Uncategorized

Do you name your guns?

Posted on by Caleb

I’ve always wondered about that since it’s not really something that I do.  I’ve called guns by names, but when going in to the safe to get my 686 I say “Oh, I’m getting my 686” or if I have multiples it’ll be something like “I’m just going to grab my primary IDPA revo”.  Things like that.

That’s not to say that I don’t name some inanimate objects – my first car that I bought and paid for with my money was always “Old Girl”, no matter what.  “Here me, Old Girl?  We’ll get through this snow drift just fine”, etc.  My Subaru is named Squeaker, because well, it squeaks.  Actually, when I think about it, I’m much more likely to name and converse with a car than I am with a gun.

I guess I always felt like naming a gun was like naming a baseball bat or a screwdriver; it’s an implement.  But a car, well a car has a soul.  It carries you to adventures, is there for you when you need to get away, it makes sense to me to name a car.  But that’s just me.  So do you guys name your guns?  I’m sure that lots of my readers name their cars, but I’m curious about your guns.  Do you name them and then refer to them by those names?

NRA

Travel to neat places and meet interesting people

Posted on by Caleb

One of the perks of my job is that I get to spend a lot of time meeting gun owners and talking to them.  One of the gun owners I got to spend some time with this weekend was none other than Mr. Completely, the blogger, NRA activist, Steel Challenge champion shooter, and host of the super popular Gun Blogger Rendezvous.  He came by to help with the open house event I was doing at Norpoint Tactical Training Center in Arlington, WA and when we weren’t talking to people about the upcoming election we had a great time talking about Steel Challenge and how to grow one of the better shooting sports out there.

There really isn’t anything better than actually talking to the people that are responsible for buying the guns, going to the range, and doing the casual plinking and purchasing that supports so much of our sport.  Mix that in with the opportunity to meet great guys like Mr. Completely, and is it any wonder I love my job?  Also, speaking of my job – if you’re a resident of Washington and want to get involved in the 2010 midterm Election, head over to NRA Washington 2010’s Facebook page and hit “Like” receive updates and event info.

Uncategorized

Don't Tread on my Gun Rights

Posted on by Caleb

For my readers in the great state of Washington – this weekend I’ll be at Norpoint Tactical Training Center in Arlington, WA getting people signed up to help with the 2010 Election here in Washington.  See that awesome yard sign?  I’ll have a limited supply of them with me, so make sure you stop by tomorrow from 10am-9pm or Sunday 11am-8pm to sign up and get involved!  Or you can just get a free target and a free button, but if you’re like me, maybe you’re tired of the politicians in DC ignoring you and trying to stomp on your right to keep and bear arms.  If you are tired of it, now’s your chance to do something about it.  Come see me this weekend at Norpoint, or if you’re a Washington resident and can’t make it, email me about how to get involved!

Bianchi Cup

Riddle me this, Batman

Posted on by Caleb

More teaser on my upcoming Bianchi Cup 2011 Metallic gun – practicing for the Barricade Stage, one of the hardest stages at the Cup in my opinion.  It’s clearly a revolver, but beyond that it’s pretty hard to tell what exactly it is that I’m shooting.  I will say this though, that gun can shoot.  I was using PMC Bronze 132 grain FMJ because it was cheap and what I had in the ammo can and at 20 yards the gun shot a pretty tight offhand group.

Now, this just isn’t some revolver that I had built for the Cup, no this gun has a story to tell.  Lots of stories to tell, in fact and some that I don’t know and won’t be able to tell on its behalf.  But next May at the 32nd Bianchi Cup I’m going to try and write another chapter in its history – add another story to the list of places and events this revolver has taken part it; and I’m hoping that you’ll come along for the ride.

Oh yeah, that’s right.  It shoots just fine at 20 yards.  Six shots around the barricade in 7 seconds, standard IDPA target.  I do need to get some AP-1 targets for practice starting here pretty soon, but if that was a Bianchi target, that would be 60-6x for sure.  I’m excited about running this gun, and the practice leading up to it!

gun control

A failed attempt at gun control

Posted on by Caleb

I grew up in a house with three brothers all relatively close in age.  With that many boys running around violence, whether simulated or real was a constant factor.  In my youth I recall that my mother tried to experiment with toy gun control.  My dad was a cop, and while we had guns in the house mom was initially opposed to us having toy guns for reasons that remain clouded to me.  Anyway, mom forbade the use of toy guns, which lasted just about as long as it took us to figure out that you could fabricate a toy gun from LEGO and Construx (if your childhood did not include Construx, I weep for you).  Realizing that toy gun control was futile, she then relented and allowed toy guns in the house.

Playing with toy guns, running around yelling “bang” and “I got you” in the So. Cal desert was an integral part of my childhood.  Cops and robbers wasn’t nearly as popular as Army vs. Iraqis; with the Gulf War going off while I was 8 in similar terrain to my home town, it was a natural expansion of the traditional childhood shoot ’em up.

Eventually I started playing video games, first person shooters like Wolfenstein 3D, Dark Forces, and space games such as Wing Commander and TIE Fighter.  The common thread that ties all that together is that people are constantly getting shot with pretend guns.  An 8 year old kid yelling “bang, I got you” is functionally the same as shooting a pixelated Nazi with an equally pixelated SMG.

But even with all that simulated shooting I did as a kid, when I received my first real firearm, I never once pointed it at another person.  The point of all of this is twofold: first that gun control doesn’t work.  The LEGO analogy is apt; we have thousands of skilled machinists and the tools to manufacture firearms in this country.  Even a total ban on guns wouldn’t be able to stop people that needed the weaponry for nefarious purposes from fabricating it.

The 2nd point is more for current gunnies – education is important.  I didn’t get my first firearm until I was 15 or 16, but before that I had gone shooting with my dad, and learned the 4 rules, learned gun safety.  By the time I was12, I understood the difference between my pretend guns and a real gun, and I lived in mortal terror of touching a real gun without and adult around.  I do need to add the caveat that I don’t have kids, so my advice about raising kids around guns is worth precisely what you paid for it!