Gun Thread: Adios September 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 Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the end of September? I can't shake the feeling there is something I'm supposed to be doing in October!

Note to all of our pals in the Southeast - hope everyone weathered Hurricane Helene all right. Stuff can be replaced but YOU cannot.

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

How are things coming with your focus on fundamentals?

Does any of this sound familiar?

So this doesn't happen every day, at least not to me. A couple of weeks ago I get an email from WW's uncle regarding a pistol he has had for years. It was a gift from his mother to his father for Christmas in 1967, and since he isn't a shooter, he wanted to give it to me. His father unfortunately passed shortly after receiving the gun and never had a really had the chance to shoot it very much.

*SIGH* Oh well, I suppose I will accept the great burden and perform this humanitarian gesture for the good of the family and frankly all of mankind.

Ha! Weasel made a funny joke! I wasted no time in setting up the transfer and a few days later this shows up.

This is a Browning Medalist made in 1967, and here is what Guns.com has to say about it. Scroll to the bottom of the article, as it discusses a trio of Browning .22LR target pistols, the Nomad, Challenger, and finally the Medalist. The pistol is in mint condition, and by that I mean really nearly unfired as far as I can tell. I absolutely cannot wait to go to the farm and try it out!

The guy does an excellent job of explaining exactly how the events unfolded and his thoughts throughout the course of events. What are your thoughts on the encounter? What did the guy do right, and what did the guy do not so right? What might you do differently? Is it ever a good idea to get into a pissing contest with the driver of another vehicle? It is impossible to know, and our guy may have ended up in the same place even if he'd simply not exchanged unpleasantries, but it's always a better idea to seek to diffuse a situation rather than participating in its escalation. Whatever the guy gained by yelling or gesturing probably was not worth the cost and giant mess he had to clean up afterward.

What do you think?

Exciting updates in the shooting program below! On Friday, our pal Oddbob will be making a hands-on presentation on reloading beginning at 11am., and our pal EdL will be making a presentation on Short Barreled Rifles (SBRs) and suppressors at 12:00pm, followed by a demonstration on the rifle range after lunch.

I'd like to bring to everyone's attention the upcoming MoMe in Texas on October 18-19. If you're in either the northern or southern hemisphere of the planet of the earth, you need to contact Ben Had for details. The dates and email links for MoMes are always helpfully included on the main page, left sidebar, so you really have no excuse!

There is an entire shooting program for both handguns and rifles over two days, world class food and drink, and the even world classier company of your fellow Morons! More on the Friday/Saturday schedule to come, so stay tuned.

Seriously, people. I have said this probably a bazillion times now. These gatherings are a really good time, and I know of no one who regrets having attended one. No kidding. Would your ol' pal Weasel lie to you? MoMe veterans will attest to the funness. Don't be a dork, do yourself a favor and get your ass to Texas! If you're a TXMoMe veteran, please encourage the scairdy-cats to join in the fun!

TXMoMe Shooting Festivities

This seems like a good time to talk a little bit about the upcoming shooting program at the TXMoMe, or the Conservative's Burning Man, as it's popularly known. 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. From a safety and organizational perspective, I think the shooting programs last year were the best so far, and we intend to generally run the programs the same way this year. We haven't lost anyone yet and I'd really like to keep it that way.

For a while I have been conducting a Rifle Clinic on Friday morning followed by range time Friday afternoon and then again well into 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 Nurse R & WBG (WeaselBuddyGeoff). There is also the usual static pistol range for those who prefer that style of shooting and a separate setup for gun-curious beginners desiring one-on-one supervision and instruction. Lastly and by popular demand, we're hoping to add a gun cleaning and maintenance clinic both days which will run concurrently with the live-fire programs. I include this thing about gun cleaning each year and it never happens, but there is always hope. If one (or two) of you out there would like to be a huge help and take on the cleaning instructor's role, please let me know. We need someone who is safety oriented and comfortable field stripping and cleaning a variety of platforms.

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 a TXMoMe section below in the coming weeks and update there as necessary.

Handgun Program
10am - 11am: Combined Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Friday Arrivals! (carport)
11:00am - 12:00pm: Reloading Demonstration - Oddbob
1pm - 2:30pm: Static live fire (pistol range)
1pm - 3pm: A clean gun is a happy gun (carport)
2:30 - 4pm: Briefing and Move & Shoot live fire (pistol range)

Handgun Program
9am - 10am: Range and Safety Briefing - Mandatory for Saturday arrivals! (carport)
10am - Noon: A clean gun is a happy gun (carport)
9am - 1pm: Live fire (pistol range)

Again, these times are approximate and programs may change as weather conditions and participation warrant.

You will note there are combined rifle and handgun range safety briefings both days and attendance at one is mandatory. We take your safety seriously and ask everyone who plans to shoot to please also plan on attending this important briefing. All shooters are asked to check in with an RSO (sporting an Orange Cap of Dorkiness for easy identification) upon your arrival at either of the ranges who will answer questions and direct you to an open firing position. The RSOs wield unspeakable power so it is in your best interest to be nice to them.

If you are a novice shooter, or even have never been to the range before and think guns are icky, you are welcome to shoot! Just see an RSO and they will set you up with an experienced shooter to help you. If you miss the mandatory range safety briefing which is mandatory and must be attended, all is not lost. See an RSO to plead your case, be harangued and chastised, and then spend some punishment time on the Disciplinary Range of Shame. In the interests of time and to save yourself the humiliation, please make it to the scheduled range briefings. Thanks.

Please plan on stopping somewhere along your way to Texas and picking up some ammunition if you plan to shoot and aren't bringing your own weapons. Everyone is very generous with sharing, but please don't rely on the generosity of others to provide everything for you. You can really help out by grabbing a box of 9mm or 5.56mm or whatever you want to shoot.

Free Shit!
Our pal Cybersmythe is making 3D printed name badges FREE OF CHARGE for Texas MoMe attendees. These badges will come with a magnet to hold them on and will include your name and the Ace of Spades logo. They look something like this:

Now tell me, who doesn't like free shit? Send a note to Cybersmythe at cybersmythe at protonmail dot com to order yours today!

If you are attending the TXMoMe this year, and all the cool kids are, please keep an eye on this section for important information and updates in the coming weeks! I also want to reiterate the TXMoMe is not a gun thing with some socializing attached, but rather is a social thing with some shooting attached. If you aren't a shooter, I guarantee you will not feel out of place and will have a great time. No fooling!

Are all y'all getting excited? Weasel are!!

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!

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

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?

posted by Weasel at 07:00 PM

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