More Axes

In the previous post, Old NFO says in comments:

That little skinning axe is neat! I need to find one of those... I've got a hatchet and a full sized axe, but that's it.

You may have a hatchet, old hand, and if you do, hang on to it, save it, because it's a rare bird indeed.  A true hatchet is an archaic tool, used around the farm, and often confused with the hand axe.  A hatchet has an axe blade on one end, and a true hammer head on the back side.  Like this

: You don't see many of these any more, because they are difficult to make properly.  The hammer head has to be hardened and the axe blade has to be a little bit softer.  It's hard to make a true hatchet, so manufacturers have pretty much dropped them for the more ubiquitous hand axe, which looks just like a short axe.

Hand axes are generally about 18" long and have a 1.5 to 1.75 pound head.  The example above is made by Collins and is available for under $20.00.

Of course, every culture has a hand axe, as they are very versatile tools.  One in particular comes up from time to time, the broadaxe, which is often though to be a tool of war, but was really designed for hewing logs, making joints, and making staves.  Most broadaxes are normally forged with a flat side and a beveled side, so that the artisan could control the way the axe cut wood.  Below is an example of a broadaxe.

That's a very nice example of an old broadaxe.  It looks like it has a new handle, which is fairly common on using axes.  My old grandad had an axe that he claimed was original, but it had been through four handles and two heads. Yet, he claimed it was the same axe.  I think he was pulling my leg.

Of course, when we're talking about hand axes, we can also talk about the ancient stone axes found all over the world, the tomahawks, the asian axes, indeed, there are thousands of variations.

Like I said earlier, I'm no expert on axes, but I have a working knowledge, and they're a fascinating study.

Axes

Everyone, at one time or another, needs a good axe, and while I'm no expert, I have a certain working knowledge of axes, sledges, and mauls.  Last month I was looking for my axe and was embarrassed to realize that it had gotten away from me.  Couldn't find it anywhere, so on my next trip to Lowe's I picked up a True Temper felling axe, a standard 3.5 lb axe with a 36"fiberglass handle.

This morning, I was browsing through the local hardware store and saw another axe that caught my eye.  Back in the day, we called it a half-axe.  Nowadays they're called a boy's axe, but it's the same tool.  Lighter at 2.25 lbs, it has a 28 inch handle, and is very handy for chores that don't require a full axe.  Of course, I walked into the store looking for a ball of string and came out with an axe.  A good hardware store is like that.  This particular example is made by Collins.

While setting up for this picture, I remembered my skinning axe that lives under the seat of the pickup truck, so I added it to the mix.  Mine is marked as Norwark, but lots of companies make them.  It's really more of a large skinning blade on a synthetic handle, that little axe isn't much good for camp chores, but it is dandy for skinning whitetail deer or larger animals.  That long, curved edge works wonders when you hold the tool just below the head and roll your wrist as you separate the skin from the animal.

I don't live in the woods any more, but it helps to have an axe around the homestead.  Like spoons, one is never enough, and to have a couple in varying sizes is handy indeed.

Monday Song

An old favorite, from 2009.



People are crazy.

Victim Shoots Robber

We begin Monday morning with this bit of pleasing news.  It seems that one goblin in New Orleans was robbing people on the street and got more than he asked for.

According to NOPD, the alleged armed robber, 22-year-old Samuel Sims, approached his intended victim on the 3000 block of Bruxelles Street at 5:49 p.m. and demanded his belongings. Police say the victim gave Sims his cell phone, but the alleged robber wanted more. 

Sims got his cell phone, but that wasn't enough.  So he demanded more.

 The victim then pulled out a gun and shot Sims in the chest leading to his arrest. 

Sims wanted more.  How about a bullet in your chest?  Sims is in the hospital by all accounts and the victim is cooperating with the investigation. That should be a fairly short police report.  Hopefully in the next few months, Sims will recover enough to help with the planting season at our state penitentiary.  There, he'll learn a useful trade, picking peas for the warden.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Taken yesterday afternoon, this picture perfectly encapsulates my desires on a Sunday afternoon.


Sleeping it off.  Every dog deserves a good nap on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday Project

Installing a daffodil bed at our family's nursing home, Regency House.

We started building the bed this morning about 9:00.  Triple-tilled the ground, raked out all the St.Augustine grass, found some old bricks, then aded 500 l bs of Scott's Black Mulch.Planted 100 daffodil bulbs, then topped it with another 500 lbs of that same black mulch.

That grassy area between the patio and the daffodil bed will become another sidewalk that connects two walkways, so that the residents can have a walking path for exercise and recreation.

The daffodils are now bedded in for the winter and will be beautiful in the spring.

Spilt Milk

Courtesy of Day by Day cartoons.

I'm working on it.

Depravity

Checking email today, I come upon something that looks like spam, from The Depravity Standard.  The sentence that gave me the giggles is below:

We wanted you to be the first to know that the critical next phase of the Depravity Standard project is now online at www.depravitystandard.org, and we are writing to ask you to please sign up, and to once again have your say in shaping the final Depravity Standard.

Heh!  They want me to participate in a study on depravity.  I guess I'll click over and see what that is all about. Who knows what depravity I might uncover.

Naah, I've had a couple of drinks, and I  think I'll pass.

Thoughts on Mary

Yesterday, our senior senator embarked on a Quixotic endeavor to debate the Keystone XL pipeline in the US Senate.  The vote was simply for cloture, to open the measure for debate.  She needed 60 votes and failed in her attempt, derailed by members (lots of them) in her own party.  At the end of the attempt, only 13 Democratic senators voted with her.  The Washington Post is calling it her final indignity, but I feel that they're being premature.

The list of senators who voted against her is long, to include the current leadership.  It was a stinging rebuke, and put the lie to her campaign promise; that her leadership and seniority in the Senate are vital to Louisiana.  The other senators and the leadership showed that she has no clout in the Senate, not even enough to have other senators support her in a symbolic gesture.

The final indignity will occur if Senator Landrieu continues in her quest for re-election and it won't be the indignity of her final defeat, it will be the indignity that she foists upon the people of Louisiana by continuing the race.  She gathered a paltry 42 percent of the vote, probably all that she'll gather in the runoff.  The other senators in the Senate have revealed her to be a sham, without clout or influence within the party.  She has nothing left to offer Louisiana.  It's been a good run, but it's over.

To paraphrase Edwin Edwards, the only way Cassidy can lose this race is if he's found in bed with a live boy or a dead girl.  It's inevitable and everybody sees it but Ladrieu.  If she knew Louisiana, she'd know that she is done.

Mary Landrieu should follow the example of that same Edwin Edwards, and concede, as Edwards did in 1987 when he saw that he couldn't command a majority.  He conceded gracefully and let Buddy Roemer struggle as a minority governor.  This is Mary's option now, to continue to struggle against the inevitable or to bow out gracefully.

She won't do that, though.  She has neither the grace nor the political acumen for that.  No, we'll have to beat her, and I'll be happy to pull the lever against her in December.

The Curve??

It looks like Taurus has come out with a new pistol, The Curve, designed for concealed carry.  Not your standard .380, it has an integrated light and laser, and it's curved to fit the contour of your body.

Interesting design, it comes with a belt clip and it looks to be as smooth as a bar of soap.  No de-horning necessary on this rig.  I'm told that the MSRP is about $400.00, with the street price being somewhat under that.

I'm also told that they are going to have a version bent the other direction, for southpaws.  interesting concept for a carry firearm.

Senate Kabuki

The US Senate is looking more and more like Kabuki theater, what with my senator, Mary (hack, spit) Landrieu trying to drum up support today for the Keystone pipeline.  Hot Air reports that Landrieu has lots of Republican support, indeed, every Republican senator is expected to vote for the measure, but Mary is having trouble garnering support from her own party.

Desperate for something positive to put before Louisiana voters prior to her Senate run-off, Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu is looking for an apparently illusive 60th Senate vote – from her Democratic colleagues.

You'd think that with Landrieu in trouble, in the fight of her life politically, that her colleagues in the Senate would come to her rescue and give her the few votes she needs to score a political victory.  You'd be wrong.  As I type this it appears that she's got almost enough votes, but not enough to push her over the margin.

Mary based her campaign on her seniority and her clout in the Senate.  If she can't get at least half of her caucus to join her, voters in Louisiana will be forced to ask themselves just how much clout she has in the Senate.  And, in the end, it's all Kabuki theater, because Obama will veto it, if it ever makes it to his desk.

This is Obama thinking he’s playing “hard ball”.  In fact, it is Obama playing his favorite game, throwing someone under the bus.  So it’s likely “good bye Senator Landrieu”

Landrieu can't get the support of her caucus, and it appears that she's got no clout with Obama either.  In January, she'll be in the minority, with even less clout and support. So the question becomes, why do we need her in the Senate.

It appears at almost Senate quitting time that Mary is till looking for that 14th vote.  My math is simple, 45 Republicans are on board, then there's her, so there must be 14 more Democrats that back her.  As I post this, she's having trouble getting that 15th vote.  The Democrats really want to help her, don't they?  That, all by itself, speaks volumes.

Pore Ol' Unions

I see in the news that the unions are still hammering Wal-Mart.  You'd think by now they'd learn.  They're plannning a strike on Black Friday to draw attention to .. I dunno... something.  Higher wages, better benefits, the usual litany of complaints.

Wal-Mart is in a bind, believe it or not, because of competition.  They're a gigantic player in the retail box store business, and they've got to control costs just like everybody else.  In this economy, it makes business sense to hire part-time help, and that's what Wal-Mart does, just like everyone else.

However, when people talk about striking, I don't have much sympathy for them.  Nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, EMT's, CNAs and all manner of people work around the clock, 24/7/365.  Let's not forget the utility folks, who come out on Sunday when a squirrel trips your electricity, or the poor folks who repair utilities after a storm, or the guys who go in every single day to make sure that you have good drinking water and that your sewerage flows downhill.

Yeah, it's hard for me to have much sympathy for striking Wal-Mart employees.  And you know where sympathy falls in the dictionary.

Shot Cartridge

The guys over at this forum were talking about cannon projectiles, artillery, if you will, and trying to identify a common antique projectile.  First, the caveat; these things might be dangerous.  They were originally designed to hurt people or destroy materiel and they might explode.  GIs of all stripes bring stuff home from their service, and we hope that when Grandad brought home that war relic, he didn't bring home something that might detonate and destroy the house.  That having been said, lots of that stuff is totally inert and if you trust Grandpa, then whatever he left behind is probably safe.

There is a thing in artillery called a shot cartridge.  No, it's not a shotgun shell like we commonly hunt birds with, it's a solid metal projectile that is totally inert, but is supposed to punch a big hole through something.  That big metal projectile is called shot, and are commonly used in track and field events across the world.  A 12 pound shot is what "shot put" is all about, and early artillery was designated by the weight of the iron ball that would fit down the bore.  A 12 pounder cannon fired a 12 pound ball.

Like most GIs, PawPaw dragged home a relic, and it sits in my shop.  Can you spot it?  Many people don't.  Most folks don't realize it is there, and when they do spot it, their eyes grow wide.  What is that?

It sits beside my bench, near the tool box, and many visitors never see it there.  I found the projectile during exercises, then had to scrounge around for the cartridge case, hen re-assembled it.  I brought it to my Dad, who kept it near the kitchen table, next to the refrigerator.  At some point I took possession, and no it resides in my shop.    Here's a close-up.

That, gentle reader, is a 90 mm shot cartridge, from the M48 Patton Tank.  While that tank fired a number of explosive rounds, that particular reliv is a shot cartridge, used during training.  It's inert, or I wouldn't have it in my shop where grand kids play.  Yet, it amazed me how many visitors have never noticed it.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Wintry weather, and the dog likes staying inside.  Today is cloudy and clammy, and it's a good day to be indoors.

It's gumbo weather, and PawPaw is probably going to make a big chichen-and-sausage for lunch.

New Rifle

I bought a new rifle this week.  The fact that I buy a rifle occasionally is not news to my family, but this is something different for me, for two reasons.  The first is that I bought it online.

Buying a rifle online is new to me.  I've never done that before, but it's not as easy as buying a pair of socks from Amazon.  No, it takes the cooperation of a local dealer who has to agree to accept the shipment on your behalf, then when it comes in, the dealer calls you and you have to go to the store, fill our an ATF Form 4473, just like you bought it at the store.  After the instant check passes, you get your rifle.

Second, many folks don't consider this a rifle.  But, the BATFE says it is a rifle.  Even though it has nneither bolt, barrel, trigger, stock, nor even yet sights or operating controls.  Just a simple casting that's been machined to take the parts, and By God, that's the rifle.

Yeah, buddy, that's it.  That is a rifle, according to the government.  This spring I'll buy some parts and start putting it together.  I'll make it like I want it, and it will be uniquely mine.

A Comet?

This news broke yesterday afternoon, but it appears that the European Space Agency has landed a probe on a comet.

Launched in 2004, the European Space Agency (Esa) mission hopes to learn about the origins of our Solar System.
It has already sent back the first images ever taken on the surface of a comet.

It's been traveling for 10 years, and they managed to land on a comet, and send back pictures.

That's what the comet looks like, up close and personal.

I was a child of the '60s and remember watching breathlessly as our astronauts pushed the boundaries of space out beyond the moon.  Space travel is so freaking cool, and now mankind has landed a probe ON A COMET.  Do you realize how cool that is?

I am amazed, and in awe.

Pandering

It looks like the US Senate is ready to take up the Keystone XL pipeline that President OBama has refused to approve, just in time to save Mary Landrieu's senate seat.

Senate Democrats are working on plans to hold a vote authorizing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline -- approval that Democrats believe might bolster the chances of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who faces a tough runoff election next month.

Good luck with that ploy.  Evidently the rest of the nation thinks that Louisiana voters can't see through a blatantly political ploy.  It doesn't matter at this point.  We're going to get the pipeline, and Louisiana will have a seat on the Energy committee, and at this point the only question is whether we'll have a majority seat, or a minority seat.  So, it doesn't matter.

Keystone has almost nothing to do with the upcoming election.  Really, in the minds of lots of voters, Keystone isn't an issue, because we know it's coming, it's simply a matter of when it's coming.  Keystone, while an important project, is not the deciding factor in this race.  Mary Landrieu herself is the deciding factor in this race.

Back in 2008, Mary's last race, when Barack Obama was running his first race and the Democratic party was its strongest, Mary Landrieu won re-election with a stunning 52% of the electorate.  This was for her third term, and she's never gotten over 52% of the electorate behind her.

No, Mary Landrieu is in a bind because she's Mary Landrieu.  She's forgotten who she works for.  She doesn't live in Louisiana.  She might hail from the Gret Stet, but she doesn't live here. We certainly know her name, and her family has a long history of elective office in this state, but Mary has moved on.

At the polls last week, I voted my conscience.  My candidate didn't win, although I believe that he did very well for a political newcomer, and I believe that he has a great future in Louisiana.  On December 6th, I'm voting against Mary Landrieu.  I'm betting that a sizable majority of Louisiana will vote against her as well.

Deer Stand

Today we moved my box stand to the family property.

One son, two grandsons, and a family friend.  Now, I'm set for deer season.

Hot Damn!

Back in my younger days, I used to enjoy a shot of DeKuyper's Hot Damn! schnapps occasionally.  Around a fire in the woods, that liqueur put a little fire in your belly and the taste of cinnamon in your mouth.  Not bad at all.

With the fire pit installed, I mentioned to Milady that I used to enjoy a shot of Hot Damn! while sitting around a fire, and she told me "I like Hot Damn! too, during the winter."  So, today on the way home I stopped by the grocers ad picked up a bottle.

I've been hanging out with that woman since 2001 and I never knew she liked Hot Damn!  She never ceases to surprise me.  We may have to share a shot around the fire before long.  Not tonight though, I have to go back to work in about an hour.

Happy Birthday, Jarheads!

Today is the birthday of the US Marine Corps, formed in a tavern in Philadelphia.  Happy Birthday, Marines.

Today is also the anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a Great Lakes freighter lost in a storm in 1975 with all hands.  It was a very sad day for mariners.  Gordon Lightfoot compounded the sadness when he sang a song about the tragedy.

PawPaw is busier than a cat in a sandbox today.  Tomorrow is my day, and I'll hoist a glass tomorrow.

Lovely Glow

After installing the kerosene lantern on the porch yesterday, I found that I had no fuel for it, so today when I was at Lowes, I went looking for kerosene, and found a small container.

So tonight about dark, I lit it to see how it illuminates that end of the porch.

I think it casts a lovely glow.  Nineteenth century technology has a lot going for it.  Now, I need another lantern for the far end of the porch.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The dog didn't get a trim this week, life intruded on our spare time.  We'll try to get that done next week.

The dog is pleased that the grass seems to have quit growing.  It's finally autumn in these climes and we're enjoying being outside.

It's good to be a fuzzy dog when the temps are cool.  Y'all go enjoy the outdoors today.

Saturday Projects

Busy Saturday morning around here.  We found a leak on the pool pump so I took that apart this morning, found a worn 0-ring, and went to look for a replacement.  No joy on the 0-ring, so we'll wait until Monday when the pool shop is open.

Then,I started carpentering a roof for my deer stand.  It should have been up on the family land in September, but life intruded on the project and the deer stand is still disassembled in my side lot.  We plan to install it on Tuesday, Veterans Day, and I'm ready to do that now.  It's got a new roof and it's ready to assemble.

Finally, some brackets to hang kerosene lanterns on the patio, for ambiance.  They should cast a gentle glow and give that end of the patio some much needed light.  I put up tools, looked at my watch, and it was just 12:30.  Not a bad morning's work.

So, this morning I've done plumbing, carpentry, and metal work.  Not bad for a Saturday's projects and I think I'll take the rest of the day off.  Maybe harass Milady.

First Fire

First fire in the fire pit I recently installed.

'nuff said.

Friday Funny

The Wasserman Files

From Hope n' Change Cartoons..

Election Thoughts

The primary is over, here in Louisiana, and the Republicans nationwide have done well.  The map is a lot redder than it was on Monday, and the Democrats (and frankly, everyone else) is trying to figure out what it all means.    PawPaw has been surfing around, reading the internets, and today comes to the New York Times, who has a good editorial on the issue, and one line resonated for me.

Our election night survey showed that 42 percent chose their Senate candidate because they hated the opponent more. One pre-election poll had over 70 percent willing to throw everyone out and start fresh.

That about sums it up for me.  My candidate lost Tuesday night, and now I'm faced with a choice, seemingly between Beelzebub and The Devil herself.  So, I"ll hold my nose and vote for Cassidy, simply because I detest Landrieu.  Dr. Cassidy shouldn't take my vote as assurance that I have any confidence that he'll represent me, nor as an indication that I believe he's a good pick.  He's simply the less onerous of two bad picks.

We did pitch our lip-locking congressman, Vance McAllister, the rookie who ran on a family-values ticket and thoroughly embarrassed us all when he got caught swapping slobber with a staffer.  Eight folks, including our congressman were in the field, and we rejected McAllister thoroughly.  The lesson here is simple: we'll reject a popularly elected politician who embarrasses us, regardless of political party.  Now, we've got a runoff between two yahoos I've never heard of.  It's time to do my research.

Winchester 1200

Winchester used to make shotguns, very fine shotguns, like this Model 21 on sale at Collector's Firearms.  Their "everyman's shotgun" was the Model 12, a pump action repeater that became the iconic pump shotgun of the early part of the 20th century.  My dad and grand-dad both had Model 12's and my younger son has my Dad's shotgun now.

In 1963, Winchester stopped production fo the Model 12, and in 1964 came out with the Model 1200, the successor.  That shotgun had an aluminum receiver and a rotating bolt that unlocked during recoil, making it very fast for follow-up shots.  It competed with the Remington Model 870, and many gunners liked the steel receiver of the Model 870, so the Model 1200 languished and was replaced by the Model 1300 in 1983 when US Repeating Arms Company took over manufacture of guns under the Winchester name.  The 1300 was produced until 2006, when USRAC went bankrupt.

In the late '70s my family began rabbit hunting with beagles and I wanted something that lighter to lug through the woods than my old duck gun.  A 20 gauge seemed particularly attractive, and one day I was in a box store and saw a familiar pump shotgun on the shelf.  The price was particularly nice and I dropped my money, as I recall, under $100.00 for a brand new 20 gauge shotgun.  It was a Winchester 120, a budget version of the 1200, with birch stocks and a plain corncob forearm.  It came with a brand-new accessory, the WinChoke, which was a screw-in shcoke that let you shoot one gun for every game.  Full choke for ducks or scratching a squirrel out of a tall pine.  Modified for general tasks, and Improved Cylinder for the dove fields.

Nowadaus, screw-in chokes are standard on nearly every shotgun, but back in those days, it was quite an innovation and I was the buzz of the camp when I showed up with a shotgun that had screw-in chokes.  It's not particularly light, at 7.5 pounds, and it's not short, at 49 inches, but it swings well, and more importantly, it fits me.  When I shoulder the gun, I'm looking right down the vent rib at the front bead.  I shoot it effortlessly.

Since 1976, it's been my upland shotgun of choice.  It's accounted for bushels of squirrels, pickup loads of rabbits, the occasional wood duck and the odd woodcock that sprang up before me.  For a gun that's been used for almost 40 years, it seems to be holding up well, and if you ever see me in the upland game fields, the old Model 1200 is the shotgun I'll likely be carrying.

Weather Today

Look at this front, it runs from Chihuahua, Mexico to Ottawa, Canada.  Of course, it runs all the way across the United States.  That's one hell of a front line, and not something we see every day.

Milady will be home in a few minutes, and we're going to the polls, vote, and head to Brother Bill's for some Catfish Atchafalaya.

If you haven't voted yet, make plans to get to the polls.  It's important.  Do your duty.  Go vote.

On the Truck

The brown truck of happiness came today with an order I've been expecting.  I've been a big fan of corded drills, and have a couple of them that I really like, but recently I've been convinced that a cordless portable drill is handy for a great deal of tasks.  But, I wanted a good one, and I did some research, both online and talking to guys who use tools every day.  One name kept popping up, DeWalt.  Evidently, they make pretty good tools.

So, I looked at them in the box stores, then started looking online, and I found this little darling, the DeWalt DC970K-2 18-Volt Drill/Driver Kit.  It comes with the drill/driver, two batteries, a charger, and a nylon carry bag.  The bag is big enough that I can carry two bit sets in the bag with the drill.  Of course, it was on sale at Amazon.

When you can't get to an outlet, the idea of a cordless drill is very handy.  Heck, for most small tasks, it's not worth it do drag out an extension cord.  I've got a feeling that I'm going to like this drill a lot.

Squirrel Woods

I did something this morning that I haven't done in twelve or fifteen years.  I went squirrel hunting.  I had to put up my deer feeder o the family land, and I took along my shotgun in case I saw a squirrel.  After the feeder was installed, I loaded the shotgun and sat down in the woods to see if my old eyes could still see a squirrel..

That's my idea of squirrel woods, mixed deciduous forest with a few pines sprinkled in, this is along the back of my family land.  I spent about two hours there, listening to the woods, watching the wildlife, and feeling the stillness of a quite morning.

I did see squirrels, two of them, a long ways off on neighboring property, so I didn't shoot, but I was gratified to learn that I could still see a squirrel in the tops of the trees.

PawPaw in the squirrel woods.  I'm not a big fan of camouflage., although I do like my hat.  I guess that's too many years spend in camouflage when I was working for the Army.  A flannel shirt suits me just fine when I'm squirrel hunting.

The Weather Service tells me that w're getting another front tomorrow, and while I was in the woods, I heard a large flight of geese go overhead.  I didn't see them for the clouds, but they seemed to be white geese  (because of the ruckus they were making) and they were headed for the swamp to my north.About nine o'clock the wind picked up, waving the tops of the trees, so I decided to walk back to the truck and head home.  I didn't kill a squirrel, but I don't have to clean any, either.  I did get to spend a couple of hours in the woods, which suits me just fine.

Voting Machines

I note with some amusement, this article over at Hot Air that claims that states are leaving electronic voting machines in droves.  The author, Buzz Shaw, is fairly skeptical, because he can't find any list of states that are switching.

The major question I have about this report is the lack of specific examples. I’ve heard of a number of states who were discussing it (which was actually already in full swing back in 2008) but a detailed list of those who officially made the move seems hard to come by. The major deciding factor for making the switch, though, was a bit surprising to me. Many states using the new technology have machines which are a decade or more old and in need of updates or repair and they just don’t have the money for the upkeep. Conversely, the old mechanical lever machines like the ones we used in New York until well into the 2000s required only basic routine maintenance and checks and seemed to go on forever like the energizer bunny.

When I began voting in the early '70s, Louisiana used the old mechanical machines, and at some time in the past we switched to the electronic machines, which I never trusted.  It seems that those machines are susceptible to "calibration errors", like the machines recently in Chicago.

The worst of the new machines are the ones without a paper trail, and they are still in use in places like Chicago. In Cook County, for example, one machine was found to be mysteriously changing Republican votes to the Democrat, though that was later found to just be a … *cough* calibration error. Fortunately, those types of machines seem to be in the minority.

Yeah, that's what Louisiana uses, and what I'll be using tomorrow morning.  Calibration errors indeed.  That does wonders for my confidence in our electoral processes.

One wag in the past said that when Louisiana switched from mechanical machines, to electronic machines, they sold all the mechanical machines to a small banana republic is South America.  After the first national election, they found that Edwin Edwards had won by a landslide.  Go Figure.

Regardless of what kind of machine you use, go vote tomorrow.  It's important.

Fire Pit

Several years ago, Milady bought me a fire pit for some occasion, I forget, and I appreciated it, but never installed it, thinking that I'd cogitate on it for a while to determine the best spot to integrate it into our back yard.  I pondered mightily for several months, as projects progressed, and made a decision, but inertia got the best of me, and the installation languished.

Last night we went to second-son's house for a gathering, and he built a fire int he back yard.  We had fun sitting around the fire and telling stories, so I determined this morning that I had procrastinated enough, and installed the fire pit on some left-over pavers.

We'll try it right there and see ow it goes.  It's at the end of the patio in a grassy area.  A couple of lawn chairs and we're set.  I may decide to get one more of those hex pavers for the middle, or I might not.  Maybe a good sand bed in the middle would be nice.  We'll see.

Central Standard Time

I awoke this morning and realized I had forgotten to set my watch back.  We're back to Central Standard Time for the next four months.  We'll get more hours of sunlight in the morning, and less in the evening, which means that I'll get one hour less of daylight after I get home in the evening.

So be it.  I'll spend part of today re-setting the clocks that don't set themselves.  I wonder how many people will show up early at the church this morning?

Sunday Morning Dawg

With temps in the 30's the dog is glad he's got a thick coat, and PawPaw will certainly wear a jacket to church this morning.  This Sunday is the "fall-back" part of the time change, and I'm sure that some folks will be early for church.  Of course, more of us rely on our cell phones for the time, and those things change automatically.

The dog, of course, is not worried about the time change, as much as he's interested in the smells in the ground near the trash container, but even that wears thin after a bit, and he heads back inside to where  it's warm.

Yeah, the sun feels good on a dog's back.

At the Auction

Last night at the auction, I was browsing the tool table and noticed a familiar outline.

A bullet mold, but what does it throw?  A quick inspection reveled it to be a Lyman block, with handles, and it had a pistol bullet,cavity  about .45 caliber.  The blocks were dirty and I couldn't see the mold number, but I figured it was worth a chance.  I told the auctioneer, who was standing nearby, that when the blocks got to his hands, I'd open at $25.00.

Then, I was in a quandary.  My eyes aren't calibrated to the thousandth, but I knew that the cavity was either a .44 or .45 caliber block and that the mold would throw a semi-wadcutter bullet with two lube grooves.  I've got a .44, and I've got a couple of .45 ACP, but if the mold threw a bullet for the .45 Long Colt, I'd have a mold block with no pistol to match it.  Still, at $25.00, I figured it would be a good deal, and I could use it for trading material.

Later, when the auctioneer cane to the tool table, he picked up the mold and announced, "I've got a twenty-five dollar opening bid on this bullet mold."  Nobody said a word.  "Going once, going twice, third and final offer....  Sold for twenty five dollars."  He handed me the blocks.

I found a rag and started looking for the mold number under a decade of bench dust.  452460.  I quick Google on my phone revealed tbe mold to be a semiwadcutter for the .45ACP, a 200 grain bullet.

Well, heck.  That looks like a nice bullet, and I've got a couple of 1911s that might shoot very well with that bullet.  Some of the usual forums tell me that with 4.0 grains of Bullseye, that bullet cuts a nice round hole, and often throws them in a single, ragged hole.  We'll have to see about that.

MidwayUSA sells that same block for $71.99 and the handles for $36.99,  At an opening bid of $25.00, I probably did okay.

Racist. And Sexist.

That's what Mary Landrieu, our US Senator, thinks of Louisiana, although we've elected her to the Senate three times.  According to Hot Air, (with lots of additional links)

“I’ll be very, very honest with you. The South has not always been the friendliest place for African-Americans,” Landrieu told NBC News in an interview. “It’s been a difficult time for the president to present himself in a very positive light as a leader.”

Noting that the South is “more of a conservative place,” she added that women have also faced challenges in “presenting ourselves.”

Thanks, Mary.  I really appreciate the vote of confidence.  Of course, we're used to those kinds of disparaging comments from outsiders, but we never expected to hear those kinds of comments from someone who lives in the state and knows the people.

Oh, wait...  You don't live in the state.  I forgot.  We'll try to repay the compliment on Tuesday.

One Week

One week from today, we vote, and learn the results of the only poll that matters, the election returns.  Lots of pundits are watching, prognosticating, trying to detect trends, and the one trend they've identified is that the GOP is liable to win this one.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.  In a week we'll know who won, who lost, and who's wailing and gnashing their teeth.

However, print sells papers, or in this digital age, sells advertising, and Noah Rothman has a good piece about the stages of political grief, and short-sighted rules that make political expediency.

The “obstructionist Republicans” plotline was always ever a myth. The GOP did what all political parties in the minority do: they formed voting blocs aimed at frustrating the will of the majority they opposed. It was this temerity that led the Senate Democrats to rewrite the rules of the upper chamber in order to limit minority filibuster rights, a shortsighted tantrum that they will soon regret.

Yeah, Harry Reid's nuclear option might bite them in the butt.  If the majority can pass something with fifty votes, then it shouldn't matter which majority we're talking about.  Fifty votes is fifty votes, and what's good for the goose, is good for the gander, and Harry Reid should consider that his goose is just about cooked.

Obstructionism works both ways.  If Congress, the will of the people through their elected representatives, thinks it prudent to pass a law, then the President can either sign it or veto it,

 But Democrats and their allies in the press are finding it hard to let go of the “obstructionist Republicans” narrative. The White House is convinced that “obstruction” will continue, even when it will be them doing the obstructing.

All this is interesting to watch, but I caution everyone to not get cocky.  It ain't over till next Tuesday and on Wednesday we'll know the tale of the poll.

If you haven't yet, go vote.

Heh!

Stolen shamelessly from My Muse, I thought my elder son would enjoy it.

Heh!

Sunday Morning Dawg

Another beautiful autumn day in central Louisiana, with temps in the low 50s in the morning, climbing to the low 80s in the afternoon.  Wonderful weather to be outside and the dog is enjoying it too.

I don't know what odor has his attention, but he's almost bent bimself completely around.

It's too pretty to be inside today.  After church, we're serving tacos on the patio.  Happy sunday, everyone.

Fire

Probably one of man's oldest collective memories is of fire.  We're the only animal to have tamed fire, and man spent millenia learning the lessons of fire and other lessons around a fire.  It's how we cook our food and how we heat our spaces, and while many of our citizens don't need fire on a regular basis, many of our citizens still use fire for those basic concerns.

A large chunk of my childhood, and a sizable portion of my adult life revolved around fire wood.  Finding it, splitting it, stacking it, toting it, worrying about it, and finally, burning it.  We had a fireplace in my childhood home and my farm house where I raised my kids had a fireplace.  My  current home has a fireplace, but it also has gas logs, run off  huge propane bottle.  If the electricity goes out during the winter, I still heat my home with fire, but it's a whole lot easier to light a gas log, and easier to control.

However, I do have a fire pit in the back yard, because sometimes it's nice to light a log, to look into the fire, and to poke the logs and watch the embers, reminiscing about fires I've built and conversations I've had.  I've probably built thousands of fires in my life, from cook fires to camp fires, to heating fires, and even those fires I set to clean up a brush pile.

A couple of years ago, Milady bought me a fire pit, and I admit that I've been remiss in using it.  Manly because I had other projects that took precedence, and wanted to finish those before I installed he fire pit.  However, those projects are complete, and I have come to the point to install my fire pit.  I needed some fire wood, and my elder son had recently removed a large white oak that had died.

So, this morning, I loaded the chainsaw in the truck and headed over to son's place, where I spent an hour cutting firewood.  We didn't get in a hurry, we cut and talked and stacked, more of an hour spent hanging out than an hour of hard work.  Then we went in his shop and used some scrap metal to build a small wood rack.  Then I brought it home and unloaded it, stacking the wood in it.

I used to measure my firewood by the cord, indeed, I did't feel prepared without four cords,  but I don't need anywhere near that amount of wood.

There is probably one-third of a rick there, which should be sufficient for my needs.  Lots more where that came from if I need it.  Now I'm set for an old-time fire.  I might even set up my tripod and so some campfire cooking.  It's been a long time.

Saturday Song

This old video combines several of my favorite things; the military, a beautiful melody, and Reba McEntire.  The fact that she duets with Vince Gill ain't bad either.

Reba tells us on Facebook that she lost her dad yesterday, and that made me go looking for her old videos.  Sing it, Reba!

School Shooting in Washington

Just to be accurate, this is in Washington state, not Washington D.C.  Fox News reports:

DEVELOPING: A high school student in Marysville, Wash., opened fire in the school cafeteria Friday morning, fatally shooting another person and injuring at least six before killing himself, police and witnesses said.

Providence Regional Medical Center in nearby Everett reported it had three students in critical condition after the shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School, located 35 miles north of Seattle, began around 10:45 a.m. PT.

Still developing, and details are sketchy, so I won't comment further except to caution everyone to let the news cycle settle before we start parsing the details, but in the meantime, pray for the victims.

AR Build

I've been wanting to do an AR build for a while, but never pulled the pin on ordering a stripped lower, or finding an FFL dealer that would do a transfer.  But, Brownell's put Bushmaster stripped lowers on sale today for $49.99 and I couldn't stand it.  I ordered two.

Southern Shooters, my local indoor range, agreed to do the transfer and sent Brownells the necessary paperwork.  It looks like I've got another project on my hands.  And some decisions to make.

Wal-Mart Bags

It seems that California continues on their unruly way, doing things that are inexplicable to the rest of us.  Like banning Wal-Mart bags.

California made history late last month in a manner that only its legislature could. With Governor Jerry Brown’s eleventh-hour assent, the state became the first in the nation to outlaw plastic bags statewide.

The real reason may never be known, but I suspect one of the touted reasons was to become more "green", to recycle, and those ubiquitous plastic bags nearly shriek of being disposable.    Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here in the Deep South, those little plastic bags are universally known as "Wal-Mart Bags", just as all soft drinks are known to be "Coke".  And, those bags are not discarded, but used over and over again, until they're in tatters.   There are very few things recycled as completely as a Wal-Mart bag.  Every household I know, has a place where they store used bags, normally on a doorknob near the kitchen or washroom.  We carry lunch in them, we carry clothes in them, we use them for all manner of onerous tasks.  You can stuff your feet into a Wal-Mart bag before you put on shoes if you're worried about getting your feet wet.   Or, put couple in your luggage to separate dirty cloths from clean, or send the neighbors a bag of produce when your garden is producing.  Or, use them for trash-can liners in the bathroom or office.  There are a million uses for a Wal-Mart bag, and there is no reason to throw one away until it is used up.

I'm sure that California has a lot to recommend it, but in lots of ways, it a silly, frivolous state.

Voting Machines

With elections coming up in two weeks, and all of us interested in the outcome in races both national and local, it's heartwarming to see stories like this, where voting machines screw up the vote.

CHICAGO — Early voting in Illinois got off to a rocky start Monday, as votes being cast for Republican candidates were transformed into votes for Democrats.

Say what?  Votes were being transformed from Republican to Democrat? No, that can't be right.

 Republican state representative candidate Jim Moynihan went to vote Monday at the Schaumburg Public Library.

“I tried to cast a vote for myself and instead it cast the vote for my opponent,” Moynihan said. “You could imagine my surprise as the same thing happened with a number of races when I tried to vote for a Republican and the machine registered a vote for a Democrat.”

I'm sure that it's just a simple calibration error.   The commissioner of elections provides an explanation.

“This was a calibration error of the touch-screen on the machine,” Scalzitti said. “When Mr. Moynihan used the touch-screen, it improperly assigned his votes due to improper calibration.”

I'm sure that it was a simple calibration error, and I notice that this story comes from Chicagoland.  I also wonder how many other machines suffer from "calibtation errors"and I notice that those calibration errors tend to favor Democrats.  Coincidence?  Who can tell?

Water Bills

Water bills are a monthly occurrence, and for millions of Americans, we simply write the checks.  Unless you live in Detroit, a nearly bankrupt city that's trying to balance the books.  It seems that Detroit is cutting off people who are behind on their water bills, and it's caused quite an uproar, to the point that UN lawyers are visiting the town.

Detroit officials are fuming after two visiting United Nations lawyers scolded the city for cutting off water to delinquent customers and described the shut-offs as a “human rights” violation. 

I've got a son that works for a water district, and they routinely cut off water for delinquency.  While it's true that everyone has a right to water, it's not true that you have a right to have it filtered, cleaned, stored and pumped into your house.

 “It is contrary to human rights to disconnect water from people who simply do not have the means to pay their bills,” Catarina de Albuquerque, one of the two representatives, said Monday at the conclusion of their visit. 

Mr. Albuquerque needs to learn the law.  While everyone has a right to water, there is no right to have it delivered.  A quick look at a map shows that Detroit is served by a huge, fresh-water lake and a nice sized river.  If residents want free water, they should get a bucket and head toward the lake.  Lots of free water there.  If you want it pumped into your house, you should expect to get a bill for it, just like the rest of America.

It's a slow news day when something like this makes national news.  Pay your water bill, or start hiking toward the nearest river.

Yellow Jackets

Recently we've been noticing an infestation of yellow jackets on the patio, little black and yellow stinging insects that show up whenever we're sitting on the patio, eating or having a drink.  With grandkids about, stinging insects ain't cool, and PawPaw resolved to do something about it.

Hereabouts, the yellow jackets live in the ground, and we suspect that we've got a nest under one of the two decks.  Burning them out is normally the way I deal with ground wasps and hornets, but that measure would be tough on my deck, so I cast about for an alternate solution.

I went to Lowe's this afternoon and found a trap that's supposed to kill wasps and yellow jackets.  I found Rescue brand trap that is supposed to capture and kill flying insects, specifically wasps and yellow jackets, so I bought two for the back yard.

You can't tell from the picture, but ten minutes after I hung it, there were a half-dozen yellow jackets swarming around it.  They were on it like a bad rash.  I hope it works, at least until I can figure out where the nest is and take more appropriate measures.

Sunday Morning Dawg

The weather this week has been magnificent, and the dog is enjoying it as much as the rest of us.

Beautiful weather, balmy breezes, mild temperatures.  We'll probably get him groomed in another week or so, so that he can get a little coat before winter sets in.

The Dawg recommends that you get out and enjoy this marvelous weather.  As cor myself, after church, I intend to do that very thing.

9mm Ammo

This past week, I made another bulk buy of ammo, from Ammoman.com.  This time, 9mm ammo, sold by the pound.  I bought 11 pounds of bulk 9mm ammo, with no other warranty than it was good ammo with reloadable brass cases.  The price was $72.00.  Fair enough.

The ammo came in this week, so I commenced to sorting it by headstamp.  Lots of 9mm ammo, and the manufacturer came out as follows

PMC - 101
Blazer Brass - 205
Speer - 139
Winchester - 5
Federal - 2
G.F.L - 1
HPR - 1

That's waht it looked like on the table.  I was fairly familiar with most of those headstamps, but I have to admit that those last two piqued myf interest.

A quick Google search, and GFL brass is evidently a headstamp of Fiocchi.  Okay then.  I know Fiocchi ammo, and we're good to go.

HPR is revealed to be an outfit called High Precision Range ammunition.  I admit I've never heard of them, and with just one round of ammo, I doubt that I'll be able to give much of a product review.  How one round got into that box of ammo is anyone's guess, but I was told it was a bulk purchase with mixed headstamps.

Total round count on that shipmet was 454 rounds.  If you consider that the ammo box is worth $9.00, then the ammo cost just under 14 cents per round.  Not a bad deal on 9mm ammo.

II'm becoming a fan of Ammoman.com.

Top Holder Official Resigns - Fast and Furious

It seems that a top Holder deputy has resigned after allegations that Fast and Furious guns were used to injure Americans in Phoenix.  Breitbart tells the tale:

The top deputy to Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation on Thursday amid revelations that Operation Fast and Furious scandal guns were used to harm Americans in Phoenix in 2013, a development top congressional Republicans say President Obama’s administration sought to cover up.

You may recall this ill-intentioned, poorly-executed operation from 2010, when Holder's Justice Department let guns walk across the Mexican border.  You'll also recall that Eric Holder was held in contempt by Congress after having hidden under a bogus claim of executive privilege.  That contempt citation is still pending.  The cover-up continues, and Holder has yet to be held accountable for his violations of US law in this, and other operations he's carried out for the President.

Center for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control has thoroughly screwed the pooch on this whole Ebola thing.  Knowing that the disease has been out of control for several months in Africa, they failed to come up with effective protocols for treatment, and they're "learning on the fly" now.

Noah Rothman, over at Hot Air, lays out their failures.

Incompetence and excuse making are fundamental traits which the public has become accustomed to seeing in federal agencies and the bureaucrats who manage them, but first responders addressing an acute crisis are supposed to behave differently. If the public does not believe the federal government can get their arms around this Ebola crisis, the public will start taking matters into their own hands. That is an outcome no one wants to see.

If we look at the webpage for the CDC (linked above) we see that they're active in a great number of things that have nothing at all to do with diesase.  Like violence, and workplace hazards, and social media.  So, I've got an idea.

First, fire everyone in the top three layers of management.  Just fire them.  If any of them have professional certifications (like the AMA) recommend that their licenses be pulled.  Then, limit the CDC, by statute, to only studying infectious diseases.   They don't need to be involved in 80% of the stuff they worry about.  The CDC should be staffed with good doctors, studying infectious diseases.  Nothing else.  It's clear that they've lost their way, and we should provide adult leadership to them by severely limiting their scope and focus.  And their budget.  It's become increasing apparent tha they have too much time on their hands, and no leadership to help them focus.

Deer Get Birth Control

It seems that Cornell University, in upstate New York was over-run with whitetail deer.

After years of bitter debate, Cayuga Heights decided that the deer population would be controlled through sterilization at enormous expense:

Yeah, but deer are mobile.

 The Cayuga Heights deer control was mostly a failure because, you know, deer move around, so sterilizing deer in Cayuga Heights didn’t prevent new deer from coming into the area.  And so on.

It didn't help the deer population, which seemed to be stable.

 Basically, if you were a deer on campus, you got so much free birth control it would make Sandra Fluke jealous; if you were a deer off campus, you got served for dinner.

But, because the does were sterile, they noticed an increase of more aggressive bucks, looking to find a mating partner.

Under normal conditions, all female whitetails go into heat within several weeks of each other and become pregnant at around the same time. This annual event is called the rut. However, if a doe is not impregnated during the rut, it will enter heat again the following month and again the month after that. Because the ligated does were unable to become pregnant, they continued to produce chemical signals of readiness to reproduce — signals that can attract bucks from miles away. 

Well, duh.  They finally decided to try limited hunting, archery, because guns on campus are so.... you know.

 “In winter 2013, our camera survey indicated there were 100 to 105 deer on campus. After the nuisance deer removal in 2014, the camera estimate was about 58 deer remaining on campus,” Curtis said.“Because the bow hunters are volunteers, this program is essentially cost-neutral,” Blossey said.

But, this is Ivy League, and an effective, cost neutral program simply can't be allowed, they're back to deer surgery.

Even after the surgical removal of their ovaries, one of the three deer became pregnant again. It is not clear how this was possible. One supposition is that some ovarian tissue may have escaped the scalpel and regrown into a functioning ovary.

Heh!

ISIS Warning

According to both NBC news and Fox news, ISIS recently called for lone wolf attacks against western targets of interest, including police, military, and public figures.

According to a Joint Intelligence bulletin from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security sent to U.S. law enforcement officials, an ISIS spokesman recorded an audio message that urged lone offenders in Western countries to attack “soldiers, patrons, and troops … their police, security and intelligence members.” Attackers did not need to “ask for anyone’s advice” prior to striking, said the message, because such actions are legitimate.

Isn't that special?  It'll be interesting to see if anyone comes out to play.

True Colors

The folks of ISIS, the guys who brought us the caliphate in Iraq and Syria continue to show their true colors, and to paint Islam with a tawdry brush.  Their latest communique talks about the enslavement of women.

(CNN) -- In a new publication, ISIS justifies its kidnapping of women as sex slaves citing Islamic theology, an interpretation that is rejected by the Muslim world at large as a perversion of Islam.

"One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar -- the infidels -- and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law," the group says in an online magazine published Sunday.

The title of the article sums up the ISIS point of view: "The revival (of) slavery before the Hour," referring to Judgment Day.

Enslaving the families of infidels and taking their women as concubines is firmly established in Sharia law.  How nice.  Be sure to ask your "moderate" Muslim friends about this tidbit of knowledge.

Plumb Turrible

Great Googly-Moogly, we've had some turrible weather today.  Plumb turrible.  Rain and wind and lightning, and thunder, it's been impressive.

Map, courtesy of Weather Underground.  We haven't had any rain for a couple of weeks, but it looks like we're making up for it today.

Sunday Morning Dawg

Thundering outside, and the dog isn't in the mood for silly games.

What are you doing, old man?  Don't you know it's thundering out there?

LSU v Florida

Our beloved LSU Tigers take on the Florida Gators tonight in Gainesville, and PawPaw is set to watch the matchup from his easy chair.  Younger son and his wife are coming over to see the game.  It seems that she graduated at Gainesville at some point in the past, and wears blue and orange, through and through.    My dearly beloved, the gal I call Milady, is an LSU grad.  Purple and gold predominate in her wardrobe.

My son and I both graduated from Northwestern (no, not that Northwestern) State University of Louisiana, and we're used to having a team that sucks.  Still, I attended LSU as an undergrad and while I didn't graduate from there, if you want to cheer a football team in Louisiana, LSU is as good as any. (And a whole helluva lot better than most.)

Both teams are presently un-ranked and in the doldrums.  It might actually be a good game.

Healthcare Rates Rising

Many Louisiana residents are looking at rising healthcare rates, based on the risk pools in Obamacare, and we all remember that our senior senator, Mary Landrieu, was one of the sixty votes who foisted this "fundamental change" on us.  My very own wife, who I dearly love, recently got a large packet of information.  Her health insurance as a state retiree is going up, and she has choices to make.  Larger premiums, larger co-pays, larger deductible, and less coverage.  Just what Louisiana needs, and Mary voted for it

Thanks, Mary, we'll try to repay the favor on November 4th when we put you in the unemployment line.

Amazement

I have been re-reading Cooper's Commentaries, the tidbits of wisdom left for us by the guru, Jeff Cooper.  Cooper, as we all know, was instrumental in the development of the Scout rifle, which is famously chambered in .308 Winchester, and we all know of Cooper's fondness for the cartridge.

But then, we come to this entry, from March, 2000, where we read:

In the last rifle class we had a couple of students show up with Model 700 Remingtons in caliber 308. This puzzles me. If you are going to buy a full-sized bolt-action sporting rifle, why would you choose 308 over 30-06? The 308 is now equivalent of yesterday's 30-06, but still it lacks the versatility of the larger round. Why pay the same price for something less?

Well, or course I have my .30-06, and over the years I've acquired several .308s, and I'm certain that Cooper was a fan of both calibers.  Perhaps I don't understand the question.

I'll have to ponder this some more.

PMC Ammo

Y'all might recall from last week when I gave readers a heads-up about an ammo deal from Ammoman.com.  Like many of you, I ordered a box and it came in yesterday.

A cursory glance at the cartridges inside show a PMC headstamp, and I admit that I'm fairly ignorant of PMC ammo, so I did a little research.  Eric was shipping from damaged boxes, so he couldn't tell us what exact ammo we were getting, but after a little cursory detective work, I believe I have it nailed down.

The first clue, of course was the PMC headstamp which told me the manufacturer.  The second clue was the rounded profile,, shiny copper of the bullet itself, which revealed it to be standard ball ammunition.  The third clue was the large pistol primer in the head of the cartridge.  Armed with that informaiton, I went to the PMC website to see if I could nail it down.

I believe that what I have is PMC Bronze, #45A, which is a standard .45 ACP, 230 grain, full metal jacket ammo.  PMCs spec page tells me that it has a muzzle velocity of 830 fps, which makes it standard range ammo, identical to the old Western-Olin ammo so beloved of GIs worldwide.  A 230 grain bullet at 830 is nothing to scoff at and would serve well as defensive ammo in a pinch.  Sure enough, the pulled bullet from a sample round showed 229 grains on my old Hornady scale and revealed the bullet to be a common cup-and-core full patch bullet.  Yep, what we've got is common ball ammo.

Next, I took out my old family scale to see how much the whole thing weighed, just because I was curious, and found that it came to just over 21 lbs of ammunition.

Of course, the whole thing came packed in a Plano ammo can, an added value that you don't often find in bulk ammo deals.  That can is worth $8-$10 all by itself.

I wanted to repackage the ammo in 100-round freezer bags, so I got busy counting ammo.  After I had finished my count, including the one round I sacrificed to disassemble and weigh, I had just exactly 451 rounds of ammo.  Eric promised us 450 rounds of ammo, so his count was right.

If we consider that the ammo can is worth $9.00, then the ammo cost me $100.00, which comes to 22.2 cents per round, which is a screaming deal for .45 ball ammo.

Thanks Eric, and if you ever have another of these deals, let me know.Again, the link is Ammoman.com.