Author: hsoi

Safety Glasses For Those Who Wear Glasses

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

I wear prescription eye glasses. I have worn glasses since I was 6 years old. On the whole I like that. I’ve had thoughts about getting contacts or the corrective eye surgery, but in the end glasses are fine for now.

One problem I’ve always had with glasses is when partaking in an activity that requires additional glasses, usually safety glasses. Most safety glasses that claim to fit over prescription glasses often don’t. Or maybe they roughly fit but the safety lens rests against the prescription frames so they get scratched or don’t fit well or rest in odd ways that get very weary on the nose. Then when it comes to shooting and you need to put on ear muffs, the arms of the safety glasses often bow outwards thus keeping the muffs from making a tight seal. If it’s not one thing it’s another.

Being a Life Member of the NRA, I get their mailings including emails. The NRA Store emailed me some weeks back and I saw the answer to my problems: NRA OTG Shooting Glasses. I ordered 2 pair: 1 for outside, 1 for inside. The appeal isn’t just supporting the NRA, but knowing these glasses were made and chose for sale because they specifically address the needs of shooters.

When they arrived in the mail I immediately tried them on. I was thrilled. They were comfortable, even on my big head. There was no contact between my prescription glasses and the shooting glasses, so they rested well on the bridge of my nose. The arms actually come in near the ear so they are close to my head and thus ear muffs have no problems. The arms are also a little longer thus sit comfortably behind the ear: a lot of shooting glasses I’ve tried just don’t get far enough behind the ear (or maybe it’s my big head). They hug close to the face, thus working well at keeping any flying debris away from my eyes.

I finally got to try them out yesterday. The sunglasses were wonderful to have because they are well… sunglasses and it was a sunny day. They didn’t slip, they didn’t move. They felt good to have on. I didn’t necessarily get to try out their impact resistance, but the reason I desire to have them on was because testing reloaded ammunition… who knows what might happen.

All shooters should wear eye protection. Prescription eyeglasses are better than nothing, but lack protection on the side. Plus if they do get damaged, it’s an expensive replacement (not to mention you’ll be out the glasses until you can get them replaced…can you drive home from the range?). These NRA OTG Shooting glasses were $19.95 + shipping, so well worth the inexpensive cost. No more just using my prescription glasses. I’ll probably even use the clear lensed version for anything around the house that might require eye protection. I’m happy.

Much ado about reloading

/ hsoi / 3 Comments

I blame foo.c for starting the ball rolling. 😉

He kept prodding me to start reloading. I saw the sense in learning to reload my own ammunition, but it wasn’t something I wanted to start right now as I’ve got enough irons in the fire. Then exodus (docbot) had to sell stuff, and I got the deal of the year on his entire reloading setup. I picked all the stuff up, shoved it in the garage, and left it sit until I had time to deal with it. A few weeks ago I got productive and rearranged the garage, including making nice with the reloading setup. Now I was ready to go, just needed the knowledge. I read through the Speer Reloading Manual #14 and got the basic idea, but there’s no substitute for someone teaching you.

Enter Karl Rehn of KR Training.

Yesterday some emails were going around regarding ammo. In the end Karl asked me what I was doing Sunday (today) and said to come out to the range and he’ll teach me. So that’s what I did. This was not the way I planned to spend my Sunday, but I had an opportunity to learn how to reload, and to learn from Karl. I couldn’t pass up such an opportunity!

I hopped on my motorcycle (bonus! got a bike ride) and rode out. After doing a few chores we got down to business and Karl showed me how to get things going. We used a Dillon Precision 650. Karl explained the process and how things go. I had lots of questions and as always Karl answered every one and explained to my satisfaction. He would then demonstrate, then let me try, then correct, and so on. I had brought some of my own bullets and cases, so using his powder and primers I was able to crank out about 200 rounds or so of my own.

I also got to see how things can go wrong. For instance, there were some squibs, so I got to hear what they sounded like. The first loads of my stuff weren’t strong enough and so every round caused a stovepipe. We increased the powder charge and things worked great. I got to see how various issues in the reloading process can happen and how to resolve them. So it was very informative to not just learn how to do things but to see things go wrong and learn how to correct them.

As I neared completion of my rounds I noticed that I had started to get a good feel. I could feel if something was wrong and was able to correct it before it got to be a (bigger) problem. I had a good groove on how much pressure to use, how to work the down stroke and the up stroke. Seating the primers gave me the most trouble because sometimes I might not have completed the upstroke all the way, but eventually I got it. I probably could have reloaded a few hundred more and been just happy to do so.

So what wasn’t great about the day? Seeing how great a set up Karl has. 🙂  From a well-stocked reloading room, to the ability to just walk outside and test things, then walk back in and tune up, to a nice progressive press. Gosh, how nice! I only have a single-stage press and will have to drive quite a ways to test out my loads. I guess this puts me in the market for not just a progressive press, but also some land out in the country. 🙂

I also took my factory Springfield XD-9 Tactical to try the loads out. I figured if something went wrong, let the factory gun blow up instead of my Springer Precision customized model. Going back to that factory trigger and those big fat factory sights makes you appreciate the custom work. I expect the Tactical model will become customized, probably turn into a competition gun.

Now all I need to do is try the reloading out myself using my own gear. I still need foo.c to come down to the house and help me get set up all the way. But for now, I feel I have some basic idea of how to get around and do things, so I’ll probably go play in the garage and see what I can do. The basics here are pretty easy, a lot easier than I thought it would be. I can also see how this can be a very interesting hobby, almost an art and a craft to come up with that ideal load.

Karl, thank you for taking the time and trouble to show me. I appreciate it!

Sunday Metal – Guns N’ Roses

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

As the ’80’s were ending and the 90’s starting, we thought rock and roll was dead… but along came Guns N’ Roses to kick everyone in the ass.

It’s a shame that a band that made such great music was overshadowed by so much drama. I saw them when they toured with Metallica… or more like I saw Faith No More open, saw Metallica play, then waited for 2 hours for Axel to “ready himself”. What a pain. I also saw the band when they were working on the “Use Your Illusion” albums. They hadn’t finished the albums but opted to go on tour anyway. Skid Row opened up for them (that’s another story for another day). In the end, still a great band, great music…. but all the drama and what GNR has become… eh. I stopped caring a long time ago. Still, got a few good albums to continue to listen to.

You can’t beat the ugly grit of “Welcome to the Jungle”.

Park Road 1C

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

The weather was too nice this morning to not go for a motorcycle ride. A little chilly at daybreak, but no big deal there. Just wear the right gear and off you go.

I took a bunch of back roads to go from Austin to Smithville, Texas. It was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful scenery. I was in no hurry. When I got to Smithville originally I was going to head up FM 2104, cut over US-290 to TX-21 back into Bastrop as I love driving through the Lost Pines area that TX-21 cuts through. As I came upon Buescher State Park I remembered how it connected to Bastrop State Park by way of Park Road 1C. Click for Google Map goodness.

If you are a motorcyclist within riding distance to this road, you need to take it at least once. I have always wanted to take it and today marked my first day to take it.

You will need to pay $2 “drive through” fee to the park, but that’s fine as I am a supporter of our State Parks. The road is about an 11 mile run and is just wonderful. It’s quiet (only encountered a few other cars), the scenery is awesome — I love riding through all those tall pine trees, and areas where the trees are so dense and grow over the road like a canopy. The posted speed limit is 30 MPH but I found myself just staying in second gear and going 15-25 MPH most of the time. Why? Again, no hurry and enjoying the ride.

That said, it really is a road you should take slowly. There are many twists and turns, many blind corners and a few blind hills. Signage is almost non-existent (no signs to say slow down, blind curve ahead, etc.). While the road is technically wide enough for two cars, there are many places where there is no shoulder. Furthermore, build up of leaves and pine needles may have built up on the side of the road effectively narrowing it by 6-12″ on a side, which doesn’t seem like a big deal until you’ve got a truck coming the other direction and they’re not on their side of the road. The road surface isn’t always the best, plus I encountered areas of water, wet leaves, sticks and branches (had to even pull over once to dislodge a small stick that had caught under my bike’s frame). I almost hit a squirrel, but was surprised to encounter no deer (what with the rut starting and all). So while I certainly could see in an ideal world this road being awesome to fly down in a sport bike, I personally wouldn’t recommend it give the nature of the road. But then, I’m more of an old biker than a bold biker (lots of old bikers, lots of bold bikers, but not many old bold bikers).

Besides… the ride is so beautiful, why would you want to go fast and miss all of it? As soon as I came in the back entrance of Bastrop State Park, majestic is the best word to describe it. Big trees, as far as the eye can see. Words cannot do it justice; you just need to experience it yourself.

After coming out in Bastrop, stopped into John’s Guns. They are quite friendly folk so we talked for a while. I picked up a couple .50 cal ammo cans for storage (they’ve got some of the best supply in the area), some .38 Special practice ammo, and headed home.

Life is good.

Found A Cane

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

As you know, I’ve been looking for a cane. My requirements were pretty simple: hardwood, crook neck, simple design, something that could be used for walking but also fighting, that I could take it anywhere (e.g. onto an airplane). It was a bit frustrating that I couldn’t find a cane anywhere in town that fit these needs. This is understandable tho, as most people who need a cane need it for true assistance with walking thus needs can be filled in other ways, such as using aluminum canes or wood with non-crook necks. I admit I was “this close” to ordering something online if this one place didn’t pan out.

But it did.

Someone had suggested I try out a feed store, so I went to a local Tractor Supply Co.. They didn’t have any canes in stock (they said sometimes they get them, but they’re never ordered they just show up every so often). However, the gentlemen there said to try a place called Callahan’s. I stored that in my head.

Daugther and Wife have started taking horse riding lessons, and they need some boots. I asked Tom where in town I could find boots that would suit the need but wouldn’t cost much. Until Daugther stops growing I’m not going to invest tons of money (even cheap Chinese boots are still kinda expensive), and I’ll spend the money on Wife once she knows what she wants. Tom suggested Callahan’s. So OK, now I have a few reasons to go there.

So today we went and visited Callahan’s General Store. The website will tell you nothing about the place. But folks, this place is awesome. It is a general store, with a little of everything. Western clothing, boots, hats, housewares, lots of cast iron cookware, toys, hardware (i.e. nails, screws), plumbing, feed, vermin traps, horse tack, livestock management needs, Texas-sized belt buckles, housewares, knick-knacks, even chicks and ducklings and sometimes rabbits. It was amazing the breadth of things they offered.

Upon walking in one of the first things I saw? A rack of canes. 🙂 I dug through it. A lot of neat canes but only a few crook-neck ones. Of the ones in there, this is the one I chose:

The cane is made by Brazos Walking Sticks. Or at least, that was the tag attached to the cane. The thing is, the tag says it is this model, but it certainly isn’t that model. This twisted oak model is close, but it’s certainly not twisted nor finished like that. It’s probably classified as the natural hardwood crook neck cane. Either way, they’ve got a lot of really cool canes.

It feels a little long for me. I’ll work later tonight on sizing it.

It should be suitable for martial arts work. It is a little heavy, so swinging it for strikes is a little much but certainly managable. There’s a point in the crook that feels thinner than the rest. I’m not sure how well it will stand up to abuse as I feel some flex. Sure some flex is expected, but it does make me wonder. Also the opening of the crook is just wide enough to fit around my neck, so it’s a bit narrower than I’d like. Still, this is a good start to things. Plus I like the look. It has a lot of character.

We’ll see how it goes. If it breaks or winds up not being suitable for martial technique, then I’ll probably seek out a purpose-built cane, such as from Cane Masters.

As well, Callahan’s General Store is neat! We did find boots for Wife and Daugther, which aren’t ideal long-term but should suffice for a good long while. Also bought some “cookies” for the horses. Neat store.

All Hail Great Customer Service

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

What follows is a story of great customer service.

I use a Comp-Tac Minotaur MTAC holster. It’s seen a lot of wear and abuse but still works great. I’ve wanted to get a second holster to have as a backup, plus being leather-backed having a second allows me to rotate. I know you don’t always have to rotate leather goods, but given the sweat and dirt this holster will encounter, it’s nice to be able to swap in another holster while you take the one out for some maintenance. So about a month ago I purchased a second MTAC.

As noted, I didn’t immediately wear the new MTAC but conditioned/protected the leather. Then, the holster sat on the shelf because I had other things to tend to. A couple weeks ago I finally got to trying it, but when I did I noticed the Kydex shell had problems. I emailed Comp-Tac, they issued an RMA, and I sent it back.

So far, this is good customer service. It’s been easy to obtain their products, turnaround is quick, if the customer isn’t satisfied they immediately work to remedy it.

Here’s where it goes from good service to great service.

I knew about when the returned package would arrive (sent parcel post, so no tracking). Soon after it arrived I received an email saying my order was being worked on. Next day I get a phone call from Comp-Tac. They were calling to explain that some of the things I saw as bugs were in fact features! For instance, how the “opened up” the covering of the magazine release was a feature because some people wanted to be able to drop a magazine without unholstering. I don’t see the point. The XD has an ambidextrous magazine release so just reach to the other side. But I did point out a legit flaw in how the front/top edge of the Kydex was curled and thus the front sight was hooking. I explained everything, he agreed with me, but I could tell a little reluctantly. Nevertheless, what came of it was really cool. You see, he certainly listened to all of my concerns and desires and said “we’ll take care of you.”

A few days later (sent USPS Priority Mail) I get my new holster. And yes, it was totally new. I expected just the shell to be returned but I received a new leather backing as well. I examined the shell and noticed they made the shell to address my issues. The top part of the shell, relative to the top of the gun’s slide, was now “taller” and there was no curve at all. It was a straight channel with a good amount of clearance. Furthermore, they cut the slide shell longer (it’s a hair longer than my original MTAC slide shell) so it’s covering the front sight with no chance of snagging. I even tried my stock XD-9 5″ and it had no problem on the draw. The magazine release is fully covered and fits nice out of the box; on my original shell I had to Dremel it slightly so it didn’t cut into my fingers when I gripped the gun. One minor nit is the “retention button” is a raised dot on the Kydex that “locks” over the trigger guard to help with retention… it doesn’t have as much “click” when fully holstered as the original does and I see why. But this is a minor point as it’s not really necessary for an IWB holster. Other shell changes, like that it sits just a hair higher above my belt and has that “lip” on the front edge supposedly to help with reholstering, they don’t seem to cause any practical problems.

All in all, I’m very happy with things.

The holster is currently disassembled, the leather having been conditioned, and in a few days I’ll reassemble and start to wear it to see how it goes.

This ranks as great customer service because they were fully responsive to the customer’s concerns. They made every effort to satisfy the customer, even going so far as to do a little custom work to get it done. I also can bet this had to cost them some money because essentially they made 2 holsters for me. I don’t know how much of the returned holster they can salvage for reuse/resale. But they certainly have a loyal customer in me, willing to tell the tale and spread the word about what a good company they are to do business with.

Comp-Tac. Good products. Great service. Happy, loyal customer.

Texas CHL Caliber Restriction

/ hsoi / 20 Comments

Via Bob S. I get to meet a couple Cranky Chicks with Guns.

Just so happens they too are in Texas, and in visiting their blog for the first time their current post is regarding Texas CHL and Caliber Restrictions. Sarah asserts:

However, the State of Texas also interferes with CHL holders when it comes time to select a carry gun. You must, to be legal, carry at least a .32 caliber. Yes. Really.

I am not a lawyer and this is certainly the first time I’ve heard anyone consider this notion. But my reading of the Texas CHL laws, specifically GC §411.188 “Handgun Proficiency Requirement”:

An applicant many not be certified unless the applicant demonstrates, at a minimum, the degree of proficiency that is required to effectively operate a handgun of .32 caliber or above.

So as far as I can tell, the .32 caliber minimum only pertains to the qualification portion of the licensing process. I don’t believe it pertains to actual carrying. My guess is this may be done to avoid people qualifying with a little gun then going out and carrying a big gun they can’t handle… some way to “work the system” and thus partake in potentially dangerous activity. That’s just my guess as to the reasoning behind the restriction. But as far as I can tell, you could qualify with a big gun then carry a little gun.

Nevertheless, it’s still a good point being raised. What if all you can handle is a .22 pistol? Maybe age or a medical condition limits your ability. Why should those people be denied?

I’m going to ask a few people about this. I’ll post responses when/if I get them.

Updated: Asked a few knowledgeable people and confirmed that yes, there is nothing pertaining to caliber when it comes to carrying. Yes there’s the .32 minimum for the proficiency requirement of the licensing process, but that’s all.

WordPress 2 for iPhone

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Seems that the WordPress for iPhone application has been updated.

Apparently they rewrote things, so it doesn’t come off as an update to the original WordPress app but as a totally separate app. Thus you have to manually go looking for it and manually download it, instead of just triggering an update.

Initial reviews aren’t that good either, with lots of problems out of the box.

I’ll upgrade, eventually. At least wait for 2.0.1 to come out, I guess.

Updated: WP’s official announcement.

My DIY Mook Jong

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Call it a Mook Jong, Muk Jong, Muk Yan Jong, or just a wooden dummy, it’s an essential training tool of various martial arts, especially Wing Chun. I don’t study Wing Chun, but I do study a relative art, Jeet Kune Do. Furthermore, with my Filipino Martial Arts study, such a tool is handy.

You see, much of the empty hand martial arts study I do involves hands: using my hands, defending against my opponent’s hands. I may need to block, grab, strike, counter-attack, trap, move around their hands and body. This sort of work and practice is easy to do when you have a partner, but when I practice I home I don’t have such a luxury. Sure Wife and Kids humor me and are my uke now and again, but on the whole it’s not a tenable solution. I have longed for a way to have arms available when I practice (even back in my Kuk Sool days).

I do have a Century Wavemaster XXL. Great training tool. I wondered what I could do with it to make arms.

I found something called an Attach-mate, which straps onto the Wavemaster and provides the 3 arms of the mook jong. I’ve heard it’s pretty good, but it can break if struck too hard. Plus it’s expensive.

ProForce makes something called the Strong Arm, Strong Leg, and Strong Arm 2. That looks cool, but I’m not sure how durable it is in terms of taking a whack from some sticks. Plus, it’s expensive.

If you want to buy a proper wood mook jong, look at spending $1000 or more, and then you need a way to mount it and have the space for it.

There are some people making mook jong’s out of big PVC pipe, which is a lot less expensive than wooden ones but still costly and the space issue remains.

Then there’s stuff like this Hitman. Not sure how durable it is, but it’s pretty cool. And expensive.

Over on the Dog Brothers forum, there’s a thread with some additional links and discussion.

But upon seeing The Hillbilly Mook Jong, I got inspired.

I present to you, my DIY mook jong:

As you can see, it’s nothing special. I had a bamboo pole, which I cut in half to make 2 3-foot lengths. I used a little rope to attach the poles to the side of the Wavemaster, and viola. Low-cost mook jong. 🙂  I was actually looking for wiffle ball bats, but they’re amazingly difficult to find for some reason. I had the bamboo pole so eh, use that. I can’t say this is “no cost” since I did have to buy the Wavemaster and the rope, but certainly this didn’t incur the expense of any of the above mentioned options. If the bamboo breaks, no big deal to replace it. I tried some basic sinawali and gunting drills, some basic trapping and footwork. Worked like a charm. Sure it’s not a proper mook jong, but for my purposes it gives me what I need.

One trouble is the bamboo is hard and only gives so much. The back of my hand was getting sore after a lot of striking (yes, this is a good conditioning opportunity). Solution of course is a bit of padding. Keeping in the spirit of not wanting to spend any money:

I had an almost empty roll of Shop Towels, which fit over the bamboo and provides just enough padding so the back of my hand doesn’t get banged up yet there’s still some felt impact. I did have a new roll of towels that was of course very cushy, but was way too much padding. Plus the weight hung on the bamboo and caused too much shifting.

So yeah, it’s cheap, it’s far from sexy. But it works. It allows me to train. It cost me nothing out of pocket. Easy to use, easy to remove, easy to put back. If it breaks, easy to fix or replace. I can also whack the Wavemaster as I work. I can adjust lengths, heights, positioning. There’s just a lot I can do here.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go practice. 🙂

Male priorities

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

What does it say about my male priorities when I look at the Locked and Loaded Ladies 2010 calendar (SFW so long as SFW means bikini-clad babes with guns), and the first thing I focus on isn’t just the guns but the unsafe gun-handling by the models? Almost all have fingers on the trigger, lots of unsafe muzzle directions too (October is doubly bad).

I’ll tell you what it says.

It says that I like guns, I like safe gun handling, and I think my wife is the hottest woman on the planet. 🙂

(h/t to The ArmsVault)