Latest Nooze......

It seems like I start a lot of posts lamenting about how fast the time has gone by since the last time I got a post up, and today seems to be no exception. It's been a busy week, for sure. The new online shooting supplies store, Magnum Shooters Supply is growing, and the number of James Austin Moon Clip Servers that have sold has been a pleasant surprise. The OKO sight market will build as folks find about about them, but it will take some time to get major market penetration. The prices on our ammunition are pretty good, and it will definitely save some folks some money if they buy ammo from us and I deliver it to one of the matches for them. Freight costs on ammo can be ugly, since it's so heavy.

This last week has also been a week of working on stuff. My Honda Civic hasn't been running quite like it should, and I suspected carburetor problems. I picked up a used carburetor out of the pull-it-yourself  wrecking yard along with a fuel pump for $27.00. Can't beat the price, even if you do have to take it off yourself. The carburetor new from Honda is over $700! I took off the old carb ( a pain, must a thousand vacuum lines!) and took it apart, but it all looked OK, at least nothing obvious. I went through the wrecking yard carb, and it needed a little cleaning, but otherwise it looked fine. A little bit of water had collected in the float bowl and corroded it a bit, but it didn't take much to clean it out. I installed the new (to me) carb on the Honda and fired it up. Above a certain rpm it ran OK, but it wouldn't idle at all. I took the top of the carb off and one at a time removed all of the jets and blew them out with the air hose, figuring that a little bit of the corrosion might be in one of the jets. After putting it back together, it fired up and ran like a sewing machine! I drove it about a quarter of a mile and them back home. It quit completely when I pulled into the driveway! It did re-start, but it wouldn't idle like the first time. More loose corrosion floating around, I figured, so I took the top of the carburetor off again and re-cleaned all the jets. Again, it fired up and ran really nicely. I warmed it up a bit and set the idle speed. I drove it down the road again, and this time it ran just like it should. COOL! It was now 2am., and I locked up the shop and went to bed. The next morning I fired it up, and it still ran like it should. I've now driven it for a few days and it seems to run fine. Next project is to replace a leaking front main bearing seal. Not fun! It's leaking oil pretty badly, and should be replaced.

Yesterday I replaced the front brake pads on my Plymouth Mini-van. The rotors were fine, but it sure was needing some pads! The van still needs to have the left CV Joint/axle assembly replaced as it's just starting to make a little noise. Not a bad job, but not a fun one, either. After that, it's time to do the front brakes on the Civic. They are still good for another five or ten thousand miles, so that's a lower priority.

This last week was also when I finalized the logos and messages and layout for my new GunUp competition shooting jersey. Our team jerseys should look really nice.

In my SPARE time, I've been trying to shoot every day. So far in the last week I've emptied about 1,500 rounds of rimfire. Some of them actually hit the steel! *More * Practice * Needed *

The on-going saga continues on trying to get my new (to me) Tanfoglio race gun here from Holland. The few places that will handle it charge from $500 to $600 to "The Sky's the limit" to do all of the paperwork and ship it over here. However, all of the paperwork for the import and export permits and licenses are already done! All I need is to have someone at the Amsterdam airport put the package onto an airplane, and then have someone give it to US Customs in Seattle. We've got all of the Customs forms and ATF forms and everything already handled. All we need is for someone to move the package from Amsterdam airport to Seattle airport. If we can find someone to actually ship it for us, I may have to bring it back in my checked suitcase when I return fr m the European Steel Challenge Championships in June.

On either Wednesday or Thursday I'm probably going to make an ammo run to the warehouse to re-stock on some stuff, and also pick up a few more kinds and calibers while I'm there. That's about a four hour trip, total. I hope I've got the Civic oil seal changed by then so It doesn't take quite so much oil to make the trip!

Friday I am hoping to drive over to Yakima and shoot in one of their Steel Challenge matches. It looks like the mountain passes should be OK. I'll take the mini-RV and spend Friday night at the range, then drive home Saturday evening. 

On Sunday I putting on the very first Western Style Fast Draw match at my local club, Holmes Harbor Rod & Gun Club. That should be a lot of fun!

Yup, I've been kinda busy, and it looks like it's just going to get busier!