Month: May 2009

Sunday Metal – Judas Priest

/ hsoi

The Metal Gods. The Almighty Judas Priest.

There’s debate as to where and with whom metal was born, but many will agree that if not for Judas Priest, metal would not be what it is. Leather, spikes, and chains. Motorcycles. Dual shredding guitars. Double kick drums. Pounding bass. Amazing vocals. Lyrical content that runs the gamut. Heavy metal is what it is in large part due to Judas Priest.

I like the obvious things about Judas Priest, such as K.K. and Glenn’s guitar work, Scott Travis’ drumming (opening riff of Painkiller, ’nuff said), of course the mighty Rob Halford’s vocals. But I also like how Judas Priest is a band that allows itself to evolve. Look at the early Priest albums like “Rocka Rolla” or “Sin After Sin” and compare them to albums like “Painkiller” or “Angel of Retribution”… the musical style is still Priest, but the overtones are quite different. Or consider how the band can have songs such as “Diamonds and Rust”

and then songs like “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”

But no matter how it is, it’s all Judas Priest. A band with depth, feeling, talent, and is all metal through and through.

And of course, if not for Judas Priest, we wouldn’t have Heavy Metal Parking Lot. 😎

Less lethal ammo for home defense? No.

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

James Rummel points to a posting about a “21st Century Tacti-cool coach gun“. All I can say is the gun makers must be out of ideas… like Hollywood, we’ll just take some old concept, add some modern twists, and viola! It’s just not for me. This is what’s for me.

But what I wanted to point out was some entries from the comments on TFB’s article.

Laurent says:

As a home defense tool, you can load your shotgun with less than lethal ammunition (like rubber pellets or home loaded salt cartridges). It’s still rather effective to stop an agressor, you avoid overpenetration, you leave the recoil at bay, and your agressor can’t know if your gun is loaded with wildboar hunting slugshot or self-defense ammo, so as a non-verbal mean of communication, the two wide mouthes of your gun are very effective.

It beats one, two or ten Tasers everynight. And even if it doesn’t work, reloading with Brenneke cartridge is pretty fast, even in degraded conditions, thanks to the big size and weight of the cartridge and hole of the chamber.

James Rummel responds:

“As a home defense tool, you can load your shotgun with less than lethal ammunition (like rubber pellets or home loaded salt cartridges).”

When is using a firearm for defense legal? When one truly thinks that they need to defend their life, or the life of another innocent person.

I’m curious as to what you are going to say to the judge after you shoot up a home invader with rock salt. “Yes, I deliberately loaded my gun with a load designed to maim and cause extreme pain instead of reliably stopping a violent criminal assault. That way I could shoot the perp with the scarring, disfiguring ammunition if I wasn’t sure that I needed to use lethal force, and then reload to kill them with the effective rounds if I needed to. My plan is on the Internet for all to see!”

Let us know how that turns out for you.

If you’re a cop, I can see a case for less-lethal ammunition (e.g. crowd control). If you’re a private citizen defending your home, your self, your loved ones, when/if the time comes that you must resort to use of a firearm, then it’s time to use a firearm in all of it’s capacity. You don’t use weak rounds, you don’t bluff, you don’t count on weak tactics (even the best competitive shotgun shooters are slow on the reload because reloading a shotgun is slow; add in the context if your life being on the line and your reloading skills will be a lot worse). But hey, it’s your life. Value it however you wish.

If you do wish to use a shotgun for home defense, I would recommend reduced-recoil buckshot. For the ranges involved in home-defense (typically up to 25 yards, but your house may be different), reduced-recoil is good because it does kick you less which allows for faster follow-up shots. Plus if one of your residents is of smaller stature, it’s more controllable for them. Buckshot is demonstrated to be most effective (visit this link and scroll down). If you’re using a 12 gauge, use 00 buck (some say #1). If you’re using a 20 gauge, #3 or #4 is about the largest you can get. I’d also recommend some sort of “side-saddle” to carry additional ammo, and in that side-saddle you might want to put a few slugs in case you have to take longer shots.

KR Training May 2009 Newsletter

/ hsoi

The May 2009 KR Training newsletter is now available.

Even if you’re not a local and think the newsletter may not be useful to you, check it out. There’s some interesting stuff from Rangemaster, a Citizine magazine article co-authored by Karl on basic handgun safety, and some really cool slow-motion videos designed to help you understand the technique of “shot-calling”.

If you are local, you want to check out the class schedule. Karl has added a LOT of classes to the schedule. I’m trying to figure out which I’m going to assist with and which I’m going to take. Just so many goodies!

Growing self-reliance

/ hsoi

My father taught me to be responsible for myself and those around me… not just my family, but also my friends, and in my community, and even the greater world around me. But in the end, being taught to take responsibility for myself, to work hard, to stand on my own two feet, and succeed. Since having my own children well over a decade ago, I’ve grown in this and work to instill it in my children. If I don’t work, there’s no food. If I don’t work, there’s no house or clothing. If I don’t work, no electricity to power the TV or the Wii. If I don’t work, how can I care for my family and provide them the things they want and need? I can’t expect anyone else to take care of them but myself. I can’t expect anyone else to take care of me but me.

Over the years, Wife and I have desired to become even more self-reliant. There’s a place in town called Pioneer Farms, and we’re looking into things with them to learn various skills. A bunch of the books I recently picked up work towards this end. It’s also one of the reasons I want to go hunting. So when I came across this article from (Uncle) Ted Nugent, a paragraph struck me:

I need my water, cars, trucks, chainsaws, knives, crowbars, blowtorches, scalding hot water, guitars and guns, thank you. Amazingly, I have mastered them all, and they are all wonderful ingredients for my American Dream of rugged individualism, declared independence, and self sufficiency. They all serve me well, and I am not giving any of them up. Ever.

His American Dream sounds pretty good to me. Individualism, independence, self-sufficiency. I think by and large this is the growing problem in America. People desire to be individuals, yet there’s so much pressure (and people give into it) to conform to the group. There’s lip-service to independence, yet when you rely upon taxes to fund, government programs, handouts, bailouts, socialized medicine, socialized anything, mantatory youth service,  you’re not free — you’re a slave. And are people self-sufficient? They want me to provide for them instead of going out and getting it themselves, so I think not.

What has come of America?

And what are you doing about it? Do you think Mr. Nugent’s dream is a good one? If so, what are you doing to make it reality. If you don’t think it’s a good dream, then tell me what your dream is and how that fits into what America is supposed to be about.

Boy, I sure feel safe

/ hsoi

Breda recounts her experience getting through airport “security”.

So let’s see… anger, humiliation, degeneration… but hey, it’s all to make us feel safe, right? Don’t you feel safe? I sure feel safe. And that’s all that really matters: that we feel safe. Doesn’t matter that we also feel humiliated. It’s a small price to pay, else you’re not a patriot, right?

Yeah… we’re all presumed guilty until proven innocent. You pass through airport “security” and you are a suspect, until the beeping stops and the TSA folk deem you not to be… maybe. How American.

Somewhere a Founding Father or two continue to roll over in their graves.

*sigh*

Updated: Courtesy of Joe Huffman, a great article on Penn & Teller and how they mix their magic and their politics to make quite a good point.

Updated 2: Breda’s tale continues. Part II, and Part III. Gosh, I hope you’re feeling safe now folks. “Feeling” safe being the operative word.

Updated 3: Even more stories of safety, this time from Michael Bane.

Ruger SR-556

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

The wondering is over.

The Ruger SR-556. A gas piston AR-style rifle.

I think my prediction was fairly spot-on. Not just to say that it’s an AR, but that it’d be something that breaks the Ruger “political” mold. I would say that this certainly does that. Not just because it’s an evil black rifle, but it comes standard with 3 30-round PMAGs. So much for Ruger’s history on magazine capacity. 🙂

From a preliminary look, it seems like they did a lot of the right things. Made it a carbine, 6-position stock, flat-top, full length rails with rail guards, standard with Troy flip up sights, chrome-lined (even the bolt carrier), chambered for 5.56, mil-spec stuff, 1:9 twist. This is made to be a fighting rifle. Top notch stuff going into it. The main unknown is the gas system as piston-based AR’s haven’t been all that successful. But we’ll see.

Will I rush out and buy one? Probably not (especially at that price). I’ve already got a few AR’s and this Ruger one doesn’t offer me much over what I have. If I’m going to be spending money on purchasing more firearms, there are other things I’d like to get before getting more AR-styled guns. Would I love to shoot one? You bet! I also would be happy to accept one as a gift from any of my generous readers. 🙂

What I think is cool about this is seeing Ruger making it. Given their past controversies, it’s great to see them moving beyond it. Ruger makes solid firearms, but many people say “yeah they make good stuff, but I won’t buy one” referring back to the past politics. Well, if this doesn’t convince folks that Ruger is moving beyond that, then well… those people will just never be convinced. Good for Ruger!

Learning about hunting hogs

/ hsoi

I have to admit… I’m excited about my first hunt.

Me being me, I’m a planner. The Boy Scout in me is alive and well, and I want to “Be Prepared” for the event. Part of that is getting some gear (I do love that I live so close to a Cabela’s), but the bigger part is the mental preparation. Not just getting myself in the right frame of mind (channel my inner Nuge), but learning all that I can.

For instance, where’s the right place to shoot a hog?

I went Googling and found a few things:

From The Hog Blog.

Texas Boars. This has some good stuff, and a perfect picture. I need to commit that to memory.

I’m sure I’ll find other things.

Oh, this changes my reading list. I put the Nemerov book on hold to read one that I think is more relevant to the matters at hand . One of the books I picked up from Amazon was Jeff Cooper’s The Art of the Rifle. It’s one of those books I’ve long felt I ought to read just because it’s touted as one of those seminal books on firearms. While originally I bought it just because I felt it was one to read, now that I’m getting myself into a rifle state of mind well… might as well read it now instead of later.

Boldly going where I’ve never gone before

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I knew once I started shooting and owning guns that it would only be a matter of time before I’d go hunting.

It’s going to happen soon.

Why hunt? For me, I think in large part it’s a matter of trying it. I never have, I’d like to try. Who knows… after I do it once maybe I’ll hate it. Then again, I may love it, and I hope I do. Hunting is around me. My in-laws all hunt, mostly deer but certainly other things too. I know my Dad’s been hunting but he’s not an avid hunter; his brother hunts ducks, pheasant, etc.. A number of my friends hunt. I’m kinda the odd man out, so it’s time (and my Wife’s family are all saying “about damn time!”) 🙂

Furthermore, I want to have the skills and knowledge to hunt because I think that’s useful. I also do enjoy eating game meat, so harvesting my own is a good thing. I really don’t see any downside. Heck, my 2 older kids have also expressed interest in hunting. For now, it will be just me. Once I’ve got my sea-legs I’ll bring them along. I know so many people that speak fondly of their memories of hunting with Dad. I don’t have those memories, so I guess I’ll have to make my own.

My buddy foo.c just booked a small hunt for him and myself. Texas hogs. Scheduled for a few weeks from now.

More to come….

The snake came back

/ hsoi

No, this isn’t about some politician getting re-elected…. 🙂

That Texas Rat Snake that came around the house yesterday? He’s back.

Wife went to take the trash to the bin. She comes back around the corner and there it was starting to cross the walkway. I’m sure it’s the same one, knowing there’s easy food and coming back for more. Trouble is, this time the momma duck was sitting on her nest.

So, no eggs for the snake tonight.

Because he had to go fully across the walkway, I got a better look at him. He’s much larger than I previously thought, in the 4′ to 5′ range, so certainly an adult. I wish I could get a complete picture of him, but he was into the bushes before I had a chance to get the camera. Then he noticed the duck, and opted to just hang out on the other end of the bushes. Once we found him I was able to pull back the bushes and get a better shot of him.

While you can’t tell much about his size, you can see his patterning far better. I’m pretty sure it’s a Texas Rat Snake. Good snake to have around, but certainly gave Wife the heebie-jeebies. 🙂

A couple of the other muscovy ducks came around to eat. It seems these 3 ducks (the two in the picture and the one on the nest) are a group. Always see them together. Don’t know what the relation is, given the 3rd wheel in this relationship, but I don’t really care. All I know is the kids have named every single animal that comes around (I think the snake is Charlie). It does help them keep track of everything, as they never repeat a name.