Get Out And Shoot

It was a beautiful morning, here in Texas, so I thought I'd better hurry up and head off to the range to see if the AR 15 lower receiver I built the other day actually worked.

First things first, I loaded Blue Tactical into the truck along with gun stuff and bought some ammo, 5.56, 62 grain, out of Turkey. It was cheap, and that appealed.

Did the lower work? It worked flawlessly, with no malfunctions over several hundred rounds. Very pleasing. But here's the thing, my red dot sight (RDS) was zeroed at 100 yards for 55 grain ammo, which meant it was off for 62 grain ammo.

If I'd been a smart shooter, I would have used my not-so-smart-phone to look up ballistic charts for the ammo I had in hand and zeroed accordingly. To help myself, you, and all the world, I've included a chart in this post to save everyone a lot time, money, and aggro. 

People like LL, who have forgotten more about shooting than I will ever know, may laugh at this. But hey, we learn by mistakes, unless you're the Church of England, or the Administration. In which case you don't.

I got on, in the end, after a lot of unnecessary messing around with my RDS. But the main thing is, the lower receiver worked perfectly. It'll go with my new upper, which should be ready in a day or two. I'm excited by that.

Blue Tactical was excited by the gunfire. So much so that he had to have a time-out in the bed of the truck. He liked that too.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Church of England Gets Another Woman Bishop!

The Church of England has promoted another woman to one of its most important jobs, the Bishop of Gloucester.

Rachel Treweek was just an Archdeacon in Hackney, when she got the go-ahead from the CofE's Top Brass to become the first ever woman Bishop of Gloucester. She takes over from bishop Michael Pelham, who was accused of sexual misconduct and resigned from his post.

According to the BBC, Treweek is a "natural leader" and has "a voice that speaks up for those who are marginalised; and a compassionate voice that speaks into lives and places which are hurting."

I think that's beautiful.

Maybe Treweek will reverse the church of England's implosion into risible irrelevancy.

LSP

Is the State Department High, on Crack?

The Obama Administration released 5 top Jihad "generals" in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Bergdahl has been subsequently charged with desertion, by the Army.

The Administration's PR flak, Jen Psaki, explained the move in terms of "tracking."

“We have the ability to track and work with the Qataris. The reason that we know that individuals were reportedly online and engaging with individuals they shouldn’t be is because we track it. It means the system of tracking works.”

Tracking? Surely we're experts. See "NSA."

And we have to ask, is the Administration high, on crack?

LSP

The Feast of the Annunciation

Today's the Feast of the Annunciation, and we rejoice with Mary over the message of an angel, Gabriel, which leads to the Incarnation of the Word and the salvation of mankind.

With that thought in mind, I drove North on the Dallas Tollway to visit Front Sight Firearms. They have a good-looking online presence and I was hoping to pick up an Aero Precision, 7.62 lower receiver. Buy it there and then, I thought, and save yourself FFL transfer fees and hassle. I also like to see what I buy before I buy it; old fashioned, I know, but that's me.

It was weird, driving out to far, far North Dallas, and it's something I rarely do. Miles upon miles of corporate headquarters, nestled between behemoth malls, big box stores and endless subdivisions. All bisected by highways; tomorrow's world today.

But  not my world, so it was strange to see. Not necessarily bad, but alien. McKinney was more of the same, neat little strip-malls with frozen yogurt franchises, and roads that aren't potholed. Look right or left, and you can see the subdivisions. Do the houses have plastic siding? I didn't investigate.

However, I did check out the gun shop. Word to the wise, Front Sight isn't what it appears online. They didn't have my lower, in fact they scorned it, which is odd, and the bored, dismissive, gun nerd behind the counter couldn't even be bothered to engage in right-wing gun shop banter, much less sell me anything. So I bought a Magpul flip-up front sight and left the store.

Is there anything good about Front Sight's shopfront? There is. Their prices are alright, (unlike Ray's) and what they have on offer seems good quality. But there isn't much of it. Don't waste your time going there, unless you're in the area and want to see the suburban metrosprawl. That's my advice. But hey, check them out, maybe they have what you want.

A few hours later I was back in the country. That seemed more normal to me, and I liked it.

Have a blessed Feast of the Annunciation, and ask the Blessed Virgin Mary for her powerful intercession.

God bless,

LSP

Train Hard, Think Positive, Fight Easy

We're not snobs, here at DLC HQ. Sometimes we like a glass of the right stuff, after a hard day's training.

As you were,

LSP

Presbyterian Church Goes Gay

The Presbyterian Church has become America's largest Protestant denomination to endorse gay marriage, after changing its Constitution to read that marriage is a "commitment between two people," instead of a man and a woman only.

The new definition of marriage was ratified last week by the declining denomination's 171 regional Presbyteries, giving the go-ahead for same-sex marriage rituals in all of the church's 10,000 congregations. 

Rev. Robin White, who lives with her spouse, Rhonda, and acts as Co-Moderator of More Light Presbyterians, was pleased with the decision.

“So many families headed by LGBTQ couples have been waiting for decades to enter this space created for their families within their church communities,”

So many LGBTQ families? How many would that be? In the meanwhile, the Presbyterian Church has lost over 20% of its membership in the last decade, losing just under 200,000 members in 2012 and 2013 alone.

Maybe gay marriage will reverse this disturbing trend. Just like it has in the Episcopal Church.

Don't hold your breath.

LSP

The Government is Your Friend

Texas seems really free, compared to England. How's that? The Government isn't telling you what to do at every turn. Nanny State is a whole lot less evident. Are people happier for that? You better believe they are.

Soon we'll have open carry, and that'll help roll back Nanny a bit more. I look forward to that. Less Government, please. How does it even benefit you? Does it, at all? Maybe it's just a vicious parasite, to be shucked off and left to die, on the East and West Coasts.

Ask yourselves. How do a gang of rich insider oligarchs, based in DC and New York, who scorn you, and look down on you, who are beyond your wildest dreams of imagining RICH, and despise you accordingly, how do these people deserve to be our leaders.

Are they more honest, more skilled, more faithful, smarter? Worthy, like Hillary Clinton, because of great stateswomanlike wisdom and gravitas? Or are they just that much more cunning and wicked? Better at hiding their emails, servers and foreign bank accounts.

Or, to put it another way, are we sick of being ruled by crooks?

There will come a point when this will not hold.

Arm up.

LSP

Juke Box Sunday

Part of the ethos behind this family blog is firearms, or guns. And I'm in an AR phase right now; I like the little gas-driven heaters. But some people think they lack knock-down stopping power, and they call these deadly assault rifles "poodle guns."

With that in mind, I wouldn't mind something a bit heavier. Like an M14. Some of you might think this rifle passed out of use, services no longer required. Think again and check out LL's post on the M14 and its enhanced SEAL variant.

When we ride on Austin and hook West to take out Burning Man and San Francisco, there'll be a few EBRs in the mix. And Drones. Obviously.

Shoot straight,

LSP

We're Riding on Austin

I said to my MC this morning, before Mass, "Mr.******, we're fixing to ride on Austin." He's an outstanding horseman, so I figured he should be in on the action. "That's right," I continued, "And when we've sorted out Austin we'll head West, and take out Burning Man."

Typical Austin Street Scene

"Then San Francisco."

"But why San Francisco?" asked a nervous church person. 

"Because it's a hippy capital. Of the world."

Get a Haircut LSP

By the time our flying column moves out of Austin, I predict we'll be at Brigade strength.

A Couple of Monkeyheads at Burning Man

That might be needed.

LSP

Fun Guns in Waco, Texas

I know. You should be patient in firearms acquisition. Don't rush into things. But I didn't want to go through the hassle of a transfer and FFL fees to get an Aero Precision lower receiver. So I drove to Waco, where Fun Guns (which ones aren't?) promised stripped lowers, ready to go. 

The first thing you notice about Fun Guns is that they're playing Led Zep, the Stones, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple and all kinds of '70s rock, which is alright by me. The next thing you see is your old pal, D, Waco's famous gunsmith, shut down by the Administration, behind the counter. D once told me that "the .303 is a shark gun." Right on.

Alright then, you look around the store, pick out what you want, and find yourself agreeably pleased by friendly, helpful, and generally young staff.

I bought a Spike's stripped lower, nothing wrong with that, and gave the completed background check form to the tattooed but efficient-seeming AR afficionado in charge. He phoned up the Feds and got into trouble with the birthplace part of the form. So he questioned:

"What's 'Oxford,' man?"

"It's like a city. In England."

"Yeah, I know, there's a few."

"Oxford, England. Not Oxford, Kansas, or wherever."

"Gotcha."

Check done, I complimented the store on its music policy, and learned that St. Patrick's Day meant listening to the Dropkick Murphys. Shipping up to Boston? On St. Pat's, for sure.

If you're in Waco and you want a welcoming place to visit, check out Fun Guns. They're alright.

Shoot on,

LSP

Church of England Cathedral Taken Over by Mantis People?

Startling new evidence suggests that Bury St. Edmund's Cathedral has been infiltrated by Mantis People.

Sources in the picturesque market town have drawn attention to a new stained glass window, which they claim is being commissioned by the Cathedral.

"The Cathedral has always been a patron of the arts," said one insider, who wishes to remain anonymous, "But this is an outrage. The new window isn't even about Jesus. I think our beloved Cathedral has been taken over by Mantis People."

Others disagree, saying that the proposed window is just the cover of a popular book, Quatermass and the Pit.

"It may look a lot like a stained glass window in the Cathedral, and lot of people in the town think it is," claimed window skeptic and paranormal expert, A. Delgarde, "That's not true. It's the cover of a popular novel, Quatermass and the Pit. There is no truth at all to rumours suggesting that the Cathedral has been taken over by Mantis People."

Is the Cathedral's new window a smoking gun, showing that the once Christian place of worship is being run by an off-world cabal of mantids, run amok? Or is it just the cover of a book?

You decide,

LSP

All in a Night's Work, in Texas

Far-sighted readers of this family blog will know that I'm turning one deadly assault rifle into two deadly assault rifles. I went a step in that direction this evening, by assembling an AR15 Lower Receiver. It's not hard.

I drove to Waco in the rain and bought a Spike's Tactical stripped lower, a buffer tube with components, and an Anderson "parts kit." Then I drove back home and put it all together. I used a small padded vise to drive the trigger guard roll pin home, and taped up the receiver to install the bolt catch assembly -- using a roll pin punch and a taped punch to keep the holes aligned.

The front take down pin was a bit tricky, because the small brass detent kept springing out of its hole, like a Womyn Dean in search of a Bishopric. It's not easy to find those little detents, when they're rolling around on the floor like so many predatory texts in an English market town.

But the job was done soon enough and I was pleased with result. If you want to do this, consider getting some roll pin punches, a lower receiver vise block of some sort, and a razor blade to help keep the front take down pin detent in place, while you slide in the pin.

New Grip to Follow

Do you save any money, doing it yourself? Sure you do, a bit; more if you're a parts dealer. But you also have the satisfaction of having a hand in something you're going to shoot; and that's alright. More practically, you get to understand your rifle.

This lower will go on an upper that a friend's assembling for me. My hope, of course, is that it will shoot like a laser.

Cheers,

LSP