Grampa Pinhead's Birthday

Grampa Pinhead's birthday was a couple of days ago, and only four people dropped by and wished him a Happy Birthday.

That just ain't right!!

Head on over HERE and wish him a Happy Birthday.

Tell him Mr. C. sent you........

It's Martian Hunting Season!

I don't post music, as a rule, but this one's exceptional. Do not, I REPEAT, do not have a mouth full of coffee when you play this. You will probably need a new keyboard.

I'd recommend downloading it to your computer's hard drive, and listening to it from there, rather than playing it back online, as you will probably want to listen to it more than once!

Here's The Martian Hunting Song!

Hat tip to UfoPhil!

Cowboy Action Shooting & S.A.S.S.

Just like the old West!

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Cowboy Action Shooting is a multi-faceted shooting sport in which contestants compete with firearms typical of those used in the taming of the Old West: single action revolvers, pistol caliber lever action rifles, and old time shotguns.

The shooting competition is staged in a unique, characterized, "Old West" style. It is a timed sport in which shooters compete for prestige on a course of different shooting stages.

Each scenario, as they are called, features an array of situations, many based on famous incidents or movies scenes, in which the shooters must test their mettle against steel targets.

One of the unique aspects of SASS approved Cowboy Action Shooting™ is the requirement placed on costuming. Each participant is required to adopt a shooting alias appropriate to a character or profession of the late 19th century.

Every SASS member is required to select a shooting alias representative of a character or profession from the Old West or the western film genre.

The Single Action Shooting Society is the international organization created to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting™.

SASS members share a common interest in preserving the history of the Old West and competitive shooting.

If you would like to know more about Cowboy Action Shooting, visit the Single Action Shooting Society's website for more information on this challenging and colorful shooting sport!

Full credit to the Single Action Shooting Society, and their website, for providing much of this information!

The Mr. Completely Cosmosphere

N.Z. Bear, proprietor of the TTLB Ecosystem, has been making a bunch of changes to his system. He's been trying to figure out the best way to come up with a way to rank blogs against each other. As you move up in his rankings, you progress from microbes to bugs to worms, and so on up the scale.

Unfortunately with his most recent revisions, a number of people who had managed to evolve up the tree to being warm blooded and furry, have now reverted down to being a grease spot on the bottom of a rock, or something, and they aren't all too happy about it.

To accomplish what NZ Bear is trying to do involves handling a whole lot of data, and trying to keep everyone happy with the way the system works too. Not an easy task.

To ease the pain of being relegated from cute and cuddly to wet, cold, and squishy, we here at Mr. Completely have devised a new system.

This new system, called Mr. Completely's Cosmosphere, is in no way intended to replace the TTLB system. Instead, it is to help those suffering emotional trauma from their crashing relegation back into the primordial soup.

Handling tons and tons of data is a lot of work, and not being fond of work, particularly, Mr. Completely decided to dispense with the data entirely.

Instead, you just pick the particular level you like, copy and paste the code into your side bar, and edit the text line to whatever level you like! After all, who better to judge your blog than you, right?

Simple, HUH! I thought you'd like it!!

You should pick something not TOO high up the list, so you can reward yourself with advancement every so often. Don't start too low, however, as self esteem is important here.

Here's Mr. Completely's Cosmosphere:

Really BIG Galaxy
Smallish Galaxy
Dark Matter
Huge Solar System
Smallish Solar System
Fiery Sun
Really BIG Planet
Medium Planet
Small Planet
Asteroid belt
Asteroid
Comet
Meteor Shower
Meteor
Big Meteorite
meterorite
smallish rock
dust cloud
Dust Particle
Iron Atom
helium atom
electron
quark
Gravitron
Vacuum

Here's the code to add to your sidebar:

{!-- Begin COSMOS --}
{hr}
{b}I am a{br}
Smallish Solar System in{br}
{a href="http://mrcompletely.blogspot.com"}Mr. Completely's Cosmosphere{/a}
{/b}{br}
{hr}
{!-- End COSMOS --}

NOTE: To get this bit of HTML code to display, rather than show the end result, I have changed all of the "<" symbols to "{" and all of the ">" symbols to the "}" symbol. To get this to work, you will have to change them back.

I'm sure there is a HTML tag to use before and after this code to get it to display as written, and if one of you code gurus knows what it is, leave me a comment, and I'll change this post.

The fifth line is all one line, starting with"{href=" and ending with "y's Cosmosphere{/a}". You may have to put the two pieces together, as that line won't all fit on one line here.

Alternately, you can go the page source view for this page, scroll down to the bottom of the right side bar, and copy the code to your clipboard, then paste it from there.

I make no claims about knowing anything about HTML, so feel free to edit and improve it as you see fit. All I ask is that you leave the link to Mr. Completely's Cosmosphere in there, so others can find their way here, and have some fun with this too.

Who knows, maybe N.Z. Bear will get a chuckle out of this too, and add it to HIS blog.

It might cheer him up some, and he deserves a laugh for all the work he does.........

Reverting to Your Level of Training

In a previous post about Brendan "Dan" McKown, I mentioned that in an emergency situation, you do not rise to the occasion, but rather, you revert to your level of training. You should re-read the previous sentence, and make sure it sinks in. Let me give you a first hand example.

When I first started competing regularly in bowling pin shooting competition, it wasn't unusual to have to change to your second magazine if you had a couple of pins knocked over and they didn't want to leave the table. (What we refer to as a "Train Wreck") To be competitive, you had to practice mag changes until it became fast and effortless, a part of your "Muscle Memory".

At that time I was using a fairly conventional two-handed grip. As time went by, the shooters continued to get faster and faster, and also more accurate. Maybe a year later it had reached the point where mag changes where no longer important, because if you hadn't got all the pins off the table in six or seven shots at the most, it was all over, and you had by then lost the round. Needless to say, it was no longer worth the time spent to practice mag changes.

About that time I changed to a "Taco" grip, where you have your weak hand on top of the red dot sight. You also shoot more from a crouch, rather than standing more upright.

Sometime thereafter, shooting against one of the faster shooters in the club, we both tried to shoot just a little faster that we should have, and both ended up with "Train wrecks", and we BOTH had to do a magazine change.

In one smooth motion I dropped the magazine, slid in the second one, stood up out of my crouch, and cleaned up the train wreck with a conventional two-handed grip! My muscle memory and training had taken over, as I hadn't practiced the mag changes with my new grip and stance!

I was momentarily dumbfounded, and had to think about it for a minute to realise what had just happened. I had reverted to my level of training!

In something as important as the protection of yourself and your loved ones, you need to take a long hard look at just what your level of training might be.

There are a number of gunbloggers out there who can, and I hope, will further address this issue with posts of their own. As I become aware of them I'll put up links to them for you.

In the meantime, read this again:

In an emergency situation,
you do not rise to the occasion,
but rather,
you revert to your level of training.

It's true, and it could save your life.......

Dan McKown -- Latest News

The Tacoma News Tribune has now published an interview with Brendan "Dan" McKown, and a lot more of what actually happened has been revealed.

It's an extremely interesting article, and there are some hard lessons to be learned from it, particularly if you carry a handgun for protection.

It's easy to second-guess the situation, or to say what you would have done in the same situation, but the reality is that in an emergency situation you do not rise to the occasion, you revert to your level of training.

Dan had even taken some training, but it didn't prepare him for what he faced.

Go HERE to read the entire article.

Hat tip to Heartless Libertarian for the heads-up.

I'm Gonna Be RICH ! ! !

OH BOY - OH BOY - OH BOY ! ! !

I just got this email, and it looks like I've finally hit the big time!

Anyhow, being the generous soul that I am, I am willing to share this incredible offer with my friends, so here you go:

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You have been chosen for enrolment in the Career Alteration Program
You have the choice of three new professions which are currently hiring. You will have qualifications within 2 weeks for automatic acceptance.

1) Technical Power Engineer Management. Salary starts at $89,000 annually.
2) Trade Commercial Consultant. Salary starts at $74,000 annually.
3) Labor Manufacture Production Officer. Salary starts at $102,000 annually.

Please contact us immediatly in order to receive your certificates to start in one of these careers.

Direct Office Line: (206) 333-0051

---

"Technical" and "Power" sound good, "Engineer" sounds OK, but I've never really liked "Management."

"Trade" sounds kinda menial, so maybe I'll skip that one.

"Labor" sounds too much like work, but "Manufacture" probably means building stuff, and you get to be an "Officer", so that's kinda cool sounding.

I wonder if you get to wear an "Officer's badge", or do you have to wear a suit. I Really don't like wearing suits. I wonder if a T-Shirt and jeans are OK?

It's so hard to choose which career track I should take. They all sound so good!

Life can be tough, so many decisions......

(That's a Seattle phone number, in case any of you want to give him a call................)

Weblog Awards -- 2005 -- Best Sports Blog

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Thanks to all of you who took the time to nominate Mr. Completely as the Sports Blog of the Year.

The first hurdle is to make the cut and get into the final fifteen. That decision is made by those running the competition. IF I can get into the final fifteen, then it's up to reader's votes to decide it.

It's going to be tough going against baseball and football blogs, but we'll just have to run a full court press, be tough in the red zone, and swing for the fence.

(heh!)

I'll let you know when the voting starts.........

The Virtual Air Guitar project

According to an article in New Scientist:

"Aspiring rock gods can at last create their own guitar solos - without ever having to pick up a real instrument, thanks to a group of Finnish computer science students.

The Virtual Air Guitar project, developed at the Helsinki University of Technology, adds genuine electric guitar sounds to the passionately played air guitar.

Using a computer to monitor the hand movements of a "player", the system adds riffs and licks to match frantic mid-air finger work. By responding instantly to a wide variety of gestures it promises to turn even the least musically gifted air guitarist to a virtual fret board virtuoso."

Dang, maybe I need to get one of these!

Click HERE for the whole article.

Small Pocket Revolvers

Xavier at Xavier Thoughts has neatly summed up the primary reasons for a revolver as a carry weapon in your pocket.

He makes some very good points:

Reasons I Like a J Frame in My Pocket

1. It's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.
2. I never have to wonder if a round is chambered.
3. It will fire with the muzzle pressed into ribs.
4. There is no safety to disengage.
5. I never have to worry about keeping it covered.
6. I can discreetly have my hand on my gun while assessing a situation.

Seattle vs Milwaukee homicides

Recently, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the city had recorded 113 homicides, and there are still six weeks to go in the year. At the same time Milwaukee had posted a body count of 113 homicides, Seattle had logged a mere 27. Both cities are approximately the same size.

So, it might appear understandable that people like Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, Democrats in the Legislature and some police officials are not too keen about legislation that would make it possible for Wisconsin citizens to carry concealed handguns.

Aside from the vast disparity in the number of homicides in Milwaukee and Seattle, there is one more big difference. Washington residents can carry concealed handguns, and a lot of them do, more than 230,000 at last count. The Evergreen State has had a concealed carry statute for more than 50 years and a state constitutional right to bear arms that is rock solid."

Previous excerpt from the Sheboygan-press.

Click here for the entire article.

Hat tip to Zendo Deb at TFS Magnum

30 K. and climbing...... WOO HOOO ! !

Sometime during the night the visitor counter rolled over the 30, 000 visitors milestone.

I can honestly say that the response to Mr. Completely has been gratifying, to say the least. It's a great feeling to know that people are coming to the blog, having some fun, finding a chuckle, or getting some good information that's of value to them.

On top of all of that, I've got to meet some really great folks, either through emails, or in some cases, in person. AK, Rivrdog, Countertop, JimmyB, Grampa Pinhead, H2 (wherever you are), and more.

I'm sure I'm leaving some out, too. (It's not intentional, just a lousy memory!).

Thanks to ALL of you that make this so much fun!!

Are you wearing FULL - AUTO Shoestrings?

From Say Uncle:

"You can apparently take a semi-automatic AK type rifle and attach 14 inch long shoestring with looped ends, loop one end around the trigger and attach it to your finger, then tie the other end to the cocking handle to increase the rate of fire. As such, the ATF has ruled that such a shoestring is classified under 26 USC 5845(b) as a machine gun. It is therefore contraband if not registered under the National Firearms Act."

"Seriously, read the letter from the ATF’s Firearms Technology Branch here."

ATF's got too much time on their hands, maybe?

HR 1415, the bill to "Improve" the NICS

Rivrdog has done a thorough reading of the proposed Federal bill HR 1415, the bill to "Improve" the NICS, the Federal database where the information is kept on who should not be able to purchase a firearm.

According to Rivrdog, "it's full of jargon and gobbledegook, and it contains some time bombs."

"It should not become law, but some folks in the NRA support it."

You should go read Rivrdog's post from end to end to get the entire story. This looks like another one of those proposed laws that sounds OK on the surface, but once you get "Under the hood", you find some real problems.

Click Here to read RD's post.

The Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun

Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun

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Back when I was a kid (just after the ice had receded from North America, if I remember correctly) I wanted a Daisy Red Ryder lever action BB gun. I think EVERY lad of my age wanted a Daisy, and not just ANY Daisy, either, it just HAD to be the Red Ryder. After all, that was the one shown in the comic books ads. (How times have changed. Gun ads in comic books were no big deal.)

To make it worse, Bobby, the neighborhood troublemaker kid, DID have a BB gun, and yes, it WAS a Red Ryder.

Not that I was without firearms/weapons of my own, some of them rather awsome in hindsight. For example, I made a steel rod spear launcher out of a piece of 1 1/2" steel tube and surgical tubing. It would shoot a 3' long 3/8" steel rod over one hundred feet, straight up! It would have probably dropped an antelope at a hundred yards, maybe more, but I digress....

Anyhow, every Christmas I eagerly looked under the tree for a package of a size that might contain a genuine Red Ryder. Christmas after Christmas, no luck, no BB gun, no Red Ryder.

Then my folks decided we should move out to the country and live on a farm.

When I was asked if I'd like to live on a farm, my first question was "Does that mean I get to have a BB gun?"

My parents, figuring that if they didn't get me a BB gun, eventually I'd probably build myself something far more dangerous instead. Some of my previous experiments with home-made explosives had already made them a little nervous.

I still don't know why. I never blew up anything important, and on top of that, a lot of times my "experiments" failed to explode at all!

When my dad finally brought home a box for me, just about the size of a BB gun, I could hardly wait to open the package. When I opened the box, it was a Daisy BB gun. A Daisy PUMP BB gun. It wasn't a Red Ryder at all.

I did my best to appear happy and so forth, but it didn't come easy. I took it out and shot it a number of times, and it was a good BB gun, in hindsight maybe even better that the Red Ryder model. Somehow my heart just wasn't in it.

I finally wore it out, to where the rivets holding the pump mechanism gave way, and it could no longer be cocked.

Looking back, I probably did learn a lot about firearm safety, sight picture, trigger pull, and so forth, with the Daisy pump BB gun, but it was kinda like learning to drive in the family station wagon, or kissing your sister.......

A "Caption Needed" Two-fer ! !

While I'm on a hunting theme, I just had to post these two pictures. How did the deer manage to not take out the grill? Do any of you know what actually happened? I sure hope no one was sitting on the passenger side........

Anyhow, I couldn't come up with a good caption, so I'm throwing it out for those of you far better at coming up with good captions than I am! Have at it!

Cajun Deer Huntin' Story

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux and dey friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night, Boudreaux returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck.

“‘Ey, Boudreaux, where’s Thibodeaux” the others asked.

“Mais, I t’ink he got a heart attack or sumthin’. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail,” Boudreaux replied.

“Oh, no, Boudreaux! You left Thibodeaux laying out there helpless and carried the deer back?” they asked.

“Mais, yeah, I had to t’ink about dat. It was a tough call,” nodded Boudreaux. “But I figured no one is going to steal old Thibodeaux!”

A big thanks to Mostly Cajun for a great story!

George Best -- R.I.P.

Georgie Best, considered as one of the best football (soccer) players of all time, died this morning in a London hospital due to complications related to a lung infection and liver problems.

Normally this wouldn't be a story I would report here, but having seen him play, it seems appropriate.

George was at his peak in the 60's. I was at a Bed and Breakfast in Inverness, Scotland in the late 60's and watched him play on the "telly". It was an international match, George was playing for his native Ireland, and I've long since forgotten the opponent.

George took the ball at mid-field and dribbled past three or four defenders, leaving them all on the ground, then dribbled AROUND the goalie to take an easy tap-in into an open goal. They re-played it on the TV several times, and it was absolutley amazing to watch.

Even for someone who knew very little about the game, it was obvious that I was watching a most amazing athlete.

Many years later Georgie played for the Los Angeles Aztecs in the North American Soccer League. I had front row seats in the Seattle Kingdome when LA came to town.

Except for occasional brief flashes of brilliance, it was obvious that the playboy life style and alcoholism had taken it's toll..........

Update on Dan McKown

Brendan McKown, 38, critically injured in a shooting at the Tacoma Mall, was removed from the respirator Thursday morning and his condition was upgraded to serious, but stable.

You can donate to any Bank of America branch to the "Dan McKown Medical Fund"

Keep Dan in your thoughts and prayers, he could use a little help right now...........

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,
from KeeWee and Mr. Completely,
Rocket, Momma Bunny, Brown Bunny,
Black bunny, and the goldfish........

Time To Be Thankful For Our Blessings

In trying to put into words my feelings about Thanksgiving, I tend to draw a blank. Not because I have nothing to be thankful for, but because there is so much, I don't even know where to start.

However, there is one thing that stands high on my list. I am eternally thankful that there are still people like Dan McKown here in the United States.

If Dan's name doesn't quite ring a bell, let me jog your memory. Yesterday in a mall in Tacoma, Washington, a drugged up nut case walked into a crowded shopping mall with a rifle and a handgun, intending to shoot as many people as possible.

Not all of the details are clear, but Dan took it on himself to put his life at risk, and nearly paid the ultimate price in attempting to get this loser stopped. Dan took this heroic step to protect total strangers.

Unfortunately, Dan ended up taking three or four 9mm's at point blank range. The druggie then fired a few more rounds into the crowd, but fortunately no one was seriously injured.

After a hostage situation in a mall music store, the slime ball was finally taken into custody.

As I write this, Dan is in an induced coma, and has had several operations. He may never walk again.

Dan didn't take this risk for money, or for publicity, but because he knew it was the right thing to do.

Thank God that we still have people in this country who are willing step up to the plate, put their life on the line if need be, and know that regardless of the risk, it was the right thing to do.

That's something for which we can all be mightily thankful.

Thank you, Dan, for reminding us that men like you still exist, sometimes we forget........

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FOLLOWUP: A fund has been established to help the family pay for Dan's medical bills.

You can donate to any Bank of America branch to the "Dan McKown Medical Fund"

Mossberg 500 12 Gauge Shotgun Disassembly

Mossberg 500 12 Gauge Shotgun

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The nice folks over at lifelibertyetc.com have just posted a video on how to disassemble and reassemble the Mossberg 500 shotgun.

here's their description of the video:

Next to the Remington 870, the Mossberg 500 is one of the most common shotguns available today. In our latest issue of The Range Bag, we'll show you how to disassemble and reassemble this handy 12ga shotgun.

They even posted it in two sizes, depending on how slow your internet connection might be.

Here's the small version, and here's the large version.

It' not a bad idea to give their bandwidth a break and right click on the link, them download it to your hard drive, rather than viewing it live. You will probably want to watch it more than once, anyway.

While you are over there, have a look at their other products, including stickers, coffee cups, pins, shirts, and lots more, all guaranteed to tick off the gun banners on sight!

Forests paying the price for biofuels

The following excerpts are from an article in the New Scientist, so the next time your "Enviro-Greenie" neighbor, driving his bio-diesel powered Yugo gives you a bad time about your Ford F350 4WD crew cab pickup, now you have the ammo to counter-attack for his contributing to the destruction of the world's forests!

From the New Scientist:

The drive for "green energy" in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests. ......virgin forest (are) being razed to grow palm oil and soybeans to fuel cars and power stations in Europe and North America.

"The expansion of palm oil production is one of the leading causes of rainforest destruction in south-east Asia. It is one of the most environmentally damaging commodities on the planet," says Simon Counsell, director of the UK-based Rainforest Foundation.

The main alternative to palm oil is soybean oil. But soya is the largest single cause of rainforest destruction in the Brazilian Amazon.

...........verrrry Interrrresting.........

Hat tip to the Drudge report

Breaking News From Washington!

There will be no Nativity Scene in Washington DC this year!

The Supreme Court has ruled there cannot be a Nativity Scene in Washington DC this Christmas season.

This isn't for any religious reason, they simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol.

There was no problem however, finding enough asses to fill the stable........

Hat tip to KeeWee's Corner for this one!

e-Postal Handgun Match "Seein' Spots" Results

Some of the competitors celebrating their victories!
(I didn't have the ACTUAL picture, so I substituted, OK?)

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e-Postal Handgun Match
"Seein' Spots" Results

(Perfect Score is 365)

10 Yard Division - .20 to .29 CALIBER

Name -- Score -- Caliber -- Handgun
1. -- Mr. Completely -- 290 -- .22 -- High Standard
2. -- JimP -- 210 -- .22 -- Ruger MK. II
3. -- Mad Oilman -- 140 -- .22 -- S & W 617
4. -- JimmyB -- 100 -- .22 -- Ruger

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10 Yard Division - .30 to .39 CALIBER

Name -- Score -- Caliber -- Handgun
1. -- JimP -- 95 -- .38 -- Taurus 66
2. -- Les Jones -- 90 -- .357 -- Revolver
3. -- JimmyB -- 65 -- 9mm. -- Glock
4. -- Mr. Completely 60 -- .38 -- Taurus 66

---

10 Yard Division - .40 CALIBER OR LARGER

Name -- Score -- Caliber -- Handgun
1. -- Mad Oilman -- 195 -- .40 -- HK USP Compact
2. -- Les Jones -- 65 -- .40 -- S & W

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25 Yard Division - Bench Rest
Mr. Completely -- 350 -- High Standard .22

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50 Yard Division - Bench Rest
Mr. Completely -- 280 -- High Standard .22

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Well, the results are all in and tabulated, and a couple of things are clear.

First, we all had a hard time getting to the range to do any shooting this late in the year, both because of other commitments, and the prospect of lousy weather at the outdoor ranges.

When you DID get to the range, it was often cold enough that you didn't really feel like shooting very many targets to go for your best score. It's hard to hit anything when you are shivering!

Second, even though the target looks easy, it's WAY harder than it looks!

Third, strategy played a big part in successful shooting of the "Seein'Spots" target. How many rounds do you want to shoot at the high risk/high score bulls, as opposed to hitting the easier but lower scoring spots?

The temptation is to shoot the easy ones first, but that's a trap since a single 25 is the same score as five 5's, and you would still have rounds left over for other bulls. If you took five shots at the 40, and only hit one, you are still fifteen points higher that hitting all five 5's. Having to figure out your strategy certainly added to the challenge!

I want to thank all of you for entering, and I hope you all had some fun facing the challenge of shooting accurately, while "Seein' Spots"!

Carnival of Liberty is up

The latest Carnival of Liberty is up over at Left Brain Female in a Right Brain World.

Click here to go there!

Range Box Decals

Is this a cool logo or what! Mugwug at Moral Flexibility is going to track one of these down for me for the range box. I think a US and a Canadian flag would be good, too.

This is going to be the best decorated range box ever! When I get all of the decals and stickers on it, I'll post pictures..........

UPDATE from Mugwug: the logo was designed by CGN member Onno, and features "castor bellum" (war beaver) as the mascot.

e-Postal Match Reminder - Get your entries in!

Just a short reminder to let you all know that the e-Postal handgun match "Seein' Spots" ends tonight, November 21st., at midnight Siberian Standard time, or there abouts.

Email me your scores, and either post your targets on a blog or website, and mention the URL in your email, or attach jpg's of your targets to the email.

Thanks to all of you who have participated!

Mr. C.'s New 'Range Bag' and Contest

I couldn't pass it up!

Lot and lots of room inside, too!

---

When I went in to WalMart for my National Ammo Day purchases, there, stacked high up on top of some shelving near the gun counter, I spied these.

"Cool!", I thought, I've been looking for something like this for some time. "I wonder how much they are getting for them? (I'm NOT cheap, just thrifty!)".

As I was contemplating the rolling tool boxes, a blue-vested Walmartian walked up and asked if he could help.

"Those tool boxes up there, are there any down here where I can have a look at one, and how much are they?" I asked. (As I said, THRIFTY!!).

"Just got them in", he said, "and they're $19.95."

KA -- C H I N G ! ! ! !

I fiddled around a bit with it, checking out the features. The handle folds and locks in the upright position, lots of space in the upper box, a lift out tool tray, and the upper box un-snaps from the lower box.

The lower box has even more space, a good place for the heavier stuff, like ammo, a staple gun for hanging targets, and more.

The only fault I can find is that it doesn't come from the factory with any cool shooting or gun related decals. Can't have that!

Here's the deal: I'm looking for suggestions, or actual decals/bumper stickers for my new range box. Also suggestions for what he should be named. (I'm leaning towards calling him "Mr. BD", or just BD for short. BD Does stand for "Blast and Destroy" doesn't it?)

The winner, if you are in the local area, will be treated to an afternoon of rim fire bowling pin shooting and instruction at the Central Whidbey Sportsman's Assn. range in Coupeville, WA.

NO previous shooing experience is required. You will get the chance to shoot several different rimfire pin shoot race guns, all of which have WON pin shoots in the past year or so.

If you are not in this area, we'll have to think of something else.

Judging will be by KeeWee and I, and all usual disclaimers, blah, blah, blah...., apply.

I'll post the best for all of you to enjoy!

(Oh, yeah, almost forgot, I bought lots of ammo too, while I was there!)

---

Update: Some folks have expressed concern that buying stuff at Walmart isn't such a good idea since, they say, almost everything in Walmart is made in China. This particular tool box is made in Israel.

The 2005 Weblog Awards

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UPDATE: Nominations are about to close, so more nominations are not needed. Thanks!!

There's only a few more days left until nominations for the best blogs of 2005 closes, so to get the ball rolling, Mr. Completely most humbly nominated Mr. Completely as the best Sports Blog of the year. Shooting Sports are sports, right?

Think back over the past year, the match reports, the lame excuses, the race gun reviews, the e-Postal matches, all the cool gun porn, links to lots of other cool gun blogger sites, and more!

However, to add a bit more credibility, it probably wouldn't hurt if a number of you went HERE and also nominated Mr. Completely as the best sports blog of 2005 too.

Each category gets pared down to only fifteen blogs, and with the apparent popularity of the various sports where they hit, kick, and throw balls around, just making the final fifteen for a gun blog would be a cool thing, indeed!

Come on shooters, let's GIT-ER-DONE!

Bowling Pin Table for Indoor Pin Shoots

I've put together a drawing of a proposed bowling pin table for use at indoor ranges for bowling pin matches.

Shooting pins indoors requires making a few changes in the way it's set up, as the tables need to be portable, and dis-mantleable without major effort.

Consideration has to also be given to the possibility of a ricochet from a pin on it's side going up into the range ceiling. With this table design, a pin cannot lie on it's side, as the table is too narrow. The pin will just fall off if it's knocked over.

That means that all you have to do is hit the pin solidly enough to knock it over, and gravity will do the rest. You can expect some REALLY fast times!

Jacketed bullets should be avoided, as they can, and will, bounce back off the pin!

Of course, the setup would also work fine outdoors, when a portable setup is needed, so you can use a range that is not dedicated only to bowling pins.

I do not have this drawing hosted for download, but it's a fairly small Adobe Acrobat PDF file, and if you send me an email requesting it, I'll email it your way.

The drawing is a proposed design that may end up being modified after we've built one and done some testing, so be advised that liability wise, you are on your own! BE CAREFUL!

For a basic set of pin shoot match rules, check over on the right side bar.

The Carnival of Cordite is up!

The Carnival of Cordite is up!

And when you get through at the carnival, go HERE and vote for Resistance is Futile!!

Dealing with snakes

The Differential Theory of US Armed Forces (Snake Model) upon encountering a snake in the Area of Operations (AO)

Here's a few samples:

4. Army Ranger: Plays with snake, then eats it.

6. Army Armor: Runs over snake, laughs, and looks for more snakes to squash.

21. Judge Advocate General (JAG) (All Branches): Snake declines to bite, citing grounds of professional courtesy.

There's a whole list of these over at Knowledge is Power, go read 'em all!

Mr. C's New Toy - Part II

Savage / Anschutz Mark 12 .22 Long Rifle

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I figured I better get a full picture and description posted before I ended up with Rivrdog on my front porch banging on the door wanting to know what my new target rifle might be.

Of course, if Rivrdog did show up on the porch, the coffee pot's usually on, but you know what I mean!

Anyhow, it's a Savage / Anschutz Model 12 in .22 long rifle, with a 25" heavy barrel, on a custom stock. The picture doesn't do justice to just how gorgeous the stock is. I believe it's bird's eye maple. It's absolutely beautiful!

Once I've finished dialing it in, and have had a chance to get in some range time with it, I'll do a full post and range review.

Latest news from France

This from the BBC:
(I've highlighted a few interesting parts)

Nationwide, 163 cars were burnt - almost down to the levels seen before the riots began last month.

National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said on Tuesday the decline showed France was "getting back to normal".

(Maybe 150 a night is normal in France?)

But Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told parliament "we cannot accept that more than 200 cars burn each night".


Apparently as long as you burn less than a couple of hundred cars a night, it's OK!

I wonder if this is some sort of government program to generate new car sales for Citroen and Renault?

Could be, I suppose........

e-Postal Match News

Just a short reminder to let you all know that the e-Postal match #4 "Seein' Spots" closes this Monday night at midnight, Yukon Standard time, or thereabouts, so this is the last weekend to shoot some entry targets.

With the upcoming holidays and the Winter weather making range trips to outdoor ranges somewhat miserable in many parts of the country, this is the LAST e-Postal handgun match until Early January.

The next e-Postal handgun match will be announced on or before January 9th., 2006.

Also, I hope to be able to announce some indoor bowling pin shooting in the Portland, Oregon area this Winter. If we will be able to put it together remains to be seen, but keep your fingers crossed!!

Stay tuned.....

Redneck hunting dogs........

Hat tip to Pegi for the pic!

Got a new toy -- Oh Boy -- Oh Boy ! !

The new toy

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I've been trying to compete in the e-Postal Rifle matches all season using my 12" barreled High Standard pistol, and considering that it IS a pistol, I've been fairly pleased with the results.

However, I've been keeping my eyes open for a .22 caliber bolt action rifle for this purpose. I happened to be over at a friend's place the other day, and he mentioned that he had a .22 target rifle that he wanted to sell. I went over this morning and bought it.

I got a chance to shoot it a little bit this evening, but I only had ten yards to work with, and a wobbly old table for a rest. Even so, I was able to easily put a dozen rounds through a single 3/8" hole! I can hardly wait to see what it does at 100 or 200 yards.

I'll get a full post up once I've got a little range time with it, but for now, I've just posted a partial picture. Can you tell what it is?

Nothing's worse than a depressed hamster..

COLUMBUS, OH, United States (UPI) -- An Ohio State University study suggests hamsters may suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression during the dark days of winter, just as some humans.

OSU researchers found more symptoms of depression and anxiety in adult hamsters that were housed for weeks in conditions with limited daylight, as they would find in winter, when compared with hamsters who had days with longer daylight.

So, if you are planning in Wintering over in Nome due to the off-season hotel rates, you might want to leave your hamster at home. He'll be much happier if you do.

Nothing's worse than a depressed hampster..............

Hat tip to Lucianne.com

Full Auto Boogie with Jerry the Geek!

It seems like I've been posting a lot about stuff over at Cogito Ergo Geek, but he's been putting up a lot of great videos lately, and this bunch is no exception. Full auto with Rolling Stones sound tracks, what's not to like?

Click here for some "Full Auto Boogie"

Carnival of Liberty XX is up

Carnival of Liberty XX is up at Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave

Laugh of the day

Father O'Malley rose from his bed. It was a fine spring day in his new Texas mission parish. He walked to the window of his bedroom to get a deep breath of the beautiful day outside.

He then noticed there was a jackass lying dead in the middle of his front lawn. He promptly called the local police station.

The conversation went like this:

"Good morning. This is Sergeant Flaherty. How might I help you?"

"And the best of the day te yerself. This is Father O'Malley at St.Brigid's. There's a jackass lying dead in me front lawn. Would ye be so kind as to send a couple o' yer lads to take care of the matter?"

Sergeant Flaherty, considering himself to be quite a wit, replied with a smirk, "Well now Father, it was always my impression that you people took care of last rites!"

There was dead silence on the line for a long moment.

Father O'Malley then replied: "Aye, that's certainly true, but we are also obliged to notify the next of kin."

Hat tip to Chuck for the story.....

National Ammo Day -- Nov. 19th.

2005 Edwards AFB Open House and Air Show

The Collings Foundation's F-4 Phantom, the only one in private ownership.

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If you like spectacular aircraft pictures, I've found the mother lode! Pages and pages of great pictures, new military, old military, aerobatic, sailplanes, just about everything is there, and the photos are fantastic.

If you see a picture you like, you can buy a print directly from them on the site.

This particular link is to the photos taken at the 2005 Edwards Air Force Base Open House and Air Show by Fred Bruenjes.

Here's the link.

Hat tip to Mary on this one!

Carnival of Recipes Featuring Patriotic Pie

The Carnival of Recipes is now up, and KeeWee's Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Pie (cherries, blueberries, cheesecake filling, YUMMMM!) Is on the top of the list, and with a picture, yet!

Here's the link to the Carnival of Recipes, and here's the link to the recipe on KeeWee's blog....

Enjoy!

Autumn in Albany with Jerry the Geek

Jerry the Geek at Cogito Ergo Geek has posted a long article and a bunch of videos from the latest IPSC match in Albany, Oregon.

He's put a lot of work into this post, and it's well worth the visit.

CLICK HERE to go have a look.

e-Postal Handgun Match Rules Modification

Now that I have had a chance to get to the range and try out the targets for the e-Postal Match #4 "Seein' Spots", I can see where a rule modification is in order.

I am suspending the rule restricting you to only one try at the target with any particular gun.

The target is challenging, and I'm sure most of you, after having shot it once, would be left wanting another crack at it, so I have removed the restriction.

You can shoot as many targets as you like, but you can only ENTER one target per Division/Class entry.

Here's the old rule:

PROCEDURE: You only get to shoot one target per Division/Class entry. Re-shooting the a target for a better score with the same gun is not permitted.

Here's the new rule:

PROCEDURE: You only get to ENTER one target per Division/Class entry. Shooting another target for a better score with the same gun is permitted.

NEW DISTANCE: Since some of you only have access to a 25 yard max. range, I am adding a third distance, 25 yards, to be shot from a rest.

The complete revised rules are HERE.

Have Fun!!

Sunday Chuckle......

WARNING: Bird Flu Advisory
The Center for Disease Control has released a list of symptoms of bird flu. If you experience any of the following, please seek medical treatment immediately:

1. High fever
2. Congestion
3. Nausea
4. Fatigue
5. Aching in the joints
6. An irresistible urge to crap on someone's windshield.

(Blame this one on KenS.....)

Project Valour-IT NAVY Team Wins! YAAAAAY!

Fundraising Competition Totals

What can be said in the face of such amazing generosity, creativity and hard work? Mere words do not do justice to the impact you all will have on the wounded warriors who benefit from this. And superlatives cannot begin to describe the efforts and activities of those who have made it happen. You have gone far above and beyond the call of duty!

Here's the totals from the Project Valour-IT fund raising drive:

Team -- Donations -- Funds -- Average

Navy --------- 223 - $23,831.76 - $106.87
Army --------- 258 - $23,652.57 - $91.68
Marines ------ 209 - $19,607.00 - $93.81
Air Force ---- 123 - $11,114.11 - $90.36
Unaffiliated - 154 - $10,128.00 - $65.77

Totals ------- 967 - $88,333.44 - $91.35

Team NAVY and Team ARMY were neck-and-neck, but the Navy team surged ahead at the end. I should mention, however, that it COULD change due to some checks that may be in the mail, but the important thing is that close to $90,000 dollars have been raised to buy voice actuated laptop computers for our injured and recovering military folks!

WELL DONE!

Last Hanging Plate Match of the Year - - (sigh)

Just got back from the CWSA range a few hours ago, and the last rimfire hanging plate match of the year is now in the history books.

Although we managed not to get rained on, it was cold and blustery, and most of the shooters with a lick of sense stayed home and kept warm.

Unfortunately, the best shooters in the club apparently have no sense at all, and they all showed up, at least most of them!

We shoot a total of 72 plates, at four different distances, 10 yards, 15 yards, 20 yards, and 25 yards. You make three runs at each distance, where you have six seconds to shoot 6 plates in each run, starting from sort of a "low ready" gun position. As we move farther back, the plates get larger, 3" at 10 yards, up to 7" at 25 yards. It shouldn't be that hard, but it's harder than it looks!

I got to be the first shooter, which I really don't like to do, although it shouldn't make any difference.

I'm sighted in for 25 feet for pin shooting, so 10 yards is almost dead on, and the farther back I go, the lower I have to aim to correct. At 25 yards I aim about an inch below the plate. Boy is that hard to deliberately pull the trigger when the red dot is NOT on the target!

The first distance I had a 6, a 6, and a 5, to get off to a good start. I think the cold weather and wind affected everyone today, and as the day wore on, shooting accuracy declined a bit.

I struggled with the iron sight class, and changed glasses a couple of times trying to find the right combination.

In the end I managed a 60, for an average of 5 out of 6 on each run. That was just high enough to beat out "Evil Al" by a couple of plates. In the iron sight class, we swapped places, with Al winning it, and with me right behind, and JimP in third.

After packing up all the plate shoot equipment and putting it back into the storage shed, Jim and I hung a few targets for the e-Postal handgun match, and blasted away. Jim shot a 10 yard rimfire target, and I shot a 50 yard rimfire and a 50 yard .38 Revolver target. With the .38 I couldn't see ANY of the spots on the target, so I just tried to put all the shots onto the paper, and hope to get lucky!

By then I was getting a case of "froze toes", and decided to pack it in and head home.

When I got home KeeWee and I had a couple of large bowls of Taco soup, followed up with two pieces of Patriotic pie!

Life is good.........

Serbu Super-Shorty 12 Gauge

Serbu Super-Shorty 12 Gauge

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Here's the basic description from their website:

The SUPER-SHORTY is based on a Mossberg Maverick (also available on 500 or 590 at additional cost) 12-gauge shotgun which came from the factory with a pistol grip. Because of this, the SUPER-SHORTY is considered an AOW (Any Other Weapon) and can be transferred with a $5 stamp! The gun holds two 2-3/4" or 3" shells in the magazine, plus one in the chamber. The 16.5" overall length, 6.5" barrel and spring-locked foregrip, which pivots out of the way when not in use, make for a very compact package.

Here's the link to their website, and here's a link to a video of the Super-Shorty being fired.

It kinda boggles the mind!

Hat tip to SondraK for this!

Veterans Day Carnival of Cordite (#38) is up

The Veterans Day Carnival of Cordite (#38) is up at "Resistance is futile!". Lots of great posts on guns, shooting sports, legal stuff, and a whole lot more.

Clickin' HERE takes you there.

Have fun!!

Happy Veterans Day ! ! !

Another cool Blue Angels picture!

Happy Veterans Day, and a big "Thank You" to all of our veterans.

Cartoon for the day...

Just in case you missed this one over at KeeWee's Corner

Iraq Report

While cruising around Mostly Cajun's site I just came across the best summary of what's going on over in Iraq I've seen. Weapons, tactics, what's working, what's not working, the whole story.

Here's the link to take you there.

Latest on Buzz

Here is the latest update from SFC Richard Robertson's mom. He will be home for Thanksgiving!!

Thank you all for you love and support. He has enjoyed reading the cards and letters. This is probably the last update as Buzz now plans to settle in with his family in North Carolina and, after he has gotten his car fitted for hand controls, will begin a job hunt.

......... Buzz's Aunt

Hello all.....

We just got back from visiting with Buzz in Augusta Georgia this afternoon. He's doing well and expects to be discharged Monday November 21st to go home to North Carolina. He and Sarah will be staying in an apartment near the hospital for several days before he can be discharged to "prove" they can handle everything that comes with being a paraplegic from transferring to and from their vehicle to doing laundry. If they have trouble, which I know they won't, they'll go back to the hospital for more "practice" or to learn a new technique.

Thanks for all the kind words and support over the last 2 months.

Take care,

..........Buzz's Mom

Happy Birthday Marines!!

Just got this in an email from Bob Parsons, of GoDaddy.com.

For 230 years, November 10 has marked the birthday of The United States Marine Corps. Each year, all of us at GoDaddy.com(R) mark this November day with a salute, a thank you and special birthday tribute.

Please join us as we celebrate the USMC with a special birthday "Ooh-Rah!"

Semper Fi,

Bob Parsons
President & Founder
GoDaddy.com

Click HERE to go to the video presentation wishing the Marines "Happy Birthday".

It's VERY well done. (Make sure you've got the sound turned up!)

School districts + 'Assault Rifles' = ???

Hi-Point 9mm. Carbine

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Over the last month I've noticed in Sitemeter a number of visits from school districts looking at my previous post about the Hi-Point 9mm. carbine. The URL's usually look like k12.xx.us. The xx part varies, depending on what part of the country, and which school district they are in, and there have been several different ones.

Although I'd like to think that some of the teachers and school administrators out there are starting to consider the practical and economical features of the Hi-Point, including American manufacture and inexpensive ammunition. I suspect it just isn't so.

Do any of you out there have any information on this?

By the way, if you are one of those school district visitors, Welcome to Mr. Completely, and should you decide on the purchase of your own Hi-Point carbine, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun shooting it, and many years of good service from it!