Ammo Spam, round up

Over at WallsOfTheCity, Linoge wrote a short piece a few days back hypothesizing that several ammunition storefronts (LuckyGunner.com, BulkAmmo.com, GunsForSale.com, and Ammo.net), were actually one and the same. He had some pretty solid information but nothing that conclusively proved it.

Today, he has posted information that proves it.

Now, I can't hate a business for marketing. I can understand why they would do something like this - if customer service over at Site A pisses off a customer it's entirely possible that they will now buy from Site B, which is the same company with a different front end. It gives multiple possible end locations for a search on a generic term, increasing their likelihood of being the click-through. On the flip side, it also provides for some brand dilution - there is only one MidwayUSA, only one Brownell's, and they have long-standing name recognition.

What it's really coming down to is Search Engine Optimization. I don't even necessarily dislike them for this. If LuckyGunner can build some good relations with the bloggers for the cost of a few boxes of ammo and get some linkage out of it, that's marketing. Nothing more, nothing less.

And truth be told, I wouldn't be upset about this at all except for one thing...

Last fall, I got some spam from BulkAmmo. And I posted about it. They had asked for free links "just because", essentially. A few days later, they sent the same request, and I ignored the email but posted another blog entry. Spam is spam; the delete key is easy, and BulkAmmo went on my "don't do business with them" list.

Now I've found out that all the above companies are one and the same, and I'm pretty angry. I'm feeling like I was taken advantage of. LuckyGunner was making some good inroads with the blogging community, and I have a feeling they may have burned a lot of those bridges.

My last post was a review of ammo that they provided - and it has the links back to them that I agreed to. You'll notice that their name isn't linked anywhere in this post. There's a reason for that. I sold a link to Sportsman's Guide last winter - it's over there in the sidebar - and that was a clear and honest trade. They paid me, I put up a link worded how they wanted it, for a set period of time. Easy.

LuckyGunner.com, BulkAmmo.com, Ammo.net, and GunsForSale.com have tried to sidestep this process. I've made a decision based on this:

http://zercool.blogspot.com, http://www.zercool.com, "Plumbum et Circenses", etc, will no longer take advertising of any kind. I'll still do product reviews, but it's going to be on products that I buy with my own money. When the sidebar link I sold expires, it's not going back up.

I'm blogging because I enjoy it, because I like spewing my thoughts to a small corner of the internet, and oddly enough, because at least a few of you seem to enjoy reading what I write. Somehow I'd slipped away from that. The ammo review I just posted has been stressing me out more than I realized, and having it done feels like a weight is off my shoulders.

I may not get to review the shiny goodness of lasers and lights that Jay enjoys, or the new hardware that others get to play with - or at least not for free - but I'm okay with that. I'm doing this for me, not you.

IDPA and you (er, me)

Lissa just went and shot herself an IDPA match.

First and foremost, bully for her. I realize many of you are gregarious social butterflies; I am not. Walking in to a group setting where everyone knows what's going on (or seems to) and I'm clueless (and there's no paycheck involved) is nerve-racking. Her experience with this match mirrored my first one - people were welcoming and happy to help a newbie learn the ropes.

I haven't shot a match in far too long - nearly two years at this point; since we bought the house and the trip to the club changed from 20 minutes to over an hour. I should see about correcting that before the summer is up, and probably change classes as well (from CDP/1911s to SSP/ESP/9mm).

Now, I'm not Caleb. I don't shoot competitively. I shoot for fun, and I like to see the results, but I don't care a whit if I'm at the top of the stack or dead-last. The only person I'm shooting against is myself, and the time doesn't matter as much as my confidence and proficiency. (Doubly so because the stages are never the same from month to month; there is no baseline outside the classifier, which the club does once or twice a year.)

IDPA has a large rulebook. This isn't a bad thing per se, but like any game involving a lot of rules, there will be competitors who insist on following the rules to the exact letter, instead of playing the game to the spirit of the rules.

This drives me NUTS.

IDPA has a few kinds of reloads - tactical, with retention, and emergency/slide-lock. The last is pretty clear, the difference between the first two is whether you drop the magazine before or after you pull your fresh magazine. Doing it in the wrong order (or dropping an empty magazine while there's still one in the chamber) yields you a "procedural" and 20-second penalty.

Beyond that there is the vague catch-all penalty of "Failure to Do Right". FDR's are, as I understand, really meant for "unsportsmanlike" behavior - but there are Range Officers who will toss them left and right if they don't agree with how you stepped, or moved, and so forth. (Those RO's don't get asked to RO much.)

I don't get hung up on the rules - and I picked up more than a couple procedurals and such along the way because of it. Occasionally it was an RO not paying attention - I was shooting a GI 1911 with GI 7-round mags, and he gave me procedurals for improper reloads when I was actually at slide-lock. I corrected when possible but didn't always catch it.

IDPA was (and I hope will be again) a fun game for me. More than that, it was a good chance to practice drawing from a concealment holster, shooting and moving, making use of cover, and shooting from odd positions. One bay at the range has a zip-line target that moves diagonally back and across the range, tripping the release starts it around 5yd and it moves - quickly - to 15+ yards distant. Two hits to neutralize...

Another stage involved a barrier with three small cutouts - one at chest height, one at waist height, and a third at ankle height. Multiple shots had to be taken from each hole - so you were squatting, kneeling, and then lying prone.

Defensive gunfights don't happen at 7 yards standing square to your target - they can happen at bad-breath distance or you might be popping zombies at 20-25 yards. You may only have a car bumper to hide behind, or you might in the wide-open and have to keep moving to keep the distance up. You may get knocked down and have to shoot from prone or supine.

Drawing once from a holster and shooting 8, 10, or 15 rounds quick-fire is a great way to turn money into noise - and it's fun! But it's not the kind of practice that builds the muscle memory of a good smooth draw, and that's what will serve you in the long run.

My final gripe about IDPA: my usual carry gun doesn't really work for competition. I usually carry a Kahr PM9 or S&W 642, with one reload dropped in a pocket. IDPA wants a full- or duty-size gun with two spare magazines, all in proper holsters.

My suggestion: try out IDPA. Or IPSC. Or any of the other shooting games. Have fun with it. Learn from it. But always keep in mind that it is a game, and don't get hung up on the scores. When the range is two-way, there's only one winner.

Other lasers

I forgot to mention this from my NRA Convention posts. I was looking closely at lasers, and have a few quick notes:

Crimson Trace: They are the gold standard for integrated laser sights. I've played with them numerous times and I like the setup. They've started offering different patterns and designs molded into their grip, and I believe they even have a wooden grip panel available for 1911s. If you're using a proper grip on your gun, activating the laser is automatic. Unfortunately, I don't love how their grips *feel*. Price-wise, they run the gamut from affordable ($180 for a J-frame) to rather pricey ($300+ for 1911 slabs).

Viridian: Their main offering is rail-mounted lasers and laser/light combos. The units are small and light and intuitive to turn on. I was very impressed by the X5L and will be saving my pennies for one to put on the M&P. They're not cheap - around $325 - but for a green laser/LED light combo, I think it's competitive.

LaserMax: This company is known for their guide-rod lasers for semi-autos, and most of them seemed pretty slick. The guide rod is replaced with a laser unit, and the takedown or slide-release lever is replaced with a new unit with a built-in switch. It's a good location for the activation button, and if your pistol is one of the models they support, it's a great way to keep your rail free for other accessories...

BUT. And this is a big one... I would not, can not, recommend their 1911 product. The activation switch is, instead of a push button, a rotating switch. It requires pushing a small rubber nubbin 90 degrees around the axis of the slide release, and that little nubbin is TINY. I was unable to activate it with one hand without looking at the gun, and two hands meant my support hand was nowhere near a good firing grip. Poor design, and a potentially dangerous distraction.


So that's it - my quick take on lasers from five minutes of playtime at the show. I can't tell you which is the best option for you, but IMHO, a weapon-mounted laser needs to be mounted and activated in such a way that it can be turned on one-handed, from a firing grip, without looking at the gun. Keep your head UP at all times. CTC and Viridian manage this, as does the StreamLight TLR2 (not played with).

Charon's Fare

It seems like I've been hearing the rattle of coins into Charon's hands too much lately.

It's a one-way ride, folks. Take joy from the small things as much as the big.

Going home, in a manner of speaking

I've been chatting back and forth with the gentleman who is acquiring my 28-2 as we sort out the details of the transaction.

He mentioned as an aside that he'd be carrying it as his off-duty piece in the midwest city where he is an officer.

This pleases me in a way that I find very hard to express. I am, without question, sad to see such a fine pistol going down the road. They do not make them like they used to. On the flip side, 28-2s are not entirely uncommon, and prices haven't skyrocketed out of sight yet - so I will likely be able to obtain another one someday.

According to the Wikipedia entry:

Since this relatively deluxe model [(the Model 27)] was the only revolver available for this cartridge at the time, police departments, as well as individual officers and private shooters, requested from Smith and Wesson a more strictly utilitarian "budget" .357 magnum revolver. S&W responded with the Highway Patrolman[.]

It makes me very happy to know that this piece of history is going back to serve the purpose for which it was originally designed and intended. LW, carry it in good health, and may you never need to draw in anger.

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We love to say that the Second Amendment protects the First. And to a certain extent, that's true... but it goes both ways.

The First Amendment isn't needed to protect uncontroversial thoughts. No one finds offense in a Yankees sign. (Well, except maybe BoSox fans.) No, the First Amendment is to protect the things that make us uncomfortable. Things we don't necessarily want to see or hear. And truth be told, we don't have to listen to them, or look at them - but the government can't stop their being said or printed.

The First Amendment won't protect someone from getting the tar beat out of them by an angry bystander, either. It only protects you from the government.

There is a long litany of court cases covering First Amendment decisions. Some of them are fairly common knowledge: Schenk, Brandenburg, Flynt, Skokie... these are all cases where speech that could be considered inflammatory, indecent, or discomfiting has been protected by the courts.

TJIC has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He has not been arrested. That pretty clearly does not pass the sniff test as written by Justice Holmes in Schenk v. United States (1919).

"The question is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has the right to prevent. It is a question of proximity and degree."

"I read some guy on the internet wrote '1 down 534 to go', so I thought it'd be a good idea to start poppin' Congresscritters." That's going to earn you a padded cell with a suicide watch and a regular dose of Vitamin H and some other happy pills. TJIC's statement, while arguably in bad taste, is highly unlikely to present a clear and present danger, or as written in Brandenburg v. Ohio, "is [not] directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and is [not] likely to incite or produce such action."

"Imminent". "Clear and present danger".

Words have meaning. TJIC's words do not present a clear and present danger.

Thoughts and ideas; those are the things truly dangerous to a repressive state. Certainly, guns have their place, but if you believe that an armed rebellion similar to the 18th century is plausible, you are deluding yourself. Soap box, ballot box, jury box. Oh, the cartridge box still exists - always will - but the odds are decidedly stacked against you.



(Edit to add: Roberta says it far more eloquently than I did.)

The National Anthem

It was as she was hitting the high notes when the sound fell away and a confused look flitted across her face. [...] [W]ithin seconds, as if scripted for the closing scene of a Hollywood film, the crowd in the 12,600-seat arena rose as one to join in.

Full story here.

First of all, why is this being reported in a British paper instead of the US press? Oh. Right. Patriotism is passe. Gauche.

Second, and this is a pet peeve: the National Anthem should be sung as a group. Everyone together. None of this "stand because the announcer says to, and stare at our feet, and shuffle a little bit, and then cheer when some jamoke says, 'PLAY BALL!' or, 'Gentlemen, start your engines!'"

I have found a line

During conversation in the #GBC channel the other day, Robb was explaining how things are going to run when he is Supreme Grand Exalted Pantsless Poobah of Everything He Surveys.

Among his planks: disenfranchisement of government employees - at any level of government - as they have a vested interest in the continuation of their employment and would obviously vote to continue that employment. (Conflict of interest, in other words.)

I admit, I was not able to put together a rational response, as I was too busy sputtering.

But I will say this: Robb, you have just clearly demarcated one of my lines in the sand. It's provided some interesting thoughts since.

Is this what normal is?

I've spent the last year working overnights. 11pm-7am. It was a test run, essentially: trying to find a way to spend a bit more time at home and with MrsZ. Previously, I had been working evenings (3p-11p) and almost never saw my wife.

It's been a long year. Sleep became a precious commodity, snatched in fits and bursts when the opportunity arouse. Instead of my preferred 7-9 hours daily, I've been getting about 6 on a good day. Evening social events were again out, unless it was something absolutely critical or on one of my nights off.

I've gained fifteen or so pounds, my blood pressure has gone up, and my stress level has gone through the roof.

I walked out the door at 7:04 this morning and closed that chapter on my career. Beginning next week, I'll be on day shift. I finally came up with the seniority to get there. (Six years in March, although I could be bumped back to evenings in the next shift bid.) MrsZ and I get to commute together at least three days each week. I can be active in my fire department in the evenings. I get to sleep at night. I can do social activities; go out for a beer, enjoy a poker game, invite the neighbors for a BBQ, all that crazy stuff. I'm looking forward to it.

That said... there is a small piece of me that will miss the solitude and freedom of nights. With no upper management and no visitors floating around, it was usually just those of us working with an occasional visit from a deputy bringing coffee. The workload was generally quite tolerable - occasionally even slow - and the calls tended to the dramatic.

On top of that, the group I worked with were some of the best people I've worked with. Certainly there were personality differences, and arguments, but when things had to get done, we did them. We made a pretty good team, playing on each other's strengths and picking up the slack when needed. I'm going to miss working with most of them.

... but not enough to give up my sleep. :-)

Touchstones

Most of us have some trinket or souvenir from our past that we've kept around for sentimental reasons. A postcard, a shell, a stuffed animal... or in my case, a coffee mug.

For as long as I can remember growing up, that mug was Dad's Mug. Coffee, cocoa, anything hot went in that mug.

When I was getting ready for college, we spent weeks making lists and making sure I had everything I'd need to survive dorm life. Sheets, pillows, blankets, food galore, clothes, laundry soap, dish soap, dishes, etc. A set of silverware and a plate and glass... and a mug. But I didn't take just any mug.

I went to Dad and I asked him - when he was in a good mood - if I could take His Mug. I didn't explain it to him - we don't have that kind of relationship - but I think he knew that I needed a little piece of home along with me.

He hemmed and hawed a little bit, then consented to parting with it.

It went to college with me. It survived a year in the dorm, a move home, a move to an apartment, a year there, another move home, and then ten more moves over the following years. It's still in one piece, and it's still my favorite mug ... even though it's still Dad's Mug. When my parents visit, Dad still gets his hot drinks in that mug.

It's not much to look at. Nothing sets it apart from any other mug in the cabinet. It's not the largest, or the smallest, but it holds more than coffee for me. A whole lot more.

Thanks, Dad.

Dusty room

AD writes about stains - the ones we can shout out, and the ones that mark the very fibers of our being. Shouting, screaming, laughing - some stains won't come out.

So yeah, that’s why I was in your Emergency Department at 0645 this morning with a big mascara stain on my shirt. I’m sorry I didn’t smile at your joke, and I promise the next time you see me, I’ll be wearing a clean uniform.

Read the whole thing.

I've worked the field as a volunteer for just shy of a decade now, and worked the console for a check for six years. I've picked up my own share of stains along the way.

There are days that I (and I think most of us in emergency services) ask myself, "Why the hell am I doing this?" Why take the abuse, the hours, the lost sleep, missed meals, fast food, caffeine, and why pay the emotional toll? If someone who has worked one of these jobs for any significant length of time tells you that the job never gets to them, they are lying. Either to you or to themselves, but they're lying.

So why do we do it?

The only answer I can come up with - the one I keep coming back to - is simple.

Someone has to.

"Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
[...]
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?
[...]
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;"

Rudyard Kipling, "Tommy"

Title 18

A few items of thought...

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/federal-statutes

Title 18, U.S.C., Section 241
Conspiracy Against Rights

This statute makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person of any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, (or because of his/her having exercised the same).

Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242
Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law

This statute makes it a crime for any person acting under color of law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom to willfully deprive or cause to be deprived from any person those rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the U.S.

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

As far back as the circuit court ruling in Corfield v. Coryell, 6 Fed. Cas. 546 (1823), the Supreme Court recognized freedom of movement as a fundamental Constitutional right. In Paul v. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168 (1869), the Court defined freedom of movement as "right of free ingress into other States, and egress from them.

Discuss.

Black Friday

When I drove in to work last night, the local Shrine to Consumerism already had lines forming outside the doors. Forecast for the night: 35F and rainy. Perfect.

Coming home, the lot was full - very full. I saw a few empty spaces, and people circling looking for closer spots. I chuckled and kept driving.

I mentioned it in passing to MrsZ, who muttered about consumerism at its worst.

Uncle mentioned it today, although he was doing his shopping Robb Allen style.

Stores have figured this out; particularly those with a significant online presence: they aren't losing any in-store customers by offering similar deals online at the same time. There are people who, for whatever reason, thrive on the crowds and insanity that go with Black Friday shopping. There are some who will brave the crowds for what they perceive as a great deal but otherwise don't participate.

And then there are those like me, who can't tolerate that kind of crowd or rush for any reason. We're the consumers that they're grabbing with online deals. If I can stay at home, click a few links, and have my deal show up three days later, it's absolutely worth a few extra dollars to me - although most places aren't even charging for shipping at this point.

And yes, I can do it without pants.

Side note: Amazon has a pretty good deal going on Victorinox Swiss Army Knives right now.

Knock-knock, bang-bang

Over at ArfCom, I stumbled into this thread leading to a thread about the aftermath of a home invasion shooting (on XDTalk). Here's the first couple lines from the first post. Read the original posts; skim the comments as you see fit, keeping in mind that it's on the internet.

We are all ok thanks to my wife. There is no way to prepare for a phone call from your wife while you are at work that go exactly like this:

Me: Hi sweetie!
Wife: I need you home now, I just shot two invaders!
Me: On the way now! (end of call)

Part 1. "Home Invasion in Oklahoma: Mine"

Part 2. "Things we learned from the home invasion in Oklahoma"

Part 3. "I need to vent"

Got that?

One of the local news stations has a portion of the 911 call posted here.

I can not and will not presume to offer legal advice here. From a criminal legal standpoint, they appear to be in good shape. I don't know if Oklahoma precludes civil suits in justifiable self-defense, but it is something to be aware of.

One of the replies in Part 2 is this:

I was not happy with some of her questions to your wife, answers that could be used against her after the fact.

Please understand this: a dispatcher's job is to get as much information as possible. The more information we have, and the more accurate it is, the better-informed the responding officers should be. Our job is not to incriminate you, interrogate you, or judge you. We want to get you the right kind of help as quickly as possible. Giving our responders relevant information is part of that.

Yes, the recording of a 911 call can (and will) be subpoenaed as evidence in a trial. That said:

What you say on a 911 call will not change whether a shooting was justified or not.

Let me state that again to emphasize the point.

What you say on a 911 call will not change whether a shooting was justified or not.

What it COULD change is the perception of a prosecutor or jury (grand, criminal, or civil). Answer the dispatcher's questions concisely and honestly. I understand adrenaline. I know what it does. I've listened to more callers than I care to count with verbal diarrhea. Try to control it; the less filter a dispatcher has to do the better, and the easier it will be for a listener to understand things after the fact.

Either a shooting is justified or it isn't. Period.

Once the shooting is over, though, there's the rest of the situation to deal with. Read the posts up there again. The victim had to pack up their entire life and put it in storage in the space of twelve hours. In his words:

Our Life Before 21 Oct 2010

Two adults, two kids and one dog living in a 1300 square foot, four bedroom, one and a half bath home
[...]

Our Life After 21 OCT 2010

Two adults, two kids and one dog living in a 12 foot X 12 foot room.

They've received death threats. They've moved a couple times. The press plastered their names and address far and wide.

An armchair commando posted this about their choice to move:

You have two choices:

1) Refuse to back down, and not let low lifes scare you out of your home.
2) Move out of your home, fall into financial ruin, and vent about it on the internet.

Every man has to do what they think is right. I know what I'd do.

B. S.

He has to keep working in order to live. He can't be awake and at home 24/7. His wife can't be at home 24/7. Short of barricading yourself inside a fortress, there's no realistic way to handle this without moving.

An officer here was involved in a shooting earlier this year. The suspect died. The shooting was investigated and determined to be justified. Ten days later, the officer's house was burned down. He'd already sent his family away, for just that reason. And guess what? This was without the press posting his address and picture far and wide. He made it out with relatively minor injuries.

Trained SWAT officer. Unpublished address. Lost his house and nearly his life.

Relatively untrained citizen. Published address, face, and name. Chose to leave instead of risking more.

I have absolutely no issue with how he is trying to handle this, and I wish him and his family the best of luck.

Jay touched on this with a DGC post a few weeks ago. He also commented, "Instead, we have one dead goblin, one wounded - who if there is any justice will face homicide charges if there's any "commission of a crime" laws in place." Those laws are in place, and there are TWO goblins facing Murder One:

Police said Johnson and Kemp are charged with first-degree murder and burglary. The murder charge is being filed because a death resulted during the commission of a felony. All three suspects have had multiple contacts with law enforcement in the past. [KOCO News]

Brotherhood

I picked up a copy of Toby Keith's "American Ride" CD earlier this year. It's been in and out of my CD player in the truck. It's not a bad disc, but seems somewhat uneven.

Listening to it during my drive to Albany this week I had time to really ponder the last song, "Ballad of Balad". If you haven't heard it, have a go:



The lyrics are, without a doubt, good for a chuckle, but they should also give you pause. Contrast that with this live recording, from a USO Tour in Kandahar, AFG:



You or I can listen to it and chuckle at the references. "Two bottles of water and a cold MRE." It's easy to chuckle at the song. The soldiers listening go nuts - because they have had the experience, and it's shared suffering.

It got me to thinking - there are very few jobs in the world that result in the close-knit groups you'll find in the military. Each and every one involves some kind of risk, and it's always shared. Firefighters, police, soldiers...

There is a level of intimacy achieved in those jobs rarely found anywhere else. Some firefighters and police officers spend more "awake" time with their coworkers than with their own families. A deployed solider, of course, lives with his unit. There have been attempts to express this camaraderie in drama and cinema through the years - through the centuries! - but very few efforts have succeeded.

Perhaps the best-known and most often referenced is a bit of Shakespeare:
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!"

Most folks don't have the rest of that speech memorized. (Myself included, I had to look it up to get the exact wording.)

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

-- From "Henry V"

Five hundred years ago, The Bard was describing the brotherhood of arms and the envy that outsiders feel for the love and respect within the brotherhood.

I've been a firefighter for nearly nine years. I've been in a few twitchy situations, and have made friends that I would trust my life to... but I still have moments of regret for not joining the military.

When I left college in '99, I was on the edge of joining the Army. I had talked with the recruiter several times, taken a practice ASVAB (98th percentile), and had an appointment to finalize and sign the contract. I did a lot of thinking and walking in the nights before that appointment, and ended up calling the recruiter the morning of my appointment to cancel.

It's easy to play what-if in life. If I had signed up, I'd likely have had a pretty good choice of MOS thanks to my ASVAB score. I was interested in aviation, though - helicopters generally and AH-64 Apaches in particular. Two years after signing up, it would have been a fair bet that I'd have been shipping out to the sandbox. Who knows from there?

I still have moments when enlisting seems like a good idea - then reality comes crashing back in, and I have to acknowledge that I am not in a place in life where I can do that... Nor do I relish the idea of shipping out to get my ass shot at.

The men and women who have made that decision and are out there on the front lines have my utmost respect and admiration. There is no way in the world to thank them enough for what they do - but please try. If you have the means to do so, please think about donating to the Wounded Warrior Project. They're one of the unquestionably good service member support agencies out there.

I don't care if you support the war(s) in the Middle East. I think we need to stop playing global cop, personally. But the troops are not the ones making the policy decisions that put us in the desert to begin with, nor the troop increases and "surge" that's kept us there. Support them.

Support the men and women - the teenagers - who are getting by and trying to support a family on minimal pay and food stamps. They are the future of our country. Cherish them. Celebrate their brotherhood. Admire it. And remember it, not just on St. Crispin's day, but every day.

Followup, Names

I neglected to tell you what time I'd be pulling the trigger in that video post.

Around :40, I think the whackjob would have my attention.
At :45, I'd have my hand on my gun, maybe even cleared leather but kept it out of sight.
At :48 he's going to be looking down a .357" hole.
And at :55 ... boom.

(Like Wally said, don't want to ding my rims! Then again, there is a REASON I got 16" steel wheels on my truck instead of 17" alloys...)

-------------------------------------

There have been several posts around the blogworld about naming guns (or knives).
I think Tam may have started it.
Brigid rang the bell with this one.
Borepatch goes back in time.

Several folks I know have named their guns. One person I know names things compulsively. Cars. Houses. Apartments. Some folks seem to name things by flipping through the phone book, others with a sense of irony.

Here's the thing about you phone book namers... Words have meanings. If you're naming something with a personality - and believe me, some guns have personalities - it needs to tell you its name. It will. It might take a bit of time to do it, but anything that's worth naming will name itself. (For instance, our dog Dixie is absolutely convinced her last name is "goddammit!")

I haven't named any of my guns. Like Tam, I believe they're tools. There are certainly some I have a sentimental attachment to, but none of them have deserved a name. (No Snubby from Hell in my safe!)

Winter Preparations

The squirrels are out in full force these days, rustling through the leaves looking for missed acorns and other edibles. While they drive me nuts as a hunter (it took me forever to distinguish between "squirrel rustle" and "deer step" and I still goof it up sometimes), it should be a solid reminder to all of us that it's time to make sure we're ready for winter.

Tires are going to be a bit softer as the weather cools - get them back to proper pressure. Rotate them. Replace them if needed or swap them for your snow tires.

Get your oil changed and your antifreeze checked.

Put on fresh wiper blades, switch to winter-mix washer fluid.

Make sure your car has a spare blanket and a few pocket heaters in it.

Make sure you've got at least a few days worth of food tucked away at home.

Get your flues and chimneys cleaned and inspected.

Switch your ceiling fans from "down" to "up".

Pull out window A/C units and close your storm windows.

Drain the garden hoses and put them away.

Put Sta-Bil in your lawnmower and run it through for a bit.

Change the oil in all your power equipment. Mowers, generators, tillers...

Run your two-strokes dry.

Make sure your stored gas is treated and full.

Have your oil or propane tanks filled.

Split and stack one more cord of wood.

Put a few flats of bottled water in the basement.

Make sure all the ammo is organized and the guns are clean.

Change the batteries in your clocks, smoke detectors, and CO alarms.

Put away the Tevas and get out the Bean Boots.

Have a little campfire, enjoy an evening with friends, admire the colors, and smile because you're ahead of the squirrels. Hooray for opposable thumbs!

Got gas?

When we bought the house last summer, the previous owner had propane delivered (by AmeriGas) before closing, so we could test all the appliances. It was two 100lb cylinders. When we closed, I did some calling around for prices and found that the company that he'd gotten those from (AmeriGas) had the best pricing, thanks to a "new customer" special. They were about $1/gal lower than anyone else in the area.

We kept those tanks, paid for what was in them, and chose to go to a will-call delivery arrangement. The lady I spoke to (at the local AmeriGas office) wanted to know how I'd know when the tanks were empty, since there was no gauge on the tanks. I told her I'd just heft them, and when they were getting low, I'd call for a fill.

Six months later, just before Christmas, I was woken up by a backup alarm. I looked out the window to see an AmeriGas truck backing in. I scrambled into my clothes and got outside as the driver was unreeling the hose. I asked if I could help him, and he said, "No, just topping off your tanks." I said something brilliant like, "Excuse me? I didn't call for a fill."

He apologized and rolled the hose back up, and promised to talk to the office and make sure we were tabbed as a will-call. This should have been my first warning sign.

Two months later, the tanks were getting towards empty, so I called AmeriGas for a fillup. They arrived in due course and filled the tanks... to the tune of $4.40/gal, more than a dollar OVER market rate (at the time, about $3.20/gal), because we are a "low volume customer" (cooking and clothes dryer only). I paid the bill and swore that as soon as the tanks were empty, we were switching suppliers.

Last week I stopped at a local family-owned shop (begins with an "E", if you're in my area) and talked with the woman at the counter. I explained what had happened, and she showed me their pricing schedule after expressing proper disbelief and outrage. The local company doesn't do a penalty for low-volume usage; rather they provide a discount for higher-volume usage. I set up a delivery appointment for today.

The delivery guy showed up at the expected time (according to the woman who set the appointment, "after 1, probably 2 or 2:30" - he was here shortly after 2), disconnected my old tanks and set them aside, wrestled in a mostly-empty 100-gallon tank (roughly doubling our capacity), did the pressure check and got appropriate numbers, and went on his way.

After he left, I called AmeriGas to collect their tanks. The lady I spoke to asked why I was canceling. I explained that I had been charged a low-volume penalty at my last fill, and I had found a different supplier who didn't have that kind of business practice. She feigned ignorance, asking what I meant. I told her that I was unwilling to pay more than a dollar markup above market price just because I didn't use as much as other customers.

The very next thing she said? "Well, you should have called, we could have locked you in at a lower price, we're trying to get all our low-volume customers locked in around $2.70 or $2.80."

I kept my temper and said, "That's just the point. I shouldn't have to call to haggle or lock in a price just because I'm a low-volume user. You charged me well over market rate, and you lost a customer because of it."

Her tone changed from apologetic-sweet to "bitch" in an instant. "Well, that's fine. Someone will come collect the tanks soon."

No sooner had I gotten off the phone with her than I heard another backup alarm in the driveway. The local company's delivery truck; here to top off the 100gal tank. 84.5gal later, we've got enough propane to comfortably last us until next fall, and enough that we could add a gas log without changing tanks. (If we so desired.)

Long term, I'd love to put in a buried 500- or 1000-gallon tank and a permanent-set propane generator - but that's not in the near future.

So, AmeriGas, take this lesson to heart: capitalism is a bitch, gouging your customers loses you customers, and bloggers talk.

Edited to add:
Caught this little gem in the SiteMeter stats this morning:

How did...

Bob S. (From Three Boxes of BS) asked in comments on my last post:

How did you get started; in shooting, collecting, activism?

What state law would you like to see: repealed or passed?

Now that is some serious blog fodder, and I'll answer in parts.

I started shooting like many young men: courtesy of the Boy Scouts of America. I had asked my parents (repeatedly) for a BB gun starting around age 10. They were not shooters, and there were not (to my knowledge) guns in the house. They held to their guns (pun intended) and told me I could get a BB gun after I had earned my Rifle Shooting merit badge. Our scout camp didn't allow shooting until you were 13, if I remember correctly. The summer I was of age, I made that merit badge my single goal for the week I was at camp.

I earned it.

I asked my parents for a BB gun. They told me I could start saving my allowance and when I had enough, we'd go get what I chose. I saved what I could, but as an early teenager, there were plenty of other things to spend my allowance on. Summer turned into fall, school started up again, and still no BB gun. My birthday came and went; nothing. I was convinced that I'd get one for Christmas.

Christmas morning, I remember being very disappointed that there was nothing resembling a rifle-length box under the tree. Turns out my parents, those clever people, had hidden the package elsewhere in the house. I tore into it when they brought it out, unveiling a Crosman 2100 pellet gun. I spent the vast majority of Christmas day outside in a foot of snow putting holes in tin cans and paper targets.

That air rifle went all over with me from then on. I added a scope and spent a large chunk of money on BBs and pellets. We lived in a pretty rural area, and property lines were a vague concept out there. All over the woods and fields, plinking targets of opportunity...

But as the scripture goes, "When I became a man, I put away childish things." (1Cor 13:11) I graduated high school, went off to college, and the air rifle got jammed into a corner of my parents' mud room. I shot it once in a while on breaks, but it had lost some of the fascination. (I think it may still be in that mud room, come to think of it.)

After I left college, I was living hand-to-mouth, and guns weren't on my list of hobbies. When I was 21 or so, I decided I wanted a .22 for plinking. I went to my local Kmart and bought a Remington 597 and a brick or two of ammo.

That 597 and I spent a lot of time at a coworker's vacant lot punching holes in tin cans and turning money into smoke and noise. I wasn't a great shot with it (hindsight: it was the rifle), but I had fun. A year or so later, a roommate's coworker invited us to a shoot. We showed up with the ammo he'd told us to bring and spent a day playing. Lots of guns, although nothing particularly high-dollar. A Garand, some Tauri, HiPoint, a few .22s, that sort of thing.

At the next shoot (a year later) my 597 fired out of battery and forcibly removed the extractor from the bolt. I stuck it in a closet and didn't think about it for the next couple years. My shooting was on hiatus.

When I was 25 or so, I started talking hunting with a fellow firefighter, and he VERY generously offered to take me turkey hunting with him the next day. I showed up, and we went. I was one-hundred-percent hooked, on the spot. (Tip: if you want to hook someone on hunting, spring turkey is a GREAT way to do it. Comfortably warm and exciting - none of this 20-degrees in a treestand for four or five hours nonsense.) That fall I bought my first grown-up gun - a Remington 870 Express SuperMag. I took my hunter safety class shortly thereafter, and shot my first deer late in the season (December 2005).

Initially, my guns were simply tools of necessity: I was hunting deer, turkey, and crows: the shotgun was fine. We went out for coyotes late that winter, and I picked up a .270. Overkill for coyotes, but I wanted a multi-purpose rifle.

Over the next two years, I picked up a few range toys and such. A T/C Omega muzzleloader, a Savage .17HMR, a Remington .30-06, and a Ruger Mini-14 all found their way into my gun cabinet. At some point I did get my .22 repaired, although it never was quite the same. Pure jamomatic.

Summer 2007, I moved in with the MrsZ-to-be, and took her shooting a couple times. We got an 870 for her (which is still new-stiff; we need to get that puppy out and broken in the rest of the way), and a few range toys appeared. I found out where the local gun shops were, checked out a couple gun shows, and applied for my NY pistol permit in spring of 2008.

Early summer of '08 found me with a crisp new pistol permit, and I promptly (the day I got it) completed the purchase of my first pistol. Two weeks later, the Springfield 1911A1 came home. The following two months increased the collection with a pair of S&W wheelguns, and I'd been bitten by the S&W bug. It could just have easily been Ruger or Colt. I went to the gun shop looking for a .357 wheelgun to have with me when hunting, and the 28-2 was the one that spoke to me.

Since then, the gun cabinet has become a gun safe, and the collection has increased in value by orders of magnitude. I've bought and horsetraded, and sold a few pieces here and there. I've learned what *I* like, as opposed to what ArfCom says I should like. (I have never owned a Glock. Not because they're bad guns, but because I don't like how they feel in my hand. I would buy one for a good price.)

I don't consider myself a collector, though. A more accurate term for my kind is "accumulator". There are honest to goodness collectors out there whose goals are very specific, e.g., "I want one of each iteration of S&W Model 10." (That'd be a hell of a collection.) I accumulate what appeals to me, and if I have something that doesn't make my heart thump a little faster, I have no issue with sending it down the road to finance something that I *do* love.

So, that's the start of shooting and collecting. (Side note: Dad now owns guns, having received a few from his mother when they moved from their house to a senior home. I'm in no hurry to acquire them, but I do want to shoot that .25-20WCF.)

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Activism? I don't know that I'd even call myself an activist. I'm strongly pro-gun, pro-carry, and pro-hunting, but I don't do a lot of things I'd consider activism. I make it known that I'm happy to take new shooters to the range, and if someone asks my opinions, I'm never shy about sharing them. There are decals on my truck ("Peace through superior firepower", a Gadsden Flag, a Sons of Liberty flag, and "Forget Tibet, Free America") but I don't rub peoples' noses in it either. I email and occasionally call my representatives, but haven't attended rallies. I tend to stay pretty far from politics on this blog, because other folks cover it better than I could.

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State law to repeal - that's an easy one. The NY "assault weapon" ban. It's a mirror of the (expired) federal ban, and has continued the effects that had. A post-ban stripped AR receiver goes for market value in NY - $125-150, depending on whose rollmark you like. A documentable pre-ban receiver can run five times that much. For what purpose? An adjustable stock, an A2 "flash hider", and a bayonet lug. Post-ban magazines over 10 rounds are verboten, but fortunately there are lots of pre-bans floating around in free states that folks are more than willing to trade for brand-new on a 1:1 basis. (Side note: I would dearly love a handful of pre-ban 20-round AR mags. If anyone has them just collecting dust or something...)

Full-frame handguns are neutered to ten rounds, making it silly to carry anything double-stack. (8+1 of .45 or 10+1 of 9mm? Let me think.) Yes, there are pre-ban pistol magazines out there, but folks are a bit more protective of those than they are of AR magazines. A pre-ban 17-round Glock magazine runs nearly $70 on Gunbroker right now; that same magazine brand-new from Midway is $22. Not everyone tries to make that much on their magazines, but it does seem to be a trend. I've lucked into a handful of pre-ban mags for my S&W 5946 at reasonable prices.

The scary-looking-gun ban has had zero appreciable effect on crime; it's time for it to go. It was poorly thought out to begin with, and has served no purpose beyond sending dollars out of NY to folks in free states.

Now, what state law to pass? Again, easy. A complete revamp of the NY pistol permit system. The current system is a mess, dependent on the whims of a local (elected) judge to sign (or not) and restrict (or not) a pistol permit. The concept of waiting three to fifteen MONTHS simply to get the permit - and then up to a month waiting period for each individual purpose - is simply stifling trade. The vast majority of NY gun owners can't purchase a pistol at a gun show because they can't have them added to their permit that day.

New York needs to become shall-issue, at a state level, with a single format for permits, and start making reciprocity agreements. The registration of individual handguns, and the money-pit boondoggle of CoBIS needs to be ended, period. I'd be content to switch to a tiered FOID/CCW setup. Want to be able to purchase handguns for sporting purposes? Fine - go to the sheriff's office, fill out a one-page application, they run a criminal history, and issue a 5-year FOID on the spot. You can now purchase handguns and possess them for sporting purposes: hunting and target shooting. Want to carry? Go to the sheriff, fill out a two-page application - hell, add a character reference or two - add a set of fingerprints, and wait for the prints to come back. Two weeks, maybe three, you have your 5-year CCW. Purchase and carry. Simple.

I'd even be OK adding a training requirement to receive a CCW - *if and only if* the classes are free or extremely low-cost (a la hunter education). Charging $120 for a permit and another $300-500 for a CCW class simply prices some folks out of it.

There oughtn't be a law...


Thanks for the fodder, Bob!

Brain Dump

First and foremost:
RobertaX has a sick kitty. Slinky passed away last week, and Tommy is having a rough time of it. Please send some good thoughts to Tommy, Roberta, and Tam.

Losing a long-time pet is one of the hardest things in life. To many of us, a pet can be even closer than a family member. Unconditional love is a powerful bond. One of my hesitations in getting a dog was knowing how attached I'd get to it ... hell, I already am. Dixie is only a year and a half old, so hopefully we've got lots of good years ahead.

On to the rest of the news...

In Madison, WI, a group of gun owners went out for dinner, open-carrying their pistols. This is entirely legal in the state of Wisconsin: they do not have any provisions for concealed carry in their laws, so if you want to carry a gun, it has to be open.

A passerby called 911 to report it, and officers were dispatched. Two of the folks having dinner declined to provide ID (as is their right in Wisconsin), and were subsequently (wrongfully) arrested for obstruction of justice.

Madison PD is now in a world of hurt. Not knowing the law is not an valid defense for you or I, nor is it a valid defense for an officer.

In this instance, there is audio recording of the incident - linked in the above post. Two of the folks having dinner chose to bring a recorder of some kind with them. It could be argued that they were looking for this kind of reaction. It could also be argued just as easily that while they weren't looking for trouble with the police, they wanted to make sure they had an unbiased "witness" if they were confronted.

I'm a supporter of recording the police. Not the media snippets and sound bites that cause riots, but "if you're on-duty, you are being recorded. Period." Audio at the minimum, and preferably audio and video. Knowing that anything you say could be subpoenaed and published on the front page of the local rag tends to keep you from saying things you will regret later. Before someone chimes in to say that I've no idea what that would be like ... you're 100% wrong. I work in a dispatch center, and everything I say on the phone or radio is recorded. You try very hard to never, ever, ever, say something you wouldn't say to your grandmother.

Having an unbiased recording of events can prevent a LOT of issues - from both sides of the badge. There is a video that was posted by the CATO Institute last week covering this exact topic. It's worth the ten minutes to watch it.

Also of note, from the update posted by Guns & Coffee:

Not a big deal really, however, as has happened several times in the past, the dispatcher has not simply told the caller that it is legal, and maybe had a squad drive past, but instead dispatched officers, who then unlawfully detained and charged individuals. Poor practice by MPD.

I don't know what the setup is for calltaking at MPD. Many municipalities have gone to a consolidated dispatch setup, wherein all 911 calls are routed to one central Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), and handled entirely within that center. A dispatcher working in such a PSAP is generally NOT a sworn officer, and does not have training in the finer points of law. They won't give legal advice. See above: it's ALL recorded.

Is it a bit of CYA? Absolutely. In our litigation-happy society, I will not be the one sitting on the stand while an attorney says, "Now, Mr. ZerCool, have you received any legal training? Are you qualified to provide advice on the legalities of carrying a pistol? Are you a sworn officer of the law? So would you care to explain why you told this caller that open-carrying a pistol was legal, just prior to the crazed maniac killing three people?"

Once the call has been received, there really isn't such a thing as "ha[ving] a squad drive past". The officers are going to be sent to a report of several subjects with guns, not brandishing or threatening, and caller feels the situation should be checked out. No metro police force in its right mind would send one or two officers into a situation with several known-armed subjects. When they arrive, they're going to assess things and handle it from there.

I'm not defending the actions of MPD after they arrived on scene: they stepped on the ol' crank. Big time. It's going to cost them. But I don't have issue with the initial handling of the call or the number of officers dispatched.


This headline on CNN.com caught my eye:
"Georgia baby sitter, 11, charged in death"

Read the article for details, if you wish, but this sums it up:

An 11-year-old baby sitter in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, has been charged in the death of a 2-year-old, authorities said. [...] The baby sitter [...] was caring for Zyda White late Saturday.

You can not possibly tell me that the parent(s) of the infant are not partially culpable in this incident. I have NEVER met an ELEVEN YEAR OLD who is mature enough to be solely responsible for the care of a toddler. It's one thing to say "you're going to baby sit" and have the child keep an eye on a younger sibling while mom or dad does chores around the house. "Late Saturday" suggests that the parent(s) were out of the house, and the story as published seems to confirm it.

To further compound it, if I'm reading right, the baby sitter was caring for the toddler in the sitter's home - so where were HER parent(s)???

Eleven years old. Facing a felony murder charge. While I'm sure there will be naysayers who think the parent(s) have suffered enough, they are, IMHO, guilty of endangering the welfare of a child, and possibly some kind of negligence charges. Same goes for the parents of the sitter.

Jay, I have just spiked my rage-o-meter.