It Must Be Truly Excellent To Be A Filthy Rich Gun Guy...

...because then you can get your guns from makers like the Johann Fanzoi Firm. They make some outrageously spectacular bolt action rifles, single shots, multiple barreled guns like drillings and tri-barreled combination guns and they also have a line of Flagship Guns. Go to that link and then click on all five of the links they give to there flagship models. They take a little bit to download, or did for me, but are worth the wait. Note that The Crocodile Rifle looked as if it would not load at all but it did faster several seconds. They are all worth a look.

Then again, this one is well worth a look or three too and probably worth every penny they charge for it.

This is a Vierling (four barreled combination gun) by the Johann Fanzoi Firm.

The above image is of a Vierling a four barreled combination gun to die for or at least on which to spend a fortune. My guess would be it is in at least the low six figure range.

If I hit the Mega Millions, I am going shopping at their facility.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Certainly Would Prefer Him In The Running Over Bush...

...but I have to say that I do not see Donald Trump as a serious candidate. He has stepped up before and then suddenly withdrew for no apparent reason as I recall. He blows a lot of smoke and even that would be okay by me if only he would blow it at the leftists. Of course, I much prefer another candidate or three to either of them but right now these two are in the font of the pack. More here.

All the best,
GB

Anyone Out There Visiting My Blog?

Site Meter is telling me that I have not had a visitor to this blog since June 22. Blogger is telling me I have had 32 page views today and over 400 yesterday. Even the 32 that blogger say I have had today seems dismally low. So, either lots of folks suddenly think I suck or my visits and page views are not being recorded or some reason.

All the best,
GB

Bersa 644 Magazine 22LR

In the unlikely event that any of my readers has a Bersa Model 644 in 22LR, I figured I would post a link here to my sale of an excellent condition Bersa 644 magazine in 22LR:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=491057297

This post is not an offer to sell said magazine nor is it an advertisement of any sale; it is meant for informational purposes only to show that I have such for sale ongoing elsewhere.

All the best,
Glenn B

Yet Another Woman With The Wrong Ammo...

...and with her finger on the trigger at an inappropriate time. Always make sure to keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot (well almost always as there are some exceptions) and always (and there are no exceptions) make sure to use the right ammo in your gun.

Once again, this image is posted here for firearms safety educational purposes and nothing else, I mean why would I post a pic like that here for any other reason.

All the best,
GB

On The Road Again and Again and Again...

...all throughout the day yesterday since breakfast in what seemed like a never ending drive to here and there. In all I accomplished little but did enjoy a lot of the drive through some pretty country in upstate NY and eastern PA. Right after my breakfast, of three sausages Z(darned good sized too), three sunny side up eggs, two slices of toast, well done home fries and a couple of cups of Joe, I headed out from Binghamton, NY to the Susquehanna County Sheriff's Office I to see if I could get myself a nonresident PA pistol permit. I had been planning on going hiking but the rain was coming down in torrents so I figured I would try to get the license first and maybe hike later if the weather improved.

As for getting the license, I had called in advance, that was day before yesterday, and was told they do issue them to nonresidents without a hitch. Whomever I spoke to on the phone was either full of shit or had no clue what she was talking about. When I got there, the cops at the entrance told me there was absolutely no hope of me getting a PA pistol permit from Susquehanna County unless I owned property in PA. I asked if that was a state or county law, regulation or requirement and he said his "chief" and then more explicitly said "the sheriff" told him that was his requirement for out of state types. The officer was nice enough to tell me that there still were two counties issuing to nonresidents and one of them was Lackawanna County and that their SO was in Scranton, PA. He got me the number and I was ready to go. Before I left, the officer told me a few things about NYers who had come to their department to get licenses, he said there had been more of them than residents on line each day. He also said they had problems with NY State not notifying PA of license holders who had been arrested subsequent to acquiring the PA nonresident permit. I kind of, sort of, most assuredly was left with the impression that NY residents going through the Susquehanna SO either had been problematic pains in the arse or that the chief just did not like NY residents. Oh well, it was time to move on.

As soon as I got to my car, I gave the Lackawanna County SO a call. The lady I spoke to cheerily told me sure they still issue nonresident pistol license, even to NYers. I drove the 40 miles or so further south, parked on the street at  meter, left my belt knife and pocket knife in the car along with some other accouterments and headed into the courthouse. Cops at the metal detector in this courthouse told me to head to the SO's office on the first floor and they would take care of me. A female officer also told me their printer was down for the licenses! I felt an "oh-oh" in my gut but kept my mouth shut about what I was thinking and headed up one flight from the ground level. Once there a friendly officer greeted me, told me to fill out a form (also told me the one I printed up on the net was worthless in their county) and copied my driver's license and NY pistol license. When I was done with the new form, which was indeed somewhat different than the online form, he directed me to a female officer who was busy helping another applicant, an elderly PA resident. She took about another 5 or 10 minutes with her and then took my application. Then she took my photo too. We shared some small talk and she was very pleasant. After about 5 or 10 minutes of waiting, as she did whatever she had to do with her, she told me everything was in order and I had passed muster (am guessing she ran criminal history and wants/warrants checks). That was it except for $20.00 I had to pay and them giving me my license. Then she reminded me of what the other officer downstairs had told me, their printer was broken and she could not print the license and would have to mail it to me once they got a new printer. She also told me that it was now legal for me to carry under the license in PA and if I got stopped by the police for anything and they discovered I was armed, my license would be on file and would come up in their computer if they checked. I asked for a receipt, got it, said my goodbyes and took off to get other things one. As I was leaving, all I could think was that: Oh well, I positively, definitely, without a doubt almost was issued my PA nonresident pistol license today. I am now eagerly awaiting its delivery.

After that was done, I thought of what to do next and wound up driving to a Gander Mountain that was quite close by. Pretty much all I did there was window shopping but since I had decided I would get in my hike after all, I bought a box of 308WIN ammo. I figured I'd do a little sighting in before or after my hike. Then I headed toward the state land I wanted to hike, back in NY but never made it. I got detoured at a couple of small mom & pop sporting good shops to look for crawfish and minnows to bring home. I forgot my wading shoes and my minnow trap so decided just to buy some. My turtle loves em to death. The first place did not have any crawfish and his price for minnows was about double what I had expected so I passed. The next place was closed down and after I saw it I recalled that I went there last year and it had been closed then already. Oh well, the weather had turned crappy again so I just drove around on old country two lane roads, including over a one lane bridge, and enjoyed the scenery instead of going for a hike. Too bad I did not have my waders and minnow trap, I would have looked for crayfish in the local streams and dropped the trap in deep spots regardless of the weather. Oh well, I reluctantly headed back toward home but wound up making a big detour, to the scenic route, that probably added about 30 to 45 minutes to my expected 3 hour drive. It was worth the extra time since I only encountered about another 15 to 20 cars going my way for the more than 80-90 miles I drove it and it was a peaceful scenic ride.

Made one more stop at another bait & tackle shop in Narrowsburg, NY. No crayfish there either. They told me that NY State DEC recently sent them a letter saying it was now illegal to sell any crayfish because, according to the shop proprietor, they now have been listed as an endangered species. We had a laugh over that, at the DECs expense, because crawfish are everywhere, sort of like freshwater roaches or rats. Then they showed the letter to me. As if often the case, government regulations get misunderstood and this was another instance of that. The letter they showed stated that it was now illegal to import, possess, distribute Orconectes rusticus, the Rusty Crayfish which is listed as an invasive species and not as an endangered one. Judging by the reaction of the shopkeepers to that letter and my experience with seeing such regulations being misinterpreted in the past, I am guessing that not one bait and tackle shop in NY will be selling crayfish for bait this year, even if legal species. I guess that if I want any for bait or my turtle, I'll have to remember my wading shoes next time I go upstate and then I'll see what I can to do to help decimate this not native and invasive species from our waters.

This last bait & tackle shop, did have minnows (shiners) though and at a decent price too although I would have expected an higher price at this place. So, I picked up a couple of dozen. They give my turtle some good exercise as he stalks em or flat out tries to outswim them to catch them for dinner. The ones he cannot catch will live to a fine old age for bait fish and will be well cared for. Funny, the clerk insisted I take a receipt even though I paid cash and did not need one as far as I was concerned. Truth is though, I did need a receipt due to more NYS DEC regulations. Seems that there is some fishy disease that the minnows in state waters have and they are trying to prevent them from spreading so you are not allowed to transport a minnow away from the body of water where you caught it and store bought ones have to be certified disease free. Thus the receipt to prove they had been certified. Maybe it was lucky for me that I had forgotten my minnow trap at hone because I had forgotten about that law too. Then again, I would have been transporting the minnows not to another body of water for bait but to a fish tank in my basement. Something tells me though that would not have held water had I been stopped by a DEC officer with a bunch of wild caught minnows in my minnow bucket.

Homeward bound after that and right into the tail end of rush hour traffic. That dampened my spirits more so than did the rain over most of it. In all though, I had a nice day driving through the NY countryside and getting some truly spectacular views of the Delaware River and the countryside. Accomplished getting my PA pistol permit - well almost, sort of, kind of and am looking forward to my next trip during which I will have my minnow trap and my wadding shoes.

All the best,
Glenn B

 

Drove To Geneva Yesterday

No, not in Switzerland, in New York and picked up the guns I bought in last Saturday's auction. Later on, I found myself in Binghamton where I decided to stay the night. Crawled out of the sack about a half hour ago or so and watched the news. Have been debating, with me, myself and that other internal guy what to do today. First things first, once I leave the motel I am going somewhere to treat myself to bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, hash browns and coffee. After that, I am figuring on taking a hike, maybe tugging along the metal detector, if I remember to buy two new 9 volt batteries I forgot the new ones at home). I'll probably also try to catch some minnows to bring home for turtle food and if the turtle is lucky the minnow trap will come up with some crawfish in it too. On the way home, I'll be taking a route through PA where Ill be stopping at the Susquehana County SO to apply for and hopefully be issued a PA nonresident pistol permit. Only $20 or $25 for that license - what a deal. May also stop a a gun store or three. Could be a fun day.

All the best,
Glenn B

The King Of Beasts

If you have ever wondered why the male lion is called the King Of Beasts, wonder no more because this explains it all!

My thanks and a hat tip to Bob C for forwarding me this one.

All the best,
Glenn B

I Have Seller's Remorse Already...

...and I only just posted my for sale listing for my New England Firearms Pardner 12 gauge shotgun (model SB1) on GunBroker.com within the last half hour. Why is it that almost every time I sell a gun, I get a case of before the sale seller's remorse - even in instances of when I am trying to make up for buyer's remorse. If you don't know what I mean by buyer's remorse, you must have more money than me and aren't taking food out of the mouths of your family members by buying guns with the grocery money. So, yes, it is usually caused by me buying a gun or guns that I definitely, positively, absolutely could not afford at the time of purchase (like the two I bought at auction yesterday) because I needed the money elsewhere. Trying to overcome buyer's remorse is why I am selling this particular gun, I want to be able to get rid of the guilty feeling of not having had enough money to have bought them by actually selling something so that it winds up I almost will have had enough, after the fact, to have made the purchase - do you get it! So why the heck do I have seller's remorse, I should be happy to have offered it up for sale so I don't have to feel guilty any longer about buying the two new guns.

There is truly no logical reason for me to be suffering from seller's remorse, especially since I have not sold it yet, whether or not I am trying to wipe out buyer's remorse. I mean, it is a NEF Pardner that I'm selling, it's not like it is one of the premiere guns in my collection. It is a bargain basement, inexpensive, single shot shotgun that I think I have shot a total of two times and that my son has used maybe three or four times. It has been taking up room in the gun locker. So why this glum feeling in the pit of my bowels and why the weight of the world on my shoulders? Well, I suppose there is the fact that it does have nice color on the case hardened receiver and it was made in the USA and it is the only shotgun I own that chambers 3" shells but those couldn't possibly be enough to have me suffering seller's remorse - could they! Damn, I have gone tough this every time I have sold a gun in the past 15 years or so, this seller's remorse before the actual sale, let alone after a sale. In reality all this seller's remorse has been pestering me much longer than that if you consider real seller's remorse I have suffered for years on end after an actual sale has been completed.

Oh well, I suppose I can live with it since I will have two new guns coming in. At least if I sell it, and also sell the Remington 513T Matchmaster bolt that I put up for sale last night, I'll have enough to cover about 40% of what I owe for the two guns that I bought yesterday and my debt and thus my buyer's remorse should be almost halved. One more gun for sale and maybe I can wipe all of it out - the it being both the debt and the buyer's remorse that came with the debt. While you might think that a sure cure for seller's remorse, I can say that without any doubt at all, I will regret selling this gun and suffer at least some seller's remorse over the next couple to few years because of it. Damn, its a gun seller's equivalent of PTSD.

All the best,
Glenn B

Escaped Killers Spotted Near PA Border?

If it truly was the pair of convicted murderers, who escaped from a NYS maximum security prison, that was spotted along railroad tracks in western NY along the PA border, my bet is that they are now out of NY and westward bound after having hitched a freight train. Of course, as I prefaced it, that is all depending on the "if" of the sighting. More here.

All the best,
Glenn B

Summertime...

...has arrived today with it being the summer solstice (and thus the longest day of the year as far as the amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere goes). Tomorrow the days start to get shorter although those hot, hazy and humid days of July and August can seem like they are taking forever if you are enjoying them while lazing under a willow with a fishing pole in one  hand and a cold drink in the other. Wish I was there right now instead of at home in my basement keying this into my laptop.

Then again, why bother going fishing when my son supposedly is going to grill up some bacon wrapped bratwursts for me later today. I don't mean that packaged crap either, these ere made at a German butcher shop locally. German style sausage wrapped with bacon - mmmmmmm good - the thought of them has me salivating.

It's time to listen to my favorite summertime song:



Now that I have enjoyed that, I'm going to do some garden work, then clean up and then chomp down on some of those bratwursts while washing em down with a cold one. Sounds like a plan and like both an excellent start to the summer and a great Fathers' Day to me!

All the best,
Glenn B

Ever Buy A Firearm Online And Wonder How It Was Graded

If you have ever seen a for sale add online for a firearm, you may have wondered how did the seller grade its condition. You may have noticed that the gun's condition is shown as: New, As New, Excellent (EXC), Very Good (VG), Good (G) Fair (F) or Poor (P) or maybe even just as new or used. Your idea of what each of those means may be different than what the next guy thinks but luckily for us someone has, in fact more than one person or group, figured it all out for us.

The thing is though, just as those descriptors could be taken differently as subject to each persons ideas of what they mean, so too do they differ between those folks who have tried to view them objectively. For example, the NRA has a set of standards for grading guns here. It is used by a lot of gun sellers and buyer. Yet, if the person selling a gun is using those NRA guidelines and the person buying that same gun is thinking along other lines, say the grading system used in the Catalog of Firearms Values, there is likely going to be a problem because they differ markedly. While the NRA defines an excellent rating of a firearm as "New condition, used but little, no noticeable marring of wood or metal, bluing perfect, (except at muzzle or sharp edges).", The Standard Catalog of Firearms categorizes and excellent condition firearm as being "...in at least 98% condition with respect to blue wear, stock or grip finish and bore..." and also states that everything including sights must be "...100% original factory condition without refinishing, repair, alterations, or additions of any kind." Their standards (1) cover both modern firearms and antique firearms (manufactured prior to 1898); however, the standards mentioned above that were set by the NRA cover only modern firearms. The NRA has a separate set of standards for antique firearms.

Billy Joe Von Bubba or Hotshot Bobby Bangaroo or John M. Aikendoe (the cheap sniveling rip-off artist with whom you may be doing business, of course not knowing of his shady side) may use another system altogether. So, whenever buying a firearm from afar, and not being able to see it and handle it to inspect it, you really ought to know what grading system is being used by the seller. If a seller is using one or the other of those professional systems above it would behoove you to know which one and it would also be a good thing if the seller listed the condition and which grading system was used to determine the condition in his ad for the firearm (that is also a hint for honest seller as much as it is for buyers). If you are buying a gun from someone who is not using one of those grading systems, and is using one maybe made up by a gun store guru or one of his hunting buddies, you had best be asking a lot of questions about the gun and for lots of pictures too before plunking down your hard earned cash to buy it. If you are planning on selling piece, why not just be open and honest about it regardless of condition, it pretty much guarantees good feedback and future business from your customer(s). In short, let the buyer beware and the honest seller be forthright.

All the best,
Glenn B

References:

1. Lee, Jerry (2014) 2014 Standard Catalog of Firearms (page 13). Iola, WI: Gun Digest Books, F+WMedia, Krause Publications
 

Words of Peace Threaten Guidance Counselor???

My guess is, that is the sentiment behind the words was genuine, this could only happen in a school in the USA. A valedictorian student has been denied the honor of giving a speech at his graduation and was suspended from school after telling a guidance counselor that he wanted to resolve an issue peacefully. He believes that his statement was somehow taken the wrong way, as an "..or else..." threat by the guidance counselor because her official response allegedly was that he had threatened her (source). Not only was he suspended and will miss giving the speech at graduation but he was ordered, apparently by the school, to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Only in aMereeka folks, only here, with our libterd wanna-be educators acting the part of the nut jobs running the asylum.

All the best,
GB

Let's See How Much Black Lives Matter To Reverand Al Now...

...that it was a black police officer who allegedly was gunned down and killed by a back prisoner (source). Will the almighty Reverand Al be out there with his entire entourage giving speeches, hugging black politicians, marching and protesting? Will there be mobs running amok through the streets? Will there be looting, riots, arson and people being injured or killed because a black man was gunned down by another black? There may be a little bit of feedback from Sharpton, whom I believe is little more than a racist asshole, to make it look as if he is impartial but you can bet there will be nothing like the protests in NY, Baltimore or Fergusson. Why not? Because in truth, as I see it, it's not black lives that matter to they who acted like that after those other black men died; it's the almighty dollar and how much they can make of them by making all they can make of their race baiting agendas.

All the best,
GB

Yet Another Woman With The Right Ammo...

...or at least what looks to be the right ammo. The way she is holding the shotgun though suggests to my sharp eye that she may be used to caressing holding something else instead of a gun. However, I give her points both for having the right ammo and for not having her finger on the trigger. Maybe she knows something about firearms safety after all but that is doubtful with the muzzle that close to her dome. As is usual, the following image is posted here for firearms safety education purposes, why else would I post a pic like that here!

All the best,
GB
 

Been Saving For A New Television...

...ever since I moved mine while cleaning and it smashed to the floor. The tube (yes its an old one with a cathode ray tube) didn't break but now there is a blob, sort of like an ink blot that ran down. It is mostly in the upper left hand corner but that runs down about 3/4 the height of the tube in places. When I watch old B&W moves, it just looks a little like the contrast is changed there but for color shows the color is drastically changed - reds look like the green glow of old time dashboard displays greens look eerily red and some things probably can only be said to look like one of the most acid induced purple hazes you have ever seen.

Long story short, I don't have to save any longer. On Tuesday, when I was at Costco, my son sent me text msg. saying Fathers' Day had come early for me. I had no clue what he meant. He also asked me to look for some HDMI cables because the ones for his TV were messed up. Sure, you see where this is going now but at the time I had absolutely no clue. When I got home, there was a big box with a 46" TV sitting on the coffee table in the basement! Gotta love that kid. My daughter and wife also helped him with the cost but he paid the biggest share of it.

The bummer is, it is not set up yet. I didn't buy the cables at Costco because I thought I still had a set at home but of course could not find em when I got there. Must have sold em or given em away. Then I got busy at work a couple of days and had no time to get a set. Was busy yesterday too. I think tomorrow will be the day for me to pick up a set and also to go to Verizon to get another high definition box. I surely am not going today with all the Sunday driver types out there and it being Fathers' Day which means more nuts driving to restaurants and such. Besides, Verizon is probably closed today. Oh well, as is always the case for me, The Great Procrastinator, there is always tomorrow (at least until I drop dead).

All the best,
GB

Happy Fathers' Day

That goes for all of you good stay at home fathers and even those of you who have left the home but still stay in contact with and care for your children (no matter what their ages). As for the bums who have left with nary a look behind, like my father was to my brother, sister and me, all I can says is - go fuck yourselves until you bleed.

All the best,
GB

The Bolt & The Blanks - Nice Finds In The Basement

I was going through some of my firearms related storage places tonight, looking at this gun or that one with a possible sale in mind, when I accidentally found something I had bought about 15 years ago or so. I am pretty sure I got it from the CMP when they still actually had a good number of guns and gun parts for sale.

It is a complete bolt assembly for a Remington 513T Matchmaster bolt action rifle in 22LR. Almost as soon as I rediscovered it, I decided to put it up for sale. I just got done listing it on GunBroker.com. Of course my luck, the way it usually goes, will be that as soon as I sell it, I'll drop the 513T on its bolt handle and break it and need a replacement. No way I just wrote that here and jinxed myself - did I! Seriously, I can use the money from it, if it sells, to go toward the two guns I bought earlier today. What I am asking, and hope I get, would help pay about 1/4 of todays purchase price, tax and auction premium. That would be nice. Of course, to do that, it has to sell first and it has to sell for at least what I am asking.

The bolt and the blanks Mind you, that bolt does not look just like it does in this
photograph with that deep color and sort of a warm glow to it. It came out
looking like that because I took it using an incandescent bulb for lighting.

I had some fun with testing the bolt down in the basement. I loaded up the 513T magazine with some blanks and fired them off to test the function of the spare bolt assembly. It worked flawlessly and that is a good thing. It stripped blank rounds from the magazine, fed them into the chamber, fired them, extracted them and then brought them to the ejector for positive ejection without a glitch. Using a little forethought, I warned the wife that any shots she might hear would be me firing blanks to test a gun. I also made sure to fire them in the back of the basement with the door to the front portion closed and I fired them toward a rolled up towel on the floor. Made sure it did not have any burning  powder residue once down too. maybe I should try some CB Caps - nah better not. Anyhow, the blanks accomplished the function check more than well enough and I am happy I can sell the bolt with a clear conscience knowing that not only is it is fully operational but it works flawlessly.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Couple of New Guns

I can't remember the last time I bought a new gun. Perhaps that was one of the reasons I got a hankering to attend the Hessney Auction Company's rod & gun auction today up in Geneva, NY.  By 10 or so last night, I had all of my auction ducks in a row. I'd given a good look over to the auction catalog, at least a half dozen times, researched some the value of several guns on which I figured I might want to bid, wrote up my own personal auction catalog (for guns on which I would bid) and printed it up to bring with me to the auction, printed up the directions, and figured that about 5 hours sleep would have me up at about 0300 or 0330 which meant I could leave the house by 0400 and get to the auction house by about 0900. That would leave me enough time to view the guns, maybe about an hour or more. I hit the hay at about 10.

About the only thing I did not give much thought to was the twinge or pain I was feeling in my left big toe. I also had heel pain earlier in the day but that had subsided after I took some Colchrys (pain med specifically for gout). Since the pain in m right heel had diminished almost completely by about 9PM or so, I expected the pain in my toe to do likewise. The thing was though that I slept in fits on and off for a couple of hours. At about midnight, or a little later, there I was scoffing down some generic for Vicodin (acetaminophen and hydrocodone) with 7.5mg of hydrocodone in it - the pain in the toe had awakened me several times by then. I guess I finally got back to sleep to get some good sleep at about 1230 or 0100. I was up at 0330 and would have been ready to go by about 0400 except for the fact that to walk the 15 feet or so to the toilet to take a pee had me in agony. My toe was just about screaming, without any help from my vocal cords, with each step I took. Oh well, I wasn't going anywhere except back to bed. I couldn't sleep and was up again by 0515. I took another pain pill at about 0530 or so and that helped some but the pain remained bad, really bad, and still does as I write this. What to do?

I am guessing that by 0600, I decided to send the auction house an email and register for the auction that way. I called them at about 0730 and left them a message, telling them I had emailed my info to them and also sent a list of items on which I wanted to bid. Someone called me back not all that long after 0900 and left me a message asking if I could give them some idea of the max I would be on each item. I obliged only because I trust the folks at Hessney. If it was an auction house with which I was not familiar, I never would have tipped y hand because they might use shills who wold then try to bid up the price on me knowing how high I'd be willing to bid. I suppose that Hessney Auction Company could do that too but I seriously doubt they do it they have too much to lose - like their sterling reputation and lots (no pun intended) of business.

Looking at my the calls on my phone's memory, I am guessing that I made my first bid at about 1045. That was on a Henry Repeating Arms lever action carbine in 22LR. That was followed immediately by more bids, this time on a Henry Classis lever action rifle in 22LR. I was outbid on both. A while later, the auctioneer's assistant (Roberta) called me back for the next item on which I planned to bid, a Beretta A303 Ducks Unlimited Gun of the Year for 9186 (new in the box). I was outbid there too. My next bid was supposed to be on item number 60A, a Savage AXIS XP in 308WIN. Somehow they skipped that one ad went right to item 60 which was a Savage AXIS XP, stainless steel, in 308WIN, unfired in the box. I had the high bid at $300. That is a good deal, in fact an excellent one as local gun stores in my area have it retailing for from $418 to 456 before tax. (Thanks to the search feature at  Gallery of Guns, I was able to pull up instant price quotes online.) Yes, I'll have to either have to pay to have tem ship it to me or for gas to drive there to pick it up (which is my plan) but when I drive up there I am going to spend some time hiking and fishing and make it a mini vacation for a couple or three days. I will also start scouting my chosen hunting area for deer and bear sign.  Regardless, even with all that figured in, I got that one for less than I would have had I bought it at a local gun store so it's a good deal.

I bid on a bunch of other items, all but one listed "as new" or as "unfired in box (or case). One of them I really wanted, and for which I was willing to bid $400 (or a little bit more) was a Remington 870 Tactical, 12 gauge, with pistol grip and a wire folding stock. It listed retail for $5522 to $564 in my area. Well, it could not have been more screwed up since they skipped a number and wound up on that one before Roberta realized they were on it, and she only got me just as the auction was closing. it sold for $375. Maybe I should have been pissed off about it but for once I figured why bother. Anyway, Roberta was extremely apologetic about that one. She asked if I would have been willing to beat the $375 but she already knew the answer because I had emailed them m high bids earlier and it was clearly $400; in fact though, in the interim between when I had sent the email and just a few minutes before tha one went up for bids, I had changed my mind and was willing to go $425 for it. Chances are I would have gotten that one but no such luck for me with how it worked out for some other lucky bidder.

I bid on the very next item, a Stevens Model 320 Defense in 12 gauge with pistol grip and heat shield (new in the box) and had the high bid at $175. Not a very high quality shotgun as far as I would guess, since the MSRP is only about $275 for the particular version on which I bid, but I figure that will be a fun gun and my wind up being my version of the trunk monkey. None were available around my area but another, less expensive version, was retailing for about $220 and that one's MSRP was $40 less than the one I bid on. So, it may not be a stellar deal but not bad considering.

I didn't  have any other winning bids even though I bid on 15 lots in all. They had over 350 guns up for bids. In addition there were other items like ammo, decoys, deer head mounts, canoes, lots and lots of fishing gear, and so on. I restricted my bids to the guns. Not sure when I'll head up that way to claim the two guns but am guessing it will be on Monday. Sometime in there, either before or after I pick them up, I'll spend some time afield. Who knows, maybe I'' take the shotgun out in the woods with me for some small game hunting. There has got to be something in season right now even if only porcupines, red squirrels or whatever. Of course, I could sight in the Savage ACIS XP and try for woodchucks. Add a little fishing to that and it should make for a couple or few enjoyable days in upstate NY. If I get really lucky, I may run into a couple of guys for whom there is a $100,000.00 reward and get the drop on them. Of course, that is only if my left big toe is cooperative by then, right now it is starting to wail and howl in agony once again and I foresee another trip to the painkiller
bottle in a moment or so.

All the best,
Glenn B

Yet Another Woman With The Wrong Ammo...

...for the gun she has on her person, but who cares?

That is unless you are concerned about firearms safety and realize that you should only use the correct ammunition for the particular firearm in which you intend to load it and out of which you intend to shoot it. 

Of course, I posted this photo here to educate people about firearms safety and for no other reason. I mean, seriously, why else would I post an image like that on my blog unless for firearms safety education!

All the best,
GB

Are Good Cops Too Scared To Use Deadly Force?

There have been way too many instances lately in which cops and others in law enforcement have been involved in anything from questionable shootings of suspects to what appear to be outright cases of bad shootings and that may have involved an officer committing manslaughter or murdering someone. In some of these incidents, the officers have been fully exonerated.

One such example was the shooting of Michael Brown by Police Officer Darren Wilson in Fergusson, MO. That shooting spurred on riots and looting by people who used the race card as an excuse to act like animals. It also caused a media sensation during which, at first, the officer was found guilty in the kangaroo court of public sentiment. He was fully exonerated of any criminal wrong doing.

Another case of a suspect being killed, in which the officer was exonerated, was that of Eric Garner. He was seemingly placed into a chokehold by one of his arresting officers. After complaining that he could not breathe, the asthmatic Garner subsequently died due to heart failure that was possibly aggravated by him not being able to breathe. The officer was not criminally charged but it was a media sensation followed by protests, illegal mob activity and the beatings of at least two NYPD officers.

In others, the officer has been indicted but there is a lot to question as to whether or not it was an accident or an intentional criminal act, such as the shooting of Eric Courtney Harris by Tulsa County Reserve Deputy Robert Bates. Bates shot Harris with his handgun after he notified other officers he was going to use his TASER to subdue him. He immediately apologized for shooting Harris and later said he grabbed his gun by mistake. Another media press storm was released after that shooting.

Then there have been cases like the one in which North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager allegedly shot Walter L. Scott in the back as he fled from the officer; there was clear video of the event. From what I saw of the available video, I would say that the officer shot down a man in cold blood for no justifiable reason. That officer has been charged with murder. Again, another torrential outpouring of bad press followed, bad press that is for law enforcement.

There was also the case in which several officers of the Baltimore Police Department were indicted after the death of a subject in their custody. More bad press, more of being found guilty in the kangaroo court of public opinion and apparently in the eyes of the DA prosecuting them even though she supposedly had directed the enforcement action under which it happened. Yes, more protests and lots of riots too. Sure, someone killed the arrest subject - but who did so remains to be discovered and it almost certainly was not all of those indicted.

Today, we arrive at the point where good cops and other in LE, who were already hesitant to ever resort to deadly force unless actually justified, and even then who often showed restraint in applying such force, may be afraid to use deadly force when the situation not only justifiably begs but screams for it to be used. Such is the case of a raid, in NYC, on the abode of a suspected terrorist or suspected terrorist supporter, who had allegedly sworn allegiance to ISIS. During the execution of a search warrant on the suspects home, the suspect allegedly attacked a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force by stabbing him repeatedly with a knife. Apparently no one shot him as he approached or as he actually attacked. He reportedly was arrested, not killed, and will face criminal charges (source).

So why didn't the officer shoot him. Why did they not use deadly force on him when such force was obviously justified. Was it because the officer being stabbed was in the line of fire and if so, then because they use other methods to restrain him even though they could have shot him and justifiably so at that. Or was it because they all hesitated. Maybe that is why the agent was stabbed in the first place, because of hesitation. Why would they hesitate though, what could make them jeopardize their own lives or the lives of other bother LEOs? Is it that consciously or subconsciously they are all running scarred of what might happen to them in the event they use even justifiable deadly force against a subject who is black? Let's face it, Reverend Al and his entourage do not march in protest if the person shot by police is white, and riots do not ensue unless (or so it seems) the so called 'victim' of a police shooting is black. In this case, the suspected terrorist supporter was indeed a black man (although the sole photo I was able to find of him showed him as an angelic looming black youth of may 12 years of age, despite him now being in his twenties). If it has gotten to that, law enforcers being hesitant to shoot because of a suspect's race - we may a well just take away their guns now and have them all direct traffic at Wally World.

Of course, we may want to reign in the media, arrest violent protestors, and actually look at the facts individually in each case of a police shooting. Law Enforcers, like anyone else, are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the kangaroo court of public opinion ought to be reminded of that now and again. So too should the cops be reassured that they will be treated as such; it will keep the good ones from putting themselves in harms way because of a fear from which they may not even realize they suffer.

All the best,
Glenn B

What Was For Breakfast?

Well, I gave all the little porkers a temporary reprieve for a change so it had none of these in it:

Something new, that's what was for breakfast and it contained beef. It was also something not unheard for my breakfast but yet that is fairly unusual. I had a couple of hotdogs (boiled) on toasted (in a pan with butter) potato hotdog rolls. I did say it was something new and then said it was not unheard of for my breakfast and I guess I should explain what seems like a contradiction. I have had frankfurters for the first meal of the day several times before and while that was not new, what was new was the brand for this breakfast. Last night, for dinner, was the first time ever that I have had Abeles & Heymann dogs and this morning the first time that I ever had them for breakfast.

For dinner, I sautéed them in butter in a pan along with dried flaked onions and a bit of coarsely ground black pepper. I toasted up a couple of potato rolls (also in butter in the pan) then threw the dogs on the buns, smothered them with A. Bauer's mustard with horseradish (my favorite of all mustards that I have ever tried) and chomped down. Even though they were delicious, I really overdid it with the mustard and onions last night to be able to judge the dogs. So, today I cut back and only used a local (to Long Island) horseradish mustard, completely on one and only on halfway on the other. The first bites this morning were of the mustard-free half to see what it was like fairly naked.

They seem to have a firmer consistency than Hebrew National Franks and in my opinion are more chewy than those from HN. That was a good thing. As for the taste, I have got to say they are delicious. Yet, the jurors among my taste buds have not yet reached their verdict as to whether or not they beat out those from Hebrew National as my current favorites. Thus there will be more taste testing to come this weekend.

Once upon a time, in the east, the frankfurters from Isaac Gellis were my, and my wife's, favorites - by far. I don't think that either the A&H franks, or those from HN can compare to those that were made by the Isaac Gellis company but sadly, as far as I can tell, they went belly up. As for comparing the dogs from A&H to those from HN - time and more taste tests will tell. Next time, instead of boiled or sauteed, I will cook them on the grill. I will also wash them down with a good beer instead of with water. I guess some folks might think the real test should be to eat some of each brand totally naked (not me, the hotdogs) and try to determine which has the better taste but while I may do that too, I think the best test is to have them how you would normally and for me that is with at least some of the trimmings like: mustard, horseradish, sauerkraut, beans, onions, hot peppers, hot sauce, crushed potato chips, whatever else I think of at the moment it's available - and in all combinations of those add-ons. Yes, that means there are many taste tests to come and I'm salivating while anticipating them.

All the best,
Glenn B

I've Been Preoccupied Almost All Day & Night...

...and thus my apology for the lack of blog posts today. With that I will leave you and follow this gals advice, and crawl into the sack...

Sweet dreams!

All the best,
Glenn  B

I Couldn't See Sticking This Inside My Toilet...

...and think that maybe I found and even better use for it. Yeah, yeah, yeah - it's an Andrew Cuomo Urinal Target but it gave me great pleasure to use it elsewhere. I didn't want to take the chance of flushing it down the bowl and having that get stuck in the pipe and causing a back-up; I mean we are going through enough shit in NYS because  of him - who needs more. So, I think I found another suitable application for it. What do you think?

By the way, his nose is dead center over the center of the bullseye and my second dart was right on the mark. I kind of enjoyed using it as a dartboard target instead of using it in the commode. It certainly seems to have improved my dart throwing anyway.

Please note that in no way does my use of it as a dartboard target signify, directly or indirectly, in any way, shape, manner or form that I wish to illegally harm Governor Cuomo or condone anyone else illegally harming him. You safely can bet though, my use of it as a target for darts signifies my utter disgust with his politics, policies and governorship to date and that I see him as an anti-Constitutional, anti-liberty, anti-rights, petty tyrant who, in my opinion, is totally un-American. FUAC!

All the best,
Glenn B

I Had A Dream, After All A Man Has To Dream...

...and it's what he dreams about that makes him the man he becomes.

 

If you have ever dreamed about this, you may someday achieve the impossible, at least what was impossible today.

 

All the best,

GB