The joy of a big boomer

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted since mid-August. Sorry guys (and gals). I started on a new job on Aug. 30th as a consultant and then converted to a full time employee on Nov. 1st so work has kept me busy. Things are starting to settle down a bit now so here I am with more gun ramblings.

This past weekend, a friend that works with my wife approached her about a gun he had for sale. He had a S&W 29-3 with a 6" barrel (the same configuration Dirty Harry used) and he wanted to sell it to fund another gun purchase. The next day, I went to visit him and check it out. I fully planned to take a look at it and tell him I wasn't interested. I was really only going to see him to offer him some advice on how to go about selling it on CarolinaShootersForum in the classifieds section. However, when I saw it I realized I needed to have it. I do have another .44 Magnum... a Ruger Super Blackhawk, but there is something about a nice double action .44 Mag. I didn't have enough cash with Christmas so close, but I offered him a trade that he took.

After thinking about it harder, I decided I really liked the gun but just don't care for blued revolvers. Bluing takes more maintenance to keep it looking nice and it seems that all the rounded surfaces on a revolver just make it harder to deal with. I posted it myself on CSF and traded it for a 5.5" Ruger Redhawk in the same caliber, but in stainless steel. This gun is built like a TANK! I love the feel of a well built, big revolver.

Is it the most practical gun out there? No. However, they are just so much fun to shoot that I really think at least one belongs in any complete gun collection. Now you can see why writing an article like my last one is so difficult. One post later, I'm adding to it.

Stay safe out there... and watch your six.

Gun collection essentials

I realize I have not done a good job of keeping this blog active so today, I'm going to do something I haven't done in a LONG time. I'm going to write my second post in under a week. I will try to do better in the future so that there is new, interesting (I hope) things to read when you visit.

Today, I want to talk about what I consider the bare minimum you should have in your gun collection. I will admit right now that I am missing a couple of these myself, but they are on my list to buy as soon as possible.

1. A gun safe. If you are going to own firearms, you need to take personal responsibility for them. This means that even if you don't have kids, you have a duty to keep these guns out of the hands of criminals that could break into your house. The #1 thing you should have is a safe, secure place to store you guns. I have a list of gun safe manufacturers in my link section on the right side.

2. A rimfire rifle. Personally, I prefer the good old .22LR, but the point is you need something that is cheap to shoot and fun to keep you going back to the range to get good trigger time. The most common choice here is a Ruger 10/22 and it is my personal favorite.

3. A rimfire pistol. For the same reason as the rimfire rifle, there will be times when money is tight or ammo is scarce, but you can almost always find a 500 round box of .22 at Wally World. These are also great for introducing new shooters to our hobby. The most common of these would be the Ruger Mark II/III or a Browning Buckmark. I like both, but I currently have a Buckmark in my safe. Either is a great choice.

4. A self defense type handgun. The most important function a gun can serve is to protect you and your family. You need a good, self defense style handgun that is reliable and you can handle well. Personally, I recommend 9mm or larger for semi-auto and .357 Magnum for revolvers. Don't go TOO large. Bigger magnums don't allow for quick follow-up shots so they are best left for hunting and not self defense. Some good examples would be a Glock 17, Glock 19, Sig P226, Sig P229, HK P30, HK45, S&W M&P, S&W 686, Ruger GP100, Springfield XD or a Springfield XDm. This is just a short list of the most popular of these types of guns but there are tons more to choose from. Stick to a known brand and you should be fine.

5. Another self defense type handgun. Since, if you are ever involved in a self defense shooting, your primary handgun is the most likely gun you will have used, you need a duplicate of it. The gun used will be ceased by police as evidence until you are cleared. In the meantime, you need to still have a way to defend yourself. I've read nightmare stories of a man shooting a robber, his gun is taken for evidence and then the friends of the robber come and kill him. He was left unarmed because he only had the one gun. I recommend getting a gun that can share the same mags, holsters and ammo as the primary gun, but this is not absolutely necessary. It's just a nice convenience.

6. An "Evil Black Rifle". These are just great fun, and I think every gun owner should have one if for no other reason than it makes liberals uncomfortable. My personal choice is an M4 style AR15, but there are more variations than you can shake a stick at so do some reading and pick one that puts a grin on your face.

7. A home defense shotgun. The shotgun is one of the best tools for home defense and a staple of a good collection. The most common are the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500/590. The Remington seems to operate a bit smoother and has more after market support, but I like where the controls are located on the Mossberg better which is why it is my choice.

8. A snubby revolver. There will be times when you need to conceal carry and your full size gun can't be hidden. There will be times when you are running out the door and don't have time to dig out your holster and get it all positioned. Drop a 5-shot .38 Special in your pocket (in a pocket holster so the trigger is covered) and you are reasonably protected with nearly no effort. I can't imagine not owning at least one of these. My personal choice is a S&W 642-1. The "-1" is important because the newer "-2" models have that wretched internal lock I hate so much. See my rant on gun shop employees for more details. There are some good choices out there by Ruger, S&W and even some older Colts. Just get a quality gun and practice with it.

Depending on the type of shooting you prefer, there could be several other entries on this list like hunting rifles, cowboy action shooting guns, sporting shotguns, etc... However, I consider the #1 job of guns is to be a tool for self defense. That is why I have focused on that. By all means, add more and more until your gun safe is so full you are afraid to open it, but this is a good starting point for a well rounded collection... in my not so humble opinion.

Stay safe out there, and watch your six.

What should you have in your range bag

First, let me say that this list is what works for me, but everyone has different needs so I may carry stuff you see no need for and I may leave out stuff you wouldn't dream of heading to the range without. This list isn't meant to be complete because it is always evolving. I've intentionally left out a few obvious things... guns, ammo and mags. The reason for that is that I don't store these in my range bag. I add them on my way out the door depending on what type of shooting I'm about to do. What I keep in the bag are things I would use for most types of shooting.

1. Food & Water. If you only shoot for an hour at a time at indoor ranges, this might not be needed, but when I go to IDPA matches, I am there 4 - 5 hours, outside in the heat or the cold. If I go to an outdoor range with friends, we usually make a day of it. My particular range bag doesn't have a pocket for a water bottle so I just bought a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle and a D-ring and clipped it to the bag. I keep a couple of Slim Jims in the bag and I'll add a bag of trail mix or granola bars or beef jerky when I'm packing up the bag for the range trip.

2. First Aid Kit. Accidents happen, and even a minor cut or scratch can get badly infected if not cleaned quickly. Let's face it, gun ranges aren't anything close to sterile. In fact, just today I got a bad gash on my left ankle when a pepper popper I was resetting fell back down and gouged my leg. That was rusty steel that was stored outside. That could have become bad if I hadn't had a way to quickly clean it properly. My first aid kit is pretty basic... 10 Advil, 10 Tylenol, a roll of sterile tape, a bottle of Bactine, some alcohol wipes, an assortment of band-aids from small to pretty large and even a few 4x4 sterile pads.

3. Sunscreen and Bug Spray. You are going to be outside all day. This one seems obvious, but can easily be overlooked.

4. Some basic tools. I don't feel the need to have everything I need to completely rebuild my gun, but it would be nice to be able to handle minor issues without losing your day at the range. I keep a small screwdriver with multiple bits, a Gerber Multi-tool and a folding knife.

5. A basic cleaning kit. You never know when your gun could just need some quick lube to make it keep running and not end your day at the range early. I keep it simple, but I have one of those free brushes that get included with a new Glock, a small pack of patches, a small amount of pipe cleaners, a couple of shop towels and a small bottle of RemOil.

6. Eye and ear protection. I keep a pair of electronic ear muffs for the winter (or IDPA matches even in the summer since it is easier to hear the S.O. commands) and a pair of custom ear plugs for summer shooting. I also keep a few disposable sets of ear plugs just in case someone forgot theirs. I wear glasses, but I keep one set of eye protection just in case a friend forgot theirs.

7. Stuff to attach targets. Depending on the range you go to and the type of target holders they have, you will need different things to attach your targets. I keep a bag of laundry line clips, paper clips, masking tape and a staple gun. The laundry clips do take up a lot of space so if I'm going somewhere I know I won't need them, I will pull them out and leave them at home.

8. Targets. Seems obvious, but unless you are going to a match where the targets are provided, you will need something to shoot at. I print out my own targets because I'm cheap.

9. A bag for your brass. It's a good idea to pick up your brass even if you don't reload since odds are you have a friend that does. I just use an old Crown Royal bag. It works fine.

10. A hat. It's good for keeping the sun off your head and out of your eyes as well as deflecting brass heading for your face. I got a free one from Ruger due to the LCP recall so I keep that one in my bag.

11. Misc. stuff. I also keep spare batteries for my electronic muffs (learned that lesson the hard way), extra staples for the staple gun, target spots, target pasters, a pen, membership cards for any ranges or organizations such as IDPA, lens wipes, IDPA Rulebook, Work gloves, a notebook, Purell Hand Sanitizer and a small towel.

I'd like to add a shot timer, but that will have to wait a while.

There are also things I'll add for specific trips, but don't keep in the bag because I don't always need them and they take up a lot of room. For example, if I'm going to an IDPA match, I'll add a cover garment, a holster and a double magazine carrier for the gun I'm taking. If I'm going to shoot rifles at a distance, I'll pack my bench rest. If I'm taking a lot of guns and might be there all day, I may carry my entire cleaning kit.

Just think it through when you are packing your bag and think about where you are going, how long you will be there and what you might need while you are there. The worst thing is to make a long drive to the range and have your day cut short because of something you should have had with you but forgot.

Stay safe out there and watch your six.

A hard lesson learned about passwords

I have worked as an I.T. professional for the last 13 years. I understand strong passwords and have always used something that a dictionary attack could not touch. However, I learned last week that this is not enough.

I use gmail for my primary email address. I've move and changed internet providers enough to get sick of having to send out my new email address to everyone each time so it is just easier to use a web-based email address that doesn't change. I use a complex password, but I use the same password on everything that has any secure info, like on-line retailers that store my credit card or my bank or paypal, etc... I use a simpler one for stuff like forums and news groups. That way, I only have 2 passwords to remember.

Last week, my wife and I went out to enjoy the nice weather in her convertible. I'm out of work right now so I have my gmail account setup on her Blackberry so I can see if I get any emails from recruiters while we are out. About an hour after we left the house, my gmail account got flooded with postmaster undeliverable emails. Apparently, someone hacked my password and sent out spam to everyone in my contacts. I found the nearest public library, jumped on the 'net and changed my password and sent out a warning email telling everyone what had happened and not to click the link. When we got home that evening, I changed the password on ALL my accounts that used that password but it took forever to find one that fit all the different sites requirements.

I decided to do what I should have done years ago. I needed a unique, complex password for each site so that if one did get hacked, the others weren't in danger. To do that, I needed a good password manager application so I could remember them all. After some research, I downloaded a nice little free app called KeePass. It works great, and if you download the portable version you can keep a copy on a usb flash drive on your keychain so you always have it with you.

I just thought I'd share this so that maybe a few of you can learn from my mistake. There are lots of different free password manager apps out there. Get one and use it. Crap like this really does happen.

Stay safe out there and watch your six.

Report from the 2010 NRA Annual Meeting

Today was a very good day. My wife and I attended the 2010 NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC. We had a LOT of fun and met some amazing people. There were a few negatives so I'll get them out of the way first so I can focus on the good stuff...

First, the line management entering the hall was horrible. We were queued up in a line to enter, but people were allowed to just stream past the line and break to the front with no one challenging them. It's a small thing, but it bothered me. Also, I really wanted to go to the Chuck Norris book signing, but the line was far too long. That part isn't a complaint. It's good for him that he has so many fans and my loss that I didn't get in the line earlier. My complaint is the sign at the entrance to the line saying he would not allow anyone to photograph him and would not sign anything except his book. That just seemed rather crappy to me. If people are going to stand in a 2 - 3 hour line (and that is probably on the low side) you ought to sign anything they want and I can't see the harm of a quick snapshot with them when you are done. I still think the world of him, but I didn't like that at all. The last thing was at the very end. As we left, we saw a group of 8 - 10 protesters standing outside with lame handwritten signs that said things like "Lax gun laws kill" and "Close the gun show loophole". Inside, there was around 60,000 NRA members and this handful of losers were where the focus of the news crews were. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it is amazing to me that they can justify focusing on a TINY group while ignoring the HUGE group inside.

Okay, enough of the bitching. Let's talk about all the cool stuff...

First thing when we got onto the convention room floor, we headed straight to the Glock booth to try to get to meet R. Lee Ermey a.k.a. "Gunny". He wasn't there yet, but the line was already forming so we took our place and waited. He showed up about 9:30 and the line started moving really slow. I figured out why when we got to the front. He is just an amazingly nice guy and wanted to take the time to actually talk to each person instead of just signing a picture and sending them on their way. It was well worth it. I brought my copy of Full Metal Jacket on bluray and he signed the cover for me as well as one of the stock pictures. He also signed my wife's Glock hat she had just bought in the booth and a pic for her too. Then, he took the time to pose for a picture with me, then my wife, and then both of us. It was an amazing experience to get to meet and talk to him. He really is one of my heroes.

After that, we started walking the show floor and checking out all the cool merchandise. We saw a really cool circular gun safe from a company called Pendelton that was lit on the inside and had a rotating display case inside. We fondled the Springfield XDm in .45ACP and liked it. We handled the Bushmaster ACR and liked it, but not for the price. We handled the FN SKAR and liked it too, but also didn't think it was worth the price. I handled the Dan Wesson Valor in Stainless and liked it. I handled the new Remington 1911R1 and was surprisingly impressed. I saw the Kimber Custom Shop Super Carry Pro (Series 1!) and absolutely LOVED it! I also got to handle the new Ruger LCR in .357 Magnum and liked it a lot too. I also got to handle the Sig P238 and liked it but realized it was bigger than I had imagined so I'll stick with my LCP. I got to handle one of the new Sig P226 E2's and my wife and I both agreed the new grip is amazing! We also both really loved the grip on the HK P30 we got to handle. We got swag (a.k.a. free stuff) everywhere! We got pins and pens and playing cards and bottle openers and bags and catalogs and... well, a ton of stuff.

Now for more celebrity sitings... The first one I spotted (actually as we headed into the show) was Steve Lee. Later, we found him at a booth and got to speak to him and get his autograph. If you aren't familiar with him, he is the musician that wrote the song "I Like Guns". You can watch the video here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TC2xTCb_GU

Next was of course the Gunny and that was great. I got to see Ronnie Barrett but he was doing an on camera interview so I didn't have the chance to speak with him. After seeing all the cool stuff, we headed over to The Outdoor Channel booth and I got to have a nice 5 minute conversation with Michael Bane. He is a very cool, funny and nice guy and you'd never know he was a pseudo-celebrity from meeting him. We swung by the Smith & Wesson booth on the way out and found Jerry Miculek so I got his autograph. By that point I was pretty tired and not real talkative myself, but he seemed like a very nice guy as well.

There were also a large selection of MMA fighters at different booths but since I don't follow the sport I didn't know who they were and didn't ask for autographs. I had hoped to get a chance to meet Ted Nugent, but his signing session was just starting and we were running out of steam. My wife had worked 6pm - 6am the night before and then stayed up to go the show with me so I didn't want to push my luck by asking her to stay longer for one more autograph.

Overall, it was an amazing day. It was great to see all the nice people and the great products.

Oh... one more story that my wife witnessed and told me about later. About 1:30 we were getting hungry and made our way over to the concession stand. The line was long and the tables were full which was expected. My wife and I saw an elderly man behind us in line and when a seat opened up at the table next to the line we heard the people he was standing beside tell him to go ahead and sit down and they'd bring him his food. A minute later two more seats opened up at the table so my wife went to save those while I stayed in line to buy lunch. She said that the people brought the older man his food and he gave them the money. The younger guy went to get some ketchup for the older man and when he came back and handed him the fries with ketchup, he gave him the money back and said lunch was on him. Before the older guy could argue, they younger couple slipped away through the crowd. It turned out they didn't even know him. They just saw an older man standing in line and looking exhausted so they came over, helped him out then bought his lunch. THOSE are the people I'll remember from my experience today. Not the line breakers or the protesters but the genuinely good people that walked that convention hall floor today and did a good deed just because it was good.

I am truly blessed to live in this country and I am doubly blessed to have a wife who dealt with the crowds all day after working all night just because she knew it meant a lot to me. Thank you honey. I love you!

To the rest of you... stay safe out there and watch your six.

I never knew how much I didn't know

I have been talking for years about wanting to take some top quality training from one of the big schools like Gunsite or Thunder Ranch, but time and money never allowed this. The other day, I got a copy of Magpul Dynamics, The Art of the Tactical Carbine DVD set. I only had time to watch about 35 minutes so far, but something has already become VERY obvious. I had no idea how much I didn't know. I can't wait to go through the whole course on DVD and I already want to pick up The Art of the Tactical Carbine II and The Art of the Tactical Handgun by them. Production quality is top notch and the instructors seem to really know their stuff. It is no substitute for a 3 day carbine course, but it is definitely teaching me things.

Don't spend your gun money on a new gun this year if you can use that to get some good training instead. I'm realizing that knowing how to use the guns I have is far more important than getting a new gun. Ammo and training is where the money really needs to be spent.

Stay safe out there and watch your six.