Last night while out shopping for the last of the Boomershoot supplies I got a call saying Laurel wasn’t a fictious person and that if I wanted to show up at VJ’s BBQ in the next hour I could actually meet her rather than her sister as I did the last time I was in town. I called Barb and she was available so I picked her up and we went to dinner at VJ’s. In addition to Laurel and her daughter Abigal, blogger Barron and his wife Janelle were there. Barron and Janelle are part of the Boomershoot crew who have the ATF paperwork to make and handle explosives.
It was nice to finally meet Laurel. Abigal wasn’t very talkative but everyone else was and we had nice time.
The thing that most pleased me about the impromptu meet was that Laurel told us VJ’s has a 10% discount for people open carrying!
Take that Brady Campaign people! The Brady’s are trying to get private businesses to ban people with guns and some businesses are responding by giving gun owner discounts! I took off my outer shirt and open carried to get our 10% discount (and left a 25+% tip).
Laurel and Abigal
Barb, Janelle, Laurel, Abigal, Barron.
Barron’s self-defense tools.
Janelle’s tool.
Abigal and Dan.
Gadsden Flag and the Declaration of Independence on the wall at VJ’s.
Sisters Laurel and Corina.
Joe, Barron, Janelle, Laurel, Abigal, Dan, Corina.
Photo by Barb.
That looks like a nice get together. I do need to stop in at Vjs soon and pick up something up for dinner.
Joe
Dino’s Italian and Greek in Burien is said to also offer a discount for Open Carry. I think we should do another Puget Sound Blogger’s Meet…
Since Barron blogs less than I do, (and that takes some doing, or NOT doing, as the case may be), I think Barron needs to fill us in on what he carries!
Looks like a multitool and ASP like baton, but the dual carry pistols are intriguing!
Joe, you too! I thought you carried an STi, but that doesn’t quite look right.
Janelles looks like a Taurus revolver?
I’ll let Barron and/or Janelle fill you in on the details for their tools.
I was carrying my STI Eagle 5.1. It’s tough to see from that angle.
Here is a cropped version of the original picture. That should make it a little easier to see.
Rats. I got all worked up and primed for some BBQ, went over there today and found out they’re closed on Mondays. Tomorrow…
I was carrying two items that day.
I normally carry a Springfield XD .45 4″ standard frame for concealed occasions. For when subtlety can be done away with, my preferred carry is a full size Kimber Custom Classic 1911 5″.
There was a reason for carrying my 1911 specifically but I don’t have access to the quote right now. After I left VJ’s I was going someplace where I didn’t even want the chance of someone seeing that I was carrying. Suffice it to say it’s not illegal in that no charges can be filed and there’s no posted signs, but it would not be a fun situation. Just because it would be an un-fun situation doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere naked. The pouch is for my SOG multi-tool, a Power-Lock EOD. In my pocket you can see the clip for my SOG Trident Tanto, there’s also a collapsible baton (24″) there next to the multi-tool. Not pictured is my tactical flashlight, EagleTac P20C2 (300 lumen with strobe and defensive bezel). I also have a Surefire 120 lumen 6P original with the LED bulb. That EagleTac is a sweet little light and it was cheap.
My wife was carrying a Ruger SP101 2 1/4″, .357 magnum. She also has a Surefire E2D Executive Defender and a SOG Trident.
Drang,
Sounds good to me. I’m unavailable until sometime in May though…
OK, now we have disappearing posts?
Oh well!
Joe, I thought you carried an STi, just the angle must have messed the look up! Very nice, likely my next full size handgun, after having been influenced by your posts!
Barron, very nice equipment! How do you like the EOD? I’ve heard good things, just have a hard time giving up my Gerber Auto Recoil, I like those instant access pliers. Also glad to see you both carry lights, too many people forget that if you can’t see ’em, its hard to defend yourself!
See you all next week, I hope!
Bill,
Do you mean your comment disappeared?
If so, that is probably a bug in the Captcha. I think what happens is there is a timer on it such that if you enter the comment after too long a period it invalidates your proof that you are human.
I try to keep it turned off but I sometimes turn it on for a few days when the blog gets slammed by comment spam. This morning there were something like 30 spam comments to just one post.
Sorry about that. You should copy it all into your clipboard just before pressing the “Save Comment” button. If the comment isn’t saved just paste it back into the edit box, reenter the Captcha and save the comment again.
Joe,
Yes, I had posted a comment very similar to the above (but a bit more detailed), and it appeared to post, then when I came back it was gone. No big deal, I’ll do as you suggest in the future, especially if its a long reply!
Captcha made me post the above twice to get it to post once, and I’m sure I put in the right alphanumerics the first go around.
It really is good to see people fighting the good fight in regards to personal rights!
Thanks for all you do, and all the work you and the crew put into Boomershoot! Its one of the highlights of the first half of the year for me!
Bill –
I love the EOD. The pliers mechanism is the best I’ve found in a multi-tool. You can use it as a standard set of pliers or while collapsed partially collapsed. Also, if I break an accessory tool, or I want to replace a tool with something different I can actually take it apart and order what ever I want to put in it. Only limitation is making sure the pliers can still close. I have the V-cutter on mine, I’ve only used it a couple times but haven’t had to in an emergency yet. With how well it worked it would go through a seat-belt like butter.
As for operation you can tune the torque on the pivot bolts to make it extremely easy to open or close. I can open mine like a butterfly knife in a hurry. Plus the prongs for the mechanism would hurt like hell if you bash someone with them.
I bought a couple and shipped them to friends and family in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I’ve also had to do double submitting, I figured it was due to timeouts on the captchas.
B
Barron,
Thanks! No one in town has them, so maybe I’ll get a chance to see them this weekend in the TriCities.
I do like the add/subtract idea a lot, though!
Bill
Go ahead, just rub it in. Remind me that my state is becoming more “California East” by the day. I don’t mind. *sniffle*
All kidding aside, you have to love things like freedom, liberty and respect for self and others at work.