9-11, 10 years of my life and counting

So much has changed.  I’ve lost family and wept bitterly.  I’ve gained family, and wept tears of joy.  I’ve seen pain and sadness as well as joy and great passions.  10 years have passed like a blink of God’s eye and I’ve slept through so much of it, praying for Friday.

But the time was mine to do with as I pleased.  It was my choice to smile or frown, to walk or run, to wonder or wander.   

2996 people had that choice taken from them 10 years ago.  We close our eyes and pray for them today.

As Seen On Facebook Chat

My friend brings the funny:

Dante-
Saw Sons of Guns last night. now I want some gator
 
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that was a cool show
 
Dante-
although.. for the life of me, I could not figure out why you would want an AOW over a Taurus Judge for that????
 
<Edited for OpSec>
or a derringer
 
Dante-
yeah!
neat idea, but a lot of plumbing just to flush a turd.
 
<Edited for OpSec>
looked like it was more difficult to use and a bitch to reload
 
Dante-
I was kinda put off by the way you took it out of safety too. I can see all manner of problems on a swamp filled boat after picking up a slimy gator.
would have rather seen a manual safety that was separate from the actual striker.
 
<Edited for OpSec>
and how easy would it be to drop the thing when your hands are all slimy with swamp and fish guts
 
Dante-
will take the Judge with those ribbed grips, thanks.
 
<Edited for OpSec>
…and a dummy cord
 
Dante-
get the Tactical Judge with the comped barrel so when you put the thing RIGHT ON ITS HEAD you don’t get gas build up. 
 
<Edited for OpSec>
do they make it in stainless
 
Dante-
it’s Taurus… they probably make it in stainless, titanium, copper, and bakelite
… in pink and blue too
 
<Edited for OpSec>
but you can only buy one in pink
all of the others are backordered till 2114
 
Dante-
HAHAH

OOOOOOOKay. Why?

I don’t get this.  I mean, have they ever pulled the trigger on a Nagant Revolver.  EWWWW.  .22 lr with a thumbhole screams, “TARGET GUN!”   But that triger! 

Ok, in SA it’s not as bad, but it is still a bit heavy. 

Normally, I’m the first to coo at an oddball gun– but this one… I’m gonna need some hands on experience before I give it a nod.

H/T to Unc.

The 1911. 100 Years Of Suck.

It appears I jumped into the 1911 waters at the exact right time.  Seems I didn’t get the memo that the 1911 isn’t for real social work.  (I point to these posts not for the OPs’ intent {for the most part} but rather for some of the comments)*. 

You know… when I was but a wee tot, the Izod was all the rage.  If you didn’t possess a different fruity color for each day of the week, you were EVIL!  Unless you had Polos, in which case you were absolved of your sins and allowed to hang out with a different, almost equal, click.  I owned ZERO** of either.  I don’t like people telling me what I should wear and what sucks.  I can kinda figure that one out for myself, TYVM.

So it seems poly .45s are Izods and Polos to some and the 1911 has become the anti-Izod.  The plain pullover that marks you as square.  Having one means you are a stuck on stupid and can’t get with it daddy-o.  Bite me.  I wear/use what works for me.  Being of shorter stature, I need specific things.  The 1911 fits my hand and points very well.  With slim grips, flat MSH, and short trigger, my 1911 will be an extension of my skeleton. 

I’m sorry God didn’t make me so that Glocks (which I happen to like a lot) or M&Ps (which I’m, “meh,” on) point well for me.  If I could talk to The Almighty and ask for another 6 inches (insert joke here), I would.  But I don’t think He would listen. 

I’m sorry I find the USPs to be funky and the XDs to be less than pleasant.  I’m sorry I don’t trust the Kahr in .45 (saw a used one and was kinda appalled at the wear patterns).  I’m truly sorry that the 1911 fits me and I chose to embark on a parts swap program to build a gun to MY liking, not what some other guy thinks I should settle for.  Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.  Bless me Gaston, for I have sinned.

I grew up pissing off my father.  I took things apart and put them back together.  …Mostly they all went back together (Hence the pissing off of the father).  I like a gun that I can mess about with and play erector set.  I’ve put together a couple of AR-15’s and feel at home with the things I can do and know what I can’t do.  I have chased the “OH SHIT! springs” hither, thither, and yon so the unpinning of an ejector holds little fear for me.  Yay, though I walk through the valley of the grip bushing, I shall fear no evil, for thy tap and oversized bushings will protect me should I screw the pooch.   

So when the 1911 is rightly called a “hobby gun”, I don’t really take offense.  Guns are one of my hobbies.  And as such, I will take some suck to make the gun I want.  I have a 10 year old stock Honda Civic that gets me from point A to point B.  I’m not a gear head or a ricer enthusiast. I don’t care that its muffler is, you know, small.  I have an Android and not an iPhone or Blackberry, because I’m a geek and want to play with the innards.  My TV is 16 years old and actually takes 5 minutes to warm up.  I’m not a TV guy so I don’t care.  My stereo is laughably ancient and unused.  I’m not a music guy***.  I don’t own an iPod; see previous statement.  We all have places where we want to see the man behind the curtain and we all have places where we just want to push the button and have the whole world of ants moving and mice eating cheese hidden from us. ****

And, to make matters worse, I already have my next 2 1911 projects mapped out.  And one, if God, through St. JMB, bless me so, will be in 460 Rowland for a hog back up. 

YMMV.  Have fun with what YOU LIKE.  I will have fun with what I LIKE.  My primary carry is a MK9.  I have little fear that if a goblin were to phase into existence in front of me, its CorBons wouldn’t turn into half inch plus copper jacketed wads of suck in his chest and make him cease and desist forthwith.  So I have some time to customize and re-part my SA lightweight, getting the grip and trigger JUST RIGHT Goldilocks.  

Am I selling my Glock?  Hells no.  Will I be getting rid of my other handguns?  Nope.  Is there a chance that another non-1911 .45 ACP might follow me home?  Yup.  There is a place for all in God’s plan.  Steel and Alloy, Poly-light, All a precious in His sight. 

*And, no.  I’m not purposefully ignoring the near PSH of some of the 1911 fanboys.  The OPs have a point.  This is not a gun for everyone.  You can have just as good, if not better, guns for less money.  You have a 1911 because you want or need a 1911, not because it’s the best gun for any one thing.  Deal with it.  JMB does not weep when someone buys a Glock.  Ok… maybe he does when it’s chambered in .45 GAP.
**That’s actually not true.  Someone gave me one and I spent weeks pulling the damn gator off the fracking thing before I would wear it.  You want me to wear something with your name on it that I can find cheaper without your name on it?  PAY ME! 
*** Mainly because I played music for years and find just about everything modern to lack, in most ways, anything that could defined it as music.    Did I type that out loud?
****< Sarcasm > So it bothers me not if you aren’t in the know enough to maintain a 1911.  Not everyone can be 1337.  Your Tupperware will get you home just fine. …even if it lacks class. < / Sarcasm> 

Thank You Playing And Good Luck With That

Dear Gun Show Vendors,

I know the S-12 was on Sons of Guns.  I know there are all manner of rumors flying about regarding its future.  But if you think this market will bear a 40% overnight price increase, you need to go back home and study your old Micro Econ 101 books. 

Sure it’s a coolish curiosity.  Sure it’s maybe gonna get the import ax.  But paying that much for a gun that still needs another $300 to $500 bucks into it to make it really usable and to develop its full coolio persona?  Nope.  And that’s probably why you still had all 3 or 4 boxes laying on your respective tables when, by that point in any old show, you would have already sold all but one and that one would have had someone hovering over it trying to talk himself into it.

The S-12 is not an AK.  Its usage is limited and its need for reworking well-known.  It’s a fun gun to own but its practicality, unless you want to run 3 Gun, is kinda limited.  By jumping it that high, you popped it into the category of, “The money I would spend on a gun that I NEED.”  And, in this economy, not many folks have the scratch to spend that much on a toy.  Good luck, though.  I hope you find your suckers.  Cause I’d hate to think you’ll be back at next month’s show with the price back down to maybe a 10% increase.  You’d look like a fool and an opportunistic snake oil salesman who can’t read the market.   

BTW:  I do have to thank you.  I had considered looking at one for a little over what they were going for a week ago.  So you saved me some coin that I can spend on my ARs and 1911. 

KTksBye,
Dante

Where’s Your Gaia NOW!

Bring me cases of Aqua Net and Freon.  I’ll fix it.

Watch And Learn What Egypt Can Teach Us

See how ineffective an unarmed populous is against an oppressive government’s troops?  Think about that the next time you are declaring your desire to have us surrender ANY of the 2nd Amendment for the children. 

I’m not calling for violence.  I’m only saying that if the sheep are disarmed; who can prevent the sheep dog and the wolf from teaming up?

Gear Whore

Why do I have a terrible desire to build a 1911 in 460 Rowland?  I need to have my head examined.

Ah, SHOT show time…

…time for all the gun bloggers to pile on the hate.  It’s a wonder that so many guns get sold in this country since every single one of them seems to suck so much.

Wait… What???

Starting to see this pop up on Facebook and wondering where this meme is from.  Can’t point to any one post because the ones I’ve seen are all private and un-viewable by the friendless.  However the “logic” goes something like this:

“Because Sarah Palin put herself at the center of the AZ controversy, she now can’t be president since she showed such lack of class by making it all about Sarah.”

Sooo… let me get this straight.  The Media attacks her and tries to pin the whole thing on her.  She responds, batting them away like the ineffectual morons they are and SHE’S to blame for being made the center of the tragedy.  Let me see if I can apply that logic in other areas.  I’m a woman at a party and a man tries to rip my top off and expose my breast-a-ses.  The party stops and all eyes are on us.  I slap the bastard, kick him in the nuts, and call the police.   That makes the fact that the party was derailed my fault because I should have just let him expose me to the masses and left it alone so the party could continue.  Riiiiiight.  I guess that’s how some leftists sing themselves to sleep at night. 

I hope this is an aberration and not some new meme that the Lamestream media is floating. 

FTC Disclaimer: I’m not a Palin supporter.  I’ve repeatedly said I don’t think she’s electable.  But hell’s bells folks, pick a new whipping bo… I mean girl.  You’re starting to sound obsessed and… well… a little simple.