Fighting For Liberty

This auction is happening twenty minutes from my house.

Somebody please steal my wallet and lock me in my basement.

David Boomsticks

This past weekend was the Northeast Blogger Shoot. Everyone’s got re-caps (at least, everyone that’s remotely New-England based).

This was year three, and I didn’t go, unfortunately. Couldn’t due to family visiting.

So what did I miss? Shoulder-fired .308. Full-auto goodness. Shotguns, wheelguns, AR-15s, and likely some pieces that I’ll never see for the rest of my life. Sounds like everyone had a grand an amazing time.

Though this morning I went to the range. Just a few firearms and a relative. We shot about 100 rounds total. You see, today, I took my brother-in-law shooting. He was born and raised in NJ, he’s in his 40s, and has never shot a gun.

Taught him the four rules, explained why I find the 2nd so important as both a litmus test for politicians and for the American way of life. We shot some .22, 7.62×39, .38 and .357. For a first timer, he was a surprisingly good shot.

We had a great time and on the car ride back he thanked me and said, “I could have spent all day there!”

It wasn’t a giant gunnie brou-haha – there was no bayonet charge or two dozen people trading arms. It was just simple, educational fun. And it was real nice hearing somebody describe how much they enjoyed a simple hour-long trip to the range on a Tuesday morning.

David Awesome Sauce, Boomsticks, Me

Seriously … they want to make his birthday a holiday in Utah!

The only thing is …

They want to have share it with Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Civil rights leader. All-around cool guy. Shot and killed.

Now HOLD ON A GOSH-DANGED MINUTE! I know what you’re thinking! The gun didn’t assassinate Dr. King, his assassin did. This is true.

And I know what else you’re thinking! Browning didn’t manufacture the weapon that did it! Also true.

My problem with honoring Mr. Browning and Mr. King simultaneously is this …

John Moses Browning’s birthday was on January 21st. Dr. Martin Luther King’s on January 15th.

Why dishonor JMB in such a way that you’re celebrating him on a day that isn’t even his birthday! The shame.

David Boomsticks

… I thought, “OH NO! They grabbed JAY G!” But thankfully that wasn’t the case. This guy probably had less ammo, anyway. Heh.

A few things stick out in this story. First:

Gregory D. Girard, 45, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with storing several tear-gas grenades and explosive pepper-ball projectiles. He was also charged with illegal possession of four police batons.

Illegal possession of … sticks? Seriously. Police batons are sticks. It’s probably a PR-24 and police often issue them without side-handles because it’s easier to just beat someone with a straight stick than to actually learn how to use the thing appropriately. I digress though … illegal possession of a stick?

Of course, to anyone who recalls the MA policy with “foam rubber on a string”, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Just because it’s unsurprising, doesn’t mean it’s stupid.

Foam rubber on a string? Surely that’s not illegal in MA!

This item cannot be shipped outside the United States or to NY, CA, MA.

Oh. Anyway …

This stands out as well:

In addition to the grenade-type devices, police found approximately 20 weapons, including high-powered rifles, shotguns, and handguns. All of the firearms were purchased and registered legally within the past 10 months, McKiel said.

Now let’s delve into teh moar stoopid:

They also discovered stockpiles of medicine and nonperishable foods.

Uhhh. Guys? This is news? This doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.

What were police doing there in the first place? I’m curious to know what set off their crazy detector and had them searching this guy’s house. Quite possibly … this:

He had set up an illegal indoor shooting range in the attic, police said.

Look, I’m not saying the guy wasn’t bat-guano insane, all I’m saying is that possessing a stick shouldn’t be illegal. Likewise, possessing foam-rubber-on-a-string shouldn’t be illegal. Having your own personal inventory of non-perishable foods or medicine shouldn’t be cause for concern.

Now, because this guy was making (to put it lightly) poor decisions regarding the practice of firing live rounds in his attic, here’s what you’ve got:

Police seized all the weapons and ammunition and revoked Girard’s license to carry firearms.

NO GUNS FOR YOU! And there it is …

David Boomsticks

Man caught with thousands of rounds of ammunition and multiple guns!

He said, “This ain’t enough for more than two range trips!” and promptly went to the store to purchase more.

The end.

David Boomsticks

There is no possible way to “accidentally shoot yourself.” There is negligence, or there is safety. Period.

David Boomsticks

Here’s a list of firearm oriented goals for the New Year – feel free to comment or post your own!

1) Carry daily – no more of this “when I feel like it stuff”. Part of this depends on getting a good quality IWB holster, particularly for summer months.

2) Take 10 never-before-fired-a-gun new shooters to the range on me! Let them have some fun shooting, but more importantly instill in them some knowledge of our Founding Fathers and the 2nd Amendment.

3) Finish the AR-15 build. I’ve got the lower and the parts kit, an investment of $600 should complete it.

4) Obtain a small semi-auto .22. I’m thinking of picking up a used Walther P22. This will help with the whole “new shooter” thing in item #2.

5) Reload. At this point it would be worthwhile to reload both .38 and .357 and once the AR is done … whatever that ends up being as well.

6) Attend an Appleseed shoot with my modified 10/22 LTR.

There you have it … gunnie goals for 2010. What are yours?

David 2nd Amendment, Boomsticks

So not that long ago, I had a new addition to the family.

Now, I haven’t had a range trip with it just yet (cut me a break, I’ve yet to receive my key for the local indoor range – something that will be remedied this week). I’ve instead taken this time to familiarize myself with the little beast. However, I already knew there was something that needed some modification without ever making a range trip.

Trigger pull.

I’ve have two Rugers, this SP-101 and the 10/22 and I don’t like the trigger on either of them. Now, the 10/22 was easy, with a couple of Volquartsen upgrades I knocked that pull from 4+ lbs down to about 1 1/2 which made a world of difference in accuracy and follow-up shots.

So doing some reading on the SP-101 people have recommended picking up some Wolff springs and going to town.

Time to tinker! This was my first go at taking apart the SP-101 and initial impressions are … well it was pretty easy.

First, off with the grip. Take out the grip screw, slip out the panels, the takedown pin falls out. Here’s what she looks like naked!

Next up, replacing the spring. Thankfully, I’m strong enough that the thing didn’t go shooting off at 800fps. The Ruger’s stock pull is about 10 lbs, I’m knocking that down to 9. Here it is with the new spring installed:

Not done yet. I wanted to get the trigger group out. Preventing me from doing so is this little trigger guard lock plunger:

In the Ruger instructions, it suggests using either a screwdriver or the top of the hammer spring assembly to push that lock out and swing out the trigger grouping. Er. No. I came up with a much better idea. Using the grip screw!

Fits like a charm, has the screw head to push down on with your thumb, and has a flat enough end to push out the lock without slipping.

There’s the ousted trigger. I have an 8 lb hammer return spring that I’ll be installing … but not today. Too little time and too many iddybiddy parts to worry about flying all over the place as part of that trigger assembly.

Back together, and happy. That 1 lb difference on the Wolff spring makes the action on this revolver noticeably more comfortable. It’s not so light a pull that the hammer will cock if you breathe in too hard, but it’s certainly much smoother than the stock pull.

All in all – success! This week I’m hoping to scrawl the first range report with this sucker!

David Boomsticks

Born on 11/16/2009 (at least, that’s when the test firing occurred and my newest little one left the factory).

She’s 2 1/4″ long, weighing in at 28 oz.

Doncha just wanna SQUEEZE her? Heheh.

A big thank you to the responses on this here post. Definitely got my brain working.

There are a few reasons I chose this little Ruger SP-101. First, it’s all steel, not an alloy. That’s going to help when shoving .357 rounds down the pipe (though … probably not all that much).

Also, I’m just starting to take the first steps into reloading, and I like the idea of reloading for both 38 and 357.

I was pondering getting the 3″ barrel version of this gun, but ultimately, being a 10-yard-range firearm, the extra 3/4″ would be inconsequential when it comes to kinetic energy (at 10 yards, 357 is going to cause a booboo regardless of an extra 100 fps or so) and the recoil difference would be fairly negligible.

Now, I’ve some work to do on this revolver. I ordered a new set of Wolff springs for ten bucks on quite a few recommendations. Additionally, I’d like to pick up a set of grip panels for it to spruce up the look of that factory grip. This guy apparently does real good work.

Most of all though, it’s holster time. I’m an IWB fan through and through, but I won’t discount a good paddle holster. Right now I’m debating between these two right here:

Fobus ROTO-somethingorother. Looks pretty good. Light, but I’m not sure about how high over the belt it is. I love the idea of being able to adjust the cant and swing this thing to cross-draw if clothing requires.

And this Simply Rugged Silver Dollar Pancake. I REALLY like the idea of getting a pair of IWB/OWB straps. That’s some nice versatility.

Any suggestions from you fine knowledgeable folk?

David Boomsticks

And didn’t tell me!?

Classic.

David 2nd Amendment, Boomsticks