Author: hsoi

Shotgun Primer

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Over at The Art of Manliness, they have A Primer on the Shotgun.

It’s a nice introductory piece, done with the help of Mike Seeklander… so there’s no b.s. and just good solid advice.

There’s a lot more to shotgunning than what the article can present, but that’s the limits of the medium. But it is a nice starting point for those that have no idea about shotguns and are looking into them, especially for personal defense.

I’d also suggest you take a look at the shotgun ammo trials I did a little while back.

Once you’ve read the article, if you do buy a shotgun, consider getting some shotgun-specific training. Rangemaster’s Defensive Shotgun is a good start.

And then finally, consider that a few modifications to your shotgun can be useful and make the gun more shootable and more suitable to your needs.

 

2012-06-11 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 10, Squat/Bench 3

/ hsoi

The PR of no PR

“Week 3”

  • 5/3/1 – Squat (working max: 260#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x105
    • 1x5x135
    • 1x3x160
    • 1x5x195 (work)
    • 1x3x225
    • 1x4x250
  • Asst. #1 – Chin-ups (supersetted with Squats)
    • 6 x 4/4/4/3/3/3 x BW
  • 5/3/1 – Bench Press (working max: 230#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x80
    • 1x5x110
    • 1x3x130
    • 1x5x165 (work)
    • 1x3x185
    • 1x6x205
  • Asst. #2 – Back Raises (hands behind head, superset with Bench warmup sets)
    • 3 x 15/12/10 x BW
  • Asst. #3 – DB Bench Press
    • 3 x 10 x 90
  • Asst. #4 – Face Pulls
    • 3 x 12 x 70
  • Foam Rolling

I say the PR of no PR because strictly speaking I didn’t set any PR’s… that’s not going to happen this soon after a reset because you’re obviously moving less weight than before.

But there were some PR’s for me in the sense of personal improvement. Sure I only got 4 reps with the squat, but I was really working hard today to keep my form solid. No, it wasn’t 100% perfect form, but it was a heck of a lot better than last week. I’m going deep. I’m working to keep everything tight, get the arm drive, abs tight, head/chest up/in, and sure, it was a LOT tougher, but I’m working hard to make every set solid like this. So sure it means less weight/reps are moved, but if the form is better, it’s a win.

Benching felt better today than it has in a while… again, my cue for today was “tight”, and it sure helped.

I’m also stoked at how I’m improving on chins and other exercises. Sure it’s just assistance and nothing to set the world on fire with, but hey… chins are nice to improve upon. 🙂

FWIW, I’m enjoying 2-days a week, plus there’s more dietary fiddling I’m doing, which well… it might work out. We’ll see. I’m in a hurry, have to write more on this later.

Sunday Metal Special – In honor of her 60th

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In Honor of Her Majesty’s 60th (and still in line with my current theme of metal bands doing cover tunes)… a special Sunday Metal salute from Motörhead, covering “God Save The Queen”

(h/t Karl)

 

So much can be taken from this

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Napoleon Rutledge, a 67-year-old Chattanooga man and Vietnam vet, was the victim of an attempted robbery in a grocery store parking lot.

Rutledge refused to be a victim.

In fact, he was mad.

When the gunman held the gun up Rutledge said, “Why you wanna rob me? Why don’t you get a job? What I got, what I get, what I spend in this store, I earned it! I said if you gonna shoot me then shoot me. I got a wife and three kids that you’ll have to take care of.”

The gunman apparently got scared and took off, tho was apprehended along with two others.

Rutledge just doesn’t understand the mentality of people like Malone. “What is wrong with them? I got drafted to go to Vietnam, I didn’t have a choice. They got all the opportunities in the world now to make something of themselves but they don’t want it,” he said.

In hearing this story, I think about so many different things.

First, Rutledge is black, and his robber was black. So those of you wishing to inject race or racism as the root of all conflict are just out of luck here… sorry Jesse Jackson, sorry Al Sharpton, go pander somewhere else. Or better, how about you come and support Mr. Rutledge?

But it also demonstrates that race isn’t the issue. It’s an issue of people who work and earn their keep in this world, that are productive, and just don’t like people who come along and wish to take it from them… that expect a handout, or are unwilling to earn their keep, or are otherwise unproductive in society. And yes, the parallel between this robbery and the robbery going on by our government and so much “liberal compassion”, desire to “redistribute wealth”, and so on well… it’s about the same, both in behavior and in the anger it produces in the victim.

The there’s the coda to the article:

It should be noted this is not how the Chattanooga Police Department recommends you react in a similar situation, but in Napoleon’s case it seemed to work.

If you watch the video, it’s slightly different saying “it’s nice to see the good guy win for once”. Folks, if you want to keep seeing the good guy win, then the only way to do it is to stand up to the bad guy. Handling things the way the Police say will always let the bad guy win. No the good guys won’t always win, but if you always permit yourself to be the victim, you’ll never have a chance to be the victor.

 

Where I took Daughter today

/ hsoi

And so yes, today I took Daughter to the range.

I also took Oldest, Youngest, and Wife.

We went to KR Training. Karl had all the steel out and we shot .22’s all morning. Shot my iron sight Buck Mark, shot Karl’s Buck Mark with a red dot scope, an M&P 22 pistol, a Ruger 10/22 with a 4×32 scope, and another Ruger 10/22 with a red dot. Just lots of .22 fun, shooting at steel, listening to it go “ping”.

The kids liked all the guns, but I think they like the rifles and red dots more. I’m not totally sure why, nor they, but my guess? Easier to shoot and get successful hits. Makes sense.

Oldest tho… I think I’m going to have to get him his own 10/22 and let him customize it. He had WAY too much fun dumping 25-round magazines. Even with 25 rounds, they run out of ammo too quickly. 🙂

Wife even had fun.

After shooting, we went up the road to the Elm Creek Cafe. All this time and I’ve never been able to eat there for one reason or another… and boy I wish I had eaten there sooner. That’s some fantastic “home cookin'” type food. Just awesome. The salad bar was full of fresh veggies from the owner’s own garden. Youngest tried frog legs… I’ve never had them either, but I tried some and they aren’t bad. Oldest had quail, which I’ve only had a time or two before. Wife had their grilled chicken friend steak and boy, that was good. And we brought home one of their dewberry pies…. we’ll have that after supper tonight. 🙂  And great hospitality too. Just good folks there.

Yes… guns are bad. They bring nothing but horrible things to this world… you know, like families spending time together. We can’t have any more of that in this world. 😉

 

Ladies can pack in style

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

It is awesome to see more women accepting responsibility for themselves and their own safety.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the number of women who got their concealed handgun license grew by 65 percent between 2006 and 2010, the latest year that data was available.

But it always bugged me that their carry options were so…. crappy. Women have different contours than men (thankfully!), and many wish to dress differently too. Thus it changes what’s available to them. Off-body carry is always an option, but I know from my years of wearing a fanny pack (even before I carried a gun) that options out there suck.

And yes, I still have ideas for making better fanny packs… someday I’ll get on it.

But looking at purses available for women? Geez… they all were horrible. I mean, maybe they were functional, but they had almost zero fashion or style.

I’m happy to hear this is changing.

From the article:

Lucky Squashbuckler – I like these. Unique designs, and nothing “screams gun”. Cute stuff here.

Gun Supply Store – These look nice as well. I like the leather options. More subdued style than the Lucky Squashbuckler ones.

Woolstenhulme Designer Bags – seems like somewhere in between, with good fashion sense.

Really, this is a lot of variety of styles, designs, and appeal. I bet you’ll find something here to like and that’s functional. And I bet if you don’t, these companies all seem open to feedback so I’d say contact them if you don’t see something that quite fits your needs. What’s the harm in asking?

I’m just happy to see more options like this coming to market.

Dear world….

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Please stop with this “zombie” thing.

It’s long played out.

It’s tired. Tho I guess congratulations to Hornady for making a lot of money by being in the right place at the right time with the right product.

We don’t have zombies eating people’s faces off… we have fucked up people eating people(‘s faces) off.

and now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go tie an onion to my belt.

2012-06-07 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 10, Deadlift/Press 2

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I’m adjusting to 2x week.

“Week 2”

  • 3 Reps – Deadlift (working max: 325)
    • 1x5x135 (warmup)
    • 1x5x165
    • 1x3x195
    • 1x3x230 (work)
    • 1x3x265
    • 1x6x295
  • 3 Reps – Press (working max: 145#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x60
    • 1x5x75
    • 1x3x90
    • 1x3x105 (work)
    • 1x3x115
    • 1x6x130
  • Asst. #1 – DB Rows (superset with Press warmup sets)
    • 3 x 10 x 70
  • Asst. #2 – Hanging Leg Raises
    • 3 x 10/5/6 x BW
  • Asst. #3 – Dips (superset with Leg Raises)
    • 3 x 5/5/5 x BW
  • Asst. #4 – DB Hammer Curls
    • 3 x 10/7/6 x 35

I was really pressed for time today… got going late, forgot to superset my DB rows, and tried to make up for it a bit by ensuring 1. my walk to/from the gym was very brisk (contemplating getting a weight vest and wearing it on my walks), 2. I did a little circuit with the leg raises to dips to curls… just one after the other. To that end, that weird pain that comes up in my right delt… it’s not really the shoulder, like the joint, but something nerve? medial muscle? hard to say exactly, but it gets painful and you can see it forced me to stop short… I just couldn’t get out the reps without too much pain up there. Oddly, I did more dips today than I did last week, and actually felt really damn good with them. Yes I recall when I couldn’t do one dip or one chinup… I’m not setting any world records, but I’m doing some personal good. And no shoulder pain on the dips, even going all the way down, upper arms parallel to the floor.

Working to keep my back proper on the descent of the deadlifts… consequently I’m moving slower and I think the increased time under tension is of course decreasing my reps, but hey… I’ll take improved form over 1-2 more reps, y’know?

Not a bad workout. I am digging 2x week… feels like it’s going to work better for my schedule and my body.