No Worries

My wife and I homeschool our kids, so this doesn't effect our family the way it does others. Let me start off by reminding everyone that the P.S.S. (public school system) is the most protected agency in our government. Therefore any criticism of the P.S.S. would fall under EXTREME POLITICAL INCORRECTNESS and anyone caught doing so would be put in stocks to have organically grown tomatoes thrown at them. That should explain why no one has heard this story from the AP.

WASHINGTON - Members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counter terror officials said Friday, in a cautionary bulletin to police.
Just so we understand each other, terrorists are driving kids school buses. Got it? good, it gets better.
Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said "there are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although law enforcement agencies around the country were asked to watch out for kids' safety.
There is no reason for concern?! Abdullah Akmed Ammanablowyouup is driving our kids to school and there isn't anything to fear? What happened when Camel farmers showed an interest in flying? For those of you scratching your head, September 11, 2001 happened. But when I typed "terrorists school bus" on Google, only 1 on the first page said anything about it. So don't expect anything to be done, no one wants to tarnish the P.S.S.'s pristine image. However, parents, you might want to think about driving your kids to school from now on, or you could just keep them home, anything to keep'em alive.

Everybody's Gotta Start Somewhere

As the resident "gun guy" at work, the most asked question by future pistoleros is "what is a good starter gun?", or "Ive been thinking about getting a gun, what do you think I should get?" There are as many answers to this as there are uninformed Democrats. See, it all depends on your size, what kind of shooting your gonna do, Is it for carry or recreation, things like that.
On the size issue, a small framed woman would be right at home with a Walther P-22, or a Smith mod 65 ladysmith in .38 special. On the other hand, a buddy of mine who stands at 6' 8" and weighs in at just about 385, well, a 20mm anti-aircraft gun might be a good place to start. I tell people to feel as many different models as you can, every hand is different and you need to have the ability to reach the trigger comfortably, manipulate all the controls with one hand, and hold it out to acquire a good sight picture without a huge strain on your arm. Which means, if your 5' 4", and 125 pounds, a Desert Eagle is not for you no matter how cool you thought The Matrix was. Bottom line, If you can't hold the gun with one hand, work the controls with the same hand, and shoot it straight all at the same time, its not the gun for you, and you might be asking for trouble.
What kind of shooting do you want to do? If you live in on of the 38 free states and your looking for a concealed carry weapon, I don't think an S&W 500 is for you. And on the other hand, The Charles Daly compact 1911 .45 acp won't make a very good hunting pistol. For plinkin, and just randomly wasting lead at the range, just about any full size service pistol is the way to go. (but if your looking for perfection, 1911 needs to be stamped somewhere on the slide, and the caliber needs to start with a 4, and end with a 5.) If your goin hunting for big 4 legged fuzzballs, any of S&W's or Rugers hand cannons would be quite appropriate. And for CCW, you can never go wrong with a compact 1911.
There are a lot of good trainer pistols out there too. I have a Ruger mod, 22/45 and man it shoots good. It's the Ruger mark III with the grip angle and feel to match the 1911. Now if your like me, you pick up new bad habits almost on a weekly basis, so having a good 1911 trainer pistol can help work through your issues. And I recommend this less than $300 gun to anyone who wants to shoot the real thing, but needs to learn how first. Heck, even fighter pilots learn in trainer planes. You don't think Maverick and Goose took flight for the first time in an F-14 do you?
Have Fun, shoot straight, and be safe.

Friendly Fire

We have in this great land a system of government 2nd to none, the greatest citizen-base in the free (and unfree) world, and an economic system that allows any Tom, Dick, or Harry to be insanely rich if he chooses to apply himself. We also have the most powerful military to ever grace the globe. We are able to live in peace knowing our boys are over in sandland dealing with the only crackpots dumb enough to try and hurt us at home. I myself get up every morning and go to work, not worrying about whether my family will be safe when I return. With a country so great, and a freedom unheard of in the rest of the world, why is it that those we elect to be administrators of a country that pretty well takes care of itself, can do nothing but try and destroy each other. The petty disputes, the power-grabbing, the lieing and cheating, and the childish arguing are enough to make a man lose his mind. Example, September 11, 2001. 19 camel racers, funded by multiple countries from the Land of Sand plane-jack 4 passenger jets, and run 2 of them into the World Trade Center, 1 into the Pentagon, and 1 down into a Pennsylvania field. 3000 of our Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters were killed that day. And how did we respond? BOOM, WHACK, BANG, POW, CRASH, or something along those lines. We had info that Saddam Insane was in cahoots with the bad guys, and he had some pretty bad boom sticks(WMD's) himself that he could give to those who believe evangelism and car-bombs are the same thing. So, reason and good sense says, "that boys got to go." So we got him. We haven't been hit in over 5 years, in 4 years at war, we have lost a record low 3000 troops(1000 a month in Vietnam), 2 countries that had women beaten or executed for allowing too much of her nose show in public are now on their way to being free democracies, and did I say that we haven't been attacked in 5 years? And those a little left of the center line can do nothing but "hate Bush" and anyone else who is dumb enough to choose conservatism as a way of life. Theres no banding together to fight a common enemy, just Bush lied, Bush is stupid, Bush is Hitler, the troops are the Gestapo, and the worst one yet, America is the greatest threat to world peace that we have today. This doesn't stop, its a never-ending schoolyard fight that never gets broken up. Aren't these guys supposed to be the most mature among us? We have been at war 4 years now, trying to stop those who would see us burn, and all the left has done is throw up roadblocks. Almost makes you wonder who's side their on. If they would put half the effort into fighting the bad guys that they put into fighting republicans, the middle east would be the worlds largest supplier of glass, and our boys would be home, cause there wouldn't be anyone left to fight. So, a message to all Democrats, You are fighting the wrong people!! If you want our troops home, help us fight the bad guys, and we can celebrate together. A message to Republicans, Beware of friendly Fire!!!

End of rant.

Back to the Range

The time to write is a luxury not recognized until that time is no more. But this is not a dead site, and I plan to continue jabbering on here whenever I can. So just check back from time to time and leave a comment or 2.
Anyhow, my reason for writing was not to tell that. Another activity that becomes limited is shooting. I'll trade range time for the little girl in the below pictures anytime, not to mention the other 4 little ones running around here. But today me and the boy made it out to the range to try out some new toys. I got Gavin a Rossi single barrel rifle in .243 for Christmas, I got a CVA Kodiak magnum .50 cal. muzzle loader from My parents, and with the generosity of my boss, I was able to buy myself a Charles Dailey compact 1911 .45 auto.
It's kinda embarrassing, but for all the different guns I've been able to shoot, I've never even shouldered a muzzle loader. But there was a fella at the range who took the time to go over everything with me. Don't think I know enough about them to say much more, but it was a fine shooter, and it'll kill a deer, even with me behind the sights.
On the other hand, the 1911 was perfect. Charles Dailey puts together a nice package. For a pistol that retails for about $1000, You would expect a smooth, solid gun with all the add-on junk like an extended beavertail grip safety, a combat hammer, tapered bull barrel (Which eliminated the barrel bushing), A full length guide rod, nice big combat sights, And a smooth crisp trigger that breaks right around 4 lbs. But this gun retails somewhere around 500 bucks. I know this sound like I'm being paid by Charles Dailey, but I was really impressed by this gun. I've never really liked the idea of the full guide rod, I guess its just "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kinda thinking. But the difference is amazing. The gun feels more solid, and it's got a more positive lock up. Anyway, Great gun.
Now this Is where I need some help. My boys rifle. It is a good gun, shoots great, easy to operate, even for a small framed boy of 8 years. We got it sighted in, and it held pretty good groups for me, So I know the scope is holding zero. But when the boy got behind it, the target looked like it was used in a turkey shoot. And this was at 50 yards. Now I know he can shoot, he's been very good for some time now, 4" groups at 100 yards with an iron sighted 22. So his ability to shoot is not the problem. This is the first time he's used a scope. Normally it's the other way around, you teach a youngster how to shoot a rifle with a scope first, and give them iron sights and they couldn't hit a buffalo at 10 paces. I didn't know this delima worked in reverse too. So I'll leave with this, how do I teach a boy who is proficient with open sights how to use a scoped rifle? The comment button is right down there, If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.(Well I guess I'd be all eyes in this case, whatever you know what I mean.)