Murphy is Asking Once Again!

You coming to the Blogshoot this weekend?  I'm going and I look forward to seeing you there. Its for a good cause, the Wounded Warrior Project. I had a blast last year and got to meet some really nice folks. Oh, and shoot some really cool stuff! That's a bonus! 

I am bringing Old NFO's favorite Handgun, the M&P =)! 

 



















I noted last year that my long gun game was lacking. I hope not this year. Charline will be attending. 

The M1 Garand on the top. I might also whip out a thing or two that has not been fired in a long time.  In fact I have never shot them. Both rifles belong to Mr. Curmudgeon and even he has not fired one of these rifles. The other one he says its been 30 years or so. I think he just gives them to me so I will clean them and hand them back. =) 

 

I look forward to seeing you this Saturday!  
  

Calling the Retrotechnologist! Help!

So winter is coming. I need some help on some projects. I call upon the seriously wicked smart RobertaX to help me stay busy this winter. I have this old radio. Oh and this one too. Oh wait, a another one. I want to jack an iPod into into a transmitter so the radios can receive the broadcast. I want to build the transmitter. It must be tubes.  Oh, I have one of these too. It is in pretty rough shape, but the cabinet is sweetness and light! 

Atwater Kent Model 55. So to be compatible across all platforms I need an AM transmitter. I also need help with the Bakelite buttons and bezel around them on the Firestone. I have the bezel that is broken and some of the push buttons. 

Help! My soldering iron is feeling neglected these days! 

Off Body Carry and any Ladies Out Here?

So one of the things I found most interesting during my abbreviated time with Kathy Jackson in her class was the holster presentation. Holy crap! The holsters and weapon retention systems were passed around the room like popcorn. OWB, IWB, belly band, ankle, pocket, SOB, etc... 

There were also some unconventional holsters that left me stunned. "Hey big boy is that a M&P 9C in your pocket or are you glad to see me?". Heh. She did point out that particular rig might have a use for a woman wearing a skirt. 

She also brought out an array of bra attachable holsters. Me back in the day tried to detach bras, not attach more stuff to them. She showed the pluses and minuses involved in each method of carry. I have my box of holster fail, this brought me up to another level when it comes to teaching Women in concealed carry classes. As my classes continue to be mostly Women, I needed this information. I work really hard to not be the "Here little lady, this revolver is what you need". I hate that. 

Kathy makes the case for off body carry in limited circumstances. I get that. She also points out the shortcomings of it. I concur with her assessments.  So I wander off and get one of these things, it arrived today. 

A Maxpedition jumbo LEO messenger bag. First, to me it screams "GUN". Second, I have no idea now how to make this thing work. 

Off body carry to me was simple in the day. My Curmudgeon presented me with this some time ago. 

He carried it. It is an El Paso Saddlery and Leather "Shaving bag" back when they cared about products and customers.

Here is another shot of the other side with this old little kit in the side pouch:

 






 


Guess what. One of these was inside it during his travels. 

 
















This rig I think would be even better now with a Colt Defender or New Agent! That would keep the spirit and memory alive to me and be a bit more manageable than the full steel Colt Commander.

I need a purse holster rig for show and tell during class. I really don't want to pay full retail for one. If any Ladies out there have an old one I will pay for it. Shoot me an email if you do!

AAR- The Cornered Cat

A abbreviated report however. A Girl and Her Gun hosts a two day class with Kathy Jackson. Kathy is well known to me because of three things, her book, Website, and being the Editor of the USCCA magazine. I actually had a letter published in that periodical.

So, I head north to Culpeper VA. I felt really safe in that town this weekend as Kathy and Todd Green were running classes on both ends of this town! 

The first day was covering the basics again. You cannot do that enough in my opinion. I was looking forward to the next day. As someone said to me before: "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans". 

Well the day before I head out I go to the Dentist to tell him about a toothache.  A quick X-ray and ta da!  An abscess on my upper left rear molar (for those playing the home version of the game American Dental Association coding tooth #15).  I guarantee that if I am found by some CSI people I will be readily identifiable. "As you can see here, this person has spent a great deal of time at the Dentist. I suspect he funded at least three of their children's tuition in college."

So a quick Pulpal Debridement, a few prescriptions and I am on my way. The first day of the class? No big deal. Sunday however showed the folly of my ways. I am allergic to grass. I spent all day Saturday running around on it. I had also started the mega dose of Penicillin VK with the attendant uh, gastronomical issues. So my load out looked sorta like this. 

Sunday broke. I left the Hydrocodone at the house. I felt like warmed over death. It would not benefit me nor my fellow students if I showed up feeling like I did. I missed out on the second day of class, seeing my friend Murphy's Law, and spending more time with A Girl and Her gun.

I feel bad about this. I know that the warning on the bottle of the pain med says not to operate heavy machinery.

These are not heavy machines in the classical sense. Yet they are just that. 

 














These Pistols are what I brought to class. I hate I did not get to stretch them out.

Test post from iPhone

So I download the app. Take a picture. The class this weekend advises to bring food. Ok I think I have lunch covered.



I will spare you the cans of deviled ham and Vienna sausages.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Packing!

So for some reason I am headed North again for a Handgun class. Preliminary packing has started. I needed to find my concealment garment. Found it!

The best comment on the shirt from last year?

"Dude, I know I said go with a loud shirt, but that one? It looks like Georgia O'Keeffe threw up on it."

LOL! 

Seriously Dude?!?!

I have a long time friend. He used to be my next door neighbor in a previous life. Intelligent, wicked sense of humor, and uh, somewhat off the reservation at times. 

When I lived next door he would occasionally drop by. Most times he would ask if I had something or other he could borrow. Not a cup of sugar, but more along the lines of: "You have a 30 watt soldering iron, a 10K audio potentiometer, a VARIAC, a pair of hemostats, a gallon of gasoline and a keyhole saw I could borrow"?

Sorta like that. So I moved and he and his wife are still in the same house that is very close by. His fondness for the offbeat continues to amaze me. He over the years has become a close friend.

I am on the way home tonight from visiting Mr. and Mrs. Curmugeon. I get a phone call from my friend asking if I have any optics laying around. 

I get worried. This guy whipped this out previously. 

Yep, an AMT Hardballer .45 ACP. Wait, it gets better. He also whips this thing out. 

 











I think there is a Ruger MkIII here, its hard to say. 

So, I tell him I have one of these laying around. 

He wheels over to stately manor and promptly bolts it on this:

Uh, I would have never thought of using the AMT frame with a Kimber .22 conversion kit, much less finding a left side grip replacement to allow mounting optics on a pistol. 

Disclaimer! I had NOTHING to do with this except having the optic on hand. 

So I can't decide if my friend is the King of the Island of Misfit Toys or Dr. Frankenstein. If he is the Dr. I fear that the brain acquired was from someone named "Abby something". +1 If you get the reference from a movie!  

I have personal instruction tomorrow at the range with a Female student that wants to really figure out how to run a Glock 9 and a .410 pump shotgun. I think he will be there with this! I need a disguise.