Gone Shooting - DA Four-Five Day

Yesterday I went shooting for the first time in over two months. Despite yet another prediction of weekend rain I decided to go no matter what. We got off easy this winter and had very little snow, most of the time it went north of us to Indiana. But even with the snow scarce we still had enough bad weather to keep me from going. Usually I can only find time for shooting on the weekends or the occasional Monday. I last went shooting in January and since then every Saturday or Sunday I've either had things to do or the weather was wet and cold. Enough was enough.

I took the only two traditional double action .45 pistols that I own, my Heckler & Koch USP and my Smith & Wesson 4566.

The HK is my home defense gun and I have also carried it occasionally this winter. I bought Sparks and Bianchi holsters for it and even though it's a large gun carrying it in the colder months wasn't too much a chore with a coat for concealment. Actually with its polymer frame the HK is slightly lighter than the Colt Government that I've been toting around for years now, it's the size (especially the slide) that makes the USP hard to hide. I purchased two holsters for the HK, a Sparks Versa Max 2 and a Bianchi model 6 and have used them a few times so far. Although a big fan of the VM2 I actually prefer the inexpensive Bianchi for this pistol. The Bianchi 6, if you don't know, is a cheap leather pouch that you wear IWB and attaches with a metal clip to the outside of your belt. I find it works very well with this handgun, it is light weight and has almost no bulk, which is good because the HK has enough of its own. I doubt that I ever carry this big HK around on a regular basis but it's nice to have the option.

I also took my S&W model 4566. I have had this gun since 2006 and it is a gem. I've always been a sucker for the third generation S&W auto pistols especially in .45 Auto (my very first S&W was a 4506). A few years back I sent this pistol to Novak and they worked their magic on it. It was always reliable, afterwards it was reliable and smooooth.

All shooting was done at 30 feet (10 yards) firing from a Weaver stance. Ammunition used was mostly Winchester and S&B 230gr ball, I did have one box of Winchester 185gr jacketed target loads I got from my brother. These target loads have a flat profile and any pistol that could feed these shouldn't have a problem with hollow points. I also shot a box of Remington 230gr hollow points through the HK. I was using Shoot-N-C 5-Inch targets, which are quickly becoming my favorite when practicing for self-defense shooting.

Both pistols performed flawlessly, 120 rounds through the HK and 100 down the 4566, not one hiccup between them. I could keep every shot in the black firing as fast as I could and with slow fire both guns would produce 2 ½ inch groups at that distance. Traditional DA/SA semi auto pistols are the hardest type of handgun for me to shoot and I suspect it's the same for most gun owners. My first shot (DA) every time was low and to the right (but still on the target) typically landing between 3 and 5 O'clock. I wasn't shooting that bad last time I had the HK out, definitely shows that I need to keep in practice with these pistols.

Had a great day shooting two great guns. In case you're wondering it never did rain, the bad weather went north of us again, just like it has most of the year so far.

People with guns collection # 35

Here's a classic, two anonymous World War II Veterans and a very nice collection of war trophies. I can spot some P38s and Lugers for certain, what could be a Mosin-Nagant (?) revolver, a Beretta maybe? The rest I'm not so sure of. But I am sure one of my sharp readers will come along and identify them all for us.

Assault Lawyers and other dangers of the internetz

I have received a wide array of interesting emails this week, much more than usual. My name must have found its way to someone's sucker list. Most are the standard fare - There is a lawyer on a "quest to find a reliable trustee to manage the assets/estate of my late client valued at only US$11,000,000.00 (Eleven Million United States Dollars)" Guess what? I'm that lucky fellow.

Then there was Mr. Dom May, he is a "Diplomat" and is "mandated to deliver your inheritance to you in your country of residence. The funds total US$7.5 Million and you were made the beneficiary of these funds by a benefactor whose details will be revealed to you after handing over the funds to you in accordance with the Agreement I signed with the benefactor when he enlisted my assistance in delivering the funds to you." If you say so...

But the best was an exciting job offer from Alex Dascomb in California, it reads...

"Dear,

I am Alex ....a man of 40 years of age...I'm an Assault Lawyer ...i am looking for an honest person who can work for me... hopefully be my Personal Assistant...so the motive of your job with me is to be collecting funds from my client on my behalf, I wish i could do this alone but due to the nature of my work. I do travel a lot ...i even travel out of the state too if required... also i will like to let you know that i am from Hawthorne, California ...but your location never determine your work with me...all you need to do is to be online almost everyday so that i will be updating you on what to do. Like i said before you will be collect funds from my client on my behalf in case i am out of state and also the payment will be via Pay pal or Checks ... so i will like to know which one you will prefer out of this....all you need to do is to be online to reply mails and also if you have a yahoo email address so that we can chat sometimes on yahoo messenger....and your wages will be 10% on each transaction and also i want you to send me your resumes and i will like you to mail me with the following information below soon....so i will wait to read from you soon if you are really interested to work for me.

Best Regards Alex..."

I'm not really sure what an "Assault Lawyer" is but I've got a feeling that if we sunk them all in the deepest part of the ocean, along with all the scumbag internet criminals with them, that the internet (and our world) would be a much, much better place.

Product review - Timney trigger scale

I guess a trigger pull scale is one of those items that the average gun owner would like to have every now and then. Most never get around to buying one though. I've wanted one, off and on, for nearly 20 years now. There would be two or three times a year where I would think, "wish I had a trigger scale" but then quickly forget it when some better way to spend my money came along. Well, finally I decided to buy one. I purchased a Timney made model. I figured they make great triggers why not great trigger scales! The one I purchased is the heavy "Armorers" model that measures from 1 to 25 pounds. The reason that I bought this version was that many guns that I want to check are double action revolvers and military type weapons with heavier trigger pulls. It is my understanding that this model will probably not be as accurate on lighter triggers (less than 6-8 pounds) as their finer scale would. I wanted a scale that would work with any gun I had, I recognized the limitations when I bought this model and I'm happy with the compromise.

There is not much to say about the Timney trigger tension scale, it is a quality product and is very simple and easy to use. It has a large handle to grasp, the trigger bar is covered so that it won't move around on you when you're testing, it is easy to read and the display is in both pounds (.25 pound increments) and kilograms. It is also consistent use after use. I played with it most of the other afternoon and as long as you were careful where you placed it on the trigger and kept the gun still while you used it - no problems. The only gun that I currently own that I know the exact trigger weight is my Colt 1991 .45 full size model. This is what I used to judge the scale's accuracy. I had the trigger of the Colt worked on a few years back and I know because the gunsmith showed me (with his own gauge) that the trigger broke at exactly 4.5 pounds. My Timney scale shows it at 4.75. Given the aforementioned problems this scale has with lighter weights I found that reading satisfactory. As I already stated, I understood the limitations of this "one size" model when I purchased it. If you wanted a trigger scale for mainly guns with lighter trigger pulls Timney's finer model (8oz-10 pound) would be better for you. The Timney scale is tough, well made and should last you a lifetime, and it reads "MADE IN THE U.S.A." which is always nice to see. Highest recommendation!

On writing

I've been working on my great American apocalypse novel for about six months now. In that time I have written about 55,000 words and have discovered a few things about myself and writing in general. Here is the short list of what I never knew about writing until I began working on my book...

# 1 - Writing is work - Before starting my book I had been writing on my websites and blogs for over eight years. I thought that was good training but it doesn't compare very well to writing fiction. When I wrote for those blogs or sites I did it when and wanted and how I wanted. I never felt pressured to write anything and only posted on subjects I wanted to talk about and only then when in the "mood" and I had the time to do it "just right." Working on a novel you must constantly "stay on topic" and you must keep pushing yourself to write more, not unless you don't mind it taking 20 years to write your masterpiece.

# 2 - Writing is magical - When I first started I had this stupid romantic idea that the words would just "flow" out of me. That the book was already there inside my head and just "had to come out." I know - STUPID! It just doesn't come out of you. You actually have to make an effort; you actually have to work on things like plot and characters. You actually have to think if what you're writing makes sense. Writing can be magical at times, like when you want to say something and the words come out just as you imagined. But mostly writing is just a lot of hard work (see # 1).

# 3 - Writing is work, really - You can write, or you can WRITE. I've spent a lot of my time this first six months writing, which is to say constantly re-editing material. You do that and before you know it you've wasted a month "fixing" the chapter that was basically finished the month before. I have done that a lot since starting but I think I've finally grasped the concept. WRITING means creating new material, not just "polishing" the old. I guess what I'm saying is while writing is important, WRITING is the real work and needs to be done constantly (see # 1).

More random leakages from my brain to follow...

Thoughts and prayers

to the victims and loved ones of the recent tragedy in Japan.

Happiness is...

Checking the mail Thursday morning and finding that package you ordered from Midway on Tuesday afternoon has already arrived.

A question for the gunnies

For the last couple of years I have been slowly reorganizing by gun collection with the basic idea of "Two equals one and one equals none." I have been trying to restructure so I have a lot of similar guns, guns that share parts, magazines or accessories. The idea being that if one gun became damaged beyond repair it could still be used as parts for the others. Also the accessories like holsters, mags and the ammunition could still be utilized for other guns that I own.

The question supposes that you are in a situation where you could no longer acquire any more guns, parts or ammunition (or even reloading components) from what we Americans would consider "normal" venues (Gun shops - Gun shows - Mail order etc.). Whatever you might obtain would have to be under the table, there wouldn't be much of a selection available and it would definitely be potluck.

So here's the question - Would you prefer a selection of guns in common calibers that shared ammo and parts? Or would you want a wide variety of weapons in as many calibers as possible so that you could take advantage of anything that might come your way?

Funny cause it's true

I stole this from KurtP, he got it from HERE.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Chapter eight of my novel is now posted. Enjoy... and just a reminder. I have changed the page settings so that you can leave your thoughts there at the bottom of the book or you can leave them here in this section just as before.

Change of address

A short note for my readers that like to contact me via e-mail instead of leaving comments, my new address is wilsonblog@netzero.net

Movie Reviews - Millions

I'm a big fan of Danny Boyle and he is one of my favorite working directors. With such diverse films as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Shallow Grave, A Life Less Ordinary and Slumdog Millionaire it seems he has made a movie for just about any taste. Until now the only one I hadn't seen (besides his newest) was Millions and I can honestly tell you it is one of his best. This was the film he made after 28 Days Later and they're so completely opposite you wouldn't think they came from the same director but they did. They are both exceptional movies but in different ways, both share that special Danny Boyle touch though. This went under my radar when it was released in 2004. It was marketed more as a kid's movie which it is not, it is innocent enough for kids but this can be loved by anyone that still has a little bit of kid in them. The story is about two brothers, the younger finds a bag of money and he wants to use it to help others, his big brother has different ideas. I won't go too much into the story I will let you discover that on your own. All I will say is that this film is brilliant and yes (and I hardly ever use the word) magical. I enjoyed Millions very much and I think you will too. I give it a solid A.

Just a reminder

Just a reminder that National Buy A Gun Day (April 15th) is only six weeks away. Does something else happen that day? I forget. Have you got something picked out yet? I hope so. I do and I'll probably get it a couple weeks early. No excuses this year unless you have already purchased a gun in 2011. Remember, do it for your nation! Think of the children!

What he said

"…we have the short-barreled 3-½ -inch .357 Magnum that is absolutely the most business-like looking sixgun ever made available. Dirty Harry did not originate 'Make my day!', the 3-½-inch .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum did!" John Taffin