Month: October 2018

When In The World

This is a nifty site that lets you put in an address and see where it was over the last few hundred million years. Allocate at least an hour of wasted time.

On a side note, it’s kind of amusing how much of the time Florida was underwater.

New Geography

For those of you who haven’t been following along, over the summer I moved from northern Hillsborough to Parrish, which is in the northern part of Manatee. We have nearby the cities of Palmetto, Bradenton, and Sarasota. All three of those are mushed up together, and I’m still learning where one city ends and the others begin.

The Fiancee and I were driving about and we went by a Winn-Dixie that’s not in the best part of Palmetto. How do I know? Because The Fiancee gets that “I’m glad you’re carrying your gun” look on her face.

It Looks Like 5.56 Days Are Numbered 6.8

The Army is moving $25 billion from high-end expensive development projects to other programs, including the development of a new series of small arms based on the 6.8mm cartridge.

Army Secretary Mark Esper announced the $25 billion figure here in his opening speech to the conference, the largest of the year. The final number awaits approval from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the White House’s Office Of Management & Budget, and ultimately Congress, Esper cautioned reporters afterwards, but, looking across the 2020-2024 budget plan (aka the FYDP), he said, “that dollar figure is a low end.”

The M16 series has been the standard rifle for the military for nearly sixty years. There have been numerous attempts to replace it with a better weapon. None have succeeded, but they have provided ways to improve the M16 platform. I’m hoping that even if this one doesn’t work out, we get a better M16 platform out of it.

Range Day Hijinks

Since I was off on Monday, Shootin’ Buddy and me decided to hit the range. I needed to rotate the carry ammo any way.

Sunday night, The Fiancee and I headed to Walmart to pick up ammo and other items. The range ammo is some IWI shit that has primers made out of titanium or something. All I know is my rate of F2F’s is horrific using it. Of course, it’s Walmart, so it takes a while for the clerk to come to unlock the case. Then she has to see my ID. Good news, because of all the weight I’ve lost, I don’t look like my photo. Bad news is I don’t look like my photo. For a moment, I was wondering if I was going to be able to buy the ammo.

Heading home, The Fiancee and I discussed gun terminology. She knows very little about guns, and really doesn’t want to know much more. Just enough to understand what I’m saying. There was some confusion about why a revolver isn’t considered a semi-auto because a revolver fired one round with each squeeze of the trigger. We also discussed the difference between ball and JHP ammo, and why they were different prices.

Monday I picked up Shootin’ Buddy and we went to the range. We both ran my M&P for a bit before switching over to his Glock… damn, I forgot my Glock decoder ring. It’s one of the subcompact .45’s. Shootin’ Buddy prefers the bigger bullet. I remembered why I don’t like shooting small Glocks. I really dislike Glock Knuckle. Still, we had fun turning money into noise.

Then it was time to window shop. We looked at – and lusted over – the Ruger PC9. Especially the suppressed version the range was selling for $1,000 (including tax stamp!). I really think my next AR-style rifle will be a Sig MCX. I’m liking those more and more. Someone also picked up the All American 2000 out of the used case that I was eyeing the last time I went shooting.

Overall, not a bad way to spend a day off.

Black Hawk Down Plus Twenty-Five

It’s been twenty-five years since the Battle Of Mogadishu. American Rangers, Delta Force operators, and members of the Nightstalkers fought the largest engagement since Vietnam against Somali militias. Nineteen servicemen lost their lives. Two of the dead would earn the Medal of Honor for their conspicuous gallantry in defending one of their own.