Fullauto's Findings

Paradigm Shift

2009-11-15T00:57:27Z

I have owned and used Surefire Flashlights since 1994 when they were still “Laser Products.” I have updated with them over the years switching to LED heads and brighter lights as they improved their product line. They are awesome lights.

And as of this weekend, I suspect I will never use one again. I won a 4Sevens Quark AA Tactical flashlight in an online contest this week and have been playing with it the past 24 hours. This light is incredible! Slightly smaller than a Surefire 6P tube with the head removed, it produces more light (90 lumens out the front) than the original 6P incandescent flashlight and nearly as much as the 6P LED on a standard AA Duracell battery. Yeah, just one AA equals 2 123A batteries in a Surefire 6P LED. But, the Quark flashlight line has additional lighting options, not just burn your eyeballs out bright. I like the tactical line because it keeps the user interface simple. Push the tail cap in with modest effort and it works like the Surefire. Push it in farther and it clicks to constant on. Push it in all the way again and it turns off. But, you can also turn the bezel of the light (aka Mini-Maglight) a half turn and you can have another light level or strobe effect. Either light position can be selected to be: 0.2 lumens, 3.5 lumens, 18 lumens, 70 lumens, 90 lumens, strobe at 90 lumens or SOS or beacon at 0-90 lumens.

Picture comparison of Quark AA Tactical v. Surefire 6P

The even more amazing thing is that this light is designed to be able to use a 14500 Lithium Ion battery—at Max lighting selection it will push around 190 lumens out the front. That is freaking bright! At the moonlight level it will last more than month constantly on with a 14500 battery.

I obviously have not banged it around much as I have just received it, but I am impressed with the build quality. Unlike the Surefire 6P, this light is small and light enough to be dropped in my pocket for every day carry which is exactly what I am going to do with it. I have finally found a “tactical” flashlight that I can slip into my pocket for everyday carry, but even better, it uses standard AA batteries. It comes with all sorts of do-dads but you can look it up yourself. www.candlepowerforums.com is the flashlight geeks ultimate hangout and you can find all sorts of rave reviews and additional information on these lights there. If you want to buy one, go to www.4sevens.com. They are huge Fenix and Nightcore dealers too, but the Quark line is their own brand that they are coming out with, and I believe they are better than either of those other options. Anyone want to buy some 123A batteries?

Dishwasher wars (or learning to live with others)

2009-09-22T18:53:02Z

This weekend we had the happy surprise of hosting gwendally overnight before she headed home. While clearing the breakfast table gwendally started rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher before I could sneak in to take care of them. She asked me if there was any particular way to load the dishes and I responded "nope." The funny thing is that in the previous years forestmaster and I battled over how to do dishes. She put the dishes in without pre-rinsing them, expecting the dishwasher to take care of everything while conserving water, while I pre-rinsed everything ensuring that the dishwasher and immediate area did not smell nasty while waiting to have enough dishes to run a load. I still do dishes my way but I am a little more lax on pre-rinsing everything and I do not fuss or even think about how forestmaster does dishes any more. Marriage is supposed to be about compromises but this incident has reminded me that marriage also makes us better people. As two distinct people we have different ways of doing things, but at the end of the day we trust each other to take of ourselves and each other. We learn to let go of the little things and release control to allow others to do things for us. Of course, it didn't hurt that gwendally pre-rinsed the dishes and I ran them immediately there-after...

Summer 2009 in review

2009-09-08T02:35:44Z

Wow... hard to believe it is Labor Day already. I have been meaning to post a review on the Appleseed shoot forestmaster and I went to over Memorial Day weekend and somehow never got to. Then I was going to post about our trip up to the UP to visit some friends and ended up shooting Class 3 firearms with suppressors. :) Yeah, that was a lot of fun! And then there was our trip up north to Cheyboygan and Fort Michimillimac. And taking my oldest niece (7 years old now) to the Cranbrook Institutes Science Museum to see the dinosaur egg museum and their live bat presentation. As well as the numerous trips to the range with friends such as wyera and non-LJ people. It has been a great summer here in Michigan-- the weather has been beautiful with only 2 or 3 days all summer in the low 90's and I have been fortunate to be able to spend some time enjoying it. :)

I still want to write about Appleseed in more detail... if you haven't been to one, I recommend you go to one. You might find it interesting and I can guarantee that you will become a better rifle shooter. Yes, forestmaster and I both qualified as riflemen early in the program but we both learned a lot despite being fairly knowledgeable shooters. I have an entire post to write up just about shooting the FN-FAL at Appleseed and the changes I have been making to our rifles since that weekend, but that will also be another post for another day.

As will be the post about shooting Class 3 firearms in the UP and why we were able to legally shoot suppressed firearms in Michigan when it is against state law to own suppressors (known as silencers in some circles).

Hopefully getting this out will be a good reminder for me to work on the aforementioned posts in the next several days. In the meantime, it is time to stare at the summer stars and moon (of what we can see this close to Detroit) before drifting off to sleep...

Bump and rob?

2009-05-11T21:00:27Z

Last night on our way to Home Depot to buy some plants for this years garden, my wife and I stopped at a local bank to pull some cash from the ATM. This bank is supposedly not in a bad part of town, but I have been approached by several questionable individuals in the past that I suspect were conducting criminal "interviews"-- sizing me up as a target prior to committing to act. For this reason I am very vigilant when I am in that area and under no circumstances do I use the walk up ATM. (I HATE walk up ATM's as it is and do not use them if at all possible.) Pulling up to the drive-thru ATM, we were the only people in the bank parking lot. I quickly fed my card into the ATM and withdrew cash. As I was withdrawing cash another car pulled into the bank and pulled up behind me. Before my card was ejected from the ATM, the car behind me bumped me. I was standing on the brake with the truck in gear, so we did not go anywhere, but as I grabbed my receipt and card, I was extremely busy scanning around at the same time trying to keep my eye on the occupant in the car behind me. As soon as my hand was back in the truck the window went up and we drove out of the ATM funnel. The car behind us just sat there, not pulling forward to the ATM. The bank that we were at is an old design and we had to circle on the other side of the ATM to get out of the bank parking lot. As we did so, I decided to swing around and get the license plate of the car while maintaining the maximum possible distance. Upon doing that, we got out of there and stopped at the local police station to inform them of being bumped at an ATM. The office at the desk took my info and said they would do a little investigating and then shred my personal info. Less than an hour later I got 2 calls from the officer, the first one stating that they had opened up a case file and the second call asking me to confirm that the vehicle description matched what they had on record for the plate number. No damage was done to my truck and I have no intention of filing an insurance report. I went to the police station because something about that whole incident felt really, really wrong. I wanted them to be aware that someone may be using the bump as a tactic to mug people using the ATM. At no time did the driver of the other car ever step out of his vehicle to apologize (which is a good thing-- I was already tense enough without worrying about an attempted carjacking), but that is very unusual based upon my previous experiences. The timing of his arrival also felt off... he couldn't have timed his bump any better and the parking lot was empty-- most people give a little room around the ATM to begin with. Without circling around to get his license plate the police would have nothing to go on, but tactically, it wasn't the smartest thing to do. If he decided to pull a gun and start shooting I would have been facing the right direction to get the heck out of there, but I risked escalating the situation. I didn't go to this bank at night before... now I will not be going to that particular bank at all-- there are safer options even if they do require a longer drive in a different direction.

Huh... I guess there is an ammo shortage...

2009-04-23T17:38:38Z

Yeah, I have some ammo tucked away, but since forestmaster and I are shooting an IDPA match this weekend, I thought I would run out and get some ammo to replace what we are going to shoot... sort of the shoot one, load one principle. I had heard people grumbling about ammo, but I figured I could scrounge a bit... I went to the local shops after finding nothing online. I went to: Walmart, Dunhams, Dicks, Wolverine, Top Gun and Gander Mountain and not one of them had any 9mm Luger. The local gun ranges have installed new ammo policies in that they will only sell ammo for use on their range. One range will let you buy ONE additional box of premium self defense ammo to take home but you still must shoot on their range first. Unfortunately most places will not let you back order... otherwise I would have put in an order with Natchez and let it come to me. As it is, I guess we will have to get a little creative and start ordering from places that do allow back orders. It is also interesting to note that I can find a little .40 S&W here and there and even less frequently a little .45 ACP but .223 is becoming pretty easy to find. Not at great prices, but at least it is available. Hopefully the manufacturers are pumping out 9mm as fast as they can and will eventually flood the market-- although that might take 5 years at this rate.

A visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)

2009-04-19T13:07:57Z

Yesterday forestmaster and I met my parents at the DIA to catch the Norman Rockwell Exhibit while it was still in town. I get a kick out of many of his works, as do my parents. It is funny how my mom, the most serious art buff out of the 4 of us, was the one who kept rushing ahead and pulling us through the gallery faster than I would have preferred. The exhibit is open in half hour slots to keep people moving and to prevent it from being too crowded. It was busy, but not nearly as crowded as I have seen it at other events. (Not that I go to the DIA very often... the last time was 6 or 7 years ago as an early date with forestmaster.) Having seen Norman Rockwells work on magazine covers, I was surprised to see some of his works were done on large canvases first-- like more than 5 foot by 5 foot large. It was neat seeing some of the fine detail that you can't see in the magazine size prints. My dad noted that it was interesting to see how his works changed over the years-- he got into more portraits and became darker and more serious as he got older, and I found that to be true, too... I also prefer his earlier light hearted works. It is definitely worth checking out if you have the chance.

There is another special exhibit at the DIA right now that isn't being promoted nearly as heavily, but all of us found it even more fascinating than the Norman Rockwell exhibit. Master Pieces: Chess Sets from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection. Apparently this couple has traveled the world for over 45 years collecting chess sets from over 100 countries. Some of them were absolutely amazing... it was interesting to note that most of them were created within the last 200 years, but how many people have seen the chess set that Salvadore Dali created for a friend, or the set that Faberge created for a Russian general? Or a chess set made in China to demonstrate the capability of the Chinese people where each piece sat on top of a carved ball (and within the ball are 7 more balls) all carved out of one piece? I got a kick out of an Italian chess set that had pieces made of hollow crystal with one set marked with a red stripe on one side to distinguish one side from the other. For better clarity it was recommended that the pieces be filled with a colored liquid-- such as wine. Take a piece and slam the wine? That could make for an interesting round of speed chess...

Of course we also spent time looking at the arms and armor gallery... I always find something new to learn while I am there. Dad mentioned that he had not been to the DIA since he was a boy and he had found it boring at the time. This time he had a lot of fun-- as did the rest of us. :)

Always wear your safety glasses when shooting!

2009-04-18T01:49:48Z

This is the remains of a .22LR case after an out-of-battery discharge in a Glock 17 with an Advantage Arms .22LR conversion kit installed. The pistol had between 80 and 100 rounds through it for the evening when this occurred.

Glock 17 with Advantage Arms .22LR conversion kit
Remington Golden Bullet (525 round value pack)
80-100 rounds fired that evening before the discharge
clean pistol before starting this evening
750-1000 Remington Golden Bullets previously through the system before failure
conducting rapid fire drills on multiple targets, 5th or 6th shot in string

Pistol and conversion kit appear to be fine, additional rounds in magazine did not discharge. My hands appear to be fine although my shooting glasses and face had bits of brass and unburned powder stuck to them. The recoil was about half the normal recoil and it sounded muffled. forestmaster shooting next to me immediately asked, "What was that?" The bullet was not stuck in the barrel and the remainder of the brass case was easily removed from the barrel after allowed to cool. You can see the bits of brass and unburned powder in the picture below. Also of interest is to see the entire sidewall burst everywhere that was unsupported and not just at the feedramp. I have shot hundreds of thousands of rounds and this is the first time I have ever had an out-of-battery discharge. Keep wearing those eyes and ears!

Repo! The Genetic Opera

2009-04-16T00:55:30Z

I don't know how many people have heard of it, but I picked it up on Amazon and just finished watching the DVD. I am not sure how to describe it... it is sort of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show in that it started as a theater production with the script being almost entirely sung, but it is darker in theme along the lines of Blade Runner but also has chapters strung together with comic book clips. I first heard of it (and bought it) because Sarah Brightman is in it and sings a couple of pieces, but it stands on its own even without her. I was surprised to discover that the vast majority of the music was rock (and pretty good rock at that) rather than classical or new age opera.

I am not a horror fan in the least, but while there is a good bit of blood and gore, I did not find it disturbing. It also stars Anthony Stuart Head (of Buffy fame). For some reason the marketing department decided to advertise that Repo! was "from the producers of Saw" although I seriously doubt that Repo! would interest that crowd since it is NOT a horror movie. It is not a movie for kids or something I would suggest to my parents however. It is tough to put Repo! into any particular genre because it blends so many different concepts into one piece. I liked it and will be watching it with friends again soon. Supposedly this is the second in a trilogy, but the other two productions hinge on the DVD sales of Repo! There are also very limited engagements of the show on tour throughout the US and Europe-- I think that would be a lot of fun to attend if you're in the mood for a Rocky Horror Picture Show sort of night.

IDPA Classifier Results SSP-SS 127.24 (55)

2009-04-12T00:44:02Z

I am posting this for my own records... feel free to drive on.

IDPA Classifier - Tri-County Sportsmans League 28March2009

Weather: mostly sunny, 45* F
Equipment: Glock 17, Glock night sights, Comp-tac C-TAC holster and mag pouches, nylon/fleece jacket.

Match Results:

Stage 1:
String 1: 2.75
String 2: 2.67
String 3: 2.71
String 4: 6.90
String 5: 4.89
String 6: 6.94
String 7: 6.62
Procedurals: 0
Points down: 11 (*0.5)= 5.5

Hits per target: T1=10, T2=10, T3=10
Points down per target: T1=5, T2=4, T3=2

Stage Total: 39.98

Stage 2:
String 1: 4.30
String 2: 3.95
String 3: 8.95
String 4: 6.89
Procedurals: 0
Points down: 14 (*0.5)= 7

Hits per target: T1= 10, T2=10, T3=10
Points down per target: T1=6, T2=5, T3= 3

Stage Total: 31.09

Stage 3:
String 1: 16.82
String 2: 18.63
String 3: 6.72
Procedurals: 0
Points down: 30 (*0.5)= 15

Hits per target: T1=10, T2=10, T3= 9
Points down per target: T1= 10, T2= 5, T3=15

Stage Total: 57.17

Match Total: 127.24 (55)

Notes: a little loose through the whole classifier... too many shots got away instead of taking an extra half second to shoot cleanly. Decent speed for stage 1, but accuracy suffered-- 3x the points down compared to 2006. Good second stage with a decent mix of speed and accuracy although I could have been more accurate. This is the stage that helped me improve my score compared to the 2006 classifier. Stage 3 was a bit slow, but WAY sloppy... threw one shot off the paper entirely and didn't even see it because I wasn't watching the sight picture for follow-up properly. 7 seconds from expert which is easily do-able... 5 A hits instead of C hits would do it. Mag changes are rusty and the coat is not ideal for the draw stroke or stowing mags, but not a bad run for not classifying in almost 3 years with minimal practice averaging once or twice a month. Goal for this year: Expert SSP by October.

3 good things

2009-04-10T18:21:51Z

Somewhere a few years back I read an article that suggested that optimistic people tend to be healthier and happier than the general population. Nothing new to me there... I fully agree with that theory. What was interesting though, is that the author suggested that it was possible to become more optimistic by thinking about 3 good things about the day before going to sleep each night. forestmaster and I are both optimistic people by nature, but we both thought it was a pretty interesting theory utilizing positive feedback, so we decided to give it a try. As part of our nightly ritual we now ask each other for 3 good things before we drift off to sleep. As I mentioned before, we are already optimistic by nature so I don't know how much of a difference this makes in our lives. But, I have noticed that the dreams I remember tend to be positive in nature, so it might help put the subconscious in a positive frame of mind before REM. (On a side note, there is nothing more fun than tormenting a grump first thing in the morning with a bright cheerful "Good morning!" and big smile.) Yeah, I know, I am evil. But that is part of the fun. ;)

So why do I bring this up? My friends list posts on LJ have been dwindling the past several months. I don't know if people are just busy or if they are depressed and don't want to write about tough times. I completely sympathize with those who feel that way... I don't air my "dirty laundry" in public either. There are some people out there whose journals seem to be one long train wreck with nothing but "woe is me" posts. You will note that they are not on my friends list. This is not to say that when somebody writes that they have had a really bad day that I don't want to read about it. It is good to hear so that I can offer support on occasion. But, the people I associate with on LJ and in "real life" refuse to lay down... hopefully some of you out there who haven't posted in a while will follow suit and post something. I have a few more posts in my head that I will work on getting out here. It has been a while since I have posted too. In the meantime, I am going to go swim, enjoy the sunshine and pounce on my wife when she gets home early from work. :)

A "paper hole punch" is too a good 1st year anniversary present!

2008-09-09T02:17:04Z

What better way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary than with matching Advantage Arms .22LR conversion kits for our Glock 17's? It is paper related, but better than paper. It is a durable good that will last long enough to be passed to our grandkids, it is soft shooting so we will be able to shoot it on our 50th wedding anniversary, it reduces our ammo costs (to less than 1/6) so we can shoot a lot more often and it is a hoot to shoot. :) I was surprised how accurate the kits were. I kept 19 of 20 rounds in a 6 inch circle at 25 yards (one flyer-- see, I need this kit for more practice...)

The Advantage Arms conversion kit slide is made of aluminum so the top half is much lighter than the standard Glock, but with the lighter weight it allows the pistol to recoil a little bit to simulate the standard 9mm in recoil (NOT as much recoil or muzzle blast, but more than a Ruger Mark II.) Advantage Arms recommends using Remington Golden Bullets, which I can currently get locally for $16 for a 525 round box-- $0.03/round... I can get used to that. I had a blast (no pun intended) shooting tonight... we shot only .22's and went through a couple of hundred rounds. We are going to have to do that more often. :)

So who is Hillary going to vote for?

2008-08-30T15:30:43Z

Up until 72 hours ago, I was apathetic for this years elections... on one hand was McCain who I can't stand and on the other was Obama who might change things, but not necessarily for the better. Then Obama chose Biden and it proved to me that Obama will be pushing the urban agenda of "Let the government take care of you... and you don't need those nasty guns." That forced me to consider McCain the lesser of two evils... and then the sneaky old coot pulls Palin out of his pocket and all of a sudden there is hope for this election. Somebody who is not a blue blood elitist and actually knows what it is like to work? Somebody that I can respect (based on the little I know about her so far...) Yeah, this election has all of a sudden become interesting. :)

A thought crossed my mind when I heard about Palin... who is Hillary going to vote for? The man who ended her dreams of becoming the first woman president of the US and snubbed her by not even naming her VP? Or will she vote for McCain/Palin in hopes of pushing a woman through the "glass ceiling" in the executive ranks? Sure she supports the Democratic party line, but if Obama wins, Hillary will never get a chance to get into the White House. By the time Obama is finished, she will be McCains age and will be well past her prime. If Obama loses, a woman will be VP making a woman for President more acceptable to some and improving Hillary's odds of being tapped to run against Palin in 2012. I was jumping up and down for joy when Obama beat Hillary and again when he did not select her to run as VP with him, but the tactician side of me is thinking "Who is Hillary going to vote for?"

Public Service Announcement

2008-05-14T01:27:06Z

For those of you who did not buy enough Glock magazines before the recent price hike, OMB Express is currently selling magazines for $17.99 each and they are in stock. Even better, if you stop at GlockTalk first and visit their news and announcements section, you will find a post of a link that offers free shipping for orders over $150. I seriously doubt these prices will last long...

Glock v. S&W M&P v. Springfield XD

2008-04-24T01:05:40Z

A couple of friends have been shopping around for carry pistols over the past few months and I have learned a few things that I found interesting.
1. Springfield does not sell all parts for repair... things like the extractor must be repaired at the factory. Admittedly the XD comes with a lifetime repair policy, but it would be nice to be able to repair it on the spot and not have to return it to the factory.
2. In my opinion, the S&W M&P shoots softer in recoil than either the Glock or the XD and it is extremely easy to get back on target.
3. The XD seems to recoil less than the Glock but it feels similar in many ways.
4. The S&W M&P has a very long trigger reset-- you pretty much have to fully release the trigger for a follow up shot. As a Glock shooter that was real annoying (and slow).
5. The XD has a trigger reset that is a little longer than a Glock and a little more mushy but still quite evident.
6. For trigger feel the S&W was the smoothest in take up, followed by the XD with the Glock being a distant third. I suppose that is why so many shooters (myself included) pull to the weak hand side when not focusing enough on the front sight.
7. The XD has the smallest grip circumference and is the easiest for small hands to get control of.
8. The Glock has the largest grip circumference.
9. S&W M&P parts are supposed to become available as the supply chain develops, but parts are scarce for the time being.
10. Glocks have been on the market now for over 25 years... just about every gunshop/range has some Glock parts available.

All three pistols are great pistols and I would have no issue carrying any of them. However, in 9mm, my first choice is still the Glock. Yeah, everybody in the world has one but it is still the "plastic" pistol that all the others are compared to.

Ben Stein’s movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-04-23T02:03:14Z

I find it interesting to note that forestmaster and I were the only two people in the movie theater to watch this film at a 7pm showing. That probably speaks volumes about our society. My thoughts about the movie? Yeah, a bit preachy and more suited to television but it still had enough content to provide people with something to discuss and do further individual research upon. Will it sway evolutionists or creationists to see the other side? Hell no. But, for those of us that like to form our own opinions and not accept the spoon-fed drivel that is forced upon us through mainstream media, it does give us insight into proponents on both sides and potentially consider something in between the two extremes. When confronted with the question of science versus religion, my high school calculus and astronomy teacher once said to a few of us, that he believed “science explains how, religion explains why.” I believe there is a place for both.

Happy Sweetest Day!

2007-10-20T23:56:18Z

This isn't going to be the normal sappy Sweetest Day post guys, so relax and keep reading...

forestmaster and I recently received a gift card for our wedding for a sporting goods store... when forestmaster saw it, she proclaimed that we should not use it on some measly item that would soon be forgotten, and surprised me by saying, "Go get a Combat Shotgun... we need one if we are going to shoot 3 gun next year." Ummm... ok... twist my arm. So, I went shopping...

A little while ago, abz6598 posted a link showing the new Mossberg 930SPX... I liked what I saw so I went hunting for one. After visiting 4 stores, nobody could special order me one until their distributers had them in stock and I had just about given up. At the last store I found a Winchester Super X2 Mk II on sale... a couple of hundred more than the Mossberg, but tempting none-the-less. I decided to think about it and came home. That night forestmaster and I went out to dinner and I decided to show her the Winchester. She really liked it, but I wanted to do some research online before I decided to buy it. Yeah, the Winchester was made specifically to compete in 3 Gun matches and has a great rep, so the next morning I ran out to buy a shotgun. On a whim I stopped by another gun shop and surprise! they had a Mossberg 930 SPX in the racks. Upon handling it, I really liked it-- it is lighter than the Winchester, but it looks extremely similar, right down to the LPA fiber optic sights and picatinny rail. I brought the Mossberg home and within two hours found myself back at the gunshop with forestmaster who decided she wanted the Winchester. :)

So... now that I have torn the two shotguns apart and thoroughly cleaned them, what do I think? I have NOT shot them yet, that will have to wait until I have a little more time to take them to the range-- today was an IDPA match and I will be out of town for a few days for work. But, based upon close side-by-side inspection, there are a LOT of similarities between the two. The Winchester is heavier of the two, but then it has a 22" barrel with an 8+1 magazine capacity while the Mossberg has an 18.5" barrel with a 7+1 magazine capacity. The extra 3.5 inches makes a world of difference in ease of handling but in 3 Gun, Limited magazine capacity is 8+1 so you are seriously handicapping yourself by only having 7 rounds in the tube. The good news is that the Mossberg comes with a standard Choate +2 extended magazine, so it is very easy to purchase a Choate +3 extended magazine to increase the magazine capacity to 8+1. The Winchester came with an IC choke installed-- the Mossberg doesn't come prepared for any chokes-- it is cylinder bore only. This might be ok inside of 10 or 15 yards, but for 3 Gun where you need to make 25 and even 35 yard shots, this is a severe handicap. Again, it is something that can be remedied-- for less than $100 any gunsmith can thread a shotgun barrel for standard chokes.

In my opinion the Mossberg also offers a couple of better features over the Winchester, too... first the safety is located on the tang so it is truly ambidextrous (I find it easier to find than the typical safety behind the trigger guard). Second, to unload the shotgun, you just need to hit the slide carrier latch to eject a round out of the magazine onto the carrier... much easier to manipulate than the Winchester internal lever release.

I was amazed at how similar the two shotguns were internally. Yeah, the bolt is shaped a little different between the two, and the gas pistons are a little different (the Winchester comes with 2 gas pistons, one for 1-1/8oz loads and less, and one for 1-1/4 oz loads and heavier, including slugs while the Mossberg has only one gas piston.) Neither one has any rubber O-rings to wear out-- much better than the Remington 1100/11-87 style gas system. The Mossberg reminds me of an AK... it rattles and while the fit and finish is decent, it is nowhere near as polished as the Winchester which feels rock solid and has finishing touches such as the Dura Coat synthetic stock. We will see how they shoot, but so far I am impressed with them both.

While the wife's away, the mice will...

2007-10-05T02:44:53Z

Clear a slow shower drain, re-anchor a couple of banister railings (to studs instead of trying to use drywall anchors like the previous home owner did), vacuum the drywall mess throughout the lower part of the house due to all the drywall repair and sanding, bake banana bread for my beloved, and even work on a post that has been over due by almost a month. Did I mention I have managed to do this since dropping forestmaster off at the train station 4 hours ago? Yeah, it has been a very busy evening-- but a productive one. :)

We both have noted many times that both of us do not get as much accomplished when we are both at home at the same time. We try, but for some reason we just aren't as productive/motivated/focused on the various household chores that crop up. I have been trying to work on the banisters for almost 5 weeks now, but something else always takes priority and they are pushed to the back burner. I now understand why when I was a kid, my dad would stay home on occasion to work around the house while Mom would take my sister and I to my grandparents or the beach, or a movie, etc. I am sure it was the only way he could get stuff done! He always encouraged me to help him on projects and he would keep me in the middle of everything (I still can't stand repacking axle bearings with grease) which I now realized has taught me a ton about woodcraft and home repair, but eventually things pile up to the point where you just need time to yourself to plow through the misc. stuff.

In my last post I mentioned that things were wrapping up and that I was looking forward to the downtime. Obviously Murphy had a good laugh at that-- things went really well prior to and during the wedding and honeymoon, but things exploded as soon as we got back. There are so many things I would like to post about in detail, but I most certainly do not have the time to type that much, and I seriously doubt anyone has the time to read it all so I am going to post the Cliff Notes for the past month or so:

1. Thank you everybody for the warm wishes and congratulations to forestmaster and I in regards to getting married last month. For those of you who made it, thank you for making it one of the most treasured days in our lives-- I never would even dreamed that getting married would be so much fun. As I told my co-workers when we got back, I haven't had such a fun couple of weeks since 1st grade summer vacation when I was care free and had all the time in the world to do whatever came to mind. For those of you who couldn't make it, we wish you could have been there, but we know the location and timing was difficult-- we missed you but we are already making plans to visit people in the upcoming months.

2. My big presentation to the Big Three the week we got back from our honeymoon went really well-- I am glad it is over and hope I do not have to do that again for quite some time. Sha-right... I have already been told that I need to write a joint paper for publication in December and have been invited back to present again next year.

3. A great big congratulations to altruisticd and whmuskrat who got married two weeks before we did. I never had a chance to congratulate you guys on LJ-- I am sure you understand how busy/focused I was prior to our own wedding. I sincerely hope both of you laugh as much for many, many wonderful married years as you did at the alter. ;)

4. And a great big congratulations to smjayman and quick_chick who got married last weekend. I was originally going to entitle this subject post "on our way to the gun show, we stopped for a wedding..." The gun show wasn't much to behold, but your wedding certainly was. I wish we were able to spend more time in the area and attend the post-wedding party. but we had to settle for the pre-wedding party and the wedding party. I hope you two are making up for lost time not being able to kiss early in the wedding ceremony. ;)

5. I met many wonderful people at the above weddings... too many to list here. Many are here on LJ and I hope to continue to chat and hopefully get together in the upcoming months and years. It is amazing how easy it is to find like minded individuals via the internet or via friends of friends found via the internet, compared to in the Real World... it is sort of like going to college all over again where I get to meet all sorts of fascinating people who I really want to get to know better. (Disclosure: I went to Michigan Tech, a small engineering school that attracts many geeks with interests much like my own and thus many of my closest friendships developed from college. In fact all three of the guys that stood up with me in the wedding were from Tech. Just as an interesting side note, Michigan Tech was the only university in the nation to have a *pro*-Vietnam march during the war.)

6. Uhhh... I think I am running out of steam... I know I had many more topics to discuss, but they will have to wait for another burst of posting energy.

Last weekend as a single man

2007-09-03T01:47:03Z

I am not the most prolific blogger out there, but the past couple of months have been pretty hectic... work would have been enough to keep me occupied, but 10 birthdays and three weddings in addition to our own upcoming wedding has made this a very busy summer. Things are starting to wind down a little bit now that we are in the home stretch of wedding planning. We still have a lot on our to-do lists, but they are smaller niggly things for the most part. Both of us have had a lot of work demands recently so we have spent the weekend catching up on all the chores we have been neglecting recently... like laundry, mowing the lawn, cleaning house, etc. Exciting stuff, huh? We are leaving early since some of our friends will be meeting us at the reception site a couple of days early so we can goof off, golf, bar crawl, and generally cause havoc at our alma mater. It is like going home every time we go up to the UP-- and now we will have even more fond memories and reasons to go back to visit. In the future we both want to have a place on Lake Superior... it won't happen in the near future, but someday... We watch so little TV neither of us have cable, satellite, or even rabbit ears, but on rare occasions we pull out a DVD-- last night we watched the original Star Wars. Well, at least I did... forestmaster fell asleep half way through despite it being her movie selection. Friends and neighbors are coming out of the woodwork to congratulate us-- somehow the word has spread despite our attempts to keep things small and low key. We ask what the biggest change was for them when they got married (for those that are or were married), and they all keep responding with little things... nothing major. I am sure relationships go through big changes upon marriage, but I guess we will have to figure them out on our own as they come up. When I picked up the marriage certificate a couple of weeks ago from the courthouse, I found it an interesting experience. It was definitely an adrenaline rush and I had similar thoughts/emotions as when I first started college... I had a similar experience when I proposed to forestmaster last October. I imagine I will experience it yet again when I enter the church, but I don't think it will be as pronounced since I have had these other experiences along the way. I suspect forestmaster will have a larger rush in that regard when she is in the church-- at this point I am looking forward to ending all the planning and preparation and just get to the ceremony and celebration afterwards. We have been working on the music play list for months and have been dancing 2-4 times a week in expectation to be doing a lot of dancing at our reception. And best of all, we will NOT be within cellphone or laptop range for most of the next two weeks. :)

Product Review: BugOutGear Premium Plus Cree LED Module for Surefire

2007-07-15T01:57:09Z

The Big Brown Truck (BBT) of Happiness just dropped off the latest Cree 3 Watt LED replacement LED module for the Surefire 6P size flashlights. It is made and distributed by BugOutGear and has been getting decent reviews on the Candlepower Forums. According to the various online reviews it is supposed to provide 90 lumens of LED white light in a 6P size package while more than doubling the useful runtime. BugOutGear offers several different configurations so I ordered one for my old round body Surefire 6Z (Z2) that is actually engraved "Laser Products" (the old company name) instead of Surefire. After 30 minutes of twisting, shoving and cursing I determined that the LED module was *not* going to fit my Surefire no matter how much I tried to cram it in there. The module is just too long for the original 6P head and creates a 3mm gap between the head and the body that doesn't allow the light to activate. I then switched to my G2Z polymer body flashlight. After another 15 minutes I discovered the initial web instructions were wrong-- the polymer lights do *not* require the included spring. As soon as I removed the spring from the module the light assembled easily and the light worked without issue. The head of the flashlight butts up tight against the body of the flashlight as originally intended with no possibility of water intrusion. Because the module is longer than the original incandescent reflector assembly, the gap between the tail cap and the flashlight body is a little larger. This is a non-issue-- there is still plenty of thread engagement and the O-ring seal is still firmly in place so water intrusion is not possible.

Is the BugOutGear LED module brighter than the original 6P 60 lumen incandescent head? Yep, I think so. Is it 170 lumens, as advertised? Nope, not even the more realistic 90 lumens that candlepower forums reports. But, it is a nice bright even white light with more useful side spill light than the 6Z offers. Surefire tends to under market their products-- their lights are always brighter than advertised while many other makers exaggerate their products capabilities. I do not have a 9P to compare the new LED module to, but I do not think it is 50% brighter than the old 6Z. Having just received it today I have no durability or reliability data to offer at this time. I will use it for a while and see how it does... being an LED, it should prove to be much more energy efficient and save me a lot of money in batteries, and having an almost infinite "bulb" life, I should never have to replace the LED module. BugOutGear guarantees the LED module for life so if it does die, I should be able to get a replacement if they are still in business. BugOutGear actually offers three different 3Watt Cree LED modules, the standard, the premium and the premium plus, which is what I purchased for $40 plus shipping. Right now I would give it a 4 out 5 stars... the new LED Surefires cost double what I have into the G2Z and LED module and this light allows me to use the Rogers technique with the very simple momentary on/off tail cap switch. Light output pics will follow tomorrow.

Edited to include pics here. Two big pics-- it is late and my web hosting format is *very* clunky so this will have to do for the time being.

Guns that make you go… “Mine!”

2007-07-08T00:30:39Z

I recently got an email from an FFL saying that he was expecting some H&K P7 PSP pistols imported from Germany for a ridiculously low price. Our wedding might be only 11 weeks away, but I am not dead yet! (Although I might be soon if I keep finding great firearm deals like this…) There are a multitude of reasons of why this pistol is on my “Gotta Get It” list…
1. It is an H&K (I didn’t have one)
2. It was designed and built in the 1970’s when (West) German firearms were machined with care and pride
3. It is one of the few successful gas retarded pistols ever made
4. It is a squeeze cocker
5. It is remarkably compact for a pistol with a 4.1” barrel
6. It is the only H&K I have ever handled that I did not have to break my strong hand grip to release the magazine (it has a European heel magazine release)
7. It has a fixed barrel and a much better than normal trigger making it a very easy pistol to shoot accurately
8. The extractor is actually not required for operation since the brass is pushed out by the remaining gas when the pistol cycles
9. It has truly ambidextrous controls
10. It is known to be extremely reliable
11. Hans Gruber had one in Die Hard
12. It was being offered for 2/3’s the cost of what I have seen previous examples going for around here
13. It is very unique with a lot of engineering thought put into it

Sight unseen I pre-ordered a “Grade A” PSP which was supposed to have very little wear. I had to wait a couple of weeks for it to be imported from Germany and then sent to my local FFL. Naturally it came in while we were down south… boy was it a battle of desires… vacation down south or go home to play with my new H&K… it was a good thing we flew down or I would probably still be in the slammer somewhere in backwoods Georgia for breaking the sound barrier on the interstate.

It is a beautiful pistol… there is honest wear on the sharp edges of the slide and around the muzzle and rear sight but the bluing is deep and even on the vast majority of the pistol. The interior looks brand new with no wear marks whatsoever. It was apparently carried in a holster and shot very little. It came with the original polymer hard case that has a matching serial number and a brand new 2007 user’s manual and gas port brush. When people pick it up they are surprised by the weight—it is constructed of steel and while compact, it is hefty for its size. It shoots well—it is easy to keep all the shots in the black and while it gets warm just above the trigger guard, shooting bullseye style with frequent pauses to reload magazines I shot 100 rounds without the pistol being uncomfortably warm to the touch.

It is funny how some firearms elicit a possessive response from their owners… the H&K P7PSP is one of those for me. This one is not in mint condition, while unusual it is not a rare pistol, while it shoots well it is not the most accurate pistol in my collection. It wasn’t that expensive and I didn’t have to work that hard to get it, but I really like it and this one is MINE!

GPS love

2007-06-23T15:39:00Z

Last weekend forestmaster and I flew down south to attend putzicus and "I"'s wedding in Hilton Head. (I was going to use words such as "demise" or "enslaving" but I suppose that would not be appropriate since, as far as I know, "I" has not engaged in online dialogs with individuals discussing spiked collars and rings (tattooed or otherwise). I digress...

We flew into Jacksonville so we could spend some time with one of forestmaster's bridesmaids while we were down there. Naturally when we went to the rental car desk they did not have any more full size cars for the weekend so they had to provide us with a different car. In doing so, they gave us a car with a GPS unit. I have never seen the need for a GPS since I know how to navigate with a compass or in a pinch using the sun and stars and I am annoyed riding in friends vehicles that have them because of the annoying voiceovers telling you which route to take instead of using the shortcuts. Hoo Boy! was I ever wrong. That is one slick navigation aid for when you are in hostile territory (or at least in a foreign land...) We got stuck in two traffic jams that weekend and with the help of the GPS I was able to jump off at the first exit and get back to open road with a minimum of fuss. Daddy likes!!! Yeah, for commuting back and forth to work it doesn't make sense for me to have since I know the route extremely well and have a dozen different routes that I can (and do) take, but for out of town trips, those things are worth their weight in gold. Needless to say, I am now looking for a good GPS for my truck. I originally thought I wanted one that I could use for hiking and for the truck, but after reading various reviews and websites it looks like it is best to have independent units since they have different tasks. I have read that Magellan (which is what Hertz provides in their rental cars) and Garmin have the best map updates and are the most reliable for getting a quick satellite lock. Anybody else have any advice to share on buying an automotive GPS?

WOT (Women on Target)

2007-06-10T03:08:17Z

Today our local range volunteered to host an NRA Women On Target range event to introduce the shooting sports to women for a (very) nominal fee of $15. forestmaster and I volunteered (sort of... they were short on volunteers, so we were begged to help) to help run the action pistol range where the women had the opportunity to shoot "larger caliber pistols." Another group taught them to shoot small bore rifle, and at the station before us they shot .22LR pistols so they were some what up to speed by the time they got to us. Each squad had roughly 30-45 minutes at each station with the other stations being trap, archery, and shooting bowling pins. We had enough safety officers to provide one on one instruction with each woman so there was lots of individual coaching. Us volunteers were asked to bring three pistols each to use for the event with the smallest caliber amongst the group being a .380 and the largest being .45ACP. Everyone had a good time and I think we converted a couple of new shooters today.

There were a couple of side notes that I thought were interesting:
1. The shooters ranged from roughly 16 years old to past retirement age but I did not find a single woman who did not find the Kahr PM9 to be a comfortable gun to hold.
2. It was recoil heavy for many shooters however-- the little gun recoils a good bit so it was not a favorite amongst the women although they all liked how it fit their hands.
3. The "full size" TP9 steel Kahr is probably the perfect trainer for the instructor that has a lot of petite shooters... too bad none of us had one for them to try. I might have to pick one up eventually.
4. Most women could shoot the Glock 17 but it was not well received by many-- the double stack grip is just too fat for comfort. Glock could sell a ton more pistols if they produced a single stack 9/40 with a small frame.
5. The Kimber 1911 was a HUGE hit-- we could not keep that pistol on the table, all the women were constantly grabbing it to shoot and didn't want to give it up so others could shoot it. We eventually grabbed another Kimber from down the line to keep the peace.
6. Despite being a full size frame all of the women shot REALLY well with the 1911's. Women that had 16" groups with the other pistols were punching out 3" groups with the 1911's.
7. Most of the women liked shooting the revolvers, but they weren't their favorites.
8. We were told to limit our pistol selection to .45ACP or less, but I had one woman who kept wanting more. After shooting hardball .45ACP she asked for "something big and scary" so I ran down the line and picked up a 4" .357 Magnum. She loved it and wanted more... next year we bring some of the larger stuff.
9. We were told to bring roughly 100 rounds for each caliber (roughly 100 rounds for each pistol). We brought almost double that and ran out and had to borrow more from others-- next year we need to bring even more.
10. I have a .38 Special, but I do not have a .357 magnum revolver... I am going to have to remedy that eventually... It has been on my list for several years but it is a low priority compared to some others. I still need to get one though.

A comedy of errors...

2007-05-28T03:45:24Z

Yesterday we shot at a local IDPA match where we were also volunteering as safety officers. It rained all day-- naturally while we (the SO's) were shooting, it poured the hardest. It was not pretty... I forgot my vest so I wore my rain coat which is oversized-- watching me trying to find a pocket for a mag change with retention must have looked like a three stooges skit, but it was sheer frustration from my point of view. On another stage I made a lightning fast reload-- right up to the point where I missed the mag well and launched the mag four feet in front of me while I was kneeling behind a car for cover. I can't beat myself up too bad for this since it was raining cats and dogs at that moment and the mags were slick, but I definitely need to start practicing my mag changes again. Two stages later, do you think I would have learned my lesson? Nah... I like scrambling in the mud and muck to find a mag so I can complete the stage...

It is amusing to see how many people shoot tupperware (Glocks, XD's and other polymer pistols) when it is raining or snowing and only bring out their pretty guns (1911's, H&K's, etc.) when the weather is nice. It is also interesting to see how few pistol malfunctions we get when it is nasty out. There might be a lesson there...

Several of our local shooters have really been practicing and it shows. Guys I was trouncing last year and even earlier this spring are now stomping me and even moving up to expert class. I know I can out shoot them if I practice, but I need to get to it otherwise I am going to be sitting in last place a lot. First step, shoot more often. Second, more dry fire practice-- especially reloading drills, holster work and dry firing.

Academic Eggheads

2007-05-20T03:48:51Z

Every once in a while I am reminded how good I have got it working in the automotive industry... this week I was invited to attend an Energy Management Research symposium that is loosely related to the work I am doing for the Department of Energy. It turned out to be mostly academic types (poly PhD types) that were presenting their research that the DOE had funded. When we hold a meeting or seminar in the automotive industry, everybody pitches in and offers suggestions to solve problems even if it does help the competition, but it is kept friendly and professional. I could not believe all the sniping and petty cheap shots that the academics were throwing at each other during their presentations. Yeah, they might be competing for DOE grant dollars, but their projects are already funded. They should be trying to gain knowledge rather than proving they know more than the guy doing the presenting and discrediting his work. Ugh! And then on top of all that, they are so far out in left field playing in their research they have no concept of the real world-- all practical use of this research is non-existent. The engineers in the room started walking out when two of the profs started arguing about theoretical differences in fractural mechanics. They might as well have been arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin-- there is absolutely no way to prove either side of their argument at this time. I was surprised at how unprofessional many of these people were-- I guess that is why they gravitate to their ivory towers and do not do well in the "real world." It was a topic of discussion the next day in a meeting with my normal engineering eggheads... I thought they were out of touch with the real world until this week. They are downright normal comparatively speaking.

Good getaway...

2007-05-16T01:57:26Z

We just got back from our long weekend and I am already wanting to go back. :/ forestmaster and I took a couple of days off to shoot in the Great Lakes Regional IDPA match and then proceeded to go farther north to the UP to conduct more 2070 (ie. wedding) planning with the various vendors up there and visit lumberjane.

I haven't shot a match in 10 weeks and have only practiced a couple of nights recently so I had absolutely no delusions of grandeur but, as it turned out, I wasn't at the bottom of my class either. I was rusty but as usual, I had some decent stages and some not so decent stages. I had one procedural for the day which was a mental doof-- I dropped an empty mag with a loaded chamber and kept going instead of retaining it. I think this is a gamer rule rather than anything practical, but that is the rules. {shrug} It was the first time we have shot at Linwood-- they have a neat range in that it is on a circular path through a wooded section. Ranges are fairly short but they did a good job keeping things tactically acceptable, realistic and interesting. It wasn't as challenging as the Carolina Cup but I still missed a double tap to a drop turner head-- I thought I had time to get it, but I must have pulled the shots. I need to build my own drop turner to practice with... ever since I made a swinger to practice with, they haven't been a problem for me any more. It was a good match-- I just hope to practice more this summer now that my DOE paper is completed for work. It is going to take a whole lot of practice to make expert... I don't know if that is going to happen with work and weddings interfering. ;)

We got a *TON* of wedding coordinating/planning done this weekend. We sampled various wedding cakes and now have the cake(s) and baker selected, we had our final mandatory chat with our priest and filled out his paperwork as well as attended our church and verified dressing rooms and such, we met with the head chef for the reception and worked out the details of the menu, we stopped in and verified that forestmaster's flowers were just what she wanted, we met with our photographer and discussed the ceremonial music with our organist. We have never stayed in the hotel where the reception is being held, so we decided it might be wise to do so before all our family and friends stay there. You will be relieved to know that we were happy with our accommodations and despite being beyond the ends of the earth, they still have wireless internet for the guests. We drop kicked our old LG phones last week (they sucked so bad I want to take mine to the range to become involuntary ballistics gelatin) and picked up a couple of Sanyo hones. I am happy to report that we had reception throughout most of the UP including any areas wedding related although my work messages somehow mysteriously were not received until I got home this evening. When we left the Keweenaw this morning at 9:30, it was 44 degrees. By the time we got to Detroit at 6:30pm it was 86 degrees. We drove through a cold front but Lake Superior is keeping things nice and cool across the UP. The locals are worried about the lake-- the lake has been dropping in water level for over a decade and it continues to drop-- I was amazed to see sandbars out in bays I would have sworn were deep water. It was wonderful seeing lumberjane again, and as always, we had a marvelous mix of thought provoking and light hearted conversations. There are at least a couple of advantages to being the groom for a wedding-- 1. all the bridesmaids are delighted to primp and model their dresses for you (that is a truly jaw dropping dress you wore, lumberjane) and 2. you get to select the bar menu. We got so much taken care of over the past 5 days, I am not going to go into further detail (I am sure forestmaster will do that. I am tired but also recharged-- every time we go to the Keweeenaw is like going home and despite our busy schedule we still had a chance to spend a couple of hours on the beach watching the waves roll across lake Superior. :)