« Food Thread: AI Or Too Much Chocolate...You Choose The Form Of The Destroyer! | Main | Sunday Overnight Open Thread (9/4/22) »

Gun Thread: Labor Day Weekend Edition!

Vigorous Labor Day celebration

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Well with Labor Day, the semi-official end of summer is upon us. How in the holy hell did that happen? We could spel it LaboUr Day, like the Brits do, but that'd be slightly, well, non-hetero. Plus, I seem to recall any celebration of Labor makes you a Commie and we sure as hell-fire don't want that! In other news, I will be making a trip to the farm-o soon-o to do maintenance on stuff and maybe even some shooting. Stay tuned for more on that.

Q: Weasel, will you please shut up and get to the gun stuff, below?
A: With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

******
TXMoMe Shooting Festivities

This seems like a good time to talk a little bit about the upcoming shooting program at the TXMoMe. What started years ago as an informal plinking session lasting a couple of hours has matured into a full program of shooting activities over two days. I have to thank Ben Had, Cow Horse Queen and RancherBob for allowing the shooting to comprise such a significant portion of the TXMoMe.

For a while I have been conducting a Rifle Clinic on Friday morning follwed by range time Friday afternoon and then again well in to Saturday. We have also been steadily refining the handgun portion of the program to now include an IDPA-esque move-and-shoot pistol course designed and run by Ben Had and Nurse R, as well as the usual static pistol range for those who prefer that.

Anyhoo, here's a very rough outline of the schedule of events. Times are tentative and subject to modification/change. I'll move this down to the TXMoMe section below in the coming weeks and update as necessary.

Friday, 10/21
Rifle Program
8am - 10:30am: Rifle Clinic (carport)
11:30am - 1pm: Rifle Clinic, Intro to Wind Estimation (rifle range)
1pm - 4pm: Live fire (rifle range)

Handgun Program
10:30am - Noon: Handgun Clinic (carport)
1pm - 2:30pm: Static live fire (pistol range)
2:30 - 4pm: Briefing and Move & Shoot live fire (pistol range)

Saturday, 10/22
Rifle Program
8:30am - 1pm: Live fire (rifle range)

Handgun Program
9am - 1pm: Live fire (pistol range)

Again, these times are approximate and may change as weather conditions and participation warrant. I have been doing the same presentation on rifles for a number of years now, so if you would like me to cover new or different material, just mention it in the comments or send me an email!

******
Gun O' the Week
This week our pal Blake shares a pic and story of a nifty little Taurus in .357 Magnum.

This little Taurus 5 shot revolver holds a special place in my gun life.

I bought this bad boy at an Arizona gun shop over two decades ago. I bought this particular firearm, as I'd had an incident which lead me to believe I best be armed as much as possible. This was my first encounter with AZ gun laws, in that one walks in, puts down the money, and, after the gun shop does the background check, one walks out with the firearm.

This particular firearm was bought used. The trigger on it pulls back like it's gliding on glass; it's so incredibly smooth. However, it is a handful when loaded with .357 Magnum rounds, but shoots beautifully loaded with 38 Special +P.

Obviously, the sights are rudimentary, and, shooting at anything over 10 yards away can be an adventure.

Fun little firearm to shoot, though.

Nice, Blake! Thank you for sharing!

Want to see your favorite, or least favorite, firearm on the Gun Thread? Email me a picture and its story to share! Please don't forget to include your nic unless you want to be a lurker.

******
Next up, our pal Second City Lurker shares a range report!

We were shooting shape targets at 30'. Shooter on the left is my coach (I hate him). Shooter on the right is your friend -- Second City Lurker.

A couple of interesting things on the shapes. We started shooting at the bottom and worked our way up. The bottom row is with Coach Tim's brand new 4.5" Python. A mix of regular and 357 magnum loads. Coach is spot on; SCL is messy. SCL is not a regular shooter of revolvers, though I do love me those magnums!

The targets above -- S and Z -- represent taking great advice from the Sunday Gun Thread. Use a laser to work on your push! Wow, and Amen to that. I'd been working on rapid fire drills and gotten sloppy with my trigger control.

Z is pretty much doing things as they should be done. S is yet another lesson. The "stuff" is the result from what Coach T likes to call (more like shout in my ear) AIMING. Which I translate as not putting enough concentration on covering the target with/focusing on the front sight. The corrected rounds are where they should be.

Another one of his favorites goes something like: "Stop looking at the target and shoot."

There's a whole host of other things to learn here ... LOL

Oh FWIW ... I'm adding a Center Target too. This is from the week before; also 21'. You can see the lessons being learned. Shots at 9:00 in the 7 and 8 rings were an improvement. I'd been pushing Left AND Down. Shots in 9 and 10 rings came with more attention to fire control.

This is such fun when you start to get things right. We were shooting up some old .45 LC last week ... 15' in the Ruger Vaquero. A complete hoot. The ammo had been in a flood and I never disposed of it ... and at 10 years later, I looked it over and thought it might be good to fire. Yay!

Nice shooting, Second City Lurker! Thank you for sending these in to share!

******
Next up, our pal blaster shares a range report and some fancy shootin' by our pal and delightful 'ette, Sharon(willows apprentice)!

Ed L brought his snakes and we did a drill where we were shooting 25 yards at a silhouette and emptying the gun in less than 10 seconds. He pulled out a 2 inch barrel Cobra in .357 and he and I got 4 on the paper. And then Sharon shot it.

Holy Crap! What have you people done to Sharon(willows apprentice)?! Last time I had the pleasure of shooting with her, she was plinking with a .22! Very nicely done by all involved!

******
From the "I Need This" Files
Our pal Hogmartin shares an accessory!

******
47 Days!
The countdown to the TXMoMe continues! That's right, boys and girls, the TXMoMe is a mere 47 days from today, and by now you should be rushing your MoMe attendance plans to completion. There are lots of big doin's in the works and your hosts Rancher Bob, Cow Horse Queen and Ben Had are ready to welcome YOU to the festivities! Have you signed up? Are you on the exclusive guest list, or are you one of the mentally defective people who always finds a reason to make it next year?

PRO TIP: Word has it there may be some, well let's just call them "exotic" weapons, available to shoot in Texas. I don't want to go into a bunch of specifics, but if you like shooting at a high cyclic rate, plan on bringing a box of brass case 9mm ball ammo (example) with you to Texas. Please, NO reloads!

Q: Weasel, what the heck is a "high cyclic rate"?
A: Well, it's faster than a low cyclic rate such as that found on semi-automatic weapons.

Q: Weasel, why do I want to do that?
A: Because it is mucho fun-o, and an opportunity that many of you might not have often.

As long as we're on the subject, if you aren't planning to bring a firearm and ammo, but plan on shooting, please pick up a box or two of ammo in the caliber you like and bring it to Texas. Each year we have lots and lots of guns, and even more shooters, and it's nice have the cost and effort needed to source the ammunition spread around a bit. We want to make the shooting available to as many as possible, and cover those who want to shoot but for whatever reason cannot bring ammo, so every little bit helps. Thank you!

Holy Shitballs, people. Have I not implored and cajoled you enough? Do you require additional imploring and cajoling? I challenge you to find a single person who has attended a TXMoMe and not found it to be a life altering experience. Life altering for the good even! So please quit screwing around and making up reasons not to commit and start planning on getting your ass to Texas in October!

You will see this material again, so for heaven's sake, so do yourself a favor and email Ben Had for details!

******
More on Ammo for Texas
Let's talk a little more about bringing ammunition to the TXMoMe. The options are buy it at home and ship it UPS, buy it at home and ship it in your airline checked baggage, or just buy it once you get to Texas.

Let's begin with the easiest, first. Texas is awash in shooting and outdoor stores, and you really shouldn't have any trouble using this option. There are a lot of sporting goods stores on the south side of Dallas and in the towns all the way down I-45 to Corsicana. A quick internet search should return several options, and you might want to identify a couple before you leave home. Next, there is a store in Corsicana, Brinson PowerSports, that has a generally reliable stock of major calibers, although ammo is not listed on their website. I'd suggest calling first and asking if they have what you're looking for. The physical address and phone number is:

Brinson PowerSports
1931 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Corsicana, TX 75110
903-229-4330

Honestly, sourcing ammo locally seems like the most logical choice to me, but for those of you with special needs, it's pretty easy to fly with ammunition in your checked baggage. Here I am speaking in very general terms and it is incumbent upon YOU to check in advance with your airline, confirm the requirements, and comply with them.

Southwest Airlines is a popular option into the Dallas area, and I have found them to be gun friendly as far as these things go. Here is what I found on the Southwest Airlines Special Baggage webpage:

Packing Ammunition Small arms ammunition for personal use (provided it is properly packed) is permissible in checked baggage only.

The ammunition may be placed in the same container as the firearm and must be securely packed in cardboard (fiber), wood, or metal boxes, or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition.

Ammunition Limits
When checking ammunition, Customers are limited to 11 pounds (ammunition plus container) per person. Gunpowder (black powder) and primers or percussion caps are not allowed in checked or carryon baggage.

Loose ammunition or loose loaded magazines and/or clips are not allowed. Paintballs must be packaged in a leak-proof container and will be subject to limited release.

So my read is that ammunition in its original cardboard container is all you need, and it does not have to be locked inside another container inside your bag as required for a firearm, and you are allowed up to 11 pounds carried in this fashion. Although the instructions are silent on declaring the ammunition to airline personnel, again as you must do when transporting a firearm, I think it's probably a good idea to do so. You may or may not be allowed to check your baggage curbside when traveling with ammunition, so be prepared for a little extra time at the counter. Again, this is my interpretation and as we all know I am mostly full of shit, so check for yourselves.

Every airline has a section like this on their website, usually found in the baggage section, and you may have to dig around a little to find it. I also recommend printing your specific airline's policy and bringing it with you on the trip, just in case you need to help the ticket agent understand how to do their job. I will say in all the years of flying all over the country to matches, I have never once had any problem with airline personnel and their rules and have always found them well informed and helpful.

Finally, if you are really a special needs shooter, our bestest buddy and pal and host RancherBob has offered to allow people to ship their ammunition to the ranch. I would recommend this only in very unique circumstances where very specific ammunition is required and neither of the other, simpler options will work. If this is you, then contact me for details. I have shipped ammunition via UPS in the past and it works, but there are strict packaging and labeling requirements and also necessitates you visit an actual UPS location rather than a retail shipping store. Also remember, you cannot ship ammunition via USPS.

Questions? Just ask!

******
Musical Interlude
More Joe Bonamassa! This time we have The Ballad of John Henry one of my favorites to see live. Believe it or not, they're almost a little laid back in this version.

******
Gun Basics 101
Digging back into the She Equips Herself gal archives, we have a Q&A on Concealed Carry.

******

Cigar of the Week

Q: Weasel, what are you smoking tonight?
A: Thank you for asking! A Romeo y Julieta Media Noche

***
Here is the Cigar Vixen gal with a look at a Leather Rose Sampler

***

Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.

Cigarsinternational.com
Cigarpage.com
Famous-smoke.com
Cigarsdaily.com
Neptunecigar.com
Smallbatchcigar.com

Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who make a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!

******

Link-O-Rama

I'm really very seriously not kidding around anymore. Buy Ammo
AmmoSeek - online ammo search tool
GunBot - online ammo search tool
SG Ammo
Palmetto State Armory
Georgia Arms
AmmoMan
Target Sports USA
Bud's Gun Shop

***Mail Bag***

This week's mailbag entry is from our pal, delightful 'ette and COB KT

******

Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!

That's it for this week - have you been to the range?