All the best,
Glenn B

Where Is The Outrage?

Gasoline prices are the highest they have been in years, yet have you heard one liberal or progressive or Obama supporter complaining that it is all Barrack Hussein Obama's fault as they did to George W. Bush. What hypocrites.

Hopefully, in the 2012 elections, the outrage will out itself!

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Gun Shots 123 - Do You Have Any Guns That Are Older Than You?

I posted a pic of my C&R guns on a firearms forum last night and it got me to wondering, just how many guns I own that are older than me. I sat down with the older ones around me and looked for dates of manufacture on them. That was easy with the old combloc weapons - they were all dated. It was not so easy but still not all that difficult to determine at least a date range of manufacture for the rest of them.

PISTOLS:

1) Ortgies in .32 Auto, probably made in the late 1920's.

RIFLES: (When it came to rifles, I had some checking to do. They are listed by order of age, oldest first.)

1) Mosin Nagant 91/30 - manufactured 1939 at the Izhevzk Arsenal.

2) Mosin Nagant 91/30 - manufactured at the Izhevzk Arsenal 1943, bent bolt.

3) Mossberg 44 U.S. - these were made between 1943 - 1946 and mine has an early serial number.

4) Remington 241 Speedmaster - these were produced between 1934 - 1951. While there is no date code on the barrel, judging by the serial number and the fact it has a steel butt plate (they changed to aluminum in mid 46), I would say this one was made in early to mid 1946.

5) Mosin Nagant M44 - Hungarian manufacture in 1953.

6) Remington 513T Matchmaster - manufactured September 1963. Whoops, not older than me but I may have shot this one at summer camp since it came out the year I turned 8 and I started camp that year or next and went for 5 years. I never before realized that it could actually be one of the Remingtons we fired at summer camp. I remember they were heavy as could be and this is a fairly heavy target rifle. I wish I could find out for sure but such will probably never happen.

Well, now you know, I was born somewhere between 1953 and 1963. Am I getting old? I suppose so but thankfully not yet as old as some of those guns. Then again, all of them are in better shape than me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Trojan Tri-Phoria???

Are they kidding? Does the Trojan company really believe it appropriate to advertise vibrating massagers on television? Do the stations and the cable providers think it appropriate? I am not a sexual prude, never was and never will be, but that is, in my opinion, something better kept in sex shops or behind the counter in a pharmacy.

I think that to actually advertise it, in that wedding shower commercial (yes that is a link to the commercial on YouTube but then this is not television and you can either choose to click on it or not to watch it), is one thing. I think it a bit disturbing. To show women with the with their hair 'blown' back, apparently from having used it is another also a bit disturbing. I think that for the woman to receive as gifts not only 1 but 3 of them is a third thing that, again, is to me a bit disturbing. I also think that to have her go home and tell her boyfriend or husband that they got them for a present to which he replies SWEEEEEET, in what I can only interpret as a high pitched squeal of anticipation - almost as if he anticipates having his hair blown back by his own use of one, is truly disturbing.

All the best,
GB

The Girandoni Air Rifle - An Amazing Piece of American History

A friend of mine sent me an email link to this video. For years now, I have known about the Austrians and some others using air rifles in the military. Yet, I never knew about one being used on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. If you are interested in firearms, air guns, American History or just history in general, watch this video.




All the best,
GB

A Shiny Surprise

Remember that Mosin Nagant 91/30, the one I picked up about 2 1/2 weeks ago at the White Plains Gun Show? My only regret was that the bore seemed somewhat frosted looking. Well, I cleaned it, and cleaned it and cleaned it and there was some improvement but still what looked like frost in the barrel. Then went to the range and shot it and got some fairly decent results with it when using some heavier ammo, the light stuff was all over the place. Then I brought it home and gave it a quick field strip and clean.

Well, tonight I was watching Sons of Guns (a fairly to pretty interesting show, I have only seen 2 episodes) and I got to thinking about guns, particularly the ones in my house, and I decided to give the barrel of that 91/30 a good cleaning again. After about an hour of running wet patches (wetted with Windex, then Hoppes Copper Solvent, then regular Hoppes #9), dry patches and 2 different type of bore brushes through it, it came out all nice and shiny. Now I am not saying there isn't a bit of pitting down that long hole but if you took a look right now you would certainly think there was none of it. Maybe there isn't either, it is quite possible what I saw before was only surface rust. I can tell you this for sure, right now, it is almost as shiny as the day it was cut. The lands and grooves are well defined, certainly much better than my other 2 Nagants. I like it and I cannot wait to shoot it again! Sometimes, a bit of extra elbow grease pays off.

The thing is, although I like it a lot, I'll not be keeping it. Don't be sad, I am not. It will soon officially be given to my son as a gift. Of course, even then it will still be in the house and I'll be able to take it out to shoot it whenever I want - unless Brendan has it at a range somewhere and forgot to take me along for the fun.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ballseye's Boomers 122 - Shoot or Don't Shoot - How Do You Determine That

You determine it by assessing the situation as it unfolds. Here is a link to an article that gives a perfect example of assessment working well:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/18/2666368/would-be-robbers-end-up-losing.html

I cannot say what you would or would not do if someone pulled out what you thought was a gun and pointed it at you but I am pretty sure I would look at it - after all that is just what I did in the past. Why, I guess because it is a pretty natural reaction to look at the threat and because I was trained to assess the situation. Short story, 2 guys pull up to a parking space in a car in front of me as I am walking by. I walk past car, door opens, guy gets out with sweater in hand, as he is beginning to stand he says don't move MFer and pulls sweater back revealing something that looked an awful lot like a white metal short barreled rifle barrel. He was pointing it at me. I kept moving, drew and shot him. A second shot hit the windshield of the car they were in. Driver had appeared to be exiting car with a revolver in his hands. He fled, other guy still in car fled.

The thing is I saw what looked to me to be a threaded barrel of about .30 caliber pointing at me. I began to draw and suddenly saw that it looked like the guy was pointing a clear plastic soda bottle at me. A brief momentary surge of relief due to wishful thinking? Maybe, but I heard myself screaming at myself inside my own head "it's a gun, shoot him he has a gun" and the thing again looked like a gun as described above. As I said, I shot him. Was it a gun. NOPE. It was not a bottle either. When police responded, one of the detectives found a length of pipe laying in the street. It was white metal, had a threaded end and had what sure looked like a .30 bore through it. It looked like a gun when held the way the bad guy had held it. It would have fooled anyone, I think and so did the police think likewise. What about the driver, did he fool me too? NOPE. He had a revolver in his hand alright.

How did police figure this out. Well, while I was at police station giving a statement, a 911 call comes in. Another guy has been robbed by the same pair of hoodlums. Police figure my shot must have missed but are wrong. You see, even though 911 call comes in after my shooting event, the call was about a robbery that took place about 20 minutes before I was robbed. Took the victim about 40 minutes or so to walk home and then call police. As for how police knew the other guy had a revolver, well the other victim's story told them that. He said he was robbed by guy with shotgun hidden under a coat and another guy who stuck a loaded 38 in his face. How did he know it was loaded - he saw the bullets in the cylinder and this was at night under a street light at best. Two people robbed, two people looked at the weapons. That is part of a natural reaction and is also part of good firearms/self defense training.

But, why would assessing be important in the situation of the particular robbery reported on in the above linked article? Imagine the guy, who was asking for the ammo, was legitimate. He thinks he has $60 and puts it on the counter. The clerk tells him he is short by over $10. The guy realizes, "oh man, I gave Fred the other $20 so he could pay the toll on the way to the gun store. He still has the change". At that point, the guy pulls out a black cell phone, like a Nextel with short antenna. He hits push to talk, his hand out in front of him with antenna pointing at clerk. Guy says to Fred over the phone - "give me all your money". Would you have shot him? If not, why not? Would it have been because you looked at the phone and realized it was a phone? Same thing with the clerk looking at the gun, he assessed.

The clerk looked at the gun. It is natural and also should have been part of any good training course because you want to be sure before you shoot. It almost certainly did take less than 30 seconds as someone in a forum in which this incident was discussed had surmised. Heck, it probably took less than 3 seconds, from the moment the bad guy drew his weapon until he fled. The initial assessment probably took a second or less. Seeing the empty cylinders took place in that shorter time frame, though the assessment was ongoing and excellent. Why was it excellent? Because the clerk decided to fight the threat, he drew and that was his decision to make. It does not say he noticed the gun was empty then drew, it says he drew as he was zeroing in on the other guys gun. In other words, he heard the verbal demand for money, he also saw the gun, he started to draw but also was assessing all along and saw the other gun was empty. (I have to wonder if he was moving too, and moving for cover, movement and cover are your friends if a guy points a gun at you.) Then the guy ran, and the clerk decided not to shoot. How long do you think it took for he clerk to start to draw and for the other guy to assess his own situation, see the clerk's gun and run? Probably a second or less from the start of the clerk's draw.

The clerk did the right thing by not shooting. Had the crook assessed the situation when he was in the store earlier in the day, or even when he was shoving $40 onto the counter, maybe he would never have attempted the robbery or maybe, when he walked in the second time, he would have walked in shooting. Thank goodness many of them are dumb.

All the best,
Glenn B

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association - Life Membership Problems

I don't get it. I have been a member of the NYSR&PA for several years now. I am pretty sure I have always paid my annual dues on time. I have never caused them any problems. Last June, I decided to upgrade my membership to a life membership. I sent in the full amount for the life membership dues. Shortly thereafter, I received a receipt for my payment. Attached to the receipt was a temporary life membership card and a note. The note said it would take 8 to 10 weeks to receive my permanent life membership card and life membership packet. I am still waiting for them to arrive. I have contacted the NYSR&PA several times now over the past several months (I think my first call was in September or October) and someone there the same person each time) keeps reassuring me I will have my card soon. Then, once I made the inquiries about the missing permanent life membership card, my NYR&PA journals stopped coming. What a coincidence! I am at my wits end about this. So, I just sent them an email informing them if don' t receive the permanent life membership card within 2 weeks from today, I will be taking action outside of the NYSR&PA, like contacting the BBB and others, in the hope of having the issue resolved.

Anyone else out there a NYSR&PA member who is having similar problems

All the best,
Glenn B

A Good Reason or an Example of a Good Reason To Be Armed?

This video is old, at least a year old, maybe older. remember seeing it and thinking the guy was crazy and I would have either shot him or run him over if possible, if I had been in that blue car and could not drive away immediately. Then I heard maybe it was all a set-up. If it was a set-up, all preplanned just to make aa video, well - it is still a good example of when you would be able to use deadly force to end the threat. if this was a real situation, it is obvious that the guy is absolutely wreckless with regard to the people in the car and their well being, it is obvious that he presents a threat of serious bodily harm and or death, it is obvious that the folks in the car cannot get away fast enough to avoid at least several hits that could have hurt them, it is obvisous that had they been armed the threat may have been over much sooner. Had I been in that car, and that really been happening, there is virtually no doubt in my mind, I would have defended myself and the other person in the car with deadly force.

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Had I witnessed that, I am fairly certain I would have done everything I could to stop it.

All the best,
Glenn B

The Tax Man Shall Repayeth Me...

...on both the state and federal income taxes - or so they should be doing if they find all is well with my tax returns. I just got them finished today. I would have had them done at least a week or two ago but there was a question about a state income tax refund from last year; luckily it was not reportable to the feds this year as income because what I received was from a credit - not from an overpayment of taxes. I am also going to amend my federal return for last year, did all the paperwork already, just need to mail it in; we should be getting an additional refund due to the amendment. Shame on me for neglecting to claim part of my property tax as a deduction when I filed last year - I forgot to include a portion of my property taxes. It makes a sizable difference and that will get me back a nice chunk of change as will this year's refunds from federal and state. Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

All the best,
Glenn B

Middletown Gun Show Report

After driving the 90 miles or so today, to get to the Middletown gun show, I can say almost without a doubt, I will not be going there again in the near future. This gun show was a flop and a big disappointment. I feel fairly safe saying that the show, 2 weeks ago at White Plains, NY , had more guns offered for sale by a fairly good margin. Besides that, the Middletown show was mobbed, and it was very difficult to walk around and see what was for sale. I had thought the White Plains show was crowded but it was nowhere nearly as bad as was the one in Middletown today. When you figure that White Plains is about a 90 mile round trip for us and Middletown is about a 180 mile round trip, you see that we will be saving a pretty penny on gas (and on tolls) by cutting out future trips to Middletown. I normally don't mind driving a good ways for a gun show, I have driven to Valley Forge, PA and up to West Springfield, Massachusetts but I do mind driving all that way and winding up at a show that was a flop. As I already pointed out, such was, in my opinion, the Middletown show today.

As you may be aware, I was looking for either a Remington 700 VTR and if I could not find one then a nice AK47. There were a total of about 6 AK-47s on display in the whole show. One dealer who usually has a good selection of them did not. That was one of the five dealers who's owner was arrested a couple of days ago in XXXXXXX County. The guy at their table (I was surprised they had a table) told me that the police had seized all of their AK-47s; another guy at the same table said not all were seized and they had some in the store. That was not helping me at the show and I am none too sure I would have bought a gun from them while they are under investigation. It is not that I am pre-judging them but with my job, I do not need a conflict of interest that such a purchase might cause. They saved me the trouble of having to make up my mind because they did not have any for sale.

As far as guns went, I would also have settled for a nice Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington but I did not see any at the show in any caliber.

The only things I purchased were 2 ammo cans for $15 the pair. The guy who usually has them at $6 or $7 each was nowhere to be seen. These are in very good condition with some nicks or small scrapes to the paint but no visible rust or dents.

Brendan picked up some pre-ban hi-cap mags for his AR and also picked up a case of Prvi Partizan 5.65x45 ammo for his AR. This was the stuff I kicked myself for not getting him two weeks ago at the White Plains show, from the same dealer that had been at that show. Luck was with us, they charged $4 less than they asked for at the other show. Not a big savings but certainly a savings. The price out the door was $350. It is 5.56x45 62 gr. FMJ M885 with the green penetrator tip. It's brass cased, boxer primed, non-corrosive and the brass is reloadable. Country of origin is Serbia. Year of production 2008. I'll have to check the base to see if it is NATO spec.

Now you may know of a better on-line price but I have not been able to find a better deal on-line or in person. That is because when I see it at a less expensive price on-line there is a nasty phrase next to it saying: 'sold out' or 'not available' and I have not seen it in person at a cheaper price at all. Then there is the thing about on-line purchases and shipping expenses, usually around $20 to $25. I did see it at one site for $299.99 with free shipping but of course it was sold out. On-line ammo retailers, who did have it in stock, had quite a higher price that what Brendan paid today. Midway has a case for: $527.99 plus $21.87 shipping and Sportsmansguide has it for: $455.97 for the club members price, regular is $479.97, plus $19.49 shipping for either. So, I think Brendan got a good deal. Of course, all that gas money and the tolls, well they add to it, but they come with a day out anyway and I paid the tolls (the eZ-pass is in my name) and I gave him a twenty for gas. Come to think of it, I paid his admission fee too ($9 with the $1 off coupon). So, the ammo itself was such a deal but then so too was the rest of his day - he also got a nice lunch at Texas Roadhouse out of me and I gave him one of the ammo cans! Oh well, I had a good time and he sure is worth it.

As I said though, I am none too sure a future trip to Middletown will be worth it with the greater expense just to see less guns, more crowds, and more scenery on the drive than it takes to go to White Plains. That could mean that next time if and when we do decide on a trip further away than White Plains, it probably will be to PA or MA for a show.

All the best,
Glenn B

MilitaryShooters.com (update 2)

I have got to say that the folks at MilitaryShooters.com, particularly Fred which was the person with whom I dealt, handled the messed up ammo order very well. He promptly offered for me to return it for an exchange of similar but FMJ round nose instead of the FMJ Truncated Cone ammo that I received in error or to make a full refund of the purchase and shipping price to me. You cannot ask for more than that in customer service. To tell the truth though, I decided to keep the ammo after all. I checked on some forums about it, and it gets rave reviews as being as good or better than regular round nose FMJ - so 'll give it a try. That way I save both Fred at Military Shooters and myself the hassle of a return/exchange. One other reason I decided to keep this ammo instead of make an exchange is because they apparently don't have it in FMJ round nose and offered something foreign in lieu of that. I buy foreign ammo but when I bought this particular case of ammo, I specifically bought it because it was made in the USA. It would be a shame to return a USA made product for a foreign one. So, I'll make do with it.

As for my over all impression of MilitaryShooters.com - despite the order mix-up, I would say everything else went great and rate them very excellent in all other regards.

All the best,
Glenn

What Would You Think If 45% Of Gun Shops Owners In Your Area Were Arrested

To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think either but that is what has happened in NY. It appears that the owners of 5 of 11 guns shops in certain county have been arrested, I think the article said for essentially selling assault rifles. NY State still has assault weapons and hi-cap magazine bans. Read about it here:


http://www.liherald.com/stories/Five-charged-with-selling-assault-weapons,30880?page=1&content_source=


There is no love lost between myself and the owner and employees of one of these gun shops. I think they are scum but that is for personal reasons related to their selling practices and my opinion that they lack ethics. Hmm, maybe that could explain how they got themselves into this pickle, then again, I am a true believer that everyone should get their day in court and that they are innocent until proven guilty and that goes way beyond my personal feelings toward someone. Just because I don't like someone does not make them guilty in my eyes.

As for one of the other shop owners, heck I jut bought a rifle from them 2 weeks ago at the White Plains gun show. Now that rifle may actually well have been used in military assaults and quite possibly could be properly termed as an assault rifle due to its history. It is one of the dreaded Mosin Nagant 91/30 assault rifles. Said shop owner and a couple to a few of his employees were arrested in this operation. That is too bad because they seemed like nice, polite, knowledgeable folks when it came to selling firearms. Their shop had a reputation for iffy sales based on legal issues however, as I understand it, they are new to the shop having taken it over recently. I hope they were not targeted based on someone elses reputation. You can see, in the article where it says:

"Rice showed a video of one instance in which an undercover policeman filmed a conversation with Tretola, inside of one of his stores, where he demonstrated to the officer how to remove the temporary pin from the fixed stock of the gun, making it collapsible –– and illegal."


Mr. Tretola is the gun shop owner of the gun shop about which I was just writing. Well, if he actually removed that pin or even if he actually demonstrated how to do it to make the weapon illegal, then maybe he is guilty. Of course, it is always good to know all the information. Here is a bit more on that:

"“What this means is you take that pin out, I’m telling you you’re in trouble with this gun,” Tretola told the officer."

Does that change things at all or does it confirm criminal intent? District Attorney Kathleen Rice thinks there is absolutely no question that this statement confirms Mr. Tretola's criminal intent as can be seen in this statement:

"There's no question that Mr. Tretola knew what he was doing,” said Rice. “He knew exactly what the state of the law is here in New York state, and was selling weapons and giving people the information they needed to violate the law."

I suppose that seeing only one side or one explanation for a statement is her prerogative as a prosecutor. Being that I am open to see all possibilities due in some large part to the investigative nature of my psyche, I do see another possibility. Just again read the statement that Mr. Tretola is alleged to have made. Could that be seen as a warning to someone not to take out the pin so as not to violate the law? I think it could be that but then again I do not have all the facts so I cannot judge on the mere bit of evidence that is available to me. Of course, a lot depends on the use of the word "temporary" in her statement. If the pin was temporary then shame on Mr. Tretola; if however it was affixed permanently but still could be removed with some deal of work, then maybe there was no violation and he was just giving a warning. All the relative facts are needed to make judgement. As I said, they will have their day(s) in court and if guilty should pay but if not guilty should be set free. The law is the law and if it stinks then we need to change it not violate it in most instances unless it is tyrannical and making people suffer, then maybe we can and should violate it as did the Founding Fathers of our nation.

As for me, I am soon off to the gun show in Middletown, NY. I imagine it will be a few tables less than usual because I think at least one of the gun stores involved in the arrests was supposed to have had tables there. Oh well, there will be others. Too bad about all this, too bad about NYS still having what I believe to be such an unconstitutional law on the books, to bad if someone broke that law or would be willing to do so, too bad that many in government seemingly do not understand why the 2nd Amendment is in the Constitution. It is there so we never forget that We the People can arm ourselves against tyranny and to insure that the government never forgets it either. This would lead one to believe that the Founding Fathers saw absolutely nothing wrong with assault weapons because, at least in some instances, they saw absolutely nothing wrong with assaulting government. There is, or should be, no doubt they wanted We the People to be well prepared, by being well armed, should it ever again come to a time such as: "When in the Course of human events...".

All the best,
Glenn B

Hey Wisconsin Teachers - I Am a Government Employee - I Cannot Unionize - I Cannot Strike...

...I Live With It And Can Honestly Say - What do you mean you do not see fit to pay what is certainly an acceptable and ethical percentage of your health insurance and retirement and are unwilling to to give up your outrageous bargaining power that, in my opinion, just keeps sponging off of the rest of your state's citizens.

Government Employees are already safeguarded by our government and do not need blood sucking unions to suck the tax payer dry to protect government workers. What they need is to remember that not only are they too tax payers but they serve the people, they are public servants. They are not masters of the people for whom they work, they are servants - get that, this includes the teachers in Wisconsin. They are employees of the citizens and they already make a really nice salary with way too nice benefits as far as I see it (but of course who is it that seemingly cries for all this all of the time but teachers and other union members). How dare they want to propagate more of what, in my opinion, has brought them to this damnable economic situation in their state and what almost certainly is much the same of what brought us to our poor economic state federally.

Here was a man with the right idea as far as government employees going on strike was concerned - he offered them a good raise, then he negotiated with them when their union demanded an astronomical pay raise, then when they and the union kept demading - he warned them not to break the law by striking, then when they went out on strike - he fired them (but even then he gave them 48 hours of chances to reconsider):



It is high time to tell the unions to go screw themselves at least in the case of unionized government employees. They have been telling the rest of us to go screw ourselves for years while they have had it better than good, now they don't want to budge an inch or give up a dime. Shame on them but better yet - SCREW THEM they have become what they were supposed to be protecting against, in my opinion, they have been exploiting us as big business used to exploit the worker. The people they are exploiting are the tax payers as I see it.

All the best,
GB

Did Mexican Troops Invade U.S.A. - Then Take Military Action On Our Side Of The Border???

This is not a drill, this is for real. Mexican troops may have driven into the United States territory and then taken military action against apparent civilians, then seemingly fled the area back into Mexico. Is this the cooperation of which President Obama and Janet Napolitano spoke when saying that Mexico and the U.S. were cooperating in the war on drugs? If our troops had gone into Mexico like this it would have been a major international incident with us apologizing profusely and maybe someone bowing to someone else. As it is, our agents are not allowed to be armed within Mexico, even when in the most dangerous areas and on potentially dangerous assignments because Mexico forbids it, yet they take the liberty of sending their armed troops across our border. How times have changed - we are now a third world nation for all purposes from what I can tell!

My bet is that Mexico will deny it was their military but look at the video. You tell me, do you think military like vehicles carrying armed men are the norm near border crossing points in Mexico. Yes they are, in the form of Mexican Immigration authorities, Mexican Customs authorities, Mexican police officials on the state and federal levels and of course - Mexican Military personnel. As opposed to the USA, Mexico regularly has armed military personnel near its borders. It's not likely these were cartel members driving around freely like that at the border, it is very likely they were in the Mexican army.

See the article and video here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/video-shows-armed-men-crossing-border-into-us-from-mexico-possible-mexican-military-incursion-021711

Or just watch the video here:

Video Shows Armed Men Crossing Border into US from Mexico; Possible Mexican Military Incursion: MyFoxDC.com

Could you hear the guy who was interviewed, the sound was terrible on my laptop, hopefully you heard it better. Sounded as if he was making excuses for them, maybe they did not know they crossed the border! Wouldn't it be pretty important for an army to know where is the border!!!


All the best,
Glenn B

A Good Example Of Training Taking Over

I was bored to tears this morning and took a spin over to YouTube and typed the term 'pistol shooting' into its browser. One of the videos struck me as a fine example of just how training kicks in while shooting or handling guns under stress. Now, you may watch this video and be amused; I was too. You may also watch it, after having read what I have just written, and then scratch your head and wonder what the heck I was writing about when I said that this video shows training kicking it. No, its not a pun, it has nothing to do with the 'kick' of the pistol in this video except that the kick of the pistol and its result is what causes the stress that causes the training to come into play. Watch it and see what I mean. If you don't get, or even if you think you do but want to be sure, go to the comments section of this post where I explain it.

All the best,
Glenn B

MilitaryShooters.com (update)

I received an email from Fred at MilitaryShooters.com today. In it he said yes they got the order incorrect and will fix it to my satisfaction. I have not spoken to him about it yet but I am anticipating an amicable solution will be offered to me and that this will come to a good end with me being a satisfied customer.

I have to say, they were quick to confirm my order when I first made it, sent it out promptly, and it arrived when expected. If there was an error in packing it they sure seem willing to correct it.

Second Impression = excellent customer service so far.

All the best,
Glenn B

MilitaryShooters.com (first impression)

Last week, I posted a blog post here about an order for ammo I made with http://MilitaryShooters.com. I placed an order for 1,000 rounds of Fiocchi 124 gr. FMJ 9mm ammo.

The order was confirmed and sent out within a day or two. I received it Tuesday (yesterday by the time I post this) via UPS, one week to the day after I placed the order. I opened the box and there were 20 boxes containing 50 rounds in each box of Fiocchi 124 gr. 9mm FMJTC ammo. Funny, I thought I ordered FMJ not FMJTC ammo. I checked my order and checked their website. The order was for FMJ and the website advertised it as FMJ but they sent FMJTC.

My first impression was some disappointment. I do not like it when I order one thing then get another, one that is so close it makes me think either they just made an innocent mistake or pulled the old bait and switch scheme. Now I am not saying that the FMJTC is not as good as, or maybe even better, than the regular FMJ (which is round nosed ammo). It is just I do not like getting something other than for which I paid without prior notice from the merchant and without the merchant getting prior approval from the customer (who would be me).

I sent them an email to ask them to straighten this out. Time will tell as to how they handle this. Maybe my second impression will be better.

While I am awaiting a reply from them: Does anyone who is reading this have any experience with the truncated cone shaped bullets? I seem to remember having fired this before but cannot for the life of me recall if it shot well or not. If someone can convince me it is as good or better than round nose FMJ, who knows - maybe I will keep it after all.

By the way, if you do not know what is a truncated cone, here is the dictionary definition:

1. a frustum formed from a cone

Now if you are unaware of the definition of as common a word as frustum, here is the geometric definition of it (because that was the definition in the dictionary):

1. the part of a conical solid left after cutting off a top portion with a plane parallel to the base.

2. the part of a solid, as a cone or pyramid, between two usually parallel cutting planes.

In other words, this bullet looks cone shaped, but as if the pointy end has been cut off to make it a flat nose that is parallel with the base of the bullet. Pretty neat looking but I have to wonder if it is balls on accurate when shooting. I mean that should be important to a guy nicknamed Ballseye - shouldn't it!

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: On that word frustum - can you think of the item on which, quite possibly as frequently as every day, you see one pictured? That is, at least you do, if you are in the USA.