You Plinker!

Some say that a dinner of roast quail and venison sausage, rifle to table, helps you shoot better the next day at the range. I drove out into the Texan countryside with my philisophical pal, GWB, to find out.

We took along a couple of scoped Ruger .22s, an American and a 10/22, representing the bolt and the semi side of the rimfire world. And a couple of pistols, a Sig and a Glock, chambered for 9mm and .45. But what about the quail and venison theory of marksmanship, how did that stand up, in the real world?

If a metal kettle, a plastic Folgers container, steel plates and turkey, at 75 and 100 yards, are anything to go by, the theory holds true. Down went the opposition, with a vengeance. I claim the best pistol shot of the day, hitting the kettle at 75 yards with the Glock. Sorry, kettle, you lose. I never much liked you anyway.

Shoot over, GWB wanted to check out the land behind the range for what he calls "native Texan grasses." That excitement over, I spotted a piece of metal, shining in the hot spring sun. "Look at that, you see it, glinting in the sun?" I asked my Wittgensteinian ally, "Maybe it's a piece of UFO debris. Let's have a look."

It wasn't a bit of space junk, annoyingly, just an old air conditioner that someone had dumped. And as I reflected on the higher implications of that, a long rattlesnake uncoiled silently from beneath the rusting metal and made its way, gliding and deadly, into a nearby pipe. Moral of the story?

Quail and venison help you shoot. This is now settled science. Also, don't be a dimwit when you go for a nature ramble in Texas, it's not Devon, or the Cotswolds. Take a gun, you might need it, and be careful poking around in space junk, who knows what killers might lurk within.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Night Patrol, in Texas

Are we entering a new dark night of political and cultural devolution in America? To find out, I went for a night recce patrol with  Blue Destroyer.

I didn't see any riots, weirdly, but I did see a flag.

Still, the streets were pretty deserted. Everyone was probably inside, cleaning weapons, loading magazines, and making sure their kit was silent.

The air was full of the smell of burning mesquite. Was it smoke from a burn pile, blowing in from the fields, or people throwing the most immediate fuel source on their fires to keep warm? Who knows, that intel is being passed up to higher command for in-depth analysis.

Less happily, there was some skunk in the air too. I didn't see the skunk.

And then we were back at the Compound, recce over.

Mind how you go,

LSP

Storm Front

Maybe it's because we don't pay enough carbon tax and don't have a ban on hi-cap magazines, but for whatever reason, it seemed like we were losing the War on Weather this morning. 

The sky began to turn green and the air became still in the Ozlike light. Very much the calm before the tornado which didn't come, although the rain did. Like a deluge. That meant I didn't go visiting this morning because I had to make the compound's sturdy tornado bunker (basement) available to the public.

Then the storm passed over and I made my rounds, visiting the sick, the dying and the bereaved. There's no shortage of these, unfortunately. But still, it meant stopping by a fine restaurant.

It also meant gauging the exponential growth of a chicken operation, and running cattle, to say nothing of pondering the militia presence in the local Walmart car park. 

It's all going on in the countryside, I tell you.

And the the storm is by no means over.

LSP

The Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 Holster

Texas allows open carry, which means you can walk about most places with a pistol on your hip. But almost everyone still carries concealed, they don't want to advertise the fact that they're armed.

With that in mind, it makes sense to have a good concealed carry holster and Alien Gear claim to have come up with the goods. Here's the marketing:

The Bag it Comes in -- Note Guaranty

"Your Cloak Tuck 3.0 retains all the aspects that made its predecessor the most comfortable, concealed holster on the planet, yet somehow, we've managed to improve our IWB (inside the waistband) holster even more." 

How could they possibly have done that?

By adding a thin spring-steel core for "retention and durability" and a ballistic nylon lining, which stops the steel from messing up the holster's neoprene back, and potentially lacerating your hip. But that's not all. The Cloak Tuck 3.0 has "Alien Skin Surface." What's that, you wonder, in awestruck amazement.

See The Alien Skin? It's Thermoelastic

It's "a perfect layer of thermoelastic polymer" which covers the surface of the holster. This is textured, adding "grip and retention" and has an alien head on it as well as a US flag. 

That's the advertising, and the reality? 

It Works

The Cloak Tuck 3.0 is rigid without being uncomfortable and clips securely to your belt. This holster's not going anywhere without a fight and its sturdy kydex shell holds your pistol securely; it's not about to slip off for a wander.  You can adjust retention by loosening or tightening the screws that hold the shell to the holster base, and it comes with extra spacers and hardware to allow for this.  Cant's adjustable too, by raising or lowering the holster's belt clips. It comes preset at a 15 degree "FBI Cant."

But what makes the Cloak Tuck 3.0 "alien"? Good question. Well, the Alien Skin Surface, for a start, and the off-world green of the holster's spacers. I like that, it looks space age.

Neoprene

So what's the verdict? Alien Gear's Cloak Tuck 3.0 works, holding your pistol comfortably and securely inside the waist band. It's sturdy and if the one I was sent is anything to go by, well made, fitting my Glock 21 perfectly, to say nothing of attention to detail -- good stitching, a neat alien head and overall high quality finish. 

But is it tactical? Oh yes, very, especially inside your spaceship, where the green spacers really stand out. How much does it cost? Around 50 bucks, and that's money well spent for a holster that works and works well. Do women like them? I'd have thought that was obvious.

Thanks, Alien Gear, for a good bit of kit, and if you're looking for an IWB synthetic holster that does the job at the right price, have a look at the Cloak Tuck 3.0. I doubt you'll be disappointed. And oh, it's made in the US, too.

Thanks, SBW, for the hookup.

Gun Rights,

LSP

Presidents Day!

Here's a helpful infographic for Presidents Day, see if you can spot the odd men out.  While you reflect on that, ponder another mystery. Turkey's Mad Sultan, Erdogan, is shelling Syian army and Kurdish positions near Aleppo as Saudi Arabia flies planes into Incirlik for raids against Assad forces.

Some think that the Mad Sultan and his friends will invade Syria to protect their ISIS proxy army and lift the siege of Aleppo. Russia, presumably, will run away like a scolded cat.  Or, on the other hand, it will destroy the crazed Sultan's invading phalanx and shoot down Saudi Arabia's airforce. Which course of action do you think Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is most likely to take?

As this drama plays out in the hot sands of the Levant, Blue Eschaton guards the Compound against the impending apocalypse and I'm off to the range for some small arms practice.

Never trust a hippy,

LSP

Happy Mondays!

Here's a cheery thought to brighten up your day:

Via ZeroHedge -- The political class has completely disrupted the American structure of production, made American workers uncompetitive, snuffed the life out of entrepreneurs, and burdened the entire nation with a debt obligation the size of Jupiter. The US economy is not the strongest and most durable in the world — it is an unskilled thirty-two-year-old waiter crashing at his parent’s place and trying to pay down an $80,000 international relations degree.

That makes me want to go out and shoot pistols, but then again I don't need much tempting.

Gun Rights,

LSP 

Little Fur

My sister inherited a coat, Big Fur. She had it tailored down. Now it's Little Fur.

Don't confuse Big Fur and its smaller descendant with anything that went on at a pop concert in California.

That is all.

LSP

#BlackGunsMatter

At least they do if you know how to shoot them. With that in mind, I went down to the range with a couple of black guns and an eye towards some remedial target practice.

A natural gas pipeline is being put through the fields behind the range's berm and it felt strange to see a bit of country I'd enjoyed being torn up. Everything seemed smaller, somehow.

I clambered over the earthworks to speak with one of the pipeliners, who was sitting in a Ranger, and asked if it was OK to shoot. He said sure, as long as I shot away from the work. "Hell! I've already been shot once already!" he said, holding up his left hand, which was missing all its fingers except the thumb, and a bit of that was gone too. 

"Man!" I exclaimed, promising to shoot safely, and asked where the pipeline was going. "From Whitney to Teague," said my new friend, and I told him that was "quite a thing," which it is.

Conversation over, I blazed away at some improvised targets, going for speed with the .45 and accuracy with the carbine. I have to say, the more I shoot the Glock 21 the more I like it; that pistol's right on the money. The AR worked well too, a proper little blaster.

Shoot over, I drove into the golden void like a warrior, on the edge of time.

Gun rights,

LSP

The Christian Pacifist -- Dropped On Head As Infant

GWB

Some people think that Christians should be pacifists. They claim that the early church forbade its members from joining the military and that scripture does the same. So, for them, it's wrong for Christians to go to war, ever. To find out the truth, I called up the well-known linguistic philosopher, orientalist and naturalist, GWB.

"Maybe you think it's somehow 'acceptable' to wander around unarmed," I asked. 

"I'm armed to the teeth," replied my philisophical pal, "With love, and the imperative to think globally and act locally."

"Good strategy. In the land of the rainbow unicorn, and while you're at it, go right ahead and re-purpose some hemp."

A Typical Hornless Rainbow Unicorn,

But seriously, we don't live in a rainbow world of frolicking trans unicorns, despite the best efforts of our Eurolib rulers. We do live in a world that's increasingly full of bad actors, and it's our duty to defend against that. 

Any Old Iron

Christian pacifists take note. Not only are you ignorant of church history and scripture, you are also the sad victims of dropped-on-head-as-infant syndrome.

Your Friend,

LSP


With thanks to our friends at Sitka and Beretta.

Walk Against Jihad

Everyone has to play their part in the war against global Jihad, and I did mine, by taking Blue EOD for a walk through the autumnal boulevards of ye olde Dallas this morning.

My K9 ordnance expert  wasted no time sniffing for potential IEDs and keeping a keen nose out for any random sleeper cells that were thinking of cooking-off for Allah.

He launched at a bus that roared by the 7/11, it wisely didn't stop, and at a Salvation Army truck. Come to think about it, I'll have to work on his threat recognition software...

Then, after a mile or so, the patrol was over and we found ourselves back at HQ. Unscathed. I thank God for that.

Mind how you go,

LSP

Fighting Talk

If the Takfiri terrorists get past the pump and the pistol they'll have to reckon with the rods, an umbrella, an out of tune piano, and a Blue Heeler. Good luck, Daesh.

But the front against terror comes in many forms, and one of the reasons I'm here in this bucolic farming community is to face off against lib mutineers, who tried to take over the Mission in 2009 and hand it over to the pink empire of gayness, TEC (The Episcopal Church).

"Set up in the compound, LSP," said the bishop, "and stop those terrorists from taking over the church."

So that's what I did.

Your Pal,

LSP

All Saints Day, Clean Your Gun

You can be part of today's benighted entitlement culture and think that the State is going to step in and clean your dirty gun. Go right ahead, just keep on thinking that and wonder why your firearm doesn't work anymore.

On the other hand, you can take destiny into your own hands and clean the filthy little beast yourself. Like a free man.

That's what I did tonight, as I reflected on the Saints and in particular on the Cure D'Ars, Patron Saint of parish priests. Jean Vianney didn't own any pistols, much less a Glock 21, but he could read minds and see into peoples' souls.

He also led a life of extraordinary asceticism, living on a potato and a glass of warm milk per day. He did that for decades and when he died, the examining doctor stated that there was no earthly reason why the humble priest should have lived as long as he did.

The Devil would taunt him at night, bellowing out, "Potato eater!" Look it up on the modern Delphi that is the internet, if you doubt me.

Have a blessed All Saints.

LSP

Get Humble And Clean Your Guns

If you don't clean your guns they break and don't shoot right, like the long-lost Anglican Communion itself. That's why I took some time out this morning to put a couple of firearms to rights. I won't lie, they were filthy little beasts.

As I cleaned the miserable offenders my mind strayed to the virtue of humility, something that's in short supply in the world but mandated by the Gospel."If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all," says Christ to the disciples and to us. So we've got to get humble, but how?

Eat Humbly at the Compound

Aquinas, commenting on the Rule of St. Benedict, says this:

The first degree of humility, then, is that a person keep the fear of God before his eyes and beware of ever forgetting it. Let him be ever mindful of all that God has commanded; let his thoughts constantly recur to the hell-fire which will burn for their sins those who despise God, and to the life everlasting which is prepared for those who fear him. […] Let a man consider that God is always looking at him from heaven, that his actions are everywhere visible to the divine eyes and are constantly being reported to God by the Angels.

There is no Fear of God Before Their Eyes

The fear of God is fast disappearing from the West, will it be replaced by the satanic tyranny of pride?

Cheers, 

LSP

This Is Not Aberystwyth

It's raining, here in Texas, and that's about as far as the similarity to Wales' notorious seaside resort, Aberystwyth, goes.

A Typical Aberystwyth Street Scene

After Morning Prayer the power went out, so I took the dog for a recce patrol. I also took a pistol along for security, in case things got out of hand with the grid being down. 

Texas

In Aberystwyth that'd be illegal, because you can always call the police when you're being attacked by Welsh seaside rowdies.

A Bright Cheery Morning in Aberystwyth

The power's on, now, and we'll see how long that lasts. Smart people are building cisterns to hold the rainwater because, at some point, the electricity may not come back on again.

Off Grid,

LSP

Labor Day Pistol Shoot

To celebrate Labor Day I went to the range for a pistol shoot. I wanted to get more familiar with the Glock 21 and see how the pistol worked with its new Blackhawk SERPA TECH holster. Would the holster improve my accuracy with the famously smooth shooting piece of Austrian engineering achievement? To find out, I lined up against a 12" steel plate at around 20 yards.

Sure enough, the holster worked, and so did the Glock. Encouraged by the satisfyingly swinging plate, I unloaded a few 13 round magazines of .45 ACP against the pockmarked steel opposition. Big fun, then, on my last but one shot, remember to count your rounds, kids, the pistol fired, the plate swung, and a piece of shrapnel  fired back at me at lightning speed. 

I could see it coming, just, and there it was, a bit of steel embedded in my support hand. I looked down at the offender, holstered my gun, and picked the metal out of my hand, as though it was a bad heretic, getting excommunicated from the Church.

I fired off the rest of my Winchester White Box Value Pack against a paper silhouette. That didn't shoot back, fortunately.

Moral of the story? Be careful shooting against steel plates; I wasn't hurt, but that same bit of steel that found my hand could have chosen an eye, which might have made for a much less happy ending, sunglasses notwithstanding.

Watch out for the bears,

LSP