Yes, please DO remember...

Remember that reinforced polymer 80% lowers can be had for sixty bucks, as of right now.

Trigger, lower parts kit and a complete upper from your choice of vendors makes a no-paper AR for anywhere from cheap to whatever-you-desire.

The time to stock these is now, along with magazines and food, for the children, of course.

The funniest bit to me is this; the Donkeycrats are just SURE that a complete ban on civilian firearms will fix the shootings in the street-level-of-violence that we see on the idiot box on a day-to-day basis. They've set the stage for making it worse by several orders of magnitude with this plan.

There will be blood.

Too cheaply had

I noticed something when the cheaper digital cameras were starting to become the new thing to have among the proles, twenty years ago or so. The quality of photography, and my own as well, went to the shitter.

Then came the dreaded cell phone with the god-damned thing built right into it.

Can't stand the typical "smart phone," with their stupid fucking cameras that try to "think," for you, either.

Money quote;

"So it is with photography today. The camera can focus itself, choose the shutter speed and aperture, even do multiple exposures for high dynamic range. Today's photographer is commonly less capable than his equipment. The notion seems to be the digital camera is such a wonderfully advanced technological marvel it knows better than the user what the optimum result is. What a crock."

Except that for me, it's the other way around; the equipment, despite all of the bullshit "capabilities," is decidedly incapable, I find. Even following the fucking instructions, to a 'T,' in the dreaded manual reveals a byzantine process by which to instruct the fucking camera to focus (which it can't), on anything at all. Forget adjusting things like f-stops or bracketing or depth of field shots. It's quicker and easier on a manual focus film camera.

God-damned fucking "progress," my ass.

I suppose I'll have to look at the newer, and expensive, DSLR equipment that is out there.

Actually, I'll have ANOTHER

And I'm looking at AR pistols (to riff on Kurt Schlicter's mini rant).

There is a nice size-to-firepower ratio with a much higher probability of hits with such a thing, I think.

Might be something I snatch up as soon as tomorrow.

The signal should have gotten through by now.

And think about this bit;

"...Any new ban will not be like the old one. Do you really think they’ll put in a sunset clause?"

 Betcher ass!

Which is why, when I come to sell a few of them, post-ban, they will NOT be going for eight or ten times the original price, but upwards of one hundred times.

And I'll get that for them too.

The reason I know why is this; after Sandy Hook, there was a bunch of panic buying based on nothing more than speculation of legislative action. There was no active ban and prices for your garden-variety 30-round Pmag went from ten or twelve dollars to one hundred in about three or four weeks, after the distributors and retailers were overwhelmed with demand.

I knew then that it was time to stuff the larder even more with those same items, if and when sanity prevailed, which it obviously did.

AR and Glock mags for the popular models and calibers, and any others for guns you just can't live without would be a very good thing to have before artificial scarcity hits. I'd advise doubling down on your MBR mags too.

Interesting uses

I open my mailbox to find this today.

Purple-cased, and "Open-tip," printed right on the box, and it's "for training use only."

In the real world, we'd call this stuff "hollow point," but that's a nasty term that hurts some people's feelings, so I suppose this is some sort of Orwellian Newspeak, or some other rot.

This should run through your AR pretty well, however. (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, but that's not any sort of endorsement.)

As Pete at WRSA is want to say, time is short.

A note to the Faithful

On the trek home, I decided to stop by (yes, it's on the way) the local Cabela's to visit the empty shelves.

To my surprise, not only was there ammo, and even in some, SOME, of the more common calibers, but there were AR-15 magazines for sale, and fairly decent ones too.

D&H Tactical with the Magpul followers, in either FDE or black, for $25 each, limited to five per customer. Avail yourself of the opportunity when you have it.

Odds and ends

By way of K-Var, I note the availability of the Zastava M88A 9mm pistol, for only $279.

This is a steal.

Not sure what good it will do against the assailants armed with this...but it beats nothing, I suppose.

Question,

WTF is going on?

If I were inclined to bark at the moon and pray to trees and Gaia, I'd probably start babbling about how this is a sign of the End Times, or some other rot.

As it stands, I'm thinking that this might just might be a portents of bad things to come, just without all the causative barking moonbat crazy-talk.

Instead, I'm going to buy some more magazines and stripper clips for various firearms, and I'm doing it right effin' NOW!

The march of technology

Via Sipsey Street; It seems that it took just over thirty years to go from fanciful weapon of the movies to get to the real deal.

World's first lightsaber.

Quoting the article;

"...the laser is so high powered that shining it on fleshy parts will cause them to burst into flames..."

Pretty close to the original mark, if you ask me.

All for about $200.

I want one.

Not sure what I need it for, but it might find a good use in the near-future, should the fucking governments of the world keep futzing with fiat currencies and monetary exchanges, like they've been wont to do of late.

Of course, I'm sure the feds are going to take notice of this thing, and for all of the obvious reasons.

I'm also curious as to what that waiver that's mentioned actually says.

Me want

Via Oleg's lens, I see that a company, Bazooka Brothers Mfg., is putting together an AR-platformed .45 ACP lead dispenser, called the BAZ 45.

Uses M3 Grease Gun stick mags too. Assuming the feeding is reliable, I'd say that's an excellent pick for an off the shelf mag solution.

Can you say Mr. HouseGun?

Knowing of what they speak

On Socks.

"There is one item of G.I. gear that can be the difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt.

Socks.

Cushion sole, O.D. green. Try to keep your feet dry when we're out there humpin'. I want you boys to remember to change your socks whenever we stop. The Mekong will eat a grunt's feet right off his legs." - Lt. Dan Taylor, from Forrest Gump

Was doing the rounds today and found this at Sipsey Street.

Note also, a link to the source piece, at War on Guns.

Being a former competitive runner, I know a few things about taking care of my feet. Slogging 60 or 70 miles a week at six minutes or better per mile will make you do that, you simply have no choice.

I'd been wearing some course wool socks with a separate liner for at least 3 or 4 years whilst at college, since they were the only system I'd found that truly helped stave off the cold while walking Mount Oread, and the fucking wind up there is just horrendous. The current pick had its problems, as they shrunk at a crossed-eye glance, were itchy as a pox with no liners, and those liners were yet another pair that must be procured and washed, sorted and kept track of.

I was never truly pleased with them.

Then I ran across some socks I'd never seen before. I picked them off the display center and gave them a look. Merino wool. "Does not itch," or something similar was printed on the package. I thought, "Who are they kidding?" then I noticed how soft they were. Hmmm. Looked at the price and they seemed expensive too, at something like fifteen bucks, but I had cash on me from the generosity of grandparents, post holidays, and the quality seemed more than good. So I bought a pair.

Then took them home I put them on.

May have just as well been hitting the crack pipe; I was hooked.

I would eventually find that they made many different kinds for different applications, and I tried those too. I've never thought any of them as too expensive after that first pair, which I think lasted for at least five years of weekly wearing and washing.

Seriously, I know I have at least thirty pair of SmartWool™ brand socks in my dresser, of all types, from mountaineering to lifestyle to running. That good.

A couple of years ago, I found another brand that looked promising, of similar construction, touting high wear and warmth (and a rather overt admission of how fucking GREEN they are, too, if that makes a shit difference for you) right on the package, and gave them a shot, despite my reservations about the tree-hugging, sanctimonious horseshit advertisements.

They are, without question, extraordinary.

When I wear out a few more pair of my light hiker-type socks, the Icebreaker™ brand will be given some consideration on replacements.

Oh, and pay attention to what David Codrea says in his praxis piece at WoG, and, "cram a couple pair of socks in with your gear," even if it's just part of your every day carry bag in your car. Extra, quality, dry socks will keep your feet going, so that you can keep going, in the event that you have to get somewhere on foot, in extremis.

You won't be sorry you did.

Was going to hit the gunshow this weekend...

...but ran across this yesterday at J and G Sales, and decided I'd skip the show, since I was going there to lay-up some stock for the G3.

A crate of British Radway-Green, at well under a buck a round.

Not nearly as cheap as it was 7 or 8 years ago, but I can't complain, as it's actually available (Jeezis, 7.62 NATO has simply vanished lately) and at what I can comparatively call a decent price.

BHO has been the serious salesman, hasn't he? {spit}

Buy it cheap, stack it deep...while we can.

Life lessons from Auntie Tam

Considering the recent dust-up in Bombay, Tam gives everyone a nice reminder about their surroundings, daily carry rig, as well as attitude and mindset;

"Places aren't dangerous, people are; there's no magic fence around anyplace you're going that will keep the dangerous people out..."

"Carry a reload."

"Don't carry like it's a game...Save toys and fashion statements for the range; carry a weapon."

"If your local range won't let you draw from the leather or shoot from cover or kneeling or on the move, it would behoove you to try and find a way to get that kind of practice. " [As a substitute, try doing some dry-fire drills with snap caps in a DA handgun at home. It will give your forearms the workout they need too. -Ed.]

"...don't call off your shooting sessions due to weather."

...and without doubt the best part;

"Make up your mind ahead of time to resist; that's the most important thing of all. "

Those bits aren't doing her post any justice, really, as all of it is sage advice, and the whole is truly greater than the sum of those parts, so as they say, Read the Whole Thing.

Stocking gear

With National Ammo Day now behind us, I thought I'd share some pictures of at least some of the loot that I'd decided just couldn't be ignored, considering the recent electoral results.

That's a box of 20 surplus G3 mags from CheaperThanDirt, and a battle pack of recent manufacture surplus Lithuanian 7.62 NATO.








Upon opening the mag pouches, which were all of the thick, rubbery style, I found that there were a variety of dates and condition, with a few that were obviously used, showing wear, but also several appeared to be as new...










And 4 of which that were still in their clear plastic wraps, in clearly unissued condition, straight outta Oberndorf.

Score.

Hold on...

...people, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Seriously, yesterday I visited two different outlets that one might label as "dealers of death" and procured myself several hundred rounds of pistol ammo of various sorts, and several magazines for a couple of pistols that could use some spares. I cashed in some reward dollars in one store and the total came out to something around 3 bills.

I've been buying other stuff lately like they're going out of style. I think all of us in the firearms/shooting community have been. And I don't think we're all that enthused about it either.

And this morning I'm sitting here, drawing stupid fucking shit that I couldn't care less about, all the while thinking about stuff like this.

For sure, it's already started.

Lessons in Economics 101 or waking up to reality

The Krauter and I went out to eat with old friends last night close to the area Cabela's store, which is always an invitation for actually going in and spending money on stuff that I can always justify as being absolutely necessary. I'll use it, eventually, whatever it is. At least that's the line I use, and it's sometimes actually successful!

After our meal, the four of us decided to walk around the store, and my buddy and I, of course, head to the Gun Library to check out the ridiculously overpriced shotguns and such, drooling on the cases for such things that we'll never be able to afford. My buddy looks at me and says, "If you shell out that kind of jack for a shotgun, you should have your head examined." To each their own, of course, but, I had to agree.

Being more of a rifleman than a trap or skeet man, I steer my attention to the rifle rack in the room, only to run across this.

Now, I've known for quite a while (thanks to Bush, the Elder, and his successor, the Lying Bastard of the Ozarks) that actual HK91 rifles have been on an ascending price scale for some time, but, excuse me here, 4 'effing large?!? It used to be, say 20 years ago, that you could find the exact same gun, for a tenth of that price. In defense to the specific piece in question, it was completely mint, so a premium can be expected, but that figure seems way too highfor a piece in even its condition. Of course, if someone considers that price to be fair, and wants to spend it on that particular item, then there must be a certain value perceived by both parties conducting the transaction, and that value can not be expected to be understood by even one other party, regardless of sum. Free markets, and all that.

Thankfully, the reputation and demand for such fine fundamental designs gives the entrepreneurial types an incentive to fill such gaps caused by limited supply commodities (again, thanks to asshole politicians, fucking it up for the rest of us). JLD, thankfully, steps in, and has been doing a fine job for more than a couple of years now, turning out excellent rifles of the type, on original tooling, no less. I have one, and feel as though it's not only an excellent rifle, but an excellent value as well.

So, the question is, how do you sell that $4,000 type-91 with the competition cutting you out at the knees?

Class? Anyone? Bueller?

Answer: Lower your price, you may actually sell the damned thing.

Thus ends our lesson.

Arming up before the storm

Jeff at Alphecca is looking to add EBR's to his personal armory before one of the louts gets their filthy mitts on the levers of power.

The comments section over there is filled with some good stuff regarding what can be had for the available funds that Jeff is going to be laying out. Most of it centers around obtaining at least two SKS rifles, as the budget is around $1K, with plenty left for ammo. This is excellent advice for someone, or a family, on a budget. However, it's not the best choice, either, in my estimation. The SKS is far too long for its intermediate cartridge, is too heavy for most, and its ergonomics just suck, generally.

Regardless, it's a good read through there to see what others have in mind and making adjustments for ones particular situation and available fundage.

Some sort of heavy-duty AR with a BUNCH of good mags and maybe a BETA-C are looking very attractive to me right now.

New hardware

Been stupid-busy of late. J-O-B is going non-stop right now, and I'm stuffing five pounds of shit into the ten-pound bag.

The Kraut is coming home from an extended stay with her fam (The FIL is not doing well, cancer, again), and I must drive long distances soon to see to the safe return of her and our mutts, all of whom I've missed terribly over the last 10 weeks they've been gone.

I've found that life mostly kicks you when you're down (as I've been recently), but every once in a while, good fortunes turn in your favor, and when least expected.

I was reading an issue of Field&Stream several years ago when I ran across an article about field survival craft, and more to the point of the article anyway, a tool. I was intrigued, as the specific blade had earned the respect of an old bushcraft expert, Mors Kochanski. I have a fascination with fixed blade knives, so I cut out the article and resolved myself to finding one, sticking it in a folder I keep for just such non-sense in my armory.

I looked for a local source of this knife, only to find it generally available via internet, specifically Sportman's Guide. Now, I don't have a problem with stepping into the age of light and reason and ordering stuff online, but things like knives are, for me anyway, a personal item, and I am wont to handle such things for at least a few moments before making a decision to purchase. It's a tactile thing, needing a reading of weight and balance in the hand to determine its friendliness. Couldn't find one, so I let the issue drop and the article sat in its folder as a reminder.

Last week I needed to get a couple of tools for another project I've been wanting to tackle for a good long while (project gun, soon to be posted, I hope), so I walked a couple of blocks to a little family owned hardware store that's been running continuously since 1930. Strolling the aisles, I stumbled upon not only the particular model in the old article, but several others.

Picked up the red-handled job that I found so intriguing in the aforementioned article, the Craftsmen 561, a very elegant and simple Morakniv Classic 2, which I think will become my new favorite hunting companion blade, and a utilitarian 711, which has already found its way into my Bug-out Box.