For The Miller- Robots

JB Miller posted a video on Robots that reminded me of a photochop I did on a lark a few days ago:

I'm coming for your guns!

Diagnose this Malfunction, Redux

Details- Gun is my AR Pistol.  Del-Ton lower, DPMS LPK.  Palmetto State Armory Pistol Buffer, Spring and Tube.  Upper was bought as a complete unit from a reliable source- 7.5"bbl, Spikes Tactical BCG. 

Ran fine for a long time.  Now, it has just mysteriously become a single shot.  In the videos above, you will see some times the casing is halfway extracted.  Those are times that the gun is not braced.  When it half extracts, it was braced against my chest. 

I have given it a good cleaning, ran the bolt both wet and dry.  The only thing I can think of is it somehow being undergassed.  But how does that happen just all-of-a-sudden?

Diagnose this malfunction pt. 3

Diagnose this malfunction pt. 2

Diagnose this malfunction

More to come

Presented without...

Frozen Friday random internet stuff

It's cold (well, central TX cold... barely freezing), so most things have shut down.  There was a report of ice on a bridge somewhere within MOAB blast range, so the city has shut down.  The stores are out of firelogs, Menthol Tobacco flavored vodka, milk and Lone Star beer.  Reports of cannibalism in the remote parts of West Campus have been coming over the wires.

In compliance with the FEMA warlords that have taken over my sector of the city, I am hunkering down in my encampment with a makeshift spear made from a broom handle and a MacBook Pro motherboard.

In the interim, here is some random stuff from the Internet:

Star Wars Bohemian Rhapsody:

Scary Computer News (H/T Borepatch):

Computer scientists have brewed up prototype malware that's capable of communicating across air gaps using inaudible sounds.
The mesh network capable of covertly communicating without wireless or wired connections was developed by Michael Hanspach and Michael Goetz. It borrows its founding principles from established systems for robust underwater communication.

Now my computer is talking about me behind my back.  Great.

Wikipedia details of Moonshine by county
Interestingly, the Armenian moonshine is a phonetic spelling of the sound you make the morning after drinking it: aragh

Too far!!

Who in the... Just... I don't....

Why?!? That's not even a flavor that smokers like. Gaaaah!!!

Hunting AAR

As I mentioned, I shot a couple of deer this past weekend. 

The first one I shot, was a long (for Central TX) shot.  Right at 130 yards, right as it was about to cross a fenceline.  When approached, I was pretty disheartened- he was a medium sized body 6 point, but was all skin and bones.  He had a compound fracture on his rear leg, and it appeared to be infected.  It was good to cull him out, and put him out of his misery.

Shot details: 130 yard neckshot with a 168Gr Hornady A-MAX

But, about an hour later, another good buck came in and I took the shot.  It turns out that this might be the best buck we have taken off the property.  Which is good, since we have been grooming this herd for YEARS.  It looks like it is finally paying off:

Shot details: 91 yard neck shot, same gun and ammo

Shot details: 'Bout 10 yards with an iPhone.

Hard to tell from those pics, but the rack was VERY wide.  Probably 20" inside spread.  Very heavy body as well.  I'm a bigger guy, but it took me and my brother to lift him.

Now, because this was turning out to be a good weekend, we had to have a wrench thrown into the mess.  On our way out of the property, the wheel bearing on my brother's truck takes a dump on him.  So I end up taking the quartered deer in to be processed... in a Prius.  It was kind of funny.

unhook that goddamn, and replace it with this sh!tbox... and DONE!

Got that fixed, and did not miss any hunting.  It was a great weekend in the woods. 

Deer

I let this guy go, only because I already have 2 deer on the ground. Details to follow

Dear, Mr. Metcalf- STOP TALKING!

There is an old saying:

When you find yourself at the bottom of a hole, the first thing to do is STOP DIGGING.

Dick Metcalf really needs to get that saying set as his screen saver.  That way, before he starts typing he gets a good reminder to 'never miss an opportunity to shut up.'

Background- the last issue of Guns and Ammo (G&A) had a back page editorial where Mr. Metcalf took a page from the Brady Campaign and said that the 2nd Amendment (2ndA) had wording in it that allowed for Govt restrictions to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA).  He ignored lots of readings, rulings, and scholarship on the 2ndA that clearly said "Nuh-Uh", then went to back up his ramblings with "I taught this stuff once," and "but we regulate cars..."  His idiocy got picked up by gun control zealots, and used against the RKBA

Anyway- he got himself "Recoil-ed" and "Zumbo-ed."  He and the Editor of G&A got fired.

Mr. Metcalf, instead of taking a clue from Jim Zumbo, and go on a public "mea culpa" tour, and rehab his image....  Well, he decided to "Step on his Metcalf" again and show that not only does he not understand the 2ndA, but also shows a startling lack of knowledge on the FIRST Amendment!

Direct quote from Dick Metcalf's response on "The Shooting Wire":

...then I fear for the future of our industry, and for our Cause. Do not 2nd Amendment adherents also believe in Freedom of Speech?

 Dick... if I may call you 'Dick'... Here is the thing- You have the freedom of speech.  So do I.  When you wrote your (last) column, you were free to do so.

When I, as a long time customer, requested that G&A (Intermedia Outdoors) take you to the woodshed and spank you like a red-headed stepchild,  I was free to do that as well. 

However, since YOU are a negative on the balance sheet (overhead), and I am a positive (revenue) AND I was joined by a whole bunch of others from the revenue column....  you got canned. 

Freedom of speech does not mean you have freedom from the repercussions.  You (hopefully inadvertently) aided and abetted to enemy.  Make no mistake, the anti-RKBA forces are the enemy, and as Michael Bane states so eloquently:

...people who would happily load us into boxcars and send us east! We need to say no to the people who destroy our heritage, spit on the Constitution and unleash their thugs.

 Now, PLEASE stop talking.  Step away from the keyboard.  Go take that 16 hour class (to carry a gun) that you are so happy to have in Illinois,  do some introspection and navel-gazing.  Think if you want to come back to The People of The Gun and work toward more freedom, or if you want to polish your FOID-colored chains and continue down the path to bondage.

Opening weekend!

Tomorrow is the opening day of Whitetail deer season.  It's pretty much a religious holiday 'round here.

In honor of some sportball team winning some contest

Geeks on Halloween

Presented without comment

Sad Panda Mug Shot

Read the full story of the failure in the victim selection process HERE

Sick sense of humor

News Link:  Native American farmer grows amazing multi-coloured corn

 Short version.  Sumdood breeds some wild colored Indian Corn*.  How wild?  Wild like the paintjob on an east-Austin Monte Carlo*:

 

...and the first thing I think is: "That will look freaky as hell the next day."

*in honor of the Govt Shutdown, I have decided to be as Un-Politically Correct** as possible

**Orwellianspeak is completely intentional

Makarov Ammo

Guns Holsters and Gear has a nice write up on self defense ammo for the 9x18 Mak.  Go take a read, if you have any of those godless heathen commie guns

Gun Porn- Truck Gun Edition (for exurbankevin)

A couple of days ago, Kevin over at Misfires and Light Strikes asked about a "Car Gun"- something that is more than a pistol, but less than a rifle.  This is something I have been chasing for years-  in these parts, we spend lots of time in vehicles.  It is nice to have a compact gun that has a bit more reach and "oompf" than a CHL handgun, just in case.

The compact size is more about portability and being discrete than moving about and firing from a vehicle as some people expect.  I am a firm believer in Clint Smith's doctrine- Drive OR Shoot.  Not both.  However, you don't want to leave a weapon in a vehicle unsecured.  You want it compact so you can be discrete transporting it back and forth from the vehicle.  Another consideration is that some of these are technically pistols, and open carry of pistols is illegal (in TX).  So they do need to fit into a case or container of some sort.

Here are the different iterations of car guns that I have used:

From Top to bottom:
AR Pistol
THUD- a custom .44Mag NEF Single Shot
Rossi Ranch Hand .357Mag
UZI Carbine 9mm
Kel-Tec Sub2000 in .40S&W
Home Built AK Pistol

I'll start chronologically:

THUD-

My only 'named' gun

Description: NEF .44Mag single shot carbine, barrel cut down to 16.25", custom rattle-can paint job, home made kydex buttstock ammo carrier, Williams peep sight, Williams fiber-optic front sight.
Pros: Accurate, Powerful (I've used this to harvest a few whitetail deer), very handy. Versatile- works will all sorts of ammo. Does not look scary and tactical to the uninformed.
Cons: Single shot.  Larger than other options.

Kel Tec Sub2000-

Description: Bone stock .40 cal Sub2000
Pros: VERY compact when folded.  Can match ammo and magazines with a carry gun.  Very light. Technically a rifle, so it open carry (here) is legal, but it can be hidden very easily to not scare the neighbors.
Cons: Cannot fire when folded. Lower power than other options.  Difficult to add optics without getting Rube Goldberg on it. Odd charging handle location.

Uzi Carbine-

Description: Uzi Carbine in 9mm.  Dummy suppressor barrel shroud, LaserMax laser on a custom railed handguard
Pros: Can share ammo with carry gun.  Inexpensive 30 round mags.  Super fun to shoot.  Can fire with stock folded. Reliable.  Technically a rifle, concealment is not mandatory
Cons: HEAVY.  Lower power.  Does not share mags with carry gun.  Hard to mount optics

Rossi Ranch Hand-

Description: Bone Stock Ranch Hand in .357 Mag
Pros: Can share ammo with carry gun.  Mid level  power. Very handy, very light.  Versatile with ammo  selection.  Does not look tactical and scary to the uninformed. technically a pistol and very easy to conceal in a bag or pack
Cons: Slow reloads.  Lower capacity.  Hard to mount optics.

AK Pistol-

Description: Home built AK Pistol in 7.62x39
Pros: Handy.  Good power level.  Cheap ammo and magazines. Reasonably accurate. Technically a pistol and conceals easily in a tennis racquet bag with a 20 round mag. Fun to shoot.
Cons: LOUD.  Optics mounts are more difficult than other options

AR Pistol-

Description: Home Built AR Pistol.  Del-Ton Lower, 7.5" bbl, Palmetto State LPK and buffer tube, Burris Fast Fire red-dot
Pros: Light, handy, Accurate, easy to mount optics and accessories. Good power.  Cheap mags and ammo. Technically a pistol, and with a 20 Round mag, fits in the same tennis bag.
Cons: LOUD.  To make it compact, you go with a short barrel which robs some of the power of the 5.56

Are any of these the perfect choice?  No.  Are all of them fun and worth owning?  Yep!

Smith Enterprise, Inc. (SEI) M14 Barstock Receiver

It seems that Smith Ent. likes to sue people for posting bad reviews of their products online.

So, I just wanted to add my little part to the Google search fiasco and say:

DON'T BUY FROM SMITH ENTERPRISE.  THEY SUE PEOPLE FOR POSTING BAD REVIEWS ONLINE

Good Beer and Good 'classic style' metal

On a whim, I picked up a sixpack of a new Brew from the local favorite Real Ale Brewing out of Blanco, TX.  It is a tribute beer to a metal band named The Sword, and is appropriately named "The Sword Iron Swan Ale "

Ugly can, good beer

I did not do a full review, since I was drinking straight from the can in a parking lot after dark (took me back 20 years... just not with some of the shitty beer I swilled back then), but it was a good, flavorful ale.  Fruity hops, but not overpowering, 5.88% ABV, so it is 'sessionable'.  I'll post better pics and a review later tonight when I have time to pay more attention to the remainder of that sixer.

But it also introduced me to the band "The Sword".  Listening to some of their stuff on YouTube this morning, and it - once again- takes me back 20-25 years to some classic metal.  Good sound, cheesy and over the top videos, guitar driven with barely understandable lyrics.

get the horns up!  \m/

What a bunch of jerks

Obama can't get Gun Control past congress, so he screws with gun owners and collectors by banning reimportation of M1 Carbines and M1 Garands from Korea, and now by making those of us with Class 3 stuff jump through MORE hoops before we can get more stuff.

What an asshole.  This is PURELY punitive.  There is no reason to do this for crime.  I dare ANYONE on to come up with any sort of stat that shows any significant crime caused by CMP garands and Carbines or legally owned 'Class 3' weapons.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/29/obama-announces-new-gun-control-measures-targets-military-surplus-imports/

This is a total WANT!

A walk-in beer cooler with external tap. 

This isn’t your typical beverage cooler; it’s more like a piece of heaven, if heaven were climate controlled and located in your basement. Seriously though, the BrewCave is the walk in cooler that has everything!
The modular, panel design of each unit is fully tested and each piece is shipped to you separately, so you can assemble it right where you want it to be. Every panel (and the optional floor) has four inches of insulation sandwiched between inner and outer metal skins, so you know the inside of the cooler will remain igloo-cold. Good thing too, because with shelving space for over 30 cases of beer and room for four kegs on top of that, frostiness is your friend.
Speaking of those kegs, this unit has the added bonus of doubling as quite possibly the world’s largest kegerator. Everything you need to make this the ultimate draft beer dispensing system is included with your shipment, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor from day one.
Easy assembly, exceptional utility, and extreme good looks…the BrewCave is pretty much a cross between a miracle and another miracle!

LINK

OMG!

Another temple to smoke, meat and time

Worth Watching

I swear I'll have some real content soon.  Just been so busy lately.

Anyway, this is worth the watch:

H/T to Every Day, No Days off

When Worlds Collide-

Adam Savage (geek world 1) builds a replica Star Wars (geek world 2) from real and replica gun (geek world 3) parts.

Ben Franklin's Terms for being drunk

Funny how many of those would work for taking a leak or having... relations

BTW, Mike Rowe is one of the best on TV.

Why are all the Egyptians protesting Morrissey?

Yeah, he is pompous and overrated, but c'mon...

Things 5 year olds say

In a large retail mall with the family, and we see a group of what I am assuming to be Buddists in long robes.

That Kid grabbs the wife's arm and says "Mom! Look, those look like Jedi robes!"

Man, it is so hard not to laugh.

The problem with rat terriers

They want to eat anything smaller than they are

Gun stuff

I have been seriously lacking in the gun stuff on the blog as of late.  Why?  Well, ammo is expensive, time is short, and I am busy as hell with the day job.

I need to get to the range.  I cant afford it right now.  I REALLY want to fire a big boomer, and if I can load up some .454 ammo, MAYBE I'll sneak to the range in the next few days.

You want a BOOM?  You can't handle the BOOM!

Anywho... so here is some cool stuff about guns that was on the blogs this morning:

Grant Cunningham linked to Forgotten Weapons (a site that trips my oddball gun trigger) about another Automatic revolver that is just freaking cool:

 The Firearms Blog linked to another cool 'hidden safe':

Crown Royal?  A Glock?  Pfft... how positively 1992.

Jalapeno Lime Vodka

On father's day, my family got me (among other things) a VodkaZinger.

A what?

A neat little infuser that allows you to make custom flavored alcohol in small batches in a short period of time.  A few weeks ago, a coworker received one as a gift, and the idea migrated to the wife that I really needed another way to enjoy alcohol.

It works by having a little opposing blade rough grinder at the bottom that you load with whatever flavor you want.  When you screw it on, the blades clop and crush the flavorant, and keep it in the bottom with a fine mesh strainer.  Then you fill with the beverage of your choice, shake and steep in the fridge.

Of course, it was a Sunday, and in Texas we still have these asinine Blue Laws that say that hard liquor can only be sold at liquor stores... and that the stores must be closed on Sundays.

...and we were out of vodka.

So I did a test run with some strawberries and lime with water, and made a nice refreshing agua fresca.

Today, I was able to sneak out to the liquor store and score a bottle of vodka.  We had some jalapenos left over, and were fresh out of limes... so I improvised for a test run and used some key lime juice I had lying about.

That's some targeted marketing, rite thar'

With a rough chop of the seeded peppers (we already knew this batch was rocket hot), I loaded up the bottom of the 'Zinger' and started the process.

Into the fridge it goes!

Meanwhile, it was time to put That Kid to bed.  I let it steep for an hour or so (meanwhile I reminded myself why you should not touch your eyes after processing hot peppers) and decided to try a taste.

It was REALLY good.  It really brought across the flavor of the jalapenos.  I immediately regretted not  getting tequila and doing this to make some awesome Jalapeno Margaritas.

Clean up was a snap.  The peppers came out of the bottom easy and the carafe cleaned right up quick with no lingering odor of either the peppers or the vodka.

Now, I'm sure someone is asking 'what does this give you over just cutting up the stuff and steeping it in a mason jar?'  Really just one thing- speed.  A few months ago, I did a Meyer Lemon infused vodka, and to get this level of flavor transfer, it took about 3-4 days of steeping.

Can you tell I like to drink local?

All in all, this was a nice gift, and something I think I'll get some good use out of.  It is fairly inexpensive, and I think worth the price.   I am going to try different flavors with different liquors and see if I can come up with something really good.

Of course, I could just be mean and make someone a 'special' drink...

All this to play shitty music and sportball

Last weekend's project

Last weekend, I spent a lot of time working on a recent acquisition.  Building stake sides for a trailer.

My brother in law had a Harbor Freight trailer that he had converted to a Teardrop Camper.

Not his, but you get the idea

For several reasons, he was done with it, and had converted it back to trailer configuration.

Yes, that is peel and stick kitchen tile on the deck.

So I bought it, and drove it home in a monsoon.

Only lost one tile in the rainstorm!

A trailer without sides is only mostly useful.  While the base trailer has stake pockets in the frame rails, that would make the bed capacity slightly less than the 4x8 size of the trailer.  Using those pockets means I could not lay a sheet of plywood or drywall flat on it with the sides on.  So I went to Red Trailers and bought a set of bolt on stake pockets and side connectors and went to work.

Why yes, that is a microbrew IPA in an insulated plastic cup.

In my attempt to not make stuff too heavy, I used 3/8" plywood for the sides.  That is pretty flimsy, so I had to brace between the stake pockets.  I did not want to increase the weight by using more pressure treated lumber, so I used the bracing from the inside of a storm-killed EZ-Up canopy

NOW I'll be able to see it in the rearview mirror!

...and it was ready to roll. 

Now I have a utility trailer.  No, I cannot help you move.

Culinary and Automotive geeks collide: Gordon Ramsay vs James May

Not in MY Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia!

This made me laugh

Content!

Been almost a week since I posted anything. So, here is this

Never Forget

Thank you to all of our servicemen and women. We should never forget your courage and sacrifice.

Trifecta!

Travis