It’s not paranoia…

Posted on by March 24, 2017

When they really ARE out to get you.

Scott Adams is well known for his Dilbert cartoons, having started them back in the 80s. He’s been upfront about his political leanings for years, and this time he went for Trump…

Much to the dismay of much of the left…

And he ‘knew’ the interview was going to be a hit piece, HERE…

On his blog, HERE, he points out the many errors of commission and omission done to paint him as a dystopic nutcase of the highest order, and take a cheap shot at his girlfriend at the same time… sigh…

Something tells me Bloomberg just ‘might’ get some attention in the coming illustrations, as he is want to do on occasion… And he DOES take input from readers, even today…

Personally, I think this is the lowest of the low, to do something like this to a good person just because of their political stance, BUT now that the left has lost, they are going to strike out anywhere and anyway they can. I’m sure Bloomberg ‘thinks’ they will cost him money, but given his legion of fans, I just don’t see that happening. If anything, his readership will probably go UP!

 

Book Pimping…

Posted on by March 23, 2017

Our friend JD Kinman has a new book out!

Click the cover to go to Amazon and get your copy!!!

The blurb-

Follow the hilarious tales of a displaced Texas ad agency executive and his two wise-cracking dogs as they escape the brutal winters of the Midwest and make a joyous and triumphant return home to their beloved Lone Star State.

In between barbecue feasts and harassment by the IRS, prosthetic testicles and a dog-house-turned-time-machine, the antics and adventures of JD, his Doberman and German Shepherd, and his levelheaded and incredibly tolerant wife will have you howling with laughter and even occasionally wiping a tear away from your face.

This is the collection of tales that JD’s readers have been waiting to get their paws on for years.

If you’re as tired of the political BS as I am, this is some great escapist reading!  Funny and a quick read, I think you’ll enjoy it!

TBT…

Posted on by March 23, 2017

Trains… Well, at least the back-end of one…

An early 1900s Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe caboose… In front of it are two 1900s artifacts, one the old crossing sign, then other the arm with three lights on the left. It’s located at the Square House Museum, Panhandle, TX, about an 30 miles NE of Amarillo.

This particular unit was built in 1928, so my grandfather on my mother’s side could well have actually ridden in this one as he traveled the country as an engineering investigator.

Looking from the front to the rear, you can see two of the three bunks. One of the two on the right is folded down, as the back one shows. The chair and desk were the Conductor’s desk. The trains in those days had a four man crew, Conductor, Engineer (my grandpa), Fireman and brakeman, plus backups for everyone but the Conductor if it was a 2-3 day trip, then it was 12 on/12 off.

From the back-end, looking forward. I’m standing back by the restroom, you see the stove/kitchen on the right (wood stove), and their water/sink on the left. The grey container on the right, forward of the stove was their cooking utensils, and food storage.

Looking up into the cupola, the gauge and handle you see are the brakeman’s controls. He could stop the train from back here, in conjunction with the engineer.

Looking ‘forward’ out of the cupola. You can see the walkway the brakeman could use to go up the train to handle issues with specific cars.

One other thing I remember was Grandpa talking about cowboys riding in the caboose, especially when they were hauling horses/cattle. The cattle cars were always right in front of the caboose, causing the air in the caboose to stink to high heaven (his words), due to the cattle farting. The cowboys could go forward and take care of their horses or cattle without ‘upsetting’ the passengers in the forward cars.

One can only wonder what that caboose has seen… much less the people that rode in it!

Posted in TBT

Interesting statistics…

Posted on by March 20, 2017

First an update from yesterday’s post- David Codrea chimes in HERE on the Peacemaker Range suit.

Then, I missed this one completely… Good article from Motley Fool on gun manufacturing in the US.

The landing has been hard for the firearms industry as it adjusts to the new environment of lower firearms demand after several years of white-hot sales. Although the gunmakers themselves are still reporting robust numbers, the outlook they share is disappointing as it returns to more modest levels, even if gun sales remain above historical trends.

Full article, HERE.

And it’s coming up on that time of year… NRA Annual Meeting! It’s in Atlanta, GA 27-30 April. Based on the above article, I’m going to be talking to some of the ‘little’ folks in the manufacturing side and see what they are seeing…

With the cuts going on at both Colt and Remington lately, are we seeing the tip of the iceberg? Are more cuts on the horizon for S&W now that they are American Outdoor Brands and are ‘supposedly’ deemphasizing their firearms?

I don’t have good answers to ANY of the questions I’ve posed, and I’m not smart enough to start trying to guess…

Lastly, a question for the readers- If you ‘finally’ got your suppressor delivered to the local FFL, would you do the Form 4 and pay the $200, and assume the position of waiting up to six + months or bet on the come of the Hearing Protection Act being signed in August, as some people are thinking???

My answer is below the fold…

And one last one to think about. From Glenn Reynolds in USA Today- The Suicide of Expertise, not specifically about guns, but worth the read, considering how many ‘experts’ there are in the gun/weapons field…

h/t JP

Continue reading →

PSA…

Posted on by March 17, 2017

If you’ve EVER shot at Peacemaker National Training Center in West Virginia, this heads up is for you…

PNTC Members and Customers,

We would like to thank each of you for being members and customers of PNTC and we look forward to your continued support and use of the complex. We cannot stress enough how much we appreciate and need your continued support.

We feel compelled inform our members and customers regarding a recent court ruling related to PNTC’s private customer information. Specifically, a resident of Virginia has filed a nuisance complaint against PNTC alleging that noise from operation of the shooting range is a nuisance, and therefore interferes with his property rights. This complaint was filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court and is before Circuit Court Judge Grey Silver, styled Ben and Diane Goldstein v. Peacemaker Properties, LLC and Peacemaker National Training Center, LLC, Civil Action No. 15- C-520. Court documents filed in the case are public record and may be reviewed through the Circuit Clerk’s office.

Although our legal team pointed out that Berkeley County, WV specifically exempts shooting ranges from their noise ordinance and prevents nuisance claims against shooting ranges, the complaint was filed and not dismissed by the court. You may also access the Berkeley County Noise Ordinance at this link: http://www.berkeleycountycomm.org/docs/ordinances/amendnoiseord0409.pdf

Despite numerous motions and requests to reconsider, and numerous mediation efforts with the plaintiff, the court has  ordered PNTC to produce the below documents and other private records under a “Protective Order.” Under this order, the plaintiffs and their counsel are legally permitted to access the following information:

 

–     All member files

–     All waivers from any person who has accessed PNTC, to include all law enforcement, federal agency personnel, military personnel and foreign military personnel names

–     All shooting competition files and lists

–     All training information and lists

–     All customer waivers

–     Identities of all persons who have used PNTC ranges

–     All ATF & NFA records (to include Forms 4473 and ATF bound book information)

Unfortunately, PNTC is unable to answer additional questions or comment on this matter at this time. Please know that we have done everything in our power to protect your private information, but we must comply with the court order.

Again, we look forward to seeing you soon and thank you for your support and understanding. Thank You,

Cole McCulloch – President

Peacemaker National Training Center

This is NOT good, as there is no telling how that information will be used or disseminated… And if I remember correctly, they will have name, address, phone number and caliber of weapon fired… Dammit…

Posted in PSA

Navy ‘Stuff’…

Posted on by March 18, 2017

Paintings… And space operations…

Artists were usually aboard the ships that performed the water recoveries of the US space capsules, which landed in the water, as opposed to the Russian ones which land on the ground.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1944, Alan Shepard became a pilot and served as a test pilot at Patuxent Naval Air Station, later becoming an instructor. In 1959, he was one of the first seven astronauts selected for Project Mercury. In May 1961, he became the first American in space – the second human after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin achieved that feat a month earlier. He returned to space in Apollo 14 and in that mission became the fifth person to walk on the moon and first to hit a golf ball on the moon.

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-161-zi from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. Raymond Kintsler, artist.

ASW helicopters usually got tapped to be the primary rescue ‘vehicle’ along with their crews. Helicopter 58 was a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, was one of those used for Gemini 5’s recovery aboard the USS Lake Champlain in 1965.

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-162-CR from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. Luis Llorente, artist.

Wearing biological isolation garments, the crew of Apollo 11 is escorted directly from the helicopter that was lowered to the hangar deck then pulled in next to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) to ensure that they did not bring back any contaminants back from the moon. The Airstream trailer would be their home for the next 65 hours while it was transferred from USS Hornet to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-163-AN from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. Cliff Young, artist.

About 200 miles east of Pago Pago in the South Pacific, USSTiconderoga picked up the astronauts and command module of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the moon.

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-162-PA from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Paul Ortlip, artist.

The UDT team stands on the flotation collar in order to secure the towline to hoist the Mercury 9 spacecraft onto the deck of a ship. This was the last Mercury shot, L. Gordon Cooper was the astronaut on board. When the automatic systems malfunctioned, Cooper drew lines on the capsule window with a grease pencil to help him check his orientation before firing the re-entry rockets. “So I used my wrist watch for time,” he later recalled, “my eyeballs out the window for attitude. Then I fired my retrorockets at the right time and landed right by the carrier.” Test pilots… What can you say! 🙂

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-170-al from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Robert J. Benson, artist.

 And last, but not least…
In the center of the painting is Captain Charles Conrad, USN, Apollo 12 Commander, Captain Richard F. Gordon, USN, Pilot, Command Module and Captain Alan L. Bean, USN, Pilot, Lunar Module. Other important aspects of their journey to and from the moon are depicted in this artwork: the launching of their mission, their moon walk on 14 November 1969, and their recovery by USS HORNET, ten days later.

U.S. Navy bureau of Ships – Official U.S. Navy photo 88-162-of from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, Paul Ortlip, artist.

Quite a few of these are displayed in the Navy Museum in Pensacola, others are in Houston and other NASA locations.

Small steps…

Posted on by March 16, 2017

But more good news for Vets…

House Passes Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act
Legislation Protects Due Process Rights for Veterans
Fairfax, Va.— The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) applauds the House of Representatives today for passing The Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act (H.R. 1181), a bill that protects the due process rights of veterans, in a 240-175 vote.

 
“The constitutional rights of our veterans must be strongly protected,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA-ILA. “The House vote today is a step forward in ensuring our veterans’ rights are not infringed upon.”
 
The VA has been effectively banning veterans who receive disability benefits and use a fiduciary to help manage those benefits from gun ownership. These individuals are being stripped of their Second Amendment rights by a bureaucratic rule that denies them due process. 
 
There is no data indicating a correlation between needing help managing money and being a danger to oneself or others – the criterion the government must meet before denying a person their Second Amendment rights. 
 
If enacted into law, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act would ensure that going forward, veterans who use a fiduciary would not be stripped of their  constitutional rights unless a judicial authority first finds they pose a danger to themselves or others. This ensures due process rights for all veterans.
 
“Needing help managing your money does not make you a danger to society. The NRA is pleased with the House vote today and we look forward to the Senate taking action soon,” concluded Cox. 
 
The NRA thanks Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy , Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Chairman Phil Roe for their leadership on this matter.

h/t NRA Media

More Favorite Things…

Posted on by March 16, 2017

But before I start, a couple of links- Alma for her comments on record keeping while we were fondling examining the various guns (Next time she will probably run screaming into New Mexico).  And Peter for his take on the trip…

And now…

COLTS!!! 🙂 Not that I’m biased or anything… Nope, not a bit… 😀

These aren’t on display, but still ‘classic’ Colts. Bottom Colt 1851, top 1860 Army. All matching numbers on both pistols. There were another four 1860s in one of the drawers, of those three were matching serial numbers and the last one was a parts gun, probably assembled by a troop armorer somewhere…

Right sides of the same pistols. Of note, you can see the modifications between the 1851 and 1860 clearly here. On the 1860 (top), note the notch in the bottom of the round behind the cylinder, and the trough in the feed toward the percussion caps. The trough feeds directly to the cap nipple, allowing one to simply slide the cap on without having to fiddle with it.

It’s for the ‘first’ Shoulder thingie that goes up!!! 🙂 It’s called a shoulder stock (Picture is common use from the net, not a piece in the museum).

Next up are a pair of Gen 1 SAAs, the top one had some beautiful original case hardening, both of these are from the early 1900s and show a bit of the difference between a daily carry/well used old Colt and one that was more of a Sunday-go-to-meeting old Colt. The stag grips were excellent fit and easily allowed one to grip the butt firmly.

Left sides of the same pistols. Note the difference in wear of the left and right rubber grips on the bottom Colt. Based on wear patterns, the shooter was right handed.

And I’ll take drawer number 3, Alex… 🙂 A bunch of Colts and that one beat up S&W 22 from yesterday and a S&W with MoP grips. The reason I took this was we were laughing at how much Ray would have loved the mother of pearl grips!

And one I need y’alls help on…

This pic is a Bisley and two SAAs, each with a different grip material. The top one is the one we can’t figure out. It’s either bone or horn from ‘something’, but nothing we recognized. As you can see, it’s deeply ridged, 1/16th to 1/8th inch deep. No cracks show on either side of the grips. Any help/ideas appreciated!!!

The middle on is a beat up set of plain wooden (issue) grips, and the bottom is some beautiful white ivory grips.

Sigh… I really needed more time to go through the Lightnings and Thunderers in that drawer. One oddity we did come across is on one of the display weapons, according to the Colt serial number list, there were either one each of a Lightning and/or a Thunderer, with the same serial number built in 1890… Wierd…

More pics tomorrow from other places! Thanks for stopping by and the comments!

A few of my favorite things…

Posted on by March 16, 2017

Many thanks to the fine folks at Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum for hosting us yesterday and allowing us access for some research for upcoming novels.

A few pictures…

S&W Americans and a Schofield-

A pair of S&W Americans. The top one is engraved and probably plated after modification, it’s an original ‘American’. The bottom one is a ‘New American’, later production. Both have ivory grips. Notice the difference in the humpbacks above the grips.

The engraved one has had the barrel cut two inches and a new sight installed…

AND the engraved one was converted from what appeared to be .44 caliber to a .22 with sleeves that were (we think) welded in!!!

This is a military Schofield, last patent date 1873. Left and right views.

And the stamping on the left grip, 1876 and a set of fine script initials. The initials belong to LT James Rockwell Jr a government inspector from 1874-76. (h/t Not Clausewitz)

Lastly, one in ‘slightly’ worse shape…

This is one of those “I gotta have a gun” guns… Farm/ranch ‘fixing’ at it’s best…

Currently missing trigger and pin, carved wooden grip, overwrap with old telephone wire, barrel is held on by nut/bolt from somewhere, and it’s fired some ‘hot’ rounds based on the gas marks on the barrel in front of the cylinder…

In answer to an emailed question, yes you could have fired it by simply pulling the hammer back and dropping it.

Again, thanks for the access and extending your expertise!