Helpful Hints For Winter driving...

Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.

Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.

Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on its way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the freezing point of water ---preventing frost from forming!

Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil (corn oil-based) on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from freezing onto the rubber

Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe it off with paper towels, leaving no smears. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.

De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock and voila ..... problems solved!

Good Causes...

Ambulance Driver has a good cause up HERE that could use some support...

Wyatt has another good cause up HERE that could also use some support...

And please listen for the sounds of the bells as you shop for Christmas, the Salvation Army actually does spend almost all of it's income (donations) on actually helping people. Another charity I give to is Toys for Tots, run by the Marine Reserves!

I REALLY want to go to the range...

In answer to a couple of emails; yes, I got the .45 and no I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet... dammit...

A bit of history here- Jim Clark Sr. was not only a top notch gunsmith, he was also an outstanding pistol shot, and one of the few to shoot over 2600 in a match back in the day. Jim also built pistols for, among others, the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) starting in the 1960s. Examples of his work can be seen in Bill Jenkins fine book on US Military Match and Marksmanship Automatic Pistols. Jim Sr. was also one hellva nice guy, always willing to help out a dumb young shooter (me)... And he did a trigger job on my Ruger MkII back in the day to help me 'improve' my scores.

This pistol is a mid-1970's example of Jim Sr. and Archie's work at Clark's Custom Guns. It is a .45 that was reconfigured for bulls-eye matches with a number of Jim's custom touches. It was built for a gent over in Dangerfield, Tx, and was apparently was only shot in one match in 1977 before the range at Jacksonville, Tx closed. Since that time, it must have resided in a safe in the owner's house. Jim Jr. got it as a consignment sale, along with the matching 1911A1 .38 special long slide, but I could only afford this one... And it DID bring back some memories... sigh...

Anyway, the pistol is an older issue version, it was re-blued and has the extended Bomar rail/sights. If you look at the front strap, you can see some detail of the stippling, I have more detail on that in a later pic.

This is the other side of the pistol, here you can see the cut out in the Bomar sight rail for the ejection port and the adjustment for the rear sight. It did have the original steel short trigger still installed, but for safety and to keep from getting thrown off the range, I asked Jim Jr. to put a short aluminium trigger in (but I do have the original trigger). And the inscription on the slide... :-)

And a lousy pic, but you can see the polished throat on the barrel here. You can also see the thickness of the Bomar rail and this helps explain why these were called 'heavy' slides...

This is something that Jim Sr. did that I have not seen on any of the competition pistols I ever shot, and that is a flattened crosshatched hammer that is MUCH easier to cock than the issue hammer (note- this one is cut for a right handed shooter).

And here is the stippling on the front strap, and yes, it IS as nasty and sharp as it looks. BUT, you need to understand this was commonly done back in the 60's and 70's to prevent the pistol from shifting in your hand when shooting in hot weather or when you were sweating out that last X. In bullseye, you shot single handed, so there was not an option of bracing with the weak hand. You can go HERE and read the AMU manual on bullseye pistol shooting (this manual is TRULY the Bible of bullseye shooting)!


And I REALLY want to go to the range... I know I'm not good enough anymore to shoot this pistol at it's real capability, but I 'think' I can shoot it without embarrassing myself.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday that brings all faiths and cultures of this great nation together around a common theme of thanks.

Traditionally, we stop for a moment in our busy schedules, gather with family and friends to reflect on the year past, give thanks for our blessings and freedoms and share bounty, food and fellowship.

Many of our Military are away from home on Thanksgiving Day. Please keep them in mind as we gather around the table on Thursday and include a thought of gratitude for the freedoms they defend and those we enjoy as a result of their dedication and sacrifice.

We also need to be mindful that for many Americans, it has been another tough year. Hard times can serve as a reminder to be more thankful; if you have the opportunity, reach out to someone less fortunate this week...

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell.'

Author Unknown~

Remember, it's the Military, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. It's the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It's the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the military, please pray for our men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom...

Totally Useless Trivia...

I couldn't think of anything positive to post today, so this is what you get...

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
After the Civil War the U.S. sued Great Britain for damages that were caused by them building ships for the Confederacy. They originally asked for $1 billion but settled on $25 million.
Deborah Winger did the voice of E.T.
There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs six times: indivisibility.
In most advertisements, including newspapers, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.
The Mongol emperor Genghis Khan's original name was Temujin.
The first word spoken by an ape in the movie Planet of the Apes was 'Smile'.
Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order.
Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
The second longest word in the English language is 'antidisestablishmentarianism'.
When two words are combined to form a single word (eg. motor + hotel = motel; breakfast + lunch = brunch) the new word is called a 'portmanteau'.
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, "His name is Mudd".
The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.
Steely Dan got their name from a sexual device depicted in the book 'The Naked Lunch'.
Bob Dylan's real name is Robert Zimmerman.
Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean McBricker.
Lenny Kravitz's mother played the part of Helen on The Jeffersons.
Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
The Ramses brand condom is named after the great Pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.
There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the, there, he, in, rein, her, here, here, ere, therein, herein.
A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Evian spelled backwards is naive.
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
Maine is the toothpick capital of the world.
It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up its stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of its mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again.
A baby eel is called an elver, a baby oyster is called a spat.
Lake Nicaragua boasts the only fresh-water sharks in the entire world.
Charles de Gaulle's final words were, "It hurts."
ABBA got their name by taking the first letter from each of their first names - Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, Annifrid.
In the 1983 film 'JAWS 3D' the shark blows up. Some of the shark guts were the stuffed ET dolls being sold at the time.
Montana mountain goats will butt heads so hard their hooves fall off.
The Beatles song 'Dear Prudence' was written about Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, when she wouldn't come out and play with Mia and the Beatles at a religious retreat in India.
Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them.
The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
Moon was Buzz Aldrin's mother's maiden name. Buzz Aldrin was the second man on the moon in 1969.
Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The Skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radios newscast about the wreck. The Professor's real name was Roy Hinkley, Mary Ann's last name was Summers and Mrs. Howell's maiden name was Wentworth.
The male gypsy moth can smell a virgin female gypsy moth from 1.8 miles away.
Reindeer milk has more fat than cow milk.
The original fifty cent piece in Australian decimal currency had around $2.00 worth of silver in it before it was replaced with a less expensive twelve sided coin.
The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti.
Alexander the Great was an epileptic.
The lead singer of The Knack, famous for My Sharona, and Jack Kevorkian's lead defense attorney are brothers, Doug and Jeffrey Feiger.
The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence 'Oz'.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
Horses cannot vomit.
SOS doesn't stand for 'Save Our Ship' or 'Save Our Souls'. It was just chosen by an 1908 international conference on Morse Code because the letters S and O were easy to remember and just about anyone could key and read it, S = dot dot dot, O = dash dash dash.
The way to get more mules is to mate a male donkey with a female horse.
A donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule won't.
John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.

As Promised...

Tips, tricks and lessons learned for sighting rifles…

Sighting in rifles is always interesting, even more with scopes. Here’s what I’ve learned over (mumble) years of screwups, multiple tries, and lots of help from people that actually KNOW what they are doing…

1st assumption- You have already bore sighted, laser sighted, used a collimator to get the sights/scope pretty close to on…

2nd assumption- You have reviewed your ballistics tables for the round you are going to zero/hunt with (and it’s the same round). You’ve recorded the altitude, weather (temp, humidity, etc.). This becomes the base for the ‘dope’ for that rifle/scope/round combo. If you know you are zeroing at/near sea level, and know you will be hunting at 4-6000 feet of altitude, you will know what corrections you will need when you get on site to re-zero the rifle.

Set up-
Target- Use a target that has the 1 inch blocks printed on the target, makes it MUCH easier to determine how far off one is…

Spotting scope- Nice to have, or you’re gonna be doing a LOT of walking back and forth. You can spend a little or a LOT on one, your choice…

Rifle Rest- If you are using something like a Caldwell’s Lead Sled (which are NICE, but pricey), don’t exceed 25 lbs of weight on the sled. You DO want the rifle to be able to recoil at least a little bit. If you put too much weight on it, you risk damaging the stock due to the action slamming back into the stock with NO movement (remember, most rifles are NOT fully bedded so only screws and the recoil lug are the only thing holding them in the stock). You want the front arm to hold the rifle as near the barrel end of the scope as possible, and seated as well as possible in the pad; for the butt, place it firmly into the pad and rest your shooting hand on the rifle, use the other hand to manipulate the front arm to get the proper height and aimpoint for the rifle.

If you use a bipod for the front, you are stuck with its position on the forward end of the stock. if you use a tripod /rifle rest/sandbag for the front, position it at the barrel end of the scope, or just forward of the receiver group at the thickest part of the stock (this should also be just forward of the balance point of the rifle). For the butt, use your choice of bags, but here is where it gets interesting…

Use the bags to get the proper aim point WITHOUT having to squeeze the bags. What you want to get in either case is a STABLE, REPEATABLE position for the rifle. Trust me, you can’t do that if you’re sitting there trying to squeeze a bag up, or pressing down to try to ‘flatten’ one out to get your aim point.

Clean barrel or fouling shots- You can clean your barrel with acetone to remove the light oil you (hopefully) put in the rifle the last time you cleaned it. One patch with acetone should remove the oil and allow a ‘clean’ shot on the first shot. If you choose fouling shots, run a clean patch through the bore before you start, then 3-4 fouling shots (don’t look at this as a group, because they may be flyers).

Wait 20 minutes… Why? Give the rifle time to cool down. You want to shoot what are effectively cold bore shots out of any rifle that doesn’t have a heavy barrel.

If you’re bored, go google rifle barrel harmonics- Harmonics and barrel flex are real, and play a significant part in rifle accuracy (more on that later). Also, heat weakens the barrel and allows more flex/harmonics (e.g. wider pattern of flyers). It may be that your rifle doesn’t ‘like’ a particular load, so it is always advisable to have at least a couple of different weight bullets available to check grouping (for example, my rifle does not like 168gr bullets, but does like 173-175 gr bullets (to the tune of about ½ inch tighter groups; while a friend with the identical rifle is just the opposite).

Body position- Get into a comfortable, stable shooting position, minimizing tension on the body (preferably similar to the shooting position you will use in the field). Confirm your sight picture is correct or adjust as required (no squeezing the bag)…

Do NOT put your off hand on the weapon anywhere, put it flat on the shooting bench or curled under your shooting hand.

WITH THE CHAMBER EMPTY, assume the position, get a good cheek weld, put your shooting hand on the weapon such that your palm is touching the stock in the proper position to place your finger on the trigger, DO NOT wrap your thumb over the top of the stock. Re-confirm your sight picture is correct or adjust as required (no squeezing the bag), (some people use mnemonics to confirm position, breathing, trigger pull), continue pulling the trigger until you get a surprise break on the dry fire (the sight picture should NOT change). Look at the sight picture again, if it is off to either side, you are not getting a straight pull back on the trigger and your rounds are NOT going to go where you think you’re aiming.

Lather, rinse, repeat until you get the correct finger position that does not move the rifle/change the sight picture during the trigger squeeze. Once you have done that, fire three rounds using exactly the same sight picture, hold, mnemonic, and trigger pull.

Note- you don’t need to do this fast, as you want the barrel to stay at/near ambient.

If you shoot a called flyer, shoot one more to get a good three shot group.

Once you have that group, look at the error (hopefully a fairly small one). Let’s say you are 2 in high and 1 in left. Make the BIGGER correction first, and shoot three more rounds (using the techniques above). Confirm that correcting ‘worked’, then make the smaller correction and repeat. At this point you ‘should’ be on target. If your scope is a ¼ min/click you can further refine if you desire, if it’s 1min/click, you’re done, same if it’s iron sights.

I know people claim they can zero a rifle in 2 shots, but honestly I’ve never been able to do that… Guess I’m just a dummy…

If you need to zero for 200x and only have a 100x range, look at your ballistics curve for the ammo you are shooting, look at your 200x zero and it will give you the ‘over’ at 100x (usually around an inch with most ammo).

Very carefully loosen the caps on your scope and readjust to the new zero position and re-tighten as necessary. If you have a BDC cap, I’d recommend another three shot group with a different range to check zero (e.g. select 300x BDC and the rounds should be appx 2-3 inches high depending on ballistics table).

If you have standard caps, I’d recommend zero of 200x for hunting as anything between 100x and 300x will hit within about +/-3 inches of aim point across those ranges.

At this point, I’m done; I don’t clean the rifle again until hunting is complete for the year. I also will always do at least one cold bore shot at 100x before I go into the field to hunt, just to make sure nothing got knocked loose in transit!

Disclaimer- There are tons of how to sight rifle links on the net, and plenty of forums and blogs that detail this also. These happen to be mine, based on MY experiences. YMMV, INAL, etc…

And I was not paid nor do I endorse specific products with this post, I simply did searches to find the first hits on Google for products, so there...

Shoot em good folks!

AIT Can't Store Images, My Ass...

Well, 'maybe' images OF my ass...

And has anyone else noted there are NO test pictures of anything but a gun or a knife on the model??? What about those 'explosives' they are supposed to be catching???

Pulled from a FlyerTalk discussion thread...

The TSA RFP (the one EPIC posted before) requires the ability to store images (yes, it did say training mode) and required specific levels of personnel have the capability to enable that mode and permit captures. People at those specific levels are assigned at the airport level from what other sources have stated. Also those machines apparently have both Ethernet and USB slots...

AND they run on Windoze, so two keystrokes allow a screen capture of anything on the screen at the time. And anyone want to bet there are NO camera phones in those 'secure' rooms???

Also, if vendors have installed machines at the airport checkpoints without that capability (the ability to go into training mode and capture/store images), then they are in violation of the Federal Acquisition Regulations for failure to comply with deliverable specifications and should be reported to the GAO for investigation.

And you can go HERE and read about the scientists questions concerning the safety of the devices...

The ones I really feel for are the TSAers that have to work there everyday and are getting MAJOR levels of X-ray/MM wave... As I said, I asked for the MSDS and was told I didn't need to see it...

Vote with your feet and pocketbooks... Opt Out and don't fly unless it's an emergency... And if you REALLY want to piss em off, ask the TSAers why they can't just profile the bad guys...

And go over to the End Times Hoax and read their Opt Out 'song' :-)

Opt Out and No Fly Wednesdays...

I've cancelled my Thanksgiving trip, so will not see my daughters and grandson as I'm NOT flying and putting up with the BS at the airports. I will also opt out of any MM wave or backscatter scanners, since I cannot get the details on the amount of radiation each one puts out. I rather pointedly asked that question last Sunday at Tulsa and was told by a supervisor, "you don't need that information". It seems to me if they were really that safe, there would be Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) available... We're ALL required to have those in our workplaces for any materials...

I fully support the plans of Opt Out and National Opt Out Day doing this on a mass scale on the 24th of November, but I would also propose a separate and comprehensive ongoing No Fly project.

I'd propose that EVERY WEDNESDAY all travellers than can REFUSE TO FLY, either by rescheduling their trips, or taking other means of transport. And that we CONTINUE this until the airlines get tired of losing money and force TSA drop the BS politically correct screening and start profiling and actually searching for the bad guys (and when they find suspicious persons, THEY get the full treatment).

I'd also be more than willing to see ALL of the US airlines adopt El Al's procedures (unclassified data shown below) as they DO WORK!!!

Security
As a target for many decades, El Al employs stringent security procedures, both on the ground and on board its aircraft. These effective, though sometimes controversial, procedures have won El Al a reputation for security. In 2008, the airline was named by Global Traveler magazine as the world's most secure airline.

Airport security measures-
Passengers are asked to report three hours before departure. All El Al terminals around the world are closely monitored for security. There are plain-clothes agents and fully armed police or military personnel who patrol the premises for explosives, suspicious behavior, and other threats (including US airports). Inside the terminal, passengers and their baggage are checked by a trained team. El Al security procedures require that all passengers be interviewed individually prior to boarding, allowing El Al staff to identify possible security threats. Passengers will be asked questions about where they are coming from, the reason for their trip, their job or occupation, and whether they have packed their bags themselves. The likelihood of potential terrorists remaining calm under such questioning is believed to be low (see microexpression).

At the check-in counter, passengers' passports and tickets are closely examined. A ticket without a sticker from the security checkers will not be accepted. At passport control passengers' names are checked against information from the FBI, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Scotland Yard, Shin Bet, and Interpol databases. Luggage is screened and sometimes hand searched. In addition, bags are put through a decompression chamber simulating pressures during flight that could trigger explosives. El Al is the only airline in the world that passes all luggage through such a chamber. Even at overseas airports, El Al security agents conduct all luggage searches personally, even if they are supervised by government or private security firms.

Flight security measures-

Undercover agents (sometimes referred to as sky marshals) carrying concealed firearms sit among the passengers on every international El Al flight. All El Al pilots are former Israeli Air Force pilots. The cockpits in all El Al aircraft have double doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A code is required to access the doors, and the second door will only be opened after the first has closed and the person has been identified by the captain or first officer. Furthermore, there are reinforced steel floors separating the passenger cabin from the baggage hold.

El Al is my airline of preference when I'm overseas and having been through both US and El Al procedures, I MUCH prefer the El Al procedures, and I feel a hellva lot safer on one of their birds (and I don't have to get groped to get on the airplane)... Just sayin...

Jails vs. nursing homes!!!

With apologies to Snigs and the others who work in the health care arena...

I'm thinking "not such a bad idea"...

Here's the way it should be:
Let's put the seniors in jail and the criminals in nursing homes.

This would correct two things in one motion:
Seniors would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.
They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs, etc.
They would receive money instead of having to pay it out.
They would have constant video monitoring, so they would be helped instantly if they fell or needed assistance.
Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.
A guard would check on them every 20 minutes.
All meals and snacks would be brought to them
They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.
They would have access to a library, weight/fitness room, spiritual counseling, a pool and education...and free admission to in-house concerts by nationally recognized entertainment artists.
Simple clothing, I.e.., shoes, slippers, pj's - and legal aid would be free, upon request.
There would be private, secure rooms provided for all with an outdoor exercise yard complete with gardens.
Each senior would have a P.C., T.V., phone and radio in their room at no cost.
They would receive daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors to hear any complaints and the ACLU would fight for their rights and protection.
The guards would have a code of conduct to be strictly adhered to, with attorneys available, at no charge to protect the seniors and their families from abuse or neglect.
There would be doctors and nurses readily available for them.

As for the criminals:

They would receive cold food.
They would be left alone and unsupervised.
They would receive showers once a week.
They would live in tiny rooms, for which they would have to pay $5,000 per month.
They would have no hope of ever getting out.
Depending on the schedule they might or might not get a nurse or a doctor to actually answer the call button.


Sounds like justice to me!!! :-)

PSA- The Rest of the Story...

To grope or not to grope... That was the Option at Tulsa today, as they ONLY have the millimeter wave porn machines at the airport. When the person in front of me was told to take their belts and shoes off and empty everything out I'd their pockets, including MONEY, WALLETS, and take off ALL JEWELRY and put it in the bin, which they could not see during the scanning, I opted out.

This was immediately called out in a loud voice and three TSAers segregated me, so the rest of the herd would go passively... I was then told I had to remove everything and I would be "patted" down. When the TSAer started to walk off with the tub with my money, watch and cell phones; I told him to stop, that I wanted everything to remain in my view. That didn't go over well either...

I was then groped, just flat NO other word for it... sigh... I need a new career that DOESN'T involve flying...

I will be filing a complaint when I get back to DC, but I'll bet nothing happens.

The other interesting thing is that they put THREE of these units at Tulsa, where I doubt they EVER get a politician or high official that will ever transit through the airport. If they were decent leaders, the first units would have been at Reagan National and the congresscritters and high administration officials would have been the first users...

Wow... Just Wow...

Perusing the tables at Wanenmacher's Gun Show at Tulsa I saw $4000 Colt Pythons and Diamondbacks, $400 sets of grips (wood), $37,000-$43,000 Winchester Rifles, and the piece de resistance, a $169,650 Holland and Holland #1 Grade 577 Nitro Express Double Rifle! That thing had EVERY inch of it engraved, never been fired, built in the late 1930's early 1940's... I didn't even breathe on that thing!!!

Saw a few old friends, found out another old friend has died, and once again marveled at how one friend comes up with some of the guns he does (SEVEN Colts with original factory engraving!)...

Met up with Jim Garber and wandered a bit, cussed the prices ($4.50 for a coke) and saw some amazing displays down in Ego Alley (downstairs)...

One funny incident- my friend had an old muzzle loader for sale, a guy dropped a bore light down the rifle, and the light STUCK!!! Talk about a stunned look on his face :-)

And my friend couldn't resist, he said, "Well, guess you bought it now!" And the guy DID, after they finally got the bore light out!!!

Off to see what I can see today, hands will be kept FIRMLY in pockets... sigh...

Applebees lost money...

I met up with friends from Texarkana last night at the hotel in Tulsa, then Jim Garber called, so we decided to meet at Applebees for dinner since they were giving free meals to Veterans. We got there and there was literally a line out the door! 30-45 minute wait, and I literally saw three generations (at least) of Veterans waiting PATIENTLY to be served... It's not like we haven't stood in line once or twice before... People were chatting back and forth, comparing service, comparing generations, etc. Jim was having a 'bit' of a navigation issue (he didn't believe the restaurant existed) so he was a bit late...

We ended up sharing a table with a young Airman and his family and our waiter was a Marine Reservist with two tours in the Sandbox who is finishing his degree in Dec and heading back to TBS then back downrange. Needless to say, the jokes were flying fast and furious...

I had to step out to take a phone call, and the manager came out as I was finishing; we chatted for a couple of minutes, and I asked him how it was going, he said he expected they would "lose" $4-5000 for the day, and he was perfectly happy with it!!!

He said they had been giving Veterans a free meal all day, and estimated they had served between 5-600 Veterans just at that one location. He also said he was amazed at the camaraderie and lack of complaints about the wait or tables, or anything else...

Thank you Applebees!

EDIT- Go HERE and watch this one... One of the best I've seen...

Veterans' Day...

If you know a veteran, please thank them today for their service. If you don't, please take a minute and say a prayer for all the veterans who didn't come home...

To all my friends who served, a toast- "Absent comrades!"

And now a bit of history about the Lone Sailor Statue in DC...

The Lone Sailor© is a composite of the U.S. Navy bluejacket, past, present and future. He's called the Lone Sailor, yet he is hardly ever alone, standing there on the broad granite plaza which forms the amphitheater of the Navy Memorial. Visitors to the Memorial are immediately drawn to him to peer into his far seeing eyes, to admire him or size him up, to see if he's as tough or as gentle as he seems. Visitors find that he is all that he seems and probably more.

The founders of the Navy Memorial envisioned this Lone Sailor at 25 years old at most, a senior second class petty officer who is fast becoming a seagoing veteran. He has done it all – fired his weapons in a dozen wars, weighed anchor from a thousand ports, tracked supplies, doused fires, repelled boarders, typed in quadruplicate and mess-cooked, too. He has made liberty call in great cities and tiny villages, where he played tourist, ambassador, missionary to the poor, adventurer, souvenir shopper and friend to new lands. His shipmates remember him with pride and tell their grandchildren stories, some of which, like him, are seven feet tall.

The bronze statue is the creation of Stanley Bleifeld, the United States NavyMemorial's official sculptor, selected by a board of recognized art authorities from a field of 36 sculptors identified in a six month, nationwide search. A native of New York City, Bleifeld maintains a studio at his home in Weston, Connecticut, and also inPietrasanta, Italy.

Stanley Bleifeld served in the Navy in World War II. Like many other talented artists at the time, he was assigned as an illustrator for Navy training manuals; he never went into battle, but he helped train those who did.

After so long an absence from the Navy, Bleifeld visited the fleet and other Navy activities to help him see anew the American sailor in the sea environment; he further focused his impressions in meetings with the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, other senior officer and enlisted personnel, and his patrons -- the Navy Memorial Foundation officers, staff and board members. These patrons represented literally hundreds of years of Navy experience and acquaintance with the Lone Sailor.

The process of conceptualization, modeling, sculpting, and casting went through five initial images, four different models, and well over a year of work before culminating in the unveiling at the formal dedication of the Memorial on October 13, 1987 – on the anniversary of the Navy's birthday.

The third model of a strong and brash young man leaning over a cleat, although very well received, was passed up in favor of an upright model. However a full casting of this model, dubbed the "Liberty Hound", was subsequently commissioned for the Jacksonville Navy Memorial in Jacksonville, Florida.

As part of the casting process, the bronze for The Lone Sailor© was mixed with artifacts from eight U. S. Navy ships, provided by the curator for the Navy in the Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard. The ships span the Navy's history, yielding small pieces of copper sheeting, spikes, hammock hooks and other fragments from the post-revolutionary frigates Constitution ("Old Ironsides") and Constellation; the steamer Hartford, flagship of Admiral David G. Farragut in the Civil War era; the battleship USS Maine; the iron-hulled steamer/sailing ship USS Ranger; the World War II-era cruiser USS Biloxi and aircraft carrier USS Hancock, and the nuclear-powered submarine USS Seawolf. One last addition was a personal decoration from today's Navy, one given to sailors in war and peace, the National Defense Service Medal. These bits of metal are now part of The Lone Sailor©.

Reaction to The Lone Sailor© has been gratifying. "He certainly represents us," is the claim heard from nearly every Navy community, active or retired. The Navy Memorial Foundation regularly receives telephone calls or notes from Navy veterans or their families wondering where the Foundation obtained their photograph as the model for the statue. The Lone Sailor© is impressive to people who have never served in the Navy and powerfully so for those who have served.

"You would want this guy at your battle station when it's not a drill," former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Billy C. Sanders says of The Lone Sailor©. "He is the classic American sailor. That statue looks like bronze, but there is plenty of salt, paint, sweat, fuel oil and courage stirred in."

I was very proud to receive a miniature statue of the Lone Sailor from the Admiral on my retirement...

How real IS our military training???

The link HERE is what is currently being done at 29 Palms (better known as 29 Stumps to those in the know).

It is a semi-commercial for the company that is providing the training equipment and personnel, but it's worth the 12 minutes to get a 'feel' for what our folks are being trained for. Note- There are some graphic scenes of both real and simulated injuries...

This takes Tigerland at Fort Polk (from the Vietnam era) to a whole new level of reality...

As as evidenced by the interviews, is doing a good job of preparing our troops for what they may face in the war zone.

Oh yeah, Happy 235th to all the Jarheads :-) Semper Fi my friends!

Project Valour- IT

Go read THIS at Wyatt's and please donate! It IS a worthwhile cause!

That is all...

You Can Leave The Military, But It Never Really Leaves You...

A friend sent this to me today, reminding me of the upcoming Veterans Day. Everything in this is true, and goes a long way to explaining some of the wistfulness your significant other might exhibit driving past a military base...

Occasionally, I venture back out to the air base where I'm greeted by an imposing security guard who looks carefully at my identification card, hands it back and says, "Have a good day, tech sergeant." Every time I go back onto Charleston Air Force Base it feels good to be called by my previous rank, but odd to be in civilian clothes, walking among the servicemen and servicewomen going about their duties as I once did, years ago.

The military, for all its flaws, is a comfort zone for anyone who has ever worn the uniform. It's a place where you know the rules and know they are enforced; a place where everybody is busy but not too busy to take care of business. Because there exists behind the gates of every military facility an institutional understanding of respect, order, uniformity, accountability and dedication that becomes part of your marrow and never, ever leaves you.

Personally, I miss the fact that you always knew where you stood in the military, and who you were dealing with. That's because you could read somebody's uniform from 20 feet away and know the score. Service personnel wear their careers on their sleeves, so to speak. When you approach each other, you can read their name tag, examine their rank and, if they are in dress uniform, read their ribbons and know where they've served.

I miss all those little things you take for granted when you're in the ranks, like breaking starch on a set of fatigues fresh from the laundry and standing in a perfectly straight line that looks like a mirror as it stretches to the endless horizon. I miss the sight of troops marching in the early morning mist, the sound of boot heels thumping in unison on the sidewalks, the bark of sergeants and the sing-song answers from the squads as they pass by in review.

To romanticize military service is to be far removed from its reality, because it's very serious business, especially in times of war. But I miss the salutes I'd throw at officers and the crisp returns as we crisscrossed on the flight line. I miss the smell of jet fuel hanging heavily on the night air and the sound of engines roaring down runways and disappearing into the clouds. I even miss the hurry-up-and-wait mentality that enlisted men gripe about constantly, a masterful invention that bonded people more than they'll ever know or admit.

I miss people taking off their hats when they enter a building, speaking directly and clearly to others and never showing disrespect for rank, race, religion or gender. Mostly I miss being a small cog in a machine so complex it constantly circumnavigates the Earth and so simple it feeds everyone on time, three times a day, on the ground, in the air or at sea. Mostly, I don't know anyone who has served who regrets it, and doesn't feel a sense of pride when they pass through those gates and re-enter the world they left behind with their youth.

Face it guys [and gals], we all miss it. Whether you had one tour or a career, it shaped your life.

We Remembered...

Yes we did... Now we need to do it one more time in 2012...

Nuff said...

I celebrated...

Getting my M-1 back together... :-)

My gunsmith called me this morning to say he'd completed the reassembly, so I decided to take a couple of hours off to celebrate my ability to actually shoot a gun!

(I know what I don't know how to do, and getting all the 'fiddley bits' back together without screwing it up and/or screwing up either the wood or something else pointed me to my gunsmith to do it.)

Here is a picture of the rifle as originally received from CMP... It was clean and 99% on the metal, but the stock had been beaten around over the years in armories. It shot good (2 MOA at 100 yards) and I decided it deserved to have a good looking stock to go with the original metal. After a number of calls/recommendations/back and forth, I went with Phillip McFerrin the Gun Stock Doc down in Alabama. All I can say is WOW!!! He did a super job on the furniture, and didn't touch the cartouches at all!

OBTW, you DO get funny looks when you show up at the range in a coat and tie to shoot... And I had no spotting scope, so I shot 5 shots cold (with the 3 o'clock flyer called) offhand then walked down and took a look. I was high, so went back and reset and then shot the next five and got them all in the black.

Of note- no sling, off hand, so this is NOT a reflection of how well the rifle shoots, but how badly I shot it...

But enough about that, look at that stock! It is beautiful, and it IS the original stock! No more dings, dents, paint... :-) And my gunsmith told me I'll probably be accused of putting a 'fake' stock on the rifle!!! I told him I'll just send them to him as a reference :-)

Here is a closer pic of the butt stock! Smooth as a baby's butt :-)

Here's a picture of the action and you can see how good the metal and parkerizing is!

Here is a picture of the action from the side- almost NO damage to the action/parkerizing!

Here is a picture of the throat ( now I DID clean it before the pic) but effectively no wear at all!

The only dings are on the front sight, barrel end from where it was stacked in the rack(s) in various armories, but still... and look at the wood on that fore stock!

And finally a picture of the pieces/parts I've picked up thanks to friends looking for 'stuff' for me! The bayonet is a correct 1951 bayonet in the original sheath, and the web belt is a pre-war clip pouch belt with 1911 mag pouch and correct first aid kit. Without the folks in the shooting community who freely gave of their time and expertise, I would have never been able to enjoy this rifle nor put these pieces together to pass down to my grandson!

Thanks Folks!

Twas the Night Before Elections...

An oldie but a goody and pretty damn appropriate again... No idea who wrote this back in 2008, but they were prescient.

'Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet
They wanted my pay
To give to the others
Who had not worked a day!

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

" On Fannie, on Freddie, On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi"
He screamed at the pairs!
They took off for his cause

And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn't stand up and fight!
So I leave you to think
On this one final note-

IF YOU DON'T WANT SOCIALISM GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

It is now November, I hope you've REMEBERED IN NOVEMBER!!!

I really don't care whom you vote for, but PLEASE VOTE! It's important for you, me and all of us... We need to show the powers that be that WE THE PEOPLE do care and want control of our government back.