Mason Jars

For those who haven't heard Ball is making blue limited edition canning jars for their 100th anniversary. 
 As far as I know they are only producing the pint size but for those who can it makes a neat jar for showing off your wares.
If you are interested check around for prices some I see online are expensive. These were under $2 each at Walmart.

I am Liberal

Why is it we let the liberal, pinko, tree hugging,dope smoking, bed wetters set the meaning for words and phrases.

I think we should take some words back from the liberals, here is a start.
I am Liberal because I believe in liberty, I don't think government should control our lives. I am liberal because I have an open mind and can think for myself, I have developed critical thinking, I can read and decipher facts and not have my mind clouded by others narrow views, this is almost the exact opposite of what 'liberals' claim to be because even in the face of facts they will say stuff like "well anyway it's just not fair" or "I just feel it is wrong" or more often they just plain ignore facts and decide not to believe them because it does not fit their agenda.
I am also Pro Choice, I choose to be free, I choose not let government decide my fate. I want to choose what kind of car to drive regardless of how many miles to the gallon it gets, I want to choose what type of gun I want and how many round of ammunition it will hold. I choose to educate my kids the way I want free of government intervention. I choose not to have government force me to buy health insurance. I choose to uphold the Constitution of the United States and not abide by all the unconstitutional laws they impose on us.
 Government hates free people because they loose their power, they prefer 'slaves' who they can control. Government suckers us into thinking we are free but really we are only 'free' as far as their chain will let us go.
Some may think this view is a little extreme but why is it government and even the IRS target free thinkers like the Tea Party, or gun groups, or home schoolers, or survivalists etc. The reason is they don't want free people, free people don't ask permission from government.
I do not ask permission from government.

We still have bacon.

20 years ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs.
Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs.

But look on the bright side, we still have Kevin Bacon.

Coexist

We have all seen these 'coexist' bumper stickers made for the terminally ignorant in our society, you know the mentally challenged people who think if we force everyone to sit with their legs crossed and hum in harmony that the world will all love each other and peace will become reality. They ignore history and the fact there are evil people who will always be evil. When I see this first bumper sticker I think this person is either evil in their intent to get us to let our guard down against evil people or groups so they can have the upper hand or they are incredibly naive, uninformed or maybe just eat up with stupidity. More than likely they also think John Lennon  was the greatest philosopher of all time.
The other day I saw this other 'coexist' sticker and my first thought was it was clever and funny but the more I thought about it it made sense. You see the firearms these symbols represent make it possible for us to coexist in peace in this world. If it were not for guns the Muslims and/or Hitler would have exterminated the Jews.  Firearms in the home and in the hands of citizens make it possible for them to coexist in a hostile world against evil people who wish to rob you of you freedom and possessions. Guns in the hands of police make it possible for them to uphold law and order, guns in the hands of soldiers make it possible to live in a free country and enjoy peace and freedom.

I tend to think the people who display the 'coexist' sticker with the religious symbols are more than likely evil in their intent to hide their true intent. I would also bet they claim to be either atheist or non-religious, anti gun, anti christian, voted for 0bama and extremely liberal in all their views, I am sure they would have been very happy living in Hitlers Germany or Communist Russia.

Gun Sales

This model was $619 with 2 mags and 20 rounds.

Back when the latest crisis started with gun and ammo sales I predicted that if you were patient things would slow down, the free market would kick in and prices would once again fall. Well I hate to be the one who said "I told you so" but it is happening just that way.
Today I went with my son to a large gun store and they had (and he bought because I told him to be patient) a Smith and Wesson M&P AR-15 with two 30 round magazines and 20 rounds of ammo for $619
 That is a good price and cheaper than you could have built a parts gun a year ago. Ammo is going to follow suit in fact if everyone would stop buying ammo for even a week prices would plummet and even the big box stores would have plenty, of course you can't get the sheeple to go along so we will have to wait a little longer but it will happen. Take 22 ammo for example, the government is not talking restriction on it and the FBI, CIA, DHS etc are not buying it up and the manufacturers want to make the sales so they are producing all they can at the moment and things will reach a saturation point eventually.
If government stays out of the way free enterprise will work and for now they are staying out of the way.

'Shakin the bush boss'

Probably one of the classic movies of all time is 'Cool Hand Luke'  I like the scene where he is relieving himself along side the roadway while working on the chain gang and he has to keep showing he has not ran off  by shaking the bush while saying it out loud.
 I feel like I have been on a chain gang lately, I have been busy, in fact I just finished putting a metal roof on a house yesterday and I was reminded I am not as young as I used to be, of course high humidity and over 90 degrees didn't help either. Anyway here I am 'shakin the bush' to let you know I have not escaped (although I must admit it did cross my mind)
While I am at it I would like to recognize a new follower MaddMedic, welcome my friend, if you have a blog let me know and I will provide a link.
I am ready for a break from this heat and I am planning a trip next month up to West Virginia (for a couple of weeks)  to visit family and maybe do some shooting, I know it is still summer there but it has to be nicer in the mountains this time of year. 

Tolerant bunch

I was reading a post by Murphy about the 69th anniversary of D Day and it made me think about all the graves of American soldiers buried overseas and many of those countries are being overrun by Muslims. This video is of a British war cemetery in Libya.
How long do you think it will be before we see something like this at an American cemetery overseas? 

 

And you wonder why I think Muslims are the most worthless thing on the planet, To be honest I never even saw what the big deal Abu Ghraib was, when you play with the devil you play by his rules or you loose, anyone ever hear of Vietnam

Government Corruption

I was watching some news about all the government corruption, coverups and scandals of Benghazi, Fast and Furious, election fraud, IRS scandal etc. (and that is what we just know about)
Anyway it occurred to me we need to dig up Richard Nixon, throw him a parade and apologize to him.

Problem Solved

My friend Stephen and I were talking the other day about the high cost of ammo and how we like to shoot 22 rifles to keep our skills honed. One of the most popular rifles is the little Ruger 10-22 but one of  the main drawbacks is cleaning the rifle.
We have all had the problem, you come home from the range and start cleaning your rifle on the kitchen table, you spray oil down the barrel and before you know it it drips all over your wife's clean floor, well that problem is solved.
A few entrepreneurs make an adapter which allows an oil filter to be screwed on the end of the barrel and trap all those solvents thus keeping you out of the doghouse with your wife.
I personally think this is a brilliant solution to the problem especially considering how the EPA wants to keep oil and chemical solvents out of landfills, in fact I think the government should require one of these adapters be supplied with all guns sold in the interest of keeping the environment clean.
Now I know some of you devious minds are thinking this could be used as a suppressor but I should caution that would not be considered cool by our good friends at the ATF.
It goes without saying you should make sure the gun is unloaded before cleaning because in the case of accidental discharge the round would punch a hole in the end of the filter thus rendering it useless to retain oil or solvents.
Having said all that you should check it out, you can do a Google or Ebay search for "solvent trap, Ruger 10-22" or something similar and see there are quite a few available for less than $40. Not a bad price for marital harmony.

Welcome

Thanks for two new followers to my simple blog. Welcome to Jan Morrow and The Daily Smug. I hope you visit back often, feel free to comment any time as I try and answer all comments and questions.

Freedom is never free.

I am not in the habit of re-posting but please forgive me this Memorial Day. This is a post I wrote last year  and I want to honor these men I served with and all those who are never recognized for their ultimate sacrifice. 

This Memorial Day weekend we remember those who have died for our country. Many times we hear about the number of fallen troops in the history of our country but seldom do we put faces to those who have given all for our freedom. I am doing something I have never done before now, I am writing about some of those men who I am proud to have served with.
   Early during the Iraq War (2003-2004) I was deployed to Iraq with a Seabee unit, which is basically a Combat Engineer group for the Navy and Marine Corp. We were originally tasked with bridge, road and runway repair and construction but this was early in the war and the battle of Fallujah was raging in the Sunni Triangle and needless to say it was a bad neighborhood. Our battalion was attached to the MEG (Marine Engineer Group) and the MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) and we were split up into smaller units / squads to work in convoy operations, base defense, force protection etc. I was first assigned to a Special Ops base North of Baghdad, working on force protection in a FOB (forward operating base) It was a lot of closely guarded ops and to this day if I pull the compound up on Google Earth the area is blurred out. Later our unit was sent to Ramadi to work with the MEG.
As I said earlier, in 2004 Anbar province was a bad area and little did we realize that when we boarded that DC-10 in Gulfport Mississippi that 7 of us on that one aircraft would not return alive. Apart from the seven KIA there were others of us to return in wheel chairs, stretchers or on crutches. Some of us had visible wounds and some not so visible but without a doubt we were all forever marked by our service.

On this Memorial Day weekend I will offer no details but rather honor to the seven men in my unit who made the ultimate sacrifice.

EO3 Christopher M. Dickerson

Eastman, GA.

KIA when his vehicle was hit by an IED, Anbar province, Iraq. 
33 years old, survived by wife and children.







EO2 Trace W. Dossett

Orlando, FL.
KIA,  hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
37 years old survived by wife and 2 daughters. 







SW3 Ronald A. Ginther

Auburndale, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
37 years old survived by wife and 2 children

BU2 Michael C. Anderson

Daytona, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
36 years old, survived by wife and daughter.








BU2 Robert B. Jenkins

Stuart, FL.
Died as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

35 years old, survived by wife.






SW2 Jason B. Dwelley

Apopka, FL.
KIA when his vehicle was hit by an IED, Anbar province, Iraq.
31 years old.






 
CM3 Scott R. McHugh

Boca Raton, FL.
KIA as a result of hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died 3 days past his 33rd birthday. His mother's care 
package had not arrived before he was killed.





"When I die, I desire no better winding sheet than the Stars and Stripes, and no softer pillow than the Constitution of my country." -- Andrew Johnson

I thought I had seen it all.

Nothing surprises me anymore, I walk outside near my home this morning and I see a squirrel stretched out on his back taking a nap in the middle of the road and he wouldn't move.
Talk about a good way to get run over.

Grizzly Target Review

 

 A few months ago we did a field review on a Grizzly Target (more like a torture test)  the full review can be seen here  anyway the good folks at Grizzly asked if I would be interested in reviewing another one of there other targets the IPSC Steel Target.

Like the first target it is made of AR500 3/8" steel plate which in itself is 'bullet proof' (pun intended) and then hot dipped galvanized to keep it from rusting.
It comes as seen here with a base along with spikes to anchor it to the ground and the upper part which is the target.
 The 2"X4" post you will need to supply yourself which makes it easy to break down and transport as well as replace when it gets all shot up, this also allows you to use any length in to suit your need.

Here is the back of the target it measures 12" X 24" and pivots when hit. The neat thing is also it angles slightly down and the bullet splatter falls in front of the target.
I shot this target at 7 yards with FMJ 45 ACP and 9mm and 38 special with no hint or worry of ricochet as you might have with a rigid mount plate. This target also exposes no moving parts to projectiles which keeps it easy to maintain.

From the experience on the first target I knew this one could take any thing we threw at it so I opted to just enjoy some casual shooting.

Below is a picture of the target after about 30 rounds of various calibers and even after a hundred or so more it showed no sign of fatigue. All the testing done here was between 7 to 25 yards however it  would also make an excellent 100 yard target for rifle practice.

Observations... It functions very well, because of it's weight it does not swing as much as the first target we tested but still enough for you to see it's hit. It's also nice to hear an audible response to impact as well.
I really like the fact it controls back splatter especially considering I  almost never use eye protection when shooting (I know, not too smart) but between of all my years growing up and shooting without it and it was never required on military ranges either I guess old habits die hard.
Paper targets are needed for sighting in weapons and qualifying but mostly I like to just blast away at something because it provides more of a real world feel and this target fits the bill. I have no doubt you gun will wear out before this target does.
I intend to do further testing and will update the results here.

And we think it's new.

I was sent this picture of a grave in Attica Cemetery, Harper county Kansas.

 It is over 120 years old but it is very telling. 

 

End of a good day.

Yesterday evening I took my wife and mom out for a drive and ice-cream.
 We stopped at the mouth of the river.

At right a motor yacht coming in after a day out.

The sun as it sets across the river.

As I took these pictures it reminded me of Kymber  posting pictures of the sky