This is why we have the internet

I couldn't stop watching. It's like it was possessed!

The food chain

It's been a busy day, folks. Sorry about the light posting.

Anyhow, I just found this article on Drudge and found some of it to be amazing:

The National Park Service has counted 1,825 Burmese pythons that have been caught in and around Everglades National Park since 2000. Among the largest so far was a 156-pound, 16.4-foot one captured earlier this month.

That's a ton of snakes! More than I would have ever thought, but it makes sense considering the environment those suckers are living in. The article goes on to note the dramatic decline in small mammals around the everglades. I wonder why!

There's an alarmist theme to these everglades/constricting snake articles, and I get why, but this isn't the first time in the history of the world an animal from another continent has been introduced here and thrived. Horses and wild hogs are just two critters that come to mind. Since the Burmese Python and other huge snakes are doing so well here, it's only a matter of time before their names end up a paper tag on the end of a hunting license. And honestly, who wouldn't want one stuffed on their wall with a tall, fictional tale of taking down such a beast?

So that brings me to the question of the day: What gun for a massive python? Colt Python? Will there be an archery season? Chris Brackett will sure be excited. Will it be added to the Super Slam? Someone will have to call Jim Shockey and tell him to bring his smokepole. Personally, I would forgo the treestand and take after a trophy constrictor with a spear and loincloth. More sporting that way.

I wonder what a Boone & Crocket score would look like:

Burmese pythons can grow to be 26 feet long and more than 200 pounds, and they have been known to swallow animals as large as alligators. They and other constrictor snakes kill their prey by coiling around it and suffocating it.

There's a picture of one of them coiled around a good sized alligator, and you've all by now seen the picture of the one that died while eating a huge gator. It's like Jurassic Park down there!

First they came for the lead. . . .

Then they came for the copper brass .

This is the start of something very interesting. When the ATF says that a particular brand of copper brass bullet is banned because it's "armor piercing," how long before other manufacturer's bullets are banned?

Something else to think of - California is a "lead free zone" so to speak, so this really hoses the millions of rifle shooters there. And isn't it a bad idea to ban a bullet designed to penetrate deep into large dangerous critters based on the idea that it penetrates so deeply?


***ETA: The bullets are made of brass.

I know an Assault Thingie when I see it

Who neeeeeds this many rapid-fire shots without reloading from a weapon designed to kill people?



Yet another from Ace of Spades

Zombie guns are getting ridiculous

I mean, who needs two red dot sights, anyways?


Found at Ace of Spades

Cooking with CTone

I used to think I couldn't cook to save my life, but this weekend I discovered that I have some talent. In this case, I'm not talking about cooking food; I'm talking about cooking plastic!

Like a black hole, I've been pulling in all sorts of tools for a special project that I've been working on for about half a year, and while I was at it I picked up some tools for making kydex holsters. I successfully made three holsters this weekend, though I only have pictures of one. This is the second holster I made, this time for the P30 -- here is the inside piece of kydex sitting with it in the kydex press while the outside piece cooks in the oven:



The first holster was for a PM9, and the learning curve told me to block the ejection port and tape it with blue painter's tape. I tried to get a picture of the inside of the oven, but it came out kind of gross, so I deleted it. After the piece cooks for 8 - 10 minutes (270 degrees worked best for me), I slid the piece off the bottom of the flat cookie sheet and onto the press, quickly sat the gun on the pencil marks I made, and locked it down:



Here's what it looks like when it's done cooling, which takes around 10 more minutes:



I cut two pieces, leaving an ear on the front side to fold over for a "wedge" to tuck the grip for AIWB carry:



As you can see, there's plenty of definition from the molding. Too much, actually; you have to work the piece over carefully with a heat gun to fine tune it, because if you don't the gun will be stuck fast. It's easiest to mold each side by itself so you have time to possition the gun properly and get a good mold. The two halves are held together with rivets, and to do that you need rivetting dies which I used with an arbor press. I really should have taken pictures of that process, which I'll have to do with the next holster I make. Once the two halves are riveted together, I trim them to shape on a bandsaw and rough finish the edges with a belt grinder and a 120 belt, finishing up with a file and some hand sanding:



Not the greatest picture, I know. I took that one first thing this morning in my dark kitchen as the youngest Beast slept several feet away in the Swing of Peace. There's a bit more to it than acounted for in this post, but I assure you it's easy (except for belt clips; those are a PITA). You can make a kydex press with some lumber, a couple of cheap hinges, and a yoga mat, but this press wasn't too spendy, so I went that route. Basically, for the price of a decent kydex holster, I have all the tools I need to make as many holsters as I want. Cooking is fun!

The worst kind of gun owners

If this story is even true, these two morons are the dumbest gun owners on the face of the planet.

Disregarding the extreme amount of gun ignorance (Mosin Nagant being a "Russian M4" and "machine gun"), there's no sense in leaving firearms hung on a nail in plain sight in a crime ridden part of Philly. Lying to drug dealers and detectives to try to fix a jacked up situation puts this story over the top.

Crude Friday morning humor

ARFCOM's General Discussion delivers today with the thread: Describe your sexlife with the title of a movie.

I almost blew my steel cut oats through my nose before I got through the first page. You have been warned.

Detroit or Afghanistan?

Tough call. Remember this video when you're whining about your commute home today:



There's a bunch more combat videos at MP.net.

If you're ever in Nevada

Nellis Air Force Base has an interactive commie weapon museum called the Threat Training Facility. If you've always wanted to sit in a Mig 29 and make machine gun noises with your mouth, here's your chance without going through Russian bootcamp and pilot training -- though getting paid in vodka doesn't sound all that bad.

***ETA: It's 'Nellis' not 'Ellis' Air Force Base. Thanks, Old NFO!

Self defense story of the day

In Philadelphia.

A 65-year-old man riding his bicycle along a Berks County trail became the target of three teenage boys Wednesday morning.

Soon the teens became the target of the cyclist, according to Cumru Township
Police.

Fortunately, the victim survived. Unfortunately, one of the teens was killed, but such is the way of being a scumbag; it's an occupational hazard.

Raven Concealment Systems Vanguard 2

There's a thread at Pistol-Forum.com and a thread at ARFCOM covering this new holster. It's meant to be for AIWB carry, but would probably work just fine anywhere on the belt, as well as for other modes of carry. The ARFCOM thread is far less understanding towards the VG2, as there are many naysayers there that pooh-pooh AIWB carry in general. It's kind of like clicking on a "show your watch" thread and finding a bunch of morons posting pictures of their iphone.

Looking at the VG2, it seems to me that they were trying to make the original Vanguard holster adjust for ride height and give it better retention. It's the same thing I was going for with my modified Zack holster, but better executed.



The VG2 is also tuckable, and that's a big deal when you can get it, and with a projected cost of $40 or less it's a bargain. I'll have to try one before too long.

Killing them soflty with M-4s....

Killing them softly. . . . .with M-4s.

OK, more likely it was with HK 416s and belt fed weapons, but it's my post title and I can call it whatever I want!

Anyhow, Navy SEALs have been knocking off badguys left and right, and they managed to save a damsel in distress this time to boot. Save some for the rest of the military, guys! Dayummm! Good job though.

Custom ballisong

Here's a thread on the construction of a custom, titanium handled ballisong. Looks like fun. . . . .hmmmmmm.

Down with the sickness: Family edition

Two of my little people have raging ear infections, the other two have fevers, vomiting, and worse, and to top it off I wasn't feeling all that great, so I called out yesterday and took the kids to the doctor's office. One of my kids started throwing up on the sidewalk before we went in, so I knew it was going to be an adventure yesterday. Today is a full up extension of that adventure. My wife and I both called out sick, and there's a fountain of. . . .let's call it collectively "stuff" emitting from the kids. Tempers are high. It's going to be brutal.

Blast from the past

I was goofing off with the kids downstairs last night and decided to take a break and check out all of my books on the bookshelf that don't have the time to read. I came across my rifle data books from my range qualifications in the Marines and thought it would be a fun (warning: profane) post. It really brought me back. You can see from my notes that my handwriting ability was proportional to the amount of coffee I had drank, and before you ask, yes, I talk to myself just like I do in my notes. Full disclosure and all.



There's some Microsoft Paint redaction going on there. Why do you neeeeeeed to know my social security number, anyways? I don't know if it's still like this, but in Marine Corps doctrine it's written somewhere that you must emblazon everything you touch with your SSN. I have a stack of certifications, awards, and promotions that have my SSN in Ariel Bold font front and center. Every one of them. I can't put up a love-me wall with all that stuff because of it, and you have to wonder what the legal-beagles at the JAG were thinking when they came up with this policy. Enough of my bitching - here's the Rifleman's Creed for y'all that want to know the whole thing:



Sorry about the blurry cellphone pics. Click on it to make it bigger and more beautiful.

Next up we have the four safety rules, which are slightly different than the NRA's version, but not too shabby. I've also included some tactically morbid doodling on my part - call it "Blue Falcon" carry (look that one up if you need to). Giving my utmost attention to an instructor with less time-in-grade than me is not my forte.




When you go to the range in the Marines it's a two week affair; the first week is basic instruction and "snapping in", which is dry firing thousands of times, and then a week of firing that includes zeroing your weapon. Unless you have stars on your collar, as far as I know, you have to go through the whole two week process every time. The data book is meant for you to keep track of your shooting throughout the week of firing, so that when your qualification day comes, you know how your rifle is performing.

The distances you shoot are at 200, 300, and 500 yards in the standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone positions. On the 500 yard line you only fire from the prone. To get an expert score, you must shoot for 40 points or better.







Those are all from the 200 yard line, and are not all inclusive. There are Marines in the pits pulling the targets and marking shots, and it can get screwed up down there; thus the reason why I'm belittling their work scoring my target. The entire target is a six foot square framed monstrosity with a canvas or plastic backing, and is chock full of shot holes. The paper target that's glued onto the backing is usually shot to shit, and when you're marking targets you place a spotting disk in the last shot to come through, and cover the old shot holes with colored stickers called pasters. Problem is, the Marine Corps is extremely poor, so you have to rip the pasters into little bits just big enough to cover **most** of the shot hole. After a week of shooting, it makes it impossible to cover the mess that is your target, and sometimes you can't tell where the shooter's bullet went through. Scoring errors are very common. Here's what the pits look like (pardon the clarity. Cellphone picture of a 35mm picture)



The 200 and 300 yard targets are in the lower target carriage, with the 500 yard target in the upper carriage. Everyone looks to be especially attentive (snicker!) The bottom picture shows a white shot spotter in the black, and a red scoring disk in the lower left corner.

Moving on to the 300 yard line:



When a round passes through the target you can hear the supersonic crack, but keeping in mind that there are about 150 Marines shooting all at once, it can get confusing knowing whether a shot came through your target or not. Also, it is not uncommon for a shooter to shoot the wrong target, either because they weren't paying attention, can't shoot, or, in the case of high-wind ranges like Edson Range, have a 35 mph wind blow a shot from the shooter next to you into your target. At it's worst, two shots can hit the target at the same time; go ahead and figure that one out for a score! You sometimes get to talk to the guys who either marked or shot your target, and when there's a problem (careers can sometimes be on the line) it can get interesting.

500 yard line:



On this particular day I was already at an expert score before I got to the 500, so there was no risk involved with shooting for headshots for fun; with little or no wind I could sometimes hit eight or more. It's actually possible to leave the 200 yard line with 40 points, but I'm convinced that it'll only happen when the planets are aligned. There's squib rounds, gusty winds, broken parts, and incompetence in the target pits to contend with for that to happen, or to even get a perfect score (it has happend though). I don't think there's any repeatability there though. I didn't win the title of Battalion High Shooter once because of a squib round, and I've had parts breakages as well. I've also had my shots not get marked at all, like the Marines running the target fell asleep or something. A couple of times, when the Marine next to me couldn't get his rounds on the target, I would tell him to aim at mine while I would put a few rounds in his target, though not on qualification day. That day was up to him. Here's what happens in the pits when Marines get bored:



That's a Baker target for 500 yard shooting. Notice his three stars. . . .

And here's yours truly:


Derrrgh!?!

I was a skinny bastard back then. That had to have been 10 years ago at least. These days my range trips are much more leasurely and pleasant, with my only concern being to watch my language:



Now isn't that the sweetest thing?

The game of Commerce

DALLAS (Reuters) - A 65-year-old woman made it past a checkpoint and onto a flight at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday with a revolver tucked away in her handbag, and was only stopped after the plane was called back to the gate, the airport said.

This post is probably going to be controversial.

Contrary to what news article commenters say ("Oh, if it makes us safe, it's okay!"), all of this TSA nonsense has nothing at all to do with real safety and everything to do with taxing citizens via fines and charges for accidentally breaking the law. It's the same as with New York City's gun laws; these laws are designed to generate revenue in the courts, not to stop badguys, and are only changed when enough of the non-criminal element get caught as to draw attention to the scheme. And despite what angry Americans may say about all of this and how evil it is, it was done with the consent of the populace.

There is no conspiracy, nor is there evil, when the very citizens who bitch about it let it come about in the first place. Just like in the game of Monopoly, if you want to sit at the table and play, you have to obey the rules; and that means that if your thimble lands on an arbitrary square that says "Go to Jail," than you send your piece to jail. It may be nonsensical, and no true crime was committed, but it's the rules. You land on the block, you have to pay a fare.

Back to the article, notice that the 65 year old woman was not only allowed through the checkpoint, but had already boarded the plane which was on its way to the runway. The planes were only turned around when somebody realized that a mistake was made. This very well could have added up to a Jack Bauer moment in the mind of some "security officer," but in the end it was a simple accounting error: the fare for carrying a handgun on a plane was not rendered. Disagree with me if you want, but the takeaway from this is that the goons in the blue shirts are not enforcing anti-constitutional gun laws as much as they are merely facilitating the collection of a tax -- the re-venuing of currency -- on compliant, consenting persons who asked for this very thing in the name of feeling secure.

"Did you see all the knives they caught that guy with? I'm glad they got him! I'll sleep soundly on my flight to El Paso knowing that that dangerous dude is behind bars!" Feeling safe is important to many people, and I don't blame them one bit. Feeling secure is a natural human desire, and getting it at someone else's expense can make it feel even more sweet. That's not the way I live by, but I've come to accept that that's the way it is, that the vast majority of the country feel that way, and the rules are made to suit them. When somebody's thimble ends up in the fictitious slammer, the other players say "HA!" and they play right past them, because that's how the game is played. Arguing against it is like trying to stop the sun.

Now, change the rules if it bothers you, sure. Good. Great. I'm all about it. But know that when you deny one funding stream, the government with find another, and will construct an organization tasked with taking up the collection. You say that marijuana should be legal? Cool beans, but there will need to be something given in kind because there are no free lunches. I'm on a hunch that pot will be legal in the next 5 or 10 years just as citizens want, and in return for this there will be an ever larger network of sex offender laws with an agency created to enforce it. Either that or, considering the sharply divided mindset of Americans, there will be crimes against the homeland used for government commerce. If you haven't noticed yet, the struggling economy is effecting the government as well, and the predictable reaction from it is to draw funds from areas both large and small, like SOPA for a large scale revenue generating function, and nitpicking citizens for random stuff like lightbulb disposal as an example of the small stuff.

Again, there are no free lunches, and there's nothing new under the sun. If you get what you want, you have to give something in kind. Choose wisely.

New 6.5mm hunting bullets from Barnes

At SHOT Barnes Bullets anounced their new LRX lineup that includes a 127 grain bullet in 6.5mm. Word from a 6.5 Grendel forum member who talked to Barnes reps at SHOT is that the bullets not only offer a better B.C. for long range shooting, but offer expansion at velocities as low as 1,400 fps. If that's true, than it expands 400 - 600 fps slower than other hunting bullets on the market, which translates to an extra 200+ yards of killing range. At an advertised price of $38 for a box of 50, Barnes has made all this possible by making these bullets out of solid gold.

MK12 Mod 0 p0rn

A picture thread at Sniper's Hide.

A relaxing evening

After putting the kids to bed last night, I was gifted with something very rare: a couple hours of peace. With the 5th season of 24 playing softly in the background, I was able to load up my next batch of Nosler Custom Competitions for the 2nd phase of my OCW test.



After that I sized/deprimed the rest of my once-fired .264 LBC brass and primed them with Federal 205Ms. It's nice having prepped brass already on the bench; it saves time when you think up something to load, like 123 grain bullets a full grain over the book maximum.

When I was done reloading I thought I would slip off to bed, but I ended up comforting one of my kids who couldn't sleep due to coughing. Such is life.