Saturday practice league

a target rich environment

So ... for the first time in months, I made it to Midwest's Saturday Session.
About 20 other shooters.

The skillz atrophy was readily apparent. Dropped 5 on my first string.

There were some interesting drills.
One of Jacks favorites ... the car-jacking scenario. Shooter must reach into vehicle seat to retrieve weapon.

With a group this size, there's alot of shoot 'n wait. Took us about 3 hours to run everybody through 5 drills. Some weeks, we go almost 150 rounds. Yesterdays went closer to half that.
Celebrity shooters got nothing to worry about from me. Felt like I'd just gotten warmed up.

New IL License Plate

h/t Of Arms and the Law

A pictures worth ... a couple felonious gasbags

Babes with Bullets

Closer to home, Chicago Trib has a story featuring the Oak Park Sportsmen's Club.
Actually, it's the venerable John Kass bringing it on in his column.

Wow. Non-criminal use of Firearms!

One of the organizers, Deb Ferns is quoted "What we want is for women to get involved."


John writes, "They were serious women, taxpaying women, law-abiding moms and sisters and daughters and friends. And they're the women who have the audacity to believe that the Constitution applies to them, too, even in Illinois."

This is high profile, positive stuff. Thank you Mr. Kass.
I can almost feel the choke-hold loosening.

Wall Street Journal; Gun Rights Activist

It's not often that "Gun Rights" are mentioned in the WSJ.
This mornings edition was one of those times.

http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-world-business.html?mod=WSJ_topnav_us_main

The short vid mentions a few hot button issues, "State Sovereignty" being one.
Gary Marbut brings the suit to the courts.
It's worth a watch.

WRSA has it all

I started my cruise through my bloggy aggregater this morning.
Western Rifle Shooters Association has already done a yeomans job.

He must o' turned the Quality Filter turned up to 11.

WRSA

I realize that I've got nothing to add.

Congratulations Cheeseheads

ChiTrib story here.
Today's the day.

Once Wisconsin's Gov. Walker signs the law, Illinois will be the last bastion of gun-free safety.

Just for historical amusement ... Illinois once had it's own Governor Walker. And YES! He was also a guest of the penal system!

... he received over a million dollars in fraudulent loans for his business and repairs on his yacht, the Governor's Lady ...  ILL RULES!

Rahm moves to legalize Chi-Town Shooting Ranges

Story at the Chicago Tribune here

My theory is similar to the first commentor's at the Trib site.
Why fight a losing battle in court, when you can snarl real progress with regulation red tape.

It's still nice to know that the ISRA lawsuits are starting to sting.

Celebrate Independence Day

'round these parts the fireworks began a couple days ago.
Not the township sponsored displays, but the sporadic, private launchin' of innumerable bottle-rockets, firecrackers, m80's and what-not. It'll reach a crescendo about sunset tomorrow.

The. BEST. when I was 10.

O 'course, here in the Land of Lincoln, that's illegal. To protect the children. Oh you can have yer sparklers, and yer smokebombs. But nothing that goes BOOM! I'm glad to see that for the most part, the law enforcement community turns a blind eye to these infractions. Maybe they have to ... far too many scofflaws. Hmmmm ... there's a thought. Massive disregard for law.

I grew out of firecrackers as I grew older. Now-a-days, when I feel the need for BOOM, I head to the range.

BOOM-shacka-lacka Maximus

Irregardless, all the above is an off-topic rambling preamble to the titled topic "Independence".
Definition from The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged Edition) 1967


in•de•pend•ence (in/di/pen/dəns), n. 1. state or quality of being independent. 2. freedom from subjection, or from the influence of others. 3. exemption from external control or support. 4. archaic. a competency.

Interesting that the Wikipedia entry speaks only of the nation/state mode:
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory

As I go through the events of the weekend, I'll be mulling over the state of my independence.
I hope you're able to thoughtfully celebrate any independence in your life.

Chicago Trib covers "Fast and Furious" story ...

Oh wait. Not that Fast and Furious.

This one.

The JackAss-ification of the Nation continues apace.

Range Run Report, June Afternoon

Temps in the 80's. 100% sunshine. What's not to like?

I was surprised to see a large ... I mean very large tent still set up behind the pistol range. This puppy took up almost the entire parking area. Range Officer told me they were still squaring away the range after last weeks open house. He estimated attendance near 1,000 folks.

Pic from '05 Open House. Maybe 1/3 the size as this years cover

My friend, the Barrister of the Berm, rolled in and we proceeded to the sign-in shack.
Next to the shack was a Norman Rockwell-ish scene of Grandpa and Grandson taking a S&W M29 out for some fun. Out of 50 lanes, two (2!) were occupied. This was gonna be good. Plenty o' elbow room. This is why I try to make range runs in the middle of the week.

Target at 10 yards for some sort'a close work.

I had brought a S&W M36 to play with. @#$%@ autofocus fail.

Bo'B brought his SIG SAUER X-CHANGE Kit™ with the ability to switch out slide and barrel, from 9mm to .22lr ... a sweet set-up. The shooting commenced and was truly unremarkable. Meaning that everything worked as it was supposed to.  No surprises, no malf's, (well 1 failure to extract with the Sig). The Barrister of the Berm, who's a new-ish shooter, hadn't shot a snubbie before, so he took a turn at it.

No scootin', no runnin', no watermelons allowed ... just the basics.

After a leisurely hour and a half of working on basics, we headed over to the 100 meter range.

Oddly shaped bench in foreground is for handicapped accessibility

ISRA range has 100 YARDS and 100 METER ranges. We picked the 100m since there was only 1 other shooter there. As we set up, I half-jokingly remarked that I want my boys to spread my ashes here after I'm gone. Really. I love this place. On a Wednesday afternoon in June, we had, for all practical purposes, a private range. About an hours drive from Mordor on the Lake.

Meanwhile, an hours drive away ... no fun

Bo'B and I took turns firing the M1A from a sandbag on the bench. After my recent case separation snafu's, I just wanted to confirm the rifle was running right. So ... I brought some new, store bought ammo, as well as reloads. Again, I'm happy to report that the session was unremarkable. Factory ammo worked flawlessly. Reloaded ammo was some old stuff that I just wanted to burn off. Some of the soft point tips were slightly deformed from storing bullet point down (D'oh!). Didn't expect great accuracy from these, and that's exactly what I got.

We took our time at a sedate pace. Barrel stayed cool. Conversation was shared. Current events were discussed between shooters turns. Iced tea was poured, and cancer sticks burned.

Bottom line on the whole outing? Sometimes it's not about the guns. Sometimes it's not about how small the 5-shot group is on the target. Sometimes its about just relaxing, having fun and socializing.

Hey Moe! I'm a poet! I just din't know it!

There once was a blogger named Og,
His keyboard he daily would flog,
He now waxes poetic,
'bout a day quite majestic,
You can find it all on his blog

IL Politics

I apologise for the constant interruption of politics in this space.
However as a shooter living in the shadow of Mordor on the Lake, the stench intrudes into my daily life.
I promise a range run report later this week.

© Oleg Volk

First ... to answer Oleg's question, Why do IL legislators side with criminals?
Cuz "birds of a feather flock together" is the short answer. Plus ya can't be a Savior without a VICTIM to save. Politicians want you to believe that they can solve your problems. In other words, they lie.

Kurt at the St. Louis Examiner writes an interesting article titled Illinois stands alone in banning armed self-defense. In it he quotes the Mighty Quinn espousing the need to keep our streets safe from hidden handguns (concealed carry) “We must ensure the safety of our neighborhoods, and allowing concealed carry does not advance that goal,”
There's a few things our esteemed (appointed via succession/Blago impeachment) governor fails to admit;

• Illinois is full of concealed carry. Criminal Concealed Carry. What we lack is legal CCW
• Government can never ensure safe neighborhoods. That is determined by the daily actions of you and your neighbors.

Legislators can do only one thing. Write laws. Thats it. Nothing more. They can't ensure your safety. They can't promote your well being.  When your only tool is writing law, every solution to societal problems becomes one of just writing the correct mix of laws. Herein lies the problem. The natural Law of Unintended Consequences trumps man-made legislation ever' single time.

Illinois statehood was ratified in 1818. We've had almost 200 years of the political class legislating our general welfare, commerce and all other aspects of daily life. The system as practiced in Illinois appears to be corrupt and rotten to the core.

New tougher seatbelt law! Feel safer yet?

I'll end with a quote from an really smart, old dead guy, "The more laws, the less justice"
Folks round here even named a town after him.
Irony seems to be the one resource that Illinois has no shortage of.

Blago Guilty

Verdict announced as of 2:15 Central. Guilty on 17 of the 20 charges.

Criminal conviction: Heartwarming!

Eligible for up to 355 years of prison.
I'd like to pull the .50 outta the safe and send a few rounds downrange in celebration.

Hey Marcell !

Post spurred by Underground Carpenter2

Dave posits the question, "Does silence equal consent?"
Then asks "If the American military, out subjugating the world, hadn’t shown our local cops how to bust down doors and murder people, would we have multiplying SWAT armies here at home?"

I call "foul!" It ain't the mil. It's us. Pogo had it right.

SWAT armies, I believe, have largely been promulgated by spineless politicians not wanting to appear "soft on crime", legislating draconian punishments, enforced by might, and accepted by a largely apathetic public.

How many "wars" are we engaged in at home?
WAR on poverty, WAR on drugs, WAR on crime, WAR on terrorism ... How many more can you name?

I guess when your only tool is a war-hammer, every social problem appears to be a battle.
This leads to every street becoming a "battleground".

When phone companies are using a staged "dynamic entry" strictly as an attention getting device in commercials,  I feel that we've slid pretty far down this particular slope.

Hey Marcel, watch this!

The product being sold?
AT&T Multiview ... "With the My Multiview feature from AT&T U-verse, you can choose up to four channels and watch them at the same time on one screen.

Just in case yer not ADD enuf.

McCarthy-ism redux

Mordor on the Lake developments:

New Super-tenent o' Police sets new record for mendacity.

Pusillanimous Pandering to the Peeps

Goebbels would be proud

The take-away concept: .gov is sending arms to the ghetto to kill you.

S.W.A.T. Tots

Served up by Amazon® over at Tam's place.

I know. I know. No blogger has much any? control over what Amazon serves up on their affiliated ads.
But this one just slays me. Only $29.99! Clown shoes extra.

Can I get the battering ram with that?

Can we get the kids to do "dynamic entry stacks" for potty time?
How 'bouts flash bangs after nap-time?

You be the terrorist drug lord, I'll be the SWAT leader!

The Gallagher of Firearms

h/t Mad Saint Jack

Wish at times that my home range allowed trash 'n fruit shootin' like this.
Reminds me of the stage antics of this guy.

How'd YOU become a Gunnie?

Well, Jennifer, thanks for asking.
Not sure. Partly just by being born American I s'pose.

Dad had a 12 gauge. He went pheasant hunting a couple times a season. I got to tramp along at his side.
His pistols were "never touch" little pocket semi's. Never did shoot those.

In the early 60's, especially before the GCA of '68, guns weren't demonized.
Aisles of Toys r Us looked like plasticized gun shops.

Dolls for boys!?

TV had a plethora of Westerns, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel (Paladin), Death Valley Days, The Rifleman (my fave!), Rawhide, Wanted Dead or Alive.
Oddly enough, despite all this cultural ingraining, I've never owned a traditional SA Cowboy gun.
Uncle Terry somehow sent me a LAWS rocket tube from 'Nam.

I ruled the block when it was time to play army.

First gun: Crosman BB rifle, modeled after a M1 Carbine.

Best Christmas Gift  EVAH!

 I was about 12. Santa left it under the tree for Christmas morning. Not sure I even opened any other presents.
First subscription of my own at 13 years old; Outdoor Life.
Jack O'Conner, sparked an interest in rifles. Years of exposure in popular culture, reading years of "outdoors" magazines built up a powerful, unfulfilled hoplomania. Living in the 'burbs of Chicago, left little room for my disease to progress.

Enter Army. Shoot an honest-to-God M16 in basic. Think over the course of several days training, we got to shoot maybe, maybe 100 rounds max. Only qualified as "marksman". Earned "sharpshooter" with grenade tossing though!
Somewhere in there, got my F.O.I.D., Illinois's solution to keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

Discharge pay from Army was $400 and change. In '79, that was just enough to purchase a brand new 4" Colt Python.

 Sold to me by a high school buddy working the counter at Chucks Guns Shop.

Anyways, thats how it started. We don't have time now to talk about the years of American Handgunner subscriptions, or traveling across state lines in the family mini-van, rear seats removed to hold guns 'n gear, to try and put half-inch holes in paper from far, far away.
My name is Art. I am a shooter

Watch your brass

One issue with taking the M1A out for a walk last week was case separation. This was the fourth loading of this lot of brass. With only 20 rounds fired from a 100 round lot ... case separations were running HIGH. Not Good Attall! Zero % is the acceptable ratio.

Durn auto-focus, misses brass to focus on mat.

One of the most tiresome chores of reloading, for me, is the pulling of (bad) loads. I appreciate that I can deconstruct the round and recycle most of the components. That's all good. Investing extra time on the endeavor, not so much.

Positively lo-tech Kinetic Puller works

My guess is that my rifle is doin' what M1A's are famous for ... beatin' the tar outta brass.
To make sure my reloads are within spec, I check with a gauge. Stu has nice lil post on how he uses his. Keep in mind, firing reloads of ANY type voids the warranty with most all rifle manufacturers .

Accuracy and safety are assured with proper case dimensions

Anyhow ... I'm wishin' Wayward Son was still hangin' around. Pullin' rounds is the perfect chore for a Reloading Apprentice.

Range Run Report

Tuesday brought a run to the ISRA range.
Just a quick "been too long" run.

Couple o' pistols. Couple o' rifles.
Son was pleased that he put a group exactly where he wanted.
Especially since he used "Kentucky windage" to put it there.

100 yards from bench

Won't set any records. Not bad at all for someone that hadn't touched this rifle for a couple years.