I really used to be anal about stuff...

Place for everything, everything in its place. I mean like right then, right now. As I have gotten older and live alone, I have sort of adapted the "well if I put it there it will be there when I get back" attitude. Of course I also used to have the shut the nightclubs down attitude and now happy if I can shut the Cracker Barrel down. Sigh....

Some things still reach a boiling point though even now. Opening a drawer tonight yielded this:

Too many parts, no organization. I actually found a complete spring kit for a Beretta 92FS. Hell, I don't even own one! 

Enter the coolest things ever. They are stackable, clear and have a positive lock. Both sizes stack as they have interlocking tops and bottoms. Works great for ammo too (oh, if you see the cheesy cheese slicer in the photo, can anyone recommend a good one).

.

I LOVE these things. 

It does not stop however. FedEx brought this today as I was away:

I reload and you may ask why I bought 9mm rounds. Well, I have been to many classes and have observed guns throw up on a overcharged round, or be done with a squib load. I prefer to focus on the instruction, plus people are on the line with me. I mess up a reload, bad on me. Hurt someone else, unacceptable.  Factory ammo is not perfect, but one less thing for me to worry about. Plus I would not want to embarrass A Girl and Her Gun at class in Sept. 

So if you noticed the .44 Special ammo you may be asking what's up with that. It is an old demon that needs to be mastered. 

The last time I shot this thing oh, 37 years ago with Magnum cartridges, I had a really nice laceration on the right hand from the hammer spur. We are going to start slowly this time. 

Friday Glamor Shot. The M1's

I have taken to heart the advise from Brigid about using outdoor lighting. So here is an attempt with the little Canon SX130 of the girls. Charline, the Garand is on top, Suzi, the Carbine bottom. Suzi is going for testing after repairs for the failure to feed problem tomorrow. Clickey to make biggerey.

  









Oh, its still 91 degrees here as the sun goes down. Thanks for the A/C Mr. Carrier!

De-Bubbaing Step One

Remember this? The Enfield #1Mk3? I have the correct end cap for it. In fact I have two.

So the rifle is still pretty much blued. These are not. Attempt some of this or not on an end cap?

I have heard that this stuff is not durable and all that. Let's face it. She is going to get shot next time I get up to Murphy's country and then probably spend the remainder of its life with me in a safe. Plus I LOVE experimenting with this sorta stuff.


What say you? 

Is today the day?

 

If you run across a tricked out DeLorean today, I would avoid it. Just sayin'

Engineering vs skill

Eastern flight 401 shows the folly of trusting machines. On the surface. Maybe not so much of that. That can be argued, but perhaps the lack of tending to basics, what the aircraft is doing, what it is telling you should have been paramount. OK, I agree with more detailed observations on the L-1011 instrumentation and the fact that new systems led this aircraft to its fate. 

Human, mechanical, and design failures led this craft to its fate. It all came together here.

 

If I ever find this guy....

I'm gonna smack that headset right off! If I am seeing this guy:

it means I am in for a long day. Who is he you may ask? This dude is on the main Web page for Rockwell Automation (Allen-Bradley) tech support. This image perfectly sums up ALL of the photos on ALL RA documentation. Here is another example of people far, far, shinier and happier than you will ever be; even the rapture of new love pales in comparison to these people:

AT WORK no less.

See what I mean? What they fail to comprehend is IF I am calling them, MY STUFF IS BROKE, really and truly broke. A reboot is NOT going to fix it. I am not as happy or as shiny as they are about the situation.

So why did I have to go there? Silly, I bought a new PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) or if you prefer, "a big box with a lot of blinking lights on it" (actual comment on an install). I swear! 

The programming software did not have this super new model. So a TWO GB download, 6 reboots and uh, ALL DAY, I can now perhaps program this thing.

I feel better! How was your Monday?

Kimber Pepper Blaster Live Fire

So we go to the secret testing facility back yard and see what one of these things can do. I'm at or sightly over the maximum range stated for this device. About 13 feet.

You can hear the safety coming off and then two shots were fired (all you get). It does have sights on it and I don't know if the first shot was low due to the age of the device, it came from the lower chamber, or due to the fact I was pushing maximum range. If you do have to light one of these off, drop it when you are done as residue was beginning to leak from the muzzle of the unit after the shots. Kimber states the minimum distance for safe firing is two feet. I don't know if I would do that, but if it was all I had I would take the chance for cross contamination. 

Oh, it IS a Kimber so make sure you have the special grease for it, LOL! 
 

Thanks!

For everyone that called, texted, and e-mailed today to wish me a Happy Birthday thanks! It means a great deal to me. To "find my tribe" means much. I live in a small town and have very little opportunities to meet people of interest here in the physical realm. The response here however is profound. I am humbled and honored that you come by to look in.

So I had to get something for me today. The Brown Truck of Happiness brought it right on time:

I have a PACT timer now. The CLP is a given here now. The Date nail cufflinks were a VERY thoughtful gift sent by a friend that lives far away. The gas nut wrench is for the Carbine, so is the magazine release, plunger and spring. The Kimber Pepper Blaster? The old ones have expired. Funny, no expiration date on the new ones. The old ones had a three year limit. 

As I like to say in class, not every problem is a gun problem! 

I will take these out back,shoot them and video it. 

I spoke with AGirl last night. All I can say is that she is a force to be reckoned with! Oh, and that she was a joy to talk to!

Thanks to everyone that ran by today. Except for the friend that said he can see my pants slowly creeping up to my neck! He will get his this weekend. 

The Smith and Wesson 4006

So, I get to it with my first .40 S&W from an old friend. I will speak more about this pistol in greater detail later. 

First impression? Works like this:



It functions wonderfully and is a fine example of a third generation semi-automatic from S&W. The fact it came from an old friend makes it even more special. 

More later. 

Hey! A M4! Update

No, not one of these silly.

One of these:

Suzi, although the elder sister to Charline was having an inferiority complex. So, we helped her self esteem. Best I could do without spending a boat load of money, a period correct Bayonet. An M-4. With an M-8A1 scabbard to boot! 

Suzi's self esteem just got bumped a notch up! 

Hopefully this will stop the sibling wars! 

I was tasked by a friend last night to do better on my pictures here. I hope I have done so with these! She keeps me on my toes to be sure!   

So some critic runs in and tells me I should have put a magazine in for the glamor shot. Sheesh. Everyone IS a critic huh? 

Whew! I'm back!

For better or worse. First, congratulations to my 14 new shooters! Just as important are my 5 students for Concealed Carry Class on Father's Day. I called my Father after class and let him know his card was on my kitchen counter (I was OBE, OK?) !

For some reason people handed me Firearms all weekend long (I don't mind, really).

First up an AG Galeski .25 caliber pocket pistol. This one still had the service tag on it from my friends Grandfather's gunsmith service. The tag was dated 1988. The terse prose says: "Safety and function, $10, Clip, $18". The customer never came back it seems. So now, it gets the usual treatment, a bath and oil. 

 





















Then here comes the Smith and Wesson Model 64-3. A range rental that is not feeling well. It needs pretty much the same treatment. 

So just when I thought it was going to be pedestrian work on admittedly pedestrian stuff, a former CCH student presents me with this:

This is a Arisaka Type 38, Nagoya Arsenal (1923-1945), Series 26. Serial # 8XXX, ca.1933-ca.1940 for 0-99,999 #'s if my Google-Fu works. 

Uh, wow. They want me to inspect and clean to determine if it is safe to fire. I'm in over my head a bit. Hey Murph, I know you are busy with the plane and all but can you help me out with the Arisaka?

One week from today...

If you hold a Federal Firearm License Type 3 from the 4 letter acronym .gov agency known as the BATFEIEIO , then you can buy, well, ME! I will qualify as a Relic under that definition. 

Know what? Don't care. Going tomorrow to teach new shooter class (HandFam, Handgun Familiarization, New shooter class) tomorrow and CCH Sunday. Even with Fathers Day Sunday it promises to be a full weekend. 

Sigh.. Tech work does not look like this anymore!

Back in the day your average tech person was hanging out in the Groovey world. Women in miniskirts while you were sporting the sideburns and the best in Polyester suits (or not). 
Exhibit A:

 

Exhibit B:

I seem to have missed out on all of that. 

Exhibit C:

My Lead Tech on one end of pulling new Fiber Optic cable for a dedicated process control network.  Not air conditioned, dirty, and no mini skirts to be found.

Sigh....  

 

Suzi on the line!

So I visit my Curmudgeon and we get to it with Suzi (M1 Carbine) at a super secret testing facility. I was stunned to see him take right to it with Appleseed worthy sling skills. He also took advantage of something to lean on. It seems that he has done this before! Looks like this:

We have a small problem though. Ocassionaly the bolt will be to the rear and will not feed a new round into the chamber. I dont know where the magazine came from that came with it, and magazines for active service were considered disposable I am told. Got two from the Interwebs and even with new rifle springs and a complete Bolt assembly it still does the same thing. So, try different magazines first.

This arrived today. I will get a chance to try it out either before or after my new shooter class on Saturday or at lunch during my Concealed Carry class on Sunday (Fathers Day people!) 

It also appeared to be a slow news day in nearby Metropolis yesterday. Coworker today called up and said he saw me on the news last night. I don't remember any party getting out of hand here last night! Fox reran this from a year ago. 

Anyone have any suggestions on the failure to feed on the M1 Carbine?
 

Much hay has been made for nothing.

So A Girl gets hurt and there is much drama surrounding it on the Blogosphere. Many have chimed in, some deriding, some praising. Well hey. Lets start here from my own experience. I teach new shooters 6 at a time on a indoor range. I teach CCH classes with a live fire test. I do everything I can to keep the students safe first, secondly myself. I weigh about 160 pounds soaking wet with a Colt Commander on my hip. Empty handed force on force training for me? Maybe not.

I do every thing I can to stay safe. Guess what. It does not always work out.

We make our choices. The fact she posted it speaks volumes. We learn from mistakes. Mine may not be as painful as hers, but she made the choice to do it. I applaud that. I say that "you don't know until you go".

My choices have not been as painful as hers, but I was not there when the attack happened that motivated her to take this path. Nor was I there when I see the people showing up for my Concealed Carry Class for whatever motivated them to be in class.     

This. Exactly. This.

From the Bill Mauldin book "Willie and Joe, the WWII years". Link here. 

Satin Dollz

I prefer this to the blatant displays of today.



The Satin Dollz in "Whatever Lola Wants" from Dan Blank on Vimeo.

Sigh... Its sorta like going to work.

And coming home to more of the same. I got the call from the monitoring company and sigh. 

I guess as time continues to spin faster, I forgot that the first thing I did when I bought this house six years ago was to throw the ADT alarm to the curb. ADT did not know what to do when I asked them if the hardware here when I bought the house was theirs or mine. They decided that it would be abandoned in place, secure in the knowledge that they would not divulge the installer codes. Heh. I did the equivalent of a Ctrl-Alt-Del to it and reprogrammed it. Just to make things more interesting I added additional stuff to it both wired and wireless.

So now it is telling me that my backup battery is failing. OK I should have seen that coming. No big deal. That was one of the first things I did after I brought it back to life.

I do hate to come home and deal with technical problems though. I would much rather contemplate upgrading the entertainment system to this:

Integration with the old stuff will require some thinking on my part.

I will not be buying one of these though!Read the reviews, they are funny as hell (Well to me anyway)!

The High Standard 1200 Shotgun

So my friend over at Lagiappe's Lair noted on a previous post the Smith and Wesson Model  76 sub-machine gun. He nailed it. How this guy seems to know everything about anything that goes bang mystifies me. Good guy and a class act. Can't wait to get up there again and stretch some long guns out with him.

So here is the High Standard 1200. It was pretty useless on the range as the trigger was simply locked up and would not fire.

So first things first. 

Let's see what is under the hood.

It has an aluminum trigger housing. Not a show stopper, but not that great either. Everything is covered in old gun oil creating the brown mud like coating you can see.

Well, guess what? Time for a bath! 

Replace the magazine spring as a rule as the new owner could not tell me if it was stored loaded and ta-da! 

Functional checks passed! 

The High Standard was pretty much the equivalent of the Winchester Defender back in the day. Cheap, reliable and easy to operate. I think however that more people will be interested in the High Standard than my Defender years from now. 

Can't wait to live fire Sunday! 

Never Forget

Many on the Blogosphere commented on today's date and its significance to us as a Nation far, far, better than I ever could.

Let us never forget freedom paid for with blood.

From the bench!

I'm working on it! More later. Aluminum trigger group housing? Really? No matter. Here is some info on this boomstick.

Everything is "soaking in it" right now, be back later with pics and live fire.

One of these Shotguns is here!

More later! It does not work right now: "To the Bench Robin"!

I made a top one hundred list!

Woo-hoo! Unfortunately it is a top one hundred worst cars of all time. I'm in good company. Vega? Check. Aztek? Check. Yugo, check. Edsel, got it!

I only came in at 84 though. I'm disappointed! 

A 2002 X Type. I still cannot resist a pretty face! 

It is not as bad as the press would have you to believe. Just have one of these charts handy. You will be Ok! 

 














 

Indeed!

They serve too.