We do maintain a Facebook account, connected to our real-world identity. Recently, it has provided me some amusement in the form of interacting with the metrosexual people I knew in my teen years.
They spasm at the very mention of Sarah Palin. So I defend her often, by linking to or 'liking' the articles that refute her post-Loughner accusers.
It makes them only more deranged. I giggle.
But then I remember it isn't funny. An innocent person is accused of fomenting hatred and inciting violence. A mentally-ill man is ignored by his local elected peace officer, and his sworn deputies, who could have initiated court proceedings against him. He could have received treatment; at the very least, he could have been kept away from firearms.
No, it isn't funny. And it isn't about a former governor of Alaska either. Nor about talk radio.
I take some comfort from the observations that the psychotic's target, a legislator, lives and struggles to recover; the sheriff, whose badge clots with the blood of the psychotic's victims, may answer for his failures by facing a recall; the nation seems to reject idiotic calls to punish the weapon. Some comfort, not much.
I also think of the torture that the shooter must have felt, years ago, as he sensed that his grasp of the world was failing. The greater torture of realizing that people around him notice that he has changed, but have done little or nothing to help him. What of the abandonment, the isolation, as friends, classmates, employers, even family gave up on him?
20101130
Bacchus nails
When you catch me doing journalist-like things, it’s because the lazy fuckers who claim to be journalists aren’t doing their fucking jobs.
Over here.
20101119
My National Ammo Day Haul
Fuze asks and Fuze gets.
200 rnds 9mm, 115-grn FMJ
50 rnds 22 Mag, 40-grn HP
50 rnds 38 Special +P, 125-grn HPs
(The latter are for Barbaloot to test in a couple of .357 Ruger revolvers real soon like...)
All of it picked up from Sportsman's Warehouse on the way home from work. I'd forgotten about NAD until I read Fuze's post.
So mark me down for 300 rounds. I did my part!!
TCM
200 rnds 9mm, 115-grn FMJ
50 rnds 22 Mag, 40-grn HP
50 rnds 38 Special +P, 125-grn HPs
(The latter are for Barbaloot to test in a couple of .357 Ruger revolvers real soon like...)
All of it picked up from Sportsman's Warehouse on the way home from work. I'd forgotten about NAD until I read Fuze's post.
So mark me down for 300 rounds. I did my part!!
TCM
And it's still National Ammo Day!
MidwayUSA ships Rainier 200gr .45 plated flat point. Ordered to arrive today.
C'mon, let's see everybody's Ammo Day hauls.
20101114
used HP Photosmart 2575, cheap
Amusing email from Hewlett Packard:
Having just kicked my last HP printer to the curb, I could care less about getting as settlement an e-credit from HP toward the purchase of another.
And as much as I dislike the practice of litigating every wrong everywhere every time, I'd almost like to see the attorneys open this can of worms and spill it on the table. I was responsible for feeding an HP all-in-one in a TOC, artificially setting its date to 5 years in the past so we could keep using expired inkjet carts. I'm also still trying to remove the last auto-updating HP bloatwares from several computers.
The third lawsuit (Blennis) claims that HP designed certain inkjet printers and cartridges to shut down on an undisclosed expiration date, and that at this point consumers are prevented from using any ink remaining in the expired cartridge and from using all of the printer's functions until the expired cartridge is replaced. HP denies all these claims. . . . the parties agreed to a Proposed Settlement in order to avoid the expense and risks of continuing the lawsuit.
Having just kicked my last HP printer to the curb, I could care less about getting as settlement an e-credit from HP toward the purchase of another.
And as much as I dislike the practice of litigating every wrong everywhere every time, I'd almost like to see the attorneys open this can of worms and spill it on the table. I was responsible for feeding an HP all-in-one in a TOC, artificially setting its date to 5 years in the past so we could keep using expired inkjet carts. I'm also still trying to remove the last auto-updating HP bloatwares from several computers.
20101109
20101104
TCM stares down a troll...
...in comments over at The Truth About Guns.
Probably not my best effort, but it'll do.
Edit:
Apparently, I (shamelessly?) read the TTAG posts chronologically, thereby missing this response. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the anti-gunners revert to ad hominem attacks. Reasoned discourse, my ass.
TCM
Probably not my best effort, but it'll do.
Edit:
Apparently, I (shamelessly?) read the TTAG posts chronologically, thereby missing this response. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the anti-gunners revert to ad hominem attacks. Reasoned discourse, my ass.
TCM
20101009
Hie thee off to Alphecca
Republicans are contorted in the pantaloons over NRA endorsements?
Please leave something in the tip jar for Jeff.
Please leave something in the tip jar for Jeff.
20101002
I suddenly find myself wondering
I suddenly find myself wondering why i need to tell a bartender what "neat" means
20100923
20100922
OK, I'll play!!
The Cabinet Man here...
Below is my "on the body" carry rig:
That's a Springfield Armory XDm in 45 ACP. It rides in a Blade-Tech IWB holster with pull-the-dot loops. The spare mag and a Surefire Z2 Combatlight ride in a Blade-Tech combo pouch. All of that gets strapped on with a Wilderness Tactical 1-1/2" polymer-lined Frequent Flyer belt. The rig conceals pretty well as long as I'm wearing baggy shirts or a vest/jacket. It's surprisingly comfortable, too!
TCM
Below is my "on the body" carry rig:
That's a Springfield Armory XDm in 45 ACP. It rides in a Blade-Tech IWB holster with pull-the-dot loops. The spare mag and a Surefire Z2 Combatlight ride in a Blade-Tech combo pouch. All of that gets strapped on with a Wilderness Tactical 1-1/2" polymer-lined Frequent Flyer belt. The rig conceals pretty well as long as I'm wearing baggy shirts or a vest/jacket. It's surprisingly comfortable, too!
TCM
20100921
Carry rigs
SaysUncle asks, "what's your carry rig?"
Milt Sparks Summer Special above, Dillon kinda Yaqui slide below.
Biter the stainless Commander is comfy in either. She rode in the Sparks all day today.
El Paso Saddlery two-mag carrier (from CheaperThanDirt) not shown.
And visible in the upper edge of the pic is the steel cable for the Center-of-Mass in-car safe, which is indispensable.
Milt Sparks Summer Special above, Dillon kinda Yaqui slide below.
Biter the stainless Commander is comfy in either. She rode in the Sparks all day today.
El Paso Saddlery two-mag carrier (from CheaperThanDirt) not shown.
And visible in the upper edge of the pic is the steel cable for the Center-of-Mass in-car safe, which is indispensable.
20100911
No irreversible damage
The cheap milsurp plastic grips on Beater the utility blaster cracked, right across the panel, through the upper screw hole. Both panels.
A cast-aside 6' slab of 1/4" Lexan was looking at me from the corner of the garage, like the Cheetos cheetah: "you know you want to do it."
I hacked out two pieces about the size of M1911 grip panels, and started rasping away anything that looked like it didn't belong there.
The WECSOG grip panels aren't done. They are fitted to the frame, with the countersinking and the relief for the detent plunger doodad, and the outline. But the contouring is only begun.
When it is to the desired contour, it will be stippled for texture.
20100831
Bleg: .22 top end for Glock 23
Who has the best .22LR conversion for Glock 23?
It's not a 4th-generation. Aside from that, all I can tell you is the serial number.
Flinch needs to be programmed out of the spousal unit.
It's not a 4th-generation. Aside from that, all I can tell you is the serial number.
Flinch needs to be programmed out of the spousal unit.
20100829
QFTD
In comments on Reason.tv's coverage of Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor event, M. said:
Pop quiz: which would our Founders have thought the smaller of the two entities?
'nother: how much smaller would it have been, say as a measure of how many persons were employed by, or paid by, one entity versus the other. Or say as a measure of how much spending is done by one versus the other.
I caught some of Beck's radio program last week, as he and his staff were discussing Brian Williams's appearance on Letterman. Letterman was asking Williams, as if asking Beck and the Tea Partiers through him: "taking our country back from whom?"
At the time I couldn't answer concisely, and in a way that wouldn't spawn countless challenges. Maybe the answer is concisely right there.
Jefferson and Washington would never [have] confused the public sphere with the machinery of government.
Pop quiz: which would our Founders have thought the smaller of the two entities?
'nother: how much smaller would it have been, say as a measure of how many persons were employed by, or paid by, one entity versus the other. Or say as a measure of how much spending is done by one versus the other.
I caught some of Beck's radio program last week, as he and his staff were discussing Brian Williams's appearance on Letterman. Letterman was asking Williams, as if asking Beck and the Tea Partiers through him: "taking our country back from whom?"
At the time I couldn't answer concisely, and in a way that wouldn't spawn countless challenges. Maybe the answer is concisely right there.
20100827
It just occurred to me . . .
. . . that Hannibal Lecter cut his hand off needlessly at the end of Hannibal.
Note that he cut his hand off to escape the handcuff that Clarice slapped on him in the scene right after Hannibal fed Ray Liotta's character part of his own brain.
But didn't Hannibal free himself from handcuffs in the Silence of the Lambs, in seconds, while the deputies were bringing him dinner? And he did so under spartan conditions, where he had to find or smuggle an improvised handcuff key.
So back to Clarice's kitchen. If Clarice had a frigging meat cleaver suitable for severing a man's hand at the wrist, she probably had many other items lying around, as in within three steps of the cleaver, that would have gerry-rigged a handcuff key as easily as the ballpoint pen tube that he used in Silence.
Clarice was heavily doped and not likely to put up much of a fight to this improvisation---the handcuffing was all she could pull off without passing out.
I must conclude that the cleaving of his hand was a dramatic flourish, not a true necessity for a fiend as clever as Hannibal Lecter. I haven't read the book, so I don't know whether that even happened in the book, and the book controls.
Discuss. Submit your coursework in the Comments, in APA 6th edition format.
Note that he cut his hand off to escape the handcuff that Clarice slapped on him in the scene right after Hannibal fed Ray Liotta's character part of his own brain.
But didn't Hannibal free himself from handcuffs in the Silence of the Lambs, in seconds, while the deputies were bringing him dinner? And he did so under spartan conditions, where he had to find or smuggle an improvised handcuff key.
So back to Clarice's kitchen. If Clarice had a frigging meat cleaver suitable for severing a man's hand at the wrist, she probably had many other items lying around, as in within three steps of the cleaver, that would have gerry-rigged a handcuff key as easily as the ballpoint pen tube that he used in Silence.
Clarice was heavily doped and not likely to put up much of a fight to this improvisation---the handcuffing was all she could pull off without passing out.
I must conclude that the cleaving of his hand was a dramatic flourish, not a true necessity for a fiend as clever as Hannibal Lecter. I haven't read the book, so I don't know whether that even happened in the book, and the book controls.
Discuss. Submit your coursework in the Comments, in APA 6th edition format.
20100824
An exposure to 60Co
Still catching up on back issues of Liberty, which yields another QFTD, May '07 in fact:
Jason's post was inspired by discovery of salmonella contaminating peanut butter.
Would irradiation have worked on eggs?
Contaminated food scares seem to be more common now than when I was a kid. I don't know whether it's true or just more noticeable. It it's true, I'd like to know whether it's because food processors (or regulators) are just more careless, or we're just producing so much more, or exchanging foods more widely across the planet, or perhaps the contaminating organisms are just tougher now and breaking through the formerly adequate measures that processors have deployed against them.
Regardless, a few more scares like this one and maybe more Americans will be open to a broad use of irradiation, and vigorous tracking of which foods, and handling methods, yield better safety.
. . . only about 1% of our meat and produce is irradiated. The FDA has dragged its feet, considering irradiation some kind of food additive. They allow irradiation of meat, but with a warning label about possible risks! No such label is required for untreated meat that is laden with microbes . . if Public Citizen, food activists, and the FDA had been around in Pasteur's time, we wouldn't have pasteurization today.Gary Jason in Bug Out, Reflections
Jason's post was inspired by discovery of salmonella contaminating peanut butter.
Would irradiation have worked on eggs?
Contaminated food scares seem to be more common now than when I was a kid. I don't know whether it's true or just more noticeable. It it's true, I'd like to know whether it's because food processors (or regulators) are just more careless, or we're just producing so much more, or exchanging foods more widely across the planet, or perhaps the contaminating organisms are just tougher now and breaking through the formerly adequate measures that processors have deployed against them.
Regardless, a few more scares like this one and maybe more Americans will be open to a broad use of irradiation, and vigorous tracking of which foods, and handling methods, yield better safety.
20100823
QFTD
The right to honestly acquired private property does not depend on people's deserving their property. People do not deserve their livers or good looks, either; yet they have a right to them.
Leland Yeager paraphrasing Tibor Machan in Liberty, July 2007; sorry, article itself not online
20100815
45 ACP Shotshell Handloads for Revolvers
(In the CD player: Ixnay on the Hombre, The Offspring)
As most of you are aware, CCI is pretty much the "industry standard" for pistol-caliber shotshells. The little buggers are sold mostly to snakeaphobes, though I'm sure a few are bought just for kicks. CCI makes these shotshells in three (centerfire) semi-auto calibers: 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP. Unfortunately, CCI specifically calls-out that these three shotshells are not to be used in revolvers of respective caliber. They bind-up the cylinder in rather unpleasant ways. Because I'm an RTFM kinda' guy, this has not happened to me personally. I've learned from others' mistakes.
While I'm sure that heapin' plenty of God's little critters have succumbed to CCI's factory loadings across the available calibers, I've always felt that the .4X were the smallest loadings I'd trust for serpent. I have a handy-dandy SP-101, which would be an ideal setup were I trusting in the 357 shotshell. But not so much trust here. Next up is the 44 Mag, of which I have two candidates. One is a Redhawk that's a bit too unwieldy for the task, the other a 2-1/2" Taurus Tracker. The latter has a ported barrel which, unfortunately, CCI says is a "no-no" for the shotshells. (RTFM, remember??...) So the 44 is out. The other two .4X offerings are 45 ACP and 45 Long Colt. I want something that can guarantee a follow-up shot so the 45 ACP in a semi-auto is out. I don't have a 45 Long Colt so that's a non-starter.
What's a girl to do?
Well, what I do have are two 45 ACP revolvers. A S&W 625 and a 325 Thunder Ranch, both with 4" barrels. The 625 isn't a whole lot lighter than the Redhawk but the 325 is very light, being divined of a magical Middle Earth compound known as scandium. Knowing that I can't use CCI's 45 ACP shotshells on this platform, I figger'ed I'd set out to roll my own 45 ACP revolver loads.
And roll'em I did!
(It's at this point that I must interject that reloading data follows. This data worked wonderfully for me, in my gun, with the batch of components I had on hand, on the day I did the testing. The same cannot be assumed for you. By duplicating these loads for your own use, you assume all risk of death, dismemberment, or damaged guns and hold harmless Yours Truly in the case that any or all of those unfortunate events actually come to pass. Legal mumbo-jumbo, blah, blah, blah...)
Referring back to an article written by Mike Venturino (American Handgunner, Jan/Feb 2007), I started formulating a plan. Mike loaded his 45 Long Colt shotshells with 45 caliber Speer shot capsules, #12 shot, and Unique powder. So I snagged a box of the capsules, scrounged a ten-pound bag of #11 shot, whipped out my own jug of Unique, and set myself to loading. I went with #11 shot since I wanted something larger than #12. (If you've ever seen #11 or #12 shot, you'll understand that "larger" is a strictly relative term...)
The shot capsules hold 163.5 grains of #11 shot, or about 408 pellets. The capsule and shot combined weighs almost exactly 180 grains. Mike used 9.0 grains of Unique in his 45 Long Colt load. Speer recommends 7.5 grains for the 45 Long Colt. So I figger'ed I'd start with 6.5 grains of Unique for the 45 ACP. I seated the capsules by hand -- squishing them in place between a scrap piece of 2x2 and my reloading bench -- to an OAL of 1.55", +/- 0.03 depending on who manufactured the shell casing. I used a 45 ACP Lee Factory Crimp die to make a taper crimp. (Since I also have a 45 ACP roll crimp die, I tried that. Fail. It just managed to crack the capsule and send #11 shot scattering everywhere...)
As you can see, the capsule extends quite a ways out the mouth of the case, despite a rather deep seating.
But it still fits in the 325's cylinder with plenty of room to spare.
Just for grits-n-shins, I tried chambering one of them in my 1911. It didn't work, the capsule catching the rifling well before the case could headspace.
Then it was off to the range. (Unfortunately, I forgot the camera. So here are your thousand words...)
In a nutshell, the experiment was a success!! The patterns made at roughly 10 feet were exactly what you'd expect: ~18", with good distribution. Recoil was noticeable but mild. There was nothing untoward as a result of using the capsules: no plastic shards flying about or jamming up the cylinder works. Cases extracted w/o problem. Sorry, no chrono data.
One thing I wanted to check -- and I'm glad I did -- was "capsule creep" due to recoil. I loaded one moon clip with five of my 200-grn FMJ match rounds and one shotshell. I "staged" the cylinder so that the shotshell fired after the five match rounds. Indeed, the capsule crept out of the case and would have bound the cylinder. Admittedly, I didn't have the tightest taper crimp on these loads. I'll need to do a bit more experimentation on the crimp. Probably a few cycles of "tighten it until it snaps, then back off a 1/4 turn." Even if I can't get the exact crimp I want, the shotshell would always be staged to fire first and recoil creep would be a non-issue. Still, I wanna' get it right...
Finally, Mike V. used the "potato test" as criteria for an effective shotshell load. He believes that if one of these babies blasts apart a raw potato, it's good enough for snakes. Well, my 45 ACP loads sent a spud to the Big Potato Patch in the Sky. In many pieces!
So, if you have 45 ACP revolver that you wanna' roll some shotshells for, have at it. It can be done.
TCM
As most of you are aware, CCI is pretty much the "industry standard" for pistol-caliber shotshells. The little buggers are sold mostly to snakeaphobes, though I'm sure a few are bought just for kicks. CCI makes these shotshells in three (centerfire) semi-auto calibers: 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP. Unfortunately, CCI specifically calls-out that these three shotshells are not to be used in revolvers of respective caliber. They bind-up the cylinder in rather unpleasant ways. Because I'm an RTFM kinda' guy, this has not happened to me personally. I've learned from others' mistakes.
While I'm sure that heapin' plenty of God's little critters have succumbed to CCI's factory loadings across the available calibers, I've always felt that the .4X were the smallest loadings I'd trust for serpent. I have a handy-dandy SP-101, which would be an ideal setup were I trusting in the 357 shotshell. But not so much trust here. Next up is the 44 Mag, of which I have two candidates. One is a Redhawk that's a bit too unwieldy for the task, the other a 2-1/2" Taurus Tracker. The latter has a ported barrel which, unfortunately, CCI says is a "no-no" for the shotshells. (RTFM, remember??...) So the 44 is out. The other two .4X offerings are 45 ACP and 45 Long Colt. I want something that can guarantee a follow-up shot so the 45 ACP in a semi-auto is out. I don't have a 45 Long Colt so that's a non-starter.
What's a girl to do?
Well, what I do have are two 45 ACP revolvers. A S&W 625 and a 325 Thunder Ranch, both with 4" barrels. The 625 isn't a whole lot lighter than the Redhawk but the 325 is very light, being divined of a magical Middle Earth compound known as scandium. Knowing that I can't use CCI's 45 ACP shotshells on this platform, I figger'ed I'd set out to roll my own 45 ACP revolver loads.
And roll'em I did!
(It's at this point that I must interject that reloading data follows. This data worked wonderfully for me, in my gun, with the batch of components I had on hand, on the day I did the testing. The same cannot be assumed for you. By duplicating these loads for your own use, you assume all risk of death, dismemberment, or damaged guns and hold harmless Yours Truly in the case that any or all of those unfortunate events actually come to pass. Legal mumbo-jumbo, blah, blah, blah...)
Referring back to an article written by Mike Venturino (American Handgunner, Jan/Feb 2007), I started formulating a plan. Mike loaded his 45 Long Colt shotshells with 45 caliber Speer shot capsules, #12 shot, and Unique powder. So I snagged a box of the capsules, scrounged a ten-pound bag of #11 shot, whipped out my own jug of Unique, and set myself to loading. I went with #11 shot since I wanted something larger than #12. (If you've ever seen #11 or #12 shot, you'll understand that "larger" is a strictly relative term...)
The shot capsules hold 163.5 grains of #11 shot, or about 408 pellets. The capsule and shot combined weighs almost exactly 180 grains. Mike used 9.0 grains of Unique in his 45 Long Colt load. Speer recommends 7.5 grains for the 45 Long Colt. So I figger'ed I'd start with 6.5 grains of Unique for the 45 ACP. I seated the capsules by hand -- squishing them in place between a scrap piece of 2x2 and my reloading bench -- to an OAL of 1.55", +/- 0.03 depending on who manufactured the shell casing. I used a 45 ACP Lee Factory Crimp die to make a taper crimp. (Since I also have a 45 ACP roll crimp die, I tried that. Fail. It just managed to crack the capsule and send #11 shot scattering everywhere...)
As you can see, the capsule extends quite a ways out the mouth of the case, despite a rather deep seating.
But it still fits in the 325's cylinder with plenty of room to spare.
Just for grits-n-shins, I tried chambering one of them in my 1911. It didn't work, the capsule catching the rifling well before the case could headspace.
Then it was off to the range. (Unfortunately, I forgot the camera. So here are your thousand words...)
In a nutshell, the experiment was a success!! The patterns made at roughly 10 feet were exactly what you'd expect: ~18", with good distribution. Recoil was noticeable but mild. There was nothing untoward as a result of using the capsules: no plastic shards flying about or jamming up the cylinder works. Cases extracted w/o problem. Sorry, no chrono data.
One thing I wanted to check -- and I'm glad I did -- was "capsule creep" due to recoil. I loaded one moon clip with five of my 200-grn FMJ match rounds and one shotshell. I "staged" the cylinder so that the shotshell fired after the five match rounds. Indeed, the capsule crept out of the case and would have bound the cylinder. Admittedly, I didn't have the tightest taper crimp on these loads. I'll need to do a bit more experimentation on the crimp. Probably a few cycles of "tighten it until it snaps, then back off a 1/4 turn." Even if I can't get the exact crimp I want, the shotshell would always be staged to fire first and recoil creep would be a non-issue. Still, I wanna' get it right...
Finally, Mike V. used the "potato test" as criteria for an effective shotshell load. He believes that if one of these babies blasts apart a raw potato, it's good enough for snakes. Well, my 45 ACP loads sent a spud to the Big Potato Patch in the Sky. In many pieces!
So, if you have 45 ACP revolver that you wanna' roll some shotshells for, have at it. It can be done.
TCM
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