My SMLE Has Racing Stripes

Inspired by A Girl's posting of her Mosin Nagant fun, I decided to get my SMLE project moving again last night. I originally got a military spec stock from Murphy's Law, but it didn't fit. Oddest thing as it looks just like a MkIII No1 stock but is just slightly too big. I ordered one awhile back and it came with racing stripes.

I got most of it together only to realize there I was staring at a odd screw/spring assembly. Hmmm... 

Turns out it goes here...

It's a spring meant to supply pivot pressure against the nose cap, for reasons I can't discern, and goes in that rather large hole in the underside of the lower forend. To get it on I have to take nearly everything back off... which for most parts wouldn't be too much trouble but the assembly of the trigger guard requires some magic incantation second only, in my experience, to the frustration of trying to get a bolt back into a Mini-14.

Weak

Last week Democratic Senator McCarthy stated that women were to diminutive, weak, and small to properly handle an AR-15 rifle. She came to this conclusion after spending Ladies Night at the range with Barack Obama.

Girly

Since the White House released the picture of Barack Obama playing skeet, there have been some comments floating around about how he was shooting a girly 20 gauge shotgun instead of something more stout like a 12 gauge. That's completely unfair as there are many girls who can easily shoot a 12 gauge shotgun. Barack Obama is just not one of them.

Srsly!

Pennsylvania girl, 5, suspended for threatening to shoot girl with pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles

Somebody needs a talkin' to, and I'm not talking about the little girl.

School To Disarm Guards

Schools in Burien may disarm guards

Anti-gunners are really off their rockers!

Opposition to Armed Teachers

Via Insty a link to this article from The Tennessean: Move to arm teachers picks up steam in TN, Several bills are in works, but opponents say job is best left to the professionals.

If your argument against allowing teachers to conceal carry is that we should have more armed police in schools, you're taking the same position as the NRA. What are you, some sort of gun nut working for the pro-gun lobby?

(And now I see the genius of Wayne LaPierre.)

New Year's Resolution

Did you make any?

Mine is simply to keep up the work I mentioned yesterday.

Which isn't a good resolution, according to the experts on New Year's Resolutions. If you make one, it is suppose to be measurable. And you should be able to measure your success weekly. For instance, if you want to save $600 over the year, you should be checking to see if you've but aside $11 or $12 a week.

Ban the Assault Belly

You've probably seen the picture above before. I've always found it humorous and one day showed it to a co-worker. The immediate reaction was, "Is that you?"

Oh dear! Had I turned into one of those fat, white guys that likes to play with guns? The sad truth was "yes."

Me at 27.

What the heck had happened? Two kids, a mortgage, and a career later and look at me: I'm trading man-boob jokes with MSgt B.

Well, I'm happy to announce that the scale this morning says I've dropped 15 lbs, and my pants are telling me I've shrunk two inches.

There's still some more work to do, but given I started trying this while on a business trip only two months ago I'm fairly happy with the results. My goal actually hasn't been to drop weight but rather eat better (basically, cut way back on the carbs) and to build up strength. That's been accomplished mainly by strength training at the gym, eating less crap, and a mental transition that requires me to do some exercise, no matter what it is, even if it can't be part of my normal routine (sick kids and business travel can really screw with your norms).

Without a belly hanging six inches over my belt line, my carry options have changed. Do you see the gun in the above photos? It's riding Mexican at my appendix. I've been doing that for at least two weeks now and have come to really like it. But that option was never something I would have tried just 2 months ago.

Like I said, I'm really only 2 months into this. With any luck, I can report back in 10 months and check off the box that says "life-style change".

(And yes, that's a new Hoplorati shirt you see.)

2013

I see you folks made it!

Pro-Gun Non-Helpers!

Argghhh! I got some gift cards for Christmas to help out with an ammo purchase for an up-coming run-and-gun at CTone's private range in January. I've noticed the prices are up about 50%.

So thanks a lot all you people who'd rather join a buying frenzy and pay $100s more on your gun stuffs instead of getting over whatever hang-up you have and voting for Mitt or plunking down $25 to join the NRA. With friends like you...

Merry Christmas

To all my friends in the blogosphere, Merry Christmas!

(Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP) was one of the best of the 70's artrock bands.)

Hey Pro-Gun, Non-Romney-Voting Voters

How's that Hopey-Changey workin' out of ya?

Go. Read. Now.

A must read blog post on the issue of mental illness and how the US no longer attempts to treat it without criminal incarceration, written by a mother who had to go down that route.

Laying Wreaths At Arlington National Cemetery

Thanks to all who purchased wreaths to be laid at Arlington through my daughter's American Heritage Girl troop. Today was the day they were set out upon the tombstones, and my daughter's troop was there along with thousands of other Americans from all over the country.

This was the first time I had participated in this, and I was shocked and touched by just how many people showed up on a cold, overcast Saturday morning. Besides the American Heritage Girls, I spotted dozens of local Boy Scout troops, a lot of veteran's organizations, police officers in their dress uniforms from as far away as Portland, Oregon, and ordinary, unaffiliated people who just came to be a part of it.  In all 120,000 wreaths were laid at Arlington. So many people showed up that the four of us only had the opportunity to lay 2 wreaths each.

Stuff And Stuff

Busy week == lack of posts.

Work got a bit hectic, and in the midst of all that my son was sick for two days. He hasn't really had any illness since last year when he spent 5 days in the hospital for pneumonia and a liver infection. Apparently that episode is still fresh in my head, as this weeks dealo initially had the hair on the back of neck standing up, so to speak. But he's fine now and back to driving his parents up the wall and giving his sister fits.

Yesterday I was in Fredericksburg with CTone for the morning. I went there to pick up my steel targets and next thing I know, some runnin' and gunnin' broke out. Funny that!

I was gonna do a post on the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise, but Old NFO beat me to it. The Big 'E' will be back in about 15 years as CVN-80. Even Wikipedia is anticipating it. The also have a page on the ships previously named Enterprise, including CV-6. BTW, if you've never seen the History Channel's Battle 360 series, which is about CV-6 in WWII, I highly recommend it.