Guns

A bunch of random pictures

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’ve been wanting to post a bunch of pictures for a while now. So hey…. let’s just put them all up in a single big post.

All pictures can be clicked upon to see larger versions.

Ducks

A few shots of the various neighborhood ducks. The pictures of the ducklings are actually a few weeks old; the ducklings are all much bigger now, but still just have the downy yellow feathers.

Here’s the one mallard hen and her ducklings:

The mallard ducklings are presently going through an awkward phase, where their legs are much longer compared to the rest of their bodies. It’s rather amusing.

One of the muscovy duck hens and her badelynge:

Another muscovy and her group.

That particular one… when the USDA people came to thin the flock, they took 7 of her ducklings (she had 12, lost one somehow, and now only 4 remain). My understanding is they weren’t supposed to take ducklings….

Now with the muscovy population so drastically reduced, we’ve had more not-muscovy ducks coming around. Just yesterday a new couple showed up:

Unfortunately, that’s the best picture I could get of them. They’re very skittish and constantly moving around. We’re guessing by their behavior that the brown/white one is male and the black/white one is female, tho the black/white one is slightly larger. What gets me is I’ve never seen a duck like the black/white one. The picture does not do her justice. The feathers are gorgeous. Lots of subtle coloring. Likely some sort of mallard hybrid. I do wonder exactly what it is, but despite the beautiful plumage I know it’s not a Norwegian Blue.

Texas DPS Firearms Range

For the range qualification portion of the CHL Instructor course, they held it at the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Firearms Range in Florence, Texas. It was a pretty nice facility. Here’s some pictures of the pistol range that we used.

Here’s a shot of the left part of the range:

And here’s the right:

There are 60 firing positions, 6 groups of 10.  The first 10 yards or so have that rubbery surface, so it’s solid but there’s some cushion; very nice if you have to be there training all day. Then you can see it’s grass with concrete sidewalks that space out other ranges (e.g. 15 yards, 25 yards). All 60 positions have target frames that can be flipped sideways so you can’t see them, and exposed for set amounts of time. The chief range officer had a remote control and a headset with microphone for giving the range commands; the speakers were also remote speakers placed on the ground every so often behind us. That setup worked quite well.

Here’s a shot of the right side, from back at the parking lot:

There’s a small building to the left, the edge of which you can see. That’s the bathrooms, water fountains, etc..

There were other ranges too, for rifle. A skeet range was also there. One thing we got a kick out of? We saw a deer feeder, and when we first arrived in the morning numerous does came out to feed. I did see some BBQ pits up in the pavilion. I guess they have some fun during the winter. *grin*

Dawson Precision

After the CHL shooting test, I visited Dawson Precision.

Now if you really want to see some pictures of their facility, check out their Facebook page.

But one thing I thought was really cool? Their range/testing room.

You see, it’s a wonderful indoor room. It has a fully capable work bench:

This way when they test out a gun, if it needs a tweak they can tweak it right there. Very nice, well thought out. The shelves on the left hold a host of different ammunition, which is all reloaded on a bunch of Dillon Precision 1050’s that are in the room off to the right. Again, all for testing the guns.

See that chair in the bottom-left corner?

That chair lets you sit at this bench:

It’s a bench. There’s a good rest on it. That big contraption on the wall? It’s a brass catcher. There’s a bucket at the bottom of it. Simple enough, you make sure a fresh empty bucket is placed at the bottom before you test. You test, then once completed you empty the bucket. Makes recycling and sorting the cases really easy. It’s really well put together.

Now, you see that window to the left? Well, if you look closely you’ll see there’s a door and hinges along the top edge. Normally it’s closed. But with the press of a button it raises up and opens out to this:

And from your air-conditioned benchrest, you can shoot all that steel. All your brass is caught. If the gun needs work, you just visit the workbench right behind you. If the steel needs to be reset (some are LaRue resetting targets), then there’s a cord/handle just above you that makes it easy to do right from the comfort of the room.

Folks…. this is awesome. 🙂

Now remember I mentioned that the front sight they installed was different from the one I already had?

Take a look:

On the left is the sight that was installed by Springer Precision. I’m not 100% sure which one it is. On the Springer Precision website work order it just says “Dawson Precision Fixed Sight SET (.100 fiber optic front) target rear”.

On the right is the one that Dawson directly sold me and installed. It is the .205 tall x .100 wide Match (used with DP Fixed Rear), item number 021-019.

I pulled out the calipers and measured. Same width, same height, just different bases. I’ll have to ask about that. I ought to be able to shoot the gun with the new sights soon.

Hays County Shooting Sports Complex

/ hsoi

There’s been a proposal to create a shooting sports complex in Hays County.

Of course, the news reports are not necessarily supportive:

Jim Camp is a member of the Parks and Open Space Advisory Board.

“A shooting complex, although it may be a good idea, might not be the thing that should be funded with this money,” he said.

And why not?

Camp worries that a shooting range would go against the wishes of area residents.

“The voters wanted to create lands for parks, open space and aquifer protection,” he said.

And exactly how is this against the wishes of area residents? It’s area residents that are wanting a shooting sports complex. It’s not like a few select people wanting to bring F1 to the area and not asking any of the citizenry if we want that or not. *roll eyes*

How is this not a park? How is this not preserving open space? And so long as it’s managed well, there shouldn’t be issues for the aquifer. Plus being all that open land (instead of getting paved over), that allows rain water to get to the aquifer.

Methinks someone just has a problem with the notion of firearms.

Here’s a link to the group trying to set up the complex. Take their survey (if you’re in the area). Show you support.

Updated: I found a few more local news stories. A little older, but a lot more depth.

Article 1

Article 2

It’s interesting to read. There are habitat issues, which I can understand because things like lead and loud sounds may not be the best place for a bird sanctuary. But then the proposal for the complex includes making a profit, which “in these tough economic times” especially when city and county governments struggle with ways to obtain revenue without raising taxes well… that seems to really have the ear of a lot of board members.

This will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Dawson Precision is awesome

/ hsoi

Last Friday I was in Florence, Texas for the CHL Instructor range qualification.

Just so happens that Dawson Precision is located almost next door to the DPS range. So I went to go visit because I’ve never been there.

Oh, I’m so in love. 🙂

Everyone there was super nice, especially Kathy (lady up front, likely the one that answers the phone when you call). She gave us the tour around. Their testing range is just wicked cool. The whole facility is just neat.

I dropped off the slide from my XD-9 5″ so I could get a set of their sights installed onto it. I dropped it off on Friday. I didn’t expect to get it back until maybe end of this week?

I just got it back.

From the way the emails went, it looks like they took it on Friday, installed the sights first thing Monday morning, then got it to the UPS man before lunch (it was cheaper to have UPS Ground deliver it because it’d get here quickly and only cost $10… cheaper than what I’d pay in gas and time if I picked it up myself). Took more time for UPS to deliver it than for them to do the work!

And the work looks good. Haven’t taken it to the range (because it was supposed to be raining today… but it’s all bright and sunny out now… *whine whine whine*), but looks alright. I can say, the front sight is a slightly different design than my previous sight (I’ll get a picture later if I can).

Anyway, just writing to give a little love to Dawson Precision. Great folks!

No range trip for me *sigh*

/ hsoi

I was planning on going to the gun range this morning.

Weatherman says we’ve got some ugly rain storms on tap. While normally that wouldn’t bother me too much, the Austin Rifle Club is located in a floodplain… thus rain at the range is NOT a good thing. The ARC leadership basically tells you that if you’re at the range and it starts to rain, leave immediately. You really don’t want to be at the club in the rain, because flooding and getting trapped (or worse) is always possible.

But just watch… I’m postponing the range trip, and it won’t rain worth a damn this morning. 🙂

I was hoping to not only do some pistol work, but also take the 6.8 out and recheck the zero issues. I was going to work with Oldest on this. You see, he’s had an aversion to shooting firearms larger than .22’s because he doesn’t like the noise. Understandable, especially when you shoot under the tin roofs at the range (far less problem out in the field). But he’s really itching to try out hunting, so he’s got to get used to shooting something bigger than that Ruger 10/22. Might as well have him work the 6.8, or maybe my .308 bolt action.

I’m not going to be upset about the rain tho. We need the rain. And frankly, that we’re still getting rain in June? That’s a Good Thing™. Just have to be satisfied with more dry fire this morning.

Reloading bleg

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

I’ve been slack at getting myself to the reloading bench.

In large part it’s been because I’ve been busy with other things and thus when I think about getting out there I’m just not motivated. Furthermore, it’s getting quite hot outside and I just don’t feel like taking a schvitz to reload.

So I’m going to attempt something. Every morning, wake up, tend to morning things (e.g. get dressed, eat breakfast, etc.), then get out and reload 100 rounds of 9mm. That should take me about 30 minutes in total. Not a huge time investment, and if I do it every day I’ll build up a good supply, even as I burn through some of it in my own practice. If I can get a few thousand stockpiled, then I’ll see about switching out the press setup and perhaps go back to my .223 efforts.

I’ve shifted away from using the Berry’s bullets towards using the Precision Delta bullets. While I like the full plating on the Berry’s, their local availability, and being the least expensive of what’s available locally, I’m having problems with them. That is, I’ll go to seat the bullet and something messes up during the seating… typically the bullet seats wrong and “shaves” part of its side off, but whatever happens it equates to a wasted load. I may be able to pull the bullet and recover the powder, but the bullet is certainly wasted and maybe the case and thus maybe the primer. Apart from the wasted components, it also throws off your groove as you’re working. *sigh*  It’s happened more than enough with the Berry’s that I’m starting to not want to use them. Besides, when you buy Precision Delta bullets, they’re a lot less expensive than the Berry’s, plus when you buy in bulk it’s even cheaper. So far all the Precision Delta’s I’ve loaded have worked out great, at least in the loading process. So far, so good.

I really want to keep up this routine of wake up, do morning things, then reload 100 rounds. What I really need at this point are some good .30 cal ammo cans to store the reloads. The best place to buy them is “John’s Guns” out in Bastrop, but it’s not a place I can easily get to, and whenever I am out that way all too often I drive by outside of business hours. 😦   I’ve struggled to find a good place to buy such things within Austin, at a reasonable price.

Editorial Response

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

The Austin American Statesman published an editorial regarding the recent issue with the metal detectors and how CHL holders have special handling in that regard.

As you might expect, the editorial was full of incorrect information and hysterics.

Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner, wrote a response to that editorial. I don’t know if the AAS will publish it, but here’s his response.

Statesman Editorial Board staff,

I don’t know who wrote Sunday’s editorial but it is chock full of bad information and needs to be corrected lest the public again be misinformed by a hoplophobic journalist with a bias.

The most glaring error is the writers belief that the State Preservation Board has the authority to ban lawfully carried firearms at the capitol. They do not. While they do have the authority to place metal detectors, ONLY the Texas penal code regulates where and how firearms can be carried, and Article 1 Section 23 of the Texas Bill of Rights states that a Texan has the right to “Keep and Bear Arms in the lawful defense of himself or the state” and that “the legislature shall have power by law to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime”. This legislative exclusivity is further backed up by statute which pre empts any government entity or agency from regulating firearms (of course this doesn’t apply to federal regulation on federal property).

When I passed the CHL law in 1995, certain prohibited locations were enumerated. These locations were fine tuned again in 1997. The capitol was specifically not included as a prohibited location in part because of the hypocrisy of passing a law and then excluding the capitol where those of us who voted for the law spend our time. There can be no other prohibited locations, other than on private property or on federal property.

The statement that “most courthouses and other government buildings around the state” are gun banned locations is also false. ALL courthouses are prohibited locations because the legislature chose to ban by statute carry at courthouses, and NO state or local government buildings are prohibited locations because the legislature chose not to make them so. It is permissible to ban firearms at a “meeting of a government entity” if “effective notice” is given. What constitutes “effective notice” is specifically spelled out in PC 46.035. What that means is a city council could ban only in the council chambers, and only while the meeting is in progress, or the Senate or House could ban in the chamber or the gallery when actually in session. You cannot ban lawful carry of a firearm at the capitol, or at city hall, or the portion of any other state or local government building (exception: school buildings, prisons etc.) that is open to public access. That doesn’t mean cities or counties haven’t placed signs banning carry, but signs do not make law, and anyone who defies such a sign can suffer no penalty. I routinely ignore these signs.

The statement “Why anyone needs to carry a concealed gun in the capitol is beyond us,” begs the question: where in the writers opinion does anyone need to carry a concealed gun? We’ve had a crazed shooter at the capitol, could that be a reason maybe? We’ve had two elected officials murdered at the capitol (albeit a very long time ago) might that be a reason? I carry at the capitol, and candidly I don’t think I need to do so. I also have a smoke detector at my house that I don’t think I’m going to need. If one carries a firearm, making decisions based on this venue or that venue as being a “need to carry” or “not need to carry” venue is actually kind of humorous. Can you imagine the thought process of “I think I’m going to be accosted in the mall parking lot tonight so I’ll pack my gun, but I don’t think I’m going to be robbed walking from capitol parking to the capitol tomorrow night so I won’t”? Carrying a gun is like fire insurance, you don’t just have a policy when you believe you’re going to have a fire.

The Violence Policy Center is just not credible, and candidly has lied on more than one occasion, so their “data” that 166 people have been killed by CHL holders is suspect. How many of those CHL holding shooters were convicted of a crime? Might that be an important bit of information? Could it be that some, if not most of the 166 dead were in the process of committing an assaultive offense against the CHL holder? Has a citizen ever been wrongfully shot and killed by a police officer? Should we take guns away from the police?

To paraphrase the writers closing statement in the editorial:

“We promise, editorial writer, we won’t think you are any less of a journalist for correcting your errors”

Jerry Patterson Texas Land Commissioner,

Austin’s gun buy-back

/ hsoi / 9 Comments

Yesterday there was a gun buy-back program in Austin.

Of course, it’s being hailed as a massive success.

“The line is very shocking to me. We had people in the parking lot at 7:30 a.m. waiting to turn their guns in, and the event did not start until 9 a.m,” APD’s Sgt. Ely Reyes said.

Department officials ran out of grocery vouchers after about two and a half hours.

APD asked the community to turn in any gun, no questions asked. In exchange, people got anywhere from $10 to $200 in grocery store gift cards.

The $200 went for “assault rifles”. You know what? If you have an AK or AR and only got $200 for it? You got ripped off. When new AR’s sell for over $1000, you could have sold that used AR and made a lot more money… and gotten cash instead of just grocery gift cards.

“People like me who don’t use them, haven’t taken them out of the case for 25 years. If my house was broken into and stolen then they could be used against somebody else or for a crime,” participant Laurie Delong said.

So they didn’t actually take any guns “off the street”, they just took some old guns out of people’s closets. Again, I bet most of those guns could have been sold to dealers or private citizens and you would have fetched a lot more for your money. And the same end result would have happened: out of your house and into the hands of law-abiding people where they wouldn’t have been used against someone else or for a crime.

So 320 guns were collected and it’s a massive success.

You know how it actually can be measured if it’s a success or not? If it makes any sort of measurable impact in crime reduction in Austin. These groups put these things on as some sort of street-corner proselytizing towards crime prevention. Makes for good headlines, makes for good photo-ops, and makes some people feel better about themselves like they’re “doing something”. But until we can see it actually doing what it’s supposed to do — reducing the incidents of violent crime — then it’s nothing but a meaningless song and dance.

CHL Instructor class

/ hsoi / 5 Comments

As of now, I am certified in the State of Texas to teach the concealed handgun licensing course.

I spent the past 4 days taking the class, and wanted to share some details about the experience.

I took the abbreviated class because I already have teaching experience (NRA Certified Instructor and my work at KR Training). The course was 3 days in the classroom and 1 on the range. The topics run the gamut of all things required for a CHL from legal issues to accommodating people with disabilities, how to deal with all the paperwork, and so on.

One thing I like to do in any firearms class I take is look at demographics. Why? It’s interesting, especially in working to dispel the notion of “gun owners are old white male rednecks”. Of the hundred or so people in the class, most were white men probably over the age of 50. There were some younger folk, there were a handful of women, and a larger handful of non-white folk. Take that for whatever it’s worth. One interesting thing was at least half the class were current or former law enforcement officers.

The three classroom days covered a range of topics. Matters such as use of force, relevant Texas laws, how to handle all the paperwork, the course of fire, non-violent dispute resolution, and so on. I’ve heard horror stories from old-timers, but it seems they’re really improving things. The course flowed well, lots of useful information. Even the information I already knew and had heard many times before was always good to hear again. The only downside was the hotel: the conference room chairs were painful to sit in, no tables so we could more easily write and take notes, and a few other issues.

The range day went pretty quickly. The course of fire for instructors is the same as for students, but it must be passed with a 90% or better score. Furthermore, instructors must qualify with both a revolver and a semi-automatic. I did take a bit of pride in being one of the few snub-shooters on the line (you should have seen some of the hand-cannons people pulled out).

The DPS facility is really nice, and that it’s just a couple of miles from Dawson Precision meant I had to stop in. Never been there before, they gave me a tour of the place. Oh man… what a setup they have there! Quite nice. I had to force myself to leave, else my wallet would have been lighter and an STI would have been with me.

A long week, but a good week. I’ve much work ahead of me. I do want to give credit and thanks to Sergeant Stuart Bamsch of the Texas DPS for all the hard work he and his staff did to put this week together. It sounds like he is working to make a lot of positive changes that will benefit his group in DPS as well as all CHL Instructors and CHL holders.

If you would like to come to me for CHL Instruction, please contact me through my company website, Hsoi Enterprises. I’m not quite ready to start doing CHL work, got some ducks to get in a row. But anything I do in that regard will be discussed on the Hsoi Enterprises company website (likely not here, since this is a personal blog).

Rangemaster June 2010 Newsletter

/ hsoi

Rangemaster’s June 2010 newsletter is now posted.

While other topics are covered, the article of most interest to me is a debrief of their 52nd student-involved self-defense shooting. This is something worth reading.

One thing that may come as a surprise to folks is that the incident was on a Sunday afternoon, broad daylight, in a “good part of town”. Many would say such an incident would be unpossible under such circumstances. Folks, you don’t get to choose when bad things are going to happen to you. But you can choose whether or not you’ll be prepared for when those bad things happen.

There are a host of lessons to be learned from that incident, apart from the analysis by Tom Givens (which you can get by reading the article). Many things to think about and discuss.