Lost highway by Hank Williams

Some of you are probably not going to enjoy this song as it's not at all like a lot of today's music. Not only that, but you can actually hear the words! Furthermore, it doesn't require 1,000 watts of power driving the bass to make it sound like it should.



I guess those people back then just didn't understand music.......

OKO Red Dot Sights Should Be Here Soon!

As you already know, I've opened a small Shooting Sports supply Internet store, Magnum Shooters Supply. In conjunction with the store, I have also negotiated a contract with S.G.B. Praha in the Czech Republic to become the exclusive importer and distributor of the line of OKO Red Dot Sights for the United States. At times it has been a slow process, but the good news is that I now have a 34 lb. box full of OKO Red Dot Sights, mounts, and accessories at the factory waiting for the UPS Air Freight truck to pick it up and ship it here to us.

If Customs doesn't slow us up, and there is no reason why they should since we've got all of the papers in order, we should be able to start selling the OKO Sights by the end of next week.

 I just received an email from the OKO factory in Czech Republic, and the shipment of sights and accessories for my startup Internet Business Magnum Shooters Supply has been delayed a bit, but not a lot. 

Our initial order is fairly large, and since I'm ordering everything they make, getting it all together at one time to save shipping costs is a project for them. It also turns out that the weather over there right now is terrible and European shipments are getting delayed for weather reasons. To add to all of that, apparently a mini-flu epidemic is temporarily reducing their workforce by quite a bit! 

The shipment should now leave Czech Republic on the 31st., and UPS says it should take 3 to 5 days to get here, if all goes smoothly, so we should be able to start sending out sights the first week of February.

Once I get the pipeline filled, so to speak, we should have a constant supply of sights en-route, so availability should be good after the initial shipment.

Misc. News, & etc.....

Wow, lots of stuff going on right now! A lot of it isn't ready for publication yet, as details still need to be sorted out. On Sunday I got a chance to get in a little shooting with Tim from Edmonds, though, and we had a great time. Tim follows the blog, and he emailed me about getting into steel shooting. I invited him over to a little practice on steel, and to become familiar with the range commands he'd hear at a match. Tim is already a very good shooter with competition experience in other disciplines, but wanted to get into some steel shooting. We shot several hundred rounds of rimfire each, and even the rain cooperated and allowed us to shoot without getting soaked!

After a few hours of ringing the steel KeeWee joined us and we headed over to Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun club for lunch. We had a good lunch and a lot of visiting before it was time for Tim to head back to Edmonds.

We are planning on making it to the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club's Fun Steel match on Feb. 12th. Let's hope we get some cooperation from the weather!

If all goes well and we can get everything arranged, I may be getting a Tanfoglio Gold Team 9mm. race gun for steel shooting. The cost of a competitive centerfire race gun is one of the main reasons I've been shooting only rimfire for the last few years. If everything comes together, there is a used Tanfoglio 9mm. Gold Team in Holland that needs some work. The head of Tanfoglio's warranty and service department will do the repairs and refurbishing. He is a master gunsmith and a master craftsman. I have seen some of his work, and he raises gun-smithing to an art form! The paperwork will take some pencil-pushing, but in Holland they have to get an export permit approved, and I have to get an Import Permit approved by Customs here in the US. Then it can be shipped directly to my FFL dealer to transfer it to me. I suspect this will all take some time, but eventually it should get here, and I can start shooting in Open class. If anyone knows of a good deal on a used left-handed holster such as a CR or a Double Alpha, let me know. Since Steel Challenge in center fire requires a holster, I'm going to need to pick one up. I hope I can find a good used one somewhere.

That's about all going on over here, but more stuff is about to happen, so stay tuned...........

What is Celibacy?

What is Celibacy?

Celibacy can be a choice in life, or a condition imposed by circumstances.

While attending a Marriage Weekend, My wife and I, listened to the instructor declare, 'It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.."

He then addressed the men, 'Can you name and describe your wife's favorite flower?' ! I leaned over, touched my wife's hand gently, and whispered, 'Gold Medal-All-Purpose, isn't it?'

And thus began my life of celibacy.........

James Austin Shooting USPSA/IPSC At Paul Bunyan

I've often mentioned James Austin in my match reports, but there hasn't been much video available to show you James in action. Thanks to Loke at the Gunbot blog, we now have some very nicely filmed video to enjoy!.




At this match, James managed to win it overall with his iron sighted revolver, beating out the Open and Limited semi-autos, in spite of having to reload more often.

 James is also the inventor and manufacturer of the Moon Clip Server, which you can see him using in the video.

Joe Huffman, from The View From North Central Idaho blog and perhaps best known as the Boomershoot guy, was also there, and shot very well, earning second in Limited, and fifth overall.

Magnum Shooters Supply Stuff

(Yeah, I know this is sort of an ad for my new business, but it's what I've been doing lately instead of blogging.)

Magnum Shooters Supply news: I have now received shipping confirmation of the first stocking order of Pro Ears hearing protectors and accessories. They are scheduled to arrive on January 21st. With that in mind, I will be extending the Pro Ears sale pricing until Feb. 21st.

Here's the deal: Pro Ears has a Minimum Advertised Price requirement for their dealers, and dealers cannot advertise Pro Ears products below that price. If you do, you run a good chance of becoming an "EX" dealer. This way, dealers large and small will all have a chance to advertise sale prices, but the big boys aren't allowed to run huge loss leader pricing and make it impossible for the little guys to stay in business.

I have set the sale price for all of the Pro Ears Electronic Hearing Protectors at four cents over the Minimum! On top of that, I am also paying the freight to get them to your door!

Yes, this is a limited time offer and all that, but if you want to get what I consider to be the best hearing protectors out there for the shooting sports, now's your chance. I've been using the Pro Ears  Dimension Plus hearing protectors for several years, and they have been excellent. I am going to replace them with the new Pro Ears Pro Slim model, which is the same basic "Ears" but with the improved dynamic sound compression.

If you shoot a lot of large caliber stuff, or shoot indoors a lot, the Pro Ears Pro Mag Gold, with the NRR of 33 is the way to go. If you shoot outdoors, IPSC, IDPA, Steel, and like that, the Pro Ears Pro Slim with a NRR of 28, more compact, and lighter, is the one for you.

Go to Magnum Shooters Supply and check them out.

This offer ends on February 21st., so you may want to put your order in right away. I've talked to Pro Ears, and they will ship direct if I run out, so you won't get held up with a long delay before you get your new Pro Ears hearing protectors.

KRRC January 2011 Steel Challenge Report

I was kinda nervous about heading over to Kitsap for the Steel match considering the weather report. They were talking about freezing temperatures and possibility of some snow. Mix that weather in with over two hours each way, including four ferry rides, freeway, some major hills, and a number of winding back roads, and it had the potential to be a miserable drive. When I got up early Saturday morning, though it didn't look bad at all, although it was below freezing. The drive to the range was wonderfully uneventful, with no snow or black ice, and no traffic problems.

Last month's KRRC match was cold, wet, and sloppy. Everyone was pretty well soaked. This month the weather looked much better, even if it was a bit colder. In fact, even with the colder temperatures, with no wind and no rain, it was not bad at all.

I wasn't sure what sort of turnout we were going to get, considering the questionable weather, but we ended up with around thirty entries, so that was not bad at all! John tried something a little different this time, and instead of a few larger squads, he split it up into more squads of fewer shooters. This allowed more stages to be underway at any given time, and more shooters shooting. It also reduced the wait until you got to shoot, which was nice. It also allowed us to get the entire match completed more quickly, and since it was cold, that was certainly welcome.

Ever since I cracked a slide in Arizona and replaced the slide with a new one, I've been having a some problems with feeding and stove pipes. Only Once in a while, but always when it would mess up your score the worst! Last week it was running pretty well, but still, once in a while it would act up. I was reading a gun review the other day, don't remember where, but the writer was reviewing some .22 semi-auto pistol or other, and he commented on how reliable the pistol was, as it had only stove-piped twice in 100 rounds fired!  I had to laugh! I figure if I get a stove-pipe more than every 5,000 rounds or so, something's wrong with the gun!


When I first set up the race gun at the start of the season, I try to fit everything up on the tight end of clearances so by the end of the season when it loosens up, it will still run reliably. The extractor was just a little too tight, so a little bit of light stoning  resolved that. Still, I was getting a stove-pipe every so often. I was pretty sure the gun was working OK, so I took all my magazines and a brick of ammo out to the range and started rapid firing magazine after magazine full into the bullet trap. Sure enough, all of the stove-pipes were happening with the same magazine. That's strange, as usually magazine problems show up somewhere in the process of getting the round chambered. Once it's chambered, the magazine is pretty much out of the equation, and other things, such as extractors, ejectors, spring rates, and so forth are usually the culprit. I haven't had time to tinker with the troublesome magazine yet, but it looks like the rim of the casing was just barely touching the top of one of the feed lips on the magazine, dislodging the rim from under the extractor. Since it only happens once in a while with the suspicious magazine, I need to spend some time with it to find out for sure what's going on.

The good news is that the gun ran like a clock all day, just like it usually does. The bad news is that since I've been so busy with work, getting Magnum Shooters Supply set up, and a few other things, my shooting was really inconsistent. Jerry Miculek has been quoted as saying that it took him 100,000 rounds to shoot as well as he does, and another 100,000 rounds to be able to do it every time. As modest as Jerry is, I suspect he shot more rounds than that! You have to practice a lot to be consistent.

This was only the second match I shot using the new OKO red dot sight. Until now I've used primarily the C-More sight, and the OKO has a lot of similarities. Since I am now importing and distributing the OKO sights (they are made in the Czech Republic), of course I'm biased, but I really do like the OKO better. The lens has a very slight tint, and unless someone pointed it out you probably wouldn't notice, but it makes the dot stand out a bit brighter, especially when making a large movement and the background has a lot of variation that tends to make it easy to lose the dot.Don't get me wrong, the C-More sight, particularly the ones with the click style brightness adjustment, are a very good sight. There's a reason so many of the top shooters have been using them, and that's why I used them for the last few years. However, if you are looking to upgrade your red dot sight, or are setting up a new gun, I'd sure give OKO a good look.

As usual I've kinda wandered off the track again, but I guess that's part of the territory when you venture into the Super Senior division. OK, back to the match!

We had a fairly small squad, and the day went by quickly. James, bless his heart, brought a propane heater and towed it from stage to stage on a wagon. Boy, was that nice to be able to get some feeling into your fingers before shooting. The light was excellent, with a fairly bright day but no glare of shadows, perfect for both iron and optic sighted guns. It was interesting to see a couple of shooters shooting Ruger Chargers, using the "Up Close" shooting technique like I do. I think it's great to see new ideas and techniques being tried out. Innovation is what advances the sport. After all, if everyone shot exactly the same equipment, and exactly the same way, it would be kinda boring. Might just as well dress 'em all the same, too!

Once we had finished shooting, we all (or at least some of us) pitched in and helped to get the targets and stands put away. After that we cruised down to a local pizza place for a late lunch, refreshments, and socializing. The after match socializing is one of the best parts of the sport!

Once we were filled up on pizza, it was a few hours drive back across two ferries, then home. KeeWee was smart, as she stayed home and took it easy in front of a cheery fire in the fireplace. I think we all had a good day!

Caleb Joins Gunup ! Very Cool!

Just got this press release fron Gunup.com.  Caleb will not only be Gunup's Director of Community Relations, he will also be joining the Gunup Pro Staff Team. I intend to stand as close to him as possible and hope that some of his mad shooting skills will rub off on me!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GUNUP.com names “Top Shot” Competitor and veteran blogger as Director of Community Relations

SEATTLE, WA (January 4th, 2010) GunUp.com, the authoritative community for gun enthusiasts to share, discuss, review and compare guns, has hired Top Shot Competitor and veteran blogger, Caleb Giddings (bio)  as their Director of Community Relations. In his new role, Caleb will manage community and industry relations, promote the GunUp brand, as well as continue to grow the GunUp Blog Network and GunUp Pro Staff.

Caleb started shooting competitively in college in the NRA’s Collegiate Pistol program.  After college, he branched into the action shooting sports, finding success in IDPA, Steel Challenge, and the Bianchi Cup.  Caleb’s success landed him a slot on the premiere season of History Channel’s hit reality show “Top Shot”, where 16 of the country’s best marksmen competed for a $100,000 prize.  In 2006, he founded Gun Nuts Media, which has grown to be one of the leading shooting sports blogs and websites.

“From the first time I met Caleb, I knew that there was a lot of great synergy between the great things he has done with Gun Nuts Media and the vision of GunUp”, says Dan Hall, CEO of GunUp.com. “Caleb is a master class shooter with strong ties to the industry and his passion for the community makes him a natural selection to head Community Relations as we grow. We are excited to have him on board. “

“GunUp is the kind of company that builds on the vision I have for Gun Culture 2.0,” Caleb Gidding adds.  “The landscape of the shooting sports is changing at a fundamental level and I’m looking forward to making GunUp a big part of that.”

Besides promoting the GunUp brand and managing relations with the community, Caleb will also be joining the GunUp Pro Staff and will be contributing to the new GunUp.com Question and Answer section on their website. 

Caleb can be reached at caleb@gunup.com.

About GunUp, Inc.:
GunUp, Inc., located in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 2010 by Dan Hall, a combat veteran and firearms enthusiast. Working with a team of like-minded, internet savvy technicians and programmers, they created the only online firearms community where new and experienced gun owners can access current product information and subject matter experts in the firearms industry. www.gunup.com

GunUp.com now has advertising opportunities available, providing companies with a low-cost, effective avenue to reach thousands of firearms enthusiasts.

For Advertising inquires please contact:

info@gunup.net
1-888-511-705

Media inquiries please contact:

Laura Burgess
Laura Burgess Marketing
252-288-5805
laura@lauraburgess.com

www.lauraburgess.com

The Latest from Castle Completely

Well, Magnums Shooters Supply is now online and functional. We don't have much for products in stock yet, but the Pro Ears hearing protectors should be here either Friday of Monday. Pro Ears has a MAP "Minimum Advertised Price" policy, and I've got the prices on the four most popular hearing protectors at four cents over the MAP price, and I'm shipping them freight free to boot. This will only continue through the end of the month, though.

Hopefully the first shipment of OKO sights will get here in the next few weeks. The OKO sights are sort of the "Flagship" product for the store, at least for now.

It's been a lot of work so far putting it all together, but it's looking OK I think. 

I just got the schedule for the Kitsap Rifle & Revolver Club's steel matches for the next year, and it looks really good. There will be four full Steel Challenge matches, seven Fun Steel matches, and one GSSF Glock match. On July 9th. they will be putting o n the First Annual Kitsap Regional Steel Championship. That should be fun! I won't be able to get to all of the matches, but I should be there for most.I guess I better get out to the range and start practicing!

See you at the range...........