On Gun Nuts Radio, live tonight at 9pm Eastern we're going to be aping one of those horrible "Entertainment news" shows. I'm kidding, of course. Gun Nuts Radio will never turn into one of those things, but what we will be doing on tonight's show is talking about our favorite firearms media: books, movies, and TV. Tonight should be a pretty call-in heavy show, as we want to hear what gun-related media you enjoy - fiction or non, we don't care.
As always, the call in number for tonight's show is 347-539-5436. We'll be wanting you, our listeners to call in and join the discussion live! Also, in a departure from the last two weeks, Breda will be hosting the show live from our new Webcam, that we use as a Featured host with Blog Talk Radio. That's tonight at 9pm Eastern Time, live at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
IDPA Safety Officer Certification Course
This previous weekend, I had the opportunity to take the International Defensive Pistol Association's Range Safety Officer Certification Course at Atlanta Conservation Club, as well as shoot the IDPA Classifier match so I could get my classification up to date in Custom Defensive Pistol. We'll talk about the classifier in a bit, but first a little discussion on the course to get qualified as an IDPA Safety Officer.
In IDPA, like many other practical shooting sports, the Range Officer/Safety Officer is the first and last point of contact a shooter will have with that particular shooting organization. As such, it's imperative that the SO give a good impression to the shooter, especially the new shooter, because without that it becomes very difficult to retain that shooter in the sport. Similarly, an SO can singlehandedly turn someone off to the shooting sports by acting like a martinet.
That's why I decided to take the SO course for IDPA - I want to be in a position to encourage new shooters to stay in the sport, and to help bring them along in our game so that they become lifelong shooters. If someone shoots and IDPA match that I'm an SO at, I want them to leave that match having had a good time, and a safe time. The last thing I (or any sane person) should want is for that shooter to leave the match thinking "god that SO was a prick"; because that shooter may not ever come back. Probably the worst thing an SO can do to cause that to happen is to act adversarial towards the shooters. Yes, as an SO you're supposed to be responsible for enforcing the rules of the game, but you can enforce the rules without taking a stance that it's "you vs. the shooter".
The class itself is pretty dry - there's about an hour long video that you have to watch, and some review of the IDPA rulebook, which is all pretty basic. It all comes together though when you hit the range and start running other shooters through courses of fire. That's when you see the importance of the SO being attentive to what the shooter is doing, watching muzzle direction, finger placement, etc. We had our SO class attendees run one another through the IDPA classifier, all under the watchful eye of our trainer. It was quite the eye-opening experience, as many of the SO trainees had never run another shooter.
Which brings me to the classifier - I've never been a big fan of the IDPA classifier, as I feel like it's unnecessarily long, and that it's no longer truly representative of what IDPA has grow into. Perhaps in 1996 when IDPA was founded, but over the last 13 years the game has changed (and for the better I'd like to add) and the classifier doesn't really accurately represent IDPA any longer. You're free to disagree of course, because that's just my personal opinion on it. I'll keep shooting it, and keep trying to classifier higher and higher, but I'd rather earn my Master Class chops by winning major matches and getting promoted that way.
After we wrapped up the shooting for the day, we returned to the classroom for some review and the test, which was a written exam to knowledge test the items we had learned throughout the day's instruction. It's not hard, as long as you pay attention during class and have reviewed the rulebook prior to the class.
The most important lesson that I took away as an SO is that it's my responsibility to make sure everyone is safe, first and foremost. My second job is to make sure that everyone comes back and shoots with us again. Being as Safety Officer/Range Officer isn't for everyone, but if you're interested in becoming the front line ambassador for your shooting sport, I encourage you to look into it.
Thanks to Jeff Brown, the IDPA Area Coordinator for putting on the class! I'm looking forward to running some stages!
In IDPA, like many other practical shooting sports, the Range Officer/Safety Officer is the first and last point of contact a shooter will have with that particular shooting organization. As such, it's imperative that the SO give a good impression to the shooter, especially the new shooter, because without that it becomes very difficult to retain that shooter in the sport. Similarly, an SO can singlehandedly turn someone off to the shooting sports by acting like a martinet.
That's why I decided to take the SO course for IDPA - I want to be in a position to encourage new shooters to stay in the sport, and to help bring them along in our game so that they become lifelong shooters. If someone shoots and IDPA match that I'm an SO at, I want them to leave that match having had a good time, and a safe time. The last thing I (or any sane person) should want is for that shooter to leave the match thinking "god that SO was a prick"; because that shooter may not ever come back. Probably the worst thing an SO can do to cause that to happen is to act adversarial towards the shooters. Yes, as an SO you're supposed to be responsible for enforcing the rules of the game, but you can enforce the rules without taking a stance that it's "you vs. the shooter".
The class itself is pretty dry - there's about an hour long video that you have to watch, and some review of the IDPA rulebook, which is all pretty basic. It all comes together though when you hit the range and start running other shooters through courses of fire. That's when you see the importance of the SO being attentive to what the shooter is doing, watching muzzle direction, finger placement, etc. We had our SO class attendees run one another through the IDPA classifier, all under the watchful eye of our trainer. It was quite the eye-opening experience, as many of the SO trainees had never run another shooter.
Which brings me to the classifier - I've never been a big fan of the IDPA classifier, as I feel like it's unnecessarily long, and that it's no longer truly representative of what IDPA has grow into. Perhaps in 1996 when IDPA was founded, but over the last 13 years the game has changed (and for the better I'd like to add) and the classifier doesn't really accurately represent IDPA any longer. You're free to disagree of course, because that's just my personal opinion on it. I'll keep shooting it, and keep trying to classifier higher and higher, but I'd rather earn my Master Class chops by winning major matches and getting promoted that way.
After we wrapped up the shooting for the day, we returned to the classroom for some review and the test, which was a written exam to knowledge test the items we had learned throughout the day's instruction. It's not hard, as long as you pay attention during class and have reviewed the rulebook prior to the class.
The most important lesson that I took away as an SO is that it's my responsibility to make sure everyone is safe, first and foremost. My second job is to make sure that everyone comes back and shoots with us again. Being as Safety Officer/Range Officer isn't for everyone, but if you're interested in becoming the front line ambassador for your shooting sport, I encourage you to look into it.
Thanks to Jeff Brown, the IDPA Area Coordinator for putting on the class! I'm looking forward to running some stages!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
US Steel Nationals Start Today
Paul has the breakdown on what to watch for at the US Steel Nationals, which start today in Titusville, FL. As usual, this year's match looks like a three-horse race between Max Michel, BJ Norris, and KC Eusebio. Max is the reigning champion of the US Steel Nationals, and KC Eusebio won the most recent Steel Challenge match, so it should be a fun match.
Of course, there are more than just those three in the running - as Paul points out at the DownRange blog, both Todd Jarrett and Dave Sevigny are knocking on the door of the kings of speed. Todd finished 4th at last year's US Steel Nationals (Max, BJ, and KC finished 1,2,3) and can put together the kind of performance necessary to knock one of those guys out of the top spot. Dave Sevigny has been busy crushing everything in the Production/Stock Service Pistol divisions, but is more than capable of putting together a speedy performance with that weird Open Division Glock he shoots.
Keep checking back here for results and updates as I get them!
Of course, there are more than just those three in the running - as Paul points out at the DownRange blog, both Todd Jarrett and Dave Sevigny are knocking on the door of the kings of speed. Todd finished 4th at last year's US Steel Nationals (Max, BJ, and KC finished 1,2,3) and can put together the kind of performance necessary to knock one of those guys out of the top spot. Dave Sevigny has been busy crushing everything in the Production/Stock Service Pistol divisions, but is more than capable of putting together a speedy performance with that weird Open Division Glock he shoots.
Keep checking back here for results and updates as I get them!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Gun Nuts Radio: Julie Goloski
You know, every week I say that if you missed the live show last night, then you missed out. It's true every week, but some weeks even more so than others. Last night it was our pleasure to have Team Smith & Wesson pro shooter Julie Goloski on the show. Julie spent the better part of an hour talking to us about the shooting sports, her background, and what we can do as shooters to get more women into the action shooting games. If you'd like to download the show, just click here for the show page, or click the following link for an .mp3 copy of the show.
Of course, you can now also download Gun Nuts on iTunes (or Zune). For Gun Nuts on iTunes, just click the link for instructions, or visit the iTunes store and search for "Gun Nuts Radio".
If there was one section that I think every male shooter should listen to, it was when Julie and Breda were talking about bringing wives, mothers, girlfriends, etc into the shooting sports. A big focus in that conversation was on how to make the shooting sports and the range in general a welcoming place for female shooters; there was a lot of advice in there that's useful for everyone. One of the best topics we discussed was the Babes With Bullets program, which are a series of ladies only shooting clinics that Julie's helped run in the past. In fact, one of her former students was a caller, which was pretty neat.
For more information on Julie Goloski, check out her website at www.juliegoloski.com.
Of course, you can now also download Gun Nuts on iTunes (or Zune). For Gun Nuts on iTunes, just click the link for instructions, or visit the iTunes store and search for "Gun Nuts Radio".
If there was one section that I think every male shooter should listen to, it was when Julie and Breda were talking about bringing wives, mothers, girlfriends, etc into the shooting sports. A big focus in that conversation was on how to make the shooting sports and the range in general a welcoming place for female shooters; there was a lot of advice in there that's useful for everyone. One of the best topics we discussed was the Babes With Bullets program, which are a series of ladies only shooting clinics that Julie's helped run in the past. In fact, one of her former students was a caller, which was pretty neat.
For more information on Julie Goloski, check out her website at www.juliegoloski.com.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Argentine Sistema
At the recent Indy 1500 Gun & Knife Show, a friend of mine picked up an Argentine Sistema that is in pretty solid condition. Now, my immediate reaction upon seeing said gun was "so what are you going to do to it", because quite frankly it never occurred to me for even a second that she was going to leave it stock. In my universe, Sistemas are essentially a bare canvas waiting to be tuned up and filled full of delicious custom parts.
Of course, she looked at me like I had grown a second head out of my armpit, because apparently it had never occurred to her to do anything to the gun. It's funny, because it really shows the difference between someone like me, who wants to make every gun I own conform to my own specific desires, and other, sane people who can value a gun for exactly what it is.
I actually have the same problem with Rock Island Armory 1911s - every piece of information I have indicates that they're perfectly serviceable in their stock configuration, but I want to buy one for no other reason that build it up from its base configuration into some kind of frankenblaster. I suppose it's probably a function of my the Gunspaz disease - in attention to having the attention span of a hyperactive monkey when it comes to guns, I'm constantly tinkering with them, not content to leave John Moses Browning's fine design alone.
But if that's so wrong, I don't want to be right.
Of course, she looked at me like I had grown a second head out of my armpit, because apparently it had never occurred to her to do anything to the gun. It's funny, because it really shows the difference between someone like me, who wants to make every gun I own conform to my own specific desires, and other, sane people who can value a gun for exactly what it is.
I actually have the same problem with Rock Island Armory 1911s - every piece of information I have indicates that they're perfectly serviceable in their stock configuration, but I want to buy one for no other reason that build it up from its base configuration into some kind of frankenblaster. I suppose it's probably a function of my the Gunspaz disease - in attention to having the attention span of a hyperactive monkey when it comes to guns, I'm constantly tinkering with them, not content to leave John Moses Browning's fine design alone.
But if that's so wrong, I don't want to be right.
Gun Nuts Tonight: Julie Goloski
That's right, tonight's Gun Nuts Radio is going to be featuring Julie Goloski of Team Smith & Wesson. As usual, the show goes live at 9pm Eastern time, and if you're not there live, you're missing out. So once the clock hits 9pm Eastern time, fire your browser over to www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts for what should be one of our best shows. As always, your call ins and comments are welcome, and you can take part in the discussion by calling 347-539-5436 once we start taking callers!
Anyone who's listened to our show before will know that I'm a big fan of competitive shooting, and that's why I'm so excited to have Julie joining us tonight - talking to one of the top shooters in the game is an exciting opportunity for Gun Nuts, and it also combines our other most popular topic of women shooters with my favorite topic of action shooting. Don't miss it, tonight at 9pm Eastern at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts!
Anyone who's listened to our show before will know that I'm a big fan of competitive shooting, and that's why I'm so excited to have Julie joining us tonight - talking to one of the top shooters in the game is an exciting opportunity for Gun Nuts, and it also combines our other most popular topic of women shooters with my favorite topic of action shooting. Don't miss it, tonight at 9pm Eastern at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Indiana Gun Clubs: Atlanta Conservation Club
A pretty good chunk of the readers here at The Gun Nuts Radio Blog and affiliated sites are from the Indiana area, at least those of you that aren't coming in from hits off of Google. When I first moved to Indiana, I mostly shot at Popguns Indoor Range, which was more because I had no idea how many good gun clubs and ranges were in the area. If you're a resident of the Indianapolis/Metro Area, you don't have to go to Don's Guns (no link for you, Don) or Popguns to shoot, because there are several clubs and ranges in the area.
Of these clubs, one of the best is Atlanta Conservation Club, located in Atlanta, Indiana - which is just north of Noblesville. I'm a member at Atlanta, and it's also where I shoot more than a few matches. Their regular "match month" consists of IDPA, UPSPA, Steel Challenge, and 3-gun matches - which means that there is basically an event going on every weekend at Atlanta. Additionally, ACC had 8 25 yard bays, which you can shoot everything from pistols to your .308 rifle. They're also working on expanding, and putting in a rifle bay, the plans for which are in the works right now. As a member, you can go out and shoot at Atlanta any day of the week that they aren't having a match; shooting hours are from 0900 to dusk...which means that in the summer, you can shoot pretty late into the evening.
Honestly though, the best part about Atlanta Conservation Club is the people. The folks that are out there, shooting the matches, volunteering, taking RO classes, and generally doing what they can to make the club a better place really do a great job. In my opinion, it's probably the best club in Central Indiana for pistol shooters. The best part is that they're doing a membership drive right now, so if you're interested in joining Atlanta Conservation Club and getting unfettered access to 8 25 yard pistol bays, a place where you can practice your shooting without having to wait in line, then drop me a line at caleb@gunnutsmedia.com and I'll pass your information on to the right people.
If you'd like to check us out, come out for a match sometime. I'm at every IDPA match, and some of the Steel matches, so let me know if you'd like to check out a match.
Of these clubs, one of the best is Atlanta Conservation Club, located in Atlanta, Indiana - which is just north of Noblesville. I'm a member at Atlanta, and it's also where I shoot more than a few matches. Their regular "match month" consists of IDPA, UPSPA, Steel Challenge, and 3-gun matches - which means that there is basically an event going on every weekend at Atlanta. Additionally, ACC had 8 25 yard bays, which you can shoot everything from pistols to your .308 rifle. They're also working on expanding, and putting in a rifle bay, the plans for which are in the works right now. As a member, you can go out and shoot at Atlanta any day of the week that they aren't having a match; shooting hours are from 0900 to dusk...which means that in the summer, you can shoot pretty late into the evening.
Honestly though, the best part about Atlanta Conservation Club is the people. The folks that are out there, shooting the matches, volunteering, taking RO classes, and generally doing what they can to make the club a better place really do a great job. In my opinion, it's probably the best club in Central Indiana for pistol shooters. The best part is that they're doing a membership drive right now, so if you're interested in joining Atlanta Conservation Club and getting unfettered access to 8 25 yard pistol bays, a place where you can practice your shooting without having to wait in line, then drop me a line at caleb@gunnutsmedia.com and I'll pass your information on to the right people.
If you'd like to check us out, come out for a match sometime. I'm at every IDPA match, and some of the Steel matches, so let me know if you'd like to check out a match.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Galco Concealed Carry Package
If you're looking for an affordable way to carry your defensive firearm, check out the Galco Paddle-Lite Package. You can get the Paddle-Lite holster, a magazine holder, and a reinforced leather gunbelt all for less than $80. These days, it's hard to beat a deal like that. I've used Galco gear for competition and concealed carry quite a bit - an M5x holster for my Para 16-40, and one of their leather holsters for concealed carry when I carried a Ruger GP100. I can recommend their leather holsters without hesitation, they're durable and made from good material.
I've used a lot of holsters since I started shooting, and the only ones I've ever kept using have been Galco and Blackhawk. Galco for leather, and Blackhawk for plastic holsters. The deal that Galco's offering is an excellent deal, and a great way to get enough gear for concealed carry, or to get started in IDPA shooting on a budget.
 |
| From 03-01-2009 |
Even in difficult economic times, Galco ensures you can find superior leather holsters and accessories at very reasonable prices!
The Paddle Lite Package consists of our very successful Paddle Lite holster, our Carry Lite Magazine Carrier, and our CLB5 Carry Lite Belt. Together, these three items form a complete carry system - made from Premium Center Cut Steerhide with Galco's customary superior quality - all for under $80!
Order a Paddle Lite Package between now and March 31st and receive FREE shipping! Simply enter PLP0309 in the promotional code field during checkout at GalcoGunleather.com.
I've used a lot of holsters since I started shooting, and the only ones I've ever kept using have been Galco and Blackhawk. Galco for leather, and Blackhawk for plastic holsters. The deal that Galco's offering is an excellent deal, and a great way to get enough gear for concealed carry, or to get started in IDPA shooting on a budget.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Crazy little thing called LDA
Or Light Double Action, ParaUSA's proprietary trigger system. I've been playing around with a .45 ACP from ParaUSA with the LDA trigger, and the more I shoot it, the more I like it. Now, I know it's "blasphemous", because that's not how God told John Moses Browning to design the 1911 when He revealed the secrets of Holy Firearms Design to His Servant JMB, but the fact remains that I like it.
It is quite honestly the best "out of the box" trigger on anything I've shot, excluding semi-custom shop guns like S&W's new Pro Series 1911s, because the actual break of the trigger is incredibly crisp. In fact, I like it so much that I'm picking up another Para with the LDA trigger, this time I'm going for "ultimate blasphemy", and getting a double-stack 9mm 1911, with an integral magwell and an LDA trigger. That gun may be an answer in search of a question, but let me tell you - it's an awesome answer to what was probably a pretty awesome question.
The one trick to an LDA trigger is remembering to let off it completely. If I shoot one of my standard configured 1911s for an while, I need to take some extended dry fire practice with my LDA before I'll run it in a match, because I'll have a tendency to not let my finger completely off the trigger otherwise. When you're shooting an LDA, you have to adopt the mindset of a revolver shooter when it comes to the trigger reset, namely "let go, Luke". If your finger comes completely off the trigger it guarantees that the trigger will reset completely, which means that you won't jam up your gun in the middle of a string.
Bottom line though: the more I shoot the LDA, the more I like it. If that means I don't get to receive the Sacrements from the Church of JMB, then I'll just have to find some thesis to nail on their doors.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The DoD Brass timeline
On Thursday Night, Arfcommers reported that the DoD, through their various agencies were going to be required to "demill" or destroy all once fired brass and sell it as scrap instead of selling the pristine, once fired casings to companies that use them to make more ammo.
On Friday, all hell broke loose. The story hit the blogs, and the firestorm carried over until Monday, when it really hit - Tom Gresham had the president of Georgia Arms on GunTalk, Michael Bane was talking about it, and people were generally up in arms.
Tuesday, under pressure from NRA, industry groups, constituents, and senators, the DoD (and their various agencies) reversed their policy and said "our bad, we're totally going to be selling you that brass, guys".
We talked about this last night on the Gun Nuts' DoD Brass show,where we also had the opportunity to read, on the air, a letter from the Legislative Affairs department of the Defense Logistics Agency which detailed the rescinding of the order to destroy the brass.
It seems that some guy with a pen decided "holy crap, terrorists are using artillery shell casings to house IEDs, maybe we should reclassify this stuff so it can't be sold", and then POW, all of a sudden all brass had been reclassified. As UJ pointed out when he called in to last night's show, often it's exactly that easy - one guy gets a good idea, writes a change, his supervisor checks it and bam, regulation changed. If you're interested in getting more information on what happened, the reaction from gun owners, how it affects you, or speculation on future attempts at gun control from our current administration, then check out last night's show by either clicking here, or clicking the player below. You can also download an .mp3 copy of the show for yourself.
Also, you can now subscribe to Gun Nuts Radio via iTunes. Just click the link proceeding this sentence to get instructions on how to do that.
On the issue of DoD destroying brass, I'm tending to lean towards the theory that this wasn't malicious, just stupid. Of course, if that's the case, then what was the point of electing Obama? I was constantly told during the election about how smart, urbane, sophisticated, and cultured he was; but in less than 50 days of his presidency he's had his AG go off the reservation, two cabinet picks DQ'd, gave the PM of Great Britain a bunch of DVDs in exchange for priceless artifacts, come up with a plan to make disabled veterans pay for their own prosthetic limbs...I mean, so far in terms of gaffes he's making Dubya look like the belle of the ball.
On Friday, all hell broke loose. The story hit the blogs, and the firestorm carried over until Monday, when it really hit - Tom Gresham had the president of Georgia Arms on GunTalk, Michael Bane was talking about it, and people were generally up in arms.
Tuesday, under pressure from NRA, industry groups, constituents, and senators, the DoD (and their various agencies) reversed their policy and said "our bad, we're totally going to be selling you that brass, guys".
We talked about this last night on the Gun Nuts' DoD Brass show,where we also had the opportunity to read, on the air, a letter from the Legislative Affairs department of the Defense Logistics Agency which detailed the rescinding of the order to destroy the brass.
It seems that some guy with a pen decided "holy crap, terrorists are using artillery shell casings to house IEDs, maybe we should reclassify this stuff so it can't be sold", and then POW, all of a sudden all brass had been reclassified. As UJ pointed out when he called in to last night's show, often it's exactly that easy - one guy gets a good idea, writes a change, his supervisor checks it and bam, regulation changed. If you're interested in getting more information on what happened, the reaction from gun owners, how it affects you, or speculation on future attempts at gun control from our current administration, then check out last night's show by either clicking here, or clicking the player below. You can also download an .mp3 copy of the show for yourself.
Also, you can now subscribe to Gun Nuts Radio via iTunes. Just click the link proceeding this sentence to get instructions on how to do that.
On the issue of DoD destroying brass, I'm tending to lean towards the theory that this wasn't malicious, just stupid. Of course, if that's the case, then what was the point of electing Obama? I was constantly told during the election about how smart, urbane, sophisticated, and cultured he was; but in less than 50 days of his presidency he's had his AG go off the reservation, two cabinet picks DQ'd, gave the PM of Great Britain a bunch of DVDs in exchange for priceless artifacts, come up with a plan to make disabled veterans pay for their own prosthetic limbs...I mean, so far in terms of gaffes he's making Dubya look like the belle of the ball.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Gun Nuts Programming Change!
FYI, if you're planning on listening to tonight's show, the topic has changed slightly to focus more on the issue with DoD destroying once-fired brass. Tonight, 9pm Eastern time, we're going to give you the inside scoop on how you can fight this at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts
ParaUSA GI Expert in the wild
Pictures have surfaced of someone who has actually received their ParaUSA GI Expert pistol, and apparently immediately after receiving it decided to fill it chock full of aftermarket parts. Here's the gun as it appeared at the 2009 SHOT SHOW (sorry for the darkness, the light at the Para booth was pretty much ass):
Now, hit this link to The Firearm Blog to see the "aftermarket" mods that were done to the gun. From the looks of it, the linked pistol has new grips, a new safety, slide stop, grip safety/beavertail, and a full-length guide rod. Definitely sexed the gun up a little bit, if you ask me. The stock ParaUSA GI Expert is pretty vanilla, so it makes an excellent platform for further modification. You can build it up into a real custom blaster, or build it down into a more traditional GI-platform gun. Either way, for $500-600 out of the gate, I'd buy it well before I bought a Taurus for the same price.
 |
| From SHOT SHOW 2009 |
Now, hit this link to The Firearm Blog to see the "aftermarket" mods that were done to the gun. From the looks of it, the linked pistol has new grips, a new safety, slide stop, grip safety/beavertail, and a full-length guide rod. Definitely sexed the gun up a little bit, if you ask me. The stock ParaUSA GI Expert is pretty vanilla, so it makes an excellent platform for further modification. You can build it up into a real custom blaster, or build it down into a more traditional GI-platform gun. Either way, for $500-600 out of the gate, I'd buy it well before I bought a Taurus for the same price.
Tonight on Gun Nuts: AHSA, Brass, and the Irish
Tonight's Gun Nuts Radio will be a little bit of a "mix and match" show. While the main topic of conversation is still going to be AHSA, we'll be addressing other issues as well, including the fact that it is St. Patty's day, as well as the recent news that DoD is going to be destroying all once fired brass instead of turning it around and reselling it.
As usual, to join the show live, just hit www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 9pm Eastern; if you want to call in and share your opinion on the Irish, AHSA, or the current issue with once fired DoD brass, then all you have to do is hit our call in number at (347) 539-5436.
Again, that's tonight - 9pm Eastern time. www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts, be there!
As usual, to join the show live, just hit www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts at 9pm Eastern; if you want to call in and share your opinion on the Irish, AHSA, or the current issue with once fired DoD brass, then all you have to do is hit our call in number at (347) 539-5436.
Again, that's tonight - 9pm Eastern time. www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts, be there!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ruger SR9 Magazine Disconnect Removal
At the main Gun Nuts Media blog, there's a post up on magazine disconnect safeties - specifically why I hate them so much, and the reasons for that. In the post, I pick on Ruger's SR9 a little bit, because I think that without that magazine disconnect safety, it would be a tremendous polymer pistol.
However, thanks to a few intrepid gun owners, I found a post on the Ruger Forums which details the easily accomplished removal of the magazine disconnect safety from your SR9 pistol, complete with pictures for ease of reference. The thread is right here, and most of the reports from reading the thread indicate that the removal is relatively easy to do. I should point out however that removing the mag disconnect on your gun voids the warranty, so if you send it back to Ruger for any other reason, it's not going to be covered under their service policy. In their eyes, removing the magazine disconnect is intentionally "breaking" the gun - despite the fact that a sane person knows that you're just trying to fix what was broken from the factory.
However, thanks to a few intrepid gun owners, I found a post on the Ruger Forums which details the easily accomplished removal of the magazine disconnect safety from your SR9 pistol, complete with pictures for ease of reference. The thread is right here, and most of the reports from reading the thread indicate that the removal is relatively easy to do. I should point out however that removing the mag disconnect on your gun voids the warranty, so if you send it back to Ruger for any other reason, it's not going to be covered under their service policy. In their eyes, removing the magazine disconnect is intentionally "breaking" the gun - despite the fact that a sane person knows that you're just trying to fix what was broken from the factory.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wisdom of the Duke
My goodness, I haven't posted one of these in forever - but at the same time, I'm feeling very feisty today, and I've been watching a lot of NCIS lately, so this particular John Wayne quote is more than appropriate for a revival of the old "Wisdom of the Duke" feature that started so long along on a little blog called "What Would John Wayne Do".
Now, I don't actually advocate never apologizing, because there are times when an apology (sincere or otherwise) is the right and smart thing to do. However, I do want to look at this oft-quoted line in the light of the right to keep and bear arms. We've made some hay lately over comments by Jim Scoutten about what kind of shooting sports should be on national TV, and while I agree with his motivating factors, I don't actually agree that certain sports shouldn't see the light of day on national TV.
The reason I don't agree is because after a long time of hiding, I realized that it was a sign of weakness to hide my hobby and passion from people. By not being open about being a shooter and gun rights activist, I was essentially apologizing for unintentionally scaring people with my activity in the shooting sports. I don't think that's ever the right thing to do. I don't think that as gun owners, self-defense practitioners, sport shooters, and hunters that we should ever apologize for what we are. There is nothing inherently shameful about owning and using firearms - exercising our rights and heritage is something that we should all be proud to do, not apologetic like we're might offend someone with our scaaaawwwwy guns.
I'm not saying however that we should not adopt a moderate approach - I'm saying that we should not be sorry to be gun owners. We should still deal with non-gun owners with courtesy, respect, and professionalism, because if you're going to open about your ownership of firearms, you have automatically declared yourself to be an ambassador for the shooting sports. That means that in ever interaction you have with a non-gun owner, you need to think about your actions reflect on all gun owners; and if you choose to be open about and unapologetic, your actions should reflect positively on the rest of the community.
Never apologize for being a gun owner - it's a sign of weakness.
“Never say sorry - it's a sign of weakness”
Now, I don't actually advocate never apologizing, because there are times when an apology (sincere or otherwise) is the right and smart thing to do. However, I do want to look at this oft-quoted line in the light of the right to keep and bear arms. We've made some hay lately over comments by Jim Scoutten about what kind of shooting sports should be on national TV, and while I agree with his motivating factors, I don't actually agree that certain sports shouldn't see the light of day on national TV.
The reason I don't agree is because after a long time of hiding, I realized that it was a sign of weakness to hide my hobby and passion from people. By not being open about being a shooter and gun rights activist, I was essentially apologizing for unintentionally scaring people with my activity in the shooting sports. I don't think that's ever the right thing to do. I don't think that as gun owners, self-defense practitioners, sport shooters, and hunters that we should ever apologize for what we are. There is nothing inherently shameful about owning and using firearms - exercising our rights and heritage is something that we should all be proud to do, not apologetic like we're might offend someone with our scaaaawwwwy guns.
I'm not saying however that we should not adopt a moderate approach - I'm saying that we should not be sorry to be gun owners. We should still deal with non-gun owners with courtesy, respect, and professionalism, because if you're going to open about your ownership of firearms, you have automatically declared yourself to be an ambassador for the shooting sports. That means that in ever interaction you have with a non-gun owner, you need to think about your actions reflect on all gun owners; and if you choose to be open about and unapologetic, your actions should reflect positively on the rest of the community.
Never apologize for being a gun owner - it's a sign of weakness.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Gun Nuts: More Open Carry
If you missed last night's show, you missed a good one, technical difficultites aside (about halfway through the show, Breda's audio emitted a horrible sound and died - ed). As always, click the embedded Gun Nuts Logo to go directly to the show page, where you can download the episode on demand, as well as listen to any previous episodes.
Gun Nuts Radio
9PM EST
We were pleased to have Bryan Ledford join us on the show - the discussion on do's-and-don'ts of open carry was excellent, and I think that both Breda and myself were able to learn a little bit about the open carry movement in Ohio. We also had some great callers with excellent questions about how we as gun owners should act, and concerns about the conduct of law enforcement in this particular case. If you'd like to hear the entire show, as well as the audio tape of Bryan's encounter with the local PD, click this link to go to the show page, or click here to download an .mp3 copy of the show. If you have an iTunes player/iPod (or even a Zune, I'm told) you can follow these simple instructions to subscribe to the podcast on your media player: Gun Nuts on iTunes. If you have an iTunes account, you can also just search the iTunes store for "Gun Nuts" and get all our on demand episodes that way.
Join us next week - we'll be talking about AHSA, and either one of their reps will be joining us, or we're going to be torpedoing them on the air. What will it be? Wait and see.
Gun Nuts Radio
9PM EST
We were pleased to have Bryan Ledford join us on the show - the discussion on do's-and-don'ts of open carry was excellent, and I think that both Breda and myself were able to learn a little bit about the open carry movement in Ohio. We also had some great callers with excellent questions about how we as gun owners should act, and concerns about the conduct of law enforcement in this particular case. If you'd like to hear the entire show, as well as the audio tape of Bryan's encounter with the local PD, click this link to go to the show page, or click here to download an .mp3 copy of the show. If you have an iTunes player/iPod (or even a Zune, I'm told) you can follow these simple instructions to subscribe to the podcast on your media player: Gun Nuts on iTunes. If you have an iTunes account, you can also just search the iTunes store for "Gun Nuts" and get all our on demand episodes that way.
Join us next week - we'll be talking about AHSA, and either one of their reps will be joining us, or we're going to be torpedoing them on the air. What will it be? Wait and see.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Gun Nuts Tonight: More Open Carry
Tonight on Gun Nuts Radio
we're going to continue the discussion we started on Open Carry a few weeks back. Joining us for tonight's show will be Bryan Ledford, a resident of Ohio who was actually harassed by Ohio law enforcement officers for open carrying. Bryan had the presence of mind to record the entire encounter, so we're going to be listening to the audio of that, and then talking to Bryan about his experience.
As always, questions, comments, and callers are encouraged - you can join the show live at (347) 539-5436 with your question! As always, the show airs live tonight at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts. Be there tonight for a great discussion on the future of our right to keep and bear arms!
we're going to continue the discussion we started on Open Carry a few weeks back. Joining us for tonight's show will be Bryan Ledford, a resident of Ohio who was actually harassed by Ohio law enforcement officers for open carrying. Bryan had the presence of mind to record the entire encounter, so we're going to be listening to the audio of that, and then talking to Bryan about his experience.
As always, questions, comments, and callers are encouraged - you can join the show live at (347) 539-5436 with your question! As always, the show airs live tonight at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts. Be there tonight for a great discussion on the future of our right to keep and bear arms!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Coming to Gun Nuts Radio!
On March 24th, we're going to have a very special guest joining us for Gun Nuts Radio. That evening, we'll be joined by Julie Goloski (whose real name is now Julie Golob, post her marriage), one of the top shooters in the world, and a member of the Smith & Wesson Pro Team. I'm extremely excited to have Julie on the show with us, as she brings a unique insight on being a pro shooter as well as a woman in the shooting sports. This will probably be our best "Chicks and Guns" show ever, so don't miss it. Mark you calendars now for Gun Nuts Radio on March 24th, with Julie Goloski!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Gun Nuts: Remember the Alamo
Last night's show on the Alamo was an excellent show - as usual the callers were great, and a special tip of the hat to Blackfork, who was able to provide us with historical perspective on the Alamo that was invaluable for the show itself. If you'd like to download the show, just click here for the show page, or click this link to download an .mp3 file. You can also click the embedded player below to listen.
Also, if you're an iTunes user, you can now subscribe directly to our feed by following these instructions for getting Gun Nuts on iTunes. Don't forget to tune in next week, when we'll either be talking about Open Carry, talking to Julie Goloski, or having a representative from AHSA on the show!
Also, if you're an iTunes user, you can now subscribe directly to our feed by following these instructions for getting Gun Nuts on iTunes. Don't forget to tune in next week, when we'll either be talking about Open Carry, talking to Julie Goloski, or having a representative from AHSA on the show!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Tonight on Gun Nuts: The Alamo!
Tonight's Gun Nuts Radio is both historical and entertaining - we'll be discussing the historical significance of the Battle of the Alamo as it pertains to gun owners in modern society. As usual, Gun Nuts airs live at 9pm Eastern time at www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts and if you want to join the conversation, you can call us live at 347-539-5436.
Joining us will be blackfork, who has been writing about the events of the Battle of the Alamo - tune in tonight at 9pm Eastern time!
Joining us will be blackfork, who has been writing about the events of the Battle of the Alamo - tune in tonight at 9pm Eastern time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
