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Gun Thread: Super Bowling Edition!

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!

Holy Flaming Shitballs! Super Bowl Sunday! Are you a 49ers or Chiefs fan? Neither? Neither, you say? Are you not interested in the teams playing today, or are you just not interested in the NFL? Either way, you can consider this an open thread to discuss the game if you like!

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

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Did you choose neither regarding the teams above? Weasel is in the neither camp and has been for many years. I'm sure there are some standup guys in the NFL, but there sure do seem to be a lot of what could charitably be described as overpaid prima-donnas who aren't exactly good role models. That, and with the league's firm embrace of woke bullshit and you have a product I'm surprised anyone is interested in. And what the heck happened to guys like Dick Butkus, Larry Czonka, Bart Starr and John Unitas? I believe the game went to shit about the time the goal posts were moved to the back of the end zone.

What do you think? Football fan or not?

Anyhoo, it's a moot point, because this smart kitty already predicts the winner!

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Range Time!

Our pal Catch Thirty-Thr33 heads to the range after battling TSA!

This is the damage done with the M9

Back on February 1 I stopped by my beloved Top Gun Range in Houston to get in some badly needed range time. This was my first shooting since the TX MoMe, so it was long overdue. What I had with me was the M9, the Sig P226 Tacops, and the M18.

To open this, I should point out the transport of my trio of guns. I checked in my firearms and was told my locks were not TSA compliant. This I countered with the fact that they absolutely were, as they were issued to me by the military to transport an M4 rifle to the Middle East a decade ago. That ended that. Then I went through security, and my bag was flagged because apparently TSA never has seen a nebulizer before (this airport always gives my carry-on extra inspection because of the nebulizer; no others have thus far). In the midst of this, TSA paged me because they wanted to open my case for closer inspection. So I turned in the keys to TSA and they inspected the Pelican case further. They found no issues so they gave me the keys back and on I went. Moral of the story: you never know what will happen once you drop off your guns for transport, and different airports do different things.

This is after 80 more rounds with the Sig P226 Tacops

Finally, after 102 rounds through the M18, here is how the target looked. The first 17 rounds were disappointing. But I settled down and made the next 85 count

In Houston I bought 300 rounds; I took 7 with me in a TSA approved case so that I could fire 105 through the M9, and 102 through the M18. The Sig P226 Tacops having a 20 round magazine, that math was simple. One hundred rounds would go through it. After the setup, time for the games to begin. As usual, two to the chest, one to the head. I changed things each time I completed the three rounds, though. First, one eye open, two hands on the gun. Next, both eyes open, both hands on the gun. (It may sound strange, but with both eyes open, aiming the gun, I see two guns, not one. This is why I shut one eye typically. But I do this because I have no expectation that any bad guy I run across will permit me to get into the most advantageous position for the sake of honor.) Next, one handed, both eyes open. Then one handed, one eye open. And , because I may not be in the best position when called upon to use a handgun, I switch to the left hand. Depending on how many rounds I have, I decide if I use both eyes or one eye. But I put myself through both configurations at least once. I also fired only at 3 yards (or meters?) and 7 yards (meters?) as these are most likely the ranges I would expect to be when shooting for real. Sure, the 15 yard mark might be good to try out, but I only had 307 rounds for this outing. In the case of the M18, I was so disappointed in my first 17 round outing with it, I kept the target at the 3 yard position to make sure I had it nailed down. My shooting improved but that first outing told me to focus on the short range instead before taking it out further.

It was a good day at the range and eventually I want to get to the point where I am hitting the range at least once a month to maintain proficiency. But for now, this will do.

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RI Red and His Range Laboratory

Guess who has been back to the range with his scientist hat on? Go ahead, guess! Why, it's none other than our pal RI Red! Below we have another of his exhaustive reports and photographic evidence of the range trip result.

This time I did my Eley Match v. Wolf v. SK Rifle Match. For the first time ever, my Ruger Precision Rimfire outshot my Christiansen Ranger. 5 shot groups, the Ruger with SK did a ragged hole .233!

I suppose the test target is worth a thousand words, which is exactly my philosophy on shooting. Let the results speak for themselves.

Are you practicing, and are you practicing your fundamentals?

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Optics on Handguns Part Dos
Last week I included a video linked here on the subject of optics on handguns, and a lively discussion ensued. This week I am following up on the topic with a discussion of typical engagement distances. The 2nd video addresses the question but the whole thing makes much more sense if you watch the first video, well, first.

Get to watchin'!

Do you need a red dot?

The true distance of a typical gunfight

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

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Seeing What You're Shooting At
I'm told old people's eyeballs dry out which potentially raises issues with seeing what they're shooting at. Although I personally unaffected by this condition, I guess I can understand why it would be a problemo.

Here is a super relax-o calm guy talking about the issue and offering solutions. No mention of wearing glasses?

Here is some more info for all you old people because WeaselCares

Walking Cane Mistakes to Avoid

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Not interested in the big game, tired of my retarded shit, and looking for something to watch? How's about this 1954 Cult Classic Devil Girl from Mars"?

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Musical Interlude
Here is the story of "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc.

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Gun Basics 101
New video from the She Equips Herself gal! This week's video is on guns and holsters.

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Cigar of the Week
Cigar reviews returning soon! In the meantime, how are you lighting your cigars?

2005 Zippo from the WeaselCollection

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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
Bobalu Cigar Company
Cigarbid.com
Nicks Cigar World New!

A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid

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

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Ammo 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
American Elite Ammo NEW!

***Mail Bag***

This week's mailbag entry is from our pal weaselisaretardandcannotrecallwhichcommenterrecommendedthis. Great one!

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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?