Saturday, June 27, 2009

Deals in the Dark of night.

Last night the fools on the hill passed the Cap and Trade bill to send to the senate. The final call was very close. 219-212. Several Democrats jumped ship on this one(probably more out of fear for their jobs than commonsense) while a few Republicans felt the sway of lobbyists and voted for.

Not only is this a bad bill for reasons better stated by others in more viewed forums, the mere way it was literally pushed beckons one to question the true nature of it.
They did this with the Omnibus bill, the "Stimulus" bill and (lets go back a bit further) the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act.
I get the distinct impression that they are making deals in the dark and that the only people that will see any advantage in these deals are them. They have forgotten that they are the 'hired help'.

I can't say that I blame them for that slip though. Many in this country consistently call them "leaders". The American people have been asleep for decades and consistently 're-educated' by the MSM's when they became uncomfortable.

Our founders built in a system of checks and balances. These men were educated men that understood certain mechanical concepts. Negative feedback is a good thing when properly tuned to the machine. Mechanical concepts work to some extent when thinking of the government. Since the Second American revolution there has been much tweaking of those mechanisms and now they are no longer negative but positive. Positive feedback is detrimental to any machine. We are starting to see the wild oscillations taking place from lack of built in controls or the manipulations of
those controls.

Like any disease, this one too shall pass. Will we find a cure for it or will the patient die on the table? Like any disease left to fester for lengths of time: the longer the wait the more radical the treatment and lower the chance of success. I worry for my country, I worry for my family, I prepare for whatever may come.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Range report for Today.

We had an easy day and knocked off by noonish. Good thing too as the heat was rather oppressive today and when you are working in an old house that doesn't have ANYTHING like electric or A.C. , you sweat, a lot,
I figured with the heat and the threat of Thunderstorms in the area I would risk heading to the range to try out the new(to me) M-38. I took 40 rounds and a pack of 12" targets with me. I grudgingly left the SKS home.(I do like shooting that rifle but ammo isn't as cheap as it used to be)

Long story short, This rifle is what I was expecting the M-44 to be. Here are the results.
I shot 10 rounds at 100 yds. 5 prone, 5 off-hand.
Now I am a happy camper.
And for those in the know of the area; Yes I drove 50 miles one way to shoot 10 rounds. Only one more reason I really want out of this area and back in the hills of So. Kentucky.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Belated range report.

Long story short (to start) I love the Guys at the gunshop I frequent. Better customer service couldn't be had.

I ended up returning the M-44 today after work. When at the range I was unable to get that rifle to hold any form of a group. Double and triple checked to make sure that the sights weren't loose, put it in a bench rest for 5 rounds to verify that it wasn't bad form on my part, every single problem solving trick that Myself and a couple of other guys could come up with.
When I came home I went ahead and made a lead casting of the bore to at least get some idea of where we were sitting before I condemned this rifle. Using a micrometer there was less than .001" difference between lands and grooves. Not being one to stop there I took a round from stock and removed the bullet and forced it through the barrel to inspect the rifling directly on a round.

There weren't any.

I took my findings to the shop today and other than refilling out the paperwork they exchanged it for me. We sat around scratching our heads over this one since 'by sight' the barrel looks pristine. The Micrometers don't lie though. That was one worn out rifle. We took an 1891/59 that was on the shelf and made a casting of its bore and compared the two. HUGE difference! .005" more than the casting I had made from the M-44.(I brought home that particular rifle too. Will take it out this weekend.)

I am just glad that I didn't have to pay the "caveat emptor" tax today.
To Mike and Don. Kudos. You have a customer for as long as I live in the area.

Lesson learned, Visuals are not always the truth. Micrometers don't lie and your eyes might.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Not hiding from the world LOL been rather busy

It has been a rather hectic couple of weeks for me hence no posts. I noticed that Hermit has been rather busy lately with all of his VERY informative videos (Kudos Hermit. There are those of us out here that appreciate information in any form)

I have little to comment on current events as they lay right now in time. I am seeing parallels to the Carter years though on an escalated scale and it makes me wonder what really is going on behind the scenes. Not that there is one wit that I can do to change things so little matter to me in the grand scheme of things. I continue to further my skill set and stock pile what I can get my paws on while/when available.
I am perturbed by reports of what is going on in Iran though not as some would consider it. I see a force of people that are waking up to "enough is enough" and making attempts to do something about it. What disturbs me is how the American people are responding to it.(or lack thereof as the case may be) I do not believe that we should have any say in the way that they deal with this situation as it is THEIRS to deal with, not ours. On the same note though, I see the American public shocked by the fact that a people of another nation would brave the police to vocalize their opinions. It really shows how spineless a good majority of the American populace has become.
Sadly this is the state of the nation except in isolated pockets throughout our lands.


On a different note though I have added a piece to my little arsenal today.
Meet the new addition.

There were three at the gunstore and I picked each one over with a fine tooth comb before I chose this one. I will be taking her to the range tomorrow along with the SKS for my Fathers Day treat.(like I really needed another excuse to get to the range. lol) And Yes I am prepared for an entirely sore shoulder from this one. Comparing the 7.62X39 to the 7.62X54 by nmber is like saying a .22 is similar to a .223. NOT! Seeing the two rounds side by side is like David and Goliath on the field.
I will be posting some pics from my trip tomorrow (it will be late as I am going to visit my Sister afterwards. I know that I don't post much personal stuff but for those that care Her husband was diagnosed with lung cancer and a bone tumor in his temple recently. If you would put them in your prayers it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Stiff and sore.

I guess I am not the young buck that I still think of myself as. Spent 6 days on the jobsite this week and now I am feeling a little beat up. LOL Well its like anything else in this world. It can only make you stronger if it doesn't kill you.

Today at the range I was much happier with the new firing pin and spring set up. I wasn't so happy about my performance but considering how I feel after this week I am not one bit surprised that I shot fairly crappy. No pics but I would say about 50% in the black and all of it on paper.

Had a couple of light strikes that failed to fire. This is easily curable with the old hammer spring. I didn't need it with the old firing pin spring but the new ones are quite heavy in comparison. These old Berden primed cartridges are hard. I sometimes fear using the U.S. made ammo since the primers tend to be quite a bit softer.

I have shot some Remington SP out of this rifle before and it tends to be quite a bit hotter in the load than the Milsurp stuff. It may be age or it may also be that newer powders have more power. I dunno. If the cases were reloadable I would consider reloading and working up a charge I like. The other side of the coin is that this is a rather "cheap" military rifle that was intended for getting rounds down range and not for laser style accuracy. She is more the middle ground between a bolt action and an AK. She's no sniper rifle by anymeans. LOL I sure try to squeeze as much out of her as possible though.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

My take on recent events.

I was listening to the talk radio heads today and came to something of a conclusion to things that I have been hearing for the last couple of months.

Everything that Obama has been doing seems geared to one of two directions. Nationalizing this country and its government/corporations for a socialist nation. OR Doing everything possible to Rile the Conservatives up.

Both have an equally insidious end in mind. Total control.
If we don't step up to put an end to the Nationalization we will all be slaves to the system and property ownership will be crime eventually. That's not how this country was intended obviously.(Life, Liberty. and the pursuit of Happiness(property was the original word there))
If we do step up and start pushing the envelope they will continue to make things harder and harder on us by passing laws like "The Fairness Doctrine" or Manipulating the laws around the First amendment, or Rationalizing modifications to the Second Amendment. When push comes to shove all they will need do is declare Martial law and they can start controlling things in a completely legal Police State.

Will it come to this? I don't know. I only see the freedoms I was raised in not only eroded away but being replaced with things that We found horrible to contemplate when I was a kid. I remember Our Pastor had a film that he showed to the adults once that showed what could happen if the communists were able to take control. I wasn't supposed to see it but I was able to sneak in for it. The things that they showed in that film are starting to show on the surface now. I can only hope that THE PEOPLE wake up before its too late for this ball to really take off rolling.
Many people are equating Obama to Carter in the agenda scheme. Maybe if you could AMPLIFY Carters Ego about 10 times. Carter wasn't this obsessed with himself.

Time will tell how all of this plays out. I can only hope that my great Grandchildren will be able to read about our side of things in a positive light and not some socialist garbled propaganda book. History is written by the winners.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Housing Diogenes Style.

I have been contemplating my next house for the last few months. After having been a home owner and now living in an apartment again after five years I find I really miss the solace of having things to do around the place. There is a certain amount of pride that one achieves as a homeowner that just isn't available to the apartment dweller.

I want to build my own place this time. (double pride points! :) ) So I have been investigating "micro-homes" and their ilk. I am looking at something around 800 sqft for the main living quarters. I am quite spartan in my ways and do not need much in the way of living space. I am wanting something separate from my work space though as my "projects" tend to develop fumes that really aren't conducive to healthy living.(Welding, woodwork, Fiberglassing etc)

So here are some of my ideas. I am quite partial to this one since I do have a granddaughter that may end up spending time with this old coot. I could set the Loft up as a spare bedroom for her, and leave it that way for guests as well.

I fully intend on making this an Off-Grid house though that will have to come with time. I am currently researching manufacturing Power generation units(wind or micro-hydro) and Solar heating. If I end up making the move to Wyoming I would have the advantage of Geo thermal also(I had thought about southern California for some time in the 29 Palms area but, well things have changed out there and lets leave it at that.) Since I am such an Internet Junkie I have looked into Satellite Modems also.

None of this has to do with the whole global warming thing either. I really like the idea of being self sufficient. Even the idea of some gardening has been in place and While I would like to learn more I think it will be one of the learning curves I have to thrust upon myself when the time comes.

Key things I am looking for though. Isolation from large cities(you understand that don't you Hermit? lol) and Mountainous terrain.(better for the micro-hydro idea but not essential to the end result.)

I have some time though. No hurry on this as it will be my last Residence in this lifetime and I want it to be perfect.