Since I can never gratify my huge ego enough, here’s another installment in Way Too Random, from Amanda.
For the record, cutesy girly faces do creep me out.
A little muzzleloading story
I chant when I shoot muzzleloaders. If you listen carefully during the loading process, you can hear me muttering “powder, patch, ball” under my breath as I load. This action is a byproduct of a humiliating experience in my teens that involved spending about 45 minutes trying to extract a .54 caliber roundball from the barrel of a rifle. Hypothetically speaking, yours truly might have forgotten the “powder” portion of “powder, patch, ball”.
Some people just don’t “get” muzzleloading; and I confess that a sport where it takes a matter of minutes to fire a single shot doesn’t seem to have the fun factor of a semi-automatic .223. I’ve mentioned the romantic appeal of muzzleloading firearms, but they do have some drawbacks, like I mentioned above.
Of course, the best quote I’ve ever heard about muzzleloading was comparing front-stuffers to one of the other most finicky things in the world.
Ahab, a good muzzleloader is like a good woman. Sure, sometimes you’ll want to toss the whole fucking thing in the lake and get something that doesn’t require so much goddamn work, but then every time your touch her, you forget all that bad stuff – the fouled bores, the nitpicky attention to detail, everything. It’s just like a woman, if you treat them right, they’ll treat you right.
I’m sure that there’s a joke in there somewhere about ramrods, but that would be juvenile. And God knows I’d never indulge in juvenile humor, no sir not me.
The continuing adventures of Ahab
In the field of fictional gunshop ownership, as drawn by Amanda at Planet-Bob.
I would also like to note that the Bambi eyes only work coming from Mrs. Ahab – although I fear the ability of any potential daughters I may have.
A house divided cannot stand
Which means I’ll be watching the Sox-Yankees game on the little pissant bedroom TV while Mrs. Ahab watches the American Idol finale on the HDTV in the living room.
I’ve also discovered that marriage is not a democracy – and I have no avenue to appeal for a redress of grievances, chiefly the injurious hosing of my cheese based snacks.
That damn open carry thing
So, with the recent shooting in Moscow, Idaho in the news, it also seems that a couple of kids from Idaho are similarly making headlines. Admittedly, their headlines aren’t for going around plugging people, but rather for them exercise their right to carry…openly.
Zach Doty, 18, carries a loaded Glock handgun on his hip. His 15-year-old brother, Steven, carries a .22-caliber rifle in a sling on his back.
Police have been called on several occasions to question the teens but have not found the teens to be in violation of the law.
In Idaho, residents 18 and older can openly carry a firearm in public. And those ages 13 to 17 who have parental permission can carry a rifle in public.
I like open carry as it appeals to the part of me that doesn’t feel like I should have to hide a handgun any more than one would hide a screwdriver. Sebastian looks at the issue from the point of the context of your situation, inasmuch that if he (or I) saw someone with a slung rifle in Kroger it would definitely grab our attention. I generally agree with that; I also agree with SailorCurt who pointed out in the comments that the kids were doing this specifically to get a reaction.
Like I said above, I like open carry. I can carry a more effective firearm with a higher level of personal comfort openly than I can concealed; and I also wouldn’t ever have to wear any article of clothing with the word “tactical” in it. The biggest problem with open carry though isn’t from me; it’s in the reactions of the people that witness open carry.
Generally, when people see a person with a gun strapped on in public, they have one of two reactions: A) “Oh, he must be a cop”, and B) “WTF CALL THE POLICE”. The 2nd reaction is generally the one I’d like to avoid. Hardcore advocates of OC will say that carrying openly gives you the chance to educate people on gun rights; I really disagree.
Guns (and gun owners) are negatively stereotyped all the time in this country. Like I’ve said before, if we want to keep our 2nd Amendment intact, the people we need to win to our side are the Joe Sixpacks and Suzy Soccermom’s in their Volvos. Tying your heater on and strolling through the public square is a great way to reinforce the “cowboy gunfighter” image of gun owners.
Worse yet, it’s not even our fault that we do that; most open carry advocates are responsible gun owners. It sucks, because we can’t even penetrate that first layer of stereotypes; honestly I think that if you’re open carrying it makes it even harder to educate people about the gun rights. Most people just see that heater and assume something negative.
When I was growing up “in the church”, a common phrase used on us teenagers was that we should “live our witness”; or to let how we acted be the loudest message of our faith. I always felt like that was a good message, and it’s a message that applies to gun owners as well. We’re all ambassadors of our sport/hobby/right to our non-gunny friends. I might sound a bit preachy here, but it’s of critical importance that we don’t do stupid shit like go around happily reinforcing silly-assed negative stereotypes about gun owners.
I love open carry, and I wish that I lived in a country where it was common and accepted. Unfortunately, it’s not and I don’t – and I’m not going to win anyone over by tying on a Glock and running around yelling “whatever, whatever, I’ll do what I want”.
I wuz just a poor kid
Edwards also said all young people should serve their country, “not just poor kids who get sent to war.”
Insulting, and stupid! All in one handy phrase. Thanks, John Edwards, for reminding us how far out of touch you really are.
I have nothing else to say about that.
I don’t know what I’d do with it
But I freakin’ want one. Picked up from Shooting The Messenger, a 20mm magazine fed rifle is the pinnacle of “I don’t need one, but I sure do want one.”
For the record, that is the exact same 20mm cannon round that is found in the F-16 Falcon, the F/A-18E Super Hornet, and the F-22 Raptor. Of course, in those babies it’s coming from a Vulcan gatling gun.
All that’s left now is for someone to produce a shoulder fired version of the GAU/8 Avenger.
I must down to the seas again…
…which as anyone of a half-decent education should know is the opening line to Sea-Fever, a poem by John Masefield.
By way of CNN and LawDog, I have found much to my dismay that the Cutty-Sark, the fastest ship of her class ever built has been severely damaged by a fire. There is a belief that the fire may have been intentionally set, and I agree with LawDog in that someone who would burn a ship that lovely on purpose needs to be dragged through the streets and shot in the mouth.
There is nothing quite as lovely as a vessel under full sail. Like all cadets at the Coast Guard Academy, I spent a summer on USCGC EAGLE, which when it comes to ships is quite simply “where it is at”. I had the (mis)fortune of greatly enjoying my time underway, and acquired a taste for sail which is difficult to sate in landlocked Indiana.
While I would not call myself a salty man by any stretch of the word, operating under sail is quite simply the best way to go. If I can convince my wife, our “cruise” vacation will be on one of these.
From time to time I find myself staring out the window of my office, and my mind drifts away to the snap of canvas in the wind, the feel of line in my hands, and the feel of the deck beneath my feet. I can almost smell the saltwater now…
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face and a grey dawn breaking.
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide,
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
Stand your ground
I’m link stealing from Sebastian today, although he’s stealing from Joe Huffman anyway. The gist of the question posed is that if an armed loony is plugging things, should/would you attempt to engage that person and cease their threat?
A while back, I sort of answered that question in this post, in so far as I feel that my obligation to defend my fellow citizens ends as soon as those actions put the life of my family in jeopardy. I’m a little disappointed that when I switched to Haloscan for my comments all the original comments on the site disappeared, as that post had some excellent discussion.
To reiterate my point made there, I believe that as a citizen who is not a cop or a soldier, my obligation to defend “my fellow man” doesn’t extend past my family. I agree wholeheartedly with Sebastian in that if I could secure my own area and made sure that my responsibilities were covered, only then would I take a shot if I had the opportunity.
It all goes back to the way I was raised, and by that I mean “traditionally”. I am responsible for the safety of my family, which means that I’ll take the action I deem most effective at providing the highest level of safety for that family. My in-depth research indicates that going looking for a gunfight is generally counterproductive to the my safety, and the safety of my family.
Nanci Pelosi has a question for you
Which she posted on Yahoo! Answers, in an attempt (I assume) to find out what the little people think.
I didn’t post an answer there, because about 1/3 of the way down the page, someone said this:
I would like to see congress stop trying to regulate my life. What ever they do it will:
1) Cost me and other taxpayers much more than it should
2) Create more problems than it solves
3) Result in loss of liberty and freedom
Yeah, that seems about right for our good old gubb’mint.
You know what’s weird though? I don’t like our dependency on foreign oil. I’d like to see more personal vehicles that run on alternative power. I believe that we should be good stewards of this planet, because the technology for terra-forming the moon isn’t coming along as fast as I’d like.
What I don’t think is that Congress has any business telling me exactly how I should live my life. If I choose to exercise some personal responsibility and be a good steward of my planet, good for me. I’m just sick and tired of the government, Republican or Democrat, telling me what is and isn’t good for me.