Tick, Tick, Said the Clock

It's a sad state of affairs when a man finds himself sorting ammunition at two in the morning. Just a few minutes ago I stood from where I'd been bent over an old ammo box, my hands filthy black. I moaned and glanced at the clock and asked it why in the name of all that's holy could I not sleep, perchance to dream.

It only replied, tick, tick, and tick.

Even the owls remain silent.

Stephen

Use It or Lose It

Please, click here and help fight for your Second Amendment rights. In only three easy steps you can send a letter to all your congresscritters and the yahoos in the White House. All made possible by Ruger.

Big tip of the hat to my friend and yours, K.

Thank you.

Stephen

Chocolate Dipped Ammunition

It's been over a year since I shook hands with a nice man after we'd made a deal on my purchase of his handgun and a box of mixed nine millimeter Luger. The box of ammunition was added to my ammo stash in my garage.

I forgot about it. Well, not really, but since it was a box of loose individual rounds, which I promised myself I'd sort later, it simply became lost to the business of life.

Last night I was kicked in the rear with boredom and so went out and began to dig into the mountain of my storage. I came upon the long forgotten cardboard box, glanced inside and made a snap decision to sort the rounds.

All are defensive loads, hollow points of many configurations from many different ammunition manufacturers; Smith and Wesson, Hornady, Speer, Winchester, Norma and many others. The mix included standard nine mil Luger, plus P, and plus P plus. Expensive stuff especially if purchased in today's current ammunition scare.

I went to my reloading bench and dug beneath and found several empty cartridge boxes and back inside the house set to work. About half way into the box I began to find certain individual rounds felt, well, sticky. Weird. I dug further into the box and came upon a mass of rounds stuck into a block of something gooey. This gooey mess gave a sweet smell. I pulled or should say, plucked, a few rounds and each seemed to be coated in caramel, a darkish caramel.

I went to the kitchen for a bowl and I then began to pick rounds from this mess and drop them into the bowl. The block of goo proved to be a huge chuck of candy. It had been neatly stashed or hidden some time in the past. The long Florida summer melted the candy, probably a tootsie roll, and the rest is history.

I'm positive this hidden treasure of candy was left by my Little Bit. I wasn't angry, quite the opposite, I chuckled as I mixed a small bowl of hot water and Dawn. Later, after I'd cleaned forty of fifty rounds of the gooey thick chocolate from my stash, I smiled. I could just picture the little girl as she pealed away the candy wrapper, took a quick bite and hesitate she might be caught with a before dinner snack hid the rest in Papa's old box of junk.

Lord, I miss her.

Stephen

Too Cool

This is just too cool. Senator Feinstein's Pro-Gun Site.

Link it.

Stephen

Just A Post

Drove to work this morning in a heavy fog, and it's so hot here it feels like early summer. I hate it. I'm the kinda guy that likes my winters to be winter and summer to be, well, fall...

This working six days a week has taken its toll on me. I need a break. I need time on the range. Hopefully next weekend I'll get a chance to attend a gun show with my group of friends, and afterwards, sling some lead downrange.

Duty screams...

Later.

Stephen

Take It or Leave It, part two

Bare with me I've only had one cup of coffee this morning and this rusty middle-aged (heh) brain of mine isn't quite ready to function at full speed.

Yesterday we touched on the subject of keeping a low profile as gun owners, the importance of gun safes, and the strategy of nondiscrimination where it concerns the acquisition of firearms and ammunition. 

My good friend, Matt sent an email and asked if I'd comment on a subject we've all seen posted on various blogs many times over.

I'll use his term, 'Chest Thumping.' A very apt description, and silly. You've seen it - Mr. Blogger states to the world he's gonna kick some butt, shoot the black booted thugs at his front door when (not if) they arrive to take away his guns.

Really.

Remember the point I made in part one of keeping a low profile. First of all most of these so called bad-asses would, I'm sure, turn and run, as he screams for his mommy, after the first gunshot.

Secondly, if you plan to stand your ground and take on the massive fire power utilized and available to law enforcement and military you will achieve nothing more than the complete destruction of your home and the death of your family members. As an individual, you will lose.

Never announce your intentions to the enemy. All resistance against tyranny are birthed in silence.

I once met a gentleman small of physical stature. After our handshake he excused his height. I'd never met a man with such a self-depreciating attitude. He laid his heart and soul out to me and made excuses for his lack of physical ability. Near the end of  our talk I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, "Size isn't the measure of a man, it's the man's character and the goodness of his soul by which will be remembered and judged."

Deep waters run silent, but deadly.

*****

Let's move along. It's readily apparent our supply of firearms and related fodder have nearly run dry. In the meantime, as we wait for the warehouse to be resupplied, concentrate your efforts on spare parts and the other odd bits and pieces available. Don't tell me you cannot find spare parts. The UPS driver just left me a small package. It contained a nice lower parts kit. They're out there, you just need to knuckle down and search.

If in this search you only find a few springs, take them. Check the flea markets. The locals, those that live pay check to pay check are digging through the rubble of their homes and are now taking advantage in this over reaction to fear and with the sight of huge profits in their greedy little eyes are selling all things gunny. Jump.

I know, money is tight. But, if, and it's a big if, Biden and crew have their way, that three grand AR will bring six in the near future. At present I'm far more worried about magazines and ammunition. I have a simple strategy - I tell every person I meet of my wants. I give them a list which includes all those odd partial boxes of grandpa's ammo, any caliber. Those old moldy boxes of twenty-two and forty-five will last a good eighty years. I use the word, cash, and the cash is also here for those firearms stashed in their closets. It works. Take it or leave it but that's my advice.

Sorry folks but I need to cut this short. I just can't work with the interruptions and these continued interruptions keep the bacon on the table.

Later.

Stephen

Take It or Leave It, Part One

First allow me a momentary and rare rant on gun control then I'd like, with your gracious permission, to give you, my readers, a bit of advice.

No law can require the individual to prove he or she won't violate another citizens rights in the absence of evidence of same.

But, this is precisely what gun control laws do. Gun control laws use force against the individual in the absence of any specific evidence that he is about to commit a crime. They say to the rational, responsible gun owner; you may not have or carry a gun because others have used them irrationally or irresponsibly.

This is unjust and intolerable. The government may coercively intervene only when there is an objective threat that someone proves he is willing to use force. The government may respond only to specific threats. It has no right to initiate force against the innocent, and a gun owner is innocent until specific evidence arises that he has threatened to initiate force.

What's my advice you ask, well, it's kinda simple - keep your head down. You're a target. Not only for the government thugs among us, with the intent to restrict our Second Amendment rights, but also thieves.

There is a lucrative market in America today in firearms, stolen firearms. The fear of gun control has had awful consequences on the firearms market. When Springfield XD handguns are listed for private sale at two thousand dollars, thieves take notice. Yesterday alone, here in the River City, six homes were burglarized by moon fleas in search of firearms. In one of those homes a closet full of long arms and several handguns were stolen. I'm willing to bet within an hour each of those hot weapons were sold on the underground market. Not one of those home owners utilized a gun safe.
 
They're watching you. Every punk, moon flea, democritter, and junkie wants your firearms. So when I say, 'keep your head down,' I mean it. Take my shop for instance. If I had a nickle for every man that has walked inside and loudly given a complete inventory of his gun safe or closet to complete strangers I'd be able to purchase several rifles at today's current prices.

Remove your Buckmark hats. Rip the Remington patch from your jackets. Store the camo pants and shirts, and for goodness sake don't write your local paper and bitch about gun control and sign your name because you've just placed your home on the map. Google isn't your friend.

Blend into the landscape. Pretend you're a poodle walker. Restrain from the over the shoulder sweater and pink shirt routine...there are limits.

As much as possible make it difficult for the moon fleas when they enter your home.  Buy, if possible, a gun safe. Any brand name. A large one. Cram that sucker full...stack your weapons tight. Uncle Joe's old Winchester tucked under the bed will not fool the professional thief. When they enter your home the first visit is to the master bedroom closet. Then, they bend down and reach under the bed. And yes, they search beneath the bed cloths and mattress too.

Gun safes, if loaded properly and secured to wall and floor, are damn heavy and difficult to move. Most thieves, not all, will not take the time necessary to break into a well made gun safe. Gun cabinets, on the other hand, offer little resistance.

Let's change the pace.

Second piece of advice. Buy, accept, take if given, any firearm offered to you hence forth. If it works, grab it.

We haven't the ability to predict the future of gun control. Yes, we can make an educated guess but in the end the Left will hurt us. The point is, prepare for any eventuality.

If you've shopped for ammunition of late you have probably found the store room bare. I checked last evening and all I found was 'out of stock, no back orders accepted,'other than the time honored and very useful vintage loads. When's the last time you broke out Grandpa's old thirty-eight special...? A wise man or woman would say to themselves, "Hey, that little baby could just save my life."

Forget the 5.56 NATO and concentrate on the always overlooked ammunition of our past. If funds allow order a few hundred rounds of .38 Special and .357. Think about Uncle Henry's worn 'thirty-thirty.' How many boxes do you have set aside for the old beauty. It's the over looked calibers that may one day save your bacon.

Tuck a few boxes in the safe and smile because I'm willing to bet we will have a tax slapped on the purchase of ammunition very soon indeed. Every Dick and Jane out there is bashing their heads against the wall in the vain search for the always popular forty-five and nine millimeter loads as you sit back and smile with your stash of thirty-eight special and that extra case of twenty-two long rifle.

Hey, work calls. I'll make this part one.

See you later with part two.

Thanks, Dan, for the tip.

Stephen