New Scope

After my range time last Thursday, I decided to try a new scope, and when I went to my locally-owned gun store, he had the Nikon Pro-Staff on sale.  I'll admit that I was torn between the Burris Fullfield II, the Redfield Revolution, and the Weaver Classic V, but truth be told, there is very little to differentiate modern entry-level rifle scopes.  They're all a heck of a lot better than scopes I grew up with.  I came home with the Nikon Pro-Staff, 3X9X40, with the BDC reticle.

The BDC reticle is going to take a little time to get used to.  The first time I looked through it, it seemed "busy".  There's lots going on in that reticle.  It looks like this.

The crosshair is supposed to be your 100 yard zero and the little circles roughly translate into the hold-over for 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards.  Of course, you need to zero your rifle and verify the bullet drop at yardage, but Nikon has a really nice online program called SpotOn that helps.  You can identify your cartridge, bullet and velocity, and the program will give you updated numbers for your hold-over, depending on the magnification factor.

After registering my scope for the warranty, installation was straight-forward.  If you know anything about the Savage long action, you'll know that it is a very long action, and oftentime, extended bases are necessary for scope mounting.  I already had extended bases on my rifle and the scope snugged down in the rings without much trouble.  I had about half of an inch play, front to rear for eye relief and soon had the scope properly leveled with good eye relief.

Controls are easy to reach and fairly standard.  Starting at the ocular bell, we have a focus ring that  easily allowed me to focus the crosshair.  Just forward of the ocular bell is the power selector ring, plainly marked.  Forward of that are the turrets for adjusting the zero.  The turrets are finger adjustable and by lifting the adjustment caps, you can re-set them to zero.  This is a neat little feature that we're seeing on more and more scopes.  The turret covers seem to be rubberized and should provide good seals against the weather. 

This morning I took the rifle over to Momma's house, got into the pasture and set up my range.  I walked downrange to 25 yards, knelt and fired one shot.  The rifle was on paper, so I made an adjustment, walked back to 50 yards and fired another shot.  Still on paper, but needed an adjustment.  Walked back to the 100 yard line where my pickup was parked.  I put a sandbag on the hood of the truck and started walking the shots toward the bullseye.

The finger adjustable turrets clicked nicely and were easy to feel.  The scope didn't track exactly, but it was close enough that soon I was hovering near the target.  A final adjustment and three shots to make sure I was good.

That's a one-inch target dot and the three shot group above it.  Subtracting the width of a .308 bullet give me a three-shot group of 0.556.  That isn't bad for a hunting rifle and a $200.00 scope. Shot from a sandbag on the hood of a pickup truck by a fat man. By this time the barrel was hot and I was sweating like a pack mule.  I called it quits and I'll fine-tune this zero later, but I think that I'm going to like this scope.  Hopefully I'll have it out later this week at a place where I can stretch it out against 200 and 300 yard targets.

Nikon is a trusted name in the camera business.  They've been making great lenses for years.  I have one pair of Nikon binoculars and I've been very pleased with them for several years.  There is no reason to believe that the Nikon scope isn't going to be just as durable as the other optics I have from that company.  This scope might be on this rifle for a long time.

Corn

It's hard to over-estimate the impact that grain crops have on the US economy.  Foodstuffs, the grain crop, particularly corn, wheat, and soybeans make up a large portion of the row crops planted in the US and their economic impact flows into myriad smaller economies.  Sugar, plastics, animal feed, we consume feed grains both directly and indirectly. 

And, we're in a drought.  Grain supplies, especially corn, are down right now due purely to a lack of rain.  One anonymous wise man once said "Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." 


Over the past several years, we've seen corn, a vital food crop, diverted into fuel.  Ethanol, the bane of small engines and gasoline mileage in larger vehicles, is made primarily from corn in the US.  This is based on federal regulation and the Environmental Protection Agency, who oversees such nonsense.  Renewable fuels is their big push these days and they're diverting a bigger percentage of our food and feed crop into ethanol than ever before.


But now, we're in a drought, facing a corn shortage.  If the EPA were to undo the regulations and allow corn to follow the market, they'd be undoing a signature Democratic policy initiative.  They'd be throwing thousands of ethanol workers out of work, idling ethanol plants built with government subsidies, and washing our investment down the drain.  By sticking to their regulations, they're running the danger of further crippling our economy by forcing higher prices and inefficiencies in the marketplace.  It's a damned if you do, and a damned if you don't dilemma.

Such is the nature of government regulation.  They can't be all-seeing, all-wise technocrats and most times, they get it wrong.  God little cares what government does and His will can be capricious at times.  He has suffered us with a drought, not the first in the history of Man. Now, we're being threatened by our own policies, the unintended consequences of what seemed to be a good idea.  It wasn't.


I don't believe that the government should be in the agriculture business, neither to subsidize farmers nor to dictate production.  If growing corn is a good idea, the market will absorb it.  If growing corn is a bad idea, the market will show us.  If making ethanol is a good idea, the market will support that too.  Man has been making alcohol for a lot of years and the market seems to support that.  Some of that alcohol is made from corn.  That's a good thing, and I drink corn whiskey occasionally.  Those producers don't seem to be needing subsidies.


Ethanol producers shouldn't need subsidies and the government should not dictate where our grain crops are allocated.  Let them float on the market and we'll be fine.  But, as it stands right now, we're burning our food crops and that simply doesn't make any sense.

Monday Weather

We're under a heat advisory today, with the temps climbing into the high two-digits officially.  They're predicting 99F and if you can tell the difference between 99 and 100, you're better calibrated than I am.  I got out early this morning and mowed the lawn, so at 10:00 I'm about done with outside tasks.  With humidity at 63%, it's relatively dry for Louisiana, but the air feels like a warm blanket.  No wind to speak of and I'll probably spend the rest of the day in or near air-conditioning.  It feels like it's going to be a scorcher today and with the chance of a thunderstorm, just another day in a Louisiana summer.

Sunday Morning Dawg

On Thursday I went to Guillory's and picked up some steaks.  Guillory gets select beef and sells it at extremely attractive prices.  When I was there, the help was taking a fresh batch of pork cracklings out of the oil, so I got a sack of those too, as an hors d'oeurve.  While drinking cocktails with Milady as the grill heated, I broke out the cracklings and of course, the dog had to insert himself, begging pathetically for a morsel.

Pork does terrible things to his digestive tract, most notably resulting in what veterinarians call scouring.  All day Friday he was one sick puppy.  Almost a caricature of a sick puppy.  Yesterday, all he wanted to do was to lay on concrete and watch traffic.

He heard the shutter click and turned to look at me, as if to say, "Leave me alone, old man.  Those cracklings almost murdered me."

Doesn't he look pathetic?  He's recovering nicely, but I think that we've taken pork cracklings off his dietary list.  We've learned that barbequed ribs are tough on his system as well.

Poor old dog.  In another day or so he'll be fine and begging for treats once again.

Louisiana Tax-Free Weekend

Louisiana is once again hosting a tax-free weekend on August 3-4, 2012 and I was reminded of that when I went to my local gun store today.  They had this sign standing out front.

There is certainly nothing wrong with avoiding sales taxes when legal, and the state of Louisiana makes it legal twice per year.  If you're a Louisiana resident and contemplating a big purchase, you might save a few bucks by waiting till the weekend to make your purchase.  Just sayin'.

Tolerance

Stolen from Instapundit.

Ha!

Really? Really?

Jay G gives us the link, and I had to click on it.

Nearly six months after Jeremy Atkinson was shot and killed by a Kroger store manager during an attempted robbery, his mother is seeking more than $75,000 in damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the supermarket chain.

Okay, let me get this straight. Your son is robbing the place and a manager shoots him dead, and you're so craven that you're suing the company? Did I get that right? Yeah, looks like I got it.

One would wonder where your son got his morals and character, but I guess that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Headstamps

While I was at the range yesterday, I wandered over to the brass bucket to see what folks had left behind. Lo and Behold! .308 brass, pretty good stuff from the looks of it. I know that our marksmen shoot good .308 Federal GMM ammo, but sometimes they get practice ammo to save a few bucks. Today was no exception. While I scored 50 pieces of good Federal GMM brass, there were a few NATO headstamps in there as well, WCC-08, which is good stuff, then there were several pieces with this headstamp.

This stuff is Berdan primed and from what I can figure it's British, but it doesn't have the military NATO designator.  It's crimped, and as I only got nine pieces, it's going in the scrap bucket.

The Federal GMM brass and the WCC-08 are going into my reloading stock.  With as many .308s as I have in the family, I'm always on the lookout for good .308 brass.

UPDATE:  Jim Watson, from The Firing Line, tells me it's South African.  Cool!

That's How It's Done

Courtesy of SondraK, we find this endearing story about a horse thief in Montana. 

Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California, was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that she and Harry Reid share a common ancestor. Senator Harry Reid’s great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.

So, the lady sends it to Harry Reid, the infamous thief who is also in the Senate. His staff replies:

“Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”

And that's the way it's done.

.30-06 Thursday

I took my Savage .30-06 to the range this morning, to do just a little scope tweak and to verify that my hunting load for this year is a capable performer.  Got to the range, hoisted the range flag as I was the first guy there, then got out my gear.  After setting targets on the 100 yard line I got out the rifle and settled down on a bench.   Using sandbags I started on the target, and may have found a problem with my scope.

Shot #1 fell where it shows, so I decided to twist in two clicks left.  Shot #2 fell where it's marked and I was considerably confused, so I tried twisting in four clicks down.  Shot again, and shot #3 hit way out to the left.  Well, damn, twisted the scope four clicks back to the right and fired another one, which shows on the target as #4.  Walked down to the target and was considerably perplexed, so I posted another target and decided to see what happened if I left it alone.

Walked back to the bench and saw that my pard Bud had arrived with his grandson.  We chatted for a bit and his grandson posted a target, then about that time another shooter showed up, so we let her post a target.  When we called the line hot, I loaded a round and let fly.

The first shot cut the black diamond in the middle of that 3-inch dot and I felt pretty good about that.  I let the barrel cool for five minutes and let fly again.  The second shot appeared in the group in the top of the target.  Five shots in a measured 0.744, which ain't bad, but it looks like it takes a couple of shots for my zero to settle down, plus, the scope didn't track properly when I was adjusting it.  Frankly, where the shots fell had very little relationship with the inputs I fed into it.

However, I got tired of shooting at paper and reached out to the 200 yard gong, ringing it handily, then the .300 yard gong took a bullet and swayed on it's hanger.

The scope in question is a Weaver K6 that I've had on the rifle since 2006.  It's accounted for a couple of deer, lots of paper, and the occasional steel target.  To be honest, I've abused it.  Dropped it out of trees, banged it around in the back of the Mule, leaned it against trees, rattled it around in the back of a pickup truck.  I'm wondering if it's outlived it's usefulness and if it is time for an upgrade?

I may start looking for another scope.

Whither Gun Control?

In the wake of the disaster caused by a red-headed sonofabitch, I'm seeing things like Mayor Bloomberg calling for gun control and people wondering when is the proper time for such a debate. USA Today has such an article, noting that:

Advocates seeking greater gun control say the theater shooting clearly shows a need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

When we know that the shooter did not have an assault weapon and that the high capacity magazine he had is notoriously unreliable. Thank God for that, or the carnage might have been much, much, worse.  Even noted Democrat strategist James Carville tell us that the debate is a non-starter.  So, why are the pro-gun guys so worried about the debate?  Good question.  I guess that we're twitchy after 40 years of this debate, but the simple fact is that we're winning.  Freedom always wins eventually, and we're winning.  The best efforts of the gun-control have been for naught, simply because the facts are on our side.

• No gun control law currently in effect will stop a madman from creating carnage.
• In Chicago, with some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, the carnage is terrible.
• After a horrible shooting, gun sales jump, as people realize that they're responsible for their own safety.
• Leading gun-control advocates are getting strident, leading people to believe that they're crazier than shit-house rats.

As Ed Morrissey points out, we've had the debate.  We've been having this debate since 1968 and the antis have lost it because they don't have the facts, they appeal to emotion, and their laws do nothing to stop carnage.  Indeed, just the reverse is often true when the cities and states with the most restrictive laws are often those with the worst crime problems.  Responsible gunners have led the fight for the past 40 years, gathering facts, calmly appealing to reason, watching trends, and perhaps most importantly, introducing people to the shooting sports.  I couldn't tell you how many people I've taken shooting, instructed in the art, mentored, helped, listened to when they come to me with concerns, and I'm just one guy.  There are millions of us out there with the same outlook and the facts are on our side.

I deplore the carnage in Colorado, and Chicago, and New York, but I'm smart enough to realize that it's a human problem that must be solved through one of several approaches.  One of those approaches is to realize that evil exists in our world and we can't always prevent horrific acts.

Gun control doesn't work.  We've proven that.  The issue is a non-starter and reasonable people understand that.  Freedom is expanding across the United States and that's a good thing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm packing for a trip to the range.

Edit:  Update:  Reader Ownerus made a good catch. Yes, I meant to say that gun-control advocates are getting strident.  Edited above and corrected.  Thanks again.

A Win, in Maryland

A big court case and a judge in Maryland ruled that the citizenry doesn't have to provide a "good and substantial reason" to obtain a carry permit.  No doubt the state will appeal it, but we're winning one state at a time.  This is good news for human rights.

Training Day

I spent the day in my school, helping the SWAT team train in a school environment, walking them through problems, helping them solve issues.  I quit doing SWAT work in 1991 when I realized that I had lost a few steps, gained a few pounds, and realized that it was time to lay down my gear in favor of the younger guys.

It looks all fun-and-gun when you see it on TV, but the plain truth of the matter is that SWAT work is heavy, tiring, sweaty work.  I hoisted one of the vests they wear today, and with all the comms, the fancy toys, and the armor, the darned thing probably weighed 40 lbs.  Their new helmets are nicer than the Kevlar pots we wore, and much better than the steel pots before that.

Still, I'm glad that the young'uns are the ones carrying all that gear and I don't envy the few perks they get from the job.  I'm glad we've got them.

Pasta-Jambalaya

Last week, traveling home from vacation, we stopped at a TGI Friday's in Alabama for an evening meal.  I tried something called their Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta, which the waiter described as a jambalaya.  When he brought it out, I noticed that it had sausage in it as well, and after a few minutes, he asked me how I liked it.

"It doesn't suck." I replied.

We began talking about regional foods and I thought that I could do better, so when I got home I started looking for recipes.  It seems that Emeril Lagasse has one that he calls Jambalaya Pasta, and I'm sure it's great, but it's got a lot of parts.  Good cajun cooking is about simplicity, using what's available to make a filling meal. 

So, I started with Milady's basic fettucini sauce and went from there.

Pasta-Laya

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can original Rotel tomatoes
8 oz Velveeta Cheese
1 cup fat-free Half & Half
2 T vegetable oil
1 rotisserie Chicken
1 lb link sausage, cut into round pieces.
1 lb pasta.  I used rigatoni, but anything would work; spaghetti, macaroni, fettucini.  This is supposed to be a simple dish.

Cut sausage into pieces.  Chop onion and bell pepper.  With 1 T oil, sautee onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion is translucent.  Remove and set aside.

Cook pasta in salted water.  Drain, set aside.

Brown sausage in black iron pot with 1 T vegetable oil.  Remove, set aside.  De-bone chicken.  Set aside.

In black iron pot, combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, cream of mushroom soup, Rotel tomatoes.  Slice Velveeta into cubes and add to the mix, stirring until the cheese is melted and mixture is creamy.  Add sausage, chicken and cook on low heat while you wash all the dishes you've used.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Get out a casserole dish, spray with Pam cooking oil.  Add pasta, add sauce/meat mixture. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Milady and I ate this for supper this evening, and we agree that it's a really fine meal.  If I made a double-batch, with garlic bread and a salad, it would feed a regiment.  Next time we might want to use a little less pasta, or a little more liquid, but it turns into a fine meal.

Here's your Problem

Between chores this morning, I googled to ask if the theater in Aurora was a gun free zone.  In 0.13 seconds, I got 750,000 results.  Turns out, Cinemark Century Theaters is in fact a gun free zone.  The company, standing firmly on property rights, has a policy that no one can carry a gun in their theaters.  So, while the red-headed sonofabitch knew that Colorado is a concealed carry state, he also probably knew that the theater didn't allow law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves from murderous evil.

So, while Roger Ebert wonders why no one shot back, the answer is sparklingly clear and Roger would have known this if the took 0.13 of a second to Google it.  No one shot back because the law forbid it.  The theater is a gun-free zone and law abiding citizens check their freedom at the door.

There's your problem, right there.

Odious

Glenn Reynolds links to an odious article in the New YorkDaily News. This is the gun-controls best effort at swaying opinion and it is so full of inaccuracies and false hyperbole that it deserves mention if only to deconstruct it.

Standing at Holmes’ side as he unleashed an AR-15 assault rifle and a shotgun and a handgun was Wayne LaPierre, political enforcer of the National Rifle Association.

The first hyperbole is patently false. I'm sure that the NRA wasn't in the theater that night and it's despicable to blame 8 million lawful citizens for the actions of one unhinged man. But, let's not stop there. It gets better.

Standing at Holmes’ side as he sprayed bullets and buckshot into a crowded movie theater were Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, a President and a would-be President, who have bowed to the NRA’s dictates and who responded to the slaughter Friday with revolting, useless treacle.

Now it's our President's fault, but I'm pretty sure that he wasn't there either. The Secret Service doesn't like it much when someone comes near the President with a firearm. Governor Romney was elsewhere, I'm sure.

Standing at Holmes’ side as he murdered 12 and wounded 59 were the millions of zealots who would sooner see blood flow and lives end than have to check a box on a gun registration form.

Every time I buy a gun (several times per year) I have to check a block on the Form 4473. That's the law.

Because they made sure that virtually everyone, Holmes included, has unfettered legal access to heavy weaponry. And they made sure he was permitted by law to drive to the kill scene with a fully loaded arsenal.

What? We're supposed to stop people from driving? And, aside from the simple fact that he had no heavy weapons, that last sentence smacks of desperation. It's one thing to be desperate, it's another entirely to get the basic facts wrong, andthe Editorial Board of the New York Daily News gets it wrong, over and over again. The red-headed sonofabitch had no heavy weapons.  Not one.  He drove to the theater legally, and I'm not familiar enough with Colorado's laws nor with Aurora's ordinances to know if he violated any laws before he opened fire, but the last time I looked at the statutes, murder is still against the law.

What the New York Daily News fails to appreciate is there is evil in this world and the red-headed sonofabitch is the latest permutation of that evil.  This was a senseless act and it is futile to try to make sense of it.  I mourn for the dead, I pray for the families, and I beseech a loving God to protect us, but I cannot explain it, nor can I condone the media dancing in the blood.  The opinion piece by the New York Daily News is odious, inaccurate, reflects failed policy, and would be disastrous to their intent if either party adopted their views.  Gun control is a failed experiment and should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The Aurora Killer

I understand that the red-headed sonofabitch has had his first court hearing and is back in jail. Good. I understand that our President will not speak his name, and I agree with the President on that single issue. There is no reason to know the name of evil and the red-headed sonofabitch is evil.

I was reading Victor Davis Hanson, and I agree with him (and the President) that our focus on the perpetrator should be simply enough that we try him, convict him and punish him.

I don’t care a whit whether the Aurora killer was a loner. I don’t care if he was unhappy or if he was on medication. Millions share such pathologies without killing a mouse. I don’t even know whether giving him swift justice will deter the next mass shooter. Yes, give the suspect expert legal counsel; call in all the psychiatrists imaginable; sequester the jury; ensure the judge is a pillar of jurisprudence; but if he is found guilty, I would prefer the gallows and quickly so, to remind us that we live in a civilization that prefers to remember the victims and to remember nothing at all of their killer.

The sooner the red-headed sonofabitch is convicted and punished, the better for all of us.

Insane Is as Insane Does

Wandering over to Tam's Place, I read a post, then click over to the New York Times, and an opinion by Roger Ebert.

That James Holmes is insane, few may doubt. Our gun laws are also insane, but many refuse to make the connection. The United States is one of few developed nations that accepts the notion of firearms in public hands. In theory, the citizenry needs to defend itself. Not a single person at the Aurora, Colo., theater shot back, but the theory will still be defended.

I haven't yet heard anyone opine that Holmes is insane, although his attorney will probably research the claim and medical professionals will debate it. That's a question of medicine and law. However, our gun laws are the result of careful deliberation, lawful legislation, and executive agreement. To opine that any act of the legislature is insane... well, insanity is as insanity does.

 What the gun banners don't get is that the tide is turned. Gun control is a losing proposition to elected officials, and the Courts have held that the 2nd Amendment has meaning. Whether the press likes it or not, the 2nd Amendment is the law.

 Now, as to why not a single person in that theater shot back, I'd have to look at the demographics, the laws in Aurora, Colorado, and the rules posted in the theater. If the local laws and the rules of the theater conspired to disarm the audience, then the words of Cesare Beccaria (from 1764) ring ever more true. Does not the execution of this law deprive the subject of that personal liberty, so dear to mankind and to the wise legislator? Laws designed to disarm the people tend to disarm the law-abiding citizen, while leaving the predator untouched.

This is Ebert's strawman: Because no one shot back, the right is worthless.  I guess that the same thing could be said of speaking, or voting, or those other rights that are protected in our constitution.  More likely, this thinking is accurately described by Tam. 

...or so says Roger Ebert. And believe me, if anybody knows "insane", it's Roger. He's personally trod every square foot of that terrain.

Heh!

Home at Last

We pulled into the driveway at 2:00 p.m., local time.  I was amazed at the height of the grass in the lawn.  The only question now is if I want to mow it, or contract it for hay.  It's nice bahia, but I don't think they could get a full trailer of hay.  Probably not worth the effort; I'll mow it.  Later.

With a full SUV, we looked like a traveling gypsy show, my apologies to the travelers.  Folks who pack and travel long distances on a regular basis probably have their act together. We did not.

Luggage strapped to the roof, luggage on the rack, the inside full of six souls.  I took this picture somewhere in Alabama yesterday.  I bet that we were a sight, rolling down the road.

Sometime tomorrow, I"ll start posting something that looks like regular content.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Lately, I've been trusting the dog off his leash, and he's responding well.  Last week, we explored the lot next to the house and the dog enjoyed his exploring.

A classic pointing pose, although he's not a pointer and there were no birds in sight.  I think he was simply walking up the hill.

I'm not sure what was under that log that riveted his attention.  It may simply have been the pond water, or there might have been a critter under there.  We'll never know.

We should be home late this afternoon, and pick the dog up from the groomer tomorrow morning.