Marine's open new Combined Arms Training Facility

I would have LOVED to train in something like this. Incredible. It might make a stay at the Stumps worth it.

Tax Day Gun

I finally got it in today...my Tax Day Gun. I ordered it back in March (We filed early this year), and just got it in today. It's a .450 Bushmaster. Actually, the upper receiver is the only part I actually bought with Tax money, the lower receiver is a Bravo Co. lower I had from before. I can't wait to get it out to shoot it.

In love with a blue alien woman

I saw Avatar last night, and all I can say, is wow! I don't care what anyone says, I thought the movie was great. The visuals of course were incredible, but aside from that, I thought the movie was great. The story line, which some said was lacking, I thought was great. it was simple, but who says simple can't be good? I guess it's the world we live in where everything has to be over-complicated. But as we know, sometimes the simple things in life are the best. What makes the plot so good isn't that it is original (man is sent out with dubious intentions, man falls in love with woman, man sees the evil of his ways, man changes ways, man fights for what is right), but it's the delivery that makes it good. And I have to say, I'm as much of an Ooh Rah Marine as the next Marine, but if I found a tribe of almost-naked loin cloth wearing blue women with bodies like Zoe Saldana, I would betray my species also.

Of course a lot of the conservative crowd criticize the movie for it's leftist message, and anti-war message, but I have to argue with that. The leftist message is there, and the movie is anti-war in the beginning. But it gets a lot less clear towards the end. Of course there's Sigourney Weaver's character, who is the righteous do-gooder tree-hugger that most people can't stand. But the movie demonstrates that peace can only get you so far. Because in the end, the peace lovers, including the human scientist Norm Spellman (played by Joel David Moore) picked up a gun to fight. It showed there is a limit to how far peacefulness can get you, but in the end we have a right to defend ourselves and our way of life. And you can't defend yourself with peace. To me the movie has the message that we should all strive for peace, but in the end when you're up against an enemy that doesn't want peace, you have to resort to a good old fashioned butt whoopin'.

My favorite handgun

I have the luxury of owning some really nice handguns. My wife and I each get an allowance, and I spend almost 100% of mine on gun related items. Usually I try to save up for a gun of some sort. So I have a nice collection. I have some fancy ones, like my FN Five-seveN, which I love. It's an awesome handgun, and a great company. For what they do for our military and our civilian shooting community, plus their quality firearms, FN is my favorite gun company. I also have a HK USP .45 compact, which I am also quite fond of. In fact, my license plates are personalized with that handgun's name. I also own a 1911, Browning Buckmark, a Walther PPK, a Ruger LCP, a couple of Russian guns, and a few others. However, there is another that is my favorite. If you would have asked me a couple of months ago what was my favorite I would have told you different. You know why? Because I took it for granted. It's not the flashiest handgun, it's lines are quite classic. It was quite controversial when it first hit the shooting scene. It's caliber has been criticized, though it is the most popular caliber in the entire "rest of the world." In the last few months, every gun rag and gun TV show has had something about the gun, which has made me realize that I have taken it for granted, and it is my favorite gun. It just celebrated it's 25 year anniversary of its adoption by the United States military. It is, of course, the Beretta 92. The M9.

Let me back up a bit and say this: I love the .45 ACP (probably my favorite all around handgun caliber) and the 1911. I think of John Moses Browning as one of the top 5 greatest Americans ever. The 1911 was WAY ahead of its time. But...that time was over 100 years ago. It's still a great gun, and a viable self defense option. Probably the best handgun EVER.

But I still love my Beretta 92. Just as the Marines and Army that came before me who were issued the M1911, I am partial to what I was issued, and that is the M9. I carried mine for almost my entire 11 years in the Marines. (Most of my first 4 years in the infantry my T.O. weapon was the M249 SAW, so my sidearm was the M9. After that in my next M.O.S., my T.O. weapon was just the M9). I have fired thousands upon thousands of rounds with it, and honestly, I can't think of a single malfunction, nor do I remember anyone else that ever had one, either. Though I never fired my M9 in combat, I did carry it in combat, and on several occasions had it drawn and at the ready to engage a threat. Once I even pulled it with the intent of using it, but didn't have to. Every time I pulled my M9 out of it's holster, I had complete, 120% confidence in the pistol. And yes, I'm upping the ante from those that believe we can only give 110%. It is completely reliable, very accurate, and gives me 15 rounds to resolve whatever

situation I'm in.

Every situation dictates which handgun we sue. If I need CCW, the LCP gets

the nod. If someone is in the house that shouldn't be, I'm grabbing the .357 or my USP .45. If the SHTF and I could only grab one handgun, it would be the Beretta 92.

Check out me new YouTube Channel

Check out my new Youtube channel: 762x51 n8o. You'll find gun videos, including the video from the previous post -- the Savage Model 93. More videos will be coming.

http://www.youtube.com/user/762x51n8o

New gun pr0n

I've been wanting to get ahold of something in .17 HMR for some time now. I've heard nothing but great things about the round (except for the bad stuff about shooting it from a semi-auto). I've been shopping around for awhile, then finally found a Savage Model 93 in M.O. Brush Camo, topped by a Simmons 3-9x40, also in M.O. Brush. (I don't know what it is, but I love the look of M.O. Brush camo, even though it doesn't really match anything here in Wiskonsin. I guess it just reminds me of Texas, and I love Texas). It was just north of $300 at Pecker's sporting goods. It's a nice looking gun.

Yesterday I took it to the range for the first time. Let me just say, the accuracy boasts made by Savage about their rifles, and the stuff people say about the .17 HMR. It's all true. Tack driver. Even with the Simmons (joke). There are a couple of things I don't like about the rifle though. 1. the magazine release/catch seems kind of chinsy (a colloquial midwestern term). It's just a piece of metal torqued so it has some spring to it. Because the mag slides up a rail, combined with the mag release/catch, it's not a smooth process getting the mag on and off. And sometimes if you think it's on, the mag release/catch, hasn't fully seated, so the mag isn't seated properly. I think this has something to do with the second issue, which is; 2. I had some feed issues. Some of the rounds just wouldn't feed properly when I slid the bolt forward. The bolt kind of stuck. I think this could be in part because the bolt is such a small diameter, due to the caliber, and the finish on the bolt isn't smooth, it's kind of rough, so it doesn't slide smoothly. Couple that with a wide bolt knob, and I think by grabbing the bolt at the knob and sliding creates an awkward side-leverage to slide the narrow bolt home. I don't know if you follow. In my mind it makes sense, I just don't know if I'm being clear. But, if I push the bolt directly from the rear with my thumb, instead of by the bolt knob, the round went into chamber easier. I think time and some wear will remedy this issue, so I'm not terribly worried.

The other issue is the magazine. After I fired a couple of mags off, I was inserting the mag into the rifle with the bolt open. When I tapped the mag to makes sure it was seated, the rounds spewed/erupted out of the mag and all over the table and ground around me. I have never fired a bolt gun with a removable mag, so I thought this was my fault, and I should only insert the mag with the bolt closed. So I loaded the mag back up and tapped it AR-style to make sure all the rounds were properly seated (not an easy trick with such a small mag) and all the rounds again spewed/erupted out, this time in the deep snow in front of my firing line. Now it's no longer my fault and a mag issue. So I load it up again, and this time don't tap it, and was in the process of moving towards the rifle when the round spewed/erupted out a third time.

I now have a single shot.

So, I got home and first thing, called Savage support. On the main line, after 3 rings, an actual person picks up. "How may I direct your call?" "Service, please." "Hold on." 2 rings. "Service, how may I help you?" Hi, I bought a rifle yesterday, and was at the range today, and the mag...blah, blah, blah..." "OK, would you like a new magazine, sent to you?" "Sure." "What's your address?" "It's ...blah, blah, blah." "OK, the mag is on the way."

Wow, now that's great customer service.

Now I'm looking forward to getting the mag, and hopefully that will fix that issue. Just in time for the weekend before the supper bowl, which is when the group that I hunt with has the "Annual Tree-Rat Roundup" where we go out and thin the squirrel herd on their property.

Semper Fi

*****Follow up - 1/9/2010*****

I received the new magazine from Savage. I measured the feed lips with a caliper, and sure enough, there is a difference of .020" inches between the one that came with it and the new one. The new one being narrower, of course. That doesn't sound like a lot, but with a round as small as this, I think it will make all the difference in the world. I'm sure this will eliminate all the problems I had with rounds spewing/erupting out.

Semper Fi

Cheap fun

I'm going to use a bad word here, in the eyes of many a shooter: Wal-mart. Yep, that's right. I was just in Wal-mart and found a great deal on a cheap piece of kit. They have a "Center-Point" Laser sight for $29.99. It's not the compact little laser sights, but the big honkers that laser-light was putting out 5 or so years ago. the nice thing, it includes a remote switch. This isn't anything I would put on something with sharp recoil like a .45. But, since it's not exactly compact, I think the best application would be to stick it on my Beretta Storm 9mm Carbine. It's perfect for tactical carbines. We'll see next time at the range how it stays sighted with a little bit of recoil.

Past experiences with Center-Point optics haven't been great. I wouldn't advice sticking one of their $49 tactical scopes on something like a 7.62 NATO rifle. The kick is a little much. The crosshairs started to vibrate after about 4 rounds. NOT good.

Semper Fi