International Steel Shooting Association Update

Things  are moving right along with the new International Steel Shooting Association that I have been putting together over the last couple of years. Our beautiful logo was designed by Robb Allen. The new business cards featuring his artwork are ordered and on the way.

The new association is now formally approved as a Washington State Non-Profit Corporation. Our 501(c)3 Federal Non-Profit  is in the works. Since it's being set up as a non-profit corporation, we can be a conduit for corporate funding to go into educational, youth, safety, and othe rprograms and the donors can deduct it as a charitable expenditure.

We are truly International in nature. Our website is hosted and much of the web setup is in Holland! (Thanks, Wim!) We do not have much up on the site yet beyond the basic template and most of the page links, but more is going up every day. If you want to see the website, have a look at

http://www.internationalsteelshoot.com.

Just keep in mind that we just turned the lights on there, and there's still a lot to be done as to getting the header and the content in place.

Stay tuned, this is going to be big!

2014 SHOT Show Wrap Up

I finally  arrived home late yesterday afternoon from Las Vegas. The shuttle ride to the airport, the flight to Seattle, and the shuttle ride from Seattle's  airport to Whidbey Island all seemed long, tiring, and best of all, uneventful! It had been a long several days at the SHOT  show,  but it was well worth the trip.  I made some new business contacts, renewed contact with companies that I have dealt with in the past, got a chance to see some new and interesting devices ( not all of which were firearms),  met and visited with some old friends, and met a number of new people too!

 what is the likelihood, you think, of ever seeing me wearing an Olympic medal, let alone a whole bunch of them?  You would think the probability would be somewhere in the negative number region!  However, the radio talk show host Lars Larssen,  was broadcasting his radio show from the SHOT  show  one afternoon, and is broadcast booth, rather than being on the main show floor, was down at the end of a long hallway where most people did not even know that the radio show was going on.  I saw a few people down at the end of the hallway, and being curious, decided to walk down there and see what was going on.  To my surprise,  Lars  was interviewing Gov. Rick Perry  from Texas live!  I did not get a chance to talk to Gov. Perry but listening to the interview was very interesting.  I could not help but to think that I wish there was some way to clone Gov. Perry and bring him to Washington state and let him run the state too!

 The next person for Lars to interview after Gov. Perry was Kim Rhode,  the incredibly talented shotgun shooter.  Kim  has been on the Olympic team several times and has managed to bring home a bunch of Olympic medals. After  the interview was over,  I got a chance to talk to Kim myself.  Kim has been shooting and hunting all of her life, and actually got her start with a shotgun hunting ducks.  I suspect the ducks never had a chance!  After speaking with Kim for a bit, I asked if I could have my picture taken with her, and she said sure, and then hung her Olympic medal medals around my neck for the picture! WOW,  What an honor!  I met a lot of really nice people at the shot show,  but Kim must be one of the nicest of all!

Kim Rhode and I. (WOW)

since I was attending the SHOT Show  as media as well as a member of NSSF,  I had access to the press room. All of the posts that I sent out from the show were done in the press room using the Wi-Fi that they had set up for us there.  A big thanks goes to NISSAN for sponsoring the press room.  I have never paid a lot of attention to Nissan in the past, but their new TITAN series of pickup trucks powered by Cummins diesels and built here in the United States certainly do look nice!

Peter Hoffmann of Caliber Magazine and I in the Press Room.

while I was sitting in the press room drinking a cup of coffee  I struck up a conversation with Peter Hoffmann  of Caliber magazine in Germany.  I was familiar with Caliber magazine from my trips to Holland for the European steel championships.  This picture of Peter and I  is especially cool sense I was able to get the incredibly talented photographer Yamil Sued to take the picture for me. Yamil  Is a fantastic photographer,  specializing in firearms and shooting sports competitions,  and product photography too.  I first met Yamil  quite a few years ago  at the steel world championships  in Piru,  California.  We had a good laugh  when I handed my camera (a basic KODAK)  to Yamil  and ask him with a straight face if he knew how to run a digital camera!  Anyhow,  Peter and I had an enjoyable conversation, and he and I both enjoy picking up older automobiles and fixing them up a bit. Peter and I plan to keep in touch, and maybe, even, we may meet up at the European steel championships in Holland this year.

That pretty much wraps up the SHOT  show coverage for this year, but if I find any other pictures or think of anything interesting I will try to get a post up about it. 

it is 1:30 in the afternoon on the last day of the shot show and it looks like everyone is just about worn out. They say that there is over 12 miles of aisle ways  to travel if you want to see every bit of the show. That assumes, of course, that you never get lost backtrack or go in circles while exploring. For me, I guess, that makes it closer to 25 miles! 

In addition to all of the new products gadgets and gizmos here at the show I also enjoy meeting and visiting with many of the shooters that I only see once or twice a year.  In some ways, the shot show is like a giant extended family reunion.

At one of the booths I ran into Jerry Miculek  and his daughter Lena. it has been fun over the last few years to watch Lena grow up and turned into a world class shooter.

Jerry Miculek, Lena Miculek, and Mr. C.

Maybe if I stand very close to Jerry Ann Lena may be some of the skill will rub off!

For those of you wanting to know what the new Glock 42 looks like, here's a picture of it.

Although I did not get a chance to handle it much, I did pick it up and play with it a little, and it feels quite natural in your hand.  I dry fired to get a couple of times and the trigger is not bad at all.

 I have a bunch more photos and other info but they will be closing the press room in just over an hour from now, so I am going to pack everything up and head down to the show for the last hour or so before they closed the show for the year.

 I got my picture taken with Kim Rhodes, the Olympic champion,  and all of her medals from the Olympics! it has been  a lot of work, but a lot of fun too, here at the show, but I think my feet are definitely going to appreciate me heading home and getting off of them!

 Signing off for now from the shot show, and the next post will probably be originating from Castle Completely.

SHOT Show - Day 3

it's early afternoon and I am back in the press room at the SHOT show with another large cup of coffee. I've spent most of the morning traveling from booth to booth looking at lots of new goodies and cool things that I can't afford! I stopped by the High Standard pistol booth and talk to them about becoming a dealer. Since I have been using high standard pistols for years in rimfire competition with good results I have no hesitation recommending them to others and if I can be a dealer that can get them a new high standard at a good price that's even better. Most of the booths are very busy but I consider it at the very least good manners to stop by and say hi to all of the companies that are sponsors of the gun blogger rendezvous.

As you may have noticed, often times words that should be capitalized are not. I am dictating this post using Dragon naturally speaking software and a microphone/ headset. Dragon is supposed to be able to know when I have started a sentence and capitalize the first word or, the first letter of the first word, to be more precise. It seems that sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. With the little tiny keyboard on my netbook editing things with the keyboard often end up making it just worse! I apologize for the inconsistent capitalization, but that's the way it goes!

I still have seen only a large portion of the show but certainly not all of it by a long ways. I am going to pack up the computer for now, and head back out onto the show floor to see what else interesting I can come across. If I see anything really cool and I can get the crowds away long enough to get a picture I'll try to get something up on the blog you all to enjoy. Whether that will be today or in the morning I don't know but we will just have to see what happens..........

SHOT SHOW - Day 2 - Post 2

 It was an interesting morning this morning, wandering around the floor of the shot show looking for new exciting and interesting stuff, and taking a picture or so to put up here on the blog. One of the things that I have specifically been looking for was the new Smith and Wesson 9 mm eight shot revolver named the 929. I first heard about this new revolver several weeks ago on Sascha Back's  blog from Germany. If you haven't had a look at Sascha's blog you can find the link over there on the right on the sidebar.  The new 929 looks very nice but I suspect it is way out of my budget. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are shooters out there who can't wait to get their hands on one. It should be an outstanding revolver for steel shooting.

 Also, in the Smith & Wesson booth I ran into Molly Smith and Randi Rogers. both of them now are sponsored shooters for Smith and Wesson.

As I continued to wander around the show, it was amazing to see the large variety of new and interesting guns and accessories of every shape and size you can possibly imagine.  I got a chance to visit with Neil Hogue of Hogue grips fame about using Hogue grips on the new Ruger 10/22  rifle stock that I am developing and hope to soon have in full production. Neil's products have always been a very high quality, and the rubber finger groove grip that we are planning to use is especially comfortable and fits to your hand beautifully.

My next stop was at the FIOCCHI  ammunition booth  To say hi to Jackie and the gang and tell them how much I like their rimfire ammunition and how much I appreciate being sponsored by such a nice company with such good products. Jackie told me that she would be sending me a new contract of sponsorship for next year!  I really like their ammunition, as it seems to be very reliable and runs well in my rimfire race guns.

 I stopped at the Italian firearms group (IFG)  booth and got a chance to visit with Massimo Tanfoglio,  the man behind the Tanfoglio  line of pistols.  Plans are apparently a foot to expand service and distribution of the Tanfoglio  line here in the United States.  I have always liked the guns, but support has been marginal. It sounds like that problem is in the process of being resolved. WOO HOO!!

Mr. Massimo Tanfoglio and I in the IFG Booth.

I stopped and said hello to Charlie Brown at MKS supply.  Charlie is the importer and distributor for a number of different firearms. He also is the head guy behind Hi-Point  firearms.  MKS supply is one of our major sponsors at the gun blogger Rendezvous.

I popped in to the CZ booth (which was really busy)  just to say hi to Angus and Rob.  Angus is the head of the custom shop for CZ. Angus is also not only an outstanding shooter, he is also one of the most interesting and colorful characters you could ever hope to meet!

 Right now I am sitting in the press room, and have just about finished my cup of coffee. My feet are definitely starting to hurt, and I still have two days to go. I suspect tonight is going to be an early to bed tonight to give my feet as much rest as possible!  I have no idea just how many miles I walk through the course of an entire SHOT show, but it's a lot, and almost entirely on concrete.

 In the Glock booth I got a chance to visit a bit with KC Eusebio and he is planning on attending this year's European steel challenge championships in May like he did last year. It is possible that this year Tori Nonaka, who also shoots for Glock, may make the trip too.

 The shot show is an amazing experience, and in some ways it is like a giant family reunion where I get the chance to meet and visit with a large number of very nice people that I only see once or twice a year.

 Well, the coffee cup is just about empty, so it is time to pack it in and get back onto the show floor as there is still two or three hours of show left today.

 I do not know if I will have chance for an additional post today as the press room may be closed. If not, I will try to get another post and some more pictures up tomorrow.

 Stay tuned!

SHOT SHOW Day 2 - Post 1

I didn't get to bed last night until nearly midnight as after the show there were two separate functions I attended. Both were held and very loud and noisy sports bars but were a lot of fun in spite of the noise. This morning I  have almost lost my voice to two the fact that I had to shout most of the night to carry on a conversation. Even so, it was a lot of fun and I ran into a bunch of great people that I only see once or twice a year. Larry from Brownell's was there, Anthony from lucky gunner, a bunch of gun bloggers, Pete Brownell, and more. And that is only a few of the people I was hanging out with last night. I apologize for all of the names that have I have left out.

 Yesterday, after leaving the press room I went down to level I of the SHOT  show and started to visit some of the booths. I was very impressed with the quality and appearance of the competition pistols in the Pardini  booth. Pardini is legendary in Olympic shooting,  and they are now venturing to action pistol models. They have a double stack .45  with an aluminum frame and an incredibly nice trigger. the quality of workmanship appears to be very high.

Another area where they have done a very good job is on the beaver tail cut out. It is very high, and allows you to get a grip very high on the gun to minimize muzzle rise  when shooting a rapidly. I suspect that I will be in contact with these guys after the shot show.

 I am going to finish off my cup of coffee and breakfast rolls, check my email, and then head down one floor to the exhibition halls  and start checking out the rest of the show.

 More later.........

SHOT SHOW Day 1 - Post 1

Well, 4 AM came very early this morning, but, in spite of everything I am now in the press room at the shot show. I was so tired at the airport in Seattle after the long shuttle bus ride from Whidbey Island that I almost fell asleep waiting for the flight. Fortunately, I woke up about 20 minutes before departure. The flight from Seattle to Las Vegas was on a very new Boeing 737 – 900 ER. The seats were unusually comfortable for as small as they are, and there was even a bit more legroom than you would expect. The shuttle ride from the Las Vegas airport to the hotel took almost 45 minutes, but eventually, I arrived.

 After checking into the hotel, I headed straight to the show. To get here I have to walk through a couple of different hotels and make a number of turns and every year on the first day of the show I get lost at least once! Now that I am here in the press room and I have the netbook running I can check emails and put up a post or so, while drinking coffee! The coffee part is important today!

 Tonight at nine there is a gathering of gun bloggers that I would like to attend. I hope I can stay awake until then!

the show does not close for a couple more hours today, so I am going to check my email, refill my coffee cup, and go wander around the show to see what I can see.

 More later..........

SHOT Show - Here We Go!

Although range day at the SHOT Show was today, I will be leaving Castle Completely before 4:45 am. tomorrow morning for the trip to Las Vegas and this year's SHOT Show.

This is the largest show of it's kind in the world, and Three days is not enough time to see it all. It's total length of all the aisles between the displays is twelve and a half miles! There is a little carpet over much of the concrete floor, but it is still concrete underneath, and your feet start reminding you of that before the first day is over. Tomorrow evening I will be meeting up with some of the gun bloggers after the show closes for the night.

They have Internet access in the Press Room at the show, and I will try to post when I can to tell you how the show is going.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be posting, and watch for a BIG announcement concerning this year's Gun Blogger Rendezvous. Big things are in the works!!  SRSLY! (heh.........)

Later!

2014 Mr. Completely's e-Postal Match Hosts

If you've never tried one of the Mr' Completely e-Postal matches, this is the year to give it a try!

Here's the schedule and list of blogs hosting the matches:

March:  Mr. Completely

April:  Jimmy B, theCUG 

May:  Sand Castle Son at Smallest Conservative

 June:  Zeke of Engineering Johnson

July: Billll of Bill’s Idle Mind  

August:  Merle, the most prolific e-Postal contestant (Hosting at Sand Castle Scrolls and True Blue Sam

September: True Blue Sam, right here 

October: Susan at Mrs. True Blue Sam  

November: Danno at Sand Castle Scrolls 

You download the target and rules, shoot the match, take pictures of the target, and email it to the hosting gun blog. Every match will be something different, creative, and fun!