Obama’s “Under The Radar” Gun Grab June 7, 2011
Posted by Mitchell in Bad Times Ahead, Destined for the Gulags, Guns, Politics.comments closed
We were all wondering what this was, and now we know. If the Senate ratifies this then the decline and fall of the United States of America into a despotic hell-hole is all but assured.
I Need Gun Advice November 14, 2010
Posted by Mitchell in Guns, Home.comments closed
Serious Yorling Business
Mom wants to buy my Dad a gun for Christmas and she’s asked me to do the shopping around and pick one out. They want one for the home and he has no interest in carrying it, so that’s not a factor. The upper limit price is $1200. I really think that a revolver like my S & W 686 pretty much fits the bill, but there aren’t any available in the seven shot model like mine. There is one in the six shot variety though. It looks identical in every other respect. They can order a seven shot 686 in a snub-nosed version though and have it in a few days. Also, amazingly I found at the same place a Kimber Stainless II. These are very hard to find as one store I went to can’t keep any Kimbers in stock at all. It’s even priced slightly below MSRP. That would be an AWESOME present for Christmas, but is it really the best option for home defense? I’m almost thinking that it would be more gun than Dad would want to deal with. But still, it’s a really really nice gun. What do y’all think?
****Above the pic update****
OK. Thanks for the input everyone! I’ve decided on the ultimate win-win situation. Mom is buying the Kimber for Dad. I’m buying the 686 six-shooter for them both. The really nice thing about the 686 is that it can load the .38 caliber that Mom can handle. And of course it loads the magnificent .357 magnum rounds!
Russ brings up the Shotgun Gambit. That actually probably is the best overall home defense weapon, really. But he gave me his old shotgun and .22 rifle a while back. He used to hunt many years ago but he has no interest in it now. He really wants a handgun.
Ending The Funk September 17, 2010
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.comments closed
Happiness Is A Warm 1911 Pistol
Lookie at what I’m getting tomorrow:
This here is a Colt Gold Cup National Match (Mark IV, Series 80) pistol, which is of the .45 caliber 1911 style gun that I’ve been threatening to buy for ages. I’m stealing getting it for a very reasonable price stealing it from the husband of the occasional commenter here at the C of A and fellow Las Veganiac Lipstick. They are fleeing this barren land to the greener economic pastures of Texas in the not-so-distant-future and are shedding themselves of some of their possessions to lighten the load. I’m MORE than happy to be of service in this endeavor. You may recall my previous aquisition that they gave me for free.
I have to admit that I am conflicted. I’m sorry to see them go and really wish I’d put the effort to know them better previously, but …DAMN I’M GETTING THE BEST STUFF EVAAARRRR!!!
…
Yeah. That’s a major character flaw. It’s why I can’t have nice friends.
Para Guns January 31, 2008
Posted by Mitchell in Guns, Science & Technology.comments closed
Check this beauty out.
It’s the PX18.9 – a single action 9 mm 1911 style pistol with an 18 round magazine. A bit pricey at $1109, but man! It’s a nice, thick cut of Awesomeness, grilled to awesome perfection and slathered with awesome sauce.
Or not? I dunno – how does the Para Ordnance brand stack up out there among the rest?
The Gun Bug January 25, 2008
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.comments closed
Ok. Now that I have one of these things I’ve come to realize they’re like potato chips – it’s impossible to have just one. I’m going to get a nice bonus check soon and my birthday isn’t far away so I’m looking forward to another gun purchase in the next couple months. And since I’m down at the range anyway practicing with my own, maybe I might try out one of the other fine guns they have available. I’m interested of course inn the semi-automatic line of fine handguns. A while back I went out with a guy from work and we shot his 9mm Beretta and .40 S&W semi-autos. We had fun with both of them, but since we were shooting at crap in the desert, I didn’t really get a full sense of how well I was doing with either of them. Now I know a lot more about ammunition than I did before by going out and actually shooting some my own stuff at my own targets at known distances, and help from you people, but I’d like to know more.
I’ve been poking around on the various gun manufacturer’s websites and evaluating what’s out there – guided in part by this: Gun Diversity. I wanted to make sure I hit the major players in the market. My, what a rich diversity there is out there! I’m hoping some of you more experienced gun nuts can help me out here in making a decision.
I really, really like the look and styling of the classic 1911 style pistol that the all of the major gun makers have. I’m not much of a fan of the >$1000 price tag that all of them have however. I also don’t like the small number of rounds available in each magazine necessitated by the ubiquitous fat .45 ACP ammunition standard. I have a seven-shot revolver already; I want to pack some ammo in my semi-auto.
I’m gonna post this now and add my thoughts on the various manufacturers and models I’ve looked at later. Let me know what you think about them first, and I’ll consider your recommendations.
Sunday Range Report December 9, 2007
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.Tags: Target Shooting
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Yesterday I went down and picked up another 100 rounds of ammo for the gun. This time I paid $26.37 for Remington .38 Special +P 125 gr. semi-jacketed hollowpoints. I went by the range too, but they were packed and had people waiting so I passed and went today. There were plenty of stalls available this time so I paid up and headed on in. I picked up some new targets when I got the ammo so I had plenty of paper to shoot at and I remembered to bring a pen so I could accurately record the ammo and ranges I was working with. They charge you 50 cents per target if you get them at the range, so it’s really worth buying those elsewhere. Let’s see how I did.
Ammunition Bleg December 6, 2007
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.comments closed
Allrighty then – enough with the art stuff. Let’s get back to Serious Matters again and turn our attention to far more important things like these:
Bullets. Cartridges. Little Bangs o’ Death. Whatever you want to call them, they’re what makes your gun come alive. And there are so many flavors to choose from! Those in the picture above are the ones I’ve picked up so far. The two small boxes are the expensive rounds I bought when I picked up my gun. Those cost well nigh a buck a bullet. The box on the left is Speer GoldDot .38 Special +P 135 gr. jacketed hollow-points. I haven’t shot any of those yet. The one on the left is Federal’s Premium .357 Magnum 130 gr. jacketed hollow-points. These are touted as being “low recoil” and have a special ingredient called “Hydra-Shok”. I assume this special ingredient has something to do with “low recoil” feature of this round. Perhaps I assume wrong? I haven’t shot this ammunition yet either. Moving on to the bigger blue box would be the Speer Law Man Training Ammunition .38 Special 158gr. TMJ CF (I don’t know what “TMJ CF” means but they were jacketed ball rounds). I shot that whole box last Saturday and I liked them. The two white boxes are the cheapest stuff I could get at the local Wallymart: 100 rounds of Winchester .38 Special 130 gr. full metal jacket blunt tipped bullets, and 50 rounds of .357 Magnum 110 gr. semi-jacketed hollow-points. I didn’t fire all of that off, but a good portion of it anyway.
No doubt some of you reading this already know what I’m gonna ask about: WTF is the deal with the grain count on these things? It was my understanding that the grain count relates to the amount of powder in the cartridge and thus the power of it when firing. If this was true, then the .357 magnum rounds I shot should have been the weakest of the three that I’ve fired so far. I assure you that was not the case last Sunday. The kick and muzzle flash of those suckers was quite impressive (to me at any rate) and they were considerably more powerful than the .38 stuff. So, what’s the deal?
Another thing – the Winchester stuff left my gun extremely dirty. The magnums I understand since they’re semi-jacketed, but the others were still dirty to fire – a lot more smoke and obvious powder residue. The Speer Lawman touts itself as “Clean-Fire” and I must say they totally are compared to the Winchesters – even the shell casings. So, what’s the deal with that? Obviously, this sort of stuff is the trade-off you make with the cost, but I’m curious as to the reasons behind it. I’ve googled around a bit, but I haven’t found a good, overall guide to handgun ammunition and the pros and cons of this type of round vs. that and what the heck that grain count thing is all about. Any help or guidance any y’all can give on this matter is greatly appreciated! I mentioned previously about attending an upcoming Gun Show the weekend after next and I’m hoping to get a good deal on some ammo. I’d like to avoid any “noob” mistakes. Oh, and tips on gun cleaning too – I’ve got some, uh “scorch-marks” on the cylinder that I couldn’t get off with my gun cleaning kit. Or is this something normal with guns – they collect noticeable evidence of their use and whatnot? Thanks!
Saturday Fun December 2, 2007
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.comments closed
Yesterday I went down to the American Shooters range and fired my own gun for the first time. It was pretty cool. I was going to go by wallymart to get some ammo first, but I got off late and needed to be somewhere else later, so I decided to get the range ammo at American Shooters instead. I got a fifty round box of the regular .38 specials for 15 bucks. I asked for wadcutters, but they didn’t have them, so I got Speers full metal jacket ball rounds. I bought three targets the guy said was used for CCW proficiency testing (the “Big White Guy” as the range dude called them) and went to go put holes in them. Let’s see how I did.
Friday Fun November 30, 2007
Posted by Mitchell in Guns.comments closed
I think I need to work on my shooting style this weekend.
I forget where I stole this from. Probably from Sondrak. Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for the visits and advice. I didn’t finish this week’s watercolor painting but it’s going real well so far. I’ll post the unfinished version later so you can see a work in progress.
Just One More Thing About “Mr. Bang-Bang” November 29, 2007
Posted by Mitchell in Guns, Politics.comments closed
I read the Owner’s Manual the night I brought it home cover to cover and I have a few questions for my fellow gun-nuts. The writers of that fine manual took great pains to point out that HOLY SHIT DUDE THIS IS GUN!! THIS THING IS INSANELY DANGEROUS!! OH GOD BE CAREFUL WITH IT!! In big, bold red letters. On every page. Several times. Now, I’m not one to belittle gun safety mind you, but…it seemed a bit excessive – particularly in regards to storage of the item. The manual explained at great length the necessity of keeping the both the gun unloaded and under lock and key AT ALL TIMES. At the very least double locked with both the cheesy loop lock thingy included and a gun safe that you have to buy separately. Optimally, it should be also sealed with a kryptonite cross so that both Dracula AND Superman couldn’t get near the thing*. All this even while shooting it, seemingly. Oh, and the ammo has to be locked away AT ALL TIMES as well, separately from the gun. In another state, preferably.
I may be exaggerating here. But not much. Again, I’m not running down gun safety, but some of this seems to me to be rather excessive, and not very practical if one really intends to have a gun for viable home defense: “Oh, excuse me Mr. Burgler while search for the keys for the gun safe, gun lock and ammo safe! Please don’t come upstairs and kill me while I’m trying to find all this stuff in the dark!”
Am I being Dangerously Flippant? Am I a Loose Cannon if I don’t store my gun and ammo separately? Am I The Worst Gun Owner Ever if I even consider storing it loaded? People keep telling me that one of the nice things about revolvers is that you can do so indefinitely without worrying about important springs getting worn out and the gun not working and whatnot, so clearly I’m not the only one who has notions of this Blackest of Gun Safety Heresy.
I live alone with a cat and I don’t have any kids that come over and play in my house. I’m reasonably certain the cat isn’t going to develop opposable thumbs and super-feline strength any time in the near future, so I’m not greatly concerned that my gun will Fall Into The Wrong Hands at my house. The manual did bring up the subject about gun theft, so I guess that’s something to consider. So, how do y’all go about this? McGoo? Mr. Minority? Weasel? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
*Apologies to Jack Handey for the kryptonite cross thing.
The Center of the Anomaly 
