Thanks Rendezvousers-X!

Reno Guns and Range has grown considerably since last year when we went to try-out the simulation exercises, and has moved to a huge and spacious building near the Harley dealership. The range walls are .50BMG capable and there is superior ventilation, so much so that being indoors at their location was preferable to being outdoors, especially when the fire-smoke hung in the air and occluded visibility. Rangemaster Kevin Crawford also had some very pertinent advice re: carry – “If you carry one of these (pointing to belt), you should carry one off these (pointing to tourniquet).” While I arrived in Reno there was a big, state-funeral being held for Officer Carl Howell who had been killed a week ago in Carson City, responding to a domestic – the first time a Carson City sheriff’s deputy has been shot and killed on duty since 1963. The suspect emerged shooting and they exchanged gunfire, and while the Officer reportedly killed the suspect, before medical attention could arrive he bled-out from an aortal leg wound and died. So now I am looking for a SOF® Wide Tactical Tourniquet (SOFTT-W) and some Z-Pak, and I’m all for a class offering instruction on the use of these too. So maybe next year we’ll get some hands-on training? If not, I will before then.

I suppose I had the benefit of a fat wallet since this is my main charitable event each year, so I was disposed to paying full-retail on the Raffle, and with the extra tickets was able to score a number of fine items including the one AR receiver that was available, and so in that sense I Won the Gun. Also a couple very nice Sig ball-caps, some Blackhawk! Aviator Flight Ops Gloves that fit well and will be a splendid accoutrement to the Gentleman’s Express this summer as we coast over the high-mountain passes, an AP Custom 3×3 shot-shell belt holder for Three-gun, and a pair of MOA Beast collapsible target stands from Mitch Gerlinger, the owner and designer of MOA Targets.

More later…

Rendezvous-X and Seasons’-change

The sun rises later over the Prairie and I get up out of bed later – like 6:30. The smoke from the fires all around has dissipated today. There’s a coolness in the morning air that has been missing since May, and I could run the mower if I felt like it,, and the shelves at Walmart are denuded of archery equipment as the hunting season is about to begin – it’s not Cabela’s but it’s a good barometer of the seasons and that Fall is around the corner.
And the Gunblogger Rendezvous was a smash-hit for me. I got to meet several people who’s blogs I have only read, and others who actually read mine! I got to re-unite with old friends and meet new ones. The trip to Scheel’s was interesting and overwhelming as usual. I never know what to buy there and just don’t. Almost bought a box of .243 Hornady but managed to overcome the excitement.
After Thursday night dinner with Mike, Kiwi, Kevin, Billl, and Paula I hit the sack early. The drive-up was an interesting drive-variation with a route over Kingsbury Grade on the Nevada side of South Tahoe that I had not driven in thirty-three years. The view out over the high desert farmland is spectacular and the little town of Genoa down on the valley’s edge was Nevada’s first settlement – or something.
Friday morning was an early wake-up at 5:00 to get ready and meet Kevin and his Giant Truck, and go get the Gardner Gun in Gardnerville. Once again suppressor-maker and De Lisle carbine-guy Richard at Special Interest Arms had something interesting for Show-and-Tell, and it was good to see him again and get to know him better. His knowledge of the gun is encyclopedic and he probably wrote the Wiki on it, that is if he did such things.
The smoke was very evident in the high desert valley morning, and a huge orb of the sun rose red over the hills, then grew smaller and more faint as it got higher. I remarked that visibility sucked and the 900-yard targets might be hard to reach today.
We got back to Breakfast late but there were some crumbs and fruit remaining – and coffee!
Met-up with Kevin’s spotter-buddy Rusty who I remember from last year, old pal Dutch-Oven Jeff, and new Nevada resident and commenter-friend Pat who has made quite an impression here. And then I got to meet Clayton Cramer and his irrepressible wife Rhonda — then it was back upstairs, grab the guns, and off to the most EXCELLENT and friendly staff at the Washoe County range…
I brought the little .22WRF Model 90 Winchester, the Ruger Vaquero, the S&W Model 19-3, and my carry Ed Brown Kobra. OBSERVATION: It was interesting to carry in Nevada and its something (carry) that I am adjusting-to. I learned that my Galco OWB “Fletch” holster, while very slimming and non-printing, prevented me from reaching into my hip pocket where my wallet normally resides, and it was finally easier to extricate my wallet and move it to the left than re-adjust the holster – after that I used the Milt Sparks Summer Special instead.
At the range The Gardner Gun occupied the full-auto space at the end and Richard was there with an assortment of full-auto suppressed rifles as well, including the “Trecenti,” Latin for 300 which is his new flagship-gun, the integrally suppressed 300 BLK AR-15. Also and again his friend and business partner (?) Brian was there as he was at last year’s event.
I shot Pat’s .450 Lott and I’m glad it was just a deer-load. The Model 19-3 should have been cleaned (my bad, but I didn’t) and a diet of .38Spl illustrated how residue build-up can affect the chambers of a .357Mag as primers showed evidence of flow and cratering, and locked-up the gun until Pat managed to open it. I put the magnum loads aside and shot .38Spl instead and it proved very accurate. The .44-40 was also accurate and with hunting loads not any worse for handling or feel – it soaked ’em up and kept poking holes in paper. The little .22WRF trombone also zipped to POA, and if I had brought my spotting scope I could have seen the group better (or at-all), but during a cease-fire I got a close look and was impressed. Maybe I’ll get a .22Mag pistol and have a shared-round companion gun for the rifle…

More upcoming.

Rendezvous with Groceries

Apparently the refrigerator occasionally needs to be re-stocked, and at my house that’s my job – so a day of rest, Raley’s, and laundry is on the calendar.
And fresh produce from the local farmer’s market at Boa Vista Orchards.
More about the Super Fabulous Star-Studded Celebrity Rendezvous-X upcoming!

Rendezvous-X

Been so busy playing real-estate games and yard-work, this is my catch-up post for the Gunblogger Rendezvous – a cut-and-paste from Mr. Completely’s side of the table. As of Wednesday, June 10, 2015 – and I’m sure today too, there was still time to register – something that I still need to do!

It’s going to be a great weekend benefiting a very worthy cause… with a lot of rounds down range!

We’re about two months out from GBR X benefitting HAVA (Honored American Veterans Afield) and if you haven’t registered, time is running out! If you’ve waited to register, for the next week you can take advantage of early-bird registration!

Remember, if you’re a gun blogger and you register between now and June 17, you’ll get a $150 ammo voucher good toward anything Lucky Gunner sells.

To register, head here — where else can you get that kind of ammo for your investment, spend a weekend with some like-minded shooters and help a great cause like HAVA in the process?

GBR X is August 20 – August 23 in Reno, NV

We’re already seeing support pour in from some long-time Gun Blogger Rendezvous sponsors in the form of door prizes and raffle items.

Thanks to Dillon Precision, Allchin Gun Parts, and Front Sight Firearms Training for helping out with some great shooting stuff you can see in the photo above!

Also, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has agreed to once again sponsor a pizza dinner for everyone this year.  That’s great news.

It’s going to be a great time in Reno on August 20 and the more the merrier. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact Anthony at Lucky Gunner or Mike (Mr. Completely)!

In addition, Richard from Special Interest Arms came to last year’s Rendezvous and brought an assortment of very interesting suppressed firearms for us to shoot.  This year he says:

If I can get some help I might drag out the Gardner Gun and ammo.
45-70 twin barreled brass hand-crank fired fun. Not light, original crew was three guys.

C’mon, all we need is some strong backs and willing hands!

Gunblogger Rendezvous IX WOOT!

Well THAT was fun! Highlights include shooting a suppressed rifle in a pistol-calibers while in Happy-Dance Mode.

It’s been a while since I last shot full-auto, the GBR III in 2008, at which I also took more pictures than this one – but at this one Engineering Johnson took more pictures than anybody. Yeh, I’m a slacker, but grateful for the chance to renew auld acquaintance and meet again the still-alive Jimmy-B and the lovely Mrs., and made some new friends like the AZ cowboys Dusty and Ken, and Tactical Miles.

At range-day #1 I basically set-to (trying-to) bang the 300-yard gong with both the ’42 .303 and ’66 7.62 NATO Ishapores.  The Turkish NATO ammo was a bit hot and extraction was a bit stiff but basically  the ’66 (Ashoka) needed a bit of lube as it was dry as a bone and hadn’t been shot since dirt-ridin’ buddy Wes had it re-parked.  George-Rex .303 Imperator ran fine, and was noticeably thinner than the glock-profile stock on the 7.62 gun…

Then I shot bench-neighbor Robert’s (occasional blogger at Great Satan, Inc.) Remington 700 .308 with Nikon glass and it was way-easier than with iron-sights – but my own set of corrective lenses adds a third layer (of distortion) and oftentimes interferes with the sight picture in a scope. Jaci (also of Great Sastan) had an incredible racy space-chassis .308 precision rifle that was set up a bit more individually, and with a honkin’ big Vortex scope – whole thing was dead-sexy and a cinch to clank steel at 300-yards.

The Scheel puffer waves hello. 

All together a great reunion, even though my contribution didn’t net me a lot of swag or big prizes I was very happy to receive an Enfield No.1 low-mount picatinny scope base from Special Interest Arms owner, merchant, and maker of the De Lisle carbine; Richard Brengman – who also kindly let me bang away at the berm with the suppressed full-auto 9mm AR-type carbine. Thanks!!

Special thanks go to the sponsors to whom I need to write an actual dead-tree letter-type thing… Ruger for the Mark III pistol, and Brownells for the mongo gear-bag and tactical pens and Hi-Point who totally stepped-up AGAIN and donated a 45acp carbine, and Osage County Guns, who donated the  SIG Sauer 1911-22 and Burris for the Burris AR-F³ red-dot, and Dillon Precision for donating a  Border Shift ammo bag…and…

OK:  Hi-Point – a lot of people bag on them because Ewwww…Not-Pretty, but a couple of the Rendezvousers have ’em and they seem to run just fine in 3-Gun competition, with the added super-bonus of freaking out Tough Guys with triple-cost high-zoot guns that are only shot at angle-of-berm anyhow… Kevin won the Hi-Point .45ACP, Billl has one that has never required cleaning, and Robert shoots his in 3-Gun and never cleans it either – so Pbbbth! to the naysayers.

Gun-Potent #9

Gunblogger Rendezvous Eeks, IX, #9… It’s amazing and surprisingly delightful to me that we’ve almost hit double digits. I’m looking forward to this very much. I sent-in my/our registration and I’m fumbling through my small accumulation of firearms to chose a neat piece or two to take-with. Hopefully something “new” like the brace of Smellies, or perhaps another visit to the same-old? I’m looking forward to the steel.

UPDATE from the Smallest Minority! 

For our Sunday morning event at Gun Blogger Rendezvous IX, it looks like we’ll be doing digital shoot-house training at MiScenarios Indoor Shooting Range.

He needs at least ten shooters @ $15 each.  That won’t be a problem, I think.  I’m definitely in.

Time’s running out, make your hotel reservations and get your registration in soon!

Silver Legacy Group Rate Code: GBLOG14 You must phone 1-800-687-7733 to get the special room rate.

Cold Rendezvous Past (III)

In 2008 it snowed when we went to Cabela’s. That’s EJ (Engineering Johnson), Brownells‘ own Larry Weeks, and Derek of the Packing Rat.

The cold was one reason Mike moved the Rendezvous from Octoberrr up to September. I shot a FNC which was my baptism of full-auto. Freakin’ Amazing!

CORECTION: Later Say Uncle Linoge shot my CA legal AR – which I had neglected to properly lube and given the unexpectedly cold conditions it gave EJ fits when he tried it.

It seemed like everybody (BUT ME!?) shot Ricks’s .50BMG – that was a seriously loud Shottzenkaboomzer.

I also shot Chris’ mega-shotty with the Drive-Feinstein-Crazy Extra-Magazine – but I couldn’t tell where the pellets were going in that vast landscape…

And the drive back was brilliant.

My Hero, Evan Nappen

Can we get Evan Nappen to join us at the Gunblogger’s Rendezvous??  He’s my Hero.

From No Lawyers – Only Guns and Money we are absolutely delighted to learn an absolute travesty of Justice-System abuse has been righted, and “Even In New Jersey The Second Amendment Applies” (read it all at the link)

On Friday, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in New Jersey overturned the trial court in a case involving the denial of a firearms permit and ordered the return of Justin Blasko’s firearms absent any new disqualifying events. They made their decision on Second Amendment grounds.

Mr Blasko’s troubles started when his apartment’s building superintendent entered to fix his air conditioner and saw “assault weapons” along with other stuff including a four foot alligator. The super called police and they entered the apartment, seized his firearms, and issued him a summons for the alligator, a snake, and a leg-hold trap. They also filed a complaint that he had an illegal assault weapon.

Blasko entered a Pre-Trial Intervention program and the charges were eventually all dismissed. Moreover, the state later acknowledged that the alleged “assault weapons” were not in fact assault weapons as covered by NJ law. Following the dismissal of the charges, Blasko requested his firearms back.

Finally: The court then examined whether New Jersey law required Mr. Blasko to keep his firearms locked up in a safe or with other devices such as a trigger lock. More importantly, they examined this in the context of the US Supreme Court’s rulings in Heller and McDonald. They concluded safe storage laws did not apply to Mr. Blasko as he was neither a commercial enterprise nor did he have minor children. They also concluded that based upon the Heller decision he was allowed to have his firearms accessible.

Despite a preference for the safe storage of weapons with safety locks, we conclude a law abiding adult, living alone without children, who openly leaves weapons in a locked apartment, insufficiently supports a finding of conduct contrary to the interest of the public health, safety or welfare pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3c(5). See Heller, supra, 554 U.S. at 635, 128 S. Ct. at 2822, 171 L. Ed. 2d at 683 (holding “the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment.

Mr. Blasko’s attorney was well-known gun law attorney Evan Nappen. More on the case can be found here. Nappen notes that this is the first time a higher court in New Jersey expressely applied the Second Amendment to a gun seizure case. This is definitely a win for gun rights in New Jersey and it was made possible by the careful building of Second Amendment case law by Alan Gura and others. 

What I learned at GBR-IV – Double-Trouble

Pulling both triggers on the thumb-cocker 12-guage coach-gun simultaneously while only wearing a t-shirt because of the hot weather can lead to a physical and visual reminder. It’s not something I did myself, but I came pretty close with the K-31’s steel butt-plate. Actually I do have a pretty good blue-spot now, but that one’s Uncle’s.

Normally I wear a Creedmoor shooting coat that provides a secure shoulder rest and the stiff Cordura Nylon fabric adds a fair amount of structure – but I didn’t bring it this time.
So I snuggled up close and tried to pull the rifle into my shoulder tightly, padding the forearm with my shooting glove on the block of wood, and with a sweatshirt between my bench-elbow and the concrete top so it wouldn’t bounce hard.
Still I got a good thump in return, much greater than if I had been wearing my shooting coat, and I took my time shooting. After a couple cease-fires, and a box of GP-11 and some loose-loads I had laying around, I switched to the Sig.

UPDATE: The thumping wasn’t too bad, it was just in the wrong place and I wasn’t set-up well on the bench.

Bullet Blight and the Dirty Chamber

The Sig started to graunch-up in the last string and upon closer examination of what was going up through the dirty feed-ramp the pestilence of Bullet-Blight was noticed. The Winchester white-box from Wal-Mart had failed me, so I did a quick selection of what better self-launchers I could paw through and thumb into a magazine and got me a do-over that was the throw-out time of 22.55 seconds – since the malfing continued.
Not being much of a pistolero there’s another thing that I get now, it’s the same reason some people buy a tub of Liquid Drench into which they dunk the dirty feelthy gun – despite the chrome chamber and bore this thing is a skunk after 250-plus rounds! Just to illustrate the differences are before and after pics: Also my buddy Mike who owns and carries one of these and shoots it suggests that a little lube on the frame rails might help. I did have some WWII Lubriplate along for the ride but my big Bottle-O’-Hoppes was missing from the range bag (sorry Sebastian!). In the end our day at the facility was over and I was happy to get off my best run of 2.96 on the final stage, which was a straightforward five-shots as fast as you could go from shooter-ready at a single-plate. Practicing finding the trigger Link-and-Reset on Friday really helped, that is when when I could remember to do it.

UPDATE: I’ve never shot so many rounds through the pistol before, so I can’t say whether the un-clean condition was simply from a whole lotta rounds, or the Winchester White Box, because 50 of the 250+ rounds total were Blazer from the day before and I didn’t pay attention to the state of cleanliness.