New Shooter's Blog

Check out Wheelgun's Shooting Blog. He's new to the blogosphere and likes cowboy shooting.
Click over and say howdy in the comments!
<--You'll find him linked over there in "blogs of note".
Welcome to the blogosphere, Wheelgun!

You made the cut

New ShooterChick Blogger!

WOW! You people are not going to believe this...
There's yet ANOTHER awesome shooterchick type who uses (and get this) Very Expensive Custom Designer Targets! Does that ever look familiar?? :D
Of course I think she's extremely creative and has great tastes...
And apparently she's quite the shot!
Welcome her to the Blogosphere!
Hop over there and say Howdy!
← You can find her over there on the blog roll or just hit up this very coolio link;
BANG BANG! :)
This is sooo getting the coveted "awesomeness" tag!

Whaddup, World??

Just a weird observation that I wish I could ask about...
Sadly, I'll never know;

This morning, within six minutes of each other, all these people in all these places hit my blog from an image search. (Click the pic for a bigger view)

The image was the blue sky with puffy white clouds from this post.
It's just odd. Stuff like this intrigues me.

My ShooterChick Friend

Please take a moment and welcome my ShooterChick Friend to the blogosphere.
She's new to blogging, but she has great stuff to say. She's a good photographer and loves shooting guns as well as cameras. THAT'S a great combo, huh?!
Please click over to A Little Piece of Paradise and leave a comment to say hi and make her feel at home. Your reward will be very cool gun pics and very cool writings from a very cool chick.
You can find her again by looking over on the left under Blogs of Note.
Tell her Annie sent you! :)

Double Take

Quite sometime back I uninstalled the site meter from this blog. Not too long ago (just after the whole Blogger/Site Meter incident that crashed pages everywhere), I put it back after the bugs were all worked out. Sometimes it’s just fun to see how far away people are reading from or what their searches might be.
One of the reasons I decided to ditch it for awhile is because someone in the Carolinas hit on my blog with a search term about getting a gun to deal with an abusive stalker ex-boyfriend. It bothered me for weeks. I wished there was a way to contact whoever it was and find out if they are OK. I decided that I couldn’t fix the world, but the world was making me lose sleep, so I uninstalled the meter.
Anyhow, that was over a year ago and since I’ve put it back, I sometimes forget to look anymore. I looked today and found a search that made me go “huh??”.
It was someone in Iran (Tehran) searching for information about Dan Cooper (the former CEO of Cooper Firearms).
It seemed so out of place. But kinda cool!

LITGM FTW!

Earlier this Fall I made plans to drive a few hours south for a wedding that ended up needing MiniMe as a last minute attendant, so I’m glad we went.
However, going meant that I had to miss out on the spectacular first annual “GunStock” created and carried out by the Life In The Great Midwest team of bloggers.
I followed along in their after-blog with pictures, video, commentary…and it sounds like it was so much fun!!
I guess they really did feel sorry for me and my family having to miss the event because yesterday a package came from blogger Dan that contained LITGM T-shirts!
Holy Moly, that was an incredibly nice gesture!!
Each one came with a little .22 taped to the tag…hahaha!!

I really want to thank Dan From Madison, Gerry From Valpo, and Carl From Chicago for the invitation. As soon as they set the date for the second annual GunStock (Which I think should be referred to as “GunStock- Reloaded” :p ), I will set it in stone on my calendar!

LITGM! There’s something of interest for everybody from this great group of guys!
Make them a part of your daily browse!
I did!

A New Link

Over on the side bar under “Daily Browse”, please check out the newest addition labeled “Rigrat’s Place”. It’s a compilation of links and info to help any serious shooter or weekend hobbyist find tips on how to make their firearms achieve peak performance or solutions to problems. The site is currently under construction with new links and photos being added, so keep checking back if you don’t see what you’re after right away.
I’ve been reading about Rigrat’s modifications and tricks of the trade for a couple of years now and he really knows his stuff.
I decided to have a little chat with Rigger and let you in on it:

Rigrat’s Place… where’d the name “Rigrat” come from?

Well just seemed appropriate since I work on a oil rig, ...specifically the drillship Transocean Discoverer 534.

What made you decide to compile all the information you've found into one place on the net?

A while back was looking for the "how-to SuperStock" the Squawsach and Sawdust Way and when I found it I found all the pictures were gone. Luckily, I had the insight to have saved a copy to PDF before hand. So I was trying to think of a way to have the info available for other members without everyone having to email me all the time to get it. That’s when I stumbled upon Google sites and it was easy enough for me to figure out.

Well, a lot of people sure will be happy that you did!
How did you get interested in shooting, anyway?

I grew up in Kansas where my dad and Uncle farmed, so was just around shooting from a young age.

So you’ve probably had some kind of gun since as far back as you can remember…What was the first gun you do remember having?

Well to be truthful a Daisy BB gun, LOL. You could watch the BB fly through the air it was so slow. First real firearm was a H&R Topper JR. .410 gauge shotgun. Loved that little shotgun, and it took its share of game from rabbits, squirrels and quail.

You’ve done a lot of mods. What’s the easiest “do-it-yourself” modification that you could recommend as a first attempt for a newbie to help their gun shoot better?

I'd have to say the easiest would be to polish up the trigger group to get a smoother pull. I believe trigger pull and pull weight has a lot to do with the mechanics of good groups.

What’s the hardest modification you’ve ever done?

Hardest failed mod was reshaping a 10/22 extractor.
Hardest successful one was drilling and tapping the hammer and sear. But you have to remember that none of the mods are really overly hard to do, just nerve wracking to try some of them.

Is there any mod that you haven’t done yet, but maybe want to?

Yes, I want to mod my trigger to accept a Tonsion return spring setup, in order to try and get my pull weight even lighter. My CZ triggers have spoiled me.

CZs tend to spoil everyone they touch, that’s for sure. Hey, I noticed on your site, the rimfire handgun section is still under construction, but you list some of the ones you personally own… Do you shoot them as often as your rifles? Are you primarily a long gun shooter?

Well would have to say over the last year primarily a long gun shooter. I love my handguns though, just got hung up in this small group quest. I still have my 1st handgun a H&R 949.

Do you hunt? If so, what’s your favorite hunting season?

I only hunt nowadays when my daughter wants to go. Last year she killed her first deer with my sons .243. That was her first time to go and her first shot at a deer. Funny thing to me was she had shot it 1 time the day before for practice, and when she hit the bull at 50 yards with the first shot, I told her it was good enough. So then her 2nd shot ever with a CF she got her first deer.

Wow! Hope you got some pictures of that! She sounds like a natural! Kids are really the future of the shooting sport. Speaking of the future of shooting, what do you think the ’08 election is going to do for the gun enthusiast or hobbyist?

Would have to say that depends on who wins. With McCain, I don't think we will have a problem. Obama has already made it clear with his voting record he is an anti-gunner looking to take our 2nd Amendment rights away. So we could very well have a long hard battle against us with him.

Many people on several gun owner boards feel the same way. The biggest disagreement this election season seems to be Bolt action or semi-auto?... which one gets more RiggerLove?

Well lately with the super light trigger pull of the modified CZ Trainer , I'd have to say bolts. But I’ve been doing more with the auto's lately so that may change.

Speaking of preferences,…Scopes or irons? Got a personal favorite?

In order (with my eyes), scopes, dots and then irons which I seldom shoot nowadays unless at the broadside of a barn, LOL.


I completely understand about that! I’m getting new glasses tomorrow, myself. So, other than online matches, do you participate in other competitions?

Sadly there are no competitions around me close enough. This coming year I'd like to try my hand at the online USBR matches though.

I’d wish you good luck with that, but you probably don’t need it. In the meantime, what's your favorite target that's the most fun for you to plink?

I'd have to say cans still hold as my favorite. Though the excess cucumbers we had this last summer made for some fun reactive targets.

Ha! Well, thanks for spending some time answering a bunch of questions and letting us get to know you. Good luck with your site, and thanks again for gathering up all that info and making it so accessible to people who want to try their hand at some modifications that can make their firearms way more enjoyable!

Readers, be sure to stop by and check out Rigrat’s Place and if there’s something that you’re looking for and can’t find it there, Rigrat will undoubtedly know where to find it to help you out. You can contact him at Rigrat(at)Hughes.net.

Why Does Sarah Tick Off the Feminists?

Here's a 3 minute interview with Cathy Young, one of my favorite contributors at Reason.com :

Let me direct your attention to

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LAWDOG.
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Friday Sing-a-long

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From that genius Joss Whedon...

Dr. Horrible's Sing a Long Blog:
A Man's gotta do

New Link / Passing Link

I've had a lot of fun reading the installments at News Of The Weird (down there on the left under "Stuff that Amuses Me").
But like many things, it's run its course. A snippet from today's entry says;
"Effective tomorrow morning, you can read Yr Editor's daily column of news 'n' commentary at its new home, www.WeirdUniverse.net!"
I'll still leave NOTW up over there because you can still use the links on that page to subscribe to the Google Groups e-mail feeds of the weekly News of the Weird column.
I've put Weird Universe on the list down there.
Have fun in search of YOUR "weird"!

Sooo Disappointed!!

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I've waited so long to catch a gun spontaneously firing all by itself...
I really thought that today's AWESOME ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States on D.C vs Heller that upholds individual gun owner rights (you know, that Second Amendment thing) would be the catalyst that would bring it to that end.
But I checked the cam myself... Not one happy dance. Not one excited shiver. Not one shift indicating motion. Not one movement. Not one action. None.

See for yourself

Dang.
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New stuff on the side

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I added a link to the side bar over on the left. It’s a link to the SCOTUS blog and filed under “Valuable Links”. It’s a good way to keep yourself “in the know” of what’s going on around you.

Manners!

How about those line jumpers? Loud cell phone talkers? What about Mr. Too Loud Car Stereo? Ms. Drive For Ten Miles With a Turn Signal Blinking? Mr. Cut You Off in Traffic and then drive 10mph under the speed limit? Ever have someone ask you a question just to interupt your answer by using their cell phone?
If these things annoy the crap out of you, have I got a place for you!
Linked over on the left at the top of the “Things that amuse me” list is Black Ops Manners! It’s a site dedicated to calling out the rude people in the world that need social lessons and manners! Give them a look and if it reminds you of something that’s griping you, send it in! I did! :D
Enjoy your vent!

INGO gets a myspace page!

The kids over at Indiana Gun Owners have put together a myspace page to get the word out about events, meet ups and information relative to Hoosier Shooters. You'll find their website on the left side of your screen under "Hoosier Shooters" and INGO member Pami has done an awesome job with creating an INGO replica on MySpace. You can click the link on the left to join the forum or click here to check out INGO's MySpace page!

Goal Oriented

Someone once told me that if you don’t write down a goal, then it isn’t really a goal. I don’t know if I subscribe to that or not. All I know is that when you focus on what you want and you get there, it feels pretty darn good.
I’ve got these ideas in my head that never made it to paper (or computer), but *I* know what they are. Call them “goals” or “thoughts”…or whatever. I have things in my mind for long term, and I have things in mind for the very near short term. I had a set back with one that was due to circumstances beyond my control, but I’m still gaining ground on it.
Currently, I’ve got some primary objectives to attain by the end of this month (May). So far, one down and two to go. I don’t know if not writing them down is screwing me over or not, but part of me just doesn’t feel comfortable doing that. It makes for a very peculiar feeling… being able to feel uninhibited about writing my opinions or beliefs down and plunking them on a page in cyberspace for everyone to see, yet not being able to write a personal ambition in a notebook on my own desk at home. What’s up with that?

Uncharted Waters

It happened.
We knew someday it would. MiniMe has happened upon a boyfriend.
Yesterday, he rode his bike beside her as she walked home. When I say “rode his bike”, what I mean is “doing bike tricks to show off” as teen boys are wont to do in the presence of teen girls. At some point during the trek home, he asked her out… as in dating him.
You might need to be caught up to speed for what that signifies today.
“Dating” means you tell people you’re a couple whether or not you actually ever go anywhere or even hold hands. In fact, the equivalent of holding hands is that they are now in each other’s top four spots on MySpace which also means they aren’t “single”. Although, *actually* holding hands is still a very big deal.
I admit, when I was told all this pertinent information, I laughed out loud because of my opinion of the absurdity. I think it might have hurt her feelings, which I never meant to do. Today’s “teen years” are incredibly different than they were “back in the day” for me, although the same angst and anxieties are still prevalent.
Anyway, the gist is that last night they messaged for quite awhile and today this kid is walking MiniMe home again for the purpose of meeting me and JL. I’m pretty sure he’s going to ask if they can go somewhere and hang out. It will surprise me if he doesn’t ask if they can walk to the library or something. If not, I’m thinking they’ll commandeer my porch swing out back. That’s ok, because the swing faces a rectangular patch of ground where I had a few tomato plants last year, and now it just looks like a burial plot. I got no problem with that.
I wonder if the neighbors would be upset if I just decide after school to shoot trap in the back yard… It would only be this once. OK, maybe a bad idea.

I Never Knew...

There have been hints all along, but I just didn't "get it".
I mean, I always knew I was clinging to my religion and I always knew I was clinging to my guns. But nobody stepped up and explained to me "why".
I guess it made me bitter. So along with my religion and my guns, somewhere along the way I started clinging to my antipathy... and I still just didn't get why.
Well, now I know.
It hit me while I was laying on the floor doing crunches. The sun was streaming through the window and highlighted the foundation of the most core parts of that thought...
I am a typical white person.
I'm so extremely typically white, I just about glow in the dark.
I never knew this before. I just assumed I was sporting the "cancer free" look, but now I know. I should have calculated the sum of all parts: guns, religion, being downsized, living in a small Midwestern town...
Typically white.

And apparently, need a tan...really bad.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Holy crap I'm sore!
Yesterday was a sunny (but very windy & chilly) day. JL didn't want help doing the landscaping and I couldn't see his "vision" of the finished product anyway. I'd have just screwed it up. MiniMe wasn't doing anything important so I said, "Yo! Babe! Bike ride?" So we grabbed our hoodies and opened the fence to get our bikes. Even though JL was busy doing his own thing, he knew I was going to ask MiniMe to go biking and he stopped what he was doing to air up the bike tires before we went out there. Niiiice.
We walked the bikes out the gate, around the house and to the front drive. I should have known right then that it was a mistake when we were fighting the wind to PUSH them while walking.
Stupid Annie, stupid!
We hopped on and split down the street that used to be a dead end but now goes all the way to (and through) downtown. OMG. There was no such thing as coasting. It was pedal pedal pedal until your legs fall off. The wind was so much worse in the open. It was cold and sharp. But there was no way I was going to tell her to forget it at that point. So we pushed through to the first turn. Uphill. Crap.
The reality hit me that every street we took was either uphill or against that wind. We even had to pedal DOWNhill.
When we got home, I'd made two determinations. One: Legs/Noodles - same diff.
Two: I think I need a bike seat the size of my van's captain chair.
About JL pumping up those tires; he had major bonus points UNTIL. Until we pulled back up in the driveway and he said:
"Back so soon"?
Grrrr.