Win a Para PXT LDA at GBR-III

Para PXT LDA Limited Single Stack Pistol

I just got this picture and email from Kerby Smith of Para USA regarding the pistol that Para USA is donating to the Project Valour-IT fund raising raffle to be held at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous.

I selected a sharp looking Para LDA that should bring a good price in the auction raffle (ed) and one that is also on the California DOJ list so that if a California Gun Blogger bids on it there should be no problem transferring it to a California dealer.

I have attached a picture of the Para PXT LDA Limited Single Stack Pistol.

Best regards,

Kerby Kerby Smith
Para USA, Inc.

I showed the picture to KeeWee and she had only one thing to say: "I want one!"

Indeed.........................

Para USA Donates a Handgun To GBR-III

I've been hyper-ventilating for a week or so hoping all the pieces would finally fall into place so I could make this announcement. I'm pleased to announce that Para USA will be donating a new handgun to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous to help with our fund raising efforts to benefit Project Valour-IT. I don't have the details as to exactly what model it will be, but I'd sure settle for any in the above picture, wouldn't you?

The Para USA pistol will be shipped to Hi Cap Gun Works in Reno in time for the Rendezvous, so we will all be able to see it first hand. If it is won by a Nevada resident, then it can be transferred to him right there and he can take it home, provided all the usual other reg's are followed. If it's won by a non-Nevada resident, then Hi Cap Gun Works will take care of shipping it to the winner's own home town FFL holder.

With the addition of the Para USA pistol to the Hi-Point 9mm. Pistol and the $2,000 four day training session at Front Sight Institute, we will have three very nice items in the fund raising raffle. For you folks attending the Rendezvous, ask your friends if they'd like you to buy some tickets in their name, too. The more tickets we sell, the more money we can raise for those voice actuated laptop computers for our injured servicemen.

The plan is for a minimum of 100 $10 raffle tickets to be sold at the Saturday night dinner. That means we will be raising a minimum of $1000 for Project Valour-IT! If more tickets beyond the initial 100 sell ,that's even more money for Valour-IT.

Used .40 Caliber Glock 22's

Yes, that's actually a first generation G17, but it looks just about the same as a G22.

I was just talking to Charles Atwell at Atwell's Police Equipment in Painesville, Ohio (actually I was buying a used High Standard from him) and he mentioned that he had a bunch of first generation .40 Caliber Glock G22's for sale. They are police returns and are mechanically in decent shape although they show some holster wear.

The G22 makes a good carry gun, so if you've been looking for one you might give him a call. He's asking $315 for them and you can reach him at 440-354-5593. I should also mention that his Gun Broker feedback has 597 entries with ZERO negatives!

REMINDERZ..........

First Reminder:

It's not too late to still get in on the Gun Blogger Rendezvous coming up in Reno at the Circus Circus hotel and Casino on October 9th., 10th., 11th., and 12th. Here's what you need to do:

1. Call the Circus Circus ASAP and get your room reservations booked.
2. Download, print out, and fill in the Rendezvous Event Registration.
3. Send me an email so I know you'll be there.
4. Bring your registration with you. I'll get it from you in Reno.

This is going to be the best Rendezvous ever, so you don't want to miss it!

Second Reminder:

This is the last weekend to get your entries shot and emailed in for the e-Postal match.

For more information on both the Gun Blogger Rendezvous and the e-Postal match, click on the links at the top center of this page.

See you in Reno!!

Headin' South........

Tomorrow (Thursday) morning KeeWee and I are on the road again. This time we're heading South of the border (the Washington border) into Oregon. The destination is Albany, Oregon, the site of the Northwest Regional Steel Challenge Championships. It should take up somewhere between five and six hours on the road, at least according to map searches, but I'm thinking it's going to be more like six to seven hours. Regardless, tomorrow we're heading out. Thursday night we hope to be staying in our land yacht at the range.

The match itself is three days long, although KeeWee and I will be shooting in the Rimfire Open division which shoots on Friday. After the match on Friday we will probably head up into the Cascade mountain foothills and find a nice campground to spend Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday night. Sunday morning we plan to head back to the range to take some pictures and get some info for a possible magazine article on the match, and also to find out the results.

Hopefully we can get out of town not too late on Sunday afternoon so it's not too late when we finally arrive home. We've got to be back at work on Monday. (BAH!)

We can't wait, it should be a fun weekend!

Navy Magic Carpet Ride

Found this over at Thor's Hall.



Just the thing to cheer you up!

e-Postal Scores?

If any of you are in contact with Ahab you might ask him about the e-Postal match scores for the match he hosted. I don't think they've been posted yet. I can't seem to get an answer, but maybe a spam filter is blocking my email, dunno..............

EBRs at GBR-III

The question has been asked if Andy of Hi Cap Gun Works will be bringing any of his custom rifles to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous and out to the range on Saturday so we can try them out. I relayed the question to Andy, and here's his reply:

Yes we will bring out several models of customized ak47's and a couple of Ar-15's. Also Hi-CAP is working on a brand new stock design that will fit all ak47 mak90 models. I don't know if the prototype will be finished by October but if it is I'd like to bring it along. There is nothing else like it anywhere.

Andy

There's still time to get your registration and room reservations in, but DO IT NOW!!!

We need to know how many will be there so we have enough shirts.......................

KRRC Fun Steel 09/13/2008

I'm a bit late getting this posted, but between working, last minute stuff for the Gun Blogger Rendezvous, and naps (!) there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get everything done on time.

Anyhow, since KeeWee was able to get the whole weekend off, including Friday, we decided to spend a couple of nights in the RV at Scenic View State Park near Silverdale, Washington on Hood Canal. We booked our campsite on line, and they even have pictures of each site so you can see what you get before you make your reservations.

Our 'Land Yacht' in the parking spot of our campground.

We caught the Noon (late, as usual) Washington State Ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend, then drove about an hour to the campground, making only one stop at Sportsman's Warehouse to pick up another couple of thousand rounds of .22 ammo.

The camp site was really nice, with a good fire pit, and a nearby trail that leads to the rest rooms and showers nearby. We settled in, unpacked a bit, and I took a short nap as KeeWee read a book. After my nap we took a walk around the campgrounds and down to the beach area on Hood Canal.

The tide was in, so there wasn't much beach showing, but the scenery was nice, anyway.

Saturday morning we headed over to the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver club for the monthly Fun Steel match. The matches are usually six stages long, with five runs on each stage. Your slowest individual time on each stage is thrown out, and the remaining four times are totalled. Your total time for all stages determines you finish standing.

Mr. C. and the Falling Plates.

One of the stages is usually a falling plate rack. This time you had to hit (for rimfire) or knock over (for centerfire) any four white plates, then the black stop plate last. I think my best run was around 2.14, if I remember correctly. This was a very fast stage.





Perhaps the most spectacular runs of the day were by Lee P. and his 9mm. EAA custom race gun shooting the stage called "Drag Race". Nothing complicated here, just put five shots on the plate as fast as you can go. When you really start pushing the speed it's easy to miss the plate, even at this range! Lee's total for all four runs on this stage was 4.48 seconds. That's a 1.12 average! WOW!

After the match KeeWee and I headed back to the State Park campsite to unwind from the match. John and Jeanette from the KRRC club joined us a bit later in the evening for some hot dogs and marshmellows over the campfire.

It didn't take long for the fresh air and "de-adrenalizing" to kick in, and everyone started fading in and out early in the evening. I suspect a few glasses of wine may have contributed, too!

After a good night's sleep and a late breakfast we headed back towards Port Townsend for the ferry to Whidbey Island and then home. As we were passing Silverdale mall, however, I asked KeeWee if she wanted to cruise the Mall for anything, and since her daughter's birthday is coming up we decided to check out the Mall for sales. She found a number of good buys, so it was worth the stop.

From the Mall we stopped and checked out another state park campground along the way. It wasn't worth the trouble. Then back across the Hood Canal floating bridge, then North to Port Townsend, then across the ferry (late, again) and home.

Once again we had a grand time, but were worn out when we got home........

Front Sight Training Certificate for GBR-III Arrived

Just as promised, the Front sight Firearms Training Institute certificate arrived today by priority mail. The certificate can be used for any one of several different training courses. The choices are

Two Day Defensive Handgun
Two Day Tactical Shotgun
Two Day Practical Rifle
Four Day Defensive Handgun
Four Day Tactical Shotgun
Four Day Practical Rifle

Quoting from the certificate " Two people may use one certificate when enrolling in the same two day course together."

If I'm reading that correctly, instead of taking one four day course, you can bring a friend and both of you can take the same two day course.

See you in Reno in a couple of weeks!

GBR-III - Just Around the Corner

It's just around the corner, and you don't want to miss out! You don't have to be a gun blogger to attend, either. If you are a gun blogger reader and would like to meet some of the best known gun bloggers in person and are interested in the things the gun bloggers write about, come join us!

Gun Blogger Rendezvous III

Front sight Academy Donates $2000 Training To GBR-III

I just got an e-Mail from Dr. Ignatius Piazza, founder and head guy from Front sight Firearms Training Institute, and he had two pieces of good news for me. First, he will be donating a $2,000 dollar four day training course to the Gun Blogger Rendezvous for inclusion in our Project Valour-IT fund raising efforts. That will go on the list along with a new Hi-Point 9mm. pistol, a Dillon range bag (I think) and possibly some other stuff too!

The second piece of good news is that Dr. Piazza is going to try to attend at least part of the Gun Blogger Rendezvous so we can meet him in person and he can answer any questions we may have about his training programs. He sounds like an interesting guy and I'd like to meet him in person some day.

Off We Go.................

No blogging until Monday, but you shouldn't be wasting the last bit of Summer sitting at your computer all weekend anyway. Maybe a trip to the range would be good?

Anyway, KeeWee and I are off to the Kitsap Peninsula for camping Friday and Saturday nights in a state campground on Hood Canal. Saturday during the day we plan to shoot the KRRC fun steel match, then back to the campground Saturday for hotdogs and marshmellows over the campfire. Now THAT'S gourmet eating.......

See you all on Monday!


BTW: Don't forget to get your Registration and hotel reservations in for the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. This year is going to be the best yet!

Sending Firearms To & From GBR-III

I just got off the phone after talking with Andy of Hi Capacity Gun Works in Reno. They are a FFL located not far from the Circus Circus Hotel where Gun Blogger Rendezvous is being held. They are primarily a gunsmith shop and they specialize in trick Kalishnikov stuff, although they can do just about anything a shooter might need.

Andy says he'd be glad to help out with shipping guns to and from the GBR. You can ship to his business location, then pick them up there when you get to Reno. He can also help in shipping your firearms back home, too. Give him a call at 1-866-768-5004 and he can fill you in on the details.

Andy, and some of the other folks from HCGW are planning to attend the Rondy, too, and will probably be bringing along some cool show-n-tell stuff for us to see as well.

Thanks, Andy, I'm looking forward to meeting up in person!

Glock Classic Report

It was a rather long two days, but under John Davidson's direction the KRRC NW Glock classic went off without a hitch. I arrived at the range on Saturday around noon. I would have been there a bit earlier but the Washington State poor excuse for a ferry system was running late. My plan was to RO and help run the match on Saturday, then shoot two classes on Sunday as time permitted, and RO all day on Sunday. Needless to say I was pretty busy and I didn't have much time to take pictures. The basic match consisted of three stages, four runs on each stage. Your score was your total time, plus any penalties you picked up for hitting too far from the center of the cardboard targets. You only were allowed 11 rounds per run, so it was possible to pick up penalties for falling plates not knocked over with your allowed number of shots.

I spent the afternoon on Saturday painting plates on the plate rack, resetting the plates, and keeping the bits of lead from getting under the front edge of the plates, causing them to fall over when they shouldn't. By the end of the day on Saturday 128 shooters had shot the match.

After the match Saturday John and Jeanette and I headed to one of our favorite restaurants, the 50's themed Red Apple Diner for dinner.

Sunday morning bright and early we were all back at the range for day two of the Glock match. I decided to shoot the match first thing before it got too busy. My plan was to shoot two classes, "Competition" and "Civilian", but shoot the same Glock 17 9mm. in each class.I could consider the Comp class as a warmup/throwaway and try to figure out how to shoot the 17 on the stage. Then shoot the second entry, CIV, and hopefully do OK, or at least not suck!

On Wednesday I had loaded up about 50 test cartridges with 115 Grain bullets over 5.4 grains of Silhouette powder. I took the test ammo to the range and it ran flawlessly both in the Glock 17 and in the Glock 34. I didn't have much time to test it for accuracy though, I was mostly comcerned that the guns would run OK. Since it seemed to work fine in both Glocks, I loaded up 300 rounds for the match.

On the first run of the first stage the first round fired but didn't extract. I cleared it and got the next round in, and it fired, but failed to extract. For some reason the load that worked just fine a few days before wasn't hot enough the cycle the gun. Bummer! Fortunately I had tossed in a Remington 250 round bulk pack, and I switched over to that. The gun ran fine on that all day. Go figure.....

Since there were only three stages, it didn't take too long to shoot the match in both classes. It went mostly as planned, and the Comp class was terrible. The CIV class sucked much less ,but still sucked. Not nearly as bad as last year, and probably somewhere above the middle, but not a lot above the middle. I just don't have the eyesight anymore to shoot iron sights quickly and hold any accuracy. Granted, not being practiced with the long travel Glock trigger didn't help.

That all being said, I wasn't planning on beating anyone anyway, as the whole idea was to have fun shooting, even if I wasn't to good at it. I did have fun!

The rest of the day was spent working in one of the bays where a fund raising side event was set up. It was five steel plates against the clock, one dollar per run, with a 25% payout to the winner. I think by the end of the day we had taken in several hundred dollars .

Finally, hot, dry, and dusty, the match came to a close. We packed up the stages, gathered up the brass, and wrapped it up for another year.

I climbed into the RV and headed back to Port Townsend to catch the ferry back to Whidbey Island, then back to Castle Completely for a shower and a good night's sleep.

It had been a long two days, but a lot of fun, too.......................................

How About A Little Solidarity?

There are less than 3 months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans.

To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we come together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support the policies and character of John McCain, please drive with your headlights on during the day.

If you support Obama, please drive with your headlights off at night.

Thank you for your participation.........

(Thanks, Luke!)

Phil Has a New Kitteh

Phil over at Random Nuclear Strikes has a new Kitteh, so this post's for him and the new blog station denizen.

Found at I Can Has Cheezburger

Glock Regional Classic This Weekend

This is going to be a busy weekend, and as KeeWee has to work, I'm going to have to hit the Glock Sport Shooting Association's big Regional Classic this weekend by myself. It will be held on both Saturday and Sunday at the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club in Bremerton, Washington. Although it's a two day match, you can shoot it either on Saturday or Sunday. Glock and GSSF do an excellent job of supporting Glock owners and shooters with these matches and lots of new Glocks are given away by random drawing to the entrants.

Even though it's a large match with perhaps as many as 300 entrants, the KRRC range is large and has lots of bays where multiple stages will be set up. The basic match is three stages, a falling plate rack against the clock, and two stages using cardboard "Tombstone" shaped targets. On these stages you are scored both on speed (where I do OK) and accuracy (where I redefine 'Sucks with a Glock'). There are a number of different classes depending on the model of the Glock you are shooting, so if you have one of the compact or sub-compact Glocks there is a class for you too. There is also a Guardian category for law enforcement, firefighters, and so forth, too.

There is an "Unlimited" class for heavily modified Glocks, but for all other classes your Glock has to be a stock gun, no speed parts, trick barrels, or anything else. You can change sights, but they still have to be of the Notch and post style. This match is for the everyday Glock owners, so you can bring what you've got and not be at a disadvantage. You can read the full rules at the GSSF website. No, a Glock decal on a 1911 race gun won't qualify, even for Unlimited class. (I asked).

Glock and GSSF deserve a lot of credit for the money and effort they put into these matches.

My plans are to head over to the KRRC range on Saturday and arrive just before Noon. I will help run the match in any way I can for the second half of Saturday, spend the night in the RV, and help all day on Sunday. Somewhere in between I'll try to shoot a couple of the classes too. Last year I combined some really fast times with possibly some of the worst accuracy of the entire match! I went over to the Holmes Harbor range yesterday afternoon to verify a load I had worked up cycled the gun OK. I discovered three things. First, it isn't a very accurate load but the gun runs. Second, if I shoot fast I can't hit anything. Third, if I slow down I STILL can't hit anything! Too bad they don't have a class called "Comic Relief", I'd be a contender!

If you've got a Glock, come on over to the KRRC range and give it a try. It's really not a difficult match to shoot, so you probably shoot well enough to shoot the match with out any trouble. The difficulty comes when you try to do it quickly. Start position is a 'Low Ready', so you don't need a holster, either. No quick draw required.

Come on over and give it a try, or at least come by and say HI! I'll be the one that when I'm shooting the Range Officers are in foxholes with their heads down........

Crimson Trace to Co-Sponsor Gun Blogger Rendezvous

I just got an email from Patrick Harlan of Crimson Trace, the folks that build those cool laser grips, and they are going to be helping sponsor the Gun Blogger Rendezvous. It sounds like we may be getting some very cool shirts and DVDs, so there's even one more reason to attend.

GBR-III is rapidly approaching on October 9th., 10th., 11th., and 12th. in Reno at the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino.

Time is running short, so be sure to get your registration and your room reservations in ASAP! We need to know who's going to be there so we can plan accordingly.................

September e-Postal Match is Underway!!

This month's e-Postal handgun match is now underway, so go

HERE

and download the targets and a copy of the rules. Get out to the range and have fun!

This might just be the biggest e-Postal match ever, so don't miss out!!

Sarah Palin - Family Portrait?

Some folks have a dog or a cat.............

Found at Cowboy Blob's place

Mr. C's Match Schedule - "On The Road Again..."

As most of you who wander through here every so often know, KeeWee and I really enjoy getting out on the road and visiting different clubs and shooting their matches. You meet the nicest folks at the matches, and we've made lots of new friends in our travels. Our little "Mini-RV" works well for us as it's fairly reasonable in fuel consumption and quite comfortable as an economical place to stay. Not only that, as long as there's a rest area or a Walmart nearby, we don't have to worry about seeing No Vacancy signs!

The question has come up as to which matches I'm planning on shooting for the next few months and where they will be held. Here's a short summary of upcoming events:

September 6th and 7th (Saturday & Sunday)
GSSF Glock Regional Classic at the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club in Bremerton, Washington. I plan to help as a Range Officer on Saturday, shoot the match Sunday morning, and RO the rest of the day on Sunday.

September 13th (Saturday)
Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club's Fun Steel match

September 21st (Sunday)
Paul Bunyan Club's Steel Match in Puyallup, WA. (Maybe - Hope to make it)

September 26th, 27th, & 28th (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday)
Steel Challenge NW Regional Championships in Albany, Oregon. Plans are to shoot the match on Friday, take off on Saturday, do some sight-seeing, camp somewhere Saturday night, then return on Sunday to find out the results.

October 9th, 10th, 11th, & 12th (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday)
Gun Blogger Rendezvous at the Circus Circus in Reno, Nevada. Hope to see you there!!

Excellent Article in Kitsap (WA) Sun

For the second time in the same week a really good article concerning handguns has appeared in a newspaper, the Kitsap Sun. This time it's an article about concealed carry here in Washington state, and specifically in Kitsap county in Western Washington. That's where Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club is located, and where I do the majority of my match shooting. Marcus Carter, the head of the KRRC club, is one of the main interviews in the news article. That's Marcus in the picture (pic from the Kitsap Sun).

It's refreshing to read an article that sticks to the facts and avoids the rants and unsupported claims of the gun banners. Thank you Josh Farley, for proving that good news reporting is based on facts, not personal agendas, and that you know the difference between a news article and an editorial.

Well done!