Paid My Dues . . .

¶ . . . For my 2006 membership in my gun club . . . gotta be sure my access card is functioning so I can get some immediate trigger time when I get my rifle!!

Five To Go . . .

¶ . . . Until I take delivery of my '73!! Talk about "looking forward"!!

. . . I haven't left the job with the sun still shining in three weeks, but I should be able to get at least one more firearm out of all the overtime. No complaints, I do like my work, a lot! We've just had some major modifications on our machines and the things I've learned have been a big bonus, too. It has, however, cut into my trigger time; I did want to shoot  Mr. Completely's e-Postal #5 and I've missed two matches . . .

. . . It's all bully!!

The Ten-Day Clock . . .

¶ . . . Commenced ticking today! I purchased my Uberti 1873 this afternoon. However, it's coming through Walker '47 in City of Orange. They got right on the phone to check availability and set me up right on the spot. I'm a sucker for service expediency, gets me every time! What a cool store! Spent some time talking to the good folks there, as Cowboy-style weapons are new to me, and a great time it was. Lots of neat apparel there, too, for those of a Frontier bent.

Aberdeen Proving Ground . . .

¶ . . . As promised! Sorry for the delay, but the demands of the job, blah, blah, blah . . .

. . . The day after my Gettysburg trip I made the run up to Aberdeen Proving Ground, long on my "To See" agenda. The APG is a rather large and quite nice base, and security measures were in effect, serpentine at the entrance and I.D. check. On the parkway near the entrance you are immediately treated to a show of armor.


The acreage surrounding the museum is home to many pieces of armor, from WW I through the Vietnam era. I'll keep the blethering to a minimum and just post a few pics.     Here's a Panzer assortment:


    A couple of PzkpfwIV's:



    I was awed by the size of the Panthers: they're enormous!! I was up at Camp Pendleton's School Of Infantry Friday and there are a couple of captured modern Russian tanks there, a T-55 and a T-62, from the '91 Gulf War and they don't appear to be as large.


    Of course, there was the dreaded 88:


    Speaking of Russians, these from WWII also appeared larger than their modern counterparts:


    And here's yours truly with Anzio Annie. I just learned that "Anzio Annie" was a battery comprised of two of these rail guns, "Leopold" and "Robert"; the one below is Leopold:


    The museum itself is rather small but houses an excellent collection of machine guns, Maxims to SAW's, several .50's, etcetera. There's a gift shop where you can get the requisite Flaming Bomb swag to commemorate your visit. If you're in the area, check it out. I don't know of any other place with examples of WWII armor like this, so this in itself lends value to a visit.

Phoned It In . . .

¶ . . . to the FGR, my 1873 order; the gent was quite attentive and seemed pleased when I laid the rifle's stock number on him. He said he will check availability tomorrow (I called late in the day) . . .

¶ . . . On the same subject, what's the story on EMF (Hartford)? Are they importers or what? From the website, the guns look the same as Ubertis, but stock numbers are different.

    Talk to me . . .

Fickle, Capricious, Impulsive . . .

¶ . . . Call it what you will:
    I went shopping today for the Mossberg 590 I mentioned previously, but as I have also mentioned previously I am enamored of lever guns; that may be somewhat strange for an IPSC shooter. Anyway, I was handling the fine Uberti 1873 Rifle and I've got to have it!


I would have just bought it today, but the two in stock had the checkered sporter/pistol grip stock and, though beautiful, I prefer the straight "saddle" type. The gun stores I ended up in, owned by the same folks, were great, indeed: Fowler Gun Room in Orange and Stockade in Westminster. Therefore, the previously unnamed store, although 35 miles closer, has been 86'ed!! Verily!!
    They say they will order for me; I hope this goes well. . .

. . . I'm still gonna get that scattergun, though!!

Shotgun Shopping . . .

¶ . . . Inspired by the "Disaster Gun" postings of recent months,this past Monday I went to buy a shotgun at a local gun store. The model pictured below is what I have in mind:


    It's a Mossberg Model 590 A1, Ghost Rings and the metal trigger guard. Anyway, I gave the dude all the info, was willing to buy right then, and he tells me, "The well is dry." What? Is it some kind of rare item or something? Then he just kinda wanders away. I thought that maybe he would take my number or something to see what they could do, after all, their sign says, "Don't see it here? We'll special order it for you!!" What drivel! Unfortunately, I can't cop my stock attitude of "They're 86'ed," as we suffer from a dearth of gun stores her in So Kal (and "Turner's Outdoorsman" doesn't quite get it for me!)
    I saw some websites for some rather large-appearing gun stores in Orange County, so I think I'll just cruise on down there this Monday (Tomorrow!!).
    Wish me luck!!

Gettysburg . . .

¶ . . . Always one of my life-long goals, my second weekend in Maryland was a pilgrimage to the Arch-Memorial, in my opinion, to our Civil War Fallen, North and South. What a gorgeous place! For those that have already visited, you'll already understand the sentiment of reverance, too.
        My first stop was a quick visit to the Visitor Center and Museum (Quick, because I was going to try to make Antietam Battlefield the same day. The best laid plans . . . that didn't happen!). Magnificent! There is an excellent collection of weapons from the period and the Gift Shop is THE place for purchase of Civil War publications. Here I purchased the cassette for the two-hour Auto Tour (should have bought the three-hour one!). Two hours was more like five! Here I am with my little cassette player near the first day's action that July of 1863, McPherson Ridge.


        Up to the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and by the Lutheran Seminary, a beautiful drive southward along Seminary Ridge, where I stand pictured below.


        Warfield Ridge, on the southern end of Seminary Ridge, is where this observation tower stands, affording a killer panoramic view of the battlefield.


        Below are the two Round Tops as seen from the tower, Little Round left and Big Round right.


        I've arrived at Little Round Top which affords some hiking trails into some neat woods. I'm going to walk along the top to see the many monuments erected there.


        Here's the view from Little Round Top looking down upon the Devil's Den.


        From here at the Devil's Den I had to call my Pop with the basic "Check out where I'm at!!"


        I'm sure many are familiar with this famous photograph, taken after the battle:


        Well, I certainly was and one of my day's goals was to find the spot; fortunately it's clearly marked!


        Here I am seated there:


        The plaque explains the photograph (it was staged) and states that the body was found about forty yards to your rear, from your view of the above picture, and moved up to the wall. The soldier fell in reality around the area shown below.


        The Slaughter Pen, below and adjacent to the Devil's Den:


        Here, near The Peach Orchard, is a unique monument: a Minie ball!


        Another view of it:


        Notice here, near Plum Run, where the cannonball had punctured the barn; this today is still a private residence!


        It was stated in the tape I purchased that there are 1340 monuments that have been erected in the park. You have a better chance of visiting the 253 markers spread all over the rather large territory of Nevada than you have of finding the time to see all of Gettysburg's! They're everywhere, along with multitudes of cannons!! Many here are quite elaborate, but by far the most auspicious is the Pennsylvania Memorial.


        Nearing the end of my visit, here I am at Spangler's Spring, on the eastern side of the park and Cemetery Ridge, near Culp's Hill. These were some gorgeous woods, even in wintertime.


        I'm heading now to Cemetery Ridge, coming from Culp's Hill, below.


        Naturally, the tour ends on Cemetery Ridge (Not really: East of the main park you can visit the East Cavalry Battlefield Site!) Below is "The Copse of Trees" (I'm looking up the meaning of "copse" now!).


        Cemetery Ridge and "The Angle" . . .



        . . . and the site on Cemetery Ridge of "Pickett's Charge."


¶ . . . For some time previously, my son and my father had recommended The Killer Angels, which you can see on my "Current Read" sidebar. I stopped at a bookstore on my way back to the hotel and picked it up. It is a great, Pulitzer Prize-winning "historical fiction" account of the Gettysburg battle and reading it after having been to the sites described in the book is nothing less than fantastic. Don't pass up a chance to visit the park! It is one of the High Points of my travels, one I shall never forget.

¶ . . . STAY TUNED! Next up: ARMOR!! (Hopefully sooner than later; still working late!!)

VileBill Treks Eastward . . .

¶ . . . And what a fantastic trek, indeed! For the better part of the past month I was out on the East Coast, Baltimore to be more precise, on a training mission. It was the first time I had been to the East and it was fantastic! So much to see, I'll be venturing back in the, hopefully, near future . . .
. . . The weekdays belong to "The Outfit," but the weekends were mine! My first trip was a 220 mile run to see my aunt up in the northernmost corner of New Jersey. A real nice rural area, across the Delaware River from the Poconos. How Currier & Ives - like, the guys out with their spaniels hunting pheasants . . . like in their own neighborhood! Here I am getting a rare chance to put on my cold weather gear:

¶ . . . I just wanted for now to get it out there that I was back in town and I've got some more (Quite a few, actually!) fotos to post (Some you'll think are pretty cool, I believe). Check out "VileBill's Current Read" for a foreshadowing of the trip to a site that is one of the High Points of my life.
  They're going to go down here for maintenance, they say, at nine o'clock, so I'll sign off for now.

STAY TUNED!!

I Thought . . .

¶ . . . this was pretty funny:



. . . Courtesy of Stop The ACLU.

Squad - In - A - Box . . .

¶ . . . Two of them!
   Ist MarDiv, with heavy weapons . . .


    . . . and the German 716th Infantry Division . . .


. . . Along with the aircraft, a Corsair and a Stuka, Christmas presents from my sister!
   GET SOME!!

Check Out The Camp Katrina Blog . . .

¶ . . . I got an e-Mail from Spc. Phil Van Treuren, Ohio National Guard, JAG Corps, giving me a thumbs up on my blog! He was mobilized in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and he and some of his chums have started an eponymous blog, Camp Katrina. It highlights many of the U.S. Military's humanitarian efforts worldwide as well as some other fine, interesting, and humorous entries. It is quite well done! Sure to be of interest to those of our ilk! I see that our friend Cowboy Blob has already blogrolled it and C.B. is on the Katrina blogroll . . . !
. . . Spc. Phil, consider yourself blogrolled here . . . !
GET SOME!!

My Seven By Seven . . .

¶ . . . Seven . . .
   Things To Do Before I Die . . .
      · Summit the Sierra Crest at the Palisades
      · Get out of L.A.
      · Learn to play my Stratocaster
      · Learn to ride a horse
      · Build and live in a log home
      · Trace the route of the Corps of Discovery
      · Shoot in the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio
   Things I Cannot Do (Presently, anyway!) . . .
      · Remember Numbers
      · Go to the head without something to read
      · Shoot with both eyes open (and I’m opposite side dominant, to          boot!)
      · Own a home in Southern Kalifornia (nor do I want to!!)
      · Visit enough ghost towns
      · Ride a horse
      · Shoot steel plates skillfully
   Things That Attract Me To . . . (The Sierra Nevada and Environs)
      · The whole Comstock Lode thing just enthralls me
      · Lake Tahoe
      · I gauge contentment with an altimeter
      · If I fish and get skunked, so what?
      · Mining!
      · It’s a spiritual thing!
      · Alpenglow
   Things I Say Most Often . . .
      · Dude . . . !
      · That’s weak . . . !
      · What a d**k!
      · There’s nothing to it!
      · Astonishing!
      · That kinda shit doesn’t happen to me!
      · What’s up with that?
   Books Or Series I Love . . .
      · Mail Call (History Channel)
      · Wild West Tech (History Channel)
      · The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
      · Bonanza
      · Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years
      · Citizen Soldiers, Stephen E. Ambrose
      · The Dirt: Confessions Of The World’s Most Notorious Rock          Band, Motley Crue
         (Yes! Something trashy in my bibliography!)
   Movies I Watch Over and Over (More than once, anyway) . . .
      · Band Of Brothers
      · Lonesome Dove (Original series)
      · The Decline Of Western Civilization: The Metal Years
      · The Outlaw Josey Wales
      · Saving Private Ryan
      · Hang ‘Em High
      · The Wild Bunch
   Suckers I Want To Infect . . .
      · Brother-blog Journal Yellow
      · The rest of my regular Gunbloggers have been infected already!

Can't Live Without It . . .

¶ . . . I broke the one that my buddy gave me, at a match, and soon found I was just too weak to fill my mags all the way! Where I normally load (.45) 17 rounds (and a couple mags I can get 18), I found I could only get 15 into the magazine. Not a whole lot better than shooting Limited 10. Fortunately at the match the week following another chum had one for me to borrow.
Making the Brownells order now . . .

Cheap Or Frugal . . . ?

¶ . . . There's a razor's edge between them. As I enter my fourth year of IPSC/USPSA competition and of course "rolling my own," I have not bought one piece of brass. Until now. Normally I just police (read: scrounge!) the range during the match and just use/re-use what I find. Shooting a .45, the brass appears to hold up well for multiple loads. Recently, however, I've been lazy, so I ran out after loading for last month's outing at Prado. Noticing a few five-gallon buckets of mixed brass that had been raked up off the range that week, I asked the range master if any of it was for sale.
  "Twenty bucks and return the bucket."
  Not really knowing how much of it was .45 but being a gambling man, I went for it, one filthy bucket o' brass. Well, it paid off: their was lots of .45 and almost all of it looked to be once fired, at least 1500 pieces! It wasn't really too bad separating it out, maybe an hour and a half. Still, next time I might go to The BrassMan; it costs more but no filth to sift through and it's already cleaned. For those of you shooting .40 S&W, there really is no need for the filth; The BrassMan's .40 is really dirt cheap!
  GET SOME . . . !

The Stoopid (5 Weird Things) Meme . . .

¶ . . . has been visited upon me, courtesy of Jerry the Geek, so give me some time and I'll punch it out in the next day or so. At first I thought I was getting the 7 x 7, and I started to work that one up, so I'll throw that one in, too . . . !

A Range Report . . .

¶ . . . as requested by my bud Marc at Lay Lines is, alas, none too interesting; without photos, though a fine match,indeed, it's kind of a "you had to be there" type deal. With scoring, taping, magazine loading and maintenance, I'm finding it difficult to "multi-task" with camera and pistol, a la Jerry The Geek. Being my home club, I also am involved in the setup. Plus I need a better zoom . . . I do hope, however, to change this sorry tune as I figure that as I enjoy seeing pics from your guys' matches, you might enjoy some of mine . . .
¶ . . . Here's one bit of positive news: Chances are somewhat good I'll be ejecting from Kalifornia with a transfer to The Battle-Born State real soon . . . Stay tuned!!

The Busy Christmas Season . . .

¶ . . . affords ample opportunity for overtime at my "outfit," so I've not had a lot of computer/weblog time; I still, however, try to read a little from those of you who have become my favorites and have been kind enough to comment on my stuff and send me e-mails . . .
. . . Most recently: I took my son out again for another fine round of IPSC shooting. He did quite a bit better, in my opinion, and I believe that we have yet another participant in our sport. We'll know for sure when he turns 21 and we start to see handgun and gear purchases!! As for now, he has expressed interest in getting a long gun, as at 18 years of age it's permitted. Get Some . . . !
. . . For the time being, he's at the USMC's School Of Infantry, located at scenic Camp Pendleton, California. OORAH!!

First - Time Shooter . . . !

¶ . . . I went once again, my second visit, to shoot the match with the Prado IPSC group, and what a disgusting performance! More on that to follow . . .
. . . The outing was a success, however, as I rigged up my son to shoot his first match! His basics, stance, grip, observance of safety protocols, focus, and overall attitude were very good. Good job! In fact, I detected no real first time jitters, at least not as much as I perceived my own my first time out. He'll get one more go at it at my home club's monthly match this Sunday before he reports to Camp Pendleton on Tuesday . . .

¶ . . . Some thoughts on my rancid performance;they may or may not be reasons, but they're definitely not excuses:

• I was a little preoccupied with my son being comfortable for his first match


• Shooting in a small squad of four, didn't have much "prep" time between stages


• Finally got classified in Limited ("C" !!) two days prior and wasn't too concerned with doing well on Tight Squeeze, which I always nertz anyway (!)


• I don't practice (Weak!)

   All in all, a big crock, but no excuse. This week I'll shoot my game and make a good effort. I'd like to get a "B" classification this coming year and with a little more awareness and diligence on my part, there's no reason I can't realize it. I am also going to submit the request for my 2006 vacation periods to coincide with some of the major matches, those above the club level. Area 2, Dundee Practical Shooters' (Oregon) "Croc Match," and "The Silver Buckle Challenge" (Sage Pistol League, Ridgecrest, CA) come to mind. There are challenges there and more fun and adventure to boot . . . !

I'm A Proud Father Of . . . A United States Marine!!

¶ . . . Indulge me, but I'm beaming!! What more can I say? My wife, daughter, and I returned today with our son from the two-day graduating ceremonies at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and I really can't express how exciting it all was! Thursday was "Family Day." The day started with an opportunity for one to see their Marines begin their "Moto Run," or Motivational Run, their final run together as a company. It's also the first time you have seen your Marine in 13 weeks, and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a couple tears of pride as I saw my son. This is also the day of the Emblem Ceremony, where the men are awarded the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and are officially bestowed the title of United States Marine. Again, a couple more unubashed tears.

Five hours of Base Liberty afterward gave ample time for an unforgettable visit (Of course, this father's questions tended to drift frequently to what "trigger time" was like!!). What I thought was real neat, and by my son's account the sentiments of the Drill Insructors, also, was that they received their Emblems on the occasion of The Marine Corps Birthday . . .

. . . Today, Friday, was the Graduation Ceremony, an impressive display of pageantry, indeed. And a packed house it was! Both days we were blessed with good weather, as the rain let up in the daytime hours. A good son by any account previously, still the change is remarkable. The aura of personal responsibility and deportment , in all the men, is overwhelming. By noontime, however, it was all over, and the weeks of anticipation, the wondering, the writing and receiving of letters, all seemed to have gone by so fast. One could not help wishing that the moment could last a little longer . . .
. . . I must add, the base has a fine "Command Museum." If you get a chance, check it out. It's open to the public and is free of charge. Obviously there are weapons but one display I really was impressed by was "The California Room"; I really liked the paintings of The Marines in The Mexican War, by Colonel Charles Waterhouse. They look to me to be in the style of frontier artists Russell and Remington, artwork I hold a real passion for. Also, I haven't been yet, but my mother and father, who also attended and spent some more time in town, went to and recommend a visit to the carrier USS Midway. Apparently it is presently San Diego's number one attraction . . .
   Get Some!!