Tag: Guns and such

My favorite toy

Damn, That Was Quick

Boomershoot, The Gun Thing

Seems like it was just a couple weeks ago that I was bemoaning the cancellation of Boomershoot 2020, and here we are, looking down the barrel (so to speak) of Boomershoot 2021.  My spot for last year has been carried forward to this year, so I will be going.  I booked my hotel yesterday.

Now to the business at hand:  guns ‘n funds.

First, the gun.  Last year I purchased this bad boy:

…and the lucky winner of its raffle got it in time for the hunting season, despite it being a near-virgin.  (No news on what if anything he bagged, but that’s okay.)

This year I’m approaching the whole thing in a different way.  We have a time squeeze (I’ll be leaving for Boomershoot on April 27), so if we’re going to do the raffle this year, we’re going to have to do it with some urgency and alacrity.

Here’s what I’m proposing.  Last year I vacillated between .300 Win Mag and .308 Win, ending up with the .300 Win.  The response from everyone was lackluster, so after all cost and expenses and such, I didn’t quite break even.  I put the disappointing response down to two reasons:  1.)  the .300 Win Mag chambering isn’t to everybody’s taste (and I understand that), and 2.)  economic (tickets cost $40 instead of $25).

So this year, we’re going to do it differently, and for some other reasons that I’ll talk about below.

Firstly, I’m going to get a rifle chambered in .308 Win.  While not everyone might like a .300 Win Mag rifle, everyone should own at least one in .308, right?  And let’s bring the price of entry down, too, and go cheap and dirty (one of my personal favorite approaches, anyway).

Here’s my thinking on the rifle:  something inexpensive, like this Savage 12 FV, which typically sells for less than $450:

…or this Remington 700 ADL Varmint, for  about $50 more:

…or this Savage 10T-SR for about $100 more than that:

…but whatever rifle I get, I will be putting some decent glass on it like the Burris Veracity or Vortex Viper, but whatever brand it turns out to be, it will likely be 5-25x50mm (30mm tube).

NOTE:  I should point out that in the current gun-buying frenzy that we find ourselves in, I will be forced to choose from places that have whichever of these items actually in stock (at time of writing, all the above are thus, but that’s no guarantee in a week’s time).

The lucky winner will be getting a rifle that is well sighted in, and a proven record of accuracy, in a popular caliber.

Now for the fun stuff:  the funding — and pay attention, because things are different this time.

Ticket cost is $25 BUT — unlike in times past — you may buy as many tickets as you wish.  Yes, this means that the 1% will have a better chance of winning than the Pore & Starvin (i.e. folks like me).    I can’t help that.  The reason I’m lifting the restriction on ticket sales is that I’m going to need some overflow moolah to be able to afford the trip, so what doesn’t get spent on the rig will go towards defraying the cost of attendance.

Also, this time you don’t have to send me a paper check, as I’ve finally figured out how to get the proper output from PayPal — but if you’d rather stick with paper like last year, that’s okay too.  Just make a note in the PayPal entry that it’s earmarked for Boomershoot NoR Lucky Guy. (Thankee to all who pointed out the PayPal problem.)  Anyone who’s not interested in the rifle but still wants to help out with the expenses, you are fine and wonderful and have my blessing.

Let’s get this show on the road.

Oh and by the way:  if anyone has an issue or any bad history with the specific rifles, let me know.

Okay, I Guess

The Gun Thing

So with the NRA leaving the inhospitable climes of the North and moving to Texas, I have to say “Welcome” like all the others, but with a single caveat:  leave the people at our Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA) alone.

Over the years, the TSRA has been highly effective in killing all sorts of gun control nonsense (proposed by, duh, big-city Democrat politicos) and in general, keeping things running on the side of the righteous.  And frankly (unless someone from the TSRA tells me otherwise), we do not need the NRA throwing their weight around here like a clumsy bull elephant.

I have what I think is a common attitude towards the NRA among gun owners:  I support them in general terms, but I also think that on occasion they’ve behaved in a manner that sticks in my craw — and I’m not talking about Wayne LaPierre’s suits, either.  That enormous HQ building in Virginia is a case in point:

That is a lot of member funds spent, in one of the most expensive real estate areas in the world.  It made me think at the time that the NRA had its priorities wrong, and I haven’t much changed my opinion since.

So I say to the NRA:  y’all come on down, but behave yourselves.  It’s what I say to California transplants, and it pains me to have to say it to gun folks, but there it is.

No End In Sight

The Gun Thing

Here’s a sign of the times, and it’s not pretty.  As any fule kno, Georgia Arms is one of the biggest reloaders / sellers of “bulk” ammo, whether in minimum purchase requirements or else their “Canned Lightning” (ammo can) option.  Well, here’s what I saw the last time I looked at their website, a couple days back:

That’s not three cases (their normal sales unit), but three boxes.  Aaaargh.

From Chris Metz, CEO of Vista Outdoors (Federal, CCI, Speer and Remington) about ammo demand and shortages:

“Demand has been really strong across the board — any type or caliber of handgun ammo:  small rifle, big rifle, hunting rifle, even rimfire — all of it really picked up.  And we’re not seeing an end.  We talk to a big database of users on a monthly basis, and one thing we’re noting is that what we call ‘heavy shooters’, those who shoot 10,000 rounds or more a year, a lot of them haven’t been purchasing.  They’ve seen the frenzied activity and are holding back in hopes it’ll subside.  Well, we all know what’s going to happen when they work through their stockpiles and, at some point, come back to the market.  So no, we don’t foresee any slowdown in the market in 2021.”

I’m not quite in the group of heavy shooters Metz is talking about — I used to be, not that much anymore — but I know my weekly shooting trips have dwindled to about once every three weeks, and I’m shooting 50 rounds where once I used to burn through 100-150 rounds per session.  I’m reduced to doing 30-minute dry-fire exercises each day — and how sucky is that.

Jason Hornady:

“You know which consumers are maddest?  The ones who normally buy two boxes of deer ammo a year.  They go into their local shops and can’t believe the shelves are bare.”

All the manufacturers are reporting not only worker fatigue but also machine stress, which is also problematic.  There are even shortages of DOT-required spec shipping boxes, FFS, let alone primers and cases.

So all those years of nagging people about National Ammo Day sure taste sour in my mouth right now, because I get no joy whatsoever in saying “I told you so.”

Relaxing Shooting

Hunting, The Gun Thing

As it’s Sunday, what better way to while away a little time than to watch the peerless Dave Carrie’s tours of various birdshooting estates?  So load up a large mug of coffee / brandy, and enjoy.

Trump Turnberry

Yorkshire Moors

Belvoir Castle (pronounced “beevah”)

Hunting With Beefy (Sir Ian Botham is one of the greatest cricketers England has ever produced)

Llechweddygarth

Videos made before the Chinkvirus screwed it all up, of course.

And as always, a lovely way to pass the time.

And just to show what UK hunters have to put up with, here’s Rachel Carrie (no relation to Dave) and the reaction to her activities.