One of the items that we talked about on last night's show on ParaUSA was the ammo, provided by International Cartridge Corporation, which was 100% frangible and 100% lead free. Hit the link for ICC's website; you can also listen to us discuss the rounds on the show last night.
As I mentioned on the show, and as Tam mentioned in her review of the Para LTC 9mm, when I heard that we were going to be running frangible ammo for the duration of the weekend, I was real sad because I assumed based on my previous experiences with frangible that we were in for a long weekend of suck. Boy howdy was I wrong.
My Para LTC 9mm ate round after round after round of 100 grain 9mm frangible, and in addition to not jamming, the round was extremely accurate, and ran cooler than standard ammo. A lot of this is because the frangible bullets, unlike lead don't compress into the rifling, which means that to ensure accuracy, the bullets themselves are manufactured to a much tighter tolerance than a standard pistol bullet.
ICC Ammo also manufactures a self-defense/duty round, which is the first frangible/"explosive" round I've seen for self defense that I'd actually carry in one of my guns. Unlike other rounds like the Glaser which blow up in the first four or five inches of tissue and leave a real nasty but shallow wound cavity, the defensive version of the ICC frangible has about half the bullet blow up in that 5 inch zone, creating a similar wound cavity to a Glaser...but then the other half of the bullet is designed to stay intact and then acts like a wadcutter, cutting a good sized wound channel deep enough into the target to meet the FBI's penetration standards. So you get the same benefits that you'd get from Glasers (massive wound in shallow tissue, lots of blood loss) with the benefits that you get from a deeper penetrating bullet.
If you're interested in ammo from International Cartridge Corporation, you can see a list of their distributors here.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Gun Nuts Radio: ParaUSA Wrap up
Click here to listen to the ParaUSA/Blackwater show, with special guests Kevin Baker and Sebastian.
This was an hour long special, covering all the topics from the recent ParaUSA shoot, everything from the ammo to the guns to the quality of the instruction and the facility. You can also listen via the embedded player below.
Spread this one far and wide - ParaUSA and everyone involved did a great job with this, and it deserves to get as wide recognition as possible.
This was an hour long special, covering all the topics from the recent ParaUSA shoot, everything from the ammo to the guns to the quality of the instruction and the facility. You can also listen via the embedded player below.
Spread this one far and wide - ParaUSA and everyone involved did a great job with this, and it deserves to get as wide recognition as possible.
Host Shuffle and tonight's podcast
Due to my schedule, and the schedule changes anticipated for Gun Nuts: TNG in the next few weeks (official announcement tonight and tomorrow with details), I will not be a regular host any more.
I will likely be participating in the occasional weekend shows that will occur (oh, yes, they will happen, you betcha), and I will pick up on the show again once my schedule evens out a bit.
Caleb wanted me to post this announcement so that everyone wouldn't think he'd fired me, or we'd had a tiff about something (like the Blackwater trip, lulz). If you read my blog, as well, you'll have gotten a much longer explanation for what's going on right now.
On to business!
Tonight's show will be covering the Blackwater Blogger Weekend that several folks from the blogosphere were able to attend, courtesy of Para-USA. Caleb will be talking about his experiences, as well as discussing things that happened that will make everyone who didn't go jealous.
The chat session will be open, and, as always, you can feel free to call in after the first 15 minutes to offer your insight, comments, and whatever else is on your mind.
Gun Nuts: The Next Generation on BlogTalkRadio - 11pm EST
I will likely be participating in the occasional weekend shows that will occur (oh, yes, they will happen, you betcha), and I will pick up on the show again once my schedule evens out a bit.
Caleb wanted me to post this announcement so that everyone wouldn't think he'd fired me, or we'd had a tiff about something (like the Blackwater trip, lulz). If you read my blog, as well, you'll have gotten a much longer explanation for what's going on right now.
On to business!
Tonight's show will be covering the Blackwater Blogger Weekend that several folks from the blogosphere were able to attend, courtesy of Para-USA. Caleb will be talking about his experiences, as well as discussing things that happened that will make everyone who didn't go jealous.
The chat session will be open, and, as always, you can feel free to call in after the first 15 minutes to offer your insight, comments, and whatever else is on your mind.
Gun Nuts: The Next Generation on BlogTalkRadio - 11pm EST
Monday, August 25, 2008
ParaUSA LTC - Gun Blog 9
ParaUSA was kind enough to provide me with a firearm for the duration of the event, a 9mm customized version of their LTC platform. Hit the link to check out the standard version of the gun. The pistols that we had in 9mm were slightly different from the standard version, as you can see.
(Note: Click all pictures for the fullsize version.) The flash wiped out the coyote brown finish a little bit in this picture, but the rest of the details of the pistol should be readily apparent. It had a single action trigger, a fiber-optic front sight, adjustable sights on the rear, an ambi-safety, skeletonized hammer and trigger, and of course the cherry on the Sundae of Awesome, a pair of Crimson Trace laser grips.
When I first saw it, I thought to myself "this is a pretty cool heater", and then I flipped it over and looked at the right side of the gun, which pretty much cemented my decision to purchase right then and there. I mean come on, who wouldn't want a gun that said "Gun Blog 9" on the side, right?
As to the actual shooting, I had not previously spent a lot of time with the 1911 platform, having maybe put 500 rounds downrange out of 1911s in my entire life, which really isn't a whole lot. I didn't have anything against the platform, I thought that it was a fine gun for stuff, it just didn't fit my needs.
Putting north of 1500 rounds through this gun changed my opinion of 1911s, not because I now think it's the ultimate weapons platform, but I understand the gun a lot better. I still don't like grip safeties very much, but I will say that the 1911 grip angle pointed more naturally than any other handgun I've ever run; the fact that when I listed to Todd Jarrett and did my part that the Para LTC would come right back on target didn't hurt either.
I shot more than 1500 rounds of ammo through this gun, and I had exactly 1, count it 1, failure to feed, fire, or eject. The gun was on it's 700th-ish round, and hadn't been cleaned and failed to fully chamber a round, a malfunction that was easily fixed by a sharp "whack" to the rear of the slide to seat the bullet. In terms of accuracy, the ParaUSA LTC is far more accurate than I can hold. In fact, once I figured out the Kentucky windage, I was able to easily knock down 8 inch steel plates at 35-40ish yards with the pistol, which was a fun sort of "bang-wait-clang" exercise.
Now, the LTC is designed as a carry gun - as soon as I get my mitts on mine, that's exactly what's going to happen to it, is it's going to end up riding around in a holster with me whenever I put my pants on. I'll get the adjustable sights lined up for 147 grain hollow points and then we'll be off to the races with my new gun. It's light, and even with a full mag will be much, much easier to conceal than my much beloved 92D.
Here's the part that hurts a bit. I liked the ParaUSA LTC so much that it turned me on to 1911s, and after spending 12 hours in a car with Tamara, I'm now equipped to make a smart decision on what kind of pistol to buy as a starting point to my .45 ACP 1911...which will end up getting used in Custom Defensive Pistol in IDPA and Single Stack Classic in USPSA.
If you were wondering how I felt about the Para LTC - Gun Blog edition, I loved mine. I'm (of course), going to buy it, and can't wait to get the FFL and all that other stuff squared away so I can get it in my hot little hands. If you're looking for a Commander sized 1911 but don't want the whack and roll of a .45, think Para LTC. Seriously, this was a fantastic gun. If you don't believe me, check out the video Sebastian posted. I'm the only one with an LTC in the video, and you can see it in action at around 2:37 mark. That's six steel plates, and we had to shoot them in the order 1,6,2,3,4,5. The gun was so fast back on target that I nailed them in about 4 seconds with no misses. My LTC is going to be used as carry gun, and an IDPA and steel gun, and I can't wait for my first match.
(Note: Click all pictures for the fullsize version.) The flash wiped out the coyote brown finish a little bit in this picture, but the rest of the details of the pistol should be readily apparent. It had a single action trigger, a fiber-optic front sight, adjustable sights on the rear, an ambi-safety, skeletonized hammer and trigger, and of course the cherry on the Sundae of Awesome, a pair of Crimson Trace laser grips.When I first saw it, I thought to myself "this is a pretty cool heater", and then I flipped it over and looked at the right side of the gun, which pretty much cemented my decision to purchase right then and there. I mean come on, who wouldn't want a gun that said "Gun Blog 9" on the side, right?
As to the actual shooting, I had not previously spent a lot of time with the 1911 platform, having maybe put 500 rounds downrange out of 1911s in my entire life, which really isn't a whole lot. I didn't have anything against the platform, I thought that it was a fine gun for stuff, it just didn't fit my needs.Putting north of 1500 rounds through this gun changed my opinion of 1911s, not because I now think it's the ultimate weapons platform, but I understand the gun a lot better. I still don't like grip safeties very much, but I will say that the 1911 grip angle pointed more naturally than any other handgun I've ever run; the fact that when I listed to Todd Jarrett and did my part that the Para LTC would come right back on target didn't hurt either.
I shot more than 1500 rounds of ammo through this gun, and I had exactly 1, count it 1, failure to feed, fire, or eject. The gun was on it's 700th-ish round, and hadn't been cleaned and failed to fully chamber a round, a malfunction that was easily fixed by a sharp "whack" to the rear of the slide to seat the bullet. In terms of accuracy, the ParaUSA LTC is far more accurate than I can hold. In fact, once I figured out the Kentucky windage, I was able to easily knock down 8 inch steel plates at 35-40ish yards with the pistol, which was a fun sort of "bang-wait-clang" exercise.
Now, the LTC is designed as a carry gun - as soon as I get my mitts on mine, that's exactly what's going to happen to it, is it's going to end up riding around in a holster with me whenever I put my pants on. I'll get the adjustable sights lined up for 147 grain hollow points and then we'll be off to the races with my new gun. It's light, and even with a full mag will be much, much easier to conceal than my much beloved 92D.
Here's the part that hurts a bit. I liked the ParaUSA LTC so much that it turned me on to 1911s, and after spending 12 hours in a car with Tamara, I'm now equipped to make a smart decision on what kind of pistol to buy as a starting point to my .45 ACP 1911...which will end up getting used in Custom Defensive Pistol in IDPA and Single Stack Classic in USPSA.
If you were wondering how I felt about the Para LTC - Gun Blog edition, I loved mine. I'm (of course), going to buy it, and can't wait to get the FFL and all that other stuff squared away so I can get it in my hot little hands. If you're looking for a Commander sized 1911 but don't want the whack and roll of a .45, think Para LTC. Seriously, this was a fantastic gun. If you don't believe me, check out the video Sebastian posted. I'm the only one with an LTC in the video, and you can see it in action at around 2:37 mark. That's six steel plates, and we had to shoot them in the order 1,6,2,3,4,5. The gun was so fast back on target that I nailed them in about 4 seconds with no misses. My LTC is going to be used as carry gun, and an IDPA and steel gun, and I can't wait for my first match.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
ParaUSA Day 2 in pictures
(Note: Click any picture to make it bigger)
Day 2 at Blackwater was a blast, there was a lot, and I mean a lot 
of shooting today. Here's the scene from outside the BlackBear Inn around 0730 on Saturday morning. I'd make a joke about how you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany, but I'm pretty sure that I'd be doing scum and villany (an Alec Guiness) a disservice by so doing. On the topic of the BlackBear Inn, I've been quite pleased with our accomodations. The room isn't huge, but it's nice and clean.
of shooting today. Here's the scene from outside the BlackBear Inn around 0730 on Saturday morning. I'd make a joke about how you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany, but I'm pretty sure that I'd be doing scum and villany (an Alec Guiness) a disservice by so doing. On the topic of the BlackBear Inn, I've been quite pleased with our accomodations. The room isn't huge, but it's nice and clean.After breakfast, we headed over to the range in our fabulous Blackwater Limosuines - two SUVs that had been used for force on force (among other things) training, and were all shot to pieces, yet somehow still run and weirdly enough, the radio still worked. These are the most tactical vehicles every, as evidenced by their sweet "custom" windows.
But the range work, that's where the real fun is at.
This was actually the best idea I've ever seen when teaching - if you enlarge the picture you'll see that he's drawing on Say Uncle's hand to give him a reference point for where exactly to put his hands every time he grabs the gun. This is seriously the best idea I've ever seen, it provides the student a repeatable example of proper hand placement on the gun, so that in slowfire drills they can then check their hand position, break the shot, check the hand position, etc. Being able to look down, and see if my hands were aligned with a quick spot check was excellent, and allowed me to practice indexing them so that the positioning 
became natural by the end of the day. Eventually, we actually shot some guns after practicing our hand position. Here's Joe Huffman running his gun (the Para LDA) in a drill on some targets at about 15 yards.
Of course, we didn't do "stand and blast", because after a while Todd Jarrett had us moving and shooting, as the below picture (again of Say Uncle) demonstrates. We shot several IDPA/IPSC style stages, included stages with moving targets, etc, reloads, shooting on the move, it was absolutely fantastic. This was actually the best idea I've ever seen when teaching - if you enlarge the picture you'll see that he's drawing on Say Uncle's hand to give him a reference point for where exactly to put his hands every time he grabs the gun. This is seriously the best idea I've ever seen, it provides the student a repeatable example of proper hand placement on the gun, so that in slowfire drills they can then check their hand position, break the shot, check the hand position, etc. Being able to look down, and see if my hands were aligned with a quick spot check was excellent, and allowed me to practice indexing them so that the positioning became natural by the end of the day. Eventually, we actually shot some guns after practicing our hand position. Here's Joe Huffman running his gun (the Para LDA) in a drill on some targets at about 15 yards.The guns are great, and so is the training. We'll have even more pictures up tomorrow, and listen up to the show this coming Tuesday for our ParaUSA Blackwater Wrap-up post.
Friday, August 22, 2008
ParaUSA Day One
Day One of the ParaUSA Summer Camp was pretty cool, right up until the part where Joe Huffman shot me. I’ll get to explaining that later, so instead I’ll begin at the beginning - getting up in the morning.
I woke in the morning and I was amped, I had so much adrenaline pumping through my system that I didn’t know what to do with myself, as many of the bloggers can attest. Eventually we got calmed down, and we all got on the Blackhawk Bus, which is a site to behold. I took pictures of it, but forgot the sync cable for Camera number 1, and the battery was dead on camera number 2. I’ll hopefully be able to get all the day one pictures uploaded sooner than later.
So, we went to the Blackhawk corporate headquarters, where we had a nice intro to some of Blackhawk’s products, including the Serpa holsters, the clothing line, and what I thought was the coolest thing of all, the Knoxx stock. It sucks up recoil, and if I have any money left over after buying the gun, then I’m going to pick up one of those Knoxx stocks for my Remington 870.
After that, we got to Blackwater, where we were given a tour of the facility, had some chow, and eventually some classroom time with Todd Jarrett…and then the guns. I’m actually going to do a whole separate post on the guns tomorrow, because then Camera 2 will be up and running, and I can get some good shots.
After the classroom time, we finally got out to the range to do some shooting - in less than an hour we managed to run about 100 rounds downrange from our guns. We shot quite a few relays, first at some paper then at some steel, but didn’t do a lot of shooting. What really impacted me was how much difference in my shooting a couple of minor adjusts made. Todd told me I wasn’t gripping the gun hard enough, so I tightened up my grip and got deeping into my stance, and next thing I know my group at five yards closed up quite a bit. I think I’m going to learn a lot from this.
I’m still working out the details of our live show for tomorrow, however if tomorrow is anything like today, we can plan for an 8 or 9pm show, coming in live from Blackwater. Squeaky will be hosting and I’ll have to call in, but it should be a pretty awesome show after a day of shooting, and I’ll be able to give you a full update on the products and and everything that we’re doing out here.
I’ve got some pretty good audio as well, so when we do the ParaUSA wrap up show, we’ll have a lot of different clips to play for the show.
I will break the coverage down a bit and talk about some of the gear as well, we have holsters and mag carriers and gloves from Blackhawk - so far the best piece of gear that I have from Blackhawk hasn’t been the Serpa holster (which is good rig), but the GLOVE they gave me. The factory new 9mm mags were a little…rugged, so I was really happy to have that tactical glove from Blackwater to keep my thumb from getting all ripped to pieces loading these mags.
Tomorrow is going to be a full day of shooting; we’re basically going to shoot all day, which means by the end of the day my trigger finger is going to be hurt and I’m going to be grinning from ear to ear. More to come as we get it!
Remember, you can check out the coverage of the event at one handy place, the 2A Blog Bash.
I woke in the morning and I was amped, I had so much adrenaline pumping through my system that I didn’t know what to do with myself, as many of the bloggers can attest. Eventually we got calmed down, and we all got on the Blackhawk Bus, which is a site to behold. I took pictures of it, but forgot the sync cable for Camera number 1, and the battery was dead on camera number 2. I’ll hopefully be able to get all the day one pictures uploaded sooner than later.
So, we went to the Blackhawk corporate headquarters, where we had a nice intro to some of Blackhawk’s products, including the Serpa holsters, the clothing line, and what I thought was the coolest thing of all, the Knoxx stock. It sucks up recoil, and if I have any money left over after buying the gun, then I’m going to pick up one of those Knoxx stocks for my Remington 870.
After that, we got to Blackwater, where we were given a tour of the facility, had some chow, and eventually some classroom time with Todd Jarrett…and then the guns. I’m actually going to do a whole separate post on the guns tomorrow, because then Camera 2 will be up and running, and I can get some good shots.
After the classroom time, we finally got out to the range to do some shooting - in less than an hour we managed to run about 100 rounds downrange from our guns. We shot quite a few relays, first at some paper then at some steel, but didn’t do a lot of shooting. What really impacted me was how much difference in my shooting a couple of minor adjusts made. Todd told me I wasn’t gripping the gun hard enough, so I tightened up my grip and got deeping into my stance, and next thing I know my group at five yards closed up quite a bit. I think I’m going to learn a lot from this.
I’m still working out the details of our live show for tomorrow, however if tomorrow is anything like today, we can plan for an 8 or 9pm show, coming in live from Blackwater. Squeaky will be hosting and I’ll have to call in, but it should be a pretty awesome show after a day of shooting, and I’ll be able to give you a full update on the products and and everything that we’re doing out here.
I’ve got some pretty good audio as well, so when we do the ParaUSA wrap up show, we’ll have a lot of different clips to play for the show.
I will break the coverage down a bit and talk about some of the gear as well, we have holsters and mag carriers and gloves from Blackhawk - so far the best piece of gear that I have from Blackhawk hasn’t been the Serpa holster (which is good rig), but the GLOVE they gave me. The factory new 9mm mags were a little…rugged, so I was really happy to have that tactical glove from Blackwater to keep my thumb from getting all ripped to pieces loading these mags.
Tomorrow is going to be a full day of shooting; we’re basically going to shoot all day, which means by the end of the day my trigger finger is going to be hurt and I’m going to be grinning from ear to ear. More to come as we get it!
Remember, you can check out the coverage of the event at one handy place, the 2A Blog Bash.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
KC Eusebio wins Steel Challenge
KC Eusebio of the Army Marksmanship Unit won this year's Steel Challenge over the weekend, turning in an absolutely silly time 79.16 seconds for the entire match. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other world championships that you can win in less than 80 seconds, which only furthers my statement about Steel Challenge being the fastest pistol sport in the world. Click all pictures in this post for the fullsize version.
KC defeated his teammate Max Michel, last year's champion to take top honors overall this year. What's crazy is that this is his second Steel Challenge victory - KC first won the Steel Challenge in 2003 when he was 15, beating big names like Rob Leatham and Jerry Miculek.
Fast forward to five years later and now KC is the big name - his second Steel Challenge victory in 5 years, and 2 championships before his 21st birthday mean that unless things go horribly awry, you'll be hearing the name "KC" in connection with world class shooting for a while. Congratulations to KC Eusebio on his 2nd win at the Steel Challenge.
Of course, there was more to the match than just the Army Marksmanship Unit -
as I've said in previous coverage, the Steel Challenge attracts the best of the best in action pistol. To borrow an old turn of phrase, you can't swing a cat without hitting two or three world class pistoleros, like Todd Jarrett or Dave Sevigny.
Both of these literally all-galaxy class shooters were at the match, along with Angus Hobdell, CZ's team shooter. If you get a change to get out to a Steel Challenge match, local, national or at whatever level you - do it. It'll be fast and furious, and a lot of fun. Steel Challenge has a division for everyone, from the rimfire pistol guy to the USPSA production shooter, or the IDPA Enhanced Service pistol, and even the dedicated Cowboy Action Shooter.
You might even run into another blogger or two - Mr. Completely shot this year's Steel Challenge in the rimfire optic division, finishing in the top 25 and 3rd in the Senior division, so congratulations to one of our own for his excellent showing.
Finally, 2006 Champion and 3rd place finisher this year, JJ Racaza shows you exactly why call these sports "Action Shooting" as he transitions to a different shooting box on the stage Outer Limits.
Congratulations again to KC Eusebio, and to all the shooters at this year's Steel Challenge!
(All images courtesy Paul Erhardt, Erhardt & Associates)
KC defeated his teammate Max Michel, last year's champion to take top honors overall this year. What's crazy is that this is his second Steel Challenge victory - KC first won the Steel Challenge in 2003 when he was 15, beating big names like Rob Leatham and Jerry Miculek.Fast forward to five years later and now KC is the big name - his second Steel Challenge victory in 5 years, and 2 championships before his 21st birthday mean that unless things go horribly awry, you'll be hearing the name "KC" in connection with world class shooting for a while. Congratulations to KC Eusebio on his 2nd win at the Steel Challenge.
Of course, there was more to the match than just the Army Marksmanship Unit -
as I've said in previous coverage, the Steel Challenge attracts the best of the best in action pistol. To borrow an old turn of phrase, you can't swing a cat without hitting two or three world class pistoleros, like Todd Jarrett or Dave Sevigny. Both of these literally all-galaxy class shooters were at the match, along with Angus Hobdell, CZ's team shooter. If you get a change to get out to a Steel Challenge match, local, national or at whatever level you - do it. It'll be fast and furious, and a lot of fun. Steel Challenge has a division for everyone, from the rimfire pistol guy to the USPSA production shooter, or the IDPA Enhanced Service pistol, and even the dedicated Cowboy Action Shooter.You might even run into another blogger or two - Mr. Completely shot this year's Steel Challenge in the rimfire optic division, finishing in the top 25 and 3rd in the Senior division, so congratulations to one of our own for his excellent showing.
Finally, 2006 Champion and 3rd place finisher this year, JJ Racaza shows you exactly why call these sports "Action Shooting" as he transitions to a different shooting box on the stage Outer Limits.Congratulations again to KC Eusebio, and to all the shooters at this year's Steel Challenge!
(All images courtesy Paul Erhardt, Erhardt & Associates)
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tomorrow night: ParaUSA Part 1
Tomorrow night on Gun Nuts: The Next Generation we are going to be having our first of at least two and possibly three all Blackwater/ParaUSA shows.
First up, tomorrow night at 11pm we've got Robb Allen and Joe Huffman making live call-in appearances to talk about what they're expecting w/regards to the training. Robb is mostly a Glock guy, so I'm looking forward to seeing him bring the gun up, get his sight picture, squeeze the trigger and have nothing happen because he forgot to take the safety off. Joe is a long time competitive shooter, and is my sworn enemy (I'm kidding) as he and I will hopefully be shooting an El Presidente at the end of the course to determine who wins our bet, the states of which have not yet been settled.
If you'd like to call in and reach us, the listener call in number is (347) 539-5436 - or you can join the conversation in the online chat at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts. One of our topics of conversation is going to be the stakes of the bet - I think it would be hilarious if you, our listeners would suggest the stakes for my bet with Joe Huffman.
Remember, it's 11pm Eastern time, at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts - it is where all the cool kids will be.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Gun Nuts: TNG - Action Airgun
Click the link to listen to yesterday's show - we covered Action Airgun with an interview with Collins White, the president of the newest shooting sport to hit the ground, as well as some coverage and commentary on the Olympics.
I really should add that if you're not in the online chat session found at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts you're missing out - a lot of great show (and otherwise) related conversation is happing in there, in real time. Bonnie and I take a lot of cues from those people, and it's one of the easist ways to get in touch with us during the show.
Back to the topic of Action Airgun; the opportunity to talk to Collins about the development and future of the sport was a lot of fun for me - I personally think that this sport could really take off, all it needs is the right sponsor or big name to tie itself to, and off you go. At the very least, I'll be there for the innagural season come hell or highwater.
Again, you can check out show for the evening at the Gun Nuts: The Next Generation - Action Airguns link or by visiting the Gun Nuts blog and clicking the player in the upper right hand.
I really should add that if you're not in the online chat session found at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts you're missing out - a lot of great show (and otherwise) related conversation is happing in there, in real time. Bonnie and I take a lot of cues from those people, and it's one of the easist ways to get in touch with us during the show.
Back to the topic of Action Airgun; the opportunity to talk to Collins about the development and future of the sport was a lot of fun for me - I personally think that this sport could really take off, all it needs is the right sponsor or big name to tie itself to, and off you go. At the very least, I'll be there for the innagural season come hell or highwater.
Again, you can check out show for the evening at the Gun Nuts: The Next Generation - Action Airguns link or by visiting the Gun Nuts blog and clicking the player in the upper right hand.
On Gun Nuts tonight - Action Airgun
Tonight on Gun Nuts: The Next Generation, at 11pm Eastern time we'll be talking about two major topics, time allowing. I'm personally thrilled about the first topic, because it represents us turning away from political/activism shows for a bit and talking about my one true love, the shooting sports.
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Collins White, the president of Action Airgun about the newest action shooting sport to hit the scene. We'll air the full interview tonight at 11pm Eastern time, and then open up the lines to call-ins, questions, etc. Action Airgun also has this spiffy new video up promoting their inaugural season, check it out:
After the Action Airguns segment, Bonnie will be talking a little bit about the Georgia/Russia situation, time permitting. As Russia escalates their hostility towards a pro-western democracy and US ally, a lot of people (including me) are wondering what exactly the US should be doing about this - Georgia has sent troops and material to support the war in Iraq, and now we're demanding UN sanctions against Russia?
Tune in tonight at 11pm! The listener call in number is (347) 539-5436, and Bonnie and I will both be available at our various gmail chat address, as well as in the chat room at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts - hope to see you there! For those that don't listen live, the show is available usually within the hour at the same URL: www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts.
Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Collins White, the president of Action Airgun about the newest action shooting sport to hit the scene. We'll air the full interview tonight at 11pm Eastern time, and then open up the lines to call-ins, questions, etc. Action Airgun also has this spiffy new video up promoting their inaugural season, check it out:
After the Action Airguns segment, Bonnie will be talking a little bit about the Georgia/Russia situation, time permitting. As Russia escalates their hostility towards a pro-western democracy and US ally, a lot of people (including me) are wondering what exactly the US should be doing about this - Georgia has sent troops and material to support the war in Iraq, and now we're demanding UN sanctions against Russia?
Tune in tonight at 11pm! The listener call in number is (347) 539-5436, and Bonnie and I will both be available at our various gmail chat address, as well as in the chat room at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts - hope to see you there! For those that don't listen live, the show is available usually within the hour at the same URL: www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday Night Steel Match Report
What a match this weekend at Marion County Fish & Game - I had a fantastic time as usual. I was fortunate to have a couple of friends there to snag pictures during the match, so I can post a decent match report.
As usual, the match was divided into 5 stages, each stage is shot three times and your scored added up. Here are some of the match pictures that I ended up with. The picture to left is shooting the last string on stage 4. The first string had to be shot from the right of the barrier, the second string through the port, and the third and final string had to be shot from the left side of the barricade. For right handed shooters, the lean around to get the far right side target was a little extreme, but still a lot of fun.
The next stage (stage five) was interesting - in the background from the topmost picture, you can sort of see stage 5. The green numbers on the plates indicate the order they need to be shot in. From left to right, it went 1-2-5-3-4. It didn't seem that hard, but I hesitated more than once on that middle plate, which cost me at least half a second each time. This is me shooting the third string on that stage, and it's one of my favorite "gun photos", the kind where there's brass in the air.
The final match results are posted at MCF&G's website, I'm really pleased with my performance. I got 7th overall counting rimfire and carbines, and 4th out of all centerfire pistol divisions. I'm also pleased because I found a place that sells non-ported barrels for the Glock 24, which means I can run it in Limited division instead of Open. Of course, what really made the match great wasn't the shooting, the guns, or the camaraderie...it was my new "secret weapon", the prayer dance..
Like I said, we had a great time shooting the match - I hope to see even more shooters out there next month.
Gun Nuts: TNG - Action Airgun
Tomorrow night on Gun Nuts: The Next Generation, we're doing a "you heard it here first" piece on Action Airgun, which is a new shooting sport set to hit in September, aimed both at providing a training tool for action shooters, and a "gateway sport" for people looking to get in to the shooting sports.
I spoke with Collins White, the founder of Action Airgun last week, and we'll be airing the entire 20 minute interview this Tuesday night. Tune in to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 11pm Eastern time to learn about this exciting new sport.
In addition to Action Airgun, we're also going to be talking a bit about the currently conflict between Georgia and Russia - a discussion which was sparked by this thread at Snowflakes, where Sebastian states that he's not willing to support Putin's squashing of western democracies by buying cheap Russian ammo any longer.
Again tomorrow night at 11pm Eastern - www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts - tune in!
I spoke with Collins White, the founder of Action Airgun last week, and we'll be airing the entire 20 minute interview this Tuesday night. Tune in to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 11pm Eastern time to learn about this exciting new sport.
In addition to Action Airgun, we're also going to be talking a bit about the currently conflict between Georgia and Russia - a discussion which was sparked by this thread at Snowflakes, where Sebastian states that he's not willing to support Putin's squashing of western democracies by buying cheap Russian ammo any longer.
Again tomorrow night at 11pm Eastern - www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts - tune in!
Friday, August 8, 2008
HR 6691 update
The House will vote next month on HR 6691, the bill that would restore many of the currently denied 2nd Amendment rights to the District of Columbia.
From my previous linked post, here is an update on what HR 6691 will do for residents of Washington, DC:
You can locate and write your elected officials by using this link from NRA, I wrote Dan Burton last week and I'm saddling up to write him another letter today.
From my previous linked post, here is an update on what HR 6691 will do for residents of Washington, DC:
- Repeal the District's ban on semi-automatic handguns. Semi-automatic pistols have been the most commonly purchased handguns in the United States over the last 20 years, and therefore a ban on those firearms is unconstitutional as decided by Heller;
- Restore the right of self-defense by repealing the requirement that firearms be disassembled or secured with a trigger lock in the home;
- Repeal the current D.C. registration system that requires multiple visits to police headquarters; ballistics testing; passing a written test on D.C. gun laws; fingerprinting; and limiting registration to one handgun per 90 days. The current system is unduly burdensome and serves as a vehicle for even more onerous restrictions; and
- Create a limited exemption to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales by allowing D.C. residents to purchase handguns in Virginia and Maryland. Currently there are no firearms dealers in the District of Columbia, and the federal ban prohibits residents from purchasing handguns outside of the District; therefore, District residents have no means of purchasing handguns.
You can locate and write your elected officials by using this link from NRA, I wrote Dan Burton last week and I'm saddling up to write him another letter today.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Friday Night Steel
Coming up this Friday at Marion County Fish & Game Association is the monthly Friday Night Steel match - you can read the rules and requirements at the link above.
I'll be there to shoot, even though my brother's wife is coming into town, she's at rehearsal dinner or something so I don't have to worry about blowing off family to go play with my Glock 24 and do a little "clang-'n-bang".
The Steel matches at MCF&G are a lot of fun, if for no other reason that it's a good way to practice your shooting skills. Bring your carry gun, 3-5 mags, a bunch of ammo and have a good time! Additionally, if you'd like to support Friday Night Steel matches, you can actually buy gear at their CafePress store. The money from the shirt sales etc goes right back into funding the matches and helping provide a safe and fun place to shoot.
I'll be there this Friday looking to have a little fun and improve on my scores from last time. I hope to see you there!
I'll be there to shoot, even though my brother's wife is coming into town, she's at rehearsal dinner or something so I don't have to worry about blowing off family to go play with my Glock 24 and do a little "clang-'n-bang".
The Steel matches at MCF&G are a lot of fun, if for no other reason that it's a good way to practice your shooting skills. Bring your carry gun, 3-5 mags, a bunch of ammo and have a good time! Additionally, if you'd like to support Friday Night Steel matches, you can actually buy gear at their CafePress store. The money from the shirt sales etc goes right back into funding the matches and helping provide a safe and fun place to shoot.
I'll be there this Friday looking to have a little fun and improve on my scores from last time. I hope to see you there!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Extreme Gun Activism show
In case you missed last night’s show on Extreme Gun Activism, you can listen to the entire show here at the link above. Thanks to Kurt and Sebastian for coming on the show, your contributions were very much appreciated. It was a very lively show, we had a couple of callers with good questions, all in all a pretty good show.
One of the best questions was how exactly we define “extremism”, because my beliefs on the right to keep and bear arms are probably seen as extreme in plenty of quarters.
Again, click here to listen to the podcast of our Extreme Gun Activism show, or click below to download the .mp3 file.
It’s hard to sum up all the salient points made in the show, I think both Kurt and Sebastian had excellent points.
HR 6691
The full text of HR 6691 is available for download here - I agree with Sebastian that this bill, sponsored by the Democrats is actually better than the original bill proposed by the Republicans as it allows residents of DC to purchase firearms in Virginia and Maryland.
HR 6691 would overturn a lot of The District's firearms related restrictions, including the following:
HR 6691 would overturn a lot of The District's firearms related restrictions, including the following:
- The ban on semi-automatic pistols
- Restore the right to home defense
- Remove registration
- Allow residents to purchase handguns (mentioned above)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Extreme Gun Activism
I'm pimping this week's podcast again, and for good reason - the topic of extremism in pro-gun activism absolutely refuses to die, and because I think that we have a really interesting show lined up for tomorrow night.
We'll have both Kurt of Armed and Safe and Sebastian from Snowflakes In Hell on the show, discussing pros and cons of Mikey V. style extremism when it comes to fighting the battle (proverbial or otherwise) to keep and bear arms.
Now, in the original discussion that spawned this show, I came down on Sebastian's side, primarily because I don't yet believe that our system is irreparably broken and that I believe we can accomplish much more by working within the system and with the "sheeple" than we can by working against it.
That being said, there is a certain attractiveness to the positions of the opposite side of the debate, because I honestly look around and feel sometimes that even though we're currently winning the RKBA battle, we're losing on practically every other front. It is extremely frustrating to me to see people embracing the nanny-state as though it will save them; every day I feel like I talk to another deluded Obama convert who believes that more government will solve all our problems - and I tell you, it kind of pisses me off.
Despite any opinions that I or my co-host hold, we're not going to be joining the debate per se, but will rather serve to ask the questions and remain neutral. Essentially, we'll be ring-masters - serving only to drive the questions in directions that our listening audience wants.
Tune in live tomorrow night at 11pm to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts to listen to the show - I promise you won't be disappointed. The call in number is (347) 539-5436 - during the first 20 minutes we won't be taking callers, but after that we'll open up the lines to call in questions for Kurt, Sebastian, or Bonnie and me.
Friday, August 1, 2008
HR 6691
HR 6691 was introduced into the House yesterday by a bi-partisan group of Congressman. The aim of this bill is to put an end to the District of Columbia's efforts to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling in DC vs. Heller. Read the NRA press release on the bill here. The highlights of the bill are below:
- Repeal the District's ban on semi-automatic handguns. Semi-automatic pistols have been the most commonly purchased handguns in the United States over the last 20 years, and therefore a ban on those firearms is unconstitutional as decided by Heller;
- Restore the right of self-defense by repealing the requirement that firearms be disassembled or secured with a trigger lock in the home;
- Repeal the current D.C. registration system that requires multiple visits to police headquarters; ballistics testing; passing a written test on D.C. gun laws; fingerprinting; and limiting registration to one handgun per 90 days. The current system is unduly burdensome and serves as a vehicle for even more onerous restrictions; and
- Create a limited exemption to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales by allowing D.C. residents to purchase handguns in Virginia and Maryland. Currently there are no firearms dealers in the District of Columbia, and the federal ban prohibits residents from purchasing handguns outside of the District; therefore, District residents have no means of purchasing handguns.
There has been some talk of this bill being a "compromise" bill, because it was introduce with bi-partisan support. I have got to say that I think that's kind of well, dumb - having Rep. Dingel on the bill makes it that much harder for Nancy Pelosi to have her attack dogs shoot this bill down.
Take a look again at the list of things that this bill does for residents of the District - this goes a long way towards restoring their right to keep and bear arms by granting them access to functional defensive firearms that are widely available to all law abiding citizens.
I'm contacting my member of the House today to urge him to support H.R. 6691 and hope that you will do the same for your members of the house. You can locate and write your elected officials by using this link from NRA.
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